Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/254)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

that his uncle’s attitude toward him had plainly changed (1), that he meant to abandon and surrender him, and that his strength to champion and stand with him had faltered. He said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then declared, “O Uncle, by Allah, were they to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I relinquish this call until Allah grants it victory or I perish in the attempt, I would never abandon it.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was moved to tears; he wept, rose, and left. As he turned away, Abu Talib called after him, “Come back, my nephew.” He returned, and Abu Talib said, “Go forth, my nephew, and say whatever you please. By Allah, I will never hand you over to anyone.”

Ibn Ishaq (3) said: When Quraysh realized that Abu Talib would not forsake the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, would not surrender him, and was resolved to part from them and oppose them over this matter, they went to him with ʿUmārah ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah. They said to him—as I have been informed—“Abu Talib, this is ʿUmārah ibn al-Walīd, the strongest and handsomest youth in Quraysh. Take him—his sound mind and strength are yours—adopt him as a son. Then hand over to us your nephew who has contravened your religion and the religion of your fathers, divided your people, and derided our reason, so that we may kill him. It is only a man for a man!”

He replied, “By Allah, what an evil bargain you offer me! You give me your son to raise for you, while I give you my son so that you may kill him? By Allah, that shall never be!”

Al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī ibn Nawfal ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Quṣayy said, “By Allah, Abu Talib, your people have dealt fairly with you and have exerted themselves to rid you of what troubles you; yet I do not see that you are willing to accept anything from them.”

Abu Talib answered al-Muṭʿim, “By Allah, they have not treated me fairly. Rather, you have resolved to abandon me and to aid the people against me. Do whatever you wish”—or words to that effect. The matter then grew grave, hostilities flared, the factions disavowed one another, and they confronted each other openly.

At that, Abu Talib composed some verses in the ṭawīl metre, insinuating against al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī, censuring those of Banū ʿAbd Manāf who had failed him and the other clans of Quraysh that had opposed him, while recalling what they had demanded of him and how far apart their positions had become.

(1) As found in manuscripts H and T and in the primary reports, the term “badaa’” appears. One says “badaa’ lahu fi al-amr” (an idea occurred to him), also “badwan,” “baddan,” and “badaa’an,” meaning that a change took place in his affair—namely, that an opinion manifested itself to him. See al-Lisan (s.v. badu) and al-Rawd (vol. 2, p. 8). (2) In al-Rawd (vol. 2, p. 8), al-Suhaili explains that the sun was assigned to the right hand because it is al-ayah al-mubsirah (the manifest sign), while the moon was assigned to the left because it is al-ayah al-mamhooa (the abrogated sign). He also recounts that ʿUmar (may Allah have mercy on him) once said to a man who related: “I dreamed that the sun and the moon were fighting, each accompanied by stars.” Umar asked, “With which of them were you?” The man replied, “With the moon.” Umar then remarked, “You were with the abrogated sign. Go away and do not work for me.” Since the man was his worker, Umar dismissed him; that man, named Habis ibn Saʿd, was later killed at Siffin alongside Muʿawiya. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) singled out these two luminaries in his metaphor because their created light is perceptible, whereas the light sent by Allah—namely His revelation, which people sometimes prefer to abandon—is necessarily superior to any created light. Allah says: “They wish to extinguish Allah’s light with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light.” The eloquence of the Prophetic word thus demanded that the supreme light be contrasted with the lesser, assigning the higher luminary (the manifest sign) to the nobler hand (the right)—a rhetoric without parallel and a wisdom evident to every discerning mind. (3) Ibn Ishaq, Sīrah, p. 152; Ibn Hisham, Sīrah, vol. 1, p. 266; al-Rawd, vol. 2, p. 5. (4) In manuscript H the reading is “abha.” The verb “anhad” means stronger and more enduring. See al-Rawd (vol. 2, p. 8). (5) The phrase “huqb al-amr” denotes that the matter intensified. See al-Rawd (vol. 2, p. 9). (6) In manuscripts H and T the nun is pronounced, as confirmed by the primary sources. (7) The poem is found in the Dīwān of Shaykh al-Abatih (pp. 21–23), with variant readings in some words, couplets, and its opening line.

