Sirat Ibn Hisham 986
The affair of Maʿbad al-Khuzāʿī
[ شَأْنُ مَعْبَدٍ الْخُزَاعِيِّ ] قَالَ: وَقَدْ مَرَّ بِهِ كَمَا حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، مَعْبَدُ بْنُ أَبِي مَعْبَدٍ الْخُزَاعِيُّ، وَكَانَتْ خُزَاعَةُ، مُسْلِمُهُمْ وَمُشْرِكُهُمْ عَيْبَةَ نُصْحٍ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، بِتِهَامَةَ، صَفْقَتُهُمْ مَعَهُ، لَا يُخْفُونَ عَنْهُ شَيْئًا كَانَ بِهَا، وَمَعْبَدٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُشْرِكٌ، فَقَالَ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، أَمَا وَاَللَّهِ لَقَدْ عَزَّ عَلَيْنَا مَا أَصَابَكَ، وَلَوَدِدْنَا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَافَاكَ فِيهِمْ، ثُمَّ خَرَجَ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِحَمْرَاءِ الْأَسَدِ، حَتَّى لَقِيَ أَبَا سُفْيَانَ بْنَ حَرْبٍ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ بِالرَّوْحَاءِ، وَقَدْ أَجْمَعُوا الرَّجْعَةَ إلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَأَصْحَابِهِ، وَقَالُوا: أَصَبْنَا حَدَّ أَصْحَابِهِ وَأَشْرَافَهُمْ وَقَادَتَهُمْ، ثُمَّ نَرْجِعُ قَبْلَ أَنْ نَسْتَأْصِلَهُمْ لَنَكُرَنَّ عَلَى بَقِيَّتِهِمْ، فَلَنَفْرُغَنَّ مِنْهُمْ. فَلَمَّا رَأَى أَبُو سُفْيَانَ مَعْبَدًا، قَالَ: مَا وَرَاءَكَ يَا مَعْبَدُ ؟ قَالَ: مُحَمَّدٌ قَدْ خَرَجَ فِي أَصْحَابِهِ يَطْلُبُكُمْ فِي جَمْعٍ لَمْ أَرَ مِثْلَهُ قَطُّ، يَتَحَرَّقُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ تَحَرُّقًا، قَدْ اجْتَمَعَ مَعَهُ مَنْ كَانَ تَخَلَّفَ عَنْهُ فِي يَوْمِكُمْ، وَنَدِمُوا عَلَى مَا صَنَعُوا، فِيهِمْ مِنْ الْحَنَقِ عَلَيْكُمْ شَيْءٌ لَمْ أَرَ مِثْلَهُ قَطُّ؛ قَالَ: وَيْحكَ مَا تَقُولُ ؟ قَالَ: وَاَللَّهِ مَا أَرَى أَنْ تَرْتَحِلَ حَتَّى أَرَى نَوَاصِيَ الْخَيْلِ، قَالَ: فَوَاَللَّهِ لَقَدْ أَجْمَعْنَا الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ، لِنَسْتَأْصِلَ بَقِيَّتَهُمْ: قَالَ: فَإِنِّي أَنْهَاكَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، قَالَ: وَاَللَّهِ لَقَدْ حَمَلَنِي مَا رَأَيْتُ عَلَى أَنْ قُلْتُ فِيهِمْ أَبْيَاتًا مِنْ شِعْرٍ؛ قَالَ: وَمَا قُلْتُ ؟ قَالَ: قُلْتُ: كَادَتْ تُهَدُّ مِنْ الْأَصْوَاتِ رَاحِلَتِي إذْ سَالَتْ الْأَرْضُ بِالْجُرْدِ الْأَبَابِيلِ تَرْدِى بِأُسْدٍ كَرَامٍ لَا تَنَابِلَةٍ عِنْدَ اللِّقَاءِ وَلَا مِيلٍ مَعَازِيلِ فَظَلْتُ عَدْوًا أَظُنُّ الْأَرْضَ مَائِلَةً لَمَّا سَمَوْا بِرَئِيسٍ غَيْرِ مَخْذُولِ فَقُلْتُ: وَيْلَ ابْنِ حَرْبٍ مِنْ لِقَائِكُمْ إذَا تَغَطمطتُ الْبَطْحَاءُ بِالْجِيلِ إنِّي نَذِيرٌ لِأَهْلِ الْبَسْلِ ضَاحِيَةً لِكُلِّ ذِي إرْبَةٍ مِنْهُمْ وَمَعْقُولِ مِنْ جَيْشِ أَحْمَدَ لَا وَخَشٍ تَنَابِلَةٍ وَلَيْسَ يُوصَفُ مَا أَنْذَرْتُ بِالْقِيلِ فَثَنَى ذَلِكَ أَبَا سُفْيَانَ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ
Translation
✧ [The affair of Maʿbad al-Khuzāʿī] He said: And Maʿbad b. Abī Maʿbad al-Khuzāʿī passed by him, as ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Bakr narrated to me. The Khuzāʿah—their Muslims and their polytheists—were a repository of sincere counsel for the Messenger of God ﷺ in Tihāmah, their pact was with him; they concealed nothing from him concerning what was there. Maʿbad that day was a polytheist. He said: "O Muḥammad, by God, what has befallen you has distressed us, and we would have wished that God had granted you safety among them." Then he departed, and the Messenger of God ﷺ was at Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad, until he met Abū Sufyān b. Ḥarb and those with him at al-Rawḥāʾ. They had resolved to return against the Messenger of God ﷺ and his companions, and said: "We have struck the pick of his companions, their nobles, and their leaders; then shall we turn back before we destroy them utterly? We shall return against the rest of them and finish them off." When Abū Sufyān saw Maʿbad, he said: "What is behind you, O Maʿbad?" He said: "Muḥammad has come out with his companions seeking you in a host the like of which I have never seen. They burn against you with burning. Those who had stayed behind from him on your day have joined him, and they regret what they did. Among them is rancor against you the like of which I have never seen." He said: "Woe to you! What are you saying?" He said: "By God, I think you will not depart until I see the forelocks of the horses." He said: "By God, we had resolved to make a return attack upon them, to destroy the rest of them utterly." He said: "Then I forbid you from that." He said: "By God, what I saw impelled me to speak verses of poetry about them." He said: "And what did you say?" He said: "I said: My riding-camel almost collapsed from the voices, when the earth overflowed with the noble, swift horses, They trot with lions, generous, not weaklings, not slack at the encounter, nor unarmed cowards. I remained running, thinking the earth was tilting, when they raised a chief not forsaken. I said: Woe to Ibn Ḥarb from meeting you, when the valley floor roars with the multitude. I am a warner to the people of adversity, openly, to every one among them of intelligence and reason, Of the army of Aḥmad, not weaklings or laggards; and what I warn of cannot be described in words." So that turned back Abū Sufyān and those with him.
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