Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (13/113)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

So I asked him, “What kept you from enjoying him when you had the power to do so?”

He replied, “Enjoyment is of two kinds. The first is merely to look, and that is what has reduced me to what you now witness. The second is the forbidden carnal pleasure—and what restrained me from that is a report my father related to me. He said: Suwayd ibn Saʿīd narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Mushir narrated to us, from Abū Yaḥyā, from Mujāhid, from Ibn ʿAbbās—traced back to the Prophet—who said: ‘Whoever falls in love, remains chaste, conceals it, and is patient, Allah will forgive him and admit him to Paradise.’ (1)”

Then he recited some verses of his own:
Observe the sorcery flowing through the glimmer of his eyes,
And behold the jet-black fullness in his soft, tranquil gaze. (2)
Look at the few hairs upon his cheek—
They are like tiny ants crawling across ivory. (3)

Naftawayh said: He died that same night, or on the following day. This account has been transmitted by several people from Naftawayh.

Abū Zayd ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad reported: “I was with Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, and I mentioned to him a hadith I had heard from Suwayd ibn Saʿīd … namely, the very hadith just cited. He exclaimed, ‘By Allah, if I had a horse and a lance I would ride out in battle against Suwayd over this hadith!’ (4)

I say: This was one of the criticisms levelled against Suwayd.”

(1) This hadith is not authentic. The foremost hadith critics concur on its weakness and trace the flaw to Suwayd ibn Abd al-Aziz. Ibn Main said of him: “He is worthless, a liar; if I had a horse and a lance I would ride out against him.” Ahmad declared: “His narrations must be abandoned.” Al-Nasai: “He is unreliable.” Al-Bukhari: “He became blind and was prompted with reports that were not his.” Ibn Hibban: “He transmits problematic reports from trustworthy narrators; everything he relates should be avoided.” The report is cited in al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 5, pp. 156, 262; vol. 6, pp. 50–51; vol. 13, p. 184. Ibn al-Qayyim analyzes it in detail in Zad al-Maad, vol. 4, pp. 275–278, and in Rawdat al-Muhibbin, p. 182. (2) daj (opening vowel on both d and ʿayn) denotes intense blackness of the eye together with a wide iris, while taraf saj describes a still, tranquil gaze. (3) Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 5, p. 262. (4) See al-Safadi, al-Wafi bi-l-wafayat, vol. 3, p. 60.

فَقُلْتُ: مَا مَنَعَكَ مِنَ الاسْتِمْتَاعِ بِهِ، مَعَ القُدْرَةِ عَلَيْهِ؟ قَالَ: الاسْتِمْتَاعُ عَلَى وَجْهَيْنِ، أَحَدُهُمَا: النَّظَرُ، وَهُوَ أَوْرَثَنِي مَا تَرَى، وَالثَّانِي: اللَّذَّةُ المَحْظُورَةُ، وَمَنَعَنِي مِنْهَا مَا حَدَّثَنِي بِهِ أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا سُوَيْدُ بنُ سَعِيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بنُ مُسْهِرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي يَحْيَى، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، رَفَعَهُ، قَالَ: (مَنْ عَشِقَ، وَعَفَّ، وَكَتَمَ، وَصَبَرَ، غَفَرَ الله لَهُ، وَأَدْخَلَهُ الجَنَّةَ) (١) . ثُمَّ أَنْشَدَ لِنَفْسِهِ: انْظُرْ إِلَى السِّحْرِ يَجْرِي فِي لَوَاحِظِهِ ... وَانْظُرْ إِلَى دَعَجٍ فِي طَرْفِهِ السَّاجِي (٢) وَانْظُرْ إِلَى شَعَرَاتٍ فَوْقَ عَارِضِهِ ... كَأَنَّهُنَّ نِمَالٌ دَبَّ فِي عَاجِ (٣) قَالَ نِفْطَوَيْه: وَمَاتَ مِنْ لَيْلَتِهِ، أَوْ فِي اليَوْمِ الثَّانِي. رَوَاهَا: جَمَاعَةٌ، عَنْ نِفْطَوَيْه. قَالَ أَبُو زَيْدٍ عَلِيُّ بنُ مُحَمَّدٍ: كُنْتُ عِنْدَ يَحْيَى بنِ مَعِيْنٍ، فَذَكَرْتُ لَهُ حَدِيْثاً سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ سُوَيْدِ بنِ سَعِيْدٍ ... ، فَذَكَرَ الحَدِيْثَ المَذْكُوْرَ. فَقَالَ: وَاللهِ لَوْ كَانَ عِنْدِي فَرَسٌ وَرُمْحٌ لَغَزَوْتُ سُويداً فِي هَذَا الحَدِيْثِ (٤) . قُلْتُ: هُوَ مِمَّا نَقَمُوا عَلَى سُوَيْدٍ.

(١) هذا حديث لا يصح عن النبي ﷺ. اتفق جهابذة المحدثين على ضعفه، وأعلوه بسويد بن عبد العزيز، قال ابن معين عن سويد هذا: هو ساقط كذاب، لو كان لي فرس ورمح كنت أغزوه. وقال أحمد: متروك الحديث. وقال النسائي: ليس بثقة. وقال البخاري: كان قد عمي فيلقن ما ليس من حديثه. وقال ابن حبان: يأتي بالمعضلات عن الثقات يجب مجانبة ما روى..والحديث في تاريخ بغداد: ٥ / ١٥٦، ٢٦٢، و: ٦ / ٥٠ - ٥١، و: ١٣ / ١٨٤. وقد بسط الكلام عليه العلامة ابن القيم في " زاد المعاد ": ٤ / ٢٧٥ - ٢٧٨، وفي روضة المحبين: ١٨٢. (٢) الدعج: بفتح الدال والعين: شدة سواد العين مع سعتها. وطرف ساج: ساكن. (٣) تاريخ بغداد: ٥ / ٢٦٢. (٤) انظر: الوافي بالوفيات: ٣ / ٦٠.