Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (19/544)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

anything else been said? You go on extolling him, and he is beguiled by your praise. So tell me, O qadi—has it reached you that wine is being sold openly, that pigs roam the marketplaces, and that the property of orphans is being seized?

The king’s eyes filled with tears and he lowered his head, but the shrewd courtiers realized that Ibn Tumart coveted the throne. The philosopher Mālik ibn Wuhaib therefore advised his sovereign, saying, “I fear this man for your sake: imprison him and his companions and supply their rations, otherwise your treasuries will end up supplying all their wants.” The king agreed, but the vizier objected: “It would ill befit the king to weep at the man’s sermon and then treat him badly in open court, and it would expose your fear—though you are the sovereign—of a pauper.” Chivalrous pride stirred within him; he dismissed Ibn Tumart and asked him for his prayers.⦗1⦘

Ibn Tumart then set out for Aghmat and lodged with the jurist ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Maṣmūdī, who treated them generously. They consulted him, and he said, “This spot will not protect you. You must head for Tinmal,⦗2⦘ a day’s ride from here; it is the most impregnable place. Stay there for a while so that people forget about you.”

The mere mention of that name rekindled Ibn Tumart’s reputation because of the learning he possessed. When the mountain folk saw them in that guise, they realized they were seekers of knowledge, so they hosted them and flocked to them. Word spread through the highlands and people hurried to join them. Whenever Ibn Tumart discerned fortitude in a man, he would reveal to him what was in his own mind; if the man responded eagerly, he admitted him to his inner circle, but if he kept silent Ibn Tumart turned away. The elders forbade their youths and warned them⦗3⦘; yet as time passed his followers only increased from

(1) Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-Ayan, vol. 5, pp. 48–50. (2) The base manuscript, like Ibn Khallikan’s text, writes the place-name with a single final l and vocalises it ti- (kasrah on the initial ta), then sukun on ya, followed by nun, a mim with fathah, and a geminated lam: Tinmall. Maghribi sources, however, usually spell it with two l’s; it will reappear shortly in that form. The autograph bears the marginal note “sahh” (correct) above it. (3) Wafayat al-Ayan, vol. 5, p. 51: “He used to win over the youths and the gullible, while the sensible and prudent among their families warned them against following him and cautioned them about the king’s reprisals…”

مِنْ وَرَائِهِ أَقْوَال، وَأَنْتُم تُطرُوْنَهُ وَهُوَ مَغْرُوْرٌ بكُم، فَيَا قَاضِي، هَلْ بَلغَك أَنَّ الخَمْرَ تُبَاعُ جِهَاراً، وَتَمْشِي الخنَازِيْرُ فِي الأَسواق، وَتُؤْخَذُ أَمْوَالُ اليَتَامَى؟ فَذَرَفَتْ عَيْنَا الملكِ وَأَطرق، وَفَهِمَ الدُّهَاةُ طَمَعَ ابْن تُوْمَرت فِي المُلك، فَنصح مَالِك بن وُهَيْب الفَيْلَسُوْف سُلْطَانَه، وَقَالَ: إِنِّيْ خَائِف عَلَيْك مِنْ هَذَا، فَاسجنْه وَأَصْحَابَه، وَأَنفق عَلَيْهِم مُؤنتهُم، وَإِلاَّ أَنفقتَ عَلَيْهِم خَزَائِنَك. فَوَافَقه، فَقَالَ الوَزِيْر: يَقْبُحُ بِالملك أَنْ يَبْكِي مِنْ وَعظه، ثُمَّ يُسيء إِلَيْهِ فِي مَجْلِس، وَأَنْ يظْهر خوفُك، وَأَنْت سُلْطَان: مِنْ رَجُل فَقير. فَأَخَذتهُ نَخوَةٌ، وَصَرَفَه، وَسَأَلَهُ الدُّعَاءُ (١) . وَسَارَ ابْنُ تُوْمَرت إِلَى أَغمَاتَ، فَنَزَلُوا عَلَى الفَقِيْه عَبدِ الحَقِّ المَصمودي، فَأَكْرَمَهُم، فَاسْتشَارُوهُ، فَقَالَ: هُنَا لاَ يَحمِيكُم هَذَا المَوْضِع، فَعليكُم بِتِينَمَلَّ (٢) ، فَهِيَ يَوْمٌ عَنَّا، وَهُوَ أَحصنُ الأَمَاكنِ، فَأُقيمُوا بِهِ بُرْهَةً كِي يُنسَى ذِكرُكُم. فَتَجدد لابْنِ تُوْمَرت بِهَذَا الاسْمِ ذكرٌ لمَا عِنْدَهُ، فَلَمَّا رَآهُم أَهْلُ الْجَبَل عَلَى تِلْكَ الصُّوْرَة، علمُوا أَنَّهُم طَلَبَةُ علمٍ، فَأَنْزَلوهُم، وَأَقْبَلُوا عَلَيْهِم، ثُمَّ تسَامَع بِهِ أَهْلُ الْجَبَل، فَتسَارعُوا إِلَيْهِم، فَكَانَ ابْنُ تُوْمرت مَنْ رأَى فِيْهِ جَلاَدَة، عَرَضَ عَلَيْهِ مَا فِي نَفْسِهِ، فَإِنْ أَسرع إِلَيْهِ، أَضَافه إِلَى خوَاصِّه، وَإِن سكت، أَعرض عَنْهُ، وَكَانَ كُهولهُم يَنهون شُبَّانَهُم وَيُحَذِّرونهُم (٣) ، وَطَالت المُدَّةُ، ثُمَّ كَثُرَ أَتْبَاعُهُ مِنْ

(١) " وفيات الأعيان ": ٥ / ٤٨ - ٥٠. (٢) كذا الأصل بلام واحدة، وكذا هي عند ابن خلكان، وضبطها بكسر المثناة من فوقها، وسكون الياء المثناة من تحتها، وبعدها نون، ثم ميم مفتوحة ولام مشددة، وتكتب في المصادر المغربية تينملل بلامين، وسترد بعد قليل بلامين، وقد كتب فوقها في الأصل " صح ". (٣) في " الوفيات ": ٥ / ٥١: وكان يستميل الاحداث وذوي الغرة، وكان ذوو العقل والحلم من أهاليهم يحذرونهم من اتباعه، ويخوفونهم من سطوة الملك ...