Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Ordering Executions: Difference between revisions
[checked revision] | [checked revision] |
(13 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 209: | Line 209: | ||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 123}}|Kinanah b. al-Rabi b. al-Huqyaq who had the treasure of B. Nadir was brought to the Messenger of God, who questioned him; but he denied knowing where it was. Then the messenger of God was brought a Jew who said to him, “I have seen Kinanah walk around this ruin every morning.” The Messenger of God said to Kinanah: “What do you say? If we find it in your possession, I will kill you.” “All right,” he answered. The Messenger of God commanded that the ruin should be dug up, and some of the treasure was extracted from it. Then he asked him for the rest of it. Kinanah refused to surrender it; so the Messenger of God gave orders concerning him to al-Zubayr b. al-‘Awwam, saying, “torture him until you root out what he has.” Al-Zubayr kept twirling his firestick in his breast until Kinanah almost expired; then the Messenger of God gave him to Muhammad b. Maslamah, who beheaded him to avenge his brother Mahmud b. Maslamah.”}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 123}}|Kinanah b. al-Rabi b. al-Huqyaq who had the treasure of B. Nadir was brought to the Messenger of God, who questioned him; but he denied knowing where it was. Then the messenger of God was brought a Jew who said to him, “I have seen Kinanah walk around this ruin every morning.” The Messenger of God said to Kinanah: “What do you say? If we find it in your possession, I will kill you.” “All right,” he answered. The Messenger of God commanded that the ruin should be dug up, and some of the treasure was extracted from it. Then he asked him for the rest of it. Kinanah refused to surrender it; so the Messenger of God gave orders concerning him to al-Zubayr b. al-‘Awwam, saying, “torture him until you root out what he has.” Al-Zubayr kept twirling his firestick in his breast until Kinanah almost expired; then the Messenger of God gave him to Muhammad b. Maslamah, who beheaded him to avenge his brother Mahmud b. Maslamah.”}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:515| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=515}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=336-337}}|The Rest of the Affair of Khaybar:<br> | ||
Kinana b. al-Rabi', who had the custody of the treasure of B. al-Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came (T. was brought) to the apostle and said that he T. 158. had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kinana, 'Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?' he said Yes. The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam, 'Torture him until you extract what he has,' so he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud.}} | |||
===The Murder of Al-Nadr Bin Al-Harith=== | ===The Murder of Al-Nadr Bin Al-Harith=== | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:133|If it was money he wanted, they would make him the richest of them all; if it was honour, he should be their prince; if it was sovereignty, they would make him king; if it was a spirit which had got possession of him (they used to call the familiar spirit of the jinn ra'iy), then they would exhaust their means in finding medicine to cure him. The apostle replied that he had no such intention. He sought not money, nor honour, nor sovereignty, but God had sent him as an apostle, and revealed a book to him, and commanded him to become an announcer and a warner. He had brought them the messages of his Lord, and given them good advice. If they took it then they would have a portion in this world and the next; if they rejected it, he could only patiently await the issue until God decided between them, or words to that effect. | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=133-134}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|pages=295-296}}|If it was money he wanted, they would make him the richest of them all; if it was honour, he should be their prince; if it was sovereignty, they would make him king; if it was a spirit which had got possession of him (they used to call the familiar spirit of the jinn ra'iy), then they would exhaust their means in finding medicine to cure him. The apostle replied that he had no such intention. He sought not money, nor honour, nor sovereignty, but God had sent him as an apostle, and revealed a book to him, and commanded him to become an announcer and a warner. He had brought them the messages of his Lord, and given them good advice. If they took it then they would have a portion in this world and the next; if they rejected it, he could only patiently await the issue until God decided between them, or words to that effect. 'Well, Muhammad,' they said, 'if you won't accept any of our propositions, you know that no people are more short of land and water, and live a harder life than we, so ask your Lord, who has sent you, to remove for us these mountains which shut us in, and to straighten out our country for us, and to open up in it rivers like those of Syria and Iraq, and to resurrect for us our forefathers, and let there be among those that are resurrected for us Qusayy b. Kilab, for he was a true shaikh, so that we may ask them whether what you say is true or false. If they say you are speaking the truth, and you do what we have asked you, we will believe in you, and we shall know what your position with God is, and that He has actually sent you as an apostle as you say.' He replied that he had not been sent to them with such an object. He had conveyed to them God's message, and they could either accept it with advantage, or reject it and await God's judgement. They said that if he would not do that for them, let him do something for himself. Ask God to send an angel with him to confirm what he said and to contradict them; to make him gardens and castles, and treasures of gold and silver to satisfy his obvious wants. He stood in the streets as they did, and he sought a livelihood as they did. If he could do this, they would recognize his merit and position with God, if he were an apostle as he claimed to be. He replied that he would not do it, and would not ask for such things, for he was not sent to do so, and he repeated what he had said before. They said, 'Then let the heavens be dropped on us in pieces,' as you assert that your Lord could do if He wished, for we will not believe you unless you do so.' The apostle replied that this was a matter for God; if He wanted to do it with them, He would do it. They said, 'Did not your Lord know that we would sit with you, and ask you these questions, so that He might come to you and instruct you how to answer us, and tell you what He wall going to do with us, if we did not receive your message? Information has reached us that you are taught by this fellow in al-Yamama, called al-Rahman, and by God we will never believe in the Rahman. Our conscience is clear. By God, we will not leave you and our treatment of you, until either we destroy you or you destroy us.' Some said, 'We worship the angels, who are the daughters of Allah.' Others said, 'We will not believe in you until you come to us with God and the angels as a surety."<br> | ||
When they said this the apostle got up and left them.}} | When they said this the apostle got up and left them.}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:135- | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=135-137}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|pages=300-302}}|When Abu Jahl said that to them, aI-Nadir b. al-Harith b. Kalada b. 'Alqama b. Abdu Manaf b. Abdu'I-Dar b. Qusayy got up and said: 'O Quraysh, a situation has arisen which you cannot deal with. Muhammad was a young man most liked among you, most truthful in speech, and most trustworthy, until, when you saw grey hairs on his temple, and he brought you his message, you said he was a sorcerer, but he is not, for we have seen such people and their spitting and their knots; you said, a diviner, but we have seen such people and their behaviour, and we have heard their rhymes; and you said a poet, but he is not a poet, for we have heard all kinds of poetry; you said he was possessed, but he is not, for we have seen the possessed, and he shows no signs of their gasping and whispering and delirium. Ye men of Quraysh, look to your affairs, for by God, a serious thing has befallen you.' Now al-Nadr b. al-Harith was one of the satans of Quraysh; he used to insult the apostle and show him enmity. He had been to al-Hira and learnt there the tales of the kings of Persia, the tales of Rustum and Isbandiyar. When the apostle had held a meeting in which he reminded them of God, and warned his people of what had happened to bygone generations as a result of God's vengeance, al-Nadr got up when he sat down, and said, 'I can tell a better story than he, come to me.' Then he began to tell them about the kings of Persia, Rustum and Isbandiyar, and then he would say, 'In what respect is Muhammad a better story-teller than?.<br> | ||
Ibn 'Abbas, according to my information, used to say eight verses of the Quran came down in reference to him, 'When our verses are read to him, he says fairy tales of the ancients'; and all those passages in-the Quran in which 'fairy tales' are mentioned.<br> | |||
When Al-Nadr said that to them, they sent him and 'Uqba b. Abu Mu'ayt to the Jewish rabbis in Medina and said to them, 'Ask them about Muhammad; describe him to them and tell them what he says, for they are the first people of the scriptures and have knowledge which we do not possess about the prophets.' They carried out their instructions, and said to the rabbis, 'You are the people of the Taurat,' and we have come to you so that you can tell us how to deal with this tribesman of ours.' The rabbis said, 'Ask him about three things of which we will instruct you; if he gives you the right answer then he is an authentic prophet, but if he does not, then the man is a rogue, so form your own opinion about him. Ask him what happened to the young men who disappeared in ancient days, for they have a marvellous story. Ask him about the mighty traveller who reached the confines of both East and West. Ask him what the spirit is. If he can give you the answer, then follow him, for he is a prophet. If he cannot, then he is a forger and treat him as you will.' The two men returned to Quraysh at Mecca' and told them that they had. a decisive way of dealing with Muhammad, and they told them about the three questions.<br> | |||
