Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib
أبو طالب بن عبد المطلب
c. 535 CE – c. 619 CE
An uncle of the Prophet who raised him, led Banu Hashim, and protected him from Quraysh until his own death — while whether he himself embraced Islam is contested between the traditions.
At a glance
- Roles
- Merchant
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Family, marriage and kinshipSects and schools
Place in the story
- ProtectortowardMuhammad · c. 578 CE – c. 619 CEHistorical
- Family of the ProphetTradition
Other (debated)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Brief
Abu Talib was the uncle who raised the orphaned Muhammad, the father of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the clan chief who shielded the Prophet from Mecca's opposition until his own death. Whether he himself embraced Islam is one of the oldest disputes between Sunni and Shia memory.
Life
A son of Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim 4, Abu Talib took the boy Muhammad into his household after his grandfather's death, took him on trading journeys to Syria, and saw him married into his household's circle. When Muhammad began to preach and Quraysh turned hostile, Abu Talib — though the sources place him in Mecca's old religion — put the protection of his clan behind his nephew, and stood with him through The boycott of the Banu Hashim 4.
He died about 619 CE, in the same season as Khadija bint Khuwaylid — the 'Year of Sorrow' The Year of Sorrow, after which the Prophet's position in Mecca grew untenable and the search for refuge began 5.
Legacy
His shield made the Prophet's survival possible. What lay inside his own heart became the test case for how two communities read the same evidence differently.
For young visitors
When the Prophet's grandfather died, his uncle Abu Talib took him in and protected him for forty years — even when it cost him everything.
Opinions on the question
The question: Did Abu Talib die as a Muslim, and how are the reports on this read?
First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
More opinions (2)
Academic viewSecondary opinion
Twelver Shia viewOther opinion
Connections
- Sibling of
- al-Abbas ibn Abd al-MuttalibAbu LahabHamza ibn Abd al-MuttalibAtika bint Abd al-MuttalibSafiyya bint Abd al-MuttalibUmayma bint Abd al-Muttalib
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- Mecca
- Child of
- Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim
- Spouse of
- Fatima bint Asad
- Member of
- Banu Hashim
- Protected
- Muhammad
- Participated in
- The boycott of the Banu HashimThe Year of SorrowAbu Talib gathers Banu Hashim and Banu al-MuttalibThe three years of the secret callThe monk Bahira at BusraThe call to the nearest kinLast Quraysh delegation to Abu Talib
- Parent of
- Ja'far ibn Abi TalibUmm Hani' bint Abi Talib
People and things also explored
MeccaBanu HashimAbd al-Muttalib ibn HashimMuhammadThe Prophetic Eraal-Abbas ibn Abd al-MuttalibAbu LahabKhadija bint Khuwaylid
Sources
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad (1997)
- Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam (1985)
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Watt, Muhammad at Mecca (1953)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abu-talib/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.