ʾAbū Ṭālib on the dilemma of tradition and truth; Explaining action based on choice theory

According to historical data, ʾAbū Ṭālib was one of the greatest figures in the last period of the Arab ignorance history and the early Islamic era who played an effective and positive role in Prophet life. To his traditional position order, he had three missions; defending the family and its coherency, protecting the tribal system, city and its structure, and caring for the accepted rites and beliefs, yet he had another choice that allowed a gentle transformation of the society toward the truth. However, his actions were not acceptable from the viewpoint of peers and elders of Mecca. The main question of the present article is how ʾAbū Ṭālib acted in the dilemma of tradition and truth and whether he was concerned about the truth in supporting the Prophet (PBUH) or due to the social and cultural order tries to protect the tribe. This study seeks a defensible answer for the issue without insisting on doctrinal conflicts through historical and content analysis methods and based on Glasser’s choice theory which is an attempt to explain the human action in choosing the way of life according to fundamental needs. The article hypothesis is that his actions in confronting events were dependent on truth-seeking not defending the tradition. Anyhow, the author acknowledges that there are many works about ʾAbū Ṭālib,‌ his actions and doctrinal tendencies, but still has to be discussed from the viewpoint of the present article which has an anthropological approach beyond religious views.