Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/15)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

The two women (1)—so it is said—returned to their father. Noticing how quickly they had come back, he asked about it, and they told him what had happened with Moses, peace be upon him. He therefore directed one of them to go and invite him, and so “one of the two came to him, walking modestly,” that is, with the gait of honorable freeborn women. She said, “My father is calling you so that he may reward you for drawing water for us.” She made her purpose explicit so that her words would not arouse suspicion; this was an expression of her perfect modesty and self-restraint.

“When he came to him and told him the story,” informing him of his circumstances and how he had fled Egypt to escape its Pharaoh, “the old man said, ‘Do not fear; you have escaped from the wrongdoing people,’” meaning: you have slipped out of their authority and are no longer within their dominion.

The scholars have differed as to the identity of this old man. Some said he was Shuʿayb, peace be upon him, and this is the view held by many (2). Among those who stated this explicitly are al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Mālik ibn Anas. A hadith likewise names him, though its chain of transmission is questionable (3).

A group maintained that Shuʿayb, peace be upon him, lived a very long life after the destruction of his people until Moses, peace be upon him, met him and married his daughter (4).

Ibn Abī Ḥātim and others transmit from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that the man who hosted Moses was indeed called Shuʿayb and was the master of the well, but he was not the Prophet of Midian.

Others said he was Shuʿayb’s nephew; some said his cousin; some said a believing man from among Shuʿayb’s people. Yet others stated that his name was Yathrūn—so he is called in the scriptures of the People of the Book: Yathrūn, the priest of Midian, that is, its chief and scholar.

Ibn ʿAbbās and Abū ʿUbaydah ibn ʿAbd Allāh said his name was Bathrūn (5). Abū ʿUbaydah added that he was Shuʿayb’s nephew, while Ibn ʿAbbās added that he was the leader of Midian (6).

(1) In al-Taʿrīf wa-al-I‘lām (folio 46), al-Suhaili states: “They were Safuriyya and Lāya, the two daughters of Batron; Batron is Shu‘ayb. Some say he was Shu‘ayb’s nephew and that Shu‘ayb had already died. The majority of commentators regard them as Shu‘ayb’s daughters, while others argue they were not his daughters, which is the correct opinion.” (2) In manuscript B it reads al-aktharīn (“the majority”), and the author records these opinions in his Tafsīr (vol. 3, p. 483). (3) The author cites in his Tafsīr (3/483) from al-Tabarani (al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr, no. 6364) on the authority of Salama ibn Sa‘d al-‘Anazi that upon meeting the Prophet (peace be upon him) he said: “Welcome to the people of Shu‘ayb and the two sisters of Moses.” (4) She is his daughter Safuriyya, as Suhaili mentions in al-Taʿrīf wa-al-I‘lām (folio 47), adding that she is the ahluhu (his people) referred to in the verse [Q 20:10]: “When he saw a fire and said to his people, ‘Stay here.’” (5) In Uṣūlunā it appears as yathurūn; in al-Tabari’s Tarikh (1/385) as yatirūn. Both readings occur in Qur’anic codices; the emendation is adopted from Suhaili’s al-Taʿrīf wa-al-I‘lām (folio 46). (6) According to Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): “The one whom Musa al-Yathribi hired was the owner of Midian,” as reported by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsīr.

المرأتان (١) -فيما قيل- فذهبتا إلى أبيهما، فيقال: إنه استنكر سرعة رجوعهما، فأخبرتاه ما كان من أمر موسى (عليه السلام) ، فأمر إحداهما أن تذهب إليه فتدعوه ﴿فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ﴾، أي: مَشْيَ الحرائِرِ، قالت: ﴿إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا﴾ صرَّحت له بهذا لئلّا يوهم كلامُها ريبةً. وهذا من تمام حيائها وصيانتها. ﴿فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ وَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقَصَصَ﴾ وأخبره خبره، وما كان من أمره في خروجه من بلاد مِصْرَ فرارًا من فرعونها ﴿قالَ لَهُ﴾ ذلك الشيخ: ﴿لَا تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾، أي: خرجت من سلطاتهم فلست في دولتهم. وقد اختلفوا في هذا الشيخ من هو؟ فقيل: هو شعيبٌ (عليه السلام) ، وهذا هو المشهور عند كثيرين (٢) . وممَّن نصّ عليه: الحسن البصري، ومالك بن أنس. وجاء مصرحًا به في حديث (٣) ، ولكن في إسناده نظر. وصرّح طائفةٌ بأن شعيبًا (عليه السلام) عاش عمرًا طويلًا بعد هلاك قومه حتى أدركه موسى (عليه السلام) وتزوَّج بابنته (٤) . وروى ابن أبي حاتم وغيره، عن الحسن البصري، أن صاحب موسى (عليه السلام) هذا اسمه شعيب، وكان سيّد الماء، ولكن ليس بالنَّبي صاحب مَدْيَن. وقيل: إنّه ابن أخي شعيب. وقيل: ابن عمه. وقيل: رجل مؤمن من قوم شعيب. وقيل: رجل اسمه يثرون، هكذا هو في كتب أهل الكتاب: يثرون كاهن مَدْين؛ أي: كبيرها وعالمها. قال ابن عبَّاس وأبو عُبَيْدة بن عبد الله: اسمه بترون (٥) . زاد أبو عبيدة وهو ابن أخي شعيب. زاد ابن عبَّاس: صاحب مَدين (٦) .

(١) قال السُّهيلي في التعريف والإعلام الورقة (٤٦): هما صَفُوريَا ولَيا ابنتا بترون، وبتَرون هو شعيب، وقيل: ابن أخي شعيب وأن شعيبًا كان قد مات، وأكثر المفسرين على أنهما ابنتا شعيب وقال بعضهم: ليستا ابنتي شعيب، وهو الصواب. (٢) في ب: الأكثرين، وقد أورد المؤلف هذه الأقوال في تفسيره (٣/ ٤٨٣). (٣) وقد ساقه المؤلف في تفسيره (٣/ ٤٨٣) من رواية الطبراني (وهو في معجمه الكبير ٦٣٦٤) عن سلمة بن سعد العنزي أنه وفد على رسول الله ﷺ فقال: "مرحبًا بقوم شعيب وأختان موسى". (٤) وهي ابنته صَفْوريَا كما ذكر السهيلي في التعريف والإعلام الورقة (٤٧) وزاد: وهي أهله التي قال [الله تعالى] فيها: ﴿إِذْ رَأَى نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا﴾ [طه: ١٠]. (٥) في أصولنا يثرون. وفي تاريخ الطبري (١/ ٣٨٥): يترون، وكلاهما مصحف، والتصويب من التعريف والإعلام: للسهيلي الورقة (٤٦). (٦) ما قاله ابن عباس ﵁ : الذي استأجر موسى يثربي صاحب مدين كما أورده ابن كثير في تفسيره =