8 Page Paper on Muhammed-400 Level College Course

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Guillaume_IbnIshaq_HudaybiyaandConquestofMecca.pdf

THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD

"A TRANSLATION OF ISl;IAQ'S

SIRAT RASOL ALLAH

WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY

A. GUILLAUME

Karachi

Oxford University Press Oxford New York Delhi

739

498 The Life of Muhammad Then Safwan b. al-Mu'attal met Hassan b. Thabit with a sword when

he heard he was saying:about him, for Bassan had also uttered some verse alluding to him and the Arabs of Mue;lar who had accepted Islam:

The vagabond immigrants have become powerful and numerous And Ibnu'I-Furay'a has become solitary in the land.' As good as bereaved is the mother of the man I fight Or caught in the claws of a lion. The man I kill will not be paid for By money or by blood. When the wind blows in the north and the sea rides high And bespatters the shore with foam 'Tis no more violent than I when you see me in a rage Devastating as a cloud of hail. As for Quraysh, I will never make peace with them Until they leave error for righteousness And abandon al-Lat and al-'Uzz' And all bow down to the One, The Eternal, And testify that what the apostle said to them is true, And faithfully fulfil the solemn oath with God.'

$afwan met him and smote him with his sword, saying according to what Ya'qub b. 'Utba told me:

Here's the edge of my sword for you! When you lampoon a man like me you don't get a poem in return!

Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. al-Harith al-Taymi told me that Thiibit b. Qays b. al-Shammas leapt upon $afwan when he smote Bassan and tied his hands to his neck and took him to the quarter of B. al-Harith b. al- Khazraj. Abdullah b. Rawa!)a met him and asked what had happened, and he said: 'Do I surprise you? He smote Bassan with the sword and by Allah he must have killed him.' Abdullah asked if the apostle knew about what he had done, and when he said that he did not he told him that he had been very dLtring and that he must free the man. lIe did so. Then they came to the apostle and told him of the affair and he summoned Hassan and Safwan. The latter said, 'He insulted and satirized me and ;age so me that I smote him.' The apostle said to I;Iassan, •Do you look with an evil eye on my people because God has guided them to Islam l' He added, 'Be charitable about what has befallen you.' Hassan said, 'It is yours, a apostle' (743)' The same informant told me that the apostle gave him in compensation

Bir Bil, today the castle of B. I;Iudayla in Medina. It was a property belonging to Abu Tal!)a b. Sah! which he had given as alms to the apostle

I Here in a bad sense. He is speaking of himself submerged in a sea of refugees. 2 The language is reminiscent of the Quran. The point of the reference to $afwan is not

clear to me.

The LIfe of Muhammad 499 who gave it to Hassan for his blow. He also gave him Sirin a Copt slave- girl, and she bare him 'Abdu'l-Rahman. 'A'isha used to say, 'Questions 'were asked about Ibnu'I-1iu'attal and

they found that he \vas impotent; he never touched women. He killed as a martyr after this.' I:Iassan b. ThJbit said, excusing himself for what he had said about

'A'isha:

Chaste, keeping to her house, above suspicion, Never thinking of reviling innocent women; A noble woman of the clan of Lu'ayy b. Ghalib, Seekers of honour whose glory passes not away. Pure, God having purified her nature And cleansed her from all evil and falsehood. If I said what you allege that I said Let not my hands perform their office. How could I, with my lifelong affection and support For the family of the apostle who lends splendour to all gatherings His rank so high above all others that ' The highest leap would fall short of it? What has been said will not hold But is the word of one who would slander me (744).

A Muslim said about the flogging of :tlassan and his companions for 740 slandering 'A:isha (745):

!Jassan, I):amna, and l\1istal) tasted \vhat they deserved For uttering unseemly slander; They slandered with iII-founded accusations their prophet's wife; They angered the Lord of the glorious throne and were chastised. They injured God's apostle through her And were made a public and lasting disgrace. Lashes rained upon them like Raindrops falling from the highest clouds.

THE AFFAIR OF AL-I.IUDAYBIYA, A.H. 6. THE WILLING HOMAGE AND THE PEACE BETWEEK THE APOSTLE AND

SL'HAYL B. 'AMR

Then the apostle stayed in Mcdina during the months of Ramadan and ShawwJI and went out on the little pilgrimage in Dhil'l-Qa'da n intention of making war (746). He called together the Arabs and

BedOUIn to march WIth him, feanng that Quraysh \vould oppose hIm WIth arms or prevent him from the temple, as they actually did. Many of the Arabs held back from hIm, and he went out with the emi- grants and Anear and such of the Arabs as stuck to him. He took the

500 The Life of Muhammad sacrificial victims with him and donned the pilgrim garb so that all would know that he did not intend war and that his purpose was to visit the temple and to venerate it. Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab al-Zuhri from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr

from Miswar b. Makhrama and Marwan b. al-Ijakam told me: The apostle went out in the year of al-I:Iudaybiya with peaceful intent meaning to visit th'e temple, and took with him seventy camels for sacrifice. There were seven hundred men so that each camel was on behalf of ten men. Jabir b. 'Abdullah, so I have heard, used to say, 'We, the men ofal-Ijuday- biya, were fourteen hundred.'

741 Al-Zuhri continued: When the apostle was in 'Usfan, Bishr b. Sufyan al-Ka'bi met him (747) and said: 'There are Quraysh who have heard of your coming and have come out with their milch-camels and have put on leopards' skins, I and have encamped at Dhii Tuwa swearing that you will never enter Mecca in defiance of them. This man Khalid b. al-Walid is with their cavalry which they have sent in advance to Kuri:i.'u'I-Ghamim.'2 The apostle said: 'Alas, Quraysh, war has devoured them! What harm would they have suffered if they had left me and the rest of the Arabs to go our own ways? If they should kill me that is what they desire, and if God should give me the victory over them they would enter Islam in flocks. If they do not do that they will fight while they have the strength, so what are Quraysh thinking of? By Allah, I will not cease to fight for the mission with which God has entrusted me until He makes it victorious or I perish.' Then he said, 'Who will take us out by a way in which we shall not meet them ?' 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr told me that a man of Aslam volunteered to do

so and he took them by a rugged, rocky track between passes \vhieh was very hard on the Muslims, and when they emerged from it on to the easy ground at the end of the \vadi the apostle said to the meo, 'Say, \Ve ask God's forgiveness and we repent towards Him.' They did so and he said, 'That is the "putting a\vay"3 that was enjoined on the children of Israel; but they did not say the words.' The apostle ordered the force to turn to the right through the salty

growth' on the road which leads by the pass of al-Murar to the declivity of aI-Ijudaybiya below Mecca. They did so, and when the Quraysh cavalry saw from the dust of the army that they had turned aside from their path they returned at a gallop to Quraysh. The apostle went as far as the pass of al-Murar and when his camel knelt and the men said, 'The camel won't get up,' he said: 'It has not refused and such is not its nature, but the One

I This passage and 744, line 5, imply that leopard skins were actually worn. The language in Hamasa 82. 13 and Mufarj. 640. 6 appears to be figurative. For 'milch-camels' some

'women and children'. :1 A wadi about 8 miles from ·Vsfiin. 3 hilla is said to mean 'take away our sins'. Cf. Stiras 2. 55 and 7. 16r. .. i:IamQ. here may be a place-name, but the place of this name in Yiiq. ii. 339 is muchtoo

far away from Mecca.

The Life of Muhammad 50 1 who the elephant from TvIecca is keeping it back. Today what- e:er condItIOn Quraysh make in which they ask me to show kindness to kmdred I shall agree to.' Then he told the people to dismount. They HZ objected that no water there by which they could halt, so he took arrow. from hIS qUIver and gave it to one of his companions and he took

It down mto one of the waterholes and prodded the middle of it and the water rose untIl the men's camels \vere satisfied with drinking and lay down there. One of B. Aslam toldme that the man who went into the hole with

the apostle s arrow was NaJlya h. Jundub b Tmayr b Ya'm b D- . b 'A b W-"l '. ar. anm ._ . mr. a I a b. Sahm b. Mazin b. Salaman b. Aslam b. Afsa b. Abu Ijantha :vho the apostle's camels to sacrifice (748). . A tradItlODlst alleged to me that al-Bara' b. 'Azib used 'to say that it was

he who went down WIth the apostle's arrow, and God knows which it was. The Aslam quoted verses from the lines which Najiya made. We think

that It was_he who went ,downwith the arrow. Aslam allege that aslave-girl of the cam.e up WIth her bucket while Najiya Was in the well supply- mg the people WIth water and said:

o you down below, my bucket is here. I hear all our men who \vish you good cheer PralSlng the one who draws water here (749).

Najiya said as he was in the hole getting the water:

The Yamani slave-girl knows That I'm Najiya down below getting water. Many a wide bloody wound I've made In the breasts of advancing foes.

