English Translation of al-Jahshiyari’s Kitab al-Wuzaraʾ wa al-Kuttab: 3: Scribes of the Prophet [pbuh]
The First to Use ʿAmmā Baʿd
It is also reported that David, Prophet Dāwūd, was the first to say “ammā baʿd” — “as for what follows” — and that this is the separator in speech.
Another riwāyah attributes the phrase “ammā [baʿd]” to Qus b. Sāʿidah.
Names of Those Authentically Known as Scribes of the Messenger of God
ʿAlī and ʿUthmān
ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān used to write the revelation. When they were absent, it was written by Ubayy b. Kaʿb and Zayd b. Thābit.
Khālid and Muʿāwiyah
Khālid b. Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ and Muʿāwiyah b. Abī Sufyān wrote correspondence on his behalf regarding his needs.
Al-Mughīrah, al-Ḥuṣayn, Ibn Arqam, and al-ʿAlāʾ
Al-Mughīrah b. Shuʿbah and al-Ḥuṣayn b. Numayr wrote documents involving transactions between people. ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Arqam b. ʿAbd Yaghūth and al-ʿAlāʾ b. ʿUqbah used to write documents concerning the tribes, their watering rights, and residential matters among the Anṣār, including between men and women.
Zayd b. Thābit
Zayd b. Thābit used to write to kings, in addition to writing revelation. It is narrated from him that he said: “I was writing for the Messenger of God one day, and he stood to attend to something. He said to me: ‘Place the pen on your ear—for that helps the one dictating remember, and aids in completing what is needed.’”
Muʿayqīb
It is also narrated that Muʿayqīb b. Abī Fāṭimah, an ally of Banū Asad, used to record the spoils of war for the Messenger of God [sws].
Ḥanẓalah: His Status and His Death
Ḥanẓalah b. al-Rabīʿ b. al-Muraqqaʿ b. Ṣayfī—nephew of Aktham b. Ṣayfī al-Asadī—was the one who replaced any of the Prophet’s scribes when they were absent from their duties. He became known by the title “the scribe.” The Prophet [sws] kept his seal with him and said to him: “Stay close to me, and remind me of everything every third day.” So he would not allow three days to pass over any wealth or food without reminding him, ensuring that the Messenger of God never went to sleep with any of it still in his possession.
On the day of the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet [sws] passed by a slain woman and said to Ḥanẓalah: “Catch up with Khālid and tell him: do not kill children or laborers (ʿaṣīfan).” Ḥanẓalah died in the city of al-Ruhā, Edessa, and his wife mourned him in verse:
تبكي على ذي شيبة شاحب
إن تسأليني اليوم ما شفني
أخبرك قولا ليس بالكاذب
أن سواد الرأس أودى به
وجدي على حنظلة الكاتب
Who weeps for the white-haired, aged man—
If you ask me today what has consumed me,
I’ll tell you truly, with no deceit:
The black of his hair is what death has claimed,
As I pine over Ḥanẓalah the scribe.
Ibn Abī Sarḥ and an Account of Him
ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd b. Abī Sarḥ used to write for the Prophet, but then he apostatized and joined the idolaters. He said: “Muḥammad writes whatever I will.” A man from the Anṣār heard this and swore by God that if he ever got the chance, he would strike him down with his sword.
On the day of the conquest of Makkah, ʿUthmān brought ʿAbd Allāh before the Prophet [sws]—since they had been nursed by the same woman—and said: “O Messenger of God, this is ʿAbd Allāh; he has come repenting.” Meanwhile, the Anṣārī man circled around him (yuṭīfu) with his sword drawn. ʿUthmān repeated his request, so the Prophet [sws] extended his hand and accepted ʿAbd Allāh’s pledge of allegiance.
Then he turned to the Anṣārī and said: “I waited for you (talawwamtuka) to fulfil your vow.” The man replied: “Could you not have signaled to me?” The Messenger of God [sws] replied: “It is not proper for me to signal with a gesture.”
Starting Writing with Basmalah
It is narrated from al-Shaʿbī: “That the Messenger of God [sws] wrote four different documents. In the first, he wrote: ‘In Your name, O Allah (bismika allāhumma),’ then the verse in Hūd was revealed: ‘In the name of Allah is its course and its anchoring’ [Qurʾān, 11:41]. In the second, he wrote: ‘In the name of Allah (bismillāh),’ and then Sūrah Banī Isrāʾīl, al-Isrāʾ, was revealed, in which appears: ‘Say, call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful’ [Qurʾān, 17:110]. In the third, he wrote: ‘In the name of Allah, the Merciful (bismillāh al-raḥmān),’ and then Sūrah al-Naml was revealed, which contains: ‘Indeed, it is from Sulaymān, and indeed, it is [written]: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate’ [Qurʾān, 27:30]. Finally, in the fourth document, he wrote: ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate (bismillāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm).’”
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