Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah #6

What 'Utba said about the prophet

Yazid b. Ziyad from Muhammad b. Ka'b al-Qurayzi told me that he was told that 'Utba b. Rabi'a, who was a chief, said one day while he was sitting in the Quraysh assembly and the apostle was sitting in the mosque by himself, 'Why should I not go to Muhammad and make some proposals to him which if he accepts in part, we will give him whatever he wants, and he will leave us in peace?' This happened when Hamza had accepted Islam and they saw that the prophet's followers were increasing and multiplying. They thought it was a good idea, and 'Utba went and sat by the prophet and said, 'O my nephew, you are one of us as you know, of the noblest of the tribe and hold a worthy position in ancestry. You have come to your people with an important matter, dividing their community thereby and ridiculing their customs, and you have insulted their gods and their religion, and declared that their forefathers were unbelievers, so listen to me and I will make some suggestions, and perhaps you will be able to accept one of them.' The apostle agreed, and he went on, 'If what you want is money, we will gather for you of our property so that you may be the richest of us; if you want honour, we will make you our chief so that no one can decide anything apart from you; if you want sovereignty, we will make you king, and if this ghost which comes to you, which you see, is such that you cannot get rid of him, we will find a physician for you, and exhaust our means in getting you cured, for often a familiar spirit gets possession of a man until he can be cured of it,' or words to that effect. The apostle listened patiently, and then said: 'Now listen to me, "In the name of God, the compassionate and merciful, Ha Mim, a revelation from the compassionate, the merciful, a book whose verses are expounded as an Arabic Quran for a people who understand, as an announcement and warning, though most of them turn aside not listening and say, 'Our hearts are veiled from that to which you invite us.' 41:1-37


Then the apostle contimues to recite it to him. When 'Utba heard it from him, he listened attentively, putting his hands behind his back and leaning on them as he listened. Then the prophet ended at the prostation and prostrated himself, and said, 'You have heard what you have heard, Abu'l-Walid; the rest remains with you.' When 'Utba returned to his companions they noticed that his expression had completely altered, and they asked him what had happened. He said that he had heard words such as he had never heard before, which were neither poetry, spells, nor witchcraft. 'Take my advice and do as I do, leave this man entirely alone for, by God, the words which I have heard will be blazed abroad. If (other) Arabs kill him, others will have rid you of him; if he gets the better of the Arabs, his sovereignty will be your sovereignty, his power your power, and you will be prosperous through him.' They said, 'He has bewitched you with his tongue.' To which he answered, 'You have your opinion, you must do what you think fit.'

Negotiations between the apostle and the leaders of Quraysh and an explaination of the sura of the cave

Islam began to spread in Mecca among men and women of the tribes of Quraysh, though Quraysh were imprisoning and seducing as many of the Muslims as they could. A traditionist told me from Sa'id b. Jubayr and from 'Ikrima, freedman of 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas, that the leading men of every clan of Quraysh- 'Utba b. Rabi'ah, and Shayba his brother, and Abu Sufyan b. Harb, and al-Nadr b. al-Harith, brother of the Banu Abdu'l-Dar, and Abu'l-Bakhtari b. Hisham, and al-Aswad b. al-Muttalib b. Asad and Zama'a b. al-Aswad, and al-Walid b. al-Mughira, and Abu Jahl b. Hisham, and 'Abdullah b. Abu Umayya, and al-'As b. Wa'il and Nubayh and Munabbih, the sons of al-Hajjaj, both of Sahm, and Umayya b. Khalaf and possibly others- gathered together after sunset outside the Ka'ba. They decided to send for Muhammad and to negotiate and argue with him so that they could not be held to blame on his account in the future. When they sent for him the apostle came quickly because he thought that what he had said to them had made an impression, for he was most zealous for their welfare, and their wicked way of life pained him. When he came and sat down with them, they explained that they had sent for him in order that they could talk together.

No Arab had ever treated his tribe as Muhammad had treated them, and they repeated the charges which have been mentioned on several occasions. If it was money he wanted, they would make him the richest of them all; it it was honour, he should be their prince; if it was sovereignty, they would make him king; if it was a spirit which had got possession of him, then they would exhaust their means in finding medicine to cure him. The apostle replied he had no such intention. He sought not money, nor honour, nor sovereignty, but God had sent him as an apostle, and revealed a book to him, and commanded him to become an announcer and a warner. He had brought them the messages of his Lord, and given them good advice. If they took it then they would have a portion in this world and the next; if they rejected it, he could only patiently await this issue until God decided between them, or words to that effect. 'Well, Muhammad,' they said, 'if you won't accept any of our propositions, you know that no people are more short of land and water, and live a harder life than we, so ask your Lord, who has sent you, to remove for us these mountains which shut us in, and to straighten out our contry for us, and to open up in it rivers like those of Syria and Iraq, and to resurrect for us our forefathers, and let there be among those that are resurrected for us Qusayy b. Kilab, for he was a true shaikh, so that we may ask them whether what you say is true or false. If they say you are speaking the truth, and you do what we have asked you, we will believe in you, and we shall know what your position with God is, and that He has actually sent you as an apostle as you say.'