In al-Zuhri said: When the apostle had rested Budayl b. Warqa al-Khuza I came to hIm With some men of Khuza'a and asked him what he had come for. He told them that he had not come for war but to go on and :'enerate the sacred precincts. Then he said to them what he had saId to Blshr b. 9ufyan. Then they returned to Quraysh and

what they had heard; but they suspected them and spoke roughly 743 to tern, saymg, .'He may come not \vanting war but by Allah he shall never come In here agamst our will, nor shall the Arabs ever say that we have alIowed It.'

were the apostle's confidants, both their lVIuslims and their polytheIsts. They kept him informed of everything that hap d' Mecca. ) pene In

Then Quraysh sent Mikraz b. b. al-Akhyaf brother of B 'A . b Lu'ayy to hun Wh h h' . m" .. en e saw 1m approaching the apostle said 'Th' . treacherous fellow!' When he came up and spoke to him the hIm tbe same reply as he had given Budayl and his companions h returned and told the Quraysh what the apostle had said. ' e

502 The Life of Muhammad Then they sent to him al-l:Iulays b. 'Alqama or Ibn Zabbiin, who was at

that time chief of the black troops, being one of B. al-l:Iarith b. 'Abdu Manat b. Kinana. \Vhen he saw him the apostle said, 'This is one of the devout people, so send the sacrificial animals to meet him sO that he can see them! When he saw them going past him from the side of the wadi with their festive collars round their necks and how they had eaten their hairl because they had been so long kept back from the place of sacrifice, he went back to Quraysh and did not come to the apostle, so greatly was he impressed by what he had seen. When he told them that, they said, 'Sit down ! You are only a Bedouin, utterly ignorant.' 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr told me that this enraged al-l:Iulays, 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 house to be excluded from it? By him who holds my life in his hand, either you let Muhammad do what he has come to do or I shall take away the black troops to the last man.' They said, 'Be quiet, I:Iulays! until we obtain for ourselves acceptable terms.' In his narrative al-Zuhri said: Then they sent 'Vrwa b. Mas'ud al-

Thaqafi to the apostle and he said: 'You men of Quraysh, I have seen the 744 harshness and rude words with which you have received those you sent to

Muhammad when they returned to you. You know that you are the father and I am the son-for 'Vrwa was the son of Subay'a d. 'Abdu Shams-I heard of what befell you and I collected those of my people who obeyed me; then I came to you to help you.' They agreed and said that they did not suspect him. So he came to the apostle and sat before him and said: 'Muhammad, have you collected a mixed people together and then brought them to your own people to destroy them? Quraysh have come out with their milch-camels2 clad in leopard skins swearing that you shall never enter Mecca by force. By God I think I see you deserted by these people (here) tomorrow.' Now Abu Bakr was sitting behind the apostle and he said, 'Suck al-Lat's nipples! Should we desert him?' He asked who had spoken, and when he heard it was Ibn Abu Qul,lafa he said, 'By Allah, did I not owe you a favour 1 would pay you back for that, but now we are quits.' Then he began to take hold of the apostle's beard as he talked to him. AI-Mughira b. Shu'ba was standing by the apostle's head clad in mail and he began to hit his hand as he held the apostle's beard saying, 'Take your hand away from the apostle's face before you lose it.' 'Vrwa said, 'Confound you, how rough and rude you are!' The apostle smiled and when 'Vrwa asked who the man was he told him that it was his brother's son, al-l\1ughira b. Shu'ba and he said, '0 wretch, it was only yesterday that I washed your dirty parts!' (750). The apostle told him what he had told the others, namely that he had

not come out for war. He got up from the apostle's presence having seen I It is just possible that aubJr is the pI. of wibJr, a bitter salty herb with thorns (btimi(ja).

In that case it would support the rendering of I;Iamt;i on p. 741. :z v.s.

The Life of Muhammad 503 how his companions treated him. \Vhenever he performed his ablutions

ran to get the \vater he had used; if he spat they ran to it; if a hair of 745 hIs head fell they ran to pick it up. So he returned to Quraysh and said 'I have been to Chosroes in his kingdom, and Caesar in his kingdom and

Negus in his kingdom, but never have 1 seen a king among a people lIke Muhammad among his companions. I have seen a people who will never him for any reason, so form your own opinion.' A tradltlOnIst told me that the apostle called Khirash b. Umayya al-

Khuza'i and sent him to Quraysh in l\1ecca, mounting him on one of his camels called al-Tha'iab to tell their chiefs from him what he had come for. They hamstrung the apostle's camel and wanted to kill the man but the black troops protected him and let him go his way so that he back to the apostle. One whom I do not suspect from 'Ikrima client of Ibn 'Abbas from the

latter told me that Quraysh had sent forty or fifty men with "rders to surround the apostle's camp and get hold of one of his companions for them, but they were caught and brought to the apostle, who forgave them and let them go their way. They had attacked the camp with stones and arrows. Then he called 'Umar to send him to l\lecca with the same mes- sage, but 'Vmar told him that he feared for his life with Quraysh, because there were none of B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b in Mecca to protect him, and Quraysh knew of his enmity and his rough treatment of them. He recommended that aman more prized there than himselfshould be sent, namely 'Uthman. The apostle summoned 'Vthman and sent him to AbU Sufyan and the chiefs of Quraysh to tell them that he had not come for war but merely to VISIt the house and to venerate its sanctity. As 'Uthman entered or was about to enter Mecca Aban b. Sa'id b. 31- met and carried him in front ofhim. Then he gave him his protec-

tIOn untIl he could convey the apostle's message to them. Having heard what 'Vthman had to say, they said: 'If you want to go round the temple, 746 go round it.' He said that he could nat do so until Muhammad did so and Quraysh kept him a prisoner with them. The apostle and the were informed that 'Vthman had been killed.

THE WILLING HOMAGE

'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr told me that when the apostle heard that 'Vthmiin had been killed he said that they would not leave until they fought the enemy,. he summoned the men to give their undertaking. The pledge ofal-RI<;lwan took place under a tree. Men used to say that the apostle took theIr pledge unto death. Jabir b. 'Abdullah used to say that the apostle did not take their pledge unto death, but rather their undertaking that they

not run away. Not one of the Muslims who were present failed to gIve hIS hand except al-Jadd b. Qays, brother of B. Salima. Jabir used to say: 'By Allah, I can almost see him now sticking to his camel's side

7+7

504 The Life of Muhammad cringing as he tried to hide himself from the men.' Then the apostle heard that the news about 'Uthman was false (751).

THE ARMISTICE

AI-Zuhri said: Then Quraysh sent Suhayl b. 'Amr brother of B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy to the apostle with instructions to make peace with him on tion that he went back this year, so that none of the Arabs could say that he made a forcible entry. When the apostle saw him coming he said, 'The people want to make peace seeing that they have sent this man.' After a long discussion peace was made and nothing remained but to write an agreement. 'Umar jumped up and went to AbU. Bakr saying, 'Is he not God's apostle, and are we not Muslims, and are they not polytheists?' to which Abu Bakr agreed, and he went on: 'Then why should we agree to what is demeaning to our religion?' He replied, 'Stick to what he says, for I testify that he is God's apostle.' 'Umar said, 'And so do L' Then he went to the apostle and put the same questilJns to which the apostle answered, 'I am God's slave and His apostle. I will not go against His commandment and He will not make me the loser.' 'Umar used to say, 'I have not ceased giving alms and fasting and praying and freeing slaves because of what I did that day out of fear for what I had said, when I hoped that (my plan) would be better.' Then the apostle summoned 'Ali and told him to write 'In the name of

Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful.' Suhayl said 'I do not recognize 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, the apostle of God has agreed with Suhayl b. 'Amr.''' Suhayl said, 'If I witnessed that you were God's apostle I would not have fought you. Write your own name and the name of your father.' The apostle said: '\Vrite "This is what Muhammad b. 'Abdullah has agreed with Suhayl b. 'Amr: they have agreed to lay aside war for ten years during which men can be safe and refrain from hostilities on condition that if anyone comes to Muhammad the permission of his guardian he will return him to them; and if anyone of those with I\luhammad comes to Quraysh they will not return him to him. \Ve will not show enmity one to another and there shall be no secret reservation or bad faith. He who wishes to enter into a bond and agreement with Muhammad 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 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 enter it with your companions, and stay there three nights. You may carry a rider's weapons, the swords in their sheaths. You can hring in nothing more.'

