Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/227)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

for the veracious—that they, too, should not sleep (1), for their hearts overflow with the bliss that springs from loving Allah, exalted is He.

He then said, “How vast is the distance between the two kinds of bliss, and how far apart they truly are!” (2)

They also related that he wept so profusely that the tears carved channels down his cheeks (3).

Clarification of the reason for John’s martyrdom (peace be upon him) (4)

A number of causes have been cited for his death; the most famous is that one of the kings of that era in Damascus wished to marry one of his own close relatives—a woman whom it was unlawful for him to marry. John (peace be upon him) forbade him, and the woman bore a grudge against him for it. Later, when she found the king in a mood to grant her every desire, she asked him for John’s blood. He acceded, sent someone to kill him, and John’s head and blood were brought to her in a large dish (5). Some say that she died on the spot, at that very moment (6).

Another version holds that the woman in question was the king’s wife. She had fallen in love with John and wrote to him, but John—protected by Allah—refused her. When she despaired of him, she schemed to obtain his death as a gift from the king. At first the king refused, but he finally gave in; she dispatched men who slew John and brought his head and blood to her in a basin.

A report with a similar meaning is found in a ḥadīth transmitted by Isḥāq ibn Bishr in his book Al-Mubtadaʾ (7). He says: Yaʿqūb al-Kūfī related to us, from ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, from his father, from Ibn ʿAbbās, that on the Night of the Ascension the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw Zechariah in the heavens. He greeted him and said: “O father of John, tell me: how were you killed, and why did the Children of Israel slay you?” (8)

Zechariah replied, “O Muḥammad, let me tell you. John was the finest man of his time, the most handsome and radiant of face. As Allah, exalted is He, said of him, ‘…a noble leader and perfectly chaste’ (Q 3:39). Having no need of women, he caught the eye of a certain woman—the wife of the king of the Children of Israel—who was immoral. She sent for him, but Allah protected him and John refused her advances, so she resolved to have him killed.

“They had an annual festival at which they all gathered, and it was the king’s custom never to break a promise made on that day. The king went out to the festival, and his wife accompanied him—something she had never done before, and he was quite taken with her. As she escorted him he said, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.’ She said, ‘I want the blood of John, son of Zechariah.’ He replied, ‘Ask for something else.’ She insisted, ‘That is what I want.’ He said, ‘Very well…’”

(1) In some copies they read “they do not sleep.” (2) In the margin of the original: possibly “baynana” (between us). (3) Mukhtasar Ibn Manzur, vol. 9, p. 49. (4) This heading is absent in some manuscripts. (5) In manuscript B: “wajaw’ū” (they came). (6) The report appears in al-Tabari’s History, vol. 1, p. 587. (7) This book is cited by Kashif al-Zunun (p. 1579), and the report is transmitted by Ibn Asakir. See also Mukhtasar Ibn Manzur, vol. 9, pp. 50–51. (8) Thus it appears in the primary sources. In the margin of manuscript B: possibly “qatala waladaka” (he killed your son)… “wa lam taqtulhu” (and he did not kill him). It is clear that the narrative of the killing of Zakariya (peace be upon him) begins with that of Yahya, so the phrase in the main text is correct.

للصدّيقين أن لا يناموا (١) لما في قلوبهم من نعيم المحبّة لله – Exalté soit-Il – . ثمّ قال: كم بين النعيمين وكم بينهما (٢) ؟. وذكروا أنّه كان كثير البكاء حتى أثر البكاء في خدّيه من كثرة دموعه (٣) . بيان سبب قتل يحيى (عليه السلام) (٤) وذكروا في قتله أسبابًا، من أشهرها أن بعض ملوك ذلك الزمان بدمشق كان يريد أن يتزوّج ببعض محارمه أو من لا يحلّ له تزويجها، فنهاه يحيى (عليه السلام) عن ذلك، فبقي في نفسها منه. فلما كان بينها وبين الملك ما يحب منها استوهبت منه دم يحيى، فوهبه لها، فبعث إليه من قتله وجاء (٥) برأسه ودمه في طست إلى عندها. فيقال: إنها هَلَكت من فورها وساعتها (٦) . وقيل: بل أحبته امرأة ذلك الملك وراسلته فأبى عليها، فلما يئست منه تحيلت في أن استوهبته من الملك، فتمنع عليها الملك، ثمّ أجابها إلى ذلك فبعثت من قتله وأحضر إليها رأسه ودمه في طست. وقد ورد معناه في حديث رواه إسحاق بن بشر في كتابه "المبتدا" (٧) حيث قال: أخبرنا يعقوب الكوفي، عن عمرو بن ميمون، عن أبيه عن ابن عباس أن رسول اللّه ﷺ ليلة أسري به رأى زكريا في السماء، فسلَّم عليه وقال له: يا أبا يحيى خبّرني عن قتلك كيف كانَ، ولمَ قتلك (٨) بنو إسرائيل. قال: يا محمد أخبرك أن يحيى كان خير أهل زمانه، وكان أجملهم وأصبحهم وجهًا، وكان كما قال الله تعالى ﴿وَسَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا﴾، وكان لا يحتاج إلى النساء، فهويته امرأة ملك بني إسرائيل، وكانت بَغيّةً، فأرسلت إليه وعَصَمَهُ اللّه وامتنع يحيى وأبى عليها، وأجمعت على قتل يحيى. ولهم عيد يجتمعون في كل عام، وكانت سُنَّة الملك أن يوعد ولا يخلف ولا يكذب. قال: فخرج الملك إلى العيد، فقامت امرأته فشيَّعته، وكان بها معجبًا، ولم تكن تفعله فيما مضى، فلما أن شيعته قال الملك: سليني فما سألتِني شيئًا إلا أعطيتُك. قالت: أريدُ دمَ يحيى بن زكريا، قال لها: سليني غيره. قالت: هو ذاك. فال: هو

(١) في بعض النسخ لا ينامون. (٢) كتب على حاشية الأصل: لعله: بيننا. (٣) مختصر ابن منظور (٩/ ٤٩). (٤) ليس هذا العنوان في بعض النسخ. (٥) في ب: وجاؤوا. (٦) الخبر في تاريخ الطبري (١/ ٥٨٧). (٧) ذكر هذا الكتاب صاحب كشف الظنون (١٥٧٩)، والخبر نقله ابن عساكر. مختصر ابن منظور (٩/ ٥٠ - ٥١). (٨) كذا في الأصول. وفي حاشية ب: لعله: قتل ولدك .. ولم قتله. وواضح أن قصة قتل زكريا (عليه السلام) بدأت مع بداية قصة قتل يحيى. فالعبارة في المتن صحيحة.