Dialogues between the Persian chieftains and the Companions (18)
(15)
عَنْ سَيْفٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَطَلْحَةَ وَزِيَادٍ، قَالُوا : أَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِمْ سَعْدٌ بَقِيَّةَ ذَوِي الرَّأْيِ جَمِيعًا، وَحَبَسَ الثَّلَاثَةَ، فَخَرَجُوا حَتَّى أَتَوْهُ لِيُعْظِمُوا عَلَيْهِ اسْتِقْبَاحًا، فَقَالُوا لَهُ : إِنَّ أَمِيرَنَا يَقُولُ لَكَ إِنَّ الْجِوَارَ يَحْفَظُ الْوُلاةَ، وَإِنِّي أَدْعُوكَ إِلَى مَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَنَا وَلَكَ، الْعَافِيَةُ أَنْ تَقْبَلَ مَا دَعَاكَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ، وَنَرْجِعُ إِلَى أَرْضِنَا، وَتَرْجِعُ إِلَى أَرْضِكَ، وَبَعْضُنَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ، إِلَّا أَنَّ دَارَكُمْ لَكُمْ وَأَمْرَكُمْ فِيكُمْ، وَمَا أَصَبْتُمْ مِمَّا وَرَاءَكُمْ كَانَ زِيَادَةً لَكُمْ دُونَنَا، وَكُنَّا لَكُمْ عَوْنًا عَلَى أَحَدٍ إِنْ أَرَادَكُمْ أَوْ قَوِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقِ اللهَ يَا رُسْتُمُ، وَلا يَكُونَنَّ هَلَاكُ قَوْمِكَ عَلَى يَدَيْكَ، فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ تَغْبِطَ بِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَدْخُلَ فِيهِ وَتَطْرُدَ بِهِ الشَّيْطَانَ عَنْكَ
فَقَالَ : إِنِّي قَدْ كَلَّمْتُ مِنْكُمْ نَفَرًا ، وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ فَهِمُوا عَنِّي رَجَوْتُ أَنْ تَكُونُوا قَدْ فَهِمْتُمْ، وَإِنَّ الأَمْثَالَ أَوْضَحُ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ، وَسَأَضْرِبُ لَكُمْ مَثَلَكُمْ تُبْصِرُوا : إِنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ أَهْلَ جَهْدٍ فِي الْمَعِيشَةِ، وَقَشَفَ فِي الْهَيْئَةِ، لا تَمْتَنِعُونَ وَلا تَنْتَصِفُونَ فَلَمْ نُسِى جَوَارَكُمْ، وَلَمْ نَدَعْ مُوَاسَاتَكُمْ، تَقْحُمُونَ الْمَرَّةَ بَعْدَ الْمَرَّةِ، فَنُمِيرُكُمْ ثُمَّ نَرُدُّكُمْ، وَتَأْتُونَنَا أُجَرَاءَ وَتُجَّارًا فَنُحْسِنُ إِلَيْكُمْ، فَلَمَا تَطَاعَمْتُمْ بِطَعَامِنَا ، وَشَرِبْتُمْ شَرَابَنَا ، وَأَظَلَّكُمْ ظِلُّنَا ، وَصَفْتُمْ لِقَوْمِكُمْ فَدَعَوْتُمُوهُمْ، ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُمُونَا بِهِمْ، وَإِنَّمَا مَثَلُكُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ وَمَثَلُنَا كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ كَانَ لَهُ كَرْمٌ، فَرَأَى فِيهِ تَعْلَبًا ، فَقَالَ : وَمَا تَعْلَبُ فَانْطَلَقَ التَّعْلَبُ، فَدَعَا التَّعَالِبَ إِلَى ذَلِكَ الْكَرْمِ، فَلَمَّا اجْتَمَعْنَ عَلَيْهِ سَدَّ عَلَيْهِنَّ صَاحِبُ الْكَرْمِ الْجُحْرَ الَّذِي كُنَّ يَدْخُلْنَ مِنْهُ، فَقَتَلَهُنَّ، وَقَدْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ الَّذِي حَمَلَكُمْ عَلَى هَذَا الْحِرْصِ وَالطَّمَعُ وَالْجَهْدُ، فَارْجِعُوا عَنَّا عَامَكُمْ هَذَا ، وَامْتَارُوا حَاجَتَكُمْ، وَلَكُمُ الْعَوْدُ كُلَّمَا احْتَجْتُمْ، فَإِنِّي لَا أَشْتَهِي أَنْ أَقْتُلَكُمْ
Sayf ibn ʿUmar has transmitted from Muḥammad, Ṭalḥah, and Ziyād that they said: Thereafter Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ sent the remaining people of sound judgment to the Persians, while he detained those three— namely Ribʿī ibn ʿĀmir, Ḥudhayfah ibn Muḥṣin, and al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah. They went out and came to Rustum in order to make clear to him the gravity of his reprehensible conduct. They said: “Our commander says to you that good neighborliness [i.e., maintaining good relations with one’s neighbors] safeguards rulers, and I invite you to a matter that is better for us and for you. Well-being [for both of us] lies in your accepting this call to which God has summoned [you], and that we return to our region and you to your land, and that we maintain