English Translation

Zayd b. al-Hubab narrated to us: Abu al-Mundhir Sallam b. Sulayman al-Nahwi narrated to me: Asim b. Abi al-Najud narrated to us, from Abu Wa'il, from al-Harith b. Yazid al-Bakri, who said: I set out to complain about al-Ala' b. al-Hadrami to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. I passed by al-Rabadhah, and there was an old woman of Banu Tamim, stranded. She said to me, "O servant of Allah, I have a need with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him — will you convey me to him?" He said: So I carried her, and came to Madinah, and there was the mosque packed with its people, and a black banner fluttering, and Bilal girded with the sword before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. I said, "What is the matter with the people?" They said, "He wants to send Amr b. al-As on an expedition." He said: So I sat down. He said: Then he entered his house, or he said his tent, and I sought permission to enter upon him, and he permitted me, so I entered and greeted him. He said, "Was there something between you and Banu Tamim?" I said, "Yes." He said, "We had the upper hand over them, and I passed by an old woman of Banu Tamim, stranded, who asked me to carry her to you, and here she is at the door." So he permitted her, and she entered. I said, "O Messenger of Allah, if you see fit to make a boundary between us and Banu Tamim, make it al-Dahna'." The old woman grew heated and sat up straight and said, "O Messenger of Allah, to where then would you push your own tribe of Mudar?" I said, "My case is only like what the first man said: a goat carried its own doom — I carried this woman without realizing she would be an adversary against me. I seek refuge in Allah and His Messenger from being like the envoy of 'Ad." He said, "Go on — what about the envoy of 'Ad?" — though he knew the story better than him, but he was drawing him out to tell it. I said: 'Ad suffered drought, so they sent an envoy of theirs called Qayl. He passed by Mu'awiyah b. Bakr and stayed with him a month, who gave him wine to drink and had two slave girls called al-Jaradatan entertain him with song. When the month had passed, he went out to the mountains of Tihamah and called out: "O Allah, You know I have not come for a sick man to heal, nor for a captive to ransom. O Allah, give 'Ad the drink You used to give them." Then black clouds passed by him, and a voice called out from it, "Choose," so he pointed to a black cloud among them, and a voice called out from it, "Take it as fine, scattering ash, leaving none of 'Ad remaining." He said: It reached me that no more wind was sent against them than the amount that would pass through this signet ring of mine, until they perished. Abu Wa'il said: And he spoke the truth. He said: So thereafter, when a woman or a man sent an envoy of theirs, they would say, "Do not be like the envoy of 'Ad."