Answer: The name of Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ and the father of Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), was Abd Manaf bin Abd al-Muttalib. The Shia say that his name was Imran. This is a baseless claim.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 852 AH) writes:
واسمه عند الجميع عبد مناف وشد من قال: عمران ، بل هو قول باطل نقله ابن تيمية فى كتاب الرد على الرافضي أن بعض الروافض زعم أن قوله تعالى: ﴿إن الله اصطفى آدم ونوحا وآل إبراهيم وآل عمران﴾ (آل عمران: 33) ، أن آل عمران هم آل أبى طالب وأن اسم أبى طالب عمران واشتهر بكنيته .
“According to the people of truth, the name of Abu Talib is Abd Manaf. Those who say his name is Imran, their statement is shadh (anomalous), rather false. Shaykh al-Islam, the scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), in his refutation of the Rafidah in his book (Minhaj al-Sunnah), has written: According to some Rafidah, in the saying of Allah: ﴿إن اللهَ اصْطَفَى آدَمَ وَنُوحًا وَآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ﴾ (Al ‘Imran: 33), “Allah has chosen Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran,” by the family of Imran is meant the family of Abu Talib, and the name of Abu Talib was Imran, and he became known by his kunya.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (661 – 728 AH) writes:
منهم من يقول: كان اسمه عمران ، وهو المذكور فى قوله تعالى: ﴿إن الله اصطفى آدم ونوحا وآل إبراهيم وآل عمران على العالمين﴾ (سورة آل عمران: 33) ، وهذا الذى فعلوه مع ما فيه من الافتراء والبهتان ففيه من التناقض وعدم حصول مقصودهم ما لا يخفى .
“Some Rafidah say: the name of Abu Talib was Imran. The verse of Allah: ﴿إِنَّ اللهَ اصْطَفَى آدَمَ وَنُوحًا وَّآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ (Surah Al ‘Imran: 33), Allah has chosen Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran over the worlds, refers to them. This is a fabrication and slander against Allah, and there is clear contradiction in this argument too. It is as clear as the daylight that their aim cannot be proved by this self-invented interpretation.”
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) (700 – 774 AH) writes:
زعمت الروافض أن اسم أبى طالب عمران وأنه المراد من قوله تعالى: ﴿إن الله اصطفى آدم ونوحا وآل إبراهيم وآل عمران على العالمين﴾ (آل عمران: 33) ، وقد أخطأوا ذلك خطأ كثيرا ولم يتأملوا القرآن قبل أن يقولوا هذا البهتان من القول فى تفسيرهم له غير مراد الله تعالى ، فإنه قد ذكر بعد هذه قوله تعالى: ﴿إذ قالت امرأت عمران رب إني نذرت لك ما فى بطني محررا﴾ (آل عمران: ٣٥) ، فذكر ميلاد مريم بنت عمران عليها السلام وهذا ظاهر ولله الحمد ، وقد كان أبو طالب كثير المحبة الطبيعية لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ولم يؤمن به إلى أن مات على دينه كما ثبت ذالك فى صحيح البخاري .
“The Rafidah say that the name of Abu Talib was Imran and that the verse of Allah: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى آدَمَ وَنُوحاً وَّآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ عَلَى الْعالَمِينَ﴾ (Al ‘Imran: 33), Allah has chosen Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran over the people. This is their gross error. These people, without care, make such slanders against Allah in tafsir that they change Allah’s intended meaning. Have they not reflected that Allah the Exalted said after the aforementioned verse (verse no. 33): ﴿إِذْ قالَتِ امْرَأَتُ عِمْرانَ رَبِّ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِي بَطْنِي مُحَرَّرا﴾ (Al ‘Imran: 35), when the wife of Imran said: ‘My Lord, I have vowed to You what is in my womb as a dedicated one’? Although Abu Talib had a natural attachment to the Prophet ﷺ, he did not recite the kalimah, and died upon disbelief, as is in Sahih al-Bukhari (4772, 3884, 2375, 1360).”
