CHAPTER 23: THE STORY OF THE WRESTLING OF RUKANAH
THE STORY OF THE WRESTLING OF RUKANAH AND HOW HE SEES THE TREE WHICH THE PROPHET CALLED AND IT RETURNED
Ibn Ishaq said: Abu Ishaq Ibn Yasar narrated to me that Rukanah Ibn Abd Yazeed Ibn Hashim Ibn Al-Muttalib Ibn ‘Abd Manaf was the strongest man of the Quraish. One day, he met Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in one of the pathways of Makkah and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to him: “O Rukanah, shouldn’t you fear Allah and accept what I am inviting you to?” He replied, “If I knew that what you are saying is the truth, I would have followed you.” Then Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. said to him: “If I am able to beat you in a wrestling match would you believe that what I am saying is the truth?” “Yes,” Rukanah said confidently. “Okay, stand up for a duel.”
Rukanah rose to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and they had a wrestling bout. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, felled him helplessly. He said: “Let’s do it again, O Muhammad.” Then they had another round and again, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, threw
him down. He said: “O Muhammad, this is surprising! You threw me?!” Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “There is something more astonishing than that. I will show you if you would fear Allah (SWT) and obey my orders.” “What is that?” Rukanah asked. “I will call, for you, this tree you are seeing and it will come to me.” Then Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, called the tree and then it approached until it stood in front of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he said to it: “Return to your position.” Then the tree returned to its position.
He continued: Then Rukanah went to his people and said: “O Banu ‘Abd Manaf, by Allah, I have never seen a person having a greater knowledge of magic than him (Muhammad).” Then he narrated to them what he had seen and what he (the Prophet) had done. This is how Ibn Ishaq has related this story in a mursal form with this wording. Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi have reported from the Hadith of Abul-Hasan Al-Asqalani from Abu Ja‘afar Ibn Muhammad Ibn Rukanah from his father that Rukanah wrestled with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, threw him down. Then Imam At-Tirmidhi said: “That Hadith is ghareeb (strange). We do not know Abu Al-Hasan or Ibn Rukanah.”
I say: Abu Bakr ash-Shafi‘i has narrated with a good chain from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that Yazeed Ibn Rukanah wrestled with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Prophet threw him down thrice, each time upon a bet of one hundred goats. Upon throwing him down the third time, he said: “O
Muhammad, no one had ever pinned my back to the ground before you and no one had been more hateful to me than you; now. I bear witness that none deserves to be worshipped (in Truth) but Allah and that you are a Messenger of Allah.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stood up from him and returned his goats.
Ibn Ishaq said: Whenever Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sat at the Ka‘bah, some of the weak ones from his Companions – Khabbab, ‘Ammar, Abu Fukaihah, Yasar the freed slave of Safwan Ibn Umayyah, Suhaib and some others among the Muslims, may Allah be pleased with them, would sit with him, and the Quraish would poke fun at them. They would say to one another, “As you have seen, these are his Companions. Are they the ones, of all of us, upon whom Allah has bestowed the favor of guidance and true religion? If what Muhammad came with is of any good, none would have preceded us to it and Allah would not have preferred them above us for it.” Then Allah revealed concerning them: “And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the Zalimun (unjust). Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: ‘Is it these (poor Believers) that Allah has favored from among us?’ Does not Allah know best those who are grateful? When those who believe in Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, Verses, lessons, Signs and revelations, etc.) come to you, say: ‘Salamun ‘Alaikum’ (peace be on you); your Lord has written Mercy for Himself, so that, if any of you does evil in ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allah), then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah Al-An‘am 6:52-54)
He continued: Most of the times, Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would sit at the Marwah hillock by the sales point of a Christian boy called, Jabr, a slave of the Banu Al-Hadrami. The Quraish would say: “By Allah, no one taught Muhammad much of what he came with except Jabr. Thus, Allah revealed concerning their insinuations: “And indeed We know that they (polytheists and pagans) say: ‘It is only a human being who teaches him (Muhammad).’ The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur’an) is a clear Arabic tongue.” (Soorah An-Nahl 16:103)
Then he mentioned the revelation of Soorah Al-Kawthar concerning ‘Aas Ibn Wa’il when he said regarding the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he is “Abtar” i.e. bereft of a successor such that when he dies, remembrance of him will also cease. Thus Allah says: “For he who makes you angry (O Muhammad), – he will be cut off (from every good thing in this world and in the Hereafter).” (Surah Al-Kawthar 108:3) i.e. his remembrance will be cut after him even if he is succeeded by large offsprings and descendants. Good reputation and truthful tongue (in praise) is not a function of large children, progenies and successors. We have spoken about this Surah in the Tafseer; to Allah belongs all praise.
