namely: the claim that the Qur’an was created, and the other: ranking ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib above all people after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Maʾmūn fell into grave error in espousing either of these two doctrines and incurred a tremendous sin—[indeed, some scholars declare anyone who says that the Qur’an is created to be a disbeliever, as will be explained in its proper place] (1).
That year the pilgrimage was led by ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUbayd Allah ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-ʿAbbās.
Among the notable figures who died that year were: Asad ibn Mūsā, who was called “the Lion of the Sunnah” (2); al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥafṣ (3); Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl, al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Makhlad (4); Abū al-Mughīra, ʿAbd al-Quddūs ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Shāmī al-Ḥimṣī (5); and Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Firyābī (6), the teacher of al-Bukhārī.
Then came the year 213 AH. In it two men in Egypt—ʿAbd al-Salām and Ibn Julays—rebelled, deposed al-Maʾmūn, and seized control of the Egyptian territories. They were followed by a faction of the Qaysite and Yemenite tribes, so al-Maʾmūn appointed his brother Abū Isḥāq as governor over Syria [and Egypt] (7),
(1) Supplement from the Ẓā’ and b manuscripts.
(2) He is Asad ibn Musa ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Khalīfa al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān, the Qurashī Umayyad known as Abū Saʿīd; a reliable muhaddith and author of numerous works. Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʼ (10/162).
(3) In the Ṭ edition (by al-Ḥasan ibn Jaʿfar), the reading is corrupt. He is al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥafṣ ibn al-Faḍl ibn Yaḥyá ibn Dhakwān al-Hamdānī, known as Abū Muḥammad al-Aṣbahānī; a venerable, trustworthy jurist and muhaddith. He was appointed to the leadership, judiciary, and fatwā authority of Isfahan. Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʼ (10/356).
(4) al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Makhlad ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muslim, known as Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl al-Shaybānī al-Baṣrī; the foremost muhaddith of his era and a trustworthy authority. Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (4/450).
(5) ʿAbd al-Quddūs ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Khawlānī al-Ḥimṣī, known as Abū al-Mughīra; an honest muhaddith. His Musnad is referred to as Musnad Ḥimṣ. Narrated by a group of scholars. Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʼ (10/223).
(6) In edition A (printed as “Yūnus”), this is corrupt. He is Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf ibn Wāqid al-Firyābī, known as Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḍabbī; an imam, ḥāfiẓ, Shaykh al-Islām, and a reliable, honest authority. Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʼ (10/114).
(7) Supplement from the b and Ẓā’ manuscripts.