The Life of Muhammad 505 While the apostle and Suhayl were writing the document, suddenly Abu

Jandal b. Suhayl appeared walking in fctters, having escaped to the apostle. The apostle's companions had gone out without any doubt of occupying Mecca because of the vision which the apostle had seen, and when they saw the negotiations for peace and a withdrawal going on and what the apostle had taken on himself they felt depressed almost to the point of death. When Suhayl saw Abu Jandal he got up and hit him in the face and took hold of his collar, saying, 'Muhammad, the agreement between us was concluded before this man came to you.' He replied, 'You are right.' He began to pull him roughly by his collar and to drag him away to return him to Quraysh, while Abu Jandal shrieked at the top of his voice, 'Am I to be returned to the polytheists that they may entice me from my religion 0 Muslims?' and that increased the people's dejection. The apostle said, '0 Abu Jandal, be patient and control yourself, for God will provide relief and a means of escape for you and those oEyall who are helpless. We have made peace with them and we and they have invoked God in our agree- ment and we cannot deal falsely with them.' 'Umarjumped up and walked alongside Abu Jandal saying, 'Be patient for they are only polytheists; the blood of one of them is but the blood of a dog,' and he brought the hilt of his sword close up to him. 'Umar used to say, 'I hoped that he would take the sword and kill his father with it, but the man spared his father and so the matter ended.' When the apostle had finished the document he summoned representa-

tives of the Muslims and polytheists to witness to the peace, namely AbU. Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Abdu'l-Ral,!man b. 'Auf, 'Abdullah b. Suhayl b. 'Amr, 7+9 and Sa'd b. Abu Mal,!mud b. Maslama, Mikraz b. who was a polytheist at the time, and 'Ali who was the writer of the document. The apostle was encamped in the profane country, and he used to pray

in the sacred area. When the peace was concluded he slaughtered his vic- tims and sat down and shaved his head. I have heard that it was Khiriish b. Umayya b. al-Fa<;ll al-Khuza'i who shaved him then. When the men saw what the apostle had done they leapt up and did the same. 'Abdullah b. Abu NajIl,! from Mujahid from Ibn 'Abbas told me, 'Some

men shaved their heads on the day of al-I:Iudaybiya while others cut their hair.' The apostle said, 'May God have mercy on the shavers.' They said, 'The cutters, too, 0 apostle?' Three times they had to put this question until finally he added 'and the cutters'. When they asked him why he had repeatedly confined the invocation of God's mercy to the shavers he replied, 'Because they did not doubt.' The same authorities told me that the apostle sacrificed in the year of

al-I:Iudaybiya among his victims a camel belonging to Abu JaW which had a silver nose-ring, thus enraging the polytheists. Zuhri continued: The apostle then went on his way back and when he

was half-way back the sura al-Fatl; came down: 'We have given you a plain victory that God may forgive you your past sin and the sin which is

506 The Life of Muhammad The Life of Muhammad to come and may complete his favour upon you and guide you on an upright path.II Then the account goes on about him and his companions until he comes to mention the oath of allegiance and He said: 'Those who swear allegiance to you really swear allegiance to God, the hand of God being above their hands; so he who breaks his oath breaks it to his own hurt; while he who is faithful to what he has covenanted with God, to him will He give a great reward.' Then He mentioned the Bedouin who held back from him. Then He

said when he urged them to take the field with him and they procrastinated, 'The Bedouin who were left behind will say to you: Our possessions and

750 our families preoccupied us!' Then follows an account of them until the words 'Those who were left behind will say when you go out to capture spoil, Let us follow you, wishing to change what God has said. Say, You shall not follow us. Thus has God said beforehand.' Then follows an account of them and how it was explained to them that they must fight a people of great prowess. 'Abdullah b. Abu Najjh from 'Ata' b. Abu Raha\> from Ibn 'Abbas said

(That means) Persia. One whom I do not suspect from al-Zuhri told me that 'a people of great prowess' meant Banifa with the arch-liar. Then He said: 'God was pleased with the believers when they swore

allegiance to you under the tree and He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down the Sakjna' upon them and rewarded them with a recent victory and much spoil which they will take. God is mighty, wise. God has promised you much spoil which you will capture and has given you this in advance, and kept men's hands from you, that it may be a sign to the believers and that He may guide you on an upright path, and other (things) which you have not been able to get. God encompasses them, and God is almighty.' Then He mentioned how He had kept him away from battle after the

victory over them, meaning those He had kept from him. Then He said: 'He it is who has kept their hands from you and your hands from them in the vale of Mecca, after He had given you victory over them. God is a seer of what you do.' Then He said: 'They are those who disbelieved and debarred you from the sacred mosque and the offering from reaching its goal' (752). 'And had it not been for the believing men and women whom you did not know lest you should tread them under foot and thus incur guilt for them unwittingly.' Ma'arra means 'a fine', Le. lest you should suffer loss for them unwittingly and pay its bloodwit; as for real guilt he did not fear it on their account (753). Then he said, "Vhen those who disbelieve had set in their hearts zealotry,

751 the zealotry of paganism,' i.e. Suhayl b. 'Amr when he scorned to write 'In the name ofAllah the Compassionate the Merciful' and that Muhammad is God's apostle. Then He said 'God sent down His sakina' upon His apostle

I Sura 48. This is (a) a genuine Arabic word meaning' tranquillity', 'calm'; and (b) a borrowing

and the believers and imposedon themthewordofpiety, for they were meet and worthy of it,' i.e. the declaration of God's unity, the witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and His apostle. Then He said: 'God has fulfilled the vision to His apostle in truth. You

shall enter the sacred mosque if God will, safelywith heads shaved and hair cut short fearing not. For He knows what you do not know,' i.e. the vision which the apostle saw that he would enter Mecca safely without fear. He says 'with your heads shaved and hair cut short' along with him without fear, for He knows what you do not know of that, and more than that He has wrought a near victory, the peace of al-Budaybiya. No previous victory in Islam was greater than this. There was nothing

but battle when men met; but when there was an armistice and war was abolished and men met in safety and consulted together none talked about Islam intelligently without entering it. In those two years double as many or more than double as many entered Islam as ever before (754).

THE CASE OF THOSE LEFT HELPLESS AFTER THE PEACE

When the apostle arrived in Medina AbcI Basjr 'Utba b. Asid b. Jariya, one of those imprisoned in Mecca, came to him. Azhar b. 'Abdu 'Auf b. 'Abd b. al-I:Iarith b. Zuhra and al-Akhnas b. Sharjq b. 'Amr b. Wahb al- Thaqafi wrote to the apostle about him, and they sent a man of B. 'Amir b. 752 Lu'ayy with a freed slave of theirs. When they came to the apostle with the letter he said, 'You know the undertaking we gave these people and it ill becomes us that treachery should enter our religion. God will bring relief and a way of escape to those helpless like you, so go back to your people.' He said, '\Vould you return me to the polytheists who will seduce me from my religion?' He said, 'Go, for God \....ill bring relief and a way of escape for you and the helpless ones with you.' So he went with them as far as where he and the two men sat against a wall. l\bu

said, 'Is your sword sharp, 0 brother of B. 'Arnir?' \Vhen he said that it was he said that he v,'Ould like to look at it. 'Look at it if you want to: he replied. Abu Baliir unsheathed it and dealt him a blow that killed him. The freedman ran off to the apostle who was sitting in the mosque, and when the apostle saw him coming he said, 'This man has seen thing frightful.' When he came up the apostle said, 'What's the matter, woe to you?' He said: 'Your man has killed my man,' and almost at once Abu came up girt with the sword, and standing by the apostle he said, 'Your obligation is over and God has removed it from you. You duly handed me over to the men and I ha\re protected myself in my religion lest I should be seduced therein or scoffed at.' The apostle said, '\Voe is his mother, he would have kindled a war had there been others with him.'2 from the Hebrew shekinah, through the medium of Syriac. A summary ofwhat has been said about it with a bibliography is given by A. Jeffery, Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurt'in, 174. I About six or seven miles from Medina.

Or, 'The firebrandl Would that others had been with himl'

753

508 The Lzfe of Muhammad Then Abu Ba$ir went off until he halted at al-'I$ in the region of Dhu'l-

Marwa by the sea-shore on the road which Quraysh were accustomed to take to Syria. The Muslims who were confined in Mecca heard what the apostle had said of Abu so they went out to join him in al- About

men attached themselves to him, and they so harried Quraysh, kIllIng everyone they could get hold of and cutting to pieces every caravan that passed them, that Quraysh wrote to the apostle begging him by the ties of kinship to take these men in, for they had no use for them; so the apostle took them in and they came to him in Medina (755). When Suhayl heard that Abu Ba$ir had killed his 'Amiri guard he leant

his back against the Ka'ba and swore that he would not remove it until this man's bloodwit was paid. Abu Sufyan b. I:Iarb said, 'By God, this is sheer folly. It will not be paid.' Three times he said it. Mauhab b. Riyal.> Abu Unays, an ally of B. Zuhra, said (756):

A brief word from Suhayl reached me And woke me from my sleep. If you wish to reproach me Then reproach me, for you are not far from me. \Vould you threaten me when 'Abdu Manaf is round me With Makhzum? Alas, wbom are you attacking? If you put me to the test you will not find me A weak support in grave misfortunes. I can rival in birth the best of my people. When the weak are iii-treated I protect them. They defend the heights of Mecca without doubt As far as the valleys and the wadi sides With every blood mare and fiery borse Grown tbin from long fighting. Ma'add know they have in al-Khayf' A pavilion of glory exalted high.

'Abdullah b. al-Ziba.'ra answered him:

Mauhab has become like a poor donkey Braying in a viiiage as he passes through it. A man like you cannot attack Suhayl. Vain is your effort. Whom are you attacking? Shut up, you son of a blacksmith. And stop talking nonsense in the land. Don't mention the blame of Abu Yazid. There's a great difference between oceans and puddles.

I A place in Mini.

