THE LIFE OF

MUHAMMAD
A TRANSLATION OF I SI;IAQ'S
S[RAT RASOL ALLAH

A. GUILLAUME

OXFORD

OXFORD
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Author

ThcSlra

xiv

TheEditorlbnHishirn
AFragmcntofthel...oltBookofl\1\i.db.'Uqba

di
xliii

THE GEN EALOGY OF MUHAMMAD; TRADITIONS

~~~~~~6~o r:;~ s;::~~; !\~:~~~~Y,HAMMAD'S

Gene.logy
TheiOOthuyersShiqqandSatiQ
AbO Karib 'texpeditiontoYathrib

Underlined titles are linked to corresponding pages.

~~~:~: ~~~~:a:~:i~r
DhONuwAs
ChriatianicyinNajtin
'Abdullah b. al- Thlmir and the Christian martyra

~~=~:a:t!:::~~~o~~h~1;_:an
Peni.lndominationofthe Yaman

30

The de~C~::ndantaofNidrb.Ma'add

~::~olatry among the Anba

Thed~ndanuofMu4ar

ThediggingofZamum
Kinln.aandKhuz.l'aexpclJurhumandooeupytheK.a'ba
ThefwjjintheJihiiiy.

~::~

:::w::te

in Mw:a

ThewelltofMecca
'Abdu'lM.at~alibvowttoucrificehiaton

'Abdullahfatheroftheprophet

~i~~n':~rf:~~=rhet
Hismother'tdeath
Deathof 'Abdu'l-Munalibandelegieathereon
Abo. T&lib becomes Muhammad' iU&rdian
ThemonkBtbirt.

3S

,.

..",,

45,61

,,
~

...
68

73
73

Thetacrilegiouswu
MuhammsdmuriesKhsdijs
RebuildingoftheKa'ba
Thel:lums

:=::~~~=ti:;~i::d An~bt

predict Muhanm,.d's mission

Esrlymonotheisu
TheGospclprophecyofthesendingof'theComforter'

,,,,
,,,...

..

MuhammsdpreschestotheBeduin
lyllaocepu lllam
Jk&inning of Islam 11m0ng the Helpen
Thetintpled,eatai'Aqaba
InstirutionofFriday pn~yeninMedina

~==:.:':!!~.:\~~::aba

~:!J~~~::np;::h~m:;n Qun~rth
l;famuacx:epulslam
'Utbaattempuaeompromise
Conference with Qun~rth leaden. The chapter of The Cave

109

"'
,,,
"'
,,,

Meccans persecute Muhammad' followen

ThefintemigrantstoAby~tinia

'Uthmlnb.M~J'QnandAbQBakrrenouncetheirpmtecton

~~~~!:h~~~:::~: Muhammad

~: ;~ri:~~"; accept

among the Helpen

ThechapterofTheCow and Jewishopposition

,,,

,,,

...,,,,.,
'"
>n
,,,

Islam

Thenightjoumeyandtheucenttoheaven
Allahpunishnthemocken
TheltoryofAbQ Uuyhir
DethofAbaTllibandKhadija
Muhammadpreaehcsinal-TI'i

Muhammad'shijra
Hebuild11 mosqueandhouaesinMed.ina
CovensntwiththejewsandmenofMed.ina
BrotherhoodbetweentheEmignmuandtheHelpen
TheCal! to Prayer
AbQOart
j ewi1hopponen!B
'Abdullahb.Ssllmscceptslslam

~:J::: !~::oc"tet

Qun~rthtry!Oifetthemsent.back

Annullingoftheboycou
Tufaylb.'Amracx:epu lllam

Those with whom they lodged

"'
"'

MUHAMMAD'S MIGRATION TO MEDINA, HIS WARS,

TRIUMPH, AND DEATH
119

'Abdullahb.MaSQdrecitettheQun~npublicl y

HowtheNegusgainedhithrone
'Umaraooepu Islam
TI>edocumentproclaimingaboyeott
ActiveoppitiontoMuhammad
Histemponryconeeasiontopolytheism
1beretumofthefintemigranu

"'

'Arnr'lidol
Conditionsofthepledgeandnamesofthosepresent
AUahordenMuhammadtofight
TheE(nign~ntstoMed.ins

MUHAMMAD'S CALL AND PREACHING I N MECCA

HiscallandthebeginningoftheQuran
Kluodijsaooepu hlam
Prayerpre:ribed
'AJrthefintmalel\Juslim,thenAbQRikrandhiseonveru
Muhammsd p~achee and Qunrth reject him

,,.
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So

,,,

,,,
,,,

~:ud7!:::;n the Chriuiaru of Najrin

Fever in Medina

~e :!:':~!: Waddln

~mz;~~: t;theeout

::::::~~~-:=
RaidonSafwan
FightingintheucredlllQflth

i!:,:':~:d:rtheQibls
ZaynabsetsoutforMedina
AbQ'J.'Atscceptshlam
'Umsyrb.Wa,hbacx:eptslslam
The chsptc rofThe Spoil

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~= :~ ~~: ~::.n:.:hr:~~:: ~.::dr

N 1111aoftheQuray.h prisonen
Venaoonthebattle
RaidonB.Sulaym

::::~~h~~~:~
Raidon lliFunl'
AttackonB.Qaynuql'
Raidona\-Qanda
KillingofKa'bb.al-Aihraf
Mul;layripand l;luwayyip
Batt\eofUI)ud
TheQuranonUI)ud
N1111noftheMuslimas\ain atUI)ud
Nllllaoofthepolytheitta tlainatUI)ud
VenesonUQud

~~~;h~!~~R~r
TreacheryatDi'rMa'O.na
B.al-Na<;lirexiled
Poetry thereon
RaidofDhltu'l-Riql'
Lute;~:peditiontoBadr

::~eo:r~~:~~~Jandal
AruckonB.Quray;a
Poetry thereon
KillingofSalllm
' Amrb.al-'A,andKhllidb. al-Walidacceptlslam
Attack on B. Lii)yln
Anadr.onOhUQand
AttackonD.ai-MUf!aliq
Scandalabout'A'iha
Theaffairofal-l;ludaybiya

~:!~::~age
Tho.elefthelpleu
Women who migrated after the armiatice
E;~:peditiontoKhaybar

al-Aiwadtheahepherd

~;;:~::~~~~ spoils of Khaybar

N1111eaoftheOirfyUn
Retumoftheu.::ondbatchofemigranb

,.

~ f:fi~~!ilgrimage

,.
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,

Theoc:cupationoCMeoca
Khilidfollowedby ' Aligofonhumissionariea
Khlliddettroy.al-'Uul

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~:.o~=yn
Caprureofai-Tl'if
OiviaionothetpoillofHawhin

:~:::::

Theoppot.itionmo.que

~ru:!:nho~-~fromtheraidonTabUk
AbilDakrln<:bthepilgrimage
l;lulln'todesonthea.mpaignl

~: !~;;!;!e Deputations
'Amir b. al-Tufayl and Arbad b. Qay.
DeputationfromB.Sa'd
Deputationfrom'A~u'J-Qay.

OeputationfromB.l;lanifa
lhputatiDnfromTayyi'
Adiyb.J:I.itim
DeputationofFuwa
DtpuHotionfromB.Zubayd
DtputltionfromKinda
Deputation from .t-Am
lnputationfroml;limyar
Fann b. Amr ac:cepll bbm
B.I;Jlrithacoeptblam
Thefabeprophe11Munylimaandal-Aiwwi
Thefarewellpil&rirnage
Ulltna'aapeditiontoPalutine
Muhamrnad'smiasionstoforeignrulen
AtummaryofMuhammlld'trai<:bandexpeditionl
Ghllib'sraidonB.al-Mulawwal)
Zayd.'araidonjudhlm
Zayd'sraidonB.FWra
'Abdullahb.Rawll]a'raidtokillal-Yuuyr
'Abdullahb.Unay.'tn.idtokillKhllidb.Sufyln

ci'~r:.::_r;:~:B~Mal:~bar
'Amrb.aJ-'.\f'traidonDhlru'l-Salhil

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ldam

'Abdu'l-R.l;Lmln'traidonDWnllu'l-Jandal
Abil'Ubydl'traidtothecout
Sll.imb. 'Urn~yr'tnidtokiiJAbil'Afak
'Umtyrb.'Adiy'tnidtokiii'Aimi'
Ctptu re of Thumlm b. Athll
'Aiq~m~~ '1raid

~~i~~:~:~~hey~
~~;~~~of Muhammld'1 illnrM
ThemtttinginthehallofB.SI'ida
Prepantiontforburi.al
l;ludn'tpanegyric

PropcrNamel
Ian Ad
Subjecta

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INTRODUCTION

MUHAMMAD, son of I~Aq, son of Yadr, Wllll born in Medina about

A.H.85anddiedinBaghdadin 151. 1 HisgrandfatherYISlrfellintothe
hands of Khllid b. a!- \Valid when he captured 'Aynu'l-Tamr in A.H. 12,
havif!3bccnheldthereasaprilonerbythc:Penianking. Khilidsenthim
with a number of prilonen to AbU Bah at Medina. There he was landed
over IO Qay. b. Mlkhrama b. al-MunaJib b. 'Abdu Manlf u a alave, and
was manumitted when he accepted Islam. His family dopted the family
nameoftheirpatrona. His10n l~iq was born1bout the year so, his
mother being the daughter of another freedman. He and his brother
MUsiwereweU-knowntraditionista,IOthatourauthor'tplthinlifewas
prep~redbeforehereachedmanhood.'

He auociated with the second generation of tnditionista, notably

ai-ZuhrT, '~im b. 'Umar b. Qatlda, and 'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr, He m\Ut
havedevotedhimselftotheatudyofapostolictraditionfromhiyouth,for
attheageofthirtyhewent toEgypttoattendthelecturesofYazTd b.
AbUJ:Iabib,J The rehewasregardedasanauthority,forthisaameYUid
afterwardsrelatedtraditionaonlbn bQ.iq'aauthority. Onhiareturnto
Medina he went on with the collection and arrangement of the material
he hadcotlccted. Al-Zuhri,whowasinMedinainu3,isreportedtohave
aaid that Medina wou ld never lad. 'ilm as long u Ibn J.Q.iq was there, and
heeagerlygathe redfrom himthedetailsoftheprophet'wan. Unfortunatelylbnl~iqcxcitedtheenmityofMAlikb.Anas,forwhoeeworkhe

ahowcdhisoontempt,anditwasnot longbeforchiaownwritingsandhis
orthodoxywcreca.Uedinquestion. Probablyitwasourauthor'l lo.tbook
or Sulltm'whichcxcited MAlik' ire, for it would have been in the field
oflawbasedonthcpracticcofthcprophetthatdifference~wouldbcmost

keenly felt. HewasaccuscdofbcingaQadariandShi'l. Another man

attacked his veracity: he often quoted FiJima, the wife of Hishlm b.
' Urwa, u the authority for 10me of his traditions. The huaband was
annoyedanddeniedthathehadevermethilwife ;butuabewunearly
forty yean Ibn ls~Aq' senior it is easily credible that they often met
withoutoccuioninggosaip. Itianotknownwhcthcrlbnbl;\iqwascompelledtoleaveMedinaorwhetherhewentawayvoluntarily. Obviotaly
hecouldnothavetheaameatandinginaplaocthathouaedhiathief
'I.S.vu.ii.p.67

:::~~t~=.I:t~~~Ft;:.:::t~s~~:.~
'WIII><n(dd,u.vH,froml.al-N~UldFikk,JO.

THE S[RA

Likei.I.hewatghento insertingpoeuyinhistnditiontandjustifiedthe
habitbytheexampleof'A'ishawhoutteredvenesoneveryaubjectth.a.t
presented itself.' Hewatafriendoftheeroticpoet'Umarb.Rabi"a,but
thoughtverylittleoftheprophet'spoetl;lasslnb.Thlbit.
OfShural)bil b.Sa'd,afreedman,prcsumablyofSouthArabianorigin,
little is known beyond the fact that he wrote a magluUi ~k. 1.1. wou~d
have ':Wne of him, and he is seldom quoted by other ~ters. He die~ tn
12J,andashe isuidtohavek.nownAiihemusthavedtedacentenanan.
He n:ported tradit!ons from some of_the prophet's companio~, and
MQalb.'Uqba, recordsthathewrotehataofthen.arncsoftheemtgranta
andthecombatantaatBadrand U~ud. Inhisoldagehewasdiscredited
becauseheblackmailedhisvisitors:iftheydidnotgivehimanythinghe
wouldaaythattheirfathenwerenotpreaentatBadr!Povertyandextreme
age made him cantankerous. Thevictimsofhisapleendoubtedhisveracity,
thoughthoaebcstqu.alifiedtojudgeregardedhimuanauthority.
AnotherimportantTibi'wasWahbb.Munal)bih(J-1.-IIO),aYatn211ile
of Persian origin. His father prob~bly wu a Jew: He~ notorious for h~
intercstin,andknowledgeof,JewashandChriattanacnpturesandtradt
tions;andthoughmuchthatwasinventedlaterwqfathen:iionhim,hia
K.a/Mubtada'licsbehindtheMuslimversionofthelivesofthepropheta
andotherbiblicalstories. Withhisbook.sonthe legendaryhistoryofthe
Yaman,onaphorisms,onfreewill,andothermatterspreservedinpart!~

I.H.'s K. al-17jcfn we are not concerned; but the ltatement of Ha.ul

Khallfathatheoollecttdthemagh!Uiisnowconfirmedbythediscoveryofa
fragment of the lost work on papyri written in uS. Unfortunat~ly this
fragment tells us little that isnew;nevertheleas,itaimportancetsgrtllt
becauseitprovcsthatattheendofthefirstcentury,orsomeyearsbefore
A.H. tOO, the main facta about the prophet' life were written down much
as we have them in the later works. Further it shows that, like the other
earlytraditionista,hehadlittleor nouseforimlfds. MisaGertrudMel amede~
has compared the account of the m~ting at 'Aqaba (cf. i. H. 288, 293, 2.99)
withtheliteratureonthesubjectandhercriticism, literaryandhistorical,
leads her to some important conclusion which do not concern us here. An
interesting detail is that Muhammad apeaking to 'Abbia calls Aus and
Khnraj 'my and your maternal uncles'. 'Abbia throughout runs with the
hareandhuntawiththehounde.
A little later cornea 'A,im b. 'Umar b. Qatida 1-Antirl (d. c. no). He
lecturedinDaiTUICUsonthecampaignsoftheprophetand theexploia
ofhiscompanionsmdseemstohaveoommilted hislecturestowriting.
He tooisquite inconsistentinnaminghilauthoritiea:.ometimcahegivea
an Urufd, mort: often he does not. He returned to Medina to continue his
work,andl.l.attendtdhis lecturesthert:. Occaaionallyheinsertedvenea
inhis narrative,andsometimesgave his ownopinion.
1

Fiochet,A<hfd,46.
'l.l;lojat,TilJulldb,,.J61.

1 Horvvia.op.eii,SJI .
'L.MOJt40ri..,I..U,,.,viii.I9J4,17-58

The Life of Muhammad

Muhammad b. Mualim ... b. Shihilb al-Zuhri (51-124) was a member of
a distinguished Me<:can family. He attached himself to 'Abdu'I-Malik,
Hishlm, and Yuid, and wrote down some t111ditions for his princely

~i!~d~;;~~:~~~=:~e ~~~e~a;~~~;a:~:~:f ~~~:x~. ~=

0

mightpoueuknowledgeofthepast. He lcftahistoryo_fhisownfamiiy
andaboolr.of'""'h4zi Mostofhistraditionalloresumvedinthenotes
of his lecture~ that hispupilswrotedown quotinghisauthorityforthe
traditionstheyrecord. He spcntaomeyearsinMedinaasayoungman.
I.I. met him when he came aouth on pilgrimage and he is often named as an
authority in the ~ira. He wu the most _important t~ditionist of _his

~:~~t~~(~~~:h~rij~~;:,.i~~~~m:C~u~~!~ ~~~~~~)ru of canomcal

'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr b. Muharrunad b. 'Amrb.l:lum (d. 130 or 135)
was one of I.I.'s most important inf~rmanu. H~ father had bee_n orde~ed
by 'Uma.r b. 'Abdu'I'Azlz to wnte a coUecllOn of prophetiC h~llh,
e~peeially what 'Amra d. 'Abdu'I-Ral.unln said. This la~ter w~ a fnen.d
of'A'ilhaandehewastheauntofthisAbliBakr. Alreadymthellmeofh~t
aon'Abdullahthesewritingshadbeenlost. Thoughwehavenorecordof
abooiby'Abd ullah,iueubstanceprobablyonceexistedinthemagll4%iOf
his nephew 'Abdu'l-Malii. At one would expect, the isn4d is a m:J.tter of
indifferenceto'Abdullah:heatoodtoonearthee\entsamongmanywho
lr.newofthemtoneedtocite hilauthorities. Tab. (i. 18J7)containsan
intereatingnoteon how I.I. got his information. 'Abdullah told his wife
FIIima to tell him what he knew on 'Amra's authority.
Abli'l-A.twad Muhammad b. 'Abdu'I-Ral;uniln b. Naufal (d. 131 or
I37)1efta'""8h4zibookwhichstickscloselyto'UI"\\-a'atradition.'

u~~t~~rs~;;>~t~~~~~rt~; f~il~~:.t~:;~~n :~:~: !r

hitworlthassurvivedandwaapubiiShedbySachaum 1904-' Alit once
rivalledl.l.'awork.andisoneofourearlie~twitnessestotheSiralhave

Al~ghMlliltb.An~,
al-Shilfi'i,andAJ:!madb.l:lanbal--animpresshe. tn~rtedthathta

givenatransl.ationoftheextanttraditions.J

book.wuthell'IOitimportantandtrustworthyofall, posterity evidently

did not ahare their opinion or more of his work would have survived.
1.1. never mentions him. One cannot escape the conviction that petty
profeaaionaljealouaywuasrifeinthosedaysuhow,andthatscholara
deliberately refrained from giving their predeecssors credit for their
achievements. MO.Il. leanedheavilyonal-Zuhri. Heseemstohnecarried
farther the procesaofidealizing the prophet.' He is freely quoted by
al-Wiqidl, I. Sa'd, al-Balldhurl, Tabari, and I. Sayyidu'INb. He gne
'SccFOcl:,u.

'S.B.B.A.xi.

... i.wl>onoomodt>ubu "abouttheauohonticityofoomoofohotn.,..,.,ioed.

Gotd&il>or,M.S.ii.~, obowo thotitwuindn:ulouonulato iO ohoondoftho9th
Flkk, ~

conNry ~. H

lists of those who went to Abyssinia and fought at Badr. The latter
l\liilikregardeduauthoritati\'c. Hegenerallygivesanisttdd,thoughitis
notalwaysclearwhetherheisrelyingonawrinenor anoralsource. Once

~~~~:~~;~:~~:t~ ;::m:.f records

left by Ibn 'Abbls (I.S. v. z16).

Apart from the fragment of Wahb b. Munabbih'a mQglui::i the Berlin

l\IS.,ifitisauthcntic,istheoldc:stpieceofhistoricalliteratureinArabicin
1
a:t:aas::
::::
inllukhiirl(d.:t)6)morethanacentury.
Other maghii::i works were produced in Iraq, Syria, and the Yaman
duringthe secondcentury, butnoneofthemislikelytoha,einfluenced
1.1. a':ld they can sa~ely be disregarded.' What is of signifiamce is the

~~~.enl~i. :~~~;~!n~:C

tte:~~:

:!'~~ ~f~:i~~d~~~=

~~~.a~~~::r;:t i~~;:~f~k~~:::~~:\~:a~~~s~~~; ~:eJ:~::p~~:i~~

comprehenlti'Ciles.s, arrangement, or systematic treatment, with I. I.'s work
whichwillnowbediscussed.

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

and darknes:'. Then He scpan.ted them and made the darkneu night,
blackexceedmgdark;andllemadethelightday,brightandluminous."'
Fromthisitisclearthat'Genesis'isthemcaningofthetitleofthefirst
sectionofthebook. I.H.skipptdalltheinterveningpagcaandbcganwith
Abraham, the presumed ancestor of Muhammad. Al-Azraqi quotes some
passages from the missing section in his Alchbar Mu:ca and a few extracts
are given byal-Mufahharb. T~hir.'
TheMuhtada' insofarasit lies outside I.H.'srecensionisnotour
oonctm,thoughitistobchopcdthatonedayascholarwilloolltctand
publishatextofitfromthesourcesthatsurvivesothatl.I.'aworkcanbe
readinitsentirctyasitaimportancewarn.nts. lnthisscctionl.l.relicdon
Jewish and Christian informant& and O!\ the book of AbU 'Abdullah Wahb
b.Munabbih(J4-I IOOI114)knownasK.al-Muhtada'andalsoa/-lmf'iliyat of which the original title was QiJapll-Anbi"yti'. To him he owed
the history of the past from Adam to Jesus 1 and also rhe South An.bian
legends, some of which I.H. has retained. This man also wrote a magh4:d
book,andafragmentofithasaurvived. 1 I.I.citeahimbynameonlyonce."
It is natunlthat a book about Muhammad, 'thesealoftht propheta',
shouldgiveanaocountof thehistoryofth!' earlypropheta,butthe
history, or legends, of South Arabia demand another explanation. As
Gold:dhershowtdlongago, 1 itwasinthcaeoondhalfofthefillltctntury
that the antagonism of north and south, i.e. Quraysh and the Anpr of
Medina, first showed itself in literature. The Anflr, proud oftheir southcm
originandoftheirsupportoftheprophetwhentheQurayshrejcctedhim,
smanedunderthtinjustictoftheirrulersandthenorthtmer'sclaimto
Buptriority. Oneofthtwaysinwhichtheirresentrncntmanifesteditself
was in the glorification ofl;limyar's great past. 1.1. as a loyal son of
Mcdinashartdthefeelingsofhispatrontandrecountedtheachievementl
ofthtirforefathers,andi.H.,himselfofsouthcrndescent,retainedinthe
Sira as much of the original work as he thought desirable. To this accident
that J.H . was al;limyarf we owe the extracts from stories of the old South
Arabian kings. I.H. devoted aaeparatebookto theaubjtct, the K. aiTijtinli-mo'rijati muliiki l-:tam4n(fi akhbari Qa&Jan).fi
Theaccondaectionofthtbookwhichi.softencalleda/-Mab'alhbegin'
withthebirthoftheprophetandendswhcnthefillltfightingfromhi.sbast
in Medina takes place. The impression one gets from this section is of
hazy memories; the stories have lost their freshness and have nothing of
thatvividandsometimesdramaticdetailwhichmakethemoghtizistories-espeeially in ai-Wiqidi-sofullofintcrestandexcitemcnt. Thuswhiletht
Mcdinan period is well documented, and e\ents there arc chronologically crangcd, no such accuracy, indeed no such attempt at it, can be
'd.ondtr.Cl.Huart,P..W.dl'kokduiD"'.or. .,;.,.,,.iv,YOI.ni,i-vi.Porio,ISw-

~~~n;~1ei~~sl~: ::::::c!~~n~ t:=I~~gio':,n;:~~n;~~:~gid:;ls~

and .I~aving them to ~heir unbelief'.' This is not a statement resting on

but a ~netiC summary of the circumstances that are plainly
mdtcated by certam paMages of the Oun.n which deal with this period
OftheMaghtfzihistorylittleneedbeaaid. Forthemoat partthestorics
restontheaccountofeyewitnessnandhaveevcryrighttobcregardtdas
trustworthy.
~ra~1tton,

Theopinionsofl\."luslimcriticaoni.I.'strustworthinessdtser\'ea spccial
paragraph;butheresomethingmaybesaidoftheauthor'scautionandhis
fairness. Awordthat\'tryfrequentlyprecedesastatemcntis.:a'amaor
.:a'amii, 'he (they)alkged'. It carries with it more than a hint that the
statement may not bt true,thoughoritheotherhanditmaybesound.
Thustherearefourteenormoreoccurrencesofthecaveatfromp.87to
t48alone,besidesafrequentnotethatonlyGodknowJwhetherapartic~\ar statem_cnt istrueornot. Anotherin_dicationofreserveifnotsceptictsm~nderhestheexpressionfim4dhuk~rali, asinthestoryofthejinn
who liStened to Muhammad aa he prayed; Muhaffillllld's order to 'Umar
to kill Suwayd; one of Gabriel's visit! to Muhammad; the reward of two
marty111 to the man killed by a woman. 1 An expression of similar import is
fiwuJbalaghanU

Very seldom does l.l. make any comment of his own on the traditions

~hi:~~!:~:~t~~:ro~;~;:=.at:n:~:~~::~~~~~~~::~~~:~!n~~=~
pr~~;.?t~~~~ 2 ~~~~ ~=~ulion inllodU<eo m: 1~;;~.\ts~~J~?~h~~;
1

Aoummaryoflhcconlenuisjti~ninT.i

1 M.S.i. 89--98

claimed for the Mcccan period. We do not know Muhammad's age when
hefirstcamtforthpubliclyasareligiousrefQnner:somesayhewasforty,
othenaay forty-five; we do not know his precise relation to the Bann
Najjlr;the_po,erty.of.hichildhood illfits theassertionthathtbclonged
totheprinctpalfamdy!nMecca. Thcstoryofthoseyeanisfilledoutwith
legenda andstoriesofmiraculouseventawhichinevitablyunderminethe
modemreadcr'sconfidtnceinthehistoryofthisperiodasawhole. In
this section particularly, though not exclusively, I.I. write11 historical
introductions to his paragraphs. A good example is his foreword to the
aocountofthcpcnecutiontheprophetendured atthehand.softht
Mcccans_:'WhentheQurayshbecamedistressedbythctroublecausedby
the cnm1ty between them ~d the apost_Ie and those of their people who
accepttdhisttaching,theysurredupagatn.sthimfoolishfcllo"I\11Whocalled
him a liar, insulted him, andac:cusedhimofbeingapoet,asorctrer,a
di'":iner,andofbeingpos.sessed._ However theapostlecontinuedtopro-

p. ~0
0 Jloycl orabad, 'l4~

the

Tht LJt of Muhammad

heallowaustosee the working of his mind. The story is everywhere
hedgedwithreservationsandtermssuggestingcautiontothereader. He
begins with a ble which he tlyt hu reached him (balaglwni) from Kveral
narratorsandhehupiecedthemtogetherfromtheatoriesthesepeople
heard(d/uJtir12). Thewholeaubjectisasearchingtestofmen'sfaithin
which thole endowed with intelligence are specially concerned. It wu
certainly an act of God, but enctly what happened we do not know. Thia
opinionofhiaiamo.tdelicatelyandskilfullyexpressedintheworda
Jeayj12llt4'12, 'how God wiahed to ahow him'. 1. Mas'iid'a word& are
prefacedbyfiffl4btdaglwni'I2Jilw. Thereisnothinginthestorytoindicate
th.atitiaaviaion. Al-l:fuan'sveraioniamuchmoreddinite, forheassertl
that when Muhammad returned 10 Mea::a he told the Ouraysh that he had
becotoJCI'\l.NJemandlcltduringthenightandthatthissoatrainedthe
credulityofaomeoftheMualimsthattheygaveuptheirfaithinhisre\elatioraalthoughhewuabletogiveanacc:uratedescriptionofJerusalem.
It is therefore mostsurpriaingthatal-l:lasan should end his story by
quotingSUrat3.6a'Wemadethetln"mtwhichweshowedtheeonlyfora
testtomen'inthiacontext. Thewholepointofal-l:fasan'astoryisthereby
undermined,foriftheexperiencewasvisionary,thentherewasnothing
atallincredibleaboutit. Then follows 'A'isha'sstatement,,reportedby
oneofherfather'tfamilyJthatitwuonlytheapostle'sspirit that was
transported; hia body remained where it was in Mecca. Another tradition by Mu'iwiya b. AbU Sufy~n bears the same meaning. The fact that he
had been uked whether it was a ph~ical or a dream journey shows that the
aubjectwasdebaledbeforel.I.'aday. Herel.l.makesaprofoundobservation which in effect means that it was immaterial whether the experience
wu real or visionary becauK it came from God; and just as Abraham made
everypreparationtoalayhisaonlsaacinconsequenceofwhathehadseen
inadream'becauseherecognizcdnodifferencebetwcenadivinecommand
givenatnightduringtlcepandan ordergivenbydaywhenhewuawake,
aotheapoatle'tviaionwasjuatasrealasifithadbeenanactual phyaical
experience. Only God knows what happened, but the apostle did see what
hesaidhesawandwhetherhewasawakeoraslceptheresultisthenme.
The description of Abraham, Mosca. and Jesus which purportl to quote
Mtahanunad'awordsiaprefacedby::~l2'ams'l-Zwhri,not,asoften, by the
ordinary term ~atitiath12ni. Now as al-Zuhrtand I.I. knew each other

~: t':a~ r~~~e~i~era~e~~ ~~::~~~~: :;;~ :~~to~:~o;~~~:~f~~ ~~:n:~

termuaedintraditionalmattersthathemeansustotakethistraditionwith
agrainofnlt.
lt isapitythattheexcellentimpressionthatonegetsoftheauthor'a
intelligenceandreligiouaperceptionahouldbemarredbytheconcluding
paragraph'onthia subjectof theascentintoheaven which incidentally
huhad far-reaching resuluon European literature-through the Divine
-..

p.~67.

Comedy.' hrulesoutabsolute lyanybutaph~icalexperienceandought

to have been recorded with its cautionary note before 1.1. made hiaown
obscrvations.PossiblytherCU(Inforitsbeingout ofplace iat hat itisan
CJCcerptfrom hislecturenotes;butwhatC\er theexplanation,itm.arsthe
effectofhisstatemcntoftheevidence.
The phrase 'God know-s best' speaks for itself and needs no comment.
h issomctimesusedwhentheauthorrccordatwoconflictingtraditiora
andiaunable to nywhichiscorrect. Anotherindicationoftheauthor's
scrupulousness is the phrase'God preserve me from attributing to the
apostlewordswhichhedidnotuse'. HisreportofMuharrunad'sfirstpublic:
addresaatMcdinaandhisordertoeachofhiscompanionatoadoptanother
u abrotherareprefixedbythesewordaandhedgedbyfim4b12lqhani.l
The author does not often give us rival versions of traditions from
MedinaandMecca;thustheaccountof'Umar'sconvcraionisinteresting.
Itillustratesthe thoroughnessofourauthorinhissearchforinformation
abouttheearlydaysoftheprophet'sministry. Thefirstaccounthe u.ysis
based on what the traditionists of Medina said: 'Umar was brutal to hit
sister and brother-inlaw who had accepted Islam, but feeling some
remorse when he saw blood on her face from the violent blow he had dealt
hcr,andimprcssedbyhcrconstancy,hedemandedthe leafoftheQuran
thallshewasreading. Havingrcaditheatonceacc:eptcd itasinapiredand
wenttotheprophcttoproclaimhisallegiance.
The Mcccan, 'Abdullah b. Abii Naji~, on the authority of t\\"0 named
companionsorananonymousnarrator,givesanothcrversionin'Umar't
own words to the effect that his conversion was due to his hearing the
prophetrecitetheQuranwhileprayingattheK(baonenight. ln botb
narratives it was the Quran which caused his conversion. In the first
version'Umarwasaffectedbythebearingofhiasisterand sec:uredapartof
the Quran to read himself; in the second he was affected by the pri\'ltC
devotionsoftheprophet. Thefirst storyisprefixedbyfim4bahzglll2nl,but
thisiscancelledu itwerebytheexpressstatemcntthatitwas thec:urrent
beliefofthepeopleofl\"ledina. I.I. concludesbysayingthatonlyGod
knowswhatreallyhappened.
Aratherdiffic:ultprobleminliteraryandhistoricalcriticismisposedby
the rival traditions1 collectedbytheindefatigableT. fromtwoofi.I.'s
pupils, Yiinusb. Buk.ayrandSa1amab.al-FaQI,thelattersupportedby
anotherpupilofl.l.'anamed Aiib.Mujihid. Thefirsthadattendedhis
lectures in KUfa;theothertwohislecturesat Ray. Allthree claimthat
they transmitwhati.I.toldthemontheauthorityofacertain'Aflf. I do
notknowofaparallelinl.l.'aworktoamntradictionreatingontheauthority
of the same original narrator. Different traditions from different r4wil
fromdifferentsourcesaretobeexpectedinanyhistory;butheretheume

Intrinsically as we have argued, the second tradition has the better

claim to authenticity. lfthat isadmitteditfollowsthateitherl.l .orhis
rWiadapteditintheintcrestofthcAiidcause. In \iewoftheaccusation
of partiality towa~ the Shi'a which w~ levelled against 1.1. ' it seenu
probablethatheh!msclfgavcasubtle!wtsttothctraditionthathadcomc
down to him from 'Afif, and afterwards played for safety

a~t o~cg::~ ~c~7~~ ~e~ot;:;r,w:~!c7: ::~::ei;t~~e a:'g:t~~~~~u7r

1

~~;;~~c:~:~~;;7$::~},:~~~~f~;~fe;:~:~;:~

:::;2

c:::o:

~:0~:~.:~~~O:n~:~:~~d~~h:f :~~IS~~ h:,;r:!~c=~d~t

0
1
1
1
~~~~~~f~:~;~~fa~~:e~e::n:::~:~ g:::t r~a~ ;rr:, ~~e~:;~: ~;~~:~~:;

grea_tncss. Here":carcconccmedsimplywiththe littr.tl')'fonnofsuch

:~~~: ~~~~~:u~~~~~~i.::.a~~e ~-~~:~~f~r f~~~ ~~~d ;:ocp~:; ~~~\~~~c~u:

llltl~
~vn~~-~:; ~~~~ ~:~~~~s=~~d~~:::~~ i:rt:~~~~~ ~:~~~~~~ ~~u~:~~:~:

111111
c~::~~!o~~~~1~,~~r~z~9:,:;~~-~:~:r'~~~!d ;~d~-...

The Life of Muhammad

inheavenatSa'd'sarriva\;otherscbimedthattheangelicbearcrsofthe
throne were meant. ButSuhayliwillha,enoneofthis. The throne is a
Createdobjectandsoitcanmove. Thereforenonehas theright todepart
fromtheplainmeaningoftheworda. l\1oreover,thetraditionisauthcntic
whiletraditionslikethatofai-Barrl'totheetfectthatitwasSa'd's bed
thatshookarerightlyignoredbythe\camed. Hegoesontopointoutthat
al-Bukhiiriaeptedthetraditionnotonlyontheauthorityof Jibirbut
a\soonthereportofanumberofothercompanionsoftheprophct-a
furtherindicationofthesnowballgrowthofthelegcnd. S.findsitmost
surprising that MAlik rejectcdthehadithandhe addsnaively fromthe
point of view of late r generations that MAlik would not have it mentioned
despite thesoundnessofitstransmiuionandthemultitudeofnarraton,
andheaddsthatitmaybethatMiilikdidnotregardthetraditionassound1
The passage isinstroctive in thatit ahows how far I.I. couldgo in the
face of one of the most learned of his contemporaries in Medina. Posterity
has sided with 1.1. on this malter, but Miilik dearly had many on his side
at the time, men who would not take at its face value a story which they
couldnotrejectoutofhand,ashedid,withtheweightofcontemporary
opinion behind it.
Another feature that stands out dearly from time to time is the insertion
ofpopularstoriesonthe Goldilocks model. Forthesakeofthereader
lhave renderedthesestorics inaccordwithmodernusage,asthe repctition
of the same words and the same answer again and again is intolerable to
the modem adult. Such stories are the stock-in-trade of the Arabian
qcf111nd the storyteller I ll theworldoverand invariably lead up to the
climax which it is the speaker's intention to withhold until he has his
audience on tiptoe. A good example of such stories is the narrative of
Muhammad'sarriv:a.l in Medina and the invitation of one clan after another,
alwaysdeclinedwiththesamewords.'
Aftcrgivingduewcighttothcpressurcofhagiologyonthewritcrandhis
JeaningtO\\'ards theShi'aonemust,Ithink,affirmthatthelife?fMu~a'_Tl

madia recorded with honesty and trothfulnessand,too, an 1mpart1ahty

whiehisrareinsuchwritings. Whocanreadtheatoryofai-Zabir, who
wasgivenhislife,family,andbelongingsbutdidnotwanttolivewhenthe
bestmenofhispeoplehad beenslain,withoutadmittingthathcrewehave
atrueacoountofwhatactuallyhappened?Similarlywhobutanimpartial
historianwou\dhaveincludedven;esinwhich thenoblegcnerouseharacter
of the Jcm of the Hijaz was lauded and lamented ? The scepticism of
earlicrwritenaeemsto me excessive and unjustified. We have only to
compare later Lives of Muhammad to see the difference between the
historica\ andtheidca1Muhammad.1

The Life of Muhammad

societywouldrequireustoloolr.forsucheffusions. All Horovitz pointed
out, in pre-Islamic poetry these poetical contests are frequent, and it
mightbeaddedthatinearlyHebrew historyversesarefrequentlyinserted
inthenarrativesandoftenputintothemouthsof theheroesofthehour.
Thus, apart from those poems which undoubtedly were called fonh by the
eventstheycommemorated,poetrywasanintegralpanofaracialconventionwhichnowriterofhistoryrouldaffordtoignore. Probablyifallthe

=~ry\\:~:~hh:~l;ei:~d:~~ ~~;u~:;~:~:::~,t!:~:':;~~!o!:~~
w~>u ldhavebeen le,elledagainsthim. Butwhenhe included\erscswhich
werepalpablybanal,andwereatthesametimeuntroeto circumstance,
uninspiredandtrivial,umanyundoubtedlyare,thedevelopedaesthetic
tense of the Anbs which i. most delicate where poetry is concerned rejected
what he wrote. As at:Ju mal:ll said, he brought poetry itself into disrepute
bythebalderdashheadmittedintohisotherwisetxcellentworlr.. And it did
not improve matteD that much that was good was mingled with mo re that
was bad. ltismorethanlilr.elythat i .I.himself wasconsciousthatallwas
not we ll with this poetry, forthegenenl practice of writers istoputthe
verse into the narrative at the crocial moment (as 1.1. at times does),
whereuaftertheproseaccountofBadrand Ul;tudhe lumpstogethera
whole collection of verse by various 'poets'. It is as though he "ere
silently saying'Thisiswhat has beenhandedon tome. lknownothing
aboutpoetryandyoumustmakeyourownanthology.'' Evenso,whatever

~i~;~o:e~~i~fe;;:~~~i~~: ~~~ r:~0t~ ~: ~n0 :~~!~'~~::-~-:~~;s i:.~:~,~

ha,enoti.J.'aauthority.
Thcsubjectisonethatcalls fordctailedandcarefulliterarycriticism

Thehistoryoftheclich~,aimiles,andmetaphorsneedsimestigationbya

scholarthoroul!tnlygroundedinthepoetryofthepre- Jslamicand Umayyaderas. Untilthiapreliminaryworlr.haabeensuccessfullyaccomplished

itwouldbeprematuretopasajudgementonthepoetryof theSiraasa
whole. Ancient poetry hu suffered greatly at the hands of forgel"j,
plagiarists,andphilologista,andthediwansof laterpoetshavenotescaped
the dishonest r tJwi. J:lauln b. Th~bit, the prophet's own poet, hu many
poemsto his namewhieh hewouldbeutoundedtohear,andthereare
eomparativc:ly few poeta of whom it rould be said that the diwans bearing
t heirnamescontainednothingforwhichtheywerenotresponsible.1
'Andlhio-precioclyiUo ottitudeifoi-J umabiitiObebelied.
' l ot-lldh&rdlyconiOIO.,fruiO-nthattlw.lifth...,..ruurypoot ' Amrb.Oarnl'1
huuen:iKdodiftainl'lu-onthopootryofthcSir<l ;buttbefKtremainothatthoftio
ll"'ltoimilaril}'. hioiow>-itoblothotthethm>eoofAnobvencohouldrecur.....,.tantly
Beduinlifc-..ritdlittlofrompM,.tioniOI'"Mntion.Th<Uhoriaonwubound.dby
d-rto,ondconMqucnt!ycamoobondho.-,warondilow.. pons,hoopitolil}'ond tribol
pridewcreco!\l;tont!ymentioncdinoonr. T ou.cetbcoctbemablckeothoir!\ratoinrcn
wouldWotukthotwouldle..-linhlelo'-""forrnoreprWitobleotudin;butMYCrtheleu
itiowonltn.otin.rth.otthefolloinc~AC~Uin'AmrandthoS"~ta:tllercnerowman

whoolaua:hteracamelofor thohuna;ryau..tin winterwhcnfomin<deprivnoveotherichof

Til~ Lif~

of Muha,mad

Afteracareful t tudyofthelanguageandstylcofthisverseDr.'Azzam
comestotheconclusionthatcomparativclylittleofitdatesfromthetime
of the prophet.
Or. 'Arafat comes to much the !laiTie conclusion with regard to the
verse attributed tol:lasdn. A few of the outstanding arguments will be
given here. He finds that the eulogy on the An~r (p. ~3) which is attributed to Ka'bb.Zuhayrisinthesamerhymeandmetreaathepoemof
ai-Akh!al' which was :-vritten at the instigation of Yazid. There we find
thewords'Basenessisuntltrtheturbansofthel\np.r', A careful com
parisonoftherdevantpassagesinthetwopoemsshowsthattheoneinthe
Siraistheanswtrtotheonein theAghtini.
Abdullah b. Abii Bakr is reported to have said: 'The An~ir wt re
respected and furtd unti l tht battleofl:farra; afttrwards people were
emboldenedtoattaekthemandtheyoecupiedalowlyplace.' It is iotheac:
circumstances, notthoseofthe prophet'soompanionsdailyincreasing in
powe-r and prestige, that we must look for the background of 'You will find
thatnoneillu!le&orabu!lalusbutabasefellowwhohasgone astray'(p.6a6).
On p. 474 a poem which l.H. anributes to l:lassin's ton, 'Abdu'l -Ra~
min,obviouslydatesfromalatergeneration:'Mypeoplearethosewho
shelteredtheprophetandbelievedinhimwhenthepeopleofthelandwere
unbelieversexceptforchoitetoulswhowcreforcrunncrsofrighteousmen
and who were helpers with the helpers.' What can this mun but that some-

After the attack on B. al-Munaliq a quarrel arose between the

Mcttans and Medinans about the use of a well. ' Abdullah b. Ubayy
said:'TheyrivalournumbersJuJJhara;'hetalledthemja/dbiband
threatened that when they got ltkto Medinathe strongera'u..would dri\e out the weaker. The words italitiud are the \"cry words

:~!n~:~:~~y t~: :;':";;pi~~::a~~t i~~: ~e::;i;:tb~;:~ !~

~~~~~~~:~:~~~;~~:~1~~~;;g;;~~E3
$afwin wounded I:Jassin at the instigation of the prophet because
hishouse wuthecentreofdiuffettionagainsttheMuslims. The

~~~~=~!:~t~::~~~;, ~~= i~nn~:'!nis:~:~:~ ~~-~!~n:h~u~

not be correct. I;lassln'smostdangerousofleneewashisoomplaint

~~:~;;~~:~e~~n~~:~~~~~:~~:;;;~~~;:~~~~:~~

Ant'-ris. Whether loyal ordisaflected,theycouldhardly support

theircomrade inauchamatter.

oneisspea.kingofthepast~ervieesofhispeopletotheprophet?Further,

itisttrange languagetoimputetol:lassin. ltwashewhocalledthenewcomen Vllgf'lnts jal4bih and regarded them as an unmitigated nuisance.
He did not houseanyofthemuluijirin,norwashea'brother'tooneof
them. Astillclearerrcferencetoaformergeneration is to be found on
p. 927 (again I. H. attributed it to Abdu'l-Ra~min) which says: 'Those
people were the prophet's hclpen and they are my people-; to them I come
whenlrelatemydeseent'
Or. 'Arafatnotesthatinthc-Sirathereareseventy-eightpot:msattri
butcdtol:fassan ;theauthentitityoffifteenofthcmisquestionedordenied
outright. Thetextofthepoemon p. n8initsriVlllformsillustratesthe
w..yinwhithvei'IC:Iattributedtol:fassinwereinterpolatedandadditional
vei'IC:I fabricated. Here T gives only the first fi\"e \"Crses; the Dfw4n
interpolates two VCI'IC:I after the fir11t line and adds two at the end. On
the other hand, the last three verses in the Sira are not to be found in
eitheroftheotherauthorities. l ntheAglulnitthepoemisstilllongerand
accordingtotherifDifyaofMUf'abbutwithoutai-Zuhri'ssuthority. The
faeu which emerge from a study of the circumstances which surround this
poem are:
1. l;lassin resented the growing numben and influence of the Muslim
refugees.
1 Azh,aiii.f.S,siY.fU,
1 Cain:<,l93'iY.f59cr.l57,.,.huetheohortorwn;,nofT.ioahen

With the further ramifications of the story we are not concerned ;

aufficienthubcensaidtoshowthatthepoemsofarasversesiagenuine
and is directed solely against the Muslim refugees whose presence had
becomesnuisancetol:lu.ln.lnthiapoem hesaysnothingatall about
$afwiln. The last thrtt lines have doubt!~ been. added to ~hitewaah
l:fasdn. Aspoetrytheywillnotbearcomparuonwtth thegenuLOeverses
andT.wuthoroughlyjustifiedindistardingthem.

ro!~o~:rP~~;t;~i:~ ~~o:;;~~u; 1'::1c~~!~r~~. ~!~:7. i~:: t~

0
~;:etp:~ tl_.~ ~:: ~~~~:=.~~~ :~ ~: ~r:r~ct:~~
0

creatures.' When we remember the resentment with which the

An4lr in

!~r;;:~~~: t~~~~ .~~:~~:%a~h~! :~:~;~~S:~~: ~~e1: ~~;::~

~~t~~r~:tr:~~::i;i~: ~::d~: :~nJ!;~~n?rt~ms attri-

set

buted to l:fasdn is the prominence which is often given to the Aus. It

cannotbe supposedt hataKhazrajitewouldignoretheachievementaofhis
own tribe or put them in the second place as on p. 4SS when we remember
that the hostility between the two tribes persisted long after Islam was
established. A plain eumple of 1 later Antlri's work is given on p. 711,
where the poem begins: '0 my people is there any defence sgainst fate and

T/1~

Life of Muhammad

canthegoodolddaysretum?'animpossibleattiiUdeforaMuslimtotake
duringtheprophet'slifctime.
Again, when }:lasdn is reported to have nid 'The best of the belic\cra
havefotlowcdoneanothcrtodeath'(p.799),itissufficientto remcmbcr
that practically all the prophet's principal companions survived U};lud
Butwhenthis cardeuforgcrwroteallthebestl\fuslimshadlongbeen
dead. Howc\cr,weha\cnotgottohismainpointwhichistoglorifythe
house of HAshim: 'They are God's ncar ones. He sent down His wisdom

~~~ ~~h:~1ri:~~~~~;~~~n:.t:~

~~:~:~%~~~~~~~a!!~~~;~

b:::dd
a member of their family. Oi\'ine wisdom is gi\cn to them.
These two studies lay bare the wretched language in which many of
thesepocmsare writtenandincidentallybringoutthedifficultieswhicha
transl.atorhutocopewithwhentherulesofArabicsyntaxandthemorphologyofthelanguagearctrcatcdwithscantrcspect. lnfincitmaybe
said that their well-documented conclusions made it abundantly clear
thatthejudgementoftheancientcritica-particularlyai-Jumal)l-isjusti
fieduptothehilt.'

Tht partialrtslorationofthtlostoriginal
Once the original text of l.L existed in at leutfiftee.n riw4yas:~
I.lbr.1himb.Sa'd,tto-84
Medina
2. Ziyldb.'Abdullahal-Baklr.3'r,d.t8J
Kiifa
3 'Abdullahb. l drlsal-Audi, 115-92
+ Yiinus b. Buk.ayr,d. 199
5 'Abdab.Sulaym3n,d.I87f8

~: ~a~~~~-h s:-.,~~~~::a~\'~~~~4
8. Jarirb.}:lazim,85- 170
9 Hlnin b. Abll'l$1
Salamab.ai-FaQ\ai-Abrash,d. t9 1
11 . Ali b. Muj~hid, d. c. t8o
12. lbr~him b. al-1\lukhtii.r
IJ.Sa'Idb.Bazi'
14. 'Uthm:in b. S~j
15. Muhammadb.Salamaal-l:larrl;tl,d.t91
10.

Ba~hdad
Batra
Batra~

Ray

lthubeenmyaimtorcstore sofaruisnowpossiblethetextofJ. I.
uitlefthis penoruhedictatedittohishearen,fromextcrptsinlater
texts,disrcgardingtheMabda'sectionasLH.didandforatleutoneof
'SeefurtherA.GWllou.,..,'TJKBioanphyofthel'rophd.inRontR.......,h',!U....U:
0w-t~ly~,tQS4

'l"--..topcodtboli.taivmb,.FGckinhittodminble.,._,.pt,, p. 44, wMnfuU

biofntphinl ck~ailoontobefound.'fhoiOWnoonthoteolwhkhtboindhiduolonamod

hisrcasons. Atfirstlwutcmptedtothinkrhatagreatdealoftheoriginal
hadbecnlost--anditmaywellbethatithubecnlost-foritisclearthat
thescurrilousattacksontheprophetwhichi.H.mentionsinhislntroductionarenottobefoundanywhere. Butonthcwholel think it is likely
that we ha\'e the greater part of what 1.1. wrote. Doubtless more was aaid
forAliandagainst'Abbls,but it iaunlikelythatsuchmaterialwouldadd
muchtoourknowledgeofthehistoryoftheperiod. Posaiblytousthe
most interesting excU.iom would be paragraphs containing infonnation
which I.L gatheredfrom JewsandChristians;butinallprobabilitythe
Mabda'containedmostofauchpusages. Still,itisunlikelythatthOIC
passages which have been allowed to remain would have excited the
annoyancethatsomeofhisearlycriticaexpresson thisscorc. lbnu'J.
Kalbi's K. ai-Apui1r1 give~ a warning against exaggeraad hopes. YlqUt
hadmadecopiousextractsfromitinhU.G~ap/tit:a/Dictionary,so

interestingandsoimportantforourknowledgcoftheoldArabianheathenismthatthegreatNOldekeexpressedthehopethathewouldlivetoseethe
textofthe lostoriginaldisoovered. Hedid;butacollationoftheoriginal
work with the excerpts made byYiqlitahowthatpractieallyeverything
ofvaluehadbeenusedandnothingofreal significancewutobe learned
fromthediscoveryofthemothertext. However,inatextofthenatureof
:':t~t:;':u~i~ut_~ible that a twist may be given to the narrative by an
The writers from whom some of the original can be recovered arc:
1. Muhammad b. 'Umar ai-Wlqidi, d. 207
2. AbU'l-Walid Muhammad b. Abdullah ai-Azraql from his grand
father(d.c.no)
Muhammadb.Sa'd,d.2JO
AbU 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Muslim b. Qutayba, d. 270 or 276
A};lmad b. Yal)y~ al-Bal~dhurl, d. 279
Abli Ja'far Muhammad b. J~rir al-Tabari, d. 310
AbU Sa'idal-l;luanb. 'Abdullahai-Silin,d.J68.
AbU'I-l:lasan 'Ali b. Muhammad b.J:Iabib al-Miwardi, d. 450
Abii'l-}:lasan'Alib.al-Athir,d.6JO
YUsufb. Yal;lylai-Tidaliknownul.al-Zayyit,d.6z7
lsm~'il b. 'Umar b. Kathir, d. n4
Abii'I-FaQIAI)mad b. 'Ali ... b.}:lajarai-'Asqalini,d.8S2{1+49

3
4
5
6.
7
8.
9
10.
11.
12.

For our purpoosenone of these has the importance ofT- whose text
rcstsonthe riWyaofSalamaandYUnusb.Bukayr. Bel!idct theimportant
textual variants which will be found in the translation from time to time,
he itiswhoreportsfroml.l.theprophet'stemporaryconcessiontopoly
theismatMecca(uC)Of.)andtheeapturcof'AbbisatBadr(Iof.41).
1. al-\Vi qidl. Only the Maglui:rfhu survived from the very large
numberOfhiswrirings. Athirdofitwupublished by von Kremer in
8s6fromapoormanuscript,anduntiltheworkhasbeenediteditsva\ue

TM Lift of Mulwmnuul

cannotbcaccuratdya.ueued.' TheabridgedtranslationbyWellhauscn
~vesthere:'der.alltheu.lientfacu,but~ismethodofepitomizingenabl.ed

huntoavolddlfficultiesinthetextwhLchcall!orexplanation. Wiq1di
makes no mention of 1.1. among his authorities. The reason for this
doubtleasisthathedidnotwanttorefertoamanwhoalreadyenjoyeda
greatreputationasanautborityonmaglubiandaoletitseemthathisown
book was a mere amplification of his predecessor's. It it by no means
cenainthathemadeuseofJ.I.',book,ortraditionallore,forhequoted
hisauthoritie.,e.g.al-Zuhri,M'mar,andothers,directly. Ontheother
hand, he did not belittlei.I.ofwhomhelpokewannlyasachronic\er,
genealogilt,andtraditionist,whotransmittedpoetryandwasanindefatigablesearcheroftradition,amantobetrusted.1
It follows that ltrictly Wiqidl ia not a writer from whom in the present
atateofourltnowledgewecanreconatructtheoriginaloftheSira;butas
hil narrative often run1 parallel with I.I.',work,sometimes abridging,
aometimeaexpanding,hisstoriesitisavaluableifuncontrolledaupporter
thereof. NotuntilhiMaglubihasqeenpublishedandtudiedasit
deserveatobecanlsatisfacwrycompariaonofthet\lo-obook.abemade.
One thing is abundantly dear, namely that W:tqidi often indudes 1toriea
which obviously come from eyewitneues and often throw valuable light
oneventawhichareobscurein I.I. Indeed itoughttobesaid that the
SiaisincompletewithoutWiqid!.
.a. Al-Al:ra<~;l's AllhMr MaMw ia of great value in matters archaeological.
HISauthontyii'Uthmlnb.Sij.
3 I. Sa'd's AMIH!nll-Nobi is more or leas as he communicated it to
hil pupils. This was afterwards combined with his Tabaqtft in 300 by
I. Ma'n1f. Volumes Ia, band Ilu,binthe Berlineditiondealwiththe
formerpropheta,Muhammad'achildhood, hismission,thehijra,andhis
campaigns, ending with his death, burial, and elegies thereon. I.S. has
much more to u.y on aome matters than I. I., e.g. letters and embauiea, and
theprophet'llastillneu,whilehehowlnointerestinpre-ltlamicArabia.
For the Maglubi\VIqidl is his main IUthority. The TulxJq4t deals with the
f;zP!:_~s companions and the transmitton or tradition, including the

+ I. Qutayba's K. a/-Mo'dn] contain a few short and inexact citations.

5 Al-Balidhuri's Fwtiifnll-Buld<In adds very little to our knowledge.
De Goeje's index gives twelve references. The first two' which De
Goeje, followed by N6ldeke, 1 notet as not being in the Sira would never
J..:.a~ editlon from

I'A'O

MSS.;, the B.M. io bei111

pttpo.r-ed

by my collearue Mr.

J. M. B

~;z~b:4~ff3~~m~~~~:u~L:~~!:
.s;~~~~t~!~o=~:.:;;, i.t. ~toN~k.~.8~.:.:~i;:::.Lciplir,

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

ibn ls~iiq's reputation

Unfortunatelyforourpurposewhich is to record the opinion of our
author'sco-religionistsonhistrushoo'orthinessuahistorian,theirjudgementisaffectedbyhisother writi ngs,oneofwhich calledSunanistnentinned by f:liiiji Khalifa.' This "''IS freely quoted by AbO. Ylisuf (d. 181),
butfailedtohold itsownandwentoutofcirculationcomparativelyearly.
If .,.,-eknewmoreaboutthecontentsof thisbook,whichbyreasonofits
early date presumably would ha,e had a considerable influence on the
dailylifeofMuslimshaditbeenallowedtocontinuetochallengeother
reportenoftheapostle'sdeeds:mdvmrds,we shouldbethebetterableto
assesathevalueandrelevanccofearlyMuslimcriticismonl.l.whenit
was most definitely h011tile. It ia not always his book the Sira which i~
attacked but the man himself, and ifhissunnawork ran counter to the
!ICboolsof law thatwere inproce.sofde,elopmentthe.authorcouldnot
hopctoescapcatrongcondemnation. Itismostimportantthatthisfact
should not be 0\'erloolr.ed. In the passage Wiistenfeld quotedl from
AbO.'l-FatQ l\1. b. l\1. b. Sayyidu'I-Nis ai-Ya'mari ai-Andalusi (d. 73+/
I JJ4)thedistinctionbctweentraditioMofageneral natureandtraditions
abouttheprophet'ssunnaisclearandunmistalr.able. Al;lmad b.f:lanbal'a
!Klnstatedthathisfatherincluded I.I .'shadithin his.Mumad,butrefused
toregardhimasanauthori~yonrtmiln, Whileitistrueth.atthereare.a
few stories in the Sira which report the prophet's practlcc in certam
mattersanll!Klprovideanauthoritativeguideforthefuturebehaviourof
thefaithfulinsimilarcircumstances,andwhileitisalsotruethatinoneor
twoinstanccsthe principleunderlyingtheseactionsisincooflictwiththe
findings of later lawyers, they form an insignific~nt pan of the Sira, and. it
may safely be concluded that I. l:lanbal's objectJOn to I.I.'s authomy
appliesalmostexc:lusivelytohis lostv."Ork,theSuMn.
Apostolic tradition in Islam, as Goldziher showed long ago, is the
battlefi.eldofwarringsectsstrivingforthema6teryofmen'smindsandthe
control of their behaviour with all the weight that Muhammad's presumed
or fabricated example could bring to bear. Theearlier the tradition, or
collectionoftraditions,the lessthiatendencyisinevidencc;butv.-ehave
alreadyseenthat l.l .occasionallysuccumbedtothetemptationtoglorify
Ali at the expense of 'Abbb. This would seem I~ .be supremely unnec.es
sarywhenonecan read exactly what 'Ab~b'spos1t1on was: at ~rsthosule;
secondly neutral; and lastly, when the ISSUe was no longer m doubt, a

~:= t:~~:ion~~ev;~~~~y :;~b~~:;:~~~ei:t:~~~ ~:a:~i::!h~;

of'Umar,ourauthorwasnounbalancedfanaticalsupporteroftheclaims
of Ali. Ali appears as the great warrior when rival champions fought

Introduction

between the opposing ranb, but the inestimable services of his two

2~~?g~J!~~~I:~~~~:~~!~Ifii;~!~!:
~~::;~::;:;\.:c::~,r~~e'~:~~~:r;n~ti~~ ~:~ ~1:~~~ h;.~~:i;.~
~~~f~~d~~t~.:~~: ~~~~: ~:~e~=:~t t~:~!~~i~l~~:7.:~t1[nh~h~~~=

~~~~~t~1;ti~~~~~ft~~~~f~~~~~~~

thatbythemiddleof thethirdcenturytheformofa hadithmatteredmore

:~:P:~nsaub~:t:~~hi~~dc:~;i:~n~~:~~~e

chain of guarantors was un-

~=~,.t~~;l;~~~mE~2:::~if~:~?:~::EJ:::~:~~:~~h:~j;
could find, both favourable and unfa\ourable, and then answered the

~:t~:~~~~~~:nmi:d~~~.. ~~; ;~:~:=.~~::=~~~l~~U:~~ ~~

(a) Tltosefavourableto i.I.wcre: 'Thebestinformedmanaboutthe

~~:t~-::.:s 1.1. al-Zuhri: Knowledge will remain in Medina as along as

Shu'ba,Bs-16o:Truthfulintradition,theamiroftraditionistsbecause
of his memory.

::~~kY~~c~~~:~f!;~E~~1~~~~!~i~
Dul;laymofl\lalik'sdistrustof l.l.hedeniedthat it referred to his

~~f-~~~~;;;~
'NI.I.diotdinsothil..-.impouible

The Ujt of Muhammad

AbU Mu'iwiya: A great memory: othera confided their traditiona to
hismemoryforufekeeping.
al- Bukhlrf: Al-Zuhrt used to get hi! knowledge of the maghtfzi from 1.1.
'A:~~lah b. ldril al-Audi: wu amazed at his learning and often cited
M::~~ ~e "'u attacked for reasons which had nothing to do with

Yazidb.Hiriin:Werethereasupreme relatoroftraditionitwouldbei.I.
Alib.al-Madini:Hitahaditharesound. Hehadagreatrepmationin
Medina. Hishlm b. 'Urwa't objec.:tion to him it no argument against
him. He may indeed have talked to the latter's wife when he "-U a
young man. His veracity in hadith is self-evident. I know only of
twothatare rejec.:tedasunsupported'whichnootherwriterreported.
al-'ljli :Trustv.-orthy.
Ya}:tyab.Ma'in:Firmintradition.
AJ_imadb.f;lanbal:EJtcellentintradition.
(h)Thewriterthengoeaontostateallthathubeensaidagainst 1.1.
Omitting detaib of little tignificancc we are left with the following charges
which. I. Sayyidu'I-Nb goes on to diacuu and refute. Muhammad b.
'Abdullah b. Numayr .aid that when 1.1 . reported what he had heard from
well-knownpersonshistraditiontweregood and true, but he sometimes
reported worthless sayings from unknown people. Ya~ya b. al-Qanin
wouldne\erquotehim. Al,unadb.f;lanbalquotedhimwithapproval,and
when it wu remarked how eJtcellent the stories (qi101) were he smiled in
turprise. His son admitted that A~m.ad incorporated many of l.I.'s
tnditions in his Mumad, but he never paid heed to them. When he wu
asked if his father regarded him as an authority on what a Muslim must
ormustnotdoherepliedthathedidnot. Hehimselfwouldnotaccepta
tradition which only I.l. reported. He used to relate a tradition which he
gathered from a nwnber of people without indicating who had contributed
itsseparateparts. I.al-Madinlsaid"thatattimeshe\\u 'fairly good'.
Al-Maymilni reported that I. Ma'ln tS6-2JJ said he was 'weak', but othen
denied that he p.id so. AI-Diiri said he was truatworthy but not to be used
as an authoilty iD. Jitlh, like Mllilr. and othen. AI-Nui'i aaid that he was not
ttrong. Al-Diraqutnlaaidthatatraditionfromi.I.ontheauthorityofhit
fatherwasnolegalproof:itcouldbeusedonlytoconfirmwhatwasalready
held to be binding. Ya~yl b. Sa'id said that though he knew I.I. in Kiifa
he abandoned himintentionallyandne\"erwrotedowntraditionson his
authority. AbU Di'Ud al-Tayllisl {IJI-%0J) reponed that f;l anunJd b
Salimasaid thatunlessnecessitydemanded it he would not hand on a
tradition from I. I. When l\lilik b. Anas mentioned him he said, 'he is one
of the antichrists'. When Hishlm b. 'Urwa was told that I.I. reported
10mcthing from F~Pma heaaid, 'the rascal lies; when did heaeemywife?'

When Abdullah b. A~ mad told his father of this he aaid that this was not to
behcldagainsti.I.;hethoughtthathemightwellhl\'ercceivedpcrmiuion
tointe!"Viewher, buthedidnot.know. He addedthatMililr.\\'Ua liar.
I.Idris aaidthathetalkedtoMilikabouttheMaghtfziand howl.l.had
said that he wu their surgeon and he said, 'We drove him from Medina'.
Makkib.Ibrihimu.idthatheattendedlec.:tureaofhis;heusedtodyehis
hair. Whenhementionedtraditiontaboutthedivineattributesheleft
him and ne\er went bad:. On anothe r occuion he said that when he left
himhehadattendedtwelvelecturesofhisinRay.
Al-MufaQQal b. Ghusin said that he \\U present when Yazid b.IUnin
was relating traditions in ai-Baql' when a number of Medinans were
listening. When he mentioned 1.1. they withdrew saying: 'Don't tell us
anything that he said. We know better than he.' Yazid went among them,
buttheywouldnotlistenandsohewithdrew.
AbliDI'Udu.idthatheheardAI_unadb.f;lanbalnythatl.l.wuam.an
withaloveoftradition,sothathetoolr.othermen'twritingsandincorporated
them in his own. Abii 'Abdullah uid that he preferred 1.1 . to MUll b.
'Ubaydaai-Rabadhi. A~m.aduidthatheusedtorelatetraditionsasthough
fromacompanionwithoutintermediaries,whileinlbrlhimb.Sa'd'tboolr.
:~~~h ea~~ a tradition he uid 'A told me' and when that was not so he

Abii 'Abdullahsaidthati.l.cametoBaghdadandpaidnoattentionto
those who related hadith from al-Kalbi and othen uying that he wu no
authority. AI-FaliJs (d. 249) uid that after being with Wahb b. Jarir
reading before himthemaghriziboolr.whichhisfather'hadgotfromi.I.
~et Ya~ya b. Oa!llin who said that we had brought a paclr. of lies from
Al_unadb.f;lanbalaaidthatinmaghriziandsuchmatterswhatl.l.aa.id
could be wriuen down; but in legal matten fun her confirmation was
neceasary. In spite of the large number oftraditiona without a proper
imlidhethoughthighlyofhimaalongashesaid'Atoldus','Binformed
me',and'J heard'. l.l\la'indid notliketousehimuanauthorityin
legal matten. Abii l;lltim said that he was weak in tradition yet preferable
to Afla~ b. Sa'id and hit traditions could be written down. Sulaym3n
ai-Taymi called him a liar and Ya~ya al-Qanan said that he coul? only
abandon hit hadith to God; he was a liar. When Ya~yli asked Wuhayb b.
Khllid what made him think that J.l. was a liar he uid that Mllilr. swore
that he was and hega\e as his reason Hishlm b. 'Urwa'a oath to that effect.
Tht: Iauer' reason was that he reported traditions from his wife Fltima
Abii Bakr al-Khatib said that some authorities accepted his traditions
asprovidingproofforlegalprccedentwh.ileothendidnot. Among the
reasontforrejectinghisauthoritywasthathewasaShi'l,thathewunid
to hold the view that man had free will, and that his ismlds were defective.
A.forhittruthfulneu,itcouldnotbedenied.

Tht Lift of Muhammml

Introduction

At-Bukhiri quoted him as an authority and Muslim cited him often.

Abu'l-l;lasanb.al-Qalflnrelegatedhimtotheclass'good'(flo,sa11)because
peopledisputedabouthim. Astothetr.aditionfrom F;l]ima,al-Khatib

and what they base on unknown informantsistoberejectedwhilethat

gavemaninuidrunningbackthrough i.I .andFii~matoAsmi'd .AbQ

Bakr: ' I heard a woman questioningtheprophetandsaying," J ha\ea

rivalwifeandlpretendtobeaatisfiedwithwhatmyhusbandhasnot'infact.
given me in order to anger her". He answered, "He who affecq to be
aatisfied with what he hasnotbecngivenislikeone wbodons two false
gannents".'' AbU'I-I;Iasanaaid thatthisw;u the tradition from Fatima
which injured I.l.'sreputation,sothatherhusbandHishimcalledhima
liar. Milik followed him and others imitated them. Howe\er, there are
othertnditionsonherauthority.
One cannot but admire the way in which I. Sayyidu'l-NM di.scusse.
theseattack.son.thecredibilityofourauthor. Hegoesatonceto therootof
thematterand showswhatlittleaubatancethereisin them. Though, like
thetpeaken he criticizes, hetacitlyassumesthatearlywritersoughtto
have fumithed their traditions with UtUids which would have met the
rigorousdemandtoflatergeneradonswhowerefamiliarwithawholesea
of spurious traditions fathered on the prophet and his companions, his
oommonacn.aeandfairnesswouldnotlethimacquiesceinthechargeof
tad/is whic.h, by omitting a link in t~e cha!n or by citing the original
narratorwLthoutfunherado,automatLcallymvalidated ahadithinlater
days. Thus he said in effect that though l.I.'s traditions at times lack
complete documentation there is no question of his truthfulness in the
tubj~ct-matter he re~r.ts; and u to the charge of shi'ism and qadarite
I~Lngs,they arevahdma~otherfielda.ltogether~dhavenothingtodo

wuh the Sira. Again, what 1f Mak.ki b. lbrlhim d1d abandon his lectures
whenheheardhimrelatetraditionsaboutthedivineartributa? Manyof
theancientsfailedtogothewholewaywhensuchproblemswerediscussed,
sowhat heaaysisof littlesignificance.
Yuid'sstorythattheMadinaruwouldnotlistentotraditionsoni.I.'s
suthoritydoesnotamount.tomuchbecausehedocs~ttelluswhy,andso
we~ reson o~ly to conjecture; ~d we have no nght to impugn a true
tradtionbecauseofwhatwethinkLSadefect. Wehavealreadyuplained
whyYaJ:tyial-Oat)inwouldhavenoneofhimandcallc:dhimliaronthe
authorityofWuhaybfromMilik,anditisnotimprobablethathewasthe
ClllltOfthe Medinans' attitude in the foregoing acoount.. AJ.tmad b.
l:lanbalandl.al-Mad!nlhneadequatelyrepliedtoHishiim'saccusation.

~o~:m;::.':nas~c~:~~~ ~~\!::a:.:~~:= a~~di~~no~t~h:.:~:h:o~t!

of
matter of tndition, suspicion would be divided between him and hit
informants;butuweknowthatheistrustwonhythechargeliesagailllt
thepeno111unk.nown, not against him. Similarattackshavebecnmade
upon Sufyln

al-~=::::ru:~: h;~~~e:. greatly in this way

~-j~?~ !~e~ ::~:; ;:~~~~~:c~~e=.th~~~~~ ~~dYJ~;:af!~eh~!}.:~~

r:!th~:~~~O:~ed~~:~OO:e': :t~:=:t~ s:;~:.~~~ated many tradLIIOI\J

AstoA1;unad'soomplaintthatherecordedcompositetraditionswithout
assigning the matter of than to the se~ral con~ributon, their \\'O~ds

:~~c~:;.e~'::?i~h:~r:~:~~n~~a~v,~~~;~~:e:. ~;~-~~ar:~~~ .r;;e~,i~~

1

;~~ 1i~e~:~;~f ;:ray~~~it~1:r<:\~e~~ ~~~::~~d\\~.r~Jr J~a~~~r~h~l

UAed to hear tr.aditions from ten different people in ten diffe rent wor~s with
the ume meaning. Al,tmad's complaint that 1.1. toolr. other men' writings
andincorporatedtheminhisownaccountcannotberegardedasserious
untilitcanbepro\'edthathehadnolicencetorepeatthem. Onemustlook
atthemethodoftransmission:ifthewordsdonotplainlynecessitatean
oralcommunication,thentheaccusationofladlis'li. Butweoughtnotto
acceptsuchachargeunlesstheword_splainlyi.mplythat._lfheexpr~ly

~~.~~~~~~~i::a:: :::~:~=~~::.e;~~~gq:~:n\\~:~~c~oh;a~':u~~~~ ~~~~~~o~

l.l.unless thewords leavenootherchoice." WhenAl,lmad'asonquoted
his father assaying that I.I. was not to be regarded as an authority in

~~~~':~\~~ ~~~~~~ ~:~a:f~~; ~~~;z~~~=~~"a:h'; ;~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~i~~

appliedthitad\'ersejudgementonnmontoothermatten. Suchanextenaionisexcludedbyhistruthfulreputation
AatoYal,t)i'ssayingthathewastrustworthybutnotauthoritativein
legal matters, it is sufficient for us that he is pronounced trustwonhy.
If only men like al-'Umari and 1\Ulilr. were acceptable there would be
precious few acceptable authorities! Ya]:ly3 b. Sa'id probably_ blindly
followed Milik because he heard from him what HiaMm had sa1d about
1.1. Hisrefusaltoaccepthimasanauthorityinlegalmattenhasalready
becndealtwithunderAl,Lmad. Ya]:lyimadenodistinctionbetweenthem
and other traditions in the way of complete acceptance or downright
rejection.

forO:~r;~:~~o ~~: ;~~~t:~~ ::a~; ~~~~~~a~~~~ ::t~=~a~n~ ~~::!

at-Tirmidhi and AbU l:Utim b.}:libbin(d. JH) accepted him u an authority.
Therefutationofhisopponentswouldnothavebeenundertakenwere
itnotforthefavourableverdictandpraisethattheleamed ga\'t him.
But forthatafewofthechargesvoould have sufficed to undermine his

Tht L1]t of Muhammad

stories,sincebutafc:wattack.sonaman'sgoodfaith,c:xplicitornot,are
enoughtodestroytherc:putationofonewhoseformc:rcircumstancesare
not known when an impartial critic has not done: him justice.
In his boolr. about trustworthy narnton AbU l:litim said that the two
men who attaclr.c:d 1.1. were Hi~hlrn and Milik. The: former denied that
hc:hadhc:ardtraditionsfromFitima. Butwhatheuiddoesnotimpugn
rnc:n'svc:racityinhadith,for'followc:n'likeal-Asv.-adand'Alqamahc:ard
'A'isha's voice wilhout seeing her. Similarly l.l. used to hear F~1ima
when the: curtain was lc:t down bet'o\c:c:n them. A3 for M~lik, what be aaid
was momentary and afterwards he did him justice. Nobody in the Hiju
knc:wmoreaboutgc:nc:alogiesandv.-anthan l.l.,and he used to say that
M~lilr. was a frc:c:d sla\"C: of Dhll A,bal) while: MUik alleged that he: was a
full member of the ui bc: so that there was bad fc:c:ling betwc:c:n them; and
when Mllilr. compiled the Muv:al/a' 1.1. said, 'Bring it to me: for I am its
vc:tc:rinaryaurgeon.' Hc:aringofthia Miiliksaid:'Hc:isanantichrist;hc:
repon.straditionsonthc:authorityofthc: Jews.' Thequarrc:llastc:duntil
l.l.dc:cidedtogotolraq. Thenthc:ywc:rc:reeonciledandMilikgnehim
sodinanandhalfhiadatc:cropasapartinggift. Milikdidnotintc:nJto
bring him into ill favour as a traditionist: all that he disliked was hia
following the Jews who had become l\fuslimsandlearningthestoryof
Khaybar and QuraHa and ai-NaQir and similar (otherwise) unattested
happenings from their fathers. In his Maghtizi 1.1. used to learn from
them but without necessarily a.saerting that their report was the truth.
l\Uiikhimselfonlyrc:liedontrustworthytruthfulmen.
Theauthorc:ndsbyrc:markingthat l.I.wasnottheoriginator ofthc:
challengetol\Uiik'sArabancc:strybecauseai-Zuhriandothc:rshadsaidthe
same thing.'

I ha\"C: endeavoured to follow the text as closely as possible without

sacrilicingEnglishidiom. Inrc:ndc:ringpoetrylhavetric:dtogi\"C:thesc:nse
v.ithout making any attempt at ,-enifying, the: only exceptions being
doggc:rc:landsaj'.lnthesecasesitsc:c:medthatitwasfairtorc:produce
doggerc:lbydoggc:rc:landtotrytoputpoorrhymesintorhymesthatcould
notbeworsc:. Inc:vitablysomc:exactnc:ssislost,butthc:general!;ensc:and
tonearc:morc:faithfullyreproducedinthatway.
The: book isvc:rylongand I havemadeafc:wcutswhc:reno loss can
result;e.g.I.H.'sr~rringformula'This'c:rsc:occursinanodc: ofhia'

I have: excluded because: it is obvious that the line:, which is generally

onc:ofhisshau:tihid, cannothneatood by itself. Again I h3vc:shortc:ned
dialogueainoratiorectaintoindirc:ctspc:echinaccordancewith English
practiceunlc:ssthc:i'psissimavtrbaofthc:spc:aker set:medcalledfornaturally,

orareinthemsc:lvc:simportant. Lastly l havc:omittc:dgenealogicalformulae

aftc:rthc:firstmc:ntionofthepc:opleconcemc:d.
My predeCC'$80n in translating the: Sira hnc: made many mistakes and
Icannothopetohaveescapc:dallthe pitfalls. Of\Vc:il'atranslation,now
nearlyacenturyoldbeitrc:rnc:mberc:d,NOidc:kewrote':'DieObersc:tzung
vonG.Wc:il,Stuttgart,t864iststc:ifundunbeholfen,andauehphilologisch
nich mehr gc:niigc:nd. Die: grosse Wichtigkc:it dc:a Werkes wiirdc: c:ine
neue Obc:rtragung rc:c:htfertigc:n'; while Wellhausc:n's translation ofaJ.
Wiqidt c:vadesthc: diffieultiesofthetc:xt by silence. Thepoc:tryofthe
Sira,asNOidekc:saidlongagoofthc:poetryonBadr,'isnotcasytotrana
late: bc:causc:ofitsmanysynonyms;thesupc:rficial commentary of AbU
Dharrisnohc:lpatall'.'

Ihavc:followedthepaginationofthc:excellc:ntltxtwrtceptwofWUstc:n
fc:ld'aeditionBs8-6o;butthc:textlhl\'c:actuallyusc:diatheCairoc:dition
of IJSS/ 1937 produced in four pans by Muuafl al-Saqq~. l brihtm
al-Abyart, and 'Abdu'J.J:lafi+Shalabiwhichprintsatthc:.bottomofthc:
page most of the notes from AbU Dhar?-and Suhayll that W. relegated to
theseeondvolumc:ofhisaltogc:thc:radmirableedition. Forthisrc:asonitis
muchc:asier touseandiufineboldtypc:ia kindtoone'seyes. Whc:n l havc:
~~: ~~asion to refer to differences between the: texts they arc: marked C.

THE ED I TOR IBN H I SHAM

'Aoou'LMALIK B. HtSH.U-1 was bom in B14ra and died at Fus1~1 in Egypt
in 218 or 213. Krc:nkow, however, thinks that he: must have died some: years
later.! Bc:sideseditingtheprc:sc:ntworkhemadeusc:ofl.I.'alc:arninginhia
K. al- Tijtin which de: rives from \Vahb b. Munabbih. The: principles which
guided him in his impertinent meddling with his prc:deceuor'a worlr. he hu
outlinc:dinhislntroduetion,andthc:ync:c:dnotberepeatedhc:rc:. Hc:was
aphilologistofsomereputc:,andhewasablc:toairhisknowledgeinthc:
shau:4/ridhc:produeestoillustratethc:meaningofunusualwords. These
lines, di\orced as they arc: from their context, form some of the: most
difficultofallthediffieultiesofthc:Siraandareofeoursc:forthemostp.art
unnecc:ssarynowthatthc:Arabs haveproduec:d lc:xicons ofthc:irlanguage.
Oe<:asionallyhei.thc:lpfulwithhisgc:nealogicalnotc:a;rnorerarelyhc:has
aomc:thingusefultosayabouttheintc:rprc:tationofalineinl. l.'swork.
Suhayli gives some traditions which J.H. omitted or knew nothing of,
c:.g. W. 183 = Suhayli 183; W. 327 = S. ii. 2 f. He also (ii. 278 - W.
8a4)drawsattc:ntiontoamistakeinoneofi. H.'s notesPyingthatthe
fault ia either his or al-Bakk~'i's because Ylinus has the right reading
'G.O. IJO

0 Z.A.;uvii.z6z

'I.Cw/l,ii.1JI.

The Life of Muhammad

A FRAGMENT OF THE LOST BOOK OF

MOSA B. 'UQBA

The Life of Muhammad

4 I. Shih~ba lleged that 'Urwa_ b. a.I-Zubayrsaid that al-Zubayr met
the a~tl~ wnh a carava~ of Mushms who were returning to l\leco from
atradmgjourneytoSyna. They bartered some goods with the apostle
and al-Zuba~-~ gave hi~ and AbU Bakr some w~ite garments.
SoBukh.m.4o. Dlfferentnamesini.S.m.J.ISJ-19-

sai~- t~~~~~r?~e~~~~~~~~~~om;;~dS:~: {?~'::=:;~~~ ,~?::t::~~~

hear what l uylxttcrthanthey.'
0

'A~h~~~:~~!,:d ~o~~~f:~~ :~: s~!;e~~~~tit;ai{~:-de':~e~~a~~~h:;r~~o~'~

buttheydonothear.
6. _1. _Shih:Ib fcom Anu ~- M~lik: Some ~n,ar asked the apostle'
permiSSIOn to remit to their SISter's son 'Abbh hts ransom, and he replied,
'No, byAIIa~_,_youshallnotlethimolfaainglefarthingl'
Sc_J Bukh.m.61J. t,zandcf.T. 1)-fl, I.Out.ilfo'lfri/.77- Sachauin
findmg strange the claim to relationship between 'Abbh and the An,ar
aeems to have forgotten that the grandmother of 'Abbh was Salma d.
'Amr ai-Khaznjl. Cf. Bukh. ii. 388. t8 f. for the same claim.
7 I. Shihib from 'Abdu'I-RaJ:lmin b. Ka'b b. Malik ai-Sulamtand other
traditionists : 'Amir b. Miilik b. Ja'fu, who was called 'the player with the
spea~', came to the apostle when he wu a polytheist and the apostle
explamed Islamtohimandherefusedtoacceptit. Hega,etheapostle

::~;~;is~-~~~~~e;i~-~ :;:r~~~:,';~~u~e ~~:;:er>~o:~=:;~

:
you wish and I will be surety for them.' Sotheapostlesentanumber
among whom were ai-Mundhir b. 'Amr ai-Sa'Idl, of whom it was said 'he
hastened to his death',' as a spy among the Najd folk. When 'Amir b.
Tufay l heard about them he tried to ca.ll out B. 'Amir against them, but
0

~-~~~r~.u~~li~~ ~~n ~:~ a~nr:~~~~~::gn~ufa;'m~:d t~:;j~~~:d g~~~na:~

killed them in Bi'r !\1a'Una except 'Ann b. Umayya al-Oamrl whom
'Amirb.ai-Tufaylclpturedandafterwardsrele-ased. Whenhecametothe
apostlethelattersaidtohim,'Areyoutheaoleaur\'ivor?'
This is a much briefer account than that given in I. H. 6'48 f. Cf. T
I+JJf.;Wiiq.{Weli)JJ7f.
8. hm5'il b. lbrlihim b. 'Uqba from Salim b. ' Abdullah from 'Abdullah
b. 'Umar: Some men conte&ted the l eaden~h ip of Udma, and the apostle
roseandsaid:'lfyoucontesttheleaden~hipofUiima)'Ouusedtocontest

theleade111hipofhis father before him. By Allah he was worthy to be

leader. Hewasoneofthedcarestof allmentome,andthisman(hisiSOn)

is one of the dearest of men to me after him; so treat him well when I am
nomore,forheisoneofthebestofyou.'
Cf. Bukh.ii.+Jo,iii.IJJ,I9:l,andl.H.999. I<f;JOo6.:zof.
9 Salim b. 'Abdullah from 'Abdullah b. 'Umar; The apo5t1e used not
tomakeanexceptionforfifima.
Sachau explains this from Bukh. ii. +P and iii. l<fS where Muhammad
nytthatifFlitimaweretostealhewouldcutherhandoff.
10. 'Abdullah b. Fa~l from Anas b. Milik: I grie\'ed over my people
who were killed in the barra. Then Zayd b. Arqam (d. 68) wrote to me
whenheheardofmygreatgrieftosaythathehadheardtheapostle .ny
'0 God forgi,e the An,lr and their sons and we implore Thy grace on
their grandsons'.
Similarly I.H. 886. 12 and W~q. (W.) 38o.
11. 'Abdullah b. al-Fa~l: Some men who were with him (Anas) asked
him about Zayd b. Arqam and be uid, 'It is he of whom the apostle said,
"This is he on whom Allah has bestowed much through his ear" '
He had been an informer, cf. I.H. 7z6. In place ofauf4'1lahu lohu
bi-udhnihi I. H. 727. 17 has ou/4 nlilltihi bi-udJrnihi. It seems much more
likelythatthe\'ariantisduetomisreadingthantooraltradition. Waq.
(B.M.MS.t617,f.gsa)haswafatlldhnuka ... a-1oddaqa'l/4hu~odithok,
12. I. Shih~b from Sa'id b. al-Musayyib from 'Abdullah b. Ka'h b.
Mlilik:TheapostlesaidthatdaytoBilil,'Getupandannouncethatonlya
believerwillenterparadise,andthatGodwillnotsupportHisreligionby

:~

::;1 ~~b~t~:: :;~~":!a"!:~t~~~~~n whom the apostle said was one

13. From Niifi' b. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar: After the conquest of Khaybar

theJewsaskedtheapostletoletthemstaythereonconditionthatthey
worked the land for half the date crop. He uid: 'We will allow you to do 10
onthatconditionso longuwewiah,andtheyremained therethusuntil
'Umar expelled them. (Here six or seven words are missing} aaying 'The
apostlelaiddownthreethingsinhislastdisposition,viz.thattheRahiwl
yiin, Oilriyiin, Sabi'iyiin, and Ash'ariyiin should ha\e land which produced a hundred loads; that the mission of Udma b. Zayd should be
carriedthrough;andthattwodilferentreligionsshouldnotbeallowedto
remaininthepeninsulaoftheArabs.'
ar:::~ti:~zi~:e~~me words are used in I. H. 776 except that the Sabi'iyiin
14. lmtid as above : 'Umar used not to let Jews, Christians, and Magians
remainmorethanthreedaysinMedinatodotheirbusiness,andheused

~~~i=";:0 :l~t:;n~n':~~: :~~~:s~~~her'

and he exiled Jews and

ts.I.Shihlibfrom'UIWllb.al-ZubayrfromMarwinb.al-ij"akamand

The Life of Muhommod

g~~~i~~f~~f~~~;g~~~~~~g~~~~
people).
Forthecontextscci.H.8n.

ca;~~-~- ;r!.7!:::nm\\~~-~ t~ea!;::~~~~:! ~:a6 ~ ~~~~~~~:

1

and chLidrtn. He gne some women who had fallen to some men of
Qunysh--among whom were 'Abdu'l-Ra~miin b. 'Auf and $afwln b.
Umayya who had appropriated two women as concubines-the choice
(ofreturningorremaining)andtheyelectedtogobacktotheirownpeople.
Cf.Wll.q.(W.)J75

:,~~~~i;~:~~:::~~i~~::~;~:~~:~~::s~~.~~~:;:::!i
Cf. I.H.968and\V!iq.4)0.
18. I. Shihll.b from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr from al-Miswar b. Makhrama
fr?m 'Amr b. 'Auf, an ally of B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy who had been at Dadr

;::~ ,';~ ~res~;~ !~~ea::~ :;~~ ~~u~;red:r b~-~;;~~~ :db~~so:~~

1
~~i~~ t~;~~~ebi ta~~~~:;;n~~a~~h:; h~b!~::~~h~=~~~~~e~-~-~t h~1~

~~~t~~;~
19. Sa'd b. lb rihim from lbrll.him b. 'Abdu'l-Rahmln b. 'Auf: 'Abdu'

!t;~:~~-~b~~~-~::J. ";:, "d'!t ~n:~: =t ~~oa~~te i~~h~~~~~ii b~:~

got up and addressed the

poople.excu~ing

himself and saying, 'Never fora

0

~~~~ ~;::re~~~e~r r;:~~~~;n~u~ 7:-~ :~~i:i~/ d~;~~ei:. ~ ia~;

r:

~;;~:::::,~g~:~::~ ~ff;T::~:~;:~~;:~;!J~~E;~~f:~:I~

al-'Awwiim said: ' We were angry only because we were not admitted to the
council and we think that Abii Bakr is the most worthy of supreme
authority now that the apostle is dead. He wu the one with the apostle in
thecaveandwerecognizehisdignityandseniority;andtheapostleput
himinchargeoftheprayen~whilehewasst illwithus.'

A few comments on this brief anthology will not be out of place here.
No. 12 clearly deals with the vexed question of the futurettateofthe
wiclr.ed Muslim, while No. 18 is a post tvD~Ium prophecy. Inevitably they
arousedoubtinthemindofthereader.
From this selection as a whole we can see where the ympathies of the
collector Jay. Thus, al-Zubayr's generosity to Muhammad and AbU
BakrarerecordedinNo.4. TheclaimsoftheAlidestospecialconsidention are brushed aside in No.9; while No. 19Statesthat'AIIexplicitly
accepted AbU Bake as Muhammad's sueeesaor. No. 6show1 that ai-'Abbb
hadtopayhisransominful\ evenwhen theAnp.rpleadedforhisexemp
tion. No. t omournsthevictimso f theUmayyadsatal- l~arraandrecords
thattheprophetimploredGod'sblessingonthemandtheirgnndchildren.
Clearly Miisll.'s sympathies lay with the family of al-Zubayr and the
An,~r. They alone emerge with credit. The Alids, on the other hand,
are no better than anyone else; the Umayyads are implicitly condemned
fortheslaugbteratal-l:farra;andai-'AbMsisshowntohavebeena rebel
againsttheprop hetwhowasforcedtopayforhisoppositiontohimtothe
unerm~tfarthing.

MUsil b. 'Uqba has said pretty much the same on the subject of the
An~ll.r and al-'Abblis as l.I. said before his editor I.H. pruned his work,
thoughhetookadifferentviewoftheAlides.'

PART I

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE

THE MERCIFUL
PRAISE BELONGS TO GOD THE LORD OF THE
WORLDS AND MAY HI S BLESSING BE UPON
OUR LORD MUHAMMAD AND HIS FAMILY,

MUHAMMAD'S PURE DESCENT

FROM ADAM
Abti Muhammad 'Abdu'I-Malilr. ibn Hishim the Grammarian said:
Thisistheboolr.ofthebiographyoftheapostleofGod.
Muhammad was the son of'Abdullah, b. 'Abdu'I-Munalib (whose name
was Shayba), b. H:lshim (whose name was 'Amr), b. 'Abdu Manaf(whose
name was ai-Mughira), b. Qu~ayy (whose name was Zayd), b. Kil~b. b.
Murra, b. Ka'b, b. Lu'ayy, b. Ghii!ib, b. Fihr, b. 1\Hlik, b. al-Nao;lr, b.
Kin11na, b. Khuz.ayma, b. Mudrika (whose name was 'Amir), b. Ilyis,
b. MuQar, b. Ni.U.r, b. Ma'add, b. 'Adn11n, b. Udd (or Udad), b. Muqawwam, b. Nli~tir, b. Tayra~, b. Ya'rub, b. Yuhjub, b. Nabit, b. Ismi'il,
b. lbrihim, the friend of the Compassionate, b. T~ri~ (who is Azar),
b.NII).tir,b.Sirtigh,b.Rl'ti,b.Falikh,b.'Aybar,b.Shilikh,b.Arfakhshadh, b. Slm, b. Nti\:1, b. Lamk, b. Matttilhalakh, b. Akhntikh, who is the
prophetldrisaecordingtowhattheyallege,butGodlr.nowsbest(he \\'U
the first of the aons of Adam to whom prophecy and writing with a pen were
given), b. Yard, b. Mahlil, b. Qaynan, b. Yilnith, b. Shith, b. Adam (to).

THE LINE Of I SMA'IL

Ism~.'ll b. lbrlihlm
Mah.h~, Misma',

begat twdve !IOns: Nlibit the eldest, Qaydhar, Adhbul,

Mlishi, Dimmli, Adhr, Taymli, Ya!tir, Nabish, QaydhumJ. Their mother was Ra'la d. MuQio;l b. 'Amr al-Jurhu mi ( 11 ).
Jurhum wu the aon of Yaq1an b. 'Aybar b. Shilikh, and [Yaq{an wasp
Qal;l{linb.'Aybarb.Shllikh. Accordingto reportlsmli'illi\'ed Joyears,

o~.~~i:7"a~ :!:!f;::.~t;,:~~..~.z; :r':~~..~r-~~::.':.'::;. .;..u.,ed ""'""

1

Th<pll,.......,ployedindica-th.atthewriterdo.,btotheoutnnn.t.Thereitouying

~ft~~f~i;;;.;~.;:;.~;~;:i ~~-ymuyinr''h' Lie" io

Tht Lift of Muhammad

s andwhtnhcdicdhcwuburied in the sacred precinct&' of the Ka'ba

be&idchhlmothcrHagar(u.)
Muhammad b. Muslim b. 'Ubaydullah b. Shihib al-Zuhr told me
that 'Abdu'I-Ral)mln b. 'Abdullah b. Ka'b b. Mllik al-Anflri, abo called
ai-Sulaml, told him that the apostle of God said: 'When you conquer
Egypttrcatitspooplcwcll,forthc>:'candaimourprotectionandltinship.'
laskedai-Zuhriwhatthcapostlcrncantbymakingthcmourkinandhc
replied that Hagar, the mother of hml'il, wu of their stock (lJ).
'Ad b. 'Aut b. I ram b. Slm b. NUl;! and Thaml1d and Jadiathctwosons
of'Abirb. l ramb. Stm b. N11Q,andTumand'lmliqand UmaymthCIOI\I
of Llwidh b. Slm b. N\11;1 arc all Arabs. Nlbit b. bml'il begat Y111hjub
and the line runs: Ya'rub-Tayrai)-N11)11r-Muqawwam-Udad-'Adnln (l.oJ).
From 'Adnlnthctribc:ldcscended from lsmi'ilsplitolf.'Adnlnhad
6, 7 two aons, Ma'add and 'All (t-+) Ma'add had four IOIUI: Nizlr, Quc,ll'a
(he being hia first hom he w111 called AbU Quc,lil'a), OunUf, and lyld.
Our,\!'a went to the Yaman to l;limyar b. Saba' wboec name was 'Abdu
Shams; the reason why he was called Saba' wu that he wu the fi.nt among
the Arabs to take captives. He w111 the aon of Yuhjub b. Ya'rub b.
Qa.I)Jin (tS) OfQunUf b. Ma'add according to the genealogists of
Ma'add,nonchusurvived. AI-Nu'mlnb.al-Mundhirkingofal-I;IIn.
bclongedtothcirtribc:. Al-ZuhrltoldmcthatthiaNu'mlnbelongcdtothe
QunUfb.Ma'add(t6).
Ya'ql1bb.'Utbab.al-Mughirab.ai-Akhnutoldmcthatashaykholthc
~lr of B. Zurayq told him that 'Umar b. al-Kha!11b, when he wu given
the 1word of al-Nu'mln b. al-Mundhir, sent for Jubayr b. Mafim b.
'Adiyb.Naufalb.'AbduManlfb.OUfayy(hcbc:ingthcbcstgcncalogiat
of the Qunayah and indeed of all the Arabs and claimed to have been
taught by AbU Bakr who was the greatest ~ealogist of the Arabs) and
girded it on him. When he uked who al-Nu'mln was, Jubayr replied that
hewuasurvivorofthetribeofQunutb.Ma'add. Howcvc:r,thcratofthe
Arabs asscn that he belonged to the Lakhm of the Rabi'a b. Nqr, Only
Godkno.,'lthctruth(t7)

OF RABI'A B. NA!1R KING OF THE YAMAN AND TH

STORY OF SHIQQ AND SATIIJ THR TWO SOOTHSAYERS

10

Rabi'a b. NJtr, Icing of the Yaman. wu of the true stock of the Tubba'
ltingt. Hchada visionWhichtcrrifiedhimandcontinuedtocausehim
much anxiety. Sohcsurnmonedcverysoothuyer,IOrcercr,omenmonger,
andastrologerinhiakingdomandsaid:'lhavehadaviaionwhichtcrrifica
me and ia a 10urce of anxiety. Tell me what it was and what it means.'
They replied: 'TcllusthcvisionandwcwiUtcllyouit.mcaning.' 'If
Itcllyouit,'aaidbe,'Icanhavcnoconfidcnc.einyourintcrprctation;for
n.. w;.th<~r-:ebftweea!I..,_,IM(wall)&.fldth< K.'b..

The Lift of Muhammad

thc:onlymanwhokno ...... itsmcaningiahc:whokno.,'Ssboutthcvision
without my telling him.' Thereupon one of them recommended him to
send for Shiqq and Sa!i~, forthcyknewmorethanothcnandwould be ''
abletoanswcrhiaqucstions. Sa!i~'snarncwasRabi'b.Rabi'ab.MI!I'iidb.
Mil.zin, b. Dhi'b b. 'Adly b. Ml.zin Ghassan. Shiqq was the son of $a'b,
b. Yuhkur b. Ruhm b. Afrak, b. Ql!lr b. 'Abqar b. Anmlr b. Nizlir, and
Anmlr w.u the father of Bajlla and Khath 'am (18).
SohcsentforthcmandSa!i~arrivedfint. Thck.ingthcnrcpcatedhia
worda, ending, 'If you know the vision you will know what it means.'
Sa!il;lreplied ~nwj']:

~%: }:~:~~o~the sea.

~:~~~:o~':1a~ ~~;~
Thckingagrccdthatthiswascxactlywhathehadsccn,andwhatwas
thcmcaningofitali?Hcanswcred:
Bythescrpcntofthclavaplainslswear
TheEthiopiansonyourlandshallbear
RulingfromAbyantoJurash c,erywhcrc.
The king exclaimed that this Will distreuing news, but when would these
thingl oomc to pass-in his time or after him? He replied: [again in
rhyme]thatmorcthan aixtyorse\'Cfltyycarsmustfi.ntpass. Would the
new-comers' kingdom ll!lt? No, an end would be put to it after IC'o'Cnty
ycarlormorc;thenthcywouldbeslainordrivcnoutasfugitivet. Who
would do thia? Ir.un b. Dh\1 Yazan, who would come against t,hem from
Aden and not leave one of them in the Yemen. Funhcr questions drew
theinfonnationthatthcirlcingdomwouldnotlast,butapure prophctto
whom rcvdation came from on high would bring it to an end; he would be
a man of the 10ns of Ghllib b. Fihr b. Mlilik, b. al-Nar,tr. His dominion
wouldlasttcithccndoftime. Hl!ltimc ancnd?askcdthcking. Yes,
repliedSatil;l,thedayonwhiehthcfil"6tandthelastshallbeassemblcd,
thcrighteousforhappineu,thecvildocnformiscry. Are you telling me
thetruth?thckingaskcd.
Ycs,bythedarkandthctwilight
Andthcdawnthatfollowsthcnight
Vcrilywhatlhavctoldyouisright.
Liter sruqq arrived and the king acquainted him with the facts but
didnottcllhimwhatSaliQhadaaid,sothathe might sccwhctherthey
agreed or differed. Hiswordawere:

~:m~ ro~hd~~:ethe

sea.
ltfellbctwcenroekandtree
De\'ouringallthatdidbr"'the.

The Life of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad
Per~eiving th_at they agreed one_ with the other and that the diffe rence
wasamerechotceofwordl,thekmgaskedShiqqforhisinterpretation:
Bythemenoftheplainslwear
Theblacbonyourlandshallbcar

~~l~~i~~r~~~~y:~of~:rr:u:v;a;.here.
Thekingputthesamequestionstohimandleamedthatafterhistime

~~~~~~~~e~l:e;h!"O:t:.~ :=~ne

mighty, great of name

lie would be
Ayoungmanneitherremissnorbasc

~~~~~ :r~~:=~~hl~a~:z::~~~~~ ';!~lace,

11!!1
~~:~~~~~i;~~:~~~Y~~~~i~. ~~~ne:~~a::~!~ ~~?e ~;:i:l:~
...

IIOW ABO KAR I B TIBAN AS.AD TOOK POSSESSION 01' THE

K I NGDOM 01' TilE \'AMAN AND HIS EXPED I TION
TOYATIIRIB

~~~~lif~~~

It was Tib~n As' ad Abii Karib who went to Medina and took away to the
Yaman two Jewish rabbis from thence. lie adorned' the sacred temple and
CO\"Cred it with cloth. His reign was before that of Rabra b. N~r (2.3).
11
When he came from the cast he had passed by Medina without harming
itspcople;buthelcftbchindthereoncofhisl(lnswhowllStrcacherou!ly
slain. Thereupon he retu rned with the intention of destroying the
townandutcrminatingits people and Olttingdown its palms. So this
tribe of the An~r gathered together under the leadenhip of 'i\mr b.
Talla the brother of B. a\-iSajjil.r and one of B. 'Amr b. 1\hbdhii\. Mabdhiil's. name Wall '.\mir b. Mil.lik b. al-Najjlr; and al-N:~jjlr's name WllS
Taym Allah b. Tha'laba h. 'Amr b. ai-Khazraj b. l:li!.ritha b. Tha'laba b.
'Amrb.'Amir(24).
Now a man of B. 'Adiy b. al-Najj.ir called Al)ma r had fallen upon one
ofthcfollowersofTubba'whenhcbroughtthemtol\ledinaandkillcd
him/bccauschecaughthimamonghispalmscuttingthedatedusters;
hestruckhimwithhis sickleandkilledhim,sa.ying'Thefruitbclongsto
the man who cultivate!! it.' This enraged the Tubba' against them and
fighting broke out. Indeed theAn~llrasscrtthattheyuscUtofight t hemby
day and treat them as guests by night. Tubba' was amazed at this and used
tosay:'IJyGodourpooplearcgenerous!'
While Tubba' was occupied in this fighting there came two jC\\ish
rabbis from B. Quray?-a-QuraY?.a, and al-Na,lir and al-Najjll.m and 'Amr
nicknamed Hanging-lip were sons of ai-Khazraj b. al-$aril) b. al-Tau'umll.n
b. ai-Sibt b. al-Yasa' b. Sa'd b. Lii11"i b. Khayr b. al-Najjilm b. Tanl.1iun b
'Azar b. 'lzri b. JHriin b. 'lmriin b. Y~har b. Q~hatl b. Lllwl b. Ya'qlih
otherwise called lsr-l'il b.lsl)iq b. Ibrahimthefriendofal-Ral.lmllnJeamedmenwellgroundedintradition. Theyhadhcardaboutthcking's
intention to destroy the town and its people and thcysa.id to him: '0
King, do not do it, for if you persist in your intention something \\ilt
happen to pre\ent your carrying it out and we fear that you will incur
tpecdyretribution.' WhenthekingllSkedthereasonforthistheytold
him that Yathrib was the place to which a prophet of the Quraysh would
migrate in time to come, and it \\"Ould be his home and resting-place. 14
Seeingthatthesemcnhadhiddenknowledgethekingtoolr.theirwordsin
good partandga,euph~dcsign,departcdfromMedina2.ndembraccd
the rabbis' religion.
Kh~lid h. 'Abd ai-'Uzz..i b. Ghaziya b. 'Amr b. 'Auf b. Ch11nm b.
1\H.\ilr.b.al-Najjlirboastingof'Amrb.Tallasaid:

Hashegivenupyouthfulfollyorceascdtoremcmbcrit?
Orhashehadhisfillofpleasure?
1 ....,...,,~porho.,-mono'ratorcd". Tob.omiuthioo<nt<n
Tob. addo: "and 1h~w him into o ,.. ll allod 1)1161 T~mln'
'VoriontQibath
' Tob. tn.o;a back thio otory throu~h Ibn l o~Yozid b. 'Amr-Abin b. AbU n,~~hh
Anu b. Ml!ik 10 coriAin ohoykho of Mrdino ,...ho lind in pr<- lt!onuc trn~f

The Life of ll111hammad

Orh:weyouremembcredyouth?
And what a memory of youth and iu times you have!
ltwuayoungman'swar
Suehugivcshimel[pcrience.
So ask 'Jmr~norAsad,
When headlong' \\ith the morning star came
AbUKaribwithhisgrcatsquadrons
Cladinlongmail,ofpungentsmell.
They said, Whom shall we m:i.ke for,
ThcBanUAufortheNajjar?
SurelytheBanii-1- Najjir,
ForweaeckrevengeforourUead.
Thenourswordsmenwenttomcctthem,
Theirnumbcrasthedropsofwidclyfallingrain,
Among them 'Amr b. Talla
(Godprolonghislifeforthewclfareofhispeople).
Achicfwhoisonalcvclwithklngsbutwhoso
Wouldviewithhimdocsnotknowhiseminence.
This 1ribc of the Antlir claim that the Tubba' was enraged only against
this tribe of the Jews who were living among them and that it was only
hisintentiontodcstroy thcm,buttheyprotectedthcmuntilhewenthis
way. Thcrcforeinhisverachesaid:
lnrageagainsttwo Jewishtribcswholi\einYathrib
Whorichlydcscrvcthepunishmcntofafatefulday(as).l
Now the Tubba' and his people were idolaters. He set out for Mea
which was on his way to the Yaman, and when he was between 'Usfin and
15 AJJU~j' some men of the Hudhayl b. Mudrika b. Ilyb b. Mu4,ar b. Nidr b.

Ma'add came to him saying, '0 King, JlUIY we not lead you to an ancient
treasury which former kingt have O\'erlooked? It contains pcarb, topaz,
rubics,gold,andsiln:r.'Ccrtainly,saidhc,llldthcyaddcdthatitwasa
temple in Mecca which ill people worshipped and where they prayed. But
therealintentionoftheHudhayliswastoencompasshisdcstruction,for
thcyknew thatanykingthat treated it with disrespect was sure to die.
Having agrecd tothcirproposalheltllttothetwor:abbisaodukedtheir
opinion. They told himthatthesoleobjcrtofthetribewastodcstroy
him and his army. 'We know of no other temple in the land which God
haschoscnforHimsclf,saidthey,andifyoudowhattheysuggcstyouand
all your men will perish.' The king asked them what he should do when
hegotthere,andtheytoldhimtodowhatthepcopleofMcccadid;to
' VarWu#Aildultnl'alearlydawn'
'ReadinR-.4-Jiif<>t>no
W.'a!uliopreoededby.....U..rve,.., Tab.h&oprncrvtdthefulll<lltwhkhlhove
;,...ntdatlhcendoflhiooeclioninlhocon!aluoi&nedl<>ilbyTb
Auth.oriliadiuu!OIIIeoilcofthc'Uofln. Amojio thcnomoofolown ..iohinteac:h
of-l\1edi,.andaJ.oofawadirunninlfromlhcl;furaofthcBanUSuloymtolheoca.

Tht Lift of M11hammad

circumambulatethetemplc,tovcnerateandhonourit,toshavehishead,
andtobchnewithallhumilityuntilhehad lcftiuprccincts.
Thekingaskcdwhytheytooshouldnotdolikewisc. They replied that
itwasindccdthetempleoftheirfatherAbr:aham,buttheidolswhichthe
inhabitants had set up round it, and the blood which they shed there,
~:~~d~!~::~~.obstacle. They are unclean polytheists, said they

thcR~~::gt~~eH~~~~;~:!:';;~~~i~h~~:= t~~~~d=:~::
hisjoumeytoMecca. HewentroundthcKa'ba,saaificed,andshaved
hishcad,stayingtheresixdays(sotheysay)sacrificinganiJJU~Iswhich he
distributedtothepeopleandgivingthcmhoneytodrink.
lt wasrevealcd tohimin adrcamthatheshouldco\'erthetemplc,so
he covered it with woven palm branches; a later vision showed him that he
must do bcuer 110 be covered it with Yamanl doth; a third vision induced
himtoclotheitwithfincstripcdYamancloth. Pcople~~aythattheTubba'
wasthefintmantocoverthetempleinthisway. Heorderedits }urhuml

~~~~:~o~~~k:p~:n~e:a:7t~ =~ ~: ~::e ~1:::~ ~~~d a~~~~roi~. men

b. ~a~~y~~ t=~~~~b: ~::~~~b~.l:~=~.b~~:~~ ~b~~~ ~1.u:~;:r~
was the wife of 'Abdu Manaf b. Ka'b b. Sa'd b. Taym b. Murra b. Ka'b
b. Lu'ay b. Ghilib b. Fihr b. Milik b. Na<,lr b. Kinlina. She had by him
aiiOncallcdKhlilid;andinimprcssingonhimthesanctityofMcccaand
forbidding him to oommit.grievous sin there, she reminded hi.m ofTubba'
andhis humilitytowardaJtandhisworkthere,inthefoUowmglincs:
Omyson,opprcssncitherthemeannorthegrcatinMccca.
Prcscrveitssanctityandbcnotlcdaway.'
He who docs evil in Mecca will meet the wont misfortune.
His face wiU be smitten and his checks will bum with fire.
I know from certain .knowledge that the evildoer t~e": w.ill perish.
God hasJJU~deitinVJOiatethoughnocutlcsarcbulitmiUCOurt.
GodhasmadciubirdsinviolateandthcwildgoauonThabtraresafe.
T~'::~. came against it, but covered its building with embroidered
GodhumblcdhisiiOvercigntythcrcsohcfulfillcdhisvows,
Walkingbarefoottoitwithtwothousandcamelsinitscourtyard.
Itspeoplehefedwith thcftcshofMahrlcamels.
Gavethcmtodrinkstrainedhoneyandpurebarlcy-water.
(God)dcstroyedthearmyoftheclephanl,
Theywercpcltcdwithgrcatstoncs,J

.. J>.JJndJSS
''ArmUniocenofSii
AmounWnoboveMea.
u,mcouldm.. n'wildbinlo'

a~ryEi,.'f'";,.~l':~':;.": ;;:;~:,;t:::~'!"b~~::':~~;.!~~~:n~.~~: ~

o6

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

atlcastthisiswhattheYamanitessay. Thentheydcstroyedthetemp!eand
I amtoldthatitsruinstothisdayshowtraccsofthebloodth.atwaspourcd

And(Goddn.troyed)thcirkingdominthefanhestlands
BothinPcrs.iaandKhazar.
Hcarkenthercforewhenyouaretoldthestory
Andunders.tandtheendofsuehthings(26)
17

Afterwards he set forth for the Yaman wi~h ~is ar~y and the two rabbi~,

~~~ 1:1~;;::, r~:~ht~c;i:e~::dc:un~:?~:ee ~::t ;~ c~:~~:~~e~~e~d~t th~:

or~~~ i1~~~ ~~i~~:.::b~h~~Abu 1\Ulik ai-Qura~i told me that he heard

lbr:ihim b. Mulpmmad b. Ta!~a b. 'Ubayda!!ah narra~e that when 1:ubba'

~~~[!~
~~~l~~~1~~~~~~2:~~t~i~t~~~~~~:J.;t~;
1

Ju~~:~:~ ; ~~~~n~old me that the two panics only went up to the

f~1:~d;;~~I::~~~~e~:~~~;i~ !~~:~~~:~;:::;~~~:\~~;

withdrew unable to withstand it. Afterwards, when the two rabbis came

~~~n~~~~~ ~;~;d t:~;r;c~~ce.~~~r:;~~t :~:rs:~:;~,~c:c~~P~~~ ~:~c7r

rei~:~-R?,~~ ~~~ ~n:w;f";~~~cr;~;: i:::~~~~y venerated and

11

here

*~~ ::::::~:c;~~~;~~~~~~;;~~ ~~:%~re~~~:ns~:;~ru:,:~~~~~~~;ii~~~

~~;~; a~r!tist~:; :!:~:k:~~~:~~~::~: ~:1 0~iit~~d ~~;~~n i~:

ha~~~~!!;'t:d:'::hd ;;~[~~::~n~h~~-~~~~h:;sh:x:~;~~nd;~~~\~~
men of Hudhayl, and how he adorned and purified the temple and what
thetworabbistoldhimabouttheapostleofGod:
Why,O soul,iathysleepdisturbedlikeone.whosccyespainhim?
\Vhydostthouaufferfromperpetualinsomma,
Enragedagainsttwojcwishtribcswholivein Yathrib,
Whorichlydcsc:rvcthcpunishmentofafatefulday?
WhcnlsojournedinMedina
Calmandrcfreshingwasmyslecp.
Imademydwellingonahi!!
Bctweenai-'Aqiqand Baqi'ui-Gharqad.
Welcftitsrocksandp!ateau
Anditsbarcsaltyp!ain
And came down to Yathrib, and my breast
Scethedwithangeratthckillingofmyson
I hadawornastcadfastvow,

~~ t~~~c~ ~:~~": ;~~~~~:~.:~~

Strippcdofpalrnsbothstriplingsandfruitful'
WhenlofromQuray;acame
Arabbiwise,amongthejewsrcspccted.
'Standbackfromacityprcscn.cd;'saidhc,
'ForMccca'sprophetofQunyshtruc-guided.'
So!forwwe themwithoutreproach
Ilcftthcmtothejudgcmcntofthclastday
ToCodwhoscpardon I hope for
Onthedayofreckoningthat l cscapetheflameaofhcll.
Someofourpeop!clleftthereforhim,
Menofrcputationandva!our,
Menwhocarryplanstovictory'scnd.
Ihopcthcrcbyfora rcwardfroml\lu hammad'sLord
l kncwnotthattherewasapurctemple
Dc,otcdtoGodinMccca'sva!c,
Tillsla\'ts fromHudhay l cametome
ln ai-Duffof Jumdinabovea!-Masnad.
'AhouseofancicntwealthinMccca
Trcasuresofpcarlsandjewebl'theyaaid.
I wantedtoseiu:thcmbutmyLordsaidnay.
ForGodprcventsdestructionofhissanctuary.
I pvcupmypurposethere

T- 906

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Andleftthoaemenanexampletothedisceming.
Dhii'l-Qarnayn before me was a Muslim
Conqueredkingsthrongedhiscourt,
Eaatandwestheruled,yethesought
Knowledgetruefromalearneduge.
He uw where the sun sinks from view
ln apool of mudandfetidslime.
BeforehimBilqilmyfather'alister
Ruledthemuntil thehoopoecametoher.)'

THE RE I GN OF H IS SON I_IASSAN IBN TIBA N AND HOW

'AMR KILLED HIS BROTHER

Whenhisson l:lasalinb. T iblnAs'adAbii Karibcametothethronehe

setoutwiththeYamanites toaubduethe landoftheArabsand Penianl.
Howev~r, ~hen they rea~hed a place in Iraq (27) the l:limyarite and
YamaOLte tnbes were unwtlling to go farther and wanted to return to their
families, 10 they approached one of his brothen called 'Amr who was with
him in _the ~rmy and said t~at if he would kill his brother they would
make htm kmg 10 that he m1ght lead them home again. He said that he

;j~~~a~~e~~~~~~~~d~11:i~~: ~:j~~~~~nb~~c t!: ~:~p~o~~~~~~~~

10

Ru'aynwrotethefollowingvcnes:
Ohwhowouldbuyslceplcsanessforslcep?
Happy iahewho pauesthenight inpeace;
Thought)imyarhavebcentrcacherous,
GodwillholdDhiiRu'aynblamcless
He sealed the document and brought it to 'Anu, uying: ' Keep this with
)'OU for me,' and he did 10. Then 'Amr killed his brother Hasaln and
returned to the Yaman with his men. One of the Himyarites was moved
totay
l nfonnergcnerations
Whateyesha\'etn
Thclikeof}:lasainwho hasbeenslainl
The princes alew him lest they should be kept at war.
Onthemorrowtheyaaid'ltisnaughtl'
Yourdeadwasthebestofusandyourlivingone
ls lordover uswhileallofyouarclords.

U.:o~. .=~~it~pob~~ ;!~~;~o.~no'u.LOhit":,ri~ ~~~~b~ :=;::'::',!';~~!

d~T~~s~=nf= 1~~=~:.~~~:r.~;::,~b.Sijit~vntby/.2r.i.w.
Tokclh~

kinlld<>m wilhouluoinR force

II OW LAKHNI'A DH0 SHANATIR SB IZ I!D THE THRONE O F

A J~im yart who had no connexion with the royal hou&e called Lakhni'a

~;~~ffa~~~y ~:~~t!r::=. ~~ t~~e!::at~~~ali:a~~y~~nr;!::ut the

l:limy~r~uslayingit_Ssons andexilingita princes,
Worlungltasharnewttbitsownhands,

~~~~e~ta~~~~!srn:~~Jr ::i~i~~~olous thought..

Sodidearlier generationsbringtheirdoom
Byactsofinjusticcandproftigacy.

Lakhnl'a was a most evil man-a sodomite. He used to summon a

youngmanoftheroyalfamilyandassaulthiminaroomwhichhehad

S:'E~2:r:..'{~E~E.=~.~!.~?:~:.r.~~:~.:2
~owthat he hadaccomplishedhispurpose.(T.Thenhev;ouldreleue

~: ~=~~ :~~ ~~~u~ae ~~:d15th~r~;.~::l~~:;

brother of}:lud.n. He was a little boy when }:I ~~Min wu murdered and had

~;i;t~~T:~:::a;;~;:E:t:~~~~~s~
::.~~d\\~: :~:a~.at~:::t~: ~!~~~=d ;~~~~ i~'7h~ ~::!

20

The L1ft of Muhammad

Tht Lrft of Muhammad

which O\'Crlooked the men below. He stuck the toothpick in his mouth
and wentouttotheguards, whoincoarselangua~ inquired what had
happened.' 'Askthathead,'hereplied. They looked at the window and
therewasLakhni'a'theadcutoff. SotheywentinpursuitofDhUNuwls
andtaid:'Youmustbeourkingandnooneelse,seeingthatyouha\erid
uofthisdisgu$tingfellow.' (29).

:~:~:~:k:i~u~n~o:h~~o~~~;i~h:ta:.~t -~=p;:: ~~ a~d_;t~:~ri~i~~

TilE REIGN OF DH0 NUWAS

They made him king and all the tribes of ):limyar joined him. He was the
last of the Ya.manl kings :and the man who had the ditch made! He was
c:~lledJosephandreignedforaomeconsidentbletime.

In Najrin there were aome people 1 who held the religion of'l&l b.
Maryam, a virtuous and upright people who followed the Gospel. Their
head was named 'Abdullah b. ai-TMmir. The place where that religion
took root wasinNajriln,atthattimethecentreoftheArabs'country;its
people, and indeed the restoftheArabs, were idolaters. A Christian by
thenameofFaymiyQnhadsettledthcre:andconvertedthepeopletohi.s
religion.
THE BEG I NNING OF CHRISTIAN I TY I N NAJRAN

21

Al-Mughlrab.AbQLabid,afreedmanofal-Akhnas,ontheauthorityof
Wahb b. Munabbih the Yam:ani told me that the origin of Christianity in
Najriln was due to a man named Faymiyiin who was a righteous, earnest,
ascetic man whose prayen were answered. He used to vrander between
towns: as a.oon u he became known in one town he moved to :another,
eatingonlywhatheeamed,forhewasabuilderbytradeusingmudbricks.
Heused tokeepSundayasadayofrest:andwoulddonoworkthen. He
u.sedtogointoadescrtplaceandpraythereuntiltheevening.Whilehe
wasfo]lo\\inghittradeinaSyrianvilla~withdra\\inghimselffrommen,
one of the people there called $lli~ perceived what manner .ofman he

wasandfeltaviolentaffectionforhim,aothatunperceivedbyFaymiyUn
heusedtofollowhimfromplacetoplace,untiloneSundayhewentas
his wont was out into the desert followed by $ill~- $ali~ chose a hidingplace and aat down where he could ICC him, not wanting him to know where
he was. AsFaymiyQnltoodtoprayatinnin,aseven-hornedsnake,came
1 Tho A,.bielutiointonM!ditorderhue,but ll'>ccilllionfromtJ-A,AiklriV<=ninthe
Coiroediuon ""'~tiL poeoibl&toraiOn:thr trv< r..ding. A~tenllnntlationhubftn
ovoidedforobiouon:ooont.
'Sftholow,p, t7,1nploceofthemcntionoftheditchT.hu:'heo.dop!edJudoiom
tnd~ltmyorfolLowedhim', T .'o.-onionofthiottory ioolil;hdym<>..,d<:tai ledtndonomoy
ouoprctthatl. ll.haoomittrdph,..,..hen:ond !he"'.Prof.G.Ryckmontin i9J>dit-

::;:~~:~;;t~r~~~:~~~~~:~~;!~~~7~;~yf~::;::~~:~~p~j~~~:;

Faymiylin'aaafety,$11il)couldnotoontatnhimself:andcn~out : 'Fayml-

~~~ii ah~n~!~

fh:~: ~~~:k~~ ":,~~

~:n~;~~~~-hl1 ~r~:

i!n':J:"
::
thathehadbeenrecogniud:and$lilil)knewthathehadKCnhim. _So he
aaid to him: 'Faymiyiin, you know that I have never lo\ed anythmg as
I Joveyou;I wanttobealwayswithyouandgowhereveryougo.' He

;:~~~ fr: ~:~I:! ;:_.lms:w$~~; !!:~O:dw~~~~~~~n~~~:~;~~

of the village were on the point of diKOvering his teeret. For w~n a man

:'!e~~J~~: i~i:S:as7;!!:~-~~ ~Ys~:kann:n~:~~~::Co~ ;.:an~o~

1

oneofthevillagenhadaaonwhowasblind':andheaskedaboutFaymiyUn
andwastoldthathenevercamewhenhewassentfor,butthathewua
manwhobuilthouseaforpeopleforawage. Thereuponthem:antookhis
aon :and put him in his room and threw a garment over hi~ ~nd _went to
FaymiyUn saying that he wanted him to do some work for hllll m h11 house
and would he come and look at it, and they would agree on a price.
Arrived at the house Faymiyiin asked what he wanted done, and after
giving details the man suddenlywhiskedofftheoo.veringfromtheboy
:and said: '0 Faymiyiin,oneofGod'screaturesis mtheatateyou ICC.
So pray for him.' Faymiyiindidso'andthe boy got up entirely healed.

~~~~~~i;!d t!~~~:~h~dw~:"l~c;n!~~u~~ ~:~;;~~e;il~!:e!o~~\\~~;~

t reeandamancalledfromitsaymg,' l'vebeenexpecungyou:anduymg,
"When is he coming 1" until I heard your voice :and knew it wu you.

~n~i:Oa~~~~:o;:ya;: ~:~~i=e~n~i ~:;e :~~~~i~~u~~:ndi~~ l~f~

followedby$ilil)untiltheyreachedthclandotheArabawhoattacked
them, :and a caravan carried them off and aold them in Najri.n. At this time

g,~gi~J~f{~~1f~i.~g~~j~!~~:.~fi

~~~~y aa~0~7;~~ i~:wh~~~~i~~ h~~a~=~:n h::~r;,:t: :i:y~~!

~:a~~~~~::: ~~:;t~ ~~~:t ::~~.a~;h~~::~~;,:~:~t~~~~l~;:~:
1
~:;,~;~un:i~~~:r ~~7pa:odr ~~~;:~d ~t~e":~rei~oe;,::; ~:~;e~h~ ~~~m~~:
1 T.aivn tho word of FaymiyUn' pnyer: '0 God, thy onomr hu auockrd tho hoahh of
ono of lily ocrvanu 10 ruin it, Rn10re him 10 lleohll ond protect him from him."
Or,porhapo,'prooudroundit'.

22

The L1je of M11hammad

TheLifeofMuhammad

of God, He would destroy it, for l-Ie was God Alone without companion.
'Thendoso,'aaidhiamaster,'forifyoudothatweshallembracerour
religion, and abandon our present faith.' After purifying himself and
performingtworak'al, he invoked Godagainstthetrecand God sent a
wind against it which tore it from its roota and cut it on the ground. Then
thepeopleofNajrinadoptedhisreligionandheinstructedtheminthe
law of 'lsll. b. Maryam. Afterwards they aulfered the misfortunes' which
bcfellthcirco-religionistaineveryland. Thi!;wastheoriginofChristianity
inNajnininthelandoftheAnbs. SuchisthereportofWahbb.l\funabbihontheauthorityofthepeopleofNajriln

17

~:~~~d,'you hnegot it, but keep it to yourself, though I do not think you

an~~~~~~~;~:":::!~ ~~~!l~~:. ,~-~~:~r o~ng~~ \~l~j;!~ :~:n:~

~E~u~n~;Irni~~:~~:::~~f~~~L~~!:~:;:~~?,~~~7~~~

~~j! ':u;~~~~d:;:~i~~~:~~~nt~~ ==~~;;~~~~is':=nnc!~

When the news reached the king he sent for him and said: 'You hne

~=~~h~~::r:ea:~ ~~ :~~~"o~o~h~~ t~~he~~ ~g~.\~t~~: :nt~r~~~:

Yazid b. Ziyld told me on the authority of l\luhammad b. Ka'b

al-Qu~i,

andamanofNajrilnalsotoldme,th~taccordingtohispeopletheyusedto

wonhipidols. Najnlnisthelargesttowninwhichthepeopleoftheneighbouringdistrictcongregated,andinavillagehardbytherewasasoreerer
who used to instruct the young men of Najr:i.n in his art. When FaymiyUn
came there-they did not call him by the name that Wahb b. Munabbih
gi\'(:s him but simply aaid a man came there-he put up a tent bemeen
Najr.ln and the place where the sorcerer was. Now the people of Najnln
used to send their young men tothatsorcerertobc:taughtsorceryand
al-Thimir sent his son 'Abdullah along with them. When he passed by the
maninthetenthewasirnmc:nsdystruckbyhispnyersandde,otionand
begantositwithhimandlistentohimuntilhebecamea l\luslim1 and
acknowledged the unity of God and worshipped Him. He asked questions
aboutthe laws oflslamuntilwhenhebecamefullyinstructedthereinhe
asked the man what was the Great Name of God. Although he knew it he
kept it from him, aaying: 'l\lydearyoungman,lyouwillnotbeableto
bear it; I fear that you are not strong enough.~ Now ai-Thilmir had no
idea that his son 'Abdullahwasnotvisitingthesorccreralongwiththe
01heryoungmen. 'Abdullahseeingthathismasterhadkepttheknowledge
from him and was afraid of his weakness, collected a number of sticb and
whenever he taught him a name of God he wrote that name on a stick.
When he had got them all he lit a fire and began to throw them in om: by one
until when he reached the stick with the Great Name inscribed on it he
threw it in, and it immediately sprang out untouched by the fire. Thereupon he took it and went and told his master that heltncw the Great
Name which he had concealed from him. The latter questioned him
andwhenhelcarnedhowhehadfoundoutthesecrethesaid,'Omyyoung

~f~~J~~t.:J~s~~~~f~:~~~;ti~it~t~;};~~
be able !~kill him until he ac_knowle<lgedthe unity of God and believed

~~r~~::~~:t::71i~i~~;~:i::::1~?~;:::f;~~\~~~:~

~~~J~~~t~~g~~t~~~~~@~f~!
;::~n;~e~.ajri.n about 'Abdullah b. al-TMmir, but God knowa best what

DhU Nuwls came against them with his armies and invited them to

~t.~2~i~~7~ilt~1:.r,,Ii:~{Jgs~
Onthetrenehmakersbe cternal irc
Fortheirfud-fedfire
Watchingastheflamcsgrewhighcr
Thesuffcringsofthefaithful,dire!
Theyonlytormentedthembe...-ausctheybelievedin
GodtheMighty,theWonhytobePraised(3o).
1

Lit. 'Son of my

~Iii .....

broth~r'.

r~.::: ~hONu,."ilretumedtoS.n'lwithhiou""'po..'

The Life of Muhammad

TheLijeofMultammad

18

::-r~~J~!~~~~ ~~~2~~:~~~~~~~~~ ~:~~~~h~~~~bb~ ~a~ro~J!j::

One of the Yamanis remembering how Daua had brought the Abystiniansuponthcmsaid
NotliktDausand notlikethethingshecarricdinhissaddlcbag.

ofhishanditretumedtoitsplaceandthef\owofhloodceased. On hiS

~~=!~~~;::~~~:~;)~C:~t~~e;r castles Sil~in, Baynlin, and Ghumdin

~~;~}~~:~~~;?~;;?g~:~g~?;~;g~g1f~

AndthilaayinghasbtcomtproverbialinthtYamanuntilthisday.
DhUJadantht l:limyari('frecordingthmhumiliationaftertheirformer

~:~~t:;17e~~~~":.:i~! ~~~~~ai~tlm~;:!';h; :::~a~:h::~~~~u:;:

Gtntly!Tea~t:annotrecallwhatissped.

Frt tnotthy!!elfforthosewhoaredead
AftcrBaynlinnostonesnor traceremain,
AndaftcrSil!:tinshallmcnbuiltlsuchhou!ICSagain1

duly carried out.

Baynlin, Sil~in, and Ghumdan are \'amani castles which Aryl\ destroyed
andnoneliktthemexiatcd.
He continued:
Peace,confoundyou!YouC211'ttummefrommypurpose
Thyscoldingdriesmyspiltltl
Tothemusicofaingersintimes past'tVo"lllfint
Whenwedrankourfillofpurestnohltstwine.
Drinkingfreclyofwinebringsmenoahame

OFDAUSOIIOTIIA't.ABANANOTIIEBEG I NNINGOFTIIE
ABYSSIN I AN DOMINAT I ON AND TilE H I STORY OF
ARYAT WIIO BECAME VICEROY OF THE YAM AN

A man of Saba' called Daus Dhli Tha'lab;In escaped on a horse, and taking
tothtdtstrteludedthtm. 1 Hepressedonuntilhereachtdtht Byzanti~e
court, when he asked the emperor to aid him against ~hli Now~ and h1s
:6

19

=~=-o~t~~:a~:r:~~r1~:~:~;~~~ ~~~~t~tet::~;~:n~~ldren

It is said that among those put to death by Dhli Nuwbwas 'Abdullah b.

:~;~t~lt!:~i;;:r ~~: ~:~a:J:~~h:~h~:~~d~~~h:~~:~ ~:t ':~~t~

~o~~t~~~:~o~~~:.~~j~:!:nion

....-ould write to the Abyssinian king who was _a ~ristian ~nd ~-hose
territory was near the Yaman. Accordingly he d1d wntt ordtnng h1m to

[~~~~~@:4~

~~t~a:-~eh:!~u~~ ~~:~~~:~~~....~:::: Ry.

Fromthemountaintopitlowers
\Vellcarpentercd,withstonesforstay,
Plastercdwithclean,damp,slippcryclay;
Oillampswithinitshow
At tvc:nlikttht lightning'sglow.
Besideitswallthepalm-treesfint

~:~~:2:g~~~;Y~lf~;~g~~~~~

Withripcningfrui tincluste~shint.

Thisoncc-newcastlcisashcstoday,
Theflameshaveeatenitsbcautyaway.
Dhli Nuwb humbled gal"e up his castle great
Andwamedhispeopleofthcircomingfate

~:"!~ ~t~.~~~~~~~:~t~h~~=J'n :~~~~h~:~i :: !~s:/~~-~~

~5=~~~~~m:;~~~~;~~~~:~~~~~~~
19

~Tob.

935 .9 ..)'&Lhatth<..,..,..oYamoni.....,..nlhatomonofl'ojdn ..lledJoWr

;~:~~=:!~toUuan ac:rountoftMdioordomlototo of tho Ya.nanlormr and their

would blame .

Thoughhtdrinkthepcrfumedpotionsofthequack.
Nor monkinhiascdudcdccllonhigh

Withrcfen:ncctothat,lbnal-Dhi'baai-Thaqafisaid(J t):
Byh::;; lifethtre'snoescapeforamanwhendeathandoldagt!ICize

Bythyliftaman hasnowheretoflee-noas)lum

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Could there beafterl;limy:ar's tribes were destroyed one mom by
A

~::~~s :~!~d with spearmen (glittering) like the sky before

Theircrydeafenedthechargersandtheyputtoflightthewarriors

w:~e:h~irt~~~~t i~m:~~ber the very sap of trees dried at their

approach.
'Amr b. Ma'di Karib alZubaydi said concerning a dispute which he had
withOaysb.MakshUI)alMuridiwhenhe heardthathehadthreatened
him,andbringingtomemorythelostgloryofl;limyar:
Do you threaten me as though you were Dh\i Ru'ayn
Or Dh\i Nuwb in the days of their prime?
Manyamanbeforeyouwasprosperous
Withakingdomfinnlyrootedamongmen.
Ancientasthedaysof'Ad
Exceedingfierce,overcomingtyrants,
Yethispeople perished
Andhebecameawandereramongmen(J:z):

HOW ABRAHA SEIZED POWER IN THE YAMAN AND

KILLEDARYAT'

Aryii~ held sway in the Yaman for some years a.nd then .Abraha the

Abyssinian (T. who was in his army) disputed h1s authonty, and the

~~~~~~: :~~n~nl~r:: !~~~C: ~:;:t ~~i:;:~n~~ufra~~rs~he\~~;e;:C

intemecinewarandimitinghimtosettlethedisputebypersonalcombat,
the winner to be tbe sole commander of the army. Ary~t agreed and Abraha
went forth to meet him. He was a short fat man holding the Christian
faith; and Aryii~ advanced against him spear in hand; he was a big, tall,
handsome man. Abraha had a young man called 'Atawda 11t his back to
defend him against attack from the rear. Ary~t raised his spear striking
atAbraha'sskullandhithimon theforeheadsplininghiseyebrow,nose,

,~~i;!~~~~~tt~i~~~r~~~~:~r!H~2f~r:
~~e~~f~~;t!;~~~~~:::le:: n;~:l:th~ :::~:;,g f~~a~h~~~~~:

had ~lied him bloodmoneymust be paid. He asked and obtained from him

The Life of Muhamnu~d

the right of primae noetis in Yaman.) Abraha paid bloodmoney for killing
Ary~t. (T. All this happened without the knowledge of the Negus.)
Whenthenev;softhisaffairreachedthe Neguahewasfilledwithrage
and said: 'Has he attacked my amir and killed him without any order from
me?' Then he swore an oath that he would not leave Abraha alone until
hehadtroddenhislandandcutoffhiaforelock. SoAbrahashavedhis
head andfilled aleatherbagwiththeearthoftheYamanandaentittothe
Negus with the following letter: '0 King, Ary~l was only thy slave and I
tooamthy slave. Wedisputedaboutyourorders;everyonemustobey
you;butlwasstronger,finner,andmore skilfillinmanagingtheaffairsof
the Abyssinians. Now when I was told of the king's oath I shaved the
wholeofmyheadandlsendittoyouwithabagofthedustofmylandthat
youmayputitbeneathyourfeetandthuskeepyouroathconcerningme.'
When this message reached the Negus he was reconciled to him and wrote
tohimthathevrastostayintheYamanuntilfurtherorders;soAbraha
remained in the Yaman. (T. When Abraha perceived that the Negus \\'as T. 933
reconciled and hadmadehimviceregentoftheYaman, hesenttoAbll
Murra b. Dhll Yazan and took away from him his wife Rayl)ii.na d.
'Aiqama b. Malik b. Zayd b. Kahl~n. AbU Murra who is Dhii Jadan had
a son by her-Ma'di Karib. Afterwards she bore to Abraha a son M:driiq
and a daughter Basbiisa. AbU Murra took to flight. His slave 'Atawda
went on exercising his right in Yaman until a man of l;limy:ar of Khath'am
attacked and killed him; and when the news reached Abraha, who was
a lenient noble character, a Christian of temperate habits, he told the

~ptl~a:h~~~th:~n~~~ ~~~: ~ta\.~~::.~:~d~a:~~~~:~t~u:ease:~~~t:::

his services he would not have allowed him to choose his reward. Further no
bloodwitwouldbeexactedandhewouldnottakeanyactionagainstthem
forkilling'Atawda.)

THE HI STORY OF THE ELEPHANT AND THE STORY OF

THEINTERCAlATORS

The Lift of Muhammad

TheLifeofMuJummuul

:u

10

when the in\'itation was brought they said, 'By Cod, if we eat this the

~~i~ifi;;.g~;~~~:~rr~:~r::;

~f::{~~~~J:~~:~;~~~~~~~~r~J~~~~~~:~~~

t~r.t~~~~~tj.:JE;:~~#~?4f,~~0

:~:::~:;ri~!:~ :~~;~~~~;~~~E~~~~~:~~~:~;~~~~~

wou ldmakeoneoftheholymontb.profane,andmakeoneoftheprofane
3o montha holy to balance the calendar. It _wu about ~ t~t God ac:nt

iit~~i~~l

~E;r~*::Ya~:;t ~:~[r;~rj~nh~~:~.-~:in;n:r ~~iathd~t~;m~~~~ ~f

the months, improvised :

M~:~: n~~:~!'::t;?. people are the most honourable of men and

Who hu escaped 111 when we seek vengeance and whom have we not
A::!e.:t

~~~;.~~~~dar-makers, making profanemontb.sacred r

(:H).
The Klnlnite went fonh until he came totheathedralanddefiled

~~-~~;~~~:;i~!~r~~~~;~~:2~~~:~~

~~:!~~~~g~h~: ~eh:~!t~~!,i~~:b~~~~~7t~: ::~;

T934

~P.~:~~~~t~~~:~~f.~1~

him amir of MuQar and ordered him to go among the people tO invite

who ahot him with an arrow, killing him. His brocher Qaya who was with
him 8cd to Abraha and told him the news, which increl#d his rage and

~~~~~~~~~~:~~i~~~~~~?~~~~~~:~!~

~i~~~~~s::~::~~:;~r7:;~;~~~~~:~rr;i~~~~~~i:~~~~:~~~

;i,:;I:~~:~~~;rf~:l~~?h;~.:~:~~~[~~}~~[~~t~~m
AbrahacontinuedonhisroadtoMeccauntilinthecountryofKhath'am

~~~~no~~s;lh~! ~~f:J!hb~f~~~i!~~~~~~m;o~:~~e~h~;~~~~~r:;~~

~;~~:f;:~:;~~g~~i~~;::~~;~;~;~;.D~\~;::f.~
hi~r~ntinued

T~'if

with him as a guide until they reached

"hen Mas' tid
b. Mu'attib b. Mllik b. Ka'b b. 'Amr b. Sa'd h. 'Auf b. Thaqlf came out to
him with the men of Thaqif. Thaqlf's name was Qasiy b. ai-N~blt b.
l\1unabbih b. Mantiir b. Yaqdum b. Afsl b. Du'mi b. l yid b. N1tlr b.
Ma'add b. 'Adnin. Umayya b. Abii $alt al-Thaqafl said

~~5fJet~: !~~ h:~u!~~;~~t (~ec:C)";~;u;~:heir camels might be

'Theoamoloa..,th.inbecauH!htya"'o!woyor"nnilkodto oupplythwanlaofl" .. ll
Schuhheoo,U""')')'<f,<J,r<odo/Qh>#Q'"'miahtbe olaullhtuod'

11

Tlte L1]e of Muhammad

Whenonthemarchl~q'swideplain

Is theirs-moreover they read and write (36).

Healsou.id
lfyouaskmewholam,Lubayna,andofmyline
lwilltellyoutheccruintruth.
Webelongtoal-NabitthefatherofQasiy
To M~tir 10n of Yaqdum (our) forcfathen (37).
They said to him: 0 King, we are thy servants attenti\oe and obedient
to you. Wehavenoquarrelwithyouandourtemple--meaningthatof
ai-Lit-ia not the one you seek. You '~'ant only the temple in Mecca, and
wewillsendwithyouamantoguideyouthere. Hethereforepassedon
leavingthemunmolt!lted.
As to ai-Ut it wu a temple of thein in al-Ti'if whiclt they used to
venerate as the Ka'ba is venerated (38). So they sent with him Abii
Righi! to guide him on the way to Mecca, and when he had brought
him as far u ai-Mughammis' Abii Righi.l. died there and the Arab.
:~~~:~ his gnve. This is the gnve which people in ai-Mughammis still
33

Arrived here, AbrahasentanAbyu.inianealled al-Aswad b. Mafs(idl

with&OmecavalryasfarasMeccaandthelattersentofftohimtheplunder
ofthepeopleofTihima,theQurayahandothers,amongitt>A1>hundred
camels belonging to 'Abdu'l-Muttalib b. Hishim, who at that time was
the leading shaykh of Qunyah. At fint Qurayah, Kinlna, and Hudhsyl
andothenwhowereintheholypl.accmcditated battle, but seeing that
theyhadnotthepowertoofferrt!listancctheygaveuptheidca.
Abrahasentl:luniitathel:limyaritetoMcccaimtmcting himtoinquire
whowuthechiefnotableofthecountryandtotellhimth.attheking's
message was that he had not come to fight them, but only to destroy the
temple. 1ftheyoffcrednorcsistancctherewasnocauaeforbloodshed,
and if he wished to avoid war he should return with him. On reac:hing
Mecca J:lun~ta was told that 'Abdu'l-Munalib b. Hishim b. 'Abd Manl(
b. QufiYY was the leading nota.ble, 10he went to him and delivered Abraha's
mQSage. 'Abdu'I-Munalib replied: 'God know~ that we do not wish to
fight him for we have not the power to do so. This is Allah' sanctuary
and the temple of His friend Abraham--or words to that effect-If He
defends it against him it is Hi1 temple and His sanctuary; and if he
leta him have it by God we cannot defend itl' J:lun~ta replied that he
:i:t h~~ with him to Abraha, for he was ordered to bring him back
So accompanied by one of hi1 10ns''Abdu'l-Muttalib came to the camp

TM Life of Muhammad
s
and inquired for Dhli Nafr, for he was 1 friend of his. He went in to ace

~~; :e~ ~h:r~~~~e~h~~::rk:~p~~: if,~~a~~~ ~: :!~h~:fd1~

pmonermthehandsofaking,expectingtobekilled at any moment?

~ ~or~~:!f:~ ~i~=~~ Y;~l :~J~~~:nu;a:~~=~~;o~rt::l~:~~:

a~stronglyaspouibleukinghimtotryto_getyoupennWiontoseethe

r~;~i::i~;d~~~~nk~~:n:~!,~?l~:~~~::~;,~::!~;$~~

and master of the Meccan' well who feeds men in the plain and wild

~~~0o~~h~:o~~!~ed~~;~~~u;:ri~;::~... :e:~~~~~ 1~

dotoandrepeatedtheaewordstotheking,addingthat'Abdu'l-Munalib

:::~dh:~~N~:.~~~~~u~:~;~~t: !~~~p=~~:, :!~!~~~r::

dignified man, and when Abraha aaw him he treated him with the greatest
retpea10thathewouldnotlethimsitbencathhim. Hecouldnotletthe

~~~~!:~a;'.::.:~i~~~~i~! ~;~ ~~ :d:i~ Aro~~~t~7~~~~ ~~ f:i~~

himthere. ThcnhetoldhisinterpretertoinquirewhatheV."If\ted,andthe
replywasth.athewantedthekingtoretum twohundredcamelsofhis
whichhehadtalten. Abraharepliedthroughtheinterpreter,'Youpleased
me much when I aaw you; then I was much ditpleased "'ith you when I
hcardwhatyouaaid. Doyouwiahtotalktomeabouttwohundrcdcamels
of~unwhichiha\eWen,andaaynothingaboutyourrcligionandthe
rel~gton ~f your forefathen which I hne come to destroy 1' 'Abdu'I-Mut~lbrcpiled,'Iamtheownerofthe camelsandthetemplehasanownerwho

~~i;::~::~~~;i~~~:~~~~~~~~~~:~:t~~;;~;;~!a::

when he sent l:lunlta to him, there accompanied him Ya'mur b. Nufltha

b. 'Adiy b. al-Du'il b. Bakr b. 'Abd Man~t b. Kinina, at that time chief

:~e~~B=r~=~~~;~Y:~~r~o;~~~hi!:~t:;~r ~~;efo:~::~~~~ncJ,7;~

that he wo~Jd withdraw from them and not destroy the temple, but he
refused the1r request; but God knows whethe r thit was ao or not. At
~e:te Abraha restored to 'Abdu'I-Munalib the camels which he had

~~~::~~:;~~:::%;~:~l:~i~~~~::::~~~:~!~Ei~~

fcaroftheexceuesofthe liOidien. 'Abdu'l-Munalib took hold of the

metal knoc:kerofthe Ka'ba, ~~-~~u~~~:~nyahstoodwithhimpnying

The Life of Muhammad

to God ~nd imploring his help ~gainst Abnha and hi1 army. As he was
holdingtheknoclr.erofthetempledoor,'Abdu'l-Munalibaaid
0 God, a ~an protects hi~ dwelling so protect Thy dwellings.'
LetnottheLrcrosaandtheLrcrafttomorrowo\'ercomcThycraft(39)'
llli~~rim~ b. 'Amir b. IUshim b. 'Abdu ManJf b. 'Abd al-Dar b. Qup)1'

0 God, humiliate al-Aswad b. Maf~iid

Whotookahundredcamdawearingthci rcollarw;
Betwccn Hiri'andThabir andthedeserU,
Heahut.theminwhentheyshouldbepasturingfreely,
AnddelL\'credthemtotheblaclr.barbarians,
Withdraw from him thine aid, 0 Lord, for T hou art worthy to be
praised(4o).
'Abdu'l-i\lunalibthenlctgotheknockerofthedoorofthe Ka'baand
went off with his Quraysh companions to the mountain tops where they
took up defensive poeitions waiting to see what Abraha would do when he
occupied Mecca. InthemornintAbrahapreparedtoenterthetownand
madehiselephantreadyforbanleanddrewuphistroops. Hisintention
wu to destroy the temple and then return to the Yaman. When they made
the elephant (its name was Ma~miid) face Mecca, Nufayl b. l;labib came
up!o its flank and taking holdofitsearaaid: 'Kneel, !\lal)miid,orgo
atr:'-ghtbackwhenceyoucame,foryouareinGod'sholyland!' Heletgo
ofltsearandthe~lephantknelt,andNufaylmadeoffattopspeedforthe

topofthemountam. T hetroopsbeattheelephanttomalr.eitgetupbutit
would not; they beat its head with iron barw; they stuck hooks into its
underbellyandscarifiedit;butitwouldnotgetup. Thentheymadeit
~ace the Yaman and immediate!): it got up ~nd started off. When they set
:: ~~::~~: t~ ee:;~ ~~~~:h~ e;~t- Lt did likew1se, hut as soon as they directed

Then God scm upon them birds from the !Ita like swallows and
J6&tarlings;eachbirdcarriedthreeatones,likepeasandlcntils,oneinits
beak and two between its claws. Everyone who was hit died but not all

~~:aY~;~- ~~~ib ~~t~~; t~e!i~:t ~~~ ~:~ :a;h~h~r.:~~ ~~~;! ~~t!~

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

Nufaylalsoaaid:
Ourgreetinp, Rudaynal
Yourejoiceoureyesthismomingl
[Yourfuel-secker cametouslastnight,
Butwehadnaughttogi\ehj.m.J
lfyouhad seen, butyouwillnotsce, Rudayna,
Whatweaawonal-Mui):~Mab'aaide'

Youwouldhaveforgivenmeandpraisedmyaction
Andnothavebeenvtxedatwhathaspasscdandgone.'
lpraisedGodwhenl aaw thcbirda,
And l fearedthestonesthatmightfalluponua.
EveryonewasaskingforNufayl
AAthough I owedtheAbyasiniansadebt.
Astheywithdrewtheywereoontinuallyfallingbythewaysidedying
miserably by e\"ery waterhole. Abraha was smitten in hi. body, and aa they
tookhimawayhisfingcnfelloffonebyonc. Wherethe fingerhadbeen,
therearoseanevii iOrcexudingpuaand blood,sothatwhen theybrought
himto$an'i'hewasHkeayoungftedgeling. Theyallegethatashedied

~~d ~:~p~~~~~-!:r::!~~n~~- !\~~~c~n~~a::n:.~~:e~"::d !~~~:~~; ~r. 91

for the population.)
Ya'qiib b. 'Utba told me that he was infonned that that year was the
finttimethatmeaslesandamallpoxhad bcenseeninArabia;and,too,
thatitwaathefinttimethatbitterherbslilr.erue,colocynth,andAtd'fn'w
giganttawereseen.
When God sent Muhammad he specially reeounted to the Quraysh
his goodncsa and fa\'Our in turning back the Abysai niana in order to
preserve their state and pennanence. 'Did you not ace how your Lord
dealt with the ownen of the elephant? Did He not reduce their guile to
sheer tcrrori And sent upon them flocks of birds, throwing hard clay
atonesuponthem,makingthemasbladesofoomthatha\ebcendcvoured.'l
And again: 'For the unitingofQuraysh, their uniting the caravanato 37
ply Bummer and winter. Then let them worwhip the Lord of this temple,
whohaafedthemtotlattheyhungernot,andUllldethcmaafe fromfear',

the punishment which God had brought down on tmm Nufayl said:
WhcrecanoneAeewhenGodpu~ucth?

Al-Ashramistheoonquerednottheoonqueror(.p).

:~;::.~z:t~~:F:Jt~~~~::?"~:r:i;r~~:.~7

:f.~fJ~;:~~~~7~:;@~E.~f.S~~~~

'AplabcnonMecc.aodMinlinU..vallqrofMecca. SYI>qOt
'l'ootlblybo,.....ioopoeticolformof~,'!KLwem"''Th<LinciobuedonSiln

~~:::l:AaooddiocuoQonofthiodill\cuh--.rillbefoundlnl.aM'oLtJtiul<,
~rdin~.:.ol=:~:.::.~,:t~!,!.~~~=:~~'! ~~;

..

[~24;~~:~i@fg~g~:~

The Lift of Muhammad

Godsentawindbringingpcbblcafromabovethem
Andtheyhuddledtogethcrlikelambt.'
Theirpricataurgedthemtoendurc,
Buttheybleated!ikeshcep(+t)
AbiiQay.b. aiAalatalsou.id

When God turned back the Abyssinian& from Meca. and executed Hia

~?l~.~~~~~~J~:~~~~
WithdrawfromthevaleofMeccafor
Fromofoldiuaanctuaryhasnotbeenviolated.
Whenitwasaanctified,Siriushadnotbeencreated.
Nomightymanhaseverattackedit.
Ask the commander of the Abyssiniana what he saw.

~~;~~oku~=~ ::~t !~~~~~dn:i~~~~~he ignorant.

Nordidtheiraickrecoveraftcrtheirrctum.
'Ad and Jurhum were (in Mecca) before them.
Godhasaetitaboveallcrcature.

!~i~~~~~~~~~~*;:;s~~~;~~~~;~~;~~~::r~~:]~~
W~e:~::ri::e; :~~;~~~d;;~~r~~t~~r:;~i~:,~~~~ant.
(Thcydr~:IV.e)thmhooksbcneathiuflanks,

Theyaphtttsn()Standitwastom.
Theyuscdaknifeasawhip.
Whentheyappliedittoiubackit madeawound.
lttumedandfacedthcwayithadcome.
Thoscthercborctheburdenoftheirinjustice

::.;;r~r::n::~Q~r;:~:::n::~:r=.~~t!!"".J':"~~~~~::

D~Q:~~:.~bc;:s:E~7S,~:~r"i~f? ::.~o::.~:f:-:~:~.~~~:

Riscandpn.ytoyourLordandatroke
The comen of this temple between the mountains.
Hegaveyouaoonvincingtcat
OnthedayofAbiiYaksUmleaderofthesquadroru.
Hiacavalrywasintheplain,hisinfantry
Uponthepasae.ofthedistanthills.
WhenthehclpoftheLordoftheThronere11chedyou,
H~u:~ie11 rcpubed them, 1 pelting them and covering them with
Quicklytheytumedtailinftight,andnone
But a few returned to his people from the army (45).
Tilib b. AbU TUib b. 'Abdu IMunalib said:
Know you not what happened in the war of Dil;tiss
AndAbil 'laksUm'aannywhenitfilledthepass?
Butforthe helpofGodtheSo!e EllistentOne
Youwou!dhavebeenunableto aaveyour liv"(46). 6
AbU al$alt b. AbU Rabl'a al Thaqafl referring to the elephant and to the
l;lanaflreligionbeing thatofAbnham aaid(47):

~~:t;: ~~~~~~b~~~~.minating.

NightandDaywerecreatedandall
babundantlyplain,itsredoningifixed
Thenthemercifu!Lordrevealedtheday
Bythe sunwhosenysare seen evtrywhere.

~e1 !:~d1 ~h~~~:~:~ :~~~u~~~1u!';~~;::,~~~g.

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

Th~ LzJ~

Its trunk curled ring-wise; it lay motionless as;

'AboulderAungdownfromKabkab'arocb.
RounditKinda'akinp,warriors,
Mightyhawbinwar.
Theyabandoneditanddepartedheadlong
Allofthem;theahankofeachoneofthemwasbroken.
InGod'lsightattheResurrectionevcryrcligion
Butthatofthel;anlfidoomedtoperdition(.S).

~; (~~~~~~~n~ t~~~i: :~a:-:~~r~~i~iJ u~d:~~h~~~i:~~~~~~

1

1'.

Abyuinians. Theytooktheirwomcnandkitledthcirmcnandaeizedtheir
young men to act u interpreters.) When Yabiim b. Abn.ha died his brother
Masniqb.Abn.harcignedo\ertheAbyuinillllintheYaman.

TilE JOURNEY OP SAYP B. 0110 YAZAN AND Till! RULE OP

When the people.ofth~ Yaman had long endured oppret.3ion, Sayfb.

Dhii Yazan the l~tmyante, who was known as AbU Murn., went to the
B~untine emperor a~d. complained to him of his troubles, uking him to
dnve out the Abyumtans and take oer the country. Ue asked him
~~=-nn~ what forces he pleased and promised him the kingdom of the
-.~

The emperor paid no attention to his request, &a he went to

al-Nu'm~n

~~t~u;fd~~~~h\~~= ~;:r:;;.~~:r~~~~ ~~~~:~~a~~~:~~~~~~~~i~~

al-Mundhirtoldhimthat hepaidafonnalvisiteeryycarto ChosTOQ
a~d he. asked him to atay with him until then. Accordingly he took him
Wlth htm and introduced him to Chosroee. Now he used to sit in his
audiencechamberwhichcontained his crown. According to reports, his

~~o;~d :~ ~~~~.:r.~:~.~:t:d~;~;l;i~hc~~7:0~~~= t:;do~~~:z::;

0

~~~h~r~;r~~:~1~~::::~~~:~:~~:::~ :~:~ ~:::~~~~~::;

f~rtably

on his throne the robe;' were taken from him. Everyone who saw
htm for the first time fell to hts knees in awe. When Sayf b. DhU Yuan
enteredhiapreaencehefelltohiskneu(49).

Ch~r=~~k:~. ~~~:; r~v::::A~;in::~::r~:n?' ?~b y~:in';::~.1~

rephed, 'and lhavecometoyou forhelpandthatyoumaywumethe

of Muhammad

kingshipofmycountry.' Heanswered,'Yourcountryiafardiatantand
hulittletoattractme; lunnotendangera PersianannyinArabiaand
there is no reason why I ahoulddo&a.' Then he madehimapresentof
to,ooodrachmaeaterlingandinutedhiminafinerobe. Sayfwentout
withthe1ilverand begantoscatteritamongthepeople;(f. Boys and T947
llavesofbothsexesscrambledforthecoins). Whenthekingwutoldof
thishethoughtitveryextraordinaryandsentforhimandsaid,'Youmean
to throw away a royal gift!' He answered: 'What use i1 silver to me? The
mountains of my country from which I come are nothing but gold and
aiher.' Thisheaaidtoexcitehiscupidity. Chosroesthereupongathercd
hisadviserstogetherandukedtheiropinionaboutthemanandhisproject.
One of them reminded the king that in his prisons there were men who
were condemned to death. If he were to send them with him and they
werekilled,thatwouldmerelybethefatethathehaddetenninedforthem; 43
ontheotherhand,iftheyconqueredthccountryhewouldhaveaddcdto
his empire. Thereupon Chosroes sent those who were confined in his
prisonstothenumberofeighthundredmen.
He put in command of them a man called Wahrill: who wu of mature
ageandofexcellentfamilyandlineage. Tileysetoutineightlhipt, two
of which foundered, 10 that only six reached the 1horea.of Aden. Sayf
broughtallthepeoplethathccouldto.Wahrill:aaying,'Myfootiawith
yourfoot,wedieorconquertogether.' 'Right,'aaid\Vahrill:. Muniqb.
Abn.ha the king of Yaman came out against him with his army, and
Wahrill:sentoneofhil&anstofightthemsoutogetexperienceintheir
way of fighting. Uis&anwaskilledand he was filled withn.geagainst
them. When the men were drawn up in their ranb Wahrill: said, 'Show me
thcirking.' Theysaid,'Doyouseeamanonanelephantwithacrownon
hisheadandarcdrubyonhisforehead? Thatistheirlcing.' 'Let him be,'
hesaid,andthey\\oaitedalongtimeandthenheuid,'Whatilheriding
now?' They said: 'He ia now bestride a horse'; apin they waited. Ue
uked the same question and they said he.wu bestride a mule. Said
Wahriz: 'An 1811's filly! A weak creature, and &a is his kingdom. I will
shoot him. Ifyouseethathisfollowcnhavenotmoved, then Bland fast
unti!Igiveyoupenniasiontoadvance,forlshallhnemis.Bedthefellow.
ButifyouaeethepeopleAockingroundhimlhllhnehithim,IOfall
upon them.' Uethen benthisbow(theatorygoe~thatitwasaotough
thatnoone buthecouldbcndit)andordcredthathiseyebrowsbefastcned
back,' thenheshotMuniqandsplittherubyinhisforeheadandthe
arrowpiercedhisheadandcameouttthebackofhisneck. Hefclloffhis
mount and the Abyssinian pthered round him. When the Persians fell
upon them, they fled and were killed u they bolted in all directions.
Wahri~ advanced toenterinto!;ian'll.',andwhenhercachcditsgateheaai d

thathisstandardshouldneverbelowcrcdandheorderedthcmtodestroy
the gate and went

in~::~~:!~;!- fromie

The Ltft of Muhammad

The Uft of Muhammad

Pleasantwasthevoiceofthe nightowlthere,
Anaweredate\enbyaAuteplayer.
FatebroughttoitthePersianarmy
Withtheirknightsintheirtrain;

Sayfb.DhUYuanal-J:Iimyarlaaid;

~; :~:s~~;eh~:~d Uo~~h~~: r':':c~:t:n found

the matter wu

\'erygnve.
We slew the prince Muniq and reddened the sands with blood.

~~~ie t~;e!!:?~o:':nlat!:?d:~~e!eath,

~~~~:::.:~~ ~~~~:e prince,

Untiltheprincessawfromthetopofthefortrcss
Theirsquadronashiningwithsteel,
Thedaythattheycalledtothebarbariansandal.Yaksiim
'Cul"ledbehewhorunsa....-ayl'
'Twuadayofwhich thestoryremaina,
Butapeopleoflongestablished'dignitycametoanend.
Persiansreplacedthe nati\ebom,
Thedaysweredark 1 andmysterious.
AfternoblesonsofTubba',
Persiangeneralswerefirmlysettledthere(H)

Hewoulddrinknowineuntilhehadcapturedprisonersandspoil(so).
Abiial-$a1tb.AbU Rabi"aal-Th.aqafi(Sl)aaid
LetthoseattkvengeancewhoarelikelbnDhUYazan
Whoapentlongyearsatseabecauseofhisenemies,
When the time for his journey came he went to Caesar
Butdidnotattainwhathesought.
ThenhetumedtoChosroeaaftertenyears,
Countinghislifeandmoneycheap,
Until he came bringing the Persians with him

~Jh:y1 ~~~~~ub:~~ec:~~t0i;t~ction,

Neverweretheirlikeaeenamongmenl
Nobles,princes,mightymcn,archers,
Lionawhotrainthcircubsinthejungle!
Fromcurvedbowstheyshotarrows
Stoututhepoleaofthehowdah
Bringingthevictimaspeedydeath.
Yousentlionaagainatblackdogs,
Theirfugithesarescatteredallovertheearth.
Sodrinkyourfill,wearingyourcrown,
OnGhumdln'ltopreclininginahouseyouhavechosen
Drinkyourfill,fortheyaredead,
AndWlllkproudlytodayinyourAowingrobes.
Sucharenobledeedslnot two pailsofmilltmingledwithwatcr
Whichafterwardsbecomeurine(n).
45

'Adiyb.Zaydal-J:Iiri,oneofB.Tamim,aaid:
Whatisthereaftcr$an'i'inwhichoncclived
Rulersofakingdomwhosegiftawerclavish?
ltabuildernisedittothcflyingclouds,
l tl lofty chambengaveforthmusk.
Protectedbymount:iinsagainsttheattacksofcncmics,'
l tsloftyheightsunscalable.

10

'c'::.'idhtrcttake to....,onot~IIO<.nufulf~.

TheCoiroeditol"l p..futofind r.rerence

(T. When Wahri~ had conquered the Yaman and driven out the Abyui- T. 99
nianshewrotetoChoaroestellinghimofwhathadbeendoneandaending
himcapturedtreuure. Inhisreplythek.ingtoldhimtoappointSayfking
oftheYaman. HealsogaveSayfinstructionstocollccttaxctc\eryyear
and to remit them to him. He summoned Wahriz to his presence and Sayf
beeame king, he being the son of DhU Yazan of the Kings of the Yaman
This is what Ibn l:lumayd told me from Salama on the authority of Ibn
ls~lq.)

(When Wahriz had gone to Choaroes and made Sayfking of the Yaman, T- !H7
the latter began toattacktheAbyssinians, killing them and slaying the
womenwithchilduntilheexterm.inatcdallbutaninsignificantnumberof
miterable creatures whom he emplored as sla\es and runners to go before
him with their lances. Before very long he was out with these armed sla,es
whensuddenlytheysurroundedhimandstabbedhimtodeath. One of
them established himself u leader and they went through the Yaman layingandlayingwutethecountry. WhenthePersiankingheardofthishe
sentWahrUwith4,ooo Persiansandorderedhimtokille\"tryAbyssinian
orchildofanAbyuinianandanArabwoman,greatorsmall,andnotlea\e
ali\easinglemanwithcrispcurlyhair. Wahrizarri,edand induecourse
carriedouttheseinstructionaandwrotetotellthekingthathehaddone
10. The kingthengnehimviceregalauthorityandheruledunderChos
roeauntilhis death.)
'Rndinr .....,ror C."o i Ptzyj,th<~odinsofC.(opm.oW."o/..y~)io
.... ~tzyj

oPonion"Crd forocro,."dofmtn.

'AvoriontioW~,'uncherouo'
l nthiochop~r T."o-.,..ion io much""""vivid anddetail~dond

I.K.

.. odomuchmor<: liko

~~:;~1: ~~~ho~ 1:: c~';?~q. No doubt Ibn Hiohim cut down thio to him unimportant

The Lfe of Muhammad

Tht U.ft of Muhammad

TheywenttothcYamanandremainedthcre(s9)

10:,'~~~~;i~~~~~~~:~ d Q~.~~.y~~i~ ::~;~~;r (:!.~~~~a~~::

0

Wahriz and the Pcraians dwelt in the Yaman, and the Abn5' who arc in the

::~~n;~;:;~n~~::i~::~ ~~~ut~~v:~;f;~~:~::~~~~~~~~~
Mu~q.ibnAbrahaatthchandsofthcPcrsianslfoldthcexpulsionofthc

Ab)"$m1aru wu te\cnty-two years. The SUCttSSI\'C princes were four,

Ary~l. Abnha, YaksUm, and Muriiq (55).
+1
It isaaidthaton a roc::k inthcYanunthcrcwasaninscription&lting
fromoldcnti!TICf;:
To whom belongs the kingdom of Dhimir?
Tol:limyarthcrightoous.
TowhombclongsthckingdomofDhirnar?
Tothccvi!Abyssinians
To whom belongs the kingdom of Dhim~r 1
To the free Persians.
To whom belongs the kingdom of Dhimir 1
ToQurayshthc mcrchants(s6).
Dhimlr means the Yaman or $an'1i'.
AI- A'shl of ll. Qays b. Tha'laba said when the words of
oompanionwcrefulfilled:

nite woman (61).' The name of Mudrika was 'Amir and the name of

!:!~h:h:;h~~: :::;a~a a ~~:~~\\:ht:n!C:i~:~e~.:~n~:~::

IWOOpcd upon their camels; 'Amir said to 'Amr: 'Will you go after the

=~~g~:owt!~\=k a~~e~ :;;;~~:~~;e:!~g~~~~~ ::~~ rvh~~

they returned and told their father he said to 'Amir: 'You arc Mudrika'

t~:n:h:;~n:'t~~:k:!~:nt~on~:~: ::~~:~r~~~;~:~ha~(;~:~~~
he said :'Youaretrotting!'(klumdafa)'andsohewascalled Khindif.
AI to Qam'a the genealogists of Mudar assert that Khu~a wu one of
thetontof'Amrb. Lu~a))' b. Qam'a b. Ilyi.s.

THE S TORY OF 'AMR B. LUI:fAYY AND AN ACCOUN T OP

Sali~

and his

'Nowomanhueverseen,as shesaw, thetruthlikethetruthofai-Dhi'bt

when he prophesied.'' The Arabs called him al-Dhi'bi becau.e he wu the
sonofRabi'ab.Mu'Udb.Mizinb.Dhi'b(57).

~1~~~~:thh;; ~~~i !:k~ bfo~!~,~~~::~ ~~~~A:;::tb;h~::~~~ ~~c~~h::i~~

'I saw 'Amr b. Lu~ayy dragging his intestines in hell, and when I asked
~~~ ~~~~~~~se who had lived between his time and mine he said that they

al-~";:;;::,~:i~~:~: ~~ ~~~~~it~~~-~:~;~t(~~)~;~a; ~~;~~~~

apoetle of God saying to Aktham b. ai-Jaun alKhuzl'i, '0 Aktham I saw
'Amr b .. Lu~ayy b. Qam'a b. Khindif dragging his intestines in hell, and

TilE DESCENDANTS OP NIZAR B. MA'ADD

Nizlrb.Ma'addbcgatthreeaons:MuQar,JUbi'a,andAnmlr(sS).
AnmJrwasthcfathcrofKhath'amand Bajila. Jarirb.'AbdullahalBajalt who was chief of the Bajlla (of whom someone said: 'But for Jarir,
Bajllawouldhave perished. Afinemanandapoortribe')uidwhcn he
was appealing agairat ai-Furi~a al-K.albi to al-Aqn' b. l:llbis al-Tamimi
b. 'lqll b. Mujhhi' b. Dlrim b. Milik b.l~an?-a~a b. MJ!ik b. Zayd Manit:
0 Aqn' b.l~ibis, 0 Aqn',
H thy brother is O\'CMhrown thou wilt be ovenhrown.
YetwosonaofN izlrhelpyourbrother.
Myfatheriwotisyourfather.
A brothcrwhoisyourallywillnotbeworstcdthisday.
di ..lo~.lf<'ndooyolhalll>ewomoninquntionwooabl<tOOP>PI<athrcedayo'journ<y

never did I see two men ao much alike

11

you and he!' 'Will thi1 rescm-

~::r~~~~~~ ~~~~~i~hE:i~:~~h:~~~~::~:~t: i:;;~:~i~:~~

w..lla,and~imi(63). 1

~~~:!~t!;:e::~~!~r~;~~:~:: ~~e~~~;:~~::!~~~~:~

~~;~~IJg~ii;~~l~;~;~~~i.:~;~~~g~~
~i~~=~T;g~~gg~i~7;?.;;;~~:;:;~;:~~:.::

36

The

Lif~

of Muluvnmad

another religion for that of Abraham and Ishmael. They worshipped idols
Yet they retained
andheldfast pracucesgomgbackto theumeofAbraham,suehashonourandadoptedthe~ee"'?rsaathepeopl~beforethem.

~a ~~~h;~e:~~~= ::~n:1:o~~~::: ~;ri~:~g~-~~e l~i~:i~~~~a~:; ~~~:i~

eryatthegreatandhttlepilgrinuge, whiletntrodueingelementswhieh
had n_o P!ee in the religion of_ Abraham. Thus, Kinlna and Quray:s h used
the ptlgnm try: 'At Thy servtce, 0 God, at Th y service! At Thy service,
Thou without an associate but the associate Thou hast. Thou ownest him
and":hatheowns.: Theyusedtoaeknowledge hisunity intheireryand
then mdude their tdols with God, putting the ownership of them in His
hand. God uid to Muhammad:' 'Most of them do not believe in God
without associating others with Him,' i.e. they do not acknowledge My
oneneuwithknowledgeofM yreality,buttheyassoeiatewithMeoneof
My creatures.
_The people of Noah had images to which they were devoted. God told

!'o:s~':~~:~~~ ;~:~t~:~ ~:~~i~~~~ 8~~~rh':! ~~?u';~;~:;~~

Andtheyhadledmanyastray.''
Among tboae who had chosen those idols and used their names as compoundswhenthey fonook the religionof lshmael-bothlshmaelitesand
others-waa Hudhayl b. MudriU b. Ilyls b. MuQar. T hey adopted Suw;t'

~~~;;~~~:~:.;~}~~~:;'and Kalb b. Wabra of QuQ;t'a who adopted

"Ka'bb.M;tiikal-Ant;trfs.aid:
We fonook ai-Ut and al-' Uzd and Wudd.
Wellrippedofftheirnecklacesandearrings(6-+)in 1':~~-~~l)~yi' and the people of Jurash ofMadhttij adopted Yaghiith

53

Khaywin,? a clan of Hamdm, adopted Ya'iiq in the land of Hamdln in

theYaman(66).
Dh\i'I-Kal;t' of l:limyar adopted Nasr in the l;!imyar country.
Khaul;tnhadanidolcalled'Anunanas1 intheKhaul1ncountry. Accord

Tht Llft of Muhammad

37

ingtotheirownaccounttheyusedtodividetheircropsandcattlebttween
itandAllah. IfanyofAI!ah'sportionwh ich theyhadcarmarkedfor him
came into 'Ammanas's portion they left it to him; but ifanyof'Ammanq'
portion wu in Allah'a portion they returned it to him. They are a clan of
Khaulin called ai-Adim. Some say that it was concerning them that God
reve.IHI:'TheyuaigntoAllahofthe
andcattlehehascreateda
portion; and they say thit is Allah'1-m their assertion--and thia ia for
our partne~. Thua what is for their partners does not reach Allah and
what iaforAllahgoesto theirpartners-E\"il iatheirjudgmentl(67)'
The B. MiiUn b. Kinina b. Khuzaymab. Mudrikab.llyls b. Muc;l.arhad
anim.agecalledSa'd,aloftyrock.inadesertplainintheircountry. They
ha\eastorythatoneoftheirtribesmentook someofhiastodcamelsto
the rocktostandbyitso astoacquireitavinue. l Whenthecameb,whieh
weregrazing-camclsthatwerenotridden,uwtherockandsmeltUleblood
whichhadbeenshedonittheyshiedfromitandfledinalldirectiont. Thia
so angered theMi!kanitethatheseizedastoneandthrewitattheidol
saying, 'God curse you. You have scared away my camel.al' He went in
~::h of them, and when he had collected them together once mo re he
WecametoSa'dtoimpro\"eourfortunes
But Sa'ddiuipated !hem. Weha\"enothingtodowithSa'd.
Sa"disnothingbutarockonabareheight.
Itcannotputone rightorsendonewrong.
Daus had an idol belonging to 'Amr b.l;lumama ai-Dausi (68).
Qura)-sh had an idol by a well in the middle of the Ka'ba called Hu bal
(li9)- And they adopted lsU(orAa~!)andNi'ilabytheplaccofZ:unzam,
sacrificing beside them. They were a man and a woman of Jurhum-ls1f
b. Ba.ghy and Ni"ila d. Dik-who were guilty of .exual re lationt in 1he
Ka'baand so Godtransfonned themintotwostones.
'Abdullah b. Abii Bake b.!l;[uhammad b. 'Amr b.l;laxm on the au thority

,,

The Life of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

of 'Amra d. 'Abdu'I-Ra]:lmln b. Sa'd b. Zurira that she said, ' I heard

'A'isha aay, "We alwaya heard that blf and Nl'ila were a man and a
woman of Jurham who copulated in the Ka'ba

!10

God transformed them

intotwostones." ButGodaloneknowaifthisisthetruth.'
AbUTillibaaid:

~~~ :~ ~~:nnafto~~:e;~~:: ~~~~.'

Everyhouseholdhadanidolintheirhousewhichthcyuscdtowonhip.
When a man wu about to aet out on a journey he would rub himself
apinstituhewasabouttorideoff:indecdthatwasthelastthingheuscd
to do before hit journey; and when he returned from his journey the fint
thinghedidwastorubhimselfagainstitbeforehewentintohisfamily.
When God tent Muhammad with the message of monotheism Ourayah

said: 'Would he make the gods into one God? That is indeed a atnnge
proceeding!'
Now along with the Ka'ba the Arabs had adopted Tawlighit, which were

55

templeswhichtheyveneratedastheyveneratedtheKa'ba. They had their

guardianaandoverseenandtheyusedtomakeofferingstothemasthey
did to the Ka'ba and to circumambulate them and sacrifice at them. Yet
theyrecognizedthe auperiorityofthe Ka'babecausei t wasthetempleand
mosqueofAbrahamtbcfriend(ofGod).
QurayshandtheB. Kin!l.na hadal-'UzzainNakhla,itsguardianaand
ove~n were the B. Shaybln of Sulaym, allies of the B. Hilshim (70).
AnArabpoctu.id:
AsmJ'wasgivenasadowrytheheadofalittleredcow
WhichamanoftheBanilGhanmhadsacrificed.
He sawablemishinhereyewhenheledheraway
Toal-'Uz!l'aalaughter-place'anddividedherintogoodlyportions.
Th~ir practice when they sacrificed \\'U to divide the victim among the
WOI"'hlppenpresent. Ghabghab\\-utheslaughter-placewheretheblood
waspouredout(71).
(Az.r. i. 74: 'A~u b. Lu'ayy putai-'Uzzi in Nakhla, and when they had
finl3hedtheirfwJJandthecimunambulationoftheK.a'batheycontinued
tobeundertaboountil they(21llttoal-'Uuiandhadgoneroundit ; there

::_ek~~~~n;11 t~~~~:~~ :::~~~~::!a~~~~: i~--~:e~o~!~

With Khu!l'a, and all Mu~ar. Her Uidim who used to guard (luJjab) her
were B. Shaybln of B. Sulaym, allies of B. Hilllhim. Cf. I. H. 8]9-]
AI-U.t belonged to Thaqlf in Ti'if, her overaeen and guardians being
B.Mu'attib1 ofThaqif.
Manit was wor~hipped by ai-Aus and al-Khazraj and such of the people
:

~inwhic:lld>iolli!tOUnielobef~~-~~-~~~;. B. 'hib b.Mllik.

ofYathribasfollowcdtheirrcligion bythesea-shorein the direction of

aJ-MushallalinQudayd(7:1i)-'

.J::~di.J~~~:-~~~L:~a;~g~~O:;!;~:ta~~ ~:::=:~~~~~\~:~ ~~:a~:d

made the compass of the Ka'ba and hastened from 'Araflt ~nd completed
theritesatMinltheydid notshavetheir hair unti l theygo.lttoManlt,to
whom they would cry Labbayki. Those who did ~ did not go rou~d
between al-$afland ai-Maf\\-a to the place of the two idols Nahllr. Mujlw1d
al-Ril) and Mufim al-Tayr. This clan of the Anfir used to begin the
ceremony by hailing Manit, and when. they went on. the gre.at or little

~l!r~~: i:~e?v~~~u!dm:t : : ~~~:~ ~h~h~l~e;if:r~m(:!,~;~~ ~~e!o~~~

not enter his house; if he needed !IOmcthmg m 11 he would chmb the wall
behindhishoustiiOthatthedoorshouldn.otco"crhishead. When God
brought lslamanddestroyedthedoingsofpaganisml-lesent downcon-

~~n~:=!~:??-:~:!l'>:E:~:h~n~~:~~::~::~~n:r~~~~~;~~!

whofollowed theirreligion. Manatwasonthesea-shoreintheneighbour

hoodofal-1\lushallalinQudayd.]
OhU'l-Khal~a belonged to Daus, Kha]h'am, and Bajila and the Arabs in s6
their area in Tabala (73).' [Azr. i. 73: 'Amr b. Lu'ayy set up ai-Khal~a in
the lower part of Mecca. They used to put n~cklace~ on it, an.d bring gifts
of barley and wheat. They poure~ milk on tl, sacnficcd tO 11, and .hu~g
ostrich eggs on it. 'Amr set up an tmage on al-$afll called Nahlk MuJIWJd
ai-Ril),andoneonai-Marv.acalledMu!'imai-Tayr.]
Fals belonged to Tayyi'and those hard by in the two mountains of
Tayyi',Salmiand Aja'(H)l;limyar and the Yamanites had a temple in ~n'l' called Ri'lm (7S)Rul,ll' \\'Ua temple of B. Rabi'a b. Ka'bb. Sa'd b. Zayd Manit b.
J.:~::~ ;~j~~':':f::ir b. Rabi'a b. Ka'b b. Sa'd when he destroyed it in
l smashedRmj.i'BOcompletely that
lleftitablac.kruininahollow(76).
Dhil'l-Ka'ablt bdongcd to Bakr and Tagh lib the two 10n1 of Wi'il and 57
lyidinSindiid.J OfitA'shliofB.Qaysb.Tha'lahasaid:
lktw:nal-Khawamaqandal-Sadlrand Bariq
And.thetempleDhii'I-Ka'ab1t'ofSindid(77)-

Mr~~;~ .~u:~~~~i~::::;;:~:h on~ ri~rim

'Afamo\>fpoloce whichol-Nu'mJ.nofl;linoiooaidiOhovebuihfor Sipilr.

1 Or 'th< fuur..,.uar<l~mplc'

routt r om

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

41

Kinlna had four sons: :al-Na<;lr, Mllik, 'Abdu Manlt, and MilUn.
Na<;lr'a mother was Barra d. Murr b. Udd b. Tlbikha b. al-Ya'a b. Mu4ar;
theotheraonawerebyanotherwoman(SJ).
Itiau.idthatQurayshgottheirnamefromtheirgatheringtogetherafter 6
theyhadbeentcparated,forgatheringtogethermaybcexpreasedby
taqamuh.'
Al-Na<;lr b. Kinlna }u,d two sona, Mllik and Yakhlud. Mllik'a mother
wu 'Atika d. 'Adwln b. 'Amrb. Qaya b. 'Aylln, but I do DOt know whether
ahewasYakhlud'amotherornot(84)Mllik b. al-NaQr bcgat Fihr b. Malik, his mother being Jandala d.
al-I:Urith b. Muc;llc;l :al-Jurhumi (85). (T. There was war between Fihr T- 1101
and l:fusln b. 'Abdu KalAl b. MathUb DhO l:furath :al-l:fim)'llri who had
come from the Yaman with the tribesmen meaning to tak.e back to Yaman
thestonesoftheKa'basoastodiventhepilgrimagetotheYaman. He
got as far u Nakhla, raided cattle, and dosed the roads, but he wu afraid
to enter Mec::ca. When Quraysh, Kinlna, Khu.zayma, Asad, and Judhlm
and other unknown dements o Mu<;lar perceived this they marched againtt
them under the leadership of Fihr b. M~lik. A sharp engagement followed
in which l:fimyar were defeated and ijasaln wu taken prisoner by Fihr's
son al-l:Urith. Among those killed in battle wu his grandson Qays b.
Ghllibb. Fihr. l:fass;lnremaint:daprisonerfortwoyearsuntilhepaidhis
ransom. He Wall then released and died on the way to the Yaman.)
Fihr bcgat four sons: Ghllih, Mu~~rib, al-I:Urith,. and &ad, their
motherbcingLaylld.Sa' db.Hudhaylb.Mudrika(86).
Ghliib b. Fihr had two sons, Lu'ayy and Taym, their mother being 6:1
Salml d. 'Amr al-Khu7J.'i. Taym were called the BanO'l-Adram (87).
Lu'ayy b. Ghllib had four sons: Ka'b, 'Amir, S;tma, and 'Auf; the
mother of the first three Wall Miwiy~ d. Ka'b b. ai-Qayn b. Jur of Quc;ll'a
(88).
TH STORY OP SAMA

~rna b. Lu'ayy went forth to 'Umin and remained there. It is said that
'Amir b. Lu'ayy dro\'e him out b:ause there was a quarrel between them
and Slma knocked out 'Arnie's eye. In fear of 'Amir he went to 'Um.!in.
The story goes that whi le Sima wu riding on his she-camel she lowered
CONTINUATION 01' T il E CENEALOGIES 1

6o

:}~~~.~~~."~l:v~~9~~:.~~~~~!~;:r=~~F~!~i/~~~~~~::

and al- Uiin. Kinlna's mother was 'Uwlina d. Sa'd b. Qays b. 'Ayliin b.
Mu9ar(8a)
'SUras.<o>.
suro6.HS

'Siira6.<40
snra>o.6o.
c.rryinronrromp.soof\V.'ot~

1 TMtnt .. tfault..,.....M.-..I.I.'o~tfollowln.,unlly011hahMIO""
befon!,butlutonothinatodowithhothiolallrq><>nod .. ha>rinl"'rinen.Thcol.,..ifi

~~3~~~;~.~~;?ii::;:=;~E6'?~:~::~.;.;~~=:

~!'.~~~.kau:;:r~.~~r. ~"u';:~~u:"::t'~~~.~.~~~:J.~~K~~
~to'::.:...,.~~-~~:" ~~;:h10~::.:.~ ~-~-4~ 7:':"..:r::-~..! ~:'~~h~

:"Jl:ri't.!.t:.:::!~;;.; meano'thark', Doubtlnoitiootolemna""'Likeoomonyof<he

-42

Tht L1ft of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

herheadtograzeandasnake ~~eizedherbythe lipandforcedherdown

Nurra b. 'Auf b. Sa'd b. Dhubyln b. BaghiQ b. Rayth b. Gha!afln. If this

wardsuntil ahefellonherside. ThenthesnakcbitSamasothathedied.

ThellorygonthatwhenSAmafehdeathuponhimhesaid
Eyc, weepforSlmab.Lu'ayy.

~~:e~~~~~ =~e.:: ~uv~~it: !~~~~-'

AsSlmab.Lu'ayywhcntheycameuponhim.
Sendwordto'AmirandKa'b,
That my soul yeamcth for them.
Though my home be in ' Umln
lamaGhl libl, l camcforthnotdri\"cnbypocrty.
Manyacuphut thou apilt.Ob.Lu'ayy,
Forfearofdeath,whichothe rwiscwouldnotha\"ebcen spilt
ThoudidstwUhtoavoiddeath,Ob.Lu'ayy,
Butnoneh.aspowertoavoiddeath
Manyacamclailentonnightjoumeysdidstthouleacprostrate'
Afteriuprodigiouaexcrtion(SI}).

~~~~~~~ ~:;;~;.t~:~~:~~~r.::~:; ~\~:1::o:.d.~~f=

when he fled from al-Nu'mln b. al-Mundhir and clave 10 Qunysh 111d

MytribeitnotTha'labab.Sa'd
NorFWnthelong-haired
MytribcifyoumlllltWUtheBanULu'ayy.
l nMeccatheytaughtMuQartofight.
WewerefoolishinfollowingtheBanUBaghlQ

~~e~~~n~o~;ro~~:e~:.::~::::!;,

hit fill dronk,

Throws away the water and goes. after a minge.
'Od'slifeiflhadmywaylshouldbewiththem
Andnotbcfoundseelcingputurefromplacetoplace.
Rawll~a the Qurayshite mounted me on his camel
Andsoughtnowardforit(go).

re:U~i~~:~~~i~: 1b~~: !d~~::ingn~o ~~n:~~mG~~~!1a~7a,

0

T il E M I GRAT I ON OF 'AUF B. LU'AYY

It is alleged that 'Auf b. Lu'ayy went out with a caraan of Quraysh as far

as the district of Ghatafln b. Sa'd b. Oays b. 'Aylitn when he was left

behind and his tribesmen went on without him. Tha'laba b. Sa'd (he
64 being his brother according to the kindred reckoning of B. Dhubyi n,
Tha'labab. Sa'd b.Dhubyln b.BaghiQb.Raythb.Gha)afanand'Aufb.
Sa'd b. Dhubyln b. BaghiQ b. Rayth b. Gha)afan) came to him, bound him
tohirnaclf,gavehimawife,andtookhimintohis tribeasablood-brother.
Hi1 relationship became well known among B. Dhubyin. It V.'as Tha'laba,
~~~: s.ay, who said tO 'Auf when he lagged behind and his tribe abandoned
Tether your camel by me, 0 Ibn Lu'ayy.
Yourtribehuleftyou andyouhavenohome.'
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr, or it may hae bttn Muhammad b.
'Abd al-Ra~mln b. 'Abdullah b.l;lutayn, told me that 'Umar b. ai- Khanab
aaid :' lfl wetoelaimtobelongtoanytribeoftheArabsortowantto
attach them to us I would claim to belong to B. i\lurra b. 'Auf. We know
that among them the re .,, men like ourselves. We know, too, where that

~~~~~~I(~~~~~~~~i;.;~~~TI~i;!~

said,

Lo,youarenotofusandwehavenoughttodowithyou.
We repudiaterelationshipwithLu'ayy_b.GhA_lib.
We dwell on the proud heighu of al-l;ltjb wh1le y~u
Areintheverdant'plainbetweenthetwomountaLnl,

:r~[~~~::~:.~~~:~:R~~:2!~~~~~h:l~i=~~
l pcntofwhatlsaidbefore:
l realizethatitwas thespeechofa\iar.
Wouldthatmytonguewe intwo,
Halfofitdumbandtheotherhalf aingingyour pnite.1
Our fatheraK.inlni,inl\1cccaishi5gnve,
In the verdant' plainofal-Bal~i' between the mountains.
Weownafounhofthesancruaryuaninheritance
Andafounhoftheplainsbythehouseof l bnl~ilib,

:~~~~~~:l:~~~;:;~~t=:~:~~~~3-E::;J~f~id
The tribe we nobles among Gha12fln; they were their chiefs and

65

The Life of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

leaders. Of them were l-larim b. Sinan b. AbU i:U.ritha b. Murra b. Nushba;Kh1rijab.Sinlnb.Abiil;Uritha;al-l;llrithb.'Auf;al-l;lutaynb.a1l;lumlm; and Hlshim b. l;larmala of whom 110meone has said:
Hishimb.l:fannalarevivedhiBfather'
On the day of ai-Hab1'1t and the day o al-Ya'ma4~
Youcouldaeetbekingsslainbcsidehim
Ashealewtheguiltyandtbeinncx:ent(91). 1
They were a people of a lively reputation among Gha]afiln and Qays,
~n:;;~~:~~!~~. their relationship with them. Among them the practice

. i~.r~s~E~~f~~~f~~tr;:~~;:~~~;~E.::;:~l~:
i~~~k!h!~ ~~f ~e;~~~h~~;Marurit in their dwellings

THR DICGJNC Of THE WELL ZAMZAM

lI:,~:~.~~ t;;~~hQ;;i~- ~~~:~~i:J:~ring the holy period.

byourwomanguesttobetabootous
Whileourwomangueatandherhusbandareopentoyou?

be~;-~v~~;~;~_h;~;:~~ S:n:~u~~~b~A~~; :~~1~1~r~:~~~~ mother

m!~~~w: ~:: d~a~u~;b~T~:.,~~~~t. !~~~t~;- ~~~a~.l\~::~b~~

:~~~:r s-8~~~ :~ t~~ ~:'l~~~~q;;:~e r:;~~e

1

T~ym;
Kd~b

:: ;~B:i:: o~

othen aay Taym'a mother was Hind d. Surayr the mother of

(93).

Fl~;!bd~-S~~~ S:~~t:e ':r"~~ ~:o:J~-~:: :~~.=t~~=~

68

all~~.~- ~i::;a~!: ~~~~1an~t

b. Kinina (~)-

place two

JURHUM AND TilE FILLING I N Of THE WELL ZAMZAM

The story of Jurhum, of their filling in Zamzam, of their leaving Mecca,

and of those who ruled Mecca after them until 'Abdu'l-Munalib dug Zam
authorityofMuhammedb.Is1)aqa1-Mu!!alibi,isthatwhenlshmaelthe
~anofAbrahamdied,hissonNibitwasinchargeofthetempleaa longas

~.L~gf.I~;;~h;~~~st0:~~~:~:.~~
oro

vision in which he was-ordered to dig Zam.zam which i1 a depression

between the two idols of Quraysh, Iaaf and Na'ila, at the slaughter-place of
Qurayah. Jurhum had filled it in at the time they left M~ca. It is the
well of Ishmael the wn of Abraham where God gave him water when he
was thirsty as a little child. His mother went to aeek water for him and
couldnotfindit,soahewentuptoa1-$aBprayingtoGodandimploring
aidforlshmael;thenBhewenttoal-Marwaanddidthe aame. Godaent
Gabriel,whohollowedoutaplaceintheearthwithhisheelwherewater
appeared. His mother heard the cries of wild beasta which terrified her on
hitaccount,andsheeamehurryingtowardshimandfoundhimterabbling
withhiBhandatthewaterbeoeathhischeekthewhile hedrank,andshe
madehimaamallhole.'

~.accordingtowhatZiyidb.'Abdullah al-Bakki'ttoldmeonthe

Never among men whom we know have we aeen

AmanlikeSa'db.Sayal.

M~;~~:.t~~o;~c=. :~~,';!~

Qupyy b. Kilib had four 11001 and two daughten: 'Abdu Manif,
'Abdu'I- D1r, 'Abdu'J.'U:rz.i, and 'Abdu Qupyy; and Takhmur and Barra.
Their mother was l;lubbl d. l:lulayl b. l;labuhiya b. Saliil b. Ka'b b.
'Amr al-Khud'J ().
'Abdu Manlf whose name was al-Mughira b. Qupyy had four 110ns:
HAshim, 'Abdu Shams, al-Munalib, their mother being 'A.tika d. Mumr. b.
Hili! b. Fi lij b. Dhakwin b. Tha'laba b. Buhtha b. Sulaym b. Mantiir b.
'Jkrima; and Naufal, whose mother was Wiqida d. 'Amr al-Mizinlya, i.e.
Mhinb.Mantiirb.'lkrima(97)

Whilt'Abdu'l-Mu]~bwassleepinginthesaered enc\oaurehehada

~ i~:; .~;~~en~i~~;; ~~~~Yt~~;h~~~~ r~:~e;~ during the Basi.

