Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/280)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Abu Sufyan said, “And do you find it strange that a prophet should arise from among us? A prophet, in our view, ought to be sent to people who are beneath us and more abject.”

Abu Jahl replied, “What astonishes me is that a mere youth should emerge from amid the elders as a prophet,” and the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was listening.

He therefore went up to the two of them and declared,

“As for you, Abu Sufyan, you were not angered for the sake of Allah and His Messenger; you were simply defending tribal pride. And as for you, Abu al-Hakam, by Allah, you will laugh only a little and you will weep a great deal.”

Abu Jahl retorted, “What a wretched promise you give me, nephew, with this claim of prophethood!”

(This report is mursal in this chain and its wording is unusual.)

Abu Jahl’s remark—may Allah curse him—matches what Allah, Exalted is He, said about him and those like him:

“Whenever they see you, they take you only in mockery, saying, ‘Is this the one Allah has sent as a messenger? He nearly led us astray from our gods had we not remained steadfast to them.’ But they will soon know—when they behold the punishment—who is further astray in his way.” (Al-Furqan 25:41-42)

Imam Ahmad (1) reported: Hushaym narrated to us, Abu Bishr narrated to us, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas who said:

“This verse was revealed while the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was hiding in Mecca: ‘Do not raise your voice in your prayer nor recite it too softly’ (Al-Isra 17:110). When he led his companions in prayer he would recite the Qur’an aloud, and when the idolaters heard it they reviled the Qur’an, the One who revealed it, and the one who conveyed it. So Allah said to His Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him: ‘Do not raise your voice in your prayer,’ that is, in your recitation, lest the idolaters hear and abuse the Qur’an; ‘nor recite it too softly,’ so that your companions cannot hear it; ‘but seek a way between the two.’ ”

The two authors of the Sahih (2) likewise transmitted it through the narration of Abu Bishr Jaʿfar ibn Abi Wahshiyyah (3).

Muhammad ibn Ishaq (4) said: Dawud ibn al-Husayn related to me, from ʿIkrima, from Ibn ʿAbbas who said:

“When the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—recited the Qur’an aloud while praying, they would disperse from him and refuse to listen. If a man wished to hear something of what the Messenger of Allah recited in prayer, he would eavesdrop secretly out of fear of them; but if he realized they had noticed him, he would leave, fearing their harm. When the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—lowered his voice, those who were trying to listen could not catch any of his recitation. Then Allah, Exalted is He, revealed: ‘Do not raise your voice in your prayer,’ causing them to scatter from you; ‘nor recite it too softly,’ so that one who wishes to listen—perhaps he will take heed from what he hears—cannot hear anything of it; ‘but seek a way between the two.’ ” (Al-Isra 17:110)

(1) In his Musnad (vol. 1, p. 215). (2) al-Bukhari, Fath al-Bari: no. 4722 in the Tafsīr of Sūra al-Isrā’ (chapter “Do not raise your voice in prayer nor speak softly”) and no. 7490 in Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (chapter on the phrase “He revealed it by His knowledge and the angels testify”); Muslim, Sahīḥ (no. 446; Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, chapter on moderation in recitation during prayer). (3) In the ṭ transmission it reads “Ja‘far ibn Abī Ḥayya,” which is a corruption; the correct reading, attested in the ḥ transmission and in Fath al-Bari, and recorded in Tahdhīb al-Kamāl (vol. 5, p. 5), is “Ja‘far ibn Iyas.” (4) In al-Siyar wa’l-Maghāzī (p. 206), Ibn Hishām’s Sīrah (vol. 1, p. 214), and al-Rawḍ al-Anf (vol. 2, p. 47) there is a variant concerning the conclusion of the report.

