Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (6/68)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

among you, relying on my own interpretation, and I was in error.

He replied to him:

“Criminal! You rail against my brother—yet he is an imam of guidance who has made the way plain for you. Had you followed his lead, you would never have strayed from the truth. Whenever two courses of action presented themselves, you invariably deserted the sounder of the two and embraced the more misguided, killing with the slaughter of the Pharaohs and striking with the tyranny of despots.

Among the best of my decisions, O sinner, is that I have appointed Mūsā ibn Kaʿb over Khurasan and ordered him to remain in Nishapur; he stands between you and me with the commanders and partisans who are with him. I am also sending against you men who are your peers. So muster your schemes and your forces—you will find no success and no divine aid. Allah is sufficient for the Commander of the Faithful, and how excellent a Guardian He is.”

The wretch then consulted Abū Isḥāq al-Marwazī and said to him, “What do you think? Mūsā ibn Kaʿb now blocks our way to Khurasan, Abū Jaʿfar’s swords are at our rear, and the commanders I once trusted have become strangers to me!”

Al-Marwazī replied, “Commander, this man harbors longstanding grudges against you. Had you held this view from the beginning and allied yourself with a man from the family of ʿAlī, it would have been nearer to your objective. If you had accepted his offer to appoint you over Khurasan, Syria, and the summer frontier forces (1), time would have been on your side and your affairs roomier: you could have gone to Medina, spirited away an Alid, installed him as imam, won over the people of Khurasan and of Iraq, and confronted Abū Jaʿfar with his counterpart. That would have been a sound strategy. Do you really hope to fight Abū Jaʿfar while you are in Ḥulwān, his armies are in al-Madāʾin, and he is a universally acknowledged caliph? Things are not as you imagined. What remains is for you to write to your commanders and do such-and-such.”

He said, “That is a plan—provided our commanders agree with us.”

Al-Marwazī retorted, “Then what drove you to depose Abū Jaʿfar when you cannot rely on your own commanders? I commend you to Allah against becoming a corpse! My view is that you should send me…”

(1) Al-saifah: a military expedition undertaken in the summer; for this reason the campaign against the Byzantines was called Ghazwat al-Rum, as they preferred to march in summer to avoid the cold and snow.

فِيْكُم مُتَأوِّلاً فَأَخطَأتُ. فَأَجَابَهُ: أَيُّهَا المُجرمُ! تَنْقِمُ عَلَى أَخِي، وَإِنَّهُ لإِمَامُ هُدَىً، أَوضحَ لَكَ السَّبِيْلَ، فَلَوْ بِهِ اقْتدَيتَ مَا كُنْتَ عَنِ الحَقِّ حَائِداً، وَلَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَسْنَحْ لَكَ أَمرَانِ، إِلاَّ كُنْتَ لأَرْشَدِهِمَا تَارِكاً، وَلأَغْوَاهُمَا مُوَافِقاً، تَقتلُ قَتْلَ الفَرَاعِنَةِ، وَتَبطشُ بَطْشَ الجَبَّارِيْنَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ مِنْ خِيْرَتِي أَيُّهَا الفَاسِقُ! أَنِّي قَدْ وَلَّيتُ خُرَاسَانَ مُوْسَى بنَ كَعْبٍ، فَأَمرتُه بِالمقَامِ بِنَيْسَابُوْرَ، فَهُوَ مِنْ دُوْنِكَ بِمَنْ مَعَهُ مِنْ قُوَّادِي وَشِيْعَتِي، وَأَنَا مُوَجِّهٌ لِلِقَائِكَ أَقرَانَكَ، فَاجْمَعْ كَيدَكَ وَأَمرَكَ غَيْرَ مُوفَّقٍ وَلاَ مُسدَّدٍ، وَحسبُ أَمِيْرِ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ اللهُ وَنِعْمَ الوَكِيْلُ. فَشَاورَ البَائِسُ أَبَا إِسْحَاقَ المَرْوَزِيَّ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: مَا الرَّأْيُ؟ هَذَا مُوْسَى بنُ كَعْبٍ لَنَا دُوْنَ خُرَاسَانَ، وَهَذِهِ سُيُوْفُ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ مِنْ خَلفِنَا، وَقَدْ أَنْكَرتُ مَنْ كُنْتُ أَثقُ بِهِ مِنْ أُمرَائِي! فَقَالَ: أَيُّهَا الأَمِيْرُ! هَذَا رَجُلٌ يَضطغِنُ عَلَيْكَ أُمُوْراً مُتَقَدِّمَةً، فَلَوْ كُنْتَ إِذْ ذَاكَ هَذَا رَأْيُكَ، وَوَالَيتَ رَجُلاً مِنْ آلِ عَلِيٍّ، كَانَ أَقْرَبَ، وَلَوْ أَنَّكَ قَبِلتَ تَوْلِيَتَه إِيَّاكَ خُرَاسَانَ وَالشَّامَ وَالصَّائِفَةَ (١) مُدَّتْ بِكَ الأَيَّامُ، وَكُنْتَ فِي فُسحَةٍ مِنْ أَمرِكَ، فَوَجَّهتَ إِلَى المَدِيْنَةِ، فَاختلستَ عَلَوِيّاً، فَنصَّبتَهُ إِمَاماً، فَاسْتملتَ أَهْلَ خُرَاسَانَ، وَأَهْلَ العِرَاقِ، وَرَمَيتَ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ بِنَظِيْرِه، لَكُنتَ عَلَى طَرِيْقِ تَدبِيْرٍ، أَتطمعُ أَنْ تُحَاربَ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ وَأَنْتَ بِحُلْوَانَ، وَعَسَاكِرُه بِالمَدَائِنِ، وَهُوَ خَلِيْفَةٌ مُجمَعٌ عَلَيْهِ؟ لَيْسَ مَا ظَنَنْتَ، لَكِنْ بَقِيَ لَكَ أَنْ تَكْتُبَ إِلَى قُوَّادِكَ، وَتَفْعَلَ كَذَا وَكَذَا. فَقَالَ: هَذَا رَأْيٌ، إِنْ وَافَقَنَا عَلَيْهِ قُوَّادُنَا. قَالَ: فَمَا دعَاكَ إِلَى خَلعِ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى غَيْرِ ثِقَةٍ مِنْ قُوَّادِكَ؟ أَنَا أَسْتودِعُكَ اللهَ مِنْ قَتِيْلٍ! أَرَى أَنْ تُوَجِّهَ بِي

(١) الصائفة: الغزوة في الصيف وبها سميت غزوة الروم لانهم كانوا يغزون صيفا اتقاء البرد والثلج.