He replied that he had not been sent to them with such an object. He had conveyed to them God's message, and they could either accept it with advantage, or reject it and await God's judgement. They said that if he would not do that for them, let him do something for himself. Ask God to send an angel with him to confirm what he said and to contradict them; to make him gardens and castles, and treasures of gold and silver to satisfy his obvious wants. He stood in the streets as they did, and he sought a livelihood as they did. If he could do this, they would recognize his merit and position with God, if he were an apostle as he claimed to be. He replied that he would not do so, and he repeated what he had said before. They said, 'Then let the heavens be dropped on us in pieces, as you assert that your Lord could do if He wished, for we will not believe you unless you do so.' The apostle replied that this was a matter for God; if He wanted to do it with them, He would do it. They said, 'Did not your Lord know that we would sit with you, and ask you these questions, so that He might come to you and instruct you how to answer us, and tell you what He was going to do with us, if we did not receive your message? Information has reached us that you are taught by this fellow in al-Yamama, called al-Rahman, and by God we will never believe in the Rahman. Our conscience is clear. By God, we will not leave you and our treatment of you, until either we destroy you or you destroy us.' Some said, 'We worship the angles, who are the daughters of Allah.' Others said, 'We will not believe in you until you come to us with God and the angels as a surety.' 17-92

When they said this the apostle got up and left them. 'Abdullah b. Abu Umayya b. al-Mughira got up with him and said to him, 'O Muhammad, your people have made you certain propositions, which you have rejected; first they asked you things for themselves that they might know that your position with God is what you say it is so that they might believe in you and follow you, and you did nothing; then they asked you to take something for yourself, by which they might know your superiority over them and your standing with God, and you would not do it; then they asked you to hasten some of the punishment with which you were frightening them, and you did not do it', or words to that effect,' and by God, I will never believe in you until you get a ladder to the sky, and mount up it until you come to it, while I am looking on, and until four angels shall come with you, testifying that you are speaking the truth, and by God, even if you did that I do not think I should believe in you.' Then he went away, and the apostle went to his family, sad and grieving, because his hope that they had called him to accept his preaching was vain, and because of their estrangement from him. When the apostle had gone Abu Jahl spoke, making the usual charges against him, and saying, 'I call God to witness that I will wait for him tomorrow with a stone which I can hardly lift,' or words to that effect, 'and when he prostrates himself in prayer I will split his skull with it. Betray me or defend me, let the B. 'Abdul Manaf do what they like after that.' They said that they would never betray him on any account, and he could carry on with his project. When morning came Abu Jahl took a stone and sat in wait for the apostle, who behaved as usual that morning. While he was in Mecca he faced Syria in prayer, and when he prayed, he prayed between the southern corner and the black stone, putting the Ka'ba between himself and Syria. The apostle rose to pray while Quraysh sat in their meeting, waiting for what Abu Jahl was to do. When the apostle prostrated himself, Abu Jahl took up the stone and went towards him, until when he got near him, he turned back in flight, pale with terror, and his hand had withered upon the stone, so that he cast the stone from his hand. The Quraysh asked him what had happened, and he replied that when he got near him a camel's stallion got in his way. 'By God', he said, 'I have never seen anything like his head, shoulders, and teeth on any stallion before, and he made as though he would eat me.'

I was told that the apostle said, 'That was Gabriel. If he had come near, he would have seized him.'

When Abu Jahl said that to them, al-Nadr b. al-Harith got up and said: 'O Quraysh, a situation has arisen which you cannot deal with. Muhammad was a young man most liked among you, most truthful in speech, and most trustworthy, until, when you saw grey hairs on his temple, and he brought you his message, you said he was a sorcerer, but he is not, for we have seen such people and their spitting and their knots; you said, a diviner, but we have seen such people and their behaviour, and we have heard their rhymes; and you said a poet, but he is not a poet, for we have heard all kinds of poetry; you said he was possessed, but he is not, for we have seen the possessed, and he shows no signs of their gasping and whispering and delirium. Ye men of Quraysh, look to your affairs, for by God, a serious thing has befallen you.' Now al-Nadr b. al-Harith was one of the satans of Quraysh; he used to insult the apostle and show him emnity. He had been to al-Hira and learnt there the tales of the kings of Persia, the tales of Rustum and Isbandiyar. When the apostle had held a meeting in which he reminded them of God, and warned his people of what had happened to bygone generations as a result of God's vengeance, al-Nadr got up when he sat down, and said, 'I can tell a better story than he, come to me.' Then he began to tell them about the kings of Persia, Rustum and Isbandiyar, and then he would say, 'In what respect is Muhammad a better story-teller than I?

Ibn 'Abbas, according to my information, used to say eight verses of the Quran came down in reference to him, 'When our verses are read to him, he says fairy tales of the ancients'; (68:15) and all those passages in the Quran which 'fairy tales' are mentioned.

When al-Nadr said that to them, they sent him and 'Utba b. Abu Mu'ayt to the Jewish rabbis in Medina and said to them, 'Ask them about Muhammad; describe him to them and tell them what he says, for they are the first people of the scriptures and have knowledge which we do not possess about the prophets.' They carried out their instructions, and said to the rabbis, ' You are the people of the Taurat, and we have come to you so that you can tell us how to deal with this tribesman of ours.' The rabbis said, 'Ask him about three things of which we will instruct you; if he gives you the right answer then he is an authentic prophet, but if he does not, then the man is a rogue, so form your own opinion about him. Ask him what happened to the young men who disappeared in ancient days, for they have a marvellous story. Ask him about the mighty traveller who reached the confines of both East and West. Ask him what the spirit is. If he can give you the answer, then follow him, for he is a prophet. If he cannot, then he is a forger and treat him as you will.' The two men returned to Quraysh at Mecca and told them that they had a decisive way of dealing with Muhammad, and they told them about the three questions.

They came to the apostle and called upon him to answer these questions. He said to them, 'I will give you your answer tomorrow,' but he did not say, 'If God will.' So they went away; and the apostle, so they say, waited for fifteen days without a revelation from God on the matter, nor did Gabriel come to him, so that the people of Mecca began to spread evil reports, saying, 'Muhammad promised us an answer on the tomorrow, and todayis the fifteenth day we have remained without an answer.' This delay caused the apostle great sorrow, until Gabriel brought him the Chapter of the Cave, in which he reproaches him for his sadness, and told him the answers of their questions, the youths, the mighty traveller, and the spirit.

