Book: Dalail an-Nubuwwah by Bayhaqi

Chapter: The Arrival of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and His Companions from Abyssinia and what Transpired in their Division, for both themselves and others, as well as for those who were not divided to, and that which was narrated concerning such indications of Prophethood.

Narrated to us Abu Amr Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Adib who said: Narrated to us Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili who said: Narrated to us Abu Ya'la who said: Informed us Abu Kurayb who said: Informed us Usama who said: Informed us Burayd from Abu Burda from Abu Musa who said: The departure of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, reached us while we were in Yemen. So we, as immigrants, set out towards him: myself and my two brothers - I am the youngest of them, one of them is Abu Ruhm and the other is Abu Burda, whether there were three of us, or two and fifty men from my people. So we boarded a ship, and our ship carried us to the Negus in Abyssinia. There, we encountered Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and his companions, who were with him. Ja'far said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent us and commanded us to reside, so reside with us." So we resided with him until we all arrived. We met the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he conquered Khaybar. He distributed shares to us, and whoever was not allotted anything from the spoils of Khaybar except those who had participated with him, except for the companions of our ship with Ja'far and his companions, he allotted a share for them. Some people among others said to us - meaning the companions of the ship - "We preceded you to acquire the spoils." Asma bint Umays also entered, she was among those who had arrived with us to Hafsah the wife of the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him. Asma had migrated to the Negus with those who migrated to him. Then Umar entered upon Hafsah, and Asma was with her, so Umar asked when he saw Asma: "Who is this?" So she said:

Translation:

Asma bint Umays, Omar said: Are these the Abyssinians? The seafarers?

So Asma said: Yes.

And Omar said: We preceded you in migration, so we have more right to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. She became angry and said a word: You lie, O Omar! No, by Allah! You were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, feeding your poor and educating your ignorant, and we were in a land of enemies and hatred, in Abyssinia, all for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. By Allah, I will neither eat nor drink until I mention what you said to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while we were suffering and in fear. I will mention this to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and ask him. By Allah, I will neither lie nor deviate, nor add to that. When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came, she said: O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, Omar said such and such. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked her: What did you say to him? She said: I said such and such. He said: You are not more entitled to me than they are; to him and his companions, there is one migration, and to you, the people of the ship, there are two migrations. She said: I indeed saw Abu Musa and the people of the ship coming to me with messages, inquiring about this hadith, nothing in this worldly life makes them happier or more dignified than what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to them. Abu Burda said: Asma said: Indeed, I saw Abu Musa, and he recalls this hadith from me, and said: You have two migrations: you migrated to the Negus and you migrated to me.

Reported by Bukhari and Muslim in their authentic collections, from Abu Kurayb.

(1): The scholars said: In the context of lineage and religion, as they were disbelievers except for the Negus who hid his conversion to Islam from his people to protect himself.

(2): Reported by Bukhari in various places, and by Muslim in the Book of Virtues of the Companions, regarding the merits of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and Asma bint Umays and the people of the ship.

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib from Abyssinia

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, who came from Abyssinia, met the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) upon his arrival from the conquest of Khaybar. The Prophet welcomed him warmly, kissing his forehead. At that moment, the Prophet expressed his joy, unsure whether he was happier about the conquest of Khaybar or the arrival of Ja'far.

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib's Unique Gait

Upon seeing the Prophet, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib limped, meaning that he walked on one leg due to his overjoyed reverence for the Prophet. The Prophet then kissed between his eyes in response to his sincere display of respect.

Translation of Classical Arabic Text

In the history of Khaybar, no one is believed to have witnessed the events there except those who experienced the Battle of Hudaybiyyah. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not grant permission for anyone to miss participating in the expedition to Khaybar. Some members of the Ash'ari tribe, including Abu 'Amir al-Ash'ari, are said to have migrated to Abyssinia and accompanied by others from Daws, such as Tuwayl and Abu Hurayrah. They later joined the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during the conquest of Khaybar.

There is a narration by Abu Hurayrah that he asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to join a group of fighters led by Sa'id ibn Al-'As in Khaybar. The Prophet, discerning this situation, declined the request, suspecting the identity of the individual, to which Abu Hurayrah revealed that the man in question was Ibn Sa'id ibn Al-'As, showing reluctance to engage in combat against a Muslim brother who had been honored by Allah. This incident is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari.

Abu Hurayrah also narrated that Aban was dispatched with a group from Medina towards Najd. Upon their return from this expedition, they joined the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Khaybar, following its conquest, with the horse harnesses loosened from their mounts. This account is detailed in various historical sources, including the hadith collections of Al-Bukhari and Ibn Kathir.

Translation of Classical Arabic Text

Abu Huraira reported: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, do not curse them." So Aban said: "And you, O source of good, are running away as if from the head of a lost ewe." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "O Aban, sit down." And he did not curse them.

