52. THE STORY OF TUBBA
Abu Karib Tubban As‘ad, king of Yemen and the People of Al-Madinah, and How He Intended to Attack the Sacred House, Then He Honoured and Glorified it and He Draped it With a Covering and He Was the First Person to Do So.
Ibn Ishaq said, “It was Tubban As‘ad Abu Karib, king of Yemen, who came to Al-Madinah and took two of the Jewish rabbis to Yemen. He also rebuilt the Sacred House and draped it with a covering. His reign was before that of Rabee‘ah Ibn Nasr. He had selected his route through Al-Madinah when he returned from fighting in the lands of the east. He had passed by it on the outward journey and he did not burn its inhabitants. He appointed one of his sons to govern them, but he was assassinated. So when he arrived in the city, he resolved to destroy it, annihilate its inhabitants and burn down its date-palms. So he gathered to himself the tribe of the Ansar, whose chief was ‘Amr Ibn Talhah, the confederate of Banu An-Najjar, then one of Banu ‘Amr Ibn Mabdhool. The name of Mabdhool was ‘Amir ibn Malik Ibn An-Najjar. And the name of An-Najjar was Taimullah Ibn Tha‘labah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Al-Khazraj Ibn Harithah Ibn Tha‘labah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn ‘Amir.”
Ibn Ishaq added, “A man from Banu ‘Adiyy Ibn An-Najjar, whose name was Ahmar, attacked a man from among the companions of Tubba‘ whom he found taking a bunch of his dates, striking him with his scythe and killing him. He said, “The dates are only for the one who pollinated them.” This served to increase the anger of Tubba‘ against them and so they fought. The Ansar said that they used to fight him during the daylight and at night they would offer him their hospitality. This impressed him and he said, “By Allah, they are a generous people!”
Ibn Ishaq said, “While Tubba‘ was engaged in fighting them, two Jewish rabbis from Banu Quraizah, who were firmly grounded in knowledge came to him, when they heard that he intended to destroy Al-Madinah and annihilate its inhabitants. They said to him, ‘O, king! Do not do this, for if you insist on carrying out your intention, you will be prevented from doing so, and we fear that a swift punishment may descend upon you.’ He said, ‘And why should that be?’ They said, ‘It is the place of refuge for a Prophet who will depart from the Sacred Precincts (Makkah), fleeing from Quraish at the end of time. This will be his abode and his settlement.’ And so he desisted from attacking it. He realized that they were knowledgeable men and he was impressed by what he heard and so he left Al-Madinah and adopted their religion.”
We have already mentioned in the Tafseer the hadeeth that was reported from the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in which he said, “Do not curse Tubba‘ for he embraced Islam.” And As-Suhaili narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Do not curse As‘ad Al-Himyari, for he was the first to drape the Ka‘bah.” As-Suhaili said, “When the two rabbis informed Tubba‘ about the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), he recited the following poetic verses:
I bear witness that Ahmad is a Messenger from Allah, pure of soul,
And if my life was prolonged till his time, I would be his vizier and his nephew,
And I would perform jihad with my sword against his enemies,
And I would endeavor to free his heart from all cares.
And this poem continued to be passed down through generations of the Ansar and memorized by them; it was known to Abu Ayyoob Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him).
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.