The fact that ʿAbbās, in his speech, made insinuations toward Esʿad b. Zurāra and his companions, deeply offended Esʿad b. Zurāra. He said to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah! Allow us, so that—without distressing you or objecting with anything you would dislike, but only to confirm our response and our iman (faith) in you—we may reply to him.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Reply to him, but without accusation!” Thereupon, Esʿad b. Zurāra turned to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah! Every invitation, whether gentle or harsh, has its own way and method.
Today, the invitation you have made is one that will make people frown and will weigh heavily upon them: You have invited us to abandon the religion we have adhered to for so long and to follow your religion—which, though it is something very difficult and burdensome, we have accepted your proposal! You have invited us to sever all our close and distant ties of kinship and neighborliness with people! This too, though it is something very difficult and burdensome, we have accepted your proposal as well!
We, in our homeland, are a community that is honored and protected from every aggression; not only are we such that no one from our tribe would ever leave us alone, but even in the case of a person whom even his uncles wished to hand over to his enemies to be killed, no one but ourselves could ever aspire to lead us—and although accepting this is very difficult for us, we have accepted your proposal in this matter as well. Indeed, all these things are not at all pleasing in the eyes of people, except for those to whom Allah has granted the resolve to seek hudā (guidance) and the hope of attaining good outcomes—but we have accepted your proposal in this matter as well, by affirming it with our tongues and confirming it in our qalb (hearts)!
We will pledge allegiance to you, believing in what you have brought from Allah and confirming it with a maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) that has settled in our qalb (hearts)! We will pledge allegiance to our Lord, your Lord! The Hand of Power of Allah is over our hands! Our blood is with your blood, our hands are with your hand! We will defend and protect you just as we defend and protect ourselves, our sons, and our women! If we break this covenant, let us be wretched, wicked people who have broken Allah’s covenant! O Messenger of Allah! This is our oath of loyalty to you!
Sources
- Abū Nuʿaym, Dalāʾil, 1/302.
- 28. Ibn Saʿd, 1/222.
- 29. Ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Hishām, 2/84, al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 2/238, al-Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil, 2/446, Ibn Sayyid, 1/162, al-Dhahabī, Tārīkh, p. 302, Ibn Kathīr, Bidāya, 3/160.
- 30. Ibn Saʿd, 4/9, al-Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil, 2/450, al-Haythamī, 6/48.
- 31. Ibn Saʿd, 1/222, al-Balādhurī, Ansāb, 1/254, al-Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil, 2/450, al-Haythamī, 6/48.
- 32. Ibn Saʿd, 4/8.
- 33. Ibn Saʿd, 4/8, al-Balādhurī, Ansāb, 1/254.