In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
Truly, in eloquent speech there is magic.
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) narrated:
There sat in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
Qays ibn 'Asim,
Al-Zibriqan ibn Badr,
and 'Amr ibn al-Ahtam.
[Al-Zibriqan praised himself, saying:] "I am obeyed among them, my requests are answered,
I am the strongest in defending them against injustice,
and I secure their rights for them."
"And this man knows it,"
referring to 'Amr ibn al-Ahtam.
Thereupon, 'Amr ibn al-Ahtam said:
"He is indeed a man of sharp speech,
fiercely protective of his side,
and obeyed among his immediate kin."
Al-Zibriqan remarked:
"By Allah, O Messenger of Allah!
He knows things about me other than what he has said,
and nothing prevented him from speaking
except sheer envy!"
'Amr ibn al-Ahtam retorted:
"I envy you?!
By Allah, you are a man of ignoble maternal uncles,
a paltry wealth,
a foolish father,
and a worthless outcast among your clan!
By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
I spoke the truth in what I said first,
and I did not lie in what I said last!
But I am a man who,
when pleased, says the best of what he knows,
and when angered, says the worst of what he finds."
"Yet I spoke the truth in both the former and the latter statement!"
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then said:
"Truly, in eloquent speech there is magic."
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of Banu 'Amir
and their attempted assassination of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Among them were 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl,
Arbad ibn Qays,
and Jabbar ibn Salama.
These men were the leaders of the tribe
and their evil ringleaders.
The enemy of Allah, 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl, advanced
toward the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
intending to act treacherously against him.
His people had said to him:
"O 'Amir!
Indeed, the people have accepted Islam."
He replied:
"By Allah, I swore an oath
that I would not stop until the Arabs follow in my footsteps;
shall I then follow in the footsteps of this youth from Quraysh?!"
Then he said to Arbad:
"When we reach the man,
I will distract his attention from you;
so when I do that,
strike him with your sword!"
When they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
'Amir said:
"O Muhammad,
grant me a private audience."
Meaning: "I want to speak with you alone."
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied:
"No, by Allah,
not until you believe in Allah alone."
He said: "O Muhammad,
grant me a private audience!"
He replied:
"Not until you believe in Allah alone, without any partner."
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) refused his request,
'Amir said to him:
"By Allah, I will surely fill the land against you with horses and foot soldiers!"
As 'Amir turned and walked away,
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed:
"O Allah, protect me against 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl as You will."
When they left the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
'Amir said to Arbad:
"Woe to you, O Arbad!
Where was that which I commanded you to do?
By Allah, there was no one on the face of the earth whom I feared more for myself than you,
but by Allah,
I shall never fear you after today!"
Arbad replied to him:
"May you lose your father!
Do not be hasty with me.
By Allah, every time I attempted to carry out what you commanded me,
you stepped between me and the man!
Was I supposed to strike you with the sword?!"
They then set out on their return journey to their homeland.
While they were on the way,
Allah afflicted 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl with a plague-bubonic swelling in his neck,
and Allah Almighty caused him to die in the house of a woman from Banu Salul—
who were among the most humiliated and weakest of the Arabs.
'Amir ibn al-Tufayl lamented:
"A plague-buboe like that of a camel,
and a death in the house of a Saluli woman?!"
He then rode out and died along the road.
It is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari
that 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
and said to him:
"I give you three choices:
you shall rule the nomads of the plains,
while I rule the town-dwellers;
or I shall be your successor after you;
or else I will launch an invasion against you with the Ghatafan tribe,
leading a thousand reddish-brown horses and a thousand mares."
Later, he was afflicted with a plague-boil in the house of a woman,
and he exclaimed: "A plague-boil like the buboe of a young camel,
in the house of a woman from the tribe of Such-and-Such?!
Bring me my horse!"
So he mounted it and died on the back of his horse.
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of 'Abd al-Qays.
In the Two Sahihs, it is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father)
that the delegation of 'Abd al-Qays came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
He asked them: "Who are these people?" or "Which delegation is this?"
They replied: "From the tribe of Rabi'ah."
He said: "Welcome to the delegation,
who come neither disgraced nor regretful."
They said: "O Messenger of Allah,
between us and you lies this tribe of the disbelievers of Mudar,
and we cannot reach you except during the sacred month.
So give us a decisive command
that we may adhere to it, convey it to those we left behind,
and by which we may enter Paradise."
He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"I command you with four things and forbid you from four:
I command you to believe in Allah alone.
