Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (3/53)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

He died in 52 AH.

Kaʿb related: “I was with the Prophet ﷺ at al-Hudaybiyah while we were in ihram and the idolaters had barred him from the Sanctuary. I had a thick forelock (1) and lice kept falling onto my face.

The Prophet ﷺ passed by me and asked, ‘Are the lice of your head troubling you?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’

He therefore ordered that it be shaved, and the verse concerning the compensatory offering (2) was revealed about me.”

Ibn Saʿd said: “He was a Balawī, an ally of the Khazraj.”

Al-Waqidī said: “He was actually one of them.” He further reported, on the authority of his informants, that they said: “Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah’s acceptance of Islam was delayed.

He had an idol that he honored and would rub, and whenever he was invited to Islam he refused.

ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit was a close friend of his. One day ʿUbādah lay in wait for him; when Kaʿb went out, ʿUbādah entered with an adze and smashed the idol.

When Kaʿb returned he asked, ‘Who did this?’ They answered, ‘ʿUbādah.’

He stormed out in anger, but then reflected, went to ʿUbādah, and embraced Islam.”

Dimām ibn Ismāʿīl reported: “Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb and Mūsā ibn Wardān narrated to me from Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah, who said: ‘I came to the Prophet ﷺ one day and noticed that his appearance had changed.’”

(1) In Ibn al-Athir’s al-Nihaya: al-wafra is the hair of the head when it reaches the earlobe. (2) Reported by al-Bukhari, 7/351, in the “Maghazi” section, chapter on the Expedition of Hudaybiyya. The verse on the compensatory offering (fidya) is: “Whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head must offer a fidya: fasting, charity, or a sacrifice” (Q 2:196). Al-Bukhari also records the hadith in several other places: in “Hajj” under the heading “Whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head must offer a fidya,” under “A sacrificial offering is a sheep,” in “Tafsir” under “Whoever among you is ill,” in “The Sick” under “The patient’s complaint: ‘I am in pain’ or ‘Oh, my head,’” in “Medicine” under “Shaving the head because of harm,” and in “Oaths and Vows” under “Expiations for oaths.” It is likewise transmitted by Malik, 1/417, in “Hajj,” chapter “Compensation for one who shaved before sacrificing,” by Muslim (no. 1201) in “Hajj,” chapter “Permissibility of shaving the muhrim’s head,” as well as by Abu Dawud (1856–1861), al-Tirmidhi (953), al-Nasa’i 5/194–195, Ibn Majah (3079), and by Ibn ‘Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq, 14/277b.

مَاتَ: سَنَةَ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَخَمْسِيْنَ. قَالَ كَعْبٌ: كُنْتُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ بِالحُدَيْبِيَةِ وَنَحْنُ مُحْرِمُوْنَ، وَقَدْ صَدَّهُ المُشْرِكُوْنَ، فَكَانَتْ لِي وَفْرَةٌ (١) ، فَجَعَلَتِ الهَوَامُّ تَسَّاقَطُ عَلَى وَجْهِي. فَمَرَّ بِيَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فَقَالَ: (أَتُؤْذِيْكَ هَوَامُّ رَأْسِكَ؟) . قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ. فَأَمَرَ أَنْ يُحْلَقَ، وَنَزَلَتْ فِيَّ آيَةُ الفِدْيَةِ (٢) . قَالَ ابْنُ سَعْدٍ: هُوَ بَلَوِيٌّ مِنْ حُلفَاءِ الخَزْرَجِ. وَقَالَ الوَاقِدِيُّ: هُوَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِم. وَذَكَرَ عَنْ رِجَالِهِ، قَالُوا: اسْتَأْخَرَ إِسْلاَمُ كَعْبِ بنِ عُجْرَةَ. وَكَانَ لَهُ صَنَمٌ يُكْرِمُهُ وَيَمْسَحُهُ، فَكَانَ يُدْعَى إِلَى الإِسْلاَمِ، فَيَأْبَى. وَكَانَ عُبَادَةُ بنُ الصَّامِتِ لَهُ خَلِيْلاً، فَرَصَدَهُ يَوْماً، فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ، دَخَلَ عُبَادَةُ وَمَعَهُ قَدُوْمٌ، فَكَسَرَهُ. فَلَمَّا أَتَى كَعْبٌ، قَالَ: مَنْ فَعَلَ هَذَا؟ قَالُوا: عُبَادَةُ. فَخَرَجَ مُغْضَباً، ثُمَّ فَكَّرَ فِي نَفْسِهِ، وَأَتَى عُبَادَةَ، فَأَسْلَمَ. ضِمَامُ بنُ إِسْمَاعِيْلَ: حَدَّثَنِي يَزِيْدُ بنُ أَبِي حَبِيْبٍ، وَمُوْسَى بنُ وَرْدَانَ، عَنْ كَعْبِ بنِ عُجْرَةَ، قَالَ: أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَوْماً، فَرَأَيْتُهُ مُتَغَيِّراً.

(١) في " النهاية " لابن الأثير: الوفرة: شعر الرأس إذا وصل إلى شحمة الاذن. (٢) أخرجه البخاري ٧ / ٣٥١ في المغازي: باب غزوة الحديبية. وآية الفدية هي: (فمن كان منكم مريضا أو به أذى من رأسه ففدية من صيام أؤ صدقة أو نسك) . وأخرجه البخاري في عدة مواطن، فهو عنده في الحج: باب قوله تعالى: (فمن كان منكم مريضا أو به أذى من رأسه ففدية) ، وباب النسك شاة، وفي التفسير: باب (فمن كان منكم مريضا) ، وفي المرضى: باب قول المريض: إني وجع، أو وارأساه، وفي الطب: باب الحلق من الأذى، وفي الايمان والنذور: باب كفارات الايمان، وأخرجه مالك ١ / ٤١٧ في الحج: باب فدية من حلق قبل أن ينحر، ومسلم (١٢٠١) في الحج: باب جواز حلق الرأس للمحرم، وأبو داود (١٨٥٦) و (١٨٥٧) و (١٨٥٨) و (١٨٥٩) و (١٨٦٠) و (١٨٦١) ، والترمذي (٩٥٣) ، والنسائي ٥ / ١٩٤، ١٩٥، وابن ماجه (٣٠٧٩) ، وهو في " تاريخ دمشق " لابن عساكر ١٤ / ٢٧٧ / ب.