Narrated Al-Musaiyab:
When Abu Talib was in his death bed, the Prophet (ﷺ) went to him while Abu Jahl was sitting beside him. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O my uncle! Say: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, an expression I will defend your case with, before Allah." Abu Jahl and `Abdullah bin Umaiya said, "O Abu Talib! Will you leave the religion of `Abdul Muttalib?" So they kept on saying this to him so that the last statement he said to them (before he died) was: "I am on the religion of `Abdul Muttalib." Then the Prophet said, " I will keep on asking for Allah's Forgiveness for you unless I am forbidden to do so." Then the following Verse was revealed:-- "It is not fitting for the Prophet (ﷺ) and the believers to ask Allah's Forgiveness for the pagans, even if they were their near relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire." (9.113) The other Verse was also revealed:-- "(O Prophet!) Verily, you guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He will ......." (28.56)
Narrated Al-Musaiyab:
When Abu Talib was on his death bed, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to him and found with him, Abu Jahl and `Abdullah bin Abi Umaiya bin Al-Mughira. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "O uncle! Say: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, a sentence with which I will defend you before Allah." On that Abu Jahl and `Abdullah bin Abi Umaiya said to Abu Talib, "Will you now leave the religion of `Abdul Muttalib?" Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) kept on inviting him to say that sentence while the other two kept on repeating their sentence before him till Abu Talib said as the last thing he said to them, "I am on the religion of `Abdul Muttalib," and refused to say: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah. On that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "By Allah, I will keep on asking Allah's forgiveness for you unless I am forbidden (by Allah) to do so." So Allah revealed:-- 'It is not fitting for the Prophet (ﷺ) and those who believe that they should invoke (Allah) for forgiveness for pagans.' (9.113) And then Allah revealed especially about Abu Talib:--'Verily! You (O, Muhammad) guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He will.' (28.56)
It is reported by Sa'id b. Musayyib who narrated it on the authority of his father (Musayyib b. Hazm) that when Abu Talib was about to die, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to him and found with him Abu Jahl ('Amr b. Hisham) and 'Abdullah b. Abi Umayya ibn al-Mughirah. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: My uncle, you just make a profession that there is no god but Allah, and I will bear testimony before Allah (of your being a believer), Abu Jahl and 'Abdullah b. Abi Umayya addressing him said: Abu Talib, would you abandon the religion of 'Abdul-Muttalib? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) constantly requested him (to accept his offer), and (on the other hand) was repeated the same statement (of Abu Jahl and 'Abdullah b. Abi Umayya) till Abu Talib gave his final decision and be stuck to the religion of 'Abdul-Muttalib and refused to profess that there is no god but Allah. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remarked: By Allah, I will persistently beg pardon for you till I am forbidden to do so (by God), It was then that Allah, the Magnificent and the Glorious, revealed this verse: " It is not meet for the Prophet (ﷺ) and for those who believe that they should beg pardon for the polytheists, even though they were their kith and kin, after it had been made known to them that they were the denizens of Hell" (ix. 113) And it was said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): " Verily thou canst not guide to the right path whom thou lovest. And it is Allah Who guideth whom He will, and He knoweth best who are the guided" (xxviii, 56).
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to his uncle at the time of his death: Make a profession of it that there is no god but Allah and I will bear testimony (of your being a Muslim) on the Day of judgment. But he (Abu Talib) refused to do so. Then Allah revealed this verse: "Indeed, [O Muḥammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allāh guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided."(Quran 28:56).