Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (15/44)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

—any campaign Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn undertook against the Franks; they were present with him at the liberation of Jerusalem and the coastal towns (1) and elsewhere.

One day al-Malik al-ʿĀdil, Abū Bakr, came to their tent (2) to visit Shaykh Abū ʿUmar, who was standing in prayer. He neither broke off nor shortened his prayer; the Sultan sat down while Abū ʿUmar continued, not even glancing at him until he had completed it—may Allah have mercy on him.

It was Shaykh Abū ʿUmar who first set about building the congregational mosque (3). He began with funds supplied by a private benefactor, but when that money was used up (4) and the walls had already risen to the height of a man, the ruler of Irbil, al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Kūkburī (5), sent additional funds with which the structure was finished. Shaykh Abū ʿUmar was appointed its preacher; he would deliver the sermon wearing his simple clothes, yet radiant with the lights of awe (6), piety, and fear of Allah—Exalted is He. The scent of musk, however well concealed, still betrays itself. At that time the pulpit had three steps, with the fourth serving as a seat, just like the Prophet’s minbar.

Abū al-Muẓaffar (7) relates that he once attended the Friday prayer there, and Shaykh ʿAbd Allāh al-Yūnānī (8) was also present (9). When Shaykh Abū ʿUmar reached the portion of the sermon (10) in which supplication is made for the ruler, he said: “O Allah, set right Your servant al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Sayf al-Dīn Abū Bakr ibn Ayyūb.” At that, Shaykh ʿAbd Allāh al-Yūnānī rose (11), picked up his sandals, left the mosque, and abandoned the Friday prayer.

He said: When we had finished, I went to him and asked, “What did you object to in his words?” He replied, “He calls that oppressor ‘al-ʿĀdil’; I will never pray behind him.” While we were talking Shaykh Abū ʿUmar arrived carrying a loaf of bread and two cucumbers. He broke the loaf and said, “The prayer.” Then he added, “The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘I was sent during the time of the just king Kisra.’” (12) Shaykh ʿAbd Allāh al-Yūnānī smiled, reached out, and ate. (13) When they had finished, Shaykh Abū ʿUmar rose and departed. After he had gone al-Yūnānī said to me, “My master, this man is nothing but a righteous servant.”

(1) In manuscript B: al-Quds al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). (2) In manuscript T: «ila khaymatihim», meaning “to single them out.” (3) In manuscripts A and B: “He did not abbreviate it but continued and did not look back, although he was the one who had prescribed it.” (4) In manuscript B: “He built it with a man’s money”; in manuscript T: “with a man’s money, so he exhausted what he had.” (5) In manuscript T: “Kukri.” His biography appears in al-Wafayāt under the year 630. (6) In manuscript B: athwāb al-khashaba. (7) Mirʾāt al-zamān, vol. 8, pp. 547, 548–549. (8) In manuscript T: “al-Būtānī and al-Yunānī,” also called al-Yunīnī. His biography appears in al-Wafayāt under the year 617. (9) In manuscript T: “also present at the Friday [prayer].” (10) In manuscript B: “So when Shaykh Abū ʿUmar came to the supplication.” (11) In manuscript T: “When he said that, he stood up.” (12) See what Ibn Kathīr says about this hadith on the next page. (13) Reported only by manuscript T.

يخرج فيها الملك صلاح الدين إِلى بلاد الفرنج، وقد حضروا معه فتح القدس والسواحل (١) وغيرها، وجاء الملك العادل [أبو بكر] يومًا إِلى خيمتهم (٢) لزيارة [الشيخ] أبي عمر، وهو قائم يصلي، فما قطع صلاته ولا أوجز فيها، فجلس السلطان واستمر أبو عمر في صلاته ولم يلتفت إِليه حتى قضى صلاته (رحمه الله) . والشيخ أبو عمر هو الذي شرع (٣) في بناء المسجد الجامع أولاً بمال رجل من الناس فنفد ما كان بيد (٤) وقد ارتفع البناء قامة، فبعث صاحب إِربل الملك المظفر كُوْكُبريْ (٥) مالًا فكمِّل به، وولي خطابته الشيخ أبو عمر، فكان يخطب به وعليه لباسه الضعيف وعليه أنوار الخشية (٦) والتقوى والخوف من اللّه – Exalté soit-Il – ، والمسك كيف خبأته ظهر عليك وبان، وكان المنبر الذي فيه يومئذ ثلاث مراقي والرابعة للجلوس، كما كان المنبر النبوي. وقد حكى أبو المظفر (٧) أنه حضر يومًا عنده الجمعة وكان الشيخ عبد الله اليوناني (٨) حاضرًا هناك (٩) عنده، فلما انتهى في خطبته إِلى الدعاء (١٠) للسلطان قال: اللهم أصلح عبدك الملك العادل سيف الدين أبا بكر بن أيوب، فنهض (١١) الشيخ عبد اللّه اليوناني وأخذ نعليه وخرج من الجامع وترك صلاة الجمعة. [قال:] فلما فرغنا ذهبت إِليه فقلت (له) : ماذا نقمت عليه في قوله؟ فقال: يقول لهذا الظالم العادل لا صليت معه، قال: فبينما نحن في الحديث إِذ أقبل الشيخ أبو عمر ومعه رغيف وخيارتان فكسر ذلك الرغيف وقال: الصلاة، ثم قال: قال النبي ﷺ "بعثت في زمن الملك العادل كسرى" (١٢) فتبسم الشيخ عبد الله اليوناني [ومدَّ يدَه فأكلَ فلما فرغوا] (١٣) قام الشيخ أبو عمر فذهب فلما ذهب قال لي اليوناني: يا سيدنا ما هذا إِلا رجل صالح.

(١) ب: القدس الشريف. (٢) ط: إِلى خيمتهم أي خصهم. (٣) أ، ب: ولا أوجزها بل استمر ولم يلتفت إِليه وهو الذي شرع. (٤) ب: بناه بمال رجل، وفي ط: بمال رجل فامي فنفد ما عنده. (٥) ط: كوكري، وسترد ترجمته فى وفيات سنة ٦٣٠. (٦) ب: أثواب الخشبة. (٧) مرآة الزمان (٨/ ٥٤٧، ٥٤٨ - ٥٤٩). (٨) ط: البوتاني. واليوناني ويقال له اليونيني أيضًا، سترد ترجمته في وفيات سنة ٦١٧. (٩) ط: حاضرًا الجمعة أيضًا. (١٠) ب: فلما انتهى الشيخ أبو عمر إِلى الدعاء. (١١) ط: فلما قال ذلك نهض. (١٢) انظر ما قاله ابن كثير حول هذا الحديث فى الصفحة التى بعدها. (١٣) عن ط وحدها.