Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/166)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

“That squint-eyed, tongue-tied man whose fortune is accursed—Abū Hudhayfah is the worst of people in religion!
Have you shown no gratitude to the father who reared you from childhood
until you reached the prime of unhindered youth?”⦗1⦘

He (the narrator) said: Abū Hudhayfah was tall, handsome-featured, with symmetrically set teeth; yet he had that slight lisp.

Abū Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, was martyred on the day of al-Yamāmah in the year 12 AH, together with his freedman Sālim.

His brother Abū Hāshim ibn ʿUtbah embraced Islam later; he accepted the faith on the day of the Conquest, his Islam proved sound, he strove in jihad, settled in Syria, and was a righteous, devout man.

He relates a report from the Prophet ﷺ found in al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, and Ibn Mājah.

He died during the caliphate of ʿUthmān. He was the maternal brother of the martyr Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr and the maternal uncle of the caliph Muʿāwiyah.

Manṣūr ibn al-Muʿtamir narrated from Abū Wāʾil: Samurah ibn Sahm said:

“I visited Abū Hāshim ibn ʿUtbah when he was suffering from a stab wound, and Muʿāwiyah entered to visit him. Abū Hāshim wept.

Muʿāwiyah said, ‘What makes you weep, uncle? Is it pain, or longing for this world?’

He replied, ‘Neither. Rather, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entrusted me with a charge which I have not fulfilled. He said to me, “O Abū Hāshim! You may live to see wealth distributed among people. What should suffice you of the world’s possessions is a single servant and a mount used in the cause of Allah.”

Now I have acquired—and I have amassed.’⦗2⦘

(1) Reported by Ibn Saʿd, vol. 3, part 1, p. 59. The verb hajana means “he bent” a piece of wood; al-mihjan denotes a crooked staff. (2) Samra ibn Sahm is an unknown transmitter, whereas the rest of the chain is reliable. The report appears in the Musnad, 5/290; Sunan al-Nasaʾi, 8/212 (Book of Adornment, chapter: Taking a servant and a mount); Ibn Majah, no. 4103 (Book of Zuhd, chapter: Renouncing the world). Al-Tirmidhi also recorded it, no. 2328 (Book of Zuhd, chapter: The amount of wealth sufficient in this life), omitting Samra ibn Sahm.

الأَحْوَلُ الأَثْعَلُ المَذْمُوْمُ طَائِرُهُ ... أَبُو حُذَيْفَةَ شَرُّ النَّاسِ فِي الدِّيْنِ أَمَا شَكَرْتَ أَباً رَبَّاكَ مِنْ صِغَرٍ ... حَتَّى شَبَبْتَ شَبَاباً غَيْرَ مَحْجُوْنِ (١) قَالَ: وَكَانَ أَبُو حُذَيْفَةَ طَوِيْلاً، حَسَنَ الوَجْهِ، مُرَادفَ الأَسْنَانِ، وَهُوَ الأَثْعَلُ. اسْتُشْهِدَ أَبُو حُذَيْفَةَ ﵁ يَوْمَ اليَمَامَةِ، سَنَةَ اثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ، هُوَ وَمَوْلاَهُ سَالِمٌ. وَتَأَخَّرَ إِسْلاَمُ أَخِيْهِ أَبِي هَاشِمٍ بنِ عُتْبَةَ، فَأَسْلَمَ يَوْمَ الفَتْحِ، وَحَسُنَ إِسْلاَمُهُ، وَجَاهَدَ، وَسَكَنَ الشَّامَ، وَكَانَ صَالِحاً، دَيِّناً. لَهُ رِوَايَةٌ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فِي (التِّرْمِذِيِّ) ، وَ (النَّسَائِيِّ) ، وَ (ابْنِ مَاجَه) . مَاتَ فِي خِلاَفَةِ عُثْمَانَ، وَهُوَ أَخُو الشَّهِيْدِ مُصْعَبُ بنُ عُمَيْرٍ لأُمِّهِ، وَخَالُ الخَلِيْفَةِ مُعَاوِيَةَ. رَوَى مَنْصُوْرُ بنُ المُعْتَمِرِ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سَمُرَةُ بنُ سَهْمٍ، قَالَ: قَدِمْتُ عَلَى أَبِي هَاشِمٍ بنِ عُتْبَةَ وَهُوَ طَعِيْنٌ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ مُعَاوِيَةُ يَعُوْدُهُ، فَبَكَى. فَقَالَ: مَا يُبْكِيْكَ يَا خَالُ؟ أَوَجَعٌ أَوْ حِرْصٌ عَلَى الدُّنْيَا؟ قَالَ: كُلاًّ لاَ، وَلَكِنْ عَهِدَ إِلَيَّ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ عَهْداً لَمْ آخُذْ بِهِ. قَالَ لِي: (يَا أَبَا هَاشِمٍ! لَعَلَّكَ أَنْ تُدْرِكَ أَمْوَالاً تُقْسَمُ بَيْنَ أَقْوَامٍ، وَإِنَّمَا يَكْفِيْكَ مِنْ جَمْعِ الدُّنْيَا خَادِمٌ وَمَرْكِبٌ فِي سَبِيْلِ اللهِ) . وَقَدْ وَجدْتُ، وَجَمَعْتُ (٢) .

(١) أخرجه ابن سعد ٣ / ١ / ٥٩ يقال: حجن العود يحجنه حجنا: عطفه. والمحجن: العصا المعوجة. (٢) سمرة بن سهم مجهول. وباقي رجاله ثقات. وهو في " المسند " ٥ / ٢٩٠، وسنن النسائي ٨ / ٢١٢ في الزينة: باب اتخاذ الخادم والمركب، وابن ماجه (٤١٠٣) في الزهد: باب الزهد في الدنيا. وأخرجه الترمذي (٢٣٢٨) في الزهد: باب ما يكفي في الدنيا من المال، بإسقاط سمرة بن سهم.