Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/134)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Muhammad ibn ʿAmr narrated to us, from Abu Salamah and Yahya ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, from Usamah ibn Zayd, from Zayd ibn Harithah, who said:

“I went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while I was riding behind him, heading toward one of the nuṣub (stone idols). We slaughtered for him—a pronoun that refers to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—a sheep, placed it in a clay oven, and when it was fully cooked we put it among our travel provisions. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then continued on his way, I still riding behind him, during the fierce heat. When we reached the upper part of the valley he met Zayd ibn ʿAmr, and the two exchanged greetings.

The Prophet ﷺ asked him, ‘Why do I see that your people have come to detest you?’—that is, they have grown to hate you.

He replied, ‘By Allah, it is not because I have wronged them in any way; rather, I see them upon misguidance. So I set out in search of the religion until I reached the rabbis of Aylah, but I found them worshipping Allah and at the same time ascribing partners to Him. I was then directed to an elder in al-Jazirah; I went to him and informed him of my quest.

He said, “Everyone you have encountered is astray. You are asking about a religion that is the religion of Allah and His angels. A prophet has already arisen—or is about to arise—in your land, so go back and follow him.” I returned, but I sensed nothing of it.’

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then made his camel kneel, and we set before him the food we had prepared.

He asked, ‘What is this?’

We said, ‘A sheep we slaughtered at the stone idol,’ exactly as we had done.

He replied, ‘I do not eat from what has been slaughtered for other than Allah.’ The two men then parted, and Zayd died before the advent of revelation.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘He will be raised as a nation unto himself.’ ⦗1⦘

This report is transmitted by Ibrahim al-Harbi in al-Gharīb, through two of his shaykhs, from Abu Usamah.

He then said: Regarding the slaughter at the stone idol there are two possible explanations. The first is that Zayd did this without a directive from the Prophet ﷺ; he merely happened to be with him, so the deed was attributed to the Prophet, for Zayd was not endowed with prophetic protection and divine enablement

(1) Its chain of transmission is sound (hasan). Al-Hafiz cited it in al-Matalib al-Aliyah, no. 4057, attributing it to Abu Ya‘la. Al-Haythami included it in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id 9:417-418, ascribing it to Abu Ya‘la, al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani; he remarks that one of al-Tabarani’s chains is made up of narrators found in the Sahih collections except for Muhammad b. ‘Amr b. ‘Alqamah, whose hadith reports are nonetheless acceptable (hasan). Ibn Sa‘d records it in abridged form, 3 / 1 / 277. Al-na’irah denotes al-‘aduwatu (the elevated bank), and Aylah is a city on the Red Sea coast, today known as al-‘Aqabah.

عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ أُسَامَةَ بنِ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بنِ حَارِثَةَ، قَالَ: خَرَجْتُ مَعَ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ وَهُوَ مُرْدِفِي إِلَى نُصُبٍ مِنَ الأَنْصَابِ، فَذَبَحْنَا لَهُ - ضَمِيْرُ (لَهُ) رَاجِعٌ إِلَى رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ شَاةً، وَوَضَعْنَاهَا فِي التَّنُّوْرِ، حَتَّى إِذَا نَضَجَتْ جَعَلْنَاهَا فِي سُفْرَتِنَا، ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ يَسِيْرُ وَهُوَ مُرْدِفِي فِي أَيَّامِ الحَرِّ، حَتَّى إِذَا كُنَّا بِأَعْلَى الوَادِي لَقِيَ زَيْدَ بنَ عَمْرٍو، فَحَيَّى أَحَدُهُمَا الآخَرَ. فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: (مَالِي أَرَى قَوْمَكَ قَدْ شَنِفُوا لَكَ؟) أَيْ: أَبْغَضُوْكَ. قَالَ: أَمَا وَاللهِ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنِّي لِغَيْرِ نَائِرَةٍ كَانَتْ مِنِّي إِلَيْهِمْ، وَلَكِنِّي أَرَاهُمْ عَلَى ضَلاَلَةٍ، فَخَرَجْتُ أَبْتَغِي الدِّيْنَ حَتَّى قَدِمْتُ عَلَى أَحْبَارِ أَيْلَةَ، فَوَجَدْتُهُمْ يَعْبُدُونَ اللهَ وَيُشْرِكُوْنَ بِهِ، فَدُلِلْتُ عَلَى شَيْخٍ بِالجَزِيْرَةِ، فَقَدِمْتُ عَلَيْهِ، فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ. فَقَالَ: إِنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ رَأَيْتَ فِي ضَلاَلَةٍ، إِنَّكَ لَتَسْأَلُ عَنْ دِيْنٍ هُوَ دِيْنُ اللهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ، وَقَدْ خَرَجَ فِي أَرْضِكَ نَبِيٌّ، أَوْ هُوَ خَارِجٌ، ارْجِعْ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّبِعْهُ، فَرَجَعْتُ فَلَمْ أَحِسَّ شَيْئاً. فَأَنَاخَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ البَعِيْرَ، ثُمَّ قَدَّمْنَا إِلَيْهِ السُّفْرَةَ. فَقَالَ: مَا هَذِهِ؟ قُلْنَا: شَاةٌ ذَبَحْنَاهَا لِلنُّصُبِ، كَذَا قَالَ. فَقَالَ: إِنِّي لاَ آكُلُ مِمَّا ذُبِحَ لِغَيْرِ اللهِ، ثُمَّ تَفَرَّقَا، وَمَاتَ زَيْدٌ قَبْلَ المَبْعَثِ. فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ: (يَأْتِي أُمَّةً وَحْدَهُ (١)) . رَوَاهُ: إِبْرَاهِيْمُ الحَرْبِيُّ فِي (الغَرِيْبِ) ، عَنْ شَيْخَيْنِ لَهُ، عَنْ أَبِي أُسَامَةَ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: فِي ذَبْحِهَا عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَجْهَانِ: إِمَّا أَنَّ زَيْداً فَعَلَهُ عَنْ غَيْرِ أَمْرِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مَعَهُ، فَنُسِبَ ذَلِكَ إِلَيْهِ، لأَنَّ زَيْداً لَمْ يَكُنْ مَعَهُ مِنَ العِصْمَةِ وَالتَّوْفِيْقِ

(١) إسناده حسن. وذكره الحافظ في " المطالب العالية " (٤٠٥٧) ونسبه إلى أبي يعلى. وذكره الهيثمي في " المجمع " ٩ / ٤١٧، ٤١٨ ونسبه إلى أبي يعلى والبزار، والطبراني، وقال: وأحد أسانيد الطبراني رجال الصحيح، غير محمد بن عمرو بن علقمة، وهو حسن الحديث. وابن سعد، مختصرا ٣ / ١ / ٢٧٧ والنائرة: العدواة. وأيله: مدينة على ساحل البحر الاحمر، وهي العقبة.