The Life of l\!/uhammad

THE WOMEN WHO EMIGRATED AFTER THE ARMISTICE

Umm Kulthum d. 'Ugba b. Abu Mu'an migrated to the apostle during this period. Her two brothers 'Umara and al-Walid sons of 'Uqba came and asked the apostle to return her to them in accordance with the agree- ment between him and Quraysh at I:Iudaybiya, but he would not. God forbade it. Al-Zuhri from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr told me: I came in to him as he was

writing a letter to Ibn Abu Hunayda, the friend of al-Walid b. Abdu'l- Malik who had written to ask him about the word of God: '0 you who believe, when believing women come to you as emigrants test them. God knows best about their faith. If you know that they are believers do not send them back to the unbelievers. They are not lawful to them nor vice versa. And give them (the unbelievers) what they have spent on them. It is no sin for you to marry them when you have given them their dues, and hold not to the ties of unbelieving women'l (757). Ask for what you have spent and let them ask for what they have spent. That is the judgement of Allah who judges between you. God is a knower, wise.' 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr' wrote to him: The apostle made peace with Quraysh

on the day of al-I:Iudaybiya on condition that he should return to them those who came without the permission of their guardians. But when women migrated to the apostle and to Islam God refused to allow them to be returned to the polytheists if they had been tested by the test of Islam, and they knew that they came only out of desire for Islam, and He ordered 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 judgementofGod which He judges between you, and Allah is knowing, wise.' So the apostle with- held the women and returned the men, and he asked what God ordered him to ask of the dowries of the women who were withheld from them, and that they sbould return what was due if the other side did the same. Had it not been for this judgement of God's the apostle would have re- turned the women as he returned the men. And had it not been for the armistice and covenant between them on the day ofal-I:Iudaybiya he would 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 asked al-Zuhri about this passage: 'And if any ofyour wives have gone

to the unbelievers and you have your turn of triumph, then give those whose wives have gone the like ofwhat they spent, and fear Allah in \vhom you believe.' He said, Ifone of you loses his family to the unbelievers and a woman does not come to you you may take for her the like of what they

I Sura 60. IO. 2. He was the principalauthority on apostolic tradition. His father was a cousin of the

prophet, his mother Asma' was a daughter of Abu Bakr, and his brother was a candidate for the caliphate, and he was closely associated with 'A'isha, who was his aunt. He was born in A.H. 23 aod died in 94.

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5ro The LIfe of Muhammad take from you, then compensate them from any booty that you secure. When this verse came down. '0 you who believe when believing women come to you as'emigrants,' as far as the words 'and hold not to the cords of disbelieving women' it referred to 'Umar's divorcing his wife Qurayba d. Abu Umayya b. al-Mughira. Mu'awiya b. Abu Sufyan married her after- wards while they were both polytheists in Mecca; and Umm Kulthum the Khuza'ite woman d. Jarwal mother of Ubaydullah b. 'Umar whom Abu Jahm b. I:ludhayfa b. Ghanim a man of 'Umar's people married while they both were polytheists (758).

THE EXPEDITION TO KHAYBAR, A.H.7

After his return from a1-I:ludaybiya the apostle stayed in Medina during DhU'I-I:lijja and part of the polytheists superintending the

756 pilgrimage. Then he marched against Khaybar (759). Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. al-I:larith al-Taymi from Abu'l-Haytham b. b. Duhr al-Aslami from his father who said that he heard the apostle

as he journeyed say to <Amir b. al-Akwa' who was the uncle of Salama b. 'Amr b. al-Akwa' who was named Sinan: 'Dismount, Ibn al-Akwa', and chant one ofyour camel-songs for us'; so he got downand recited this rough rhyme:

But for Allah we should not have been guided Nor given alms nor prayed. If people treat us unjustly And if they wish to seduce us we resist. Send down SaklnaJ upon us And make our feet firm when we meet our enemies.

The apostle said, 'May God have mercy on you!' 'Vmar said, 'You have made his death inevitable, 0 apostle of God. Would that you had let us enjoy him longer.' He was killed at Khaybar as a martyr. I have heard that his sword turned upon him as he was fighting and gave him such a grievous wound that he died of it. The Muslims were in doubt as to whether he died a martyr, saying that he had died oy his own weapon. But his nephew Salama b. 'Arm b. al-Akwa' asked the apostle about it, telling him what men were saying, and he said, 'Certainly he is a martyr,' and he and the Muslims prayed over him. One whom I do not suspect told me from 'Ata' b. Abu Marwan aI-

Aslamj from his father from Abu Mu'attib b. 'Amr that when the apostle looked down on Khaybar he told his companions, amongwhom Iwas one, to stop. Then he said:

'0 God, Lord of the heavens and what they ,,'ershadow 757 And Lord of the lands and what they make to grow

And Lord of the devils and what into error they throw And Lord of the winds and what they winnow,

I V.J.

The Life of Muhammad SII We ask Thee for the good of this town and the good of its people and the good of what is in it, and we take refuge in Thee from its evil and the evil of its people and the evil that is in it. Forward in the name of Allah.' He used to say that of every town he entered. One whom I do not suspect told me from Anas b. Malik: When the

apostle raided a people he waited until the morning. If he heard a call to prayer l he held back; if he did not hear it he attacked. \Ve came to Khaybar by night, and the apostle passed the night there; and when morning came he did not hear the call to prayer,l so he rode and we rode with him, and I rode behind Abu with my foot touching the apostle's foot. We met the workers of Khaybar coming out in the morning with their spades and baskets. When they saw the apostle and the army they cried, 'Muhammad with his force,' and turned tail and fled. The apostle said, 'Allah akbar! Khaybar is destroyed. \Vhen we arrive in a people's square it is a bad morning for those who have been warned.' Harun told us from I:Iumayd from Anas similarly. When the apostle marched from Medina to Khaybar he went by way of

and a mosque was built for him there; then by way of al-Sal;ba.'.3 Then he went forward with the army until he halted in a wadi called al- Raji', halting between the men of Khaybar and Ghatafiin so as to prevent the latterreinforcing Khaybar, for theywereon theirside against the apostle. I have heard that when Gha!afan heard about the apostle's attack on

Khaybar they gathered together and marched out to help the Jews against him; but after a day's journey, hearing a rumour about their property and families, they thought that they had been attacked during their absence, so theywenthackon their tracks and left thewaytoKhaybaropen to theapostle. 758 The apostle seized the property piece by piece and conquered the forts

one by one as he came to them. The first to fall was the fort of Na'im; there Mal;mud b. Maslama was killed by a millstone which was thrown on him from it; then al-Qamus the fort of B. AbU'I-I:luqayq. The apostle took captives from them among whom was $aflya d. I:luyayy b. Akh!ab who had been the wife of Kinana b. al-Rab!' b. Abu'l-I:luqayq, and two cousins of hers. The apostle chose $afiya fa, himself.

b. Khalifa al-Kalbj had asked the apostle for i;lafjya, and when he chose her for himselfhe gave him her two cousins. The women of Khaybar were distributed among the Muslims. The Muslims ate the meat of the domestic donkeys and the apostle got up and forbade the people to do a number of things which he enumerated. 'Abdullah b. 'Anrr b. I;lamra al-Fazarj told me from 'Abdullah b. Abu

Sali! from his father: The apostle's prohibition of the flesh of domestic donkeys reached us as the pots were boiling with it, so we turned them upside down.

I This is the usual meaning ofadhan, but probably here a more general tenn is indicated: 'a call to get up and work'. 2 A mountain between Medina and Wadi'l-Fur'

3 An evening's journey from Khaybar.

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The Life ofMuhammad They met their end when they went their way And I with the survivors am left to life's sorrows. Three men were sent forward and advanced To death's loathed pool of blood.

The names of those who died a martyr's death at Mu'ta: Of Quraysh: of the clan of B. Hashim, Jafar and Zayd. Of B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b: Mas'ud b. al-Aswad b. I:Iaritha b. Na<ila. Of B. Malik b. I:fisl: Wahb b. Sa'd b. Abu SarI,. Of the of the clan of B. al-I:farith b. al-Khazraj, 'Abdullah b.

Rawal:ta and 'Abbad b. Qays. Of B. Ghanam b. Malik b. ai-Najjar, al-I:farith b. Nu'man b. Usaf b.

Na<ila b. 'Abd b. 'Auf b. Ghanam. Of B. Mazin b. ai-Najjar, Suraqa b. 'Amr b. 'AFya b. Khansa' (791).

THE CAUSES THAT LED TO THE OCCUPATION OF MECCA, A.H. 8

After he had sent his force to Mu'ta the apostle stayed in Medina during the latter Jumada and Rajab. Then the B. Bakr b. 'Abdu Manat b. Kinana attacked Khuza'a while they were at a well of theirs in the lower region of Mecca called al-Watir. The cause of the quarrel was that a man of B. al-I:fa<irami called Malik b. 'Abbad-the I:Ia<irami being at that time allies of al-Aswad b. Razn-had gone out on a trading journey; and when he reached the middle of the Khuza'a country they attacked and killed him and took his possessions. So B. Bakr attacked a man of Khuza'a and killed him; and just before Islam Khuza'a attacked the sons of al-Aswad b. Razn al-Dili who were the most prominent chiefs of B. Kinana-Salma, Kul- thurn, and Dhu'ayb-and killed them in 'Arafa at the boundary stones of the sacred area.' One of the B. al-Dil told me that B. al-Aswad during the pagan era were

paid double bloodwit because of their position among them, while they only got a single bloodwit. While B. Bakr and Khuza'a were thus at enmity Islam intervened and

occupied men's minds. When the peace of I:fudaybiya was concluded between the apostle and Quraysh one of the conditions-according to what al-Zuhri told me from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr from al-Miswar b. Makhrama and Marwan b. al-J:iakam and other traditionists-was that anyone who wanted to enter into a treaty relationship with either party could do so; the B. Bakr joined Quraysh and Khuza'a joined the apostle. When the armis- tice was established B. al-Dil of B. Bakr took advantage of it against Khuzata in their desire to revenge themselves on them for the sons of Aswad whom they had killed. So Naufal b. Mu'awiya al-Dili, who 'Yas their leader at the time, went out with the B. al-Dil, though all the B. Bakr did not follow him, and attacked Khuza'a by night while they were at al-

