Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (11/185)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

During his illness he was informed (1) that Tāwūs considered groaning while sick to be reprehensible, so he refrained from it and did not utter a single moan until the night preceding his death—the night of Friday, the twelfth of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of that very year—when, as the pain became severe, a groan escaped him.

It is related from his son ʿAbd Allah—and likewise from Ṣāliḥ—that he said: “When my father (may Allah have mercy on him) was in the throes of death he kept repeating, ‘Not yet, not yet.’ I asked, ‘Father, what is this phrase you are repeating at this hour?’ He replied, ‘My son, Satan is standing in the corner of the house, biting his finger, saying, “You have eluded me, Aḥmad?” and I respond, “Not yet, not yet.”’ He meant that the devil would not let him go until his soul left his body upon tawḥīd (pure monotheism). As occurs in some narrations, Satan said, ‘My Lord, by Your might, I shall go on misleading them as long as their souls remain in their bodies,’ and Allah said, ‘By My might and My majesty, I shall go on forgiving them as long as they seek My forgiveness.’ (2)

The finest of his final acts was that he signalled to his family to perform ablution for him. They began to wash him, and he motioned to them, ‘Pass the water between my fingers,’ while he was remembering Allah—glorified and exalted is He—throughout. When they had completed the ablution he passed away, may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him.

Imām Aḥmad’s death—may Allah have mercy on him—occurred on Friday morning, about two hours after sunrise. The streets filled with people. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṭāhir sent his chamberlain with servants carrying cloths in which were shrouds, conveying the message: ‘This is on behalf of the Caliph; had he been present he would have sent it himself.’ His sons replied, ‘During his life the Commander of the Faithful spared him from whatever he disliked, and this is something he would dislike.’ They therefore refused to shroud him in those garments. Instead they brought a robe that his maid-servant had spun and shrouded him in it, purchasing along with it a simple wrapper and some embalming perfume. They also bought a container of water, refusing to wash him with water from their own houses, because he had boycotted their homes—he would not eat their food nor borrow their belongings—and he had remained displeased with them for accepting the monthly allowance of four thousand dirhams allotted to them from the public treasury, even though they were (3) needy and poor. About one hundred members of the ruling family, the Banū Hāshim, attended his washing; they kept kissing him between the eyes, praying for him, invoking mercy upon him, [and asking Allah to be pleased with him] (4).

The people went out with his bier, throngs of men and women surrounding it in numbers known only to Allah, and the deputy of the city.

(1) In manuscripts B and Z: “the sickness of his demise.” (2) Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad (vol. 3: 29 and 41), hadith no. 11178, and by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak (vol. 4: 261) on the authority of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri. He narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Satan swore, ‘By Your Might, O Lord, I will not cease to mislead Your servants as long as their souls remain in their bodies.’ The Lord (exalted be He) replied, ‘By My Might and Majesty, I will continue to forgive them as long as they seek My forgiveness.’” Its isnad is weak, but it has supporting chains that render it hasan (good). (3) al-illah: “the needy,” plural of ‘a’il. (4) The addition appears in manuscripts B and Z.

وقد بلغه في مرضه (١) عن طاووس أنه كره الأنين في المرض، فترك الأنينَ، فلم يئنّ حتّى كانت الليلة التي توفي في صبيحتها، وكانت ليلة الجمعة، الثاني عشر من ربيع الأول من هذه السنة، فأنَّ حين اشتد عليه الوجع. وقد رُوِيَ عن ابنه عبد اللَّه، ويُروى عن صالح أيضًا، أنه قال: لمَّا احتُضر بي (رحمه الله) جعل يكثر أن يقولَ: لا، بعدُ، لا، بعدُ، فقلْتُ: يا أبة، ما هذه اللفظة التي لهجت بها في هذه الساعة؟ فقال: يا بنيّ، إنَّ إبليسَ واقفٌ في زاوية البيت، وهو عاضّ على أصبعه، وهو يقول: فُتَّنِي يا أحمد؟ فأقولُ: لا، بعدُ، لا، بعد. يعني لا يفوته حتَّى تخرجَ روحه من جسده على التوحيد. كما جاء في بعض الأحاديث، قال إبليس: يا ربّ، وعزَّتِك لا أزال أغويهم ما دامت أرواحُهم في أجسادهم. فقال: وعزَّتي وجَلالي، ولا أزال أغفِرُ لهم ما استغفروني (٢) . وأحسن ما كان من أمره أنه أشار إلى أهله أن يوضِّئوه، فجعلوا يوضئونه وهو يُشيرُ إليهم أن خلِّلوا أصابعي وهو يذكر اللَّه – Exalté soit-Il – في جميع ذلك، فلمَّا أكملوا الوضوء توفي، (رحمه الله) ، ورضي عنه. وقد كانت وفاة الإمام أحمد (رحمه الله) صبيحة يوم الجمعة، حين مضى نحو من ساعتين من النهار. فاجتمع الناس في الشوارع، وبعث محمد بن عبد اللَّه بن طاهر حاجبَه ومعه غلمان يحملون مناديل فيها أكفان، وأرسل يقولُ: هذا نيابة عن الخليفة، فإنَّه لو كان حاضرًا لبعث بهذا. فأرسل أولاده يقولون: إن أمير المؤمنين كان قد أعفاه في حياته مما يكره، وهذا مما يكرهه، وأبوا أن يكفّنوه في تلك الأثواب، وأتَوا بثوب كان قد غزلته جاريته فكفَّنوه فيه، واشتروا معه عَوَز لُفافة وحَنُوطًا، واشتروا له راوية ماءٍ، وامتنعوا أن يغسلوه بماء من بيوتهم؛ لأنَّه كان قد هجَر بيوتهم، فلا يأكل منها، ولا يستعير من أمتعتهم، وكان لا يزال متغضِّبًا عليهم، لكونهم كانوا يتناولون ما رُتِّب لهم على بيت المال؛ في كُلِّ شهر أربعةُ آلاف درهم. وكانوا عالةً (٣) وفقراء. وحضر غسله نحو مئة من بيت الخلافة من بني هاشم، فجعلوا يقبّلون بين عينيه، ويدعون له، ويترحَّمون عليه، [ويترضَّون عنه] (٤) . وخرج الناس بنعشه، والخلائق حوله من الرجال والنساء ما لا يعلم عددهم إلا اللَّه، ونائب البلدة

(١) في ب، ظا: مرض موته. (٢) رواه أحمد في المسند (٣/ ٢٩ و ٤١) رقم (١١١٧٨)، والحاكم في المستدرك (٤/ ٢٦١) من حديث أبي سعيد الخدري ﵁ قال: قال رسول اللَّه ﷺ : "إن الشيطان قال: وعزتك يا رب، لا أبرح أغوي عبادك ما دامت أرواحهم في أجسامهم، فقال الرب (تعالى) : وعزتي وجلالي لا أزال أغفر لهم ما استغفروني" وإسناده ضعيف، ولكن له طرقه، فهو بها حسن. (٣) العالة: الفقراء، جمع عائل. (٤) الزيادة من ب، ظا.