11. Mention that ʿAli b. Abi Talib ᴿᴬ was the first male to embrace Islam

1. Sirat Ibn Hisham 277No grade recorded

   ذِكْرُ أَنَّ عَلِيَّ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ؓ أَوَّلُ ذَكَرٍ أَسْلَمَ قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: ثُمَّ كَانَ أَوَّلَ ذَكَرٍ مِنْ النَّاسِ آمَنَ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، وَصَلَّى مَعَهُ وَصَدَّقَ بِمَا جَاءَهُ مِنْ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ هَاشِمٍ، رِضْوَانُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَهُوَ يَوْمئِذٍ ابْنُ عَشْرِ سِنِينَ. [ نَشَأَتْهُ فِي حِجْرِ الرَّسُولِ ﷺ وَسَبَبُ ذَلِكَ ] وَكَانَ مِمَّا أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ ( بِهِ ) عَلَى عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ؓ، أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِي حِجْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَبْلَ الْإِسْلَامِ. قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَحَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي نَجِيحٍ، عَنْ مُجَاهَدِ بْنِ جَبْرٍ أَبِي الْحَجَّاجِ قَالَ: كَانَ مِنْ نِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ عَلَى عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، وَمِمَّا صَنَعَ اللَّهُ لَهُ، وَأَرَادَهُ بِهِ مِنْ الْخَيْرِ، أَنَّ قُرَيْشًا أَصَابَتْهُمْ أَزْمَةٌ شَدِيدَةٌ، وَكَانَ أَبُو طَالِبٍ ذَا عِيَالٍ كَثِيرٍ: فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِلْعَبَّاسِ عَمِّهِ، وَكَانَ مِنْ أَيْسَرِ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ، يَا عَبَّاسُ: إنَّ أَخَاكَ أَبَا طَالِبٍ كَثِيرُ الْعِيَالِ، وَقَدْ أَصَابَ النَّاسَ مَا تَرَى مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأَزْمَةِ، فَانْطَلِقْ بِنَا إلَيْهِ، فَلْنُخَفِّفْ عَنْهُ مِنْ عِيَالِهِ، آخُذُ مِنْ بَنِيهِ رَجُلًا، وَتَأْخُذُ أَنْتَ رَجُلًا، فَنَكِلُهُمَا عَنْهُ فَقَالَ الْعَبَّاسُ: نَعَمْ. فَانْطَلَقَا حَتَّى أَتَيَا أَبَا طَالِبٍ، فَقَالَا لَهُ: إنَّا نُرِيدُ أَنْ نُخَفِّفَ عَنْكَ مِنْ عِيَالِكَ حَتَّى يَنْكَشِفَ عَنْ النَّاسِ مَا هُمْ فِيهِ؛ فَقَالَ لَهُمَا أَبُو طَالِبٍ: إذَا تَرَكْتُمَا لِي عَقِيلًا فَاصْنَعَا مَا شِئْتُمَا - قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَيُقَالُ: عَقِيلًا وَطَالِبًا. فَأَخَذَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَلِيًّا، فَضَمَّهُ إلَيْهِ، وَأَخَذَ الْعَبَّاسُ جَعْفَرًا فَضَمَّهُ إلَيْهِ؛ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ عَلِيٌّ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ حَتَّى بَعَثَهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى نَبِيًّا، فَاتَّبَعَهُ عَلِيٌّ ؓ، وَآمَنَ بِهِ وَصَدَّقَهُ؛ وَلَمْ يَزَلْ جَعْفَرٌ عِنْدَ الْعَبَّاسِ حَتَّى أَسْلَمَ وَاسْتَغْنَى عَنْهُ.

   ✧ Mention that ʿAli b. Abi Talib ؓ was the first male to become Muslim. Ibn Ishaq said: Then the first male of the people to believe in the Messenger of God ﷺ, pray with him, and accept as true what he brought from God Almighty was ʿAli b. Abi Talib b. ʿAbd al-Muttalib b. Hashim, may God be pleased with him and grant him peace, and on that day he was a boy of ten years. [His upbringing in the care of the Messenger ﷺ and the reason for that] Among the blessings God bestowed upon ʿAli b. Abi Talib ؓ was that he was in the care of the Messenger of God ﷺ before Islam. Ibn Ishaq said: ʿAbd Allah b. Abi Najih narrated to me, from Mujahid b. Jabr Abu al-Hajjaj, who said: Among God's favor upon ʿAli b. Abi Talib, and what God did for him and intended for him of good, was that Quraysh were afflicted by a severe crisis, and Abu Talib had a large family. So the Messenger of God ﷺ said to al-ʿAbbas, his uncle, who was among the wealthiest of Banu Hashim: 'O ʿAbbas, your brother Abu Talib has a large family, and the people have been afflicted by what you see of this crisis. Come with us to him, so that we may relieve him of some of his dependents. I will take one of his sons, and you take one, and we will look after them for him.' Al-ʿAbbas said: 'Yes.' So they went until they came to Abu Talib, and said to him: 'We want to relieve you of some of your dependents until what the people are suffering from clears.' Abu Talib said to them: 'If you leave me ʿAqil, do whatever you wish.' Ibn Hisham said: It is also said: ʿAqil and Talib. So the Messenger of God ﷺ took ʿAli and embraced him to himself, and al-ʿAbbas took Jaʿfar and embraced him to himself. ʿAli remained with the Messenger of God ﷺ until God, Blessed and Exalted, sent him as a prophet, and ʿAli ؓ followed him, believed in him, and accepted him as true. Jaʿfar remained with al-ʿAbbas until he became Muslim and was no longer in need of him.

