Waraqah ibn Nawfal, ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh, ‘Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith, and Zayd ibn ‘Amr

The man at the two groves told Salman: “The religion you seek will be explained to you by him.” Salman went to the place described and found people gathered around the man, who came out that night while moving from one grove to another. People crowded around him seeking blessings, and he prayed for no sick person but that the person was healed. They overwhelmed Salman, and he could not reach him until the man entered the grove he intended, with only his shoulder still visible. Salman grasped him. The man turned and asked, “Who is this?” Salman said, “May Allah have mercy on you; tell me about the upright religion, the religion of Abraham.” He replied, “You ask about something people no longer ask. The time of a Prophet sent with this religion from the people of the Sanctuary has drawn near. Go to him; he will guide you to it.” Then he entered the grove. The Messenger of Allah later said to Salman, “If you have spoken truthfully, Salman, then you met Jesus son of Mary.” The report’s chain is criticized by al-Suhayli, who notes an unknown transmitter and a weak narrator, while saying its meaning is not objectionable if authentic.

Ibn Ishaq said: One day Quraysh gathered for an annual festival beside one of their idols, which they honored, sacrificed to, and visited in devotion. Four men slipped away privately and said to one another, “Let us speak honestly and keep one another’s words confidential.” They agreed. They were Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn Abd al-‘Uzza; ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh ibn Ri’ab ibn Ya‘mur ibn Sabrah ibn Murrah ibn Kabir ibn Ghanm ibn Dawdan ibn Asad ibn Khuzaymah, whose mother was Umaymah bint Abd al-Muttalib; ‘Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith ibn Asad ibn Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Qusayy; and Zayd ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl ibn Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Abdullah ibn Qurt ibn Riyah ibn Razah ibn ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy.

[1] Some genealogical sources read Dawdan; other copies have a corrupted form. [2] Zayd’s mother was al-Hayda’ bint Khalid al-Fahmiyyah, the wife of his grandfather Nufayl; she bore Nufayl al-Khattab, making Zayd and al-Khattab maternal half-brothers. Such a marriage arrangement was permitted in the pre-Islamic period. [3] The known genealogy of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab places Riyah before Abdullah. [4] Razah is usually pronounced with a fathah; some pronounce it with a kasrah. See al-Rawd al-Unuf.

They said to one another: “By Allah, our people follow nothing. They have abandoned the religion of their father Abraham. What is this stone we circle, which neither hears nor sees, harms nor benefits? O people, seek a religion for yourselves, for by Allah you follow nothing.” They dispersed through different lands, searching for the upright religion of Abraham.

Waraqah ibn Nawfal settled firmly upon Christianity and followed its scriptures until he acquired knowledge from the People of the Book. ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh remained uncertain until he accepted Islam, then migrated with the Muslims to Abyssinia with his wife Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan, who was Muslim. When he arrived there, he became Christian, abandoned Islam, and died there as a Christian.

Ibn Ishaq said: Muhammad ibn Ja‘far ibn al-Zubayr related to me that after ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh became Christian, he would pass by the Messenger’s Companions in Abyssinia and say, “We have become fully sighted, while you are only blinking toward sight”—meaning, “We have seen clearly, while you are still seeking to see.”

[1] Most copies read Dawdan; another form is considered a corruption. [2] The name appears in a variant form in some copies. [3] The editor discusses variant readings in Zayd’s genealogy and compares the familiar genealogy of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. [4] The vowel in Razah’s name varies among authorities. [5] “Religion” is an addition from recension A.

The phrase “fully sighted” refers to opening one’s eyes; a puppy is said to blink when it is trying to see. Ibn Ishaq said: After ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh died, the Messenger of Allah married his wife Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan ibn Harb. Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Husayn told me that the Messenger sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri to the Negus to propose to her on his behalf. The Negus arranged the marriage and gave her a dowry of four hundred dinars on behalf of the Messenger. Muhammad ibn ‘Ali said: We believe ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan fixed women’s dowries at four hundred dinars on that precedent. Khalid ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As acted as the Messenger’s marriage agent.

