42. The detachment of ʿUbaydah b. al-Ḥārith, which is the first banner he tied (peace be upon him)
Sirat Ibn Hisham 677No grade recorded
سَرِيَّةُ عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ وَهِيَ أَوَّلُ رَايَةٍ عَقَدَهَا عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ [ مَا وَقَعَ بَيْنَ الْكُفَّارِ وَإِصَابَةُ سَعْدٍ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَبَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فِي مُقَامِهِ ذَلِكَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ عُبَيْدَةَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ مَنَافِ بْنِ قُصَيٍّ فِي سِتِّينَ أَوْ ثَمَانِينَ رَاكِبًا مِنْ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ، لَيْسَ فِيهِمْ مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ أَحَدٌ، فَسَارَ حَتَّى بَلَغَ مَاءً بِالْحِجَازِ، بِأَسْفَلَ ثَنِيَّةِ الْمُرَّةِ، فَلَقِيَ بِهَا جَمْعًا عَظِيمًا مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ بَيْنَهُمْ قِتَالٌ، إلَّا أَنَّ سَعْدَ بْنَ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ قَدْ رُمِيَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِسَهْمٍ، فَكَانَ أَوَّلَ سَهْمٍ رُمِيَ بِهِ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ.
✧ The detachment of ʿUbaydah b. al-Ḥārith, which was the first banner he, ﷺ, tied [What occurred between the disbelievers and the striking of Saʿd]. Ibn Isḥāq said: The Messenger of God ﷺ sent, during that stay of his in Madinah, ʿUbaydah b. al-Ḥārith b. al-Muṭṭalib b. ʿAbd Manāf b. Quṣayy with sixty or eighty riders from the Emigrants, among whom there was not a single one from the Anṣār. He traveled until he reached a watering place in the Ḥijāz, at the lower part of Thaniyyat al-Murrah, and there he encountered a great gathering of Quraysh. There was no fighting between them, except that Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ was shot that day with an arrow, and it was the first arrow shot in Islam.
Sirat Ibn Hisham 678No grade recorded
[ مَنْ فَرَّ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ إلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ ] ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ الْقَوْمُ عَنْ الْقَوْمِ، وَلِلْمُسْلِمِينَ حَامِيَةٌ. وَفَرَّ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ( إلَى ) الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْمِقْدَادُ بْنُ عَمْرِو الْبَهْرَانِيُّ حَلِيفُ بَنِي زُهْرَةَ، وَعُتْبَةُ بْنُ غَزْوَانَ بْنِ جَابِرٍ الْمَازِنِيُّ حَلِيفُ بَنِي نَوْفَلِ بْنِ عَبْدِ مَنَافٍ، وَكَانَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ، وَلَكِنَّهُمَا خَرَجَا لِيَتَوَصَّلَا بِالْكُفَّارِ. وَكَانَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ أَبِي جَهْلٍ. قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ أَبِي عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَلَاءِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الْمَدَنِيِّ: أَنَّهُ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِكْرَزُ بْنُ حَفْصِ بْنِ الْأَخْيَفِ أَحَدُ بَنِي مَعِيصِ بْنِ عَامِرِ بْنِ لُؤَيِّ بْنِ غَالِبِ بْنِ فِهْرٍ
✧ [Those of the polytheists who fled to the Muslims] Then the people turned away from the people, and the Muslims had a rearguard. And of the polytheists there fled to the Muslims al-Miqdād b. ʿAmr al-Bahrānī, the confederate of Banū Zuhrah, and ʿUtbah b. Ghazwān b. Jābir al-Māzinī, the confederate of Banū Nawfal b. ʿAbd Manāf. The two of them were Muslims, but they had gone out to join the disbelievers. In command of the people was ʿIkrimah b. Abī Jahl. Ibn Hishām said: Ibn Abī ʿAmr b. al-ʿAlāʾ related to me, from Abū ʿAmr al-Madanī, that in command of them was Mikraz b. Ḥafṣ b. al-Akhyaf, one of the Banū Maʿīṣ b. ʿĀmir b. Luʾayy b. Ghālib b. Fihr.