67

Weaponineitherhandfullofvigourherode
Dismounting to fight the dismounted on foot;
Charging he carried the enemy's horsemen with him
As the swoopingha"'-kearrieathepanridgein itaclaws(9S)

niahll' journey

rrom

God willed, thenitwasinehargeofMu4JQ b. 'Amral-Jurhumt(). The

110ns of Ishmael and the sons of Nabit were with their grandfather MuQiQ
b. 'Amr and their maternal unelea of Jurhum- Jurhum and Qa]iira' who
were cousins being at that time the people of Meeea. They had come forth
from the Yaman and travelled together and MuQIQ was over Ju rhum and
'Th<nomotive ,contlnuedonp-9'

6
71

73

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Samayda',one of theirmen,overQa]ilrl'. WhentheylefttheYaman,they

refuKdtogounleutheyhadakingtoordertheiraffairs. Whentheycame
to l\tecca they 1aw a town blessed with water and trees and, delighted with
it, they 5c:ttled there. Mu~l~ b. 'Amr with the men of Jurhum settled in
the upper pan of l\lec;ca in Qu'ayqi'ln and went no fanher. Samayda'
with Qajilli' settled in the lower pan of Mecca in AjyJd the lower pan of
Mec:ca, and went no fan her. Mu~~Q. used to take a tithe from those who
entered Mecca from abo\e, while Sam.ayda' did the same to those who
entered from below. Each-kept to his own people, neither entering the
other' territory.
ThenJurhumandOatilri'quarrellcdandoomendedforthesupremacy
in Mecca; at that time MuQ-14 had with him the sons of Ishmael and Nlbit,
and he had the 0\'Crsight of the temple as against Sama)da'. They went out
to fight each other, Mm;llQ from Qu'ayqi'lin with his ho~men making for
Samayda' equipped with spearl, leather shields, swords and quivers,
rattling as they charged. h is taid that Qu'ayqi'lin was so named for that
reason. Samayda' went out from Aj)'~d with hoTK and foot, and it is said
Ajyld got its name from the fine horses(Ji>:lid)that formed Samayda's
cavalry.' The two parties met in F:lQ.i~, and after a severe battle Samayda'
was killed and Oa!fir~' humiliated. It is said that the name Fii.Qil,t was given
for this reason. Thenthepeapleclamouredforpeaceandwemonuntil
theyreachcdal-Ma]bikh, aravincabo\e Mecca;theretheymadepeace
and surrendered authoritytol\tuQ>tQ. When hewasinpowerand held
aovereigmyheslaughtcred beastsforthepeopleandgavethemasfood.
Thepeoplecookedandate,andthatiswhytheplaceiscalledMa!lbikh.
Some learned people allege that the name was given because Tubba' had
slaughteredthereandgiventhefoodawayanditwashisbase. The dispute
between MuQ.~Q. and Samayda' was the first open wrong oommined in
Mec:ca,at\castsosomeallege.
Then God multiplied the offspring of Ishmael in Mecca and their uncles
from Jurhum were rulers of the temple and judges in Mecca. The sons of
hhmaddidnotdisputetheirauthoritybccauseofthcirticsofkindrcdand
theirrespeCiforlhe sanctuarylestthereshouldbtquarrcllingorfighting
therein. \VhenMeccabccametoooonfincdforthl!sonsofbhmaclthcy
srreadabroadinthe land,andwhene,ertheyhadtofightapcoplc,God
gavethemthevictorythroughtheirreligionandtheysubduedthem.
THE TRIBE S OF Kt~<;ANA ANI> KU UZA 'A GET POSSESSION

~~~r;hai:~ J:r~:~~~~~ :.~goh~~~~~~d:bei~o!~c~;~o a\~;rem::teo~at~~~:

tribetheytrcatedbadlyandtheyappropriatedgiftswhichhadbccnmadc
'Th~Coiroeditonri 11 ht!yrtjcc< <hioe1ymot<>u:<rjyU io1hoptunlofjiJ,neck.

Tht Lift af Muhammad

47
to the Ka'basothattheirauthorityweakened. When B. Bakrb.'Abdu

~:;~~te~;ol<j:~:~~~~~~~~~~fo~h:t:~:!:~~:;t ~~a~::=~da=~

;~~~~r!g!'~1~~-n~;w}~. ~~~:~r~~~~~~~~!~~d::t~r~~

lnJUSUccandwrongWJthm tabordersandifanyonedidwrongthereinit

=~\~ ph~~~h=:n:~~y\l~ca~~~h'~h8~~~~h~r~dU:~a~i :~ga~~

Bakkabecauscituscdtobreak.'lhenccboftyn.ntswhentheyintrodueed
innovationstherein(99).
'Amr b. al-l;llrith b. Mu~UQ. aiJurhami brought out the two guelles of
the Ka'ba and the comer-stone and buried them in the well Zamum,
going away ":ith the ~en ~f Jurhum to the Yaman. They were bitterly
grie,ed at \osmg the kmgshtp of Mecca, and the abovt-named 'Amr said:
Manyawomancryingbitterly,
Hereyesswollenwithweeping,said
'Tiaathoughbetweenal-l;lajfinlandal-$alltthercwas
Nofriendand nonetobcguilethenight' longhoun ,inMec:ca.
I aaid to her, while my bean withiR me palpitated
Asthoughabirdflutteredbetweenmyribs:
'Ofasuretywewereitspeople,
Andgrie\ousmisfonuneshave broughtustonought;
Wewerethelordsofthc tcmpleafterNibit,
Weusedtogoroundthetemple
Ourpmsperityplaintosee.
WewereinchargeofthetempleaftcrNlbitinglory
Andthemanofplentydidnotcoumwith!UI.
Wereignedinpower,howgreatwasourrule!
Noothertribethercamldboast.
Didyounotmarryadaughtertothebc:stman l know?
Hisonsareours,webeingbrothenbymarriagc.'
Iftheworldtumedagainstus
Theworld enrbringspainfulchangcs.
God 1 droveu.soutbyforcc;thus,Omen,
Doe.dcstinypursueits"''IY
I aaywhent hearcfrec: sleep,and ldonotaleep,
'Lordofthethrone,letnotSuhayl and'Amirperish!'
I wasforccdtolookuponfaces ldonot\ike:
The tribes of l;limyar and Yu~libir.
Webecamealegendafterhavingbccninprosperity
Thatilwhatthepassingycandidtous.
)AmouM.oinoboveMccco

la/.,.,ai/Aprooumob!ytdentothodivineKins

,,

The Life of Muhammad

Thetearsflow,weepingfor a town
Whereinisa sureaanctuaryandtheucredplaces.

The Lzft of Muhammad

at that time was a grown man and t tayed behind, while Outayy had juat
been weaned.) !Ubi'aiOokFil!imaawaytohislandandsheearriedQ:u.pyy

Weepingforatemplewhosedovesunhanncd,
Dwell ..afely there, with flocks of sparrowa.

:~.~~~;a:~e-:.~;~:;~!:":n~~~elt;t::;:.~

Wildcreaturesthereare tame, unha rried,

Thus it was that when his people asked him to join them in the war he
wrote to his brother Rizl~, who shared the aarne mother, asking him tO
comeandsupponhim. ThereuponRizli)setoutaca>mpaniedbyhish.alfbrothers}:lunn, Ma~mii.d, and julhuma, allsonsofRabi'a but not by
FA1ima, together with a number of OuQl'a among the Arab pilgrims, having 76
agreedtosupponQu,ayy.
Khuz.fa allege that }:lulayl b.}:lubahiya had enjoined this on Qu.pyy
when he saw how his daug hter' children had multiplied, uying: 'You
haveabetterrighttotheKa'baandtoruleinMeccathanKhuzil'a',sothat
thiswasthereasonwhyQu,ayyactedashedid. Butthisisaatorywhich
wehavcnotheardfromanyotheraource,andonlyGodknowsthetruth.
(T. WbenthepeoplehadassembledinMcccaandgonetothcrrwlll}i/,
completed the ~ajj and come down to r.Iinil, 0Uflyy assembled hill poucaaiona and his followers from his own tribe of Qurayh, the B. Kiniina, and
1uch of the QuQ~'a as were with him, there on1y remained the ceremony of
dillmiual.)'

Butleaving its aanctuaryarchuntedfreely (too).

'Amr b. ai-H.iirith, remembering Bakr and Ghubsh.iin and the townme n
ofMeccawhomthcyhadleftbehindthere,uida\so:
Journey fonh, 0 men; the time will come

Whcnonedayyouwillnotbeabletoleave.
Hastenyourbeastsandloosc:ntheirreins,
Bcforedeathcomea;anddowhatyoumuatdo

Weweremen likeyou;fatechangedus
Andyouwillbeasweonccwere(tot).

ThenGhubshanofKhuzii'acontro\ledthetempleinsteadofB. Bakrb.
'Abd Manit, the man who was controlling it being 'Amr b. al-l:lilrith alGhubshint. Qur:aysh atthattimewere in acatteredsettlements,andtents'
dispersed among their people, B. Kiniina. So KhuU'a poases.sed the temple,
passingitonfromsontosonuntilthe lastofthem,l;lulaylb.l;labashlyab.
Saliil b. Ka'b b. 'Amr ai-Khuz.fl (102).

When Outayy reached

Al- CHAUTH S AUTHORITY OVER MEN ON Plt..CRIMACI!

AI-Ghauth b. Murr b. Udd b. al-Ya' b. MuQar used to ghe pennission1

tomenonpilgrimageto leave'Arafa,andthifunctiondcacendedtohis
childrenafterhim. H eandhissonsusedtobecalled$Ufa. 1 Al-Ghauth

~~:=!~:!:nf':~7.:~~~~~~ ':~~;.~:~:o1m.: :~!u;:~~

THE MARRlACE OF QU!iAYY B. K I LAB W!TIIl,IUBBA

Quip.yyb.Kihlbaskedl;lulaylb.l:lubshiyaforhis daughte rl;lubbii.l;lulayl

agreed and gave her to him and she bare him 'Abd al-D~r, 'Abd Manilf,
Abdu'I-'Uz:d, and 'Abd. By the time that the children of Qu,ayy had
spreadabro;adandincreasedinwealthandreputationijulayldied. Now
{}uip.yythought that he had a better claim than Khuzil'aand B. Bakrto
control the Ka'ba and Mecca, and that Ouraysh were the noblest off~"ring of Ishmael b. Abraham and the purest descendants of hi1 sons.
l-lespoketoQurayt:handB. Kinilna askingthemtodriveout Khuzi'a
andB.BakrfromMcccaandtheyagreedtodoso.
Now Rabi'a b. J:l arilm of 'Udhra b. Sa'd b. Zayd had come to Mecca
afterthedeathofKi !AbandhadmarriedF~Iimad.Sa'db.&yal. (Zuhra

givehimtotheKa'baasaslavetoserveitandtolookafterit. Inoourseof
timcshegavebirthtoaiGhauthandhcusedtolookafterthcKa'bain

:~ ~i=;~:~u;~~: :~e; ~h~::~d~:~~v~~ :~: o~:~~~.f d~':::

carricdonthcpracticeuntiltheywerecutoff.
1 T.t09511-IJ.Tbenarntift,..aonwilhlhcwordo:'$olfauscdto.,.ftd thepcopJe
away'-W. ?(I.17
0

' l o-.n~PMOiblcthooth.o/j4Ior"pennio.oion",i.e.th.o...,rdofO<IInn'l&l>dthoooermi

naonthe,_,;f,..,..oriainallylhepermiooiontofoUuponlhealauahtorrdvW:tima.lnohe
Meccanpilarirnoeothclfohwhichl<rminol<dthe-4!a'Arofo.....,,heoigna]forahol
"""''othen<iihbouriniJsonc,...ryofM<wlolifa,whei'Ciheoacrodfireof oherod.Co ..b
b..orned;il-.inf-=t,n<>ltomuchlhcpennio.oionroleove'AnfoutodrownnrtoCo.u.b
Thc"""'icoelfiocalledl/<1,wbkh....,._..."dioponion"or"diotribution".ltcannot:,...U
......,tbcformcr,for'AnfaioriOiholyl'""""'<'.h<ll..,.re1rth.opoinlol-.nblaiJ<j,..l
outaidelhcl;lo.nmotwhic:hlhe""..........UUbcpn,ondlheototionai'Arofoioonlylhe
p"'porotionforohevigiloiMoulolifo. Onoheolherhond,iflhem<oni"'' io"diotribulion"
1helf<tJono-ntotheruohofNil110'oSo.....,notoporlohoftheoacrillu,'W,R.S.,R,$
,..r. cr.w.w. .h;Ga...ur...,..~,....,.

IThcmraniniOfthionam<iooboc:un!.

. t.o.

so

The Life of lHuhammad

Tht L1]t of Muhammad

Murrb. Udd,referringtothefulfilmentofthemother'soath,said

Somcacted unlawfullyagaiTl$tOthcrs
Andsome sp.arednotothers.
Someofthemwercprinces
Whofaithfullymetthcirobligations.
Sorncusedtogivemcnthe partingsignal
Bycustomanddivinecommand.

~ !::~~ ~a~~=~.:n:x~~t:t sons

Soblessmefotthevowfulfilled,
Andm.akehimthebestofcreatures tomycredit.
Al-Ghau th,sotheyallege,usedto saywhenhesentthepec:~pleaway:

~~~h~: v:-:i:;:~!e0:::r ~':u~:~i~ions

0 God I am following the example of others.

If thatiswrongthefaultisQuQi'a's.

il!lf&i
~~lf~~J~
beingKaribb. $afwiin.
Aus b.Tamimb.Maghri'a\-Sa'diaaid:

0~~it:!~::d~~~7,~eq~~~=~o~a~i~!!:;C:/~;twr;!~.

Hurth:ln b. 'Amr the 'Adw:lnitc wbo was called Dhii'I-I,ba' because he

hadafingermissingaaid
Bringanexcusefor thetribeof'Adwiln.'
Theywcrethcserpenttofthccarth.'

C.:*-:=~~'!:.~IOA~~; 6~wo~raubyciYil"'.

S.

Since the permission to depart from 1\fuzdalifa was with 'Adwiin, as 78

Ziyid b. 'Abdullah ai-BakU'i told me on the authority of Muhammad b.
btJiq,theyusedtopass itonfromfathcrto sonuntil thclastofthcmwhen
:::came, AbU Sayyira 'Umayla b. al-A'ul, about whom a certain poet

:~dh~:ec~i:~:dt~ ~iis~~:
Until hemadehisasspassthroughsafcly
~hcfaoedMcccaprayingtoiuGuardian.

Abii Sayy~raused tosendawaythepec:~p lewhilesitting upon ashe ass of

hi;thatiswhyhesaya'makinghisasspasssafely'.'

' AM I R B. :Z:AR I B B. 'AM R B.'IYAO H B. YASHKUR B. 'ADWAN

Hiswords'ajudgewhogavedccisions'rcfcrstotheabo\e-named. T he
Arabs usedtorcfereveryseriousanddiffieultCllletohimfordccisionand
would accept his verdict. Once it happened that a case in dispute in
reference to a hermaphrodite was brought to him. They said, 'Arc we to
treatitassmanorawoman?'Theyhadne\erbroughthim suchadifficult
matter beforc,sohesaid,'Waitawhileuntil l havelookedintothematter,
for byAIIahyouhaveneverbroughtmeaquellionlike thisbefore.' So
theyagrcedtowait,andhepassedaslceplcssnightturningthematterover
and\ookingatitfromallsideswithoutanyrcsult. Nowhehadas\ave-girl
Sukhaylawhousedto pasturchisflock. lt washis habittotcascher whcn
she went out in the morning by saying sarcastically, 'You're early this
morning, Sukhayla'; and when she returned at night he would say, 'You're
lateto-night, Sukhayla,'becauseshehadgoneoutlateinthemorningand
comeback lateintheevcningaftcrtheothers. Nowwhenthisgirlsawthat
hecouldnot slcepandtosscdaboutonhisbcdshcaskedwhat histroublc
wu. 'Getoutand leave me alone, for it is noneof)'Out business,' he
retorted. Howe\er,hewassopel'!listent that hesaidtohimsclfthatit

:ig~; ~~~~~~h~::,u~d !:v::;;~o""!~~u';;:,:o~unti~~eo~:~:~;::~:t:

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhommod

~~~.3~.~~~~0~~d \ 1~a:! ~~~v:ymoa:tr ;h::~~ !~! ~:: ~~r~~;

B. Ka'bb. Lu'ayytoassume kingshipandtobeobeyed byhispoopleas

king. lleheld thekeysofthe tem~Je,.theright to.waterthepil~rim&from
the welt of Zamnm, to f:d the plgnms, to pres1de at asscmbhes, and to
handoutthewarb;inners. lnhishandslayatlthedignitie!l.ofMecca;he
dhided the town into quarters among his people and he settled all the
QurayshintotheirhousesinMeccawhiehtheyheld.
PeopleassertthattheQurayshwereafraidtocutdownthetreesofthe
sanctuary in their quarters, but Oupyy cut them down with hia own hand
orthroughhi1assistants. Qurayshcalledhimthe'uniter'becausehehad
broughtthemtogetherandtheydrewahappyomenfromhisrule. Sofar
as Quraysh whe concerned no woman was gi\en in marriage, no man
married, no discussion about public affairs was held, and no banner
ofwarwasentrustedtoanyoneexceptinhishouse,whereoneofhiaaons
wou\dhanditover. Whenagirlreachedmarriageableageahehadtocome
tohishousetoputonhcrshift. Theshiftwassplitoverherheadinhia
house,thensheputitonandwastakenawaytohe rprople.' His authority
amongtheQurayshduringhislifeandafterhisdeathwaalikeareligious
lawwhichcouldnotbeinfringed. Hechoseforhimselfthehouseofmeet
ing and made a door which led to the mosque of the Ka'ba;in it the

51
79

f~;~:~~~~~~i":~::;:;;:~:a;~:~:~1~:~::~:.~:::~:i
indicated.
IIOWQU$AYY B. }ttl..J.B GAINED POWER IN MECCA;
HOW liE UNITED QURAYSII AND THE HELP WIIICII
QUI}A'A GAVE HIM

~~5jf!~~f~~~~~f~~;~~~1]~~~{j~~I~~T:~;~

;?gf~2lt~g:~I~~~g~;~}~~{.:~~;:g:::~~v~;~

.lfJil$1
~Jiti~~~
'The pointwoaimporuntbou.. o moleroc~i,tddoubleoomuchooofemolo

~~~~~-~da:i~ s~~t~~~~~ ;!~i:~ ~~1;

1

his father aaid that he heard alS~'ib b. Khabb~b, author of af-Maq1Ura, reporting that he heard a man 8
tdling 'Umar b. al-Kha)lll.b when he was caliph the-ttory of Outayy, how
he united Ouraysh and expelled. Khuzll.'a and B. Bakr from Metca, and
how he gained control of the temple and the affaira of Mecca. Umar made
no attempt to gainsay him. (T. Qu~ayy's authority in Mecca, where he
enjoyedgreatesteem,remaineduncontested. Heleftthepilgrimageun
changed because he deemed it a religious taboo. The SUfa continued,
untiltheywerecutoff,inthefamilyof$afwll.nb.all:fllrithb. Shijnaby
right of inheritance. 'Ad win, the Nas'a o B. Mll.lik b. Kinll.na, and Murra
b.'AufcontinuedasbeforeumilislamcameandCoddcstroyedallthcse

offices.)
When Qu}lyy's war was O\'er his brother RiUI;t b. Rabi'a went away to
hiaownlandwithhiscountrymen. Conceminghisresponaeto{)uJayyhe
compoaedthefollowingpocm:
WhenamcssengercamefromQupyy
Andaaid'Respondtoyourfriend'requcst,'
Weaprangtohisaidlc:adingourhones,
Casting from us the half-hearted and slow-moring.
Werodeallnightuntilthedawn
Hidingourselvcsbydaylestwe shouldbeattatked.
Oursteedswereswiftasgrousehurryingtowatcr
Dringingouranswertothe callofQupyy.

,.,: ~~..~;h;:~:;;,rw;~;,~:r.~~~~.!,~"':~ ;;.rn:;:~hc;'~~.:n.?J:.~inrthmuah "hi<h

The Life of Muhammad

WecolleetedtribesmenfromSirr and thetwoAshm.adha'
Fromeverytribeaclan.
Whatafineforeeofcaulrythatnight,
Morethanathousand,swift,smooth-pacedl
Whentheypasaeslbyal-'Asjad
Andtoolr.theeuyroadfroml\1usunikh
And pas.sedby theedgeofWariqin
And passed byal-'Arj,atribeencampedthere,
Theypaasedbythe thombusheswithoutcroppingthem,
Runninghardthe livelong nightfromMarr.
We brought thecoltsnearthei rmothcn~

Thattheirneighingmightbegentle,
And when we came to Mecca we
Subduedthementribcbytribe.
Weamotethemtherewiththeedgeofthesword
And with every atroke we deprhed them of their wits
Wetrodthemdownwithourhorses'hooves
Asthestrongtreaddownthe weak andhelpless.
WekilledKhud'aintheir homeland
AndBalr.rwekilled gro upbygroup.
Wedrove themfromGod's land,
Wewouldnotletthempoueua fertilerountry.
We keptth emboundin ironfetten~.J

On everytribewequenchedourvengeance.
h

Tha'laba b. 'Abdullah b. Dhubyln b. al-l:llrith b. Sa'd Hudhaym alQuQI'Isaidconc:emingQu,ayy's invitationandtheirresponse:

Weurgedonour slenderh igh-steppinghorses
Fromtheaandhills,thesandhillsofal-jin.ib
To the lowlandt of Tihbna, and we met our foe
Jn abarrendeprenionofadesert.
Mfor$11fatheeffeminate,
They fonooktheirdwellingsin fewof thesword.
Buttheeontof'Aii whent heysawus
Leapedtotheirswordslikecamelsthatyeam for home.
Qu,ayyb. Kilibsaid:
J am theeonof theprotecton~,the B.Lu'ayy,

Inl\1eccaismyhome where l grewup.

'hiodiopu!Nwhcth<rohetooorotwolribaortwomountainobel"'""nMedinoand
Khayb.r
~:i~~...!:~~unccrtain;'thcy~by ...,.rwithoutwtinait', .. ..,mo MSS.pro~~;,-::;:d.,~~rob.blclhououc:honroo!ldvaltlllblcmetol"ouldbcusedforouc:hapur-

Tlu Life of Multammlld

Mineis'thevalleyuMa'addlnows,
l tsM:uwa ldclightin.
l shouldnothaveoonqueredhadnot
TheeonsofQaydharandNabltsettledthere.
Rid.~ was my helper and through him I am great,
Ifearnoinjustiecas long as llive.
When Rid.l,t was established in his cotantry God increased him and
l:lunn in numbeB. (They are the two tribes of 'Udhratoday.) Now when
hecameto hiscountrytherehadbnamatterindisputebetweenRizll:l
ontheonehandandNahdb.Zaydand l:lautakab.Mlumontheother,
they being 1wo clans of QuQ~'a. He put them in fear~ that they clsve to
the Yamanand lefttheQuQfarountryand remainintheYamantothis
day. Now Qu~yy was well disposed to QuQl'a and wanted them to in
creaseandbeunitedintheirlandbecauseofhialr.inshipwithRid.l,tand
bec::auseoftheirgoodwilltohimwhentheyreapondedtohissppealfor
help. HedislikedwhatRizf.l;lhaddonetothemand said :
Who will tell Ridl,t from me
Thatlbbmehimontwoacrountl,
lblameyoufortheBaniiNabdb.Zayd
Bccauseyoudroveawedgebetwecnthemandme,
Andforl:lautakab.Mlum;ofatruth
Hewholreatsthembadlyha.sbadlytrc::atedme(lo6).
When Outayy grew old and feeble, he 1poke to 'Abdu'l-Dir. He wu
hit fin1t born but (T. they say he was weak) 'Abdu Manlf had become
famousduringhiafather'a lifetimeanddoneallthathadtobedonealong
with 'Abdu'l-'Uzdand 'Abd. He said: 'By God, my aon I will put you on a
parwiththeotheB;thoughtheyhaveagreaterreputationthanyoun~;none

ofthemball enurtheKa'bauntilyouopenitforthem;noneshaUgive
the Ounysh the war banner but you with your own hand; none shall drink
in Mecc;a except you allow it ; and no pilgrim shalt eat food unleat you
provideit;andQunvsh shallnotdecideanymattuexecptinyourhot~~e.'

He pve him his house, it being the only place where Quraysh could aettle
theiraffain~, andhepvehi mtheformalrightsmcntionedabove.

The Rif4da was a tax which Quraysh uled to pay from their property to
Qufayyateveryfeatival. Withitbeusedtoprovidefoodforthepilgrima
whowereunable to affordtheirownprovisions. Qufayyhadlaidthiaasa
dutyuponQuraysh, uying:'YouareGoct'aneighboun,thepeoplcofhis
temple and sanctuary. ThepilgrimaareGod'gueauand thevisitonlto
Hitempl eand have thehigheatclaimon yourgenero~ity;eoprovidefood

and drink forthemduringthepilgrimageuntiltheydepanoutofyour

territory.' Accordingly theyusedtopayhimeveryyeara .tuon their
flod.sandheusedtoprovidefoodforthepeopletherefrom,whilethev

,,

The Lift of .ll,luhammad

The 1.-'fe of Muhammad

wereatMinl,andhispeoplecarriedoutthil orderofhisduringthetime
ofignoranoeuntilhlamcame. Tothis verydayitisthe foodwhichthe
sullanprovides every yearinl\1iniuntilthepilgrimage isow:r.

rubbedthci r handsontheKil'ba6trcngtheningthesolcmnityoftheoath.
Forthi.reuontheywerecalledtheScentedOnes
Theother sidetookasimilaroathattheKa'ba andtheywerecalledthe
Confederates. Then the tribes formed groups and linked up one with
another. The B. 'Abdu Manaf were ranged against B. Sahm; B. Asad
against B. 'Abdu'lDlr; Zuhra against B. Juma~; B. Taym againat B.
MakhzUm; and B. al-l:llrith againtt 'Adiyy b. Ka'b. They ordered that
eachtribethouldexterminatetheoppoeingunitt.
When the people hadthusdecidedonwar,1uddcnly theydemanded
peaceontheconditionthatB.'AbduManifahouldbegiventherightsof
wateringthepilgrimsandcollectingthetax;andthatacccutotheKa'ba,
theatandardofwar,andtheassemblyhouse,shouldbelongtothe'Abdu'IOir as before. The arrangement commended itself to both sides and was
canicdout,andsowarwasprevented. Thisv.-uthestateofaffairtuntil
Godbroughthlam,whenthe apoetlcofGodu.id,'Whate\eralliancethere
wasinthedaysofignoranceblamlttengthenait.'

My father bQiq b. Yas!r from al-l:lasan b. Muhammad b. 'Ali b. AbU

Tllib told me about this affair ofQu~Jayy's and what he said to 'Abdu'I-Dir

concerningthetransfcrofhit powcrtohiminthescworda,'lheardhim
saying this to a man of B. 'AbdU'l-Oir called Nubaih b. Wahb b. 'Amir b.

114 'Ikrima b. 'Amir b. Hhhim b. 'Abdli Manlf b. 'Abdu'I-Dir b. Qupyy.'

aJ-I:Iuansaid: 'Out ayyga\'C him all the authority that hehadoverhit
~r:!: Qu~ayy was never contradicted nor was any measure of his over-

THE lliPT IN QURAY SH AFTER Q U$ AYY AND THE

CONfEDERACY OP THE SCENTED ONES

AfterthcdeathofOutayyhissonsassumedhisauthorityoverthepeople
andmarkedoutMeccainquanen,afterhehadallottcdspacethereforhis
o"':"tribe. Theyallottcdquartenamong.their~pleandamongother
~let, and ~ld them. Qurayth took pan 1n this wtth them without any
d1100rd or d1spute. Then the SOJU of 'Abdu Manlif-'Abdu Shams and
Hilshim and al-Mu)lalib and Naufal-agrecd to seize the rights that the
~ns of 'Abdu'lDir ~d which Out ayy had given to 'Abdu'lDlr
hunself,narnelythosementloncdabo\e. TheycoJUideredthattheyhadt
bet~e rrighttothem because.oftheirsuperioritytnd theirpoeitionamong

~~~ ~~~uT~:::t:dd:;:~i~~ ~~~gB?~~;j_;";/~~:n f::~~

~~a~~~e;::~ ~:i::"~r!::h ~~~:: ~!1h::e \~;t~::;~~!ht~e:~iclo

The leader of B. 'Abdu Manlif was 'Abdu Shams, because he wu the

cldett son of his father; and the leader of B. 'Abdu'I-Dlr was 'Amir h.
Hilshim h. 'Abdu Man!i.fb. 'Abdu'lDlr. The B. Asad h. 'Abdu'J.'Uzzli b.
{}ufayy and B. Zuhra b. Killh and B. Taym b. Murra h. Ka'b and B. alHlrith b. Fihr b. M:llik b. al-NaQr were with B. 'Abdu Manif, while with
B. 'Abdu'l-Dir were B. MakhzUm b. Yaqap. b. Murra, and B. Sahm b.
'Amr ~- Hufayt b. IU'b and B. Juma~ b. 'Amr b. Huta)'l b. Ka'b and
B. 'Ad1yy b. Ka'b. The men who remamed neutral were 'Amir b. Lu'ayy
andMu~lrib.b.Fihr.

85

They all made a firm agreement tlu.t they would not abandon one
anotherandwouldnotbetrayoneanotherulongasthetcawettedsea
weed. The B. 'Abdu Manlif brought out a bowl full of ~ent (they assen
thatsomeofthewomenofthetribebroughtitouttothem)andtheyput
itfortheiralliesinthemosque'bet.idetheKa'ba;thentheydippedtheir
handt into it and they and their allies took atolemnoath. Then they
'Thitio- ...

--.s...sJ.,Ilrt.'Mudjid'.

THECONPEDERACYOPTHEPUQ0L 1

Ziylld b. 'Abdullah ai-BakkA'I related to me the following as from Ibn

Is~~q: The tribes of Qurayth decided to make a covenant and assembled
for that purpose in the house of 'Abdullah b. Jud'in b. 'Amr b. Ka'b b.
Sa'd b. Taym b. Murra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy because of his seniority and the
high reputation he enjo)cd. Those pany to the agreement with him were
B. Hlshim, B. '1-Munalib, Asad b. 'Abdu'J.'Uzzl, Zuhra b. Killb, and
Taym b. Murra. They bound themselves by a solemn agreement .that if
theyfoundthatanyone,eitheranativeofMeccaoranoutsider,had 86
beenwrongedtheywouldtakehispartagainsttheaggressorandseethat
the ttolen property wu rutored to him. Qurayth called that confederacy
'TheConfederacyoftheFuQ.Ul'.
Muhammad b. Zayd b. al-~tuhljir b. Qunfudh ai-Taymi to ld me that he
heard Tall;la b. 'Abdullah b. 'Auf al-Zuhrl say: The apostle of God said,
' I witnessedinthehouseof'Abdullahb.Jud'lnaco\'enantwhichlwould
notcxchangeforanynumberoffinecameiB:iflwcreinvitcdtotakepart
initduringblamlshoulddoso.'
Yazld b. 'Abdullah b. Uslma b. alHidi al-Laythl told me that Muham
madb.lbrlhimb.al-l;llrithal-Taymltoldhimthattherewasadispute
between al-l;lusayn b. 'Ali b. AbU Tllib and al-Walid b. 'Utba b. AbU
Sufyln about some propeny they held in DhU'l-Marwa. At that time alWalld was governo r of Medina, his uncle, Mu'lwiya b. AbU Sufyln having
given him rhe appointment. AI-Walid had defrauded al-l:lusayn of his
'FIM;!Oiiouploinedumuninathotohec:onfod<ratndidnotallo.. .. ronl!'ioon<or-.toin
onraiDkn p"""'ny. Fll<j.(U _...,ti.._ muno 'r-.moinoofopoil' . Another and ~ hot
r rou:heduplanorioaioohattbiocon .......... .....unodonanolder~lohhe
cho-riawhi<hthrHmm ..chwiththenomooiFodltoolDOOn

,,

Tk Life of Muhommad

The Life of Muhammad

::!

~;t~:~,~:j~:~~;~~~i~~~~:l::~~~~i~~!~~~i~

travelling wilh his merchandise, and al-Muttalib b. 'Abdu Manilf wumed

therightoffeedingandwateringthepilgrima. Hewasyoungcrthan'Abdu
Shams and Hilshim. He was held in high esteem among his people, who 88
calledhimai-Fayc:Jonaccountofhisliberalityandhigheharatter.
Hlshim had gone to Medina and married Salmi d. 'Amr, one of B.
'Adiyy b. ai-Njjlr. Before that she had been married to Ul;tay~a b. aiJulill) b. al -l;larish b. Jal)jaba b. Kulfa b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. 'Auf b. Millik b.
ai-Aus and bore him a son called 'Amr. On account of the high po5ition
theheldamonghe r people shewouldonlymarryonconditionthatlhe
1houldretainoontrolofherownaffairs. Ifshedis\ikedaman ahelefthim.
To H:lshim abe bore 'Abdu'I-Munalib and called his name Shayba.
Hilshim left him with her while he wu a little boy. Then hi uncle aiMunalib came to take him away and bring him up among his people in hi1
town. But Salmi declined to let him go with him. His uncle argued that
his nephew was now old enough to travel and was as an exile sway from
hisowntribewhowerethepeopleofthetemple,ofgreatlocalreputation,
holdingmuchofthego1ernmentintheirhands. Therefore it was better
fortheboythat he should be among his own fami ly, and therefore he
refusedtogowithouthim. ItispopularlyassertedthatShaybarefuaedto
leavehiamotherwithoutherconsent;andthistheultimatel'ygave. So his
uncle took him away to Mecca, riding behind him on his camel, and the
peoplecried:'It'sal-Munalib'sslavewhomhehasbought'andthatishow
begot the name of'Abdu'l-Mu11alib. His uncle called out: 'Rubbish!
This ia my nephew whom I have brought from Medina.'
Subsequently ai-Munalib died in Radmin in the Yaman, and an Arab
mournedhiminthefollowinglines:

wou ldnotlaythisburdenuponyou.' Thereupontheytuedthemsehes

ca~h man according tO his capacity and used to pro1ide food for the pilgnln3untiltheyleftl\'lecca.
h ia alleged that Hbhim was the first to institute the two caravan jour-

Matriid b. Ka'b ai-Khuza'i wrote this elegy o1er ai-Munalib and all the
:;'~~~f'Abdu Manifwhen the news came that Naufal the last of them was

~~!t';.!~r :~.,~~:m~: ~:s~::e ~~~ r=~~ ~

:::;

!:S:ran~d8::n~7~

apoe:t le'tmo.queand_invoketheconfederacyoftheFulj.iil!' 'Abdullah b.

~~:~~~~~ri:~:~;~ t:.~~t::~~-~~ :~-:': ~"~t .:~~ :~~dh~~:~t~lb:e ~:;!

JUStice, or we wlll die together.' When the new!l reachedal-l\'1iawar b.

:~~~~~~~-~;~~~~=! ~i~~~~ =:~~~~~~r~l;~:~:tb~-~~:~=

pcnmgai-\Validpveal-Uusaynsatisfaction.
ThisameY:uid,onthesameauthority,toldmethatl\luhamiTU.db.
Jubayr b. Mut'im b. 'Adlyy b. Naufal b. 'Abdu Manif, who was the most
teamed of the Quraysh, met 'Abdu'I-Malilr. b. :\1arwln b. al- l;fakam when
1 11
87

~;:i~~ ~~~n :e "~!~~~:~~rtea;~i~~~~~ ~~:~;:~::. :~:::~~:-~?::~~

you-meaning B. 'Abdu Sh:una b. Abdu Manlf and B. Naufal b. 'Abdu

Manlf-panners in the confederacy of the FuQ.iil ?' 'You should know
best,' he replied. 'Abdu'I-Malik uid, 'No, you tell me, Abii Sa'id, the

~~:~. o.f;:~.~~~~~;~. ~~da?1~~~1-~~~?k.by God, you and we kept out of

pil~r~!!~e~~~~~:d~":~:~~~:.i~t:n:r:~t ~ :a~:~~i;~'h~n~.::~~~~~ ~~ ~
1 1

~~; ~\~~ ~~~iL;::s:J1:~~~f~~s~~~~~~~~:~~;n~~

1

~:~~h~~~~~\~:~~r =~~ i~i~~:~~~~~:~~t ~~~ ~~i:~:~l~~~~~

~ne ;~::~1~ ~~~h t;:~~r~n~r:~~~: !~~. i:~~ t~;s h~ple
'Amrwhomade.bread-and-brothfor hispeople,
ApeopleinMe<:cawho1ufferedleanyears.
lleitwaswhostartedt hetwojoumeys,
Thewinter'caravanandthesummer'stntin(IO?)
llilshim b. 'Abdu Manifdied in Ghazza in the land of Syria while

Thirstyarethepilgrimsnowai-Munalibiagone.
No more bowls with Overflowing brima.
Now tlu.t he is gone would that Quraysh were in torment\

Onight!mostmiaerablenight,
Disturbing all other nights,

~~~ ~~~tsa:! ;hhea~l~:ff:;

fate.
WhenlremernbermybrotherNaufal,
He remindsmeofdaysgoneby,
He remindsmeoftheredwaiu-sashn,
Thefinenewyellowrobes.
Therewerefourofthem,everyoneaprince,
Sonsandgrandsonsofprinces.
One dead in Radmlin, one in Sa lm~n ,
AthirdliesnearGhazza,

1'hl

I~1Je

Thl Lifl of Muhammad

of Muhammad

A fourth lie.inagraveby the Ka'ba

Totheeastofthesacredbuildings
'AbduManiifbroughtthemupvirtuously
Safefromthereproofofallmen.
Yeatherearenonelike i\lughira'schildren
Amongthe livingorthedead.
'Abdu l\Unaf's name wu al-Mughira. Hashim was the first of his tons to
die at Ghazza in Syria, follo~ed by 'Abdu Shatru~ in Mecca, then ai-MunalibinRadm!inintheYaman,andlastlyNaufal inSalmlninlraq.
It was aaid to l\TatrUd-at least they assert so-'Your lines are very good,
butifyouhaddonemorejustioetothethemetheywouldhavebecnstill
better.' 'Ghe me a night or two,' he replied, and after a few days he
produttdthefollowing
Oeye, weep copiously, pourdownthytears,
WccpoverMughira'tso ns, thatnoblebreedofKa'b,
Oeye,ccasenottoweepthygathcringtears,
Bewailmyhcartfeltsorrowinlife't misfortuncs
\ Veepovera11thoscgcncrous trustworthymen,
Lavishingiftt,munificent,bounteous,
Pureinsoul,ofhighintcnt,
Firmindisposition,retoluteingraveaffairs,
Stronginemergency,nochurls,notrelyingonothers,
Quicktodecide,laviahingenerosity.
IfKa'b's lineisrccltoned,ahawk,
Theveryhcartand summitoftheirglory,
WccpforgcncrosityandMuttalibthegenerous,
Rcleuethefountainofthytears,
GonefromusinRsdmlintodayasaforcigner,
My heart grieve. for him among the dead.
Woetoyou,wcc pifyoucanweep,
For'Abdu Shamsonthe eastof the Ka'ba,

~:~e~~~~!m~~d~~~ t~:~= ~~~~~~:~ ~~:t;:~:.n

AboveaUformy friendNaufal
WhofoundinSalmlinadesertgrave.
Neverhavelknowntheirlike,Araborforcigner,
Whcntheirwhitecamel.sborethemalong.
Now their camps know them no more
Whousedtobethegloryofourtroops.
1-last imeannihilatedthemorwere thcirswordsblunt,

g~~~ ~~:z ~~;!~~ t~~~er:!!ot~':;; :a~~~~

Withmereamilcsandfricndlygreetings.
Wee pforthe fatheroft he womenwithdisht veltedhair

Who weep for him with faces unveiled as camels doomed to die.'
They mourn the noblest man who e\er walked,
JkwailinghimwithAoodsoftears.
They moumamangenerous andliberal,
Rejccting injustice, whoscttledtheg~a~estmattera.

They weep for 'Amr al-'Uiii! w~cn h1s tLmc. came,

Iknign'II'Uhisnaturcashcmuledstthemght'sguestt.
They weeppi"05tratedhysorrow,

~~:y l:~;:~~~~~:u~~~ :~~~'7~em

from him,
Theirfaces pale likecamel.sdeniedwater.
Withtheirloinsgirdedbccauscof fate'sba rdblo"''S
1

: ~~~~e;:sl~t~l~ ::u;h7;;:~~;:t ~oe :~:~ my grief.

~:g"~!'~e~~r :eh~~~o~=~re like their offspring.
Theirsonsarethebestofsons,

~~~'::In;~ !:o':tr~~:~; ~~:h~o:eh~:~i::~e~iven,

Howmanyacaptivemarchavetheybestowed,
Howmanya finemett\ed l ndiansword,
Howmanya lanceas longasawellrope,
Howmanyslavesdidtheygivefortheasking,
Lavishingtheirgiftsfarandwide.
Were l tocountandothel11COUntwithme
I couldnot exhausttheirgenerousactt ;
Theyare tlle foremostinpure deseent
Wherevermenboastoftheirforbcan,
Theornament ofthehouscs whichtheyleft
So th.attheyh.avebccomcsoliuryandforsaken,
J uywhi lemyeyeceasesnottowce~,

May Godspare the unfortunate(famliy)!(J08)

By the 'father of the women with dishevelled hair' the poet means
Hbhim b. 'Abdu Manif.

~1:.!~!~i~;2~~~if?Ei~f{.J~t#.?~f
amongtbem.

~~~:g;;;:;::;;~;,;:':;:::.::::::,,-;.:::::~~.::::.~::-.;:;~,;;;::

Tht L1/t of Muhammad

Tht Ltft of Muhammad

While Abdu'l-Munalib was sleeping in the ~ijr,' he was ordered in a vision

to dig Zamzam. Yazid b. AbU l:fabib al-Mil!ri from Marthad b. 'Abdullah
at-Yazani from 'Abdullah b. Zurayr al-Ghlfiql told me that he heard 'Ali
b. Abii Talib telling the story of Z:unz.am. He said that 'Abdu'I-Munalib
said: 'I was sleeping in the ~ijr when a supernatural visitant came and said,
"Dig 'fiba", I said "And what is 'fi!n?"; then he ldt me. I went to bed
again thenextdayandslept,andhecametomeandsaid"Dig Barra";
when I asked what Barra was he ldt me. The next day he came and said
"Dig ai-Mac,lnUna"; when I asked what that was he went away again. The
next day he came while I was sleeping and taid "Dig Zamzam". I said,
"WhatisZamzam?'';hesaid
'Twillnever failor everrundry,
'Twill water the pilgrim company.
hlies'twixtthedungandthefleshbloody,'
Bythenestwherethe white-wingedravensfly,
Bythenestwheretheantstoandfrodoply.'
9~

Whentheexactspothadbeenindicatedtohimandheknewthatitcorrespondedwiththefacts,hetoolr. apick-axeandwentwithhissonal-I:Urith
- forthe hadno otbcrsonatthattime-andbegantodig. Whenthetop
of the well appeared he cried 'Allah a.kbar!' Thus Quraysh knew that he
had obtained his objeci and they came to him and said, 'This is the well of
ourfatherishmael,andwehavea righttoit,aogiveusashare init.' 'I
willnot,'heanswered,'lwasspeciallytoldof itandnotyou,and l wasthe
onetobegivenit.' Theysaid:'Dousjustice,forweshallnot leaveyou
until we have got a judicial decision in the matter.' He said: 'Appoint
anyone you lilr.e as umpire between us.' He agreed to accept a woman
diviner of B. Sa'd Hudhaym, who dwelt in the uplands of Syria. So
'The/tijr;.tbo .. micirculo< opo<~the .... UcaJJodl;lolfmondthcK<o'ba,which
io ui<l<otonlaintboJinvnof Hogarand loluno<l. Cf.Mtoql,~hf.
'The~iochanctcrioticofAnbionondeo compooedind~"'lknown a S.," "

Thewon:lo'bottwtmtbodunsondtheblood'occminthoQuran,S~nl6,wne68. 'We
siveyoutodrinkof..,hatio inthri<Mlliobottwunthc f-nandtheblood,pu"'mi!keooily
owollowodby thcdrink<rt.'Butthio throWllnoliRhtontbo..,.oninsoftbopo".,.M"'.
"'hi<:hploinlytwoloco.!oill"i6conco.AbtlDhorTpuooditbywithoutcornmcnt.AlSuhayli,p. 98,ocetthotthet..-mmuot~withthctwofollowinstormo,ondO<,.....,toohow

noctly-whe~Zornurnwutobotfound. Hcthc .. fo~"'pcouo o<ot"ytolhedf~thot

'Abdu'l-Murtolibu..,thconu'n.. tondthenvono'nntwhenhe..,en<todistho-U,but
.... neitherdun1nor blood. Atdutrnotncnto.,.,_.ncopodhcrwould-botbutchcrond
nterodthc/lm-....,.TM,.. ohewu ol.ougbtcrod,ondwhcrothedWllondbloodftowod,
'Abdu'IMUI\Olibpr-ocooded<odis. ThioiJOII.ontottempt<oucplointhconcO.ntoncle
oonnotbcacc:ptedfo<tbo"'uonthatitsiveonopointtotboprecioe ..fo ..rw:ethot thc
..-.UwootobcfoundNfwlftotthodunsondtboblood,whi<:hinthitotoryobvioua]ymust

how<>e<~:upiodp.,nymuchthcume opace.ondindccdwouldrend..-thcfolk>winaindioo

tionooupc:rll""""bYsiVinSthceiACI Iitc. Mootprobobfy,thcrdo,..,,woohould ... umothot

theoocrilklolvi<:<imow"'tethorodoto~ttoinopotonddw,..thcfwouldooidon:lure

botfo,..thcf..-... lod tothcfootoftboim~~II"Oiwh.iehthcy""""''loUShtcrod.Apoint

bottw....,thH<:two opotoilmo"'clooelydefinodbylheonU'ondthcn.vmo'~~eot.

DigZamzam,'twillnottoyourhopesgivclie,
'Tisyqursfromyourfatheretcrnally.

,,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

111t L1jt of Mulwmmad

'Twillneverfailore\errundry,
'Twillwaterthepilgrimcompany
Likeano.triehflockafratemity,
TheirvoiceGodheanmostgraciously.
Apactmostaurefromdaysgoneby
Noughtlikeitcanstthoudescry,
ltlies'twixtthedungandthefleshbloody(u;l9)- '

BeforethediggingofZanuamQurayshhadalreadydugwellsinMecca, 9S
according to what Ziyl.d b. 'Abdullah al-Bakki'i told me from Muhammad
b. la~llq. lie said that 'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu l\lanlf dug al-Tawiy which
isawellintheupperpartofMC(;canearal-DayQ~',thehouseof l\luham

94 It is alleged that when this wu said to him and he inquired where Zamzam
waa, he was told that it wu by the ants' nest where the raven will peek
tomorrow, but God knows how true this is. The next day 'Abdu'l Muna
lib with his son al-l:llrith, who at that time was his only son, went and
foundtheants'nestandthera\enpeekingbesideitbetwcenthetwoidolt
laJ.f and Ni'ila at which Quraysh used to sbughter their aacrilices. He
broughtapiek-axeandbcgantodigwherehe hadbeen co~de~.

Quraysh seeing him at work came up and refused to allow htm to dtg
between their two idolt where they sacrificed. 'Abdu'l-Munalib then told
his son to stand byandprotcethimwhilehedug,forhewudetennincd
to carry out what he had been commanded to do. When they saw that he
wasnotg<~ingtostopworktheylefthimseverelyalone. Hehadnotdug
deeplybeforethestonetopofthewellappearedand he gave thanbto
Godknowingthathehadbe<:nrightlyinformed. Asdiggingwentfurther,
hefoundthetwogazellesofgoldwhich jurhum had buried there when
they left Mecca. He also found some aworda and coats of mail from Qal'a.
Quraysh claimed that they had a right to share in this find. 'Abdu'lMunalibdeniedthis, butwas'ol-illingtosubmitthemauertotheaacred
lot. He 1-l!id that he would make t\1-'0 arrows for the Ka'ba, two for them,
and t\1-'0 for himself. The two arrows which came out from the quher
\1-'0Ulddeterminetowhomthepropertybelonged. 'rhawuagreed,and
accordinglyhemadetwoyellowarrowfortheK.a'b.a,twoblackonesfor
himself, and two white ones for Quraysh. They were then given to the
priest in charge of the dhinatory arrows, which were thrown beside Hubal.
(Hubal was an image in the middle of the Ka'ba, indeed the greatest of
their images. ltisthatrcferredtobyAbU.Sufy:inibnl:farbatthebattleof
U~ud when he cried 'Arise Hubal', i.e. Make your religion vic10riousl)
'Abdu'l-Muttalib began to pray to God, and when the priest threw the
arrows the two yellow ones for the gazelles came out in favour of the Ka'ba.
The two black ones allotted the swords and coats of mail to 'Abdu'J.
Munalib, and the two arrows of Quraysh remained behind. 'Abdu'l
MunalibmadetheswordsintoadoorfortheKa'baandoverlaidthedoor
with the gold of the gazelles. Thit was the lint golden ornament of the
Ka'ba,atanyratesotheyallege. Then'Abdu'I-Munalibtookchargeof

::;;~:;~:~~:::~::;] ~:~~~OOMd o~,

ckarly thq

A mountain in Syrio, ~houah othor ai~n hi\"<' bun "'llil~cd. 8ft Y&qQ~

madb. Ylisufal-Thaqafi
H:lshim b. 'Abdu ManH dug Badhdhar which ia near al-Mustandhar, a
spur of Mount ai-Khandama at the mouth of the pass of AbU T~lib. They
allegethatwhenhehaddugitheS<lid;'lwillmakeitameansofsubsistenceforthepeople'(uo)
He' dug Sajla which is a well belonging to al-!\lut'im b. 'Adiy b. Naufal
b. 'Abdu M:utlf'>lhich is still use-d today. The D. Naufal allege that
al-Mu!'im bought it from AS<ld b. l:lishim, while U. Hiishim allege that

~:es;:ret~et:t~~~ :~~~~ Zamzam was uncovered and people had no further

Uman-a b. 'Abdu Shams dug al-l:fafr for himself. The B. Asad b.
'Abdu'I-'Uzzi dug Suqayya1 which belongs to them. The B. 'Abdu'l-Dk
dug Urom Al;lrftd. The D.Juma~ dug al-Sunbula which belongs to Khalaf
b. Wahb. The B. Sahm dug al-Ghamr which belongs to them
There were some old wells outside Mecca dating from the time of Murra
b. Ka'b and Kil~b b. Murra from which the first princes of Quraysh used
to draw water, namely Rumm and Khumm. Rumm W:t.S dug by Murra
b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy, and Khumm by B. KiUb b. Murra, and so was al-l:lafr.J
There is an old poem of J:(udhayfa b. GMnim, brother of B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b
b.Lu'ayy(111),whichruns
lnthegoodolddayswewerelongsatisfied
To get our water from Khumm or al-J:Iafr.
Zamum utterly eclipsed the other wellt from which the pilgrims used 96
togettheirwater,andpeoplewenttoitbecauseitwasintheaacredenclo-

~~~et~:d"'"~t:~~~:.~~.e~b~~i~:~:a:~a~ji~~-e~l~~~l\\~~a~:~~e~
boastfullytowardtQurayshandallothcrArabs.
Here are some !ina of Muslfi.rb. Abii 'Amr b. Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams
b. 'Abdu ManU bouting over Quraysh that they held the right of watering
andfeedingthepilgrirns,andthattheydi&COveredZalmam,andthatB.
' -n.. .di"'r hu ben. unrid1 ,...,, Conunen!aton point ou~ ~hat H.lr.him did not dia
thiowcU,ondol-SIIho.yUq-opoembqinninr'lomQutoyyondld"'s..ilo'.
'Noitb<rY&qll\(tu.IOJondJOJ)no<<Moncicntol<ncwwhothuthcwoU ..... aU.d
S~~qanoorShllfi)')'I.Au.ii.l77namCIOnlySbllfl)')'l

1 rivol

> It 11M jun bn 011id th-o~ Umo)')'l b. Abd11 Shomo d"' 11-l;lafr. Y&qU MJO 'l;lofr ..
hc)onp"' 8. Toym b. Murn .. ol-l;lbimi opolt ;~ J ofr. Thio may O<Un\ for tho lnconoiotncy, u ~~ -mo th-o d>etc wer<: two w~Ua, IJofr ond Jofr, in Me"""

The Llfe of Muhammad

'Abdu Manif were one family in which the honour and merit of one
belonged to all:
Glorycametousfromourfathen~.

Wehavec:arriedittogreaterheighu.

~{~:~~~~~a~h~~;~r=.:~~d
Brave and generous.
Thoughweperish(fornonecanliveforever)
Aatrangersha1l notro leourkin.
Zanuambelongstoourtribe.
Wewillpluckouttheeyesofthoacwholookenviouslyatus.
l:fudhayfab.Ghinim[mentionedaboveJtaid

::b:~d:r :~~i~:a~;:::~o::~ pilgri~, son of him who broke

He laid bare Zamzam by the Maq~m.

His control of the .w~ter was a prouder boast t han any man'a (1 12).

T.1076
97

',o.BDU'LMUTTAL I B'S VOW TO SACRIFICE HI S SON

It is alleged, and God only knowa the truth, that when 'Abdu'I-Munalib
encountered the opposition of Qura)'lh when he waa digging Zamzam,
hevowedthatifheshouldhavetenson~togrowupandprotecthim,he

wou ld sacrifice one of them to God at the K.a'ba.. Aherv.-ard. when he had
ten 10ns who could protect him he gathered them together and told them
about his vow and ca.lled on them to kp faith with God. They agreed to
obey him and asked what they were to do. He taid that each one of them

:~~~~~~ =wbc~~:: ~:b~~~ne t~~ ~i~~e ~7~~ei~~~!~(~~: :!~~:!t

~~~~:;~,::~.well there. It waa that well in which gifu made to the

Now beside Hubal there were seven arrows, each of them containing
10me worda. One was marked 'bloodwit'. When they diaputed about who
should pay the bloodwittheycast lou with the seven arrowa and he on
whom the lot fell had to pay the money. Another was marked 'yes', and
another ' no',andthcyactcdaccordinglyonthenu~tteronwhichtheoracle

had been invoked. Another"'umarkcd'ofyou';anotherrrm#aq,Janother

'notofyou' ;andthelutwumarked ' wate.-'. Uthcywantedtodigfor
water,thcycastlotsconainingthiaarrowandwhere\eritcamefonhthey

The Lift of Muhammad

set

to work. If they wanted to circumcise a boy, or make a marriage, or

~~;n~!::Jir~:!:ua~:!~~~~~:;~:~a~Yg;~:~~:\~~~et:!u!~~:~
the lots; then they brought near the man with whom they were concemed

:~~~~~=~~~g~~i~~!t=:enr:fn! ~i~'w!;:.~n~~!;t::~~ !~S::~:

man who cast the arrows 'Cast!' and if there came ou t 'of you' then he will
atruememberofthei rtribe;andiftherecameout'notofyou'hewasan 98
ally;andiftherecameoutmu!,aqhe.hadnobloodrelationtothemand
wasnotanally. \Vherc'yes'cameouttnothe r matte~,thcyactedaccord
ingly; and if the answer was 'no' they deferred the matter fo~ a year u~til
theycouldbringitupagain. Theyuaedtoconducttheiraffat~accordmg
tothedccisionofthearrows .
'Abdu'I-Munalib said to the man with the arrows, 'Cast the lots for my
sons with these arrows' , and he told him of the vow which he had made.
Each man gave him the arrow on which his name wu written. Now 'Ab
dullah was his father's youngest son, he and al-Zu~yr artd AbU Tilib
were hom to ntima d. 'Amr b. 'A'idh b. 'Abd b. 'lmrin b. Makhziim b.
Yaqa~b. Murna b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayyb. Ghilib b. Fihr( t tJ). It is alleged that
'Abdullah Will 'Abdu'I-Munalib's favourite son, and his father thought that
if the arrow missed him he would be spared. (He was the father of the
apostle of God.) When the man took the arrows to cast lots with them,
'Abdu'l-Munalibatood by Hubal praying to Allah. Then the man cast lots
and 'Abdullahs arrow came out. His father Jed him by the hand and took
a large knife; then he brought him up to lsi and N:l"ila (T. two idols of
Qurayshatwhich theyalaughteredthcirucrifices)toaacrificehim;but
Qura)'lh came out of their assemblies and asked what he was intending to
do. Whenheaaidthathewasgoingtoucrifice him theyandhis sons
aaid'ByGodl )"OUshallne\ersacrifice him until youoffe rtheg reatcst
expiatoryaacrificc for him. If you do a thing like this there will be no
stopping men from coming to sacrifice their sons, and what will become
of the people then?' Then said ai-Mughlra b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b.
MakhzUm b. Yaqa~a, 'Abdullah's mother being from his tribe, 'By God,
youshallne\eru.crificehimuntil youoffcrthegreatestexpiatorysacrifice
for him. T hough his ransom be all our property we wil_l redeem h.i_m.'
Ourayshandhissonssaidthathemustnotdott,buttakchtmtotheHtJaz'
for therethercwasasorcercsswhohadafamiliarspirit.andhemustconsulther. Then hewouldhavelibertyofaction. lf shetoldhimtosacrificc
him,hewouldbenoworseoff;andifshega\'ehimafa\-ourablercsponsc,
hecouklaccept it. SotheywcntoffasfaraaMedinaandfoundthatshe 99
wasinKhay~r, sotheyallege. Sotheyrodeonuntiltheygottoher,and
when 'Abdu'I-Munalib acquaintt-d her with the facta she told them to go
1

~:~~e~~~~~~~~~.~:~~1s~lil~~i~i~~!e::~~~:~: :~~:.~ckn~;:~ ~i~~:d ~~~

'Thortaion of,.h khModina,.uthecontrt. Sul.ommono.L'A,..bitO<tidnttdlt,Joof

100

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

the next day 1he said, 'Word has come to me. How much is the blood
money among you?' Tiley told her that it was ten camela, as indeed it ....oas.
Shetoldthemtogobacktotheircountryandtaketheyoungmanandten
camela. Then cut Iota for them and for him; if the lot fa.lla against your
man, add more cameb, until your lord is satisfied. If the lot falla against
thecamelathentacrificetheminhiaatead,foryourlordwillbeaatisfied
andyourclientescapedeath. SotheyretumedtoMccca,andwhenthey
hadagrttdtocanyouttheirinstructions, 'Abdu'l-Muftalibwaspn.ying
to Allah. Then they brought near 'Abdullah and ten camels while Abdu'IMunalibatoodbyHubalprayingtoAllah. Thentheycastlotaandthe
arrow fell against Abdullah. They added ten more camels and the lot fell
against Abdullah, and 110they went on adding ten at a time, until there
wereonehundredcamels,whenfinallythelotfellagainstthem. Quraysh
and those who were present said, 'At last your lord istatisfied 'Abdu'IMunalib.''No,byGod,'hcanswered(aotheyaay),'notuntillcutlota
three times.' Thiatheydidandeaehtimethcarrowfellagaimtthecamela.
Theyweredulyalaughteredandleftthereand nomanwaskept back or
hindered(fromeatingthem)(u)

make the proposal that she made to him the day before; to which she
repliedthatthelightthatwaswithhimthedaybcforehadlefthim,and
shenolongerhadneedofhim. ShehadheardfmmherbrotherWaraqa
b. Naufal, who had been 1 Christian and atudied the scriptures, that a
prophetwouldariscamongthispeople.
My father lsJ.tlq b. Yaair told me that he \\"as told that 'Abdullah went
in to a woman that he had beside Amina d. Wahb when he had been workinginclayandthemarkloftheclaywereonhim. Sheputhimotfwhen
hemadeasuggcstiontoherbecauteofthedirtthat.,..oasonhim. Hethen
left her and waahed and bathed himself, and as he made hill way to Amina
hepasaed herand aheinvitedhimtocometoher. He refuscdandwentto
Amina who conceived Muhammad. When he passed the woman again ne
asked her if 1he wanted anything and 1he said 'No! When you passed me
there was a white bla~ between your eyes and when I invited you you
refu&edmeandwentintoAmina,andahehutakenitaway.'
Itisallcgedthatthatwomanofhiauscdtoaaythatwbeohepaucdby
herbetweenhiseyCBtherewasablueliletheblazeofahorsc. Shesaid :
'I invited himhopingthatthatwouldbcin me, butherefuacdmeand
wenttoAminaandsheconceivedtheapo&tleofGod.' Sothespoatleof
Godwutheooblcstofhiapeopleinbinhandthegreatcstinhonourboth
on hia father's and hill mother's aide. God bleu and preacrve him!

OF T H E WOMAN WHO OFFERED HER SELF IN MARRIAGE

TO 'ABDULLAH B. 'ABDU'L-MUTTAL I B

101

Taking 'Abdullah by the hand Abdu'l-Munalib went away and they passed
-so it ia alleged-a woman of B. Asad b. 'Abdu'I-'Uzzl b. Qusayy b.
Kilib b. Murra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy b. Ghilib b. Fihr who was the sister of
Waraqa b. Naufal b. Asad b. 'Abdu'l-'Uzzi, who wu at the Ka'ba. When
she looked at him the asked, 'Where are you going Abdullah~ He replied,
'With my father.' She said, 'If you will take me you c.n have as many
camels u were sacrificed in your stead.' ' I am with my father and I cannot
actagainsthiswithcsandleavehim',hereplied.
'Abdu'l-Munalib brought him to Wahb b. 'Abdu ManU b. Zuhra b.
Kil~b b. Murra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy b. Ghilib b. Fihr who was the leading
manofB.Zuhrainbirthandhonour,andhemarriedhimtohisdaughter
Amina, she being the most excellent woman among the Quraysh in birth
and poaition at that time. Her mother was Barra d. 'Abdu'l-'Uzzi b.
'Uthmln b. 'Abdu'l-Dir b. Qupyy b. Kilib b. Murra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy
b. Ghilib b. Fihr. Barn'a mother wu Umm l:fabib d. Au.d b. 'Abdu'I'Uzz.l b. C}wjayy by Kilib b. Murra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy b. Ghalib b. Fihr.
Umm l;lablb's mother waa Barra d. 'Auf b. 'Ubayd b. 'Uwayj b. 'Adiy b.
Ka'bb.Lu'ayyb.Gh:ilibb.Fihr.
It is alleged that 'Abdullah consummated his marriage immediately and
hiawifeconceivedtheapoatleofGod.' Thenheleftherprescnceandmet
the woman who had proposed to him. He asked her why she did not

ItillallegedinpopularstoriCB(andonlyGodknowsthetruth)thatAmina
d. Wahb, the mother of God'a apoatle, used to uy when abe was pregnant
withGod'sapostlethatavoicesaidtoher,'Youarepregnantwiththelord
ofthiapeopleandwhenheiabomaay,"lputhiminthecareoftheOne
from the evil of enry envier; then all him Muhammad.'" As t he wu
pregnant with him she saw a light come forth from her by which she wuld

~~~edc:tl:h~[eB~~r~t~:;~:.,s;~~:!~~;~rds 'Abdullah the apostle'

Tht L1]t of Muhammad

The L1Je of Muhammad

ofal-l .l ajj~j,andheinoorporateditinthehousehebuih. LaterKharzurin

separatedittherefromandmadeitintoamosque.)'
$ali/:l b. lbr!hlm b. 'Abdu'l-Ra/:lmln b. 'Auf b. Ya/:lyii b. 'Abdullah b.
'Abdu'l-Ra/:lmin b. Sa'd b. Zurira al-Antari said that his tribesmen said

she-camel provide a morning draught, but we were hoping for rain and
relief. 'I rode upon my donkey which had kept back rheother riden
th rough its weakness and emaciation so that it wu a nuipnce to them.

']0

~~~g~~~~1~!:i;~~~~~~:~~~~~:~'r~~~~~;f.~1t

103

answered: "Tonight has risen a star under which A/:lii13d is to be born." '
I asked Sa'ld b. 'Abdu'l-Ra/:lmW b. IJass!n b. Thabit how old i:(auln
WD when the apostle came to Medina and he said he was 6o when the
~~tie came, he being SJ So l:faaln heard this when he was ~~even yean
Afterhisbinhhisrnother~~enttotellhisgrandfather'Abdu'l-MI.Jilalib

thatshehadgivenbinhtoaboyandaskedhimtocomeandlookathim.
When he came she told him what Bhe had seen when she concei\'ed him
T-

:~:t ~!~:.~~:;~~t~~i~e;O:~d ~~a~~e :C7c,~;d~~:a;) ~\~~(T. r!:i~~~:~

;~~~nK~:b;~:~~e ~~~~o:a~~~~l~~:~~~i~l: ~~~~h~;,i:.!o~:~;~e~~~~

11

findfoster-mothenforhim(us).
l:fallma d. Abii Dhu'ayb of B. Sa'd b. Bakr was asked to suckle him.
Abii Dhu'ayb was 'Abdullah b. al-i:lirith b. Shijna b. }abir b. Ridm b.

~A.t1i~i!~ ~u~a::f:b.~~;,

t: .~~~~~n~

Bakr b. Hawlzin b. Ma"'iir

The prophet' foster-father was ai-I:Urith b. 'Abdu'l-'UzzJ b. Rifa'a b.

::~~::r~;Et!~:~:~~?5~~~~~!!~~~~~~:~~;;ia~:~~~:ii;:

usmg l.er proper name. These were the children of i:laliii13 d. 'Abdullah
~~ ~~~1~e~~~~~::.eponed that al-ShaytW' used to carry him in her arms

10<4

Jahm b. Abii Jahm the client of al-l:Urith b. l-Uiib ai-Jumal)T on the

authority of 'Abdullah b. Ja'far b. Abii Tiilib or from one who told him it
as from him, informed me that J:lalima the apostle's foster-mother used to
aaythatahewentfonhfromhereountrywithherhusbandandlittleson
whom she was nuning, among the women of her tribe, in ~~eareh of other
babies 10 nunc. This wu a year of famine when they were destitute. She
wasridingaduskyshe-donkeyofherswithanoldshe-t21Ilelwhiehdidnot
yield_adropofmilk. Th~ycouldnotsleepthewholenightbeeauseoflhe
weepmgofherhungrychlid. Shehadnomilktogivehim,noroouldtheir

~~:::~~~~~y~t;;~?t!:~l~~~~~:::: ~ ~:~r.;.~~.~~
un:e~~-- j udhlmo. l ha,cfollowtdC."hkhh .. thcautl>orityofl.l.lajor.Thenameio

71

~~~~"~;::C::!!~:C:~~:~O:!rU::u~~r::~e:~~~~~f~~~ ~~~'::'~
thewaatoldhewasanorphan,becausewehopedtogetpaym_entfromthe
child's father. We said, "An orphan! and what will his mother and grand
father do?",and so we spumed him because of that. Every woman who
eamewithmegutasudlingexceptme,andwbenwedecidedtodepartl
said to my husband: "By God, I do not like the idea of returning with my
friend1 without a suckling; I will go and take that orphan." Hereplied,
"Ooasyouplease;perhapsGodwiUbleuusonhisaccount." Sol went
andtoolr.himforthesolereasonthat l couldnotfindanyoneel~~e. I took
him back to my baggage, and as soon as I put him in my OO.Om, my breasts
overflowed with milk which he drank until he was aatidied, u also did hit
foster-brother. Thcnbothofthemslept,whereasbeforethiwecouldnot
aleep withhim. 1\-lyhusbandgotupandwenttotheoldshe-camelandlo,
her udden were fu ll ; he milked it and he and I drank of her milk until we
were completely utisfied, and we passed a happy night. In the morning
my husband said: "Do you know, l~alima, you have taken a blessed crea
turc?" I said, "By God_. I h~peso.'' Then we&et out and I was riding my
she-assandcarryinghLmwnhme,andshewentatauchpacethatthe
other donke)'lloouldnotkeepupso thatmyoompaniontsaidtome,''Con
found you! stop and wait for us. Isn't this the donkey on which you
stanedl" "Certainly it is," I said. They replied, "By God, something
extraordinaryhashappened." ThenwecametoourdwellingaintheBanU
Sa'dcountryand l donotknowacountrymorebarrenthanthat.
When we had him \\ith us my flock used to yield milk in abundance. We
milkedthemanddrankwhileotherpeoplehadnotadrop,norc:ouldthey
findanythingintheiranimab'udden,sothatourpeoplewe reuyingto
theirshepherds,"Woetoyou!sendyourflocktograzewherethedaughter
ofAbiiDhuayb'tshepherdgoes.'' Evep.so,theirflocUcamcbekhungry
not yielding a drop of milk, while mine had milk in abundance. We ceased
nottorecognizethisbountyasoomingfromGodforaperiodoftwoyean,
when I weaned him. He was growing up as none of the other children
grew and by the time he was two he was a well-made child. We brought
him to his mother, though we were most anxious to keep him with us
becau~eoftheblessingwhiehhebroughtus. J uidtoher:'"lthouldlike
you to lea\'e my liule boy with me until he becomes a big boy, for I am
~~:i:;~ ~:t~c:unt of the pest in Mecca.'' We penisted until abe tent
Some months after our return he and his brother were with our lambl
behindthetentswhenhisbrotbercamerunningandaaidtous,"Twomen
,.~r.':"reint<mY.;Zi'rw'Onursel'implyinKhatAminaw .. nothiomothtr. Attron1

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of .~tuhammad

clothedinwhitehaveseizedthatQurayshibrotherofmineandthrown

when I was in the upper pan of Mecca he escaped me and I don't know
where he ia.' So 'Abdu'l-Mu!!alib went to the Ka'ba praying to God tO
restore him. They assert that Waraqa b. Naufal b. Asad and another man
of Qur&)"lh found him and brought him to 'Abdu'I-Mu nalib uying, 'We
~vefoundthisaonofyouraintheuppcrpartofM.ecca.' 'Abdu'I-Munalib
tookhimandputhimonbisshoulderashcwentroundtheKa'ba (l)nfiding
him to God'sproteetionand prayingforhim;thc:n heaent him tO his
motherArnina.
A learned peraon told me that what urged his foster-mother to return
him to hia mother, apart from what abc told his mother, wu that a number
of Abr-sinian ChrUtiaru uw him with her when abe brought him ~Hick
afterhehadbeenwcaned. Thcy lookedathim,ukedquestionsabouthim,
andstudiedhimcarefully,thentheyuidtoher,'Letustakethisboy,and
bringhimtoourking and ourcountry; for he will haveagreatfuture.
We know all about him.' The person who told me this alleged that abe
(l)u]dhardlygetbimaway fromthem.

~:: ~~o:~ ~:~~~~!~ ~~~it~ :1~:~~:~c~~~~~:;:~ ~~dr;;; ~~:::::~

uked him what waa the matter. He u id, "Two men in white raiment came
andthrewmedownandopenedupmybellyandsearchedthereiilfori
know not what."' So we took him ~ck to our tent.
Hisfatheruidtome,Iamafraidthatthischildhashadaatroke,IO
takehimbacktohisfamilybeforethercsultappeara." So we picked him

. ~:~l~~~~

~~:t:u~;~ ~~:e :~~{~ t~:: :~i~~~~~o;i:~e~~;:=!~~n:~;;;:i:~

~~~~~~~~

carrymg me she uw a hght proceeding from her which showed her the
ca_atles of Syria. I wu suckled among the B. Sa'd b. Bakr, and while I wu

~~~t!:~::L;~d: E:;d2~y~:~::~~!~~!=::~:t~~~ ~:

~;~n~::~!~~::~;2~~~~~:~~:ri~!~~:::~~~E~~~~~:::
1
::n a

~::"~~~an~u~~~~h;!;e~=~g~ ~~.e~eah=n~~.7o~

!;;~.~

Theapostle livedwithhismothcrArninad.Wahbandhisgrandfather
'Abdu'l-Munalib in God's care and keeping like a fin e plant, God wishing
to honour him. WhenhewassixyeanoldhismotherArninadied.
'Abdullah b. AbU Bak.r b. Muhammad b. 'Amr b.l;lu.m told me that the
apostle' mother died in Abwi' bet\\een Mecca and Medina on her return
from a visit with him to his maternal uncles of B. 'Adly b. ai-Najjir when
hewuixyearaold(t17). Thus theapostlewaslefttohisgrandfatherfor
whomtheymadeabedinthesbadeoftheKa'ba. Hisaonautedtosit
roundthebeduntilhecameouttoit,butnoneofthemutuponitoutof
respect for him. Theapostle,stillalittleboy,utedtocomeand l itonit 1o8
and his uncle~ would drive him away. When 'Abdu'l-Munalib uw this
he uid :'Letmyson alone,forbyAllahhehasagrcatfuture.' Then he
would make him sit beside him on his bed and would stroke his ~Hick with
his hand. Ituscdtopleaaehimtoscewhathedid.

if you weighed him agailut all his pe<~ple he would outweigh

TheapoalleofGodusedtosay,Thereisnoprophetbuthasshepherded
afiock. Whentheyuid,'You,too,apostleofGod?',heaa.id'Ye~.'
The apostle of God used to uy to his companions, ' I am the 100111 Arab
ofyouall. l amofQunysh,andlwassuckledamongthe B.Sa'db.Bakr.
It ia alleged by aome, but God knows the truth, that when his f011ter-mother
brought him to Mecca he escaped her among the crowd while abe was
takinghimtohi1people. Sheaoughthimandcouldnotfindhim,ao she
went to 'Abdu'I-Munalib ~det~!:.'! .b~ught Muhammad tonight and

107

THE OEATII OF 'ABD U'L-MUffALIB AND THE I!L EC II! S

Whenthcapostlewaseightyearsofagc,eightyearaafterthe'yearofthe
elephant', his grandfather died. This date was given me by ai-'Abbb b.
'Abdullah b. Ma'bad b. ai-'Abbas from one of his family.
Muhammad b. Sa'ld b. ai-Musa.yyib told me that when 'Abdu'I-Muna
lib knew that death was at band be summoned his six daughters ~aflya,
Barn, 'Atika, Umm J:laklm ai-BayQi', Umayma, and Arwi, and said to

Tht Uft of Muhammad

them, 'Compose elegies over me 110 that I may hear what you are going to
saybefore ldie.'( u 8)
~l!ya d. 'Abdu'l-Munalib said in mourning her father:
I couldnotllcep forthevoicesof thelr.ceningwomen,

~=~:: t~::~~;h11e0 :rown of life's

road,

Downmychcekslilr.efallingpearll
Foraoobleman,nowretchedwealr.ling,
\Vhosevirtuewasplaintoall.
ThegcnerouShayba,fullofmerits,
Thygoodfathcrinhcritorofallvirtue,
Truthfulathome,noweakling,
Standingfirmandself-reliant.
Powerful,fear-inapiring,massive,
Pn.isedandobeyedbyhispeople,
Ofloftylineage, amiling,\'irtuous,
Averyn.inwheneamelshadnomilk
Noble wu his grandfather without spot of shame,
Surpassingallmen,bondor free,
Exceedingmild,ofnobleatock,
\Vhoweregenerous,strong as lions,
Couldmenbeimmortalthroughancientglory,
(Alas immortality is unobtainable!)
Hewouldmakchis lastnightendurefor ever
Throughhiaaurpassinggloryandlongdeseent.
Hisdaughter Barra aaid
Begenerous,Oeyes,withyourpearlytears,
Forthegenerousnaturewhoneverrepelledabeggar.
Ofgloriousn.ee,succ;esafulinundertalr.ing,
Ofhandsomefaee,ofgreatnobility.
Shayba,the laudable,the noble,
T hegloriou1,themighty,therenowned,
Thedcment,decisive inmisfortunes,
Fullofgeneroeity,lavish ingifts,
Exeellinghispe-opleinglory,
A lightshininglikethemoon initssplendour.
Deathcametohimandsp.aredhimnot,
Changeandfortuneand fateovertookhim.
Hisdaughter'Atikasaid
Uegencrous,Ocyes,andnotniggardly
With)ourtcarswhenothcrssleep,
Weepropiously,Ocyes,withyourtcars,
Whilcyoubeat you rfaces inweeping

The Lfe of Muhammad

Wcep,Ocyes,longandfreely
Foronc,nodotardwcakling,
Thestrong,gcncrousintimcofneed,
Kobleinpurpose,faithfultohisword.
Shayba the laudable,successfulinundertaking,
Thereliableandthesteady,
A sharpswordin'l\-ar
Destroying hisenemiesinbattle,
Easy natured, open handed,
Loyal,stout, pure,good
Hishouseproudlyrooted in highhonour
Mountedtogloryunobtainablebyothers.
His daughter Umm l:fakim al-Bay(,li' said:
Weep,Oeye,generously,hidcnotthytears,
Weepfortheliberalandgencrousonc,
FieuponthecOeyc,helpme
Withfastfalling tears!
Weepforthebestmanwho everrodeabeast,
Thygoodfather,afountainofswectwater.
Shaybathegenerous,thevtrtuous,
Liberalinnature,praisedforhisgifts,
Lavish tohis family,handsome,
Welromcasrai ninyeanofdrought.
Alionwhcnthespeanengagc,
Hiswomenfolk lookonhimproudly.
ChiefofKinlnaonwhomtheirhopesrest,
Whenevil da)"broughtcalamity,

Tnh:!:u~~~~~~~~~ ~~:~::~e out,

Weepforhim,refrainnotfromgrief,
Make women Wet'p for him as long u you live.
Hisdaughter Umaymaaaid
Alu,hutheshepherdofhispeople,thegenerouaonc,perishcd,
Whogavethepilgrimstheirwater,thedcfenderofourfame,
Wbousedtogatherthewanderingguestintohistents,
Whenthehenensbegrudgcdtheirrain.
Youhave thenoblestsonsamanrould have
Andhavene\ereeasedtogrowinfame,0Shayba1
AbU'IJ:Iarith,thebountiful,haslefthisplaee,
Gonotfarforevcry livingthingmustgofar.
I shallweepforhimandsufferaslongaa l livc.
Hismemorydescrvesthat l suffer
MaytheLordofmenwaterthygravewithrainl

,,

Thel-'ftojMuhanmwd
T shallwe<:pforhimthoughheliesinthegrave.
Hcwutheprideofallhispcople,
And wu pr:aised where\er praise was due.

HisdaughterArvlsaid:
Myeyeweptandwellitdid

Forthegeneroulmodestfather,
ThepleasantnaturedmanofMecca'snlc;
Nobleinmind,loftyinaim,
ThebountifuiShaybafullofvirtues,
Thygoodfatherwhohasnopecr,
Long armed., elegant, tall,

'Twuasthoughhi,foreheadshoncwith light,
Lcanwaisted,hand..ome,fullof\inUes,
Glory,rank,anddignitywerchis,
Resentingwrong,amiling,able,

Hitancestralfamerou\dnotbehid,
Therefugeof?o.'lillik,thespringofFihr,
When judgement was sought he spoke the last word.

Hewasahero,gene rous, liberal,

Andboldwhcnbloodwastobeshed,
Whenarmedmcnwereafraidofdeath

Sothattheheartsofmostofthem wereasair,'
Forwardhcwcntwithgleamingsword,
Thecynoaureofalleyes.
Muhammad b. Sa'!d b. ai-Musayyib told me' that 'Abdu'I-Munalib
madeasigntotheeffectthathewassatiBfiedwiththeelcgies,forhecou\d

noB:!y~: 'i.)Ghlnim, brother of B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy, mentioned

~~ ~r~~~~~~ ~~~.o~~~~~.:! ~~~.:;: ~;e~1~~~~-Y~bu~:~:

Abdu'I-'Uul b. Abdii'l-Munalib passed by and redeemed h1m :
Oeycs,letthcgcneroustcanflo"":downtheb!cast,
Wcarynot,mayyoubcwashcdwlthf~n.m,
Bcgenerouswithyourtean,e,e~rnom

Wcepingforamanwhomfated!dnotspare.
Wcepfloodsofteanwhile\ifedoetlast,
Q,er Qun).. h's modest hero who concealed his good deeds,
Apowerfulzcalouldtfenderofhiadignity,
HandlliOmc offacc,nownkling,and nobroggart,
Thefamouaprincc,generousandlibcral,
SpringninofLu'ayyindroughtanddearth,
BcatofallthelliOnaofMa'add,

Tlr.e Life of Muhammad

Nobleinaction,innaturcandinnce,
Their bcstinrootandbranchandancestry.
Mostfamoua innobilityandrcputation,

~~~ j~ ~~~ ~~~=~;!~~!~act their toll.

1
~~~!;:r!J:~:!eJ~:e~~~ ~a~ ~e full,
Whowatercdthcpilgrims,sonofhimwhobrokebrcad,'
And'AbduManlfthatFihrilord,
WhouncovercdZamzamby theSanctuary,
\\1losccontrolofthcwaterwasaprouderboastthananyman's.

~~ e:?rac;~~':r ~~~r":! ~~~~;~e.

Noblearehis110ns,bothyoungandold,
Theyha\esprungfromthecggsofahawk,
Qu,ayywhoopposcdKinanaallofthem,
And guarded the temple in weal an~ woe.
Thoughfateandiuchangesbor~h1maway,

He livedhappyin succcssfulach!e\'ement,
Helcftbchindwellanned men
Boldinattack,likeveryspcars.
Abii'Utbawhogave mchisgift,
\Vhitebloodcamelsofthepurcstwhite.
l:lam:~:alikethemoonattheful\rejoicingtogive,

Chasteandfrccfromtreachcry,
And'AbduManlftheglorious,defenderofhishonour,
Kindtohiakindred,gcntletohiarelativea.
Theirmenarcthebcstofmen,
Thd~~~~~~:g men like the offspring of kings who neilher pcriah nor

~~:~~~~uh~ce~:n;::: ::::j;,::o:; his forefathers.

~h?n fi~:~hca::l;;:~.~~ ::: !~~~n practised,'

~::g!\~~r ~~:~r:::~~:; :!:~~~:~ircr of thei~ fonunes,
Whenhemarried'Auftohisdaughtertogiveusprotcct!OO
FromourenemieawhenthcBaniiFihrbctnyedus,
Wewentthroughthelandhighandlowunderhiaprotcction,
UntilourC2IJlelsoouldplungeintothesca
They lived as townsmen while some were nomads

ThtLiftofll1uhammad

78

NonebutthesheikhaofBanii'Amr'wcrccberc,
Theybuiltmanyhousc:sanddugwells
Whose wate~ flowed as though from the great sea
Thatpilgrims andothersmightdrinkofthem,
Whentheyhastcnedtothemonthemorrowofthe sacrifice,
Threedaystheircamels lay
Quietlybetweenthemountaimand thebijr.
Ofoldwehadlivedinplenty,
Drawing our water from Khumm or al-l:fafr.
Theyforgotwrongsnormallya\enged,
And overlooked foolish slander,
Theyoolle<:tedallthcalliedtribesmen,
AndturnedfromustheeviloftheBan(i llakr.
0 KMrija, 1 when I die ~a.se not to thank them
Untilyouarelaidinthegrave,
Andforgetnot l bnLubni'skindneu,
Akindnenthatmerits thygratitude.
And thou Ibn Lubnl art from Qu~ayy when genc::dogiesaresought
Whereman'thighest!K:Ipeisattained,
Thyselfhasgainedtheheightofglory
Andjoinedittoits rootinvalour.
Surpassingandexceedingthypeoplcingcnerosity
Asaboythouwutsuperiortoeveryliberalchief.
Thy mother will be a pure pearl of Khuzi'a,
Whc:nexperiencedgenc:alogistsone daycompilearoll.
TotheheroesofShebashecanbetracedandbelonp
Hownobleherancestryinthesummitofsplendourl
AbU Shamir is of them and 'Amr b. fo.Hiik
And DhUJadanandAbU'I-Jabrareofherpeople, and
As'adwholedthepeoplefortwentyyears
Assuringvictoryinthose[ands(t2o).
~1~~1\~~n~:'!i~~ Khuzl'ite bewailing 'Abdli'I-Munalib and the sons of

Owandnereverchangingthydirection,
Whyhastthounotukedofthefamilyof'AbduMana1
GoodGod,ifyouhadli\edintheirhomeland

~~:fr ;i~~~~~:;l: ~-~t~d th~~r f;,~ injury and

unworthy marriages ;

Sochatthcirpoorarc:astheirwealthy.
Munificentwhentimeswerebad,
WhotrnelwiththecaraVll115ofQuraysh
WIK:Ifeedmenwhenthewindsarestormy
Until thesunsinksintothesea.
'Thc_,oof llbhimonomnnt;hionlllncwoo'Amr. SoCoiroNiton
K htrijo b. Uudhifo

'i.~.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Sinceyouhaveperishc:d,OIII2Ilofgreatdeeds,

~C::ee;.:u~ ;~t~~~!:. ~~~ ;:::u~r:~a~~er your like'

TheboumifulMunalib,fatherofhisguests.

~~}?~~J~::~~:~f;,;~~i~f,;r:12i,~s~5i'~~~
ABO TALIB BECOMES GUARDIAN OP THE APOSTLE
Aft~r the death of 'Abdu'l-Muttalib the apostle lived with his uncle Abii
Tlhb,for(aotheyallege)theformerhadconfidedhimtohisearebecause

~~6:~Z~~i~t~i;;s:I::~~~~;r;:::
Ya!)y1 b. 'Abb1d b. 'Abdullah b. ai-Zubayr told me that his father told
himthattherewuamanofLihb(tn)whowuaseer. Whenever he came
to Mecca the Quraysh u&W to bring their boys to him ao that he could look

[~1~}l~1~;;~~~~}~~0?~;~~~:~t "'
TIIESTORYOPBAI.Ifii.A

AbiiTil.ibhadplannedtogoinamerchantcaravantoSyria,andwhenall

~~:;~~~~;~t~:~~~:t~~~~~~t:~e; ~E~~~;!~

i~;;; ~.;~r:o~~ tt~:tr;~:c;;is ';e~~~;~~;n~~aen :t~~;i~~~~: :;~~i

:~~~~c:~~=";.~~~g~i~~~;~.~~:'~;r:m':o~~a~h:~V:~ :~~~~~~~t:

they:dlege, handed on from generation to generation. They had often

~~:~~~~~~~'E1il~

The Life of Muhammod

aaid,andwhen heaskedwhathadbecomeofhisfatherhetoldhimthathe
haddiedbefore thechildwasbom. 'Youhavetoldthetruth,'saidBa~lrl.
'Takeyournephewbacktohiscountry andguardhimcarefullyagainstthe
J~ws, fo~ by A:11ahl if they &ee h_im and kno~ about him what I know, they
wtlldohtmevtl;agreatfuturehesbeforethts nephewofyourt~, so takehim 1 17

home quickly.'
So his uncle took him off quickly and brought him hack to Mecra when
hehadfinishedhistradinginSyria. PeopleallegethatZura)randTammlm and Daris, who were people of the scriptures, had noticed in the
apostle of God what BJttirlhad seenduringthatjoumey which hetook
with his uncle, and they tried to get at him, but Ba~irl kept them away and
reminded them of God and the mention of the description of him which
theywouldfindinthesacredboob,andthatiftheytriedtogetathim
theyvou ldnot su~.Hegavethemnopcaceunti l theyrecognizedthe

truth ofwhatheaatdandlefthimandwentaway. TheapostleofGodgrew

up, God protecting him and keeping him from the vileneu of heathenism
beca.usehewishedtohonourhimwithapostleehip,untilhegrewuptobe
the finest ofhispeople inmanlineu,the bestincharacter,mostnoblein
lineage, thebcstneighbour,themostkind,truthful,reliable, thefurthest
rcmovedfromfilthinenandcorruptmorab,throughloftinessandnobility,
10 that he was known among his people as 'The trustworthy' because of the
good qualities which God had implanted in him. The apostle, 10 I was
told, used to tell how God protected him in his childhood during the
periodofheathenism, saying,'Ifoundmyt~tlfamongtheboysofQura)sh

carrying stones such as boys piay with; we had all uncovered ourselves,
eachtakinghishirt'andputtingit roundhisneckashecarriedthestones.
lwas goingtoandfrointhesame way,whenanunscenfigure lapped me
mostpainfullysaying,''Putyourshirton";a.oltookitandf:.stcnediton

~:n~n:::; :;e~l;~v~~:ry the stonee upon my neck wearing my shirt

Ut.'withhim"

.U,.',r><thapo'hitb<>dy'.

; ~_'";'!;.~,::t 1<1 in\"ite thrm aU' ond omito I>'"PII< cndtDK 'people".

Tlte Lt1t of Muhammad

TilE SACRILEGIOUS WAR (124)

This war broke out when the apostle was twenty years of age. It was 10
called becausethesetwotribcs, Kininaand Qays 'Aylan, fought in the
sacred month. The chief of Quraysh and Kinana was J;larb b. Umayya b.
'Abdu Shams. AtthebcginningofthedayQaysgottheupperhandbut
bymiddayvictorywenttoKinina(us).
TilE APOSTLE OF GOD MARRIES KIIADIJA (1z6)

Khadijaw.asamerchantwomanofdignityandwealth. Sheusedtohire
mentocarrymcrchandiseoutsidetheoountryonaprofit-sharingbasi,for
Quraysh were a prople ghen to oommc:r~X. Now when she heard about
the prophet'struthfulncss,trustworthiness,andhonourablechan.cter,she
sentforhimandproposcdthatheshouldtakehergoodstoSyriaandtrade
with them, while she would pay him more than she paid others. He was to
takea lad ofherscalledMaysara. TheapostleofGodacceptedtheproposal,andthetwosetforthuntiltheycametoSyria.
Theapostleatoppedinthe shadeofatreenearamonk'scell,whenthe
monk came up to Mayaara and asked who the man was who was resting
1~0 beneath the tree. He tOld him that he was of Quraysh, the pro pie who held
~::: ~c:~~;;;~~ti the monk exclaimed: 'None but a prophet ever aat

1
Thentheprophettoldthegoodshehadbroughtandboughtwhathe

wanted to buy and began the return journey to Mecca. The story goes
Ihatattheheightofnoonwhentheheatwasintenseasherodehisbeast
Maysan. saw two angels shading the apostle from 1he sun's rays. When he
brought Khadlja her property she told it and it amounted to double or
thereabouts. Maysara for his part told her about the two angels who
1haded him and of the monk's words. Now K,hadija v.'U a determined,
noble, and intelligent woman posaessing the properties with which God
willed to honour her. So when Mayun. told her these things she sent to
theapostleofGodand--tOthestorygoes-said:'Osonofmyunclellike
you because of our relationship and your high reputation among your
prople,yourtrustwonhinessandgoodcharacterandtruthfulness.' Then
she proposed marriage. Now Khadija at that time was the best born
womaninQuraysh,ofthegreatest dignityand,too,therichest. All her
proplewercea~rtogetpc>MCSSionofherwealthifitwerepouible.

Khadija was the daughter of Khuwaylid b. Asad b. 'Abdu'l-'Uui b.

Ou,ayy b. Killih h. Murra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy b. Ghalib b. Fihr. Her
mother was Htima d. Zi'ida b. al-~mm b. Rawii]:la b.l;lajar b. 'Abd b.
Ma'i1f b. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy b.. Ghiilib b. Fihr. Her mother was Hilla d.
'Abdu l\b.n:lf b. al-l~:irith b. 'Amr b. Munqidh b. 'Amr b. Ma'i' b. 'Amir
b. Lu'ayy b. Ghlilib b. Fihr. U ~la's mother wasQil:ibad. Su'ayd b. Sa'd b.
Sahm b. 'Amr b. Hutan b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy b. Ghlilib b. Fihr.

l~=7:;;~~7:h :~e~::~:~t ~~~~m~~:ring

~~;r:~.~o;\:~~:n~:i~~b ~:~f/rom Khadlja.
l nthenleofMeccainspiteofmyhope
Thatlmightsectheoutcomeofthywords.
l oouldnotbearthatthewordsofthemonk
Youtoldmeofshouldpro\efalsc
ThatMuhammadshouldruleoverus
Overcoming those who would oppose him.
Andthatagloriouslightshouldappearintheland
Topreserve menfromdisorden.
Hisenemiesshallmeetdisaster
Andhis fricndsslr.illbevictorious.
Wouldthatlmightbethen;thento see,
F~r.I s~uldbelh:efin;tofhisaupponen,

Jommg m that wh1ch Quraysh hate

HoweverloudtheyshoutinlhatMec;caofthein.
l hopetoascendthroughhimwhomtheyalldislike
To the Lord of the Throne though they arc Wt down.
bitfollynottodisbelie\'einHim

~i':~e;h:: ~i~v~~~~il~h:e ~~: heights?

Whichwillthrowtheunbelievenintoconfusion.
Andif l die,'tisbutthefateofmonals
Toaufferdeathanddissolution.

The Life of Muhammad

THERBBUILOINGOFTHB t>A'BA WHEN THE APOSTLE

TheLijtoj!lfuhammad

,,

heinquiredabouthimhewastoldwhohewas. 'Abdulla.hb.$afwinuid,
'It was the grandfather of this man (meaning Abil Wah b), who lOOk the

stone from the Ka'ba when Quraysh decided to demolish il and it tprang
from his hand and returned to ilS place, and it \II'U he who .aid the won!J
whichhncjustbeenquoted.'
AbU Wahb 'W'llll the maternal undc of the apostle' father. He wu a
noblcofwhomanArabpoetsaid
l f l madcmycamcl kneclatAbUWahb'sdoor,
h would start the morrow's journey with well filled saddle-bags;
He was the DDblest of the two branches of Lu'ayy b. Ghllib,
Whennoble lint:~geisreckoned

~~U::!:~~c:~~ :J~~~c:~:l~~~:::f.in gi\ing,

Agreatpileofasheslicbcncathhiscooking-pot,
HefillahisdisheswithbreadtoppcdbylWICiousmeat.'
Then Quraysh divided the work among them; the section ncar the door
was assigned to B. 'Abdu Maniif and Zuhra. The 1pacc between the bl.ac.k S+
stoncandthesouthcmcorncr,toB.Makh:r.ilmandthcQuraysbitc tribcl
which were attached to them. The back of the Ka'ba tO D. Juma\;1 and
Sahm, the two sons of 'Amr b. Hlll!a)'f b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy. The side of the
~ijr to D. 'Abdu'I-Diir b. Qu~ayy and to D. Asad b. al-'U~zl b. Outayy,
and tO D. 'Adly b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy which is the l;latim.
The ptQple were afraid to dcmo_lish th~ temple, and with~~cw in awe
from it. Al-Walid b. al-Mughira sa1d, 'I w11l begin the dcmohuon.' So he
tookapick-axc,wcntuptoitsayingthcwhile, 'OGod,do notbcalraid
(t31), 0 God, we intend only what is best.' Then he demolished the pan
at the two comer..' That night the people watched, saying, 'We will look
out; if he is mitten we won't destroy any more of it and will restore it u it
wu; but if nothing happens to him then God is pleased with what we lTC
doing and we will demolish it.' In the .morning a.I-Walid. returned to the
workofdcmolitionandthepcopleworkedwilhhtm,unttlthcygotdown
tothefoundationofAbraham. Theycameongrecn stoncs liltecamcl'
humpsjoinedonetoanother
ArtaintraditionisttoldmcthatamanofQurayhinstrtedacrowbsr
bctwecntwostoncsinordertogetoneofthemout,andwhenhemovedlbc
ltoncthc whole of Mecca. shuddered 10 they left the foundation alone.
(T- totheyhadrcachedthefoundation.)
I wu told that Quraysh found in the comer a writing in Syriac. They
could not understand it until a Jew read it for them. It wu u fol\owt: 'I
amAilahtheLordofBakka,Icreateditonthedaythat l crcatedhcaven
1

ProfnaorAffifir<:mlndomothattboii<ttdh>!fo(tiUa~crxlor<:miniocmto( l mru'.,'L-

O~~~~~t;~~;;::d[;:,!..,~~f:::~ t..7;:":t..::~~ whu ailk Mdy wovoa

The Life of Muhammad

andcarthandformedthesunandmoon,andlsurroundeditwithseven
piousangels. ltwillllandwhileitstwomountainsstand,sblessingtoits
people with milk and water,' and I was told that they found in the maqlim
a writing, 'Mecca is God's holy house, its sustenance comes to it from thr~
directions;letitspeoplcnotbethefirattoprofaneit.'
Laythh.AbUSulaymallcgedthattheyfoundastoneintheKa'baforty
yearabeforetheprophet'tmission,ifwhatthey~ayistrue,contsiningthe
~!

inscription 'He thatsowethgood shall reap joy; he thatsowethevil sh.all

reapsorrow;canyoudoevilandberev."'rdedwithgood?Nty,:~~grapes

cannotbegatheredfromthoms.''
The tribes of Quraysh gathered stones for the building, each tribe
collectingthemandbuildingbyit&elfuntilthebuildingwasfinishedupto
theblackstone,wherecontroversyaroae,eachtribewantingtoliftittoits
place,untiltheywenttheirse\eralways,formedalliances,andgotready
for battle. The B. 'Abdu'l-Dirbroughtabowlfullofblood;thenthey
andtheB. 'Adlyb. Ka'bb. Lu'ayypledgedthemsclvesuntodeathand
thrust their hands into the blood. For this reason they were called the
blood-lid:en. Such was the state of sffain for four or fi~e nights, and then
Qunyth gathered in the mosque and took counsel and were equally
dividedonthequellion.
A traditionist alleged that AbO. Umayya b. al-Mughira b. 'Abdullah b.
' Umar b. MakhzO.m who was at that time the oldelt man of Quraysh, urged
them to make the first man to enter the gate of the mosque umpire in the
matterindispute. Theydidsoandthefinttocomeinwastheapoetleof
God. When they saw him they said, 'This is the trustworthy one. We are
aatisfied. This is Muhammad.' When he came to them and they informed
him of the matter he said, 'Gi~e me 1 cloak,' and when it wu brought to
himhetooktheblackstoneandputitinsideitandsaidthateachtribe
should take hold of an end of the cloak and they should lift it together.
T heydidthissothatwhentheygotitintopositionheplaced itwithhis
ownhand,andthenbuildingwentonaboveit.
Quraysh used to call the apcmle of God before re\elation came to him,
'thetrustwonhyone';andwhentheyhadfinishedthebuilding,according
totheir desire,alZubayrthesonof'Abdu'l-Munalibsaidaboutthelnake
whichmadetheQuraythdreadrebuildingtheKa'ba:

~~:~:::: \~~~~t~e~~x;;~~~.llraight

~n~ae~~:,:~e i~~~:~~Zn forth

\VhenweplannedtorebuildtheKa'ba
ltterrifiedusforitwufeanome.
Whenwefeareditsattaclt,downcametheeagle,
Deadlystraighti.Ditsswoop,

The Life of Muhammad

,,

~o~-~r~t :~~~~~hf:n~:;i~~;~~r::
8

~~: ~~~c~~~o~~~d~~.-!~~': a~':l~~~e;~rth

~~nt:::::;o\\~~r~:f3ra~~~e t~~::~~~dation,
ThroughitdidGodhonourthesonsofl.u'ayy,
l tsfoundationwase\'erassociatedwiththem,
Danii'AdiyandMurnhadgatheredthere,
Killbhningprecededthcm.
ForthistheKing&ettledusthereinpower,
ForrewardistobesoughtfromGod(tJJ).

Idonotknowwhetheritwasbeforeoraftertheyearoftheclephantthat
Quraysh inventedtheideaofl;lumsand put it into practice. They said,
'WearethesonsofAbraham, thepeopleoftheholyterritory,theguardiaru
ofthetempleandthecitizemofl\lecca. NootherArabsha\erights like
ouraoraposition likeoura. TheArabsrecognizcnoneastheyrecognize
us,.Odonotanachtheumeimportancetotheoutsidecountryayoudo
to the sanctuary, forifyoudotheArabswilldcspiseyourtabooandwill
say,"Theyha\egiventhesameimponancetotheoutsidelandastothe
sacred territory.'" Sotheyga\'eupthehaltat'Arafaandthedeparture
fromit,whiletheyrewgnizedthatthesewcreinltitutiomofthepilgrimage
and thereligionofAbTllham. TheyconsideredthatotherArabs1hould
haltthereanddepartfromtheplace;buttheyuid,'Wearethepropleof u7
thesanctuary,soitisnotfittingthatweshouldgooutfromthesacred
territoryandhonourotherplacesaswe,the l;lums, honourthat;forthe
l;lumsarethepeopleofthesanctuary.' Theythenproceedcdtodealinthe
same way with Arab1 who were born within and without the 11crcd terri
tory. KinlnaandKhuzi'ajoiDed\\iththeminthis(IJ4)
Thel;lumswenton to introduce innoutions for which they had no 1 l8
warrant. They thought it wrong that they should eat cheese made of wur
milk or clarify butter while they were in a Slate of taboo. They would not
ente r tenuofcamcl-hairor&eekshelterfromthesunexccptinleathertents
while they were in this state. They went further and refu&ed to allow
those outside the ~aram to bring food in with them when they came on the
greatorlittlepilgrimage. No r couldtheycircumambulatethehouaeexcept
inthegarmentsofthel;lums.lftheyhadnosuchgarmentstheyhadtogo
round naked. JfanymanorwomanfeltiCrupleswhentheyhadno~umJ
garments,thcntheycouldgoroundintheirordinaryclothes;buttheyhad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

tothrowthcmawayafterwardssothatneithertheynoranyoneelsecould
makeuseofthcm.'
a
The Arabs called theseclothes'thecast-off'. Theyimpoaedallthese
restrictionsontheArabs,whoacceptedthemandhaltedat'Arafat,hastened
from it, and circumambulated the house naked. The men at least went
nakedwhilethewomen laidasideall theirclothesexceptalhiftwideopen
back or front. An Arab woman who was going round the hou15e thus uid:
Todaysomeorallofitcanbe~n,

But what can be seen I donotnukecommonproperty!

Those who went round in the clothes in which they came from outside
threwthemawaysothatneithertheynoranyoneelsecouldmakeuseof
n9 them. An Arab mentioning some clothes which he had discarded and
couldnotgetagainandyetwanted,Pid
lt'tgriefenoughthat l thou ldretumtoher
Asthoughshewereatabooedcast-offinfrontofthepilgrims.
i.e.shecouldnotbetouched.
This state of affairs lasted unti l God sent Muhammad and revealed to
him when He gave him the laws of His religion and the customs of the
pilgrimage: 'Then huten onward from the place whenee men hasten
onwards, and ask pardon of God, for God is forgiving, merciful.' The
wordsareaddressedtoOurayshand'men'refertotheArabe. So in the

:::!::o!~~et~ha!as~:nht~~~~~ them up to 'Ara11t and ordered them to halt

Inrefnence totheirprohibitionoffoodandclothesatthetemplesuch
u had been brought from outside the sacred territory God revealed to him:
'OSonsofAdam,wearyourclothesateveryfllOI(jueandeatanddrinlr.and
benotprodigal,forH elovesnottheprodigal. Say,Whohasforbiddenthe
clotheswhichGodhasbroughtforthfor Hisservantsandthegoodthings
whichHehasprovided? Say,Theyonthcdayofresurrectionwillbeonly
forthosewhointhislifebelieved. Thu.sdoweexplainthe 1ignsforpeople
who have knowledge.'J Thus God Kt aside the restrictions of the l:l urns
and the innovations of Quraysh against men's interests when He sent Hill

~~~;;:~ ~~l~~fi

Bah b. Muhammad b. 'Amr b. l:lazm from 'Uthmin

b. AbU Sulaymin b. Jubayr b. Mu!'im from his uncle N:tfi' b. J ubayr from
hisfather Jubayrb.Mu!'imaaid:' l sawGod'sapostlebeforerevel.ation
came to him and lo he was halting on his beast in 'Arafit with men in the
:i~~~! his tribe until he quitted it with them- a special grace from God
1 Th<ourvival oftheid~olcontoP,...'hotineM'wt.iohonth<oM hu>dpn>hil,;tedtho
introductionofpr-ofonefoodintothounctuory,ondwhenitcouldnotpi'CftntthointroductionofprofoMclothes, forbttdothoirliHforcommonpurp<>onofterthey hod come in
contoctwilhtoboo,wollldtmtoindiatenantiquiryfut....,l<rthanthotaocribcdto
thnepr.ctic:<lho ...
'SiltoO.t95

Tht Lift of Muhammad

119

fUthman b. Siij from M uhammad b. Is]:l~q from al-Kalbi from AbU Azr. i.
$1li]:l, freedmanofUmm Hinifrom Ibn 'Abbb: The):lumswereQuraysh, 11 5 f.
Kinina, Khu%l'a, ai-Aus and al-Khazraj, J utham, B. Rabt' >t b. 'Amir
b. ~a's.a'a. Azd ShanU'a, Judham, Zubayd, B. Dhakwin of B.
&lim, 'Amr al-Lat, Thaqif, Gha1afln, Ghauth, 'Adw~n. 'AllM, and
QuQi'a. When Qurayah let an Arab marry one of their women they
stipulatedthattheoffspringshouldbeanA]:lmastfollowingtheirreligion.
Al-Adram Taym b. Ghilib b. Fihr b. Malik b. al-NaQr b. Kinina married
his110n MajdtothedaughterofTaym Rabi'ab.'Arnirb.$a'fa'astipulatingthathlschildrenfromhershouldfollowthenmnaofQuraysh. Itisin
rcferencetoherthatLabtdb.Rabt'ab.Ja'farai-Kilibisaid:
Mypeoplewateredthe110nsofl\1ajdand l
WaterNumayrandthe tribesofH iliil.
MansUr b. ' l ltrima b. Kh:apfa b. Qays b. 'Aylin married &lmJ d. l)ubay'a
b. 'Ali b. Ya'tur b. Sa'd b. Qays b. 'Aylin and she bore tO him HawUin.
Whenhefellseriouslyillahevowedthatifhe recoveredshewouldmake
him a J:l ums, and when he recovered she fu lfilled her vow.... T he l:lums
stricdyobserved the sacred months and never wronged their protiges
therein nor wronged anyone therein. They went round the Ka'ba wearing
thcirclothes. Jfoneofthembeforeandatthebeginningoflslamwasina
stateof tabooifhehappenedtobeoneofthehousedwellers, i.e. living in
housesor villaga,hewoulddigaholeatthebadofhishouseandgoin
andoutbyitandnotenterbythedoor. Thel:lumsusedtosay,'Donot
reapectanythingprofaneanddonotgooutsidetbesacredareaduringthe
/.lojj,'sotheycutshorttheritesofthepilgrimagcandthehaltat'Arafa,it
beingintheprofane area, and would not haltatitorgoforthfrom it.
They made their stopping-place at the extreme end of the ucred territory
atNamiraattheopenapaceofal-Ma'zimin,stoppingtherethenightof
'ArafaandshelteringbydayinthetreesofNamiraandatartingfrom ittO
ai-Muzdalifa. When the sun turbaned the tops of the mountains they Kt
forth. TheywerecalledJ:Iumsbecauseoftheirltrictncssintheirreligion.
... Theyearofl:ludaybiyatheprophetenteredhishouae. One of the
Antlr was with him and he stopped at the door, explaining that he was an
A!:tmasi. The spostle said, ' I am an A!:tmui 100. My religion and yours
arc the same', so the Anpri went into the house by the door as he saw the
IJIO'tledo.
Outsiders used to circumambulate the temple naked, both men and
women. The B. 'Arnir b. $a',a'a and 'Akk were among those who did thus,
Whenav.'Omanwentroundnalr.edahewouldputonchandbehindherand
theotherinfront.]'
I A,-tdalmoRfollowo inthenomeofi.'Abbl.to. hiodoubtfulwhetheritcomH
f"'mi.J.,becauHtho\>ghthoi'Cion<wrnotterinit,oomeltot<mentoW.U.,koc:curintbc
ro..IOin&oRroputrd,oothatitisprobolbl<thatthqoRochedAuoqifromnother-mo
htthcfo ....,..,.lhaveuan.tm<lonl,-puoacawhic:hprovido..Jditiomlinformalion.

The L1/t of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

fo~~d'\~~- t~~~rs~-;~~~!h~ :rn~~~~h~~i:;t:ta:e ~~:~ h~~~~~~

1
~!~~dtr~~~~~mca7;~e .~:r '~~n~~~=:~~:no~ ;~\tt~?w~om== ::a:~
auute and ah rewd man, and asked him if he had noticed this pelling
with stars. He uid: 'Yes, but wait, for if they are the we ll-kno~n stars

:nh~c~.!~~~e at::v~~:~nb~~~~~:n~e~~~ ~~e~:~~~;h~r~:a:hr:ho~~u~::~

1
~~~:~ a~~~atbf. ~n~~. i~u~i~n:h:~e ~::i~f~~::: ~n~n~~~;; ~~~~~~

~::i~~~wn, then it is for some purpose which God intends IOWllrds

Muhsmmad b. Mualim b. Shihib al-Zuhri on the authority of 'All b.

~i~~;;:,:; ~~~~~::du r:~i~::.;:~~ou:l~::-~i~~~~~:.~~h~~:~~

~f.~Jf!~l:~;~:;;:2~~;f:~:~l~~~}~~i~~,~~:~ .,.
g7:~~;I;:2~~~~~~{~~~i:;~~~f~~:~~;f:~P;~2
[f~~~~l~;;~E~~~~:J~:~~hf~:;?l~~I~E:~~:3.:~i~.:;~i

~~~f.~:~]~b~~~itEffi{4~?~f~!}2i~~

;~~;I;~~~:::: ~,:;.h:;,=.,:! ~"~A:;~;-.~;:~~~~! :r~'::

w~ :~m~:.:;c:o~ ~= :~:: ~;~;~:~:~B~.!a~i~t:n~~ ~~rCf~~il~:

piritonenight. Hcchirpedbeneathher,'thenheuid,
lknowwhatllrnow,
Thedayofwoundingandalaughter.

The UJe of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

When the Qunrsh heard of this they ulr.ed what he meant. The spirit
cametoheranothernightandchirpedbeneathhersaying,

timeofignor2Ilcewedidworsethanthis;weworahippedidolsandimagea
unti l God honoured us with h~ apostle and" with Islam.' The man
replied, 'Yes, by God, I was a soothsayer.' "Umar said, 'Then te ll me what
(T was the moat amazing thing) your familiar spirit communicated to
you.' He said, 'He c.ame to me a month or 10 before Islam and said:

gz

~c~:~::s~~;: ~~;;~~ here and there.'

When Qurayshheardofthisthcyoouldnot understand itanddecided to
w:ai.tuntilthefutureahouldrcvcalitllmcaning. WhenthcbattlcofBadr
andU):ludtoolr.placeinaglen,thcykncwthatthisv.'a!lthemcaningofthc
spirit'smcssagc(a36).
JJ
'Ali b. Nlfi' ai-Juruhi told me that Janb, a tribe from the Yaman, had a
soothsaycrinthetimeofignorancc,andwhcn thenewsofthcapotdcof
GodwasblazedabroadamongtheAraba,thcysaidtohim,'Look intothc

:~:~:r ~! ~:~=d~~!o~s~, ;:!~~:yt~:~c~~~~\~~es':t~= ~~~~:t::u~et:

Haveyouconsideredthejinnandtheiroonfusion,
Theirreligionadespairandadelusion,
Clingingtotheircamels'saddlcclothsinprofusion?'(l 37)-

ingon his bow. He raised his head toward hea,enfor a long time and
begantoleapaboutandsay

Oblood redone,
T hedcedilldone,

A man will cry

~~~~ ~h~ h.:~o~C:e~~d chosen Muhammad,

Hisstayamongyou,Omen,willbeahort.

K:b~::~!:~ :fd'~~~:~~~-~~1n:~h~~ h~h~u~,o;;~at ~~~~~':;:r ~

0

al-Khatt1b was sitting with the people in the apostle's mosque, m Anb
came in to visit him. When 'Umar saw him he said, 'This fellow is still a
polythcist,hehasnotginnuphisoldreligionyct,(or,heu.id),hcaaa
soothsaycrinthetimeofignorancc.' Themangreetedhimandsatdown
and 'Umar asked him if he was a l\-Iuslim; he said that he was. He Wd,
'Butwereyouasoothsayerinthctimcofignorance?' The man replied,
'Good God, oommsnder of t he faithful, you ha,e thought ill of me and have
greetedme inawayt hatlneverheardyouspeaktoanyoneofyourtubjecusinceyoucameintopower.' 'Umarsaid,' I asltGod'spardon. In the
'Thitomlnouo or.dc Hnwicwithanyonc:lcfrom O.Iphiinol.au-iry.WcHn.-der.
"Gkao..-bataroll<na1',andthlo,uthoMQ"'"Ioho..-a,iothe"'-.J ibn loOIQWidoroiOOdthe
o:Ucmal>rntbobottlaofB.drandU\l...:IIOOitpllin"""'.Butauo:hatronakllonit:norath<factth.attl>eon<OC<ednnf..U(Dotf..r..r)muotbcooinsular,andll(lfOnntM.'.aia

ltnowninth<oingular.Thiotronolationanioa.,.;thitthc....,...;cyofrt'llderintthefollowialyingprootntc',ondoom....,ntotonooounanim<Nolhot
'inaliMthuo,Wh<ninKoo'b
K'b'
~ferotolhetrih<ofKo'bb . Lu'oyy,whopro~idodmostofthc olai ninthobottl.,.

ofl!.adrandU\l.l>dondoo ..o,.found'ThrownontiM:iroidn',(lcan!indnoouthorityfor

~';:';, ~':"s"a.~~n~,'';:::.;,-:~t!'.:.~in;,'!2,.:t.(ol;,!'"~~ C~;:.'::) ~i=

1

~/==~t~b!.!'::".:.:!'::::.f.~~:~:~K~:~~i':l:C':t.!'!
:!~,;,:-.-;-:~ ~.:~~~=:,~:!~~ :=:.b~=::. ~~::.;:;

Th< .. ltionofowordouoc~ibloofoomanymeaninp.,hichcontoinltbonameofo

"''<U-knowntriboprovidnanuccUento.umploofo...:Worprophy

BesideGodnonc.'(138)
Suchiswhatlhavebcen toldabou t &OOthsaycraamongtheAnbs.'

T hen he turned and climbed up the mountain whence he had come.

0

'Abdullah b. Ka'b said, Thereupon "Umar said, ' I was standing by an

idol with a number of the Quraysh in the time of ignor2Ilce when an Anb
ucrificedacalf. Wewere standingbyexpting togctapartofit,when l
heard avoiccmorepenetratingthan l havccverheardoomingoutofthe
bellyofthecalf(thiswastmonth or aobefo rehlam),saying

THEJ EW I S t W AR N I NG A BOUT Till! APOST L E OF GOD

'~im b . ' Umar b. Qatilda told me that aome of hill tribesmen u.id: 'Whtt
inducedWitoaecept Islam, apart from God'mercyandguidance, was
what we used to hear the j ews say. We were polythc~ts wonhipping
idols, while they were people of the scriptures with knowledge which we
did not possess. There was continual enmity between us, and when we got
thebette r of themandexeitedthei r hate,theysaid,"Thetimcofaprophet
who is to be sent has now come. We will kill you with hill aid u 'Ad and
lramperished."' Weoftcnuscdtohcarthcmsaythis. \VhenGodsent
His apostle we accepted him when he called us to God and we realized
what their threat meant and joined him before them. We believed in him
buttheydeniedhim. Concemingusandthcm,Godrevealedthe''Crstin
thechapteroftheCow:"Andwhen abookfromGodcametothcmoonfi nningwhattheyalrcadyhad(and theywerefonnerlyask.ingfor,ictory
over theunbelicvcn),when whattheyknewcametothem,thcydisbelie''ed
it. ThecurseofGodisontheunbelievers.'''( t 39)'
~11 i):l b. l btihlm b. 'Abdu'l-Ra):lrnln b. 'Auf from Ma):lmQd b. Labtd,
brother of B. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal, from Salama b. Sallima b. Waqs h (Salama 135
was present at Badr) said: 'We had a Jewish neighbour among B. 'Abdu'lAshha1,whocameouttoWionedayfromhishouse. (Atthattimelwasthe
1
Amu.cblonctroccoun<ioliftllbyS. !JS40
'lfthlo..ponio"""'itindiaotathattMMnaianic:hopewu.UUoliftomonrtM

~ ~e;;ocinTu4J

sunoa.8J.

Th~ LtJ~

94

The Life of Muhammad

of Muhammad

:~:~:~~~~~ei:::~~~~~:2~~:i~~~:=~~d~~:~~h:~E~~~;

assertedth.athehadbeenaccuntelydeacribed,aotheywentandbeeame
Muslimsandsavedtheirlivcs,theirproperty,andtheirfa.milies. Such is
what! havebeen toldaboutthe Jewiah reportt.'

thattherccouldbenorisingaftcrdcath,theysaidtohim,"Coodgradous

~:nJe~t:~up;::k~~:~~~~~~~~~n!~~~~~~ =~:a~:~~ :~~i~ 1r~~;~[~o~

HOW SA LMAN BECAME A MUSL I M

~~~~~~~~;;:;::~n~~;~~~~~~.~i;:;~1~:~~r~ :~rf:E~F;;;:~:e~

'A.,im b. 'Umar b. Qatlda ai-Anfii.ri told me on the authority of Mal;LmUd

b. Labid from ' Abdullah b. 'Abbis as follow,.: Salmln said while I listened
tohisvtords:'lamaPenianfromlspahil.nfroma,,iUagecalledJayy. My
fatherwastheprincipallandownerinhisvillageandlwasdearertohim
than the whole world. His lo\e for me went to such lengths that he shut
me in his house as though I were a slave girl. I was ~uch a zealous Ma.gian
that l becamekeeper oftheucredfire,replenishingnandnot lettingLtgo
out for a moment. Now my fathe r owned a large fan:", and one day wh~n
hecouldnotauendtohisfarmhetoldmetogoto!tand learnabout lt,

recompensed for their deedsi'' ''Yes,'' he ~id, ''and by H1m .wh~m men
swear by, he would wish that he might be m the largest ove? m hu ~ousc
ratherthaninthatlire:thattheywouldheatitandthrusthLmintO Ltand

ofthisland."

Whenthcyaskedwhenht"_''ould.appe~r,helookedatm.e,

~ b~~~~e;~r;'d~~daa~~~~~~s.~J;/rd~ ~:~'P': ~~~~;:~ ~;: ;~!

Muhammad his apost le and he was lmng among us. We bchc\ed 111 h1m,
but he denied him in his wickedness and en\'y. When we asked, "Aren't
:~~~~man who said these things?" he said, "Certainly, but this is not the
'A~im

b. 'Umar b. Oatlda on the authority of a shaykh of the B. Ourar;a

~~d t~."!ti~~ )~~u B~n~:dto~ro~~:~a~! ~. b:r~y;~ :::m~ ~:~~~i::.~

They were with them during the days of Ignorance; then they became the1r
maste111 in Islam.' When I said that I did not know, he told me that a Jew
136

~~~111;:::.:1:~:~~~~:~~~~~~~~:;~:.~~~~~::~:;;:!~:~;~

:~ ~.~; f:.~ :~~~~ ~:::~~~dh:ow~a:t:Od~~~e:i~:e..~ai:~~~ =~~:~n!;

two bushels of barley." Whenwehaddulypaiduphewentoutaideour

11

;:f:.~ ~~~~:,~;:~r~~:~~;::;~~~~:~u~~~;:~e ;~1d:;.~:~!~:.~:~~

~~~~~~~: ~;~~~t~~~~:u:~;~:x~~:;~~~~~:~~~i!;;?~
~~;;~~~~iE ~~~:~~:~;:~!::~~~.~~~~E:~~:~~~]f:~~c:~h~h~ E~::
1

~~~e~ ;:;:~i~~~e~eo;;~ :: o;~~i~~:~!t ~h~:~:e;~~eb:~~

from him."'

~~y:~:~:~::Eg:~~~~~e:~s:T:~:~~~~~~pb:~::~:~r~

137

~~~~q~~I~~~?.::~;~~~~;~B~~~~f;

r;}f~:li:7~I:~,~~~~~i~g~;~~i~\~:~~~t~fir~:

wheretheirreligionoriginated,theysaid"Syria". l retumedtomyfather
whohadscntaftermebecauseanxictyonmyaccounthadinterruptedall
hiawork. Heaskedmewherelhadbeenandreproachedmefornotobey-

t~~@i~~}f~~i:~~;:f~~)tt~i\~~~t~::.~~;!~~

heboundmeinfettenandimprisonedmeinhiahousc.
'I sent to the Christians and asked them if they would tell me when a
caravan of Christian merchants came from Syria. They told me, and I said
tothem:"Whentheyha\'elin~hedtheirbusinesaandwanttogobackto

~~~~~~~t~~~~ry~ a:,~ ~~~ll~;h:;l\~~j:~k~::~ r:~~.d~IT~\'=~~~e~as;

~e~f~;:e!?~~l9::~~dii~i~:!~f~l~t~~:~f:~~:~~~E::!
t:'J:~hw~:~et!n:~m:~ '~c;~et;n;v:dal~i~:in~~:t:h;;:t:
Jc:i;:;b!!~.tthc~linni..,ofU..otoryounauthltwcohouldrud . . . . 'fromU..

138

,.

Tht Life of Muhammad

TheLifeofi11uhammad

do so andwhcnthey broughthimmoneyhe putitinhisownooffe!lland

I saw the palm-trees and I hoped that this would be the town which my
masterhaddescribedtome,forlwasnotcertain. Thenacousinofhis
from B. Quny~ of Medina came-and bought me and carried me away to
Medina, and, by God, as IKIOn as I saw it I recognized it from my master's
description. ldweltthereandtheapostleofGodwassentandli\'edin
Mecca;butididnothearhimmentionedbeeauselwiiSfullyoccupiedasa
slave. Then he migroted to Medina and as I was in the top of a palm-tree
belonging to my master, carrying out my work while my master aat below,
auddenlyaoousinofhiscameup tohimandsaid: "God smite the B.
Qaylal TheyaregatheringatthismomentinQub:i'roundamanwhohas
cometothemfrom l\teccatodayas!ICrtingthatheis3prophet."(140)
'When lheardthis l wasseizedwithtrcmbli ng( i .p ),sothat l thought
I should fall on my master; so I came down from the palm and began 10
say tohiscousin,"Whatdidyousay? Whatdidyousay?" l\'lymaster
was angered and gave me a smart blow, saying, "What do you mean by
this 1 Get back to your work." I said, "Never mind, I only wanted to find
outthetrothofhis report." Now lhada littlefoodwhich lhadgathe red, ,.,
andltookitthateveningtotheapostleofGodwhowas inQubi'andsaid,
" l haveheardthatyouareanhonC:Stmanandthat)'Ourcompanionsare
ltrangersinwant;hereissomethingforalms,for I think that you have
morerighttoitthanothcrs." Solgaveittohim. Theapostlesaidtohis
companions 1 "Eatl"buthcdidnotholdouthisownhandanddidnoteat.
I saidtomyself,"Thatisone;"theniiefthimandcollectedsomefood
andtheapostlewenttoMedina. Then i broughti ttohimandsaid," I see
thatyoudoDOteatfoodghenasalms,hereisapi'C$Cntwhichlfreelyghe
you." Theapostleateitandgavehiscom panionsaome. I said,"That's
two;" then I came to the apostle when he was in Biqi'u-'1-Gharqad 1 wh~re
he had followed the bier of one of his companions. Now I had two cloaks,
and as he waa sitting with his companions, I saluted him and went round

~il~e~~t 1 s::;i::;~e ,~~~ u:a':!~er::~h~!:::e!h~~e1n ~~: ,~~~~ ~~ :~

0

doing. Sometime laterwhenhediedandtheChristianscametogetherto

bury him I told them that he was a bad man who exhorted them and pe r
suaded them to give alms, and when they brought money put it in his
oofferaandgave not hingtothepoor. Theyuk.edhow l could ponibly
know th~, so lied them to his crea.sure and when I showed them the place
theybroughtoutacvenjalllfullofgoldandsiher. Assoonuthcysaw
them they said, "By God, we will never bury the fellow," 10 they crucified
himandstoned him andappointedanotherinhisplace.
' I have never ecen any non-Muslim whom I consider more virtuouJ,
more ascetic, more devoted to the next life, and mo re oonaittenl night and
dayth.anhe. llo\ed himas l hadneverloved anyonebefore. ! stayed
with him a long time until when h~ was about to die I told him how I Io,ed
him and asked him to whom he would confide me and what orders he
would give me now that he wu about to die. He said, "My dear son, I do
notknowanyonewhoisu l am. J\lenhnediedandhl\eeitheralteredor
abandoned mottoftheirtrue religion,exocptamaninMauf,il;he follow.
my faith, so join yourself to him. So when he died and was buried, I
attachedmyselftothebishopof Maul iltelling himthatso- and-sohad
confided me to him when he died and told me that he followed the same
139 path. I sta)ed withhimandfoundhimjustashe had beendescribcd,but
itwasnotlongbcfore hediedandlaskedhimtodoformewhathispredecessorhaddone. Herepliedthatheknewofontyoneman,inNqibin,
who followed the same path and he recommended me to go to him. 1
'I atayed with this good man in Nqibin for some time and when he died
he recommended me to go to a colleague in 'Ammuriya. I stayed with him
for!Klmetimeandlaboureduntillposseuedaomecowsandasmallftoclt
of sheep; then when he was about to die I asked him to recommend me to
someone else. He told me that he knew of no one who followed his way of
life, but th at a prophet was about to arise who. wou ld be se nt with the
religion of Abmham; he would come forth in Arabia and wou ld migrate to
a country between two la,a belltl, between which were palms. He has unmistakable marks. He will eat what is given to him but not things give n
uaJms. Betwe<:nhisshouldersisthesealofprophety. "Ifyouarcablc to
gotothatcountry,doso." T henhediedandwas buriedandlstayed in
140 'Ammfi riya as long as God wi lled. Then a party of Kalbi te merchanu
puaed by and I asked them to take me to Arabia and I wou ld gi\e them
tho.e cows and sheep of mine. They accepted the offer and took me with
them until we reached W~di'I-Qur~. when they sold me to a Jew as a slave.

tolookathis~cksothatlcouldseewhetherthesealwhichmymaster

haddescribedtomewasthere. Whcntheapostleaawme lookingat his

back he knew that I was trying to find out the truth of what had been
describedtomc,so hcthrcwoffhiscloaklayi ngbarehis backandllooked
atthe~talandrecognittdit.Theni b.::ntoverhim'kiuing him 'andweep-

ing. The apost le said, "ConiC here ;" 10 I came 3nd sat before him and
told him my ato ry as I hue told you, 0 b. 'Abbis. The apostle wanted
his companions to hear my sto ry.' Then servi tude occupied Salmi>n110
thathecouldnotbeat Badrand U~udwiththeapostle.
Salm!incontinued:'Thentheapostlet.aidtome,"Writeanagreement;"
so I wrote tO my master agreeing to plant three hund red palm-trees for him,
diggingoutthebasc,andtopayfortyokesofgold. Theapostlecalledon
hiseompanionstohelpmc,whichthe)'did:onewiththirty littlepalms,
anotherwithtwenty,anotherwithfifteen,andanotherwithtcn, cachhelping as much as he could until the three hundred were complete. The

1 l honabbl'eVil1<:dtherepeirinllyleorth<nal'1'flti\-ewhichio thotorpoputarotorieo

:;.:r:::.::~r.T.::"'til~-=:;~m ~~~:;t~~':'::.;"o.,~~~r.~:!~
1

I ThectmeMf}'ofM<:<lin.o ..hi<hlinoucoid~
8-

II

theto"n

O r 'ic'

The bje of Muhammad

g11

The Life of Muhammad

~ ;i~f~g~~:J~ff~T~T~&g~~~~:;;;

~t~~~ff~i

freemanandthereafterlwqateveryothe rbattle.'
Yazid b. Abii l:fablb from a man of 'Abdu'I-Qays from Salmin told me
that the latter said: 'When I .aid, "How far will this relieve me of my

~=~iGr~4t:~;~~g~;i~.t~~~;;;
the

Pe~ian

told the apostle that his muter in

'Ammiiriy~

told him to go to

~~~;~~~i~~0~~~~a~:e;~:~:~p~~:~:~~:~~:t !;~~f ~~:

. ~~if~~*~~

who I wu-. he turned to me and I uid, 'God have mercy on you, tell me
aboutthel:fanifiya,thereligionofAbraham.' Herepli_ed,'Youare-.k.ing
0

:~eu: :O;~~~~~~ :~In ~ :~: :i;~i~i:f r~~;~~ tf~:~~~~e h~~~~:c":~:

~aram .

Go to him, for he will bring you to it.' Then he went mto the
thicket. TheapostleuidtoSalmln,'lfyouhavetoldmethetrut h,you
met Jesus the$0nofMary.'
FOUR MEN WHO BROKI! WITH POLYTHEISM

~:U~?:~~t;~;t~~oh ::~ha:~b~:!: ~~~:!:~: :~~;:er:~

~~!!!~~~~~+.~;;::~;:;~~fj.

99

which theyheldannually,fourmendrewapartteeretlyandagrttdtokeep
theircounselinthebondsof friendship. Theywere(i)\Varaqa b.Naufal
b. Asad b. 'Abdu'l-' U:~::d b. Qufayy b. Killb b. Murra b. Ka' b b. Lu'ayy;
(ii) 'Ubaydullah b. Ja]:lsh b. Ri'ab b. Ya'mar b. $abra b. Murra b. Kabir
b. Ghanm b. Oiidl n b. A.ud b. Khu:uyma, whose mother w-. Umayma
d. 'Abdu'I-Munalib; (iii) 'Uthmln b. al-l:fuwayrith b. Asad b. 'Abdu'I' Uzzl b. Outayy; and (iv) Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufayl b. 'Abdu'I-'Uzz~ b.
'Abdullah b. Qurf b. Riylll)' b. Ra~l) b. 'Adiyy b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy. They
wereoftheopinionthat theirpeople hadcorruptedthereligionoftheir
fatherAbraham,andthatthestone theywentroundwasofnoaccount;it
couldneither hear,norsee,norhurt,norhelp.'Findforyourselvesa
religion,' they said; 'for by God you have none.' So they went their
M:\'eralwaysinthelands,seekingthel:fanlfiya,thereligionofAbraham.
WaraqaattachedhimselftoChristianity andstudieditsscript uresuntil
he hadthoroug hlymastered"them. 'Ubaydullahwen t on~Ca rchinguntil
Islam came; then he migrated with the Muslims to Abyuinia taking with ''"
him his wife who wu a Muslim, Umm ~labiba, d. Abii Sufylin. When he
arrived there he adopted Christianity, parted from Islam, and died a
ChrUtianinAbyuinia.
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. ai-Zubayr told me that when he had become a
Christian 'Ubaydulla h ashe passed the prophet's companions who were the re
usedtoaay:'Wescedearly,butyour eyesareonlyhalfopen,'i.e.'We
see,butyouareonlytryingtosceandcannotseeyet.' Heusedtheword
IO'Io'becauKw henapuppy triestoopenitaeytttosee,itonlyh.alfsees.
The other wordfaqqa}Ja mea.1s to open the e)'CII. After his death the
apostle married his widow Umm l:fabiba. Muhammad b. 'Ali b. l:luaayn

~~~~ :e~;~:h~~~~:~~~:.bH~;:?~ea:~:~:~~~:~~ ~:';;,~.:

behalf, four hundred dinars. Muhammad b. 'All said, 'We think that
'Abdu'l-Malik b. Marwiln fixed the maximum dowry of women at four
hundreddinarsbecauseof thisprccedent.' Themanwhohandedherover
totheprophetwasKhlilidb. Sa'idb.al-'A,.
'Uthmln b. al-l;luwayrith went to the Byzantine emperor and became
a Christian. He wugiven highofficethere( 1.4a).
Zayd b. 'Amr stayed u he was: he accepted neither Judaism nor Christianity. Heabandonedthereligionofhispeo pleandabatainedfromidols,
~i?'alsthathaddied,b lood,andthinpofferedtoidols. He forbade the
k.ilimg of infant daughters, uying that he worshipped the God of Abraham,
and _h epublid yrebukedhispeoplefor thdrpractices.

~h:E~~~~~~:~ ~::~i~ Ea::~~~~.r~=~=:~~~~:~~~~

'Soc

ct.'or~influcnceoflhcJcwiohformuto,ukcnowrbycorlyChrinionily{Aru 15 39 )io

Th.e Life of M!Jhamnwd

The Lift of Muhammad

100

. . ~:~~:~n:::~E.:\:~~~~;~~~:~:~y;;:::.7~i

BewareofpuUinganothcrbcsideGod,
Fortheuprightwayhasbc<:omeclear.
Mercylimplore,otherstruatinthejinn,
Butthou,myGod,anourLordand ourhope.
I am "tisficd with thee, 0 God, as 1 Lord,
Andwil!notworshipanotherGodbesidethtt.
Thouofthygoodnessandmercy
Did.t send a messenger to Moses as a hn11ld.
Thouaaidst tohim,GothouandAaron,
And 1ummon Pharaoh the tyrant to turn to God

~f~~I~~~:

~~il~r.:~~~~D~dir~~~t11d out this (t11nh) without a suppon,

Amitoworshiponelordorathousandl
lfthereareasmanyasyoudaim,
Irenounceal-Utandal-'Uzzlbothofthem

~~[~~:(~t~~~fii~i~~~::~:~=~
t:~tid~~g~~~;~~~i~;~:i\~~~ ~~c3;:::~:~

ThatGodhadannihilatedmanymcn

f~~~~0:E,i~=~~~:!~;~~~~=ple

t ':: =~~::~r=rr=~~:e ::::r

t:::. recover

~~~~g~~:t~;~~i~;;,~::
Whilefortheinfidelshellfirelaburmng
Shamedinlife,whentheydie
TheirbreastswiUoontractinanguish.

Zaydaboaaid:(143)

~;~~;~:fu~g2~~~ s~1~~~,:~~im
Beware,Omen,ofwhatfollowsdeath!
Youcan hidenothingfromGod.
1 Thioitthereodina;ofol-Kalbl,bullllMSS.h.aveCh.aom,a d~iryunknown. Cl.ol..,

Ylq.ill.66J.8.

Saytohim'Didyouflliscthil(heaven)withoutsupponl
Whatafincbuilderthenyouwerc!'
S.ytohim,'Didyousetthemooninthemidd!ethereo
Aallighttoguidcwhennightooveredid'
S.ytohim,'Whosentfonhtheaunbyday
So that the canh it touched reflected its splendou r ~
S.ytohim,'Whoplantedsecd.inthedult
That herbagcmightgrowandwaxgrcat l
Andbroughtfonhitsseedsintheheadoftheplantl'
Thercinarcignafo rtheundentanding.
Thouinthykindne.sdiddeliverjonah
Whoapentnighttinthebellyofthefih.
Thoughlg1orifythyname,lotenreptat
'OLord forgivemysiQ.' 1
OLordofc;:rcature.,bestowthygiftsandmcrcyuponme
Andblclemy10nsandproperty.
aai~id b. 'Amr in reproaching hit wife $aflya, d. al-l:fa4nmi (144)

NowZaydhaddcterminedtoleaveMecc;:atotravelaboutinsearchof +?
the l:fanifi)'l, the religion of Abraham, and whenever ~aflya saw that he
had got re11dy to travel abe told ai-Khaltilb b. Nufayl, who was his uncle
and his brother by the same rnother.l He used to reproach him for
fonakinsthereligionofhispcople. He hadinitructed$aflyatote\lhim
ifheaawhimgcttingrudytodepan;andthenZaydaaid:
Don'tkeepmebaekinhumililltion,
Itilnotmywayatall.

O ~afl)'l.

~~~-~tt~~~m!':.~::..C~~... nwtolhepoemhmbn

!.::.~~~:::; ~==~;::~ ~':~h~:.!~ :~.:.;.:~hb:: ~i~!:!~~~

1

The L1Je of Muhammad

The Life of MuhammtUi

When I fear humiliation

I am a brne man whose steed is aubmissive.'
Amanwhopersistendyfrequente thegatcsofkings
Whosecamelcroucsthedcsen;
Onewhottventieswithotben
Whosedifficulticscanbeoven;:omewithout(theaidof)friendJ.
Adonkeyonlyacccptshumiliation
Whenitecoatiswomout.
ltsays,'lwillne\ergivein
Becausethe1oadchafcsmysidcs.' 1
Mybrother,(mymother'a sonandthenmyuncle),
Uses wordJ which do not please me.
Whenhereproacheamelsay,
'lhnenoanswerforhim.'
Yetiflwishedleouldsaythings
Ofwhichlholdthekeysanddoor.

inaecretonly. Whentheygottoknowofthattheytoldai-Khanl band

drbvehimoutandharassedhimbecaUM:oftheirfearthathewould show
their ~cligion i~ iu tm~ colours and. that 10"?e would join him in aeecding
fromtt. He saJd,makmgmuchoftusancttyagairut thoseofhispeople
whotreateditlllordinary:
OGod,lamoftheholyland,noouuider,
Myhouseisinthec:entreoftheplace

I was told by one of the family of Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufaylthat when

ZaydfacedtheKa'bainsidethemOI'Iqueheusedtosay,'Labbaykaintmth,
inworshipandinservice 1
ltakerefuge inwhatAbrahamtookrcfuge
Whcnheatoodand faccdtheqiblo..'
A humble prisoner, 0 God, my face in the dust,
Whatever thy commandment do I must.
Pridel~teknot,butpiety'boon

Thetravelleratmiddayianotashewhosleepsatnoon(t45)
AndZaydsaid
I submit myself to him to whom
Theearthwhichbearsmightyrocksissubject.
Heapreaditoutandwhen Heaaw itwassettled
Upon the waters, He fixed the mountains on it.
I submit myself to Him to whom clouds which bear
Sweet ~'aterare 1ubject.
Whentheyarebomealongtoaland
'fheyobedientlypourc;opiouarainuponit.
Now al-Khatt~b had Jo harassed Zayd that he forced him to withdraw
totheupperpanofMecca,andheatoppedinthemountainof}:lir.I'facing
the town. Al-Khalt~b gave inatmctions to the young irresponsible men of
Quraysh th:l.t they ahould not let him enter Mecca and he will able to do so
:

~.~:~~~:.I~%:~.-:FJ:7f::~u:k~~.~~~=~h ~.

~~i~r!y~~~~ierror.'
Then he went forth seeking the religion of Abraham, questioning monks
and Rabbisuntilhehadtraverxdal-Mau,ilandthewholeofMesopotamia;thenhewentthroughthewholeofSyriauntilhecametoamonkin
thehighground ofBalql.' Thisrnan,itisalleged,wlllwellinstructedin
Christianity. Heaskedhimabout the }:lanlfiya, the religion of Abraham,
andthemonkreplied, 'Youareseckingareligion towhichnoonetoday
can guide you, butthetime.ofaprophetwhowillcomef~rthfromyour
ownc:ountrywhichyouhavejustlcfthllldrawnnear. He wtll be tent with
thc}:laniflya,thereligionofAbraham,IOaticktoit,forheisabouttobe
sent now and this is his time.' Now Zayd had sampled Judaism and Christianhy and was not satisfied with either of them; so at these words he went

;t:;.:~;n~: :::ia~~~~~::~e:~a~i~~.when

he Will well inside the country

Waraqab.Naufalb.Asadcomposedthiselegyover him:
Youwerealtogetherontherightpathlbn'Amr,
Youha\eescapedhell'abumingoven
ByttrvingtheoneandonlyGod
And abandoning vain idols.
Andbyattainingthereligionwhichyousought
NotbeingunmindfuloftheunityofyourLord
Youhavereachedanobledwelling
WhereinyouwillrejoiccinyQurgeneroustreatment.
YouwillmeettherethcfriendofGod,1
Sinccyouwerenotatyrantripeforhell,
ForthemercyofGodn:achcsmen,
Thoughtheybcse,enty\'lilc)'11dttpbclow theearth (t46).

Among the thinp which have reached me about what Jesus the Son of
Mary stated in the G011pel which he recei\ed from God for the followen
oftheGOBpel,inapplyingatenntodescribctheaposdcofGod, is the
1

One...,ldupecl...ifd/lt1.for><Ijidllt1.inviewofwN.IhaobnuidoboutlheUumo

'TI>odiotrictofwhich'Anunlnnothc .. pital

'i.e. Abrahim.

19

The L1je of Muhammad

150

TlrtLijtofl\1uhammad

following. It ia extracted from what John the Apostle set down for them
when he wrote the Gospel for them from the Testament of Jesus Son of
Mary:'Hethathatethmehathhatedthel..ord. Andiflhadnotdonein
theirpresenceworbwhichnoneotherbeforemedid,theyhadnolhadsin:
butfromnowtheyarcpuffcdupwithprideandthinkthattheywillover
come me and alto the Lord. But the word that is in the law must be ful
filled, "They hated me without a C3WIC" (i.e. without reason). But when
the Comforter has come whom God will send to you from the Lord's
presence,andthespiritoftruthwhichwillhavegoneforthfromthel..ord's
presencehe(shallbear)witnessofmeandycaho, becaWICyehavebecn
:~:~~~~;'.: i~~!~~ing. I have spoken unto you about this that ye
The Af1111aft~nnal!4 (God bless and preserve him!) in Syriac is Muham
mad;'inGrC(;Ir.heisthepancletc.

When Muhammad the apostle of God reached the age of ferty God sent
him in compassion to 111ankind, 'as an evangelist to all men'.' Now God
hadmadeacovenantwitheveryprophetwhom he had aentbeforehim
thatheihouldbelieveinhim,testifytohistruthandhelphimagainsthis
adv~raaries, and he required of them that they should tnnsmit that to
e\eryoncwhobtlicvedinthem,andtheycarriedouttheir obligationsin
that respect. God said to Muhammad, 'When God made a covenant with
the prophets (He said) this is the tcripture and wisdom which I have given
you, afterwards an apostle will come confirming what you know that you
may believe in him and help him.' He uid, 'Do you accept this and take up
myburden?'i.e.theburdenofmyagrC(;mcntwhichiha,elaiduponyou.
They ~~aid, 'We accept it.' He answered, 'Then bear witness and I am a
witnCA with you.'1 Thus God made a covenant with all the prophets that
theyshouldtestifytohistruthandhr.lphimagainsthisad\ef'll3rietand
'ThopuaacquooeditJohn JJif. ltitinterutina;toft<>Uthatthocifa<ioncortle1l

r...mthoPokttinlanSrriKLelona.,.andnotfromthoonlinatyBihleofth<Syi>,...._)l.

~~:I~~~~~~:,~3~~EE~E

-~89--96

'SOn34. >7

~~~~h;~:~ 7~~i~:~suspcct

:.,~~ ~~az[~~~~~~~:~:~:3~~::t~;r.;r.~::;.~E~
pl:.~~~r:t:;nf~% ~~~~~~~~~that

'A'isha told him that when 1$1

Allah desired to honour Muhammad and hzve mercy on Hia ICrvants by
meanaofhim,thefirstsignofprophcthoodvouchsafedtotheapostlewas

~~; ~nis~~~~::m!~g;:~~~~~:C:, ::!:y~~~k,:h:~t:~:e~h~h'; ~~

~~?a~7~!~~:~: ~!i1,~~~!:~b;l~~yl~~~ ;~~.~b~~~::~~

THI:': PROPHET'S MISSION

IWJ,IV, foK. (9S~),

105

theytn.nsmittedthatobligationtothosewho~li cvedinthemamongt he

tw(T
told me from Sa'id b. AbU 'ArUba from T 1142
Qatlda b. Di'lma aJ.Sadiisl from AbU'J.Jald: 'The Furqln came down on
thc14thnightofRarmo;lln. Othersu.y,No,butonthe17th;andinsup

'Sun l 7$

~~: :~a:;:~ ~i!~~:~~:~~~t~!: :~~: ~ ~~~o~~~~~i~:~

~~~~~~I4i~;~~~~~1~~~~~~~~~?~~
0

gif~::h~'sJ-7;. ':~::: o~~h~nf~~; ~f ~~~;u~a~r !~:~~~~heard

'Abdullahb.ai-Zubzyru.yto'Ubaydb.'Umayrb.QatJdatheLaythite,
'0 'Ubayd tell us how began the prophethood which was lint bestowed

~~~':t :~~~~::a~;::C:: ~mh~mf~u~:: ~:e;~~~:~~;~n.~ s

~
o~no~!:~~:ryh!:~e~~;o~~~:~u71!~~se:l~!:':"~:,~t:~

-::;::n
Abo.Tilib aaid:

!~J::;~~:d;ii~g :~ t::.:;:;a~~~:di~:i~!a:wn (147V

Wahb b. Kaislln told me that 'Ubayd !llid to him : Every year during

:~:~ ~=:~ot~~~:';.t!~ :~h~! ~;a~:p~::~: ~n~~':n~~t~~~~ iro~

hia~eclusion,firstofallbefo reenteringhishousc hewou ldgotothcKa'ba

andwalkroundit!ICventimesorasoftenasilpleasedGod;then hewould
gobacktohishouseuntilintheyearwhenGodscnthim,inthemonthof

;, ;]~~~~~.!~'

Thobir ou mountains neor Mecca. The r-m io ri-nn on p. <1J: of. Yiq

TheLifeofMuJum"nad
Ramac;lin in which God "illed concerning him what He "'illed of His gn~ce,
thc:apostle setfonhto l;liri' aswashiswont,and his familywithhim.
When it was the night on which God honou red him with his miuion and
ahowed mercy on His servants thereby, Gabriel brought him th e command
of God. ' Hecametome,'said the apostle of God, 'while I wuuleep, with
a coverlet of brocade whereon wu tome writing, and said, "Read I" I said,
"What shall Ireadl" Heprcssedmcwith it aotightlythatlthoughtit
wudeath;then heletmegoand aaid, "Read!" I u.id, "Whatahall I
read?" Hepressedmcwith itagain to thatlthought itwaadeath;thenhe
letmegoandaaid"Readl" I Jaid, "Whatshalllread?" He prened me
withitthethirdtimeaothatithoughtitwasdeathandJaid"Readl" I
153 said,''Whatthensha tllread?"-andthis l aaid onlytodelhcr myaelf
from him, !cat he should do the aame to me again. He nid
" Readinthe nameofthyLordwhocreated,
Whocreatedmanofbloodooagulated.
Read! ThyLordisthemostbeneficent,
Whollughtbythepen,
Taughtthatwhichtheyknewnotuntomen."'
T.

1150

So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it
was as though the&e words were written on my heart. (T. Now none of
God's creaturea was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic) poet or a man
possessed:lcouldnotevenlookatthem. Ithought, Woeismepoetor
possessed-Ne\ershaliQunyshJaythisofmel I willgotothc:topof the
mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So
I went forth to do 10 and then) when I was midway on the mountai n, I
heard a \'oice from heaven aaying, "0 Muhammad! thou an the apo.tle of
God and I am Gabriel." I nised my head towards heaven to 11 (who was
speaking), and lo, Gab riel in the form of a man with f~et astride th e horiwn,
aaying, "0 Muhammad! thou art the apostle of God and I am Gabriel."
I stood gazing at him, (T. and that turned me from my purpose) moving
neithc:rforwardnor lnckward;then l begantoturnmyfaceawayfrom
him, but towards whate\er region of the sky I looked, I JaW him u before.
Andicontinuedatandingthere,neitheradvancingnorturningback,umil
Kh~dija sent her messengers in search of me and they gained the high
ground above Mecca and returned to her while 1 W1LS standing in the same
place; then he paned from me and I from him, returning to my family.
And lcametoKhadljaandsatbyherthighanddrewclosetoher. She
n id, "0 Abfi'l-Qisim, whe re hast thou been? By God, I sent my meuengersinsearchofthec,andtheyreachedthehighgroundabo\'el\1eccaand
returnedtome."(T. I saidtoher,"Woeismcpoetor posseucd." She
aaid, " I ukerefugeinGod fromthatOAbll'I-Qbim. Godwouldnottreat
you thus since he knows your truthfulneu, your great trustworthiness,
yourfinecharacter, andyourkindness. Thiscannotbe,mydear. Perhaps
1

Sllragti. -s

'The....,..or'n.omcofhonour'ofl\luhomrn.od.

The Life of Muhammad

you did see aomething." " Yes, I did," I aaid.) Then I told her of what I
had ~~ten ;and sheaaid , " Rejoice,Oaonofmyuncle,andbeofgoodhean.

Verily, by Him in who.e hand is Khadlja'saoul, I ha\e hope that thou wilt
betheprophetofthiapeople."' Thensheroaeandgatheredhergarments
aboutherandaetforthtohercousinWaraqab.Naufalb.AJadb.'Abdu'l'Uui b. Qu,ayY, who had become a Christian and read the acripturet and
learned from those that follow the T orah and the Gospel. And when the
relatedtohimwhat theapoadeofGodtoldherhe hadaeenandheard,
Waraqa cried, 'Holy! Holy! Verily by Him in whose hand is Wantqa'a
aoul,if thou hasttpoke ntomethetruth,O Khadija, thc:rehath come unto
him the greatest Nlmib (T. meaning Gabriel) who came to Mosea afo retime,andlo,he iathepro phetof thispeople. Bidhimbeofgoodheart.'
So Khadija returned to the apostle of God and told him what Waraqa had
aaid. (T. and that calmed his fean aomewhat.) And when the apostle of
Godhadfinishedhispcriodofseclusionandreturned(toMecea),inthe
fi rst place he performed the circumambulation of the Ka'ba, as waa his
wont. While he wu doing it, Waraqa met him and said, '0 aon of my H
brother,tellrru:whatthouhastaeenandheard.' Theapostletoldhim,and
Waraqa said, 'Surely, by Him in whose hand is Wanqa'saoul, thou an the
prophetofthispeople. There hathcomeuntothee thegreatest Nimlls,
who came unto MOICI. Thou wilt be called a liar, and they will use thee
despitefullyandcast theeoutandfightagainstthee. Verily,ifllive to seethat
day, I will help God in such wise as He knoweth.' Then he brought his head
nearto himand kiuedhisforehead;andtheapo.tlew.enttohisownhouse.
(T. Waraqa'sworrl.addedtohisconfidenceandlightenedhisanxiety.)
lsmi'ilb.Abll l;laklm,afreedrnanoft he familyofal-Zubayr,toldrru:on
Khadija's authority that she said to the apostle of God, 'Oaon ofmy
unde,areyouabletotellmeaboutyourvisitant,whenhecomestoyou?'
Herepliedthatheoould, andsheaskedhimtotellherwhenhecame. So
when Gabriel came to him, as he was wont, the apostle said to Khadlja,
'This is Gabriel who has just come to me.' 'Get up, 0 son of my uncle,'
shesaid,'andsitbymyleft thigh'. Theapostledid ao,andshesaid,'Can
you see him?' 'Yes,' he Jaid. She nid, 'Then tum round and sit on my
right thigh.' Hedidao,and shesaid, 'Canyouaeehim?' When hesaid
thatheoouldsheaskedhimtomo\'eandsitinherlap. Whenhehaddone
thU.sheagainasked ifhecouldseehim,andwhenhesaidyes,ahe..tiscloaedherform andcastasideherveilwhiletheapostlewaasittinginher
bp. Then she said, ' Can you see him I' And he replied, 'No.' She said,
~~t':nS.:t~~r uncle, rejoice and be of good heart, by God he ia an angel and
I to ld'Abdullahb.l;laaanthisstoryandhe~J;~.i.J,'I heard my mothe r
Fltima, daughterof l;lusayn, talking aboutthistndition from Khadija,
butaslhearditshemadetheapostleofGodoomeinsideherthift,and
thereupon Gabrieldepaned, andshe nid to theapostleofGod, "This
verilyU.anangel andnotasaun."'

PART II
MUHAMMAD 'S CAL L AND

'SUra97

SuraS.

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

114

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhamtrn~d

~=y~~~~::!o:~: ~ ~r!~ :~~:~~:~c~~~ifh:i~:~:~.~~o~~~

thatlhad~nafounh!'"'

~gr~~f.l~l~.

and kindlinCSI. His people used to come to him to discuss many matters
with him because of his wide knowledge, his experience in commerce, and
his.aciablenature. HebegantocalltoGodandtolslamallwhomhc
trusted of those who came to him and sat with him (p).
2

th!~~e~! p r!~i~h=n~~~~~~~.g~~:a;~:\~~\~~~~i!a~~eH~ :.~;li~~~ ~~

is God's re ligion which He has chose~ for lhmself ~nd sent H1s ~post~es
with it. I call you to God, the One Without an a~1a~e, to wo",'h1p i"hm
and to diu,ow al-Ut and al-'UW.' 'Ali said, 'Thu IS &Omcthmg that I
hnene,erheardofbcforetoday. lcannotdecideamatteruntillhnc
talked about it with AbU T~lib.' Now the apostle did not "'-ant his tecrct
tobedivulgedbeforeheappliedhillliClfto thepublicationofhismessage,
to he said, 'If you do not accept Islam, then conceal the matter.' 'Ali
tarri edthatnightunti!Godputlslaminto~iaheart. Earlyncxt~orning

he went to the apostle and asked him what h11 orders were. He sa1d , 'Dear
witnCllllthatthereisnogodbutAllahalonewithoutassociate,anddie.a\'OW
and ai-'Uu~. and renounce rivals.' 'Ali did so and became a J\luslim. He rdrained from coming to him out of fear of AbU T~lib and con
cealedhisblamanddidnotletitbeaeen.
Zayd b. I:Uritha became a Muslim and the two of them tarried nearly a
month. (Then) 'All kept coming to the apostle. It wu a special favour to
Ali from God that he was in the closest association with the apottlc before
Islam.]
ai-L~t

!~

who accepted Islam at his invitation according to what I heard

'Uthmil.n b. 'Afnn b. Abu'l-'A$ b. Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu

Manaf b. Qu~ayy ... 'b. Lu'ayy; al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwiim b. Khuwaylid
b. Asad b. 'Abdu'l-'Unil. b. Q~yy ... b. Lu'ayy; 'Abdu 1-Ral)mln b.
'Auf b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. ' Abd b. ai-I;Urith b. Zuhra ... b. Lu'ayy; Sa'd b.
AbU Waqq11. (The lamr was M~lik b. Uhayb b. 'Abdu Man:lf ... b.
Lu'ayy); Tall)a b. 'Ubaydullah b. 'Uthm~n b. 'Amr b. Ka'b b. Sa'd ..
b. Lu'ayy.
1

ll:uovo...,inodthointcrvonint""""'" in &en~alogieo,.llidll:uo\..,hnli\'<nalroad y

The Life of Muhammad

llcbroughtthemtotheapostlewhentheyhadacceptedhisinvitation
andthcyacceptcdlslamandpraycd. JhavehcardthattheapostleofGod
usedtosay:' lhai'Cnel"erinvited anyonetoacccptlslambuthehasshown
signsofrcluctancc,suspicion,andhesitation, exccptAbUBakr. When!
toldhimofithedidnotholdbaclr.orhesitate'( tSJ).
Thcsewcrethefi rsteig htmentoacceptlslamandprayedandbelicl"ed
inthedi1ineinspirationoftheapostle.
AbU 'Ubayda b. al-Jarrii:l whose name wu 'Amir b. 'Abdullah b. alJarril,l b. Hila! b. Uhayb b. J;>abba b. al-l:Urith b. Fihr. AbU Salama
whose name was 'Abdullah b. 'Abdu'I-Asad ... b. Lu'ayy. AI-Arqam b.
Abu'J-Arqam. (The latter' name was 'Abdu Manilf b. Asad-and Asad
163 bore the honorific of AbU Jundub--b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr ... b. Lu'ayy.}
'Uthmiin b. 1\-hr.'Un b. l:fabib b. Wahb b. l:fudhMa ... b. Lu'ayy. His two
brothers Qudiima and 'Abdullah, sons of Ma:f'Un. 'Ubayda b. al-i:Urith
b. al-MuHalib b. 'Abdu l\lanilf ... b. Lu'ayy. Sa'ld b. Zayd b. 'Amr b.
N'ufayl b. 'Abdu'l-'Uz:d b. 'Abdullah b. Ourt ... b. Lu'ayy, and his wife
F~Jima d. al Khat]lb b. Nufayl just mentioned, she being the sister of
' Umar b. al-Kha!lib. Asmli' d. AbU Bakr, together with his little daughter
',~'isba. Khabbiib b. ai-Aratt ally of the B. Zuhra (tH)- 'Umayr b. AbU
Waqqill),brotherofSa'd. Abdullahb.Mas'iidb.al-l:U.rithb.Shamkhb.
Makhziim b. $:lhilab. Klihil b. al-l:lilrith b. Tamlm b. Sa'd b. Hudhayl, ally
of the B. Zuhra. Mas'Ud b. al-Qliri who was the son of Rabi'a b.' Amr b.
Sa'd b. 'Abdu'l-' U:r.zil b: l:laJrula b. Ghillib b. Mu~allim b. 'A'idha b.
Subay' b. al-HUn b. Khu z.ayma from al-Qara (t 55)- Salit b. 'Amr b.
'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu Wudd b. N~ r ... b. Lu'ayy. 'Ayyihh b. AbU
Rabi'a b. ai-Mughlra b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr ... b. Lu'ayy, and his wife
16_. Asmli' d. Salilma b. Mulr.harriba the Tamimite. Khunays b. l~udhifa b.
Qays b. 'Adiy b. Sa'd b. Sahm b. Amr ... b. Lu'ayy. 'Amir b. Rabl'a of
'Anz b. W~'il, ally of the family of al-Khanab b. Nufay l b. 'Abdu'l-"Uni
( ts6). 'Abdullah b. J ai.Jsh b. Ri'ab b. Ya'marb. $abira b. Murra b. Kablr
b. Ghanm b. Oiidln b. Asad b. Khuzayma, and his brother AbU Atamad,
both allies of the B. Umayya. Ja'far b. AbU Tilib and his wife As!ru' d
'Umays b. Nu'Jrun b. Ka'b b. l\Ulilr. b. Oul:llfa of Khath'am. l:llitib b.
al-l:filrithb.Ma'marb. l:fablbb.Wahbb.l:fudhilfa ... b.Lu'ayy,andhis
wife Fii!ima d. al-Mujallil b. 'Abdullah b. AbU Qay~ b. 'Abdu Wudd b.
N~r b. Millilr. ... b. Lu'ayy. And his brotherl:fat!lib' b. al-l:filrith and his
wife Fubyha d. Yad r. l\1a'mar b. aiI;Urith above. AJ-Sil'ib b. 'Uthmiln
b. M~'Un above. Al-Muttalib b. Azhar b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. 'Abd b. all:lilrith . . . b. L u'ayy, and his wife Ram la d. AbU 'Auf b. $ubayra b.
Su'ayd ... b. Lu'ayy. Al-Na~~limwhosenamewasNu'aym b. ' Abdullah
b. Asid ... b. Lu'ayy (157). ' Amir b. Fuhayra, freedman of AbU Balr.r
(t58). Kh:llid b. Sa'id b. al'~ b. Umayya ... b. Lu'ayy and his wife
'SHC.

...

" l'<>~inT.

The U.ft of Muhammad

thecupandtheydrankuntiltheywereallsatisfied,andassureas I live if
therehadbeen,onlyonemanhecouldhavedrunkthatamount. Whenthe
apostle wanted to address them Abii Lahab got in tint and said, 'Your
hosthasbewitchtdyou';sotheydisperaedbeforetheapostlecould
address them. On the morrow he said to me, 'This man spoke before I
could,andthepeopledispcrsedbefore l could addressthem,sodoexactly
asyoudidyestcrday.' Everythingwentasbeforeandthentheapostlesaid,
'0 Soru of 'Abdu'J.J\1ujtalib, 1 know of no Anb who has come to his
peoplewithanoblermcssagethanmine. I havebroughtyouthebestof
this world and the nat. God has ordered me to call you to Him. So
which of you will co-operate with me in this matter, my brother, my
executor, and my successor being among you?' The men remained silent
and l,thoughtheyoungest,mostrheumy-eyed,fauestinbodyandthinneat
in legs, aaid: '0 prophet of God, I will be your helper in this matter.' He
laidhishandontheback.ofmynet:kandsaid,'Thiaiamybrother,my
executor, and my sueccssor among you. Hearken to him and obey him.'
~he men got up laughing and sa ring to Abii T~lib, 'He has ordered you to
hstentoyoursonandobeyhim!')
(T. II7Jlbn l:famtd from Salama from Ibn Is]:liq from 'Amrb. 'Ubayd
from all.:lasan b. Abii'J.l:fasan said: When this \'tnt came down to the
apostle, he atood in the vale and said, '0 Sons of' Abdu'l-Munalib; 0 Soot
of'Abdu Manilf; 0 Sons of Qu.pyy.'-Then he named Quraysh tribe by
tribe until he came to the end of them-' I call you to God and I warn you
of his punishment.')
Whentheapostle'scompanionspraycdtheywenttotheglerusothat
their people could not see them praying, and while Sa'd b. Abil WaqqAt
was with a number of the prophet's companions in one of the glens of
Mecca, a band of polytheists came upon them while they were praying and
rudely interrupted them. They blamed them for what they were doing
untiltheycametoblows,and it was on that occasion that Sa'd smote a

~it~~ ~~~':,;:~~~~f~~~.a camel and wounded him. This was the

When the apostle openly displayed Islam as God ordered him his people
didnotwithdraworturnagainathim,sofaraslhaveheard,untilhespoke
67 disparaginglyoftheirgods. Whenhedidthattheytookgreatoffenceand
resohed unanimously to treat him u an enemy, except those whom God
hadprotectedbylslamfromsuchevil,buttheywereadespisedminority.
Abii Tilib his uncle treated the apostle kindly and protected him, the
latter continuing to obey God's commands, nothing turning him back.
When Quray.h saw that he would ROt yield to them and withdrew from
them and insultedtheirgodsandthathisuncletreated him kindly and
stoodupinhidefenceandwouldnotgi\ehimuptothem,someoftheir
leading men went to Abii TUib, namely 'Utba and Shayba, both sons of
Rabi'ab. 'Abdu Sh~ms ... andAbii Sufyan(i6S)b. l:lnrh ... andAbii'J.
Bakhtari whose name wu ai-'At b. Hish:im b. al-liarith b. Asad ... and

Th~

Life of Muhammad

119

al-Aswad b. a\-Munalib b. Asad ... and Abii jah\ (whose name wu

'Amr, his title being Abii'l-l:fakam) b. Hishim b. a\ Mughira ... and
al-Walid b. ai-Mughira . . and Nubayh and Munabbih two sons of
al-l:lajjljb.'Amirb.l:ludhayfa ... andal'~b.Wi'il(t66). Theysaid,
'OAbilTalib, yournephewh:ucuntdourgods, insulted our religion,
mocked ourwayoflife' and accuaed ourforefathenoferror; either you
muststophimoryoumustletuagetathim,foryouyourse\fareinthe 168
ume position u we are in oppo~ition to him and we will rid you of him.'
He ga\'e them a conciliatory reply and a soft answer and they went away.
Theapostlecontinuedonhisway,publishingGod'areligionandcalling
men thereto. ln consequencehisrelationswithQurayshdeterioratedand
men withdrew from him in enmity. They were always talking about him
and indting one another against him. Then they went to AbU Tillib a
seeondtimeandsaid, 'You haveahighand loftypositionamongus,and
wehaveuked)outoputastoptoyournephew'sactivitietbutyouhave
notdoneso. ByGod,wecannotendurethatourfathenshouldbe reviled,
our customs mocked and our goda iruultcd. Until you rid us of him we
willfightthepairofyouuntilonesideperishes,'orwordstothatefl'ea
Thus aaying, they went off. Abii TMib was deeply distressed at the
breachwithhispeopleandtheirenmitybuthecouldnotdesentheapostle
andgi\ehimuptothem
Ya'qiib b. 'Utba b. a\.Mughlra b. al-Akhnas told me that he wu told
that after hearing these words from the Qurayah Abii Tllib aent for his
nephewandto\dhimwhathispeoplehadaaid. 'Sparemeandyourself,'
he said. 'Donotputonmeaburdengreaterthanl canbear.' The apostle
thoughtthathisunclehadtheideaofabandoningandbetrayinghim,and
that he was going to lose his help and suppon. He answered, '0 my uncle,
byGod,iftheyputtheauninmyrighthandandthemooninmylefton
conditionthatlabandontdthiscourse,untiiGodhasmadeit\ictorious,
orlperish therein,Iwouldnotabandonit.' Thentheapostlebrokeinto
tcan;,andgotup. Asheturnedawayhiauncleca\ledhimandsaid,'Come
back,mynephew,'andwhcnhecameback,hesaid,'Goandaaywhatyou
please, for by God I willne\erghe);ouuponanyaccount.'
When the QUr.l)'Sh perceived that Abii T~lib had refused to gi,e up the
apostle, and that he was resolved to part company with them, they went to 69
him with 'Um3ra b. a\-Walid b. al-l\lughira and aaid, according to my
information, '0 Abii Talib, this is 'Umira, the strongest and most hand
some young man among Quraysh, so take him and you will ha\'e the benefit
ofhisintelligenceandauppon;adopthimasasonandgiveuptousthis
nephewofyou111, whohasopposedyourreligionandthere\igionofyour
fathers,~~everedtheunityofyourpeople,andmockedourwayoflife,so

that we may kill him. This will be man for man.' He answered, 'By God,
thisisane\ilthingthatyouwouldputuponme,wouldyougiveme)'OUT
' ~/,f,. m n.no ohe cj,iliution ond ,inun of oh< P"'blamic Anbo. ~ the nccllenl
diocus.ionofJflitlandjUIinGoldW..r't M.Juo-..S....UCMSI..Jin.,i.uof.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The 14e of Muhammad

sonthat l shouldfeedhimforyou,and should l giveyoumysonthatyou

should kill him? By God, this thall never be.' Al-Mut'im b. 'Adiy uid,
'You r people have treated you fairly and havetakenpainstoa\-oid what
youdislike. l donotthinkthatyouarewillingtoaceeptanythingfrom
them.' AbU Tllib replied, 'They ha\e not treated me fairly, by God, but
youhaveagreedtobetraymeandhelpthepeopleagainstme,IIOdowhat
you like,' or~-ords to that effect. So the situation ~-orsened, the quarrel
becameheatedandpeopleweresharplydivided,andopenlyahowedtheir
a,nimosity to their opponent~~. Abil T.llib wrote the following ''enca,
indirectly attacking Mufim, and including those who had abandoned him
from the ' Abdu Man..lf, and his enemies among the tribes of Ouraysh. He
=~ons therein what they had asked of him and his estrangement from

:!~~~~::~1S~:;~~: s:~~:~~:t:t~~ ~~::~;r:n~

Say to 'Amr and al-Walid and Mufim

R.atherthan yourprotectiongivemeayoungcamel,
Weak,grumblingandmurmuring,
Sprinklingitsflanltswith itsurine
Laggingbehindtheherd,andnotkeepingup.
Whcnitgoeaupthcdetertridges,youwouldcallitaweasel.
lseeourtwobrothen,sonaofourmothcrandfathcr,
Whenthcyarcaskcdforhelp,uy'Itis notourbusincss.'
Nay,itisthci raffair,butthcyhavefallcnaway,
&arockfalls fromthctopofDhii'Alaq.'
I mcan especially'AbduShaiTIIIandNaufal,
Whohaveflungusuide likeabumingcoal.
Theyhaveslandered theirbrothersamongthepcople;
Thcirhanda arcemptiedofthcm.
Thcy sharcdthcir famewithmenoflowbirth,
With men whose fathers were whispe!"ed about ;
And T aym, and Malthzilm, and Zuhra, are of them
Who.i)adbccnfriendaofourawhcnhclpwassought;
ByGod,therewi llalwa)"Sbcenmitybetwcenus
& longasoneof ourdesccndantalives.
T hei rmindaandthoughtswerefoolish,
Theywe reentirelywithoutjudgcmcnt(t6?).'
ThentheQurnyshinci tedpeoplc againstthccompanionsofthcapostle
who had become Muslims. Every tribe fe ll upon the Muslims among them,
bcating themandscducingthemfromtheirrcligion. God protected His
apostle from them through his uncle, who, when he saw what Oura)'Jh
were doing, called upon B. H.lshim and B. al-Munalib to stand with him in
protcctingtheapoetle. Thi they agrcedtodo,withtheexccptionofAbii
Lahab,theaccuracdenemyofGod.
'Amountoininoh~ BonQ~<:OI.Ultry.

'T<> Py !ho!omon'o welliodcmoliohltdiotooecUHhimoflooinrllt;OtDJnOn .. nw.

thathemightst rengthen thd rrcsoheand thattheymightextend the!T

kindneutohim. He said:
lfoneday(}urayshgatheredwgethertoboast,
'Abdul\laniifwould betheirhcartandsoul;
Andifthenoblesof'Abdu!\lanlifwerercckoned,
Amongst Hashim would be thei r noblest and chief;
lftheyboast oneday, thenl\luhammad
Wouldbethe chosennobleandhonour:tbleone.

~:;:~:~o~~~~-~7~~~ ~:y":e'::;beside

themaelves.
Ofoldweha.vcneve rtoleratcdinjusticc:
When people turned away their faces in pride we msde them face us.
We protected theiraanctuary:-vhcn~\~rdangerthrcatened
Anddrovc theassa.ilant fromltsbuldmgs.
Throughusthe drywoodbecomesgrecn,
Underourprotcctionitsrootscxpandandgrow.

AL-WAL I D B. ALMUG H I R A

When the fair' was due, a number of the Qunysh came to al Wal!d b. al-

~~:h:~~d:~?T~~~~~:: t~e ~~eh~~~;::!~~:d ~~~~d=~p:~:t~~

theaoftheArabswillcometoyouandthcywillhaveheardaboutthis

:~:;~~;:~:~~: :~~~~~~: S~i~~;~~~:~~:;~:F;:~~~!~~

alufhjn.' Hes.aid,'ByGod,heis nott hat,forhehasnotthcunmtclilgent

:~d~'u;:,g~n: ~~~t;~!~~~~=~~-~Th~~ ~~~~

~=~~;~E!.~:=~:~r~;7.t:h~=:~~:!!:~!:~~~
~~~'!' ~~~e~h~;_o1 ~~~:~~-noH~~~;;~~~;; ~~~. ~: :;:~~
ewcct , hisrootisapalm-treewhoscbranchesarcfruitfu l (t68), ~devcry-

~:~h~~:;:~:~~id~r:~:;:::r;~~~~~~;:.;::; ~~
wifc,orfrom hisfamily.'

The Uje of Muhammad

At this point they Jdt him, and began to sit on the paths which men take
when they come to the fair. They warned e\eryone who passed them
about Muhammad't doings. God revealed concerning al-Walid
Lca,etoMchimlmadc,
Givinghimwealthandtn.de,
Whileaonsbcforehimplayed,
Thero;~dforhimllaid,

Thenheco,etcdmorcofl\"lyaid,
Ay,Oursignshathhegainsaid(t!J9).'
171

'lshallimposconhimagrie,ousburden;hethoughtandpbnncd;may
hepcrishhowheplanned,mayhcpcrishhowheplanned. T hen he looked,
thenhefrowned,andshowedanger'(I?o)
'Thenhetumedhislckinprideandsaid,"Thisisnothingbutancient
IIDrry,thisilnothingbutthespccehofamortal"'
Then God revealed concerning the men who were with him, composing
atermtodescribctheapostlcandthere\elationhebroughtfromGod,'As
wescntdownuponthedividenwhohadsplittheQuranintoparts,bythy
Lordwewi11askthcmallaboutwhattheyuscdtodo'(t71).'
So these mcnbcgantospreadthisreportabouttheapostlcwitheveryone they met 110 that the Arabs went away from that fair knowing about
the apo5tle, and he was talked about in the whole of Arabia. When AbU
Tilib feared that the multitude would overwhelm him with his family he
composed the following ode, in which he claimed protection in the sanctuaryofMeccaandbyhispositiontherein. Heshowedhisaffectionfor
thenoblesofhispeoplewhile,ncverthc\ess,hetoldthcmandotheninhis
poetrythathewasnotgoingtogiveuptheapostleorsurrenderhimonany
aecountwhate\er,buthewoulddicinhisdcfencc.
When l sawthepcoplehadno lovcforus
Andhadsc\erede,erytieand relationship,
And thown us enmity and ill-will,
Obcyingtheordenofpcraccutingcncmin,
And hadalliedthemsc\\'cswithtreacherouspropleagainstus,
Bitingthcirfingcninn.gcatourbacks,
Istoodfi.rmagainstthemwithmypliantspear,
Andmyshiningsword,heirloomofprinccs.
Roundthctemple l gatheredmydanandmybrothets,
And laidho\dofthestripcdreddoth1 thatcovcrcdit,
Standingtogcthcr,facingitsgatcs,
Wheree,eryoncwhotakesanoathcompleteshis'ow,
'SUn74. 11-IJ. loiollnns~ ol>ootofoetol .Wolidhumodc thcpointllu.tMuh.omrnod
~nnot b< oltdJN b:ouoc ~c d,..1 nol d~livor rncosageo in oaf 11>< ncxl q<>0101ion from the
Qunnokouldl><on~umple(IO\olhichlf<orlhoenoldon<juni<)ofthotnryfonn

su.... ,.90

'Thioiothcmuninll""'hie~A.

Dh.givroiOI<'AJd'il

Tht L1/t of Muhammad

Wherethepilgrimsmaketheircameillknccl,
WhcrcthcbloodflowsbetweenlsAfandl'\i'ila,
Camclsrnarkcdonthcshouldersorneck,
Tamcdoncs,betwcensixandnineyearsold;
Yousccamuletsonthem,andalabasteromaments
Boundontheirneckslikcdate-bcaringbn.nchcs.
l takcrefugewiththcLordofmcnfromeveryadvcn.ary
And every lying assailant;
Fromthehatcrwithhishunfulslander,
And from him who adds to religion what we ha,e not tried.
lly Thaur and Him who fixed Thabir in his place,
Andbyhimwhogocsupanddownl:(iri';'
llythetructcmpleofthcvalleyofMecca;
ByGodwhoisne\erunmindful;
Bythcblackstone,whentheystrokeit
Whcntheygorounditmomingandcvcning ;
ByAbraham's footprintintherocksti\lfresh,
Withbothfcctbarc,withoutsandals;
BythcrunningbetwcenMarwaand.~afil,

Amlbythcstatuesandimagesthercm;
BycvcrypilgrimridingtothehouseofGod,
Andc,c~vnewithavowande,eryoneonfoot;

By lliil,thc furthestsacredspot 1 towhichtheygo

Whcrethestreamletsopenout;
Bytheirhaltatevenabovethcmountains
Whentheyhelpthecamelsbytheirhandstorisc;1
Bythenightofthemccting,bythestation.~ofMinl,

~;e,~:Yc~~~;:~~n ~~~ ~~~~;,;~r~~ pass by quickly

~ :~~uggr~~:~:g~~~ :.~~n~h:; :~~~ for it
Aimingatitstopwithstones;
ByKinda,whcnthcyarcata1-iji~bate\"en ,

WhenthcpilgrimsofBakrb.Wi'ilpassbythem
Two allies who strengthened the tic between them,
Anddircctedtoitallmcansofunity;

N:b:i~~~7~Pi.:~?.:.~~;,:~~;~~~~(.~top.:~~ ~r:.:.~

~~;f~~ffgit:~?~:~~:?.~~~f.~:.~

:t~:~i;~~E~:~;2i~~=~~~:i~::~:~~~::~~:"~"~;;i:~

The Lift of Muhammad

TlltLijtojM11hammad

~~~hi:r b:7=~~.h~ 7::~~~~~~~~ ~~i~~~!~~hts.

~: :~:~ :n~g~:~sr~~~e~~n~n~:how::ui: ~rant it 1

~:t:r::~il~~~:::K:i~l:~~~::~~~~;!~:~~ f~~~
; r

~:~illi~~~~ ag~~s ~;~~.~~~":~~ad

sh.a tl not be maltreattd ;1

lkforeweshoot and th rustinhisddtnct,
We will not ghe him up till we lie dead around him,
Andbeunmindfulofou r wivesandchild ren;

~~~fzh~:~~f]fJ!4!-~.~~EE:~~
ByGod,ifwhat l seeshouldbecomeiCnous
Our swo rda will mingle with the bnt of them
l ntheha.ndaofayoungwarrior, likea Rame,
Trust worthy,ddender of thetruth, hero,
For days,monthl, a wholeyear,
And afternext year,yet another.

~~:~;:~ ~isnf;tu;~J:~;.;~~df=~~:~~~h:~'akiing,
Anoble man,for whoaeaaltethecloudsdropram,
The support of orphans, thedefenccofwid~\\"S,
Hbhim'afamily,readytoperish,reaorttohlm,
Theretheyfindpityandkindnea.
Asldandhisfintbornmadeuthated
AndcutUll up forotheT11tode\our; 1
Neither 'llthmin nor Qunfudh sympathiz.ed with u1
But obeyedthecommandof thosetribel.

!!~'i
::r.5~~~~~;_;i;:.~~i~=~~r"'..:.,~noi:iJ!"".a~,:!~
w~>c~ ~;."'::: .=.::!e~er'.

~~yd~:~: 0~~! :~~::~=~ ~i~h~7 ~~bdu YagUth,

~:i~~i~:~ ~:~~:~:::;:~i:;~:~::~~~":C:ru:rd:~~.

We will pay them measure for measure

That fellow Abii 'Amr would do naught but hate us,
T o send us away among sh:pherds and camcl-d~ivers;
Hctalklaboutusconfidenllallynightandmormng.
Talkon,AbU'Amr,withyourguilel
HesweanbyGodhewon'tdcceiveus,
Butweseehimopenlydoingnothingclsc;
Hehatesus10muchthatthehill-tops
IktwcenMecca'shillsandSyria'sforts
Aretoonarrowtoholdhim
AskAbU'l-Walid,whatha\eyoudonetouswithyourslander

~~;;:~=~k:; ~=tf~!i~7:~~en guided their li\es,

0
~.t;~~. ~:r~o~i~i~t:~ : a~ :n:~;~u\\~O~:~~gainst us;

~.~:J~s:.i;~~~f~i;~f~~2~,:~~f;~:::.'

,h, urth.

~~~:~~i~~ :~:: ~= :o:;~!;~;i~: a good friend,

~:~!~t~~~!J~~dE:7~~7::a;"d~~~!~ :,;;~~r.
Norwhentheycameagamstyoufullofenmtty,

?~qu?S ~~:iiF:?:~e:,s~~i:~~~kt~0 c~~de

it.

