Ibn Abbas said, "The first qasamah oath in the days of ignorance involved us, the Banu Hashim. A man from Banu Hashim had been hired by a man from another clan of Quraysh. He set out with him among his camels. A man from Banu Hashim passed by him, and the strap of his sack had broken. He said, 'Help me with a rope to tie up the strap of my sack, so the camels do not run off.' So he gave him a rope, and he tied up the strap of his sack with it.When they made camp, all the camels were hobbled except one. The one who had hired him asked, 'What is the matter with this camel that it alone is not hobbled?'He said, 'It has no rope.'He asked, 'Where is its rope?'Then he struck him with a stick that brought about his death. A man from Yemen passed by him, and he said to him, 'Will you attend the pilgrimage season?'The man replied, 'I do not attend it, though I have attended it at times.'He said, 'Would you deliver a message from me, just once in your lifetime?'He said, 'Yes.'He said, 'When you attend the pilgrimage season, call out, "People of Quraysh!" And when they answer you, call out, "People of Banu Hashim!" If they answer you, ask for Abu Talib, and inform him that so-and-so killed me over a rope.'Then he died. When the man who had hired him returned, Abu Talib came to him and asked, 'What has become of our companion?'He said, 'He fell ill, and I took good care of him, and I oversaw his burial.'Abu Talib said, 'He was deserving of that from you.'Some time passed, and then the man to whom the dying man had entrusted his message arrived at the pilgrimage season. He called out, 'People of Quraysh!'They said, 'Here is Quraysh.'He called out, 'People of Banu Hashim!'They said, 'Here is Banu Hashim.'He asked, 'Where is Abu Talib?'They said, 'Here is Abu Talib.'He said, 'So-and-so commanded me to deliver a message to you, that so-and-so killed him over a rope.'So Abu Talib went to him and said, 'Choose one of three options from us. If you wish, you may pay a hundred camels, for you killed our companion. If you wish, fifty of your people may swear that you did not kill him. If you refuse, we will kill you for him.'He went to his people, and they said, 'We will swear.'A woman from Banu Hashim, who was married to one of them and had borne him a child, came to Abu Talib and said, 'Abu Talib, I would like you to allow this son of mine to stand in for one of the fifty, and not require his oath where the oaths are to be sworn.'So he did. Then a man from among them came to him and said, 'Abu Talib, you wanted fifty men to swear in place of a hundred camels, which means each man takes on two camels. Here are two camels. Accept them from me, and do not require my oath where the oaths are to be sworn.'So he accepted them. Then forty-eight men came and swore."Ibn Abbas said, "By the One in whose hand my soul is, the year had not passed before not a single eye remained blinking among those forty-eight."
إن أول قسامة كانت في الجاهلية لفينا بني هاشم، كان رجل من بني هاشم استأجره رجل من قريش من فخذ أخرى، فانطلق معه في إبله، فمر رجل به من بني هاشم، قد انقطعت عروة جوالقه، فقال: أغثني بعقال أشد به عروة جوالقي، لا تنفر الإبل، فأعطاه عقالا، فشد به عروة جوالقه، فلما نزلوا عقلت الإبل إلا بعيرا واحدا، فقال الذي استأجره: ما شأن هذا البعير لم يعقل من بين الإبل؟ قال: ليس له عقال، قال: فأين عقاله؟ قال: فحذفه بعصا كان فيها أجله، فمر به رجل من أهل اليمن، فقال: أتشهد الموسم؟ قال: ما أشهد، وربما شهدته، قال: هل أنت مبلغ عني رسالة مرة من الدهر؟ قال: نعم. قال: فكتب إذا أنت شهدت الموسم، فناد يا آل قريش، فإذا أجابوك، فناد يا آل بني هاشم، فإن أجابوك، فسل عن أبي طالب، فأخبره: أن فلانا قتلني في عقال، ومات المستأجر، فلما قدم الذي استأجره، أتاه أبو طالب، فقال: ما فعل صاحبنا؟ قال: مرض فأحسنت القيام عليه، فوليت دفنه، قال: قد كان أهل ذاك منك، فمكث حينا، ثم إن الرجل الذي أوصى إليه أن يبلغ عنه وافى الموسم، فقال: يا أل قريش، قالوا: هذه قريش، قال: يا آل بني هاشم، قالوا: هذه بنو هاشم، قال: أين أبو طالب؟ قالوا: هذا أبو طالب، قال: أمرني فلان أن أبلغك رسالة: أن فلانا قتله في عقال، فأتاه أبو طالب، فقال له: اختر منا إحدى ثلاث: إن شئت أن تؤدي مائة من الإبل، فإنك قتلت صاحبنا، وإن شئت حلف خمسون من قومك إنك لم تقتله، فإن أبيت قتلناك به، فأتى قومه، فقالوا: نحلف، فأتته امرأة من بني هاشم كانت تحت رجل منهم، قد ولدت له، فقالت: يا أبا طالب، أحب أن تجيز ابني هذا برجل من الخمسين، ولا تصبر يمينه حيث تصبر الأيمان، ففعل، فأتاه رجل منهم، فقال: يا أبا طالب أردت خمسين رجلا أن يحلفوا مكان مائة من الإبل، يصيب كل رجل بعيران، هذان بعيران، فاقبلهما عني، ولا تصبر يميني حيث تصبر الأيمان، فقبلهما، وجاء ثمانية وأربعون فحلفوا، قال ابن عباس: فوالذي نفسي بيده، ما حال الحول، ومن الثمانية وأربعين عين تطرف.