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Poetry on Prophet Muhammad by Imam Abu al-Abbas Abdullah b. Muhammad al-Naashi
I praised the Messenger of God, seeking by praising him a plenitude of the best of rewards for myself;
I praised a man beyond praise, unique in his qualities, far beyond others far or near,
A Prophet whose light shone high in places east, his gifts apparent to the people of places west.
The prophets brought him to us before his coming, news of him spreading on all sides.
The foretelling divines began calling his name, using it to fend off the impact of misleading ideas.
Idols were given voice declaring to God their innocence of those who told the untruths.
They spoke in clear words to the unbelievers, ‘A prophet has come to you from Lu’ayy b. Ghalib.
And evil spirits wanted to eavesdrop hut shooting stars scattered them from their seats.
He led us to where we would never have found our way, so lengthy was our blmdness to clear philosophies.
He brought evidences showing that they were signs from one Almighty in reward and punishment
One of which was the splitting of the moon in two, mountain tops then being covered as if by a turban by the moonbeams.
And another was the rising of water springs between his fingertips while no wells or pools were near.
And another was the rising of water springs between his fingertips while no wells or pools were near.
By it he quenched the thirst of a large crowd; and the water flowed into rivulets in all directions, down to the plain land.
And a well brimmed over at his arrow’s touch, one before too dry for a single drinker’s palate.
And the udder flowed to his palm’s rub, which before when squeezed for liquid had no teat to respond to a milkman’s touch.
And there was eloquent utterance from the hand of a fortune teller about plans of an enemy bent on attack.
And his being told of matters before their being, and of the after-effects to come when these did arise.
And from those signs there was revelation he brought, one that is expedient, to come with a multitude of wonders.
Thought could not conceive of it (Quran), and so the like of which no eloquent man could articulate, nor did it occur to the mind of any preacher.
It encompassed all knowledge, embraced all wisdom, eluding the aim of the scheming and deceitful.
He brought it to us, not through a trickster’s tales, a scribe’s pages, or an author’s description.
Revelation comes to him sometimes to answer a questioner, to respond to a solution seeker, or in the exhortation of someone who is conversing;
For the bringing of proofs, the imposition of laws, the telling of narration, or the interpretation of purpose;
For the quotation of proverbs, the proving of a case, the revealing of some disbeliever, or the suspension of a liar;
In the meeting of some assembly, in the thick of some battle, or as difficult, puzzling problems occur.
So, it came down in different ways, with straight-out meaning and flowing varieties.
Its verses confirm each other, as if their meanings were scrutinized by a watchful eye.
And the inability of man to achieve such as we have described is well known by the many who attempted (to imitate it).
[Al-Sira al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pg. 78-79]
Pre-Islamic poetry by a mother to her son on the sanctity of Ka’bah
Subay’a, daughter of al-Ahabb, spoke the following verses for her son Khalid b. ‘Abd Manaf b. Ka’b b. Sa’d b. Taym b. Murra b. Ka’b b. Lu’ayy b. Ghalib, telling him to avoid sinning in Mecca and reminding him what Tubba (Yemeni ruler) had done there:
“0 my son, in Mecca, neither do wrong to the young nor to the old.
Preserve its sanctity, my son, and let not conceit confuse you.
Whoever sins in Mecca, my son, meets extreme disaster.
His face, my son, shall be beaten, his cheeks consumed by fire.
I have tested this there, my son, and found those harming it perish.
God made it secure, though no towers are built in its courtyards.
God made its birds inviolate and also the white-footed crows on Mt. Thabir.
Tubba’* raided it but dressed its buildings with new, smooth cloth.My God humbled his power there, so he made proper sacrifice,
Walking barefoot towards it, in its courtyard,
And offering two thousand camels,
Well-feeding its people the flesh of Mahry camels and cattle,
Giving them strained honey and barley-water to drink.
And God destroyed the army of the elephants, casting rocks amongst them,
Ending their rule in far distant lands, in Persia and Khazir.
So hear when this is told, and understand how things ended.”
*Tubban (Yemeni ruler) As’ad Abu Karib was asked to come and plunder Kabah as it contains pearls, chrysolite, sapphires, gold, and silver according to them. King asked two Jewish rabbis about this and they warned him not to go ahead with this plan as he would perish if he tries to destroy it. Instead, they asked him to respect it and do the same as those living there. He was the first to clothe the Ka’bah and made for it a door and a key.
[By Ibn Ishaq as mentioned in Al-Sira al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pg. 14-15]
Dhee Suwaiqatain Will Destroy Ka’bah – May Allah Disfigure him
Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiAllahu anhu) related that he heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say,
“Dhu As-Suwaiqatain, who is from Habasha (Ethiopia), will destroy the Ka’bah; he will steal its jewels and remove from it its covering. It is as if I am looking at him – Usaili’an (one who has a receding hairline or who is bald), Ufaidi’an (having crooked joints). He will strike it with his Masaahiyah (a steel shovel) and his Mai’wal (a huge axe that is used to pierce through rocks).”
(Ahmad) This chain is good and strong.
Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiAllahu anhu) related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Leave Habasha (Ethiopia) alone so long as they leave you alone, for none shall remove the treasure of the Ka’bah except for Dhu As-Suwaiqatain, who is from Habasha.”
(Abu Daawood)
Ibn ‘Abbaas (radiAllahu anhu) related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“It is as if I am looking at him — (he is) black and bowlegged. He will tear it (i.e. the Ka’bah) down, stone by stone.”
(Ahmad)
Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Dhu As- Suwaiqatain is from Habasha; he will destroy the House of Allah (the Ka’bah).”
(Related by Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzaar) And Muslim related it through a different chain.
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