Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/423)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Al-Shaʿbī said: ʿAmmār was once asked about a legal issue. He replied, “Has this actually happened yet?” They answered, “No.” He said, “Then leave us until it does occur; when it does, we will shoulder the task of ruling on it for you.” (1)

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī al-Hudhayl said: “I saw ʿAmmār purchase a bundle of cotton for one dirham and carry it on his back—while he was the governor of Kufah.” (2)

Al-Aʿmash, from Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, from al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd, related that a man from Kufah informed against ʿAmmār to ʿUmar. ʿAmmār said to him, “If you are lying, may Allah increase your wealth and your children, and make you someone whose heels are trampled.” (3)

It is also said that people went to ʿUmar with complaints about ʿAmmār concerning matters he disliked, so ʿUmar removed him from office but did not reprimand him.

Another account states that when ʿUmar asked Jarīr about ʿAmmār, Jarīr replied, “He is neither competent nor knowledgeable in administration.”

Al-Aʿmash, from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, said: ʿUmar asked them about ʿAmmār, and they praised him, saying, “By Allah, it was not you who appointed him over us; Allah appointed him.” ʿUmar responded, “Fear Allah and speak as people should speak. By Allah, I am the one who placed him in authority over you. If I was right, that was from Allah; if I was wrong, it is on me.”

Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind (4), from al-Shaʿbī, reported that ʿUmar said to ʿAmmār, “Did my dismissing you upset you?” He replied, “If you wish to know, it pained me when you appointed me, and it pained me when you dismissed me.” (5)

(1) Reported by Ibn Saʿd, vol. 3, part 1, p. 183. (2) Reported by Ibn Saʿd, vol. 3, part 1, p. 182. The term al-qat, also called al-fasfasah, refers to the fresh clover used as fodder for animals. (3) Reported by Ibn Saʿd, vol. 3, part 1, p. 183, and by Abu Nuʿaym in Hilyat al-awliyaʾ, vol. 1, p. 142. In the printed edition the nisba al-Taymi has been mistakenly changed to al-Tamimi. (4) In the printed text the name “Dawud ibn Abi Hind” has been moved to the end of the report and garbled into “Dawud ʿan Abi Hind.” (5) Reported by Ibn Saʿd, vol. 3, part 1, p. 183; the chain there is: al-Shaʿbi, from ʿAmir, who said: ʿUmar …

قَالَ الشَّعْبِيُّ: سُئِلَ عَمَّارٌ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ، فَقَالَ: هَلْ كَانَ هَذَا بَعْدُ؟ قَالُوا: لاَ. قَالَ: فَدَعُوْنَا حَتَّى يَكُوْنَ، فَإِذَا كَانَ تَجَشَّمْنَاهُ لَكُم (١) . قَالَ عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ أَبِي الهُذَيْلِ: رَأَيْتُ عَمَّاراً اشْتَرَى قَتّاً بِدِرْهَمٍ، وَحَمَلَهُ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ، وَهُوَ أَمِيْرُ الكُوْفَةِ (٢) . الأَعْمَشُ: عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ التَّيْمِيِّ، عَنِ الحَارِثِ بنِ سُوَيْدٍ: أَنَّ رَجُلاً مِنَ الكُوْفَةِ وَشَى بِعَمَّارٍ إِلَى عُمَرَ. فَقَالَ لَهُ عَمَّارٌ: إِنْ كُنْتَ كَاذِباً فَأَكْثَرَ اللهُ مَالَكَ وَوَلَدَكَ، وَجَعَلَكَ مُوَطَّأَ العَقِبَيْنِ (٣) . وَيُقَالُ: سَعَوْا بِعَمَّارٍ إِلَى عُمَرَ فِي أَشْيَاءَ كَرِهَهَا لَهُ، فَعَزَلَهُ وَلَمْ يُؤَنِّبْهُ. وَقِيْلَ: إِنَّ جَرِيْراً سَأَلَهُ عُمَرُ عَنْ عَمَّارٍ، فَقَالَ: هُوَ غَيْرُ كَافٍ وَلاَ عَالِمٍ بِالسِّيَاسَةِ. الأَعْمَشُ: عَنْ حَبِيْبِ بنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ: سَأَلَهُمْ عُمَرُ عَنْ عَمَّارٍ، فَأَثْنَوْا عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالُوا: وَاللهِ مَا أَنْتَ أَمَّرْتَهُ عَلَيْنَا، وَلَكِنَّ اللهَ أَمَّرَهُ. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: اتَّقُوا اللهَ، وَقُوْلُوا كَمَا يُقَالُ، فَوَاللهِ لأَنَا أَمَّرْتُهُ عَلَيْكُم، فَإِنْ كَانَ صَوَاباً فَمِنَ قِبَلِ اللهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ خَطَأً إِنَّهُ مِنْ قِبَلِي. دَاوْدُ بنُ أَبِي هِنْدٍ (٤) : عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ: قَالَ عُمَرُ لِعَمَّارٍ: أَسَاءكَ عَزْلُنَا إِيَّاكَ؟ قَالَ: لَئِنْ قُلْتَ ذَاكَ، لَقَدْ سَاءنِي حِيْنَ اسْتَعْمَلْتَنِي، وَسَاءنِي حِيْنَ عَزَلْتَنِي (٥) .

(١) أخرجه ابن سعد ٣ / ١ / ١٨٣. (٢) أخرجه ابن سعد ٣ / ١ / ١٨٢، والقت: الفصفصة، وهي الرطبة من علف الدواب. (٣) أخرجه ابن سعد ٣ / ١ / ١٨٣، وأبو نعيم في " الحلية " ١ / ١٤٢. وقد تحرف التيمي في المطبوع إلى " التميمي ". (٤) نقل " داود بن أبي هند " في المطبوع إلى نهاية الخبر وحرف إلى " داود عن أبي هند ". (٥) أخرجه ابن سعد ٣ / ١ / ١٨٣، وفيه: الشعبي، عن عامر، قال عمر: ...