Tarikh (al-Tabari) 1900
The caliphate of ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb
بِنَاءِ الْكُوفَةِ وَالْبَصْرَةِ وَتَحَوُّلُ سَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ إِلَيْهَا وَكَانَ سَبَبُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ سَعْدًا أَرْسَلَ وَفْدًا إِلَى عُمَرَ بِهَذِهِ الْفُتُوحِ الْمَذْكُورَةِ، فَلَمَّا رَآهُمْ عُمَرُ سَأَلَهُمْ عَنْ تَغَيُّرِ أَلْوَانِهِمْ وَحَالِهِمْ، فَقَالُوا: وُخُومَةُ الْبِلَادِ غَيَّرَتْنَا فَأَمَرَهُمْ عُمَرُ أَنْ يَرْتَادُوا مَنْزِلًا يَنْزِلَهُ النَّاسُ، وَكَانَ قَدْ حَضَرَ مَعَ الْوَفْدِ نَفَرٌ مِنْ بَنِي تَغْلِبَ لِيُعَاقِدُوا عُمَرَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِمْ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ عُمَرُ: أُعَاقِدُهُمْ عَلَى أَنَّ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنْكُمْ كَانَ لَهُ مَا لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَعَلَيْهِ مَا عَلَيْهِمْ، وَمَنْ أَبَى فَعَلَيْهِ الْجِزْيَةُ. فَقَالُوا: إِذَنْ يَهْرُبُونَ وَيَصِيرُونَ عَجَمًا، وَبَذَلُوا لَهُ الصَّدَقَةَ، فَأَبَى، فَجَعَلُوا جِزْيَتَهُمْ مِثْلَ صَدَقَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ، فَأَجَابَهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ لَا يُنَصِّرُوا وَلِيدًا، فَهَاجَرَ هَؤُلَاءِ التَّغْلِبِيُّونَ وَمَنْ أَطَاعَهُمْ مِنَ النَّمِرِ وَإِيَادٍ إِلَى سَعْدٍ بِالْمَدَائِنِ، وَنَزَلُوا بِالْمَدَائِنِ وَنَزَلُوا مَعَهُ بَعْدُ بِالْكُوفَةَ. وَقِيلَ: بَلْ كَتَبَ حُذَيْفَةُ إِلَى عُمَرَ: إِنَّ الْعَرَبَ قَدْ رَقَّتْ بُطُونُهَا، وَجَفَّتْ أَعْضَادُهَا وَتَغَيَّرَتْ أَلْوَانُهَا. وَكَانَ مَعَ سَعْدٍ فَكَتَبَ عُمَرُ إِلَى سَعْدٍ: أَخْبِرْنِي مَا الَّذِي غَيَّرَ أَلْوَانَ الْعَرَبِ وَلُحُومَهُمْ ؟ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ سَعْدٌ: إِنَّ الَّذِي غَيَّرَهُمْ وُخُومَةُ الْبِلَادِ، وَإِنَّ الْعَرَبَ لَا يُوَافِقُهَا إِلَّا مَا وَافَقَ إِبِلَهَا مِنَ الْبُلْدَانِ. فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ عُمَرُ: أَنِ ابْعَثْ سَلْمَانَ وَحُذَيْفَةَ رَائِدَيْنِ فَلْيَرْتَادَا مَنْزِلًا بَرِّيًّا بَحْرِيًّا لَيْسَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ فِيهِ بَحْرٌ وَلَا جِسْرٌ. فَأَرْسَلَهُمَا سَعْدٌ، فَخَرَجَ سَلْمَانُ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ الْأَنْبَارَ فَسَارَ فِي غَرْبَيِّ الْفُرَاتِ لَا يَرْضَى شَيْئًا حَتَّى أَتَى الْكُوفَةَ، وَسَارَ حُذَيْفَةُ فِي شَرْقَيِّ الْفُرَاتِ لَا يَرْضَى شَيْئًا حَتَّى أَتَى الْكُوفَةَ، وَكُلُّ رَمْلٍ وَحَصْبَاءَ مُخْتَلِطَيْنِ فَهُوَ كُوفَةٌ، فَأَتَيَا عَلَيْهَا وَفِيهَا دِيرَاتٌ ثَلَاثَةٌ: دَيْرُ حُرْمَةَ، وَدَيْرُ أُمِّ عَمْرٍو، وَدَيْرُ سِلْسِلَةَ، وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ خِصَاصٌ خِلَالَ هَذِهِ الْكُوفَةِ. فَنَزَلًا فَصَلَّيَا هُنَالِكَ، وَقَالَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا: اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا أَظَلَّتْ، وَرَبَّ الْأَرْضِ وَمَا أَقَلَّتْ، وَالرِّيحِ وَمَا ذَرَتْ، وَالنُّجُومِ وَمَا هَوَتْ، وَالْبِحَارِ وَمَا جَرَتْ، وَالشَّيَاطِينِ وَمَا أَضَلَّتْ، وَالْخِصَاصِ وَمَا أَجَنَّتْ، بَارِكْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الْكُوفَةِ وَاجْعَلْهَا مَنْزِلَ ثَبَاتٍ فَلَمَّا رَجَعَا إِلَى سَعْدٍ بِالْخَبَرِ وَقَدِمَ كِتَابُ عُمَرَ إِلَيْهِ أَيْضًا كَتَبَ سَعْدٌ إِلَى الْقَعْقَاعِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُعْتَمِّ أَنْ يَسْتَخْلِفَا عَلَى جُنْدِهِمَا وَيَحْضُرَا عِنْدَهُ، فَفَعَلَا. فَارْتَحَلَ سَعْدٌ مِنَ الْمَدَائِنِ حَتَّى نَزَلَ الْكُوفَةَ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ سَنَةَ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ، وَكَانَ بَيْنَ نُزُولِ الْكُوفَةِ وَوَقْعَةِ الْقَادِسِيَّةِ سَنَةٌ وَشَهْرَانِ، وَكَانَ فِيمَا بَيْنَ قِيَامِ عُمَرَ وَاخْتِطَاطِ الْكُوفَةِ ثَلَاثُ سِنِينَ وَثَمَانِيَةُ أَشْهُرٍ. وَلَمَّا نَزَلَهَا سَعْدٌ وَكَتَبَ إِلَى عُمَرَ: إِنِّي قَدْ نَزَلْتُ بِالْكُوفَةِ مَنْزِلًا فِيمَا بَيْنَ الْحِيرَةِ وَالْفُرَاتِ بَرِّيًّا وَبَحْرِيًّا يُنْبِتُ الْحَلْفَاءَ وَالنَّصِّيَّ، وَخَيَّرْتُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ الْمَدَائِنِ فَمَنْ أَعْجَبَهُ الْمُقَامُ بِالْمَدَائِنِ تَرَكْتُهُ فِيهَا كَالْمَسْلَحَةِ. وَلَمَّا اسْتَقَرُّوا بِهَا عَرَفُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَرَجَعَ إِلَيْهِمْ مَا كَانُوا فَقَدُوا مِنْ قُوَّتِهِمْ، وَاسْتَأْذَنَ أَهْلُ الْكُوفَةِ فِي بُنْيَانِ الْقَصَبِ، وَاسْتَأْذَنَ فِيهِ أَهْلُ الْبَصْرَةِ أَيْضًا، وَاسْتَقَرَّ مَنْزِلُهُمْ فِيهَا فِي الشَّهْرِ الَّذِي نَزَلَ أَهْلُ الْكُوفَةِ بَعْدَ ثَلَاثِ نَزَلَاتٍ قَبْلَهَا. فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِمْ: إِنَّ الْعَسْكَرَ أَشَدُّ لِحَرْبِكُمْ وَأَذْكَرُ لَكُمْ، وَمَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ. فَابْتَنَى أَهْلُ الْمِصْرَيْنِ بِالْقَصَبِ. حريق الكوفة ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْحَرِيقَ وَقَعَ فِي الْكُوفَةِ وَالْبَصْرَةِ، وَكَانَتِ الْكُوفَةُ أَشَدَّ حَرِيقًا فِي شَوَّالٍ، فَبَعَثَ سَعْدٌ نَفَرًا مِنْهُمْ إِلَى عُمَرَ يَسْتَأْذِنُونَهُ فِي الْبُنْيَانِ بِاللَّبِنِ، فَقَدِمُوا عَلَيْهِ بِخَبَرِ الْحَرِيقِ وَاسْتِئْذَانِهِ أَيْضًا، فَقَالَ: افْعَلُوا وَلَا يَزِيدَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ عَلَى ثَلَاثَةِ أَبْيَاتٍ، وَلَا تَطَاوَلُوا فِي الْبُنْيَانِ، وَالْزَمُوا السُّنَّةَ تَلْزَمْكُمُ الدَّوْلَةُ. فَرَجَعَ الْقَوْمُ إِلَى الْكُوفَةِ بِذَلِكَ، وَكَتَبَ عُمَرُ إِلَى الْبَصْرَةِ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ. وَكَانَ عَلَى تَنْزِيلِ الْكُوفَةِ أَبُو هَيَّاجِ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، وَعَلَى تَنْزِيلِ الْبَصْرَةِ عَاصِمُ بْنُ دُلَفٍ أَبُو الْجَرْبَاءِ، وَقَدَّرَ الْمَنَاهِجَ أَرْبَعِينَ ذِرَاعًا، وَمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ عِشْرِينَ ذِرَاعًا، وَالْأَزِقَّةَ سَبْعَ أَذْرُعٍ، وَالْقَطَائِعَ سِتِّينَ ذِرَاعًا، وَأَوَّلُ شَيْءٍ خُطَّ فِيهِمَا وَبُنِيَ مَسْجِدَاهُمَا، وَقَامَ فِي وَسَطِهِمَا رَجُلٌ شَدِيدُ النَّزْعِ، فَرَمَى فِي كُلِّ جِهَةٍ بِسَهْمٍ، وَأَمَرَ أَنْ يُبْنَى مَا وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ، وَبَنَى ظُلَّةً فِي مُقَدِّمَةِ مَسْجِدِ الْكُوفَةِ عَلَى أَسَاطِينَ رُخَامٍ مِنْ بِنَاءِ الْأَكَاسِرَةِ فِي الْحِيرَةِ، وَجَعَلُوا عَلَى الصَّحْنِ خَنْدَقًا لِئَلَّا يَقْتَحِمَهُ أَحَدٌ بِبُنْيَانٍ، وَبَنَوْا لِسَعْدٍ دَارًا بِحِيَالِهِ، وَهِيَ قَصْرُ الْكُوفَةِ الْيَوْمَ، بَنَاهُ رَوْزَبَهْ مِنْ آجُرِّ بُنْيَانِ الْأَكَاسِرَةِ بِالْحِيرَةِ، وَجَعَلَ الْأَسْوَاقَ عَلَى شِبْهِ الْمَسَاجِدِ مَنْ سَبَقَ إِلَى مَقْعَدٍ فَهُوَ لَهُ، حَتَّى يَقُومَ مِنْهُ إِلَى بَيْتِهِ أَوْ يَفْرَغَ مِنْ بَيْعِهِ. وَبَلَغَ عُمَرُ أَنَّ سَعْدًا قَالَ وَقَدْ سَمِعَ أَصْوَاتَ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْأَسْوَاقِ: سَكِّنُوا عَنِّي الصُّوَيْتَ، وَأَنَّ النَّاسَ يُسَمُّونَهُ قَصْرَ سَعْدٍ، فَبَعَثَ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ مَسْلَمَةَ إِلَى الْكُوفَةِ، وَأَمَرَهُ أَنْ يَخْرِقَ بَابَ الْقَصْرِ ثُمَّ يَرْجِعَ، فَفَعَلَ، فَبَلَغَ سَعْدًا ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: هَذَا رَسُولٌ أُرْسِلَ لِهَذَا، فَاسْتَدْعَاهُ سَعْدٌ، فَأَبَى أَنْ يَدْخُلَ إِلَيْهِ فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِ سَعْدٌ وَعَرَضَ عَلَيْهِ نَفَقَتَهُ، فَلَمْ يَأْخُذْ، وَأَبْلَغَهُ كِتَابَ عُمَرَ إِلَيْهِ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكَ اتَّخَذْتَ قَصْرًا جَعَلْتَهُ حِصْنًا، وَيُسَمَّى قَصْرَ سَعْدٍ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ النَّاسِ بَابٌ فَلَيْسَ بِقَصْرِكَ وَلَكِنَّهُ قَصْرُ الْخَبَالِ، انْزِلْ مِنْهُ [ مَنْزِلًا ] مِمَّا يَلِي بُيُوتَ الْأَمْوَالِ، وَأَغْلِقْهُ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ عَلَى الْقَصْرِ بَابًا يَمْنَعُ النَّاسَ مِنْ دُخُولِهِ. فَحَلَفَ لَهُ سَعْدٌ مَا قَالَ الَّذِي قَالُوا، فَرَجَعَ مُحَمَّدٌ فَأَبْلَغَ عُمَرَ قَوْلَ سَعْدٍ، فَصَدَّقَهُ. وَكَانَتْ ثُغُورُ الْكُوفَةِ أَرْبَعَةً: حُلْوَانَ وَعَلَيْهَا الْقَعْقَاعُ، وَمَاسَبَذَانَ وَعَلَيْهَا ضِرَارُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ، وَقَرْقِيسِيَا وَعَلَيْهَا عُمَرُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، أَوْ عَمْرُو بْنُ عُتْبَةَ بْنِ نَوْفَلٍ، وَالْمَوْصِلَ وَعَلَيْهَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُعْتَمِّ، وَكَانَ بِهَا خُلَفَاؤُهُمْ إِذَا غَابُوا عَنْهَا. وَوَلِيَ سَعْدٌ الْكُوفَةَ بَعْدَمَا اخْتُطَّتْ ثَلَاثَ سِنِينَ وَنِصْفًا سِوَى مَا كَانَ بِالْمَدَائِنِ قَبْلَهَا. حَتَّى عَزَلَهُ عَنْهَا عُمَرُ، مِنْ غَيْرِ عَجْزٍ وَلَا خِيَانَةٍ. تاريخ الكوفة وفضلها وقَدْ كَانَ مَكَانُ الْكُوفَةِ مَعْرُوفًا فعَنْ صَدَقَةَ] بْنِ الْمُثَنَّى النَّخَعِيِّ، قَالَ: إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلَ الرَّحْمَنِ خَرَجَ مِنْ كُوثَى مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى حِمَارٍ، وَمَعَهُ ابْنُ أَخِيهِ لُوطٌ يَسُوقُ غَنَمًا وَيَحْمِلُ دَلْوًا عَلَى عُنُقِهِ حَتَّى نَزَلَ بَانْقِيَا، وَكَانَ بِهَا قَرْيَةٌ طُولُهَا اثْنَا عَشَرَ فَرْسَخًا، وَكَانُوا يُزَلْزَلُونَ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ، فَلَمَّا بَاتَ بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ لَمْ يُزَلْزَلُوا تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةَ، فَمَشَى بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ، فَقَالُوا: بِتُّمْ بِمِثْلِ هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ قَطُّ؟ فَقَالُوا: لَا، فَقَالَ صَاحِبُ مَنْزِلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنْ كَانَ دُفِعَ عَنْكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ فَبِشَيْخٍ بَاتَ عِنْدِي الْبَارِحَةَ لَمْ يَزَلْ يُصَلِّي حَتَّى أَصْبَحَ، فَأَتَوْهُ فَقَالُوا: إِنَّمَا خَرَجَتْ لِطَلَبِ الْمَعِيشَةِ، فَأَقِمْ فِينَا وَنُقَاسِمْكَ شَطْرَ أَمْوَالِنَا فَتَكُونَ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ مَالًا، قَالَ: لَيْسَ لِذَلِكَ خَرَجْتُ، إِنَّمَا خَرَجْتُ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ، فَخَرَجَ حَتَّى نَزَلَ الْقَادِسِيَّةَ، فَأَتَتْهُ عَجُوزٌ، فَقَالَتْ: إِنِّي أَرَاكَ شَيْخًا حَسَنَ الْهَيْئَةِ وَأَرَاكَ شَعِثًا، فَهَلْ لَكَ أَنْ آتِيَكَ بِغَسُولٍ تَغْسِلُ بِهِ رَأْسَكَ وَلِحْيَتَكَ؟ قَالَ: مَا شِئْتِ، فَأَتَتْهُ بِغَسُولٍ، فَغَسَلَ رَأْسَهُ وَلِحْيَتَهُ، فَأَفَاضَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَاءِ وَأَخَذَ فَضْلَ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الْإِنَاءِ فَأَبْعَدَ وَقَالَ: كُونِي مُقَدَّسَةً -لِلْقَادِسِيَّةِ- مِنْكِ يَخْرُجُ وَفْدُ اللَّهِ، وَفِيكِ مَوْضِعُ رِحَالِهِمْ، فَسُمِّيَتْ بِدَعْوَةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْقَادِسِيَّةَ. ثُمَّ خَرَجَ نَحْوَ الشَّامِ فَمَرَّ بِالنَّجَفِ فَرَأَى فِيهِ عَلَامَاتٍ وَكَانَ يَقْرَأُهَا فِي الْكُتُبِ، فَقَالَ: لِمَنْ هَذَا الْجَبَلُ؟ فَقَالُوا: لِأَهْلِ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي بِتَّ فِيهَا -يَعْنُونَ بَانِقْيَا- فَأَتَاهُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمُ فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ أَتَاهُمْ لِلَّذِي عَرَضُوا عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: بِيعُونِي أَرْضَكُمْ هَذِهِ -يَعْنِي ظَهْرَ الْكُوفَةِ - فَقَالُوا: هِيَ لَكَ، مَا مَلَكْنَا أَرْضًا هِيَ أَقَلُّ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا، مَا تَنْبُتُ رَعْيًا، وَلَا لَنَا فِيهَا مَنْفَعَةٌ، فَاشْتَرَاهَا مِنْهُمْ بِغَنَمِهِ. وعَنْ عَلِيٍّ ؓ، قَالَ: مِنْ مَسْجِدِ الْكُوفَةِ فَارَ التَّنُّورُ، وَكَانَ بَيْتَ نُوحٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَمَسْجِدَهُ، ثُمَّ جَاءَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ خَلِيلُ الرَّحْمَنِ إِلَى كُوثَى وَبِهَا ابْنُ أَخِيهِ، فَأَقَامَ عِنْدَهُ غَيْرَ كَثِيرٍ، ثُمَّ خَرَجَ حَتَّى جَاءَ إِلَى مَسْجِدِ الْكُوفَةِ، فَكَلَّمَ مَلِكًا كَانَ عَلَيْهَا، وَقَالَ لَهُ: إِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ تَبِيعَنِي هَذَا الْمَكَانَ -لِمَسْجِدِ الْكُوفَةِ - وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ الْمَلِكُ تُزَلْزَلُ بِهِ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ [الْأَرْضُ]، فَلَمَّا صَارَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ إِلَيْهِ كَفَّ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ تِلْكَ الزَّلْزَلَةَ، فَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ: يَدْعُو لَكَ، فَقَالَ: مَا أُرِيدَ أَخْذَهُ إِلَّا بِثَمَنٍ، قَالَ: فَاشْتَرِهِ بِمَا شِئْتَ، قَالَ: فَإِنِّي آخُذُهُ بِأَتَانِي هَذِهِ وَشَاتِي، قَالَ: أَمَّا الشَّاةُ فَلَيْسَ مَعَكَ زَادٌ إِلَّا لَبَنُهَا تَشْرَبُهُ، وَأَمَّا الْأَتَانُ فَهَلُمَّهَا نَحْنُ نَأْخُذُهَا، فَاشْتَرَاهَا بِالْأَتَانِ. فَبَدَأَ أَسَاسَ نُوحٍ، وَبَنَاهُ بِنَاءً لَاطِيًا عَلَى نَحْوٍ مِنْ ذِرَاعٍ أَوْ ذِرَاعَيْنِ، ثُمَّ سَارَ هُوَ وَلُوطٌ إِلَى الشَّامِ. وعَنْ سُفْيَانَ، قَالَ: أَوَّلُ مَنْ بَنَى الْكُوفَةَ بِالْآجُرِّ خَبَّابُ بْنُ الْأَرَتِّ، وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ. وعن بِشْرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَهَّابِ، أَنَّهُ قَدَّرَ الْكُوفَةَ فَكَانَتْ سِتَّةَ عَشَرَ مِيلًا، وَثُلْثَيْ مِيلٍ، وَذَكَرَ أَنَّ فِيهَا خَمْسَةَ آلَافِ دَارٍ لِلْعَرَبِ مِنْ رَبِيعَةَ وَمُضَرَ، وَأَرْبَعَةَ عَشَرَ أَلْفَ دَارٍ لِسَائِرِ الْعَرَبِ، وَسِتَّةً وَثَلَاثِينَ أَلْفَ دَارٍ لِلْيَمَنِيِّينَ. وعن إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ الطَّلْحِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي]، قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ بِالْكُوفَةِ فِي مَسْجِدِ الْجَامِعِ مِائَةَ حَلْقَةِ فِقْهٍ. وعَنْ أَبِي مَاجِدٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ عُمَرُ ؓ: الْكُوفَةُ رُمْحُ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَقُبَّةُ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَحُجَّةُ الْعَرَبِ، يُكْفُونَ ثُغُورَهُمْ وَيَمُدُّونَ الْأَمْصَارَ. وعَنْ عَلِيٍّ ؓ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: إِنَّ الْكُوفَةَ لَقُبَّةُ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّ عَلَيْهَا زَمَانٌ لَا يَبْقَى مُؤْمِنٌ إِلَّا أَتَاهَا أَوْ حَنَّ إِلَيْهَا، وَاللَّهِ لَيَنْصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ بِأَهْلِهَا كَمَا انْتَصَرَ بِالْحِجَارَةِ مِنْ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ.
Translation
✧ The building of al-Kūfah and al-Baṣrah, and Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ's move to it. The reason for that was that Saʿd sent a delegation to ʿUmar with these mentioned conquests. When ʿUmar saw them, he asked them about the change in their complexions and their condition. They said: "The unhealthiness of the land has changed us." So ʿUmar ordered them to seek out a place for the people to settle. With the delegation there had also come a group from Banū Taghlib to make a pact with ʿUmar on behalf of their people. ʿUmar said to them: "I will make a pact with them on the condition that whoever of you becomes Muslim shall have what the Muslims have and be subject to what they are subject to, and whoever refuses shall owe the jizyah." They said: "Then they will flee and become non-Arabs," and they offered him the ṣadaqah instead. He refused. So they made their jizyah like the ṣadaqah of a Muslim. He agreed with them on the condition that they would not make a child a Christian. These Taghlibīs and those who obeyed them from al-Namir and Iyād then migrated to Saʿd at al-Madāʾin, and they settled at al-Madāʾin, and later they settled with him at al-Kūfah. It is also said: rather, Ḥudhayfah wrote to ʿUmar: "The Arabs' stomachs have become thin, their upper arms have dried up, and their complexions have changed." He was with Saʿd. So ʿUmar wrote to Saʿd: "Tell me what has changed the Arabs' complexions and their flesh." Saʿd wrote back to him: "What has changed them is the unhealthiness of the land. The Arabs are suited only by lands that suit their camels." So ʿUmar wrote to him: "Send Salmān and Ḥudhayfah as scouts, and let them seek out a place that is both of the open country and near water, with no sea or bridge between me and you." Saʿd sent the two of them. Salmān went out until he came to al-Anbār, then he traveled along the west bank of the Euphrates, not approving of anything until he came to al-Kūfah. Ḥudhayfah traveled along the east bank of the Euphrates, not approving of anything until he came to al-Kūfah. Any place where sand and pebbles are mixed is called a kūfah. They came upon it, and in it there were three monasteries: Dayr Ḥurmah, Dayr Umm ʿAmr, and Dayr Silsilah, and between them there were