Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (4/8)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

His most reliable name is ʿAbd Allah ibn Thawb.
Others say his name was ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah.
Yet a third view is that it was ʿAbd Allah ibn Thawāb (1).
Some report him as Ibn ʿUbayd,
and it is also said that his name was Yaʿqūb ibn ʿAwf.

He came from Yemen, having already embraced Islam during the Prophet’s lifetime, and entered Madinah in the caliphate of al-Ṣiddīq (Abū Bakr).

He related hadith from ʿUmar, Muʿādh ibn Jabal, Abū ʿUbaydah, Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī, and ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit.

Among those who transmitted from him were Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī, Abū al-ʿĀliya al-Riyāḥī, Jubayr ibn Nufayr, ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, and Shurahbil ibn Muslim—though the last two did not actually meet him—as well as ʿAṭiyyah ibn Qays, Abū Qilābah al-Jarmī, Muḥammad ibn Ziyād al-Alhānī, ʿUmayr ibn Hāniʾ, and Yūnus ibn Maysarah, who likewise did not reach him in person but sent on his authority.

Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh said: “Shurahbil ibn Muslim narrated to us:

‘Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī came to Madinah after the Prophet ﷺ had passed away and Abū Bakr had assumed the caliphate.

Shurahbil informed us that al-Aswad (2) claimed prophethood in Yemen and summoned Abū Muslim. He set up a huge fire and then cast Abū Muslim into it, yet it did him no harm.

People said to al-Aswad, “If you do not drive this man away, he will ruin your following.”

So he ordered Abū Muslim to depart. Abū Muslim travelled until he reached Madinah, tethered his mount, entered the mosque to pray, and ʿUmar—may God be pleased with him—caught sight of him and rose…’

(1) Ibn Asakir, 9/12 b, notes other readings of the name: Ibn Athub or Ibn Muslim. See also Tarikh al-Islam, 3/102. (2) This refers to al-Aswad al-Ansi, whose personal name was Ayhala—some say Abhala—ibn Kaʿb ibn Awf of the tribe Madhhij. A sorcerer from Yemen, he embraced Islam with the rest of Yemen but later apostatized during the Prophet’s lifetime, becoming the first apostate in Islam. He claimed prophethood, won many Madhhij followers, and expanded his rule until he was assassinated one month before the Prophet’s death. Source summarized from al-Aʿlam, 5/299.

اسْمُهُ عَلَى الأَصَحِّ: عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ ثُوَبٍ. وَقِيْلَ: اسْمُهُ عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ. وَقِيْلَ: عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ ثَوَابٍ (١) . وَقِيْلَ: ابْنُ عُبَيْدٍ. وَيُقَالُ: اسْمُهُ يَعْقُوْبُ بنُ عَوْفٍ. قَدِمَ مِنَ اليَمَنِ، وَقَدْ أَسْلَمَ فِي أَيَّامِ النَبِيِّ ﷺ فَدَخَلَ المَدِيْنَةَ فِي خِلاَفَةِ الصِّدِّيْقِ. وَحَدَّثَ عَنْ: عُمَرَ، وَمُعَاذِ بنِ جَبَلٍ، وَأَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، وَأَبِي ذَرٍّ الغِفَارِيِّ، وَعُبَادَةَ بنِ الصَّامِتِ. رَوَى عَنْهُ: أَبُو إِدْرِيْسَ الخَوْلاَنِيُّ، وَأَبُو العَالِيَةِ الرِّيَاحِيُّ، وَجُبَيْرُ بنُ نُفَيْرٍ، وَعَطَاءُ بنُ أَبِي رَبَاحٍ، وَشُرَحْبِيْلُ بنُ مُسْلِمٍ - وَمَا أَدْرَكَاهُ - وَعَطِيَّةُ بنُ قَيْسٍ، وَأَبُو قِلاَبَةَ الجَرْمِيُّ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بنُ زِيَادٍ الأَلْهَانِيُّ، وَعُمَيْرُ بنُ هَانِئ، وَيُوْنُسُ بنُ مَيْسَرَةَ، وَلَمْ يَلْحَقُوْهُ، لَكِنْ أَرْسَلُوا عَنْهُ. قَالَ إِسْمَاعِيْلُ بنُ عَيَّاشٍ: حَدَّثَنَا شُرَحْبِيْلُ بنُ مُسْلِمٍ، قَالَ: أَتَى أَبُو مُسْلِمٍ الخَوْلاَنِيُّ المَدِيْنَةَ، وَقَدْ قُبِضَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ وَاسْتُخْلِفَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ. فَحَدَّثَنَا شُرَحْبِيْلُ: أَنَّ الأَسْوَدَ (٢) تَنَبَّأَ بِاليَمَنِ، فَبَعَثَ إِلَى أَبِي مُسْلِمٍ، فَأَتَاهُ بِنَارٍ عَظِيْمَةٍ، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ أَلْقَى أَبَا مُسْلِمٍ فِيْهَا، فَلَمْ تَضَرَّهُ. فَقِيْلَ لِلأَسْوَدِ: إِنْ لَمْ تَنْفِ هَذَا عَنْكَ، أَفْسَدَ عَلَيْكَ مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ. فَأَمَرَهُ بِالرَّحِيْلِ، فَقَدِمَ المَدِيْنَةَ، فَأَنَاخَ رَاحِلَتَهُ، وَدَخَلَ المَسْجِدَ يُصَلِّي، فَبَصُرَ بِهِ عُمَرُ ﵁ فَقَامَ

(١) زاد ابن عساكر ٩ / ١٢ ب: ويقال: ابن أثوب، ويقال: ابن مسلم. وانظر تاريخ الإسلام ٣ / ١٠٢. (٢) هو الأسود العنسي، واسمه عيهلة وقيل: عبهلة بن كعب بن عوف، من مذحج. متنبئ مشعوذ من أهل اليمن، أسلم كما أسلمت اليمن، وارتد في أيام النبي ﷺ، فكان أول من ارتد في الإسلام، ادعى النبوة، وضل به كثير من مذحج حتى اتسع سلطانه. اغتيل قبل وفاة النبي ﷺ بشهر واحد. اهـ مختصرا، الاعلام ٥ / ٢٩٩.