Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/55)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

“Do as you wish; perhaps Allah will place blessing for us in him.”

So I went and took him—by Allah, I only did so because I could find no other child. Yet no sooner had I brought him back to my mount than my breasts poured forth all the milk he wished. He drank until he was satisfied, and his foster-brother drank until he too was satisfied. My husband then went to our old she-camel and, lo, her udder was full! He milked her and drank, and I drank, until we were both replete. That night we slept better than we ever had before.

When dawn broke, my husband said, “Ḥalīmah, by Allah, I can see that you have taken a blessed soul. Did you not notice all the goodness and blessing we enjoyed last night once we received him? Allah continued to increase us in good.”

We set out for our homeland, and—by Allah—my she-donkey ran so fast that she outstripped the whole caravan; not even a single donkey could keep up with her. My companions kept saying, “Woe to you, daughter of Abū Dhūʾayb! Is this the very donkey you came out on with us?” I replied, “Yes, by Allah, it is the same one.” They said, “By Allah, she surely has something extraordinary about her!”

We finally reached the land of Banū Saʿd, a place I knew to be the most barren of all Allah’s lands. Yet my goats would go out to pasture and return full and heavy with milk; we could milk them as much as we pleased, while not a single animal belonging to anyone around us produced even a drop. Their flocks came back hungry, so they said to their shepherds, “Woe to you! Watch where the flock of the daughter of Abū Dhūʾayb grazes and graze your animals there.” They did so, but their goats still returned hungry, without a drop of milk, while mine came back full and heavy; we milked as much as we wished.

Allah continued to show us His blessing, plain for all to see, until the boy reached the age of two. He grew in a way no other children grew; by Allah, before completing his second year he was already a sturdy youngster. We brought him to his mother, though of all people we were the least willing to part with him because of the blessings we had witnessed.

When his mother saw him she said, “O nurse, let him stay with you for another year; we fear the illnesses that strike Mecca.” We persisted with her until she agreed, saying, “Very well,” and she sent him back with us.

We kept him for two or three months. One day he was behind our dwellings with his milk-brother among our lambs when that brother came running to us and said, “My Qurayshī brother—two men wearing white garments came to him, laid him down, and split open his belly!”

His father and I rushed over and found him standing there, his face pale. His father embraced him and asked, “My son, what has happened to you?” He replied, “Two men in white garments came to me, laid me down, opened my belly, took something out, threw it away, and then put me back as I was.”

We brought him home, and his father said, “Ḥalīmah, I fear that something has happened to my son. Let us return him to his family before anything we dread becomes apparent.”

Ḥalīmah said: We carried him until his mother suddenly saw us arrive with him. We presented him to her and she asked, “Nurse, what has brought you back with him when you were so eager to keep him?” We replied, “By Allah, nothing other than that Allah has discharged our obligation and we have fulfilled our duty. We fear mishap and unforeseen events, so we decided to return him to his family.” She said, “That is not the real reason—tell me the truth.” She would not leave us until

(1) The text enclosed in parentheses does not appear in manuscript H but is found in some hadith-sourcing works and in Ibn Ishaq’s Sirah. (2) In al-Lisan under jafr: in the hadith of Halimah, the Prophet ﷺ, she said, “He would develop in one day the growth of a boy over a month, and he reached six while still at the jafr stage.” Ibn al-Athir explains: “Istajfar refers to when the child is strong enough to eat.” (3) “Yashtad”: he runs swiftly. In al-Lisan under ‘aduw’ (to run). In Sharh al-Mawahib (1/180): he hastens his pace. (4) “Mumtaqiʿan”: variable, meaning “changing.” In the printed edition and in hadith-sourcing works it appears as muntqiʿan with an initial nūn, carrying the same sense. (5) The text enclosed in parentheses does not appear in manuscript H but is found in some hadith-sourcing works and in Ibn Ishaq’s Sirah.