They came to the apostle and called upon him to answer these questions. He said to/them, II will give you your answer tomorrow,' but he did not say, 'if God will.' So they went away; and the apostle, so they say, waited for fifteen days without a revelation from God on the matter, nor did Gabriel come to him, so that the people of Mecca began to spread evil reports, saying, 'Muhammad promised us an answer on the morrow, and today is the fifteenth day we have remained without an answer.' This delay caused the apostle great sorrow, until Gabriel brought him the Chapter of The Cave, in which he reproaches him for his sadness, and told him the answers of their questions, the youths, the mighty traveller, and the spirit.}} | |||
{{Quote|Ishaq | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=162-163}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|page=358}}|Al-Nadr b. al-Harith b. 'Alqama b. Kalada b. 'Abdu Manaf whenever the apostle sat in an assembly and invited people to God, and recited the Quran and warned the Quraysh of what had happened to former peoples, followed him when he got up and spoke to them about Rustum the Hero and Isfandiyar and the kings of Persia, saying, 'By God, Muhammad cannot tell; better story than I and his talk is only of old fables which he has copied as I have.' So God revealed concerning him, 'And they say, Stories of the ancients which he has copied down, and they are read to him morning and night. Say, He who knows the secrets of heaven and earth has sent it down. Verily, He is merciful, forgiving.'<br> | ||
And there came down concerning him, 'When Our verses are read to him he says, fables of the ancients'.<br> | |||
And again, 'Woe to every sinful liar who hears God's verses read before him. Then he continues in pride as though he had not heard them, as though in his ears was deafness. Tell him about a painful punishment'.}} | |||
{{Quote|Ishaq: | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=308-309}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|page=643-644}}|Then the apostle went forward until when he came out of the pass of al-Safra' he halted on the sandhill between the pass and al-Naziya called Sayar at a tree there and divided the booty which God had granted to the Muslims equally.' Then he marched until he reached Rauha' when the Muslims met him congratulating him and the Muslims on the victory God had given him. Salama b. Salama-so 'Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatada and Yazid b. Ruman told me-said, 'What are you congratulating us about? By God, we only met some bald old women like the sacrificial camels who are hobbled, and we slaughtered them!' The apostle smiled and said, 'But, nephew, those were the chiefs'. When the apostle was in al-Safra', al-Nadr was killed by 'Ali, as a learned Meccan told me. When he was in 'Irqu'l-Zabya 'Uqba was killed. He had been captured by 'Abdullah b. Salima, one of the B. al-'Ajlan.<br> | ||
When the apostle ordered him to be killed 'Uqba said, 'But who will look after my children, O Muhammad?' 'Hell', he said, and 'Asim b. Thabit b. Abu'I-Aqlah al-Ansari killed him according to what Abu 'Ubayda b. Muhammad b. 'Ammar b. Yasir told me.<br> | |||
Abu Hind, freedman of Farwa b. 'Amr al-Bayadi, met the apostle there With a jar full of butter and dates (383). He had stayed behind from Badr | |||
but was present at all the other battles and afterwards became the apostle's cupper, The apostle said, 'Abu Hind is one of the Ansar; intermarry with him, and they did so.<br> | |||
The apostle arrived in Medina a day before the prisoners.}} | |||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=312}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|page=649}}|Then Quraysh sent to redeem their prisoners }} | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=360}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=42-43}}|Qutayla d. al-Harith, sister of al-Nadr b. al-Harith, weeping him said: | ||
:O Rider, I think you will reach Uthayl | |||
{{ | :At dawn of the fifth night if you are lucky. | ||
:O Rider, I think you will reach Uthayl | :Greet a dead man there for me. | ||
:Swift camels always carry news from me to :thee. | |||
:(Tell of) flowing tears running profusely or ending in a sob. | |||
:Can al-Nadir hear me when I call him, | |||
:How can a dead man hear who cannot speak? | |||
:O Muhammad, finest child of noble mother, | |||
:Whose sire a noble sire was, | |||
:'Twould not have harmed you had you spared him. | |||
:(A warrior oft spares though full of rage and anger.) | |||
:Or you could have taken a ransom, | |||
:The dearest price that could be paid. | |||
:Al-Nadr was the nearest relative you captured | |||
:With the best claim to be released. | |||
:The swords of his father's sons came down on him. | |||
:Good God, what bonds of kinship there were shattered! | |||
:Exhausted he was led to a cold-blooded death, | |||
:A prisoner in bonds, walking like a hobbled beast.<br> | |||
The apostle left Badr at the end of the month of Ramadan or in Shawwal.}} | |||
{{Quote|The Life of Muhammad, Muhammad H. Haykal, pp. 233-234|Mus'ab replied, 'You used to speak all kinds of calumnies against the Book of God and His Prophet; you also used the persecute and harm his companions.' Al Nadr said, 'Had Quraysh taken you captive, I would have never allowed them to kill you as long as I was alive'; to which Mus'ab replied, 'By God I do not believe you; I am not like you; Islam has severed my relations with you.' Al Nadr was the captive of al Miqdad who expected to receive a great ransom from the captive's family...At this the Prophet--may God's blessing be upon him---said: 'Strike his neck. O God, give al Miqdad plenty of Your bounty instead.' Ali ibn Abu Talib executed the Prophet's order with the sword. As the party arrived at Irq al Zubyah, the Prophet ordered the execution of Uqbah ibn Abu Mu'ayt. When Uqbah pleaded, 'Who will take care of my children, O Mohammed?' Mohammed answered, 'The fire.'}} | {{Quote|The Life of Muhammad, Muhammad H. Haykal, pp. 233-234|Mus'ab replied, 'You used to speak all kinds of calumnies against the Book of God and His Prophet; you also used the persecute and harm his companions.' Al Nadr said, 'Had Quraysh taken you captive, I would have never allowed them to kill you as long as I was alive'; to which Mus'ab replied, 'By God I do not believe you; I am not like you; Islam has severed my relations with you.' Al Nadr was the captive of al Miqdad who expected to receive a great ransom from the captive's family...At this the Prophet--may God's blessing be upon him---said: 'Strike his neck. O God, give al Miqdad plenty of Your bounty instead.' Ali ibn Abu Talib executed the Prophet's order with the sword. As the party arrived at Irq al Zubyah, the Prophet ordered the execution of Uqbah ibn Abu Mu'ayt. When Uqbah pleaded, 'Who will take care of my children, O Mohammed?' Mohammed answered, 'The fire.'}} | ||
Line 242: | Line 262: | ||
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|19|2996}}|Narrated Muhayyisah: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: If you gain a victory over the men of Jews, kill them. So Muhayyisah jumped over Shubaybah, a man of the Jewish merchants. He had close relations with them. He then killed him. At that time Huwayyisah (brother of Muhayyisah) had not embraced Islam. He was older than Muhayyisah. When he killed him, Huwayyisah beat him and said: O enemy of Allah, I swear by Allah, you have a good deal of fat in your belly from his property.}} | {{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|19|2996}}|Narrated Muhayyisah: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: If you gain a victory over the men of Jews, kill them. So Muhayyisah jumped over Shubaybah, a man of the Jewish merchants. He had close relations with them. He then killed him. At that time Huwayyisah (brother of Muhayyisah) had not embraced Islam. He was older than Muhayyisah. When he killed him, Huwayyisah beat him and said: O enemy of Allah, I swear by Allah, you have a good deal of fat in your belly from his property.}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:369| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=369}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=58-59}}|The Affair of Muhayyisa and Huwayyisa:<br> | ||
:My mother's son blames me because if I were ordered to kill him I would smite his nape with a sharp sword, | The apostle said, 'Kill any Jew that falls into your power.' Thereupon Muhayyisa b. Mas'ud leapt upon Ibn Sunayna, a Jewish merchant with women they had social and business relations, and killed him. Huwayyisa killed him Huwayyyisa began to beat him, saying, 'You enemy of God, did you kill him when much of the fat on your belly comes form his wealth?' Muhayyisa answered, 'Had the one who ordered me to kill him ordered me to kill you I would have cut your head off.' He said that this was the beginning of Huwayyisa's acceptance of Islam. The other replied, 'By God, if Muhammad had ordered you to kill me would you have killed me?' He said, 'Yes, by God, had he ordered me to cut off your head I would have done so.' He exclaimed, 'By God, a religion which can bring you to this is marvellous!' and he became a Muslim.<br> | ||
I was told this story by a client of B. Haritha from the daughter of Muhayyisa from Muhayyisa himself.<br> | |||
Muhayyisa composed the following lines on the subject:<br> | |||
:My mother's son blames me because if I were ordered to kill him | |||
:I would smite his nape with a sharp sword, | |||
:A blade white as salt from polishing. | |||
:My downward stroke never misses its mark. | |||
:It would not please me to kill you voluntarily | |||
:Though we owned all Arabia from north to south.}} | |||
===The Killing of Umaiya bin Khalaf Abi Safwan=== | ===The Killing of Umaiya bin Khalaf Abi Safwan=== | ||
