Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/175)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

then you are free.’

I was a spearman, and when I cast my spear I rarely missed. I went out with the people, and when the two forces met I took up my spear and began searching for Hamzah. I saw him in the very thick of the fight, like a grey-dappled camel (1), hacking the people down with his sword and laying them out flat (2), sparing no one. By Allah, while I was getting myself ready for him, Sibaʿ ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā al-Khuzaʿī reached him before I did. When Hamzah caught sight of him he cried, ‘Come here, you son of the clitoris-cutter! (3)’ Then Hamzah struck him—by Allah, it was as though (4) his blow could not possibly miss his head; I have never seen anything fall faster than that man’s head.

I shook my spear, and when I was satisfied with my aim I hurled it at him. It pierced his lower abdomen (5) and came out between his legs. He collapsed, attempted to rise (6), but was overcome. I left him with the spear in him until he died; then I went up, pulled out my spear, returned to the camp, and sat down—I had no need of anyone besides him.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ conquered Mecca, I fled to Tāʾif. When the delegation of Tāʾif set off to accept Islam, the whole earth, vast as it is, felt straitened for me. I said to myself, ‘I will head for Syria, or Yemen, or some other land.’ By Allah, while I was in the midst of that worry, a man said, ‘By Allah (7), Muhammad does not kill anyone who enters his faith.’ So I went out, until

(1) Its hue lies between dusty grey and black; the name derives from the layer of dust that normally covers it. (2) Al-Zamakhshari’s Asas al-Balagha states: “This is a sword that spares (yaliqu) nothing,” that is, it does not pass over anything without cutting it. He also cites the hemistich: “With a blunt-looking yet razor-keen blade that spares no target; on its back are smudges and the mark of a scabbard.” Ibn Hisham’s Sirah adds: “Nothing could stand before it.” (3) Al-buzur (sing. buzr) is the piece of flesh excised from the woman’s private part during circumcision. Ibn Ishaq notes that his mother was a female circumciser in Mecca. The Arabs used the term buzr as a reproach; in neutral speech they would say khatinah. See Fath al-Bari, 7/369 (Salafi ed.). (4) The word “laka’anna” is absent from the printed edition. (5) Al-thinnah denotes the area from the lower abdomen down to the pubic region. (6) Meaning: so that he would rise with difficulty, sluggishly. (7) The printed text mistakenly reads “lan”; the correct word is “in”, which here functions as the negative particle equivalent to “ma” (“not”).

فَأَنْتَ حُرٌّ. وَكُنْتُ صَاحِبَ حَرْبَةٍ أَرْمِي، قَلَّمَا أُخْطِئُ بِهَا، فَخَرَجْتُ مَعَ النَّاسِ، فَلَمَّا الْتَقَوْا أَخَذْتُ حَرْبَتِي، وَخَرَجْتُ أَنْظُرُ حَمْزَةَ، حَتَّى رَأَيْتُهُ فِي عُرْضِ النَّاسِ مِثْلَ الجَمَلِ الأَوْرَقِ (١) ، يَهُدُّ النَّاسَ بِسَيْفِهِ هَدّاً مَا يُلِيْقُ (٢) شَيْئاً، فَوَاللهِ إِنِّي لأَتَهَيَّأُ لَهُ إِذْ تَقَدَّمَنِي إِلَيْهِ سِبَاعُ بنُ عَبْدِ العُزَّى الخُزَاعِيُّ. فَلَمَّا رَآهُ حَمْزَةُ، قَالَ: هَلُمَّ إِلَيَّ يَا ابْنَ مُقَطِّعَةِ البُظُوْرِ (٣) . ثُمَّ ضَرَبَهُ حَمْزَةُ، فَوَاللهِ لَكَأَنَّ (٤) مَا أَخْطَأَ رَأْسَهُ، مَا رَأَيْتُ شَيْئاً قَطُّ كَانَ أَسْرَعَ مِنْ سُقُوْطِ رَأْسِهِ. فَهَزَزْتُ حَرْبَتِي، حَتَّى إِذَا رَضِيْتُ عَنْهَا، دَفَعْتُهَا عَلَيْهِ، فَوَقَعَتْ فِي ثُنَّتِهِ (٥) ، حَتَّى خَرَجَتْ بَيْنَ رِجْلَيْهِ، فَوَقَعَ، فَذَهَبَ لِيَنُوْءَ (٦) ، فَغُلِبَ، فَتَرَكْتُهُ وَإِيَّاهَا، حَتَّى إِذَا مَاتَ قُمْتُ إِلَيْهِ، فَأَخَذْتُ حَرْبَتِي، ثُمَّ رَجَعْتُ إِلَى العَسْكَرِ، فَقَعَدْتُ فِيْهِ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِي حَاجَةٌ بِغَيْرِهِ. فَلَمَّا افْتَتَحَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ مَكَّةَ هَرَبْتُ إِلَى الطَّائِفِ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ وَفْدُ الطَّائِفِ لِيُسْلِمُوا، ضَاقَتْ عَلَيَّ الأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ، وَقُلْتُ أَلْحَقُ بِالشَّامِ، أَوِ اليَمَنِ، أَوْ بَعْضِ البِلاَدِ، فَوَاللهِ إِنِّي لَفِي ذَلِكَ مِنْ هَمِّي، إِذْ قَالَ رَجُلٌ: وَاللهِ إِنْ (٧) يَقْتُلُ مُحَمَّدٌ أَحَداً دَخَلَ فِي دِيْنِهِ. فَخَرَجْتُ، حَتَّى

(١) الذي لونه بين الغبرة والسواد. وسمي كذلك لما عليه من الغبار. (٢) جاء في " أساس البلاغة ": هذا سيف لا يليق شيئا، أي: لا يمر بشيء إلا قطعه. وقال: بأفل عضب لا يليق ضريبة * في متنه دخن وأثر أحلس وفي السيرة لابن هشام: ما يقوم له شيء. (٣) البظور: جمع بظر: وهي اللحمة التي تقطع من فرج المرأة عند الختان. قال ابن إسحاق: كانت أمه ختانة بمكة تختن النساء. والعرب تطلق هذا اللفظ في معرض الذم. وإلا قالوا: خاتنة. انظر " فتح الباري " ٧ / ٣٦٩ سلفية. (٤) سقط لفظ " لكأن " من المطبوع. (٥) الثنة: أسفل البطن إلى العانة. (٦) أي: لينهض متثاقلا. (٧) تصحفت في المطبوع إلى " لن ". و" إن " هنا بمعنى " ما " النافية.