Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (3/111)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

So he secured it for them, and he did not obtain any special guarantee for himself. When he set out for Medina with his companions, he slaughtered a camel for them each day until they reached Ṣirār. (1)

Ibn ʿUyaynah reports—through Abū Hārūn al-Madani—that Muʿāwiyah said to Qays ibn Saʿd, “You are nothing but a rabbi from among the rabbis of the Jews. If we prevail over you, we shall kill you; and if you prevail over us, we shall strip you of power.”
Qays replied, “You and your father are two idols of the Age of Ignorance. You entered Islam under compulsion and have now left it of your own accord.” (2)
This chain of transmission is broken.

Al-Madāʾinī relates—through Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-ʿAjlānī, from Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥassān—that Qays ibn Saʿd entered upon Muʿāwiyah with a group of the Anṣār. Muʿāwiyah said, “People of the Anṣār! On what grounds do you make a claim upon me? By Allah, you were few with me and many against me; you dulled my edge at Ṣiffīn until I saw death blazing at the tips of your spears, and you lampooned me, (3) and when Allah established what you had tried to overturn you said, ‘Show us the regard that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ enjoined toward us.’ Far indeed—yabā al-ḥaqīnu al-ʿidhrata (3)!”

Qays answered, “We claim what is with you by virtue of Islam—through which Allah dispenses with every other claim—not through the tribal alliances that attach the factions to you. As for our enmity toward you, you could have ended it yourself had you wished. As for lampooning, it is only speech: its falsehood fades, while its truth endures. As for the stability of affairs under your rule, that has come about against our inclination. As for our blunting of your sword, we were with a man whose obedience we believed to be obedience to Allah. And as for the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ testament concerning us, only he who cares (4) for it will truly observe it.”

(1) Ibn Asakir, vol. 14, p. 232 a. Surar is a locality situated three miles from Madinah on the road to Iraq. (2) Ibn Asakir, vol. 14, p. 232 a. (3) In the printed edition the reading is corrupted to “hajartumuni” (“you have abandoned me”). (3) Al-ʿadhra means “the excuse”; the proverb is applied to someone who offers a pretext that is clearly untenable. Abu ʿUbayd relates that the expression originated when a man was the guest of a tribe and asked them for milk. They actually had some milk thickened with curd in a waterskin but pleaded that none was available. The guest retorted: “aba-l-haqin al-ʿadhra,” meaning “this thickened milk exposes your false excuse.” (4) Ibn Asakir’s version reads: “fa-man amana bihi, raʿaha” (“whoever believed in him tended it”).

فَأَخَذَ لَهُم، وَلَمْ يَأْخُذْ لِنَفْسِهِ خَاصَّةً. فَلَمَّا ارْتَحَلَ نَحْوَ المَدِيْنَةِ وَمَعَهُ أَصْحَابَهُ، جَعَلَ يَنْحَرُ لَهُم كُلَّ يَوْمٍ جَزُوْراً حَتَّى بَلَغَ صِرَاراً (١) . ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ: عَنْ أَبِي هَارُوْنَ المَدَنِيِّ، قَالَ: قَالَ مُعَاوِيَةُ لِقَيْسِ بنِ سَعْدٍ: إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ حَبْرٌ مِنْ أَحْبَارِ يَهُوْدٍ؛ إِنْ ظَهَرْنَا عَلَيْكَ قَتَلْنَاكَ، وَإِنْ ظَهَرْتَ عَلَيْنَا نَزَعْنَاكَ. فَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ وَأَبُوْكَ صَنَمَانِ مِنْ أَصْنَامِ الجَاهِلِيَّةِ، دَخَلْتُمَا فِي الإِسْلاَمِ كُرْهاً، وَخَرَجْتُمَا مِنْهُ طَوْعاً (٢) . هَذَا مُنْقَطِعٌ. المَدَائِنِيُّ: عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ العَجْلاَنِيِّ، عَنْ سَعِيْدِ بنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بنِ حَسَّانٍ، قَالَ: دَخَلَ قَيْسُ بنُ سَعْدٍ فِي رَهْطٍ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ عَلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ، فَقَالَ: يَا مَعْشَرَ الأَنْصَارِ! بِمَا تَطْلُبُوْنَ مَا قِبَلِي؟ فَوَاللهِ لَقَدْ كُنْتُمْ قَلِيْلاً مَعِي، كَثِيْراً عَلَيَّ، وَأَفْلَلْتُم حَدِّي يَوْمَ صِفِّيْنَ، حَتَّى رَأَيْتُ المَنَايَا تَلَظَّى فِي أَسِنَّتِكُم، وَهَجَوْتُمُوْنِي (٣) ، حَتَّى إِذَا أَقَامَ اللهُ مَا حَاوَلْتُم مَيْلَهُ، قُلْتُم: ارْعَ فِيْنَا وَصِيَّةَ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ هَيْهَاتَ يَأْبَى الحَقِيْنُ العِذْرَةَ (٣) . فَقَالَ قَيْسٌ: نَطْلُبُ مَا قِبَلَكَ بِالإِسْلاَمِ الكَافِي بِهِ اللهُ مَا سِوَاهُ، لاَ بِمَا تَمُتُّ بِهِ إِلَيْكَ الأَحْزَابُ، فَأَمَّا عَدَاوَتُنَا لَكَ، فَلَو شِئْتَ كَفَفْتَهَا عَنْكَ، وَأَمَّا الهِجَاءُ فَقَوْلٌ يَزُوْلُ بَاطِلُهُ، وَيَثْبُتُ حَقُّهُ، وَأَمَّا اسْتِقَامَةُ الأَمْرِ عَلَيْكَ فَعَلَى كُرْهٍ مِنَّا، وَأَمَّا فَلُّنَا حَدَّكَ، فَإِنَّا كُنَّا مَعَ رَجُلٍ نَرَى طَاعَتَهُ للهِ، وَأَمَّا وَصِيَّةُ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ بِنَا، فَمَنْ أَبِهَ (٤) رَعَاهَا،

(١) ابن عساكر ١٤ / ٢٣٢ آ، وصرار: موضع على ثلاثة أميال من المدينة على طريق العراق. (٢) ابن عساكر ١٤ / ٢٣٢ / آ. (٣) تحرف في المطبوع إلى " هجرتموني ". (٣) العذرة: العذر وهو مثل يضرب للرجل يعتذر ولا عذر له، قال أبو عبيد: أصل ذلك أن رجلا ضاف قوما، فاستسقاهم لبنا، وعندهم لبن قد حقنوه في وطب، فاعتلوا عليه، واعتذروا، فقال: أبى الحقين العذرة، أي: هذا الحقين يكذبكم. (٤) في " ابن عساكر ": فمن آمن به، رعاها.