Riyad al-Salihin - Al-Nawawi - (1/52)

Riyad al-SalihinAl-Nawawi

So whenever I went out among the people after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had departed, I was grieved to find no one in the same situation as myself(1) except a man openly suspected of hypocrisy(2) or someone whom Allah, Exalted is He, had excused among the weak.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not mention me until he reached Tabūk. While he was sitting with the people there he said, “What has become of Kaʿb ibn Mālik?” A man from Banū Salamah replied, “O Messenger of Allah, his two cloaks have detained him and he is busy admiring his own shoulders.”(3)

Muʿādh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, exclaimed, “What a wretched thing you have said! By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we know nothing about him but good.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained silent.

While he was in that state, he saw a figure dressed in dazzling white(4) shimmering through the heat haze. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Let it be Abū Khaythamah!”—and it was indeed Abū Khaythamah al-Anṣārī, the very man who had given a sāʿ of dates in charity when the hypocrites mocked him(5).

Kaʿb said: When word reached me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had set out to return from Tabūk, my distress overwhelmed me. I began thinking of lying and asking myself, “How can I escape his displeasure tomorrow?” I sought the counsel of everyone of sound judgement among my household,

but when it was announced, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is almost here,” every false notion left me, and I realised that I would never be able to save myself from him with any lie at all(6). I therefore resolved to tell the truth(7).

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived at dawn. Whenever he returned from a journey, he would first go to the mosque, pray two units there, and then sit to receive the people. When he had done so, those who had stayed behind(8) came to him, offering their excuses and swearing oaths to him,

(1) That is: a role model, or someone of similar rank whose presence gives me an example to follow. (2) Meaning: one whose religious integrity is impugned and who is accused of hypocrisy; some maintain it simply means “despised”—you say ghamastu someone when you treat him with contempt. (3) I.e., his sides; the phrase is an idiom for self-admiration and arrogance. (4) I.e., wearing white; al-sarab (mirage) is the shimmering illusion that appears in the midday heat of the desert like water. (5) Meaning: they disparaged and criticized him, saying, “Allah has no need of this man’s sa (measure).” Qafilan means returning, and al-bath denotes intense sorrow. (6) The base text—as in the other printed editions—reads lam anju (“I did not escape”); the reading has been corrected in accordance with the author’s manuscript and the two Sahih collections. (7) I.e., I had resolved upon it. (8) I.e., those who had stayed behind instead of accompanying him on the march to Tabuk.

فَطَفِقْتُ إِذَا خَرَجْتُ فِي النَّاسِ بَعْدَ خُرُوجِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَحْزُنُنِي أَنِّي لَا أَرَى لِي أُسْوَةً (١)، إِلَّا رَجُلًا مَغْمُوصًا عَلَيْهِ فِي النِّفَاقِ (٢)، أَوْ رَجُلًا مِمَّنْ عَذَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنَ الضُّعَفَاءِ، وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ حَتَّى بَلَغَ تَبُوكَ، فَقَالَ وَهُوَ جَالِسٌ فِي الْقَوْمِ بِتَبُوكَ: «مَا فَعَلَ كَعْبُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ؟» فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي سَلَمَةَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَبَسَهُ بُرْدَاهُ وَالنَّظَرُ فِي عِطْفَيْهِ (٣). فَقَالَ لَهُ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: بِئْسَ مَا قُلْتَ! وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا عَلِمْنَا عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا خَيْرًا، فَسَكَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ. فَبَيْنَا هُوَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ رَأَى رَجُلًا مُبِيضًا (٤) يَزُولُ بِهِ السَّرَابُ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «كُنْ أَبَا خَيْثَمَةَ»، فَإِذَا هُوَ أَبُو خَيْثَمَةَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ - وَهُوَ الَّذِي تَصَدَّقَ بِصَاعِ التَّمْرِ حِينَ لَمَزَهُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ (٥). قَالَ كَعْبٌ: فَلَمَّا بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَدْ تَوَجَّهَ قَافِلًا مِنْ تَبُوكَ حَضَرَنِي بَثِّي، فَطَفِقْتُ أَتَذَكَّرُ الْكَذِبَ وَأَقُولُ: بِمَ أَخْرُجُ مِنْ سَخَطِهِ غَدًا؟ وَأَسْتَعِينُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ بِكُلِّ ذِي رَأْيٍ مِنْ أَهْلِي، فَلَمَّا قِيلَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَدْ أَظَلَّ قَادِمًا، زَاحَ عَنِّي الْبَاطِلُ حَتَّى عَرَفْتُ أَنِّي لَنْ أَنْجُوَ (٦) مِنْهُ بِشَيْءٍ أَبَدًا، فَأَجْمَعْتُ صِدْقَهُ (٧) وَأَصْبَحَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَادِمًا، وَكَانَ إِذَا قَدِمَ مِنْ سَفَرٍ بَدَأَ بِالْمَسْجِدِ فَرَكَعَ فِيهِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ جَلَسَ لِلنَّاسِ، فَلَمَّا فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ جَاءَهُ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ (٨) يَعْتَذِرُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَيَحْلِفُونَ لَهُ،

(١) أي: قدوة. أو مماثل أتأسى بوجوده. (٢) أي: مطعونًا عليه في دينه، متهمًا بالنفاق، وقيل: معناه: مستحقرًا، تقول: غمَصت فلانًا إذا استحقرته. (٣) أي: جانبيه، والجملة كناية عن العجب والكبر. (٤) أي: لابسًا البياض، و(السراب): ما يظهر للإنسان في الهواجر في البراري كأنه ماء. (٥) أي: عابوه وطعنوه، قالوا: إن الله غني عن صاع هذا. و(قافلاً): أي: راجعًا. و(البث): الحزن الشديد. (٦) في الأصل كما في المطبوعات الأخرى (لم أنج) والتصويب من مخطوطه والصحيحين. (٧) أي: عزمت عليه. (٨) أي: الذين تخلّفوا عن الخروج معه إلى تبوك.