Notes on a Papyrus Account of the ʿAqaba Meeting

Papyrus_Aqaba.pdf NOTES ON THE PAPYRUS ACCOUNT OF THE 'AQABA MEETING The four pages of the Schott-Reinhardt Papyrus containing the account by Wahb b. Munabbih about the meeting at aVAqaba 1 form one of the earliest documents dealing with the crucial event of the alliance between Mul},ammad and his followers from al-Madina. This document edited by Gertrude Melamede with great care and accuracy 2 contains, however, some words or phrases which the editor was unable to decipher 3, and others which she misread. In the first section of this article an attempt has been made to decipher some words and phrases important for the understanding of the text; in the second and third some traditions about the attendance of aVAbbas at the meeting of al-'Aqaba are discussed. I 49, 1.6:‫ ﺗﺘﻲ‬of Messenger،‫. . . . ﻧﻬﻤﻢ ﻟﻘﻴﻪ ﻣﻦ ﺍﺗﻪﻭﺳﺮﺍ‬ Allah met some of them and they a number of their people.:. The correct reading is not.:r ~..lC. but r~ I rJ.A..c.; the undeciphered Papyrus p. 2, 1.8 48, 1.4 = p. = «And the transl.p. r~Js.~r."AJ1 rJ.A..c. o~ti word is o.,r,a.ti; thus the text reads as follows: .:r .iii I J.,...) ,,;; ~ ~ «And‫ﻘﻮﻡ ﺑﻤﺘﺪﻡ ﺧﺒﺮﻩ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻬﻢ ﻟﺘﻴﻪﻣﻦ ﺍﻧﻪ ﺭﺳﺮﻝ ﻓﻠﻔﻲ‬ ormed him about the arrival of the people and about their number.:. Papyrus p. 2, 1.12 =. p. 48, 1.8: the word undeciphered is probably: ~ 1 C. H. BECJO!:R, Papyri Sohott-Reinhardt 1, Heidelberg 1906, p. 8-9; see Nabia ABBO'l"l', 8tudtB. "" ANI/to Utera", Panri I, Chicago 1951, pp. 61-64; eomp. WATT, J(~mtnad at J(tJCCa, pp. 146-148. II M.o., 1984, pp. 11-58. a See the remark of G. M:iLA.ldDB, op. mt., p. 20 : c The writing is often very indistinct and sometimes impoBBible to decipher.:. 403 404 Papyrus p. 2,1.16 V"~I V"~I J. M. KISTER = p. 48,1.10 = transl. P. 50,1.21 : (~) ~ r*l r*l The reading is with all probability: r ';1 I.!.UjS r ~ ,;! «When (as) they were in this situation aVAbbiis passed by s. The reading of the missing word in the next line is evidently [V"L:JI'"';)'J..;. ~ «who are these men s. The answer of the Prophet: «these are my maternal uncles and your maternal uncles» 4 is elucidated by a tradition quoted by al-Dhahabi" : aVAbbiis taking the oath of allegiance from the An~r stressed that the mother of 'Abd al-Muttalib was from the people of al-Madina, from the Banu al-Najjar. She was in fact from the Banu al-Najjar ; her name was Salma bint 'Amr b. Zayd b. Labid b. Khidash b. Ghanm b. 'Adiyy b. aI-Najjar 6. Papyrus p. 2,1.18 = p. 48, inf. = transl. 49 penult. ~ly:.f Jli ~pli ..~r r.J ~j.J .I..l."....).J ..:i\4~T J.i c:;.;LI.J V".J~" ~ I.!.Uly:.f.J «-My maternal uncles and your maternal uncles, the Aus ':i.J~; and the Khazradj have believed in Allah and His Messenger. And they thought that when they acted in this way they would ». The translation qu¢ed above is inaccurate. The undeciphered word is the correct translation is as follows: «My maternal uncles and your maternal uncles, the Aus and the Khazradj have believed in Allah and His Messenger. They asserted, and they are about to act as they asserted, that they would aid me ... etc.» The phrase ~pli is a «val» clause. r.J Papyrus p. 2,1.20 = p. 50,1.1 =transl. p. 51,1.1 (.4ti Jli .1.:6.) V"~IJ« (He said) : and aVAbbiis permitted him to leave» The reading and the translation are both erroneous: AVAbbiis See note 24. T8.rikh I, 178; it is quoted on the authority of Miis8.b. -Uqba., probably from his Maghazi. 6 MUIiI'abl-Zubayrj, Nasab Quraysh (ed. LEVI-PROVENCAL), a p. 15; Ibn I;Iazm, Jamharat Ansab al -Arab (ed. LEVI·P'BOVENCAL), p. 12; eomp, the story of the death of Amina, the mother of the prophet on her way back to Mecca from a visit of her maternal uncles of the al Najjar: Ibn Hishlim, Sira, I, 177; and see Mul)..b. I;Iabib, Ummahat aZ·Nabi, p. 2 a, 1. 7·11 (Baghdad 1952). 4 I) THE PAPYRUS ACCOUNT OF THE