Abu Talib said...

Abu Talib said: “Do not separate from him, since he has certainly called you to good and happiness.” The Beginning of ‘Ali (as)'s Self-Sacrifices His holiness ‘Ali (as) has self-sacrificed both at the beginning of the call to Islam and during the battles. When the Prophet (S) openly called people to Islam, the Quraysh too started their persecutions and atrocities towards him and his followers.

At first, in most cases they would maltreat the messenger of God while in prayer and would inflict various cruel acts on him. On these occasions, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (as) and Zayd b. Haritha would by turn and sometimes together protect the Messenger (S). In many battles, through self denial and suffering severe wounds, ‘Ali (as) did not leave the Prophet alone. He made himself a shield against the arrows of atrocities that the infidels shot upon the Prophet (S).

In critical and hazardous moments, he would save the Prophet (S)'s life. In the Fourth year of the Prophetic Mission When the Prophet (S) was commanded by God “to inform your kin about the call and to warn them”, ‘Ali (as) tolerated reproaches from Abu Lahab and others patiently, and proclaimed, with a matchless bravery, his readiness to assist the Prophet (S) to the extent that the Holy Prophet (S) in the gathering of his kin – where ‘Ali (as) stood up for the third time to show his eagerness to protect the prophet – told him: “Be seated!

You are my brother and executor of my will and are my vizier and inheritor and vicegerent after me.” This heavy responsibility was laid upon ‘Ali (as)'s powerful shoulders since the very beginning of open call to Islam.

Another Self-Sacrifice In order to confront the treaty signed and hung on the house of Ka‘ba by the Quraysh to suppress Beni Hashim and restrain the Prophet (S), the Messenger and his companions decided, on the first of Muharram, 7 years after Bi‘tha , to settle in the Shi‘b of Abu Talib.

This economic sanction lasted for about three years and a half until the middle of Rajab, 10 years after Bi‘tha , during which the Holy Prophet, Khadija and their beloved daughter Fatimah were in extreme hardship and difficulty, so that sometimes several of them were forced to live on a single date.

To protect the Prophet (S) from any harm, a few hours after nightfall Abu Talib would take him somewhere else to sleep, and then would have his son ‘Ali (as) sleep in the Prophet (S)'s bed so that if the Quraysh ambushed, he would be killed in place of the Prophet (S).