Sirat Ibn Hisham 679No grade recorded
[ شِعْرُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ فِيهَا ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ ؓ، فِي غَزْوَةِ عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ - قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَأَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ بِالشِّعْرِ يُنْكِرُ هَذِهِ الْقَصِيدَةَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ ؓ:: أَمِنْ طَيْفِ سَلْمَى بِالْبِطَاحِ الدَّمَائِثِ أَرِقْتَ وَأَمْرٍ فِي الْعَشِيرَةِ حَادِثِ تَرَى مِنْ لُؤَيًّ فِرْقَةً لَا يَصُدُّهَا عَنْ الْكُفْرِ تَذْكِيرٌ وَلَا بَعْثُ بَاعِثِ رَسُولٌ أَتَاهُمْ صَادِقٌ فَتَكَذَّبُوا عَلَيْهِ وَقَالُوا: لَسْتَ فِينَا بِمَاكِثِ إذَا مَا دَعَوْنَاهُمْ إلَى الْحَقِّ أَدْبَرُوا وَهَرُّوا هَرِيرَ الْمُجْحَرَاتِ اللَّوَاهِثِ فَكَمْ قَدْ مَتَتْنَا فِيهِمْ بِقَرَابَةٍ وَتَرْكُ التُّقَى شَيْءٌ لَهُمْ غَيْرُ كَارِثِ فَإِنْ يَرْجِعُوا عَنْ كُفْرِهِمْ وَعُقُوقِهِمْ فَمَا طَيِّبَاتُ الْحِلِّ مِثْلُ الْخَبَائِثِ وَإِنْ يَرْكَبُوا طُغْيَانَهُمْ وَضَلَالَهُمْ فَلَيْسَ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ عَنْهُمْ بِلَابِثِ وَنَحْنُ أَنَاسٌ مِنْ ذُؤَابَةَ غَالِبٌ لَنَا الْعِزُّ مِنْهَا فِي الْفُرُوعِ الْأَثَائِثِ فَأُولِي بِرَبِّ الرَّاقِصَاتِ عَشِيَّةً حَراجِيجُ تُحْدَى فِي السَّرِيحِ الرَّثَائِثِ كَأُدْمِ ظِبَاءٍ حَوْلَ مَكَّةَ عُكَّفٍ يَرِدْنَ حِيَاضَ الْبِئْرِ ذَاتِ النَّبَائِثِ لَئِنْ لَمْ يُفِيقُوا عَاجِلًا مِنْ ضَلَالِهِمْ وَلَسْتُ إذَا آلَيْتُ قَوْلًا بِحَانِثِ لَتَبْتَدِرَنَّهُمْ غَارَةٌ ذَاتُ مَصْدَقٍ تُحَرِّمُ أَطْهَارَ النِّسَاءِ الطَّوَامِثِ تُغَادِرُ قَتْلَى تَعْصِبُ الطَّيْرُ حَوْلَهُمْ وَلَا تَرْأَفُ الْكُفَّارَ رَأَفَ ابْنِ حَارِثِ فَأَبْلِغْ بَنِي سَهْمٍ لَدَيْكَ رِسَالَةً وَكُلَّ كَفُورٍ يَبْتَغِي الشَّرَّ بَاحِثِ فَإِنْ تَشْعَثُوا عِرْضِي عَلَى سُوءِ رَأْيكُمْ فَإِنِّي مِنْ أَعْرَاضِكُمْ غَيْرُ شَاعِثِ
✧ [The poetry of Abu Bakr on this occasion.] Ibn Ishaq said: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq ؓ said about the expedition of 'Ubaydah b. al-Harith—Ibn Hisham said: Most of the scholars of poetry reject this ode as being by Abu Bakr ؓ: Am I sleepless because of Salma's phantom at the soft sandy flats of al-Bitah, and because of a matter that has occurred among the clan? You see a faction of Lu'ayy whom no reminder, nor the sending of a sender, turns away from unbelief. A truthful messenger came to them, but they called him a liar, and said: 'You are not to stay among us.' When we call them to the truth, they turn their backs and snarl like panting beasts driven into their dens. How often have we sought favour with them through kinship, yet forsaking piety is something that does not grieve them. If they turn back from their unbelief and their disobedience, then the good things of what is lawful are not like the foul things. But if they persist in their tyranny and error, God's punishment will not linger away from them. We are people from the summit of Ghalib; the might from it belongs to us among the luxuriant branches. I swear by the Lord of the camels that dance in the evening— gaunt, urged on in travel-worn saddles— like dark-eyed gazelles around Makkah, lingering, coming down to the pools of the well of al-Naba'ith— if they do not quickly recover from their error— and I am not one to break an oath once I have sworn— a raid full of truth will fall upon them suddenly, which will forbid the pure women who menstruate, leaving slain men around whom birds circle, and it will not show mercy to the disbelievers as Ibn Harith showed mercy. So convey to Banu Sahm, with you, a message, and to every ungrateful one who seeks evil eagerly: if you defame my honour because of your evil opinion, I am not one to defame your honours.
