On the Wife of the Goldsmith from Fadak and Her Progeny. A Study in Jāhilī Genealogical Traditions

fadak.pdf ON THE WIFE OF THE GOLDSMITH FROM A STUDY FADAK IN JAHILI AND HER PROGENY TRADITIONS GENEALOGICAL The section in Ibn al-Kalbi's Jamhara concerning the pedigree of Hisn b. Damdam and of his clan of Kalb 1 may shed some light on the relations between the different groups of the population in the North of the Arabian peninsula in the second half of the sixth century AD; some additional data from other sources enable us to get a better perception of the events. The passage of Ibn al-Kalbi, summarized by W. Caskel ", deserves a closer examination . • •* Al-Harith, the son of Hisn b. Damdam, nicknamed al-Harsha, was the chief of his people. When Fadak was conquered by Kalb in the period of the Jahiliyya his share of the booty consisted of the captives (wa-lahu sara sabyu fadaka hina ftatahahii kalbun fi l-jdhiliyyatii. The very concise report about the conquest of Fadak given by Ibn al-Kalbi is amplified by an account recorded by Abu l-Baqa": al-Harith b. Hisn b. Damdam b. 'Adi b. Janab al-Kalbi, known as al-Harsha, had the right to the pay (ja'ala) imposed on the people of Fadak; when they refused to pay, he raided them 3. Among the captured women was Shaqiqa, the wife of the goldsmith. Wa'il b. 'Atiyya b. al-'Udays (or 'Udas): al-Harith took her to him and she bore him his son Suwayd. Ibn al-Kalbi points out that Shaqiqa was a Jewess and records her ancestors in along' pedigree which goes back to Abraham". Abu l-Baqa' is more precise: the Jewish goldsmith Wa'il was captured together wi th his Jewish wife Shaqiqa 5. Ibn al- Kal bi' s Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara, Ms. Br. Mus. (Esc.) Add. ll, 376, fol. 74a. See W. Caskel, Gamhara( an-Nasan, das genealogische Werk des Hiiiim ibn Muhammad al-Kalbi, Leiden 1966, II, 307 (al-Hari] b. Hisn al-Harsa'), 520 (Suwaid b. al-Harij), (Hisn b. Damdam), 3 Abii l-Baqa', al-Maniiqib al-mazyadiyya fi akhbari l-muluki I-asadiyya, Ms. Br. Mus., Add. 23, 296, fol. 72b inf. - 73b sup. 4 Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 74a. 5 Abii l-Baqa', op. cit., fol. 72b. 1 2 322 account seems to contain a vague indication of the time of this event: the mother of al-Harith b. Hisn was Hirr the daughter of Salama of 'Ulaym, to whom Imru l-Qays referred in amatory language in his poems 6. Imru I-Qays died about 550 AD7, and Hirr should have been a young woman at that time. Other chronological indications may be derived from the additional sources. Both Ibn al-Kalbi and Abu l-Baqa' report about the four daughters of the couple Wii'il and Shaqiqa ; they differ, however, as to their names. Ibn al-Kalbi records Salma, al-Rabi'a, (?) al-Shamiis and Hind; Abu al-Baqa' records: Miiwiya, Najwa, 'Afat (? perhaps 'Uqab - K) and Salma 8; thus only one name is common to both lists: Salma, The couple had also two sons: Ma'bad and 'Ubayd. The progeny of Ma'bad joined the Banu Suwayd b. al-Harith (i.e. the clan of his uterine brother - K); a family of them attached themselves to an Ansari tribal unit, falsely claiming Ansari descent. 'Ubayd settled as a tribal unit in Syria 9. The status of the four daughters can be deduced from Abu l-Baqa's account: they remained with al-Harith, at his abode (... fa-asdba wd'ila bna 'atiyyata l-yahiidiyya l-sd'igha wa-ma'ahu mra'atahu /-shaqiqata, wa-kiinat yahiidiyyatan, wa-arba'a bandtin lahu '" fa-kunna 'indahu); the daughters of the Jewish couple married members of various Arab tribes, while Salma married the king of al-Hira, al-Mundhir b. al-Mundhir, and gave birth to their son al-Nu'man b. al-Mundhir b. al-Mundhir, the last king of the Persian-protected vassal state of al-Hira. Later (i.e. after his death) she married Riimiinis b. Mu'aqqil of the 'Amr b. 