Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (15/634)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

all the prayers, and (1) the imams of the other mosques followed his lead. Meanwhile the alarmists circulated the rumor that the Tatars (2) had already reached Aleppo and that the city’s deputy had fallen back to Ḥamāh. A proclamation was issued throughout the town urging people to take heart, return to their livelihoods, and rest assured that the sultan and the armies were on their way. The Mustakhraj bureau was abolished and its officials were placed under arrest; yet by then they had collected far more than they had been ordered to take, and outstanding sums still remained against those (3) who had gone into hiding. What was still owed was therefore cancelled, while the amounts already seized were not returned. Inevitably, the consequences of such deeds are loss and disgrace, and their perpetrators shall never prosper.

Soon thereafter (4) word came that the sultan of Egypt had turned back to Cairo (5) after having set out for Syria. Fear increased, conditions grew dire, and the rains became torrential. The roads were choked with mud and floodwater, preventing people from roaming the land as they wished. Truly, to Allah we belong and to Him we return. (6)

Many then departed, both the light-laden and the heavily-burdened, carrying off their families and children—though the city would have been better for them had they but known. They bore the little ones through deep mud, the beasts of burden and even human backs groaning under the weight. The animals had weakened for lack of fodder amid the ceaseless rain, the slippery ground, the bitter cold, hunger, and scarcity of provisions. There is no might and no power except with Allah.

The month of Jumāda al-Ūlā dawned while the people stood on a knife-edge of fear: the sultan was still delayed and the enemy was drawing near.

At the very start of that month—on a Saturday—Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya (may Allah have mercy upon him) set out for al-Marj to meet the deputy of Syria. He steadied their resolve, strengthened their spirits, (7) comforted their hearts, and promised them victory and triumph over the enemy. He recited the verse: “And whoever retaliates with the like of that with which he was harmed, and then he is again wronged, Allah will surely aid him. Indeed, Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving” [al-Ḥajj 60]. He spent the night with the army from Saturday to Sunday, then returned to Damascus.

The deputy and the emirs asked him to take the swift courier to Egypt to urge the sultan to come, so he set off in pursuit. The sultan had already reached the coast, and Ibn Taymiyya did not catch up with him until he had entered Cairo and the situation had grown critical. Nevertheless, he pressed them to dispatch troops to Syria if they cared at all for it, and among the things he said was: “If you have turned your backs on Syria and its protection, we shall appoint for it a ruler who will safeguard it, defend it, and draw its revenues in times of peace.” He persisted until the armies were outfitted for Syria, and he added: “Even supposing you were neither the rulers nor the kings of Syria…”

(1) Manuscript T reads “and he followed him,” whereas manuscript B reads “and the imams in the mosques followed him.” (2) Manuscript B reads “the Tartars.” (3) Manuscript B reads “against certain people; others had disappeared.” (4) Manuscript B reads “the foregoing, and news arrived that the Sultan, lord of Egypt, had returned.” (5) Manuscript B reads “returning to Egypt from the earthquake that had struck the coastal regions after his departure.” (6) From this phrase to the end of that year’s events, there are minor textual variants which I found no benefit in verifying. (7) Manuscript B reads “to the deputy of Syria and his troops; so he reinforced them, strengthened them, and supplied them.”

الصلوات كلها، وتبعه (١) أئمة المساجد، وأشاع المرجفون بأن التتر (٢) قد وصلوا إلى حلب وأن نائب حلب تقهقر إلى حماة، ونودي في البلد بتطييب قلوب الناس وإقبالهم على معايشهم، وأن السلطان والعساكر واصلة، وأبطل ديوان المستخرج وأقيموا، ولكن كانوا قد استخرجوا أكثر مما أمروا به وبقيت بواقي على الناس (٣) الذين قد اختفوا فعفى عما بقي، ولم يرد ما سلف، لا جرم أن عواقب هذه الأفعال خسر ونكر، وأن أصحابها لا يفلحون، ثم جاءت (٤) الأخبار بأن سلطان مصر رجع عائدًا إلى مصر (٥) بعد أن خرج منها قاصدًا الشام، فكثر الخوفُ واشتدّ الحالُ، وكثرتِ الأمطارُ جدًّا، وصار بالطرقات من الأوحال والسيول ما يحول بين المرء وبين ما يريده من الانتشار في الأرض والذهاب فيها، فإنّا للّه وإنا إليه راجعون (٦) . وخرج كثير من الناس خفافًا وثقالًا يتحمَّلون بأهاليهم وأولادهم، والمدينة خير لهم لو كانوا يعلمون، وجعلوا يحملون الصغار في الوحل الشديد والمشقة على الدواب والرِّقاب، وقد ضعفت الدواب من قلة العلف مع كثرة الأمطار والزلق والبرد الشديد والجوع وقلة الشيء فلا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. واستهلَّ جمادى الأولى والناس على خطة صعبة من الخوف، وتأخر السلطان واقترب العدو. وخرج الشيخ تقي الدين بن تيمية (رحمه الله) في مُسْتَهل هذا الشهر، وكان يوم السبت إلى نائب الشام في المرج فثبَّتهم وقوَّى جأشهم وطَيَّبَ (٧) قلوبهم ووعدهم النصر والظفر على الأعداء، وتلا قوله تعالى ﴿وَمَنْ عَاقَبَ بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبَ بِهِ ثُمَّ بُغِيَ عَلَيْهِ لَيَنْصُرَنَّهُ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورٌ﴾ [الحج: ٦٠] وبات عند العسكر ليلة الأحد ثم عاد إلى دمشق وقد سأله النائب والأمراء أن يركب على البرد إلى مصر يستحث السلطان على المجيء فساق وراء السلطان، وكان السلطان قد وصل إلى الساحل فلم يدركه إلا وقد دخل القاهرة وتفارط الحال، ولكنه استحثهم على تجهيز العساكر إلى الشام إن كان لهم به حاجة، وقال لهم فيما قال: إن كنتم أعرضتم عن الشام وحمايته أقمنا له سلطانًا يحوطه ويحميه ويستغله في زمن الأمن، ولم يزل بهم حتى جردت العساكر إلى الشام، ثم قال لهم: لو قدِّر أنكم لستم حكام الشام ولا ملوكه

(١) ط: واتبعه، وفي ب: وتبعه الأئمة في المساجد. (٢) ب: التتار. (٣) ب: على أناس وآخرون قد اختفوا. (٤) ب: ما سلف وجاءت أخبار بأن السلطان صاحب مصر قد رجع. (٥) ب: عائدًا إلى مصر من الزلزلة التي كان بها في نواحي السواحل بعد أن خرج. (٦) من هذه اللفظة إلى آخر حوادث هذه السنة فيه خلافات بسيطة من الأصول لم أجد في إثباتها فائدة. (٧) ب: إلى نائب الشام وعساكره فثبَّتهم وقواهم وطيّب.