Thereafter, he mentioned the revelation of the statement: “And they say: ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have been judged at once.” (Soorah Al-An‘am 6:8) This is as a result of the statement of Ubayy Ibn Khalaf, Zam‘ah Ibn Al-Aswad, Al-‘Aas Ibn Wa’il and An-Nadr Ibn Al-Harith; that “why has not an angel been sent down to you speaking on your behalf?”
Ibn Ishaq said: According the report reaching us, Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, once met Al-Waleed, Umayyah Ibn Khalaf and Abu Jahl. They incited and made fun of him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was infuriated and Allah revealed: “And indeed (many) Messengers were mocked before you, but their scoffers were surrounded by the very thing that they used to mock at.” (Soorah Al-An‘am 6: 10)
I say: Allah says: “Verily, (many) Messengers were rejected before you (O Muhammad), but with patience they bore the rejection, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them, and none can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allah. Surely there has reached you the information (news) about the Messengers (before you).” (Surah Al-An‘am 6: 34)
Allah, Most High, also says: “Truly! We will suffice you against the scoffers.” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:95)
Ibn Ishaq said: The chiefs of the mockers were five, as narrated to me by Yazeed Ibn Rooman from ‘Urwah Ibn Az-Zubair. They were elderly and noble men of their people. They were: Al-Aswad Ibn Al-Muttalib, Abu Zam‘ah whom Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, cursed thus, “O Allah! Take his sight and try him with his child.” Others were Al-Aswad Ibn ‘Abd Yaghooth, Al-Waleed, Al-‘Aas Ibn Wa’il and Al-Harith Ibn At-Tulatilah. He also related that Allah revealed this Verse concerning them: “Therefore proclaim openly (Allah’s Message Islamic Monotheism) that which you are commanded, and turn away from Al-Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, and disbelievers, etc.). Truly! We will suffice you against the scoffers. Who set up along with Allah another ilah (god), they will come to know.” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:94-96)
At this point, Imam Al-Baihaqi mentioned the curse of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, on the Quraish when they defied him that they should be afflicted with seven years of famine and starvation similar to that of Yoosuf. Then he cited what is related by the Sheikhain in the Saheehain from Ibn Mas‘ood. He said: “Five (great events) have passed: the constant Punishment, the (victory of the) Romans, the (Enveloping) by the Smoke, the Mighty grasp and the splitting of the moon.”
In another narration from Ibn Mas‘ood, he said: When the Quraish became defiant of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, and they tarried in their acceptance of Islam, he said: “O Allah, afflict them with seven years of famine similar to that of Yoosuf.” Then they were afflicted with famine for a year until everything became desolate till they ate carcass until they would see something like smoke between the sky and the Earth (because of severe hunger). Then he prayed and Allah relieved them of it. Then ‘Abdullah recited this Verse: “Verily, We shall remove the torment for a while. Verily! You will revert.” (Surah Ad-Dukhan 44:15) Thereafter, they reverted and disbelieved and it (the punishment) was delayed for them till the Day of Resurrection or they said: the Battle of Badr. It is also related through ‘Abdur-Razzaq from Ma‘mar from Ayyoob from ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “Abu Sufyan came to Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, to seek his assistance due to severe hunger for they had found nothing (to eat) until they ate dyed wool.”
Then Allah revealed: “And indeed We seized them with punishment, but they humbled not themselves to their Lord, nor did they invoke (Allah) with submission to Him.” (Surah Al-Mu’minoon 23:76) (He continued:) “Then Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, supplicated until Allah relieved them.”
Then, Al-Baihaqi cited the story of Persia and the Romans and the revelation of the statement of Allah: “Alif-Lam-Mim. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’an, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearer land (Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years. The decision of the matter, before and after (these events) is only with Allah, (before the defeat of Romans by the Persians, and after, i.e. the defeat of the Persians by the Romans). And on that Day, the believers (i.e.Muslims) will rejoice (at the victory given by Allah to the Romans against the Persians), With the help of Allah, He helps whom He wills, and He is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.” (Soorah Ar-Room 30:1-5)
Then it is also narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said: The Muslims desired that the Romans should vanquish the Persians for they were the People of the Book while the pagans desired that the Persians vanquish the Romans for they were idol worshippers (like them). The Muslims mentioned this to Abu Bakr who, in turn, mentioned it to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, said: “They (the Romans) shall certainly be victorious.” Abu Bakr mentioned that to the pagans and they said: “Let there be a (bet for a) period (of time) between us and you, if they (the Romans) win, such and such shall be yours and if we are victorious, such and such shall be ours.” Abu Bakr mentioned that too to Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, and he said: “Why don’t you make it less than ten years?” He said: In less than ten years, the Romans were eventually victorious thereafter.
By Ibn Katheer
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