148 The Ancient Kingdoms
And Abu Hudhayfah, on the day he and his men were in straits,
pressed by the vortex cleft, battle turmoil at Ufaq;
With him Ma'add and the 'Ibad and the Tayyi’,
and among the troops squadrons and companies of men.
He bestowed excellent and comely animals around him
to a troop; their bodies seemed released.
Then there came upon him an hour when he had no escape
from fate;
that seemed to be on the day of his final destiny,
a gift whose vessel was turned to spill.
An Arab poet said:
We slew Faqhal and Ibn Ra’in and uprooted al-Zabba’s plant
with reaping hook.
When the caravans arrived, she said, "Is it solid weight of
date,
or iron and stone."
'Abd Bajir, whose name was Bahra, was one of the proto-Arabs.
They formed ten tribes (hayy): 'Ad, Thamud, 'Amaliq, Tasm,
Jadis, Umaym, al-Mud, Jurhum, Yaqtan and al-Silf — al-Silf
was included in the Himyar: 377
May your foot ride from the calamity.
You rode a camel [that wasj not low
Upon the 'Araqi in Safa of al-Tawi.
If you be angry, be angry with the unwalled well,
And blame the chief, 'Amr b. 'Adi.
After Jadhimah, the kingship fell to his sister's son 'Amr b.
'Adi b. Nasr b. Rabi'ah b. al-Harith b. Malik b. 'Amr b.
Numarah b. Lakhm. The latter
was the first Arab king to settle in
al-Hirah, and the first of the Arab kings in Iraq whom the people
of al-Hirah glorified in their writings, and to whom they are
related. They are the kings of Nasr's house. 'Amr b. 'Adi
continued his reign until his death at the age of 120. He ruled as
an
autocrat who raided and seized booty. Missions waited on him
throughout his long reign. However, he would not recognize
377. See El 2 , s.v. 'Ad. Al-Mud may be suggested by Gen.
10:26, and Umaym
by Gen. 25:4. See EP I 450 on 'Amr b. 'Adi.
Al-Zabba
149
the regional princes of Iraq, nor did they recognize him. This
continued to the rise of Ardashir b. Babak among the Persians.
What we mentioned here about Jadhimah and his nephew
'Amr b. 'Adi, flowed from our previous discussion of the kings
of the Yaman whose reigns were not orderly. A chieftain
among them was ruler over his province ( mikhlaf ) and region
[mahjar) only, not beyond that. If any of them deviated from
this, or distinguished himself and went beyond this limitation
by advancing well beyond his province, then it was due rather
to his personality and not entrenched rule, or ancestry and
progeny. It was similar to what happens to some exceptional
bandit who raids district after district, surprising the people,
but when pursued, he shows no stability. Such was the case of
the rulers of the Yaman. One after the other would sometimes
emerge from his province and region, and gain something on
his march, but he would then rush home in fear of pursuit. No
one would show allegiance to him, other than the people of his
province, nor would they pay him taxes. 'Amr b. 'Adi,
Jadhimah's nephew, whose story we have recounted, became a ruler
(in the same way) as his progeny did, that is, in the fashion
practiced by the Arabs in the environs of Iraq and the badiyah
of the Hijaz. 378 They became rulers because the Persian kings
employed them for this purpose, relying on them to keep the
adjacent Arabs under control. This continued until Abarwiz b.
Hurmuz killed al-Nu'man b. al-Mundhir, and transferred these
functions to others.
Regarding this we discussed the story of Jadhimah and 'Amr
b. 'Adi. We did this as we wanted to continue the complete
history of the Persian kings, and to confirm (istashhada) what has
been told about them, insofar as we are able to do so. The story
of the family [al) of Nasr b. Rabi'ah, 379 and those rulers and
governors who served the Persian kings in securing the frontier
Arabs in the badiyah of Iraq, is known and recorded among the
378. Badiyah signifies countryside, wilderness, area of
nomadism. See El 1
supplement, s.v. al-badiya. Parviz b. Hurmuz abolished
the kingdom of al-
Hlrah in A.D. 60a.
379. For Nasr, an ancestor of a ruling family in
al-HIrah, see Rothstein,
Dynastie dei Laiyniden, 39.
The Ancient Kingdoms
people of al-Hirah. It is known in their churches and recorded
in their writings.
According to Hisham b. Muhammad al-Kalbi: From al-
Hirah's churches I used to obtain data about the Arabs, the
genealogy of the family of Nasr b. Rabl'ah, the dates of their
service to the Persian emperors and the chronicle of their years.
For in those churches is a record of their kingdom and all their
affairs.
