Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/235)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Ibn Sīrīn said: Ḥassān and Kaʿb would answer the idolaters with verses like their own, celebrating battles, memorable days, and ancestral glories. Ibn Rawāḥah, however, rebuked them for their disbelief and pinned everything on it, so that when they later embraced Islam and gained insight, his earlier taunts weighed on them even more heavily.

Thābit related from Anas who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Mecca on the occasion of the compensatory ʿumrah (ʿumrat al-qaḍāʾ), while Ibn Rawāḥah walked in front of him reciting:

Clear the way, you brood of unbelievers, from his path;
Today we shall strike you for the sake of His Revelation,
A blow that lifts heads from their resting place
And makes a close companion forget his companion.

ʿUmar exclaimed, ‘Ibn Rawāḥah! In Allah’s Sacred Precinct and before the Messenger of Allah you recite poetry?’

The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘Leave him, ʿUmar; his words fall upon them faster than a shower of arrows.’

In another wording he said, ‘By Him in Whose hand is my soul, his speech against them is more piercing than the impact of arrows.’ (1)

This narration was also transmitted by Maʿmar, from al-Zuhrī, from Anas.

Al-Tirmidhī (2) said: Another report states that the Prophet ﷺ entered Mecca during the compensatory ʿumrah while Kaʿb was the one reciting those lines. He added: This version is regarded as more authentic by some scholars, because Ibn Rawāḥah was killed on the day of Muʾtah,

(1) The chain of transmission is strong. The report is also found in al-Tirmidhi, no. 2851, Book of Manners, chapter “On the chanting of poetry,” where he says: “This hadith is hasan sahih and, through this route, gharib.” It is likewise recorded by al-Nasa’i, 5/202, Book of Hajj, chapter “Reciting poetry in the Sanctuary and walking ahead of the imam,” and authenticated by Ibn Hibban, nos. 2020–2021. Ibn Hajar states in al-Isabah 6/80 that Abu Ya‘la transmitted it with a good chain. See further Ibn Kathir, al-Sirah, 3/428–433. (2) The word “al-Tirmidhi” is missing in the printed edition.

وَقَالَ ابْنُ سِيْرِيْنَ: كَانَ حَسَّان، وَكَعْبٌ يُعَارِضَانِ المُشْرِكِيْنَ بِمِثْلِ قَوْلِهِم بِالوَقَائِعِ، وَالأَيَّامِ، وَالمَآثِرِ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ يُعَيِّرُهُم بِالكُفْرِ، وَيَنْسِبُهُم إِلَيْهِ، فَلَمَّا أَسْلَمُوا وَفَقِهُوا كَانَ أَشدَّ عَلَيْهِم. ثَابِتٌ: عَنْ أَنَس، قَالَ: دَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَكَّةَ فِي عُمْرَةِ القَضَاءِ، وَابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَقُوْلُ: خَلُّوا بَنِي الكُفَّارِ عَنْ سَبِيْلِهِ ... اليَوْمَ نَضْرِبْكُم عَلَى تَنْزِيْلِهِ ضَرْباً يُزِيْلُ الهَامَ عَنْ مَقِيْلِهِ ... وَيُذْهِلُ الخَلِيْلَ عَنْ خَلِيْلِهِ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: يَا ابْنَ رَوَاحَةَ! فِي حَرَمِ اللهِ، وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ تَقُوْلُ الشِّعْرَ؟ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: (خَلِّ يَا عُمَرُ، فَهُوَ أَسْرَعُ فِيْهِم مِنْ نَضْحِ النَّبْلِ) . وَفِي لَفْظٍ: (فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَكَلاَمُهُ عَلَيْهِم أَشَدُّ مِنْ وَقْعِ النَّبْلِ) (١) . وَرَوَاهُ: مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ. قَالَ التِّرْمِذِيُّ (٢) : وَجَاءَ فِي غَيْرِ هَذَا الحَدِيْثِ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ دَخَلَ مَكَّةَ فِي عُمْرَةِ القَضَاءِ، وَكَعْبٌ يَقُوْلُ ذَلِكَ. قَالَ: وَهَذَا أَصَحُّ عِنْدَ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ العِلْمِ، لأَنَّ ابْنَ رَوَاحَةَ قُتِلَ يَوْمَ مُؤْتَةَ،

(١) إسناده قوي. وأخرجه الترمذي (٢٨٥١) في الأدب: باب ما جاء في إنشاد الشعر. وقال: هذا حديث حسن صحيح غريب من هذا الوجه. والنسائي ٥ / ٢٠٢ في الحج: باب إنشاد الشعر في الحرم والمشي بين يدي الامام، وصححه ابن حبان (٢٠٢٠) و (٢٠٢١) ، وقال الحافظ في " الإصابة " ٦ / ٨٠: وأخرجه أبو يعلى بسند حسن، وانظر " سيرة ابن كثير " ٣ / ٤٢٨ - ٤٣٣. (٢) سقطت لفظة " الترمذي " من المطبوع.