CHAPTER 5: THE BOOK OF THE SENDING OF THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH
THE BOOK OF THE SENDING OF THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH (PEACE AND BLESSINGS OF ALLAH BE UPON HIM) AND MENTION OF THE SIGNS OF THAT
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq – may Allah have mercy on him – said, “The Jewish rabbis and the Christian and Arab soothsayers had spoken of the matter of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) before his advent, when it drew near. As for what the Jewish rabbis and the Christian monks found regarding the description of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and of his time, and what had been foretold of his coming by their Prophets, Allah, Most High, says, ‘Those who follow the
Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Tawrah (Deut. xviii, 15) and the Injeel (Gospel) (John xiv, 16).’ (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:157). And He, Most High, says, ‘And (remember) when ‘Eesa, son of Maryam (Mary), said, O, Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you confirming the Tawrah (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’ (Soorah As-Saff 61:6). And He, Most High, says, ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are tough against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down in prostration (in prayer), seeking bounties from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. The mark of them (i.e. of their Faith) is on their faces (foreheads) from the traces of (their) prostration (during prayers). This is their description in the Tawrah.’ (Soorah Al-Fat’h 48:29). And He, Most High, says, ‘And (remember) when Allah took the Covenant of the Prophets, saying, Take whatever I gave you from the Book and Hikmah (understanding of the Laws of Allah, etc.), and afterward there will come to you a Messenger (Muhammad) confirming what is with you; you must then believe in him and help him. Allah said, ‘Do you agree (to it) and will you take up My Covenant (which I conclude with you)?’ They said, ‘We agree.’ He said, ‘Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses (for this)’.” (Soorah Aal ‘Imran 3:81). And in Saheeh Al-Bukhari it is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “Allah did not send a Prophet except that He took a covenant from him that if Muhammad was sent while they were alive, they would believe in him, support him and follow him.” It is known from this that all of the Prophets gave tidings of his coming and ordered their followers to obey him.
Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “O, Messenger of Allah! Tell us how your Prophethood started.” He replied, “I am the supplication of my father, Ibrahim and the glad tidings of ‘Eesa; and my mother saw that a light was emitted from her, which illuminated the palaces of Ash-
Sham.”
The meaning of this is that he wanted to know how his Prophethood began to be known to the people and how his fame spread, so he mentioned the supplication of Ibrahim (Peace be upon him), from whom the Arabs claim descent, then the glad tidings of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him), who was the Seal of the Prophets sent to the Children of Isra’eel, as we mentioned earlier. This proves that those Prophets between them (i.e. Ibrahim and ‘Eesa also gave the glad tidings of his coming.
As for the heavenly host, his affair was spoken of and well- known to them since before the creation of Adam (Peace be upon him), as narrated by Imam Ahmad on the authority of Al-‘Irbad Ibn Sariyah (May Allah be pleased with him) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘I was written as the slave of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets when Adam was still only clay. And I shall inform you of the start of that: the supplication of Ibrahim, the glad tidings which ‘Eesa gave of me and the vision which my mother saw. Likewise, all of the mothers of the Prophets saw something similar’.”
Ibn Ishaq said, “ ‘Asim Ibn ‘Umar Ibn Qatadah informed me on the authority of some men from his people that they said, ‘Among the things that called us to Islam – in addition to Allah’s Mercy and His Guidance to us – was the fact that when we were pagan idol worshippers, we used to hear from the Jews, who were People of the Scripture, having knowledge that we did not have – at a time when there was still enmity between us – whenever we inflicted some harm on them, they would say to us, ‘The time is near when a Prophet will be sent and we will kill you with him, as the people of ‘Ad and Iram were killed.’ And we used to hear this frequently from them.
Then, when Allah sent the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), we responded positively when he called us to Allah, for we realized what they had been threatening us with, so we rushed to follow him before they did, and we believed in him, while they rejected him and disbelieved in him. So this Verse was revealed concerning us and them: ‘And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur’an) from Allah confirming what is with them (the Tawrah and the Injeel), although aforetime they had invoked Allah (for the coming of Muhammad — peace be upon him) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then, when there came to them that which they had recognized, they disbelieved in it. So let the Curse of Allah be on the disbelievers’.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:89)
And Ibn Ishaq said, “It is reported on the authority of Salamah Ibn Salamah Ibn Waqsh (May Allah be pleased with him), who was one of the participants in the Battle of Badr, that he said, ‘We had a neighbor from among the Jews in Banu ‘Abdul-Ashhal and he came out to us one day from his house and stood before Banu ‘Abdul-Ashhal.’ Salamah added, ‘At that time, I was the youngest of them in years and I was lying on a fur belonging to me in the yard of my family, and he spoke of the Resurrection, the Sending Forth, the Reckoning, the Scale, Paradise and the Fire. He said these things to a pagans, idol worshipping people, who did not believe that they would be resurrected after death.’ So they said to him, ‘Woe to you, O, so-and-so! Do you believe that this happen? That the people will be sent forth after their death, to an abode in which there is a Garden and a Fire, where they will be recompensed in accordance with their deeds?’ He said, ‘Yes. And the greatest wish of those who enter it is that they may leave it on the morrow.’ They said to him, ‘woe to you, O, so-and-so! And what will be the Sign of that?’ He said, ‘a Prophet will be sent from the direction of these lands, ‘ and he pointed with his hand toward Makkah and Yemen. They said, ‘and when will we see him?’ Salamah (May Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘then he looked at me – and I was the youngest of them – and said, when this boy has exhausted his life, he will see him.’ Salamah said, ‘and by Allah, no more than a day and a night had passed, when Allah sent His Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and he was living amongst us; so we believed in him, while he (the Jew) disbelieved in him out of transgression and envy. So we said to him, ‘woe to you, O, so-and-so! Was it not you who told us about him?’ He said, ‘Yes; but it is not he’.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad.