As for Ibn Humayd, he gave us a different version concerning
the offspring of Nasr b. Rabl'ah and their migration to Iraq. His
version was different from that of Hisham and from the account
we received on the authority of Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq
” some scholars. Ibn Humayd b. Rabl'ah b. Nasr al-Lakhmi
had a vision. We shall mention it later when discussing Ethiopian
power and their occupation of the Yaman. We shall also
mention the interpretation of the dream by Satih and Shiqq,
and their response to his vision. Ibn Humayd then mentioned
in this report of his: It occurred to Rabl'ah b. Nasr, after questioning
Satih and Shiqq and obtaining their reply, that what
those two had said depended on the Ethiopians. 380 He equipped
his sons and the people of his house to enable them to
move to Iraq to improve their lot. Rabl'ah wrote on their behalf
to a Persian called King Shapur (Sabur) b. Khurrazad,
whereupon the king settled them in al-Hirah. 381 Among the
progeny of Rabl'ah b. Nasr was al-Nu'man, the king of al-
Hirah, that is, al-Nu'man b. al-Mundhir b. al-Nu'man b. al-
Mundhir b. 'Amr b. 'Adi b. Rabl'ah b. Nasr. 3 * 1 This is according
to the genealogy and learning of the people of the Yaman.
380. Rothstein, Dynastie der Lahmiden , 30-40, soff. The
South Arabian
version indicates that a king of the Yaman, Rabi'ah b.
Nasr, had a dream which
was interpreted by two sages, Satih and shiqq, as
referring to an Ethiopian invasion. This started a migration to the north.
Hisham b. al-Kalbi indicates another tradition, that Arab royalty had migrated
northwards even before the
Lakhmids. The newcomers established a federation \hilf)
with the indigenous
population. The Lakhmid royalty was thus incorporated
into the local dynasty.
It would appear that these events took place in the third
century A.D.
381. That is Shapur VII, ca. A.D. 240-272. See Noldeke,
Geschichte, 25, n. 7.
382. Al-Nu'man b. Mundhir ruled in al-Hirah in the years
A.D. 592-604. See
the chronological table in S. Smith, BSOAS, 16 (1954),
425-468 (for the table,
430 ).
Tasm and Jadis isi
9
Says Abu Ja'far:
We shall now discuss the Tasm and Jadis as their history also
falls within the period of the regional princes. The extinction
of the Jadis was brought about by Hassan b. Tubba', as stated
above in the account of the tubba of Himyar who were
contemporaries of the
Persian kings.
According to Hisham b. Muhammad, and also, Ibn Humayd
” Salamah ” Ibn Ishhaq and other Arab scholars: I was told
that the Tasm and Jadis were among the dwellers of al-Yamamah. 384
At the time, al-Yamamah was a most fertile and
highly cultivated land, a land most prosperous, with a variety
of fruit, wondrous orchards, and tall castles. They were ruled
by a ruler of the Tasm, a wicked and tyrannical king; nothing
deterred him from his capriciousness. His name was 'Amluq,
and he mistreated and humiliated the Jadis. One of his acts of
tyranny and humiliation against them was his command that
no virgin of the Jadis should be given to her husband until she
had been brought to be deflowered by the king. A man of the
Jadis, al-Aswad b. Ghifar said to the chieftains of his people,
"You see the shame and humiliation we suffer. Dogs would
383. See above, n. 339.
384. For al-Yamamah in Arabia see Yaqut, Mu' jam, s.v.,
where a detailed account of the land as well as a version of die present story
is given.
The Ancient Kingdoms
152
loathe and resent it. Follow me, for I am calling upon you to
rise to the occasion {' izz al-dahr) and reject the
humiliation."
They asked, "How is that?" He answered, "I shall
prepare a
party for the king and his people. When they come, we shall
rise against them with our swords. I shall deal with him, and
slay him, and each of you will turn against his dinner companion.
" They agreed unanimously, whereupon he prepared a
party and ordered his people to unsheath their swords and hide
them in the sand. He said, "When the guests arrive, strutting
in their finery, pick up your swords, and attack them before
they take their seats; slay the leaders, for, having slain them,
the underlings will be of no account." The king arrived and
was slain, as were the leaders. Then the men attacked the underlings
and wiped them out. A man of the Tasm, Riyah b.
Murrah by name, fled, and came to Hassan b. Tubba f appealing
for help. Hassan, at the head of the Himyar, set out, and when
he had covered one third of the distance to al-Yamamah, Riyah
said, "Bless you. I have a married sister among the Jadls. Her
name is al-Yamamah. Nobody upon earth has better vision
than she. She will notice a rider from the distance of a threenight
ride.
I am wary lest she warn the
people of your approach.
Therefore, command each and every one of your men to cut
down a tree, hold it in front of him, and proceed with the tree
in his hand." Hassan gave the command. His men complied
with the command, and then he proceeded . 385
But al-Yamamah looked out and noticed them, so she said to
the Jadls, "The Himyar are on the march." They said,
"What is
it that you see?" She replied, "I see a man upon a tree,
biting
into a shoulder, or mending his shoe." They did not believe
her. Yet it was as she said. In the morning, Hassan struck. He
wiped them out and devastated their country, razing their castles
and fortresses. (The region known as) al-Yamamah was
called, at the time, Jaww and al-Qaryah. Al-Yamamah, the
daughter of Murrah, was now brought to Hassan, whereupon
he ordered that her eyes be gouged out. They found black veins
in them. He said to her, "What is this black stuff in your
veins?" She replied, "It is a tiny black stone called
antimony
385. See Nicholson, Literary history, 15.
Tasm and Jadis
153
[ithmld] which I used to color the eyelids." They say she was
the first person to use antimony to color the eyelids. Hassan
then ruled that Jaww should be called al-Yamamah.
