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

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52 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD matter with him, he replied, "I was told that what I had spoiled would never be restored." When al-Tufayl told this story to the Messenger of God (SAAS) he prayed for him in the words, ''0 God, do forgive him for his hands." That is, "Do restore of them whatever was damaged." What is certain is that God did respond to the Messenger of God (SAAS) concerning the companion of al-Tufayl b. 'Amr. The Story of Acsha b. Qays. Ibn Hishnm stated, "Khallzd b. Qurra b. Khalid al-Sudnsi, and other sheikhs of Bakr b. W2il told me, from certain scholars, that AcshZ b. Qays b. Tha'laba b.Wkxba h. Sa'b b. 'Ali b. Bakr b. Ws'il went to see the Messenger of God (SAAS) intending to accept Islam. He spoke the following verses in praise of the Messenger of God (SAAS), 'Did your eyes not close that night, 0 bleary-eyed one? You lay awake all night through restlessness. And the sleeplessness was not for love of a woman, for before that you had forgotten your lover of Mahdad, But I see that fate, that traitor, spoils what my hands restore. I have thus lost age, youth and wealth, for by God this fate, how it changes! I have constantly pursued wealth throughout my progression from childhood to youth to maturity to old age. Daily I raced fast red-grey camels across the distance between at-Nujayr and Sarkhada. 0 you enquiring where she has gone, she has an appointment with the people of Yathrib. And if you enquire about me, then (know that) there are many kind-hearted ones who ask about A'sha, enquiring where he went. My mount stretches her swift legs and draws them back, carefully turning out her hooves, not splaying them. Sprightly she is, even in noonday heat, when you would imagine even the afternoon chameleon bending its neck. I swore I'd not assuage her fatigue nor her sore feet until she reached Muhammad. When she should kneel at Ibn Hashim's door, only then would it rest and receive, through his munificence, some generosity. (He is) a prophet who sees what you do not, whose fame, I swear, has spread high and low in the land. He has gifts and favours that do not end, and his giving today does not prevent him giving tomorrow. Did you not, I repeat, hear the advice of Muhammad, the Prophet of God, when he preached and testified? If you did not travel with cargo of piety and after death met with others who have done so, You will surely regret not being like them; so, therefore, prepare for a fate that is definitely arranged.
IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA?L IBN KATHiR 53 Beware of carrion; do not approach it, and do not take the share of that which some weapon has already allotted (to others) And do not venerate raised monuments, nor worship idols, but pray to God alone. Do not go near a free woman; her privacy is forbidden you; marry or be celibate. Do not cut off ties with your relatives for some motive, nor take them as captives under resaaint. And glorify God at evening and at morning; do not praise the devil; praise only God. Do not ridicule those suffering poverty, and do not consider wealth man's way to eternity."' Ibn Hisham stated, "And when al-A'sha was in Mecca or near thereto, some Quraysh polytheists stopped him and asked what business he had there. He told them that he had come seeking the Messenger of God (SAAS). "One of the Quraysh commented, 'But Abii Ba~ir, he is forbidding sex!' Al-A'sha responded, swear, that's no desire of mine.' "'But he's also forbidding wine,' the man objected. "'Well, that's something I do hold dear; I'll go off and have my fill of it for a year, then 1'11 come back and accept Islam!' "And leave he did. But he died that same year without returning to the Messenger of God (SAAS)." Thus does Ibn Hisban tell this story here. He extracts a great deal from Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, God bless him, and this is one thing added to his account by Ibn Hisham, God bless him! Wine was not in fact forbidden in Medina until after the fighting with the Banii al-Nadir, as will be explained hereafter. It is apparent that the decision of al-A'sha to accept Islam was taken only after the migration. There is evidence for this in his poetry. One verse reads, "0 you enquiring where she has gone, she has an appointment with the people of Yathrih." It would have been more appropriate for Ibn Hisham to have recounted this anecdote within material relating to the post-migration period, rather than here. But God knows best. Al-Suhayli stated, "This is an error on the part of Ibn Hishan and those who follow him, for everyone agrees that use of wine was only prohibited in Medina after the battle of Uhud." He has also stated, "It is said that the person who spoke to al-A'sha was Aha Jahl b. Hisham in the house of Wtba b. Rabi'a." Aba Wbayda, however, related that the one who spoke to him thus was 'Amir b. al-Tufayl in Qays territory while he was on his way to the Messenger of God (SAW. He stated, "And his saying L.. . then I will come to him and accept Islam' definitely does not bring him out of a state of disbelief. But God knows best."
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The Center for Muslim Contribution
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CONTENTS Foreword About this Series
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CONTENTS vii Chapter: On the birth
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In the Name of God, the Beneficent,
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ABOUT THIS SERIES THIS series of Ar
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CENTER FOR MUSLIM CONTRIBUTION TO C
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INTRODUCTION HE work at hand in its
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INTRODUCTION xvii rather rudimentar
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INTRODUCTION nix scholars of Islami
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INTRODUCTION xxi in pertinent ways.
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INTRODUCTION xxiii Finally, the tru
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TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE xxv ave been i
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The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

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