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Again the chiefs of the Quraysh went to Abu Talib's house. Their speaker said to him, 'You possess a high status among us and the Quraysh tribe. You are our chief, our master, and our lord. We all have great respect for your honour and high position. We have already asked you to hinder your nephew. We have told you to stop him from offending the faith of our forefathers, denouncing our idols, thoughts and beliefs. But you have not paid any attention to our demands and have not attempted to stop him. We swear by God that we will not tolerate disrespect toward our gods and denunciation of the faith and beliefs of our fathers. You must prevent him from doing these things or we will fight both he and you who support him until either you or we are killed'. Abu Talib tried to solve the problem peacefully, and after they had left the house, he talked to the Prophet about the matter. Addressing Abu Talib, the Holy Prophet of Islam remarked, 'I swear by Almighty God that even if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, and in return, demand of me to quit the propagation of Islam and pursuance of my divine aim, I will never do what they want me to. I am determined to carry on my duty toward God to the last moment of my life, even if it means losing my life. I am strongly determined to attain my goal'. He left his uncle's house sadly. Abu Talib called him and said, 'I swear by God that I will not quit supporting you and will not let them hurt you'. 96

Once again, the Quraysh attempted to achieve their objectives through Abu Talib. This time they took 'Ammarat ibn Walid to him and said, 'This youth is strong and handsome. We will give him to you to adopt as your own son and in return you must stop supporting your nephew'. This severely annoyed Abu Talib who gave this answer to their ridiculous request, 'What an unjust proposal! You ask me to take care of your son and give my own son to you to kill him! I swear by God that such a thing will never take place'. 97

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96. Sirihi ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, pp.265-266.

97. Ibid., pp.266-267.

Adapted from: "A Glance at the Life of the Holy Prophet of Islam" by : "Dar Rah Haqq's Board of Writers"