Arab poets spoke of Hassan and this expedition of his. Thus
al-A'sha said: 384
Be like her who when her visitor could not yet be seen,
gave him from afar a frightened glance.
No woman with her vision arose
to see the truth; like the truthful soothsayer in his rhymed
prose,
She turned an eye unerring
as the mirage was floating over Ra’s al*Kalb and rising.
She said, 1 see a man [biting] a shoulder blade in his palm
or adjusting a shoe,- woe to me, whichever he did.'
But they believed her not, and in the morning they were overwhelmed
by Hassan spreading trap-ropes and death.
They forced the people of Jaww from their abodes;
they destroyed the tall structures, razing them to the
ground.
Also Namir b. Tawlab al-'Ukli recited: 387
Have you not asked about 'Adiya’ and his house,
the wine and the vinegar, the inevitable ups and downs,
And about their maiden, 'Anz, on the evening when she per-
ceived
and heard from afar through space.
She said, "I see a man whose palm is turning
a tree-root, while Jaww is secure, devoid of fear."
She saw the vanguard of the army and in front of it
the run of the camels to the shout for Tubba',
As if a good man of the Jaww people, at the morning drink,
were smitten by the diluted poison potion.
They were as the most prosperous you ever saw,
yet began to rob the well-equipped traveller's provision.
386. See Husayn, Diwan, 153 n. 13; also El 2 , s.v.
al-A'sha; Nicholson, Liter-
ary history, I23ff.
387. For this seventh-century poet see GAS, II, 2nff.
154
The Ancient Kingdoms
Said al-Yamamah, "Carry me standing [upon the camel).
I shall be slain if you send the camel to me kneeling."
Hassan b. Tubba' who struck down the Jadls is Dhu Mu'ahir,
who was Tubba' b. Tubba' Tuban As'ad b. Abi Karib b. Malki-
karib b. Tubba' b. Aqran. He was the father of Tubba' b. Hassan
w bo — so the people of the Yaman assert ” came to Mecca and
covered the Ka'bah. The ravine of al-Matabikh (the Kitchens)
was given this name because he had set up the kitchens there
and fed the people. Ajyad (Long Necks) was called thus because
his cavalry was there. 388 He came to Yathrib, 389 alighted at a
house called today the ruling house, and slew a great number of
Jews because of a complaint made to him by the Aws and the
Khazraj about the Jews being bad neighbors. He sent his son
Hassan to Sind, and Samir Dhu al-Janah to Khurasan, and instructed
them to proceed to China. Samir passed Samarqand,
besieged it until he conquered it, and slew its warriors taking
captives and booty. Then he proceeded to China where he met
Hassan. Some people of the Yaman assert that those two died
there,- others claim that they came back to Tubba' with wealth
and booty.
Among the events taking place in the period of the regional
princes is the event mentioned in the Qur’an about the young
men who took refuge in the cave, those whose ears were smitten.
388. For these locations see Yaqut, Mu'jam, IV, 561, 612,
623.
389. That is, al-Madinah before the migration of the
Prophet Muhammad.
The Story of the Men of the Cave 390
$
They were youths, as God described them in the glorious
Qur’an, who believed in the Lord. God said to his prophet Mu-hammad,
"Or do you think the Men of the Cave and al-Raqim
were among Our signs a wonder?" 391 Al-Raqim is the inscription
engraved on a tablet by the people to which the youths belonged,
in order to tell their story. They put it on the gate of the
cave to which the youths had escaped, or carved it on the rock
in which they had sought refuge, or wrote it on a tablet placed
in a coffer that was left nearby when the youths took to the
cave. The number of the youths, they say on the authority of
Ibn 'Abbas, was seven and there was a dog with them.
According to Ibn Bashshar” 'Abd al-Rahman” Isra’il ”
Simak” 'Ikrimah” Ibn 'Abbas: "And none knows them, except a
few." 392 1 am of the few. They were seven.
According to Bishr ” Yazid” Sa'id” Qatadah,
Ibn 'Abbas
used to say: I am of those few whom God made an exception;
they were seven, their dog was the eighth.
390 . This is based on the Christian story of the seven
sleepers. The legend
arose around the fourth century persecution of the
Christians, and is centered
on Ephesus. It derives its Islamic name from Qur’`an r8,
which is entitled "The
Cave" (al-Kahf). The sleepers are known as ashab
al-kabf. See El 2 , s.v. Ashab
al-kahf.