good relations with one another. However, your territory shall remain yours and authority shall remain with you; and whatever additional lands you acquire shall also be yours, and we shall have no involvement in them. If an enemy attacks you, or if he is powerful against you, we shall be your helpers. O Rustum, fear God, and do not, with your own hands, bring about the ruin of your people; for between you and this best offer [that we have placed before you] there is no distance beyond that you simply accept it and, through it, drive Satan away from yourself.”
Rustum replied: “I have spoken with some among you; had they understood what I said, I would have hoped that you too would understand. In comparison with excessive speech, discourse by means of parables is clearer. I shall set forth for you a parable, by which you will understand the matter: You used to live a life of severe toil and deprivation of ease; you could neither protect yourselves nor take retribution from one who wronged [you]. Yet we did not behave ill toward you in neighborliness, nor did we withdraw our support from you. Time after time you would intrude into our territory, and we would provide you with grain and send you back. You would come to us as laborers and as merchants, and we would treat you well. But when you ate our food, drank our beverages, and stayed in our shaded places, you went and recounted these things to your people and called them, and then brought them to us. Your likeness and ours is like that of a man who had a vineyard. He saw in it a fox and said, ‘What is a fox!’ Then that fox went and called other foxes into the vineyard. When they had all gathered, the owner of the vineyard blocked the hole through which they used to enter and killed them all. I know that what has brought you here is greed, covetousness, and your wretchedness. Therefore, return from here this year and take away the grain you need; and whenever you have need, keep coming back. I do not wish to kill you.” (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, 3/525)
Lexical Analysis qashaf: wretchedness; destitution. taqḥumūna: that is, to descend upon a region; to plunge into a matter without due thought. Commentary In the conversation with Rustam, the Arab delegation reiterated—more explicitly—the point that Nuʿmān ibn Muqarrin (PBUH) had mentioned in his address at the court of Yazdegerd. Nuʿmān said:
فان اجبتم الى ديننا خلفنا فيكم كتاب الله واقمناكم عليه، على ان تحكموا باحكامه، ونرجع عنكم وشأنكم وبلادكم
If you accept our religion, we shall leave with you the Book of God, and we shall establish you upon it, so that you may judge in accordance with its rulings; and we shall hand your territory over to you and depart from here.( Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, 3/499)
The intent was that, should the Persian notables accept Islam, their political autonomy would remain intact, and they would not be required to merge their kingdom into the Arab polity. In the dialogue under discussion with Rustam, the Arab delegation further clarified that, in such a case, amicable relations would be established between the Persian Empire and the Arab government; and the Arabs would not only refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the Persian kingdom and in the further territories they had conquered, but would also be prepared—wherever needed—to assist them against the enemy. Variants This incident has also been transmitted by Al-Kalāʿī from the narration of Sayf ibn ʿUmar (Al-Iktifāʾ, 2/462–463).