Sirat Ibn Hisham 680No grade recorded
[ شِعْرُ ابْنِ الزِّبَعْرَى فِي الرِّدِّ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ ] فَأَجَابَهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزِّبَعْرَى السَّهْمِيُّ، فَقَالَ:: أَمِنْ رَسْمِ دَارٍ أَقْفَرَتْ بِالْعَثَاعِثِ بَكَيْتَ بِعَيْنٍ دَمْعُهَا غَيْرُ لَابِثِ وَمِنْ عَجَبِ الْأَيَّامِ وَالدَّهْرُ كُلُّهُ لَهُ عَجَبٌ مِنْ سَابِقَاتٍ وَحَادِثِ لِجَيْشٍ أَتَانَا ذِي عُرَامٍ يَقُودُهُ عُبَيْدَةُ يُدْعَى فِي الْهِيَاجِ ابْنَ حَارِثِ لِنَتْرُكَ أَصْنَامًا بِمَكَّةَ عُكَّفَا مَوَارِيثَ مَوْرُوثٍ كَرِيمٍ لِوَارِثِ فَلَمَّا لَقِينَاهُمْ بِسُمْرِ رُدَيْنَةَ وَجُرْدٍ عِتَاقٍ فِي الْعَجَاجِ لَوَاهِثِ وَبِيضٍ كَأَنَّ الْمِلْحَ فَوْقَ مُتُونِهَا بِأَيْدِي كُمَاةٍ كَاللُّيُوثِ الْعَوَائِثِ نُقِيمُ بِهَا إصْعَارَ مَنْ كَانَ مَائِلًا وَنَشْفِي الذُّحُولَ عَاجِلًا غَيْرَ لَابِثِ فَكَفَوْا عَلَى خَوْفٍ شَدِيدٍ وَهَيْبَةٍ وَأَعْجَبَهُمْ أَمْرٌ لَهُمْ أَمْرُ رَائِثِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا نَاحَ نِسْوَةٌ أَيَامَى لَهُمْ، مِنْ بَيْنِ نَسْءٍ وَطَامِثِ وَقَدْ غُودِرَتْ قَتْلَى يُخْبِرُ عَنْهُمْ حَفِيٌّ بِهِمْ أَوْ غَافِلٌ غَيْرُ بَاحِثِ فَأَبْلِغْ أَبَا بَكْرٍ لَدَيْكَ رِسَالَةً فَمَا أَنْتَ عَنْ أَعْرَاضِ فِهْرٍ بِمَاكِثِ وَلَمَّا تَجِبْ مِنِّي يَمِينٌ غَلِيظَةٌ تُجَدِّدُ حَرْبًا حَلْفَةً غَيْرَ حَانِثِ قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: تَرَكْنَا مِنْهَا بَيْتًا وَاحِدًا، وَأَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ بِالشِّعْرِ يُنْكِرُ هَذِهِ الْقَصِيدَةَ لِابْنِ الزِّبَعْرَى
✧ [Poem of Ibn al-Zibaʿrā in reply to Abū Bakr] ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zibaʿrā al-Sahmī answered him, saying: Is it at the trace of an abode, deserted at al-ʿAthāʿith, that you wept with an eye whose tears are not slow to fall? And of the wonders of the days—while all time has its wonders, from things past and things newly come— is a host that came to us, fierce, led by ʿUbaydah, called in the fray Ibn Ḥārith, that we should abandon idols at Makkah, objects of devotion, inherited from a noble ancestor to an heir. But when we met them with Rudaynah's lances and slim swift horses, panting in the dust, and white blades as if salt lay upon their backs, in the hands of warriors like prowling lions, by them we set aright the pride of him who had swerved, and quenched old grudges swiftly, without delay. So they desisted in great fear and awe, and what amazed them was a matter whose outcome for them was slow. And had they not done so, women would have wailed—widows among them, some past childbearing, some menstruating— and slain men would have been left, of whom none tells but one who cares for them, or one heedless who does not search. So convey to Abū Bakr, when you reach him, a message: you are not one to linger over the honors of Fihr. And no binding oath has yet become due from me, an oath that would renew war, sworn unbroken. Ibn Hishām said: We have omitted one line from it, and most scholars of poetry deny this ode to Ibn al-Zibaʿrā.
