Al-Uqud al-Durriyya - Ibn Abd al-Hadi - (الكتاب/226)

Al-Uqud al-DurriyyaIbn Abd al-Hadi

The Shaykh (1), may Allah have mercy on him, said: “I wrote the opening pages of this book after Ghazan and his troops had withdrawn, when I returned from Egypt in Jumada al-Akhirah. At the time people were spreading the rumor that not a single one of them was left. When, however, that contingent did remain, we set ourselves to the task of fighting them, resolved to go to our brothers in Hama and to urge the commanders to do the same, until news reached us that the rest of them had pulled back. I therefore completed the work in Rajab (2).

***

I add: At the beginning of Ramadan in the year 702 AH the famous battle of Shaqhab (3) took place, and the people were subjected to severe hardship. During it there appeared some of the Shaykh’s divine signs, the acceptance of his supplication, the greatness of his striving, the strength of his faith, his exceptional devotion to Islam (4), his extraordinary courage, the very peak of his generosity, and other qualities that outstrip description.

I have read—in the handwriting of one of his companions, who mentioned this encounter (5) and the great numbers of Muslim forces who attended it—that he wrote: “Their unanimous word was to exalt Shaykh Taqi al-Din, to love him, to listen to his words and his counsel; they were admonished by his exhortations, and some of them asked him questions concerning matters of religion. There was not a single ruler of Syria, Turkic or Arab, except…"

(1) MSS F and K read: “qala al-muallif” (the author—i.e., Ibn Taymiyyah—said). (2) Immediately afterward, MSS F and K add: “wa-Allah aʿlam, wa-l-hamdu lillah waḥdah, wa-ṣalla Allah ʿalā ashraf khalqihi (K alone specifies: al-khalq, Muḥammad) wa ālihī wa-ṣaḥbihī, wa sallama taslīman kathīran ilā yawm al-dīn” (“Allah knows best; all praise is due to Allah alone; may Allah bless the noblest of His creation—Muḥammad—together with his family and Companions, and grant them abundant peace until the Day of Judgment”). (3) Shaqhab: a village about 40 km south-west of Damascus. (4) MSS F and K read: “wa-shiddah” (and hardship). (5) MS K alone reads: “al-wāqiʿah” (the incident). The discourse of this author continues from here until p. 233.

قال الشيخ (١) ﵀: كتبتُ أوّل هذا الكتاب بعد رحيل قازان وجنوده، لما رجعت من مصر في جمادى الآخرة، وأشاعوا أنه لم يبق منهم أحد، ثمّ لما بقيت تلك الطائفة اشتغلنا بالاهتمام بجهادهم، وقصد الذهاب إلى إخواننا بحماة، وتحريض الأمراء على ذلك، حتّى جاءنا الخبرُ بانصراف المتبقين منهم، فكملته في رجب (٢). *** قلتُ: وفي أول شهر رمضان من سنة اثنتين وسبعمائة كانت وقعة شَقْحَب (٣) المشهورة، وحصل للناس شدَّة عظيمةٌ، وظهر فيها من كرامات الشيخ، وإجابة دعائه، وعظيم جهاده، وقوّة إيمانه، وفَرْطِ (٤) نصحه للإسلام، وفرط شجاعته، ونهاية كرمه، وغير ذلك من صفاته= ما يفوق النعت، ويتجاوز الوصف. ولقد قرأتُ بخطِّ بعض أصحابه ــ وقد ذكر هذه الوَقْعة (٥)، وكثرة من حَضَرها من جيوش المسلمين ــ قال: واتفقت كلمة إجماعهم على تعظيم الشيخ تقيّ الدين ومحبته، وسماع كلامه ونصيحته، واتّعظوا بمواعظه، وسأله بعضُهم مسائل في أمر الدِّين، ولم يبق من ملوك الشام تركيٌّ ولا عربيٌّ إلا

(١) (ف، ك): «قال المؤلف» أي ابن تيمية. (٢) بعده في (ف، ك): «والله أعلم، والحمد لله وحده، وصلى الله على أشرف خلقه (ك: الخلق محمد) وآله وصحبه وسلم تسليمًا كثيرًا إلى يوم الدين». (٣) شقحب: قرية جنوب غربي دمشق، على بعد ٤٠ كيلًا تقريبًا. (٤) (ف، ك): «وشدة». (٥) (ك): «الواقعة». وكلام هذا الصاحب من هنا إلى (ص ٢٣٣).