Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (19/29)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

The council hall would be packed with nobles and grandees, while the chamberlains called out, “Where are the petitioners?” He would make sure that the oppressed received justice, pay the liabilities of those imprisoned, and there are well-known anecdotes of the fairness he showed in protecting a weak man even against a powerful emir (1).

When Sultan Malikshah’s daughter married al-Muqtadī, she ordered that a robe of honor be conferred upon him. He asked to be excused from wearing silk, so she sent him a turban and a dibiqiyya cloak worth two hundred and seventy dinars, which he then put on (2).

It is related that on one occasion he ordered qatayif to be prepared at night; when they were brought to him he remembered poor souls who longed for such food, so he commanded that the sweets be carried to the destitute and afflicted (3).

It is also said that a secretary kept track of his expenditures, and they exceeded one hundred thousand dinars (4). The secretary added, “I was one of ten people who administered his charities” (5).

He was accomplished in many disciplines. His mastery of eloquence and rhetoric was outstanding, and his calligraphy ranked in the highest class, following the style of Ibn Muqla (6).

Ibn al-Najjar, in fact, went to great lengths in compiling a full account of his life.

(1) Al-Imad relates in Al-Kharida: “His era was among the best of times, his days the most thriving; no other vizier safeguarded the cause of religion and the regulations of the sharia as he did. He was stern and uncompromising in religious matters, yet gentle in worldly affairs, and in the service of Allah he feared no critic.” See also Al-Muntazam, 9/91, and Subki’s Tabaqat, 4/137. (2) A type of cloth named after Dabiq, a small locality situated between al-Durma and Tinnis in the Egyptian province; cf. Mu jam al-Buldan, 2/438, and Al-Qamus, root dbq. (3) Al-Muntazam, 9/91. (4) Al-Muntazam, 9/90. (5) Al-Muntazam, 9/90. (6) Abū Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Muqla, the celebrated vizier-scribe whose exemplary calligraphy became proverbial; born in Baghdad, he served as revenue collector for part of Fars, ...

فَيغتصُّ الدِّيْوَان بِالسَّادَة وَالكُبَرَاء، وَيُنَادِي الحُجَّاب: أَيْنَ أَصْحَابُ الحوَائِج؟ فِيُنْصِفُ المَظْلُوْم، وَيُؤَدِّي عَنِ المَحْبُوس، وَلَهُ فِي عدله حِكَايَاتٌ فِي إِنصَاف الضَّعِيْف مِنَ الأَمِيْرِ (١) . وَخَلعت عَلَيْهِ بِنْتُ السُّلْطَان ملكشَاهُ حِيْنَ تَزَوَّجت بِالمقتدي، فَاسْتعفَى مِنْ لُبس الحَرِيْر، فَنفَّذت لَهُ عِمَامَةً وَدَبِيقيَّةً (٢) بِمائتين وَسَبْعِيْنَ دِيْنَاراً، فَلبسهَا. وَقِيْلَ: إِنَّهُ أَمر لَيْلَةً بِعَمَل قطَائِف، فَلَمَّا أُحْضِرَت، تذكَّر نُفُوْسَ مسَاكين تَشتهيهَا، فَأَمر بِحملهَا إِلَى فُقَرَاء وَأَضرَّاء (٣) . وَقِيْلَ: أُحصي مَا أَنفقه عَلَى يَد كَاتِبٍ لَهُ، فَبَلَغَ أَزْيدَ مِنْ مائَةِ أَلْفِ دِيْنَارٍ (٤) . قَالَ الكَاتِب: وَكُنْتُ وَاحِداً مِنْ عَشْرَة يَتَوَلَّوْنَ صَدَقَاتِهِ (٥) . وَكَانَ كَامِلاً فِي فُنُوْن، وَلَهُ يَدٌ بيضَاء فِي البلاغَة وَالبيَان، وَكِتَابَتُه طَبَقَةٌ عَالِيَة عَلَى طرِيقَة ابْنِ مُقلَة (٦) . وَلَقَدْ بَالغ ابْنُ النَّجَّار فِي اسْتيفَاء تَرْجَمَته.

(١) قال العماد في " الخريدة ": وكان عصره أحسن العصور، وزمانه أنضر الازمان، ولم يكن في الوزراء من يحفظ أمر الدين وقانون الشريعة مثله، صعبا شديدا في أمور الشرع، سهلا في أمور الدنيا، لا تأخذه في الله لومة لائم. وانظر " المنتظم ": ٩ / ٩١، و" طبقات السبكي ": ٤ / ١٣٧. (٢) نوع من الثياب تنسب إلى دبيق، بليدة بين الضرما وتنيس من أعمال مصر، معجم البلدان: ٢ / ٤٣٨، والقاموس في مادة دبق. (٣) " المنتظم ": ٩ / ٩١. (٤) " المنتظم ": ٩ / ٩٠. (٥) " المنتظم ": ٩ / ٩٠. (٦) هو أبو علي محمد بن علي بن الحسين بن مقلة الوزير الكاتب المشهور الذي يضرب بحسن خطه المثل، ولد في بغداد، وولي جباية الخراج في بعض أعمال فارس، =