تفعلي، فعسى أنْ يجعلَ الله لنا فيه بركة. فذهبتُ فأخذتُه، فوالله ما أخذته إلا أني لم أجدْ غيرَه؛ فما هو إلَّا أن أخذتُه فجئت به رَحْلي، فأقبل عليه ثديايَ بما شاء من لبن، فشرب حتى رَوِي، وشرب أخوه حتى رَوِي. وقام صاحبي إلى شارفنا تلك فإذا إنها لحافل، فحلب ما شَرِب وشربتُ حتى رَوينا؛ فبتنا بخير ليلة، فقال صاحبي حين أصبحنا: يا حليمة [والله] (١) إني لأراك قد أخذتِ نَسَمَةً مباركة، ألم ترَيْ ما بتنا به الليلةَ من الخير والبركة حين أخذناه؟! فلم يزلِ الله – Exalté soit-Il – يَزِيدُنا خيرًا. ثم خرجنا راجعين إلى بلادنا، فوالله لقطعتْ أتاني بالرَّكْب حتى ما يتعلَّق بها حمار، حتى إنَّ صواحبي ليقلن: ويلك يا بنتَ أبي ذؤيب! هذه أتانك التي خرجتِ عليها معنا؟ فأقول: نعم، والله إنها لهي، فقلن: والله إنَّ لها لشأنًا!. حتى قدمنا أرضَ بني سعد، وما أعلمُ أرضًا من أرض الله أجْدَبَ منها، فإنْ كانتْ غنمي لتَسْرَحُ ثم تَرُوح شِبَاعًا لُبَّنًا، فنحلُب ما شئنا وما حوالينا -أو حولنا- أحا تَبِضُّ له شاةٌ بقطرةِ لبن، وإنَّ أغنامَهُم لتروحُ جياعًا، حتى إنهم ليقولون لرعاتهم -أو لرعيانهم-: ويحكم، انظروا حيث تَسْرَحُ غنمُ بنتِ أبي ذؤيب فاسْرَحوا معهم. فيسرحون مع غنمي حيثُ تسرح، فتروحُ أغنامُهم جياعًا ما فيها قطرةُ لبن، وتروح أغنامي شِبَاعًا لُبَّنًا، نحلُب ما شئنا؛ فلم يزلِ الله يُرينا البركة ونتعرَّفها حتى بلغ سنتيه، فكان يَشِبُّ شبابًا لا تَشِبُّه الغِلْمان، فوالله ما بلغ السنتين حتى كان غلامًا جَفْرًا (٢) ، فقدِمنا به على أمِّه ونحن أضَنُّ شيءٍ به مما رأينا فيه من البركة؛ فلما رأته أمه قالت لها: يا ظِئْر دعينا نرجع بابننا هذه السنة الأخرى، فإنَّا نخشى عليه وَبَاءَ مكة. فوالله ما زلنا بها حتى قالت: فنعم. فسرَّحَتْه معنا، فأقمنا به شهرَيْن أو ثلاثة، فبينا هو خلفَ بيوتِنا مع أخٍ له من الرَّضاعة في بَهْمٍ لنا جاءنا أخوه ذلك يشتّد (٣) ، فقال: ذاك أخي القرشي جاءه رجلان عليهما ثيابٌ بيض، فأضجعاه، فشقَّا بطنه. فخرجتُ أنا وأبوه نشتدُّ نحوه، فنجده قائمًا مُمْتَقَعًا (٤) لونه. فاعتنقه أبوه وقال: يا بني ما شأنك؟ قال: جاءني رجلان عليهما ثياب بيض، أضجعاني وشقَّا بطني، ثم استخرجا منه شيئًا، فطرحاه ثم ردَّاه كما كان. فرجعنا به معنا، فقال أبوه: يا حليمة لقد خَشِيتُ أن يكون ابني قد أصيب، فانطلقي بنا نردَّهُ إلى أهله قبل أن يظهر به ما نتخوَّف. قالت حليمة: فاحتملناه فلم تُرَعْ أمُّه إلا به، فقدمنا [به] (٥) عليها فقالت: ما ردَّكما [به يا ظئر] (٥) فقد كنتما عليه حريصَيْن؟ فقالا: لا والله، إلَّا أنَّ الله قد أدَّى عنا وقضينا الذي علينا وقلنا: نخشى الإتلاف والأحداث، نردُّه إلى أهله. فقالت: ما ذاك بكما؟ فاصْدُقاني شأنكما. فلم تَدْعنا حتى

(١) ما بين المعقوفين ليس في ح، وهو في بعض مصادر التخريج وسيرة ابن إسحاق. (٢) في اللسان (جفر): وفي حديث حليمة ظئر النبي ﷺ ، قالت: كان يشب في اليوم شباب الصبي في الشهر، فبلغ ستًا وهو جفر. قال ابن الأثير: استجفر الصبي، إذا قوي على الأكل. (٣) "يشتد": يعدو. اللسان (عدو). وفي شرح المواهب (١/ ١٨٠): يسرع في المشي. (٤) "ممتقعًا": متغيِّرًا. وفي ط ومصادر التخريج: منتقعًا بالنون، وهو بمعناه. (٥) ما بين المعقوفين ليس في ح، وهو في بعض مصادر التخريج وسيرة ابن إسحاق.