Line 253: | Line 281: | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:308|When the apostle ordered him to be killed `Uqba said, ''''But who will look after my children?' 'Hell', he said,''' and `Asim b. Thabit b. Abu'l-Aqlah al-Ansari killed him according to what Abu `Ubayda b. Muhammad b. `Ammar b. Yasir told me.|See Also {{Tabari|9|p. 121}}}} | {{Quote|Ishaq:308|When the apostle ordered him to be killed `Uqba said, ''''But who will look after my children?' 'Hell', he said,''' and `Asim b. Thabit b. Abu'l-Aqlah al-Ansari killed him according to what Abu `Ubayda b. Muhammad b. `Ammar b. Yasir told me.|See Also {{Tabari|9|p. 121}}}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:309|Mus | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=309}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|page=645}}|Nubayh b. Wahb brother of B. 'Abdu'l-Dar told me that the apostle divided the prisoners amongst his companions and said, 'Treat them well.' Now Abu 'Aziz b. 'Umayr b. Hashim, brother of Mus'ab b. 'Umayr by the same mother and father, was among the prisoners and he said, 'My brother Mus'ab passed by me as one of the Ansar was binding me and he said: "Bind him fast, for his mother is a wealthy woman; perhaps she will redeem him from you." I was with a number of the Ansar when they brought me from Badr, and when they ate their morning and evening meals they gave me the bread and ate the dates themselves in accordance with the orders that the apostle had given about us. If anyone had a morsel of bread he gave it to me. I felt ashamed and returned it to one of them but he returned it to me untouched'.}} | ||
===The Killing of Yusayr b. Rizam=== | ===The Killing of Yusayr b. Rizam=== | ||
Line 296: | Line 324: | ||
====Assassination of `Abdullah ibn Sa`d Ibn Abi Sarh==== | ====Assassination of `Abdullah ibn Sa`d Ibn Abi Sarh==== | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:550|The apostle had instructed his commanders when they entered Mecca only to fight those who resisted them | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=550}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=409}}|The apostle had instructed his commanders when they entered Mecca only to fight those who resisted them, except a small number who were to be killed even if they were found beneath the curtains of the Ka'ba. Among them was 'Abdullah b. Sa'd, brother of the B. 'Amir b. Lu'ayy. The reason he ordered him to be killed was that he had been a Muslim and used to write down revelation; then he apostatized and returned to Quraysh and fled to 'Uthman b. 'Affan whose foster-brother he was; The latter hid him until he brought him to the apostle after the situation in Mecca was tranquil, and asked that he might be granted immunity. They allege that the apostle remained silent for a long time till finally he said yes. When 'Uthman had left he said to his companions who were sitting around him, 'I kept silent so that one of you might get up and strike off his head!' One of the Ansar said, 'Then why didn't you give me a sign, a apostle of God I' He answered that a prophet does not kill by pointing.}} | ||
{{Quote|Ibn Sa`d, Vol. 2, p. 174|'''A person of al-Ansar had taken a vow to kill Ibn Abi Sarh''' [the already mentioned Abdallah] if he saw him. `Uthman whose foster brother he (Ibn Abi Sarh) was, came and interceded for him with the prophet. The Ansari was waiting for the signal of the prophet to kill him. `Uthman interceded and he [Muhammad] let him go. The '''the apostle of Allah said to the Ansari, "Why did you not fulfil your vow?"''' He said, "O apostle of Allah! I had my hand on the hilt of the sword waiting for your signal to kill him." The prophet said signalling would have been a breach of faith. "It does not behave the prophet to make signal."}} | {{Quote|Ibn Sa`d, Vol. 2, p. 174|'''A person of al-Ansar had taken a vow to kill Ibn Abi Sarh''' [the already mentioned Abdallah] if he saw him. `Uthman whose foster brother he (Ibn Abi Sarh) was, came and interceded for him with the prophet. The Ansari was waiting for the signal of the prophet to kill him. `Uthman interceded and he [Muhammad] let him go. The '''the apostle of Allah said to the Ansari, "Why did you not fulfil your vow?"''' He said, "O apostle of Allah! I had my hand on the hilt of the sword waiting for your signal to kill him." The prophet said signalling would have been a breach of faith. "It does not behave the prophet to make signal."}} | ||
Line 302: | Line 330: | ||
====Murder of Sarah and Ikrima Abu Jahl==== | ====Murder of Sarah and Ikrima Abu Jahl==== | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:551| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=550-551}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=409-411}}|Another was 'Abdullah b. Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib. He had become a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company with one of the Ansar. He had with him a freed slave who served him. (He was a Muslim.) When they halted he ordered the latter to kill a goat for him and prepare some food, and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had done nothing, so he attacked and killed him and apostatized. He had two singing-girls Fartana and her friend who used to sing satirical songs about the apostle, so he ordered that they should be killed with him.<br> | ||
Another was al-Huwayrith b. Nuqaydh b. Wahb b. 'Abd b. Qusayy, one of those who used to insult him in Mecca.<br> | |||
Another was Miqyas b. Hubaba' because he had killed an Ansari who had killed his brother accidentally, and returned to Quraysh as a polytheist. And Sara, freed slave of one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Muttalib; and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jahl. Sara had insulted him in Mecca. As for 'Ikrima, he fled to the Yarnan. His wife Umm Hakim d. al-Harith b. Hisham became a Muslim and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went to the | |||
Yaman in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, 'O servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you acknowledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:<br> | |||
:By my life, Numayla shamed his people | |||
:And distressed the winter guests when he slew miqyas. | |||
:Whoever has seen a man like Miqyas | |||
:Who provided food for young mothers in hard times.<br> | |||
As for Ibn Khatal's two singing-girls, .one was killed and the other ran away until the apostle, asked for immunity, gave it her. Similarly Sara, who lived until in the time of 'Umar a mounted soldier trod her down in the valley of Mecca and killed her. AI-Huwayrith was killed by 'Ali.}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 179}}|'''"She lived until someone in the time of Umar b. al-Khattab caused his horse to trample her at Abtah and killed her.'''}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 179}}|'''"She lived until someone in the time of Umar b. al-Khattab caused his horse to trample her at Abtah and killed her.'''}} | ||
Line 322: | Line 358: | ||
====Murder of al-Huwayrith Nuqaydh Wahb Qusayy==== | ====Murder of al-Huwayrith Nuqaydh Wahb Qusayy==== | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:551|Another | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=551}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=410-411}}|Another was al-Huwayrith b. Nuqaydh b. Wahb b. 'Abd b. Qusayy, one of those who used to insult him in Mecca.<br> | ||
Another was Miqyas b. Hubaba' because he had killed an Ansari who had killed his brother accidentally, and returned to Quraysh as a polytheist. And Sara, freed slave of one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Muttalib; and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jahl. Sara had insulted him in Mecca. As for 'Ikrima, he fled to the Yarnan. His wife Umm Hakim d. al-Harith b. Hisham became a Muslim and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went to the | |||
Yaman in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, 'O servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you acknowledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:<br> | |||
:By my life, Numayla shamed his people | |||
:And distressed the winter guests when he slew miqyas. | |||
:Whoever has seen a man like Miqyas | |||
:Who provided food for young mothers in hard times.<br> | |||
As for Ibn Khatal's two singing-girls, .one was killed and the other ran away until the apostle, asked for immunity, gave it her. Similarly Sara, who lived until in the time of 'Umar a mounted soldier trod her down in the valley of Mecca and killed her. AI-Huwayrith was killed by 'Ali.}} | |||
====The Murder of Abdullah Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib and his Slaves==== | ====The Murder of Abdullah Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib and his Slaves==== | ||
Line 338: | Line 379: | ||
{{Quote|Ibn Sa'd, Vol. 2, p. 172-173|"The apostle of Allah entered Makkah in the year of victory and on his head there was a helmet. Then he removed it. Ma'n and Musa Ibn Dawud said in their version: A person came to him and said, "O apostle of Allah! Ibn Khatal is holding fast the curtains of al-Kabah. Thereupon '''the apostle of Allah said: "Kill him."'''<BR>.<BR>.<BR>.<BR>'''kill him wherever you find him"'''}} | {{Quote|Ibn Sa'd, Vol. 2, p. 172-173|"The apostle of Allah entered Makkah in the year of victory and on his head there was a helmet. Then he removed it. Ma'n and Musa Ibn Dawud said in their version: A person came to him and said, "O apostle of Allah! Ibn Khatal is holding fast the curtains of al-Kabah. Thereupon '''the apostle of Allah said: "Kill him."'''<BR>.<BR>.<BR>.<BR>'''kill him wherever you find him"'''}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:551| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=550-551}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=409-411}}|Another was 'Abdullah b. Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib. He had become a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company with one of the Ansar. He had with him a freed slave who served him. (He was a Muslim.) When they halted he ordered the latter to kill a goat for him and prepare some food, and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had done nothing, so he attacked and killed him and apostatized. He had two singing-girls Fartana and her friend who used to sing satirical songs about the apostle, so he ordered that they should be killed with him. [...]<br> | ||
As for Ibn Khatal's two singing-girls, .one was killed and the other ran away until the apostle, asked for immunity, gave it her. Similarly Sara, who lived until in the time of 'Umar a mounted soldier trod her down in the valley of Mecca and killed her. AI-Huwayrith was killed by 'Ali.}} | |||