Abu Amr Al-Adib reported: Abu Bakr Al-Isma'ili informed us that Al-Hasan, ibn Sufyan, narrated to us that Yahya ibn Uthman and Hisham ibn Ammar told us that Isma'il ibn Ayyash reported from Muhammad ibn Al-Walid Az-Zubaidi from Az-Zuhri with a similar chain, saying, "From the head of a sheep."

Abu Al-Hasan ibn Al-Fadl reported: Abu Bakr ibn Attab informed us that Al-Qasim Al-Jawhari narrated to us that Ibn Abi Uweis reported to us that Isma'il ibn Ibrahim narrated from his uncle Musa ibn 'Uqba.

Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz reported: Isma'il ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Fadl Al-Sha'rani informed us that my grandfather narrated to me, and he said that Ibrahim ibn Al-Mundhir reported to us that Muhammad ibn Fulayh narrated to us that Musa ibn 'Uqba reported from Ibn Shihab, saying...

The narration continues describing the events at the battle of Khaybar in which some individuals approached the Prophet seeking his help, but were refused. Later, when Khaybar was conquered, these individuals reminded the Prophet of his promise, and he replied with a notable phrase.

Expedition to Khaibar

Upon the hills of Khaibar, they said: "So you will fight us?" He replied, "Your appointment is at Janaf." When they heard this from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, they fled. The wording of the narration of Isma'il, and in the narration of Ibn Fulayh: Janfa', a spring of the springs of Banu Fazarah called Janfa'. Abu Abdullah said in the section where I did not find an auditory copy and he had informed me of it by permission: "Abu Abdullah al-Asbahani informed us, he said: Al-Hasan ibn al-Jahm narrated to us, he said: Al-Husayn ibn al-Faraj narrated to us, he said: Al-Waqidi informed us from his elders, they said that Abu Shuyaim al-Muzani had embraced Islam and his Islam was good, telling us: When we reached its people [at Haifaa] with Uyaynah ibn Hisn, Uyaynah took us back, and when we were below Khaibar [at a place called al-Hutam], we prepared in the night, and we got scared, so Uyaynah said: "Be glad, for I see tonight in my sleep that I have been given the Rukaybah - a mountain in Khaibar - indeed, by Allah, I have taken hold of the neck of Muhammad."

When we arrived at Khaibar, Uyaynah had come ahead and found that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had conquered Khaibar. Uyaynah said: "O Muhammad! Give me what you have gained from my confederates, for I have turned away from you and your battles." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "You have lied, but the shout that you heard made you hurry back to your people." He said: "Reward me, O Muhammad." He replied: "You have the Rukaybah." Uyaynah said: The Rukaybah is a spring of the springs of Banu Fazarah between Khaibar and your delegation.

(Source: The expedition is mentioned in as-Sirah al-Shamiyah by al-Salhi, vol. 5, p. 213; and an addition from the expeditions of al-Waqidi, vol. 2, p. 675).

Interactions with the Mountain

Al-Ruqaybah said, "The mountain you saw in your dream, it is that which you have taken." Upon this, Uyaynah turned away. When he returned to his people, Al-Harith ibn Awf came to him, saying, "Did I not tell you that you were placing yourself in something forbidden? By Allah, Muhammad will soon be apparent between the East and the West. The Jews used to inform me about this. I bear witness that I heard Abu Rafi‘ Salam ibn Abi al-Huqayq saying, 'We harbor jealousy towards Muhammad for his prophethood, as it emerged from the offspring of Harun, and he is a sent prophet. The Jews do not obey me in this matter. We have two slaughterings from him: one at Yathrib, and another at Khaybar.'”

Dialogue with Al-Harith

Al-Harith responded, "I asked Salam, 'Do you possess all the land?' He replied, 'Yes, and the Torah that was revealed to Moses.' But I did not want the Jews to know of my statement."

Confrontation with Tha‘labah

Al-Harith began to spy on the Jews and said to them, "I have never seen a situation like today! By Allah, I have never witnessed anyone causing harm to Muhammad except you." They replied, "We intended to fortify ourselves at Zubeir, but insects attacked us, and it was scorching-hot, so we had no choice but to surrender due to thirst." Al-Harith then inquired about those killed among them, and it was confirmed that the Jews had faced defeat. Tha‘labah ibn Salam ibn Abi al-Huqayq remarked, "O Uyaynah, you deceived, abandoned, and betrayed them in their fight against Muhammad. Before that, what you did to Banu Qurayzah was equally reprehensible." Uyaynah defended himself by explaining that they had believed Muhammad had come to attack them, but upon hearing nothing, they turned to assist the Jews.

Reflections and Repercussions

Tha‘labah questioned, "Who remains to assist you now?" Some had been killed, while those who survived had submitted to Muhammad, been disarmed, and their funds seized. A man from Ghatafan accosted Uyaynah, accusing him of not fulfilling the alliance, and reminded him of the previous conflict at Khaybar. He warned that Muhammad's authority was becoming evident, and that those opposing him would soon be exposed.