'Abd Wudd of Kalb and bore him a son, Wabara. Al-Nu'man and Wabara were thus uterine brothers and this is why al-Nu'man granted Wabara the two settlements: Baradiin and La'la"!". Yaqut records the details about the Ibn al-Kalbi, op. cit., (Esc.), fol. 74a. EF s.v. Imru' al-Kays (S. Boustany). • Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 74a; Abu l-Baqa', op. cit., 72b. 9 Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 74a. 10 Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 74a; cf. Hamza al-Isfahani, Ta'rikh sini muluki l-ard! wa-l-anbiya', Beirut 1961, p. 95 (al-Nu'man is the son of Salma, the daughter of Wa'il, the goldsmith from Fadak); al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, ed. Muhammad Abu l-Fadl Ibrahim, Cairo 1961, II, 194 (Nu'man's mother is Salma, the daughter of wru, the goldsmith from Fadak); al-Ya'qubi, Ta'rikh, Najaf 1384/1964, I, 185 (al-Nu'rnan's mother is Salma, a captive said to be from Kalb); al-Mas'Iidi, MUrUj al-dhahab, ed. Ch. Pellat, Beirut 1966, II, 224, no. 1061 (the mother of al-Nu'rnan is Salma, the daughter of Wa'il h. 'Atiyya from Kalb); al-Jahiz, al-Bayan wa-l-tabyin, ed. Hasan al-Sandilbi, Cairo 1351/l932, III, 156 (Salrna, the daughter of 'Uqab, is the mother of al-Nu'man): cf. G. Rothstein, Die Dynastie der Lahmiden in al-Hira, 6 7 ON THE WIFE OF THE GOLDSMITH 323 kinship relations between al-Nu'man and Wabara and reports that Wabara died in Baradan and was buried there 11. The story of the marriage of Salrna with al-Mundhir b. al-Mundhir (= al-Mundhir al-asghari is presented by Abu l-Baqa' in dramatic terms: al-Mundhir alighted on his way back from one of his raids against Syria in the abode of al-Harith, who welcomed his guest, accomodated him in a tent of hides, slaughtered for him a camel and sent Salma (i.e. the daughter of the Jewish couple captured in Fadak - K) to anoint his hair. When she entered al-Mundhir seized her and raped her. She returned to al-Harith weeping, complaining that his guest dishonoured her. Al-Harith hurried in rage to the tent of al-Mundhir with his sword drawn, and accused al-Mundhir of having put him to shame amongst Kalb. But al-Mundhir answered asking al-Harith : « Did I bring shame upon you by marrying your maid»? Thus he married Salma and set out with her to al-Hira. There she bore him his son al-Nu'man, who became later king of al-Hira. After the death of al-Mundhir Salma returned to Kalb and married Rumanis b. Mu'aqqil of the branch of 'Abd Wudd of Kalb. She bore him Wabara, who was thus the uterine brother of al-Nu'man. Al-Nu'man was satirized as the heir of the goldsmith, the coward 12. According to a tradition recorded by Abu Hilal al-Askan, Salma (the mother of al-Nu'man) was a maid servant of 'Amr b. Tha'laba al-Kalbi 13. During a raid launched by Dirar b. 'Amr al-Dabbi 14 against Kalb he captured Salrna with her mother and two of her sisters. 'Amr asked him to return them, but Dirar, who became impressed by Salma, only agreed to return her mother and sisters. 'Amr appealed to his generosity by saying: « Let the horse (granted as a gift - K) be followed by the bridle », that is: as you have already Berlin 1899 (repr.), pp. 108-109; Jawad 'Ali, al-Mufassal fi ta'rikhi 1-'arab qabla l-isliim, Beirut 1969, III, 261-2. 11 See Yaqiit, Mu'jam al-bulddn, s.v. Baradan ; cf. Abii Tarnmam, al-Wahshiyydt, ed. al-Maymani, Cairo 1963, p. 133, no. 212. 12 Abii l-Baqa', op. cit., fol. 73a (with 8 verses), 3la-b (I verse); the verses are attributed to al-Nabigha, 'Abd al-Qays b. Khufiif al-Burjumi and Murra b. Rabi'a b. Qura' al-Sa'di: cf. W. Ahlwardt, The Diwans of the six ancient Arabic poets, Paris 1913, p. 173 (4 verses); al-Nabigha, Diwdn, ed. 'Abd al-Rahrnan Salam. Beirut 1347/1929,pp. 80-90 (9 verses); Ibn Qutayba, al-Shi'r wa-l-shu'ard', ed. M.J. de Goeje, Leiden 1904, pp. 73 (l verse; the mother of al-Nu'rnan is recorded as Salrna, the daughter of 'Atiyya, the goldsmith), 76 (3 verses; about the alleged authorship of the verses as in Abii l-Baqa'ts Manaqib): al-Jahiz, al-Hayawdn, ed. 