The life of the Prophet Muhammad - Ibn Kathir - volume 2 of 4

114 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Rabi'a have triumphed over the people of Persia. They have killed their kings,
and captured their troops and it was by me that they were given victory."'
'Ali went on, "And the battle occurred at Qur~qir, by the side of Dhii @r.
And about this victory al-A'sha spoke the verses,
'My camel be a ransom for the Banii Dhuhl b. Shayh and
its rider at the clash, for it bore its burden well.
They struck blows at the hinw, the bends of ersqir,
against the vanguard of al-%un, until they fled.
Glory be to the eyes that beheld those knights, like
Dhuhl b. Shaybsn, when they were in command.
They rose up, and we did so too, with friendship
between us, though we were overcome by the hardships of
battle, clearly evident."'
This hadith is very strange. We have included it for its evidences of the proofs of
the prophethood, its references to ethics and moral hehaviour and its examples
of the eloquence of the Arabs.
It also comes down through another line. It states, in that version, that when
they battled against the Persians and met them at Qur~qir, a place near the
Euphrates, they made their battle cry the name of Muhammad (SAAS), and that
it was thereby that they were made victorious over the Persians. Thereafter they
converted to Islam.
Al-Wsqidi stated, "'Abd Allah h. WXbiva al-'Absi, told us, from his father,
from his grandfather, who said, 'The Messenger of God (SAAS) came to us in
our houses at Mins while we were staying there near the first jamrazg which is
next to the Khayf mosque. He was riding on his mount with Zayd b. Huitha
seated behind him. He called out an invitation to us, hut we made no response
to him; we were not given to make a good choice.
"'We had heard of him and of his preaching at the fairs; he stood and made a
presentation and invitation to us, but we did not respond. We had with us
Maysara b. Masmq al-'Ahsi and he said to us, "I swear by God, if we had believed
this man and had taken him offto inside our territory, we would have triumphed.
I swear by God, he will succeed and ultimately achieve all his objectives."
"'But our people replied, "Leave us alone. You'll not involve us in that over
which we have no power."
"'The Messenger of God (SAAS) had high hopes of Maysara and spoke to
him. Maysara replied, "How fine, how enlightening your words are! But my
people oppose me. All a man has is his own people. And if they don't stand by
him, then enmity is more extensive."
"'So the Messenger of God (SAAS) left and people went off to their families.
Maysara told them, "Let's Nm off to Fadak. There are Jews there whom we can
ask about this man."
29. One of three pillars at Mia at which pilgrims cast stones.