Page:Baladhuri-Hitti1916.djvu/115

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The Capitulation of Najrân
99

Prophet made it a condition on them that they neither take nor give usury.

The two monks of Najrân and the Prophet. Al-Ḥusain ibn-al-Aswad from al-Ḥasan:—There came to the Prophet two monks from Najrân.[1] The Prophet proposed Islâm to them, and they replied, "We embraced Islâm before thou didst." To this the Prophet replied, "Ye have told a lie. Three things keep you from Islâm: pork eating, cross-worship and the claim that Allah has a son." "Well then," said they, "who is ʿÎsa's father?" Al-Ḥasan adds that the Prophet was never too quick but always waited for Allah's command. Hence the text revealed by his Lord:[2] "These signs and this wise warning do we rehearse to thee. Verily, Jesus is as Adam in the sight of Allah. He created him of dust: He then said to him, 'Be'—and he was," etc. to "on those who lie."

This the Prophet repeated to them and then asked them to join with him in imprecating the curse of Allah upon whichever of them was wrong,[3] taking hold of the hands of Fâṭimah, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusain. At this, one of the two monks said to the other, "Climb the mountain and do not join with him in imprecating the curse, for if thou shouldst, thou wouldst return with the curse on thee." "What shall we do then?" asked the other. " I believe," said the former, "we had better give him the kharâj rather than join with him in imprecating the curse."[4]

A statement of the treaty. Al-Ḥusain from Yaḥya ibn-Âdam who said:—"I copied the statement of the Prophet to the people of Najrân from that of a man who took it from al-Ḥasan ibn-Ṣâliḥ. These are the words:

  1. Yâḳût, vol. iv, pp. 751–757.
  2. Kor., 3: 51.
  3. Cf. Kor., 3: 54.
  4. mubâhalah. Bukhâri, vol. iii, pp. 167–168; abu-l-Faraj, Aghâni, vol. x, p. 144.