The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

124 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
"Sa'd arose, performed the ablutions, washed both his garments, gave testimony
to the truth and then performed two prayer prostrations.
"After that Sa'd took his spear and returned to his people's assembly, Usayd
b. al-Hudayr accompanying him. When his people saw him coming, they said,
'My God, Sa'd is returning with quite a different expression from when he left.'
"When he stood there before them, he said, '0 Banii 'Abd al-Ashhal, how do
you view my position among you?'
"They replied, 'You are our leader, the wisest man among us, and the man
with the happiest disposition.'
"Sa'd told them, 'It is forbidden for any man or woman among you to speak
to me until you believe in God and His Messenger.'
"The account continues, 'And, I swear, by that evening every single man and
woman there in the quarters of the Banii 'Abd al-Ashhal had become Muslims.'
"Sa'd and Mus'ab then returned to the home of As'ad b. Zurara and remained
there calling upon people to join Islam until there was not a single one of the
homes of the an@r that did not have Muslims living there. Except, that is, for
the homes of the Banii Umayya b. Zayd, Khapna, W2il and Waqif. These were
of the Aws, that is, slaws h. Haitha.
"This is because they had among them Abn Qays b. al-Aslat, known as
Sayfi. Al-Zubayr b. Bakks said, 'His name was al-Harith, but also it was said
to be Wbayd All&. His father's name was al-Aslat 'Amir b. Jusham h.Wz'i1 b.
Zayd h. Qays h. 'Amir b. Murra b. Mdik b. al-Aws. Al-Kalbi gave him the same
genealogy. He was a poet and a leader of theirs; they would listen to him and
obey. He kept them from Islam until after the battle of al-khandaq, "the battle of
the trench".'"
I observe that this Abii Qays b. al-Aslat has poetry quoted by Ibn Ish3q that
is eloquent and good and reminiscent of the poetry of Umayya b. Abii &Salt
al-Thaqafi.
Ibn Ishaq commented concerning the above, "As news of the Messenger of God
(SAAS) spread among the bedouins and the towns, this was reported in Medina.
No Arab quarter was more knowledgeable about the affairs of the Messenger of
God (SAAS), both before and after he became the subject of report, than this
territory of the Aws and the Khazraj. This was because of what they had heard
from the Jewish rabbis.
"When circumstances developed in Medina for him as they did and people
discussed the dispute between him and Quraysh, Abii Qays b. d-Aslat, brother
of the Bana Waqif spoke some verses."
Al-Suhayli gave his name as Abii Qays Sirma b. Abii Anas. The full name of
Aba Anas was Qays b. Sirma h. Malik b. 'Adi b. 'Amr b. Ghanm b. 'Adi b.
al-Najj*. And he said, "It was about him and Wmar that the following verse was
revealed, 'It has been made lawful for you to visit with your wives on the night
of the fast'" (siirat al-Baqara; 11, v.187).