2. Sirat Ibn Hisham 278No grade recorded

   [ خُرُوجُ عَلِيٍّ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ إلَى شِعَابِ مَكَّةَ يُصَلِّيَانِ، وَوُقُوفُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ عَلَى أَمْرِهِمَا ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَذَكَرَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ كَانَ إذَا حَضَرَتْ الصَّلَاةُ خَرَجَ إلَى شِعَابِ مَكَّةَ، وَخَرَجَ مَعَهُ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ مُسْتَخْفِيًا مِنْ أَبِيهِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ. وَمِنْ جَمِيعِ أَعْمَامِهِ وَسَائِرِ قَوْمِهِ، فَيُصَلِّيَانِ الصَّلَوَاتِ فِيهَا، فَإِذَا أَمْسَيَا رَجَعَا. فَمَكَثَا كَذَلِكَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَمْكُثَا. ثُمَّ إنَّ أَبَا طَالِبٍ عَثَرَ عَلَيْهِمَا يَوْمًا وَهُمَا يُصَلِّيَانِ، فَقَالَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ: يَا ابْنَ أَخِي مَا هَذَا الدِّينُ الَّذِي أَرَاكَ تَدِينُ بِهِ ؟ قَالَ: أَيْ عَمِّ، هَذَا دِينُ اللَّهِ، وَدِينُ مَلَائِكَتِهِ، وَدِينُ رُسُلِهِ، وَدِينُ أَبِينَا إبْرَاهِيمَ - أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ ﷺ - بَعَثَنِي اللَّهُ بِهِ رَسُولًا إلَى الْعِبَادِ، وَأَنْتَ أَيْ عَمِّ، أَحَقُّ مَنْ بَذَلْتُ لَهُ النَّصِيحَةَ، وَدَعَوْتُهُ إلَى الْهُدَى، وَأَحَقُّ مَنْ أَجَابَنِي إلَيْهِ وَأَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ، أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ؛ فَقَالَ أَبُو طَالِبٍ: أَيْ ابْنَ أَخِي، إنِّي لَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أُفَارِقَ دِينَ آبَائِي وَمَا كَانُوا عَلَيْهِ، وَلَكِنْ وَاَللَّهِ لَا يَخْلُصُ إلَيْكَ بِشَيْءٍ تَكْرَهُهُ مَا بَقِيتُ وَذَكَرُوا أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِعَلِيٍّ: أَيْ بُنَيَّ، مَا هَذَا الدِّينُ الَّذِي أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِ ؟ فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَتِ، آمَنْتُ بِاَللَّهِ وَبِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ، وَصَدَّقْتُهُ بِمَا جَاءَ بِهِ، وَصَلَّيْتُ مَعَهُ لِلَّهِ وَاتَّبَعْتُهُ. فَزَعَمُوا أَنَّهُ قَالَ لَهُ: أَمَا إنَّهُ لَمْ يَدْعُكَ إلَّا إلَى خَيْرٍ فَالْزَمْهُ

   ✧ [The going out of ʿAli with the Messenger of God ﷺ to the mountain passes of Makkah where they would pray, and Abu Talib's coming upon their affair] Ibn Ishaq said: Some of the people of knowledge mentioned that the Messenger of God ﷺ, when the time for prayer came, would go out to the mountain passes of Makkah, and ʿAli b. Abi Talib would go out with him, hiding from his father Abu Talib, from all his uncles, and from the rest of his people. There they would perform the prayers. When evening came, they would return. They remained thus as long as God willed them to remain. Then one day Abu Talib came upon them while they were praying and said to the Messenger of God ﷺ: "O son of my brother, what is this religion which I see you professing?" He said: "O my uncle, this is the religion of God, the religion of His angels, the religion of His messengers, and the religion of our father Abraham"—or as he ﷺ said—"God has sent me with it as a messenger to the servants. You, O my uncle, are the most deserving of one to whom I should offer sincere counsel and whom I should call to guidance, and the most deserving of one who should answer me to it and assist me in it," or as he said. Abu Talib said: "O son of my brother, I cannot part with the religion of my forefathers and what they followed. But by God, nothing that you dislike shall reach you as long as I live." They mentioned that he said to ʿAli: "O my son, what is this religion that you follow?" He said: "O my father, I believe in God and in the Messenger of God, and I believe in what he has brought. I have prayed with him for God and I follow him." They claimed that he told him: "Indeed, he has called you to nothing but good, so cleave to him." }