The Life of Muhammad HI WaUr their well, killing one of their men. Both parties fell back and con- tinued the fight. Quraysh helped B. Bakr with weapons and some of them fought with them secretly under cover of the night until they drove Khu- za'a into the sacred area. When they reached it the B. Bakr said, '0 Naufal, we are in the sacred area. Remember your God, remember your God!' He replied in blasphemous words that he had no god that day. 'Take your revenge, ye sons of Bakr. By my life, if you used to steal in the sacred area, won't you take vengeance in it?' Now on the night they attacked them in al-Watir they killed a man called Munabbih who had gone out with one of his tribesmen called Tamim b. Asad. Munabbih had a weak heart and he told Tamim to escape for he was as good as dead whether they killed him or let him go, for his heart had given out. So Tamim made off and escaped and Munabbih was overtaken and killed. When Khuza'a entered Mecca they took refuge in the house of Budayl b. Warqa' and the house of a freed slave of theirs called Rafi'. Tamim in excusing himself for running away from Munabbih said: 804

When I saw the B. Nufatha had advanced Covering every plain and hill, Rock and upland, no one else in sight, Leading their swift wide-nostrilled horses And I remembered the old blood feud between us, A legacy of years gone by; And I smelt the odour of death coming from them And feared the stroke of a sharp sword And knew that they would leave him they smote Meat for mother lions and carrion for crows, I set my feet firmly not fearing stumbling And threw my garments on the bare ground. I ran-no wild ass strong, lean-flanked, ran as I ran. She may blame me, but had she been there Her disapproval would have been urine wetting her. Men well know that I did not leave Munabbih willingly. Ask my companions (if you do not believe me) (792).

AI-Akhzar b. LU'I al-Dili describing the fight between Kinana and Khuzata said:

Have not the most distant A1,labish I heard That we repulsed B. Katb in impotent disgrace?2 We made them keep to the dwelling of the slave Rafi' And they were confined helpless with Budayl In the house of a low person who accepts humiliation After we had slaked our vengeance on them with the sword. We held them there for many a day

I Possibly the Abyssinians are meant. Z 'with arrows snapped off near the feathered end'.

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The Life of Muhammad Until from every pass we charged down on them. We slaughtered them like goats, . We were like lions racing to get our teeth III them. They had wronged us and behaved as enemies And were the first to shed blood at the sacred boundary.., When they pursued them with their vanguard m the wadI s bend They were like young ostriches in full flight.'

Budayl b. 'Abdu Maniit b. Salama b. 'Amr b. al-Ajabb who was called Budayl b. Umm answered hIm thus:

May those people lose one another who boast _ Since we left them no chief to call them to assembly save Nafil. \Vas it for fear of a people you scorn That you went past al-\\ratir fearful, never to return? .. Every day we give to others to pay bloodwit for those they have kIlled While we take no help in paying our bloodWlt. We came to your home in al-Tala'a/ OUf swords silenced all complaints. From Bayd and 'Itwad3to the slopes of Ratiwa We held off the attacks of horsemen. On the day of al-Ghamim' 'Ubays ran away. We terrified him with a doughty leader. . . \Vas it because the mother of onc of you defecated In her house In her trepidation .. I

While you were leaping about that we met no OPPosItIOn. By God's house you lie, you did not fight But we left you in utter confuSIOn (793)·

When Quraysh and B. Bakr had combined against Khuza'a and killed some of them, thereby breaking their covenanted word with.the apostle iolating Khuzii'a who were in treaty with him, <Arnr b. SalIm al-Khuza 1

Vf h I f B Ka'b went to the apostle 1ll Medina. (This led to theotecano. .. h' conquest of Mecca.) He stood by him as he was SIttIng among t e men In the mosque and said:

o Lord, I come to remind Muhammad Of the old alliance between our fathers. You are sons for whom we provided the mother, . Then we made peaces and have not changed our mInds.

I Fiithur is a lace in Najd as A.Dh. says; but unless the action to b f the reacted the haram it is hard to see what the combatants were domg. As fathur

th/contingent leads the pursuit of a fleeing enemy it is to be preferred here to

W;8 belonging to B. Kinana. The second hemistich is a reference to the proverb 'The sword comes before recrimination'. d M d'

3 Places belonging to Kinana. 4 Between Mecca an e ma. _. 5 S insists on this meaning for aslamna, despite the last verse, on the ground that Khuz.a a

. b M ,. Th- poem is a later invention and the natural translatIOnhad not yet ecome us lms. '" 'Then we bo:came Muslims' is to be preferred.

The Life of Muhammad Help us, now God guide you, And call God's servants to our aid. Among them the apostle of God prepared for war. I When he is wronged his face becomes black with anger With a great army foaming like the sea. Verily Quraysh have broken their promise to you, They bave violated tbeir pledged word, And they set men to watch out for me in Kada.2 They claim that I can get no one to help us And they but a miserable few. They attacked us at night in al-Watir And killed us as we performed the ritual prayers (794).

The apostle said, 'May you be helped 0 'Amr b. Salim!'3 Then as a cloud appeared in the sky he said, 'This cloud will provide help for the B. Ka'b.' Then Budayl b. Warqa' came with a number of Khu2ii'a to the apostle

in Medina and told him of their misfortune and how Quraysh had helped B. Bakr against them. Having done so they returned to Mecca. The apostle said, 'I think you will see Abu Sufyan coming to strengthen the agreement and to ask for more time.' When Budayl and his companions had got as far as 'Usfan' they met Abu Sufyiin who had been sent by Quraysh to strengthen the agreement with the apostle and to ask for an extension, for they were afraid of the consequences of what they had done. Abu Sufyiin asked Budayl whence he had come because he suspected him of having visited the apostle. He replied that he had come along the shore and the bottom of this valley with the Khuza'a, and denied that he had been to Muhammad. When Budayl had gone off to Mecca Abu Sufyan said, •If Budayl came to Medina he will have given his camels dates to eat there,' so he went to where the camels had knelt and split up their dung and looked at the stones. 'By God, I swear Budayl has come from Muham- mad,' he said. Having arrived at Medina he went in to his daughter Vmm I:Iab'iba, and

as he went to sit on the apostle's carpet she folded it up so that he could not sit on it. 'My dear daughter,' he said, '! hardly know if you think that the carpet is too good for me or that I am too good for the carpet!' She replied: 'It is the apostle's carpet and you are an unclean polytheist. I do not want you to sit on the apostle's carpet.' 'By God,' he said, 'since you left me you have gone to the bad.' Then he went to the apostle, who would not speak to him; he then went to Abu Bakr and asked him to speak to the apostle for him; he refused to do so. Then he went to 'Umar who said, 'Should I intercede for you with the apostle! If I had only an ant I would fight you with it.' Then he went in to see 'Ali with whom was Fatima the apostle's

J Or, reading taharrada, 'enraged'. 2 A place on the heights above Mecca. J Or perhaps nu,irla here means 'You shall be helped'. Two days' journey on the road from Mecca to Medina.

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Nn I War is compared to a came1.

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The Life of Muhammad That old camel who groans from his arse. This is the time for war-its girths are tightened. I Don't feel safe from us, son of Dmm Mujalid, When its pure milk is extracted and its teeth are crooked. Don't be disappointed, for our swords Will open the door to death (796).

Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr and another of our traditionists said that when the apostle decided to go to Mecca !:Iatib b. Abii Balta'a wrote a letter to Quraysh telling them that the apostle intended to come at them. He gave it to a woman whom Muhammad b. Ja'far alleged was from Muzayna while my other informant said she was Sara, a freed woman of one of the B. 'Abdu'I-Mu!!alib. He paid her some money to carry it to Quraysh. She put the letter on her .head and then plaited her locks over it and went off. The apostle received news from heaven of !:Iatib's action and sent 'Ali and al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam with instructions to go after her. They overtook her in al-KhuIayqa of B. Abii A\1mad. They made her dismount and searched her baggage but found nothing. 'Ali swore that the apostle could not be mistaken nor could they, and that if she did not produce the letter they would strip her. When she saw that he was in earnest she told him to turn aside, and then she let down her locks and drew out the letter and gave it to him and he took it to the apostle. The apostle summoned !:Iatib and asked him what induced him to act thus. He replied that he believed in God and His apostle and had never ceased to do so, but that he was not a man of standing among Quraysh and he had a son and a family there and that he had to deal prudently with them for their sakes. 'Vmar wanted to cut off his head as a hypocrite but the apostle said, 'How do you know, 'Umar; perhaps God looked favourably on those who were at Badr and said, "Do as you please, for I have forgiven you.'" Then God sent down concerning J:Iatib: '0 you who believe, choose not My enemies and yoursas friends so as to showthem kindness' as far as the words 'You have a good example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people: We are quit of you and what you worship beside God; we renounce you and between us and you enmity and hatred will ever endure until you believe in God alone.'2 Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab al-Zuhri from 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abdul-

lah b. 'Utba b. Mas'iid from 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas told me: Then the apostle went on his journey and put over Medina Abii Ruhm Kulthiim b. b. 'Utba b. Khalaf al-Ghifari. He went out on the lOth of Ramadan and he and the army fasted until when he reached al-Kudayd between: 'Usfan and Amaj he broke his fast. He went on until he came to Marr al-Zahriin with 10,000 Muslims; Sulaym numbered 700 and some say and Muzayna 1,000; and in every tribe there was a considerable number and Islam. The Muhajirs and Helpers went as one man; not one stayed behind.I i.e. reports from travellers and others who have seen the Muslims assembling.

