Tarikh (al-Tabari) 1924
The caliphate of ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb
زَوَالِ السَّنَةِ السَّيِّئَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ فِي نِيلِ مِصْرَ رُوِّينَا مِنْ طَرِيقِ ابْنِ لَهِيعَةَ، عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ الْحَجَّاجِ، عَمَّنْ حَدَّثَهُ قَالَ: لَمَّا افْتُتِحَتْ مِصْرُ أَتَى أَهْلُهَا عَمْرَو بْنَ الْعَاصِ - حِينَ دَخَلَ بُؤْنَةُ مِنْ أَشْهُرِ الْعَجَمِ - فَقَالُوا: أَيُّهَا الْأَمِيرُ، لِنِيلِنَا هَذَا سُنَّةٌ لَا يَجْرِي إِلَّا بِهَا. قَالَ: وَمَا ذَاكَ ؟ قَالُوا: إِذَا كَانَتِ اثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً خَلَتْ مِنْ هَذَا الشَّهْرِ، عَمَدْنَا إِلَى جَارِيَةٍ بِكْرٍ مِنْ أَبَوَيْهَا، فَأَرْضَيْنَا أَبَوَيْهَا، وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الْحُلِيِّ وَالثِّيَابِ أَفْضَلَ مَا يَكُونُ، ثُمَّ أَلْقَيْنَاهَا فِي هَذَا النِّيلِ. فَقَالَ لَهُمْ عَمْرٌو: إِنَّ هَذَا مِمَّا لَا يَكُونُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، إِنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ يَهْدِمُ مَا قَبْلَهُ. قَالَ: فَأَقَامُوا بُؤْنَةَ وَأَبِيبَ وَمِسْرَى وَالنِّيلُ لَا يَجْرِي قَلِيلًا وَلَا كَثِيرًا، حَتَّى هَمُّوا بِالْجَلَاءِ، فَكَتَبَ عَمْرٌو إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ بِذَلِكَ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ: إِنَّكَ قَدْ أَصَبْتَ بِالَّذِي فَعَلْتَ، وَإِنِّي قَدْ بَعَثْتُ إِلَيْكَ بِبِطَاقَةٍ دَاخِلَ كِتَابِي، فَأَلْقِهَا فِي النِّيلِ. فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ كِتَابُهُ أَخَذَ عَمْرٌو الْبِطَاقَةَ فَإِذَا فِيهَا: مِنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِلَى نِيلِ أَهْلِ مِصْرَ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنْ كُنْتَ إِنَّمَا تَجْرِي مِنْ قِبَلِكَ فَلَا تَجْرِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ هُوَ الَّذِي يُجْرِيكَ، فَنَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُجْرِيَكَ. قَالَ: فَأَلْقَى الْبِطَاقَةَ فِي النِّيلِ فَأَصْبَحُوا يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ، وَقَدْ أَجْرَى اللَّهُ النِّيلَ سِتَّةَ عَشَرَ ذِرَاعًا فِي لَيْلَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، وَقَطَعَ اللَّهُ تِلْكَ السُّنَّةَ عَنْ أَهْلِ مِصْرَ إِلَى الْيَوْمِ.
Translation
✧ The cessation of the evil practice that was in the Nile of Egypt It has been narrated to us by way of Ibn Lahīʿah, from Qays b. al-Ḥajjāj, from someone who narrated to him, who said: When Egypt was conquered, its people came to ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ — when Būnah of the non-Arab months began — and said: O governor, our Nile has a custom, and it does not flow except by it. He said: And what is that? They said: When twelve nights have passed of this month, we take a virgin girl from her parents, and we satisfy her parents, and we put on her the best of ornaments and garments, then we cast her into this Nile. ʿAmr said to them: This is among the things that do not exist in Islam. Indeed, Islam destroys what came before it. He said: So they remained through Būnah, Abīb, and Misrā, while the Nile did not flow, neither little nor much, until they considered emigrating. Then ʿAmr wrote to ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb about that, and he wrote back to him: You have done well in what you did. Indeed, I have sent you a note inside my letter, so cast it into the Nile. When his letter arrived, ʿAmr took the note, and in it was: From the servant of God, the Commander of the Faithful, to the Nile of the people of Egypt. Now then, if you flow only by your own will, then do not flow; but if it is God, the One, the Subduer, who makes you flow, then we ask God, exalted be He, to make you flow. He said: So he cast the note into the Nile, and they woke on Saturday, and God had made the Nile flow sixteen cubits in a single night, and God cut off that practice from the people of Egypt to this day.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.