Ibn Ishaq said: ‘Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith went to Caesar, the Roman emperor, became Christian, and gained high standing with him. Ibn Hisham said: ‘Uthman has a story with Caesar, but I have omitted it for the reason I mentioned when discussing the Fijar War. Another account says Caesar crowned him and appointed him over Makkah. Quraysh refused to submit to a king; al-Aswad ibn Asad cried, “Makkah is a free clan and will not submit to a king.” ‘Uthman’s plan did not succeed. He was called al-Batriq, left no descendants, and died in Syria by poison administered by the Ghassanid king ‘Amr ibn Jafnah. See al-Rawd al-Unuf.

Ibn Ishaq said: Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl held back and adopted neither Judaism nor Christianity. He left his people’s religion, avoided idols, carrion, blood, and animals sacrificed to idols, and forbade the killing of infant daughters. He said, “I worship the Lord of Abraham,” and openly criticized his people’s practices.

Ibn Ishaq related from Asma bint Abi Bakr: “I saw Zayd ibn Amr, an old man, leaning against the Ka‘bah and saying, ‘O Quraysh, by Him in whose hand is Zayd ibn Amr’s soul, none of you follows Abraham’s religion but me.’ He would then say, ‘O Allah, if I knew which way of worship You love most, I would worship You by it, but I do not know it,’ and he would prostrate on his palms.”

Al-Suhayli discusses why Zayd abstained from meat sacrificed to idols while the Messenger is reported to have eaten from a meal offered before revelation. He gives several legal explanations: the report may not say that the Prophet ate from that particular meal; Zayd may have acted by personal judgment before a revealed prohibition; or such meat may have remained lawful under an earlier dispensation until the Qur’an prohibited it (6:121). The editor also notes that Zayd is said to have rescued girls whom their fathers intended to bury alive, raising them until their families could take them back. Sa‘sa‘ah ibn Mu‘awiyah is reported to have done likewise; the Prophet told him that Islam would bring him its reward.

Ibn Ishaq said: I was told that Zayd’s son Sa‘id ibn Zayd and his cousin ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah, “Should we seek forgiveness for Zayd ibn Amr?” He replied, “Yes; he will be raised as a community on his own.”

Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl said, describing his departure from his people’s religion and what he suffered from them: “Shall I worship one lord or a thousand, when matters have been divided? I have abandoned al-Lat and al-‘Uzza together; that is what the steadfast and patient do. I worship neither al-‘Uzza nor her two daughters, nor do I visit the idols of Banu Amr. I worship no Hubal, once treated as our lord in days gone by, when my judgment was slight. I wonder, for nights bring marvels known to the discerning: Allah has ended the lives of many whose course was wicked, yet preserved others through their people’s virtue, so that a small child among them grows strong.”

The copies differ between “Should we seek forgiveness?” and “Should I seek forgiveness?” Al-‘Uzza was a shrine of clustered trees; the editor recounts its history and its destruction by Khalid ibn al-Walid. The wording “Banu Amr” is explained as a clan near Zayd’s father, while other sources read “Banu Ghanm.” One transmitted reading names Hubal; the editor notes that the other copies instead have “Ghanm.” A parallel version of one verse appears in al-Aghani, and another source reads “grows” where this text has “grows strong.”

The poem continues: “While a person may one day return to life, as a rain-soaked branch revives and puts forth leaves, I worship the Most Merciful, my Lord, so that the All-Forgiving Lord may pardon my sin. Guard the fear of Allah, your Lord; whenever you preserve it, it will not be wasted. You will see the righteous dwelling in gardens, while the unbelievers have a scorching Fire, disgrace in life, and, when they die, what constricts the breast.”

Another poem begins: “To Allah I offer my praise and commendation, and a firm word that will not cease with time. To the Most High King, above whom there is no god or lord nearby. O man, beware of ruin, for nothing is hidden from Allah. Do not set another beside Allah; the path of right guidance has become clear. Your mercy, again and again: the jinn were their hope, but You, my God and Lord, are my hope.”

