Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي يَحْيَى بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْعَصْرِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا شِهَابُ بْنُ عَبَّادٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ بَعْضَ وَفْدِ عَبْدِ الْقَيْسِ وَهُمْ يَقُولُونَ قَدِمْنَا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَاشْتَدَّ فَرَحُهُمْ بِنَا فَلَمَّا انْتَهَيْنَا إِلَى الْقَوْمِ أَوْسَعُوا لَنَا فَقَعَدْنَا فَرَحَّبَ بِنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَدَعَا لَنَا ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلَيْنَا فَقَالَ مَنْ سَيِّدُكُمْ وَزَعِيمُكُمْ فَأَشَرْنَا بِأَجْمَعِنَا إِلَى الْمُنْذِرِ بْنِ عَائِذٍ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَهَذَا الْأَشَجُّ وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ يَوْمٍ وُضِعَ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الِاسْمُ بِضَرْبَةٍ لِوَجْهِهِ بِحَافِرِ حِمَارٍ قُلْنَا نَعَمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَتَخَلَّفَ بَعْدَ الْقَوْمِ فَعَقَلَ رَوَاحِلَهُمْ وَضَمَّ مَتَاعَهُمْ ثُمَّ أَخْرَجَ عَيْبَتَهُ فَأَلْقَى عَنْهُ ثِيَابَ السَّفَرِ وَلَبِسَ مِنْ صَالِحِ ثِيَابِهِ ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَدْ بَسَطَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رِجْلَهُ وَاتَّكَأَ فَلَمَّا دَنَا مِنْهُ الْأَشَجُّ أَوْسَعَ الْقَوْمُ لَهُ وَقَالُوا هَاهُنَا يَا أَشَجُّ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَاسْتَوَى قَاعِدًا وَقَبَضَ رِجْلَهُ هَاهُنَا يَا أَشَجُّ فَقَعَدَ عَنْ يَمِينِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَرَحَّبَ بِهِ وَأَلْطَفَهُ وَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ بِلَادِهِ وَسَمَّى لَهُ قَرْيَةً قَرْيَةً الصَّفَا وَالْمُشَقَّرَ وَغَيْرَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ قُرَى هَجَرَ فَقَالَ بِأَبِي وَأُمِّي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَأَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ بِأَسْمَاءِ قُرَانَا مِنَّا فَقَالَ إِنِّي قَدْ وَطِئْتُ بِلَادَكُمْ وَفُسِحَ لِي فِيهَا قَالَ ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ عَلَى الْأَنْصَارِ فَقَالَ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْأَنْصَارِ أَكْرِمُوا إِخْوَانَكُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ أَشْبَاهُكُمْ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ أَشْبَهُ شَيْئًا بِكُمْ أَشْعَارًا وَأَبْشَارًا أَسْلَمُوا طَائِعِينَ غَيْرَ مُكْرَهِينَ وَلَا مَوْتُورِينَ إِذْ أَبَى قَوْمٌ أَنْ يُسْلِمُوا حَتَّى قُتِلُوا قَالَ فَلَمَّا أَنْ أَصْبَحُوا قَالَ كَيْفَ رَأَيْتُمْ كَرَامَةَ إِخْوَانِكُمْ لَكُمْ وَضِيَافَتَهُمْ إِيَّاكُمْ قَالُوا خَيْرَ إِخْوَانٍ أَلَانُوا فِرَاشَنَا وَأَطَابُوا مَطْعَمَنَا وَبَاتُوا وَأَصْبَحُوا يُعَلِّمُونَا كِتَابَ رَبِّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَعْجَبَتْ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَفَرِحَ بِهَا ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا رَجُلًا رَجُلًا فَعَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِ مَا تَعَلَّمْنَا وَعَلِمْنَا فَمِنَّا مَنْ عَلِمَ التَّحِيَّاتِ وَأُمَّ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّورَةَ وَالسُّورَتَيْنِ وَالسُّنَنَ ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا بِوَجْهِهِ فَقَالَ هَلْ مَعَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَادِكُمْ شَيْءٌ فَفَرِحَ الْقَوْمُ بِذَلِكَ وَابْتَدَرُوا رِحَالَهُمْ فَأَقْبَلَ كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ مَعَهُ صُرَّةٌ مِنْ تَمْرٍ فَوَضَعُوهَا عَلَى نِطْعٍ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَأَوْمَأَ بِجَرِيدَةٍ فِي يَدِهِ كَانَ يَخْتَصِرُ بِهَا فَوْقَ الذِّرَاعِ وَدُونَ الذِّرَاعَيْنِ فَقَالَ أَتُسَمُّونَ هَذَا التَّعْضُوضَ قُلْنَا نَعَمْ ثُمَّ أَوْمَأَ إِلَى صُرَّةٍ أُخْرَى فَقَالَ أَتُسَمُّونَ هَذَا الصَّرَفَانَ قُلْنَا نَعَمْ ثُمَّ أَوْمَأَ إِلَى صُرَّةٍ فَقَالَ أَتُسَمُّونَ هَذَا الْبَرْنِيَّ قُلْنَا نَعَمْ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمَا إِنَّهُ خَيْرُ تَمْرِكُمْ وَأَنْفَعُهُ لَكُمْ قَالَ فَرَجَعْنَا مِنْ وِفَادَتِنَا تِلْكَ فَأَكْثَرْنَا الْغَرْزَ مِنْهُ وَعَظُمَتْ رَغْبَتُنَا فِيهِ حَتَّى صَارَ مُعْظَمَ نَخْلِنَا وَتَمْرِنَا الْبَرْنِيُّ فَقَالَ الْأَشَجُّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ أَرْضَنَا أَرْضٌ ثَقِيلَةٌ وَخِمَةٌ وَإِنَّا إِذَا لَمْ نَشْرَبْ هَذِهِ الْأَشْرِبَةَ هِيجَتْ أَلْوَانُنَا وَعَظُمَتْ بُطُونُنَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا تَشْرَبُوا فِي الدُّبَّاءِ وَالْحَنْتَمِ وَالنَّقِيرِ وَلْيَشْرَبْ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي سِقَاءٍ يُلَاثُ عَلَى فِيهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْأَشَجُّ بِأَبِي وَأُمِّي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ رَخِّصْ لَنَا فِي مِثْلِ هَذِهِ وَأَوْمَأَ بِكَفَّيْهِ فَقَالَ يَا أَشَجُّ إِنِّي إِنْ رَخَّصْتُ لَكَ فِي مِثْلِ هَذِهِ وَقَالَ بِكَفَّيْهِ هَكَذَا شَرِبْتَهُ فِي مِثْلِ هَذِهِ وَفَرَّجَ يَدَيْهِ وَبَسَطَهَا يَعْنِي أَعْظَمَ مِنْهَا حَتَّى إِذَا ثَمِلَ أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ شَرَابِهِ قَامَ إِلَى ابْنِ عَمِّهِ فَهَزَرَ سَاقَهُ بِالسَّيْفِ وَكَانَ فِي الْوَفْدِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي عَضَلٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ الْحَارِثُ قَدْ هُزِرَتْ سَاقُهُ فِي شَرَابٍ لَهُمْ فِي بَيْتٍ تَمَثَّلَهُ مِنْ الشِّعْرِ فِي امْرَأَةٍ مِنْهُمْ فَقَامَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ ذَلِكَ الْبَيْتِ فَهَزَرَ سَاقَهُ بِالسَّيْفِ فَقَالَ الْحَارِثُ لَمَّا سَمِعْتُهَا مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَعَلْتُ أَسْدُلُ ثَوْبِي فَأُغَطِّي الضَّرْبَةَ بِسَاقِي وَقَدْ أَبْدَاهَا اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى.
