Hudhayfah’s Elegy for Abd al-Muttalib

Ibn Ishaq said: Hudhayfah ibn Ghanim, the brother of Banu ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy, mourned Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf. He recalled Abd al-Muttalib’s virtues, the virtues of Qusayy over Quraysh, and the standing of his descendants after him. Hudhayfah had been held in Makkah for a debt of four thousand dirhams; when Abu Lahab, Abd al-Muttalib’s son, passed by, he ransomed him. Hudhayfah said: My eyes, pour tears upon my breast, and do not tire; may rain descend upon you. Pour forth tears, shedding them at every sunrise, like the weeping of a man whom fate has not struck down. He continued: Pour, stream, and flow as long as you both remain, for a man of modesty among Quraysh, a man of dignity; for a man of firm strength and resolve, fair of face, neither weak nor given to empty speech.

[4] Another report attributes the poem to Hudhafah ibn Ghanim, Hudhayfah’s brother and father of Kharijah ibn Hudhayfah, whom another verse addresses. [5] He was the father of Abu Jahm ‘Ubayd ibn Hudhayfah, who gave the Messenger a cloak; the Messenger noticed its pattern and returned it. The source refers readers to al-Rawd al-Unuf. [6] Sabil means rain. [7] “At every sunrise” means every day; “has not struck him” means “has not missed him.” [8] Sahha means pour; jamma means gather and increase; asjima means let flow. [9] These words are an addition in recension A. [10] Hafizah is anger joined with honor. Niks is likened to an inferior arrow set upside down in a quiver; hadhar means excessive, useless talk.

For the noble, generous lord, broad in reach and giving, for Rabi‘ of Lu’ayy, sheltering in hardship; for the best of Ma‘add, barefoot or shod, noble in name, good in nature and origin; best in root, branch, and stock, most honored for noble deeds and remembrance; foremost in glory, forbearance, and good judgment, and in virtue when hard years strip people bare; for Shaybat al-Hamd, whose face shone through the darkness of night like the full moon; for the giver of water to pilgrims, and before him Hashim, and Abd Manaf, the noble master of Fihr; he folded the Zamzam well beside the Station, and his watering became a source of pride above all others. Let every captive in distress mourn him, and all the descendants of Qusayy, poor and wealthy; his sons, the noblest of their elders and young men, were like the chicks emerging from a falcon’s egg; Qusayy, who opposed all of Kinana and guarded God’s House in hardship and ease; though death and its reversals have taken him, he lived fortunate in character and achievement; he left behind leaders, never unarmed, brave as dark, Ridini spears; Abu ‘Utbah, whose gift was bestowed upon me, radiant and fair among a radiant people; and Hamzah, like the full moon, eager to give, pure in clothing and faithful to his pledge.

[1] Bahlul means a noble lord. [2] Most copies read “giving”; Allahā means gifts. Recension A has “generosity,” and another narration reads “good judgment.” [3] Najr means origin or root. [4] Mujhifat are years that consume people’s wealth; ghubr are drought-stricken years. [5] Recension A reads “for bread”; other copies read “for good.” [6] The manuscripts have “al-Fihri”; Sharh al-Sirah has “al-qahri,” meaning one who subdues people, using a verbal noun as an adjective. [7] ‘Ani means captive. [8] Sarat means the finest; the “falcon’s egg” image describes the clan’s young men. [9] Naqibah means one’s nature; maymun al-naqibah is one whose endeavors succeed and aims are fulfilled. [10] ‘Uzzal is a plural form meaning unarmed; masalit means brave, and Ridini spears are spears of great quality. [11] Hiba’ is a gift; hajan al-lawn means white-complexioned.

And Abd Manaf was a noble man of firm resolve, joining kinship and showing kindness to in-laws; their elders were the best of elders, their descendants like kings’ offspring, never dwindling or diminishing. Whenever an up-and-coming man of theirs meets you, you find him following the path of his forebears. They filled the Makkah valley with glory and honor when good deeds were contested in an earlier age; among them were builders of loftiness and guardians of the sanctuary, and their ancestor Abd Manaf mended what was broken. He married his daughter to ‘Awf to protect us from our enemies when Banu Fihr abandoned us. We traveled through the lowlands and highlands in safety under his protection, until caravans crossed the sea. They were settled, while others were scattered; there remained there only the elders of Banu ‘Amr. They built many dwellings there and dug wells that poured water from the depths of the sea, so that pilgrims and others could drink from them when they hastened there on the morning after the Sacrifice.

[1] Recension A reads “to his in-law”; other copies read “to his relatives.” [2] Tasil means to perish; tahra means to dwindle or diminish. [3] Ijriyya, short or extended, is the course or manner in which something proceeds. [4] “Lowland and highland” means the lower and elevated regions. [5] Recension A reads “in his security”; the other copies read “in safety,” which the editor considers a corruption. Al-Suhayli discusses the poetic omission of the pronoun’s yā’ and the treatment of connected speech like pause. [6] “The elders of Banu ‘Amr” means Banu Hashim, whose ancestor’s name was ‘Amr. [7] Recension A has “they built”; other copies have a different form. [8] Thabj is the middle or depth of a thing; the copies differ over the phrase “the depth of the sea.”

For three days their mounts remained penned between the two mountains and the sanctuary; for a long time before that we had been prosperous, and drew water only from Khumm or al-Hafr. They forgave the offense that might have called for vengeance, and pardoned foolish or obscene speech. They brought all the clans of al-Ahabish into alliance, and repelled the aggressors of Banu Bakr from us. Kharijah, if I die, do not cease to thank them until you are laid in the grave; never forget what Ibn Lubna did for you, a deed for which your gratitude is due. You are the son of Lubna, descended from Qusayy, whose lineage reaches where the heart’s purpose ends; you attained the heights and gathered them to an ancient, enduring root of glory. You surpassed the people in generosity and gifts, and became a master among those of abundant honor. Your mother is Sirr of Khuza‘ah, of pure lineage, known to those skilled in tracing ancestry; she descends from the heroes of Saba’— what a noble lineage among the radiant ones! Among them were Abu Shamir, ‘Amr ibn Malik, Dhu Jadan of her people, and Abu al-Jabr; As‘ad led the people for twenty years, upheld in those places by victory.

[1] Most copies read “penned”; another reading is “held.” [2] Al-Akhashib are the mountains of Makkah; two mountains are named collectively. [3] Khumm and al-Hafr are the names of two wells. [4] Hajr means obscene or ugly speech. [5] Al-Ahabish were groups who joined Banu Layth in fighting Quraysh; another account says they allied with Quraysh beneath a mountain called Hubashi. Nakkalu means they restrained and repelled. [6] The wording is “a deed for which your gratitude is due” in recension A; other copies differ. [7] Jusr means resolute and capable in one’s affairs. [8] Sirr means pure or genuine in lineage. [9] Abu Shamir is identified as Malik, called “king of kings”; his son Shamir is said to have built Samarkand. The editor also suggests other possible identifications for ‘Amr ibn Malik and Abu al-Jabr, and records a report about Sumayyah, the mother of Ziyad. [10] As‘ad is As‘ad Abu Hassan ibn As‘ad; these figures were Tubba‘ kings of Himyar, descended from Saba’. The poet cites them as maternal ancestors of Abu Lahab through his Khuza‘ah mother.

Ibn Hisham said: “Your mother is Sirr of Khuza‘ah” refers to Abu Lahab, whose mother was Lubna bint Hajar of Khuza‘ah. The phrase “following the course of its forebears” is transmitted from someone other than Ibn Ishaq.