Sirat Ibn Hisham 150
The Account of ʿĀmir b. Ẓarib b. ʿAmr b. ʿIyādh b. Yashkur b. ʿAdwān
أَمْرُ عَامِرِ بْنِ ظَرِبِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ عِيَاذِ بْنِ يَشْكُرَ بْنِ عَدْوَانَ [ قَضَاؤُهُ فِي خُنْثَى وَمَشْوَرَةُ جَارِيَتِهِ سُخَيْلَةَ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَقَوْلُهُ حَكَمٌ يَقْضِي، يَعْنِي عَامِرَ بْنَ ظَرِبِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ عِيَاذِ بْنِ يَشْكُرَ بْنِ عَدْوَانَ الْعَدْوَانِيَّ. وَكَانَتْ الْعَرَبُ لَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهَا نَائِرَةٌ وَلَا عُضْلَةٌ فِي قَضَاءٍ إلَّا أَسْنَدُوا ذَلِكَ إلَيْهِ ثُمَّ رَضُوا بِمَا قَضَى فِيهِ. فَاخْتُصِمَ إلَيْهِ فِي بَعْضِ مَا كَانُوا يَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ، فِي رَجُلٍ خُنْثَى، لَهُ مَا لِلرَّجُلِ وَلَهُ مَا لِلْمَرْأَةِ، فَقَالُوا: أَتَجْعَلُهُ رَجُلًا أَوْ امْرَأَةً ؟ وَلَمْ يَأْتُوهُ بِأَمْرِ كَانَ أَعْضَلَ مِنْهُ. فَقَالَ: حَتَّى أَنْظُرَ فِي أَمْرِكُمْ، فَوَاَللَّهِ مَا نَزَلَ بِي مِثْلُ هَذِهِ مِنْكُمْ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْعَرَبِ فَاسْتَأْخَرُوا عَنْهُ. فَبَاتَ لَيْلَتَهُ سَاهِرًا، يُقَلِّبُ أَمْرَهُ، وَيَنْظُرُ فِي شَأْنِهِ، لَا يَتَوَجَّهُ لَهُ مِنْهُ وَجْهٌ. وَكَانَتْ لَهُ جَارِيَةٌ يُقَالُ لَهَا سُخَيْلَةُ تَرْعَى عَلَيْهِ غَنَمَهُ، وَكَانَ يُعَاتِبُهَا إذَا سَرَحَتْ فَيَقُولُ: صَبَّحْتِ وَاَللَّهِ يَا سُخَيْلُ وَإِذَا أَرَاحَتْ عَلَيْهِ قَالَ: مَسَّيْتِ وَاَللَّهِ يَا سُخَيْلُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ تُؤَخِّرُ السَّرْحَ حَتَّى يَسْبِقَهَا بَعْضُ النَّاسِ، وَتُؤَخِّرُ الْإِرَاحَةَ حَتَّى يَسْبِقَهَا بَعْضٌ. فَلَمَّا رَأَتْ سَهَرَهُ وَقِلَّةَ قَرَارِهِ عَلَى فِرَاشِهِ قَالَتْ: مَا لَكَ لَا أَبَا لَكَ مَا عَرَاكَ فِي لَيْلَتِكَ هَذِهِ ؟ قَالَ: وَيْلَكَ دَعِينِي، أَمْرٌ لَيْسَ مِنْ شَأْنِكَ، ثُمَّ عَادَتْ لَهُ بِمِثْلِ قَوْلِهَا. فَقَالَ فِي نَفْسِهِ: عَسَى أَنْ تَأْتِيَ مِمَّا أَنَا فِيهِ بِفَرَجٍ؛ فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكَ اُخْتُصِمَ إلَيَّ فِي مِيرَاثِ خُنْثَى، أَأَجْعَلُهُ رَجُلًا أَوْ امْرَأَةً ؟ فَوَاَللَّهِ مَا أَدْرِي مَا أَصْنَعُ، وَمَا يَتَوَجَّهُ لِي فِيهِ وَجْهٌ. قَالَ: فَقَالَتْ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ لَا أَبَا لَكَ أَتْبِعْ الْقَضَاءَ الْمَبَالَ، أَقْعِدْهُ، فَإِنْ بَالَ مِنْ حَيْثُ يَبُولُ الرَّجُلُ فَهُوَ رَجُلٌ، وَإِنْ بَالَ مِنْ حَيْثُ تَبُولُ الْمَرْأَةُ، فَهِيَ امْرَأَةٌ. قَالَ: مَسِّي سُخَيْلُ بَعْدَهَا أَوْ صَبِّحِي، فَرَّجْتِهَا وَاَللَّهِ. ثُمَّ خَرَجَ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِينَ أَصْبَحَ، فَقَضَى بِاَلَّذِي أَشَارَتْ عَلَيْهِ بِهِ.
Translation
✧ The account of ʿĀmir b. Ẓarib b. ʿAmr b. ʿIyādh b. Yashkur b. ʿAdwān [His judgment concerning a hermaphrodite and the counsel of his slave-girl Sukhaylah]. Ibn Isḥāq said: And his saying, “a wise arbiter who judges,” means ʿĀmir b. Ẓarib b. ʿAmr b. ʿIyādh b. Yashkur b. ʿAdwān al-ʿAdwānī. The Arabs had no dispute or intractable case in judgment but they referred it to him, and then they accepted what he ruled in it. A case was brought before him among those over which they used to differ, concerning a hermaphrodite person, who had what a man has and what a woman has. They said: Will you make him a man or a woman? And they did not bring him any matter more difficult than this. He said: Wait until I consider your case. By God, nothing like this from you has befallen me, O assembly of Arabs. So they delayed for him. He spent his night sleepless, turning over the matter and considering its affair, and no aspect of it became clear to him. He had a slave-girl called Sukhaylah who pastured his sheep for him. He would reproach her when she drove them out in the morning, saying: “You have delayed into morning, by God, O Sukhayl,” and when she brought them back in the evening, he said: “You have delayed into evening, by God, O Sukhayl.” That was because she used to delay the morning pasturing until some of the people got ahead of her, and delay the evening return until some got ahead. When she saw his sleeplessness and his little rest upon his bed, she said: “What is wrong with you, may you have no father? What has afflicted you this night of yours?” He said: “Woe to you, leave me alone. It is a matter of no concern to you.” Then she repeated to him the like of her words. He said to himself: “Perhaps she may bring relief for what I am in.” So he said: “Woe to you. A case was brought to me concerning the inheritance of a hermaphrodite: shall I make it a man or a woman? By God, I do not know what to do, and no aspect of it becomes clear to me.” He said: Then she said: “Glory be to God, may you have no father! Follow the decisive indication of urination. Seat him; if he urinates from where a man urinates, then he is a man, and if she urinates from where a woman urinates, then she is a woman.” He said: “Delay into evening, Sukhayl, after this, or delay into morning. You have relieved it, by God.” Then he went out to the people when morning came and judged according to what she had indicated to him.
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