Shama' then said, "O my brothers and sisters, the story of the young mage, as we discussed before, took place many times in history in different parts of the world. Ibn Kathit, with reference to Ibn Abi Hatim, specifies three particular incidents, first, a trench in Yemen. This incident took place during the period of fatrah, the interval between Prophet 'Isa, alayhissalam, and our beloved Prophet (ﷺ), about seventy years before the advent of the Prophet (ﷺ). Second, a trench in Syria; and, third, a trench in Iran. He further states that the incident, also mentioned the Qur'an, in Surah Al-Buruj, is the first one that occurred in Najran, known as the story of Ashab al-Ukhdood. Imam at-Tabari, in his history book, after this incident, followed by the incident the People of the Elephants, who came with an army of elephants for the purpose of destroying the House of Allah in in Makkah. This event took place in the very year in which the Prophet (ﷺ) was born at Makkah. The scholars of hadith have taken this event as a special type of mu'jizah (miracle) of the Prophet (ﷺ). And if we look back further, there were some events which showed signs that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) will be sent." Sparrow said, "Tell us, O Shama'!"
Shama' said, "It has been said that all Arabs trace their origins to Ishmael, the son of Abraham; upon them both be peace, salutation, and homage. However, what is well known to be true is that the 'arab al-'Ariba (the original Arabs) came before Ishmael. Among them were the peoples of Ad, Thamad, Tasm, Jadis, Umaym, Jurhum, and the 'Ameliq, as well as others known only to Allah. Also, these peoples both came before and were contemporaries of al-Khalil.' Yet the 'arab al-musta'riba (the Arabized Arabs), the Arabs of the Hijaaz, were descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham; upon both of them be peace.
The Arabs of the Yemen, the Himyar, are well known to have been from Qahtan, whose name was Muhzam. They were a group of four brothers; Qahtaan. Qaahit, Muqhit, and Faaligh. Most consider that all the Arabs are divided into two strains, those of Qahtaan and those of 'Adnaan. Those of Qahtaan consist of two peoples: Saba' and Hadramawt. Those of 'Adnaan are also from two peoples: Rabi'a and Mudar, the two sons of Nizaar bin. Ma'ad bin 'Adnaan.
Saba' encompasses all these tribes. Saba' 'Abd Shams bin Yashjub bin Ya'rub bin Qahtaan, was the first of the Arabs who was Saba' and that was why he was called Saba'. He he was the first person to he crowned. Some stated that he was a Muslim and that he wrote verses predicting the advent of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). In that poetry are the lines,
"He will control after us a mighty domain,Among them there used to be kings in the lands of Yemen called the tabaabi'a; tubba' in the singular. Their kings would wear crowns during their reign, as also did the Chosroes, the kings of the Persians. The Arabs, used to apply the word tubba' to each king who rules Yemen, alongwith al-Shahr and Hadramawt, just as they applied qaysar to kings rulimg Syria and the peninsula, kisra to those ruling Persia, far'un to Egypt's rulers, al-najaashi to those over Abyssinia, and batlaymuus to India's kings. Balqis was one of the Himyarite rulers of Yemen. They used to he in a state of great felicity, with abundant prosperity and a plenitude of local fruits and produce. However, they lived in rectitude, propriety, and right guidance. But when they replaced God's blessings by disbelief, these kings brought their people to ruin.
A prophet who will give not licence to evil.
After him, other kings from among them will hold sway
Ruling all men, with no dishonour nor disgrace.
After them, rulers of ours will control
And our kingdom will be fragmented.
After Qahtaan a prophet will rule,
Pious, humble, the very best of mankind.
He will be named Ahmad, and I wish
I could be given to live a year after his coming
To supporthim and award him my aid
With all fully-armed warriors and all marksmen.
When he appears, become his helpers
and let him who meets him pass on my greeting."
When their wealth was gone and their lands were in ruin, they were forced to depart. So they scattered into the lower areas and into the higher reaches of the country, in all directions, aydi Saba' (in disarray that is) as the common idiom goes. Some of them settled in Hijaz, the Khuza'a tribe among them; they migrated to the suburbs of Mecca. Others went to Yarhrib, what is now Medina, being the first to settle there. They were later joined by three tribes of Jews: Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Qurayzah, and Banu al-Nadir. These made a pact with the tribes of Aws and Khazraj and stayed with them. Other groups from Saba' moved to Syria and it was later they who became Christian; these were the Ghassaan, 'Aamila, Bahraa', Lakhm, Judhaam , Tanakh, Tanuukhb, and others.
