2. The Quraysh was the majority tribe in Mecca, to which the Prophet belonged and which rejected his proclamation of Islam and took up arms against him. Muhammad and his followers thereupon took refuge in the town of Yathrib, to the north of Mecca, later called Medina. Some there had already been converted to Islam, and they invited Muhammad to take refuge with them. They were therefore called al-Ansar (the supporters), while the refugees from Mecca were called al-Muhajirun (the emigrants).
3. The Night of al-ʿAqaba was when the supporters proclaimed their faith in Islam before the Prophet and gave him their word to provide him with asylum and support.
4. An old Arab expression meaning that he was an admirer of himself.
5. The name is disputed, other scholars calling him al-Amri.
6. The Ghassanids were a Christian Arab tribe and were allies of the Byzantines, acting as a buffer between the Byzantine Empire and the desert Arabs to the south. They were eventually conquered by the Muslim armies.
7. See n. 2.
47
The Tale of Jurayj the Worshipper
* * *
SHOWING HOW ATTENDING TO PARENTS HAS PRIORITY OVER PRAYER
We have been told by Shayban ibn Farroukh, who was told by Sulaiman ibn al-Mughirah, who was told by Humayd ibn Hilal, who was told by Abu Rafiʿ, who was told by Abu Huraira, that Prophet Muhammad had said:
Jurayj was worshipping at a hermitage when his mother came to him.
[Humayd said:] “Abu Rafiʿ described to us how Abu Huraira had repeated the Prophet’s account of the way Jurayj’s mother had called him.
“She placed her hand over her brows, raised her head, and called out: ‘Jurayj, here I am, your mother. Will you speak with me?’ Then she realized he was praying.
“Hearing his mother call him, Jurayj said: ‘Oh God! My mother or my prayers?’ And he chose his prayers.
“She withdrew accordingly but returned later and called: ‘Jurayj, here I am, your mother. Will you speak with me?’
“He said: ‘Oh God! My mother or my prayers?’ And he chose his prayers.
“‘Oh, my God,’ she said. ‘Here is Jurayj, my son. I call him and he refuses to speak with me. I ask you, God, let him know whores before you send him to his death.’
“Then [the Prophet] said: ‘Had she asked God to let him be bewitched by them, He would have done so.’ He also said: ‘A shepherd was accustomed to come to this hermitage, and a woman from the village met with him. The shepherd had relations with her, and she became pregnant, giving birth to a baby boy. “How did this come about?” someone asked her. “It was the man at that hermitage,” came her reply.’
“So, the people came to Jurayj, with their axes and other iron tools. When they called to him, he was praying and would not speak with them; and they began tearing down his hermitage. When he saw what they were doing, he came down to them.
“‘Ask this woman why,’ they said.
“He smiled and passed his hand over the baby’s head.
“‘Who is your father?’ he asked.
“‘The shepherd is my father,’ the baby rejoined.
“When they heard the baby’s answer, they said:
“‘We shall rebuild, with gold and silver, all of your hermitage we have torn down.’
“‘No,’ he said. ‘Only restore it to the way it was.’
“Then he stood over it.”
[Another version was related by Zuhayr ibn Harb, as related to him by Yazid ibn Haroun, as related by Jarir ibn Hazem, as related by Muhammad ibn Sirin, as related by Ibn Huraira, as he heard the Prophet Muhammad say:]
Only three people have talked when they were infants: [among them] ʿIsa [Jesus], son of Mary, and a person linked to Jurayj. Jurayj was a faithful man who was praying at his hermitage when his mother came and called to him.
“Oh God,” he said, “my mother or my prayers?” And he chose his prayers.
His mother went away and came the next morning, calling to him while he was praying. Again he said: “Oh God, my mother or my prayers?” And he chose his prayers.
So his mother said: “Oh God, let him not die before you show him the faces of whores.”
As the sons of Israel were speaking of Jurayj and his worship, a whore all too famous for her beauty told them: “I can seduce him for you, if that is your wish.”
She came to where he was, but he did not look at her. Then she went to a shepherd who was there at his hermitage, seduced him, and became pregnant by him; and when she gave birth to her baby, she said it was by Jurayj. Thereupon people came to him, beat him, and tore down his hermitage.
When he asked them for a reason, they said: “You committed adultery with this whore, and she had a baby by you.”
“Where is this baby?” he asked.
When they brought the baby, he said: “Let me first pray to God.” When he had finished his prayers, he came to the baby and poked it gently in the stomach.
“Boy,” he said, “who is your father?”
“Fulan the shepherd,”1 the baby said.
The people then went to Jurayj, kissing him and tendering their apologies.
“We shall build a golden hermitage for you,” they said.
“No,” he said. “Simply return it to the way it was, of clay.”
And so they did.
From Sahih Muslim (Famous Authentic Compilation of the Prophet’s Traditions), “Kitab birr alwalidayn” (Book of Munificence to Parents), ed. Muhammad Fuʾad ʿAbd al-Baqi, vol. 4 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1368/1978).
1. “Fulan” is a name given in Arabic to an unknown man (the feminine form is Fulana). A rough English equivalent would be so-and-so.