I was told that the apostle said to Gabriel when he came, 'You have shut yourself off from me, Gabriel, so that I became apprehensive.' He answered, 'We descend only by God's command, whose is what lies before us, behind us, and what lies between, and thy Lord does not forget.' (19:64)

He began the Sura with His own praise, and mentioning (Muhammad's) prophethood and apostolate and their denial thereof, and He said, 'Glory belongs to God, who has revealed the book to His servant,' meaning Muhammad.

'Verily thou art an apostle from Me,' i.e. confirming what they ask about thy prophethood. 'He hath not made therein crookedness, it is straight,' i.e. it is level, without any difference. 'To warn of a severe punishment from Him,' that is, His immediate judgement in this world. 'And a painful judgement in the next,' that is, from thy Lord, who has sent thee as an apostle. 'To give those who believe, who do good works, the good news that they will have a glorious reward, enjoying it everlastingly,' i.e. the eternal abode. 'They shall not die therein,' i.e. those who have accepted your message as true, though others have denied it, and have done the works that you have ordered them to do. 'And warn those who say God has taken a son.' He means the Quraysh when they say, 'We worship the angels who are the daughters of Allah.' 'They have no knowledge about it, nor had their forefathers', who take hardly your leaving them and shamming their religion. 'Dreadful is the word that proceedeth from their mouth' when they say the angels are God's daughters. 'They say nothing but a lie, and it may be that thou wilt destroy thyself,' O Muhammad. 'In grief over their course if they believe not this saying,' i.e. because of his sorrow when he was disappointed of his hope of them; i.e. thou shalt not do it. 'Verily We have made that which is upon the earth an ornament to it to try them which of them will behave the best,' i.e. which of them will follow My commandment and act in obedience to Me. 'And verily we will make that which is upon it a barren mound,' i.e. the earth and what is upon it will perish and pass away, for all must return to Me that I may reward them according to their deeds, so do not despair nor let what you hear and see therein grieve you.

Then comes the story of what they asked him about the young men, and God said: 'Have you considered that the dwellers in the Cave and al-Raqim were wonders from our signs?' i.e. there were still more wonderful signs in the proofs I have given to men. Then God said: 'When the young men took refuge in the Cave they said, O Lord, show us kindness and give us guidance by Your command, so We sealed up their hearing in the Cave for many years. Then We brought them to life again that We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had been there.' Then He said: 'We will tell you the true account of them; they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We gave them further guidance, and We strengthened their hearts. Then they stood and said, Our Lord is the Lord of heaven and earth. We will pray to no other god but Him. If we were to say otherwise we should speak blasphemy,' i.e. they did not associate anyone with Me as you have associated with Me what you know nothing about. 'These people of ours have chosen gods in addition to Him, though they bring no plain authority for them,' i.e. a clear proof. 'Who is more wicked than he who invents a lie against God? When you withdraw from them and what they worship instead of God, then take refuge in the Cave; your Lord will spread for you by His mercy and prepare a pillow for you in your plight. You might see the sun when it rises move away from their Cave towards the right, and when it sets it would go past them to the left, while they were in a cleft of the Cave'. 'That was one of the signs of God', i.e. for a proof against those of the people of the scriptures who knew their story and who ordered those men to ask you about them concerning the truth of your prophecy in giving a true account of them. 'Whom God guides is rightly guided, and for him whom He leads astray you will find no friend to direct. And you would think they were awake while they were sleeping, and we would turn them over to the right and the left, while their dog was lying with its forepaws on the threshold'. 'If you observed them closely you would turn your backs on them fleeing, and be afraid of them' up to the words 'those who gained their point said, ' i.e. the people of power and dominion among them. 'Let us build a mosque above them; they will say,' i.e. the Jewish rabbis who ordered them to ask these questions. 'Three, their dog being the fourth of them, and some say five, their sixth being the dog, guessing in the dark,' i.e. they know nothing about it, 'and they say seven and their dog the eighth. Say: My Lord knows best about their number; none knows them save a few, so do not contend with them except with an open contention,' i.e. do not be proud with them. 'And do not ask anyone information about them,' for they know nothing about it. 'And do not say of anything I will do it tomorrow unless you say, If God will. And mention your Lord if you have forgotten and say, Perhaps my Lord will guide me to a nearer way of truth than this,' i.e. do not say about anything which they ask you what you said about this, viz. I will tell you tomorrow, and make God's will the condition, and remember Him when you have forgotten to do so and say, Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is ,better than what they ask of me in guidance, for you do not know what I am doing about it. 'And they remained in their cave three hundred years and they added nine, ' i.e. they will say this. 'Say: Your Lord knows best how long they stayed there. The secrets of heaven and earth are with Him. How wonderfully He sees and hears. They have no friend but Him, and He allows none in His dominion as a partner,' i.e. nothing of what they ask you is hidden from Him.

And He said about what they asked him in regard to the mighty traveller, 'And they will ask you about Dhu'l-Qarnayn; say, I will recite to you a remembrance of him. Verily We gave him power in the earth, and We gave to him every road and he followed it'; so far as the end of his story.