391. Qur’an 18:4.
392. Qur’an 18:21.
The Ancient Kingdoms
156
Concerning the name of one of them, that is, the one empowered
to buy food for them, the divine words mention that
they said when they awoke from their slumber, "Now send
forth one of you with this silver to the city, and let him look
for which of them has the purest food, and bring you provision
thereof." According to 'Abdallah b. Muhammad al-Zuhri”
Sufyan — Muqatil: "Now send forth one of you with this silver
for the city," refers to the one named Yamnikha.
According to Ibn Ishaq ” Ibn Jumayd” Salamah: His name
was Yamlikha. Ibn Ishaq used to say: The number of the
youths was eight, their dog was accordingly the ninth of the
group.
According to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq, who used
to give their names saying: One of them, the oldest, who spoke
to the king in the name of the group was Maksimilina; another
was Mahsimilina; the third, Yamlikha; the fourth, Martus; the
fifth, Kasutunas; the sixth, Birunas; the seventh, Rasmunas(?)
the eighth, Batunas; and the ninth, Qalus. They were young.
According to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq ” 'Abd allah b.
Abi Najih ” Mujahid: I was told that some of them, because of
their youth had teeth that shone like silver. They were
of a people that worshiped Roman idols, but God put them on
the true path to Islam. According to many of our early learned
masters, their faith was the faith of Isa.
According to Ibn Humayd ”
al-Hakam b. Bashir ” 'Amr, that
is, Ibn Qays al-Mula’i: The Men of the Cave and al-Raqim were
the youths who practiced the religion of Isa, the son of Mary,
that is, they practiced Islam while their king was an unbeliever.
Some assert that their story and withdrawal to the cave took
place before Christ, that Christ told his people about them, and
that God awakened them from their sleep after Christ's ascension.
That is, God awakened them during the interval ( fatrah )
between Christ and Muhammad. 193 God knows best how it
happened. Muslim scholars are agreed that it took place after
Christ. No scholar vested in antiquity will deny that it happened
in the period of the regional princes. At that time there
393. See El 1 , s.v. Fatra.
The Men of the Cave
157
was a king (named) Decius, an idol-worshiper, it is said. Word
reached him that the youths were opposed to his faith, and he
set out to search for them. To keep their faith they fled to a
mountain. I was told by Ibn Jumayd ” Salamah” Ibn Ishaq
” 'Abdallah b. Abi Najih” -Mujahid” Ibn 'Abbas: the name of
that mountain was Nihlus.
According to al-Hasan b. Yahya” 'Abd al-Razzaq” Mu'ammar”
Isma'Il b. Sadus — Wahb b. Munabbih: the reason for
their faith, and the subsequent religious disagreement with
their people was as follows. An apostle of Isa came to the
city of the Men of the Cave. He sought to enter the city but was
told that at the gate of the city there was an idol, and that nobody
could enter unless he prostrated himself before the idol.
Not wishing to enter the city, he came to a bathhouse that was
close by. He worked there as a wage earner for the owner. As
the latter noticed that the man was a blessing to his bathhouse,
he gave him sustenance, observed him and became friendly
with him. Several youths from the city became attached to the
worker. The apostle began to tell them about heaven and earth,
and the life to come. He spoke to them until they began to
share his beliefs. He would tell the owner, "Tonight do not
disturb
my prayer." So it went until the son of the king came with
a woman to the bathhouse. The apostle rebuked him, saying to
the prince, "You are the king's son and you come with this harlot.
" The prince was ashamed and left, only to come another
time. The apostle upbraided him again and cursed him and
scolded him, but the prince disregarded it. He entered, and the
woman entered with him, and both died in the bath. It was reported
to the king, "The bath attendant slew thy son." The attendant
was sought in vain, for he had fled. The king asked,
"Who was acquainted with him?" The youths were mentioned
and then sought, so they left the city. They passed by a friend
in a field who was in a similar position. They mentioned that
the search for them was on. The friend joined them,- with him
was his dog. At night they took refuge in the cave, saying,
"We
shall spend the night here, and in the morning, God willing,
you will decide what to do." But their ears were smitten. The
king and his men came forth in pursuit of them, and found
them inside the cave. But whenever anyone wanted to enter,
158
The Ancient Kingdoms
he was scared away, and nobody was able to enter. Somebody
said to the king, "Is it not true that if you could seize
them,
you would kill them?" The king replied, "Certainly."
The man
suggested, "Then erect a gate over the cave, and leave them inside
to die of thirst and hunger." This was done.
Much time had passed since that gate was built over the
cave, when a shepherd was overtaken by rain near the cave. He
thought, "What if I opened this cave and let my flock in to
protect
it from the rain." He
kept trying until he succeeded. The
next morning, God returned life to their bodies and the youths
awoke. They sent one from among them with silver to buy
food for them, but whenever he arrived at a gate of their city,
he saw something he did not recognize. Finally he came to a
man, and said, "Sell me food for these coins." The man
asked,
"Where did you get these coins?" He said,
"Yesterday, with
friends, I left the city. We were overtaken by night, but in the
morning they sent me [for food)." The seller said, "These
coins
are of the age of king so and so; but how did you get them?"