48
The Tale of the Crevice People, and of the Magician, the Monk, and the Young Man
We were told by Haddab ibn Khaled that he had been told by Hammad ibn Salamah that he had been told by Thabet that he had been told by ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Layla that he had been told by Suhayb that:
The Prophet Muhammad said:
There was once a king who had a magician working for him. When the magician grew old, he said to the king:
“I have grown old, my lord. I beg you to let me have a young man to whom I can teach the art of magic.”
The king accordingly sent a young man for him to teach. On the way where this young man [habitually] passed, there was a monk with whom he would sit, listening to what the man said. So impressed was he by the man’s words that, whenever he went to visit the magician, he would pass by the monk and sit with him; whereupon the magician would beat him for being late. When he complained of this to the monk, the monk told him:
“If you fear the magician, tell him you have been held back by your parents. And if you fear your parents, tell them you have been held back by the magician.”
One day the young man encountered a great monster that prevented people’s passing that way.
“Today,” he said then, “I shall learn who is better, the magician or the monk.”
With that he picked up a stone, saying:
“Oh God, if you value the monk’s matter over the magician’s, then kill this beast, so people may be made free.”
Then he flung the stone at the beast and killed it, and the people were made free. He went to the monk and told him what had happened.
“Son,” the monk told him, “today you have shown yourself superior to me. I see what you have achieved, and you will be put to the test. When you are put to the test, tell no one about me.”
The young man was able to heal the blind, and those with leprosy, and to treat people with sickness of every kind. One of the king’s men, who had become blind, heard of this and went to him, bearing many gifts.
“These will be too little for you,” he said, “if you can heal me.”
“I heal no one,” came the answer. “God it is who heals. If you believe in God, then I shall ask Him to heal you, and He will do it.”
God healed the man, and the man went to the king and sat with him as usual. W
hen the king saw him, he asked:
“Who restored your sight?”
“It was my lord,” the man replied.
“So,” the king said, “you have another lord beside me?”
“God,” the man said, “is my Lord and yours.”
The king had him taken off and put to torture, and finally he confessed about the young man, who was ordered to be brought in.
“Son,” the king said, “we have heard of your magic: how you heal the blind and the leper, of the many things you do.”
“I heal no one,” said the young man. “God it is who does so.”
So the king had him taken off and put to torture, and finally he confessed about the monk. The monk was brought in and commanded to renounce his faith, but he refused. The king then called for a saw, which was set on the man’s head, and the head was cut into two halves. Next the king’s companion was brought in and commanded to renounce his faith. But he refused. And so the saw was set on his head, which was cut into two halves. Then the young man was brought in and commanded to renounce his faith. But he, too, refused. Thereupon the king handed him over to a number of men from among his followers, saying:
“Take him to the mountain, climb it till you reach the peak, then, if he does not renounce his faith, fling him down from there.”
So they took him to the mountain and climbed it.
“Oh God,” the young man said then, “protect me whichever way You will.”
With that the mountain shook so violently that the other men fell from the heights. The young man walked back to the king.
“What has become of the men?” the king asked.
“God has protected me,” the young man answered.
The king thereupon handed him over to a number of men from among his followers, telling them:
“Take him in a boat to the middle of the sea. Then, if he does not renounce his faith, fling him in.”
So they took him to the sea.
“Oh God,” the young man said then, “protect me whichever way You will.”
With that the boat capsized and the king’s men were drowned. Once more the young man walked back to the king.
“What has become of the men?” the king asked.
“God has protected me,” the young man answered.
Then he said to the king:
“You may not kill me till you have done as I tell you.”
“And what is that?” asked the king.
“Gather all the people at a high place,” he said, “and crucify me on the trunk of a tree. Then take an arrow, set it in a bow, and say: ‘In the name of God, the young man’s Lord.’ Then shoot me with the arrow. If you do this, you will surely kill me.”
So the king gathered all the people at a high place and crucified the young man on the trunk of a tree. Next he took an arrow, set it in a bow, and said: “In the name of God, the young man’s Lord.” Then he shot the young man with the arrow, and the arrow struck the temple of the young man, who put his hand where the arrow had pierced, then died.
At that the people watching said:
“We believe now in the young man’s God. We believe now in the young man’s God.”
Then the king was told:
“Do you see what it was you feared? By God, what you feared has come to pass. People have become believers.”
Thereupon the king ordered crevices to be dug and fire to be lit inside the crevices. Then the king said:
“Whoever does not renounce his faith shall be flung into the crevices.”
A woman carrying a small boy came and was unwilling to be thrown into the fire. But her small boy said to her:
“Mother, be patient, for you are in the right.”
From Sahih Muslim (Famous Authentic Compilation of the Prophet’s Traditions), ed. Muhammad Fuʾad ʿAbd al-Baqi, vol. 4 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1368/1978).
