Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (6/215)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

to upholding the faith are the descendants of the Emigrants and the Helpers. O Allah, they have acted as they did; therefore count them one by one, destroy them utterly, and leave not a single one of them alive. (1)

ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd said: “Al-Manṣūr would put words in the mouths of his field commanders, having them write to Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh that they were on his side—‘so march out.’ (2) Muḥammad remarked, ‘He is putting his trust in sheer impossibility.’

Even so, men such as Ibn ʿAjlān and ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Jaʿfar joined him.

Ibn Saʿd relates: “When Muḥammad was killed, the governor of Medina summoned Ibn ʿAjlān, reviled him, and ordered that his hand be cut off. The scholars intervened, saying, ‘May Allah set the emir aright! This man is the jurist and ascetic of Medina; he only joined Muḥammad because he thought him to be the Mahdī.’ So the governor spared him.

“ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar stayed on his estate, while his two brothers, ʿAbd Allāh and Abū Bakr, went out to fight; al-Manṣūr pardoned them.

“Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq went into hiding. Muḥammad appointed officials over Medina, and Mālik kept to his house.”

Abū Dāwūd said: “Al-Thawrī spoke critically of ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Jaʿfar for taking part in the revolt, saying, ‘If the Mahdī passes by you while you are at home, do not go out to him until the people have all agreed upon him.’”

It is also said that Muḥammad sent to Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib—now advanced in years—asking him to pledge allegiance. He replied, “Nephew, by Allah, you are going to be killed; how, then, can I pledge allegiance to you?”

The people therefore recoiled from supporting Muḥammad. His niece, the daughter of his brother Muʿāwiya, came to Ismāʿīl and said, “Uncle, my brothers have hastened to stand with their cousin; do not hold them back, or he and my brothers will be killed.” He still refused, and—so it is said—she killed him.

Muḥammad then resolved

(1) These words are borrowed from the statement of Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) when the idolaters took him out of the Sacred Precinct to execute him in the open country. For the complete report see Sahih al-Bukhari, 6/115 (Book of Jihad, chapter: “Should a man seek permission…, and on the two rak‘as prayed before execution”) and 7/240 (Book of Maghazi), as well as 7/291-295. (2) The rest of the account is found in al-Tabari and in al-Dhahabi’s Tarikh al-Islam, 6/12: “Muhammad used to say: ‘If we were to meet in battle, all the commanders would incline toward me.’”

بِالقِيَامِ لِلدِّيْنِ أَبْنَاءُ المُهَاجِرِيْنَ وَالأَنْصَارِ، اللَّهُمَّ قَدْ فَعلُوا وَفَعلُوا، فَأَحْصِهِم عَدَداً، وَاقْتُلْهُمْ بِدَداً، وَلاَ تُغَادِرْ مِنْهُم أَحَداً (١) . قَالَ عَلِيُّ بنُ الجَعْدِ: كَانَ المَنْصُوْرُ يَكْتُبُ عَلَى أَلسُنِ قُوَّادِه إِلَى مُحَمَّدِ بنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بِأَنَّهم مَعَهُ (٢) ، فَاخرُجْ. فَقَالَ: يَثِقُ بِالمُحَالِ. وَخَرَجَ مَعَهُ مِثْلُ ابْنِ عَجْلاَنَ، وَعَبْدِ الحَمِيْدِ بنِ جَعْفَرٍ. قَالَ ابْنُ سَعْدٍ: فَلَمَّا قُتِلَ، أَتَى وَالِي المَدِيْنَةِ بِابْنِ عَجْلاَنَ، فَسَبَّه، وَأَمَرَ بِقَطعِ يَدِه. فَقَالَ العُلَمَاءُ: أَصْلَحَ اللهُ الأَمِيْرَ، إِنَّ هَذَا فَقِيْهُ المَدِيْنَةِ، وَعَابِدُهَا، وَشُبِّهَ عَلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ المَهْدِيُّ، فَتَرَكَه. قَالَ: وَلَزِمَ عُبَيْدُ اللهِ بنُ عُمَرَ ضَيعَةً لَهُ، وَخَرَجَ أَخَوَاهُ؛ عَبْدُ اللهِ وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ، فَعَفَا عَنْهُمَا المَنْصُوْرُ. وَاختَفَى جَعْفَرٌ الصَّادِقُ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ مُحَمَّداً اسْتَعْمَلَ عُمَّالاً عَلَى المَدِيْنَةِ، وَلَزِمَ مَالِكٌ بَيْتَه. قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ: كَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عَبْدِ الحَمِيْدِ بنِ جَعْفَرٍ لِخُرُوْجِه، وَيَقُوْلُ: إِنْ مَرَّ بِكَ المَهْدِيُّ وَأَنْتَ فِي البَيْتِ، فَلاَ تَخْرُجْ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَجْتَمِعَ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ. وَقِيْلَ: بَعَثَ مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَى إِسْمَاعِيْلَ بنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بنِ جَعْفَرِ بنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ - وَقَدْ شَاخَ - لِيُبَايِعَه، فَقَالَ: يَا ابْنَ أَخِي! أَنْتَ -وَاللهِ- مَقْتُوْلٌ، كَيْفَ أُبَايِعُكَ؟ فَارتَدَعَ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ، فَأَتَتْه بِنْتُ أَخِيْهِ مُعَاوِيَةَ، فَقَالَتْ: يَا عَمِّ! إِنَّ إِخْوَتِي قَدْ أَسرَعُوا إِلَى ابْنِ خَالِهِم، فَلاَ تُثَبِّطْ عَنْهُ، فَيُقْتَلَ هُوَ وَإِخْوَتِي. فَأَبَى. فَيُقَالُ: قَتَلَتْهُ. فَأَرَادَ مُحَمَّدٌ

(١) هذا الكلام مقتبس من قول خبيب ﵁، حين خرج به المشركون من الحرم ليقتلوه في الحل. انظر الخبر بتمامه في البخاري ٦ / ١١٥ في الجهاد، باب هل يستأمر الرجل، ومن صلى ركعتين عند القتل و٧ / ٢٤٠ في المغازي و٧ / ٢٩١ - ٢٩٥ أيضا. (٢) وتمام الخبر، في الطبري، وتاريخ الإسلام ٦ / ١٢: (فكان محمد يقول: لو التقينا مال إلي القواد كلهم) .