Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (14/155)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

O you who ask me about my love for the Prophet’s Household—(1)
Shall I proclaim it openly, or keep it frozen within?

Far be it! Their love is mixed with my very flesh and blood;
it is the essence of guidance and right direction.

Ḥaydara, then al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn after him,
then ʿAlī and his son Muḥammad;

Jaʿfar the Truthful, and Jaʿfar’s son Mūsā,
followed by ʿAlī, the noble lord.

I mean al-Riḍā; after him his son Muḥammad,
then ʿAlī and his divinely aided son;

the next Ḥasan, (2) and after him
Muḥammad son of Ḥasan, the long-awaited one.

They are my Imāms and my masters,
even though a people may blame me and reject me.

Imāms—how noble are these Imāms!—
their names recited in seamless succession.

They are Allah’s proofs over His servants;
through them lies the path to Him and the desired goal.

A people of surpassing merit and lofty glory,
known alike to polytheist and monotheist.

A people who possess a shrine in every land—nay,
they possess a shrine in every heart. (3)

A people for whom Minā and the two Mashʿars are theirs,
the two hills of Marwah are theirs, and the Sacred Mosque;

a people for whom Mecca, al-Abṭaḥ, al-Khayf, Jamʿ,
and al-Baqīʿ al-Gharqad are theirs.

He then spoke of the slaying of al-Ḥusayn at al-Ṭaff, until he said:

O Household of the Chosen One, O my treasure, (4)
and upon love for them (5) I rely,

You will be my means to Allah tomorrow;
how then should I fear when through you I seek support?

Your friend shall live forever in everlasting bliss,
while your enemy shall dwell eternally in the blazing Fire.

I do not love you out of hatred for others;
were that the case I would be wretched through you, not happy.

So let no Rāfiḍī imagine that I side with him,
nor any corrupt Khārijite.

Muḥammad and the caliphs after him
are, in my estimation, the best of Allah’s creation.

They laid the foundations of the religion for us;
they built its pillars and made them firm.

Whoever betrays Aḥmad regarding his Companions—
Aḥmad will contend with him on the Day of Return.

This is my creed—cling to it and you will prosper;
this is my path—follow it and you will be rightly guided.

(1) Not in A. (2) In the second edition. (3) This bayt (verse) and the two that follow appear in B at the start of the poem’s final section. (4) This word appears in the printed edition (T) in the second hemistich, disrupting the meter. (5) Not in B.

وَسَائِلي عَنْ حُبِّ أهل البَيْتِ هَلْ (١) … أُقِرُّ إعْلانًا بِهِ أَمْ أَجْمَدُ هَيْهَاتَ مَمْزُوجٌ بَلحْمي وَدَمي … حُبُّهُمُ وَهُوَ الهُدَى والرَّشَدُ حَيْدَرةٌ والحَسَنَانِ بَعْدَه … ثُمَّ عَلِيٌّ وَابْنُهُ مُحَمَّدُ وَجَعْفَرُ الصَّادِقُ وَابْنُ جَعْفَرٍ … مُوسَى ويَتْلُوهُ عَلِيٌّ السَّيِّدُ أَعْني الرِّضَا ثُمَّ ابنُهُ مُحَمَدٌ … ثُمَّ عليٌّ وابْنُهُ المُسَدَّدُ والحَسَنُ التّالي (٢) وَيَتْلُو تِلْوَهُ … مُحَمَّدُ بنُ الحَسَنِ المُفْتَقَدُ فإنَّهُمْ أئِمَّتي وسادتي … وَإِنْ لَحَاني مَعْشَرٌ وفَنَّدوا أئِمَّةٌ أَكْرِمْ بِهِمْ أَئمَّةً … أَسْماؤُهُمْ مَسْرودَةٌ تَطَّرِدُ هُمْ حُجَجُ اللهِ على عِبادِهِ … وَهُمْ إلَيْهِ مَنْهَجٌ ومَقْصَدُ قَوْمٌ لَهُمْ فَضْلٌ وَمَجْدٌ باذخٌ … يَعْرِفُهُ المُشْرِكُ والمُوَحِّدُ قَوْمٌ لهم في كُلِّ أرضِ مَشْهَدٌ … لا بَلْ لَهُمْ في كُلِّ قَلْبٍ مَشْهَدُ (٣) قَوْمٌ مِنَيً والمَشْعَرانِ لَهُمُ … والمَرْوتانِ لَهُمُ والمَسْجِدُ قَوْمٌ لهم مَكَّةُ والأَبْطَح والـ … ـخَيفُ وَجمعٌ والبَقيعُ الغَرْقَدُ ثم ذكر مقتل الحسين بالطَّفِّ، إلى أن قال: يا أَهْلَ بَيْتِ المُصْطَفَى يا عُدَّتي (٤) … ومَنْ (٥) عَلَى حُبِّهِمُ أَعْتَمِدُ أَنْتُمْ إلى الله غَدًا وَسيلَتي … وَكَيْفَ أَخْشَى وبِكُمْ أَعْتَضِدُ وَلِيُّكُمْ في الخُلْدِ حَيٌّ خَالدٌ … والضِّدُّ في نارِ لَظَى مُخَلَّدُ وَلَسْتُ أَهْوَاكُم بِبُغْضِ غَيْرِكم … إني إذًا أَشْقَى بكُمْ لا أَسْعَدُ فَلَا يَظُنُّ رافِضِيٌّ أَنَّني … وافَقْتُهُ أو خارجيٌّ مُفْسِدُ مُحَمَّدٌ والخُلَفاءُ بَعْدَه … أَفْضَلُ خَلْقِ اللهِ فيما أجِدُ هُمْ أَسَّسُوا قَواعِدَ الدِّينِ لَنا … وَهُمْ بَنَوْا أَرْكَانَهُ وشَيَّدُوا وَمَنْ يَخُنْ أَحْمَدَ في أصْحابِهِ … فَخَصْمُهُ يَوْمَ المَعَادِ أَحْمَدُ هذا اعْتِقادي فَالزَمُوهُ تُفْلِحوا … هذا طَريقي فاسْلُكوهُ تَهْتَدوا

(١) ليس في آ. (٢) ط: الثاني. (٣) جاء هذا البيت واللذان يلياه في ب بدايةً للمقطع الأخير من القصيدة. (٤) جاءت هذه اللفظة في ط في الشطر الثاني فكسرت الوزن. (٥) ليس في ب.