Abu Afak's verses on the rider who split the sons of Qayla

Five verses in the metre of al-mutaqarib, which Ibn Ishaq attributes to Abu Afak and which he presents as a sign of the revelation of his hypocrisy. ¹ Their sense: he has lived a long time and has not seen, among people in any house or group, men more faithful to their pledges, or more loyal to those who make an agreement with them, than the sons of Qayla. Their gathering could crush mountains, and yet they did not submit. Then a rider came to them and split them, "lawful and unlawful mixed together", meaning he makes lawful and forbids various matters that scatter them. If they had believed in glory, or followed a king, they would have followed a true king. ¹ The commentators explain Qayla as the woman to whom the Aws and the Khazraj are traced, and Tubba' as one of the kings of Yemen. ¹

These verses are among the oldest surviving opposition poetry from Medina. They protest the unity of the Ansar's tribal bonds against the strange "rider" who divided their ranks, and they hint that if they wanted a king, they would have followed a real one. The sense is given here; the text is read in the edition. Their consequence appears in the account of his killing. ¹