some people might think that there is something in the sunnah that contradicts the aforementioned principle, such as the following ḥadīth: from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) mentioned his uncle Abū Ṭālib, and said: "Perhaps my intercession will benefit him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be placed in a shallow part of the Fire, reaching his ankles, from which his brain will boil."

- from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) mentioned his uncle Abū Ṭālib, and said: "Perhaps my intercession will benefit him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be placed in a shallow part of the Fire, reaching his ankles, from which his brain will boil." from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) mentioned his uncle Abū Ṭālib and said: "Yes, he is in a shallow part of the Fire, and if it were not for me (meaning his intercession), he would be in the lowest depth of the Fire." Narrated by Muslim (1/135), Aḥmad (3/50-55), Ibn ʿAsākir (19/51/1), and Abū Yaʿlá in his "Musnad" (folio 86/2). Our response to this is also from two perspectives: first, we do not find in the ḥadīth anything that contradicts the aforementioned principle, as it does not state that Abū Ṭālib's deeds are the reason for the lightening of the punishment upon him, but rather the reason is the intercession of the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), which benefits him. This is supported by the following ḥadīth: from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib that he said: O Messenger of Allāh, have you benefited Abū Ṭālib with anything, for he used to protect you and become angry for your sake? He said: "Yes, he is in a shallow part of the Fire, and if it were not for me (meaning his intercession), he would be in the lowest depth of the Fire."