====The Murder of Miqyas Hubaba==== | ====The Murder of Miqyas Hubaba==== | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:551| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=551}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=410-411}}|Another was Miqyas b. Hubaba' because he had killed an Ansari who had killed his brother accidentally, and returned to Quraysh as a polytheist. And Sara, freed slave of one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Muttalib; and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jahl. Sara had insulted him in Mecca. As for 'Ikrima, he fled to the Yarnan. His wife Umm Hakim d. al-Harith b. Hisham became a Muslim and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went to the | ||
Yaman in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, 'O servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you acknowledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:<br> | |||
:By my life, Numayla shamed his people | |||
:And distressed the winter guests when he slew miqyas. | |||
:Whoever has seen a man like Miqyas | |||
:Who provided food for young mothers in hard times.}} | |||
{{Quote|Ishaq:492| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=492}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=293-294}}|Miqyas b. Subaba came from Mecca as a Muslim, so he professed, saying 'I come to you as a Muslim seeking the bloodwit for my brother who we killed in error.' The apostle ordered that he should have the bloodwit for his brother Hisham and he stopped a short while with the apostle. Then he attacked his brother's slayer and killed him and went off to Mecca an apostate. He spoke the following lines: | ||
:It eased my soul that he died in the lowland, | |||
:The blood of his neck veins dyeing his garments. | |||
:Before I killed him I was beset by cares | |||
:Which prevented me from seeking my couch. | |||
:I gave free vent to my vengeance | |||
:And was the first to return to the idols. | |||
:I avenged Fihr on him and laid his bloodwit | |||
:On the chiefs of B. aI-Najjar, the lords of Fari'.<br> | |||
He also said:<br> | |||
:I fetched him a stroke in vengeance | |||
:Which drew blood that ebbed and flowed. | |||
:I said as the wrinkles of death covered him | |||
:'You can't be safe from B. Bakr when they are wronged'.}} | |||
===Unnamed=== | ===Unnamed=== | ||
Line 358: | Line 418: | ||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 90}}|Abu Basir went out with his companions. When they stopped to rest he asked one of them, ‘Is this sword of yours sharp?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘May I look at it?’ Basir asked. ‘If you wish.’ '''Basir unsheathed the sword, attacked the man, and killed him.''' The other Muslim ran back to the Messenger, saying, ‘Your Companion has killed my friend.’ While the man was still there, Abu Basir appeared girded with the sword. '''He halted before Muhammad and said, ‘Messenger, your obligation has been discharged.’'''}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 90}}|Abu Basir went out with his companions. When they stopped to rest he asked one of them, ‘Is this sword of yours sharp?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘May I look at it?’ Basir asked. ‘If you wish.’ '''Basir unsheathed the sword, attacked the man, and killed him.''' The other Muslim ran back to the Messenger, saying, ‘Your Companion has killed my friend.’ While the man was still there, Abu Basir appeared girded with the sword. '''He halted before Muhammad and said, ‘Messenger, your obligation has been discharged.’'''}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:434|'''Amr and | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=434-435}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=186}}|'Amr got as far as al-Qarqara at the beginning of Qanat when two men of B. 'Amir turned up and stopped with him in the shade. Now there was an agreement of friendship between the apostle and the two 'Amiris of which 'Amr knew nothing, and when after questioning he found that they belonged to b. Amir he, let them alone for a time until they slept when he fell upon them and killed them, thinking that he had taken vengeance on them for the killing of the apostle's companions. But when he came to the apostle and told him what he had done he said. 'You have killed two men whose bloodwit I must pay.' Then the apostle said "This is (the result of) Abu Bara's act. I did not like this expedition fearing what would happen.' When Abu Bara' heard the news he was much upset at Amir's Violation of his guarantee in that the apostle's companions | ||
had been killed because of what he had done and because he had promised them safety. Among those who were killed was 'Amir b. Fuhayra.}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|38|4349}}|Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: A Jewess used to abuse the Prophet (peace be upon him) and disparage him. '''A man strangled her till she died.''' The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) declared that '''no recompense was payable for her blood.'''}} | {{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|38|4349}}|Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: A Jewess used to abuse the Prophet (peace be upon him) and disparage him. '''A man strangled her till she died.''' The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) declared that '''no recompense was payable for her blood.'''}} | ||
Line 396: | Line 457: | ||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 38}}|'''The Messenger of Allah commanded that all of the Jewish men and boys who had reached puberty should be beheaded. Then the Prophet divided the wealth, wives, and children of the Banu Qurayza Jews among the Muslims.'''}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|8|p. 38}}|'''The Messenger of Allah commanded that all of the Jewish men and boys who had reached puberty should be beheaded. Then the Prophet divided the wealth, wives, and children of the Banu Qurayza Jews among the Muslims.'''}} | ||
{{Quote|Ishaq:464| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=464}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|pages=240-241}}|'Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatada told me from 'Abdu'l-Rahman b. 'Amr b. Sa'd b. Mu'adh from 'Alqama b. Waqqas al-Layth that the apostle said to Sa'd, 'You have given the judgement of Allah above the seven heavens'.<br> | ||
Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka'b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka'b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them.}} | |||
==References== | ==References== |
Revision as of 20:37, 14 April 2021
This article or section is being renovated. Lead = 2 / 4
Structure = 3 / 4
Content = 4 / 4
Language = 4 / 4
References = 4 / 4
|
According to the Islamic tradition, the early Muslim community faced numerous threats and were in a near constant state of war with their neighbors. As such Muhammad utilized many stratagems of war against his enemies, including targeted assassination orders as well as at least one recorded case of mass execution of a troubling tribe of Jews. The sira tradition also portrays Muhammad as having been sensitive to criticism, particularly from poets, and he ordered that a number of poets who had made verses inveighing against him or mocking him should be executed.
Reputation
When the apostle arrived (at Medina) after his departure from aI-Ta'if Bujayr b. Zuhayr b. Abu Sulma wrote to his brother Ka'b telling him that the apostle had killed some of the men in Mecca who had satirized and insulted him and that the Quraysh poets who were left--Ibn aI-Ziba'ra and Hubayra b. Abu Wahb--had fled in all directions.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 3, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 158, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Divine Dispensation for Killing
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 676, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Individuals
Assassination of Musaylimah
Assassination of `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul al-`Aufi
When we approached the city of Medina he announced at night that it was time for departure. So when they announced the news of departure, I got up and went away from the army camps, and after finishing from the call of nature, I came back to my riding animal. I touched my chest to find that my necklace which was made of Zifar beads (i.e. Yemenite beads partly black and partly white) was missing. So I returned to look for my necklace and my search for it detained me. (In the meanwhile) the people who used to carry me on my camel, came and took my howdah and put it on the back of my camel on which I used to ride, as they considered that I was in it. In those days women were light in weight for they did not get fat, and flesh did not cover their bodies in abundance as they used to eat only a little food. Those people therefore, disregarded the lightness of the howdah while lifting and carrying it; and at that time I was still a young girl. They made the camel rise and all of them left (along with it). I found my necklace after the army had gone.
Then I came to their camping place to find no call maker of them, nor one who would respond to the call. So I intended to go to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would miss me and come back to me (in my search). While I was sitting in my resting place, I was overwhelmed by sleep and slept. Safwan bin Al-Muattal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army. When he reached my place in the morning, he saw the figure of a sleeping person and he recognized me on seeing me as he had seen me before the order of compulsory veiling (was prescribed). So I woke up when he recited Istirja' (i.e. "Inna lillahi wa inna llaihi raji'un") as soon as he recognized me. I veiled my face with my head cover at once, and by Allah, we did not speak a single word, and I did not hear him saying any word besides his Istirja'. He dismounted from his camel and made it kneel down, putting his leg on its front legs and then I got up and rode on it. Then he set out leading the camel that was carrying me till we overtook the army in the extreme heat of midday while they were at a halt (taking a rest). (Because of the event) some people brought destruction upon themselves and the one who spread the Ifk (i.e. slander) more, was 'Abdullah bin Ubai Ibn Salul."