(16)
عَنِ ابْنِ الرُّفَيلِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ: وَقَالَ: لَمْ يَخْلُقِ اللَّهُ خَلْقًا أَوْلَعَ مِنْ ذُبَابٍ وَلَا أَضَرَّ مَا خَلَاكُمْ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْعَرَبِ، تَرَوْنَ الْهَلَاكَ وَيُدْلِيكُمْ فِيهِ الطَّمَعُ، وَسَأَضْرِبُ لَكُمْ مَثَلَكُمْ إِنَّ الذُّبَابَ إِذَا رَأَى الْعَسَلَ طَارَ وَقَالَ: مَنْ يُوصِلْنِي إِلَيْهِ وَلَهُ دِرْهَمَانِ؟ حَتَّى يَدْخُلَهُ، لَا يُنَهْنِهُهُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا عَصَاهُ، فَإِذَا دَخَلَهُ غَرِقَ وَنَشِبَ وَقَالَ: مَنْ يُخْرِجُنِي وَلَهُ أَرْبَعَةُ دَرَاهِمَ؟
وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: إِنَّمَا مَثَلُكُمْ مَثَلُ ثَعْلَبٍ دَخَلَ جُحْرًا وَهُوَ مَهْزُولٌ ضَعِيفٌ إِلَى كَرْمٍ، فَكَانَ فِيهِ يَأْكُلُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ، فَرَآهُ صَاحِبُ الْكَرْمِ وَرَأَى مَا بِهِ فَرَحِمَهُ، فَلَمَّا طَالَ مُكْتُهُ فِي الْكَرْمِ وَسَمِنَ وَصَلَحَتْ حَالَهُ ، وَذَهَبَ مَا كَانَ بِهِ مِنَ الْهُزَالِ أَشِرَ، فَجَعَلَ يَعْبَثُ بِالْكَرْمِ وَيُفْسِدُ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا يَأْكُلُ، فَاشْتَدَّ عَلَى صَاحِبِ الْكَرْمِ، فَقَالَ: لَا أَصْبِرُ عَلَى هَذَا مِنْ أَمْرٍ هَذَا، فَأَخَذَ لَهُ خَشَبَةً وَاسْتَعَانَ عَلَيْهِ غِلْمَانَهُ، فَطَلَبُوهُ وَجَعَلَ يُرَاوِغُهُمْ فِي الْكَرْمِ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى أَنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مُقْلِعِينَ عَنْهُ ذَهَبَ لِيَخْرُجَ مِنَ الْجُحْرِ الَّذِي دَخَلَ مِنْهُ فَنَشِبَ، اتَّسَعَ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ مَهْزُولٌ، وَضَاقَ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ سَمِينٌ، فَجَاءَهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى تِلْكَ الْحَالِ صَاحِبُ الْكَرْمِ، فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يَضْرِبُهُ حَتَّى قَتَلَهُ ، وَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مَهَازِيلُ، وَقَدْ سَمِنْتُمْ شَيْئًا مِنْ سَمَنٍ، فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ تَخْرُجُونَ
وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: إِنَّ رَجُلًا وَضَعَ سَلًّا وَجَعَلَ طَعَامَهُ فِيهِ، فَأَتَى الْجُرْدَانُ فَخَرَقُوا سَلَّهُ فَدَخَلُوا فِيهِ، فَأَرَادَ سَدَّهُ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: لَا تَفْعَلْ، إِذَا يَخْرِقْنَهُ، وَلَكِنِ انْقُبْ بِحِيَالِهِ، ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ فِيهَا قَصَبَةً مُجَرَّفَةً، فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الْجُرْنَانُ دَخَلْنَ مِنَ الْقَصَبَةِ وَخَرَجْنَ مِنْهَا، فَكُلَّمَا طَلَعَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُرْدٌ قَتَلْتُمُوهُ وَقَدْ سَدَدْتُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ، فَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنْ تَقْتَحِمُوا الْقَصَبَةَ، فَلَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا أَحَدٌ إِلَّا قُتِلَ، وَمَا دَعَاكُمْ إِلَى مَا صَنَعْتُمْ وَلَا أَرَى عَدَدًا وَلَا عُدَّةً
It is narrated from Ibn Rufayl, from his father Rufayl, that Rustam said: God has not created any creature more greedy and more vexing than the fly; but, O Arabs, you are even more so than it. You see destruction with your own eyes, yet greed casts you into it. I shall set forth your example: when the fly sees honey, it flies and says, “Who is it that will take two dirhams from me and bring me to it?” Then it plunges into it, and whoever tries to stop it, it does not heed him. Then, when it falls into the honey, it drowns in it and becomes trapped, and then it says, “Who is it that will take four dirhams from me and bring me out of here?”
Rustam also said: Your example is that of a fox that was weak and thin [from hunger], and in that state entered a vineyard. Then it continued eating from it for as long as God willed. The owner of the vineyard saw it and saw its condition, so he took pity on it [and said nothing to it]. Then, when it had remained in the vineyard for a long time, and it became fat and its condition improved, and its thinness departed, it became arrogant. Now it began to ruin and destroy the grapes of the vineyard more than it ate. This matter became intensely displeasing to the owner of the vineyard, and he said, “I cannot endure this manner of conduct from it.” So he took up a stick and enlisted the help of his slaves, and they began searching for it. The fox continued to evade them in the vineyard; but when it saw that they were not going to abandon its pursuit, it sought to exit through the very hole by which it had entered, but it became stuck. When it was thin, the hole was spacious; and when it became fat, the hole became constricted. In that state the owner of the vineyard arrived and kept striking it until he killed it. [O Arabs,] you too, when you came here, were thin and weak; but now you have become stout—so consider how you will depart from here!
Rustam also said: A man placed his food in a basket. The rats came, gnawed the basket, and entered it. He wished to block the hole, but people said, “Do not do that, otherwise they will make another hole. Instead, make another hole on the opposite side, directly facing it, and then insert into it a hollow bamboo tube. When the rats come, they will enter through that tube and exit through it. Whenever a rat emerges before you, kill it, while you have blocked the routes.” Therefore, [O Arabs,] beware: do not attempt to plunge into that tube, for whoever comes out of it will be killed. What, after all, has induced you to this action, when you have neither numbers nor war-gear?” (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, 3/527)
Lexical Analysis lā yunahn’ihu: “nahnaha” means “to forbid”; to restrain. ghayru muqliʿīn: “aqlaʿa ʿan al-shayʾ”, that is, he desisted from a matter; he refrained. Variants This incident, on the authority of Sayf ibn ʿUmar’s report, has also been transmitted by al-Kalāʿī [as well] [al- Iktifāʾ, 2/463].
(18)
عَنْ سَيْفٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَطَلْحَةَ بِإِسْنَادِهِمَا وَزِيَادٍ مَعَهُمَا ، قَالُوا : فَتَكَلَّمَ الْقَوْمُ فَقَالُوا : أَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتُمْ مِنْ سُوءِ حَالِنَا فِيمَا مَضَى وَانْتِشَارِ أَمْرِنَا فَلَمَّا تَبْلُغْ كُنْهَهُ يَمُوتُ الْمَيِّتُ مِنَّا إِلَى النَّارِ، وَيَبْقَى الْبَاقِي مِنَّا فِي بُؤْسٍ، فَبَيْنَا نَحْنُ فِي أَسْوَإِ ذَلِكَ بَعَثَ اللَّهُ فِينَا رَسُولاً مِنْ أَنْفُسِنَا إِلَى الإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ، رَحْمَةً رَحِمَ بِهَا مَنْ أَرَادَ رَحْمَتَهُ، وَنِقْمَةً يَنْتَقِمُ بِهَا مِمَّنْ رَدَّ كَرَامَتَهُ، فَبَدَأَ بِنَا قَبِيلَةً قَبِيلَةً، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدٌ أَشَدَّ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَا أَشَدَّ إِنْكَارًا لِمَا جَاءَ بِهِ، وَلا أَجْهَدَ عَلَى قَتْلِهِ وَرَبِّ الَّذِي جَاءَ بِهِ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، حَتَّى طَابَقْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ كُلْنَا، فَنَصَبْنَا لَهُ جَمِيعًا، وَهُوَ وَحْدَهُ فَرْدٌ لَيْسَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، فَأَعْطِيَ الظُّفْرَ عَلَيْنَا، فَدَخَلَ بَعْضُنَا طَوْعًا وَبَعْضُنَا كَرْهًا ، ثُمَّ عَرَفْنَا جَمِيعًا الْحَقَّ وَالصِّدْقَ لِمَا أَتَانَا بِهِ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ الْمُعْجِزَةِ