God said concerning what they asked him about the spirt, 'They will ask you about the Spirit, say, the Spirit is a matter for my Lord, and you have only a little knowledge about it.' (17:85)

I was told on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said, When the apostle came to Medina, the Jewish rabbis said, 'When you said, "And you have only a little knowledge about it," did you mean us or your own people?' He said, 'Both of you.' They said, 'Yet you will read in what you brought that we were given the Taurat in which is an exposition of everything.' He replied that in reference to God's knowledge that was little, but in it there was enough for them if they carried it out. God revealed concerning what they asked him about that 'If all the trees in the world were pens and the ocean were ink, though the seven seas reinforced it, the words of God would not be exhausted. Verily God is mighty and wise (31:27) i.e. The Taurat comparedd with God's knowledge is little. And God revealed to him converning what his people asked him for themselves, namely, removing the mountains, and cutting the earth, and raising their forefathers from the dead, 'If there were a Quran by which mountains could be moved, or the earth split, or the dead spoken to , but to God belongs the disposition of all things,' i.e. I will not do anything of the kind unless I choose. And he revealed to him concerning their saying, ' Take for yourself', meaning that He should make for him gardens, and castles, and treasures, and should send an angel with him to confirm what he said, and to defend him. 'And they said, "What is this apostle doing, eating food, and walking in the markets? Unless an angel were sent to him to be a warner with him, or he were given a treasure or a garden from which he might eat [we would not believe]"; and the evildoers say, "You follow only a man bewitched". See how they have coined the proverbs of thee, and have gone astray and cannot find the way. Blessed is He who if He willed, could make for thee something better than that,' i.e. than that you should walk in the marketplaces, seeking a livelihood. 'Gardens beneath which run rivers, and make for thee castles.' (25:7-8)

And He revealed to him converning their saying, 'When We sent messengers before thee they did eat and walk in the markets, and we made some of you a test for others, whether you would be steadfast, and your Lord is looking on,' (25:20) i.e. I made some of you a test for others that you might be steadfast. Had I wanted to make the world side with my apostles, so that they would not oppose them, I would have done so.

And he revealed to him concerning what 'Abdullah b. Umayya said, 'And they said, "We will not believe in thee until fountains burst forth for us from the earth, or you have a garden of dates and grapes and make the rivers within it burst fort copiously, or make the heavens fall upon us in fragments as you assert, or bring God and the angels as a surety, or you get a house of gold, or mount up to heaven, we will not believe in thy ascent until you bring down to us a book which we can read." Say: exalted be my Lord, am I aught but a mortal messenger' 17:93

He revealed to him with reference to their saying ' We have heard that a man in al-Yamama called al-Rahman teaches you. We will never believe in him'. 'Thus did We send you to a people before whom other peoples had passed away that you might read to them that which We have revealed to thee, while they disbelieved in the Rahman. Say, He is my Lord, there is no other God but He. In Him I trust and unto Him is the return.' 13:30

And He revealed to him concerning what Abu Jahl said and intended: 'Have you seen him who prohibited a servant when he prayed, have you seen if he was rightly guided or gave orders in the fear of God, have you seen if he lied and turned his back; does he not know that Allah sees everything? If he does not cease we will drag him by the forelock, the lying sinful forelock; let him call his gang, we will call the guards of hell. Thou shalt certainly not obey him, prostrate thyself and draw near to God'.

And God revealed concerning what they proposed to him in regard to their money, 'Say, I ask no reward of you, it is yours; my reward is God's concern alone and He witnesses everything.' 34:47

When the apostle brought to them what they knew was the truth so that they recognized his truthfulness and his position as a prophet in bringing them tidings of the unseen when they asked him about it, envy prevented them from admitting his truth, and they became insolent against God and openly forsook his commandments and took refuge in their polytheism. One of them said, 'Do not listen to this Quran; treat it as nonsense and probably you will get the better of it', i.e. treat it as nonsense and false; and treat him as a mere raver- you will probably get the better of him, whereas if you argue or debate with him any time he will get the better of you.

Abu Jahl, when he was mocking the apostle and his message one day, said: 'Muhammad pretends that God's troops who will punish you in hell and imprison you there, are nineteen only, while you have a large population. Can it be that every hundred of you is unequal to one man of them?' In reference to that God revealed, 'We have made the guardians of hell angels, and We have made the number of them a trial to those who disbelieve', to the end of the passage. (74:30) Whereupon when the apostle recited the Quran loudly as he was praying, they began to disperse and refused to listen to him. If anyone of them wanted to hear what he was reciting as he prayed, he had to listen stealthily for fear of Quraysh; and if he saw that they knew that he was listening to it, he went away for fear of punishment and listened no more. If the apostle lowered his voice, then the man who was listening thought that they would not listen to any part of the reading, while he himself heard something which they could not hear, by giving all his attention to the words.

Da'ud b. al-Husayn of 'Amr b.'Uthman told me that 'Ikrima freedman of Ibn 'Abbas has told them that 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas had told them that the verse, 'Don't speak loudly in thy prayer and don't be silent; adopt a middle course,' (17:110) was revealed because of those people. He said, 'Don't speak loudly in thy prayer' so that they may go away from you, and 'Don't be silent' so that he who wants to hear, of those who listen stealthily, cannot hear; perhaps he will give heed to some of it and profit thereby.

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah #5

Reports of Arab soothsayers, Jewish rabbis, and Christian monks

Jewish rabbis, Christian monks, and Arab soothsayers had spoken about the apostle of God before his mission when his time drew near. As to the rabbis and monks, it was about his description and the description of his time which they found in their scriptures and what their prophets had enjoined upon them. As to the Arab soothsayers they had been visited by satans from the jinn with reports which they had secretly overheard before they were prevented from hearing by being pelted with stars. Male and female soothsayers continued to let fall mention of some of these matters to which the Arabs paid no attention until God sent him and these things which had been mentioned happened and they recognized them.

When the prophet's mission came the satans were prevented from listening and they could not occupy the seats in which they used to sit and steal the heavenly tidings for they were pelted with stars, and the jinn knew that that was due to an order which God had commanded concerning mankind, God said to His prophet Muhammad when He sent him as he was telling him about the jinn when they were prevented from listening and knew what they knew and did not deny what they saw; 'Say, it has been revealed to me that a number of the jinn listened and said 'We have heard a wonderful Quran which guides to the right path, and we believe in it and we will not associate anyone with our Lord and that He ( exalted be the glory of our Lord ) hath not chosen a wife or a son. A foolish one among us used to speak lies against God and that when men took refuge with the jinn, they increased them in revolt," ending with the words:" We used to sit on places threin to listen; he who listens now finds a flame waiting for him. We do not know whether evil is intended against those that are on earth or whether their lord wishes to guide them in the right path".

