Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/121)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

They relate in the Third Book that Allah commanded Moses and Aaron to number the Children of Israel tribe by tribe, and to place over each of the twelve tribes a prince—called the naqīb—so that they might prepare for battle against the giants when they emerged from the wilderness. This took place as the forty-year term was drawing to an end.

For that reason some scholars have said that Moses, peace be upon him, struck out the eye of the Angel of Death only because he did not recognize him in that form, and because he had been charged with a mission whose fulfillment he hoped would occur during his own lifetime, whereas Allah’s decree was that it would take place in the time of his young attendant Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn, peace be upon him. The matter is akin to what happened with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: he had resolved to campaign against the Byzantines in Syria, reached Tabūk in the ninth year after the Hijrah, and then returned. In the tenth year he performed the Farewell Pilgrimage; on his return he outfitted the army of Usāmah and sent it ahead as a vanguard.

He himself intended to follow them in obedience to the divine command:
“Fight those who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and who do not embrace the religion of truth—among those who were given the Scripture—until they pay the jizyah with their own hands, humbled.” (Q 9:29)

Yet after the Prophet ﷺ had prepared Usāmah’s army, he passed away while Usāmah was encamped at al-Jurf. His intimate friend and successor Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, dispatched the force exactly as the Prophet had ordered. When Abū Bakr had reunited the scattered factions of the Arabian Peninsula, repaired what had weakened, and restored the truth to its rightful place, he sent armies in both directions: eastward to Iraq against the hosts of Chosroes, king of Persia, and westward to Syria against the hosts of Caesar, emperor of Rome. Allah granted them victory, established them firmly, and placed the forelocks of their enemies in their hands—as we shall record in detail, Allah willing, with His help, success, and sound guidance.

Likewise Allah, exalted is He, had commanded Moses, peace be upon him, to mobilize the Children of Israel and appoint among them leaders, as He said: “Allah certainly took a covenant with the Children of Israel, and We raised up from among them twelve leaders” (Q 5:12). He also said: “I am with you. If you establish prayer, give zakāh, believe in My messengers, support them, and lend unto Allah a goodly loan, I will surely absolve you of your sins and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever among you disbelieves after this has certainly strayed from the straight path” (Q 5:12).

That is, if you fulfil what I have enjoined upon you and do not shrink from fighting as you did the first time, I shall make the reward for this obedience expiate the punishment you previously incurred—just as Allah said to those Bedouins who stayed behind when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out for al-Hudaybiyyah: “Say to the desert Arabs who lagged behind: ‘You will be called against a people of great might; you will fight them unless they surrender. If you obey, Allah will grant you a good reward, but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will inflict upon you a painful punishment’” (Q 48:16).

(1) In Safar al-Adad (the Book of Numbers), the fourth volume, chapter one. (2) The phrase “and he is the naqib” is an addition in manuscripts B and T. (3) A location three miles from Medina toward Syria. (4) See the author’s discussion of the account “Dispatch of Usama b. Zayd’s army” in this work; it begins with reports from the year 13 AH. (5) In manuscript B it reads “umra” (minor pilgrimage). It is also called the “Ghazwa of Hudaybiya” or the “Umra of Hudaybiya,” since the Prophet ﷺ’s sole intention was the umra.

وقد ذكروا في السفر الثالث (١) : أن الله أمر موسى وهارون أن يعدّا بني إسرائيل على أسباطهم، وأن يجعلا على كلِّ سبطٍ من الاثني عشر أميرًا -وهو النقيب- (٢) وما ذاك إلّا ليتأهبوا للقتال قتال الجبارين عند الخروج من التيه، وكان هذا عند اقتراب انقضاء الأربعين سنةً. ولهذا قال بعضهم: إنما فقأ موسى (عليه السلام) عين ملَك الموت لأنه لم يعرفه في صورته تلك، ولأنه كان قد أُمر بأمر كان يرتجي وقوعه في زمانه، ولم يكن في قَدَر الله أن يقع ذلك في زمانه بل في زمان فتاه يوشع بن نون (عليه السلام) ، كما أن رسول الله ﷺ كان قد أراد غزو الروم بالشام، فوصل إلى تبوك ثمَّ رجع عامه ذلك في سنة تسعٍ. ثمّ حجّ في سنة عشر، ثمّ رجع فجهَّز جيش أسامة إلى الثام طليعة بين يديه، ثمّ كان على عزم الخروج إليهم امتثالًا لقوله تعالى: ﴿قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ﴾ [التوبة: ٢٩] . ولما جهّز رسولُ الله جيشَ أسامة توفي (رحمهم الله) وأسامة مخيِّم بالجُرْفِ (٣) ، فَنَفَّذَهُ صِدِّيقُه وخليفته أبو بكر الصدّيق (٤) (رضي الله عنه) . ثمّ لمّا لمّ شعث جزيرة العرب، وما كان وهَى من أمر أهلها، وعاد الحقّ إلى نصابه، جهّز الجيوش يمنةً ويسرةً إلى العراق أصحاب كسرى ملك الفرس، وإلى الشام أصحاب قيصر ملك الروم، ففتح الله لهم، ومكّن لهم وبهم، وملَّكهم نواصي أعدائهم، كما سنورده في موضعه إذا انتهينا إليه مفصّلًا إن شاء الله، بعونه وتوفيقه وحسن إرشاده. وهكذا موسى (عليه السلام) كان الله تعالى قد أمره أن يجنّد بني إسرائيل، وأن يجعل عليهم نقباء كما قال تعالى: ﴿وَلَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا﴾ وقال الله: ﴿إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ لَئِنْ أَقَمْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَيْتُمُ الزَّكَاةَ وَآمَنْتُمْ بِرُسُلِي وَعَزَّرْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَقْرَضْتُمُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا لَأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ فَمَنْ كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مِنْكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيلِ﴾ [المائدة: ١٢] يقول لهم: لئن قمتم بما أوجبت عليكم، ولم تَنْكِلُوا عن القتال كما نَكَلتم أوَّلَ مرة، لأجعلن ثواب هذه مكفّرًا لما وقع عليكم من عقاب تلك، كما قال تعالى لمن تخلَّف من الأعراب عن رسول الله ﷺ في غزوة (٥) الحديبية: ﴿قُلْ لِلْمُخَلَّفِينَ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ سَتُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى قَوْمٍ أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ تُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ أَوْ يُسْلِمُونَ فَإِنْ تُطِيعُوا يُؤْتِكُمُ اللَّهُ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا كَمَا تَوَلَّيْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا﴾ [الفتح: ١٦] .

(١) في سفر العدد، وهو الرابع، الإصحاح الأول. (٢) قوله: وهو النقيب. زيادة من ب و ط. (٣) موضع على ثلاثة أميال من المدينة نحو الشام. (٤) انظر ما قاله المؤلف في خبر (تنفيذ جيش أسامة بن زيد) من هذا الكتاب. ومطلع حديثه من أخبار سنة (١٣ هـ). (٥) في ب: عمرة. ويقال: غزوة الحديبية، وعمرة الحديبية، لأن رسول الله ﷺ إنما كان قصده العمرة.