Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/437)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

He said, “I do not know which pleases me more—the conquest of Khaybar, or the arrival of Jaʿfar.”

He then sat down, whereupon the Negus’s envoy rose and announced, “Here is Jaʿfar; ask him what our master did for him.” I replied, “Indeed,” meaning that I had already spoken of it to him.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ thereupon stood, performed ablution, and supplicated three times, “O Allah, forgive the Negus.” The Muslims responded, “Āmīn.”

I then said to the envoy, “Go and inform your master of what you have witnessed (1).”

Ibn Abī ʿAdī and Muʿādh narrated from Ibn ʿAwn (2), from ʿUmayr ibn Isḥāq, that Jaʿfar said, “O Messenger of Allah, grant me permission to go to a land where I can worship Allah.” He gave him permission, and Jaʿfar went to the Negus.

ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ related to us: “When I saw that Jaʿfar and his companions were living there in safety, I envied him. I went to the Negus and said, ‘In your realm there is a man whose cousin is in our land, who claims that people have but one God. If you do not kill him and his companions, neither I nor any of my followers will ever again bring even a drop of water to you.’

“He said, ‘Go to him and summon him.’

“I replied, ‘He will not come with me; send someone with me instead.’

“So we went to him while he was sitting among his companions, speaking to them. The messenger said to him, ‘Respond to the summons.’

“When we reached the door I called out, ‘Grant entry to ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ,’ and Jaʿfar called out, ‘Grant entry to the Party of Allah.’ The Negus heard his voice and admitted him before me … and the report continues (3).

Isrāʾīl narrated from Abū Isḥāq, from Abū Burdah, from his father, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us to depart with Jaʿfar to the land of the Negus. When Quraysh heard of this, they sent ʿAmr and ʿUmārah ibn al-Walīd and collected a gift for the Negus. They arrived before him and presented the gift.”

(1) Al-Haythami cites the report in Al-Majmaʽ, 6/29–30, noting that it is transmitted by Al-Tabarani through the chain of Asad ibn ʿAmr from Mujalid. Both transmitters are generally deemed weak, although some scholars declared them reliable. (2) In the printed edition the name has been mistakenly rendered as “ʿAwf.” (3) Al-Haythami also records it in Al-Majmaʽ, 6/29, stating that Al-Tabarani and Al-Bazzar both transmit the hadith. ʿUmayr ibn Ishaq was judged trustworthy by Ibn Hibban and others, and the remaining reservations about him are inconsequential; the rest of the transmitters are those found in the sound collections.

فَقَالَ: (مَا أَدْرِي أَنَا بِفَتْحِ خَيْبَرَ أَفْرَحُ، أَوْ بِقُدُوْمِ جَعْفَرٍ) . ثُمَّ جَلَسَ، فَقَامَ رَسُوْلُ النَّجَاشِيِّ، فَقَالَ: هُوَ ذَا جَعْفَرٌ، فَسَلْهُ مَا صَنَعَ بِهِ صَاحِبُنَا. فَقُلْتُ: نَعَمْ -يَعْنِي: ذَكَرْتُهُ لَهُ-. فَقَامَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ فَتَوَضَّأَ، ثُمَّ دَعَا ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ: (اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلنَّجَاشِيِّ) . فَقَالَ المُسْلِمُوْنَ: آمِيْن. فَقُلْتُ لِلرَّسُوْلِ: انْطَلِقْ، فَأَخْبِرْ صَاحِبَكَ مَا رَأَيْتَ (١) . ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ، وَمُعَاذٌ: عَنِ ابْنِ عَوْنٍ (٢) ، عَنْ عُمَيْرِ بنِ إِسْحَاقَ: أَنَّ جَعْفَراً قَالَ: يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ! ائْذَنْ لِي حَتَّى أَصِيْرَ إِلَى أَرْضٍ أَعْبُدُ اللهَ فِيْهَا. فَأَذِنَ لَهُ، فَأَتَى النَّجَاشِيَّ. فَحَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بنُ العَاصِ، قَالَ: لَمَّا رَأَيْتُ جَعْفَراً آمِناً بِهَا هُوَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ حَسَدْتُهُ، فَأَتَيْتُ النَّجَاشِيَّ، فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ بِأَرْضِكَ رَجُلاً ابْنُ عَمِّهِ بِأَرْضِنَا يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِلنَّاسِ إِلاَّ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ، وَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تَقْتُلْهُ وَأَصْحَابَهُ لاَ أَقْطَعُ إِلَيْكَ هَذِهِ النُّطْفَةَ أَبَداً، وَلاَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِي. قَالَ: اذْهَبْ إِلَيْهِ، فَادْعُهُ. قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُ لاَ يَجِيْءُ مَعِي، فَأَرْسِلْ مَعِي رَسُوْلاً. فَأَتَيْنَاهُ وَهُوَ بَيْنَ ظِهْرِيِّ أَصْحَابِهِ يُحَدِّثُهُم. قَالَ لَهُ: أَجِبْ. فَلَمَّا أَتَيْنَا البَابَ، نَادَيْتُ: ائْذَنْ لِعَمْرِو بنِ العَاصِ. وَنَادَى جَعْفَرٌ: ائْذَنْ لِحِزْبِ اللهِ. فَسَمِعَ صَوْتَهُ، فَأَذِنَ لَهُ قَبْلِي ... ، الحَدِيْثَ (٣) . إِسْرَائِيْلُ: عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ، قَالَ: أَمَرَنَا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ أَنْ نَنْطَلِقَ مَعَ جَعْفَرٍ إِلَى أَرْضِ النَّجَاشِيِّ، فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ قُرَيْشاً، فَبَعَثُوا عَمْراً وَعُمَارَةَ بنَ الوَلِيْدِ، وَجَمَعُوا لِلنَّجَاشِيِّ هَدِيَّةً. فَقَدِمَا عَلَيْهِ، وَأَتَيَاهُ بِالهَدِيَّةِ،

(١) ذكره الهيثمي في " المجمع " ٦ / ٢٩ - ٣٠ وقال: رواه الطبراني من طريق أسد بن عمرو، عن مجالد. وكلاهما ضعيف وقد وثقا. (٢) تحرفت في المطبوع إلى " عوف ". (٣) ذكره الهيثمي في " المجمع " ٦ / ٢٩، وقال: رواه الطبراني والبزار. وعمير بن إسحاق وثقه ابن حبان وغيره، وفيه كلام لا يضر، وبقية رجاله رجال الصحيح.