2 He means that Quraysh were really responsible for the death of these men in the sacred territory. This is implied in the v.I. in the Diwiin which has qatlii bi-haqqin.

3 l;Iassan was no fighter. He relied on his tongue to hurt the enemy.

544 The Life of Muhammad daughter who had with her 'Ali's little son !:Iasan crawling in front of her. He appealed to 'Ali on the ground of their close relationship to intercede with the apostle so that he would not have to return disappointed; but he answered that if the apostle had determined on a thing it was useless for anyone to talk to him about it j so he turned to Fatimaand said, '0 daughter of Muhammad) will you let your little son here act as a protector between men so that he may become lord of the Arabs for ever /' She replied that her little boy was not old enough to undertake such a task and in any case none could give protection 'against God's apostle. He then asked for 'Ali's advice in the desperate situation. He said, I I do not see anything that can really help you, but you are the chief of B. Kinana, so get up and grant protection between men and then go back home.' When he asked if he thought that that would do any good he replied that he did not, but that he could see nothing else. Thereupon Abu Sufyan got up in the mosque and said, '0 men, I grant protection between men.' He then mounted his camel and rode off to Quraysh who asked for his news. He said that Muhammad would not speak to him, that he got no good from Abii Qu\1afa's son, 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 his words, he had to admit that he had not. They complained that 'Ali had made a fool of him and that his pronouncement was valueless, and he said that he could find nothing else to do or say. The apostle ordered preparations to be made for a foray and Abu Bakr

came in to see his daughter <A"isha as she was moving some of the apostle's equipment. He asked if the apostle had ordered her to get things ready, and she said that he had, and that her father had better get ready also. She told him that she did not know where the troops were going. Later the apostle informed the men that he was going to Mecca and ordered them to make careful preparations. He said, '0 God, take eyes and ears I from Quraysh so that we may take them by surprise in their land,' and the men got themselves ready. !:Iassan b. Thabit, inciting the men and mentioning the killing of the

men of Khuz.ra, said:

It pained me though I did not see in Mecca's valley The men of Banii Ka'b with their heads cut off By men who had not drawn their swords And the many dead who were left unburied.' Would that I knew if my help with its biting satire' Would injure Suhayl b. 'Amr, and i;3afwan

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546 The Life of Muhammad When the apostle had reached Man Quraysh were completely ignorant of the fact and did not even know he was domg. On nights Abu Sufyan b. I:Iarb and Hakim b. I;hzam and Budayl b. Warqa went out searching for news by eye or ear when al-"Abbas had met the apostle in the way (797)· Abu Sufyan b. al-l;Iarith b. 'Abdu'l-Mu!!alib and 'Abdullah b. Abu

Umayya b. al-Mughira had met the apostle also in Niqu'I-'Uqab between Mecca and Medina and tried to get in to him. Umm Salama spoke to him about them, calling them his cousin and his brother-in-law. He replied: 'I have no use for them. As for my c?usin he has my pride; and as for my aunt's son and my brother-Ill-law h: spoke_Insultingly of me in Mecca.' When this was conveyed to them Abu Sufyan who had his little son with him said, 'By God, he must let me in or I will take this little boy of mine and we will wander through the land until we die of hunger and thirst.' When he heard this the apostle felt sorry for them and let them come in and they accepted Islam. Abu Sufyan rCelted the follow- ing verses about his Islam in which he'excused himself for what had gone before:

By thy life when I carried a banner To give al-Lat's oavalry the victory over I was like one going astray in the darkness of the mght, But now I am led on the right track. I could not guide myself, and he who with God overcame me Was he whom I had driven away with all my might. I used to do all I could to keep men from Muhammad And I was called a relative of his, though I did not claim the relation. They are what they are. He who does not hold with them Though he be a man of sense is blamed and given the lIe. I wanted to be on good terms with them (Muslims) But I could not join them while I was not guided. Say to Thaqjf I do not want to fight them; Say, too, 'Threaten somebody else!' I was not tn the army that attacked 'Amir, I had no part with hand or tongue. 'Twas tribes that came from a distant land, Strangers from Saham and Surdad (798).

They allege that when he recited his "vords 'He who with God overcame me was he \vhom I had driven away with all my might' the apostle punched him in the chest and said, 'You did indeed!' When the apostle camped at I'vIarr al-Zahran 'Abbas said/ 'Alas, Qur-

aysh, if the apostle enters Mecca by force before they come and ask protection that will be the end of Quraysh for ever.' I sat upon the apostle s

I T. 1630 f. following Yiinus's version of I.I. has a slightly longer text. Only significam differences will be noted.

The Life of Muhammad 547 white mule and went out on it until I came to the arak trees, thinking that I might find some \voodcutters or milkers or someone who could go to Mecca and tell them where the apostle was so that they could come out and ask for safety before he entered the town by assault. As I was going along with this intent suddenly I heard the sound of Abu Sufyan (T. and I:Iakim b. I:Iazam) and Budayl talking together. Abu Sufyan was saying, 'I have never seen such fires and such a camp before.' BudayI was saying, 'These, by God, are (the fires of) Khuza'a which war has kindled.' Abu Sufyan was saying, 'Khuzj'a are too poor and few to have fires and camps like these.' I recognized his voice and called to him and he recognized my voice. I told him that the apostle was here with his army and expressed 813 concern for him and for Quraysh: 'If he takes you he will bebead you, so ride on the back of this mule so that I can take you to him and ask for you his protection.' So he rode behind me and his two companions returned. Whenever we passed a l\1uslim fire we were challenged, and when they saw the apostle's mule with me riding it they said it was the prophet's uncle riding his mule until I passed by 'Umar's fire. He challenged me and got up and came to me, and when he saw Abu Sufyan on the back of the beast he cried: 'Abu Sufyan, the enemy of God! Thanks be to God who has delivered you up without agreement or word.' Then he ran towards the apostle and I made the mule gallop, and the mule won by the distance a slow beast wiIl outrun a slow man. I dismounted and went in to the apostle and 'Umar came in saying the same words and adding, 'Let me take of! his head.' I told the apostle that I had promised him my protec- tion; then I sat by him and took hold of his head and said, 'By God, none shall talk confidentially to him this night without my being present'; and when 'Vmar continued to remonstrate I said, 'Gently, 'Umar! If he had been one of the B. 'Adiy b. Ka'b you would not have said this; but you know that he is one of the B. 'Abdu Manaf.' He replied,.'Gently, 'Abbas! for by God your Islam the day you accepted it was dearer to me than the Islam ofal-Khattab would have been had he become a Muslim. One thing I surely know is that your Islam was dearer to the apostle than my father's would have been.' The apostle told me to take him away to my quarters 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 said, '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 great is your clemency, honour, and kindness! By God, I thought that had there been another God with God he would have continued to help me.' He said: '\Voe to you, Abu Sufya-n, isn't it time that you recognize that I 814 am God's apostle?' He answered, 'As to that I still have some doubt.' I said to him, 'Submit and testify that there is no God but Allah and that

Muhammad is the apostle of God before you lose your head,' so he did so. I pointed out to the apostle that Abu Sufyan was a man who liked to have some cause for pride and asked him to do something for him. He said, 'He

it from her neck. When the apostle came in and entered the mosque Abu Bakr came leading his father. On seeing him the apostle said, 'Why did you not leave the old man in his house so that I could come to him there I' Abu Bakr replied that it was more fitting that he should come to him than vice versa. He made him sit before him and stroked his chest and asked him to accept Islam and he did so. When Abu Bakr brought his father in his head was as white as edelweiss, and the apostle told them to dye it. Then Abu Bakr got up and taking his sister's hand said, II ask in the name of God and Islam for my sister's necklace' and none answered him, and he said, 'Sister, regard your necklace as taken by God (and look to Him to requite you) for there is not much honesty among people nowadays.' 'Abdullah b. Abu Naji\> told me that the apostle divided his force at

Dhu Tuwil ordering al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwilm to go in with some of the men from Kudil. Al-Zubayr commanded the left wing; Sad b. 'Ubilda he ordered to go in with some of the men from Kadil'. Some traditionists allege that when Sa'd started off he said,

Today is a day of war, Sanctuary is no more,

and one of the muhiljirs (800) heard him and told the apostle that it was to be feared that he would resort to violence. The apostle ordered 'Ali to go after him and take the flag from him and enter with it himself. 'Abdullah b. Abu Naji\> in his story told me that the apostle ordered

Khillid to enter from ai-Lit, the lower part of Mecca, with some men. Khil- lid was in command of the right wing with Aslam, Sulaym, Ghifilr, Muz- ayna, Juhayna, and other Arab tribes. Abu 'Ubayda b. al-Jarril\> advanced with the troops pouring into Mecca in front of the apostle who entered from Adhilkhir' until he halted above Mecca and his tent was pitched there. 'Abdullah b. Abu Naji\> and 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr tcld me that i;3afwiln

b. Umayya and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jahl and Suhayl b. 'Arnr had collected some men in al-Khandama' to fight. J:Iimas b. Qays b. Khillid brother of B. Bakr was sharpening his sword before the apostle entered rvlecca, and his wife asked him why he was doing so. When he told her it was for Muhammad and his companions she said that she did not think that it would do them any harm. He answered that he hoped to give her one of them as a slave and said:

I have no excuse if today they advance. Here is my weapon, a long-bladed lance, A two-edged sword in their faces will dance!

