Protecting Muhammad put considerable pressure on Abu Talib and the Banu Hashim. He thought Muhammad was either mad or an impostor. Abu Talib's brother, Abu Lahab, sided with the Quraysh on this issue he moved to a house in the district of Abd Shams to demonstrate support for the Quraysh. This didn't cause undue hardship because many had family members in other tribes that would smuggle goods to them. For the sake of security, many members of the Banu Hashim moved near to Abu Talib (Encyclopedia of Islam), and the place became like a ghetto. The goal was to put pressure on the Hashimites and even starve them into submission.
This boycott started seven years after Muhammad first received revelation and lasted for three years. When this also failed, the Quraysh elicited the support of other tribes to boycott trading with or marrying members of the Banu Hashim lineage. They told Abu Talib that if he let them get hold of Muhammad, then he could adopt 'Umarah ibn al Walid ibn al Mughirah, the most handsome youth in Quraysh. The Quraysh even tried to bribe Abu Talib. Muhammad asked the Quraysh leaders to say the shahada and they were astounded. In a particular narration of one such confrontation, Abu Talib summoned Muhammad to speak with the Quraysh. In one account, the Quraysh even threatened to fight the Banu Hashim over this conflict. Abu Talib brushed them off and continued to support Muhammad even when it put a rift between him and the Quraysh. Leaders of the Quraysh directly confronted Abu Talib several times. Despite these pressures, Abu Talib maintained his support of Muḥammad, defending him from the other leaders of the Quraysh. In attempts to quiet him, they pressured Abū Ṭālib to silence his nephew or control him. After Muhammad began preaching the message of Islam, members of the other Qurayshite clans increasingly came to feel threatened by Muḥammad. As leader of the Banu Hashim, Abu Talib acted as a protector to Muhammad. In tribal society, a tribal affiliation is important, otherwise a man can be killed with impunity. Al-'Abbās chose Ja'far, and Muhammad chose 'Alī. They discussed this matter with Abū Ṭālib, who asked that his favorite child 'Aqīl be left with him. Muhammad decided to take charge of one of Abu Talib's children and he convinced Al-'Abbas to do the same. Later in life, as an adult, Muhammad saw that Abu Talib was struggling financially after a severe drought.
To this Abu Talib responded, "By God I will take him with me, and we shall never part from each other." Once, as Abu Talib was about to leave for a trading expedition, Muhammad wept and could not bear being separated from him. Abu Talib is remembered as a gifted poet, and many poetic verses in support of Muhammad are attributed to him. Muhammad loved his uncle, and Abu Talib loved him in return.
Nevertheless, his social position did not take any harm from this failure. In order to fulfill his obligations towards the pilgrims, he had to borrow money from his uncle Abbas, which he failed to return, thus being forced to letting Abbas take over the duty. Īlthough Abu Talib was responsible for providing Siqaya and Rifada (Food and Beverages) of Hajj pilgrims, he lived in poverty. Another tradition states that while on his deathbed, Abdul Muttalib, the father of Abu Talib, chose the latter amongst his sons and entrusted him with the task of raising Muhammad. Abu Talib, despite his poverty, took in Muhammad in an act of selfless generosity. The oldest, Al-Harith was not wealthy enough to accept guardianship for his nephew. One of Muhammad's uncles was to take him in. When Muhammad reached eight years of age, Abd al-Muttalib died. After the death of Muhammad's mother Aminah bint Wahab, Muhammad, a child still, was taken into the care of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib. He was the son of the Hashimite chief, Abd al-Muttalib, and a brother of Muhammad's father, Abdullah, who had died before Muhammad's birth. Abu Talib was born in the city of Mecca in the Hijaz region in 535 CE.