Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (21/316)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Emirs from Egypt also came to him, and he granted one of them nine thousand dinars. (1)

He did not subscribe to the doctrine of Ibn Tumart’s infallibility. (2)

On one occasion he asked a jurist, (3) “What have you studied?”
The man replied, “The Imam’s compilations. (4)”
He frowned at him (5) and said, “That is not how a seeker of knowledge should speak! Your answer ought to be: ‘I have studied the Book of Allah and I have studied the Sunnah; after that, mention whatever you wish.’”

Taj al-Din Ibn Hammuyah says: “I entered Marrakesh during the reign of Yaʿqūb (6). The whole world seemed adorned by his rule; people traveled to him for his virtue, his justice, his generosity, and the soundness of his creed. My own visit proved the sweetest of draughts and my purpose was fully achieved.

“His gatherings were graced by the presence of scholars and notables: they opened with Qur’an recitation, followed by hadith, after which he himself would supplicate. He excelled in memorizing the Qur’an, knew hadith by heart, spoke on jurisprudence, engaged in debate, and was regarded as adhering to the Zahiri school.

“He was eloquent, awe-inspiring, handsome, and perfectly built; no scowl was ever seen on his face, nor did he shun anyone in his assemblies. He dressed in the garb of ascetics and scholars while retaining the majesty of kings.

“He wrote on acts of worship and issued fatāwā (legal opinions), and I have been informed that the Sudanese presented to him…"

(1) For the full account, see al-Muʿjib, pp. 365-366. (2) The populace believed that Ibn Tumart was the awaited Mahdi. (3) The jurist in question is Abu Bakr ibn Hani al-Jiyani; the anecdote is reproduced in detail by ʿAbd al-Wahid in al-Muʿjib, p. 369, quoting this jurist as his source. (4) I.e. Ibn Tumart. (5) The wording in the earliest copy of al-Muʿjib reads: “He looked at me with an angry stare.” (6) Taj al-Din ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar ibn Hamawayh visited the Maghrib in 593 AH/1197 CE, lived at the Almohad court in close contact with Yaʿqub ibn Yusuf ibn ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, and remained there until 600 AH/1204 CE. He set down his memoirs in a work from which al-Dhahabi quotes extensively (al-Dhahabi wa Manhajuhu, p. 408). Ibn Khallikan also consulted the book in 668 AH/1270 CE and cited it in Wafayat, 7/5. Taj al-Din died in 642 AH/1244 CE; see al-Sibt, al-Mirʾa, 8/748; al-Maqri, Nafh al-Tib, 2/707; and al-Dhahabi’s chronology.

وَوَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَرَاء مِنْ مِصْرَ، فَأَقطع وَاحِداً تِسْعَة آلاَف دِيْنَار (١) . وَكَانَ لاَ يَقُوْلُ بالعِصْمَة فِي ابْن تُوْمَرْت (٢) . وَسَأَل فَقِيْهاً (٣) : مَا قَرَأْت؟ قَالَ: تَوَالِيف الإِمَام (٤) . قَالَ: فَزَوَرَنِي (٥) ، وَقَالَ: مَا كَذَا يَقُوْلُ الطَّالب! حُكْمك أَنْ تَقُوْلَ: قَرَأْت كِتَاب اللهِ، وَقَرَأْت مِنَ السّنَّة، ثُمَّ بَعْد ذَا قُل مَا شِئْت. قَالَ تَاج الدِّيْنِ ابْن حَمُّوَيْه: دَخَلت مَرَّاكش فِي أَيَّامِ يَعْقُوْب (٦) ، فَلَقَدْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا بسيَادته مجملَة، يُقصَد لِفَضْلِهِ وَلعدله وَلبذله وَحسن مُعْتَقده، فَأَعذب موردِي، وَأَنجح مقصدِي، وَكَانَتْ مَجَالِسُه مُزَيَّنَة بِحُضُوْرِ العُلَمَاء وَالفُضَلاَء، تُفتتَح بِالتِّلاَوَة ثُمَّ بِالحَدِيْثِ، ثُمَّ يَدعُو هُوَ، وَكَانَ يُجِيْد حَفِظ القُرْآن، وَيَحفظ الحَدِيْث، وَيَتكلَّم فِي الفِقْه، وَيُنَاظر، وَيَنسبونه إِلَى مَذْهَب الظَّاهِر. وَكَانَ فَصِيْحاً، مَهِيْباً، حسن الصُّوْرَة، تَامّ الخلقه، لاَ يُرَى مِنْهُ اكفهرَار، وَلاَ عَنْ مَجَالِسه إِعرَاض، بزِيّ الزُّهَّاد وَالعُلَمَاء، وَعَلَيْهِ جَلاَلَة المُلُوْك، صَنّف فِي العِبَادَات، وَلَهُ (فَتَاو) ، وَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ السودَان قَدَّمُوا لَهُ

(١) انظر تفاصيل ذلك في (المعجب) : ٣٦٥ - ٣٦٦. (٢) كانت العامة تعتقد أن ابن تومرت هو المهدي. (٣) هذا الفقيه هو أبو بكر بن هاني الجياني، وأصل الحكاية مفصلة عند عبد الواحد في (المعجب) وهو الذي رواها عن هذا الفقيه: ٣٦٩. (٤) يعني ابن تومرت. (٥) في أصل (المعجب) : فنظر إلي نظرة المغضب. (٦) زار تاج الدين عبد الله بن عمر بن حمويه المغرب سنة ٥٩٣ وعاش في بلاط الموحدين وكان على صلة وثيقة بيعقوب بن يوسف بن عبد المؤمن وبقي هناك إلى سنة ٦٠٠ فدون مذكراته في كتاب نقل منه الذهبي كثيرا في كتبه (الذهبي ومنهجه: ٤٠٨) وقد وقف عليه ابن خلكان أيضا سنة ٦٦٨ ونقل منه في (الوفيات) (راجع (الوفيات) : ٧ / ٥) وتوفي تاج الدين هذا سنة ٦٤٢ (السبط في (المرآة) : ٨ / ٧٤٨ والمقري في (نفح الطيب) : ٢ / ٧٠٧ وكتب الذهبي في سنة وفاته) .