IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA?L IBN KATHIR 109Even stranger and lengthier than that was what Aba Nu%, al-&kim and
al-Bayhaqi related; the text was given by Aha Nu'aym, may God be pleased with
them all. It comes from a hadith of Abm b. 'Abd Allah al-Bajali, from Aban b.
Taghlib, from 'Ikrima, from Ibn 'Abbas, who quoted 'Ali h. Abil TZlih as hav-
ing said, "When God ordered His Messenger to present himself to the tribes of
the Arabs, he left, along with myself and Aba Bakr, for Mina. There we were
present at a majlzs, a reception, given by the Arabs.
"Aha Bakr, God bless hi, went forward and made his greetings. He was in
the very vanguard of good, and an expert in genealogy. He asked, 'From whom
do you people come?' 'From Rabi'a,' came their reply.
"'From which Rabi'a are you, from its mainstream or from a branch?'
"'From its greatest mainstream.'
"Aba Bakr asked them, 'Is 'Awf of you, of whom it was said, "There is no
haw, no heat, in the 'Awf valley?"'
"'No,' they told him.
"'Do Bis@m b. Qays Ahn al-Liwa' and Muntaha al-*ya' belong to your tribe?'
"'No,' they replied.
"'Is al-Hawfazan b. Shurayk, the killer of kings and robber of their souls, a
kinsman of yours?'
"'No,' they replied.
"'Is Jassas b. Murra h. Dhuhl, the protector of honour and defender of the
neighbour, from you?'
"'No,' they said.
"'Is al-Muzdalif, he of the unique turban, from you?'
"'No,' they replied.
"'Are you related to the kings of Kinda?' he asked.
"'No,' they replied.
"'Are you related to the kings of Lakhm?' he asked.
"'No,' they replied.
"Ahn Bakr, God bless him, then commented, 'So you're not from its main-
stream, but from a hranch.'
"At that a youth named Daghfal h. Hanzala al-Dhuhli, his beard beginning to
sprout, jumped up and grabbed the bridle of Aba Bakr's camel, reciting, 'Those
who ask of us will be asked of; as for the burden (of proof) we neither know it
nor bear it (as a responsibility).'
"He also commented, 'Hey, you, you asked and we replied, hiding nothing
from you. We want to ask you something; who are you?'
"He replied, 'A man of Quraysh.'
"The youth commented, 'Well sa~d! You are a people of leadership and
power, the vanguard and guide of the Arabs. What part of Quraysh?'
"He replied, 'I'm of the Bann Taym b. Murra.'
"The youth asked again, 'So you shot the bowman right through his mouth!
Is Qusayy b. Kilab, he who killed at Mecca those trying to conquer it, a kinsman