Forbearing, rightly guided, and just—never rash—
he is devoted to a Lord Who is never heedless of him.

Generous in every undertaking, noble, the son of nobles;
his inherited glory is firm and never fades.

The Lord of all servants supported him with His victory
and brought to light a faith whose truth will never disappear.

By God, were it not that I would bring upon our elders a reproach
to be repeated against them in public gatherings,

we would have followed him through every turn of time—
with full seriousness, not with words of idle banter.

They know that our kinsman is never to be branded a liar among us,
nor does he heed the chatter of falsehood.

Thus Aḥmad stands among us in a lineage
whose loftiness every boaster falls short of reaching.

I shielded him with my very life, protected him,
and defended him with shoulders and breast.

Ibn Hishām said: “This is what has reached me authentically of this poem, though some scholars of poetry reject most of it.”

I say: This poem is grand and highly eloquent; none could have composed it except the one to whom it is attributed. It surpasses the Seven Muʿallaqāt in power and is more effective than all of them in conveying its meaning. Al-Umawī recorded it at length in his Maghāzī, with additional verses. Allah knows best.

Section

Ibn Isḥāq said: They then assaulted those who had embraced Islam and followed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from among his Companions. Every tribe set upon the Muslims within its ranks, imprisoning and torturing them with beatings, hunger, thirst, and by laying them on the scorching ground of Mecca when the heat was most intense. They tried to make the weaker ones among them recant their religion. Some were driven to apostasy by the severity of the trial that befell them, while others remained steadfast, and Allah protected them.

Bilāl, a client of Abū Bakr belonging to the Banū Jumah—a man of their freedmen—was Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ, whose mother was Ḥamāmah. His Islam was sincere and his heart pure. Umayyah ibn Khalaf used to bring him out at midday when the heat was fiercest, order a huge stone to be placed upon his chest, and say, “By God, you will stay like this until you die or you renounce Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and worship al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā.” Even in that state Bilāl would reply, “Aḥad, Aḥad—God is One, God is One.”