Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (19/547)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

on their shoulders, grievously wounded. Al-Bashīr said to them, “He will not die until the land has been opened up.”

Some time later he opened his eyes and greeted them with salām. When the men reached Tinmal, Ibn Tūmart offered his condolences and said, “One day for another; such are the battles of the messengers.”

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Marrākushī (1) relates: In Baghdad Ibn Tūmart attended the lectures of al-Mubārak ibn al-Ṭuyūrī, and he studied legal theory (uṣūl) with al-Shāshī. The governor of Alexandria banished him from the city. I was told that after he boarded a ship he kept denouncing wrongdoing, so the crew threw him overboard; he stayed afloat for half a day until they lowered someone to pull him out, then treated him with respect. He disembarked at Bijāya, where he taught and preached, and the people flocked to him, but its ruler grew afraid and expelled him. He was also highly skilled in geomancy (khatt al-raml).

Another report says he arrived at al-Jafr and met ʿAbd al-Muʾmin; afterward ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Sharqī joined them, and together they travelled to the farthest reaches of the Maghrib.

It is also said that he met ʿAbd al-Muʾmin while the latter was teaching children in the district of Mitīja. ʿAbd al-Muʾmin had dreamt that he was eating with King ʿAlī ibn Tāshfīn, that he ate more than the king, and then snatched the dish away. The dream-interpreter told him, “This vision is not meant for you; it belongs to the man who will rise up against the Commander of the Muslims and will finally gain mastery over his lands.”

Ibn Tūmart was habitually silent, perpetually reserved, and inspired awe in people’s hearts. On one occasion he was told that a certain man was in prison. He went to the jail; the warders hurried to rub themselves against him for blessing. He called out, “So-and-so!” The prisoner answered. Ibn Tūmart said, “Come out,” and the man walked free while the warders stood dumbfounded. Ibn Tūmart took him away; nothing proved difficult for him. He then left Tlemcen, having won the hearts of its notables, proceeded to Fez, and began enjoining what is right.

(1) See al-Mujib, pp. 246–255.

أَعْنَاقِهِم مُثْخَناً، فَقَالَ لَهُم البَشِيْر: إِنَّهُ لاَ يَموتُ حَتَّى تُفتح البِلاَد. ثُمَّ بَعْدَ مُدَّة، فَتح عينِيه، وَسلَّم، فَلَمَّا أَتَوْا، عَزَّاهُم ابْن تُوْمرت، وَقَالَ: يَوْمٌ بِيَوْمٍ، وَكَذَلِكَ حربُ الرُّسل. وَقَالَ عبدُ الوَاحِد المَرَّاكُشِي (١) :سَمِعَ ابْنَ تُوْمرت بِبَغْدَادَ مِنَ المُبَارَك بن الطُّيُورِي، وَأَخَذَ الأُصُوْلَ عَنِ الشَّاشِيّ، وَنَفَاهُ مِنَ الإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةِ أَمِيْرُهَا، فَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّهُ اسْتمرَّ يُنكر فِي الْمركب، فَأَلْقَوْهُ، فَأَقَامَ نِصْفَ يَوْم يَعوم، فَأَنْزَلُوا مَنْ أَطلعه، وَاحتَرَمُوْهُ، فَنَزَلَ بِبِجَايَة، فَدرَّس وَوعظ، وَأَقْبَلُوا عَلَيْهِ، فَخَافَ صَاحِبُهَا، وَأَخْرَجه، وَكَانَ بارعاً فِي خطِّ الرَّمل. وَقِيْلَ: وَقَعَ بِالجفر، وَصَادف عبدَ المُؤْمِن، ثُمَّ لقيهُمَا عبدُ الوَاحِد الشَّرْقِيّ، فَسَارُوا إِلَى أَقْصَى المَغْرِب. وَقِيْلَ: لقِيَ عبدَ المُؤْمِن يُؤدِّب بِأَرْضِ متيّجَة، وَرَأَى عبدَ المُؤْمِن أَنَّهُ يَأْكُلُ مَعَ الْملك عَلِيٍّ بن تَاشفِيْن، وَأَنَّهُ زَادَ عَلَى أَكله، ثُمَّ اخْتطف مِنْهُ الصّحفَةَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ العَابر: لاَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَكُوْن هَذِهِ الرُّؤيَا لَكَ، بَلْ لِمَنْ يَثُوْرُ عَلَى أَمِيْرِ المُسْلِمِين إِلَى أَنْ يَغْلِبَ عَلَى بلاَده. وَكَانَ ابْنُ تُوْمرت طَوِيْلَ الصَّمْت، دَائِمَ الِانْقِبَاض، لَهُ هَيْبَةٌ فِي النُّفُوْس، قِيْلَ لَهُ مرَّة: فُلاَن مسجُوْنٌ، فَأَتَى الحَبْسَ، فَابْتدر السجَانُوْنَ يَتمسَّحُوْنَ بِهِ، فَنَادَى: فُلاَن، فَأَجَابَهُ، فَقَالَ: اخْرج، فَخَرَجَ، وَالسَّجَّانُوْنَ باهتُوْنَ، فَذَهَبَ بِهِ، وَكَانَ لاَ يَتعذر عَلَيْهِ أَمرٌ، وَانفصل، عَنْ تِلمسَان وَقَدِ اسْتحوذ عَلَى قلوبِ كُبرَائِهَا، فَأَتَى فَاس، وَأَخَذَ فِي الأَمْر بِالمَعْرُوف.

(١) في " المعجب ": ص: ٢٤٦ - ٢٥٥.