Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (22/170)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

of the greatest saints could accomplish; for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah has not bestowed upon any servant a blessing superior to inspiring him to remember Him.”

From this I concluded that being inspired to remember Allah is better than extraordinary miracles (karamāt), and that the best remembrance is the one that reaches other people—namely, teaching sacred knowledge and the sunnah. Greater and finer still are those virtues that are innate (1) and ingrained in one’s nature, such as forbearance, generosity, sound judgment, and modesty. Allah had fashioned him upon a noble disposition, poured virtues upon him in full measure, completed His favors over him, and dealt graciously with him in every circumstance.

Al-Ḍiyāʾ said: “Al-Muwaffaq never entered into debate with anyone without smiling.”

I added: “In fact, most of those whom we have observed do not debate anyone without scowling (2).”

It was also said that al-Muwaffaq once debated Ibn Fazlān al-Shāfiʿī—whose prowess in disputation had become proverbial—and defeated him.

Al-Muwaffaq used to remain seated after the Friday prayer for a period devoted to debate; the jurists would gather around him. He would occupy himself (3) with them until the sun was high, and again from after ẓuhr until sunset, without ever growing weary. They would read to him, and he would teach grammar as well. Hardly anyone who laid eyes on him failed to love him … until al-Ḍiyāʾ said:

“I never knew him to break a student’s heart. He had a maidservant who would vex him with her manners, yet he never said a word to her; his children would quarrel among themselves, and he would remain silent.”

And I heard (4) al-Bahāʾ say: “I have never seen anyone more able to bear things with patience than he.”

(1) Al-jibla means a person’s innate constitution or natural disposition; cf. the Qur’anic expression “wal-jibillati al-awwalin” (al-Shuara 184). (2) The term derives from as-sam (the letter sin may be read with either fatḥa or ḍamma). Al-Dhahabi introduced it as a response to the unwillingness for scholarly debate that he noticed among his contemporaries. (3) Al-ashghal denotes the activity of teaching and must not be confused with al-ishtighal, which refers to the pursuit of study; this distinction is well-established in the technical vocabulary of later scholars. (4) The act of audition (sama) pertains to al-Diya; the same applies to the anecdotes that follow.

الأَوْلِيَاءِ، فَإِنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ: (مَا أَنْعَمَ اللهُ عَلَى عَبْدٍ نَعمَةً أَفْضَلَ مِنْ أَنْ يُلْهِمَهُ ذِكْرَهُ) . فَقُلْتُ بِهَذَا: إِنَّ إِلهَامَ الذِّكْرِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الكَرَامَاتِ، وَأَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ مَا يَتَعَدَّى إِلَى العبَادِ، وَهُوَ تَعَلِيْمُ العِلْمِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، وَأَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَأَحْسَنُ مَا كَانَ جِبِلَّةً (١) وَطبعاً؛ كَالحلمِ، وَالكرمِ، وَالعقلِ، وَالحيَاءِ، وَكَانَ اللهُ قَدْ جَبَلَهُ عَلَى خُلُقٍ شَرِيْفٍ، وَأَفرغَ عَلَيْهِ المَكَارِمَ إِفرَاغاً، وَأَسبغَ عَلَيْهِ النِّعَمَ، وَلطفَ بِهِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ. قَالَ الضِّيَاءُ: كَانَ المُوَفَّقُ لاَ يُنَاظِرُ أَحَداً إِلاَّ وَهُوَ يَتبَسَّمُ. قُلْتُ: بَلْ أَكْثَرُ مَنْ عَايَنَّا لاَ يُنَاظرُ أَحَداً إِلاَّ وَيَنْسَمُّ (٢) . وَقِيْلَ: إِنَّ المُوَفَّقَ نَاظرَ ابْنَ فَضلاَن الشَّافِعِيَّ الَّذِي كَانَ يُضْرَبُ بِهِ المَثَلُ فِي المُنَاظَرَةِ، فَقطعَهُ. وَبَقِيَ المُوَفَّقُ يَجْلِسُ زَمَاناً بَعْد الجُمُعَةِ لِلمُنَاظَرَةِ، وَيَجْتَمِعُ إِلَيْهِ الفُقَهَاءُ، وَكَانَ يُشغلُ (٣) إِلَى ارْتفَاعِ النَّهَارِ، وَمِنْ بَعْدِ الظُّهْرِ إِلَى المَغْرِبِ وَلاَ يَضجَرُ، وَيَسَمَعُوْنَ عَلَيْهِ، وَكَانَ يُقرِئُ فِي النَّحْوِ، وَكَانَ لاَ يَكَادُ يَرَاهُ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ أَحَبَّهُ ... ، إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ الضِّيَاءُ: وَمَا علمتُ أَنَّهُ أَوجعَ قَلْبَ طَالبٍ، وَكَانَتْ لَهُ جَارِيَةٌ تُؤْذِيْهِ بِخُلُقِهَا، فَمَا يَقُوْلُ لَهَا شَيْئاً، وَأَوْلاَدُهُ يَتضَاربُوْنَ، وَهُوَ لاَ يَتَكَلَّمُ. وَسَمِعْتُ (٤) البَهَاءَ يَقُوْلُ: مَا رَأَيْتُ أَكْثَرَ احتمَالاً مِنْهُ.

(١) الجبلة: الخلقة، ومنه قوله تعالى: (والجبلة الأولين) (الشعراء: ١٨٤) . (٢) من السم - بفتح السين وضمها - وهو نتيجة لما كان يراه الذهبي بين أهل عصره من الضيق بالمناظرة العلمية. (٣) الاشغال: التدريس، وهو غير " الاشتغال " بمعنى الطلب، وهذه اصطلاحات معروفة عند المتأخرين. (٤) السماع للضياء، هو والذي بعده من الحكايات.