Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

202 The Life of Muhammad
294 the apostle at aI-'Aqaba in the middle of the days of Tashriq,' when God
intended to honour them and to help His apostle and to strengthen Islam
and to humiliate heathenism and its devotees.
Ma'bad b. Ka'b b. Malik b. Abu Ka'b b. al-Qayn, brother of the B.
Salima, told me that his brother 'Abdullah b. Ka'b who was one of the
most learned of the An~ar told him that his father Ka'b who was one of
those who had been present at aI- 'Aqaba and did homage to the apostle,
informed him saying: 'We went out with the polytheist pilgrims of our
people having prayed and learned the customs of the pilgrimage. With us
was aI-Bara' b. Ma'riir our chief and senior. When we had started our
journey from Medina aI-Bad,' said, "I have come to a conclusion and I
don't know whether you will agree with me or not. I think that I will not
tum my back on this building" (meaning the Ka'ba), "and that I shall pray
towards it." We replied that so far as we knew our prophet prayed towards·
Syria' and we did not wish to act differently. He said, "I am going to pray
towards the Kafba." We said, IlBut we will not." When the time for
prayer came we prayed towards Syria and he prayed towards the Ka'ba
until we came to Mecca. We blamed him for what he was doing, but he
refused to change. When we came to Mecca he said to me, "Nephew, let
us go to the apostle and ask him about what I did on our journey. For I
feel some misgivings since I have seen your opposition." So we went to ask
the apostle. We did not know him and we had never seen him before. We
met a man of Mecca and we asked him about the apostle; he asked if we
knew him and we said that we did not. Then do you know his uncle, al­
'Abbiia b. 'Abdu'I-Mullalib? We said that we did because he was always
coming to us as a merchant. He said, "When you enter the mosque he is
the man sitting beside aI-'Abbas." So we went into the mosque and there
was aI-'Abbiia sitting with the apostle beside him; we saluted them and sat
down. The apostle asked al- 'Abbas if he knew us, and he said that he did
295 and named us. I shall never forget the apostle's words when Ka'b's name
was mentioned, "The poet?" AI-Dara' said, "0 prophet of God, I came on
this journey God having guided me to Islam and I felt that I could not
turn my back on this building, so I prayed towards it; but when my companions
opposed me I felt some misgivings. 'Yhat is your opinion, 0
apostle of God I" He replied, "You would have had a qibla ifyou had kept
to it," so aI-Bara' returned to the apostle's qibla and prayed with us towards
Syria. 3 But his people assert that he prayed towards the Ka'bauntil the dayof
his death; but this was not so. We know more about that than they (237)." ,
I The days of the Tashriq are the three days following the day of sacrifice, i.e. 11th, 12th,
and 13th of Dhu'I-l;Iijja. Various explanations are given by the lexicographers: (0) because
the victims were not sacrificed until the sun rosej (b) because the flesh of the victims was
cut into strips and left to dry in the sun on those days; and (c) because in pagan times they
used to say at that time Ashriq Thabir kayma nughir 'Show the sun, 0 Thabir, that we may
pass on quickly'. See further E.!. and literature cited there.
:z i.e. Jerusalem.
3 The apostle's reply to ai-Bam' could be taken in either sense, and considerable doubt is
reflected in the commentaries and traditions on the qucsti90 involved.
The Life of Muhammad 203
Ma'bad b. Ka'b told me that his brother 'Abdullah told him that his
father Ka'b b. Malik said: 'Then we went to the &aJj and agreed to meet
the apostle at al-'Aqaba in the middle of the days of the tashriq. When we
had completed the &ajj and the night came in which we had agreed to meet
the apostle there was with us 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. Haram Abu Jabir, one
of our chiefs and nobles whom we had taken with us. We had concealed
our business from those of our people who were polytheists. We said to
him, "You are one of our chiefs and nobles and we want to wean you
from your present state lest you become fuel for the fire in the future."
Then we invited him to accept Islam and told him about our meeting
with the apostle at al-'Aqaba. Thereupon he accepted Islam and came to
aI-'Aqaba with us, and became a naqib (leader).'
'We slept that night among our people in the caravan until when a third
of the night had passed we went stealing softly like sandgrouse to Our
appointment with the apostle as far as the gully by aI-'Aqaba. There were
seventy-three men with two of our women: Nusayba d. of Ka'b Umm
'Umara, one of the women of B. Mazin b. aI-Najjar, and Asma' d. of 'Amr
b. 'Adiy b. Nabi, one of the women of B. Salima who was known as Umm
Mani'. We gathered together in the gully waiting for the apostle until he
came with his uncle aI-'Abbas who was at that time a polytheist; albeit
he wanted to be present at his nephew's business and see that he had
a firm guarantee. When he sat down he was the first to speak and said:
"0 people of al-Khazraj (the Arabs used the term to cover both Khazraj
and Aus). You know what position Muhammad holds among us. We
have protected him from our own people who think as we do about
him. He lives in honour and safety among his people, but he will tum
to you and join you. If you think that you can be faithful to what you
have promised him and protect him from his opponents, then assume
the burden you have undertaken. But if you think that you will betray
and abandon him after he has gone out with you, then leave him now.
For he is safe where he is.)J We replied, "We have heard what you say.
You speak, 0 apostle, and choose for yourself and for your Lord what
you wish."
'The apostle spoke and recited the Quran and invited men to God and
commended Islam and then said: "I invite your allegiance on the basis
that you protect me as you would your women and children." AI-Bara'
took his hand and said "By Him Who sent you with the truth we will
protect you as we protect our women. We give our allegiance and we are
men ofwar possessing arms which have been passed on from father to son."
While al-Bara:, was speaking Abu'l-Haytham b. a1-Tayyihan interrupted
hIm ~nd sald, 0 apostle, we have ties with other men (he meant the Jews)
and lf we sever them perhaps when we have done that and God will have
given you victory, you will return to your people and leave us?" The 297
apostle smiled and said: "Nay, blood is blood and blood not to be paid for
I
The term has become technical.