Tarikh (al-Tabari) 787
أَمْرُ أَعْشَى بَنِي قَيْسِ بْنِ ثَعْلَبَةَ [ شِعْرُهُ فِي مَدْحِ الرَّسُولِ عِنْدَ مَقْدَمِهِ عَلَيْهِ ] قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: حَدَّثَنِي خَلَّادُ بْنُ قُرَّةَ بْنِ خَالِدِ السَّدُوسِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنْ مَشَايِخِ بَكْرِ بْنِ وَائِلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ: أَنَّ أَعْشَى بَنِي قَيْسِ بْنِ ثَعْلَبَةَ بْنِ عُكَابَةَ بْنِ صَعْبِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ بَكْرِ بْنِ وَائِلٍ، خَرَجَ إلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ يُرِيدُ الْإِسْلَامَ، فَقَالَ يَمْدَحُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ: : أَلَمْ تَغْتَمِضْ عَيْنَاكَ لَيْلَةَ أَرْمَدَا وَبِتَّ كَمَا بَاتَ السَّلِيمُ مُسَهَّدَا وَمَا ذَاكَ مِنْ عِشْقِ النِّسَاءِ وَإِنَّمَا تَنَاسَيْتَ قَبْلَ الْيَوْمِ صُحْبَةَ مَهْدَدَا وَلَكِنْ أَرَى الدَّهْرَ الَّذِي هُوَ خَائِنٌ إذَا أَصْلَحَتْ كَفَّايَ عَادَ فَأَفْسَدَا كُهُولًا وَشُبَّانًا فَقَدْتُ وَثَرْوَةً فَلِلَّهِ هَذَا الدَّهْرُ كَيْفَ تَرَدَّدَا وَمَا زِلْتُ أَبْغِي الْمَالَ مُذْ أَنَا يَافِعٌ وَلِيدًا وَكَهْلًا حِينَ شِبْتُ وَأَمْرَدَا وَأَبْتَذِلُ الْعِيسَ الْمَرَاقِيلَ تَغْتَلِي مَسَافَةَ مَا بَيْنَ النُّجَيْرِ فَصَرْخَدَا أَلَا أَيُّهَذَا السَّائِلِي أَيْنَ يَمَّمَتْ فَإِنَّ لَهَا فِي أَهْلِ يَثْرِبَ مَوْعِدَا فَإِنْ تَسْأَلِي عَنِّي فَيَا رُبَّ سَائِلٍ حَفِيٍّ عَنْ الْأَعْشَى بِهِ حَيْثُ أَصْعَدَا أَجَدَّتْ بِرِجْلَيْهَا النَّجَاءَ وَرَاجَعَتْ يَدَاهَا خِنَافًا لَيِّنًا غَيْرَ أَحْرَدَا وَفِيهَا إذَا مَا هَجَّرَتْ عَجْرَفِيَّةٌ إذَا خِلْتُ حِرْبَاءَ الظَّهِيرَةِ أَصْيَدَا وَآلَيْتُ لَا آوِي لَهَا مِنْ كَلَالَةٍ وَلَا مِنْ حَفًى حَتَّى تُلَاقِي مُحَمَّدَا مَتَى مَا تُنَاخِي عِنْدَ بَابِ ابْنِ هَاشِمٍ تُرَاحِي وَتَلْقَيْ مِنْ فَوَاضِلِهِ نَدَى نَبِيًّا يَرَى مَا لَا تَرَوْنَ وَذِكْرُهُ أَغَارَ لَعَمْرِي فِي الْبِلَادِ وَأَنْجَدَا لَهُ صَدَقَاتٌ مَا تُغِبُّ وَنَائِلٌ وَلَيْسَ عَطَاءُ الْيَوْمِ مَانِعَهُ غَدَا أَجِدَّكَ لَمْ تَسْمَعْ وَصَاةَ مُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيِّ الْإِلَهِ حَيْثُ أَوْصَى وَأَشْهَدَا إذَا أَنْتَ لَمْ تَرْحَلْ بِزَادِ مَنْ الْتَقَى وَلَاقَيْتَ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ مَنْ قَدْ تَزَوَّدَا نَدِمْتَ عَلَى أَنْ لَا تَكُونَ كَمِثْلِهِ فَتُرْصِدَ لِلْأَمْرِ الَّذِي كَانَ أَرْصَدَا فَإِيَّاكَ وَالْمَيْتَاتِ لَا تَقْرَبَنَّهَا وَلَا تَأْخُذَنْ سَهْمًا حَدِيدًا لِتُفْصِدَا وَذَا النُّصَبَ الْمَنْصُوبَ لَا تَنْسُكَنَّهُ وَلَا تَعْبُدْ الْأَوْثَانَ وَاَللَّهَ فَاعْبُدَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَنَّ حُرَّةً كَانَ سِرُّهَا عَلَيْكَ حَرَامًا فَانْكِحَنْ أَوْ تَأَبَّدَا وَذَا الرَّحِمِ الْقُرْبَى فَلَا تَقْطَعَنَّهُ لِعَاقِبَةِ وَلَا الْأَسِيرَ الْمُقَيَّدَا وَسَبِّحْ عَلَى حِينِ الْعَشِيَّاتِ وَالضُّحَى وَلَا تَحْمَدْ الشَّيْطَانَ وَاَللَّهَ فَاحْمَدَا وَلَا تَسْخَرًا مِنْ بَائِسٍ ذِي ضَرَارَةٍ وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الْمَالَ لِلْمَرْءِ مُخْلِدَا [ رُجُوعُهُ لَمَّا عَلِمَ بِتَحْرِيمِ الرَّسُولِ لِلْخَمْرِ وَمَوْتُهُ ] فَلَمَّا كَانَ بِمَكَّةَ أَوْ قَرِيبًا مِنْهَا، اعْتَرَضَهُ بَعْضُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ، فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ، فَأَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّهُ جَاءَ يُرِيدُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِيُسْلِمَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا بَصِيرٍ، إنَّهُ يُحَرِّمُ الزِّنَا، فَقَالَ الْأَعْشَى: وَاَللَّهِ إنَّ ذَلِكَ لَأَمْرٌ مَا لِي فِيهِ مِنْ أَرَبٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا بَصِيرٍ، فَإِنَّهُ يُحَرِّمُ الْخَمْرَ، فَقَالَ الْأَعْشَى: أَمَّا هَذِهِ فَوَاَللَّهِ إنَّ فِي النَّفْسِ مِنْهَا لَعُلَالَاتٍ، وَلَكِنِّي مُنْصَرِفٌ فَأَتَرَوَّى مِنْهَا عَامِي هَذَا، ثُمَّ آتِيهِ فَأُسْلِمُ. فَانْصَرَفَ فَمَاتَ فِي عَامِهِ ذَلِكَ، وَلَمْ يَعُدْ إلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ. فائدة قال ابن كثير رحمه الله تعالى: لهَكَذَا أَوْرَدَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةَ هَاهُنَا، وَهُوَ كَثِيرُ الْمُؤَاخَذَاتِ لِمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ، وَهَذَا مِمَّا يُؤَاخَذُ بِهِ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ، فَإِنَّ الْخَمْرَ إِنَّمَا حُرِّمَتْ بِالْمَدِينَةِ، بَعْدَ وَقْعَةِ بَنِي النَّضِيرِ، كَمَا سَيَأْتِي بَيَانُهُ، فَالظَّاهِرُ أَنَّ عَزْمَ الْأَعْشَى عَلَى الْقُدُومِ لِلْإِسْلَامِ إِنَّمَا كَانَ بَعْدَ الْهِجْرَةِ، وَفِي شِعْرِهِ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَهُوَ قَوْلُهُ: أَلَا أَيُّهَذَا السَّائِلِي أَيْنَ يَمَّمَتْ فَإِنَّ لَهَا فِي أَهْلِ يَثْرِبَ مَوْعِدَا وَكَانَ الْأَنْسَبُ وَالْأَلْيَقُ بِابْنِ هِشَامٍ أَنَّ يُؤَخِّرَ ذِكْرَ هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ إِلَى مَا بَعْدَ الْهِجْرَةِ، وَلَا يُورِدَهَا هَاهُنَا. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ السُّهَيْلِيُّ: وَهَذِهِ غَفْلَةٌ مِنَ ابْنِ هِشَامٍ وَمَنْ تَابَعَهُ، فَإِنَّ النَّاسَ مُجْمِعُونَ عَلَى أَنَّ الْخَمْرَ لَمْ يَنْزِلْ تَحْرِيمُهَا إِلَّا بِالْمَدِينَةِ بَعْدَ أُحُدٍ. وَقَدْ قَالَ: وَقِيلَ: إِنَّ الْقَائِلَ لِلْأَعْشَى هُوَ أَبُو جَهْلِ بْنُ هِشَامٍ فِي دَارِ عُتْبَةَ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ. وَذَكَرَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ أَنَّ الْقَائِلَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ، هُوَ عَامِرُ بْنُ الطُّفَيْلِ فِي بِلَادِ قَيْسٍ، وَهُوَ مُقْبِلٌ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ. قَالَ: وَقَوْلُهُ: ثُمَّ آتِيهِ فَأُسْلِمُ. لَا يُخْرِجُهُ عَنْ كُفْرِهِ، بِلَا خِلَافٍ. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.
