Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (سيرة 1/388)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Muhammad said, “I have never encountered a fragrance like today—so delightful! Will you allow me to breathe the scent of your hair?” “Yes,” he replied. Muhammad inhaled it, then let his companions do the same. He asked again, “May I?”—meaning a second time. “Yes,” Kaʿb answered. When Muhammad had a firm grip on him, he cried, “Now—take him!” They struck him, killed him, and then went to the Prophet ﷺ to inform him. This narration is recorded by al-Bukhārī.

Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah transmitted from al-Zuhrī, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik, from his father, that Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf, the Jewish poet, used to satirize the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and, through his verses, spur the idolaters of Quraysh against him. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived in Medina, its inhabitants were a mixed company: Muslims, worshippers of idols, and Jews—the people of the ring-forts and strongholds, allies of the Aws and the Khazraj. On first coming to the city, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sought to reconcile them all. A man might be Muslim while his father or brother remained an idolater. Yet the polytheists and the Jews caused the Prophet ﷺ intense harm, so Allah commanded His Messenger and the believers to show patience and forbearance, saying, “You will surely hear much abuse from those who were given the Scripture before you and from those who associate others with Allah” (Āl ʿImrān 3:186); and, “Many of the People of the Book wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy within themselves, after the truth has become clear to them. So pardon and overlook until Allah brings His command” (al-Baqarah 2:109).

Later the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed Saʿd ibn Muʿādh to send a party to kill Kaʿb. Saʿd therefore dispatched Muhammad ibn Maslamah, Abū ʿAbs, and al-Ḥārith—the nephew of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh—making them five in all. They approached Kaʿb toward evening while he was sitting with his companions in the upper quarters of Medina (al-ʿAwālī). On seeing them, Kaʿb found their visit strange and nearly panicked. “What has brought you here?” he asked. They replied, “We have come to lay a case before you.” He said, “Let one of you draw nearer and explain it to me.” So one of them stepped forward

فقال محمد: ما رأيت كاليوم ريحا، أي: أطيب، أتأذن لي أن أشم رأسك؟ قال: نعم فشمه ثم شم أصحابه، ثم قال: أتأذن لي؟ يعني ثانيا. قال: نعم. فلما استمكن منه قال: دونكم. فضربوه فقتلوه وأتوا النبي ﷺ فأخبروه. أخرجه البخاري. وقال شعيب بن أبي حمزة، عن الزهري، عن عبد الرحمن بن عبد الله بن كعب بن مالك، عن أبيه، أن كعب بن الأشرف اليهودي كان شاعرا، وكان يهجو رسول الله ﷺ ويحرض عليه كفار قريش في شعره. وكان رسول الله ﷺ قدم المدينة وأهلها أخلاط، منهم المسلمون، ومنهم عبدة الأوثان، ومنهم اليهود، وهم أهل الحلقة والحصون، وهو حلفاء الأوس والخزرج، فأراد رسول الله ﷺ حين قدم المدينة استصلاحهم كلهم، وكان الرجل يكون مسلما وأبوه مشرك أو أخوه، وكان المشركون واليهود حين قدم رسول الله ﷺ المدينة يؤذونه أشد الأذى، فأمر الله رسوله والمسلمين بالصبر والعفول، فقال تعالى: ﴿وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذىً كَثِيرًا﴾ [آل عمران: ١٨٦] ، وقال: ﴿وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ فَاعْفُوا وَاصْفَحُوا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ﴾ [البقرة: ١٠٩] . فأمر رسول الله سعد بن معاذ أن يبعث رهطا ليقتلوا كعبا، فبعث إليه سعدٌ محمدَ بن مسلمة وأبا عبس، والحارث ابن أخي سعد بن معاذ في خمسة رهط أتوه عشية، وهو في مجلسهم بالعوالي. فلما رآهم كعب أنكرهم وكاد يذعر منهم، فقال لهم: ما جاء بكم؟ قالوا: جاءت بنا إليك حجة. قال: فليدن إليَّ بعضكم فليحدثني بها. فدنا إليه