Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (10/11)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz one night and spoke with him. He said, “Everything you have narrated I have already heard; you simply remembered it while I forgot it.” (1)

Ibn Wahb narrated from al-Layth, from ʿUqayl, from al-Zuhrī who said: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related, “Al-Walīd once summoned me in the early afternoon. I entered and found him scowling; he motioned for me to sit, so I sat before him. He said, ‘What is your view regarding someone who reviles the caliphs—should he be executed?’ I remained silent. He repeated the question and I remained silent; then he repeated it once more. I asked, ‘Shall I kill him, Commander of the Believers?’ He said, ‘No; rather, he has merely reviled.’ I replied, ‘Then he should be given a severe deterrent punishment.’ He became angry, turned away to his household quarters, and Ibn al-Rayyān the executioner said to me, ‘Leave.’ I left his presence, and every time a breeze stirred I feared it was a messenger calling me back to him.

ʿUthmān ibn Zufar (2) said: Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, while he was Commander of the Believers, once approached his military camp accompanied by ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. The camp teemed with horses, camels, mules, equipment, and men. Sulaymān asked, ‘What do you think of all this, ʿUmar?’ He answered, ‘I see a world that devours itself, and you will be answerable for it all.’ When they drew near the camp, a crow snatched a morsel of food from Sulaymān’s pavilion, flew off with it, and cawed. Sulaymān asked, ‘What do you make of that, ʿUmar?’ He replied, ‘I do not know.’ Sulaymān asked, ‘What do you suppose it is saying?’ He replied (3), ‘It is as though it is saying, “From where did it come, and to where is it going?”’ Sulaymān said, ‘How remarkable you are!’ ʿUmar replied, ‘More remarkable than I is the one who knew Allah yet disobeyed Him, who knew Satan yet obeyed him, and who knew this world yet became attached to it.’ (4)

It was mentioned earlier that when Sulaymān and ʿUmar stood at ʿArafah (5), Sulaymān marvelled at the vast numbers of people. ʿUmar said, ‘Commander of the Believers, these are your subjects today, and you will be held accountable for them tomorrow.’ In another version he added, ‘and they will be your adversaries on the Day of Resurrection.’ Sulaymān wept and said, ‘We seek help from Allah.’

It was likewise related earlier that on one of their journeys they were struck by violent thunder, lightning, and intense darkness, and ʿUmar began to laugh. Sulaymān said, ‘You laugh while we are in this predicament?’ He replied, ‘Yes; these are but traces of His mercy while we are in such a state—then what of the traces of His wrath and His punishment?’

Imām Mālik reported that Sulaymān and ʿUmar once exchanged words, whereupon Sulaymān said, ‘You have lied.’ ʿUmar responded, ‘You say to me, “You have lied”? By Allah, I have not lied since I came to know that lying harms its perpetrator.’ He then kept away from Sulaymān and resolved to depart to

(1) Tarikh Ibn Asakir, vol. 54, p. 120. (2) In manuscripts H and Q the reading “Uthman ibn Zubayr” is a scribal error; the correct reading appears in manuscript B and in Tarikh Ibn Asakir, vol. 54, p. 121, where his biography is also recorded (vol. 45, p. 217). (3) In manuscript Q the term “qultu” (“I said”) is a scribal error; the correct reading appears in manuscripts H and B and in Tarikh Ibn Asakir. (4) The report in Tarikh Ibn Asakir (vol. 54, p. 121) is worded similarly. (5) See vol. 9, p. 179 (manuscript Q).

عمرَ بنِ عبد العزيز ذاتَ ليلة فحدَّثته، فقال: كلُّ ما حدثتَ فقد سمعتُه، ولكنْ حفظتَ ونُسِّيتُ (١) . وقال ابن وَهْب، عن اللَّيث، عن عقيل، عن الزُّهري قال: قال عمر بنُ عبد العزيز: بعث إليَّ الوليد ذاتَ ساعةٍ من الظهيرة، فدخلتُ عليه، فإذا هو عابس، فأشار إليَّ أن اجلسْ، فجلستُ بين يديه فقال: ما تقولُ فيمنْ يَسُبُّ الخلفاء أيُقتل؟ فسكتُّ، ثم أعادَ فسكتُّ، ثم أعادَ فقلت: أقَتَل يا أميرَ المؤمنين؟ قال: لا، ولكنْ سبَّ، فقلت: يُنَكَّلُ به، فغَضِبَ وانصرف إلى أهله، وقال لي ابنُ الرَّيَّان السيَّافُ: اذهَبْ. قال: فخرجتُ من عندِ وما تهبُّ ريحٌ إلا وأنا أظنُّ أنه رسولٌ يردُّني إليه. وقال عثمان بن زُفَر (٢) : أقبل سليمان بن عبد الملك وهو أميرُ المؤمنين ومعه عمر بن عبد العزيز على معسكر سليمان، وفيه تلك الخيول والجمال والبغال والأثقال والرجال، فقال له سليمان: ما تقولُ يا عمرُ في هذا؟ فقال: أرى دنيا يأكلُ بعضُها بعضًا وأنت المسؤول عن ذلك كله، فلما اقتربوا من المعسكر إذا غرابٌ قد أخذ لقمة في فيه من فسطاط سليمان وهو طائرٌ بها، ونَعَبَ نعبةً، فقال له سليمان: ما تقولُ في هذا يا عمر؟ فقال: لا أدري، فقال: ما ظنك أنه يقول؟ قال (٣) : كأنَّه يقول: من أين جاءَتْ وأين يُذهَبُ بها؟ فقال له سليمان: ما أعجبَك؟ فقال عمر: أعجَبُ منِّي مَنْ عَرَف الله فعصاه، ومن عرف الشيطانَ فأطاعَه، ومن عرف الدنيا فركن إليها (٤) . وتقدَّم أنه لما وقف سليمانُ وعمر بعَرَفه (٥) ، فجَعَلَ سليمان يعجبُ من كثرةِ الناس! فقال له عمر: يا أمير المؤمنين، هؤلاء رعيَّتُكَ اليوم وأنت مسؤولٌ عنهم غدًا. وفي رواية: وهم خصماؤك يومَ القيامة. فبكى سليمان وقال: بالله نستعين. وتقدم أنه لما أصابهم في بعض الأسفار رَعْدٌ شديد، وبَرْق وظلمةٌ شديدة، فجعل عمر يضحك من ذلك، فقال له سليمان: أتضحك ونحن فيما ترى؟ ! فقال: نعم هذه آثارُ رحمتِه ونحنُ في هذه الحال، فكيف بآثارِ غضَبه وعقابِه؟ وذكر الإمام مالك، أنَّ سليمان وعُمر تقاولا مرَّةً فقال له سليمان في جملةِ الكلام: كذبتَ، فقال: تقول لي كذبت؟ والله ما كذبتُ منذُ عرفتُ أنَّ الكذبَ يضرُّ أهلَه. ثم هجره عمر وعزم على الرحيل إلى

(١) تاريخ ابن عساكر (٥٤/ ١٢٠). (٢) في (ح، ق): "عثمان بن زبر" تصحيف والمثبت من (ب) وتاريخ ابن عساكر ٥٤/ ١٢١ وترجمته فيه (٤٥/ ٢١٧). (٣) في (ق): "قلت" تصحيف، والمثبت من (ح، ب) وتاريخ ابن عساكر. (٤) الخبر في تاريخ ابن عساكر (٥٤/ ١٢١) بنحوه. (٥) انظر ٩/ ١٧٩ (ق).