49
The Tale of the Leper, the Bald Man, and the Blind Man
We were told by Shayban ibn Farroukh that he was told by Hammam, who was told by Ishaq ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Talhah, who was told by ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi ʿAmra, that Abu Huraira told him that he had heard the Prophet [Muhammad] say:
There were once three men among the sons of Israel, one a leper, the second bald, and the third blind. Wishing to test them, God sent an angel to them.
The angel went to the leper and asked him:
“What is it you wish for most?”
“A good complexion,” the leper said, “a good skin, and to be rid of what drives people from me.”
So the angel passed his hand over the man, and his defect vanished. He was given a good complexion and a good skin. Then the angel asked him:
“What kind of wealth do you wish for most?”
“Camels,” the leper said.1
So he was given a female camel about to give birth. “May God bless you with it,” the angel told him.
Next the angel went to the bald man and asked him:
“What is it you wish for most?”
“Good hair,” the bald man said, “and to be rid of what drives people from me.”
So the angel passed his hand over the man, and he became like others, being given a good head of hair. Then the angel asked him:
“What kind of wealth do you wish for most?”
“Cattle,” he said.
So he was given a pregnant cow. “May God bless you with it,” the angel told him.
Then the angel went to the blind man and asked him:
“What is it you wish for most?”
“To have back my sight,” the blind man answered, “and to be able to see people.”
So the angel passed his hand over him, and his sight was restored. Then the angel asked him:
“What kind of wealth do you wish for most?”
“Sheep,” he said. So he was given a ewe with its lamb.
In time the three men had a valley of camels, a valley of cattle, and a valley of sheep, one valley for each.
Then the angel came to the leper in the guise of an old man, and told him:
“I am a poor man, cut off from my people by my journey. I have no hope but in God and in you. I ask you, for the sake of Him who granted you your good complexion, your good skin and your wealth, to give me one camel for use on my journey.”
“Requests are many,” came the response.
So the angel said to him:
“I know you, I think. Were you not a leper and loathsome to people? Were you not poor and God made you rich?”
“No,” said the man. “I inherited this wealth from my fathers and forefathers.”
“If you are lying,” the angel told him, “may God bring you back to what you were before.”
The angel then went to the bald man in his new guise and told him what he had told the first. And the bald man responded in the same way.
“If you are lying,” the angel told him, “may God bring you back to what you were before.”
The angel then went to the blind man in his new guise, and told him:
“I am a poor man, cut off from my people by my journey. I have no hope but in God and in you. I ask you, for the sake of Him who restored your sight, to give me one ewe for use on my journey.”
“I was blind,” the blind man said, “and God restored my sight. Take whatever you wish and leave whatever you wish. By God, I shall not hold you back from taking anything you wish, for the sake of God.”
Then the angel said to him:
“Keep your wealth. The three of you have been tested, and God is pleased with you and displeased with your two friends.”
From Sahih Muslim (Famous Authentic Compilation of the Prophet’s Traditions), “Kitab alzuhd” (Book of Asceticism), ed. Muhammad Fuʾad ʿAbd al-Baqi, vol. 4 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1368/1978).
1. Ishaq is not sure whether in fact he said cattle. However, of the leper and the bald man, one asked for camels and the other for cattle.
50
Virtue and Divine Reward
It has been related, in the two compilations of authenticated Prophetic traditions, how the Prophet said as follows:
Three men who lived before were walking when it began to rain. They took refuge in a cave, and a fall of rock blocked the mouth. “By God,” they said to one another, “nothing will save you now but the truth. Let each relate such [good deeds] as he knows to be true.”
“God!” one of them said. “You know I had a hired hand who worked for me measuring rice. When he went away, he left his measure behind. I planted the rice left in his measure, and it flourished, so that I was able, from the proceeds, to buy cattle and a herdsman. Later he came to ask for his wages, and I told him to take all the cattle. ‘But,’ the man said, ‘I left only a measuring tool with you.’ ‘The cattle,’ I told him, ‘came from the measuring tool.’ And he took them. God! If You know I did this out of awe for You, then grant us release!”
The rock shifted a little.
“God!” said the second man. “You know I had two parents to whom, each evening, I brought milk from my sheep to drink. One evening I was late and found them asleep, while my family had now become hungry. I had never given them milk to drink before my parents had drunk, and now I could not bear to wake my parents—and so I waited till dawn. If You know I did this out of awe for You, then grant us release!”
The rock shifted further, and now they could see the sky.
“God!” said the third man. “You know I had a cousin I loved dearly. I tried to seduce her, and she refused unless I gave her a hundred dinars. I sought to acquire this money, and succeeded, and I took it to her; and she then agreed to let me possess her. As I lay beside her, and was about to fulfill my desire, she said: ‘Fear God, and do not deflower what remains sealed except by God’s law.’ I got up, leaving the hundred dinars. God! If You know I did this out of awe for You, then grant us release!”
And God shifted the rock completely away.
From Dawud al-Antaki, Tazyin al-Aswaq bi Tafsil Ashwaq al-ʿUshshaq (Adorning the Markets with Accounts of Lovers’ Longing), vol. 2, ed. Muhammad al-Tunji (Beirut: ʿAlam al-Kutub, 1993).
Classical Arabic Stories Page 19
