Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/240)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

He also said:
"O soul, if you are not slain you will still die;
This onslaught of death you have now encountered.
What you desired has been granted to you;
If you act as those two acted, you will be guided,
But if you hold back, you will be doomed." ⦗1⦘

al-Walīd ibn Muslim said: I heard that they marched toward the region of Maʿān, where they were informed that the Byzantines had assembled great numbers against them. Zayd therefore consulted his companions, who said, "You have already entered the land and struck fear into its people." ⦗2⦘ He then prepared to withdraw, while Ibn Rawāḥah remained silent. When Zayd asked for his view, he replied, "We did not set out for spoils; we set out to meet the enemy. We do not fight them on the strength of numbers or equipment. The proper course is to press on toward them."

ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr said: The Prophet ﷺ declared, "If Ibn Rawāḥah is struck down, let the Muslims select one of their men."

They advanced until they halted at Maʿān. News reached them that Heraclius had encamped at Maʾab with 100,000 Romans and 100,000 Arab auxiliaries.

Ibn Rawāḥah roused the people, saying, "My people! By Allah, what you fear is precisely what you set out to achieve—martyrdom." ⦗3⦘

Their number was three thousand.

Section: The Martyrs of the Day of al-Rajīʿ ⦗4⦘

In the fourth year AH the Prophet ﷺ dispatched a reconnaissance party of ten men, led by ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit.

(1) The report is recorded in Ibn Hisham, al-Sira, vol. 2, p. 379; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istiʿab, vol. 6, p. 175; Abu Nuʿaym, Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, vol. 1, p. 120; and Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghaba, vol. 3, p. 237. (2) In the printed edition the word has been corrupted to “akhadhat.” (3) See Ibn Hisham, al-Sira, vol. 2, p. 375; Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, vol. 1, p. 119; and Usd al-Ghaba, vol. 3, p. 236. (4) Al-Bukhari relates this episode (no. 4086) in the Book of Expeditions, chapter “The Expedition of al-Rajiʿ.” The complete hadith will be given shortly under the entry of Khubayb (p. 246). Al-Rajiʿ is the name of a place in the land of Hudhayl where the incident occurred—

وَقَالَ أَيْضاً: يَا نَفْسُ إِنْ لاَ تُقْتَلِي تَمُوْتِي ... هَذَا حِمَامُ المَوْتِ قَدْ لَقِيْتِ وَمَا تَمَنَّيْتِ فَقَدْ أُعْطِيْتِ ... إِنْ تَفْعَلِي فِعْلَهُمَا هُدِيْتِ وَإِنْ تَأَخَّرْتِ فَقَدْ شَقِيْتِ ... (١) قَالَ الوَلِيْدُ بنُ مُسلمٍ: فَسَمِعْتُ أَنَّهُم سَارُوا بِنَاحِيَةِ مُعَانَ، فَأُخْبِرُوا أَنَّ الرُّوْمَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَهُم جُمُوْعاً كَثِيْرَةً، فَاسْتَشَارَ زَيْدٌ أَصْحَابَهُ، فَقَالُوا: قَدْ وَطِئْتَ البِلاَدَ، وَأَخَفْتَ (٢) أَهْلَهَا. فَانْصَرَفَ، وَابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ سَاكِتٌ. فَسَأَلَهُ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّا لَمْ نَسِرْ لِغَنَائِمَ، وَلَكِنَّا خَرَجْنَا لِلِّقَاءِ، وَلَسْنَا نُقَاتِلُهُم بِعَدَدٍ وَلاَ عُدَّةٍ، وَالرَّأْيُ المَسِيْرُ إِلَيْهِم. قَالَ عُرْوَةُ بنُ الزُّبَيْرِ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: (فَإِنْ أُصِيْبَ ابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ، فَلْيَرْتَضِ المُسْلِمُوْنَ رَجُلاً) . ثُمَّ سَارُوا حَتَّى نَزَلُوا بِمُعَانَ، فَبَلَغَهُم أَنَّ هِرَقْلَ قَدْ نَزَلَ بِمَآبَ فِي مَائَةِ أَلْفٍ مِنَ الرُّوْمِ، وَمَائَةِ أَلْفٍ مِنَ المُسْتَعْرِبَةِ. فَشَجَّعَ النَّاسَ ابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ، وَقَالَ: يَا قَوْمُ! وَاللهِ إِنَّ الَّذِي تَكْرَهُوْنَ لَلَّتِي خَرَجْتُم لَهَا: الشَّهَادَةُ (٣) . وَكَانُوا ثَلاَثَةَ آلاَفٍ. - فَصْلٌ: شُهَدَاءُ يَوْمِ الرَّجِيْعِ (٤) فِي سَنَةِ أَرْبَعٍ بَعَثَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ عَشْرَةَ رَهْطٍ عَيْناً، عَلَيْهِم عَاصِمُ بنُ ثَابِتِ

(١) الخبر في " سيرة ابن هشام " ٢ / ٣٧٩ و" الاستيعاب " ٦ / ١٧٥، و" الحلية " ١ / ١٢٠، و" أسد الغابة " ٣ / ٢٣٧. (٢) تحرفت في المطبوع إلى " أخذت ". (٣) انظر " سيرة ابن هشام " ٢ / ٣٧٥ والحلية ١ / ١١٩، و" أسد الغابة " ٣ / ٢٣٦. (٤) أخرج خبرها البخاري (٤٠٨٦) في المغازي: باب غزوة الرجيع. وسيأتي الحديث بتمامه في ترجمة خبيب بعد قليل ص (٢٤٦) . والرجيع: اسم موضع من بلاد هذيل كانت الوقعة فيه فسميت =