Tarikh (al-Tabari) 128
The story of Abraham the Friend (peace and blessings be upon him)
وَفَاةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَعَدَدِ مَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ رَوَى ابْنُ عَسَاكِرَ عَنْ غَيْرِ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ السَّلَفِ عَنْ أَخْبَارِ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ فِي صِفَةِ مَجِيءِ مَلَكِ الْمَوْتِ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَخْبَارًا كَثِيرَةً اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِصِحَّتِهَا. وقِيلَ: لَمَّا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ قَبْضَ رُوحِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ أَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ فِي صُورَةِ شَيْخٍ هَرِمٍ، فَرَآهُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ وَهُوَ يُطْعِمُ النَّاسَ وَهُوَ شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ فِي الْحَرِّ، فَبَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ بِحِمَارٍ فَرَكِبَهُ حَتَّى أَتَاهُ، فَجَعَلَ الشَّيْخُ يَأْخُذُ اللُّقْمَةَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُدْخِلَهَا فَاهُ فَيُدْخِلَهَا فِي عَيْنِهِ وَأُذُنِهِ، ثُمَّ يُدْخِلَهَا فَاهُ، فَإِذَا دَخَلَتْ جَوْفَهُ خَرَجَتْ مِنْ دُبُرِهِ، وَكَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ سَأَلَ رَبَّهُ أَنْ لَا يَقْبِضَ رُوحَهُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ هُوَ الَّذِي يَسْأَلُهُ الْمَوْتَ، فَقَالَ: يَا شَيْخُ مَالَكَ تَصْنَعُ هَذَا ؟ قَالَ: يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْكِبَرُ. قَالَ: ابْنُ كَمْ أَنْتَ ؟ فَزَادَ عَلَى عُمْرِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ سَنَتَيْنِ. فَقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ: إِنَّمَا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ أَنْ أَصِيرَ هَكَذَا سَنَتَانِ، اللَّهُمَّ اقْبِضْنِي إِلَيْكَ ! فَقَامَ الشَّيْخُ وَقَبَضَ رُوحَهُ وَمَاتَ وَهُوَ ابْنُ مِائَتَيْ سَنَةٍ. وَقَدْ قِيلَ: إِنَّهُ مَاتَ فَجْأَةً. وَكَذَا دَاوُدُ وَسُلَيْمَانُ وَالَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ وَغَيْرُهُمْ خِلَافُ ذَلِكَ. قَالُوا: ثُمَّ مَرِضَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَمَاتَ عَنْ مِائَةٍ وَخَمْسٍ وَسَبْعِينَ. وَهَذَا عِنْدِي فِيهِ نَظَرٌ لِأَنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَا يَخْلُو أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ رَأَى مَنْ هُوَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْهُ بِسَنَتَيْنِ أَوْ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَإِنَّ مَنْ عَاشَ مِائَتَيْ سَنَةٍ كَيْفَ لَا يَرَى مَنْ هُوَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْهُ بِهَذَا الْقَدْرِ الْقَرِيبِ ؟ وَلَكِنْ هَكَذَا رُوِيَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ قَدْ بَلَغَ عُمْرَ نُوحٍ وَلَمْ يُصِبْهُ شَيْءٌ مِمَّا رَأَى بِذَلِكَ الرَّجُلِ. وَدُفِنَ فِي الْمَغَارَةِ الْمَذْكُورَةِ عِنْدَ امْرَأَتِهِ سَارَةَ الَّتِي فِي مَزْرَعَةِ عَفْرُونَ الْحِيثِيِّ، وَتَوَلَّى دَفْنَهُ إِسْمَاعِيلُ وَإِسْحَاقُ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَجْمَعِينَ. وَقَدْ وَرَدَ مَا يَدُلُّ أَنَّهُ عَاشَ مِائَتَيْ سَنَةٍ، كَمَا قَالَهُ ابْنُ الْكَلْبِيِّ. وَقَالَ أَبُو حَاتِمِ بْنُ حِبَّانَ فِي صَحِيحِهِ بسنده عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ: اخْتَتَنَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بِالْقَدُومِ، وَهُوَ ابْنُ عِشْرِينَ وَمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ، وَعَاشَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً. وعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ مَوْقُوفًا. ثُمَّ قَالَ ابْنُ حِبَّانَ: ذِكْرُ الْخَبَرِ الْمُدْحِضِ قَوْلَ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ رَفَعَ هَذَا الْخَبَرِ وَهْمٌ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: اخْتَتَنَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ حِينَ بَلَغَ مِائَةً وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً، وَعَاشَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً، وَاخْتَتَنَ بِقَدُومٍ. وعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ: وَقَدْ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ ثَمَانُونَ سَنَةً. ثُمَّ رَوَى ابْنُ حِبَّانَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّزَّاقِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الْقَدُومُ اسْمُ الْقَرْيَةِ. قُلْتُ: الَّذِي فِي الصَّحِيحِ أَنَّهُ اخْتَتَنَ وَقَدْ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ ثَمَانُونَ سَنَةً، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ وَهُوَ ابْنُ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً. وَلَيْسَ فِيهِمَا تَعَرُّضٌ لِمَا عَاشَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ تَسَرْوَلَ، وَأَوَّلَ مَنْ فَرَقَ، وَأَوَّلَ مَنِ اسْتَحَدَّ، وَأَوَّلَ مَنِ اخْتَتَنَ بِالْقَدُومِ وَهُوَ ابْنُ عِشْرِينَ وَمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ وَعَاشَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً، وَأَوَّلَ مَنْ قَرَى الضَّيْفَ، وَأَوَّلَ مَنْ شَابَ. هَكَذَا رَوَاهُ مَوْقُوفًا، وَهُوَ أَشْبَهُ بِالْمَرْفُوعِ خِلَافًا لِابْنِ حِبَّانَ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وعَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ قَالَ: كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَضَافَ الضَّيْفَ ، وَأَوَّلَ النَّاسِ اخْتَتَنَ ، وَأَوَّلَ النَّاسِ قَصَّ شَارِبَهُ ، وَأَوَّلَ النَّاسِ رَأَى الشَّيْبَ ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ مَا هَذَا ؟ فَقَالَ اللَّهُ: وَقَارٌ. فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ زِدْنِي وَقَارًا. وَزَادَ غَيْرُهُمَا: وَأَوَّلَ مَنْ قَصَّ شَارِبَهُ، وَأَوَّلَ مَنِ اسْتَحَدَّ، وَأَوَّلَ مَنْ لَبِسَ السَّرَاوِيلَ، فَقَبْرُهُ وَقَبْرُ وَلَدِهِ إِسْحَاقَ وَقَبْرُ وَلَدِ وَلَدِهِ يَعْقُوبَ فِي الْمَرْبَعَةِ الَّتِي بَنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِبَلَدِ حَبْرُونَ، وَهُوَ الْبَلَدُ الْمَعْرُوفُ بِالْخَلِيلِ الْيَوْمَ. وَهَذَا مُتَلَقًّى بِالتَّوَاتُرِ أُمَّةً بَعْدَ أُمَّةٍ، وَجِيلًا بَعْدَ جِيلٍ مِنْ زَمَنِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، وَإِلَى زَمَانِنَا هَذَا أَنَّ قَبْرَهُ بِالْمَرْبَعَةِ تَحْقِيقًا. فَأَمَّا تَعْيِينُهُ مِنْهَا فَلَيْسَ فِيهِ خَبَرٌ صَحِيحٌ عَنْ مَعْصُومٍ، فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ تُرَاعَى تِلْكَ الْمَحَلَّةُ، وَأَنْ تُحْتَرَمَ احْتِرَامَ مِثْلِهَا، وَأَنْ تُبَجَّلَ، وَأَنْ تُجَلَّ أَنْ يُدَاسَ فِي أَرْجَائِهَا خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَبْرُ الْخَلِيلِ أَوْ أَحَدٍ مِنْ أَوْلَادِهِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ تَحْتَهَا. وَرَوَى ابْنُ عَسَاكِرَ بِسَنَدِهِ إِلَى وَهْبِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ قَالَ: وُجِدَ عِنْدَ قَبْرِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْخَلِيلِ عَلَى حَجَرٍ كِتَابَةٌ خَلِقَةٌ: أَلْهَى جَهُولًا أَمَلُهْ يَمُوتُ مَنْ جَا أَجَلُهْ وَمَنْ دَنَا مِنْ حَتْفِهْ لَمْ تُغْنِ عَنْهُ حِيَلُهْ وَكَيْفَ يَبْقَى آخِرُهْ مَنْ مَاتَ عَنْهُ أَوَّلُهْ وَالْمَرْءُ لَا يَصْحَبُهْ فِي الْقَبْرِ إِلَّا عَمَلُهْ وَرَوَى أَبُو ذَرٍّ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: وَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَشْرَ صَحَائِفَ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، فَمَا كَانَتْ صُحُفُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ؟ قَالَ: كَانَتْ أَمْثَالًا كُلُّهَا: أَيُّهَا الْمَلِكُ الْمُسَلَّطُ الْمُبْتَلَى الْمَغْرُورُ إِنِّي لَمْ أَبْعَثْكَ لِتَجْمَعَ الدُّنْيَا بَعْضَهَا إِلَى بَعْضٍ، وَلَكِنْ بَعَثْتُكَ لِتَرُدَّ عَنِّي دَعْوَةَ الْمَظْلُومِ، فَإِنِّي لَا أَرُدُّهَا وَلَوْ كَانَتْ مِنْ كَافِرٍ. وَكَانَ فِيهَا أَمْثَالٌ، مِنْهَا: وَعَلَى الْعَاقِلِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ مَغْلُوبًا عَلَى عَقْلِهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ سَاعَاتٌ، سَاعَةٌ يُنَاجِي فِيهَا رَبَّهُ، وَسَاعَةٌ يُفَكِّرُ فِيهَا فِي صُنْعِ اللَّهِ، وَسَاعَةٌ يُحَاسِبُ فِيهَا نَفْسَهُ، وَسَاعَةٌ يَخْلُو فِيهَا بِحَاجَتِهِ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ فِي الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ. وَعَلَى الْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَكُونَ ظَاعِنًا إِلَّا فِي ثَلَاثٍ: تَزَوُّدٍ لِمَعَادِهِ، وَمَرَمَّةٍ لِمَعَاشِهِ، وَلَذَّةٍ فِي غَيْرِ مُحَرَّمٍ، وَعَلَى الْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَكُونَ بَصِيرًا بِزَمَانِهِ، مُقْبِلًا عَلَى شَأْنِهِ، حَافِظًا لِلِسَانِهِ، وَمَنْ حَسَبَ كَلَامَهُ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ قَلَّ كَلَامُهُ إِلَّا فِيمَا يَعْنِيهِ. [وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى مَنْ أَكْرَمَ الضَّيْفَ، وَمَنْ أَهَانَهُ فَهُوَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ. قَالَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ: فَلِهَذَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لَا يَأْكُلُ إِلَّا مَعَ الضَّيْفِ].
Translation
✧ The death of Ibrāhīm, and the number of what was revealed to him. Ibn ʿAsākir related from more than one of the Salaf, from the reports of the People of the Book, concerning the description of the coming of the Angel of Death to Ibrāhīm ﷺ, many reports, of whose soundness Allah knows best. It was said: When Allah willed to take the soul of Ibrāhīm, He sent to him the Angel of Death in the form of a decrepit old man. Ibrāhīm saw him while he was feeding people; he was a very old man in the heat, so he sent to him a donkey, and he rode it until he came to him. The old man began to take a morsel, wanting to put it into his mouth, but he put it into his eye and his ear, then he put it into his mouth; and when it entered his belly, it came out from his backside. Ibrāhīm had asked his Lord not to take his soul until he himself was the one who asked Him for death. So he said: "O old man, what is the matter with you that you do this?" He said: "O Ibrāhīm, old age." He said: "How old are you?" He made himself older than Ibrāhīm by two years. So Ibrāhīm said: "Between me and becoming like this there are only two years. O Allah, take me to You!" Then the old man arose and took his soul; and he died at the age of two hundred years. It was also said that he died suddenly. Likewise Dāwūd and Sulaymān; and what the People of the Book and others mentioned is contrary to that. They said: Then Ibrāhīm ﷺ fell ill and died at one hundred and seventy-five. In my view there is something to examine in this, because Ibrāhīm could not fail to have seen someone older than him by two years or more than that; for one who lived two hundred years, how could he not see someone older than him by this small amount? But this is how it was related. Then indeed he reached the age of Nūḥ and nothing of what he saw in that man afflicted him. He was buried in the aforementioned cave beside his wife Sārah, which is in the field of ʿAfrūn the Hittite. Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all) took charge of his burial. There has come what indicates that he lived two hundred years, as Ibn al-Kalbī said. Abū Ḥātim b. Ḥibbān said in his Ṣaḥīḥ with his chain of transmission from Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Ibrāhīm was circumcised with a qaddūm when he was one hundred and twenty years old, and he lived after that eighty years." And from Abū Hurayrah, as a mawqūf report. Then Ibn Ḥibbān said: Mention of the report that refutes the claim of those who alleged that the raising of this report is an error: from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ, he said: "Ibrāhīm was circumcised when he reached one hundred and twenty years, and he lived after that eighty years, and he was circumcised with a qaddūm." And from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ: "And eighty years had passed