Because the Prophet had enjoyed great prestige and belonged to a highly respected tribe, his opponents did not dare mistreat him the way they did the slave converts to Islam. In addition to being from a noble tribe, he also enjoyed the protection of his uncle, Abu Talib, who was venerated as a great chieftian. Abu Talib was a towering personality from Banu Abdu Munaf, a family that had gained the respect of not only the Quraysh, but also the whole of Arabia. The people of Makkah held him in high esteem and no one would even think of dishonouring him by harming his nephew. For these reasons, the pagans had to be quite careful in how they opposed the Prophet.

They decided to hold talks with Abu Talib – talks in which they would hint at what might befall Muhammad if he continued opposing their religion.

Talks between Abu Talib and the Quraysh

After considerable thought as to strategy, some nobles of the Quraysh came to Abu Talib and said to him, “Your nephew speaks ill of our gods, casts blame on our religion, calls us ignorant and frivolous, and denounces our fathers as depraved and misguided. Either you stop him, or cut him off so that we can deal with him.”

Abu Talib answered them mildly and let them leave without an altercation. Muhammad , however, continued to proclaim himself Allah’s Prophet, and continued to call on all to embrace Islam.