Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/399)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

He said: When we saw him, he spoke to us. We said, “Let us go to this man and leave our two mounts with him while we circumambulate the House.” We approached him and greeted him with the greeting of the Age of Ignorance, and he returned our greeting with the greeting of Islam—for I had already heard about the Prophet ﷺ. We found this strange and asked, “Who are you?”

He said, “Dismount.” So we dismounted and asked, “Where is the man who claims what he claims and says what he says?” He replied, “I am he.” We said, “Present Islam to us.”

He began and said, “Who created the heavens, the earth, and the mountains?” We answered, “Allah created them.” He asked, “Who created you?” We said, “Allah.” He then asked, “Who made these idols that you worship?” We replied, “We did.” He said, “Which has more right to be worshipped, the Creator or the creature?” We responded, “The Creator.” He said, “Then you should worship your Lord. You yourselves made these idols, and Allah has more right to be worshipped than anything you have fashioned. I call you to worship Allah, to bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, to uphold kinship ties, and to renounce wrongdoing and aggression, even if people become angry.”

The two of us said, “Even if what you are calling to were false, it would still be among the loftiest matters and finest morals. Keep our two mounts until we return from the House.” Muʿādh ibn ʿAfrāʾ remained seated with him.

Rāfiʿ said: I went to the Kaʿbah, performed ṭawāf, produced seven divining arrows, and placed one for him among them. Facing the House, I prayed, “O Allah, if what Muḥammad calls to is true, bring out his arrow seven times.” I drew the lots seven times, and each time his arrow appeared. I then shouted, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah!”

People gathered around me and said, “The man is mad—he has abandoned his religion.” I replied, “Abandoned his religion? No, he is a believer!” I then went to the Prophet ﷺ at the upper part of Mecca. When Muʿādh ibn ʿAfrāʾ saw me he said, “You have returned with a face different from the one you left with.”

Rāfiʿ continued: So I came and believed, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught us Sūrat Yūsuf and “Recite in the name of your Lord who created.” We then set out back to Madinah. When we reached al-ʿAqīq, Muʿādh said, “I have never arrived at night; stay here until morning.” I said, “Stay the night when I carry with me such good news? I will not do it!” Whenever Rāfiʿ returned from a journey, he would gather his people and relate what he had brought.

Its chain of transmission is sound, and its narrative is excellent.

(1) In Ḥ: “wa-tark al-wuldān al-ʿudwān” (and forsaking the boys’ hostility), and in al-Mustadrak: “fa-lammā raʾaynāhu kallamnāhu qulnā…” (When we saw him, we addressed him, saying…), as we have recorded. (2) An addition required by the context. (3) The same appears in Ḥ; however, the word al-wuldān is an interpolation by the copyist and does not occur in al-Mustadrak. (4) An addition required by the context. (5) Bashshār said, “Thus it was stated.” The phrase “min ayna yaʾtīhi al-ḥasan wa-Yahyā ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād ibn Hānīʾ ash-Shujrī” is weak, as noted by Abū Ḥātim and others. Adh-Dhahabī, commenting on al-Ḥākim’s authentication of this ḥadīth in al-Mustadrak, remarked, “Yahyā ash-Shujrī is the author of manākir” (i.e. dubious reports), and al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in al-Taqrīb also classifies it as weak. (6) Here concludes the lacuna referred to in footnote (6) on the previous page.

الأنصار - قال: فلما رأيناه كلمنا (١) قلنا: نأتي هذا الرجل نستودعه راحلتينا حتى نطوف بالبيت، فجئنا فسلَّمنا عليه تسليم أهل الجاهلية، فردَّ علينا تسليم أهل الإسلام، وقد سمعتُ بالنبي [ ﷺ ] (٢) قال: فأنكرنا، فقلنا: من أنت؟ قال: "انزلوا" . فنزلنا فقلنا: أين هذا الرجل الذي يدَّعي ما يدَّعي ويقول ما يقول؟ قال: "أنا هو" . قلنا: فاعْرِضْ علينا الإسلام. فعرض وقال: "من خلق السماوات والأرض والجبال؟ " قلنا: خلقهنَّ الله. قال: "من خلقكم" ؟ قلنا: الله. قال: "فمن عمل هذه الأصنام التي تعبدون؟ " قلنا: نحن. قال: "الخالق أحقُّ بالعبادة أو المخلوق؟ ! قلنا: الخالق. قال: " فأنتم أحق أن تعبدوا ربكم، وأنتم عملتموهن، والله أحق أن تعبدوه من شيء عملتموه، وأنا أدعو إلى عبادة الله وشهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأنِّي رسول الله، وصلةِ الرَّحِم، وترك الولدان (٣) العدوان وإن غضب الناس" فقالا: لو كان هذا الذي تدعوه إليه باطلًا لكان من معالي الأمور ومحاسن الأخلاق، فأمسك راحلتينا حتى نأتي البيت، فجلس عنده معاذ بن عفراء. قال رافع: وجئت البيت فطفت وأخرجت سبعة قداح، وجعلت له بينها قدحًا فاستقبلت وقلت: اللهمَّ إن كان ما يدعو إليه محمد حقًا فأخرج قدَحَه سبع مرات، فضربتُ بها سبع مرات، فصحت أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدًا رسولُ الله، فاجتمع الناسُ علي وقالوا: مجنون رجلٌ صبا. فقلت: رجلٌ صبأ! بل رجل مؤمن. ثم جئت إلى النبي ﷺ بأعلى مكة، فلما رآني معاذ بن عفراء قال: لقد جئتَ بوجهٍ ما ذهبت به [قال] (٤) رافع: فجئت وآمنت، وعلَّمنا رسول الله ﷺ سورة يوسف [و] (٤) اقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق، ثم خرجنا راجعين إلى المدينة فلما كنا بالعَقيق قال معاذ: إني لم أطْرُقْ ليلًا قط، فبتْ بنا حتى نصبح. فقلت: أبيتُ ومعي ما معي من الخير!؟ ما كنتُ لأفعل. وكان رافع إذا خرج سفرًا ثم قدم عرض قومه. إسنادٌ حسن (٥) وسياقٌ حسَن (٦) .

(١) في ح: "وترك الولدان العدوان"، وفي المستدرك: فلما رأيناه كلمناه قلنا. كما أثبتناه. (٢) زيادة يقتضيها السياق. (٣) كذا في ح، ولكن كلمة الولدان مقحمة من الناسخ وليست في المستدرك. (٤) زيادة يقتضيها السياق. (٥) قال بشار: هكذا قال، ومن أين يأتيه الحسن ويحيى بن محمد بن عباد بن هانئ الشجري ضعيف، كما قال أبو حاتم وغيره. وقال الذهبي متعقبًا تصحيح الحاكم لهذا الحديث في المستدرك: "يحيى الشجري صاحب مناكير"، وقال الحافظ ابن حجر في التقريب: ضعيف. (٦) إلى هنا ينتهي السقط المشار إليه في الحاشية (٦) من الصفحة السابقة.