Godrequite'AbduShamsandNaufal forus
Withevil punishmentquickandnotdclayed,
Withanexacthalancc,notagl"llintoo littlc,
Thebalanceitsownwitnessthatitisexact.
Foolisharethemindsofpeoplewhoexchangedus
ForBanUKh.alafandtheGhayiitil.'
We are the pure stock from the summit of Hilshim
And the family of Q~yy in matteTll of import.
SahmandMakhzUmstirredupagainstus

~~~ :::~~~o: ~r! ;~~~t :hr";~ur people,

'S..
1JJ
.. hc:n:thit hne io ((uo!td
nplaineu

pag<

of>h~Anbictes>

~d

The Life of Muhammad

Donotmakecommoncauscwithe\'cryoutsidcr
Youhnepro,ed feeble and weak
Anddoneathingfarfromright.
You were till lately the sticks under one pot
Butnowyouarethestieksunderman ypotsand\'C$11elS
LettheBanU'.J\bduManiifgctsatisfactionfrompaningfromus,
Deseningusandlcavingusimprisonedinourquartcrsl
lfwearemcnweshalltakere\enge'forwhatyouhavedone
Andyouwillsufferthcfulleffeetsofwar.
The belt men among Lu'ayy b. Chalib,
[,eryboldehiefexiledtous,
ThefamilyofNufaylistheworstthate,ertrodtheearth,
Themostcontcmptibleofallthesonsof Ma'add.
TeliOutayythatourcausc:willbeblazedabroad,
AndgiveQu~yythegoodnewsthatafterus therewillbeafalling
:~part(amongourenemies).

Yet if calamity befell Qu~ayy one night,

Weshouldha,ebeenthefirsttoproteetthem;
Iftheyfoughtbnvelyindefenceoftheirhouses,
We should show them how to protect the mothers of children.
Yet every friend :~nd nephew on whom we ought to count
Wefinduse\esswhenputtothetest
ExceptforeertainmenofKiliibb.Murn
Whom we exempt from the stigma of the deserter;'
'Or'~olrud~~<', accontinltoanother rndinl

Wecametoth<mbynight,theyol!o<ottored
EYryliorandfooldioop~ar!fromour.;lhl

Oun,.....theatrinc-ploe&o"""'':them,
We.,-.,theroclt-liltedd....,.,oiGhllib
Theyounrmmoftheantedonnondll khim
A .... likeowontblad"inthehondsofthepulishen
Thoytookno,.....,nge,norohedblood,
Nordothey~anybutthewonttribeo.

lnthtirfiRhtinlyou-theyoutN
Uh6...,.,1ionsqua,...,llinlf0\'<'flwnpo ofmno;
SontofofovouriteEthiopU.nola,-.,ajrl,
Sono of Jumo~, 'Ub&yd Qoyo b. 'Aqil;
a...........henobleototockoflordo
W'-eheroicd<b;-..ere11Un8inu,...
'J'haeooeven......,..a..,notinW.'ot<>:t,ondaohedoeonotmenti.onthnninhi~ritia.l

~-~~!!

The Life of iUuhammad

UndeniablyfineisZuhayr,ournephew,
Aswordloosedfrombelts,
Theproudestoftheproudestchiefs,
Belongingtothefineststockinglory.

~a~t~~~~~:~:~~~ to AQmad and his brethren,

Forwhoamongmencanhopetobelikehim
Whenjudgesassesarival daimtomerit,
Clement,rightlyguided,just,serious,
The friend of Cod, C\'l:r mindful of Him.
ByGod!butthatlmightereateapreeedent 1
Thatwouldbebroughtagainstoursheik hlinassemblies,
We would follow him whatever fate might bring,
Jndeadlyeamest,notinidlewords.

~)'isk:~c:,~a~:~IO:it~ ~=li~l~;~i~ us,

AQm:~dhasstruck10deeparootamongus
Thattheattachofth e:~rrogantfai \toaffeethim

lshieldedanddefendedhimmyselfbye\erymeans(t7:l). 1
The Gh.iy~(il are of B. Sahm b. 'Amr b. Hup)l; AbO Sufyin is I. l;brb '77
b. Umayya; Mufim is I. 'Adiy b. Naufal b. 'Abdu Maniif; Zuhayr is I.
AbU Umayya b. al-Mughin b. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar b. MakhzOm, his
mother being 'Atika d. 'Abdu'J.Munalib. Asld and his firstborn, i.e.
'Attiib b. Asld b. AbO'J.'ft b. Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu Manif.
'Uthmin is I. 'Ubaydullah the brother ofTalQa b. 'Ubaydullah al-Tayml,
Qunfudh is I. 'Umayr b. jud':in b. 'Amr b. Ka'b b. Sa'd b. T aym b.
Murra. Abu'I-Walid is 'Utba b. R11b!'a; and Ubayy is al-Akhnu b. Sharlq
al-ThaqafiallyofB.Zuhnb.Kiliib(t7J).
AI-Aswad is I. 'Abdu Yaghtith b. Wahb b. 'Abdu ManJ.f b. Zuhn b.
Kiliib; Subay' is I. KMlid brother of B. all:l~rith b. Fihr; Nauf::Jl is I.
Khuway\id b. Asad b. 'Abdu'J.'UW b. Qupyy. He was I. aJ.'Adawtya,
oneofthe'satans'ofQuraysh. He itwaswhoroped together AbO B11kr
and Ta!QJ b. 'Ubaydulbh when they went O\'er to Islam. They got the

Tht! Lift! of Muhammad

, 78 namc'thctwo-ticd-togcthcr-QnCS'fromthis. 'Aiikillcdhimatthcbanlc:
of Badr. AbU 'Amr is Quq.a b. 'Abdu 'Amr b. Naufal b. 'Abdu Mana.
The 'treacherous people' arc B. llakr b. 'AWu i\1an;it b. Kinina. These
are the Arabs whom AbU Tilib enumerated in his verse (tH)
Whentheprophet'sfamebegantobcblazedabroadthroughouttheland
he was mentioned in Medina. There was no tribe among the Arabs who
knew more about the apostle when and before he was mentioned than this
tribe of Aus and Khazraj. The rea30n for this was that they were well
acquaintcd"'iththcsayingsof Jewish rabbis and theylivcdsiJe by side
withthemasalliea. Whenthcapostlewastalkedofini\1cdinaandthcy
heard of the trouble he had with Qura)'&h, Abii Qays b. ai-Aslat, brother of
B. WAqif,eomposedthcversesgivcnbelow(75).
Abii Qays was warmly attached to Quraysh since he was related to them
through his wife Arnab d. Asad b. 'Abdu'J.'Uzz.ii b. Qu~ayy, and he with
his wife used to 1tay with them for yean at a time. He composed an ode in
whichhemagnifiedthesanctityofthearca,forbadeQurayshtofightthcre,
urgcdthcmtostandbyoneanother,mentionedtheirmeriuandvirtues.
urgcdthemtoprotectthcapostlc, and remindedthcmofhowGodhad
dcaltwiththemandpvcdthemintheWaroftheEiephant.
0 rider, when you meet Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib
Give him a message from me,
Thetidingsofamanwhothoughfarfromyou
Isdistressedatwhatisbetwecnyou,aadandworried.
Ih.nebeoomethecara\'anseraiofcarcs,
Becau.seofthemlcannotdowhatlshould.
lleamth.atyouaredividediotocamps,
Onepartykindlesthcfireofwar,theotherprO\'idtsthc fuel.
IprayCodtoprotectyoufrom yourevilact,
Yourwickedquarrelandthe insidiousattackof scorpions,
Dcfamatoryreportsandscerctplots
Likcprickingawlswhichneverfailtopierce.
RemindthcmofGod,firstofa\lthings,
Andthetinofbrcaki.ngthetabooontravel"orngazcllcs.'
Say to them, (and God will ghe His judgement)
Ifyou ab3ndonwar itwillgofarfromyou.
Whenyoustiritupyouraiaeancvilthing;
'Tisamonsterdevouringc,crythingncarandfar,
lt sevcT~kinshipanddestroytpeople;

lt eutsthefleshfromthehumpandthebaek.
YouwillgheupthcfinestclothesofYaman
Forasoldicr'tgarbandeoatofmail,
Muskandcamphorfordust-oolourcdannour
Withbunonslike thecyesofalocust.
'Th<killingofaomo,.,ithinhe...,...do...,,.n toboo, ndhe-,...n thifth<
bLoodof oni.....,lo thef<'io...,fOOin,a/mllll'ribLoodohc<lond..nro.. forbidd<nbyGod.

Tht Lift of Mulwmmad

Bewareofwar! Donotlctitclingtoyou;
Astagnantpoolhastbitterdraught.
\\'ar-itfirsttccmsfinetomen
Butafterv;ardsthcyplainlyreoognizeanoldhag.
Itscorehesunsparinglythcweak,
Andaimsdeath-dealingblo~atthegreat.

Know you not what happened in the war of Dil)is?

Orthcwarofl:lltib? Takealeuonfromthem!
Howmanyanoblechiefitslew,
Thegeneroushostwhoscguestlackednaught,
Ahugcpileofuhcsbc:neathhispot,
Praised byall,nobleineharaetcr, hia 1word
Drawnonlyinrighteouscause;
'Tisuwaterpouredoutatrandom,
Asifwindsfromallquartersscattcredtheclouds;'
Atruthful,knowledgeablemanwilltcllyouofitsbattles
(Forrealknowledgeisth.creaultofexperience).
Soaellyour1pcarstothosewho lovewar
An~c~~=~ber the account you must render, for God i1 the best
Man'sLordhuehoaenareligion,
SoletnoneguardyoubuttheLordofheaven,
Raise up for ua a ~anifireligion.
Youareourobject;oneisguidedintnvelbyheighu,
Youarealightandprotectiontothitpeople,
Youleadtheway,notlaekingvinue~.

Ifmenwerc:V21ued,youwouldbeajewel,
Thebestofthevalcisyoursinnoblcpride.
Youprcservenoble,aneiempeoplcs
Whosegenealogyshowsnoforeignblood;
Yousecthcncedycometoyourhouset
Waveaftcrwaveofstarvingwights
Thepeopleknowthatyourleaders
ArccverthebestpeopleofthcstalionsofMinl,'

~~~i~=~~~~~!ti1~; ~cu~~~~'lfthe rub;toftl>t""'tophorio,.orth<reodin.;ai.UioriKht,ondindiKriminote

;~;;,~P::.,;~~.~~;~fn~~...... ~.:~~~~=":.;::~li~'y -;':,~~":; :~,J:"~.~~~~i~~:

.,,:::~~-~~~~;'!~~:::)~..'~t.~~,:."~t:~~~b~~f~~~~7~ =~ !:

collec:tod.h ..-..toopotcnerotodbytbeAnbo.TJ.e-.dj..bj,....pp.o.. ntly.......,.othe

:..":'~":,~~.:';.:"!o::~=l~~ =~~~:!~~.::. ~::;.~:::-..=c~:.:~

~~~3:~~.:::::~.:.~:/!:';;:,~~;.~~~~~~-:;;--~~~~;

1So

Tht Lift of Muhammad

RiscandpraytoyourLordandrubyounehes
Againstthecomenofthilhousebetweenthemountaim.
Hegaveyouaconvincingtcst'
OnthedayofAbii.Yaksilm,leaderofthesquadrons,
Hiacavalrywasintheplains,
Hitinfantryuponthepassetofthehills.
WhenthehelpoftheLordofthethronereachedyou
His armies repulsed them, pelting them, and covering them with
dust;
Quicklytheyturnedtailinfligllt
Andnonebutafewreturnedtohispeoplefromthearmy.
Ifyouperish,weshallperish,andthefainbywhichmenlive.
Thesearetheworda ofatruthfulman(t7fl).
,aa

w.!!a~a~ ~;'~a~1~~~~~~~~~-~~~=;n ~~ft! ~:~:

...
people from their determined enmity to the apostle. He was a man of
goodbinhandauthority.
Doesonewhosayawhatisrightsticktoit,
Andisthereonelitteningwhowouldbeangryatthetruth?
Doesthechiefwhosetribehopetoprofitfromhim
Gatherfriendsfromnearandfar?
I disown all but Him who control~ the wind
And Iabandonyoufor ever.
IaubmitmyselfutterlytoGod
Tboughfriendsthreatenmewithterror.

18]

Tht Lift of Muhammad

mode of life fooliah, insulted their forefathen, reviled their religion,
divided the community, and cursed their goda. What they had borne was

p~~~~e~.:y"~:e:- :~~i:!'~;~:-~e

apostle came towards them and

kissedtheblackstone,thenhepassedthemashewalkedroundthetemple.
As he passed they said some injurious things about him. This I co-old see
from his expression. He went on and as he passed them the second time
they attacked him timilarly. This I could see from hit ex pression. Then
he passed thethirdtime,andtheydid the same. He stopped and said,
'Will you listen to me 0 Quraysh? By him who holds my life in His hand
I bring you slaughter.'' This word so struck the people that not one of
them but stood silent andatill;e,en one who had hitheno been most
violentspoketohiminthekindatwaypossible,saying,'Depart,OAbU'lQ.uim,forbyGodyouarenotviolent.' Sotheapostlewentaway,andon
the morrow they assembled in the J:lijr, I being there too, and they a.Ued
one another if they remembered what had taken place between them and
theapostlesothatwhenheopenlysaidsomethingunpleasanttheylethim
alone. Whiletheyweretalkingthustheapostleappeared,andtheyleaped 84
upon him as one man and encircled him, taying, 'Are you the one who said
so-and-110againatourgodsandourreligionl' Theapostle said, ' Yes,Iam
the one who aaid that.' And I saw one of them seize his robe. Then AbU
Bakrinterposed himselfweepinganduying, 'Would you kill a man for
saying Allah is my Lord?' Then they left him. That is the wo111t that I
everuwQurayahdotohim.
One of the family of Umm KulthUm, AbU Bakr'a daughter, told me that
ahe said, 'AbU Bakr returned that day with the hair of his head tom. He
wasaveryhairymanandtheyhaddraggedhimalongbyhisbeard'(177)

IIOW THE APOSTLE WAS TREATED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE

WhentheQurayahbecamedistreuedbythetroublecauscdbytheenmity
betweentherr p.ndthe apostle and ~bote of their people who ac~pted_hd

~~:~7:;1h~~~Ya~~r;;:u: ~~~n:: ~:gr:n:~.::r:e~~r ~~~i~i~:~ :O~';f

~:~~r~~~~~ t~;=~~~~~~n=~~ ~:~~~:~~ ~:::~~h:~a~i~i~~

~:ei~~!~!~g their religion, forsaking their idols, and leaving them to

Ysl;tylb.'Urn-ab.ai-Zubayronthesuthorityofhisfatherfrom'Abdnilah b. 'Amr b. ai-'At told me that the latter was asked what was the \~;ont
way in which Qurayah ahowed their enmity to the apos~le. He ~plied: 'I
was with them one day when the notables had gathered m the I:ILjr and the
apostle ~-as mentioned. They said that they had ne\erknown anythin_g
likethetroublethcyhadenduredfromthisfellow;hehaddcclaredthelr
1 Forthiondthefollowinl!linH,OllUplthelall,tp.JQOfoheAnbictut.

J;IAMZA ACCEPTS ISLAM

A man of Aslum, who had a good memory, told me that AbU Jahl passed
bytheapostle atal-$afl,insultedhimandbehavedmostoffensivdy,speaking spitefullyofhisreligionandtryingtobringhimintodisrepute. The
apostle did not speak to him. Now a freedwoman, belonging to 'Abdullah
b. Jud'Jn b. 'Amr b. Ka'b b. Sa'd b. Taym b. Murra, waa in her house
listening to what went on. When he went away he betook himself to the
assembly of Qurayah at the Ka'ba and sat there. Within a little while
l;lamza b. 'Abdu'I-Munalib arrived, with his bow hanging from his shoulder,
returningfromthechaae,forhewasfondo(huntingandusedtogoout
ahooting. Wh&i he i:ame back from a hunt he ne,er went home until he
had circumambulated the K.a'ba, and that done when he passed by an 185
aasembly of the Qurayah he stopped and saluted and talked with them. He
was the ltrongest man of Quraysh, and the mOlt unyielding. The apostle

ThtLifeofl\'luhammad

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

had gone back to his house when he passed by this woman, who asked him
if he had heard of what AbU'l-l;lakam b. Hishll.m had done just rtlXnlly to
his nephew, Muhammad; how he had found him sitting quietly there, and
insulted him, and cursed him, and treated him badly, and that Muhammad
had answered not a word. l;lamza was filled with rage, for God purposed
tohonour him,sohewentoutatarunanddidnotstoptogreet anyone,
meaning to punish AbU Jahl when he met him. When he got to the mosque
he aaw him sitting among the people, and went up to him until he atood
O\'er him, when he lifted up his bow and struck him a violent blow with it,
saying, "Will you insult him when I follow his religion, and u.y what he
says? Hitmebackifyoucanl' SomeofD.MakhziimgotuptogotoAbU
Jahl'shclp, but hesaid,'LetAbii'Umlraalonefor,byGod, I insulted
his nephew deeply.' l~amz.a'a Islam w:u complete, and he followed the
apostle's commands. When he became a Muslim the Quraysh reeogniud
thattheapostlehadbecomeatrong,andhadfoundaprotectorinf:lamza,
andaotheyabandonedsomeoftheir waysofharassinghim.
WHAT 'UTBA SAID ABOUT TilE PROPHET

Yazid b. Zi y~d from Muhammad b. Ka'b al-Qu~i told me that he was

told that 'Utba b. Rabi'a, who w:u a chief, said one day while he was
aittingintheQurayshassemblyandtheapottlewassittinginthemosque
by himself, 'Why ahou ld I not go to Muhammad and make tome proposals
to him which if he accepts in part, we will give him whatever he wants, and
hewillleaveusinpeace?'Thishappenedwhenl:famzahadacceptedlalam
andtheysawthattheprophet'afollowen~wereincreasingandmultiplying,

Theythoughtitwasagood idea, and 'Utbawentandsat by the prophet

186 andsaid,'Omynephew,youareoneofusasyouknow,ofthenoblestof
thetribeandholdaworthypo.itioninancestry. Youha\ecometoyour
people with an important matter,dividingtheircommunitytherebyand
ridiculingtheircustoms,andyouhaveinsultedtheirgodsandtheirreligion,anddeclaredthattheirforcfatherswereunbelie\"en,aolistentome
andlwillmalr.eeomesuggestions,andperhapsyouwillbeabletoaccept
oneofthem.' Theapostleagreed,andhewenton,'Jfwhatyouwantis
money,wewillgatherforyouofourpropertyaothatyoumaybetheriche.t
ofus;ifyouwanthonour,wewillmakeyouourchicfsothatnoonetan
decide anything apart from you; if you want soven:ignty, we will make you
king,andifthisghostwhichcomestoyou,whichyouset",ilsuchthatyou
cannotgetridofhim,wewillfindaphysitianforyou,andv.:haustour

::~n~~~ilg~t~i~~:~ ~u~:d ~; i~~~e:r a:::~i~: ~~~t ~;:r;:i~~!1:

listened patiently, and then said: 'Now listen to me, "In the name of God,
the compassionate and mercifui,J:I.M., a revelation from the compassionate, the merciful, a book whose verses are expounded as an Arabic Qunn
forapeoplewhounder$tand,asanannouncementandwaming, though

mostofthemturnasidenotlistcningandsay,'Ourhcartsareveilcdfrom
thattowhichyouinviteus.'"' ' Thentheapostlccontinuedtoreciteitto
him. Whe~ 'Ut~a hear1\ it from _him, he listened attentively, putting his
hands behmd hts hack and leanmgon them as he listened. Then the
prophetendedattheprostntionandproSintedhimself,andsaid,'You
have heard what you ha\"e heard, Abii'I-Walid; the rest remains with you.'
When'Utbareturncdtohiscompanions theynoticedthathisexpression
had completely altered, and they asked him what had happened. He u.id
that he had heard words1uchashe had ne,erheardbefore, which were
neither poetry, spells, nor witchcraft. 'Talr.emyadviceanddoas I do,
leave this man entirely alone for, by God, the words which I have heard 187
will_beb!azedabroad. lf(other) Arabskillhim, otherswillhave ridyou

~,-~~:~~~Y~~r;:~~: ~~;r;~.:~~ ;:~uh;il~:;r;:~;~t~ :r::~~

htm.' They satd, 'He has bewitched you with his tongue.' To which he
answered, 'You have my opinion, you mu~t do what you think fit.'

NECOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE APOSTLE AND THE

LEADERS OF QURAYSH AND AN EXPLA NATION OF TilE
S0RAOFTHECAVE

Islambegantospreadinl\1cccaamongmenandwomenofthetribesof
Ouraysh, though Quraysh wen: imprisoning and .educing as many of the

~~ir::;~~I~~~.&~~~e~~b~y::iiE1~~~~~:~e~~~Ift~:~:1

Sufy~n b.l:farb, and ai-NaQr b. al-l:lilrith, brother oft~ BanU Abdu'l-Dilr,

andAbu'I-Ba.khtarib.Hish.iim,andal-Aswadb.ai-Munalibb.Asadand
Zama'a b. ai-Asw:ad, and ai-Walid b. ai-Mughira, and AbU Jahl b. Hisham,

~~;~f;~t~E,;~~~~=~~~f~~~~f~J~E:t~t
~~e~a~~:i~ :o !:~h~:r:~~eC:~~m~;:~fo~~~~e ~~~h~~~~~~~~~u;~;;

0 11

their welfare, and their wicked way of life pained him. When he came and

g~:~~~~{ii~~f~~~;li~~~~~:ii~}~~~ '"
SOra*'- '

1 i.<,Y<IWJ7'Prootrateyourwlvn<oCod"

The Life of Muhammad

:~~~: fi~~~a~~~.~~~:;s!:~:~ ~~a~ts~7h~i:c!:::~~~~J~~i=~~;

tocurehJm. Theapostlerepliedthathehadnosuchintention. He sought

not money, nor honour, nor sovereignty, but God had sent him uan
apostle, and revealed a book to him, and commanded him to become an
anno~ncer and a WJ.mer .. He had brough~ them the meNages of his Lord,

:N.::~~~~E::Sirl~::~~~i~hr~:.:l!d::o~~~=-l~~~t~

Muhammad,'theyaaid,'ifyouwon'tacceptanyofourpropositiona,you
knowthatnopcoplearemoreahortof landandwater,andliveaharderlife

than we, 10 ask your Lord, who has sent you, to remo\e for us these
mountains ":'h~chahut ~sin, and toatn.ighten out our country for us, and
toopenupmltrivenhkethoaeofSyriaandlraq,andtoresurrectforua
ourforefathen, and let there beamongtho&ethlt are reaurrectedforua
~yy b. Kil.lb, for he wu s true 1haikh, so that we mayaal: them whether
whatyouuyistrueorfalae. Iftheyaayyouare spea.k.ingthe truth,and
you do what we have asked you, we will believe in you, and we ahal\ know
what your position with God is, and that He hu actually sent you as an
apostleuyouuy.' Herepliedthathehadnotbnaenttothemwithauch
an obj~t. ~e had conveyed to ~hem_ God's meMa~, and they could either

.s9

~e~~i~~~~~Jr:;!o:~~:~+::~~~~~;~~~~1~:~~~!

d_ict them; _to m~ke hi_m gardens and cutlea, and treasures of gold and
hertoaattsfyhttobv!ouswants. Hestoodinthestreetsastheydid,and
heaoughtalivdihoodutheydid.lfhecoulddothia,theywouldrecognize
his merit and position with God, if he were an apostle u he claimed to be.

~e~~~~~ ~: ~~ :::~ ~:~ ~~ i~;.~;o~~~tn~: ~akdf:i:u~f~~!~~::;

uid,'Thenlettheheavenabedroppedonusinpiecea,'uyouassertthat
yourLordeoulddoifHewihed,forwewiltnotbelieveyouunlessyou
do so.' The apostle rep lied that this was :1 matter for God; if He wanted to
do it with them, He would do it. They uid, 'Did not your Lord know that
we would ti.t with you, and ask you these questions, so that He might rome
to you and nstruct you how to answer us, and tell you what He wu going
todowithus,ifwedidnotreceiveyourmessage? Inform:.ttionh.asreached
us thatyouuetaughtbythiafel\owinai-Yamilm.a,calledai-Ral)miln,and
by God we will never believe in the Ral)min. Our conscience is clear. By
God, we will not leave you and our treatment of you, until either we
destroyyouoryoudestroyuJ.' Someu.id,'Wewonhiptheangelt,who
arethed:~ughtersofAllah.' Othersuid,'Wewillnotbelieveinyouuntil
youcometouswithGodandthe:~ngeltasasurety.''

Wbentheyuidthistheapostlegotupandleftthem. 'Abdull.ahb.Abii
'Cf.Silti'7'M

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Umsyya b. ai-Mughira b. Abdullah b. 'Umar b. Ma.khzfim (who was the
.on of his aunt Atilta d. of 'Abdu'l-Muualib) got upwith him and aa.id to
him, '0 Muhammad, your people have made you cenain propositions,
which you have rejected;finttheyaskedyouthingsforthemaelvea that
theymightknowthatyourpositionwithGodiswh:.ttyousayitit.ath:.tt
theymightbelieveinyouandfollowyou,andyoudidnothing;thenthey
asltedyoutotalte.amethingforyounelf,bywhichtheymightknowyour
superiorityo\'er themandyourstandingwithGod,andyOuwouldnotdo 190
it; then they uked you to hasten lOme of the punishment with which you
werefrighteningthem,andyoudidnotdoit',orwordstothateffect,'and
by God, lwillneverbelieveinyouuntil yougetaladdertotheky,and
mountupituntilyoucometoit,whilei amlookingon,anduntilfour
~lashallcome\\ithyou,teatifyingth:~tyou:~reapeakingthetruth,and

byGod,evenifyoudidthatidonotthinki shouldbelie\eyou.' Then he

wentaway,andtheapostlewenttohisfamily,sadandgrieving,because
hithopethattheyhadcalledhimtoaccepthispreaehi ngwuvain,and
becauseoftheirestrangementfromhim. WhentheapostlehadgoneAbfi
Jahlspoke,makingtheusualchargesagainsthim,andsaying,'Icai\God
to witness that I will wait for him tomorrow with a ttone which I c:.tn
hardly lift,' orwordstothateffect, 'and when he prostrates himself in
prayer I willsplithisslr.ull\\-ithit. lktnymeordefendme,lettheB.
'Abdu M:.tn.lf do wh:.tt they like after du.t.' They said that they would
neverbetrayhimonanyaccount,andhecouldcarryonwithhisproject.
When moming came AbU Jahl took :1 atone and tat in wait for the apostle,
who behaved u usual that morning. While he was in Mecca he !:.teed
Syria in prayer, and when he prayed, he prayed betweentheaouthem
oomerandthebl:.tck.atone,puttingtheKa'babetweenhimselfandSyria.
The:.tposderosetopraywhileOurayr.hlltintheirmeeting,WJ.itingfor
what AbO Jahl was to do. When the apostle prostrated himself, AbO Jahl
tookuptheuoneandwenttowardshim,untilwhenhegotnear hirn,he
tumedback.inflight,palewithterror,and hishandhadwithereduponthe
stone, .a that he cast the stone from hia hand. The Qurayth asked him
whathadhappened,andherepliedthatwhen hegotnearhimac:.tmel't
stalliongotinhisw:.ty. 'ByGod',he~~o~.id,'lha\ene\er~n:.tnythinglike
his hcad, shoulden, and teeth on any stallion before, ,and he m:.tde as
thoughhewouldutme.'
he l"'"::~o~!:~::~!:t~,:.'.l,e said, 'That was Gabriel. If he had come near,
When AbO j ahl uid that to them, al-Na4r b. aiI;Urith b. Kalada b.
Aiqama b. Abdu Manilfb. Abdu'l-D~r b.Outayy (178) got up and aaid: '0
Qurayr.h, a situation hu ari.en which you eannot deal with. Muhammad
WUI)"Oungmanmostlikedamongyou,moJttruthfulinpeech,andmost
trustwonhy, until, when you pw grey h:.tin on his temple, and he brought
youhiamesaage,youaaidhewuasorcerer,butheisnot,forweha\'eseen
suchpcopleandtheirapittingandtheirknota;youaaid,adi\iner,butwc

191

,,,

Th~

The Lfe of Muhammad

hive seen auch people and their behaviour, and we have heard their
rhymet;and you aaid a poet, butheianota poet, for we have heard all
kindsofpoetry;youaaidhcwaapoucssed,butheisnot,forwehaveseeo
theposteaaed,andheahowt noaignsoftheirgaspingandwhisperingand
delirium. Yemen of Ounysh, look to you r affairs, for by God, a Krious
thing hu befallen you.' Now aJ.NaQr b. al-l:flrith was one of the u.tant of
Qunysh;heueedtoinsulttheapostleandthowhimenmity. Heh.adbeen

toal-l;llraandleamttherethetalesofthekingsofPersia,thetalesof
Rustum and Jsbandiyl r. When the apostle had held a meeting in which
he reminded them of God, and warned his people of what had happened
tobygonegenerationsasaresultofGod'tvengeance,ai-Nal}.rgotupwhen

heaatdown,anduid,'Jcantellabctteratorythanhe,cometome.' Then
hebcgantotellthemabouttheki ngs ofPenia, Rustum and lsbandiylr,
andthcnhcwoulduy,'lnwhatrcspcctiaMuhamm.adabcttcrstof)'tcllcr
19athanl?'(179).
lbn'Abbll,accordingtomyinfonnation, usedtosaycightvcrsesofthc
Quran camcdowninrcfe rcnccto him,'Whenour vcrsesare rcadtohim,
hc uyafairytaletofthcancicnu';' andJllthoscpassagesintheQuranin
which'fairytJlcs'arcmcntioned.
When Al-NaQ.r uld that to them, they sent him and 'Uqba b. AbU
Mu'ayf to the Jewish rabbis in Medina and said to them, 'Ask them about
Muhammad; dcacribe him to them and tell them what he says, for they
arcthcfirstpcoplcof thcacri pturcsandh avcknowlcdgewhichwe donot
posscs~aboutthc prophetl.' Thcycarriedoutthcirinstructions,anduid
to the rabbis, 'You arc the pcopleofthcTaurit,'andwchavccometo
yousothatyoucantcllushowtodcalwiththistribesmanofours.' The
rabbissaid,'Askhimsboutthrccthing~ofwhichwcwillinstructyou;if

hegivesyouthcrightanswerthcnheisanauthcnticprophet, but if he
docsnot,thc-nthcmanisaroguc-,soformyourownopinionabouthim
Ask him what happcnedtothcyoungfl'IC'nwhodisappeared in ancient
days,forth~yhavcamarvc-llousstory. Askhimaboutthcmightytravc-ller
whorc-ach<thcconfinesofbothEastandWcst. Aslr.himwhatthcspirit
is. Jfhc-cangivc-)'OUthc-anawc-r,thenfollowhim,forhcisaprophct. I(
he cannot, then he is a forger and treat him as you will.' T he two men
retum<toQurayshatMecca 1 andtoldthemthattheyhadad:iai\cway
of dealing with Muhammad, and they told them about the th ree questions.
Thcytllmctotheapo.tleandcalleduponhimtoanswerthesequestions.
'93 He said to them, ' I will give you your answer tomorrow,' but he did not
say, 'if God will.' So th~y went away; and the apostle-, so they uy, wait~
forfiftccn days without a revelation from God on the matter, nord1d
Gabriclcomc-tohim,aothatthcpcopleofMectll bcgantospreadcvil
1 Si'.ln68.15
' Proporly tho t..w of Mooa, but oftn UKd by Mwtim writon o(tl>< Old T .. tomont
'Meecoiooomoo8om.fromMlinl. Thoordinorycanvantookoooroodoyo. Tho
~P1Yia l Khobtdidthcjoumoyin5 doyo

Lift of Muhammad

reports, saying, 'Muhammad promised us. an a~wer on the mo rrow, an_d

today is the fiftC'Cnth day we hne remaoned wcthout an answer.' ThiS
delay caused the apostle gre-at sorrow, until Gabriel brough t him the
Chapter of The Cave, in which he reproachcs him for his sadncss, and
toldhimthcanswersoftheirqucstions,theyouths,themightytrndlcr,
andtheapirit.
I was told that the apostle said to Gabrid when he came, 'You ha\'e shut
youi'$Clf off from me, Gabriel, so that I b:amc appreh~nsi\'C'.' ~ e
answered, 'We descend only by God's command, whose 11 what hcs
before us, behind us, and what lics betwccn, and thy Lord docs not

:o!{~~t~;~;,:~l~t~~~~~~=~i:7~h~:~~:~J ~:~~d~~~~

~~hna~r!:d~od, who has revealed the book to Hit servant,'' fl'IC'an cng

'Verily thou art an apostle from Me,' i.e-. confirming what they uk about
thyprophethood. ' Hchathnotmadetherein<:rookcdncss,itisltraight,'
i.e. it is level, without any difference. 'To warn of a severe punishme-nt
from Him,' that is, His immediate judgement in this world. 'And a painful
judgcmcntinthencxt,'thatis,fromthyLord,whohasscnttheeasan
apostle. 'To give those w~o bclie\e, who do good works, ~he g~ newa
that they will hneaglonousreward, enjoying it everlutmgly,' !.C. the
ete rnal abode. 'Thcysha11notdiethc-rein,'i.c-.thoscwhohavcacceptcd

~:~~~=a::u ~a!:U:~;;~~g~eo~h:orsd~~~~:~~~:!:~ ~~:::~od~~ed~

has take-n a aon.' He me-ans the Quraysh when they say, 'We worship the
angels who arc the daughters of Allah.' 'They have ~o knowledge abou~ it,
nor had their forc-fathen', who take hardly your leavmg the-m and shammg
their religion. 'Drudful is the word that procccdeth from thei.r mou th'
when they say the angcols arc.God's daughtc-111. 'They say nothmg bu~ a 94
lie, and it may be that thou \\'II! destroy thyself,' 0 Muhammad. ' In gncf
over theirCOui'$Cifthc-ybclie\'C'notthissaying,'i.c.bauscofhisaorrow
whe-n he was disappoint! of his hopcofthem;i.e.thou shalt not do it
(tSo). 'Verily We h.nc- made tha~ which. is upon the earth ~ ornament
to it to If)' them which of them will behave the best,' i.e-. which of them
will follow l\Iy commandment and act in obedience to Me-. 'And ve-rily
we- will make that which is upon it a barren mound,' i.e. the earth and what
isuponitwillpcrishandpassaway,forallmustretumtol\1ethat I may
rcwardthemaccordingtotheirdceds,sodonotdcspairnor letwhatyou
hearandseethc-rcingrie\eyou(J81)
Thencomcsthestoryofwhattheya.sk<himabouttheyoungmen,and
God said: 'Have- you considered that the dwellers in the Cave and al
Raq1111 were wonders from our signs?' i.e. there we-re still more wonderful
signs in the proofs I hne given to men ( 1 8~). Then God said: 'When the- <95

-~-

-d

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

The Lt.fe of MuhammDd

youngmentookrefugeintheCavetheyaaid,OLord,showuskindneu
andgi\eusguidmcebyYouroommand,ao\Vesealeduptheirhcaringin
the Cave for many years. Then We brought them to life again that We

how long they stayed there. The secreb of heaven and earth are with Him.
How wonderfully He sees and hears. They have no friend but Him, and
He allows none in His dominion as a partner,' i.e. nothing of what they
askyouiahiddenfromHim.
And He nid about what they asked him in regard to the mighty tniVeller,
' AndtheywillaskyouaboutDhU'I-Qarnayn;uy, lwillrccitetoyoua
remembrance of him. V~rily We gave him power in the eanh, and We

might know which of the two parties '\o\'Ould best calculate the time that
theyhadbeenthere.' ThenHe .. id:'Wewilltellyouthetrueaccountof
them; they were young men who belit\'Cd in their Lord, and We gave them
furthcrguidance,andWestrengthenedtheirheartl. Thentheystoodand
aaid,OurLordi!theLordofheavcnandcarth. Wewillpraytonoother
god but Him. If we were to say otherwise we should apeak blasphemy,'
i.e.theydidnota.ssoc::iateanyonewithMeaayouhaveassociatedwithMe
what you knownothingabout(tSJ). 'These peopleofourshavechoacn
gocllinadditiontoHim,thoughtheybringnoplainauthorityforthem,'
i.e. a clear proof. '\Vho is more wid:ed than he who invena a lie against
God? When you withdraw from them and what they worship irutead of
God,thentakerefugcintheCave;yourLordwillspreadforyoubyHi.
mercy and prepare a pillow for you in your plight. You might aee the
tun when it rises mO\'e away from their Cave towards the right, and when
itaetsitwouldgopastthemtotheleft,whiletheywereinacleftofthe
96 Cave' (184). 'ThatwasoneofthesignsofGod', i.e. fora proof against
thoaeofthepeopleofthes.criptureswhokncwtheirstoryandwhoordercd
tho&ementoaskyouaboutthemconcemingthetruthofyourprophccyin
givingatrueaccountofthem. 'WhomGodguidesisrightlyguided,and
for him whom He leads astray you will find no friend to direct. And
you would think they were awake while they were sleeping, and we would
tum them over to the right and the left, while their dog wu lying with ia
forepawsonthethreshold'(t8S) 'Ifyouobaervedthemcloselyyouwould
tum your bacb on them fleeing, and be afraid of them' up to the wordt
'dlOiewhogainedtheirpointaaid,'i.e.thepeopleofpoweranddominion
amongthem. 'Letusbuildamosqueabovethem;theywilluy,'i.e.the
Jewi.h rabbis who ordered them to uk these questions. 'Three, their dog
being thefourthofthem,andtomeny five, their sixth being the dog,
gucssinginthedark,'i.e.theyknownothingaboutit,'andtheyuy&even
tndtheirdogtheeighth. Say:MyLordknowsbestabouttheir number;
none knows them save a few, so do not contend with them except with an
opencontention,'i.c.donotbeproudwiththem. 'Anddonotaskanyone
informationaboutthem,'fortheyknownothingaboutit. 'Anddonot uy
of anything I will do it t~;~morrow un less you say, If God will. And men
tion yourLordifyouha\eforgottenanduy,Pe rhapsmyLordwill guide
metoanearerwayoftruththanthis,'i.e.donot!layaboutanythingwhich
they ask you what you said tbout thi1, vi!:. I will tell you tomorrow, and
make God'1 \\ill the condition, and remember Him when you have forgottentodotoanduy,PerhaptmyLordwillguidemetowhati.bctter
than what they ask of me in guidance, for you do not know what I am
97 doing about it. ' And they remained in their Cave three hundred years
andtheyaddcdnine,'i.e.theywillsaythia. 'Say:YourLordlmowlbcst

ga;~ ~~ ~!~ ~~:7h7:~t~nde~e~~~~:~d~~t~~~~~n~l t:t~a~~~:r ~:=~~:ere

atretchedou tbeforehimuntilhetraverscdthewhole earth,eastandwest.
~~~=-g~~e;r:t:~.over every land he trod on until he reached the farthest
Amanwhousedtopurveystorieaoftheforeignen,'whichwerehandcd
down among them, told me that DhU'l-Qarnayn wq an Egyptian, whose
name wq Manubiln b. Mardhaba, the Greek, dCKCndcd from Yunin b.
Yifithb.NUI;a(86).
Thaur b. Yuld from Khllid b. Ma'dln al-Kali'!, who was a man who
reached Islamic times, told me that the apostle was asked about Dhli'IOarnayn, and he said, ' He is an angel who measured the~ beneath by
ropes.'
Khilid uid, "Umar heard a man calling someone DhU'l-Qamayn, and
he uid, "God pardon you, are you not ntisfied to use the names of
theprophettforyourchildrenthatyoumuatnownamethemafter the
angebl"' Godknowathetruthofthematter, whethertheapostlenid
thatornot. lfhenidit,thcnwhathenidwattrue.
God uid concerning what they asked him about the Spirit, 'They will
askyouabouttheSpirit,ny,theSpiritilamatterformyLord,andyou
havconlyalittleknowledgcaboutit.''
lwattoldontheauthorityoflbn'Abblsthathe uid,When the apostle
came to Medina, the Jewish rabbit nid, 'When you uid, "And you have
onlyalittleknowledgeaboutit,''didyoumeanusoryourownpeople?'
He uid, 'Both of you.' They said, 'Yet you will read in what you brought 98
that we were given the Taurilt in which is an exposition of everything.' He
repliedthatinreferencctoGod'sknowledgethatwulittle, butinitthere
was enough for them if they carried it out. God revealed concerning what
theyaskedhimaboutthat' lfallthetreesintheworldwereperuandthe
ocean were ink, though thesevenseu reinforced it, thewordsofGod
would not be exhausted. Verily God il mighty and wise.' 1 i.e. The Taurlt
comparcdwithCod'knowledgeit little. AndGodrevealedtohimconcemingwhathitpeopleukedhimforthemtelve.,namely,removingthe
mounuiru, and cutting the earth, and raising their forcfathen from the
dead, 'If there were a Qurln by which moun11iru could be moved, or
theearthplit,orthedeadspokcnto[itwouldbethi.one1,butto~

bclo n: ~=!:.=~ion of all thin~\

1

0i:,!. ~~II not do anyt~~::~:::6kind

TheLijeof.Muhommad
unless I choose. And He re\ealed to him concerning their saying, 'Take
foryounelf', meaning that ~le ahould make for him gardens, and castles,
andtreasures,andahouldtendanangelwithhimtoconfirmwhathesaid,
and to defend him. 'And theysaid,"Whatisthi.sapostledoing,eating
food,andwlllkinginthemarlr.eta? Unlessanangelwerescnttohimtobe
a \1o'lrner with him, or he U'Cre given a treasure or a garden from which he
mighteat{wewouldnotbelie\e]";andtheevildoensay,"Youfollowonly
a man bewitched". Seehowtheyhavecoinedproverbsofthee,andhne
gone astray and cannot find the way. Blessed is He, who if He willed,
couldmalr.efortheetomethingbetterthanthat,'i.e.thanthatyoushould
walk in the marketpbces,aeekingllli\elihood. 'Gardens beneath which
runrivers,andmalr.efortheecasdes.''
And He revealed to him oonceming their uying, 'When We sent meuengers before thee they did eat and walk in the markets, and we made some
ofyouatettforothers,whetheryouwouldbesteadfast,andyourLordis
looking on,'' i.e. I madesomeofyouatestforothersthatyoumightbC
steadfast. Had I wanted to make the world side with my apostles, so that
theywouldnotopposcthem, I wouldhavedoneso.
And he revealed to him concerning what 'Abdullah b. Umayya said,
'Andtheysaid,"Wewillnotbelieveintheeuntilfountainsburstforthfor
199 usfromtheeanh,oryouhavesgardenofdatesandgrapesandmak.ethe
riverswithinitburstforthcopioualy,ormaketheheavensfalluponusin
fragmentsasyouassert,orbringGodandtheangelsasasurety,oryouget
ahouscofgold,ormountup toheaven,wewillnotbclieveinthyascent
untilyoubringdowntoolabookwhichwecanread." Say:exaltedbemy
Lord,amiaughtbutamortalmesscnger'( t87).3
300
Herevealedtohimwithreferencetotheirsaying'Weha\eheardthata
man in al-Yamlma called ai-Ra~mlln teaches you. We will never believe
in him'. 'Thus did We ~end you to a people before whom other peoples
had passed a~y that you might read to them that which We hne relealed
tothce,whiletheydiabclievedintheRai:tmlln. Say,HeismyLord,there
is no other God but He. In Him I trust and unto Him is the return.'
And He revealed to him concerning what AbU Jahl said and intended:
'Hl\eyouaeenhimwhoprohibiteda scrvantwhenhepra)ed,ha\eyou
aeenifhewlllrightlyguidedorgaveordersinthefearofGod,haveyou
aeen if he lied and turned his back; dOC!I he notlr.now that Allah sees
everything? IfhedOC!Inotccasewewilldraghimbytheforelock, the
lyingsinfulforelock;lethimcallhisgang,wewillcalltheguardsofhell.
Thou shalt certainly not obey him, prostrate thyself and draw near to
God'(188).
ao
AndGodrevealedoonccrningwhattheyproposedtohiminregardto
their money, 'Say, I ask no reward of you, it is your.~; my reward is God's
concern alone and Hewitnesseaeverything.' 1 Whentheapostlebrought
1 Siln2J.8
'l9

su..

1 SOn79

su....

34.46.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

ThrLiftof 11,1uhammad

conferencet,andwhenhearrivedattheMaqiim,heread,'Inthename of
God,thecompassionate,themerciful,"raisinghisvoiteashe didso,'the
compassionate who taught the Ouran.' Then he turned towards them as
hereadsothattheynoticedhim, andtheyuid,'Whatonearthisthisson

like that 1 By God, we will never believe in him and treat him as truthful.'
Thcnai-Akhnasgotupandlefthim.
When the apostle recited the Quran to them and called them to God,
theyuidinmockery, 'Ourheartsareveiled, wedonotunder~tandwhat
yous.ay. Thcreilaloadinoureansothatwecannothearwhatyouaay,
and acuruindivides us from you, so follow your own path and we will follow
our~,wedonotunderstandanything)ouuy.' ThenGodrevealed,'And
wiN:nyoureadtheQuranweputbetween)'Ouandthosewhodonotbclie,e
inthelastdayahidden\eil,''asfarasthewords'andwhenyoumention
yourLordaloneintheQurantheytumtheirbacksinnetsion',thatil,
howeantheyunderstandthyasscrtionthatthyLordis one iflhl\eput
veilsovertheirhearuandheaviness in their ears, and between you and
themilacurtainastheyallcge?'i.e.thatlhavenotdoneit. 'Weknow
bettaboutwhattheylistentowhentheylistentoyou,andwhentheytake
aecretcounsel,thewiekedsay,"Youare onlyfollowingamanbcwitehed",'
i.e.thatisthewaytheyorderpcoplenottolistentothemC151gelhave
given you. 'See how they have made parables of you, and gone astray,
andcannotfindtheway,'i.e.theyhavemadefalseprolerbaaboutyou,
andcannotfindtherightpath,andwhattheyuyia notstraightforward.
'And they say, when we are bones and dried morsels shall we be raised a new
creation?'i.e.youhavecometotellusthatwe shallbcraisedafterdeath
whenwearebonaanddriedfragments,andthatissomethingthatcannot
bc.'Say,Beyehardstonesoriron,oranythingthatyouthinkinyour
minds il harder, they will say, "Who will raise us ?" Say, He who created
you in the beginning,' i.e. He who created you from what you know, for to
crcateyoufromdustisnomorediffieultthanthattohim.
'Abdullah b. Abii Najil,t from Mujlhid from Ibn 'AbbU told me that the
latter ~aid, 'I asked him what was meant by the word of God "or something
thatyouthinkisharder"andheuid,"Death.'''

::~~~\;Et!~~El:~! ~~~~~:y?r~e:~r~~2:t~:~~~i;:~~

Then he went to his companions with the marks of their blmn on his face.

. ,~~f~i~~Jf',1~~h~t~~~~:~f~l~:I~;;f;i~i:~}~~:
theydon'twanttohear.'

TIIEQURAY S IIL I STENTOTHEPROPIIET'SREADINC

Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihlb al-Zuhri told me that he was told that

~~I;~~:1g1;2:;i?J:gg:~::g::~l~:;:~~~g
was sitting. So they passed the nightlisteningtohim,untillll the dawn

~:;h~~!e~n~i:::~id ~nt~~eo;;;:~. ~~~.:~: i~:~a~~: f~;~~o~~~e!r ~~:

hght-mmded fools sees you, you will arouse suspicion in his mind.' Then

:t~;~:;:~::d:~~~~, ~=~~~~g:~!e~~Ii~~i;Y.~~~:Ti:~u~:~;;

ther N:td to one

an~ther,

'We will not go away until we take a solemn

~:;~g;:::i~~a~~~~!l;o:o:~u:' .Jc~il a~~Y"~~~t~: ~~:n ~~r:fdA!~

Sufyln,andaskedhimtotellhimhis opinionof-whathe hadheardfrom
Muhammad. He replied, ' By God, I heard things that I know, and know

~:~;~~E:-~:~~~J~:~t~:~;~:~~~i~2~.~~~~~~~

the u mequet;tion. He answered, 'What did I hear! W e and B. 'Abdu Manlf

2~ ~~;; : . : : :~~~~ ~~~:~~- b~~e:n 1~a::df~ t~:v~~;;a~:e;oh~~=e~e~

::1i~v~~iE =~ ~~:~~::~:~.~~i~2~~~d~-=~t:::~~E~~i~;
'SUn.n.>
'I,il.,'untilwehavcaquanodonourlmeeo fa<ctofo',i.o.oocompl<1eequaiJ.

Then the Quray.h showed their enmity to all those who followed the
apostle ; everyclanwhiehcontainedMuslimsattackedthem,imprisoning
them, and bcatingthem,allowingthem nofoodordrink,andexpoeing

~e=e ';~~= ~~;~n~d~;a~:;~;::f ;::~1o:.c::~e:::nm~~::~~!~~C::

being protected by God.
Billl,whowasafterwardsfreedbyAbiiBakrbutatthattimcbelonged
to_oneofB.Jumal),bcing_slaveborn,wasafaithfuiMIUllim,pureofheart.
Htt father't name was R1bll) and his mothe r was i:bmlma. Umayya b.
Khalaf b. Wahl> b.l:ludh~fa b. Jumal) used to bring him out at the hottest

Tilt L1jt of Muhmflmad

TM Life of Muhammad

partofthtdayandthrowhimonhishatkintheopenvalleyandhavea
greatro<:kputonhischest;thenhewouldsaytohim,'Youwillstayhere
till you die or deny Muhammad and worship Al-L3t and al-'Uzz3.' He
usedtoaaywhilehewuenduringthis,'One,one!'
Hish1m b. 'Urw11 told me on the authority of his father : Waraqa b
Naufal \\"U passing him while he was being thus tortured and aaying,
'One, one,' and he aaid, 'One, one, by God, Bilal.' Then he went to
Umayya and those of B. Juma~ who had thus maltreated him, and said,
'I swear by God that if you kill him in this way I will make his tomb a
thrine.' One day Abii Bakr passed by while they were thus ill-treating
him, for his house was among this clan. He aaid to Umana, 'Hae you
nofearofGodthatyoutreatthispoorfellowli.kethis?Howlongisitto
go on 1' He replied, 'You arc the one who corrupted him, 10 save him from
hisplightthatyouaec.' 'lwilldoso,'aaidAbii Bakr;'lhavegotablack
slave,tougherandstrongerthanhe,whoisaheathen. lwillcxchangehim
~~;~i~~~- The tansaction was carried out, and AbU Bakr took him and

withfavou r butforaeckinghitLord't mostaublimefaccandintheendhe

wiD be satisfied.''
The B. MakhzUm used to take out 'Amm1r b. Ybir with his father and
mother, who were Muslims, in the heat of the day and uposc them to the
heatofMecca,andtheApostlepasscdbythemandaaid,ao l haveheard,
'Patience, 0 family of Ylsir! You r meeting-place will be paradiae.' They
lr..illedhismother,forsherefuscdtoabandonlaWn.
It W1ll that evil man AbU Jahl who ttirred up the Mec<:lN against them.
When he heard that a man had become a Muslim, if he was a man of

lkforehemigratedtoMedinahefrecdtixslavesinlslam,Bil3lbeingthe
seventh, namely: 'Amirb. Fuhayra, who\\"Uprcscntat Badrand Ul;lud
ao6 and wu killed at the battle of Bi'r Ma'iina; and Umm 'Ubays and 'Zinnlra
(she\osthersightwhenhefrecdherand Qurayshsald,'Al-Utandal
'U:z:z3 are theom:a that have taken away her sight'; but she said, 'Byth~
house of God, you lie. Al-Lt and al-'Uz:tt can neither harm nor heal,'
soGodreatoredheright).
Andhefrc-edal-Nahdiyaandherdaughterwhobelongedtoaworm.nof
B. 'Abdu'l-O:ir; he passed by them when their mistress had sent them
aboutaomeHourofhen,andshewassaying,'ByGod, I willneerfree
you.' AbUBakrsaid, 'Freeyourselffromyouroath.' Sheuid,'Itisfree;
youoorruptedthemsoyoufreethem.' Theyagreedupontheprice,andhe
said, 'I will take them and they are fre-e. Return her flour to her: They
said, 'Oughtn'twetofinishthegrindingandthen take it baclr.toher?'
He said, 'Yes,ifyoulike.'
He passed by a slave girl of B.J\1u'ammil, a clan of B. 'Adly b. Ka'b who
was a Muslim. 'Umar b. al-Khanab waa punishing her to make her give
up lalam. At that time he was a polytheist. He beat her until he was tired
andaaid,' l havconlyttoppcdbeatingyoubccauselamtired.' Shesaid,
'May God treat you in the aame way.' Abii Bakr bought her and freed her.
Muhamrm.d b. 'Abdullah b. Abii 'Atiq from '.\mir b. 'Abdullah b. aiZubayr from one of his family told me: Abii Qul;lllfa said to his son AbU
Bakr,'Myson,lsccthatyouarcfrceingweakslaves. lfyouwanttodo
what you are doing, why don't you free powerful men who could defend
0

~:: ~:-~r:::. y~~:~ :i~~~:; t~: ::~y:!~ d~:.:~~~ r~~=e~t~:~:~i~

and what his father said to him: 'As to him who gies and fean1 God and
belic,esingoodncss,'uptothedivincwords,'noneisrcwardcdbyG~

;~:~m.::a::h~~~ ~:i~;~a'~ or: ~::ee~~~~~~ ::8~:~1~::::~ ao,

whowubetterthanyou. Wcwilldttlareyouabloclr.headandbrandyou
uafool, and destroy your reputation.' If he was a merchant heaaid,
'Wewillboycottyourgoodsand redu~youtobcggary.' Jfhew~a

peij;l:~~ ~=~:7::~t~~~~d t~ ~:a~~~~~d~~~!1~:e.~~u:~~:

:Z~b~~~~:~!\r~~~t::~~ ~e:d~=y!~t~':a~::~
~~~e!r~~::
u~o:Oh~~~ !e~:~'! ~:~~~;i~:~~~~~

:::::

=~E;!Y~~~~:~~;~:.!::::~t~~~~~:~o~~:~; ~~U~

notAII:ah1"hewouldtayyes,inordertoeacapefromthetuffennghewu

:,;~;!~b~:~~~h;, ~1~~!a::~t~:~=db~o~~\~t:~~::n~~

brother ai-Walid b. al-Walid bceame a Muslim. They had agre-ed to seize

~~~~~~~~:~~~t~ii~@~~~~~~VE
do notkillhim.' Thenhebegantorecite:
Mybrother'Uyaysshallnotbelr.illed,
Othe!VIieetherewillbewllrbctwcenusforevcr.

'lkctrefulofhis life,forltwearbyGodthatifyoulr.illhim,lwilllr.illthe

~~~~~e ~~ s~i~ ~~: ~:1 =~ to~~~g~~~~~nd~::C~~.c f:~y ~~:

ifthitmanwerekil\edwhileinourhandtthebestofuswouldbekilledtot
~:-;ro:: ,'!:~.left him and withdrew, and that wu how God protected

po~r~?~-rocol ........... which ..... ., i....,..roblo occomp.nimalt"" ..., &COOfl& u..

,,,

The L1je of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Tho~

THil F IR ST MIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA

WhentheapostlesawtheafRictionofhisoompanionsandthatthoughhe
escaped it because of his standing with Allah and his uncle Ahil Tiilib,
he could not prot~! them, he said to them: ' If you were to go to Abyssinia
(itwouldbe betterforyou), forthe kingwillnottolerateinjusticeanditisa
friendly country, until sm.:h time as Allah shall relie\'t you from your
distress.' ThercuponhiscompanionswenttoAbyssinia, being afraid of
~~s~~- and fleeing to God with their religion. This was the first hijra
The fint of the Muslims to go were: B. Umayya
'Aff:ln ... withhiswifeRuqayya,d.theapostle
B. 'Abdu'J-Shams: . . . Abill:ludhayfa b. 'Utba ..
Sahlad.Suhayl b.'AmroneofB.'Amirb.Lu'ayy.
B. Asad b. 'Abdu'I-'U:zz:l : al-Zubayr b. al-Awwam ..

~~~~.D~~j~i,; ;A~~~.~~R~~~~r;Auf

:: : ...
....
B. MakhzUm b. Yaq~a: ... AbU Salama b. 'Abdu'I-Aud ... with his
wife Umm Salama d. AbU Umayya b. ai-Mughira ....
B. J urna\1 b. 'Amr b . Hu~ays. . . 'Uthmrin b. Ma;'Un .. ..
a09
B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b: '.i\mir b. Rabi'a, an ally of the family of ai-Khanab
of Anz b. Wi'il (tSgo), with his wife LayU. d. AbU l::lathma b.l::ludhlfa . .
B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy: AbU Sabra b. AbU Ruhm b. 'Abdu'I-'Uzzil b.

~~~a:; ~h~ ;~;':!e~~h~~i~~;~ ~:atA:eu !ti~h:fi~tO:~ ~r:~~~

Abyssinia.
B. al-l::lririth: Suhaylb. Bayda'.... Thcsetenwere thefirsttogoto
Abyssiniaaccordingtomyinformation(t90)
Afterwards Ja'far b. AbU Tilib went, and the Muslims followed one
:~~:~o~~~ilthey gathered in Abyssinia; some took their families, others

B. Hiishim: Ja'far . . . who took his wife AsmJ.' d. 'Umays b. al-Nu'mln

... Shebare!i.im'AbdullahinAbyssinia
B. Umayya: 'Uthm:ln b. 'Affiln ... with his wife Ruqayya; ... 'Amr b.
Sa'id b. al-'A' ... with his wife Filtima d. $afwiln b. Umayya b. MuQarrithb.Khumalb. Shaqqb.Raqabab.Mukhdijal-K.in:lni,andhisbrother
ao Khillid with his v.ife Umayna (19 1) d. Khalaf of Khuzl'a. She bare him
hissonSa'idinAbyssinia,andhisdaughterAmawhoafterwardsmarried
ai-Zubayr b. ai-'Awwam and bare to him 'Amr and KMlid. Of their
allies of B. Asad b. Khuzayma: 'Abdullah b . Ja~h ... b. Aud and his
brother'Ubaydullah with his wife Umm l::labiba d. Abii Sufyiln b.l:farb; .. ,
and Qays b. 'Abdullah ... with his wife Baraka d. Yasilr, a freedwoman of

bdoogodo <hdm;ly

~
--

, 4s

The Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

~~~1~?r~;~~!~:~J:~~:~~~.::;it~~!~:~!~~~\~~i~t~~~~

Bishr b. al-1-J~rith ... and a brother of his from a Tamimite mother called
Sa'idb.'Amr;Sa'Jdb.ai-J-Jirith; ... al-Si'ibb.ai-I;Urith; ... 'Urnayrb.
Ri'ib b. Hudhayfa b. Muhashshim; ... MaJ.tmiya b. al-Jazl', an ally of

. .~:0g~~::~~!::~I:~!~:2~b~\[;:~rf;~:~~;;::
B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy: AbU Sabra b. Abii Ruhm ... with his wife Umm

!~:::~~~~s~i~~::~;r~-:~~-~~~d~z~~~~~~S::-u:;E!~
.. Milik b. Zama'a b. Qays .. ,with his wife'Amra d. al-Sa'dl b.
Waqdin b. 'Abdu Shama;., ,l:fitib b. 'Amr b. 'Abdu Shams; ... Sa'd b.

K~.0 ~_ij 1~:~b ~-~~i:: !~~~-~:;: (~~~i-Jarritl

who was 'Amir b.

'Abdullahb. al-Jarrll); ... Suhayl b.Bay4i'whowas Suhayl b. Wah_b
b. Rabi'a b. Hili! b. Uhayb b. Oabba . (but he was always kno~n by h1s
nJ mother's name, ahe being Da'd d. Ja~darn b. Umayya b. Z:anb b. al}:llri th .. . and waa always called BayQI'); 'Amr b. Abii Sar~ b. Rabl'a ...

Andshame indeath,notsafefromblame
WehavefollowedtheapostleofGod,andthey
Haverejectedthewordsoftheprophet,andbeendeccitful.'
Viaitthypunishmentonthept<~p lewhotransgress

And protect me lest they rise and lead me astray.

'Abdullahb.ai-I:J.irithal.sosaidwhenhespokeoftheQurayshe:t"pelling
themfrom theircountry,andreproached110meofhispeople:
Myheartrefusestofightthem
Andsodomyfingers;ltellyouthetruth.
How could Ifightapeoplewhotaughtyou
Thetruththatyoushouldnotminglewithfalschood1
Jinnworshipperseriledthemfromtheir noble land
Sothattheyweree:t"ceedingiiOrrowful;
Iftherewerefaithfulnessin'Adiyb.Sa'd
Springingfrompietyandkinshipties,
I ahouldhavehopedthatitwouldhavebeenamong.you,
BythegraceofHimwhoisnotmovedbybribes.
I got in tJr:changefort hebountiful refugeofpoorwido\.\"t
Awhelp,andthatmotheredbya bitch.

hi;.~';'!~::] a~~~:~\rEt:e ";:';:;igrated to Abyssinia, apart from the

ThoscQurayahwhodenyGod'struth
Are as 'Ad and Madyan and the people of al- l:lijr who denied it.
lfldonotraiseaatonnletnottheearth,
Spaciouslandoroceanholdmel
Jn alandwhereinisMuhammad,servantofCod.
Iwillexplainwhatiainmyheart
Whenuhausti\'esearchismade.

~fJI~~1~~~~~~!~1gg:1~

Becauscofthesecondverseofthispoem'Abdullahwascalledo/-Mubriq,
thethunderer(o r threatener).
' Uthmin b. Mq'ii.n, reproaching Umayya b. Khalaf b. Wahb b.
}:lii.dhlfa b. Juma.tt, whowas his cousin, and who used to ill-treat him
because of his belief, made the following verses. Umayya wu a Je.def
amonghispeopleatthattime.

~~~~~~;h~u:::~t ~~ :~~ ~:a~d~! !!~~~a a~d~~!~ ~~::Y!!t~ea~~

:f

Hill! b. Ml!ik b. l;labba; ... and 'Amr b. al-l:Urith; ... 'Ut~mln b.

'Abdu Ghanm b. Zuhayr; .. . and Sa'd b. 'Abdu Qays b. Laqif ... and

everyhOlpita!ity.

Orider,talr.eameuagefromme
To thoae who hope for the demonstration of God and religion,'
ToeveryoneofGod'aperseeutedserants,
MistreatedandhardtriedinMecca'svale,
Namely,thatwehave foundGod'soountryspacious,
Giving security from humiliation, shame and low-repute,
Sodonotlivealifeinhumiliation

0 Taym b. 'Amr, I wonde r at him who came in enmity,

Whentheseaandthebroadhighland laybetweenus,

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Taym b. 'Amr, whom 'Uthman addresses, was

Taym

Juma~.

His name was

TilE QURAYSH SEND TO ABYSSINIA TO GET THE

EMIGRANTS RETURNED

The Life of Muhammad

gaveuaorderaaboutprayer,almagiving,and fasting(enumeratingthe
commands of Islam). We confeNed his troth and believed in him, and we
followed him in what he had brought from God, and we vrorshipped God
alone without as&Ociating aught with Him. We treated as forbidden what
heforbade,andaslawfulwhathedeclaredlawful. Thereuponourpeople
attadtedua,tre11teduharshlyandseduceduafromourfaithtotrytom.ake
no ua.gobadttotheworahipofidolsinateadofthevrorshipofGod,andto
regardulawfultheevildeedsweoncecommitted. Sowbentheygotthe
betterofua,treateduaunjuatlyandcircumscribedourlives,andcame
between uaand our religion, we came to your country, having chosen
youabovea.llothera. Herewehavebeenhappyinyourprotection,andwe
hope that we aha.ll not be treated unjustly while we are with you, 0 King.'
The Negua uked if they had with them anything which had come from
God. Whenja'faruidthathehad,theNeguscommandedhimtoreadit
to him, 10 he read him a pauage from (SUra) KHY'$.' The Negus wept
untilhiabeardwaswetandthebishopswcptuntiltheiracrollswerewet,
when they heard what he read to them. Then the Negus &aid, 'Of a troth,
this and what Je~ua 1 brought have come from the same niche. You
two may go, for by God, I will never give them up to them and they shall
not be betrayed.'
When the two had gone, 'Amr said, 'Tomorrow I will tell him something
that will uproot them all.' Abdullah, who Wll3 the more god fearing of them
in his attitudetowarda ua, said, 'Do not do it, fortheyareourkindred
thoughtheyhavegoneagainatua.' Hesaid,'ByGod,lwilltellhimthat
they usen that Je~ua, 10n of Mary, ia a creature.'' He went to him in the
momingandtoldhimthatthey&aidadreadfulthingaboutJesus,sonof
Mary,andthatheahouldacndforthemandaskthem aboutit. Hedid10.
N~>thingofthekindhadhappenedtothembefore,andthepeoplepthercd

togctheraakingoneanothcrwhatthcylhouldsayaboutjesuawhenthey
were uked. They decided that they would say what God had &aid and what
the prophet had brought, come what may. So when they went into the
royal prcacnee and the que~tion wu put to them, Ja'far amwercd, 'We say
abouthimthatwhichourprophctbrought,saying,beisthedaveofGod,
andhiaapoetle,andhisspirit,andhisword,whichbecaatintoMarythe
blessed. virgin.' TheNeguttookaatidtfromthegroundandsaid, ' By
n

God,Je~ua,eonofMary,docanotexc.ecdwhatyouhavesaidbythelength

ofthisatidt.' Hilgeneralsroundabouthimanonedwhenhesaidthis,
and he ui.d, 'Though you snort, by God! Go, for you arc safe in my
country.' (Shuyiimmeansol....Jiffiniitw..)4 Then herepca.tcdthreetimeathe
words, 'Hewhocoracayouwill be fined. Notforamountainofgoldwould

The Lift of Muhammad

I allow a man of you to be hun' (199). Give them back their p rcacnts, for
I have no ute for them. God took no bribe from me when He gave me
backmykingdom,thatishouldtakeabribeforit,andGoddidnotdo
whatmenwantedagainstme,IOwhylbouldldowhattheywantagainst
Him.' So they lcfthilpreaenoc, crt~tfaUen, taking away their rejected
gifta,whilewelivedwithhimcomfonablyinthebestKCUrity.
While we were living thus, a rebel arose to snatch his kingdom from him,
andineverknewuatobesoudaswewercatthat,inouraru:ietylestthia
fellow would get the better of the Negua, and that a man would arise who
did not know our cqe as the Negua did. He went out against him, and the
Nile lay between the two parties. The apostle's companions called for a
manwhowouldgotothebattleandbringbadtnewa,andai-Zubayrb.
al-'Awwlm volunteered. Now he was the youngest man we had. We
infu.tedawaterakinandbeputitunderhiachest,andawamacrossuntil
hercachedthatpointoftheNilewhcrethcanniesfacedoneanother. Then
he went on until he met them. Meanwhile we prayed to God to give the
Neguavictoryoverhisenemyandtoestablilhhiminhisowncountry;
and u we were doing 10, waiting for what might happen, up came ai-Zubayr
running,wavinghisclothesashesaid,'Hurrah,theNegushaaconquercd
and God has destroyed his enemies and established him in hia land.'
DyGod,Inevcrknewuatobe10happybeforc. TheNeguacamtback,
Godhavingdestroyedhisenemyandestabliahedhiminhiscountry,and
the chiefs of the Abyssinians rallied to him. Meanwhile we lived in happie~t
conditionauntilwecametotheapoetleofGodinMecca.

HOW THE NEGUS BECAME KING OF ABYSSINIA

AI-Zuhrfsaid: I told 'Urwa b. al-Zuba)'rthetraditionofAbil Bakrb.

'Abdu'IRaJJmln from Unun Salama the prophet'a wife and he said: 'Do
you know what he meant whenheui.d that God took no bribe from me when
He pvc me back my kingdom that I should take a bribe for it, and God did
not do what men wanted against me 10 why ahould I do what they want
againstHimf'When Isaidthatldidnotknow,heaaidthat'A'isha told
himthatthefatheroftheNeguawastheking,andtheNeguswuhiaonly
eon. The Negua had an uncle who had twelve sons who were of the
Abyssinian royal bouse. The Abyssinians said among themselves, 'It
wouldbeagoodthingifweweretokillthefatheroftheNeguaand make
his brother king, because he has no eon but this youngster, while his
brotherhastwelveeons,sotheycaninheritthelr:ingdom afterhimsothat
tbefuturcofAbyaainiamaybepcnnanendySUred.' So they attacked

!:t~::;::~~~~~:n:o~~:!~7; =~g his brother king, and such wu the

TheNoguagrewupwithhisuncle,anintelligentandrcsoluteyoung
man. Helltainedanascendancyoverhiauncletoauchadegreethatwhen

ThtLijtofllluhammad
theAbyssiniansperceived howgreathisinf!uenccwiththekingwa.s,they
begantofearlcsthemightgainthecrown,andwouldthenpmthemallto
death becauK he knew that they were the murderers of his father . Accord
inglytheywenttohisundeandsaid,"Eitheryoumustkillthisyoungman
or you muat exile him from among us, for we are in fear of our lives because
of him.' He replied, 'You wretches, but yesterday I slew his father, and am
l tokillhimtoday?Butlwillputhimoutofyourcountry.' Sothcytook
himtothcmarketandsoldhimtoamerchantforsixhundreddirhams.
The latter threw him into a boat and went off "'ith him, but on that very
e1ening the autumn atorm douds. ma.ssed, and his uncle wen~ out .to pray
forrainbcneaththema.uofcloudwhenhewa.sstruckbyhghtmngand
killed. TheAbyuinians hastened in fear to his sons, and \o! he was a
bcgetteroffools;hehadnotasonwhowasanygoodatall; theaituationof
the Abyssinians became very unsettled, and when they feared the pressure
223 ofevenutheysaid toone another, 'Know, byGOO,thatyourk.ing,the
only one who can put us to rights, is t~e one you sold this momin_g, and if
you care about your country go after h1m now.'_ So th~y went out m sear.ch
of him and the man to whom they had sold h1m, until they overtook h1m
and took the Negus from him. They then brought him home, put the
crown on his head, made him sit upon the throne, and proclaimed him
king.
The merchant to whom they had sold him came and said, 'Either you
give me my money or I shall tell him about this.' They ~aid , 'We will_ not
give you a penny.' He said, 'I n that case, by God, 1 mil s~ak to h1~.'
Theysaid,'Well,thereheia';aohe eameandstoodbeforehlmandsald,
'OKing, l boughtayounga\alefrompeopleinthemarketforsixhundred
dirhams. They gave me my a\ ave and they took my money, yet when I had

~;:e;~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~:~ry::e::~ :~~=~~~i~~~ ~~ s~;~e~n:a~~P~r7?t

the young man place his hand !n h~. and let ~im take him wher~ he wishes.'
They replied, 'No, but we w1ll g1ve him h1s money.' For th1s reason he
&aid the words. in question. This was the first thing that was reported
abouthisfinnneuinhisreligionandhisjusticeinjudgement
\'uid b. RO.mlin told me from 'Un~-a b. al-Zub:Lyr from .~'isba that she
aaid:'WhentheNegusdieditusedtobcuidthata lightwasoonstantly
seenoverhisgrave.'

TIIEAHY SS I N IAN S RI!VOLTACA I NSTTIIENECUS

Ja'(ar b. Muhammad told me on the authority of his father that the

AbyuiniaruL auemblcd and said to the Negus, 'You ha1e le~t our rclig_ion'
andthey re\"oltcdagainst him. Sohe~~e nt to j a'farand hLSrompamons
andpreparedshipsforthem,saying,'Embark inthcscandbc:ready. If
l amdefeated,gowhereyoupleue;if f amvictorious,thenstaywhereyou

The Life of Muhammad

arc.' 1'henhe tookpaperandwrotc,' HetestilicsthatthereisnoGodbut
AllahandthatMuhammadisHissla\"eandapostle;andhetcstifiesthat
Jn us, Son of l\lary, is His s]a,e, His apostle, His spirit and His word,
which He cast into Mary.' Then he put it in his gown near the right
shoulderandwentouttothe Abyssinians,whoweredrawn upinarrayto
meet him. He said, '0 people, ha,e I not the best claim among you?'
'Certainly,' they said. ~nd what do you think of my life among ~ou?'
'Excellent.' 'Thenwhatlsyourtrouble:''You ha\eforsakenourrehgion
llndassertthatjesusisasla\"e.' 'Thcnwhatdoyousa)aboutjesus?''We

Uf

:~:~~: ~=n:~:i~i~y~~g~.~~c ;!~:'e:~:tJu~~!~ ;:en~u::~ 1\~i=r~,r::

no more than "this".' By this he meant what he had written, but they were
contentandwentawlly. Newsofthisreachcdtheprophet,andwhenthe
Negusdiedheprayedo\erhimandbeggedthathissinsmightbeforgilen.
'UMA R ACCEPTS I SLAM

When 'Amr and 'Abdullah came to the Quraysh, nol having been able to
bringbacktheprophet'scompanionsandhavingr.ccei\"eda_sharprebuff
from the Negus, and when 'Umar became a Musl1m, he bemg a ttr~ng,
stubbornmanwhoseprottgtsnonedareattack,thcprophet'acompanLOns
were so fortified by him and l;lamu that they got the upper hand of

~~~~:~t;IA'~~~!:\~~::s~U~~:~i~~o~~y~~::eh~o~~~g~~\::ab:~;~~
until he could pray there and we _prayed wit.h him.' 'Umar b:tcame a
M~;~i;;:::~~; ~i~:,rophet's compamons had m1grated to Abyssin1a.
Mis'ar b. Kidlim from Sa'd b. lbrihim said that 'Abdullah b. Mu'Ud

~j~i~:r::~-~e~;;n;:::~~:g~~~e:~-:t ~::: d~:~~:~cr~. ~r~':o~~; n~~

pray at the Ka'ba unti l he became a Mushm, an~ _when ~e d1d so he fought

th~A~~i?~a~:~nh~.C:~!~f~~ ~e~~::~~~-~~-~~~dy~:b.

AbU Rabi'a
from Abdu'l-'Aziz b. ' Abdullah b. 'Amir b. Rabi'a from his mothe r Umm us
'Abdullah d. AbU l;lathma who said: 'We were on the point of setting out

~iJI~i~~t~f~gs:~;.t?~f~;~:~~:~gx:~
:~.~~T)~e ::i~,~~~:;i:c~~il~ i!~:~~:~d ~ss~;t:~ ~i~ ::!;:i~~ :.~;:~

lhadnevcrsecnbcfore. Thenhewcntaway,and l couldKeplamlythat

our depart ure pained him; and when 'Amir came back with the thing
ui~':hio indkolet tiK reccnoion of 1.1. which !.H. uoed. Othu MSS. rtad 'Ibn lliohlm

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

he needed IP.idtohim, "Ofatherof'Abdullah,l wishyouhadseen'Umar

just now and the compassion and .orrowhe ahowed on our account."
When he asked me if I had hopes of his becoming a Mmlim, I replied
that 1 had, to which he &JU;Wered, "The man you saw will not beco~ a
Muslim until al-Khaltib's donkey does." This he said in despair of him
becau~eofhisharshnessandseverityapinstlslam.'

The Islam of 'Umar, so I have heard, was on this wise. Hia sister wu
Fl]ima d. al-Khanab, and was married to Sa'Td b. Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufayl,
both of whom had become Mutlims and concealed the fact from 'Umar.
Now Nu'aym b. 'Abdullah ai-Nattl;!.lm, a man of his tribe from B. 'Adiy
b.Ka'b,hadbecomeaMuslimandhealsoconcealedthefactoutoffear
of his people. Khabbab b. al-Aratt used often to come to Fil]ima to rtlld
the Quran to her. One day 'Umar came out, gin with his sword, making for
theapostle,andanumber ohitcompanions,whohehadbeeninformed
h.adgatheredinahouseatal-!?afl,inallaboutorty,indudingwomen.
With theapostlewaa his undel;lamza, and AbU Bakr, and 'Ali, from among
theMUJiim.who stayedwiththeapottleandhadnotgoneoutwiththoee
who went to Abyssinia. Nu'ayrn met him and uked him where he wu
going. 'I am making for Muhammad, the apostate, who has split up the
Qurayah, mademockeryoftheirtraditions,insultedtheirfaith andtheir
n6 goda, to kill him.' 'You deceive yourtelf, 'Umar,' he answered, 'do you
auppo1e that B. 'Abdu Manlif will allow you to continue walking upon the
earthwhenyouhavckilledMuhammad?Hadnotyoubettergobackto
your own family and set tlieir affairs in order?' 'What is the matter with my
family?'heu.id. 'Yourbrother-in-law,yournephewSa'id,andyouraiater
Fi!ima, have both become M111lim. and followed Muhammad in his

~~~;:d ~0

r: ~~~e~=~ rro::r~~a:it~t t~;:im!h:~:~~~:~

wu with them \\ith the manuscript of Ti Hi, which he wu reading to

them. When they heard 'Umar's voice Khabblib hid in a small room, or in
apllrlofthehouse, and F~timatookthe page and put itunderherthigh.
Now 'Umar had heard the reading of Khabblb u he came near the house,
towhenhecameinhesaid,'Whatisthisbalderdash l heard?' 'You have
notheardanything,'theyanswered. 'ByGod,Ihave,' hesaid,'andlhave
been told that you have followed Muhammad in his religion;' and he
.eizedhitbrother-in-lawSa'id,andhissisterFitima1'09Cindefenceofher
hiUband,and hehitberandwoundedher. Whenhedidthattheysaidto
him, 'Yes, we are MIUlirru, and we belie\'e in God and His apostle, and
you can do what you like.' When 'Umar saw the blood on his titter he
waatorryforwhathehaddoneandtumedhackandsaidtohitsister,
'Give me this sheet which I heard you reading just now to that I may ace
j111t what it is which Muhammad hat brought,' for 'Umar could write.
Whenhesaidthat,hissisterrepliedthatahewasalraidtotrusthimwithit.
'Do not be afraid,' he said, and he swore by his godB that he would return
itwhenhehadreadit. Whenheuidthat,sheh.adhopes thathe would

The Lift of Muhammad

bccomeaMuslim,andsaidtohim,'Mybrother,youareuncleaninyour
polythd1m and only the dean may touch it.' So 'Umtr rose and washed
himself and she gave him the page in which was Tl Hli, and when he had
read the beginning he said, 'How line and noble itthis1peech.' When
he heard th at, Khabblb emerged and said, '0 'Umar, by God, I hope that
Godhas singledyououtbyHisprophet'scall,forbut lastnight l heard
him saying, "0 God, strengthen Islam by Abu' l-l;lakam b. HisMm or by
'Umar b. al-KhanAb." Come to God, come to God, 0 'Umar.' At that n'7
'Umar said, 'Lead me to Muhammad so that I may acce pt Islam.' Khabblibrepliedthathewasinahouseatal-$aflwitha nu mbcrofhiscompanions. So'Umutookhisswordandginiton,andmadefortheapostle
and hiscompaniona, and knocked on the door. When they heard his
voiceoneofthecompanionsgotupandlookedthroughachinkinthedoor,
and when he u.w him girt with his aword, he went back to the apostle in
fear,andsaid,'ltis'Umarwithhisswordon.' l;lamzasaid,'Letbimin; if
hehascomewithpeacefulintent,wewilltreathimwell;ifhehascomewith
ill intent, we will kill him with his own sword.' The apottle gave the word
andhewas let in. Theapostleroseandmethimintheroom,seizedhim
roundthegirdleor bythemiddleofhiscloak,anddraggedhimalong
violently,saying,'Whathasbroughtyou,tonofKhanib,forbyGod, J do
not think you will cease {your persecution) until God brings calamity
upon you.' 'Umar replied, '0 Apostle of God, I have come to you to
bdie\'e in Cod and His apostle and what he hu brought from God.' The
apostlega\ethanks toGodsoloudlythatthewholehoUJChold kne\\ that
'Umar had become a Muslim.
The companions dispersed, having become confident when both 'Umar
and l:famz:a had accepted hlam because they knew that they would protect
the apottle,andthattheywouldgctjusticcfromtheirenemiesthrough
~tC:~r~!~a~~he story of the narrators among the people of Medina about
'Abdullah b. Abii Najl~, the Mcccan, from his companions 'Ali' and
Mujilhid,orothernarrators,saidthat'Umar'sconversion,accordingto
what he used to say himself, happened thus: ' I wu far from Islam. I waa a
wincbibberintheheathenpcriod,usedtoloveitandrejoiceinit. We
used to have a meeting-place in al-I:Iuwara at which Quraysh used to
gather' near the hou~ of the family of 'Umtr b. 'Abel b. ' Imrln al- u8
MakhziimT. I went out one night, making for my bpon companions in
that gathering, but when I got there, there waa no one present, to I
thought itwouldbeagoodthingif i wenttoiOand-to,thewineseller,who
wuacllingwineinMeccaatthetime,inthehopcthat l mithtgetsomethingtodrinltfromhim, butlcouldnotfindhim either,toltbou~htit
would be a good thing if I went round the Ka'ba IeVen or seventy limes.
So l camc tothemo.quemeaningtogoroundtheKa'baandtherewasthe
apostle standing praying; ~~-~~~:~tho~:: Syria, putting the Ka'ba

,,,

Th~

Ll]t of Muhammad

between himsdf an d Syria. His stance wu between the black stone and
the southem corner. When I !l:.I.W hi m I thought it would be a good
thingifloouldlistcntoMuhammadsoastohcar'lhathcuid. If I came
neartolistcntohiml ahouldscarehim, so l camcfromthcdircctionof thc
~lj"r andgotundcrneathitscoveringsandbcgantowalkgcntly. i\'lcanwhile
the prophetwustandin gin prayerrecitingthcQur.mumil l stoodinhis
qib/afacinghim,thcrebcingnothingbetween us buttheco\"cringofthe
Ka'ba. When I heard the Quran my heart wu softened and I 11cpt, and
Islam emerM into me; but I ceased not to Stand in my place umil the
apostle had finished his prayer. Then he went away. When he went
away he used togopastthehouseofthcsonof AbU tlusayn, 11hich was
onhisway,sothathecrossedthepathwhcrcthcpilgrimsrun. T hen he
wcntbctweenthc houscof 'Abbasand lbnAzharb. 'Abdu'Aufal-Zllhri;
thcnbythehouscofAI-Akhnasb. Sharlqun tilhccntcred hisownhousc
His dwelling was in al -Diir al-Raq!ii', which was in the hands of l\lu'3wiya
b. AbU SufyAn. I continued to follow him, unti l when he got between the
house of 'Abbls and Ibn Azhar I 0\'tnook him, and when he heard my
voice he rerognized me and supposed that ! had followed him only to
ill-treathim, soherepclledme,saying,"Whathasbroughtyouatthis
houri" I replied that I hadcome tobclieve inGodandHisapostlcand
what he had brought from God. He ga\'e thanks to God and said, "God
219 has guided you." Thenhe rubbedmybreastandprayedthat I might be
:~~~ft~~ ~~~~r::ds ! left him. He went into his house.' But God knows
Nlfi' freedman of 'Abdullah b. 'Umar on the authorit y of Ibn 'Umar
u.id: When my father 'Umar became a Muslim he said, 'Which of the
Quraysh is best at spreading reports?' and was told that it was Jamil b.
Ma'mar al-J uma~l. So he went to him, and I followed after to see what he
wasdoing,foralthoughlwasveryyoungatthe timelunderstoodeverything I saw. He went to Jamiland asked him if he knew that he had become
a)\1uslimandentered intol\1uhammad'arcligion;and, by God, hardly
hadhespokentohimwhen hegot updragginghis cloakonthegroundas
'Urnar followed him and I followed my father, umil he stood by the door
ofthemosqueanderiedatthetopofhisvoice whiletheQurayshwerein
thei r meeting-places round the Ka' ba, "Umu has apostatized,' while
'Umar behind him shouted, ' He is a liar; but I hne become a Muslim
and I testify that there is no God but Allah and l\'1uhammad is His servant
and apostle.' They got up to attack him and fightingwentonbetween
themuntilthesunstoodovertheirheads,andhebecameweary and sat
down while they stood over him, as he aa id, 'Do as you will, for I swear by
Godthatifwewerethreehundredmenwev.'Ouldha\'efoughtitouton
equal terms.' AtthispointashaykhoftheQuraysh,inaYamanlrobeand
an embroidered shin , came up and stopped and inquired what was the
matter.Whenhewastoldthat'Urnarhadapostatizedheaaid,'Whyshould
notamanchooaeareligionforhimself,andwhatareyoutryingtodo?Do

Thei..Jfeof J/uhammod
youthinkthatB. 'Adiywill surrenderthcircompaniontoyouthus~Letthe
man alone.' lly God, it.wasas though t_hey wnc a garment stripped off him.'
After my fathe r had m1 grated to :\lcdma I asked him who the man was who

~;~tniJ:~:~~~~~~~:~~~~~~l::.;::~~~:~~~~:~~~~~~::~~1~Fi:
?~i;h;::;:~::~~~~~:.;:~:~:~7i::~:~!2~;,,:;.K~n:::

130

came to my mmd.' Now 'Umar's mother was l~antanu d. HishJn1 b. alMughira. Sointhe mominglknockedonhisdoor,andhecan.eoutand
said, 'The be3t of welcomes, nephew, what has brought you?' I answered

::~ ra:d~:~;: ~\~~~ ~~~t Ih~e~i=~e~r~:~~~ ~~ s%i~~~:~~d~~~

my face and said, 'God damn you, and damn what you ha\'e brought.'
THE 00CUMST PROCLAIMING A BOYCOTT

Whe~Ounll)'llhperceivedthattheapostle'acompanionshadtettled in a
land mpcaceand aafety, and that the Negus had protected those who
sought refuge with him, and that 'Umar had become a Muslim and that

~i~ti1tl
~~~~~i~ ;r.:;~~!; ~ ~;~J~~~~~d

the apostle invoked

When Quraysh. did that, the two dans of B. Hlshim and B. al-Mulf.alib

~~~:i~~E~i~~;~:~2/:~miF.~~~~E~~~~7r:~~

~eh~~fta~~~:~~ ~~~j~:z~ :!~ra~~e~~~~~~:~~ ~~=d~~~~~~~

~;7~i?:::~:~~~~:~TI =:~~~~~~~~;~!~~~
~~~~i!e'~~:~:~: ~:;~:~~::~~~;~t~~~!:t~:~~~~~
'i.e.'af.. rromovcd'.

lJI

The Life of Muhammod

Th~ Lif~

SoGodrevea1edconceminghimthewords,'AbULahabandhishands
Godblast(:IO:).''
WhenQurayah had agreed on this and had done what has just been
described,AbUTilibaaid

~:~..L~;~~~ :::::':. Lu'ayy of the BanQ Ka'b,

Did you not know that we have found Muhammad,
AprophetlikeMosesdeseribedintheoldesthoob,
Andthatloveisbestowedonhim(alone)ofmanlind
AndthatnoneisbetterthanhewhomGodhassingledoutinlove,
Andthatthewritingyouhavelixed
Willbea calamitylikethecryoftheharrmtrungcamei ?J
Awake, awake bcforethegraveisdug
Andtheblamelessandtheguiltyareasone.
Follownottheslanderers,norsever
Thebondsof lO\'eandkinshipbetween us.
DonotprO\'Okealong-dnwn-outwar,
Oftenhewhohringson~'lrtastittbittemess.

BytheLordofthetemplewewillnotgiveupAJ.tmad,
Toharshmisfortunesandtim'troubles,
!kforehandsandnecks,youn~andoun~,

ArecutbytheglcaminghladesofQuJb 1
Inaclose-hemmedbattlefieldwhereyouseebrokenspean
Andbbck-headedvu lturescir<:lingroundlikeathin~tycrowd.

Thegallopingofthehorsesaboutthescene
Andtheahoutofwarrionarelikearagingbattle.
DidnotourfatherHJshimgirduphisloins
Andteachhisaonstheswordand spearl
Wedonottircofwaruntilittireaofus;
We do not complain of misfortune when it comes.

~~e:~be ~~~:~=~~ :'~~:ror.

0

' An

atluaion 10 the camel of 5lli~ in

Q...._.iaoaidiOboamountainofB.A...t~ntaininrironminn.

~~ ~~: t~:dat t~:;,e:tf ~~e ~~~~~~~~~~~~~:~~~: ~~~~~tdt~;;~~~~~

not get at h1m, mocked and laughed at htm and d1sputed with him. The
Quran ~ to come down concerning the wickedness of Qurayah and
th~ who showed enmity to him, ~me by name and some only referred
tom general. Of those named are hi.S uncle AbU Lahab and his wife Umm
Jamil, 'thebcarcrofthewood'. Godcalledherthisbecauseahe,ao lam
told,carriedthornsandcastthemintheapostle'swaywherehewouldbc
passing. SoGodsentdownconcerningthepairofthem:
AbULahabandhishands,God blast,
Hiswealthandgainsuseleuatthelast,
He ahallroutinflames,heldfast,
Withhiswife,thebcarcrofthewood,aghast,
Onherncckaropeof~lm-librecast.(%oJ)'

They remained thus fortwoorthrecyean until they were exhausted,

nothingreachingthemexceptwhatcamefroMtheirfriendaunknownto
Qunysh.
AbU Jahl, 10 they aay, metl:faktm b.l:fizim b. Khuwaylid b. Aud with
whomwasaslavecarryingfl.ourintendedforhis auntKhadtja,theprophet'l wife, who was with him in the alley. He hung on to him and said,
'AreyoutakingfoodtotheB.HishiM?ByGod,beforeyou andyourfood
move from here I will denounce you in Mecca.' AbU'l-Bakhtarl came to
him and said, 'What is going on between you two?' When he said that
l:fakim.wastakingfoodtotheB.Hishim,hesaid:'Itisfoodhehaswhich
1 Sa<a lll

of Muhammad

;!:~~ ~~!~a:r;; ~~~ :!~ ~~~:t ~:r ~i~;~~'!:n ~ nf.u~0 :n!~~

JahlrefuseduntiltheycametobloV.-s,andAbU'l-Balthtarttookacamcl'a
jaw and knocked him down, wounded hiM, and trod on him violently,
whileJ:Iamzawulookingonnearby. Thcydidnotwishtheapoatleand
his companions to hear this news-and rejoice over their discomfiture.
Mea?while the apostle ~-~exhorting his people ~ight and day, secretly and
publicly, openly proclaumng God'a command w1thoU1 fear of anyone.

SO<a

~6.

142

I was told that Umm Jamil, the bearer of the wood, when she heard what
had come down about her and about her husband in the Quran, came to
the apostle of God, when he was sitting in the mosque by the Ka'ba with
A~U Bakr, with a atone pestle in her hand, and when she stood by the
pa.tr of them God mad~ her unable to see the apostle so that ahe aaw only
AbU Baltr and asked h1m where his companion was, 'for I have been told
thatheisaatirizingme,'andbyGod, if I hadfoundhimlwould have
smashed his mouth with this stone. By God, I am a poet.' Then t he said:
We reject the reprobate,
His words we repudiate,
Hisreligionwe loatheandhate.l
1
SGro Therhymeoftheorigi.,.lhubeen(mi,.tN

~.~f2~~~55s~~!:=E~~~~:~s!~~~
>Thioisomu,chattnnptiOr<-nderthefOUihrh,......ofU..~I.whieh-.la,.of
oewnyllabln,bJ Irlllpooincidenc:~timil"'IOU..,.unt..,.,.ofchildren

~~=:!,;.,M.::.,~

Tlu Life of Muhammtui

13+

235

ThenshewentoffandAbiiBakraskedtheapostleifhethougbtshe had
seen him. He repliedtbatshe badnotbecauseGodhadtakenhersight
awayfromhim(204).
The Quraysh had called the apostle Mudhammam to revile him. He
usedtosay,'Aren'tyouaurprisedattheinjurieaoftheQurayshwhkhGod
turns away from me? They curse me and satirize Mudhammam [reprobate]
whereas I am Mu~ammad [the laudable].'
[Another referred to in the Quran] is Umayya b. Khalaf b. Wahb b.
lludhiifa b. Juma~. Whenever he saw the apostle h<! slandered and
reviled him, so God sent down concerning him, 'Woe to e\ery slandering
backbiter, who has gathered wealth and increased it, and thinks that his
wealth will make him immortal. No, he will be thrown to the devouring
fire. What will make you realize what that ia? It is God's fire kindled which
mountso\erthehearts. ltisshutinontheminwidecolumn!I(Zos).''
Khabbab b. al-Aratt, the prophet' companion, was a smith in Mecca
who used to make swords. He 110ld some toal-'A$ b. Wi'il so that he owed
him 110me money and he came to him to demand payment. He answered,
'Does not Muhammad, your companion whose religion you follow, allege
thatinParadisethereisallthegoldandsiherandclothesandservantsthat
hispeoplecandesire?' 'Certainly,'saidKhabbib. 'Thengive metill the
dayofresurrectionuntillreturntothathouaeandpayyourdebtthere;for
by God, you and your companion will be no more influential with God
thanl,andhavenogreaterahareinit.' SoGodreve:aledconceming him,
'Uave you considered him who disbelieves Our aigns and up, 1 shall be
given wealth and children. Uath he studied the unseen ?' 110 far as the
:o:a~s; ~a;e~:e shall inherit from him what he speaks of :md he will come

Abiijahl met the apostle, so I haveheard,andsaidtohim,'ByGod,

Muhammad, you will either ltop cursing our gods or we will curse the
God you serve.' So God re\'tllledconcerningthat, 'Curse not those to
whom they pray other than God lest they cum: God wrongfully through
lackofknowledge.'l Iha,ebeentoldthattheapostlerefraincdfmmcursing
theirgods,andbegantocallthemtoAllah.
Al-NaQr b. al-J:Urith b. 'Alqama b. Kalada b. 'Abdu Manif whenever
theapostleu.tinanassemblyandinvitcdpeopletoGod,andrecitedthe
Quran, and v.':lmcd the Ouraf$h of what had happened to former peoples,
followed him when he got up and spoke to them about Rustum the Hero
and lsfandiy~r and the kings of Persia, saying, ' By God, Muhammad
cannot tell abetter story than Iandhistalkisonlyofoldfablcswhichhe
hascupicJ'as l have.' SoGodrevealcdcuncerninghim, 'And they say,
Stories ofthc ancients which he has copied down, and they are read to
su... ,.,..

a..:,~~.~ ~.;.\.,',~::',~;::a;:,';::,~;~:=:";;::'.:.::~:~~~~ """''"hin11 ..rmn oo.. nbJ

The Life of Muhammad

163

him morning and night. Say, He who knows the secrets of heaven and
earthhas~~entitdown. Verily, He is merciful, forgiving.''
And there came down concerning him, 'When Our verses are read to
himheuys,fahlesoftheancients'.'
Andagain,'WoetOC\'trysinfulliarwhoheanGod'svcnesreadbefore
him. Then hecuntinuesin pride as though he had notheardthem,as
though in his can was deafness. Tell him about a painful punishment'
(:~o6).'

Thcapostlesatoncday,so lhaveheard,withai-Walldb.al-Mughlra a36

in the mosque, and al-Na(,lrb. al-J:I~rith came and sat with them in the
assembly where some of Quraysh were. When the apostle apoke ai-NaQr
interruptedhim,andtheapostlespoketohimuntilhes.ilencedhim. Then
hereadtohimandtotheothen:'Verilyyeandwhatyeserveotherthan
Godisthefuclofhell. Youwillcometoit. Ifthesehadbeengodsthey
would not ha\'e cume to it, but all will be in it everlastingly. There it
wailingandtheretheywillnothear'(:~cry).J

Thcntheapostleroseand'Abdullahb.al-Ziba'rial-Sahmlcameand
utdown. AI-Waliduid to him: 'By God al-Na(,lrcuuld not stand up to
the (grand)son of 'Abdu'l-Munalib just now and Muhammad alleged
that we and our gods are fuel for hell.' 'Abdullahsaid: 'lf I had found
him 1 .would ha~e refuted ~im. Ask Muhammad, "Is everything which is
wonh1pped best des God m Gehenna with those who wonhip it?" We
worship the angels; the Jews worship 'Uzayr; and the Christians worship
Jesus Son of Mary.' AJ-Walid and those with him in the assem bly nu.rvelledat'Abdullah'swordsandthoughtthathehadarguedoonvincingly.
When the apostle was told of this he id: 'Everyone who wishes to be "'J7
worshipped to the exclusion of God will be with those who worship him.
They worship only tans and those they have ordered to be wonhipped.'
SoGodre\ealedcuncemingthat'Ttiotewhohavereceivedkindnessfrom
usinthepastwill berem(wed far from it and will not hear its sound
andtheyabideetemallyintheirhean'adesire','i.e.JeausSonofMaryand
'Uuyr and those rabbis and monks who have lived in obedience to God,
whom the erring people wonhip as lords beside God. And He revealed
concemingtheiraastrtionthattheywonhipangelsandthattheyarethe
daughtenofGod,'AndtheysaytheMercifulhaschosenason,(ualted

:r~~ ~'::~~~~~~j,~e;.;~ !~tt ~~n===~~~'7.~ !ot~:::::,

'and he of them who says, 1 am God as well as He, that one we shall repay
withGehenna. Thusdotheyrepaythesinfulones.'

~~~id::ett~~:~::~~~;a~~~e:~?~;~::~::;~~~~!E:~:~~~~~
' SC.ro8J. Il
'Solnoal.'}ll.
1 Sura~'" a6-JO.

The Life of Muhammad

16

Tht Lift of Muhammad

when Jesus, Son of Mary, was cited as an example thy people laughed
thereat';' i.e.theyrejectedyouraUitudetowhlr.ttheyuy.'
Then He mentions Jesus, Son of Mary, and says, 'He was nothing but a
slave to whom We showed fa\our and made him an example to the children
of Israel. If We had wished We could have made from you angels to act
asvice-regentsintheeanh. Verily,thereisknowledgeofthe [last] hour,
10doubt not aboutitbutfollowMe. Thisisanuprightpath,' i.e. the
aigmwhichigavehiminraisingthedeadandhealingthesick,thereinis
auffidentproofoftheknowledgeofthehour. Hesaya:'Doubtnotabout
it, but follow Me. Thisisanuprightpath.'
Al-Akhnas b. Shlr.riq b. 'Amr b. Wahb al-Thaqafi, ally of B. Zuhra, was
oneoftheleadenofhi.speoplewhowulistenedtowithrespect,andhe
usedtogi,etheapostlemuch troubleandcontradicthim,toGodaent
:138 downabouthim:'Donotobeyeveryfbleoathtaker,slanderer,wallr.ing
aboutwitheviltales,'asfarastheword';:ranim'.J
Hedidnotsay::animin the.enseof'ignoble'toinsult his ancestry,
beeauseGoddoesnotin.sultanyone'aanceatry,buthecoofirmedthereby
the epithet given to him 110 that he might be known. Zanim means an
adopted member of the tribe. Al-Khalim al-TamTmi said in pagan days:
An outsider whom men invite as a supernumerary
Asthelegsareuseleuadditionstothewidthofapelt.
AI- \Valid said; 'Does God send down revelations to Muhammad and
ignore me, the greatest chief of Qurayah, to say nothing of Abti MaaUd
'Amr b. 'Umayr al..IJ'haqafi, the chief ofThaqif, we being the great ones of
Tl'if and Mecca?' So God sent down concerning him, 110 I am told,
'Theyaaid,ifthisQuranhadbeenrevealedtoagreatmanofthetwotowns,'
ufarasthewords,'thanwhattheyamass'. 4
Ubayy b. Khalaf b. Wahb b. l;ludhtfa and 'Uqba b. Abii l\1u'a)'1 were
veryel0$Cfriends. Now'Uqbahadsatandlistenedtotheapostleandwhen
Ubayyknewofthatheeametohimandsaid,'Doihearthatyouhaveut
with Muhammad and liMened to him? I swear I will neve r act you or
speaktoyo~~;again(and he sworeagreatoath)ifyoudothesameagain ,

orifyoudonotgoandspitinhiafaee.' 'Uqba,theenemyofGod,actually
did this, God curse him. So God sent down concerning the pair of them,
su.. 4l57
'Adillicultph~. $..,U.,withthepr<pOoitioo>,.;mnno"tolo"11himmod~nt~lyocto

rno.kcoloudnoi.oc'.With'itmano'totumowoyf"""'Buu.e.ttropre~U....oore
ofteninterchan(<'ob~.tbnlobJ.q"ouplanltionofthe~O.th.otthefoctthatChriotlano
pnytojn~&~ionojuoti!icaU....foc thepolytheiomoftheMeuano.aothelottcoco~.foc
Chriotianoprrvertcdthemcs~~~re J tiUib~t.Wb<nJn~&~O.odducedaoonuomple(of
OMwhoa~llcdone-ilpooopl<toGod)thcMeuansrejectcdMuhamm.d'oottitud~IOWirdo
himinwh.attheyoaid;hutthi.<t~~e,.,..O.ionot-.nd.TheS\lnioprrfeclly-"kntin

ohowin,howpropj>eto ..ereM:ntroenilll!pcoplnondwerela.,.he<Joo.Cf..47'The
MO<noloushwhenjeouoO.mtnlioncdben.UMhio.,...nhip.......,ld&miOj~&~tifytheir

woro.hippiniM:"<'ralro<fo.ThedtotionwhichfollowoohowlwhereinMuh.orrunod"oopinion
j~[~~~~~~~~!':: ;!~":~~he ruo.lins y..,..Jd_ (ooNlfl', l. 'Amir, ondoi-Kio.l"l)

165

'Onthedaythatthesinnerbite:shishands,s.aying,wouldthatihadchosen
apathwiththeapostle,'asfarasthewords'adesenerofmen'.'
Ubayytooktotheapostleanoldbonc,crumblingtopieees,andaaic.
'Muhammad,doyouallegethatGodcanrevi\'ifythi.safterithasdeeayedl'
Thenhecrumbleditinhishandandblewthepieceaintheapostle'tface. aJ 9
The apostle answered: 'Yes, I do say that. God will raise it and you, after
you have become like this. Then God will send )"OU to Hell.' So God
re\'ealedconcerninghim,' Hegaveuaparable,andheforgotthat hewu
created, saying, who will revivify bones which are rotten I Say, He who
gave them life in the lint instance will re,ivify them. He who knows about

:~~~~~~~~ ~!:hi~':Uade for you fire from the green wood, and lo, you
There met the apostle, as he wu going round the Ka'ha, so I have been
told,J Al-Aawad b. ai-Muttalib b. Asad b. 'Abdu'J.'Uzzt and a!-\Valid b.
al-Mughira and Umayya b. Khalaf and al' As b. \Vi'il al-Sahml, men of
replllationamongtheir people. They said: 'Muhammad, come let us
worship what you worship, and you worship what we worship. You and
we will combine in the matter. If what you worship is better than whlr.t
we worship we will take a share of it, and if what we worship is better than
what you worship, you can take asharcofthat.' So God revealed concerning them, 'Say, 0 disbelien:rs, I do not worship what you worship,
and you do not worship what I worship, and I do not worship what you
worship, and you do not worship what I worship; you have your religion
and I have mine,' i.e. If you will only worship God on condition that I
v."Onhip what you worship, I have no nd of you at all. You can hlr.ve your
religion,allofit,andiha\emine
(T. Now the apostle was anxious for the welfare of his people, wishing T. 1192
toattractthemasfarashecould. It~asbeenmentionedthathelongedfor
awayto2ttractthem,andthemethodheadoptedi.swhatibnl:lamidtold
me that Salama Pid M. b. lshlq told him from Ystid b. Ziyad of Medina
from M. b. Ka'b ai-Qura~i: When the apostle aaw that his pwple turned
their back.t on him and he was pairied by their tftrangemcnt from what he
brought them from God he longed that there should come to him from
God a menage that wou ld reconcile his people to him. Because of his
lo\e for his people and his anxictyo\'er them it would delight him if
the obltacle that made his task 110 difficult could be remo\ed;so that
he meditated on the project and longed for it and it wu dear to him. Then
Godaentdown'Bythestarwhenitsets)"Ourcomradcernnotandi.snot
decehed, he speaks not from his own desire,' and when he reached His
~"Orda'Ha\'eyout houghtofal-Llltandal-'Utd.andManltthethird,the

other', 1 Satan,whenhewasmeditatinguponit,anddesiringtobringit

~~~~~;:~~~f.!~~.:~;r.:2~~~i~:E:

The Life of Muhammad

,,,

came from God, Quraysh said: 'Muhammad has repented of what he said
about thepositionofyourgodswithAllah,altereditandbroughtiOmething else.' Now those two wo rds which Satan had put upon the apostle's
tongue wen: in the mouth of every polytheist and they became more
violentlyhostile totheMuslims andthe apostle'sfollowen. l\l eanwhile
thoseofhUoompanionswhohadleftAbyssiniawhentheyheardthatthe
peopleofMecca hadacceptedlslamwhentheyprostratedthemseln:with
theapostle,heardwhentheyapproachedMeccathatthen:portwufalse
andnonecameintothetownwithoutthepromiseofprotectionor secretly.
Of those who did come into Mecca and stayed there until he migrated to
Medina and were present at Badr 1'<-ilh him was 'Uthmln b. ' AfU.n .. with
hi wife Ruqayyad.oftheapostleand AbU f:l ud hayfa b. 'Utbawith his
wifeSahlad.ofSuhayl,andanumberofothers,inallthirty-threemen.'
AbU j ahl b. Hishim, when God mentioned the tree of al-ZaqqUm to
strike terror into them, nid: '0 Qurayah, do you know what the tree of
al-ZaqqUm with which Muhammad wou ld scare you is?' When they nid
that they did not he said: "It is Yathribdattll buttered. By Allah, if we
get hold of them we will gulp them down in one!' So God sent down ooncerninghim,'Verilythetreeofal-ZaqqUmisthefoodofthesinnerlike
mohenbrassseethingintheirbellies likeboilingwater,''i.e.itilnOtashe
said (2o8). Godrevealedconceming it,'Andthetreewhichiscursedin
the Quran; and We will frighten th em, but it increases them in naught
savegn:atwickedntll!l.'l
AI-Wal!d was having a long oonvenation with the apost le who greatly
de~~ired to convert him to hlam when I. Umm MaktUm, a blind man,
passedbyandbegantoasktheapoatletorecitetheQuran. The prophet
foundthishardtobearanditannoyedhim,becausehewasdivertinghim
from a\-Walid andspoilingthechanceof hisoon\"enion;andwhen the
man became importunate he went off frowning and left him. So GOO
revealed concerning him, ' He frowned and turned his back when the
blind man came to him' as far as the words 'in boob honoured, exalted,
andpurified',i.e. l sentyouonlytobeanenngelistanda reprover; l did
not specifyon epcrsontotheexclusionofanother,towithholdnot(the
message) from him who St.-cks it, and do not waste time O\'er one who does
not want it (~OC)).
Til f. RET U RN OF THO S E WHO HAD FLI!O TO ADYSS I NIA

The apostle's companions who h~d gone to Abyssinia heard that the
Meccans had accepted l ~lam and they set out for the homeland. But when
theygotnea rMeccathey leamedthatthereportwasfalse,ao thatthey
1 AporoUdtn.dilioofrom M. b. Ko'boi-Quno;iond M. b.Qoyoiogh~nbyT. 1195-6.
'S~t:o444l Suhoyli.p. ll, huonint~.-ntinKnotototbcdftth.allhiowordioof

Vo m;~~~i~~J~nd th.at there it mconoonythinlJ ..-hich couoe: -;'()~~~

10

The Lift of Muhammad

enteredthetownuoder theprotectionofacitiunorbystealth. Someof
those who returned to him stayed in Mecca until they migrated to Medina
and were present at Badrand Ul)udwiththeapost1e;otherswereshut
away from the prophet until Badr and other events were passed; and
othendiedinMec:ea. They were:
From B. 'Abdu Shama b. 'Abdu Manlf b. ~yy: 'Uthman b. 'Affln
b. AbU'l-'J\.t b. Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams and his wife, the apostle'a
daughterRuqayya;AbUl;ludhayfab.'Utbab.Rabi'aandhiswifeSahlad.
Suhaylb.'Amr;andoneoftheirallies'Abdullahb.Jal)shb. Ri'lb.
From B. Naufal b. 'AbdU Manlf: 'Utba b. Ghuwin, an ally of thein
fromQaysb.'Aylln.
From B. Asad b. 'Abdu'l-'U.zzl b. Q~yy: al-Zubayr b. ai-'AwwW
b. Khuwaylidb.Asad.
From B. 'Abdu'J.Oar b. Qupyy: Mufab b. 'Umayr b. Hbhim b.
'AbduManlf;andSuwaybifb.Sa'db. l;larmala
From B. 'Abd b. Outayy: Tulayb b. 'Umayr b. Wahb.
From D. Zuhra b. Killb: 'Abdu'I-RaJ.lmln b. 'Auf b. 'Abdu 'AUf
b. 'Abd b. al-l;llrith b. Zuhra; and al-Miqdld b. 'Amr an ally, and
'Abdullahb.Mu'Udalsoanally.
From B. MakhzUm b. Yaqqa: AbU Salama b. 'Abdu'l-Asad b. Hill!
b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr with his wife Umm Salama d. AbU Umayya b.
a+a ai- Mughlra; and Shammu b. 'Uthmln b. al-Sharid b. Suwayd b.
Harmly b. 'Amir; and Salama b. Hishlm b. al-Mughira whom his uncle
imprisonedinMec:easothathedidnotgettoMedinauntilafterBadr
and UQud and the Trench; 'Ayybh b. AbU Rabra b. al-Mughlra. He
migratedtoMedinawiththeprophet,andhistwobrothersonhismother'a
aide fotlowed him and brought him back to Mecca and held him there until
thethreebattletwereover. Their nametwereAbUJahl andal-l;llrith,tons
of Hish~m. Of thei r alliet 'Ammlr b. Ybir, though it is doubted whether
hewenttoAbyssiniaornot;andMu'attibb.'Aufb.'Amirb.Khuzl'a.
From B. Jumal:t b. 'Amr b. Hupys b. Ka'b: 'Uthmln b. Mafiin b.
l;labibb.Wahbb.l;ludhlfaandhiasonai-Sl'ibb.'Udunln;andQudlma
b. M~'Un; ~d 'Abdullah b. M~'iin.
From B. Sahm b. 'Amr b. HUJ1}1 b. Ka'b: Khunays i>. l;ludhMa b.
Qays b. 'Adiy; and Hishlm b. al-'At b. Wl'il who was impri5oned in

~~=b::;:. ~~:~~~~:~e~~ed to Medina until he turned up after the

wi~~Y: ~~16'u ~~~:! ~~:d~if~~~i~~~~i~~f their allies, with his

From B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy: 'Abdullah b. Makhrama b. 'Abdu'l-'Uzzl
b. AbU Qays; Abdullah b. Suhayl b. 'Amr. He wu held back from the
apostle of God when he emigrated to Medina until when the battle of
Badr wujoinedhedesertedthepolytheistsandjoinedthebattleonthe
side of the apostle. AbU Sabra b. AbU Ruhm b. 'Abdu'I-'Uzzl with hit
wife Umm KulthUm d. Suhayl b. 'Amr; Sakrii.n b. 'Amr b. 'Abdu Shams

Tht Lift

r,J Muhammad

169

w1th hi wife Sauda d. Zama'a b. Qays. He died in Mecca before the

apostle emigrated and the apostle married his widow Sauda. Lastly
Sa'db.Khaul.a,oneoftheirallies.
From B. 1-l;l~rith b. Fihr: Abii 'Ubayda b. al-JsrrlQ whose name~.,.
'Amir b. 'Abdullah; 'Amr b. al-l;lirith b. Zuhayr b. AbU Shaddld;
Suhayl b. Bayc;ll' who was the son of Wahb b. Rabi'a b. Hill!; and 'Amr
b. AbU Sarh b. Rabi'ab.Hilii.l.
The total number of his cOmpanions who came to Mecca from Abyssinia
wu thirty-three men. The names gi\en to us of those who entered under

~~~~~h~~;.o~~~ ~~~~n;::: :;o~=~~nor~~C:T!~~ ;~-::al~d h?~

unde,AbUSalama'smotberbeingBarrad.'Abdu'l-Munahb.
'UTHMAN B. MA~'ON RENOUNCES Al-WALID'S PROTECTION

!]llil) b. lbrlhlm b. 'Abdu'I-Ral)mln b. 'Auf told me from one \\ho had

~t~~i~r:~;~~~~~,~~~:~;:nesn ~.~~h~i~g\~~~;,~=d t~~g~i~~~

dayunderal-Walld'sprotection hesaid,'It.ismorethan l ~anbearthat

I shouldbeperfectlysafeunderthe protect!On of a polythC!Stwhile my

friends and co-religionists are afflicted and distressed for God's sake.'
Sohewenttoal-Walidandrenouncedhisprotection. 'Why, nephew,'
he asked, 'Can it bethatoneofmypeople hu injured you1' 'No,' he
answered, 'but I want to be under God's protection: I don't want to ask
fornyoneelse'a.' Al-Walidaskedhimtocometothemosqueandrenouncehisprotectionpubliclyashehadgi\enitpublicly. Whenthe~got
thereal-Walidsaid:"Uthmlnherehascometorenouncemyprotectlon.'
'True,' said the latter, ' I have found him loyal and honourable in his
protection, but I don'twanttoask anyone but God for protection; so

~~:~g ;;E;:~i f:~rw~!;z~~~u\~~: ~;

EnrythingbutGodisvain,
True! interjected 'Uthmin; but when he went on
Andeverything loVelymustinevitablycnse,
'Uthmln cried, 'You lie! The joy of Paradise will never cease.' l..abid
aaid: '0 menofQurayshyour friends never used to be annoyed thus.
Sincewhenhasthissortofthinghappenedamongyou?'Oneoftheaudience
antwered: 'This is one of those louts with Muhammad. They hne abandoned our religion. Takenonoticeofwhatheaays.' 'Uthmlnobjccted
:

~?:~~::i~~J ~~a~~e i~:~:rc~C:m1~:r:~:Ca'!~e~:r.n ~:~. ~~~Vr~

3-43

The l4e of ll, fuhammad

canbeaiventnq<i"i,..Prnumably'thelti'bofAbilTi lib,odelileofthem<>untoino where

thepro~tin~rocUofAbil.Quboyo p...,...dupcnthe<&Otomoutskirtsofthedty. It woo
entued from the town by o narrow alley c:lo$r<l by o low pteWIIy throu~h which o come]
eouldpauwithdifficulty.Onollotherlliduitwudetachedbyclilfoondbuildinp.' Muir,
T!wL4fcojM..M"'71Uid,9Jf
1
Thio otltementimplicothatoome otleO$t OftheQuronwao writtendo..-nbeforethc
hijro.Howner,9grg'o,...ynotrtRonmonotlu.n'recite".

The L1Je of Muhommod

147 'Do you a what this lout has done to me?' He replied, 'You have done it
to yourselfl' Meanwhile he was saying three times '0 Lord bow longsuffering Thou art!'
TH ANNULLING OF TH BOYCOTT

The B. H:lshim and the B. al-Munalib were in the quartcn which Qurayah
had agreed upon in the document they wrote, when a number of Quraysh

~:1k t~:~ ~~~~~:'lb~h~:;~~t. af:!n:~ct~:~:t~~~ ~o;'~.:o~:r:ou:l:/~

brother to NaQia b. Hbhim b. Abdu Manaf by his mother and was

clotelyanachedtotheB.Hishim. Hcwashighlyestcemedbyhispeople.
l haveheardthatwhenthcaetwoclanawereintheirquartcrheusedto
hringacamelladenwithfoodbynightandthenwhenhehadgotittothe
mouthofthealleyhetookoffitshalter,pvcitawhackonthcaide,and
sent it into the alley to them. He would do the same thing anothe r time,
bringingclothesforthcm.
He went to ~uhayr b. AbO Umayya b. al-Mughira whose mother wa~
'Atika d. 'Abdu'I-MunaJib and said: 'Are you content to cat food and wear
clothes and marry women while you know of the condition of your maternal
uncles~ They cannot buy or aell, marry, nor give in marriage. By God I
awcar that if they were the uncles of Abil'l-l;lakam b. Hiahlm and you
asked him to do what he hu asked you to do he would never agree to it '
He said, 'Confound you, Hishlm, what can I do? 1 'm only one man. By
a,.S Godiflhadanotherm.antobackme Jwouldsoonannulit.' He said,
' I have found a man. Myself.' 'Find another,' said he. So Hishll.m went
to al-Mufim b. 'Adiy and said, 'Are you content that two clans of the B.
'Abdu Manlfahould perish while you look on consenting to followQurayah?
You will find that they will soon do the same with you.' He made the same
reply as Zuhayr and demanded a fourth man, 10 Hishll.m went to AbO '1Bakhtart b. Hiabim who :~~ked for a fifth man, and then to Zama'a b.
al-Aawad b. al-Mutlalib b. Aaad and reminded him of their kinship
and duties. He asked whether others were willing to co-operate in this
task and he gave him the names of the others. They all arranged to meet at
J;)ightonthcncarestpointofal-}:lajiinaboveMecca,andtheretheybound
thcmsclvestotakeupthequestionofthedocumcntuntilthcyhadserored
ita annulment. Zuhayrclaimedtherighttoactandspeakfint. Soon the
morrow when the people met together Zuhayr dad in a long robe went
roundtheKa'basevcntimes;thenhecameforward andsaid :'Opeopleof
Mecca, arewetoeatandclotheourselveswhi\ethe B. l-l:lshim perish,
unablctobuyorsell1ByGod lwillnotsitdownuntilthiscvilboycotting
document' ia tom up\' AbO Jab!, who was at the side of the mosque,
exclaimed, 'You lie by Allah. It shall not be tom up.' Zama'a said, 'You
arc a greater liar; we were not 53tisfied with the document when it was
writtcn'.AbU1-Bakhtatlsaid,'ZarN'aiaright. Wearenot sati1fied with

Tltt L1]t of Muhammad

what is written and we don't hold with it.' AI-Mufim said, 'You are both
rightandanyonewho sayaothcrwi.seisaliar. WctakeAIIahtowitneuthat
we dissociate ourselves from the whole idea and what is written in the document.' Hishim spoke in the same acnae. Abii Jahl said: 'This is a matter :149
which has been decided overnight. It has been discussed somewhere
else.' Now Abii Tilib was sitting at the side of the mosque. When aiMu)'im went up to the document to tear it in pieces he found that worma
had already eaten it except the words 'In Thy name 0 Allah'. (T. This T 1198
was the customary formula with which Quraysh began their writing.)
ThewriterofthedecdwasMan,iirb.' l krima. ltisallegedthathishand
hri,elled(:ua).
When the deed was tom up and made of none effect Abii T:ilib com~~~~t following verses in praise of those who had taken part in the

=.

HasnotourLord'sdoingcometotheearsofthoae
Fardistantacrossthesea' (forAI\ahisverykindtomen),
Tellingthemthatthedcedwastomup
Andallthatwasapi!UtGod'wishhadbeendestroyed?
Liesandsorccrywerecombinedinit,
Butsorceryne\ergetatheupperhand

~~~= ;';:~~~;~~~~ ~':n~n7o~~~d:~~~~h~ ~:~~.!n a remote place

Itwassuchaheinousoffencethatitwouldbefitting
Thatbecauseof ithandsandncebthouldbesevered
AndthatthepeopleofMeccashouldgoforthandftce,
Theirheartsquakingforfearofcvil
And the ploughman be left in doubt what to doWhcthcrtogodowntothe\owlandoruptothehillsAndanarmycomeupbetweenMecca'ahills
Equippedwithbows,arrows,andapcars.
l-leofMecca'scitizc:nswhoaepowcrrises
(l..etllimlr.now)thatourgloryinMecca'avaleisolder.
\Ve grew up there when men were few
And ha\'eeverwaxe6greatin honour and reputation.
Wefcedourgueststilltheylea\'eadishuntasted
WhenthchandsofthemaysirplayenwouldbegintotrcmbJe.
Godre\.\-ardthepeopleinal-f:lajiinwhosworeallegiance4

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

To a chief who leads with decision and wisdom,
Siuingbythenearsideofal-l:lajiinuthoughprinces,
Naytheyareevenmorenoblcandglorious.
E1eryboldmanhelpedthercin
Cladinmailtolongthatitlowcdhisstride,
Runningto'portentousdeedt
Likeaflameburninginthetorchbcarer's hands.
Thenoblestof Lu'ayyb.Gh3lib'sline
When they an: wrongW their facn show their anger.
Withlongcordtohissword halfhisshankhare.
ForhissakcthccloudsgiverainandblC"SSing.
Princesonofprin~ofprincelyhospitality

Gatheringandurgingfoodonhisguests
Buildingandprcparingaafctyforthctribcsmcn
Whcnwewalkthroughtheland
Evcryblamclcssmankcptthispcacc.
Agreatleadcr,thcrcwashepraised.
Thcyaccomplishedthcirworkinanight
Whilcothcrsalcpt;inthcmorningtheytookthcirease.
ThcysentbackSahlb.Bai.;la'wcllpleased
AndAbUBakrandMuhammadrcjoicedthereat.
Whenha\'COthcrsjoincdinourgreatcxploits,
From of old ha,cweahown eachothcraiTcction?
Nc1crhan:weapprovcdinjusti~.

Wegotwhatwewantcdwilhout\'iolencc:.

0 men of Qu~yy, won't you consider,

)'OU want what will befall you tomorrow?
Foryouandlareasthcwordsofthcsaying:
'Youha,cthccxplanationifyoucouldonlyspcak,OAswad.''
l)Q

Mourningal-Mu!'imb.'Adiyandmentioninghisstandingcttingthe
decdannullcd,l:lass5nb.Thabi tcomposcdthcfollowing:J
WecpOcyethcpcople's leader,begenerous withthytears.
Utheyrondry,thcnpouroutblood.
Moumthelcadcrofboththepilgrimsitesl
To whom men owe gratitude so long u they tan speak.
Hglorycouldimmortalizcan)'One
'Or'dri"1!'
'c....,..,.noo..,.,uploinohotAowodiothen~m~ofamountainonwhichadeodmon..,...
foundondthercwonotndicanonofhiomunlo..,r, Ther<lativnodduuedthemounuoin
intheword ojuotqootN,.hichf>o....,oprov.rl:t
' So Dntlf~ of u~..,I. . Tltlfbol, N. Hon ... i.g Hino:hfold (Gibb 111........,;.1 ~rin), London, 1910, J f, Th~ \'~nion (li\'Cn the.., it Mdly ot foU!t, bUt the lUI in line~ tr~-rahHJt4
oyntocticolly,thou,hn<>trnctri <ally,omiotokoforr~~1fllf(iMtndof l.l .'olil~ylti-r)io

righo:,. .. pforthelordondmottorofthetwo .. nctuori ..', Cf.A,h.iii.6,t.J(citedby

Lomm<no, I:Ar~IH otritlt~lalt, lkirut, 1916, p. 6): 'the hurryinR botwO<n the two
mooh'on'. l.IL ,thou~h hedcninthot 1.1. ,.-rote 'both',foilo toqoottthtriaht r~odi"i'

Hisglorywouldhave keptMufimalhetoday.
YouprotectedGod'sapostlefromthcmandthcybecame

~h{ :!~~ :di'Q~~ma:~ caji :~~~and don the pilgrim garb.

Of j urhumwen:askedabouthim
Theywouldaayhefaithfullypcrforms hisdutytoprotect
Andifhem.a.kesacovenanthefulfilsit.
Thebrightaunabo\ethemdoesnotshine
Onagn:aterandnoblerthanhe;
Moreresoluteinrefusingyetmostlenientinnature,
Sleeping soundly on the darkest night though responsible for his
guest(2 1J).
of Ii~a;:~~ said in praise of Hisham b. 'Amr for his part in the matter
lstheprotectionoftheBanU Umayyaabond
Astrustworthyaguarantecasthatofl l ishim?
Suchasdo notbctraytheirprotege.
Ofthelineofal-l:larith b. tlubayyib b. Su kh ~m.
When theBanOI:Iislgrantprotection
Thcykeeptheirwordandtheirprotegc! lil'essccurcly.
ALTUFAYLB.'AIIIRAL-OAUSJACCF.t'TSISLAl\1
ln spitcofhispcople'abehaviourtheapostlewascontinually giving them
good counsel and preaching salvation from their evil state. When God
protected him from them they began 10 warn all new-comen against him
Al-'j'ufaylusedtosaythathecametol\1eccawhenthcapostlcwasthere
and tome of the Quraysh immediately came up to him. (lie was a poet
of atandingandanintelligentman.) Theytoldhimthatthisfellowhad
donethcmmuchharm;haddividedtheircommunityandbrokenupits
unity; 'infact hetalb likeasorcerer separatingamanfromhisfather,his
brother,orhiswife. WeareafraidthathcwillhavethesameeiTectonyou
andyourpeoplc,sodon'tspc:aktohimor listcntoawordfromhim.'
Theywcrewinsistentthatldecidednottolistentoawordortospeak
to him and I went so far u to stuff colton in my cars when I went to the
mosque fearing that I might overhear a word or two against my will.
\VhenlgottothcmosquetherewastheapostleofGodstandingatprayer
by the Ka'ba,so ! stood near him. Godhaddecrecdthat !should hear
tomcthingofhisspeeehand lheardabcautiful saying. So l aaidtomysclf,
'God bless my soul! Here am I, an intelligent man, a poet, knowing pcrfectlywcllthediiTcrcncc:bctweengoodandcvil,sowhatis topre\'entme
~~m. listening to w~at this man U saying 1 If it is good I shall ac~pt it;
1f 11 ~ hatl I shall reJect it.'
I atayed until the apostle went to his house and I followed him and

Tj6

n, 14, of Muhumm~J

Tht Lift of Muh~mm~J

he said, '0 God, guide Daus! Go back to your people and preach to them
gently.' I continuedinthcOauscountrycallingthcmto lslamuntilthe
apostle migrated 10 Medina and_Badr, Ui}ud, and The Trench were passed.
T hen I went to the apostle with my converts while he wu in Khaybar. I
arri\ed at Medina with aen:nty or eighty households of Daua, and then we
~ii;:~h~h; a~~:.in Khaybar and he gave us an equal share of the booty

I remained with the apostle unTil God opened Mecca to him and then
I asked him to send me to burn Dhii'l-Kaffayn,' the image of 'Amr b.
l;lumama. Ashelitthefirehes.aid:
Notofyourservantsami,DhU'I-Kaffayn,
Ourbinhisfarmoreancientthanlhine.
Tostuffthisfireinyourheanlpine.
He returned to Medina to the apostle and remained with him until
God took him. When the Anbs revolted he sided with the Muslims and
fought with them until they disposed of Tulay~a and the whole of Najd.
Then he went with the Muslims to the Yamlma with his son 'Amr, snd
while on the way he u w a vision of which he told his companions asking
for an interpretation. 'I uw my head had been sha\'ed and a bird wu
coming out of my mouth and a woman met me and took me into her womb,
and I saw my son seeking me anxiously; then I saw him withheld from me.'
They uid that they hoped it would pro\e a good omen, but he went on to
say that he himself would provide the interpretati~n of it,- The shaving ~f
his head meant that he would lay it down; the btrd wh1ch flew from his
mouth was his spirit; and the woman who received him into her ""'Omb
wu the tanh which would be opened for him and he would be hidden
therein;hisson'sninsearchforhimmeantthathewouldtrytoattain :ass
what he had attained. He was slain as a martyr in ai-Yam.ii.ma while his
son was se\'erely wounded and rCQl\:Cred later. He wu actually killed
in the year of the Yanniik in the time: of 'Umar, dying as a manyr (a16).
THE AFFAIR OF THE IRA SHITE WHO SOLD HI S CAMEL;!
TOAB0JAHL

:::~f.~;;:~t.~;:!:"~~~?:~~::~~~E~;~;;;;

~~~~1vf;:;;~~::;~;.;;;;:;;;;

:!i<~~:~s:~n!~f~~-ns';..~ !~"!:nf~:'~~r=.~~ ~.....u;-,:::.":i.:::

De.pite Abu Ja~l's hoetility, hatred, and violence towards the apostle
God humiliated him before him whenever he saw him.
I was told by 'Abdu'l-Mslik b. 'Abdullah b. AbU Sufy.ii.n al-ThaqaO
who had a good memory: A man from lrbh (:z09) brought tome camels of
his to Mecca and AbU Jahl bought them from him. He kept back the
money,sothemancametotheusemblyof~rayshwhentheapost.le

wu sitting at the side of the motque and

sa~d:

'Who among you wtll

:~:":~~;g~~;;;;~:~~~~=.f~::.~~~:':~~~~mbe~n~~~~~b~.:"~

3$7

,,,

Th~

The Life of Muhammad

stnnger, a wayfarer, and he will not pay his debt.' They said: 'Do you ~e
thatman sini ngthere?'pointingtotheaposde.(ln factthcywerem.alu ng
game of him for they knew quite well of the enmity between him and AbU
Jahl.) 'Go to him. He'llhclpyoutoyourright.'
So the man went and stoodoverthe aposdeandsaid, '0 Servant of
God, AbU'I-l;lakam b. ll iah5m has withheld the money he owes me;. I am
1

1;o

Life of Muhammad

calleditand itadvanceduntilitstoodbcforetheapostle. Then he said,

"Rttiretoyourplace,'anditdidiiO
Then Ruklna went to his people the B. 'Abdu Mann and told them that
thtirtribesmanoouldoompetewithanysorcercrintheworld,forhehad
neverJetnsuchiiOrceryinhis life, andhewentontotcllthcmofwhatht
hadseenandwhatMuhammadhaddone.

:..:~f:~~ a::~~~~:~ ~g~t ;te~h:~a;:~ ;-~u~::~::~n~:~;

from him, God bless )'Ou.' He uid, Go to him,' and the aposde got up
and went with him. When they saw this, the men said to one of their
number, ' Follow him.' The apostle went to his hou5e and knocked on the
door, and when he asked who was there he said, 'Muhammad! Come out to

me.' He came out to him pale with agitation, and the apostle said, ' Pay
this man his due.' 'One moment unti l I give him his monty,' he said,
and went indoor. and camt out again with the amount he owed and paid it
to the man. The apottlt went away saying, 'Go about your busines&.'
The lrbhitt went back to the gathering and said, '!\lay God reward him,
forhehasgotmtmydut.'
Then the m.antheyhad sent after them ca me back and reported what
1s8 he had seen. 'ltwasextraordinary,'htBaid;'hehadhardlyknockedonthe
door whenouthecamebreathle!llwithagitation,' andherelatedwhathad
been said. Hardlyhadhedone 110when :\bU Jahlhirnselfcameupand
thcysaid:"\\'hatC\"t rhashappened,mani\Ve'vencvcrseenanythinglikt
what you've done.' 'Confound you,' he said ; 'By God as soon as he
knockedonmydoorand lheard hisvoicelwasfilledwithterror. And
when I wt nt out to him there was a camel stallion towering above his head.
l ',encverlttnauchaheadanUshou lden~andauchteethona stallion

before. ByGod,ifl'drtfusedtopayuphewouldha,eeatenme.''

RUt.:ANA AL~tUTTAL I BI WR~STLES W ITII THE APOSTLE

;\ly bthcr lsl)~q b. Yasir told me aaying: RuUna b. 'Abdu Yazid b.

l l:ishim b. ' t\hdu"l-l\lunalib b. 'A bdu Manlf was the strongest man among
Qu!lll)"1h,andonedayhemettheapostleinoneoftht passcsofl\lecca
alone: 'Ruk~na,'said he, 'whywon't)oufearGodandaca:pt my preaching?' ' If I knew that what you say is true I wou ld follow you,' he said.
The apost lcthenaskedhim ifhewouldreoogniu:thathes~kcthc truth

if he threw him, and when he said Yea they began to wrestle. and when the
apostlegotafirmgripofhimhethrew him tot heground,hebeingunable
tilofferanyeffectkereaistance. 'Doit again,!\luhammad,'hesaid,andhe
did it again. 'Thisisextraordinary,'hesaid,'eanyou really throw me?'
'I can show you 110mething mort wonderful than that if you wish. I \\ill
call this tree that you Jet and it will come to me.' "Call it,' he uid. He

While the apostle was in Mecca some twenty Christians came to him from
Abyssi nia when the)" heard news of him. They found hi m in the mosque
and ut and talked with him, asking him questions, while some Qun.ythittl were in their meeting round the Ka'ba. When they had asked all
thequestionstheywishedtheapostlein,ited thcmto oome toGodand
read the Quran to thtm. When they heard the Quro~n their e)"tl flowed
withtean1, and they accepted God's' call, belie,cd inhim,anddtdared
histruth. Thcyrecognizedinhimthethingswhichhadbeenuidofhim
inthtirscriptures. WhcntheygotuptogoawayAbUJahlwithanumber
of Quraysh intercepted them, saying, "Gvd, what a wretched band you
arcl Yourpooplcathomesentyoutobringthem information about the
fellow, andassoonasyou sat with him you renounced your religion and
bclic,edwhathesaid. Wedon'tknowamoreasinincbandthanyou,'or
words to that effect. They answered: 'Peace be upon you. We will not
engage in foolishoontroversywithyou. Wehaveou rrtligionandyou
have yours. \\'e havenotbeenremissinseekingwhatisbest.'
It is said that these Christians came from Najrln, but God knows
whether that was 110. It is also said, and again God knows best, that it was
in reference to them that the \'eT!ICS ' T hose to whom we brought the book
aforetime, they belie\'t in it. And when it is read to them they ..ay We
believe in it. Verily it is the truth from ou r Lord. Verily aforetime we
were r..Juslims,' as far as the words, 'We ha1e our works and you ha,e your
works. Peacebeuponyou;wedesirenottht ignorant.' 1
I asked Ibn Shihlbal-Zuhriabout those to whom these verses had
reference and he told me that he had alwa)'3 heard from the "learned that
theywcresentdownconcerningtheNegusandhisoompanionsandalso
the \'erses from the sUra of T he T able from the wonb 'That is because
thereareofthemp!"esbyteraandmonbandbec:ausetheyarenotproud'
uptothtwords'Soinscribe uswiththosewhobearwitneu'.J
Whentheapostleusedtositinthemosquewithhismoreilaignificant 16o

$:~:~ann :~~~~~ ~h~~~~;~~h~'S~~a~~-u!~It~~~~ ~Yt~Q~r:~~~~

tOjctratthtmandsaytoone another,'Thesearehisoompaniona,asyou
ace. Is it such creatures that God has chosen from among us to give

TM Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

guidance and truth? If what Muhammad has brought were a good thing
these fellows would not have been the tint to get it, and God would not
have put them before us.' God revealed concerning them: 'Drie not
away those who call upon their Lord night and morning ~~king His face.
Youareinnowayi'CIIponsibleforthem,andtheyareinnowayresponsible
for you,sothatyoushoulddrivethemawayandbecomeanevildoer. Thus
We tempt some by others that they may say, Are these they whom God
hu favoured among ua? Doet not God know best about the grateful?
And when those who believe in Our signs come to thee say Peace be upon
you. Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself mercy that he who doc:th
evil in ignorance and repentethafterwardsand docth right(tohim) He
i.forgiving,merciful.''
Accordingtomyinformationtheapostleusedoftentositatai-Matwa

Inthisconnexion (orperhap$tomeother) I heard that heaaid: 'He

thatdrinkeththereof ahallneverthirst.''

attheboothofayoungChristiancalledjabr,a slaeoftheB.ai- J~a"ramt,

and they u&ed to say 'The one who teaches Muham mad most of what he
bringsUJabrthe Christian, slave of the B. al-f::laYrami.' Then God revealed
in reference to their words 'We well know that they say, "Only a mona!
teaches him".' The tongue of him at whom they hint is foreign, and this is
aclearArabictongue(:uS).

THE COMING DOWN OF 'WHY IU S NOT AN ANGEL BEEN

Sl!NT DOWN TO 111M I'

~~~~~~;1!jtg~J,I~~%;~~t~g;~~:~~;]

i~~~t~~~E~)~i,;~~t~flt~I~%~f'~st~1'~~
THE COMING DOWN OF 'APOSTLES fiAVE BEEN MOCKED
BEFORI! THEE'

THE COMING OOWN OF THI! SORA ALKAUTIIAR

I have been told that when the apostle was mentioned AI-'A' b. Wl'il
al-Sahmluaedtosay,'Lethimalonefor heisonlyachildlesa manwith
no off1pring. If he were to die, his memory would perish and you would
haverest fromhim.' Godsentdowninreferencctothat:'Wehavegiven
youai-Kauthar,'somethingwhichisbetterforyouthantheworldandall
that it holdJ:. Kautharmeana'great'. Labid b. Rabl'a al-Kil~blsaid:
We were distressed at the death of the owner of Mal~Ub '
And atal-Ridl' 6 isthehouseofanothergreatman(kauthar)(:u9)
Ja'far b. 'Amr (220) told me on the authority of 'Abdullah b. Muslim
the brother of Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihllb al-Zuhri from Anu b.
Mllli.lr. that the latter said: 'When the apostle was asked what Kauthar was
:a6a which God had given to him I heard him say It is a river as broad as from
San'll'toAyl.a. ltswaterpota areinnumberasthestanof hea.ven. Birds
go down to it v.ith neds li.lr.e cameb. 'Umar b. al-Khanllb said, "0
apostle or God the birds muat be happy!" He answered "He who eata
themwillbehappierstill!"'

so... 6.5af.
'N6Ldeh,Dn114,.,Y( 1<11),16J,WIIOf lhopinionlhollhiomanwuonAbyooinion
olove,thenarneGobrll{Gobrf)..,..,illll'ob""of'inEtb

::~j;~z.5@z::~~;::::~~'~.~;:~~~=:

~~;~~~~i!~;~:~~~!:~i;~~~~:~:~1;
THE NIGHT JOURNEY AND THE ASCENT TO HEAV EN

~~~~~\l
'SQro6.1
Or'limc"(-....S).

1'hL L1jL of Muhammad

TilL L1jt of Muhammad

br night in what way He .pleased' to. show him His signs which He willed

caravantake.amonthtogotoSyriaandamonthtoreturnandcanMuham-

!':;;c~ol.:d: t~.~:~h~;:~~;::dd:~s mighty SO\ereignty and power by

llu~;~~:n!nit~a; !~~! ~::~ ~t:~~~ ;!~~~~\~:a ~~r?l!~;:~y~:~~~o re::~

0
~;d"~~~~~~h:J:i~~n~~o~;:~;~i:n ~~::ri~~~~::;th~it:'t. ~~~:'!
*~e::~~e~u~~~~:~:~e~~:nf~i~~~h~t~~~e?l~=~:oa~~J:~e;~:~~~
1

with a company of the prophet~, and he prayed with them. Then he was

~:t~~ts:f:c. ;~~d C:~~;;:n!a;~:w"~:: t~":.:% ~~~;~i\:y~~:~~

h~ takes t~e water he will be drowned and his people also; if he takes the
wme. he w11l g.o astray an~ his people also; and if he takes the milk he will
a6 be_ nghtly gude~ and h11 peo~ le also. So I took the \'CISd containing

::~k ~n;il~;o:~ ~~:t:~~;:~d3 ~~;d~:

You h3\'e been rightly guided

~~asij~j~d~:~~i:~-~~s:n~:d ~~~:r~h~:~:~ ~~d ~~~\~h;lea!t"~~ ~:~p=!

in
nothmg and lay down agam. He came a se>nd time and s!irrcd me with
hi~ foo~. I sat up .but saw no_thin~ and lay down again. He carne to me the
thirdtuneandst!rredmewthhJsfoot. l satupandhctookholdofmy
ann and I stood OOide him and hebroughtmeouttothedoorofthe
m~ue and t~cre "":~a ~bite animal, half mule, half donkey, with wings
on 1tssides With wh1ch 11 propelled its feet, putting down each forefoot
at the limit of iu sight and he mounted me on it. Then he went out with
mckeepingclosetome.
I was told that Qat.lda said that he wu told that the apostle said; 'When
l cameuptomounthirnheshicd. Gabrielplaccdhishandonilsmaneand
aaid,Areyounotashamed,OBuriq,tobchaveinthisway?ByGod,none
more honourable before God than Muhammad has ever ridden you before.
The animal WllJ so ashamed that he broke out into a sweat and stood atill
aothat l couldmounthim.'
In his story ai-Ba.!!all said; 'The apostle and Gabriel went their way
unti l they arrived at the temple at Jerus:dem. There he found Abraham,
Moses,andJesusamongacompanyofthepropheu. The apostle acted
as their imam in prayer. Then he was brought two "essels, one containing
winc?ndtheother"?ilk. Theapost!ctookthemilkanddrankit,lcal'ing
thewme. Gabrielsa~d:"Youhal'ebeenrightlyguidcdtotbewayofnature'
and so "ill your people be, Muhammad. Wine is forbidden you." Then
theapostlercturnedtol\tcccaandinthemorninghctoldQurayshwhat
had happened. Mostofthcmsaid,"UyGod,thisisap!ainabsurdity!A

an ~~~!:":h~~;.~~= ;'~a~~;',!.";>~;=~~t~,;n the questoon ..hetl>c it .. ..

1 ~-''l<~is antluoinwon;l, Tl>cmeaninlh<r~mayb<'tl>ctruc.pnmt,al~hgion'

183

m~ddothereturnjoumeyinonenight?"Manyl\tuslirnaga\'euptheir

fallh;somewenttoAbiillakrandsaid,"Whatdoyouthinkofyourfricnd
now, AbU Bakr? He alleges that he went to j erusalem last night and prayed

6s

~~~~=;~e~:~ ~:;: ~::~:~h~ "~!; i~e~~;=~tu:h:; t~:::~~n!oa~~~

telhngthepeopleaboutit. AbU Bakrsaid, "lfhesaysso thenitistrue.
And what is 10 surprising in that? He tells me that communicati<lnl from

~~\~:Oh7m~:v:~~~ ~::rc::~~:r~:!~~~:~!tawd:i~~~g~~~~

Hethenwenttotheapostleandaskedhimif thesereporuweretrue,and
when he aaid they we re, he asked him to describe Jerusalem to him.' AI

:~~~r~~~~~:~~~t1:~:;r::u;~:~~~:~~~~:~;r;;s~!~
~!!1~~m:r~e~~ ~~~;,~ri~~~~"~~dt~:e~0?::~1~,.~!~ ~:;:t Y;::t~

Al-~asan continued: God 5en~ down conecming those who left blam
for thu reason: 'We made the \'ison which we 1howed th~ only for a test
to men and the .accu.rsed tr~ in the Quran. We put them in fear, but it
onlyaddstotherhetnouserror.': Suchisal-l:lasan'sstorywithadditiolll
fromQat.lda.
One of AbU Bakr'sfamilytoldrnethat'.!.'ishatheprophet'lwifeused
tO aay: 'The apostle's body remained where it WllJ but God remo~ his
spirit by night.'

~t~!!u~u~~u:;on>i:~~5.~ ;~:~~:;:::~!=~~~;;~1i~~:;:
contradict what al Basan said, seeing that God Himself aaid, 'We made
the\isionwhichwcshowedtheeonlyforatesttornen;'nordoesitcontradict what God said in the story of Abraham when he said to his son,
'Ornyson, verily I sawinadreamthat I mustucrificcthee,'land he 266
acted acco rdi ngly. T hus, u I see it, revelation from God comes to the
propheuwakingorsl~ping.

~\~~:.?e~l~h~!ek=~le~~~.:;;;i~!1~~:~~t::~. ':~teah~

ia
~:;~.~:.whethe r he wu asleep or awake, it 'wllJ all true and actually

IC:~~:r~i: ~~~~~~";,!~'!!.b~1~~~:Jr:u.t,h:: h~h~=~;: ~~:;

night, uying: ' I have ne\er seen a man more like myself than Abraham.

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

Moses was a ruddy faced man, ull, thinly Reshed, curly haired with a
hookednOKasthoughhewe~oftheShanu'a.

Jesut,SonofMary,wu.a

midish man of medium height with lank hair with many freckles on h~
faccasthoughhchadjustcomcfromabath. ' Oncwouldsupposethaths
head was dripping with water, though then: v;'U no water on it. The
man m06t like him among you is 'Urwa b. l\lu'iid al-Thaqafl (:12 1).'
267
The following report bas reached me from Umm Hlni' d. of Abil
Tilib, whose name waa Hind, concerning the apostle's night journey.
She said: 'The apostle went on no night journey except while he wu in my

house. He sleptthatnightinmyhouse. Heprayedthefinalnightprayer,

tbenhe sleptandweslept. Alitdebeforedawntheapottlewokeus,and
when we had prayed the dawn prayer he said, "0 Umm Hlni', I prayed
withyouthelaste\"eningpnyerinth isV1111eyasyousaw. Thenlwentto
Jei'U$&lemandpra)edthere. Thenlhavejustprayedthemorningprayer
withyouuyousee." He gotuptogooutand l tookholdofhiarobc:and
Jaidbarehisbcllyuthoughitwereafolded Egyptian garment. _I said,
"OprophetofGod,don'ttalktothepeopleaboutitfortheywillgtveyou
the lie and insult you." He uid, " By God, I cenainly will tell them."
I said to a negreu, a slave of mine, Follow the apostle and listen to what
he uys to the people, and what they say to him. He did tell them and they
were amazed and asked what proof he had. He replied that he ha~ paased
the caravan of w-and-so in such-and-such a valley and the ammal he
bestrode ~~Cared them and a umel bolted, "and I showed them where it was
asiwasonthewaytoSyria. I a~rriedonuntilin Qajanln' I passed by a
caravanoftheBanilso-and-so. I foundthcpeopleuleep. They had a
jarofwaterco,ered with something. I tookthecoveringoffanddrank
thewater replacingthecover. Theproofofthatisthattheircaravanis
this moment coming do\m from al-BaiQi' by the pass of al-Tan'lmJ led by
aduskycamel1oadedwithtwo$acksonebbckandtheothermultihued".
The people hurried to the pass and the lin;t camel they met wu as he had
described. Theyaskedthemcnaboutthevesac:l andtheytoldthcmthat
thcyhadlcftitfullofwaterandcovereditandthatwhentheywokeitwas
covered but empty. TheyaskedtheotheratoowhowereinMeccaandthcy
saidthatitwasquiteright:theyhadbccnsa.redandacamelhadbolted,
a68 :;!,~!~:rt.?ad heard a man calling them to it 110 that they were able to

One whom lhnenoreasontodoubttold meontheauthorityofAbil

Sa'ld al-Khudrl: I heard the apostleuy, 'After the completion of my

~~:.:~==~~:::::~:::::=:::~::~:~~:::

Thtl.i/tofMuhammad

,,,

The

f_.~fe

of Muhammad

maddened by thirst when theywerecast intohell,treadingthcmdown,

theybeingunabletomoeoutoftheway. These\\eret heusuT<'rs.
'Then I saw men with good fat meat before them side by side with lean
ttinldngmeat,eatingofthe lanerandleningtheformer. T hetearethose
who forw.ke the women which God has permitted and go after thote he hu
forbidden.
'Then l tawwomenhangingbytheirbreasts. Thetewerethosewho
270 hadfatheredbutardsontheirhusbands.'
Ja'far b. 'Amr told me from al-Qiisim b. Muhammad that the apo.tle

Tht Life of Muhammad

,,,

untilonlyfivepnycrsfor thewholcdayandnightwereleft. Mosesagain

1

~:d";,~~h~o ~c~~~dt~~~u :~~i~~t:~~~!uh:'h!:e~,b:~: ;ow:~d~~~ d::~

apin. He of you who performs them in faith and trust will ha1e the
rewardoffiftyprayen.'

~:~.id:'GreatisGod'sange ragainstawom.anwhobringsabastardintoher

J71

family. Hedeprivesthetruesonsoftheirportionand learns the secrets

oftheharim.'
TocontinuethetradilionofSa'ld ai-Khudri: 'Then I was taken up
tothe &eeOnd henenandtherewerethetwomatemal cousins Jesus,Son
ofMary,andJohn,sonofZakariah. Thento the thirdheavenandtherewu
a man whose face wuuthemoonatthefull. This was my brother Joseph,
son of Jacob. Then to the fourth heaven and there was a man called
ldrls.''Andwe haveexaltcdhimto a loftyplace.''' Thentothefifthheavcn
and there wu a man with white hair and a long beard, never have I eecn
a more handsome man than he. This was the beloved among his people
Aaron son of ' Imrln. T hen to the sixth heaven, and there was a dark man
with a hooked nose like the ShanU'a. This Wall my brother MOSC!I, son of
' l mrln. Then to the seventh heavenandthcrewas aman t ining on a
throneatthegateof theimmonalmansion. 1 E1crydayseventythoue.and
angelswentinnottocomebaekuntilthercsurrectionday. Neer hal'e l
seen a man more like myself. This was my father Ab raham. Then he
tookme into Paradiseand thcre l saw adamsclwithdarkredliP'and I
asked her to whom the belonged, for she pleased me much when I aaw
her, and she told me"Zayd b.f:l~ritha". The apostlegaveZaydthcgood
news about her.'
From a tradition of 'Abdullah b. Mas'Ud from the prophet there hu
reached me the following: \\"hen Gabriel took him up to each of the
hea venlandukedpenniuiontoenterhchadtosaywhomhehadbrought
and whether he had receicd a mission1 and they would uy 'God grant
himlifc,brotherandfriend!'untiltheyreachedthcseventhhelii'Cn and
his Lord. Thcrethedutyoffiftyprayersadaywaslaiduponhim
The apostle said: 'On my return I passed by Moses and what a fine
friend of yours he was! He asked me how many pr:aycrs had betn laid
upon me and when I told hi m fifty he said, " Pr:ayer is a weig hty matter
andyourpropleareweak,sogobacktoyourLordandaskhimloreduce
thcnumberforyouandyourcommunity". l didsoa nd Hctookofften.
Again I passed by ~'loses and he said the same again; and so it went on
:

~~k,:?;J.!a,.,;,,

(<1/.ja~a)

In ,-io.. ofwhat followo thio would"'""' 10 mnn l'oraditc iutlf

' Or 'b.,.n tent for' , "'

TIIESTORYOFAB0UZAYIIIRAL-DAUST

When al-Walid's dealh was ncar he summoned his lhree sons llishiim,
al-Walid,andKhiilidandsaid:'Mysons, l chargeyouwiththrcedutics;

TM Lift of .'11uhammad
benotremissinanyofthem. MybloodliesontheKhuU'a:don'tletit
remainunoompensated.lltnowthattheyareinnocentofit,butlfearthat
you may be ill spoken of because: of it when I am dead. Thaqif owe me
money in interest; see that you get it. Lutly my dowry money is with
Abii Uzayhir al-Dausl. Don't let him keep it.' Now Abii Uzayhi r had
married him to a daughter of his and then withheld her from him and did
notlethimha,eacxeMtoheruptothedayofhitdeath.
When al-Walid died, the B. Makhziim le~~ped upon Khuzl'a demanding
blood-money for al-Walld, saying, 'It wu you r man'a arrow that !tilled
him.' He was one of the B. Ka'b, an ally of the B. 'Abdu'l-Munalib b.

Tlrt Lift of Muhammad

Didnotai-MughiraclaimthatinMecca
Ka'bwuagreatforce?
Don'tboast,Mughira,becauseyouaeeus

~~o~~d .~:~~;asi:~~~ ~:rm~e:~~ -;~e am:m~:o~~wv~r:

~~~n~~~ ~~~~:!~:;;'~;!\~~r:trceu.

killed a]. \Valid was one Of the B. Ka'b b. 'Amr of Khuzl'a, and 'Abdullah
b. Abii Umayya b. al-Mughin. b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. Makhziim oompotedthefollowing linet: '

Assurely;uThabirstandsinitsplace.
Al-Mughirasaidthattolearnourstate
Orto ltirupwarbctwcenus.
For\Valld'sblood willnotbepaidfor:
Youltnow thatwedonotpayforbloodweshed.
The auspicioua warrior hit him with an arrow
Poisoncd,while hewasfullandoutofbreath.
HcfellfulllengthinMecca'avale.
'Twas as though a camel fell.
'Twill save me delaying payment for AbU HisMm with
Misc:rable'little curlyhairedcamels(nJ)-

I' Uwage rthatyou'llsoonmnaway

Andlea,eai-Zahrinwithiuyelpingfoxet.
Andthatyou'llleavethewaterinthevaleofA!riqil
Andthatyou'llasltwhichA~Ittreeaarethebest.

Wearefolltwhodonotleaveourbloodunavenged
Andthosewefi.ghtdonotgettotheirfeetagain.
Kh~;~rin

and al-Arik were camping-grounds of the B. Ka' b of

..:~~:th~:AbU' I -Ja un, brother of the B. Ka'b b. 'Amr ai-Khuzl'l,

By God we will not pay unjust blood wit for al- \Valid
Untilyou seeadaywhenthestarawaxfaint;
Whenyourstoutoneswillbeoverthrownoneaftcranother
Eachindeathhelplculyopeninghismouth.
Whcnyoueatyourbreadandyourgruel,
Thenallofyouwillweepandwailforai-Walid.
There followed much argument and recrimination umil it was apparent
that it was prestige that wu at stake, so Khud'a paid some of the blood
money andthcyrelinquiahedtheirclaimtotherest. When peace had
bt."f:nmadeal-Jaunsaid:
Many a man and woman when we made peace
Spokeinsurpriscofwhatwepaidforal-Walld.
'D~1-?~:~idnot swear that you would not pay unjust oompeiUation for

Until you had aeenadayofgreatmlsfonune?'

,,,

Butwehaveexchanged'warforpeac:e
Noweverytravellermaygoaafelywherehe\\ill.
Butai-Jaundidnot stoptherebutwenton toboastoftheltillingof
a\-Walid,sayingthattheyhad broughtabouthisend, all of which was
false. Asaresultal-Walld,hisson,andhistribemetwhattheyhadbeen
wamedagainst.AIJaunaaid

Then Hishilm b. al-Walid attacked AbU Uzayhir while he wu in the

market of DhO'IMajh. Now hit daughter 'Atika was the wife of AbO
Sufyin b.l:farb. Abii Uzayhir was a chief among his people and Hiahilm
killed him for the dowry money belonging to ai-Walid which he had retained,inaccordancewithhisfather'sdyinginjunction. This happened a75
aftertheapostle'smigntiontoMedina. Badrwasoverandmanyofthe
leadcrsofheathenQuraysh hadbcen slain. Yazldb.AbiiSufyilnwentout
and collected the IJ. 'Abdu Manilfwhile AbO Sufyln wu in Dhii'l-Majft:l;,
andpeopleuidAbOSufyln'sbonourinthematter ofhisfather-in-law had
beenviolatedandhewillta.ltevengeanceforhim. WhenAbiiSufyilnheard
of what his son Yaz!d had done he came down to Mecca as fast as he could.
He was a mild but astute man_ who loved hia people exceedingly, and he
was afraid that there might be serious trouble amongQurayah because
of Abii Uuyhir. So he went straight to hisaon, who wu armed among his
peopletheB.'AbduManll.fandthe'seentedonea',tookhisspearoutofhis
hand and hit him hard on the head with it, &aying, 'God damn you! Do
you \\ishtocausecivilwaramongQurayshforthesakeofamanfrom
Daua? We will pay them the bloodmoney if they will accept it.' Thus he
putanendtothematter.

~:~E~~;[&~Q::;-~:.;~:::.'boundm&inmilk'hccomrnenu-

Thr L1jeoj Muhammad

TheLifeojMuhammod
THEDE.-\THOFABii"TALIBAI\DKIIADfJA

1
olMuglunnmu"ooonthernodt<>Tl"if
: ~~::-:.;;;notori<>uo forhiocoors<n ..o inlornpoono

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

p:wcd by. They wtre-so I am told-seven jinn from Nqibin. They

listcnedtohimandwhenhehadfinishedhisprayertheyturnedbackto
their people to warn them having bclie,ed and responded to what ~hey
had heard. God has mentioned them in the words" And when We indmed
tothcecertainofthejinnwhowerelisteningtotheQuran"asfaras"and
He will give you protection from a painful punishment".' And again,
"Say:Ithasbcenrnealeduntomethatanumberofthejinnlistened."''

Aslam from Rabi'a b. 'Ibid al-Dili or from one whom AbU al-Zin~d had
told (226) and l;lusa~n h. 'Abdullah b. 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abbb told me: ' I

194

TilE APOSTLE OFFERS HIMSELF TO TilE TRIBES

When the apostle returned to Mecca his people opposed him more binerly
than e\er, apan from the few lower-class people who believed in him.
T. i:I.O), 3 (1'. One of them aaid that when the apostle left a!-T i'if making for Mecca
a Mecau1 p:wcd and he asked him if he would take a message for him;
andwhen heaaidthathewouldhetold himtogotoal-Akhnasb.Shariq
and aay, 'Muhammad aaya: Will you give me protection so that I may
convey the mesaage of my Lord?' When. the man ~elivere.d his message
ai-Akhnasrepliedthatanatlycouldnotgveprotecuonagamstamember
ofthe hometribe. When he told theapostleofthisheaskedhimifhe
would go back and ask Suhayl b. 'Amr for his protecti~n in the ~me wo~ds.
SuhaylsentWQrdthattheB.'Amirb.Lu'ayydonotgveprotcctlonagamat
B.. Ka'b. He then asked the man if he would go back and make the same
application to al-Mufim b. 'Adly. The latter said, 'Yes, l.et him ente.r,'
and the man came back and told the apo!ltle. In the mornmg ai-Mufun
having gin on his weapons, he and his sons and his ncp~e.ws went in~o the
mosque. When Abii Jahl saw hi~ he asked, 'Are you. giVIng protectiOn or
following him?' 'GivingprotectJOn,~fcouniC,'hesaJd. 'Weg_iveprotec
tion tO him whom you protect,' he sa1d. So the prophet came mto Mecca
and dwelt there. One day he went into the sacred mosque when the

~~~:~h:~~~a~.h~A~:a~;~:~7.he.~~:au ~~~~~~~ah~~~~i~~!h:~;
:!:~~ ;~~~.t~re ~~a:!; ~~:ee :::r~at:~~e~:~!"~:th~e :n~p!~~~:~
'Utba,youwerenotangryonGod'sbehalforhisapostle'sbehalf:buton
1
1
0

~~: y:~ :7~a~ ~o~~~~~ r:~h~i~~ii;n~ ~.~~~~~:~;~ f:er:;~o'::,m~

LeadersofQurayah,agreatblowoffatewill.comeuponyousothatyou
'>'illexpericncewhatyoumostabhorandthatperforce1') 1
Theapoatleofferedhinuelftothetribesof Arabsatthefairswhenever

ah opponunity came, summoning them to God and telling th.em t.hat ~e was
a prophet who had been sent. He used to ask them to behe~e '";hun a.nd

protect him until God should make clear to them the message With wh1ch
hehadchargedhisprophet.
One of our friends whom I hold above suspicion told me from Zayd b.
'Cf.t.H.<>np.sofW

'95

:::~~:fe;~~~:i:~::::~:~~b~2!~~~~~E!"!~;h~e:~t~;t~~

worship Him and not associate anything with Him, and to renounce the

~~ u~t ;!!c!a~=~~~~rs~:~~~di~~~~~~ h~~.~h:: ~o~~o~~ro~~

0
~~~~~f~~e ~;~/~!~~;;i~~s t:~ pe':7~e :~~ait~ :;.~'1h:r~!~.~ ~

~~;f::~~~;~~:{~f.ffi~::~~~t~::.~~~2

answered that it was his uncle 'Abdu'I-'Uui b. 'Abdu'I-Munalib known

uAbiiLahab(U7).'
Ibn ShihJbal-Zuhritoldmethathewent tothetentaofKindawhere
there was a shaykh called Mulay]:t. He invited them to come to God and :1.83
offeredhinuelftothem,buttheydedined.
Muhammad b. 'Abdu'l-Ra]:tman h. 'Abdullah b.l:lu~ayn told me that he
went to the tents of Kalb to a dan called B. 'Abdullah with the same
message,adding,'OBanU'Abdullah,Godhasgivcnyourfatheranoble
name.' Buttheywouldnotgi,ehecd.
One of our companions from 'Abdullah b. Ka'b b. 1\Ulik told me that
~~ea~:st le went to the B. l;lanifa where he met with the worst reception
Al-Zuhrt told me that he went to the B. '.:J..mir h. $a'ta'a and one of them
calledBayl)arab. Firb(az8)said:'ByGod,if l couldtakethismanfrom

t~~~;~~:c=~~~:~~;a~:~:~~ ::r1~~~:~ro:7~~~i~~:~:i2~~~~

God places where He pleases.' He answered: ' I 1uppose you want us to

protect you fromtheArabswithourbreastsandthenifGodgivesyou
viewry.omeoneel!lewillreapthebenefit! Thank you, No!'
Afterwards the B. 'Amir went back to an old shaykh of theirs who was
unble to attend the fairs. Their custom wu to give him all the news on
their return. This year when he a!lked for the news they told him that a
man from Ouraysh--one of the B. 'Abdu'I-Mu\lalib to be precise-pretendedthathewasaprophet:md in,itedthemtoprotecthim,tostandin

~~~sh~;;,:~~s ~e~:k:n~i:it'~ ~o~~~~.:~:~jd ~~::~d~~"a,~~~~i~

Canthepasteverberegained? Nolsma'ilihase,erclaimedprophethood
faltely. !twas the truth. Wherewasyourcommonsensc?'
Whenevermencametogetheratthefairsor theapostleheardofanyone
'SomoMSS.IUidT.nolule'ifwefollowyou'

''f.'ifyouwin'.

The Life of Muhammad

THE BEGINNING OF I SLAM AMONG THE HELPERS

When God wished to display His religion openly and to glorify His prophet
and to fulfil His promis.e to him, the time came When he met a number of
the Hdpers at one of the fairs; and while he was offering hims.elf to the

~~ ::~~ :t:n~e~ist::~e~~-met at al-'Aqaba a number of the Khazraj

'A,im b. 'Umar b. Qatada told me on the authority of some of the

shaykhsofhis tribe that they said that when the apostle met them he
learned by inquirythattheywereofthe Khazraj andalliesofthejews.
He invited them to sit with him and expounded to them Islam and recited
the Quran to them. Now God had prepared the way for Islam in that they
livedsidebysidewiththe j evswhowerepeopleofthescripturesand
knowledge, while they themselves were polytheists and idolaters. They
hadoftenraidedthemintheirdistrictandwheneverbadfeelingarosethe
1

The bottle between Auo ond Khat.-.j:

~.i.

,,.

The Life of Muhammad

Tlu UJe of MuhDmmod

Jewsusedtou.ytothem,'Aprophetwillbe acntiOOn. Hitdayitathand.

We shall follow him and kill you by his aid u 'Ad and I ram pcrithed.' So
whentheyheardtheap<tle'amcsaagetheyuidonetoanother:'Thisis
287 the very prophet of whom the Je~ warned us. Don't let them get to him
befo~us!' ThereupontheyacceptcdhiJteac:hingandbea.meMualirns,
a:roying,'Wehaveleftourpeople,fornotribeit.odividedbyhatredand
rancouruthey. PcrhaptGodwillunitcthemthroughyou. Soletutgo
tothemandinvitethemtothitrcligionofyours;andifGodunitCithem
:~~~:,:;:~:~.be mightier than you.' Thus saying they returned
There _~erc tix of these men from the Khuraj 10 1 have been told. J:'rom

B.ai-NaJJlr,i.e.TaymAllahofthcclanofB.Mllik ... :AI'adb.Zurlra

b. 'Udu b. 'Ubayd b. Tha'laba b. Ghanm b. Mllilr. b. al-Najjlr known as
AbU Umlma; and 'Auf b. al-l;llrith b. Rifi'a b. Sa wid b. Mllik. , , known
as lbn'Afrl'(:ug).
From B. Zur1yq b. 'Amir b. Zurayq b. 'Abdu l:llritha b. GhaQb b.
}usham ... : Rlli.' b. Mllilr. b. al-'Ajlln b. 'Amrb. 'i\mir b. Zur1yq (230).
From B. Salima b. S.'d b. 'Ali b. Aud b. Slrida b. Tuid b. Juaham ...
of the clan of B. Sawld b. Ghanm b. Ka'b b. Salima: Qutba b. 'i\mir b.
l:fadida b. 'Amr b. Ghanm b. Sawid (231),
From H. l;larlm b. Ka'b b. Gharun b. Ka'b b. Salama: 'Uqba b. 'Amir
b.Niblb.Zaydb.l:failm.
From B. 'Ubayd b. 'Adly b. Ghanm b. Ka'b b. Salama: jlbir b. 'Abdullahb.Ri'lbb.al-Nu'mlnb.Sinlnb.'Uba.yd.

aSs in~~~~~:~~t~=-.::~:; ~:~~:na~:!:=; ~ha;~

1

~t ~:~ ;:~t~:n~~~e~~~ging to the Helpen but Islam and the apostle

THE F IR ST PLEDGE AT AL-'AQABA AND THE MilliON

OP Mtl,'AB

In the following year twelve Helpen actended the fair and met at al-'Aqaba
-thi. wu the fint 'Aqaba-where they gave the apostle the 'pledge of
women'.' Thi. was before the duty of making war was laid upon them.
Thetemen-re:FromB.al-Najjlr:A.'adb.Zurlra;'Aufb.al-l;llrith

~~\.~~;:~~~?~h b~~~%~~ :.r~;u~:,~k~~~i~~

From B. 'AufofthcclanofB. Ghanm b. 'Auf b. 'Amrb. 'Auf who were
tbeQawlqTI:'Ubldab.al-$1mitb,Qayab.Atramb.Fihrb.Tha'labab.
Gharun; and AbU 'Abdu'IRaf.unin wbo waa Yuld b. Tha'laba. b. Khazma
b.Atramb. 'Amrb. 'AmmlraofB.GhUf'ynaofBally,anallyoftheirs

(233)

From B. Sllim b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. ai-Khazraj of the clan <!f B. ai-'Ajlln

b. Zayd b. Ghanm b. Smlim: ai-'Abbls b. 'Ublda b. Na<,lala b. Mlilik b.
al-'Ajlln
FromB.Salima:'Uqbab.'i\mir,
From B. Sawld: Qutba. b. 'Amir b.l;ladlda. The A us were represented 289
by AbU'l-Haytham b. ai-TayyiMn whose name was Mllik of the clan of
B. 'Abdu'I-Ashhal b. }usham b. al-l;llrith b. al Khuraj b. 'Amr b.Mlilik b.
al-AuJ(2.J4l

~~:~ !: ::; ~~~~tf!:!~~~ b~1~~~~~: ~~:V,:::Ut~~hs!;i.~~~

from
'Abdu'I-Ral,trn.lin b. 'Uaayla al-$annmjt from 'Ubld2. b. al-$limit told me :
'I was present at the first'Aqaba.. There were tweheofu1and we pledged
ourselvea totheprophetaflerthemannerofwomenandthatwasbcfore
warwuenjoined,the undertakingbeingth2.1weshouldassociate nothing
with Cod; we should not steal; we should not commit fornication; nor kill
ouroffspring;weshouldnotslanderourneighbours;weahouldnotdisobey him in what w:u right; if we fulfilled this paradiae wou ld be ours; if
we committed any of thOle sins it was for God to punish or forgive as
He pleased.'
AI-Zuhri from 'A'idhullah b. 'Abdullah ai-Khaullini AbU ldris said that
'Ubldab.al-$5mittoldhimthat'Wegaveallegiancetotheapostleth2.t
we would associate nothing with Cod, not steal, not commit fornication,
notkillouroffspring,notalanderourneighbour,notdiaobeyhiminwhat
was right; if we fulfilled this paradi!IC would be ours; and if we committed
anyofthoscsinsweahouldbepunishedinthisworld andthiswould!ICI'\'e
asexpiation;iftheainwa.sconcealeduntiltheDayofResurrection, then
it would befor Godtodecidewhethertopunishortoforgive.'
When these men left, the apostle sent with them Mu,'ab b. 'Umayr b.
Hbhim b. 'Abdu Manlf ... and instructed him to re2.d the Quran to them 2.90
andtoteachthemlslamandtogive theminstructionaboutreligion. In
Medina M~'ab was called ' The Reader'; he lodged with As' ad h. Zuli.ra.
'.\tim b. 'Umar told me that he used to lead the prayers because Aua
mdKhazrajcouldnotboartoseeoneofthcirrivalstaket he lead.
THE IN STIT UT I ON OF fRID A Y PRAYERS IN MEDINA

Muhammad b. AbU Umlima b. &.hi b. l~unayf from his father from

Abdu' I-Ral,l.rn.linb.Ka'bb.l\lliliktoldmethatthclanersaid:'lwasleading
my father Ka'b when he had lost his sight, and when I brought him out to
themosqueandhehcardthecalltopraycrheca lleddown blessingson
AbU Umlma As'ad b. Zurlira. This went on for some time: whenever he
heardtheadJuinhebleuedhimandukedGod's pardon for him. I thought
th.atthi.wuanextraordinarythingtodoanddecidedtoaskhimwhyhe
did it. He told me that it was bei.:ause he was the first man to bring them
' cr. soro 6o. u..-h<..c ""' wordin8 ;,

~ry

oirnilar

Tht Lift of Mulwmmod

ThtLifeofMuhammad

291

:1.9J

together in the low ground ofai-Nabit' in the quarter of the fl. llay:iQa
called Naqi'u' I-Kha~im~t. I asked him how many of them there were,

~~~~t~n~~t:~)~ i~:~=~/~ ;;e v.~c~::~~ ~)~~~!!dGw~;~ ~~~~:e~

andhetoldmethattheynum~redfortymen.'

tittingcomfonablyheknewthatUsayd hadintendedthatheahouldlUten

'Ubaydallahb.al-Mughirab.Mu'ayqiband'Aixlullahb.AbUBakrb.
Muhammad b. 'Amr b. l~azm told me that As'ad b. Zuriira went out with
Mu~'ab b. 'Umayr to the areas of B. 'Aixlu'I-Ashhal and of 11. ~afar.
Sa'd b. ai-Nu'miln b. l mru'u'I-Qays b. Zayd b. 'Abdu'I-Mhhal was the
aonofAs'ad'taunt. 1-lcentcrcdwithhimoneofthegardcnsofB.?,afar
(235)byawclleallcd Maraqandsatinthegardenandsomeofthemcn
who had accepted lslamgatheredtogetherthere. I'\owSa'd b. Mu'adh
andUn)db.l,luQayrwereatthattimeleadcrsoftheirclan,thcB.'Abdu'IAshhal,andbothfollowcdthcheathenismoftheirtribe. When they heard
about him Sa'd said to Usayd: 'Go to tha~e fellow!! who have entered our
quarterstornakefoolsofourweakcornrades,drivethemoutandforbid
themtoenterourquarters. IfitwerenotthatAs'adb.Zuriraisrdatedto
measyouknowlwouldsaveyouthetrouble. Heisrnyaunt'ssonandl
candonothingtohim.' SoUsaydtookhislanceandwenttothem;and
when At' ad uw him he ~aid to Muf'ab, 'This is the chief of hia tribe who
is coming to you, ao be true to God with him.' Mu,'ab said, 'If he will sit
down I will talk to him.' He stood over them looking furious and asking
what they meant by coming to deceive their weaker comrades. 'Leave ua if
youvalueyourlivea.' Muf'ab aaid,' Won'tyousitdownandlisten.lfyou
likewhatyouhearyoucanacceptit,andifyoudon'tlikeityoucanleave
it alone.' Heagreedthatthatwasfair,stuckhis lanccintheground, and
Ill down. He explained hlam to him and read him the Quran. Afterwards they said-according to what has been reported of them-' By God,
beforehespokewerecognized lslaminhisfacebyitspeacefulglow.' He
said,'Whata"onderfulandbeautiful di.acoursethisis! Whatdoesonedo
if he wantt to enter this religion?' They told him that he must wash and
purifyhimselfandhiagarments,thenbearwitnesstothetruthandpray.
He immediately did so and made two prostrations. Then he said, 'There
is a man behind mewhoifhefollov.-.youe\'eryoneofhispeoplewill
follow aui t. I will send him to you at once. It is Sa'd b. Mu'ildh.' T aking
hi.alancehewentofftoSa'dand hispeoplewhoweresittinginconclave.
When Sa'd saw him coming he said, 'By Go:d, Usayd is coming with a
different expression from that he had when he left you.' And when he
eameupheaskedwhathadhappened. Hcaaid,' Iha\'eapokentothetwo
menandlfindnoharminthcm. lforbadethemtogoonandthcysaid
to me, We will do what you like; and I was told that the B. f:lilritha had
goneoutagainstAs'adtokillhimbccaUJC:theyknewthathewasthesonof
yourauntaoastomakeyouappearatreacherousprotcctorofyourguests.'
Sa'denragedgotupatonce,a!armedatwhathadbeensaidabouttheB.
1

H....,mu'I-Noblta<:tordinatool-SuhoyllioomountainonopootfromM<'dino,

dcni .. thi&,becouocllu""'mnno'lowrnx>nd',
of the B...,~ Noblt', &c

YlqOI

Hop~fcn thcr.odlna:'inthelowground

11

:~ ~:te~~ ~ ~~:::,~7pt:,:.~~~n:~u:U":d :~ ~:!!:t:i~~~::~

~fl~t1til; "'
:~4~~1:l~~~~{~f.~::,::;,:;;:::;,:~~:;~ ~~~~:::
rn~;:~~~~~~ ~!~i~:~c~t~::~ ot;t:~!~rh:a~sem::da~~~~~~:~e:h~~~-~~~
Muslims except those of B. Umayya b. Zayd, and Khatma and W:l' il and
Wlqif; the latter were Aus Allah and of Au.a b. f:llritha . The reaaon was

~~:: t~~~ ~ia:d ,:::::'n:~~~ ;~~:th7m$~~h:~e~~~ ~C:'rr:

;,~~~!~:~:::h:~o~~;::~n;~~l~i;~~:::t:~:~,~~~e:~a~
Lordofmankind,aeriousthingthavehappened.
Thedifficultandthesimpleareinvolved.
Lord of mankind, if we have erred
Guideustothegoodpath.
WereitnotforourLordweahouldbejewa
Andthereligionofjewsisnotconvenient.
WereitnotforourLordweahouldbeChriatianJ
Along with the monb on Mount Ja1ll. 1
Butwhenwewerecreatedwewereereated
f:lan1fa;ourreliglon iafromallgenen.tions.
Webringtheucrificialcamelawal.ldnginfetten
Coveredwithclothsbuttheirshouldenbare{'lJ6).
THE S ECOND PLED GE AT AL-'AQABA

Then Mut'ab returned to Mecca and the Muslim Antilr arne to the fair
there with the pilgrims of thei~ ;.:o~::.ho were polythei!tt. They met

The Life of Muhammad

l\Ia'badb. Ka'btoldmethathisbrother'Abdullahtold him that his
father Ka'b b. Mllik said: 'Then we went to the &ajj and agreed to mttt
theaposdeatal-'Aqabainthemiddleofthedaysofthetashriq. When we
had completed the &ajj and the night came in which we had agreed to meet
the apostle there wu with us 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. l;lariim Abo Jlbir, one
of our chiefs and nobletwhomwehadtakenwithus. We had concealed
ourbusincssfromthoseofourpeoplewhowerepol)1hei.sts. Wetaidto
him, "You are one of our chiefs and nobles and we want to wean you
fromyourpresent ttatelestyoubecomefuelforthefireinthefuture."
Then we invited him to ae<:ept Islam and told him about our mttting
with the a~tle at al'Aqaba. Thereupon he ae<:epted Islam and came to
al-'Aqabawtthus,andbecameanaqib(leadcr).'
'Wesleptthatnightamongourpeoplcinthecaravanuntilwhenathird
of the night had passed we went stealing softly like aandgrouse to our a
appointment with the apostle as far as the gully by ai-'Aqaba. There were
seventy-three men with two of our women: Nus.ayba d. of Ka'b Umm
'Umara, one of the women of B. Mhin b. alNajjlr, and Asml' d. of'Amr
b. 'Adiy b. Nlbl, one of the women of B. Salima who was known as Umm
Man!'. _Weg_atheredtogetherinthegullywaitingfortheapostleuntilhe
came Wtth hts uncle al-'Abbb who was at that time a polytheist; albeit
he wanted to be pre.ent at his nephew's business and see that he had
a finn guarantee. When hesatdownhewasthefirsttospeakandsaid
"Opeopleofal-Khazraj(theArabsusedthetermtoco\'erbothKhatraj
and Aus). You know what position Muhammad holds among us. We
ha\'e protected him from our own people who think as we do about
him. He lives inhonourandsafetyamonghis people, buthewilltum

~: 1~up;:~i~~n ~;a:~~~~ y;~t~:n~i~a}~:

0~~~;~~1 t~oe:~::~~~

theburdenyouhaveundcrtaken. Butif)outhinkthat youwill!xtray

and ab~ndon him afte r he has gone out with you, then leave him now.

~~: h5~s~:f~ ':t;:,~,e ;~' c~~:~!i;~:o~:~fh::~ ;:;~:~~h~~~u 11s~~;

you wish."
'Theapostle spokeandrecitedtheQuranandinvitedmentoGodand
commended Islam and then said: "I invite yourallegianceonthe basis
that y~u protect me~ you wo~ld your women and children." Al-Bar.f
took hts hand and satd '"By l ltm Who sent you with the truth we will
protect you as we protect our women. We. give our allegiance and we are
menofwarposscssingarmswhichhavebecnpassedonfromfathertoaon.''

~~i~n!~~~~:::~h:~::~~~t:~i:~~~~~:~:~e~~::~i:~:~~~~~

gi1en you 1-ictory, )"OU will return to your people and fun: us ?" The a97
apostle smiled and aaid : ~~a~~::~:!::~~~ blood not to be paid for
1

The Life of Muhammad

itbloodnottobepaidfor.' I amofyouandyouarcofme. I will war
against them that war against you and be at peacewiththoseat peace
withyou(zJS)."
Ka'boontinued:'Theapostleuid,"Bringomtometwehe leadersthat
they maytakechar~oftheirpeoplc'!affairs." Theyproduccdninefrom
al-Khazrajandthreefromai-Aus.'

TIIESTOIIYOI'AL'AQAIU

According to what Ziyad b. 'Abdullah :11-Bakkii.'i told us from Muhammad

b. h~ilq al-Munalibi (they were):
From al-Kh.anaj: AbU Umilma As'ad b. Zurlira ... b. al-Najjilrwho wu
Taym Allah b. Tha'laba b. 'Amr b. al-Khazraj; Sa'd b. ai-Rabi' b. 'Amr b.
AbU Zuh.ayr b. l\l:llik b. lmru'u'l-Qays b. Millik b. Tha'laba b. Ka'b b. aiKhau-aj b. al-l;llrith b. al-Khuraj; 'Abdullah b. Rawil;a b. Tha'labaofthe
aame line; Rlfi' b. M~lik b. ai-'Ajlln b. 'Amr ... ; al-Baril.' b. Ma'riir b.
$akhr b. Khans~' b. Sinln b. 'Ubayd b. 'Adly b. Ghanm b. Ka'b b. Salama

~hs~:~:~~~-~~~~ ~: ~~~~::~ ~-::~r~~~~~~bbb~~:~~ra~: ~~~u~~

z98 Salama ... , 'Ubada b. al-$~mit b. Qays b. Afram . . . (239). Sa'd b. 'Ublda
b. Dulaym b.l;l~ritha b. AbU l:lazima b. Tha'laba b. Tarifb. al-Khazraj b.
S~'ida b. Ka'b b. al-Kh.azraj; ai-Mundhir b. 'Amr b. Khunays b. l~aritha
b. Laudh3n b. 'Abdu Wudd b. Zayd b. Tha'laba b. al-Khazraj of the tame
line(:Z;JO).
From ai-Aus: Usayd b.l;luQayr b. Simak b. 'Atik b. Rili.' b. Imru'u'J.
Qaytb.Zaydb.'Abdu'I-Ashhalb.Jushamb.al-l:liirithb.ai-Kha:znj b.
'Amr b. Milik b. al-Aus; Sa'd b. Khaythama b. ai-J::Iarith b.M~Iik b. Ka'b
b. al-Na]:l~iil b. Ka'b b.l;liiritha b. Ghanm b. al-Salm b. Imru'u'l-Qay b.
l\Ulikb.ai-Aus;Rifii'ab.'Abdui-1\Iundhirb.Zubayrb.Zaydb.UJIUiyya
b. Zayd b. M~lik b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. 'Auf b. Malik b. ai-Aus (:z.p).
199
'Abdullahb.AbUBakrtoldmethattheapostlesaidtotheLc:adel"li:'You
aretheauretiesforyourpeoplejustasthedisciplesof Jesus,SonofMary,
were responsible to him, while I am responsib le for my people, i.e. the
1\lus\ims.' They agreed.
'Atim b. 'Umar b. Qat3da told me that when the people came together
toplighttheirfaithtotheapostlc,al-'Abblsb.'Ubidab.NaQiaai-Anirl,
brother of B. Silim b. 'Auf, uid, '0 men of Khazraj, do you realize to
wbatyou are committing younelvctin pledging your support to thitrnan~
ltistowaragainstaliand sundry. 1 Hyouthinkth.atifyouloteyour
propertyandyournoble~arekilledyouwillgivehimup,thendo10now,

for it would bring you shame in this world and thenext(ifyoudidiO

TI11!Lifcofi11uhammad
later); but if you thinkthatyouwillbeloyaltoyourundertakingifyou
loteyourpropenyandyournoblesarek.illed,thentakehim,forbyGodit
willprofit)"Ouin this world and the next.' They said that they would
accepttheapostleon thcseoonditions. Buttheyaskedwhattheywould
getinretumfortheir loyalty,andtheapostlepromisedthemparadise.
T heysaid,'Stretchforth your hand,' and when he did BOtheypledged
theirword. '~imaddedthatal-'Abblssaidthatonlytobindtheobliga- 300
tionmoresecurelyonthem. 'Abdullah b. AbU llakrsaidthathesaidit
merelytokeepthepeoplebackthatnight,hopingthat'Abdullahb.Ubayy
b.Sa!Ulwouldoomeandi!Ogivemoreweighttohispeople'ssupport. But
Godknowsbestwhichisright(lf:Z)
The B. al-Najj~r allege that As'ad b. Zur5ra was the fil"llt to strike his
hand in fealty; the B. 'Abdu'I-Ashhal say that he was not, for AbU'I-

~~:~A~:~~~ ~~~a~ ~!: ~~ ~~::~~-~-i~1~~kt:'~:~~~;:~ \\~~

1

thefirstandthepeoplefollowedhim. Whenwehadallpledgedouruhes
SatanshoutedfromthetopofaJ. 'Aqabainthemostpenetratingvoice I
haveeverheard,'OpeopleofthestationsofMini,doyouwOlntthisrepro
bate' and the apostates who are with him 1 They ha1e come together to
JIU~kewaronyoul' Theapostlesaid,'Thisitthe lzb 1 ofthehill. This is
the son of Azyab. Do you hear, 0 enemy of God, r swear I will make an
endofyoul(a43).'
Theapostlethentoldthemtodisperseandgobacktotheircaral'ln,and
ai-'Abbls b. 'Ubidasaid, 'By God, if you wish it we will fallon the people
of Min~ tomorrow with our swords.' He replied, '\Ve have not been oommandedtodothat;butgobacktoyourcaral"ln.' Sowewentbacktoour
beds:md!leptuntilthemorrow.
With the morning the leaders of Quraysh came to our encampment say
ingthattheyhadheardthatwehadcometoinvitei\luhammadtoleave
them and had pledged oursehes to support him in war agaillllt them, and
that there was no Arab tribe that they would fight more reluctantly than us.
Thereuponthepolytheistsofourtribesworethatnothingofthekindhad
happened and theyknewnothingofit. And heretheywerespeakingthe
truth,fortheywereinignoranccofwhathadhappened. We looked atone
another. Then the people got up, among them all;lirith b. H ish~m b. alMughlrn al-Makhziiml who wu wearing a pair of new sandals. I spoke a
word to him u though I wanted to associate the people with what they had
said,'OAbii ] ibir,seeingthatyouareoneofourchiefsrcan'tyougethold
of a pair of aan"als such u this young Qunyshite has? AI-J:Iirith hem!
me and took them off his feet and threw them at me saying, 'By God you
can ha1"C them!' AbU Jil.bir said, 'Gently now, you ha1'e angered the

301

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

THE IDOL OF 'AMR IBNU'L-JAM 0 1;1

ow.

.;;,,

ruoruoo,

i'ii.;;i;:

M,,.,., '"''"""

><>"'

'' ' L"""""s""'''

The Life of Muhammad

JD.j.

The Uft! of Mt~ltammod

fastened his swordtoit,saying,'ByGod, ldon'tknowwhohasdonethis;

butifyouareanygoodatalldefendyouraelf sinceyouh avethissword.'
At night when he was asleep they came again and took the sword from its
neckandhungadcaddogtoitbyacordandthenlhrewitintoacesspit.
In the morning 'Am r came and could not find it where it normally was;
ultimatelyhefounditfacedownwardsinthatpittiedtoadeaddog. When
hesaw itandperceivedwhathadhappcncdandtheMuslimsofhisclan
apoketohimheacceptedlalambythemercyofGodandbecamea good
Muslim. He wrote some enc:a when he had come to a knowledge of God
in which he mentioned the image and its impotence and thanked God for
:~;~ ~eliven:d him from the blindness and error in which he had lhed

ByAilah,ifyouhadbccnagodyouwouldnotharebecn
Tiedtoadeaddoginacesspit.
Phew lthatweevertreatedyou asagod,butnow
Weh"efoundyououtandleft ou rwickedfolly.
PraisebetoGodmost High,theGracious,

~~ ~~n~:~~,~~!; :::~d~~: ~~~~:fall religions

Frombeingkeptinthedarknessofthegrne.
COND ITION S OF THE J'LI!DCI! AT Till! SECOND 'AQABA

WhenGodga,epcrmissiontohiaapostleto fight,theiCCOnd'Aqabacon
tained condit.ionsinolvingwar which were not in the first act of fealty.
Now theyboundthernse lveatowaragainstallandsundryforGodandhia
apostle, while he promised them for faithful service thus the reward of
paradise.
'UbJda b. al-Walid b. 'Ubida b. al-$imit from his father from hia
grandfather 'Ubida b. al -!?imit who was one of the Leaders told me, 'We
pledgedourselve.tov;arincompleteobediencetotheapoatleinwealand
305 woe, in ease and hardship and evil circumstances; that we wou ld not
wrong anyone; that wewouldspeakthetruthatalltime.;andthatin
God's service we wou ld fear the censure of none.' 'Ubida was one of the
twelvewhogave hiswo rdatthe first'Aqaba.

Til E NA M ES OF THO SE PRE SENT AT TilE SECOND 'AQABA

~~A:~~:~e~.?r:\hrec men and nn1 women of Aus and Khazraj.

Usayd b.l:luQayr, .. a leader who was not at Badr. Abu'J.Haytham b.

T ayyahin who was at Badr. Salma b. Salima b. Waqsh b. Zughba b.
Zu'Uri' b. 'Abdu'l-~hhal who was at Baclr (zts). Total J.
' 'l'he~Holrudteivenha-.:bccnorninodtoiJfll>er.,.iohnpotitioos.

From B. IJ~ritha b. al- l.llrith ... :{.uhayr b. Rilfi' b. 'Adiy b. Zayd b.

jusham b. l~lritha, and Abii Burda b. Niylr whose name was !Hni' b.
Niyar h. 'Amr b. 'Ubayd b. K.ilab b. Duhmin b. Ghanm b. Dhubyin b.
Humaym b. K~mil b. Dhuhl b. Haniy b. lbliy b. 'Amr b. al-l:lafb. Quc;ll'a,
one of their allies. He was at Badr, Nuhayr b. al-1-hytham of B. N~bi b.
Maj.ia'ab.l:llritha. T otal3.
Of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf b. 1\Uiik: Sa'd b. Khaythama a 'leader' who was 3o6
presentatBadrandwaskilledthereasamartyrbesidetheapostle(a46).
Rifa'ab.'Abdu'l-1\ lundhir,a leaderpresentatBadr. 'Abdullahb. Ju bayr
b. al-N"u'man b. Umayya b. ai -Bu rak, the name ofal-Burak being l mru'u' lQays h . Tha'laba b. 'Amr who was present at Badr and was killed as a
martyr at UJ:iud commanding the archers for the apostle (247). And Ma'an
b. 'Adiy b. al-jad b. al-' Ajliln b.l:liiritha b. Qubay'a, a client of theirs from
BaliyprescntatBadr, Ubud,andal-K.handaqandallt heapostle's battles
He was killed in the battle of al-Yamil.ma as a martyr in the caliphate of
Abl1 Bakr. And 'Uwaym b. Sii'ida who was present at lladr, Ul,t ud, and
al-K.handaq. Totals.
ThetotalforallclansofAuswas 11 .
Ofai-Khu.rajtherewere:
Of B. al-Xajpr who was Taymullah b. Tha'laba b. 'Amr: AbU Ayyiib
Khllid b. Zayd b. Kulayb b. Tha'laba b. ' Abd b. 'Auf b. Ghanm b. MMik
b.al- Najj~r. Hewasprcscntatalltheapoatle'sbattlesanddiedin Byzantine territory as a martyr in the time ofl\Iu'iiwiya. Mu'idh b. al-l:l~rith
b. Rifa'a b. Saw3d b. l\H.lik b. Ghanm. Present at all battles. He was the
son of 'AfrJ' and his brother was 'Auf b. al-J:I ilrith who was killed at Badr
as a martyr. Mu'awwidh his brother shared the same glory. It was he
who killed AbU j ab] b. 1-lishiim b. al-1\fughira; hetoowas'Afr:l'sson 307
(248). And 'Umara b. l,lazm b. Zayd b. Laudh:ln b. 'Amr b. 'Abdu
'Auf b. Ghanm. He was present at all battles and died a martyr in the
battle of al-Yam~ma in the caliphate of Abii Bakr. As'ad b. ZurAra, a
!;.:~=~ He died before Badr when th e apostle's mosque was being built.

Of B. 'Amr b. ?<.labdhUl who W:IS 'Amir b. Mlllik: Sahl b. 'Atlk b.

Nu'mll.n b. 'Amr b. 'Atik b. 'Amr. Wu at Badr. Total!.
Of B. 'Amr b. Miilik b. ai-Najjar who are the B. l:ludayla (249). Aus b.
Thiibit b. ai-Mundhir b. Uarlm b. 'Amr b. Zayd Man:lt b. 'Adiy b. 'Amr
b. Ma lik, present at Badr; AbU T all)a Zayd b. Sahl b. al-Aswad b. l:lariim
b.'Amrb.ZaydManlit ... presentatBadr, Total:z
Of B. Mi:tin b. ai-Najjlr: Qays b. AbU $a'~'a whose name was 'Amr b.
Zayd b. 'Auf b. MabdhUI b. 'Amr b. Ghanm b. M~zin. Present at Badr
where the apostle put him in command of the rearguard. 'Amr b. Gha:ziya
b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. Khand' b. Mabdhii l .. , T otal 2
ThetotalforH.al-NajjlrwasJJ (zso).
OfB.ai-Uirithb.Kha:zraj:Sa'db.ai-Rabi',alcader. WasatBadrand
died a martyr at Ubud. Khlirija b. Zayd b. Abii Zuhayr b. Mlilik b.

'

The L1]e of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Jmru'ui-Qays b. Malik ai-Agharr b. Tha'laba b. Ka'b. Present at Badr

and killed at U~ud as a manyr. 'Abdullah b. Rawiil_la, a leader, present at
allthe apostle'sbattlesexccpttheocc:upationofMe.:caandwaskilledat
l\lii!aasamartyrasoneoftheapostle'soommanders. Bashirb. Sa'db.
Tha'laba h. Khalas b. Zayd b. Mllik ... , the father of al-Nu'mln was

~=:.::~:::{a~ad~~~T;~:;: ~~-M~Iik b. Khanli' b. Sin;in b. 'l' hayd

~~:~a~ b~ta~~;~t~~~r::t ~~ ~=J~. ~:le~a~~=~~~ :,!::~~!nbi~o~~:

call toprayerandwasorde red bytheapostletoperformit. KhalUdb.
Suwayd b. Tha'laba b. 'Amr b.l;l~ritha b. l mru'ui-Qays b. Malik. Present
atlladr, Ul_lud,andal-Khandaq and waskilledasamartyrin fighting B
Qurayp when a millstone was thrown from one of their castles and crushed
hi1 skull. Theapostlesaid--aotheysay-thathewillhavetherewardof
two martyrs. 'Uqba b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. Usayra b. 'Usayra b. Jadira
b. 'Auf \\ho is Abii Mas'Ud, the youngest of those at ai-'Aqaba. Died in
thetimcofMu'biy:a. WasnotatBadr. Total 7.
Of B. Bayi4a b.'.\mirb. Zurayq b. 'Abdu l~iiritha: Ziyid h. Labid b.
Tha'laba b. Sinln b. 'Amir b. 'Adiy b. Umayya b. Bayi4a. Present at
Badr. Farwa b. 'Amr b. Wadhafa b. 'Ubayd b. 'Amir b. Bayii4a. Present
at Badr (251). Khalid b. Qays b. l\Uiik b. al-'Ajliin b. 'Amir. At Badr.
Total3.
309
Of B. Zurayq b. 'Amir b. Zurayq b. 'Abdu l:IIritha b. Malik b. ChaQb b.
Jusham b. al-Khazraj: Rafi' b. al-'Ajlln, a leader. Dhakw.iin b. 'Abdu Qays
b. Khalda b. Mukhallad b. 'Amir. He went out to the apostle and stayed
with him in Ma:ca after he had migrated from Medina; thus he got the
name of Anp.ri Muhiijiri. He was at Badr and was killed as a martyr at
U~ud. 'Abbid b. Qays b. '.\mir b. Khalda, &c. Was at Badr. Al-l:llrith
b. Qays b. KM,Jid b. Mukhallad b. 'Amir, who was AbU Khllid. Present
atBadr. Total4.
Of B. &.lama b. Sa'd b. 'Ali b. Asad b. ~rida b. Tazid ... AI- Bart' b.
Ma'riirb. $akhr ... aleaderwho,the B.Salamaallcge,'>l-asthefirstto
strikehishandontheapostle'swhentheconditionsofthesecond 'Aqaba
were agreed to. He died before the apostle came to Medina. His aon
Bishrwas at Badr, Ul_lud, and al-Khandaq and he died in Khayba r of
eating with the apostle the mutton that was poisoned. He it was tO whom
theapo&tlereferredwhenheaskedB.Salamawhotheirchicfwasandthey
rcplied,'t\1-Juddb.Qa)'llinpiteofhU.meanness!' Ueuid,'Whatdiseasc
U. wortlt than meanness? The chief of B. Salama is the white curly haired
Bishrb.al-Bard'b.Ma'riir.' Sinlnb.$ayfib.$akhrb.Khand.'b.Sinin
b. 'Ubayd who was at Badr and died a martyr at al-Khandaq. AI-Tufayl
b. Nu'miin b. Khansii' b. Sinln b. 'Ubayd with the ume record. Ma'qil
b. ai-Mundhir b. Sar~ b. Khunb b. Sinln b. 'Ubayd who was at Badr,
together with his brother Yazld. Mas'Ud b. Yazid b. Subay' b. Khanli' b.
310

~it7!:~ ~~=~~-atA~~~;_J.!~:Jj ~~~~:~:b~~~ab;. ~~~l~!';~~b.~~~i~

b. 'Ubayd. Jubbh b. $akhr b. Umayya b. Khansii' b. Sinln b. 'Ubayd

Of B. Sa"'ld b. Chanm b. Ka'b b. Salama of the clan of Banli J.\a'b b.

Sa.wid: Ka'b b. l\lilik b. AbU Ka'b b. ai-Qayn b. Ka'b. Totalt
Of R. Chanm b. Saw~d b. Chanm b. Ka'b b. Salama. Salim b. 'Amr b.
l:fadlda b. 'Amr b. Ghanm who was at Badr. Qu]ba b. 'Amir b. l_ladlda b.
'Amr b. Chanm who was at Badr. Yazld his brother known as Abii'lMundhir; was at Jladr. Ka'b b. 'Amr b. 'Abbnd b. 'Amr h. Ch2nm known
as Abii'l-Yasar. At lladr. $ayfi b. Saw~d b. 'Abbnd b. 'Amr h. Ghanm
(l5J).'l'otals.
Of ll. Nibi b. 'Amr b. Sa wid b. Ghanm b. Ka'b b. Salama: Tha'laba b.
Chanama b. 'Adiy b. Nlibi was at lladr and was killed as a martyr at aiKhandaq. 'Amr b. Chanama b. 'Adiy b. NAb!. 'Ab! b. 'Amir b. 'Adiy was
at Badr. 'Abdullah b. Unays an ally from Qu4fa. Kh~lid b. 'Amr b.

'A~f'n~~~r ~~

b. Ka'b b. Chanm b. Ka'b b. Salama: 'Abdullah b. '.-\mr

who wu a leader and was at Badr and was killed as a martyr at L~ud
Jibir his son. Mu'ldh h. 'Amr b. ai-Jamii]:l who was at Badr. ThJhit b.
al-J idh'(al-Jidh' being Tha'laba b. Zayd b. al-l:l~rith h. J:larlim) was at
Badr and II'IU killed as a martyr at al-TI'if. 'Umayr b.al l~:irith h. Tha'laba 3''
b. al - l~ ~rith b. l:lar.lm who was at Iladr (154). Khadij b. Salama b. Aus
b. 'Amr b. al- Fur~fir an ally from llaliy." Mu'~dh b. Jabal b. 'Amr b. Aus
b. 'A'idh b. Ka'b b. 'Amr b. Adi' b. Sa'd b. 'Ali b. Asad. It is said ';\sad b.
Siiridab. Tazld b.jusham b. al- Kha~raj, who lilcd with the B. Sabma; he
wasprcsentatallthebanlesanddiedin'AmwlllintheyearoftheSyrian
plague during the caliphate or 'Umar. The 1!. Salama claimed him for the
reasonthathewaslhebrotherofSahlb.Muhammadb.al-Juddh.Qaysb.
$akhr b. Kh~na.l' b. Sinlin b. 'Ubayd ... b. Salama through his mother
(255). Total7.
Of II. 'Auf b. al-Khazraj then of the 1!. S~lim b. 'Auf b. 'Amr h. 'Auf
'Ub:Ma h. al $~mit, a leader who was at all the battles ... (256). Al-'Abhas
b. 'Ubldab. Na41a ... ,one of those who joined the apostle in Mecca,
li\'ed there with him, and was called an An~ilri MuhJjiri. Uc was killed at
U]:lud as a martyr. Abi1 'Abdu'l- R a~m~n \'azid b. Tha'laba b. Khazama
b. A~!'11m b. '.Amr h. 'Ammi\ra, an ally from the IJ. Chu~ayna of Baliy.
'Amr h. al- l:l ~rith b. Labda b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba. They were the Qawlqil.
T o1al4.
Of 1!. Sllim b. Ghanm b. 'Auf; known as the 1l. ai-I_Iublii (257): Rifil'a
b. 'Amr b. Zayd b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. M~lik b. Slllim b. Ghanm known 31:1
as.Abii'l-Wali~. Was at Badr(:zs8). 'Uqba h. Wahb b. Kalda b. al-Ja'd b.
Htlil b. al- l~iinth b. 'Amr h. 'Adiy b. Jusham h. 'Auf b. Buhtha b. '.>\bdul:

~i~~~~:r~ ~1 ~~~j\~- ~;~:r~~~n~~~~~~bo\~~~.~~: 1 o:_dr.

lie had

The Lift of Muhammad

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

Of the B. Sl'ida b. Ka'b: Sa'd b. 'Ub~da a leader. Al-Mundhir b. 'Amr,

aleader,presentatBadrandUQudandkilledatBi'rMa'finacommanding
for the apostle. Itwaasaidofhim'Hehastenedtodeath'(asg). Toula.
The total number of those present at the seeond 'Aqaba from the Aus
and Khazraj wu aeventy-three men and two women who they allege

eomemcntokeepbackothers, doistersandchurchesandoratoricsand
mosqucswhercinthenameofGodisoonstamlymentioncdwould have
been destroyed. Assuredly God will help those who help Him. God is
Almighty. Those who if we make them strong in the land will establish
prayer, ~ythepoor-tax,enjoin kindness,andforbidiniquity. To God
belongstheendofmatters.'' The meaning is: 'I have allowed them to
fightonlybecausetheyhavebeenunjustlytreatedwhilethcirsoleoffence
againstmenhasbeenthattheyworshipGod. Whentheyarcintheascendarlt they will establish prayer, pay the poor-tax, enjoin kindness, and
forbid iniquity, i.e.theprophetandhiscompanionsallofthem.' Th.:n
God sent down to him: 'Fight them so that there be no more seduction,'
i.e. until no belie,er is seduced from his religion. 'And the religion is
God'a',i.e. UntilGodaloneisworshipped.
WhenGodhadgivenpennissiontofightandthisclanoftheAntir
hadp ledgedtheiraupporttohiminlslamandtohelphimandhisfollowers,
and the Muslims who had taken refuge with them, the apostle commanded
his companions, the emigrants of his people and those Muslims who were
with him in Mecca, to emigrate to Medina and to link up with their
brethren the An~ir. 'God will make for you brethren and houses in which
youmaybeaafe.' Sotheywentoutinoompanies,andtheapostlestayed
!~ ~:~:a~aiting for his Lord's permission to leave Mcx:ca and migrate

pledgedtherobediencealso.The apostle usednotto strike~dswith

women; he rnercly atatedtheconditions, and if they accepted them he

wouldaay, ' Go,lhavemadeacovcnantwithyou.'
(Of these two v;omen) Nusayba \\'11 of B. Marin b. al-Najj~r. She waa
d. of Ka'b b. 'Amr b. 'Auf b. Mabdhiil b. 'Amr b. Gh.anm b. Mhin,

=~do~~!;d ~h~! ~r ;:.~~~ :n~~:~

;:::: ~:~~:~b ~~

'Abdullah. Musaylimatheliar,thel;laniflchiefoftheYamima,gothold
ofl;lablbandbcgantosaytohim,'DoyoutestifythatMuh:unmadisthe
apostle of God 1' And when he said that he did, he went on, 'And do you
33 testifythatlamtheapostleofGodt'heanswercd,' J do notbear.' Sohe
began to cut him to piecca member by member until he died. He tried
puningthe aameq ucstions tohimagainandagain, buthecouldgetno
different amwers. Nusayba went to al-YauUma with the Musli!TUI and
took part in the war in person until God slew Musaylima, when she

~~~:~dm~:v~~gy:~~=b:d ~:~~~ :~~~~t:n~~~r::~o~ ;;:~A~u~:

b. 'Abdu'I-Ra~m~n b. AbU ~a'ta'a.
The other woman wu of B. Salama, Umm Mani', named Asmi' d.
'Amr b. 'Adly b. Nlbi b. 'Amr b. Sawtd b. Ghanm b. Ka'b b. Salama.
TIIBAPO STLBRBCB I VBSTHEORDERTOFIGHT

The apostle had not been given permi!.siontofightorallowedtoshed

bloodbeforetheseeond'Aqaba. Hehad simplybeenorderedtocallmen
toGodandtoendureinsultandforgi,etheignoran t. TheQurayshhad
persecuted hisfollowers,seducingsomefromtheirreligion,andexiling
othcrsfromtheircountry. Theyhadtochooaewhethertogi,euptheir

:~~~~~ ~l:~~~~ated at home, or to Hee the country, some to Abyssinia,

When Quraysh beume iJUOlent towards God and rcjeacd His gracious
purpose,accusedllisprophetoflying,andilltreatedandcxiledthoscwho
served Him and proclaimed Hia unity, believed in His prophet, and held
fast to !lis religion, Hega,e permission to His apostle to fight and to
protect himself against those who wronged them and treated them badly.
The fi~t verse which was sent down on this subject from what I have
heard from 'Urwa b. ai-Zubayrandotherlearned persons was:'Permis3'<4 sionisgkcntothosewhofightbecausetheyhavebeenwronged. God is
well able to help thcm,- those who ha,e ~en driven out of their houses
withoutrightonlybccausetheysaidGodisourLord. HadnotGodused

THOSE W H O M I GRATED TO MEDINA

The first of the Qura~h to migrate to Medina from among the apostle'a
companions was one of B. Makhzlim, AbU Salama b. 'Abdu'l-Atad b.
H ili! b. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar b. Makhziim whose forename was 'Abdullah.
He went to Medina a year before the pledge at al-'Aqaba, having come to
the apostle in Mecca from Abyssinia. He migrated because the Qu raya h
;~~~:'ted him and he had heard that some of the An,lr had accepted
Myfatherlsl;tiqb. Yaslrontheauthorityof Salamawhohad itfrom
his grandmother Umm Salama the prophet's wife told me that abe aaid:
When Abii Salama had decided to set out for Medina he saddled his camel 315
for me and mounted me on it together with my son Salama who was in
my anna. Then he set out leading the camel. When the men of B.
al-Mughira b. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar b. Makhzlim saw him they got up and
said: 'Sofarasyouarceonc:emedyou cando what you like; but what
aboutyourwifel Doyousupposethat.weahalllctyoutake her away?'
So th ey snatched the camel's rope from his hand and took me from him.
Abii Salama's family, the B. Abdu'l-Asad, were angry at this and said
'Wewillnotleaveoursonwithherseeingyou have torn her from our
tribcflman.' So they dragged at my little boy Salama between them until

so.,=o-=

sa .. =. 9i

Tht l.ift of M11hammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

316

they c.li~located his arm, and the B. al-Asad took him away, while the
B. al-i\lughlra kept me with them, and my husband AbU Salama went to
Jl,ledina. Thus I was aeparated from my husband and my son. I used to go
outeerymomingandsitinthe\alleyweepingoontinuouslyuntilayear
or so had pused when one of my rousins of B. al-Mughira passed and saw
my plight and took pity on me:. He uid to his tribesmen, 'Why .don't
youletthis poorwomango?Youha\e aeparated husband,wife,andehild.'
Sotheysaidtome,'YouCllnjoinyourhusbandifyou likc';andthenthe
B.'Abdu'I-Asadrestoredmyaontome. Solsaddledmycamc:landtoolr.
my son and Cllrried him in my armt. Then I set forth making for my bus
band in i\ledina. Not a soul was with me. I thought that I could get food
from an)one I met on the road until I reached my husband. When I was in
Tan'im' I met 'Uthmjn b. TalJ:ta b. AbU TaiJ:ta, brother of B. 'Abdu'l
Dlr,\\hoaslr.edmc:where l wasgoingandifiv."asaUalonc. I told him
thatexceptforGodandmylittleboyl was alone. He said that I ought
nottobelefthclpleulikethatandhetoolr.holdofthecamel'shalterand
went along with me. Never have I met an Arab more noble than he. When
we halted he \\'Ould make the camel kneel for me and then withdraw;
when we rea~hed a stopping-place he would lead my camel away, unload it,
andtieittoauee. 'l'henhewouldgofrommeandliedownundc r atrec.
When evening came he would bring the camel and saddle it, then go
behind me and tell me to ride; and when I was firmly established in the
saddlehcwouldoomeandtakethehalterand leadituntilhebroughtmc
to a halt. This he did all the way to Medina. When he saw a village of
B. 'Amr b. 'Auf in QuM' he said: 'Your husband is in this illage (AbU
Salamawasac:tuallytherc),soenteritwiththeblessingofGod.' Then
hewentoffonhiwaybacktoMeeca.
She used to say, Ily God, I do not \mow a family in Islam which suffered
whatthcfamilyofAbUSalamadid.' Norhave i everseenanoblerman
than'Uthm;inb.TaiJ:ta.
The first emignnt to go to Medina after Abii Salama was 'Amir b.
Rabra, an ally of H. 'Adiy b. Ka'b together with his wife Layll d. of
l;lathma b. Ghi!.nim b. 'Abdullah b. 'Auf b. 'Ubayd b. 'Uwayj b. 'Adiy b.
Ka'b. Then ':\Wullah b. Ja\;lah b. Ri'lb b. Ya'mar b. !)abira b. Murra b.
Kathir h. Ghanm b. 0Ud3n b. A&ad b. Khuzarma ally of B. Umayya b.
'Abdu Shnns along with his family and his brother' Abd-who was kno1u1
asAbi' AJ:irnad. ~owAbUAJ:tmadwasblindandheusedtogoallround
Mecca from top tO bottom without anyone to lead him. lie' was a poet.
He had to "ife ai-Far'a d. of AbU Sufyln b.l:Jarb; his mother was Umayma
d.of'Abdu'l-:\ IU \Jalib.
The house of the IJ. JaJ:tsh was lockedu pwhentheyleft and 'Utba b
Rabi'a and ai-'Abbas b. 'Abdu'I-Munalib and AbU Jahl b. Hishiim passed
'Thi pl oioOi i..lloboNoporoOinp,i,r,about.Umilts,fromMe<co
'Thefomilywooollhut,Jrotroyedinthe.....,n thotfollow..:I;'U1hmlinhimorlf.,..ooki11..:1
atth<briinninll<>f'Umu'l t<JIIn,

byitontheir"ay.totheupperpanofMecca. (Todayitisthehouseof

:n~~r~: ~~t:t7!~ :~h~~~:~~:~:si~=~dh::;:,;:~di~i~;~~ b[o,.ing to

E:eryhousehoweverlongitsprosperityluts
\\'dlonedaybeo,ert:ikenbymisfortuneandtroubh:(26o).
Then Ttba IH'nt ~n 10 say. 'The house of the B. JaJ:tsh hu become 17
(:~.~ku.' To \\h1ch AbU Jahl replied, 'Nobody Will weep 01cr that
He we~t on: This is the wor~ of this man's nephew. He has divided our

~~:~~~ .;~;~~R:~~.:~~f3:;::;u~~~c:. ja;~~~~:~~t~~~r ::~

AJ:!mad b. JaJ:tsh were billeted on Mubashshir b. 'Abdu'l-Mundhir b.
Zanb.ar in Qubi' among the .B. 'Amr b. 'Auf.
Then the refugees came in comjniea and the B. Ghanm h. 0Ud3n were

~~~li::n''~~od h:~:~~ ~~:::;:~ ~ j~t? a:~\ti:eb=~: ~sb~mlgh::~

and 'Ukbha b. ~ l iJ:tFn and Shuj5' and 'Uqba, the two sons of \Vahb,
and Arbad b. Humayyira (262), and Munqidh b. Nub!ita and Sa'ld b.

~if~:~~:~i;~:~:~;~:~:~~~J~~~i!~~~::g'~~:y~~:~~~;
JaJ:tsh

~~::~:~;?]~~di~~::a::~~~; :~~:~(r~1~~::::~g~~~.rr~a~?~

l;lamnad.jaJ:tsh.

:I:~~~~~~?::~:~~ =~!g::~o~h~[r~~~!~ ~: ~~h:~~~~~::

Had Abmad's mother 't\\ixt $afl and Manva sworn
Heroathv.rouldhavebntruc.
Wewerethefin~tinMeceaandremainedso

Tillthewonebecamethcbettcrpart.
HereGhanm b. DUdlnpitchedhis tent.
From it Ghanm has gone and iu inhabitants diminish.'
ToGodtheygoinonesandtwos,
Theirrcl igionthereligioitofGod andhisapo~tle.

He also said:
When Umm AJ:tmad saw me setting out
Inthe protec:tionofOneliiCCretlyfearandreverence,
~~~ ~:;,.';:;"..:.,~ .. hoc if Ghonm hao

IQM',

&<:. AbU Dhorr 'l~riu 1M word 9"/i~

Tlrt

LAJ~

of Muhammad

PART Ill
3" 'Umar accompanieU by varinu~ memlll.:rt of hit family, anU his brother
ZayU, anU 'AmranJ 'AbJullah thewnsofHurlya b.ai-Mu'tamir, and
Khuna)~ h. J:{udhifa ai-Sahmi (who had marria.l 'Umar's Ua~ghtu
l,l :~f~ whmn the apnSIIe married after the death of her husband), and
Wi'Jid b. 'Abdullah al-Tamimi an ally of theirt, and Kh au li and 1\Hiik
b. Ah1i Khauli, 11111 allies (265), and four aon.t of ai-Bukayr, namely
l yl~. 'A,til, '.\mir, an.! Kh5lid; and their allict from B. Ha'd b. L.a.yth;
"hen theynrived at 1\ll-dinastayed with Rif5'a b. 'Abdu'l-1\fundhirh.

