Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (13/169)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

100 – al-Muwaffaq ibn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allah Jaʿfar ibn al-Muʿtaṣim Muḥammad
Crown Prince of the Believers, the emir al-Muwaffaq Abū Aḥmad Ṭalḥah—some writers call him Muḥammad—the son of al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allah Jaʿfar ibn al-Muʿtaṣim Muḥammad ibn al-Rashīd, a Hāshimite ʿAbbāsid. He was the brother of the caliph al-Muʿtamid, his designated heir, and the father of the Commander of the Believers al-Muʿtaḍid. His mother was an umm walad (a slave-concubine who bore him).

He was born in 229 AH.

His brother invested him with the succession—after his own son Jaʿfar—in 261 AH. From then on, al-Muwaffaq held the power to bind and to loose; no affair was concluded without his consent. Among his peers he was the highest in rank, the most discerning in judgment, the bravest in heart, the most imposing in presence, and the most open-handed in generosity.⦗1⦘

He was beloved by the populace, especially after the malignant Zanj tyrant was uprooted at his hands;⦗2⦘ he waged relentless war against him until he prevailed, for which the people dubbed him “the One Who Brings Victory to the Religion of Allah.”

Ismāʿīl al-Khuṭabī said: “Al-Muwaffaq’s authority kept growing until he became commander of the army and all its forces were under his control. Once he dominated affairs, he restricted al-Muʿtamid, placed both him and his son under watch, appointed guards over them, and ran the government as he deemed fit.”

He died in Ṣafar, 278 AH.

(*) Ibn Majah, Tarikh al-khulafaʾ, pp. 45, 48; al-Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 9, pp. 290, 291, 316, 337, 353, 361, 377, 475, 476, 490, and vol. 10, p. 22; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 2, pp. 127–128; Ibn ʿAsakir, Tarikh (MS Kh), vol. 15, fols. 91a–92a; Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Muntazam, vol. 5, pp. 121–122; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 7, pp. 441–444; the author’s ʿIbar, vol. 2, pp. 39, 43, 47, 59–60; al-Safadi, al-Wafi bi-l-wafayat, vol. 2, pp. 294–295; Ibn ʿImad, Shadharat al-dhahab, vol. 2, p. 172. (1) The original manuscript reads: “aʿla” (higher). (2) His biography has already been given on p. 129, no. 66.

١٠٠ - المُوَفَّقُ بنُ المُتَوَكِّلِ عَلَى اللهِ جَعْفَرِ بنِ المُعْتَصِمِ مُحَمَّدٍ * وَلِي عَهْدَ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ، الأَمِيْرُ، المُوَفَّقُ أَبُو أَحْمَدَ طَلْحَةُ - وَمِنْهُم مِنْ سَمَّاهُ: مُحَمَّداً - ابْنُ المُتَوَكِّلِ عَلَى اللهِ جَعْفَرِ ابنِ المُعْتَصِم مُحَمَّدِ ابنِ الرَّشِيْدِ الهَاشِمِيُّ العَبَّاسِيُّ، أَخُو الخَلِيْفَةِ المُعْتَمِدِ، وَولِيُّ عَهْدِهِ، وَوَالِدُ أَمِيْرِ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ المُعْتَضِدِ، وَأُمُّهُ أُمُّ وَلَدٍ. وُلِدَ: سَنَةَ تِسْعٍ وَعِشْرِيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ. وَعَقَدَ لَهُ أَخُوْهُ بِوِلاَيَةِ العَهْدِ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَلَدِهِ جَعْفَرٍ، فِي سَنَةِ إِحْدَى وَسِتِّيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ، فَكَانَ المُوَفَّقُ بِيَدِهِ العَقْدُ وَالحَلُّ، لاَ يُبْرَمُ أَمْرٌ دُوْنَهُ، وَكَانَ مِنْ أَعلاَهُم (١) رُتْبَةً، وَأَنْبَلِهِم رَأْياً، وَأَشْجَعِهِم قَلْباً، وَأَوفَرِهِم هَيْبَةً، وَأَجْوَدِهِم كَفّاً. وَكَانَ مَحْبُوباً إِلَى الرَّعِيَةِ، وَلاَ سِيَّمَا لَمَّا اسْتُؤْصِلَ الخَبِيْثُ طَاغُوْتُ الزِّنْجِ (٢) عَلَى يَدَيْهِ، فَإِنَّهُ مَا زَالَ يُحَارِبُهُ حَتَّى ظَفِرَ بِهِ، وَلذَا لَقَّبَهُ النَّاسُ، النَّاصِرَ لِدِيْنِ اللهِ. قَالَ إِسْمَاعِيْلُ الخُطَبِيُّ: لَمْ يَزَلْ أَمْرُ المُوَفَّقِ يَقْوَى وَيَزِيْدُ، حَتَّى صَارَ صَاحِبَ الجَيْشِ، وَكُلُّهُم تَحْتَ يَدِهِ، وَلَمَّا غَلَبَ عَلَى الأَمْرِ، حَظَرَ عَلَى المُعْتَمِدِ، وَاحتَاطَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى وَلَدِهِ، وَوَكلَ بِهِم، وَأَجْرَى الأُمُوْرَ مَجَارِيهَا. مَاتَ: فِي صَفَرٍ، سَنَةَ ثَمَانٍ وَسَبْعِيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ.

(*) تاريخ الخلفاء لابن ماجة: ٤٥، ٤٨، تاريخ الطبري: ٩ / ٢٩٠، ٢٩١، ٣١٦، ٣٣٧، ٣٤٩، ٣٥٣، ٣٦١، ٣٧٧، ٤٧٥، ٤٧٦، ٤٩٠، و١٠ / ٢٢، تاريخ بغداد: ٢ / ١٢٧ - ١٢٨، تاريخ ابن عساكر: خ: ١٥ / ٩١ أ - ٩٢ أ، المنتظم: ٥ / ١٢١ - ١٢٢، الكامل لابن الأثير: ٧ / ٤٤١ - ٤٤٤، عبر المؤلف: ٢ / ٣٩، ٤٣، ٤٧، ٥٩ - ٦٠، الوافي بالوفيات: ٢ / ٢٩٤ - ٢٩٥، شذرات الذهب: ٢ / ١٧٢. (١) في الأصل: " أعلى ". (٢) تقدمت ترجمته في الصفحة (١٢٩) ، برقم (٦٦) .