over him." Then Ibn Ḥibbān related from ʿAbd al-Razzāq that he said: "Al-qaddūm is the name of the village." I say: What is in the Ṣaḥīḥ is that he was circumcised when eighty years had passed over him, and in another narration, "when he was eighty years old." In neither of them is there any mention of how long he lived after that, and Allah knows best. From Abū Hurayrah, he said: Ibrāhīm was the first to wear trousers, the first to part his hair, the first to shave the pubic hair, the first to be circumcised with the qaddūm when he was one hundred and twenty years old and lived after that eighty years, the first to entertain a guest, and the first to go gray. Thus he related it as a mawqūf report, and it is more likely to be marfūʿ, contrary to Ibn Ḥibbān, and Allah knows best. From Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab, he said: Ibrāhīm was the first person to host a guest, the first of people to be circumcised, the first of people to trim his mustache, and the first of people to see gray hair. He said: "O Lord, what is this?" Allah said: "Dignity." He said: "O Lord, increase me in dignity." Others added: And the first to trim his mustache, the first to shave the pubic hair, and the first to wear trousers. His grave, the grave of his son Isḥāq, and the grave of his son's son Yaʿqūb are in the square enclosure that Sulaymān b. Dāwūd ﷺ built in the town of Ḥabrūn, which is the town known today as al-Khalīl. This has been received by continuous transmission, generation after generation and era after era, from the time of the Children of Israel down to our own time: that his grave is in the square enclosure, with certainty. As for specifying its exact location within it, there is no sound report from an infallible source; so one should respect that place, honor it as befits it, venerate it, and refrain from trampling on its grounds for fear that the grave of the Friend or one of his children the prophets (peace be upon them) might be beneath it. Ibn ʿAsākir related with his chain of transmission to Wahb b. Munabbih, who said: Near the grave of Ibrāhīm the Friend there was found on a stone an ancient inscription: A fool is distracted by his hope; he whose appointed time comes dies. And whoever draws near to his death, his stratagems avail him not. How can the last of him remain, when the first of him has died? A man is accompanied in the grave only by his deeds. And Abū Dharr related from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: "Allah revealed to Ibrāhīm ten scrolls." He said: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what were the scrolls of Ibrāhīm?" He said: "They were all proverbs: O you sovereign ruler, afflicted and deluded, I did not send you to amass the world, one part upon another; but I sent you to ward off from Me the supplication of the wronged, for I do not turn it away, even if it comes from a disbeliever. Among them were proverbs, including: The man of reason, so long as he is not overcome in his intellect, should have hours: an hour in which he communes with his Lord, an hour in which he reflects on Allah's creation, an hour in which he takes account of himself, and an hour in which he is alone with his need for what is lawful in food and drink. The man of reason should be a traveler except in three things: provision for his return, repair of his livelihood, and enjoyment in what is not forbidden. The man of reason should be perceptive of his time, attending to his own affairs, guarding his tongue; and whoever counts his speech as part of his deeds speaks little except in what concerns him. [And ﷺ who honors the guest; and whoever humiliates him is in the lowest pit of the Fire. Abū Dharr said: For this reason Ibrāhīm would not eat except with a guest.]
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.