The History of al-Ṭabarī, Vol. 8: The Victory of Islam: Muhammad at Medina, A.D. 626-630/A.H. 5-8

239 Pages·1997·11.79 MB·English

by  Tabari

The
History of al-Tabari
The Victory of Islam
Volume VIII
Translated by Michael Fishbein
This volume covers the history of the Muslim community and the biography of
Muhammad in the middle Madman years. It begins with the unsuccessful last
Megan attack on Medina,known as theBattle of the Trench.
Events following this battle show the gradual collapse of Macao resistance to
Islam. The out year, when Muhammad set out on pilgrimage to Mecca. the
Meccansat firstblocked the road, but eventually a ten-year truce was negotiated
at al-Hudaybiyah, with Muhammad agreeing to postpone his pilgrimage until
the following year. The Tracy of al-Hudaybtyah was followed by a series of
Muslim expeditions.climaxing in the important conquest of IQraybar. In the fol-
lowing year Muhammad made the so-called Pilgrimage of Fulfillment unop-
posed.
Al-Tabatfs account emphasizes Islams expanding geographical horizon during
this period. Soon after the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah, Muhammad is said to have
sent letters to six foreign rulers inviting them to become Muslims. Another
example of this expanding horizon was the unsuccessful expedition to Mutah in
Jordan.
Shortly afterward the Treaty of al-I;ludaybiyah broke down,and Muhammad
matched on Mecca. The Mec ans capitulated,and Muhammad entered the city
on his own terms. He created the city leniently, and most of the Meccan oli-
garchy swore allegiance to him as Muslims.
Two events in the personal life of Muhammad during this period caused con-
troversy in the community. Muhammad fell in love with and married Zaynab bt.
Jahsh,the divorced wife of his adopted son Zayd. Because of Muhammad's scru-
ples, the marriage cook place only after a Qur'unic revelation permitting believers
tomarry the divorced wives of their adopted sons. In the Affair of the Lae, accu-
sations against Muhammad's young wife `A'ishah were exploited by various fac-
tions in the community and in Muhammad's household. In the end,a Qur'anic
revelation proclaimed `A'isbah's innocence and the culpability of the rumormon-
gers.
This volume of al-Tabari sHutery records the collapse of Meccan resistance to
Islam, the triumphant return of Muhammad to his native city, the conversion to
Islam of the Megan oligarchy, and the community's successful weathering of a
number of potentially embarrassing events in Muhammad's private life.
SUNY Seriesin Near Eastern Studies
Said Amir Arlomand,Editor
ISBN 0-?914-3150-9
The State University of New York Press
Visit ourweb site at http:/www.sunyprc%s.cdu
9 780791
THE HISTORY OF AL-TABARI
AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
VOLUME VIII
The Victory of Islam
MUI;IAMMAD AT MEDINA
A.D. 626-63o/A.H. 5-8
e
The History of al-Tabari
EditorialBoard
Ihsan Abbas, University of Jordan, Amman
C. E. Bosworth, The University of Manchester
Franz Rosenthal, Yale University
Everett K. Rowson, The University of Pennsylvania
Ehsan Yar-Shater, Columbia University General Editor)
Estelle Whelan, Editorial Coordinator
Center for Iranian Studies
Columbia University
SUNY
SERIES IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
Said Amir Arjomand, Editor
00
The preparation ofthis volume was made possible in part by
a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities,
an independent federal agency.
Bibliotheca Persica
Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater
The History of al-Tabari
(Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'1-muluk)
VOLUME VIII
The Victory of Islam
translated and annotated
by
Michael Fishbein
University of California, Los Angeles
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1997 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tabari, 838?-923.
(Tarikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English. Selections]
The victory of Islam / translated and annotated by Michael
Fishbein.
p. cm. - (SUNY series in Near Eastern studies) (The History
of al-Tabari - Tarikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk ) v. 8) (Bibliotheca
Persica)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7914-3149-5 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0-7914-3150-9 (pbk. :
alk. paper)
x. Islam-History. 2. Islamic Empire-History-622-661.
3. Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632. I. Fishbein, Michael. II. Title.
III. Series. IV. Series: Tabari, 838-923. Tarikh al-rusul wa-al
-muliik. English) v. 8. V. Series: Bibliotheca Persica (Albany,
N.Y.)
DS38.2.T313 1985 vol. 8
[BP5 51
909'.097671-dc20 96-30872
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
46
Preface
00
THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-
muluk)by Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari(839-9231, here
rendered as The History of al-Tabari, is by common consent the
most important universal history produced in the world of Islam.
It has been translated here in its entirety for the first time for the