~~:~;~~~~~:~~: t~; ~~~a~ 'Auf in Qubi'. 'Ayybh also stayed with him

Then came succc:ssive 1..-act of emigranu: Tal~a b. 'Ubayd Allah b

'Llthm5n; ~uhayb b. Sinln stayed with Khubayb b. IsM brother of the 1!.
ai- IJ Jrith b. al-Khauaj, in ai-Sunl;l. 1 Othert deny this and say that
Tall,ta stayed with As'ad b. Zur:lr:~ brother of the R. al-Najj~r(166).
JU
The folhlwing stayed with Kulthiim b. Hidm brother of B. 'Amr b.
'Auf in Qub!': l;lamza b. 'Abdu'l-Mul[alib; ZayJ h. ~~ ~ritha; Abn Marthad Kannlzb.~l ifn(2~);andhisJOnMarthadofthetribt'Ghani,atlies
of J:lamza; Anasa; and Abo Kabsha, freedmen of the apostle. Other
rcpons arc that they stayed with Ra\1 b. Khaythama; an.! that l,lamu
staycdwith&'ad b. Zuril'll.
The following 1tayed with 'Abdullah b. Sabma brother of the Banii
'Ajlin in Qub1': 'Ubayda b. al-~l~rith and hi1 brother al-Tufayl; alf.lu~yn b. al-~l~rit h; MisJaQ b. UtMtha b. 'Abh;ld b. al-Munalib;
Suwaybi! b. Sa'd b. l:lur-ymila brother of IJ. 'Abdu'lDJr: Tubyb b.
:~=)'~.~~!::a~~ the 8. 'Abd b. Qupyy; and Khabb~b, freedman of
WithSa'db.al-Rabi'brotheroftheU.al- i:IJrithb.ai- Kh azrajinth~house
10mc ma le emigr:mts

of the latter stayed 'Abdu'I-Ral;lmin b. 'Auf with

With Mundhir b. Muhammad b. 'Uqba b.

Ui.Jay~a

b.

a!-J ul:l~

in

:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!u:~~~~~~~~:~~~;s:~f:~::~::~~.:~~~::~~~

!~u~~~~~~g stayed Mtll'ab b. 'Umayr b. ll bhim brother of the B.

JJ

With 'Abb~d b. Bishr b. Waqsh brother of the fl . 'Abdu'I-Ashhal in

the latter's dwelling stayed Abii l;ludhsyfa b. 'Utba b. Rabi'a and his
freedman S~lim; and 'Utba b. Ghatwln b. j lbir (268)
With Aus b. Th:J.bit h. al-Mundhir, brother of l;lasdn b. TMbit in the

~=~!; ~~~~d~~~~~:~~U~~~:~~-t~fflh~~~~~::t~.:,rc,:~.why
It is said that thecelibateemigrantsstayed with Sa'd b. Khaythama
bcC2usehehimsclfwasunmarried;butGodknowsbestaboutthat.
' lfl ""'uppcrpo.nofModinl.

ThtLifeof.\tulumrmad
J~J

3 6
'

Theymustthinkofanotherplan. Anothernunsu,~p!;tstedthatt heyshould

drivehimoutofthecountry. Theydid notcare .. hcrehewentor what
happened to him once he was out of sight and they were rid of him. They
could then rt~toretheirsociallifetoitsformerstate. Againtheshaykh
objectedthatit.,unotagoodplan. Hisfinespeechandbtautiful diction
andthecompellingforccofhismesugeweresuch thatifhesettledwith
.arne Beduin tribe he Would win them o-er so that they would follow him
andcomeandanackthemintheirlandandrohthcmofthtirpositionand
authority and then he could do what he liked with them. They must
thinkofabenerplan.
Thereupon Abii Jaht uid that he had a plan which had not been
suggested hitheno, namely that each clan should proide a young, powuful,well-born,aristocraticwarrior;thateachoftheseshouldbcprovided
with a sharp sword; then that each of them should strike a blow at him
and kill him. Thus they would be relieved of him, and responsibility
forhisbloodwou ld lieupona\ltheclans. TheR.':\bduManilfcouldnot
fight them all and would have to accept th~ blood-money wh~ch _they
would all contribute to. The shaykh exclamed: 'The man ts nght.
lnmyopinionitis theonlythingtodo.' Havingcometoa decisionthe
people dispersed.
ThenGabrielcametotheaprutleandsaid:'Donotsleeptonighton the
bed on whichyouusualtysleep.' lkforemuchofthe nighthad passed
they assembled at his door waiting for him togotoslecpsot hat they
might fall upon him. When the apostle ~w wha_t they were doing he
told 'Ali to lie on his bed and to wrap htmself m his green l;laQraml
mantle; for no harm would befall him. He himself used to sleep in this

ma;~~~d

b. Ziy5d on the authority of Muhammad b. Ka'b. al-Oura?-1 told

me that when they were all outside his door AbU Jahl uid to them
'Muhammad alleges that if you follow him you will be kings of the Arabs
and the Persians. Then after deathyouwillberai!edtogardenslikethose
of the Jord~n. But if you do not follow him you will be slaughtered, and
when you are raised from the de~d you will be burned in thefireofhell.'
The apostle L-ame out to them with a handful ~f dust saying: 'I do PY
that. Youareoneofthem.' Godtookawaythetraight sothattheycould
notscchimandhebegantosprinklethedustontheirheadsasherecited
theseelliCI:'Y:~Sin,bythewiseQuran. nlOuanofthoscthatansent
onastraightpath,arevelationofthel\lightythel\tcrciful'as faruthe
words'And \\ecoered them and theyoould not sec'.' When he had
finishedr~itingnotoncofthembuthaddustuponhishead. Then he
went whcreer he .. ~nted to go and someone not of their company came
up and asked Them what they were waiting fo r th~rc. When the}' ~:rid

~:~ t;a~~;:~~ ~~~~~~:g:~~ ~~~h~~~:6~~~a~ ~~:~ ~~~;::;~:~;~

ThrLifeojllfuhammad
and then went off on his_own affairs. Can't you see what has happened
toyou?'Theyputupthetrhandsandfcltthedustontheirheads. Then
they began to_ search and_sa._w 'Ali on the bed wrapped in the apostle's
mantleandsatd,"ByGodlltsl\luhammlldsiepinginhismantlc.' Thus
they remained until the morning when 'Ali rose from the bed and then
thc:yrealizedthatthemanhadtoldthemthctruth
Among the verses of the Qur.m which God sent down about that day
and what they had agreed upon are: 'And when the unbc.lieers plot to
shuttheeuportokillthceortodriethecoutthcyplot,butGodplots
also, and Godisthebestof_plonen';' and'Ortheysayheiaapoetfor
whom we may expect the mu;fortune of fate. Say: Go on expecting for
l amwithyouamongtheexpectant'(2li9).
It was then that GoJ ga\e permission to his prophet to migrate, Now 327
AbiiBakrwasamanofmeans,andatthetimcthatheaskedtheapostle's
pennission to migr:ate and ~e replied 'Do not hurry; perhaps God will
r.iveyouacompamon,'hopmgthattheapostlemeanthimselfhebought
two camels and kept them tied up in his house supplying them with fodder
in preparation for departure.
A man whom I have no reason to doubt told me as from 'Urwa b. alZubayr that 'A'ishasaid: The apostle used to go toAbii Bakr's house
r:verydaycitherintheearlymorningoratnight;butonthedaywhenhe
was given pennission to migrate from Mecca he came to us at noon, an
hour at which he was not wont to come. As soon as he saw him AbO. Bakr
realizedthatsomethinghadhappenedtobringhimatthishour. When
he came in AbO. Bakr gae up his seat to him. Only my sister Aamil'
and I werethereandtheapostleasked him to send us away. 'But they
11re my two daughters and they can do no harm, may my father and my
onotherbeyourransom,'saidAbO.Dakr. 'Godhasgivenmepc:nnission
lo depan and migrate,' he all!IWered. 'Together?' asked Abii llakr.
'Together,' he replied. And by God before that day I had never seen
anyone weep for joy as AbO. Bakr wept then. At last he said, '0 prophet
nf God, these are the two camels which I have held in readines. for this.' 318
So they hired 'Abdullah b. Arqat, a man of D. '1-0i'l b. Bakr whose mother
was a woman of D. Sahm b. 'Amr, and a polytheist to lead them on the
way,andtheyhandedoertohimtheirtwucamclsandht-keptthemand
ledthemuntiltheappointeddaycame.J
' S0ro8.)0.
'S\inSJ.)O.
I Altl>iopolntinSuhoyli'oeommrntary(ii,p.a)thoerciooDOteo(Ct>noiderobkimpOr-

=(i~nlt!:::!,~'~-~::.:: ~:=;,-;':;"~~;.~';;:);~":""..;;..:.:::~~;2,:'~~~
ilnh~~rl~~n''::;"";."~~~~:.m~~~;'.!'~':e~'t.~~~:h~io~ll~~':u'n~;~

~~s&~~i~:s~~~~~~~~;~;~-1~~+rt1;:~~~

M.~~~~~:;::"a~~~~~.:~/ h:~~~i"fn i~h: :!:~~cl~ !flY~~~. ~~~~:,!;:.:~~;,:~

1

224

The L1]r. of Muhammad

According to what I have been told none knew when the apostle left
except'AiiandAbU llakrandthelatter'sfamily. l.hneheardth.atti.Je

~e! i~o~~~~~:oa~~~h~c!~:~~;~ :e~ ~~~e:~~:dt: ~t~~h~:;~~~~~

foranyoneinMeccawhohadpropcrtywhichhewasanxiousaboutleftit
withhimbccauseofhisnotorioushonestyandtrusunmhint$!1.
WhentheapostledccidedtogohecametoAbU Dakrandthetwoof
them left by a window in thebackofthelattcr'shouseand made fora
cave on Thaur, a mountain below 1\lccca. !laving entered, AbU lbkr
3l9 ordered his ton 'Abdullah to listen to what people were saying and to
come to them by night with the day's ne..,~. He also ordered '.3.mir b.
Fuhayra,hisfrecdman,tofecdhisfl.ockbydayandtobringthemtoth~m

inthecveninginthecave. Asma'hJsdaughtcrusedtocomcatnightwJth
foodtosustainthem(270)
The two of them stayed in the cne for three days. Whc;n Quraysh
missed the apostle they offered a hundred she-camels to anyone who

;;~~~d a~~n~~!.~~:i:k~ ~~~r~~:u:~eC:~e :t~i~~~~h...~;;~; ~~s~e~!~,~.t\\~:~

used to pasture his flock withtheahepherdlofMccea and when n1ght

:l~:ou~~h~~~~~:~~~~ :~~ ~:~wil~e~:h::t~k;!;h;,mt;n:1 :~ae:~~A:i~

wouldtakcthesheepoverthe~~oameroutetOCO\'erhistraeka. \Vhenthe
thrccda)~hadpassedandmen'tinterestwaned,themantheyhadhircd

came with their C21IIciS and one of his own. Asma' came too with a bag
ofpro,isions; but she had forgotten to bring a rope, 110 that whe~ they
atartcdshecouldnottiethebagonthecamel. Thereuponsheund1dher
girdleandusingitasaropetiedthebagtother.addlc.Forthisreason
shegotthename'Sheofthegirdle'(271).
WhenAbii Bakrbroughtthetwocamclstotheapostleheoffercdthe
bctteronetohimandinvitedhimtorideher. Buttheapostlerefusedto
ride an animal which wu not his own and when Abii Bakr wanted to give
him it he demanded to know what he hlad paid for it and bought it from
him. They rode off, and AbU Bakr carried 'Amir his freedman behind him
toactasaacrvantonthejourney
I wu told that Asm~ said, 'When the apostle and AbU Bakr had gone,
anumberofQurayshindudingAbU}:ahlcametousandatoodatthedoor.
When I went out to them they asked where my father was and when I
r.aid that I did not know AbU Jahl, who was a rough dissolute man,
330 slapped my face so violcntlyth:atmyearring flew off. Then they took
themschctoffandwercmainedforthrecdayswithoutnewsuntilaman
mentionortMoh.adilh. Init'A'ioho.uid' I Mudavoibutcouldoeenoo.,. . ',ondoM

=.:.",:~ ~~=:; ~~:.:~~ :~~~elb:k~~~.: ~;.:.~;~~ ~.:r.:~~~~ru:::,n:ou~;~:

~~?:"~:~~~t.~fi:7!~t;~~.~:~::: tE~~~~.~~~~

The Life of M11hammod

of the Jinn came from the lower part of Mecca tinging some verses in
the Arab \.\'lly. And lo people were following him and listening to his
voicebuttheycouldnotscchim,untilheemergedfromtheuppcrpartof
Mcccar.ayingthewhile:
GodtheLordofmengivethebcstofhisrcwards
To the t WO companions \\ho rested in the two tents of Umm Ma'bad.
Theycamewithgoodintentandwcntoffatnightfall.
May Muhammad's companion prosper!
May the place of the DanU Ka'b's woman bring them luck,
Forshewasalook.-outforthebclievers'(z7:t).
Asma' continued: 'When we heard his words we knew that the apostle
wu making for Medina. There were four of them: the apostle, AbU
Bakr, 'Amir, and 'Abdullah b. Arqaltheir guide' (:173).
Ya~ya b. 'Abbad b. 'Abdullah b. ai-Zubayr told me that his father
'Abb~d told him that hit grandmother Asmii' taid: 'When the apostle
went forth with Abii Dakr the latter carried all his money with him to the
amount of five or six thousand dirhams. !\ly grandfather AbU Qu~iifa
whohadlosthitsightcametocallonuss:tyingthathcthoughtthatAbU
Bakrhadputusinadifficultybytakingoffallhismoney. ltoldhimthat
hchadleftusplentyofmoncy. Andltooksomestonesandputthemina
niche where Abii Bak.r kept his money; then I CO\'ered them with a cloth ll'
and tookhishandandaaid, "Putyourhandonthismoney, father." l-Ie
didsoandr.aid:"There'snothingtoworryabout;hehasdonewellin

~:;i;:;;~e~h:~ :;tdt~~u0~1!!~:~ :~1~~,r~~.!act he had left us nothing,

Al-Zuhri told me that 'Abdu'l-Rahman b. l\1ll.lik b. Ju'thum told him

from his father, from his uncle Suri.qa b. Malik b. ju'shum: 'When the
apostiCmigratedQurayshofferedarewardofahundredcamclstoanyone
who would bring him back. While I was sitting in my people's assembly
oneofourmencamcupandstoppedaaying,"ByGod,l'vejustiCCnthrcc
riders passing. I think they must be Muhammad and his companions "
I gave him~ wink enjoining silence and said "They are the so-and-110
looking for a lost camel." "Perhaps so," he said and remained 1ilcnt.
l remaincdthc reforashortwhile;then lgotup andwenttomyhouseand
ordercdmyhorsetobcgotrcady,foritwastetheredformeinthebottom
of the valley. Then I asked for my weapons and they were brought
from the back of the room. Then I took my divining arrows and went
out,havingputonmyarmour. Then lcastthediviningarrowsandout
came the arrow which I did not want: "Do him no harm."' I did the
r.ame again and got the tame result. I wu hoping to bring him back. to
Qu111ysh so that I might win the hundred camels reward.
'lrodeinpursuitofhimandwhenmyhorsewasgoingatagoodpace
'~markindicalinrlhit~K~UidMonlhearrow.

The Life uj Muhammud

The UJe of Muhammad

he atumOled and threw me. I thought this was somewhat unusual &0
I retOrted to thediviningarrowsagain andoutcamethedetestable "Do
him no harm." But l rduaedtobeputoffandrodeoninpursuit. Again
my horse stumbled and threw me, and again I tried the arrows with the
same resuil.' I rode on, and at last as I saw the little band my horse
stumbled with me and ils forelegs went into the ground and I fell. Then

na

r:;:~:~~~~~;~~:o;:::!:7~~~:~r::,l:~ ::::~~~:~

forme;andthattheyneedhavenoconcem,fornoharmwouldcometo
them from me. The apottle told AbU Bakr to ask what I wanted and I u.id,
"Writeadoeumentformewhich will be a sign between you and me"
andtheapostkinatructedAbU Bahtodoso.
'Hewroteitonabone,orapieceofpaper,or apotsherdandth rewitto
meandlputitinmyquiverandwentback. Ikeptquieta?c>utthe':"hole
affai r until whentheapot;tleoonqueredl\lecca:md finished_wn_hal-T~', f and

:~i~ t~:;:~:~~o~::~~~i.?~~~d~~;:~~~~:~:~;rds~~::s~

~o:::~~~p~~~:~rt:o 1 ~:~i:~~!et:n~e07~ ;~l!~:.~ll:~d h:/~

with the document, saying what it was and what my name was. He satd" It
isadayofrepayingandgoodness. Lethimcomenear." Solapproaehed
him and accepted Islam. Then I remembe red something that I wanted
to ask him. All I can remember now is that I said "Stray cameb used to
come to my cistern which I kept full for my own camels. Shall I get a
reWlird for having let them have water?" "Yes; he said, "for watering
everythirstycreaturethereisareward.'' Then I retumed tomypeople

an~~;:u~~d~y~ =u~~~h:. r:::l~' ,<:J:>;hem below Mecca; then. along

1

~:h~~~ti~:~:~ ~~~r:~da\~~:~r ~J ~~~7u~!~~:

1

lll

Liq(275).
He took them past the waterhole of Liqf, then do"''Jl to Madl.ajatu
Ma~lj (276), then past Marji~ Ma~lj, then down to Marjil;a o~. DhU1Ghadw;~yn(2n),thenthevalleyofDhO.Kast>r;thenbyal -J adiJ!d,then

al-Ajrad, then Dho Salam of the valley of A'dl',thewaterhole ofTa'hin,

thenbyal-'Ablbid(278), thenbywayof.ti-Fijja(279). Then betook
t hem down to sl-'Arj; and one of their mounts having dropped behind,
amanof.Miam,Auab.J:Iujrbyname,tooktheprophct toMedinaonhis
camel which was called Ibn al-Ridl', sending with him a ~tvant called

form

1 Thio 11011 ;. ~ut in the fomiliar

of the IIO'l'~lkr: the um< words arc ~ted
~,';.'!:::;~:!~ thechmu io rached. In thetnnolarionltiV<:n obovethe- iORIVOn
AplocenurMeaonthcroadtooi-Ti'if.

1\las'Od b. llunayda. From 'Arj the guide took them to Thaniyyatu'lA'ir(28o)'tothcrightofRakObaontilhebrooghtthemdowntothevalley

of Ri'm; thence to Quba' to B. 'Amr b. 'Auf on Monday nth Rabl'u'].
awwal at high noon~
Muhammad b. ja'far b. ai-Zubayr from 'Uma b. al-Zubayr from
'Abdu'I-Ral.mtln b. 'Uwaymir b. Sfida told me, saying, '!\len of my tribe
\\hO were the apostle's companions told me, "When we hean.l that the
apostle had !dtl\Ieccaandwewereeagerlyexpecting his arrival we used lJ4
togo out aftermomingprayerstoourlavatractbeyondoorlandtoawait
him. This we did until there was no more shade left and then we went
indoorsinthehots.eason. Onthedaythattheapostlearrivedwehadaat
11 we alw11ys had until there being no more shade we went indoors and
then the apostle arrived. The first to s.cc him was a Jew. He had seen what
we were in the habit of doing and that we were expecting the11rrivalof
theapostleandhecalledoutatthetopofhisvoice'O BanUQaylayour
luck has come!' So we went out to greet the apostle who was in the
shadow of a palm-tree with AbU llakr who was of like age. Now most
of us had never seen theapostleandasthep<'opleerowded round him
they did not know him from AbU llakr until the shade left him and AbU
~~~:~?~up with his mantle and shielded him from the sun, and then we

T he apostle, so they say, stayed with KulthUm b. Hidm brother of the

B. 'Amr b. 'Auf, one of the B. 'Ubayd. Others say he stayed wit h Sa'd
b. Khaythama. Those who assert the former say that it was only bea.uae he
left Kulthlim to go and sit with the men in Sa'd's house (for he was a
bachelor and housedtheapostle'scompanionswhowere bachelors) that
itisuidthathestayedwithSa'd,forhishouseusedtobecalledthehouae
ofthebachdors. ButGodknowsthetruthofthematter
AbU Bakrstayedwith Khubayb b. ls3f,oneofthe B.al-I:Urit h b.al~!~~ !~ ;~~S~~~j_;;;:~ say it was wit h Khllrija b. Zayd b. AbU Zuhayr,
'Aiista)edinMeccaforthreed;~ysandnightsuntilhehadresto~tdthe

deposits which the apostle held. This done he joined the apostle and
lodged with him at KulthUm's house. He stayed in Qubll' only a night or
two. He used to say that in Qubll' there was 311 unmarried Muslim woman
andhenoticedthatamanusedtocometoherinthemiddleofthenight
an~ knock on her door; ~~e would come out and he would give her some-

~~~t~~~ n~:h~~!t ;:r?o:s:.::o:.~~

=~~::~:;;~::~i~:u:h: h::~:~~~

She told him that the man was Sah\ b. l:lunayf b. Wlhib who knew that
shewasallaloncandheusedtobrcakupthcidolsof histribeatnightand
Iii.' ~~.~~~t~~ -~~~t.i!y io ai-Ghibit,

T-

11J7,

following'U,.....o b. IZubayr.

Cf. Ylq

th: o~~~~~n~~;:f,~.~~~~r~7t~.;~~~~~~~.~::.:.~:::.;!~u~ri~~~;':;~.i~~~!{ :~

335

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Astheybuilt,theMuslimssangaraja::tvenc:
There'tnolifebutthelifeofthenextworld
0God,ha\emercyontheani}3randthemuhljira(a8t),
Thetpostleusedtosingitintheform
There'tnolifebutthelifeofthenextworld.
0God,havemercyonthemuhajirinandtheanf-1r, 1
'AmmJr b. Yisir came in when they had overloaded him with bricb,
saying, 'They are killing me. They load me with burdens they can't
carry themsehes.' Umm Sal:una the prophet' wife aaid: I pw the
apostlerunhithandthroughhishair-forhewasacurly-hairedman:~du:r ~~~ .!bn Suman11! It is not they who will kill you but a wicked
'Aiicomposedaraja::l'enconthatday:
There'sonethatlaboursnightandday
Tobuildusmosquesofbrickand"clay
Andonewhotumsfromdustaway!(a8a.)
And'Ammlrlearneditandbegantochantit.
Whenhepersistedin itoneoftheprophet'scompanionsthoughtthat
it was he who was referred to in it acrording to what Ziyld b. 'Abdul!ah
al-Bakkll.'t told me from Ibn h~ll.q. The latter had actually named the man. 1
He uid: 'I have heard what you have ~n saying for a long time, 0
IbnSumayya,andbyGod lthinkl'llhityouonthenotei'Nowhehada 338
ttick in his hand and the apostle was angry and .aid, 'What is wrong
between them and 'Ammlr? He invites them to Paradise while they
invite him to hell. 'Ammiir is as dear to me as my own face. If a man
beha\'tslikethishewillnorbeforgiven,toa\oidhim.'
Sufyll.n b. 'Uyayna mentioned on the authority of Zakariya from
al-Sha'bl that the fint man to build a mosque was 'Ammll.r b. Yilsir.
The apostle li\ed in Abii AyyUb's bouse until his mosque and dwelling
houseswerebuilt;thenheremovedtohisownquarters.
\'a:tid b. Abii ):labib from l\1anhad b. 'Abdullah al-Yazani from Abii
Ruhm ai-SamJ'I told me that Abii Ayylib told him: 'When the apoetle
cametolodgewithmeinmyhouseheoccupiedthegroundfloor,while
I and Umm Ayyiib were abo1e. I .aid to him, "0 prophet of God, you
1 l}y<h;,otunrion<herhymcond rhy<hm"-.:udn<n>y<d

'ThioprophyioooodiOhavc~fulfill<d" hcn'Ammlr"'"' kilkdo$iffin;Suhayll,

li,p.J
0

Suha}liooyo:lbnbtliqdi.dn~~methemon,bullbnHi,ruJ.mp,.f<r,.dnottodooooo

no to mrntion on~ of th~ prophet' componiono in du.. rc..litobl< ~; ,.,..,., ...""". rcr.
" "hotlbnlliohlmuyoinhiointrodu<tion.]Th<,..,r.,,..;,<Onn<>"<rbenahttoinquouoftn
hioklmtity. AbQDhorr uyo: lbnlsrul.qdidnamrthemon onduid'Thoomonwoo'Uthmln
b.'AIIln.'ThcCoitohtonuy tholinthel\!owlhibol-laduniya(ol-QollOlllnl, d. A.t>
1St7)themoniouidtobe'Uthminb.Mofiin. T hoslotcwrit<rmayufdyMianoudon
this point

Tht Lift of Muhammad

aredeartomeasmyparents,andlarndistressedthat lahouldbeabo\e

~~~h Y:s~''bel~ ewr;;~i.ed~'~a~~t~;:;~~~sq~~7::~~~n~:~;~~~! ~:

0

myguejtsthatweshould beonthegroundfloorofthehouse." So we
remained as we were. Once we broke a jar of water and Umm Ayylib and
I took oneofourgarmentstomopupthewaterinfearthatitwoulddrop
:~he apostle and cause him annopnce. We had no cloth which we could
'Weusedtopreparehiseveningmealand .endit tohim. When he

~~~~FE;;!:1o:~:~~~~t:~~~:;:~~a~~~ ;:]~E~

~d I saw no ma~k of his hand .in i.t. I went to him in some anxiety to tell
htmofourpracttceand thatthJStJmethere wasnomarkofhishand,and
herepliedthathehadperceivedtheame:llofthe\egetablesand hewasa
man who had to speak confidentially to people but that we should eat them.
Soweatethedishandnever senthimonionsagain'
339
The emigrants followed one another to join the apc:.~tle, and none was
left in MC(!C:Ibutthosewhohadapostatizedorbeendetained. Whole
families with their property did not come together except the B. MafUn
fromB.jumaQ;thcB.jaJ:lsh b. Ri'Ab,alliesofB. Umayya;and the B.
Dukayr from B. Sa'd b. Layth, allies of B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b. Their houses in
Mcawerclocked upwhentheymigratcd,leavingnoinhabitant.
WhentheB. Jai;lshgaveuptheirhouseAbliSufyinwentandsolditto
' Amr b. 'Aiqama brother of B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy. When the ownel'8 heard
ofthis'Abdullahb.Jai;l.shtoldtheapostlcofit,and he replied: 'Are you
not pleased tt-at Gori will give you a bener house in Paradi~~oe ?' And when
he anawered Yes, he said, 'Then you have it.' Whet\ the apostle got
possessionofMcaAbUAI;lmadspoketohimabouttheirhouse;andthe
apostledelayedhisreply. Pcopleaaid tohim,'Theapostledislikesyour
rcopeningthe qucstion of yourpropertywhichyoulostinGod'sservice,
so don't speak tohimaboutitagain.' AbUAJ:lmadsaidinrcferenceto
AbUSufyin:

T ellAbUSufyAnofamanerhewill livetoregret.
Youaoldyourcousin'a house topayadcbtyouowed.
Your ally by God the Lord of men swean an oath:
T~:v~: Take it, may [your treachery] cling to you like the ring of the
The apostle stayed in Medina from the month of Rabi'u' l-awwal to
~abr of the following year until his mosque and his quanel'8 were built.
This tribe of the AntAr all accepted Islam and every house of the Anpr
HO accepted Islam except Khatma, Wlqif, Wi'il, and Umayya who were the

Aus Allah, a tlan of Aus w"o dung to their heathenism.

The fi1 st address which the apoetle pve according to what I heard on the

THE COVENANT BI!TWEE~ TH! MUSLIMS AND THE

~--

TheLiftofMulummu:ul

The/AjeofMuhammad
followed them and joined them and laboured with them. They are one

::!~~'::) ;;!~~e:~~'::" a':a~~ ;;n~heT~~oo~u;{'~i::~g:~

11

::::rn~n :o~~~~~~rs~ their prisoners with the kindness and justice

The ~.'Auf acco~ding to their ~resent C\Utom a~all pay the bloodwit
t~y pllld m h~themsm; every .et:t!On shall redeem IU prisoners with the
kindness andjWJtice COIIlltl()n among believers. The B. Sl'ida, the B.

'1-l:llrith,andtheB.JU&h.am,andtheB.al-NajjirlikewiK. 1
The B. 'Amr b. 'Auf, the B. al-Nabit and the B. ai-'Aus likewise.

l~ his~~::;ti:~!::~;:-rv~l=w';: i~~:~~~:;n;;:).them by

not paying

AbelieverahallnottakeasanallythefreedmanofaootherMuslim
a~inst him. The God-f~in~ believe_rs shall~ against the rebellious or

~~e~e':;':~~~j~::4us:: ~~~~:~r.;::;~Yhi% ::~1;i:~ ::~:::

ofoncofthcm. Abelieverahallnotalayabelieverfortheaakeofan

~3~e~l:::;!~!:e;~;;::;~:e::~::::~~i:~~

To theJewwbofoUowsuabelonghelpandequality. He shall not be

~1~~%{~~~

:i~~~U:.::C~::Uerbe ~J::~:r;:~7!~e!:!;i!~;~:xtbe~~e~~

:n~::!~~~i!~~~::-=~j~~ ~et;;ti~~i:;::h~l~~ againat him u

Its~notbelawfultoabelieverwhoholdsbywhatisinthilldocument

andbd!eveainGodandthelutdayfohelpanevil-doer<ortoshelterhim.

~= i~=d~~~d~~i~!: :::~=~h:odra~;~r:~~t::n:~v: ~:'~

~~~u:::~~ you differ about a matter it muat be referred to God and
TheJewaahaUcontributctothecostofwarsolongutheyare fighting

233

alongsi?e the believers. The Jev:s of ~he B. 'Auf are one conununity with
thebehevcrs(theJewshavethelrrehgionandtheMuslilll$havetheira),
theirfreedmenandtheirperaonaexceptth01Cwhobehaveunjuatlyand
tinfully,fortheyhunbutthe.~lveaandtheirfamiliea. Theumeappliea
to theJewsofthe B. al-NaJJir, B. al-l;U.rith, B. Si'ida, B. Jusham, B. 341
al-Aua, B. Tha'laba, and the JfiUJ, a clan of the Tha'laba and the B.
al-Shutayba. Loyaltyillaprotectionagainattreachery. 1 Thefreedmenof
Tha'labaareuthernaelvea. TheclOICfriends'oftheJewsareuthem.elvea.
None of them ahall go out to war nve with the pennilsion of Muhammad,
butheahallnotbepreventedfromtakingrevengeforawound. He who
slayaamanwithoutwamingalayahinuelfandhiahouaehold,unleasitbe
one who h.u wronged him, for God will accept that. The Jewa muat bear
tbeirexpenaeaandtheMuslilll$theirexpenses. Eachmusthelptheother
against anyone who attacb the people of thill document. They muat aeek
mutualadviceandconault.ation,andloyaltyillaprotectionagairulttreachery.
A man is not liable for his aUy's misdeeds. The wronged must be helped.
The Jews must pay with the believer& 10 long u war lull. Yathrib shall
beatanctuaryforthepeopleofthisdocument. A stranger under protection ahall be as hill host doing no harm and committing no crime. A
womanahaUonlybegivenprotectionwiththeconsentofherfamily. If
anydisputeorcontroversylikelytocausetroubleshouldariseitmustbe
referred to God and to Muhammad the apostle of God. God accepts
whatisnearesttopietyandgoodnessinthisdocument. Qura}'5handtheir
helpersehallnotbegivenprotection. Thecontractingpanieaarcbound
tohelponeanotheragainstanyattackonYathrib. lftheyarecallcdto
malr.epeaceandmaintainittheymustdoso;andiftbeymakcasimilar
demandontheMuslinuitmustbccarriedoutexceptinthecascofa
holy war. Every one shall have his portion from the side to which he
belongs;' the Jews ofal-Aus, their freedmen and themselvC$ l)ave the
ume standing with the people of this document in pure loyalty from the
peopleofthisdocument(284)
Loyalty is a protection against treachery; He who acquires aught JH
acquires it forhinuelf. God approvesofthisdocument. 'This deed will
notprotect 4 theunjustandthe sinncr. The man who goes forth to fight
and themanwhostays at home in the city' is safe unle;,.she 00.-sh<:<'n
unjust and sinned. Godistheprote<..-torofthegoodandGod-fe3ringman
andMuhammadistheapostlcofGod
' Wellhoulft'l, Slrium ....J VMari-ftlm, Y, Berlin, tiSo), p. 70, rond~n 't..u~rtcit oteht
vorTrua'ondo<:c:uoeoSprongerond.Krohlofineuctnesa.S.hu'oiernllu<nk>yolund
ni<:ht ochlechchondeln'whe~o tt,..Jtruthittinqueorion.Suboylloayotho.rnnnin&io

'Piccyondloyohyo<andinthewoyoft.....,hery'(ii. l7)
1

Forthemeoninllofthio wonlcf.J19-4Whc~~~-d .. rlyhuouchotonJ>Otlltion.

For thio idi""' ~r. SUn 6. :l4

I Or'inM~ino' . WhotherMedlnoio ....,ontornotth<paoMr< Otando .. lf-cond~nedoo
ola<erini<I]'IOiotiunbecouoethetownio eonoio~ntlycalkdYothrib.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

BROTHERHOOD BETWEEN EMIGRANTS AND HELPER S

l~lttl'tl

;;:.~llah

b. 'Abdu'l-RaJ:tm!in al-Khath'aml, more precisely one of the

These are the men who were named to us as those to whom the
apostlemadehisoompanionsbrothetll.
When'UmarcompiledtheregisteninSyriaBililhadgonethereand
remained as a combatant. He asked him with whom he wished to be 3-46
grouped and he said with AbU RuwayJ:ta. 'I will never leave him, for the
apostleestabliahedbrotherhoodbetweenus.' So hewaslinkedwith him
and the register of the Abyasinians was linked with Khath'am because of
Bilil'spositionwiththem,andthisarrang<:mentoontinuestothisdayin
Syria.

~nh~a~~~~~: :1u~~~ ~~liJ;~~eb~~~e~r ~~B~i':~:~be";:~~

brothen(:zSs)Thepairswerearrangedthus:

~~~t:~~:~~:j~~.i~~~~r~~~~r~:~:~~::~~jj~~~~~~r~;t~~j
Abdu'l-RaJ:tmlnb.AufandSa'db.al-Rabi'brothuofB.al-l:lirith

~~~~~~t~}~~~ :~~~~::~~~ra~~a:tbh:~:~~:db~~\':;:~ ~:~~l~ao: ::

'Ut~min b. 'Afnn and Aus b. TMbit b. al-Mundhir brother of B.
~~~~r. TalJ:ta b. 'Ubaydullah and Ka'b b. Milik brother of the B.

al-~~~ ~: Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufayl and Ubayy b. Ka'b brother of the B.

~=~7~'~~i,~~~f:~~~.~~~aA=~A~~!~idb\:~~db~~a~:h:r~~~h~-r~f

~g~:;~~~;;~:~
b. ~!!t!a l~r:a~~r !~~~-~A:'; b~f.:~tsad b. ' Aixlu'I-' Uzd and 'Uwaym

r:;;;:~:r;~~iE::~I~s:;:s:~.::~z~~~:~~;\~~

L '~!,Z:~;;:.:"~~r~:..;,.,':,'p~~~ far~r of the faint

..,..11". Cf. H. Lllmnwno,

During the months in which the mosque was being built AbU Umlma
;~:t.b.Zurlradied;hewasseizedbydiphtheriaandarattlinginthe

'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr b. Muhammad b. 'Amr b. l:lazm told me on the

authority of YaJ:!.)l b. 'A~ullah b. 'Abdu'l-RaJ:tm!in b. As' ad b. Zmi1'11
that the apostle said: ' How unfonunate is the death of AbU Um:lrnal
The JewsandtheA1'11bhypocritcsaresuretosay"Ifhewereaprophet
his companion would not die" and (truly) I have no power from God for
myselfor formyoompanion(toavendeath).'
'~im b. 'Urnarb.Qatidaal-Anflritold me that when AbU Umima died
the B. al-Najjlrcame to the apoetle, for AbU Umlma was their leader, saying
thatheheldthehighrankthe apoetleknewofandwouldheappointaomeonefromamongthemtoactinhisplace;towhichthespostlerePlied,'You
are my maternal uncles, and we belong together ao I will be your leader.'
Theapostledidnotwanttoprefer anyoneofthemtotheothen. HencefonhtheB.al-Najjirregardcdthemselvesashighlyhonoured in having
theapoetleastheirleader.
Tlfi!CALLTOPRAYER

When the apoatle was firmly settled in Jo,fedina and his brethren the
emigrants were gathered to him and the affai rs of the helpers were arl'llnged
l siambecamefirmlye<~tablished. P1'11yerwasinstitmcd, the al ms taxand
fasting were prescribed, legal punishments filled, the forbidden and the
permitted prescribed, and Islam took up its abode with them. It was this
clanofthe helperswho'havetakenuptheirabode(inthecit yoftheprophet)
andinthefaith'.' Whentheapostlefirstcame,theprople gatheredto
him for prayer at the appointed times without being summoned. At first
theapostlethoughtofusingatrumpetlikethat of the Jewswhouscditto
t ummon to pnyer. Afterwards he disliked the idea and ordered a clapper

347

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

1'11t L1jt of Muhammad

to be made, 10 it was duly fashioned to be beaten when the Muslims should

pray.

t~~~\~i~t~~~t~::~r.~~b7.~E~J.~;g::~

Meanwhile 'Abdullah b. Zayd b. Tha'laba b. 'Abdu Rabbihi brother of

B. al-l:Iirith heard a voice ina dream, and came to the apouleuying:

'A phantom visited me in the night. There passed by me a man wearing

~;-~ g~:~ ~;~~:~~ =~~i~e ~-~~~r"~~n~:~ hi~ r~'r a;~o~d~~~ ~~: :~ =~

to summon people to prayer, whereupon he offered to show me a beuer

way: itwastou.ythrice"Allah Akbar. I bearwitnessthatthcrcisno

God but Allah I bear witness that Muhammad is the apostle of God.

Come to prayer. Come to prayer. Come to divine acrvice.' Come to

divine service. Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. There is no God but Allah"'
WhentheapostlewastoldofthishcsaidthatitwasatruevisionifGod
10 willed it, and that he should go with llil::il and communicate it tO him
0

~~~~t ;i~i~:~~dc~ ':~e~~~~r ~~:~: ~e~;dh~f: :o~~~~::t:~ :i:~

totheapostlcdr.~gginghisdoakonthegroundanduyingthathehadscen

prccisclythesamevision. Theapostlesaid,'Godbepr.~isedforthatl'
l wastoldofthistraditionbyl\'luhammadb. lbrihimb.ai-I;IArithon
the authority of Muhammad b. 'Abdullah b. Zayd b. Tha'laba himself
(aSS)
348
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr told me on the authority of 'Urwa
b. al-Zubayr from a woman of H. al-NajjAr who said: My house was the
highest of those roundthcmosqueand Bililusedtogivethecallfrom
thetopofitatdawnenryday. Heuaedtocomebeforedaybreakand
would sit on the housetop waiting for the dawn. When he saw it he would
ttrctch his arms and say, '0 God, I prai&e thee and ask thy help for Quraysh
that they may accept thy religion.' I n~vo;:r knew him to omit these words
fora single night.
ABU QAYS

u. ADO

A~AS

WhentheapostlewasestablishedinhishouscandGod hadmanifestcd
his religion therein and made him glad with the company of the emigrants
and helpers AbO Qays&pokethefollowingve net~{289) He was a man who had li\td as a monk in heathen days and worn a
black mantle of camel-hair, given up idols, washed himself after impurity,
kept hiiJl!lclfclcan from women in their courses. He had thought of
adoptingChristianitybutgaveitupandwentintoahouscofhisandmade
'J-dl~. Thioword ioll"ntn.lly..,n.JI'<'<l'"hotion"nr'p,.pority";d.l .. n,>U9"
llutithoool-.yttttn>Ntomcthatitmuttb<'onon.bi<dformof t!wAromoocpw/~...J.

diine..-<>nbip. ltt onllllllrrwarunlitdnrlycutun,op<'Ciallyplo<JKhi"~-Amon~Ano

maic-opo:-aliniJnuo.ndChritooantil\11-at<'Onnt<d"nhthct<:t>ia:ofGod. lkt,.unohc
onio"Com<IOthcj~andA/Ja/IA.W..'tllcShl"o~ryCameiO\hcb<st"ork('..-')"

..

~~:~::.: ~7'~-.:::.~ ~~t.: ::~~~~~~:L'~ ~;.,id~~~~:i~:~~:t-

He composed some excellent poetry and it was he who satd:

SaidAbuQayswhenneartodepart
Performallyoucanofmybehest.

~~~j;i~::;;;~eo~c;~:: ~:u~~ut piety comes first.

lfrourpeopleholdauthorityenvythemnot.
lfyouyouraelvesrule,bejust
Ifacalamitybefallsyourpoople,
Putyourselvesinthefrontofyourtribe.
Ifahearydutyfallsonthemhelpthcm
Andbeutheburdenstheyputuponyou.
lfyouarepoor,practiseausterity.
lfyouha\emoneybegenerouswithit(290)
Healsoaaid:
PraiseGodateverydawn
When Hissunriacsandatthenewmoon.
Heknow11whatisclearandnotcleartous.
WhatourLordsaytliswithouterror.
Hillarethebir<J.whichftytoandfroandshcher
InnesllintheirmounWnretreats.
Hisarethewildereaturesofthedescn
Whichyousceonthedunesandintheshadeofsandhilll.
Himthe Je"\\'11WOrshipandfollow
Everydrearycustomyoucanthinkof.'
HimthcChristiansworshipandkeep
EveryfcastandfestivaltothcirLord.
Hisistheself-dcnyingmonkyousee,
Aprisonerofmiserythoughoncerighthappy.
Mysons,se\crnotthebondsofkinship.
Begencrousthoughtheyaremean.
FearGodindealingwithdefcnceleasorphans
Oftcntheforbiddenisregardtdaslawful.
KnowthatthcorphanhasanAll-knowingprotector
Whoguidctuightwithoutbeingasked.
Dt-:murnotthewcalthoforphans,
Amightyprotectorwatchesovertheumc.

238

Tlle LifeofATuhammad
Myaon.s,transg~TS~~nottheproperlimi!S

Transgreaaingtheboundsbringsonetoahalt.
Omysons,trustnotthedays.
Bewaretheirtreacheryandthep:usageoftime

~~~~~~ei~' e:'nn;~~c:~:~ creation,

Liveyourlivesinpietyandgodliness.
Abandonobscenityandhold fastto whatisright.'
In the following poc:m he mentioned how God had honoured them with
hlamandHisspecialfamurinsendingl-lisapostlctothcm
He abode among Qurarsh some ten years
1-lopingfor afriendtohelphim.
Hedisplayedhimselftothosewhocamctothefairs
Butfoundnonetoofferhimhospitality.
Butwhenhecametou1Goddisplayedhisreligion
AndhebecamehappyandcontentedinMedina.:
Hefoundfriendsandceasedto longforhome
AndwasplainlyhelpedbyGod.l
He 10\d us what Noah said to his people

~~~ew:e~r ~~o:n~n~::~ ~~~n he Wa! called.

Andthosc:afarhercckednotof.
We 1pentonhimthe bestofourpossessions,
Sparingnotour livesin warathisside.
Weknowthatt hereis noughtbcsideGod
AndweknowthatGodisthebestguide.

~ehs::~,fi~~;r:?'r~:~dthat fights

Him,

Ine\erymotquewhenlpraytoThee
I say Blessed an Thou (Oft ha\'e I mentioned Thy name).
I uy when I traverse a land I fear
'Mercy! Let not my enemies triumph O\'er me.'
Gowhercyouwilldeathcomesinmanyguisa
Andyoucannotliveforever.
Amandoesnotknowhowtoprotecthimself
Unless hema.kesGod hispmtector
The palm that needs Wllters cares naught for iu owner
lfithasmoisture,thoughhebedead(z91).

THE NAMES OF THE JEWISH ADVERSAR I ES

Aboutthistimethejewishrabbisshowedhostilitytotheapostleinenvy,

3!'

~ft~~~~

anft ~~~v~h~~':~~~~is who used tO annoy the apostle with questions

and introduceconfusion,aoastoconfound the truth with falsity. The
Quranuscdtocomedowninreferencetothescquestionsoftheirs,though
aome of the que1tions about what was allowed and forbidden came from
theMuslimsthemselves. Thescarethenamesofthose )ews
From B. al-Nal,llr: l:luyayy b. A.kh[ab and his brothers AbU Ybir and

~~;b.~=-~-~~:a~~h~:;R~~~~~A.:a;l~~:~ ~~~ ~~~j~~:r~~

~1~~~~~!:~~!~2i:~:~E~;~!~,~~:~-~?:;~;t;~~:if~~:~~~~~::
Ka'b; and Kardam b. Oays, an ally of Ka'b.
FromB. Tha'labab.al-Fityaun: 'Abdullahb.$iiriyi!.theoneeycdwho
W?~ the most learned man of his time in the Hijaz in Torah stu die.; Ibn

;li~:~i.fW~Zi~;K~!~~;~:~~~:~;~:2t: ,.
~fftib7f1l~lf1i'l~~:~~::~~~

The Life

The Life of Muhammad

'Amr; Sha's b. 'Adiy; Sha's b. Oa)'l; Zayd b. ~1-l:lilrith; Nu'mln b. 'Amr;
Sulr.ayn b. AbU Sukayn; 'Adiy b. Zayd; Nu'miln b. AbU AufJ;AbU Anas:
Mal;tmUd b. Dal)}'1!; Malik b. $ayf (293). Ka'b b. Rhhid; 'Azar; Rilfi'
b. AbU Rlfi'; Khillid; Adr b. AbU AUr (294); Rafi' b. l:filritha; Rlfi' b.
l:luraymila; Rlfi' b. Khirija; l\Hiik b. 'Auf; Rifl'a b. Za)d b. ai-Tlblit
'Abdullah b. Salim b. al-l:l~rith; who was their rabbi and most learned
man. His name was al-l:lu~yn. The apostle named him 'Abdullah when
heaceepted1slam.
From R. Quray?-a: al-Zubayr b. B~!l b. Wahb; 'AzzU b. Shamwii;
Ka'bb.A.udresponsibleonbehalfofhistribe fortheagrecmentwhichwu
broken in the year of the Parties; Shamwil b. Zayd;Jabal b. 'Amr b.
Sukayna; al-Nai)J;tiim b. Zayd; Qudam b. Ka'b; Wahb b. Zayd; Nlfi' b.
AbU Nlfi'; AbU Nifi'; 'Adiy b. Zayd; al-l:flrith b. 'Auf; Kardam b. Zayd;
~=h:.' l:labib; Rafi' b. Rumayla; Jabal b. AbU Qushayr; Wahb b.

th~~:! 1~u:~~;:b~~ ~~ ~:i::.

,"

ho bewitched the apostle of God so

FromB.l:filritha:Kinilnab. $iiriyl
B. 'Amr b. 'Auf: Qardam b. 'Amr.
FromB.al-Najjlr:Silsilab.Darhlm
Thesewcrethejewish rabbit,therancorousopponentsoftheapostle
andhisoompanions,themenwhoukedquestions,andstirrcduptroub\e
against lslamtotrytoextinguishit,exceptfor'Abdullah b. Salim and
Mulr.hayriq.'
'ABDULLAH B. SALAM ACCEPTS ISLAM
lwutoldthe&~oryof'A bdu llahb. Sallm,aleamedrabbi,byoneofhis
family. Hesaid:'When lheardabouttheapostle lknewbyhisdescription, ru.me, and the time at which he appeared that he Will the one we
werewaitingfor,:mdlrejoicedgreat\ythereat,thoughlkeptsilentabout
it unti l the apostle came to Medina. When he stayed in Qubi' among the
B. 'Amr b. 'Auf a man came with the nc:\\'1 while I was working at the top
of a palm-tree and my aunt Khilida d. al-l:lirith was sitting below. When
lheard thenewslcriedAllahAkbarandmyaUntsaid,"Goodgracious,
ifyouhadheardthatJ\Iosesb. ' l mr~nhadcomeyoucouldnothavemade
morefusal"" l ndeed,aunt,"Iaaid,"heiathebrotherofMOIC!Iandfollows
hisrcligion,beingsentwiththeaamemission." Sheuked,"lshereally

=s:=E~:!;~~E!E~~E~-~~~~
~:i~~~~;:~~~~?,~~~E~~~~~~~
~r;~~;;~Y;~;~rr.:::t~;!~:~::::~:.:.'~:::,:rom

of Muhammad

the prophet who we have beentoldwillbesentatthl.verytime1":md

aheaoceptedmyassurancethathewas. Straightwaylwenttotheapostle
~i~~h~= and when I returned to my house I ordered my
' I <:Oncealed thematterfromthejeYo'S,and then went to the apostle
and said, "ThejeYo'S area nation of liars and I with you would talr.e me into
one of your housc:s and hide me from them. Then uk them about me so
thattheymaytell youtheposition l ho\damongthembeforetheyknow
t hat l havebecomeaMuslim. For iftheyknowitbeforehandtheywill
uttc r slanderousliesagainstme." Theprophethousedme;theJewscame;
and the apost_le aslr.ed them about my standing among them. They said:
" Heisourchtef,andtheaonofourchief;ournbbi,andourleamedman."
Whentheyuid thit l emergedanduid:"OJe"''l,fearGodandaocept
what He hassentyou. For by Godyouknowthathe ittheapostleofGod.
You will find him described in yourTonh and even named. I testify
thatheistheapostleofGod, I believeinhim,lholdhimtobetrue,and
I acknowledge him." They accused me of lying and reviled me. Then I 354
remindedtheapostlethatlhadsaidthat they wou ld do this, for they
..,'ere a treacherous, lying, and evil pwple. I publicly proclaimed my
con\ersion :mdmyhouseholdandmyauntKhllidafollowedsuit.'
THE STORY OF MUK H AYRIQ

He was a learned rabbi owning much property in date palms. He recognizedtheapostlebyhisdescriptionand his own learning, and he
fehapredilection for hit religion' untilonthedayofU~ ud, whithfellon
the sabbath, he reminded the }C\\'1 that they were bound to help Muhammad. Theyobjectedthatitwasthesabbath. '1\fayyouhavenoaabbath,''
heanswered,andtookhisweaponsandjoinedtheapostleinUI)ud. His
paning testimony to hia pwple was: ~If I am killed today my propeny is
to go to Muhammad to use as God shows him.' He was killed in the battle
thatfollowed. lamtoldthattheapostleusedtoaay'Mukhayriqis thebest

~fstt~~~:~~ 1\~:;i:a":~e ~:~ ~;er

his property and all the alms he

T H E TESTIMONY OF Ji AFIYA

'Abdullah b. AbO. Bakr b. Muhammad b. 'Arnr b.l:fazm told me that he

will told that $anya d. l:fuyayy b. Akhtab said ' I Will the fa\"ourite child
of my father and my uncle Abii Yhir. When I was present they took no
noticcoftheirother children. When the apostle was staying in Qub.l'
with the D. 'Amr b. 'Auf, the two went to see him before daybreak and did
not return until after nightfall, weary, worn out, drooping and feeble.
1

l''"""'"t>ly ~ tuhanun:od 'o RliiPon': til< pi'OII<>IJn it mbiauo"

'Or,J'<rhars,'\'ouh.lX<nonbboth'

Tht Lift of M~hammad

The Lift of Muhammad

'"

JSS I went up to them in childish pleasure as I always did, and they were so
sunk in gloom chat they took no notice of me. I heard my uncle !II)' to my

God acntdownroncerninghimaccording to what I have heudon the

authority of Ibn '.Abbas: ' How can God guide a people .who have dit

father, "h he he? Doyoureeogniz.ehim,andcanyoubesure?" "Yes!"

: ~1i:~.~t. do you feel about him?" "By God I shalt be his enemy as long

~~i;;;r~tc:.~=v~~~~c~~:m~~:i~~dd:t l~ ::~:i:e :":i:~u~

Til J EWS ARE JO I NED BY AN~ARf HYPOCRITE S

The following hypocrites' from al-Aus and al-Khur:aj joined the Jews
according to information ghen me. God lrnov.11 best about the truth.
From Aus of the section of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf b. M3lik of the subdi\ision
Laudhin b. 'Amr b. 'Auf: Zuwayy b. al-l:l!rith. From B. Uub.aybb. 'Amr
b. 'Auf: Julb b. Suwayd b. al$ilmit and his brother al-Uarith. Julb was
one of those who withdrew from the apostle in the r:aid on T abUk. He
uid,' lf thimanis rightweareworsethandonkeys.' 'Umayrb.Sa'd,one
of them, who was closely related to Jul b, he having married his mother
after his father's death, reported what he had said to the apostle. But
first he said to Julib: 'You are dearer to me than any man, the most
gencrous tome,anditisrnostpainfultomethatanythingshouldhappen
toupset)'Ou;butyou ha\'esaidwordswhichif lrepeat them l shal1bring
shamcuponyou,andif l keepsilcncc l shallbringmyreligionintoperil.
Oneisprefcrabletotheother.' Thenhewenttothcapostleandtoldhim
what Jul b had said. julb awore by God that he had not said the words
attributed to him by 'Umayr. And God sent down concerning him
'They swear by God that they did not uy, when they did actually uy,
wordsofunbeliefanddiddisbelicveaftertheyhadsurrenderedthemsehes.
They planned what they rould not carry out and they had nothing to
avcngebutthatGodand J-lisapostlehad enrichedthemby Hisbounty.
If they repent it will be better for them; and if they tum back God will
afflictthemwithapainfulpunishmentinthisworldandthenext. ln thia
worldtheyhavcnofriendorhclper'(ags).'
n6
It is allqred that he repented and was known to be a good Muslim.
His brothel al-IJ3rithv.hokillcdal-Mujadhdharb.Dhiyadai-Balawiand
Qays b. Zayd one of B. Oubay'a at Ui:lud, wem out with the l\luslirm~. He
was a hypocrite, and when battle was joined hefel1uponthesctwomcn,
killedthem,andattachedhimselftoQur:aysh(a).
Mu'~dh b. 'Afr-;i' killed Suwa)d treacht,musly when there was no war.
Heshothimwithanarrowbefore thebattleof Bu'ath.
Theapostlc-sothcyaay-hadordcred'Um.artokillhim ifherould
gt;t holdofhim, butheescaped andgottoMccca. Thenhesc:nttohis
brothcrJulbasltingforforgivcncsssothathemightretumtohispeople.
'Wluo1Anbicwrho romnnby' hypocriteo'hubeenmadeclelrintheo"iononthe
Jowiolladoroona . hio nonornllytoodrondorinof..,N..6}iq,bu1noon<:word ou(lll.,.,.
itoo:lfoobo1tor, Muolimolook,.itllatoloront eyeonamanwhoe<>nctalshiobelidthrouah
J<~<-i<w,.,bU1K1pr<tondtobeaMuolimilacrimo
'SUn9.7S

~~;~1~:brd?i~{~;::K2~;~~~~~i~~f:~:.~~~!~t~~!

==n~~~~~~g~~::i~;'~a~:. %a~.~:.~~~~!~!~~ ::d~ ~~~~~~~~~~

~~ =~et:"~h~a\~y~~e1 ;:.os:!e ::d ~i:t:~~ ~i~ :~~~~~::~~J ~ha~~

ears:ifanyonetellshimanythinghebelie\esit.' Godsentdownroncem

:~~i~a~,:~~fe~~~o:r;o~~~ew~~i::oTn '~:J';Pdh;~:~d t~!~~i~:e~

:;;:~f:~~!~~l~~~~r~~~a:i:~n~!::~:~:~h~b:~~oc:::~: :~:

~::.~~;:~1~f~~~ii~:;~~~~~;~:~i~~~:'l;~l.::~~~
Also .from B. Dul;lay'a was AbU l::labiba b. al-Az'ar, one of those who

~~i!::,~;;E~~f.:~:~~:~t~;;,:;E~~;:~:~;~s'~iJi::~

anypartintheordenngofthmgsweshouldnotbekilledhere.' So God

ri~~~~~~t~
Also al-I:Urith b. ~U! ib (197).

~~s~~;~~~~ ~os~uu:a~~ ~;~~~~r~r~~~:~r;:r ~~~~i;hh:::~~ ~~~~1~:~

1

Of the ll. Tha'laba were Jari ya b. 'Amir b. a1-'A\l3f and his two sons 358
'SilnJ.8o
Siln9.~

'SCtn9.6
SUnJ. 8

Lit.'!h~,
snn 33 .u

Tht!.~ltrifMuhammad

those who deceive themsehes

f}od does not love a sinful deceiver."

AlsoQuzm~n,anallyofthein~.

The same

~,im

told me that the apostle used to say: 'lie bdonga to the

Fu~~~~~rh:~~~~~:~;~;:.~~ ~:~~~,!~~~!e~~:;~ ~:~~~~;~~

h;;wedonegallantlytodayandyoursufferingaha\'ebeenforGod'ssake.'
He said: 'Why should ! cheer up~ I foughtonlytoprotectmypeople.'
And when the pain of his wounds became unendurable he took an arrow
fromhisquiverandcuta\eininhishandandthuscommittedsuicide.
Among B. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal no hypocrite male or female was known 36o
exceptai-Oal,ll;lii.kb.Thabit,oneoftheU. Ka"bofthefamilyofSa'db.

Za{,~!!e b~~:~~r:;;1 off ~~risy and lo\e of the Jews.

0

I havehc3rJth3t beforehisrepentance Jul btogetherwith Mu'attib,

Rilfi',and Bishruscdtomakefalseprofcssionoflslam.l Some Muslims
asked them to go to the apostle to settle a matter in dispute between them,
whilethcywantedtoreferittothekahinswhoactedasarbitratonlinthe
p11ganera. So God s.entdown concerning them: ' Hast thou considered
those who allege that they belie\'e in what has been tent down to thee
andwhatwastcntdownbeforetheewhowishtogotoidolatryforarbitrationwhentheyha\ebeencommanded to gheupbeliefinit?Satanwishea
toleadthemfar astray.'4
Of Khazraj from B. al-Najjar: R~fi' b. Wadi'a, Z'lyd b. 'Amr, 'Amr
b.Qays,andQaysb.'Amrb.Sahl.
Of D. Jusham of the clan of B. Salima: al-Jidd b. Qays who said, '0
Muhammad, ghe me lea,e (to stay at home) and tempt me not.' So God
tent down concerning him: 'Of t hem is he who uys, Gi,e me leave (to Stay

:~n':m;!d 1~ 1 t::.::n;::\h~:r::!l::,~;~~~o

temptation that they ha\'e

Of B. 'Auf b. al-Khazraj: 'Abdullah b. Ubayy b. SaiUI. l-Ie was the

~~C:~-~f;cbl~~r:ri~~~d;~~eih:::~~;;h;,~1 ~od~;:: ::~ ~~::e~~;;~o ~~~~

was du ring the raid on the B. aJ.J\Iu"aliq and the whole liira of the

::i'~~~~;:;":;r7:::::::',;',~.:::::.~::;,~;;:,;;:,:.::::

The U]t of Jlfuhammad

The L1]c of Muhammad

Hypocrites' came down about him and Wadi' a a man of B. 'Auf and M:tlik

::~;~~-~~~:[~~;.I~~::~?~i~i~~~~~~:~:h:~~~~:f:~~
ff*;!;.~~;g~E~;;i~:i:~~:.:::::::{ii::~::~~::~:::

246

~~U ~~q~:~a~e~u;ha~-<!e~~d!:~~~ ;~~~a~0 o~ ..~~~~~~~ ~h~~a;:~

36 apostlebesiegedthem:'Standfast,forbyGodifyouaredrienoutwewill

::~k:! ::::j!:~~rhi~:;:~t~~:::~:~~:~~~~E~~~~rj~:~

ture folk, If you are driven out we will go fonh with you and we will
never obey anyone against you and if you are attacked we will help you.
God bears witness that they are liars', as far as His words 'Like Satan
when he says to men, "Disbelieve," and when they disbelieve he says,
:~r~:::. ~~~ responsible for you; for my part I fear God the Lord of the

THE RABB I S Wl!O ACCEPTED ISlAM IIYPOCRITI CALLY

The following are the Jewish nbbis who took refuge in Islam along with
the Muslims and hypocritically professed it: OfB.Qaynuql': Sa'd b.
l;lunayf; Zayd b. al-Lu.pyt; Nu mltn b. Aufa b. 'Amr; 'Uthmin b. Aull;
Zayd b. al-Lu~ayt who fought with 'Umar in the market of the B. Qaynuqi'. He was the man who said when the apo!ltle's camel wandered
off: 'Muhammad alleges that re\elations come to him from hea,en and he
doesn'tknowwherehiscamelis!' Whentheapostleheardofwhatthit
enemy of God had aaid and God had told him where his camel was he said,
' I only know what God lets me know. And God has shown me. It is in
such-~nd-such a glen caught by its rope to a tree.' The ?o.Iuslims went
andfounditinthat\'ei'yspotcaughtupastheapostlehadsaid.
AliO R~fi' b. l~uraymila of whom I hae heard that the prophet said,
36a 'One of the greatest hypocrites has died today.' And Rill'a b. Zayd b.
al-TibUt of whom the prophet u. id when there was a high wind u he will
returning from the e11:pedition against the B. al-Munaliq and the Muslims
were in great anxiety: 'Don't be afnid; the wind is blowing because a
greatunbelie,erisdead.' WhenhegotbacktoMedinahefoundthat
Rill'ahaddiedthedaythewindblew. AlsoSilsilab.Barh:imandKin:ina
b.$Uriyi.
These hypocrites used to assemble in the mosque and listen to the
stories of the Muslims and laugh and KOtf at their religion. When some
of them were there one day the apo!itle saw them talking with lowered
voice amongthemsehes huddled together. He ordered that they should
be ejected and they were put out with some \'iolenec. AbU AyyUb Kh:tlid
b. Zayd b. Kulayb got up and went to 'Amr b. Qays, one of Jl. Ghanm
1

Stiro6J. Cf.W.717iii/NI

j~~~1~~~~~~~~:~~:2;:;~13~~y~.~~J.~~E~~p;~~!.r:~

2.47

'Uml~ b.. J:Iazm went ~or ~yd b. 'Amr who had a long beard and aeized

~~~:~:1~:t~~~~Ig?i i~~;~::~J:2~~~~0i~
;~;~~~]ff~t:f~~;~~;g;.:?f:~:f;!~:~;:E~~

363

among the hypocrites) and pushed himinthebaekoftheneckuntilhe

ejectedhimfromthemosque.
A man of B. al-Khudn b. al-Khaznj of the family of AbU Sa'd called
'Abdu~lah b. al-l:l~rith, hea~ng the order to clear the mosque, went for

~:~~:h~!i:E~;~f.:~-~~~~;l;:~a~~~~ tE~~:~g~~:~~~~~~~~

'Serve you right, you enemy of God. for what God has sent down about
~~u~n~~e:~~ered, 'Don't come near the apostle' mosque again, for you

A man of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf went for his brother Zuwayy b. al-J:Iilrith

~:h~~t ,him out vH:Ilently, saying, 'Faugh! You arc doing Satan's work

fro'!:h: =~~:~h~~':;ites whom the apostle ordered to be expelled

REFERI!N C I!S TO TilE HYPOCRITES AND TilE JEWS I N THE

SORA ENTITLED 'TilE COW'

The first hundred crses of the llira of the Cow came down in reference
tothese j e wi~hrabbi s andthehypocritesof Ausand Khazraj, according to
what I hne been told, a11d GOO knows best. He said: 'Alif Urn 1\lim
T hat is the book wherein there is no doubt.' The word rayb means doubt
(Jo2).

'Aguidancctothegod-fearing',i.e.thosewhofcarGOO'splmishment 36-4
for abando~in~ th~ guidance they recognize, and hope for His mercy
through bel1e\'mg tn what has come to them from Him. 'Who belie,e
inthcunscenandestablishpnyerandgi\eoutwhat Wehaepro'lided
thcmwith,'i.e.theyestablishprayerinitsprescribedformandpaythe

The Lr]e of Muhammad

poor-taxexpectinga(future) reward for it. 'And those who believe in
what has been sent down to thee and to those who were before thee,' i.e.
they bdiee thee to be true in what thou hast brought from God and wha:
thesentonesbroughtbeforethee,mak.ingnodifferencebetweenthemnor
opposing what they brought from their Lord. 'And arecenainoft.'le
latterend,'i.e.thewakingfromdeath,thercsurrcction,pandiseandhell,
thereckoningandthe scales,i.e.thetearc thosewho allegethatthcybdice
in what was before thee and in what has come to thee from thy Lord.
'TheseliveinguidancefromtheirLord,'i.e.acmrdingtolightfromtheir
Lordanduprightlyaecordingtowhathascometothem. 'These are they
whoprospcr,'i.e.whoattainwhattheyseekandC!1C3petheevil theyflee
from. 'Asfor thoacwhodisbeliee,' i.e.inwhathasbeen sentdownto
theethoughtheysaywehavelongbdiecdinwhateamctousbeforethee,
'it is all one 10 them whether thou warn them or do not warn them they
willnotbelieve,'i.e.theydisbelicvethatthouartmentioncd(inthebooks)
they have and they reject the coenant which v;as made with them with
referencetothee. Theydisbelieveinwhathascome totheeandinwhat
theyhavealreadywhichothenobroughttothemsohowwilltheylistento
wamingandexhortadonfromtheewhentheyhaedeniedthattheyhave
anyknowledgeofthee?'Cod hath.ealed their hearts andtheirhearing
andovertheir sightthe,eisacoering,' i.e.sothattheywillneverfind
guidance,meaning:becausetheyhavedeclaredyoualiarsothattheywill
notbelieve inthetruthwhichhascometothee fromthyLordthoughthcy
believeinallthatcamebeforethee. Foropposingtheetheywillhavean
awful punishment. Thus far concerning the Jewish rabbis for calling the
truth a lieaftertheyknewit.
'And there are some men who uy, We believe in God and the last day
when they do not beliee.' He means the hypocrites of Aus and Khazraj
and their followeno. 'They would deceic God and those who beliee,
but they deceive only themselves, and pcrcehe it not. In their hearu
isasickness,'i.e.doubt. 'AndGodinereasestheirsiekness,' i.e. doubt.
36s 'Apainfulpunishmentistheinobecausethey lie. Andwhenitissaidto
them, 'Do not make mischief in the land they uy we are only putting
things to right,' i.e. we only wish to make peace between the two parties
ofthebelicersandtheseripturefolk. Godsaid:'Arenottheyind~the
mischiefmakersbuttheyperceiveitnot?Andwhen it issaidtothem,
Believe as the people believe they say: Are we to beliC\'e as the foolish
believe?SurelytheyarethefoolishbuttheyknowitnoL And when they
meet those who beliee they aay, We believe; and when they go apart to
:hcirleaders,''i.e.the Jewswhoorderthemtodenythetruthandeont radiet whattheapostlebrought, 'They say Certainly we are with you,' i.e.
we agree entirely with you. 'We were only mocking,' i.e. mocking the
people and jesting with them. God aaid: 'God will mock at them and let
themcontinuetowanderblindlyintheirerror'(JOJ).
1

Lit,'<heir N~'.

The Life of Muhammad

'Thesearetheywhobuyerroratthepriceofguidanee,'i.e.disbclief
forfaith.'Sotheirtrafficis notprofitableandthcy arenotrightlyguided'
Then God employed a simile and said: 'They arc like a man who lighu
afireandwhenitlightenshisenvironmentGodtakesawaytheirlightand
leaesthemindarknCMunabletosee,' i.e.theycannotseethetruthand

~h~!cs:x:~n;~~t i~~~i~h ht~ifu:~~!~h ai~:~;~~;r~~c;' ~~~=~=

1

theminthedarknessofunbc:hefandtheydonotsccguldanceandarenot
up right in truth. 'Deaf, dumb, blind, and they return not,' i.e. they
retumnottoguidance,deaf,dumb,blindtowhatilgood,theyreturnnot
to good and find no escape from their condition .. 'Or ~ike a raimtorm fro~
heaven wherein is darkness and thunder and hghtnmg. They putthe1r

~~:::P:!ei;h:a~n~~~~~f /3h;t~:~e;::~~~ !~a:h:f ~:~~~esaG~

366

unbeliefandthefearofdeath mwhlththeyare,ansmgfromther oppoetionandfearofyou,theyarelikethemanintherainstormwhopuuhis

~~}~~;~~~~~:~~~~;~~~~~::~~~: i~~:~~ig~~~~~~==:~~~{:

:~~~~e!~~ ~~~g!:~~~~~ ~:::7o~h~h;~~~~~;:~:~~ ~:~~~: l:~e~\~~yt~~:~~~~

truthandtalkaboutitandsofarasthcirtalkgoesthcyareonthestraight

~~~i!d~~~:~~~n '~=~ ~;';!; ~7I~di~;t:0~~~~:~:y a~:;

~:a:i;;~:~~

::re
their aight,' i.e. beeausctheyhaveforsaken thetruthafterthey knew it.
'Godisabletodo allthings'
Then He says: '0 men, worship your Lord,' addi"C$Sing both unbelieers
andhypocrites,i.e.acknowlcdge llisunity. 'Whoereatedyouandthose
beforeyou,perehanceyoumaywardoffeil. Whohasmadet he eartha
bed for you and the heav~n a building, and .ent down water from ~eaven
andhasbroughtfonhfrunstherebyasfoodforyou. Somakenot nvalsof
God when you know (better)' (3o5), i.e. do not associate with God rivals
whichcan neitherprofit norharmwhenyouknowthatyouhaven~Lord

that can feed you other than He, and you know that the monotheiSm to
which the apostle calls you is the truth aboutwhieh there is no doubt.
'And if you srein doubtaboutthatwhieh \Veha\'esentdown to our 367
servant,' i.e. in doubt about what he has brought you, 'then produce a
1Ura like it and summonyour witnessesotherthan God,' i.e. whatever
helpcrsyoueanget 'ifyouaretruthful;andifyoudonotandyou cannot'
forthetruthhasbecomeeleartoyou,'thenfearhcllwhosefuclismenand
stones' prepared for the unbelievers,' i.e. for those who are in a state of
infidelity like you
Thenheappcals totheirintercstand..,'lrnsthemagainst breaking the
covenant which He made with them in reference to His prophet when
'ltioNidthol th~otonnweK th.,...,..orohipp<dbythcpaKnAro.t>.

Tht 14t of Muhammad

lie came to !hem, and He reminds !hem of the beginning of their creation
when He created them, and what happened 10 !heir forefa1her Adam and
how he was deah with for hit disobedience; then He5ays:' '0 children of
brae!,' addrC'Siling the Jewish rabbis,' Remember 1he favour I showed you,'
i.e. i\ly care for you and your fathers, wherewi1h He dehered 1hem from
Pharaoh. and his army. 'Andfulfili\lyco\enant'which lplacedon)'OUT
necks With regard to l\ly prophet A~mad when he should come to you.
' l shallfulfill\-lyparlofthccol'tnant.' l shallcarryoutwhatlpromi~
youforbclicvinginandfo!lowinghimbyremovingthcbondsand chains
which were upon your necks because of the sins which you had committed. 'Andstandinaweofl\fc,' i.e. les1 I bring down on you what I
brough!downonyourfathersbefore)'OU-thevengeancethatyouknowof,
bestialtransformationand!helikc. 'Andbclieveinwhatlhavesentdown
confirming what you already ha\e,and be nolthefirsttodisbelieveit'
~tting that you have knowledge which others ha\e not about it. 'And
feari\leanddonotmingletruthwithfalsehoodnorhidethetruthwhich
you know,' i.e. do not conceal the knowledge which you haveabomMy
apostle and what he has brought when you "ill find it with )'OU in what
youknowofthebookswhicharein)'Ourhands. 'Wouldyoutellmentobe
goodandforgettobesoyourselves,youbcingreadersof!ICripture?Do
you not understand?' i.e. would you forbid men to di~belicve in the
prophecyyouhaveandthecovenantoftheTorahandabandonityourselves?
i.e.whenyoudenythatitcontainsMyeovenantwithyouthatyoumust
pronouneel\Jyapostletobetrue,andyoubreakMyagreement'andyou
comradictwha!youknowtobcinMybook.
368
Then He recounts their sins, mentioning the calf and what they did
with it; how He forgave them and pardoned them; 1hen !heir words
'ShowusGodplainly'(Jo6F,andhowthestonncameuponthembecause
oflhcirpresumptuousness;then Hequickenedthemaftertheyhaddied;
o\ershadowed them with 1he cloud, sent down to them manna and quails
and said to them, 'Enterthegatewith prostrations~nd sayl~ ina.''i.e.say
what I command you, and I will remove your sins from you: and their
changing that word making a mockery of Uis command; and His forgiving
them afle r !heirmockery(J07)
With regard to their changing that word, the apostle said acco rd ing
to 11hat $;lli~ b. Kaisiin froi'Ti $:1 1 i~. freedman of al-T au'ama d. llmayya
b. Khalaf from AbU Hurayra and someone above suspicion from Ibn
'Ahh!is: The~ entered the gate 1hey were ordered to enter with prostratiollsinacmwdsaying,'\Vheatisintheharley'(3o8). (l-lealsoremind~
them of) l\l<lSes praying fnr "ater for hi~ people and His oommanding
him to strike the rock "ith hs ~t:ttf ~"!hat the water gushed forth in
369 twellestreams,oneforeachtnbetudrink from,c-achtribeknowingthe
' ,.~,.,. 40

1 Tht

m~on;n~

and

of 1hio wol'd (li1. unloodln~, or T<lid),

ind~ed ohe i~nifiron<~ nf !he
"hol~poouac,,.ohscurc.Pr .. un~~blyoJ~willmidroollli .. Mhindit.Cf.C.,,gor,op.cl. 17f.

Tht Lifeoj!lfu!tanmwd
one from which it was to drink. Andtheir5aying tol\loses, '\\'ecannot
bcaronekindoffood. PraytoyourLordforusthat lle maybringforthto
uslegetablts10.hichtheearthprodu~suchascucumbcrsan?co.m(J09)

andbeansandonions. He said: Wtllyouexchangelhatwhchtsbetter

for that which is baser? Go down to Egypt; thus you will get what you
ask for.' They did not do so. Further how He raised the mountain abo~e
them ' that they might receive what was brought to them; and the bestial
transfonnation when He made them into apes for their sins; and the cow
which God showed them in which there was a lesson concerning the slain
man about whom they differed until God made clear to them his affair
afle r their repeated requests to Moses for a description of the cow;
further the hardness of thei r hearts afterwards so that they were harder
than stone. Then He said: 'There are rocks from which rivers gush forth
andtherearerockswhichsplitasunderandwatercomesoutofthem,and
therearerockswhichfalldownforfearofGod,'i.e.somerocksaresofter
than you r hearts in regard to the truth to which you were called. 'And
Godisnotunawareofwhatyou do.'
T hen He said to Muhammad and thc..believers with him, causing them

f~~~~~:~~~,~~0;E:::E~i~rJ~;~~)~~:~{1:;~~Jf.~
number according to what l was told by a scholar. They said to Moses:

~::~~;~gw~: ~;~~:~n~~:e.an~;: :~:y~~ ?h~ re~u':t ~; ~~

who 5aid: Yes, command them to purify themsehea or to purify thetr

:~!~:.":n~ !:;~ ~~~ ~~!dd~~~;edT~:"mh~1~g!'n:~:J:;~h:~t~:

~:;;~~:~;f~~~~":~~~~~~~~~~~;:;~~ ?n~0~~

he came to them a party of them changed the commandments they had

0

:;~;r!~v;:~ :~dd:~~a:::~: :~~ ~:n\h~d~~!~r~~ !n~s~~~ :~:' ~o~

hadorderedsomethingelse. It istheytowhomGodrefers.
Then God said: 'And when they meet those who believe they say

:J~~~~~~~~~ :~~~:~~f;e;.~~:~:~~r:::~~~~::~~~ ~~~~1

~~:~\~~~h:;dm~:t i:~t~~: be~1~e;:y~~~; ~~~e~i~~t ~~.~~~

~~r;~~~ ~- .~. r,".2t'.n."~~:f.A(n~:'c~~:.:..';1;:,:,~.:; ~~i:

:::s;:?:~~~~~ i .'ouplonation.

"rho:,.ol'd of Cod' j11n mention!

ct>uld

on]) hnc

no

Thel.ifeofMuhammad
thcygoapartwithoneanothertheysay,Willyoutalkaboutwh:ttGodhas
re\ealedtoyouthattheym.aycomendwithyouaboutitbcforeyourl..ord?

~~a~~: ;~~~ ~a:;~~acs~~,:~~i~.ge~v!~~n~~:.7,t~i;ot~l~~~tey:ua s1:~~e;o~i;,~h~-~~

~l'hlle

he tells you that

~1c IS

the prophet whom we arc expecting and find

~~~~=~~~~r~:;;:,~~~~"~=~e~I~~~~-~~~~~!r&:~~~

37 1 r:1tc: passages

(310). 1

'They only think they know,' i.e. they don't

~:;h~~:oo~!na~~h~i~~o~~t '~:o~v~~~~a:~; :~:~fi~e~-~~e~o~p=h t~!

exeept_foralimited ti~c. Say, H:tveyerf!i:Cil'edacovenant from God?
~;~~~~~~~~~t break I hs covenant-or do you say what you do not know
A freedman of Zayd b. Th:ibit told me as from 'lkrima or from Sa'id
b. Juhayr from Ibn 'Abbls: The apostle came to Medina when the jews

~?us:::! i~~~~?~~~:~:~~~~!::r:::~~2~;!~;;"~:~~;E:~;:~~~
~~i~~~:~~::~~~~~u~~~~~~ip~~~n:::~:~e:hR~~:!~~:~~~hi~
you say what you do not know about God? Nay whoso docs evil and his sin

~~~~~~~1~~l~:~r~Jiii~~t!
::~~~hem

that the recompense for good and evil is eternal: it will never

Then He said in blaming them, 'And when We madeacovtnant with the

~f~::~~l~~i~~:~~~?l~~}~t,1:~f~@[~T~

Tht l.ift of l\111ltammad

doesnothopefornisingafterdeathsohewantstoli\elong,andthe jew
knows what awaits him of shame in the next life because he has wasted the
knowledge that he has. Then God said: 'Say, Who is an enemy to Gabriel?
ForitishewhobroughtitdowntothyheartbyCod'spermi!ISion.'
'Abdullah b. 'Abdu'l- Ral)min b. AbU l:lusayn al-l\ lakki told me from 375
Shahrb.l:Jaushabal-Ash'arithatanumberof jewishrabbiscametothe
apostle and asked himtOanswerfourquestions,sayingthatifhedidso
t hey would follow him and testify to his truth, and bdie\e in him. lie
got them to swear a solemn oath that if he gave them the right answeT3
they would acknowledge his truth and they began: 'Why does a boy
resemble his mother when the semen comes from the man?' 'I adjure
youbyGodand Hisfavountowardsthechildrenof lsnel,' do you not
know that a man's semen ia white and thick while a woman's is yellow and
thin, and the likeness goes with that which comes to tile top?' 'Agreed,'
they said. 'Tellusaboutyoursleep.' 'Doyounotknowthatasleepwhich
youallege l do nothaveiswhentheeyesleepsbuttheheartisawake?'
'Agrttd.' 'T hus is my sleep. l\Iy eye sleeps but my heart is awake.' 'Tdl
usaboutwhat lsnel\"oluntarilyforbadehimself.' 'Doyou notknowthat
thefoodhelo\edbestwasthefleshandmilkofcamelsandthatoncewhen
hev;asiliGodrestoredhimtohealthsohedeprivedhimselfofhis fa\ourite
foodanddrinkingratitudetoCod?''Agrccd. TellusabouttheSpirit'

r~r~~~o~;o~ ~~.a~ ~~n~;~r~~ ::. :~oa~;esw~::~~~~:yd,~~~

violence and the shedding of blood, and were it not for that we would
follow you.' So Cod sent down concerning them: 'Who is an enemy to
Gabriel? For it is he who brought it down to thy heart by Cod's permisaio~confirming whatwasbefor~itandaguidanceandgoodtidingstotht
behcveT3'asfar asthewords'ls n notthat whentheymakeacovenantsome
ofthemsetitaside,nayiTK)Itofthemdo notbelie\e. Andwhenanapoatle 376
comes to them from God confirming that which they ha\e, some of them
who havereceivedthescripture,thebookofGod,putitbehindthemasif
they ~id not know it and th~y follow that which the ~tans re~d conceming
theklllgdomofSolomon,' .e.sorcery. ' Solomonddnotd1sbelie\"e,but
thesatansdisbelieved,teachingmensorcery.'t
This, so l ha\"theard,happcnedwhen theapostlementionedSolomon
b. Davidamongthesentones. Oneofthentbbissaid,'Don'tyouwonder
at Muhammad 1 He alleges that Solomon was a prophet, and by God he
"':aanothin_gbu_tasorcerer.' SoGodaentdowneoncerningthat: ' Solofl!On
dd not ~ ~~bel~eve but the sa_tans disbelle\ed,' i.e. in follo"ing sorcery

~~~~i~~;:~;~~~~~ t~:;y~~~:h~~~;:;;~~d to the two angels IHrUt and

Someone abo\e suspicion told me from ' lkrima from Ibn 'Abbis that he
used to say: 'What lsnel forbade himself was the two lobes of the liver,
'Th.ioformuloior<pnt.dfourlimtl

'"'H

,,,

Th~ Lif~

Tilt Lift of Muhammad

thclti~eysandthefat(exccptwhatwquponthebac:k),forthatusedtobe

offcredmsacrificeandthefireconsumediL''
Theapostlewrotetotheje\l'IOfKhaybaraccordingtowhatafreedman

ofthefamilyofZaydb. Thlbittoldmefrom'IkrimaorfromSa'tdb.
Juba!r from Ibn 'Abbb: 'In the name of God the compassionate the
mercful from Mulamnud the apostle of God friend and brother of
Moses who confirms what Moset brought. God ll}'ll to you, 0 scripture
folk,andyouwillfinditinyouracripture"Muharnmadisthcapostleof
God; and those with him are severe againtt the unbelievers, merciful
among themselves. Thou aeeat them bowing, falling prostrate aeelr.ing
bountyandacccptancefromGod. Themarkoftheirproatrationsisontheir
foreheads. ThatistheirlikenessintheTorahandintheGospcllilr.ea
aeedwhithsendsforthit.lhootandatrengthensitanditbecomeathick
andrUesstraigbtuponitsatalkdc:Jightingthe.owersthatHemayangerthe
unbelieven with them. God hat promised those who believe and do wdl
forgivent88 and a great reward."' I adj ure you by God, and by what
Hehasaentdowntoyou,bythemannaandquailsHegaveasfoodtoyour
tribe. before you , and by Hi.dryinguptheseaforyourfathenwhen
He delivered them from Pharaoh and hi. worb, that you tell me, Do
377 you find in what He has ~tnt down to you that you should believe in
Muhammad?Ifyoudonotfindthatinyourscripturethenthereisno
oompulsionuponyou. "Therightpathhasbe<:omeplainlydistinguished
from error" 1 so lcall youtoGodandHisprophet'(JIJ).
Among those prople concerning whom the Quran came down, cspecially
then.bbisandunbelievingJewawhousedtoaskhimquestiomandannoy
himinoonfusingtruth\\ithfalsehood- as l wastoldontheauthorityof
'Abdullah b. 'Abbb and J3bir b. 'Abdullah b. Ri'.ib--was Abii Y.isir b.
Akhtabwhopassedbytheapostleashcwasrecitingtheopeningwordsof
The Cow: 'Ali, Lam, Mim, That is the boolr. about which there i. no
doubt.' He came to hi. brother l;luyayy who was with some other. Jewa
and said: 'Do you lr.now that I have heard Muhammad reciting in what hu
been sent down to him Ali! L3m Mim, &d' After expressing aurprise
l;luyayYandthesemenwenttotheapostleandtoldhimwhathad been
reported to them and asked if Gabriel had brought the measage from God.
Whcnhesaidthathehadtheyuid:Godsentprophetsbeforeyoubutwe
do not know of anyone of them being told how long his kingdom would
last and how long his community would last. f:luyayy went up to his men
andaaid to them: 'Aiifis t; Urn i1 30;and Mimis4o,i.e. 71 ye.an. Are
you going to adopt a religion whose kingdom and community will last
378 foronly7tyears?'Thenhewenttothcapostleandsaid,'Haveyouany
thing else, Muhammad?' 'Yes, Alif L~m Mim $id.' 'This by God is
more weighty and longer: Alif 1; Urn 30; Mim 40, $ild t]O,i.e. 161 yean.'

of Muhammad

Similar questions were asked and answered in respec1 of Alif Urn Ra 131 ;
Alif Urn Mlm Ri 271; then he said, 'Your aituation seems obscure to us,
Muhammad, so that we do not know whether you will hne a short or
long duration.' Thentheylefthim. AbiiYlairaaidtohi.brotherf:luyayy
andtheothen,' Howdoyouknowthatall theaetotals ahouldnotbeadded
togethertomakeagrandtotalof7J1.Yean?'Theyanswered,'Hisaffair
is obscure to us.' Theyallegethatthescveneacamedowninrelerenceto
them:'TheplainveneaarethemotheroftheDook;therestareobscure.''
Iheardaacholarabovesuspicionmentioningthatthescversesweresent
down about the pcopleofNajrinwhentheycametotheapostletoaslr.
himaboutjesus,SonofMary.
Muhammad b. AbU Umima b. Sahl b.f:lunayf told me that he had heard

:~:~ :~e~~e~n:n!:n~~uta number of Jewa, but he did not explain

According to what I ht2rd from ' Jkrima, freedman of Ibn 'Abbis or
from Sa'id b. Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbis, Jews used to hope that the
apostle would be a help to them apinst A us and Khuraj before hia Irli$ion
began; and when God sent him from among the Arab. they disbelieved
inhimandoontn.dictedwhattheyhadformerlyaaidabouthim.1 Mu'idh
b.JabalandOishrb.al-Barli'b.Ma'rilrbrotheroftheB.Salamauidto
them: '0 jew1, fear God and become Mualims, for you used to hope for
Muhammad'a help against us when we were polytheiats and to tell us that 379
hewouldbesentanddescribehimtous.' Sallmb.Mishkam,oneofB.
al-Nac;lir,aaid, 'He has not brought us anything we recognize and he is
nottheonewespokeoftoyou.' SoGodsentdownaboutthataayingof
theirs: 'And when a book comes to them from God confirming what they
have, though beforehand they were asking for help agaimt tho&e who
disbelicve,whentherecametothemwhattheyknew,theydisbelievedin
it,soGod'scuncrestaontheunbelieven.'l
1\Uiik b. al-$ayfaaidwhentheapostlehad becnsentandtheywere
reminded of the condition that had been imposed on than and what God
had covenanted with them concerning him, 'No covenant was ever made
with us about Muhammad.' So God sent down concerning him: 'b it not

~~a ~;!e~:v~~tt~i;:~.~ a covenant a party of them set it aside? Nay most

Abii !;laliibl al-Fi]yiini aaid to the apostle: '0 Muhammad, you have
notbroughtusanythingwereoognize,andGodhasnotsentdown toyou
any sign that we should follow you.' So God sent down concerning his

=~:~~ ;~v:h~.::~ ~.~tnt down to thee plain signs and only evildoers disRifi"b.l:luraymilaand\Vahbb.Zaydsaidtotheapostle,'Bringuss
' S~n l 5

1 ~ ]"!;.an.d oirnllu puaaa.. seem to indic.u that the maaia~~~-~ tlf"Ofli"&IMfli

4

Or al-l,)ayf.v.t .

'S~n~.!)4.

T~LifeofMuluunmod

b. al-Rabl' b. Abli'l-l:luqayq; and Kin~a b. al-Rabi' b. Abli'l-l:luqayq

came to theapostleaskingwhy he had turned hisbaclr.ort theqibfa he
usedtofacewhenheallegedth.athefollowedthereligionofAbraham. If
he would return to the qiblo. in Jerusalem they would follow him and declare
him to be troe. Their sole intention was to seduce him from his religion,
ao God ~nt down concerning them: 'The foolish people will say: What
made them tum their back on the qibla that they formerly observed?
Say, To God belongstheeastandthewest. HeguideswhomHewilltothe
.atmght path. Thus we have made you a central community that you may
bewitneuesagainstmenandthattheapostlemay be a witness against
you. Andweappointedtheqiblawhichthoudidstfonnerlyobserveonly
that we might know who will follow the apostle from him who turns upon
hisheels,'i.e. totestandfindthemout. 'Trulyitwasahardteatexceptfor
thQ!Ie whom God guided,' i.e. a temptation, i.e. those whom Allah established.'ltwasnotAllahspurposetomakeyourfaithvain,'i.e.yourfaith
inthefintqib/a,yourbelievingyourprophet,andyourfollowlnghimto
thelaterqibfaandyourobeyingyourprophettherein,i.e.sothathemaygive
you the reward of both of them. 'God is kind and compassionate to men.'
Then God said, 'We sometimes aee thee turning thy face towards
heaven and We will make thee tum towards a qibla which will please thee,
so tum thy facetowardathesacred mosque and wherever you are tum
your faces towards it' (315). 'Those who have received the scripture know 3h
thatitisthetrothfromtheirLord,andGodisnotunmindfulofwhatthey
do. If thou didstbringtothosewhohavetheacriptureeverysign they
would not followthyqib/aand thou wouldst not follow theirqib/a nor
would 10me of them follow the qibla of others. If thou shouldst follow
their desires after the knowledge which has come to thee then thou
wouldstbeanevildoer,'asfarasthe words'ItisthetruthfromthyLord
sobenotofthedoubten.''
Mu'lldhb.JabalandSa'db.MuadhbrotherofB.'Abdu'I-Ashhal,and
Kharija b. Zayd brother of B. al-l:IArith b. a\-Khazraj, ashd some of the
j ewish rabbisaboutsomethingintheTorahandtheyconcealcditfrom
themandrefused totellthemanythingaboutit. SoGodsentdownabout
them: 'Those who conceal the proofs and guidance We have sent down after
We have made it plain to men in the book, God will curse them and those
whocursewillcursethcm.'
The apostle summoned the jewish scripture fo lk to Islam and made it

~~iv~~~;~~:~~1~~~~~.~~;n~~ ~oo;!;~~~i:~;:~n~.:~tdv;o~f:=nt~e~
rehgJOn of thetr fathcn, for they were more learned and better men than

;2~~~~~:~~:~ ~~:~:::;r~~~~::i~~~:;;:,~:Tr~f~~~~e ~~~~Ti:S

nothingandwerenotrightlyguidedl'

1 SUn.2,14o-2.

383

Tht Ll.ft of Muhammad

WhenGodsmoteQuraf5hatBadr,theapostleusembledtheJewsinthe

~gJ~~~!f~~~:gfi~~7:~~g~;:!~h{~?:~~~~:~

~?S:::~,Eii2'~~.;;;:i~~~;:;!i,: ;;~;:~~~:~
~:~;e~~::~d~t!~~~~;:::~{~l:~~~~F-5;::::~: ;~~~~~~
:r~:~~~~~~:~~~.j~~?!:1b~~:/:~~e a7-~aar~~~~;~;~1~7~
to him
'Whatisyourreligion,Muhammad?
'TherdigionofAbraham.'
'ButAbrahamwasaJew.'
'ThenlcttheTorahjudgebetweenus.'

aee~lt~~wre:~=:~: .:v~~~;:dd;;r~o:ceo~!:~i;~= :~~:\~~~~~:~~

;~.~t:~~1:':::y~::~~~~~~:::~;:~::~~fE'~~~:.?:~~~~~

,. ~~:~~~f~:~lif;r:~~~~fl~~t~]~i1~~~~~
afterhistimd Can it be that you do not undentand? Behold, you are

~t~v;~sf}~~~~t1:}~~f:.~:flz~:~~~
:~:~;~;~~::i:~~~~:~~~~::::~,:~~~;:~:~~:b~S!.:~::

!~5~~:~~~]2~~;~;~rig~1,?~~s~t.:~l

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

which has been sent down to those that believe at the beginning of the
dayanddenyitattheendoftheday;perhapstheywillgobaclr.(on it).
Believe only in one who follo\\OS your religion. Say, The guidance is
God's guidance that anyone should be given thelikeofwhat you have
beengivenorthatthcymayargucwithyoubeforetheirLord. Say: the
bounty is in the hand of God. He giveth it to whom he please~ and God is
all-embracingandall-lr.nowing.''
AbU Rlfi' al-Qura~i said when the nbbi.s and the Christians from
Najrin had assembled before the apostle and he in\ited them to blam,
'Do you want us, Muhammad, to wo111hip you as the Christians wo111hip
Jesus,SonofMaryl' One of the Christianacallcdal-Ribbia(oral-Rtsor
al-Ra'is) said, 'Is that what you want of us and invite us to, Muhammad l'
or words to that effect. The apostle replied, 'God forbid that I ahould
worshipanyonebutGodororderthatanybut Heshouldbewonhipped.
Goddidnotsendmeandordermetodothat'orwordstothateffect. So
God sent down concerning their words: 'No monal to whom God has
ICIItaboolr.andauthorityandprophecycouldsaytomen,Worshipme
insteadofGod;butBeleamedinthatyouteachtheboolr.andinthatyou
atudyit'asfarasthewords'afteryehadbecomeMualiiTill'(Jt6),1
'And he did not command you to take the angela and prophets u 38s
~r::~i~~?uld He command you to disbelieve after you had become
Then he mentions how God had imposed on them and on their prophets
theobligationtobearwitnesstohiltruthwhenhecametothemandtheir
talr.ingthatupontheiTillehesandheaay.:'WhenGodmadeHiscovenant
with the prophets (He aaid) Behold that which I have gi\en you-a boolr.
and wisdom. Then when an apostle shall come to you confirming what
you have, you shall believe in him and help him. He said, Do you agree
and take upon yourselves my burden? They answered, We agree. He said,
Then bear witness, I bdng with you as a witneas' to the end of the passage.
Shh b. Qays, who was an old man hardened in unbelief and most
bitteragainsttheMus\imsandexcccdingenviousofthem,passedbya
number of the apostle's companions from Aus and Kh:uraj in a meeting
while they were talking together. When he saw their amity and unity and
their happy relations in Islam after their enmity in pagan times he wu
filledwithrageandsaid:'ThechiefsofB.Qaylainthiscountryhaving
unitedtherewillbenofirmplaceforuswiththcm.' Sohegaveorderatoa
Jewish youth who was with them to go to them and sit with them and
mentionthcbattleofBu'~thandthcprecedinge\ents,and recite to them
someofthepoetrycomposedbyeachside.
Now at the battle of Bu'~th Aus and Kh:uraj fought and the victory
went to :\us who were commanded at the time by l~u~ayr b. Simillr. 386
al-Ashhali the father of Usayd b.l;lu~ayr, Khazraj being led by 'Amr b. a1Nu'm:1nal-Bayil~i,andbothwerelr.illed(Jt7)
'SiiroJ.64

Tht Lift of Muhammad

263

longingforyourruin. Fromtheirmouththatredhua1rt11dyaho""nitaelf
andwhatthcirbreasnconcealiagreater. Wehavemadetheaig1111plain
to you if you will understand. Bcholdyoulovethembuttheylovenot
youandyoubelie\einthebook-a1lofit,''i.e.youbelieveintheirbook
andinthebookathatwerebeforethatwhiletheydenyyourbook,aothat
youhavemorerighttohatethemtbantheyto hateyou. 'And when they
meetyoutheyuy, Webelieveandwhentheygoaparttheybitetheir
fingersagainstyouinrsge. Say, Dieinyourrage',&c.
AbiiBakrwentintoaJewiahachoolandfoundagoodmanymengathered
round a cenain FinJ:!If, oneoftheirleamed n.bbit, and another rabbi
calledA.hya'. AbiiBakrcalledontheforrnertofcarGodandbecomea
Muslim because he knew that Muhammad wu the apostle of God who
hadhroughtthetruthfromHimar>dthattheywouldfinditwritteninthe
Torah and the Gospel. FinJ:!If replied: 'We tre not poor compared to
Allah but He ia poor compared to ua. We do not humble ouraclvet to
Him u He humbles Hinuelf tO Ul; we are independent of Him while He
needs ut. Were He independent of us He would not uk ua to lend Him
our money u your muter pretends, prohibiting you to take interest and
~~~:~~!.~~ to. Had He been independent of us He would not have given
Abii BakrwasenragedandhitFinblfhardintheface,uying,'Were
itnotforthctreatybetweenuslwouldcutoffyourhead,youenemyof
Allah!' Finl;llf immediately went to the apostle and llid, 'Look, MuhamIJUd, at what your companion hu done.' The apostle asked Abii Bakr
what bad impelled him to do such a thing and he IJUIWered: 'The enemy
of Allah apoke bluphemy. He alleged that Allah wu poor and that they 389
wererichandlwusoangrythatlhithiaface.' Finl;llfcontndictedthia
anddeniedthathe hadaaidit,soAllah..:otdownrefutinghimandconfinning what Abil Bakr had said: 'Allah hq heard the apeech ofthose who
aay:"Altahiapoorandwearerich.': Weshallwritewhattheyaayand
their killing the propheu wrongfully and we aha!! aay, Taste the punilhmentofbuming.'1
AndthcrecamedownconcemingAbU.Bakrandtheangerthathefelt:
'Andyouwillcenainlyhearfromthosewhoreceivedthebookbeforeyou
andfromthepolytheisumuchwrongbutifyouperacvereandfearGod
thatiaofthesteadfastneaaofthings.'
Then He said concerning what Finl;llf and the other rabbit with him
aaid:'AndwhenGodlaidachargeuponthosewhohadreceivedthebook:
You are to make it dear to men and not to conceal it, they cut it behind

1 v.184

'Theirnomes hoveolr..dybftngiv.,infuU
'Onewouldnoturolly ouppooethattheirweohhio r<for ..dtoh"'
s11 .... 4.47 Thiot<xt ohowo thotl\luhamtnadkncw(<l)thllwhentheyuid'Wehear"
ond '"'Dy...:l"!hcy,.er< ployingon the .;milar-O<>unding Heb,..wwonl<>Si~~ (withli~) meanin&'wee.,.ryout',ond(6)thatrd'i,..totMmmeont'oure\ilone '. ltOHmo,thereforc,
probable that t l>oyt<l _,,.,;~ io not to be undentoc>d in the .. n.., gi,n obove, but"' a
voeotive,'Othouthath.,tnotbnmadetoMor',i.e.thouwhohaot not,..ceivedodivine
revelation. The'tonl""-n.ioti!tll'io ,..vealed.,the n rc.,ticu..,ofA rabicino Hebrew
oentebyobilinJUol odl<llor,

391

,.,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

Nu'man b. Ac;ll' and Da]:lrtb. 'Amr and Sha's b. 'Adiycame to the a~tle
and he invited them to come to God and warned them of His \'engeance.
They replied: 'You cannot frighten us, Muhammad. We are the sons and
the beloved of God' as the Christians aay. So God sent down concerning
them: 'And the Jews and the ChriJ:tians uy, We are the sons and the
beloved of God. Say, Then why does He punish you for your sins?
Nsy you arc but mortals of those He has created. He pardons whom He
will and He punishes whom He will and to God belongs the kingdom of the
heavens and the earth and what lies between them and to Him is the
journeying.''
The spoatle invited the Jews to Islam and made it attnctive to them
md warned them of God't jealousy md His retribution; but they repulsed
him and denied what he brought them. Mu'ldh b. Jabal and Sa'd b.
'Ublda and 'Uqba b. Wahb uid to them: 'Fear God, for you know right
wellthatheittheapoadeofGodandyouusedtospeakofhimtouabtfore
hit mission and dtteribe him to us.' Rlfi' b. }:luraymila and Wahb b.
YahUdhl said, 'Weneveraaid that to you, and God has sent down no
book since Moses nor sent m evangelist or warner after him.' So God
sentdownconcerningtheirwords:'Oscripturefolk,ourapostlehucome
toyoutomakethingsplaintoyou afteraces~~ationofapos!les lelty?u
ahould uy: No evangelist and no warner has come to us when an evangehst
mdwarnerhucometoyou(now). Godisabletodoallthings.'
Thenhe recountedtothemtheuoryofMosesandtheiroppositionto
him, and how they disobeyed God's commands through him so that they
wandered in the wildemeu forty yean as a punishment.
IbnShihlbal-ZuhrltoldmethatheheardaleamedmanofMuzayna

with him he put him on his oath as to whether 1he Torah did not prescribe
stoning for adulterers. 'Yea,' he said, 'they know right well, AbU'l-Qasim,
that you are aprophetsent(byGod)buttheyenvyyou.' The apostle
wentouttothemandcomrnandedthatthetwoshouldbestonedmdthey
were ttoned at the door of hil mosque smong B. Ghanm b. Mllik b.
ai-Na_ijir. Afterwardsibn$ilriyldisbelie\edmddeniedthattheapot.tle
wu a prophet. So God sent down concerning them: '0 apostle, let not
those who viewithoneanotherin unbelief sadden thee, those who say
with their moutht, We believe, but their hearts do not belie\e, those
Jews who listen to lies, listening for other people who donotcometo
thee,' i.e.thosewhosentothenandatayedbthindthemselvttandgave
them orden to chmge the judgement from ita eon text. Then He uid:
'They change words from their places, saying, If this be given to you
receiveit,andifitisnotgiventoyou,i.e.thestoning, btwareofit',&c.
Muhammad b. Tal):la b. Yazid b. Rukina from hmi'JI b. Ibrlhlm from
Ibn'Abbbtoldmetha.ttheapoatleorderedthemtobtatoned,andthey

~~~! ~:~d~~:~;~~~~:~~~rt':~~~ilw~~:~~ ~~:~~d ;~~~ ::a~l:~~a~

yt;:r
answered:'Thesentenceusedtobecarriedoutuntilamanofroyalbirth

A married man had committed adultery \\ith a married woman and they
said: 'Send them Muhammad and ask him what the law about them is

:d.~:~~~. o~~reo=0~~:~edm:u~!:~~h:d~~!~e~~~~: ~li~; ::t:~

to

'~ r:;~~;{~~~~:.~:g~;~~;~~::;;~~y:~;~7f~~~
stoning for them, he is a prophet so beware lest he depri\~

)'OU

of wha~ ~ou

~:~::i~~;~~~~~:~;E:~~~ ~~~:!~~~~~~;~:~~rfE:~o~

;ft~:;~:::; ~:.:r~~.:~~,!~:~~,:~~~;~:;~:~:riiri~.:

'T~i: ~::::o:~ 1;-:;n;:u~ga:Stli;~n~~~t~J~.~;~ \t: ~postle wu alone

'SOro!'" Thcloot,..ordrol,<irmoymcon',..tmn'

395

:~~ee ~~n~!~~~;; ::: t~e h:o::q~:p~e~twhheern r;:~ ~:,: ~~~n~e !~~

both of them were killed. This is what God did for the apostle in exacting

th$~~~: ~~i:~~~~:~:~~fi:~ef~a~~~an

of 'Abdullah b. 'Umar from

'Abdullah b. 'Umar, told me: When the apostle gave judgement about them
hcaskcdforaTorah. Arabbiuttherereadingithavingputhit handover
theverseofuoning. 'Abdu\lahb.Sallmstruektherabbi't hsnd,uying,
'Thia,OprophetofGod,iatheverseofttoningwhichhercfultstoread

~~~;~~ ~~ej~;:!:e~~i:f '6: :~i:u >~:"~~:~~t

i~~:~. Y~;;

to

him
be stoned but they said No,notuntilyoustoneso-and-ao. And
whentheyuidthattohimtheyagree<!toarrangethematterbytajbilland

~i t~drc:7:; t~:t~:~~rmoet~ :~to~;~g~~~~7o'~~:: ;:_.a~:;

:~:e:~t:~ned and 'Abdullah b. 'Umar said, '1 was among those that

Da'ild b. sl-l:fu,ayn from 'Ikrima. from Ibn 'Abbh said that th~ ventt
of The Table in which God said: 'Then judge between them or Withdraw

~;~orr~::)E~e~i~~rf::~~;r:::~~~~~~~~:~~~~~;

Qurana. Those slain from D. al-Na<;lir were leaden and they wanted the
whole bloodwit while D. Quran;a wanted half of it. They referred the
matter for arbitration to the apostle, and God sent down that passage
c:oncemingthem. Theapostleordcredthatthemattcrahould be: settled

396

Th~ LJf~

Tht Ltjt of Muhammad

!~~~n~ni~ :~:::~ the bloodwit in equal shares. But God knows which
Ka'hb.Andandlbn$allib:iandhissc.m'AbdullahandSha'su.idone
to another, 'Let us go to Muhammad to see if we can seduce him from his
religion, for he is only a mortal'; so they went to him and said: 'You know,
Mu~ammad, that we are the rabbis, nobles, and leaders of the Jews;
and 1f we follow you the rest of the Jews will follow you and not oppose

~ii.:~;7n "~::a;:da ~~a;~~~o;~:t:~~i~~~~;~l ':~: ;L~urf ':pal;;~tify::

~~yb*~:~!~~n:;~:~::nu=~:~~;n~~~i:;;~~j~!i::~:;~~~:

of them lest they seduce thee from some of what God has sent down to thee.
And if they !Urn their backs then know that God wishes to 1mite them for

~r~:~;h:~~rt:~~:;;~1m~e~.~: i:\~t~=7ha~sd~~~ J:~~e%:~f:i;:

~;e:~i'i~~E:~~~;~~~;r;~~ ~iE:z~ ~::~~i~~~~~~~

down to ua and what was sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and haac
and J ~cob and the tribes and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what
was glVm to the propheu from their Lord; we m.a.ke 1'10 difference between
any one of them. And we are submissive unto Him.' When he mentioned
39?

{:~;:~e~nJ~~~~a~~t:~~t:~.~r \~a~~;o::S\\~I{or~~:::e~i~nh~~~.Ve~o;~
0
:~gd~:~no:~~~;~! h~rr:~~ w~~~t:~~e~:':~td:o:~nut~1=:n~:.~:ta~
sentdownaforetimeandbecausemostofyouareevil-docrs?'J

~h::~~;;~~i:~~~a~~:;t~~~~~~;:~T:::~~;~:l~;~;i~1~~~

~~~~~~~~~

sent down to you from your Lord. What has been sent down to thee from
thy Lord will assuredly increase many of them in error and unbelief.

Bull~~;~:~d a~~c~:;:d~~';~~ba~~v:~~l~;d to him: 'Do you not

'SilraJ.sll
'SUns.7>

of Muhammad

know that there is another god with God?' The apostle an!wen:d: 'God,
there is no God but He. With that (message) I was sent and that I preach.'
God sent down concerning their words: 'Say, What is the greatest testimony? Say God is witness between me and you, and this Ouran has been
re\ealed to me that I might warn you by it and whomsoever it reaches.
DoyouactuallytestifythatwithGodthereareothergods?Say, I do not
testify to that. Say He is only One God, and I dis.sociate myself from what
you associate (with Him). Those to whom We aent the book know it as
they know their own sons. Those who destroy themselves will not believe.''
Riffaand Suwayd had hypocritically affected to embrace Islam and
some of the Muslims were friendly wit.h them. So God sent down concerning these two men: '0 Believera, choose not as friends those who have
chosen your religion to make a jest and game of it from among those who
recei\ed the scripture before you, nor the unbelievers, and fear God if
you are believen', as far as the words 'And when they come to you they
uy,Webelieve,buttheycameininunbeliefandtheywentoutwithitand
Godknowsbestaboutwhattheyarcconcealing.''
Jabal and Shamwil came to the apostle and aaid: 'Tell us when the hour
will be if you areaprophetasyousa.y.' SoGodaentdownconceming
them: 'They will aslr. you about the hour when it will come to pass. Say,
only my Lord knows of it. None but He will reveal it at iu proper time.
ltishcavyintheheavensand theeanh. Suddenlywillitcomeuponyou.
They will ask you as though you lr.new about it. Say Only God knows

3<}8

aboutit,but~tmendonotknow' 1 (322).

Sallam and Nu'm:ln b. Aufa and i\hi)miid b. Dil:lya and Sha's and
M~lik came and said to him: 'How can we follow you when you have
abandonedourQib/aandyoudonotallegethat'U:uyristhesonofGodl' 399
So God sent down concerning these words: 'The Jews uy that 'Uzayr
is thesonofGodandthe ChristianssaytheMeuiahisthesonofGod.
That is what they say with their mouths copying the speeeh of those who
disbelieved aforetime. God fight them! How perverse they are' to the
endofthepassage'(323).
Mal:lmiid b. Say/:Jlin and Nu'mlin b. A~li' and Bal:lri and 'Uuyr and
Sall~m came to him and said: 'Is it true, Muhammad, that what you have
brought is the truth from God? For our part we cannot see that it is
arranged as the Torah is.' He answered, 'You know quite well that it is
from God; you will find it written in the Torah which you have. If men
andjinn came together to produceitslikethey..:ould not.' Finl:l-A,and
'Abdullah b. $iiriyland Ibn ~aliibl and Kin:lna b. al Rabl' and A3hya'
and Ka'bb. ai-Asad and Shamwlland Jabalwerethereand theyu.id:
'Did neither men nor jinn tell you this, Muhammad?' He uid: 'You know
I Theclu.qre ofpolythtiommadeogoirlll!h< ]...,..ioverypuulinrondhordtonp!oin

5~i::;~:~:.9~~:~:;::i~1 ~E:~:.;:,.._:::~~.:e:

Tht L1jt of M11hammad

well that it is from God and that I am the apostle of God. You will find
it written in t~e Ton~h you have.' They said: 'When God sends an apostle
He doe. for h1m what he wishes, 10 bring down a book to us from heaven
that we may read it and know what it is, otherwise we will produce one
like the one you bring.' So God aent down concerning thdr words:
'Say, Though men and jinn should meet tO produce the like of this Qun~n
theywouldnotproduceiulikethoughone helped the other'' (324).
-too
l.luyayy, Ka'b, AbU RMi', Ashya', and Shamwi! said to 'Abdullah b,
Sal~m when he became a Muslim, 'There is no prophecy among the Arabs,
butyourmasterisaking.' Thentheywenttotheapostlcandaskedhim
about DhU'l-Qarnayn and he told them what God had sent him about
him from what he had already narr.~.ted to Qur.~.ysh. They were of those
who ordered Oun~ysh to ask the apostle about him when they sent ai-NaQr
and 'Uqba to them.~
I was told that Sa'id b. Jubayrsaid: A numberofjewscameto the apostle
and said: 'Now, Muhammad, Allah created creation, but who created
Allah?'Theaposdewassoangrythathi.scolourchangedandherushed
at them being indignant for his Lord. Gabriel came and quietened him
saying, 'Ca.lm yourself, 0 Muhammad.' And an answer to what they asked
came to h1m from God: 'Say, He God is One. God the Eternal. He
begetteth not neither is He begotten and there is none equal to Him.'J
When he recited that to them they said, 'Describe His shape to us,
Muhammad; his forearm and his upper arm, what are they like?' The
apostle was more mgry than before and nuhed at them. Gabriel came to
him and spoke as before. And an answer to what they asked came to him
from God: '~hey think_ not of God as He ought to be thought of; the
wholeearthwtllbeinthsgraspatthedayofresurrectionandtheheavens
=at~p~~t:~i~~tt hand. Glorified and Exalted is He abo\e what they
'Utba b. Muslim freedman of the B. Taym from AbU Salama b.

::1~u~~~t~~h~~~~pb:et~~ora::n':~ e~~;n: t~:~~n~h:.:~~~~~:!;

:!;, ~:y"~~~ec~:~~~ ~r:~:i.o~~.b~h~~~c~~~:! ~;: ~h~;dti~~~~ ~~~

leftandsay'ltakerefugeinGodfromSatanthedamned'(325)
A DEPUTAT I ON FROM THE CIIRISTIANS OF NAJR.\N

A dep~tation from the Christians of N:zjrin came to the apostle. There

were s1xty riders, fourteen of them from their nobles of whom three were

~~ ~~~:~ ~~;~~:; ~~:~'~J=i~~~r!: ;;~n~::d;o~~~~":~il;, ~~c~~

Tht Life of Muhammad

'Abdu'J.Masl~ by name; (b) the Sayyid, their sdminismtor who saw to
transport and general arrangements, whose name was al-Ayham; and
(c)theirBishop,scholar,andreligiousleaderwhocontrolledtheirschools,
AbUJ:IIrithab.'Alqama,oneofB.Bakrb.Wfil.
AbU l:Uritha occupied a position of honour among them, and was a
greatstudent,sothathehadmexcellentknowledgeoftheirrdigion,and
theChristiankingsofllyzantiumhadhonouredhimandpaidhimasubsidyandgavehimaervanu, builtchurchesforhimandlavishedhonours
onhim,becauseofhisknowledgeandzealfortheirrcligion.
When they act out' from Najr.ln to see the apostle AbU J:f:iritha was
riding on a mule of his v.ith a brother at his aide whose name was Kaz b.
'Alqama (326). AbU J:lilritha's mule stumbled. and KU:z said, 'May So-andso stumble,' [i.e.Cu~himl], meaning the apostle. AbU l:Uritha said, 'Nay
but may you stumble.' 'Butwhy,brother?'heasked. 'BecauacbyGodhe
is the prophet we have been waiting for.' KUz uid, 'Then if you know
that, what stops you from accepting him?' He replied, 'The way these
peoplehavetrcatedus. Theyha\egivenustitles,paidussubsidics,and
honoured us. But they are absolutely opposed to him, and if I were to
accepthimtheywould takefromusallthatyou ace.' KUzponderedover
thematteruntillaterheadoptedlslam,andusedtOtcllthisstory,soi
haveheard(327).
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr told me that when they came to
Medinatheycameintotheapostle'smosqueasheprayed theafternoon
pn~yer clad in Yamani garments, cloaks, and mantles, with the elegance of
men of B. al-J:IIrith b. Ka'b. The prophet's companions who saw them
thatdayuid thattheyne\ersawthtirlikeinanydeputationthatcame
ahe/"\\"ards. Thetimeoftheirprayershavingcometheyatoodmd prayed
intheapostle'amoaque,and he said thattheyweretobelefttodoso.
Theyprayedtowardslheeast.

4<>~

~~~;~[ff~~::~~~7I~:~~~~~t~~~~~~~~~;~~ ,.,

named above spoke to the apostle. They were Christians according

to_the Byzantine rite, though ther differed among themselves in some
pomts, a.aying He is God; and He IS the son of God; and He is the third

~r;ohne ~! ~~r=~"~~c~~ t~e !:~~= ~!~~~:~~:~ t~':~k:r~~

declaretheunscen;and makeclaybirdsandthen breathe imothemao

;E~ ~!~f~:7~i~~~:?~:~~~:;~~~~~~~~~h;:~:~~~
~:;~h~~gt~~: ~no ,c;.itl~~ ~; ~V~ ~:~: ~:~:: \~~~a~:~e~~a;n~:~:
'R.tad.inlilt>jj<>lo~wllhW.

'Silr11J . .. J

ThtLijtoji1111hammad
01

~:: c;:~~:r!!~ ~;~:~\a~sd :~: ~~se~~t~~~:.~~o t~~~ a~~~ ::~~hi:tai~~

plainverses:thc:yarethc:core'ofthebook',inthemisthedivineargumcnt,
theprotectionof(l-lis)crcatures,andthc:thrustingasideofoontroversy
and falsehood. Thcsearenotsubjecttomodificationoralteration'inthe
meaningwhichhasbeengiven. 'Andothcrsareobscure',theyaresubject
tomodificationandinterpretation. BythemGodtc:sta Hiscreaturesas l-le
tests them with things permitted andforhiddcnthattheyshould not be
changedintowhatisfal!!eandaltnedbydecliningfromthetruth. 'But
as to those in whose hearts is a deviation,' i.e. turning away from true
guidance, 'they follow what is ambiguous,' i.e. what can be otherwise
interpretcd totubstantiatetherebywhatthcyhaveinvemedandintroduced
anewthatthc:ymayha\'c:anargumentandaplausiblc:reasonforthcirdoctrine,'desiringjilna,'i.e.confusion,and'desiringanarbitraryimc:rpretation,'c:.g.thc:errortheyadoptedinexplaining'Wecreated'and'We
decreed'. 'And none knows its interpretation,' i.e. what they mean by it,
'excc:ptGod;andthosc:groundedinknowlc:dge. Thc:ysay,Webelievein
it. Evc:rythingcomc:sfromourLord.' Sohowcanthcrebeanycontro\"ersywhen itisonespec:chfromone Lord? Then theycarryoverthe 405
interprctationoftheobscuretotheplainwhichcanha\"eonlyonemeaning
and thus the book becomes consistent, one: part confirming another, the
argumenteffeetiveandthecasedear;falsehoodiscxcludcdandunbelief
is overcome:. 'Nonebuttheimelligenttakehced' in this way. '0 Lord,
SuffernotourheartstogoastrayaftcrThouhastguidedus,'i.e.Donotlet
our hearu swerve:, though we swenc: aside through our sins. "Grant us
0

~~cy:~n~~~:~~~: isT:o ~~ ~uet ~ec~e:~~~~~:~~el;:~~ ~: S:~~

ofknowledgetoo'contrarytowhattheysay'subsistinge\erinjustice,'i.e
in equity. 'There is no God but He: the: \\ Iighty the Wise. The religion
with God is Islam,' i.e. the religion you pr:~etisc, 0 l\luhammad, acknowledging the onenCIII of God and confirming the apostles. 'Those to whom
thebookwasbroughtdifferedonlyaftcrknowledgehadcomctothem,' i.c:.
that which came to thee, namely that Cod is One without associate,
'throughtransgrcssion amongthemseii'CS. Andwhosoc\"erdisbclievesin
God'srevelations-Godisswifttotakeintoaccount. And if they argue
with thee,' i.e.withthefal!!edoctrinetheyproduceabout'\Vecreated,:

The Ltfe of Muhammad

'Wedid',and'Wecommanded',itisonlyaapeciousargumentde,oidof
truth. 'Say, I havesurrenderedmypurpose'toGod,'i.e.toHimalone,'as
havethosewhofoUowme. Anduytothosewhoreccivedthebookand
tothegcntile(converts)whohavenobook, 'Ha\eyou aurrendered? For
iftheyhavcsurrendcredtheywiUberightlyguidcdandiftheytumtheir
backs it is only incumbent on thee to deJi,e r the message. And God sees
(His) servants.'
Then He combined the Jews and Christians and reminded them of
what they had newly invented and said: 'Those who disbe lieve in God's
re\elationa and kill the prophets wrongfully and kill men who enjoin
justice' as far as the words, 'Say, OGod pouessorofaovereignty,' i.e
Lord of mankind and the King who alone decrees among them. 'Thou
givest 10\'ereignty to whom Thou wilt and takest it away from whom
Thou wilt. Thou exalt est and abasest whom Thou wilt; in Thy hand is
good,'i.e.thereisnoGodbut T hee. 'Thoucanudoallthings,'i.e.none
-4o6 butThouc:andothisinthymajestyandpower. 'ThoueauSC!Itthcnight
topassintodayandthedayintonightandbringestforththelivingfrom
thedeadandthedcadfromtheliving'bythatpower. 'AndThounurturcst whom Thou wilt without stint.' None hu power to do that but
Thou;i.e.though l ga,e Jesuspoweroverthoaematterainvirtueofwhich
t heysaythatheisGodsuchuraisingthedead,healingthesick,creating
birdsofclay,anddeclaringthe unseen, lmadehim thcrcbyasignto men
andaconfirmationofhisprophethoodwherewith l senthimtohispeople.
But some of My majesty and power I withh~ld from him such ~appoi nt
ing kings by a prophetic command and plac1ng them w~cre I w1shed, ~nd
making the night topassintodayand the day into _nght and brin~ng
forththelivingfromthedeadandthedeadfromthe!Jvingandnurtunng
whom I will wilhout stint, both the good and the evil man. All that I
5 1

;~:;,~ ~~~ !~ a: p:!f~~~~~~ ~/~e ':.e~=~;;:~l i:j,a~:.::l~~ ~~~h~~

his power, while they know that he fled from kings and because of them
hemovedaboutthecountryfromtowntotown
Then he admonished and warned the believers and aaid: 'Say, If you
love God,' i.e. if what you uy is true in love to God and _in gl~rifying Him
'and follow me, God will love you and forgive you your 11ns,' 1.e. your p~t

~~f~f~~~~

in my womb u a conset:rated offering,' i.e. I hne vowed him and made

'u:,.jlti.

,,,

409

Tlrt Life of Muhammad

Godinitiatedandgavetohim;'they hadonlythe mentionofhimthathe

would be one of the prophett after him. 'And an apostle to B. lsril'il
(aaying)IhavecometoyouwithasignfromyourLord,'i.e.confirming
thereby my prophethood that I am an apostle from Him to you. 'I will
create for you from clay the liken~ of the form of birds and I will breathe
into them and they will become birds by God's permission,' Who has sent
me unto you, He being my Lord and yours 'and I will heal him who was
bomblindandtheleper'(JJO). 'And lwill quickenthede:adby God's
pennission and lwilltell youof whatyoueatandstorcupinyourhouses.
Therein is a sign for you' that I am an apostle from God to )'OU, 'if you
become believers. And confirming that which was before me of the Tonh,'
i.e. what of it preceded me, 'and to rmke lawfu l to you some of that which
wuforbiddenyou,'i.e.Itellyouaboutitthatitwasforbiddenyouand
youabandonedit;thenlm.akeitlawfultoyoutorclieveyouofitandyou
can enjoy it and be exempt from its penalties. 'And I bring you signs from
yourLord,sofearGodandobeyme. GodismyLordandyourLord,'
i.c.disowningwhat theysay abouthimandprovingthathisLord(isGod).
'So worship Him. This is a straight path,' i.e. that to which I urge you and
bring you. ' Butwhenjesusperceived theirdisbelief'andenmityagainst
him 'He said, Who arc my helpers towards God? The di$Ciples said : We
arc God's helpers. We btlie\'e in God.' This is their saying by which they
gainedfavourfromtheirLord. 'Andbearwitnessthat1\eareMuslims,'
not what t hose who argue with thee say about Him. '0 our Lord, we
belie\'e in what Thou hast sent down and we follow the apostle, so write
usdownamongthewitnCMCS,'i.e.thuswutheirsayingandtheirfaith.
Then He mentions His taking up of Jegus to Himself when they decided
tokillhimandsaya:'AndtheyplottedandGodplottedandGodisthebest
of plotters.' Then He tells them-refuting what they asse rt of the Jews in
regard to his crucifixion-how He took him up and purified him from them
andsayw :'WhenGodsaid,O j esus lamabouttocausetheetodieandto
C)[altthcetoMyselfandtopurifytheefromthoscwhodisbelicve'when
thcypurposedutheydid,'andamscningthosewhofollow thceabove
thosewhodisbelie\'euntilthedayofresurrection.' The narration continues until the words 'This which We recite unto thee,' 0 Muhammad, 'of
thesignsandthewisewaming,'thefinal,thed:isi\e,thetrue,inwhichno
falsehood is mingled, ofthestoryof Jesus and of what they differed in
1

~~:r~s~~:1 "?;s~ a~~~~~~~~:h;; ~=:\\::a~ ~:;r:;c~~~~:r' e:~~ ~~~

Tlrt Lift of Mullammod

a male is no more wonderful than this. 'Whoso argues with thee about him

~~: ~~o:~~rg::~ .~::: t;~~e~~:~ ~~:e~; ~~~en:~d0~::,h~

::?;~

~~:~~~::in;~~:~~:~,:;:n~~eT~::q~r:~?~i~~~:;~~

they tum back say: Bear witn~ that we are Muslims.' Thus he invited
themtojusticeanddeprivedthemoftheirargument.
Whenthcrecameto theapostlenewaof jesuafromGodandadecisive
judgement between him and them, and he wu commanded to I'CIOrt to
mutual invocation of a cune if they opposed him, he summoned them to
begin. But they said: '0 AbU '1-Q:llim, let us consider our affain; then we

:~:~ct~~~lr~~:~-~!~~i:~~i~;~~~~~~ t!(~e~~!i:h:~~i~:;~:~

was. He said: '0 Chnattans, you know right well that Muhammad is a
prophetsent(byGod)andhehasbroughtadW.he dedantionaboutthe
natureofyourmaster. Youknowtoothatapeoplehasneverinvolr.eda
curseonaprophetandseenitselders liveanditsyouthgrowup. Ifyou
do_ this you will b:t' e~tenninatcd. _But if you decide to adhere to you r
rclgionandtomamtamyourdoctnneaboutyourmaster,thentakeyour
leneofthemanandgohome.' Sotheycametotheapostleandtoldhim
th~t _they had decided not to resort to cu~ing and to leave him in his
rehgtonandreturnhome. lluttheywouldlikchimtosendamanhecould
~~~-to decide between them in certain financial matte~ in dispute among
l\l.uhamm~d b. ja'far said: The apostle said, 'lf you come to me thia
e\enmg I Wtll send a firm and truaty man.' 'Umar used to say, 'I never
~antedanofficemoreth anlwantedthatoneandhopedthat l ahouldget
11. l wenttothenoonprayerintheheatandwhentheapostlehadoon

cludeditheloolr.edtorightand leftandlbegantostretchmytelftomy
fuU.height$0that hecould!ltCme;buthelr.epton aearchingwithhiseyes
unttl he saw AbU 'Ubayda b. al-jarrl~ and calling him he said, "Go with

~~a~~~J::r~ ~~;~~b~~-~~ !:~~~.:~ i;h:~tcn they dispute about."'

saidtohim:Be;andhewas. ThetruthisfromthyLord,'i.e.tbcreport
whichcomestotheeaboutjesus,'$0benotofthedoubte~,'i.e.thctruth

hascometothcefromthyLordsodonotbedoubtfulaboutit;andifthey
aay, Jesus was created without a male (intervening), I created Adam from
eanh by that same power widlOut a male or a female. And he was as
Jesuswas:fleshandbloodandhairandskin. ThecreationofJesuswithout
'SHp.>H,R.I

'There is no God but God, and God is Mighty Wise. If they tum back
God knows about the cormpt docn. Say, 0 Scripture folk, Come to a

~:~ w~~! ~~w=~~::huaat :;~1:! 7~~:~t:~l!',~::d:nt!s~:.no;::i~

SOMI! ACCOUNT OF THE HYPO C RITES

:!:i~a~~;~h~:: :.~q~~:~~~~d b~~~~~~~e;al~ta~~~~ :;7~e~~~:::~i~~

all:lublil;noneofhiaownpeoplecontested his authority andAu.sand
'MthcHqudohowo,thcmooninl!io'lootwin.-oi<God'ocvrt<onhlcholwioJrina'

411

2.78

The Life of .l'fuhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Youaaid,'l havehonourandwealth',
Butofoldyousoldrourfaithforinfidclity(JJI)

Khazraj never rallied to one man before or after him until Islam came, as
they did to him. With him was a man of Aus whom Aus obe)ed, AbU
'Amir 'Abdu 'Amr b. $ayfi b. al-:s'u'm!n, one of B. J;lubay'a b. Zayd,
thCfatherofl:lanp.la,'thewashed'onthedayofUI;md.' Hehadbeenan
asceticinpaganda)'1andhadwomacoarsehairgarmentandwascalled'the
::-h~.ese two men were damned through their high status and it did

'Abdullah b. Ubayy while maintaining his poaition among his people

ke~~::=agd ub~t~1~:i~ ~~;~~~:~~~l~~~~"';!~l~~!~~bayr from Ualma

1

:~.::~:~:t.~~~~~;~~~l;~~o~:;ai~~i!~~Eri:~?~~l!~

'Abdullah b. Ubayy' people had made a sort of jewelled diadem to

crown him and make him their king when God tent His apostle tO them;
so when his people forsook him in fa~-our of Islam he was filled with enmityreali:r.ingthattheapostlehaddeprhedhimofhiskingship. Howe,er,
when he aaw that his people were determined to go over to Islam he went
too, but unwillingly, retaininghisenmityanddissimulating.
AbU 'Amir11ubbomly refuted to believe and abandoned his people
when they went over to Islam and went off to Mecca with about ten followen to get away from Islam and the apostle. Muhammad b. AbO.
Umima from one of the family of l:fan~ala b. AbO. 'Amir told me that the
apostle said, 'Don't call him the monk but the evil-doer.'
Ja'far b. 'Abdullah b. AbO.'l-l;lakam whose memory went back to aposto
licdaysandwhowuanarratoroftraditiontoldmethatbcfpreheleftfor
Mecca AbO. 'Amir came to the apostle in Medina to ask him about the
rcligionhchadbrought.

~!:iul:db~ti:~~T!e h~!c~~~g 7: t~:e:~.::h!~~i~i:~ ~;u=

0

u~nisR;= :;~~~::~;u~:t ~~~~~~~ :~:~~:u~':;~t:;

So he gotofltheanimalandaatfora little while recitingtheQur11nand

JB:~~:!~i~~;~~ee~:d~:~~ns;~~f~~:~t;~~~:~:~~:~:~~

nothingfinerthanwhatyousayifitweretrue. Butaitinyourownhouse
andifanyonecomea,talktohimaboutit;butdon'timportuncthoae":ho
do not come to you, and don't come into a man'sgathering with talk wh tch
he does not like." 'Abdullah b. Raw!J:!a, who w11 one of the Muslims who
we re sitting with him, said, "Nay, do come to us with it and come intO our
gatherings and quarters and houses. For by God iti1whatwe love and
what God hu honoured us with, and guided us to.'' When 'Abdullah b.
Ubayysawthathispeoplewcreoppoaedtohimhesaid:

:~~:t~:~~~~~I ~~~l~~~~ion of Abraham.'

4n

'Youdonot.'
'But Idol You,Muhammad,haveintroducedintothel;fanlftyathings
whichdonotbelongtoit.'
'I have not. I ha,ebroughtitpureandwhite.'
'l\layGod let the liar die alonc:ly, homeless, fugithe!' (meaning the
apostleuifhehadfalsifiedhisreligion).
'Well and good. May God so reward him!'
That actually happened totheenell).yofGod. HewenttoMeccaand
when the aJY.)Itle conquered it he w~.nt toTil'if; when Til'ifbecame l\lulimhewcnttoSyriaanddiedtherea lonely,homeless,fugiti\e.
r\ow there went with him 'Alqama b. 'Uiatha b. 'Auf b. al-AQ..,"q b.
Ja'far b. Kil.~b. and Kinilna b. 'Abd Yilil b. 'Amr b. 'Umayr al-Thaqafl.
WhenhediedtheybroughttheirriuldaimstohispropertybeforeCaesar,
lord of Rome. Caesar said, 'Let townsmen inherit townsmen and let
nomads inherit nomad1.' So Kinilna b. 'Abd Yilil inherited his property
mdnot'Aiqama.
Ka'b b. Mllik uid of AbO. 'Amir and what he had done:
Goduvcmefromanevildeed
Like yours against your elm, 0 'Abdu 'Amr.

Whenyourfriendiayouropponentyouwillalwaytbehumiliated
And youradversaricswillovenhrowyou.'
Canthefalconmountwithouthiswings?
lfhisfeathcn~arcdippedhefallstotheground(JJ.4-)

'AI-Zuhri from 'Urwa b. ai-Zubayr from Ulima told me that the

apoatlegotupandwentintothehouseofSa'db. 'Ubilda,hisfaccshowing
the emotion raised by Ibn Ubayy, theenemyofGod. Sa'daskedthe
apostle why he lookedsoangryasthough he had heard something that
displeasedhim,andthenhetoldhimwhatlbnUbayyhadaaid. Sa'dtaid
'Don't be hard on him; for God sent you to us as weweremakingadiadem
::~wn him, and by God he thinks that you hl\e robbed him of a king-

FEVER ATTACKS TilE APOSTLE'S COMPANIONS

Hishlm b. 'Urwa and 'Umar b. 'Abdullah b. 'Urwa from 'Urwa b. alZubayr told me that '.~'isha uid: When his apostle t11me to Medina it
1 Ibn Outa~ba. M~tbma, tr. Gaud~froyDtmomb)noo, Poria, 1947, p. u, h.ao ,..t~it<l

r:: :..~;:~~~~~-?o ~~~~~~~~~!t:K

bt ~~:; ;:~r:.n. Tho wonJ ;. o

homonym ond in

413

,,,

Tit~

Life of Muhammad

Godinitiatedandgavetohim; 1 theyhadonlythementionofhimthathe
would be one of the prophets after him. 'And an apostle to H. lsr~'il
(aaying) lh.avecometoyt>uwithasignfromyourLord,'i.e.confirming
thereby my prophethood that I am an apoatle from Him to you. 'I will
createforyoufromclaythelikcncssoftheformofbirdaandlwillbreathe
into them and they will become birds by God's penniSIIiOn,' Who has sent
me unto you, He being my Lord and yours 'and I will heal him who wat
bomblindandtheleper'(330). 'And I willquickenthedeadbyGod's
pennissionandlwi\ltellyouofwhatyoutatandstoreupinyourhouscs.
Therein isasignforyou'that l:unanapostlefromGodtoyou,'ifyou
become believers. And confirming that which was before me of the Torah,'
i.e. what of it preceded me, 'and to make lawful to you some of that which
woforbiddenyou,'i.e. Itcll)ouaboutitthatitwas!orbiddenyouand
youaba.ndoncdit;thenlmakeitlawfultoyoutorelieeyouofitand)ou
canenjoyitandbccxemptfromitspcnalties. 'And lbringyousignsfrom
yourLord,sofearGodandobcyme. GodismyLordandyourLord,'
i.e.disowningwhattheysayabouthimandprovingthathis Lord(isGod)
'So worship Him. This is a straight path,' i.e. that to which I urge you and
bring you. 'Butwhenjesuspcrccivedtheirdisbclicf'andenmityagairut
him 'He said, Whom: myhelpcrstowardsGod? The disciples said: We
areGod'shelpers. Welnlie>"einGod.' This istheirsayingbywhichthc:y
gainedfavourfromtheirLord. 'AndbearwitnessthatneareMuslimt,'
not what those who argue with thee say about Him. '0 our Lord, we
believe in what Thou hast liCllt dov.'fl and we follow the apostle, so write
usdownamongthewitncsscs,' i.e.thuswastheirsayingandtheirfaith.
409
Then He mentions His taking up of Jesus to Himself when they decided
tokillhimandsa)'I:'AndlheyplottedandGodplottedandGodisthebcst
of plotters.' Then He tells them-refuting what they assert of the Jews in
regard to his crucifixion-how He took him up and purified him from them
a.ndsa)'I:'WhcnGodsaid,Ojesus lam abouttocausetheetodieand to
enlttheetoMyaelfandto purifytheefromthosewhodisbclicve'when
theypurposedastheydid,'andamsettingthosewhofollowtheeaboe
thotewhodisbcliecuntil the day of resurrection.' The narration continues until the words 'This which We recite unto thee,' 0 Muhammad, 'of
theaignsandthe wise waming,'thefinal,thcdccisive, thetrue,inwhichno
falsehoodismingled,ofthestoryofjesusandofwhat they differed in

Tht Lift of Mu!Jammod

a male is no more wonderful than this. 'Whoso argues with thee about him
afterknowledgehascometothee,'i.e.afterlhavctoldthechisstoryand
how his aff~ir was, 'Then ~y: Come, let us summon our son1 and your
aons,ourw,csandyourwl\'CB,oursel\'esandyoursches,thenletuspray
earneatly'andinokeGod'scurseupontheliars'(JJI). 'Verilythit'which
lhavebroughtyou ofthestoryof jesus'is thetruestory' ofhisaffair.
'There is no God but God, and God is Mighty Wise. If they turn back
God knowsaboutthcoorruptdoers. Say, OScripturefolk, Come to a
j~t wo.rd between us that we will worship only God and associate nothing
wtthHtmandsomcofuswillnottakeothersaslordsbesideGod. And if
they tum back say: Bear witness that we are Muslims.' Thus he invited
themtojusticeanddeprived thcmoftheirargument.
Whentherecametotheapostlene\o1o'IOfjesusfromGodandadecisive
judgement between him and them, and he wu commanded to resort to
mutual inocation of a curse if they opposed him, he summoned them to
begin. But they said: '0 AbU 'J.Qbim, let us consider our affairs; then we

::;!~ c;;.~~A;r:~h~~.~~~~i~~~i~;:!~~: ~ ~~~~e~~!i:h~~i~;;~~=~

was. He said: '0 Christians, you know right well that Muhammad is a
prophetsent(byGod)andhchatbroughtadccisivedcclarationaboutthe
naturcof yourmaster. Youknowtoothatapeoplehasne,erinvokeda
cursc.onaproflhetandseen.itseldersliveanditayouthgrowup. lfyou
do.thtsyou wdl ~J:e~tcnnmated. But if you dccidctoadherctoyour
rchgionandtoflll.lntamyourdoctrineaboutyourmuter,thent.ake)'OUr
Jcaveofthemanandgohome.' Sotheycametotheapostleandtoldhim
that.thcy had decided not to resort to cursing and to leave him in his
religtonandrcturnhome. Buttheywouldlikchimtoscndamanhecould
~~%.to decide between them in certain financial matters in dispute among

~~~r~,:~~;"?;,~ at~:r~~~~h;; ~r~ :;::~ ~~:~~;!;~out e:~~ ~:~

l\I~hamm~d b. Ja'far said: The apostle said, 'If you come to me this
eventng I will send a firm and truJty man.' 'Umar used to say, 'I never
wantedanofficemorethanlwantcdthatoneandhopedthatlshouldget
it. lwenttothenoonprayerinthehcatandwhcntheapostlehadooncludedithelookcdtorightandleftandlbcgantostretchmyttlftomy
full.heightsothathecould&eeme;buthekeptonsearchingwithhiseyes
until he saw AbU 'Ubayda b. al-Jarr~l:t and calling him he said, ''Go with
them andjudgebctwecnthemfaithfullyinmatterstheydisputeabout."'
So, said 'Umar, Abii 'Ubayda went with them.

said to him: Be;andhew2S. ThetruthisfromthyLord,'i.c.thercport

whichcomestothecabout j esus,'sobc:notofthedoubtcrs,'i.e.thetruth
hascomctothetfromthyLordsodonotbedouhtfulaboutit;andifthey
II)', Jesus was created without a male (intet\'ening), I created Adam from
earth by that same power without a male or a female. And he was as
Jesuswas:fieshandbloodandhairandskin. Thecreationofjesuswithout

'.~im b. 'Umar b. Qat~da told me that when the apostle came to Medina
theleadcrthcrewas'Abdullahh. Ubayyb.Sa!Ulal-'AufiofthcclanofB.
al-ijubl~; none of his own people contested his authority and Aus and

..

'Seop.~H.n.'

410

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE HYPOCRITES

'Ao<hcHqU<Iohmono,themnninrio'lttuoinvolcGod'tc"nc"""hichol\lliolyinr'.

411

2.78

The Ufe of Muhammad

Kha:traj never rallied to one: man before or after him until Islam came:, as
they did to him. With him was a man of Aus whom Aus obeyed, Abii
'Amir 'Abdu 'Amr b. ~yfi b. al-Nu'mln, one of B. l,)ubay'a b. Zayd,
thCfathc:rofJ:Ianp.la,'thc:washed'onthedayofU~ud.' Hehadbc:enan
asceticinpagandayaandhad.,..-omacoanc:hairgarmc:ntandwucallc:d'the
~~~h.;;_eac: two men were damned through their high status and it did
'Abdullah b. Ubayy'a people had made a aon of jc:wc:llc:d diadem to
crown him and make: him their lr.ing when God sent His apostle tO them;
ao when hia people foraoolr. him in favour of Islam he: was filled with enmity realizing that the apostle: had dc:prhed him of his kingship. Howe,c:r,
when he aaw that hi. people were determined to go O\"er to Islam he went
too,butunwillingly,retaininghisenmityanddissimulating.
Abii 'Amir 1tubbornly refused to bc:Jie,e and abandoned his people
when they went O\"er to Islam and went off to l\lccca with about ten followc:n to get away from Islam and the apostle. Muhammad b. Abii
Umlma from one: of the: family of l:lan;ala b. Abii 'Amir told me that the
apostleaaid,'Don'tcallhimthemonltbuttheevil-doc:r.'
Ja'far b. 'Abdullah b. Abii'l-l:lakam whose memory went back to apoato
licdayaandwhowasanarratoroftraditiontoldmc:thatbc:fprc:heleftfor
Mecca Abii 'Amir came to the apostle in Medina to ask him about the
rc:ligionhc:hadbrought.
-4''~

:~~:t~1a~~~tai tf~~~~~~~ion of Abraham.'

'Youdonot.'
'But Idol You,Muhammad,haveintroducc:dintothc:l;fantftyathings
whichdonotbc:longtoit.'
'Ihnc:not. Ihavc:broughtitpureandwhite.'
'May God let the liar die a lonely, homeless, fugiti\e!' (meaning the
apostlc:asifhc:hadfalsifiedhisreligion).
'Well and good. May God so reward him!'
Thatactuallyhappenedtotheenen:~yofGod. Hc:wc:nttol\lcccaand
when the: apaftlC: conquered it he: w~nt to Tl'if; when Tl'if became: Muslimhewc:nttoSyriaanddic:dthc:realonely,homeless,fugithe.
Now there: went with him 'Alqama b. 'Ulatha b. 'Auf b. alA~wq b.
Ja'far b. Killb, and Kinlna b. 'Abd Yllil b. 'Amrb. 'Umayr al-ThaqaO.
Whenhediedtheybroughttheirriulclaimstohispropenybeforc:Cac:sar,
lord of Rome:! Caesar said, 'Let townsmen inherit townsmen and let
nomadt inherit nomads.' So Kinlna b. 'Abd Yilil inherited his propeny
andnot'Alqama.
Ka'b b. Milik said of Abii 'Amir and what he h2d done:
Goduvemefromanevildeed
Like your1 against your dan, 0 'Abdu 'Amr.

The Life of Muhammad

You said, 'I have honour and wealth',
Butofoldyousoldyourfaithforinfidelity(Jj%).
'Abdullah b. Ubayy while maintaining his position among his people
lr.eptWl11\'eringuntilfin.allyheadoptedh\amunwillingly.
Muhammad b. Muslim ai-Zuhri from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr from Udma
b. Za)d b.J:Iiritha, thebc:Jo,c:d f~~nd.ofthe_a~tl:, told me: that the

:~~c:w~: ::;;:~~-~~~~~ 0b;~ ~1:~~ o~u;a~S::i~l~n~ri:~~~;:,:~

fibre. Said Zayd: 'Theapostlegne mea scat behind him. He puac:d

'Abdullah b. Ubayy u he wu titting in the: shade of hit fon Mud]:am
0

~J~titR~:: ::;~~:~=~:u:~~t ~~;~~~~ :~::t;:u~~~~~:; ~J

Sohegotofftheanimalandsatforalittlewhilerc:citing theQuranand
inviting him to God. He admonished and warned him and preached the
goodnewatohimwhilehc:,withhisnoscintheair,uttc:rednotaword.
Finally,whenthc:apostlehadfinishc:dspeakingheaaid,"Therewouldbc:
nothingfinc:rthanwhatyouaayifitweretrue. Butaitinyourownhoute
andifanyonecomc:a,talktohimaboutit;butdon'timportunethoscwho
do not come to you, and don't come into a man's gathering with talk which
he docs not like.'' 'Abdullah b. Rawl~a, who was one of the Muslims who
were: sitting with him, said, "Nay, do come to us with it and come into our
gatherings and quanc:rs and houses. For by God it is what we Jove and
what Cod has honoured us with, and guided us to.'' When 'Abdullah b.
Ubayy saw that his people were opposed to him he aaid:
Whenyourfriendisyouropponentyouwillalwaysbc:humiliatc:d
Andyouradversarieswillovenhrowyou.'
Can the falcon mount without hit wings?
Ifhisfeathersaredippedhefallstothc:ground(JH)
'Al-Zuhrl from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr from UUma told me that the
apostlegotupandwentintothc:houseofSa'db.'Ublda,hisfaceshowing
the: emotions raised by Ibn Ubayy, the enemy of God. Sa'd asked the
apostle why he lookedwangryasthough he h2dheardsomcthingthat
disp lc:asc:dhirn,andthenhetoldhimwhatibnUbayyhadaaid. !'dsaid:
'Don't be: hard on him; for God sent you tousasweweremakingadiadc:m
~:~~wn him, and by God he thinks that you h'l\'C: robbed him of a king

FEVER ATTACKS THE APOSTLE'S COMPANIONS

Hishlm b. 'Urwa and 'Umar b. 'Abdullah b. 'Urwa from 'Urwa b. alZubayr told me that '.\'isha said: When his apostle came to Medina it
1 Ibn Qul&yboo, Mw~tiiJd;"'a, lr. Gaud~fn>y~""'mbyn<O, Pori1, 1947, p. U, b .. yt~~'/tJJu.

r:: ::;:~~~~~-~-~~~~~;~"'.:!'!:iv.:;~.: ;.~r;n".

The w<>..d i1 a Mm<>nym and in

TlltLijtofMuhammad
flf

was the most fever-infested Iandon earth, and his companions suffered
severely from it, though God kept it from His apostle. 'Amir b. Fuhayra
and Bil:il, freedmen of AbU Bakr, were with him in one house when the
feverattackedthem,and l came intovisitthem,forthe vcil hadnotthen
been ordered for us. Only God knows how much they suffered from the
fever. Jcametomy fatherandaskedhimhowhefarcdandhesaid:
Any man might be grec:ted by his fami ly in the morning
\Vhiledeathwasnearer thanthethongofhissandal.
I thought that my father did not know what he was saying. Then I went to
'Amir and asked him how he was and he said
l have experienceddeathbeforeactuallytastingit:
Thecoward'sdeathcomesuponhimashesits.
Everymanresistsitwithall his might
Likctheoxwhoprotectshisbodywithhishorns(JJ5)

Tht Life of Muhammad

B)' the preceding isruid from 'Abdullah b. llisham \\hO uid Ziyld b.
'Abdullah al-Bakka'i from i\luhammad b. Js~~q told me that the apostle
cameto:\lcdina oni\londayathighnoon onthe nthofRabi'u'l.awwal.
Theapostle onthatdaywasfifty-threeyearsofage,thatbeingthirteen
years afterGodcalledhim. 1-JestayedthcreforthercstofRabl'u'l-awwal,
the month of Rabi'u'I-Akhir, the two Jumidb, Rajah, Sha'bln, RamaQin,
Shawwi l, Dhu'I-Qa'da, Dhii'J.J:Iijja {\\hen the polytheists supervised the
pilgrimage), and l\lu~arram. Then he went forth raiding in $afar at the
beginning of the twelfth month from his coming to :\!edina (337).
(TilE ' RAID 01'." WA[)D}.N WII I CII WA S Ill S l' IRST RAID)

THE EXI'EDITIOX OF 'UBAYDA B. AI.-J_L~RIT II

l toldtheapostlewhattheyhadsaidandheremarkedthat they were

~~~o~:e~7~an~t ~!~~~~ :i~d~;~~aaa~~~::~~~:~~\~; ~~~;~ ~o::~

~!~n~~~~::!~?t!~2~~!~~::!~:}~~~.!f~:~~i~~~~e~i~t;

smote them until they were extremely ill (though God turned it away from
4S hisprophet)tosuchadegrcethattheycouldonlypraysitting. Theapostle
came out to them when they were praying thus and said: 'Know that the
praycrofthesitterisonlyhalfasvaluableastheprayerof thestander.'
Thereupon the Muslims painfully struggled to their feetdC!lpite thcit
weaknessand siekness,seekingablessing.
Then the apostle pn:pared for war in pursuance of God's command to
fight his enemies and tO fight those polytheists who were near at hand
:~~m God commanded him to fight. This was thirteen years after his
'Cf.Yiq . ii.i.8J4.11,ondHukhlri,i.471. IJ.

Fokhkhi oplooutsidc~leca.M ojonno

inthclnwcrponofl\l eowot &motk<t<>fth<An~ bs inpol(llndoys

'(;f, Ylq. ;. 35 t6, wh<>""yt itwunn ola'llevillo~< ,.itha pulpit on the road frnm
M<'<lino(o ll!o<:Co ab<out fnur ata ~<:t distont from the loner. It wu ohe rcnd<1V<>Ut nfohc

l::gyptionoondSyriant ifthey,.-iohedtonaidl\lodino

During that stay in l\lc?ina t~e apostle sent 'U~ayda b. al-l.lllrith ~- al

r>.Junalibwithsixtyore<ghtyndersfromthecmtgrants,therenotbcmga
single one of the An~ar among them. He went as far as water in the 1-lijaz
below 'fhanlyatu'l-r>.lurra, where he enoountered a large number of
Quray$h. NofightingtookplacenceptthatSa'dh.AbU\\'aqqif shotan
arrow on that tlay. It was the first arrow to be shot in Islam. Then the two
companies separated, the Muslims having a rearguard. Al-r>.l iqd5d ~
' 1\ mr ai.Bahr.ini, an ally of then. Zuhra, ant! 'Utba b. Ghazw~n b. J ~htr
al-1\l izini, an ally of the B. Xaufal b. 'Abdu Manilf, fled from the polytheistsandjoincdthe l\Juslimstowhomtheyreally belonged. They had
goneoutwiththeunbdic,el'!linortlertobeabletolinkupwiththei\l us
lims. 'lkrima b. AbU Jahl was in command of the l\leccans (339).
ConcerningthisraidAbUBakrcomposedthefollowing(Ho).
Could you not sleep becauscofthespectre off-;almi in the sandy
valleys,
Andthcimportante\entthathappenedinthetribc?
\'ouscethatneitheradmonition nor a prophet's call
Can save some of Lu'ayy from unbelief;
Atruthful prophetcamctothemandtheyga\'ehimthe lie,
And said, 'Youshallnotli\'eamongus.'
Whenwecalledthcmtothctruththeyturnedthei r bacb,
Thcyhowledlikcbitchesdrivenbackpantingtotheirlairs;

1'ht L1]t of .ltfuhammad

With how many of them ha\'C we ties of kinship,
Yettoabandonpietydidnotweighuponthem;
lftheytumbackfromtheirunbeliefanddisobedience
(Forthegoodandlawfulilnotliketheabominable);
lfthtyfollowtheiridolatryanderror
God'spunilhmentonthemwillnottarry;
We are men of Ghllib's highest ttod
Fromwhichnobilitycometthroughmanybranches;
Iswearbythelordofcamelsurgedonatevenbysinging,

r~:r~~~;e~~':~: :~e~ ~h~~a~~:rn~h;1n::a

1

Going down to the well'sslimy cistern;

I swear, and lam no perjurer,
lftheydonotquicklyrepentoftheirerror,

~V~~~~~i~~~~v:~~~o~:~e~~~~~~~~~
ltwil\leavedeadmen,withvultureswheelinground,
Itwillnot sparetheinfidelsaslbn l:lirithdid.'
GivetheBaniiSahmwithyouame!l$llge
Andeveryinfidelwhoistryingtodoevil;
Ifyouassail'myhonourinyourevilopinion
IwillnotauaiJiyours.
'Abdullahb.al-Ziba'rlal-Sahmlrepliedthus
Doeayoureyeweepunceasingly
0\ertheruinsofadwellingthattheshiftingsandobscuret?
And oneofthewondersofthedays
(Fortimeisfullofwonders,oldandnew)
hastrongarmywhichcametous
Ledby'Ubayda,cal\ed lbni;Urithinwar,
Thatweshouldahandonimages\cncratedinMccca,
Passedontohisheirsbyanobleancestor.
When we met them with the spcllrs of Rudayna,
Andnoblelteedspantingforthefray,
And swords so white they might be salt-strewn

~~~:r~!~1~d:.:rd:~~r~.~~~ t~:':.:~~C:3 lions,

Andquenchourthirstforvengeancewithoutdelay,
They withdrew in great fear and awe,
Pleasedwiththeorderofhimwhokeptthemback.
Hadtheynotdonesothewomenwouldha\ewailed,
*i.o.'Uboydo.
'AbQ Dluon..,fonthomuningofthlowor-.ltothedivinoomniocion. lntt.io!ino
poooibty'oncntry'nthertluon'honour'iothemooninMof'in/.
'Lit.,thotuminiiW&yofhimwhotumttooneoide. Poot iblythewriterhooinmind
S>lraJt.t7,'Tumnotthychcekino.c:orntoYI"t.r-.ltpeople"

1'htLifeofMuhammad

,,,

Bcreftoftheirhusbandsa\Jofthcm.
Theslainwouldhavebeenleftforthoseconcerned
Andth9'tutterlyhecdlesstotalkabout.
GiveAbU.Bakrwithrouamessage:
Youhavenofunherpartinthehonour' ofFihr,
:'\obindingoaththatcannotbebroken
That war will be renewed is needed from me (34 1).
Sa'db.AbU.Waqqif,accordingtoreporu,uidabouthishavingshotan
HasthenewsreachedtheapostleofGod
That I protected my companions with my arrows?
Bythemldefendedtheir\'llnguard
ln roughgroundandplain.
Noarcherwhoshoots an arrow at the enemy
\\"ill becountedbeforeme,OapostleofGod.
'Twasbecausethyreligionistrue
Thouhastbroughtwhatisjustandtruthful.
Byitthebelie\ers are saved
Andunbelieversrecompensedatthelast.
Stop,thouhastgoneastray,sodonotsl_anderme.
WoetotheeAbU. Jahl,lostoneofthetnbe!(J.+:z).
The flag of 'Ubayda b. al-I;Urith according to my information wu the

~~~~~t~~h1i~~ :~k:t~~te~~~s~~~e~ ~eb~~:eerb~:~s:~m~ ~m~i~~~l:~~

Abwl'beforehegottoMedina.

ljAMZA'S EXPEDITION TO THE SEA-S H ORE

Whi\ehewustayingtherehesentl;lamza_b."Abdu:l-1\lunalibtothe~a

lhO reintheneighbourhoodofA.\-'I'(T- mtheterntoryof)uhayna)wnh

thirty riders from the emigrant_-S; none of the helpers took part. He ~et
AbU Jahl with three hundred nders from Mecca on the shore, and Majdi
b. 'Amr ai-Juhani intervened between them, for he was at peaec with both
parties. SothepeopleliCparatedonefromanotherwithoutfighting.
Somepeoplesaythatl:fam:z.a'sflagwasthefirstwhichtheapostlegne
to any Muslim because he sent him and 'Uhayda at the same time, and
thus people became confused on the point. They alleged that l~amu had

i:

;:~~t::t~J 1 a~~!~~-h~:~/~:~~ :;~.~;~i~e ~~:: i~~i~~:h~

God wills. He would not h.a.ve said it if it were not true, but God knows
what happened. We have heard from learned people that "Ubayda was the
fintmantorecei\eaflag.l:famzasaidconcerningthat,sotheyallege()43):
Wonder,Omypeople,atgoodsenseandatfo11y,
Atlackofsoundcounse[andatsensib\eadvice,

Tht L1Jt of Muhammad

At those who ha\'e wronged us, while we ha\'C left
Theirproplcandthcirpropenyinviolate,
Asthoughwehadattackedthem;
Butallwedidwastoenjoinchastityand justicc
Andcallthcmtohlam,b\lttheyreccivedit not,
Andtheytreateditasajokc.
Theyccascdnotsoumillvolunteeredtoattackthem
Wheretheydwelt,desiringthcsatisfactionofataskwelldone
At the apostle's command-the first to march beneath his flag,
Seenwithnonebeforeme,
Avictoriousflagfromagenerout,mightyCod,
\\'hoseactsarethemostgrac:ious.
At even they sallied fonhtogether,
Eachman'spotbumingwithhiscompanion'srage;
Whenwesaweachother,theyhaltcdandhobbledthecamels,
Andwedidthesameanarrow-shotdistant.
Wesaidtothem,'God'sropeitour,ic:toriousdcfcnc:e,
Youha\'enoropebuterror.'
AbUJahlwarredthereunjustly,
Andwasdisappointed,forGodfrustratedhisschemes.
We were but thiny riders, while they were two hundred and one.
Therefore,OLu'ayy,obeynotyourdeceivers,
Returnto islamandtheeasypath,
Forifearthatpunishmentwillbcpoured uponyou
And you will cry out in r~morsc and s.orrow.
AbiiJahlansweredhim,aaying:
Iamamazedatthccausesofanger:mdfolly
Andatthosewhottirupstrifebylyingcontro\'ersy,
Whoabandonourfathers'way..
Thosenoble,powerfulmen,
Theycome touswithliestoconfuseourminds,
Buttheirlirscannotconfusetheintclligcnt.
We said to them, '0 our people, stri\'e not with your folkControvcrsyistheutmostfollyForifyoudo,yourwccpingwomcnwillcryout
WailingincalamityanUbcrcaement
lfyougi\eupwhatyou aredoing,
Weareyour cousins,trustwonhyand\irtuous.'
They said to us, "We find Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

Majdl held me and my companions back from them
And they helped me with swor<b and arrows

~~~i~f:~i:t~~:~i~ :~-~rs~dwhich we cannot discard,

Butfor l bn ' Amrlshouldhavelefts.omeof th('m
Foodfortheever-presentvultures,una\enged

g~~ ~::~: :c:rtf;~:;:t~; ::~;~~s~ade

If time spares me I will come at them again,
Withkccn,newpolishedswords,
lnthehandsofwarriorsfromLu'a yy,sonofGhiilib,
Generousintimesofdearthandwant(J-H)'
Til RAID ON BUWAT

Then the apostle went raiding in the month of Rabi"u'I-Awwal making for
Ouraysh(HS),until hereached Buwli{intheneighbourhoodofRa"wil.
Thcnhereturnedtoi\ledinawithoutfighting,andrernained thereforthe
restofRabi"u'l-.~khirand part of Jum3da'l-Oii

Then he raided the Quraysh (3-1-6). He went by the way of ll. Oin;ir, then
by Fayfil'u-1-Khab::ir,andhaltedunderatreeinthevalleyof l bnAzhar
called Dh~tu'I-Siiq. There he prayed and there is his mosque. Food was
preparedandtheyallatc there. Theplaceoccupi('dbythestoneswhich
supported his cooking-pot i5 still known. He drank from a watering place
calledai-Mushtarib.' Then he went on lea\ingai-Khalii'iq 1 ontheleft
and went through a glen called "Abdullah to this day~ then he bore to the
left until he came down to Yalyal and halted where it joins al-t;>abii'a.
Hedrankofthewellatal-t;>libii'aandthen tra\ersedtheplainofMalal
until he met the track in !;'ukhayriit ai-Yamlim which carried him straight
toai-'UahayrainthevalleyofYanbu'wherehestOpp<-dduringJumil.da'lOili and some days of the following month. He made a treaty of friendshiptherewithB.MudlijandtheiralliesB.t;>amra,andthenreturncdto
~~er~;:o"';~~i~ut a fight. It was on this raid that he spoke the well-known
Yazid b. Muhammad b. Khaytham

al-1\ l u~:iribi

from Muhammad h.

~~b~:~-~-u~~i::~ ~~~~:~~~ ~-tt~rh::~~~o\;ih:nf~t~e,:.:~ ~= ~:~

Onewhomourculturedandintelligentac~pt.'

panionsintheraidofai-"Ushayraand\\hentheapostlehahedtherewcsaw

\Vhentheywcreobstinatdycontentious
Andalltheirdccdswereevil,
lattackedthembythe sea-shore,tolea\e th('m
Like a withered leafonarootli'SJistalk

'Thelon~ual;<'<>flhi o 'r-m'anditopredoceuor,..csmiM.htolh<Qu .. n
'Tob.andSuhoyUIIor ' ol-:\h,.hoyrib
' AC<:On:hnl( \0 Ylq~t tbtr< ,. a place of this "'"'~ .,.., .\t.a.na ,.-hich
"Abdullohb.Ahmodb.Jbh.
ReadinKY<''"' fooW.'oS.W.Cf.Suha)lio~l<><

lxlon~<d

10

ThtLiftojMuhammad

The Ufe of Muhammad

some men of B. l\ludlij working at a well and on the date palms. 'Ali
suggested' that we should go lUld ~what the men were doing,~ we went
and watched them for a time until we were ocrcome by drowsmeas and
we went and lay down under some )'Oung palms and fell fast asleep in the
softfinedust. Andthenwhoshouldwakeusbuttheapostlehimselfashe
sdrredus withhisfoot! ltwasasweweredustingourselve& thattheapostlc
said to 'Ali when he saw him co\ered with dust, 'What ha\'C you been up
to,AbiiTurib(fatherofdust)?' Thenhe wenton,'Shallltellyouof the
two most wretched creatures? Ui).aymir of Thamiid who slaughte red the
camel, and he who shall strike you here, 'Ali'-and he put his hand to the
sideofhishead-'untilthisis10akedfromit'-andhetookholdofhis
beard
Alearnedtraditionisttoldmethattherealreasonwhytheapostlecalled
'Ali Abii Tur~b was that when 'All' was angry with F~tima he would not
speak to her. Hedidnotsayanythingtoannoyher,buthcuscd tosprinkle
dustonhishead. Whenevertheapostleu.wduston'Ali'sheadheknew
thathewas angrywithfa!imaandhewould say,' \\'hatisyourtrouble,O
Abii Turib?' But God knows the tnllh of the matter.
THE RAID OFSA'D U. ABO WAQQA$

THE RAID ON SA FAWAN, WHI C II I S THE FIRST RAID OFBAOR

T heapostlestayedonlyafewnights, leu than ten,ini\ledinawhen he

came back from raiding Al'Ushayra, and then Kur7. b. J ~bir aJ.Fihri
raidedthe pasturingcamclsof!\'ledina. The apostle.wentout.in searcbof
him(J.t8), until he reached a\alleycalled Safawan, m t~e ne1ghbourhood
ofBadr. Kur:tescapedhimandheoouldnoto,ertake hun. This was the
fintraidofBac.lr. Then theapostleretumedto!\ledinaand stayedthere
fortherestofjumJda'it\Jc.hira,Rajab,andSha'Mn.

The apostle sent ' Abdullah b. Jai).sh. b. Ri'~~ al-~di in Raj.ab on his
return from the tint Badr. lie sent With him e1ght em1gnnts, Without any
of the An~r. He wrote for him a lener, and ordered him not to look at it
,f '

~:~r.~: 7~l::~lti::;,"''llrettion i1 modo 10 'All by ' Ammlr.

Som"'"'" M1 bn Uilly

,,,

untilhehadjoumeyedfortwodays,andtodowhathewasorderedtodo,
butnottoputpreaureonanyofhisoompanions. The namesoftheeight
emignnts were, Abil l:ludhayfa, 'Abdullah b. j ai).sh, 'UkkUha b. MiJ:!~n,
'Utba b. Ghazw~n. Sa'd b. Abii Waqq~t. 'Amir b. Rabl'a, Wlqid b. 424
'Abdullah, and Khilid b. al- Bukay r.'
When 'Abdullah had tnvelled for twodaysheopened the letter and
looltedintoit,andthisiswhatitsaid:'\Vhenyouhavereadthisletterof
mine proceed until you reach Nakhla between Meeca and AI-Ti'if. Lie in
waitthereforQurayshandfindoutforuswhattheyaredoing.' Having
read the letterheaaid, 'To hearistoobey.' Then he said to his com
panions, 'The apostle has commanded me to go to Nakhla to lie in wait
there fo r Quraysh so as to bring him news of them. He baa forbidden me
toputpress ureonanyofyou,soifanyonewishesformartyrdomlethim
goforward,andhewhodoesnot,lethimgoback;asforme l amgoingon
astheprophethasordered.' Sohewenton,aadidallhiscompanions,not
oneofthemfallingback. Hejourneyedalongthe l:lijiizuntil atamine
called Bai).rinaboltal- Furu', Sa'dand 'Utbalostthecamelwhichthey
we reridingbytums,sotheystayedbehindtolookforit,'while'Abdullah
and the rest of them went on to Nakhla. A cara1an of Quraysh carrying
dryraisinsandleatherandothermerchandiseofQurayshpassedbythem,
' Amr b. all:laQnml (349), 'Uthmlin b. Abdullah b. ai-Mughira and his
brother Naufal the Makhziimites, and al-l:lakam b. Kay~n , freedman
of Hishiim b. al-1'\"lughlra being among them. When the caravan u.w them
they were afraid of them because they had camped ncar them. 'Ukkhha,
who had sh:wed his head, looked down on them, and when they saw him
theyfeltsafeandu.id,'They are pilgrims,youhavenothingtofearfrom
them.' The niden took council among thelTIIChes, for this was the last
dayofRajab,andtheysaid,'lfyouleavethemalonetonighttheywillget
intothesacred areaandwillbesafefromyou;andifyoukillthem,you PS
will kill them in the sacred mMth,' so they were hesitant and feared to
attack them. Then they encounged each other, and decided to kill as
many as they could of them and take what they had. Wlqid shot 'Amr b.
al-l:laQrami with an arrow and killed him, and 'Uthmin and all:lakam
surrendered. Naufal escapedandeludedthem. 'Abdullahandhiscompanionstookthecaravanandthetwo prisonenandeametoMedinawjth
them. Oneof'Abdullah'a family mentioned that he said to his companions,
'A fifth of what we have taken belongs to the apostle.' (This was before
God had appointeda fifthofthebootytohim.) Sohesetapanfor the
apostleafifthof thecaravan,anddividedtherest amonghiscompanions.
When theycametothe apostle,heuid,' l didnotorderyoutofig htin
thesacredmonth,'andheheldthecanvanandthetwopritonenin!IUS
penselUldrefuscdtotakeanythingfromthem. Whentheapostlesaidthat,
the men voere in despair and thought that they were doomed. Their Mustri~o~.,:;'fi~:.;!:'7r! ::;:,:~:!."ich full poniculars

of lhoir ~nloc on<J

..

The Life of Muhammad

The L1]e of Muhammad

~~7d ~~;~~:::~::~~e~i:h::::n7:~:t ~~~~ ~::la~~~e~h:n~a~~=d~~~~~

dullah himself said it), when Ourayah said, 'Muhammad and his com
panions have broken the sacred month, shed blood therein, and taken
bootyand made prisoners'(351):
Youoountwarintheholymonthagra\ematter,
Butgra\eris,ifonejudgesrightly,
Your ~pposition t~ Muhammad's teaching, and your
Unbcl1efin it,wh1ch Codaees andwitnesses,
Your driving God's people from His mosque
Sothatnonecanbc:seenwonhipping llimthere
T houghyoudefameusforkillinghim,
l\loredangeroustolslamisthcsinnerwhoemies.

shed blood therein, taken booty, and captured men.' The Musilmsm

~~~!~~~~

and disbc:lie\ing in Him and in the PCred m_QSque and drhi~g o~t Hi1
1

:~~c:f~~:~~:?nR:~i~u)::~-:~;;~=::~~:~;~~:;~;~~~:~: :~:~
... ~:~~~!"~~:;~~ ~i~~:::s~.::~~;;:::::~7:::t::~:~:~:;:~
~~~~~~ ~~

k~:~t~:~ot~:ybc:~~~f ~=~re~e;:n~~~~~;~a~-~it~h':;

r;;:e
turnyoubackfromyour religioniftheycan.' 1.e.Theyaredomgmore
heinousactsthanthatoontumaciously.
And when the Quran came down about that and God relic\'ed the hlus-

~~~f~~;~~~~~:~~~~~~~E~~~j~};[~~ift~~~

bc:camcagoodi\tuslimandstaycdwiththeapo~~tlcuntilhc":askllledas

:nn:n~;i::.e~~\~~:~~~~~~~~~d"~~~~~a:~:e~~~r=~~li~~~ t:~~~e~

anxiety when the Quran came down, they were anx~out for reward, _and

~~~d~~;:~d:~ ~:b~~=~~ ?;1i~co~: ::t r~~:.~o~~~~~~i~~ ~~:~~~f~~::

whobc:licvcandha\'eemigratedandfoughtinthewayofGod, thescmay

~: ~~e ~~:ses~~:::~~e~:.is.:.~~:~~t:e:~~~:;il~h;~~~:mg~~;~
Zuhrl and Yazid b. RUndn from 'Urwa b. alZubayr.
One of 'Abdullah's family mentioned that God divided the booty when

:~e~;~~~t ::.~~i~= ~: ~~~e ~~~r;;::.~~-to ;;~~~e~~~a!:l!~;-~~';~

ofwhat'Abdullahhaddoncwithlhebootyofthatcanvan(JSO)
AbUllakrsaidooncerning'Abdul\ah'sraid(thoughotherssaythat'Ab
' S~ra ~. 2 14

Ourlancesd l1lflkoflbnal l;la~rami'sblood

In!\'akhla\\henWiqidlittheflameofwar,
'Uthm;lnibn'Abdullahiswithus,
Aleatherbandstreamingwithb loodrestrainshim.'
THE CIIANGE Of T HI! Ql!ILA TO Till! KA'BA

Tht UJt of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

THI\: DREAM Of 'ATIKA D. OP 'ABDU'LMUfTALIB

On the third day after 'Atika's vision, while I wu enraged, thinking that

~:;:,::~:~ds~~p~~:~~o~!:~u:.:~~ =~~~h:~ir,o~;.!~i:~;h::~a~
before I;>aml,lam arrived 'Atik.a saw a vision which frightened he.r .. She ~nt
toherbrother aJ.'Abblssaying, "Brother, last night IsawavLSLonwhLch

~~~~=;!~:~~d7~~::~~~ ~~~~:m~~fi~~~~~:!!~;~~~~!:~~~

., ~~!i~~~~:~~~~\~~~ifJf:~tl~~~~~~~j~~~~:

:~:i~t~!:~r~h::!:u~t,:p~i;::n~~~.~~~r~: ~o~a~lh~:~ ;;
~di:~~~~g !n\'~:i:~~ ~u; ;::\c:!ta::t~: i~~:pal~~~1b~~~i:~~dG:!; \~;~
8
~!~~e;; h!.~:~~:~~~i:~~:~:k e~dh~~\:'k~~~l.ii~ ~ ~~~ir~:~.~~~t~
toldhiafatherandthe story apread in l\1eccauntL1Qurayshweretalkmg

ltlltl
~~E~~;~~~~~:~~~~:f~~{:~~~~~#{,~~

ag1

I had let something slip which I wanted to get from him, I went into the
mosque and saw him, and as I wu walking towards him to confront him
tothatheshouldrepeatll(lmeofwhathehaduidandlcouldattackhim,
forhev.'l.lathinmanwithsharpfeatures,sharptongue,andsharpsight,
lo, he came out IOY.'ardsthedoorofthemosque hurriedly, and I said to
myself, 'What is the matter with him, cunc him, is all this for fear that I
shouldinsulthim?' Butlo,hehadheard&amethingwhichldidnothear,
thevoiceofi;>aml,lamcryingoutinthebo!tomofthewadi,ashestood
uponhiscamc\,havingcutitsnose,turneditssaddleround,andrenthis
shirt, while he was "ying, '0 Quraysh, the transport came\!, the transport
camels! l\luhammadandhiscompanionsarelyinginY.'aitforyourpro
pertywhichiswithAbUSufyln. ldonotthinkthatyouwillo\erukeit.
Help! Help!' This diverted him and me from our affair."

.u o

QURAYSHPREPARETOCOTOBAOR

The men prepared quickly, saying, "Do Muhammad and his companions
thinkthisisgoingtobe likethecara\'anof lbnl;lal,lrami? ByGod,they
willll(l()nknowthat it is not so.'' Every man of them either went himself or
sent&ameoneinhisplacc. Soallwent;notoneoftheirnoblesremained
behind except AbU Lahab. He sent in his place al'~.f b. Hisham b. al
Mughira who owed him four thousand dirhanu which he could not pay.
Sohehiredhimwilhthemontheconditionthatheshou!dbeclearedofhis
debt. SohewentonhisbehalfandAbU Lahabstayedbehind.'
'Abdullah b. AbU Kaji/.J. told me that Umana b. Khalaf had decided to
ttay at home. He wu a stately old man, corpulent and heavy. 'Uqba b.
AbU Mu'ayt came to him as he wu sitting in the mosque among his com
panions,carryingaccnKrbumingwithtccntcdwood. Heputitinfront
ofhimanduid,'Scentyounclfwiththat,foryoubelongtothewomenl'
'Godcuncyouandwhatyouhavebi'ought,' heuid,andthengotready
and went out with the rest. When they had finished thdrpreparationt
anddecidedtostart,theyrcmemberedthequarrel therewasbetwecnthem
:~t~c~.t~ea!ri~~~:~;:..Man:lt b. Kin:lna, and were afraid that they would
The cause of the war between Quraysh and B. Bakr, according to what
one of B. 'Amir h. Lu'ayy from Muhammad b. Sa'id b. al-Musayyab told
me, was a .on of l;laff b. al-Alhyaf, one of the B. Ma'it b. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy.
H; had ~ne out seekin.g a lO!Lt eamcl of hit in Qsjnin. He wu a youngster

~~~=nt/~~~~~~~!~:dtk:!~t~ :~~~a~~~:~:~~!:t:

~~;~~.~;~~:~~:~~~~~~: B:.~~~:~ :~:1~~:.~~~~~~~~=

aw.y, he called his tribesmen, and asked them if there was any blood

-4)1

TM Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

:~:~::~~~i;:~;~:ht~i;~n:;ent~~%l~j:,~~ei; ;;~~~~;~~~:;~

which men rode in tums; the apostle with 'Ali and Marthad b. Abu Mar
thad al-Ghanawi one camel; l;famza and Zayd b.l;flritha and AbU Kabaha
tnd Anan freedmen of the apostle one camel; and AbU Bakr, and 'Umar,
tnd '!\bdu'I-Ral)minb.'Aufonecamel. Theapostleputoverthcrear

292

~,~1~~~~~1ft~~rg~~~~fg
so~:: ':h:~ra=~i::r ~;i~~ was travelling in Marr al-?:ahrin he saw

'Amironacamel,andasiOOnashesawhim'Amirwentuptohimandmade
hisc:amelknttlbeaidehim. 'Amirwaswearingasword,andMilr.razbrought
his sword down on him and killed him. Then he twirled his sword about in

:~:::o~~~:r:~~~~ i\t~~~ t::~~:; :!ehOOug~~~~v::~~t~;;~n~~~~:

.,. ~~~ts~~~l~~~i:t~:~~tr.3;J.s~~~~~~:E.i~
Mikrazb.l;laf,saidabouthislr.illing'Amir;

'~:/b~h~r~t it .,,,as 'Amir I remembered the fleshless corpse of my

~ ~~ :r:kt ~~~t:: !:i~ f~;,~~ ~!hs::::;,~o~!i~~ ~:::!~~d~~~

1

wouldbetheendofhim.
I ,:~~ down on him, on a brave, experienced nun, with a sharp
When we came to grips I did not show m~lf a son of ignoble
I

z:a~y vengeance, forgetting not revenge which only weaklings

forgo(Js3).

Yuld b. RO.min from 'Un~'l b. al-Zubayr told me thJt when Quray.h

~:.:e:~:~::h:! ~:?'mr::;:~re;:o~::~e~u:;.' ~~~~ ~:;:h~~ i~

1

theformofSuriqab.Mllikb.Ju'thama l -Mudliji_who~oneofthe

chiefs of B. Kinlnasaying,'Iwillguanntttth.lt Kininavnll notattaclr.

., ~~liff~~f~~~~!}1tg:r~ti:~~~~~E~

gu~; t<;:rt:; ~!~ =~::,~~~~:~:;x~I:;~~ebf~~~afc!~~;::~~n by al'Aqlq, OhU'I-l;lulayfa, and Oiitu'I-Jayah (357). Then he passed Turbin,
Mala!, Ghamisu'l-l;lamim, ~ukhayrit u 'J.Yamim, and Sayila; then by the
nvineofai-Raul)i'toShJnUka,whichisthediredroute,untilat' lrqu'l;&abya (3s8) he met a nomad. He asked him about the Qurayt.h party, but
foundthathehadnonews. Thepcoplesaid,'SaluteGod'sapostle.' He
.aid,'HaveyougotGod'sapostlewithyou?'andwhentheysaidthatthey
had,hesaid,'lfyouareGod'sapostle,thentellmewhatisinthebellyof
my 1ht-camel here.' Salama b. Salama said to him, 'Don't quettion God'
1
1
; ::
~~:ve spoken obscenely to the man.' Then he turned away from

=~~e; ~~~ i;;';;;~ ::l~ea ~~~lei

;r~!:;~u~?'>~~;t~;~~e :~~~ .ufn:u:~~

TheapoatlestoppedatSajsajwhichiathewellofal-Raul)l';thenwent
ontoal-Mun$araf,leavingtheMeccanroadonthelcft,andwenttothe
right to al-Nbiya making for Badr. Arrived in ita neighbourhood he
crossed a wadi called Rul)q~n between ai-Nbiya and the pw of al-$afrl';
thenalongthcpass; then hedebouchedfromituntilwhen nearal-$afrl'
heacnt Ba.sbasb. 'Amr ai-Juhani, an ally of B. SJ.'ida, and 'Adlyb. AbU
8

~~~h~~r;!:!~~:;~i:l~~!a~: 'alfi:~ni;, ~~t t~~:n':nac:~:a~ ~en:;.,.::ou~

and 11 hen he got to al-~afra', which is a village between two mountainl, he
ulr.cd what their names were. He was told that they were MUIIil) and
1\lukhri'.' He asked about their inhabitants and ~'II told that they were
B. ai-Nir and B.l;luraq,J two clans of B. Ghiflr. The apostle drew an ill
omenfromtheirnamcsandsodislilr.cdthemthatherefuscdtopwbe
twttnthem,soheleftthemandal-$afrl'onhialeftandwenttothcright
to a wadi called Dhafir.lnwhich he crossed and thenhJitcd.
News came to him thJt Qunyah had set out to prated their canwan,
andhetoldthepcopleofthisandaslr.edtheiradvice. AbU Ba.krandthen
'Umar got up and spoke well. Then al-Miqdld got up and uid, '0 apostle
of God, go where God tells you for we are with you. We will not say u the
childrenoflaraelsaidtoMoscs,"YouandyourLordgotndfightandwe
willstayathome,"butyouandyourLordgoandfight,andwewillfight

434

435

436

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

with you. By God, if you were !0 take us to Dark a\-Ghim~d, 1 we would

fight resolutelywithyouagainstiudefendersuntilyougained it.' The
apostle thanked him and bleased him. Then he aaid, 'Gi,e me advice, 0
Men,'"by which he meant the An,~r. This is because they formed the
majority, and because when they had paid homage tohiminal-'Aqaba
theyatipulatedthattheywerenotresponibleforhisWetyuntilheentercd
theirterritory,andthatwhenhewutheretheywouldprotecthimasthey
didtheirwivetandchildren. So the apostle was afraid that the Antfr
wouldnotfeelobligedtohelphimunlesshewasattackedbyanenemyin
Medina, and that they would not feel it incumbent upon them to go wit h
him againJI an enemy ouuide their territory. When he spoke these words
Sa'db.Mu'idhsaid,'Itaecmsasifyoumeanus,'andwhenhesaidthat

Thenthcapostleretumed to his companions; and when night fe ll he

acnt 'Ali and al-Zubay r b. al-'Aww~m and Sa'd b. Abii Waqq14 with a
numberof hiscompanionstothewellat Badrin qucstofncwaofboth
partics,acoordingtowhatYazidb.Riimlnfrom' Urwab.ai-Zubayrtold
me, and they fell in with some water-camels of Quraysh, among whom
wert Aslam, a slave of B. al-l:lajjij, and 'AriQ. Abii Yuir, a you!lg man of
B. AI'At b. Sa'id, and they brought them along and questioned them
while the apos.tle V.'IS standing pnying. They said, 'We are the watermcn
of Qunysh; they sent us to get them water.' The people were displcued
atthcirrcpon,forthcyhadhopedthatthcywouldbclongtoAbiiSufyin,
so they beat them, and when they had bnten them soundly, the two men
uid, 'We belong to Abii Sufyin,' so they let them go. The apostle bowed

hedid,Sa'dnid,'Webe\ie,einyou,wedeclareyourtruth,andwewitne~~~

andprOlltr.~tedhimsdftwicc,andsaid,"Whcntheytoldyouthctruthyou

thatwhatyouhavebroughtisthetruth,andwehavegivenyouourword
andagrecmenttohearandobey;aogowhereyouwish,wearewithyou;
andbyGod,ifyouweretoaskuatocrouthisseaandyouplungedintoit,
we would plunge into it with you; not a man would stay behind. We do
not dialike the idea of meeting your enemy tomorrow. We arc experienced
in war, trustworthy in combat. It may well be that God will let us show
you somethi ng which will bring you joy, so take us along with God'
ble&sing.' The apostle wu delighted at Sa'd'a words which greatly cncour.~gcdhim. Thcnhcaaid,'Forwardlngoodheart,forGodhaspromiscd
me one of the two parties, and by God, it is u though I now saw the
enemy lying prottr.~te.' Then the apostle journeyed from Dhafrin and
went over pUSCI called Atfir. Then he dropped down from them to a
town called al-Dabba and left al-l:lannin on the right. T his wu a huge
sandhill like a large mountain. Then he stopped near Badr and he and
one of hia companions (359) rode on, as Mulammad b. Ya}:lyi b. }:labbin
toldmc,untilhc atoppedbyanoldmanofthcBcduinandinquircdabout
Qunysh and about Muhammad and hia oompanioilll, and what he had
hcardaboutthcm. Thcoldmanaaid,' l won'ttcllyouuntil)"OUtcllmc
whichpartyyoubclongto.' Thcapostlcaaid,'Ifyou tclluswcwilltcll
you.' Hesai<l,'Titfortat1' ' Yes,' he replied. Thcoldmannid,'l have
hcardthatMuhammadandhiaoompanionswcntoutonsuch-and-sucha
d.ay.Ifthatiatruc,todaythcyarcinsuch-and-$uchaplacc,'referringto
the place in which the apostle actually V.'IS, 'and I heard that Qunysh
wcntoutonsuch-and.auchaday,and ifthisistruc,todaytheyarc in
auch-and-such a place,' meaning the one in which they actually were
When he had finiahed he said, 'Of whom are you?' The apostle said, 'We
arefroml\1:1'.'1 Thenhclefthim,whilcthcoldmanwassaying, 'What docs
"from Mi"' mean? la it from the water of l r:aq 1' (J6o).

bcatthem;andwhcnthcyliedyouletthemalonc. Theytoldthctruth;
they do belong to Qur:aysh. Tdl me you two about the Quraysh.'' They
replied, 'They arc behind this hill which you see on the farthest side.'
(The hill was al-'Aqanqal.) T he apostle asked them how many they were,
andwhcn thcysaid,'Many,' heaskedforthcnumber, butthcydidnot
know;sohcaskedthcm howmanybcaststhey slaughtcredc veryday,and
whcnthcysaidnineor tcn,hesaid,'T hepeoplearcbetweenninchundred
and a thousand.' Then he as ked how many nobles of Quraysh were
among them. They said : "Utba, Shayba, Abii'l-Bakhtarl, l:laktm, Naufal,
all:l ~rith b. 'Amir, Tu'ayma, al-Nao;lr, Zama'a, Abii Jahl, Umayya, Nablh,
Munabbih, Suhayl, 'Amr b. 'Abdu Wudd.' The apostle went to the people
andsaid,'ThisMcccahasthrowntoyouthcpiecesofitslivcr!' 1
Basbasand'AdiyhadgonconuntiltheyreachcdBadr,andhaltcdona
hillncarthcwatcr.Thcnthcytookanoldskin tofctchwatcrwhilcMajdl
b. 'Amr al-Ju hani was by the water. 'Adiy and Bubas heard two girls
fromthcvillagcdiscussingadcbt,andonesaidtothcothcr,'Thccaravan
will come tomorrow or the day after and I will work for th('m and then
pay you what I owe you.' l\lajdi said, 'You arc right,' and he made
arnngcmenu with them. Adiy and Basbu oerhcard this, and rode off to
theapostlcandtold himwhatthcyhadocrhcard.
AbiiSufyinwentforwardtogctinfromofthecara.-anuaprccautionarymcasurcuntil hccamcdowntothcwatcr, and asked l\lajdiifhchad
noticed anything. Hcreplicdthathehadseennothinguntoward:mcrcly
two riders had stopped on the hill and taken "'-atcrawayin a skin. Abii
Sufyincametothespot where they had halted, picked up some camel
dungandbrokcitinpiecesandfoundthatitcontaincddatcstoncs.'By
God,' hcaaid,'thiaisthefodderofYathrib.' Hc rtturncdatoncetohis
companionsandchangcdthccaravan'sdirectionfromthcroadtothcacalhorc lcavingBadronthclcft,tnvcliingasquicklyaspossible.
Qur:ayshadV11ncedandwhcnthcyrcachedal-Jul;lfaJuhaymb.al-$altb.

