59. CHAPTER: MENTION OF A GROUP WHO WERE RENOWNED IN THE JAHILIYYAH
The Story of Khalid Ibn Sinan Al-‘Absi Who Lived During the Era of Al-Fatrah
Some claimed that he was a Prophet, and Allah knows better.
Al-Hafiz Abul-Qasim At-Tabarani said, “on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The daughter of Khalid Ibn Sinan came to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and he spread out his garment for her and said, “The daughter of a Prophet whose people neglected him.”
And it was narrated by Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar (May Allah be pleased with him) on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “Khalid ibn Sinan was mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said, “That was a Prophet whose people neglected him.” Then he said, “We do not know of any marfoo‘ version of it except from this source; and Qais Ibn Ar-Rabee‘ was a trustworthy person, except that he had a poor memory; and he had a son who used to insert things into his ahadeeth that did not belong in them. And Allah knows better. It would appear most likely that he was a righteous man who was virtuous and noble, for if he lived during al-fatrah, it has been confirmed in Saheeh Al-Bukhari that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I am the nearest of all the people to the son of Maryam, and all the Prophets are paternal brothers, and there has been no Prophet between me and him (i.e. ‘Eesa).” If he lived before it, then it is impossible that he could have been a Prophet, because Allah, Most High, says, {to give warning to a people to whom no warner had come before you.} (Soorah Al-Qasas 28:46). And more than scholar has said that Allah, Most High, did not send any Prophet to the Arabs after Isma‘eel (Peace be upon him) except Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), the Seal of the Prophets, to whom Ibraheem, Al-Khaleel, builder of the venerable Ka‘bah (which was ordained by Allah as the Qiblah for the people of the world) called, and whose advent the Prophets foretold to their peoples, until the last Prophet to foretell of his advent came, i.e. ‘Eesa, the son of Maryam (Peace be upon her). And by this very means one may refute the argument propounded by As-Suhaili and others – which holds that a Prophet from the Arabs, whose name was Shu‘aib ibn Dhee Mahzam ibn Shu‘aib ibn Safwan of Madyan was sent and that Hanzalah ibn Safwan was also sent to the Arabs, but that they belied them and so Allah made Bukhtunassar victorious over them, and that he killed some of them and took others captive, which was similar to the punishment inflicted on the Children of Isra’eel. They also claim that this occurred during the era of Ma‘add ibn ‘Adnan. But it would appear that these people were righteous men who called to goodness. And Allah knows better. We have already told the story of ‘Amr Ibn Luhayy Ibn Qama‘ah ibn Khindif in the stories of Khuza‘ah, after Jurhum.
Mention of the Story of Hatim At-Ta’i, One of the Generous Folk in the Jahiliyyah
Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar said in his Musnad, “on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “Hatim was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said, “That (man) intended something and he attained it.” This hadeeth is ghareeb; Ad-Daraqutni said, “
And Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of ‘Adiyy Ibn Hatim (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “I said to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), “My father used to maintain the ties of kinship and do such-and-such; will he have the reward of that?” He replied, “Your father sought something and he attained it.”
And in another hadeeth in the Saheeh, that they asked the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) about ‘Abdullah Ibn Jud‘an Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Ka‘b Ibn Sa‘d Ibn Taim Ibn Murrah and they said to him, “He used to be hospitable toward his guests and he would free slaves and give charity; will that benefit him?” He said, “It would be of no avail to him as he did not ever say: “O, my Lord, pardon my sins on the Day of Resurrection.” This was in spite of the fact that he was renowned as one of most generous people in the Jahiliyyah and also one of those who fed the poor during the years of drought and in times of sandstorms.
And Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Baihaqi reported on the authority of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “Glorified be Allah! I wonder at a Muslim who does not do benefit to his brother Muslim who stands in need of it. If he hopes for rewards and fears punishment, he should hasten toward good conduct as it shows the path of salvation.” On hearing this, a man stood up and said to him, “May my father and mother be ransomed for you, O, Commander of the Faithful! Did you hear it from the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)?” ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) replied, “Yes, and (I heard) that which is better than it, when the captives of Tai’ were brought to him, a girl with a rosy complexion, red lips, a fine nose, with a good stature and head, trim ankles, straight legs, good thighs, wide hips and a trim waist arrived and when I saw her, I admired her, so I said, “I will ask the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) to make her a part of my share of the spoils, but when she spoke, her eloquence caused me to forget her beauty; she said, “O, Muhammad! If you wish, release me, but don’t dishonor me before the Arab clans. I am the daughter of the leader of my people and my father was the caretaker of my people. He used to set free the captives, feed the hungry, spread peace and never refused any beggar in his time of need. I am the daughter of Hatim Ta’i.” The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O girl! What you have mentioned about his qualities are the attributes of a true Believer. If your father had been a Believer, we would have treated him with compassion. Set her free, for her father used to love good character and conduct and Allah, Most High, loves good character and conduct.” Then Abu Burdah Ibn Niyar stood up and said, “O, Messenger of Allah! Does Allah love good character and conduct?” The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, No one will enter Paradise unless he has a good character.”
Among the poems composed by Hatim is the following:
If I continued to drink more than my thirst demanded,
Because of an intoxicant in the drink, then I would not quench my thirst,
If I continued to cheat
Should I dishonor my neighbor’s wife and deceive my neighbor?
By Allah, I will not do so as long as I live.
Also from his poetry is the following (Al-Bahr Al-Kamil):
No neighbor of mine has been harmed,
By not having a screen for his doorway,
I should close my eyes if my neighbor’s wife appeared,
Until she was concealed by the curtain.
Also from the poetry of Hatim (Al-Bahr ul-Wafir) is:
It is not in my nature to malign my cousin,
Nor do I disappoint one who puts his hope in me,
And the word of an envier without cause,
I heard and said (to it), “Pass by and go through me,”
And they found fault with me for it, but it did not hurt me,
And it did not cause sweat on my brow at all,
And a hypocrite met me face-to-face,
And when he was absent, it did not worry me,
And I triumphed over his accusation and was forbearing toward him,
In order to protect my dignity and my religion.”
Also from his poetry (Al-Bahr ut-Taweel) is:
O, Umm Malik! Ask the cold and wretched person,
When he came to me, between my fire and my meat,
Did I not smile at him, as if he was the first guest,
And extend my benevolence to him, without rebuke?
And he also said (Al-Bahrut-Taweel):
And verily, if you gave your stomach its desire,
And also your loins, they would both receive the utmost censure.
And Al-Qadi Abul-Faraj Al-Mu‘afa Ibn Zakariyya Al-Jareeri said, “Al-Husain Ibn Al-Qasim Al-Kawkabi told me, “Abul- ‘Abbas Al-Mubarrid told me, “Ath-Thawri informed me on the authority of ‘Ubaidah that he said, When the following words of Al-Mutalammis reached Hatim At-Ta’i:
If you have but little money and you use it well, it will last,
And much money will not last if you waste it,
And saving money is better than finishing it,
And reckless expenditure, leaving one without provision.
He said, “What is wrong with him? May Allah cut off his tongue! He encourages the people to be miserly; why did he not say (Al-Bahrut-Taweel):
Generosity does not exhaust wealth before its time,
Nor does the miser’s niggardliness increase it,
So do not seek wealth by living a frugal life,
For every tomorrow there is a provision that will return anew,
Do you not see that wealth departs and disappears,
And that the One Who gives it to you is not far away?
And Al-Qadi Abul-Faraj said, “He spoke well when he said,
“And that the One Who gives it to you is not far away?”
If he had been a Muslim, it might have been hoped that he might have a good end in the Hereafter; and Allah, Most High, says in His Book, {…and ask Allah of His Bounty} (Soorah An-Nisa’ 4:32), and He, Most High, says, {And when My slaves ask you (O, Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor)} (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:186).
