Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (14/271)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

and to cast lots: the one on whom the lot fell would go out and obtain food for the rest. The lot fell to Ibn Khuzaymah, whereupon he said to his companions, “Give me a moment until I perform the prayer of seeking the best outcome (ṣalāt al-khayrah).”

He plunged into the prayer, and while he was praying they suddenly saw candles and a eunuch sent by the governor of Egypt knocking at the door. They opened it and he asked, “Which of you is Muḥammad ibn Naṣr?”

“He is here,” they replied. The eunuch produced a purse containing fifty dinars and handed it to him, then said, “And which of you is Muḥammad ibn Jarīr?” He gave him fifty dinars as well, and the same to al-Ruwayānī and Ibn Khuzaymah. Then he said, “Yesterday the emir was taking his siesta (1) and in a dream he saw that the ‘Muḥammads’ were hungry, their stomachs tightened from fasting. So he sent you these purses and adjured you: when they are exhausted, send one of you to me (2).”

Abū Muḥammad al-Farghānī (3) says in the Supplement to his History of al-Ṭabarī:

Abū ʿAlī Hārūn ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrated to me that when Abū Jaʿfar entered Baghdad he had with him some merchandise from which he lived, but it was stolen. His circumstances deteriorated to the point that he sold his clothes and even the cuffs of his shirt. One of his friends said to him, “Would you be willing to tutor one of the sons of the vizier Abū al-Ḥasan ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān?”

“Yes,” he replied.

The man went, arranged the matter, and returned to escort him to the vizier after lending him something to wear. The vizier welcomed him, raised his status, and allotted him ten dinars a month. Abū Jaʿfar stipulated fixed times for his pursuit of knowledge, the prayers, and rest, and asked to be advanced one month’s allowance; the vizier complied and admitted him into

(1) That is, he was sleeping during the qaylula (the midday siesta). The corresponding verb is qala yaqilu, “to take a midday nap.” (2) The report is recorded in Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 2, pp. 164–165, and in Muʿjam al-udabaʾ, vol. 18, pp. 46–47; the words placed between brackets are taken from those two sources. The author will repeat this story under the biography of Muhammad ibn Harun al-Ruyani, p. 508 of the present volume. (3) The person meant is ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Jaʿfar al-Farghani; he transmitted hadiths in Damascus from Ibn Jarir and others, and died in Jumada al-Ula, 362 AH. His full biography will appear in volume 16 of this work.

وَيضربُوا القُرْعَة، فَمَنْ خَرجتْ عَلَيْهِ القُرعَةُ سَأَلَ لأَصْحَابِهِ الطَّعَام، فَخَرَجت القرعَة عَلَى ابْنِ خُزَيْمَة، فَقَالَ لأَصْحَابِهِ: أَمْهِلونِي حَتَّى أُصَلِّي صَلاَة الخِيرَة. قَالَ: فَاندفعَ فِي الصَّلاَةِ، فَإِذَا هُم بِالشُّموع وَخَصِيٍّ مِنْ قَبْل وَالِي مِصْر يَدَقُّ البَاب، فَفَتَحُوا، فَقَالَ: أَيُّكُم مُحَمَّدُ بنُ نَصْرٍ؟ فَقِيْلَ: هُوَ ذَا. فَأَخْرَجَ صرَّةً فِيْهَا خَمْسُوْنَ دِيْنَاراً، فَدَفَعَهَا إِلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَأَيُّكُم مُحَمَّدُ بنُ جَرِيْرٍ؟ فَأَعطَاهُ خَمْسِيْنَ دِيْنَاراً، وَكَذَلِكَ للرُّويَانِي، وَابْن خُزَيْمَةَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّ الأَمِيْرَ كَانَ قَائِلاً (١) بِالأَمس، فَرَأَى فِي المَنَامِ أَنَّ المَحَامِدَ جِيَاعٌ قَدْ طَوَوْا كَشْحَهُم، فَأَنفذَ إِلَيْكُم هَذِهِ الصُّرَر، وَأَقسمَ عَلَيْكُم: إِذَا نفدَتْ، فَابْعَثُوا إِلَيَّ أَحَدَكُم (٢) . وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ الفرغَانِيُّ (٣) فِي (ذيل تَارِيْخه) عَلَى (تَارِيْخ الطَّبَرِي) ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عَلِيٍّ هَارُوْنُ بنُ عَبْدِ العَزِيْزِ، أَنَّ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ لَمَّا دَخَلَ بَغْدَاد، وَكَانَتْ مَعَهُ بِضَاعَةٌ يتقوَّتُ مِنْهَا، فَسرقت فَأَفضَى بِهِ الحَالُ إِلَى بيعِ ثِيَابِهِ وَكُمَّي قَمِيصِهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ بَعْضُ أَصدقَائِه: تنشَطُ لتَأَدِيْب بَعْضِ وَلد الوَزِيْر أَبِي الحَسَنِ عبيد اللهِ بنِ يَحْيَى بنِ خَاقَان؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. فَمَضَى الرَّجُل، فَأَحكَمَ لَهُ أَمره، وَعَاد فَأَوصَلَه إِلَى الوَزِيْرِ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَعَاره مَا يلبَسُهُ، فَقرَّبه الوَزِيْر وَرفعَ مَجْلِسه، وَأَجرَى عَلَيْهِ عَشْرَة دَنَانِيْر فِي الشَّهْرِ، فَاشترطَ عَلَيْهِ أَوقَاتَ طلبه لِلْعِلم وَالصَّلوَات وَالرَّاحَة، وَسأَل إِسلافَهُ رِزْقَ شَهْر، فَفَعَل، وَأدخل فِي

(١) أي: نائما في القائلة: وهي نصف النهار. وفعله: قال يقيل. (٢) الخبر في " تاريخ بغداد " ٢ / ١٦٥ ١٦٤، و" معجم الأدباء " ١٨ / ٤٧ ٤٦ وما بين حاصرتين منهما، وسيكرر المؤلف هذه القصة في ترجمة محمد بن هارون الروياني ص ٥٠٨ من هذا الجزء. (٣) هو عبد الله بن أحمد بن جعفر الفرغاني، حدث بدمشق عن ابن جرير وغيره، وتوفي في جمادى الأولى سنة ٣٦٢ هـ وسترد ترجمته في الجزء السادس عشر من هذا الكتاب.