Question:
What is the reconciliation between the Hadith that states? ‘The Prophet ﷺ will intercede for the lessening of the punishment upon his uncle.’ And the statement of Allāh;
(فَذُوقُوا۟ فَلَن نَّزِيدَكُمْ إِلَّا عَذَابًا)
“So taste you (the results of your evil actions); no increase shall We give you, except in torment.” [An-Naba’, 30]
Concerning the people of the fire.
Will the punishment increase, even concerning the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ Abu Tālib?
Answer:
In the Sahīh is that, Al-Abbās said to the Prophet ﷺ: “O Messenger of Allāh, you were of no avail to your uncle, for he used to protect you and become angry for your sake? He said: “He is in the shallow part of the fire. Had it not been for me, he would of been in the depths of the pit of the fire.”
For verily he will be punished and he will not be saved from the fire.
This is due to his connecting the ties of kinship with the Prophet ﷺ, and verily the negated intercession is that which expels the disbelievers from the fire, Allāh said;
(وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ٱرْتَضَى)ٰ
“And they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased.” [Al-Anbiyā, 28]
i.e. Is pleased with intercession on his behalf, and Allāh is not pleased with the disbelievers.
(وَغَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَه)ُۥ
“And the Wrath and the Curse of Allah are upon him.” [An-Nisā, 93]
And Abu Tālib died upon disbelief. He refused to say the Shahādah, as in the Hadith of Al-Musayyib bin Hizām, and Alī said: “O Messenger of Allāh, indeed your uncle the misguided Shaykh has died”, he said: “Go and bury him and don’t tell anyone.”
So he labelled him with misguidance, because the Prophet ﷺ left from him while he refused to say the Shahādah, and he insisted to him but he didn’t say it, and when he went away Abu Tālib died. So Alī came and informed him, and the last of what he said is that he is upon the religion of Abdul-Muttalib, and refused to say the Shahādah.
But will the punishment increase even for the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ? No doubt it will increase within the boundaries of what has been designated for him. The fact that he will be the least punished in the fire, two embers underneath the core of his foot which will cause his brain to boil ~ Put two embers underneath a utensil, you will see it become hotter as time goes until the water which is in it overflows.
This increased hotness is in regards to the punishment of the people of the fire also, (but within the boundaries of what has come in the evidence), this will be something specific to the Prophet ﷺ. For verily Allāh punished the father of Ibrahim ﷺ in the fire and didn’t expel him from it, nor lessen the punishment upon him.
So this is from the specifications of the Prophet ﷺ in regards to his uncle who protected him and became angry for his sake, aided him and was besieged with him and other than that of what occurred. Because Abu Tālib and the father of the Prophet ﷺ are full brothers, so for this reason he was placed with Abī Tālib when he was an orphan.
And it is benefitted from the Hadith that he used to protect him ~ meaning he looked after him during his youth and defended him when he was older.
Verily Allāh refused not put the father of Ibrāhīm ﷺ and likewise the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ in the fire, and there are many like this, the wife of Nūh and Lūt ﷺ.
All of this to suggest that the affair belongs to Allāh, he does what he wills, guides who he wills, misguides who he wills, and that lineage is not a cause for guidance, this is great wisdom from Allāh.
Answered by: Shaykh, the Allamah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu Abdirrahman Yahya bin Ali Al-Hajuri – may Allah preserve him
Source: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/8347, https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/8350, https://t.me/ShaykhYahyaEn/703
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi