Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (6/208)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

The Khurasani army defeated him, so he withdrew to Wasit, where al-Mansur laid siege to him for a time. Al-Mansur then deceived him, granted him safe-conduct, reneged on it, burst into his house, and slew him in cold blood—together with his son Dawud, his slaves, and his chamberlain. As he was prostrating to Allah they fell upon him and cut him down.

He had earlier been governor of Aleppo for al-Walid ibn Yazid.

Birth: 87 AH.
Lifespan: forty-five years.

Al-Mada’ini said: “He was large-bodied, ate prodigiously, was massive, tall, brave, and an eloquent orator. His yearly income reached six hundred thousand, and he distributed it among scholars and notables.”

Muhammad ibn Kathir reported that as-Saffah pressed his brother Abu Jaʿfar to order the execution of Ibn Hubayrah, while Abu Jaʿfar kept pleading for him because he had sworn an oath to spare him. At length he wrote to him, rebuking him and insisting that he must be killed, and he delegated the task to al-Haytham ibn Shuʿbah.

His father, too, had governed the Two Iraqs for Yazid ibn ʿAbd al-Malik shortly after 100 AH.

Yazid was killed in Dhu al-Qaʿdah, 132 AH.

It was Abu Muslim al-Khurasani who incited as-Saffah to have Ibn Hubayrah killed. Ibn Hubayrah used to ride to Abu Jaʿfar with a great retinue, but the chamberlain kept reducing it until only three men remained with him.

104 – ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Muqaffaʿ*
One of the foremost stylists and orators, the chief of secretaries and masters of prose, a peer of ʿAbd al-Hamid al-Katib.

He was originally a Zoroastrian from Persia, then accepted Islam at the hands of Prince ʿIsa, the uncle of as-Saffah. He served as his scribe and enjoyed his special favour.

Al-Haytham ibn ʿAdi relates that Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ said to him, “I wish to embrace Islam at your hands in the presence of…"

(*) Al-Yaʿqubi, Tarikh, vol. 3, p. 104; al-Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 9, p. 182; al-Murtada, Al-Amali, vol. 1, p. 94; Akhbar al-hukama, p. 148; Ibn Kathir, Al-bidaya wa-l-nihaya, vol. 10, p. 96; Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-mizan, vol. 3, p. 366; Umaraʾ al-bayan, pp. 99-158. In the base manuscript the copyist placed the word maʿan above the letter fa of al-Muqaffaʿ to indicate that the fa can be vocalized either with a fatḥa or a kasra; both forms are correct. The author will later explain the reason for this epithet.

هَزَمَتْه الخُرَاسَانِيَّةُ، فَدَخَلَ إِلَى وَاسِطَ، فَحَاصَرَهُ المَنْصُوْرُ مُدَّةً، ثُمَّ خَدَعَه المَنْصُوْرُ، وَآمَنَه، وَنَكَثَ، فَدَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ دَارَه، فَقَتلُوْهُ صَبْراً، وَابْنَه دَاوُدَ، وَمَمَالِيْكَه، وَحَاجِبَه، فَسَجَدَ للهِ، فَنَزَلُوا عَلَيْهِ، فَهَبَرُوْهُ. وَقَدْ كَانَ وَلِيَ حَلَبَ لِلْوَلِيْدِ بنِ يَزِيْدَ. مَوْلِدُه: فِي سَنَةِ سَبْعٍ وَثَمَانِيْنَ. وَعَاشَ: خَمْساً وَأَرْبَعِيْنَ سَنَةً. قَالَ المَدَائِنِيُّ: كَانَ جسِيْماً، كَثِيْرَ الأَكلِ، ضَخْماً، طَوِيْلاً، شُجَاعاً، خَطِيْباً، رِزقُه فِي السَّنَةِ سِتُّ مائَةِ أَلْفٍ، وَكَانَ يُفَرِّقُهَا فِي العُلَمَاءِ وَالوُجُوْهِ. وَعَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بنِ كَثِيْرٍ: أَنَّ السَّفَّاحَ أَلَحَّ عَلَى أَخِيْهِ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ يَأمُرُه بِقَتلِ ابْنِ هُبَيْرَةَ، وَهُوَ يُرَاجِعُه؛ لِكَوْنِهِ حَلَفَ لَهُ. فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ، وَأَنَّبَه: لَيَقْتُلَنَّه. فَوَلَّى قَتْلَه الهَيْثَمَ بنَ شُعْبَةَ. وَقَدْ وَلِيَ أَبُوْهُ أَيْضاً إِمْرَةَ العِرَاقَيْنِ لِيَزِيْدَ بنِ عَبْدِ المَلِكِ بَعْدَ المائَةِ. قُتِلَ يَزِيْدُ: فِي ذِي القَعْدَةِ، سَنَة اثْنَتَيْنِ وَثَلاَثِيْنَ وَمائَةٍ. وَكَانَ أَبُو مُسْلِمٍ الخُرَاسَانِيُّ هُوَ الَّذِي أَغرَى السَّفَّاحَ بِقَتلِ ابْنِ هُبَيْرَةَ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ هُبَيْرَةَ يَرْكَبُ رِكْبَةً عَظِيْمَةً إِلَى أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ، فَنَهَاهُ الحَاجِبُ إِلَى أَنْ بَقِيَ فِي ثَلاَثَةٍ. ١٠٤ - عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ المُقَفَّعِ * أَحَدُ البُلغَاءِ وَالفُصَحَاءِ، وَرَأْسُ الكُتَّابِ، وَأُولِي الإِنشَاءِ، مِنْ نُظَرَاءِ عَبْدِ الحَمِيْدِ الكَاتِبِ. وَكَانَ مِنْ مَجُوْسِ فَارِسٍ، فَأَسلَمَ عَلَى يَدِ الأَمِيْرِ عِيْسَى عَمِّ السَّفَّاحِ، وَكَتَبَ لَهُ، وَاخْتَصَّ بِهِ. قَالَ الهَيْثَمُ بنُ عَدِيٍّ: قَالَ لَهُ: أُرِيْدُ أَنْ أُسْلِمَ عَلَى يَدِكَ بِمَحضَرِ

(*) تاريخ اليعقوبي ٣ / ١٠٤، الطبري ٩ / ١٨٢، أمالي المرتضى: ١ / ٩٤، أخبار الحكماء (١٤٨) ، البداية والنهاية ١٠ / ٩٦، لسان الميزان ٣ / ٣٦٦، أمراء البيان ٩٩ - ١٥٨. وفي الأصل أثبت لفظ " معا " فوق الفاء من " المقفع " إشارة إلى أن الفاء تضبط: بالفتح والكسر، وكلاهما صحيح، وسيذكر المصنف سبب تلقيبه بذلك.