~~ :b~~;~';.;.~

Ye..,..n, o<hert uy the forU> ..t

:;:::~,:~~vonortheonny. Cf.SOn8. 7

point of l;l.jor.

T.

1300 oddo ' ~,.,of

M1a~~~::~ .~:w:~:;!t~~~ys~:re~. vision.

He uid,

'Bc~v.;:~iltw~~~n!en~nd

437

...

The IA]e of Muhammad

Tht Lift of M11hammad

.11lping I saw a man advancing on a horse with a camd, and then he

halted and said: "Slain are 'Utba and Shayba and AbU'll:lakam and
Um.ayya" (and he went on to enumerate the men who were killed at Badr,
all nobles of Quraysh). Then I saw him stab his came[ in the chest and
aenditloosc:intothecamp,andeerysingletcntwasbespaHeredwithits
blood.' WhenthestoryreachedAbUJahlheaaid,'Here'sanothcrprophet
~~o:: ~ii~d~1una!ib! He'll know tomorrow if we mt them who is going

you to occupy, so that we can neither ad\'llnce nor withdraw from it,
orisitamatterofopinion andmilitary tactics?' When he replied that
it\\'ll!lthelauerhepointedoutthatitwasnottheplacetostopbutthat
theyshouldgoontothewaternearesttotheenemyandhaltthere,stop
up the wells beyond it, and construct a cistern so that they wou ld have
pltntyofwater;thenthey couldfighttheirencmywhowouldhavenothing
to drink. The apostle agreed that this was an excellent plan and it was
immediately carried out; the wells wne stopped; a cistern was built and

WhenAbUSufyin&awthathehadaaed hiscaravanhe&entwordto
Quraysh,'Sinceyoucameoutto.saveyourcaravan,yourmen,andyour
438 property,andGodhasdeliveredthem,goback.' AbUJahl!laid,'ByGod,
we will not go tHick until we have been to Badr'- Badr was the site of one
oftheArabfairswheretheyused toholdamarketeveryyear. 'We will
tpendthreedaysthere,slaughtercamelsand feast and drink wine, and
the gi rls ahall play for us. TheArabswillhearthatwehavecomeand
gathe red together, andwillrespectusinfuture. So come on!'
AlAkhnas b. Shariq b. 'Amr b. Wahb alThaqafl, an ally of B. Zuhra
who were in alJ u):lfa, addressed the latter, saying, 'God has aaved)'OU
andyourpropertyanddeliveredyourcompanionMakhramab.Naufal,
and as you only came out to protect him and his property, lay any
ehargeofcowardiceonmeandgoback. Thereisnopointingoingtowar
wi thout profit as this man wou ld have us,' meaning Abii Jahl. So they
returned and not a single Zuhrite was present at Badr. They obeyed him
as he wu a man of authority. El'ery clan of Quraysh wu rtpresented
exeeptB.'Adiyb.K2'b:notoneofthemtookpart,sowiththeretumof
B. Zuhra with alAkhnas these two tribes were not rtpresented at alL
There wu some di!ICUssion between 'P,lib b. Abii T alib, who was with th e
anny, and some of Quraysh. The latte r uid, 'We know, 0 D. HUhim,
that if you ha\'e come out with us your hea rt is with Muhammad.' So
Tilib and some othen returned to Mecca. T~lib said:
OGod,ifTiUibgoesforthtowarunwillingly
Withoneofthesesquad rons,
Lethimbetheplunderednottheplundcrcr,
Thevanquishednotthe\ictor(J6 t ).
Quraysh 'l'<ent on until they halted on the farther side of the wadi
behind al'Aqanqal. The bed of the wadi-Yalyal-was between Badr and
al.'Aqanqal, the hill behind which lay Quraysh, while the wells at Badr
were on the side of the wadi bed nearest to Medin:~. God sent a rain which
turned the 10ft sand of the wadi into acompactsurfacewhich did not
hinde r the apostle' movements, but gravely restricted the movements of
Quraysh. The apostle went forth to hasten his men to the water and when
0

~~~ t~~~ ~~::c;~~~~;J~fS~~!::a~~~~~~t all~ubib

he
b. alMundhir b.
aiJamii):l sa.id to the apostle: ' Ia this a place which God has ordered

fil~~b~~~~~a~~~c~~~~a;;~~~ ~: t':~ hrec~=~:~~~~~~i:h~~;.i~r=~~h

said: 'OprophetofGod,letusmakeabooth{T. ofpalmbranches)for
you to occupy and ha\'e you r riding camds standing by; then we will meet
the enemy and if God gives us the victory that is what we desire; if the 440
worst occurs you can mount your camels and join our people who are left
behind,fortheyarejustasdeeplyattachedtoyouasweare. Had they
thoughtthatyouwou ld befightingthcywould not have stayed behind.
God will protect you bythem;theywillgheyougoodcounselandfight
with you.' The apostle thanked him and blessed him. Then a booth was
constructcdfortheapostleandheremainedthere.
Quraysh, having marched forth at daybreak, now came on. When the
apostle saw them descending fromthehili'Aqanqal into the valley, he
cried,'OGod,herecometheQurayshintheirvanityandpride,contcnding
with Thee and calling Thy apostle a liar. 0 God, grant the help which
Thou didst promise me. Destroy them this morning!' Before uttering
these words he had seen among the enemy 'Utba b. Rabt'a, mounted on a
rcdcamelofhis,andsa.id,' l fthcreisanygoodinanyoneofthem,itwill
be with the man on the red camel : if they obey him, they will take the right
W1y.' Khufif b. Aimi' b. JU~aQa, or hi5 father Aimi' b. IUl,laQa al
Ghifiri,hadsenttoQuraysh,astheypassedby,aiOnofhiswithsome
camelsforslaughter,whichhcgavethemasagift,saying,'Ifyouwantus
to support you with arms and men, we will do so;' but they sent to him the
following message by the mouth of his son- ' You have done all that a
kinsman ought. If we arc fighting only men, we are surely equal to them;
and if we arc fighting God, u l\luhammad alleges, none is able to with
I land Him.' And when Quraysh encamped, some of them, among whom
was l:lakim b. l:l idm, went to the cistern of the apostle to drink. 'Let them
bc!'hesaid;ande\-erymanthatdrankofitonthatdaywukilled,except
l;lakim,' who afterwards became a good Muslim a:~d used to say, when he
was earnest in his oath, 'Nay, by Him who sa\ed me on the day of Badr.'
My father, ls~~q b. Yasir, and other learned men told me on the autho
rityofsomecldersoftheAn,lir that whentheenemyhadsettledintheir
camp they sent 'Umayr b. Wahb alJumal)i to estima te the number of
Muhammad's followers. He rode on horseback round the camp and on his
rcturnsaid,'Threehundrcdmen,a littlcmoreorless;butwaittilll s<.:c
1

T.addo:' ll~...,.pcdonohoneofhiocolkdoiWojih.'

Soo.boo.IAth

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

1 Ot ' lhi<ld'
' A coo~ upreuionfor cowa<d

The Life of Muhammad

Th~ Lif~

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

on Friday morning on the 17th of Ramac,l.iin. l:labbin b. Wlsi' b. l:labbin

4 toldmeonthe authority of someeldersofhistribe that on the day of
Badrtheapostledrcssedtheranksofhisrompanionswithanarrow\\hich
he hdd in his hand. As he passed by Saw~d b. Ghaziya, an ally of B.
:Adi_y b. al-Najj:ir (365), who wa~ standing out (366) of line he pricked him
m h1s belly with the arrow, saymg, "Stand in line, 0 Saw~ d l' 'You have
hu~ me, 0 apostle of_ God,' he cried, 'and God has sent you with right and
justLcesoletmeretal Late.' Theapostle unro\eredhisbellyandaaid'Take
your retaliation.' Saw.iid embraced him and kissed his belly. lie asked
what had made him do this and he replied, '0 apostle of God, you see
what i~ before us and I ma_y not sur.he the battle and as this is my last
time WLth you I want my skm to touch youra.' The apostle blessed him.
Then the apostle straightened the ranks and returned to the hut and
entered it, and none was with him there but AbU Bakr. The apostle was
beseeching his Lord for the help which He had promised to him, and
among his words were these: '0 God, if this band perish today Thou \lilt
be worshipped no more.' But AbU Bakr said, '0 prophet of God, you r
constant entreaty \\ill annoy thy Lord, for surely God will fulfil His
promisctothee.' Whiletheapostlewasinthehuthesleptalightsleep;
then he awoke and said, 'Be of good cheer, 0 AbU Bakr. God's help is
come to you. HereisGabrielholdingthereinofahorseandleadingit.
Thedustisuponhisfrontteeth'
The first l\luslim that fell was :'-1ihja', a freedman of 'Umar: he was shot
by an arrow. Then while f:Uritha b. Surlqa, one of B. 'Adly b. al-Najj~r.
was drinking from the cistern an arrow pierced his throat and killed him.
445
Then the apo$dc went fonh to the people and incited them uying, 'By
God in whose hand is the soul of ) Juhammad, no man will be slain this
dayfightingagainstthcmwithsteadfastcouragead\'ancingnotrctreating
but God will cause him to enter Paradise:.' 'Umayr b. al-l:lumlm brother
ofll.Salimawaseatingsomedateswhichhehadinhishand. 'Fine, Fine!'
saidhe,'istherenothingbetweenmeandmyenteringParadiselllvetobe
killcdbythescmcn?' HcAungthedatesfromhishand,seizedhissword,
andfoughtagainstthcmtillhewasslain,(sayingthewhile
InGod'sser.icetakenofood
llutpietyanddeedsofgood.

~o~ ~:!'~~:a~~~o~v;t~;:t!h~:;'
'.i\~im

b. 'Umu b. Qatiida told me that 'Auf b. f:l<irith -hit mother was

'Afrl'-said '0 apostle of God, what makes the Ulrd laugh "ith joy at His
0

~i::: t:~i 1~' a!~:;;:t:~~;~~eh:~:~::-t~na~ : : o~i~:~ !nt;~he~:~i~

away:thenheaeiu:dhisswordandfoughttheenemytil\hewasslain.
1

i\U,... rdl,67

:~==~~~~~~ ~~:::P~~:S f:::~a~:.e~~= ;~e;~~::~~~~~

~~i~I~j~tf~~~~~~~~:!:~~j~\~I~t:~3.f~.:?f;:

been told, saw displeasure on !h~ face of Sa'd at what they w_ere doing. He

~:.~ 0h:i:~~:~~~~~~h~0fi~~~~:~e:\tt~a~h~~~c b~r:::::~ ,~;:fi:~ ~

andlwouldrather&eethcmslaughtcredthanlcftali\e.'
AI-'Abbiis b. 'Abdullah b. l\.Ia'bad from one of his family from Ibn
'Abblstoldmethatthelattcrsaidthattheprophetsaidtohiscompanions

::t~:: :f~~:~~~1~~~~~.~-~=1~~;~;:61t~~:~:~!~i:.:~~E~

donotkillhim,forhehasbeenmadetocomeoutagainsthiswill.' Abil

~n~d~:~~;;~~ ~.: ~,~: :~~!;~~~a:h~; ~~~~r r:::~~;~r !i~t~~~

m~~:~:~~i:!~~!!'~he
~e
A~ii

apostle's ears and

said to 'Umar, '0
f:laff-and 'Umar said that this was the first lime the apostle called h1m
bythishonorific-'oughtthefaceoftheapostle'suncletobemarkedwith
the sword?' 'Umarrcplied, 'Let me off with his head! By God, the man
is a false Muslim.'' AbU f:ludhayfa used to uy, 'I ne,er felt safe afte r my
wordsthatday. J wasalwaysafraidunleumartyrdomatonedforthem.'
He was killed as a martyr in the battle of al-Yamiima.
The reason why !he apostle forbade the killing of AbU'I-Bakhtari was
bccauschehadkeptbackthepcopleinl\1eccafromtheapostle;henC\'er
insultcdhimordidanythingo_ffensive;andhet~kapro~inentpan.in

Whileyouarerighteoustrueandgood.]'

of M11hammad

Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihlb ai-Zuhri on the authority of 'Abdullah

b. Tha'laba b. $u'ayr al-'Udhri, an ally of U. Zuhra, told me that when_the
warriorsad\'ancedtobattleanddrewneartooneanotherAbUJahlcned,
'0 God, destroy this morning him t~at r:nore than any of us hath cut the
ties of kinship and wrought that whLch 1snot appro\'ed.'' Thus he con
demnedhimselftodeath.
Then the apo$tle took a handful of small pebbles and uid, tuming

~~ C:~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~t~~~~~~t~~~;:~~~h7;~~e~_afa1~~~;,n~~~~~~:r
the An~iir, of the clan of B. S1iim b. 'Auf, fell in with him and told him
that the aposde had forbidden them to lr.i\1 h.im. Now ai-'A' Abii'l-Bakh-

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

447

:~~;:l~~:~~~~~n~~~ob~~i:!:l~t~~i~:;,!:,~al:; ~~ ~i~~~r1 ~J~!~~:r,:~;

[~~;]d;~~~~ii::J{::tift#.~;~~~,:;:~i:~;:
Asonofthefreebt:traysnothisfriend
Tillhe'ldead,orsec~himsafeonhisway.

~~~e:~~ l t was that al-l\lujadhdhar killed him and composed these lines

Thenal-Mujadhdharwenttotheapostle andtoldhimthathehaddone
hisbesttotake himprisonerandbringhimto himbutthathehadinsisted

:~~~ig~t::f.IJi~~~~(:t~~~~:,~;;~:;~;1~~;E
'Abdu'I-Ra~mln

when I became a Muslim. When we used to meet in

~~:~ :~u7~ou~~ ~~ ;"~ )~:u ::u~e ~~ ~:ef~;::,a~~=n~~:~:u~;~

Ral_tm.ln, so adopt a name which I can 01!1 you between ourselves. You
won't reply to your original name, and I won't u!le one I don't know."

~~h;~-~~~.sa~~;~~A"~~:~:r;~e::?~~~;:~~~~~:.;~~:~ri!h~~~~

like this. Have you no use for milk 1" Then I walked off with the pair of
them'(370).
'Abdu'J.\Vl~id b. AbU 'Aun from Sa'd b. lbr~him from his father
'AbdU'IRa~mln b. 'Auf told me that the latter said: L"mana uid to me
u I walked between them holding their hands, 'Who is that man who is
wearing an ostrich feather on his breast?' When I told him it was l_lamu
he uid that it was he who had done them so much damage. As I was
leading them away Bill! saw him with me. Xow it was l:mayya who used
to tonure Bill! in l\lccca to make him abandon Islam, bringing him out to
theKOrcilingheatofthesun,layinghimonhisback,andputtingagreat
atoneonhischest,tellinghimthathecouldstaythcreuntilhega'cupthc +49
religionofl\l uhammad,andBillilkcptuying'One! One!' As soon ashe
saw him he uid, 'The arch-infidel Umayya b. Khalaf! ]\lay I not li,e if
helives.'luid,'(Wouldyouattack)mypriSQneT!I1'Uuthekeptcryingout
thcsewordsinspiteofmyremonstrancesuntil finallyheshoutedatthe
top of his voice, '0 God's Helpers, the arch-infidel Umayya b. Khalaf[
May I not liveifhelhes.' Thepeopleformedaringroundusas l was
protecting him. Then a man drew his sword' and cut off his son's foot so
thathefelldownandUmayyaletoutacrysuchaslhaveneverheard;and
l saidtohim'Makeyourescape'(thoughhehadnochanceofescape)' f can
do nothing for you.' They hewed them to pieces with their swords until
they were dead. Abdu'l-Ra~mln used to say, 'God have mercy on Bill!.
Ilostmycoatsofmailandhedeprivedmeofmypri!QneT!I.'
'Abdullah b. AbU Bakrtold me he was told as from Ibn 'Abbb: 'A man
of B. Ghif~r told me: I and a cousin of mine went up a hill from which we
couldlookdownonBadr,webcingpolytheistsu"llitingtoseetheresultof
the battle so that we could join in the looting. And while we were on the
hillacloudcamenearandweheardtheneighingofhorsesandlheardone
saying "Forward, l:fayzUm!"' As for my cousin, his hean burst asunder
andhediedon theapot;Ialmostperished,thenlpu!ledm)-self together.'
'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr from one of B. Sl'ida from AbU Uaayd l\.Uiik
b.Rabi'awho ...-aspresentat Badrtoldhimafterhehadlosthitaight:' l f
I were in Badrtodayandhadmysight l couldshowyoutheglenfrom
whichtheangelsemerged. lhavenottheslightestdoubtonthepoint.'
l\ly father l s~lq b. Yaslr from men of B. Mhin b. al-Najjlr from AbU
Ol'Ud ai-Mhini, who \\'as at Bad r, told me: 'I Wlll pursuing a polytheist -450
at Badr 10 smite him, when his head fe ll off before I could get at him with

m~n:o:t:;~u~~~~; ~';::nso;i~~~~~:;:;!~~ll;~ ~~~llah

:~~~t E~ ;EE:~~~!~::~~n~~t~~~f~~h:~~~:,~~:~~:;~~:~

b. all:llrith
from 'Abdullah b. 'Abbb, told me, 'The sign of the angelt at Badr was
white turbans flowing behind them: atl:lunayn they wore red turbans'
(J71).
One above suspicion from Miqsam from Ibn 'Abbb told me: The angels

=~c~i~::~\~i~~~ ~= ~a:~:~e

hi~.dlthl<ifd

I would not answer until he uid "0 'Abdu'l-Illh." Then he uid, "Won't
you take me prisoner, for I am more \"a[uablethan th('!lecoats of mail
1
1
n6y
:;!g :e

~-~~~;:.;":?v:~::i! ~~~

rncono that he put hio luor>d behind hirn ": ~: ~!~"cw::-::.:~~.~-~-:.::~":'hind

Tht Life of Muhammad

Tht Life of Muhammad

didnotfightinanybattlebutBadr. lntheotherbattlestheywerethereas
reinforccments,buttheydidnotfight.
AshewasfightingthatdayAbU Jahlwassaying

'Ukkhha b. Mi~pn b.l:lun.hlln ai-Audi, ally of B. 'Abdu Shams, fought

at Badruntilhisswordwasbrokeninhishand. Hecametotheapostle
who gave him a wooden cudgel telling him to fight with that. When he
tookithebrandiaheditanditbecameinhishandalong,strong,gleaming
sword, and he fought with it until God ga\"C victory to the Muslims. The
sword was called ai-'Aun and he had it with him in all the battles he fought
withtheapoatleuntilfinallyhewaskilledintherebetlion,stillholdingit.
;~~~~;: b. Khuwaylid al-Asadi' killed him, and this is what he said

Whathasfiercewartodislikeaboutme,
Ayounghe-camelwithruor-liketeeth?
Forthisverypurposcdidmymotherbearme(372)
WhentheapostlehadfinishcdwiththecnemyheorderedthatAbii Jahl
should be looked for among the slain. ff. He said, '0 God, don't let him
escape Thee!') The first man to find him-so Thaur b. Yazid from 'lkrima
from Ibn 'Abb~s told me; as well as 'Abdullah b. Abii llakr who told me
the same-was l\'lu'adh b. 'Amr b. al-J amii~, brother of B. Salama, whom
they reponed as uying: I heard the pwple uying when AbU jahl was in a
sonofthicket,'AbU'l-l:lakamcannotbegotat'(373)- When] heard that
4S r I made it my business, and made for him. When I got within striking distancelfelluponhimandfetehedhimablowwhichsemhisfootandhalf
1
0

Whatdoyouthinkaboutapeoplewhenyoukillthem?
AretheynotmenthoughtheyarenotMuslims?
lfcamelsandwomenwerecaptured
Youwillnotgetaway~eathelessafterkilling J:Iibal

I set l;limiila's breast against them-a mare well used to

Thecryof'Warriorsdowntothefight!'
(Onedayyouaeeherprotectedandco,ered,
Anotherdayunencumbcreddashtothefray)
Thenightlleft l bnAqramlying
And 'Ukklsha the Ghanmite dead on the fitld (376).

:.i~c~:~~ ~~~~~- ~; ~~~r~~~i~~ai:~~:;kd~,';~~ ;h: ~1~!~1:~~n~h::~~~~

my ann and it hung by the skin from my side, and the battle compelled me
to lea,e him. I fought the whole of the day dragging my arm behind me
andwhenitbecamepainfultomelputmyfootonitandstandingonitl
toreitoff.' 1-feli\"ed afterthatintothe reignof'Uthmlin.
Mu'awwidh b. 'Afri' passed AbU Jahl as he lay there helpless and &mote
himuntilhelefthimathislastgasp. 1-fehimselfwentonfightinguntilhe
was killed. Then 'Abdullah b. Mas'Ud passed by AbU j ahl when the apostle
hado rderedthathewastobesearchedforamongtheslain. l ha\eheard
thattheapostlehadtoldthem that ifhewashiddenamongthecorpses
theywefetolookforthetraceofa.caronhisknee. Whcntheybothwere
young they had beenprcssedtogctheratthetableof'Abdullahb.jud'lln.
He was thinner than AbU jahl and he ga,e him a push which aem him to
hiskneesandoneofthemwasscratchedsodeeplythatitleftapermanent
scar. 'Abdullahb.l\hs'iidsaidthathefoundhim athislastgaspandput
hisfootonhisneck(forhehadonceclawedathimandpunchedhimin
Mecca), and uid to him: ' Has God put you to shame, you enemy of God?'
He replied '1-low has l-Ie shamed me? Am I anything fllQre remarkable
than a man )"OU ha\e kil!cd ?' Tell me how the battle went. l-Ie told him
that it went in fa\"OurofGod and Hisapostle(J?t)?\lenofB.?\IakhzUmusen.that l bnl\las'Udusedtoaay: Heaaidtome,
452 'Youha\"eclimbedhigh,youlittleshephcrd.' Thenlcutoffhisheadand
brought ittotheaposdePying, 'ThisisththeadoftheenemyofGod,
AbU Jahl.' He said, 'By God than Whom there is no other, is it?' (This
used to be his oath.) 'Yes,'lsaid,and lthrcwhis headbeforetheapostle
andhegavethankstoGod(J75l

Whentheapostlesaid,'7o,oooofmypwpleshallenterParadiselikethe
full moon' 'Ukk!!shaasked if he could beoneofthem,and the apostle
prayedthathemightbeone. Oneofthe.>\n,3rgotupandaskedthathe
toomightbeoneofthem,andhereplied,"UkUshahasforestalledyou
andtheprayeriscold.'
I have bend from his family that the apostle uid: 'Ours is the best
horseman among the Arabs,' and when we asked who, he said that it was
'Ukkhha. When l)irlir b. al-Azwar ai-Asadi said, 'That is a man of ours,'
theapostlcanswered,'Heisnotyoursbutoursthroughalliance'(377)
Yazld b. Riim3n from 'Urwa b. ai-Zubayr from 'i\'isha told me that the
lattersaid:'Whentheapostleorderedthatthedeadshouldbcthrownintoa
pit they were all thrown in except Umayya b. Khalaf whose body had swelled
within his armour so that it filled it and when they went to move him his
bodydisintegrated;sothey leftitwhereitwasandheapedearthandstones
upon it. Astheythrewthemintothepittheapostleatoodandsaid:"O
pwpleofthepit,haveyoufoundthatwhatGodthreatenedistrue? For
I ha\e found that what my Lord prom~ me is true.'' His companions 454
asked:"Are)ouspeakingtodeadpeople?" He repliedthattheyknewthat
whattheirLordhadpromisedthemwastrue.' 'i\'ishasaid: 'People say
~~:~.~.~id "They hear whatlpy to them," but what he uid was "They

.
1

Oneof<hct.adenof<hc&pootate .. belo.

:::;!~"':~ :::;;;:.:.~~: ~:.-:: :;;,-::.::;;;:;.::~.::"::;.:;.: :::;:~

:::";i,:

~;~ ~- eidently oly ...:k"" MW b. "Uqb&"t tradition from "Abdullah b. 'Umar

The Life of Muhammad

l:lumayd a\-Tawil told me that Ana!! b. M>tlik said: 'The apostle's companionaheardhimsayinginthemidd\eofthenight''Opeopleofthepit
0 'Utba, 0 Shayba, 0 Umayya, 0 Abii jahl," enumerating aU who had
been thrown into the pit, "Have you found that what God promised you
is true? I hne found that what my Lord promised me is true." The
l\luslims said, "Are you calling to dead bodies?" Heara\11ered: "You
cannot hear what I saybetterthanthey,buttheycannotanswerme."'
Aleamedpersontoldmethattheapostlesaidthatday,'Opeopleofthe
pit,youwereanevilkinsfolktoyourprophet. Youcalledmealiarwhen
others believed me; you cut me out when others took me in; you fought
against me when others fought on my side.' Then he added 'Have you
foundthatwhatyourLordpromisedyouistrue?'
l:lassinb.Thlbitsaid:
IrecognizethedwellingsofZaynabonthesandhill
Lookinglikethewritingofrevelationondirtyoldpaper.'
Windsblowoverthemandeverydarkcloud
Poursdownitaheavyrain;
l tttracesobscuredanddeserted
Wereoncetheabodesofdearlylovedfriends.
Abandonthisconstantremembranceofthem,
Quenchtheheatoftheaorrowingbrea!lt.
Tellthetruthaboutthatinwhichthereisnoshame,
Notthetaleofa liar,
OfwhatGoddidonthedayofBadr,
Givingusvictoryoverthepolytheists.
Thedaywhentheirmultitudewaslikel:lira'
Whosefoundationsappewatsunset.
\Vemetthemwithacompany
Likelionsofthejungleyoungandold
lndefenceofl\1uhammad intheheatofv;-ar
Helpinghimagainsttheenemy.
lntheirhandsweresharpswords
Andwell-triedshaftswiththickknots.
Theao!UiofAuttheleaders,helpedby
Theaonsofal-Najj>trinthestrongreligion.
AbO. Jahlwe leftlyingprostrate
And 'Utbaweleftontheground.
Shaybatoowithothers
Ofnoblenameanddt$Cent.
TheapostleofGodcalledtothem
Whenwecutthemintothepittogether.
'Haveyoufoundthatlspokethetruth?
AndthecommandofGodtakesholdofthehearti"

Tht Lift of Muhammad

3o8

TM Lift of Muhammad

~-E!~tE~::i~.i2~h~~!~~~:~~~~~tE;1::~:;~E~:~~~~

;~~i~:r::~~~~r.~:~~'~::;;;~:2! ?.~~:;E~~
0

~~r!:a~~ ;;an~(~~~~e af:~~ \e~:~~t~h7:d w': ~~~:! ~~

5

:;~g?.i~ffi::~~~~f!~t~~~2ls3~~~gi:~~
;;~[fg~~:I~~~J:yiti}l~r~:~~2r~~~:~~

fromthepolytheistsandput'Abdul\ahb. Ka'bmcharge .of1t. Ara)ll:l

poetoftheMus\ims(379)said
Startyourcamels,OBasbasl
There'snohalting-placeinDM.'fall,t'
NorinthedesertofGhumayrapen.
Thepeop!e'scamelscannotbeloclr.edup.
Sotosetthemonthewayiswiser
GodhavinggivenvictoryandAkhnashavingfled.
Then the apostle went fonvard until when he came out of the pass of
halted on the sandhill hetweenthepassand ai-Naziyacal!ed

al-~afri'he

:~:~i~ ae~:~:~~re ;~~nd~~~~r~~:::~~ilw~~c~ea~~dh~~~;~~:~ ~~=

Muslims met him congratulating him and the Muslims on the v1ctory God

~~i~i~~nR::~-~~~r:~~l~;h:a;~:: ~~~~r::~a~i~~:t:~~:~
By God, we only met some bald old women like the sacrificia~ camels
who are hobbled, and we slaughtered them!' The apostle smiled and
nid,'But,nephew,tbosewerethechiefs'(38o). Whentheapostlewasin
al-!]afra', al-Na<.{r was killed by 'Ali, as a learned Meccan told me. When
hewasin'Irqu'l-:(:abya'Uqbawaskilled(JS!). Hehadbeencapturedby
'Abdul\ahb.Salima,oneoftheB.ai-'Ajlln.
1

loo~~~e:h;;~~i~ ~r:~~e;tMhu~~~ill;~el~q~: ~~~: '!"; ~~mw~~

Thlbit b. Abii'l-Aqla\:1 a!-An,ilrl killed him according to what Abii
'Ubayda b. Muhammad b. ~r b. Ybir told me (382).

Abii Hind, freedman of Farwa b. 'Amr al-BayA<.{i, met the apoatle there.
withajarfullofbutteranddatcs(JSJ). Hehadstayed behindfromBadr
butwasprcsentatall theother batt!csandafterwardsbecametheapostle'a
cupper. Theapostlesaid,'AbiiHindisoneoftheAn,ar;intermarrywith -459
bim,'andtheydidso.
TheapostlearrivedinMedinaadaybeforetheprisonen. 'Abdullah b.
Abii Bakr told me that Ya\:lyl b. 'Abdullah b. 'Abdu'l-Ral,unln b. A.'ad b.
Zurira told him that the prisonen were brought in when Sauda d. Zam.a'a,
the wife of the prophet, was with the family of 'Afra' when they were bewailing 'Auf and Mu'awwidb 'Mri"a sons, this being before the veil waa
imposed on them. Sauda said: 'A. I was with them, suddenly it was u.id:
"Here are the prisonen" and I returned to my bouse where the apoatle
was. And there was Abii Yazid Suhayl b. 'Amr in a corner of the room
with his hands tied to his neclt. I could hardly contain myself when I nw
Abii Yazid in this state and I said, "0 Abii Ya.zid, you surrendered too
readily. You ought to have died a noble death!" Suddenly the prophet'a voiceatartledme:"Sauda,wouldyouatiruptrouhleagainstGod
andhisapostlel" Iu.id, "ByGod, Icouldhardlycontainmyselfwheni
saw Abii Yazld in this state and that is why I said what I did."'
Nubayh b. Wahb brother of B. 'Abdu'l-Dilr told me that the apostle
divided the prisoner& amongst his companions and u.id, 'Treat them well.'
Now Abii 'Aziz b. 'Umayr b. HAshim, brother of Mufab b. 'Umayr by
the same mother and father, was among the prisoner& and he said, 'My
brotherMu,'abpassedbymeasone oftheAn,Arwasbindingmeandhe
said: "Bind him fast, for his mother is a wealthy woman; perhaps she will
redeem him from you." I was with a number of the ~ when they
brought me from Badr, and when they ate their morning and evening
mealstheygavemethebreadandatethedatesthemselvcsinaccordance
with the orders that the apostle had given about us. If anyone had a -46o
morselofbreadhegaveittome. lfeltash.amedandretumedittooneof
thembuthercturnedittome untouChed'(J84)
The fint to come to Mecca with news of the disaster was a\-l:faysumlin
b. 'Abdullah a\-Khu:d'i, and when they asked for news he enumerated all
the Ouraysh chiefs who had been killed. !;iafwln who was sitting in the
~ijr said, ' This feUow is out of his mind. Ask him about me.' So they
said: 'What happened to !;iafwlin b. Umayya?' He answered, 'There he is
:~~;~i;~e~h; ~ijr, and by God I saw his father and his brother when they
l:lusayn b. 'Abdullah b. 'Ubaydallah b. 'Abbb from 'Ikrima, freedman
of Ibn 'Abbas, told me that Ahii Rafi', freedman of the apostle, nid, 'I used
to beas\aveof'Abb.iis. h!amhad enteredamongus,the people of the
house; 'Abbas had beco me a Muslim, and so had Ummu'I-Fa<.\1, and so
h.adl. But'Ahbiiswasafraidofhispeopleanddis!ikedtogoagainstthem,
so he hid his faith; he had a great dealofmoneyscattcredamongthe
Th...,,.ordo or<notfoun.dinT.'oquotationfroml.l.

TM Life of Muhammad
pe<~ple. AbliLahabhadstayedbehindfromthcBadrcxpeditionsending
in his stead al-'k, b. Hishiim; for that is what they did-any man who
stayed behind sent another in his place. And when news came of the
Quraysh disaster at Badr God humiliated AbU Lahab and put him to
shame while we found oun;elves in a position of power and respect. Now
461 Iwasaweakmanandlusedtomakearrows,sharpeningtheminthetent
of Zamzam, and lo as I was sitting there with Ummu'l-FaQl sharpening
arro"'S delighted with the nev.'S that had come, up came AbO Lahab
dragginghisfeetinilltemperandsatdownattheendofthetentwithhis
back to mine. As he was sitting there people said, "Here is AbU Sufyiin b.
al-l;U.rith b. 'Abdu'l-MunaJib (385) just arrived." AbU Lahab said,
"(;Qme here, for you have news." So he came and sat with him while the
peoplestoodround,andwhenheaskedhisnephewforthenewshesaid,
"As soon as we met the party we tumed our backs and they were killing
andcapturingusjustastheypleased;andbyGodldon'tblamethepe<~ple

for that. We met men in white on piebald horses between heaven and
earth,andbyGodtheysparednothingandnonecouldwithstandthem."
Solliftedtheropeofthetentandsaid:"Thoseweretheangels." AbU
Lahabstruckmeviolentlyintheface. Ileaptathim,butheknockedme
down and knelt on me beating me again and again, for I was a weak man.
Ummu'l-FaQlwentandgotoneofthesupportsofthetentandsplithis
head. wit~ a blow which left a nasty \1-'0und, saying, "You think you can
despiSe htm now his muter i.& away!" He got up and tumed tail humiliated.
~~::l~e li;;~,!or another week, for God smote him with pustules, from
(T.1340.to. Histwosonslefthimunburiedfortwoorthreenightsso
thatthehousestank(for theQurayshdreadpustulesandthelikeasmen
dreadplague)untilfinaJlyamansaidtothem:'Itisdisgracefull An you
notashamedthatyourfathershouldstinkinhishousewhileyoudonot
cover him from the sight of men?' They replied that they were afraid of
those ulcers. He offered to go with them. They did notwashthebody
,

~=kt~r:; ;,:~~~~~ ii: ~~~h: ~~;~n;~:~~h:;:~~u~~:! i~y ;~~l ~~~

threwstonesoverituntilitwascovered.
lbnl;lamidsaidthatSalamab.al-FaQisaidthatMuhammadb. lsl;liq
~~aid that al-'Abbas b. 'Abdullah b. Ma'bad from one of his family on the
authority of 'Abdullah b. 'Abbb said: 'On the night of Badr when the
prisoneraweresafelyguarded,theapostlecouldnotsleepduringthefirst
panofthenight. When his companions asked him the reason he said:
"I heard the writhingofa!-'Abbh in his prison." Sotheygotupand
libcratedhimwhereupontheapostlesleptsoundly.'
OnthesamcauthoritylheardthatMuhanunadb.Isl;llqsaid: "'all;lasan b. 'Umiira told me from al-l;lakam b. 'Utayba from r-.tiqsam from
Ibn 'Abbb: The man who captured al-'Abbils was Abil'I-Yasar Ka'b b.
'Amr brother of the B. Salima. AbU'l-Yasar was a compact little man

The Life of Muhammad

while al-'Abbils was bulky. When the apostle asked the former how he
hadmanagedtocapturehim,hesaidthatamansuchashehadneverseen
before or afterwards had helped him, and when he described him, the
apostlesaid,"Anobleangelhelpedyouagainsthim.'")
(Suhayli, ii.79: In the riwiiyaofYilnus I. Lrecorded that the apostle
saw her (Ummu'l-Fa<,ll) when she was a baby crawling before him and
pjd,'lfshegrowsupandlamstillalive lwillmarryher.' But he died
before she grew up and Sufyan b. al-Aswad b. 'Abdu'l-Asad al-MakhzUmi
married her and she bore him Rizq and Lubliba ....
They did not bury AbU Lahab, but he was put against a wall and stones
were thrown upon him from behind the wall until he was covered. It is
saidthatwhen'A'ishapassedtheplacesheusedtoveilherface.)
Yai)yl b. 'Abblid b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father 'Abblid told
me that Quraysh bev.ailed their dead. Then they said, 'Do not do this,
for the news will reach Muhammad and his companions and they will
rejoiceoveryourmisfortune;and do not send messengers-aboutyo\lr
captives but hold back so that Muhammad and his companions may not
demandexcessiveransoms.' Al-Aswadb.al-Muualibhadlostthreeofhis
sons: Zama'a, 'Aqll, and al-J:Iiirith b. Zama'a, and he wanted to bewail
them. Meanwhile he heard a weeping woman, and as he was blind he told a
servanttogoandseewhethcrlamentationhadbeenpermittcd, forifQuraysh
were weeping over their dead he might weep for Zam'a AbUl;laklma, for 462
he was consumed by a burning sorrow. The servant returned to say that
it was a woman weeping over a camel she had lost. Thereupon he said:

The L1fe of Muhammad

Then Qurayahaent toredctmtheprisoners and 1\likratb.l~af, b. aiAkhyaf came about Suhayl b. 'Amr who had been captured by MAlik b.
ai-Dukhshum, brother of the B. SAlim b. 'Auf, who said
lcapturedSuhaylandlwouldnotexchangehim
Foraprisonerfromanyotherpeople.
KhindifknowsthatitsheroisSuhayl
Wheninju!ticeiscomplainedof.
Istruckwithmykeensworduntilitbent.
I forcedmyselftofightthishare-lippedman.
463

Suhayl was a man whose lower lip was split (387).

r>. luhammad b. 'Amr b. 'Atil', brother of B. 'Amir h. Lu'ayy, told me
that'Umusaidtotheapostle,'Let mepulloutSuhayl's twofrontteeth;
histonguewill stiekoutandhewillne\erbeabletos~kagainstyou

again.' He answered, ' I will not mutilate him, otherwise God would mutilate me though lama prophet.'
lhaveheardthatinthiatraditiontheapostlesaid to'Umar,'Perhapshe
will make a 11and for which you will not blame him' 1 (388).
When Mikrat had spoken about him and finally agreed on terms with
them they demanded the money, and he asked that they would hold him
assccurityandletSuhaylgosothathecouldsendhisransom. Theydid
soandimprisonedl\1ikrazinhis ! tead. Mikrazsaid:
lredeemedwithcost!y'she-camelsacaptivehero.
(ThepaymentisforatrueArabnotforclients).
l pledgedmypenon,thoughmoneywouldbeeasierforme.
But l fcaredbeingputtoshame.
l said,'Suhaylisthebestofus,sotake himback
Tooursonssothatwemayattainourdesircs'(3!J9).
(1'. 1344 Ibn I.!amid from Salama from Ibn Is~ iiq from ai- Kalbi from
Abii ~llli~ from Ibn 'AbMs told me that the apostle said toal-'Abbbwhen
he was brought to Medina, 'Red~m youl'IC'If, 0 'Abbb, and you r two
nephews 'Aqil b. Abii Tillib and Naufal b. a1-l:lirith :wd your ally 'Utba b.
'Ann b. J a~dam brother of the B. al-f:l arith b. Fihr, for you are a rich
man.' He replied, ' I was a Mu!lim but the people compelled me (to fight).
He answered, 'God knows best about your Islam. If what you uy ~true
GodwillreWIIIrdyouforit. Buttoatloutwardappearanceyouha\ebeen
againstus,sopayusyourransom.' Nowtheapostlehadtakentwentyokes
of gold from him and he aaid, '0 apostle of God, credit me with them in
my ransom.' l-Ie replied, 'That has nothing to do with it. God took that
fromyouandgaveit toua.' llesaid,' lhavenomoney.' 'Then where is
the money which you left with Ummu'l-Fa(,ll d. al-1:13rith when yo u left
1

.,,,. ' " "

R~adina:

for Suhayl'o opeech afl~r the d .. th of the r>rophet

lhi"'d~. The variant lhQ,.d~,~ ia luolikoly ~OUf<' dloaud gnually muno

Th e Lift of Muhammad
Mecca? You two were alone when you said to her," Ifl am killed 10 much
is for ai- Fa(,ll, 'Abdullah :wd Qutham and 'Ubaydullah.'" 'By him who
aentyouwiththetruth,'heexclaimed,'none butaheand l knewofthit
andnow lknowthatyouareGod'sapostle.' Soheredeemedhimselfand
thethreemennamedabove.)'
'Abdullah b. Abii Bakr told me that Abii Sufyiln'a ton 'Amr whom he
had by a daughte r of 'Uqba b. Abii Mu'ayt (390) wu a prisoner in the
apostle's hands from Badr (39 1); and when Abii Sufyiln wu asked to
ran10m his son 'Amr he said, 'Am I to suffer the double lou of my blood
and my money? They have killed l:lan~la and am I to rantom 'Anu ?
Lea\e him with them. They can keep him as long u they like!'
Whi\ehewasthusheldprisoner inMedinawiththeapostleSa'db.aiNu'm3n b. Akklll, brother of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf, one of the B. Mu'lwiya, 464
went forth on pilgrimage accom~nied by a young wife of h~. He was an
old man and a Muslim who had sheep in ai-Naql'.l He left that place on

~~!~~m~ed;~i~~:~t i~~c~yasu~:o:~~ :;e:t;[l;r~:~ ;:ri~~n:n;:~:h~~

~~tr:t~~ ~~~y~~tf~~~~n i~i~r~~r~::~ :~~?;;ri!~~~r~~:~nt~~~i;~~

forhisson'Amr. ThenAbiiSufyilnsaid:

J~usln

b. TMbit :wswered him:

JfSa' dhadbeenfreetheday hewasin Mecca
He wouldhave k.illedmanyofyouerehewucaptured.
Withasharpswo.-dorabowofnab'awood
Whosestringtw:wgswhenthearrowisshot.

The B. 'Amr b. 'Auf wen t to the apostle and told him the news and
asked him to give the m 'Amr b. AbU Sufyln so that they could let him go
in exchangefortheirmanandtheapostledidso. SotheyKnthimtoAbii

;~:~r~::f~~~~~~~~::;:~~~~;~;:::::~~.;;~!~E::

Hilla d. Khuwaylid, and Khadija was his aunt. Khadija had aske_d 1he
0

=~~e r~v~l~~i~~:~:,i~~- hf:::~~~ ~~~e;:;~:d =: ~~:::~;h::

Khadija used to regard him as her son. When God honoured His apostle -.6,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

with prophecy Khadija and her daughters believed in him and tt!ltified

pidthatshedidnotwishtogo, Hindofferedtogheheranythingshe

thath eha~b'"?ughtthetruthandfollowedhisreligion,thoughAbU' I -'~

:=::::h~t;zi:~~;~:;}~z~:::~:;:t:~~:r~;~oie~~l~~

persisted In h11 polytheism. Now the apostle had married Ruqayya or

Umm KulthUm to 'Utba b. AbU Lahab, and when he openly preaclied to
Quraysh the command of Cod and showed them hostility they reminded
oneanot.herthattheyhadrelie\edMuhammadofhiscareforhiadaughters
anddcctded to return themaothatheshould hnetheresponsibilityof
looking after them himself. They went to AbU'I-' ..t, and told him to
divorce his wife and they wou ld ghe him any woman he liked. He refused,
saying that he did not want any other woman from Quraysh; and I have
hcardthattheapostleusedtospeakwarmlyofhisact ion ua50n-in- law.
Then they went to 'Utba b. AbU Lahab with the same request and he
u.idthatiftheywouldgivehimthedaughterofAbinb.Sa'idb.al-'1\for
t~e daught~r of Sa'Td b. al-'A' he would divorce his wife, and when they
dtd 50 he (.hvorced her, not ha ving consummated the marriage. Thus Cod
:;ri~~r ~:~ him to her honour and his shame, and 'Uthm~n afterwards
Now the apostle had no powerofbindingand loosing in Mecca, his
circumstances being circumscribed. Islam had made a division between
ZaynabandherhusbandAbU'l-'~,buttheylivedtogether,Muslimand

unbeliever,untiltheapostlemigrated. AbU'l-'k,joinedtheexpeditionto
Badr and was captured among the prisoners and remained at Medina with
the apostle.
YaJ:tyl b. 'Abbld b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father 'AbMd told
me that 'A'isha uid: '\\'hen the Me<:cans sent to ransom their pri50ncrs,
Zaynab sent the money for AbU']-'~; with it she sent a necklace which
Kha~ija_ had ~hen her on her marriage to AbU'J.'.~. When the apostle
,..66 sawtthlsfeehngso\ercamehimandheaaid:"lfyouwoulrlliketo lether
havehercaptivehusbandbadandretumhermoneytoher,doso," The
peopleatonceagreedandtheylethimgoandsenthermoneyback.'
ZAYNAB SETS OUT FOR MEDINA

Now the apostle had imposed a condition on AbU'l-'.\t. or the latter had
undertakenitl'Oiuntarily-thefaclSwereneverclearlyestablished-that
he should let Zaynab come to him. At any rate, aher AbU'!-'.~~ had
reachedMeccatheapostleaentZaydb.l:farithaandoneofthe~rwith

instruetionstoatopinthe valleyofYijaj'untilZaynab pas.sed,andthento

accompany her back to him. About a month or 50 after Badr they went off
to take up their position. l\leanwhile AbU'!-'~ came to Mecca and told
Zaynab to rejoin her father, and she went out to make her preparations.
'Abdullahb.AbUBakrtoldmethathehadbeentoldthatZaynabsaid
that while she wu making her preparations shew~ met by Hind d. 'Utba
who inquired whethe~ she wu going off to r<:jojn Muhammad. When she
' About8n>ilto fromMoca..

ii~~i~ii-~~~~ig~~~~~;~~;g~r~ . ,
herwithhislanceasshesatinthehowdah. ltisallegedthatthewoman

;:,:::.~~~~ a~~;:~e~:~e.::e~~~~~~h~ :~~~a~ns:'ro~'::7i~~~J ~~

~~::~ ~~~~nf~~ ~~::.u 1~~nesA~~~u~;~! :::~ ~~~Q::o;h 7e~~~~
1

illI

an~~~~=~~~:~~:e:~~;-Khaythama, brother of B. S1lim b. 'Auf,

uidothisaffairofZaynab's(J93):

Tidings reached me of their wic~ed ~rea~ent of Zaynab,

So criminal that men could not 1magme 11.
Muhammad wu not put to shame when she \I.'U sent forth
Becauseoftheresu\tofthebloodywarbetweenus.
From his alliance with Qam4am' and his W2r with U.S
AbUSufyingotbutdisappointmentandremorse.
We bound his son 'Amr and h.is sworn friend together
lnwell-wroughtjanglingirorut.
l swearweshallnever\ack50ldiers,

~~l:~~~=:::i~:~r~~~~~-~~i;: =~~~~;~~e~n.
We will drive them to the ends of Najd and Nakhla.

,,,

The L1je of Muhammad

If they drop to the lowland we wiU pursue them with hone and foot
Sothatourroadwillneverdeviate.

~:.1:::~~~!~;~;::::::;:;:~~\~~r~~~~.um.
TellAbilSufy:lnifyoumecthim
' lfyouarenotsinccreinwonhip,and embracelslam
Then. ~ hame will c:ome on you apeedily in this life
And m hell you will wear a garment of molten pitch for eve r!' (394)

:~~~f:;~~~:i~:::~i~:L;~;~~:~~i,~:~;,r ::.::~::
Inpe_aceare.youwildasses-rough:mdcoarse
Andmwarhkt\\'Omenintheircourscs?

Kininab.al-Rabi'whenhehandedZaynabovertothe twomenaaid:

~V:~e~:f~::~r:~::::~::~~~~E~=~d?;sd~~~t:r.
Andaslongasmyhandcangraspmytrustyblade.

~t~:;~~:f~~~~;~g~ff~~~:I~f.~~[~~~:"Ef~

. . ~:h~i;g~g~f~.~;;~~:~!z:.~:,~:~:~~~;:":~~:~~
AB0'LA~ B. ALRAII!' BECOMES A MUSLIM

When ls~am t.hus ca~e be~ween them Abii'l-'Ji.~ lived in Mecca while

~i.~it~

Tht Lift of Muhammad

-and said 'Allah akbar' followed by all present, Zaynab cried from the

r~~-~~~b~~~. \\~~:;nl~;~~;:r~ ~~::~~:vt:~:~nr:u~~~~i~~~~b!:~

anda.skedthemiftheyhadheardwhathehadheard,andwhen.theysaid
that they had he swore that he knew nothing about the matter until
Zaynab made her dedanltion, adding, 'the me.anest Muslim can give
protection on their behalf'. Hewentofftoseehtsdaughterand told her
;;\\~r:7~~rh~~ guest but not to allow him to approach her for she was not
'Abdullahb.AbiiBakrtoldmethattheapoatlesenttotheraidingparty
whichhadtakenAbU'J.'Ji..,'sgoodssaying:'Thismanisrelatedtousa.s

ko~ ~~:w"~;~h~:~dh~~: :~~~

!iW~o:~t>:u~t~\~~~~ht~:t~~

Ju7rr;:u
given you and you have the bcuerright to it.' They replied that they
wouldwillinglygiveitba.clr.andtheywere.oscrupulousthatmenbrought
baclr.oldslr.insandlittleleatherboulesandevenalittlepieceofwooduntil
everything was returned and nothing withheld. Then Abii'l-'Ji.!f went to
Meccaandpaideveryonewhatwasdue,includingthosewhohadgiven
himmoneytolayout ontheirbehalf,andasltedthemifanyoneofthem
had any further elaim on him. 'No,' they said, 'God reward you; we have
foundyoubothtrustworthyandgenerous.' 'Thcn',saidhc,' l bcarwitness
that there i. no God but the God and that Muhammad is his servant and
hi. apostle. I would have become a Muslim when I was with him but that
I feared that you would think that 1 only wanted to rob you of your
property;andnowthatGodhasrestoredittoyouand I amclearofitf
submitmyselftoGod.' Thussayinghewentolftorejointheapostle.
D!i.wud b. al-J:Iup.yn from 'Ikrima from b. 'Abbb told me that the
apostlerestoredZaynabtohimaccordingtothefintm.arriage aftersix
yeanhadpastedwithoutanynewproccdure(J97)

470

ha~:~:;:; ~~=:~e;e~ A~;:.A:l::h:::~~~:;~:~rf:~~~:r ~;:~~

~~b~;~~h~~r.b:a~~~ ~a~~: ~~~~~l~~~~db[b~a~;~u~;J a::l:l!~~ .~f
B. al-I:U.rith b. al-Khuraj (He was left in their hsndt unul they let h1m
go, and he went to his people.) (398); $ayfl ~-AbU Rifl.'a b. ,'Abid b.
'Abdullah b. 'Umar b. Malr.hziim. (He was left m the handt ofhJ.S capton
and when no one came to ransom him they let him go on condition that
he should send his ransom, but he broke his word to them. }::lassin b.
Th!l.bitu.idinre.feren.cetothat:
$ayflisnotthemantofulfi.lhitpledge
Thebaclr.ofafoxtiredatsomewaterholeorother;
and Abii 'Azza 'Amr b. 'Abdullah b. 'Uthmln b. Uhayb b.I;Judh!l.fa b.

471

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

~};f~f.0.~g~~t~t~fE~H~;~~~~iFiE~:~
Who will tell the apostle Muhammad from me
Youaretrueand thedivineKingisto be praised I
Youcallmentotruthandrightguidance,
Godhimselfwitnessestoyou.
Youareamangivenaplaa:amongus
Towhichtherearestcpshardandeasy.
Thosewhofightyoudiemi~~erably,

Thosewhomakepeacelhehappily.
1

~~;w ."~ :e:~~r ~:!~a;~\-~~ !:f~~>'

The L1je of Muhammad

:andseizinghisbandoleerhegrippcdhimroundtheneckwithit. Hetold
the Antlr who were with him to rome in and tit with the apostle and to
watchtherucalcarefully,forhewasnottobetrusted. Whentheapostle
saw 'Umayr and 'Umar grasping the bandoleer round his neck he told
'Umar to let go and 'Umayr to advance. He Clime up and uid 'Good
morning', for that wuthe greeting of paganism. The apostle said, 'God 473
hashonoureduswithabettergrectingthanthine, 'Umayr. ItisSa/Qm,
the greeting of the inhabitants of Paradise.' ' Uy God, Muhammad, you
havetakentoitonlyrecently.'' 'Whatbroughtyou 1' ' I havecomeabout
this prisoneryouhavethatyoumaytreathimwell.' 'Thenwhyhaveyou
aswordroundyour neck?' 'God damn the swords. Havetheydoneus
anygoodf' 'Tellmethetruth. Whyhaveyoucomel' ' I cameonlyfor
the reason I have told you.' 'Nay, but you and $afwln b. Umayyasat
together in the&ijrandtalkedabouttheQunyshwhowerethrowninto
the well. Then you said "But for debu and family reasons I \\Vuld go and
kill Muhammad.'' And $afwan assumed responsibility for both if you
wouldkillmeforhim,but God inten<ened.' 'I teslifythat you are the
apostle of God. We used to call you~ liar when you brought us tidings
from heaven and we denied the re\elation you brought. But this is a
mattertowhichonly l and$afwinwereprivy,andnonecanhavetoldyou
of it but God. Praise be to God who has guided me to Islam and led me
thus.' Then he testified to the truth and theapostlesaid,'Instruct your
brother in hisre ligion,readtheQurantohim,andfreehisprisonerfor
him,'andtheydidao.
Thenhesaid,' l usedtobeactiveinextinguishingthelightofGodand
in persecuting those who followed God's religion. I should like you to
give me permission to go to Mea:a to summon them to God and His
apo:atleandtolslamthatperhapsGodmayguidethem;andifnot l w:ill
persecutethemintheirreligion:ulusedtopersecuteyourcompanions.'
The apostle agreed and he went to Mecca. When 'Umayr had left, ~fwin
was s.aying, 'You will soon have some good news which will make you
forget what happened at Badr.' $afwlnkeptquestioningridersuntilone
came who told him of 'Umayr's Islam, and he swore that he would never
speak to him again nor do him a service. When 'Umayr came to Mecca he
atayedthereaummoningpeopletolslamandtreatingthosewhoopposed
him violently so that through him many became Muslinu.
l was told that it w:u either 'Umayr or al-l;Urith b. Hishlm who s.aw the
devilwhenheturnedon hish eelsonthedayofBadrands.aid,'Whereare
yougoing,OSurJqa?' AndtheenemyofGodlayonthegroundanddis-

:~!;=~ ::;::~; t~::'lla:n:~~!n~i:~ 'Zn!u:~;:us;;:y ~::~

am your proteetor' 1 and he mentions how the devil deceived them and took

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

32 1

From B. Sahm: Nubayh and Munabbih sons of al-}:lajjij b. 'Amir by

From B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy: Suhayl b. 'Amr b. 'Abdu Shams (404).

THE QURAYSH WHO FED THE PILGRIMS

The names of the Quraysh who used to feed the pilgrims are as follows:

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Tlu Lift of Muhammad

be;:~l~ t~ ~d ~is";~~:~~-:c~,:~ ~n~'!~-:hz~;7;~t~ who

1

'Andtheyuenotitsguardians,itsgua'rdiansareonlytheGod-fearers.'
whooblen-eitsaanctityandpcrformpn.yerbyit. i.e. Youandthoacwho
believe in you
~utmost of them do _n~t know and their prayer at the temple.' i.e. By
::~~~~;e:f =:s!~:~~).l's kept from them, 'h nothing but whistling and
48o

And that iswhatGoddoes notapproveofand docs not like and what

.
theywere notordered todo.

b~:h':'~:.'!et;::~~;n~/~~ewb~~~l::~::dr~isbelicving.' i.e. When

He

~~~~:~2!~~:~:~.~l~~~~~i::~~:s~=:;~r2;::~~:

dcalwiththeliuslivingateate,andletthemalonefora little. We have

feuersandfireandfoodwhich chokcs,andapainfulpunishmcnt,'until
GodsmoteQun.)'!lhon thedayofBadr(.~o6).
Then God said,

'6~~l~x!:~l~~~:~~::;gw\~:~u~~:l~!s:~ ~~~ ~:i:l~

of
.:::;.
come, and those who disbelieve will be gathered to Hell.' He means those

:h~h::n~~;c~!Ud~;y:~da~~ e:~~~: o~e\~e ~~=Y:7t~~~ ~:~:;o::~

againsttheapostle,andtheydid80.

~~~~:~;~;~=::::::~~~:~=;:~:~t~.;~~~~:~::p~
~en

He

~id,

'Fight them 80 that there is no more pcn!C:eution,l and

~E~:t~:~~~~ ~~!~~:~~~:;:;~~.~= ::rn; ~r;:~:~

~ ;,~;~E~~l~~~~:~;~if;~;::~~~~;"h:~;'!i;:;t:
'Afinefriend,andafine hclpcr.'

:i~~g~fi~~:~;g;~~tJ~g~g~~;

downtoOurservantonthedayofjllTq4n,thedaythetwoannicsmet;and

so... 7 J.and -

'Norm~~lly.......,alilJwouklrMon'therMnofold'.

~filM.

Thio wordcontoino tMidn oofpoi nfulirill,ul>elliofl,ondHduction.

The Life of Muhammtld

Godilabletodoallthings,'i.e.the dayidividcdbetwttnthctrueand the

~ ~~~ ~:;: :7~e~?r : : :~t~~~:;~:J:e~~;.~;;.e:f~~~

wadi towanb Mecca 'and the caravan wu below you,' i.e. the caravan of

AbUSu~whichyouhadgoneouttocaptureandthey hadgoneoutto

protectWithoutanyappo~tmcntbetwecnyou. 'Aitdifyouhadarnnged
tomeet youwouldhavefailedtomect,'i.e.hadyouarn.nged tomeetand
thenyouhadheardoftheir multitudecomparedwithyourfo rceyou would
nothlvemet them;'butthatGodmightaccomplishathingthathadto
be done,' i.e. that He might accomplish what He willed in His power,
namclytoeultislamanditsfollowenandtoabasethcunbelievenwithout
yo_ur fighting hard. He did what He willed in His goodness. Then He
ll!d:'thathewhodiedahoulddiewithaclearproofand he who lived
ahould livebyaclearproof. Godila Hearer,aKnower,'i.e.thathcwho

=~e~ ~o;hde ~~h~:~:V~e:~:~~C:~i::;~;;rc =e=t~hich

t~:C :~;:~;;a~~yCS:e~df:~ ~~t~"A!o~ru:h~~:~

sh!!:
theeaamanyyouwouldhavefailedandquarrelledoverthealfair;butGod
uved you. He knows what is within the breasts.' What God showed him

:':~~~to~~: ~ah:~:~~~w!:~:~ae;e~~;~~~e~ea!ai:::roC:~::r;
~::":=u;:::ee~~;:~tf:S~~;~;:~~~rr!nw~enl:

;:

thatGodmightaccomplishathingthathadtobedone,'i.e.tounitethem
forwartotakevengeancconwhomHewitledandto ahowfavourtothole
Whom He willed 80 to bless, who were of the number of Hit friends.
Then He admonilhed and instructed and taught them how they ought
to conduct their wan and u id: '0 believen, when you meet an army' whom
you fight in thewayofGod 'Stand.firmand remember God often' to

~~o;::.;~::~;,o~l::;~r;~ f:i:e.:;lea~~~:n;~e~~~-=
you fail,' i.e. donotquarrel sothatyouralfainbecomedisordered'and
yourspiritdepan,' i.e. yourbn.verygo,'and be steadfast. God is with
thesteadfut,'i.e.Iamwithyouwhenyoudothat.'Andbenotlikethose
wh~ went fonh from their homes boastfully to be ectn of men,' i.e. do not
be hke AbU Jahl and his companiont who uid, 'We will not go bad unti l
wehavebccntoBadrandslaughteredcamclsthereanddrunkwineand
the ainging girt. have made music for us and the Arabs will hear of it,' i.e.
letnot~ralfairbeout>:'-ardshowandtheaubjcctofgossip,norcon-

~:~::~:~fa~~:~~~;::;r~~~r~~::~~:::~~~:-:~:;~?:
madetheirdeedsectmgoodtothemandsaid,"Nomancanconqueryou
today for i amyourpro!ector"'(i o8).

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

Tht Life of Muhammad

Then God ~entions the unbclievc~ and what they will meet when they
die,anddescnbesthem,andtellsHtsprophetaboutthemuntilHesays:

:~~~.:~:ll~~~h:~~h!;,;~~e:e.!;~~:h::n::.~r~~~~~=e : ::~!~
1

exampleofthemtothosethatoomeafter,thathaplytheymayundersund.
'Andprepa~whatstrengthyoucanagainstthem,andca\-:alrybywhicl\

you may stnlr.e terror into the enemy of God and your enemy' as far u His

words,'AndwhateveryouspendinthewayofGodwillbcn:paidtoyou
you will not be wronged,' i.e. you will not lose your reward with God in
the nut life and a npid recompense in this world. Then He said, 'And if
theyinclinetopeaceinclinethoutoit,'i.e.iftheyaskyouforpeaceonthe
basis o~ Islam then make peace on that basis, 'and rely on God,' verily
.SJ God wtlla~ffice thee, 'He 11 the Hearer, the Knower' (409). 'And if they
:-oulddecetvethee,Godi.taufficientforthee,'Hebeingbehindthee,'He
1

:~e~e~~~~:~~!::e ;he:mw~~~~i~~:i'b~~e ;~e: ::~ !~i~eG~

aenttheetothem. 'Hadstthouapentalltheworld'swea.lththouha&tnot
made .them of one mind but Cod made them of one mind' by His religion
to whtch He gathered them. 'He is mighty, wise.'
ThenHesaid:'Oprophet,Godissufficientfortheeandthebelievers

~e::;l!~;:d~~:on~ ~:~~:\~:~~~ ~~~~~~~:;c::;ot!!~~n~~e~,e:;ri~

hisenemieauntilhedrivesthemfromtheland. 1 'Youdeairethe lureof

thisworld,'i.e:iugoods,theransomofthecaptives. 'ButGoddeairesthe
next world,' i.e. tneir killing them to manifest the religion which He wishes
to manifest and by which the next world may be attained. 'Had there not
previously been a bookfromGodtherewould havecomeuponyou for
whatyoutook,'i.e.prisoner~~andbooty,'anawful punishment,' i .e.hadit

notpreviouslygoneforthfromMethatlwouldpunishonlyafteraprohibi
tion-and He had not prohibited them-1 would have punished you for
what you did. Then He made it lawful to him and to them as a mercy from
Him and a gift from the Compassionate, the Merciful. He said, 'So enjoy
what you ha\ecapturedaslawful andgood,andfearCod. Godi.tFor
giving, Merciful.' Then He said: '0 prophet, Say to those captives in
yourhan&,lfGodknowsanygoodinyourheartsHewillgiveyouaome
thingbetterthanthatwhichhasbeentakenfrom youandGodwill pardon
you. GodiaForgiving,Merciful.'
He incited the Musliii13 to unity and made the Refugees andthe Helpers 485
friendsinreligionandtheunbeliever~~friendsoneofanothe r. T hen He
said:'Ifyoudonotdoao,therewillbeconfusioninthe landandagreat
corruption,'i.e.unlessbeliever becomea friendofbelievertotheexclusion
oftheunbeliever eventhoughheisofhiskin. 'The rewill beconfuaioni n
the land,' i.e. doubtaboutthetrueandthefalaeandtheriseofcorruption
~ l ~::e ~~nd if the believer takes the side of t he unbeliever against t he

thereareahundredofyoutheywillovercomeathousandunbelieler~~for

484

~~:~~~ n:rn:~e;-:re;~~~;i~d~~e!r~h:~~::~"!hd a!~i~~~i~.tion nor

'Abdullah b. AbU Naj!J:a from 'Atil' b. AbU Ribl!). from 'Abdullah b.
'Abbb told me that when this verse came down it came as a shock to the

~~~s!i:n~t;:dt~~:ta~~!~=~~";;;b;;:~:~;ea;:~:;~~ ::!~t;~:;
versewithanotheru.ying:'NowhasGodrelievedyouand Hekno..,'Sthat

:~~~::~=EiE~{~d2~7~~~~:e:~;;d:~::;~,:~
::;~~~~~:~:~~t~~~i:~~;=~~!~ey~::~~: ~;:~~~;

~~!~Wffu~

fro'!~~:~;~~~::t~t~: ~a!' !a7c~~~~~;e~~o;~:~~:?i~;~~~~~~~:;

Then He assigned inheritances to next of kin of thoae who became

Musliii13afterthefriendshipbetween Refugeeaand Helpcr11andsaid:'And
thosewhobelievedafterwardsandmigratedandstrovealongwithyouthey
areofyou;andthosewhoareakinarenearertooneanotherinGod'sbook,'
i.e.ininheritancc'Godknowethallthings'.
THE MUSL I MS WHO WERE P RESENT AT BADR

The names of those who were present at Badr are: Of Qun.yah of B.

Hbhim b. 'Abdu Manaf and B. aJ. r.."iunalib b. 'Abdu Manlf b. Outayy b.
~~?n~~:1urra b. Ka'b b. Lu'ayy b. Ghllib b. Fihr b. Mllik b. alNa4r
Muhammad, God's apostle the lord of the aent ones, b. 'Abdullah b.
'Abdu'IMunalib b. Hashim ; l:lamza b. 'Abdu'l-Munalib b. Hbhim, the
lion of God and of His apostle, the apo5tle's uncle; ' Ali b. AbU Tilib b.
'Abdu'J.i\Junalib b. HAshim; Zayd b. l:llritha b. Shun.J:abll b. Ka'b b.
'Abdu'J.'Uzzl b. lmru'u'l.Qays alKalbl (410); Anasa the apot.tle't freed 486
man; and AbU Kabsha likewise (.p t); AbU Marthad Kannh b.l:litn b.
1 Cornm<ntatOnnplointhaoitloi<J.6,.huerntan~'red""IOotnito',butinviewofwhat
I bn iohlq 1oe1 on '""Y thio io improbo.ble, and in view of what T( H7) H pOrtO from him
NS..lamoirnpopiblc:whenthe,.ordo' i<ionot foronyproplle!,&c.'comedown<h<opOitlo
ooid,lfpuniohmn!hodcomedownfromhHven,noncwouldet<:opeitbutS..'db.Mu'ldh
bea.uoeheooid,'lwouldntherbe oloua:hteredinbottlethonbe opored !oliveomona:men'

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

Yarbii' b. 'Arnr b. Yarbii' b. Kharasha b. Sa'd b. Tarifb. Jilliln b.,Ghanm

b. Ghaniy b. Ya'~ur b. Sa'd b. Qays b. 'Ayliln (~.12), and his !!OR Marthad
b.AbiiMarthad,allicsofl;lamza;'Ubaydab.a1-l::lii.rithb.a1-Munalib,
and his two brothers ai-Tufayl and ai-I:lu~ayn; and Mistal:l whose name
was 'Auf b. Uthitha b. 'AbMd b. al-M unalib. Total n men.
Of B. 'Abdu SharJU1 b. 'Abdu Manif: 'Uthman b. 'AfD.n b. Abu'!-'~ b.

Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams; (He stayed behind on account of his wife

Ruqayyatheapostle'sdaughter,sotheapostleassignedhimhisportion.
He asked 'And my reward (from God) u well? 'Yes', said the apostle.)
AbU Hudhayfa b. 'Utba b. Rabi'a b. 'Abdu Shams, and Sil.lim his freedman

(PJ). They allege that $ubay]:l freedman of AbU'I-'A' b. Umayyagot ready

1

~al~;~c~-~~tt:~-= ~. b~~~:~~~~i~~~~~o~~~~~~r h~~ ~7:~z~~~

Afterwards$ubayl:lwaspresentatalltheapostle'sbattles.
Of B. 'Abdu Shams's allie., of B. Asa.d b. Khuzayma: 'Abdullah b.
J a.l:lsh b. Ri'lb b. Ya'mar b. $abra b. Murra b. Kabir b. Ghanm b. DUdlln;
-+37 'Ukklsha b. Mil:l,an b.l;lurthln b. Qa~ b. Murra b. Kabir b. Ghanm b.
DUdln; Shujll' b. Wahb b. Rabi'a b. Asa.d b. $uhayb b. MAlik b. Kabir,

~~an: ~i=h~~ ;Yu~:~ ~:Q~~ ~:~~e~ ~uti:r~h~ ~~~~~.~~

his son Sinln b. AbU Sinln; and Mul:lriz b. Na(,lla b. 'Abdullah b. Murra
~b~~th~:. ~:X:n~ Aktbam b. Sakhbara b. 'Amr b. Lukayz b.
Of the allies of B. K.abTr: Thaqf b. 'Amr and hia two brothen Mlllik
and Mudlij (P4) They belonged to the B. l;lajr, a dan of B. Sulaym;
AbUMakhthianallyoftheira(.t-15) Total16men.
Of B. Naufal b. 'Abdu Manlf: 'Utba b. Ghazwln b. jlbir b. Wabb b.
Nusayb b.' Mllik b. al-l;llrith b. Milzin b. Man,ur b. 'lkrima b. KhaJtafa
b. Qa~ b. 'Aylln; and Khabbib freedman of 'Utba. Total 2 men.
Of B. Asad b. 'Abdu'l-'Uzz.A b. QWJayy: al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwm b.
Khuwaylid b. Asad;l;lltib b. AbU Balta'~; and Sa'd freedman of l;lltib
(416). TotalJmen.
Of B. 'Abdu'l-Dlr b. Qusayy: Mu,'ab b. 'Umayr b. Hbhim b. 'Abdu
Manlf and Suwaybit b. Sa'd b. l;luraymila b. Mllik b. 'Umayla b. ai-

Sa~~~:.bi~~::~:l~~t)'~~:.l~~mln

b. 'Auf b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. 'Abd

b. al-l;llrith b. Zuhra; Sa'd b. AbU Waqqa,, who was Milik b. Uhayb b.
8 'Abdu Manlf b. Zuhra, and his brother 'Umayr. Of their allies: al-

Miqdid b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. MAlik b. Rabi'a b. Thumil.ma b. MatrUd b.

'Amr b. Sa'd b. Zuhayr b. Thaur b. Tha'laba b. Mllik b. al-Sharid b.
Hu.l b. Ql'ish b. Duraym b. al-Qayn b. Ahwad b. Bahrl' b. 'Amr b. all;llf b. Qu(,li'a (417) and Dahlr b. Thaur; and 'Abdullah b. Mas'Ud b. all;llritb b. Shamkh b. MakhzUm b. $1hila b. Klhil b. al-l;llrith b. Tamim
b. Sa'd b. Hudhayl; Mas'Ud b. Rabi'a b. 'Amr b. Sa'd b. 'Abdu'I-'Uzzi b.
J:lamila b. Ghilib b. MuJ.tallim b. 'A'idha b. Subay' b. al-HUn b. Khu-

The Lzfe of Muhammad

Tlu Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

had gone fonh to war with his father Suhayl and when the people camped

AbU'lAqlal;t b. Ifma b. i\lilik b. Amat b. l;)u~Niy'a-and Mu'attib b.

Qushayr b. Mulayl b. Zayd b. ai-'Anlif b. J;>ubay'a; and AbU Mulayl b.
aJ <\z"ar b. Zayd b. al-'Aniif; and 'Umar b. Ma'bad b. al-Az'ar, &c. (.o8);
and Sahl b. t)unayf b. Wiihib b. ai-'Ukaym b. Tha'laba b. Majda'a b. 1.1l:llirith b. 'Amr who was called Ba_J:tzaj b.l:lanash b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. 'Auf.
Totals men.
Of ll. Umayya b. Zayd b. Malik: Mubashshir b. 'Abdu'I-Mundhir b.
Zanbar b. Zayd b. Umayya and Rifil.'a his brother; Sa'd b. 'Ubayd b.
al- Nu'mil.n b. Qays b. 'Amr b. Zayd b. Umayya; 'Uwaym b. Sil.'ida ; R:Ui'
b. 'Unjuda (439); and 'Ubayd b. AbU 'Ubay~; and Tha'l~ba b.I;Iiitib. It
ill alleged that AbU Lubaba b. 'Abdu'l-Mundh1rand al-l:liinth b. l:f ii!ibwent
outwiththeapostle,andhesentthemback,puttingtheformerinchargeof
Medina. Hega\'ethembothsharesinthebootyofBadr(+to). Total9men
Of B. 'Ubayd b. Zayd b. Milik: Unays b. Qatlda b. R:..bi'a b. Khiilid
b. ll-l:llirithb. 'Ubayd:oftheirBililllies: Ma'nb. 'Adlyb.al-Jadd b.
al-'Ajlln b. J;>ubay'a; Thiibit b. Aqram b. Tha'laba b. 'Adiy b. al-'AjU.n;
'Abdullahb.Salamab.Mllikb.al-l:llirithb. 'Adlyb.ll-'Ajlln;Zaydb.
Aslam b. Tha'laba b. 'Adiy b. al-'Ajlln; Rib'! b. Riifi' b. Zayd b.ij~ritha.
b. al-Jadd b. 'Ajlln. 'A4im b. 'Adiy b. al-Jadd b. ai-'AjU.n went fonh to
fightbuttheapoltleaenthimback,afterwardtgivinghimhisshareofthe
booty. Total7men.
Of B. Tha'laba b. 'Amr b. 'Auf: 'Abdullah b. Jubayr b. al-Nu'mlin b.
Umayya b. al-Burak whose name was Imru'ul-Qays b. Tha'laba; and
'.\fim b. Qay (4-p); and AbU OayyiiJ:t b. Thlibit b. ai-Nu'mln b. Umayya,
&c.; and AbU l:fanna (W); and SJ.lim b. 'Umayr b. Thlbit b. ai-Nu'mln,
&c. (4-43); and al-i;U.rith b. ai-Nu'mil.n b. Umayya, &c.; and Khawwit b.
Ju bayrb.ai-Nu'mlnwhomtheapostleg2\"eathareofthebooty. Total
7men.
Of B. JaJ:tjabl b. KuHa b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. 'Auf: Mundhir b. Muhammad
b. 'Uqbab. Ui;layJ:tab. ai-J ula.J:t b.al-l:larlsh b. Jai;ljabii b. Kulfa(+U);
and of their allies from the B. Unayf: AbU 'Aqll b. 'Abdullah b. Tha'laba
b. Bayi;llin b. 'Amir b. al-l:lilrith b. Mlilik b. 'Amir b. Unayf b. Jusham b.
'Abdullah b. Taym b. l rlish b. 'Amir b. 'Umayla b. Qasmil b. Farlin b.
Bali b. 'Amr b. al- l:IH b. QuQli'a (445). Total2 men.
Of 11. Ghanm b. al-Salm b. Imru'ul-Qays b. Mllik b. al-A us: Sa'd b.
Khaythama b. al-l:l~rith b. Malik b. Ka'b b. al-Nai;IJ:tiit b. Ka'b b.ijlritha
b. Ghanm; and Mundhir b. Qudiima b. 'Arfaja; and Milik b. Qudiima h.
'Arfaja(446);and al-l:liirith b. 'Arfaja;and Tamlm freedman of the B.
Ghanm(4-47). Totals men.
Of B. Mu'iwiya b. Miilik b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. 'Auf: Jab r b. 'Atik b. all:'lirith b. Qays b. Haysha b. al-l:llrith b. Umayya b. Mu'iwiya; and
Mllik b. Numayla an ally from Muz.ayna; and al-Nu'mlin b. ~r, a Bali
ally. Totll3men.
The total number of Aus who fought at Badr with the apostle and of
thoaewhowereghena1hareofthebootywas61 men

;~2;~-~~:};~~n~=~~ ;:~~~7::::~!~ ~:~ ~~~~~:~h!~l;i:;>,~:~

Of B. al-l:Urith b. Fihr: AbU 'Ubayda b. ai-JarriJ:t who was 'Amir b.
'Abdullah b. ai-JarriiJ:t b. HiiM b. Uhayb b. !;>abba b. al-l:liirith; and 'Amr
b.al-l:liirithb.Zuhayrb.AbUShaddiidb.Rabi'ab.Hilalb.Uhayb,&c.;and
Suhayl b. Wahb b. Rabi'a b. H il~l, &c., and his brother $afwil.n who were the

tw~~n~:~~ ~~!~~:~ ~~em~!ig~~::~\~hoHt:~ b~~~h:~~h;~:::~~ :e~~dr

towhomthe apostleallotted haresinthebootywas8Jmen(-no).
THE HELPERS AND THEIR ADHERENTS WHO WERE AT BAOR

Of ll-Aus b.l:liiritha b. Tha'laba b. 'Amr b. 'Amir of the subdivision B

'Abdu'I-Ashhll b. Jusham b. ai-I;Urith b. al-Khazraj b. 'Amr b. Mllik b.
ai-Aus: Sa'd b. Mu'Jdh b. ai-Nu'miin b. l mru'ui-Qays b. Zayd b. 'Abdu'IA5hhal; 'Amr b. Mu'lidh b. al-Nu'miin; al-l:llirith b. Aus b. l\1u'iidh b. al49a

:~rj-; ~~~a~dl:l:.ri~a~b -~~~~~d~~~~~h~~~~~~~~ayd b. M llik b.

Zu~~;a-; ~~~~liii~ ~~~~~~~A:h~~!~:;~) ~-S~l~~~~-b~~~~;r:; ~~~~:; ~:
Thiiblt b. Waqash; Rlfi' b. Yuid b. Kurz b. Sakan b. Za'Urli; al- l:l lirith
b. Khaz.ama b. 'Adiy b. Ubayy b. Ghanm b. Siilim b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. 'Auf

~~i~}~f~I~~~~if~t:~i~~~!~~~I~~~
~~{~~~~::~~-~:::~)~~~~0~~::b~!~~ ~-- ~;~4d~:~bd ~J~~y~~~~r 1~!5~~

Of ll. 'Abd b. Rizii.J:t b. Ka'b: Nqr b. al-l:llirith b. 'Abd and Mu'attib b .

. ,~~r!,~l~~~),;i~~:~~!I~f:~i7~~1B~;~~~~;l~1~l:
~l;~:r~li~i~~b~h~h~-b~~~~~~~~~~~-~A~~~~~-tA~~~~~~q~~:
Za~! :: ~~;i~ bb. -~~f~-~~ii!~ ~: ~~~f~ 8A~i~eb~~~~i~fb~-Q~~:~6a~~

Tlu Lift of Muhammtui

Of Kha.zn.j b.l:lilritha b. Tha'lal b. 'Amr b. '.i\mir of the tribe of B.
l:lilrithsubdil'i.ion B. Imru'ui-Qaysb.Millikb.Tha'labab, IU'bb.aiKhazn.j b. al-l;Urith b. ai-Khazn.j: Khlrija b. Zayd b. AbU Zuhayr b.
M:Ilik b. l mru'ul-Qaya; Sa'd b. Rabl b. 'Amr b. AbU Zuhayr, &c.; 'Abdullah b. Rawill;la b. Tha'laba b. Imru'ui-Qays b. 'Amr b. lmru'ui-Qays;
Khallild b. Suwayd b. Tha'Jaba b. 'Amr b. l;Uritha b. Imru'ul-Qays.
Total4men.
OfB.Zaydb.Millikb.Tha'lalb.Ka'bb.al-Khazn.jb.al-l:llrithb.
~i-~~~t!~t;!:e!.' Tha'laba b. Khilill b. Zayd (<J4.8) and his brother
i96

Of B. 'Adiy b. IU'b b. al-Khnn.j b. al-l;llrith b. al-Khnn.j: Subay' b.

Qays b. 'Aysha b. Umayya b. Millik b. 'Amir b. 'Adiy; and 'Abbild b.
Qays b. 'Aysha, his brother (9); and 'Abdullah b. 'Abs. Totai J men.
Of B. ~mar b.l;liritha b. Tha'laba b. Ka'b b. al-Khazn.j b. al-l;Urith
b. ai-Khazn.j: Yn.Td b. al-l;llrith b. Qays b. Mill.ik b. ~mar who was
knownaslbnFutQum(450). Total I man
Of B. Jusham b. al-l;llrith b. al-Khazn.j and Zayd b.al-l:lirith who
were twin brothert: Khubayb b. IJAb. 'Itaba' b. 'Amr b. Khadlj b. 'Amir
b. Jusham; 'Abdullah b. Zayd b. Tha'laba b. 'Abdu Rabbihi b. Zayd; and
hisbrotherl;Iuraythsotheyallcge;andSufyinb.Bashr(451).s Total4

Ot B. J idira b. 'Auf b. al-l:lilrith b. ai-Khazraj: Tamim b. Ya'ir b. Qays

b. 'Adiy b. Umayya b. Jidlra; 'Abdullah b. 'Umayr of the B. l:llritba
(452); Zayd b. ai-Muzayyan b. Qays b. 'Adly b. Umayya b. }idlra (453);
and 'Abdullah b. 'Urfu1a b. 'Adiy b. Um.ayya b. Jidiln.. Total 4 men.
Of B. al-Abjar b. 'Au b. al-l:lirith b. ai-Khu.raj: 'Abdullah b. Rabi' b.
Qays b. 'Amr b. 'Abbild b. al-Abjar. Totalr man.
Of B. 'Auf b. al-Khnraj of the dan of B. 'Ubayd b. Millilr. b. Silim b.
497 Ghanm b. 'Auf who were the B. al-l;lubli (454): 'Abdullah b. 'Abdullah
b. Ubayyb.Milikb.al-l:larithb.'Ubaydbcstlr.nownasb. SaiUI. Sa!UI
was a woman, the mother of Ubayy; and Aus b. Khauli b. 'Abdullah b.
aiI:Iarithb.'Ubayd. Total2men.
Of B. Ja.z' b. 'Adiy b. Malilr. b. Ghanm: Zayd b. Wadi"a b. 'Amr b.
Qays b. Jaz'; 'Uqba b. Wahb b. Kalada, an ally from the B.'Abdullah b.
Ghatafiln; Rifi'a b. 'Amr b. Zayd b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. Millik b. Sllim
b. Ghanm; 'Amir b. Salama b. 'Amir, an ally from the Yaman (Hs);Abli
~lumayQa Ma'bad b. 'Abbad b. Quahayr b. al-l\'luqaddam b. Slllim b.
Ghanm (-'fS6); and 'Amir b. al-Bukayr, an ally (457). Total6 men.
Of B. Sillim b. 'Auf b. 'Amr b. al-Kha:mj of the dan of B. al-'Ajlin b.
Zayd b. Ghanm b. Salim: Naufal b. 'Abdullah b. Nac;lla b. Millilr. b. aJ.
'Ajlln. Total I man.
Of B. ~ram b. Fihr b. Tha'laba b. Ghanm b. Silim b. 'Au (isS):
Oc, Arofot not<t tho.tthe usu.olfonn ofth io nome io BU.hrondtluttinhit T<IIHI/tffW,

haoN' ..c. [Thi o lauuio inq;=mrnt"itiiA.Oh... ,.-.n .. ul.l

The Lift of Muhammad

The Life of Muhommad

~~t~:~~~~;ul!~~ h;~:~;~n:_J~j~~~~;~~~-!- ~~=>j~~ant~j~~ri!~

B.DuhmJn(.47z). Total9men.

his :!;h~~~;~ ~A~!~a~ ~~~~!'~~:-:::~dt~~~~~::~~;~) ~=~~~~~a~~~~

0

~: ~~~~~~~a\~~~b~~J~~-~~~yb(~~4~~ya~;-~~a~i;:~ ~~~ J:~~~\:~rayb:

SOl

so~

l:larJm b. Rabi'a b. 'Adiy b. Ghanm b. Ka'b b. Salima (475); and 'Abdullah

b. Qays b. $111thr b.J:Iarim b. Rabl'a b. 'Adiy b. Ghanm. Total 7 men.
Of B. ai-Xu"miln b. Sinin b. 'Ubayd: 'Abdullah b. 'Abdu Manif b.
ai-Nu'miln ; and Jibir b. 'Abdullah b. Ri'Jb b. ai-Nu'mAn; and Khul.ayda
b. Qays and ai-Nu'mmn b. Sin~n their freedman. Total 4 men.
Of B. Sawad b. Chanm b. Ka'b b. Salima, of the clan of B. J:ladida b
'Amr b. Ghanm b. Saw!d (.1-76): Abii'I-Mundhir Yazid b. 'A.mirb. l:ladida,
Sulaym b. 'Amr; Qutba b. 'A.mir, and 'Antara freedman of Sulaym b.
'Amr(477). Total4men
Of B. 'Adiy b. Nilbi b. 'Amr b. Sawld b. Ghanm: 'Abs b. 'A.mir b.
'Adiy; and Tha'l.aba b. Ghanama b. 'Adiy; and Abli'l-Y:asar Ka"b b. 'Amr
b. 'AbWd b. 'Amr b. Ghanm b. Saw:Od; and Sahl b. Qays b. AbU Ka'b
b: al-Qayn b. Ka'b b. Sawid; and 'Amr b. Talq b. Zayd b. Umayya b.
Sman b. Ka'b b.Ghanm; and Mu'lldh b. jabal b. 'Amr b. Aus b. 'A.'idh
b. 'Adiy b. Ka'b b. 'Adly b. Udayy b. Sa'd b. 'Ali b. And b. Sllrida b.
Tazid b. Jusham b. al-Khazraj b. I:Uritha b. Tha'laba b. 'Amr b. 'A.mir
(478). Total 6 men. Those who smashed the idols of B. Salima were
M~'idh b. Jabal; 'Abdullah b. Unays; and Tha.'laba b. Ghanama, they
beingamongB.Saw:Odb.Ghanm.
Of B. Zurayq b. 'A.mir b. Zurayq b. 'Abdu I:Uritha b. M:.lik b. Gha.;lb
b. jusham b. ai-Khazrajofthe dan ll. Mukhallad b. 'A.mir b. Zurayq (4i9)
Qays b. Mil,t~n b. Khalid b. Mukhallad (48o); and AbU Kh!ilid al-l:lilrith
b. Qays b. Khllid b. l\-lukhallad and Jubayr b. l yyb b. KM!id b. Muk
ballad; and Abll 'Ublda Sa'd b. 'Uthmftn b. Khalada b. Mukhallad and
his brother 'Uqba b. 'Uthmin, &c.; and DhakwJn b. 'Abdu Qays b.
Khalada b. Mukhallad; and Mu'Ud b. Kha\ada b. '.J,mir b. Mukhallad.
Total7rnen.
T~l ~-;;~lid b. 'Amir h. Zurayq: 'Abbid b. Qays b. '.l.mir b. Khilid.
Of B. Khalada b. 'A.mirb. Zurayq: As'ad b. Yazid b. ai-Bkih b. Zayd b.
Khalada; and ai-Flkih b. Bishr b. ai-F~kih b. Zayd b. Khalada (481);
and Mu'Adh b. 1\li"i~ b. Qays b. Khalada and his brother 'A'idh; and
Mas"lid b. Sa'd b. Qays b. Khalada. Total 5 men.
Of B. al-'Ajlln b. 'Arnr b. 'A.mir b. Zurayq: RiO.' a b. Rifi' b. ai-'Ajl~n
and his brother Khallid; and 'Ubayd b. Zayd b. 'A.rnir b. ai-'A.jliin.
Tota!Jmen.
Of B. Bay~Qa b. 'A.rnir b. Zurayq: Ziyld b. Labid b. Tha'la~ b.
Sinan b. 'Amir b. 'Adly b. Umayya b. BayiQa; and Farwa b. 'Amr b.

335

;;~J:~~~~~:~.~~f~&;:~:k;E~;~;f::~:i:i:~~~~1~
Of B.J:Iabib b. 'Abdu I:Uritha b.l\Uiik b. Gha.;!b b. J usham b. aJ.Khazraj:
Rlfi' b. aJ.J\1u' all~ b. Laudhiin b. J:I iritha b. 'Adiy b. Zayd b. Tha'laba b.
Total I man.

ZayduMan~tb.J:Iabib.

~~e cl~a~;rB~~ h;~ !~Y~~:~hb.b~l~:~l:rb:fb;h::~~~:~~:a;~~

8

of
Tha'laba b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. Ghanm: AbU Ayyii.b Khalid b. Zayd b.
Kul.aybb.Tha'laba. Totalrman.
Of B. 'Uaayra b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. Ghanm: Thlbit b. Khi!id b. ai-Nu'mln
b. Khansa'b.'Usayra{485). Total r man.
Of B. 'Amr b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. Ghanm: 'Um~ra b. J:lazm b. Zayd b.
~~~~~o~~~:::~~nd Surlqa b. Ka'b b. 'Abdu'I-'Uz.zll b. Ghaziya b.

Of B. 'Ubayd b. Tha'laba b. Ghanm: f:l iritha b. a!-Nu'm:On b. Zayd

b. 'Abid; and Su\aym b. Qay b. Qahd who was Khalid b. Qaya b. 'Abid soJ
(J6). Tmalzmen.
Of B. 'A.'idh b. Tha'laba b. Ghanm (48j): Suhayl b. Rifi' b. AbU 'Amr
b. 'A.'idh; 'Adiy b. al-Raghbi', an ally from Juhayna. Total z men.
Of B. Zayd b. Tha'laba b. Ghanm: Mu'Ud b. Aus b. Zayd; and AbU
Khuzayma b. Aus b. Zayd b. ~ram b. Zayd; and Riifi' b. aiJ:I~rith b.
Sawidb.Zayd. Total3men.
Of B. Sawld b. M~lik b. Ghanm: 'Auf and Mu'awwidh and Mu'ldh
10nsofal-l:llrith b. Rif:.'a b. Sawld by'Afrili (-488);and ai-Nu'm:.n b.
'Amrb. Rifa'ab. Saw:Od(489);and 'A.mirb.Mukhallad b.al-l:llrith b.
Saw~d; and 'Abdullah b. Qays b. Khlilid b. Khalada b. al.J:IIrith; and
'U$ayma an ally from Ashja'; and Wadi'a b. 'Amr an ally from Juhayna;
and Thllbit b. 'Amr b. Zayd b. 'Adly. They allege that Abll'll~ amrJ',
freedman of al-l~:lrith b. 'Afra' was at Badr (490). Total 10 men.
Of B. 'A.mir b. M:.lik b. al-Najj:Or, 'A.mir being Mabdhlil of the clan
of B. 'Atik b. 'Amr b. MabdhUI: Tha'Jaba b. 'Amr b. Mi~ b. 'Amr b.
'Atik; and Sahl b. 'Atik b. 'Amr b. ai-Nu'mln;and aJ.l~irith b. al-$imma
b. 'Amr; his leg was broken at al-Raul,t~' and the apostle gne him his
aharcinthebooty. T otaiJmen.
Of B. 'Amr b. Mllik b. ai-Najjlr, the B. l:ludayla, of the clan of B.
Qays b. 'Ubayd b. Zayd b.Mu'lwiya b. 'Amr b.M~lik b. aJ.Najjlr (491)
~=::b. Ka'b b. Qaya; and Anu b. Mu'Adh b. Anas b. Qays. Total so4
Of B. 'Adiy b. 'Amr b. 1\Uiik b. ai-Najj~r (491): Aus b. Th:.bit b. alMundhir b. J:larilim b. 'Amr b. Zaydu Manit b. 'Adiy; and Abli Shaykh
Ubayy b. Th~bit b. a!-Mundhir b.l;larilim b. Zaydu Manit b. 'Adly (493);
and AbU Tall;la who was Zayd b. Sahl b. ai-Aswad b.J:Iarim b. 'Amr b.
ZayduManltb.'Adly. Totai Jmen.

336

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Of B. 'Adiy b. al-Najj~r o the clan of B. 'Adiy b. '.Amir b. Ghanm b.

al-Najjlir: l:liritha b. Surliqa b. al-l;1~rith b. 'Adiy b. Miilik b. 'Adiy b.
'Amir; 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. Wahb b. 'Adiy b. 1\Ulik b. 'Adiy b. 'Amir
known as Abii l~aklm; Sali! b. Qays b. 'Amr b. 'Atik b. Malik b. 'Adiy b.
'Amir; Abu Sali! Uaayra b. 'Amr; and 'Amr Abii Khirija b. Qays b.
Mlilik b. 'Adiy b. 'i\mir; Thibit b. Khansli' b. 'Amr b. MAlik, &c.;
'Amir b. Umayya b. Zayd b. al- J:I asi:lb b. l\lilik, &c.; and Mul:lriz b.
'Amir b. l'oUlik b. 'Adiy; and &wlid b. Ghaziya b. Uhayb an ally from
Bali(494). TotalS men.
Of B. l~ar:lm b. Jundub b. 'i\mir b. Ghanm b. 'Adly b. al-Najjilr: Abii
Zayd Qays b. Sa.kan b. Oays b. Za'Ur:l' b.J:Iar.Im; and AbU'l-A'war b.
al- l~ lirith b. ~iilim b. 'Abs b. l~ar:lm (495); and Sulaym b. Mili:l:in and
sos l~arll.m his brother. Mili:llin'a name was Mlilik b. KM!id b. Zayd b.
l:lariim. Total4men
Of B. Mlizin b. ai-Najjir of the dan of B. 'Auf b. Mabdhiil b. 'Amr b
Ghanm b. Mizin b. al -Najjlir: Qays b. AbU ~a'p'a whose name was
'Amr b. Zayd b. 'Auf; and 'Abdullah b. Ka'b b. 'Amr b. 'Auf; and
u,ayma an ally from B. Asad b. Khuzayma. Total 3 men.
Of B. Khand' b. MabdhUI b. 'Amr b. Ghanm b. Mlzin: Abii Di'iid
~ :y; !~~~mir b. l\U.Iik b. Khansli'; and Sur:lqa b. 'Amr b. 'Atiya.

Of 11. Tha'laba b. Mlizin b. al-Najjlir: Qays b. Mukhallad b. Tha'laba

b.$,akhrb.l:labibb.a1-J:Ilirithb.Tha'laba. Totaltman.
or B. Oinlir b. ai-Najjlir of the dan of B. Mas'iid b. 'Abdu'J-Ashhal b.
l;lliritha b. Dinlir: al-Nu'mlin b. 'Abdu 'Amr b. Mas'iid; and al-Oal:ll:lik
b. 'Abdu 'Amr b. Mas'Ud; and Sulaym b. al-l:lirith b. Tha'laba b. Ka'b
b. l:firithabrotherofai-Oai:li:l:lkandal-Nu'mlnthesonsof'Abdu'.o\mr
by the same mother; J3bir b. Kh.ilid b. 'Abdu'I-Ashhal b. I:Uritha; and
Sa'db.Suhaylb.'Abdu'l-Ashhal. Totals men.
Of 11. Oays b. MAlik b. Ka'b b.J:Iiritha b. DinAr b. al-Najjll.r: Ka'b b.
Z::ydb.Q;tys;andBujayrb.AbiiBujayr,anally(4). Totalzmen.
The men of ai-Khuraj who were at Badr number 170 (497).
so6
Thu the total number of Muslims, emigrants, and Helpers who were
at Badr and were allotted a share in the booty was 314, the emigrants
providing8J,Aus6t,andKhazraj 170.
TilE NAMES OF THOSE WUO DIED AS MARTYRS AT BAOR 1

Of Quraysh of the clan of B. ai-Mut!alib: 'Ubayda b. al-J:I~rith whom

~ott~~~.. Rabi'a slew by cutting off his leg. He afterwards died in al-!?afri'.
Of B. Zuhra b. Kil~b: 'Umayrb.Abii Waqq~~(498)and Dhii'l-Shim:llayn
b. 'Abdu 'Amr an ally from Khuzl'a of B. GhubsMn. Total :z.

The Life of Muhammad

an~~~h;:.dfr!d~~:o~~~~~~.~:~~~~~ an ally from

337

D. Sa'd b. Layth;

ah~~~~~~J~~~:~;~~;~!:~~~~a!~~~~:~~!~h~:d~~~~1~bashTo~ ~. al-l:llrith b. al-Kha.zraj: Ya.zrd b. al-J:IArith known as Ibn Fuabam.

al-~~!!~la;;t~\t.he dan of D. J:larlm b. Ka'b b. Ghanm: 'Umayr b.

al-~u~~~~~~!i :~bdu l:llritha b.

MAlik b. GhaQb b, Jusham: Rlfi' b. 501

al-g~~~~~~~~ ~~~:~i-~~f!(::~~~!:~~~~~h\he

two sona of

THE NAMES OF THE POLYTHEISTS WHO WERE SLAIN AT BADR

The Ouraysh lo.ses at Dadr were as follow:

~~[~1~~~
~~,:~~~:~~~;~~~!?~~!~:;!~::~~~. ~:u~alK!~~~~~j

~~~~~~~

:,~~{~~~:pfify;Q~~~\[~~~1~::::
'~
?!o!
Mallu:Um b. Yaqqa: Ab: j ahl b. Hishlm (1\lu'.ldh b. 'Amr

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

Tht L1je of Muhammad

struckoffhisleg. Hisson'lkrima$1ruckoffMu'Adh'shandandhethrew
it from him; then Mu'awwidh b. 'Afri' struck him so that he diubled him
leavinghimatthelutgasp;then'Abdullahb. Mas'Udquicltlydispatched
himandcutoffhisheadwhentheapostleorderedthatsearchshouldbc
made among the slain for him); and al-'~ b. Hishiim whom 'Umar killed;
and Yazid b. 'Abdullah, an ally from B. Tamim (511); and AbU Musifi'
ai-Ash'arf,anally(S12);andf:larmalab.'Amr,anally(S1J);andM.as'Ud
b. AbU Umayya (5 14); and AbU Qays b.al-Walid (515);and AbU Qays b.
al-Flk.ih(sr6);and Rill'ab.AbU Rill'a(s17);andal-Mundhirb.AbU
Rill'a(Si8);and 'Abdullah b. al-J\.1undhir(5t9);and al-Si'ibb. AbU'ISI'ib (po); and ai-Aswad b. 'Abdu'I-Asad whom f:lamza killed; and
f:lijib b. al-Si'ib (s:u ) ; and 'Uwaymir b. al-Si'ib (522); and 'Amr b.
Sufyin; and Jibir b. Sufyin, two allies from Tayyi' (p.J). Total 17.
Of B. Sahm b. 'Amr: Munabbih b. al-f:lajjij whom AbU'l-Yasar killed;
andhissonai-'Af(S24);andNubayhb.al-f:l aijij(S2S);andAbU'I'Atb.
Qays (526); and 'A,im b. 'Auf(s27). Totals.
Of D. J uma~: Umayya b. Khalaf whom a Helper of B. Milzin killed
(528); and his son 'Ali b. Umayya whom 'Ammir killed; and Aus b.
Mi'yar(sa9). Total ].
Of B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy: Mu'iwiya b. 'Amir, an ally from 'Abdu'I-Qays
whom 'AIT killed (530); and Ma'bad b. Wahb, an ally from B. Kalb b.
;o~~l :~om Khilid and l yiis the two sons of al-Bukayr killed (531).

~jll~~~~

338

510

5 11

Thus the total numberofQurayshslainat Badrasgiventousisso

men(532).

339

From B. Makhziim b. Yaqa;a b. Murra: KhJJid b. Hishlm b. al-

:1:~~~~~~!; ~~~~~:~d \. ~~,~~;n::. ~~~~h~ t~:d ~~~= ~:

~:.~~~~:~~~~~~:~~~r~~~;~~~f:;1~:~~~:~~~~i~~~~ s
al-Munahb b. l:lan1ab b. al-l:l:irith b. 'Ubayd b. 'Umar; and Khllid b.
~~-;~a:h:n;~~; who they say was the first to tum his hllck. in flight. He
Thewounds thatbleedarenotonourbacb
Bu tthcblooddropsontoourf~t.

9(535).

Su~:;:; :. ~=~m"~b~A= ~h~uJ~~ ~ri~~:r: ~b~Wr:!~;~d~~~~~;raso~

ai-Munalib paid his ransom money. Farwa b. Qaya b. 'Adiy b.l:ludhlfa

~j_J;~~ ~~do!~n;~~~~~Y ~~~~=~d.b. ~udhlfa

b. Sa'd; and al-l:faijJj b.

K:a~~b.~V!~~~ J~~~7:; ~dH;~~~~ ~~!; ~~~~~~~~hbb. ?~:l~~

From B. H b him b. 'Abdu Manlif: 'Aqil b. AbU T:il.ib and Naufal b.
al-f:l irithb.'Abdu'l-Munalib.'
From B. al-Munalib b. 'Abdu J\hnif: al-Si'ib b. 'Ubayd b. 'Abdu
Yaaid and Nu' min b. 'Amr b. 'Aiqam:~. 2.
From B. 'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu l\IanH: ' Amr b. AbU Sufyan b.l~arb
b. Umayya and ai-I:Urith b. AbU \Vajza b. AbU 'Amr b. Umayya (533);
and AbU'I-'A, b. ai-Rabl' b. 'Abdu'I-'Uui; and Abii'l-'~ b. Naufal;
and of their allies AbU Risha b. Abii 'Amr; and 'Amr b. al-Auaq; and
'Uqbab. 'Abdu'l-f:lmrith b.al -l~ac:lrami. 7
1 H~rc one would Upecl 1hot " "' number of the H bhimilc prilooMn .,..,ld be given,
butitionot. A.Dh ... yo: "Hcdo.,.notmentionoi'Abbiaolona"iththeoetwoprioonen
beatuoehehodbc>.,.oMuolim,onduotdtoconcclhiortligionbcaw.ehcwooofnoid
ofhistribcomen.'Howover.lincel.l.oltheendofthcliot .. yothotthc"""lnumbo:rwao
4J,Whor..oonly41UCMmed ,itioobyjoLUihoohemuothoveinclllded'Abbloo omonJihe
r:!~~:.n.I. H.'ono.., iothotonepriooncr,whownameionotmcntioned,iomininlftom

b. Wuhayb b.J:IudhJfa and al-Fikih, freedman ofUmayya b. Khalaf.

After that Rab~~ b. ai-Mughta.rif claimed him assening that hew:-. of B.
Shammikh b. Mu~lrib b. Fihr. It "is said that al-Flkih was 1he son of
Jarwal b.J:Iidhyamb.'Aufb.Ghac:lbb.Shamrnl.khb.Mu]:lJribb. Fihr;
andWahbb.'Umayrb.Wahbb.Khalafb.Wahbb.J:Iudhlifa;andRabfs

~~'.:ja~A ~~n:.uL~:a~:b~:~y~V~~~!~~.d~~~u hams b. 'Abdu

b.
Wudd b.

N~r

b. l\U.lik b. l:fisl (Milik b. al-Dukhshum brother of B.

~~!~~~~~~ ~~~~tB~~:r.::~~~:~~~~~~bd~~
'A~r:~ J~~;~-:.iri:~ b. Fihr: al-Tufayl b. Abii Qunay'; and 'Utba b.
The total number reponed to me

\\"as

43 men (536).

TM Life of MW.ammod

TMU]eofMulumrmad

AI-l;llrithb.Hilhlmb.aJ-Mughlraansweredthemthua
SOME POETRY ABOUT THE BATTLE OF BADR

OftbtpoetJyaboutthtbattleofBadrwhicbthetwopaniea~died

between them in refe~nce to what happened therein are the linea of

J;Umz:ab.'Abdu'I-Muttalib(SJ?):
su~lyoneoftime'wondenl

(Tboughroadatodeatha.replaintoeee)
bthatapeoplelhoulddeatroythelllltl_veaandperiah2
Byencoun.gingoneanothertodilobedtenceanddilbelief.
Tbenighttheyall.etoutforBadr
Andbecamedeath'pawnsiniuwell.

~~~:\~u:~::-.=;:~~;.1
When we met there was no wty out
Savewithathnatfromdun-<lOlouredtnigbt-fashionedhafts
Andablowwithawordawhichaeveredtheirheada,
Swordathatglitteredutheyamote.

!edl~~~~~~~~~~~~~::!in the well;

0

:!7::k~;::;~e;~!~~:~ g';ments

for him,

The noble women of Lu'ayy b. Ghilib

WhoaurpaasthebestofFihr.

Tboaewe~folkwbowe~killedintheirerror

Andtheyleftabannernotprepa.redforvictoryAbanneroferrorwhoecpeoplelbU.led.
Hebetn.yedthem(theeviloneilpronetotreacbery).
Whenheuwthingsckarlyheaaidtothem,

~I::~;!~;~~:~ !o~.;~ 1 ~:e~~~~;~hment

For He is invincible.'
Heledthemtodeathaothattheyperished
While h& knew what they could not know.
Onthedayofthewelltheymuatercdat~ousand,
Wethreehund~dlikeexcitedwhitestallions.

With us we~ God'a armiea when He ~inforced us with them

Inaplacethatwilleverberenowned.
UnderourbannerGabriclattad.edwiththem
Inthefn.ywheretheymettheirdeath.
'Ul. ~t~,.::~.~rlh&twuoneoltimo'o.....denl

:~~~~~~-~IObethowoftofthomaawbo""*tho

poemnrib.,to<;IIOI;bulft..Cf.W.47J,Iine.

Help,Omypeople,inmylongingand lou
Myaorrowandbuminghean!
Tean flow copiously from mreyea
Like pearlt falling from the cord of the woiTllln who ttrings them,
Weepingforthesweet-naturedbero
Death'a pawnstthewcllofBadr.
Bleu you, 'Amr kimman and companion of most generous nature.
If certain men chanced to meet you when your luck w~ out,
Well,timeiaboundtobringitschange~.

Inpasttimeawhichuegone
Youbroughtuponth!!mahumiliationwhichilbardtobcar.
Unlessldielshallnotleaveyouunavengcd.
lwill tpareneitherbrothcrnorwife'skin.
l\\ill tlayasmanydeartothem
Astheyhsveslsinofmine.
HavestBngtnwhomtheyha\-ecollecteddeceivedthem
Whilewearethepureatoclr.ofFihr?
Help,OLu'ayy,protectyouraanctuaryandyourgods;

~!:~ }~~r:~~~~~e~ t~~~e~=~

you inherited their foundations, 2

Thetemplewithiuroofandcurtain.
Whydidthereprobatewanttode~troyyou?J

~fgtv~~~n:;::;.?~~th ~~:~~ight
0

and help one another.

Bearoneanother'saffiictiomwithenduruJce.
Youmay'll-ellsvengeyourbrother,

~~:~i~v':;t::o~:a!:~ :X~~;"~ ~~k:"';'~~tn.

Sendingheadafl.yingastheyglitter.
Aaitwcrethetrackaofanuontheirblade~

Whcntheyareunsheathedagainatthecvil-eyedenemy(SJ8).
'AIIb.AbOTtlibuid:

~~;~ i~: f~~~u-:e:r ~ a7ro~ ~:~cU:Ut ~~

:::ua one;
HowHebroughthumiliationontheunbelieven
WhowcreputtoahameincaptivityanddCIIth,
Whilctheapo.tleofGod'svictorywuglorious

~: :er:~~~~:~~..:n.;~~:~~:-~ God,
'l'bo!Utt-M/dlw. Thiomllttbeoneolthewordohicbl.H.NyothatheoJ"'Nd.
n:e~~.::.:.~~(inf<Jjr,whkhit..topttdhore
Rudin(tiM./orl<o''-forluJitr<irlthotezt.

The Life of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

I;>ir:i.r b. al-Kha11:1b b. Mirdil.s brother of B.

Mu~~rib

b. Fihr said:

I wonder at the boasting of Aus when death is coming to them to-

'0r'itome&.. 2H'.
'rAaml,or'livedin hlnnony'. SLyaU,

ThPrnmrP/'A"'' "'~off)aml'aJ.,C.mbridl!",

'i.e.AI-AtwadwhoRlr l;hmzahewedoff,V.I

'Apparently ai-Aowad thel\fakh1iimite whooeler wu culoffaohetried to drink

from the wdlot Bodr io munt. See W. 44~
'i.e.oftheottemy. C.andW.differinthioline.

The Ufe of Muhammad

TheLifeofMuluunmad
And'AJ!amongthoscyoucouldmention,
Abii J:laft and 'Uthmln were of them,
Sa'dtoo,ifanyonewaspresent,
Those men-not the bcgettinga of Aus and NajjlrShouldbetheobjectofyourboaating,
But their father wu from Lu'ayy Ibn Ghllib,
Ka'band'Amirwhennoblefamilieeuerttkoned.
Theyarethemenwhorepellodthecavalryoneveryfroot,
Thenobleandgloriouaonthedayofbattk:.
Ka'bb.MllikbrotheroftheB.Salimauid:
lwonderatGod'adeed,ainceHe
DoeawhatHewilla,nonecandefeatHim.
HedecreedthatweahouldmeetatBadr
Anevilband(andevileverleadstodeath).
TheyhadaummonedtheirneighbounonaUaidcs
Untiltheyformedagreathost.
Atusalonetheycamewithillintent,
Ka'band'Amirandallofthem.
With ua was God'e apoatle with Aus round him
Likeaatrongimpregnablefortrcss
ThetribesofBanONajjlrbeneathhisbanner
Advan.cinginlightarmourwhilethe duatrosehigh.
When we met them and every &teadfut warrior
Venturedhis lifewithhiacomradcs
WetettifiedtotheunityofGod
AndthatHiaapoatlebroughtthetruth.
Whenourlight awordswereunsheathed
'Twas u though firet flashed at their movement.
With them we 1mote them and they ~e~ttered
Andtheimpiousmetdeath,
AbiiJahllaydeadonhiaface
And'Utbaourswordaleftinthedust.'
Shayba and AI Tayml they left on the battlefield,
EveryoneofthemdeniedHimwhosiuethonthethrone.
TheybecamefuelforHell,
Foreveryunbelievermuatgothere.
Itwillconaumethem,whiletheatoker
lnereascsitaheatwithpieec:sofiron and stone.s
1

~::~:0ut~e~:"~~.e!~~: ;0~~re nothing but a aorcercr.'

BecauseGodwilledtodestroythem,
AndnonecanavertwhatHcdecrces.

'Abdullah b. al-Ziba'ri al-&hmi (an ally of the B. 'Abdu'l-Dilr),' be

wailingthealainatBadr,uid(S39):
Whatnoblev."lrrion,handsomemen,lieroundBadr'abattldleld.
They left behind them Nubayh and Munabbih and
'fhe twosonaofRabl'a',beatfightenagainatodda,
Andthegenerousl:lilrith,wbosefaceshone
Li.kethefullmoonilluminatingnight;
Andai'Atb.Munabbih,the strong,
Likealonglancewithoutaftaw.

!::/~~~~ o7'ru:"=~~~ and his mother' kin raise him high.

Uonemustweepandshowgreatgrief

~/!;do;;:!~~~~o;,;~~~~~~~v~:~h!:d his family,

Andgrantthemapecialfavour.
J:lassilnb.Thilbitai-An,ilriansweredhim:
Wcep,mayyoureyeswcepblood,
Theirrapidftoweverrenewed.

~~~ ::~ :~~ ~o~~~;~~o~d ~h~~~=:~f

our people
Andourglorious,pu rposeful,tolerant,courageouaonc,
Theprophet,aoul ofvinueandgenerosity,
Thetruestmanthateveraworeanoath?
Onewhoresembleshimanddoeslmteaching
Wuthemoetprai&edtherenotwithouteffe<:t.a
J:lualnalaoaaid:
Amaidenobscssesthymindinslcep
GivingtheaJceperadrinkwithcoollips
Like muskmingledwithpurev..,.te~
Oroldwinereduthebloodofaacnfioes.
Wideintherump,her buttockaripplesof fat,
Vivacious,nothutyinswearinganO<Ith.
Herwell-coveredhiJliiU Shesits
FormahoUowinher backlilr.eamarblemonar,
So luyahecanhardlygotobed,
Ofbeautifulbodyandlovelyfigure.
By day lneverfailtothinkofher,

~~mi$5~~~~~~~~~W~~gf~
'Thollnolbclwn~yandtheoyntuquutiDnlble.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

"'

The Life of Muhammad

Bynightmydrcams inflamemydesircforhcr.
I swear ! will notforgettothinkofhcr
UmilmyboneslieinthegraH:
Owomanwhofooli.shlyblamesme,

~~f~::o1 ~c:~: 1b~1~~ :~~~~:~~f

This is what Al-l:larith said in excuse for running away from th<' battle
ofDadr(54o).
l:lasslnalsosaid:'

my love;

QunyshknewonthedayofBadr,
0

Whenlife'stroubleswereathand.
Shetoldmethatmanisudallhislife
lkcausehelachplcntyofcamcls;
lfyouliedinwhatyouu.id
MayyouescapetheconsequencesasAl-l:l;irithb.HishJi.mdid.
Helefthisfriendsfearingtofightintheirdefencc,
Andescapedbygivinghishonefrctrcin.
It lefttheswiftstdsbchind inthc:desen;
As the weighted rope drops down the wdl.
H ~s m_are gallope~ aw~y at full speed while

n:~. f~e;:t~::.e~na~n~~ ~~~~~:r,:;;! r~i~~: battle

to
~~!~fu;~~l~,~~~;{~Jtt~f;::~;;;~;~;m
~~r:~~~:~E7i::~~~;:~!:\~;?~:i~:~~:und

them

powder,

Tillthehighestmountainsceasctobe,

~~~l~~:;~~l0;}J~~~~~~~~:.:~:.~=:~.

Likelightning'neaththestormdouds.
Al-l:llrithansweredhimandsaid:

T~~a=:~e\\~;:~ ::1'

I did not l<':olxe the fight until my stud was

~~j~:~~~ i!;e:~ght alone

I should be killed; my death would not

Sod~y~ithdr<'W and left my fri<"nds meaning to avenge th<"m another

r:~~E2!~:~~?!~~~~~~~~.:~~~~: ~~:;:.~.~:~~~. ~~:':.:~~::. ~:~~~

of'Y.~ hq 'Cod ki'IO"'' bue, but thio io olmoot c<noinly wrnn 11;. t h~ follow! the 1.,.1

~~~d:.~e : ::~~~~~~~~e~~e ~~~r~h:~~

victors
lnthc:banleofAbfi'l-Walid.
We killed Rabta'stwosonsthedaytheycam<'
Cladindoublc:mail agairunus.
l:lakimflc:donthedaythattheBanii'I-Najjlr
Advanceduponthemlikc:lions.
1

~~:t:~7~:~~~~~u~~d~~;d them from afar.

Quick,deci.sive,underthe neck vein.
Allthe forcetumc:dtailtogether.
Theypaidnoheedtoancestnlhonour.

Ol:llrith,youtookabasedeeisioninwar
Andthedaywhenancestralfameisshown,
Whenyourodeaswift-footednoblemare,
Rapid-pacedandlonginflank,
kav ingyourpeoplebehindtobe slain,
Thinkingonlyofescapewhenyoushould ha\'estood fast.
C>uldyounothaveshownconcernforyourmother'sson
Wholaytrarufixedbyspears,hisbodystripped?
Godhutenedtodestroyhishost
lnthamefuldi.sgraceandpainfulpunishmeml(SP)
l:lusJ.naltosa.id(s,...a):l
Aboldintrepidman-noCO\\ardLedthosecladinlightchainannour.
I meantheapostleofGodth<"Creator
Whofavouredhimwithpietyandgoodnesaaboveall;
Youhadsaidyouwouldprotectyourcanr.van
AndthatBadr'swaterscouldnotbereached'byus.
There we had come down, not heeding your words so that
Wedranktothefullwithoutstint,
Holdingfasttoanunscverablerope,
ThewellplaitedropeofGodthatstretchesfar.
We hne the apostle and we have the truth which we follow
1
Dlw~luvi.
m...of"di
'D/<&of,.uavi
'RudiRJ""'""ildfor""''d>id.DhimhincludaanyhiRJthotrnuttbepro<eet<d

,..

Thr Life of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muilammad

Tothedeath;wchavehelpunlimited
FaithfultohispromiSC",intrepid,abrilliantatar,

Afullmoonthatcastslightoncverynobleman(H3)l:lasdn alsoaaid:'
TheDanilAsadweredisappointedandtheirraide~returoed
1

~~U '~~t:~n ~:y '~:!~i:n~;:~;:~tsgr2ee.

Hu rledfromthe~ckofhisgallopingsteed:

H e met his end with his weapom, good fighter as he wu

Whenhelay11illinde:nh.
The man Zam'a we left with his throat severed,
HislifebloodRowingaway,

Hisforeheadcushioned intheduat,
Hisnostrilsdefiledwithfilth;
lbnQay.eacapedwitharemnantofhistribe
Coveredwithwounds,atthepointofdeath
l;lassinalsosaid:
CananyoneaayiftheMeccanknow
How we slew the unbclicven in their evil hour r

Wekilledtheirleadersinthebattle
Andtheyretumedashatteredforce;
WekillcdSuwaydand'Utbaafterhim.
Tu'maaltointhedustofcombat.
Manyanoble,generouamanwetlew
Of lofty line, illuatriousamonghiapcople.

~~e~;~~ ~~:: ~ ~:~~ ~~:.~yaenas

!'faith ?<.Uiik'a horsemen and their followen were no protection
WhentheymetuaatBadr(S+f).
l:lasslnaltouid'
Hakim'sspecdsa\cd himonthedayofBadr
Likethespcedofacoltfromal-A'waj'amares,
WhenheaawBadr'svalleywalls
Swarming with theblack-mailtdtquadronsofKhazraj
Whodonotretirewhentheymcetthtenemy,
Whomarchboldlyinthemiddleofthebeatentrack.
o-~sliY.

'Thcnue,_jlna;if~.W.'o)"JbWitonobviouamisprint.TI>e..-Mld,<diffcrmt
readincinH.'orx-s..;...,..,bdlyi.,r~nor
'At<1nill~ofSilnU.4

J:laad.Dalsoaaid:
Tbanb to God we fear not an army
Howmanytheybewiththeir aucmbledtroops.
WhcneverthcybroughtamultitudeagainltWI
ThegraciousLordsufficeduaagainsttheirswords;
AtBadrwerai~~-tdourspcanaloft,

DeathdidnotdismayWI.
Youcouldnots.ceabodyofmtn
MoredangerouatothosetheyattackwhenwarlSstirredup,'

~r~~~~~~~~ ':~ f~eG~J ;~~ ~~~ee.'

With them we met them and were vie!orious

Thoughbutabandagainstthtirthousands.
J:lassinalsoaaid, satirizing B.Jumal;landthoseofthemwhowere tlain:
B~!Jumal;l11.18hedheadlongtodisaster'be<:au~~-tof theirunlucky

WekilledAbUJahland'Utbabeforehim,
And Shaybafellforwardwithhiahandsoutstretched. 1

'DitMJOc:cvii.

Howmanyavaliantchiefthtyha\t,
Heroc:swherethecowardturNiat bay,
Chiefsgivinglavishlywithopcnhand,
Crownedonctbearingtheburdenofblood-wits,
Omamentsinconclave,pcrsistentin battle,
SmitingtheboldwiththeiraU-piercinga\\"Ords(SofS)

'Dird~lnL

AboraufunouoillpoprtllpluB!ackBcinErlalisbWI!"nd.

(ThemeanliWlintvitablymeetshumiliatioo).
ThcywercconqueredandalainatBadr,
Thtydtscrtedinalldircctiona.,
TbeyrejectcdthescripturcandcalledMuhammadliar.
ButGodmakctthereligionofeveryapostlcvictorioWij
G<KicuneAbUKhuzaymaandhisaon,
TbetwoKhllidaand$t'idb. 'Aqil.
'Ubaydab.al-J:IlrithaaidaboutthebattleofBadr,andthecuttingoffof
his foot when it wu ami.tten in the fight, when he and J:lamu and 'Ali
foughttheirenemica(s46) :
Abatt.lewillteUtheMeccansaboutua:
ItwiUmakedistantmcngivehced,
When'UtbadicdandShaybaafterhim
And'Utba'eeldcataonhadnoa.usetobepleasedwithit.J
Youmaycutoffmyleg,yetlam aMuslim,

~~:CH:U~c~:!~!: ~e;::,:, ~~tifulstatuca

With the bighett heaven for those who mount there.
1 'Themctoopborittho.toftbc...,timctJ..W,...oftbc'--ltotbo:matL
'HentheroioopuooOfl.thenamcJ-4,.
''Utbo'alintbontolWolld-olootlai&tt&dr.

The Life of Muhammad

I hneboughtitwithalifeofwhich I have tasted the best'
And which I have tried until l lostevcnmyncxt-of-kin.
The Merciful honoured me with His favour
Withthegarmentoflllamtoco\er myfaults.
l didnotshrinkfromfightingthem
Thedaythatmencalledontheirpeerstofightthem,
Whentheyaskedtheprophethesoughtonlyusthree
Sothatwecameouttotheherald;
Wemetthemlikelions,brandishingourspears,
We foughttherebelliousforGod'sJ&ke;
WethrecdidnotiTKwefromourposition
Tilltheirfatecameuponthem(H7)
When'Ubaydadiedofthewoundinhisleg atthebattleofBadr,Ka'bb.
the An~:lrt, wrote this elegy on him:
Oeye,begenerous,notniggardly,
Withthytruetears;sparethemnot
Foramanwhosedeathappalledus,
Nobleindeedandindescent,
Boldinattackwithaharpcm:dsword,
Ofnoblercputeandgoodlydesccnt!
'Ubaydahaspa$8edaway,wecannothopc
Forgoodorcvilfromhim,
Ontheeveofbattleheusedtoprotcctourrearguardwithhisaword.

M~lik,

Ka'balsosaid:
HaveGhasdnheard intheirdistanthaunt
(The best informant is one with knowledge thereof),
ThatMa'add shottheirarrowsat us,
Thewholetribeofthemwcrehostile,
lkeauseweworshipGod,hopinginnoneother,
Hopingfor~eaven'sg_ardenssinccthcirprophcthascometous.J

Aprophctwl!h aglo nousinheritanceamonghispeoplc,

Andtn.uhful anccstorswhoseoriginmadethempure;
Both aidesad\anccd,andwemctthcm likelions

~~:;:::;~ct:::mh:~h:o~~~~~ to hope for;

TillLu'ayy's lcaderfelluponhis face;
They fled, and we cut them down with our sharp swords,
Thciralliesandthcirtribesmenalike.
Byyourfathcr'slife,yesonsofLu'ayy,
Dpiteyourdcccitandpride,
' Reodin ta'omifl~
'Orru<Hnr.,,.luhun",'ofow,..,tbKoth'.

The Life of Muhammad

Yourhorsemendidnotprotectyou atBadr,
Theycouldnotstandfastwhentheymetus;
Wecamethcrc \\ithGod'slight
Ciearingaw:aytheco\erofdarknessfromus.
God'sapostle ledus,byGod'sorder,
Anorder Hehadfixedbydecree;
YourhorsemencouldnotconqueratBadr
Andretumedtoyouinevilcasc;
Donothurry,AbUSufy:ln,andwlltCh
Forthefinesteedsc:omingupfromKadl','
ByGod'shelptheholyspiritisamongthem,
AndMichael,whatagoodlycompanyl
Tii.lib b. AbU Tllib, praising the apostle and lamenting the men of
QurayshwhowerethrownintothepitatBadr,said:
My eye wept copiously
OverKa'b, t houghitseesthemnot
Ka'bdesertedoneanotherinthewars,and
1

~~~A:~;~~~~ t~:~~i~~e;r~a;.';~i~;~~; t ~~r:~~;ortunes (that befell

them).
Shall l everseethemcloser (toeachother)1
T heyaremybrothers,theirmothernoharlot,
Andnevertheirguestsuffcredwrong;
0 our brothers 'Abdu Shams and Naufal, may I be your ranBOm,
Putnotwarbetweenus. Aftertheloveandfriendshipwehad
Becomenot(thesubjectof)storiesinwhichallofyouhneBOmething 539
to complain of.
Do )"OU not know what happened in the war of Dai)is
And when AbU YaksUm's army filled the ravine?
HadnotGodtheSoleExistentuvedyou
Youoould nothave protectedyourpeople.
We among Quraysh have done no great wrong
But merelyprotectedthebestm.anthateertrodtheeanh;
Astandbyinmisfortunes,generous,
Nobleinreputation,noniggard,nowrongdoer.
Hisdooristhrongedbythoseseekinghisbounty,
Aseaofgenerosity,vlllt,unfailing.
ByGod,mysoulwilleverbesad,
Restless, unti l you smite Khazntjwellandtruly.
Oir~r b. al-Kha!lib aJ.fihri lamenting AbU Jahl said
Alasformyeyethatcannotsleep

;*~~;~~~:~~:~~~-:;2~~::::

of the night!

Tk Life of Muhammad

The L1]e of Muhammad

Itisasthoughamotewereinit,
Butthereisnaughtbutflowingtears.
TellQuraysb {hatthebeatoftheircompany,
The noblestmanthateverwalked,
AtBadrliesimprisonedinthewelJ;
Thenobleone,notbase-bornandnoniggard.
Iswearthatmyeyesshallneverweepforanyman
NowAbU'l-l;lakam ourchiefisslain
I weep for him whose death brought sorrow to Lu'ayy b. GM!ib,
To whom death carne at Badr where he remains.
Youcouldsee fragmentsofspearsinhishorse'schest,
Scrapsofhisfleshplainlyintenningledwiththem.
NolionlurkinginthevalleyofBisha,
Wheretbroughjungledvalesthewatersflow,
Wasbolderthanbewhenlancesclashed,
When the cry went fonh among the valiant 'Dismount''
Grievenotovennuch,Mughira'skin,beresolute
(Thoughhewhosogrievesisnottobeblarned).
Bestrong,fordeathisyourglory,
Andthereafteratlife'sendthereisnoregret.
I saidthatvictorywillbeyours
Andhighrenown- nomanofsensewilldoubtit(S'f8).
Al-I;I:Irithb.Hisharn,bewailinghisbrotherAbUJahl,said:
Alasmysoulfor'Amr!
Butcangriefavailonewhit?1
Someonetoldmetbat'Amr
Wasthefirstofhispeople togointotbeoldabandonedpit.

~i~~:ey~:~a;;d~e~!:: :~ ~~:~~a~~o~~~od~ld be the first),

Iwashappywhileyouwerealive;
Now I am left in a miserable state.
Atnightwhenlcannot see himlfeel
Apreytoindecisionandfullofcare.
Whendaylightcornesoncemore
My eye is weary of remembering 'Arnr (549).

aai~~U Bakr b. al-Aswad b. Sbu'Ub al-Laythi, whose name was Shadd:1d,

UmmuBakrgaveme thegreetingofpeace;
Butwhatpeace canlhavenowrnypeople arenomore?
Inthepit,thepitofBadr,
Whatsinginggirlsandnoblebooncompanionsl
1

Or,peth.apo, Tob.ule!

in:i~~~~~-~ J:';,~~~h~ ~~~~!~: ~'":~.{::;;. 1~~7~~: ~fs~. for compkte

1

Inthepit,thepitofBadr,
Whatplattenpiledhighwithchoicestcamel-meatl
lnthewell,thewellofBadr,
Howmanycarnelsstrayingfreelywereyoursl
Inthe well,the wcllofBadr,
Howmanyflags'and sumptuousgiftsl
WhatfriendsofthenobleAbU'Ali,
Brotherofthc generouscupandboonoompanionsl
Ifyouwere to see AbU'Aqil

~~ ~:u~e~;~:::~~:::~~he

mother of a new-born camel

Yeamingoverherdarling.
The aposdetellsusthatweshalllive,
ButhowcanbodicsandwraithsmeetagainP(sso)
Umayya b.

AbU'l-~alt,

lamenting those who died at Badr, said:

\Vould'stthounotweepoverthenobles,
Sonsofnobles,praisedbyall,
Asthedovcsmoumuponthclcafyboughs,
Uponthe bendingbranchcs,
Weepinginsoftdejectednotes
Whentheyretumatnightfall.
Like them are the weeping women,
Thekcenerswholiftuptheirvoices.
He who weeps them weeps in real sorrow,
He whopraiscsthemtcllsthe truth.
Whatchiefsandleaders
AtBadrandai-'Aqanqal,
AtMadUi'u'l-BarqaynandA1-I;Iannln,
At the end of al-Awbhil},
Grey-beardsandyouths,Boldleaders,
Raiders impetuous!
Seeyounotwhatlsee
Whenitisplaintoallbebolders,

Tht.Lifto/Muhammad
Th.atthenleofMeccahasaltc:red,
Become a valley deserted
Bye\erychief,tonofachief,'
Fair-skinned, illustrious,
Comtantlyatthegateofkings,
Crossingthedeaert,victorious,
Strong-ne<:ked,stoutofbody,
Menofeminence,succeufulinenterprise,
Whosayanddoandorderwhatisright,
Whofeedtheirguestsonfatmcat
~rved on bread white as a lamb's stomach;
Whoofferdishesandyetmoredishes
Aslargeaswaterpoob
Thehungryfindtthemnotempty
Norwidewithoutdepth,
Toguestafterguesttheysendthem
Withbroadopenhand,
Giversofhundredtfromhundredsofmilchcameb
TohundredsofthcirgueslS,
Drivingtheeamelherdttotheherds,
0

~~~~~n~~\~ ~v~ !~~:!~inction

Outwcighingthenobilityofothers

~ ~~: ;~:c~r~:~:~~~ the scale

Apartydesertedthem,whiletheyprotected
Theirwomenfromdi.tgrace,
Menwhosmotethefrontranboftheenemy
Withbroad-bladedlndiantwords;
Their\oicespainedmeasthey
Calledforwatercryingaloud;
Howfinewerethetonaof'Aliallofthem!'
lftheydonotraidsuchan.id
Mwouldsendbackeverybarkingdogtoitslair,
Withhorsestrainedtolongrides,
Withproudlyrai.sedheads,keptnearthetents,
Alyoungmenonfinehorses
Againlltfiercemenacinglions;
Eachmanadvanee.tohiaenemy
Walking.uthoughtoshakehandt,

The Lift of Muhammad

Aboutathousandortwothousaml
Mailedmcnandspeannen(sSl).'
we~":~Yn~ also uid, lamenting Zama'a b. al-Aswad and the B. Aswad who 533

0 eye, weep with overflowing tears for AbU'l-I:Urith

And hold notthytearsforZama'a
Weepfor'Aqil b.Aswad,theboldlion,
Onthcdayofbattlcandthedustofwar.
T hose Banii Aswad were brothers like the Gemini,
Notrcacheryandnode<:eitwasinthcm,
ThcyarethenoblestfamilyofKa'b,
Thevcrysummitofexcellencc.
Theyproducedtonsasmanyasthchainofthehead

~Vnh~::~~:~~n~h::,~ ~~~~a1:~itions.

Thcirhcaruaehedfor them.
Theygavetheirfoodwhenrainfailed,
\Vhenallwasdryand nodoudcould beseen(s52).
Abii Ua!ma Mu'~wiya b. Zuhayr b. Qays b. al-I:Urith b. Dubaya
b. M:Uin b. 'Adly b. Jusham b. Mu'awiya, an ally of D. 1\hkhziim (553),
passed Hubayra b. AbU Wahb as they were running away on the day of 534
Badr. Hubayra was exhausted and threw away his coat of mail and
(Mu'awiya)pickeditupandwentoffwithit. 1-lecomposedthefollowing
lines(s54):
Whenlaawthearmy panic,
Runningawayattopspeed
And thattheirleaderwlaydead,

~~~!~~~:eh~~r~fi= t~fi~~~~
~~~~.~:~;~~:~:~:r~:;:!~r fate at Badr.
1

The Life of Muhammad

356

The Life of Muhammad

Weleftthewayandtheyovertookus
lnwaves,likeanoverwhelmingflood;
Somesaid, 'Whois lbnQays?'
I said,'AbU Uaima,withoutboasting,
I am the Jushamite, that you may know me,
Iwillannouncemylineage,
Allllweringchallengebychallenge.
IfyouareofthebestbomofQuraysh,
I am from Mu'iwiya ibn Bakr.'
Tell Milik, when we were attaeked,

Iletits lanyardtrail,andstrodeproudlyforward
Withbodyatfullstretch,asalionwalkll.
Sa'dthewarrioraaidtome,Hereisagift.'
J anawercd,Perhapsheisbringingtreachery,
Andlaaid,OAbU'Adiy,donotgonearthem
Ifyouwillobeymyorde111today
As they did with Farwa when he came to them
And he wu led away bound with cords (555)

Hadlnotbeenthercstripedhyaenu,
Motheraofcubswouldhave hadhim,

Who will aend a messenger from me

Withnewsthatashrewd manwillconfirm?
Donotyoulrnowhow I keptreturningtothefightat Badr
Whenthe swordsfiashedaroundyou,
\Vhenthearmy'sleaderawere leftprostrate,
Theirheads likeslicesofmelon?
Agloomyfate,tothepeople'shurt,
CameuponyouinthevalleyofBadr;
Myresolutionll\'ed themfromdis:LSter
AndCod'ahdpandawell-concehed plan.
I returnedalouefromal-Abwil'
Whenyouweresurroundedbytheenemy,

~~=-t:: :~~~~as~:t~=g~~::

Helples~, ifanyoneattaclr.edyou,
Woundedandbleedingbythe1ideofKuruh.~

~~!i~~::!~~~~~~:E~~ the toning places

Wheneveracomradeindistresscalled
Formyaidinanevilday,
A brother or ally in such ~ase,
Muchasllo,emylife lansweredhiscall.
l rctumedtothefray,dispellinggloom,
Andlhotwhenfaces ahowedhostility.
Manyanadversaryhave lleftontheground
Torisepainfullylikeabrokentwig.l
Whenbattlewas joined ldealthimablow
Thatdrcwblood- hilarteriesmurmuredaloud
T hatiswhat l didonthedayofBadr.
Beforethat lwu resourcefulandsteadfast,
Your brotherasyoulrnowin warandfamine
Whoseevilsare everwithus,
Yourchampionundauntedbydarkestnightor auperio rnumbe111.
Outintothebitterblacknightlplunged
\Vhenthefreezingwindforceadogatoshelter(ss6).

~~~ y~~b?y~!~~~~:u ~':; him,

Forheiswiseandinfluential,
ThatwhenlwascalledtoUfayd'
I retu med tothebattlewithundauntedheart,
Thenightthehaplesswercleftunheeded
Oldfriendsandmother'akindred.

:~~a~si~~r~~~~e~:;mB;,t:;~Jr~r

When men become u fierce u leopard.,

Nolionfromhis lairinTarj-

~!: :;~~:h~=~=~~:~~~~~~ei~~:'ug~:~
Sothatnonecanapproachhimevenwithaforce:'

~e~::;:~~~dswo~n;e; =~~~~ ~yltawifterth.anl

Whenladvanceroaringandgrowlingattheenemy
Witharrows likesharplances

~~i: ':~nn~sli:~~~:t:u~de

1"g~i;:~r:;~~::h~~~: ~:;.;~~he polisher,

Whetted for a fortnight.

1 A.Dh.oaytduot'aprioonr'iomunthore
'Amounuoinind>etcrritoryofHudhllyl;Yiq.iv.2H;Bakrl,47J
1

: ~~!"~u<::):u~~~:"(.{7.:~~~~.P :0:~ui.._ ..,...

the tann "'""' t.e "

II"IC&ninabecaUMofthcmcnOOnofth<coldwindintheoecondhcrniotich.

,,

Tht L1jt of .ltfuhammad

The Life of Muhammad

ui~ind d. 'Utba b. Rabl'a bewailing her father on the day of Badr

~o~\C:~ ~s~C:re~~~n~'i;!; ~~sturs

Whonevcrretumed(home).
llisdanfelluponhim onemoming,
T hesonsofi l:tshimandthesonsofal-!\lunalib
T heymadchimtastetheedgeoftheirswords,
Theyanacked him again " 'henhewashelpless,
T heydraggedhimstrippedandspoiled
Withthedustupon hilfacc;
T oushewasastrongmountain,
Grass-dad, pleasing to the eye;
Asforal-IJar;l' l donotmentionhim,
Mayhegetthegoodheooumedon.

Oeye, weepfor'Utba,thestrong-ne<:kedchief,
Whopvehisfoodinfamine,
Ourdefenceonthedayofvictory,
lamgrie\edforhim,broken-hearted,demen!ed.'
LetusfallonYathrib\\ithanoverwhclmingattack
Withhorseskepthardby,
E\erylong-bodiedcharger.
$aflya d. Musifir b. Abii 'Amr b. Umayya b. ' Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu 538
Manlf,bewailingthes\aininthepitofBadr, said:
Al.asformyeyepainful andb\eared

i~:sn~~~~ ~~a:~:~~~~~e ~~~~~:~:.still

hid!
Fatehadseiudforever,
Thatthe rideraftedwiththeannyand
Mothera neglectedthei r childrenthatmorning
Arise,$aflya,forgetnottheirrelationship,
And ifyouweep,itisnot forthosewhoaredistant.
Theywere thesupports'ofthe tent.
Whentheybroke,theroofofthetentwasleftunsupported(SS9)$aflyaalao aaid:

t:~ ~t?e ~~~ ~~;r!~g ;~h:x~:~:~~~

What an eye which saw a death like the death of my men!

How many a man and woman tomorrow
Willjoinwiththekeeningwomen;
llowmanydidtheylea\cbehindonthedayofthepil,
Themorning ofthattumultuouscry!

~~~!~"~~:~:a:e;i!~~~~~h~rd:i~:~t
I wasafraidofwhat I

!laW

::~n;~~yo~e:h~~ 7~:d.
Andtodaylambesidemyself.
How many a woman will say tomorrow
Alas Umm Mu'awiya! (ss8)

tean

Walking among the treesoftheorchard.

No lionofthejunglewithclawsandteeth,
Fatherofcubll,leapingonhisprey,
Exceeding fierce and angry,
Jsequaltomy lovewhenhei:lied
Facingpeoplewhosefaceswerechangedinanger,
l nhishandasharpswordof thefineat ateel.
When you thrust with a s~ar you made great wounds
Fromwhk hcamehotfoamingblood (s6o).
Hind d. Uthiitha b. 'AbMd b. ai-Munalib lamenting 'Ubayda b. al1;15rithb.al-Munalibsaid:
Al-$afrt'l holdsg lory andauthority,
Deep-rooted culture, ample intelligence.
\\'eepfor ' Ubayda,amountainofstrengthtothestnmgegucttl,
Andthewidowwhosucklesadishe\elledbaby;

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Tothepeopleineverywinter
Whentheskiesareredfromfamine;
To the orphws when the wind was violent.
He heated the pot which foamed with milk as it seethed;

~::~o~~: ~~i~:~~t~~h~kd ~~s~a;;;,ied

Moumhimforthenighttravellerortheonewantingfood,
Thewanderorlostwhomheputathis ease(s6I).
Outaylad.al-I:Iiirith,sisterofal-Na~rb.al-I:Iiirith,weepinghimsaid

ORider,lthinkyouwillreachUthayl'

~:!~~nd~~~h:::t~h~;~~~!f~~~ are lucky.

Swiftcamelsalwayscarrynewsfrommetothee.
(Tellof)flowingtearsrunningprofusclyorendinginasob.
Can al-Na~r hear me when I call him,
Howcanadeadmanhearwhocannotspeakl
0 Muhammad, finest child of noble mother,
Whosesireanob\esire was,
'Twouldnothaveharmedyouhadyousparedhim.
(Awarrioroftsparesthoughfullofrageandangcr.)
Oryoucouldhave takcnaransom,
Thc dcarcstpricethatcouldbepaid."

~~i~~~~t ':/~~ai:a;:~re~~~:l~u captured

Thcswordsofhisfather'ssonscamedownonhim.
GoodGod,whatbondsofkinshiptherewereahattered\
Exhausted hewasled toaco\d-b\oodeddeath,
Aprisonerinbonds,wa\kinglikeahobbledbeast(s6z).l
The apostle left Badr at the end of the month of Rama~ii.n or in Shawwll.

THE RAID ON B. SULAYM IN

AL~KUDR

HO TheapostlestayedonlysevennightsinMedinabeforehehimselfmadea

raidagainstB.Sulaym(s6J). Hegotasfarastheirwateringplacecalled

~~~~~. a~~ :~:~~~ ~~:~: ~~~e:h~i~~~,0 ~e;~';~~ut:::eg~n;.t~:.~~: :~

duringthattimeheacceptedtheransomofmostofthe Qurayshprisoners.

1 AplaceneorMedinab.twe=Bad.c and.W1d.i$afrl
1 N6Jd.eh'oDtlecha,p.67,b.oOod.ifferentte~the,...
S:,GSomeMSS.,Iollo"edbySuh.ond.W.,moiei.H.reopolllib!eforiuincluaioninth
1 A euphemiom for obouining from ouual intucoursc:.
'Abouteightpootod.iotooncefromMedina

,,,

,,,
T- 1365

Tilt Life of Muhammad

Th~

[Abii Sufyiin hJd oomposed some verses to incite Quraysh when he

gotreadytomarchfromMeccatoMcdina

T~~~-:~r~~~:t\\;il!,- ~~~:7 ~:; ~:~~:~~en

Nor shall luse thewaterofpurification
UntilyoudestroythetribcsofAusandKhazraj.
l\l y hearti$ bumingforre\'enge.
Ka'b

b.l\l~lik

LJfe of Muhammad

T H EAFFA IRO FT II EB.QA'iNUQA'

Meanwhile there was the affair of the B. Qaynuq:I'. The apostle assembled
them in their market and addressed them as follows: '0 Jews, beware lest
God bringuponyouthevengeancethat He brought uponQurayshand
become Muslims. You know that I am a prophet who has been sentyouwillfindthatinyourscripturesandGod'scovenantwith)ou.' They
replied, '0 Muhammad, you seem to think that we are your people. Do
notdecei\eyourselfbecauseyouencountcredapeoplewithnoknowledge
~~a:-a;~~e';;a~h;:;.ter of them; for by God if we fight you, )'OU will find

RcturntotheauackonYathribandtht"lotofthem,
Forllhatthcyhavecollectedisbootyforyou.
Thoughthebautcofthecistemwentintheirfavour

A freedman of the family of Zayd b. Thibit from Sa'id b.Jubayr or from

'lkrima from Ibn 'Abb3s told me that the latter said the following verses
camedownaboutthem:

answered him:

'Say to those who di5belie,e: you will be vanquished and gathered to

Hell,anevilrestingplace. Youhavealreadyhadasigninthctwoforces
which met', i.e. the apostle's companions at Badr and the Quraysh
'OneforcefoughtinthewayofGod;theother,disbelievera,thoughtthey
saw double their own force with their very eyes. God strengthens with
His help whom He will. Verily in that is an example for the discerning.''

THE RAW 01' DIIO AMARR

Whenthcapostlercturncdfromthenidofal-SawiqhestaycdinMedina
for the rest of Dhu'l-l:lijja, or nearly all of it. Then he raided Najd,
m~ing f~r Ghataf~n. This is the raid of Dhli Amarr (566). He stayed in
:-l'ajddunngthemonthof$afar,ornearlyallofit,andthcnretumedto
i\ledina without any fighting. There he remained for the month of
Rabi'u'J-Awwal,oradayortwoless.

TIIERAIDOFALFURU'OFBAI.IRAN

1'henhemadcaraidon0uray5hasfarasllal)rin,amineintheHijazin
thendghbourhoodofAI-Furu'. 1 Hcsta)edthcreforthe nexttwomonths
and then return~'<~ to 1\lcdina without fighting(s67)
T . omito the r-m in the Sira ond in ito plo<r hu the lin ... obo,r
' l.it .'thr moth<r o(t hooc \\hopny';d.SU .. J74l
' Thetru<tnti> ntheCOrn8rndo. ltokealtayutobcthepl.o(tti'i Sftl.on<,
~"J<05tr

<n~~:;~:f;?:I;:f:::~~~~~ .::,~~=-:::

:::.:::.

\enUtivdy

tu~anu

thot the

'.~~im b. 'Umar b. Qatida said that the B. Qaynuqi' were the first of the
Jews tO break their agreement with the apostle and to go to war, between
BadrandUI)ud(s68),andtheapostlebesiegedthemuntiltheysurrendered 546
unconditionally. 'Abdullah b. Ubayy b. SaiUI went to him when God
had put them in his power and said, '0 Muhammad, deal kindly with my
diems' (now they were allies of Khu.raj), but the apostle put him off.
He repeated the words, and the apostle turned away from him, whereupon
hethrusthishandintothecollaroftheapostle'srobe(stic));theapostle
wu 10 angry that his face became almost black. He said, 'Confound you,
let me go.' He answered, 'No, by God, I will not let you go until you deal
kindly with my clients. Four hundred mron without mail and three hundred
mailed protected me from all mine enemies ; would you cut them down in
one morning? By God, I am a man who fears that circumstances may
change.' Theapostlesaid,'Youcanhavethem(570)'
My father hl)aq b. Yas:Ir told me from 'Ub:tda b. ai-Walid b. 'Ub:tda
b. al-$imit who said: when the B. Qaynuql' fought the apostle "Abdullah
b.Ubayyespou!iedtheircauseanddefendedthem,and'Ubidab.al-$imit,
who was one of the B. "Auf, who had the same alliance with them as had
'Abdullah,wcnttotheapostleandrenouncedal\responsibilityforthem
infa>"ourofGodandtheapostle,saying,'OapostleofGod, I take God
and His apostle and the belie\ers as my friends, and I renounce my
agreemeotand friendship with these unbclie\ers.' Concerning him and
"Abdullah b. Ubayy, this passage from the chapter of the Table came down:~
su.. 1. o
su.. J.J6r.

J6.f

Th~ Lif~ of Muhammad

"'ltllt\itl

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

365

and $illii) b. AbU Umima b. Sahl each gave me a part of the following
story:Ka'bb.ai-Ashrafwho wasoneofthe'fayyi"ofthesubsectionB.
Nabh3n whoac: mother was from the B. ai-Na(.tir, when he heard the news
said, 'II this true? Did Muhammad actually kill these whom these two
men mention 1 (i.e. Zayd and 'Abdullah b. Rawili)a). These arc the nobles
of the Arabs and kingly men; by Cod, if Muhammad has slain these people
'twcrcbettertobedeadthanalivc.' 1
When the enemy of God became certain that the news was true he
left the town and went to Mecca to stay with ai-Munalib b. AbU Wadl'a
b. J,)ulnyra al-Sahmt who Wall married to 'Atika d. Abii'l-'ls b. Umayya
b. 'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu Manlf. She took him in and entertained him
h~M~pitably. Hcbcganto inveighagainsttheapostlcandtore<:itevcncs
in which he bewailed the Quraysh who wen: thrown into the pit after
havingbeenslainatBadr. Hesaid:
Radr'smillgmundoutthebloodofitspeople.
Att\'entslikeBadryoushouldwcepandcry.
Thebestofthepeoplewereslainroundtheircistcrns,
Don'tthinkitatrangethattheprinceswere left lying.
How many noble handsome men,
T hen:fugeofthehomclcsswen:slain,
Liberal when thestaraga\'enorain,
Whoboreothera'burdens,rulingmd takingtheirduefourth.
Some peoplewhoac:angnpleasesmesay
'Ka'bb.ai-Ashrafisutterlydejectcd'.
Thcyareright. Othattheearthwhentheywen:killed
Hadsplitasunde r mdengulfediupeople,
Thathewhospreadthereporthad~nthrustthrough

Orlivedcowering blindanddeaf.
I wastoldthatalltheBanU'l-Mughirawen:humiliatcd
And brought lowbythedeathnfAbii'l-l:lakim
And the two !IOns of Rabi'a with him,
A~h~1~.~::~:!~:.~d the othera did not attain (such honour) as those
I was told that al l~lrith ibn Hish~m
bdoingwcllandgatheringtroops
TovisitYathribwitharmics,
Foronlythenoble, handsomemanprotccts the loftiest 3 reputation
(573).

J:lass5nb. T hiibitansweredhimthus:
DocsKa'bwccpforhimagainand.again
Andlivcinhumiliationhearingnothing1'

~ ~~~~~~1~~~i~:::i~:~~~~~:::::~

The Life of Muhammad

'Or,reoding~uah~m,. 'lhe owoT<Icuuol>oveth~irbeordoondeyebrow '

'Presumoblyherbuttockooremeant;theywouldbebetweenhuonkleandherell>ow
aoohcreclined. Lorgeandhovybut<ocko weremorkootfemolebeoutyomongtheold

The Life of Muhammad

'"

OfthemKa'bwasleftprostratethere
(Afterhisfallal-NaQirwerebroughtlow).
'l.latnoitodiotrictofblackvob.nicot<ml!and'UraNisoncofthcvolleyoofM<ino.

~:f~~~~~~~f.~H~i~;;~~i~~~~1~1~~

369

The Life of Muhammad

Tht Life of Muhammad

Thaur b. Zayd from 'Ikrima from Ibn 'Abbas told me the apostle walked
with them as far as Baqt'u'l-Gharqad. Then he sent them off, saying, 'Go
ssa in God's name; 0 God help them.' So saying, he returned to his house.
Kowitwasamoonlightnightandtheyjoumeyedonuntiltheycametohis
castle,andAbilNi'ilacalledouttohim. Hehadonlyreecntlymarried,
andhejumpedupinthebedsheet,andhi.swifetookholdoftheendofit
andsaid,'You arcatwar,and those who are at wardonotgooutat this
hour.' He replied, ' It i.s Abii Ni'ila. Had he found me sleeping he would
nothavewolr.c:n me.' Sheanswered,'ByGod, Icanfeelevilinhis\oice.'
Ka'b answered, 'Even if the call were for a stab a brave man must answer
it.' So he went down and talked to them for some time, while they oonvei'Kd
with him. Then AbU Ni'ila said, 'Would you like to walk with us to
Shi'bai-'Ajiiz,IOthatweeanta.lkfortherestofthenight?''Ifyou like,'
he answered,IO they went off walking together; and alter a time Abii
Nii'ilaranhishandthroughhishair. Thenhesmelthishand,and said,
'Ihaveneversmcltascentfinerthanthis.' Theywalkedonfartherandhe
didthesameiOthatKa'bsuspectednoevil. Thenafteraspacehedidit
forthethirdtime, and cried, 'SmitetheenemyofGodl' So they smote
him, and their swords clashed over him with no effect. Muhammad b.
Maslama said, ' I remembered my dagger when I saw that our swords were
useless, and I seized it. Meanwhile the enemy of God had made such a
noisethateveryfortaroundus wasshowingalight. Ithrustitintothe
lower part of his body, then I bore down upon it until I reached his
genitals,andtheenemyofGodfelltotheground. Al-l:liirithhad been
hurt,beingwoundedeitherinhishcadorinhisfoot,oneofourswords
having struck him. We went away, passing by the B. Umayya b. Zayd
andthentheB.QuranaandthenBu'iithuntilwewentupthe/:larraof
ai-'UrayQ.' Our friend al-f:liirith had lagged behind, weakened by loa of
blood, 10 we waited for him for 10me time until he came up, following our
tracks. Wecarriedhimandbroughthimtotheaposdeattheendofthe
night. We saluted him as he stood praying, and he came out to us, and we
told him that we had lr.illed God's enemy. He spat upon our comrade's
wounds, and bothheandweretumedtoourfamilies. Our attack upon
God's enemy cast terror among the Jeu"S, and there was no Jew in Medina
whodidnotfearforhislife.'l

Swordinhandwecuthimdown

~.~~:~~::~d:: ;d~; ~~;:he l!Cnt secretly by night

~~~dil:::.~~o~~;,s~ 1 :i~~rn wuh guile

l;lassln b. Thlibit, mentioning the lr.illing of Ka'b and of Salllim b.
Abii'l-l:luqayq,said:
Whatafinebandyoumet,Oibnu'l-f:luqayq,
Andyoutoo,lbnu'l-Ashraf,
Tn.\ellingbynightv.;ththeirlightswords
Boldulionsintheirjunglelair
Untiltheycametoyouinyourquarter
Andmadeyoutastedeathwiththeirdeadlyawords,
Skingvictoryforthereligionoftheirprophet
Countingtheirli\esandwealthasnothing(S78).
THE AFFAIR OF MUJ:IAYYI !;A AND

l~UWAYYI ~A

rruel)::;s~eb~a~~~.~~~~l;a":t ~;n ~~n f~~n:~~a ~~;;):aJ:~i~~~;;~:~

0
;;~h ;! n:t ~~1::,~::::~:nt~!~~~::~e~~t~~:t~~~~~~:~~~~r~~;~:~

~e~ig,:~~~~~~~:s~~~r~~~~:~r~~:~~d~~~~~~:~:~~~~

54

orderedmetokillyou lwou\dhavecutyourheadoff.' Hesaidthatthis

~~:~~~~t{~;fE~i:~~t~!'!iig~z:

M~l):~i=l~:~i~,;~~?~ ahi~~-of B. l:fi rilha from the daughter of

Mul)ayyitacomposedthefollowinglinesonthesubject:
My mother's 10n blames me because if I were ordered to kill him
lwouldsmitehisnapcwithasharpsword,
Abladewhiteasultfrompolishing
My downward stroke ne\er misses its mark.
ltwouldnotpleasemetok.il\youvoluntarily
Though we O\\ned all Arabia from north to south (s8o).
AfterhisarrivalfromBal)rintheapostlestoppcdforthemonthtofthe 555

:~:e~E~:~~uR:ji~bS~~:.'~.!~ :.~~ ;:ma~an (in Medina).

Quraysh made

The Life of Muhammad

Listen,sonsof'Abdu Man~t,thesteadfast,
Youarestoutwarriorslikeyourfather,
Donotpromisemeyourhelpayearhence,
Donotbetrayme,forbetrayalisnotright.1
Mu~fi' b. 'Abdu Man~t b. Wahb b. Hudhafa b. Juma~ went out to the
B.Malikb.Kiniinastirringthemupandcallingthemtofighttheapostle,
saymg :
OMilik,M:ililr.,foremostinhonour,
lukinthen.ameofkindredandconfedente,
'Siln8.37
to.,.W.p.471.
1 TM otinrio inlhetailwl\ereidd""'iouoed inthooenoeof'bet.. yal"

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

atayinMedina,donotgoouttothcm. Wcha\cnc,crgoncouttolightan
enemy but we ha\'C met dl$astcr, and none has come in agaimt us without
beingdefcated,soleavethemwherctheyare. lftheystay,thcystayinanevi[
predicament, and if they come in, the men will light them and the women
andchildrenwillthrowstonesonthemfromthewalls,andiftheyretreat
they will retreat low-spirited as they came.' Those who wanted to light
QurayshkepturgingtheapostleuntilhewentintohishouKandputon
his armour. Thatwasonthe Friday when hehadtinishedpayers. On
that day one of the An,ar, Mlllik b. 'Amr one of the B. a!- Najjar died, and
thcapostleprayedoverhim,andthenwentouttofight. Meanwhilcthe
peoplehadrepentedoftheirdesign,sayingtheythoughttheyhadpersuaded
theapostleagainsthiswill,whichtheyhadnorighttodo,aothatwhenhc
went out to them they admitted that and said that if he wished to remain
inside thecitytheywould not oppose him. The apostle said, 'It is not
tittingthataprophetwhohasputonhisarmourshouldlayitasideuntil
559 hehasfought,'sohemarchedoutl'oithathousandofhiscompanions(s8J),
until when they reached al-Shau~ betw~n Medina and Ul).ud, 'Abdullah b
Ubayy withdrew with a third of the men, saying, ' He has obeyed them and
disobeyed me. We do not know why we should lose our lives here, 0
men.' So he returned with the waverers and doubters who followed him,
and 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b.l;larllm, brother of the B. Salama, followed them,
saying,'Opeople, l adjureyoubyGodnottoabandonyourpeopleand
your prophet when the enemy is at hand.' They replied, ' If we knew that
youwouldfightwewouldnotabandonyou,butwedonotthinkthatthere
will be a battle.' So when they withstood him and persisted in withdrawing,
he said, 'May God curse you, you enemies of God, for God will make His
prophetindependcntofyou.' Somcone,notZiylld, 'froml\1uhammadb.
lsl).llqfromal-Zuhrt,saidthatonthatdaytheAn,llrsaid,'Oapostlc,should
we not ask help from our allies, the Jews I' He said, 'We have no n~d of
them.' Ziylld said Muhammad b. Isl).lq told me that the apostle went his
way until he passed through the ~arra of the B.l;lllritha and a horse
1wishcd ita tail and it caught the pommel of a sword so that it came out of
ita sheath (58.4). The apostle, who liked auguries, though he did not
observe the Aightofbirds, said totheownerofthesword, 'Sheath your
sword, for I can KC that swords will be dr.~.wn today.'
Thenthcapostlcaskedhisoompanionswhctheranyonccouldtakethem
near the Qur.~.)'llh by a road which would not pau by them. AbU Khaythama, brotherofB.I;IUithab.al-l~irith,undenooktodoao, and he took
himthroughthe~arraofB. I~ a.rithaand their property until he came out
in the territory of Mirba' b. QaHi who was a blind man, a disaffected
s6o

~~~~~r0:~~ ~~~i::t~i~~:~~:;~t~~;Y~u:::r:~:t~:~~~k~!
handfu l ofdustandsaid,'ByGod,Muhammad,iflcouldbesurethatl
'Ziy&db.'Ab<llo!loh!-Biokkl'l

Tlrel..ifcofMulrammad
shouldnothitaomconeclse lwouldthrowitinyourface.' The people
rushed on him to kill him, and the apootle said, 'Do not kill him, for this
blindmanisblindofheart,blindofs.ight.' Sa'd b.Zayd, brother of B.
'Abdu'I-Ashhal, rushedathimbeforctheapostlehadforbiddenthisand
hithimontheheadwithhisbowsothatheaplititopen.
The apootle went on until he came down the gorge of Ul).ud on the high
ground of the wadi to.wards the mountain. He put hia camels and army
towards Ui)udandsaid, 'Letnoneofyoufightuntilwegivethcword.'
No:- Qur.~.~ had let their camels and hol"'C:: Iooseto pasture in some crops
which were m al-~amgha, a part of Oanlt belonging to the Muslims.
When the apostle had forbidden them to fight one of the AntAr said, 'Arc

~~:;~~~:;b~[~:r:~~;t!ero~~;1~b~~~:~r:~~t:,:;;~~~
:::i~~~~~;~hdea~~~~i::~i~%~r:.e:~h ;~:r:.::~: ~~ ~~~~~~ ~:~
:~=n~\~::~::~~:c:a:o\\~~e;;~et~:n~~:~~es; ~~ ~r:~a;::: :i~ea~r;:~

Thelpostlethcnputontwocoataof mailanddelivercdthestandardto

M~:b~~~~~a~~~:~:~e~;~rB;r:!~u::!:r3~~)~en

Mth 200 horus s6

Which they had led along With them. Their cavalry on the left flank was
commanded by Khilid b. a!- \Valid; and on the right by 'lkrima b. Abii
J ahl.
[M. The apostle wore two coats of mail on the day of UQud, and he took l\1. 65
up a sword and brandiahed it saying] 'Who will take this sword with ita
nght ?'* Some ~n got up to take it but he withheld it from them until

rliJJti,
l'mthemanwhotookthesword
When'Uaeitright'wastheprophet'sword.
Forthesa.kcofGod,ofalltheLord
Whodothtoalltheirfoodatford.]

Andhebegantostrutup anddownbetweenthelines.
'i.o.uaeh .. itoulhanddcurvatobeused

ThtLifeofllluhammad
ja'far b. 'Abdullah b. Aslam, client of 'Umar b. al-Khanab, told me on
theauthorityofoneoftheAn~irofB.Salamathattheapostlesaidwhenhe

::::~ ~~~j:~i:.~~rutting, 'This is a pit which Allah hates except on an

T. J')ll

[T. Now AbU Sufyin had sent a measenger saying, 'You men of Auaand
Khazraj, leave me to deal with my cousin and we will depart from you, for

w~t:i~ ~~ ?~e~~~t~ ~~~It~~:;:~~ t~{ f:;~e !~~ ~~~~ ~:~~-1Amr b.

$ayfi h. Malik b. al-Nu'min, one of the B. Qubay'a who had separated
from the apostle and gone off to Mecca along with fifty young men of
ai-Aus ['j'. among whom was 'UthmJn b. J:lunayf] though some people
say there were only fifteen of them, was promising Quraysh that if he met
his people no two men of them would exchange blows with him; and when
the battle was joined the first one to meet them was AbU 'Amir with the
j6J

blacktroo~andtheslavesofthel\leCClfls,andhecriedout,'Omenof

Aus, I am AbU 'Amir.' They replied, 'Then God destroy your sight, you
impiousrascal.'(lnthepaganperiodhewascalled 'themonk';theapostle
calledhim'theimpious'.) Whenheheardtheirreplyhesaid,'Evilhas
befallen my people since I left them.' Then he fought with all his might,
peltingthemwithstones.
AbU SufyJn had said to the standardbearers of the B. 'Abdu'I-Dir,
incitingthemtobaule,'OBanU'Abdu'I-Dar,youhadchargeofourflag
onthedayofBadr-yousawwhathappened. Menaredependentonthe
fortunes of their flags, soeitheryoumustguardourstandardefficiently
oryoumustlea\eittousandwewillsaveyouthetrouble(ofdefending)it.'
They pondered OH:r the matter and threatened him, saying, 'Are we 10
surrender our flag to you? You will see tomorrow how we shall act when
battle is joined' and that was just what AbU Sufyan wanted. When each
side drew near to the other Hind b. 'Utln rose up with the women that
were with her and took tambourines which they beat behind the men tO
incitethemwhileHindwassaying:

lf youadvancewehugyou,
Spreadsoftrugsbcneathyou;
lfyouretreatweleneyou,
Lea,eandnomore]o,eyou(s86).
The people went on fightingunti lthebanle grcwhot,andAbii Dujlna
foughtuntilhehadad\ancedfarintotheencmy'sranks(s87)
1 ln:\l.{6<>)th<...,lli'nbyl.l.s6Jf<>ll<>wa h<u.
'Alm<>ttthc um< wonlo wucuKdbyowomanofll.ljlotthebotd<nfDhi>Qlr.Cf
Naq<J""J,64'

The L1/t of Muhammad

Whene,er he met one of the enemy he killed him. Now among the
pagans there wu a man who dispatched every man of ours he ~vunded.
Thesetwomenbegantodrawnearonetotheother,andlpnyedGodthat
He would make them meet. They did meet and exchanged blows, and the
polytheist struck at AbU Dujina, who warded off the blow with his shield;
his sword sank into the shield so that he could not withdnw it, and Abii
DujJna struck him and killed him. Then I saw him as his sword hovered
over the head of Hind d. 'Utba. Then he turned it aside from her. AIZubayrsaid, 'And I said, "God and His apostle know best."'
AbU.Dujina said,' l sawapersonincitingtheenemy,shouting\'iolently,
and I made for him, and when I lifted my sword againtt him, he shrieked,
:da ~~~;;;:.a woman; I respected the apostle' 1word too much to use it

565

l:famzafought until he killed Afl.i b. 'Abdu Shural_lbil b. Hashim b.

'Abdu Manif b. 'Abdu'I-D.ir who was one of those who were carrying the
atandard. Then Sibl' b. 'Abdu'I-'Uz:d. ai-Ghubehlnl, who was known u
AbU Niyir, passed by him, andl:famzasaid,'Come here, yousonofa
female circumciser.' Now his mother wu Umm .Anmilr, freedwuman of
Shariq b. 'Amr b. Wahb a!-Thaqafi (588), a female circumciser in Mecca.
When they closed Uamza smote him and killed him.
Wal_lshl, the slave of Jubayr b. Mu(im, said, 'By God, I was looking at 56
J:lamza while he was killing men with his sword, sparing no one, like a huge
camel,'whenSibi'cameuptohimbeforeme,andl;lamza said,"Comehere,
you son of a female circumciser," and he ttruck him a blow ao swiftly that
it seemed tomisshishead. I poised myja\elinuntill wassurethatit
wouldhitthem.ark,andlauncheditathim. ltpiercedthelower partofhis
body and came out between his legs. He came on towards me, but
oollapsedand fell. I lefthimthereuntilhedied, when lcameandreco,eredmyjavelin. Then lwentofftothecamp,for lhadnobusiness
withanyonebuthim.'
'Abdullahb.al-Fa4lb.'Abbasb.R.i.bi'ab.al-l:flrithfromSulayminb
Yasir from Ja'far b. 'Amr b. Um.ayya ai-Oamrt told me: 'I went out with
'Ubaydullah b. 'Adly b. ai-Khiyir brother of the B. Naufal b. 'Abdu
ManU in the time of Mu'Jwiya b. AbU SufyJn and we made an elCcursion
with the army. When we came back we passed by f:lim~ where Wal_lshl had
takenuphisabode. \Vhenwearrivedthere 'Uinydullahsaidtome,"Shall
wegoand see\Val_lshlandaskhimhowhekilledl:famza?" "lfyouli.ke,"
I a.aid. So we went to inquire about him in l:lirrq. While we were doing so
am.ansaidtous,"Youwillfindhiminthecourtyardofhishouse. Heisa
manmuch addictedtowine;andifyoufindhim sober,you~illlindan

Arab and will get what you want from him in answer to your questions;
butifyoufindhim inhisusualstate,then lea\ehimalone. Sowewalked
off to find him, and there hewasinthecourtyardofhishouseupona

The Life of Muhammad

carpet, an old man like a lnightlth (5B9). He wu quite wber and normal.
Weaalutedhim,andheliftedhisheadtolookat'Ubaydullah,andtaid,
"Are you the son of 'Adiy b. ai-Khiylr1" and when he said he wu, he laid,
"ByGod,lhavenotseenyousincelhandedyoutoyourSa'ditemother
s6! who nursed you in DhU Tuwl.' I handed you to her when she wu on her
camel, and she clasped you round yourbodywithhertwohandl. You
kicked'mewithyourfeetwheniiiftedyouuptoher. ByGod,asaoonas
youttoodinfrontofmeirecognizedthem." Wesatdownandtoldhim
th.atwehadcometohearhisaccountofhowhekilled):lamza. Hetaid,
"I will tell you u I told the apostle when he asked me about it. I was a
slave of Jubayr b. 1\fufim, whose uncle Tu'ayma b. 'Adiy had been killed
a~ Badr, and when Quraysh set out_ for UQud, Jubayr told me that if I
lulled):lamza,Muhammad'suncle,mrevengeforhiauncle,lshouldbe
free. Solwentoutwiththearmy,ayoungAbyasinian,sk.ilfullikemy
~untrymenintheuaeofthejavclin-Ihsrdlyevermiuedanythingwith

11. Whenthelightbeganlwentoutto lookc:arefullyfor):lanua,untill

nwhiminthemidatofthearmy,likcagre.tca.mel,layingmenwithhis
word,nonebeingabletoruisthim,andbyGod,IwasgettingrClldyfor
him,makingtowardlhimandhidingmyselfbehindtreesorrockl10that
hemightcomenearme,whenauddenlySibl'gottohimlirat,andwhen
):lamzasawhim,heaaid,"Comehere,you10nofafemalecireumciaer,"
andstruckhimabloWIO t wiftlythatitaeemedtomisshiahead. Ipoiacd
myjavelinuntillwassurethatitwouldhitthemarkandlauncheditat
him. Itpiercedthe lowerputofhisbodyandca.meoutbetweenhislegs,
ndhebegantostaggertowardsme. Thenhecollapsed,andllefthim
withtheja\clinuntilhedied;thenica.mebadtandrecoveredmyjavelin,
andretumedtothecampandatayedthere,for i hadnofurtherbldinese,
and my only object in killing him was that I might be freed. When I
returnedtoMeccalwufreedandHvedthere untiltheapostleconquered
Mecca, when I fled to al-Tl'if, and atayed there for some time. When the
envoysofTl'ifwentouttotheapostletoturrender, Iwas inanimpuae
andtho~ghtthat I w~u ld go to SyriaortheYaman,oranyothercountry,
and while I w~ in thtt anxiety a man said to me, "Good heaven1, what ia
themauer? Hedoetnotkillanyonewhoenten hiareligionandpronounces
thes~d11." Onheari_ngthitiw~toutofthetowntothespostleat
Medma:and_thelirstthmgtoaurpnaehi~wastoJCCmenandingathis
h~ad, wtt':'essmg to the truth of God and Hta apostle. When he aaw me he

111d, "Is 11 WaQhll" "Yes, 0 apostle of God," I said. He replied, "Sit

s66 down and tell me how you killed J:lamza." So I told him as I have told
you. Whenlhadfinishedhesaid,''Woetoyou,hideyourfaeefromme
andneverletmeseeyouagain." Soiuaedtoavoidtheapostlewherever
he wu so that he 1hould not see me, until God took him.

Tht Life of Muhammad

"When the Muslims went out against Muuylima, the false prophet, lord
oftheYamama,laccompaniedthem,andltooktheja\elinwithwhichi
had killed J:lamza, and when the armies met I saw Musaylima atanding
withaawordinhishand,butididnotrecognizehim. I made ready for
him and so did one of the An~~r from the other aide, both of us intending
to kill him. I poised my javelin until I wu ture that it would hit the mark,
andlauncheditathim,anditpiercedhim,andtheAnp.rirushedathim
and smote him with his aword, 150 your Lord knows best which of us killed
him. Ifikilledhim,then ihavekilledthebestmanaftertheapostleand
lhavealsok.illedtheworstman."'
[When he came to Medina the men. aaid '0 apostle, this is Wal;ahl' t_o s.
whichhereplied'Lethimaloneforthatonemanahouldacceptlslamts
dearertomethanthekillingofathousand unbelievers.'] '
'Abdullah b. ai-FaQI from Sulaymln b. Yadr from 'Abdullah b. 'Umar
b. ai-Kha~tlb who was preacnt at Yam.lma said, I heard 10meone thouting,
'Theblacktlavehaskilledhim'(s90)
MUf'ab b. 'Umayr fought in the defence of the apostle until he wu
killed. The one who killed him was Ibn Qami't al-L1ythi, who thought he
was the postle, 10 he returned to the Qurs)'1h and aaid, '1 have killed
Muhammad.' When Mufab was killed the apottle gave the standard to
'All,and'AiiandtheMuslimsfoughton(591).
Sa'd b. AbU Waqqlf killed AbU Sa'd b. AbU Tall)a; '~im b. Thlbit b. 567
Abii'I-AqlaQ fought and killed Muslfi' b. TalQa 1nd his brother ai-Julb,
shootingbothofthem.,.,ithanarrow. Eachcametohismother,Sullfa,
and laid his head in her lap. Sheuid,'Whohashurt)ou,myiOn?'
md he replied, 'I heard 1 man saying as he 1hot me, "I am Ibn Abii'lAqlal), take th.atl'" She twore an oath that if God ever let her get
the head of '~im she would drink wine from it. It was 'Alim who had
~!:~:.to witness that he would never touch a polytheist or let one
'Uthm~n b. AbU TaiQa aaid that day aa he was carrying the standard of
the polytheists:

Itisthe dutyof standardbearers

Tobloodtheirtpeanuntiltheyarebrokentopieces
l:lamukilledhim.
l:lan~ala b. AbU .~mir, the washed one, and AbU Sufyiin met in combat,
and when l:lan;r-ala got the better of him, Shaddld b. ai-Aswad, who waa
IbnSha'Ub,sawthathehadbeatenAbU Sufy~n,andsohestruckhimand s68
killed him. The apostle said, 'Your companion, ):lan?-ala, is being washed
by the angela.' Theyaskedhisfamilyabouthiacondition,andwhenhis
wifewuaslr.ed, l heaaidthathehadgoneouttobattlewhenheheardthe
crywhile inastateofritualimpurity(sg:z).
;,.'w-r::;r:::::.llCinbr-ckcU! iooabnfn>mYunut'n'or4)a. Jciocitodfn>m Suhoyli(ii. l~

,,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The apostle said,'Forthisreasontheangelswashedhim.' Shaddlldsaid

abouthiskilling l:l an~la:

I prot~tmyfriendandmy.self
Withathrustthatpicrcesliketheraysofthesun.
AbU Sufyln,mentioninghishardihoodonthatdayandthe helpthatl bn
Sha'Ubga\e himagainll~lanpla,said:

Had I wished it my swift b.ay could ha\e sa\rd me,

~"!!:i~:~~~::: ~~~n~~:~~~: ~; Sha'Ub.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Hadlnotbroughtmyhorseback therc,
Hyaenaaorjackalswouldhavedevouredyourflesh(s9+)
AJ.f:IJrithb.HiahJm,anawering AbiiSufyJn,said:
Hadyou seen whatthey didatBadr'apool
You wouldhaerctumedwith fear inyourheartaalongaayou live;
(Oryouwou ldhavebeenkilledand l houldhavecaused

~~p::! =~~:nn~~ ~:~ :~: :;;.,w for the lou of a dear one).
l paidthembackinkindfor~adr

From earlymomtillaetof sun;

Onaspiritedga.llopingprancmg honc(59S)

l foughtthemanderied,'On,Ghilibl'

Then God sent down Hia help to the Muslims and fulfilled His

I beatthemfrommewithfinnstrength;
Heednotthercmonstranceofothcrs,
Grownotwcaryoftearsandsighs,
Weepforthyfathc randhisbrotherswhohavcpasscdaway,
TheirfatedeM:rvesthytears;
l\I yformersorrowisrclieved
B~au.se I killcdthebestmcnofNajj~r.
And Hishim's noble stallion and Mu~'ab
Whowasnotooward\yinwar
Hadlnotslakcdmy\'tngeanceonthem,
Myheanhadbecnscaredandscarred.
Theyretired thei r(Meccan)"agabondsdead'
Thrust through, bleeding, prostrate.
Thosenottheirequalsinblood smotethcm
Andthosewhowercbeneaththeminrank(593). 1
!!~~ha'iib, mentioning the way he hdped Abii Sufyin and defended him,

Had lnotbcenthereanddefendedyou, lbnf:larb,

You would hne hem left speechless for eer at the mountain foot.
1 J..uba ia Mid lOoMan 'lntMr oprono <H" conrinp', as~~~~ i< .... ~ tM plun.J of
~. Thou;ll M:cont upo"od JntMr, tha< con hanlly ""'"been matter for rcp..,..,h
beao-lntMrwatocn<"'IMNII"tosog>hknown"'bchiKhiYPriudinAbyMinio
l\l..,_....r,whyoho\!JdAbi:IS..fyln~.._hhitfe(lo.o t""""rncnfor10mlringprmenu
whichprc$umoblydifl'~innowoyfromtt.o-wombyotherl\lcccom?ltiadcorthot

tbewonlio.,iftsuh,andtMquntioniowby1 Uouin'o po<1n{W.7J8,Dhnht<:s.l)on.. konl

th<.,ILio4ji.,bc(Jins
ThcJollobibhaveb:omcpowcrfulondnumerouo
ond I. Soh11 (W, 7>6) u.,.. the ......, wonls to cxpruo hit an~r and dislikc of the cmi1nnU.
'l'hcrcfo..,it-mtthotthcori(JinoftheiruultiotobeooulhtinjtJal>'othill,lldri,...nor

:!~~~~~~;;~~~;;;;;;~;;~;~~~~~,~=

~h~:~~;~tb~~~:~:~::i~~~~;~~~~=:ru:~h:~~:h:re;ro=~::

dullahb.aJ.ZubyrfromZubayrllld:lfoundmyselflookmgattheankleu
ofHindd.'Utbaandhercompanions,tuckinguptheirgarmenuaathey
0

~::he~~~;~e~':si~~~~!ntt:~!; w1::~~~ :~~~ h~~t~~~:7 o~hf~~hi~

~~ w:::i:t~a~~~~hr::!:~bi~;u~~:,~';~~1c~":u~~:~ r:;:h~;~% ~n!
been killed.' Weturnedbackandtheencmyturnedbackonuaafter we
hadkilledthestandard bearcrs so thatnoneoftheenemycouldcomenear
it(5).
Atraditionisttoldmethatthcstandardlayonthegrounduntil'Amn.

l;S~@~~~~gJ~~::~~fij~~f.~~:~~I.gg:g~;~~
breaat andthroat untilhewasltilledo\erit, sayingthewhile'OGod,have
l donemyduty?'' Hecould notpronouncethedJufl.
1-Jassinb.Thii.bitsaidaboutthat :
Youboastedofyourflag, theworst(groundfor)boasting
lsaflaghandedoerto$u'iib,
Youhavemadeaslave)ourboast,
Themostmiserablecreaturcthatwalkstheearth.
Yousupposed(andonlyafoolsothinb,
Foritisanythingbut thetruth)
Thatfighting usthedaywemet
W:ulikeyoursellingredleathersacksinl\lccca.
lt gladdcncdtheeyetoseehishandsreddcncd,
Thoughtheywcrcnotreddenedhydye(s97)

570

The Life of Muhammad

38o
57'

l:lasd.nalsoaaidabout'Amraandherraisingthescandard
When'A~alweredri,entoull

TheywerelikefawmofShirk'
Withstronglymarkedeyebrows.
w~~nackedthemthrusting,slaying,chastising,

Dnvnglhembeforeuswithblowsoneveryside.
Hadnotthel;U.rithitewomanaeizedtheirstandard
Theywouldhavebeensoldinthemarkeulikechattels.

liifltl~
f:lasslnb.Thlbitaaidof'Utba:

WhenGodrecompenseaapeople fortheirdeeds
AndtheRal;!minpunisheatheml
MaymyLorddisgraceyou, 'Utaybab.l\Iilik,
Andbringyouadeadlypunishmentbeforeyoudie

~~~ ~~~~~dh~~~;~;h~~~~~;i;~:;~:~e~ a:u~:S~:he prophet,

DJdyouforgetGodandtheplaceyouwillgoto
Whenthefinalmisfonuneovertakeayou!(S99)According to what al-l:lutayn b. 'Abdu'I-Ral,unln b. 'Amr b. Sa'd b.

~J~t~~f~~~~f.:~~{f~~~~~~~~.~~~~~~~
:~~m~~~:~.f~ ah~:~~~~o:~~~e:~d~~d h~h~~d~:~~~~~ hr~7e ':n~~~
apostle'sfoot(6oo).

382

Tht Lift of Muham"uui

The Lift of Muhammad

answered, 'He said to me in Mecca that he would kill me, and, by Cod, if
he had apat on me he would have killed me.' The enemy of God died in
Sarifuthey"~retakinghimbacktoMecca.

l nreferencetoth.atl;lusinb.Thlbitsaid:
Ubayyshowedthedisbeliefinheritedfromhisfather
Thedaytheapostlemethiminbattle.
Youcametohimcarryingamoulderingbone
Andthreatenedhim,ignorantofhisoffice.
Banu'l-Najjiir killed Unuyya from among you
Whenhecalledon'Aqilforhelp.

~~:~a~~:~::~::~s:~i~d=n they obeyed Abii Jahl.

lfiirith escapedwhenwewerebusy takingprisonerl.
To capture him wu not worth while (6o4).'
l;laaslnb.TMbitalsosaid:
Who will give a mewge from me to Ubayy?
Youh.avebeencastintothencthCrm()5thell;
Longhaveyoupur1uederror,
Swomvowsthatyouwouldwin.
L>nghavcyouindulgedinsuchhopes,
Butunbeliefleadstodisappointment.
A thnat from an angry warrior found you
One ofanoblehouae, nomiscreant.
Whosurpassesal\othercreatures
When misfortunes befall.
When the apostle reached the mouth of the glen 'Ali came out and filled
hisshieldwithwaterfromal-!\-1 ihrb'andbroughtittotheapostle,wbo
refuaedtodrinkitbecauaeitsevilsmellrepellcdhim. Howe\er,he used
thewatertowashthebloodfromhisfaceandashepoureditoverhishead
he said: 'The wrath of God is fie rce against him who blooded the face of
His prophet.'
Sili~ b. Kaysin told me from an infof"f!Unt who got it from Sa'd b. Abii
\Vaqq~ that the latter u~d to ~~ay: ' I was never more eager to kill anyone
than I wutokill'Utba b. AbiiWaqq~., hewas,as l know, of evil character
andhatedamonghispeople. ltwasenoughforme(to hatehim)thatthe
apostle should say, "The wrath of God is fierce against him who blooded
thefaeeof Hisprophet".'
Whiletheapostlewasin the glen with a number of his companions
suddenlyatroopofQurayshcameupthemountain (6o5). The apostle
said, '0 God, it is not fitting that they should be above us,'so'Umar

and a number of

emig~ts

383

fought until they drove them down the

mounta.~n.

The apostle made for a rock on the mountain to climb it. He had become
beavybyreasonofhisage,andmoreoverhehadputontwocoatlofmail,
10 when he tried to get up he oould not do so. Tal~a b. 'Uinydullah 577
.quauedbeneathhimandliftedhimupuntilhe~~ettledcomfortablyuponit.

YaJ:lyl b. 'AbMd b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zulnyr from his father from 'Abdullahb.al-Zubayrfromal-Zulnyrsaid:'Thatdaylheardtheapostlesaying

"Tall;Laearnedparadi~whenhedidwh.athedidfortheapostle(6o6).'"

The army had fled away from the apostle until some of them went u far
as ai-Munaqq~ near al-A'w~. ~im b. 'Um.u b. Qatlda from Ma~miid
b. Labld tofd me that when the apostle wem out to U~ud l;lusayl b. Jibir,
who y,.-as al-Yamin Abii l;ludhayfa b. al-Yamin, and Thlbit b. Waqsh
were ~nt up into the foru with the women and children. They were both
oldmenandonesaidtotheother,'Whatareyouwaitingfor,confound
you? Neitherofuswilllivemuchlonger.' Wearecertaintodietodayor
tomorrow, so let us take our awords and join the apostle. Perhaps God will
g~t us manyrdom with him.' So they took their awords and sallied out
untiJtheymingledwiththearmy. Nooneknewanythingabout them.
Thlbitwaskilledbythepolytheistsandl;lusaylbytheswordsoftheMusliffill,whokilledhimwithoutrecognizinghim. l;ludhayfauid,'hismy
father.' They &aid, 'By God, we did not know him,' and they spoke the
truth. l;ludhayfa u.id, 'May Cod forgive you, for He is most compaasionatt.' Theapostlewanted!opayhisblood-money,but):ludhayfagaveit
ualmstotheMusliiTUiandthatincreuedhisfavourwiththeapostle.
'~im also told me that a man called l;l~tib b. Umayya b. Rafi', who had s:;8
a son called Yazid, was grievously wounded at U~ud and was brought to
hi.Jpeople'aaettlementatthepointofdea!h. Hiskinamtngatheredround
and the men and women began to say to him, 'Good news of the garden
(of paradise), 0 son of l;litib.' Now ):litib W:i3 an old man who had Ji,ed
longintheheathenperiodandhishypocrisyappearedthen,forheaaid,
'What good news do you give him? Of a garden of ruefl By God, you
ha,e robbed this manofhis lifebyyour deception (and brought great
sorrow on me.' Tab.).
'AJim told me: 'There was a man among us, a atranger of unknown
origin called Quzmil.n. The apostle used to say when he was mentioned,

~!c ~~:gs.::c~h:~~~to~~:~~~~~ :~~g~::h:~Y~~ ~~e :?n~t :e::~

warrior. He wudiu.bled by wounds and carried to the quarter of B.
~afar. The MualiiTUI began to say to him, "You have done gallantly, Quzmln,beofgoodcheerl" ''Whyahouldl,"hesaid,"lonlyfoughtforthe
honourofmypeople;bur forth~t I ahouldnothavefought." And when
1 Ar>lanHrModinl
Onlr.,ionl!atodonkcy'odrink.
1 The<Modwo..,buriodwith""'ollbeirftaolthiotimo. SHWiqidi, B.M.MS.A.
"'>7J7.foi.6Ja.

38

The L1fe of Muhammad

the pain of his wounds became unbeanb le he took an arrow from his
quiver,(Tcutthe,einsofhiswrist,andbledtodeath. When the apostle
\\~toldofthishesaid" l tcstifythat l amtrulyGod'sapostle").''

Among those killed at U]:lud \\~ (T the jew) Mukhayriq who was one
oftheB.Tha'labab.ai-FityUn. OnthatdayheaddressedtheJewsuying
'You know that it is your duty to help Muhammad,' and when they replied
thatitwastheSabbathday,hcsaid,'YouwillhavenoSabbath,'andtaking
hisswordandaccoutremcnts,hesaidthatifhewasslainhispropertywas
to go to Muhammad, who could deal with it as he liked. Then he joined
theapostleandfoughtwithhimuntilhewaskil!ed. l haveheardthatthe
apostlesaid,'MukhayriqisthebcstofthcJcws.'
S79
Al-):lirith b. Suwayd b. $ilmit was a hypocrite. He went out with the
Muslims to U]:lud, and when the armies met he attacked ai-Mujadhdhar b.
Dhiyild a.I-Balawiand Qay.b. Zayd,oneofthe B.l;>ubay'a, and killed
them. Then he joined the Quny.h in Mecca. Now the apostle, as they
say, had ordered 'Umartokill him ifhcgotthebettcrofhim, but he
cscapcdhimandwasinMecca. Thenheecnttohi!lbrothcrai-Julilsduiringforghencs.ssothathemightrctumtohispeople,andGodscntdown
concerning him, as I have heard on the authority of Ibn 'Abbill: 'How can
Godguideapeoplewhohavedisbelievedaftertheirbelief,andafterthat
theyhavetestifiedthattheapostleistrueandproofshavebeengivento
them. Godwillnotguideanevilpeople' 1 tothccndofthepassage(6o-]).
Mu'idhb. 'Afrii'hadkilledSuWJ.ydb.al-$iimittreachcrouslyinsome
~~~.~~:.~ttle. He shot him with an arrow and killed him before the day of
Al-1:1u~ayn

b. 'Abdu' l -~miln b. 'Amr b. Sa'd b. Mu'idh from Abii

Sufyin client of Ibn AbU A]:lmad from AbU HurayD said that he used to
tay:'Tellmeaboutamanwhoentercdpanr.discne\'erha\ingpnyedinhis
sSo life.'andwhenthepeopledidnotknow,theyaskedhimwhoitwasandhe
said, u,ayrim of the B. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal, 'Amr b. Thibit b. Waqsh.' All:lu,ayn asked Ma]:lmUd b. Asad what were the facts of Upyrim, and he
repliedthatinspiteofhispeoplehehadrcfuscdtoacceptlslam,butonth_e
day that the apostle marched out to U]:lud he accepted it. He took hls

~ff:gf~~;;~J:~]i:;;;.;i~~~~~=~?~~~~::~r~~~ii
'Forchewon:loinbnodt:..,.l.l.haome..,lr'and kil~h.imorlfwithic'.

i~~~~

The L1fe of Muhammad

:::

385

:~:;r::d~~:~h~~~~~~et1~:~ i:t: :7:ec~:~~!~.r ?;~:vl~o~0g~

:~h~~e a=:~ea~!~~~ ~h~ ~!!~~::!:~

5

~;c::~~:.a::: ~f~~~

~~!:~~~~~h~~;~~h:~ ;~~~t:~ him to the apostle he uid, 'Verily, he

My father 1s~11q from ahaykhs of the B. Salama told me that 'Amr b.
al-Jamii]:l was a man who was ,cry lame. He had four lion-like sons who

f{;f.~T~~ij].~~L~~~f~~:~~;~:~1fi;f;El~t~
~~~~:::~hd~~~h~:.i:n~~~~d~~~o::,n~"~:~t:~;-~;t :.;~~; ~n:ha..: ~:

Acoord~ng to what ~ali]:l b. Kaysan told me, Hind d. 'Utba and the s8 1

~o~:~ t~:~~ ~=~ :~~~~ :~u~i~ti~~h:::s:~~~d~:1d0 C:n~fe:i;;~ c~~~

andgaveherankletsandcollarsandpendantstoWatlshi,thesla\'eof
Jubayr b. Mut'im. She cut out l~amza's lil'er and chewed it, but she was

=~ :~~~ct~e~'':,[[~~ :~:n:f l~;;::tc:~ay.' Th~n abc mounted a high rock

WehavepaidyoubackforBadr
And a war that follows a war ia always violent.
lcouldnotbcarthelossof'Utba
Nor my brother and his uncle and my first-born.
I havc l lakedmyHngeanccandfulfillcdmyvow.

~:~~l?t~:~~~~~~:~ie ~~~:e! \h~~~~uming in my breast.

Untilmybonesrotinthegra,e.
Hind d. Uthll.tha b. 'AbMd b. al-Munatib answered her:
You weredisgraccdatlladrandaftcr \ladr,

g~a~~~~h~~~ ~:~ii~~~: :a:7; ~:~~.~only in disbelief.

Tall andw hite-skinnedmenfroml-la&him,
E,eryoncslashingwith hissharp 1word:
l~arru:amylionand 'Ali my falcon
WhenShaybaandyourfathcrplannedtoattackme
Theyrcddencdtheirbrcasuwithblood.
Yourevil,owwastheworstof,ows(6o8).

386

The Life of Muhammad

Islakedmyvengeanceonf:lamzaat Ul}ud.
Isplithisbellyto~tathialher.

Thiatooltfrom mewhat lhadfelt

Ofburningsorrowandexceedingpain.
Warwillhityouexceedinghard
Cominguponyouaslionsadvance.

,. 1~~ft1~~ii~ft~t.t:~2t~!~i~~ff

I rcalited that it was not one of the weapons of the Ar:~.bs. It seemed to me

:C ~:ru~~r!:~. 7 ~~~~~d ;;ul:l:=;.~u~ ~u::~t ~~~~~B~t;c~; =~7'~:

u.idandtjasdnsaid:
The vile woman was insolent: her habits were vile;
Seeingthatdisbeliefaccompaniedherinsolencc(6to).

~~1~!~~!

'ii~~~~~

~~~:~~~~~ff~~i~~~~;~i~~~:~:~~J{2:

bet.;~e;~ ~~apostle sent 'Ali to follow the army and see what they were

The Ltfe of Muhammad

387

doingandwhattheirintentionswere. Iftheywereleadingtheirho~
andridingtheircamelstheywouldbemakingforMecca;butiftheywere
ridingthehorsesanddrivingthecamelstheywouldbemakingforMedina.

