And our shaykh Abu Abd Allah, may God have mercy on him, informed me by his chain of transmission going back to Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, who said that Abu Bishr used to say: Ali (AS) never saw anyone reviling the Prophet (PBUH) without leaping upon him, and every day he would come to his father beaten and with his head wounded. Abu Talib said to him about this: Be patient, my son, for patience is the wiser course. (Iman Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 276)
The narrator says: In the early days of the prophetic mission, Ali (AS) would come to blows with anyone who insulted the Messenger of God (PBUH), and every day he would reach home beaten and wounded. His father Abu Talib, seeing this, would say to him: My son, be patient! For patience is usually the best course.
From the Commander of the Faithful Ali (AS), that he said: By God, Abu Talib, Abd Manaf ibn Abd al-Muttalib, was a believer and a Muslim who concealed his faith out of fear for the Banu Hashim, lest Quraysh break with them. (Iman Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 363)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: By God, my father, Abu Talib, called Abd Manaf, son of Abd al-Muttalib, was a Muslim and a believer; but he concealed his faith so that Quraysh, out of respect for him, would not harm the Banu Hashim.