Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (21/296)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

They wrested ʿAlī of the rank that was his, for after the Messenger he had in radiant Tayba no champion. (1)
So rejoice! Tomorrow they must answer to him; be patient, for the Imām al-Nāṣir is your supporter. (2)

Al-Afdal died suddenly at Sumaissāṭ in Ṣafar, 622 AH. After him, his brother Mūsā assumed power, adopted his title, and lived on until a year in the early 630s AH. Sumaissāṭ is (3) a fortress on the Euphrates near al-Khakhtā (4); it has now fallen into ruin.

He lived fifty-six years, and was known for polished correspondence, learning, and an elegant hand.

ʿIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr (5) said: “He was one of the adornments of the world; among kings he had no peer.”

He was pious, just, virtuous, forbearing, and generous—may Allah Most High have mercy on him.

Among his poetry:
O you who blacken your grey hairs(6) with dye,
Hoping thereby to join the company of youth,
Come, dye them once with the blackness of my good fortune,
And rest assured—the color will never fade.

154 – al-Ẓāhir Ghāzī ibn Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb*
Sultan of Aleppo, al-Malik al-Ẓāhir, Ghiyāth al-Dīn, Abū Manṣūr Ghāzī

(1) Ibn Khallikan reports the wording as: “after the Prophet, his [resting-place] was in Yathrib,” whereas Tarikh al-Islam reads: “…in Tayba (Medina).” (2) Al-Dhahabi notes in Tarikh al-Islam: “It is alleged—but the report is not sound—that he mustered seventy thousand men to come to his aid; before they set out news arrived that the affair was over, so the mobilisation was cancelled.” (3) I.e. Sumaysat. (4) So in the base manuscript, although Yaqut does not mention it. In the author’s autographed copy of Tarikh al-Islam it reads: “It is a fortress on the Euphrates between Qalat al-Rum and Malatya” (folio 24, Aya Sofya 3012). (5) Al-Kamil, 12/176. (6) Tarikh al-Islam: “his poetry.” (*) A biographical entry is provided by Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, 12/129, and by Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Miraah, 8/579.

غَصَبُوا عَلِيّاً حَقَّهُ إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ ... بَعْدَ الرَّسُول لَهُ بطَيْبَةَ نَاصِرُ (١) فَابِشِرْ، فَإِنَّ غداً عَلَيْهِ حسَابهُم ... وَاصبرْ، فَنَاصِرُكَ الإِمَامُ النَّاصِرُ (٢) مَاتَ الأَفْضَل: فُجَاءةً، بِسُمَيْسَاط، فِي صَفَرٍ، سَنَةَ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَعِشْرِيْنَ وَسِتِّ مائَةٍ، فَتَمَلَّكَ بَعْدَهُ أَخُوْهُ مُوْسَى، وَلُقّب بِلَقَبِهِ، وَعَاشَ إِلَى سَنَةِ نَيِّفٍ وَثَلاَثِيْنَ وَسِتِّ مائَةٍ، وَهِيَ (٣) قَلْعَةٌ عَلَى الفُرَات قَرِيْبَة مِنَ الكختَا (٤) ، وَقَدْ دَثَرَتِ الآنَ. عَاشَ سِتّاً وَخَمْسِيْنَ سَنَةً، وَلَهُ ترسُّلٌ وَفضِيْلَة وَخطّ مَنْسُوْب. قَالَ عِزّ الدِّيْنِ ابْن الأَثِيْرِ (٥) : وَكَانَ مِنْ مَحَاسِن الدُّنْيَا، لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِي المُلُوْك مِثْل. كَانَ خَيّراً، عَادِلاً، فَاضِلاً، حليماً، كَرِيْماً -رَحِمَهُ الله تَعَالَى-. وَمِنْ شِعْرِهِ: يَا مَنْ يُسَوِّدُ شَيْبَه (٦) بِخِضَابهِ ... لَعَسَاهُ فِي أَهْلِ الشَّبِيْبَةِ يَحصُلُ هَا فَاخْتَضِبْ بِسوَادِ حَظِّي مرَّةً ... وَلَكَ الأَمَانُ بِأَنَّهُ لاَ يَنْصُلُ ١٥٤ - الظَّاهِرُ غَازِي بنُ صَلاَحِ الدِّيْنِ يُوْسُفَ بنِ أَيُّوْبَ * سُلْطَانُ حَلَبَ، المَلكُ الظَّاهِرُ، غِيَاثُ الدِّيْنِ، أَبُو مَنْصُوْرٍ غَازِي

(١) ابن خلكان: (بعد النبي له بيثرب) . وفي (تاريخ الإسلام) : بعد النبي له بطيبة. (٢) قال الذهبي في (تاريخ الإسلام) : (وقيل، ولم يصح، أنه جرد سبعين ألفا لنصرته، فجاء الخبر أن الامر قد فات فبطل التجريد) . (٣) يعني سميساط. (٤) هكذا في الأصل ولم يذكرها ياقوت. وفي (تاريخ الإسلام) الذي بخط المؤلف: (وهي قلعة على الفرات بين قلعة الروم وملطية) (الورقة: ٢٤ - أيا صوفيا ٣٠١٢) (٥) (الكامل) : ١٢ / ١٧٦ (٦) في (تاريخ الإسلام) : شعره. (*) ترجم له ابن الأثير في الكامل: ١٢ / ١٢٩، وسبط ابن الجوزي في المرآة: ٨ / ٥٧٩، =