Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

'74
The Life of Muhammad
To a chief who leads with decision and wisdom,
Sitting by the near side of al-!:!ajun as though princes,
Nay they are even more noble and glorious.
Every bold man helped therein
Clad in mail so long that it slowed his stride,
Running tal portentous deeds
Like a flame burning in the torchbearer's hands.
The noblest of Lu'ayy b. Ghiilib's line
When they are wronged their faces show their anger.
With long cord to his sword half his shank bare.
For his sake the clouds give rain and blessing.
Prince son of prince of princely hospitality
Gathering and urging food on his guests.
Building and preparing safety for the tribesmen
When we walk through the land.
Every blameless man kept this peace.
A great leader, there was he praised.
They accomplished their \\lork in a night
While others slept; in the morning they took their case.
They sent back Sahl b. BaicJii' well pleased .
And Abu Bakr and Muhammad rejoiced thereat.
When have others joined in our great exploits,
From of old have we shown each other affection?
Never have we approved injustice.
We got what we wanted without violence.
o men of Qu~ayy, won't you consider,
Do you want what will befall you tomorrow?
For you and I are as the words of the saymg:
'You have the explanation if you could only speak, 0 Aswad."
Mourning al-Mufim b. "AcHy and mentioning his ~tand in getting the
deed annulled, ~Iassiin b. Thiibit composed the following:'
Weep 0 eye the people's leader, be generous with thy tears.
If they run dry, then pour out blood.
Mourn the leader of both the pilgrim sites'
To whom men owe gratitude so long as they can speak.
If glory could immortalize anyone
I Or 'daring'. .
;l Commentators explain that Aswad is the name of a mountain on whIch a dead man W?9
found and there was no indication of his murderer. The relatives addressed the mountam
in the words just quoted which became a proverb. . .
J See Diwan of Hassan b. Thabit, ed. Hartwig Hirschfeld (Gibb Me~o~lal Senes), Lon-:.
don, 19JO, 43 f. The version given there is sadly at fault, but ~he text m lm~ 2 ~'a-r~bb::h.a
syntactically though not metrically, a mistake for rabbahuma (Instead of I.I. s kllayh,%mp.) IS
right: 'weep'for the lord and master of the two sanctuaries'. Cf. Agh: xiii. 6, l. 5 (CIted by
Lammcns /:Arabie occidentale, Beirut, 1926, p. J46): 'the hurrymg between th~ two
mash'ars',' I.H., though he denies that 1.1. wrote 'both', fails to quote the right readmg;
The Life of Muhammad '75
His glory would have kept Mul'im alive today.
You protected God's apostle from them and they became
Thy slaves so long as men cry labbayka and don the pilgrim garb.
If Ma'add and Qa!)!iin and all the rest
Of Jurhum were asked about him
They would say he faithfully performs his duty to protect
And if he makes a covenant he fulfils it.
The bright sun above them docs not shine
On a greater and nobler than he;
More resolute in refusing yet most lenient in nature,
Sleeping soundly on the darkest night though responsible for his
guest (213).
J:Iassan also said in praise of Hisham b.