Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (2/525)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Ibn Sīrīn said: “The poets among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were Ḥassān ibn Thābit, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah, and Kaʿb ibn Mālik.”

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb relates—on the authority of his father—that he once said, “O Messenger of Allah, Allah has sent down concerning the poets what He has sent down.” The Prophet replied, “The true combatant is the one who strives with both his sword and his tongue; by Him in whose hand is my soul, it is as though you are pelting them with a shower of arrows.” (1)

Ibn Sīrīn added: “As for Kaʿb, his verses spoke of war—‘We have done, and we shall do’—and he would threaten the enemy. Ḥassān, on the other hand, exposed their faults and the ignominy of their past. Ibn Rawāḥah would reproach them for their unbelief.”

The tribe of Daws embraced Islam out of fear of a line Kaʿb once recited:
“We give it the choice, and were it able to speak it would declare:
‘Our blades will sever Daws or Thaqīf.’” (2)

Ibn al-Munkadir narrates from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Kaʿb ibn Mālik, “Your Lord has not forgotten you, nor is your Lord ever forgetful—[He remembers] a verse you composed.”

Kaʿb asked, “Which verse is that?”

He replied, “Recite it, Abū Bakr.” So Abū Bakr began to recite

(1) Recorded by ʿAbd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf, no. 20500, and—through the same chain—by Ahmad, Musnad 6/387: Maʿmar → al-Zuhri → ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Kaʿb b. Malik → his father. The isnad is sound. (2) Usd al-Ghaba 4/484; al-Isaba 8/305. In the phrase nukhayyiru-ha (“we give it the choice”), the pronoun refers to “the swords” mentioned in the previous verse: qadayna min Tihama kulla rayb * wa-Khaybar thumma ajmamna as-suyufa (“We have dispelled every doubt in Tihama and at Khaybar, then we sheathed the swords”). The meaning is: we offer the swords the choice, and, were they able to speak, they would prefer that we fight the tribes of Daws or Thaqif. These lines are part of a poem cited by Ibn Hisham in al-Sira 2/479-480, composed by Kaʿb after the Prophet had completed the Battle of Hunayn and decided to march on Taʾif.

قَالَ ابْنُ سِيْرِيْنَ: كَانَ شُعَرَاءُ أَصْحَابِ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ: حَسَّانُ بنُ ثَابِتٍ، وَعَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ رَوَاحَةَ، وَكَعْبُ بنُ مَالِكٍ. قَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بنُ كَعْبٍ: عَنْ أَبِيْهِ: أَنَّهُ قَالَ: يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ! قَدْ أَنْزَلَ اللهُ فِي الشُّعَرَاءِ مَا أَنْزَلَ. قَالَ: (إِنَّ المُجَاهِدَ مُجَاهِدٌ بِسَيْفِهِ وَلِسَانِهِ، وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَكَأَنَّمَا تَرْمُونَهُمْ بِهِ نَضْحُ النَّبْلِ (١)) . قَالَ ابْنُ سِيْرِيْنَ: أَمَّا كَعْبٌ فَكَانَ يَذْكُرُ الحَرْبَ، يَقُوْلُ: فَعَلْنَا وَنَفْعَلُ، وَيَتَهَدَّدُهُمْ، وَأَمَّا حَسَّانُ فَكَانَ يَذْكُرُ عُيُوبَهُمْ، وَأَيَّامَهُمْ، وَأَمَّا ابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ فَكَانَ يُعَيِّرَهُمْ بِالكُفْرِ. وَقَدْ أَسْلَمَتْ دَوْسٌ فَرَقاً مِنْ بَيْتٍ قَالَهُ كَعْبٌ: نُخَيِّرُهَا وَلَو نَطَقَتْ لَقَالَتْ ... قَوَاطِعُهُنَّ دَوْساً أَوْ ثَقِيْفَا (٢) عَنِ ابْنِ المُنْكَدِرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ: أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ لِكَعْبِ بنِ مَالِكٍ: (مَا نَسِيَ رَبُّكَ لَكَ، وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ نَسِيّاً، بَيْتاً قُلْتَهُ) . قَالَ: مَا هُوَ؟ قَالَ: (أَنْشِدْهُ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ) . فَقَالَ:

(١) أخرجه عبد الرزاق في " المصنف " (٢٠٥٠٠) وعنه أحمد ٦ / ٣٨٧ من طريق معمر، عن الزهري عن عبد الرحمن بن كعب بن مالك عن أبيه وهذا سند صحيح. (٢) " أسد الغابة " ٤ / ٤٨٤، و" الإصابة " ٨ / ٣٠٥، وقوله: " نخيرها " الضمير يعود إلى السيوف في البيت قبله وهو: قضينا من تهامة كل ريب * وخيبر ثم أجممنا السيوفا أي: نعطيها الخيرة، ولو نطقت، لاختارت أن نحارب دوسا أو ثقيفا. وهما من قصيدة أوردها ابن هشام في " السيرة " ٢ / ٤٧٩، ٤٨٠ قالها كعب حين فرغ النبي ﷺ من حنين، وأجمع المسير إلى الطائف.