Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (15/216)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

He said: “A mamluk of mine died, leaving a son who, in that land, had no peer for handsome youth or pleasing appearance. I grew fond of him and kept him near, and those who did not understand my nature cast suspicions upon me because of him. It happened that he attacked a man and beat him until he died. The slain man’s heirs brought a complaint before me. I said, ‘Prove that he killed him.’ They did so, and my mamluks (1) pressed hard to shield him, offering the heirs ten full blood-monies, but they would not accept. They waylaid me on the road and said, ‘We have established that he killed him.’ I replied, ‘Take him and assume custody of him.’ [So they seized him] and killed him. Had they asked for my entire kingdom as his ransom, I would have given it to them, but I was ashamed (2) before Allah to oppose His law for the sake of my own desire. May Allah Most High have mercy on him and pardon him.

When he took possession of Damascus in 626 AH, his herald proclaimed (3) throughout the city that none of the jurists was to busy himself with any science other than Qur’an exegesis, hadith, and jurisprudence; whoever occupied himself with logic or the sciences of the Ancients was to be banished. Under his rule the city enjoyed the utmost security and justice, and acts of charity and beneficence were abundant. Throughout all the nights of Ramadan the citadel’s gates were never shut; trays of sweets were carried from it to the congregational mosque, the khānqāhs (Sufi hospices) (4), the ribāṭs, the Ṣāliḥiyyah quarter, and to the righteous, the poor, the dignitaries, and others. He spent most of his time in the Mosque of Abū al-Dardā’, which he had rebuilt and richly adorned within the citadel, [and he was a man of blessed fortune] (5)—never was one of his banners broken (6). He summoned al-Zabīdī (7) from Baghdad so that he and the populace might hear from him the recital of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and other works; he had a marked [and abiding] love for hadith and its people.

When he died—may Allah have mercy on him—some people (8) saw him clad in green garments, flying in company with a band of the righteous. They asked, ‘What is this, when you used to drink wine in the world (9)?’ He replied, ‘That was the body with which we used to do that among you, whereas this is the soul with which we loved these people, and so it is with them.’ Indeed, he spoke the truth (10), for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘A person is with those he loves.’

He had bequeathed the kingdom after him to his brother al-Ṣāliḥ Ismāʿīl. When his brother died he mounted in all the pomp of royalty, the people walking before him, and at his side rode the ruler of Ḥimṣ and ʿIzz al-Dīn Aybak al-Muʿaẓẓamī (11), bearing the ceremonial parasol above his head. He then proceeded to confiscate the property of a number of

(1) jahifat: ‘zaahamat’ (she contended). In al-Qāmūs under the headword jahf. (2) In manuscript T: “But I felt shame before Allah.” (3) A, B: “The crier called it thus.” (4) A, B: “and al-khawānik.” (5) Recorded only in T. (6) A, B: “and it was not marked with a kasra.” (7) Al-Zabīdī’s entry appears earlier in Wafayāt under the year 629 AH. (8) A, B: “some of them in a dream.” (9) A, B: “He said to him: ‘What is this, when you used to indulge in drink in this world?’” (10) A, B read wa-qad (“and indeed”). (11) Aybak al-Muazzami’s entry is found in Wafayāt under the year 645 AH.

قال: ومات مملوك من مماليكي وترك ولدًا ليس يكون في الناس بتلك البلاد أحسن شبابًا، ولا أحلى شكلًا منه، فأحببتُه وقرَّبتُه، وكان من لا يفهم أمري يتهمني به، فاتفق أنه عدا على إِنسان فضربه حتى قتله، فاشتكى عليه إِليَّ أولياءُ المقتول، فقلت أثبتوا أنه قتله، فأثبتوا ذلك فجاحفت (١) عنه مماليكي وأرادوا إِرضاءهم بعشر ديات فلم يقبلوا، ووقفوا لي في الطريق وقالوا: قد أثبتنا أنه قتله، فقلت: خذوه فتسلموه [فأخذوه] فقتلوه، ولو طلبوا مني ملكي فداءً له لدفعته إِليهم، ولكنني استحييت (٢) من الله أن أعارض شرعه بحظ نفسي، رحمه الله تعالى وعفا عنه. ولما ملك دمشق في سنة ست وعشرين وستمئة نادى مناديه فيها (٣) أن لا يشتغلَ أحدٌ من الفقهاء بشيء من العلوم سوى التفسير والحديث والفقه، ومَن اشتغلَ بالمنطق وعلوم الأوائل نُفي من البلد. وكان البلد به في غاية الأمن والعدل، وكثرة الصدقات والخيرات، كانت القلعة لا تُغلق في ليالي رمضان كلها، وصحون الحلاوات خارجة منها إِلى الجامع والخوانق (٤) والرُّبُط، والصالحية، وإِلى الصالحين والفقراء والرؤساء وغيرهم، وكان أكثر جلوسه بمسجد أبي الدرداء الذي جدَّده وزخرفه بالقلعة [، وكان ميمون النقيبة] (٥) ما كسرت (٦) له راية قط، وقد استدعى الزَّبيدي (٧) من بغداد حتى سمع هو والناس عليه صحيح البخاري، وغيره، وكان له ميل [كثير] إِلى الحديث وأهله، ولما توفي (رحمه الله) رآه بعض الناس (٨) وعليه ثيابٌ خضرٌ وهو يطيرُ مع جماعةٍ من الصالحين، فقال: ما هذا وقد كنت تعاني الشراب في الدنيا (٩) ؟ فقال: ذاك البَدَن الذي كنّا نفعلُ به ذاك عندكم [في الدنيا] ، وهذه الروح التي كنا نحبّ بها هؤلاء فهي معهم، ولقد (١٠) صدق (رحمه الله) ، قال رسول الله ﷺ "المرءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحبَّ" وقد كان أوصى بالملك من بعده لأخيه الصالح إِسماعيل، فلما توفي أخوه ركب في أُبَّهة الملك ومشى الناس بين يديه، وركب إِلى جانبه صاحبُ حمص وعزّ الدين أيبك المعظمي (١١) حامل الغاشية على رأسه، ثم إِنه صادر جماعةً من

(١) جاحفت: زاحمت. القاموس: جحف. (٢) ط: ولكن استحييت من الله. (٣) أ، ب: نادى مناديه بها. (٤) أ، ب: والخوانك. (٥) عن ط وحدها. (٦) أ، ب: ولم تكسر. (٧) تقدمت ترجمة الزبيدي في وفيات سنة ٦٢٩. (٨) أ، ب: بعضهم في المنام. (٩) أ، ب: فقال له ما هذا وقد كنت تعاني في الدنيا الشراب. (١٠) أ، ب: وقد. (١١) سترد ترجمة أيبك المعظمي في وفيات سنة ٦٤٥ هـ.