QUESTION:
Some say that Abu Jahl was the uncle of Umar and Khalid Ibn al-Walid from their mother’s side in addition to being the Prophet’s (peace be upon him and his pure family) uncle from his father’s side. Is this true?
Also, were any of his crimes and misdeeds narrated by our Imams (peace be upon them)?
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
Abu-Jahl (may Allah curse him) is Amru Ibn Hisham Ibn Al-Mughira Ibn Abdullah Ibn Umar Ibn Makhzoum. He is not the uncle of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). However, he is the uncle of the tyrant Umar Ibn al-Khattab, and the criminal Khalid Ibn al-Waleed (may Allah’s curse be upon them).
As for what has been narrated of our Imams in regards (peace be upon them) of his crimes and misdeeds against Islam and the Prophet (Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family), we include the following:
Ibn Hamza reported that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
I was accompanying the Messenger of Allah (Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) on a day when Abu-Jahl came towards us, saying: ‘Do you not claim to be a Sent Prophet, and that you have knowledge of the unseen, and that your Lord tells you what to do? Can you tell me of something I did which no other human being has witnessed?’ Then he (Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) said: ‘I shall tell you what you did while no one was with you; the gold that you buried in your home in such-and-such place, and your sexual relationship with Sawda. Is what I said true?’ When he denied it, he (Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) said: ‘If you do not admit it, then I will show it to you.’ He knew that he would show it, so he said: ‘Now I know that you have a man from amongst the Jinn who tells you all we do! As for me, I will never say that you are a Prophet!’ Then he (Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family) said: ‘I will kill you! And I will kill Shayba! And I will kill Utba! And I will kill Waleed Ibn Utba! And I will kill your evil ones! And I will remove your ancestry and the ancestry of Makhzoum! And I will make my horses step on your land! And I will take Mekka by force! And you will owe me the whole world, the East and the West. And people from Quraish will antagonize me; they will be spared by me, by him [1] and by my offspring! Allah will allow them to enjoy the pleasures [of life] until a certain time, but the [ultimate] victory belongs to a man of my offspring.’ Then Abu-Jahl (may Allah’s curse be upon him) went on his way while mocking us. And Allah did so to them.
Al-Thaqib fil-Manaqib, by Ibn Hamza, p. 104.
[1] He was pointing to Ali (may peace be upon him)
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