Wikipedia's first sentence called it “uncle of muhammad and raised and supported him while he was a young man”. Today it says “leader of banu hashim”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Abu Talib ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (d. 619 ) married to Fatima bint Asad and was an uncle of Muhammad and raised and supported him while he was a young man. He was a full brother of Muhammad's father Abdullah, who had died before Muhammad's birth. Abu Talib took care of Muhammad after the death of Muhammad's mother. Abu Talib also protected Muhammad against other Quraishites who were the Prophet's enemies. While Muhammad was a child, Abu Talib was head of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraish tribe. While the Banu Hashim was an important clan, Abu Talib was not a rich man. Once Muhammad got older, he took responsibility for Abu Talib's son Ali in order to help his uncle out. After Muhammad began preaching the message of Islam , more and more members of the Quraish tribe came to feel threatened by Muhammad. In attempts to quiet him, they would lean on Abu Talib to silence his nephew or control him. Despite these pressures, Abu Talib did nothing but support Muhammad and defended him from the other heads of the Quraish. He died at around the same time as Muhammad's beloved wife Khadija , leading to an immensely sad time for the Prophet of Islam. This year was know as the saddest year of the life of the Prophet. After the death of Abu Talib, Muhammad emigrated to Medina . Some Muslim claim that Abu Talib never recited the 'Kalima', so was a non-muslim. Although this is highly unlikely as Abu Talib carried out the nikkah ceremony of Muhammad. Secondly he raised Muhammad and God would never let a kafir raise his prophet as at the time of Muhammad's birth there were some people who followed the path of Prophet Abraham and did not worship Idols.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17925029.
The opening as it stood in 2010 16 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Abū Ṭālib ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib ( ) (549 – 619) was an Arab leader, the head of the clan of Bani Hashim . He was married to Fatima bint Asad and was an uncle of Muhammad . His real name was Imran (عمران) but he is better known as Abu Talib because he had a son named Talib .Abu Talib raised and supported Muhammad from when he was eight years old, after his parents and grandfather had died.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 367009588.
The opening as it stood in 2015 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Abū Ṭālib ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib ( ; c. 539 – c. 619 ) was the leader of the Banu Hashim , a clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca in Arabia .After the death of Abd al-Muttalib he inherited this position and the offices of siqaya and rifada.He was well respected in Mecca despite a declining fortune.Abu Talib was an uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad .There is a great debate among Muslim scholars on whether he died a Muslim or a non-Muslim.Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three .Brill Online. : CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list ( link ) Armstrong, Karen (1992).Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666669468.
The opening as it stood in 2020 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib ( Abū Ṭālib ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ; c. 535 – c. 619 ) Abu Talib means; The father of Talib , born ʿImrān ([عِمْرَان] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |link= ( help ) ) or ʿAbd Manāf ([عَبْد مَنَاف] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |link= ( help ) ), was the leader of Banu Hashim , a clan of the Qurayshi tribe of Mecca in the Hejazi region of the Arabian Peninsula .He was an uncle of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad , and father of the Rashid Caliph Ali .After the death of his father Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , he inherited this position, and the offices of Siqaya and Rifada . He was well-respected in Mecca, despite a declining fortune. Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963614041.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Leader of Banu Hashim clan (c. 535-619) Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib ( ; c. 535 – 619 ) was the leader of Banu Hashim , a clan of the Qurayshi tribe of Mecca in the Hejazi region of the Arabian Peninsula .He being the brother of Abdullah , the father of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad , was his uncle and father of Ali . After the death of his father Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , he inherited this position as tribal chieftain, and the offices of Siqaya and Rifada . He was well-respected in Mecca. According to general consensus of Sunni Islamic scholars , Abu Talib never believed in Islam. Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178957235.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Leader of Banu Hashim clan (c. 535-619) Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib ( Arabic : أَبُو طَالِب بن عَبْد ٱلْمُطَّلِب , romanized : ʾAbū Ṭālib bin ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ; c. 535 – 619 ) was the leader of Banu Hashim , a clan of the Qurayshi tribe of Mecca in the Hejazi region of the Arabian Peninsula . As he was the brother of Abdullah , the father of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad , he was the Islamic Prophet Muhammad’s uncle and father of Ali . After the death of his father Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , he inherited this position as tribal chieftain, and the offices of Siqaya and Rifada . He was well-respected in Mecca. According to general consensus of Sunni Islamic scholars, Abu Talib never converted to Islam. Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet . Was Abu Talib a Muslim?" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297065961. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “uncle of muhammad and raised and supported him while he was a young man”. Today it says “leader of banu hashim”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
uncle of muhammad and raised and supported him while he was a young man
Now
leader of banu hashim
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