Not all of Saba' left Yemen when they were aftlicted with the torrent of al-'Arm; the majority of them remained. The people of Ma'rib, who had the dam, moved into different parts of the country. All the tribes of Saba' did not leave Yemen, but four went to Syria, while six remained. These were Madhhij, Kinda, Anmar, and the Ash'aris. Anmar was the father of Khath'am, Bajila, and Himyar; so these were the six tribes from Saba' who remained in Yemen. They continued retaining the rights of power and the tabaabi'a kingship until the king of Abyssinia took that position from them through the army he sent under his two generals Abraha and Aryaat. The Abyssinian rule lasted some 70 years until Sayf bin Dhu Yazan, the Himyarite, regained control, and that was a short time before the birth of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
Rabi'ah bin Nasr was one of the tubba' kings of Himyar, he was of the Lakhm tribe and about him is told the tale of his contacts with the two soothsayers, Satih and Shiqq, and how they warned him of the coming of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
Rabi'ah had a dream that alarmed him and that continued to disquiet him. So he gathered every single soothsayer, magician, bird prognosticator, and star foreteller in his kingdom and told them, "I have seen visions that amazed and scared me. Tell me what they were and how to interpret them." They replied, "Relate them to us and we will interpret them." He responded, "If I do tell you what they were, I won't feel secure with your explanation; the only one capable of interpreting them will be someonewho knows what they were before I tell them."
One of the wise men then suggested, "If that is what the king wants, then he should send for Shiqq and Satih. No one is more knowledgeable than they; they will tell him what he asked for."
So the king sent for them, and Satih arrived before Shiqq. he king summoned him and said, "O Satih, I have had a dream which has alarmed me and disquieted me, so tell me about it, for if you comprehend the dream correctly, you will know correctly its interpretation." Satih replied, "I will do so. You saw fire emerge from the darkness, fall on low ground, and consume every living being with a skull (jumjumah)." The king said, "O Satih, you have got it exactly right; so what, in your opinion, is the interpretation of it?" Satih answered, "I swear by the serpent which is between the two harrash, will certainly swoop down on your land, and will then rule over all the land from Abyan to Jurash."
The king said to Satih, "By your father! O Satih, this is indeed distressing and painful for us; but when will this take place-in my own time, or subsequently?" Satih replied, "Nay, indeed, a good while after it-more than sixty or seventy years will elapse." The king said, "Will that dominion of theirs endure, or will it be cut short?" he answered, "Nay, it will be cut short after seventy-odd years have gone by-and then all of them there will be slain or will be expelled from it as fugitives." The king said, "Who, then, will assume that task of killing and expelling them?" Satilh replied, "Iram of Dhu Yazan-who will come forth against them from Aden-and not leave a single one of them in Yemen." The king enquired, "Will Iram's dominion there endure, or will it be cut short?" He replied, "It will indeed be cut short." The king said, "And who will cut it short?" He replied, "A prophet-a pure one-to whom the inspired revelation (al-wahy) will come-from on high." The king asked, "Who will this prophet spring from?" He replied, "[He will be] a man from the progeny of Ghalib bin Fihr-son of Malik b. al-Nadr-his dominion over his people shall last until the end of time." The king said, "O Satih, will time (al-dahr) have an end?" He replied, "Yes, a day on which the first generations and the last generations wil be assembled-the righteous will be joyful on it-but the evildoers shall be made wretched." The king said, "Is what you are informing us true, O Satih?" the latter replied, "Yes, by the redness of the dying sun at evening-and the beginning of the darkness of night-and the dawn when it is complete-what I have told you is undoubtedly true."
