Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (22/198)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Ibn al-Najjar said: Al-Nāṣir honored me with an ijāzah, and I transmitted from him in the Two Sanctuaries, Damascus, Jerusalem, Aleppo, Baghdad, Isfahan, Nishapur, Marw, and Hamadan.

Al-Muwaffaq said: For a time al-Nāṣir corresponded with Jalāl al-Dīn al-Ṣabbāḥī, lord of Alamut, urging him to restore the public rites of Islam—prayer and fasting—which they had abandoned in the days of Sinān, telling him, “If you do that, we shall be one hand.” It so happened that an envoy of the Khwārazm-Shāh arrived, and letters were forged in the envoy’s name concerning the mulāḥidah (heretics). The letters contained threats, a firm resolve to strike at them, to raze their fortresses, and a request that al-Nāṣir provide assistance. One of their men who lived in Baghdad was seized, shown the letters, and then dispatched in the middle of the night by postal relay with those letters—and with others from al-Nāṣir written in a tone of advice. When he reached Alamut he terrified them, and they outwardly embraced Islam and reinstated the rites (1). They sent an emissary accompanied by two hundred youths and large gold dinars engraved with: “There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” The two hundred processed with the coins, loudly proclaiming the two testimonies of faith.

Al-Nāṣir (2) had filled hearts with awe and fear; even the peoples of India and Egypt stood in dread of him, and in this way he revived the majesty of the caliphate. I myself was in Egypt and Syria, in the private gatherings of kings and grandees: whenever his name was mentioned they would lower their voices out of reverence for him.

A merchant returned to Baghdad bringing with him gilded wares from Damietta. They questioned him about them, but he concealed the matter. He was given precise descriptions of the goods—their number, colors, and kinds—yet his denial only grew stronger. He was told, “Among the identifying signs is that you became angry with your Turkish slave, so-and-so; you took him to the shore (3) of the sea at Damietta, killed him, and buried him there in secret.”

(1) As noted earlier in the biography of Jalal al-Din, his observance of the Islamic rites was driven purely by political motives; hence al-Dhahabi, in another context, dubbed him “Dalal al-Din” (the misguided one of the faith) rather than “Jalal al-Din.” (2) The preceding statement is by al-Muwafaq Abd al-Latif. (3) al-sayf, with a short i after the s (i.e., /sif/), denotes the seashore or coastal strip.

قَالَ ابْنُ النَّجَّارِ: شرّفنِي النَّاصِر بِالإِجَازَةِ، وَرويت عَنْهُ بِالحَرَمَيْنِ وَدِمَشْق وَالقُدْس وَحَلَب وَبَغْدَاد وَأَصْبَهَان وَنَيْسَابُوْر وَمرو وَهَمَذَان. قَالَ المُوَفَّقُ: وَأَقَامَ مُدَّة يُرَاسل جَلاَل الدِّيْنِ الصَّبَّاحِيّ صَاحِب الأَلموت يرَاوده أَنْ يَعيد شعَار الإِسْلاَم مِنَ الصَّلاَةِ وَالصّيَام مِمَّا تركوهُ فِي زَمَان سنَان، وَيَقُوْلُ لَهُم: إِنَّكُم إِذَا فَعَلتُم ذَلِكَ كُنَّا يَداً وَاحِدَة، وَاتّفقَ أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ خُوَارِزْم شَاه قَدِمَ فَزوّر عَلَى لِسَانه كتب فِي حق الملاَحدَة تَشتمل عَلَى الْوَعيد، وَعَزْم الإِيقَاع بِهِم، وَأَنَّهُ يَخرّب قلاعهُم وَيطلب مِنَ النَّاصِر المعونَة، وَأُحضر رَجُل مِنْهُم كَانَ قَاطناً بِبَغْدَادَ وَوقِّفَ عَلَى الكُتُب، وَأُخْرِج بِهَا وَبكُتُب مِنَ النَّاصِر عَلَى وَجه النّصح نِصْف اللَّيْل عَلَى البَرِيْدِ، فَقَدِم الأَلموت فَأَرهبهُم فَتظَاهِرُوا بِالإِسْلاَمِ وَإِقَامَة الشّعَار (١) ، وَبعثَوا رَسُوْلاً مَعَهُ مائَتَا شَابّ وَدَنَانِيْر كِبَاراً عَلَيْهَا: لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ الله مُحَمَّد رَسُوْل اللهِ، وَطَافَ المائَتَانِ بِهَا يَعلنُوْنَ بِالشهَادتين. وَكَانَ (٢) النَّاصِر قَدْ ملأَ القُلُوْب هَيْبَة وَخيفَة، حَتَّى كَانَ يَرهبه أَهْل الهِنْد، وَأَهْل مِصْرَ، فَأَحيَى هَيْبَة الخِلاَفَة. لَقَدْ كُنْت بِمِصْرَ وَبِالشَّام فِي خلوَات المُلُوْك وَالأَكَابِر إِذَا جَرَى ذَكَرَهُ خفضُوا أَصوَاتهُم إِجلاَلاَ لَهُ. وَردَ بَغْدَاد تَاجر مَعَهُ مَتَاع دِمْيَاط المُذَهَّب، فَسَأَلُوْهُ عَنْهُ فَأَخفَاهُ فَأُعْطِي علاَمَات فِيْهِ مِنْ عدده وَأَلوَانه وَأَصْنَافه، فَازدَاد إِنْكَاره، فَقِيْلَ لَهُ: مِنَ العلاَمَات أَنَّك نَقمْت عَلَى مَمْلُوْكك فُلاَن التُّرْكِيّ فَأَخَذتهُ إِلَى سَيْف (٣) بَحر دِمْيَاط وَقتلته، وَدفنته هُنَاكَ خلوَة.

(١) قد نوهنا في ترجمة جلال الدين إلى أن إقامته شعائر الإسلام إنما كان لأغراض سياسية بحتة، لذلك نعته الذهبي في غير هذا الموضع بلقب " ضلال الدين " بدلا من " جلال الدين ". (٢) الكلام للموفق عبد اللطيف. (٣) السيف - بكسر السين -: الساحل.