'Abd al-Salarn Hartin. Cairo 1385/1966,IV, 377, 379. 13 See on him Caskel, op. cit., II, 185 ('Amr b. Tha'laba b. al-Harith). 14 See on him Caskel, op. cit., II, 242. 324 returned the majority of the captured family, give back the remainder too. Thereupon Dirar returned Salma I 5. The version recorded by Abu l-Baqa' differs in some essential details: when al-Mundhir left the abode of al-Harith b. Hisn b. Damdam with Salma, the daughter of the Jewish goldsmith, given him as a gift by al-Harith, and set out (for al-Hira - K), he was attacked by al-Dirar al-Dabbi, who was at the head of a very strong troop. Dirar robbed him of everything he possessed, including Salma. Al-Mundhir returned to al-Harith and complained of Dirar's action. Al-Harith (who was a friend of Dirar) intervened, and Dirar returned Salma to al-Mundhir together with the other booty. Then al-Mundhir said to al-Harith : «Place the bridle on the horse» (he obviously asked an additional gift); al-Harith then gave him as an additional gift (« the bridle» - K) a sister of Salma, and al-Mundhir set out with both of them to al-Hira 16. The son of Salma from her second marriage, Wabara (according to some reports Hassan b. Wabara) played an important role in the battle of al-Qurnatayn, in which Dirar b. 'Amr al-Dabbi fought courageously with his sons on the side of Wabara (or Hassan b. Wabara) against the 'Amir b. Sa'sa'a who attacked both Tamim and Dabba. According to the account of al-Mufaddal al-Dabbi, al-Nu'man appointed his brother Wabara as governor (,ammalahu) on the Ribab and he headed the forces of Dabba in the battle 17. He was captured by Yazid b. al-Sa'iq and released on the payment of a very high ransom 18. Another tradition, also recorded by al-Baladhuri, gives a quite different account. The attack against the 'Amir b. Sa'sa'a was well planned and prepared by the king al-Nu'man and his brother. Al-Nu'rnan levied a strong force « from the Ma'add tribes and others» under the command of his uterine brother Wabara. Then he sent to Dirar b. 'Amr and summoned him to join his forces. Dirar responded and came with nine of his sons (eighteen according to another account) 19. Al-Nu'man sent a caravan to Mecca and ordered the (warriors escorting the - K) caravan to launch an attack (sci!. suddenly 15 Abu Hilal al-lAskari, Jamharat al-amthiil, ed. Muhammad Abu l-Fadl Ibrahim, Cairo 1384/1964, I, 92, no. 78. 16 Abu l-Baqa', op. cit., fols. 128b, inf. - 129a, sup. 17 Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb ai-ash raj; Ms. fol. 956b (= 1016b). 18 See e.g. Arabica, XV (1968), 156-7; Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 82a inf.82b sup.; idem, Jamhara, Ms. Br. Mus., Add. 23, 297, fol. 123b-124a; al-Marzubani, Mu'jam al-shu'arii', ed. F. Krenkow, Cairo 1354, p. 394 (al-Nu'rnan's brother captured by Yazid b. al-Sa'iq is Ru'ba b. Riimanis, apparently a scribal error for Wabara b. Rumanis); and see al-Nuwayri, Nihiiyat ai-arab, Cairo 1368/1949, XV, 375-77. 19 Al-Baladhuri, Ansiib, Ms. fol. 949a (= 1009a). ON THE WIFE OF THE GOLDSMITH 325 and treacherously - K) on the 'Amir b. Sa'sa'a on the way back, after the arrangements (of buying and selling - K) were accomplished and Quraysh would have come back to Mecca from 'Ukaz The men (escorting the caravan - K) acted according to the plan; but the 'Amir b. Sa'sa'a had been warned by 'Abdallah b. Jud'an and succeeded to defeat the joint forces of Dabba and the troops levied by the king and put under the command of Wabara. Dirar managed to escape, aided by his sons; Wabara was captured by Yazid b. al-Sa'iq and had to pay a very high ransom: a thousand camels, two singing girls and granting Yazid the right to a share in his possessions 20. Some details about the descendants of one of the warriors who fought in the battle give us a hint as to the time in which the battle took place. AI-Mundhir b. Hassan b. Dirar, the grandson of