(Urwa said, "The people propagated the slander and talked about it in his (i.e. 'Abdullah's) presence and he confirmed it and listened to it and asked about it to let it prevail." Urwa also added, "None was mentioned as members of the slanderous group besides ('Abdullah) except Hassan bin Thabit and Mistah bin Uthatha and Hamna bint Jahsh along with others about whom I have no knowledge, but they were a group as Allah said. It is said that the one who carried most of the slander was 'Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul." Urwa added, "'Aisha disliked to have Hassan abused in her presence and she used to say, 'It was he who said: My father and his (i.e. my father's) father and my honor are all for the protection of Muhammad's honor from you.").
'Aisha added, "After we returned to Medina, I became ill for a month. The people were propagating the forged statements of the slanderers while I was unaware of anything of all that, but I felt that in my present ailment, I was not receiving the same kindness from Allah's Apostle as I used to receive when I got sick. (But now) Allah's Apostle would only come, greet me and say,' How is that (lady)?' and leave. That roused my doubts, but I did not discover the evil (i.e. slander) till I went out after my convalescence, I went out with Um Mistah to Al-Manasi' where we used to answer the call of nature and we used not to go out (to answer the call of nature) except at night, and that was before we had latrines near our houses. And this habit of our concerning evacuating the bowels, was similar to the habits of the old 'Arabs living in the deserts, for it would be troublesome for us to take latrines near our houses. So I and Um Mistah who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Al-Muttalib bin Abd Manaf, whose mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin 'Amir and the aunt of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and whose son was Mistah bin Uthatha bin 'Abbas bin Al-Muttalib, went out. I and Um Mistah returned to my house after we finished answering the call of nature. Um Mistah stumbled by getting her foot entangled in her covering sheet and on that she said, 'Let Mistah be ruined!' I said, 'What a hard word you have said. Do you abuse a man who took part in the battle of Badr?' On that she said, 'O you Hantah! Didn't you hear what he (i.e. Mistah) said? 'I said, 'What did he say?'
Then she told me the slander of the people of Ifk. So my ailment was aggravated, and when I reached my home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting me, said, 'How is that (lady)?' I said, 'Will you allow me to go to my parents?' as I wanted to be sure about the news through them. Allah's Apostle allowed me (and I went to my parents) and asked my mother, 'O mother! What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry, for scarcely is there a charming woman who is loved by her husband and whose husband has other wives besides herself that they (i.e. women) would find faults with her.' I said, 'Subhan-Allah! (I testify the uniqueness of Allah). Are the people really talking in this way?' I kept on weeping that night till dawn I could neither stop weeping nor sleep then in the morning again, I kept on weeping. When the Divine Inspiration was delayed.
Allah's Apostle called 'Ali bin Abi Talib and Usama bin Zaid to ask and consult them about divorcing me. Usama bin Zaid said what he knew of my innocence, and the respect he preserved in himself for me. Usama said, '(O Allah's Apostle!) She is your wife and we do not know anything except good about her.' 'Ali bin Abi Talib said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah does not put you in difficulty and there are plenty of women other than she, yet, ask the maid-servant who will tell you the truth.' On that Allah's Apostle called Barira (i.e. the maid-servant) and said, 'O Barira! Did you ever see anything which aroused your suspicion?' Barira said to him, 'By Him Who has sent you with the Truth. I have never seen anything in her (i.e. Aisha) which I would conceal, except that she is a young girl who sleeps leaving the dough of her family exposed so that the domestic goats come and eat it.'
So, on that day, Allah's Apostle got up on the pulpit and complained about 'Abdullah bin Ubai (bin Salul) before his companions, saying, 'O you Muslims! Who will relieve me from that man who has hurt me with his evil statement about my family? By Allah, I know nothing except good about my family and they have blamed a man about whom I know nothing except good and he used never to enter my home except with me.' Sad bin Mu'adh the brother of Banu 'Abd Al-Ashhal got up and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! I will relieve you from him; if he is from the tribe of Al-Aus, then I will chop his head off, and if he is from our brothers, i.e. Al-Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfill your order.' On that, a man from Al-Khazraj got up. Um Hassan, his cousin, was from his branch tribe, and he was Sad bin Ubada, chief of Al-Khazraj. Before this incident, he was a pious man, but his love for his tribe goaded him into saying to Sad (bin Mu'adh). 'By Allah, you have told a lie; you shall not and cannot kill him. If he belonged to your people, you would not wish him to be killed.'
On that, Usaid bin Hudair who was the cousin of Sad (bin Mu'adh) got up and said to Sad bin 'Ubada, 'By Allah! You are a liar! We will surely kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on the behalf of hypocrites.' On this, the two tribes of Al-Aus and Al Khazraj got so much excited that they were about to fight while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. Allah's Apostle kept on quietening them till they became silent and so did he. All that day I kept on weeping with my tears never ceasing, and I could never sleep.
In the morning my parents were with me and I wept for two nights and a day with my tears never ceasing and I could never sleep till I thought that my liver would burst from weeping. So, while my parents were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked me to grant her admittance. I allowed her to come in, and when she came in, she sat down and started weeping with me. While we were in this state, Allah's Apostle came, greeted us and sat down. He had never sat with me since that day of the slander. A month had elapsed and no Divine Inspiration came to him about my case. Allah's Apostle then recited Tashah-hud and then said, 'Amma Badu, O 'Aisha! I have been informed so-and-so about you; if you are innocent, then soon Allah will reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then repent to Allah and ask Him for forgiveness for when a slave confesses his sins and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.'
When Allah's Apostle finished his speech, my tears ceased flowing completely that I no longer felt a single drop of tear flowing. I said to my father, 'Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf concerning what he has said.' My father said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle .' Then I said to my mother, 'Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf concerning what he has said.' She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.' In spite of the fact that I was a young girl and had a little knowledge of Quran, I said, 'By Allah, no doubt I know that you heard this (slanderous) speech so that it has been planted in your hearts (i.e. minds) and you have taken it as a truth. Now if I tell you that I am innocent, you will not believe me, and if confess to you about it, and Allah knows that I am innocent, you will surely believe me. By Allah, I find no similitude for me and you except that of Joseph's father when he said, '(For me) patience in the most fitting against that which you assert; it is Allah (Alone) Whose Help can be sought.' Then I turned to the other side and lay on my bed; and Allah knew then that I was innocent and hoped that Allah would reveal my innocence. But, by Allah, I never thought that Allah would reveal about my case, Divine Inspiration, that would be recited (forever) as I considered myself too unworthy to be talked of by Allah with something of my concern, but I hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. But, by Allah, before Allah's Apostle left his seat and before any of the household left, the Divine inspiration came to Allah's Apostle.
So there overtook him the same hard condition which used to overtake him, (when he used to be inspired Divinely). The sweat was dropping from his body like pearls though it was a wintry day and that was because of the weighty statement which was being revealed to him. When that state of Allah's Apostle was over, he got up smiling, and the first word he said was, 'O 'Aisha! Allah has declared your innocence!' Then my Mother said to me, 'Get up and go to him (i.e. Allah's Apostle). I replied, 'By Allah, I will not go to him, and I praise none but Allah. So Allah revealed the ten Verses:-- "Verily! They who spread the slander Are a gang, among you............." (24.11-20)
Allah revealed those Quranic Verses to declare my innocence. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq who used to disburse money for Mistah bin Uthatha because of his relationship to him and his poverty, said, 'By Allah, I will never give to Mistah bin Uthatha anything after what he has said about Aisha.' Then Allah revealed:--
"And let not those among you who are good and wealthy swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, those in need, and those who have left their homes for Allah's cause, let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is oft-Forgiving Most Merciful." (24.22)
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, 'Yes, by Allah, I would like that Allah forgive me.' and went on giving Mistah the money he used to give him before. He also added, 'By Allah, I will never deprive him of it at all.'
Assassination of Abu `Afak
Abu 'Afak was one of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf of the B. 'Ubayda clan. He showed his disaffection when the apostle killed al-Harith b. Suwayd b. Samit and said:
- Long have I lived but never have I seen
- An assembly or collection of people
- More faithful to their understanding
- And their allies when called upon
- That the sons of Qayla when they assembled,
- Men who overthrew mountains and never submitted.
- A rider who came to them split them in two (saying)
- 'Permitted', 'Forbidden' of all sorts of things.
- Had you believed in glory or kinship
- You would have followed Tubba'.
