11.

Remaining Narrations of the People of Kufa

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بقية روايات أهل الكوفة

It is narrated on the authority of Masoor bin Mukhrammah and Marwan that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) left Medina in the year of Hudaibiyah (with the intention of performing Umrah). At that time, we were a little over a thousand companions with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). When we reached Dhu al-Halifah, we put garlands around the necks of the sacrificial animals, declared our intention, and put on the Ihram for Umrah. A man from the tribe of Khuza'ah was sent as a spy to keep us informed of the news. As soon as the spy was sent, we set off and had almost reached the valley when the spy returned and submitted, "The Quraysh have gathered a large army against you and have assembled various tribes. They are ready to fight you and will stop you from entering the Ka'bah." Addressing his companions, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "O people! What do you advise? Should I turn towards their families and take captive those who want to stop me from the Ka'bah? If they come to the aid of their wives and children, their group will be scattered, and we will not leave them destitute. In any case, it will be their loss." Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! You have set out with the intention of visiting the Ka'bah, not with the intention of fighting. You should proceed towards the Ka'bah, and whoever stops us, we will fight them." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Good (so let's proceed in the name of Allah)." So, we all proceeded. On the way, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Khalid bin Walid is blocking our way in Ghamin with (two hundred) horsemen of Quraysh. So, you too should turn right (towards Khalid)." Everyone turned right, and Khalid did not get the news until he saw the dust of the army rising. Upon seeing the rising dust, Khalid hurried to the Quraysh and informed them about the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) continued his journey as usual until he reached the mountain from where people descend into Makkah. There, his she-camel sat down. The people tried their best, but the camel did not get up and remained seated. The people started saying, "Qaswa (the name of the Prophet's she-camel) has bolted!" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Qaswa has not bolted herself, this is not her habit, rather she has been stopped by the One who stopped the companions of the elephant." Then he said, "By the Being in whose grip is my life, I will grant the people of Makkah whatever they ask of me to uphold the sanctity of the Haram." After that, the Prophet (peace be upon him) urged the camel, and she immediately stood up. The Prophet (peace be upon him), avoiding the way of the people of Makkah, turned towards another side and descended at a place in Hudaibiyah where there was a little water. People took that little water. When everyone had drawn water, there was no water left. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed about the lack of water. The Prophet (peace be upon him) took out an arrow from his quiver and gave it to the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and ordered, "Put this in the water." The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) obeyed the order. As soon as the arrow was placed in the water, the water gushed out in such a way that everyone returned satisfied, and there was still water left. Saying this, Budail went to the Quraysh and said to them, "We have come to you from so-and-so. He has said something to us. If you wish, we will convey it to you." The foolish among the Quraysh said, "We do not need you to convey his words to us." But the wise ones said, "Tell us what he has said." Budail conveyed the entire message of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Upon hearing this, Urwah bin Mas'ud stood up and said, "O people! Am I not your father?" Everyone said, "Indeed, you are." He said, "Are you not my children?" Everyone said, "We are." Urwah said, "Do you consider me a doubtful person?" Everyone said, "No." Urwah said, "Don't you know that it was I who called upon the people of Ukaz to help you? And when they did not come, I came to you with my family, relatives, and followers." Everyone said, "Indeed." Urwah said, "This person (the Prophet) has spoken the truth first. Accept it, and allow me to go to him." The people said, "Go." Urwah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and started conversing with him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke to him in the same way as he had spoken to Budail. Urwah said, "O Muhammad! Look, if you (become victorious) and uproot your people, have you ever heard of anyone before who has cut the roots of his own people? And if the other thing happens (the Quraysh become victorious), then by Allah, I see many faces who will run away leaving you, because this (army) consists of recruits from different tribes." Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said angrily, "Will we run away leaving the Prophet (peace be upon him)?" Urwah said, "Who is this person?" The people said, "Abu Bakr." Urwah said to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), "By the Being in whose grip is my life, if it were not for your past favors to me, for which I could not reciprocate, I would have surely responded to this." Saying this, he again started talking to the Prophet (peace be upon him). While talking, he would repeatedly grab the Prophet's beard. Mighirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), armed with a sword and wearing armor (for protection). Whenever Urwah would reach out to grab the Prophet's beard, Mighirah would hit Urwah with the tip of his sword's hilt and say, "Remove your hand from the beard of the Prophet (peace be upon him)." Urwah would then withdraw his hand. Finally, Urwah asked, "Who is this person?" The people said, "This is Mighirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him)." Urwah said, "O deceitful one! Didn't I try to make amends for your deceit?" The incident was that in the days of ignorance, Mighirah bin Shu'bah had gone to a tribe and deceitfully killed them and taken their possessions. He later accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him). At the time of the pledge, he had said, "I accept Islam, but I have nothing to do with the matter of wealth." In short, Urwah started observing the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) with wide eyes. By Allah, whatever saliva would fall from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the person whose hand it fell upon would rub it on his face. And whatever hair of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would fall, the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would pick it up before it touched the ground. Whatever the Prophet (peace be upon him) would order, everyone would be ready to do it before