- “May the Trusted One have served you a brimming, refreshing cup,
Only for that same Trusted One to finish you off with it and leave you chewing its dregs!”
When these verses reached Bujayr he disliked concealing them from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he recited them in his presence. When the Prophet heard the line, “May the Trusted One have served you a brimming, refreshing cup,” he remarked, “He has spoken truly—yet he is indeed a liar.” And when he heard the line, “Upon a character that neither mother nor father ever possessed,” he said, “Yes—no father or mother was ever found with such a character.”
Bujayr then said to Kaʿb:
-
“Who will convey to Kaʿb—and would you not embrace the way
For which you wrongfully reproach me, though it is the sounder course? -
Turn to Allah alone—not to al-ʿUzzā nor to al-Lāt—
And you will be saved and kept secure when salvation is sought. -
On a Day when no one escapes and you cannot slip away,
None will be spared but a Muslim of pure heart. -
The creed of Zuhayr—worthless though it is—remains his creed;
As for the creed of Abū Salmā, it is forbidden to me.”
When Kaʿb received the letter, the earth—vast though it was—seemed to close in upon him. He feared for his life, and his enemies who were present spread the rumor, “He will be killed.” Finding no way out, he composed his famous ode and set off for Medina.
Ibrāhīm ibn Dizayl and others relate: Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mundhir al-Ḥazāmī told us, saying, al-Ḥajjāj ibn Dhī al-Ruqaybah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā al-Muzanī narrated to us from his father, from his grandfather: Kaʿb and his brother Bujayr, the sons of Zuhayr, set out until they reached Abraq al-ʿAzāf. Bujayr said to Kaʿb, “Stay here while I go to this man and listen to what he says.” He went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who invited him to Islam, and he accepted it. News of this reached Kaʿb, and he said:
“O, carry from me to Bujayr this message:
Will you have any share in what I said—alas, will you?
The Trusted One has given you a fully-drawn cup to drink,
Then left you destroyed and chewing its residue.”
Another recension reads: “Abū Bakr gave you a brimming cup to drink.”