Sirat Ibn Hisham 681No grade recorded
[ شِعْرُ ابْنُ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ فِي رَمْيَتِهِ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَقَالَ سَعْدُ بْنُ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ فِي رَمْيَتِهِ تِلْكَ فِيمَا يَذْكُرُونَ:: أَلَا هَلْ أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَنِّي حَمَيْتُ صَحَابَتِي بِصُدُورِ نَبْلِي أَذُودُ بِهَا أَوَائِلَهُمْ ذِيَادًا بِكُلِّ حُزُونَةٍ وَبِكُلِّ سَهْلِ فَمَا يَعْتَدُّ رَامٍ فِي عَدُوٍّ بِسَهْمٍ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَبْلِي وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ دِينَكَ دِينُ صِدْقٍ وَذُو حَقٍّ أَتَيْتَ بِهِ وَعَدْلِ يُنَجَّى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ، وَيُجْزَى بِهِ الْكُفَّارُ عِنْدَ مَقَامِ مَهْلِ فَمَهْلًا قَدْ غَوِيتَ فَلَا تَعِبْنِي غَوِيَّ الْحَيِّ وَيْحَكَ يَا بْنَ جَهْلِ قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَأَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ بِالشِّعْرِ يُنْكِرُهَا لِسَعْدٍ
✧ [The poetry of Ibn Abī Waqqāṣ about his arrow-shot] Ibn Isḥāq said: And Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ said concerning that arrow-shot of his, as they relate:: Alas, has it reached the Messenger of God that I protected my companions with the points of my arrows, driving back their foremost men with them, a driving in every rugged place and in every plain? No archer counts himself before me, O Messenger of God, in shooting an arrow at an enemy. That is because your religion is a religion of truth, and you have brought a true and just thing; by it the believers are saved, and by it the disbelievers are requited at the place of perishing. So take your time; you have erred, so do not blame me, you erring one of the tribe—woe to you, O son of Jahl. Ibn Hishām said: Most of the people of knowledge of poetry reject these verses as being by Saʿd.
Sirat Ibn Hisham 682No grade recorded
[ أَوَّلُ رَايَةٍ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ كَانَتْ لِعُبَيْدَةَ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَكَانَتْ رَايَةُ عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ - فِيمَا بَلَغَنِي - أَوَّلَ رَايَةٍ عَقَدَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، لِأَحَدِ مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ. وَبَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ بَعَثَهُ حِينَ أَقْبَلَ مِنْ غَزْوَةِ الْأَبْوَاءِ، قَبْلَ أَنْ يَصِلَ إلَى الْمَدِينَةِ
✧ [The first banner in Islam was for 'Ubaydah] Ibn Isḥāq said: The banner of 'Ubaydah b. al-Ḥārith—as far as I have been informed—was the first banner that the Messenger of God ﷺ tied in Islam, for any one of the Muslims. And some of the scholars claim that the Messenger of God ﷺ sent him when he returned from the expedition of al-Abwā', before he reached Madinah.