Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (19/562)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Ibn al-Najjar said: Qutham ibn Ṭalḥah al-Zaynabī—whose autograph I have before me—related that, at the outset of his life, al-Mustarshid devoted himself to ascetic worship: he wore wool, engaged in constant devotion, completed a full recitation of the Qur’an, and studied jurisprudence. Among all the caliphs none wrote a finer hand than he. He would review the work of his secretaries, correcting the slips that crept into their documents, and Ibn al-Anbārī used to say, “I am merely the copyist of the correspondence, while the master of the realm composes it himself with his noble hand.”

Ibn al-Najjar also reports that he combined dignity, awe-inspiring presence, courage, and daring. His reign, however, was continually clouded by the disturbances of his opponents, and he would ride out in person to repel them and take direct command. On one such campaign he was defeated, captured, and then martyred at the hands of the mulāḥidah (heretical Bāṭinīs). He had, in addition, heard hadith.

He composed graceful poetry and polished prose, and his judgment was marked by rare nobility.

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Munʿim informed us; al-Kindī informed us; Ismāʿīl ibn al-Samarqandī informed us; ʿAlī ibn Ṭirād informed us; al-Mustarshid bi-Allah informed us; Ibn Bayān al-Razzāz informed us; Ibn Makhlad informed us; al-Ṣaffār related to us; al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafah narrated to us—whereupon he cited a hadith.

Ibn al-Najjar said: Hibat Allah ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Sibt recited to us, from memory, verses by al-Mustarshid bi-Allah:

“They said, ‘Will you stand your ground while the enemy has encircled you, and yet you do not flee?’
I replied to them: ‘A man who never heeds admonition remains a fool.
May I never taste any good while I live, nor may time spare me from harm
If ever I believe that anyone other than Allah can grant benefit or inflict injury.’ (1)

(1) He recited these lines after his troops were routed and his advisers recommended retreat; they are cited in: al-Safadi, Fawat al-Wafayat, vol. 3, p. 180; al-Subki, Tabaqat (vol. 7, p. 259); al-Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa, p. 433; and Ibn al-Basti, Khurida al-Qasr, vol. 1, p. 31.

قَالَ ابْنُ النَّجَّار: ذكر قُثَم بن طَلْحَةَ الزَّيْنَبِيّ - وَمِنْ خطِّه نَقُلْتُ -:أَنَّ المُسْترشد كَانَ يَتنسَّكُ فِي أَوَّل زَمَنه، وَيَلْبَسُ الصُّوف، وَيَتعبَّدُ، وَختم القُرْآن، وَتَفَقَّهَ، لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الخُلَفَاء مَنْ كَتَب أَحْسَنَ مِنْهُ، وَكَانَ يَسْتَدْرِكُ عَلَى كُتَّابه، وَيُصلِحُ أَغَاليطَ فِي كُتبهِم، وَكَانَ ابْنُ الأَنْبَارِيّ يَقُوْلُ: أَنَا وَرَّاق الإِنشَاء وَمَالِكُ الأَمْر يَتولَّى ذَلِكَ بِنَفْسِهِ الشَّرِيْفَة. قَالَ ابْنُ النَّجَّار: كَانَ ذَا شَهَامَةٍ وَهَيْبَة، وَشجَاعَةٍ وَإِقدَامٍ، وَلَمْ تَزَلْ أَيَّامُه مُكَدَّرَةً بِتَشْوِيشِ المخَالفِيْن، وَكَانَ يَخْرُجُ بِنَفْسِهِ لدفع ذَلِكَ وَمبَاشرته إِلَى أَنْ خَرَجَ، فَكُسِرَ، وَأُسِرَ، ثُمَّ اسْتُشْهِدَ عَلَى يَدِ الملاَحدَة، وَكَانَ قَدْ سَمِعَ الحَدِيْثَ. قَالَ: وَلَهُ نَظْمٌ، وَنثرٌ مليح، وَنُبْلُ رَأْي. أَخْبَرَنَا عُمَرُ بنُ عبد المُنْعِم، أَنْبَأَنَا الكِنْدِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْمَاعِيْلُ بنُ السَّمَرْقَنْدي، أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بنُ طِرَاد، أَخْبَرَنَا المُسْترشِدُ بِاللهِ، أَخْبَرْنَا ابْنُ بيَان الرَّزَّاز، أَخْبَرْنَا ابْنُ مَخْلَد، أَخْبَرَنَا الصَّفَّارُ، حَدَّثَنَا الحَسَنُ بنُ عَرَفَةَ ... ، فَذَكَرَ حَدِيْثاً. قَالَ ابْنُ النَّجَّار: أَنشدنَا هِبَةُ اللهِ بنُ الحَسَنِ بنِ السِبْط حِفْظاً لِلمُسْترشد بِاللهِ: قَالُوا: تُقِيْمُ وَقَدْ أَحَا ... طَ بِكَ العَدُوُّ وَلاَ تَفِرُّ فَأَجَبْتُهُمْ: المَرْءُ مَا لَمْ ... يَتَّعِظْ بِالوَعْظِ غِرُّ لاَ نِلْتُ خَيراً مَا حَيِيْتُ ... وَلاَ عَدَانِي الدَّهْرَ شَرُّ إِنْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ أَنْ غَيْـ ... ـرَ اللهِ يَنْفَعُ أَوْ يَضِرُّ (١)

(١) الأبيات قالها لما كسر وأشير عليه بالهزيمة وهي في " فوات الوفيات ": ٣ / ١٨٠، " طبقات السبكي ": ٧ / ٢٥٩، " تاريخ الخلفاء ": ٤٣٣، " خريدة القصر ": ١ / ٣١.