The apostle said, 'Who will deal with this rascal for me?' whereupon Salim b. 'Umayr, brother of B. 'Amr b. 'Auf one of the 'weepers', went forth and killed him. Umama b. Muzayriya said concerning that:
- You gave the lie to God's religion and the man Ahmad!
- By him who was your father, evil is the son he produced!
- A hanif gave you a thrust in the night saying
- 'Take that Abu 'Afak in spite of your age!'
- Though I knew whether it was man or jinn
- Who slew you in the dead of night (I would say naught).
Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 675, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 635-636, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Salim Ibn Umayr who was one of the great weepers and who had participated in Badr, said, "I take a vow that I shall either kill Abu Afak or die before him. He waited for an opportunity until a hot night came, and Abu Afak slept in an open place. Salim Ibn Umayr knew it, so he placed the sword on his liver and pressed it till it reached his bed. The enemy of Allah screamed and the people who were his followers, rushed to him, took him to his house and interred him.
Assassination of Abu Rafi’ (Sallam Ibn Abu'l-Huqayq)
When the fight at the trench and the affair of the B. Qurayza were over, the matter of Sallam b. Abu'l-Huqayq known as Abu Rafi carne up in connexion with those who had collected the mixed tribes together against the apostle. Now Aus had killed Ka'b b. aI-Ashraf before Uhud because of his enmity towards the apostle and because he instigated men against him, so Khazraj asked and obtained the apostle's permission to kill Sallam who was in Khaybar.
Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab al-Zuhri from Abdullah b. Ka'b b. Malik told me: One of the things which God did for His apostle was that
these two tribes of the Ansar, Aus and Khazraj, competed the one with the other like two stallions: if Aus did anything to the apostle s advantage Khazraj would say, 'They shall not have this superiority over us in the apostle's eyes and in Islam' and they would not rest until they could do something similar. If Khazraj did anything Aus would say the same.
When Aus had killed Ka'b for his enmity towards the apostle: Khazraj used these words and asked themselves what man was as hostile to the apostle as Ka'b? And then they remembered Sallam who was in Khaybar and asked and obtained the apostle's permission to kill him.
Five men of B. Salima of Khazraj went to him: 'Abdullah b. 'Atik; Mas'ud b. Sinan; 'Abdullah b. Unays; Abu Qatada al-Harith b. Rib'i; and Khuza'i b. Aswad, an ally from Aslam. As they left, the aposte appointed 'Abdullah b. 'Atik as their leader, and he forbade them to kill women or children. When they got to Khaybar they went to Sallam's house by night, having locked every door in the settlement on the inhabitants. Now he was in an upper chamber of his to which a (T. Roman) ladder led up. They mounted this until they came to the door and asked to be allowed to come in. His wife. came out and asked who they were and they told her that they were Arabs In search of supplies. She told them that their man was here and that they could come in. When we entered we bolted the door of the room on her and ourselves fearing lest something should come between us and him. His wife shrieked and warned him of us, so we ran at him with our swords as he was on his bed. The only thing that guided us in the darkness of the night was his whiteness like an Egyptian blanket. When his wife shrieked one of our number would lift his sword against her; then he would remember the apostle's ban on killing women and withdraw his hand; but or that we would have made an end of her that night. When we had smitten him With our swords 'Abdullah b. Unays bore down with his sword into his belly until it went right through him, as he was saying Qatni, qatni, i.e. It's enough.
We went out. Now 'Abdullah b. 'Atik had poor sight, and fell from the ladder and sprained his arm severely, so we carried him until we brought him to one of their water channels and went into it. The people lit lamps and went in search of us in all directions until, despairing of finding us, they returned to their master and gathered round him as he was dying. We asked each other how we could know that the enemy of God was dead, and one of us volunteered to go and see; so off he went and mingled with the people. He said, 'I found his wife and some Jews gathered round him. She had a lamp in her hand and was peering into his face and saying to them 'By God, I certainly heard the voice of 'Abdullah b. 'Atik. Then I decided I must be wrong and thought "How can Ibn 'Atik be in this country?'" Then she turned towards him, looking into his face, and said, 'By the God of the Jews he is dead!' Never have I heard sweeter words than those.
Then he came to us and told us the news, and we picked up our companion and took him to the apostle and told him that we had killed God's
enemy. We disputed before him as to who had killed him, each of us laying claim to the deed. The apostle demanded to see our swords and when he looked at them he said, 'It is the sword of 'Abdullah b. Unays that killed him; I can see traces of food on it.'
Hassan b. Thabit mentioning the killing of Ka'b and Sallam said:
- God, what a fine band you met,
- O Ibnu'l-Huqayq and Ibnu'l-Ashraf!
- They went to you with sharp swords,
- Brisk as lions in a tangled thicket,
- Until they came on you in your dwelling
- And made you drink death with their swift-slaying swords,
- Looking for the victory of their prophet's religion
- Despising every risk of hurt.
Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 482-484, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 273-276, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Assassination of Ka’b bin Ashraf
- Of them Ka'b was left prostrate there
- (After his fall al-Nadir were brought low).
- Sword in hand we cut him down
- By Muhammad's order when he sent secretly by night
- Ka'b's brother to go to Ka'b.
- He beguiled him and brought him down with guile
- Mahmud was trustworthy, bold.
Hassan b. Thabit, mentioning the killing of Ka'b and of Sallam b. Abu'l-Huqayq, said:
- What a fine band you met, O Ibnu'l-Huqayq,
- And you too, Ibnu'l-Ashraf,
- Travelling by night with their swords
- Bold as lions in their jungle lair
- Until they came to you in your quarter
- And made you taste death with their deadly swords,
- Seeking victory for the religion of their prophet
- Counting their lives and wealth as nothing.
Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 368-369, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 57-58, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
After the Quraysh defeat at Badr the apostle had sent Zayd b. Haritha to the lower quarter and 'Abdullah b. Rawaha to the upper quarter to tell the Muslims of Medina of God's victory and of the polytheists who had been killed. 'Abdullah b. al-Mughith b. Abu Burda al-Zafari and 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr b. Muhammad b. 'Amr b. Hazm and 'Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatada and Salih; b. Abu Umama b. Sahl each gave me a part of the following story: Kab b. aI-Ashraf who was one of the Tayyi' of the subsection B. Nabhan whose mother was from the B. al-Nadir, when he heard the news said, 'Is this true? Did Muhammad actually kill these whom these two men mention? (i.e. Zayd and 'Abdullah b. Rawaha). These are the nobles of the Arabs and kingly men; by God, if Muhammad has slain these people 'twere better to be dead than alive.'
When the enemy of God became certain that the news was true he left the town and went to Mecca to stay with al-Muttalib b. Abu Wada'a b. Dubayra al-Sahmi who was married to 'Atika d. Abu'l-'Is b. Umayya b. 'Abdu Shams b. 'Abdu 'Manaf. She took him in and entertained him hospitably. He began to inveigh against the apostle and to recite verses in which he be wailed the Quraysh who were thrown into the pit after having been slain at Badr. He said: [poetry]
Then he composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women. The apostle said-according to what 'Abdullah b.
al-Mughith b. Abu Burda told me--'Who will rid me of Ibnu'I-Ashraf?' Muhammad b. Maslama, brother of the B. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal, said, 'I will
deal with him for you, O apostle of God, I will kill him.' He said, 'Do so if you can: So Muhammad b. Maslama returned and waited for three days without food or drink, apart from what was absolutely necessary. When the apostle was told of this he summoned him and asked him why he had given up eating and drinking. He replied that he had given him an undertaking and he did not know whether he could fulfil it. The apostle said, 'All that is incumbent upon you is that you should try: He said, 'O apostle of God, we shall have to tell lies.' He answered, 'Say what you like, for you are free in the matter.' Thereupon he and Silkan b. Salama b. Waqsh who was Abu Na'ila one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal, foster-brother of Ka'b, and 'Abbad b. Bishr b. Waqsh, and al-Harith b. Aus b. Mu'adh of the B. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal and Abu 'Abs b. Jabr of the B. Haritha conspired together and sent Silkan to the enemy of God, Ka'b b. Ashraf, before they came to him. He talked to him some time and they recited poetry one to the other, for Silkan was fond of poetry. Then he said, 'O Ibn Ashraf, I have come to you about a matter which I want to tell you of and wish you to keep secret.' 'Very well,' he replied. He went on, 'The coming of this man is a great trial to us. It has provoked the hostility of the Arabs, and they are all in league against us. The roads have become impassable so that our families are in want and privation, and we and our families are in great distress.' Ka'b answered, 'By God, I kept telling you, O Ibn Salama, that the things I warned you of would happen.' Silkan said to him, 'I want you to sell us food and we will give you a pledge of security and you deal generously in the matter.' He replied, 'Will you give me your sons as a pledge?' He said, 'You want to insult us. I have friends who share my opinion and I want to bring them to you so that you may sell to them and act generously, and we will give you enough weapons for a good pledge.' Silkan's object was that he should not take alarm at the sight of weapons when they brought them. Ka'b answered, 'Weapons are a good pledge.' Thereupon Silkan returned to his companions, told them what had happened, and ordered them to take their arms. Then they went away and assembled with him and met the apostle.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 51-56, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Attempted Assassination of Abu Sufyan
Abu Sufyan was the commander of the Meccan forces.