small huts within this area of al-Kūfah. They dismounted and prayed there. Each of them said: "O Allah, Lord of the heaven and what it shades, Lord of the earth and what it carries, Lord of the wind and what it scatters, Lord of the stars and what they fall upon, Lord of the seas and what they flow over, Lord of the devils and what they lead astray, Lord of the small huts and what they conceal, bless us in this al-Kūfah and make it a place of firm settlement." When they returned to Saʿd with the news, and ʿUmar's letter had also arrived to him, Saʿd wrote to al-Qaʿqāʿ b. ʿAmr and ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿtamm to appoint successors over their troops and come to him. They did so. Saʿd then departed from al-Madāʾin and encamped at al-Kūfah in Muḥarram of the year seventeen. Between the settling at al-Kūfah and the battle of al-Qādisiyyah there was a year and two months, and between the beginning of ʿUmar's caliphate and the laying out of al-Kūfah there were three years and eight months. When Saʿd settled there, he wrote to ʿUmar: "I have settled at al-Kūfah in a place between al-Ḥīrah and the Euphrates that is both open country and near water, where ḥalfāʾ grass and naṣī grass grow. I gave the Muslims the choice between it and al-Madāʾin. Whoever preferred to remain at al-Madāʾin I left there as a garrison." When they became settled there, they recovered their strength, and the vigor they had lost returned to them. The people of al-Kūfah asked permission to build with reeds, and the people of al-Baṣrah also asked permission for that. Their settlement there became established in the same month that the people of al-Kūfah settled, after three previous settlements. ʿUmar wrote to them: "The army camp is harder for your war and more mindful for you, and I do not like to oppose you." So the people of the two garrison towns built with reeds. The fire of al-Kūfah. Then a fire broke out in al-Kūfah and al-Baṣrah. The fire in al-Kūfah was more severe, in Shawwāl. Saʿd sent a group of them to ʿUmar to ask his permission to build with mud bricks. They came to him with the news of the fire and the request for permission. He said: "Do so, but let no one of you exceed three houses, and do not vie in tallness of building. Keep to the Sunnah, and the state will keep to you." The people returned to al-Kūfah with that, and ʿUmar wrote to al-Baṣrah with the like of it. Abū Hayyāj b. Mālik was in charge of the planning of al-Kūfah, and ʿĀṣim b. Dulaf Abū al-Jarbāʾ was in charge of the planning of al-Baṣrah. He set the main streets at forty cubits, the secondary streets at twenty cubits, the lanes at seven cubits, and the allotments at sixty cubits. The first thing plotted and built in the two towns were their mosques. A man of strong bowshot stood in the middle of each and shot an arrow in every direction, and he ordered that building be done beyond where each arrow fell. He built a portico at the front of the mosque of al-Kūfah on marble columns from the buildings of the Chosroes at al-Ḥīrah. They made a trench around the courtyard so that no one could encroach on it with building. They built a house for Saʿd facing it, which is today the palace of al-Kūfah. Rōzbih built it from the baked bricks of the Chosroes' buildings at al-Ḥīrah. He made the markets on the pattern of mosques: whoever got first to a sitting place, it was his until he rose from it to go to his house or finished his selling. It reached ʿUmar that Saʿd had said, when he heard the voices of the people from the markets: "Quiet that little noise for me," and that the people called it "the palace of Saʿd." So he sent Muḥammad b. Maslamah to al-Kūfah and ordered him to make a breach in the palace gate and then return. He did so. When that reached Saʿd, he said: "This is a messenger sent for this." Saʿd summoned him, but he refused to enter upon him. Saʿd went out to him and offered him his travel provision, but he did not take it. He conveyed to him ʿUmar's letter: "It has reached me that you have taken a palace and made it a fortress. It is called 'the palace of Saʿd,' and between you and the people there is a gate. So it is not your palace, but rather it is the palace of ruin. Move down from it to a place next to the treasury houses, and close it up, and do not put a gate on the palace that prevents the people from entering it." Saʿd swore to him that he had not said what they claimed. Muḥammad returned and conveyed Saʿd's words to ʿUmar, and he believed him. The frontier posts of al-Kūfah were four: Ḥulwān, commanded by al-Qaʿqāʿ; Māsabadhān, commanded by Ḍirār b. al-Khaṭṭāb; Qarqīsiyā, commanded by ʿUmar b. Mālik or ʿAmr b. ʿUtbah b. Nawfal; and al-Mawṣil, commanded by ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿtamm. Their successors were there when they were absent from it. Saʿd governed al-Kūfah after its laying out for three and a half years, not counting the time before at al-Madāʾin, until ʿUmar removed him from it, without any incapacity or treachery on his part. The history of al-Kūfah and its merit. The site of al-Kūfah had been known. From Ṣadaqah b. al-Muthannā al-Nakhaʿī, who said: Ibrāhīm, the Friend of the All-Merciful, went out from Kūthā as an emigrant to Allah, mighty and majestic, on a donkey, with his nephew Lūṭ with him driving sheep and carrying a bucket on his neck, until he stopped at Bāniqiyā. In it there was a village twelve farsakhs long, and they used to be shaken by earthquakes every night. When Ibrāhīm spent the night there, they were not shaken that night. Some of them went to others and said: "Have you ever spent a night like this night?" They said: "No." The owner of the house where Ibrāhīm ﷺ stayed said: "If anything has been warded off from you, it is by an old man who stayed with me last night, who kept praying until morning." So they came to him and said: "We went out only to seek a livelihood. Stay among us, and we will share with you half of our wealth, so that you will be the richest of people." He said: "It is not for that that I went out. I went out only as an emigrant to Allah." He went on until he stopped at al-Qādisiyyah. An old woman came to him and said: "I see you are an old man of good appearance, but I see you are disheveled. Would you like me to bring you something to wash your head and beard