Dirar, was one of the notables of al-Kiifa and gave his daughter in marriage to 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Hakam al-Thaqafi ". Another grandson of Dirar, Harthama, embraced Islam and settled in Basra 22. The daughter of Dirar, Mu'a~havfnarried the Tamini leader Ma'bad b. Zurara and bore him a son;ar::Qa'qa', who converted later to Islam+'. The grandsons and granddaughters of other persons connected with the account of the battle can be traced in the period of the Prophet and of the first Caliphs 24. It is significant that these persons emigrated to Mecca or Medina and their fate was closely connected with some of the Companions of the Prophet. 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf, one of the richest Companions of the Prophet, married Tumadir, the daughter of al-Asbagh b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. al-Harith b. Hisn b. Damdam from Kalb. It is evident that she was the direct descendant of al-Harith b. Hisn, the man who conquered Fadak and captured the family of the Jewish goldsmith Wa'il b. 'Atiyya, Turnadir was the first Kalbi woman married by a Qurashite, says the report. Mus'ab reports further that Tumadir's mother was «Juwayriyya the daughter of Wabara b. Riimanis, who was the brother of al-Nu'man b. al-Mundhir x+", The Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, Ms. fol. 948b-949a (= 1008b-lOO9a). Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, Ms. fol. 949a (= l009a); and see on him Ibn Hajar, al-Isiibafi tamyiz al-sahiiba, ed. 'Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, Cairo 1292/1972, VI, 314, no. 8470. 22 Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, Ms. fol. 949a (= 1009a), penult. 23 Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, Ms. fols. 948b (= lOO8b), 965a (= 1025a); and see on him: Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, V, 452, no. 7133. 24 See e.g. Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, VI, 703 (Yazid b. Qays b. Yazld b. al-Sa'iq), 301, no. 8437 (Mu'adh b. Yazid b. al-Sa'iq). 25 Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, Nasab quraysh, ed. E. Levi Provencal, Cairo 1953, p. 267; and see al-Zubayr b. Bakkar, Jamharat nasab quraysh, Ms. Bodley, Marsh. 384, fol. 95b; Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 95b. 20 21 326 honourable position inherited by the descendants of al-Harith b. Hisn and Wabara can be seen from the account that the Prophet sent 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf to Kalb and advised him to marry « the daughter of their king» if they would embrace Islam. As Kalb responded, 'Abd aI::~i}man married Tumadir ; her father, al-Asbagh, was indeed « the king» (i.e. the chief - K) of Kalb 26. Another report lists three tribal groups tracing their origin to Juwayriyya, the daughter of Wabara b. Rtimanis?". The marriage of the Caliph 'Uthman with another Kalbi woman, Na'ila also reflects the position of the family of the conqueror of Fadak: her father was al-Furafisa b. al-Ahwas b. 'Amr b. Tha'laba b. al-Harith b. Hisn b. Darndam b. 'Adiyy b. Jandal ". * * * It may be of some interest to trace the pedigree and vicissitudes of a Tamimi woman, who emigrated to Mecca and married a distinguished man from the aristocratic clan of Makhziim. Her progeny played an important role in the struggle between the Prophet and Quraysh. Asma', the daughter of Mukharriba 29 from the tribal group of Nahshal b. Darirn of Tarnim, married Hisham b. al-Mughira from the clan of Makhzilm and bore him two sons: Abu Jahl (= 'Amr) and al-Harith ; after her divorce from Hisham, she married his brother, Abu Rabi'a b. al-Mughira, and bore him two sons: 'Abdallah and 'Ayyash 30. The high status of Asma' can be inferred from the report that she was entrusted with the keeping of the document of the boycott Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, Beirut 1377/1958, VIII, 298. Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 74a. 2. Ibn l;Iazm,lamharat ansab al- 'arab, ed. 'Abd al-Salam Harun, Cairo 1962, p. 456 inf. 29 On the reading « Mukharriba» and « Mukharrima » see e.g. the note of the Editor of Jumahi's Tabaqdt jubul al-shu'arii', p. 123, note 2. 30 Al-Jumahi, Tabaqdt fubul al-shu'arii', ed. Mahmiid Muhammad Shakir, Cairo 1952, p. 123, no. 142; Naqa'id Jarir wa-I-Farazdaq, ed. Bevan, Leiden 1908, p. 607; Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara, fol. 36a inf. - 36b sup. (Hisham is said to have been the first Qurashite to divorce his wife Asma' by the zihii: formula; it was his father al-Mughira, who chose for Asrna' her husband after her divorce: his son Abu Rabi'a b. al-Mughira), 67b; Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., p. 318; al-Zubayr b. Bakkar, op. cit., fol. 135a inf. (she was also the mother of Umm Hujayr, the daughter of Abu Rabi'a), 140b (and see the two verses of Hisharn b. al-Mughira, in which he expresses his regret at divorcing Asrna', the daughter of Mukharriba, ib., fol. 141a, sup.); Ibn Sa'd, op. cit., VIII, 300 (she married Abu Rabi'a after the death of her husband Hisharn), V, 443-4, IV, 129 sup.; Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'iib fi ma'rifati l-ashiib, ed. 'Ali al-Bijawi, Cairo 1380/1960, p. 1230, no. 2009, p. 961, no. 1628, p. 301, no. 440; Anonymous, al-Ta'rikh al-muhkam fiman intasaba i1a I-nabiyyi ~alla lldhu 'alayhi wa-sallam, Ms. Br. Mus., Or. 8653, fol. 148a, 1.4. 26 27 ON THE WIFE OF THE GOLDSMITH 327 of the Prophet and his family. Another version says that al-Julas, the daughter of Mukharriba, her sister, kept the document 31. The marriages of the daughters of this Darimi (Tamimi) family with Qurashites are remarkable. Asma', the daughter of Salama b. Mukharriba b. Jandal of Nahshal (Darim, Tamim), married 'Ayyash b. Abi Rabi'a b. al-Mughira. She joined her husband when he set out for his hijra to Abyssinia and there she gave birth to his son 'Abdallah 32. Asma', the daughter of Salama b. Mukharriba, was for a period the wife of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf; his son, 'Abd al-Rahrnan b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf was born from her 33. 'Abdallah b. 'Ayyash married Hind, the daughter of Mutarrif b. Salama b. Mukharriba; she bore him his son al-Harith b. 'Abdallah b. 'Ayyash 34. Al-Harith b. 'Abdallah begot 'Abdallah b. al-Harith b. 'Abdallah; the latter married Umm Aban, the daughter of ['Abbad b.] Mutarrif b. Salama b. Mukharriba and she bore him his son 'Abd al-'Aziz35. Also to be noted are the marriages of the members of this branch of Makhziim (descendants of al-Mughira) with the family of Zurara (Tamim), Abu Jahl married the daughter of 'Umayr b. Ma'bad b. Zurara and she bore him his sons Abu 'Alqama, Zurara and Abu Hajib, Tamim 36. 'Abd al-Rahrnan b. 'Abdallah b. Abi Rabi'a, nicknamed al-Ahwal, was the son of Layla, the daughter of 'Utarid b. Hajib b. Zurara 37. Umm Hujayr, the daughter of Abu Rabi'a 38 married a Tamimi from another family: Abu Ihab b. 'Aziz 39. *** Al-Baladhuri, Ansab, I (ed. Muhammad Harnidullah), 235 sup. Khalifa b. Khayyat, Tabaqdt, ed. Akram Diya' al-Tlmari, Baghdad 1387/1967, p. 234; Ibn Sa'd, op. cit., VIII, 301; Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., p. 319; al-Fasi, al- 'Iqd al-thamin, ed. al-Tanahi, Cairo 1388/1969, VIII, 180, no. 3300; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, VII, 484, no. 10795 (and see ib., p. 492, the elucidation of the relationship between Asma' bint Mukharriba and Asma' bint Salama b. Mukharriba); Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, op. cit., p. 1783; Ibn Hazrn, Jamhara, p. 230; Ibn Hisharn, al-Sira al-nabawiyya, ed. al-Saqa, al-Abyari, Shalabi, Cairo 1355/1936, I, 273. 33 Ibn Sa'd, op. cit., III, 128; Anonymous, al-Ta'rikh al-muhkam, Ms. fol. 113a, inf.; Mus'ab v. 'Abdallah, op. cit., p. 267 (,Abdallah b. 