He brought the youth before the king, who was a righteous
ruler. The king asked, "Where did you get these silver
coins?"
The youth replied, "My friends and I left the city yesterday,
and night overtook us in such and such cave; then [in the
morning] my friends ordered me to buy food for them." The
king now asked, "Where are your friends?" And the youth
replied, "In the cave." They went with him and came to
the
gate of the cave, whereupon the youth said, "Let me go in to
my friends first." When they saw him approach, both he and
they "were smitten upon their ears." Anybody who (tried
to)
[781] enter was frightened away, and people were unable to go in.
So
they built a church there and made it a sanctuary for prayer.
According to al-Hasan b. Yahya ” ‘ Abd al-Razzaq ” Mu'ammar ”
Qatadah ” 'Ikrimah: The men of the cave were Roman
princes for whom God had provided the true faith (Islam).
They stood alone in their faith, dissenting from their people
until they reached the cave, where God struck them upon their
ears. They spent ages there (in the cave) while their community
( ummah ) perished and a righteous (Muslim) community
took its place, whose king was a true believer (Muslim).
There was disagreement concerning spirit and body. Some
The Men of the Cave
159
maintained that all would be revived in body and spirit; others
asserted that they would be revived in spirit while the bodies
would be consumed by the earth, and would disintegrate. The
king was exasperated by the dispute. He got up, put on haircloth,
sat on dust, and prayed to God, "Oh, Lord, You see the
dispute of these men ; send them a sign to make it clear." God
sent the men of the cave, and they sent one of their number to
buy food for them. He entered the marketplace, but he did not
recognize the faces, although he knew the streets. He saw faith
manifest in the city. Walking furtively, he came to a man who
sold food, but when the seller saw the silver coins, he did not
recognize them.
The seller remarked, "I thought they were the light quarters,
that is, the small change." The youth said, "Is not your
king
such and such?" "But no," said the seller, "Our
king is so and
so." And so it went on until they came before the king. The
king interrogated the youth, who told him about his friends.
The king then sent for the men involved in the dispute. He assembled
them and said, "You disagreed concerning spirit and
body. Now the Almighty has sent you a sign. Here is a man of
the people of the late king [anonymous]." The youth said,
"Let
us go to my friends." The king and his men set out on the road
and reached the cave. The youth said, "Let me enter to join my
friends." But when he saw them, God smote upon his ears and
their ears. The king and his men were kept waiting. Finally,
they entered and beheld perfect bodies but with no life in
them. The king exclaimed, "This is a God-sent sign unto
you."
According to Qatadah: While on a raid, Ibn 'Abbas and Habib
b. Maslamah passed by the cave and, lo and behold, there were
bones in it. A man said, "These are the bones of the men of
the
cave." Ibn 'Abbas replied, "Their bones disappeared over
three
hundred years ago."
Jonah Son of Amittai 394
*
According to Abu Ja'far: In the period of the regional princes
belongs the story of Jonah, son of Amittai. He is said to have
been from a town in the region of Mosul, called Nineveh. His
people worshiped idols, so God sent Jonah to them with an injunction
against this worship and a command to repent, to turn
to God from their unbelief, and to believe in but one God.
What happened to him and to those to whom he was sent is
told in the Qur’an. It says, "Why was there never a city that
believed,
and profited from its belief, except the people of Jonah?
When they believed, We removed from them the chastisement
of degradation in this present life, and We gave unto them enjoyment
for a time." 395 It also says, "And Dhu al-Nun, when
he went forth enraged and thought that We would have no
power over him; then he called out in the darkness, There is
no God but Thou. Glory be to Thee! I have done evil!' So We
answered him and delivered him out of grief; even so do We deliver
the believers." 396
The early scholars of the community of our Prophet
394. Yunus b. Matta is the biblical Jonah. For Jewish
legends of Jonah, see
Ginzberg, Legends, IV, 245-253; VI, 348, 352. For the
Qur’anic account see
SEI, s.v. Yunus. In the Qur’an Jonah is also called Dhu
al-Nun or Sahib al-Hut, that is, "the Whale Man."
395. Qur’an 10:97!.
396. Qur’an 2i:87ff.
Jonah 161
Muhammad differed about how Jonah had defied the Lord, thinking the
Lord would have no power over him, and about the time of the
event. Some maintained that the reference was to the time before
he called upon the people to whom he was sent, and before
he gave them the Lord's message. The point is that the prophet
was commanded to proceed to the people to whom he was sent
when divine chastisement was in store for them, to announce
to them how the Lord kept chastisement from them so that
they might repent their evil practices hateful to the Lord. The
prophet asked to be excused from the mission but the Lord did
not grant a respite, so the prophet was angry with the Lord for
hurrying him to execute His command, and for rejecting the request
for a respite.