Then he went to al-Khandama with i;3afwiln, Suhayl, and 'Ikrima and when the Muslims under Khillid arrived a skirmish followed in which

I YaqUi knows nothing of this place, but it is mentioned frequently by al.Azrnqi, Mecca, 1352, ii. 232 fr. as a pass near Mecca.

Not mentioned by YaqUi. Au. i. 146 says it is a peak on Abu Qubays.

815

816

548 The Life of Muhammad who enters Abu Sufyiln's house is safe, and hewho lockshisdoor is safe, and he who enters the mosque is safe.' When he went off to go back the apostle told me to detain him in the narrow part of the wadi where the mountain projected' so that God's armies would pass by and he would see them; so I went and detained him where the prophet had ordered. The squadrons passed him with their standards, and he asked who they

were. When I said Sulaym he would say, 'What have I to do with Sulayml' and so with Muzayna until all had passed, he asking the same question and making the same response to the reply. Finally the apostle passed with his greenish-black squadron (799) in which were Muhiljirs and whose eyes alone were visible because of their armour. He said, 'Good heavens, 'Abbas, who are these I' and when I told him he said that none could with- stand them. 'By God, 0 Abu Fac,ll, the authority of your brother's son has become great.' I told him that it was due to his prophetic office, and he said that in that case he had nothing to say against it. I told him to hurry to his people. When he came to them he cried at the

top ofhis voice: '0 Quraysh. this is Muhammad who has come to you with a force you cannot resist. He who enters Abu Sufyan's house is safe.' Hind d. 'Utba went up to him, and seizing his moustaches cried, 'Kill this fat greasy bladder of lard! What a rotten protector of the people!' He said, 'Woe to you, don't let this woman deceive you, for you cannot resist what has come. He who enters Abu Sufyiln's house will be safe.' 'God slay you,' they said, 'what good will your house be to us 1>2 He added, 'And he who shuts his door upon himself will be safe and he who enters the mosque will be safe.' Thereupon the people dispersed to their houses and the mosque. 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr told me that when the apostle came to Dhu Tuwil

he halted on his beast turbaned with a piece of red YamanI cloth and that he lowered his head in submission to God, when he saw how God had honoured him with victory, so that his beard almost touched the middle of the saddle. Ya\>yil b. 'Abbild b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father fr.om

grandmother Asmil' d. Abu Bakr said: W?en the apostle stopped III Dhu Tuwil Abu Quhilfa said to a daughter of hIS, one of hiS youngest chrldren, 'Take me up Abu Qubays,' for his sight had almost gone. When they got there he asked her what she could see and she told him 'a mass of black.' 'Those are the horses,' he said. Then she told him that she could see a man running up and down in front of them and he said that that was the adjutant, meaning the man who carries and transmits the orders.to the cavalry. Then she said, 'By God, the black mass has spread.' He SaId, 'In that case the cavalry have been released, so bring me quickly to my house.' She took him down and the cavalry encountered him before he could get to his house. The girl had a silver necklace and a man who met her tore

I Lit. 'at the nose of the mountain'. Z i.e. it could not provide cover for them all.

The Life of Muhammad 54-9

8'7

Kurz b. Jabir, one of rhe B. Mu/:1arib b. Fihr, and Khunays b. Khiilid b. Rab!'a b. an ally of B. Munqidh, who were in Khalid's cavalry, were killed. They had taken a road of their own apart from Khiilid and were killed together. Khunays was killed first and Kurz put him between his feet and fought in his defence until he was slain, saying meanwhile:

Safra' of the B. Fihr knows The pure of face and heart

8,8 That I fight today in defence of Abu i?akhr.

Khunays was surnamed Abu i?akhr (801). Salama b. al-Mayla', one of Khiilid's horsemen, was killed, and the

polytheists lost about 12 or 13 men-; then they took to flight. Bimas ran off and went into his house and told his wife to bolt the door. When she asked what had become of his former words he said:

If you had witnessed the battle of Khandama When i?afwan and 'Ikrima fled And Abu Yazld was standing like a pillar' And the Muslims met them with their swords Which cut through arms and skulls, Only confused cries being heard Behind us their cries and groans, You would not have uttered the least word of blame (802)

The 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. Sa'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 used to write down revelation; then he apostatized and returned to Quraysh and fled to 'Uthman b. 'Affan whose foster-brother he was; The latter hid

819 him until he brought him to the apostle after the situation in Mecca was tranquil, and asked that he might be granted immunity. They allege that the apostle remained silent for a long time till finally he said yes. When IUthman had left he said to his companions who were sitting around him, 'I kept silent so that one of you might get up and strike off his head!' One of the said, 'Then why didn't you give me a sign, a apostle of God I' He answered that a prophet does not kill by pointing (803). Another was'Abdullah b. Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib. He had become

a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company with one of the He had with him a freed slavewho served him. (He was a Muslim.) When they halted he ordered the latter to kill a goat for him and prepare some food, and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had

done nothing, so he attacked and killed him and apostatized. He had two singing-girls Fartana and her friend who used to sing satirical songs about the apostle, so he ordered that they should be killed with him. Another was al-I;luwayrith b. Kuqaydh b. Wahb b. 'Abd b. one

of those who used to insult him in Mecca (804). Another was Miqyas b. I;lubaba' because he had killed an who

had killed his brother accidentally, and returned to Quraysh as a polytheist. And Sara, freed slave of one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Muttalib; and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jah!. Sara had insulted him in Mecca. As for 'Ikrima, he fled to the Yarnan. His wife Dmm I:Iak1rn d. al-I::Iarith b. Hisham became a Muslim and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went tq the Yarnan in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what T. ,640 turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had deter- mined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, '0 servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you ledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. There- upon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. I;lurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al- Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by b. 'Abdullah, one 820 of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:

By my life, NumayIa shamed his people And distressed the winter guests when he slew f!.fiqyas. 'Vhoever has seen a man like IVliqyas \Vho provided food for young mothers in hard times.

As for Ibn Khatal's two singing-girls, .one was killed and the other ran away until the apostle, ask.ed for immunity, gave it her. Similarly Sara, who lived until in the time of 'Vmar a mounted soldier trod her down in the valley of Mecca and killed her. AI-I;luwayrith was killed by 'AlL Sajd b. Abu Hind from Abu Murra, freed slave of'AqH b. Abu Talib,

told me that Umm Hani' d. Abu Talib said: When the apostle halted in the upper part of Mecca two of my brothers-in-law from B. Makhzum fled to me. (She was the wife of Hubayra b. Abu Wahb al-MakhzumL) 'Ali came in swearing that he would kill them, so I bolted the door of my house on them and went to the apostle and found him washing in a large bowl in which was the remains of dough \vhile his daughter Fatima \vas screening him with his garment. When he had washed he took his garment and wrapped himself in it and prayed eight bendings of the morning prayer.

550 The Life of Muhammad The Life of Muhammad 55r

I This explanation of mu'tima is based on So's statement that elsewhere 1.1. says that 8uch is the meaning. The alternative 'A widow left with fatherless children' is supported by Azraq:, 4-7 (quoted by NBldeke, Glos. 103 and To's kal-ma'tama).

I W. J;Jubiiba. On p. 728 he writes $uhaba which may well be right in spite of C. which follows the Qamus.

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- tion to whomsoever you give protection and we give safety to those you protect. He must not kill them' (805). . Muhammad b. Jafar b. al-Zubayr from 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abdullah b.

Abu Thaur from $afiya d. Shayba told me that the apostle after arriving in Mecca when the populace had settled down went to the temple and en- compassed it seven times on his camel touching the black stone with a stick which he had in his hand. This done he summoned 'Uthmiin b. Tal1,la 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 broke it in his hands and threw it away. Then he stood by the door of the Ka'ba while the men in the mosque gathered to him. I [1.1. from 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr from 'Ali b. 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas: The

apostle Mecca on the day of the conquest and it contained 360 idols which Iblis' had strengthened with lead. The apostle was standing by them with a stick in his hand, saying, 'The truth has come and false- hood has passed away; verily falsehood is sure to pass away' (Sura '7. 82). Then he pointed at them with his stick and they collapsed on their backs one after the other. When the apostle prayed the noon prayer on the day of the conquest he

ordered that all the idols which were round the Ka'ba should be collected and burned with fire and broken up. Fa<jiila b. al-Mulawwi1,l al-Laythi said commemorating the day of the conquest:

Had you seen Muhammad and his troops The day the idols were smashed when he entered, You would have seen God's light become manifest And darkness covering the face of idolatry.

