The Biography of Hazrat Firouz Dilami, May Allah Be Pleased with Him (Part Eight)
The Claim of False Prophecy
Seeing the warm welcome of the people, Aswad Ansi became increasingly bold; he falsely and audaciously claimed the prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and was very persistent in this claim. Imam Zahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: «في آخر السنة العاشرة: كان ظهور الأسود العنسي» (In the last year of the tenth year of Hijri, the sedition of the prophethood of Aswad Ansi appeared and invited people to it.)
Imam Ibn Ishaq (may Allah have mercy on him) states: «قد كان تكلم في عهد رسولالله صلىاللهعليهوسلم الكذابان، مسيلمة بن حبيب باليمامة في حنيفة؛ والأسود بن كعب العنسي بصنعاء. حدثني يزيد بن عبدالله بن قسيط عن عطاء بن يسار عن أبيسعيد الخدري قال سمعت رسولالله صلىاللهعليهوسلم وهو يخطب الناس على منبره وهو يقول: أيها الناس! إني قد رأيت ليلة القدر ثم أنسيتها، ورأيت في ذراعي سوارين من ذهب فكرهتهما، فنفختهما فطارا، فأولتهما هذين الكذابين صاحب اليمن، وصاحب اليمامة. (During the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), two liars falsely claimed prophethood: Musailmah Ibn Habib in Yamamah from the tribe of Bani Hanifah and Aswad Ibn Ka’b Ansi in Sana’a, Yemen. Yazid Ibn Abdullah Ibn Qusayt narrated to me that Atta Ibn Yasar heard from Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say the following while giving a speech on his pulpit: “O people! I dreamed of the Night of Judgment, but I forgot it. Then I saw two gold bracelets on my hand, which I did not like and interpreted them as two liars: Aswad from Yemen and Musailmah from Yamamah. They wish to elevate themselves to my stature with their absurd claims, but in the end, they will not succeed, and they will perish.”)
Aswad Ansi’s Murder by Hazrat Firouz Dilami
As mentioned earlier, the Prophet of Islam (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had a dream in the holy month of Ramadan, and its interpretation was that Aswad Ansi and Musailmah Kazab sought to claim the high position of prophethood by spreading rumors and lies, intending to harm the pure religion of Islam. They aimed to lead the simple Muslims away from the path of guidance to the dead-end of misguidance and apostasy and to extinguish the true love of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) from the hearts of the faithful. However, Allah, with the help of the true companions and the faithfulness of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), extinguished this fitna and honored the religion of Islam, defeating and humiliating disbelief and polytheism.
The first individual to falsely claim prophethood during the time of the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) was Aswad Ansi. The second was Musailmah Kazab, who was killed by Hazrat Vahshi (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
In the plot to kill Aswad Ansi, three of his companions, who were also Muslims, were involved. Imam Ibn Athir (may Allah have mercy on him) introduces them in his book as follows: «الذين دخلوا على الأسود العنسي، الذي ادعى النبوة بصنعاء فقتلوه في حياة النبي صلىاللهعليهوسلم، وهم: قيس بن مكشوح وداذويه وفيروز الديلمي وبقي داذويه وفيروز وقيس فلما توفي النبي صلىاللهعليهوسلم ارتد قيس بن عبدیغوث المكشوح.» (Those who went to Aswad Ansi, the claimant of prophethood in Sana’a, and killed him during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), were Qays Ibn Makshuh, Dazwayh, and Firouz Dilami. All three remained steadfast in Islam until the life of the Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), but after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Qays Ibn Makshuh became an apostate and left Islam.)
This concludes a brief introduction of Aswad Ansi Kazab, his relationship with Hazrat Firouz (may Allah be pleased with him), and the communication between them. In the next part, Allah willing, we will discuss how he was killed by Hazrat Firouz.
