Nebuchadnezzar’s Rule
He ruled them savagely and punished them cruelly. He killed a third of them, captured a third, and
spared the lame and the old; then h trampled upon them with the horses, demolished their houses,
drew the youth along, and stood the women in the market places as guards.
He intimidated the troops and destroyed the castles and temples. He burned the Torah. He asked about Daniel, the prophet who had written to him, but he was dead. His family took out the letter which he had
written to him. Among the family members were Daniel the youngest son of Ezekiel, Azariah, and
Mishael. He left that letter for them.
The younger Daniel succeeded the elder Daniel.
Nabuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem with his troops, then marched to Syria. He killed the children
of Israel until he almost exterminated them. He returned to Babylon with booty in the form of
treasure and men, among them young princes and children of priests numbering seventy thousand.
Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah Meet
Ibn Ishaaq Ibn Bishr reported that Wahb bin Munbah stated that after Nabuchadnezzar had
destroyed Jerusalem, he was told that the Israelites had a man who used to predict what had
befallen them, describing the king and his actions, foretelling that he would slay their warriors,
capture their children, destroy the temple, and burn their Torah.
They had said he was lying, and so they had tied him and kept him in prison. Nabuchadnezzar ordered that he be brought out from prison.
Jeremiah was released and the king said to him:
“Did you warn those people against what has happened to them?”
Jeremiah affirmed it and the king said:
“I knew that.” Jeremiah stated:
“Allah sent me to them and they accused me of lying.”
He asked:
“Did they beat you and imprison you?”
He replied: “Yes.”
The king said:
“What a wicked race, to deny their prophet and their Lord’s message! So would you like to join me, for me to honor you and make you free? And if you want to remain in your country, I grant you that.”
Jeremiah replied:
“I am still in the security of Allah when I did not go away from the country at all. If the Israelites did not go out of it, they would not fear you, nor any other, nor would you have authority over them.
” When Nabuchadnezzar heard this, he let him alone, and so Jeremiah went to live in his place in Elia
(Elat).
Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah Meet – Variation
According to Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi, Nabuchadnezzar marched on Jerusalem, its king who was a
descendant of David, who had built Jerusalem for the Israelites – made peace with him.
Nabuchadnezzar took hostages and departed. When he had gone as far as Thahria, he learned that
the Israelites had risen against their king and killed him because he had made peace with him. So,
Nabuchadnezzar beheaded all the hostages that were with him.
He returned to the Israelites and invaded the city, killing the warriors and capturing their families.
When he had found Jeremiah in prison and released him, Jeremiah told him his story and his
warnings concerning him.
Nabuchadnezzar said: “What a wicked people, that disobey the prophet
of Allah!” He set him free and honored him.
Jeremiah gathered around him the remaining weak souls of Israel.
The Children of Israel Do Not Repent
He said to them: “Woe to us! We have disobeyed Allah. We must repent to Allah, Great and
Majestic, for what we have done, and I shall pray to Allah to accept our repentance.”
He prayed so, and Allah revealed to him that He would not accept it: “If they are sincere, they must stay with you in this country (or town).”
He told them what Allah had revealed.
They said: “How can we stay in this town when it has been devastated and Allah is angry with its people?” So they refused to stay.
Ibn al-Kalbi said
that since that time, the children of Israel were dispersed the world over. Some
of them went to the Hijaz, Taif and Medina, and others settled in Wadi al Qura. Some went to
Egypt, and Nabuchadnezzar wrote to its king, demanding those who had escaped thither, but he
refused.
So Nabuchadnezzar mounted his army and fought him. He defeated him and captured
their children. Then he marched to the extreme of Morocco. He returned from Morocco, Egypt,
Jerusalem, Palestine, and Jordan with many captives, and among them was Daniel.
Ibn al-Kalbi said that it appears that it was Daniel, the youngest son of Ezekiel, and not the elder
Daniel, according to Ibn Munbah. Allah knows best.
Jeremiah Sleeps for 100 Years, Jerusalem is Rebuilt
Hashim ibn Al-Kalbi reported that Allah the Exalted revealed to Jeremiah:
“I am going to reconstruct Jerusalem, so go there.” He went and found it devastated.
He said to himself:
“Exalted be Allah! Allah told me to come to this city and that He was reconstructing it. When will
Allah rebuild it? And when will He bring it back to life?”
Then he slept, and his donkey with him, for seventy years until Nebuchadnezzar and the king over
him – Laharasab, who had ruled one hundred twenty years – had perished. Laharasab was
succeeded by his son Bashtaasib (According to the Bible, Ezra 1, this would be King Cyrus of
Persia). News of the death of Nebuchadnezzar had reached Bashtaasib through Sham (Syria),
which was in utter ruin.
the wild beats had multiplied in Palestine, for it had become empty of men. Bashtaasib therefore called to the children of Israel in Babylon:
“Whoever wants to return to Sham (Syria/Palestine) may do so.” It was ruled by one from the House of David, who was ordered by Bashtaasib to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, so they returned and rebuilt it. Then Jeremiah opened his eyes, blinked from the seventy year sleep, and saw how the city was being
reconstructed.
He remained in that sleep of his until he had completed one hundred years.
When Allah awoke him, he thought that he had slept no more than an hour. He had known the city as a
devastated land; when he saw it rebuilt and populated, he said:
“He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and he, to whom wisdom is granted, is indeed granted
abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding.” [2:269]
The History of Israel After its Rebuilding
Ibn Al-Kalbi said that the Israelites settled it, and Allah rebuilt their glory. It remained so until
Rome vanquished them in the era of the tribal kings; then they lost their community and their
authority after the appearance of Christianity.
This is how Ibn Jarir tells their story in his History of Jerusalem. He said that Laharasab was a just
king and diplomatic. The people, cheifs, and kings obeyed him, and he was gifted in the
construction of cities, canals and institutions.
When he grew too weak to rule, after more than one hundred, his son Bashtaasib ascended to the throne. During his reign the religion of Zoroastrianism (alMajusia) appeared. A man named (Zoroaster) (Zordahst) had been a companion of Jeremiah and had angered him, so Jeremiah cursed him. Zoroaster became a leper.
He went to the land of Azerbaijan, joined Bashtaasib forced peolple to embrace it and killed many people who disobeyed him.
After Bashtaasib, his son Barman ruled. They were among the famous and heroic kings of Persia,
and Nebuchadnezzar had been deputy to all three of them. He lived a long time, may Allah
torment him!
The essence of what has been written by Ibn Jarir is that the person or wayfarer passing through
this village was Jeremia. Others say that it was Hosea (Ozir), and this is the consensus of the
ancients and those after them, but Allah knows best.
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