Leadership and sovereignty wouldn't be gained without plenty...

Leadership and sovereignty wouldn't be gained without plenty of money but although Abu Talib was not so rich, he was the respected leader, the first master and the obeyed chief and this might be the characteristic of Abu Talib alone and no one else other than him. (2) Even though he was empty-handed but he had a great rich spirit. He was so great with his qualities and virtues and no one would ever replaced him. He inherited his father's qualities.

He forgave without being asked for and gave open-handedly without considering it as doing favor. He often gave people in burdened himself with debts lest he would leave a favor his father used to do before.

He began to water the pilgrims as his father had been ____________ 1 As-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.137 2 Refer to Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.1 p.9, vol.3 p.461, As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.99, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.53, the Thesis of aj-Jahidh, p.109, Mo'jamul Quboor, vol.1 p.198, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39 p.124 and Imam Ali; The Voice of Justice, vol.1 p.55. doing before after he had dug the well of Zamzam. He often added dates and raising to the water in order to make it taste sweet.

Once a difficult year came. Abu Talib became needy. He found himself unable to keep on his tradition. At the same time he wouldn't give up his father's noble deeds. He borrowed from his brother al-Abbas ten thousand dirhams to be paid back in the next year. The next year came and he couldn't pay his debt back to his brother. He found himself in a bad situation that he might not be able to serve the pilgrims. He decided to borrow fourteen thousand dirhams from his brother again.

But al-Abbas in this time wouldn't lend him the money except on a condition that if he couldn't pay the debt in the next year, he would have to give up watering the pilgrims and to let al-Abbas undertake it ... and it was so. (1) The loss of watering the pilgrims didn't affect his high position nor harmed his leadership that he was the fount of goodness in Mecca and he, whose prayers were always responded to, was the point of connection between the Heaven and the earth.

He had so much high qualities that made him a leader surrounded by honor and glory and made him as a fortress that no defame might reach him nor he might be shaken before a wind. His qualities imposed upon us to believe that he had followed the belief of Prophet Abraham (s).