Those Who Held This View
According to al-Harith ”
al-Hasan al-Ashyab ” Abu Hilal
Muhammad b. Sulaym ” Shahr b. Hawshab: Jonah was visited
by the angel Gabriel who told him, "Go to the people of Nineveh
and warn them that chastisement is imminent." Jonah
then said, "I shall seek a riding beast." Gabriel
replied, "The
command is too urgent." Now Jonah said, "I shall look for
footwear." Gabriel again replied, "The command is too urgent."
Angrily Jonah proceeded to the ship and boarded it, but
it stalled, moving neither forward nor backward.
Then they drew lots, and the lot fell to Jonah. The whale jalhut)
came wagging its tail. It was divinely announced, "Whale,
O Whale! We shall not make Jonah into your sustenance!
Rather We make you a retreat for him, a sanctuary." The
whale swallowed Jonah, and proceeded with him from that
spot to Ubullah. From there it proceeded up the Tigris, until it
deposited Jonah at Nineveh.
According to al-Harith ”
Al-Hasan ” Abu Hilal ” Shahr b.
Hawshab ” Ibn 'Abbas: The mission of Jonah took place after
the whale had ejected him. Others say that it took place after
he called upon those to whom he had been sent to follow the
divine instruction, and after he had delivered to them the
Lord's message. He threatened them with the onset of the divine
chastisement at an appointed time; but he departed as
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they did not repent, nor did they consider obeying God and believing
in Him. But when divine chastisement cast its shadow
upon the people, it enveloped them as described in the Qur’an.
Then they repented, and turned to God; and God lifted the
chastisement. Jonah heard of their deliverance, and the lifting
of the chastisement with which he had threatened them. Angered
thereby, he said, "I threatened them but my threat was
belied." He left, angry with the Lord, and refused to return
to
them, for they had denounced him as a liar.
Those Who Held This View
According to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq ” Yazid b.
Ziyad ” 'Abdallah b. Abl Salamah ” Sa'id b. Jubayr ” Ibn
'Abbas: God sent Jonah to the people of his town, but they rejected
his message and ignored it. When they acted thus, God
revealed to him, "I shall send upon them chastisement on such
and such day; so leave them then." Jonah announced to his
people the divine chastisement in store for them. They said,
"Observe him; if he leaves you, then by God, his threat will
come true." On the eve of chastisement, the people set out
warily behind Jonah. They left the city for an open space and
separated the animals from their young ones. Then they cried
out to God for help. They appealed to Him to annul his decision,
and he granted them that annulment. Jonah was expecting
news about the city and its people. A passer-by told
him what the people of the city had done. "What did the people
of the city do?" asked Jonah. The passer-by replied,
"This is
what they did. As soon as their prophet left them, they understood
that he spoke the truth when he threatened them with
the chastisement; so they left their city for an open space, and
separated all the mothers from their young ones, and cried out
to God for help. They repented, their repentance was accepted,
and chastisement was averted." Upon hearing this, Jonah said
angrily, "By God, I shall never return to them as a liar. I
threatened
them with chastisement on a certain day, then it was
averted from them." He departed, angry with the Lord, and fell
into the devil's snare.
According to al-Muthanna b. Ibrahim ” Ishaq b. al-Hajjaj ”
'Abdallah b. Abi Ja'far ” his father ” al-Rabi': I heard from
Jonah
163
a man who knew the Qur’an by heart in the days of 'Umar b.
al-Khattab. 397 He was telling about the people of Jonah and
how Jonah warned his people and was not believed, (According
to him) Jonah told them chastisement would strike them, and
(then he) left them. When they saw this and (understood) that
chastisement enveloped them, they left their dwellings and ascended
to an elevated spot. They prayed fervently to the Lord,
calling out to him in sincere supplication, so that he might defer
chastisement from them and return unto them their messenger.
That is why it says, "Why was there never a city that
believed, and profited from its belief, except the people of Jonah,
when they believed? We removed from them the chastisement
of degradation in this present life, and We gave unto
them enjoyment for a time." 398 In no city overcome by chastisement
was the chastisement
revoked, except in the case of
the people of Jonah. But Jonah did not see it that way; he bore a
grudge against the Lord and left angrily. Thinking that the Lord
would not be able to reach him, Jonah embarked on a ship. The
people of the ship were struck by a wind-swept storm and said,
"It is on account of the transgression of one of you."
Jonah, recognizing
that it was his fault, said, "It is my transgression,-
throw me into the sea." They refused, until after they cast
lots,
and Jonah "cast lots and was of the condemned." 399 He
told
them, "I informed you that this was my fault." But they
refused
to throw him into the sea until they cast lots for the third
time. He was condemned again. When he saw that, he threw
himself into the sea, at night.