Do you know what belief in Allah alone entails?
It is testifying that there is no god but Allah
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
establishing prayer,
paying zakat,
fasting Ramadan,
and giving one-fifth of the war booty.
And I forbid you from four things:
[using vessels made of] gourds (ad-dubba'), green glazed jars (al-hantam),
hollowed palm-stumps (an-naqir), and pitch-smeared vessels (al-muzaffat).
Memorize these commands and convey them to those behind you."
In a narration by Muslim,
they said: "O Messenger of Allah,
how do you know what an-naqir is?"
He replied: "Indeed I do;
it is a palm trunk that you hollow out,
into which you throw dates,
then you pour water over them until it ferments;
when it settles, you drink it,
to the extent that one of you might strike his cousin with a sword!"
Among the delegation was a man who bore a sword scar from just such an incident;
he said: "I used to conceal my scar out of shyness before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."
They asked: "In what vessels should we drink, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said: "In leather waterskins
whose mouths are tied shut."
They said: "O Messenger of Allah,
our land abounds in field rats,
which leave no leather waterskin intact."
He replied: "Even if the field rats gnaw them,"
repeating it two or three times.
Then he said to Al-Ashajj, the chief of 'Abd al-Qays,
who was one of the delegates:
"You possess two qualities that Allah loves:
forbearance and deliberate calmness."
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of Banu Hanifah.
The delegation of Banu Hanifah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
and among them was Musaylimah the Liar.
Musaylimah said:
"If Muhammad grants me leadership after him, I will follow him."
He arrived with a vast number of his people.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) walked up to him,
accompanied by Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas,
and carrying in his hand
a piece of a dry date-palm branch.
He stood over Musaylimah
and said to him:
"Even if you were to ask me for this dry palm-twig, I would not give it to you.
You cannot bypass the decree of Allah concerning you,
and if you turn your back—
meaning, away from Islam—
Allah will surely destroy you!
Indeed, I see that you are the very person regarding whom I was shown what I was shown in my vision.
Here is Thabit, who will answer you on my behalf."
He then turned away and left him.
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said:
"I asked about the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
'You are the very person regarding whom I was shown what I was shown,'
inquiring as to what he meant by this statement."
"So Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) informed me
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
'While I was sleeping,
I saw two golden bracelets placed on my hands,
and their presence distressed me.
It was inspired to me in the dream to blow upon them,
so I blew upon them, and they flew away.
I interpreted them as two impostors who would appear after me.'"
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"While I was sleeping,
I was brought the treasures of the earth,
and two golden bracelets were placed in my hands.
That distressed me and made me anxious,
but it was revealed to me that I should blow on them,
so I blew on them and they flew away.
I interpreted them as the two liars between whom I am placed:
the ruler of Sanaa and the ruler of Al-Yamamah,
namely Al-Aswad al-Ansi
and Musaylimah the Liar."
Despite what Musaylimah said to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
and despite what 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl said,
nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him)
did not execute either of them,
because they were part of the visiting delegations and emissaries,
and emissaries are not to be killed,
just as the Prophet (peace be upon him)
never acts treacherously.
There came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
the delegation of Tayy,
among whom was Zayd al-Khayl,
who was their chieftain.
When they reached the Prophet (peace be upon him),
he spoke to them and presented Islam to them,
so they embraced Islam and became excellent Muslims.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"No Arab man has ever been described to me as possessing virtue,
and then came to me, except that I found him to be less than what was said about him—
except Zayd al-Khayl;
for indeed, what was said of him did not even reach the full measure of what he truly possessed."
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) renamed him
"Zayd al-Khayr" (Zayd the Good).
He granted him Fayd and lands alongside it,
and wrote a decree for him to that effect.
He then departed from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
returning to his people.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"If Zayd escapes the fever of Medina..."—
and "if" here carries a negative sense,
meaning he would not survive it.
When he reached a body of water in Najd
called Fardah,
he was struck by the fever and passed away.
As he felt death approaching, he recited:
"Will the people of the East depart in the morning,
leaving me behind in a house at Fardah, seeking a savior?
Ah, how many a day, were I sick, would I be visited
by women whose visits bring no relief to one who suffers!"
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of Kindah.
Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays came
in the delegation of Kindah to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
among eighty—or sixty—mounted men.
They entered upon the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) in his mosque,
having combed their long hair and armed themselves.
When they entered before him,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked them:
"Have you not embraced Islam?"
They replied, "Yes, indeed."
