Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/338)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Al-Bayhaqī (1) said: What he intended—Allah knows best—was the Great Seizure, the Smoke, and the sign of al-Lizām, all of which occurred at Badr.

He added that al-Bukhārī (2) had alluded to this very narration.

He then transmitted (3) through the chain of ʿAbd al-Razzaq, Maʿmar, Ayyūb, ʿIkrimah, and Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “Abu Sufyān came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pleading for relief from hunger; they had nothing left to eat until they resorted to al-ʿilhiz mixed with blood (4). Thereupon Allah the Exalted revealed: ‘We had already seized them with punishment, but they did not humble themselves before their Lord, nor do they beseech Him’ (Q 23:76). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed, and Allah lifted the hardship from them.”

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī (5) then remarked: “In some versions of Abu Sufyān’s story there is evidence that it occurred after the Hijrah; it may therefore have happened twice—Allah knows best.”

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Al-Bayhaqī (6) next cited the account of the Persians and the Romans and the revelation of His words:
“Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearest land, yet after their defeat they will triumph within a few years. To Allah belongs the command before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice in Allah’s help. He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Merciful” (Q 30:1–5).

He also related (6) through Sufyān al-Thawrī, from Ḥabīb b. Abī ʿAmrah (7), from Saʿīd b. Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “The Muslims wished that the Romans would prevail over the Persians, for the Romans were People of the Scripture, whereas the idolaters preferred that the Persians prevail over the Romans, since they were pagans. The Muslims mentioned this to Abu Bakr, who in turn mentioned it to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, ‘Indeed, they will triumph.’ Abu Bakr conveyed this to the polytheists, who said, ‘Set a term between us: if they win, such and such will be yours, and if we win, such and such will be ours.’ [He therefore fixed a period of five years, but the victory did not occur within that time].”

(1) In al-Dalāʾil, vol. 2, p. 327. (2) Hadith 6 appears on the preceding page. (3) As al-Bayhaqī explains in al-Dalāʾil, vol. 2, p. 328. (4) In the printed edition it reads al-ʿahn; the reading attested in the manuscript and in al-Dalāʾil is al-ʿilḥiz. His phrase “with blood” is noted as a marginal addition in the manuscript. Al-ʿilḥiz is a food used during famine: they mix blood with camel hump fat (ubar al-ibil), roast it over a fire, and eat it. Some report that they also mixed in large ticks (qirdān), the latter also called ʿilḥiz. Others describe al-ʿilḥiz as a plant growing in the lands of Banū Sulaym, with a root resembling that of the barīdī plant. See al-Nihāya by Ibn al-Athīr under “ʿilḥiz.” (5) In al-Dalāʾil, vol. 2, p. 329. (6) In al-Dalāʾil, vol. 2, p. 330. (7) In the manuscript it appears as “Habib from Abu Amr” and in the printed edition as “Habib ibn Abi Amr,” both corrupt; the reading established by al-Dalāʾil is preferred, and his biography is found in Tahdhib al-Kamāl, vol. 5, p. 386. (8) In the printed edition it reads “and he mentioned it,” but the reading supported by the manuscript and by al-Dalāʾil is preferred; the text enclosed in brackets in this report derives from that reading.

قال البيهقي (١) : يريد - والله أعلم - البطشةَ الكبرى والدخان وآية اللزام، كلُّها حصلَتْ ببدر. قال: وقد أشار البخاري (٢) إلى هذه الرواية. ثمَّ أورد (٣) من طريق عبد الرزَّاق، عن معمر، عن أيوب، عن عكرمة، عن ابن عباس، قال: جاء أبو سفيان إلى رسولِ الله ﷺ يستغيثُ من الجوع، لأنهم لم يجدوا شيئًا، حتى أكلوا العِلْهِزَ بالدَّم (٤) ، فأنزل الله تعالى: ﴿وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ﴾ [المؤمنون: ٧٦] قال: فدعا رسولُ الله ﷺ حتى فرَّج الله عنهم. ثم قال الحافظ البيهقي (٥) : وقد روي في قصة أبي سفيان ما دلَّ على أنَّ ذلك بعد الهجرة، ولعله كان مرتَيْن، والله أعلم. [فصل] ثمَّ أورد البيهقي (٦) قصة فارس والرُّوم، ونزولَ قوله تعالى: ﴿الم (١) غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ (٢) فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ (٣) فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمِنْ بَعْدُ وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (٤) بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾ [الروم: ١ - ٥] . ثم رَوَى (٦) من طريق سفيانَ الثوري، عن حَبيب بن أبي عَمْرَة (٧) ، عن سعيد بن جُبير، عن ابن عباس قال: كان المسلمون يُحِبُّون أنْ يظهرَ الرُّوم على فارس لأنهم أهلُ كتاب، وكان المشركون يحبُّونَ أن تظهر فارسُ على الروم لأنهم أهلُ أوثان؛ فذكر ذلك المسلمون لأبي بكر فذكر [ذلك] (٨) أبو بكر للنبيِّ ﷺ فقال: "أمَا إنَّهم سيظهرون" فذكر أبو بكر ذلك للمشركين فقالوا: اجعل بيننا وبينك أجلًا إنْ ظهروا كان لك كذا وكذا، وإنْ ظهَرْنا كان بنا كذا وكذا. [فجعل بينهم أجل خمس سنين، فلم يظهروا]

(١) في الدلائل (٢/ ٣٢٧). (٢) مضى في الصفحة السابقة ح ٦. (٣) يعني البيهقي في الدلائل (٢/ ٣٢٨). (٤) في ط: العهن. والمثبت من ح والدلائل، وقوله: بالدم مستدرك في هامش ح. والعلهز: هو شيء يتخذونه في سني المجاعة، يخلطون الدم بأوبار الإبل ثم يشوونه بالنار ويأكلونه. وقيل: كانوا يخلطون فيه القِرْدان. ويقال للقراد الضخم "عِلْهِز". وقيل: العلهز شيء ينبت ببلاد بني سُليم له أصل كأصل البَرْدِي. النهاية لابن الأثير (علهز). (٥) في الدلائل (٢/ ٣٢٩). (٦) في الدلائل (٢/ ٣٣٠). (٧) في ح: حبيب عن أبي عمرو، وفي ط: حبيب بن أبي عمرو، وكلاهما تحريف، والمثبت من الدلائل وترجمته في تهذيب الكمال (٥/ ٣٨٦). (٨) في ط: فذكره، والمثبت من ح والدلائل، وما بين معقوفين في هذا الخبر منه.