The whale swallowed him, "then he called out in the darkness
[recognizing his sin]: 'There is no God but Thou, Glory be
to Thee! I have done evil.'" 400 He had done righteous work
previously, and God revealed about him, "Now, had he not
been of those who glorify God, he would have tarried in its
belly until the day they shall be raised." 401 The point is
that
397. That is, the second Islamic caliph, who ruled in the
years A.D. 634-
644-
398. Qur’an io: 97 f.
399. Qur’an 37:141.
400. Qur’an 11:87.
401. Qur’an 37:143-144.
1 64 The Ancient Kingdoms
the righteous deed raises man when he stumbles. (As it is written:)
"And We cast him upon the wilderness and he was
sick ." 402 Jonah was cast on the seashore, and God caused a
tree of gourds to grow. It is said the tree of gourds was a pumpkin
which dripped milk until his strength returned unto him.
Then one day he returned to the tree, and found it had dried up.
He grieved and wept over it. But he was reproved and told,
"You have grieved and wept over a tree, but you have not
grieved over a hundred thousand or more whose death you
have sought."
Then God extricated him from error, and made him one of
the righteous. Jonah was commanded to go to his people and
announce that God had forgiven them. Setting out for them, he
encountered a shepherd whom he asked about his people, their
situation and how they were. The shepherd told him they were
well, and hoped that their prophet would return unto them. Jonah
then said to him, "Say to them, '1 have met Jonah.'" The
shepherd responded, "I cannot do so without a witness,"
whereupon Jonah pointed to a goat of the shepherd's flock, and
said, "This one will witness for thee that thou hast met
Jonah."
At this, the shepherd asked, "What else?" Jonah
responded,
"And this spot where thou art will witness for thee that thou
hast met Jonah." The shepherd asked again, "What
else?" Jonah
now replied, "And this tree will witness for thee that thou
hast met Jonah, and that the shepherd has returned to his
people."
The shepherd announced to the people that he had met Jonah,
but they did not believe him and plotted evil against him.
He exclaimed, "Do not assault me until morning." When he
awoke the next day, he led them to the spot where he had encountered
Jonah. The shepherd appealed to the earth, and it announced
to them that the shepherd
had met Jonah. He asked
the goat, and it told them that the shepherd had met Jonah.
They appealed to the tree, and it told them that the shepherd
had met Jonah. Later on, Jonah came to them. It says, 40
402. Qur’an 37 - 145 -
403. Qur’an 37:147-148.
Jonah
165
"Then We sent him unto a hundred thousand or more, and
they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while."
According to al-Husayn b. 'Amr b. Muhammad al-'Anqari
” his father Isra’il â” Abu Ishaq ” 'Amr b. Maymun al-Awdi
” Ibn Mas'ud, who related to us at the treasury: Jonah had
threatened his people with chastisement, and told them it
would come upon them within three days. They separated
every mother from her progeny, and then left. The people came
to God and asked for His forgiveness, whereupon God withheld
chastisement from them. Jonah went out early expecting
chastisement but saw nothing. A liar without clear proof used
to be put to death. Jonah therefore left in anger "and shouted
in
the darkness." 404 This refers to the darkness of the belly of
the
whale, the darkness of the night, and the darkness of the sea.
According to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq ” one who
told him ” 'Abdallah b. Rafi', the mawla of the Prophet's
spouse Umm Salamah — Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet said,
"When God wanted Jonah to be detained in the whale's belly,
God urged [awha ] the whale, 'Take him, but do not scratch his
flesh and do not break his bones.' The whale picked up Jonah
and plunged to its dwelling in the sea. When it reached the bottom
of the sea, Jonah heard a sound. He said to himself, 'What
is that?' Then while Jonah was in the whale's belly God revealed
to him, 'This is the sea fauna glorifying God.'"
Then Jonah, in the whale's belly, glorified God. The angels
heard his glorification of God, and exclaimed, "Oh, Lord, we
hear a faint voice in a strange land." God said, "That is
my servant
Jonah. He disobeyed Me, so I detained him in the whale's
belly at sea." They exclaimed, "The righteous servant
from
whom every day and night a righteous deed rose to Thee?" God
replied, "Yes." At this, they interceded for Jonah. The
whale
was thus ordered to cast him upon the shore. As God said, 405
"And he was sick." His sickness, which is described in
the
Qur’an, was like that of a newborn child. When the whale cast
him upon the shore, his flesh and bones were bare.
According to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq ” Yazid b.
404. Qur’an 37.87.
405. Qur’an 37:1 45.
l66
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Ziyad ” 'Abdallah b. Abl Salamah ” Sa'id b. Jubayr ” Ibn
'Abbas: Out it went, that is, the whale (with Jonah}, until it
ejected Jonah onto the shore, and cast him up as if he were a
newborn child fully preserved.
According to Yunus” -Ibn Wahb” Abu Sakhr” Ibn Qusayt
” Abu Hurayrah: He was ejected naked, and God made a vegetable
cover ( yaqtinah ) to grow upon him. We said, "O Abu
Hurayrah, what was that vegetable cover?" He replied,
"The
gourd tree." God prepared for it female antelopes and other
animals
that eat the grass of the earth or the soft sod. They would
stray over it and quench its thirst with their milk every evening
and morning until it grew.
