Part of A summary of the Prophet’s biography (the series is complete)
· Lesson 140 of 182
Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (163) | The story of the poisoned sheep
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
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Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.
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The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).
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Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azimi, may Allah preserve him.
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The Story of the Poisoned Sheep.
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During this battle, the Jews poisoned the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Imam Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih,
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on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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When Khaybar was conquered,
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a roasted sheep laced with poison was gifted to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
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So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"Gather for me all the Jews who are present here."
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So they were gathered before him,
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and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to them:
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"I am going to ask you about something;
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will you tell me the truth about it?"
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They said: "Yes, O Abu Al-Qasim."
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to them:
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"Did you put poison into this sheep?"
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They replied: "Yes."
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He asked: "What prompted you to do that?"
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They said: "We thought that if you were a liar, we would be rid of you,
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and if you were a prophet, it would not harm you."
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And the two Shaykhs [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] narrated in their Sahihs,
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on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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A Jewish woman brought the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) a poisoned sheep,
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and he ate from it.
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She was then brought before the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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and he questioned her about it.
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She said: "I intended to kill you."
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"Allah would never grant you power over that,"
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or he said: "over me."
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The Companions asked: "Shall we not kill her?"
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"No."
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Anas said:
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"I continued to recognize the effects of that poison in the palate of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."
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Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with an authentic chain,
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on the authority of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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A Jewish woman gifted a poisoned sheep to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
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So he sent for her and asked:
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"What prompted you to do what you did?"
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She said:
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"I wished—or intended—that if you were truly a prophet,
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then Allah would inform you of it;
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and if you were not a prophet, I would relieve the people of you."
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Ibn Abbas said:
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Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) felt any flare-up from that poison,
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he would undergo cupping.
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He said:
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Once, he was traveling,
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and when he entered ihram, he felt something of it and underwent cupping.
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The Severing of the Aorta of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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Among the lingering effects of this poison
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was the severing of the aorta of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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For Imam Al-Bukhari narrated,
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on the authority of A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said:
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The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say during the illness of which he died:
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"O A'ishah,
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I still feel the pain of the food I ate at Khaybar,
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and this is the time when I feel my aorta being severed by that poison."
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Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Al-Hakim narrated with an authentic chain,
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on the authority of Umm Mubashshir, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said:
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I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) during the illness in which his soul was taken,
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and I said: "May my father be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah!
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What do you suspect caused your illness?
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For I suspect nothing in the death of my son except the food he ate with you at Khaybar."
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Her son was Bishr ibn Al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur, may Allah be pleased with them both,
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who had died before the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"And I suspect nothing other than that;
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this is the time of the severing of my aorta."
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Imam Ahmad and Al-Hakim narrated with an authentic chain,
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on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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"That I swear nine times that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was martyred
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is dearer to me than swearing once that he was not killed.
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And that is because Allah, the Mighty and Sublime,
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took him as both a prophet and a martyr."
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Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
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"When the Prophet (peace be upon him) underwent cupping,
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he was cupped on the upper back (al-kahil),
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which is the closest cupping site to the heart.
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Thus, the toxic matter exited along with the blood,
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though not entirely;
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rather, its latent traces remained, albeit weakened,
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because Allah, Glorified be He, willed to bestow upon him every rank of virtue in full.
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When Allah willed to honor him with martyrdom,
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the effect of that dormant trace of poison flared up,
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so that Allah might accomplish a matter already ordained.
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And thus the subtle meaning of Allah Almighty's address to His enemies among the Jews became manifest:
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“And verily We gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and We supported him with the Holy spirit. Is it ever so, that, when there cometh unto you a messenger (from Allah) with that which ye yourselves desire not, ye grow arrogant, and some ye disbelieve and some ye slay?” (2:87)
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“And verily We gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and We supported him with the Holy spirit. Is it ever so, that, when there cometh unto you a messenger (from Allah) with that which ye yourselves desire not, ye grow arrogant, and some ye disbelieve and some ye slay?” (2:87)
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He used the past tense 'you denied'
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for that which had already occurred and materialized from them,
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while He used the imperfect [future] tense 'you kill'
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for what they anticipated and awaited.
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And Allah knows best."
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Imam Al-Nawawi said:
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"Al-Qadi Iyad stated:
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The narrations and scholars differed
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as to whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) executed her or not.
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It occurs in Sahih Muslim
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that the Companions asked: 'Shall we not kill her?'
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and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'No.'
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A similar report comes from Abu Hurayrah and Jabir.
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Yet from Jabir, via the narration of Abu Salamah, it is reported
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that he (peace be upon him) did execute her.
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In the narration of Ibn Abbas,
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it states that he (peace be upon him) handed her over to the next of kin of Bishr ibn Al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur, may Allah be pleased with them both—
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for he had eaten from it and died as a result—
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and they put her to death.
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Ibn Sahnun said:
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'The scholars of hadith are unanimously agreed
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had her executed.'
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Al-Qadi continued:
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The way to reconcile these various narrations and views
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is that he did not kill her initially when he discovered her poisoning,
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and when it was suggested to him: 'Kill her,'
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he said: 'No.'
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But when Bishr ibn Al-Bara', may Allah be pleased with them both, died as a result of it,
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he surrendered her to his heirs, and they executed her in lawful retribution (qisas).
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Thus, the statement that he did not execute her is correct,
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meaning not immediately;
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and the statement that he did execute her is also correct,
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meaning subsequently.
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And Allah knows best.'"
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Imam Al-Suhayli said:
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"The way to harmonize them
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is that he, peace and blessings be upon him, initially pardoned her,
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because he (peace be upon him) never sought vengeance for himself.
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But when Bishr ibn Al-Bara', may Allah be pleased with them both, succumbed to that meal,
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he had her executed.
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This was because Bishr remained chronically ill from that single bite
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until he passed away from it after about a year."
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Al-Hafiz [Ibn Hajar] stated in Fath Al-Bari:
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"It is also plausible that he initially spared her because she embraced Islam,
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and only deferred her execution until Bishr, may Allah be pleased with him, died,
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because his death fulfilled the prerequisite condition for the obligation of retribution."
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Al-Hafiz stated in Fath Al-Bari:
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"In this hadith, there is
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proof of his foretelling unseen matters,
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inanimate matter speaking to him,
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and the obstinacy of the Jews,
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for they acknowledged his truthfulness (peace be upon him)
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regarding the plot of poison they orchestrated,
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yet despite that, they persisted in their defiance and denial of him.
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It also establishes the execution of one who kills by poisoning as lawful retribution,
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and demonstrates that things such as poisons do not produce effects by their own essence,
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but rather by the decree and permission of Allah Almighty."
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The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).
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Whatever longing people bear for one another,
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the longing for you remains boundless and unmeasured.
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May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
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and as long as surviving lips move in remembrance of Him.