When Satih had finished, Shiqq arrived, so the king summoned him. He said, "O Shiqq, I have had a dream that has alarmed and disquieted me, so tell me about it, for if you comprehend the dream correctly, you will know correctly its interpretation," just as he had said to Satih. But he concealed from him what Satih had said in order that he might see whether the two interpretations agreed or differed. Shiqq said, "Yes, you saw a skull-which came forth from the darkness-and fell upon all the land, meadows, and thickets-and devoured everything there with living breath." When that king perceived that the words of the two soothsayers agreed with each other totally, he said to Shiqq, "0 Shiqq, you have got it exactly right, so what, in your opinion, is the interpretation of it?" Shiqq replied, "I swear by the men living between the two barrahs-the blacks will certainly come down on your land-and will seize custody of every tender one from your hands-and will then rule over all the land from Abyan to Najran."
The king exclaimed, "By your father! 0 Shiqq, this is indeed distressing and painful for us; but when will this take place-in my own time, or subsequently?" Shiqq answered, "Nay indeed, a stretch of time after you-then a mighty one, lofty of status, shall rescue you from it-and will make them taste the deepest abasement." The king said, "Who is this person mighty of status?"
Shiqq retorted, "A young man who is guilt-free and faultless and will emerge from the line of Dhu Yazan." The king said, "Will his dominion endure, or will it be cut short?" He replied, "Indeed, it will be ended by a prophet who will be sent who will come with right and justice-among the people of religion and virtue-the dominion will remain among his people until the Day of Separation. One may ask, 'What is the Day of Separation? The reply is, the day on which those near to Allah will be recompensed-invocations from the heavens will be made-which both the quick and the dead shall hear-and on which the people will be gathered together at the appointed place-on which there will be salvation and blessings for those who fear Allah." The king said, "Is what you say true, O Shiqq?" The latter replied, "Yes, by the Lord of heaven and earth-and the highlands and the lowlands which lie between them-what I have communicated to you is indeed the truth, in which there is no dissimulation."
Reference :When Rabi'ah bin Nasr died, all kingship in Yemen reverted to Hassan bin Tubban As'ad Abu Karib. Imam Tabari mentioned from Muhammad Ibn Ishak, when Al-Aakhar or Tubba' II, that is, Tubaan As'ad Abu Karib, came back from the East, he traveled via Yathrib. When he had passed by it at the beginning of his expedition, he had not aroused any feelings of disquiet among its people, but had left behind there in their midst one of his sons, who had subsequently been slain.
Hence, he now came to the town with the intention of reducing it to ruins, extirpating its people and cutting down its date palms. When they heard of his plans, the tribes of Yathrib banded together against him in order to defend themselves. Their chief at that time was 'Amr bin al-Tallah, one of the Banu al-Najjar, and then of the Banu 'Amr bin Mabdzul. They sallied forth to attack Tubba'. When Tubba' had encamped with his troops by the Yathribes, one of the latter from the Banu 'Adi bin al-Najjar, called Ahmar, had killed one of Tubba's followers whom he had found cutting down the date clusters of a tree that belonged to him. He had therefore struck him with his reaping hook and killed him, saying, "The fruit belongs to the one who nurtures it and makes it grow!" After killing him, he had thrown the corpse into a wellknown local well called Dhat Tuman; this naturally increased Tubba's rage against them, and the two sides became engaged in making war and fighting other. The tribes of Yathrib used to fight Tubba' by day but treat him as a guest each night. Tubba' was amazed at this and used to say, "By Allah, these people of ours are generous of heart!"
While he was engaged thus, there came to him two rabbis from the Jews of the Banu Hadl, learned scholars with firmly grounded knowledge, who had heard about Tubba's intention of destroying the town and its people. They told him, "O king, don't do it, for if you persist in carrying out your plan, something will intervene to prevent you, and we fear that you will bring down on yourself speedy retribution. "He said to them, "How can that be?" They replied, "It is the place to which a prophet, who will arise out of the tribe of Quraysh at the end of time, will migrate, and it will be his home and resting place." After having heard these words, Tubba` desisted from what he had intended to do regarding Yathrib, perceiving that the two rabbis had special knowledge and being amazed at what he had heard from them. He departed from Yathrib, took them with him to Yemen, and embraced their religion. The names of the two rabbis were Sukhayt and Munabbih, both from the Banu Hadl and paternal cousins of each other. They were the most knowledgeable persons of their age.