He said, "Then why is this silk around your necks?"
So they tore it off;
they tore it off, stripped it away, and discarded it.
Al-Ash'ath said:
"We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as the delegation of Kindah,
and they regarded me as the most noble among them.
So I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,
are you not from us?'
He replied, 'No, we are the descendants of Al-Nadr ibn Kinanah;
we do not trace our mother's lineage falsely,
nor do we disown our father.'"
That was because the Prophet (peace be upon him) had a grandmother from Kindah.
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of the Ash'arites,
who were the people of Yemen.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"There shall come to you a people
who have softer hearts than yours."
When the Ash'arites arrived,
they began chanting war poetry, saying:
"Tomorrow we shall meet our beloved ones,
Muhammad and his companions!"
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say:
"The people of Yemen have come to you;
they are gentler in spirit and softer at heart.
Faith is Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemeni.
Tranquility is among the owners of sheep,
while pride and arrogance are among the rude, loud owners of camels from the desert folk
towards the rising of the sun."
In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is recorded that
a group of people from Banu Tamim came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
He said to them:
"Glad tidings, O Banu Tamim!"
They said:
"You have given us glad tidings, so now give us wealth!"
Upon hearing this, the expression of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) changed.
Then a group of people from Yemen arrived,
so he said to them:
"Accept the glad tidings, O people of Yemen,
since Banu Tamim have rejected them."
They replied, "We accept!"
Then they said, "O Messenger of Allah,
we have come to gain understanding in the religion
and to ask you about the beginning of this creation."
He said:
"Allah existed when there was nothing other than Him,
“And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days - and His Throne was upon the water - that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct. Yet if thou (O Muhammad) sayest: Lo! ye will be raised again after death! those who disbelieve will surely say: This is naught but mere magic.” (11:7)
and He recorded everything in the Preserved Tablet."
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of Hamdan.
Al-Bayhaqi narrated with an authentic chain of transmission—
as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) stated—
from the hadith of Abu Ishaq,
on the authority of Al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
sent Khalid ibn al-Walid to the people of Yemen
to invite them to Islam.
Al-Bara' said:
"I was among those who went out with Khalid ibn al-Walid.
We stayed for six months calling them to Islam,
but they did not respond to him.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him)
sent 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him),
ordering him to send Khalid back,
except for any man who was with Khalid
and preferred to remain behind with 'Ali—
meaning that Khalid should return
along with whoever wished to return,
while whoever wished to stay with 'Ali could do so."
Al-Bara' said:
"So I was among those who stayed behind with 'Ali.
When we drew near the people,
they came out to meet us.
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in prayer,
then aligned us in a single rank,
stepped forward in front of us,
and read to them the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Thereupon, the entire tribe of Hamdan embraced Islam.
So 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
informing him of their conversion.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) read the letter,
he fell prostrate in gratitude,
then raised his head and said:
'Peace be upon Hamdan!
Peace be upon Hamdan!'
And in this incident is the precedent for prostrating upon hearing good news."
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Delegation of Najran.
There came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
the delegation of the Christians of Najran,
consisting of sixty mounted men,
among whom were twenty-four of their noblemen.
Among them was Al-'Aqib,
the leader of the group,
their man of judgment,
their chief counselor,
and the one without whose opinion and order they would make no decision;
his name was 'Abd al-Masih.
With him was another leader,
who was in charge of their baggage and administrative affairs,
named Al-Ayham.
There was also Abu Harithah ibn 'Alqamah,
a man of Banu Bakr ibn Wa'il,
who was their bishop, scholar,
religious leader, and head of their seminaries.
Abu Harithah
held a position of high honor among them and had studied their scriptures
until his knowledge of their religion became profound.
The Christian kings of the Byzantine Empire
had honored him, funded him,
and built churches for him.
When he set out to go to the Messenger of Allah,
Abu Harithah sat
upon his mule,
heading towards the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Riding beside him was a brother of his
named Kurz ibn 'Alqamah,
traveling along with him.
Suddenly, Abu Harithah's mule stumbled,
whereupon Kurz said to him:
"May that wretched man perish!"—
referring to the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him).
Abu Harithah said to him:
"Nay, it is you who should perish!"
Kurz asked him:
"Why, my brother?"
Abu Harithah replied:
"By Allah, he is indeed the Prophet
whom we have been awaiting!"
Kurz said to him:
"Then what prevents you from following him, knowing this?"
He answered:
"It is what these kings have done for us;
if I were to do so,
they would strip away from us everything you see."