One of the Meccans recognized me and shouted, ‘That is Amr!’ They rushed after us, saying, ‘By Allah, Amr has not come here for any good purpose! He has come for some evil reason.’ Amr had been a cutthroat and a desperado before accepting Islam.
Amr said, ‘Let’s wait here until the cry has died down. They are sure to hunt for us tonight and tomorrow. I was still in the cave when Uthman bin Malik came riding proudly on his horse. He reached the entrance to our cave and I said to my Ansar companion, ‘If he sees us, he will tell everyone in Mecca.’ So I went out and stabbed him with my dagger. He gave a shout and the Meccans came to him while I went back to my hiding place. Finding him at the point of death, they said, ‘By Allah we knew that Amr came for no good purpose.’ The death of their companion impeded their search for us, for they carried him away.
I went into a cave with my bow and arrows. While I was in it, a one-eyed man from the Banu Bakr came in driving some sheep. He said, ‘Who’s there?’ I said [lied], ‘I’m a Banu Bakr.’ ‘So am I.’ Then he laid down next to me, and raised his voice in song: ‘I will not believe in the faith of the Muslims.’ I said, ‘You will soon see!’ Before long the Bedouin went to sleep and started snoring. So I killed him in the most dreadful way that anybody has ever killed. I leant over him, struck the end of my bow into his good eye, and thrust it down until it came out the back of his neck. After that I rushed out like a wild beast and took flight. I came to the village of Naqi and recognized two Meccan spies. I called for them to surrender. They said no so I shot and arrow and killed one, and then I tied the other up and took him to Muhammad.
I had tied my prisoner’s thumbs together with my bowstring. The Messenger of Allah looked at him and laughed so that his back teeth could be seen. Then he questioned me and I told him what had happened. ‘Well done!’ he said, and prayed for me to be blessed.
Murder of `Asma' Bint Marwan
She was of B. Umayya b. Zayd. When Abu 'Afak had been killed she displayed disaffection. 'Abdullah b. al-Harith b. al-Fudayl from his father said that she was married to a man of B. Khatma called Yazid b. Zayd. Blaming Islam and its followers she said:
- I despise B. Malik and al-Nabit
- And 'Auf and B. al-Khazraj.
- You obey a stranger who is none of yours,
- One not of Murad or Madhhij.
- Do you expect good from him after the killing of your chiefs
- Like a hungry man waiting for a cook's broth?
- Is there no man of pride who would attack him by surprise
- And cut off the hopes of those who expect aught from him?
Hassan b. Thabit answered her:
- Banu Wa'il and B. Waqif and Khatma
- Are inferior to B. al-Khazraj.
- When she called for folly woe to her in her weeping,
- For death is coming.
- She stirred up a man of glorious origin,
- Noble in his going out and his coming in.
- Before midnight he dyed her in her blood
- And incurred no guilt thereby.
When the apostle heard what she had said he said, 'Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?' 'Umayr b. 'Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done and he said, 'You have helped God and His apostle, a 'Umayr!' When he asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences the apostle said, 'Two goats won't butt their heads about her,' so 'Umayr went back to his people.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 636-638, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Then (occurred) the sariyyah of `Umayr ibn `Adi Ibn Kharashah al-Khatmi against `Asma' Bint Marwan, of Banu Umayyah Ibn Zayd, when five nights had remained from the month of Ramadan, in the beginning of the nineteenth month from the hijrah of the apostle of Allah. `Asma' was the wife of Yazid Ibn Zayd Ibn Hisn al-Khatmi. She used to revile Islam, offend the prophet and instigate the (people) against him. She composed verses. Umayr Ibn Adi came to her in the night and entered her house. Her children were sleeping around her. There was one whom she was suckling. He searched her with his hand because he was blind, and separated the child from her. He thrust his sword in her chest till it pierced up to her back. Then he offered the morning prayers with the prophet at al-Medina. The apostle of Allah said to him: "Have you slain the daughter of Marwan?" He said: "Yes. Is there something more for me to do?" He [Muhammad] said: "No. Two goats will butt together about her. This was the word that was first heard from the apostle of Allah. The apostle of Allah called him `Umayr, "basir" (the seeing).
The Killing of the King of Dumah's Brother
Then the Messenger of God summoned Khalid b. al-Walid and sent him to Ukaydir at Dumah. This was Ukaydir b. 'Abd al-Malik, a man from Kindah who was a king of Dumah and a Christian. The Messenger of God told Khalid that he would find him hunting wild cows . Khalid b. al-Walid rode out until he came within sight of his fort. It was a moonlit summer night and Ukaydir was on the roof terrace with his wife. The wild cows had been scratching the palace gate with their horns all night. His wife asked him if he had ever seen anything like that, and he said, "No indeed." Then she said, "Who would allow this?" He responded, "No one." He then came down and called for his horse, which was saddled. A group of men from his family , among them his brother Hassan, took their hunting spears, mounted [their horses], and rode off. On their way they encountered the Messenger of God's cavalry, and [Ukaydir] was seized and his brother Hassan was killed.
Assassination of Amr b. Jihash
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 192, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Assassination of Khalid b. Sufyan
The Killing of Khubaib
Narrated Az-Zuhri: 'Ubaidullah bin 'Iyyad said that the daughter of Al-Harith had told him, "When those people gathered (to kill Khubaib) he borrowed a razor from me to shave his pubes and I gave it to him. Then he took a son of mine while I was unaware when he came upon him. I saw him placing my son on his thigh and the razor was in his hand. I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed the agitation on my face and said, 'Are you afraid that I will kill him? No, I will never do so.' By Allah, I never saw a prisoner better than Khubaib. By Allah, one day I saw him eating of a bunch of grapes in his hand while he was chained in irons, and there was no fruit at that time in Mecca." The daughter of Al-Harith used to say, "It was a boon Allah bestowed upon Khubaib." When they took him out of the Sanctuary (of Mecca) to kill him outside its boundaries, Khubaib requested them to let him offer two Rakat (prayer). They allowed him and he offered Two Rakat and then said, "Hadn't I been afraid that you would think that I was afraid (of being killed), I would have prolonged the prayer. O Allah, kill them all with no exception." (He then recited the poetic verse):-- "I being martyred as a Muslim, Do not mind how I am killed in Allah's Cause, For my killing is for Allah's Sake, And if Allah wishes, He will bless the amputated parts of a torn body" Then the son of Al Harith killed him. So, it was Khubaib who set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity, to offer a two-Rak'at prayer (before being killed). Allah fulfilled the invocation of Asim bin Thabit on that very day on which he was martyred. The Prophet informed his companions of their news and what had happened to them. Later on when some infidels from Quraish were informed that Asim had been killed, they sent some people to fetch a part of his body (i.e. his head) by which he would be recognized. (That was because) 'Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day (of the battle) of Badr. So, a swarm of wasps, resembling a shady cloud, were sent to hover over Asim and protect him from their messenger and thus they could not cut off anything from his flesh.
The Torture and Murder of Kinanah b. al-Rabi b. al-Huqyaq
Kinana b. al-Rabi', who had the custody of the treasure of B. al-Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came (T. was brought) to the apostle and said that he T. 158. had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kinana, 'Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?' he said Yes. The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam, 'Torture him until you extract what he has,' so he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 336-337, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Murder of Al-Nadr Bin Al-Harith
When they said this the apostle got up and left them.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 295-296, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Ibn 'Abbas, according to my information, used to say eight verses of the Quran came down in reference to him, 'When our verses are read to him, he says fairy tales of the ancients'; and all those passages in-the Quran in which 'fairy tales' are mentioned.
