Sirat Ibn Hisham 1376
Ḥāṭib's letter to Quraysh and the Messenger's knowledge of his affair
[ كِتَابُ حَاطِبٍ إلَى قُرَيْشٍ وَعِلْمُ الرَّسُولِ بِأَمْرِهِ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ وَغَيْرِهِ مِنْ عُلَمَائِنَا، قَالُوا: لَمَّا أَجْمَعَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْمَسِيرَ إلَى مَكَّةَ، كَتَبَ حَاطِبُ بْنُ أَبِي بَلْتَعَةَ كِتَابًا إلَى قُرَيْشٍ يُخْبِرُهُمْ بِاَلَّذِي أَجْمَعَ عَلَيْهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ مِنْ الْأَمْرِ فِي السَّيْرِ إلَيْهِمْ، ثُمَّ أَعْطَاهُ امْرَأَةً، زَعَمَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ أَنَّهَا مِنْ مُزَيْنَةَ وَزَعَمَ لِي غَيْرُهُ أَنَّهَا سَارَةُ، مَوْلَاةٌ. لِبَعْضِ بَنِي عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ، وَجَعَلَ لَهَا جُعْلًا عَلَى أَنْ تُبَلِّغَهُ قُرَيْشًا، فَجَعَلَتْهُ فِي رَأْسِهَا، ثُمَّ فَتَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ قُرُونَهَا، ثُمَّ خَرَجَتْ بِهِ؛ وَأَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْخَبَرُ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا صَنَعَ حَاطِبٌ، فَبَعَثَ عَلِيَّ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَالزُّبَيْرَ بْنَ الْعَوَّامِ ؓ. فَقَالَ: أَدْرِكَا امْرَأَةً قَدْ كَتَبَ مَعَهَا حَاطِبُ بْنُ أَبِي بَلْتَعَةَ بِكِتَابِ إلَى قُرَيْشٍ، يُحَذِّرُهُمْ مَا قَدْ أَجْمَعْنَا لَهُ فِي أَمْرِهِمْ فَخَرَجَا حَتَّى أَدْرَكَاهَا بِالْخَلِيقَةِ. خَلِيقَةِ بَنِي أَبِي أَحْمَدَ. فَاسْتَنْزَلَاهَا. فَالْتَمَسَا فِي رَحْلِهَا فَلَمْ يَجِدَا شَيْئًا، فَقَالَ لَهَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ: إنِّي أَحْلِفُ بِاَللَّهِ مَا كَذَبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَلَا كَذَبْنَا، وَلَتُخْرِجِنَّ لَنَا هَذَا الْكِتَابَ أَوْ لَنَكْشِفَنَّكَ، فَلَمَّا رَأَتْ الْجِدَّ مِنْهُ، قَالَتْ: أَعْرِضْ فَأَعْرَضَ، فَحَلَّتْ قُرُونَ رَأْسِهَا، فَاسْتَخْرَجَتْ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهَا، فَدَفَعَتْهُ إلَيْهِ فَأَتَى بِهِ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ. فَدَعَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ حَاطِبًا فَقَالَ: يَا حَاطِبُ، مَا حَمَلَكَ عَلَى هَذَا ؟ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَمَا وَاَللَّهِ إنِّي لَمُؤْمِنٌ بِاَللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، مَا غَيَّرْتُ وَلَا بَدَّلْتُ، وَلَكِنِّي كُنْتُ أَمْرَأً لَيْسَ لِي فِي الْقَوْمِ مِنْ أَصْلٍ وَلَا عَشِيرَةٍ، وَكَانَ لِي بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِهِمْ وَلَدٌ وَأَهْلٌ، فَصَانَعْتهمْ عَلَيْهِمْ. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ دَعْنِي فَلْأَضْرِبْ عُنُقَهُ، فَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ قَدْ نَافَقَ؛ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ يَا عُمَرُ، لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ اطَّلَعَ إلَى أَصْحَابِ بَدْرٍ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ؛ فَقَالَ: اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ، فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكُمْ. فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي حَاطِبٍ: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ إلَى قَوْلِهِ: قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَآءُ مِنْكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ إلَى آخِرِ الْقِصَّةِ
Translation
✧ [The Letter of Ḥāṭib to Quraysh and the Messenger's Knowledge of His Affair] Ibn Isḥāq said: Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar b. al-Zubayr narrated to me, from ʿUrwah b. al-Zubayr and others of our scholars, who said: When the Messenger of God ﷺ resolved to march to Makkah, Ḥāṭib b. Abī Baltaʿah wrote a letter to Quraysh informing them of what the Messenger of God ﷺ had resolved upon regarding the matter of the march against them. Then he gave it to a woman—Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar claimed that she was from Muzaynah, while another than he claimed to me that she was Sārah, a client of some of the Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib—and he set for her a reward for delivering it to Quraysh. She placed it in her head, then twisted her locks over it, then departed with it. The news came to the Messenger of God ﷺ from heaven of what Ḥāṭib had done, so he sent ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and al-Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām ؓ and said: "Overtake a woman with whom Ḥāṭib b. Abī Baltaʿah has written a letter to Quraysh, warning them of what we have resolved upon in their affair." So the two went out until they overtook her at al-Khalīqah—the Khalīqah of Banū Abī Aḥmad—and made her dismount. They searched her baggage but found nothing. Then ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib said to her: "I swear by God that the Messenger of God ﷺ has not lied, nor have we lied. You will bring out this letter to us, or we will certainly uncover you." When she saw his firmness, she said: "Turn aside." He turned aside, and she undid the locks of her head, extracted the letter from them, and handed it to him. He brought it to the Messenger of God ﷺ. The Messenger of God ﷺ summoned Ḥāṭib and said: "O Ḥāṭib, what induced you to do this?" He said: "O Messenger of God, by God, I am indeed a believer in God and His Messenger; I have not changed or altered. But I was a man with no root among the people and no clan, and I had children and family among them, so I sought favor with them on their behalf." ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said: "O Messenger of God, let me strike his neck, for the man has acted as a hypocrite." The Messenger of God ﷺ said: "And what would make you know, O ʿUmar? Perhaps God has looked upon the people of Badr on the day of Badr and said: 'Do what you will, for I have forgiven you.'" Then God, exalted is He, revealed concerning Ḥāṭib: "O you who believe, do not take My enemy and your enemy as allies, offering them affection," up to His saying: "There has been for you an excellent example in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, 'We are disassociated from you and from what you worship besides God; we have disbelieved in you, and there has appeared between us and you enmity and hatred forever until you believe in God alone,'" to the end of the narrative.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.