Sirat Ibn Hisham 177
Casting lots with divining arrows among the Arabs
[ الضَّرْبُ بِالْقِدَاحِ عِنْدَ الْعَرَبِ ] وَكَانَ عِنْدَ هُبَلَ قِدَاحٌ سَبْعَةٌ، كُلُّ قِدْحٍ مِنْهَا فِيهِ ( كِتَابٌ. قِدْحٌ فِيهِ ) ( الْعَقْلُ ) إذَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِي الْعَقْلِ مَنْ يَحْمِلُهُ مِنْهُمْ، ضَرَبُوا بِالْقِدَاحِ السَّبْعَةِ: فَإِنْ خَرَجَ الْعَقْلُ فَعَلَى مَنْ خَرَجَ حَمْلُهُ، وَقِدْحٌ فِيهِ نَعَمْ لِلْأَمْرِ إذَا أَرَادُوهُ يُضْرَبُ بِهِ فِي الْقِدَاحِ، فَإِنْ خَرَجَ قِدْحُ نَعَمْ عَمِلُوا بِهِ، وَقِدْحٌ فِيهِ لَا إذَا أَرَادُوا أَمْرًا ضَرَبُوا بِهِ فِي الْقِدَاحِ، فَإِنْ خَرَجَ ذَلِكَ الْقِدْحُ لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا ذَلِكَ الْأَمْرَ؛ وَقِدْحٌ فِيهِ مِنْكُمْ؛ وَقِدْحٌ فِيهِ مُلْصَقٌ، وَقِدْحٌ فِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِكُمْ؛ وَقِدْحٌ فِيهِ الْمِيَاهُ إذَا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَحْفِرُوا لِلْمَاءِ ضَرَبُوا بِالْقِدَاحِ، وَفِيهَا ذَلِكَ الْقِدْحُ، فَحَيْثُمَا خَرَجَ عَمِلُوا بِهِ. وَكَانُوا إذَا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَخْتِنُوا غُلَامًا، أَوْ يُنْكِحُوا مُنْكَحًا، أَوْ يَدْفِنُوا مَيْتًا، أَوْ شَكَلُوا فِي نَسَبِ أَحَدِهِمْ، ذَهَبُوا بِهِ إلَى هُبَلَ وَبِمِئَةِ دِرْهَمٍ وَجَزُورٍ، فَأَعْطَوْهَا صَاحِبَ الْقِدَاحِ الَّذِي يَضْرِبُ بِهَا، ثُمَّ قَرَّبُوا صَاحِبَهُمْ الَّذِي يُرِيدُونَ بِهِ مَا يُرِيدُونَ، ثُمَّ قَالُوا: يَا إلَهَنَا، هَذَا فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ قَدْ أَرَدْنَا بِهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا، فَأَخْرِجْ الْحَقَّ فِيهِ. ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ لِصَاحِبِ الْقِدَاحِ: اضْرِبْ فَإِنْ خَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ كَانَ مِنْهُمْ وَسِيطًا، وَإِنْ خَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ غَيْرِكُمْ كَانَ حَلِيفًا، وَإِنْ خَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ مُلْصَقٌ كَانَ عَلَى مَنْزِلَتِهِ فِيهِمْ، لَا نَسَبَ لَهُ وَلَا حِلْفَ، وَإِنْ خَرَجَ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ، مِمَّا سِوَى هَذَا مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ بِهِ نَعَمْ عَمِلُوا بِهِ، وَإِنْ خَرَجَ لَا، أَخَّرُوهُ عَامَهُ ذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَأْتُوهُ بِهِ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى، يَنْتَهُونَ فِي أُمُورِهِمْ إلَى ذَلِكَ مِمَّا خَرَجَتْ بِهِ الْقِدَاحُ
Translation
✧ [Divination by arrows among the Arabs] There were, in the presence of Hubal, seven arrows, each arrow containing a written matter. An arrow containing “the blood-money”—when they disagreed about the blood-money, who among them should bear it, they cast the seven arrows; if the “blood-money” came out, its bearing fell upon the one for whom it came out. An arrow containing “yes” for a matter when they wanted it: they cast it among the arrows, and if the arrow of “yes” came out, they acted upon it. An arrow containing “no” when they wanted a matter: they cast it among the arrows, and if that arrow came out, they did not do that matter. An arrow containing “one of you”; an arrow containing “an attached one”; an arrow containing “other than you”; and an arrow containing “the waters,” when they wanted to dig for water they cast the arrows, and among them was that arrow, so wherever it came out they acted upon it. When they wanted to circumcise a boy, or to marry off someone in marriage, or to bury a dead person, or they had doubts about the lineage of one of them, they went with him to Hubal, and with a hundred dirhams and a slaughtered camel, which they gave to the keeper of the arrows who cast them. Then they brought forward their companion for whom they intended what they intended, then they said: “O our god, this is so-and-so son of so-and-so; we have intended for him such-and-such, so bring out the truth concerning him.” Then they said to the keeper of the arrows: “Cast.” If “one of you” came out for him, he was a true member among them; if “other than you” came out for him, he was an ally; if “an attached one” came out for him, he remained in his status among them, having neither lineage nor alliance. If something other than this came out for him, from that which they acted upon, such as “yes,” they acted upon it; and if “no” came out, they postponed it for that year until they came to him with it another time. In their affairs they ended up with that which the arrows brought out.
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