Tubba' then set off towards Mecca on his way to Yemen. When he arrived between Usfaan and Amaj, he was approached by some men of the tribe of Hudhayl. They asked him, "O king, may we lead you to an ancient treasury overlooked by kings before yourself, in which there are pearls, chrysolite, sapphires, gold, and silver?" "Certainly yon may," he replied. They said, "It is a building in Mecca whose people worship it and offer prayers there." Actually the Hudhaylis sought to destroy him by this, since they knew that any king wanting this or being disrespectful there would perish. After agreeing to their suggestion, Tubba' sent word to the two rabbis asking their advice. They replied, "Those people wished only your death and the destruction of your army. We know of no other building than that in the land that Allah The Almighty and Glorious has taken for Himself. If you do as they suggest, you will perish, as will all those with you."
Tubba' asked what he should do when he approached the building and they said he should do the same as those who lived there, that he should circumambulate it and venerate and honour it, shaving his head and acting with humility before it until he left it. The king then asked, "What is it that prevents you both from doing the same?" They replied, "It certainly is the house of our father Abraham, on whom he peace, and it is as we told you, but the people there have created a barrier between us and it by the idols they have set up about it and the blood they shed there. They are unclean and polytheists." This was the gist of their words.
Tubba' saw the good of their advice and the truth of their words and so he summoned the men from Hudhayl, cut off their hands and feet, and continued to Mecca. There, he performed the circumamhulation of the build'ig, made sacrifice, and shaved his head. He remained in Mecca for six days, so they say, providing sacrificial feasts for its people and giving them honey to drink. In a dream he was shown that he should cover the building, so he clothed it with palm fronds. Then, in another dream, he was shown that he should clothe it in something better, so he dressed it with a Yemeni tribal fabric. Again he had a vision that he should clothe it even better, so he covered it with fine sheets and striped cloth. People claim that Tubba' was thus the first to clothe the building. He ordered its guardians from the Jurhum tribe to clean it thoroughly and to prevent any blood, dead bodies, or menstruating women from coming close to it. He also made for it a door and a key.
Subay'a, daughter of al-Ahabb, spoke the following verses for her son Khalid, telling him to avoid sinning in Mecca and reminding him what Tubba' had done there,
"O my son, in Mecca, neither do wrong to the young nor to the old.Shama' then said, "O my brothers and sisters, the scholars of hadith have taken these events as a special type of mu'jizah (miracle) of the Prophet (ﷺ), but the term mu'jizah, in its real sense, refers to an abnormal event shown by Allah to prove the claim of a prophet to having been sent by Him. Therefore, a mu'jizah is shown after a prophet's Divine commission. However, sometimes, it happens that a miraculous event takes place before a prophet's claim to prophet-hood. This, in the parlance of the scholars of hadith, is called irhaas, which means 'prologue or introduction'. The word rahs means a 'foundation stone' (Qamus). As the miraculous events taking place before the advent of prophets or before their claim to prophet-hood are meant to introduce and affirm that soon a particular prophet will be Divinely commissioned, they are referred to as irhas. Many irhasat occurred before the birth and the advent of the Prophet (ﷺ). One of the signs of the coming of our Prophet (ﷺ) is that when his mother became pregnant with him, she saw in a dream that a light came out of her that reached Syria. It was narrated from Khaalid ibn Ma’daan that the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell us about yourself.” He (ﷺ) said, “I am the answer to the prayer of the father of Abraham, and the glad tidings of ‘Eesa, and when my mother became pregnant with me, she saw something as if a light came out of her and illuminated the palaces of Busra in the land of Syria.” The Prophethood of our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) is proven by definitive evidence which no fair-minded person can deny. And Allah knows best."
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.
Allah made it secure, though no towers are built in its courtyards.
Allah made its birds inviolate and also the white-footed crows on Mount Thabir.
Tubba' raided it, but dressed its buildings with new, smooth cloth.
My Rabb 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 Allah 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."
"And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, 'O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad. 'But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, 'This is obvious magic'." - [QS.61:6]
- Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), Volume I, Garnet Publishing
- The History of Al-Tabari, The Sasanids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen, Volume V, trasnlated by C.E. Bosworth, SUNY Pres.