Mention of Something of the Story of ‘Abdullah ibn Jud‘an
He was ‘Abdullah Ibn Jud‘an Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Ka‘b Ibn Sa‘d Ibn Taim Ibn Murrah, the chief of Banu Taim and he was the son of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq’s great-uncle. He was one of the generous and kind folk in the Jahiliyyah, who used to feed the poor and needy.
Ibn Qutaibah and others mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I used to get shelter under the water trough of ‘Abdullah Ibn Jud‘an at noontime.”
In the hadeeth of the killing of Abu Jahl it was mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his Companions (May Allah be pleased with them), “Search for him among the dead; you will recognize him by a wound on his knee, for he and I argue regarding a banquet for Ibn Jud‘an and I pushed him and he fell on his knee and it fractured, and the scar of it remains on his knee.” So they found him like that.
It was also said that he used to feed people with dates and saweeq and he would give them milk until he heard the words of Umayyah Ibn Abis-Salt:
I have seen the doers and their deeds,
And I have seen that the most generous of them are
Banu Ad-Dayyan,
Their food is wheat mixed with honey,
Not like what Banu Jud‘an gave to us.
So Ibn Jud‘an sent two thousand camels bearing wheat, honey and clarified butter to Ash-Sham and he ordered a caller to invite the people every night from the roof of the Ka‘bah to drink from the water trough of Ibn Jud‘an. Umayyah said regarding this:
He has a swift caller in Makkah,
And another atop the Ka‘bah calling,
To bowls full of wheat mixed with honey.
But in spite of all this, it has been confirmed in Saheeh Muslim that ‘A’ishah (may Allah be Pleased with her) said, “O, Messenger of Allah! Verily, Ibn Jud‘an used to give food and offer hospitality to the guests; will that benefit him on the Day of the Resurrection?” The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “No, for he never even once said, “My Lord! Forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgment.”
Mention of Imru’ul-Qais Ibn Hujr Al-Kindi, the Author of One of Al-Mu‘allaqat
It is one of the most excellent and most famous of them and it begins thus:
Stop and let us weep at the memory of a beloved person and his status.
And Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Imra’ul-Qais is the bearer of the flag of the poets to the Fire.”
Al-Kalbi mentioned that Imra’ul-Qais came forward with a banner, intending to fight Banu Asad after they had killed his father and he passed by Tabalah, where an idol called Dhul-Khalasah was located. The Arabs used to use divining arrows before it and so he cast the divining arrows and the arrow of prohibition came out. Then he cast them a second time and then a third time, with the same result, so he broke the arrows and struck the face of Dhul-Khalasah with them and said, “I bite your father’s penis! Had it been your father who was murdered, you would not have forbidden me from avenging him. Then he attacked Banu Asad and annihilated them.” Ibn Al-Kalbi said, “And he did not use divining arrows before Dhul-Khalasah after that until the advent of Islam.”
Some said that he celebrated Qaisar, the emperor of Rome, in his poetry and that he supported him in some of the wars that he fought, but that when he requested support from him, he did not receive what he had hoped for from him and so he disparaged him after that. It was said that Caesar had him poisoned as a result of this and that death approached him when he was beside the grave of a woman near to a mountain known as ‘Aseeb and there he wrote:
O, my neighbor, verily, the sanctuary is near,
And I will reside where ‘Aseeb resided,
O, my neighbor, verily, we are both strangers here,
And every stranger is to a fellow stranger a kinsman.
It was said that the seven Mu‘allaqat were attached to the Ka‘bah and this was because when one of the Arabs composed a qaseedah, he would present it to Quraish and if they approved of it, they would affix it to the Ka‘bah in order to honor and venerate it and so the seven Mu‘allaqat, the first of which was by Imru’ul-Qais Ibn Hujr Al-Kindi, were collected from these.
By Ibn Katheer
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