Ibn Hisham says that most of this second poem is by Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt, though he attributes some lines to Zayd. The first line has variant wording. The notes explain the rare words for returning to life, a rain-refreshed branch, steadfast speech, death, repeated mercy, and the jinn. The editor preserves the attribution dispute rather than treating the entire poem as securely Zayd’s.

The poem continues: “I am content with You, O Allah, as Lord; I will never see another deity besides You. You sent Moses, by Your grace and mercy, as a herald. You told him, ‘Go, you and Aaron, and call Pharaoh, the tyrant, to Allah. Ask him: Did you level this earth without a stake, so that it settled as it is? Did you raise this sky without pillars? How excellent is its Maker! Did you set its middle alight, guiding it when night covers it? Who sends the sun each morning, making the earth bright? Who brings grain out of the soil, so plants rise and sway, bringing forth their seeds? In this are signs for whoever understands. By Your favor You saved Jonah, who spent nights within the depths of a fish. If I were to glorify You, our Lord, I would do so abundantly, were it not that You forgive my errors.’”

The editor explains the poem’s ellipses and variant lines, including its address to Moses and Aaron, the references to earth and sky, and the rare description of plants rising above the ground. The closing syntax is discussed as an interrupted statement: the poet says he would continue in praise but depends on Allah’s forgiveness.

Ibn Hisham identifies al-Hadrami as Abdullah ibn Imad ibn Akbar, of al-Sadif. He gives the lineage of al-Sadif through Sakun and Kindah to Saba’, while recording a variant genealogy in which Muratti‘ is son of Malik ibn Zayd ibn Kahlan ibn Saba’. The manuscripts and genealogists differ over some names.

When Zayd ibn Amr prepared to leave Makkah to seek Abraham’s religion, his wife Safiyyah bint al-Hadrami would alert al-Khattab ibn Nufayl, Zayd’s paternal uncle and maternal half-brother. Al-Khattab had assigned her to watch Zayd and obstructed his journeys, disapproving of his departure from their people’s religion. Zayd said: “Do not keep me in humiliation, Safiyyah, when our ways are not the same. If I fear disgrace, I set out with willing mounts. I am like a water-creature that enters kings’ doors, traversing wide deserts with purpose.”

The editor corrects a name in the Hadrami genealogy by comparison with other biographical sources and records an added name in one recension. He explains the kinship between Zayd, al-Khattab, and their mother, noting the pre-Islamic marriage custom involved. The poem’s difficult terms are glossed: habitual practice, a bold and well-trained mount, a creature that repeatedly dives, and a traveller crossing open country.

Zayd’s verses continue: “I cut through bonds that humble those who have no hard-matched peers. Humiliation takes the camel when its hide is worn through; it says, ‘I will not be brought low by the blows of its load.’ My brother, my mother’s son, then my uncle, will not grant me his agreement. When he reproaches me harshly, I say that words fail me; though I could speak of what I know and disclose its key and door.” The poem has gaps in its transmitted wording.

It is related from some of Zayd’s family that, when he faced the Ka‘bah inside the Sacred Mosque, he would say, “Here I am, truly and sincerely, in worship and servitude. I seek refuge in what Abraham sought refuge in, standing toward the qiblah. My Lord, I come to You captive and humbled; whatever You lay upon me, I will undertake. I seek righteousness, not pride; the one who seeks the good is not like the one who speaks without it.” Ibn Hisham records another reading of the final lines and says that the description “facing the Ka‘bah” comes from some scholars.

The editor explains the verses’ obscure images and marks lacunae in two lines. He notes a variant reading of “I seek what endures, not pride,” and explains that the “captive” is one who has surrendered himself to Allah, while the “idler” chooses sleep during the midday heat.

Zayd said: “I submit my face to Him to whom the earth submits, bearing heavy stones. He spread it out, and when it was made even upon the water, He anchored mountains upon it. I submit my face to Him to whom the rain clouds submit, carrying pure, sweet water: when they are driven toward a land, they obey and pour abundant streams upon it.”