'Ayyash b. Abi Rabi'a was thus the uterine brother of 'Abd al-Rahrnan b. 'Abd al-Rahrnan b , 'Auf, adds Mus'ab). 34 Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., p. 319; Ibn Sa'd, op. cit., V, 28; al-Zubayr b. Bakkar, op. cit., fol. 141b. 35 Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., p. 319; al-Zubayr b. Bakkar, op. cit., fol. 142a, sup. 36 Mus'ab, op. cit., p. 312 sup.; al-Zubayr, op. cit., fol. 135b inf. 37 AI-Zubayr, op. cit., fol. 141a sup. 38 See above note 30. 39 AI-Zubayr, op. cit., fol. 135b, 1.1. 31 32 328 The peculiar verses in the Diwdn of Hassan b. Thabit link the person of Asma' (the mother of Abu Jahl and al-Harith, the sons of Hashim b. al-Mughira al-Makhziimi) with that of al-Furafisa, the father of Na'ila, the wife of 'Uthman : «Had you been a scion of a noble woman you would prove it for her by a noble deed: but you are a descendant of the daughter of 'Uqab »40. The verse is directed against al-Harith b. Hisham who fled shamefully from the battlefield of Badr. 'Uqab is recorded in the commentaries as a slave of the Taghlib. Some daughters of 'Uqab ended up by chance (fa-waqa'a ba'duhunnai at al-Furafisa b. al-Ahwas where they stayed on as slaves. One of these maids was married by a man from Taghlib and bore him a daughter. This daughter was later married by Mukharriba b. Ubayr (sci1. from Nahshal, Tamnn)+'. The commentary gives insufficient details of the slave and the maids. One has thus to consult the other poem in which 'Uqab and the maidslaves are mentioned. The qasida CLXXVIII is headed by an explanatory note: «He (i.e. Hassan) said satirizing al-Harith b. al-Mughira (i.e. al-Harith b. Hisham b. al-Mughira - K); his mother, a Nahshali woman (a descendant of one - K) of the daughters of 'Uqab, a female slave staying with the Banil Taghlib; she (married and) had daughters who bore children in Kalb, Quraysh and in other tribes». The third verse of the qasida runs as follows: «Lo, al-Furafisa b. al-Ahwas is vexed: because of your mother [one] of the daughters of 'Uqab»42. The comrnentary+" does not add much for the understanding of the hints included in the two verses. It is therefore fortunate that Ibn al-Kalbi supplies some additional data about Furafisa. It was Furafisa who obtained the heritage of the goldsmith from Fadak and therefore Hassan uttered the verses against him. Ibn al-Kalbi mentions the other daughters of the goldsmith: al-Rabi'a married 'Arnr b. Kulayb b. 'Adiyy b. Janab and gave birth to daughters who got married with men from Kalb. The other daughter, al-Shamus, married 40 41 42 43 Hassan b. Thabit, Diwdn, ed. Arafat, London 1971, I. 298 (CXLIX 7): Lau kunia din'a karimatin ablaytahii : husnd, wa-liikin din 'a hinti 'uqdbi. Hassan b. Thabit, op. cit., II, 220. Hassan, op. cit., I, 343 (CLXXVIII, 3) : Inna l-furiifisata bna l-ahwasi 'indahu : shajanun /i-ummika min banati 'uqdbi. Hassan, op. cit., 11,246; and see ib .• II, 220: 'Uqab was a slave (not a slave-maid). ON THE WIFE OF THE GOLDSMITH 329 al-Jann from Taghlib and became the mother of 'Anaq. 'Anaq married Mukharriba b. Ubayr from Nahshal; she gave birth to Julas, the daughter of Mukharriba (usually recorded as Umm Julas Asma' the daughter of Mukharriba). Umm Julas bore the two sons of Hisharn b. al-Mughira: Abu Jahl and al-Harith 44. This very pedigree is recorded by al-Baladhuri on the authority of Abu 'Ubayda : Asma' was the daughter of Mukharriba (or 'Amr b. Mukharriba) and 'Anaq ; 'Anaq was the daughter of al-Jann from Taghlib b. Wa'il, and his wife al-Shamiis, the daughter of Wa'il b. 