Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/45)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Urwah said: Al-Zubayr once came carrying his sword. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, “What is the matter with you?” He answered, “I was told that you had been captured.” The Prophet said, “And what were you going to do?” He replied, “I would have struck down with it anyone who seized you.” The Prophet then prayed for him and for his sword (1).

Hisham narrated from his father, Urwah, that al-Zubayr was tall—when he mounted a beast his feet touched the ground—and he was very hairy.

His mother, Safiyyah, used to beat him harshly while he was an orphan. People said to her, “You will kill him; you will ruin him!” She replied:
“I strike him only so he will grow bold,
and one day lead a clamorous host.” (2)

Urwah also said: On one occasion al-Zubayr broke a young boy’s arm. The boy was brought to Safiyyah and the incident was reported to her. She responded:
“How did you find Zubayr—
like hard dried curd, or like dates,
or like a falcon in full swoop?” (3)

Ibn Ishaq said: According to what has reached me, the following embraced Islam at the hands of Abu Bakr: al-Zubayr, ʿUthman, Talhah, ʿAbd al-Rahman, and Saʿd.

ʿUmar ibn Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr related: “Al-Zubayr fought alongside the Prophet of Allah when he was seven…”

(1) Its chain of transmission has already been cited on p. 42, note 1. (2) The rajaz verses as given in Ibn Hajar’s al-Isaba differ slightly from the wording found here. In al-Isaba, 4/7–8, the second hemistich reads: “wa yahzimu l-jaysha wa yati bi-s-salab” (“he routs the army and brings back the spoils”), whereas the version reproduced here follows Ibn Saʿd’s al-Tabaqat, 3/1/71. (3) In the versions of Ibn Saʿd and al-Isaba the word appears as “zubra” with the letter zay, not with waw as in our text; the same reading is found in Lisanu l-ʿArab. al-aqit: pronounced with an initial hamza fatḥa and qaf kasra (sometimes the qaf is read sukun). Al-Azhari explains that it is a product made from churned milk that is boiled and then left to dry. al-mushammal: a term meaning “swift,” applied to both humans and camels. The word “ḥasabtuhu” has been mistakenly inserted in the original between “a-aqitan” and “am.”

قَالَ عُرْوَةُ: جَاءَ الزُّبَيْرُ بِسَيْفِهِ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: (مَا لَكَ؟) . قَالَ: أُخْبِرْتُ أَنَّكَ أُخِذْتَ. قَالَ: (فَكُنْتَ صَانعاً مَاذَا؟) . قَالَ: كُنْتُ أَضْرِبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَخَذَكَ، فَدَعَا لَهُ وَلِسَيْفِهِ (١) . وَرَوَى: هِشَامٌ، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ عُرْوَةَ: أَنَّ الزُّبَيْرَ كَانَ طَوِيْلاً تَخُطُّ رِجْلاَهُ الأَرْضَ إِذَا رَكِبَ الدَّابَّةَ، أَشْعَرَ. وَكَانَتْ أُمُّهُ صَفِيَّةُ تَضْرِبُهُ ضَرْباً شَدِيْداً، وَهُوَ يَتِيْمٌ. فَقِيْلَ لَهَا: قَتَلْتِهِ، أَهْلَكْتِهِ. قَالَتْ: إِنَّمَا أَضْرِبُهُ لِكَي يَدِبّ ... وَيَجُرَّ الجَيْشَ ذَا الجَلَبْ (٢) قَالَ: وَكَسَرَ يَدَ غُلاَمٍ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ، فَجِيْءَ بِالغُلاَمِ إِلَى صَفِيَّةَ، فَقِيْلَ لَهَا ذَلِكَ. فَقَالَتْ: كَيْفَ وَجَدْتَ وَبْرَا ... أَأَقِطاً أَمْ تَمْرَا أَمْ مُشْمَعِلاَّ صَقْرَا (٣) قَالَ ابْنُ إِسْحَاقَ: وَأَسْلَمَ - عَلَى مَا بَلَغَنِي - عَلَى يَدِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ: الزُّبَيْرُ، وَعُثْمَانُ، وَطَلْحَةُ، وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَسَعْدٌ. وَعَنْ عُمَرَ بنِ مُصْعَبِ بنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَالَ: قَاتَلَ الزُّبَيْرُ مَعَ نَبِيِّ اللهِ وَلَهُ سَبْعَ

(١) سبق تخريجه ص (٤٢) التعليق رقم (١) . (٢) الرجز في " الإصابة "، وابن سعد مختلف عما هو هنا في بعض ألفاظه فرواية البيت الثاني في " الإصابة " ٤ / ٧ - ٨ " ويهزم الجيش ويأتي بالسلب " والذي هنا هو في " الطبقات " لابن سعد ٣ / ١ / ٧١. (٣) رواية ابن سعد، و" الإصابة " هي " زبرا " بالزاي، وليست بالواو كما هي هنا، ومثلهما رواية اللسان. والاقط: بفتح الهمزة وكسر القاف، وقد تسكن: قال الازهري: ما يتخذ من اللبن المخيض يطبخ ثم يترك حتى يمصل. والمشمعل: السريع، يكون في الناس والابل. وقد أقحمت في الأصل لفظة " حسبته " بين أأقطا، وبين " أم ".