قال أبو سفيان: وتعجَبُ أنْ يكون منَّا نبيّ؟ فالنبيُّ يكون فيمنْ [هو] أقلّ منا وأذلّ. فقال أبو جهل: أعجب أن يخرج غلامٌ من بين شيوخ نبيًا، ورسولُ الله ﷺ يسمع. فأتاهما فقال: "أما أنتَ يا أبا سفيان، فما لله ورسولهِ غضِبت، ولكنك حَميتَ للأصل؛ وأمَّا أنت يا أبا الحكم، فوالله لتضحكَنَّ قليلًا ولتبكيَنَّ كثيرًا" فقال: بئسما تَعِدُني يا ابن أخي من نبوَّتِك. هذا مرسلٌ من هذا الوجه وفيه غرابة. وقولُ أبي جهلٍ -لعنه الله- كما قاله الله تعالى مخبرًا عنه وعن أضرابه ﴿وَإِذَا رَأَوْكَ إِنْ يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلَّا هُزُوًا أَهَذَا الَّذِي بَعَثَ اللَّهُ رَسُولًا (٤١) إِنْ كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنْ آلِهَتِنَا لَوْلَا أَنْ صَبَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا وَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ مَنْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا﴾ [الفرقان: ٤١ - ٤٢] . وقال الإمام أحمد (١) : حدّثنا هُشَيم، حدّثنا أبو بشر، عن سعيد بن جُبير، عن ابن عباس قال: نزلَتْ هذه الآيةُ ورسولُ الله ﷺ متوارٍ بمكة: ﴿وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا﴾ [الإسراء: ١١٠] قال: كان إذا صلَّى بأصحابه رفَعَ صوتَهُ بالقرآن، فلما سمع ذلك المشركون سَبُّوا القرآن وسَبُّوامن أنزلَهُ ومَنْ جاء به، قال: فقال الله تعالى لنبيِّه محمدٍ ﷺ : ﴿وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ﴾ أي بقراءَتك فيسمعَ المشركونَ فيَسُبُّوا القرآن ﴿وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا﴾ [الإسراء: ١١٠] عن أصحابك، فلا تُسْمِعْهمُ القرآن حتى يأخذوه عنك ﴿وَابْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلًا﴾. وهكذا رواه صاحبا الصحيح (٢) من حديث أبي بشر جعفر بن أبي وَحْشيَّة به (٣) . وقال محمد بن إسحاق (٤) : حدَّثني داودُ بن الحُصَين عن عكرمة، عن ابن عباس قال: كان رسول الله ﷺ إذا جهر بالقرآن -وهو يصلِّي- تفرَّقوا عنه وأبَوْا أن يستمعوا منه، وكان الرجل إذا أراد أن يسمع من رسول الله بعضَ ما يتلو، وهو يصلِّي، استرق السمع دونهم فرَقًا منهم، فانْ رأى أنهم قد عرفوا أنه يستمع ذهب خشية أذاهم فلم يستمع، فإنْ خَفَضَ رسول الله ﷺ لم يسمع الذين يستمعون من قراءته شيئًا، فأنزل الله تعالى: ﴿وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ﴾ فيتفرَّقوا عنك ﴿وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا﴾ فلا يسمع من أرادَ أن يسمعَها ممن يَسْتَرِقُ ذلك، لعلَّه يَرْعَوِي إلى بعض ما يسمع، فينتفع به ﴿وَابْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلًا﴾ [الإسراء: ١١٠] .

(١) في مسنده (١/ ٢١٥). (٢) البخاري في فتح الباري (٤٧٢٢) التفسير سورة الإسراء باب ﴿وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا﴾، و (٧٤٩٠) التوحيد باب قول الله تعالى: ﴿أَنْزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ﴾، ومسلم في صحيحه (٤٤٦) (١٤٥) الصلاة باب التوسط في القراءة في الصلاة. (٣) في ط: جعفر بن أبي حية. وهو تحريف، والمثبت من ح وفتح الباري وترجمته في تهذيب الكمال (٥/ ٥) وهو جعفر بن إياس. (٤) في السير والمغازي (ص ٢٠٦) وسيرة ابن هشام (١/ ٢١٤) والروض (٢/ ٤٧) على خلاف في نهاية الخبر.