Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth
Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth
Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth
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586 The <strong>Life</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong><br />
A woman <strong>of</strong> B. Jusham lamenting two <strong>of</strong> her brothers who were slain<br />
at Bunayn said:<br />
o eyes, be generous with your tears<br />
For Malik and al-'Ala'; be not niggardly.<br />
They were the slayers <strong>of</strong> Abu 'Amir<br />
Who held a sword with streaky marks.<br />
They left him a bleeding lump'<br />
Staggering, feebly unsupported.<br />
Abu Thawab Zayd b. su~ar, one <strong>of</strong> B. Sad b. Bakr, said:<br />
Have you not heard that Quraysh conquered Hawazin<br />
(Misfortunes have their causes).<br />
There was a time, Quraysh, \vhen if we were angry<br />
Red blood flowed because <strong>of</strong> our rage.<br />
There was a time, Quraysh, when if we were angry<br />
I t seemed as though snuff were in our nostrils.<br />
And now Quraysh drive us<br />
Like camels urged on by peasants.<br />
I am not in a position to refuse humiliation<br />
l\'or am I disposed to give in to them (838).<br />
'Abdullah b. Wahb, one <strong>of</strong> B. Tamjm <strong>of</strong> the clan <strong>of</strong> Dsayyid, answered<br />
him:<br />
By God's command we smote those we met<br />
In accordance with the best command.<br />
When \ve met, 0 Hawazin,<br />
\Ve were saturating heads with fresh blood.<br />
When you and B. Qasiy assembled<br />
\Ve crushed opposition like beaten leaves.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> your chiefs we slew<br />
And we turned to kill both fugitive and standfast.<br />
Al-Multath lay with outstretched hands,<br />
His dying breath sounding like a gasping young camel.<br />
If Qays 'Aylan be angry<br />
My snuff has always subdued them.<br />
Khadij b. al-'Auja'al-:"Ia~ri said:<br />
\Vhen we drew near to the waters <strong>of</strong> J:Iunayn<br />
\Vc saw repellent black and white shapes<br />
In a dense well-armed throng; if they had thrown them<br />
At the peaks <strong>of</strong> 'Dzwa they would have become flat.<br />
If my people's chiefs had obeyed me<br />
We should not then have met the thick' cloud<br />
I Cf. 856. 4.<br />
2 I conjecture mutakathtlllf for mutakashshlf which gives a poor sense. On p. 870. 7 the<br />
MSS. vacillate between kathifan and kashifan, and again the former is the better reading:<br />
However, some such meaning as 'looming' might be ascribed to mlltakashshif. C. says It<br />
means ;dhir.<br />
The <strong>Life</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong><br />
Nor should we have met the army <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong>'s people,<br />
Eighty thousand reinforced by Khindif.<br />
THE CAPTURE OF AL-T,rIF, A.H. 8<br />
When the fugitives <strong>of</strong> Thaqif came to al-Ta'if they shut the gates <strong>of</strong> the<br />
city and made preparations for war. Keither 'Urwa b. Mas'ud nor Ghay<br />
Ian b. Salama were present at J:Iunayn or at the siege <strong>of</strong> al-Tii.'if; they were<br />
in Jurash learning the use <strong>of</strong> the testudo, the catapult, and other instruments.'<br />
When he had finished at I:funayn the apostle went to al-'ra'if.<br />
Ka'b b. Malik when the apostle came to this decision said:<br />
We put an end to doubt in the lowlands and Khaybar,<br />
Then we gave our swords a rest.<br />
",re gave them the choice and could they have spoken<br />
Their blades would have said, Give us Daus or Thaqif.<br />
May I be motherless if you do not see<br />
Thousands <strong>of</strong> us in your courts.<br />
We will tear <strong>of</strong>f the ro<strong>of</strong>s in the valley <strong>of</strong> Wajj<br />
And we will make your houses desolate.<br />
Our swiftest cavalry ,vill come on yvu<br />
Leaving behind a tangled mass.<br />
When they come down on your courts<br />
You will hear a cry <strong>of</strong> alarm<br />
With sharp cutting swords in their hands like flashes <strong>of</strong> lightning<br />
By which they bring death to those who would fight them<br />
Tempered by Indian smiths~not beaten into plates.<br />
You would think that the flowing blood <strong>of</strong> the warriors<br />
Was mingled with saffron the morn the forces met.<br />
Good God, had they no adviser<br />
From the peoples who knew about us<br />
To tell them that we had gathered<br />
The finest blood horses and that we had brought an army<br />
T~ surround the walls <strong>of</strong> their fort with troops?<br />
Our leader the prophet, firm,<br />
Pure <strong>of</strong> heart, steadfast, continent,<br />
Straightfonvard, full <strong>of</strong> wisdom, knowledge, and clemency;<br />
Not frivolous nor light minded.<br />
\Vc obey our prophet ancl we obey a Lord<br />
\Vho is the Compassionate, most kind to us.<br />
H you <strong>of</strong>fer peace we will accept it<br />
And make you partners in peace and war.<br />
If you refuse we will fight you doggedly,<br />
'Twill be no weak faltering affair.<br />
We shall fight as long as we live<br />
I<br />
l)ubiir, a sort <strong>of</strong> testudo.