Al-Khattab persecuted Zayd until he drove him to the heights of Makkah, where he stayed at Hira facing the city. Al-Khattab set Qurayshi youths and reckless men to prevent him entering Makkah. Zayd could enter only secretly; when discovered, they informed al-Khattab, who had him expelled and harmed, fearing that he would undermine their religion or persuade others to leave it. Zayd said, honoring the sanctuary against those who violated its protection: “No blame: I am in consecration, not in the lawful territory; my house stands in the middle of the settlement, by al-Safa, not in a place of confusion.” He then travelled seeking Abraham’s religion and questioning monks and scholars. He reached Mosul and the Jazirah, traversed Syria, and came to a monk at Mayfa‘ah in the land of al-Balqa’. The monk told him that no one then could guide him to the religion he sought, but a Prophet bearing Abraham’s upright religion was about to arise from his homeland. Zayd should join him, for his time had come.

The notes explain the earth being spread out and mountains fixed upon it, rain clouds, and the abundance of water. Hira is the mountain near Makkah. “Consecrated” means protected within the sanctuary, in contrast to the territory outside it. Mayfa‘ah is described as elevated land; al-Balqa’ was a district in Syria whose principal town was Amman.

Zayd investigated Judaism and Christianity but accepted neither. He hurried back toward Makkah after the monk’s counsel; when he reached the territory of Lakhm, they attacked and killed him. Waraqah ibn Nawfal mourned him: “You found right guidance and excelled, son of Amr; you escaped a blazing furnace of Fire. You held to a Lord unlike any other and left the idols of tyrants as they were. You attained the religion you had sought and were never heedless of your Lord’s oneness. You have entered a noble dwelling, delighting in its honor. There you meet Allah’s close friend, not among the arrogant cast down into Fire. A person may receive his Lord’s mercy, even if he lies beneath the earth through seventy valleys.” Ibn Hisham says that some lines are also attributed to Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt and that one phrase comes from a source other than Ibn Ishaq.

Ibn Ishaq said: Among what reached him of the Gospel given to Jesus son of Mary was a description of the Messenger of Allah, which the disciple Yuhannas recorded when he copied the Gospel from the teaching of Jesus, peace be upon him.

The editor explains the poem’s vocabulary and grammar and preserves Ibn Hisham’s note that some verses are attributed to Umayyah. The wording about idols is specifically reported from a source other than Ibn Ishaq.

The passage says: “Whoever hates me has hated the Lord. If I had not done among them works such as no one before me had done, they would have had no sin; but from now they have become insolent and thought they could overcome me and the Lord. Yet the saying in the Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without cause.’ When the Munhamanna comes, whom Allah sends to you from the Lord, the Holy Spirit who comes from the Lord, he will bear witness concerning me, and you too, because you were with me from the beginning.” The text explains Munhamanna as “Muhammad” in Syriac and gives “Paraclete” as its Greek form.

Ibn Ishaq said: When Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, reached forty years, Allah sent him as a mercy to all worlds and as a bearer of good news to all people. Allah had taken a covenant from every Prophet sent before him: to believe in Muhammad, affirm him, support him against those who opposed him, and convey this covenant to those who believed and followed them. Ibn Ishaq cites Qur’an 3:81, in which Allah takes the covenant of the Prophets concerning a Messenger who would confirm what they had and whom they must believe and support.

The notes explain the verb translated “overcome,” a parallel saying about freely given knowledge, and variant readings for “Holy Spirit.” They record differences among manuscript recensions in the report’s opening and a report that the mission began on a Monday, alongside other views.

The passage continues with the covenant: “Have you affirmed this and accepted My charge?” They said, “We affirm it.” He said, “Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses” (Qur’an 3:81). Allah took this covenant from all the Prophets to affirm and support Muhammad, and they conveyed it to those among the People of the two Scriptures who believed them. Ibn Ishaq then relates from al-Zuhri, from ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, from ‘A’ishah: The first stage of Prophethood granted to the Messenger, when Allah intended to honor him and show mercy to His servants through him, was true visions. Whenever he saw a dream, it came true as clearly as the break of dawn. She said that solitude was made beloved to him, and nothing was dearer to him than being alone.

