In the whole lineage of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), each and every person is not only free of Shirk and Kufr, but instead they were very beloved to Almighty Allah with fine characters and superior qualities and attributes.
As is mentioned in the Hadith that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:
I have come through Nikah (marriage) and not through any unlawful relations. (Sunan Kubra Lil Baihaqui, Vol. 10, Pg. No. 454; Seerat Halbiya, Vol. 1 ,Pg. No. 33, Khasais Kubra, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 37)
From the birth of Hadhrat Adam (peace be upon him) to my birth, nothing from the era of ignorance has touched me and Allah Ta'ala says:
Allah Ta'ala says:
O Prophet! We kept transferring your Noor into worshippers.
Surah Ash-Ashu'ara-219
The Mufassirin (exegetes of the Holy Quran) have said that it means that Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has been passed on through pure personages.
ِThere is a Tradition in Abu Naeem that the Holy Prophet has been passed on from one Prophet to another Prophet until He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was born from the womb of His mother.
In the lineage of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), all the ancestors are superior to the ancestors of everyone else. As is mentioned in the Hadith of Tabarani and Baihaqui:
Translation of Hadith: Ummul Momineen Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua (May Allah be well pleased with her) says: Jibrail (peace be upon him) says: I have seen the whole east and the west and couldn't find anyone better than the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and any family more distinguished than Bani Hashim.
The great ancestors of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), Hadhrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had two sons – (1) Hadhrat Ismail (peace be upon him) (2) Hadhrat Ishaaq (peace be upon him)
Hadhrat Ishaaq (peace be upon Him) had a son whose names are Hadhrat Israil and Hadhrat Yaqoob (peace be upon him). That's the reason his progeny is called Bani Israil, lit. the people of Israel.
Before Hadhrat Isa (Peace be upon him), all the Prophets were from Hadhrat Yaqoob's progeny. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) belongs to the relations of Hadhrat Ismail. The Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is a descendent of the Hadhrat Ismail (peace be upon him). In his progeny, excepting the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), no other Prophet has come into this world. His Noor has been passed on from person to person. Almost 570 years after Hadhrat Isa (peace be upon him), the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) graced the world with His presence.
Details about His parents:
The Holy Prophet's (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) father's name is Hadhrat Abdullah (May Allah be well pleased with him). Hadhrat Abdullah was the most favorite son of his father Hadhrat Abdul Mutallib. His marriage was performed in Mecca. Hadhrat Abdullah (May Allah be well pleased with him) had gone to Syria for business and while returning, he passed away on reaching Madina and he was buried in that city. This city was the birthplace of his grandmother. The Ottoman Sultanate had built a great mausoleum for him.
The Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has arrived to rescue the whole universe from ignorance and misguidance and to enlighten them with the radiance of guidance and to make them worthy of Jannah. Is it possible in anyway that those who follow His command enter Jannah, His own parents could be, May Allah protect us, deprived of this ni'mah? This kind of talk about the parents of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is nothing but hurting the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). The Holy Quran says that whosoever hurts Almighty Allah and His Prophet, on them is the curse of Allah, both in this world and the hereafter and a humiliating punishment is readied for them.
The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would express His displeasure even if His relatives were troubled. As Ibn Abid Dunya, Ibn Mardwyaiah, Ibn Asaker narrate that a person told Hadhrat Durra (May Allah be well pleased with her) that you are the daughter of that Abu Lahab about whom Almighty Allah has said : "both the hands of Abu Lahab should be damaged and he was destroyed. Hadhrat Durra (May Allah be well pleased with her) complained about this to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: O people! What is this? I am being hurt about my family members. By Allah! My intercession will benefit my relatives.
Now think! If somebody taunts about Abu Lahab, who died as a disbeliever, then it hurts the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Then speaking ill about the parents, when their Iman is established by a verse of the Holy Quran and many Hadith, how much painful is this to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)
The scholars and the Hadith-Experts (Muhaddithin) have described 3 points about the Iman of the parents of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)
1. Their period was the period of Fitrah i.e. there was no Prophet, only faith in Allah Ta'ala was enough. They never committed any disbelief (Kufr).
2. They were already Momin (believers) and their Iman was never blemished at all.
3. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) miraculously brought them back to life and had them recite the Kalima (the affirmation of faith).
His parents were believers:
His parents were on the religion of their ancestor Hadhrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him). This is because the forefathers of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) were pure of any outward or inward shortcoming. Kufr and Shirk is also a kind of shortcoming about which there are innumerable proofs that His parents had stayed away from it. Hadhrat Imam Fakhruddin Razi and Hadhrat Imam Jalaaluddin Suyuti (May Allah shower His mercy on them) have written in the interpretation of the above verse that it means that the Noor of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was transferred from one person who performs Sajda to another. This shows that all the ancestors and elders of the Holy Prophet were Muslims.