Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (10/482)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

“Say to the one whose like no eye of ours has ever seen,
so that whoever sets eyes upon him seems to have seen those before him;
knowledge forbids its custodians to withhold it from its seekers—
perhaps he will bestow it on those entitled to it, perhaps.” (1)

He (Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan) thereupon sent the book to him immediately, as a gift and not merely on loan.

Ibrāhīm al-Harbī said: It was asked of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, “These extremely subtle legal questions—where did you learn them?” He replied, “From the books of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, may Allah have mercy on him.” It has already been mentioned that he and al-Kisāʾī died on the same day of this very year. Al-Rashīd remarked, “Today I have buried both the Arabic language and jurisprudence.” He was fifty-eight years old.

[Then the year 190 AH began]

In this year Rafiʿ ibn Layth ibn Naṣr ibn Sayyār, the governor of Samarqand, renounced his allegiance and called people to rally to him. The inhabitants of his city and a large number from the surrounding region followed him, and his cause swelled. ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā, the governor of Khurasan, marched against him, but Rafiʿ routed him and the matter became ever more serious.

In the same year al-Rashīd marched to wage jihad against the Byzantine lands on the twentieth of Rajab, wearing a qalansuwa on his head. About him Abū al-Maʿlā al-Kilābī composed:

Whoever seeks—or longs—to meet you
will find you in the Two Sanctuaries or at the furthest frontiers;

in enemy territory you ride a threadbare mount,
while in lands of ease you sit upon the finest saddle. (2)

No one among those who stay behind in state affairs
has ever secured the frontiers but you. (3)

He continued until he reached al-Ṭuwānah (4), encamped there, and Nikophoros sent him a message of submission, paying the tribute and jizyah—even the capitation tax for his own head, for his son, and for the people of his kingdom—amounting each year to fifteen thousand dinars. He also asked al-Rashīd to return a captive girl, the daughter of the ruler of Heracleia, whom he had betrothed to his son. Al-Rashīd sent her back with

(1) In codex Q the first verse reads “lam tara aynaya mithlahu” (“my eyes have not seen its like”); the version attested in B and H—and in editions based on them—appears in Diwan al-Shafii, p. 121, and includes an additional penultimate verse: “lianna ma yujannuhu … faqa al kamal kullahu”. (2) This is Q’s reading; in B and H it reads “althaniyah”. (3) This verse is not found in B or H. (4) “Twana” (with a damma on its first letter and a nun after the alif): a town on the frontiers of al-Masisah. Mu‘jam al-Buldan, vol. 4, p. 45.

قُلْ للذي لم تَرَ عَيْـ … ــنَا منْ رآهُ مثلَهُ حتى كأنَّ منْ رآ … هُ قد رأى منْ قبلَهُ العلمُ يَنْهَى أهلَهُ … أنْ يَمْنَعُوهُ أهْلَهُ لعلَّهُ يَبْذُلُهُ … لأهلِهِ لَعَلَّهُ (١) قال: فوجَّهَ به إليهِ في الحالِ هديَّةً لا عارِيَّة. وقال إبراهيمُ الحربي: قيل لأحمد بن حنبل: هذه المسائل الدِّقَاق، منْ أين هي لك؟ قال: من كُتب محمدِ بنِ الحسن (رحمه الله) . وقد تقدَّمَ أنه ماتَ هو والكِسَائي في يومٍ واحدٍ من هذه السنة. فقال الرشيد: دفنتُ اليومَ اللغةَ والفِقْه جميعًا. وكان عمرهُ ثمانيةً وخمسين سنة. [ثم دخلت سنة تسعين ومئة من الهجرة] فيها خلَعَ رافعُ بنُ لَيْث بنِ نصر بن سَيَّار نائبُ سَمَرْقَنْدَ الطاعة، ودَعَا إلى نفسه، وتابعَهُ أهلُ بلدِهِ وطائفةٌ كثيرة من تلك الناحية؛ واستفحل أمرُه، فسار إليه نائبُ خُرَاسانَ عليُّ بن عيسى، فهزمَهُ رافع، وتفاقَمَ الإمرُ به. وفيها سار الرشيدُ لِغَزْوِ بلادِ الرُّوم لعشرٍ بَقينَ من رجب، وقد لبس على رأسِهِ قَلَنْسُوةً، فقال فيه أبو المعلّى الكلابي: فمَنْ يطلُبْ لقاءَكَ أو يُرِدْهُ … فبالحرَمَيْنِ أو أقصَى الثُّغورِ ففي أرضِ العدوِّ على طِمِرٍّ … وفي أرض التَّرَفُّهِ (٢) فَوْقَ كُورِ وما حازَ الثغورَ سواكَ خَلْقٌ … من المتخلِّفينَ على الأمورِ (٣) فسارَ حتى وصل إلى الطُّوَانَة (٤) ، فعسكر بها وبعث إليه نَقْفُور إليه بالطاعة، وحَمَلَ الخراجَ والجِزْيَة، حتى عن رأسِ وَلَدِه ورأسِه، وأهلِ مملكتِه، في كلِّ سنةٍ خمسةَ عشرَ ألفَ دينار. وبعثَ يَطْلبُ من الرشيدِ جارية قد أسروها، وكانتِ ابنةَ ملكِ هِرَقْلَة، وكان قد خطبَهَا على ولَدِه. فبعث بها الرشيدُ مع

(١) رواية (ق) في البيت الأول: "لم تر عيناي مثله"، والمثبت من (ب، ح) وبنحوه الأبيات في ديوان الشافعي ص (١٢١)، وفيه زيادة بيت قبل الأخير وهو: لأنَّ ما يُجنُّهُ … فاقَ الكمالَ كُلَّهُ (٢) هذه رواية (ق)، وفي (ب، ح): "الثنية". (٣) ليس هذا البيت في (ب، ح). (٤) "طُوَانة" -بضَمِّ أوله، وبعد الألف نون-: بلدٌ بِثُغور المَصِّيصَة. معجم البلدان (٤/ ٤٥).