Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (6/67)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

for his troops are, in fact, your own troops; you were the one who ordered them to obey him, and they did so.

The Caliph then lavished the two men with a large sum of money, disbanded Abū Muslim’s army, and issued an investiture decree appointing the emir Abū Dāwūd Khālid ibn Ibrāhīm as governor of Khurasan.

Some of the zindīqs and rabble among the tanāsukhiyya (reincarnationists) even imagined that the Creator—exalted is He—had taken up residence in the slain Abū Muslim al-Khurasānī, dazzled as they were by his arrogance, his domination of realms, and his blood-shedding. The stories surrounding that tyrant are too numerous to relate here.

Khalīfa ibn Khayyāṭ (1) reports: “When Abū Muslim arrived in al-Madā’in to see Abū Jaʿfar, I heard Yaḥyā ibn al-Musayyib say: ‘He killed him while he was still in his pavilion—that is, the vestibule. Then he sent word to the heir-apparent ʿĪsā ibn Mūsā, informed him, and handed over the head and the money. ʿĪsā came out, flung the head to the people, and scattered the gold so that they busied themselves collecting it.’”

Khalīfa also says elsewhere: “When Abū Muslim reached Hulwān, messengers went back and forth between him and Abū Jaʿfar. Among the letters Abū Jaʿfar sent him was the following:

‘To proceed: Sin casts a veil upon hearts and seals them. Alight, O bird! Sober up, O drunkard! Awake, O dreamer! You are beguiled by lying nightmares, lingering in a worldly interlude that deluded the nations before you. ‘Do you perceive any one of them, or hear from them even a whisper?’ (Maryam 19:98). Allah cannot be out-stripped by one who flees, nor eluded by one He pursues. So do not be deceived by those who are with you from among my partisans and the people of my call. It is as though they have already turned against you should you renounce obedience and split from the community, and then you will face what you never anticipated. Easy, easy! Beware of oppression, Abū Muslim, for whoever oppresses and transgresses, Allah abandons him and grants victory over him to those who will strike him down, hand and mouth alike.’

Abū Muslim replied with a harsh letter in which he wrote: “O ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad! I was…"

(1) In his Tarikh (History), p. 416.

إِنَّمَا جُندُهُ جُندُكَ، أَمرتَهُم بِطَاعتِهِ، فَأطَاعُوْهُ. ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ أَعْطَاهُمَا مَالاً جَزِيْلاً، وَفرَّقَ عَسَاكِرَ أَبِي مُسْلِمٍ، وَكَتَبَ بِعَهْدٍ لِلأمِيْرِ أَبِي دَاوُدَ خَالِدِ بنِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ عَلَى خُرَاسَانَ. وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الزّنَادقَةِ، وَالطّغَامِ مِنَ التَّنَاسُخِيَّةِ، اعتقدُوا أَنَّ البَارِي ﷾ حَلَّ فِي أَبِي مُسْلِمٍ الخُرَاسَانِيِّ المَقْتُوْلِ، عِنْدمَا رَأَوْا مِنْ تَجبُّرِهِ، وَاسْتِيْلاَئِهِ عَلَى المَمَالِكِ، وَسَفكِهِ لِلدِّمَاءِ، فَأَخْبَارُ هَذَا الطَّاغِيَةِ يَطُولُ شَرحُهَا. قَالَ خَلِيْفَةُ بنُ خَيَّاطٍ (١) : قَدِمَ أَبُو مُسْلِمٍ عَلَى أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ بِالمَدَائِنِ، فَسَمِعتُ يَحْيَى بنَ المُسَيِّبِ يَقُوْلُ: قَتلَه وَهُوَ فِي سُرَادِقَاتِهِ -يَعْنِي: الدِّهلِيزَ- ثُمَّ بَعَثَ إِلَى عِيْسَى بنِ مُوْسَى وَلِيِّ العَهْدِ، فَأَعْلَمَهُ، وَأَعْطَاهُ الرَّأسَ وَالمَالَ، فَخَرَجَ بِهِ، فَأَلقَاهُ إِلَيْهِم، وَنَثرَ الذَّهَبَ، فَتَشَاغلُوا بِأَخذِهِ. وَقَالَ خَلِيْفَةُ فِي مَكَانٍ آخرَ: فَلَمَّا حلَّ أَبُو مُسْلِمٍ بِحُلْوَانَ، تَردَّدتْ الرُّسلُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ، فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ كَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّهُ يَرِيْنُ عَلَى القُلُوْبِ، وَيَطبعُ عَلَيْهَا المَعَاصِي، فَقعْ أَيُّهَا الطَّائِرُ، وَأَفِقْ أَيُّهَا السَّكْرَانُ، وَانتبِهْ أَيُّهَا الحَالِمُ، فَإِنَّكَ مَغْرُوْرٌ بِأَضغَاثِ أَحلامٍ كَاذِبَةٍ، وَفِي بَرزَخِ دُنْيَا قَدْ غَرَّتْ قَبْلَك سَوَالفَ القُرُوْنِ، فَـ: ﴿هَلْ تُحِسُّ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ، أَوْ تَسْمَعُ لَهُمْ رِكْزاً﴾ ؟ [مَرْيَمُ: ٦٨] ، وَإِنَّ اللهَ لاَ يُعجِزُه مَنْ هَرَبَ، وَلاَ يَفُوْتُه مَنْ طَلبَ، فَلاَ تَغترَّ بِمَنْ مَعَكَ مِنْ شِيْعَتِي، وَأَهْلِ دَعوتِي، فَكَأَنَّهُم قَدْ صَاوَلُوكَ إِنْ أَنْتَ خَلعتَ الطَّاعَةَ، وَفَارقتَ الجَمَاعَةَ، فَبدَا لَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَحْتسِبُ، فَمَهلاً مَهلاً، احْذرِ البَغْيَ أَبَا مُسْلِمٍ، فَإِنَّ مَنْ بَغَى وَاعْتدَى تَخلَّى اللهُ عَنْهُ، وَنَصرَ عَلَيْهِ مَنْ يَصرعُهُ لِلْيَدَيْنِ وَلِلفَمِ. فَأَجَابَهُ أَبُو مُسْلِمٍ بِكِتَابٍ فِيْهِ غِلظٌ، يَقُوْلُ فِيْهِ: يَا عَبْدَ اللهِ بنَ مُحَمَّدٍ! إِنِّي كُنْتُ

(١) في تاريخه ص: ٤١٦.