anyone else. And when the Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform ablution, nine or ten people would gather around his used water. The companions (may Allah be pleased with him) would speak in low voices in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and would not look directly at him out of utmost respect. After observing all this, Urwah returned and said to his companions, "O people! By Allah, I have been an envoy to kings. I have also been to the courts of Caesar, Chosroes, and Negus, but I have never seen any king whose people respect him as much as the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) respect him. By Allah, when he spits, the person whose hand it falls upon rubs it on his face and body. If he orders something, everyone is ready to carry it out before anyone else. When he performs ablution, people are ready to fight over his used water. In front of him, everyone speaks in low voices, and out of respect, no one looks directly at him. He has presented the best proposal to you, so accept it." When Urwah finished his speech, a man from the tribe of Banu Kinanah said, "Allow me to go to them." Everyone allowed him to go. He set out with the intention of meeting the Prophet (peace be upon him). When he appeared in front of them, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This is so-and-so from such-and-such a tribe. His tribe holds great respect and sanctity for sacrificial camels, so present the sacrificial camels before his eyes." As commanded, the sacrificial camels were presented before him, and people came before him saying "Labbaik." When he saw this, he said, "It is not appropriate to stop these people from the Ka'bah." Seeing this, he returned and said to his people, "I have seen garlands around the necks of their camels and signs of their intention. In my opinion, it is not right to stop them from the Ka'bah." Hearing his speech, a man named Makraz stood up and said, "Let me go to them." Everyone allowed him to go, and he set out with the intention of meeting the Prophet (peace be upon him). When he appeared before the companions, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This is Makraz, and he is wicked." Makraz came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and had a conversation with him. While they were conversing, Suhayl bin Amr arrived from the Quraysh. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the companions, "Now your purpose will be served easily. Suhayl has arrived." Suhayl came forward and submitted, "Bring us a peace treaty to write." The Prophet (peace be upon him) called for Ka'b and said, "Write: 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'" Suhayl said, "By Allah, I do not know what this 'Rahman' is. Do not write this, but write as you used to write before: 'Bismikallahumma' (In your name, O Allah)." The Muslims said, "By Allah, we will only write 'Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem' (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Write 'Bismikallahumma' (In your name, O Allah)." Then he said, "Write: 'This is the peace treaty agreed upon by Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.'" Suhayl said, "By Allah, if we believed that you are the Messenger of Allah, we would not have stopped you from the Ka'bah nor fought you. Therefore, do not write 'Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,' but write 'Muhammad bin Abdullah' (Muhammad, son of Abdullah)." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Even if you do not believe in me, by Allah, I am the Messenger of Allah. (Alright) Write 'Muhammad bin Abdullah' (Muhammad, son of Abdullah)." Zahri says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did this because he had already said that whatever upholds the sanctity and honor of the Haram and the Quraysh demand it of him, he will surely grant it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This treaty is on the condition that you allow us to go to the Ka'bah so that we can perform Tawaf." Suhayl said, "By Allah, the Arabs will spread the word that we were pressured and forced into this (so not this year). It can happen next year." Ka'b wrote this condition as well. Then Suhayl said, "There should also be a condition in the treaty that whoever from among us comes to you after leaving us, even if he is upon your religion, you will have to return him." The Muslims said, "Glory be to Allah! How can a person who has accepted Islam be returned to the polytheists?" While they were engaged in this conversation, Suhayl bin Amr's son, Abu Jandal, who had escaped from the shackles of Makkah, arrived. He came running and fell down before the Muslims. Suhayl said, "O Muhammad! This is the first condition upon which I will make peace with you. Return him to us." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "We have not yet finished writing the treaty." Suhayl said, "By Allah! Then I will never make peace with you on any condition." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "At least give me permission regarding him." Suhayl said, "I will not give permission." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "No, you should." Suhayl said, "I will not." Makraz said, "We give you permission regarding him." (But Makraz's word was not accepted). Abu Jandal said, "O Muslims! I have come after accepting Islam. Now, will I be returned to the polytheists? You are witnessing the hardships I have endured at their hands." It so happened that Abu Jandal had been severely tortured by the disbelievers. Hearing this, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! Are you not the true Prophet of Allah?" He said, "Yes, I am. Why not?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted, "Then are we not upon the truth, and our enemies upon falsehood?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Yes, we are. Why not?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted, "Then we will not allow humiliation in our religion." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "I am the Messenger of Allah. I will not disobey Him. He is my Helper." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Did you not tell us that soon we will reach the Ka'bah and perform Tawaf?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Yes, I did say that. But did I tell you that we will reach there this year?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "No, you did not say that." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Then you will surely reach the Ka'bah and perform Tawaf." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I went to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him, 'O Abu Bakr! Is this not the true Prophet of Allah?' Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "He certainly is." I said, "Are we not upon the truth, and our enemies upon falsehood?" Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Yes, we are. Why not?" I said, "Then we will not allow humiliation in our religion." Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O man! He is surely the Messenger of Allah. He will not disobey his Lord. He is his Helper. Act according to his command. By Allah, he is upon the truth." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Didn't he tell us that soon we will reach the Ka'bah and perform Tawaf?" Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Indeed, he said that. Did he say that you will reach the Ka'bah this year?" I said, "No." Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Then you will surely reach the Ka'bah and perform Tawaf." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "To atone for this mistake (of hesitating to obey the command), I performed many righteous deeds." The narrator states that when the treaty was completed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), "Get up, slaughter the animals, and shave your heads." But none of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) got up. Even after the Prophet (peace be upon him) had said it three times, no one got up. When no one got up, the Prophet (peace be upon him) went inside to Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) and mentioned to her how the people had treated him. Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! It seems best that you quietly get up and, without saying anything to anyone, go and sacrifice the animal yourself and call the barber and have your head shaved." Following her advice, the Prophet (peace be upon him) got up and, without saying anything to anyone, went and sacrificed the animal. Then he called the barber and had his head shaved. When the people saw this, they themselves got up and started sacrificing their animals and shaving each other's heads. Because of the crowd, they were about to trample each other. After that, some women came to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: "O you who believe! When believing women come to you as emigrants..." (60:10) According to this verse, on that day, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) divorced his two wives who were still in a state of disbelief. One of them was married by Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, and the other by Safwan bin Umayya. After completing these matters, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) returned to Medina. After reaching Medina, a Qurayshi man named Abu Basir became Muslim and came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The disbelievers sent two men in search of him. The two men came and submitted, "Fulfill your agreement." The Prophet (peace be upon him) handed over Abu Basir to them, and they took him with them. When they reached Dhu al-Halifah, they got down and started eating dates. Abu Basir said to one of them, "By Allah, I think this sword of yours is very good." The other man drew it from its scabbard and said, "Yes, it is excellent. I have tested it many times." Abu Basir said, "Show it to me." He gave it to Abu Basir, and Abu Basir killed him with the sword. The other man fled and reached Medina. He ran and entered the mosque. The Prophet (peace be upon him) saw him and said, "This man must be afraid of something." He came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and submitted, "My companion has been killed, and I was also about to be killed." Just then, Abu Basir also arrived and said, "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, you have fulfilled your agreement. You handed me over to them, but Allah rescued me from them." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Woe to him! He will fan the flames of war. If only he had a helper (to take him back to Makkah)!" When Abu Basir saw that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would hand him back to the disbelievers, he left that place and went towards the coast. Abu Jandal also escaped from Makkah and joined Abu Basir. Then it so happened that whoever among the Muslims escaped from the Quraysh would join Abu Basir, until they became a group of about seventy men. They would attack any caravan of the Quraysh that passed by at night, killing the people and seizing their possessions. The Quraysh were forced to send someone to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They pleaded with him in the name of Allah and kinship, saying, "Somehow call back Abu Basir and his companions to Medina. If they come to Medina, then whoever from among us comes to you after accepting Islam will be safe (we will not demand them back)." The Prophet (peace be upon him) called back Abu Basir and all his companions to Medina. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: "And it is He Who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them..." until His saying, "a bigotry of the Time of Ignorance." (48:24) The meaning of "a bigotry of the Time of Ignorance" is that the Quraysh did not acknowledge the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and did not agree to write "Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem" (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) and stopped the Muslims from the Ka'bah. The above hadith has also been narrated with a slight difference in another chain, and it also mentions the following: After reaching Medina, a Qurayshi man named Abu Basir became Muslim and came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The disbelievers sent two men in search of him. The two men came and submitted, "Fulfill your agreement." The Prophet (peace be upon him) handed over Abu Basir to them, and they took him with them. When they reached Dhu al-Halifah, they got down and started eating dates. Abu Basir said to one of them, "By Allah, I think this sword of yours is very good." The other man drew it from its scabbard and said, "Yes, it is excellent. I have tested it many times." Abu Basir said, "Show it to me." He gave it to Abu Basir, and Abu Basir killed him with the sword. The other man fled and reached Medina. He ran and entered the mosque. The Prophet (peace be upon him) saw him and said, "This man must be afraid of something..." Then the narrator mentioned the entire hadith and said: The Quraysh were forced to send someone to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They pleaded with him in the name of Allah and kinship, saying, "Somehow call back Abu Basir and his companions to Medina. If they come to Medina, then whoever from among us comes to you after accepting Islam will be safe (we will not demand them back)." The Prophet (peace be upon him) called back Abu Basir and all his companions to Medina. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: "And it is He Who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them..." until His saying, "a bigotry of the Time of Ignorance." (48:24) The meaning of "a bigotry of the Time of Ignorance" is that the Quraysh did not acknowledge the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and did not agree to write "Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem" (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) and stopped the Muslims from the Ka'bah.