Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (13/167)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

—“This is the horse of the heretic!” (1)

Abu Naṣr al-Sarrāj (2), the author of al-Lumaʿ, said: “It has reached me that he once entered the presence of al-Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī. A sheep bleated, ‘Maaʿ.’ Abu Ḥamzah gasped and exclaimed, ‘At Your service! At Your service, my master!’ Al-Ḥārith became angry, seized a knife, and said, ‘If you do not repent, I will slaughter you.’

Abu Nuʿaym related: ‘Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Miqsam narrated to us; Abū Badr al-Khayyāṭ (3) narrated to us; I heard Abu Ḥamzah say:

“While I was traveling and sleep had overtaken me, I fell into a well and, because of its depth, could not climb out. As I sat there, two men stopped at its rim. One of them said, ‘Shall we walk on and leave this hole in the middle of the road for passers-by?’ The other asked, ‘What, then, shall we do?’ He replied, ‘Let us cover it over.’

I was about to cry, ‘I am down here!’ but restrained myself (4): would I rely on Him and then complain of His trial to someone else? So I kept silent. They went away, returned with something, and laid it across the mouth of the well, sealing it. My soul whispered, ‘You have been spared being buried alive, but you are now imprisoned inside.’

I remained there a full day and night. The next morning a voice called me—I could hear it though I could not see anyone—‘Hold on to me tightly!’ I stretched out my hands and felt something rough; I clung to it, it rose, and threw me out. When I looked around, I was on the ground facing a lion. Fear seized me, but a voice proclaimed, ‘O Abu Ḥamzah! We delivered you from affliction by means of affliction, and We protected you from what you feared by the very thing you feared.’ (5)”’

(1) Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, vol. 10, p. 321; the additional lines are taken from the same source. The continuation of the report reads: “Abu ʿAmr al-Basri related: ‘I followed him, while the people were behind him escorting him out through the Syrian Gate. He lifted his head toward the sky and said: lak min qalbi al-makan al-masun – kullu saʿbin ʿalayya fika yahun (You occupy in my heart a well-protected place; every hardship I endure for your sake becomes easy).’” (2) ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAli al-Tusi (d. 378/988), author of al-Lumaʿ on Sufism, edited by A. A. Nicholson, Leiden, 1914, 1 vol. (3) In Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ the name appears as “Abu Bakr.” (4) In Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ the wording is: “fa-tawaqqaftu, fa-nuditu” (“I halted, and then I was called”). (5) See the report in Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, vol. 10, pp. 320–321 (including the additional material), and in Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 1, pp. 391–392.

هَذَا فَرَسُ الزِّنْدِيْقِ (١) . قَالَ أَبُو نَصْرٍ السَّرَّاجُ (٢) صَاحِبُ (اللمع) : بَلَغَنِي أَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى الحَارِثِ المُحَاسِبِي، فَصَاحَتْ شَاةٌ: مَاع. فَشَهَقَ، وَقَالَ: لَبَّيْكَ لَبَّيْكَ يَا سَيِّدِي. فَغَضِبَ الحَارِثُ، وَأَخَذَ السِّكِيْنَ، وَقَالَ: إِنْ لَمْ تَتُبْ أَذْبَحْكَ. أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ: حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بنُ مُحَمَّدِ بنِ مِقْسَمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَدْرٍ الخَيَّاطُ (٣) ، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا حَمْزَةَ، قَالَ: بَيْنَا أَنَا أَسِيْرُ وَقَدْ غَلَبَنِي النَّوْمُ، إِذ وَقَعْتُ فِي بِئْرٍ، فَلَمْ أَقْدِرْ أَطْلَع لِعُمْقِهَا. فَبَيْنَا أَنَا جَالِسٌ إِذ وَقَفَ عَلَى رَأْسِهَا رَجُلاَنِ، فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا: نَجُوْزُ وَنَتْرُكُ هَذِهِ فِي طَرِيْقِ السَّابِلَةِ؟ قَالَ: فَمَا نَصْنَعُ؟ قَالَ: نَطُمُّهَا. فَهَمَمْتُ أَنْ أَقُوْلَ: أَنَا فِيْهَا، فَتَوَقَرْتُ (٤) : تَتَوَكَّلُ عَلَيْنَا وَتَشْكُو بَلاَءنَا إِلَى سِوَانَا؟! فَسَكَتُّ، فَمَضَيَا، وَرَجَعَا بِشَيْءٍ جَعَلاَهُ عَلَى رَأْسِ البِئرِ غَطّوْهَا بِهِ، فَقَالَتْ لِي نَفْسِي: أَمِنْتَ طَمَّهَا، وَلَكِنْ حَصَلْتَ مَسْجُوناً فِيْهَا. فَمَكَثْتُ يَوْمِي وَلَيْلَتِي، فَلَمَّا كَانَ مِنَ الغَدِ، نَادَانِي شَيْءٌ، يَهْتِفُ بِي وَلاَ أَرَاهُ: تَمَسَّكْ بِي شَدِيْداً. فَمَدَدْتُ يَدَي، فَوَقَعْتُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ خَشِنٍ، فَتَمَسَّكْتُ بِهِ، فَعَلاَ، وَطَرَحَنِي، فَتَأَمَّلْتُ فَوْقَ الأَرْضِ فَذَا هُوَ سَبُعٌ، فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُهُ لَحِقَنِي شَيْءٌ، فَهَتَفَ بِي هَاتِفٌ: يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ! اسْتَنْقَذْنَاكَ مِنَ البَلاَءِ بِالبَلاَءِ، وَكَفَينَاك مَا تَخَافُ بِمَا تَخَافُ (٥) .

(١) حلية الأولياء: ١٠ / ٣٢١، والزيادة منه. وتتمة الخبر فيه: " فذكر أبو عمرو البصري، قال: اتبعته والناس وراءه يخرجونه من باب الشام. فرفع رأسه إلى السماء وقال: لك من قلبي المكان المصون * كل صعب علي فيك يهون (٢) هو: عبد الله بن علي الطوسي. وفاته سنة (٣٧٨ هـ) وكتابه " اللمع " في التصوف. مطبوع بعناية أرنولد ألن نيكلسون، في ليدن سنة (١٩١٤ م) . ويقع في مجلد واحد. (٣) في " الحلية ": " أبو بكر ". (٤) في " الحلية ": " فتوقفت، فنوديت ". (٥) انظر الخبر في " حلية الأولياء ": ١٠ / ٣٢٠ - ٣٢١، والزيادة منه. و: " تاريخ بغداد " ١ / ٣٩١ - ٣٩٢.