A few months after the boycott ended, Abu Talib fell ill. He was over eighty years old, and the Quraysh did not expect him to recover. While this appeared to be good news for the Makkan pagans, the Quraysh felt that it made the situation even more complicated. How would it look to other tribes in the peninsula, they asked themselves, if we punished Muhammad after his uncle died? It would be more prudent, they decided, if they approached Abu Talib with a proposal: Ask your nephew to keep silent about our gods, and we’ll hold our peace about his religion.

Abu Talib, knowing that he would not live much longer, was certainly interested in finding some way to ensure his nephew’s safety after his death. He heard the proposal from the Quraysh and called his beloved nephew to his bedside. The Prophet listened and then turned to Abu Talib. “Uncle!” He said. “I ask them only one thing. And if they accept this thing, the whole of Arabia will be under their control, and the non-Arabs will pay them tribute.” “Only one thing?” the Quraysh asked. “We are prepared to accept ten such such things. What is it?” “La ilaaha illallah,” said the Prophet : “There is no diety except the One God, Allah.” “What!” The Quraysh exclaimed, marvelling at this statement. “He has fashioned only one god out of all of them. This is very strange.”