وَكَانَ مِمَّا أَتَانَا بِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا جِهَادُ الأَدْنَى فَالْأَدْنَى، فَسِرْنَا بِذَلِكَ فِيمَا بَيْنَنَا، نَرَى أَنَّ الَّذِي قَالَ لَنَا وَوَعَدَنَا لَا يُخْرَمُ عَنْهُ وَلا يُنْقَضُ، حَتَّى اجْتَمَعَتِ الْعَرَبُ عَلَى هَذَا، وَكَانُوا مِنَ اخْتِلافِ الرَّأْيِ فِيمَا لا يُطِيقُ الْخَلَائِقُ تَأْلِيفَهُمْ ثُمَّ أَتَيْنَاكُمْ بِأَمْرِ رَبِّنَا، نُجَاهِدُ فِي سَبِيلِهِ، وَنَنْفُذُ لأَمْرِهِ، وَنَنْتَجِزُ مَوْعُودَهُ، وَنَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى الإِسْلامِ وَحُكْمِهِ، فَإِنْ أَجَبْتُمُونَا تَرَكْنَاكُمْ وَرَجَعْنَا وَخَلَّفْنَا فِيكُمْ كِتَابَ اللهِ، وَإِنْ أَبَيْتُمْ لَمْ يَحِلَّ لَنَا إِلا أَنْ نُعَاطِيَكُمُ الْقِتَالَ أَوْ تَفْتَدُوا بِالْجِزَى، فَإِنْ فَعَلْتُمْ وَإِلَّا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَوْرَثَنَا أَرْضَكُمْ وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَأَمْوَالَكُمْ فَاقْبَلُوا نَصِيْحَتَنَا، فَوَاللَّهِ لَإِسْلَامُكُمْ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْنَا مِنْ غَنَائِمِكُمْ، وَلَقِتَالُكُمْ بَعْدُ أحبُّ مِنْ صُلْحِكُمْ وَأَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتَ مِنْ رَثَاثَتِنَا وَقِلَّتِنَا فَإِنَّ أَدَاتَنَا الطَّاعَةُ، وَقِتَالَنَا الصَّبْرُ
وَأَمَّا مَا ضَرَبْتُمْ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَمْثَالِ فَإِنَّكُمْ ضَرَبْتُمْ لِلرِّجَالِ وَالْأُمُورِ الْحِسَامِ وَلِلجدّ الْهَزْلِ، وَلَكِنَّا سَنَضْرِبُ مَثَلَكُمْ إِنَّمَا مَثَلُكُمْ مَثَلُ رَجُلٍ غَرَسَ أَرْضًا، وَاخْتَارَ لَهَا الشَّجَرَ وَالْحَبَّ، وَأَجْرَى إِلَيْهَا الْأَنْهَارَ وَزَيَّنَهَا بِالقُصُورِ، وَأَقَامَ فِيهَا فَلَأْحِينَ يَسْكُنُونَ قُصُورَهَا، وَيَقُومُونَ عَلَى جَنَّاتِهَا، فَخَلَا الْفَلاحُونَ فِي الْقُصُورِ عَلَى مَا لا يُحِبُّ، وَفِي الْجِنَانِ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ فَأَطَالَ نَظِرَتَهُمْ، فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَسْتَحْيُوا مِنْ تِلْقَاءِ أَنْفُسِهِمُ اسْتَعْتَبَهُمْ فَكَابَرُوهُ، فَدَعَا إِلَيْهَا غَيْرَهُمْ وَأَخْرَجَهُمْ مِنْهَا، فَإِنْ ذَهَبُوا عَنْهَا تَخَطَّفَهُمُ النَّاسُ، وَإِنْ أَقَامُوا فِيهَا صَارُوا خَوَلا لِهَؤُلاءِ، يَمْلِكُونَهُمْ وَلا يَمْلِكُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَيَسُومُونَهُمُ الْخَسْفَ أَبَدًا، وَوَاللَّهِ أَنْ لَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مَا نَقُولُ لَكَ حَقًّا، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ إلا الدُّنْيَا لَمَا كَانَ لَنَا عَمَّا ضَرِينَا بِهِ مِنْ لَذِيذِ عَيْشِكُمْ، وَرَأَيْنَا مِنْ زِبْرَجِكُمْ مِنْ صَبْرٍ، وَلَقَارَعْنَاكُمْ حَتَّى نَغْلِبَكُمْ عَلَيْهِ
Sayf ibn ʿUmar has narrated from Muḥammad, Ṭalḥah, and Ziyād; they say: “The Arabs, in reply to Rustam, said: What you have mentioned of our former wretchedness and our dispersion—you have not stated its full reality. [In fact] our condition was even worse than that: whoever among us died became fuel for Hell, and whoever remained alive lived a life of severe misery. We were in this state of utmost abasement when God sent among us a Messenger from among ourselves, sent to both human beings and jinn. By sending him, God intends mercy for those who are worthy of His mercy, and He intends punishment for those who reject the honour He has bestowed. That Messenger began the call with us, and he called each tribe, one by one. In opposing him, in repudiating what he brought, and in striving to kill him and to efface his call, his own tribe was foremost; then those tribes nearest to them—until all of us became a single rank against him, and all of us together girded ourselves against him, while he was alone and none was with him except God Most High. Yet he was granted victory over us, and some of us entered his religion willingly and some unwillingly. Then, upon seeing the clear miracles and signs he brought, all of us recognized his truthfulness and his being upon the truth.”
