Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (11/34)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

the Book of Asceticism (Kitab al-Zuhd), as well as the Book of Supplication (Kitab al-Duʿaʾ), the Book of Wisdom (Kitab al-Hikmah), the Book on the Rituals of Pilgrimage (Kitab al-Manasik), and the Book on Earning a Livelihood (Kitab al-Takassub).

People were eager to attend the public readings of his writings. When his mother died in 220 AH, he performed Hajj and then resumed the frontier campaigns.

He set out for the lands of the Turks and secured a remarkable conquest for which he was envied. His enemies denounced him to Ibn Ṭāhir, who summoned him, refused to let him sit, and said, “You march out, gather this following around yourself, and oppose the aides of the ruler?”

When Ibn Ṭāhir perceived his sincerity, he released him. Ahmad continued on and settled as a neighbor of Mecca.

The Karramiyyah (1) laid claim to him and held him in great esteem because he had been the teacher of Muhammad ibn Karram; nevertheless, his creed was sound—praise be to Allah.

Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi said, “If Ahmad ibn Harb is not one of the abdal, I do not know who they are!”

Muhammad ibn ʿAli al-Marwazi remarked, “He narrates reports that have no basis.”

Nasr ibn Mahmud al-Balkhi relates that Ahmad ibn Harb said: “I worshipped Allah for fifty years, yet I did not taste the sweetness of worship until I abandoned three things: I gave up seeking people’s approval so that I could speak the truth; I gave up the company of the wicked until I found the company of the righteous; and I gave up the sweetness of this world until I found the sweetness of the Hereafter.”

It is also said that he prayed for rain for the people of Bukhara, and they did not disperse until they were wading through rainwater. May Allah’s mercy be upon him.

(1) Named after its founder Muhammad ibn Karram (d. 255 AH/869 CE). He is credited with advocating tajsim (anthropomorphism), permitting the occurrence of created events within the divine essence, and asserting the eternity of the world. His disciple Ibn al-Haysam attempted to defend him and to bring these ideas closer to the doctrines of Ahl al-Sunnah. See: Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi, Al-Farq bayn al-Firaq, pp. 202, 214; al-Isfarayini, Al-Tabsir, p. 67; al-Shahrastani, Al-Milal wa al-Nihal, 1:108, 113. His full biography will follow below on p. 535 of this volume.

وَكِتَابَ (الدُّعَاءِ) ، وَكِتَابَ (الحِكْمَةِ) ، وَكِتَابَ (المَنَاسكِ) ، وَكِتَابَ (التَّكَسُّبِ) . رَغِبَ النَّاسُ فِي سَمَاعِ كُتُبِهِ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ أُمَّهُ مَاتَتْ سنَةَ عِشْرِيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ، فَحَجَّ، وَعَاوَدَ الغَزْوَ. وَخَرَجَ إِلَى بِلاَدِ التُّركِ، وَافتَتَحَ فَتْحاً عَظِيْماً غُبِطَ بِهِ، فَسَعَى بِهِ الأَعدَاءُ إِلَى ابْنِ طَاهِرٍ، فَأَحْضَرَهُ، وَلَمْ يَأْذَنْ لَهُ فِي الجُلُوسِ، وَقَالَ: أَتَخْرُجُ، وَتَجْمَعُ إِلَى نَفْسِكَ هَذَا الجَمْعَ، وَتُخَالِفُ أَعوَانَ السُّلْطَانِ؟ ثُمَّ إِنَّ ابْنَ طَاهِرٍ عَرَفَ صِدْقَهُ، فَتَرَكَهُ، فَسَارَ، وَجَاوَرَ بِمَكَّةَ. وَكَانَ تَنْتَحِلُهُ الكَرَّامِيَّةُ (١) ، وَتُعَظِّمُهُ؛ لأَنَّهُ أُسْتَاذُ مُحَمَّدِ بنِ كَرَّامٍ، وَلَكِنَّهُ سَلِيْمُ الاعْتِقَادِ بِحَمْدِ اللهِ. وَعَنْ يَحْيَى بنِ يَحْيَى التَّمِيْمِيِّ، قَالَ: إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحْمَدُ بنُ حَرْبٍ مِنَ الأَبْدَالِ، فَلاَ أَدرِي مَنْ هُمْ؟! وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ عَلِيٍّ المَرْوَزِيُّ: يَرْوِي أَشْيَاءَ لاَ أَصْلَ لَهَا. قَالَ نَصْرُ بنُ مَحْمُوْدٍ البَلْخِيُّ: قَالَ أَحْمَدُ بنُ حَرْبٍ: عَبَدْتُ اللهَ خَمْسِيْنَ سَنَةً، فَمَا وَجَدْتُ حَلاَوَةَ العِبَادَةِ حَتَّى تَرَكْتُ ثَلاَثَةَ أَشيَاءٍ: تَرَكْتُ رِضَى النَّاسِ حَتَّى قَدِرْتُ أَنْ أَتَكَلَّمَ بِالحَقِّ، وَتَرَكْتُ صُحْبَةَ الفَاسِقِيْنَ حَتَّى وَجَدْتُ صُحْبَةَ الصَّالِحِيْنَ، وَتَرَكْتُ حَلاَوَةَ الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى وَجَدْتُ حَلاَوَةَ الآخِرَةِ. وَقِيْلَ: إِنَّه اسْتَسقَى لَهُم بِبُخَارَى، فَمَا انْصَرَفُوا إِلاَّ يَخُوْضُونَ فِي المَطَرِ - رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ -.

(١) نسبة إلى مؤسسها محمد بن كرام المتوفى سنة ٢٥٥ هـ، وقد نسب إليه القول بالتجسيم، وتسويغ قيام الحوادث بذاته تعالى، وأبدية العالم، وقد حاول ابن الهيصم وهو من أتباعه أن يدافع عنه، ويقرب أفكاره تلك من مذاهب أهل السنة. انظر " الفرق بين الفرق " للبغدادي ص: ٢٠٢، ٢١٤، و" التبصير " للاسفراييني ص: ٦٧، و" الملل والنحل " للشهرستاني ١ / ١٠٨، ١١٣، وستأتي ترجمته ص: ٥٣٥ من هذا الجزء.