When the jinn heard the quran they knew that they had been prevented from listening before that so that revelation should not be mingled with news from heaven so that men would be confused with the tidings which came from God about it when the proof came and doubt was removed; so they believed and acknowledged the truth. Then 'They returned to their people warning them, saying, O our people we have heard a book which was revealed after Moses confirming what went before it, guiding to the truth and to the upright path.' 46:29-30

The Jewish warning about the apostle of God

Asim b. Umar told me that some of his tribesmen said: 'What induced us to accept Islam, apart from God's mercy and guidance, was what we used to hear the Jews say. We were polytheists worshipping idols, while they were people of the scriptures with knowledge which we did not possess. There was continual enmity between us, and when we got the better of them and excited their hate, they said, "The time of a prophet who is to be sent has now come. We will kill you with his aid as 'Ad and Iram perished." We often used to hear them say this. When God sent His apostle we accepted him when he called us to God and we realized what their threat meant and joined him before them. We believed in him but they denied him. Concerning us and them, God revealed the verse in the chapter of the Cow: "And when a book from God came to them confirming what they already had (and they were formerly asking for victory over the unbelievers), when what they knew came to them, they disbelieved it. The curse of God is on the unbelievers." 2:89

Salih b. Ibrahim said: 'We had a Jewish neighbour among B.Abdul-Ashhal, who came out to us one day from his house. ( At that time I was the youngest person in my house, wearing a small robe and lying in the courtyard.) He spoke of the resurrection, the reckoning, the scales, paradise, and hell. When he spoke of these things to the polytheists who thought that there could be no rising after death, they said to him, "Good gracious man! Do you think that such things could be that men can be raised from the dead to a place where there is a garden and a fire in which they will be recompensed for their deeds?" "Yes," he said, "and by Him whom men swear by, he would wish that he might be in the largest oven in his house rather than in that fire: that they would heat it and thrust him into it and plaster it over if he could get out from that fire on the following day." When they asked for a sign that this would be, he said, pointing with his hand to Mecca and the Yaman, "A prophet will be sent from the direction of this land." When they asked when he would appear, he looked at me, the youngest person, and said: "This boy, if he lives natural term, will see him," and by God, a night and a day did not pass before God sent Muhammad his apostle and he was living among us. We believed in him, but he denied him in his wickedness and envy. When we asked, "Aren't you the man who said these things?" he said, "Certainly, but this is not the man."

Asim b. Umar said to me, 'Do you know how Tha'laba b. Sa'ya and Asid b. Sa'ya and Asad b. Ubayd brothers of B. Qurayza, became muslims? They were with them during the days of ignorance; then they became their masters in Islam.' When I said that I did not know, he told me that a Jew from Syria, Ibnu'l-Hayyaban, came to us some years before islam and dwelt among us. ' I have never seen a better man than he who was not a Muslim. When we were living in the time of drought we asked him to come with us and pray for rain. He declined to do so unless we paid him something, and we asked how much he wanted, he said, "A bushel of dates or two bushels of barley." When we had duly paid up he went outside our harra and prayed for rain for us; and by God, hardly had he left his place when clouds passed over us and it rained. Not once nor twice did he do this. Later when he knew that he was about to die he said, "O Jews, what do you think made me leave a land of bread and wine to come to a land of hardship and hunger?" When we said that we could not think why, he said that he had come to this country expecting to see the emergence of a prophet whose time was at hand. This was the town where he would migrate and he was hoping that he would be sent so that he could follow him. "His time has come," he said, "and don't let anyone get to him before you, O Jews; for he will be sent to shed blood and to take captive the women and children of those who oppose him. Let not that keep you back from him."

When the apostle of God was sent and besieged B.Qurayza, those young men who were growing youths said, 'This is the prophet of whom Ibnu'l-Hayyaban testified to you.' They said that he was not; but the others asserted that he had been accurately described, so they went and became Muslims and saved their lives, their property, and their families. Such is what I have been told about the Jewish reports.

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah #4

Abu Talib becomes guardian of the apostle

After the death of Abdul-Mutallib the apostle lived with his uncle Abu Talib for (so they alleged) the former had confided him to his care because he and Abdullah, the apostle's father, were brothers by the same mother, Fatima d. Amr. It was Abu Talib who used to look after the apostle after the death of his grand-father and he became one of his family.

Yahya b. Abbad told me that his father told him that there was a man of Lihb who was a seer. Whenever he came to Mecca the Quraysh used to bring their boys to him so that he could look at them and tell their fortunes. So Abu Talib brought him along with the others while he was still a boy. The seer looked at him and then something claimed his attention. That disposed of he cried, 'Bring me that boy.' When Abu Talib saw his eagerness he hid him and the seer began to say, 'Woe to you, bring me that boy I just saw just now, for by Allah he has a great future.' But Abu Talib went away.