1.1. from I:!akim b. 'Abbiid b. I:!anif and other traditionists: Quraysh had put pictures in the Ka'ba including two of Jesus son of Mary and Mary (on both of whom be .peace!). I. Shihiib said: Asma' d. Shaqr said that a woman of Ghassan 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 that the pictures should be erased except those ofJesus and Mary.3] A traditionist' told me that the apostle stood at the door of the Ka'ba

and said: 'There is no God but Allah alone; He has no associate. He has made good His promise and helped His servant. He has put to flight the

1 Other explanations given for the word istakaffa are 'fixed their gaze on' and 'aur. rounded'.

2 A parallel tradition on the authority of 1. <A'bbiis via al-Zuhri simply says that the idols were sp-engthened by lead. 3 Apparently I.H. has cut out what 1.1. wrote and adopted the later tradition that all the

pictures were obliterated. A more detailed account of these pictures will be found in A2.r. 104-6.

4 T. here name. the informants u 'Umar b. Mus'ab al.Wajib from Qatida al.Sadliai.

The Life of Muhammad 553 confederates alone. Every claim of privilege' or blood or property are abolished bv me aceDt the =todv of the temple and the watering of the pilgrims. The unintentionally slain in a quasi- intentional way by club or whip,' for him the bloodwit is most severe: a hundred camels, fatty of them to be pregnant. 0 Quraysh, God has taken from you the haughtiness of paganism and its veneration of ancestors. Man springs from Adam and Adam sprang from dust.' Then he read to them this verse: '0 men, We created you from male and female and made you into peoples and tribes that you may know one another: ofa truth the most noble of you in God's sight is the most pious' to the end of the passage.3 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, son of a noble brother.' He said, 'Go your way for you are the freed ones.' [T. Thus the apostle let them go though God had given him power over

their lives and they were his spoil. For this reason the Meccans were called 'the freed ones'. Then the populace gathered together in Mecca to do homage to the apostle in Islam. As I have heard, he sat (waiting) for them on al-$afa while 'Umar remained below him imposing condi- tions on the people who paid homage to the apostle promising to hear and obey God and His apostle to tl::o best of their ability. 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- guised because ofwhat she had done especially in regard to I:!arnza, for she was afraid that the apostle would punish her. According to what I heard, when they approached him he asked if they gsve their word not to associate anything with God, and Hind said, 'By God, you lay on us something that you have not laid on the men and we will carry it out.' He said, 'And you shall not steal.' She said, 'By God, I used to take a little of Abu Sufyan's money and I do not know whether that is lawful for me or not.' Abu Sufyan who was present when she said this told her that so far as the past was concerned it was lawful. The apostle said, 'Then you are Hind d. 'Utba?' and she said 'I am; forgive me what is past and God will forgive you.' He said, 'And do not commit adultery.' She answered, 'Does a free woman commit adultery, 0 apostle of God?' He said, 'And you shall not kill your children.' She said, 'I brought them up when they were little and you killed them on the day of Badr when they were grown up, so you are the one to know about them!' 'Umar laughed immoderately at her reply. He said,"You shall not invent slanderous tales.' She said, 'By God, slander is disgraceful, but it is sometimes better to ignore it.' He said, 'You shall not disobey me in carrying out orders to do good.' She said, 'We should not have sat all this time ifwe wanted to disobey you in such orders.' The apostle said to 'Umar, 'Accept-their troth,' and he asked God's forgiveness for them while 'Umar accepted their homage on his behalf. The apostle never used to take the women's hands; he did not touch a woman nor did

821

Azr. i. 70

Azr. i. 107

552 The Life of Muhammad

I Especially inherited authority. 2 i.e. manslaughter. J Sura 49. 13.

one touch him except one whom God had made lawful to him or was one Ibn Is!)iiq from Abbiin b. i;liiJi\t said that the women's homage

according to what some traditionists had told him was in this wise: a vessel containing water was put in front of the apostle and when he laid the conditions upon them and they accepted them he plunged his hand into the vessel and then withdrew it and the women did the same. Then after that he would impose conditions on them and when they accepted them he said, 'Go, I have accepted your homage,' and added nothing further.]l Then the apostle sat in the mosque and 'Ali came to him with the key of

the Ka'ba in his hand asking him to grant his family the right of guarding the temple as well as the watering of the pilgrims, but the apostle called for 'Uthmiin b. Tal!)a and said, 'Here is your key; today is a day of good faith' (806). Said b. Abu Sandar al-Aslami from one of his tribesmen said: We had

with us a brave man called A!)mar Ba'san.2 When he slept he snored so loudly that everyone knew where he was. When he spent the night with his clan he slept apart. If the clan was attacked at night they would call his name and he would leap up like a lion and nothing could withstand him. It happened that a party of raiders from Hudhayl came, making for the people at their water; and when they drew near Ibn al-Athwa' al- Hudhali told them not to hurry him until he had looked round; for if .A1;mar was among the group there was no way to get at them. He snored so loudly that one could tell where he was. So he listened and when he heard his snoring he walked up to him and thrust his sword into his breast pressing on it so that he killed him. Then they rushed upon the party who cried 'A!)marl' But they had no A!)mar. On the morrow of the conquest of Mecca Ibn al-Athwa' came into

Mecca to look round and find out what the situation was. Now he was still a polytheist, and Khuza<a saw and recognized him, and they surrounded him as he was at the side of one of the walls of Mecca, saying, 'Are you the man who killed Al;1mar?' 'Yes', he said, 'and what about it?' Thereupon Khirash b. Umayya advanced on him with drawn sword saying, IGet away from the man.' We supposed 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 entrails flowing forth from his belly and his eyes two mere slits in his head the while he said, 'Have you done it, you men of Khuzii'a /' until he collapsed and fell. The apostle said, 'Stop this killing, Khuzii'a; there has been too much killing even if there were profit in it. I will pay the bloodwit for the man you have killed.' 'Abdu'I-Ra!)miin b. I:J:armala al-Aslami from Sa'id b. al-Musayyib told

me that when the apostle heard what Khiriish had done he said, 'Khiriish is too prone to kill,' thereby rebuking him.

I pp. r642 Cult.) to r644. r3. t Or Il;lmarra Ba'san. A strange nickname. 'Red in power', 'Ruddybold', or the like.

554 The Life of Muhammad The Life of Muhammad 555 Sa'id b. Abu Sa'id al-Maqburi from Abu Shuray!) al-Khuzii'i said:

When 'Amr b. al-Zubayr' came to Mecca to fight his brother 'Abdullah I came to him and said, I Listen! When we were with the apostle the day after the conquest of Mecca, Khuzii'a attacked a man of Hudhayl and killed him, he being a polytheist. The apostle arose and addressed us, saying, {lGod made Mecca holy the day He created heaven and earth, and it is the holy ofholies until the resurrection day. It is not lawful for anyone who believes in God and the last day to shed blood therein, nor to cuI down trees therein. It was not lawful to anyone before me and it will not be lawful to anyone after me. Indeed, it is not lawful for me except at this time because of (God's) anger against its people. Now it has regained its former holiness. Let those here now tell those that are not here. Ifanyone should say, The apostle killed men in Mecca, say God permitted His apostle to do so but He does not permit you. Refrain from killing, you men of Khuzii'a, for there has been too much killing even if there were profit in it. Since you have killed a man I will pay his bloodwit. Ifanyone is killed after my sojourn here his people have a choice: they can have his killer's life or the blood-money." Then the apostle paid the bloodwit for the man whom Khuzii'a had slain.' 'Amr replied, 'Be off with you, old man! We know more about its sanctity than you. It does not protect the shedder of blood, nor the man who casts offhis allegiance nor him who withholds tax.' Abu ShurayJ; answered, 'Iwas thereandyou were not. The apostle ordered us who were present to tell those who were absent. I have told you and the responsibility now rests with you' (807). Muhammad b. Ja'far from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr told me that i;lafwiin b.

Umayya went out to Judda to take ship to the Yaman. 'Umayr b. Wahb told the prophet that i;lafwiin, who was a chief among his people, had fled from him to cast himself into the sea, and asked him to grant him immu- nity. The prophet agreed to do so, and 'Umayr asked him for a sign to prove it, and he gave him the turban with which he had entered Mecca. 'Umayr took it and overtook i;lafwiin just as he was about to embark. He begged him not to commit suicide and produced the token of his safety. Safwiin told him to be off and not to speak to him. He replied, 'My parents be your ransom! He is the most virtuous, most pious, most clement, and best of men, your very cousin. His honour is your honour.' He replied, II go in fear of my life because of him.' He answered, 'He is too clement and too honourable to kill you.' So he went back with him to the apostle and told him that 'Umayr had said that he had promised him immunity. He said that that was true. i;lafwiin asked for two months in which to make up his mind, and he gave him four months (808). . AI-Zuhri told me that Umm I:J:akim d. al-I:J:iirith b. Hishiim and Fiikhlta

d. al-Walid (who was married to i;lafwiin, while Umm I:J:akim's husband

I S. here poinh out that this is a mistake on the part of I.H. and that the man was 'Amr b. Sa'id b. b. Umayyaj that the mistake is due either to I.H. or to al·Bakkii'ij and that the true tradition is given by Yunus.

8Z5 8z6