Just six months after Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttalib had left the valley of Abu Talib following three years of starvation and isolation, the Prophet ﷺ was struck by two losses that weighed heavier than anything he had experienced up to that point: the death of his uncle Abu Talib and the death of his beloved wife Khadijah ﵂. When the protection of his uncle fell away, the Makkans openly declared their campaign of torture and oppression. The Prophet ﷺ had lost all hope of guiding them to the right path. The Companions too were suffering greatly; they were confronted with horrific torture and oppression to the point that even Abu Bakr ﵁ fled Makkah to escape the pressure. He had intended to depart for Abyssinia, but eventually came under the protection of Birkul-Ghimad, which allowed him to return safely. The Prophet ﷺ called this the Year of Sorrow.
The Death of Abu Talib
In the 10th year of Prophethood, six months after leaving the shi’b, Abu Talib fell ill and died. When Abu Talib was on his deathbed, the Prophet ﷺ entered the room where Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Umaiyah were also present. The air was heavy, the light dim, and the tension between belief and disbelief filled the room. The Prophet ﷺ knelt beside his uncle and pleaded with him:
The Prophet ﷺ: “My uncle, simply testify that there is no god but Allah and I will testify before Allah that you are a believer.”
Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Umaiyah: “O Abu Talib! Will you abandon the religion of Abdul-Muttalib?”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued to ask him to pronounce the shahadah while Abu Jahl and Abdullah kept repeating the same thing. It was a struggle for the soul of a dying man. The Prophet ﷺ implored, Abu Jahl intimidated. Until Abu Talib made his final decision: he remained on the religion of Abdul-Muttalib and refused to testify.
Abu Talib may well have believed in the truth of the message, but the pressure from those around him and the fear of tarnishing his legacy as tribal chief held him back. Ibn Ishaq narrated that he said: “I would pronounce the kalimah, were it not that people would accuse me of accepting your religion out of fear of death.” His own poetry revealed the same tension; he praised Islam as the best religion but could not take the step. It was not disbelief that held him back, but pride.
Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ said:
By Allah, I will continue to seek your forgiveness until it is forbidden for me to do so.
After this, Allah ﷻ revealed the following verse:
مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوٓا۟ أَن يَسۡتَغۡفِرُواْ لِلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ وَلَوۡ كَانُوٓاْ أُوْلِي قُرۡبَىٰ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمۡ أَنَّهُمۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡجَحِيمِ
It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe to seek Allah’s forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they are relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the inhabitants of the Fire.
Surah Tawbah 9:113
Allah ﷻ also revealed:
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهۡدِي مَنۡ أَحۡبَبۡتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَهۡدِي مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَهُوَ أَعۡلَمُ بِٱلۡمُهۡتَدِينَ
Verily! You do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who are guided.
Surah Al-Qasas 28:56
Abu Talib had protected the da’wah of the Prophet ﷺ from day one and had constantly worried about the protection of his nephew, at all costs. Al-Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib ﵁ narrated that he said to the Prophet ﷺ:
You could not be of benefit to your uncle while he protected you and was angry on your behalf.
The Prophet ﷺ answered:
He is in a shallow fire, and were it not for me he would be at the bottom of the Fire.
The Death of Khadijah ﵂
Just two to three months after the death of his uncle, the Prophet ﷺ was struck with another great loss: the Mother of the Believers, his wife Khadijah ﵂. She passed away during Ramadan in the 10th year of Prophethood at the age of 65. Khadijah ﵂ stood by the Prophet ﷺ through thick and thin for 25 years. Especially the first ten years of Prophethood, she was his support and refuge.
The three years of hardship in the valley had weakened her body. After the return to Makkah, she fell ill. The Prophet ﷺ kept vigil at her side through the night, cared for her and prayed for her. He told her that Allah ﷻ had promised her a palace in Paradise, built of pearls, where there would be no noise nor weariness.
Jibril ﵇ came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, this is Khadijah who is coming to you with a dish of food. When she reaches you, give her the greetings from her Lord and from me, and give her the good news of a palace in Paradise of hollowed pearls, in which there will be no noise nor weariness.”
(Bukhari 3820)
No funeral prayer was performed for Khadijah ﵂ because it had not yet been prescribed.
While the Prophet ﷺ was in deep mourning, he once said about her ﵂:
When the people did not believe in me, she believed in me. And she trusted me when the people did not believe me. She helped me, reassured me, personally and financially, when the people were not willing to do so. Allah has provided me with children through her and He did not do so with others.
Years later, 'Aisha ﵂ would tell of how much the love of the Prophet ﷺ for Khadijah ﵂ moved her:
“I was not jealous of any woman as much as Khadijah, although she had passed away three years before my marriage to the Prophet ﷺ. This was because he mentioned her so often, and because when he slaughtered a sheep he would distribute the meat among her friends.”
(Bukhari 6004)
The loss of his beloved uncle and his beloved wife had thrust the da’wah into a new reality. Abu Talib had been his shield against Quraysh, Khadijah ﵂ had been his anchor in the storms of revelation. Without them, the Prophet ﷺ now stood alone, in a city that hated him, without protection and without comfort. It was in this deepest darkness that Allah ﷻ would give His servant a gift that would transcend the boundaries of creation.