Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (4/256)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Were length of days able to make a single man immortal
and shield him from the disgrace of a life grown old,
then the one they bore away that day would have remained forever—
but no living soul is everlasting.
We set out at dawn and return at dusk while death stands before us,
laying the trap of destruction for us at every ambush.⦗1⦘

Ishāq ibn Tāriq reported to us; Ibn Khalīl informed us; Ahmad ibn Muḥammad informed us; al-Ḥaddād informed us; Abū Nuʿaym informed us; Ahmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb informed us; Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Sarrāj narrated to us; al-Mufaḍḍal ibn Ghassān narrated to us; Wahb ibn Jarīr narrated to us, from his father, who said:

“I heard Abū Rajāʾ say:
‘News of the Prophet ﷺ reached us while we were at a watering-place of ours called Sanad.⦗2⦘ We set off toward the trees, fleeing with our families. As I was driving the people along, I came upon the lower leg of a gazelle. I picked it up and went to the woman and asked, “Do you have any barley?”
“She replied, ‘In one of our containers, last year, there was a little barley; I do not know whether any of it is left now.’
“I took the container, shook it out, and managed to get a handful of barley. I crushed it between two stones, tossed it together with the gazelle’s leg into one of our pots, then went to a camel, opened a vein and drew a vessel full of blood. I lit a fire beneath the pot, took a stick and stirred it vigorously until it was cooked, and then we ate.
“A man asked him, ‘And what does blood taste like?’ He replied, ‘Sweet.’⦗3⦘’

Muhriz ibn ʿAwn narrated to us; Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us, from his father:
‘I went in to see Abū Rajāʾ, and he said, “The Prophet ﷺ was sent while we had a round idol. We loaded it on a saddle-pad and moved on, but the stone slipped off and fell into the sand. We went back looking for it and found it sunken in the sand. I dug it out—and that was the beginning of my Islam.
“I said, ‘A god that cannot keep itself from the dust in which it sinks is a vile god indeed; even a she-goat protects her life with her tail.’”’

(1) The verses and the report are found in al-Istiʿab, vol. 3, p. 1211. See also Ibn Saʿd, vol. 7, p. 140; Tabaqat Ibn Sallam, p. 335; al-Kamil by al-Mubarrad, vol. 1, p. 119; and p. 584 of the present volume. (2) A well-known locality in the desert; some identify it as a watering place belonging to the Banu Saʿd (Muʿjam al-Buldan). (3) Al-Hilya, vol. 2, p. 305; the passage enclosed in brackets is quoted from that source.

وَلَوْ كَانَ طُوْلُ العُمْرِ يُخْلِدُ وَاحِداً ... وَيَدْفَعُ عَنْهُ عَيْبَ عُمْرٍ عَمَرَّدِ لَكَانَ الَّذِي رَاحُوا بِهِ يَحْمِلُوْنَهُ ... مُقِيْماً، وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ حَيٌّ بِمُخْلَدِ نَرُوْحُ وَنَغْدُو وَالحُتُوْفُ أَمَامَنَا ... يَضَعْنَ بِنَا حَتْفَ الرَّدَى كُلَّ مَرْصَدِ (١) أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بنُ طَارِقٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا ابْنُ خَلِيْلٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا أَحْمَدُ بنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا الحَدَّادُ، أَنْبَأَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا أَحْمَدُ بنُ مُحَمَّدِ بنِ عَبْدِ الوَهَّابِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو العَبَّاسِ السَّرَّاجُ، حَدَّثَنَا المُفَضَّلُ بنُ غَسَّانَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَهْبُ بنُ جَرِيْرٍ، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا رَجَاءٍ يَقُوْلُ: بَلَغنَا أَمْرُ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَنَحْنُ عَلَى مَاءٍ لَنَا، يُقَالَ لَهُ: سَنَدٌ (٢) ، فَانْطَلَقْنَا نَحْوَ الشَّجَرَةِ هَارِبِيْنَ بِعِيَالِنَا، فَبَيْنَا أَنَا أَسُوْقُ القَوْمَ، إِذْ وَجَدْتُ كُرَاعَ ظَبْيٍ، فَأَخَذْتُهُ، فَأَتَيْتُ المَرْأَةَ، فَقُلْتُ: هَلْ عِنْدَكِ شَعِيْرٌ؟ فَقَالَتْ: قَدْ كَانَ فِي وِعَاءٍ لَنَا عَامَ أَوَّلٍ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الشَّعِيْرِ، فَمَا أَدْرِي بَقِيَ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ أَمْ لاَ. فَأَخَذْتُهُ، فَنَفَضْتُهُ، فَاسْتَخْرَجْتُ مِنْهُ مِلْءَ كَفٍّ مِنْ شَعِيْرٍ، وَرَضَخْتُهُ بَيْنَ حَجَرَيْنِ، وَأَلْقَيْتُهُ وَالكُرَاعَ فِي بُرْمَةٍ لَنَا، ثُمَّ قُمْتُ إِلَى بَعِيْرٍ، فَفَصَدْتُهُ إِنَاءً مِنْ دَمٍ، وَأَوْقَدْتُ تَحْتَهُ، ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُ عُوْداً، فَلَبَكْتُهُ بِهِ لَبْكاً شَدِيْداً حَتَّى أَنْضَجْتُهُ، ثُمَّ أَكَلْنَا. فَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ: وَكَيْفَ طَعْمُ الدَّمِ؟ قَالَ: حُلْوٌ (٣) . مُحْرِزُ بنُ عَوْنٍ: حَدَّثَنَا يُوْسُفُ بنُ عَطِيَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَبِي رَجَاءٍ، فَقَالَ: بُعِثَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ وَكَانَ لَنَا صَنَمٌ مُدَوَّرٌ، فَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى قَتَبٍ، وَتَحَوَّلْنَا، فَفَقَدْنَا الحَجَرَ، انْسَلَّ فَوْقَعَ فِي رَمْلٍ، فَرَجَعْنَا فِي طَلَبِهِ، فَإِذَا هُوَ فِي رَمْلٍ قَدْ غَابَ فِيْهِ، فَاسْتَخْرَجْتُهُ، فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَوَّل إِسْلاَمِي. فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ إِلَهاً لَمْ يَمْتَنِعْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ يَغِيْبُ فِيْهِ لإِلَهُ سَوْءٍ، وَإِنَّ العَنْزَ لَتَمْنَعُ حَيَاهَا بِذَنَبِهَا. فَكَانَ

(١) الابيات والخبر في الاستيعاب ٣ / ١٢١١، وانظر ابن سعد ٧ / ١٤٠ وطبقات ابن سلام ٣٣٥ والكامل للمبرد ١ / ١١٩ وصفحة ٥٨٤ من هذا الجزء. (٢) بلد معروف في البادية وقيل ماء معروف لبني سعد. معجم البلدان. (٣) الحلية ٢ / ٣٠٥ وما بين الحاصرتين منه.