Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (14/216)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

He was openly at odds with the Iraqi faction, and during the reign of ʿUbayd Allāh misfortunes befell him: he was lashed with whips. When the Shiʿi leader entered Qayrawān, his enemies slandered him anew. The Shiʿa favored the Iraqis because they agreed with them on the question of preferring ʿAlī and on the laxity of their school, so they informed Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shiʿi that Ibn al-Bardūn and Abū Bakr ibn Hudhayl were disparaging their regime and refusing to acknowledge ʿAlī’s superiority.

He thereupon jailed the two men and ordered the governor of Qayrawān to inflict five hundred lashes on Ibn Hudhayl and to behead Ibn al-Bardūn. The governor blundered: he executed Ibn Hudhayl and merely flogged Ibn al-Bardūn, then put him to death the following day.

When Ibn al-Bardūn was stripped for execution he was asked, “Will you recant your doctrine?” He replied, “Would you have me recant Islam?” He was then crucified in 299 AH.

The wicked Shiʿi further decreed that no legal opinions were to be issued according to Mālik’s school; fatāwā were to follow only the school of the Ahl al-Bayt. They even held that an irrevocable triple divorce carried no legal effect. Thus anyone who wished to study Mālik’s jurisprudence could do so only in secret.

Al-Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd al-Kharrāṭ said, “Ibn al-Bardūn was brilliant in knowledge and adopted the method of rational inquiry; among the young scholars of his age none was stronger in debate or more capable of establishing proof.”

He heard hadith from ʿĪsā ibn Miskīn, Yaḥyā ibn ʿUmar, and others.

When he was brought before Ibn Abī Khunzir, the man rose and called him, “O swine!” Ibn al-Bardūn retorted, “Swine are known by their tusks.” Incensed, Ibn Abī Khunzir struck off his head.

Muḥammad ibn Khurāsān related: “When ʿUbayd Allāh reached Raqqāda (1), he summoned from Qayrawān Ibn al-Bardūn and Ibn Hudhayl. They were brought before him while he was reclining on his couch, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shiʿi at his right and his brother Abū al-ʿAbbās at his left. He said, ‘Do you two testify that this…’

(1) Yaqut vocalizes the name in this manner in his Mu jam, 3/55, adding: “It was a town in Ifriqiya, four days’ journey from Qayrawan, mostly made up of orchards; nowhere in Ifriqiya enjoyed purer air, gentler breezes, or softer soil.”

وَكَانَ منَاقضاً لِلْعرَاقيِّيْن، فَدَارت عَلَيْهِ دوَائِر فِي أَيَّامِ عُبَيْد اللهِ، وضُرِبَ بِالسِّيَاط، ثُمَّ سَعَوا بِهِ عِنْد دُخُوْل الشِّيْعِيِّ إِلَى القَيْرَوَان، وَكَانَتِ الشِّيْعَةُ تمِيلُ إِلَى العِرَاقيِّين لموَافقتِهِم لَهُم فِي مَسْأَلَةِ التفْضِيْل وَرخصَة مَذْهَبهم، فرفَعُوا إِلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ اللهِ الشِّيْعِيّ: أَنَّ ابْنَ البَرْدُوْنَ وَأَبَا بَكْرٍ بنَ هُذَيل يطعنَان فِي دولتِهِم، وَلاَ يفضِّلاَن عَلِيّاً. فَحَبَسَهُمَا، ثُمَّ أَمرَ مُتَوَلِّي القَيْرَوَان أَنْ يضربَ ابْنَ هُذيل خَمْسَ مائَةِ سَوْط، وَيضربَ عُنُق ابْنِ البردُوْنَ، فَغَلِطَ المُتولِّي فَقتلَ ابْنَ هُذيل، وضربَ ابْنَ البردُوْنَ، ثُمَّ قتلَه مِنَ الغَدِ. وَقِيْلَ لاِبْنِ البردُوْنَ لَمَّا جرِّد لِلْقتل: أَترجعُ عَنْ مَذْهَبِك؟ قَالَ: أَعنِ الإِسْلاَم أَرجِع؟ ثُمَّ صُلِبا فِي سَنَةِ تِسْعٍ وَتِسْعِيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ. وَأَمر الشِّيْعِيُّ الخَبِيْثُ أَنْ لاَ يفتَى بِمَذْهَبِ مَالِكٍ، وَلاَ يُفتَى إِلاَّ بِمَذْهَب أَهْل البَيْت، وَيَرَوْنَ إِسقَاط طلاَق البتَّة، فَبَقِيَ مَنْ يتفقَّه لِمَالِكٍ إِنَّمَا يتفقَّهُ خِفيَة. قَالَ الحُسَيْنُ بنُ سَعِيْدٍ الخرَّاط: كَانَ ابْنُ البَرْدُوْنَ بَارِعاً فِي العِلْمِ، يَذْهَبُ مَذْهَبَ النَّظَر، لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي شَبَاب عصره أَقوَى عَلَى الجَدَل وَإِقَامَة الحجَّة مِنْهُ. سَمِعَ مِنْ عِيْسَى بنِ مِسْكِيْن، وَيَحْيَى بن عُمَرَ، وَجَمَاعَة. وَلَمَّا أُتِيَ بِهِ إِلَى ابْنِ أَبِي خِنْزِير، وَقَفَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا خِنْزِير. فَقَالَ ابْنُ البَرْدُوْنَ: الخنَازيرُ مَعْرُوْفَةٌ بِأَنيَابهَا. فَغَضِبَ وَضَرَبَ عُنُقَهُ. وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ خُرَاسَان: لَمَّا وَصلَ عبيدُ اللهِ إِلَى رَقَّادَة (١) ، طلبَ مِنَ القَيْرَوَان ابْنَ البَردُوْنَ، وَابْنَ هُذَيْل، فَأَتيَاهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى السَّرِيْر، وَعَنْ يمِينِهِ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ الشِّيْعِيّ، وَأَخُوْهُ أَبُو العَبَّاسِ عَنْ يسَاره، فَقَالَ: أَتشهدَانِ أَنَّ هَذَا

(١) كذا ضبطها ياقوت في " معجمه " ٣ / ٥٥، وقال: " بلدة كانت بإفريقية، بينها وبين القيروان أربعة أيام، وأكثرها بساتين، ولم يكن بإفريقية أطيب هواء، ولا أعدل نسيما، وأرق تربة منها ".