Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (21/318)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Ibn Rushd so that he might show him favor; the philosopher came, but died, and a short time later Yaʿqūb himself passed away.

Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn had earlier written to Yaʿqūb, seeking his help during the siege of Acre. He sent him an impressive present and addressed him with marked deference, even consenting to style him “Commander of the Faithful.” Yaʿqūb accepted the courtesy, yet al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn’s chancery secretary, refused to employ the title (1).

It is reported that Yaʿqūb abolished wine throughout his realms and threatened severe punishment for it, so that none could be found. Later he said to the physician Abū Jaʿfar, “Compound a theriac for us.” Wine proved indispensable to the formula; when Abū Jaʿfar informed him of this, Yaʿqūb replied, “Procure it quietly, with tact.” The doctor strove but failed, whereupon the king remarked, “I had no real need of the theriac; I only wished to test my lands.”

It is also said that Alfonso wrote to Yaʿqūb, threatening and upbraiding him, demanding certain territories, and adding: “You keep procrastinating, stepping forward with one foot while holding the other back. I know not whether it is cowardice that delays you or disbelief in what your Prophet promised you.”

When Yaʿqūb read the letter he bristled with anger, tore it to pieces, and on one scrap wrote: “Return to them; we shall come upon them with forces they cannot withstand…” (Q 27:37). “The answer,” he added, “is what you will see—not what you hear.
No letters leave us save the flashing swords,
No envoys go forth but with the massed Thursday host.”

He then summoned the populace to arms, mobilized and assembled troops until the register of his army

(1) This took place in the closing days of 587 AH. The envoy, Shams al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Munqidh, arrived on 20 Dhu al-Hijja and stayed until the day of Ashura in Muharram 588 AH. Salah al-Din’s request was simply that a fleet be dispatched to support the Muslim ships against the Crusader navy. Qadi al-Fadil had previously advised Salah al-Din not to send such a mission, yet it was tried—and failed. Abu Shama reproduces the full text of the letter drafted for the sultan by Qadi al-Fadil. The latter wished to include the honorific “Amir al-Muminin” (Commander of the Faithful), but Qadi al-Fadil refused, fearing it would anger the Abbasids. See also: Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 12/339; Ibn Wasil, Mufarrij al-Kurub, 2/496.

ابْنَ رُشْدٍ ليُحسن إِلَيْهِ، فَحضر، وَمَاتَ، ثُمَّ بَعْد يَسير مَاتَ يَعْقُوْب. وَقَدْ كتب صَلاَح الدِّيْنِ إِلَى يَعْقُوْبَ يَسْتَنجد بِهِ فِي حِصَار عكَّا، وَنفّذ إِلَيْهِ تَقدمَةً، وَخضع لَهُ، فَمَا رضِي لِكَوْنِهِ مَا لقّبه بِأَمِيْر المُؤْمِنِيْنَ، وَلَقَدْ سمح بِهَا، فَامْتَنَعَ مِنْهَا كَاتبه القَاضِي الفَاضِل (١) . وَقِيْلَ: إِنَّ يَعْقُوْب أَبطل الخَمْر فِي مَمَالِكه، وَتوعّد عَلَيْهَا فَعدمت، ثُمَّ قَالَ لأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الطَّبِيْب: ركِّب لَنَا ترِيَاقاً، فَأَعوزَه خمر، فَأَخْبَرَهُ بِذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ: تلطّف فِي تَحْصِيله سرّاً، فَحرص، فَعَجِزَ، فَقَالَ الْملك: مَا كَانَ لِي بِالتِّرْيَاق حَاجَة، لَكِن أَردت اخْتبَار بلاَدِي. قِيْلَ: إِنَّ الأَدفنش كتب إِلَيْهِ يُهدِّده، وَيُعنِّفه، وَيطلب مِنْهُ بَعْض البِلاَد، وَيَقُوْلُ: وَأَنْت تُمَاطل نَفْسك، وَتُقدِّم رِجْلاً، وَتُؤخِّر أُخْرَى، فَمَا أَدْرِي الجبنُ بَطَّأَ بِك، أَوِ التَّكذِيب بِمَا وَعدك نَبِيّك؟ فَلَمَّا قرَأَ الْكتاب، تَنمَّر، وَغَضِبَ، وَمزّقه، وَكَتَبَ عَلَى رقعَة مِنْهُ: ﴿ارْجِعْ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَلَنَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بِجُنُوْدٍ لاَ قِبَلَ لَهُمْ بِهَا ... ﴾ الآيَةَ [النَّمْلُ: ٣٧] ، الجَوَابُ مَا تَرَى لاَ مَا تسَمِع. وَلاَ كُتْب إِلاَّ المشرفِيَّةُ عِنْدنَا ... وَلاَ رُسْل إِلاَّ لِلْخَمِيْسِ العَرَمْرَمِ ثُمَّ اسْتنْفرَ سَائِر النَّاس، وَحشد، وَجَمَعَ حَتَّى احتوَى دِيْوَانُ جَيْشه

(١) كان ذلك في أواخر ٥٨٧، وكان السفير شمس الدين عبد الرحمان بن منقذ حيث وصل هناك في العشرين من ذي الحجة، وبقي إلى عاشوراء من المحرم سنة ٥٨٨، وكان طلب صلاح الدين يتلخص في إرسال مراكب في البحر تكون عونا للمسلمين على مراكب الصليبيين، وكان القاضي الفاضل قد نصح صلاح الدين بعدم الارسال، لكنها كانت محاولة، وفشلت. وقد أورد أبو شامة نص الكتاب الذي أرسله السلطان من إنشاء القاضي الفاضل، وأراد أن يذكر فيه لقب (أمير المؤمنين) ، لكن القاضي الفاضل امتنع خوفا من إغضاب العباسيين. (وانظر ابن كثير في (البداية) : ١٢ / ٣٣٩، وابن واصل في (مفرج الكروب) : ٢ / ٤٩٦) .