Then Ibn Ishaq – may Allah have mercy on him – related the story of how Salman Al-Farisi embraced Islam, saying, “It was reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, ‘Salman Al-Farisi told me from his own lips, saying, I was a Persian man from a village in Asfahan, which was known as
Hayy. My father was the headman of the village and I was the dearest of Allah’s creation to him. He loved me so much that he kept me in his house near the fire, as slave girls are kept in. I strove hard in the Magian religion until I became the keeper of the fire, which I tended and did not let go out for a moment. My father had a huge garden, and he was busy one day with some construction work, so he said, O, my son! I am too busy with this building today, go and check my garden, and he told me some of the things he wanted done. I went out, heading toward his garden, and I passed by one of the Christian churches, where I could hear their voices as they were praying. I did
not know anything about the people because my father had kept me in his house. When I passed by and heard their voices, I entered upon them to see what they were doing. When I saw them, I was impressed with their prayer and I was attracted to their way. I said: By Allah, this is better than the religion that we follow. By Allah, I did not leave
them until the sun set, and I forgot about my father’s garden and did not go there. I said to them: Where did this religion originate? They said: In Ash-Sham. Then I went back to my father, who had sent people out to look for me, and I had distracted him from all his work.
When I came to him, he said, O, my son! Where were you? Did I not ask you to do what I asked? I said, O, my father! I passed by some people who were praying in a church of theirs, and I was impressed with what I saw of their religion. By Allah, I stayed with them until the sun set. He said, O, my son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and that of your forefathers is better than that. I said, No, by Allah, it is better than our religion. He was afraid for me, and he put fetters on my legs and kept me in his house. I sent word to the Christians saying, If any Christian merchants come to you from Ash-Sham, tell me about them. He said, Some Christian merchants came to them from Ash-Sham and they told me about them. I said to them, When they have completed their business and want to go back to their own country, tell me about that. So when they wanted to go back to their own country, they told me about that, and I threw off the shackles from my legs and went out with them, until I came to Ash-Sham. When I reached Ash-Sham, I said, Who is the best person in this religion? They said, The bishop in the church. So I went to him and said, I like this religion, and I would like to stay with you and serve you in your church and learn from you and pray with you. He said, Come in. So I went in with him, but he was a bad man. He would command them and exhort them to give charity, but he kept a great deal of it for himself and did not give it to the poor; he had amassed seven chests of gold and silver. I hated him deeply when I saw what he was doing, then he died and the Christians gathered to bury him.
I said to them, This was a bad man; he commanded you and exhorted you to give charity, but when you brought it to him he kept it for himself and did not give any of it to the poor. They said, How do you know that? Show us where his treasure is. So I showed them where it was and they brought out seven chests filled with gold and silver. When they saw that they said, By Allah, we will never bury him. Then they crucified him and pelted him with stones. Then they brought another man and appointed him in his place. Salman said, I have never seen a man who does not offer the five daily prayers who was better than he; he shunned this world and sought the Hereafter and no one strove harder than him night and day. I loved him as I had never loved anyone before, and I stayed with him for a while. Then when he was about to die, I said, O, so-and-so! I was with you and I loved you as I have never loved anyone before, and now the decree of Allah has come to you as you see; to whom do you advise me to go? What do you command me to do? He said, O, my son! By Allah, I do not know of anyone today who follows what I followed. The people are doomed; they have changed and abandoned most of what they used to follow, except for a man in Mawsil. He is so-and-so and he follows what I used to follow, so go and join him. When he died
and was buried, I went to the man in Mawsil. I said to him, O, so-and-so! so-and-so advised me when he died to come to you, and he told me that you follow the same as he followed. He said to me, stay with me. So I stayed with him, and I found him to be a good man who followed the same as his companion had followed. But soon he died.