English Translation
Some of the delegation of Abd al-Qays said: 'We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and they were very happy to see us. When we reached the people, they made room for us and we sat down. The Prophet (peace be upon him) welcomed us and prayed for us, then looked at us and said: Who is your chief and leader? We all pointed to al-Mundhir ibn A'idh. The Prophet said: Is this al-Ashajj? — and it was the first day this name was given to him, due to a blow on his face from a donkey's hoof. We said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He stayed behind the group, tied their camels, gathered their belongings, then took out his travel bag, removed his travel clothes, and put on his best garments. Then he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him), who had stretched out his leg and was reclining. When al-Ashajj drew near, the people made room for him and said: Here, O Ashajj. The Prophet sat up straight, drew in his leg, and said: Here, O Ashajj. He sat at the right of the Prophet, who welcomed him warmly and asked him about his land, naming village by village — al-Safa, al-Mushaqar, and others from the villages of Hajar. He said: By my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah, you know the names of our villages better than we do. He said: I have traveled through your land and it was opened up for me. Then he turned to the Ansar and said: O assembly of the Ansar, honor your brothers, for they are the most similar to you in Islam, most like you in appearance and complexion. They embraced Islam willingly, not by force or through loss, while others refused to accept Islam until they were fought. The next morning he said: How did you find the hospitality of your brothers and their hosting of you? They said: The best of brothers — they softened our beds, made our food delicious, and spent the night and morning teaching us the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet. This pleased and delighted the Prophet. Then he turned to us one by one, and we showed him what we had learned. Among us were those who had learned the Tashahhud, the Opening of the Book, and one or two surahs and the Sunan. Then he turned to us and said: Do you have any of your provisions with you? The people were glad and hurried to their baggage, and each man came with a bag of dates and they placed them on a leather mat before him. He pointed with a palm-leaf stick he was carrying and said: Do you call this al-Ta'dud? We said: Yes. Then he pointed to another bag and said: Do you call this al-Sarfan? We said: Yes. Then he pointed to another bag and said: Do you call this al-Barni? We said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah said: This is the best of your dates and the most beneficial for you. We returned from that delegation and planted many cuttings of it, and our desire for it grew until most of our palm trees and dates were al-Barni. Al-Ashajj said: O Messenger of Allah, our land is heavy and unhealthy, and if we do not drink these beverages, our complexions become pale and our bellies swell. The Messenger of Allah said: Do not drink from gourds, green-glazed jars, or hollowed-out tree trunks. Let each of you drink from a water-skin tied at its mouth. Al-Ashajj said: By my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah, give us a concession for something like this — and he gestured with his hands. He said: O Ashajj, if I give you a concession for something like this — and he gestured with his hands like that — you will drink it from something like this — and he spread his hands wide, meaning larger — until when one of you becomes intoxicated from his drink, he will stand up and strike his cousin's leg with the sword. In the delegation there was a man from the tribe of Adal called al-Harith, whose leg had been struck in such a drinking episode in a house because he recited some poetry about a woman from among them. Al-Harith said: When I heard this from the Messenger of Allah, I began lowering my garment to cover the wound on my leg, but Allah the Blessed and Exalted had already revealed it.'