~B;i~~~t 7~~!~ :~l~h.?;d~~:~ ~~rf:~~~~~ :h:i~\~:c~ :~~ma:~e~~~~:~

were doing. Theywereleadingtheirhorses,ridingtheircamelsandgoing
towardsMeeca. (T. Theapostlehadaaid'Whatcvertheydo,kcepsilent T-49
aboutituntilyoucomctomc.' WhcnlaawtheyhadsetoutforMeccal
camehackshouting.lcouldnothidethefactuthcapostlehadordered
mebecauseofmyjoyatseeingthcmgoingtoMeccaandthusavoiding
Medina.)
Thepeoplesearchedfortheirdead,andtheapostlesaid,accordingto
what Muhanunad b. "Abdu'l-Ral)mln b. AbU $a'p'a al-Mbini, brother
of the B. al-Najjlr told me, 'Who will find out for me what hu happened to
Sa'db.al-Rabi'? lshealheorarnongthedeadl' OneoftheAnflrvolunteeredandfoundhimlyingwoundedamongthe slain,atthepointofdeath.
Hetoldhimthattheapostle had ordered himtoseeifhewasali,e or
amongthedcad. Hetaid,'larnamongthedcad. Conveymygrcetinpto
theapostleandaay:"&'dsaystO)'Ou'MayGodrcwardyoubyusbetter s&.t
thanhehasre\\ardedanyprophetbyhispeople,'"andgiveyourpeoplea
grttting from me and say "You have no excuse with God if anythin~ has
happened toyourprophetwhileyou canflutteraneyclid,"'andstraghtwayhedied. Hcsaid:'lcametotheapostleanddeli\'ercd hismeuage'
(6 12).
lhavebeentoldthattheaposdewentoutseekingf:lanuaandfoundhim
atthebottomofthevalleywithhisbellyrippedupandhislivermitaing,
andhisnoseandea.-.cutoff. Muhanunadb.Ja'farb.ai-Zubayrtoldme
that when he aaw this the aposde said: 'Were it not that ~fiya would be
miserable and it might become a custom after me' I would leave him as he
is, so that his body might find its wa~ into the belli~ of beasts and t~e
crops of birds. If God gives me victory over Quraysh tn the future I wtll
mutilate 30 of their men.' When the Muslims aaw the apostle's grief and
angeragainstthosewhohadthustreatedhisunde,theysaid, 'By God, if
God gi\'ts us \"ictory over them in the future we will mutilate them as no
Arabhasevermutilatedanyone'(6tJ)
Burayda b. Sufyln b. Fama aJ.Aslaml from Muhammad b. Ka'b alOurqi, and a man 1 ha,e no reason to suspect from Ibn "Abblis told me s8s
that God sent down concerning the words of the apostle and hiaoompanions'lfyoupunish,thenpunishuyouha\'ebeenplUlished.lf)'OU
endurepatientlythatisbetterforthepatient. Endurethoupatiemly. Thy
endurance is only in God. Grieve not for them, andbenotindistresa
at what they plot.'l So the apostle pardoned themandwaspatientand

388

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

forbade mutilation. l;lumayd al-'fawil from al-l;lasan from Sa.mura b.

jundub told me:'Theapostleneverstoppedinaplaceandldtitwithout
enjoiningonulialmsgivingandforbiddingmutilation.'
One whom l do not suspect from Miqsam, adient of 'Abdullah b. all;liirith from Ibn 'Abbis, told me that the apostle ordered thatl;lamza
1hould be wrapped in a mantle; then he prayed o,er him and uid 'Allah
Akbar' seven tima~. Then the dead were brought and placed beside
~=andheprayedo,erthemallu ntilhehadprayedseventy-two

Accordingto\\hat I have been told $afiyad. 'Abdu'I-Munalibcame

fornardtolookathim. llewasherfull-brotherandthcapostlesaidtoher
son, al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwlm, 'Go to n1~-et her and take her baclr. 10 that
she does not see what has happened to her brother.' He said to her,
'Mother,theapostleorders)'Outogoback.' Sheuid,'Why? lhl\ehcard
thatmybrothcrhasbeenmutilatedandthatforGod'ssakc('f. is a small
thing]. Hehasfullyreconciledustowhathashappened. l\\illbccaim
and patient if God will.' When Zubayr returned to the prophet and
reportedthistohimhetoldhimtoleaveheralone;soshccameandlooked
at l:lamza and prayed o,-er him and uid, 'We belong to God and to God do
we return,' and she asked God'sforghenessforhim. Then the apostle
ordcredthatheshouldbeburied. Thefamilyof'Abdullahb.JaJ:lsh,who
was the aon of Umayma d. 'Abdu'l-Mut]alib,l;lamza being his maternal
unde, and he having been mutilated in the $3111e way as l~ amza exc.:pt that
hisliverhadnotbcentalu:nout,assertedthattheapostleburied him in
thesamegravewithl:lamza;butl hcardthatStoryonryfromhisfamily.
Now lOme Mualims had carried their dead to Medina and buried them
s86 then:. Theapostleforbadethisandtoldthemtoburythemwherethey
lay. Muhammad b.l\luslim al-Zuhrlfrom 'Abdullah b. Tha'laba b. $u'ayr
ai-'Udhrl,anallyofthcB.Zuhra,toldmethattheapostlesaidwhenbe
\ookeddownonthe alainat UI;lud:' Iteatifyconcemingthesethatthereis
none wounded for God' uke but God will raise him on the reaurrec;tion
day with his wounds bleeding, the colour that of blood, the smell like
musk; look fo~ \he one who has collected' most of the Quran and put him
infrontofhiscompanionsinthegra\'e,' Theywereburyingtwoandthree
in one grave
My unde MUsil b. Yas~r told me that he hcarU Abi1 Hurayra say: Abu'lQisim~ uid, 'Then: is none wounded for God's sake but God will raise
himontheresurrec:tiondaywithhiswound!iblec:ding,thecolourthatof
blood,thesmelllikemusk.'
My father h~~q b. Yaslr told me on the authority of shaykhs of the D.
Salarnathatwhentheapostleorderedthedeadtobeburiedheuid,'Look
out for 'Amr b. al-jamlil;l and 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. J:lar:Jm; they were
close friends in thi world, 10 put them in onegra\e.' ('f. When Mu'~wiya
dug t~CL..t~=-d they were exhumed they were as f:e:~r: ~mortis

~~~:=:h~~:h:.:~;;f~.~~~!a!:~-~:~:~ae!~~;~::~

of'A'ishad.'Uthmln,toldmethatoneoftheapostle'soompanionsfrom

.~ ~g~~~g?Jgfi~:g~~~~t~~tQ~:~~~t
~: =~~ o~::~~et: ~~~~~~\~~ea:;:~~~~::~:ed~,.~~~=:~

be wu enfeebled I put him on the beast for a time and we walked and rode
tum and tum about until we tame up to when: the Muslims had halted.'
1

M~~aa~;~~ ~; st~~rt: ~=:~~T~c!a;~;~ ~~~n~7y,f:~

thenn:tumedtoMedina.
'AbduUah b. AbU Bakr told me that Ma'bad b. Abii Ma'bad ai-Khuz11

~-::~! ~~~he~~~:~~~;;h=. t~~; ~!~~~::g~d ~~~tt~~i=;~.::~;~

not conceal from him anything that happened there. Now at th11 t1me

~?:i~~ri~l~t~;~;~f,~J:i~[~~~If~~fi~~i;
gJ(~~g:~~~:~~~;;;ntrg:~s~~E:~~j:Ii~1

~~:,::u~1:~~~dh~e::~~~::: ~~:~:;~u ~t~e~~~~1:~~!

~~~ :~: ;:"ro~~:~e:i~a:)~~n:r::;Y~~ :m::;h~o;'~~
theydidandareviolentlyenn.gedagaJnstyou. Ne\'erhavelseenanything
90

Tlu Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

390

~~'; d~e;i~h~~~~;~!:u ':~a:i~f:t;:~:;:h~:;~~

the cavalry.' He replied, 'Butwehavedeterminedtoatt~the~to
exterminate their survivors.' He answered, 'But 1 would adVl!ICagaHlst
that. What I saw induced me to utter some verlloCII about them.' When he
askedwhattheywere,hen:eited
My mount almost fell with fright at the clamour
Whenthegroundfl.owedwithtroopsofhorsc
Hasteningwithnoblelion-likewarriors
Eagerforthefn.y;firminthesaddle;'fuUyanned.

...:.~~ :.~~ ~:yaT~~~';!~_f"i7...::'.:~~~~~,'';;~~~~~~:.: ~::!le:;:

oynonymof,...,lfdl.thowonlthatfollowoi<.

Icontinuedtomn,thinkingthevery earthwumoving.
When they came up with the prince who never lads suppon
Iaaid,'Alasfor lbnl:larbwhenhe meetsyou
Whentheplainissurgingwithmen.'
lwamthepeopleoftheaanctuaryplainly
Everyprudentandsensibleman;~mongthem

OfAI;uru~d's army-nopoltnxnUihisriders

Andthewaminglgi\e istme.
These words turned back Abii Sufyln and his followers.
Some riders from 'Abdu'I-Qays passed him and he learned that they

::::~of~~1=:~a ~r/lr:;il~i~o~ t~c:::~~~i~/~:uu~~::.o~~i:~

raisins in UUz, when

)"Oll

arrive then:.' They agreed, and he said,_ 'Then

~~:~E;:.~;~~~;eu~~~~ ~~~~:::t~ ~~~a1~~~a~e::~~;

andhee,;claimed,'Godisoursufficiency,tlJt" bestinwhomtotmst(6 8).'

Ibn Shih:lbai-Zuhritold me that when the apostle came to !\!edina 59

r~{~~j~~t~J:~;~:t:0Y~i~tg;::t:i~~

him; listen to his commands and obey them.' Then he used to sit down
until when heactedashedidonthe dayofU]:ludandcameback"ithhis

;~:~~~f~~~:~~~~i,~i~W:~~;~I~.~~t~~x~~

[it:t;~r.;~~:I~;~;~~~EF:~~~:t:ff,~;~g
for you.' He said, ' By God, I donotwamhimto.'

whi:~e ~ ~~t~~~e";:li:\.~:; a :dt~~~ t~~a~~~! :~a:ia~a~r=~ ~:

0

profeuedfaithwiththeirtongueandhidunbeliefintheirh~aru;andaday

in which God honoun:d with manyrdom those whom he Willed.

PASSACilS IN THE QURAN WHICH DEAL WIT II UIJUD

Abii Jl.luhammad 'Abdu'l-Malik b. Hishiim told us from Ziyld b. 'Abdullah ai-Bakkii'i from l\Iuhammad b. b]:l:lq al-MuHalibi: There are sixty

The Life of llfuhmnmad

The Life of Muhammad

~;~e~b~~~:o~~~!~~~~~~=~~~;e~~::: ~:;;nC::~:~~~~ ~~;

inmymercy,forif l wiah l shalldoso ;orl ahallpunishthemfortheir

ainsforthat is my prerogative; 'for they arc evil-doers,' i.e. they have
detervedthatforthcirdiaobediencetol\lc. 'AndGodisforgiving,mcrci[~I;~~~.He forgives sins and has mercy on His slavC!l according to' what is

[;f~~:~:.~;.~~~:~~;~~;~f:i.ff~{!~!:.~:~~~{'E!

1\fltii~

protcct.himunti!Ibringhimtohi5appointcdtimeof lifeandwardoffevil
fromhtmand atrengthenhiminhispurposc:.
'God helped you at Dadr when you were contemptible, so fear God that

~~~E~~~~E~;:?J~~~f~~t;i~%1:~~~~r~t.
:~;tt~~~~:}5E12~~~~Fil~:~~?f;~~:~;

mentionedthc.armiesofMyangelsonlyasgood news foryouandthat

yourheartsmtghtbeatresttherein,becau~elknowyourweaknwand

victorycomesonlyfroml\lebecauseofl\lyaol'ereigntyandpowerforthe
~=:r:s~at power and authority belong to Me, not to any one of my
Then He said: 'that He may cut off a part of those who disbelieve or
overtumthemsothattheyretiredisappointed,'i.e.toeutoffapartof the
polytheists in a fight inwhieh He will take vengeanceonthemor drive
thcmbackinchagrin,i.e.thatthosewhosurvivemayretreatasfrustratcd
fugiti,esh31'ing achievednothingthattheyhopedtoattain(6zl).
Then He said to Muhammad the apostle of God: 'It is not your affair
whctherHechangesllisanitudetothemorpunishesthem,fortheyare
elildocrs,'i.e.youhavenoconcemwithM yjudgcmentofMyalaiUCXCCpt
in sofaras l gileyouordersconcemingthcmor l changetowardsthem
'SolnJ.U7f.

Then He said: '0 ye who believe, Take not 1 usury, doubling and quad- 595
rupling,'i.e.Donotdevourinislam,towhichGodhasnowguided)'OU,
whatyouusedtode,ourwhenyoufollowedanothf'rrcligion;auchisnot
pennittedtoyouin yourrcligion. 'AndfearGod,haplyyoumaybepTO!lperous',i.e.SoobeyGod,perhapsyoumayesc:lpefromHis punishment
of which He has warned you, and anain His reward which He has made
you desire. 'Andfearthefirewhichispreparedforthedisbelievcrs,'i.e.
which has been made a dwelling for those who disbelieve in Me.
Then He said: 'And obey God and the apostle, haply you will attain
mcrcy'rcproachingthosewhodisobeyed theapostleintheorden hegave
them that day and at other times. Then He said: 'And vie with one
anotherforforgi,enwfromyourLordandagardenaswideasthe
hea,ensandtheearthpreparedfor tho.ewhofear(God),'i.e.adwelling
forthosewhoobeyl\1eandobeyl\1yapostle. 'Thosewho spend(their
money)ineaseandadversityandwhoCI)ntroltheirwnr.thandareforgiving
to men, for God loves those who do wcJI,' i.e. that is well doing and I loYe
those who act thua. ' And those who when they act unseemly or wrong
themsehes, remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins-and who
forghessinsbutGod1-andhavenotpen.iatcdintheiractionaknowingly,'
i.e.if theyha\eactedunseemlyorwrongedthemsdvesbydisobedience,
they remember God's prohibition and what He has declared evil, and ask
forghenes~~, knowing that none can forgi1e sins but He. 'And have not
persistedintheiractionsknowingly,'i.e.havenotcontinucdtodisobeyMe
likethosewhoaaciateotherswithMeintheextravaganccoftheirdisbeliefwhile they know that I have prohibited the worshi p of any but
Myself. 'The reward of su.ch is forgiven ess from their Lord and g~rdcns
beneathwhichrunrilcn,inwhichtheywil\abideforever-afine reward
forworkers,'i.e.thercwardoftheobedient.
Then He mentioned the catastrophe which befell them and the misfortune which came upon them and the trial (of the faith) that was in them
and His choice of martyrs from among them, and He said comforting them
and tellingthf'mofwhattheyhaddoneandwhatHewasabouttodowith
them: 'Examples hne been made before your time, so go through the land
andseethenatureofthepunishmentoftho~ewhocalled(apostles)liars,'

i.e. vengeance came from me upon those who gave the lie to My apostles
andassociatedothcrswithl\le(sucha5)'t\dandThamiidandthepeople
ofl.otandthemcnofl\l idianandthcysawwhat l didtothcmandtothose s<li
in likecasewiththem,forlwasforhf'aringtothempurclyforthercason
thattheyllhouldnotthinkthatMyvengeancewucutofffromyourenemy
1

Or,'in pi..,of'

'" u s,!it.'dovourttOI'.

Tlu Life of Muhammad

from Me tO you that he would die and leave you ? 'And he who so turns
back,' i.e. tumt back from his religion 'will not harm God at all,' i.e. he
will not diminith His glory and kingdom and SOW!reignty and power.
'And God will reward the thankful,' i.e. those who obey Him and do what
He has commanded.
'AndnosouleandiebutbyGod'spermissloninatermthatiswritten,'
i.e. Muhammad h:u a fixed time which he will attain and when God gives
permission in regard to that it will happen. 'And he who desires the reward
of this world We will ghe him it; and he who desires the reward of the
next world We will give him it and We shall reward the thankful,' i.e. he
ofyouwhodeaireathisworldhavingnodcsireforthenextWewillgi\e
him his allotted ponionofaustenanceandnothingmoreand he has no
shareinthe nextworld;andhewhodeaireatherevoardofthenextworld
We will gi\e him what he has been promised together with his rewud of
sustenanc:einthis world. Thatistherewardofthethankful, i.e.thepious.
Then He said: 'And with how many a prophet ha\e myriads been slain
and they waxed not faint at what befell them in the way of God and were
not weak nor humiliated for God lO\'ta the steadfast,' i.e. how many a
prophethasdeath(inbattle)befallenandmanymyriadswithhim,i.e.a
multitude,andtheywaxednotfaintatthelossoftheirprophetnorshowcd
weakness towards their enemies and were not humiliated when they
sufferedinthefightforGodandtheirreligion. Thatissteadfastnessand
Godlo\esthesteadfast. 'Allthattheysaid was, Forgiveusoursins,O s98
Lord,andourwastedeffoninouraffair;makeourfeetfirmandgiveus
thevic:toryoveradisbelievingpeople' (61J),i.e.saywhattheysaidand
knowthatthatitforyourtins,andask Hisforgiveneuastheydid,and
practisc)-ourreligionastheydid,andbenorenegadeatumingbackonyour
heels;andukHimtomakeyourfeetfirmutheydid;anda!!kHishelp
utheydidagaimtadisbelievingpeople. Forallthattheysaidactually
happenedandtheirprophetwaslr..illed,yettheydidnotdowhatyoudid.
SoGodgavethemtherewardofthisworldbyvictoryo,ertheirenemyand
~o~: :~::~:~:~.:~~after with what He had promised therein, for God
'0 you who believe, if you obey those who disbelieve they will tum you
backonyourheelsandyouwill retumas losers,' i.e.fromyourenemy,and
willlosethisworld.andthenext. 'ButGodisyourprotectorandHeisthe
beatofhelpers.' lfwhat)-ousaywithyourtonguc:tistrueinyourhearu
thenholdfasttol-limandaskvictoryonlyofHimanddonottumback,
withdrawing from Uis religion. 'We will cast terror into the hearts of those
wbo disbelieve,' i.e. that by which I was helping )'OU agaimt them because
they INOciated with Me that for which I gave them no warrant; i.e. do not

~~~a~o~~:! ~~~ ::~::~n7.ct~::ro~~~~ ~~~~~uw~~~ f:tf;~

you through sins which you rommitted whereby )'01.1 went against My
commandmentindisobedienceandalsodisobeyedtheprophet. 'Godful-

599

396

Tht Lift of Muhammad

~.::;;~: :~:~:~~~~~~:~::~:~~!:~~~~s~~.::l~n::~;~~:~:i;~~~

f~~~iff.s:i~~:~I.~,fg;q~~:~J~f~~r~;,~;

~~~~[~~~

~~:~e~r~~~ ~~~~~::.~r:~: :~os:e:~~: f~~;~~ ~::~~~~ :! ::ed~! ~:~

tnnsgressingoingafterwhattheyhadbeenforbiddenforanaccident'o

~ ~}f~4(~~~~!~~x~;~~~~~~li1iJ~r~~1t~~tf~~~
once m. thtt world by way of discipline and admonition, but He did not

~~~:tt?.~~~t:i~~f~:~I~J~~~%E~a;

E:~~~; ~l~loi~g~~:~;h::t~~~u;~~:h2~:; ~:~~~~~:!~h~t;~~::~~

:fE!r:~~~;~~~~::~~~:~l~:~~~~0:;:::::::~~~~:~~~~~Yr

yourbrethren until l ga\"eyou easeofthatsorrow. 'And God is informed

gf@i:::~~~~~~::~~:gJ,*~i~~~~l;~~f.:ff;~~
th~lOSI!:ofthcirbrethrenbccameeasytobcarwhcnGodhadturneddeath

astdefromtheirprophct.
'Then after g ri ~ He sent down safety for you, as a sleep. It came upon
apartyOf)ouwhlcanotherpanyweretroubledinmindthinkingwrongly
1 A tnnoi1ory ond

.~,~nliliouo odont.og~

Tht Lift of Muhammad

about GOOthoughuofheathendays, saying, Ha\"e\\eanythingtodowith
the matter?' Say, the whole matter belongs to God. They hide in themtch"ctwhattheydonotrc,ealtothee. Theysay,lfwehadhadanything
todo withthem.atterweshouldnotha,ebecnki11cdhere. Say: Hadyou
beeninyourhouses,thosewhoseslayinghubeenwrittenwouldha\"egone
forthtotheplaceswheretheywen:to lie. (T hlshuhappened)thatGod 6o1
might test what is in your breuts and prove what is in you r heans. for God
knowsaboutwhatisinthebreuts.' GodSC"ntdownsleepinSC"curityupon
thepeoplewhowereconfidentinHimandtheysleptunafraid;"hilethe
hypocritct whose thoughu t roubled them, thinking wrongly about God
thoughuofbeathendays,wereafraidofdeathbecausctheyhadnohopc
in the final result. God mentioned their recriminations and sorrow at "hat
befell them. Then HesaidtoHisprophet,'S1Iy"lladyoubecninyour
houscs,"'youwouldnotha,ebeeninthisplaceinwhichGodhasm.adcplain
your seeret thoug hu 'those whose slaying hu been written would ha,e
goneforthtotheplaCC!lwherethcywcretolie'totomeotherplacewhcrc
theywouldhavebeenslain sothat Hemight testwhatwasintheir breasu
'and prove what Wll! in their hearts, for God knows what is in the breasts,'
~::;: ~~~~~in their breasu which they try to conceal from you is not hidden
Then He said: '0 you who belie\"e, be not like those" who disbclie\"ed
and saidoftheirbrethrenwhojourncyedthroughtheland orwereniding
''Hadt hcybecnwith us, thcywou!dnothave diedorbeenki11edthatGod
maymakethatiiOrrowintheirhearu. Godgives !ifeand causcsdeathand
Godisaseerofwhatyoudo,"' i.e. benotlikethehypocriteswhoforbid
theirbrcthren to war for God's sake and to tnvd through the land in
obedience to God and His apostle and say when they die or are ki11ed,
'Hadtheyobeyedus,theywouldnothavediedorbcenkilled.' 'That God
m.aym.akcthatiiOrrowintheirhean'becauscoftheirlackofcertaintyin
their Lord. 'God ghes life and causes death,' i.e. their earthly stay is
shonened or prolonged by His power ilS He wishes. Then God said: ' If
youareslain forGod'ssakeordic, pardon fromGodandme rcyarebetter
thanwhatyouamass,'i.e.thereisnoescapcfromdeath,IIOdeathforGod's
aakeordeathin battleisbettere\enifthey had known and been ccnain
of what they would am.ass from the world for \\hich they hold back from
fighting in fearofdeathand battle because of what they ha\"eamasse<l
fromthesplendourofthisworld,notdesiringthehereafter. 'Uyoudieor
ares\ain,'whiche\eritm.aybe,'surelytoGodwillyoubegathered,'i.e.to
Godyoumustreturn. Letnottheworlddecei,eyouandbenotdecei\"ed
by it. LetfightingandtherewardwhichGodholdsouttoyouhavemore
weightwithyouth.anthat.
Then he said:' It was by the mercy of God that thou wast lenient to them.
Hadstthou been sternand rough,theywouldhavedispcl"!ltdandbcenno 6o1
longcrroundthce,'i.e.theywouldhavclcftyou. 'So forgive them,' i.e.

"'

The Life of Muhammad

The L1fe of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhmumad

OnecfthefcruinMedina

od

The Uje of Muhamnwd

The Life of Muhammad

Za'Uri'b. Jushamb.'Abdu' l-A..hhal;and'Ubaydb.al-Tayyihln(6z6);

andl;hbibb. Yazidb.Taym. 3

Tha'laba b. Fihr b. Ghanm b. Salim ;al-Mujadh~har b. J?hi~ild, an ally from

Baliy;and 'Ubldab.~l-l~asl;tils,thelastthrc:ebt:mgbuned monegrave. S
OfB.al-l:fubll:Rifl'ab.'Amr. 1
Of B. Salima of the dan of B.l:fari.m: 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b.l;larim b.
Tha'laha b.l:lari.m; 'Amr b. alJamiil;t b. Zayd b.l:larim who were buried
together; Khallld b. 'Amr b. al-Jamiil;t, &c.; and Abii Ayman a client of
'Amrb.al-Jamiil;t. 4
Of B. SawM b. Ghanm: Sulaym b. 'Amr b. l~adida and his client
'Antara;and Sahl b.Qaysb.AbU Ka'bb.al-Qayn. 3
Of B. Zurayq b. 'Amir: Dhakwan b. 'Abdu Qays; and 'Ubayd b. alMu'all~ b. Laudhiin (634). 2.
The total numbt:r of Muslims killed including both Emigrants and
AnW was 65 men (635).

402

b.

;!E..~:~~~~b;rl;:~~~~~:A~~~c:~:~~~A:.uNs;.~

b. Mllik b. Ama, the man \1-'llhed by the angels whom Shaddid b. al6o8Aswadb.Sha'iibal-Laythikilled(6a7)2

~ :: ~~l:~\~.{!:r ~~r'u~ ~:::~~.brother to Sa'd b. Khaythama by his mother (628); and 'Abdullah b. Jubayr b. al-Nu'mln who

commanded the archers. 2.

Of B. al-Salm b. Imru'ul-Qays b. Mllik b. al-Aus: Khaythama AbU
Sa'db. Khaythanu~. 1.
Oftheirallica fromB.al-' Ajlin:'Abdullahb.Salama. 1.
Of B. Mu'lwiya b. Mllik: Subay' b.l:fltib b. al-l:flrith b. Qaya b.

:~!:~~~~~ro:~h<~;!~ :dBT~~:~\.~!U:. ~~;;~: ::= ::

Makhbd. +
Of B. Mabdhiil: Abii Huhayra b. al-l;llrith b. 'Alqama b. 'Arnr b.
Thaqfb. MAlik b. MabdhUl;and 'Amrb. Mu]arrifb. 'Alqama b. 'Arnr. 2.
Of B. 'Amr b. fi.Ulik: Aus. b. Thlibit b. al-Mundhi r (63 1). 1.
Of B. 'Adiy b. al-Najjir: Anu b. al-Na9r b. Oam9am b. Zayd b. Harlm
3
a slave of

:~~::~1~~~r~~N~~~~a-~A~~yft~~;:~~:n~ ~~

~~.B~.Dinir b. al-Najjiir: Sulaym b. al-l;llrith; and Nu'mln b. 'Abdu

Sa~b~~~.:b~~~ !m~b~~~ra~~~=ob~?;:y.!~~~~iio:eu;=e\:~
Aue b. al-Arqam b. Zayd b. Qays b. Nu'mln b. Mllik b. Tha'laba b.

.., ~~~~-~~~?.:~~~~~~p~~~E~~);u:J:-?EJi t
~g:~J*-i::~~~;~i:~~~~~~:~t:.~~;~!; ~~~:~~

Th~J~baT~:.~:~~~Y.;;.~:~,!\~t!'!:~; ~~~':~.~~~; ~;:b ::

~~~~:j~f1;!!iti~~~~~~~j~~,~~!!!-~~E~~:

Of the Quraysh from B. 'Abdu'I-Dlr b. Qupyy who carried the: standard:

Talha b. 'Abdullah b. 'Abdu' l-'UuJo b. 'Uthman b. 'Abdu'l-Dlr whom
'Ali killed; and Abii Sa'id b. Abii Tall;ta whom Sa'd b. Abii Waqq14 killed

~~J~l;a:n~~~U~~T!71;t~"'~h~~l'A~~~ ~~~l~~~~~a;~~~~~~7:1;t~:~~eAdfi: :~~

Kilab and al-t.larith sons of Tall;ta killed by Qu:tmln an ally of B. ~afar
(637);and Art~ b. 'Abdu Shural;tbil b. Hilshim b. 'Abdu Manafb. Abdu'IDlr whom l;lam:ta killed; and Abii Zayd b. 'Um.ayr b. Hilshim, &c., whom
Qu:un;ln killed; and ~ u 'Ab an Abyssinian slave of his also killed by Quzman
~~fi~: a~~. al-Qil.sit b. Shurayl;t b. Hils him b. 'Abdu Manaf whom Qu:m1iin
Of B. Asad b. Alxlu'l-'UW. b. Qupyy: 'Abdullah b.l;lunu~yd b. Zuhayr
b.al-Hlrithb.Asadwhom'Alilr.illed. 1.
Of B. Zuhra b. Kil~b: AbU'l-l:fakam b. al-Alr.hnu b. Shariq b. 'Amr b.
Wahb al-Thaqafi, an ally of thein1 whom 'Ali killed; and Sibl' b. 'Abdu'J
'UuJo-the latter's name was 'Arnr b. Na9la b. Ghubshln b. Salim b.
Malalr.in b. ArtJ-an ally from Khutl'a whom l:famza killed. 2.
Of B. Ma~:tiim b. Yaqa~: Hiahim b. AbU Umayya b. al-Mughira
whom Ou:tmln killed; and ai-Walld b. al'~ b. HishAm b. al-Mughira
whom GuzmAn killed; and Abii Umayya b. Abii l;ludhayfa b. al-Mughlra
whom 'All killed; and Khilid b. al-A'lam an ally whom Qu:un:ln killed. 4
Of B. Jumal;t b. 'Amr: 'Arnrb. 'Abdullah b. 'Unu~yrb. Wahb b.l:fudhifa
b. Jumal;t who was AbU 'Azu whom the apostle killed when a prisoner;
and Ubayy b. Khalaf b. Wahb b, l:fudhUa b. Jumal;t whom the apostle
killc:dwithhisownhand. 2.

M~~~:~i~~~!~a:;:~~~~1;t~:~:~~:~:rb:. b. MAlik b. al-

611

The L1je. of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

The L1]e of Muhammad

4o6

Everycoatofmailpreservedinstoreis

~:~e~::;c!: ;o:e:!;!l~e!!:IBadr;

~:~:r::r ::~~e~~ ~~:~~~ ~~r~:~ble.

~~~:~o~:~~~:~::::~~ti;:::t ::d~:~~::~
ln misfonunetthatwoulddittressothers
\Veahowedgreatercalmneathanall
Hadotherabeenbesetbyamultitude
Theywouldhavegivenupandlostheart. 1

~:: ~:~~~ ~~~~ou:r!~';uld stand agaimt ut

g~~::~~s~~~~?~g~:~~~~,
Thespirit 1 deacendtonhimfromhitLord

~vr:':!~::,~';;~r::0~: :!~~.o~~::e; d~1r:aken up again.

Istoobeyhiminallthathewants.

~~~:-:~:

:~~~~~~e!na:~~:it,

;::r
Belikeonewhoaetlshitlife
To draw near to a King by Whom he will be restored to life.
TakeyourswordsandtrustinGod

~:E;:!7d;:d;~~:::!~!~;'camels

~JJ~t~L~~;;rt:;~~;~~:~;~~~;

Orfourhundredatthemost.
The battlewcnttoandfrowhiledeathranbetweenua.
Wetriedtogettothecistemofdeathbeforethemanddidso.
Bowaoflotewoodexchangcd'presenta' between us
AltofthemcutfromYathribiwood
And Meccan arrow made by ~i'i d

The LIJe of Muhammad

Sprinlledwithpoisooatthetimetheyweremade
Sometimeahittingmen'abodiea,
Sometimetglancingoifahieldawithaclang;
Andhorsemenintheplainlook.ingli.keloc:uata
Whichtheeastwindbrings,movingbriaklyinthecold.
Whenwemetthemandthebanlewasfierce
(Forthereis nodefenceagainstGod'sdecree)
Weamotcthemuntilwelefttheirleadera
Lying in the hollow like fallen tna.
From mom til~ eve until we recovered our strength
Ourualwaslikeafirebumingallinitapath.
Theyfled inhastehurryingaway
Likeacloudwispthatthewindrobtofrain.
Wewenton,ourrearguardcomingllowly,
Likeatronglionasedting'meatinBiaha..
Weinflictedlouonyouandyouonua;
Perhape we should have won, but what is with God ia more apadout.
Thehattlewagedhotbctweenua
Andallweremadetogcttheirfillof evil.
Weare men wboteeno blame in himwhokilla
To guard and protecthisprot~gee..
Finninmiafortunet,you willneveraec
Oureyetweepingoveracomradealain;
Warrionwhodowhatweaay
Norbccomede.pondentinwar'atriala;
Warrion who commit no atrocities in victory
Nor complainofwar'acratches.
Weareaflamewho&eheatmenwardoff,
Thoaenearitwithdnwwith~eorchedfacea.

You taunt me, Ibnal-Ziha'ri,'yetapartywentafteryou

Searchingforyouatnightfall.
AU about yourself in the summit of Ma'add and elsewhere
Whoiathelowestandmoetshamefulofmen?
Whom did v.'II" leave 1hom of glory,
Hisracehumiliatedonthedayorwar?
WeattackedyouwithGod'shelpand succour
Ourspearhcads directedatyou.
Ourlancesmadegapingwoundtamongyou
Like the mouths or waterskins where the water guahes rorth.
w:t=~ the ltandard-bearen,and he who h.astenato =lion the
lsthefiratingillingpraise. 1

"

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Butthcywerctreacherous,surrendered,anddeserted.
OnlyGod'swillc.anprevailandHeisthegreatestdoer(6+2)

Whenyoutooktoyourhec~'inthepass

'Abdullahb.al-Ziba'r.1:

Andfledlike shecponcbehmdthcother;
Whcnwcattack.cdyouboldly
Anddro\eyoutothebottomofthemountain
Withcompanicslikevastobjects(?)intheplain
Whoe\crmeeuthcmisterrificd.
The pass was too narrow for us when we lnl\'Crsed it
Andwcfillcditsheights anddcpths
Withmenyoucannotequal
StrcngthcncdbyGabricl'shelpwhocamedown.
WcconquercdatBadrbypiety,
ObeyingGodandbelievingtheapostlet
Wekillcdalltheirchiefs
Andwekilledc\crylong-robcdnoblc.
We lcftinQul"1ilysha lastingshamethatdayofBadr,
An c~amplcto be talked of.
WhilethcapostlcofGodwitncsscdtruly,
Whil ctheshortfatpeoplcamongQuraysh
Gottogethcrbythemwereas
Camclscollcctedinhcrbageandlcftshcphcrdlcssl.
Wcandnotmenlikcyou,childrcnofyourmother'sarsc,
Meetthefightenwhenadvcrsitycomes(643)

Onven,youha\'tmademenhear,thenspeak.
Youcanuyonlywhathashappened.
(Togoodandevilthercis:mendandbothbefallmen.
Gifaaremeanamongthem
Andthegra\esofthe richandthepoorareequal.
[\erycomfonable andpleasantlifecome~toanend

Andtheblowsoffateplaywithu.sall.)
Ghel:lasslnmessagcfromme,
Forcomposingpoetrycuresinwardpain
How many akulls e>n the mountain slope did you see,
Howmanyhandsandfeetcutoff,
Finearmouratrippedfromthebravc
Whohadperishedinthebattle?
Howmanynoblechieftdidweslay,

~~:; :~:;~:1~b~~b~~::~:~:~::e~8i'd warrio~;

Nowcak lingswhenthespearsfell ?
Askal-Mihraswhoinhabiuit,
Betweenskullsandbrains,Jikepanridges?
WouldthatmyelderainBadrhadscen
ThefearofKhaznljwhenthespcarafell;
When (war) n..bbed iu breast in Qubi''
Andtheslaughterwa.xcdhotamongtheAbdu'l-Ashhal.
Thentheywerenimbleinflight

Ka'b mourning }:lamza and the Muslim dead:

~!ekr;~=~ :~:~~ur::irn!r ~~c~rh~~blcs

Andadjuatcd theinequalityofBadr.
ldonotblamem)"Clf,but

~~~~h ~~~~~r:"~r: ::::~~~~;eh::e a clean swttp of them,

Delivering blow after blow.
l;lassinb.Thibitansweredhim:
Thebattleiaover,O i bnZiba'ri.1
(Uadhebeenfairhewouldhaveadmittedoursupcriority).
You inflicted loss on usandweonyou.
Thefonunesofwaroftenchange.
\Vethrustourswordsbetwecnyourshouldera
Wheretheydrankbloodagainandagain
1 Wuiocompored 10oca<Ml
' But the rndinr o( the Dfl<d"~,1i, 'A b..ttlc ron owoy with I bn Zib01

Wcmadeliquidtorunfromyourarses
Liketheordurcofcamelsthathaveeatcn'aJa/.

io b<ttoc

Youweep,butdo youwantonetostiryoutotcan?
You who arc lost in grief when you remember them,l
Remembering a people of whom
Storicsha\ereachcdmeinthiscrookcdagc.
Yourheanpalpitatcsatthemcmoryofthcm
l nlongingandtearfulsadness.
Yettheirdeadarcinlo\elygardens
Honouredinthcirexitsandentranccs.
Becauscthcyweresteadfastbencaththeflag,
Thcflagoftheapostlein DhU'l-A4waj,'
The morning when the B. Aus and Khazr:aj
Allrespondcdwiththcirswords
AndAI)mad'ssupponersfoUowedthctruth,

.p o

TM Lift of Muhammad
Thelight-givingauaightway.
They continually smote the wanion
~thcypassedthroughthedoudtofduat

Till at last the King summoned them

Toagardenwiththicktreesatitsentrance.
Allofthemprovedpureinthetrial,
DiedunftinchinglyinGod'areligion
Likel:famzawhenheprovedhis loyalty

~:h.~.:::rt::'~~~~~ =~im
Mutteringlikeahugeblackcamel
Andpiercedhimwithalancelikeafhme
Thatburnainablazingfire.
AndNu'minfulfilledhispromise
Andthegoodl:fanplatumednotfromthetruth
Untilhiaspiritpassed
Toaman1ionresplendentingold.
Suchare(truemen)notthoseofyourcompany
Wholieinnetbenno5thellwitbnoescape.
J;lirar b. al-Kha!filb al-Fihrl answered him:

DoeaKa'bgrieveoverhiafollowen
Andwecpoveracrookedage
Crying like an old camel who see~ his companions
Retumingatevenwhileheiakeptback?
Thewatercamelspassonandleavehim
Grumblingofill-treatmentwhileheianotevenaaddledforwomcn
SaytoKa'b,'Lcthimdoublehiswecping
Andlethimaufl'erpaintherefrom;
Forthedeathofhisbrothenwhenthecavalrycharged

~~o~f:~~~~f.;:~g~~s~i:

followen
And'Utbahadbeeninourflamingmeeting-place
Thattheymighthaveslak.edtheirvengeance
On those of Khazraj who were alain
AndonthoseofAuawhodiedonthebattlcfield,
AllofthemalaininDhU'l-AQ.waj. 1
Andthekillingof}:lamzaundertheflag
Withapliantdeath-dealinglancc.
AndwhereMufabfcllandlay
Smittcnbyaaword'aquickatroke
In U~ud when our swords flashed among them
Flaminglikearoaringlire
On the mom we met you with l 'l'iOI'Cll

Tht L1je of Muhamnuui

Likelionsoftheplairulwhocannotbetumedbllck;
Allourstecdslikehawb,
Bloodhonesficry,well-saddled
Wetrodthemdowntbcreuntilthcyfted
Exccptthedyingorthosebemmedin(6#)
'Abdullahb.al-Ziba'rl:

~;~~ ):7t. ~~~e~ro::l:: ,; : ; one wu far away.

~c0~~ !::er~:::e:.~: :~.:~:"!r

a dear one.
Theardentlovercannotrecoverwhatiagone

~~;,::e~l~~~~:~M~!ik newt of my people

~!::~~S~E, :!7bo~~hed;,~meoutbom,

~ ~~g~~:~h:e~:!~r ~'::!~~the hope of his friend?

Allwerecladincoauofmail
Whichlookedlikeawell-filledpoolwheret"'-ovalleyameet.
When they saw us they were filled with awe,

~d:i:::!~~:~~z~:r:~~~~~~::~~
\Vhenouri"''Ordtweredn.wnthcywerelilte
Aflamcthatleaptthrougbbrushwood.
Ontheirheadswebroughtthemdown

~:f~'t ;;;~t~~~~t~/~~~e=~~;~enu hard at them and

~:~~~i~I~~:~~~~n:::~~:~ld bm l<ft ~m~

Bu~~:climbed too high though the pearl were directed at him,
~theyleftl:lamzadeadintheattack

Withalancethrustthroughhisbreut.
1

~:~~i~;!ft:r:db~~e:t ~~;~~~;

.~1df~i~~1~

The L1je of Muhammad

The speara of our warriors came on them in
As a well de\"Oursthe ropesofthcbuckct.'

The Life of Muhammad

U~ud

(as -swifrly)

l:lass:lnb.Thlibit

Do the spring camps make you long for Ummu'I-Walid,

Thewu te landsdesertedby theirpeople?
ThewindsofsummerandtherainofAquarius,
Thetorrentialdoudbringer, haseffacedthem;
Naughtremainsbuttheplacewherethefirewas,
Round it on the ground are the firestones like doq~s.
l\lentionnomon:thecampwhosepeopledistanceseparates
Sc:\'eringthestrongestties,andaay
H there wu a battle in U~ud which a fool counts a \'ictory
Therealtruthwillaomeday beknown.'
All the UanilAuss toodfirmthatday,
High renown was theirs.
TheBanUNajj:lrweresteadfastindefence,
Nonewl!lfaintheartedinthefight
l nfrontoftheapostleofGod,theydidnotdesenhim.
Theyhadahelper fromtheirLo rdandanintercessor
They were faithful when you, Quraysh, denied your Lord.
(Theloyalandthedisloyals)a\'earenevcrcqual)
With awordsintheirhandswhcnthebattlewashot
Hewhomtheyamotecouldnotbutdic.
Theyleft'UtbaandSa'dlyinginthe dust
Aflthe apearafoundthcirmark

~~c!~i~t \~e~~it~a~~o!:te:ath the dust by the 3postlc's own hand,

Whcntheduattheystirrellupco\"eredthepeople.
These wcrechicfs fromyour leadingfamilies,
For e\eryarmyhaschieft
By them 1 we help God when' He helps us
Evenifthings areterrible,OQuraysh.
l\lentionnotthealai n sincel:lamu.is amongthcm,

~~i:r e~~:~ ~ek~i~~ ~~:~~dience.

(The command of Him who decrees is swift).
1 Or. "awot<r..drowerrropo'. N61dclu,, D.tlunu. 70. r<ndc:r. .... ....tbypofv..J~P~"'"
butlkioiowronNbca.UIC,K1:0rdmgtolheTdj,LiJd.ndQ.i>mir.it'""'nA"I/,_,...,]1,
Me fuMhu E. Drlunlkk in ltl""'"" I, ~9>5. ]J8. Ahrmotinly ....,~,; could mun ""
habitualwater-lrawrr. lf.wilhoorncouth&ritioa. .... ri'bcr.od, thrnthractofdrawlna;
walcr io Intended. The nrbzlt41~ '""'ono 1o.kinK owoy quickly, d~1roying, drourina.
rraoping.&c. Thuoth<:polntoflhcoimilc\o/Ouldoumtobcthntheopearawentinond
outoflhcbodi~oo fooluotkitted ,... l<rdrower coul d .. ndbuc!u,tauponddownawell,
orlhot lhe ywen tin ooq uickty uowell(orl)>cactof dr.wing"'o ter)rokroowaylheropea.
' Eoten of ~lthf8~.

~~:~~~;~~~ tti:;e\\~~t;re:~ ~~~itrh~~~ (645):'

'Amrb.al -'~.

Wcwentforthfromthebarrendesertagainstthem
Formingasitwereastreakedgirdleto RaQwlinthemorning.

~j~~~;~:~! :::~:~~;~:~=asrealiud.
Squadronsofhorsecomingforthtothebattle.

~:~~If}.~~;.~E~}\~:I~t~~~:.:.:0:::. '"' D~
~~~~~:iird~a~d~a~~~~-i~; ~~:~:~~::.:~~:::;re like barwaq' (646)

Oir~rb.

al-Khan:lb:

{;~~~:?,:;~i~~;}i;:i~J:~f~f~~~:::;: ::::::,
Anllahorseman,hisforeheadsplitby asword,

:;t:"~.::::::::::::::::~::h:::~:::::.::::,:;
~~~~::e;k:~~ ~O:e a~:so;a::klings and non-combarants
~~~':~~~co;~:::n~~e t~: ~~~:,~:~:!::when they r~ch them,

~v~:o\~a~~!~:ri~~:~ :~.;~d:b:~~~~~ to death unfaltering.

TM Life of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

I said, This will be a battle wonh many a battle,
hwillbetalkedofaslongasleavesfall.
Everydaytheyhavebeenaccuatomedtogainthevictoryinbattle
Andthespoilsofthosetheyencountered.
I forcedmyselftobesteadfastwhenl felt afraid'
Andlwasccrtainthatglorycouldonlybcgot in the forefront.
Iforcedmysteedtoplungeintotheirranks
Anddrenchedhimwiththeirblood.
Myhorseandmyarmourwerecoloured

~\~~~ ~~I ~h~u~~u 7:: i~~~e~~~.~~ii;~and coagulated.

Foreverandaday.
Do not despair, 0 Ban(i MakhzUm, for you hne men
Like Al-Mughira, men without blame.
& steadfast, may my mother and brothers be your ransom,
Exchangingblowauntiltimebcnomore.
'Amrb.al-'i\t:
\Vhenluwwsr'aflamesleapingoverthefire stones
Reachingthesquadronsfl.ayingmenwiththeirheat
l wassu rethatdeathwastruthandlifeadelusion.
l set.myarmsonastrongho~whichcouldoutrunotherseasily,

Doc!lewhenothersgoastraymthedesenoutrunningthebesthorse

~~~~ ~h= ;::~~ ~:~f ~~:~;~fl.~~: ~~c h:a.:~~o~~~~:ri~n full

8

stretch,

~~~mm:~~~:~~ y~:!e:::~~ :;:lf?a;~u;:a:%:gd pllop.

Whentheywslkedlikesandgrouse
Making for the leader of the squadron when thesunre\ealed him
plainly(6-t7)

Theopini.onofthosewboopposelslamismisleading.
Do not WISh for more war but stay at home,
Thehabitualmanofwarisblood-stained,never freeofcare. 1
Youwillgetsuchblowsatourhands
Thatthehyaenaswillrejoioeatthelumpsofmeat.
Wearemenofllvwhogettheutmostfromit
Andinflictpainfulpunishmentontheaggressors.
lflbnl;larbescapedwithtbeskinofhi.stectb
(AndGod'awillmustbedone)itgavehimdiscemment
Andadmonitionifhehasthesen.setoappreciateit.
Hadyoucometothebottomofthetorrentbed
AIWiftatrokewouldhavemetyouonthevalleyaide,
BandaofmenroundtheProphetwouldhaveconfrontedyou
Withbreastplatespreparedfor~r,

MenofGhasdnstockwithdrawnswords,
Nounannedcowardsthey;
Theywalktowardsthedarkcloudsofbatde
~thecamels'whitefoalswalkintrain,

Or u lions walk in a coven wetted by rain

Brought by the nonh wind from the Gemini
lnlongclose-knitmaillikea ripplingpool,
ltawcarcrbroad-shouldered,'achieflikeasword,
Whichmakestheatrongcstarrowheaduse[ess
Andtheawordrecoilwithbluntededge.
Though you threw off Mount Sal' from your hacb
(Andsometimeslifecanbeprolongedanddeatha\oidcd)
Y?u wo~ld neverbeable to take revenge;
T!mewillpasstheslainnotpaidfor,l
Slaveandfree,noble,tieduplikegame(led)
TowardsMedinaboundandslain.
~:a;:reyo':~:!::: ~ )::i~~.but our knight& with their weapons
Whenoneofthemcommitsacrimetheyknowforcertain

T:~b%u:yt~: ~~~r-t word is the truest and truth is always accepThatwekilledyourbestmen,thestandard-bearers,

In revengeforourslain,sowhatisali thetalkabout?
Andonthedaythatwemetyou
Michaei.andGabrielreinforcedandhelpedus.
Hyouktlluathetruereligionisours
AndtobckilledforthetruthistofindGod.'afavour.
lfyouthinkthatwearefools
1 Rudin1

tabb<rrl~

~~~n::.~:a=f~;~r..~~~~~:-::::.h;~r;;"c;~~:j~t-~:"!.::

~ttheconaequence~llbcbome(bythetribc).

HIS crime is not an uniiUStakable crime,

Noneblame~himandnoneevadeshisshareofthepenalty.

l;laadnb.Thibit:
Atevenwhenthestarsweresetting
I couldnotalecpfor care
Andthevilionofthebclovedthathaun~me.

AaickneNpervadedmyheanandaninnerhiddenpassion.

fir<'
Pcrhlopa',.ithiY~
: ~~~~=;,.tor<fertothoan:h<rl:~~~;::;~;~~=::f:;~~:.r~;o.

...:.,~=::~-;::::~.-A'oil'on

"'h>c:h hudlylftmo ri11h1.

,,,

ThrLzjtoJMuhammad

Omypoopl'""''"'";'h'""'re"~'""''~""''

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Sothattheystoodnotfastbutlosttheirwits.
Theircollarbonescouldnotsustainitsweight;
Onlythebestmencancarrythestandard(6of.8).
l;lasUnb.Thibitmourningl;lamza:
OMayya,ariseandweepsadlyatdawnasthekeeningwomendo;
Asthosewhocarryheavyburdenscannotmovefortheirweight
Whocryaloudscratchingthefacesoffreewomen.
W~;~i:~~~~ars run they are like the pillars reddened by the blood
They lettheirhairloo~;eandtheir locksappear

Likethetaibofrestiveplunginghorsesinthemorning,
Someplaited,'somecut,dishevelledbythewind.
They weep sadly like mourners whom fate has wounded,
Theirheartsscarredbypainfulwounds.
Fate has smitten those who were our hope when we were afraid,
The men of U~ud whom fate's calamities destroyed
Ourknightandprotectorwhenarmedmenappeared,
Ol;lamza, lwillnotforgetyouwhiletimelasts,
TherefugeoforphansandguestsandthewidowwholooksshylyaWlly,
Andfromthefatethatbringswarafterwarwithgrowingevil.
Oknight,Oprotector,Ol;lamza,youwereourgreatdefender
From blows of fate when they were crushing.
Youremindedmeofthelionoftheapostle,thatprotectorofour,s
Whowillalwaysbementionedwhen noblechiefsarecounted
Hi&habovethe leaderB,generous,white,shiliing;
Notfrivolous,poorspirited,norgrumblingatlife'sburdens.
Ascaofgenerosity,heneverwithheldgiftsfromaguest.
Youngmenofhonour,zealousandseriousminded,havedied
Whointhewinterwhennonegetshisfillofmilk
Offeredthefleshofcamelstoppedbyslicescarvedfromitsfat,
Protectingtheirguestsaslongastheenemyattacks.
Alasfortheyoungmenwehavelost,theywercaslamps,
Proud,patricians,princes,lavishlygenerous,
Whoboughtreputationwiththeirwealth,(forreputationisagain),
Wholeapttotheirbridlesifacryforhelpwasraised.
Onewhosufferedmisfortunesinanunrighteousage.
Hiscamelskeptgoingoverthedustyplain,
They went vying with each other while he was among those
Whose breasts ran with sweat so thatgoodfortunemight return to him,
Notthelotofhimwhogetstheunluckyarrow.3
Ol;lamza,youhaveleftmelonelylikeabranchcutofffromatree.

~'~!~~~~~~i~:~;c~~~~'!:.'t',~~iu~~::.~:: ~r:,%~:~~~t

,.

The Lrfe of Muhammad

I oomplaintoyouwhenlayenofdustandstonecoveryou,of
Thettoneweputaboveyouwhenthegravediggcrfinishedhisworlt
lnawidespace,ooveringitwithearthcarefullysmoothed.
Our comfort is that we aay (and what we say is grievous hard)
He who is free from life' misfortunes let him come to us

Andwecpforournoblegenerou.dead,
Whosa.idanddidwhattheyaaid,thetrulylaudable,
Whoalwayagavefreclycvcnwhcntheyhad littleto sparc(6i9)

Doyoulc.nowthecampwhosetraccssinceyousawit

Aresweptawaybyamightytorrcntofrain
Ik~~~~ AI-Sarldll;l and Udmina and the channel of Al-Rauhil' in

:,~:n!,~ ~fn~;\:d~~::r~ld

not answer;

Givenothoughttoacampwbosetraceshavedisappeared,
Andwecpovcrl:famzathcgenerouswhofilledtheplatter
\Vhentheatonnblewinbittercold andfaminc,
\Vho lefthisadversariesintheduat
Stumblingonhi.sslcnderlance,

~~: ~~:~ ~'::~f ~i~~~~~~te

hones when they he ld back'

Shining at the summit of the H~him clan

Hedidnotopposethetruthwithlies.
Hediedamanyrunderyouraword.s.
Maythe handtofWa!)shi,the murderer,wither!
Whatamandidheleaveonhis lance,itspointdeadlysharp!
Theeanhhubeoomedarkathis loss
Andthemoonshiningfonhfromthecloudsisblaekened.
Godblesshimintheheavenlyparadise.
Mayhisentrybehonoured.
We lookedonl;lamzaasaprotectorinalltheblowsofmisfonune.
lnlslamhewasagreatdefence
Whomadeupforthelossofmiserable stay-at-homes.
Rejoicenot,OHind, butproducethytears,
Letflowthetearsoftheberened.
Weep for 'Utba whom he cut down with the sword
Wholayinthewhirlingdust,
Whenhefellamongyourahaykhs
l nso lent,ignorantfellowa.
l~amza killed them with a family who walk in long armour
Theday thatGabrielhclpedhim,
T hatfinchelperofanintrepid horseman.
'Or'minlledwith',<>L-14bo"s.

Ka'bb.MIIik:
Visited byeareyou oouldnotsleep
Andfearedbecausejoyousyouthhadbeentakcnfromyou.
AJ;>amrigirlclaimedyourloe,
Butyour loveisGhauriandyourcompanyisNajdi.'
Donotgotoofarrashlyinthefollyof love,
Youhavealwaysbeenthoughtfoolishforfollowingitsallure.
Itistimeforyoutostopinobedience
Ortoawakewhenanadriserwamsyou.
I was crushed by the loss of l:lamu,

~:~;:;~:~r~~~~~e:!~~

distressed
Youwouldha\'tsetn itsfirmrocks shanered.
Anoblcprince,stronginthc loftystockof Hiishim,
Whencecomcprophccy,gcnerosity,andlordship,
Who slew fat-humped camels when the wind is so cold
Thatitalmostfrce:z:esthcwater,
Wholeftabra\'eopponentprostrateontheground
Onthedayofbattle,withhis lancebroken.
Youcouldseehimsweepingalonginsteel,
Like a tawny~trong-pawed lion,
T heprophe t'suncleandchoscnone
Came tohisdeath-agoodlyend.
He met his fate marked out among a people
Whohelpedtheprophetandsoughtmanyrdom.
I imaginethatHindhasbeentoldofthat
Tostillthebumingchokingwithinherbreast
Howwemetherpc"'pleonthesandhill
Thedayinwhichhappiness lefther.

~:e~:h~~:;~~~~rB;~:n::e~a~~~ and Muhammad

Sothat l sawtheirbestmenwiththeprophetintwoparties,
Onekillingandonepursuingwhomhepleased.
Thereremainedwherethecamelsknelt
Se,enty men, 'Utba and al-Aswad among them,
And l bnu'I-Mughira whom we smote abo11e the neck \'tin
Fromwhichfoamingbloodgushedfonh.
A_sharpswordinthehandsofthebclieen
Reducedthe prideofUmayyaai-Juma!)i. 1

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Thefugitivepolytheistscametoyoulikeruna\\-11Y06lriches
Withthecavalryinfullpursuit.
Diffcrentarethosewhosehomeishelle\'Crlasting
Andthosewhoareetemallyinparadisc:.

Adayinwhichfightingisoontinuous,
Terrifying,burningthosewhokindleditsblaze,
Longdrawnoutexceedinghotfighting.
Fearofitkeepsthebase-bomav.11y.
Youwouldthink!heheroestngagedinit
Werehappilydrunkandinebriated,
Theirrighthandse"changingthecupsofdeath
Withtheirsharp-edgedswords.
Wewerethereandwewerecourageous
Wearingourbadgesundtrdoudsofdust,
Withsilentfineblood-stainedswords,
llladesofButrJwhich loathethescabbard;
Whichgrownotbluntnorbuckle
Andceasenotamitingiftheyarenothcldback,
Likeamumnlightninginthehandsofheroes

He also said;
Rise,O$afiya,benotweak.
Make the women weep over IJam~.

~;r ~:~s1i!~ f~~~~~~:fe::eeping

0

Forhewasastrengthtoourorphans
Andalionofbattleamidtheweapons,
WishingtherebytopleaseA~rnad

AndthegloriousLordofthethrone.

g:~r;:~:!~~~!u~~~~:'~o~~~~~~~~~e remain in place.

Oythynoblefather's life ladjureyou.

Askthosewhosoughtourhospitality,
Forifyouaskthemyouwillnotbetoldalie,
Thoseyouaskwilltellrouthetruth
ThatonnightSwhenbonesweregatheredforfood
\Vegavesustenancetothosewhovisited us;
(Crowds'tookrefugeinourshelters
Fromdistressinyearsoffamine)
Withagiftofwhatourrichprovided

Andwewillteachouraol\l

~::r~:;~so~o:'rh~~!u~e:;-0 ~da:':e't:~~ing of patrimony

Whenachampionpasses,hispostcritytakeshisp!ace
Andhelenesothentoinherithim.
Wegrowupandourfathenperis.h,
Andwhilewebringupouraonsweceuetobe.
Iasked about you,Ibnu'l-Ziba'ri,
Andwastoldthatyouwerebaseborn,
Evil,ofdisgracefullife,persistentlymean.

~~~h ~:i~n~~ :~ f~~:r:sity towards the indigent.

Those whose ""YI we have always tried to vie with.
One who saw the place where the camels go to water
Wouldthinkitwasblackrockyground.
Therethebesteamelsarebrokenin,
Black, red, and white.
TherushofmenwaslikeEuphratesinflood,
Soiidwell-armedmassesdestroyingallintheirpath.
Youwouldthinktheirglitterwastheshiningofstars,
Theydazzlebeholdersintheiroommotion.
Ifyouareignorantofourimponance

~~:n "~k~~:S:e n:.~::~:~fs ~:~~~

Inslaughter,sc:verity, biting,andm.auling.
Dowenottightentheoordroundthecamel'sudder
Until sheyieldshermilkandbecomesgentle?J
1 W.Ma7UZfWI'J>OOtwomen'
'Whiteor,l-lihly,blackish.Th;...-ord;..,...oltho:w/J4t/.
tnlheoelWOiiMt...,risc:ornpo.redt.Osa""ll"coorndthotioMibd.UO<Ibytheuibe'
fi....,-and...,..,u>andendttotho:ir!Odvantqe

b:

~~~e y~~~ ;~c~::~n:::~~~~f~J~~, apostle

You utter filth, andthenthrowit
A!thedeanrobedgodlyfaithful one(6so).
He also &aid:
AskQurayshofourflightandoftheirs
That mom at the base of U~ud's hill

~:"'~~~;:~~~!i~i~:1p:~~~~~~=~~~~:y

came.

~~e:;o: ~~::0~~~: ~~~;, ~~h~~~~e:~dfo~~~-~~~~~7~

~!~'!!~:s ~~~::,j~l;~~~~:h~s~:~~ur.

~~:~hi~~~~~ p~~f:tr::!:e perdition,

1

Anothurndinc;.,.,,..g,..,.,y.,..hlo~ebchlove<lfilthilJ',wklc:hrn~rberiahc

The L1je of Muhammad

Whenheartaaremovedbyfear,

~~:~~~nfu~n!:nco~::g~n~~ ~/hat we ahould not be disobedient,

Whenheappearedwefollowedhirnandheldhimtrue.
Theycalledhimliarsowearethehappieatof theAraba.
They wheeled and we wheeled, they did not reform or return
While we followed them in unwearying pursuit.
The two armies had nothing in oommon,
God'tpartyandthe menofpolytheiamandidols(651 ). '
'Abdullahb.Raw1J.tasaid(6sa):
Myeyeweptandrightwellitdidso
(Butwhtttvailsweepingandlamentation),
ForGod'al.iononthedaythattheyaaid
'b thattlainmanl:famzar'
AlltheMualimswerediatressedthereat;
Theapostletoosutfered.
0 Abu Ya'li, 1 your pillara were ahattered,
Youthenoble,just,bounteousone.
Gocl'apeaceonyouinparadi.se
Witheverlastingfelicityl
0 Hbhim, the best men, be steadfut
Whosee\erydeed isfineand laudable.J
God'aapostleispatient,noble,
Wheneverhespeaks'tisbyGod'command.
Will aomeoneteJILu'ayyforme
(Foraftertodaywar'fortunewillchange,
Andprevioullythey haveknownandtastedof
Our fighting in which \'engeance wu slaked),
Youha\eforgottenourblowsat Badr'spool
When awift deathcame toyou,
ThemornthatAbliJahllayprostrate,
Thevultureswheelingandcirclingo\erhim.
'UtbaandhisiOrt felltogether
AndShaybawhomthepolished sword bit.
We leftUmayyastretchedontheground,
Ahugelance inhisbelly.
Askthe&kullsofBanURabra,
Forour swordswerenotchedbythem.
Weep, 0 Hind, grow not weary,
Foryouarethebereavedoneintearaforalostson.
1 TMM lWO JIO<'MII"' in olu.rp """'ntl. The finl i11 6M u.ompl<! <>f the old Anobian
=~~oecondb<Jonei<OtbeW..,""'qol)lofii><IPUriouo.ondcloarlydo<Ufromo
'The......,..ofi;Jom&O.

ct.SilruJ8.-.7.8; a-8.8J.

The:UfeofMuhammad
Shownotjoyatl;lamza'tdeath,OHind,
Foryourboutingiscontemptible.
SaytoQurayshdespitetheirdiatance,
Do you bout of what you have not won?
Youboastoftheslainonwhomthefavoura
OfHimwhogranllthebeatfnourahnefallen.
Theydwellingardemandhsveleft\\-a.itingforyou
Lionswhoprotecttheircut.,
Tofightfortheirreligion,intheirmidat
Aprophetwhoneverre<:edeafromthetruth.
Ma'addanaekedhimwithinfamouawords
Andthesrrow1ofenmityunceasingly(6sJ).
J;>irirb.sl-KhatJlb:
Whatailtthineeyewhiehaleepleaanessaffectl
AathoughpainwereinthineeyelidsP
bitforthelossofafriendwhomyouholddear
Partedbydistanceandfoea?
Oriaitbecauseofthemi~>Chiefofauselesspeople

When wan blaze with burning heat P

Theyeeasenotfromtheerrortheyhavecommitted.
Woe to them! No helper have they from Lu"ayy.
Weadjuredthemallby God,
Butneitherkinshipnoroathsdeterredthem;
Tillfinallywhentheydetenninedonwaragainuus
Andinjustieemdbadfeelinghadgrownstrong,
Weattackedthemwithananny
Flankedbyhelmetedstrongmsiledmen
AndslenderhonesaweepingalongwithwarriOT11
Likekite.,sosmoothwutheirgait;
Anarmywhich$akhr'ledandcommanded
LikeanangrylionofthejunJie. tesringhisprey.
Deathbroughtoutapeoplefromtheirdwellings,
1
m:.:r:
dead
Likegoatswhichthe hailnUfrozentotheooldground.
Nobledead,"theBanU'l-Kajjirintheirmidst
Andl\1ufabwithbrokenpiecesofourshaftsaroundhim
Andl;lamzathechief,prostrate,hiawidowgoingroundhim.
His noseandliverhadbeencutaway. Itwu
Aaifwhenhefellhebledbeneaththedust
Transfixedbyalaneeonwhichthebloodhaddried

~~:n~f \~?'m

l~f~~~one

1 i.o.Abi1SIIfytn.

Tlr.t L1ft of Muhammad

Andthattheremighthavebnafightbetweenus
When they would have a morning dnught' whose evil would not
pas.away(656).

$afiya d. 'Abdu'l-Munalib mourning her brother l;Iamza

Areyoumysistersaaltingindread
'fhemenofUI)ud,thealowof apeechandtheeloquenti'
Thelattereaid l;Iamza isdead,
ThebeathelperoftheapostleofGod.
Godthetrue,theLordoftheThrone,calledhim
Toliveinparadiseinjoy.
Thatiswhatwehopedandlongedfor
l;Iamz.aonthedayofgatheringwill enjoythebestreward.
ByGodl'llne'erforgetth~aslongastheeastwindblows

In sorrow and w~ping, whether at home or in travel,

ForthelionofGodwhowuourdefence,
Protectingltlamagainsteveryunbeliever.
Wouldthatmylimbaandboneawerethere
Forhyaenaaandvultureatovisit.
Ieaidwhenmyfamilyraisedtheirlamentation,
Godrewardhim,finebrotherandhelperashewas!(657).
Nu'm wife of Shammh b. 'UthmAn

w~ping

her husband:

~o?:~~n!~~ee:':v\~:~~u'se:~o~ spontaneously
\\'hoseopinionwas accepted, whosedeedsweresucceuful,
\\'hocarriedthe standards,theriderofhorses
l s.aidin-anguishwhennewllofhisdeathcame,
'Thegenerousmanwhofedandclothedothershasperished.'
l saidwhentheplaceawherehesatwereforsaken,
'May God not take Shammb far from us!'
HerbrotherAbU'I-}:Iakamb.Sa'Idb. YarbU'replyingtocomforther:

'Abdullah,b.al-Ziba'rl:

~~;;~~~{~~!(!~~~~:;~,~''

MJghthave C\Jtdown,forallofuswerefullyarmed;

1 Thcnomeofhiot.ot''n>elaotliMieomi"tdb,.W.,prubal>lyriahtly. Her.ro .. l<litiohitoolaiovol. ll

Preaervethymodeatyinsec.:retandinhonour,
ForShammhwasonly aman.
Killnotthyaelfbecausehemethisdeath
lnobeyingGodonthedayofheroicbattle.
}:lamzawasthelionofGod,110bepatient;
Hetoo onthatdaytasted Shammlls'acup.
Hind d. 'Utba when the polytheista withdrew from Ul:zud
Icamebacltmyheartfilledwithwrrow,
For 110me from whom I sought vengean~ had escaped me,
'W.Iw~'mo..un.'
'i.e,V.'hnhcrlheykrwwor noc.Thio~rnienributedl<l~udninthoDionh(~<nviii)

"'hcrclhctatdiffe" ....,....hat.ltioobviowlylhcprodu.ctofaloterqo.

,,,

Tht Life of Muhammad

MenofQurayshwhowereatBadr,
Of Banii Hbhim, and of Yathrib'a people
Igainedaomewhttfromthcexpedition
Butnotallthatlhadhopcd(6s8).

TIIEDAYOFA L RAJI',A.H.J

t.~~~~~~~~r~~Ar~~~~~1~~~b;~:~-~~~~:~~~~~~~e~A~~~
:o:e':~~:~~!:~~r:~d~-2~~~~~~~:t~:~~~:s~;j~i~:!e:~dsc:~;
ofhiscompanionstoinlfructtheminrcligionandtoteachthc:mtore11d

~~~o~n~".:!r ~ia :!:p'!~:n:~~=~~f ~.' Z::O ~~~~:s;:~a~:~~~:

1
11
8
~~-~It .x:i~ ~.z~h~~i~li~- bA~~:~~~~~.alb!:be~\~B~ -~r b. ~:~~ ~:

~:~k~~--~~E~~~~~3~gH~f~~~:'f ~E;:tt~~~~!~~t~\~~~~:;u~::1
~~~~t; :~~~~-bdullah b. TAriq, ally of B. ?:afar b. al-Khazraj b. 'Amr b.

al-~:j~.~~-:l~~~~~~~~~:~~ ~u~h~~~da :j:~~: ~~~~;~~;d~~~~:;~~

0

par~

of al-Had'a.'. The re they betrayed them and summoned Hudhayl

f~?~~~:~~~~~~~:~;J~~:~~!b~~~~;:r~:itl~:~~ii~:h~~:~::~z

639

;:;,~o:r ~~~!.'h~~~yt~::o~~;e~~ ~~t';'~;t~~;!,!o~ 0~h~~ ::::.the

un~!~:~~:g ~~~~;~~~~;1:'m~i~~~~e~.,t~:~;~ver accept an
Noweakli ng l ,anarcherbold,

t;r:;:~::~~rt:: ~!u~~~,:~'d
WhatGoddecreeam<'n shallb<'hold,
LifemustretumtoHimitsmould.
I fight though lleaveamother,cold (66o).

l 'mAbUSulaymlnwithal-Muq'ad'sshafts.'
LikeGehennatheybummyfeath<'redshafts.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Whenbattle'sabroo.d l amnotafraid,'
Withshieldofsmoothox-hide l 'mpfelyarrayed
And I firmly believe in what !\'luhammad has uid.
I 'mAbUSulaymin,anarcherfine,
Andcomeofapwpleofnobleline.
His JnmytJ was AbU Sulaymln.
we'!'eh~~~rn he fought with the people until he and his two companion
\\'hen 'A.imwasslain Hudhaylv.'lllltedtotake hishead to ad! it to
Sulilfa d. Sa'd b. Shuh.ayd. When he killed her two sons at U~ud ahe
aworea\'Owthatifshecouldgetpossessionofhisheadshewoulddrink
wineinhissku\l ;butbees'protectedhim. Whenthebeetcamebetween
itandthemtheysaid,'Lethimaloneuntilnightfallwhentheywillleave
himandwecantaketheskull.' ButGod aentaftoodinthewadiand it
carried .~tim away. Now 'A,im had made a covenant with God that no
polytheistahou ldtouchhimnorwouldheeve r touchapolytheistforfear
of contamination. " 'Umar used to say when he heard of how the beet
protected him, 'God protects the believer. '~im had vowed that no polytheist shouldtouchhimandthathewouldne\'ertouchoneso longashe
~~~~~: ~~~~:~;,cted him after his death as he had protected himself
Zayd, Khubayb, and Abdullah b. T~riq were weak and yieldi ng in their
desire tO preserve their lhe!l so they surrendered and were bound and 640

~a!~~ ;~~e~:~\~ :~~:h:~ d~~e~i~hs~o~~~e ~:ta:h~a~~~: ~~~~~!~~

from him and stoned him until they killed him. Hil gra11e is in al -~ahfln.
KhubaybandZaydwerebroughttoM ecc;a(661).
l;lujayr b. AbU l hlb al-Tamimi, an ally of B. Naufal, bought Khubayb
for 'Uqba b. al-l;Urith b. 'Amir b. Kaufal, AbU lhlb being the brother of
al-l;llrith b. 'Amir by the same mother, to kill him in m enge for hia
father (661).
~afwln b. Umayya bought Zayd to kill him in re\'enge for his father
Umayya b. Khalaf. !pfwln sent him with a freedman of his c;alled Ni"ls'
to a!-Tan'im and they brought him out of the f!aram to kill him. A number
of Quraysh gathered, among whom was AbU Sufyln b. l;larb, who uid to
him ashewasbroughtouttobckilled,' IadjureyoubyGod,Zayd,don't
you wish that Muhammad was with us now in your place so that we might

01 ~~-~...t~~!:;;:..'J;~~ ~ ;-:~:d.:{.'."c"~~v:~~~:!.:"'n'; .J--.<4jf 'owift

or,monopttobab!y,'horm:tt'. Butoe<b<low

(d.,~7'i.~if..ahir::~;::~"1,!~J.uit:~!.!i~y~.~~;;::s .' ~;6~~~.\~:~1.'!~

d'"tr ~~:w;"to~~~,;~~" tlllo refeunco to my co!luaue Mr. Hopkono

,,,

that the man was subject to seizures. During one of his visits 'Umar asked
me, but I wu one of those who was present when Khubayb b. 'Adly was
killed and I heard his curse, and whene\'Cr I remember it when 1 am in a
meetinglfaintaway.' Thisincreuedhisfavourin'Umar'seyes(664).
A freedman of Zayd b. Thabit told me from ' l krima, freedman of Ibn
'Abbis,orfromSa'idb. Jubayr,thatlbn'Abb!lssaidv.ithreferencetoa
pusageoftheQuranaboutthisexpedition:Whentheexpeditioninwhich
Manhad and '~im took pan came to grief in al-Rajl' some of the disaffected said, 'Alas for those beguiled fellows who perished thus! They
didnotstaywiththeirfamiliesnordidtheydclivertheme$$ageofthei r
master.' Then God sent down concerning their words and the good they
gainedbytheirsuffering:'Thereisthekindofmanwhosetalkaboutthe

The L1je of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

~~~~ ~i~:.~~is~ t~~~~1~~~;::d\\~~:Y:.~;:~::~e ~J:c :~e =~;! ~~~

that a thorn oould hurt him, and that I were sitting with my family.' AbU
Sufy~n used to say, 'I ha\'t never seen a man whowasso]O\'td :q Muhammad's companions lo\'td him.' Then Nis!ils killed him, God pity him.
'Abdullah b. AbU Naji~ told me that he was told by MAwlya,' freedwoman of l:lujayr b. AbU 1Mb, who had become a Muslim: Khubayb was
imprisoned in my house and !looked at him one day with a bunch of
grapesinhishandasbigasaman'ahe:~.dfromwhichhewaseating. I did
~::!~~;:).that there were grapes on God's earth that could be eaten (at

'A,im b. 'Umar b. Qatllda and 'Abdullah b. AbU NajiJ.t both told me that
sheaaid:Whenthetimeforhisexecutionhadcomeheaskedmctoscnd
him a ruor with wb~ch to cleanse himself before he died; 10 I ga\e a ruor
toayouthofthetnbeandtoldhimtotakeittothellWl in the house.

E:~e!~~~!:,~~B~~i!~~~:r:;n;~~~~::~~r~!?~~;Ei~l~g:!~:~~:~~i~
:~~~~e~:~~~~~~:~~i~:~~utli~X;~~~~::2e~:7~~!:.i~~f
~c~~e~~:d~ ~=~~:~~dg~:~h:::~~tt~n:~:~ :~~~e~ft~~~gt~

t~~f]:1~~Ji~~~~~~:~~tr~!if.{~t;,r~~~~I
tomorrow what has been done to us.' Then he s.aid, '0 God, reckon them

~!J~;~~::~ ~! k~lilt~h~:~ne by one, let none of them escape.' Then they

8

t.:!u!. ~~:.!e ~~~re ~~;~A':~dS~~Ys~:~~ ~:~~~~~tt~~~~d~e at:~~~

gmundoutoffearofKhubayb'acurse.' They u~Jedtosay, 'lfa!lWlis
cursed and isthrowntoonesidethecursewillpusoverhim.'
Ya~y~ b. 'AbbM b. 'Ab?ulla~ b. al-Zubayr from hi, father 'Abbll.d
~ncermng 'Uqba b. al-~.lii.nth sa1d: ' I heard him say, "It was not I who

:/1~ .~~~~~:~if::!~~ ~~~~::~g~~tdi~ ~~a~Yb~:~~ii ;~:~~ !::;~

my hand with his and thrust him with it until he !tilled him."'
One of our companions said that 'Umar had appointed Sa'ld b. 'Amir b.
6a

~~~~Y~~ :!:~::~~ ~~:r ~;~~ ~~dsr~~a~~.:i~!1 :~r ~~~. t~t~.: :~

himthecau~Jeofthetroubleandhesaid,'Thereianothingthemattcrwith

1 1

!:th~h~~;r~~~~i~~~ :bo:~e~:; ~.~~~ ; ~ : ~::n~~~~rct'f;

contrarytowhatheprofesses withhis tongue, 'yetheisthemostquarrelsomeofadversaries',i.e.aeontroveraialistwhenheargucswithyou(66s).'
God uid, 'And when he turns away,' i.e. goes out from your presence, 6u
'hehutensthroughthelandtomakemiachiefthereinandtodestroythe
cropsandthecattle;butGodlovesn<K.miachief,'i.e.Hedoesnotlo\'ethe
doing of it nor does it please Him. 'And when it is said to him, Beware of
God,pride~Jeizcshimin s in. Hellwillbehisreckoning,anevilrcstingplacc. Andthere isthekindofman whowouldsellhimselfinhisdesire
topleaseGodandGodiskindtoHis~Jervants,'i.e. theysoldthemselves to

God by fighting in His way and doing what He required until they gne up
their lives. He meansthatexpedition(666).
Among the poems about this is that of Khubayb b. 'Adiy when he heard
thatthepeoplehadgatheredtocrucifyhim(66-;) :
Theconfederatesgatheredtheirtribesaround me
And usembledallwhomtheycouldeollect.
All of them show violent enmity against me
Because I amh~lpless in bonds
Theyoollecttheirwomenandchildren
Andlambroughttoaloftyhightrunk.
ToGodloomplainofmylonelinC$$andpain
Andofthedeaththeeonfedc:rateshavepreparedformc.

~:~ ~~~~ep~~=~~v~=:~~.:~ei:~~~=~ their purpose.

ThisisforGod'aake, and if He wills
1 Silna.:aoo.S.t<>n:loovuillnll'ftdins oflbnMuhoyoin,xl2ytuAA"""'D6lttlfor.,..)'OtlhltiJt<ll4M.i.e.Godknowo whatioinhio heort,ondthiomaywellbootlle truereodina. He
oloo .. yo tha!themajorityof comm<n<atorShold thotthiove....,come downwithn!fuence

;]~1::~Ef:~f:r~~~~~~;:~z~::::::~~~~~~~ :~

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Theydeceivedyouwiththeirtreachery,breakingtheirfaith,
Youwere wronged,aprisonerintheircamp(67o).

I:Iassanb.Thabitsaid,mourningKhubayb

J:lassanalsosaid

l:lassanalsosaid

I:Iassiinalsosaid:

'<lilf io onooftheaj.dlfd.
i.e.mynatun: ilauchthatmyeyeaan:unatcustomedtotnrs.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Weretreacherouaonthedayofai-Raji',
Betr:ayingthcirwardtowhomkindne~~~andgenerosityweredue,

~~e"~:~~~~h::~n:;~~a~~~;:~~o pains
Onedaytheywillseevictoryturnagainstthem
Forkillingonewhomthereprotectedagainstevildeeds'
S\\-armsofhometsstandingguardoverhisftesh
Whichprotectedthefteshofonewho\OitnessedgTeatbattles.
Perhapsinretumforkillinghim Hudhaylwillsee
Deadlyingprostr:ateorwomenmourning
Aswebringaviolentattackuponthem,
Whichriderswillrelatefaithfullytothoseatthefairs
ByconunandofGod'sapostle,forhewithfullknowledge
HutJUJdeaforcefuldecisionapinstLil;lyin,
Acontemptibletribecaringnothingforgoodfaith.
Iftheyarewrongedtheydonotresisttheaggressor.
Whcnpeoplelheinani110latedquaner
You see them in the watercourses between the well-worn channels.
Theirplaceiathehomeofdcath
Whenanythinghappcnatothemtheyhavcthcmindsofcattlc
GodcurseLil;lyin,fortheirblooddoe:tnotrepayus

The Life of Muhammad

1

r~~ '::ie ~; ~~~~;.~ p':::ctu~~ei~i~t~r":7:::!, \\'annth.'

1

l;lassinalsosaid
ByGod, Hudhayldonotknow
Whether Zamzam's water is dean or foul;

~:~i:~~r5~~~~:~~:'::t:::~~~~7na:.c
~~h::~i~! ;:~ ~nc~~:~j=~~~~~t
In thte\eningbesidetheshelters.
T heywerctreacheroustoKhubaybthcirward.
Whatamiserableco\cnantwutheirfalsewordl(67J)
l;lassilnalsosaid
Godblessthosewhofollowedoneanother(todeath)thedayofaiRajl'
Andwcre honouredandrewarded.
Marthadthehcadand leaderofthepartyand
Ibnai-BukayrthcirimJmandKhubayb.
Anda!IOnof Tilriq; Ibn Dathinnawastheretoo.
Therehisdcathasitwaawrittcnbefell him

Fo r theirhavingalainthetwointrt:~chery.

Andal-'~imalainatRaji'

Atal-Raji'theykilledthe110nofafreewoman
Faithfulandpureinhisfriendahip.
Hadtheyallbeenlr.illedonthedayofal-Raji'
In revengefor'A~im 1 that would not have sufficed
Forthedcadmanwhomthebeesprotectedinthcirtents,

Attainedtheheights(ofheaven)greatgainerhe.
Heavcrted thedisgraceofwoundsintheback.
Hemetthemswordinhand,thenoble\O-arrior(6'Ji)

Amongpeopleofobviousinfidelityandcoarsene~~~.

THE STORY OF BI'R MA'ONA IN $AFAR, A.lf.

Li):lyinkilledoncmorchonourablcthanthcy
And 110ld Khubayb for a miserable price, woe to them!

T he apoetle stayed (in Medina) for the rest of Shawwal, DhU'J.Qa'da,

D~U' I -I;I ijja, and a\-M ul;larram whi~e the polytheist& tupcrvised the pil-

Ugh!forLiJ:l~nineverycvent.

!~:~hu~cnheaentthemenofBt'r!l.la'Unaforthin$afar,fourmonths

1\Iaytheirmemoryperiahandnote\enbementioned!
Acontemptibletribeofmeanandtreachcrousdescent,
Theirmeanneasc:i.nnotbeconccaled.
Ifthcywereslaintheirbloodwouldnotpayforhim
Butthekillingofhiskillenwou ldcu~me(ofmy.pain):

Unleu l dielwilltcrrifyHudhayl"',thaplundcnngrl.ld
Swift u the early morning cloud.
Bytheapostle'tcommand,andhisitis,
DisasterwillspcndthenightinLi):lyln'scourt.

My fathe r lsJ:liq b. Yas~ r from al-Mughlra b. Abdu'l-RaJ:lrrWt b. al

l;llrith b. HisMm told me, u did 'Abdullah b. AbU Balr.r b. Muhammad
b. 'Amr b. l;lazm and other tr:aditionists, as follows: AbU Bari' .~ir b.
Mi lik b.Ja'farthe'PlayerwiththeSpears'came totheapostleinMedina
(T andofferedhimapresent. T heapostlerefusedit,sayingthathecould T.l4-fJ
not accept 1 present from a polytheist and telling him to become a Muslim
ifhewishcdhim toacccpthispreaent). The apostle explained Islam to
himandinvitedhimtoacccptit. Hewouldnotdo110yethewasnotfar
from Islam. He said: '0 Muhammad IT your affair to which you invite
1

I follow

!h~

,,

n:odin1r ofC

'lnioniom<"'''~rbooothln i .H.'oreanoion.

Tlu Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

meismostexccllent). lf)-ouweretosendtomeofrourcompanionsto

:~~:;~;:::~~rB~~A:~~~~c~' ~~~~~~~~e~~~~ra~~=;i~~~~lgt~~:~~e~~

thepeopleofNsjdandtheyinvitedthemtoyouraffairlhlr.ve~hopes
that they would gi\"e you a favourabl~ answer.' Th~ apostle sa~d that_he
feared that the people of Najd would ktllthcm; to whtch AbU_ Ba~l' rephcd

~~h~e~~~~;~l::~u~t~~ ~iCa~:~;e:1h~~ ~~~~~~~;~:::~~~ E~d;:

649 the Muslims. Among them were al-l:llrith b. al-$imma; l:larlm b. Mil~~n.
brother of B. 'Adly b. si-Najjlr; 'Urwa b. Asml' b. al-$alt ai-Sulami;
Nlfi' b. Budayl b. Warql' al-Khuz.l'l; '.\mir b. Fuhayra, freedman of Abti
Bakr,ofthosewho werenamedofthebett Muslims. (T-l:lumayd al
Tawil from Anu b. Mllik who said that the_apostle sent al-t\~undhir b.
'Amr with seventy ridera.)' They went on until they halted at Bt'r Ma'tina

=i~~~~~~:~e; t:e:!:~~ o~h~ ;~~~and the ~arra of B. Sulaym, ncar to

When they alighted at it they ~nt Harim b. Mill_lan with the a~t le'a
letter to the enemy of God 'Am.ir b. Tufayl. When he came tO htm he
rushedatthemanandkilledhimbcforeheevenlookedattheletter. Then
he tried to call out the B. 'Amir agai!Ut them, but the~ refused to do w?at

~~;~:~: ~:~n:i:~~t ~~~w::. n;;;~l~= tah;~~~~~7oo~~t~:; :~~~~

Sulaym of 'Utayya, Ri'l, and Dhakwln, and they agr~d and came ~ut
against them and surrounded them u they were wnh thctr cameb. Se~mg
them they drew their words and fought to the last man. All were ktlled
but Ka'b b. Zayd, brother of B. Dinlr b. ai-Najjlr; him they ltft while
breath was in him. He wu picked up from among the slain and li\ed until
the battle of the Trench when he was killed as a martyr.
'Amr b. Umayya ai-J;lamri and an Afltlri of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf were with
thecamelsoutatpasture(67Sl Thcydidnotknowofthe,Jeathofthcir
companions until they 111w vultures circling round the camp. They knew
thatthismustmean thatliOmething aerioushadhappeneU,sotheywent
toinvestigatcandtherewcrethcmcnlyingintheirbloodandthehorsc
men who had killed them 1tanding ncar. 'Amr'a opinion was that they
ahouldrcjointheapoatlesndtellhimthenewa,butthc~riaaidthathc
oouldnotbringhim&clftoleavetheapotwhereal-Mundhirhadbce~slsin,

norcouldhebcarthatpeoplcshoulduythathehaddonesuchathmg,so
hefoughtthepartyuntil he was killed. They took 'Amrpriaoncr, and
when he told them that he wasofMuQar, 'Amir b. al-Tufayllet him go
6so aftercuttingoffhisforelock. Hefr~dhim,sohcalleged,bccauseofan
oath taken by his mother.~
'Amr got as far as al-Qarqara at the beginning of Qsniit when two men
of B. 'Am.i.r turned up and stopped with him in the shade (676). Now
there was an agreement of friendship bctv.'eentheapostleand the two
'Thititooc:t"pudby Bukhlri .

cr.theohomrootou>tinMIWb.'Uqbo.,No.7.

when he fell upon them and killed them, thinking that he had taken
vengeanceonthemforthc killingoftheapostle'a companions. Butwhcn
hccamctotheapostleandtoldhimwhathchaddone he said,'Youhalle
killed two men whose bloodwit I must pay.' Then the apostle said, ~This
is (the result of) AbO. Darl's act. I did not like this expedition fearing
what would happen.' When Abti Bali.' heard the neW3 he was much
upsetat'Amir'aviolationofhisguaranteeinthatthcapostle'soompanions
hadbeen killedbecauseofwhathchaddoneandbccausehehadpromiscd
them safety. Among those who were killed was 'Amir b. Fuhayra.
Hishiim b. 'Urwa from hia father told me that 'Amir b. ai-Tufayl used to
ask, 'Who was the man I saw lifted up between heaven and earth when he
hadbeenkillcdumill sawtheskyreteivehim?' Thcyanswercd,' ltwas
'Amirb. Fuhayra.

t~:~0B~-!:~~!:!~~:~~: ;;Y~!~:~k ~!~~r:~~o~~t:r:-~:b~:a:~ :~1o:.~

lim-that Jabblr used tony, 'Whlr.t led me to become a l\'luslim wu that

l stabbcdoneofthcmbctweentheshouldcrsthatdayandisawthepoint
ofthespearoomeoutofhischest,and I heard him say," ! have won by
God!" I could not make out what he meant by the words seeing that I had
killed him until afterwards I asked othcn and was told that it wu martyr
dom,andthenlsaid,"ByGodhchaswon."'
l:bssln b. Thlbit, inciting B. Abti Baril' against 'Amir b. al-Tufayl, said:
Ye sona of Ummu'l-Banin, are you not dismayed,
YouthcloftiestofNajd'apeople,

~~;~~~~~~:~~e~~ tt~c~!cB:i~ ~nel~:l~t~;~!~s safe conduct?

SaytoRabi'awho strivesaftergreatdeeds,
Whatdid)oudoafter lleftyou ?
YourfathcrAbO.Bari'isamanofwar,
Yourunclel:fakamb.Sa'discclebrnted(677)-

IT-

Ka'bb.Malikalsouidonthesameaubject
ThcviolationofAbO.Bari."sguar:mtec
lsblazedabroadfsrandwidc.
ltilllikcMusahhabandhisfather'ssons
1

~a;:n~~; U'::!~'il~~~~i~~~~; )~us~;~;:car

Thecryforhclpatevcntide,theloudcallforaid?

i~~ ~i!~n~i~:b ~~~)~~~o:n~;.that

Arehomcsofbrokenfaith.
O'Amir,'Amirofancicntinfamy,

he was a doughty 1\"arrior.

"'

The l-'ft of Muhammad

The L1Je of 11'/uhammad

Youha\'twon, butwithoutintelligenceordignity.

~!~ :~~~~~~~:~!::l:~a::~ i~~:!:~~~~?

YouarenotliketheguestofAbUOuwll.d

~~ii:~~~:~~~~~:~~;~Ei:~~:~~:e ~~deadly.
When the words of J:lau~n and Ka'b reached Rab_i'a h: 'A~ir (AbU'.].

~}!~\~~:f1tt:il~~~tfl~~,;~1~~itt~~~~:
who killed NMi' b. lludayl b. Warqii' ai-Khuzi'i that day, nid:
IlcftlbnWarq.il.'deado~thegrou.nd

Withthedustwindblowmgo'erhtm.
I remembered Abii'I-Rayyln) when I saw him
Andmadesurethatlwua\'tngtd.

A~~~~~r;:~."~:,~;;::,:~~i~~dz~fi' b. Buday\ b. Warq1i' said:

GodhavethemcrcyonKafi'b. Dudayl
Thatbelongstothosewhose<'ktherewardofjiMdl

~~~c~~~n ~~~~:~~;::i~~~~ he apoke to the point.

WeepforthcalainatMa'iina
Witht\'erflowingtean,

~l:t~;~J~12~~~~f~?:::~"."'
AlasforMundhirwhodiedthcre
Andhastenedtohisendstcadfastly!
0

g~~~:~~/~~ ~p~:~:~~ o~:\~ death! (678)

THE DEPORTATION OF TilE B. AL-NAI)IR, A.ll.

According to what Yazid b. Rlimlhl told me the apostle went to B. al- 65:1
Na~lr to ask for their help in paying the bloodwit for the two men of B.
'Amir whom 'Amr b. Umayya al-J;>amri had killed after he had gi1en them
a promise of security. There was a mutual alliance between B. ai-Nac;lir

and B. 'Amir. When the apostle came to them about the bloodwit they
saidthatofooursetheyiiOUidcontributeinthewayhewished;butthey
took coun~~el with one another apart, saying, 'You will never get such :a
ehanceagain. \Vhowillgotothetopofthchouseanddroparockonhim
(T IOU to kill him) and rid us of him?' The apostle was sitting by the T.1448
wall of one of their housea at the time. 'Amr b. JiJ:ti!h b. Ka'b volunteered
to do this and went up to throw down a rock.' As the apostle was with a
number of his companions among whom were Abfi Bakr, 'Umar, wd 'Ali,
newacametohimfromhcavenaboutwhatthesepeoplcintcnded,sohe
got up (T. and said to his companiont, 'Don't go away until I come to
you')andhewentbacktol\ledina. Whenhiscompanionshadv.11itedlong 653
for the prophet, they got up to search for him and met a man coming from
Medinaandaskedhimabouthim. He sa.idthathehadseenhimentering
Medina, and they went off, and when they found him he told them of the
treachery which the Jewt meditated against him. The apostle ordered them
to prepare for war and to march against them (679). Then he went off with
themenuntilhecameuponthem(68o).
Thej ev.-. tookrefu~in theirforttandtheapostleorderedthatthe
Jnlm-trees ahould be cut down and burnt, and they called out to him,
'Muhammad, you have prohibited wanton destruction and blamed thMe
guiltyofit. Whythenareyoucuttingdownandburningourpalm-treea?'
Now there was a number of B. 'Auf b. ai- Khazraj among whom were
'Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Sallil and Wadl'a a11d Mii.lik b. Abii Qauqal and
Suwayd and Dll'is who had sent to IJ. ai-Na~ir saying, 'Stand firm and
protectyounelves,forwewillnot betrayyou. lfyou areattackedwewill
fight with you and if you are turned out, we will go with you.' Acrordingly
theywaitedforthehelptheyhadpromised,but thcydidnothingandGod
caatterrorintotheirhearts. Theyaskcdtheapostletodeport themandto
tparethcirli>"esonconditionthattheycould retainalltheirpropertywhich

~~e~~~~i;a::~~ ~~-~~~-~~e~~~~h:u~~mc:~.an~1;: ~~;;:tdes::~~=i

theirhouscsdowntothelintelofthedoorwhichtheyputupontheback.
of their camels and went off with it. Some went to Khaybar and others
went to Syria. Among their chiefs who went to Khaybar were Salli\Jn b.

The Ltfe of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Abfi'l-l:luqayq, Kinlnab. al-Rablb. AbU'l-J:Iuqayq,andl:luyayyb.Akhtab. Whentheygottheretheinhabitanllbecamesubjecrtothem.
'Abdultahb.AbO.Bakrtoldmethathe"''Utoldthattheycarriedoffthe
women and childun and property with tambourines and pipes and singinggirls plsying behind them. Among them \\'U Umm 'Ann, \\ife of'Urv1a b.
at-Ward ai-'Abst, whom they had bought from him, she being one of the
654 women of B. Ghiflr. (They went) with auch pomp and splendour u had
neverbeenaninanytribeintheirdays.
They left their property to the apostle and it became his personal
propertywhichhecoulddispotcofuhcwishcd. Hedivideditsmong the
firstcmigrantstothcexcluaionofthcAnpr,exceptthatSahlb.l;lunayf
and AbU Dujlna Simlk b. Kharuha complained of poverty and so he gave
them some. Only two of B. ai-NaQir became Muslims: Yiimln b. 'Umayr
AbU Ka'b b. 'Amr' b. Jiblsh and AbO. Sa'd b. Wahb who became Muslims
inordertorctain their property.
One of Ylmln's family told me that the apostle said to Ylmln, 'Ha\'C you
lctnthewayyourcousinhutreatcdmcandwhathcproposcdtodo1'
Thereupon Ylmtn ga,e a man money to kill ' Amr b. Jibbh and he did
killhim,or.otheyallcgc.
Concerning B. al-Nao;llr the SUra of Exile came down in which ia
recorded how God wreaked Hia vengeance on them and gave His apostle
power over them and how He dealt with them. God said: 'He it is who
tumcdoutthosewhodiabelievcdoftheacripturepeoplefromthcirhomct
tothefintexile. Youdidnotthinkthatthcywouldgooutandtheythought
that their forti would protect them from God. But God came upon them
fromadircctionthcyhadnotrcckoncdandHecasttcrrorintothcirhcarts
sothattheydeatroycdthcirhouseswiththeirownhandsandthehandsof
thebelie\cn.' 1 Thatrefcntothcirdeatroyingtheirhousestocxtractthe
lintcla ofthedoonwhcntheycarricdthcmaway. 'So consider this, you
who have understanding. Had not God prescribed deportation against
them,' which wu \"engcance from God, 'He would have punished them in
this world,' i.e. with the sword, 'and in the next world there would be the
punishment of hell' u well. 'The palm-trees which you cut down or left
standinguponthcirroots.'Linamcansothcrthanthcbestkindofdatct.
' It wu by God's permission,' i.e. they weu cut down by God's order; it
wu not destruction but wu \"Cngeance from God, 'and to humble eril6ss doers' (68 1). 'The apoi! which God ga\c the apostle from them,' i.e. from
B. al-~a~lir. 'You did not urge on your ca\'alry or riding camels for the
sake of it, but God gives His apostle power O\er whom He wills and God ia
Almighty,' i.e. it wu peculiar to him (682), 'The spoil which God gave the
apostle from the people of the towns belongs to God and HiS apostle.'
What the Muslims gallop against with horses and camels and what is capturcdbyforceofarmsbclongstO'Godandthcapostle. 'Andisforthcnext
of kin and orphans and the poor and the wayfarer so that it should not
'W.hoo'ocouoinof'Arnr'

'SUra 59

circulateamongyourrichmcn;andwhatthcapostlegivcayoutakeand
abttainfromwhathcforbidsyou.' Hc sa)'lthisiaanothcrdiviaionbctwcen
Mualims concerning what is taken in war according to what God prescribed
to him.'
Then God said, 'Have you aecn those who are disaffected,' meaning
'Abdullah b. Ubayy and his companions and those who arc like-minded
'whouy totheirbrothersofthciCiiptuupeoplcwhodiabelievc,' i.c.thc
B. ai-NaQir, up to thcwords'likc those who a short time before them u~ed
thcmiscryofthciractaandhadapa.infulpunishmcnt,'i.e.thcB.Qaynuql'.
Then u far as the words 'Like Satan when he u.id to man Oitbelicvc, and
whcnmandisbelicvcdhcsaid,lamquitofyou. IfearAllahthcLo rdof 6$6
the worlds and the punishment of both is that they\o\ill be in hell e\erlastingly. Thatisthcrcwardofthccrildocl'$.'
Among the vcracs composed about B. al-NaQ!r arc the following from
I. Luqaym al-'Abst. (Othcn u.y Qays b. Babr b. Tarlf wu the author
(68J).)
My people be a ransom for the immonal man
WhoforcedthcJcwatoscttlcinadinantplacc. 1

in~~:~~~; tt~:~o~~=:~:~~!\;a~:~~::y'~~va:ils~;

bare hills of 'Odt.l

Jflamrightaboutl\'luhammad
You will see his horses between al-~lil and Yaramram
Making for 'Amr b. Buhtha. They are the enemy.
(Afriendlytribeisnotthcsamcuanevilonc.)
Onthcmareheroes,fircbrands inwar,
Brandishingapearsdirectcdatthcirencmies
Everyfinesharp lndianblade
lnhcritedfromthedaysof'Ad andJurhum.
Who \\ill give Qur:.tysh a message from me,
Foristheuonehonouredingloryaftuthcm?
' lnoi-Bolldhuri'tF'IB..Uh ..t.DcGoeje,tlf.,thltpa......,ruclo .. folkron
'
frornlbnAbllZoi'odafromM uhomrnadb.loOiq~miniGod'oword''Theopoil
whlchCodao"<'th<o-tlcfrom<Mm",i.o.fromB.oi-Sodlr,"}'OUdidnotu,...ca-.lt}' .
hom l-lc,.Uio,"Hctaulh<lhcrntN.tit"-..p<'Clllio'tothco-tlcondtononocbo.SotlK

::~~:17E:~~:::;.-:t;!~!:IO~Ei\~~!!S~:E

~;=.H.:,~:.!:!~~~;;;:m.J:;::.~It~:'roo7:!::::".;;.":~~~';;1~
:;:::;,:,~~:;~.::=;;::.~ (!~'=.!:~.:.::~.~-!"~~~ri~.~-;~0~

An.. rmay,.cllhlovobftni.p>otedbylhelaterwritcroofo.-.iptohiopurpOt<.Onthe

~~!;:!PE~~E'i~~~~I~:~:=:~:r::~~~1~~~:~!~~~~~=

~~~:~?;~~~~:~;~:~2;'f~~ irn_.ible; in writ~l it m~ht weU be

'A.Dh.ooyo \N.<thioilthcnomeofoplacc.Ytqiltdonnotrncntlonit.

Tk~ Lif~

Tk~ L1j~

of Jlfuilammad

~~ ~:~ ~~:::: ::.~ 0~:7:~ ~\~~:and Zamum.

And you ~111 attain the greate.t heighu. He is

AprophetwhohasreccivedGod'amercy.
Alkhimnohiddenuncertainmatter.

~~ ::~h:nc~;:~~e ~:t~r~r, 0

Ounysh,

6~y~~r~~~g~~=::~e~:~~u;~h~~:. Khamjis,
Hclpedbythe HolySpirit,1 amitinghisfOCI!I,
AtmeapostlefromtheCompwionateonhigh;
AnapostlefromtheComp111ioraterecitingHisbook.
Whenthetruthshoneforthhedidnotheaitate.
laee hilpowermountingon~very hand
Inacc.:ordwithGod'sdecree(684)

Sammlk the Jew answered him:

lf youboast,foritisaboastforyou
That you killed Ka'bb.ai-Ashnf
The daythatyouoompassedhisdeath,
Amanwhohadshownneithcrtreachcrynorbadfaith,
Haplytimeandthechangeoffortune
Willtakerevengefrom'thejustandrighteousone' 1
Forkillingai-NaQ.Irandthciroonfedentes
Andforcuttingdownthepalms,theirdatesungathered.
Unlessldiewewilloomeatyouwithlancea
Andevery sharpswordthatwehave
lnthehandof abraveman whoprotectshimself.
Whenhemeetahisadversaryhekillshim.
Withthearmyis$akhrlandhisfellows.
Whenheatt.acbheilnoweakling
LikealioninTa:rj'protectinghiscovert,
Lordofthethicket,crushinghilprey,enormous.

al-~~~1,"}~ !!:~ 1~~tKln of B. al-NaQ.Ir and the killing of Ka'b b.

lknow,andhewhojudgeafairlyknowa.
I'maure andawervenot
;::

~d~~:r~~~ ~~rg1 ~e~~~: which came

Documenustudiedamongthebelieve~

InwhichhechoseAl_l.madthechosenone.
So~dbecamehonouredamongus,

Hooouredinrankand station.
Oyouwhofoolish1ythreatenhim

~hoyo~n:tr~~~i=te;u~:~~ot overbearing,

of Muilammad

\Vhentheyleamedthathewasdead.
TheysaidtoAJ.unad,'Lea,eusawhile,
Forwearenotyetrecocredfromwecping.'
Soheleftthem;thenhesa.id,'Begone
lnsubmissionandhumiliation.'
Hesental-NaQ.irtoadistantexile,
Theyhavingenjoyedaprosperoushome
ToAdhri'lit 1 riding pillion
Oneveryulcerousworn-outcameltheyhad.

That your brother Muhammad, and know it well,

K.a'bb.

M~liksaidonthesamcsubject:

~~~s~~!~~~~:~:~i~~n:e~0~~~~gh their treachery,

(He who has nothing to fear from God is not like him who Jivct in
dread.)l
Andthatyoumaybethrownbcneathhilswords
AsKa'bal-Aihrafwas
ThedaythatGodsawhisinsolence
Whenhetumedasidelikearefractorycamel?
And J:le sent down Gabriel with a gncious revelation
ToHLastrvantabouthiskilling.

TheyhaddcniedthemightyLord
Whosecommandisgrcat.
Thcyhad been givenknowledgeandundentanding
AndawarncrfromGodcametothem,
Atruthfulwamerwhobroughtabook
Withp\ainandluminousverses.
They said, 'You'vebroughtnotruething
And you arc more wonhy of God's disappro\'al 1 than we.'
Hesaid,'Nay,butl'\"ebroughtthetruth,
ThewiseandintelligentbeliC\eme;

~it~: :~e=~'~=~. messenger to him

EyaweptoopiouslyforKa'b

Hewhofo\lo~itwillbcrightlyguided
lnSyrio.
A .. I"CIIotic...-ferm<Othcprophct.C.hasyudil
0 AbO.Sufyln.
AmountoinU.th<Hijo.z
'Or,perlool)l,'ofbcinadiobelieved".

Tht Life of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

~~~ :~~e~.i~:~ei:~t~e:~~~~~ ;~~o:;.~~i~t,

Anda1ersLonturnedthemfromthetruth,
Godshowedtheprophetasoundview,
ForGod'tdecisionisnotfalse.
He Strengthened him snd gave him power o1er them

~?b :::. ~~~ft~~~~n t~~~:~lent Helper!

After his fall :\'a~lrwaa brought low.
Swordinhandwecuthimdown

~~.~~:~:~~~:0 o;:~: ~~.he sent secretly by night

~:~r:~~~~ash:::t~~o~~y~g~ 1 ~~m down with guile.

Those BanU'l-Ka~lrwereinevilcaae,
Theyweredestroyedfortheircrimes

~~~k1~i ~~~~ia:'~: ~:k:~o1~ht~~:.ith an army

Gha.nln the prot~ctors were his helpers

the enemtes as he helped them.

Agam~t

~~;~~~~~~~~e;~e~e~~ee;e ~~:i;oah~e~:' but they refused

~\:e~ \~:~ ~~~:=~~~~~~~~h:~: ~:~:!.in misery,

~~:rr ;:~~~~~~nh~~~~~~-e~e:~=~o~~uql',
SammUtheJewansweredhim
1

11

6~~ ~~;~~ :t :~':ed~~c:;: ::::~~~

l aawthatalltherabbisrejectcdhim,

~~~fu~~on:~:d~ ~~;~:~~:end experience

Ofwh_ichthc LawandPsalmsdospeak.
\'oukLIIed Ka'bthechiefofthcrabbis,l
Hewholewardwasalwayssafe.
He came down to Ma]:lmUd his brother,'

r~~~~;s~:~E:~l~~:~2~~u~~ign.
By)ourfatherandmine,

;~;~~~~?~;~:~g~-t~~~~~i4E~~~gr~f.Ei"~;:;

Whenhcfellal-Xa~irfellalso.

lfwestaysafeweahallleaveinrevengeforKa'b
Menofyourswithvulturescirclingroundthem
Atthoughtheywerebeastssacrificedonafeastday
Withnonetosaythemnay,
Withawordsthatbonescannotresist,
Offinesttteelandsharpenededge
Likethoseyoumetfrombra,e$akhr
At U]:ludwhenyouhadnohelper.
'Abbil b. Mirdb, brother of B. Sulaym, praising the men of B. alNaQir,aaid:
Hadthepeopleofthescttlementnotbeendispersed
Youwouldhaveseenlaughterandgaietywithinit.
Bymylife,shalllahowyouwomeninhowdaht
WhichhavegonetoShatltandTay'ab?

~::~ee-~:~~a~i~:~~~ ~~i~: ~~;:~~~~by

much truck with women ?1

Whenoneseeklnghospitalitycametheywouldsayat'Onct
Withfaceslikegold,'Doublywcldmtel
The good that you seek will.not ~withheld.
\'ouneedfearnowrongwhtle11-1.1hus.'
Don't think me a client of Salim b. ?o.lakhzUm
Norof}:luyayyb.Akhtab.'
Khaww~t

b. jubayr, brother of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf, answered him:

\'ouwcepbitterlyol'ertheJewishdeadand)etyoucansce
Thoseneareranddearertoyouifyouwanttoweep.
Whydoyounotwcepo'erthcdeadinUrayniq'sl'ailey
Andnotlamentloudlywithsadface(o,erothen)?
Whenpeace reignedwithafriendyourejectedit.
lnreligion anobstruction,inwarapoltroon.
YouaimedatpowerforyourptQple,seeking
Someonesimilarthatyoumightgetgloryandlictory.
Whenyouwantedtogi,epraiseyouwent
Toonewhomtopraiseisfalschoodand shame.
Yougotwhatyoudeservcdandyoudidnotfind
One among them to say Welcome to )'OU.
WhydidyounotpraiseptQplewhoscking$
Builtuptheir standingfromancientfame,
Atribewhobct:amekingsandwerehonouredl
None seeking food was ever found hungry among them
Sucharcmoreworthyofpraisethanjcws;
l nthcmyOu!ICeproudglorylirmlyestablished.
1 0<, !><th.opo, 'o dignified .nan

of~!>"ricncc'

The Lift of Muhammad

And Ka'bchicfofthepeoplediedadisappointedman.
AwaywithB.NaQ.irandtheirlike
Whctherthe resultbevictoryorGod(686).'
TliERAIOOFOii A.TU 'L-RIQA'

~~~~u~~A:~~~~~npa~ ::fu~!~J~h;.~:s~; ~j:: ~~jd\~~~7~g dr~~~~

Mul;l:iriband B. Tha'labaofGhafa!ln(687), until he atoppedatNakhl. 661
This was the raid of DMtu'I-Riql'. There a large force of GhaJalln was
encountered. The two forces zpproached one another, but no fighting

~;~r~~~-!~: ~~~-i~~a:: ~:n~thcr. The apostle led the prayer of fear;

ff. Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr and Muhammad b. 'Abdu'l- T- '454

Ral;lmiin from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr from AbU Hurayra: We went with the
apostle to Najd until at DMtu'I-Riql' he met a number of Gha1ann.
There was no fighting because the men were afraid of them. The prayer
offearcamedownandhedividedhiscompanionsintotwosectiona,one
facing the enemy and the other behind the lJMI'tle. The apostle cried
'Allah akbar,' and so did they all. Then-he bowed with those behind him,
andheandtheyprostratedthemsel\'es, Whentheystooderecttheywalked
backwardt totheranksoftheircompanionsandtheothen;retumedand
prayed one bow. Thentheystooderectand theapostleprayedonebow
with them and they sat. Those who were facing the enemy came back and
prayedtheaecondbowandall satandtheapostlcunitcdthemwiththe
salim,andgavethcmther..'luslimgreeting.)l(688)
~Amr b. 'Ubayd from al-l;lasan from Jibir b. 'Abdullah told me that a 663
man of B. Mul;l~rib called Ghaurath said to his people of Gha!a!ln and
Mul;l~rib, 'Shall I kill Muhammad for you?' They encouraged him to do
toandaskedhimhowheproposedtocarryouthisdesign. Hesaidthat
hewouldtake himby surpriae;aohewenttotheapostleashcwassitting
wit hhisswordinhislap,andaskedtobeallowedtolookatit(68g). The
apostlegaveittohimandhedrewitandbegan to brandish it intending
to strike him, but God frustrated him. He said, 'Aren't you afraid of me,
Muhammad I' 'No, why should I be?' 'Aren't you afraid of me when I
have a sword in my hand?' 'No, God will protect me from you.' Then he
returned the apostle's sword to him. God sent down, '0 you who believe,
rememberGod't favourtoyouwhenapeoplepurposedtolayhandson
you and he turned their hands away from you. F~ar God and on God let
thebelie\'enrely.'s
Yazid b. Rumiin told me that this came down in reference to 'Amr b.
'i.c,...,ha,,.nothlngbuourhopcinGod
0

'S01114'"'f.

~funhor,l.,on.'$olit,p.ro:ti>.T,he"'no<eoh.oh<"'iooni""""""'ilabledofcr-

oneeinu.ditlon, ondpropooeo!odnlwithh<problcmeloewhtR. 1.11. h.ooprobably

omiudhetOrYheauoeofLh<conllic!inltadiion.
or,'luloc:kediL.imdown'

446

Th~

Th~

Ltlt of Muhommad

!t-::~~t~r~r of B. al-Kadir, and his intention. But God knows the truth

~~~~~t~~~~i~f;~~~~~f~i{~i;~5~1~~;

me this stick you are holding' or 'Cut me a suck from a tree: He took 11

:~d\\~~e~~~ ~; ~:\~~~h~tn~ ~~: ~~~;h;~:;~~;l~~~) ::m~~~~~;~:

withtherapidpaceofhisshe-camel.
As we were talking, the apostle aske.d ~if I woul~ sell him my ca~l.
I said that I would give him it, but he ms1~ted on bu~mg it, so I asked h1m
to make me an offer. He said he would gve me a d1rham. I refused and
664 aaidthatwou\dbecheatingme. Thenheofferedtwodirhamsandlatill
refused and theapostlewentonrnisinghisoffcrumilit amounted to an

L1]e of Muhammad

~~v~~~a~d~~e ~~~~ :~~ ~~~e a:r'~~: o;f t~:e ra~,;~~~~~u~~~~~A:~!

:::s~:a;~:; n~~~\\:r hbear~e~~~-h~~a~:~r:~a~~: '::,~:dt r:::u:~

~;J~~=~:~t~;~~a~~~~::o~~;~E.:,~~:~~~;~:~~~~~p~~:~:
ha~~~~~atl~dt~~~::;~et~: ~= ~~~eir

An~ri

positions the
asked the
Muhijirlwhcthcrhewouldprefertowatchforthefirstorthcsccondpart
ofthenight. Hesaidthathewouldlikctoberdie\'edofthefirstpanand

:r:~;~ ~n \\;:~l~~~:~e~~~;h~::~:i~;~h~ ~~eu:r :~:~~ ~:~:~~

and recognizing him for what he

Wall,

shot him with an arrow. The g~ard

~!:~ ~n~u: ~~~~d ~~~e~t~~:c~';tn:c~:i;~~~t~~~i;h~ a:::\\;~~~~~~ i~

down. Thenhebowedandprostratedhimself. Onlythendidhewakehis

~::~flg~!1J t~~~~:~las\\~~d ~i~~ ~~:nw~ :~!~ s::ft~ ::::i~~~:~e~~

:~~~;~n;::%~~ ~~ ~~;;~.!o~/ t~:: ~~::.ut~~~d;~c~~e~ ~:~cu~f

thcnwasheavirginorawomanpreviouslymarricd? l toldhimshehad
beenmarricdbeforcandhcsaid,'Nogirlsothatyoucouldsporttogether!'
I toldhim thatmyfatherhadbeenkilledatUQudleavingsevcndaughtcrs
and l hadmarriedamotherlywomanwhocouldlookafterthemefficicntly.
He said, 'You have done well, if God will. Had we come to $ilir' we
wouldordercamclstobeslaughteredandstaythercforthcdayandshe
wouldhcaraboutusandshakcthcdustoffhercushions.' l said,'Butby
God we have no cushions!' He said, 'But you w111 ha,e. When you return
behave wisely: Whenwegotto$irirtheapostleorderedthecamelstobe
slaughtered and we stayed there for the day. At night the apostle went
home and so did we. I told the woman the news and what the apostle had
said to me. She said 'Look alive and do what he tells you.' In the morning
lledawaythecamclandmadeitkneelattheapostle'sdoor. Thenlsat
inside the mosque hard by. He came out and saw i1 and asked what it was,
andtheytoldhimitwasthecamelwhichlhadbrought. Heaskedwhere l
was and I was summoned to him. He said, '0 son of my brother, take away

him and Red. When the Muh~jiri saw the Anfiiri Rowing with blood he
said 'Good grndous, why didn't you wake me the first time you were hit?'
Hercplied,' l wa.srudingasriraand l didnotwanttostopuntil I had
finished it. Whentheshootingcontinucdlbowedinprnyerandwoke)'OU.
By God, units~~ I were to lose a post which the apostle had ord~red m~ to
holdhecouldhavekilledmebefore lwouldbreakoffmyreadmguniLl i
hadfinishedtheslira{6o:j1):
Whentheapostlec..metol\.ledinaafterthisraidhestayed!hereforthe
rest of jumida' I- UI~.Jumad~'l-M:hira, and Rajab.

yourcamelforitisyours,'andhecallcd_Bilalandtold himt~give~ean

~:~~:i~~ ~! ~= ~~ ~ a~~e::~~do:;~:=~~d !~~~: ~C:n~~~~e~

~~~~~.~ecently in the misfortune which befell us, meaning the day of

[My uncle)! $adaqa b. YaUr from 'Aqil b. J:tbir from Jiibir b. 'Abdullah
'Aopoooboullhlftmil"fn>mli!Minf.

'WhcnMedino~tKlledagoinotYnidb.Mu'i,.iY'L

'Thiowor<l 'arrroriio notinT.'or<noion.A.Dh. oayo itioamioL&kebousethion'lln

$odaqa-oKhu.ulwholi"fllinMecca,and-notl.l.'ounclc.JieoddoLhaLAbiL
Dl'ud(i.e.ai-Sijistlnl,oulholoflhcS""""J""'tOldiiOihanillhllhcwool.l.'ow>el<.

665

he had taken \'engeancc on l\luhammad's companions. He went off follow-

TH ELASTEXPED I TIONTOBADR,A.II.4

ln Sha'blnhewentforthtolladrtokeephisappointmentwithAbliSufy:Jn
andstoppedthere(6o:jz).
He stayed there for eight nights waiting for Abii Sufy~n. Abii Sufyan
withthemenofl\.teccawentasfarasMajannaintheareaof(T.l\turr)
ai-Zahriin. Somcpooplesayhereached(T. passcdthrough)'Usflin;then
hede<:idedtogoback. HetoldtheQurayshthattheonlysuitableycarwas
afen..ileyearwhen theycouldpasturetheanima\sonthehcrbageanddrink
their milk, whereas this was a dry year. He was going to return and they
mustreturnwithhim. Andsothcydid. Thel\'leccanscalledthem'the
porridgeanny',sa)ingthattheymerelywentouttodrinkporridge.'
Whiletheapostlewa.sstayingat BadrwaitingforAbiiSufyintokcep

11 '1 !:~':,w;:.::;ofparcbed"hnLoriMrloy,miJ.edwiLhwaruorbuner;h ..... 'dtunlr.'

...

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

AbU Sufyiin b. al-l:llrith b. 'Abdu'I-Munalib answered him

THE RAID ON OCMATU'L-JANDAL, A.H.

1 A<o:or<l ing to thecommrntlltor the mu ningio tluotth<irfo""'wuoo lorpthotthe

:e~;::::::rnr:i :::apc th<m.

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

knowledge. A Muslim who had to attend to an urgent matter would ask
theapostle'spermissiontogoandwouldgetit,andwhen he had carried
outhisbuinesshewouldretumtothevoorkhehadleftbecauscof his
desiretodowhatwasrightandhis respect for the same. So God sent
downconcemingthosebeliel'ers:'Theyonlyarethebelieverswhobelieve
in God and His apostle and when they are with him on a common work do
not go away without asking his permission. Thosc who ask thy permisaionare they who believe in God and His. apostle. Andiftheyask thy
permission in some business of theirs, give leave to whom thou wilt of them
and ask God's pardo:n for them. G~ is. forgili~g, merciful.'' This passage
eamedown concernmgthoseMushmawhodcstredthegoodandrespected
it,andobeyedGodand Hisapostle.
Then God aaid of the disaffected who were stealing av."ay from the work
andleavingitwithoutthe prophet's permission,'Donottreatthecallof
theapostleamongyouasifitwereoneofyoucallingu!X'nanother. God
knov.,. thoseofyouwhosteal away to hide themselves. Let those who
conspiretodisobeyhisorderbewarelesttroubleorapainfulpuni.hment
be&H them' (6). 'Verily to God belong heaven and earth. He kno1n 67 1
what you are doing' the man who speab the truth and the man who lies
'And (He knol\,.) the day they will be returned to Him when He will tell
themwhattheydid,forGod kno\\,.allthings.'
The 1\~uslirns worked at thetrench .until they had finished it, and they
madeajmgleaboutoneof the Musltmscalledju'aylwhom the apostle
hadnamed'Amr,saying,
Hechangedhisnamefrom ju'aylto'Amr
Andwasahelptothepoormanthatday.
When they came to the Yo"Ord 'Amr the apostle said "Amr', and when they
cameto'help'hesaid'help'.'
lhaveheardi!Omestoricsabout thediggingofthetrenchinwhich there

~~;e~~~~~e:~i~:~~::j~;~~~:.s~: :':t~~e~~~):~fi~=~gh:~:o~~~~~
liOnethat lhaveheardthat Jibtrb.'Abdullahu&edto relate:Whenthey

~e~~!!~~~~:~~~~~~~~~~~1e~:.;::~::~~E~~:~:n:~~~

E~~l~~:2;~;.:~~-:::~s~~~ ~!i: :~~::~ ~~h~r~~:~:d\\;::,~

~~~:ir:~~F~::rab:~E~~::::~~ht;:;~~:~~~ ::::::;~:~~[~~

Die to take them to my father and my uncle 'Abdullah b. R.awiha for their
'Siln."4-h.
Tbep.-opbd-inwithtMrhyll"linllwordoof...,hhemiotich.

'a

Th~ Lif~

of 1\fuhammad

food. lui wentofflookingforthemlpassedtheapostlewhocalledme

and asked me what I had. When I told him that I was taking the dates to
my father and my unde he told me to give them to him. So I poured
themintohishandsbuttheydidnotfillthem. Thenhecalledforagar
ment which was laid out for him and threw the dates upon it so that they
were aeattered on it. Then he told the men to summon the diggers to
lunch,andwhentheycametheybegantoeatandthedateswentonincreas
ing until they turned away from them and they were still falling from the
ends of the garment.'
On the same authority I wu told: We worked with the apostle at the
t rench. Nowlhadalittleewenotfullyfattenedandithoughtitwouldbe
a good thingtodressit fortheapostle,so i toldmywifetogrindsome
barley and make some bread for us, and I killed the sheep and we routed
it for the apostle. Whennightcameandtheapostlewasabouttoleavethe
trench-for we used to work at it all day and go home in the evening-!
toldhimthatwehadpreparedbreadandmuttonforhimandthatishould
like him to come with me to my house. It wu only he that I wanted; but
whenisaidthisheorderedaeriertoshoutaninvitationforalltocometo
my house. I aaid, 'To God we belong and to Him we return!" However,
he and the other men came and when he had sat down we produced the
foodandheblesseditand invokedthenameofGodoverit. Thenheate
aadidalltheothen. Assoonuonelothadfinishedanotherlotcameuntil
673 thediggerstumedfromit.
lv."UtoldthatSalmilnai-Filrisiaaid:Iwasworkingwithapickinthe
trench where a rock gave me much trouble. The apostle who was near at
hand aaw me hacking and saw how difficult the place was. He dropped
down intothetrenchand tookthepickfrom my hand andgaveaucha
blow that lightning showed beneath the pick. This happened a uoon~ and
a third time. I said: '0 you, dearer than father or mother, what ttthe
meaningofthis lightbeneathyourpiclr.asyoustrike?' Hesaid:'Didyou
reallyaeethat,Salmiln? ThefintmeansthatGodhas.openeduptome
the Yaman; the sti:Ond Syria and the west; and the thtrd the cut.' One
whom I do not suspect told me that AbU Hurayra used to say when the!ot
countries were conquered in the time of 'Umar and 'Uthmiln and afte r,
'Conquer where you will, by God, you have not conquered and to. the
rcsurrectiondayyouwillnotconqueracitywhoselr.eysGodhadnotgt\'tn
beforehand to Muhammad.'
When the apostle had finished the trench, Quraysh came and encamped
where the torrent-beds of Rti.ma meet between al-Juruf and ZugMba with
tenthousandoftheirblaclr.merctnariesandtheirfollowersfromB.Kinilna
and the people of Tihilma. Ghataflin too came with t~eir followers from
Najd and halted at Ohan.ab Naqmiltowards the directton of U~ud. The

::::t~= ~~el\;:l~~; ~;:::~ ~~~e

1
::

~~~:~~hm~;;;~n~i=~na~

'Apiououcl&ll>llrioninmiofonunea.

Tht Lt]t of Muhammad

~;

f:: ~7~~:~~ gave orders that the women and children were to

453
be taken 6H

The e~emy of God l:luyayy b. Akhjab ai-Na<.!rl went out to Ka'b b. A$ad
al-Qura;t wh~ had made a treaty wit~ the ~pos~le. When Ka'b heard of

a.:~~~~~e:~~~:. on the H1n&ntk dcnlopmrnt of ohe word /~ iA/;

1

Flick, ArMi,..,,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

TluLiftojMuAammad

:~~h;i:~:~o~~= r~~d!~~; ~~~~~~'::e~~e=~:~t~~a;-a;~~!i,~rb:

:r:a~U:! !~n~~~~hdros~~~ i~!t~~e~t:!::'::f:~u~~

[/.l~t&~~f:~~J~J~;flf~~~~flf~~;\f,~~~ii

676 Medina.' The a~tle and th~ polytheisu remained tw_enty days and more,
~::r~r~e~nth, Without fighung except for some shootmg with arrows, and

:e;2:~~f:~:~:~2:~:~~~i::;~~f!:'J:~!:s:;~~~~~l~
8

to'Uyaynab.J:Iitnb.}:ludhayfab. Badrandtoal-l:fii.rithb.'Aufb.Abii.
}:llritha ai-Murri who were leaden of Ghat.aBn and offered them a third
0

~!~~~:e::d [e~:'~: :~d c:d:e~~ :~:~~y~:o:~d~~:~~-i~t~e~:

farasthewritingofadocument. Itwasnotsignedandwasnotadefinite
pea~e,merelypeacenegotiations(T- andtheydidso). When the apostle
wantedtoacthesenttothetwoSa'dsandtoldthemofitandaskedtheir

r~~~~B~~;i~~it~;J~~!.Bsi~~;,~~~~
breaktheiroffensi\eagainstyou! Sa'db.Mu'Mhuid:'Weandtheae
people were polytheists and idolaten, not serving God nor knowing him,

~dp~hr~::~e~~':,~f:;/~o~ ~~~~~::;:;~- a~do~~~:~c~;::~~~~~:~

m_ade us famous _by you, are we to give them our property? We certainly
wtll not. We w1ll ghe them nothing but the sword until God decide
between us.' Theapostlesaid:'Youshallha,eitso.' Sa'dtookthepaper

an~~:!:~t:~;'!:~;:~:~:~:!::t ~~;:ai~;. t~~:r;::~th:g~':~~:~

~~~\t~~~L;;~o;; ~~~=y~~{k~~;:~uA~~u;:hl~ :~~ay?:y~- (~J
Wahb, both of Makhziim; Oirar b. ai-Khani\b the poet, b. Mirdb brother
ofB.Mu~aribb. Fihrdonnedtheirarmourandwentforthonhoneback
tothestationsofB.Kinlna,saying,'PrepareforfightingandthenyouwiU
know who are true knights today.' They galloped forward until they
stopped at the trench. When they saw it they exclaimed, 'This is a de\ice
whichtheArabshaveneveremployed !'(7oo).
Thentheym.adeforanarrowpanoftheuenchandbeattheirho~

'ThelnfiU.&]i<ioborrowdfr-omSU"'ll'"

"'

gapthroughwhichtheyhadforcedapassageagainst(therestof)themand
the horsemen galloped to meet them. Now 'Amr b. 'Abdu Wudd had
foughtatBadruntilhewasdiubledbywounds,andsohehadnotbeenat

~~;~e hb~t~:~~ ~~~ !~:c~eh:n~u;:~. :~~:;:tgs:o~=t~~~~

:rukd;0
lenged anyone to fight h1m. 'Ali accepted tbe

~hallenge

and aaid to him

~~tr:: ~::r~~~CC:~:~~~ ':!t:;:??r.~:~r~i;,~~~:. ~~

replied,'ThenlinviteyoutoGodand H~apostleandtolslam.'

Hesaid

~~~;~~~f~l~~{~~~~~~1g~;i~~~I:J~ .,

cavalryfted,buntingheadlonginfl.ightaaoeathetrench.
rwhen Anv issued his challenge to lingle combat 'An got up clad in i.S.N. ii.
annour and asked the ~:-ophet's permiss.ion to fight him, but he told him
61

;~~~r:;;;f;t;:re~j;~;~i~;~:~~:~~h~~~:~~~~=~~
aalr.edtheprophet'lperm~S~iontogoout,andagainhetoldhimtosit

down. Then'Amrcalledoutthethirdtime:
J've becomehoarsefromshouting

~~~t~~::t :en~ ~~~~fi~~~; ~~I;;i:::au ltllwer my challenge?

Whiletheso-calledbra\earecowarda.
l'vealwayshastenedtothe front
Beforethefightbegins.
Bra\'eryandgenerosityareintruth
The be:!ttqullitiesofawarrior.
'All asked the prophet's permission to fight him, e\en if he were 'Amr,
and he let him go. He marched towards him uying the while:
Don'tbeinahurry. No weakling
Hascometoansweryourchallenge.
Amanofresolutionandforesight
Truthistherefugeoftheauccesaful
Ihopetom.akethekeeningwomen
Busyoveryourcorpae
Throughtheblowofaspear
Whose memory will last while fighu are talked of.
'Amr asked him who he was, and when he told him he aaid: 'Let it be

.,,

The L1/t of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

oneof youruncle.whoillo\d erthanyou,my nephew,forldon'twantto

abed your blood.' 'All answered, 'But I dowanttoshedyourblood.' He
bea.meangry,anddrewhis awordwhichflashedlikefire,andad\'lncedin
his anger (it is said that he Wlll mounted). 'Ali said to him, ' How can I

'Ikrima b. AbU Jab! threw away his spear as he was running from 'Amr,
aol:lasslnb.Thibitsaid:

fight you when you are on a hone? Dismount and be on a level with me.'

Sohegotoffhishorseandcameathimand'Aliadvancedwithhisshield.
'Amr aimed a blow which cut deeply into the ahield so that the sword
stuckinitand struckhiahead. But'Allgavehimablowontheveinatthe
baseofthene<:kandhefelltothc:ground. Thedustroseandtheapostle
S.ii. 19 1 heardthecry,'AIIahAkbar'andknewthat'Ailhadkilledhim. [Suhayli
continuea:] As he came towards the apostle smiling with joy 'Umar asked

himifhehadstrippedhimofhiaarmour,foritwasthebe1tthatoouldbe
found among the Arabs. He answered: 'When I had struck him down he
tumed his private ~ru towanit me and I felt uhamed to despoil him and
moreover he had aaid that he did not want to thed my blood because my
fatherwasafriendofhis.']'
T. 1476 IT With 'Amr were killed two men, Munabbih b. 'Uthmln b. 'Ubayd
b. al-SabMq b. 'Abdu'l-Dir who was hit by an arrow and died in Mecca;
and of B. Makhziim Naufal b. 'Abdullah b. ai-Mughira who had t tonned
thetrenchandrolleddownintoitandthey ttoned him. HecaHedout,'O
Arabt, Death is better than this,' so 'Ali went down to him and diapatched

~~ ~~eh~~~!:.g~::,:~~;; ~~~t:::!~ ~odu~~r ~~ :~!eot:t~~

priee they would fetch, and it was their affair; and he left them a free
hand.]
'AIIaaidooncemingthat:
lnhisfollyhefoughtforthestonepillars 1
WhileifoughtfortheLordofMuh.ammadrightly.
I rejoiced when I left him prone
Likeastumpbetweensandandrocks.
lforboretot.J:ehisgarmenul
Thoughhadlbeenthe vanquishedhewouldhavetakenmine.
Donotima}!:inc,youconfederates,thatGod
WilldesertHisreligionandHisprophet(701).
'Thioincidn.tiorepOrt<dbyi.H.,Suh.,I.S.Nh.,ondal-MI,...rdl,6-t,ollofthem
ooyinathotitwaono<reportcdbyi.H.inth<formaiwnobovo.I.S.Nhooroit,.....notin
the~ofolBakkt1.~11,...tdioddo tlledetailt()thotlh<thlftcho.IJenanof 'Amrw...-c
ioouodonthlft....,..,..;,..,.uyo;(.)<hoth<Q.il<douttoM~thammad.HU""nion_.
tobcohcori,inoJ,utbo~Umon=poin<inth.toWlt: ' Whot 'o th.maiUrwhcn..-cofrou

willodvoncewpchit...,.,.tdfromhitLord(bybeinlkillcd)orHndonen<mytohooUr
Homdt :'Theycircl<droundoachotherondtlled~totrooeoothotithid <hcmfrumoi,rht

Wheni<dund o,...ytllerewao'AIJ>ripinahionvord...,'Amr'oprmentoondllewaoolain'
Mlwordltookt!Uofi"Om owritten to\lrce,beeo\loe beooyothati.H.norntedtlleotoryinhio

M..,lubf.
'Th.pointofthU;.madedearinthe~fn>m. l .l .'o M.,IrhlondT.'oquototioa
f~I . I .AotheSitof i . H.o...,doililleftinlbcoir

Mhefledhethrcwhisspeartous.
Perha ps,'lkrima, youha\enotdone suchathingbefore?
Myoutumedyourbsckyouran likeanostrich
Tumingneithertorightnorleft.
Youdidn'ttumyourbackasahumanbeingwould,
Thebadofyourneckwaslikeayounghyaena'a(702).
Abii Layli 'Abdullah b. Sahl b. 'Abdu'l-Ra~min b. Sahl al-Antari,
brother ofB.J:Iiritha,toldmethat'A'ishawasinthefortofB.I:Jarithaon
thatday, Itwasoneof thettronges tfortBofMedina. ThemothcrofSa'd
b. Mu'idh was with her. 'A'iBha said: 'This wu before the \"ei[ had been
imposed upon us. Sa'dwentbywearingacoatofmai! IIOshortthatthe
whole of his foreann was exposed. He hurried along arrying a lance. 679
tayingthewhile,
Wait a little! UtJ:Iamai'seethefight.
What mauen death when the time i1 right?
His mother said, "Hurry up, my boy, for by God you are late." I said to
her," l wishthatSa'd'tcoatofmailwerelongerthanitis",foriwuafraid
for him where the arrow act ually hit him. Sa'd was shot by an arrow

:~r~~;;;~i~~2~~~~~~~~~=~~e~h;~ ~~~b!~~~~$E,i:;~:~~

the son of al-'Ariqa."1 Sa'd said to him, "May God make )"OUr face sweat
('arraq). in hell. 0 _God, if the war with Quraysh is to be prolonged spare
me for 11, for there 11 no people whom I want to fight more than those who

:~l;.~ )~:ea!;~~t~ :!:i::,:~;~ :~:;~e:m~: ~ ~~;:!,';!

anddonot letmedieunti ll haveacenmyde~~ireuponB.Quran:a."'

One whom I do not suspect told me from 'Abdullah b. Ka'b b. Milik

that he used to say: 'The man who hit Sa'd that day was AbU Usima a(.
Jushami, an ally of B. MakhzQm. This Abu Usilma composed an ode
aboutitwithreferenceto 'Ikrima b. AbiiJahl
O'lkrima,whydidyoublamemewhenyousaid
KhAlidbeyourranaomintheforuofMedina?
Am inothewhoinflictedabloodywoundonSa'd?
The\einwheretheelbowbcndagushedwith hisblood.
Sa'ddiedofitandthegrey-ha.iredmatrons
Andthehigh-breastedvirginamade loudlamentation.
You are the one who protected him when 'Ubayda1

~SFJr~~~~.nwlondJmd,~.bc~m-

.,,

The Lift of Muhammad

Calledalloftheminhisstress,
What time !lOme of them turned aw.ay from him
Andotheramadeoffintheirterror.'

Godknowsbestaboutthat'(70J).
68o

Ya/:ly.i b. 'Abbld b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father 'AbbJd told

me aa fo~Jo.,.,-s: !.)afiya d. 'Abdu'I-Munalib was in Filri', the fort of ~lasdn
b. ThAb1t. She u.id: 'l;lwJn was with us there with the women and

~~~;:~-!~~~:0~~~~~"::::~ir~h~~c:7~~~~:~~:~~i;;.:,:;
~~~r:1 :~~fE:=.~s~:~~e:~~~e;~~!~~~J13:r:~:~:!
~~~:~:::1~~::::t~:~=E~~\!h~~::~~of~~~;~r~{::~~
:~~ :t a:l:~.h:~~o. .~~i d::n ~o~i~~:~ ~~~%~i~!:r:n~ ~~~~
5

"iththec:lubuntillkilledhim. Thisdonelwc.ntbacktothefortandtold
l;lassintogo~ownandstriphim: lcoul<Lnotdoitmyselfbecausehe"''a!l

a man. HeaaLd, " I ha\'tno needtoatrip him, Bint 'Abdu'I-Mutjalib."'J

an~~~~;;.:r:~d~~;~e/:!:~nt~;~ ;::,:::~~:::~e:.i~:
Nu'aym b. Ma.s'Ud b. 'Amir b. Unay b. Tha'laba b. Ounfud b. Hill! b

~a~::!~~~~~~~;::h~~:h ~~~!~n~~~et~i~:~~~~e:?ri~t~ ~~ ~~

681

him gwe him what orders he would. The apostle said: 'You are only one
m.anlll!'ongus,togoandawakedistruatamongtheenemytodrawthem
off us 1 y~u can, for war is deceit.' Thereupon Nu'aym went off to B

~:rJ"ed":~';;';~~ea~~:nf;r~':noo;:ra;/~~e~!:~~e~ed:~:~
~~m(;~~~~nt~;: ~~~ii~:~.~:a:t :~:~!! ?so~;~~~~~~i~~; ;~~~~:U~

~::~r:;:. bu%)~~~:~~n~~:t~~i~;~~ ::neo~~e:;~ti~::~a~~:::~h~~

companiOns and you have aided them against him, but their land, their
1 Or, reod.nr"""'~"'mode otr too....od<rouble".
1 Or,O<odll\li"Uf'..,.tv, ' fanonedmy vril",

po.~;;.:~ s:;;;:.;,",:; ~ :~~~: :.";;. :~~;.~:.:..ed~.:.:! ;~-.:~~~:~O:i.

~'urther,hodtl>o otoryofl:l .. oin'o <..,.-.rdice~tn><"tl>opoctohoMuriudhim would

""''"'?'tio:>Mdit. Altheydidnootheor-oditionmusobcwtak. Onthe otl>orhand, ifilll

~~~r~1t~2~~~~7i?E::~]gf.:-:r;:.::~~~"!1

Tht Life of Muhammad

property, and th_eir wivet ~re not here, 80 they are not like you. If they

~i~~~:E~~:~!~~:~f;~~J:! ~:~E;~r~~::b~~~:~~i:~;:~:~~:

fightalongwiththeaepeopleuntilyoutakehostagesfromtheirchiefswbo
will re~in in your hands u ae~uity that they will fight Muhammad \\ith
!:~i~;ul you make an end of h1m.' The Jews Pid that this was excellent
Then he went to Ounysh and said to AbU Sufyln b. l;larb and his
company: 'You Jr.now my affection for you and that I have left l\tuhammad.
Now I ~ave heard something which I .thin k it my duty to tell you of by way

~~ :;::~~~~~~~:~d~~a:.::.d;:~ji;~Vh~:: t:;r::~d~~~~~;?c~~~~~~
~x~;~~ ~!~~:;:~da:~~ ~~~~~~~:~; t~~ ~~~:oa:r!~~~:;~v~~:~::
andhandthemovertoyousothatyoucancuttheirheadsoff? Then we
c:anjoinyouinexterminatingtherestofthem.' Helusaentwordbadto
accepttheiro_ffer;soiftheJewsaendtoyoutodemand hostaget, don't
aendthemasmgleman.'
Then he went to Ghatafln and said: You 1re my stock and my family,
thedearestofmentome, and Jdonotthinkthatyoucansuspectme.'
Theyagreedthathewa.saboveauspicionandtohetoldthesamettorya.s 682
hehadtoldOunysh.
OnthenightofthesabbathofShawwiiA.H.S itcameaboutbyGod's
actiononbeha!fofHisapostlethatAbUSufylnandthechiefsofGhafafln
ae~t 'lkrima b. AbU Jab! to B. Ouray~a with tome of their number saying
thi.Jttheyhadnopermanentcamp,thatthehorse.andcamelsweredying;
thereforetheymustm.akereadyforbattleandmalr.eanendofl\fuhammad
onceandforall. Theyrepliedthatitwa.stheubbath,adayonwhichthey
did nothing, ana it was well known what had happened to those of their
peoplewhohadviolatedtheubbath. 'Moreover wewillnotfightMuhamm.ad along with you until you give us hostaget whom we can hold as
security unt il we make an end of Muhammad; for we fear that if the
battlegoesagaiMtyouandyouaufferheavilyyouwillwnhdrawatonceto

r:~r h~;:~?n::d \~~~:: :ew!!:~~:S~e~~~~:::~~~~~; ::~;o~~o~

and Ghatafln said (T. Now you know) that what Nu'aym told you is the

~~~~~=~~~ofi:ht~~:;.';~h:;~e ;!!I =~ ~~-~t~h~"::i:~n~!:e~:~

::
message B. Quray:r-asaid: 'What Nu'aym told you is the truth. The people

~~t~~to~f ~:~i~! ~:~ :~~~i~e:~~~:;~~~~~:~~-n":!Ju~~ :~u:;:~:

~~~a~::;~~~~~~ti~.~:~:~:~~:T t~:~~;:~:~"~~~~~!~~

Tire L1je of Muhammad

i61

According to what al-Zuhri told me, at the time of the noon prayers
Gabriel came to the apostle wearing an embroidered turban and riding on
Jmule"ithaaaddlecoveredwithapieceofbrocade. Heaskedtheapostle
ifhehadabandonedfighting,andwhenhesaidthathe had henidthat
theangelshadnotyetlaidiiSidetheirarrnsandthat hehadjustcome from
pursuing the enemy. 'God commands you, Muhammad, to go to D.
Quray;a. l amabouttogotothemtoshaketheirstronghold.'
Theprophetorderedittobeannouncedthatnone lhouldperformthe
1fternoon prayer until afte r he ruched B. Ouray~a (705). The apostle
aent 'Ali forward with his banner and the men hastened to it. 'Ali advanced
untilwhenhecamenear thefona heheardinsultinglanguageusedofthe
apostle. Hereturnedtomeettheapostleontheroadandtoldhimthatit
was not neccuary for him to come near those rascal. The apostle said,
'Why? I think you must have heard them speaking ill of me,' and when
'Ali said that that was so he added, 'If they saw me they would not talk in
hat fas hion.' When the apostle approached their fons he said, 'You
rothersofmonkeys, hasGoddisgracedyouandbrought Hisvengcance
upon your' They replied, '0 Abii'J.Qisim, you are not a barbarous
person.'
Theapostlepassedbyanumberofhiscompanionsinal-:}auraynbefore
he got to B. Qurayp and asked if anyone had passed them. They replied 68s
that Dil;lya b. Khalifa a\-Kalbi had passed upo n a white mule with a saddle
CO\'ered with a piece of brocade. He said, 'That was Gabriel who has been
tenttoB.Ouray;atoshake theircastles andstriketerrortotheirhurtll'
Whcntheapostle came toB. Quran..ahe haltedbyoneoftheirwells
near their propeny called The Well of Ani (7o6). The men joined him.
Someofthemcameafterthc last eveningpraycrnot having prayed the
afternoon prayerbecausetheapostle had toldthemnotto dosoumil he
got to B. Qu ray~a. They had been much occupied with warlike preparatiom andthey refusedtoprayuntilthey cameto iJ.Quranainaccordance
withhiainstructionsandtheyprayedtheaftemoon prayerthereafterthe
last evening prayer. Goddidnotblame thcmforthatin Hisbook,nordid
theapostlereproachthem. Myfa~herlsl;llqb.Yaslrtoldmethis tradition
from Ma'bad b. l\Ulik ai-An,~ ri.
The apostle besieged them for twenty-five nights until they were sore
pressed andGodC25tterrorintotheirheartll.
Now J:l uyayy b. Akhlab had gone with B. Quray~a into their fort~ when
QurayshandGhajafln hadwithdnwnandleftthem,tokttphis >Aordto

~:~ ~~~s~~;h:~d :~~:n1 ~h:~;e~~ ~~:~~~:.~h~.a=~e 8 ~~u1t: ~~~~~~.-;;

Jews,youcanseewhathashappenedtoyou;loffcryouthrttaltematia
T ake which you please.' (i) We will follow this man and accept him as
tn.Je,forbyGodithasbecomeplai ntoyou thatheisaprophetwhohas

686

,,,

TheLijeofMuhamma.d

Tht L1]t of Muhammad

been sent a~d that it is he that you find mentioned in your scripture; and
then yourll\'t!l, yourproperty,yourwomenandchildrenwill be saved

own hand.' When the.apostle passed him when he wu going out to

momingprayerheaethamfree(']08).
Tha'laba b. Sa'ya, Uaayd his brother, and Asad b. 'Ubayd of B. Had!

~~~~~~~~~E:e~.:~:~z;f~f~J:n~~!n~:i~rl~~ ::;!:i~~~~n~;~

:!~:::~~:::~~:~d ~~~a! ~~:~ht ~~ ~h~!hN;~~u<:;!: ~~:~~~:ri:dr:~

Muha~dandhiscompanionsleavingnoeneumbrancesbehindus,until

the apostle's judgement.

God dec1dts between us and Muhammad. If we perish, we perish, and we

lhallnot.lc:a\eehildrenbehindustoClluseusanxiety. lfweconquerwe
OIIlaequareotherwin:sandchildren.' Theyaaid,'Shouldwekillthtst
poor ~reaturcsl. What ~ould be the~ of life when they were dead?'

~:c~.N::n~:;::~~:~~~!ro~~~~~~~i~ ~~~~;::e~~~:~~

?.::~:~;.~~::~ i~~~~:::~~~~:~~Y:'~2;;::~~:;~i:~~::

~~i&~I~~~i~1~I;~::g#?.3:~t:~~~~
Thentheysenttotheapostlesaying, 'ScndusAbilLub:lhab. 'Abdu'J.

~~:~~~f:~f.:lt.~~::;r;~~:f~~~:~~i;1:.~;fd~fi~f~ll~

~~~~~t~~~~i~~;~:::~~:~~:;:~~}V~~~~:~~~~~=~:~::

thatlhadbecnfalsetoGodandHisapostle.' Thenheleftthemanddid

~:~;~;:~iJ:~~~~ ~~~J~;t~:~;~~!i3~2tl"E:g;g~

apostle(70'J).

On that night 'Amr b.

~u'dJ aJ.Qu~i

went out and passed the apostle'

1

the apostle, saying, 'I will never behave treacherouslytowardsMuham

mad.' \~en Muhammad b. Maslam.a. re~nized him he said, o God, do

6&

not~epnve~e(ofthehonour)ofsettmgnghttheerrorsofthenoble'and

letha.mgohas.way. Hewentas.farasthedooroftheapostle'smoaque'in

~~~n~~h~~~h:~:ha;:t~ev~:~:~d ':ed ~i~, ~;h:~ 0i;~ ~~isw~::'m"'~

~2[~J.~~E~~~~~I~~~~E'~~~~{~?~~

knowswhatreallyhappencd.

~r~~:=E:~:~~~:=~~;~~~~;~~:~:,:~~;:~~!:::L~~~~t~~

~!~~ff.~T~F~~l~i~~:~ ~~~fs~;~;ff.f?~

~~~h:;i~~:~:~ !~ia;:{:~:!V:ir.~~!~~:i~h~~:e;~:~u~~~::
~~::;!~~~hE~t=~~~~e::;~~:~:;!~:a~~~=~

-~~,/&~~~~ ~~~~~~~~.~m~b~h~u~:a~~j:.c:~~o:e~=~:r;;~.:~::?; ~d ";~e~~~~

outtosethunfree. . Hesa.ad,.'No,notunultheapostlefrcesmewithhis
' Th~prophet't ho~&wu nntdooru. tbcmooque whu., AbU Lubib& had tied hi,....Jf

AahhalandannounttdtothemthedtathofB.QuraypbtforeSa'dgotto
them,becaUSoCofwhattheyhadheardhimaay.
WhenSa'dreachcdtheapostleandtheMutlirn8theapo&tletoldthem
togttuptogreettheirleader. ThemuhijinofQuna.yahthoughtthatthe
'W.bu'W>tilbepuMdthonia:htirl',

'

TlleLiftofA!ullammad

apostle meant the

A~ll.r,

,,,

'l'ht Llft of Muhammad

while the latter thought that he meant everyone,

:~~e~f~~uu:a~t7! t~~t ~;~u:~~T.~~ j~~=~~ ~:e"~~:~e~~:~~ S~~~

5

00

asked, 'Do you CO\'tnam by Allah that y~ accept ~h~ J.udgcment I pronounce on them 1' They &aid Yes, and hes:ud, 'And IS 11 mcumbent on the
onewhoisherc?'(looking)inthedir~tionoftheapostle.notmentioni_ng

him out of respect, and the apostle an~wcrcd Yes. Sa'd s;ud,_ 'Then I gwc
judgemcntthatthcmcnshould bcktllcd,thcpropenydivtded,andthe
womcnandchildrcntakcnascapthes.'
'A,im b. 'Umar b.Qatilda told me from 'Abdu'I-R.a~m.in b. 'Amr b. M'd
b. Mu'll.dh from 'Aiqama b. Waqqils ai-Laythi that the apostle uid to
Sa'd, 'You havegi,cnthejudgcmentofAllahabo\tthese,cn henens'

(709)
Thentheysurrendered,andtheaposdeconfined theminl\lcdinainthe

~~:rt~r ~~~ d~::k~lti~~\1a;;~~(:.~tc~i:l~~l~jji~ ~~~t ~;~:~:~~ ';~;

69Q trenchesinit. Thenhesentforthemandstruckofftheirheadsinthose

:~een;~e:tsAtl~:~ ;;~;a~;o~~~k~~~~o a~: :a?:~~~~~~h c~~ :~~;;. ":~h:~~

0

:r~h:;o"?:r::i;ga:~k~~o~~~ ~~.:~~~~~~~ ~~:7;_,~~~e7 ~e;rfa?b

~~;:a~~~~~:~~~~~~i~e~:r!~P~~~~~~;?~se~~:~l~*~:~.~n~::en::~~

:~~:~:io~~~~~~~~i{;~~~~~;e~-~~~:r~ ;~~(~:~: ;:~c~ ~~o~~~

~~~!: ~~e~~rot~eh~~ 1~~~ ~~~~.h.~~~~~ ~~:dn: h~~a::k!;,: 1~ro;

~:~i~e~oa~db::i;,e.~~.:o:~=a~do: ~~~~ lo:!:~~d~h~:C~~."~:n;
:~~r~a~:.:::~r:~~~;. apinst the Sons of Israel.' Then he aat down
Jabalb.Jawwilal-Tha'labi u.id:
l bnAkh!abdidnotblamehi~lf

Hut hewhoforu.kesGod will be forsaken.

Hefoughtuntilhejustifiedhimself
And struggled to the utmost in pursuit of glory.

:1~~~~:;~?i;:f~~~gt~~f~i~E,~;;~~:?~~~~~;

her name. 'Good heavens,' I cried, 'what is the matter?' ' I am to be

=~~e:~~:-~:~~p~~~ "~\~:~e~o;;a:. :~e~~!~C:d~~ ;.~~:~~n1~ ~~~d,'~

hall never forget my wonder at hergoodpi~tsand her loud laughter 691

when allthetimeaheknewthatshewouldbektlled'(7 11 ).
Ibn Shihib al-Zuhri told me that Thibit b. Qays b. a!-Shammb had

~~~~~:t:~~? ~~!~~~~i:;~::~:;n;~:~~.~~:i~~~~=~~ ~~~

and cut off his forelock and then let him go. Thibit came to him (he wu
then an old man) and asked him if he knew him, to which he nswered,
'Would a man like me not recognize a man like you?' He uid, 'I want to
0

~~=~i;:~e:r t~ ~~e~;:t~e'::e:ol~~iS:,i~h:;:l~~:~': ~=~?;a;;~ :b:~i~

and hewantedtorepayhimforit,andtheapostlesaidthathialifewould
0

~s ~fr:r~:~ai~:~~~h~; ;:~:"ne~,;~a~ ~~~~~:, F~i~~:nadwi~ ~o~~~~~~~~~

want with life 1' T hibit wen t again to the apostle, who promised to ghe
him his wife and children. When he told him he said, 'How can a
householdintheHijazlivewithoutpropertyi'TMbitsecuredtheapostle'

~:~:e.:~:.t .~ f~~~~;:1u~18b~=:~e~f a~~c:~~~:nf:c~ol!~i~k:O~

Chinese mirror in which the virgins of the tribe could aee themselves,
Ka'b b. Audl' ' Killed,' he said. 'And what of the prince of the Desert
and the Sown, l~ uyayy b. Ak.h!ab?' 'Killed.' 'And what of our vanguard
when we attaded and our rearg~ard when we fled (T returned to. the
charge), 'Aull b. Samaw'al ?' 'Ktlled.' 'And wh~t of the 1"_''0 assemblt~l'

;::~nf !k :~~-o~.~h~hft: ~~d~; ~~~ ~nO:o~~h~t ~~'j!i~ ~~ :~~

mypeople,forlifeholdsnojoynowthattheyaredead,and !cannot bear

~~;:i~:~~::=~ ;;~~~~a~~ meet my lo\ed ones.' So Th~bit went up to 69a

When Abi.i Bakr heard of his words ' until! meet my lo\ed ones' he uid,
'Yes, by Allah he will meet them in hell for e\er and e\er' (712).
(Thibitb.Qaysaaidconeerningthat,mentioningal-Zabirb.BI!I:
Myobligationisended;lwasnobleandpersis1ent
\\'henotheBswer\"edfromsteadfastneu.
Zabirhadagreaterclaimthananymanonme
And when his wrists were bound with cords
l wenttothcapostletha! l mightfreehim.
T heapostlewasa\"eryseaofgenerositytous.)
Theapostlehadorderedthate\eryadult oftheiBshouldbekiUed
'Ut.'thctimo ittakeaamantopourab...cktofwat<rintothetrouchndnotumthe
b..Uet'.

466

Ayylih b. 'Ahduu'l-Ra~man b. 'Abdullah b. Ahii $a'~aa brother of B

'Adiy b. a!- NajjAr told me that Salmi d. Qays, mother of ai-Mundhir sister
ofSalitb.Qays----shewasoneofthematernalauntsoftheapostlewhohad
pnyed with him both towards Jerusalem and towards Mecca and had
sworn the allegiance of women to him-asked him for RiD.'a h. Samaw'al
ai-Qura~i who was a grown man who had sought refuge with ht r, and who
u&edtoknowthem. She~idthathehadallegedthathewouldprayand
eatcamel'sflesh. Sohegavehimtoherandshesavedhislife.
Then the apostle divided the property, wives, and children of B. Quny~a
among the Muslimll, and he made known on that day the shares of ho~
693 andmen,andtookoutthefifth. Ahorsemangotthreeshares,twoforthe
horseandoneforhisrider. Amanwithoutahonegotoneshare. On the
dayofB.Quray:p.therewe-rethiny--sixhones. ltv.'2Sthefirstbootyon
which lots were cast and thefifthwastaken. According to its precedent
:~~to:~~:~i~~tle did the divisions were made, and it remained the
Then the apostle sent Sa'd b. Zayd al-An~ri brother of h. 'Ahdu'J.
Ashhal with some of the captive women of B. Quny:p. to Najd and he sold
themforhorseaandweapons
The apostle had chosenoneoftheirwomen for himself, Rayl;tlna d.
'Amr h. Khun3fa, one of the women of B. 'Amr b. Quray:p., and she
remained with him until she died, in his power. The apostle had proposed
tomarryherandputthe,eilonher,but shesaid:'Nay,lea\emeinyour
power,forthatwillbeeasierformeandforyou.' Sohe lefther. Shehad
shown repugnance towards Islam when she was captured and clung to
Judaism. Sotheapostleputherasideandfeltsomedispleasure. While
hewaswithhiscompanionsheheardtheaoundofsandalsbehindhimand
said, 'This is Tha'laba b. Sa'ya coming to give me the good news of
Ray~ina's acceptance of Islam' and he came up to announce the fact
This gave him pleasure.

::!~~\~~:;,~:t~h~i~~~~e~~~~~~ ~dw~-i~::::et:t~:=~~~i;~;~a~

Th~ Lif~

Tht L1/t of Muhammad

al-~~~~:bT~~~~~,;o~:d:~I~~ :~~:,:~-~ :~:~~~~~~3:~;;~:o~r;

:: ~~~~- I was a lad and they found that I wu not an adult and so they

is
and His kindness to them, and His help when He removed that from them
after one of the disaffected had said what he did: '0 you who believe,
remember God's favour to you when armies came against you, and We
sentagainstthemawindandanniesyoucouldnotsee,andGodisaseer
of what you do.' The armies were Quraysh, and Gha!aD.n, and B. Quray:p..
The armies which God sent with the wind were the angels. God said,
'Whcntheycameatyoufromaboveyouandbelowyou,andwhel'\eyel
grewwildandhearureachedtothethroatsandyouthoughtvainthings
' SUraJJ

of Muhammad

467

;!:';\~~;. . .;~~~hC:: ~thr:;:~~~~~e :~t~~ ~;~?:\=

....
andshakenwithamightyshock. Andwhenthedisaffectedandthoscin

~~~~;~g~:~~~~g~:~{t~!~~~~
L:.'~~e;;';: (~~;~ his opinion. 'And if it had been entered from its sides',

'th:~-:~~t~;v~a!~;~:~,:~d ~::~::e~~~;h~~~:~eedr~t~tr~ ::1:~~-ei~~;

theyhadsworntoAIJahbeforehandthattheywouldnot turntheirbacks.

~:~~e ~~~o:!.:uts.:O~g~:u,:e~:!~~~ ~~e~a;e~; ~;u~-!!:~~~SJ~

when both thought to desen on the day of Ubud. Then they swore to God

~~t :~:n~:;'~:=:.~~~~~~ ~~t -:.~,h~:~e:~~~~h~f~~~ ~=t ;~

deathorkllhng,andthenyouwillenjoycomforthutforalittle. Say, Who
can preserve you fromAilahifHeintendaeviltowardsyou,orintenda
mercy. TheywillnotfindthattheyhaveanyfriendorhelperbutAilah.
Allah knows those of you who hinder,' i.e. the disaffected people. 'And
thosewhosaytotheirhrethren,Cometous andtheycomenottohattle
aav~ a little,' i.e. for a moment to mak_e a pretence of sincerity, 'tparing of
therhelptoyou,'i.e.bec:auseofthergrudgingnature. 'But when fear

:~~: l~;.ut~~~~~t~:~~~~u~t

~~~~fi:~~~~t:~~:= ~~:~nt~e?:~~!~ 69~

:::du
depan.stheyscaldyouwithaharptongues,' i.e.withtalkaboutwhatdoes

~:.r!:~~~~~ tt;~~~r ~~:~ ~:::di:a:~ ~~~ ti~: ;d~~: ;J ~~~:~~ r~:~~~

hope in a futurelife(714). 'Theythinkthatthe confederateshavenot

gone away,' i.e. Qura)"Sh and Gha!afln, 'and if the confederates should
: : ;~:u ~:~~ ~~~~~ l::r~o;::gt::d:~ :.!~~~~eg~;;!:~il~t:~:ng for

~~~;~~~;,:;;~;E:,,~~:~:~~:::::~~~~:l~:';~~~~%
Then He mentioned the believers and their truth and their belief in
what God promised them of trial by which He tested them and He aaid,
'And when 1he belie\"ers saw the confed~rates they said: This is what God

::::~~~~:~u:dti:':!~:1e~:~~-~i:;':~~et~~l :~-~~~!ii~~:~

::!e':
to the decree and belief in the truth of what God and His apostle had

468

The Lift of Muieammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

:~:::~~~=~~~:.n:~~~~~~~~1:.:~~Tih~h;;~::f2
tho;,:;h~:eugo~t t~::y:~:~t~~ ~~~~~;~ ~:u1o~ 1 :~~ help whtch Allah
~=:t~=d at~!;~::;a:~r~~~re~ik~ t~:~ ~::.~ i~.f~~e~iad=~::~~u~~

~:f:~~~~i~fi,~:~,~~1I~f~:~~::
~ ;~;~~!irL;I~~~E:~:::f~.~1~;;~~~~;1
:~fr~:e~~:::1~~::~~~~;L:~k~;~;~~s~~~:
~~~~d:::a~~~B~o:~:~ ~:s;;;poaed

of, Sa'd's wound burst open

sndhediedamartyrthereKom.
Mu'i!.dh b. Rifl'a al-Zuraqi told me: Anyone you likt from the men of
698

~tEE:!d?:~~;~~r~-:~L~n~:~~~~i:t~:~. :FL~~

havebecnopenedsndatwhomthethroneahook?'

Thea~tle gotup

j:~ydragginghisgarmentashewenttoSa'dsndfoundhtmalready

'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr told me from

~Amra

d. 'Abdu'I-Rlr.Qmln:

~!:~:~;;':C~u~~i~!. f:~ s~o~: :~,i~::::lebJe~~ayA~~::::~ :~~~

~t;: :~ 0~ :;~ u~~:.il.fo~~~o~ ~~~e;~;~:r.:;,~~an when you have

One I do not suspect told me from al-l:luan ~-B~ri: Sa'd was a fat~
snd whm the men carried him they found htm hght. Some of the d"affectedaaid, 'Hewasafatmansnd wehavenevercarriedalighterbier
than his.' When theapo.tleheard_of~hisheaaid, 'Hehadother.':'"'iers
as well. By Him Who holds my hfe m His hsnd th~ angela fCJOlced at

(re~~~~~~ ~~e;r~~: ~!1~a~ea~!~~~~;~;h:o~;~;l~;aQm1n

b. 'Amr
b. a1-JamUQ from Jlbir b. 'Abdulbh: When Sa'd was buri~ as we were
withtheapostleheuidS!dJ!uitu~'ilDllandwesaiditwithhtm. Then he
said AlltU. altba7 and the men uid it with him. When they asked him why
he had said Sub~411a'Dala he aaid 'The gnve was constricted on this good
msnunti1Godeuedhimfromit'(717).

;~

OfSa'doneoftheAnt~rsaid:

WehneneverheacdofthethroneofGod
Shakingforanydeadm.anbutSa'dAbU'Amr.
His mother said when his bier was being carried, as she was weeping
(718):
AlasUmmSa'dforSa'dthebraveandbold,
Leaderglorious,knighteverready,
Steppingintothebreach,cuningheadstopieces.'
The apostle aaid, 'Every wailing womsn lies except the one who wept
Sa'db.Mu'i!.dh.

Only six Muslims found martyrdom at the battle of the Trench: 01

B. 'Abdu'l-A.hhal: Sa'd b. Mu'ldh; Anas b. 'Aus b. 'Atlk b. 'Amr, and
'Abdullah b. Sahl. 3
Of B. Jusham b. al-Khaxraj of the clsn B. Salim.a: al-'fufayl b. alNu'minsndTha'labab.Ghanama. :z.
Of B. al-Naijil.r ofthe clsn B. Din~r: Ks'b b. Zayd whom a random arrow
hitandslew(719). I.
Threepolytheiatswerekilled
Of B. 'Abdu'I-Di!.r: Munabbih b. 'Uthm~n b. 'Ubayd b. al-Sabblq hit

o'7 ~~~~~n~~!i~~a==~J;~~~j

b. 'Abdullah b. aiMughlra. They

by
askedtheapostletoletthembuyhisbodyhehsvingstormedthetrench
andbecometrappedinitandkilled,sndtheMualimsgotposaes~ionofhis

body. Theapo~tleaaidthattheyhadnouaeforhiabodyanddidnotwllllt
tobepaidforit,andheletthemhaveit(721).
Of B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy of the clan B. M~lik b.l;lisl: 'Amr b. 'Abdu Wudd
whom'Allkilled(72Z).
On the day of Ouray~ there were; martyred of the Mualim1 of B. al
l;li!.rith b. al-Khaznj: Khalli!.d b. Suwayd b. Tha'laba b. 'Amr. A millttone 700
was thrown on him snd inflicted a shattering wound. They allege that the
apostle said, 'He will have the reward of two martyn'
AbU Sinln b. MiQpn b. J:furthil.n brother of B. Aud b. Khuzayma died
whi le the apostle was besieging B. Qurana and wu buried in the cemetery
o!B.Quranawhichisstillusedtoday. Theyburiedthosewhodiedin
blamthere.
Whenthedefendersofthetrenchleftit l haveheardthattheapoatle

Q~%;~u~~~o~i!~,:~~ ~~:: ;~~r~:~:~ ;~!J::~eb:~o~t:;~e~\~~~h::;;

GodconqueredMeccabyhim.

The L1jt of Muhammad

The L1je of Muhammad

POETRY ABOUT Tl-11! TRENCH AND 8.

QURAY~A

Oirir b. al-Khanlb b. Mirdb brother of B. Mu~lrib b. Fihr said about

thebattleoftheTrench:
Many a aympathetic woman had doubu about us,'
Yetweledagreatforce,crushingallbeforeus.

~~.;:o:;co~l~~diu

whole extent.
You could sec the long mail upon the warrion
Andtheirstrongleatherahields
Andthefinestdslikearrows
Whichwediachargedagainstthesinfulwrongdocn.
Whenwechargedtheonetheother,
'Twas u though at the gap in the trench men would shake hands.
Youcouldnot.eearightlyguidedmanamongthem
Thoughtheyuid:'Arewenotintherightl'
We buieged them for one whole mmth
Standingoverthemlikeconqueron.
Nightandmorningeveryday
WC~attackedthemfullyarmed;

Sharp 1wordsinourhands
Cuttingthroughheadaandskulb
'Twas as though their gleam when they were drawn
Whentheyflashedinthchandsofthose thatdrewthem
Wuthegleamoflightningilluminatingthenight
Sothatonecouldseethedoudaclearly
Butforthetrenchwhichprotectedthem
Wewouldhavedcatroyedthemoneandall.
Butthereitltoodinfrontofthem,
Andtheytookrefugcinitfromfearofus.
Though we withdrew we left
Sa'dhoaugetodeathinfrontoftheirtentl.
Whendarkncstcameyoucouldhcarthekeeningwomen
RaisingtheirlamentoverSa'd.
Soonweshall\isityouagain
Hclping oneanotheruwedidbefore
WithacompanyofKinlnaanncd
Likelionsofthejungleprotectingtheirdens.
Ka'bb.MllikbrotherofB. Salimaanswered him:
Manyawomanwillaskofourfight.
Hadshebeenthereahewouldhaveseenwcweresteadfast.

~ff!.~f~J~~i,~;t~;g~~~'E~~~~~:~~~~i

WewerestcadfasttrustinginHim;
WesawnothingequaltoGodinthchourofourdanger.
Wehavea prophet,atruehelpcr,

g~?:~s:~~~~~~~~~!:

hi

~~c!u:~:~:~;tsc:~e :.r~~~~~~eiong mail which

Glittercdlikepoolsintheplain;

~r:~~::::e;~ :~~:~~:"~the ~ischievous.

~u~o:!~e: ~~:~~::;~c:~:~i~i~~~~nd

morni_ng
Lookeddisdainfullyatthcenemyastheyworetheirbadges
To help Al;lmad and God so that we might be
Sincereslavesoftruth,
And that the Meccans might know when they came
And thepeopleofdifferentpartics
T hatGodhasnopa rtncrs,
And that He helps the believers.
ThoughyoukilledSa'dwantonly,
God'tdecreearcforthebest.
He willadmithimtogoodlygarden
Theresting-placeoftherightcous_
AtHerepulsedyou,runawayfugtti\"es,
Fruitless,disgraccd,despiteyourrage
Disgraced,youaccomplishednothingthere
Andwereallbutdcstroyed
Byatempestwhicho\"ertook_you
Sothatyouwereblindedbytuforce.
'Abdullahb.ai-Ziba'rial-Sahmisaidaboutthetrcnch:
Salulethedwellingwhose \cstigcs
1

~i~~:::u;~~:!~:=~~:~:e:c :~ee~~~~Ss of Jews

r~:~h~ ~:~~ ~~ ~7:!:t o~~e~::~~n in it
1

~~r~~a:~~ ~ou~gori~ :i~r ~~~~ ~~-passed

Andaplacebomeruinedanddesertcd,
Andgratefullyrememberthegallantryofall
1 The t,.ce of on old camp ("'*) is compa,..d to
'writins'.

ll~br<w ~<:rlpt.

T he word aiM> meant

Tht Ltjt of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Whomarchedfromthes.acredatones,'
ThestonesofMecca,makingforYathrib,
Withaloud-throatedmightyforce,
Lea\ingthehighgroundwellusedpaths
l ne,cryconspicuousheightandpass;
Thefineleansteedsledbesidethem
Thininbc:lly, leanofflank,
Foaledfromlong-bodiedmaresandstallions,
Like a wolf who attacks careless watc hmen.
'Uyaynamarchedwiththebannerofthcarmy;
$akhrlcdthcconfederates;
Twochiefslikethemooninitssplendour,
Thehclpofthepoor,therefugeofthefugitive,
UntilwhentheycametoMedina
Andgirtthemselvesfordeaththeirsharpswordsdrawn
Forfonydaystheyhadthebc:ttofMuhammad
Thoughhiscompanionsinwarwerethebest.

AndthearmiesofthyLordtheLordoflords
Godavertedbaulefromthebelicven'
Andga,ethem thebestofrewards.
Whentheyhadabandonedhope,ourbounteousKing
SentdownHisaidandscatten:dthem;
Gave ease to Muhammad and his companions
Andhumiliatedevcrylyingdoubter,
Hard-hearted, suspicious, doubtfu l,
Notmenofpurc lifc,unbelievcrs.
Maymiscrydingtotheir hearts,for
Inunbelicf theypersistedtotheverycnd. 1
Ka'b b. MUik also answered him:
Warhuleftovertous
ThebestgiftofourbounteousLord;
High white forts and resting-places for camels when: [from their
rubbing]
Palmaareblaclr.andwhercmillr.isplentiful
They are like lava tracts and theirbountyi.tlaviahod
Onthevisitingguestandrclative:-1
And honeswiftaswolves
Fed on barlcyandcut lucerne
With hai rlessfcdocksandfirm-fleshedhindquartcn,

~~:r~:~!~!: r :~~d; ar~;al the morning you said

Butforthetrenchtheywouldhave leftthem
Corpsesforhungrybirdsandwolves.
l:fass~

b. Thilbit answered him and said;

Smooththeircoatsfromhc~dtotail ;

~~~:~; :~;i:~~ a~~~~~~ ~eserted place

Long-neclr.ed,answeringtheVicwhallo
h.houndsapeedto thchunts.man'acall.

Adesertwherecloudsofrainhaveelfaceditstraces
Andtheconstantblowingofeveryhighv.indl
Yethave l seentheirdwdlingtadornedby
Shiningfaces,heinofagloriousput.
Butleavcthedwcllings,thetallr.oflovelymaidens
\\'ithsoftbreasts,sweetinconverae,
AndcomplaintoGodofcaresandwhatyouseeAnangrypcoplewhowrongedtheapostle,
Whomarchcdwiththcircompanyagainsthim
And collected townsmen and desert dwellers,
Thearmyof'Uyaynaand lbn f:{arb
Mingledwiththehorsemcnoftheconfedcrates
UntiltheycametoMedinaandhopedtoslay
Theapostle'smenandplunderthem,
And attacked us in their strength.
Theywcreputtoflight in their fury
Dyatempc:stwhichdispersedtheircompany
1 Thc.,l46maymoon<iiM<Ihcol<)nqooouplomorktheboundoryofoheoa<M<IItrriIOt)',IUChu~mainlothildoy,o< IMJI<)nnolwhichlh<oa<riticio.! victim.owotoolauah

~~: ~;~~~~h~h;n~"m~~ ~tC:~~~g

with the spoil,

Scaringwildbc:asts,swiftinwar,
Grimincombat,ofnoblespirit,
Wellfedandtleelr.
Wellfleshedyetthin bellied.
T heybringcoatsofmaildoublywovcn
With strongspeanwhich bitthemark,
And swords whose rust the polis hen have removed;
'Almononouclq u<:nolionfromSilnJJ,2S,
:

~..~h.'oeoEn~~~;~:i-;.~incl~lkf101he rnd of time.

s~~:~~~~::.r~~~:;:.:~~~h

in

milk

S. tondo.s -r~ 'polm plo>nt.otiono' andjvJint '!ronb' and then hu 10 lake~

~Pv':'.:..or;~';"~~~ll, bu1 il ;0 poooiblo 10 avo>d unnoounl motaphoro in illlnnolati.on.

n:::;,l,0!1 ~h:,:!~~td'~;.!,"'.~~w~!.likc o lava tr.CI

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Allwithasplendidhighbomknight,
Hisrighthandholdingaspearreadyforthethrust
WhosefashioningwasentrustedtoKhabbllb.
Theglitterofhislanceis like
Aflashofflameinthedarknessofthenight,
Andaforccwhosemaildeficsthearrows
And ~epels the bolts that would pierce the thighs.
Reddtsh-black,massed,asthoughtheir spca111
Wereablazingforestineveryenoounter,

~ne~~:gs~:~ts~;~~: s~~~~~~~;~~:: t~et;:::ohw

Withdcath-dealingspean~beneaththecloudsofdust

of a hawk.
TheircouragedefeatedAbli KaribandTubba'
Andtheirgallantryovercamethe Bedouin
WewereguidedbyadmonitionsfromourLord
Onthetongueofoneradiantandpure.
They were laid before us and we loved to remember them

~~!~::::~~~?!:~:~~~~~ :;!;~~~=~~~~ rejected).

QurayshcametooontendwiththeirLord,
ButhcwhooontendswiththeConqucrorwillsurclybeconquc red(7:zJ).
Ka'bb.Maliksaidaboutthctrench:
Lctonewhocnjoysthenoiseofbattlewhcreb lo~osresou nd

~:~ ~:~;h~~~~e:;e~~~:;~ :~~~::~~~nd.

;:
He who obeys the prophet's command (let him do ao), for among us
Heisobcyedandtrulybclicvcd
BythisHcwillgiveusvictoryandshowourglory
Disbclie\ea.ndgoastrayfromthewayoftbepious(724).

~1~~~~{~~{~}~:~~::@:,7::~"'

~ti~}g~~;~~~:~~~:;.~::::::

Youcouldseeskulbsplitasunder,

'llorrowedfromSYn7.z!,'Thedoohinaofpio<yio thobc.,',

God commanded that the horses should be kept for His enemy in the
fight'
(T rulyGodisthcbestguarantorofvictory)
That they might \'CX the enemy and protect the dwellings
Jfthehorsesofthemisaeantscameneac.
God themightyhelpedutwithHisstrength
Andloyaltteadfutncuonthedayoftheencountcr.
We obeycdourprophet'aordera.

~::\\~:\~~~ af\~~~::0~ a liar

Likethecrack.lingofburningrceds,

~~.:c~ ~~-~:agdh~3:~::~ ;~r~:r:r't~:~rench

Theywereboldinsmitingchampions
Andsurrenderedtheir lifebloodtothcLordoftheworld
lnaoompanybywhichGodhelped Hisprophet
Andwasgraciousto Hisservant.

u~'nJ.~ place w~ .. t~ trench wu dur. Some UJ <h.ot it -

Toaaynothingofhands,asthoughtheyhadnotbeencreated.
We met the enemy with a compact force
Driving away their force who went as though to the top of aiMashriq.'
Againsttheenemyweprepared
Every swift, bay, white-legged, piebald horse
Carryingridenwhoinbattlewerelike
Lionsondampdewyaoil,'
T rustyoneswhobringdeathtobravcmen

bcn.ecn Sol' ond ohe

Themixed tribesDlcwwhentheygatheredtogetheragainstus
Andattackedour rcligionthatwewouldnotaubmit.
Confederates from Qays b. 'Aylin and Kh indif with one accord
Made common cause, not knowing what would happen.
T heytriedtotum us from our religionwhilewe
T riedtoturnthemfromdisbelief,butGod iaaseerandahearer
Whentheyragedagainstusinbattle
T heallembracinghelpofGodaidedus.
'TwasGod'sprotectionand Hisgracetowardsus
(HewhomGoddoea notguardislo.t).
Heguideduttothetruereligion andcho.eitforus.
Godcandomore thanmancando.

The Lift of Muhammad

TeliQurayshth-.tSal'
And the land ~tween ai.'Uray~ and aJ.!,;ammlid'
Is a land where camels who know war carry water,
Wherewellsduginthedaysof'Adabound.
Stillwatersfedbycopiousfountains
Thatkecpthewellsatastcadydepth.
Thetangledgrowthandtherushesthere
Secmtorustlewhentheyyellowatthehar\est.
Ourtradcdocsnotconsistinsellingdonkcys
TothelandofDausorMurld.
Oursisalandwelltilled,foritwefight
Ifyouhavestomachforthebattle.
Weploughedandplanteditaspcasantsdo;
Nc\erha\eyouscenavalleyborderedlikeit.
Weha\ekepte\eryfinehighltanding
PowerfulcomKrforgreatobjccts.
Respond toourinvilation
Fordearstatcmentandtruth,

~; 1t~=e~~: :~~~~;J:duh:~~l get from ut

We will meet you with all our warrion

Andwcllmadetractablchonea,
Andbloodmareswhoseaidesthrob
Likethe~atingofalocust'winp'

Swiftoflimb,firmfleshed,
Pcrfcctlymadefromhcadtotail.
Honeswhichli\ethroughfamineycarl
\Vhenothermen'sho~die;

Whichtugatthereira,turningtheirncd.stooneside, 1
Whentheirmastcrcallsthemtowar.
\Vhenourwamcnsay:'Bercady'
\VeputourtrustintheLordofmcn.
Andwesaid:'Nmhingwillca&eourtroubles
Butamitingthehclmetsanddcsperatefighting'
Youha\'escennoneamongthoscwefought,
Whethertownsmenortribesmcn,
Bolderthanwewereinauack
Norgentlerinafl'ection.
Whenwetiedwithtrustyknots
Fineco.atsofmailuponthem
lntolongarmourwepute\'eryfiercenoblewarrior
'AlllheHplaaninthoeneiahbourhoodoll\1odiM
'Anunuo... llyfattHyiniiPd.,nflocuotionw:nt.
1 Thi1 homiotkh it roputod vnbo.tim tn the poom omibutl to l;h .... n in \Y, hg. I

Tnt Llft of Muhammad

Carefulinhiapreparationforbattle;
Haughtyasanangrylion
Whensomeoneappcarsinh.is\alley,
W?oshatterthcak.ullofthedoughtiestwarrior

':;~:~ :~~e ::~::! ~~;o~~i;~~c!=~~~ ~tsd~~rd.

WearemThyhand,soguideusinthenghtpath.s(725).
1

'A~ru~~A~d~A~~:d~ :!r!~n~~;~i~:h~;~~~[k~ie~u~~ .:~:ping for

'Amr b. 'Abd was the first horseman to cross Madhid
~dhewasthehorsemanofYalyal.'

Mddinnature,noble,firm,

~u!~:1;h:S~~~~~e~~ ~~:;;~~ear.
Untilthebestfighterssurroundcdhim
Seckinguntiringlytolr.illhim.
OnSal"aidetthespcarssurrounded
A horseman who was no unarmed coward.

b:\~~.:dai~:~~~~~o~~drs~:~~d~~: is:~~n~.O 'Ali,

Away with you, 'Ali\ Never have you overcome his like in renown
Norcopcdwithauchadifficulttask.
My life~ a ransom for the horseman of Ghllib
Who met death unperturbed,
He who crossed al-Madhid with his mare
Sectingtoaveng.:themenhewouldnotdesert.

d:~:.fi~~~~ nid, reproaching the horsemen of' Arnr who decamped and

'Amrb.'AbdandthefinehonesheledHorsesledforhimandhorsesshodHithorsemendecampedandhisclanlcft

~1 ~~:: ~l~a~:~ei :~ ~~ong them.

When you, 'Ali,uked'Amrtodilll'lounthedismounted.
Benotfar,'forlhavesufferedbyhitdeath

~~;!I:~ ~=~ec:~~~e~u:::?h:: =in flight

F~:anngthefightleattheyshouldbek.illcd.
1

~~ ~=: :~~~~e :;::n:t~ch {72bJ.

'Awadiin&dr.
Thedndarethuo1pootrophiocd

Thel4eofl\1uhammad
Hubayra b. AbU Wahb making excuses for his flight, weeping for 'Amr,
andmentioninghow'Alikilledhim,said
Onmylife,ldidnotturnmyback
On l\'luhammad and his companions in cowardice or fear of d~th;
But l oonsideredmypositionandoouldlind
Noadvantageinswordorarrowif l usedthem.
!stopped, and when ! could not go forward
J y,ithdrewlikcastronglionwithhiscubs,
Whoturnshisshoulderfromhisadvcrsarywhen
H~:;.n find no way to return to the fray-such has always ba:n my

Tht Ltfe of Muhammad

The warrior 'Amr b. 'Abd is on the flanks of Yathrib

~:~u;::;d t:u~.:~r~~~~:~n was not gien respite.

'

And youfoundourhorsesready.
AtBadryou metaband
Who smote you with no weakling's blow

~; t~~;!!~~~~;~a.:~~~~~.o~ ~~~~~~ 7o:7rat things

l;lasdna lsosaid:

Bcnotfar,O'Amr,alivcordud
Suchasyoudeservesthehighestpraisefromonclikcmc
Who(now)willdriveonhorsescheckcdbyspears
Benotfar,O'Amralivcordead
Youhavegone(fromus) fullofpraise, noble of ancestry.
Tellofhisglorywhenthecamelsbellowloudly?'
Had l bn'Abdbeenthcrehewouldhavegonetothem
Andrelie\edthem,thatne\'Crignobleman.
Away with you, 'Ali, never ha\'e I s.een one who behaved like you
Againstabravemanadvancinglikeastallion.
Neverhaveyouachieedsuchaproudboast.
Aslongasyou]i\eyoucanfeclsafefromstumblingthereby.
Hubayraalsosaid:
The noblest man of Lu'ayy b. Ghilib knows
That when misfortune came their knight was 'Amr.
Their knight was 'Amr and 'Ali asked him to dismount.
(The lionmustsa:khisenemy.)
He was their knight when 'Ali called to him
Whcntheaquadrons baselyldthim
Alasthatllcft 'Amrin Yathrib.
Maymisfortunesneerccasctherel
sai~~n b. Th~bit boasting of the killing of 'Amr b. 'Abdu Wudd

'Amr,thelastofyou,weslewwiththelance
AswedefcndcdYathribwithoursmallforcc.
Wekillcdyouwithour l ndian swords.
Forwearemastersofwarwhenweattack.
WekillcdyouinBadrtoo
Andlcftyourtribesthreadingth ei rwaythroughthedead(727)

g~:e ~~hii :~~~~~:=!~'hasten.

Am l yourfriend ineveryhardship

~~ ~:~~h:rJ::s!r~~~~ ~~"'~ ~~e of ease?

