Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/144)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

“I have never revealed this secret, but I perceived that you are its vessel, so I have allowed you to see its first light. Keep it folded within you until God grants leave for it to appear, for God will assuredly bring His command to fulfillment. In the hidden Scripture and the preserved knowledge that we have kept for ourselves and denied to all others, I find news of tremendous import and grave consequence—honour in life and nobility in death for humanity at large, for your tribe entirely, and for you in particular.”

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib replied, “O King, one such as you gladdens and does good; may the dwellers of the tents ransom you, throng after throng.”

He answered, “When a male child is born in Tihāmah, a boy with a mark between his shoulders, sovereignty shall be his, and through him leadership shall be yours until the Day of Resurrection.”

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib said, “May you be spared every reproach! I have returned with the finest gift ever brought back by an envoy. Were it not for the awe, reverence, and respect I owe the king, I would beg him for further tidings to increase my joy.”

Ibn Dhī Yazan continued, “This is precisely the time in which he will be born—or perhaps he has already been born—and his name is Muḥammad. His father and mother will die, and his grandfather and uncle will rear him. We have foretold his birth many times; God will raise him openly and appoint for him helpers from among us by whom He will honour His friends and humble His enemies. Through them he will ward people off from ignominy and lay claim to the choicest parts of the earth. He will smash idols, extinguish fires, worship the Most Merciful, and rout Satan. His word is decisive, his judgment just. He commands what is right and practices it; he forbids what is wrong and abolishes it.”

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib exclaimed, “O King, may your fortune be exalted, your station raised, your realm endure, and your life be prolonged. Would the king now favour me with greater clarity? A measure of light has already dawned upon me.”

Ibn Dhī Yazan swore, “By the House with its veils and by the signs upon the markers, you, O ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, are indeed his grandfather—this is no lie.”

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib fell prostrate. He was told, “Raise your head; be at ease and your cause uplifted. You have sensed something of what I have disclosed.”

He said, “O King, I had a son whom I loved dearly. I married him to a noblewoman of his people, Āminah daughter of Wahb. She bore a boy whom I named Muḥammad. His father and mother died, and I—together with his uncle—have taken him into our care.”

Ibn Dhī Yazan said, “What I have told you will occur exactly as I said. Guard your grandson and beware of the Jews, for they are his enemies, though God will never grant them power over him. Conceal what I have shared from the men who came with you; I fear that jealousy might seize them at the thought of the leadership becoming yours, and they might seek for him—”

(1) As in manuscripts H, T, and in Hawātif al-Jinān, as well as in al-Nihāyah (3:133) and in Lisān under “ṭalʿ”: aṭallaʿtuka ṭilʿah—i.e. “I informed you of it.” Ṭilʿ (with kasra) is the noun derived from iṭṭallaʿa, “to learn or become aware of something.” (2) In T and H: isārah; in Hawātif al-Jinān and al-Wafā: sārah. I consider the correct reading to be musārratihī. (3) In T the phrase reads: “fa-hadhā nujārī fa-hal al-malik sāra lī bi-ifṣāḥ faqad awḍaḥ…”; in H it appears as “fa-hadhā sāri bi-ifṣāḥ faqad waḍaḥ.” The reading supported by Hawātif al-Jinān and al-Wafā (from Ibn al-Jawzī) is sārri, from sārrahu fī udhnihī musāratan, “he confided to him privately and disclosed his secret.” See Lisān under “sarr.” (4) In H, T, and Hawātif al-Jinān: naqīb. The reading confirmed in al-Wafā (from Ibn al-Jawzī), in Muḳtaṣar Ibn Manẓūr, and in al-Tāj is naṣb (pl. nuṣaybah), “a marker set up for the troops.” See al-Tāj under “naṣb.” (5) In H: yadkhul lahum (“it enters for them”); in Hawātif al-Jinān: tadkhuluhum (“it enters them”). (6) In T: lakum (“for you”); the reading attested in H and Hawātif al-Jinān is preferred.

