Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Chapter 49: Surah al-Hujurat
His created beings; He gave us riches with which we do as we please. We are, therefore, of the best among
the inhabitants of the earth and of those who have more means, wealth and arms. Whoever denies what
we have said, let him say words better than our words and mention works better than ours’. The Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shimas: ‘Stand and respond
to him!’ Thabit stood up and said: ‘Praise be to Allah; I praise Him and seek His assistance; I believe in
Him and in Him I fully trust. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, alone without any partners,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger who called the Emigrants amongst
his cousins — who are endowed with the most beautiful faces and the greatest intelligences — and they
followed him. So praise be to Allah Who made us the helpers and aids of His Messenger and a cause for
the triumph of His religion. We therefore fight people until they bear witness that there is no deity except
Allah. Whoever utters the expression of faith renders his own person and wealth inviolable as far as we
are concerned. But whoever rejects faith, we kill him and killing him for the sake of Allah, exalted is He,
would indeed be easy for us. I say these words of mine and seek Allah’s forgiveness for the believing men
and women’. Al-Zibriqan ibn Badr then addressed one of their youths, saying: ‘Stand up, O so-and-so,
and say some poetry in which you mention your merit and the merit if your people’. A youth stood up
and said:
We are the nobles, no tribe is our equal
The leaders are amongst us and the fourth of all booties is given to us.
In time of drought we feed all people
From the thin clouds of Autumn when wind-driven clouds fail to show.
If we scorn, none can stand up to us
Thus upon boasting do we rise.
The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent for Hassan ibn Thabit and when the
emissary reached him, Hassan said: ‘What does he want, I was with him just a while ago’ The emissary
said: ‘Banu Tamim brought their poet and orator and the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give
him peace, commanded Thabit ibn Qays to respond to their orator, and he has sent for you to respond
to their poet’. When Hassan arrived, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, commanded
him to respond to their poet. Hassan said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, ask him to repeat what he
composed’. When the poetry was repeated to him, he said:
We supported Allah’s Messenger and religion by force
In spite of the enemy of the desert and settlements.
Do we not embrace death in the turmoil of battle
When the resort of death becomes sweet among armies.
And we strike the heads of armoured fighters as we belong
To a lineage from the root of the mighty Ghassan.
If it were not for diffidence toward Allah we would say, displaying our nobleness
to people, at the base of the two mountains, is there any who would like to fight.
Our living ones are of the best of those who have set foot on the ground
And our dead are the best inhabitants of the graveyards.
At this point al-Aqra‘ ibn Habis stood up and said: ‘By Allah, I have come for something other than that
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