When Abu Talib was on the verge of death, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to him and found Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abu Umaya bin Mughira with him.The Prophet ﷺ said, "Uncle, say there is no god but Allah, a word by which I may plead on your behalf before Allah."Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abu Umaya said, "Would you turn away from the religion of Abdul-Muttalib?"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept offering him the words, and the two of them kept repeating that same statement, until the last thing Abu Talib said to them was that he remained on the religion of Abdul-Muttalib, and he refused to say there is no god but Allah.The narrator said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, "By Allah, I shall keep asking forgiveness for you unless I am forbidden to do so." So Allah revealed, "It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the idolaters" [Tawbah 9:113]. And Allah revealed concerning Abu Talib, saying to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "You do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills" [Qasas 28:56].Ibn Abbas explained the following words. "Men of great strength" [Qasas 28:76] refers to keys that a band of strong men could not lift. "Would weigh down" [Qasas 28:76] means would burden heavily. "Empty" [Qasas 28:10] means empty of everything except the thought of Musa. "The exultant" [Qasas 28:76] means the insolently boastful. "Follow him" [Qasas 28:11] means trace his tracks, though the same root can also mean to relate a narrative, as in "We relate to you" [Yusuf 12:3]. "From a distance" [Qasas 28:11] means from far off, and janaba, junuba, and ijtinab all carry that same sense of being at a remove. The verb meaning to strike may be read yabtishu or yabtushu. "They are taking counsel" [Qasas 28:20] means they are consulting one another. Udwan, ada, and taaddi all mean the same thing, transgression. "He perceived" [Qasas 28:29] means he saw. A jadhwa is a thick piece of wood with no flame on it, while a shihab is a brand that carries flame. Serpents are of several kinds, the jann, the vipers, and the black snakes. "A helper" [Qasas 28:34] means one who gives aid.Ibn Abbas read it as "who will confirm me." Another said that "We shall strengthen" [Qasas 28:35] means We shall aid you, for whenever you reinforce something you have given it an arm to lean on. "Rejected" [Qasas 28:42] means destroyed. "We have explained in detail" [Qasas 28:51] means We made it clear and complete. "Is brought" [Qasas 28:57] means is carried in. "You exulted" [Qasas 28:58] means you behaved with insolent pride. "A messenger in its mother city" [Qasas 28:59] refers to the mother of settlements, Makkah and what lies around it. "Conceals" [Qasas 28:69] means hides. Aknantu al-shay means I hid the thing, and kanantuhu means both that I hid it and that I displayed it. "Ah, that Allah" [Qasas 28:82] is like saying, do you not see that Allah. "Extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it" means He gives abundantly to one and straitens another.
حدثنا أبو اليمان أخبرنا شعيب عن الزهري قال أخبرني
لما حضرت أبا طالب الوفاة جاءه رسول الله ﷺ فوجد عنده أبا جهل وعبد الله بن أبي أمية بن المغيرة فقال أي عم قل لا إله إلا الله كلمة أحاج لك بها عند الله فقال أبو جهل وعبد الله بن أبي أمية أترغب عن ملة عبد المطلب فلم يزل رسول الله ﷺ يعرضها عليه ويعيدانه بتلك المقالة حتى قال أبو طالب آخر ما كلمهم على ملة عبد المطلب وأبى أن يقول لا إله إلا الله قال قال رسول الله ﷺ والله لأستغفرن لك ما لم أنه عنك فأنزل الله {ما كان للنبي والذين آمنوا أن يستغفروا للمشركين} وأنزل الله في أبي طالب فقال لرسول الله ﷺ {إنك لا تهدي من أحببت ولكن الله يهدي من يشاء} قال ابن عباس {أولي القوة} لا يرفعها العصبة من الرجال {لتنوء} لتثقل {فارغا} إلا من ذكر موسى {الفرحين} المرحين {قصيه} اتبعي أثره وقد يكون أن يقص الكلام {نحن نقص عليك} {عن جنب} عن بعد عن جنابة واحد وعن اجتناب أيضا يبطش ويبطش {يأتمرون} يتشاورون العدوان والعداء والتعدي واحد {آنس} أبصر الجذوة قطعة غليظة من الخشب ليس فيها لهب والشهاب فيه لهب والحيات أجناس الجان والأفاعي والأساود {ردءا} معينا قال ابن عباس {يصدقني} وقال غيره {سنشد} سنعينك كلما عززت شيئا فقد جعلت له عضدا مقبوحين مهلكين {وصلنا} بيناه وأتممناه {يجبى} يجلب {بطرت} أشرت {في أمها رسولا} أم القرى مكة وما حولها {تكن} تخفي أكننت الشيء أخفيته وكننته أخفيته وأظهرته {ويكأن الله} مثل ألم تر أن الله {يبسط الرزق لمن يشاء ويقدر} يوسع عليه ويضيق عليه