with?" He said: "As you wish." She brought him a washing preparation, and he washed his head and beard. He poured water over himself, took what was left in the vessel, threw it far, and said: "Be sanctified—for al-Qādisiyyah—from you shall go forth the delegation of Allah, and in you is the place of their saddles." So it was named al-Qādisiyyah by Ibrāhīm's supplication. Then he went out toward Syria and passed by al-Najaf. He saw signs in it that he used to read about in the books. He said: "To whom does this hill belong?" They said: "To the people of the village where you spent the night—meaning Bāniqiyā." Ibrāhīm came to them, and they thought he had come to them because of what they had offered him. He said: "Sell me this land of yours—meaning the area behind al-Kūfah." They said: "It is yours. We do not own any land less productive than it. It does not grow pasture, and we have no benefit in it." He bought it from them with his sheep. From ʿAlī ؓ, who said: From the mosque of al-Kūfah the oven gushed forth, and it was the house of Nūḥ ﷺ and his mosque. Then Ibrāhīm, the Friend of the All-Merciful, came to Kūthā, where his nephew was. He stayed with him for a short while, then he went out until he came to the mosque of al-Kūfah. He spoke to a king who ruled over it and said to him: "I would like you to sell me this place—for the mosque of al-Kūfah." That king used to have the earth shaken for him every night. When Ibrāhīm came to him, Allah, mighty and majestic, stopped that earthquake. The king said: "He will supplicate for you." He said: "I do not want to take it except for a price." He said: "Then buy it for whatever you wish." He said: "I will take it for this she-donkey of mine and my ewe." He said: "As for the ewe, you have no provision but its milk, which you drink. As for the she-donkey, bring it here and we will take it." He bought it with the she-donkey. He began with the foundation of Nūḥ and built it as a low building of about a cubit or two cubits. Then he and Lūṭ traveled on to Syria. From Sufyān, who said: The first to build al-Kūfah with baked bricks were Khabbāb b. al-Aratt and ʿAbd Allāh b. Masʿūd. From Bishr b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, that he measured al-Kūfah and it was sixteen miles and two-thirds of a mile. He mentioned that in it there were five thousand houses for the Arabs of Rabīʿah and Muḍar, fourteen thousand houses for the rest of the Arabs, and thirty-six thousand houses for the Yemenis. From Ibrāhīm b. Ismāʿīl al-Ṭalḥī, who said: My father narrated to us, saying: I saw in al-Kūfah, in the congregational mosque, a hundred study circles of fiqh. From Abū Mājid, who said: ʿUmar ؓ said: "Al-Kūfah is the spear of Islam, the dome of Islam, and the proof of the Arabs. They suffice for their frontiers and reinforce the garrison towns." From ʿAlī ؓ, that he said: "Al-Kūfah is indeed the dome of Islam. A time will surely come upon it when no believer remains but that he comes to it or yearns for it. By Allah, Allah will grant victory through its people just as He took vengeance by the stones upon the people of Lūṭ."
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