Arabic (Original)
أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ الْقَاضِي أنبأ أَبُو سَهْلِ بْنُ زِيَادٍ الْقَطَّانُ ثنا عَبْدُ الْكَرِيمِ بْنُ الْهَيْثَمِ ثنا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ أَخْبَرَنِي شُعَيْبٌ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ أَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ أَظُنُّهُ عَنْ أَبِيهِ وَكَانَ ابْنُ أَحَدِ الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ تِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنَّ كَعْبَ بْنَ الْأَشْرَفِ الْيَهُودِيَّ كَانَ شَاعِرًا وَكَانَ يَهْجُو رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ وَيُحَرِّضُ عَلَيْهِ كُفَّارَ قُرَيْشٍ فِي شِعْرِهِ وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ قَدِمَ الْمَدِينَةَ وَأَهْلُهَا أَخْلَاطٌ مِنْهُمُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ الَّذِينَ تَجْمَعُهُمْ دَعْوَةُ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَمِنْهُمُ الْمُشْرِكُونَ الَّذِينَ يَعْبُدُونَ الْأَوْثَانَ وَمِنْهُمُ الْيَهُودُ وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْحَلْقَةِ وَالْحُصُونِ وَهُمْ حُلَفَاءُ لِلْحَيَّيْنِ الْأَوْسِ وَالْخَزْرَجِ فَأَرَادَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ حِينَ قَدِمَ الْمَدِينَةَ اسْتِصْلَاحَهُمْ كُلَّهُمْ وَكَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَكُونُ مُسْلِمًا وَأَبُوهُ مُشْرِكٌ وَالرَّجُلُ يَكُونُ مُسْلِمًا وَأَخُوهُ مُشْرِكٌ وَكَانَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ وَالْيَهُودُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ حِينَ قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ وَأَصْحَابَهُ أَشَدَّ الْأَذَى فَأَمَرَ اللهُ رَسُولَهُ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ بِالصَّبِرِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَالْعَفْوِ عَنْهُمْ فَفِيهِمْ أَنْزَلَ اللهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ {وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمَنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا} [آل عمران 186] إِلَى آخِرِ الْآيَةِ وَفِيهِمْ أَنْزَلَ اللهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ {وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ فَاعْفُوا وَاصْفَحُوا} [البقرة 109] فَلَمَّا أَبَى كَعْبُ بْنُ الْأَشْرَفِ أَنْ يَنْزِعَ عَنْ أَذَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَأَذَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ أَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ سَعْدَ بْنَ مُعَاذٍ ؓ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ رَهْطًا لِيَقْتُلُوهُ فَبَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ سَعْدُ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ مَسْلَمَةَ الْأَنْصَارِيَّ وَأَبَا عَبْسٍ الْأَنْصَارِيَّ وَالْحَارِثَ ابْنَ أَخِي سَعْدِ بْنِ مُعَاذٍ فِي خَمْسَةِ رَهْطٍ وَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ فِي قَتْلِهِ قَالَ فَلَمَّا قَتَلُوهُ فَزِعَتِ الْيَهُودُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَعَهُمْ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَغَدَوْا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ حِينَ أَصْبَحُوا فَقَالُوا إِنَّهُ طُرِقَ صَاحِبُنَا اللَّيْلَةَ وَهُوَ سَيِّدٌ مِنْ سَادَتِنَا فَقُتِلَ فَذَكَرَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ الَّذِي كَانَ يَقُولُ فِي أَشْعَارِهِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ بِهِ وَدَعَاهُمْ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِلَى أَنْ يَكْتُبَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كِتَابًا يَنْتَهُوا إِلَى مَا فِيهِ فَكَتَبَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ عَامًّا صَحِيفَةً كَتَبَهَا رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ تَحْتَ الْعَذْقِ الَّذِي فِي دَارِ بِنْتِ الْحَارِثِ فَكَانَتْ تِلْكَ الصَّحِيفَةُ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ عِنْدَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ؓ
English Translation
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qadi informed us > Abu Sahl ibn Ziyad al-Qattan > Abd al-Karim ibn al-Haytham > Abu al-Yaman > Shu'ayb > al-Zuhri > Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Ka'b ibn Malik — I believe from his father, who was the son of one of the three whose repentance was accepted — that Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf the Jew was a poet who used to satirize the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and incite the disbelievers of Quraysh against him in his poetry. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had come to Madinah and its people were a mixture — among them Muslims united by the call of the Messenger of Allah, polytheists who worshipped idols, and Jews who were the people of arms and fortresses and were allies of the two tribes of Aws and Khazraj. The Messenger of Allah sought to reconcile them all when he came to Madinah. A man would be Muslim while his father was a polytheist, and a man would be Muslim while his brother was a polytheist. The polytheists and Jews of Madinah used to harm the Messenger of Allah and his Companions with the worst harm, and Allah commanded His Messenger and the Muslims to be patient with that and to pardon them. About them Allah revealed: {You will surely hear from those given the Book before you and from the polytheists much abuse} [3:186]. And about them Allah revealed: {Many of the People of the Book wish they could turn you back to disbelief after your faith, out of envy from themselves, after the truth has become clear to them. So pardon and overlook} [2:109]. When Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf refused to desist from harming the Messenger of Allah and the Muslims, the Messenger of Allah ordered Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) to send a group to kill him. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh sent Muhammad ibn Maslamah al-Ansari, Abu Abs al-Ansari, and al-Harith, the nephew of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, in a group of five men. He mentioned the hadith about his killing, saying: When they killed him, the Jews and the polytheists among them were terrified. They came to the Messenger of Allah the next morning and said: Our leader was attacked at night and killed. The Messenger of Allah mentioned to them what Ka'b used to say in his poetry and warned them. Then the Messenger of Allah invited them to write an agreement between him, them, and the Muslims that they would abide by, and the Prophet wrote a general document between him, them, and the Muslims — he wrote it beneath the date-palm cluster in the house of the daughter of al-Harith. That document remained after the Messenger of Allah with Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).