Translation
✧ The Affair of Aʿshā of Banū Qays b. Thaʿlaba [ His poetry in praise of the Messenger upon his coming to him ] Ibn Hishām said: Khallād b. Qurra b. Khālid al-Sadūsī and others among the shaykhs of Bakr b. Wāʾil from the people of knowledge related to me that Aʿshā of Banū Qays b. Thaʿlaba b. ʿUkāba b. Ṣaʿb b. ʿAlī b. Bakr b. Wāʾil went out to the Messenger of God ﷺ desiring Islam, and he said in praise of the Messenger of God ﷺ: : Did not your eyes close on the night of Armadā, and you spent the night as the sleepless one bitten by a snake spent it, sleepless; and that is not from love of women, but rather you have forgotten before today the companionship of Mahdadā; but I see Time, which is treacherous, whenever my hands set things right, it returns and corrupts them; mature men and youths I have lost, and wealth, so to God belongs this Time, how it wavers; and I have not ceased seeking wealth since I was a youth, as a child and as an adult when I grew old and became beardless; and I make use of swift, long-necked camels that traverse the distance between al-Nujayr and Ṣarkhadā; now then, O you who ask me where she has aimed, she has an appointment among the people of Yathrib; and if you ask about me, O how many an inquirer is solicitous about al-Aʿshā wherever he ascends; she hastened with her legs in swift flight, and her forelegs returned to a soft, gentle gait, not one-sided; and in her, when she traveled in the midday heat, there is a haughty pace, when I imagined the chameleon of the midday sun to be raising its neck; and I swore that I would not give her rest from weariness nor from sore-footedness until she meets Muḥammadā; whenever you make her kneel at the door of Ibn Hāshim, you will rest her and receive from his overflowing bounty generosity; a prophet who sees what you do not see, and whose mention has spread, by my life, throughout the lands and reached the highlands; he has acts of charity that never cease and gifts, and the giving of today does not prevent its giver tomorrow; by your grandfather, have you not heard the testament of Muḥammad, the prophet of the God, when he enjoined and called to witness; if you do not depart with the provision of one who meets, and you meet after death one who has taken provision, you will regret that you were not like him, so that you might prepare for the matter for which he prepared; and beware of dead animals, do not approach them, and do not take an iron arrow to pierce a vein; and this erected idol, do not sacrifice to it, and do not worship idols, but worship God; and do not approach a free woman whose secret was forbidden to you, so marry or remain celibate; and the near kinsman, do not sever him for the outcome, nor the bound captive; and glorify at the times of the evenings and the forenoon, and do not praise Satan, but praise God; and do not mock a wretched man of affliction, and do not think that wealth makes a man immortal. [ His turning back when he learned of the Messenger's prohibition of wine, and his death ] When he was in Makkah or near it, some of the polytheists of Quraysh intercepted him and asked him about his affair. He informed him that he had come desiring the Messenger of God ﷺ in order to become Muslim. He said to him: O Abū Baṣīr, he forbids fornication. Al-Aʿshā said: By God, that is a matter in which I have no desire. He said to him: O Abū Baṣīr, he forbids wine. Al-Aʿshā said: As for this one, by God, in the soul there are lingering cravings for it, but I am turning back, and I will drink my fill of it this year of mine, then I will come to him and become Muslim. So he turned back and died in that year of his, and did not return to the Messenger of God ﷺ. Benefit: Ibn Kathīr, may God Almighty have mercy on him, said: Thus Ibn Hishām cited this story here, and he is one who often criticizes Muḥammad b. Isḥāq, may God have mercy on him, and this is one of the things for which Ibn Hishām, may God have mercy on him, is criticized, for wine was only forbidden in Madinah, after the affair of Banū al-Naḍīr, as will be explained later. The evident thing is that al-Aʿshā's resolve to come to Islam was only after the Hijrah, and in his poetry there is that which indicates that, namely his saying: Now then, O you who ask me where she has aimed, she has an appointment among the people of Yathrib. It would have been more appropriate and more fitting for Ibn Hishām to postpone the mention of this story until after the Hijrah, and not cite it here. And God knows best. Al-Suhaylī said: This is an oversight on the part of Ibn Hishām and those who followed him, for people are unanimously agreed that the prohibition of wine was not revealed except in Madinah after Uḥud. And he said: It is said that the one who said this to al-Aʿshā was Abū Jahl b. Hishām in the house of ʿUtba b. Rabīʿa. Abū ʿUbayda mentioned that the one who said that to him was ʿĀmir b. al-Ṭufayl in the lands of Qays, while he was coming to the Messenger of God ﷺ. He said: And his saying, 'then I will come to him and become Muslim,' does not remove him from his unbelief, without disagreement. And God knows best.
Grades by grader
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