Ibn Ishaq related from people of knowledge that, as the Messenger was being prepared for Prophethood, he would go far from the houses into Makkah’s mountain passes and valleys. No stone or tree did he pass without it saying, “Peace be upon you, Messenger of Allah.” He would turn around, seeing only trees and stones.

The covenant’s “charge” means the weight of the pledge. The notes explain that the visions preceded the Qur’anic revelation and discuss the greeting of stones and trees: al-Suhayli considers it a real greeting brought about by Allah, while also discussing whether it was speech accompanied by life and knowledge or a sound created without them. The narrator is described as reliable; the mountain passes are secluded places between mountains.

The Messenger continued to see and hear this greeting for as long as Allah willed. Then Gabriel came to him with Allah’s honor while he was at Hira in Ramadan. Ibn Ishaq related from Wahb ibn Kaysan, who heard ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ask ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr how the Messenger’s Prophethood began when Gabriel came to him. ‘Ubayd said that the Messenger used to retreat at Hira for a month each year, a practice Quraysh called tahannuth, meaning devotion to righteousness. Ibn Ishaq also quotes Abu Talib’s verse mentioning Mount Hira and those who ascend and descend it.

Ibn Hisham says Arabs used tahannuth and tahannuf to mean the Hanifiyyah, exchanging the sounds fa’ and tha’, as they did in other words. He cites a verse by Ru’bah ibn al-‘Ajjaj. The note also records Abu Dharr’s alternative explanation: tahannuth may mean leaving sin, without requiring the proposed sound substitution. The report continues that the Messenger spent the month in retreat feeding any poor person who came to him, and, when the retreat ended, first circumambulated the Ka‘bah before returning home.

The notes identify Wahb ibn Kaysan and give variant explanations of tahannuth, including worship, devotion, and abstention from sin. “Retreat” is explained as seclusion for worship. Some words in the cited verse differ among copies.

In the year Allah chose to honor him with the Message, during Ramadan, the Messenger went to Hira with his family as he had for his retreat. On the night Allah honored him with the Message and showed mercy to His servants through it, Gabriel came with Allah’s command. The Messenger said: “Gabriel came to me while I was asleep, carrying a patterned silk cloth on which was writing. He said, ‘Read.’ I said, ‘What shall I read?’ He pressed it against me until I thought I would die, then released me and said, ‘Read.’ I said, ‘What shall I read?’ He pressed it against me again until I thought I would die, then released me and said, ‘Read.’”

The source has a variant about whether the month’s name is repeated. A namat is a container or covering. Some commentators identify the written object with the Book mentioned in Qur’an 2:1–2. The wording “What shall I read?” is preserved from the manuscripts; another source has “I cannot read.” Ghatt means to restrict the breath; another recension reads ghatta.

The Messenger said: “He pressed it against me a third time until I thought I would die, then released me and said, ‘Read.’ I said, ‘What shall I read?’ I only said this hoping he would again do what he had done before. He said: ‘Read in the name of your Lord who created; created man from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know’ (Qur’an 96:1–5). I recited it. Then he departed, and I awoke as though the words had been written in my heart. I went out until I was midway up the mountain and heard a voice from heaven: ‘Muhammad, you are the Messenger of Allah, and I am Gabriel.’ I raised my head and saw Gabriel in the form of a man, standing across the horizon. Wherever I looked in the sky, I saw him. I remained standing, neither advancing nor turning back, until Khadijah sent messengers to search for me. They reached the heights of Makkah and returned to her while I still stood in that place. Then he departed from me.” He returned to his family and sat close beside Khadijah. She said, “Abu al-Qasim, where were you? By Allah, I sent messengers searching for you until they reached Makkah…”

The editor notes a commentary that reads the repetition of “Read” as encompassing belief, action, and intention, and the revelation’s themes of divine oneness, rulings, and stories. Al-Suhayli observes that the report says the Prophet was asleep when Gabriel first came, yet awoke after the recitation; ‘Urwah’s account describes the revelation in a way that may indicate wakefulness. He suggests the two reports may be reconciled by an initial appearance in sleep as preparation for the encounter while awake. The verb translated “sat close” means leaning toward or drawing near.