Liftcduptohimasachildiscarried(7:z8).

l:fasdn uid concerning B. Quray;a mourning Sa'd b.Mu'Jdh and 711

mentioninghisjudgementconccrningtheformer:
T earsstreamedfrommycycs,
' T isrightthattheythouldweepforSa'd
Lying on the battlefield. Eyes that Row with tears
Sufferhis lOMwithoutceasing.
SlaininGod'sreligion,heinheritsparadisewithmartyrs,
T heirsanoblecompany.
Thoughyouhavesaidfa~we llandlcftus

And lieinthedustydarknessofthegrave
You, 0 Sa'd, ha\'e returned (to God) with a noble testimony
Andgannentsofhonourandpraise.
Byr!:nouncing on the two tribct of Quray;a the (same) judge
W~~~~i~n~ had decreed against them you did not judge of )'OUr own

You r judgementandGod'swereatone
And you did notforgivewhenyouwereremindedofaco\enant.
Thoughfatehasbroughtyoutoyourdeath

~~~~~~ ~= ~~~~ :~c:~:i;:/:~~verlasting gardens

WhentheyaresummonedtoGodforfavourandregard.

The Life of Muhammad

TheLifeofMuhammad

J:lass.inalsoaaidrnourningSa'dandthcprophct'soompanionswhowere
martyrcdandmcntioningthcirmcrits:

Theysoonbroke thcirtrcatysothat
Theaposdcslewthemintheirtown.
Withourtroopshcsurroundedthcirfort
Whichrcsoundcdwithcriesfromthehcatofthebattle.

,.SO

Omypeoplc,isthcrcanydcfenceagainstwhatisdccrccd?
Andcanthcgoodolddaysrcturn?
When l call tomindanagethatispasscd
Myhcartistroublcd_andmytcan.flow;
Yearningsorrowremmdsmcoffncnds
Nowdead,arnongthemTufaylandR3fi'andSa'd.

r~~yt~:j:C h~:.t:r~a:d~~ and the earth is I desert Without them.

~~fc :::: ~%~ ';"~::d:~:~:~:~~~ ~~~ ;~a~:!rof death.

Whenhecalledthemthcyanswered loyally,
Allofthemobeycdhimunerly.
Theygavenogroundtillallwcrcdead.
(Only battles cut short th~ ~lloned span.)
Bccausethcyhopedforhlllllltcrcesston
Sinccnonebutprophctscanintcrcedc.
That, 0 best of men, is what we did,

g~~r:!:~~ ~~~:!pw:;:l:h~~~hn~ ~~:tl:~ of us

5

WillfollowthefirstinGod's rcligion.
WelrnowthatthcklngdomisGod'alone
AndthatthedccrecofGodmustoometopass.'
J~assin

also said about B. Qur:ana

Qur:ay~amcttheirmisfortune

Andinhumiliation foundnohclper.
A calamity worse than that which fellll. al:NaQir ~~ell them
T he day that God't apostle came tO t~em hke a bnlhant moon,
Withfreshho1"8Cibcaringhorsemcnltkehawks.
Weleftthcmwiththcblooduponthcm likeapool

i~:; ~~v~!.~::~:~h:l::::~~ling

round them.
Thusarcthcobstinatcandimpiousn..warded
Warn Quraysh of a like punid1ment from God
If theywilltakcmywarning.
l:lass:Inalsosaid:
Qur:aypmcttheirmi..!ifortune
Andshamefulhumiliationbcfd\theircastles.
Sa'dhadwamcdthem,saying
YourGodisamajesticLord

481

Uassiinalsosaid:
May the people who helped Quraysh miss one another,'
Forinthcirlandtheyhavenohelper.
Theywerc giventheliCriptureandwastedit,
Bcingblind,straying(romtheTorah.
Youdisbclic\edintheQur:anandyet
You had been given confirmation of what the warner said
T henoblcs ofB.Lu'ayytooklightly
Thegrcatconflagrationinal-Buwayra.'
AbUSufyanb.al-J:U.rithb . 'Abdu'l-l\lullalibanswcrcdhim
May God make that deed immortal,
1\layfireburninitsquanersl

!~~ ~:i!::~:u~~~~hd:f"~:l i~f~a~:~ the fire)

Hadthepalmsthcreinbeenhoncmen
Theywouldhavesaid,'Youha\'cnoplacehcre,bcoff!' 1
Jabal b. Jaww:l[ al-Tha'labi also answered him, mourning al-NaQir and
Quray?-a
OSa'd,Sa'dofB.Mu':ldh,
Forwhatbcfc11Qur:ay?-3andai-Nac}.ir.
Bythylife,Sa'dofB.l\lu':ldh
Thedaytheydepartedwasindecdstcadfast.
AsforalKhazraji Abiil:Iub:tb
HetoldQaynuqil'nottogo
The allies got Usaydinexchangcforl:luQayr

~~lli~~~~

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

THE KILLING Of SALLAM IBN ABU'Ll.IUQAYQ

1 OneoftllemountainoofMedina
1 Am<taph<>rforbumin~ronJI<'r. Kh.olnjM~<U<dtll<irJewilhOUieo

tlteQoynuqi':AWI

,,,

TM LzJt of Muhammad

Then I went off making for Muhammad to adopt Islam, and met Khllid
b. al-Walrd coming from Mecca. This was a little while before the occupation of Mecca. Isaid,'Whereareyougoing,AbiiSulaymin?' Heaaid:
' Thewayhasbecomeclear. ThemaniJcertainlyaprophet,andbyAllah
I'm going to be a Muslim. How much longer should I delay?' I told him
that I too wu travelling with the same object in \"iew, 10 we went to Medina
to the apostle. Khillidgottherefirst and accepted Tslamandgavehisallegiance. Then I came up and said, '0 apostle, I will give you my allegiance
on condition that my put faults are forgiven and no mention is made
of what has gone before.' He said, 'Give allegiance 'Amr, for blam does
awaywithallthatprecededit,asdoesthehijra.' So l gavemyallegiance
andwentaway(73o).
One whom I do not suspect told me that 'Uthmln b. Tal~a b. Abii
Tall)awhowaswiththemacceptedlalamatthesametime.
Ibnal-Ziba'rial-Sahmlsaid:

'AMR B. AL-'A~ AND KHALID B. A LWALID ACCEPT I S LAM

i:~d J~b'i:~o~a~ ~~~.~~i~. c~:~~ :o~~a~li~ bf~~iih~u~:~-:':~i~:

0

Whenwecameawayfromthetrenchwiththemixedtribeslgathered
some of Quraysh together, men who shared my opinion and would listen
to me, and said: 'You lrnow that in my opinion this affair of Muhammad
willgotounheard-oflengthsandl ahouldliketolrnowwhatyouthinkof
my opinion. I think that we ought to go to the Negus and stay with him.
If Muhanunad conquen our people we shall be with the Negus and we
should prefertobesubjecttohisauthorityratherthantol\luhammad;on
the other hand, ifourpeoplegetthe upper hand theyknowusand will
treatuJwell.' Theythoughtthatmysuggeat ionwasexcellentso I told
themtocollect aomethingthat llo'eCOuldtakeasapresenttohim;asleather
wastheproducto_four_landwhichhemoetvaluedwecollected a large
quantityandtook1ttoh1m.
While we were with him who should come to him but :Amr b. Umayya
al-l;)amrt whom the apostle had sent concerning Ja'fa r and his companions.
He had an audience with the Negus, and when he came out I said to my
717 companiOIUithatifiweretogototheNegusandaskhimtoletmehne
him, he would give him to me and we could cut off his head; and when I
haddonethatQurayshwould aeethat lhad servedthemwellinkilling
Muhammad's messenger. SolwentintotheNegusanddidobeisanceas
was ~y wont. He welcomed me as a friend and asked if I had brought
anyth~ngfromourcountry,andwhen Itoldhimthat I had brought a large
quanhtyofleatherandproducedithewasgreatlypleasedandcovetedit.
Then I said, '0 King, I have just seen a man leave your presence. He is
the messenger of an enemy of oun, 10 let me have him that I may kill him,
for he ~as killed_aome of our chief~ and best men.' He was enraged, and
stretchmgouth!Shandhepvehlsnosesuchablowthatlthoughthe
wouldhavebrokenit. lftheeanhhadopened lwouldha\'egoneimoitto
escapehisanger. l saidthathadlknownthatmyrequestwouldhave~n
dist~teful to him I would not have made it. He said, 'Would you ask me
to giVe you the messenger of a man to whom the great Nlmiis comes as he
usedtocometol\loses,IIDthatyoumightkillhim!' Whenlaskedifhe
really so great he said: 'Woe to you, 'Amr, obey me and follow him,
forbyAII ahheis rightandwill triumphoverhisadversariesasMosea
triumphedo\'trPharaohandhis armies.' Jaskedhimifhewouldaccept
my allegiance to Muhammad in Islam, and he stretched out his hand and
I ga\'e my allegiance. When I went out to my companions I had entirely
changed my mind, but l concealed my Islam from my companions.

-re

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

And made you drink death with their swift-slaying swords,
Lookingforthevictoryoftheirprophet'areligion
Despisingeveryriskofhurt.

Iadjure'Uthmlnb.Tall)abyouroathoffriendJhip
Andbythecastingofthesandalsattheatoneofk.iuing
Andbye\eryallianceourfathenmade,
Khllidnotbeingexemptfromsuch,
Doyouwantthekeyofahouseotherthanyours, 1

~';!;~;: ~~l~ ~nod~~~=~e than the glory of an ancient house 1

Afterthis;theyhavebroughtagreatdisastcr.
The ..:onquest of B. Quray;a was in Dhti'l-Qa'da and the beginning of
Dhii'l-l;lijja. Thepolytheiatswereincha~ofthatpilgrimage.
TilE ATTACK ON

a.

l.ll;lYAN

TheapoetlestayedinMedinaduringDhii'l-l;lijja,Mul)arram,$afar,and
the two months of Rabi', and in Jumldir.'l-011, six months after the conquest of Quray;a, he went out apinat B. Lil)yiln to avenge his men killed
atal-Raji',Khubaybb.'Adiyandhiscompaniolllll. Hemadeasthoughhe
wasgoingtoSyriainordertotalr.ethepeoplebysurprise(731). Hewent
past Ghurlb, a mountain near Medina on the road to Syria, then by
Ma}:t~,'thenbyal-Batril';thenhetumedofftothe leftandcameoutby

Bln,J then by ~ukhayriltu'l-Yam~m: then the track went by the Meccan

highroad. He quickened the pace until he came down to Ghurln, the
haunts of B. Lil)yln. (Ghurin is a wadi between Amaj and 'Uafln extending
asfarasavillagecalledSiya.) Hefoundthatthepeoplehadbecnwamed
and taken upstrongpositionsonthe tOp!! Of the mountain~~. When the
apostlegot thereandsawthathehadfailedtotakethembysurpriseashe
1

"UdunlnwoothoKpt"r ofthoKeyofd>eKo'ba. SecW.b o

'~placeiorona:lrr&i-.:nooMokhillinW.

0 Aondillftrl\ledino.

'Berwnai-S..yilo..,..Fu.h.

;86

The Life of Muhammad

Takethat,al-Akwa"ssonaml.
Today,meancrowd,youdie!
\Vh,.em<heho""~"''~''"

The Lift of Muhammad

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

th~~~~!::~ilik said concerning the day of DhU Qarad with reference to

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Tellthetruth'tothoseyoumeetwheneveryouoomeout.
Concealnotthenewainassemblies.
0

~\~Tth \~~:~:~~~;~a~~~:~~:::~ !o:h::~?ff ~~~6).

1

Shaddild b. 'Ari~ said concerning the day of DhU Qarad with reference
to 'U)'llyna who was surnamed AbU Malik:
Why, 0 Abii Miilik, did you _not return ~o the ~ght
Whenyourcavalrywereinll.Jghtandb<-mgslam?
Youmentioncdgoingbackto'Asjar.'
Nonsense!itwastoolateto rctum.
Youtrustedyourselftoaspiritcdhorse
Quicklycoveringthegroundwhengivenfreerein.
Whenyourlefthandreinedhimin
HerearedlikeaRamingcauldron.
AndwhenyousawthatGod'sservants
Didnotwaitforthosebehindtooomeup
Youknewthathorsemenhadbntnined
Tochasewarrionwhentheytook.totheplain
Whentheychasethecavalrytheybringdisgnceonthem,
Andiftheyare punuedtheydismount
Andprotect them.selvea inevilcase
Wilh swordswhichthepolisherhasmadebright.
TUERAIDONB. AL- MU$TALIQ

;n~e ~:~~et~~~-~ ~~~::::jn~-~~~~~~~~~~~a;}e~~~~~~fi~u;~~~;~~~~~r~

(737)
'i\sim b. 'Umar b. Qatlda and ' Abdull.a.h b. Abii Bakrand Muhammad
b. Ya]:lyl b.l:labb~n each told me a part of the fo~Jo ....ing story: T~e apostle
recei,ed news that B. al-Munaliq were gathenng together agamst him,

~!:~:1~~~:~~:>::1~~ :t~~:~:~~~r;~:ea~~EE~E~~;~
Mura ysi' in the direction ofQudayd towards the shore. There was a fight
andGodputthe IJ.al-?\lu ~!a liqtoflight and killcdaomeofthemandgae

7~6 ~:l~r:.'~eu~h:.i~A"!~~b.ct':l~~~. ~~rp:~rt~~::::.-$~b~~~~: ~~1!

by a man of the

An~:l.r

of the fami ly of 'Ubiida b. al-!)ilmit who thought he

w~Y~~~~~~~:;t~e~~~b~iXi~:.:~:~ pa~y

~ad

came down to it. 'Umar

a hired servant from B. GhWtr called JahJ~h b. Mas'Ud who was leadmg
his horse. This JahjilhandSin~nb. Wabaral-Juhani,anallyofB. 'Auf b.
1

Roodin1}~u/Joq0l

wi1h C. opint!

W.'o}gA/w"'~

' A placo nur

M~

ai-Kha:~:raj,thrustoneanotherawayfromthewaterand fell to fighting.

The Juhan! called out' Men of al-An~~r!' and Jahjilh called out 'Men of the
J\luhJjiriinl'. 'Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Saliil was ennged. With him was a
numberofhispeopleinduding Zayd b. Arqam, a young boy. He said,
'Ha1etheyactuallydonethis? Theydisputeour priority,theyoutnumber
usinourowncountry,andnothingaofitsusandthc\'agabondsofQuraysh
utheancientsaying"Feal.adoganditwillde\'Ouryou". ByAllahwhen
we return to Medina the stronger will drie out the weaker.' Then he went
to hi.s people wbo were there and said: 'This i.swhat you have done to
yourselves. Youhaeletthemoccupyyouroountry,andyouhavedivided
yourpropertyamongthem. Hadyoubutkeptyourpropertyfr(II"Othem
theywouldhaegoneelsewhere.' Zaydb.Arqamheardthi.sandwentand
told the apostle when he had disposed of his enemies. 'Umar, who was with
him, aaid, 'Tell'Abbld b. Bi.shr to go and kill him.' The apostle answered,
'But what if men should say l\1uhammad kills his own companions I No,
but give orders to set off.' Now this was at a time when the apostle was not
aceunomedtotrael. Themen dulymovedoff.
WhenAbdullahb.UbayyheardthatZaydhadtoldtheapostlewhathe
had said he went to him and swore that he had not said what he did uy.
He was a great man among his own people and the An,ll.r who were present
with the apostle uid: 'It may well be that the boy was mistaken in what
he 1aid, and did not rcmemb<-r the man's words,' sympathi:ting with Ibn
Ubayyandprotectinghim
When the apostle had begun his journey Usayd b. l~u~ayr met him and 737
sa\utcdhimasaprophet,saying,'Youaretnvellingatadisagreeabletime,
athingyouhaeneerdoneb<-fore.' Theapostleu.id:'Haveyou notheard
of what your friend said? HeassertedthatifheretumstoMedinathe
atronger will drive out the weaker.' He answered: 'But you will drive him
outif)ouwantto;heistheweak.andyouarethestrong.' He added
'Treat him kindly, for Allah brought you to us when his people were stringingbeadsto makehimacruwn,andhethinksthatyouhl\"edeprhed him
of a kingdom.'
Then the apostle walked with the men all that day till nightfall, and
throughthenightuntilmorningandduringthefollowing day until the
tun distressed them. Thenhehaltcdthem,andassoonastheytouchcd
thegroundtheyfellasleep. Hedidthistodistracttheirminds fromwhat
'Abdullah b. Ubayyhadsaid thedayb<-fore. Hecontinuedhisjoumey
through the Uijnasfaraswateralitdeaboeai-Naqi'ealled Uaq'l'. As
hetnelledatnightaviolentwinddistressedthemenandtheydreadedi t.
Heto\dthemnottobeafraidbecausethewindannounct:dthedeathof
oneofthegreatestoftheunbe!iel'en,andwhentheygottoMedinathey
found that Rifll'a b. Zayd b. ai-T~biit of B. Qaynuqil.', one of the most
importantjewsandasecretsheltererofthedisaffected, haddiedthatday.
T he siira came down in which God mentioned the disaffected with Ibn
Ubayy and those like-minded with him. When it came down the apostle

Tht Lift of Muhommod

The Lift of Muhammad

tookholdofZaydb.Arqam'aear,saying,'Thisishewhodevot.cdhisear
:~:~~ah.'' 'Abdullah, 'Abdullah b. Ubayy's son, heard about h~ father's

~~a~~ir~ 1 ~~~:~~e t=~h:;~;~ti:: j:~,~~~~w~~a~~t:n~~t~~

49z

'i\fim b. 'Umar b. Oat,.da told me that 'Abdullah came to the apostle,

78
a

Ab~~~~~~~~ :.";.~:;~~~Zubayrfrom 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr from 'A'isha

~~~;~c~lr::-;:~~a~~~~?;: ";~~tt~:iiltl, '~:!u~:~rb~~~=YJ0 f~r,:~a:~~

5
~~t~~J~u h~: fa~~:;t:: :.~~~~';~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ i~h;!u h:r~eern:O=n~:

11id:Whenthe

to kill him myaoulwillnotpcrmitmetoseehisslayer\.\.111kingamong

to

menandlahallki llhim ,thuskilli_ng abclie\'erforanunbc~te\er,~d~ l

:~~u~fe ::~l.~f ~~e :s;~::~i:~:hi~u~!e~1u:i~~~:.t,ndl~t:~ttt~~~~

~:::~1 ~~!a~i!~fre~~;~i:~:~: ~~~~~~~ ~::~=~~}~

killed him on the day you wanted me to kill him the leadmg men would
have trembled with rage. If I ordered them to kill him today they would
~~~~nh:~e.''Umar replied, 'I know that the apostle's order is more blessed

~r~~~~~b~ :1;;~~::z~~ ~;~~:~~ti:~1;:2~zo~~7{~~~~~

for his brother Hishltm and he stopped a short while with the apostle.

Thenhe attacked his brother'sslaycrandkilledhimandwc ntofftol\1~ca

an apostate. He tpokethefollowinglines:
Iteasedmyaoulthathedied inthelowland,
Theblood of hisneckvcinsdyeinghisgarments.
Beforelkillcdhimlwasbcsetbyca~

\Vhichpre\entedmefromseekingmycouch.
Ig:nefreeventtomyvengeance
Andwasthefirsttorctumtotheidols.
!avenged Fihronhimandlaidhisbloodwit
OnthcchicfsofB.ai-Najjilr,thelordsofFilri'.
Jfetchcdhimastrokein'engeance
\Vhichdrewbloodthatebbcdandflowed
l saidas thewrinklcsofdeathcoveredhim
'Youcan'tbcsafefromB. Bakrwhentheyare~>TOngcd'(7J8).

10~r ~~~~r~~:6 ;;: ~:e.~::a~~~~a~::~;~~~~rii~C:~=~~~~~ -;::a~

apostledistributedthecapti\csofB.al-l\1uftaliq,Juway-

:;; ~~! ;a:~e~~

J!t~~~-h~ra~d::~t~=.n~~

m:~~~~~f:j

::::
:
Shecaptivatedeverymanwhosawher. Shecamctotheapostle
ask his help in the matter. As soon as I saw her at the door of my room
I took a dislike to her, for I knew that he would_ see her as I ~w her. S~e
went in and told him who she was-d. of ai-I:Unth b. AbU Orilr, the ch1cf
ofhispcople. 'Youcanseethestatetowhichlhav_cbeen.brought. lha\'e
fallen to the lot of Th~bit or his cousin and have g1\en h1m a deed for my
nnsom and have come to ask your help in the matter.' He said, 'Would )'OU
likesomethingbctterthanthat? I will discharge your debt and marry
'!\'Oman.

yo~;n:e:~e t~:~~~ ~:~le had married Juwayriya was blazed

and now that B.

Mu~taliq

abroad
were the prophet's. relations by marriage_t_he

:;:e r~l::~.th~ot~~i ::!! a'~~~a~ew:r~~ ah~;e:t:~~~:?n~a:~:

pcoplethanthe(7J9)
Yaztd b. RUm~n told me that the apostle sent al-Walid b. 'Uqba b. 730
AbU Mu'ayt to them after they had accepted Islam. When they heard ?f
him they rode out to meet him, but wh~n he heard of them he was a~rad
andwentbacktotheapostleandtoldhmthatthepcoplehaddetermmed
tokillhimandhadwithhc\dtheirducpoortax. TheMuslirnstalkedalot
aboutradingthemuntiltheapostlehimsclfmeditateddoingso. While
this was going on an embassy of theirs came. to the apostle, saying: 'We
heard about your messenger when )'OU sent h1m to us and we went out to
meet him to show him respect and to pay the poor tax that was due, and
he went back as fast as he could. Now we hear that he has alleged that we
wentouttokillhim. ByAllahwedidnotgooutwith suchintcnt.' So
God sent down concerning him and them: '0 you who bclie>"e if an e,il 73
man comca toyouwithareponexarnineitclosclylcst youdoilltoapcople
inignoranceandbc aorryforw hatyouhavedone. Knowthattheapostle
of God is among you. If he were to obey you in much of the government
youwouldbcintrouble.''
THELIETIIATWAS UTTEREDONTHERAIDOFB.AlM U!ll fALIQ

~uC::d}~!~o.;:~~ta at~a~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~dm:nr~: ~~::;'o~~~

untilhewasnear Medina, 'A'ishahavingbeenwithhimonthejourney,
whenthelianspokeabouther.

Tht Uft of Muhammad

Al-Zuhri 10ld us from 'Alqama b. Waqq~. and from Sa'id b. Jubayr
and from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr, and from Ubaydullah b. Abdullah b. 'Utba,
each contributing a pan of the story, one remembering more of it than
another, and ! (Zuhrl)havcputtogctherforyouwhatthepcopletoldmc.
Ya~yil b. 'Abbild b. Abdullah b. al-Zubayr told me from his father from
'A'iaha; and Abdullah b. Abu Bakr from 'Amra d. 'Abdu'I-Ra~miin from
'A 'isba from her own words when the liars said what they did. The whole
ofherstoryrestsonthese mcnasawholc. Onerc:lateswhatanotherdocs
not. All of them arc trustworthy witnesses, and all of them related what
theyheardfromher. SheP.id:'Whentheapostleintendedtogoonan
expedition he cast lots between his whes which of them should accompany
him. Hedidthisontheocc:asionofthe raid on B. al-:\lu~Jaliqand the lot
fellonme,sotheapostletookmeout. Thewivesontheseocc:asionsused
to eat light rations; meat did not fill themupsothattheywere he-avy.
When the camel was being .addled for me I used to sit in my howdah;
then the men who saddled it for me would come and pick me up and take
holdofthelowerpartofthehowdahandliftitupandputitonthecamel't
~:~~ :~~ :::nwi~::~~ a rope. Then they would take hold of the camel's

73~

'Whentheapostlefinishedhisjourncyonthisoccasionhestartcdback
andhaltedwhenhcwasneari\ledinaandpassedapartofthenightthere.
Then he gave permission to stan and the men moved off. I went out for a
certainpurposehavingaBtringof(-aBrbeadsonmyncck. When T had
finished, it tlipped from my neck without my knowledge, and when I
returnedtothecame!Iwemfeelingmyneckforitbutcouldnot find it.
Meanwhile the main body had already moved off. I went back to the
place where I hadlx:enandlookedforthcoecklaceuntil l foundit. :he
men who were saddhng the cam~! for me came up to the place I h~d JUSt
leftandhavingfinishedthesaddhng_theytookholdofthc h.owdahthmking
that l wasinitaslnormallywas,pckeditupandbounduonthecamel,
notdoubtingthatiwasinit. Thentheytookthccamclbythehcadand
wcntoffwithit. I rc:tumedtotheplaceandthcrewasnot a soul there.
The men had gone. So I wrapped myself in my smock and then lay down
where I was, knowing that if I were missc:d they would come back for me,
and by Allah I had but just lain down when ~afwa.n b. al-Mu'at!al alSulamipa.ssedmc;hehadfallenbehindthemainbodyforsomepurpose
and had not spent the night with the troops. He ~w my fo~ and came
andstoodoverme. Heusc:dto seemebeforethc\e,Jwuprescnbedforus,
so when he saw me he exclaimed in astonishment "The apostle's wife"'
1

The Lift of Muhammad

halted and when they were rested up came the man leading me and the
liars tprcad their reporu and the army was much disiUrbed. But by
Allah I knewnothingaboutit.
'Then we came to Medina and immediately I became \'Cry ill and 10
heard nothingofthematter. Thestoryhadrc:achcdthcapostlcand my
parc:nts,yettheytoldmenothingofitthoughlmissc:dtheapostlc'taccustomed kindness to me. When I was ill he used to show compassion and
kindneutomc,butinthiaillnesshedidnotand l missc:dhisattcntions
When he came in to see me when my mother was nursing me (7-1-0), all he 733
aaid was, "How is she?"' so that I was pained and asked him 10 let me be
taken to my mother so that she could nurse me. "Do what you like," he
said, and 10 I was taken to my mother, knowing nothing of what had happened until! recovered from my illness some twenty days later. Now we
werc:anArabpcople:wcdidnothavethoscprivicswhichforcignersha'"e
inthcirhouses;weloathcanddctestthem. Ourpracticewastogooutinto
theopenspacesofMedina. Thewomenusc:dtogooutc\erynight,and

?~~~g~t~~~~:c~e~~;~:r ~~. ~~~r\~;!~~-u~:.bbb.'~:.~u~~~:y~

aunt of Abil Bakr. As she was walking with me she stumbled over her
gown and exclaimed, "May Mis!ai:l stumble," Mis1a~ being the nickname
of'Auf. Tsaid,'"Thatisabadthingtosayaboutoneoftheemigrantswho
fought at Badr." She replied, " Haven't you heard the news. Odaughter
ofAbilBakr?"andwhen l saidthat l had notheardshewentontotcllme
of what the liars had said, and when I showed my astonishment she told
methatall thisrc:allyhadhappened. By Allah, I wasunablctodowhat I
hadtodoandwentback. l oouldnotstopcryingumillthoughtthatthc
weeping would burst my liver. I said to my mother, "God forgive you!
Menhavespokenillofme(T-andyouhaveknownofit)andhavcnottold T- sa
me a thing about it." She replied "My ~ ittlc daughter, d~n't let the matter
weigh on you. Seldom is there a beaullful woman mamed to a man who
Jovesherbuthcrrivalwi,esgossipaboutherandmcndothesame."
'Theapostlehadgotupandaddressedthemcn,though l knewnothing
about it. After praising God he said: "What do certain men mean by worrying me about my family and saying false: things about them? By Allah, I
know only good of them, and they say these things of a man of whom I 7J4
know naught but good, who ne\er enters a house of mine but in my
company."

an~T~;is~a:~~ ~~:~=~- j;~:h',Af~~~=hrc:~~~~?t ~;';:7!c~h~a~~:~~~

~h~:~d :U~' td7J:! ~~~: t~a~~;~t~h!!e h~~!~~tw~h:th~:~a:~t a:~

Jal_\thwasoneoftheapostle'swivesandonlyshecouldrival me in his
favour. Asfor Zaynab,Allahprotccted hcrbyherrcligio.nand she.spoke

toldmcto rideitwhile hekeptbehind. Solrodeitandhetookthecamel's

(T~h:i:!l~~~g::;.fo~~~~:::::h~ra:i:~e: ,r::~ ~~:;e~:d~::~~~:~h~~

~~:~:~ntgh~:~~a~~ iu:~y~;t :!!:Cut~~~t~~:~:r:~/l~~ew~~~d ~:~

1 ~~;...,,

o womon co<ri<d in howdoh

'Tho fonn u ..d indi~otco th< pl~r>.lond, 10 oomcuten<, the opcakcr'o indift"~nc
'Or'ollc(Zaynob) ouffe red"

-+

Tht Lift of Muhammad

'WhentheapostlemadethisspcechUsaydb.l:fu<_layrsaid "lftheyare
ofAusletusridyouofthem;andiftheyareoftheKhurajgiveut)'Our
orders,fortheyoughttohavethtirheadseutolf."Sa'db.'Ubidagotupbcforethathehadbecnthoughtapiousman-andsaid,"llyAIIah,you
lie. They shallnotbebeheaded. Youwouldnothaveuidthishadyou
notknownthattheywereofKhaznj. HadtheybeenyourO"-'llpeopleyou
wouldnothae saidit." U!~aydanswered, "Liar yourself! Youareadisalfectedpcnonarguingonbehalfofthediaalfected."' Flingransohigh
that there was almost fighting between these two clans of Aus and Khazraj.
The apostle left and came in to see me. He called 'Ali and Usama b. Zayd
and :asked their advice. Uaima spoke highlyofmeand said "They are
~of~~s~~:r and we and you know only good of them, and this is a lie and
'Asfor'AlJhesaid:"Womenareplentiful,andyoueaneasilychange
one for another. Asktheslnegirl,forshewilltellyouthetruth." Sothe
apoe~leca ll~ Burayratoaskher,and 'Aiigotupandgae hera >"iolent
beatmg,saymg,"Telltheapostlethetruth,"towhichshereplied,"lknow
onlygoodofhcr. The onlyfaultlhavetofindwith'A.'ishaisthatwhcn I
amkneadingdoughandtellhertowatchitaheneglcctsitandfallsasleep
735 and thesheep(T-'pctlamb'}comesandeatsitl"
'Then the apostle came in tO me. My parents and a woman of the

~~~~~~:::~:h~-~::~:~;~0~~~~:f~t?![~~:~~~~~:~;;;

Heacceptsrepcntancefrom Hisslaves." A3hcsaidthismytean~eeased

and I coul~ not fe_el them. I waited for my parents to answer the apostle
buttheys:udnothmg. ByAllahlthoughtmyllf:lftooinsignificantforCod
to send d~wn concerning me a Quran which could be read in the mo.ques
:md used m praye~, but I was hoping that the apostle would see something
m a dream by wh1ch Cod would dear away the lie from me, because He
knew my innocence, or that there would be some communication. As for

:o~= ~\~~';,81d::~t~:~;:a~n~~~-~!I~h=tg:~~a{ ~:~~~~~::mm!~:~

andtheyrcpliedthattheydidnotknowwhattoanswer,andbyAllohldo
not know a household which suffered as did the family of Abii Bakr in
those day. When they remained ailem my weeping broke out afresh and
then I said: "NeYer will I repcm tOwards God of what you mention. By
Allah, I kn?w that if I ~Ycre to confess w_hat men say of me, God knowing

::i~: ;::h:~:r~:-11 J~:b:~~l~~~r~~~~:~:~~:o~~:7a:i:~~ ~~i

:~ ~h~.:h:i~a~:~: ~J:::: ::~1~:t~~tu~~~s ~~8:~:. ~;oming patience
cr.s.:.n

4. , 07

1 Carcistokentoa\'Oid ohe""of'A'isho'oiUim<

1 K.whoo'A'iohlwaoOUMdol.

Kk

The Life of Muhammad

$afwiin met him and smote him with his sword, saying according to what
Ya'qUbb.'Utbatoldme
Here 'stheedgeofmysword foryou!
When you lampoon a man like me you don't get a poem in return!

'He,.,inabodoenoc. Hcioopukina-ofhim.. Jf oubmcriJC<Iin aouofrefuiffO

'TM~iouminiocentoftheQu...,.Thepointoftheufeunto$afv.inionot

The L1je of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

The L1je of Muhammad

Then they ac nt to him al-l:fulays b. 'Alqama or Ibn Zabb~n. who was at
that time chiefof theblack troops, being one of B. al-I:Urith b. 'Abdu
l\lan~t b. Kin~na. When he saw him the apostle aaid, 'This is one of the
de\'Outpeople,sosendthesacrificialanimalstomeethimsothathecan
see them! When he saw them going past him from the side of the wadi with
theirfesthecollarsroundtheirneclulandhowtheyhadeatenthcirhairl
because they had bnaolongl:eptbackfromthe place of sacrifice, he
wentbacktoQurayshanddidnotcometotheaposde,sogreatlywashe
impressedbywhathehadseen. Whenhetoldthemthat,theysaid,'Sit
down! You are only a Bedouin, utterly ignorant.'
'Abdullah b. AbU Bah told me that this ennged al-~lulays, who said:
'You men of Quraysh, it was not for this that we made an alliance and
agreement with you. Is a man who comes to do honour to God's houac to
bcexcludedfromit? Byhimwhoholds mylifeinhishand,eithcryoulet
Muhammad do what he has come to do or I shall take awlly the black troops
tothelastman.' Theysaid,'Bequiet,l:fulays!untilwe abtainforourselrea
acceptable terms'
In his narrative al-Zuhrt said: Then they acnt 'Un\'a b. Mas'Ud aiThaqafitotheapostleandhesaid:'YoumenofQuraysh,lha\eseenthe
7-4+ harshness andrudewordswithwhichyouhaverecei\edthoseyouscntto
1\luhammad when they returned to you. You know that you are the father
and I am the son~for 'Urvra was the ton of Subay'a d. 'Abdu Shams-1
heardofwhatbefellyouand Icollcetedthose ofmypeoplewhoobeyed
me; then I Clime toyoutohdpyou.' They agreed and said that they
didnotsuspecthim. Sohecametotheaposdeandsatbeforehimandsaid:
'Muhammad,haveyoucollectedamixedpeopletogetherandthenbrought
them to your own people to destroy them? Ouraysh ha\'e come out with
their milch-camels' clad in leopard skins swearing that you shall ne\er
enterMeccabyforce. ByGodithinklseeyoudesenedbythescpeople
(here) tomorrow.' Now AbU Ba.kr was sitting behind the apostle and he
said, 'Suck ai-Ut's nipples! Should we desert him?' He asked who had
spoken, and when he heard it was Ibn AbU Qublfa he said, 'By Allah, did
I not owe you a favour I would pay you back for that, but now we are
quits.' Thenhe begantotakeholdoftheapostle's beardashetalkedto
him. Al-~Iughln b. Shu'ba was standing by the apostle's head dad in
mail and hebegantohithishand asheheldtheapostle'sbeardsaying,
'Take your hand away from the apostle's face before you lose il.' 'Urw~

:~~ ~-~~:fo~~-:o~k;do:.~~u~~e a~~:u~: y~~ ta:~ h~tet~~~~~~::i\~~~

brother's son, ai-Mughlnb. Shu'baand he said, "O...,Tetch, it was only
yesterday that ! washedyourdirtypartsl'(750).
TheapostletoldhimwhathehadtOldtheothtrs, namelythathehad
notcomeoutforwar. Hegotupfromthe apostle's prescncehaYingsetn
'hioju.otpoMibletluot""W.ilth<pl.ofrriU,binrr .. hyhoorb..-ilhthorno(/1..,...).
lnbotnse i1 would1uppon tllcnndrinllof~lom<,lonp.7~' .,,,,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

503

how his companions treated him. WheneYer he performed his ablutions

theyrantogetthewater hehadused;ifhe spattheyrantoit;ifahairof
hisheadfeUtheyrantopick itup. SoheretumedtoQunyhandsaid,

745

ii~:~~~~~~~~s:~\:b:;;;~~o~:~-e~~:~:~~~~;:;7;~:;:~~
neverab~do~ h~mforanyreason,tofonnyourownopinion'

K~:a~d~~~n~L=~tt~li~ ':a~~~;~~ i~~~~~~:u~?~~~~-o~~naer:r ~:~

camels cal1ed al-Tha'lab to tell their chiefs from him what he had come
for. Theyhamstrungtheapostle'scameland\lo-antedtokilltheman,but
theblac.ktroopsprotectedhimand let himgohisway so that he came
back to the apostle.
One whom I do not suspect from 'Ikrima client of Ibn 'Abbis from the
latter told me that Qunysh had aent forty or fifty men ~~oith orde~ to

~~t~~~~~:io~=~fE~~:~:J~:t~CI~~o~Fe~i;;~:~~~~

arrows. Then he called 'Umar 10 tend him to Meeca with the same meaaage, but 'Umar told him that he feared for his life with Qunysh, because

~~:r; :;r:i~~~~~:YB~~~~:rs b~~~b~~~~~~~: ~~ ~~~ ~~~:~~~:~

*~: aa;:~~~~~:=~h~~~~~~h=~o~:~~0se~~~n~;:~~U~~:~~
~.~:~f:h:f ~:~~dt~0t~~!~~:a7e t1~:':~c~i~~- not come for ~~o-ar but merely to
As 'Uthmin entered or was about to enter Mecca Abin b. Sa'id b. al-

~met~imand carried him in front of him. Then hegavehimhisprotec-

uonuntilhecouldcon\'Cy thcapoetlc'ameuagetothem. HaYing heard

what 'Ut~m~n had .to say, they said: 'If you want to go round the temple,
goroundtt.' Heaa!dthathe couldnotdosounti!Muhammaddidso,and
Oun~-sh kept him a prisoner \loith them. The apostle and the Muslims
were mfonned that 'Uthm~n had been killed.
Til WILLING IIOMACE

'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr told me that when the apoatle heard that 'Uthm1n
had been killed hesaidthattheywouldnot\ea,e untilthey fought the

:~~~ki;:.~h~~~;:;;~~~~; ~~~~~\f:: ~~~r~~:~;7:;~~~ ~t/: ~~:

thetr pledge unto death. J ~ b1r b. '.>\bdullah used to say that the apostle did
nottaketheir pledgeuntodeath,butlllthertheirundenaking thatthey
\\:ould_ not run away. Not one of the Muslims who were present failed to
gl\"e htshandexcept al-jadd b. Qay. brother of ll. Salima. J~bir used to
uy: 'By Allah, I can almost see him now sticking to hi1 camel's aide

746

Tht Lift of Muhammad

cringingashetriedtohidehimselffromthemen.' Then theapostleheard
thatthencwsabout'Uthml!.nwasfalse(7SI).

Al-Zuhri said: Then Quraysh sent Suhayl b. 'Amr brother of B. 'Amir b.

Lu'ayytothe apostlewithinstructionstomakepeacewithhimonconditionthathewembackthisyear,!IOthatnoneoftheArabscouldsaythat
he made a forcible entry. When the apostle saw him coming he said, 'The
747 peoplewanttomakepeaceseeingthattheyhavesentthisman.' Aftera
long discussion peace was made and nothing remained but to v.Tite an
agreement. 'Umar jumped up and went to AbU Bakr saying, 'Is he not
God'sapostle,andarewenotMuslims,andaretheynotpolytheists?'to
which AbU Bakr agreed, and he went on: 'Then why should we agree to
whatisdemeaningtoour religion l' Hereplied,'Sticktowhathesays,for
ItestifythatheisGod'sapostle.' 'Umarsaid,'Andsodol.' Thenhewent
tothe apostleandputthesameque$li&nstowhichtheapostleanswered,
'I am God's slave and His apostle. I will not go against His commandment
and He will not make me the loser.' 'Umarused to say, 'I have not ceased
giving alms and fasting and praying and freeing slaves becau~e of what I
!~:u;~a~d~~~~: ,of fear for what I had said, when I hoped that (my plan)
Then the apostle summoned 'Ali and told him to write 'In the name of
A\JahtheCompassionate,theMerciful.' Suhay\said' Idonotrecognize
this; but write " In thy name, 0 Allah.'" The apostle told him to write
the latter and he did so. Then he said: 'Write "This is what Muhammad,
theapostleofGodhasagreedwithSuhaylb. 'Amr."' Suhaylsaid,'If l
witnessed that you were God's apostle I would not have fought you. Write
yourownnamemdthenameofyourfather.' The apostle said: 'Write
"This is what Muhammad b. 'Abdullah has agreed with Suhayl b. 'Amr
theyhaveagreedtolayasidewarfortenyearsduringwhichmencanbe
safe and refrain from hostilities on condition that if anyone comes to
Muhammad v.ri~hout the permission of hia guardian he will retum him to
them; and if anyone of those with Muhammad comes to Quraysh they will

~~~~~~r~0 h~:: ~=~~~i::~~ ~:~~~a~~.en;:'::~~~~::o;~:Cn~~: i~~~r:

bond and agreement with Muhanunad may do so and he who wishes to

enter into a bond and agreement with Quraysh may do so.'" Here
Khuza'a leapt up and said, '\Ve are in a bond and agreement with
748 Muhammad,' and B. Bakr leapt up and said the same with regard to
Quraysh, adding 'You must retire from us this year and not enter Mecca
against our will, and next year we will make way for you and you can
ent~r it with your companions, and stay there three nights. You may
carryarider'sweapons,theswordsin their sheaths. You can hring in
nothing more.'

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

to come and may complete his favour upon you and guide you on an
upright path.'' Thentheaccountgoe!~Onabouthimandhiscompanions
until he comes to mention the oath of alltgiance and He aaid: ' Those who
swear alltgiance to you really swear allegiance to God, the hand of God
bcingabo,etheir hands; so he who breaks his oath brea. it to his own
hurt: while he who is faithful to what he has covenanted with Cod, to him

and the believers and imposed on them the word of piety, for they were meet
andwonhyofit,'i.e.thedeclarationofGod'sunity,thewitnessthatthere
is no God but Allah and that l\luhammad is His sla,e and His apostle.
Then He said: 'God has fulfilled the vision to His apostle in truth. You
shallenterthesacrcdmosqueifGodwill,safelywithheadsshavedandhair
cutshonfearingnot. ForHe knowswhatyoudonotknow.'i.e.thevision
which theapostlesawthathewouldenterl\1ecc;~safelywithoutfear. He
says'withyourheadssha1edand haircutshon'alongwithhimwithout
fear, for He knows what you do not know of that, and more than that He
haswroughtanearlictory,thepeaceofal-l:ludaybiya
No previous victory in Islam was greater than this. There wat nothing
but battle when men met; but when there was an armistice and war was
abolishedandmenmetinaafetyandconsultedtogcthcrnonetalkcdabout
Islam intelligently without entering it. In those two years double as many
ormorethandoublcasmanyenteredlslamaselerbcfore{754)

wi~~!~ g~:e ~:~::tn:~":~:-~ouin

who held back from him. Then He

aaidwhenheurgedthemtotakethefieldwithhimandtheyprocrastinated,
'The Bedouin who were left behind will say to you : Our possessions and
750 our families preoccupied us!' Thenfo!!o\\., anacoountofthemuntilthe
words 'Those who were left behind will aay when you go out to capture

::::i ~t r~~~!:'::. Y;h~:is:;gd~t':r~~~~hc:!. ~a;.~i~. fo~:~.,v:~

account of them and how it was explained to them that they must fight
a peopleofgreatprowess.
'Abdullah b. Abii Najih from 'AU.' b. AbU Rabi~ from Ibn 'Abbas aaid
(That means) Persia. One whom I do not suspect from aJ.Zuhrl told me
that'apeopleofgreatproweu'meantf:lanifawiththearchliar.
Then He uid: 'God was pleased v.ith the bclie,ers when they swore
allegiance to you under the tree and He knew what was in their heana,
and He aent down the Sakina' upon them and rewarded them with a recent
victory and much spoil which they will take. Cod is mighty, wise. Cod
has promised you muchspoi l whichyouwi ll captureandhasgi,enyou
thisinadvance,andkeptmen'shandsfromyou,thatitmaybcasignto
t he believers and that Hemayguideyouonan uprightpath,andother
(things)whichyouhavenotbeenabletoget. Codencompassesthem,and
God is almighty.'
Then He mentioned how He had kept him awlly from battle after the
1ictory over them, meaning those He had kept from him. Then He uid:
' He it is who has kept their hands from you and you r hands from them in
thelalcofMecca,after Hehadgivenyouvictoryo,erthem. Godisaseer
of what you do.' Then He said: 'They are those who disbcliel"ed and
debarredyoufromtheaacredmosqueandtheofferingfrom reachingits
goal' (751). 'And had it not been for the bclie1'ing men and women whom
youdidnotknowlest )'Oushouldtreadthemunderfootand thus incur
guilt for them unwittingly.' /11a'arrameans'afine',i.e.lestyoushould
su!fcr ]oQforthemunwittingl yand payi ts blood"it;asforrealguilthe
didnotfearitonthdracooum(753)Thenhesaid,'\\'henthosewhodisbellevehad~~Ctintheirheartszealotry,

75 1 the zealotry of paganism.' i.e. Suhayl b. 'Amr when he scorn~'tlto write ' In
the name of Allah the Compassionate the Merciful' and that Muhammad is
God's apostle. Then He said 'God sent down Hissakina' upon His apostle

su...s.

'Thlt;.(<l)a~nuinoArobic,..,.rdmoaning'tnnqulil()'',oa[m';and()bornn.in

TIIECA S EOFTHOSELEFTIIELPLESSAFTERTHEPEACE

When the apostle arri1ed in Medina Abii B~ir 'Utba b. Mid b. J~riya,
one o.Jf those imprisoned in l\lecca, arne to him. Azhar b. 'Abdu 'Auf b.
'Abd b. all:l!rith b. Zuhn and alAkhnas b. Sharlq b. 'Amr b. Wahb a].
Thaqafi wrote to the apostle about him, and they ae nt a man of B. 'Amir b . 75~
Lu'ayywithafreedsla\'eoftheirs. When they came to the apostle with
the letterheaaid, 'Youknowtheundertakingwegavethesepeopleandit
ill becomes us that treacheryshouldenterourreligion. God will bring
reli efandawayofC'llcapetothosehcl pleu likeyou, IJOgobacktoyour
people.' He said, 'Would you return me to the polytheists who will seduce
me from my religion?' l-Ie said, 'Go, for God will bring relief and a way of
escapefor)ouandthehelplessones\\ithyou.' Sohewentwiththemas
far as Dhii'll:fulayfa' where he and the two men sat ag111inst a Wllll. ,\bii
B~ir said, 'Is your sword a harp, 0 brother of B. '.l.mir ?' When he uid
thatitwashcsaidthathe wouldliketolookatit. 'Lookatitifyou want
to,' he replied. Abii B~irunsheatheditanddealthimablowthatkilled
him. The freedman nn off to the apostle who was sitting in the mosque,
and when the ~postle uw him coming he aaid, 'Thi1 man has sc:en some
thing frightful.' \\"hen hccamcuptheapostlesaid,'\\'hat'sthematter,
woe toyou 1' l ie said: 'Your man has killed my man,' and almost Monee
Abii U:qir carne up girt with the sword, and standing by the apostle he
uid,'YourobligationisocrandGod hasrcmo,edi tfromyou. Youduly
handedmeO\'ertothemenand l hneprotcctedmyselfinmyreligionlest
l shouldbeseducedthcrcinorscoffedat.' Theapostlcuid,'\\'oeishis
mother, he would hac kinJlcd a war had there been others with him.''
from the Hohnw <ht.ti""~ powibly throurh the mod1um of S1rioc. A 1ummary of .. hot hos
bftn oaid obout ot "''ith 1 bibhocnphy is ,,.-~n by A. J<K<ry, 1-Quit~ V<lhod<lry of rh
Owrc~. 74
'About ioroc"<On molts from :\te<lno
'Or,"TI>ofi,.bnndl Wouklthotolhrnhodb<-<n"ilhhiml'

,,,

The Life of ftfuhammad

Tht Llft of Muhammad

Then Abu D~ir went off until he halted at a!.' l~ in the region of DM'I
Marv.-a by the sea-shore on the road which Quraysh were accustomed to
take to Syria. The Muslims who were confined in Mecca heard wh.u the
apostle had said of AbU Ba, ir so they went out tO join him in al-' 1~. About
seventy men attached themselve!l to him, and they so harried Quraysh,

killingt\'tryonetheycouldgetholdofandcuttingtopieceteverycaravan
thatpasscdthem,thatOurayshwrotetotheapostlebegginghimbythe
753 ticsofkinshiptotakethesemenin,fortheyhadnouscforthem;sothe
apost letooktheminandtheycametohiminl\1edina(755)
WhenSuhaylheardthatAbUBa!jlrhadkilledhis'Amiriguardheleant
hi.s!nclr.againattheKa'baandsworeth:.nhewouldnotremo\'tituntilthis
man'B blood wit was paid. Abii Sufyln b. !~arb said, 'By God, this is sheer
folly. hwillnotbepaid.' Threetimeshesaidit
Mauhabb.Riyii)AbUUnaf3,anallyofB.Zuhra,said(756):
AbriefwordfromSuhaylreachedme
And woke me from my sleep.
lf youwishtorcproachme
Then reproach me, for you are not far from me.
Would you thre1llten me when 'Abdu l\lanif is round me
With Makh~Um l Alas, whom are )'OU attacking?
lfyouputmetothetcstyouwillnotfindme
Aweaksupportingravemisfortunea.
I can ri~al in birth the best of my people.
Whentheweakareill-treatedlprotectthem.
TheydefendthcheightsofMcccawithoutdoubt
Asfarasthcvalleysandthcwadisides
Witheverybloodmarcandfieryhorse
Grownthinfrom longfighting.
Ma'addknowtheyhaveinal-Khayf'
Apavilionofgloryexaltedhigh.

Mauhabhasbecomelikea poordonkey
Brayinginavillageashepauesthroughit.
Aman likeyoucannotattackSuhayl.
Vain is your effort. Whom are you attacking?
Shutup,youaonofablacksmith,
Andstoptalkingnonsenseintheland.
Don't mention the blame of AbU Yu:id.
There'sagreatdifferencebctweenoceanaand puddles.

TilE WOMEN WIIO EM I GRATED AFTER THE ARMISTICE

Umm KuhhUm d. 'Uq~ b. AbU Mu'a}1 mignted to the apostle during

this period. Her two brothen 'Umira and al-Walld aons of 'Uq~ came
andaskedtheapostletoreturnhertotheminaccordancewiththeagree~;~:d~~~een him and Quraysh at l;ludaybiya, but he would not. God
AI-Zuhri from 'Urwa b. ai-Zubayr told me: I came in to him u he was
writing a letter to Ibn AbU Hunayda, the friend of al-Walld b. Abdu'IMalik who had written to ask him about the word of God: '0 you who
belie,e, when believing women come to you as emigrants test them. God
knowsbestabouttheirfaith. Ifyouknowthattheyarebelievendonot
send them back to the unbelievers. They are not lawful to them nor vice
versa. Andgivethem(theunbclieven)whattheyhavespentonthem. It
isnosinforyoutomarrythemwhenyouhavegiventhemtheirducs,and
holdnottothetiesofunbclievingwomen''(757) Askforwhatyouhave
apentandletthemaskforwhattheyhavespent. Thatisthejudgementof
Allah who judges between you. God is a knower, wise.'
'llrwa b. sl-Zubayr 1 wrote to him: The apost le made pe~c:e with Quraysh
onthedayofal-l;ludaybiyaonc:ondition thatheshouldretumtothem
thosc who came without the penniuionoftheir guardians. But when
women migrated to the apostle and to Islam God refused to allow them to
beretumedtothepolytheistsiftheyhadbeentestedbythetcstoflslam,
andtheyknewthattheycameonlyoutofdesireforlslam,andHeordered
that their dowries should be returned to Quraysh if their women were
withheld from them if they returned to the Muslims the dowries of the
women they had withheld from them. 'That is the judgement of God which
He judges between you, and Allah is knowing, wise.' So the apostle with
held the \\'Omen and returned the men, and he ulted what God ordered 7SS
him to ask of the dowries of the women who were withheld from them,
andthattheyahouldretumwhatwasdueiftheothersidedidthesame.
Haditnotbeen forthisjudgementofGod'stheapostlewouldhaeretumed the women as he returned the men. And had it not been for the
armisticeandcovenantbctweenthemonthedayofal-l;ludaybiyahewould
have kept the women and not returned the dowries, for that is what he used
to do with the Muslim women who came to him before the covenant.
I asltedai-Zuhriaboutthiapassage:'Andifanyofyour"iveshaegone
to the unbclievenand you have your tum of triumph, then give those

;,:o:~~~:~.

;;~,e Itfh~~~~t:o:h::!~ssra;~i;~: :~:ru~:!:~:;e~h~~~

h:;ee
a woman does not come to you you may take for her the lilte of what they
'Siln6o.

10,

~@\?:~~~::r::~~~~~~2::i~?.~:~.:.~~;~~:~;~

The Life of Muhammad

ta.ke from you, then compensate them from _any booty th~t }:ou a:ure.
When this l'er!le came down, '0 you who behc1e when behcvmg women
cometoyouasemigrants,'asfarasthewords'andholdnottotheoordsof
disbelieving women' it referred to 'U_mar's divorcing his wif~ Qurnyba d
AbU Umayya b. ai-Mughira. Mu'~wtya b. Abii Sufy~n mamed her afterwards while they were both polytheists in 1\!e<:ca; and Umm Kuhhiim the
Khu:d'ite woman d. Jarwal mother of Ubaydullah b. Tmar whom AbU
Ja hm b. l:ludhayfa b. Gh:i.nim a man of 'Umar'a people married while
theybmhwerepolytheists(7s8).

Afterhisre!Urn fromal-l:ludaybiyatheapostlestayedin l\ledinaduring

DhU'l-l;lijjaandpanofal-Mul:tarram,thepolytheistssuperintcndingthe
156 pilgrimage. T hen he marched against Khaybar(759).

Muhammad b. l brihim b. al-l;l:i.rith ai-Taymi from AbU'l-lla)tham b.

N~r b. Duhr ai-Aalami from hia father who u.id that he heard the apostle
as he journeyed say to 'Amir b. ai-Akwa' who was the unde of Salama b.
'Amr b. al-Akwa' 11howas named Siniin: 'Dismount, Ibn a\-Akwa', and
chantoncofyourcamcl-songsforus';sohegotdown andrecitedthisrough
rhyme:
But for Allah we should not hal"cbeenguided
Norgivenalmsnorprayed
Ifpc:opletreatusunjustly
Andiftheywisbtoseduceusweres.ist.

~d =~no~:e:~' fi~~~~:n we mtet our enemies.

Theapostles.aid,'l\layGodhncmercyonyou!' 'Umarsaid,'Youhne
madchisdeathinelitablc,OapostleofGod. \\'ouldthatyou had Ictus
enjoy him longer.' He was killed at Khaybar as a martyr. I have heard
thathisswordturneduponhimashewasfightingandgavebimsucha
grievous wound that he died of it. T he 1\luslims were in doubt 3.11 to
whether he died a manyr, u.ying that he had died by his own weapon. But
his nephew Salama b. 'Amr b. al-Akwa' asked the apostle about it, telling
him what men were saying, and he s.a.id, 'Certainly he is a manyr,' and he
andthe l\lus\imsprayedol"erhim.
One whom I do not suapt told me from 'At:l' b. Abii Marw~n alAslami from his father from AbU l\1u'anib b. 'Amr that when the apostle
looked down on Khaybar he told his companions, among whom I was one,
tostop. Thenhesaid:
'OGod,Lordofthehealeruandwhattheyo'er!!hadow
AndLordofthelandsandwhattheymaketogrow
AndLordofthedevilsandwhatintot>rrortheythrow
And Lord of the winds and what they winnow,

TlieLifeof ll,fuhommod
WeukTheeforthegoodofthistownandthegoodofitspc:opleandthe
goodofwhatisinit,andwetakerefugeinTheefromitsevilandtheevil
ofitspc:opleandtheevilthatisinit. ForwardinthenameofAilah.' He
usedtosaythatofeverytownheentered.
One whom I do not suspe<:t told me from Anas b. l\Ulik: When the
apostleraidedapeoplehewaiteduntilthemorning. lfheheardacallto
prayer'heheldback;ifhedidnothearitheattacked. WecametoKhaybar
bynight,andtbeapostlepassedthenightthere;andwhenmorningcame
hedidnothearthecalltopraye r,'soberodeandwerodewithhim,and l
rode behind Abii Tal~a with my foot touching the apostle's foot. We met
theworker!lofKhaybarcomingoutinthemorningwiththeirspade.and
baskets. When they aaw the apostle and the army they cried, 'Muhammad
withhisforce,'andturnedtailandfled. Theapostlesaid,'Allahakbar!
Khaybarisdestroyed. When we arrive in a people's square it is a bad
morning for those who have been warned.' IHriin told us from l:lumayd
fromAnassimilarly.
When the apostle marched from 1\ledina to Kh.aybar he went by way of
'I,r,and a mosque was built for him there; then bywayofal-Sa~bf'.J
Thenhewentforwardwiththeannyuntilhehaltedinawadicalledal
R.aji', halting between the men of Khaybar and Gha]afln so as to prevent
the latterrcinfordngKhaybar,fortheywercontheirsideagainsttheapostle.
I have heard thatwhenGha]afin heard about the apostle's attack on
Khaybartheygatheredtogetherandmarchedouttohelpthcjewtagainst
him ;butafteraday'sjoumey,hcaringarumourabouttheirpropenyand
families,theythougbtthattheyhadbeenattackedduringtheirabsence,so
theywenthackontheirtracksandlefttheYo'l)'toKhaybaropentotheapostk. 758
The apostle seized the property piece by piece and conquered the fons
one by one as he came to them. The first to fall was the fort of Nil'im,
there 1\h~mUd b. Mulama was killed by a millstone which was thrown on
him from it; then al-Qamu, the fort of B. Abii'll;luqayq. The apost le
took capti\es from them among whom was $afi}'3 d. l:luyayy b. Akh]ab
who had been the wife of Kin:ina b. al-Rabi' b. AbU'l-l;luqayq, and two
c:ousiruofhers. Theapostlechose$afiyaforhimself.
Dil_lyab.Khalifaal-Kalbihadaskedtheapostlefor$afiya,andwhenhe
chose her for himKifhe gave him her two cousins. The women of Khaybar
weredistributedamongthel\tuslims. Thel\luslimsatethcmeatofthe
domes.ticdonkeysandtheapostlegotupandforbadethepeopletodoa
numberofthingswhichheenumerated
'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. !;)amra al-Fa..zilri told me from 'Abdullah b. AbU
Sail] fromhisfather:Theapostle'sprohibitionofthefleshofdomestic
donkeysrcachedusaatbepotswereboilingwithit,soweturnedthem
upe.idedown.

' :a~-r=!:.U:P':t=k~lof..LU. ~.::~:~ ':7-.,~~:".,:~,:~~~~F~t'

1 AncvcniDI'jo<uneyfromKhayb&r

The Lift of MuluJmmad

'Abdullah b. AbU Naji]:l told me from Mak]:IUl that the apostle prohibited
four things that day: carnal intercou~ with pregnant women who were
captured; eating the flesh ofdomesticdonkeys;eatingany carnivorous
animal;andsellingbootybeforeithadbeendulyallotted.
Sallilm b. Kirkira told me from 'Amr b. Oinlr from Jibir b. 'Abdullah
al-An,lrl (J~bir had not bn present at Khaybar) that when the apostle

TheUfeofMulrammad
Now piercing, now slashing,
Aswhenlionsadvanceintheirrage.
Thehardenedwarriorgivcswaybeforemyonslaught;
l\lyfrim4'cannotbeapproachcd.

an~~~~~h:rn ~~~ he challenged all to single a>mbat and Ka'b b. Milik

forbadetheAeshofdonkeysheallowedthemtocatho~flesh

759

Yuid b. AbU J:labib told me from AbO Man:Oq client of Tujib from
J:lanuh al$an'inl: Wilh Ruwayfi' b. Thibit al-~ri we attacked the
Maghrib,andoneofitstownscalledjirba'wasconquered. Amanarote
uapreacherandsaid,'Letmetcllyouwhatiheardtheapostlesayonthe
day of Khaybar. He got up among us and said: " It is not lawful for a man
whobelievesinAllahandthelastdaytominglchisseedwithanotherman's
(meaningtoapproachcarnallypregnantwomanamongthecapthes),nor
isitlawful forhimtota.keheruntilhehumadesurethatsheisinastate
ofdeanness;norisitlawfulforhimtoscllbootyuntilithasbeenproperly
divided;norisitlawfulforhimtorideananimalbelongingtothebootyof
the Muslims with theintentionofretumingittothepool whenhehas
vtomitout;norisitlawfulforhimtowearagarmentbelongingtothe
bootyoftheMuslimswiththeintentionofrttumingittothepoolwhen
hehureducedittorags."'
Yazid b. 'Abdullah b. Qusay' told me that he was told from 'Ubida b.
al-!;;irnit:OnthedayofKhaybartheapostleforbadeustobuyorsellgold
oreforgoldcoinorsiheroreforsihercoin. Hesaid,'Buygoldorewith
si]\ercoinandsilverorewithgoldcoin.' Thentheapostlebegantotake
thefortsandthepropenyonebyone.
'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr told me that one of Aslam told him that B. Sahm
ofAslamcametotheapostleandcomplainedthattheyha,dfoughtandgot
nothingandfoundnothing"'iththeapostlewhichhecouldgivethem. He
said::OGod, Youknowtheirconditionandthattheyhavenostrength,
andthat l havenothingtogivethem,soconquerforthemthewealthieat
of the enemy's forts with the richest food.' The following day God co~
quered the fon of al - ~'b b. Mu'idh which contained the richest food m
Khaylnr
76o
Whentheaposdehadconqueredsomeofthcirfortsandgotposscuion
of some of their propcny he came to their two fons al- WatiQ and a[.Suli
lim,thclasttobetaken,andtheapostlebesiegedthemforaometenn ights
(76o).
'Abdullah b. Sahl b. 'Abdu'l-Ra.l;lmin b. Sahl, brother of B. l:l~ritha,
told me from Jibir b. 'Abdullah: Jl,lar]:lab the Jew came out from their fort
carryinghisweaponsandsaying:
Khaybarknov;athat lamMar]:lab,
Ancxpcriencedwarriorarmcdfromheadtofoot,

KhaybarknOYiJthatiamKa'b,
Thesmootherofdifficultics,boldanddour.
Whenwaris stirredupanotherfol!o ....-..
l carryasharpawordthatglitterslike lightningWewilltreadyoudowntillthestrongarehumbled;
WewiUmakeyoupaytillthespoilisdividedIn the hand of a warriorlai'UTtprode(?(it).~
The apostle said, 'Who will deal with this fellow I' Muhammad b.
Maslamasaidthathewould,forhewaaboundtotakerevengeontheman 76
whohadkilledhisbrotherthedaybefore. Theapo.tletoldhimtogoand
prayedAllahtohelphim. Whentheyapproachedtheonetheotheran
oldtreewithaoftw'"xPlaybetwcenthemandtheybegantohidebehind
it. Eachtookahdterfromtheother. Whcnonehidbchindthetreethe
otherslashedatitwithhisswordaothattheinterveningbranchcswere
cutaway4 andtheycamefaceto face. The tree remained bereft of its
branchcslike a man standing upright. Then MarQab attacked Muhammad
b.Maslamaandstruckhim. Hetooktheblowonhisahieldandthe1word
bit into it and remained fast. Muhammad then gave MarQab a fatal wound.
Mter Mar]:lab's death his brother Ybir came out with his challenge:
(KhaybarknowsthatlamYbir,

r;~h:::nli~~:.~:~ty~=
Theenemygivewaybeforemyonalaught.)
Hishim b. 'Urwa alleged that al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwilm went out to fight
Ybir. His mother $afiya d. 'Abdu'I-Munalib said, 'Will he kill my son, 0
apostle I' He replied, 'Nay, your son will kill him, if God will.' So al
Zulnyrwentoutsaying(TKhaylnr know that I am Zabb~r,
Chiefofapeoplenocowardlyrunaways,
The~onofthosewhodefcndtheirglory,theiOnofprinces.

P~~.":,"!,~:,';:'ryofaaidoloraoancw..ryandooaayplac.thata....,ioboundiO
,.,:_Y~~~~~inllwHnHilcorrec:ICCiini.H.'ov.:roioa.. 'Lia;btnina'('"f'J)inL.4

:~~~~;.j~~~-~~L~p.to-nllowwon.

The Lift of Muhammad

OYbir,letnotalltheunbelieYendeceiveyou,
For all of them are like a slowly moving minge).

76~

When the two met ai-Zubayr killed Ybir

HishAm b. 'Urwa told me that it wu .aid to al-Zubayr, 'By God, you
mU$thavehada sharp wordthatday,'towhichherepliedthatitwasnot
sharp,bmheuseditwithgreatforce.
Bunyda b. Sufyln b. Farwa al-Aslamt told me from his father SufyAn
from Salama b. 'Anu b. ai-A.kwa': The apostle sent AbU Bakr with his
banner(J6a)agairatoneoftheforuofKhaybar. Hefoughtbutretumed
having suffered loasel and not taken it. On the morrow he sent 'Umar and
the &arne thing happened. The apostle said, 'Tomorrow I will gi\e the flag
to a man who loves Anah and his apostle. Allah will conquer it by his
means; he is no runaway.' So he called 'Air who was suffering from ophth.almiaatthetimeand spatinhiseye,saying,'Ta.kethisflagandgowithit
until God gives victory through you.' So 'All went off with it, psping as
hehurried,whilewefollowedbehindinhistracbuntilhestucktheflag
inapileofrocbunderthefort. AJewlookedathimfromthetopofthe
fort and asked who he~-.. and when he told him he uid, 'You have won,
by what was revealed to Moses!'' or words to that effect. He did not return
unti!Godhadoonqueredbyhishands.
'Abdullahb.alf:fasantoldmefromoneofhisfamilyfromAbii RAfT,
freed slave of the apostle: We went with 'Ali when the apostle sent him
withhisflagandwhenhe gotnearthefortthegarrisoncameoutandhe
fought them. AJewtt11.1ckhimsothathisshieldfellfromhishand,so
'Alilaidholdofadoorbythefortanduseditasashield. Hekeptitinhis
handashefoughtuntiiGodga\evictory,throwingitawaywhc:nallwas
~:e~~l~o~ m)'Klf with &e\'en othen trying to tum that door over, but

Burayda b. Sufy:ln al-Aslami told me from one of B. Salima from Abii'lYau.r Ka'b b. 'Amr: We were with the apostle one evening at Khaybar
whenalongcamesomesheepbelongingtoajew,makingfortheirfort
while we werr be.ieging them. The apoatle asked who would get this food
forusandAbii l-Yuar\olunteeredtogo. Heuid,' lwentoutrunninglike
an !;1St rich, and when the apostle uw me coming back he said "0 God, may
welongenjoyhim.'' lhado,erta.kenthefloc:kasthel'ir$tshccpenteredthe
fort and I seiud the two last and carried them off under my arms, bringing
thembackatarunasthough I carriednothinguntillcastthemdown
before the apostle. They were duly killed and eaten.' Abii'I-Yasar was
thelastoftheapostle'scompanionatodie. Wheneverhetoldthisatoryhe
763 ~~:~eep, saying, 'They did enjoy me along time; indeed I am the last
When the apostle had conquered al-Qamlq the fon of B. Abii'l-f:fuqayq,
$afiyad.l;luyayyb.Akh!abwasbroughttohimalongwithanotherwoman.

THERESTOFTHEAFFAIROFKHAYBAR

l.tflli'~-

llifl
:(:f.'~r~~huri ,p.>J. IIequotes'Abdullahb.Ab0Bakr 01 J.I.'oouthonty

The Life of Muhammad

beenbcautifitdandcombed,andgotinafitstatefortheapostlebyUmm
Sulaym d. MilJ:l;In mother of Anu b. 1\tl.lik, the apostle passed the night
with her in a tent of his. Abu Ayyiib, Khalid b. Zayd brother of B. alNajj!irpassedthenightginwithhissword,guardingtheapostleandgoing
round the tent until in the morning the apostle saw him there and asked
him what he meant by hit action. He replied,' I was afraid for you with this
womanforyouhavekilledherfather,herhusband,andherpcople,andtill
recently abe wu in unbelief, 10 I wu afraid for you on her account.' They
allege that th~ apostle aaid '0 God, preserve AbU Ayyiib u he spent the
nightpreservmgme.'
Al-Zuhritold me from Sa'id b.al-Muuyyab: When the apostle left
Khaybarandwasonthewayhesaidtowardstheendofthenight:'\Vho
willwatcho\eruatillthedawnsothatwemayaleep?' Billllvolunteered
todoso,soalllaydownandslept. Billl.lgotupandprayedaslongasGod 76'1
willedthatheshould;thenheproppcdhimselfagainsthiacamel,andthere
wastheda"_'"ashewulook.ingatit,andhiseyeswereheavyandheslept.
The fi~t thmg to wake the othe~ was the feet of the sun. The apostle wu
the fi~t to wake up and he asked Bill! what he had done to them. He said
thattheumethinghsdhappenedtohimashadhappenedtotheapoatle,
andheadmittedthathewasright. Thentheapostlelethimsclfbetakena

~~;:c!i~~:~;:~:~~i~n:~ ~~~: ~= ~:;;:~~~n;~~l ~de~~ t:n!r~~:r~=~l~~;

apostleledtheminprayer. Havingfiniahedhewenttothemandsaid,"J(
you forget your prayen, pray them when you remember them, for God has
said, "Perform prayer for My remembrance."''
I ha\:e he~rd that t_he apostl~ gne Ibn Luqaym ai-'Ablli the heru and
~~~:.ll~cb=n~:~l:y:h;~~:were m Khaybar. The conquest took place in
Natiwasatormedbytheapostle'ssquadron
Fully armed, powerful, and strong.
Itwasccrtainofhumiliationwhenitwaa aplitup
With the men of Aslam and Ghif:lr in its mi&t.

r~~ys~:;~~:d!~C:e~~ ~~~~~ng::m~oming
Theytrailedtheircloaks'intheirplains
Andleftonlyhens cacklingamongthetrces.l

~::;"~~~ ~h~~r\:~~~f 'Abdu'I-Ashhal or

B. ai-Najjar

AndEmig~ntswhohaddispla)edtheirhadges

Abovethclrhelms,ne\erthinkingofftight.
lknewthatMuhammadwouldconquer
Andwould ataytheremany!;)afan.
1 Siln 20. 14.

: ~:,;:~ini "Theymadcthc .,.,.,brun' moy be rilhl

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

Tht UJt of Muhammad

said, "We will not kill him until we tend him to the Meccans and let them
klUhimamongthemsclvcsinrevengefortheirmenwhomhehaslr.i!led."
They got up and shouted in Mecca, "Here's news for you! You have only
towaitforthitfellowl\1uhammadtobesenttoyoutobekllledinyour
midst." I taid, "Help me to collect my money in Mw:a and to get in the
moneyowedtome,foriwanttogotoKhaybartogetholdofthefugitivcs
from Muhammad and hill companiOlU' before the merchanu get there"
(767). TheygotupandcoUectedmymoneyformequicker thanicould
have supposedpouiblc. lwenttomy>Aifeandaskedhetforthemoney
whichshehadbyher,teUingherthat IshouldprohablygotoKhayhar

~e~!~b~~ ~~=t~~~i~~~ ~~~ :::e~~~~ m;;c~:nc':m~o~~e:1:!n:;

my aide as I wu in one of the merchanu' tentl, asking about the new.

whichlhadbrought. I askedhimifhecouldlr.ecpasecretiflentrustedit
to him. Hesaidhccould,and Iaaid,"Thenwaituntillcanmectyou
T. 1587 privately, for I am collecting my money as you aee, so leave me (T. and he
leftme)untiiihavefinithed";andso,whenlhadcoUectedeverything I
had in Mecca and decided to leave, I met 'Abbils and said," Keep my story
secrctforthrcenightl,thenaaywhatyouwiUfor i amafraidofbeingpurucd." Whenhcaaidthathewould, Iaaid,"Ileftyourbrothcr'ason
m.arriedtothcdaughterofthcirking, meaning ~afiya, and Khaybarhas
bcenconquercdandallthatisinitrcmovedandbecomethepropenyof
Muhamm.adandhiscompaniona." Hesaid,"Whatareyousaying,l:fajjljl" I said, ''Yes, by Allah, but keep my aecret. I have become a Muslim
andhavccomeonlytogetmymoneyfearingthatlmaybedcprivedofit.
Whcnthrcenightlhavepauedpublishthenewsasyouwill." Whenthe
thirddaycame'Abbltputonarobeofhitandacentedhimselfandtoolr.
77 his11iclr., and went to the Ka'baandwent round it. When the people
aawhimtheyuid,"OAbil'l-FaQI,thisisindeedsteadfastnessinagreat
mi.Jfortunel" He antwered, "By no means, by Allah by whom you !SWear,
MuhammadhuconqucredKhaybarandwuleftmarriedtothedaughtet
oftheirlr.ing. Hehuteiled.allthattheypossc:ssandititnowhitpropeny
andthepropenyofhiaoompanions." They asked, "Who brought you
this newsl" He uid, "The man who brought yotJ your news. He came in
to you as a Muslim and hu taken hit money and gone off to join Muhammad and hit companions and to be with him.." They uid "0 men of Allah,

~~~~c:;:1~: 1A;!:U~:~::~~e~:~;~~:~~::~ WOil!d luve dealt with

1:1!:n: ~~~~~~~ about the day of Khaybar are the following from
HowbadlytheKhaybarlsfought
Topreservethcireropsanddatesl
1

Th~....,ni/..Jl, for which 1.1-1.

thin1: mon: oft~n it rn .. no o

quoleo lho varionl/4y', 'opoil', may possibly meon the

ddollod fon:e. Porhapo ""could n:ndor '10 (<'I oorne
od ..&n!Opfromthedd,.tofl\luhommadondhioromponiono'.
oam<

Tht Ltfe of Muhammad

Theydislikcdthethoughtofdcathandsotheirpreaervebccamea
apoi\
Andthcybehncdlikemiserablecowards.
Wouldtheyflecfromdeath?
Thedeathofthestarved is notaeemly.

J:lasdn al5oaaid,excusingAyman b. Umm Ayman b. 'Ubayd

w~o

ha_d

~~~~~::~;;,=i~~h~;;r~~eJ~~;~;~~ ::h~~;;Ju,:~:
At the time when Ayman's mother uid to him
Yau arc a coward and were not with the horsemen of Kluybar
Ayman wu no coward, but hill horse
Wusick.fromdrinklngfcnnentedbarley-water.
Haditnotbeenforthestateofhishorse
He would have fought with them as a horseman with his right hand.

~h:~~~~ira! ~~~p=~~: ~~:::: ;: ~~h:':e terious (768).

Nljiyab.Jundubal-Aslamiaaid
OservanuofAilah,whydoyoupri:te
Whatisnothingbutfoodanddrink
WhcnParadi~hasamazingjoy?

l amlbn Jundubtoonewhodoesnotknowme.
How many an advena~ when I charged turned ~ide.
Heperithedinthefcedmg-placeofVl.llturcsandjaclr.ab(7f19).

The Lift of Muhommad

The Life of Muhammad

The number of the companions among whom Khaybar was divided wu

t,8oowith aharcs for horse and foot; 1,400mcnand :zoo hones; every

forhistwoaons; Umm_J;Iabibd. Jal!Sh 30; MalkU' b. 'Abda3o;and tohia

borscgottwoaharcsandhisriderone;everyfoot~gotone&hare.There

A memorandum
of what Muhammad the apostle of Allah gave his wives from the wheat of

wqaehiefovere\eryallotmentforeverytoomen,t.e.t8blocksofaharcs
(no).
The chiefa were 'Ali; a\-Zubayr b. al-'Awwim; TaiJ:ta b. 'Ubaydullah;
'Umar; 'Abdu'l-RaJ:tmiin; 'AI}im b. 'Adiy; Unyd b.l;lu~ayr. Then the
ahareofal-l;Urithb.ai-Khazraj;thentheahareinNi'im;thentheshareof
B.BayAQa,B.'Ubayd,B.I;IarlmofB.Salima,and'Ubayd'oftheaharea'

(?'.;~e ~~~~~t~~i~:t:"f~lt:~a~:z~:;~ ~~~=~~t~~;~:/~~d

5

ai-Surayr
77S followed it; the second to B. Bayii~a; the third to Usayd; the fourth to
B. al-l;llrith; the fifth in N5'im to B. 'Auf b. al-Khazraj and Muzayna
and their partners. In it MaJ:tmUd b. Maslama was killed. So much for

"~: ~~;c;,,:: ~V~?I~h the Compassionate the Merciful.

~:~;::.~:~=~rid::~~~:~~:~~:~~?2::iee ~=:~~~~~!7

'A~!~ta~ ~~ti:at~~~~-~r:~T~~no~~~~;~~~~:lt~~~~~:;~~;~~:!;
at his death were three: He bequeathed to the Rah5wis land whtch produced a hundred loads in Khaybar, to the D~rlyls, the Sab5'is, and the

~:L~:~~~:~:~~::~n~~0~:S~~;~~~~~~\7~:7i;~~~~o~~d

~;~::; ;~~ ;;~l;1:n"":~o..~it;;~;;~~;~~~~: ~~a~:l: :~e~'i~: ~~-a~!d~

'Abdu'l-RaJ:tmin, Si'ida, al-Najjlr, 'Ali, TaiJ:ta, Ghifir and Aslam, 'Umar,

Salamab.'UbaydandB. I;Iarlm, l;llritha,'U bayd'ofthesharcs';thenthe
ahareofAuswhichwastheshareofal-LaflftowhichJuhaynaandthercst
of the Arabs who were at Khaybar was joined; opposite it was the apostle's
share whichhegotwith'i\,im'sahare.'
Then the apostle distributed al-Katiba which is Wadi Khl~ between
his kindred and wi\es and to other men and women. He gave hiS daughter
Fl!ima :zoo loads; 'AU too; Udma b. Zayd :zoo and 50 loads of dates;
'i\'isha:zoo;AbUBakrtoo;'Aqllb.AbUTIIib t4o;B. Ja'farso;Rabl'ab.
al-l;llrith too;al-$altb.l\1ak.hramaandhistwosons too,400fthemfor
al-$alt himself; AbU Nabiqa so; RuUna b. 'Abdu Yazid so; Qays b.
Malr.hrama 30; his brother AbU'l-Qbim 40; the daughten of 'Ubayda b.
al-l~irith and the daughter ofal-J:Iutayn b. al-l:U.rith too; B. 'Ubayd b.
'Abdu Yuid 6o; Ibn Aus b. Makhrama 30; l\listaJ:t b. l,;th:itha and Ibn

~~~&jdy~~-~:~:a~;:itJ;O~t~~ ~--l ~;~d t~~~~~~~~~ ~. a.l.~~:~~~

776 Munalib JO; Jumana d. AbU Tilib 30; I. al-Arqam so; 'Abdu'l-RaJ:tm~n
b. AbU llakr 40; l;lamna d. Jahsh 30; Ummu'l-Zubayr 40; Oubi'a d. a\Zubayr40; I. AbU Khunaysh 30; UmmTilib4o; AbU B~ra :z~; Numayla
al-Kalbl so; 'Abdullah b. Wahb and hit two daugh1ers 90ofwhtch 40 were

...~":;':::.;';';~1=-:;',.~hu:~:;n~;;,t'"ount con bo undontood thuo: tho o8,ooo oharn

() ~1~::-~'!!:';buton, U.. 'AJI,ol-Zuboyr,Toll)I,'U.,...r,'Abdu'l.JUI;) min,
(~) 10 tribol 'obot<'h<>ld~n', ,-u, oi.IJirith b
. ollo:hunj, 8. Boyi<la. 8. 'Uboyd, 8.
~:,:';';i!;.~~i.d.o, D. Gho~ir on~ .UI~no, D. oi-So)Jir, B. E;Uritho, B. Aul, ond

~ ~F=:~~~~~~;~~s;o~::;,~~~~::~~u7~.
N':"~;:t..,:;!;gofW. ioil!d'ifohouldbocorrect.dtoioil/"rfqwithMSS.ondT

(~ ~ :::: ::: :~:::: ::::~iJ::";!: ~~~~~ht up tM ohareo

Toto!

'ii

: ~~i~~;. ~.:..~~n:f:~j:j;!~~~.:~:~;;, and il one compot<'t the Anbic iot'htidh4

Tht Lift of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

killed at Mu'ta. After him Jabbir b. $akhr b. Umayya b. Khansl' brother

of B. Salima took over the work. All went well and the 1\-luslims found no
faultintheirbehaviouruntiltheyattackcd'Abdullahb.SahlbrothcrofB.
~Uritha and killed him in violation of their agreement with the &politiC,
andtheapostleandtheMuslimssuspectedthemonthataccount
AI-Zuhri and Buahayr b. Yasiir told me from Sahl b. Abii ~lathma:
'Abdullah b. Sahl was killed in Khaybar. He had gone there with friends
ofhistotakeawaythedatcsandwasfoundinapool withhisneckbroken,
havingbcenthrownthere. So they took him and buried him and then
778 cametotheapostleandtoldhimabouttheaffair. Hisbrother'Abdu'lRa]:lmiin came to him accompanied by his two c:oll3ins l:luwayyip and
Mu~ayyita the sonsofMas'iid. Now 'Abdu'I-Ra~man was the youngest of
themandtheavengerofbloodandaprominentmanamonghispcopleand
whenhespokebeforehistwocousinstheapolltleuid,'Theeldeatfint,the
eldestfintl'(774)andhebecameailent. Thetwot:ousinsthenspokeandhe
tpokeafterthem. Theytoldtheapostleofthekillingoftheirrelativeand
heuid,'Canyounamethekiller,thcnlwearfiftyoathsagainsthimthat
weahoulddeliverhimuptoyou?' Theyaaidthattheycouldnotawearto
whattheydidnotknow. Hesaid,'Iftheyswearfiftyoathsthattheydid
notkillhimanddonotknowtheslayer,willtheybefrcefromtheguiltof
hi1blood?' TheyanJwercd,'Wecannotac<:epttheoathsof Je\\"1. Their
infidclityisaogreatthattheywouldswearfalsely.' The apostle paid the
bloodwitofahundredahe-camelsfromhiaownproperty. Sahlaaid,''By
~~~~~ I shall not forget a young red camel who kicked me as I was leading

779

Muhammad b. lbrilhlm b. al-}:lilrith ai-Tayml told me from 'Abdu'l

Ra\:lmiln b. Bujayd b. QaHi brother of B.l:filritha. Muhammad b. Ibrl.him
said: 'By God, Sahl did not know more than he, but he was the elder. He
said to him,' By Allah, the affair was not thus but Sahl misunderstood. The
apostledidnotsay"Sweartosomethingyouhavenoknowledgeof,"but
he wrote to the Jews of Khayhar when the Ant~r apoke to him: "A dead
man has been found among your dwellings. Pay his bloodwit." The Jews
wrote back awearing by Allah that they had not killed him and did not
ltnowwbohad,sotheapostlepaidtheblood-money.'
'Amr b. Shu'ayb told me the nme story as 'Abdu'I-Ra}_l.miln except that
hesaid,'Paytheblood-moneyorbcprepared forwar'
I asked Ibn ShiMb al-Zuhri,Z 'How was it that the apostle ga\e the Jewa
of Khaybar their palms when he gave them on a tax basis? Did he assign
that to them until he was taken or did he give them them for some other
ne-cess:~ry reason?' He told methattheapostletook Khaybar by force
v<f-t . . . al-.u~whhl'l"qlAMM/1 I.JQ'onlh .. c

thinii"""'W<Irld

otlndo(q<loo): on

!':,'~~~.'~i.."f':.":~~"!lydoubt that'Abdu!Lr.hb.AbilBakrhuprnI"Vftl

~ ~!:~;;";":,rn;;;:::!,tc~t:l~B.~~:~~~~ ~-~":;! :~.~A~~'!;;,R.o~~:;;.~,.~,'l~~

forrn.

Thu~ionooi~nolioontdiff<>n.

~e;a~~~~~~:ed~~~!~~\:~a:rtano! ::t~b<;;~ f::;~~hti: :u~:!:

andafterthefightingthepopulationaurrcnde~onco_ndttiont?atthey

1houldmigrate. Theapostlecalledthemandsatdthattftheywtshcdhe
wouldletthemhavethepropertyonconditionthattheyworlteditandthe

~=ut~e~~;:~;!~~::~~2:~~t:=2ni2t~~n~~1~~~

b.Rawil}_laandhewoulddividetheproduceandmakeaJuStasseument.
When God took away His prophet, Abii Bakr continued the arrangement
untilhisdeatb,andsodid'Umarforthebeginningofhisamirate. Then
he heard that the apostle had nid in his last illness, 'Two reli~ion ~ shall n~t

~~~~~~~~~:~~i:~~t~;~~!.~~~~~~

'li~:~C:f:~:!;~~:~:hh~~ ~~;~e;;;"~~;r~:~;r:utll~-h b. 'Umar:

Withal-Zubayrandal-Miqdildb.ai-.A.twad l wentouttoourpropertyin
1

:e

~~~Ji~:.::l:a~::.c'l~\~;:i;~:~ :~g:t t:~;~ r:=-~~e~ o~e~; ~J

~~~~~~~~]

in addition totheirattackon theAn~lirl previously. There was no doubt

~~:~~;~~~. ~E~::!~:!!:~:~~:~~~~;~?i~~~i~~:~~

CJ:~~hu~~h b. Abii Bakr told me from Abdullah b. Maknaf brother of B.

n~~~E~:~-~;::~~r=; ~F!!:~:~;~h?~~~~~:~~0:
Yaztd b. Thilbit; and these two divided Khaybar among its owners accord-

in~~~e:~t~t~~~~~~~~o~::e,~~:' one each to 'Uthmiln, ' Abdu'l-

7So

,,,

The Lift of Muhammad

~:~~(~~~~ ~1u~~~il~:l=~~u7t~h ~- ~~~! . ~!;a;~~:a~ ~~~qt~

'Abdullah and 'Ubaydullah; one ahare each to the :r.on of Abdullah b.

Jah!.h, lbnu'l-Bukayr, Mu'tamir, Zayd b. Thll.bit, Ubayy b. Ka'b, Mu'Adh
b.'Afri',AbliTali,Jaandl:fasan,jabbllirb. $akhr,jil.birb. 'Abdullah b.
78

~~:~;2~~~~~-~::~::~dtE~1~~~~::~~~~:~~i,J:;o;~~i6i:
TAriq(776);halfashareeachtoJabrb.'Atikandthetwosonllofall:lilrith
b. Oar-; one share to Ibn~lazama. Such is our information about the
allocationofKhaybarandWlidi'l-Quri(777)TilE RETURN OF THOSE WIIO HAD MIGRATED TO

ABYSSINIA (778)

;~~t~1,~~rrJ~~I~~1I~~i:~:~2:
,. ~~;#.~~tl~;~f~~%1~~xt~~~~~~~l~I
Ab~~~l;t:;~:e~~:to 'Amr b. Sa'ld his father Sa'id b. at.'.~ b. Umayya
0 'Amr, I wish that I knew about you whether

~~~;J:~ea~~o:~~~~syaO:~~r:'.:~~el~;~:rstrong
&willdisclosetheragetheyrctainintheirbrcasts?
With reference to 'Arnr and Khll.lid, their brother Abin said when the
f~~~rr~~o~~T~~u.slims, and their father Sa'ld had died in al-?:urayba
Wooldthat .. deadmanin?:uraybacouldsee
What 'Amr and Khll.lid are falsely introducing into religion!

~~~~~1~~~~~~~~~~

The Lift of Muhammad

They obeyed the commands of women conceming u.s
And assisted the \'Cry enemies we were fighting.
Idonotinsultmybrother'shonourainceheismybrother
Thoughhedoctnotrefrainfromevilworda.
Whenaffairawentillwithhimhesaid,
'Would that a man dead in Zunyba would rise from the grave!'
Leavethedeadinpeace,forhehasgonehisway,
And deal with the man at hand who has more need of you.
And Mu'ayqlb b. AbU Fatima who became 'Umar' guardian of the
publicpurte;hebclongedtothefamilyofSa'Idb.al-'.\f;andAbUl\fUsJ
al-&h'ari'Abdullah b. Qays,anallyofthefamilyof'Utbab. Rabi'ab.

'A~r:ms~~d\.

'Abdu'J-'Ul!d.: AI-Aawad b. Naufal. r.

From B. 'Abdu'I-Dll.r: Jahm b. Oays with hit t-.o 10n1 'Amr and
Khuzayma. His wife Umm l;lannala d. 'Abdu'l-Aawad (he died in
Abyuinia)with her two children. I.
From B. Zuhra b. Killb: 'Amir b. AbU Waqqif and 'Utba b. Mas'Ud an
allyoftheinfromHudhayl. 2.
From B. Taym b. Murra: Al-t:li!.rith b. Khll.lid whose wife Rayta d. al- 783
l;Urithb.JubayladiedinAbyssinia 1 .
From B. Jumal;t b. 'Amr: 'Uthmlin b. Rabi'a b. Uhbll.n. 1.
From B. Sahm b. 'Amr: MaJ:!.miya b. al Ju', an ally of theirs from B.
Zubayd. Theapostleputhiminch.argeofthefifthtoftheMu.slims. 1.
From B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b: Ma'mar b. 'Abdullah. 1.
From B. 'Amir: AbU l;litib b. 'Amr; 1\Uiik b. Rabi'a with his wife
'Amrad.al-Sa'dtb.Waqdll.n. 2.
FromB.al-l;lll.rithb.Fihr:Al-l;lirithb.'AbduQays. 1.
tw~':::'~~ow~ of those who had died in Abyasinia were al.o brought in the
The total number of the men whom the Negus sent in the two boats
with 'Amr b. Umayya was 16.
OfthOilewhomigratedtoAbyssiniaanddidnotreturnuntilafterBadr
andtheNegusdidnotsendinthetwoboatttotheapostle;andthosewho
cameafterwardsandthosewhodiedinAbyssiniawere:
From B. Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams: 'Ubaydullah b. Jal;tah, an ally from
And of Khuuyma with his wife Umm l;labiba d. AbU Sufyll.n and his
daughterl;labibafromwhomAbU.Sufyll.n's daughtergotherkulfya, her
own name being ~amla. 'Ubaydullah had migrated with the Muslims,
but when he got to Ab)'Minia he turned Christian and died there as such
having abandoned lsllm. Theapor;tleafterwardsmarriedhiswife.
Muhammad b. J?'far b. al-Zubayr from 'Urwa told me about Ubay- 784
dullah'1turning Christian and said: When he passed by the apostle's
companions he used to say, 'Our eyes are opened but yours veiled,' i.e.

The Life of Muhammad

sz8

Wecanseeclearlybutyouareonlytryingtoaee:youcan'tyetseedearly,
the metaphor being taken from apuppywhotriestoopen iUe)esand
fl.uttersthcmbeforehccandoso,i.e.Wehneopcnedoureyesandwesee,
butyouha\'enotopenedyoureyatoaeethoughyouaretryingtodoso
And Qays b. 'Abdullah of B. Asad b. Khuzayma who was father of
Umayya d. Qay who was with Umm J~abiba, and hill wife Baraka d.
Ya..sir, the freed slave of AbU Sufy~n. They were the two foster-mothers
of 'Ubaydullah b. Ja~sh and Umm l:fabiba d. AbU Sufyln. They toolr.
them with them when he migrated to Abyssinia. 2 men.
From B. Asad b. 'Abdu'I-'Uzzl: Yazid b. Zama'a who was killed a
martyr with the apostle at f:lunayn; and 'Amr b. Umayya b. al-f:l:lrith who
diedinAbyssinia. zmen.
From B. 'Abdu'l-D>tr: Abii'l-RUm b. 'Umayr and Fir3s b. ai-NaQr. 2.
From B. Zuhra b. Kil>tb: Al-Munalib b. Azhar with his wife Ramla d
Abil'Aufb . .l,)ubayra who died in Abyssinia. She bare him there 'Abdullah
b. a1-Munalib. It was said that he was the first man in blam to inherit his
father'sproperty.J.
From B. Taym b. ~lurra: 'Amr b. 'Uthm:ln who was killed at Q.idisiya
withSa'db.AbiiWaqq~.

1.

From B. Makhziim b. Yaq~: Habb5r b. Sufyiin b. 'Abdu'l-Asad lr..illed

atAjn:ldaynin Abii Bakr'scaliphate;andhisbrother'Abdullahkilledin
785 the year of al-Yarmiik in 'Umar's caliphate. (There is doubt as to whether
hewa.slr.illedthereornot);andHish:lmb.Abiil:fudhayfa. 3
From B. Juma.Q b. 'Amr: HAtib b. al-l:IArith and his two sona Muhammad and al-l:I:Irith with his wife Fltima d. al-Mujallal. I:Utib died in
Abyssinia as a Muslim and his wife and his two sons came in one of the
boau; and his brother f:lattab with hil wife Fu.lr.ayha d. Yasir. He died
thereasaMuslimand hi! wife Fu.lr.ayhacameinoneoftheboau;and
Sufyil.n b. Ma'mar b. Habib and his two sora J un:lda and Jibir wit h their
mother l:lasana, and their half-brother by their mother Shura~bil b.
t~:r~ ~ufyin and hi.J two sons Jun:lda and J>tbir died in the caliphate of

From B. Sahm b. 'Amr: 'Abdullah b. al-f:lil.rith who died in Abyssinia;

and Qays b.l~udhJfa; and Abii Qays b. al-l:flrith who was killed at alYamlma in the caliphate of Abii Ba.lr.r; and 'Abdullah b. f:ludhJfa who was
theapostle'sen\'OY to Chosrocs; and al-f:IJrith b. al- f:l~rith b. Qays;and
Ma'marb.al-l;:lirith;andBishrb.al-l;llrithandasonofhismother from
B. Tamim called Sa'id b. 'Amr who was killed at Ajn~dayn in the caliphateof AbilDa.lr.r; and Sa'id b. al-l:firithwhowaskilled in the year of
al-YannUk in the caliphate of 'Umar; and alS~'ib b. al-~Urith who was
woundedatal-TI'ifwiththeaposdeandkilledinthebattleo fFi~l 'i nthe

caliphate of 'Umar--others say in the fight at Khaybar; and 'Umayr b.

Ri'Jb wbowask.illedat 'Ayna1-Tamr with Kh.ilid b. al-WaJrd when he
786 came from al-Yamima in the caliphate of AbU Bakr. 11 men.
1

!11.Syrii.Cf.Yiq.I5J

ThtUJtofll1uhammad

529

an~~~~i:~.A~~~ ::~b~~U~ ~h;~~~:l- 'Uzza who died in Abyssinia;

'Adiy had a son called al-Nu'mlin who returned with the i\luslims. In
thecaliphateof'Umarhewasputoverl\layslnin the district of Basra
Hecomposedsomeverses:
Hasn:ta.l-l,funl''heardthatherhusbandinMaysiin
lsdnn.lr.mgfromglassaandjars?
lf I wishc_d, th~ chief men of the city would sing to me
Anddancmgglrbpirouetteontiptoc.

g::.~~~v~~!r:~~d~;:~~~~:lfd~r:~:~!the largest cup,

Perhapstheoommanderofthefaithfulwilltakeitamiss
That we're drinking together in a tumbledown castle!

~::~?:~~:~:::::;~=.~;~~:;,~:,~,:::~~~:: ~:;~~::

:~Jt~~;~~::~~~}~i~~J~::t:;f!:ft~::::

From B. al-l:Urith b. Fihr: 'Uth~ b. 'Abdu Ghanm; and Sa'd b.

'AbduQays;and'Iyii.Qb.Zuhayr. 3
ThetotalnumbcrofthoacwhowerenotatBadranddidnotoometothe

~~ej~~!~~da~ndt~~:ow::uca:~;!t~r;:ds,

and those whom the 7s 7

The nama of those who died in Abyssinia and their children were
From B. 'Abdu Shams: 'Ubaydullah b. J a~sh who died a Christian
From B. AHad b. 'Abdu'l-'Uzzj: 'Amr b. Umayya b. al-l:Urith
From B.jumal,1: l~litibb.al-l,farithand hisbrother l:Janab
From B. Sahm b. 'Amr: 'Abdullah b. al~l~rith.

~7t~:; '!~li:~n~~~~:~::~~~~r~hu~~-~~~~i~n~.'~:~~~~~;i;~:~
D.Taymb.J\Iurra.

man.

~~~::~::;lh::~t:::d~~:t::::~:~~~:~~:~~~~;g:~h;~;~~ ~~~:g~:~;

along with them ;

~j~~J:~tg~:E~:~:~~:~~:!l~~~~~:~7i~~:::
1

0r'!hebcauty',

Th~ UJ~

Tk Life of Muhammad

th:;::m~~ ~:!~e~-t~!u:U~~~~a.1:i:~~~~~~t~~n~~b~~ :1~:ri~~~~:

1

in Abyssinia. They all, together with their brother MUsil b. al-Harith, died
on the journey from drinking fou l water. Only her daughter Fil!ima, born
thcre,survhedtoreturn.
From B. Sahm b. 'Amr: Ramla d. AbU 'Auf b. Ouhayra
From B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b: Layll d. AbU }:lathma b. Ghinim.
From B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy: Sauda d. Zama'a b. Qays; and Sabia d.
788 Suhayl b. 'Amr and his daughter ai-Mujallal; and 'Amra d. ai-Sa'di b.
Waqdiin; and Umm KulthUm d. Suhayl b. 'Amr.
FromdistantArabtribes:Asmii'd.'Umaysb.ai-Nu'miinai-Khath'amiya;
and H1ima d. $afwiin b. Umayya b. Mul,mrith ai-Kiniiniya; and Fukayha
d. Yas:>r; and Uaraka d. Yadr; and l:[asana Umm Shurahbil b. l:lasana
These arc the names of the children who were born to them in Abyssinia:
From B. IHshim: 'Abdullah b. Ja'far b. Abti T illib.

K~~:b~~~~~dS~~~~:t~1~~~mad b. AbU }:ludhayfa; and Sa'id b.

From U. Makhzlim: Zaynab d. AbU Salama b. ai-Aud.
FromB.Zuhra:'Abdullahb.al-!\lunalibb.Azhar.
From B. Taym : MUd. b. al-}:l!rith b. Khl lid and his sisters 'A'isha and
F:l!imaandZaynab. sboysandsgirls
TilE FULF ILL ED PI LGRIMAGE,' A.11.7

When the apo5tle returned from Khaybar to l\ledina he stayed there from
the first Rabi'unti\Shawwiil, sendingoutraidingpartiesand expeditions.
T hen in DhU'J-Qa'da-the month in which the polythcisu had pre\ented
him from pilgrimage-he went out to make the 'fulfilled pilgrimage' (780)
inplaceofthe'umrafromwhichtheyhadcxcludedhim.
789 Those Muslims who had been excluded with him went out in A.ll. 7, and
when the Meccans heard of it they got out of his way. Qura}'llh said among
themsel\'es, 'Muhammad and his companions are in destitution, want,
andpri\-ation.'
A man I hll\e no reuon to suspect told me that Ibn 'Abbis said: 'They
gathcrr:datthedooroftheassen"'blyhousetolookathimandhiscompanions,andwhentheapo6tlecntrTcdthemosquehethrewtheendofhis
cloakoverhisleftahoulderlcavinghisrightupperarmfree. Then he said:
"God have mercy on a man who shows them today that he is strong.''
Then hckissed'the stone, andwent out trotting 3 asdid his companions
until when the temple concealed him from them and he had kissed' the
tou them comer he walked to kiM' the black stone. Then he trotted 3 simim~~~~':': =~~ ~~:, po:rformod atony bmc dllntll
'U~ma.no..,omb,...,c

the ya.r, flO! the

/ulii

which

..ithouutrolehtdonno;tootroftoriththehand;ndtokiu

~~;;Y,".:=- ~:':;~~.~6.7~=~,.,..~~~u:-=~-F'

of Muhammad

f~~~r;~E2~:.~;:~~~~l~~~~~~:~~~g:;i

andthemnnacarriediton.'
"Abdullah b. AbU Bakr told me that when the apo~~tle entered Mecca on
thatpilgrimage'Abdullahb. Rawiil_lawasholdingthe halterofhiscarnd
and saying:
Getoutofhit way,youunbclieven,makeWlily.
Ever:ygoodthinggocswithHiaapottl.:.
OLordlbclieveinhisword,
Iknow God's' truthinacceptingi(.
We willfightyouaboutiu int.erpreta tio~ 3

AAwehavefoughtyouaboutiUrc\'ebuon
With strokes that will remove heads from shoulders
Andmakefriendunmindfuloffriend (78 1).

ltliiiapostleconsummated his marriagewithherthere,and thcnwenton to

MedinainDhU'I-l:lijja(783)
THE RAID ON MU'TA IN' A.H.8

~:e~~~~~g~h~:~!~:~~et~~;u~fh~~u~:~~~~~~~~~e:~~ ra~;~hae~~st~~~:~

The L1je of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

saiJ~:~e~~=~r:~~~e7ua;:;:.d ~.~~~~~:~ a~t:le accompanying them until he

MaypeaceremainonthebestC<Impanionandfriend,
Themanlsaidgood-byetoamidthepalms.

lwept onhearingthesewordsandheflickedmcwithhiswhipandsaid,
1 S>lra19.7
'Thedubiouooyntuandfouhyrhymeinth..etincoisriglulycorrectedby i .H

'T..-omountoin ofTyyi'.
Headduo~o hio comcl

Tile Life of Muhammad

794 'Why worry, wretched fellow, if God grants me martyrdom and you return
firmlyinthesaddle?' Theninoneofhisrajazpoemshesaid
OZayd,Zaydoftheswiftleancamcls,
J..ongisthenightyouhavebcenlcd,sodismount.

meaning his two companions Zayd and Ja'far. Then he dismounted and a
1 Th~~ioaplayonthewordohro

Tile Life of Muhammad

536

The 14e of Muhammad

797 'A'isha here commented, 'Meddling often injures the meddler.' The
apostlesaid,'Goandtellthemtobequiet,andiftheyrefusethrowdust
in their mouths.' '.<\.'ishaadded: ' I said to myself, God eurseyou, for
youhaveneithersparedyourselftheindignilyofasnubnorareyouable
:c::~h:~at the apostle said. I knew he could not throw dust in their
Ou1ba b. Oattda ai-'Udhrl who was over the right wing had auaeked
M:llik b. Z:lfila (T. leader of the mixed Anlbs) and killed him, and said
!pierced lbnZ:lfilab.al-l rtshwithaspear
Whichwentthroughhimandthenbroke.
Igavehianecl:a blow

~et~;; ~; ~;~:~or~!~o:~lll(WJll.
OnthedayofRaqUqaynassheep(7&)).
Ak4hinaoff;fadaswhoheardabouttheadvanceoftheapostle'aarmy
hadsaidtoherpeoplewhowereaclancalledB.Ghanm:
Jwarnyouofaproudpeople
Whoarehoetileintheirgaze.
They leadtheirhorsesinsinglefile
Andshedturgidblood.
They took heed to her words and acparated themselves from Lakhm.
Afterwards f;fadas remained a large and prosperous tribe. Those who
took pan in the war that day, the B. Tha'laba a clan of l:fadas, remained
~:1nificant. When KMiid went off with the men he took the homeward
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. ai-Zubayr told me from 'Urwa b. ai-Zubayr
798 that when they got near Medina the apostle and the Muslims met them
andtheboy.camerunningwhiletheapostlecamewiththepeopleonhis
beast. Hesaid,'Taketheboysandcarrythemandgiveme j a'far'ason.'
They gave him 'Abdullah and he toolr. him and carried him in front of him
The men began to throw din at the army, saying, 'You runaways, you fled
in the way of God!' The apostle said, 'They are not runaway. but comeagairaifGodwill.'
'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr told me from 'Amir b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr
from one of the family of al-l:llrith b. Hishlim who were his maternal
uncles, from Umm Salama the prophet's wife who said to the wife of
Salama b. Hish:lm b. al-'A., b. al-Mughira, 'Why is it that I do not see
Salama at prayerawith the apostle with the rest of the l\luslimsl' She
replied,'ByGod,hecan'tgoout. Wheneverhegoesoutthemencallout
"Runaway! You ran away when in the path of God!" until he has taken
tosittinginhishouseandnotgoingoutatall.'
Qays b. al-Muu]:l]:lar al-Ya'murl composed the following verses in
whichhemadeexcuseaforwhat heandthcothermendidthatdayand

The Lrfe of Muhammad

~~~~~ how Kh:ilid took precautions for their safety and got away with

ByGod,Ineverceasetoblamemyselfforstopping
Whentheho~wereleapingforward'wilhboltingeyea.

l stoppedthereneitheraskinghelpnoractingdet.-isively
Norprotcctingthoseforwhomdeathwasdeereed.
Howe\er, ldidbutimitate Khilid
AndKhlilidhasnoequalinthearmy.
MyheartwasmovcdforJa'farinMu'ta
Whenanarrowwasnogoodtoanarcher.
And helinlr.eduptheirtwowingstous
Muh:ljinnotpolytheislllnorunarmed.
Thus Qays made dear in his verses the facts which people dispute, namely
thatthearmykepttheirdistanceandwereafraidofdeath,andestablished
thefactthatKhllidandhismena,oidedbattle(790)
Among the lamentations over the apostle's companions who died at 799
l\fu'taarethelinesof f;fassinb.Thabit:
A miserable night I had in Yathrib,
Anxietythatrobbedmeofsleepwhcnothensleptsoundly
Atthethoughtofafriendmytearsnnfast.
(Mcmoryisoftthecauseofweeping.
Nay,thelossofafriendisacalamity,
Andhowmanyanoblesoulisaffiictedandendureapatiently.)
l sawthebestofthebelievenfollowoneanothertodeath,
Thoughsomeheldbackbehindthem.'
May God receive the slain at Mu'ta who went one after another
Among them Ja'far now borne on wings,

~Vnhde:~~~ =~~ ~~d~~~~~ ::na~~e too followed

Onthedaytheywentonwiththebelieven,
Thefortunateradiantone leading themtodeath.
Brightuthefullmoon-ofHishim'ssoM,
Haughtyagainstwrong,daringlybold,
Hefoughttillhefellunpillowed
Onthebattlefield,abrokenshaftinhisbody.
He has his reward with the martyrs,
Gardensandgreenspreadingtrees.
We pw in Ja'far a man loyal to Muhammad,
Onewhogavedeeisiveorden
1\laythereevcrbeinhlamofHishim's line
Pillanofstrengthandanendlesssoureeofpride;

"'

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

lnlslamtheyareamountainandthepeopleroundthem
Arerocktpileduptoamount majestic and lofty.
Splendidleadert:ofthemJa'farandhisbrother'Ali
AndofthemAI)madthechoscnone.
And l.lamza and ai.'Abbh and 'Aqil
And the aap of the wood from which he was squeezed.'
B)'themrcliefoom~ine\eryharddustyfight

Whene\trmenareinatightcomer.
They a~ the friends of God Who sent down His wisdom to them
Andamongthemisthepurified bringer of the Book.'
Ka'bb.l\llllikJaid
Whiletheey~:Sofothcnsleptmyeyeshtdtean

Likethedrippingofafaultywater-slr.in.
l nthenightwhenaorrowscame uponme
When I wu not tobbing 1 I turned restlessly on my couch.
Grief came repeatedly and I passed the night
As though I had to shepherd Una and Pisces.
'Twas u though between my ribs and bowels
Aburningpiercingpainaffiictedme,
Sorrowingforthosewhooncafteranothcr
WcreleftlyingthatdayinMu'ta
Godblessthem,theheroes,
Andmayplcnteouarainsrcfreshtheirbonesl
T hcyforcedthtmselvesforGod'ssakc
Toignorethcfcarofdeathandcowardlyfailure
Theywcntinfrontofthei\l uslims
Like stallion foa ls, dadinlongmail
WhentheywereledbyJa'farandhi.!flag
l nfrontofthcirlcader,andwhatafinclcader
Untiltherankswtrtbreachedand Ja'far
Wheretherankswcrctrappedlayprostratc.
Thtmoonlostit.sradianceathisd<'ath,
Theunedipsedandwdlnighdark.
Achiefofhigh lincagefrom Hashim,
lnloftyt'mincnceandauthorityimmovablc,

~i~~: ~.~~~~~d~~~ ~~:~;:,~:~~~i~~~nts,

Theyexccllt"dothertribesingloryandhonour
And tht"irt"nlightcned mind~ co1cred up the ignoranCt' of others.
Thcywouldnot embarkonal'iciousenterpri$C,
Youcouldseetheir spcakcr decidingjustly.
'lnpopul~<lonRUOfl=hopoftt..,oldbk><k
' All th" "'"do hke Ahd~ propoj(Ondo

> 0<, nodonl{ g~oMM~ ')urnon~ or 'mo.aninK'

' i.e. he \0'11Ched the ltlrl in th<ir pUOIIO" ocrou thr oky "'hil oth~ro s!rpt. A clich~

Theirfaceswelcomed,theirhandsgavcfrccly
Whendaysoffaminewouldexcuseparsi~ony

~:: ~~:~~r~wif~~~hne;rt~~i~;:,:~! ~~r~pc~::t!~~ victorious

l;fassanb. Thibit mourningJa'far

~v:!'~:;:;.~~::~~~t~{-~E~:

P:;:::::::,:n:id,
Who is for fighting by the flag Hawk and iu shadow
Withswordsdrawnfromscabbards

~~!iJ:.r~~ ::~i::'~i~~:!t::~: ~n~~~;in?

Thebestof3llcreaturr:s,mostheavylshiSIOSS,
Nob lestofa!linorigin,andmostpowerful
\Vhenwronged,mostsubmissil'etoright
Whenitwuindubitablytrut,
Mostopen-handed,lea_stinun~mliness;

Mostla\ishingcoerosLtyaodkmdness,
Always excepting Muhammad,
Whomoolivingbeingcanequal.
MourningZaydb.l:li'irithaand'Abdul\ahb.Rawi'il.t3heuid

~nJ~~::C!~:~:~;/~a::~~:: ~~o~~~ ~~~,:::.ru

RemembcrMu'taandwhat happenedthere
Whentheywenttotheirdefeat,

~;~%'~:~s~:~~~er::::~~~~ir~:~prisoned (m the grave),'

ntelordormenwhoselol'efillstheirbreasu.
Ahmadwhohasnoequa!,
M.ysorrowandmyjoyareforhim.
0

~;~d:o~~~ :f :i~; dettil'ed

~:~~:05:~~:~:h~~:;~~~;:~~~e~~~;rajite,

Andpassthenightinjoylessgrief
A Muslim poet who returned from Mu't3 said

~~~u~~Y~a:~ r~~:~~~r~~~~: i~a;~er~~u5:n:/ ~~!~~~~~[u

: ?:. ~~u~~!~ ~~u::. .~:b~h poor

and the captore',

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

They met their end when they went their way

~~~~ :i~ :~eer:::i;~;rn~::~~~o1 ~~~=rows.

Todcath'sloathedpool ofblood.

Thcnamesofthosewhodiedamartyr's deathatl\fu'ta:
OfQuraysh:oftheclanofB. Hiishim,ja"farandZayd.
OfD.'Adiyb.Ka'b:Mas'Udb.al-Asv.'lldb.l;larithab.Na<;lla.
OfB.Malikb.tlisi:Wahbb.Sa'db.AbUSarl_l.
OftheAnp.r:oftheclanofB.al-l;lirithb.al-Kha:traj, 'Abdullah b.
Rawal_laand 'Abbad b.Qays.
Of B. Ghanam b. Malik b. ai-Najjiir, al-l;Urith b. Nu'min b. Usiif b.
Na~la b. 'Abd b. 'Auf h. Ghanam
Of B. Miiltin b. al-Najjir, Suriqa b. 'Amr b. 'A]iya b. KhanU' (791).

Watirtheirwell,killingoneoftheirmen. llothpartiesfellbackandcon-

~~!~:~t~!~~::::!!. ~~~~:~-~:~~r:;:~~~~~~t~~~~E::.~~

Naufal, we arc in the sacred area. Remember your God, remember your
God!' He replied in blasphemous words that he had no god that day.
'Takeyourrcvenge,yesonsofBakr. Bymylife,ifyouusedtostcalinthe
ncred area, won't you take vengeance in it?' Now on the night they
attacked them in al Watlr they killed a man called Munabbih who had

~o::~u~=~~ ::; ~fe h:: 1~i~:i: :u::c:~:o~ ~~ ~::~b:hd~:~

~::~~r ~~e!~i~~t ~; ~o~n~o~b~s :~~~v~~~~~e;0 ~u~ 11 !':

:Je

WhenKhuzl'aenteredMcccatheytoolr.refugeinthehouseofDudaylb.
1

THE CAUSES THAT LI!D TO THE OCCUPATION OF

MECCA, A.H.8

AfterhehadaenthisforcetoMu'tatheapostlellayedinr-.ledinaduring
thelatterjumJdlandRajab. ThentheB.Bakrb.'AbduManltb.Kinlna
attacked Khuzl'a while they were at a well of thcin in the lower region of
Mecca called al-Watir. The cause of the quarrel was that a man of B.
al-l;laQraml called Malik b. 'AbWd- the l;la~raml being at that time allies
ofal-Aswadb. Run- hadgoneouton atradingjoumey;andwhen he
reachedthemiddlcoftheKhud'acountrytheyattackedandkilledhim
andtookhispossessions. SoB.BakrattackedamanofKhud'aandkilled
him; and just before Islam Khuzl'a attacked the aons of ai-Aswad b. Razn
al-0111 who were the most prominent chiefs of B. Kinlna-Salm.a, Kul~~~~c~~ ~::,ayb-and killed them in 'Arafa at the boundary stones of
SoJ

One of the B. al-Dil told me that B. al-Aswad during the pagan era were
paid doublebloodwit becauscoftheirposition amongthem, whilethey
onlygotasinglebloodwit
While B. Bakr and Khuzl'a were thus at enmity Islam intenened and
occupied men's minds. When thepeaceofl;ludaybiyawas concluded
between the apostle and Qur:aysh one of the conditions-according to what
ai-Zuhri told me from 'Orna b. ai-Zubayr from ai-Miswar b. r-.takhrama
and Marwiin b. al-l;labm and other traditionists-was that anyone who
wantedtoenterintoatreatyrelationshipwitheitherpartycoulddoso;the
B.BakrjoinedQurayshandKhuzJ'ajoinedtheapostle. Whenthe annistice was established B. al-Dil of B. Bakr took advantarc of it against
Khuzfa in their desire to revenge themselves on them for the sons of
Aswad whom they had killed. So Naufal b. Mu'iwiya ai-Dill, who '>!'as
thcirleaderatthctime,wentoutwiththell.al-Dil,thoughalltheB.Bakr
did not follow him, and attacked Khuzii'a by night while they were at al-

W~;!i::tn ~=:u~: ~~;;l~o: ~~n~~~h=Y~~~! ~:~~abbih said:

When lsawthe ll.Nufithahadadvanced
Coveringeeryplainandhi\1,
Rockandupland,noonedseinsight,
Lcadingtheirawiftwide-n011trilledhorses
Andirememberedtheoldbloodfeudbetweenus,
Alcgacy ofyearsgoneby;
And I smelt the odour of death coming from them
Andfearcdthestrokeofa sharpaword
Andknewth.attheywouldleavehimtheysmote
Meatfor motherlionsandcarrionforcrows,
lsetmyfeetfirmlynotfearing stumbting
Andthrewmygarmentsonthebareground.
Iran- nowildassstrong,lean-ftanked,ranulran.
Shemay blameme,buthadshebeenthere
Hcrdisapprovalwouldhavebeenurinewettingher
Men well know that I did not leave Munabbih willingly.
Aslr.mycompanions(ifyoudonotbelieveme)(792).
K~~~h :~:b. Lu't al-Dili describing the fight between Kinina and

HavenotthemostdistantAI_liblsh' heard
That we repulsed B. Ka'binimpotent disgr:accP
Wemadethemkeeptothe dwellingoftheslneRilfi'
And theywereconfinedhelplesswith Buday!
I nthehouaeofalowpersonwhoacceptshumiliation
After we had slaked our vengeance on them with the sword
Weheldthemthereforman yaday
1 Pouiblylht.Ab,...inians~mranL

"with.,..,woono.ppedofi"Mu tho r... thtnd~nd

The LtJt of Jluhammad

The L1je of Muhammad

~~~ ~i ~:~?~~i!et! o~r

0

aid.
Among them the apostle of God prepared for war.'
Whenheiswrongedhisfacebecomeablackwithanger
Withagreatarmyfoaminglike the sea
VerilyQuraysh have brokentheirpromisetoyou,
They have violated their pledged word,
And they set men towatch outformein Kada.
Theyclaimthat l cangetnoonetohelpus
Andthey butamiserable few.
Theyattacked usatnightin aJ. Watir
Andkilledusu weperformed the ritualprayen (794).
The apostle said, ' May yo u be helped 0 'Amr b. Salim!'l Then as a
~~~~,appeared in the sky he said, ' This cloud will provide help for the lJ

0 Lord, I come to remind Muhammad

Oftheoldallianccbctwecnourfathcl"3
You are sons for whom we provided the mother,
'

F~th~ ~~:e~.::c;;~:~ =:~~h~::~~a:~, :~:.:.h,:~g::w:u~r:~:d:~ occurud

b.forotheyrucM<.tthc~ta.,itioh.udtooecwhatthe<omhotonu"erodrnnQ. luf<tth~r

~~ n:...~,~ot>tingcntthlltleo.do thcpun.uitofollceing crwmyitiotobcpr<fctn<lhc...,to

~~=.~EZE~:;.K::~:;~~ ~ hemi::.:~n~:;::~ ::::~<+>

~~~:!~~~~~!~~~:~~a;;.~:E;.i7a:~ ~~~.~~:; :~":~':~~~~~~~:!~

Then Buday\ b. Warq~' came with a number of Khuz:l'a to the apost le

in Medina and told him of their misfonune and hoY. Quraysh had helped
B. Bakr against them. Having done so they returned to Mecca. The
apostle said, 'I think you will see AbU Sufy3n coming to strengthen the
agreement and to ask for more time.' When Buday[ and his companions
had got as far as 'Uafan they met AbU S ufy~n who had been sent by
Ourayshtostrengthenthe agreement wi ththeapostleand to askforan
extension,fortheyy,ereafraid oftheconsequencesofwhattheyhaddone.
AbUSufyiinaskedBudaylwhencehehadcomebccausehesuspcctedhim 8o7
ofhaingvisitedtheapostle. He repliedthathehadcomealongtheshore
and tlw bouomofthis \"alley with the Khuz:l'a, and denied that he had
been to Muhammad. When Buday] had gone off to Mecca Ab U Sufyiin
taid,' lfBudayl cametol\ledinahewillhavegivenhiscamelsdates toeat
there,'so hewenttowherc the camels hadkneltandsplitupthei rdung
and looked at the stones. ' By God, I swear Dudayl has come from Muham
mad,' he said.
Havi ng arrived at Medina he went in to his daughter Umm l:labiOO, and
u hewenttositontheapostle'scarpetshefoldeditupsothatheoould not
sit on it. ' Mydea.rdaughter,'hesaid,' lhardlyknow ifyouthinkthat the
carpetistoogoodformeorthat l amtoogood forthecarpetl' She replied:
'Itisthcapostle'scarpetandyouareanuncleanpolytheist. l donotwant
youtositonthcapostle'sea.rpet.' 'ByGod,'hesaid,'sinceyouleftmeyou
have gonetothebad.' Then hewenttothe apostlc, whowouldnot speak
tohim;hethenwenttoAbU Bakrand askedhi mtospeaktotheapostle
for him; he refused to do so. Then he went to 'Umar who said, 'Should I
in.ter~edeforyou with the apostle! If\ had only an anti would fight )"OU
Wtth u.' Then he went in to see 'Ali with whom was Fi!ima the ap01nle's

*~i~~:~::~~~~~~~:on ~hci1h~aboo

MKCL

The L1]e of Mullommad

daughter who had with her 'Ali's little 50n ~lasan crawling in front of her.
Heappealedto'Alionthegroundoftheircloserdationshiptointercede
withtheapottleaothathewouldnothavetoreturndisappoimed;buthe
answered that iftheapostlehaddeterminedonathing itv.asuaeleufor
anyonetotalktohimaboutit;soheturnedtoFlitimaandsaid,'Odaughter
of Muhammad, will you let your litde son here act as a protector between
mensothathemaybecomelordoftheArabsforeverf' Sherepliedthat
herlittl.eboywunotoldenoughtoundertakesuchataskandinanyca.se
8o8 nonecouldgiveprotectionag2instGod'tapottle. Hethenaskedfor'Ali'a
adviceinthedesperateaituation. Hesaid,'ldonotseeanythingthatcan
reallyhelpyou,butyouarethechiefofB.Kiniina,wgetupandgrant
protection betweenmenandthengobackhome.' When he asked if he
thought that that woulddoanygoodhc replied that he did not, but that
hecouldseenothingelse. ThereuponAbiiSufyiingotupinthemosque
and said, '0 men, I grant protection between me n.' He then mounted his
camel and rode off to Quraysh who asked for his news. He uid that
l\1uhammad would not speak to him, that he got no good from Abii
Qu~afa's 110n, and that he found 'Umar an implacable enemy(795). He had
found 'Ali the most helpful and he had done what he recommended, though
he did not know whether it would do any good. He told them what he had
done and when they asked whether Muhammad had endorsed hia words,
he had to admit that he had not. They complained that 'Ali had made a
foolofhimandthathispronouncemcntwaavalueless,andheaaidthathe
couldfindnothingelsetodoorsay.
TheapostleorderedpreparationstobemadeforaforayandAbU Bakr
came in to see his daughter'A'ishaasshe was movingwmeofthe apostle's
equipmen~. He asked iftheapostlehadordered hertogetthinpready,
andsh.esatdthathe.had,andthatherfatherhadbettergetreadyalao.She

:~~~~7n:~;~~e~:~~~~\~~:e ::r;o~~; ::;::;:e:dg~~~~~e~~:,:r~~~

make careful preparations. He said, '0 God, take eyes and ears' from
Ouraysh so that we may take them by aurpri&e in their land,' and the men
gottheiDSClvesready.

m!~h~z;.~,~~:d;nciting the men and mentioning the killing of the

The life ofllfulunnmad

Thatoldcamelwhogroansfromhilarse.
This is the time for war-itt; ginhs are tightened.'
Don't feel ufe from us, 110n of Umm Mujilid,
Whenitapuremilkisextractedanditateetharecroolted.
Don'tbedisappointed,forourawords
Willopenthedoortodeath(796).
Muhammadb.Ja'farb.al-Zubayrfrom'Urwab.al-Zubayrandanother
ofourtraditionistaaaidthatwhentheapottJedccidedtogotoMecca
I:Utib b. Abii Balta'a "Tote a letter to Quraysh telling them that the apoatle
intended to come at them. He gave it to a woman whom Muhammad b.
Ja'far alleged was from Mu:zayna while my other infonnant aaid she was
Sira, a freed woman of one of the B. 'Abdu' l -Mu~talib. He paid her aome
moneytocarryittoOuraysh. Sheputtheletteronher.headandthen
plaitedherlocksoveritandwent off. Theapoatlereceived news from
heaven of l;l:itib'a action and sent 'AIT and al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwim with
instructions to go after her. They ovenook her in al-Khulayqa of B. AbU
A~mad. They made her dismount and searched her baggage but found
nothing. 'Alisworethattheapostlecouldnotbemisukennorcouldthey,
andthatifshedidnotproduce thelettertheywouldstripher. Whenahe
uw that he was in earnest she told him to turn aside, and then she let down
herlocksanddrewouttheletterandgaveittohimandhetooltittothe
apost le. The apostle summoned J:liitib and asked him what induced him
toactthus. HerepliedthathebelievedinGodand Hisapostleandhad
never ceased to do 10, but that he was not a man ofsunding among
Qurayshandhehadaaonandafamilythereandthathehadtodeal
prudently with them for their sakes. 'Umar wanted to cut off hia head as
a hypocrite but the apoetle said, 'How do you know, 'Umar; perhapt God
looked favourably on those who were at Badr and uid, "Do as you please,
for I ha1e forgiven you."' Then God sent down concerning J:IIJib : '0 you
who believe, choose not My enemies and yours aa friends so aa to show them
kindnCSII' as far as the words 'You have a good example in Abraham and
thosewithhimwhentheysaidtotheirpeople: Wearequitofyouand
what you worship beside God; we renounce you and between ua and you
enmityandhatredwille1erendureuntilyou believe in God alone.'~
Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihlbal-Zuhri from 'Ubaydull.ah b. 'Abdullah b. 'Utba b. Mas'iid from 'Abdullah b. 'Abbbtold me: Then the apostle
went on his journey and put over Medina Abii Ruhm Kulthiim b.):lu~ayn
b. 'Utba b. Khalaf al-Ghifiri. He went out on the 1oth of RamaQ;ln and
he and the army fasted until when he reached al-Kudayd between 'Uafl.n
and Amaj he broke his fast. He went on unti l he came to 1\farr al-?:ahriin
with 10,000 Muslinu; Sulaym numbered 700 and some say 1,000; and
Mu:zayna l,ooo;andinel'erytribetherewasaconsiderablenumberand
Islam. The Muhljirs and Helpers went uone man; not one stayed behind.

810

The Life of Muhammad

whitemuleandwcntoutonituntil l~ametothe araktrees,thin kingthat
I might find aome woodcune"'or m1lkersoraomeone who could go to
Mecca and tell them where the apostle was !10 that they could come out
and askforufetylx:foreheenteredthetown by assault. As I was going
along with this intent suddenly I h~ard the sound of AbU Sufy~n ('f. and
!:Jakim b. J:Iazlm) and Buday! talkmg together. AbU Sufyan was saying.
' I haveneveraeensuchfiresandsuchacamplx:fore.' Budaylwassaying,
'These, by God, are (the fires of) Khuz3'a which war has kindled.' AbU
Sufy~n was saying, 'Khuzli'a are too poor and few to have fires and camps
likethese.' l recognizedhisvoiceandcalledtohimandherecogni.zedmy
voice. ltoldhimthattheapostlewasherewithhisarmyand expressed 813
concern for him and for Quraysh: 'H he takes you he willlx:head you, 10
ridconthebackofthismulcso thatl cantakeyoutohimandaskforyou
his protection.' Soherodelx:hindmeandhistwocompanionsretumed.
Whenever we passed a Muslim fire we were challenged, and when they
saw the apostle's mule with me riding it they said it was the prophet's uncle
ridinghismuleuntillpassedby' Umar'sfire. 1-lechallengcdme andgot
upandcame tome,and when hesawAbU!:iufy~nonthe backofthelx:ast
he cried: 'AbU Sufyan, the enemy of God! Thanks lx: to God who has
deli\ered you up without ag reement or word.' Then he ran towards the
0

:::tl~e:: ,~-i~a:~t~~ :u~~!.al:~~_an: ~7:m:~~~e~ ~~yll:~~~ ~~t:~cteh:

apostle and 'Umar came in saying the same words and add ing, 'L:t me
takeoffhis head.' l toldtheapostlethat l hadpromisedhimmyprotection;thenl satbyhimandtookhold ofhis headandsaid,'ByGod,none
shalltalk confidentiallytohimthisnightwithoutmybeingpresent';and
when 'Umar continued to remonstrate I said, 'Gently, 'Umar! If he had
beenoneoftheB.'Adiyb. Ka'byouwouldnothavesaidthis;but you
know t hat he is one of the D. 'Abdu Manlf.' He replied, 'Gently, ' Abbis!
for byGodyour hlamthedayyouaccepteditwas dearcrto methanthe
hlam of al-Khattab would ha\'e been had he become a Muslim. One thing
I aurdy know is that your Islam was dearer to the apostle than my father's
would have been.' The apottle told me to take him away to my quartera
and bring him back in the morning. He stayed the night with me and I took
him in to see the apostle early in the morning and when he saw him he
uid, 'Isn't it time that you should recognize that there is no God but
Allah ?' He answered, 'You are dearer to me than father and mother. How
greatisyourclemcncy,honour,andkindness!DyGod, lt hought thathad
thert been another God with God he would have continued tO help me.'
Hesaid:'Woetoyou,Ab USufyan,isn'tittimethatyourecogni.zethat I 81i
am God's apostle?' He answered, 'As to that I still ha\'e aome doubt.'
l said toh im,'Submitand testifythat thereisnoGodbutAllahandthat
MuhammadistheapostleofGodbeforeyou loseyour head,'aohedid ao.
l pointedouttotheapostlethatAbUSufyanwasamanwholikedtohave
somecauseforprideandaskedhimtodo110methingforhim. 1-lesaid,'l le

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

who enter. AbU Sufy~n'a houae is safe, aod he who locks his door is safe, and
hewhoentersthemosqueisaafe.' Whenhewentolftogobatktheapostle
told me to detain him in the narrow pan of the wadi where the mountain
projected'aothatGod'aarmieswouldpaubyandhewouldaeethem;so
I wentanddetainedhimwheretheprophethadordered.
Theaquadronapassedhimwiththeiratandards,andheaak.edwhothey
were. When I said Sulaym he would say, 'What have I to do wnh Sulaymi"
andsowithMuzaynauntilallhadpassed,he ukingt hesamequestionand
making the same responK to th~ rep!~. Finally the a~tle passed with his

~;:n;~:~:~=~:e~~~~;:~a~~ :~~~r\;~:~ ~~:J:d:~~~e:v';

1

81s

;f
'Abbb, who an: these:?' and when I told h1m he s;ud that none could \\-1th
stand them. 'ByGod,OAbUFac,l.l,theauthorityofyourbrother'ssonhaa
bec'omegreat.' Itoldhimthatit:-asduetohis.propheticoffice,andhe
saidthatinthatcasehehadnothmgtosayagamstJI.
Itoldhimtohurrytohiapcople. Whenhecametothemhecriedatthe
top of his voice: '0 Qurayah. this is Muhammad who hu come to you with
a force you cannot resist. Hewhoenten ~bU Sufyln's house is. safe:'
Hind d. 'Utba went up tO him, and Kizing hts moustaches cried, 'Kill thl$

~:~t~~~ ~~a~!:~ :!~~r~~ t~i:~~o~:~~:c~~~~;::,r f~~. ;~~ =~~~!~cs~~

what hu come. He who enters AbU Sufylin'a houK will be safe.' 'God
slayyou,'they~d,'whatgood.,.,-illyourhousebetous?' 1 He.added,'And
hewho ahutshisdooruponhimselfwillbeaafeandhewhoententhe
mosquewillbeaafe.' Thereuponthepcopledispersedtotheirhousesand
the mosque.
'Abdullah b. Abii Bakr told me that when the apostle tame to Dhii T uwli
hehaltedonhisbeastturbanedwithapieceofredYamanTclothandthat
be lowered his head in submission to God, when he saw how God had
~:~~e~im with victory, so that his beard almost touched the middle of

ruy:~~~~~i~E!J~~~~~;;::~:;~~~~~!J~~[:;~;~~:~~
~Ic1~.:n;~f::~~~~::S:~i::~~i~e~~;~~:~f:~!~a:::~::~

, , [~~1~;~~~~!~i::f~gg~~tif.7g~:~

Shetoolr.himdownandthecavalryencounteredhimbeforehecouldget
to his house. The girl had a silver necklace and a man wbo met her ton:
'Lit.'otohcnooeoftbemoctr~tain'.
i.~. it could not pro,;decoverfortl>em..U

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

it from her neck. When the apostle came in aod entered the mosque AbU
Balr.rcameleadinghisfather. Onseeinghimtheapostlesaid,'Whydid
younot\eavetheoldmaninhishousesothatlcouldcometohimthere?'
AbU Bakr replied that it was more fitting that he should come to him than
vice \'ersa. He made him sit before him and stroked his chest and asked
himtoacceptlslamaodhedidso. WhenAbUBakrbroughthisfatherin
hisheadwasaswhiteuedelweiss,and theapostletoldthemtodyeit.
ThenAbUBakrgotupandtakinghissister'ahandsaid,' l askinthe name
of God and Islam for my Rister's necklace' and none answered him, and he
uid, 'Sister,rcgardyournecklaceastaken byGod(andlooktoHimto
requiteyou)forthereianotmuchhonestyamongpcoplcnowadays.'
'Abdullah b. AbU Naji~ told me that the apostle di\ided his force at
DhU Tuw~ ordering al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwlim to go in with some of the
men from Kudi. AI-Zubayr commanded the left wing; Sa'd b. 'Ublida he
ordered to go in with some of the men from Kada'.
SometraditionistsallegethstwhenSa'dstartedoffhesaid,
Todayisadayofwar,
Sanctuaryianomore,
andoneofthemuhlijin(8oo)heardhimandtoldtheaposdethatitwuto
befear.edthathewou[dresontoviolence. Theapostleordered'Alitogo
afterhtmandtakethefiagfromhimandenterwithithirnaelf.
'Abdullah b. AbU Najl~ in his story told me that the apostle ordered 817
Khllid to enter from aiLil, the lower pan of i\'lccca, with some men. Kh:ilid was in command of the right y,ojng with &lam, Sulaym, Ghifir, l\luzayna, juhayna, and other Arab tribes. AbU 'Ubayda b. al-Jani.~ ad \'anced
withthetroopspouringintoMeceainfrontoftheaposdewhoentered
~~~~. Adhlliir' until he halted above Mecca and his tent was pitched
'Abdullah b. AbU Najl~ and 'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr told me that $afw~n
b. Umayya and 'Ikrima b. AbU Jahl aod Suhayl b. 'Amr had collected
aome men in al-Khandama' to fight. J:limas b. Qays b. Khlilid brother of
B: B~ was s~ning his word ~fore the apostle entered Mecca, and
hLt wtfe asked htm why he was dotng so. When he told her it wa~ for
Muhammad and his companions she said that she did not think th~t it
~:da:~ :~:\~ :::~ ~~~~ He answered that be hoped to gi\'e her one of
IhavenoexcuKiftodaytheyadvance.
Hereismrweapon,a long-bladedlance,
Atwo-edged swordintheirfaceswil!dancel

wh:~e~h~ei\~::;~n: ~~~~a~~~ :~7\'~;f;lis~i=!~Y~o~:~.~!lr.~~~h~~~

::

, 3~.:~~~.;a~~~~S: ~; ::~~:::::y;:~:~i.

Mecco.

The Life of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

;:~~~~::;~.~::~:~;i.~.~:?~;:;t~:~~:.::~::.~:~f~~~~~;~~;

donenothing,soheauacked andkilledhimandapostatized. Hehadtwo

singing-girls Fartanilandherfriendwhousedtosingaatiricalaongsabout
theapostle,aoheordercdthattheyshouldbekitledwithhim.
Another was al- l~ uwayrith b. Nuqaydh b. Wahb b. 'Abd b. 0Uflyy, one
ofthoscwhousedtoinsuhhimin!\lecca(8o4)
Another was l\liqyas b. l:lub:iba' because he had killed an An,lrt who
hadkilledhisbrotheraccidentally,andretumedtoQurayshasapolytheist.
And S3ra, freed slneofoneofthe B. 'Abdu'l-1\l uttalib;and 'lkrima b.

~~r;~:Uae:d t~~~~~rin ~~u::/~~;~a:~:::e:efi": :7~n~~~i~;t:;:~~~~n

!jafril'oftheB. Fihrknows
Thepureoffaceandheart
That I fighttodayindefenccofAbU!;jakhr.
Khunayswassurn3medAbU $akhr(8ot).

~~~~t~J,:ti~~~~~~~a~:~~o~i:~~~'::~~~:~~!t~:~~i::~~

whathadbecomeofhisformerwordshesaid

lfyouhad witnessedthe battleofKhandama

When!;iafwinand' lkrimafled
And AbU Yazldwasstanding likea pillar'
And the Muslims met them with their swords
Whichcutthrougharmsandskulls,
Onlyconfusedcriesbeingheard
Behindustheircriesandgroans,
You would not ha\eutteredtheleastwordofblame(Soz)
T he apostle had instructed his commanders when they entered Mecca
only to fight those who resisted them, except a small number who were to
be killed even if they were found beneath the curtains of the Ka'ba.
Among them was 'Abdullah b. &I'd, brother of the B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy.
The reason he ordered him to be killed was that he had been a Muslim and

:~;~::~~~~:~~e;~!~~~:; ~:~~=~~:~e:nh: r~:~~h~0~~~e~b~~

819

himuntilhebroughthimtotheapostleafterthesituationinMeccawas
tranquil,and askedthathemightbegrantedimmunity. Theyallegethat
theapostleremainedsilentfora longtimetillfinallyhesaidyes. When
'Uthmi~ had left he said 10 his companions who were silting around him,
'lkeptstlenttothatoneofyoumightgetupandstrikeoffhishead!' One
of the An~r said, 'Then why didn't you gi\"e me a sign, 0 apostle of God?'
Heansweredthataprophetdocsnotkillbypointing(SoJ).
Another was 'Abdullah b. Khajal of B. Taym b. Ghilib. He had become
a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company with
one oft.he An~r. He had with him a freed ala\'e who served him. (He was
aMusllm.) Whentheyhaltedheorderedthelattertokillagoatforhim
and prepare some food, and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had
'Thi ouplon.otionof,.,~'u..,.;,

boood onS.'oototomontthoteiO<:whue].l.pyo that

~~c~:_*~ ;;::1-';:i)"/~~:!;;,:;~:,;~ w~:Njl::~k:.i~/~. ~:,'~":,,ti!~;~~:.:~;.::;~

1

~~~=~~ i-t~ ~f~a~~:u~C:r%":t.i:l~~~:h ~~:~~~ri::~~: ~~1~.:t:

C.s
and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went to the
Yamanin searchofhimandbroughthimtotheapostleandheacceptcd
hlam. ('j'. 'lkrima used to relate, according to what they aay, that what T- 1640
turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determinedtocrosstheseatoAbyssiniaandwhenhefoundashipthemaster
aaid,'OsenantofGod,youcannottra\clinmyshipuntilyouacknowled~ that God is one and disavow any ri\al to Him, for I fear that if you
donotdo soweshouldperish.' When Taskedifnonebutauchpersons
wasallowedtotravelinhisshiphereplied, 'Yes,andhtmustbe aincere.'
So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has
broughtus1 TrulyourGodontheseaisourGodonthedryland. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) ' Abdullah b
Khajal was killed by Sa'id b. l:lurayth al-MakhzUml and AbU Barta alAslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one 8><>
ofhisownpeople. Miqyas'ssistersaidofhiskilling

lly my life, Numayb shamed his people

And distressed the winter guests when he slew Miqyas
Whocverhasseenamanlike!\liqyas
Whoprovidedfoodforyoungmotheninhardtimes.

As for Ibn Kha\al'stwosinging-girls,"onewaskilledandtheotherran

away until theapostle,askedforimmunity,gaveither. Similarly Silra,
who lied until in the time of 'limar a mounted soldier trod her down in
the..allcyofl\leccaandkilledher. Al-l:luwayrithwaskilledby'Ali.
Sa'id b. AbU Hind from AbU l\l urr.a, freed slave of 'Aqil b. AbU T~lib,
told me that Umm H:lni' d. AbU 'falib said: When the apostle halted in the
upper pan of 1\lecca two of my brothers-in-law from n. l\lakhzUm fled to
me. (She was the wife or Hubayra b. AbU \\'ahbal-l\bkhzUmi.) 'All came
inswcaringthathe\\O"Jldkillthem,solbohedthedoorofmyhouseon
them and went to the apostle and found him wahing in a large bowl in
which was the remains of dough while his daughter F~]ima was screening
him with his garment. When he had washed he took his garment and
wrapped himselfinitandprayedeightbendingsofthemorningprayer.

fol;o~V," ~~:-;.;Il?"P-728hwrittt$uMI>a ..hichmay"llboriih1inopi1eofC.which

The Life of Muhammad

811

Then he came forward and welcomed me and asked me why I had come.
When I told him about the two men and 'Ali he said: 'We give protec
lion towhomsoeveryougiveprotection andwegiesafetytothoseyou
protect. Hemustnotkillthem'(Sos).
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. aJ.Zubayr from 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abdullah b.
AbU.Thaurfrom$afiyad.Shaybatoldmethattheapostleafterarrivingin
Mecca when the populace bad settled down went to the temple and en
compassed itseventimeson his camcltouchingtheblackstonewitha
stick which he had in his hand. Thi! done he summoned 'Uthmlin b.
Tal~a and took the key of the Ka'ba from him, and when the door was
opened for him he went in. There he found a dove made of wood. He
brokeitinhishandsandthrewitaway. ThenheiJtoodbythedoorofthe
Ka'bawhilethemcninthe~uegatheredtohim.'

AM. i. 70

{l.l. from 'Abdullah b. AbU Balr.r from 'Ali b. 'Abdullah b. 'Abbls: The
apostleenteredMeceaonthedayoftheconquestanditcontainedJ6o
idols which Iblis'luodstrengthened with lead. The apostle was standing
by them with a stick. in his hand, a:tyi,n.g, 'The truth has come and false
hoodhaapasaedaway;\erilyfalsehoodissuretopasaaway'(SU.rat7.82).
:;:ee:f~e: :!n:~e~~ them with his stick and they collapsed on their bacb
Whentheapostleprayedthenoonprayeronthedayoftheoonquesthe
orderedthatalltheidobwhichwereroundtheKa'bashOuldbecollected
and burned with fire and broken up. FaQllla b. alMulawwil;t alLaythl
aaideommemoratingthedayoftheoonquest:
HadyouscenMuhammadandhistroops
The day the idols were smashed when he entered,
Youwouldha>eseenGod'slightbecomemanifest
Anddarknessco\eringthefaceofidolatry.

i.~~ JI;:;o;ct~!~n b;h:A~~~~a ~~~:::~g~!.:t~:J~~i:~~~~~~ra:~

Mary (on both of whom be.pcacel). I. Shihlib said: Asmli' d. Shaqr said
that a woman of Ghasslin joined in the pilgrimage of the Arabs and when
she saw the picture of Mary in the Ka'ba she said, 'My father and my
mother be your ransom! You are surely an Arab woman!' The apostle
ordered:~atthepicturesshouldbeerasedexceptthoseofjesusandMary.'J

A trl(htionist 4 toldmethattheapostlestoodatthedooroftheKa'ba
and said: 'There is no God but Allah alone; He has no assod~te. He has
madegoodHispromiseandhelpedHisaervant. Hehasputtoflightthe
~:!r:r upl&notiooo pvm for the word 0.14114/J" a"' fihd lh<ir rue on....:! 'our.
_...,~~~~.thcauthorityofi.'Al>bioviaaiZuhrioimply .. yoU..tthcidolo

~~-':~~~!t,'u~~':~~"::~:.!;;~:~,.t.~P~':'~'7...,'!:'~u;.~
T ....,.,..,.,..,heinfotn>UJ.U"*'Umarb. Muoabai.Wojibfro!ll O.lidaolSodilol

The Lift of Muhammad

confederates alone. E\ery claim ofprivilege1 or blood or property are
.abolishedbymeexceptthecuslodyofthetempleandthewateringofthe
pilgrims. Theunintention.ally_slaininaqu.asiintentionalwaybyclubor
whip,' for him the bloodwit llmOIItsevere:ahundred.carnels, forty of
themtobeprcgnant. OQuraysh,Godhaetalr.enfromyouthehaughtiness
of paganism and iu veneration of ancestors. Man springs from Adam
and Adam sprang from dust.' Then he read to them this verse: '0 men,
We cr~ted you from male and female and made you into peoples and
tribeathatyoumayknowoneanother:ofatroththemostnobleofyou in
God'saightisthtm01tpious'totheendofthepauage. 1 Then he added,
'0 Quraysh, what do you think that I am about to do with you?' They
replied, 'Good. You are a noble brother, aon of a noble brother.' He
.aid, 'Goyourwayforyou arethefreedones.'
IT Thut the apoatle let them go though God had given him power over T. 16-ta
their lives and they were his spoil. For this reuon the Meccans were
called'thefrecd ones'. Then the populace gathered together in Mecca
todohomagetothe apoatleinblam. As I have heard, hesat(waiting)
for them on al$all while 'Umar remained below him imposing condi
tionaonthepcoplewhopaidhomagetotheapoatlepromisingtohearand
obeyGodandHisapostletothebeatoftheirability. This applied to the
men; when they had finished he dealt with the women. Among the
Quraysh women who came was Hind d. 'Utba who came veiled and dis
guisedbecauseofwhatahehaddoneespcciallyinregardto l:bmza,forahe
wasafraidthattheapastlewouldpunishher. Accordingtowhat i heard,
whentheyapproachedhimheaskcdiftheygavetheirwordnottoassociate
anything with God, and Hind said, 'By God, you lay on us something that
youhavenotlaidonthemenandwewillcarryitout.' Hetaid,'Andyou
shall notateal.' Shesaid,'ByGod,Iusedtotalr.ealittleofAbilSufylin'l
money and I do not know whether tluot is lawful for me or not.' AbU
Sufyiln who wu present when she said this told her tluot ao far as the past
was concerned it was lawful. The apostle aaid, 'Then you are Hind d.
'Utba?' and 1he said 'lam; forgive me what is past and God \\ill forgive
you.' He uid, 'And do not commit adultery.' She amwered, 'Does a free
woman commit adu ltery, 0 apostle of God?' He said, 'And you shall not
killyou r children.' Sheaaid,'Ibroughtthemupwhenthcywerelittleand
youk.illedthemonthedayofBadrwhentheywercgrownup,soyouare
the one to know about them]' 'Umar laughed immoderately at her reply.
Heuid,'You shallnotimentslanderoustales.' Shetaid,'ByGod,slander
isdisgraceful,butitisaometimesbettertoignoreit.' HeNid,'Yousluoll
notdisobeymein carryingoutordentodogood.' Shesaid,'Weshould
nothavesatallthistimeifwewantcdtodiaobeyyouinsuchorders.' The
apottlesaidto'Umar,'Accepttheirtroth,'andheaskedGod'sforgiveness
for them while 'Umar accepted their homage on his behalf. The apostle
neverlaedtotakethewomen'shands;hedidnottouchawomannordid
' Eopeciallyinberiledauthority.

The L1Je of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

one touch him e:~Cccpt one whom God had made la\\ful to him or was one
Ibn lal;llq fro~ ~b~~n b. $ilil;l said that the women's homage
accordmg to what some tradtttontsts had told him was in this wise; a \'C:SSCI
containing water was put in front of the apostle and when he laid the
conditionsuponthcmandtheyacccptedthemheplungedhishandinto
the vessel and then withdrew it and the women did the same. Then after
that he woold impose conditions on them and when they accepted them he
said,'Go, l haveacccptedyour homage,'andadded nothingfunher.]'
Then the apostle tat in the mosque and 'Ali came to him with the key of

Sa'id b. AbU Sa'id ai-Maqburi from AbU Shurayl;l ai-Khud'i aaid:

When 'Amr b. ai-Zubayr' came to Mecca to fight his brother 'Abdullah I
carne to him and u.id, 'Listen! When we were with the apostle the day
after the conquest of Mecca, Khuzl'a attacked a man of Hudhayl and
killed him, he being a polytheist. The apostleal"(eand addressed us,
uying, "God made Mecca holy the day He created heaven and eanh, and
itistheholyofholiesuntilthercsurrectionday. Ttisnotlawfulforanyone
whobclie,es in God andthe lastdaytoshed blood therein, nor to cut
downtrecstherein. ltlo\--asnot lawfulto anyonebeforemeandit willnot
belawfultoan)"Oneaftermc. lndecd,itisnotlawfulformcexccptatthis
time becauae of (God's) anger against its people. Now it hu regained its
formerholincss. Lctthosc herenowtellthoscthatarenotherc. If anyone
shoold uy, The apostle killed men in Mecca, aay God pennitted His
apoetletodosobutHedoesnotpermityou. Rcfrainfromkilling,youmen
ofKhuzi'a,fortherehasbcentoomuchki\linge'enif therewereprofitin
it. Sinceyouhavekilledaman l willpayhisbloodwit. lf anyoneis kiUed
aftermysojournherehispeoplehaveachoice:theycanhavehiskiller'slife
or the blood-money.'' Thentheapostlepaidthe bloodwit fortheman
whom Khuzli'a had slain.' 'Amr replied, ' Be off with you, old man! We
knowmoreaboutitssanctitythanyou. ltdoes notprotecttheshedder of
blood, nor the man who casts off his allegiance nor him who withholds tax '
AbU Shurayl;l answered, ' I was there and you were not. The apostle ordered
uswhowcrepresenttotcllthosewhowereabscnt. I havetoldyouandthe

ofhis~arim.

:~~ :~~~e~~ ~~l~:~h~~~~~~~ ~~ r;~l~~~~~~ t~: ~~t~:.~~i~~

~~:~~~.' Tall;la and aaid, ' Here is your key; today is a day of good
8n

Sa'ld b. AbU Sandar al-Aslami from one of his tribesmen said; We had
withusabravemancalledAI;lmarBa'san.' Whenheslepthesnoredso
l~udly that e\eryone knew where he was. When he spent the night with
hLS dan he slept apart. Iftheclanwasattackedatnighttheywouldc::ali
h~s name and he would leap up lik~ a lion and nothing could withstand
0

~~~~p~=p~~~~r ~~t:r~a:~d os~~~e~:; :;;e~u~::tl~::j.~,a:!~~ ~~~

1

8l]

Hudhalltold them not to hurry him until he had looked round; for if
Al;lmar Walt among the group there was no way to get at them. He snored
soloudlythatoneoould tell where he was. So he listened and when he
heardhissnoringhewalked uptohimandthrusthisswordintohisbreast
pressingonitsothathe killedhim. Thentheyrusheduponthepartywho
cried'Al;lmarl' Buttheyhad noAI;lmar.
On the morrow of the conquest of 1\lccca Ibn al-Athwa' came into
Mecca to look round and find out what the situation was. Now he was still
a polytheist, and Khu zl'a aaw and recogniud him, and they surrounded
himashe":asattheaideofoneofthewallsofMecca,saying,'Arcyouthe
m~ who killed Al;lmar?' 'Yes', he u id~ 'and what abom it?' Thereupon
Khnlsh b. Umana advanced on him wnh drawn sword saying, 'Get away
from the man.' We aupposcd that he wanted to get the people away from
him; but when we drew away he ran at him and thrust his sword in his
belly. By God, I can almost see him now with his cntraib flowing fonh
fromhisbcllyand hiseyestwomerelitsinhisheadthewhilehesaid,
' l bveyoudoneit,youmenofKhuz:l'al'untilhecollapsedandfell. The
apostl.esaid, 'Stop this killing, Khu~:l'a; there has bc:cn too much killing
~::.: ~~~~~': were profit in it. I wtU pay the bloodwit for the man you
'Abdu'l-Ral;l min b. l;larmala ai-Aslami from Sa'id b. al-:\lusayyib told
me that when the apostle heard what Khir:ish had done he said, ' Khirish is
toopronetokill,'therebyrebukinghim
1
pp.o6(ult.)tot6H .tJ
'Orll)morraU..'oon. A ltn nrnicknomc. 'Rdinpowu',"Ruddybold',crth<lik<

res~n:;~~;dn~~J:~; ~~t; ~~~~!':;.)~1-Zubayr told me that $afdn b.

Sa.t

hs

Umayya went out to Judda to take ship to the Yaman. 'Umayr b. Wahb 8a6

}~!~t~~r:::p:~ t~i~~[~:'~ ;~~os:~a~::~~~~:g t~~~p~~:Uh~;!~

nit y. Theprophetagrecdtodoso,and'Umayraskedhimforaaignto

~~~~~i.f:l~~g~~~~~~l~~~~~~~~r~:;;;~:

be your ransom! He is the most 'inuoos, m_ost pious, moM demeriC, ~nd
best ofmen,your,erycousin. HishonourJsyourhonour.' Herephed,

~~~ot;: ~C:~oO:ra~~el~: ~~~ ,ofs:i~~w~~t ~s;~e:~h ~il~ i:o';ec!;;;t~~

and told him that 'Umayr had said that he had promised him tmmumty.
He said that that was true. $afwlin asked for two months in which to make
uphismind,andhegavehimfourmonths(8o8)
Al-Zuhri told me that Umm l:lakim d. ai-I;Uri th b. Hisham and Fiikhita
d. ai-Walid (who was married to ;iafwiin, while Umm !Jakim's husband

"'

The Life of Muhammad

Tht Life of Muhammad

wu ' lkrima b . AbU Jahl) had become Muslims. The !alter asked immunity

for her husband and theaposdegranteditand she joined him in the

Yaman and brought him back. When ' l krima and $afwan became Muslims
thcapostleconfirmedthei rfirstmarriages.

Sa'id b. Abdu'I-Ral,unln b.ljud.n b. Thlibit told me that l;lasdn

~~~~~~:~single verse and no more at I. al-Z iba'ri who was in Najr1n at

Do not be without a man, hatred of whom

Has made you li ve in Najrin in utmost mi &ery !

817 ~::. ~~~::~::!l; al-Ziba'rl he went to the apostle and accepted

OapostleofGod, my tongue is repairing

Themischiefldidwhenaperishing(ainner)
WhenlfollowedSataningoingastray.
(He who turns aside with hiffi must perish.)
MyfleshandmybonesbelieveinmyLord.

Myheartbeanwitness that youarethewarner.

Iwilldrivetheclanof Lu'ayyfromyouthere,
Allofthembeingdeceived.

AfterH islove Hegaveyou H isprooftohonour you

AndGod'sproofisgreat.
ltestifythatyour religion istrue
Andthatyou aregreatamongmen.
AndGodte3tifiesthatA!).madisthechosen,
The nobleone,cynosureoftherighteous,
A prince whose lofty house ia from !;lbhim,
Strongfrom toptobottom(lkM}).

anA:n~li~lv~~~y~i:~~U;~';J~:M~::i~U;'IA~~ l!;:~~h:,~~n~~!: ~:
Hind. When he heard that she had ~me a Muslim he said:
Does Hindlongforyouordoyouknowthatshehasasltedabout you?

~~~;?;;~
Butl amofapeople whotftheydothetrutmost
Thcyattainth eircndfort~with.

Caresandanxietieswithheld sleepfromme
Andnightpitchblackwasagitatedaboveme
Because I heard that A~mad had blamed me;
lpassedthenightlikeamanwithfever.
Obestofthose,aswiftlightfooted
Straight-running camelevercarried,
Forgivemefor what l aaidanddid
Whenlwentwanderinginerror,
What time !?ahm gave me moet misleading orders,
And Maldu:Um did the same;
When lsupportedevil courses
L ed by those who erred, whose way was ill omened.
Today my heart believes in the prophet Muhammad.
Hewhomissesthisisa loser.
Enmityhaspassed,iutiesareended ;
Kinshipandreasoncallustogether.
Forgivemymistakes-myp,arentsbethyransom,
Foryou arecompassionatehavingfoundmercy.
UponyouisthesignofGod'sknowledge,
Alightmostbrightanda &ealimprinted
'Thcpointiaint"'otinlb<oouoctMDftctf~(ll.nlii).ddotwomot<WnnOI-hi.<htltthe

::;,~ o'::7:~... ~7t:.-=.;.::,.~~h~::,';:.:.~ndoon

knw U..t th<y had b.. n

~J'::~e~e~:.~: ~:;,~~:

poi~u

spear
Andthe swordsintheirhandsbecome ltke
The sticbboya playwith,noshadebut the sworda.'
I loathetheenviousandthei r works:
God will provide food for myself and my family.
Wordsspokenwithouttruth
Are likeanarrowwithoutahead.

~o~h~~:~f~}l~7~i~1~~'~;oa:,~r;~~!~in,
Thenstayfardistantona high roundrock,
Drydustiuonlymoisture(810). 1

~f~~~~~:.~r~1~:::~;~~~~:~~:~~i~f~1

h8

558

Tht Lift of Muhammad

1'heLifeofl\1uhammad

T~:ng

I bearwitnesstohim,soarise'confcsshimtruthful'

the poems about the conquest is the following from l:faMa n b.

But you&:~oid,'Wewillnotandwedonotwishto'

And God said, ' I havescntananny,

TheAn.,.araccustomedtothefray'
Everydaywegetfroml\'la'add'
Cursing,battle,orlampooning.

From Dhl!u'l-~bi' and ai-Jiwil'' to 'Adhri.''

T nccsha1edisappcared,theircamping-groundisempty.
ThecampsofB.al-l.la.sJ:lU'areadesert
Obliteratedbywindandnin.
T hereusedalwaystobeafriendthere;
h .spasturcsheldchoicecamelsandsheep
Butleavethat! Whowillridmeofthenightlision
Whichkeepsmefromsleepwhennight'.sfirst hourshavegone,
OfSha'thli''whofill!imewithlonging
Sothatmyheartcannotbecuredofit?
SheialikethewineofBaytRa'aJ
!\l ixedwithhoneyandwater,
Alldraughtsthatoouldbementioned

:nedw~~i~:~~~~ :~~~::~:\t~:: ::; bmpoon us

Give Abti Sufyn a message from me,
Forwhatw:uhiddenhasbeoomcclcar,
Namclythatourswordshaveleftyouaslavc,
The heads of the 'Ahdu'l-Dli.r mere bondwomen.

~~~r~:~;~~~~t;~:ax~\:;~~nswered

~;~~:m~ ~o;::~~~t :~:hd~h:~7:e

I fwearequarrelsomeorinsultingtoothe~.

Whenwedrinkitwearea.skingsandlions,
Nothingcankeepusfromthefray.
Mayweloseou r ho~esifyoudonotscethem 6

Raising the dust-clouds, their rendezvous Kadii'.

T heytugatthereinsturningthcirncckstooneside,
Thethirstylanccsoouchedabo\etheirshoulders
Asourhorscsraeedalong, 1
Thewomenflappcdtheir,eilsinthtirfaccs.
lf youdon'topposeu.sweshallcelebratethe'l:mra,
The conquest will be completed and the co1cring remo1ed.
Uutifyoudo,expectafightontheday
WhcnGodhelpsthose Heplcases.
Gabriel, God's messenger, is with us and
T heholyspirithasnocqual
God said,' ] ha1esentaman
\Vhospeaksthctrmhifyou wil!profitbycxpericnce

sa~:a:~~K;~~~i';:;~l-3~~ta~~:!i:rJ: to

~t .. hhmtM] ..r;

~1ft~~t~~~~~{.4t~ff~~~t~f

the apostle for what 'Amr h.

Wa.sityoubywhoseorders!\ta'addwasled?
Na)Godguidedthcmandsaidtoyou,Tcstify!
Nocamelevercarriedapurerman
More true to his promise than Muhammad;
Swiftertodogood,morelavishingiving
Whenhcwentforthlikcapolishcd Indian sword;
MoregcnerousingivingarichYamani robehardly"om
Andthehorsethatwaseasilyfirstinthcrace.
Know, 0 apostle of GoJ, that you will get me
Andthat athrcat from youisasgood as fulfilled.
Know, Oapostlc,that you have power
Overthcmthatdlltllinhighlandandpbin
Knowthattheriders,theridersof'L:waymir,
Arelial"$whiehbreakeverypromisc:.
Theytoldtheapostlethat l satirizedhim.

'Th.,epl.oces o...,inS)rio;th<IU<r"ao thecontpofal-I;IOrithb.AbiiSho.nrthe

Chaooanod,.homl.I...Onu..,dtoli>n.
'Q..., l"'"ldt>tuot from Damax~
'Whothio ..,oman""Oois notc<r,.tn: """"'uyoM,.ud.S..II.>mb.
oMnMyo,.omanofh:huti>';oth< .. ....,,_,.el~
'Aploc:<>nJordannot<dforits"""

for him:

Would you lampoon him whom you cannot equal?

(Theworseofyoubearansomforthebettcrofyou!)
YouhavelampoonedthepureblessediJanif,
God'strustedonewhose natureisloyalty.
bhewholampoonsGod'sapostle
Andhewhopraisesandhdpshimequal?
Myfather,mygrandfather,andmyhonour
Prote<:tMuhammad'shonouragainstyou
Mytongueisasharp swordwithoutaflaw,
Myvcrseaseawhichthebucketscannotmaketurbid(8II). 3

' The Dit>:oftt hoo 'ond my poop~ conf....J'. &~

i.c.Qu .. yoh,.ho,.<<e<lunnd<dfrom'Adnin

wl;l ~ t:';~~~;d";."yn~~":',; ~':~~~n~':"" luo 1 ne~huo,.ble otock the "'<II of pony

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

KIIALID'S EXPEDITION AFTER THE CONQUEST TO THE

B. JADHfMA OF KINANA AND 'ALI'S EXPEDITION TO
REPAIRKHALID'SERROR

Budayl b. 'Abdu 1\lanilf b. Umm ~ram answ~red him

Bujayr b. Zuhayr b. AbU Sulma said conc~rning th~ day of th~ conquest:

,,,

The Uje of Muhammad

s6:z

adog'sbowl. Whenallbloodandpropertyhadbeenpaidforhestillhad
aome money over. l-Ie eked if any compensation was still due and when
theysaiditwasnothegavethemtherestofthemoneyonbehalfofthe
aJlO!Itleincaseclaimsofwhichneitherhenortheyknewatthetimeshould
arise. Thenhereturnedandreported totheapO!Itlewhathehaddoneand
he commended him. Then the apO!Itle arose and faced the Qibla and n.ised
hisarmssothathisarmpitscouldbeseenandsaid:'OGod,Iaminnocent
before Thee of what Khilid has done.' This he said three time~.
SomewhowouldexcuscKhilidsaidthathesaid:' l didnotfightuntil
'Abdullahb.IJudhifaal-Sahmiordered metodoaoand heaaid,"The
apostlehasorderedyoutofightthem~ausctheykeepbackfromlslam"'

(8t6).
Ja~dam

had said to them when they laid down their arms and he saw
what Khalid was doing with the D. Jadhima: '0 13. Jadhima, the battle is
lost. lgaveyoufullwarningofthedisasterintowhichyouhavefallen.'
I have heard that Khll.lid and AbU'l-Ra]:lmin b. 'Auf had words about this.
The latter said to him, 'You bne done a pagan act in Islam,' tO which he
replied that he had only avenged 'Abdu'I-Ra~min's father. He answered
that he was a liar because hehilll$Clfhad killed his father's slayer; but
Khalidhadtakenvengeanceforhisuncleal-Fikihb.al-Mughin.aothat
there was bad feeling between them. Hearing of this the apostle said,
'Gently, Khalid, leave my companions alone, for by God if you had a
mountain'ofgoldandspcntitforGod'ssakeyouwouldnotapproach the
merit of my companions.'
836
Now al-Fikih b. al-Mughin. b. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar b. Makhziim, and
'Auf b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. 'Abdu'l-l:hirith b. Zuhn., and 'Aff3n b. AbU'I-'At b.
Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams had gone out trading to the Yaman. 'Aff~n took
his aon 'Uthmll.n and 'Auf took his aon 'Abdu' I -Ra~mil.n. When they
returned they carried the money of a man of ll. Jadhima b. 'i\mir, who had
died in the \'aman, to his heirs. One of their men calle<l Kh~lid b. 1-lish~m
claimeditandmettheminthejadhimaterritoryb<:forethcycouldgctto
thedcadman'sfamily. Theyrefusedtogiveitup. Afightforthepossessionofthemoneytookpb.ceduringwhich'Aufandai-Fiikih were killed,
'Affiin and hisaonetcaping. They seized thepropenyofal-F:lkih and
'Auf and took it away and 'Abdu'I-Ral)m~n killed Khilid b. UisMm the
slayerofhisfather. Qurayshmeditatedanattackonll.Jadhima,butthey
dedaredthattheassaulthadnotbeenplannedhythemandthatthcydid
not know of it until afterwards. They offered to pay compensation for
bloodandpropcrtyandQurayshagreed,andaowarwasavoided.
Sae:::: of the B. Jadhima ~;aid, though some P}' it was a woman called
lladnotonetribesaidtoanother,BeMuslims,
Sulaym,thatday,wouldhavemetastrongopponent

563

Tire Life of Muhammad

B~andthemenofJa]:ldamandMurnwouldha\esmittenthem
Unulthey left~eca~elsgroaninginpain.

&~@~:~;~~~g~~;~]g:;b~~;).
Su'J!!~~ b. Mirdu answered her; aome say it wu al-Ja]:ll]Ub. J;lsklm ai-

Stopthisidletalk:sufficieot opponent
Anwealwsystotheheroofthebattle.
Kh>tlidwumoretobeexcusedthanyou
Thedayhetookthe plainwayintheafl'air.

~;f~~~~!,::?;'3~E;iE:,~~i}~~"" ~., w~ ,,
wh<n

Stemvisagedshowingtheirteethincloudsofd ust.
lfwehavebereavedyou, Salmi,
Youhaveleft 1 menandwomentobewai1Millik.
AI- Ja~~af b. l:faktm al-Sulami uid

0 8

~[::n:i;:::rt~e~:i; ::~e ~ith the prophet at l;funayn

lnKhilid'sraidtootheirhoo\el
Gallopedinthe u.credarea.
Wesctourfacesagainstthespean
Faccsnevergi\entobeslapped.
I am not one to th row my garments from me1
Wheneverawarriorshakeshislance,
Butmyooltbeneathmebearsme
To the heighu with my sharp sword.

t~;:4.~1~gf~f~i~g~~~~~~~~;~i,;~

:~:~~~~~~~::~~rt::d~;~aa~~ ~~:;~:~:::~;:sk~{~~~t~i:h:~~

~~~~~~~~;~t~;,~~i::=.::

Tit~ Lif~

of MultammaJ

tmallthing to askmd lledhimtothem. Ashestoodbythemheaaid,

'Fareyouwell,l;lubaysha,thoughlifeisatanend.'
Tellmewhen laoughtandfoundyouinl:lalya
Orcameonyouin al-KhawAniq,
Was l notaloverworthytobegivenwhatheasked,
Whoundertookjourneysbynightandnoonday?
l didnowrongwhenlsaidwhenourpeopleweretogether,

:::~~

Tlu

~;h~:ih=~~i:~~e~r=~~ :~~'::~~~~Y~~ ~~:~h~~~e

Eventhentheattractionof\ovewuthere(8 t8)
The.sameauthoritytoldme thatsheaaid:'Mayyourlifebeprolonged
seven and tencontinuousyearsandeightthereafter.' Then I took him
awayandhewubeheaded.
AbU Firis b. AbU Sunbula al-Aslaml from aome of their thaykhl from
one who wu prt~ent said: She went to him when he was beheaded and
bentoverhimandkeptonkissinghimuntilshediedathisside.
OneoftheB.Jadhimasaid
GodrequiteMudlijfortheeviltheydidus
Wherevertheygoorrest.
Theytookourgoodsanddividedthem;
Theapeancameatusnotoncenortwice.
WereitnotforthereligionofMuhammad'speople
Theircavalry'wouldhavefledandbeendrivenoff.

of Mulwmmad

,,,

A y~ung man. of B. Jadhlm~ who was leading his mother and his two s 39
aistenmtheirfhghtfromKhll.bd'sforcesaid
Setfreeyouralr.irts, letyourgarmentstrail;
Walk aschastewomenwhodo notquail.
Weguardourwomen,wewillnot!ail.

:::~~ :~:: ~~~;: :::n:~~v~~e

::
befalls!
Andthechiefgoesoffwithadearonethusparted.
Forlwuneverdisloyaltoour secrettroth

Lif~

Youwouldhavebee.ncontenthadyounotbeenthere_
Ourmendonotkeeptheirfoolsfromus,
Noristhemaladyofthedayofal-Ghumayll'cured.

Young men of B. Jadhima known u B. Muall.~iq were composing rough

venewhentheyheardofKhll.lid,andoneofthemsaid:
$afrll.' white of flanks whom a man with flocks md camels
Posseues,lr.nowt thatlwilldoallamancandothisday.
$afri'whodivertsherhusbandwellkno~>.s,

She who eau but a monel of meat,

That today I will delher a twift blow
AsoneleavingthesacredareahiuJ!uggishpregnantcamelt.
Nolong-manedlionwithponderouspav.-s,
Ferociousmien,andtawnywhisken,'
Roaring'twixtjungleandthicketwhenthemomi.scold,
Whoseonlyfoodisman,
Isbolderthanlwu thatday, l twear.

~~~: ah;:~~::;~::::~:~~~~g ~:ti~~~:~road?

Iftheyrepentorreturntotheir(right)way
We will not repay them for what the squadron lo.t. ~
WahboftheB.Laythansweredhim:
Wecalled'Amirtolslamandthetruth.
Itisnotourfaultif'.:\mirturnedtheirb11cks.
Whathappenedto'Amir,confoundthem,isnotourfault
Becausethcirmindswercfoolishandwentastray.
Oneof theB.Jadhimasaid
Congratulate B. Ka'b on the coming of Khalid and his companions
The mom when the squadrons came on us.
Ibn Khuwaylid thowed no desiu for revenge.
'Rn.din.withC.Iol.yW.
'Or,radinltbepuaivowitt.W.,'fortbeoquadronhavirorbnledqt,.y'.

KHA.LID'S JOURNEY TO DESTROY AL'uzzA.

Then the apostle tent Khllid to al-'Uua which was in Nakhla. It wu a

temple which this tribe of Quraysh and Kinlna and all Mu4ar uM:d to
vmente. ItsguardiansandwardenawereB.ShayblnofB.Sulaym,alliet
o B. Hll.shim. When the Sulami guardian heard of Khilid't coming he
hunghia swordonher,dimbedthemountainonwhich shestood,andtaid;
0 'Uui, make an annihilating attack on Khilid,
Throwasideyourveilandgirdupyourtrain.
0 'Uzd, if you do not kill this man Khll.lid
Then bear 1 swift punishment or become a Christian. 1
When

Kh~lid

arrived he destroyed her and returned to the apostle.

,.

The Life of Muhammad

The Lzfe of Muhammad

,,,

apostates'onhorseback . lfallgoeswellth~behindcanjoinyou,andif
thebattlegocsagainstyouyouwitlhal'e&andyourfamilie~~andstock.'
M~lik answered, 'I won'z do it. You are an old dotard. You will either
obey me, 0 Hawill:in, or I will lean on my sword until it comes out from my
back.' He could not bear Dunyd's hning any credit in the mancr. Uawl
rinsaidthattheywouldobeyhimandDuraydsaid,'Thisisadaywhich

Ididnotwitncss(uawarrior)anddidnotaltogethermiss.'
Wouldthatlwereyoungagain!
lw.:ruldrideforwardgcntly
Leadinglong-hairedateeds
Likeyoungantelopes(819)-

(T- Durayd was the chief of the B. J uaham and their leader and greatest T. 1617
man,butoldagehadocrta.kenhimsothathewasfeeble. 1-!isfullname
was Durayd b. al-$imma b. Bakr b. 'Aiqama b. j udi'a b. Ghazlya b.
ju.sham b. Mu'iiwiya b. Bakr b. Hawlizin. Then M~lik said tO the men,
'A.saoonasyouseethem, breakyourscabbardsandattackthemasone
man.')
Umayya b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. 'Uthmlin infonned me that he was told 82
that l\Ulik sent out spies who came back with their joints dislocated. When
he asked what on earth had happened to them they said, 'We saw white
men on piebald horses and immediately we suffered as you see.' And, by
God,cventhatdidnottumhimbackfromthecourseheintended
Whentheprophetheardaboutthemhesent'Abdullahb.Abiil;ladrad
ai-Aslami to them and ordered him to go among them and stay with them
untilhelearnedallaboutthem,andthenbringhimbackthenewl. 'Abdulllhwentandstayedwiththemuntilhelearnedthattheyhaddecidedto
fightthcapostleandthedispositionsof Hawazin,andthencamebackto
tell the apostle. (T. The apostle called for 'Umar and told him what Ibn
Abii l;ladrad had said. 'Umar said that he was a liar. lie replied, 'You
may call mea liar, 'Umar, but for a long time you denied the truth.' 'Umar
nid,'Doyounothearwhathesays,Oapostle?'andtheapostlean.swered,
'You were in error and God guided you, 'Umar.')
When the apostle decided to go out against Hawlizin he was told that
!?afwin b. Umayya had some annour and weapons, 10 he sent to him
thoughhewuatthattimeapolythei.st,saying,'Lcndusthcseweaponsof
you~ 10 that we may fight our enemy tomorrow.' $afw5n asked, 'Are you
demanding them by force, Muhammad?' He nid, 'No, they are a loan
and a trust until we return them to you.' He said that in that case there was
noobjectionandhegavehimahundredcoauofmailwithlufficientanns
togowiththem. Theyallegethattheapostlcaskedfortransporttocarry
themandheprovidedit
Thentheapostlemarchcdwithl,oooMe<:cansand to,oooofhiacom
panions who had gone out with him when he conquered Mecca, 12,000 in
'ThtriJI>i'w.. onewboohnrcdhio r.Ji 11 ion;indtitcaoethenc-..lyconvenedMuolim~

Tht Life of Muhammad

'"

,,,,;,""'

1 Atrib.ofSuloym. H owhinandSuiaymwerobmtheruibu
'AtribeofQayooftheclanofB.Na!r;orfromB.Juoh.omb.Bokr. Aeco<ingt<>A.Dh.
theywe<eotribeofH o" hin
' Two oonoofNatrb.Mu'lwiyab.Ilokrof Howbin,
4 fJo<;lonioomountaininNajd. DhUShaughocandSihdna..,widio
'Aponphraaeoftheoomewhat coo,..orillinal

The Life of Muhammad

,..,

The Life of lHuhammad

Forward,MuJ:l3j!l Thisisadifficultday
Suchas l onsuchastheetumsevertothefight.
1 Wa;r.,plyontllenamcAuilO
Hewu..:ru.llyhiocouoin. Mothuhu otndofor r rondmoth r.
'Tbonameofhio horse

The Life of Muhammad

The Ufe of Muhammad

My father lsJ.llq b. Yaslr told me that he was told from Jubayr b.
Mut'im: Before the people fled and men were fighting one another I saw
thelikeofablackgarmentcomingfromheavenuntilitfellbetweenus and
the enemy. Ilooked,and loblackanueverywhcrefilledthewadi. I had
nodoubtthattheyweretheangcls. Thentheenemyfled.
WhenGodputtoflightthepolyt.bcisuofl;lunayn:o.ndgave his apostle
power over them a Muslim woman said:
Allah'acavalryhavebeatenAl-Lilt'scavalry
AndAUahbcstdescrvestoholdfast(8:.:6)

M~~~~~:7::;!:~e:;v~~:y ~f ~~~~ :~~ek~~;~ ~!n~~q:~e~~:::. !:~g

1

whom were 'Uthmiln b. 'Abdullah b. Rabi'a b. al-l;laritb b.l;lablb. Their

flag was with Dhii'l-Khimlr. When he was killed 'Uthmln b. 'Abdullah
tookitandfoughtbyituntilhewaskillcd.
'Amir b. Wahb b. ai-Aswad told me that when news of his death reached
8so

th;:~~eb~~~~; ~~~~u;i~";,!. ~-~~~~~~~~~~~:~-~oung

uncircumcised Christian alave was killed with 'Uthmll:n, and while one of the
An,llriswasplundcringthcslainofThaqlfhcstrippcdthealavetoplundcr
himandfoundthathe wasuncircumcised. Heca.lledoutatthetopofhis
voice, 'Look, you Araba, God knows that Thaqif arc uncircumcised.'
Mughirab.Shu'batookholdofhishand,forhewasafraidthatthisreport
~1>Uld go out from them among the Araba, and told him not 10 uy that,
forthemanconcemcdwasonlyaChristianalavc. Thenhebegantouncovertheslainandthowcdthattheywerecircumciscd..
The flag of the AJ.llilf was with Qilrib b. al-Aswad, and when the men
wereroutedheleantitagainstatree,andheandhiscousiruandhispeople
fled. Only two men of the AJ.llilf were killed and one of the B. Ghiyara
called\VahbandanotherofB.Kubbacalledal-Julli:J.l. Whentheapostle
heardofthekillingofal-Julill) he said, 'Thechiefoftheyoungmenof
Thaqif ~cept Ibn Hu nayda has been killed today, meaning by him all;lll:rithb. u ....-.>..
'Abbas b. Mirdb al-Sulami, mentioning Qlrib b. al-Aswad and his
flight from hisfather's.ons,and DhO.'l-Khimlrand his shutting up his
pcopletodeath,uid:
Who will tell Ghaylan and 'Urwa from me
(I think one who knows will come to him).
I sendtotell yousomething
Which is different from what you say which will go round
That Muhammad is a man, an apo&tle to my Lord
Whoernnot,neitherdoeshe ain.
Weha\efoundhimaprophetlikeMOSCII,
Anywhowouldrhalhimingoodnessmustfail.

The Lfe of Muhammad

EvilwastheatateoftheB.QastyinWajj'
\Vheneachone'saffairsweredecrecd.
Theylosttheday(andeverypeoplehasaruler
And fortunes change).
\\~e came on them like lions of the thickets,
TheannicsofGodcameopenly.
WecameatthemainbodyofB.Qasiy
Almostflyingattheminourrage.
Had they 11aycd lawea.r we would have come at them
Withanniesandtheywouldnothavegotaway.
WewereaslionsofLiya1 tbereuntilwedestroycdthem
Andai-Nu, urlwereforcedtosurrender.
Therewasadaybeforethatdayatl;lunaynwhichis past
Andbloodthenflowedfrecly.
lnfonncrdaystherewasnobattlclikethis;
Menoflongmemorieshavenc,erheardofsuch.
We_slewB.I:Iu!a)1inthedustbytheirflags
WhLietheca.valrytumcdaway.
Dbli'l-Khimlrwasnotthechiefofapcople
Whopossessedintelligencetob\ameordiupprovc.
Heledthemontheroadtodeath
As everyone could see.
Thosewhoescapcdwerechokedwithterror,
Amultitudeofthemwereslain.
Thelanguidmanoouldnothclpinauchacasc
Norhewhowastooshyandhcsilanttoattack.
Hedestroy.:dthemandhepcrishcdhimself.
Theyhadgivenhimthe\eaders.hipandtheleaders.fled.
Banli 'Auf's hors.cswentatafairpace
Fedonfreshgrau andbarley
ButforQaribandhisfather'ssons
Thcficldsandcastleswouldhavebeendivided,
Buttheyattaincdprominencc
Bythe\uckyadvicetheyweregiven.
TheyobeycdQliribandtheyhadgoodfortune
Andgoodsensethatbroughtthemglory.
Iftheyareguidedtolslamtheywillbefound
Lcadersofmcnwhiletimelasts.
Iftheydonotaccept ittheycall
ForGod'swarinwhichtheywil\havenohelper.
AswardcstroyedtheB. Sa'd
AndfatethcclanofB.Ghaziya.
TheB.Mu'l~iyab.Bakr

The Life of Muhammad

~::~~:r~~~E~J~~~::I:~~~r:,Isbm.
Whentheproplecametoustheyseemed
Blindtohatredafterpeacehadcome(8z7).
Wh~n

the polytheists were routed they c:.Jme to ai-Ta'if. 1\Uiik b. 'Auf

g:~~~S:;;i~~~:B:~i;i:?::i;~;b~f::~;h:::~:~ ::~:~;

illi
~:~i:~:1re~~~:~::~~i.:2 E,;~t:~muid, 'By God, he set free

g~~~~~{~~=~~~s~~r~?f~i;r~}esumayra

:1:~ ~~:ygii~~r:~it1t~~c~= ~~et~ef~~;:l;a~:~e;0 h:~~:one

1

~~~~; ::a J:~it ; d~:;n;o:g:~.:;: ~~::them

~~aS~~~:~b;.:~,-;:: ofr~~i~~~~. you free

5

Theyuid,'WehavekilledDurayd.' 'True,' l n id,

And my tears flowed down my garment.
Wcrcitnotfor ~l imwhohasconqueredallthltri bcs
Sulaym and Ka'b would have seen what counsel to follow.
Agreatarmyofpungentsmell'
Wouldha\'cattackedthemcontinuouslywhere\'ertheywere(8z9)
Theapostle sentAbii 'i\mirai-Ash'arion thetrackofthosewhohad
gone towardaAulb and heovcnook some of the fugitives. In the skirmishes which followed Ahii 'Amir was killed by an arrow and Abii Miin
al-Ash'ari,hiscousin,tookthestandard. HecontinucdthefightandGod
gavehimthe'lictoryandroutedtheenemy. hisallegedthatSalamab.
Durayd shot Abii 'Amir in the knee and the wound proved fatal. He said:
lfyouaskaboutme lamSalama,
TheiSOnofSamiidirtoonewhouksfurthcr.
I smite with my sword the heads of the 1\luslims.
S am ~dir

was his mother.

The B. Na,r killed many of B. Ri'ab and they allege that Abdullah b
Qays, called b. al-'Auri', one of B. Wahb b. R i'~b, said to the apostle,
'B. Ri'ab have perished,' and they allegcthat the apostle said, '0 God,
makegoodtheirlosses.'
l\Ulik b. 'Auf during the flight stopped with some of his horsemen at a
pass on the road and told them to wait unti l the weak ones passed :and
thoseintherearhadcaughtup,andtheydid iJO. Miliknidofthat
Wereitnotfortwochargeson~1ul)aj

Thewaywouldbedifficultforthecampfollowers.
ButforthechargcofDuhmiinb.N3!!r
Atthepalmswhereal-Shadiq'flowa
Ja"farand Banii Hila! would have returned discomfited
Ridingtwoonacamclintheirdistress(8Jo)
Salama b.

Whentl.eywereatthepointofdeath.
3

~~a~~ ~i:t:.~!n ~!~'~a~ ::.~~~ ~~b:ll.

Ourre\\ardfromthcmis ingratitudcandgrief
M~~~; ~.1':::":~~-;~~ts of,.,...., ortnbuttd tO Dunyd

The Life of Muhammad

\Vhichmeltsourverybones.
1\"laythetracesofyourea>'alryafterhardtra,el
In Ohii Baqarasfarasthedesenofal-i\uhlqbeetfaced!

"hich may hon b.,.n in the

Dur:~yd

who was conducting his wife unti l he escaped them said: Sss

You would havemeforgetthoughyou areunhun

And though you know that day at the foot ofal A ~rub
That lprotectcdyouandwalkedbehindyou
Watchingonallsideswhentoride_would~nebeenaboon,

When enry well-trained warrior w11h flowtng locks

Fled from hismotheranddidnotreturntohisfriend(8JI).
'A<>utr<m<nUw~r<often potiohtd ,.nhduna
'AndiinU.couburboofoiTI"if.

576
856

The Life of Muhammad

wo~: :~h:: ~h~&:~~: \~~!~d~~:~~~~e ::.:t:e~h~~:;;,~::dro:rn~

her. When he heard what had happened he Rnt word to KM!id and forbadehimto killchild,orwoman, orhired alave
OneofB. Sa'db. Bakrtoldmethat theapostlesaidthat day,'lfyouget
holdofBijld,amanof B.Sa'db.Bakr,don't lethimescapeyou,'forhe
had done great wrong. When the Muslims took him they led him away
with his family and \.\ith him (T. his sister) ai-Shaym.ii' d. al-l:Urith (T. b.
Abdullah)b.Abdu'I-'Uzzi, foster-sister oftheapostle. '!'hey treated her
1

~~~~ie~~~~:~ :~~!hat~~~=. ~:~ :~:Y ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~:~~;:~~i~\~~; ~:

., ~~;;~~;~I~~~~~i~f~~f.;~~I~\1~Ii~~~~~~rt~i~

:~:n~:::~r ~~~~r1ts~?~n~l~~~~~~ ~~ ::~:;~~~~-:7a~~d ~~~~hii~ ~~~

a\a\egirl;theonemarriedtheotherand theirprogenystillexists(8Jz).
Thenameaof thoae martyredatl:funaynwere
From Quraysh of B. IUshim: Ayman b. 'Ubayd.
From B. Asad b. 'Abdu'I-'Uul: Yazid b. Zama'a b. al-Aswad b.
al-Munalib b. Asad. A horse of his called al-Jani~ threw him and
killed him.
From the An,lr: Sur:lqa b. al-l:l~rith b. 'Adiy from B. 'AjUn.
From the Ash'arlyiin: AbO. '.~mir ai-Ash'arl.

ButforCodand Hissernnt)ouwould ha\eturnedlck

\\'hen fea r overwhelmede\erycoward'
Ontheslopethedayouropponemsmetus
While thehorM:Sgalloped atfull strctch,
Somerunningclutchingtheirgarmcnts,
Othenknockcdsideways byhoo\esandchcsts.
Codhonouredusandmadeourreligionvictorious
Andglorifiedus intheworshipoftheCompassionate.
Godde.troyedthemanddispersedthemall
AndhumiliatedthemintheworshipofSatan(8JJ).

TM Lift of Muluun1tUUI
'Abbh b. Mirdb said about the

~ttle

of l:lunayn:

BytheswifthorscsOfl thedayofMu~dalifa

Andbywhattheapo&tlerecitesfromthe Book
IlikedthepunishmentThaqifgotye.terdayontheaideofthevalley.
They were the chief of the enemies from Najd
Andtheirkillingwassweetcrthandrink.
WeputtoflightalltheannyofB.Qasly.
ThefullweightfellonB.Ri'ib.
The tenu of Hill ! in AuJis
Were leftcoveredwithdust.
lf ourhorseshadmetB.Killb'sanny
Theirwomenwou\dhave gotupasthe dust arose.1
We gallo~d among them from Buss to al-Auril 1
Pantingafterthe apoil
Withaloud-voicedarmy,amongthem
Theapostle'ssquadronadvancingtothefray(834).
'Atiya b. 'Ufayyif ai-Nlfrl answered him:
DoesRifl'aboastaboutl:;lunayn?
And'AbbiJsonofherwhosucbmilklcsssheep!
Foryoutoboastislikeamaidwhostruuabout
Inhermistress'srobeswhile therestofheris bareiJ
'Atiya spoke these two verses because of 'Abbb's vehemence against

H~~~~~ b~~::~d~~.:/:~:n
OSealofthePropheu,youareiCil withthetruth
\Vithallguidancefortheway.
Godhasbuiltuploveuponyou
In Hia creation and named you_ Muhammad
Then those who were faithful to your ag reement with them,
An anny over whom you Rt al-Oa~l;!lk,
Amanwithsharpweaponsasthough
When the enemy surrounded him he taw you. 4
Heattackedthoeeof(his)lithandkin
SeekingonlytopleaseCodandyou.

"'

Tht Lift Qj Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Itellyoulpwhimchargingincloudsofdust
C{ushingtheheadsofthcpoly1heisa;
Nowthrottlingwithbarehands,
Nowapliningthcirskullilwithhis_h.arpsword.'
The B. Sulaym hastened before h1m
Withcontinualcutsandthrosuattheencmy.

i~?~:~~k~~~~~::n~i:h~;n~~:,:redcfend.
~:~:~i::eht~h~~; ~':~d~~~~~::~~::~.ship
These were our doings for which we are renowned.
AndourHclpcri.syourLord.
If you uw, 0 Umm Farwa, our hones
Some ledriderle.andbmcl
Thebaulehadreducedtheirfitnea,

fear,

~!~ r:=~~o;:~~~~E~.~~~~~:~e:o ~d,

'There are none like those who came to make an agreement

Which forged an inscpan.ble link with Muhammad.'
A deputation among them Abii Oa1an, l;ludba
And AbU'I-GhuyO.th and Wbi' and ai-Miqna'
Andhewholedthehundredwh.ichbrought
Theninehundredtoacompletethouaand.
BanU'AufandtheclanofMukhbhinwllected sixhundred
AndfourhundredwerebroughtfromKhuflf
There when the prophet was helped by our thou~d
Hehandedusafluueringstandard.
\Veeonqueredwithhisflagandhiseommi.slionbequeathed 1

~~o~:;u~~:c"~en~0 :~~::~~ ~~~~~~:!,";~~~~~

JnthevaleofMecrawhcn spearswerequl\'ermg'twas
OuranawertohimwhocalleduatoourLordintruth:
Wewenthelmetedandunmailcdalike,
With long mail whose mesh David chose
Whenhewenediron,andTubba'too.
Byl;lunayn's twowells.wehadatrain
Which t lew the hypocntes-an immovable army.
Byuttheprophetgainedvictory;wearethepeoplewho

~~=~f~~;;::::.:~.:.:wouldhaebftn ..U.6cd
~':'"~!~~.~~~""'lhedoubl~meonintof'tyinf'andmakiiiJonqrmcnt

In anyemergencyinflictlossanddowdl.
We dro\e off Hawhin that day with spears.
Ourcavalrywas tubmergedinrisingdust
Whene\entheprophetfearedtheirbravery,andastheycamernmasse
Thesunallbutce:uedtoshinethereat.
BanU Jusham were summoned and the hordes of NJ.!r
Inthemidstwhilethespea111werethrusting
UntiltheapostleMuhammadsaid,
'OBaniiSulaym,youha\ekeptyourword,nowdesist'
Wewentoffandbutforustheir bravcry
Wouldhaveinjuredthebelievel1!andtheywouldhavekeptwhatthey
had gained.

Mijdalisdesertedbyitspeopleandl\lutiloli''
AndtheplainofArik,anditscisterns are empty.
We had homes, 0 Juml, when all lire was pleasant
Andthechangeofabode 1 broughtthetribetogethcr
Longabsenceafarhaschangedmybeloved,
Butcanahappypaste\'Crreturn?
lfyou seckthcunbelie\'ers l':lonotblameyou,
Butlamahelperand followeroftheprophct.
The best of embassies I know summoned us to them,
Khuzayma, and al-Marr1r and Willi',
SowecamewithathousandofSulaymfinclyclad
lnarmourwovenbyDavid.
We hailed him lord at the two mountains of Mecca
And it was to God that we paid homage.

~~~i:~~:~~~~~~~~~~yd7;~i~';: guided one by force of arms,

Sweatcoveredthebaeksofthehon;es
And warm blood from within grew hotter.
On the day of l:lunayn when Hawizin came against us
Andwecouldscarcelybreathe
Westood stcadfastwitha l-Oatll:~:1k;

Struggleandcombatdidnotdismayus.
lnfront oftheapostleabannerflutteredaboveua
Liketherapidmo\'ementofadoud.
r::~ ~~~~~ ~.: ~: ~J:!~k b. Sufy:1n fought with the apostle's sword

Wedefendedourbrotherfromourbrother. 1

sSo

The Lift of Muha,mad

The Life of Muhommad

'TisGodnotmanwcseektopl~;

ToHimbelongstheseenandtheunscen.
He also said:
Whatailathineeyepainfulandsleepleu,
Itslashfeelinglikeapieceofchaff?
Sorrowbringssleeplessnesstotheeye
And tears now cover it, now flow down

The last link with Umm Mu'ammal is broken,

Shchas changedhcrmindcontrarytoherpromis_c;
ShehadswornbyGodshewouldnotbreakthe hnk,

~~~ ~:::~~~~~~:~~:h:o::::~~~f~ ~~; ~=::~f ai-'Aqtq

~~:~~:~:~~;:.~a:~~ :~~hy :!~!~:d.

AndoccupyWajra.and'Urfinthedeseru.

~~:~~ ~:;: !!~;,~~: ::~::it~n=rli~~:cc from me.

Someonewilltellherthatwerefuse todoso

~~~ :~ :~~~r~u:n~~d~:~e~~~a;h:e~ide, the prophet Muhammad,

Andnumberathouaandwhich(number)no(other)tribc:reached
WithstrongwarriorsofSulaym

~~:f~~:~dh~~~~:~nt~~=~!~}e~hom you would think

Wereblackstallionswalkingamongtheahe-camels

~:o:~~gl~no;~::dd~~:~~~c~~;~~::'::~~er in their lairs.

~Je uasd~::~s ~~:~g~~~~~~~e~~~~~~:~~~g~as with him.
\VhenwecametoMeca,ourbanner
Wulikeaneaglesoaringtodartonitsprey

~~i:~u~~ ~~~:S\\~:~c~h~;~[~trwi~~~eir bits there is a sound of

jinnamongthem,l

I~~ ~:~n~en~~e~i:~;n ~; ~unr':~;v:r~m the apostle's order.

tnabattlemidwhichthepeopleheardonly
Ourexhortationstofightandtheamashingofskul\s

!~;"::~:e~h:~:~:~:dt :::~~~r~~~t~~:-~ase
Oftenha,ewelefttheslaincuttopiecc:s

581

AndawidowcryingAI.as!o,erherhusband.

Had we a choice we would ha\e followed our own kin,

ButGod'srcligionisthercligionofMuhammad.
Wearcsatisfiedwithit;itcontainaguidanccandlaws.
Byithesctouraffairsrightafterwehaderred
AndnonecanavcrtthedecreeofGod.

t:r:
Howfaroflisthehomeofheryoulongfor,
Al-!;)amminandal-l:lafarstandinthewayl
Talknomoreofthedaysofyouth.

!~~~~e::~:r~~e ~;~~i::~; ;~\~a~: ::re~ttlernents;

AndSulaymhavesomethingtoboastabout:
TheyarethepeoplewhohelpedGod
And followed the apostle's rdigiO:n while m~n't affain were confused.
Theydonotplantyoungp~lmsmtheirmuiat

Andcowsdonotlowinthe1rwinterquarters.
Butsteedalikeeaglesarekeptnearthem
Surroundedbymultitudesofcamela.
Khufll.f and 'Auf were summoned on their flanks
AndtheclanofDhakwll.nannedandkuntofight.
Theyamotethearmiesofthepolytheistsopenly
In ~lecca's,a\e,andk.illedthemquickly,

~~:~ ~~ed;;:;~~ p~~!~~ ~:!pen

\'alley.
Onl:lunayn'tdayourstandstrengthenedreligion
AndwithGodthatiaatoredup
Thenweriskeddeathinthegloom
Astheblackscattereddustdearedawayfromthehorses
Under the banner with al-Oa~J:l~k leading ua
Asalionwalkswhenheentershisthicket
lnanarrowplacewherewarpreuedhard.'.
Sunandmoonwerealmostblottedoutbylt.
Wede,otedourlancestoGodinAu]h,
We helped whom we would and we_bc:came. victorious
Until certain people returned to the1r dwellmp, who
ButforuandGodwouldnothavercturned.
Youwill~ttnotribegrcatoramall

Butwehl\eleftournurkuponthem.

~~~~=~:~:.;:~1:~.i~~~:f;.:!:~'! h1;u~~:; 1~!.~7nd ~:::.~~: ~~Jd~k:~

,,,

1'h~

The Lift of Muhammmi

Lift of Muhammad

Oriderwithwhomtherehastens
Astrong,Murdy,firmfooted she-camel,
Ifyouoometo the prophet saytohimasyousbould
Whenthe assemblyisquiet,
'Obestthat eve rrodcacamel
Orwalked theearth,ifsoulsareweighed,
\Vcwercfaithfultoourco\'tnantwithyou
When thecavalryweredrivenoffbywarrionandwounded
WhenthereflowedfromallthesidesofBuhtha'
Amultitudewhichshookthemountainpaths
Until we came on the people of Mecca with a squadron
Glineringwithsteel,ledbyaproud chief
ComposcdofSulaym'sstu rdiestmen
Cappedin strongironmeshwithirontop
Bloodingtheir t haftswhentheydashedintobattle.
Youwouldthinkthemglowering lioru.
They engagedthesquadronwearingtheirbadges,
Swordandspear inhand.
At l:lunaynwewereathouu.ndstrong
Bywhichthe apostle wasrei nforced
Theydefendedthebeli t\'ersinthevanguard.
T hesun\O.'aSTeflectedathouundtimesfrom theirsteel.
Wewentforward,Godguardingus,
AndGoddoesnotlosethoseHeguards
WemadeastandinMan!qib,'
Which pleased God, what a fine stand it wu!
OnthedayofAufbwefoughtsofierccly
ThattheenemyhadenoughandcriedStop!
Hawizinappealed to the brotherhood between us--

i;~~ilb:~e~~;th:~cs~plf~~e:.:[~c:;;th milk,

,,,

We werehisbodyguardbeforeother troops,
Heconsultedusandwe consulted him.
He summoned us and named us intimates fi1111t of all
And we helped himagainsthilopponents.
Godrichlyrewardtha~fine prophetl\1uha~d

Andstrengthenhimwtthvictory,forGodishtshelper!(836)
He also said:
Who will tell the peoples that Muhammad, God's apostle,

~er:!~!l~~~~ ~;~~:~ ~k~~is hel.p alone.

~= E%~~~~:~~:::~~:~~~!~?ii~~~;~~nnined.

~~~~ ~:~l:!r~::r~~: ~~\!=:d~~~\veiled lancet,

Firmlyclad inmail,ourinfantry
A tt rongforce likearushing torren t.
Thebestofthetribeifyoumustaslt
Were Sulaym and those who claimed to be Sulaym,
And an army of Helpers who did not leave him
Obeying what he said unq~estio.ningly.
Sinceyou ha\emade Khihd chefofthe army
And promoted him he has become a chief indeed
In an army guid~ by Goc:l whose. command~r you are
By whichyousmJtethewJckedwth everynght.
I swore atrueoathtoMuhammad
And I fulfi.lleditwithathousandbridled hones.
Theprophetofthebelievenuid,Advancel
And werejoicedthatwewerethevanguard.

~:e~:S:~ ~~er~!~~~ ~~~~:r:i~! :~~s~~~;;rcdness (for war).

is dry-

~::~:r~~~~~h~ :!~~~;";.;~:.~~::e;~ crowd, the people of

11

Whichwildbeuts havecontinuallypreyedupon(8J5)

The piebald steed withreddishbarrelwentastny'

And the chief was not content till it was marked.
Weattackedthemlikeaflockofgrousethemorningaffrights.
Everyone"'aStooconcemedtoaeetohisfellow,
Frommomti ll e\'e tillwe leftl:lunayn
Withitswatercoursesstreamingwithblood.
Whereveryoulookedyoucouldaceafinemare

WchclpedGod's apostle,angryonhis account,

With a thousand warrio1111 apart from unarmed men,
' Veurriedhisflagonthcendofourlances,
H ishelperprotectingitindeadlycombat.
\Vedyedilwilhblood,forthatwasitscolour,
The dayofJ;Iunaynwhen$afwinthrustwithhisspear.
Wewerehisriglawinginlslam,
Wehadchargeofthetlaganddisplayedit.

_j_

The UJe of Muhammad

~~~=nri~=~ ~i~g...!:!d~~=i~~~~~~ ~::~.~,

Anditpleuedthemthatweshouldbeditappointedanddeprived(of
them).
Oam~am

b. al-l:llrith b. Juaham b. 'Abd b.l:fabib b. M1lik b. 'Auf b.

b. 'U~ayya al-Sulami said concerning f:lunayn (Thaqrf had killed
Kin~a b. al-l:fabm b. Kh:llid b. al-Sharid, so he killed Mi~jan and a
nephew of his, bothofThaqif):
Webroughtourhoneswithoutoverdrivingthem
To Jurash'fromthepeopleofZayyinandai-Fam,
Killingtheyounglionsandmakingforthetemples
Builtbeforeourdayandnotyetdestroyed.
Ifyouboastofthekillingoflbnal-Sharid
IhaveleftmanywidowsinWajj.
Ikilledthetwoofthemavengingibnal-Sharid
Whomyourpromiaeofprotectiondeccivedandheblamelesa.
Yaqa~a

Ourtpe~r~slewthemenofThaqtf

AndourswordlinflictedgrievOUiwoundl.

