The Thirty Fifth Narration: Bara ibn ‘Azib radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrates, “When Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam went for ‘umrah in the month of Dhu al Qa’dah, the people of Makkah did not allow him to enter Makkah till he agreed to conclude a peace treaty with them by virtue of which he would stay in Makkah for three days only [in the following year]…..

The Thirty Fifth Narration

عن البراء بن عازب رضي الله عنه قال اعتمر النبي صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم في ذي القعدة فأبى أهل مكة أن يدعوه يدخل مكة حتى قاضاهم على أن يقيم بها ثلاثة أيام فلما كتبوا الكتاب كتبوا هذا ما قاضى عليه محمد رسول الله فقالوا لا نقر بها فلو نعلم أنك رسول الله ما منعناك لكن أنت محمد بن عبد الله قال أنا رسول الله و أنا محمد بن عبد الله ثم قال لعلي امح رسول الله قال لا و الله لا أمحوك أبدا فأخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم الكتاب فكتب هذا ما قاضى عليه محمد بن عبد الله لا يدخل مكة سلاح إلا في القراب و أن لا يخرج من أهلها بأحد إن أراد أن يتبعه و أن لا يمنع أحد من أصحابه أراد أن يقيم بها فلما دخلها و مضى الأجل أتوا عليا فقالوا قل لصاحبك اخرج عنا فقد مضى الأجل فخرج النبي صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم فتبعتهم ابنة حمزة يا عم يا عم فتناولها علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه فأخذ بيدها و قال لفاطمة رضي الله عنها دونك ابنة عمك احمليها فاختصم فيها علي و زيد و جعفر فقال علي أنا أحق بها و هي ابنة عمي و قال جعفر ابنة عمي و خالتها تحتي و قال زيد ابنة أخي فقضى بها النبي صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم لخالتها و قال الخالة بمنزلة الأم و قال لعلي أنت مني و أنا منك و قال لجعفر أشبهت خلقي و خلقي و قال لزيد أنت أخونا و مولانا

Bara ibn ‘Azib radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrates, “When Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam went for ‘umrah in the month of Dhu al Qa’dah, the people of Makkah did not allow him to enter Makkah till he agreed to conclude a peace treaty with them by virtue of which he would stay in Makkah for three days only [in the following year].

When the agreement was being written, the Muslims wrote, ‘This is the peace treaty, which Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has concluded.’

The infidels said (to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), ‘We do not agree with you on this, for if we knew that you are the Messenger of Allah we would not have prevented you from anything, but you are Muhammad, the son of ‘Abdullah.’

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘I am the Messenger of Allah and I am Muhammad, the son of ‘Abdullah.’

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then said to ‘Ali, ‘Erase Messenger of Allah’

‘Ali said, ‘No, by Allah, I will never erase you [i.e. your name].’

Then Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam took the writing sheet—and he did not know how to write—and he wrote [got the following written], “This is the peace treaty which Muhammad, the son of ‘Abdullah, has concluded: Muhammad should not bring arms into Makkah except sheathed swords, and should not take with him any person of the people of Makkah, even if such a person wanted to follow him, and if any of his Companions wants to stay in Makkah, he should not forbid him.’

[In the next year] When Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam entered Makkah and the allowed period of stay elapsed, the infidels came to ‘Ali and said, ‘Tell your Companion [Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] to go out, as the allowed period of his stay has finished.’

So Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam departed [from Makkah] and the daughter of Hamzah followed him shouting, ‘O Uncle, O Uncle!’

‘Ali took her by the hand and said to Fatimah, ‘Take the daughter of your uncle.’

So she made her ride on her horse.

[When they reached Madinah] ‘Ali, Zaid, and Jafar quarrelled about her.

‘Ali said, ‘I took her for she is the daughter of my uncle.’

Jafar said, ‘She is the daughter of my uncle and her aunt is my wife.’

Zaid said, ‘She is the daughter of my brother.’

On that, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam gave her to her aunt and said, ‘The aunt is of the same status as the mother.’

He then said to ‘Ali, ‘You are from me, and I am from you.’

He said to Jafar, ‘You resemble me in appearance and character.’

And he said to Zaid, ‘You are our brother and our freed slave.’”[1]

Commentary and Lessons Learnt from this Narration:

There is virtue in this narration for a group of the Ahlul Bayt namely, Hamzah, ‘Ali, Jafar, and the beloved freed slave Zaid radiya Llahu ‘anhum.

The virtue of Jafar ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu with Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam giving him the mantle of resemblance, “You resemble me in appearance and character”. This is an accolade not granted to anyone besides him. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says regarding the character of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيْمٍ

And indeed, you are of a great moral character.[2]

Another virtue of Jafar radiya Llahu ‘anhu which can be gleamed from this narration is his correct judgment which Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

When the Ahlul Bayt come to the Imam with a disagreement, he should, after judging according to the teachings of the Shari’ah, appease them all. A token of gratitude to their lineage and following in the footsteps of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. In cases that involve others the same would not be emphasised.

This narration refutes the notion that some hold regarding the infallibility of some individuals amongst the Ahlul Bayt. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to Jafar radiya Llahu ‘anhu, “You resemble me in appearance and character”. However, this did not result in any of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum or the Tabi’in invoking his infallibility.

The virtue of Hamzah’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu daughter by the following:

a. The love of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam for her and his attention to her case.

b. The love of ‘Ali and Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anhuma for her and their care for her. They looked after her on the journey from Makkah to Madinah.

c. Her love for the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Ahlul Bayt.

d. He being the means of many laws of Shari’ah been enacted.

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam decided that she would stay with Jafar radiya Llahu ‘anhu as his wife, Asma’ bint ‘Umays, was her maternal aunt. The maternal aunt is just like the mother in compassion. This is a virtue in the right of both husband and wife.

The female claiming custody of the female child will be entitled to custody, as long as her marriage is to a close relative of the child as opined by Imam Ahmed.

The statement of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to ‘Ali, “You are from me, and I am from you” has many connotations to it. Hafiz writes in Fath al Bari:

In lineage, relationship through marriage, love and other aspects. A connection based solely on family relations was not intended here as Jafar and ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma were the same in that facet.

Zaid radiya Llahu ‘anhu called her my brother’s daughter due to the brotherhood Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had established between him and Hamzah radiya Llahu ‘anhu before the hijrah and after as mentioned by Ibn al Qayyim. This establishment of brotherhood is expressly mentioned in other narrations of this incident in al Musnad and other books on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.

The daughter of Hamzah radiya Llahu ‘anhu called Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ‘O uncle’ out of respect as Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was actually her cousin. Another reason could be that because Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and Hamzah radiya Llahu ‘anhu were foster brothers she had known him as her uncle. This is clear from other narrations wherein ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu asked Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam if he would marry the daughter of Hamzah upon which Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “She is the daughter of my foster brother.”

Situations of ease cannot be equated to situations of difficulty. Similarly, times of power cannot be equated to times of weakness. The Imam can therefore agree to terms in times of weakness that would not be allowed in times of strength. Just as this is the teachings of the Shari’ah, it is also logical and holds much wisdom.

‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu took her by her hand as she was a child at the time as is established by other narrations. If she wasn’t young, ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu would not have held her as she was his cousin and therefore not his mahram. The narrations also indicate that he suggested Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam marry her after she had reached a marriageable age.

NEXT⇒ The Thirty Sixth Narration

[1] Reported by al Bukhari as above, Muslim only reported the portion pertaining to Hudaybiyyah.

[2] Surah al Qalam: 4.

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