'Atiyya from Fadak "". Abu 'Ubayda gives some additional details about the marriage of Asma' with Hisham. Hisharn met Asma' in Najran ; she was a widow and Hisharn married her and moved with her to Mecca. There she gave birth to his two sons. After his death she married his brother, Abu Rabi'a ; she bore him two sons to046. This has already been mentioned above. A similar tradition about the marriage of Hisham with Asma' is recorded by al-Zubayr b. Bakkar on the authority of Ma'rnar b. Rashid; it contains some more details, such as those relating to the talk of Hisham with Asma', her cleverness and beauty?". The date of the death of Asma' is disputed: some put it at the time of the Prophet, others at the time of 'Umar=". A quite different tradition is recorded in Ps. Asma'I's Nihiiyat ai-arab. 'Adiyy b. Zayd introduced al-Nu'man to the Persian Emperor, telling him that his mother was the daughter of the goldsmith 'Atiyya, who was a Persian. He came by chance to Tayrna' and settled there. He married there. The daughter of the goldsmith, Salma, bore al-Nu'man+". Finally an early tradition identifies the first husband of Salrna as Suwayd b. Rabi'a, the well known Darimi tribesman who killed the relative of the king of al-Hira and caused thereby the slaughter of the Tamimis on the Day of Uwara 50. On his flight from the king of al-Hira Suwayd reached Mecca and became an ally (/:lalif) of the Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamhara (Esc.), fol. 74a inf. Al-Baladhuri, Ansiib, I, 209. 46 Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, I, 208-209. 47 AI-Zubayr b. Bakkar, op. cit., fol. \35b, sup. 48 See e.g. Ibn Hajar, al-Isiiba, VII, 491, no. 10807; al-Baladhuri, Ansab, I, 209. 49 Ms. Br. Mus., Add. 23, 298, fol. 237b inf. ~ 238a. 50 See e.g. on the Day of Uwara : al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, fols. 966b (= 1026b), 968b (= 1028a); among his descendants was Abu Ihab b. 'Aziz who was one of the thieves of the «Gazelle of the Ka'ba »; al-Baladhuri (Ms. fol. 342b) records his pedigree as follows: Abu Ihab b._'Aziz b. Qays b. Suwayd b. Rabi'a b. 'Abdallah b. Darirn ... the halif of the Banii Naufal b. 'Abd Manaf. 44 45 330 Banil Naufal; Asma' reached al-Yaman; she later married Hisham b. al-Mughira. When she bore him his first son she named him 'Arnr (later nicknamed by the Prophet «Abu Jahl» - K) after her father (as the real name of Mukharriba was 'Amr) 51. This account closes the chain of stories in which the fates of the descendants of the goldsmith's daughters are related. *** Some comments on the few passages quoted above may be useful. It is instructive that the Jewish settlement, Fadak, had to pay some tribute to the tribal group of Kalb. The account seems to indicate that the power of the Jewish agricultural settlements in that period, the end of the third quarter of the sixth century, began to decrease; the weakness of the rulers of al-Hira, the sudden changes in the Persian Empire, the rise of the strength of the Arab tribes, the emergence of Mecca as an influential centre in the Arabian peninsula - all these factors explain the successful raid of al-Harith b. Hisn against Fadak and its conquest; it is indeed conspicuous that the account uses the expression: iftatahahii kalbun denoting the conquest of a village or a city. It is noteworthy for the understanding of the event that about the same period the Jewish representative of Persia in Medina was replaced by the Khazraji 'Amr b. al-Itnaba 52, and the dominant position of the Jews in this city declined. The role which Mecca began to play in that period can be deduced from the reports about the migration of membres of different tribes to Mecca. The marriages between Qurashites and members of the tribal immigrants reflect the evolution of a flourishing mixed population, dominated by a well developed Meccan tradition and custom; the immigrants became integrated into the Meccan order and absorbed into the Meccan society. It was a peculiar blend of Jewish, Christian, Kalbi, Taghlibi, Tamimi and Qurashi elements, which produced devoted believers like 'Ayyash, malicious infidels like Abu Jahl and gifted poets like 'Umar b. Abi Rabi'a. 51 52 Al-Baladhuri, Ansdb, fol. 986b (= lO46b). See Arabica XV (1968) 146-8.