The Sending by God of His Three Envoys
*
An event which also occurred in the days of the regional
princes was (the arrival of the three envoys sent by God and)
mentioned in the divine revelation "Spin a parable for
them ” the inhabitants of the city, when the messengers came
to it. When We sent unto them two men, they declared them
liars, so We sent a third as reinforcement." They said,
"We are
assuredly messengers unto you." 406 Such are the verses in
which their story is told in scripture.
But the early authorities differ about their story. Some say
these three, whom God mentioned in these verses and whose
story He told therein, were prophets and messengers. He had
sent (them) to the Roman king Antiochus, and the city in
which this king dwelled and to which God sent these envoys
was Antioch.
Those Who Held This View
Concerning the story of the man of Surah YaSin (in the Qur’an),
according to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Muhammad b. Ishaq
” from Ka'b al-Ahbar and Wahb b. Munabbih al-Yamani:
There was a man of Antioch. Habib was his name, and he was a
406. The story is based on a legend of Christian origins.
See £/', s.v, Yasin ;
El 1 , s.v. Antakiya. For the Qur’anic story see 36:
13ff.
168
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silk-maker. A sickly man, he early contracted leprosy. His
home was near the farthest city gate. He was a believer and an
alms-giver. The man used to take his earnings in the evening,
so they say, and divide them in two piles; one he would use to
feed his family, the other he would give away in alms. Neither
his sickness, nor his work, nor his weakness concerned him, as
his heart was pure and his character upright. In the city of
Antioch, in which he lived, was one of the pharaohs, Antiochus,
the son of Antiochus, an idol-worshiping polytheist.
God sent the three envoys: Sadiq, Saduq, and Shalum. First,
God sent to him and the people of his city two of the envoys,
but the people declared them liars. Then God sent the third as
reinforcement. Others say: no, they were of the apostles of Isa,
the son of Mary. They were not God's messengers but
rather the messengers of Isa. But as the mission by Isa was
upon the command of the Almighty, the mission was an exten-
sion of God's mission. So it says, When We sent unto them
two men, they declared them liars; so We sent a third as rein-
forcement."
Those Who Held This View
According to Bishr b. Mu'adh ” Yazid b. Zuray' ” Sa'id ” Qatadah
regarding the following
passage: “Spin a parable for them
” the inhabitants of the city, when the messengers came to it.
When We sent unto them two men, they declared them liars;
so We sent a third as reinforcement. They said, 'We are assuredly
messengers unto you.'" 407 It was mentioned to us
that Isa, the son of Mary, sent two of the apostles to Antioch,
a Roman city; but they were declared liars, so he sent a third as
reinforcement. They said, “We are assuredly messengers,"
etc.
Returning to the version of Ibn Ishaq: When the messengers
appealed (to the king) calling upon him, in God's name, that is,
when they carried out their divine order and denounced the
city's religion and beliefs, the inhabitants said, 408 “We augur
ill of you. If you do not desist, we will stone you, and a painful
407. Qur’an 36:13-14.
408. Qur’an 36:17-18.
The Sending by God of His Three Envoys 169
chastisement will be inflicted upon you by us." The messengers
told them, "Your augury is with you," that is, your
deeds.
"If you are reminded? But you are a prodigal people."
When
the king and the people decided to kill the envoys, the news
reached Habib while he was at the farthest gate of the city. He
came running to them, reminding them of God, and calling
upon them to follow the messengers. He said, 409 "My people,
follow the messengers! Follow those who ask no reward from
you, those that are rightly-guided." That is, while they are
advising
you they will not ask for your possessions in return for
their message of guidance to you, so follow them and you will
be rightly-guided.
According to Bishr b. Mu'adh ” Yazid ” Sa'Id ” Qatadah:
When he ” meaning Habib ” reached the messengers, he said,
"do you ask a reward for this?" They said,
"No." Then he said,
"My people, follow the messengers, follow those who ask no
reward from you, those that are rightly-guided."
Returning to the version of Ibn Ishaq: He then appealed to
them to desist from their idol-worship, disclosing to them his
faith, and to worship the Lord; and he told them that only God
had the power to make him profit or hurt him. Then he said,
"And why should I not serve Him who created me, and unto
whom you [too] shall be returned? What shall I take, apart from
Him? . . . Behold, I believe your Lord; therefore hear me,"
that
is, I believe in the Lord you deny, listen to my word. When he
said that to them, they attacked him in unison and killed him.
Because of his weakness and sickness they considered him of
no consequence, and none came to his defense. 410
According to Ibn Humayd ”
Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq ” one of
his companions ” 'Abdallah b. Mas'ud: They trampled him
with their feet until his intestines came out through his back.
God said to him, "Enter Paradise!" 411 He entered it
while
alive and prospering, as God removed worldly sickness, sadness,
and disease. As he attained God's mercy, Paradise, and favor,
he exclaimed, "Ah, would that my people had knowledge
409. Qur’an 36:21-24.
410. Ibid.
411. Qur’an 36:25.
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