benefit of non-Arabists, with historical and philological notes for
those interested in the particulars of the text.
In his monumental work al-Tabari explores the history of the
ancient nations, with special emphasis on biblical peoples and
prophets, the legendary and factual history ofancient Iran, and, in
great detail, the rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet Muhammad,
and the history of the Islamic world down to the year 9 15. The
first volume of this translation contains a biography of al-Tabari
and a discussion of the method, scope, and value of his work. It
also provides information on some of the technical considerations
that have guided the work of the translators. The thirty-ninth
volume is a compendium of biographies of early members of the
Muslim community, compiled by al-Tabari; although not strictly
a part of his History, it complements it.
The History has been divided here into thirty-nine volumes,
each of which covers about 20o pages of the original Arabic text in
the Leiden edition. An attempt has been made to draw the divid-
ing lines between the individual volumes in such a way that each
is to some degree independent and can be read as such. The page
numbers of the Leiden edition appear in the margins of the trans-
lated volumes.
Al-Tabari very often quotes his sources verbatim and traces the
vi Preface
chain of transmission (isndd) to an original source. The chains of
transmitters are, for the sake of brevity, rendered by only a dash
(-) between the individual links in the chain. Thus, "According
to Ibn I;Iumayd--Salamah--Ibn Ishaq" means that al-Tabari re-
ceived the report from Ibn Humayd, who said that he was told by
Salamah, who said that he was told by Ibn Isl}aq, and so on. The
numerous subtle and important differences in the original Arabic
wording have been disregarded.
The table of contents at the beginning of each volume gives a
brief survey of the topics dealt with in that particular volume. It
also includes the headings and subheadings as they appear in al-
Tabari's text, as well as those occasionally introduced by the
translator.
Well-known place names, like Mecca, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Da-
mascus, and the Yemen, are given in their English spellings. Less
common place names, which are the vast majority, are translit-
erated. Biblical figures appear in the accepted English spelling.
Iranian names are usually transcribed according to their Arabic
forms, and the presumed Iranian forms are often discussed in the
footnotes.
Technical terms have been translated wherever possible, but
some, such as "dirham," and "imam,"have been retained in Ara-
bic forms. Others that cannot be translated with sufficient preci-
sion have been retained and italicized, as well as footnoted.
The annotation is aimed chiefly at clarifying difficult passages,
identifying individuals and place names, and discussing textual
difficulties. Much leeway has been left to the translators to in-
clude in the footnotes whatever they consider necessary and
helpful.
The bibliographies list all the sources mentioned in the anno-
tation.
The index in each volume contains all the names of persons and
places referred to in the text, as well as those mentioned in the
notes as far as they refer to the medieval period. It does not include
the names of modem scholars. A general index, it is hoped, will
appear after all the volumes have been published.
For further details concerning the series and acknowledgments,
see Preface to Volume i.
Ehsan Yar-Shater
46
Contents
9
Preface / v
Abbreviations / ix
Translator's Foreword / xi
The Events of the Year 5 (626/627) / r
Muhammad's Marriage to Zaynab bt. Jabsh / i
The Expedition to Dumat al-Jandal and Other Events /4
The Battle of the Trench / 5
The Expedition against the Banu Quray7,ah / 27
The Events of the Year 6 (627/628) / 42
The Expedition against the Bane Libyan / 42
The Expedition to Dhu Qarad / 43
The Expedition against the Banu al-Mu^laliq / 5 r
An Account of the Lie / 5 7
The Prophet's Lesser Pilgrimage from Which the Polytheists
Turned Him Back: The Story of al-Hudaybiyah / 67
A Report That Khalid b. al-Walid Was Already a Muslim / 71
The Missions to Foreign Rulers / 98
viii Contents
The Events of the Year 7 (628/629) / rib
The Expedition to Khaybar / i 16
The Expedition of the Messenger of God to Wadi al-Qura / 124
The Affair of al-Iiajjaj b. 'Ilal al-Sulam! / 126
The Division of the Spoils of Khaybar / 128
Various Notices / 131
The Lesser Pilgrimage of Fulfillment / 133
The Events of the Year 8 (629/630) / 139
The Expedition against the Banu al-Mulawwiki / 139
Other Notices / 142
'Amr b. al-'A§ and Khalid b. al-Walid Go to Medina as
Muslims / 143
Other Events of the Year 8 of the Hijrah / 146
The Expedition of Dhat al-Salasil / 146
The Expedition Known as al-Khabal / 147
Expeditions Involving Ibn Abi Hadrad and Abu Qatadah / 149
The Expedition to Mu'tah / 152
The Conquest of Mecca / 16o
The Destruction of Idolatrous Shrines / 187
The Expedition against the Banu Jadhimah / 188
Bibliography of Cited Works / 193
Index / 197
Index of Qur'anic Passages / 215