When Al-Nadr said that to them, they sent him and 'Uqba b. Abu Mu'ayt to the Jewish rabbis in Medina and said to them, 'Ask them about Muhammad; describe him to them and tell them what he says, for they are the first people of the scriptures and have knowledge which we do not possess about the prophets.' They carried out their instructions, and said to the rabbis, 'You are the people of the Taurat,' and we have come to you so that you can tell us how to deal with this tribesman of ours.' The rabbis said, 'Ask him about three things of which we will instruct you; if he gives you the right answer then he is an authentic prophet, but if he does not, then the man is a rogue, so form your own opinion about him. Ask him what happened to the young men who disappeared in ancient days, for they have a marvellous story. Ask him about the mighty traveller who reached the confines of both East and West. Ask him what the spirit is. If he can give you the answer, then follow him, for he is a prophet. If he cannot, then he is a forger and treat him as you will.' The two men returned to Quraysh at Mecca' and told them that they had. a decisive way of dealing with Muhammad, and they told them about the three questions.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 300-302, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
And there came down concerning him, 'When Our verses are read to him he says, fables of the ancients'.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 358, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
When the apostle ordered him to be killed 'Uqba said, 'But who will look after my children, O Muhammad?' 'Hell', he said, and 'Asim b. Thabit b. Abu'I-Aqlah al-Ansari killed him according to what Abu 'Ubayda b. Muhammad b. 'Ammar b. Yasir told me.
Abu Hind, freedman of Farwa b. 'Amr al-Bayadi, met the apostle there With a jar full of butter and dates (383). He had stayed behind from Badr
but was present at all the other battles and afterwards became the apostle's cupper, The apostle said, 'Abu Hind is one of the Ansar; intermarry with him, and they did so.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 643-644, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 649, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
- O Rider, I think you will reach Uthayl
- At dawn of the fifth night if you are lucky.
- Greet a dead man there for me.
- Swift camels always carry news from me to :thee.
- (Tell of) flowing tears running profusely or ending in a sob.
- Can al-Nadir hear me when I call him,
- How can a dead man hear who cannot speak?
- O Muhammad, finest child of noble mother,
- Whose sire a noble sire was,
- 'Twould not have harmed you had you spared him.
- (A warrior oft spares though full of rage and anger.)
- Or you could have taken a ransom,
- The dearest price that could be paid.
- Al-Nadr was the nearest relative you captured
- With the best claim to be released.
- The swords of his father's sons came down on him.
- Good God, what bonds of kinship there were shattered!
- Exhausted he was led to a cold-blooded death,
- A prisoner in bonds, walking like a hobbled beast.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 42-43, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Death of Ibn Sunayna
The apostle said, 'Kill any Jew that falls into your power.' Thereupon Muhayyisa b. Mas'ud leapt upon Ibn Sunayna, a Jewish merchant with women they had social and business relations, and killed him. Huwayyisa killed him Huwayyyisa began to beat him, saying, 'You enemy of God, did you kill him when much of the fat on your belly comes form his wealth?' Muhayyisa answered, 'Had the one who ordered me to kill him ordered me to kill you I would have cut your head off.' He said that this was the beginning of Huwayyisa's acceptance of Islam. The other replied, 'By God, if Muhammad had ordered you to kill me would you have killed me?' He said, 'Yes, by God, had he ordered me to cut off your head I would have done so.' He exclaimed, 'By God, a religion which can bring you to this is marvellous!' and he became a Muslim.
I was told this story by a client of B. Haritha from the daughter of Muhayyisa from Muhayyisa himself.
Muhayyisa composed the following lines on the subject:
- My mother's son blames me because if I were ordered to kill him
- I would smite his nape with a sharp sword,
- A blade white as salt from polishing.
- My downward stroke never misses its mark.
- It would not please me to kill you voluntarily
- Though we owned all Arabia from north to south.
Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 369, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 58-59, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Killing of Umaiya bin Khalaf Abi Safwan
The Execution of `Uqba bin Abi Mu`ayt
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 645, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Killing of Yusayr b. Rizam
The Torture and Murder of the Eight Men From 'Ukil
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Ibn al-Sabbah with a slight variation of words.
The Slaughter of the Ten Meccans
When Uthman had left he [Muhammad] said to his companions who were sitting around him, "I kept silent so that one of you might get up and strike off his head!" One of the Ansar said, "Then why didn't you give me a sign, O apostle of God?" He answered that a prophet does not kill by pointing."
"Another [to be killed] was Abdullah Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib. He had become a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company with one of the Ansar. He had with him a freed slave who served him. (He was Muslim). When they halted he ordered the latter to kill a goat for him and prepare some food, and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had done nothing, so he attacked and killed him and apostatized. He had two singing-girls Fartana and her friend who used to sing satirical songs about the apostle, so he ordered that they should be killed with him."
Assassination of Habbar Ibn al-Aswad
Muhammad ordered the assassination of al-Aswad. He was assassinated because, like Muhammad, he claimed to be a prophet.
Assassination of `Abdullah ibn Sa`d Ibn Abi Sarh
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 409, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Murder of Sarah and Ikrima Abu Jahl
Another was al-Huwayrith b. Nuqaydh b. Wahb b. 'Abd b. Qusayy, one of those who used to insult him in Mecca.
Another was Miqyas b. Hubaba' because he had killed an Ansari who had killed his brother accidentally, and returned to Quraysh as a polytheist. And Sara, freed slave of one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Muttalib; and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jahl. Sara had insulted him in Mecca. As for 'Ikrima, he fled to the Yarnan. His wife Umm Hakim d. al-Harith b. Hisham became a Muslim and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went to the
Yaman in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, 'O servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you acknowledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:
- By my life, Numayla shamed his people
- And distressed the winter guests when he slew miqyas.
- Whoever has seen a man like Miqyas
- Who provided food for young mothers in hard times.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 409-411, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Murder of al-Aswad b. Ka`b al-`Ansi
Attempted Murder of Hind bint Utbah
Murder of al-Huwayrith Nuqaydh Wahb Qusayy
Another was Miqyas b. Hubaba' because he had killed an Ansari who had killed his brother accidentally, and returned to Quraysh as a polytheist. And Sara, freed slave of one of the B. 'Abdu'l-Muttalib; and 'Ikrima b. Abu Jahl. Sara had insulted him in Mecca. As for 'Ikrima, he fled to the Yarnan. His wife Umm Hakim d. al-Harith b. Hisham became a Muslim and asked immunity for him and the apostle gave it. She went to the
Yaman in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, 'O servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you acknowledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:
- By my life, Numayla shamed his people
- And distressed the winter guests when he slew miqyas.
- Whoever has seen a man like Miqyas
- Who provided food for young mothers in hard times.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 410-411, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Murder of Abdullah Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib and his Slaves
Malik commented, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not in ihram at the time, and Allah knows best."
.
.
.
kill him wherever you find him"
As for Ibn Khatal's two singing-girls, .one was killed and the other ran away until the apostle, asked for immunity, gave it her. Similarly Sara, who lived until in the time of 'Umar a mounted soldier trod her down in the valley of Mecca and killed her. AI-Huwayrith was killed by 'Ali.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 409-411, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Murder of Miqyas Hubaba
Yaman in search of him and brought him to the apostle and he accepted Islam. (T- 'Ikrima used to relate, according to what they say, that what turned him to Islam when he had gone to the Yaman was that he had determined to cross the sea to Abyssinia and when he found a ship the master said, 'O servant of God, you cannot travel in my ship until you acknowledge that God is one and disavow any rival to Him, for I fear that if you do not do so we should perish.' When I asked if none but such persons was allowed to travel in his ship he replied, 'Yes, and he must be sincere.' So I thought: Why should I leave Muhammad when this is what he has brought us? Truly our God on the sea is our God on the dry land. Thereupon I recognized Islam and it entered into my heart.) 'Abdullah h. Khatal was killed by Said b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami acting together. Miqyas was killed by Numayla b. 'Abdullah, one of his own people. Miqyas's sister said of his killing:
- By my life, Numayla shamed his people
- And distressed the winter guests when he slew miqyas.
- Whoever has seen a man like Miqyas
- Who provided food for young mothers in hard times.
Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 551, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 410-411, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
- It eased my soul that he died in the lowland,
- The blood of his neck veins dyeing his garments.
- Before I killed him I was beset by cares
- Which prevented me from seeking my couch.
- I gave free vent to my vengeance
- And was the first to return to the idols.
- I avenged Fihr on him and laid his bloodwit
- On the chiefs of B. aI-Najjar, the lords of Fari'.
He also said:
- I fetched him a stroke in vengeance
- Which drew blood that ebbed and flowed.
- I said as the wrinkles of death covered him
- 'You can't be safe from B. Bakr when they are wronged'.
Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 492, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 293-294, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
Unnamed
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 186, https://app.turath.io/book/23833
The Blind Jew
Blind Man's Slave-Mother
He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.
He sat before the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.
Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.
See also Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4348
Burned Alive
The Infidel Spy
Mass Execution
Qurayza
Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka'b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka'b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them.
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 240-241, https://app.turath.io/book/23833