لم أبُحْ به، ولكني رأيتك مَعْدِنَه، فأطلعتكَ طَلِيعَه (١) ، فلْيكن عندك مطويًّا حتى يأذَنَ الله فيه، فإنَّ اللّه بالغُ أمره، إني أجد في الكتاب المكنون، والعِلْم المخزونِ الذي اخترناه لأنفسنا واحتجنَّاهُ دونَ غيرنا خبرًا عظيمًا، وخطرًا جسيمًا، فيه شرف الحياة، وفضيلة الوفاة للناس عامّةً، ولرَهْطك كافةً ولك خاصة. فقال عبد المطلب: أيها الملك، مثلك سَرَّ وبرَّ، فما هو فداؤك أهل الوبَر. زمرًا بعد زُمَر؟ قال: إذا ولد مولودٌ بتهامة، غلامٌ بين كتفيه شامة، كانت له الإمامة، ولكم به الزَّعامة إلى يوم القيامة. قال عبد المطلب: أبيتَ اللَّعَن، لقد أُبْتُ بخير ما آبَ به وافد، ولولا هيبة الملك وإجلاله وإعظامه لسألته من بشارته (٢) إياي ما أزدادُ به سرورًا. قال ابنُ ذي يَزَن: هذا حِينه الذي يولد فيه، أو قد وُلد، واسمه محمد، يموت أبوه وأمُّه، ويكفله جدُّه وعَمُّه. ولَّدناه مرارًا، واللهُ باعثُه جهارًا، وجاعل له منا أنصارًا يُعِزُّ بهم أولياءَه، ويُذِل بهم أعداءَه، يضربُ بهم الناس عن عُرْض، ويستبيحُ بهم كرائمَ الأرض، يكسر الأوثان، ويُخمِد النيران، يعبد الرحمن، ويَدْحَر الشيطان، قوله فَصْل، وحكمه عَدْل، يأمر بالمعروف ويفعَلُه، وينهى عن المنكر ويُبطله. فقال عبد المطلب: أيها الملك عزَّ جدُّك وعلا كَعْبُك، ودام ملكك، وطال عمرك؛ فهل الملكُ سارِّي (٣) بإفصاح، فقد وضح لي بعض الإيضاح؟ فقال ابن ذي يَزَن: والبيتِ ذي الحُجُب، والعلاماتِ على النُّصُب (٤) ، إنك يا عبد المطلب، لجَدُّه غير كذِب. فخرَّ عبد المطلب ساجدًا، فقال: ارفَعْ رأسَك، ثَلَج صَدْرُك، وعلا أمْرُكَ، فقد أحسستَ شيئًا مما ذكرتُ لك. فقال: أيها الملك، كان لي ابن، وكنتُ به مُعْجَبًا، وعليه رفيقًا، فزوَّجته كريمةً من كرائم قومه، آمنةَ بنت وَهْب، فجاءتْ بغلامٍ سمَّيْتُه محمدًا، فمات أبوه وأمُّه، وكفَلْتُهُ أنا وعَمُّه. قال ابنُ ذي يَزَن: إنَّ الذي قلتُ لك كما قلت، فاحتفظْ بابنك واحذَرْ عليه اليهود، فإنهم له أعداءٌ، ولن يجعل الله لهم عليه سبيلًا، واطوِ ما ذكرتُ لك دون هؤلاء الرَّهْطِ الذين معك، فإني لستُ آمَنُ أن تدخل لهم (٥) النَّفَاسَةُ من أن تكون لهم (٦) الرياسة، فيطلبون له

(١) كذا في ح، ط وهواتف الجنان، وفي النهاية (٣/ ١٣٣) واللسان (طلع): أطلعتك طِلْعَه؛ أي: أعلمتُكَه، الطِلْع بالكسر: اسم من اطلع على الشيء إذا علمه. (٢) كذا في ط وفي ح: اساره. وفي هواتف الجنان والوفا: ساره، وأظن الصواب: مُسَارَّتِهِ. (٣) العبارة في ط هكذا: فهذا نجارى فهل الملك سار لي بإفصاح فقد أوضح … وفي ح هكذا: فهذا ساري بإفصاح فقد وضح، والمثبت من هواتف الجنان والوفا لابن الجوزي وسارِّي: من سارَّه في أذنه مسارَّةً: إذا ناجاه وأعلمه بسرِّه. اللسان (سرر). (٤) في ح، ط وهواتف الجنان: النقب، والمثت من الوفا لابن الجوزي، ومختصر ابن منظور، والنصب: جمع نصيبة، وهي علامة تنصب للقوم. التاج (نصب). (٥) في ح: يدخل لهم، وفي هواتف الجنان: تدخلهم. (٦) في ط: لكم، والمثبت من ح وهواتف الجنان.