The story of Bahira

Abu Talib had planned to go in a merchant caravan to Syria, and when all preparations had been made for the journey, the apostle of God, so they allege, attached himself closely to him so that he took pity on him and said that he would take him with him, and that the two of them would never part; or words to that effect. When the caravan reached Busra in Syria, there was a monk there in his cell by the name of Bahira, who was well versed in the knowledge of Christians. A monk had always occupied that cell. There he gained his knowledge from a book that was in the cell, so they allege, handled on from generation to generation. They had often passed by him in the past and he never spoke to them or took any notice of them until this year, and when they stopped near his cell he made a great feast for them. It is alleged that that was because of something he saw while in his cell. They allege that while he was in his cell he saw the apostle of God in the caravan when they approached, with a cloud overshadowing him among the people. Then they came and stopped in the shadow of a tree near the monk. He looked at the cloud when it overshadowed the tree, and its branches were bending and drooping over the apostle of God until he was in the shadow beneath it. When Bahira saw that, he came out of his cell and sent word to them, 'I have prepared food for you, O men of Quraysh, and I should like you all to come both great and small, bond and free.' One of them said to him, 'By God, Bahira! something extraordinary has happened today, you used not to treat us so, and we have often passed by you. What has befallen you today?' He answered, 'You are right in what you say, but you are guests and I wish to honour you and give you food so that you may eat.'

So they gathered together with him, leaving the apostle of God behind with the baggage under the tree, on account of his extreme youth. When Bahira looked at the people he did not see the mark which he knew and found in his books, so he said, 'Do not let one of you remain behind and not come to my feast.' They told him that no one who ought to come had remained behind except a boy who was the youngest of them and had stayed with their baggage. Thereupon he told them to invite him to come to the meal with them. One of the men of Quraysh said, 'By al-Lat and al-Uzza, we are to blame for leaving behind the son of Abdullah b. Abdul-Mutallib. Then he got up and embraced him and made him sit with the people. When Bahira saw him he stared at him closely, looking at his body and finding traces of his description ( in the Christian books). When the people had finished eating and gone away, Bahira got up and said to him, 'Boy, I ask you by al-Lat and al-Uzza to answer my question.' Now Bahira said this only because he had heard his people swearing by these gods. They allege that the apostle of God said to him, 'Do not ask me by al-Lat and al-Uzza, for by Allah nothing is more hateful to me than these two.' Bahira answered, 'Then by Allah, tell me what I ask' ; he replied, 'Ask me what you like' ; so he began to ask him about what happened in his sleep, and his habits, and his affairs generally, and what the apostle of God told him coincided with what Bahira knew of his description. Then he looked at his back and saw the seal of prophethood between his shoulders in the very place described in his book. When he had finished he went to his uncle Abu Talib and asked him what relation this boy was to him, and when he told him he was his son, he said that he was not, for it could not be that the father of this boy was alive. 'He is my nephew,' he said, and when he asked what had become of his father he told him that he had died before the child was born. 'You have told the truth,' said Bahira. 'Take your nephew back to his country and guard him carefully against the Jews, for by Allah! if they see him and know about him what I know, they will do him evil; a great future lies before this nephew of yours, so take him home quickly.'

So his uncle took him off quickly and brought him back to Mecca when he had finished his trading in Syria. People allege that Zurayr and Tammam and Daris, who were people of the scriptures, had noticed in the apostle of God what Bahira had seen during that journey which he took with his uncle, and they tried to get at him, but Bahira kept them away and reminded them of God and the mention of the description of him which they would find in the sacred books, and that if they tried to get at him they would not succeed. He gave them no peace until they recognized the truth of what he said and left him and went away. The apostle of God grew up, God protecting him and keeping him from the vileness of heathenism because he wished to honour him with apostleship, until he grew up to be the finest of his people in manliness, the best in character, most noble in lineage, the best neighbour, the most kind, truthful, reliable, the furthest removed from filthiness and corrupt morals, through loftiness and nobility, so that he was known among his people as 'The trustworthy' because of the good qualities which God had implanted in him. The apostle, so I was told, used to tell how God protected him in his childhood during the period of heathenism, saying, 'I found myself among the boys of Quraysh carrying stones such as boys play with; we had all uncovered ourselves, each taking his shirt and putting it around his neck as he carried the stones. I was going to and fro in the same way, when an unseen figure slapped me most painfully saying, "Put your shirt on" ;so I took it and fastened it on me and then began to carry the stones upon my neck wearing my shirt alone among my fellows."

Suhayli, after pointing out that a somewhat similar story is told of the prophet's modesty and its preservation by supernatural means, at the time that the rebuilding of the Ka'ba was undertaken when Muhammad was a grown man, says significantly that if the account here is correct divine intervention must have occured twice. I.Hamid said that Salama told him that Ibn Ishaq related from Muhamad b. Abdullah b. Qays from al-Hassan b. Muhammad heard the apostle say, "I never gave a thought to what the people of the pagan era used to do but twice, because God came between me and my desires. Afterwards I never thought of evil when God honoured me with apostleship. Once I said to a young Qurayshi who was shepherding with me on the high ground of Mecca, 'I should like you to look after my beasts for me while I go and spend the night in Mecca as young men do.' He agreed and I went off with that intent, and when I came to the first house in Mecca I heard the sound of tambourines and flutes and was told that a marriage had just taken place. I sat down to look at them when God smote my ear and I fell asleep until I was woken by the sun. I came to my friend and in reply to his questions told him what had happened. Exactly the same thing occured on another occasion. Afterwards I never thought of evil until God honoured me with his apostleship."

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah #3

Of the women who offered herself in marriage to Abdullah b. Abdul-Muttalib

Taking Abdullah by the hand Abdul-Muttalib went away and they passed- so it is alleged- a women of B. Asad who was the sister of Waraqa b. Naufal who was at the Ka'ba. When she looked at him she asked, 'Where are you going Abdullah?' He replied, 'With my father.' She said, 'If you will take me you can have as many camels as were sacrificed in your stead.' 'I am with my father and I cannot act against his wishes and leave him', he replied.

'Abdul-Muttalib brought him to Wahb b. Abdul Manaf who was the leading man of B. Zuhra in birth and honour, and he married him to his daughter Amina, she being the most excellent woman among the Quraysh in birth and position at that time.

