Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (16/149)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

“If a man possesses ten arrows, he must shoot one of them at the Byzantines and nine at us.”

He replied, “I did not say that. What I said was: If he has ten arrows, he must shoot nine of them at you—and then shoot the tenth at you as well—for you have altered the religion, slain the righteous, and claimed a share in the divine light.” So they paraded him publicly, beat him, and then the commander ordered a Jew to flay him.

Ibn al-Akfānī said: “The pious, ascetic servant Abu Bakr b. al-Nābulusī passed away. He held it obligatory to fight the Maghrebis. He fled from Ramla to Damascus, where its governor, Abū Maḥmūd al-Kutāmī, seized him, placed him in a wooden cage, and sent him on to Egypt. When he arrived, they asked, ‘Are you the one who said, “If I had ten arrows…”?’ and recounted the incident. He was then flayed, stuffed with straw, and crucified.

“Maʿmar b. Aḥmad b. Ziyād the Sufi related to me, on the authority of a reliable informer, that Abu Bakr was flayed from the crown of his head until they reached his face; all the while he was remembering Allah and showing steadfast patience. When they reached his chest, the executioner took pity and thrust the knife into his heart, finishing him.

“The same trustworthy source told me that he was an imam in hadith and fiqh, perpetually fasting, and held in great esteem by both elite and commoner. While he was being flayed, Qur’an recitation was heard issuing from his body. The Maghribi gained control of Syria, propagated the reprehensible creed, abolished the Tarawih and Duha prayers, and ordered that qunūt be recited in the Zuhr prayer. Al-Nābulusī was killed in 363 AH.

“He had been a nobleman, the leading figure of Ramla. When he fled he was seized in Damascus.

“It is said that a certain noble who opposed him greeted him on his arrival in Egypt with, ‘Praise be to Allah for your safety.’ He replied, ‘Praise be to Allah for the safety of my religion—and for the safety of your worldly life.’”

I say: One cannot express how these Ubaydids turned the religion completely on its head. They seized the Maghrib, then Egypt and Syria, and went so far as to curse the Companions.

إِذَا كَانَ مَعَ الرَّجُلِ عَشْرَةُ أَسهُمٍ، وَجبَ أَنْ يَرْمِيَ فِي الرُّوْمِ سَهْماً، وَفينَا تِسْعَةً. قَالَ: مَا قُلْتُ هَذَا، بَلْ قُلْتُ: إِذَا كَانَ مَعَهُ عَشْرَةُ أَسهُمٍ، وَجبَ أَنْ يرمِيَكُمْ بِتِسعَةً، وَأَنْ يَرمِيَ العَاشرَ فِيْكُمْ أَيْضاً، فَإِنَّكُم غيَّرْتُم الملَّةَ، وَقَتَلْتُم الصَّالِحِيْنَ، وَادَّعَيْتُم نورَ الإِلهيَّةِ، فشهرَهُ ثُمَّ ضَرَبَهُ، ثُمَّ أَمرَ يَهُودِيّاً فَسَلَخَهُ. قَالَ ابْنُ الأَكفَانِيِّ: تُوُفِّيَ العَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ الزَّاهِدُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ بنُ النَّابُلسِيِّ، كَانَ يَرَى قِتَالَ المغَاربَةِ، هَرَبَ مِنَ الرَّملَةِ إِلَى دِمَشْقَ، فَأَخَذَهُ مُتَوَلِّيهَا أَبُو محمودٍ الكُتَامِيُّ، وَجعَلَهُ فِي قفصِ خشبٍ، وَأَرسَلَهُ إِلَى مِصْرَ، فَلَمَّا وَصلَ قَالُوا: أَنْتَ القَائِلُ، لَوْ أَنَّ مَعِيَ عَشْرَةَ أَسهُمٍ ... وَذَكَرَ القِصَّةَ، فسُلِخَ وَحُشِيَ تِبْناً، وَصُلبَ. قَالَ مَعْمَرُ بنُ أَحْمَدَ بنِ زِيَادٍ الصُّوْفِيُّ: أَخْبَرَنِي الثِّقَةُ، أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ سُلِخَ مِنْ مفرِقِ رَأْسِهِ حَتَّى بُلِغَ الوَجْهُ، فَكَانَ يذكُرُ اللهَ وَيَصْبرُ حَتَّى بلغَ الصَّدْرَ فَرَحمَهُ السَّلاَّخُ، فوكزَهُ بِالسِّكِّينِ مَوْضِعَ قلبِهِ فَقضَى عَلَيْهِ. وَأَخْبَرَنِي الثِّقَةُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِمَاماً فِي الحَدِيْثِ وَالفِقْهِ، صَائِمَ الدَّهْرِ، كَبِيْرَ الصَّوْلَةِ عِنْدَ العَامَّةِ وَالخَاصَّةِ، وَلَمَّا سُلخَ كَانَ يُسمعُ مِنْ جَسَدِهِ قِرَاءةُ القُرْآنِ، فغَلبَ المَغْرِبِيُّ بِالشَّامِ، وَأَظهرَ المَذْهَبَ الرَّدِيءَ، وَأَبطَلَ التَّرَاويحَ وَالضُّحَى، وَأَمرَ بِالقُنُوتِ فِي الظُّهْرِ، وَقُتِلَ النَّابُلُسِيُّ سَنَةَ ثَلاَثٍ. وَكَانَ نبيلاً رَئِيْسَ الرَّمْلَةِ، فَهَرَبَ، فَأُخَذَ مِنْ دِمَشْقَ. وَقِيْلَ: قَالَ شريفٌ مِمَّنْ يعَاندُهُ لَمَّا قَدِمَ مِصْرَ: الحَمْدُ للهِ عَلَى سَلاَمَتِكَ، قَالَ: الحَمْدُ للهِ عَلَى سلاَمَةِ دِينِي، وَسلاَمَةِ دُنْيَاكَ. قُلْتُ: لاَ يُوصَفُ مَا قلبَ هَؤُلاَءِ العُبَيْدِيَّةِ الدِّينَ ظهراً لِبَطْنٍ، وَاسْتَوْلَوْا عَلَى المَغْرِبِ، ثُمَّ عَلَى مِصْرَ وَالشَّامِ، وَسَبُّوا الصَّحَابَةَ.