When he was dying I said to him, O, so-and-so! so-and-so advised me to come to you and told me to join you, but now there has come to you from Allah what you see. To whom do you advise me to go? What do you command me to do? He said, O, my son! By Allah I do not know of anyone who follows what we used to follow except a man in
Naseebeen. He is so-and-so; go to him. When he died and was buried, I went to the man in Naseebeen. I came to him and told him my story and what my companion had told me to do. He said, Stay with me. So I stayed with him and I found him to be a follower of the same way as his two companions, and I stayed with a good man. By Allah, soon
death came upon him, and when he was dying I said to him, O, so-and-so! so-and-so advised me to go to so-and-so; then so-and-so advised me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go and what do you command me to do? He said, O, my son! By Allah we do not know of anyone left who follows our way and to whom I can tell you to go, except a man in ‘Ammooriyyah. He follows something like what we follow. If you wish, go to him, for he follows our way. When he died and was buried, I went to the man in ‘Ammooriyyah and told him my story. He said, Stay with me. So I stayed with a man who was following the same way as his companions. I earned wealth until I had cows and sheep, then the decree of Allah came to him. When he was dying I said to him, O, so-and-so! I was with so-and-so, and so-and-so told me to go to so-and-so; then so-and-so told me to go to so-and-so; then so-and-so told me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go and what do you command me to do? He said, O, my son! By Allah, I do not know of anyone who follows our way to whom I can advise you to go. But there has come the time of a Prophet, who will be sent with the Religion of Ibrahim. He will appear in the land of the Arabs and will migrate to a land between two harrahs (lave fields), between which there are palm trees. He will have characteristics that will not be hidden. He will eat of what is given as a gift but he will not eat of what is given as charity. Between his shoulder blades is the Seal of Prophethood. If you can go to that land then do so. Then he died and was buried, and I stayed in ‘Ammooriyyah as long as Allah willed I should stay. Then some merchants of Kalb passed by me and I said to them, will you take me to the land of the Arabs and I will give you these cows and sheep of mine? They said, yes. So I gave them the cows and sheep, and they took me there, but when they brought me to Wadi Al-Qura, they wronged me and sold me as a slave to a Jewish man. When I was with him I saw the palm trees, and I hoped that this was the land that my companion had described to me, but I was not sure. While I was with him, a cousin of his from Banu Quraizah came to him from Al-Madinah, and he sold me to him and he took me to Al-Madinah. By Allah, as soon as I saw it, I recognized it from the description given to me by my companion. I stayed there, and Allah sent His Messenger, who stayed in Makkah as long as Allah willed, and I did not hear anything about him because I was so busy with the work of a slave. Then he migrated to Al-Madinah, and by Allah, I was at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master, doing some work on it, and my master was sitting there. Then a cousin of his came and stood beside him, and said, May Allah kill Banu Qailah! By Allah, right now they are gathering in Quba’ to welcome a man who has come from Makkah today; and they say that he is a Prophet. When I heard that, I began to shiver so much that I thought I would fall on top of my master. I came down from the tree and started saying to that cousin of his, what are you saying, what are you saying? My master got angry and he struck me with his fist and said, what has it got to do with you? Go back to your work! I said, “nothing; I just wanted to make sure of what he was saying. I had something that I had collected, and when evening came, I went to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) when he was in Quba’ and I entered upon him and said to him, I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions who are strangers and are in need. This is something that I have to give in charity, and I see that you are more in need of it than anyone else. I brought it near to him and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his Companions, “Eat,” but he refrained from eating. I said to myself, This is one. Then I went away and collected some more. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) moved to Al-Madinah, then I came to him and said: I see that you do not eat (food given in) charity; this is a gift with which I wish to honor you. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ate some of it and told his Companions to eat too. I said to myself: This is two. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) when he was in Baqee‘ Al-Gharqad, where he had attended the funeral of one of his Companions and he was wearing two shawls and was sitting among his Companions. I greeted him with salutations of peace and then I moved behind him, trying to look at his back to see the Seal that my companion had described to me. When the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) saw me going behind him, he realized that I was trying to find confirmation of something that had been described to me, so he let his rida’ drop from his back, and I saw the Seal and recognized it. Then I embraced him, kissing (the Seal) and weeping, and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me: “Turn around.” So I turned around and I told him my story as I have told it to you, O, Ibn ‘Abbas. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) wanted his companions to hear that. Then Salman was kept busy with the work of a slave, saying he had missed attending the battles of Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). He said, Then the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me, Draw up a contract of manumission, O, Salman. So I drew up a contract of manumission with my master in return for three hundred palm trees which I would plant for him, and forty uqiyyahs. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his Companions: Help your brother. So they helped me with the palm trees, one man gave thirty small trees and another gave twenty, and another gave fifteen, and another gave ten, i.e., each man gave according to what he had, until they had collected three hundred small trees for me. Then the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me, Go, O, Salman and dig the holes where they are to be planted.
When you have finished, come to me and I will plant them with my own hand. So I dug the holes for them, and my companions helped me, then, when I finished, I came to him and told him. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) came out with me and we started to bring the trees close and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) planted them with his own hand. By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Salman, not one single tree among them died. So I had paid off the trees but there still remained the money. A piece of gold the size of an egg was brought to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) from one of his Campaigns. He said, what happened to the Persian who had a contract of manumission? I was summoned to him and he said, take this and pay off what you owe, O, Salman. I said, how could this pay off everything I owe, O, Messenger of Allah? He said, take it, and Allah will help you to pay off what you owe. So I took it and weighed it for them, and by Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Salman, it was forty uqiqyahs, so I paid them their dues and I was set free. I was present with the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) at the Battle of Al-Khandaq, and after that I did not miss any major event with him.”
By Ibn Katheer
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