It is alleged that Abdullah consummated his marriage immediately and his wife conceived the apostle of God. Then he left her presence and met the woman who had proposed to him. He asked her why did she did not make the proposal that she made to him the day before: to which she replied that the light that was with him the day before had left him, and she no longer had need of him. She had heard from her brother Waraqa b. Naufal, who had been a Christian and studied the scriptures, that a prophet would arise among this people.

My father Ishaq b. Yasar ( the author's father) told me that he was told that Abdullah went in to a woman that he had beside Amina d. Wahb when he had been working in a clay and the marks of the clay were on him. She put him off when he made a suggestion to her bacause of the dirt that was on him. He then left her and washed and bathed himself, and as he made his way to Amina he passed her and she invited him to come to her. He refused and went to Amina who conceived Muhammad. When he passed the woman again he asked her if she wanted anything and she said ' No! When you passed me there was a white blaze between your eyes and when I invited you you refused me and went in to Amina, and she has taken it away.'

It is alleged that that woman of his used to say that when he passed by her between his eyes there was a blaze like the blaze of a horse. She said: 'I invited him hoping that that would be in me, but he refused me and went to Amina and she conceived the apostle of God.' So the apostle of God was the noblest of his people in birth and the greatest in honour both on his father's and his mother's side.

What was said to Amina when she had conceived the apostle

It is alleged in popular stories ( and only God knows the truth) that Amina d. Wahb, the mother of God's apostle, used to say when she was pregnant with God's apostle that a voice said to her, 'You are pregnant with the lord of this people and when he is born say, "I put him in the care of the One from the evil of every envier; then call him Muhammad." ' As she was pregnant with him she saw a light come forth from her by which she could see the castles of Busra in Syria. Shortly afterwards Abdullah the apostle's father died while his mother was still pregnant.

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah #2

The story of Tubba'

When Rabi'a b. Nasr died the whole kingdom of the Yaman fell into the hands of Hassan b. Tiban As'ad Abu Karib

It was Tiban As'ad Abu Karib who went to Medina and took away to the Yaman two Jewish Rabbis from thence. He adorned the sacred temple and covered it with cloth. His reign was before that of Rabi'a b. Nasr.

When he came from the east he had passed by Medina without harming its people; but he left behind there one of his sons who was treacherously slain. Thereupon he returned with the intention of destroying the town and exterminating its people and cutting down its palms. So this tribe of the Ansar gathered together under the leadership of Amr b. Talla the brother of B. al-Najjar.

Now a man of B. Adiy b. al-Najjar called Ahmar had fallen upon one of the followers of Tubba' when he brought them to Medina and killed him, because he caught him among his palms cutting the date clusters; he struck him with his sickle and killed him, saying 'The fruit belongs to the man who cultivates it.' This enraged the Tubba' against them and fighting broke out. Indeed the Ansar assert that they used to fight them by day and treat them as guests by night. Tubba' was amazed at this and used to say: ' By God our people are generous!'

While Tubba' was occupied in this fighting there came two Jewish rabbis from B. Qurayza, learned men well grounded in tradition. They had heard about the king's intention to destroy the town and its people and they said to him: 'O King, do not do it, for if you persist in your intention something will happen to prevent your carrying it out and we fear that you will incur speedy retribution.' When the king asked the reason for this they told him that Yathrib was the place to which a prophet of the Quraysh would migrate in time to come, and it would be his home and resting-place. Seeing that these men had hidden knowledge the king took their words in good part and gave up his design, departed from Medina and embraced the rabbis' religion.

This tribe of the Ansar claim that the Tubba' was enraged only against this tribe of the Jews who were living among them and that it was only his intention to destroy them, but they protected them until he went his way. Therefore in a verse they said:

In rage against two Jewish tribes who live in Yathrib
Who richly deserve the punishment of a fateful day.

Now the Tubba' and his people were idolaters. He set out for Mecca which was on his way to the Yaman, and when he was between 'Usfan and Amaj some men of the Hudhayl came to him saying, 'O King, may we not lead you to an ancient treasury which former kings have overlooked? It contains pearls, topaz, rubies, gold, and silver. Certainly, said he, and they added that it was a temple in Mecca which its people worshipped and where they prayed. But the real intention of these people was to encompass his destruction, for they knew that any king that treated it with disrespect was sure to die. Having agreed to their proposal he sent to the two rabbis and asked their opinion. They told him that the sole object of the tribe was to destroy him and his army. 'We know of no other temple in the land which God has chosen for Himself, said they, and if you do what they suggest you and all your men will perish. The king asked them what he should do when he got there, and they told him to do what the people of Mecca did: to circumambulate the temple, to venerate and honour it, to shave his head, and to behave with all humility until he had left its precincts.

The king asked why they too should not do likewise. They replied that it was indeed the temple of their father Abraham, but the idols which the inhabitants had set up round it, and the blood which they shed there, presented an insuperable obstacle. They are unclean polytheists, said they- or words to that effect.

Recognizing the soundness and truth of their words the king summoned the men from the Hudhayl and cut off their hands and feet, and continues his journey to Mecca. He went round the Ka'ba, sacrificed, and shaved his head, staying there six days sacrificing animals which he distributed to the people and giving them honey to drink.

It was revealed to him in a dream that he should cover the temple, so he covered it with woven palm brances; a later vision showed him that he must do better so he covered it with Yamani cloth; a third vision induced him to clothe it with fine striped Yaman cloth. People say that the Tubba' was the first man to cover the temple in this way. He orders its Jurhumi guardians to keep it clean and not to allow blood, dead bodies, or menstruous cloths to come near it, and he made a door and a key for it.

