The Holy Prophet's (PBUH) Invitation of Family to Islam

After three years, the Prophet was commanded by God to openly announce his Prophethood, beginning with his family. He invited his close family members from the Hashemites to a feast at Abu-Talib’s house to ask for their support and belief in Islam. In this meeting, Abu-Lahab, one of the Prophet’s uncles, began speaking ill against the Prophet, which interrupted the meeting. Thus, the Prophet had to invite his family members to another feast, which was again interrupted. The Prophet then invited them for the third time. In this meeting, Abu-Lahab once again wanted to interrupt the Prophet, but was faced with harsh reaction from Abu-Talib. Abu-Talib then ordered everyone to be silent and provided an opportunity for the Prophet to begin his speech. The Prophet invited them to Islam, and told them that every Prophet of the past had someone from his family as a successor. He gave them glad tidings, that whoever believes in him and supports him would be his successor. In this meeting, Abu-Talib, the head of the Hashemites, addressed the Prophet, approved his mission, and encouraged him to firmly follow his mission. He then swore by God to protect and support the Prophet. He cleverly expressed his willingness to stay in the religion of his father Abdul-Muttalib, which was the monotheistic religion of Prophet Ibrahim. Abu-Talib’s statement was confronted by his brother, Abu-Lahab, who asked Abu-Talib to stop the Prophet before the others stopped him. However, Abu-Talib denied Abu-Lahab and repeated his support for the Prophet. He addressed the Prophet as his master and encouraged him to follow his mission.
At this meeting, the Prophet called his family members three times to believe in Islam and support him in his mission. It was only Imam Ali from the audience who responded to the Prophet every time. Imam Ali was just 13 years old and was the youngest guest present in the meeting. The Prophet then told the audience that he chooses Ali as his brother and successor in Islam. The audience mocked Imam Ali for his selection as the Prophet’s successor. They also realized that Abu-Talib’s heart was inclined toward the Prophet, and mocked him by saying he should now obey his son’s orders. Abu-Talib responded to their ridicule by asking them to leave Ali alone, as he would not hesitate to help his cousin.
By inviting the Hashemites to his house and explicitly expressing his support for the Prophet, Abu-Talib hoped to gather support for the Prophet from his family. The Hashemites were the Prophet’s family and were the closest people to the Prophet among the Quraysh. Thus, there was a higher possibility for the Hashemites to accept Islam. However, the outcome of the Prophet’s invitation for his family to accept Islam showed that none of them were willing to accept Islam. If Abu-Talib had publicly declared his faith in the Prophet, he would have been stripped from his position as the head of the clan by the Hashemites, since they were still not willing to accept