~~~e:h:r::~ :i~~~~ who have wives,

Afterwhatawomann.idtoheroeighbour,
'Hadtheraidennotretumedllhouldhave~inthehoUJC.' 1

When she uw a man whom the fierce heat of a torrid land

Hadleftwithblackenedfaceandlleshleubones.

r;uh;o;~ :~/:~ ~annm:: ;:r~:U~~ of the night

lamalway.intheaaddleofathicksbort-hairedmare,
Mygannenttouchingmybelt; 4
Onedayinquestofbooty,
Another, fightingalongwiththeAn~lr.
Howmuchfertilelandhaveitravelled,
Howmuchroughunevengroundatgentlepace
That I mightchangeheratateofpoverty,
Andahedidnotwantmetoretum,thebaggage!(837)
Mllilr.b.'Aufexcusinghisllight aaid:
Slit-earedcamelaatrayingfromthetrack
Preventedtleepfore\enanhour.
AakHawhindoinotinjuretheirenemy
'i.e.ollboditpooalof..U.n
Nlhohonc""hedfonranfowordanolbe!tond..,._..'-wouJdf-thcMdincQon..n..,bUfbaDdiolo~otthiopoinl.

The Life of MuhamrPUUl

,.,

AndhelpanyofthemwhosuffeTllalossl

~~:~~~: ~~~:d:~~~~ ~~~~~ ,:~: :.~~~:~r:::nour.

Manyaplacewhichwouldappalthebold

?~~~eO:!'~~~: a~d~?rt':~~~c';.e~;~~-

down
Toitawaters--watersofblood;'
Whenitswatersrolledawaytheybequeathedtome

E~ ~~~o::~rh;~:::~~o~;e~~and ~~~pie,
Youfor1:100kmewhen I fought alone
You forsook me when Khath'am fought.
Whenlbuiltupgloryoneofyoupulleditdown.

~~~~~e: ~d=~:~o~:.n~~:~~inter, huting to glory,

Gcnerous,devotedtoloftyaima,
I ttabbedwithablaclr.haftofYuan'aworlr.1
Headedbylongblade.
Ilcfthiawifetumingbackhitfriend
And saying, Youcannotcomeatso-and-so.
Fully armed I opposed ~he spears
Lilteatargetwhichisp1ercedandsplit.

tio~;::;:::~~ ~h~1~l~~~t.:ua::~~ ~e~~~:~~e~~:~ ~:~~::iRccalltheiriilllrchagainsttheenemywhentheyassemblcd

Whenthellapllutteredo,erMIIik.
Nonewuabovel\Ulikonthedayo l;!unaynl
Whenthecrownglitteredonhishead
Untiltheymetcouragewhencourageledthem
Wearingtheirhelmets,mail,andshields.

~~~;J!i!7!~:~~~::~ ~:~~!~~::to

help them
Andwewereroutedandcaptured.
IfanyotherbutGabrielhadfoughtus
Ournobleswordswouldhaveprotectedus.
'Umar aiFln1q eacaped me when they were put to Hight
Withathrustthataoalr.edhisuddleinblood. 4

'Giwut!rAtomelimeo,oohcre,meono'tl\cthlc:kofthefia:hl"
1 Dhi1Yuan,oncof11\cllinpofl;limyor;v..

~~]:;=f.~~~f:~~~~:--=-~~::~=~~~h.~:

s86

ThtLifeofMuhommad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

A woman of B. Jusham lamenting two of her brothers who were slain

atl;lunaynu.id
Oeyes,begencrouswithyourtears
ForMiililr.andai-'AI:l';benotniggardly.
They were the slayers of AbU 'Amir
Who held a sword with streaky marks.
Theylcfthimableedinglump'
Staggering, feebly unsupported

Nor should we ha\'e met the army of Muhammad's people,

Eightythousandn:inforcedbyKhindif.

AbU Thaw:lb Zayd b. !;)u~1r, one of B. Sa'd b. Bakr, said:

HaveyounotheardthatQurayshconqueredH:lwazin
(Mi.sformneshavetheircauses).
There was a time, Quraysh, when if we were angry
Red blood flowed beeauM:ofourrage.
There was a time, Qura)lh, when if we were angry
hsecmedasthoughsnuffwereinournostrils.
AndnowQurayshdriveus
Likccamclsurgedonbypeasants.
Iamnotinapositiontorefusehumiliation
Noramldisposedtogiveintothern(8J8).
hi;:bdullah b. Wahb, one of B. Tamim of the clan of UsayYid, answered
By God's command we smote those we met
lnacoordancewiththebestcommand.
\Vhen we met, 0 Hawlzin,
Weweresaturatingheadswithfreshblood
When you and ll.Qasiyauembled
Wecrushedoppositionlikebeatcnlcaves.
Someofyourchiefaweslcw
Andwetumcdtokillbothfugitiveandstandfast.
Al-Multlithlaywithoutstretchcdhands,
Hisdyingbreathsounding likcagaspingyoungcamcl.
IfQays'Ayllinbe angry
Mysnuffhasalways subduedthcm.
Khadij b. ai-'Aujli'ai-Na$risaid
When we drew ncar to th e waters of f:lunayn
Wcsawrepellcntblackandwhitcshapes
lnadcnsewell-armcdthrong;ifthcyhad thrownthcm
Atthepeaksof'Uzwltheywouldhavcbecomeflat.
lfm ypcoplc'schicfshadobeyedme
\\'eshouldnotthcnhncmctthcthick'cloud

ct.s,6...

1 lconjtur. ..... taltal~thi/fo<,...lal<aU..Jwhi<h~ivnpoo<KnK. Onp.810.1 1hc

~::~;r~~.:. :-~:h":..,~:~":. -~~~ra;;8~ ~=~~~::::,:.:.~~~~c~~;~j~

,,,

TIIECAPTUREOFALTA'If,A.II.8

When the fugitives of Thaqif came to ai-TI'if they shut the gates of the
city and made preparations for war. Neither 'Urwa b. Mas'iid nor Chay
lln b. Salama were present at f:lunayn or at the siege of al Tfif; they were
injurashlearningthcuseofthetestudo,thecatapult,andotherinstru
mcnts.' Whenhchadfinishedatf:lunayntheapostlewe nttoai-'J'ii'if.
Ka'bb.M llikwhentheapostlecametothisdecisionsaid
Weputanendtodoubtinthelowlandsand Khaybar,
Thenwega\eourswordsarest.
Wegnethemthechoiceandoouldtheyhavespoken
Their blades would ha\e said, Give us Daus or Thaqlf.
May l bemotherlessifyoudonotsee
Thousandsofusinyouroourts.
WewilltearofftheroofsinthevalleyofWajj
Andwewillmakeyourhousesdcsolate.
Our swiftestcavalrywillcomeonyou
Leavingbehi ndatangledmass.
When th eycomedownonyouroourts
Youwillhearacryofalarm
Withsharpcuttings wordsintheirhandslilc.efluhesof lightning
Bywhichtheybring death tothosewhowouldfightthem
Tempered by Indian smiths-not beaten into plates.
Youwouldthinlc.thattheflowingbloodofthewarrion
Was mingled with nffron the mom the forces met.
GoodGod,hadtheynoadviser
Fromthepeoplesw hokn ewaboutus
Totellthemthatwehadgathered
Thefinest bloodhorsesandthatwehadbroughtanarmy
To su rroundthewallsofthcirfortwithtroopsl
Ourleade r thcprophet,firm,
Pureofheart,tteadfast,continent,
Straightforward,fullofwisdom,lc.nowledge,andclcmency;
Notfrivolousnorlightminded.
WeobeyourprophetandweobeyaLord
WhoiatheCompassionate,m05tkindtous.
lfyouofferpeacewewillacceptit
Andmakeyoupartnersinpeace andwar.
Ifyourefusewewillfightyoudoggedly,
'Twillbenoweakfalteringaffair.
Weshallfightaslongaswehe
1

puboir,.oonoftutudo

'"

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tilly?uturnto l sla~,humblyseekingrefuge.
\Vc wtlt fight not canng whom we meet

~:;~::n;c1 ~:~:~~: ~;~~~~~:;r newly gotten gains.

Thcirfinest stockandallies l
Thcycarncat usthinkingthcyhadnoequal
Andwe cutofftheirnosesandears
Withourfincpolishedlndianswords,
Drivingthemviolcntlybeforc us
To the command of God and Islam,
Untilrcligionisestablishcd,justandstraight,and
AI-Lit and al-' Uni and Wudd arc forgotten
Andweplunderthcmofthcirnccklacesandearrings
Fortheyhadbomeestablishedandoonfidcnt,'
Andhcwhocannotproteethimselfmustsuffcrdisgracc.
Kinlna b. 'Abdu Villi b. 'Amr b. 'Umayr answered him
Hewho.oovctlluswishingtofightus(lcthimcomc).
\Ve are m a well-known home which we never leave.

Ourfathenwcreherclongsince
Andweholdittwelllandvineyards.
'Amr b. 'Amir put 1.11 to the test aforetime~
Andthewiseandintelligenttoldthemaboutit
Theyknowifthey speakthetrl.ltht hatwe
Bringdownthehighlookaoftheproud.J
Weforce the t trongtobec:omemeek

~:d:~:r ~~~~g!:~ t~e ~;~e o~~,:n:~oU:,:~~~e:~~~

Gleaminglikestaninthetky.
We drhe them from us with sharp swords,
When they are drawn from the tcabbard we do not sheathe them.
Shaddldb.'Ari4al-Jushamlsaid aboutt heapostle'sexpeditiontoalT:l'if
Don'thelpal-UtforGodisabouttodestroyher.
Howcanonewhocannothelpherselfbehelped?
Shethatwas bumedinblack smokeandcaughtfire.
Nonefightingbeforeher stones, isanoutc:ast. J
Whentheapottledescendsonyourland
Noneofherpeoplewillbeleftwhenhele11ves
pc:;hemoaninJOfthiohemiotic:hmoybe:'And thon theyproft..,.d (lolom) ond had

:T:\~~..,~~~~~ ~:'~~':~~~~:L:O::,"'.;:'~_t~nt.
1

Lit.'notoncforwhornbloodwitrnuitbepaid',

The Life of Muhammad

The apostle journeyed by Nakhl atu'l-Yam~niya, and Qarn, and alMulayl;t and Bul;tratu'I-Rughii' of Liya.' A mO!Ique was built there and he 871
prayed in it.
'Amr b. Shu'ayb told me that when he came there that day he allowed
retaliation forhomicide,andthatwasthefirsttimesuchathinghappened
in Islam. A man of B. La)1:h had killed a man of Hudhayland he killed
himinretaliation. Whenhewasin Liyatheapostleorderedthatthefort
ofl\Uiik b. 'Auf should be destroyed. Then he went on a road called
al-l)ayqa. Ashewupassingalongitheaslted ittname. Whenhe wastold
thatit"''U'thestrait'hesaid,'No, itistheeasy.'1 ThenhewentbyNakhb
tillhehaltedundera lotetreeca.lledal-$idiranear thepropertyofaman
of Thaqlf. The apostle sent word to him, 'Either come out or we will
destroyyourwa ll.' 4 Herefusedtocomeoutsotheapottleorderedhiswa\1
to be destroyed.
He went on until he halted near a\- T~'if and pitched his camp there.
Some of his companions were killed by arrows there because the camp had
come too dose to the wall of a\-T:l'if and the arrows were reaching them.
TheMuslimscouldnotgetthroughtheirwa\lfortheyhadfastened the
gate. When th~ men were killed by arrows he(T withdrew and) pitched
his camp near where his mosque stands today. He besieged them for some
twentydays (839).
He had two of his wives with him: Umm Sala ma d. AbU Umayya ('f .
and another with her). He struck two tents for them and prayed between
t.he tents. T hen he stayed there. When Thaqif surrendered 'Amr b.
Umayya b. Wahb b. Mu'attib b. M~lik built a mosque over the place
where he prayed. There was a pillar in the mosque. Some allege that the
aunneverrisesoveritanydaybutacreakingnoie1 iaheardfromit. The
apostlebesiegedthemandfoughtthem bitterly andthetwo sideaexchanged
arTOwa (840), until when the day of stonning came at the wall of al-Tl'if a 873
numberofhiacompanionswentunderateatudo andadvanced uptot he
wall to breach it. Thaqifleti006Conthemtcrap:sofhotironsotheycame
out from under it and Thaqif shot them with arTOws and killed some of
them. Theaposlleordered that thevineyardsofThaqif should be cut
down and the men fell upon them cutting them down.
AbiiSufylnb.l:larbandal-Mughirab.Shu'bawentuptoal-Ti'ifand
called to ThaqU to grant them safety so that they could speak to them.
When they agreed they called on the women of Quraysh and B. Kin lna to
comeouttothemfortheywereafraidthattheywouldbecaptured,but
they refused to come. They were Amina d. AbU Sufyln who was married
to 'Urwa b. Mas'iid by whom she gave birth to Dl'iid b. 'Urwa (8+4); and

The Life of Muhammad

The L1je of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

When he left a!-Tii.'if the apostle went by way of Dal,mii. until he stopped at
a!-ji'rina with his men, having a large number of Hawizin captives. One
ofhiscompanionsonthe dayheleftThaqifaskedhimtocursethembut
877 he said, '0 God, guide Thaqif and bring them (to Islam).'
Then a deputation from Hawizin came to him in al-Ji'rii.na where he
held 6,000 women and children, and sheep and camels innumerable which
had been captured from them. 'Amr b. Shu'ayb from his father from his
grandfather 'Abdullah b. 'Amr said that the deputation from Hawlzin came
tothe apostle aftertheyhadaccepted lslam,sayingthatthedisasterwhich
had befallen them was well known and asking him to have pity on them for
God's sake. OneoftheHawlzinoftheclanB.Sa'db. Bakr(T. it was they
who had provided the fostermother for the apostle) called Zuhayr Abii
$undsaid:'OApostleofGod, inthe enclosuresare yourpaternaland
maternalauntsandthewomenwhosuckledyouwhousedtolookafter
you. Had we acted as fosterparents for al-I;Urith b. Abii Shimr or alNu'mlnb.al-Mundhirandthengotintothepositioninwhichyouhold
uswecouldhopeforhiskindness andfavour,andyouarethebestoftrustworthymen'(84S)
(T. Then he said
Havepityonu.s,apostleofGod,generously,
Foryouarcthcmanfromwhomwehopeandexpectpity.
Have pityonapeople whomfatehasfrustrated,
Their well-being shattered by time's misfortunes.)

The Lift of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Ihaveneverseenorheardofaman
Like Muhammad in the whole world;

~~i~h~~:

::~ ~<!v!~~:~o;~:~~~h~~~~u~~~ a gift,

: 0:
Whenthesquadronshowaitsstrength
Withspearsandswordsthatstrike,
Inthedustofwarheislikealion
Guardingitscubsinitsden.

88 1

The apostle put him in command of those of his people who had
accepted Islam, and those tribes (T round a!- Ta'if) were Thumiila,
Salima, and Fahm. He began to fight Thaqif with them: none of their
flockscou ldcomeoutbutheraidedthemuntil theywereinsorestraits
Abii Mi]:ljan b.l;labib b. 'Amr b. 'Umayr ai-Thaqafl said
Enemieshavealwaysdreadedourneighbourhood.
AndnowtheBanUSalimaraidus1
Miilikbroughtthemonus
Breakinghiscovenantandsolemnword
Theyattackedusinour settlements
Andwehavealwaysbeenmenwhotakerevenge.
Whentheapostlehadreturnedthecaptivesofl;lunayntotheirpeople
herodeawayand the men followed him, saying, 'Oapostle, divide our
spoilofcamelsandherdsamongus'untilthey forcedhimbackagainsta
tree and his mande was torn from him and he cried, 'Give me back my
mantle, men, for by God if you had (T. I had) as many sheep as the trees
of Tihiima 1 would distribute them among you; you have not found me
niggardlyorcowardlyorfalse.' Thenhewentrohiscamelandtookahair
fromitshumpandhelditaloftinhisfingers,saying,'Men, l havenothing
butafifthofyourbooty eventothishair,andthefifthlwillretumtoyou;
sogivebackthe needleandthethread;fordishonestywillbeashameanda
flameandutterignominytoamanontheresurrectionday.' Oneofthe
An~iir came with a ball of camel hair, saying, '0 apostle, I took this ball to
make a pad for a sore camel of mine.' He answered, 'As for my share in
thatyoucankeepit!' 'Ifithasoometothat,'he said,'Idonotwantit,'
andhethrewitaway(846).
Theapostlegave giftstothosewhoseheartswere tobewonover,notably
thechiefsofthearmy,towinthemandthroughthemtheirpeople. He
gave to the following 100 camels: AbU Sufyiin b.l;larb; his son Mu'iiwiya;
l;laklm b.l:liziim; al- J:Iiirith b. al-Hiirith b. Kalada brother of B. 'Abdu'JDiir (847); ai-Harith b. Hishiim; Suhayl b. 'Amr; l;luwaytib b. 'Abdu'I'Uuii b. Abii Qays; al-'Aiii' b. Jiiriyaal-Thaqafi an ally of B. Zuhra;'Uyayna b. l:li~n b.l:ludhayfa b. Badr; al-Aqra' b. l;Ubis ai-Tamimt; Miilik b.
'Auf al-Nqri; and ~afwiin b. Umayya.
He gave less than 100 camels to the following men of Quraysh: Makhrama b Naufal ai-Zuhrt; 'Umayr b. Wahb Jal-umallt; Hishiim b. 'Amr

Tlu Life of Muhammad

595

brother of B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy and otherw. He gave 50 to Sa'id b. YarbU'

b. 'Ankatha b. 'Amir b. MakhzUm and to al-Sahmi (848)
He gave 'Abbiis b. Mirdiis some camels and he was dissatisfied with them
andblamedthe apostleinthefollowingverses:
l twasspoilthatlgained
Whenlchargedonmyhorseinthe plain
Andhptthepeopleawake lesttheyshouldsleep
Andwhentheysleptkeptwatch
Myspoil andthatof'Ubaydmyhorse
hsharedby'Uyaynaandal-Aqra'.
Thoughlprotectedmypeopleinthebattle,

~~~~~e~~:;~t~:~:OlS given nothing

Tothenumberoftheirfourlegs!
Yet neitherl;liibis nor J:li~n
Surpassmyfatherintheassembly,
And l amnotinferiortoeitherofthem.
Andhewhomyoudemeantoday...,.i11notbeexalted(849)
1

The apostle said, 'Get him away and cut off his tongue from me,' so they
gavehim(camels)until hewassatisfied, thisbeingwhattheapostlemeant
byhis order(Sso).'
Muhammad b. lbriihim b. al-I;Urith al-Taymi told me that a companion S83
saidtotheapostle:'Youhavegiven'Uyaynaandal-Aqra'ahundredcamels
each and left out Ju'ayl b. Suriiqa al-Oamril' He answered, 'By Him in
wh~ hand is the soul of Muhammad, Ju'ayl is better thanthewholeworld
fullofmenlikethosetwo;butlhavetreatedthemgenerouslyso thatthey
maybecomeMuslims,and i have entrusted Ju'ayltohis islam.'
Abii 'Ubayda b. Muhammad b. 'AmrrU.r b. Yiisir from Miqsam Abii'J. 88+
Qiisim, freed slave of'Abdullah b. al -l:l~rith b. Naufal, told me: I went in
company with Talid b. Kiliib al-Laythrto 'Abdu1lah b. 'Amrb. al-'~ all he
was going round the temple with his sandals in his hand, and we asked him
whether he was with the apostle when the Tamimite spoke to him on the
day of J:lunayn. He said that he was and that a man of Tamim called
DhU'l-Khuwanira came and stood by the apostle as he was making gifts to
the men and said, 'Muhammad, I've seen what you have done today.'
'Well,andwhatdoyouthink?'heanswered. Hesaid,' I don'tthinkyou
havebeenjust.' The prophetwasangryandsaid,'Ifjusticeisnottobe

,,.
found with me then where \\ill you hr....l .1 r Umar asked to be allowed to
kill him, but he said, 'Let him alone, for he will have a following that will

goaodeeplyintoreligionthattheywillcomcoutofitas:anarmwoomet
outofthetarget;youlookattheheadandthereis nmhingonit;you loolr.
atthebuttc:ndandthercisnothingonit;thenatthenotchandthereis
nothingonit. ltwentthroughbeforefldlhandbloodoouldadhere.to it.'
Muhammad b. 'Ali b. al-l;lusayn, AbU Ja'far, told me a similar story
and named the man Dhil'I-Khuwanira. 'Abdullah b. AbO Najii) told me
thesamefromhisfather(Sst).
T. 681
(T. 'Abdullah b. AbU Bakrtold methato.neoftheapostle'scompaniora
whowu atf;funayn with him said, 'I was riding my camel by the side of the
apostle,wearingarough.andal,when mycamdjosdedhisand the toeof
my undal hit the apostle's shank illld hurt him. He hit my foot wilh hi.
whip, saying, "You hurt me. Get behind!" so I went behind him. The
next morning the apostle was looking for me and I thought it was because
Jh.adhurthis leg,ao l cameexpecting(punishment);butheu.id,"You
hurt my leg yesterday and I strock yoqr foot with my whip. Now I have

~~:~,o~:: ~~~~~; ~o~~~:~:::ko~!~~

it," and he gave me eighty the

'~im b. 'Umar b. Qatlda from Mai).mOd b. Labid from AbO Sa'fd al

Khudrt told me: When the apostle had distributed these gifts among
Qurayshandthelledouintribes,andtheAntlrgotnothing,thistribeof
An,lirtookthemattertoheartindtalkedagreatdealaboutit,untilone
ofthemsaid, 'By God, theapo~tlehasmethisownpeople.' Sa'db. 'Ublida
went to the apostle and told him what had happened. He asked, 'Where do
youstandinthismattcr,Sa'd?' Hesaid,'lstandwithmypeople.' 'Then
gatheryourpcopleinthisenclosure,'hesaid. Hedidso,andwhenaome
886 ofthe,Muhlljirl eame, he let them come, while other~ he sent bad. When
hehadgotthemaltogethcrhewcntandtoldtheapostle,andhecameto
them,andafterpraisingandthankingGodheaddressedthemthus:'O
men of Al\flr, what is dU. I hear of you ? Do you think ill of me in your
beans? Did I not come to you when you were erring and God guided
you;poorandGodmadeyourich;enemiesandGodsoftcnedyourhearUI'
They answered; 'Yes indeed, God and His apostle are most kind and
generous.' He continued: 'Why don't )"OU answer me, 0 Anpr?' They
said,'Howahallweanswcryou? Kindnessandgt:nerositybelongtoGod
and His apostle.' He uid, ' Had you so wished you could have said-and
youwouldhavepokenthetruthandhavebecnbelieved-Youcametous
discreditedandwebclievedyou;dcsertedandwehelpedyou;afugitive
andwetookyou in;poorandwecomfortedyou. Aicyoudisturbedin

885

mindbecauaeofthegoodthin~ofthilllifebywhichlwinoverapcople

that they may become Mutlims while I entrost you to your Islam? Are
younottatillfi.edthatmenlhouldtakeawayf\ochandherdswhileyoutalte
'SomeMSS.haV<~herooalouinwhichl.ll.lokauplhenarnliveofl.l.whichhe
brokoollwhonho~oouttbcpuM!j:OfromTabarithltcontaimwhatl.l.wrotc

TilE APOSTLE MAKES THE LESSER PILGRIMAGE FROM

ALJl'RANA

lti~
Qlinofthefollowingyear.

THI!AFFAIROFKA'BB.ZI.liiAYRAFTERTHEDEPARTI.lRI
FROM ALTA'IF

~~~~~~ff~
place.' K2'bhadsaid

E?~;fr~!-i~@~:~:\::~.

:!!da )::~~n~tc~~::t~h~~~~; ~~::' f:;l~\\~~[1

~~E ~:~~::r~~;:n~:!~":~ia~:~P~E~aP?u:{~~~.u:~':r

sgll

The Lift of Muhammad

The Lift of Muhammad

over with white-foamed torrents fed byahowenguMlingfrom

Ifyoudon'tacceptwhatl say lahaUnotgrieve

Norsayifyoo sll.lmbleGod help youl
A1-Ma'mUnhasgivenyouafullcuptodrink
Andaddcdaaeconddraughtoftheaame(8s4.J.
Bujayraaidto Ka'b:

Sh~aii~hln~:~1:"~ ~~':;:'Z,~-=ven as ghoub change the hue of

A~~e;~~:::~old to her plighted word otherwise than as sieves
Th:o~~o':it:~ of 'Urqiib were a parable of her, and his promises were

~~ew~lttt;~'!:!c~hat that for which you wrongly blame me

ToGodaionenotal-'Uzziandal-Lit
Youwillescapcandbenfewhile escapcispossible,
Onadaywhennonewillcscapc
ExceptaMuslimpurcofheart,
Zuhayr'treligionisathingofnaught
AndthercligionofAbiiSulmJisforbiddentome.

889

Ka'b used the title al-Ma'mUn (855) imply for the reason that Qura)'lh
utcdtonametheapostlethus.
When Ka'breceivcd themisaivehewudccplydi.stresscdandan:xious
forh.islife. Hi.scnemiesintheneighbou rhoodsprcadalanningreportl
tbouthimnyingthathewuasgoodasslain. Findingno"!J.YOut,he
wrotehllodeinwhichheprai.sedtheapoetleandmcntionedhisfearand
the tlanderoua reports ofhisenemies. Then hesetoutfOrMedinaand
stayed with a rmn of Juhayna whom he knew, according to my infonnation. Hetookhimtotheapostlewhenhewasprayingmorningprayers,
andhe praycdwithhim. Themanpointedomtheapostletohimandtold
himtogoandaskforhi.slife. Hegotup andwentandutbytheapoetle
andplacedhi.shandinhi.s,theapoetlenotknowingwhohewu. Heuid,
'0 apoetle, Ka'b b. Zuhayr has come to uk security from you as a repentant
Muslim. Would you accept him aa t uch if he came to youl' When the
apostleuidthathe would,heconfCNedthathewasKa'bb.Zuhayr.
'Atim b. 'Urmr b. QaU:da told me that one ohhe Antir leapt upon him
askingtobeallowedtobeheadtheenemyofGod,buttheapostle toldhim
tolethimalonebecausehehadcomerepentantbreakingawayfromhis
past. Ka'b was angry at this tribe of the An,lr beCause of what this man
had done and moreover the men of the Muh~jirTn spoke only well of him.
lnhisodewhichhe recitcdwhenhecameto theapostlehe sa.id:
Su'ldis gone,andtodaymyheanis love-sick,in thr.illtoher, unrequited,boundwithchaint;
And Su'id, when she came fonh on the mom of departure, wu but u
aguc:llewith brightblackdowncasteyes
When ahe~omiles,shela)'lbarea hini ngrowofiide-tccththataeems

to have been bathedonceandtwicein(fragrant)wineWine mixed with pure cold water from a pebbly hollow where the
nonh-windblows,inabendofthevalley,
Fromwhichthewindsdriveawayeverypeclr.ofdust,anditbrims

:f~~~t;~:~~?.,;:;;::::~::::::,::: , .

j~fo.~?;~;~~e~w:=~;:~,~:::.:~:::.:::

if.i.l~Ji~~

~:~!::~~.f ~~~-~~:!ked, robust, male-lilr.e, her flanks wide, her

w~=\~~~~:~~~i~~~~~e~ot pierced at last e\en by a lean (hungry)

A
~:~~~:~::~:;s~:~~:~~!~~kf1 :~;-~~~~~~~ed:~d ~~!~~~sire's

Thequr4d'crawlso\'erhe r :thenher smoothbreastandflank.scause

o~:;:r~::~e i~she; her si~e slabbed with firm fl esh, her elbow-joint'

farremo\'edfromthenbs;
1

:;~~~~:~~::e;~:~~~ef:;~f.:S~:~~~ ~:::;:si~ ::: :

Sh~i~:~~et~illike a leafless palm-branch with mall tufts ~ h~ir hang

downo\eraharp-edged(unrounded)udderfromwhu.:hnstcats
donottakeaway (milk) littlebylittle.'

_L_

Tht Uft of Muhammad

Thoughshebenottrying,she races along on lightslenderfcetthat
skimthegroundastheyfall,
Wi thtawny hock-tendons-feetthatleavethegravclscatteredandare
not shodsothattheyahouldbekeptufefromthebbcknessofthe
heaped stones,
-n::;~~~ :::\~=of her forelegs, when she sweats and the mirage
Onadaywhenthechameleonbasksin some highspotuntilits exposed
panisbakedasinfire,
And,thegrey cicalashavingbeguntohopon the gravel,thecameldriverbids hiscompanionstakethe siestaReumbles the beating of hand on hand by a bereaved grey-haired
woman who rises to lament and is answered by those who have lost
many a child,
One wailing shrilly, her arms weak, who had no understanding when
newswu broughtofthedeathofherfirstbornson:
Sheteaaher breutwit h herhands,while hertunicis rentinpieas
from her collar-bones.
The fools walk on both sides of my camel, uying, 'Verily, 0 grandson
ofAbU.Sulma,thouanasgoodasslain'; 1
And every friend of whom I was hopeful said, 'I v.ill not help thee out:
I am toobusytomindthee.'
I said, 'Let me go my way, may ye have no father! for whatever the
Mercifulhathdecrcedshallbedone
Everyaon ofwoman, longthoughhisaafetybe,onedayisborneupon
a gibbous bier.'
I was told that the Messenger of Allah threatened me (with death), but
withthe MessengerofAllahlhavehopeoffindingpardon.
Gentlylmayst thou beguidedby Himwhogave thcethegiftofthe
Koran,whereinarewamingsandaplain&etting-out(ofthematter).
Do not punish me, when I have not sinned, on accoun t of what is said
bytheinformen,evenshouldthe(fabe)aa.yingsaboutmebemany.
Ay, I stand in such a place that if an elephant stood there, seeing
(whatl see) andhearingwhatlhear,
Theaidesof hisneckwould be shaken with terror-ifth erebe no
forgivenesefromtheMessengerof AJbh.
J didnotceasetocrou thedesen ,plungingbetimesintothedarkness
whenthe mantleofNight. isfallen,
Till I laid my right hand, not to withdraw it, in the hand of the
avengerwhosewordis the wordoftruth.
For indeed he is more feared by me when ! speak to him-and they
told me I should be asked of my lineageThan a lionofthejungle,onewhose lairisamidstdensethicketsinthe
lowlandof'At hthar;
' Rd~rri"'IOhiojourmylolhePn>phe!,whohadol"'owlraivmthcordor(orhlodalh.

The Lift of Muhammad

He goes in the morning to feed two eubs, whose victual is human flesh 89
rolledinthedustandtomtopieces;
Whenhespringsonhis adversary,'tisagainsthialawthatheshould
lea\'etheadversaryere he isbroken,
Fromhimtheassesofthebroaddalefleeinaffright,andmendonot
walkinhiswadi,
Al beit e\er in his wadi is atmaty fere, his armour and hardwom
raimentsmearedwith blood-ready tobedevoured.
Truly the Messenger is a light whence illumination isaought-a drawn
l ndiansword,oneoftheawordaofAllah,
Amongst a band of Ku raish, whose spokesman said when they professed IslaminthevalleyofMccca,' Depanye!'
They departed, but no weaklinga were they or shield lt~~ in battle or

T:e~h;~;c~~re~~t:~~i~~=~~

bloW~

and defend themselves with

whentheshortblackmentaketoftight; 1
Warriorswithno&eahighandstraight,cladforthefrayinmail-coats
of David's weaving,
Bright,ample,withpiercedringsstrungtogetherlikethe ringsofthe
qaf6.',l
They are not exultant iftheirspearsovertake an enemy or apt to

T:ees:~:r~~~::, ~=l~h~~~s~:~o~v:~~~~~~oau: for them there is no

shrinkingfromthepondsofdeath(8s6).4

fg.2~{~i~~~:Ial~I~f)~~i~I~fg*-:~~1~~l

trialswiththeapostleandtheirpositionamongthe Yamantnbes:
Hewho.lovesagloriouslife
Let him ever be with the hot3tmen of the righteous
Whotransmitgloriousdeedsfromfathertoson.
Thebestmenare they,sollllofthebest men
Who launchwiththeirannsspeaa
Like long Indian swords,
Who peer forward unweariedly
Witheyesredasburningcoals.

An~ll.r,

I Proboblyahitallhepoopleof Mcdino,oomeofwhomhadu rgcdMuhammad!Othow

Ihe,~~ ;~~::!rib<d in the Q,...n (aii. 8o) ao a maUr of

~oau or moil

U~ir~~~~~r~k~~:h~~~~~ ~';~!;../!~~~:::..o:.::;:, c.:.:;b;.~:

bymyoldfricnd R. A.Nicboloon.

The Lr]e of Muhammad

Whodevotetheirlivestotheirprophet

~~e~h;:r~~/{h~:!i~~h:! ~~~t~~~n~fci:';!?'~s ~ttacks.

Theycoruiderthatanactofpiety.
T heirhabitiathatofthick-necked liona
Accustomedtohuntinavalleyedthicket
Iryoucometothemforproteetion

~~y~:r::t. =~~e~~:~hae ~~a:::~: ~:;:7 ;!d~ntain goatt.

AsbroughtthedownfallofaliNiUr.
l fpeopleknewall that l knowaboutthem

~h~::~:: ;~;::~~;~~~77s~;f.~;~~~~~~e~~~~ of what I say.

The Lr.Je of Muhammad

about him that the \"erse came do~'fl, 'There are some who say Gi\'e me
leave(tostaybehind)anddonottemptme. Surelytheyhavefalleninto
temptationalreadyandhellencompasse.theunbeliel"ers,''i.e.itwasnot
that he feared temptation from the By:tantine women: the temptation he
had fallen ~nto was greater in that he hung back from the apostle and
:~~~~ ~!~~e himself rather than the apostle. God said, 'Verily hell it
Thedisaffecteduidonetoanother,'Don'tgoforthintheheat,'disliking
strenuous war, doubting the truth, and creating misgivings about the
apostle. SoGodaentdownconcerningthem:'Andtheysaid,Gonotforth
in the heat. Say:Theli.reofhellishotterdidtheybutunderstand. Let
t~em laugh a little and let them weep much as a reward for what they were
earning'(858). 1
Theapostlewentforwardenergcticallywithhispreparatioruandorde red
t he men to get ready with all apeed. He urged the men of means to help in
providing money and mounts for God's work (T. and persuaded them).
The wealthy men provided mounts and stored up a reward with God.

'U~~!":~-~~~~J:tk:~'!e::u;:.;h\~cc';~a!:;::. :~eo\~:~

895

from
B. 'Amr b. 'Auf came to the apostle and asked him to provide them with
mounts for they were without means. Their names were: Silim b. 'Umayr;
'Ulba b. Zayd, brother of B. }:liritha; AbO. Layli 'Abdu'l-Ral;lmin b. Ka'b, 8
brother of B. Mlzin b. al-Najjir; 'Amr b.l:lumim b. a!-JamUl;!, brother of
B. Salima; 'Abdullah b. al-Mughaffal al Muzant (or b. 'Amr); Haramty b.
'Abdullah, brother of B. Wiqif; and 'lrbiQ b. Siriya al- Fulrl. He said
thathehadnomounttogivethemand theyturncdback,theireyesflowing
;/~~;e::/or grief rhat they had not the wherewithal to meet the expense
I have heard that Ibn Yimin b. 'Umayr b. Ka'b al-NaQrt met AbU
Laylll. and 'Abdullah b. Mughaffal as they were weeping, and when he
askedwhattheywerecryingfortheytoldhimthattheyhadappliedtorhe
apostle for a mount, but that he had none to gi\"e them and they had
nothing. Thereupon he gave them a watering camel, and they saddled it
and he provided them with some dates and so they went off with the
apostle.
Some Bedouin came toapologU:e for not going, but God would nor
accept their excuse. I ha,e been told that they were from B. Ghillr.
(T. One of them was Khuflf b. l m<l' b. Ral:IQa.)
When the apostle's road was clear he determined [0 set off. Now there
was a number of Muslims who were slow to make up their mind1 so
that they lagged behind without any doubt or misgi...-ings. They were
Ka'b b. Milik b. AbU Ka'b, brother of B. Salima; Murira b. at-Rabt',
brother of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf; Hil<ll b. Umayya, brother of B. Wiqif; AbO.
1 SUra9.4<J
'SUrag.8>.

The Life of Muhammad

Tk Life of Muhammad

Khaythama, brother of B. Slolim b. 'Auf; they were loyal men whose Islam
wasabovetuspidon.
When the apoetle had set out he pitched his camp by Thaniyatu'IWadil'(86o).'
'Abdullah b. Ubayy (T. b. SalOl) pitched hit camp $tparately below him
Stn ~the direction of Dhubib (f. a mountain in al-Jabbana below Thaniyatu'I-Wadil'.) It is alleged that it was not the smaller camp. When the
apoetle went on, 'Abdullah b. Ubayy separated from him and stayed
behindwiththehypocritesanddoubten. (T. 'Abdullah was brother of
B. 'Auf b. al-Khuraj, and 'Abdullah b. Nabtal was brother of B. 'Amr b.
'Auf; and Rihl'a b. Zayd b. al-TilbOt was brother of B. Qaynuqi'. These
were the principal men among the hypocrites and withed ill to Islam and
its people. Concerning them God sent dO\O.'Jl: 'They sought rebellion
aforetimeandupsetthingsforyou.') 1
Theapoetleleft'AIIbchindtolookafterhisfamily,andorderedhimto
atay with them. The hypocrites spoke evil of him, uying that he had been
Jeftbehindbecausehewasaburdentotheapoetleandhewantedtogetrid
of him. On hearing this 'Ali seized his weapons and caught up with the
apoetlewhenhew;uhaltinginal-Jurfandrepeatedtohimwhatthehypocriteswereuying. He replied: 'They lie. I left you behind because of
what I hadleftbehind,sogobackand represent me in my family and
youra. Areyounotcontent,'AII,tostandtomeasAaronstoodtoMoses,
except that there will be no prophet after md' So 'Ali returned to Medina
and the apoetle went on hit way. Muhammad b. Tal~a b. Yuid b. Rukina
from Ibrahim b. Sa'd b. AbO Waqq~ from his father Sa'd told me that he
heardtheapoetleaayingthesewordsto'All.
Then 'Ali returned to Medina and the apostle went hit way. AbO Khaythama (T. brother of B. Sil.im) returned to his family on a hot day some
daysaftertheapostlehadtetout. Hefoundtwowivesofhisinhutsinhis
garden. Eachhadtprinkledherhutandcooleditv.ithwaterandgotready
food for him. Whenhearri\'edhettoodatthedoorofthehutandloolted
athiswhesandwhattheyhaddoneforhimandsaid:'Theapostleisout
in the sun and the wind and the heat and AbO Khaythama is in a cool
shade, food prepared for him, resting in his propeny with a fair ~~man.
This is not just. By God, l will not enter either o_f your huts, but JOm t~e

=:~:~~~~~r:;1;:t:e~~u~~~ =-~~t~~~~tl:n~n~i~ :~e;:.e~!~

898

~~~~: :a!O~ ~~:~~ ~~ ~~:~~:!!;:~ti, ~~ ~~:~~~~bf~r~=y~~~:

they approached Tabiilr. AbO Khaythama said to 'Umayr, 'I ha\e done

~~~~~ .:o~~~;n~: !;~!:!c~~i!l:~!~l~:~~ec~.:es~~~~~n-::t~~;;~~

thearmycalledattentiontoamanridingonthe"':ay~dtheaposdet~udit

would be Abii Khaythama, and so it was. Havmg diSmounted he came

'ApaNo..,rlookinrMdina

s.:.ra9.48

6os

and saluted the apostle, who said, 'Woe to you, AbO Khaythamal' Then
hetoldtheapoedewhathadhappened,andhespokehimwellandblessed
him(861).
Whentheapoetlepaasedal-l;lijr'hestop~,andthe~engotwat.er

from its well. When they went the apoetle &aJd, 'Do not dnnk any of 1ts
waternoruteitfor ablutions.Ifyouha\'eusedanyofitfordough,then
feedittothecamdsandeatnoneofit.Letnoneofyougooutatnight
alone but talr.e a companion.' The men did as they were told except two of
themofB.Sil'ida:onewentouttorel.ievehimselfandtheothertoloolr.for
sc:amelofhis. Thefiratwuhalfchokedonhisway,andthesecondwas 899

~~~:~i~~:,;fn~~t~~:f.~:;:g~:;~

Medina by a man of Tayyi'. This story comes from 'Abdullah b. AbO

Balr.r from 'Abbils b. Sahl b. Sa'd alSl'idi. 'Abdullah told me that 'Abbils
hadtoldhimwhotheywere,butconfidentially,soherefusedtonamethem
tome(86:~).

In the morning when the men had no water they complai~ed to the
apostle,soheprayed,andGodsentacloud,andsomuchra1n fell that

th~~7~~~~~!:~ ~~dQ~~~~ ~:~ ~:~:t~~ ~=~~~7!~ men of B.

'Abdu'l-Ashhaltold me that he said to

Ma~mOd,

'Do the men know the

~~~;!:e:~:n~~t~::~er~~i:efa~~~r,t~~~ ~n~l~~ :~~u~~~k~:;l~~7e~~rc;

would cover up each other. Then Ma~mUd sa1d: Some of my tnbesmen

told ml' of a man whose hypocrisy was notorious. He used to go wherever
theapostlewentandwhentheaffairatal-J;Iijrhappenedandthe.apostle
prayedashedidandGodscntacloudwh1chbroughtahea",'Yramthey
said, 'We went to him saying "Woe to you! Have you anything more to
sayafterthis?" Hesaid," ltisapassingcloud!"'

~~::~n~h::tu:S::r~~eo}~~~.fh:~~t~~: :~~t~ra;:anan~l:
'Umlra b.l:fum who had been at al-'Aqaba and Badr, uncle of B. 'Amr b.
l;lum. He had in his company Zayd ai-Lupyt al-Qaynuqi'l who was a
hypocrite (863). Zayd said while he was in 'Umira'~ camp and 'Umira
was with the apoetle, 'Does Muhammad allege that he 13 a prophet and can
tell you news fromheavenwhenhedOC!In'tknow where his camel is?'
The apostle said while 'Umlra was with him: 'A man has said: Now
Muhammadtellayouthatheisaprophetandallegesthathetellsyouof
heavcnlythingsandyetdOC!In'tltnowwherehiscamelis. ByCod,lltnow
'Oftonca11edModt'in$1lilj.. Douaht,.'aa.ceountofthiaplaceinA"'W"O.urla,poo..U...,
iallillthornoo<interettin&
_:.~i~k~~~~~;:~: llum4qiY" ia a dioeaae .. hic:h attKU mon and bonn (nd

900

Tht Lift of Muhammad

only what God has told me and God has shown me where it is. It is in
thiswadiinsuch-and-suchaglen. Atreehascaughtitbyilllhalter;sogo
and bring it to me.' They went and brought it. 'Umlra returned to his
campandu.id: 'ByGod,theapostlehaajUllttoldUllawonderfulthing
about something someone has u.id which God has told him of.' Then he
repeated the \~lords. One of his company who had not been pretent with
the apostle exclaimed, 'Why, Zaydaaidthis before you came. 'Urnlra
advancedonZaydprickinghimintheneckandsaying,'Tome,youaervanta of God! I had a misfortune in my company and knew nothing of it.
Get out, you enemy of God, and do not associate with me.' Some people
allegethatZaydsubsequentlyrepcnted;otherssaythathewasauspccted
ofeviluntilthedayofhi.sdeath.
Thentheaposdecontinuedhisjoumeyandmenbegantodropbehind.
WhentheapostlewastoldthatSo-and-sohaddroppedbehindheu.id,
'Lethimbe;forifthereisanygoodinhimGodwilljoinhimtoyou;ifnot
God has rid you of him.' Finally it was reported that AbU Dharr had
901 droppedbehindandhiscamelhaddelayedhim. Theapostleu.idtheume
words. AbU Dharr waited on his camel and when it walked slowly with
himhetookhisgearand loadeditonhitbacl.andwentoffwalkinginthe
trackoftheapostle. Theapostleatoppedatoneof hishalting-placetwhen
a man called his attention to someone walking on the way alone. The
apostle said that he hoped it was Abil Dharr, and when th e people had
lookedcarefullythey saidthatitwashe, Theapostlesaid,'Godhavemercy
on AbU Dharr. He walks alone and he will die alone and be raised alone.'
Burayda b. Sufyan al-Aslami from Muhammad b. Ka'b al-Qura~l from
'Abdullah b. l\ias'Ud told me that when 'Uthmlin exiled AbU Dharr to 111Rabadha' and his appointed time came there \\'Ill none with him but his
\\ife and his slave. He instructed them to wash him and wind }lim in hit
shroudand layhimontheaurfaceofthe roadandtotellthefirstcanwan
that passed who he was and ask them to help in burying him. When he
died they did this. 'Abdullah b. Mas'Ud came up \\ith a number of men
from Iraq on pilgrimage when suddenly they saw the bier on the tOp of the
road : the camels had almost trodden on it. Theslavegotup and said,
'This ia AbU Dharr the apostle"a companion. Help us to bury him.' 'Abdul
lah b.Mas'ildbrokeoutintoloudweepingsayjng,'Theapostlewasright.
Youwalkedalone,andyoudiedalone,andyouwillbernisedalone.' Then
heandhiscompanionsalightedandburiedhimandhetoldthemhisstory
andwhattheapostlehadsaidontheroadtoTabUk.
A band of hypocrites, among them Wadi'a b. Thibit, brother of B
'Amr b. 'Auf, and a man of Ashja' an ally of B. Salima called Mukhashshin
b.l;lumayyir(864)werepointingat(T.goingwith)theapostleashewas
901 joumeyingtoTabiiksayingonetoanother,'Do)outhinkthatfightingthe
Byzantines is like a war between Araba? By God we (T. I) seem to see
you bound with ropes

to~~::~~: ~~~~~~e alum and dismay to the

Th~Lif~

Tlu Lift of Mululmmad

8

~;:~~~n! ~y ~~f: ~~~en~~~= :;kd;.~~~ r?;:~i~~~r~:~~:e !r~:~:~

~%;]Eii~f~~~~~~~2:;fi~::r&r~l~~~~;;~
~;: ~~~~~fi:~:n~:::~!~~:~~~~~~~eC:;:~~dht~:~~~~~ in bringing
Blessed is Hewhodro\eouttheoow~.
IaeeGodguiding everyleader.
Those who tum aside from yonder TabUk, (let them)
Forwehavebeenorderedtofight.

ret~!:~~~~~:~~ed in TabUk 110me ten nights, not more. Then he

1

~~:ch;i;~~. t~:::: ::.~~~ ~~~~~ga[.~~s~;:;~~:g;~t~~;~e r::

or
anyonewhoshouldgettherebeforehimnottotake waterfromituntilhe
came. A number of the disaffected got there fi111t and drew water from it.
When the apostle arrived he halted and saw no water there. He asked who
had got there fi111t and was told their names. He exclaimed, 'Did I not
forbid you to take water from it until l came?' Then he cu111ed them and

~~~du~~'; t~eod~k~e;~:~;~;~a:O:~ ~o~=~n~: ~:~g~~ :~~~~:~:~~

Thenhesprinkledtherockwiththewaterandrubbeditwithhishand and
prayed as God willed him to pray. Then water burst fonh, as one who
hearditsaid,witha liOundlikethunder. The mendrankandutisfiedtheir

~=~ !~~~~~~~ tt~:t ~i:~o~~~~~~:~~;vi~ ':e~~:O~~?u who li\'e, will

Muhammad b. lbnthlm b. al-!;Urith al-Taymi told me that 'Abdullah b.

:~~;~~k::~~~:o!~~!~~::2:~:~~~~;!a::~~:~~=~~~

~ #7~~:;:?~~1~~1I;~;r~:~~g:z~~;~~~J\::~
pleased with him; be Thou pleased with him!' Abdullah b. Mas'Ud used

:~~~i~i~~:~-~~~~~~~7h~e~~e~r~~~;~::;Et:~~~~::~. I~~~

~~':?t~ t~~~r:~~~;~ \~h~:e/~~~:~~~~a7dh~nd~~~~~~~ht~h~:;=;l~

JOUrneyed the mght With h1m. While we were at

al-Akh~ar

near the

of Muhamnuui

apottle God east aheavyaleep onuaand Ibegantowa.keupwhenmy

camelhadcomeneartheapostle'scamel. Iwasafraidthatifitcametoo
near hia foot would be hun in the stirrup. I began to move my camel away

=d~tl~~= ~:e:::eh:~;,~!: :aihe;~:;~~ ~~~!r:

byhiavoiccuying,'Lookout.' l askedhilpardonandhetoldmetoeany

on. Theapottlebegantoaskmeaboutthosewhohaddroppedoutfrom
B.G~rand I told him. Heaskedmeaboutthepeoplewithlong
atragghngredbeardsandltoldhlmthattheyhaddroppedout. Then he
askedaboutthemenwithlhoncurlyhairandiconfeaaedthatldidnot
know that they were of m. 'But y~,' he said, 'they are those who own 906
camels in Shabakaw Shadakh.' Then I remembered that they were
among B. Ghiflr, but I did not remember them until I recalled that they
were a clan of Allam who were alli~ of oun. When I told him this he said,
'Wha.tpreventedoneofthesewhen.hefelloutfrommountingaualoua
manmthewayofGodononeofhiacamel.s? The tnO!Itpainfulthingto
me ia that muhijirU.n from Qurayt~h and the Anf1r and Ghiflr and Allam
shouldataybehind.'

THE OPPOSITION MOSQUE

~~t j~~:ywf~:~o~~~:~a~e ~~:::n~:~~~h~:~~~~~ ;~~~::d::d

oometotheapostleashewaspreparingforTablik,eaying,'Wehavebuilt
amotquefor the ickandneedyandfornightsofbadweather,andwe
ahouldlikeyoutocometouaandprayforusthere.' Heuidthathewas
on thepointoftravelling, andwaspreoccupied,orwordstothateffect,
andthatwhenhecamebackifGodwilledhewouldcometothemand
prayfortheminit.
WhenbeatoppedinDbliAwinnewaofthem<quecametohim,andhe
aummoned Mililt b. al-Dukhshum, brother of B. Sllim b. 'Auf, and Ma'n

~::~:~~~~~::~::1~:~:r~~~~r:~:;:~

'Wait for me until I can bring fire from my people.' So he went iu and
tookapaJm.brancbll.ndlightedit,andthenthetwoofthemranintothe

~:zE:!::E;::;~~~:7.:~::~~:~E;s.~~

aionamongbelieven'totheendofthepauage. 1

Za~;,e ~::~~~ ;~:;; ~~~~f7~: ~h:~~~!li~o :h~ ~~~~:~

motque; Tha'laba b.l;litib of B. Umayya b. Zayd; Mu'tttib b. Qushayt";

AbU l;lablba b. al-Az'ar, both ~f :~~~:t b. Zayd; 'Abbld b. l;lunayf,

907

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tlu Lift of Muhammad

the ume cue and they uid that there wert two men who had uid what I
had uid, and they got the ume answer. They were Murlra b. al-Rabi'
al-'Amrl of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf, and Hilll b. AbU Umayya al-Wiqi1, two
hone.tmenofexempl.aryc.hanctec. When they mentioned them I was
ailent. Theapoedeforbadeanyonetotpeaktousthreeoutofthotewho
hadttayedbehind,somentvoidedusandthowedanaltereddemeanour,
untilihatedmyttlfandthewholeworldaaneverbefore. Weenduredthis
fOI"fiftynightl. ~formytwocompaniontinmisfortunetheywerehumi
liatedandltlyedintheirbousea,butiwuynungerandhardier,aoiuted
togooutandattendprayenwiththeMuslims.,andgoroundthemarketl
whilenoonepoketome;andiwouldgototheaposdeandsalutehim
while he aat after prayen, asking myself if his lips had moved in returning
thesalutationornot;thenlwouldpraynearhimand stealalookathim.
When I performed my prayer he looked at me, and when I turned towarda
him he turned way from me. When I had endured much from the hanhn-oftheMuslinalwal.kedoffandclimbedoverthe"'-al.lofAhUQatlda'
ou orchard. He wu my cousin and the dearest of men to me. I saluted him
and by God he did not return my Jal4m so I said, '0 AbU Qatlda, I adjure
youhyGod,doyounotknowthati loveGodandHisapostlel';buthe
answered me not a word. Again I 1djured him and he was silent; again,
and he said, 'God and Hil apo&de know best.' At that my eyes swam with
teanandljumpedupandclimbedoverthewall.
In the morning I walked in the market and there was one of the Naba~
tnden from Syria who came to ~ell food in Medina asking for me. When
heaakedformethepeoplepointedmeouttohim,andhecameandgave
me a letter from the king of Ghwln which he had written on a piece of
tilkwhichreadasfolloWI: 'Wehearthatyourmastahastreatedyou
badly. Godhaanotputyouinahouseofhumiliationandlou,aocometo
us and we will provide for you.' When I read it I thought that UU. too wu
partoftheordeal. Myaituationwuauchthatapolytheisthopedtowin
meover;soitookthelettertotheovenudbumedit.
Thuswewentonuntilfortyofthefiftynighuhadpasaedudthenthe
apoede'tmeueogercametomeandtoldmethattheaposdeorderedthat
I thould aeparate myttlf from my wife. I asked whether UU. meant that I
-todivoroeher,butheuidNo, Iwaatoteparatemyselfandnot
1pproachher. Mytwocompanionsreceivedtimilarorden. Itoldmywife
torejoinherfvnilyuntilsuchtimeasGodthouldgiveadecisioninthe
matter. ThewifeofHilllcametothesposdeandtoldhimthathewasan
oldman,lc.twithoutlltrvtnt, wasthereanyobjectiontoherKrving
bim1 Heuidtherewasnotprovidedthathedidnotapproachher. She
toldtheapostlethathenevermadesmovementtowardaherandthathis
weeping was so prolonged that she feared thathe\\--ouldlosehisaight.
Oneofmyftmilytuggestedthatlshouldaskforsimilarpermissionfrom
thetpo&tle,butideclinedtodoaobtcauseididnotknowwhathewould
oa uyinreplytincelwuayoungman. Tenmorenighupasaeduntilfifty

..,
!f~~~~;::;E~!~:r:~~::~o~:F~~=e~~~~w;i
:::~:~::~sE~~g~;z:?~;:i~~~:~~~d=~
Tlu Lzft of Muhammad

topofhisvoice'Goodnews,Ka'bb.Mll.ikl'lfelldownprostrate,knowing
thatreliefhadcomeatlast.
Theatx-de announced God's forgiveneaswhen he prayed the dawn

re~~:: ';i~hr::::.t.:~ ~o!!~~t~=-on~~:,en:n~o .~":

fromAslamranuntilhecameoverthemountain,andthevoicewuquicker
than the horae. Whenthemanwhomihadheard ahoutingthegoodnews
came, Itoreoffmyclothesandgavethemtohimasarewardforgood

g,~:~ijJtt;~:t~:~~g:~~~~:rg~~~:J~E:

Ta1J:aab.'Ubaydull.ahgotupandgreetedmeandcongratulattdme,hutno
01
':he
'Thil ia

~h:u~~~~u~~~ <::_~l~e:r.~~: ~: f:'::~:!eT~:j~y,

~~";;'~::::rJ::,r ~~f~u~~h~e=d~o ?:~ ~es:~d ~m0:~ ~f~

utedtobelikethemoon,andweutedtorecognlzeit. Whenintbefore
himitoldhimthatuanactofpen.itencelwouldgiveawaymyproperty
ualmstoGodandHisaposde. Hetoldmetokeepaomeofitforthat 913
wouldbtbetterforme. Itoldhimthatiwouldkeepmy hareinKhaybar

E)i~~E;~1.~~:~~~~~~

~~v:r~:~~ 1lie, and I hope that God will preserve me for the

:~fg~!;~;;i~.t~f:i?~;;E~

'Andbewiththetruthfui.'J
Ka'buid:'GodnevershowedmeagreaterfavourafterHehadguided
me to blam than when I told the atx-tle the truth tht day 10 that I did ~ot

!~:dJ:'!t'~::~~e~~~et~~!~~;h~ :~ ~~~ ~:~~~; ~~~~:

,,,

The b fe of Muhammad

The Lrfe of Muhammad

to him tO come out to him. 'Abdu Yllil expressed great surprise that 'Amr 9<5
wbowassocarefulofhislifeshould oometohim, so he cameout,aod
when he: saw him he welcomed him. 'Amr said 10 him: 'We are in an
impasse. \'ouhaveseenhowtheaffairofthis man has progressed. All
theArabsh.avcacceptcd lslamandyoulackthepowertofightthem,so
look to your case.' Thereupon Thaqlf took counsel and said one to
another,'Don'tyouseethatyourherd!larenots.afe;noneofyoucangoout
withoutbeingcutoff.' Soafterconferringtogethertheydeddcdtosenda
man to the apost le as they had sent 'Urwa. They spoke to 'Abdu Yalil,
who was a contemporary of 'Urwa, and laid the plan before him, but he
refusedtoact,fcaringthaton his returnhe wouldbctreatedas'Urwawas.
He said that he would not go unless they sent some men with him. They
decided to aend two men from al-Attlif and three from B. M~lik, six in all.
They sent with ' Abdu Yiilil, al-l:lakam b. 'Amr b. Wahb b. 1\lu'anib, and
Shura.~bil b. Ghaylin b. Salima b. Mu'attib; and from B. 1\Ulik, 'Uthmin
b. AbU'l'~ b. Bishr b. 'Abdu Duhmin, brother of B. Yasir, and Aus b.
'Auf, brother of B. Siiim b. 'Auf, and Numayr b. Kharasha b. Rabi'a,
brother of B. al-l:lirith. 'Abdu Yilil went with them as leader in charge of

;~:e ~a,i~n\~e a~O::~:~:e;~~:th~:ho~ano:~ o~i!e:;t:;nmc:~:~gs;~:r:a~=

attention of his clan.
WhentheyapproachedMedinaandhaltedatQanittheymetthereal
!1.-l ughlrab.Shu'bawhose turnitwastopasturethecamelsoftheapostle's
companions, for the companions took thia duty in turn. When he saw
them he left the camels wit h the Thaqafis and jumped up to run to give the
apostle the good news of their coming. AbU Bakr met him before he could
get tothcapostlcandhetoldhimthatrider~ofThaqlfhadcometomake

their aubminion and accept Islam on the apostle's conditions provided

thattheycouldgetadocumentguara.nteeingtheirpeopleandtheirland
and animals. AbU Bakr implored ai-Mughlra to let him be the first to tell
the apostle the news and he agreed, so AbU Bakr went in and told the
apostlewhileal-Mughlrarejoinedhi.seompanionsandbroughtthecamcls
back. Hetaughtthemhowtosalutetheapostlc,forthcywereusedtothe
salutationofpaganism. Whcntheycametothcapostlche pitchedatent
for them near his mosque, so they allege. Kh~lid b. Sa'id b. al'~ acted
asintermediarybetweenthemandtheapostleuntiltheygottheirdocu
ment; it was he who actually wrote it. They would not eat the food which
came to them from the apostle until KMlid ate some and until they
had accepted lslamandhadgottheirdocument.
Among the thing3 they asked the apostle was that they should be
allowed to retain their idol Al-Ut undestroyed for three years. The
apostlerefu&ed,andtheyeontinuedtoaskhimforayearortwo,andhe
refused; finally they asked fora month after their return home; but he
rtfuaedtoagreetoanysettime. Allthattheywantedaatheyweretrying
to show was to be safe from their fanatict and women and children by

96

TheLifeofMuJummwd

~~j~la!~~.:~~or Abii Sufyin when her jewellery and gold and beads

~~1;:~~~~;:~;:r~~~ggf~~E:;.~:~~
~~;:.;~:e;~~ei~ ~~:~ho~t '!c~e';::no~g~yen.'
9 17

They said that

When they had accepted Islam andtheapost1ehadgiventhemtheir

document he appointed 'Uthmln b. Abii'l-'At over them although he wu

~~~!?:~~~i~~~~~;::~ :~;~~~~~~t]E~~~:~

918

..,

The Life of Muhammad

~e:;::ti7~~e;n!a~h:~~~~~~~=~ t~~~~;:.~l~h:;~~~1~\~~~':~:~

the deputation told me: Bill! used to come to us when we had become
Muslims and we fasted with the apostle for the rest of RamaQ.In, and bring
our aupper and our breakfast from the apostle. He would come to Ul in
the morning twilight and we would say 'We see that the dawn has risen.'
He would say, 'I left the apostl<: eating at daybreak, 10 as to make the dawn
meal later';' and he would bring our evening meal and we would say, 'We
aeethattheaunhasnotentirelyvaniahed,'andhewouldaay,'ldidnot
come_toyouuntiltheapostlehadeaten.' Thenhewouldputhi.shandin
thed11handestfromit(867).
Sa'id b. Abii Hind from Mutarrif b. 'AbduUah b. al-Shakhkhir from
'Uthmin b. Abii'J.'At aaid: The Jut thing the apostle enjoined on me
when he sent me to Thaqlf wu to be brief in prayer, to measure men by
their weakest members; for there were old and young, sick and in finn
among them.
Whentheyhadaccomplishedtheirtukandhadsetouttoretumtotheir
countrytheapostlesentwiththemAbiiSufyinandal-Mughiratodestroy
the idol. Theytravell.edwiththedeputationandwhentheyneared aiTi'if,al-MughlrawantedtoaendonAbiiSufyininadvance. The latter
refusedandtoldhimtogotohiapeoplewhilehestayedinhispropertyin
Dhii'I-Haram. When ti-Mughlra entered he went up to the idol and
struckitwithapicku:e. HitpeopletheB.Mu'attibstoodinfrontofhim
furing that he would be ahot or killed as 'Urwa had been. The women of
Thaqlfcameoutwiththeirheadauncoveredbewailingherandsaying:
Owecpforourprotector
Poltroonswouldneglecther
Whoseswordsnecdacorrector(868).
Abii Sufyin, u ai-Mughlra amote her with the axe, aaid 'Alas for you,
alas!' Whenal-Mughlrahaddestroyedherandtakenwhatwasonherand
'TholuldouHmoybconeo:plon~loryalOIIfroml.l.

'I.H.Mnhi"'"JJti'/./wdmto,bullhINeradinaaivnbonioinT.69 Tboni

;:,:;~~llbou!!ltiobouH!h&rhyminawonioflhoafJlvoninYiq. iv.orequirootlut

Now Abii Mulayl;l b. 'Urwa and Qirib b. al-Aswad had come to the
1poatle before the Thaqif deputation when 'Urwa wu killed, desiring to
aepallltethemselvesfromThaqlfandtohavenothingtodowiththem.
When they be<:ame Muslims the apostle said to them, 'Taite u friends
whom you ""ill,' and they u.id, 'We choc.e God and Hia apostle.' The
~f:~e=-d, 'and your maternal uncle Abii Sufyin b.l;larb,' and they said,
Whenthepeopleofal-Til'ifhadacceptedislamandtheapostlehadaent
Ahii Sufyln and al-Mughira to destroy the idol, Abii Mulayl;l b. 'Urwa
ukedtheapostletosettleadebthisfatherhadincurredfromthepropcrty
oftheidol. TheapostleagrecdandQiribb.ai-Aawadaskedforthe ume
privilege for his father. Now 'Unva and al-Aawad were full brothen. The
apoatleaaid,'But 'al-Aswaddiedapolytheillt.' HeiiUiwered,'Butyouwill
bedoingafavourtoaMuslimanearrelation,'meaninghimself;'thedebt
is only incumbent on me and from me it is required.' The apostle ordered
AbiiSufyintoaatisfythedebtsof'Urwaandal-Aawadfromtheproperty
of the idol, and when al-Mughira had collected its money he told Abii
:~fy:.thattheapostlehadorderedhimtosatisfytheaedcbtsthul,and he

Thetextofthedocumenttheapostlewroteforthemrura:'Inthename
of God the Compassionate the Merciful. From Muhammad the prophet,
theapostleofGod,tothebelieven:Theacaciatreesof\Vajj'anditsgame
arenottobeinjured. Anyonefounddoingthiswillbe_scourg~andhia
gannenta confiscated. If he repeats the offence he wll be setzed and
brought to the prophet Muhammad. This is the order of the prophet
Muhammad,theapostleofGod.' Khllidb.Sa'Idhaswrittenbytheorder
of the apostle Muhammad b. Abdullah, 10 let none repeat the offence to his 919
own injury in what the apostle of God Muhammad has ordered.
ABO BAKR LEADS THE PILGRIMAGE, A.H.9

The apostle remained there for the rest of the month of Rama41n and
Shawwil and Dhii'I-Qa'da. Then he aent Abii Bakr in command of the
lwjjintheyear9toenabletheMuslimstoperfonntheir~ajjwhile_the

polythei.stswereattheirpilgrimagestations. AbiiBakrandtheMushnu
duly departed.

be~!~~:~~c::n~~=~::~h:~:!:e::~d ~ ~~t :;;~:

~:~~:p~::::: ==~ ~~ane!~:\:::;~~e~~~~;~~;~:~;~

meanwhile there were particular agreements between the apoatle and the
Arab tribes for specified te~ P:dint~~;,.~~me down about it and bout

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

,,,

TMLiftofMuluvnmml
Go forth in the way of God you were weighed down to the earth' then u
far u His wonb 'He will puniah you with a painful punishment and ch001e
apeopleotherthanyou'tothewordt'ifyoudonothelphimttillGod
helpedhimwhenthoaewhodiabelievedrovehimoutthesecondoftwo
whenthetwainwereinthecave.'
Then He taid to Hit prophet, mentioning the disaffected: 'Had it bet!\
a nearadventureandashortjoumeytheywouldhavefollowedyou,but
thelongdistaneeweigheduponthem. AndtheywillsweacbyGod,Had
webeenablewewouldhavesetforthwithyou. Theydestcoythemtelves,
Godknowingthattheyarelian,'i.e.thattheywereable. 'MayGodforgive
you. Why did you give them lene (to atay behind) before those who told
thetruthwereplaintoyouandyouknewtheliara?'asfarasthewonl.t
'Hadtheygoneforthwithyo}ltheywouldhavecontributednaughtbut
troubleandhavehurriedaboutamongyouse:e:kingtocauaeaeditionamong
youtherebeingamongyouaomewhowouldhavelistenedtothem'(871).
Among the men of high atanding who asked his permisaion (to stay behind)accordingtomyinfonnationwere'Abdullahh.Ubayyb.Saliiland
al-jaddb.Qays. TbeywerenoblesamongtheirpeopleandGodkepttbem 9:15
backbecauseHeknewthatiftheywe:ntfonhwithhimtheywouldcause
disorder in his army, for in the army were men who loved them and would
obeytheminanythingtheyaskedbecause:oftheirhighatandingarnong
them. God said: 'And among them are aome who would have listened to
them, and God knows about theevil-doera. In the past theyaought to
causese:dition,'i.e.beforetheyaskedyourperrniaaioo,'andove:rtumed
youraffaira,'i.e.todrawawayyourcompanionsfromyouandtofruttrate
youraffair'untilthetruthcameandGod'acommand. becamemanifest
though they were averae', Of them is be who taid, Give me permiuion
(toataybehind)andtemptmenot. Havetheynotfallenintotemptation
already 1' The one who aaid that according to what we were told wu aljaddb.Qays,brotherofB. Salima,whentheapo6tlecaUedhimtowar
withtheByzantinet. Thentheaccountgoe:tontotheworda'Iftheywere
tofindarefugeorcavem~oraplaeetoentertbeywouldhavetumedtoit

withallspeed. Andofthemiahewhoddamedyouinthem.atterofalnui,
Iftheyaregive:naometheyareconte:nt;butiftheyarenotgivenaomethey
are enraged,' i.e. theirwhole aim,theirutisfactioo,andtheiranger,are
coneemedwiththeirworldlylife.
ThenHeezplainedandapecifiedtowhomalrmahouldbegive:n:'Atm.
areonlyforthepoorandnecdyandthecollectoraofitandforthoaewhoae
he:aruaretobewon,andtofre:ecaptivetanddebtora,andforthewayof
~:::.~d for the wayfarer as an ordinanee from God and God ia knowing,
Then Hementionedtheirduplicityand theirvexil!g the tpo6tle and
aaid:'Andofthemarethoeewhoveztheprophetandaay,Heisaneac.
Say:anearofgoodforyou,wbobelievetinGodandiafaithfultothe
believers and a mercy for thoaeofyou who believe. There ill a painful

The Life of Muhammad

/;,., :::~~~=~~thi ,.~..., i forced and it; , probabl~ tMI som~ <arty 1cribe wrote....,,~,,;-

The Life of Muhammad

,,,

...

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Tlu Life of Multammad

Then He mentioned the 1incere and faithful Bedouin among them and
aaid: 'And of the Bedouin there it he who believes in God and the last
dayandregardl whathcspendaandtheprayen~oftheapostle asaccep

tableofferinpwithGod. Itisanacceptableofferingforthem.'
ThenHemcntioncd thefirsternigranteandhclpersandthe.irmeritand
the goodly reward wh.ic:h God promised them. Then he joined with them
their later followen in goodneu and He uid, 'God is pleased with them
and they ace pleased with Him.' Then He said: 'And of the Bedouin
roundyouthercarcthediaaffectedandofthepeopleofMedinathercare
tboeewhoareltubbomindisaffccti.on,'i.c.penistinitand refutetobc
otherwilc; 'we 1hall punish them twice.' The punishment with which
God threatened them twice according to my information is theirgrie
overtheirpoaition inblamandtheirinwardrageatnotgettinga(heavenJy)
reward;thentheirpunishmentinthegravewhen theygetthere;thenthe
greatpunishmenttowhichthcywillbebrought,thepunishmentofheU
eternally. Then He aaid: 'And there are others who acknowledged their
ftulta. They mix~ a good deed with another that was bad; perhaps God
will relent towardl them, for He it forgiving, merciful.'
Then He nid, 'Take alma from their wealth wherewith to purify and
cleanse them' to the end of the passage. Then H e said: 'And there are
otherawhoarepoe;tponedtoGod'sdecree;eitherHewillpuni.shthcmor
relent towards them.' They are the three who were left in abeyance and
theapoe;tlepostponedthei r cueuntiltheirforgivenesscamefromGod.
9"9 Then He nid, 'And as for thoae who chose a moeque out of oppoe;ition'
to the end of the paaage. Then He nid: 'God has bought from the
believeratheirlive~andtheirwealthfortheGardenthatwiU betheira.'

Thencome~thenarn.tivedealingwithTabUi.totheendof thechapter.

InthetimeoftheprophetandafterwudiBari'awucalledal-Muba
'thir.'beeauaeitlaidbaretheaeeretthoughtsofmen. Tabllkwuthelut
raidthatthe apoe;tlemade.
THE P OE T RY OF I;IA SS AN ENUMERATING THE BATTLES

l:lasaiD b. Thlbit, enumerating the

battle~

and campaign. in which the

An9J.rfoughtincompanywiththeapostle,said:(87:z)

tmJ:t~~ ::-::!~::::!din~=~ ~d

tribe'

A people all of whom witneu!d Badr with the apostJe

NeitherfallingahonnordCKning.
Theygavehimtheirfeal.ty,notonebetn.yedit,
AndtherewQnOdeceitintheirplightedword.
OnthedaywhenintheglenofUI;\Ud
1 Cf.Saruh. 4o.nd oo.9
~~?ra::ir~~=:.o-""'t<>fM'addmelllllmeninaen~o.nd ..,..Maadd'

,,,

Well-aimedblowsblazinglilte a hotfire metthem

And the day of DhU. Qarad when dust rose above them as they rode
TheydidnotAinchnorfear.
At DhU.'I-'Uahayra they overrode them with the apostle
Armedwith awordand spear.
AtWaddlntheydrove outiupeople
GallopingalongtillhiUandmountainatoppedus.
And the night when they sought t heir enemy for God's sake
(AndGodwillrewardthemforwhattheydid)
AndtheraidonNajd,wherewiththeapostle
Theygainedmuch apoil andbooty.
Andthenightin}:lunaynwhentheyfoughtwithhim
Hegavethema secondtasteofcombat.
Andtheraidofal-Qi'whenwescatteredtheenemy
AJ.camelaarescatteredbcforetheir drinking-place.
They were t he people who paid him homage
Tothepointofwar-they sucoouredhim andl efthimnot.
IntheraidonMeccatheywereonguardamonghistroops
Neitherlight-mindednorhasty.
AtKhaybar theywere in hissquadron
Eachmanwallting likeaherofacingdcath
With swords quiveringintheirrighthands
Sometimesbentthrough striking,sometimeastraight.
The day the apo!itle went to TabU.Ir. s~king God's reward
Theywerehisfirststandard-bearera.

~~~ft ~;~~~: :n!~:a~f=~;~ i:hS:C:S~ good to them

Thoaearethepeople,theprophet'sAn,>Ir,
An!;~~~~e my people-to them I belong when my descent is
Theydiedhonourably,faithunbroken,
And when they were !tilled it wu for God't salte (873).
}:laulnalso uid :
We were kings of men before Muhammad
Andwhenhlarncameweh.adthesuperiority.
GodtheonlyGodhonoureduswith
Bygonedayathathavenoparallel
InourhelptoGodand H isapostleandHisreligion,
And God has given us a name which hu no equal.
Thosepeopleofminearethebc:stofallpeople.
Whatever ilcou ntedgoodmypeopleareworthyo{it,
They surpassalltheirpredecessorsingenerosity
Andtheway totheirgenerosityi.sneverbarred.
When men come to their assemb lies they do not behave uJUeemly,
-

ss

Th~ Lif~

of Muhammad

Tlu Life of Muhammad

~~:ya:~ef~~Jm~:~~e ~~C:a~~~ ~a;e~ift.

Thetr&OJOUmer'ahousei.thighandinaocc:ssible.

~~~~:;:}:;:::~u;r!~~~f~~::b~nd h~pitali~.
Hewhoapcabspcabthetruth,

~~e!~h~~:11~~~=~:~~~e:~~:~:ni~~~~~And he whom the angels washed of hit impurity were of us (874).

l;lassilnalsoaaid:

~:m~i~~~~~e:r:~h~:.truth, 0

:;:~:~ ~~~:~i~~ ~~:rr~:nh~n~e~~~;eo~!grant.l

~~J::~~~\:e~r~~~~ h1~~r~~ilt forts among the palms

WateringcamelswhichtheJewstraincd
Saying,Offwithyou,andComel
Theyhadwhattheywantcdof"'ineandplcasure,
Aneasylifefrccofcare.
We came to them with our equipment
Onourwhitewar-lovingcamels;
Bc:sidethemweledwar-hol'$CI
Coveredwiththiclr.ICJther.
Whenwehaltedonthesidc:s of$ilir'

~~:~:~:a~::S:o::~c~h~ :i~:lacc
Thcrcis noncwhoisnotindebtedtous,
Thoughhemayha\ebeen dislo)'lll(87S)

Andmadefasl the~addleswithtwistcdropes

Theywerescarcdbythe spccdofthehOL'$CI
Andthe auddenattaclr.fromthercar.
Theyflcd swiftlyinterror
Aswecameonthemlikelionsofthejungle
1

S&db.Mu't.dhKcordingtoA.Dh

The otory of H
on;alo hos been ~~n

God's apostle;

WebcarwitnessthatyouarethcslaveofGod
Sentinlightwithanuprightreligion
Wc andourchildrcnareaprotectionforyou
Andourwealthisatyourdisposal.'
Sucharewcifothersgiveyouthe lie,
Soshrinknotfrom proclaimingaloud,
Proclaimwhatyouhavchidden
Openly without concealing it.'
Theerringonescame withtheirswords
T hinkingthathewouldbcslain.
\Ve attackedthemwithourswords,
Fightingthemiscreantsofthepcoples inhis defencc
Withourbrightlypolishedswords
Fine-edged, biting, cutting.
When they encounteredhardbones
Thcydidnotrecoilorbecomebluntcd.
Suchhavcournoblesbcqucathcdus
lnancestralgloryandproudfamc.

Have theybccnrulcdevenforashorttime.
Tellabout'Adanditspcoplc:s:
Of ThamUd and the aurvivon of lram,

;]~~~;;~~~~~:~~;d;:,:.::~~-

:ned~~=~~~~~~~::.us:.,:!;~ they had gone

Whentherightly guidedaposdebroughtusthetruth
Andlightaftcrdarkness

Thcscaremypcopleifyouask,
Generous whenaguc:starrivc:s.
Largearethecoolr.ing-potsforthepmc:sten
Whcreintheycoolr.thefat-humpcdcamels.
Theygivethe sojoumeralifeofplenty
Andprotecttheirfriendwhenheiswrongcd.
Theywerekingsintheir lands,

p.

,,,

Onourlong,carcfullytcndedmares
Whichwere notoutofconditionfromlongstablin_g.
Dark bays, spirited,
Strongjointedlikcarr0\1o'S,
Carrying horsemen accustomed to fighting warrion
Andtosmitingdownbra\efoes;
Kingswhen(othtf'S)behavcdastyrantsintheland,
NeverretrCJtingbutalwaysadvancing.
Wecamebackwiththcirlcadingmen
And their women and children also were divide-:! among the victon.

To~ght .themisdcath;tomakepcacceasc.

TIIEYEAROFTHEDEPUTATIONS,A.H.9

above,

WhentheapostlehadgaincdpossessionofMecca,andhadfinishedwit h
TabUk,andThaqifhadsurrenderedandpaidhomage,deputationfrom
theArabs cametohim froma1ldirections(876).
'Act ooo jwleeinouraffoin{orpropcny).

The Lift of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

lndecidingfheirauimde!olslamfheArablwereonlywaitingtosee
what happened to thiaclanofQurayshandtheapostle. For Quray1h
werethe leadera and guides of men, the people of the sacred temple,
and the pureltoekofbhmaei iOnofAbraham; and the leading Arabs
did not contesf thia. It wu Quraysh who lud declared war on the apostle
and opposed him; and when Mecca was occupied and Quraysh became
tubjecttohimandhesubduedittolslam,andtheArabsknewthatthey
couldnotfighttheapostleordiaplayenmitytowardshimtheyentered
into God'a religion 'in batches' u God u..id, coming to him from all
direction.. God p.idto His prophet: 'When God'a help came and the
victory, and yousawmenenteringintoGod'sreligionin batchca,then
glorify God with praise and ask His pardon ~or He is _most forgiving,"
i.e.praiaeGodforHiahavingmadeyourreliglOnvictonous,andaskHia
pmlon, forHeismoatforgiving.

~~!i~i~

Till! COM I NG OF THE Dl!t'l.ITATJON OF 8AN0 TAMfM

934

Then deputationa of Arabs came to the apostle. There came to him

'Utilrid b. I;Ujib b. Zuriln b. 'Udus al-Tamlmi among the noblca of B.
Tamlm including al-Aqn' b.l;lll.bis and al-Zibriq5n b. Badroneof B.
Sa'd, and 'Amr b. al Ahtam and al-l~ab~lb b. Zayd (877).
And in the deputation of B. Tamlm were Nu"aym b. Yazid and Qay1 b.
al-l;llrith and Qays b. 'A4im brother of B. Sa'd with a great deputation
~:X~~;~~~~ (878). With them was 'Uyayna b. l:li~n b. }:ludhayfa b.

AI-Aqra' and 'Uyayna had been with the apostle at the occupation of
Meccaandl;lunaynandai-Tl'if,andwhenthedeputationcametheywere
among them. WhenthedeputationenteredthelllOllquetheycalledoutto
theapostlewhowasbehindinhiaprivateapartments,'Comeouttou,
Muhammadl'ThisloudCIJlannoyedtheapostleandhecameouttothem,
and they said, 'Muhammad, we have come 10 compete with you in boasting,aogivepennisaiontoourpoetandourorator.'Theapostledidao,
and 'UJll.ridb.l;lljibgo!upandsaid:
9H
'Praise belongs to God for Hi1 fnour to us and He is .mrthy to be
praised, who hu made us kings and gi\en us great wealth wherewith we are
generous,andhasmadeusthestrongestpeopleoftheeastandthegreatest
innumber,andthebestequipped,aowhoamongmankindisourequal?
Are we not the princes of men and their superiors 1 He who would compete
with us let him enumerate what we have enumerated. If we wished we
could uy more, but we are too modest to say much of what He has given
usandarewellknownforthat. l saythisthatyoumaybringforwardthe
like and anything better.' Then he sal down. The apostle said to Thll.bit
'S..:.ntto. Foracritidomoftllit trant lorion(dernandcdbyl.l."ouegeoio)Olldof l .l.'o
o:plafl&tion ... Suhoyll

~~lot

6:zg

He was God' choice from the worlds. Then He tummoned men to

i~ii~~~
00

{~.m;~e~:h:;:;~: b:::e~:~:~.'to our poet to tpeak' and he did

w,)andai-Zibriqlngotupandsa1d:

~~;r::~~nn;b!: :n:ri!~ ci~ o:~u~i:~ churches are built.

Howmanytribeshaveweplundered,
Forexccllenceingloryistobeaoughtafter.
Intimeofdcarthwefeedourmeattothehungry
Whennonincloudcanbeseen.
Youcsnseechiefscomingtousfromeveryland,
Andwefeedthemlaviahly.
Wealaughterfat-humpedyoung!$nelsasamatterofcoune;

~:::il~~ ~~::::.:~~=~ ::~h~~~periority

Theyyieldandabandonleadenhip.'

~~ ~~~'!:~~~;: ~::e: :::'~abroad.

Weforbidothenbutnoneforbidus.
Thutwearejustlyexaltedinpride(879).
Hasslnwuabsentatthetimeandtheapostlesentameuengertotell
hi~ to come and answer the B. Tarnim' poet. l;lauln taid, AI I went to
theapostlelwusaying
We protected God's apostle when he dwelt among u1
WhetherMa'addlikeditornot.

.,.

The L1je of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

.,,

Concerning them the Quran came down: 'Those who call you from
behindtheprivateapanmentsmostofthemhne nosense.'l

.,,

TM Lift of Muhammad

replied,'No, lwillnotuntilyoubelieveinGodalone.' He repeated the

request and went on talking to him expecting that Arbad would do 1.1

~ ~f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7;,~~~i:~~
ordered? By Cod there is no man on the face of the earth whom I fear more

~:;:nn~~ ~:~~~~hodm!.'~~~e~::~r ~~~;;~o ~tr :~~!:'u~:uU:r~:::

1

~=~;.int hewaysothatlcouldaeeonlyyou.

Wasltosmiteyouwiththe

(T. 'Amirb.al-Tufayluid:
The apoetle tent word about what you know and it was as though

Weweremakingaplannedraidonthetquadrons
Andourwom-outhoracshadbroughtustoMedina
And we had killed the Antlr in ita midst.)
~ they were on their

way back God sent a bubonic plague in 'Amir'

~oe::y~~ ~=~~~~=ir~~ :i~~~~~~:~~to;:~::; ~~iii~ ~: ~~~

ofawomanoBanO.SaiUII'(88a) 1
When they had buried him his companions returned to the B. ' Amir
country to winter and the people asked Arbad what had happened.
'Nothing, by God.' he aaid; 'he asked us to worship wmething. I wiah
he were here now and I would kill him with an arrow.' A day or two after
aaying thit he went out with hit camel behind him and God sent on him
and his camel a thunderbolt which consumed them. Arbad was brother
ofLabTdb. Rabl'abytheumemother(88J).
LabTdaaid,weepingArbad:

Thefatesaparenone,
Neitheranxiousfathernoraon.
lfearedtviolentdeathforArbad
ButididnotfeartheblowofPiscesandl..eo.
Oeye,whydoyounotweepforArbad
Sinceweandthewomenriseinaorrow?
Hmenblusteredhetooknonotice,
Iftheywere moderateinjudgementheshowedmoden.tion.
Sweet,astute,withalinhisawectnessbitter,
Gendeinbowelsandliver.
Oeye,whydoyounotweepforArbad
Whenthewinterwindsstriptheleavesfromthetrees
AndmakepregnantcameJ.milkless

TM Life of Muhammad
Untilthelastfewdropsappeari(Hewas)
Bolderthanaman-eatinglioninhisthicket.
Eagerforfameandfar-secing.
Theeyecouldnotseeasfarasitwished
Thenightthehorsescamewe:akfromthebattle.
Who sent the mourning-women among hi. moumen
Likeyounggazellesinabarrenland.
The lightning and thunderbolts distressed me
Forthebraveknightonthedayofmi.fortune.
Whospoiledthespoilertorepaytheapoiled
Who came to him distressed and if he asked for more he gave it;
Liberalwhentimeawerebad
Asthegentleapringrainthatwatersthegrase.
All10ns of a freewoman must become few
Howevcrmanyshebare
Enviedthoughtheybe,theymustfall;
Thoughtheyholdauthorityonedaytheymustperishanddie(884)
Goneiatheguardandprote<:tor
Whosavedhe r fromshameonthedayofbattle.
Iwas surewehad parted(for ever)thedaytheyuid,
'Arbad'apropertyisbeingdividedbylot.'
Thesharesofthehcil'lflyoffindoubleandsinglelott
Andtuthority'goestotheyoungman.
Bid farewell to AbU l:fun.y~with a blessing,
ThoughfarewelltoArbadbringslittleofthat.
Youwereourleaderandorganizer,
Forbeadsmustbeheldtogetherbyastring;
AndArbadwasawarlikeknight
When the howdahs with their coverings were overthrown ;
When in the morning the women were carried pillion
Withfacesunveiledandlegsbare;
Onthatdaymenfledtohimforaafety
Asamanatlargefteestothelllllctuary.
HewhocametoArbad'acooking-potpraisedit
And those who had much meat were not reproached.
If awomanwerehisguest
Shehadgifuandashareofthebestmeat;
If shestayedshewashonouredandrespected;
Ifthewentforth'twaswithakindfarewcll.
Haveyouever heardoftwo brother~whoenduredforever

SavethetwosonsofShamlim1 1
'Anothorexplonotionofz.,'.S...,jo 'thobeotoftheinhcriuncc'

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Orthetwo starsofthepolarregionandtheGreatBear
Everlasting,theirdestructionunthinkable. '
Labidalsosaid

THE COM ING OF AL-JAROD IN THE DEPUTAT I ON FROM

'ABDU'LQAYS
THE COMING OF I;I I MAM B. THA'LABA AS A DEPUTY
FROM BAN0 SA 'D B. BAKR

,,,

Tht Lift of Muhammad

637

him, 'Did he not aay to you when you mentioned me to him "His po1ition
ia no worse than youn"? What can that mean but that he knows that I am
apartnerwithhimintheaffairt'Thenhebegantoutterrhyme.inJaj'
and apeakinimitationoftheatyleoftheQuran:'Godhasbeengracious
to the pregnant woman; He hu brought forth from her a living being that
can move ; from her very midst.' He permitted them to drink wine and
fornicate , and letthemdispensewithprayer,yethewasacknowledging
~:=:~:t~h: :'~h~~d J:lanifa a~ with him on that. But God

ZAYDU'LKHAYL COMES WITH THE DEPUTATION FR O M

TAYYl'

THI! DEPUTATION FROM BANO I;IANIFA WITH WHOM

WAS MUSAYl.IMA

. . gf~~~I~~~f1~;~;~~~~~t~~~~
~t.~~}~~:!1rf!2~:i?~~2f4~;~~~==:

incident ha~pened otherwise. He alleged that the deputation came to the

apo~tlehavmgleftMuuylimabehindwith thecamebandthebaggage.
When they had acttpted Islam they remembered where he was, and told
0

$~ast~E~~?::~ ~~:~~!~~~: :::;::~:~~;:::~~!~

oompamons. That ia what the

apo~tle

me11nt.

w~:ent~;;rr!:~h~e a~:V.~:::: t~r:ue~~'m~";,t~~ h;~~at~!:~~ ~~~

h~11lltlf out as a prophet, and play~d the liar. He sa.id, 'I am a partner with
hmintheaffair,'andthenhe sadtotbedeputatiOO whohadbeenwith

~~:':,~:::!~ f;~~.).: =~1[!1,~~;,.:;! ~~;!;' th~

name of 'Tho De.:oinr'

The deputation of Tayyi' containing Zaydu'I-Khayl who was their chief

cametotheapottle, andafteraomeconvenationheexplained Islam to
them and they became good Mlllliiill. A man ofTayyi' whom I have no
reiiOntoauspcatoldmethattheapostlesaid,'NoArabhaaeverbeen
apokenofinthehighesttenJIIbutwhenihavemethimihavefoundthat
hefallabelowwhatwaasaidofhimexceptZaydu'l-Khayl,andheexceeda
all that has been said about him.' Then the apostle named him Zaydu').
Khayr and allotted to him Fayd and some lands with it and gave him a
deed accordingly.
A.Zaydwentbaclttohistribetheapostlesaidthathehopedhewould
eacape the Medina fever. The apostle did not call it l:fumml or Umm
Maldam; my inormant could not uy what. When he reached one
of the watering-pliiCC:I of Najd called Farda the fever overcame him and
hedied. Whenhefelthlsendcomingheuid:
Aremypeopletotraveleastwardatomorrow
While I'm to be left in a house in Fardain Najd~
How often if I were sick would women visit me
Ifnotwomoutbythejoumeyllleasttired.

hi~V~~ ~~r~~e:di!7h~~~~ the deeds which the apo~tle had given

'ADIY B. ij:.I.TIM

lhave beentoldthat'Adiyb.):lltimusedtoaay,'No.'\rabdialikedthe
apostle when he first heard o him more than I. Now I was a chie or
noble birth, a Christian, and I used totravelaboutamongmy people to
collectaquarteroftheiratock. Iwasmyownmasterinreligiousmatten
andwaaakingamongmypeopleandtreatedassuch. Whenlheardofthe
apostle I disliked him and said to an Arab servant of mine who was looking
after my came!J, "Prepare some of my weUtrained, well-fed camela, and
keep them near me, and when you hear of Muhammad's army coming

947

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of M11/rammad

into this country bring me word." One morning he came m me and said,
"\Vhatc~cr you arc going to do when Muhammad's cavalry comes upon
948 you,dottnow,for l ha\eseenflagsandl lcamthattheyarcthctroopsof
Muh~mad." I ordered him to brin~ my camels and I put my family
andchtldrcnonthcmanddecidcdtoJOinmyfcllowChris!iarainSyria.
I went u far as al-Jaushi)'ll (B9o) and I left one of l~ itim's daughters in the
acnlemcnt. WhcnlrcachcdSyrialstoppcdthcre.
Inmyabsenccthcapostlc'scavalrycameandamongthccaptivesthcy
took_ was ~~~tim '~ daughter, and she was brought to the apostle among the
capll vesof'j'ayyt'. TheapostlehadheardofmyflighttoSyria. l:lltim't
daughtcrwasputinthcendosurebythcdoorofthemosqucinwhichthc
~ptiveswcreimprisonedandthcapostlepassedbyher. Shegotuptomeet
h1m, for she was a oouneous woman, and uid, '0 apostle of God, my father
isdeadandthemanwhoshouldaetforme'ha.sgone. lfyouspareme
God will spare you.' He asked her who her man wu and when she told
him it wu 'Adiy b. l:l ~tim he exelaimed, 'The man who runs away from
God and His apostle.' Then he went on and left her. Exactly the same
thinghappenedthenextday,andonthefollowingdayshewuindespair.
Then a man behind him motioned to her tO get up and speak to him. She
said thesamewordsa.sbeforeandhereplied,"Ihavedoneso,butdonot
hurryawayuntilyoufindoneofyourpeoplewhomyoucantrustwhoean
takeyoutoyourcountry,thenletmeknow." I askedthenameoftheman
who had beckoned to me to speak and was told that it was 'Ali. I stayed
until some riders came from Bali or QuQI'a. All I wanted was to go to
mybrotherinSyria. lwenttotheapostleandtoldhimthatsometrust
wonhy man of repuution from my people had come for me. The apostle
gave me elothing and put me on a camel and gave me money and I went
awaywiththemuntil IcametoSyria.
'Adiy said: ' I was sitting among my people when I saw a howdah making
foruaandluid"Itisl:flitim'sdaughter"andsoitwas,andwhenahegot
949 to me t he re\iled me, saying, 'You evil rascal, you carried away your family
andchildrcnandabandonedyourfather'sdaughter.' Isaid,"Oonotaay
anythingthatisbad,littlesister,forbyGod I have no excuse. I did do
what you uy." Then she alighted and stayed with me; and a11 she was a
discreet woman I asked her what she thought of this man and ahe said,
"Ithinkthatyoushouldjoinhimquickly,forifthemanisaprophetthen
thosewhogettohimfirstwillbepreferred;andifheisakingyouwill
notbethamed inthegloryofalYaman, you being the man you are.''
l saidthatthiswasasoundjudgementso l wenttotheapostlewhenhe
was in his mosque in Medina and saluted him and told him my name and
he got up to take me to his house. As we were making for it there met him
anoldfeeblewomanwhoaskedhimtostopandhestoppedforalongti!"e

A.Oh.,fol owedbyC.,o-rtll,or'cbn"uQ.hil,"

'ldoublif....qiJmearu'rioitor' ..
.UyoiN,ii,2J<J,qoo<edinT.<7o8,rcporuo<ha<oomcochobnfind<h<wotdmuninll.... ond
illuplonalionforfctchotd. STob.GI"''

'"

while abe told him of her needs. I said to myself"This is no king" Then
helookmeintohishouseandtookholdofalcathercushionstulfedwith
palm ka\es and threw it to me saying, "Sit on that." I said, "No, you sit on
it,"andhesaid"No,you!"Solsatonitandhcaatontheground.lsaidto
myself, "This ia not the way a king behaves."Thenhesaid, "Now'Adiy,are
you not half a Christian/"' When I said that I was he said, "Don't you go
among your people collecting a quarter of their stod?" When I admitted
thatheaaid: "Dutthatisnotpermittedtoyouinyourrtligion." "Quite
troe," I said, and I knew that he was a prophet sent by God knowing what
is not generally known. Thenhe said," ltmaywellbethatthepoverty
youseepreventayoufromjoiningthisreligionbut, byGod,wealthwi\1
soon flowsooopiouslyamongthemthattherewill notbethepeopleto
takeit. Butperhapsitisthatyouseehowmanyaretheirenemiesandhow
few they are~ But, by God, you will hear of a woman coming on her camel
fromQii.diaiyatovisitthiatemple'unafraid. Butperhapsitisthatyousee
thatothen ha\e the power and SO\'ereignty, but by God you will soon 950
~~~: ~h~ :~lii~.~tles of Babylon have been opened to them." Then

'Adiyusedtosaythatthetwothingshappenedandthethirdremained
to be fulfilled. I saw the white castles of Babylon laid open and I saw
women coming from Q11disiya on camels unafraid to make the pilgrimage
to this temple; and, by God, the third will come to pll83: wealth will flow
until there will notbethepeopletotakeit.
Till! COM I NG OF FARWA B. MUSAYK ALMURADf

Farwab.Musaykal-Muridicametotheapostle,separatinghimselffrom
thekingsofKinda. Shortlybc:forels!amtherehadbeenabattlebetween
Murldand Hamdlninwhichtheformersulferedaseveredefeat,losing
many men in the engagement called al-Radm (T. al-Razm). The leader of

H~~;:.~ ~~~ :l~l~~~~:a~:I~7 (89t).

TheypassedbyLufii.t 3 withsunkeneyes
Tuggingatthcreinsastheyturnedtooncside.
lfweconquerwewcreconqucrorsofold
And ifweareconqueredwewerenotoftenconquered
Cowardiceianotourhabit,

~~~;~:~~~:e:~!:~::nune of othen (caused our defeat).

'~lrilfliodcfinedQamanrrud.,...y bctwftnaChri.,ionando$ibi'wllio<hbnu,awc

ho.-..occn.meanoa .... nwhotho,...shion!irion. Thua'Adly wouldoccmtobc,likcoo

many ofthcAraboaothioti.....,,aO>n....nbulnnt a praoctioiniChrinianln<hcfllltoe....,

:~~~~~4~:n~E~=~~"EJ~edin:'~':=.::":t~ "=i~7.

Tilt L1je of Muhammad

Nowforandnowagainstaman.
Whilewearehappyandrejoiceinit,
Thoughwehaveenjoyedits favourforyears,
Suddenlyfate'swheelistumed
Andyoutindthosewhowereenviedgroundtopieces.
Thosewhommenenvyforfate's favours
Willfindtime'schangcsdeceitful.
Ifkingswereimmortalwe ahouldbeso ;
Andifthenoblepersistedsoshouldwe;
Butthe chiefaofmypeopleare tweptaway
Like thegenen.tionsbeforethem(89:z).
sai::henFarwasetouttogototheapostle, leavingthekingsofKinda,he
WhenisawthekingsofKindahadfailedtogoright,
Like a man whose leg sinew leta him down,
I broughtupmycameltogotoMuhammad
Hopingfor itswelfareandgoodground(89J).
Whenhereachedtheapostleheaskedhim,solhavebeentold, 'Are
you upset at what befell your people on the day of al-Radm?' He
answeredthatsuchatribaldefeatasthatwoulddistressanyman,andthe
apostlesaidthatifthatweresolslamcou\dbringthemonlygood. The
prophetappointedhimgovernoroverMuri.dandZubaydandMadhl)ij

The L1je of Muhammad

,,,

Hewishedtomeetmeonahorseonwhichlsatasalion
Wearingaloosecoatofmail glitteringlikeapool
Onhardgroundwhichmakesthewaterclear.
Mailthatturnsbackthelanceswithbentpoints
Withbrokenshaftaftyingapart.
Had you met me you would have met a lion with flowing mane.
Youwouldmettanveningbeast
Withmightypawsandloftyshoulders
Matchinghisadverurywhomheoverthrowsifhenukeaforhim:
Sciu:shim,pickshimup,throW1himdownandkilbhim;
Dasheaouthisbrainsandshattershim;
Tearshiminpiecesanddevourshim,
Admittingnoneashareinthepreyhiateethanddawaholdfast(Sl}4)
'Amr atayed with his people the B. Zubayd while Farwa b. Musayk
was over them. When the apostle died 'Amr revolted, and aa id :
WehavefoundFarwa'aruletheworstofrules,
Anwsniffingatafemalew.
Uyouwereto lookatAbii'Umayr
Youwouldthinkhewasacaulwithitsfilt hydischarge(Sgs).

AlASH'ATH B. QAYS COMES WITH THE DEPUTATION

andsentwithhimKhllidb.Sa'idb.al'~inchugeoft hepoortax;

heremainedwithhiminhislanduntilthedeathoftheapostle.
THE COMING OF MA'DIKARIB FROM THE BANO ZUBAYD

9~a

'Amr b. Ma'dikarib came to the apostle with some men of B. Zubayd and
accepted Islam. He had said to Qays b. Makshiil) al-Muri.dl when news
oftheapostlereachedthem,'Youarethechiefofyourtribe,Qaya. We
haveheardthatamanofQun.yshcalledMuhammadhasappeared inthe
Hijaz claiming to be a prophet, so come with us 10 that we may fi.nd out the
facts. Ifhe i.taprophetuhe says,itwillbeapparenttoyouandwhenwe
meet him we will follow him. H he is nota prophet we shall know.' But
Qays refused and declared his advice to be folly. Thereupon 'Amr rode
offtotheapostleandaccepted Islam. WhenQilysheardofthishewas
ennged and threatened 'Amr,sayingthat he had goneagainsthimand
rejectedhisadvice, 'Amrsaidconcerningthat:
Igaveyouan orderonthedayofDhO.!i)an'l',
Anorderthatwplainlyright.
lorderedyou tofeat'Godandtopn.ctisegoodness.
Youwentoffafterpleuurel.i.keayoung ass
Whose lust beguiled him.

Al-Ash'ath b. Qays came to the apostle with the deputation ofKinda.

Al-ZuhritoldmethathecamewitheightyridersfromKindaandthey
went in to the apostle in the masque. They had combed their loeb and
blackenedtheireyeswithkofrl,andtheyworettripedrobesborderedwith
ailk. The apostle asked them if they .had accepted Islam and when they
aaidthattheyhadheaskedwhythissilkwasroundtheirnecb, Sothey
toreitoffandthrewitaway.
Thena1-Ash'athu.id,'Wearethesomoftheeaterofbitterherbtand
10 are you.' The apostle smiled and aaid that to ai-'Abbb b. 'Abdu'J.
MunalibandRabi'ab.al-l:llriththatanceatryv.-uattributed. Thesetwo
men were merchants and when they weQt about among the Araba and were
asked who they were they would say that they were sona of the eater of
bitter herbs, taking pride in that bwause Kindawere kings. Then he
said to them, 'Nay, we are the sons ofal-Na~r b. Kinina: we do not follow
our mother' line and disown our father." AI-Ash'athsaid 'Have you
finished (T. Do you know), 0 men of Kinda? By God if I hear a man
11yingthat(T. aftertoday) Iwillgivehim eightystrokes'(896).

64a

Tht Life of Muhammad

Tht Lift of Muhammad

~~:da1~:d~ *~ea=:l;np~~~: ~m~~u:~~~ ~::e~~~ -~~~~~

with their submission to Islam and abandonmen t of polytheism and its

adhe rents. T hen the apostle wrote to them: ' In the name of God the

~~:~i~r.!t:rr~~1~1~t;!~~~~~?j~~~ . .

who had accepted Islam and ordered h1m tO fight the ne1ghbounng

;g~f~~:;7~~~{@f:~f~.~~~l~~{

;~~ ~~~;gmtc::~~;~efs~~.r n~= .a~! i;~~~::y~: o~ft~u~~:la;:i:~;~

E1:1~~~~;:c~~~t ~e:~~~:~~~~E E~:::~i;I;;:~~~~~t~

lfyoudowellandobcyCodandH1sapostleandperformprayer,andpay
alms,andCod'sfifthofbootyandtheapostle'ssh:areandsclectedpan,

:~e ~:~ t:'~.~~;r~h~~h r!su!~~~~~~t ;~ ~}i~~:~:~~~Ja~::t::~:Xe~

hetumedonthemandkilledalargenumberofthem.

'" ~f::t~~iil~~~~~t1f.~~~~~~~~

~~~~f;g~i::i~E:~~~~I;fi~:~~~i~~~1

~~~~~~:t~dbe~:~C:it:~ ~oe ~~~= :dreh~l; t~h~i~~:::;~ ~~~:s~

0

'VictimlofferedtoGodarebeingkilledtherenow,' heuid. The two

men went and sat with Abii Bakr or it may have been 'Uthman and he

~~~:~~:~lt: ?~t~e;r~w~Fh;~~~~~;ol~~~~~:~~!s:~~:

~~~:~fi~Eii/~t~~~~WfJt~&!~~~

holdsfasttohisrdigion,jeworChristian,isnottobeturned(T. seduced)
from it. He must pay the poll tax- for every adult, male or female, free:
orsla\e,onefulldinarcalcul:atedonthevaluation ofMa'afir{T. or its
value) or its equivalent inelothcs. Hewhopays thattoGod'~apost le has
the guarantee of Cod and His apostle, and he who withhotds it IS the enemy
ofGodand Hisaposlle.
'The apostle of God, Muhammad the prophet, has sent to Zura Dhii
Yazan: When my messenger Mu'ldh b. Jabal, an~ 'Abdullah b. Zay~,
and Mlik b. 'UMda, and 'Uqba b. Nimr, and Malik b. l\I urra and the1r
companionseometoyou l commendthem toyourgoodoffiCCII. Collect the 957
alms and the poll ta.'t from your provinces and hand them over to my
messengers. Their leader is Mu'~dh b. Jabal, and let him not return un less
satisfied. Muhammad witnesses that there is no God but Allah and that
heis Hisscnantandaposlle.
'l\Hlik b. Murra al-Rahawi has told me that you were the first of
l:l imyartoac~ept lslamandhavekilledthepo!ytheists, and I ~ongratu late

~~~~~;~2.f.:~~;:~g;~;i~~]}
attack themintheu.credmonth}
What asucc:nsful raidwehad!Mulcs,andhorscsandasses.
Until we came to ijimyar with its forts
WhereKhath'amhadbeengivenfullwaming.
U l couldaatisfytherancourlfecl
l lhouldnotcarewhethcrtheywereMuslimsorheathen.

~:; ~~:d.;!~:e):t~~r~:~~i~r:~d~~~~n:f~:~~o~~a~da;::::7~:~r~h~~

THE DEPU T ATION OF TilE KINGS OF I;IIMYAR

On his return from TabUk a messenger brought a letter from the kings
of l:limyarwiththeiracceptanceoflslam:al-l:U.rithb.'AbduKuHU,and
'Thtoldwoni/Ji-f,munina;o-.ed&re&,huloo<i,.fornhr~.

643

~~::~~ a:d ~!'!~a~u~~~aa~h~l~~~nfr~"r~ik !. ~~:~~;~r::h:~

TilE COMING OF $U RAD .6. 'ABDULLAH ALAZDI

~
~ -

The Life of Muhammad

'"

ca~~~~~;~e h~r::i~tines determined to crucify him by a pool in Palestine

THE APOSTLE'S IN ST RUCTIONS TO MU' ADH WHEN HE

S EN T HIM TO THE YAMAN

AI-Zuhriallegedthatwhentheybroughthimto crucifyhimhesaid
TellthechiefsoftheMuslimsthati
SurrendertomyLordmybodyandmyboncs.
Then they beheaded him and hung him up by that water. May God have
mcrcyonhiml

THE BANO'L-I;IARITH ACCE P T I S LUI

FARWA B. 'AMR ALJUDH.J.MI BECOMES A MUSLIM

'A difficult e~pre .. ion. Perhopo 'they are people ofimportonoe' , orewn 'they will be
watched',i.e.to ..ehowtheyfa.,
'Suhaylioffen noC<>mment

6.t6

Tht Uft of Muhammad

AndiftheydiYnotsurrenderlwastofightthem. ldulycametothemand
invited them to Islam three days as the apostle ordered me, and I sent
riden arnongthemwithyourmessage. Theyhave11urrenderedandhave
not fought and I am staying among them instmc:ting them in the apostle's
positive and negative commands and teaching them the institutions of
Islam and theprophe~'swnnauntil the apostle writes to me. Peace upon
you&c.
The apostle wrote to him with the s;~me preamble as before, s;~ying:
' I ha\erecei\'edyour letterwhichcamewith yourmessenger tellingme
that the B. al-l~ ~rithau rrendered before you fought them and responded
toyourinritationtolslamandpronouncedthe shahtida,andthatGodhad
guided them with His guidance. So promise them good and warn them
96o and come. And let their deputation come with you. Peace upon you &c.
So Khalid came to the apostle with the deputation of B. al-l:ll rith,
among whom were Qaya b. ai-Hu~yn DhU'I-GhuMa, and Yazld b.
'Abd.u'J.J\1adln, and Yazid b. aiMul:laijal, and 'AbduUah b. Qurld aiZiyldi, and Shaddid b. 'Abdullah al-Qanlni, and 'Arne b. 'Abdullah
al-J;liblbi.
Whentheycametotheapostleheaskedwhothesepeople.wholooked
like Indians were, and wu told that they were the B. all:fanth b. Ka'b.
Whentheycameto the apostle theysaid,'\Ve testifythatyouare the
apostleofGodandthatthereisnoGodbutAilah.' Buthe said,'And I
testify thatthereisnoGod butAllahandthat l amtheapostle~fAilah.''

Then he said, 'You are the people who when they were dnven away
pushed forward,' and they remained silent, and noneof themanawered

~~:r:~hr~=t~a~~; :o~~~~~~;: ::~~~:~;~r:r:' :;~i~n~

four times. Theapostlesaid,'IfKhllidhadnotwrittentomethatyou
hadaccepted lslam and hadnotfoughtlwouldthrowyourheadsbene~th

your feet.' YaziJanswered,'\Vedonotpraiseyouandwedonotpratsc

Khalid.' 'Then whom do you praise I' he asked. He said: 'We praise

~~ :!:~::~~:!Yth:: t~~;uf;~~~g~~:~: =~an~:~~~~~::~

}~~~~e;o:;v~: =~:u~~Y~~~~. :~a:~ ::~::u: t~= ~:7ou~~~
0

because we were united and had no dissentients, and never began an

:j~~:ii~ei~a~~-said, 'You are right,' and he appointed Qays b. al-Hul}:lyn

~~eth~cp~i~~~n;e~r~u~~-~:~:a;:;le~:"";~~::h;oe:t~ ~f;:ra~~~
0

or

~:~?~t-~~=~e~:!~:~~::th~:~~C:nth;~ ~:~::~o~h:;dt~:~~:=

andtheinstitutionsofhlamandtocollecttheiralms;andhewrotehima
'TbqhadplacedmanbeforeGod.

_I _

6-4-8

The Lift of Muhammad

ofhiaownaccordandobeysthereligionofblamisabelieverwiththe
aame rights and theaameobligations. Hone of them holds fast to his
religionheisnottobeturned(T. seduced) from it. Everyadult,maleor
female,bondorfree,mustpayagoldendinaroritsequivalentinclothcs.
HewhoperformtthishastheguiiVItttofGodandHisapoatle;hewho
withholdsitistheenemyofGodandHiaapostleandall believen.

The L1jt of Muhammad

649

=i;Tp~e~~:~:~jr:~~::~;~;rnb~~~x~~~~ ~~!1~;:~~
collection of the poll-tax.
MUSAYLIM A'S LETTER ANO Till! APOSTLE'S AN SWER

THI! COMING OF Rlf'A.'A B. ZAYD ,\L~)UDHXMI

Rifl'ab.Zaydal-Judhl.mloftheclanofal-Oubaybcametotheapostle
duringthearmisticeofal-l:ludaybiyabeforeKhaybar. Hegavetheapostle
a slave and he became a good Muslim. The apostle gave him a letter to
hispeopleinwhichhewrote:'
To Rifl'a b. Zayd whom I have sent to his people and those who have
joined them to invite them to God and His apostle. Wh010ever comes
forwardisofthepartyofGodandHisapostle,andwhosocverturnsback
963 hastv."Omonths'grace.
When Rifl'a came to his people they responded and accepted h lsm;
thentheywcnttoal-l:larTa,theJ:Iarraofal-Rajlii',andstoppedthere(897)
THI! LIARS MUSAYLIMA AL-I;IANAFI AND ALASWAD
AL-'ANSI

Now the two arch-lian Muaaylima b.J:Iabib and al-Atwad b. Ka'b al-'Ansl
had spoken during the apostle's lifetime, the first in al-Yamilma among the
B.J:Ianlfa, and the second in San'il'. Yazld b. 'Abdullah b. Ou.sayttold
me from 'A!!' b. Yasilr, or his brother Sulaymiln, from Abii Sa'td itlKhudrJ, saying: 'I heard the apostle as he wu addressing the people from
his pulpit say "I uw the night of al-qadr and then I was made to
forget it; and lsawonmyarmstwobraceletsofgoldwhichldialilr.ed
&O I blewonthemand they flew away. I interpreted it to mean these
two lian, the man of al-Yamiima and the man of al-Yaman." '
One whom I do not' suspect on the authority of Abii Hurayra uid:
'I heardtheapostlesay:Thehourwil\notcomeuntilthinyantichrists
comeforth, eachofthemclaimingtobeaprophet.'
Till! SENDING OUT OF COLLECTORS OF THE POOR-TAX

The apoetle sent out his officials and representatives to CVCf)' district
subject to Islam to oolite: the poor-tax. He tent ai-MuhAjir b. Abii
Umayya b. al-Mughira to $an'f, and al-'Ansi came (Ill! against him whilehe was there. Ziyiid b. Labid, brother of B. Bay~<;!aal-An.fl ri, heaent to
i:la<;!ramaut. 'Adly b. l:lltim he tent to Tayyi' and B. AP.d; l\Uiik b.
Nuwayra (891!), to B.J:Ian~la. The poor-tax of B. Sa'd he divided between
'lhllvcominedlhoiatn>cluc..,.,.fo""u.l&.

THE FAREWELL I' I LGRtMAGI!

InthebeginningofDhii'l-Qa'datheapostle prepared tomake the pil-

gri~~~:;~:~~!~~db~:~-~:~~0 f~~re:i~yfather ai-Qhim b. Muhammad

from 'A'isha ihe prophet' wife told me that the apostle went on pil1

gri~;~e~11 h ::~~t~h~:~~~~tae (:r~~ything but the pilgrimage,

until
when he was in Sarif and had brought the victims with hi~ ": als:<' some

[~J~~~~~::~~ffit.~i{~~~~~~~~~~;~)

~~~~~;;i{N~~~~~~;rf~~;i~~~;~

,,,

The L1jt of Multmnmad

J~~~!~~r:~~~fE~~~c~~".~;; :r:~gaJ~~~"~~ i~~::

Nifi',clicntof'Abdullab b. 'Umar from 'Abdullah, froml;fafpd. 'Umar,
aaid that when the apostle ordered his wives to remove the pilgrim garments they asked him what prevented him from doing the umc and he
uid:' Ihavcsentonmyvictimsandhavematted'myhair,butlshallnot
befreeofthei~ram until I slaughter my victims.'
7
'Abdullah b. AbU Naji~ told me that the apostle had sent 'Ali to Najrmn
and met him in Mecca when he was still in a state of i~riim. He went in to
Fl!ima the apostle's daughter and found her dressed in her ordinary
clothes. When he asked why, she told him that the apostle had ordered
his wives 110 to do. Then he went to the apostle and reponed the result of
his journey and he told himtogoand circumambulate the temple and
removethepilgrimgarbastheothershaddone. HesaidthatheWllllted
toslaughteravictimasthe apostle did. The apostle again told him to
removethepilgrimgarb. Hereplied:'Iu.idwhenlputonthepilgrim
garb,"OGod, I willim-okethynameoveravictimasyourprophetand
your alave and your apostle Muhammad does."' When he asked him if he
had avictimhesaidthathehadnot,andtheapostlegavehimaahare
inhis,soheretainedthepilgrimgarbwiththeapostleuntilbothofthem
::~a~;::ttl~:: ~~h:ilgrimage and the apostle slaughtered the victim on
YabyA b. 'Abdullah b. 'Abdu'l-RabmAn b. AbU 'Amra from Yazld b.
Taiba b. Yazid b. Rukiina told me that when 'All came from the Yaman to
mcec,thcapostleinMcecabehurriedtohimandleftinchargeofhisanny
one of his companions who went and covered every man in the force with

::"':::;;r;h~ ::;:nl~ ~::~ ~~ t~e ~~~iot~!~~:: ~= ~:~

whatonearthhadhappcnedthemansaidthathehaddrcsscdthcmenso
that they might appear seemly when they mingled with the people. He
toldhimtotakcofftheclothcsbeforetheycametotheapostleandthey
:~~h';ir~!!~::t~m back among the spoil. The army showed resentment
'Abdullah b. 'Abdu'l-Rabmln b. Ma'mar b. l;lazm from SulaymAn b.
Muhammad b. Ka'b b. 'Ujra from his aunt Zaynab d. Ka'b who was
968 marriedtoAbii.Sa'idal-Khudri,ontheauthorityofthe \attertoldmethat
when the men complained of 'All the aposde arose to addn:sa them and he
heardhimsay:'Donotblame'All,forheistooscrupulousinthcthings
ofGod,orinthcwayofGod,tobcblamed.'
Then the apostle continued his pilgrimage and showed the men the
rites and taught them the cuSioms of their ~ajj. He made a spe;h in
1

~11<ioeiplainodintbe!tilwlyttoflbnu'IAihlrNoOOI1ofrutnthatioputOnlhe

hoittOprevcnritbecomincdi~lledandlo""t

Cf.MQdb.'Uqbo,No.7

The Life of Muhammad

,,,

which he made thinga dear. He praised and glorified God, then he said:
'0 men, listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall e,er meet you
in this place again after this year. Your blood and your property arc
sacrosanctuntilyoumcetyourLord,asthisdayandthismontharcholy.
Youwill surelymectyourLordand He will ask youofyourworks. I have
told you. He who has a pledge let him retum it to him who entrusted him
withit;alluauryisabolished,butyouhaveyourcapital.Wrongnotand
youthaUnotbcwronged. Godhasdecreedthatthercistobenousury
and t he usury of 'AbbAs b. 'Abdu'l-Munalib is abolished, all of it. All
blood shedinthepaganperiodistobeleftunavenged. Thefirstc\aimon
blood I abolish isthatofb.R.abi'ab.al-J:I:lrithb.'Abdu'l-Muttalib(who
was fostered among the B. Layth and whom Hudhayl killed). It is the
first blood shed in the pagan period which I deal with. Satan despairs
ofeverbeingworshippedinyourland,butifhecanbcobcyedinanything
&hortofworship he will be pleased in matters you maybe disposed to
thinkoflittleaec.ount,sobcwareofhiminyourrcligion. "Postpooemcntof
a sacred month is only an excess of disbelief whereby those who disbelie~c
aremialed;thcyallowitoneyear andforbiditanothuyearthattheymay
make up the number of the months which God has hallowed, so that they
pennit what God hu forbidden, and forbid what God hu allowed.'''
Time hu completed its cycle and is as it was on the day that God created
the heavena and the earth. The number of months with God is twelve; 969
four of them are sacred, three consecutive and the Rajah of MuQar,
whichisbetweenjumldAandSha'bln.
Youhaverightsovcryourwivcsandtheyhaverightsoveryou. You
hnetherightthattheyshouldnotdefileyourbedandthattheyahould
notbchavewithopenunseemlincss. Iftheydo,Godallowsyoutoput
thcminseparateroomsandtobcatthcmbutnotwithsc,erity. Ifthcy
refrain fromthescthingstheyhavcthcrighttotheirfood and clothing
withk.iodncu. Layinjunctionsonwomenk.indly, for they arc prisoners
withyouhavingnocontrol-oftheirpersons. Youhavetakenthemonly
lllllrustfromGod,landyouhavetheenjoymentoftheirpcrsonsbythe
words of God, so understand (T- and listen to) my words, 0 men, for

;as~~;~ ~~~:o~~il: ;:::r ~~:~1 7~~~ ~~uor~:e;~~~ng i::::~i~n:~~ew!~o~~

GodandthepracticeofHisprophet,sogivegoodhccdtowhatlsay:
Know that every Muslim is a Muslim's brother, and that the Mushms
are brethren. Itis onlylawfultotakefromabrotherwhathegivcsyou
willingly,soy,'l'Ongnotyourselvcs. OGod,hneinottoldyou?

,,,

The Lift of Muhammad

The L1]e of Muhammad

be!rw: ~:.~hat the men said '0 God, ye.,' and the apostle said '0 God,

Y~yil

'"

b. 'Abbid b. 'Abdullah b. :o~.lZulnyr from his father told me that

the man who used to act as crier for the apostle when he was on 'Anfa
wu Rabi'a b. Umayya b. Khalaf. The apostle said to him, 'Say: 0 men,
the apostle of God says, Do you ~ow what month this is 1' and they
would u.y the holy month. Then he said, 'Say to them: God hu hallowed

yourbloodandyourpropenyuntilyoumeetyourLordlikethesanctity
of this month. Do you know what country this isl' And they said 'The
holy land' and ho: said the same as before. Do you know what day this is 1

970

an~ they said th e dayofthegreat~ojj, and he said the same again.

Layth b. Abii Sulaym from Shahr b. ~l aushab al-Ash'ari from 'Amr
b. Khilrija told me: 'Auab b. U.ayd aent me to the apostle on a matter
whiletheapostlewasstandingon'Arafa. l cametohimandstoodbeneath
hiscamel andits foamwas fallingonmyhead. I heard him say: 'God
huauignedtoeveryonehisdue. Testamentary bequests to an heir are
not lawful. The child belongs to the bed and the adulterer must be
atoned. He who claims as father him who is not his father, or a client a

::~e:~~e~~:r~i.s ~~i~~~:ti~~~~ f~~~c~i:c~~~~~a:~~ a~~~~~

3

ment, however great.'

'A~ullah ~ Abii NajiQ. told me that when the apostle stood on 'Arafa
he ULd, 'ThiS Station goes with the mountain that is above it and all
'Arafa ~ a station.' Wh~n he ttood on QuzaQ. on the morning of alMuzdailfahesaid,'ThisLsthestationandallal-Muzdalifaitastation.'
Thenwhenhehadslaughteredintheslaughtering placcinl\1inihesaid,
'Thisistheslaughteringplaceandalll\1iniisaslaughteringplace.' The

:ttl~:'?.~t~e:::: =~o~~~~~aff~~~~:t~tti:~. ~h: tahur!~i~~e~

3

stones, the circumambulation of the temple, and what He had permitted

:r~~~~::~~C:~u~ ~;: :;:~~gd7;~!~ ~ :~~~;;::~n~ft~ret~!~~image

THSE:iDINGOFUSAl\IAB.ZAYDTOPALESTINE

Thentheapostlereturnedand stoppedinr.'ledinafortherestofDhil'l-

~!ijjsa;r~~ua:3~~:; :~r$1::~ ~~%~c~~~:;l~~p~ea~~~::~l~i:"r::~c~;~i~;

Heorder~himtolead hisca~lryinto the territoryofthell a lqil'and

al-?iriimtnthe landofPalestme. The mengot ready and all the first

emtgrants went with Usama (900).

: ~";;~;.,'~;!:,!~;,.,:-::;:~~ra: wu Gruk.

h proboblycame"' 1.1.

;~:~-;jt~~.:%'';,~~~~b~~tH:~:~:,~i~~~;o~x=~~~'t.~;!"'rn~

TM Life of Muhammad

TM Life of Muhammad

ss

~;~:~ ~~em\\:~~aul~~rc';;a~~b:p~;':dA~hlle :~~~-:nar:, t;!~ ~he~

name,aoididnotlietohim. Hesaid,"Tellme aboutthismanwhohas

appearedamongyoumakingtheseclaims." I begantobelittlehima.ndto

apostle had shut us in until ourgoodswerestale. When therewasa.n

armisticebetweenuswefeltsurethatweshouldbeaafe. So I went out

Bpeak disparagingly of his affair and to aay, "Don't let him cause you

~f1E~~f~~~~I[~l~]}~7.t~~~:t:ir~~

Then he aaid, "Tell me what I ask you about him." I told him to ask
whathelikeda.ndheaskedabouthislineageamongus. I toldhimitwas
pure;ourbestlineage. Thenheaskedifa.nyofhishouschadmade the
sameclaimswhichhewascopying. When l saidNoheaskedifhepossessed
a.ny sovereignty among us which we had robbed him of and had he made
this claim 80 that we might return it to him? Again I said No. Then he
askedaboutthecharacterof hisfollowera. l toldhimthattheywerethe
weakandpoorsndyoungslavesandyoungwomen;notoneoftheeldera
a.nd nobles of his people followed him. Then he asked whether those who
followed him loved him and stuck to him or despised him and left him,
and I told him that none of his followen had left him. Then he asked T- 156+
aboutthewarbetweenusandhim. I saidthatitsfortunesvaried. Then
heaskedifhewastreacherous. Thiswastheonlyquestionofhiswhich l
found fault with. I aaid No, and that while we had an armistice with
himwedidnotfeartreachery;huthepaidnoattentiontowhat ! said.
Thenhesummedupa.ndsaid: "I askedyouabouthislineageandyou
allegedthatitwaspureandofyourbestandGodchoosesonlyamanof
thenoblestlineageasa prophet. Then I askedifanymanofhisfamily
made similar claims and you said No. Then I asked if he had been robbed
of dominion and made this cl~m to recover it, and you said No. Then
Iasked youabouthisfollowersandyousaidthattheyweretheweaka.nd

h~adquanen, walking on foot in thanks to God for what He had restored to

~~~~;:~':i~~::~,"~~e~~~~:,~~nh~~~~~ty\~h~~be:~~;o~~:~:!~ ~~~

finishedpnyingtherewithhispatricia.nsa.ndtheRomannobleshebecame

anxiety;hisimportanceislts~~tha.nyouhaveheard,"buthetooknoheed.

poorandyoungalavesandwomen,andsuchhnebeenthefollowen~ofthe

I taid that I was, and by God I have never seen a man whom I consider

fJ~~,::r~P:;#~~:~I~~~i~if~:::~~:
~~!~~:~~ :i: ~:nh~~~~!e r:~~~:~ i~ ~~:~~h~eita~:t:n~~:7 i~~: ~;
1 Thcc,..,..wureoo,...,dfrnmlh<PtnlanobyllendiuoinA.D,6>8.

prophetsinallages. Then l askedifhis!ollowenlefthimandyousaid

None. Thus is the sweetness of faith: it doet not enter the hean and
depart. Then l askedifhewastreacherousandyousaidNo;andtruly
ifyouhavetoldmethetruthabouthimhewillconquermeontheground
that is beneath my feet, and I wish that I were with him that I might wash
his feet .. Go about you~ business.' Soigotuprubbingmyha.nds togethc:r T. 1565
andsaymgthattheatfaJrof lbn AbUKabshahadbecomegreatinthatthe
kings of the Greeb dreaded him in their sovereignty in Syria. The
apostle's letter with Dil;lya b. Khalifa al-Kalbi came to him saying, " If you
accept Islam you will be We; if you accept Islam God will give you a
doublereward;ifyou tumbackthe sinofthehusba.ndmen 1 will beupon
you,"i.e.theburden ofit.'
From al-Zuhri from 'Ubaydullah from 'Abdullah b. 'Utba from Ibn
'Abbis,whosaid:AbUSufyinb.l:larbtoldmepncticallythesamestory.
IbnShih3bai-ZuhritoldmethathemetaChristianbisbopin thc:time
o 'Abdu'l-Malii. b. Marwiin who told him that he knew about the affair
oftheapostlea.ndHeradiusandunderstoodit. Whentheapostle'sleuer
byDil:\yacametohimhetookitandputitbetweenhisthighsand his
'ThisoppcantobeanolluoiontoMall.z:ri.nf.

,,,

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

'"

hands of the Arabs when we are a people with a greater kingdom, a larger

population, and a finer country !' He said, 'Come and I will pay him the
poll-taxeveryyearandavert hisons[aughtandgctrestfromwarbythe
money I pay him.' They replied, 'Are we to pay the low and insignificant T. 1568
Arabs a tax when we are more numerous, with greater sovereignty and a
stronger country? By God, we will never do it.' He said, 'Then come and

let me make peace with him on condition that I give him the land of
Syria while he leaves me the land of Sha'm.' Syria with them meant
Palestine, Jordan, Damascua,I;Ii~,andwhatisbelowthePassof the
land of Syria,' while what,was beyond the Pass meant Sha'm. They said,
'Are we to give him the land of Syria, when you know that it is the navel

ofSha'm1 ByGod,wewillneverdoit.' Atthisrefusalhesaid, 'You will

seethatyouwillbeconqueredwhenyouprotectyoursclvesagainsthim
in your province.' Thenhegotonhismuleandrodeoffuntilhelooked
down on the Pass facing Sha'm and said, 'Farewell for the last time, 0
landofSyria.' ThenherodeoffrapidlytoConstantinople.
TheapostlesentShuji'b.Wahb,brother ofB.Asadb.Khuzayma,to
al-Mundhir b. al-l:Urith b. AbU Shimr al-Ghassini, lord of Damascus.
(T. via Salama: The apostle sent 'Amr b. Umayya al-l)amri to the T.
Negu.sabout Ja'farb.Abii Tiilibandhiscompanions and sent a letter
with him ... 'From Muhammad the apostle of God to the Negus al-A,J:tam
king of Abyssinia, Peace. I praiseAllahuntoyou the King, the Holy,
the Peace, the Faithful, the\Vatcher,' and I bearwitnessthatJesusson
of Mary is the spirit of God and His word which He cast to Mary the
Virgin,thegood,the pure,sothatshe conceivedJesus. Godcreatedhim
from Hill spirit and His breathing as He created Adam by His hand and
His breathing. I call you to God the Unique without partner and to
His obedience, and to follow me and to believe in that which carne to me,
foriamthe apostle ofGod. Ihavesenttoyoumynephew j a'farwitha
number of Muslims, and when they come to you entertain them without
haughtiness,forlinviteyouandyourarmiestoGod. Ihaveaccomplished
(mywork)andmyadmonitions,soreceive myadvice. Peace upon all
thosethatfoltowtrueguidance.'
The Negus replied . . . . 'From the Negus ai-.~J:tam b. Abjar, Peace
upon you, 0 prophet of Allah, and mercy and blessing from Allah beside
Whom there is no God, who has guided me to hlam. I have received
yourletterinwhich you mention the matter of Jesus and by the Lord
ofheavenandearthheisnotonescrapmorethanwhatyou say. \Veknow
that with which you were sent to us and we have entertained your nephew
and his companions. I testify that you areGod'sapostle,trueandconfirming(thosebeforeyou). I have given my fealty to you and to your
nephewandlhavesurrenderedmyselfthroughhimtotheLordofthe
1

These ..,p....,ioelyth~boundariaofSha'minthcev\ydY"oflheAnb conqyat .

(dar~>) may mean th.t over AmanYOor lh.o
Anatnctfr<~m Silros9.23

Yuid I -.ided theju~d ofQinniorin. The P...

TurusortheCilicianGua.

1569

,,,

TluLijeofMuhatnltl4d

Tht Lift of Mulumtmad

worlds. Ihave .enttoyoumysonArhll. Ihavccontrolonlyo\'tr myac.lf

and if you wish me to come to you, 0 apostle of God, I will do so. I bear
witncssthatwhatyouuyistroc'.
IwastoldthattheNegusaenthi.saonwithsinyAb)'Niniansbyh!nt,
andwhenthcywereinthcmiddleoftheaeatheboatfounderedandthey
all perished.)'
T. 1571
(T. via Sailffia. From 'Abdullah b. AbU Bakr from al-Zuhrl from AbU
Salama from 'Abdu'l-Ral:tmAn b. 'Auf. 'Abdullah b.l;ludhifa brought the
apoatle'slettertoChosroesandwhenhehadreadithetoreitup. When
thcapostleheardthathehadtomhisletteruphe&aid,'Hiskingdomwill
be tom in pieces.')
(T. via Yazid b. Abii l;labib. Then Chosroes wrote to Bildhiln, who was
govcmoroftheYaman,'ScndtwoatoutfelloWJtothi.tmanintheHijaz
and tell them to bring him to me.' So Bildhln aent his steward Blbawayh
T. 1573 who was a skilled scribe with a Penian called Kharkhasrah to carry a
letter totheapostleorderinghimtogowiththemtoCh08roea. He told

'"

domofChosroeane\erattained. Saytohim,"Iyou aubmitlwillgive

youwhatyoualreadyholdandappointyoulr.ingoveryourpeopleinthe
Yaman."' ThenhegaveKharlr.hasrahagirdlecontaininggoldandsilver
whichone ofthekingshadgivenhim.
They left him and came to Bldhln and reported. He exclaimed, 'This
isnotthespeechofaking. Inmyopinionheisaprophctashcu.ys.
We will see what happens. If what he said is true then he is a prophet who
hasbeensentbyGod;ifitisnot,wemuatconaidcrthematterfunher.'
HardlyhadhefinishedapeakingwhenthmcamealetterfromShlrawayh
sayingthathehadlr.illedChosroesbecause hehadangeredthePeniana
by killingtheirnoblcaandlr.cepingthemonthefrootien. He must see
thathismenpledgedtheirobediencetothenewlr.ing. He must seethe

~n'::l ;~~~r~~~~;i~~::.Sm~d written, but not provoke him to war

WhenB;ldhlnreceivedthisletterhesaid,'Withoutdoubtthismaniaan
~~: and he became 1 Muslim as did the Peniana with him in the T.

BJbawayhtogotothisman'scountryandspeaktohimandtheocome~clr.

and report. When they got u far as ai-TI'i they found some men of
Quraysh in (wadi) Nakhb and inquired about him. They told them that he
was in Medina. They rejoiced at meeting these men, saying, 'This is

The men of l:fimyar used to call Kharkhasrah ' DhU'l-Mi'jaza' because

ofthegirdlewhichtheapostlegavehim, because'girdle'inthel;limyari
tongue is mi'jaza. To this dayhissonalr.eep the nickname. Blbawayh
nidtoB;ldhln,' l ncverspoketoamanforwhom l feltmorerespectful
awe.' B!idh!in inquired, 'Did he have any police with him 1' He anawered No.

!~~er-::ro~i~~~roea king of .k.iogs is moved against the man and you

The two men came to the apostle and Bibawayh told him that Sh1hin
ahlh kingof.k.ingsCh08roeshadwrittentothegovemor'Badhioordering
himtosendmentobringhimtohimandthatthey hadbeensenttotake
himaway. lfheobeyed,Bidhiinwouldwritetothekingofkingson~is
behalf and keep him from him; but if he refused to come he knew what
sortofmanhewas:hewoulddestroyhispeopleandlaywastehitcountry.
Theyhadcome intotheapostle'apresencewithahavenbeardaandlong
mousu.ches,sothathecouldnotbeartolookatthem. He advanced on
them and said, 'Who ordered you todothis1' To which they replied,
'Our Lord' meaning Ch08roes. The apostle answered, 'But my Lord
has ordered me to let my beard grow long and to cut my moustache.'
Then he told them to come baclr. in the morning.
NewacamefromheaventotheapostletotheeffectthatGodhadgiveo
Shirawayh power over his fatherChosroeaand he had killed him on 1
T.1574 certain nightofseertain monthata certa.inhour. Thereupon he sum
moned them and told them. They said:' Do you know what you areaaying?
We can take revenge on you. What is easier? Shall we write this as from
you and tell the king of it I' He said, 'Yea, tell him that from me and tell
him that my religion and my sovereignty will reach limits which the king

A SUMMA RY OF THE APOSTLE ' S FIGHTS

Theapostletoolr.partpcrsonallyintwentysevcn(T six)' ralda:

Waddiin which wu the raid of al-Abwl'.
Buw~tin thedircctionofRac;l.wl.
'UahayrainthevalleyofYanbu'.
ThefintfightatBadrinpunuitofKurzb.JAbir.
The great battle of Badr in which God alew the chiefs of Quraysh (T.
andtheirnoblcaandcapturedmany).
BaniiSulaymuntilhereachedal-Kudr.
A1-Sawiq in punuit of Abii Sufy;tn b. l:farb (f. until he reached
Qarqaraal-Kudr).
Gha~afln (f. towanb Najd), which is the raid of DhU Amarr,

~r:!.u~l-::.in the l:lijlz (T.

BanUNac;l.ir.
Dhltu'J.Riql'ofNalr.hl.
ThelastbauleofBad r.
Diimatu'l.Jandal.

'ltwillbeKa>tha!!l>ercionoint4tlforlhiolndilio<r..I.H.hadeal<wiU.i!lrr.hio
IUmmal'JtolhisOK!ion. IMftomincdT. IJ7+4-IS755 bea,_itiounintelliaible

=~.:-r:;t"'IO<JfromY.wdb.AbQI;;Iablbwhic.hcvidenU,""'puslklwi.U.

L_

above ai-Furu').

'"5

TM Uft of Muhammad
Al-Khandaq.
BanO.Qur:ay;a.
BanULil;tyinofHudhayl.
DhUQarad
Banil'I-M~~iq of Khuzt'a.
AJ~~:!.biyanotintendingtofightwherethepolytheistaopposedhis
Kbaybar.

~~:n~;=~~::;~~=mplished pilgrimage,
l;lunayn.

~-~~f.

Tht Lift of Muhammad

he w~e not we should make sure of him; so we bound him tightly and
:~h~: a~a~~~~f a young negro and told him to cut off his head if he
We went on until we came to (T. the valley of) al-Kadid at suruet. We
were in the wadi and my companions sent me on to tcou t for them. So
I left themandwentonuntil I cametoahilloverlookingtheenemy'
camp. I went up to the top and looked down at the camp; and by God as
Iwulyingonthehilloutcameamanfromhitentand said tohiwife,
'Iseesomethingblackonthehillwhichldidn'tseeatthebeginningofthe
day.Lookandseeifanyofyourgearilmiuing;perhapsthedogs have
dragged off something.' She went to look and told him that nothing was
missing. He then 10ld her to fetch him his bow and a couple of arrows and
heshotmeinthe1ide. lpulledoutthearrowandlaidit uideandkept
my place (T. did not move). Then he ahot me again in my shoulder.
AgainlpuUeditoutandkeptmyplace. Hesaidtohis wife,' Ifthis had
beenascoutofiomeputyhewouldhavemoved,forbothmyarrowthit

~~~ i~e ~:n7~:~: h~ :~. get them. Don't let the dogs gnaw them.'
We'gavethemtimeuntiltbeyquieteneddownandwenttosleep(T.
untiltheircattleretumedintheeveningandtheymilkedthemandlay
down quietly, and a. third of the night passed) and towarda dawn we
attaclr.edthemandki\ledsomeanddroveoflthecattle. Theycriedoutto
oneanotherforaid,andamultitudethatwerouldnotresistcameatus
(T. omitsandbas'andwewentonquicklyuntilwepasacdbyal-l:llrith')
andwewentonwiththecattleandpassedlbnai-Barp'andhiscompanion
and carried them along\loith us. The enemy were hard on our heels and on1y
the Wadi Qudayd was between Ul, when God sent a flood in the wadi
from whence He pleased, for there were no douds that we could see and II?S
norain.Irbroughtluchwaterthatnonecouldresistitandnonecould

~: :~:r~f~~h:~~~h~~ :::"!ea~::O:t;::i; ~~e:e~n~l~;

GHALJB'S RAID ON TH B. AL-MULAWWAH

Ya'qtib b. 'Utba b. ai-Mughlr:a b. ai-Akhnu from Muslim

b. 'Abdullah

"'~~lt~i?.~~

gotawy;theycouldnotpursueus.andwehroughtthemtotheapoetle.
AmanoAilamontheauthorityofanotherothemtoldmethatthe
war-cry of the apoetle'a eompaniona that night was Slay! Slay! A Yaji:z
or the Muslinu who was driving the cattle rhymed:
Abli'l-Qbimrefusedtoletyougraze
On luadousherbswhichyouamu.e
Withyellowtopsthecolourofmaiu(901).
Iwillnowcontinuetheummaryothenightraids andraidingpartiea:'
'Ali to B. 'Abdullah b. Sa'd of Fadak; Abti'I-'Auji' al-Sulami to B.
Sulaym country where he and all his companions were killed; 'Ukklsha
b. Mil;ttan to al-Gh:arnra; AbU &lama b. 'Abdu'I-Aiad to QatJ.n, a well
1 FrornC. Thcwholcpo1Ha<inT. 59Bf.difJ"roinphrooeo\otylhouKhnotinc:ontm!
f....,l.ll.hohMppvmd,editfd!hctutfrecly.

The Life of Muhommad

TMLifeofMrJummuul
ofB.AtadinthedirectionofNajd. Mas'Udb.'Urwawaskilledthere;
Muhammad b. Maslama, brother of b.J;IIritha, to aiQuratJ' of Hawizin;
Bashlrb.Sa'dtoB.MurninFadak;Bashirb.Sa'dinthedirectionof
Khaybar;Zaydb.}:llrithatoaiJamUminB.Sulaymoountry;Zaydaleo
to Judhlm in Khuahayn country. So aaya Ibn Hishlm, but ai-Shlfi'I
from'Amrb.l;lablbfromlbnJ.attlqaay'inl;lism.lcountry'.
THE RAID OF ZAYD B. l;IARITHA AGAINST JUDHAM

One whom I can trutt told me from some men of Judhim who knew about
theaffairthatRifi'ab.Zaydai-JudhimiwbenhecametobUpeoplewith
thea~tle'a letterinvitingthemtolalamandtheyaa:eptedit,wasaoon

followed by Dil;lya b. Kha!Ifa al-Kalbi who came from Caesar, king of the
976 Greeka, whom the apostle had sent having with him some merchandise
ofhis. Whenhereacbedoneoftheirwadiscalled.Shanlr,ai-Hun.aydb.
'Otandhisson'O,ofOulty'aclanofJudhlmattackedDil;lyaandaeiud
everythinghehadwithhim. New5ofthisreachedaomeofal-0ubaybof
t hekinofRifl'ab.ZaydwhohadbecomeMuslimsandtheywentafter
ai-Hunayd and his son; al-Nu'min b. AbU Ji'll of B. al-Oubayb was
among them. They feU in with them and a skirmitb took plaee. On that

::{gi~an": .~/~1hC: !0~~of i.~t:,;.:dal;~o~ ;;:tJ'~~~a:"b~

At:
Ji'llwithanarrow,hittinghimintheltnee,aaying,'Takethatll am the
10n of Lubni.' Luhni waa bU mother. Now }:ludn b. Milia al-Oubaybi
hadbec.oafqtndofDil;lyabeforethatandhehadtaughthimthefirst

:~:no~er~~ {ft':~ oT;;:, =v~~yaw~tHoU:~~ :~d h~e~~~

whatbadhappenedandaskedhimtolethimkiUal-Hunaydandhiaaon.
TheapostleaentZaydb.l;llrithaagainstthemandthat'-''UWhatprovoled
the rtidofZayd onJudhlm. Heaentaforce with him. Ghatafln of
JudhimandWl'ilandtheyofSallmlnandSa'db.Hudhaym aetoffwhen
Rifl'ab.Zaydcametothemwiththea~tle'a letterandhaltedinthe

Javabeltafal-liajll',whileRifl'awasinKuri'Rabba,ltnowingnothing,
with some of the B. al-Oubayb while the rest of B. Oubayb were in
WldiMadln. intheregionoftheltvabeltwhereitfl.owatotheeast.
Zayd'lforcecameupfromthedirectionofal-Aulijandattackedal-M:lqit
fromthefwrra. Theyroundedupthecattleand mentheyfoundand.killed
al-HunaydandhissonandtwomenofB.al-Al,l.nllf(90J),andoncofB.
9T1 al-Khqlb. When B. al-Oubayb and the force in Fayfl'u Madln heard of
this aome of them went off, among thoee who rode with them being
l;ludn b. Milla on a horse be1onging to Suwayd b. Zayd called al-'Aj:lja,
andUnayfb.MillaonahorseofMilla'calledRighll,andAbUZaydb.
'Amr on a hone called Shamir. They went on until they came near the
umy when AbU Zaydandl;lassinaaidtoUnayfb. Milla, 'Leave us and go,
forwearellfrtidofyourtongue.' (l'.Sohewithdrev.) and atoppednear

_ _L

..,

them. Hardly had they left him when his horse began to paw the ground
and rear and heaaid (to it), 'I am more interested in thetwomenthanyou
inthetwohorsea.' Helethergountilheovertookthemandtheyaaidto
him,'Seeingthatyouhave behavedthul,spareulyourtongueanddon't
bring us bad luck today.' They agreed among themselves that only
}:lualn should 1peak. Nowtheyhadawordwhichtheyuaedinthtpagan
periodwbichtheyleamedonefromanother:ifonewantedtosmitewith
hia aword he said Bliri or Thliri. When they came near the army the men
came running to them and }:lassin said to them, 'We are Muslims.' The
firat man to meet them was on a black horse (T. with lance outstretched, T. 1743
themanwhodisplayedithaduitwerefixeditonthewithersofhishorse
u he cried, 'Forward, outstrip them!') and he advanced driving them.
Unayfaaid'Bilrt,'buti;Iasdnsaid'Gently.' WhentheystoppedbyZayd
b.l;llritha}:luainsaid,'WeareMuslims.' Zaydaaid,'Thenrecitethe
fintnira.' When he did so Zaydord~redthat it ahould be proclaimed
through the armythatGodhaddeclaredtheirlandaacroeanctexceptaa
regard1tho.ewhohadbrokentheircovenant.
l;lassln'ssister, the wife of AbU Wabr b. 'Adiy b. Umayya b. ai-J;>ubayb,
waaamongtheprisonenandZaydtoldhimtotakeherand sheclasped
him by the waist. Ummu'l-Fiu of Oulay' said, 'Are you taking your
daughtersandleavingyourmothen?' One of B. ai-Khqlbsaid,'Sheis
(of)B.ai-Oubaybandtheirtongueuttersspelilall theday long.' Some
ofthearmyheardthisandtoldZaydandhega\eordersthatthehandtof
J;lualn'a sisterahouldbeloosedfromhiswaistandtoldhertositwiththe
daughtersofhe r uncleuntilGodshoulddecidewhatshouldbedonewith
them. So they went back. He forbade the army to go down into the valley 978
whencetheyhadcomeandtheypassedthenightwiththeirpeople. They
aoughttheirnightdr.~ughtofmilk.fromaherdbelongingtoSuwaydb.

ZaydandwhentheyhaddrunkittheyrodeofftoRif:l'a.b.Zayd. Among
those who went were Abil Zayd b. 'Amr; AbU Shammis b. 'Amr; Suwayd
b. Zayd;Ba'jaandBardha'andTha'bba,aoiUofZayd ;Mukharriba b.
'Adly; Unayf b. Milia; and l;lassln b. Milia, until in the morning they
came up with Rif:l'a in Kuri' Rabba behind' the [larra b~~~~"::~lil:h:~:

came they and he with Umayya b. J;laf1ra, the brother of the slain
Khqlbite,departedearlyfrombehind'the{lana ;theyjoumeyedforthree
nights to Medina and when they entered itandcametothemosquea
man looked at them and told them not to make their camels kneel lest
theirlegsshouldbecutoff. Sotheydismounted,leavingthemstanding.
Whentheycnteredthemosqueandtheapostleaawthemhebkonedto
tbemtoadvance;andasRifl'abeganto apeakamanaaid,'Apostle,these
'O..'oatboiOpoL',

...

..,

Tht life of Muluzmmad

Tlu Life of Mulwmmad

men are so rcere111,' and repeated the accusat ion twic"e. RiB'a laid, 'God

Ward b. 'Amr b. Madbh, one of B. Sa'd b. Hudhayl, waa killed by one of

B. Badr (whose name wu Sa'd b. Hudhaym-T. and I.H.). When Zayd
camehesworethathe wouldusenoablution'untilheraidedB.Fazlra;
and when he recovered from his wound. the apostle aent him against them
with a force. He fought (T. he met) them in Wldi'l-Quri and killed
some of them. Qays b. al-Musai.U;lar al-Ya'muri killed Maa'ada b.l;labma
b. Mllik b.l;ludhayfa b. Badr, and Umm Qirfa Flfima d. Rabra b. Badr
wu taken prisoner. She wu a very old woman, wife of Mllilr.. Her
daughter and 'Abdullah b. Mas'ada were also taken. Zayd ordered Qays
b. al-Munl)~ar to kill Umm Qirfa and he killed her cruelly (T. by putting
arope tohertwolegsandtotwocamela anddriving themuntiltheyrent
her in two). Then they brought U mm Qirfa'a daughter and Maa'ada'a
son to the apostle. The daughter of Umm Qirfa belonged to Salama b.
'Amr b. al-AkWll' who had taken her. Sbe held a poaition of honour
amongherpeople,andthe Arabsusedtosay,'Hadyoubeenmorepowerful than Umm Qirfa you could have done no more.' Salama asked the
apostletolet himhaveherandhegave hertohimandheprc:sentedher
to hia uncle l;lun b. AbU Wahb and ahe bare him 'Abdu'I-Ral;lmln b.

begratioustohimwhotreattuswelltoday.' Thenhe handedtheapostle

the letter which he had written to him, saying, 'Take it, 0 apostle; it was
writtenlongsince butitlviolationisreccnt.' Theapostletoldayoung
man to read it openly, and when he had done so he uked what had
happened,and theytoldhim. Threctimcsheaaid,'Whatamltodoabout
the slain?' Rill'a ar13wered, 'You know best, 0 apostle. We do not regard
as wrong what you think is right or the convene.' Abo Zayd b. 'Amr
said, 'Give us back those who are alive and those who are dead I dis979 regard.' The apostle said that Abii. Zayd wu right and told 'All to ride
wit h them. 'Ali objei:ted that Zayd would not obey him, whereupon the
apostle toldhimtotakehisawordandgaveit tohim. 'AJithenaaidthat
hehadnobea.st toride,sothey(T. theapoatle)mountedhimonabeast
belonging to Tha'laba b. 'Amr called al-Mik~l l and they went off, when
loa m~enge r from Zayd b.l;llritha came on a camel of Abii Wabr called
al-Shamir. They made him dismount and he asked 'Ali how he arood. He
saidthattheylr.newtheirpropenyandthey tookit. Theywentonand
fellinwiththearmyin Fayfl'ui-F~atayn and tooktheirpropertywhich

theyhdde,entothesmallestpadfromawoman'asaddle. Whentheyhad
finishedtheirwlr.AbuJi'll aaid:
There'a manyawomanwhoscoldsunkindly,
Whobutforuswouldbefeedingher t'l ptor's fire
Pushedaboutwithhertwodaughteraamongthecaptivc:s
Withno hope ofaneaay release.
Had ahebeenentroatedto'04andAua
Circumstanees wouldhaveprevented herrelease.

l:fu.n.
Qays b.

al-Muaa~~ar

aaid about the killing of Mu'ada:

Itriedashismother'ssonwould toget revengeforWard.

ru longas llive lwillavenge Ward.
When I saw him I attacked him on my steed,
ThatdoughtyWllrriorofthefamilyofBadr.
Iimpaled himon my lanceofQa'4abimake
Whichseemedtoflashlikeafireinanopenpace.

Hadshe~~eenourcamelllinM~r

Shewouldhavedreadedarepetition ofthejoumey.
Weame to theWllteraofYathribinanger
(Afterfournights, aea rchforwateriapainful)
Wilhevery hardened Wllrriorlilr.eawo\f
Douronthesaddleofhiaswiftcamel.
May everyforce'inYathribbearansom
For AbU Sulaymln when they meet breast to breast
Thedayyou ~~ee the experienced warrior humbled,

J-lis head tuminguhe fleesaW11y(90+)

Zaydb.IJ~rithaalsonided al-TanfintheregionofNakhlontheroad

to Iraq.
ZAYO B.

I;IARI::AA;~ R;:ou~~ ~~~~!.I.RA

AND T HE

Zayd also raided Wldi'I-Quri, where he met B. Fazira and some of his
98o companions were killed; he himadf wu carried wounded from the field.
1

A.Oh. inB>&nk'tut hu jiNwilhlhcuplano.tioD.'nOCIII'.

'ABDULLAH B. RAW.I.I;IA'SRAIDTO KILLAL-YUSAYR

The L ife of Muhammad

perceived his intention as he wu preparing to draw his aword, 10 he
ro.shed at him and struck him with his sword cutting off his leg. AlYusayr hit him with a stick of slwufral wood which he had in his hand and
wounded his head (T. and God killed Yuaayr). All the apostle' companions fell upon their jewish companiona andk.illedthemcxccptone
man who escaped on his feet (T. his beast). When 'Abdullah b. Unays
came to the apostle he apat onhiawound and it did notauppurateor
cause him pain.
On the second occasion 'Abdullah b. 'Attk raided Khaybar and killed
Rtfi'b.AbU'l-Huqayq.

The apostle sent him against Khllid, who was in Nakhla or 'Urana
collcctingmentoattacktheapostle,andhek.illedhim.
Mulwnmad b. Ja'fu b. al-Zubayr told me that 'Abdullah b. Unay.
aaid:TheapostlecalledmeandsaidthathehadheudthatlbnSufyln
b. Nubayl;la1-Hudhaliwucollccting aforce to attack him,andthat he
"'111in Nakhlaor' Uranaandthat l wastogoandkillhim. I asked him
todcscribehim iOthatlmightknowhim,andhesaid,'Ifyou scc himhe
willremindyouofSatan. Asurctigniathatwhcnyouaeehimyouwill
fccla ahudder.' Iwcntoutgirdingonmy aworduntil l camconhimwith
a number of women in a howdah aceking a halting-place for them. It
was the time for ahemoon prayer, and when I saw him I felt aahuddering
u theapostlehidsaid. ladvancedtowardshimfcaringthatsomething
'}8a wou ld prevent my praying, 10 I prayed as I walked towards him bowing
my head. When I came to him he asked who I was and I answered, 'An
Arabwhohashcardof youandyourgatheringa forccagainstthisfellow
and has come to you.' He aaid, 'Ya, I am doing to.' I walked a 1hort
distance with him and when my chance came I struck him with my sword
andk.illedhim,andwentofflcavinghiswomcnbendingo'crhim. When
I came to the apostle he saw me and said, 'The aim i.s accompliahed.'
I said,'Ihavekilledhim,OApoatle,'andhesaid,'You areright.'
Thcnhetoolr.meintohis houscan dgavemea sticktellingmetokccp
it byrne. Whenlwentoutwithitthepcopleaslr.edmewhatlwaadoing
witha atick. Itoldthemthatthe apostle hadgivenittomeandtoldmeto
kccpit,andtheysaid,'Whydon'tyougobaclr.totheapostleandulr.him
why?'So l didiO,andhesaid,'ltisasignbetwccnyouandmeonthe
rcaurrcct.ionday. Tberearefewmenwhowill becarryingsticksthen.'
So 'Abdullah b. Unays fastened it to hi-S aword and it remained with him
until hiadeath, when he ordered that it ahould be put in his winding
ahcctanditwasburiedwithhim(go6).
983
To return to the expeditions: The raid of Zayd b. I:U.ritha and Ja'far
b. AbU Tllib and 'Abdullah b. RawiJ}.a to Mu'ta in Syria in which all

The Life of Muhammad

667

~;~ ~~~~i:d ~;e;;d~f ~~:~~= ~~r~h~~~o :;:~:~eA!j' ~

'Uyayna b.l:li,n on B. al-'Anbar of B. Tamlm.
THE RAID OF ' UY AYNA B~:!i~ ON B. AL-'ANBAR OF B.

~~:stl~~:~~~~~:r::::.~~A~~~~?!i~~~~:e:r:~:~~

r:~~:~~t:1;:~~~lf!~i~~J~s~~}i.~~i
They spoke to the apostle on their behalf and he liberated 10me and

i~;:.i.:~~~~~~~~!~1#l~~E~~~
Sa1mld. 'Attlb aaidaboutthatday :

'Adiyb.Jun~bhadaacri~fall

Fromwhich!twaahardtonsc.
Enemiessurroundedthemoneveryside
Andtheirgloryandprospcritydiaappeared(907).
GHJ.LIB B. ABDULLAH' S RAID ON THE LAND OF

The raid of Ghilib b. 'Abdullah al-Kalbi, the Kalb of Lllyth, was on the

s~;:~i:~~~;~;g~:~~E;~7fJ;.

~~;~~~~~f.~~1!~~l~;t~?l:~

::~:~:~~:~c~~,~~~~~J:o;,;~:~;:~;i;~~:~r.;
Usimal"and i saidthatlwould.'
'i.e.afw!bopropbcc'o-lh.

The Life of Muhammad

'AMR B. AL-'J.!} RAIDS DIIATU'LSALASIL

~ff~~i;::~2!~::~~~~~f~~::i:7b~~

985 countryofJudhimca.lledal-Salsal(T. Salbil),fromwhichtheraidtook

itsname,hetooka.larmandl!rnttotheapoetleforreinfon:ementl. The
apoetle sent him AbU 'Ubayda b. al-Jarrlii). with the first Muhlijirs among
whomwereAbii. Bakrand 'Umar. He told AbU 'Ubaydawhenhellrnthim
not to quarrel. Now when he reached 'Amr the Iauer said, 'You have

~~?:;~:~t:~~:il~~~~?~~ ~;~~;~~~;:~h~~:E~E

thathehsdcometoreinforcehim he said, 'Theaposdetold us not to

~u:e:~:~~~~!~ ~~~:r~n7r:ea~~~~~:l0~~::~~~h:::.r~~i=~~
ityourownway,'saidhe,and'Amrtooktheleadintheprayers.
An informant who hsd it from Rifi' b. Abii Rifi' aJ-Ti'iy who wu
Rili.' b. 'Umayra told me thst the latter said: I was a Christian called
S~is,thesurestandbeatguideinthesandydesert. Duringthepagan
penod l usedtoburywaterwhich Ihadputinostrichthellsin~rious

~::ni~ :'::!:r~;; ~~"~~~~=~=~~:~~:~!~=:~:~~

Then i wouldgototheplace.where i hadconcealedthewateranddrink

~n'Y!: ~.~A;et: ~~~~~~a):~t;~ ~h~~~du;nm~h:~n~~: ro!

a companion, and selected AbU Baltr with whom I rode. He wore a
Fadakcloakandwheneverwehaltedhespreadiiout,andputitonwhen
we rode. Then he fastened it on him with a packing-needle. That was
the reuon why the people of Najd when they apoetatized uid, 'Are we to
acceptasrulerthemanwiththecJoakrWhenweapproachedMedina
986 on our retum I told AbU Bakr that J had joined him 110 thst God might
profitme byhim,and l askedforhiaadviceandinstruction. Hetoldme
thsthewouldhavegiventhiaeven iflhadnotasked,andtoldmetoproclaim the unity of God and not to ISIOciate anything 'Aith Him; to perform
praycr;topay thepoor-tax;tofastinRamaQin;togoonpilgrimage;
to wash after impurity; and never to assume authority over two Muslims.
I toldhimthat l hopedthat l shouldneverassociateanyonewithGod;
that l wouldneverabandonprayer ifGodsowilled ;thatiflhadthemeans
I wouldalwayspaythepoor-tax;thatl \1-'0UldneverneglectRamaQin;
that l wouldgoon pilgrimageiflwcreable;andwouldwashafterimpu
ri ty;butas toleadership l observedthatonly thosewhoexerciseditwere
heldinhonourwiththeapoetleandthepeople,IIOwhy shouldheexclude
me from it? He answered, 'You asked me for the best advice that I could

The Lift of Muhammad

giveyou,and l will tellyou. GodsentMuhammadwiththisreligionand
heatroveforituntilmenaccepteditl'Oiuntarilyorbyforce. Oncetheyhad
enteredittheywereGod'tprotegbandneighboursunderHisprotection.
Bewarethat youdo notbetn.yGod'strustinregardtoHisneighbounto
that HepursueyourelentlculyonbehalfofHiaprotege. Forifoneof you
were wronged in this way his muscles would swell with anger if the theep
orcamelsofhisprothadbeenseUed,andGodismoreangryonbehalf
ofthoseunderHisprotection.' Thereuponweparted.
When the apoetle died and AbU Bakr was &et over men I went to him
and reminded himthathehad forbidden metoassumeauthorityover
two Muslim~. HesaidthathestillforbademetodoiiO,andwhenlasked
himwhathadinducedhimtoassumeautborityovereveryonehesaidthst
he had no aJternative; he wu afraid that Muhammad's community would
split up.
Yazid b. AbU f:labib told me that he was informed on the authority of
'Auf b. MJlik aJ-Mhja'I that he said: I was in the raid on which the spoetle
sent 'Amr b. al'~ to Dhlitu'l-Salisil, in company with Abii Bakr and
'Umar. I passed by 110mc people who were butchering a camel they had
slaughtered. Theycouldnotdismemberit,whilelwasaakilledbutcher; 987
110 I asked them if they would give me a thare if I divided it between them,
andwhentheyagreeditookacoupleofkniveeandcutituponthespot.
l tookmyshareandcarriedittomycompanioruandwecookedand ateit.
Abii Bakr and 'Umar asked me where I had got the meat, and when I told
themtheynidthstlhaddonewrongingivingittothemtoeat,andthey
got up and forced themselves to exgurgitate what they had swallowed.
Whentheannyretumedfromthatexpedition l wasthefirsttocometothe
apostleashewasstprayerinhiahouse. Whenlaalutedhimheaskedif
~~'Auf b.l\Ulik the butcher of that camel, and he would tay nothing

THE RAID OF IBN ABO lfADRAD ON THE VALLEY OF

I~:IAM AND THE KILLING OF 'AMIR B. ALA~BAT
AL ASHJA'I

Yazid b. 'Abdullah b. Qusayt from al-Qa'q!' b. 'Abdullah b. Abii f:ladrad

from his fatheruid: The apostle sent us to IQam with a number ofMualima
among whom were AbU Qatlida al-f:lirith b. Rib'iy; and Mui).allirn b.
Jaththima b. Qays. We set forth until when we were in the valley of
IQam (T this was before the conquest of Mecca) 'Amir b. al-Ao;lba~
ai-Ashja'lpasaedbyusonacamelofhiswithameagretupplyofproviaionaandask.inoflaban. AshepassedusheulutedusasaMuslimalld
weheldofffromhim. ButMul].aUimb. Jaththimaattackedandkilled
himonaccountofaquarrel theyhadhad,andtookhiscamel andprovisioru. When we came to the apostle and told him the newa there came down
concerning ua: '0 you who believe, when you go fonh in the way of God

.,,

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

.,.

peacebetweenpeople.Areyousurethattheapoetle willnotcurseyouto
thatGodwillcuneyouwithhiscune, orthathewillnotbeangrywith
you 10 that God wiU also be angry with you ? I awearthatunles~ you
au?mit him to the 1poetle and let him do with him aa he pleases I will
bnngfi.ftymenoftheB.TamimwhowillallcaiiGodtowitnesathatyour
friendwhowas slainwasanunbclieverwhoneverpnyedatallandthut
cause hia blood to be disregarded.'' When they heard that they agreed to
takctheb loodwit(911).
THI! RAID OF IBN ABO I;IAORAD ALASLAMI ON

,\L-GHABA TO KILL RIPA'A B. QAYS AL-JUSHAMI

One whom I have no reason to IUipect told me from Ibn J:ladrad as

followt:Ihadmarriedawomanofmytribeandpromiledhertwohundred
dirhamsuadowry. Icametotheapoetlellndukedhimtohelpmeinthe
matter and when I told him the amount that I had promised he &aid,
'Goodgncious,ifyoucouldgetdirham.fromthebonomofavalleyyou
couldnothaveoffered more! Ihaven'tthemoneytohdpyou.' I waited
for tome dayt when a man of B. Juaham b. Mu'iwiya ealled Rifl'a b. 990
QaytorQayt b. Rifl'acamewith anumeroUB clan of B. Jush:un and
encampedwiththemina\-GhJbaintendingtogatherQayttofightthe
apostle,hebeingamanofhighreputationamongJWiham. Theapoatle
aummonedmeandtwootherMuslinwandtolduatogotothisman(T.
andbringhimtohimor)bringnewsofhim,andacntUBanoldthinahecamel. One of us mounted her, but ahe wq 80 weak that she could not
get up unti l men pushed her up from behind, and even then she hardly
=~ged to do 10. Then he said, 'Make the bett of her and ride her in

WeactforthtakingourllTOws andswordtuntilwesrrived nearthe

acttlementintheeveningasthesunwasactting.Ihidatoneendand
orderedmyoornpanio~to'hideattheotherendofthecampandtold

themthatwhentheyheardmecry'A1laha.kbar'aslrantothecampthey
were to do the ume and run with me. There we were waiting to take the
enemy by aurpriac or to get something from them until much of the night
hadpae&ed. Nowtheyhadaahepherdwhohadgoneout withtheanima.ll
and wa~ to late in returning that they became alarmed on his behalf. Their
chiefthisRifl'ab.Qaytgotupandtookhisawordandhungitroundhis
neck,aayingthatbewouldgoonthetrackoftheshepherd,fortomeharm
must have befallen him; whereupon aomeofhi.company begged him not
togo alone for they 'WOUld protect him, but he insisted on going alone.
~he went he puted by me, and when became in range I shot him in the
heanwithanarrow, andhediedwithoututteringaword. I leapt upon
himandcutoffhisheadandraninthedireetionofthecampshouting
'Allahakbar'andmytwooompanio~didlikewise,andbyGod,ahouting

'i.c.nocwbe-.ipedolltbyWbloodo!hio.S.ycror"'t.e.m<nortobepaid.for.

The LrJe of Muhammad

673

AB0'UBAYDAB.ALJARRAI_I SRAIDTOTIIECOAST

'ABDU ' LRAI:IMAN B. 'AUF'S RAID ON D0MATU'L-JANDAL

'Ub3da b. al-Walid b. 'Ubilda b. al-$ii.mit from his father from his grand
father'Ubll.dab.al-$ilmitto ldme:Theapostlesentaforcctotheooast
commanded by AbU 'Ubayda and furnished them with a supply of datct.
He began to ration them until the day came when he had to count them,
andfinallyhecouldgivecachmanbutonedateaday. Onedayhedhided
them among us and a man lacked even a date and we felt the loss of them
that day. When we were exhausted by hunger God brought us a whale
fromthe &ea,andwefelluponitsflcsh andfatand stayedbyitfortwenty
nightsuntilwegrewfatandrC:CO\'tredourstrength. Ourlc:adertookonc
ofitsribsandsctitinthcway;thcnhcsent forourlargcstcameland
mountedour largcstmanuponit;hesatonitandcameoutfromunderit
without lowering his head. When we came to the apostle we gave him the
newsandatikedhimwhathethoughtaboutourhaving eatenthewhale.
Hesaid,'Itwasfoodwhich Godprovided foryou'(9tJ).
(Ibn J:lamid told ul from Salama b: ai-Fa~l from Muhammad b. T. l-l37
hl:lilq from j a'far b. al- Fa<,l.l b. al-l:lasan b. 'Amr b. Umayya al-Oamri
from his father from his grandfather 'Amr b. Um.ayya that the last-named T. nS
said:AfterthekillingofKhubaybandhiscompanionstheapostlesentan
Ant~rt with me telling us to go and lr.ilJ AbU Sufyll.n, so we set out. My
companionhadnocamel andhis legwasinjured,solcarriedhimonmy
bc:aatu far aathe valley ofYa'jaj where we tethered our beast in the
cornerofapassandrcstedtherc:. I euggested tomycompanionthatwe
should go to AbU Sufyiln'ahouseand I would trytokillhimwhilehe
kept watch. Iftherewaaacommotionorhefearcddangerheshouldtalr.e
tohiscameland gotoMedinaandtelltheprophetthencws;hecou\dleave
me because I knew the country well and was fleet-footed. When we

:=::~:n~~~; ;a~:~~~~a!f%~~e ca:u~g~~~ ~~~h:1 ~~~h !\; ~e~~~

'Abdu'l-~mlntoolr.the atandan:l.'(gn).

panion asked that we might begin by going round the Ka'ba &e\'en times
andpray acouple of,ak'as. ltoldhimthatiir.newmoreabouttheMeccan
thanhe:inthec\ening theircourtsaresprinkledwithwaterandtheysit
there, andlammoreeasilyreoognizable thanapiebaldhorsc:. However,
hekcptonatmeuntilwedidashewantcd,andaswecameoutofthe
Ka'bawepasscd by oneoftheirgrou paand amanrecognizedmeand
called out at the top of his \'Oice, 'This ia ' Amr b. Umayya!' Thereupon
the Mettans rushed at us, uying, 'By God, 'Amr has come for no good.
He has never brought anything but evil,' for 'Amr was a violent unruly
fellowinheatheadays
They got up to pursue us and I told my companion to escape, for the T. 1439
\'try thing I feared had happened, and aa to AbU Sufyiln there was no
means of getting at him. So we made off with all speed and climbed the
mountainandwentintoacavewherc:wespentthenight,havingsucccssfully
eluded them so that they returned to Mecca. When we entered the cave

6'74

T.

IO

Tht Lift of Muhammad

Umayya: 'When I got to Medina I passed some ahaykhs of the An~lr

and. when they exclaimed at me some young men heard my name and ran
to tell the apostle. Now I had bound my prisoner's thumbs with my bow
string,andwhentheapost\elookedathimhel.aughedsodu.tonecouldsee
his back teeth. He asked my news and when I told him what had happened
hebleasedme')(9Ii)'

ofthecave. Itoldmyfriendwhohewasandthathewouldgive usaway

totheMeccans,andlwentoutandstabbedhimunderthebrell!ltWiththe
dagger. Heshriek.edsoloudthattheMeccansheardhimandcameto
wards him. I went back to the cave and told-my friend to stay where he was.
TheMeccanshastenedinthedirectionofthesoundandfoundhimatthe
last gasp. They asked him who had stabbed him and he told them that
it was 1, and died. They did not get to know where we were and said,
'By God, we knew 'Amr was up to no good.' They were so occupied with
thedeadmanwhomtheycarriedoffthattheycouldnotlookforus,and
westayedaooupleofdaysinthecaveuntilthepursuitdieddown. Then
we went to al-Tan'im, and lo, Khubayb's cross.' My friend asked if we
should take him down from the cross, for there he was. I told him to leave
the matter to me and to get away from me for guards were posted round
it.1fhewasafraidofanythinghemustgotohiscamelandte11theapostle
what had happened. lranuptoKhubayb'scross,freedhimfromit,and
carried him on my back. Hardly had I taken forty steps when they
became aware of me and I threw him down and I cannot forget the thud
when he dropped. They ran after me and I took the waytoal$afnl'
andwhentheyweariedofthepun~uittheywentbackandmyfriendrode

totheprophetandtoldhimournews. Icontinuedonfootuntilllooked
downonthevalleyofl;>ajnin. Iwentintoacavetheretakingmybowand
arrows,andwhllelwasthereincameaone.ey'ed.manofB.al-Dildriving
a sheep of his. When he asked who I was I told him that I was one of B.
Bakr. He said that he was also, adding of B. alDil clan. Then he by
downbesidemeandliftinguphisvoicebegantosing:

SALIM B. 'UMAYR'S EXPEDITION TO KILL ABO 'AFAK

AbU'AfakwaaoneofB. 'Amrb. 'Auf of the B. 'Ubaydadan. He showed his

disaffectionwhentheapostlekilledall;liirithb.Suwaydb.$amitandaaid:
Long have I lived but never have I seen
Anassemblyorcollectionofpeople
More faithfultotheirundertaking
Andtheirallieswhencal\edupon
ThanthesonsofQayla'whentheyassembled,
Men who overthrew moumains and never submitted.
A rider who came to them split them in two (saying)
'Pennitted',' Forbidden'lofallsortsofthings.
Hadyoubelievedingloryorkingship
Youwouldhave fol\owedTubba'.+
The apostle said, 'Who will deal with this rascal for me?' whereupon
Silim b. 'Umayr, brother of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf one of the 'weepen', went
forth and killed him. Umllma b. Muzayriya said concerning that:
You gave the lie to God's religion and the man Al:lmad!
Byhimwhowasyour father,efo'i!isthe!10nhe produced1
A~anifgaveyou a thrust in the night saying
'TakethatAbli'Afakin spite ofyouragel'
Though I knew whether it was man or jinn
Whoslewyouinthedeadofnight(Iwouldsaynaught). 1

lwon'tbe aMuslimaslongasllive,
Norheedtotheirreligiongive.

1".144'

6?s

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

I putsomerocksattheentranceasascreenandtoldmyoompanionto

~~=in1~~:t;~t~ht:~of~~:~~~ ~h~u~~~;~::;;;~~g~h,~;~eu~es:;~~ t:rt~:

~:;: ~~r::;e~~t~~~ :!!'g~~~!:r!~l~~~~ !~~~~: : ; i ; : t =

I said (to myself), 'You wiU soon know!' and as soon as the hadu was
as!eepandsnoringlgotup _andk.illedhiminamorehorriblewaythan
anymanhasbeenkiUed. Iputtheendofmybowinhis!IOund eye, then
1 boredownonituntil Iforceditoutatthebackofhisneck. Then I
cameoutlikeabeastofpreyandtookthehighroadlike aneaglehastening
untillcameoutatavillagewhich,(saidthenarrator),hedes<:ribed;then
to Rak.Uba and alNaqi" where suddenly there appeared two Meccans whom
Qurayshhadsenttospyontheapostle. IrecognizedthemandcaUedon
themto!lurrender,andwhentheyrefused Ishotoneandkiiledhim,and
the other surrendered. Iboundhimandtookhimtotheapostle
Ibn Is~iq from Sulaymin b. Wardln from his father from 'Amr b.
'&eW.64>ntpra.

'UMAYR B. 'A DIY'S JO URNEY TO KILL 'ASMA.' D. MARW.\N

She was of B. Umayya b. Zayd. When AbU 'Afak had been killed she
displayed disaffection. 'Abdullah b. al-l;larith b. aJ.Fuc;layl from his
father said that she was married to a man of B. Khatma called Yazid b.
Zayd. Blaming Islamanditsfollowenlshesaid:
IdespiseB.Mililr.andalNabit
And 'AufandB.alI.Gturaj.
'I.H.'a~ntwillbefoundU.the....,tiondevoftdtohloadditiono

QaylawaothcputativeanceatruaofAuaondKha>:raj

tc~Y~u ~"::!'f:tt:-t._.: ~:".it, wu a kina in foct and I man of ,.at reputatiO<I,

1

:::~=~~~~~!OonoftMtutwblchhardlta.ma~

995

,,

The Lrfe of Muhammad

The LtJe of Muhammad

Youobeyastrangerwhoisnoneofyours,
OnenotofMurldorMadhf.tij.'
Doyouexpectgoodfrom himafterthekillingofyourchiefs
Likeahungrymanwaitingforacook'sbroth?
Istherenomanofpridewhowouldattackhimbysurprise
And cut off the hopes of thO!:ie who expect aught from him?
I;lass!nb.Thlbitansweredher:
Bam1 Wii'il and B. Wiqif and Kha)ma
AreinferiortoB.al-Khuraj.
Whenshecalledforfollywoctohe~inherweeping,

For death is coming.

Shestirredupamanofgloriousorigin,
Noble inhisgoingoutandhiscorningin.
Beforemidnighthedyedherinherblood
Andincurrednoguiltthereby.
Whentheapostleheardwhatshe had.saidhesaid,'Whowill ridmeof
Marwin's daughter?' 'Umayr b. 'Adiy al-Kha)mi who was with him heard
him,andthatverynighthewenttoherhouse and.killedher. lnthemorninghecame tothe apostleandtold himwhathehaddoneandhesaid,
'You have helped God ancf His apostle, 0 'Umayr!' When he asked if he
would have tobearanyevil consequences the apostle said, 'Two goats
won'tbutttheirheadsabouther,'so'Umayrwentbacktohispe<~ple.

Now there was a great commotion among B. Kha!ma that day about the
affair of Bint Marwin. She had five sons, and when 'Umayr went to them
from the apostle he said, 'I have killed Bint Marwin, 0 sons of Kha)ma,
Withstand me if you can; don't keep me waiting.' That was the first
day that Islam became powerful among B. Khatma; before that those who
were Muslims concealed the fact. T he first of them to accept Islam was
'Umayr b. 'Adiy who was called 'the Reader', and 'Abdullah b. Aus and
Khuzayma b. Thiibit. The day after Bint Marwan was killed the men of B.
Kha!ma became Muslims hause they saw the power of Islam.

THE EXPEDIT I ON OF 'ALQAMA B. MUJAZZIZ

When Waqq~ b. Mujuziz al-Mudliji was killed on the day of Dhii

Qarad, 'Alqama b. Mujazzizaskedtheapost!etosendhimonthe track
ofthepe<~plesothathemighttake vengeance onthem. 'Abdu'I-'Azizb.
Muhammad from Muhammad b. 'Amr b. 'Alqama from 'Umar b. all:lakam b. Thaubin from Abii Sa'id al-Khudri said : The apostle sent
'Aiqama b. Mujazziz, I being with the force, and when we were on the way
he summoned apart of the force and appointed 'Abdullah b.J:Iudhifa
ai-Sahmitheirleader. Hewasoneoftheapostle's companion!l-afacetious
fe llow,andwhentheywereonthe wayhekindledafirean'dsaidtothe
men: 'Have lnotclaimonyourobedienceso thatiflorderyoutodo
something you must doitl' and when they agreed he said, 'Then by
virtueofmyclaimonyourobedience Iorderyoutoleapintothisfire.'
Some ofthembegantogirduptheirloinssothathe thoughtthatthey
would leapintothefire,andthenhesaid, 'Sit down, I was only laughing
atyoul'Whenthe apostlewastoldofthisaftertheyhadretumedhe said,
'Ifanyone ordersyoutodosomethingwhichyououghtnottodo,donot
obey him.'
Muhammad b. Tal~a said that 'Alqama and his companions returned
without fighting.

THE CAPTURE OF THUMAMA B. ATHAL AL~ANAFJ

KURZ B.

JABI~~~x:~~~~:~~E:oy~~~~

THE BAjTLIS

A traditionist told me from one who had told him from Muhammad b.
Tal~a from 'Uthmin b. 'Abdu' I-Ra~ man that in the raid of Mu~irib
andB.Tha'l;ibathe apostlehadcapturedaslave calledYasiir,andheput
himinchargeofhismilch-cameilltoshepherdthemintheneighbourhood
of al-Jammf. Some men of Qays of Kubba of Bajila came to the apostle 999
sufferingfromanepidemicandenlargedspleens,andthe apostleto:ldthem
thatiftheywenttothe milch-camebanddran.ktheirmilkand unnethey

Tht L1]t of Muhammad

you?' I said,'Methinkslseeyouifyouhaddonethatretumingtomy
houseandspendingabridalnightthereinwithoneofyourwives.' The
apostlesmiledandthenhispainovercamehimashewasgoingthemund
of his wives, until he was overpowered in the house of Maymiina. He
called his wives and asked their permission to be nursed in my house,
andtheyagreed(918).

&;8

'ALI'S RAID ON THE YAMAN

'Ali raided the Yaman twice (916).

USAMA B. ZAYD'S MISSION TO PALESTINE

The apostle sent Usama to Syria and commanded him to take the cavalry
into the borders of the Balq~' and ai-Dikiim in the land of Palestine. So
the men got ready and all the first emigraniS went with Usilma (917).
THE BEGINNING 01' THE APOSTLE'S ILLNESS

1000

679

Tht L1jt of Muhammad

wouldreoovcr,sooffthey went. Whentheyrecoveredtheirhealthandtheir

belliescontractedtotheirnormalsizetheyfellupontheaposde'sshepherd
Yasir and killed him and stuck thorns in his eyes and drove away his
camels. The apostle sent Kurz b. J ~bir in pursuit and he overtook them
and brought them to the apostle as he returned from theraidofDhii
Qarad. Hecutofftheirhandsand feetandgougedouttheireyes.

While matters were thus the apostle began to suffer from the illness by
which God took him to what honour and compassion He intended
for himshortlybeforetheendof$afarorinthebeginningofRabi'u'lawwal. Itbegan,soihavebeentold,whenhewenttoBaqi'u'I-Gharqad
inthemiddleofthenightandprayedforthedead. Then he returned to
hisfamilyandinthemoming hissufferingsbegan.
'Abdullah b. 'Umar from 'Ubayd b. Jubayr, a frw::lman of al-l;laltam
b. Abii'l'~, from 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. al-'~ from Abii Muwayhiba, a
freedmanoftheapootle,said:Inthemiddleofthenighttheapostlesent
formeandtoldmethathewasorderedtoprayforthedeadinthiscemetery
and that I was to go with him. I went; and when he stood among them he
said,'Peace uponyou,Opeopleofthegraves!Happyareyouthatyouare
so much better off than men here. Dissensions have come like waves of
darknessoneaftertheother,thelastbeingworsethanthefirst.' Then he
tumedtomeandsaid,'Ihavebeengiventhechoicebetweenthekeysofthe
treasuriesofthisworldandlonglifeherefollowedbyParadilw:,andmeeting
myLordand Paradise(atonce).' Iurgedhimtochoose theformer,but
hesaidthathehadchosenthelatter. Thenheprayedforthedeadthere
and went away. Then it was that the illness through which God took him
began.
Ya'qiib b. 'Utba from Muhammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri from 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abdullah b. 'Utba b. Mas'iid from 'A'isha, the prophet's wife,

~~~e;:~e=~: :~~r;~a:r:a;i~~~ .~:~~:~~ ~:;~, ~~:~~1:~~=

0 my head I' Then he !laid, 'Would it distress you if you were to die before
mesothatimightwrapyouinyourahroudandprayoveryouandbury

THE APOSTLE'S ILLNESS IN THE HOUSE OF 'A'ISHA.'

The apostle went out walking between two men of his family, one of
whom was al-FaQ.l b. al-'Abbas. His head was bound in a cloth and his
feetweredraggingas hecametomyhouse. 'Ubaydullahtoldthistradition to 'Abdullah b. ai-'Abbls who told him that the other man was 'Air
(T. butthat'A'isha couldnotbringherselftospeakwellofhimthough
shewasabletodoso).
Then the apostle's illness worsened and he suffered much pain. He
said, 'Pour seven skins of water from different wells over me so that I may
go out to the men and instruct them.' We made him sit down in a tub
belongingtol;laf,ad.'Umarandwepouredwateroverhimuntilhecried,
'Enough, enough!'
Al-ZuhrisaidthatAyyiibb.Bashirtoldhimthattheapostlewentout
withhisheadboundupsnds.atinthepulpit. Thefirstthinghe uttered
wasaprayeroverthemenofUI;mdask.ingGod'sforgivenessforthemand
praying for them a longtime; then he said, 'God has given one of his
servantsthechoicebetweenthisworldandthatwhichiswithGodandhe
hascbosenthelatter.' AbiiBakrperceivedthathemeanthimselfandhe
wept, saying, 'Nay, we and our children will be your ransom.' He replied,
'Gently,AbiiBakr,'adding,'Seetothesedoors thatopenontothemosquc
and shut them except one from Abii Bakr's house, for I know no one who is
abetterfriendtomethanhe'(919).
'Abdu'l-Ral_tmlin b. 'Abdullah told me from one of the family of Sa'id
b.sl-Mu'all!thstthe apostlesaidinhisspeech thatday,'Ifiwereable
tochooseafriendonearth I"'ouldchooseAbiiBakr, but comradeship
andbrotherhoodinthefaithremainunti!GodunitesusinHispresence.'
Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr told me from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr and
otherleamedmenthattheapostlefoundthepeopletardyinjoiningthe
expedition of Usi!.ma b. Zayd while he was suffering, so he went out with
hishesdboundupuntilhesatinthepulpit. Nowpeoplehadcriticizedthe
leadership of Udma, saying, 'He has put a young man in command of the
bestoftheemigrantsandthehelpers.' AfterpraisingGodasisHisduehe
aaid,'Omen,dispatchUs!ma'sforce,forthoughyoucriticizehisleadership
asyoucriticizedtheleadershipofhisfatherbeforehim,heisjustasworthy
of the command as his father was.' Then he came down and the people 1007
burriedonwiththeirpreparations. Theapostle'spainbecamesevereand
' l.I.'otndition from"A'ilhlcontinueo.

The L1je of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

The Life of Muhammad

Tlu Life of Muhammad

behavethuaun1esstheapoetlehadcome,tohewithdrewfromhiaplace;
buttheapoetlepushedhimintheback,saying,'Leadthemeninprayer,'
andtheapoetlesatatb.Usideprayinginaaittingpoetureontherightof
AbO.Bab. Whenhehadendedprayerhetumedtothemenandapolte
to them with a loud voice which could be heard outside the mosque:
'Omen,thefireisltindled,andrebellionseomeliltethedarkncseofthe
night. ByGod,youcanlaynothingtomyc:harge. Iallowonlywhatthe
QuranallowsandforbidonlywhattheQuranforbida.'
When he had ended th~ words AbO. Baltr uid to him: '0 prophet
ofGod,laeethatthismomingyouenjoythefavourandgoodnesaofGod
u we desire; today is the day of Bint Kh~rija. May I go to her?' The

han<bandfeetofmenwhoallegethattheapostlci.tdead.' When AbO.

Bah heard what was happening he came to the door of the mosqueaa
'Umar was speaking to the people. He paid no attention but went in to
'A'iaha'l house to the apostle, who wu lying covered by a mantle of
Yananicloth. Hewentandunc:overedb.Ufaceandkisaedhim,saying,
'You arc dearer than my father and mother. You have tasted the death

apoetleagr~andwentindoonandAbO.Bakrwenttob.Uwifeinal-SunJ:a.

1011

Al-Zuhri said, and 'Abdullah b. Ka'b b. Mllik from 'Abdullah b. 'Abbls

told me: That day 'Ali went out from the apoetle and the men asked him
howtheapoedewasandherepliedthatthanbbetoGod.hehadrecovered.
'Abblatoolt himbythehandand said,"Ali,three nightshenceyouwillbe
a alave. IawearbyGod.thatirecognizcddeathintheapoetle'afaceul
uaedtoreeognizeitinthefaeeaoftheaonsof'Abdu'l-Mu)1alib. Solet
lllgototheapoetle;ifauthorityiatobewithus,weahallknowit,andifit
i.ttobewithothenwewillrequeathimtoenjointhepeopletotreatlll
well.' 'Ali answered: 'By God, I will not. If it is withheld from ua none
afterhimwillgiveittous.' Theapostlcdiedwiththehcatofnoonthatday.
Ya'qO.b b. 'Utba from ai-Zuhri from 'U!Wll from 'A'isha said: The
apoetlc came baclt to me from the mosque that day and lay in my bosom.
A man of AbO. Baltr's family came in to me with a toothpick in hU hand
andthcapostle lookcdatitinauchaWllythatiknewhewantedit,and
when I asked him if he wanted me to give it him hePid Yea;ao I took it
andcheweditforhimtotoftenitandpveittohim. Hcrubbedhiateeth
withitmorcenergeticallythanihadcveracenhimrubbeforc;thenhe
laid it down. I found himheavyinmyboaomandas I loolr.edintohia
face,lohiaeyeawerciU:edandhewusaying,'Nay,themoetEultedCom.
panioni.tofparadise.' I said, 'Youwcrcgiventhechoiceandyou have
chosen, by Him Who sent you with the truth!' And so the apoetle wu taken.
YaQyl b. 'Abbld b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father told me
that he heard 'A'isha say: The apostle died in my bosom during my turn :

~~~~:;:~dt:a~~~!na;:!;l:dd~~h::~:~= ~c~ I~~t~:.~ o':~

:~~~w'::!:t up beating my breast and al.apping my face along with the

1013

Al-Zuhri said, and Sa'id b. ai-Musayyib from Abii Hurayra told me:
When the apostle was dead 'Umar got up and said: 'Some of the diaaffectcdwillallegcthattbeapostlei.tdead,butbyGod.hei.tnotdead:bc
hugonctohisLordaaMoseab.'lmrlnwcntandWlllhiddenfromhi.t
peoplcforfonydays,retumingtothcmafteritwassaidthathchaddied.
By God, the apostle will return u Mosea returned and will cut off the

"'

whic:hGodhaddecr~:aaeconddeathwillneverovertalteyou.'Thenhe

repl.acedthcmantlconthcapostlc'afaceandwentout. 'Umarwasstill
speaking and he said, 'Gently, 'Umar, be quiet.' But 'Umar refused and
wentontalking,andwhcnAbiiBakrsawthathcwouldnotbesilcnthe
went forward to the people who, when they heard hia wor<b, came to him
and left 'Umar. Giving thanks and praise to God he said: '0 men, if
anyone worshipa Muhammad, Muhammad ia dead: if anyone wonhips
God., God it alive, immonal.' Then he recited thia vcrae: 'Muhammad ill
notbingbutanapostlc. Apostlca bavepaued awaybeforehim. Can it
bethatifhcwcrctodieorbekilledyouwouldtumbackonyourheels?
Hcwhotum~backdoeanoharmtoGod.andGod.willrewardthegrateful.' 1

By God, it was u though the people did notknowthatthiavene(T.

concerning the apostle) had come down until Abii Baltr recited it that day.
The people took it from him and it wu (conttantly) in their mouths.
'Umar uid, 'By God, when I heard Abii Bakr recite th~ wor<b I was
dumbfoundcdaothatmylcs-wouldnotbearmcandlfclltothcground
knowingthatthcapoedcwuindeeddead.'
THE MI!I!TING IN THE HALL OP B. SA' IDA

When the apostle was taken this clan of the ~r pthered round Sa'd
b. 'Ublda in the hall of B. Si'ida, and 'All and al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwim
and TaJ.t>a b. 'Ubaydullah .eparated tbcmaclvea in F11ima'a house while
the rest of the Muhajirin pthered round AbU Baltr atcompani~ by
Usayd b. l:lu~ayr with the B. 'Abdu'I-Aahhal. Then someone came to
Abii Bakr and 'Umar telling them that thia clan of the Antlr had pthercd
roundSa'dinthchallofB.Si'ida. 'Ifyouwanttohavccommandofthe
people,thentalteitbeforctheir actionbecomeaaerious.' Nowthcapostle
wuatillinhiahouae,thcburialarrangementanothavingbeencompleted,
andhiafamilyhadlocl.edthedoorofthchouae. 'Umar.1aid, 'Iaaidto
Abii Baltr, Let Ill go to these our brothen of the Antlr to see what they

u~::!.'exion

with these events 'Abdullah b. 'Abii Baltr told me from

Ibn Shihlb ai-Zuhrl from 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abdullah b. 'Utba b. Mu'iid
from 'Abdullah b. 'Abbla who said, I wu waiting for 'Abdu'I-Jta.tlmln
b. 'Auf in his ata.tion in Mini while he was with 'Umar in the last pilgrimage whith 'Omuperfonned. When he returned he found me waiting,
foriWlllteachinghimtoreadtheQuran. 'Abdu'I-Rahmln said tome:
'SnraJ.IJI.

1013

The L1]e of Muhammad

;::

~~~o~:ep~,!e =~ ~~

68s

~r:::n:n~:~ev:~~lfe ~(J~~;o~

of
haveheardthatsomeonesaid,'If'Umarweredead lwouldhaiiSo-and-ao.'
Don't let a man deceive himself by saying that the acceptance of AbU

~.!: ~; ~~n:::~~~~;~vi~lf:~r;t~~~~r:~ ::~~e~~n~m~~~~ ~h::

people would

dev~te the~lves. as

they did

t~

Abii Bakr. He who accepts

:atn;;::/~or; :h:~t~:h~:u:::! ~'l~s~;~ ':t~~:~~~~~ h~h~~

happened "'"as t~t when~ took away His apost1e the Antlr opposed ua
and gathered wuh their chiefs in the haU of B. SJ'ida; and 'Ait and
al-Zubayr and their companiora withdrew from ua; while the Muhljirln
gatheredtoAbUBakr
I told Abii Bakr that we should go to our brothen the Anpr, 10 we went
olftogotothemwhentwohonatfeUowsmetusandtolduaoftheconcluaion the people had come to. They asked us where we were going, and
whenwetoldthemtheysaidthattherewasnoneedforusto approach

:et~e:.~ ;~ ':':~o:!et~~~ ~~h~~~:~~f ~-~;~;~:y ~~~he':.;~:~~

them was a man wrapped up. In answer to my inquiries they aaid that he
was Sa'd b. 'Ublda and that he was ill. When we sat down their speaker
pronounccdthesMh4daandpraisedGodas\\"i1S fittingandthencon

:~~~~~~7:r:7 f~o;:;so~:~:~n~ ad~~p:;~t;~u;f~~~~ha:e ~~m~

11

to tettle.' ('Umar) aaid, 'And lo, they were trying to cut us off from our
originandwrestauthorityfromus. 11 Whenhehadfinished l wantcdto