Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (3/294)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Never had we rejoiced at anything the way we rejoiced at the Negus’s victory. We remained in his land until some of us set out—returning to Mecca—while others chose to stay.

Al-Zuhrī relates: I narrated this account of Umm Salamah to ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr. ʿUrwah said, “Do you know what the Negus meant by his words: ‘God did not take a bribe from me when He restored my kingdom to me that I should now accept a bribe in it, nor did people obey me against His will that I should now obey people against His will’?” I replied, “No; Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām did not transmit that to me from Umm Salamah.”

ʿUrwah then said, “ʿĀʾishah told me that the Negus’s father had been king over his people. He had a brother who had sired twelve sons, whereas the Negus’s father had no offspring save the Negus himself. The Abyssinians consulted among themselves and said, ‘If we kill the Negus’s father and make his brother king, his twelve sons will inherit after him, and the kingdom will remain among them for ages without discord.’ So they rose up at dawn, killed the Negus’s father, and set his brother on the throne.

“The young Negus entered his uncle’s service and soon gained complete control of his affairs, for he was an intelligent and decisive man. When the Abyssinians saw how much influence the youth wielded, they said, ‘This lad has overpowered his uncle. We fear he will become king over us, and he knows that we killed his father. If he does rule, he will not spare a single noble among us—he will kill us all. Speak to his uncle: either he must kill the boy or expel him from our land.’ They went to the uncle and said, ‘You see how close this youth is to you, and you know we killed his father and set you in his place. We are not safe so long as he might become king and kill us. Either kill him or drive him from our country.’

“He answered, ‘Woe to you! Yesterday you killed his father—shall I kill him today? Rather, I will send him away from your land.’ So they led him out, stood him in the marketplace, and sold him to a merchant. The merchant shoved him onto a ship for six hundred—or perhaps seven hundred—dirhams and sailed off with him.

“That afternoon an autumn cloud gathered; the uncle went out to enjoy the rain, a bolt of lightning struck him, and he was killed. The people rushed to his sons, only to find them foolish and incapable; no good was to be found among them, and Abyssinia fell into turmoil.

“Some of them said to the others, ‘By God, you know that the only man who can set your affairs right is the very one you sold this morning. If you care about the fate of Abyssinia, go after him before he is lost.’ They set out in pursuit, caught up with him, brought him back, placed the crown upon his head, seated him on his throne, and proclaimed him king.

“The merchant then said, ‘Return my money to me, since you have taken back the slave-boy I bought.’ They replied, ‘We will not give it to you.’ He said, ‘Then, by God, I shall speak to him myself.’ He went to the Negus and said, ‘O King, I bought a slave-boy; those who sold him to me took my payment, then seized the boy…’

(1) The addition appears in al-Siyar wa al-Maghazi wa al-Dala’il. (2) In manuscripts H and T: “li-ab,” a reading also attested in al-Siyar wa al-Maghazi wa al-Dala’il. (3) In T and al-Dala’il: “faʿddu,” written with the letter ʿayn undotted. (4) The text enclosed in brackets is absent in H and derives from al-Bayhaqi’s al-Dala’il. (5) In H: “or nine hundred.” (6) That is, it became confused and intermixed. In al-Lisan: “marj.” (7) In T: “alladhi baa’uhu,” whereas the reading preserved in H is the established one.

بشيءٍ قطُ فرَحَنا بظهور النجاشيّ؛ ثم أقمنا عندَهُ حتى خرج من خرج منَّا [راجعًا] (١) إلى مكة، وأقام من أقام. قال الزُّهري: فحدثتُ هذا الحديث عروة بن الزُّبير عن أمِّ سلمة. فقال عروة: أتدري ما قولُه ما أخذ الله مني الرِّشْوة حين ردَّ عليَّ مُلْكي فآخذ الرشوة فيه، ولا أطاع الناس فِيَّ فأطيع الناس فيه؟ فقلت لا، ما حدَّثني ذلك أبو بكر بن عبد الرحمن بن الحارث بن هشام عن أمِّ سلمة. فقال عروة: فإنَّ عائشة حدثَتْني أنَّ أباه كان مَلَكَ قومَه، وكان له أخٌ له من صُلْبه اثنا عشر رجلًا، ولم يكنْ لأبي (٢) النجاشي ولدٌ غيرَ النجاشي، فأدارتِ الحبشةُ رأيَها بينها فقالوا: لو أنا قتلنا أبا النجاشي وملَّكنا أخاه فإنَّ له اثني عشر رجلًا من صُلْبه فتوارثوا الملك، لبقيتِ الحبشة عليهم دَهْرًا طويلًا لا يكون بينهمُ اختلاف، فغدَوْا (٣) عليه فقتلوه وملَّكوا أخاه. فدخل النجاشي لعمِّه حتى غلب عليه، فلا يدبِّر أمْرَهُ غيرُه، وكان لبيبًا حازمًا من الرجال، فلما رأتِ الحبشةُ مكانَهُ من عمِّه قالوا: قد غلب هذا الغلام على أمر عمِّه، فما نأمن أنْ يملِّكه علينا، وقد عرف أنا قتلنا أباه، فلئن فعل لم يدَعْ منَّا شريفًا إلا قتله، فكلِّموه فيه فلْيقتله أو ليخرجنه من بلادنا، فمشَوْا [إلى عمه فقالوا: قد رأينا مكان هذا الفتى منك، وقد عرفتَ أنَّا قتلنا] (٤) أباه وجعلناكَ مكانه، وإنَّا لا نأمنُ أنْ يُمَلَّك علينا فيقتلنا، فإمَّا أنْ تقتله وإمَّا أن تخرجَهُ من بلادنا. قال: ويحكم قتلتم أباه بالأمس وأقتلُه اليوم! بل أُخرجُه من بلادكم. فخرجوا به فوقفوه في السوق وباعوه من تاجر من التجَّار قذفه في سفينة بستمئة درهم أو بسبعمئة (٥) ، فانطلق به فلما كان العشي هاجَتْ سحابةٌ من سحائب الخريف فخرج عمه يتمطَّرُ تحتها فأصابته صاعقةٌ فقتلَتْه، ففزعوا إلى ولده فإذا هم محمقون ليس في أحدٍ منهم خير، فمرجَ على الحبشة أمْرُهم (٦) ، فقال بعضُهم لبعض: تعلمون والله إنَّ مَلِكَكم الذي لا يُصلح أمرَكم غيرُه للَّذي بعتُمْ بالغَدَاة، فإنْ كان لكم بأمْرِ الحبشةِ حاجة فأدركوه قبل أن يذهب. فخرجوا في طلبه، فأدركوه فردُّوه، فعقدوا عليه تاجَه، وأجلسوه على سريره وملَّكوه. فقال التاجر: ردُّوا عليَّ مالي كما أخذتُمْ مني غلامي، فقالوا: لا نُعطيك. فقال: إذًا والله لأكلمنَّه. فمشى إليه فكلَّمه فقال: أيُّها الملك، إني ابتعتُ غلامًا فقبض مني الذينَ باعونيه (٧) ثمنه، ثم عدَوْا على غلامي

(١) الزيادة من السير والمغازي والدلائل. (٢) في ح، ط: لأب، والمثبت من السير والمغازي والدلائل. (٣) في ط والدلائل: فعدوا. بالعين المهملة. (٤) ما بين المعقوفين ليس في ح وهو من دلائل البيهقي. (٥) في ح: أو تسع مئة. (٦) أي التبس واختلط. اللسان (مرج). (٧) في ط: الذي باعوه، والمثبت من ح.