Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
In the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), the Arabs believed that the soul of a dead person would leave the skull and be reborn in the form of an owl, which would then go around calling out to its friends.

Abu Bakr Shaddad bin Aswad, while still in a state of disbelief, was reciting an elegy for the slain disbelievers of Mecca at Badr, the meaning of which is that those people are lying dead in the well of Badr—those who used to fill bowls made from the wood of the Shizā tree with the meat from the hump of a camel, which was considered extremely delicious by the Arabs.

Shizā is a tree from whose wood bowls are made.

Here, the intended meaning is those people who used to use such bowls, i.e., the very wealthy and affluent individuals who would spend their days and nights drinking wine and in the company of singing and dancing women.

The Umm Bakr mentioned in the elegy is his wife, who was previously married to Hazrat Siddiq Akbar (radi Allahu anhu).

The meaning of the last verse is that the Arabs in the Age of Ignorance believed that after death, a person’s soul would be reborn in the body of an owl and would go around calling out to others. The poet’s intention is to say that the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) statement about being resurrected in human form after death is incorrect, that there is no resurrection or gathering, and how could souls, having become owls, return to human form? This is the corrupt belief of the disbelievers, which the Noble Qur’an is filled with refutations of.

The metrical translation of this elegy in the words of Maulana Waheed uz-Zaman (rahimahullah) is as follows:
“In the pit at Badr, O listener, are lying the fine bowls made from camel humps;
In the pit at Badr, O listener, are lying the wine-drinkers and those who listened to music and song;
May she remain safe, the one who says to me, ‘Where is this Umm Bakr?’
Safe, when all the people of the tribe have died;
This Prophet tells us, ‘You will live after dying,’
Can owls ever become humans again, those who call out?”

It is narrated about the aforementioned poet that he became Muslim but later apostatized.

The word “hāmah” is with a light “mīm.” It was the belief of the Arabs in the Age of Ignorance that if the blood vengeance (qisas) of a person killed in battle was not taken, his soul would be reborn in the body of an owl, and would come daily to its grave saying, “Give me the blood of my killer to drink.” When qisas was taken, it would fly away.

(Qastallani)

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In this hadith, al-Fakihi has narrated an addition that Umm al-Mu’minin, Aisha (radi Allahu anha), said:
“By Allah! Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) never composed poetry, neither in the time of ignorance nor in Islam, and he never drank wine.”
And it is not correct to say that Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) drank wine before its prohibition, because Umm al-Mu’minin (radi Allahu anha) knew the state of her noble father better. The narration regarding Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) drinking wine has been reported by Abu al-Qamus, whose meeting with Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) is not established.
It appears that he was a spiteful Rafidi.
(Fath al-Bari: 7/322, 2323)

➋
“Al-Shīzā” is the ebony tree, from which large bowls were made.
Camel meat would be arranged in them and presented to arriving guests. At that time, young slave girls would sing songs and there would be rounds of wine drinking. The poet, remembering these, is reciting elegies for those killed at Badr.

➌
In this hadith, there is an incident related to the Hijrah: that Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), at the time of departure, divorced his wife named Umm Bakr.
For this reason, Imam al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) has mentioned it here.
And Allah knows best.