Tarikh (al-Tabari) 2165
The caliphate of Muʿāwiyah b. Abī Sufyān
عَزْلِ سَعِيدٍ عَنِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَاسْتِعْمَالِ مَرْوَانَ وفي سنة أربع وخمسين عَزَلَ مُعَاوِيَةُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ الْعَاصِ عَنِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَاسْتَعْمَلَ مَرْوَانَ وَسَبَبُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ كَانَ يُغْرِي بَيْنَ مَرْوَانَ وَسَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَى سَعِيدٍ وَهُوَ عَلَى الْمَدِينَةِ: اهْدِمْ دَارَ مَرْوَانَ، فَلَمْ يَهْدِمْهَا، فَأَعَادَ إِلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ مَرَّةً بَعْدَ مَرَّةٍ فَلَمْ يَفْعَلْ، فَعَزَلَهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ، وَوَلَّى مَرْوَانَ وَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ يَأْمُرُهُ بِقَبْضِ أَمْوَالِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِ وَهَدْمِ دَارِهِ، فَأَخَذَ الْفَعَلَةَ وَسَارَ إِلَى دَارِ سَعِيدٍ لِيَهْدِمَهَا، فَقَالَ لَهُ سَعِيدٌ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ أَتَهْدِمُ دَارِي ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كَتَبَ إِلَيَّ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَلَوْ كَتَبَ إِلَيْكَ فِي هَدْمِ دَارِي لَفَعَلْتَ: فَقَالَ: مَا كُنْتُ لِأَفْعَلَ: قَالَ: بَلَى وَاللَّهِ: قَالَ: كَلَّا: وَقَالَ لِغُلَامِهِ: ائْتِنِي بِكِتَابِ مُعَاوِيَةَ، فَجَاءَهُ بِالْكِتَابَيْنِ، فَلَمَّا رَآهُمَا مَرْوَانُ قَالَ: كَتَبَ إِلَيْكَ فَلَمْ تَفْعَلْ وَلَمْ تُعْلِمْنِي ؟ فَقَالَ سَعِيدٌ: مَا كُنْتُ لِأَمُنَّ عَلَيْكَ، وَإِنَّمَا أَرَادَ مُعَاوِيَةُ أَنْ يُحَرِّضَ بَيْنَنَا: فَقَالَ مَرْوَانُ: أَنْتَ وَاللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِنِّي. وَعَادَ وَلَمْ يَهْدِمْ دَارَ سَعِيدٍ، وَكَتَبَ سَعِيدٌ إِلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ: الْعَجَبُ مِمَّا صَنَعَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِنَا فِي قَرَابَتِنَا ! إِنَّهُ يُضْغِنُ بَعْضَنَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ، فَأَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي حِلْمِهِ وَصَبْرِهِ عَلَى مَا يَكْرَهُ مِنَ الْأَخْبَثِينَ، وَعَفْوِهِ وَإِدْخَالِهِ الْقَطِيعَةَ بَيْنَنَا وَالشَّحْنَاءَ، وَتَوَارُثَ الْأَوْلَادِ ذَلِكَ، فَوَاللَّهِ لَوْ لَمْ نَكُنْ أَوْلَادَ أَبٍ وَاحِدٍ لَمَا جَمَعَنَا اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ نُصْرَةِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْخَلِيفَةِ الْمَظْلُومِ، وَاجْتِمَاعِ كَلِمَتِنَا، لَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْ يَرْعَى ذَلِكَ. فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ مُعَاوِيَةُ يَعْتَذِرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَيَتَنَصَّلُ وَأَنَّهُ عَائِدٌ إِلَى أَحْسَنِ مَا يَعْهَدُهُ. وَقَدِمَ سَعِيدٌ عَلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ مَرْوَانَ فَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ خَيْرًا، فَقَالَ لَهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ: مَا بَاعَدَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَكَ ؟ قَالَ: خَافَنِي عَلَى شَرَفِهِ وَخِفْتُهُ عَلَى شَرَفِي: قَالَ: فَمَاذَا لَهُ عِنْدَكَ ؟ قَالَ: أُسِرُّهُ شَاهِدًا وَغَائِبًا.
Translation
✧ The dismissal of Saʿīd from Madinah and the appointment of Marwān In the year fifty-four, Muʿāwiyah dismissed Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ from Madinah and appointed Marwān. And the reason for that was that Muʿāwiyah used to stir up discord between Marwān and Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ. He wrote to Saʿīd, while he was governor of Madinah: “Demolish the house of Marwān.” But he did not demolish it. He repeated the letter to him time after time, but he did not do it. So Muʿāwiyah dismissed him, appointed Marwān, and wrote to him commanding him to seize the properties of Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ and demolish his house. So he took the workmen and went to the house of Saʿīd to demolish it. Saʿīd said to him: “O Abū ʿAbd al-Malik, will you demolish my house?” He said: “Yes; the Commander of the Faithful wrote to me, and if he had written to you about demolishing my house, you would have done it.” He said: “I would not have done it.” He said: “By God, yes you would have.” He said: “No.” And he said to his servant: “Bring me Muʿāwiyah’s letter.” He brought him the two letters. When Marwān saw them, he said: “He wrote to you and you did not do it, and you did not inform me?” Saʿīd said: “I would not have granted you a favor, for Muʿāwiyah only wanted to incite us against each other.” Marwān said: “You, by God, are better than I.” He returned and did not demolish Saʿīd’s house. Saʿīd wrote to Muʿāwiyah: “How astonishing is what the Commander of the Faithful has done to us in our kinship! He stirs up rancor among us against one another. The Commander of the Faithful, in his forbearance and patience toward what he dislikes of the most wicked people, and his pardon, brings about severance and enmity among us, and the children inherit that. By God, even if we were not the sons of one father—whom God brought together upon supporting the Commander of the Faithful, the caliph who suffered injustice, and the unity of our word—it would still be incumbent upon the Commander of the Faithful to respect that.” Muʿāwiyah wrote to him apologizing for that, exculpating himself, and saying that he would return to the best of what he had known from him. Saʿīd came to Muʿāwiyah, and he asked him about Marwān. He praised him well. Muʿāwiyah said to him: “What caused distance between him and you?” He said: “He feared me for his honor, and I feared him for my honor.” He said: “What do you hold for him?” He said: “I regard him highly, present and absent.”
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.