Dihyah bin Khalifah al-Kalbi | |
|---|---|
دِحْيَة ٱبْن خَلِيفَة ٱلْكَلْبِيّ | |
 Maqam of Nabi Dahi, dedicated to Dihyah al-Kalbi at Givat HaMoreh |
Dihya ibn Khalifa al-Kalbi (Arabic: دِحْيَة ٱبْن خَلِيفَة ٱلْكَلْبِيّ, Diḥya al-Kalbī), sometimes spelled Dahyah, was the envoy who delivered the Islamic prophet Muhammad's message to the Roman Emperor Heraclius.[1]
According to Muhammad's wife 'Aisha, he saw Jibril twice “in the form that he was created” and on other occasions as a man resembling Dihya ibn Khalifa al-Kalbi, an extraordinarily handsome disciple of Muhammad.
Two similar narrations have been recorded through Abu Uthman in Sahih al-Bukhari that reports an incident witnessed by Muhammad's wife Umm Salama:
A hadith attributed to Abu 'Uthman reports:[2]
I was informed that Gabriel came to the Prophet (S.A.W.) while Umm Salama was with him. Gabriel started talking (to the Prophet). Then the Prophet asked Umm Salama, "Who is this?" She replied, "He is Dihya (al-Kalbi)." When Gabriel had left, Umm Salama said, "By Allah, I did not take him for anybody other than him (i.e. Dihya) till I heard the sermon of the Prophet wherein he informed about the news of Gabriel." The sub narrator asked Abu 'Uthman: From whom have you heard that? Abu 'Uthman said: From 'Usama ibn Zayd
A hadith attributed to Abu 'Uthman reports:[3]
I got the news that Gabriel came to the Prophet while Umm Salama was present. Gabriel started talking to the Prophet and then left. The Prophet said to Umm Salama, "(Do you know) who it was?" (or a similar question). She said, "It was Dihya (a handsome person amongst the companions of the Prophet). " Later on, Um Salama said, "By Allah! I thought he was none but Dihya, till I heard the Prophet talking about Gabriel in his sermon." (The Sub-narrator asked Abu 'Uthman, "From where have you heard this narration?" He replied, "From 'Usama ibn Zayd.")
- ^ "Chapter 42: The Events of the Seventh Year of Migration". Archived from the original on 2000-12-10. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ USC "Religious Texts" Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, Sahih al-Bukhari, Retrieved on 2009-4-11.
- ^ USC "Religious Texts" Archived 2008-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, Sahih al-Bukhari, Retrieved on 2009-4-11.