Subay'a d. al-Ahabb had by him a son called Khalid; and in impressing on him the sanctity of Mecca and forbidding him to commit grievous sin there, she reminded him of Tubba' and his humility towards it and his work there, in the following lines:

O my son, oppress neither the mean nor the great in Mecca.
Preserve its sanctity and be not led away.
He who does evil in Mecca will meet the worst misfortune.
His face will be smitten and his cheeks will burn with fire.
I know from certain knowlesge that the evildoer there will perish.
God has made it inviolate though no castles are built in its court.
God has made its birds inviolate and the wild goats on Thabir are safe.
Tubba' came against it, but covered its buildings with embroidered cloth.
God humbled his sovereignty there so he fulfilled his vows,
Walking barefoot to it with two thousand camels in its courtyard.
Its people he fed with the flesh of Mahri camels.
Gave them to drink strained honey and pure barley-water.
(God) destroyed the army of the elephant,
They were pelted with great stones,
And (God destroyed) their kingdom in the farthest lands
Both in Persia and Khazar.
Hearken therfore when you are told the story
And understand the end of such things.

Afterwards he set forth for the Yaman with his army and the two rabbis, and when he reached his own country he invited his people to adopt his new religion, but they refused until the matter could be tested by the ordeal of fire which was there.

Abu Malik b. Tha'laba narrate that when Tubba' drew near to the Yaman the Himyarites blocked his path, refusing to let him pass because he had abandoned their religion. When he invited them to accept his religion on the ground that it was better than theirs, they proposed that the matter should be subject to the ordeal by fire. The Yamanites say that a fire used to settle matters in dispute among them by consuming the guilty and letting the innocent go scatheless. So his people went forth with their sacred books hanging like necklaces from their necks until they halted at the place whence the fire used to blaze out. On this occasion when it came out the Yamanites withdrew in terror, but their followers encouraged then and urged them to stand fast, so they held their ground until the fire covered them and consumed their idols and sacred objects and the men who bore them. But the two rabbis came out with their sacred books, sweating profusely but otherwise unharmed. Thereupon the Himyarites accepted the king's religion. Such was the origin of Judaism in the Yaman.

Another informant told me that the two parties only went up to the fire to drive it back, for it was held that the one who succeeded in driving it back was most worthy of credence. When the Himyarites with their idols came near to drive the fire back, the fire came out against them and they withdrew unable to withstand it. Afterwards, when the two rabbis came reciting the Torah, the fire receded so that they drove it back to the place from which it had emerged. Thereupon the Himyarites accepted their religion. But God knows which report is correct.

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah #1

The king of Yaman and the story of Shiqq and Satih, the two soothsayers

Rabi'a b. Nasr, is the king of Yaman. He had a vision which terrified him and continued to cause him much anxiety. So he summoned every soothsayers, sorcerer, omenmonger, and astrologer in his kingdom and said: 'I have had a vision which terrifies me and is a source of anxiety. Tell me what it was and what it means.' They replied: 'Tell us the vision and we will tell you its meaning.' 'If I tell you it,' said he, 'I can have no confidence in your interpretation ; for the only man who knows its meaning is he who knows about the vision without my telling him.' Thereupon one of them recommended him to send for Shiqq and Satih, for they knew more than others and would be able to answer his questions.

So he sent for them and Satih arrived first. The king then repeated his words, ending, 'If you know the vision you will know what it means.'

Satih replied:

A fire you did see
Come forth from the sea.
It fell on the low country
And devoured all that be.

The king agreed that this was exactly what he had seen, and what was the meaning of it all? He answered:

By the serpent of the lava plains I swear
The Ethiopian on your land shall bear
Ruling from Abyan to Jurash everywhere.

The king exclaimed that this was distressing news, but when would these things come to pass- in his time or after him? He replied: that more than sixty or seventy years must first pass. Would the new-comers' kingdom last? No, an end would be put to it after seventy years or more; then they would be slain or driven out as fugitives. Who would do this? Iram. Dhu Yazan, who would come against them from Aden and not leave one of them in the Yemen. Further questions drew the information that their kingdom would not last, but a pure prophet to whom revelation came from on high would bring it to an end; he would be a man of the sons of Ghalib b. Fihr b. Malik b. al-Nadr. His dominion would last to the end of time. Has time an end? asked the king. Yes, replied Satih, the day on which the first and the last shall be assembled, the righteous for happiness, the evildoers for misery. Are you telling me the truth? the king asked.

Yes, by the dark and the twilight
And the dawn that follows the night
Verily what I have told you is right.

Later Shiqq arrived and the king acquainted him with the facts but did not tell him what Satih had said, so that he might see whether they agreed or differed. His words were:

A fire you did see
Come forth from the sea.
It fell between rock and tree
Devouring all that did breathe.

Perceiving that they agreed one with the other and that the difference was a mere choice of words, the king asked Shiqq for his interpretation:

By the men of the plains I swear
The blacks on your land shall bear
Pluck your little ones from your care
Ruling from Abyan to Najran everywhere.

The king put the same questions to him and learned that after his time:
There shall deliver you from them one mighty, great of name
And put them to the utmost shame.

He would be:

A young man neither remiss nor base
Coming forth from Dhu Yazan's house, his place,
Not one of them shall leave on Yaman's face.

He continued in answer to the questions already put to his predecessor: His kingdom shall be ended by an apostle who will bring truth and justice among men of religion and virtue. Dominion will rest among his people until the Day of Separation, the day on which those near God will be rewarded, on which demands from heaven will be made which the quick and dead will hear, men will be gathered at the appointed place, the God-fearing to receive salvation and blessing. By the Lord of heaven and earth, and what lies between them high or low I have told you but the truth in which no doubt lies.

What these two men said made a deep impression on Rabi'a b. Nasr and he dispatched his sons and family to Iraq with all that they might need, giving them a letter to the Persian king who let them settle in al-Hira.