Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (3/71)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

the thorn-bush and the acacia pod. We are the people of Allah’s House. Our land was the tightest of all lands and our livelihood the worst of any people: we would eat carrion and blood, and we raided one another. We lived the most wretched life human beings ever lived—until a man arose among us who, on that day, was neither the most eminent in lineage nor the richest in wealth. He declared, “I am Allah’s Messenger to you,” commanding us to do things we had never known and forbidding us from what we had always practiced.
So we spurned him, denied him, and rejected his call, until a group other than us came out to him and said, “We believe you and will fight those who fight you.”
He joined them, while we marched out against him and fought him, but he prevailed over us. Then he fought the Arabs nearest to him and prevailed over them as well. If you knew how many Arab tribes lie behind me—and the straitened life they are enduring—there would not remain a single one of them but that he would come to you.
The man laughed and said, “Your envoy has spoken the truth. Messengers came to us with the same message, and we followed it until kings arose among us who acted according to their own desires and abandoned the command of the prophets. If you hold fast to the command of your Prophet, no one who fights you will overcome you; but if you do as we did and abandon the command of your Prophet, you will be neither greater in number than we are nor stronger than we are in might.” (1)

Al-Zuhrī said: When ʿUthmān became caliph, he removed ʿAmr from Egypt and appointed ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Sarḥ in his place.

Juwayriyyah ibn Asmāʾ narrated: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr told me, and our elders related:
When the civil strife erupted, ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ remained in Mecca until the Battle of the Camel took place. When it did, he sent for his two sons, ʿAbd Allāh and Muḥammad, and said:
“I have reached a decision, and neither of you will turn me from it, but give me your counsel. I have seen that the Arabs have become like two raging torrents (2) crashing against one another, so I intend to cast myself between…"

(1) Ibn Asakir, vol. 3, pp. 258b–259a. (2) The term is the dual of ghar, which denotes a very large crowd; some restrict it to a large army. Thus one says al-taqa al-gharan, meaning “the two armies met.” Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays employed the word when speaking of Ibn al-Zubayr’s withdrawal from the Battle of the Camel: “What can I do with him? He had brought together two vast hosts of people, only to leave them and depart.”

الشَّوْكِ وَالقُرْظِ، وَنَحْنُ أَهْلُ بَيْتِ اللهِ، كُنَّا أَضْيَقَ النَّاسِ أَرْضاً، وَشَرَّهُ عَيْشاً، نَأْكُلُ المَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ، وَيُغِيْرُ بَعْضُنَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ، كُنَّا بِشَرِّ عَيْشٍ عَاشَ بِهِ النَّاسُ، حَتَّى خَرَجَ فِيْنَا رَجُلٌ لَيْسَ بِأَعْظَمِنَا يَوْمَئِذٍ شَرَفاً وَلاَ أَكْثَرِنَا مَالاً، قَالَ: أَنَا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ إِلَيْكُم، يَأْمُرُنَا بِمَا لاَ نَعْرِفُ، وَيَنْهَانَا عَمَّا كُنَّا عَلَيْهِ. فَشَنِفْنَا لَهُ، وَكَذَّبْنَاهُ، وَرَدَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ، حَتَّى خَرَجَ إِلَيْهِ قَوْمٌ مِنْ غَيْرِنَا، فَقَالُوا: نَحْنُ نُصَدِّقُكَ، وَنُقَاتِلُ مَنْ قَاتَلَكَ. فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِم، وَخَرَجْنَا إِلَيْهِ، وَقَاتَلْنَاهُ، فَظَهَرَ عَلَيْنَا، وَقَاتَلَ مَنْ يَلِيْهِ مِنَ العَرَبِ، فَظَهَرَ عَلَيْهِم، فَلَو تَعْلَمُ مَا وَرَائِي مِنَ العَرَبِ مَا أَنْتُم فِيْهِ مِنَ العَيْشِ لَمْ يَبْقَ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ جَاءكُم. فَضَحِكَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُوْلَكُم قَدْ صَدَقَ، وَقَدْ جَاءتْنَا رُسُلٌ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ، وَكُنَّا عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى ظَهَرَتْ فِيْنَا مُلُوْكٌ، فَعَمِلُوا فِيْنَا بِأَهْوَائِهِم، وَتَرَكُوا أَمْرَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ، فَإِنْ أَنْتُم أَخَذْتُمْ بِأَمْرِ نَبِيِّكُمْ، لَمْ يُقَاتِلْكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ غَلَبْتُمُوْهُ، وَإِذَا فَعَلْتُم مِثْلَ الَّذِي فَعَلْنَا، فَتَرَكْتُمْ أَمَرَ نَبِيِّكُم، لَمْ تَكُوْنُوا أَكْثَرَ عَدَداً مِنَّا، وَلاَ أَشَدَّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً (١) . قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ: اسْتُخْلِفَ عُثْمَانُ، فَنَزَعَ عَنْ مِصْرَ عَمْراً، وَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهَا عَبْدَ اللهِ بنَ أَبِي سَرْحٍ. جُوَيْرِيَةُ بنُ أَسْمَاءَ: حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الوَهَّابِ بنُ يَحْيَى بنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَشْيَاخُنَا: أَنَّ الفِتْنَةَ لَمَّا وَقَعَتْ، مَا زَالَ عَمْرُو بنُ العَاصِ مُعْتَصِماً بِمَكَّةَ حَتَّى كَانَتْ وَقْعَةُ الجَمَلِ، فَلَمَّا كَانَتْ، بَعَثَ إِلَى وَلَدَيْهِ عَبْدِ اللهِ وَمُحَمَّدٍ، فَقَالَ: قَدْ رَأَيْتُ رَأْياً، وَلَسْتُمَا بِاللَّذَيْنِ تَرُدَّانِي عَنْهُ، وَلَكِنْ أَشِيْرَا عَلَيَّ، إِنِّيْ رَأَيْتُ العَرَبَ صَارُوا غَارَيْنِ (٢) يَضْطَرِبَانِ، فَأَنَا طَارِحٌ نَفْسِي بَيْنَ

(١) " ابن عساكر ": ٣ / ٢٥٨ / ب، ٢٥٩ / آ. (٢) تثنية غار: وهو الجمع الكثير من الناس، وقيل: الجيش الكثير، يقال: التقى الغاران، أي: الجيشان، ومنه قول الاحنف بن قيس في انصراف ابن الزبير عن وقعة الجمل: وما أصنع به إن كان جمع بين غارين من الناس، ثم تركهم، وذهب.