قد بَدَا لعمِّهِ فيه بَدْوٌ (١) ، وأنَّه خاذله ومُسْلِمُه، وأنَّه قد ضعُف عن نصرته والقيام معه، قال: فقال له رسول الله ﷺ : "يا عم والله لو وضعوا الشمس في يميني، والقمر في يساري (٢) على أن أترك هذا الأمر حتى يظهره الله، أو أهلك فيه ما تركتُه" قال: ثم استعبر رسولُ الله ﷺ فبكى ثم قام، فلما ولَّى ناداه أبو طالب. فقال: أقْبِلْ يا بن أخي، فأقبل عليه رسول الله ﷺ فقال: اذهب يا بن أخي، فقلْ ما أحببت، فوالله لا أسلمتُك لشيءٍ أبدًا. قال ابن إسحاق (٣) : ثم إنَّ قريشًا حين عرفوا أن أبا طالب قد أبَى خِذْلانَ رسولِ الله ﷺ وإسلامه وإجماعه لفراقهم في ذلك وعداوته، مشَوْا إليه بعُمارة بنِ الوليد بن المغيرة فقالوا له -فيما بلغني-: يا أبا طالب، هذا عُمارة بن الوليد أنهد (٤) فتًى في قريش وأجمله، فخُذْهُ فلك عَقْلُه ونَصْرُه، واتخذْه ولدًا فهو لك، وأسْلِمْ إلينا ابنَ أخيك هذا الذي قد خالف دينك ودينَ آبائك، وفرَّق جماعة قومِك، وسفَّه أحلامنا فنقتله، فإنما هو رجلٌ برجل! قال: والله لبئس ما تسومونني؟ أتعطونني ابنكم أغذوه لكم، وأُعطيكم ابني فتقتلونه! هذا والله ما لا يكون أبدًا. قال فقال المُطْعِمُ بن عدي بن نوفل بن عبد مناف بن قصي: والله يا أبا طالب لقد أنصفك قومُك وجهِدوا على التخلُّص مما تكره، فما أراك تريد أن تقبل منهم شيئًا؟ فقال أبو طالب للمطعم: والله ما أنصفوني، ولكنَّك قد أجمعتَ خِذْلاني ومظاهرةَ القوم عليّ، فاصنَعْ ما بدا لك -أو كما قال- فحقب الأمر (٥) ، وحميت الحرب، وتنابذ القوم، وبادَى (٦) بعضُهم بعضًا. فقال أبو طالب عند ذلك يعرِّضُ بالمُطعِمِ بن عديّ ويعمُّ مَنْ خذله من بني عبد مناف ومَنْ عاداه من قبائل قريش، ويذكر ما سألوه وما تباعد من أمرهم (٧) : [من الطويل]

(١) كذا في ح، ط وفي مصادر الخبر "بَدَآء" يقال: بدا له في الأمر، بَدْوًا وبدًا وبداءً: أي تغيَّر له من أمره، أي ظهر له رأي. انظر اللسان (بدو) والروض (٢/ ٨). (٢) قال السهيلي في الروض (٢/ ٨): خصَّ الشمس باليمين لأنها الآية المبصرة وخصَّ القمر بالشمال لأنها الآية الممحوَّة، وقد قال عمر (رحمه الله) لرجل قال له: إني رأيت في المنام كأن الشمس والقمر يقتتلان، ومع كل واحد منهما نجوم. فقال عمر: مع أيهما كنت؟ فقال: مع القمر. قال: كنت مع الآية الممحوة، اذهب فلا تعمل لي عملًا. وكان عاملًا له فعزله، فقتل الرجل في صفين مع معاوية واسمه حابس بن سعد. وخصَّ رسول الله ﷺ النيرين حين ضرب المثل بهما، لأن نورهما محسوس والنور الذي جاء به من عند الله -وهو الذي أرادوه على تركه- هو لا محالة أشرف من النور المخلوق، قال الله سبحانه: ﴿يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللَّهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ﴾ فاقتضت بلاغة النبوة لما أرادوه على ترك النور الأعلى أن يقابله بالنور الأدنى، وأن يخص أعلى النيرين، وهي الآية المبصرة بأشرف اليدين، وهي اليمين، بلاغة لا مثلها، وحكمة لا يجهل اللبيب فضلها. اهـ. (٣) سيرة ابن إسحاق (ص ١٥٢) وسيرة ابن هشام (١/ ٢٦٦) والروض (٢/ ٥). (٤) في ح: أبهى. ومعنى أنهد، أي: أقوى وأجلد. الروض (٢/ ٨). (٥) "حقب الأمر": يريد اشتد. الروض (٢/ ٩). (٦) في ح، ط: نادى بالنون، والمثبت من مصادر الخبر. (٧) القصيدة في ديوان شيخ الأباطح (ص ٢١ - ٢٣) على خلاف في بعض ألفاظها وأبياتها ومطلعها: =