12-71 حدثنا أحمد بن زياد بن جعفر الهمداني رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا علي ابن إبراهيم بن هاشم، عن أبيه، عن محمد بن أبي عمير، وأحمد بن محمد بن أبي نصر البزنطي، عن أبان بن عثمان الاحمر، عن جماعة مشيخة قالوا: اختار رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله من أمته اثني عشر نقيبا أشار إليهم جبرئيل وأمره باختيارهم كعدة نقباء موسى عليه السلام تسعة من الخزرج وثلاثة من الاوس، فمن الخزرج: أسعد بن زرارة، والبراء بن معرور، وعبد الله بن عمرو بن حرام والدجابر بن عبد الله ورافع بن مالك، وسعد بن عبادة والمنذر بن عمرو، وعبد الله بن رواحة. وسعد بن الربيع، وابن القوافل عبادة بن الصامت ومعنى القوافل الرجل من العرب كان إذا دخل يثرب يجيئ إلى رجل من أشراف الخزرج فيقول: أجرني مادمت بها من أن اظلم، فيقول: قوفل حيث شئت فأنت في جواري، فلا يتعرض له أحدومن الاوس أبوالهيثم بن التيهان، واسيد بن حضير، وسعد بن خيثمة، وقد أخرجت قصتهم في كتاب النبوة، قال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: النقيب الرئيس من العرفاء وقد قيل: إنه الضمين، وقد قيل: إنه الامين، وقد قيل: إنه الشهيد على قومه، وأصل النقيب في اللغة من النقب وهو الثقب الواسع فقيل: نقيب القوم لانه ينقب عن أحوالهم كما ينقب عن الاسرار وعن مكنون الاضمار [معنى قول الله عز وجل: "وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيباً" هو أنه أخذ من كل سبط منهم ضمينا بما عقد عليهم من الميثاق في أمر دينهم، وقد قيل: إنهم بعثوا إلى الجبارين ليقفوا على أحوالهم ويرجعوا بذلك إلى نبيهم موسى عليه السلام ورجعوا ينهون قومهم عن قتالهم لما رأوا من شدة بأسهم وعظم خلقهم، والقصة معروفة، وكان مرادنا ذكر معنى النقيب في اللغة والله الموفق للصواب]

12-71 Ahmad ibn Zyad ibn Ja’far al-Hamedany - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim quoted his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr al-Bazanty, on the authority of Aban ibn Uthman al-Ahmar that a group of the elders said, “God’s Prophet (MGB) chose twelve leaders or chiefs from amongst his nation just as many as the Chiefs of Moses (MGB) due to an order delivered by Gabriel. Nine of them were from the Khazraj clan and three of them were from the O’as clan. The ones from the Khazraj clan were as follows: As’ad ibn Zurarah; Al-Bara’ ibn Ma’rur; Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Haraml - the father of Jabir ibn Abdullah; Rafe’a ibn Malik; Sa’ed ibn Ebadat; Al-Monzar ibn Amr; Abdullah ibn Ravaheh; Sa’ed ibn al-Rabi’a; Ibn al-Qavafil Ebadat al-Samit - and what is meant by Ibn al-Qavafil is those noble men of Khazraj in Medina that no one dared bother anyone who lived under their protection. And the men from the Oa’s tribe were as follows: Abul Haysam ibn al-Teyhan; Aseed ibn Hazir; and Sa’ed ibn Khaysama.” I have recorded the detailed account in my book Kitab Al-Nabuwat. The compiler of the book - may God be pleased with him - said, “The word Naqib translated here as leader or chief refers to the heads or chiefs of the tribes. It has also been said that it refers to trustworthy and honest ones who act as a witness for their tribe. The origin of the word Naqib is the word Naqb which refers to an opening, a tunnel or a ditch in the ground or the hills. One is said to be the leader of his tribe or the chief of his tribe, since he constantly questions about the conditions of the people in the tribe. He is the chief like one who questions about hidden secrets. And the meaning of the following words of the Honorable the Exalted God, ‘…Allah did aforetime take a covenant from the Children of Israel, and we appointed twelve leaders among them’ is that God has chosen one chief from each tribe and has made a covenant with them regarding their religion. Some have said that these chiefs were dispatched to the oppressors to find about their conditions and bring back their news to Moses (MGB). They returned and prevented their tribes from fighting with the oppressors, since they had become frightened of their armaments and physical strength. This is a well-known account. However, we have only meant to describe the meaning of the word Naqib here. May God grant success to good works.”

Al-Khiṣāl

Chapter #16