“Among what that messenger brought from our Lord was also the command that we should begin jihād with those nearest to us. Accordingly, we advanced among ourselves in conformity with that command, and we were certain that the promise he had made to us [of victory and dominance] would neither be broken nor suffer any defect—until the Arabs, all of them, united upon this religion, whereas before that they had been divided to such an extent that even all the people of the world together could not have united them. Thereafter, we have come to you by the command of our Lord. We desire to wage jihād in His path, to enforce His command, and to witness His promise being fulfilled. We call you to Islam and to its judgments. If you accept our call, we shall leave you and return, and we shall leave among you the Book of God. But if you refuse, then there is no course lawful for us except either to fight you or that you redeem yourselves by paying the jizyah. If you do not do even this, then God has made us heirs to your land, your people, and your wealth. Therefore accept our counsel. By God, your acceptance of Islam is more beloved to us than your spoils of war; and thereafter, fighting you is more beloved than making peace with you. As for what you mentioned regarding our lack of means and our small number: our equipment is our obedience, and the weapon of our fighting is patience.”
“And you have set forth before us examples concerning men, and great affairs, and frivolities done under the guise of seriousness. But we, too, set forth an example for you: your example is that of a man who cultivated a land into a garden, selected for it excellent trees and seeds, caused canals to flow toward it, adorned it with palaces, and settled in it farmers who lived in those palaces and tended its gardens. Then, in the owner’s absence, the farmers began, in the palaces and in the gardens, to do such things as the owner did not like. The owner granted them ample respite; but when they did not feel shame even of their own accord, he reproached them and sought to reform them, yet they persisted in rebellion against the owner. Then the owner summoned other people and resolved to expel them from there. Now, if they leave, people will snatch them away; and if they remain there, they will remain as slaves to these new people. These will be their masters, and they will have no authority over them; rather, they will keep them in humiliation forever. And by God, if what we are saying to you were not true, and the matter were only of this world [rather than God’s command to punish you], even then we would not be prepared to abandon this comfortable and pleasant life—which has now become familiar to our mouths—and we would not endure patiently upon seeing your glitter and finery; rather, we would clash with you until we prevailed over you.” (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, 3/528–529)
Lexical explanation Kunh: The literal meaning of the expression kunh al-amr is the correct time and proper occasion of a matter. Lammā tablug kunhahū would mean: You have not drawn the full picture of our wretchedness. Fa-naṣabnā lahū: The expression naṣaba lahū al-ʿadāwah means: to form a front against someone and to gird oneself for enmity toward him. Ḍarīnā bihī: Ḍarī bihī means: to become so habituated to something that it becomes difficult to be rid of it. (In one report it is stated: “Indeed, meat has an addictive habituation like the addictive habituation of wine,” meaning that eating meat, too, is a habit like drinking wine, which does not leave one.) Khawalan: owned property; a slave. Zibraj: adornment; glitter and finery. Commentary 1. That a people be granted rule and authority as a trial, and then, as a consequence of their evil conduct, it be taken from them and handed over to another people, is an established divine practice of God Most High, which has been explained repeatedly in the Noble Qur’an. For example, with reference to Pharaoh and the Israelites, this law has been mentioned as follows:
اِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ عَلَا فِی الۡاَرۡضِ وَ جَعَلَ اَہۡلَہَا شِیَعًا یَّسۡتَضۡعِفُ طَآئِفَۃً مِّنۡہُمۡ یُذَبِّحُ اَبۡنَآءَہُمۡ وَ یَسۡتَحۡیٖ نِسَآءَہُمۡ ؕ اِنَّہٗ کَانَ مِنَ الۡمُفۡسِدِیۡنَ. وَ نُرِیۡدُ اَنۡ نَّمُنَّ عَلَی الَّذِیۡنَ اسۡتُضۡعِفُوۡا فِی الۡاَرۡضِ وَ نَجۡعَلَہُمۡ اَئِمَّۃً وَّ نَجۡعَلَہُمُ الۡوٰرِثِیۡنَ.
Indeed, Pharaoh had adopted arrogance in the land, and he divided its inhabitants into factions, oppressing one group among them severely: he would slaughter their sons and let their women live. Surely he was among the corrupters. And We had resolved to show favour to those who had been oppressed in that land, and to make them leaders, and to make them inheritors of the land. (Qur’an, 28:4-5)
This divine practice has also been mentioned repeatedly in the scriptures of the prophets of the Israelites. Thus, when, in the time of Moses (PBUH) the Israelites were commanded to expel from Canaan the various peoples settled there, it was made clear to them that this was, from God Most High, a punishment for the sins and evil deeds of those peoples. In Deuteronomy it is stated:
The Lord your God drives out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfil the promise He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (9:5)
In Numbers it is stated: The nations whom I am driving out before you have become defiled because of all these deeds, and the land too has become defiled. Therefore, I punish it for its iniquity, such that it vomits out its inhabitants. (18:24– 25)
Daniel the Prophet, while mentioning those various kingdoms that were shown to him in a vision, has described the end of one kingdom in the following manner: And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. (Daniel, 8:23)
In the Gospel of Matthew, the prophecy—spoken by the Jesus (PBUH)—regarding the religious office granted to the Israelites being taken away from them has been transmitted, in the style of a parable, as follows: Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country. And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to receive his fruit. And the vinedressers seized his servants: one they beat, and one they killed, and one they stoned. Then he sent other servants, more than the first, and they treated them in the same manner. At last he sent his son to them, saying: They will show regard for my son. When the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves: This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. And they seized him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.”
“When, therefore, the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to him: “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will lease the vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” … “Therefore I say to you: the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that brings forth its fruits. And whoever falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.” (21:33–43)
2. In sum, the Arab envoys, in their discourse, clarified various aspects of the background and objective of the Muslims’ attacks in such a manner that the entire narrative—concerning the divine practice in the matter of government and authority, the commissioning of the Prophet (PBUH) and the establishment of the Arabs as an ummah, and the responsibility placed upon this ummah of bearing witness over mankind and of jihād and fighting—comes forth with great clarity. The fundamental purpose of this entire discourse was to remove the conceit, or self-deception, of the Persian chiefs: that the chain of sovereignty and power granted to them by God Most High would endure forever, and that the Arabs, as in the past, had on this occasion too attacked the Persians in order to obtain some share of the means and resources available to the Persians. Variants This incident, from the narrative of Sayf ibn ʿUmar, has also been reported by Al-Kalāʿī (Al-Iktifāʾ 2/463–464). [To be continued]