Tarikh (al-Tabari) 2270
The Year 66 AH
مَسِيرِ ابْنِ الْأَشْتَرِ إِلَى قِتَالِ ابْنِ زِيَادٍ قَالَ ابْنُ جَرِيرٍ: وَفِي سنة ست وستين سَارَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ الْأَشْتَرِ إِلَى عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ وَذَلِكَ لِثَمَانٍ بَقِينَ مِنْ ذِي الْحِجَّةِ، وَقَالَ أَبُو مِخْنَفٍ عَنْ مَشَايِخِهِ: مَا هُوَ إِلَّا أَنْ فَرَغَ الْمُخْتَارُ مِنْ جَبَّانَةِ السَّبِيعِ وَأَهْلِ الْكُنَاسَةِ، فَمَا نَزَلَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ الْأَشْتَرِ إِلَّا يَوْمَيْنِ حَتَّى أَشْخَصَهُ إِلَى الْوَجْهِ الَّذِي كَانَ وَجَّهَهُ لَهُ لِقِتَالِ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ فَخَرَجَ يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ لِثَمَانٍ بَقِينَ مِنْ ذِي الْحِجَّةِ سَنَةَ سِتٍّ وَسِتِّينَ، وَخَرَجَ مَعَهُ الْمُخْتَارُ يُودِّعُهُ فِي وُجُوهِ أَصْحَابِهِ، وَخَرَجَ مَعَهُمْ خَاصَّةُ الْمُخْتَارِ، وَمَعَهُمْ كُرْسِيُّ الْمُخْتَارِ عَلَى بَغْلٍ أَشْهَبَ لِيَسْتَنْصِرُوا بِهِ عَلَى الْأَعْدَاءِ، وَهُمْ حَافُّونَ بِهِ يَدْعُونَ وَيَسْتَصْرِخُونَ وَيَسْتَنْصِرُونَ وَيَتَضَرَّعُونَ، وَكَانَ سَادِنَ الْكُرْسِيِّ حَوْشَبٌ الْبَرْسَمِيُّ، فَلَمَّا رَآهُمُ الْمُخْتَارُ قَالَ: أَمَا وَرَبِّ الْمُرْسَلَاتِ عُرْفَا لَنَقْتُلَنَّ بَعْدَ صَفٍّ صَفَّا وَبَعْدَ أَلْفٍ قَاسِطِينَ أَلْفَا ثُمَّ وَدَّعَهُ الْمُخْتَارُ بَعْدَ أَنْ وَصَّاهُ بِثَلَاثٍ قَالَ: يَا ابْنَ الْأَشْتَرِ، اتَّقِ اللَّهَ فِي سِرِّكَ وَعَلَانِيَتِكَ، وَأَسْرَعِ السَّيْرَ وَعَاجِلْ عَدُوَّكَ بِالْقِتَالِ. وَاسْتَمَرَّ أَصْحَابُ الْكُرْسِيِّ سَائِرِينَ مَعَ ابْنِ الْأَشْتَرِ، فَجَعْلَ ابْنُ الْأَشْتَرِ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ لَا تُؤَاخِذُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ السُّفَهَاءُ مِنَّا، سُنَّةُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِذْ عَكَفُوا عَلَى عِجْلِهِمْ. فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَ الْقَنْطَرَةَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ وَأَصْحَابُهُ انْصَرَفَ أَصْحَابُ الْكُرْسِيِّ. حَالِ الْكُرْسِيِّ الَّذِي كَانَ الْمُخْتَارُ يَسْتَنْصِرُ بِهِ قَالَ ابْنُ جَرِيرٍ: وَكَانَ سَبَبُ اتِّخَاذِ هَذَا الْكُرْسِيِّ مَا حَدَّثَنِي بِهِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ شَبُّوَيْهِ بسنده عن طُفَيْلُ بْنُ جَعْدَةَ بْنِ هُبَيْرَةَ قَالَ: أَعْدَمْتُ مَرَّةً مِنَ الْوَرِقِ فَإِنِّي لَكَذَلِكَ إِذْ مَرَرْتُ بِبَابِ جَارٍ لِي لَهُ كُرْسِيٌّ قَدْ رَكِبَهُ وَسَخٌ شَدِيدٌ، فَخَطَرَ عَلَى بَالِي أَنْ لَوْ قُلْتُ فِي هَذَا، فَرَجَعْتُ فَأَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ أَرْسِلْ إِلَيَّ بِالْكُرْسِيِّ، فَأَرْسَلَ بِهِ، فَأَتَيْتُ الْمُخْتَارَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَكْتُمُكَ شَيْئًا وَقَدْ بَدَا لِي أَنْ أَذْكُرَهُ لَكَ. قَالَ: وَمَا هُوَ ؟ قَالَ: قُلْتُ: كَرِّسِيٌّ كَانَ جَعْدَةُ بْنُ هُبَيْرَةَ يَجْلِسُ عَلَيْهِ كَأَنَّهُ يَرَى أَنَّ فِيهِ أَثَرَةً مِنْ عِلْمٍ. قَالَ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ ! فَأَخَّرْتَ هَذَا إِلَى الْيَوْمِ ؟ ابْعَثْ إِلَيْهِ. قَالَ: فَجِئْتُ بِهِ وَقَدْ غُسِلَ فَخَرَجَ عُودًا نُضَارًا وَقَدْ تَشْرَّبَ الزَّيْتَ، فَأَمَرَ لِي بِاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ أَلْفًا، ثُمَّ نُودِيَ فِي النَّاسِ: الصَّلَاةَ جَامِعَةً. قَالَ: فَخَطَبَ الْمُخْتَارُ النَّاسَ فَقَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الْأُمَمِ الْخَالِيَةِ أَمْرٌ إِلَّا وَهُوَ كَائِنٌ فِي هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ مِثْلُهُ، وَإِنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ التَّابُوتُ يُنْصَرُونَ بِهِ، وَإِنَّ هَذَا مِثْلُهُ. ثُمَّ أَمَرَ فَكُشِفَ عَنْهُ أَثْوَابُهُ، وَقَامَتِ السَّبَئِيَّةُ فَرَفَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ وَكَبَّرُوا ثَلَاثًا، فَقَامَ شَبَثُ بْنُ رِبْعِيٍّ فَأَنْكَرَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَكَادَ أَنْ يَكَفِّرَ مَنْ يَصْنَعُ بِهَذَا التَّابُوتِ هَذَا التَّعْظِيمَ، وَأَشَارَ بِأَنْ يُكْسَرَ وَيُخْرَجَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ وَيُرْمَى بِهِ فِي الْحُشِّ، فَشَكَرَهَا النَّاسُ لِشَبَثِ بْنِ رِبْعِيٍّ فَلَمَّا قِيلَ: هَذَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ زِيَادٍ قَدْ أَقْبَلَ. وَبَعَثَ الْمُخْتَارُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنَ الْأَشْتَرِ بَعْثَ مَعَهُ بِالْكُرْسِيِّ يُحْمَلُ عَلَى بَغْلٍ أَشْهَبَ قَدْ غُشِّيَ بِأَثْوَابِ الْحَرِيرِ، عَنْ يَمِينِهِ سَبْعَةٌ، وَعَنْ يَسَارِهِ سَبْعَةٌ، فَلَمَّا تَوَاجَهُوا مَعَ الشَّامِيِّينَ وَغَلَبُوا الشَّامِيِّينَ وَقَتَلُوا ابْنَ زِيَادٍ، ازْدَادَ تَعْظِيمُهُمْ لِهَذَا الْكُرْسِيِّ حَتَّى بَلَغُوا بِهِ الْكُفْرَ، قَالَ الطُّفَيْلُ بْنُ جَعْدَةَ فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. وَنَدِمْتُ عَلَى مَا صَنَعْتُ. وَتَكَلَّمَ النَّاسُ فِي هَذَا الْكُرْسِيِّ، وَكَثُرَ عَيْبُ النَّاسِ لَهُ فَغُيِّبَ حَتَّى لَا يُرَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ. وَذَكَرَ ابْنُ الْكَلْبَيِّ أَنَّ الْمُخْتَارَ طَلَبَ مِنْ آلِ جَعْدَةَ بْنِ هُبَيْرَةَ الْكُرْسِيَّ الَّذِي كَانَ عَلِيٌّ يَجْلِسُ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالُوا: مَا عِنْدَنَا شَيْءٌ مِمَّا يَقُولُ الْأَمِيرُ. فَأَلَحَّ عَلَيْهِمْ حَتَّى عَلِمُوا أَنَّهُمْ لَوْ جَاءُوا بِأَيِّ كُرْسِيٍّ كَانَ لَقَبِلَهُ مِنْهُمْ، فَحَمَلُوا إِلَيْهِ كُرْسِيًّا مِنْ بَعْضِ الدُّورِ، فَقَالُوا: هَذَا هُوَ، فَخَرَجَتْ شِبَامٌ وَشَاكِرٌ وَسَائِرُ رُءُوسِ الْمُخْتَارِ بِهِ، وَقَدْ عَصَّبُوهُ بِالْحَرِيرِ وَالدِّيبَاجِ. وَحَكَى أَبُو مِخْنَفٍ أَنَّ أَوَّلَ مَنْ سَدَنَ هَذَا الْكُرْسِيَّ مُوسَى بْنُ أَبِي مُوسَى الْأَشْعَرِيُّ، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ عُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ فِي ذَلِكَ، فَدَفَعَهُ إِلَى حَوْشَبٍ الْبُرْسُمِيِّ، فَكَانَ صَاحِبَهُ حَتَّى هَلَكَ الْمُخْتَارُ، قَبَّحَهُ اللَّهُ. وَيُرْوَى أَنَّ الْمُخْتَارَ كَانَ يُظْهِرُ أَنَّهُ لَا يَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُعَظِّمُ أَصْحَابُهُ هَذَا الْكُرْسِيَّ. وَقَدْ قَالَ فِي هَذَا الْكُرْسِيِّ أَعْشَى هَمْدَانَ: شَهِدْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنَّكُمْ سَبَئِيَّةٌ وَإِنِّي بِكُمْ يَا شُرْطَةَ الشِّرْكِ عَارِفُ وَأُقْسِمُ مَا كُرْسِيُّكُمْ بِسَكِينَةٍ وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ لُفَّتْ عَلَيْهِ اللَّفَائِفُ وَأَنْ لَيْسَ كَالتَّابُوتِ فِينَا وَإِنْ سَعَتْ شِبَامٌ حَوَالَيْهِ وَنَهْدٌ وَخَارِفُ وَإِنِّي امْرُؤٌ أَحْبَبْتُ آلَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَتَابَعْتُ وَحَيًا ضُمِّنَتْهُ الْمَصَاحِفُ وَتَابَعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ لَمَّا تَتَابَعَتْ عَلَيْهِ قُرَيْشٌ شُمْطُهَا وَالْغَطَارِفُ وَقَالَ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ اللَّيْثِيُّ: أَبْلِغْ أَبَا إِسْحَاقَ إِنْ جِئْتَهُ أَنِّي بِكُرْسِيِّكُمْ كَافِرُ تَنْزُوا شِبَامٌ حَوْلَ أَعْوَادِهِ وَتَحْمِلُ الْوَحَيَ لَهُ شَاكِرُ مُحْمَرَّةً أَعْيُنُهُمْ حَوْلَهُ كَأَنَّهُنَّ الْحِمَّصُ الْحَادِرُ قُلْتُ: هَذَا وَأَمْثَالُهُ مِمَّا يَدُلُّ عَلَى قِلَّةِ عَقْلِ الْمُخْتَارِ وَأَتْبَاعِهِ وَضَعْفِهِ وَقِلَّةِ عِلْمِهِ وَكَثْرَةِ جَهْلِهِ وَرَدَاءَةِ فَهْمِهِ وَتَرْوِيجِهِ الْبَاطِلَ عَلَى أَتْبَاعِهِ وَتَشْبِيهِهِ الْبَاطِلَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيُضِلَّ بِهِ الطَّغَامَ وَيَجْمَعَ عَلَيْهِ جُهَّالَ الْعَوَامِّ. وعنْ أَبِي أَنَسٍ الْحَرَّانِيِّ، قَالَ: قَالَ الْمُخْتَارُ لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ: ضَعْ لِي حَدِيثًا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنِّي كَائِنٌ بَعْدَهُ خَلِيفَةً، وَطَالِبٌ لَهُ ثَرَّةَ وَلَدِهِ، وَهَذِهِ عَشَرَةُ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ وَخِلْعَةٌ وَمَرْكُوبٌ وَخَادِمٌ، فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ: أَمَّا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَلَا، وَلَكِنِ اخْتَرْ مَنْ شِئْتَ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَاحْطُطْ مِنَ الثَّمَنِ مَا شِئْتَ، قَالَ: عَنِ النَّبِيِّ آكَدُ، قَالَ: وَالْعَذَابُ عَلَيْهِ أَشَدُّ.
Translation
✧ The March of Ibn al-Ashtar to Fight Ibn Ziyād Ibn Jarīr said: In the year sixty-six, Ibrāhīm b. al-Ashtar marched against ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ziyād, and that was on the twenty-second of Dhū al-Ḥijjah. Abū Mikhnaf said, on the authority of his shaykhs: No sooner had al-Mukhtār finished with the Jabbanah of al-Sabīʿ and the people of al-Kunāsah than Ibrāhīm b. al-Ashtar had only stayed two days before he dispatched him to the direction for which he had assigned him, to fight the people of Syria. He set out on Saturday, the twenty-second of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, in the year sixty-six. Al-Mukhtār went out with him to bid him farewell in the presence of his companions, and al-Mukhtār's elite went out with them, and with them was al-Mukhtār's chair on a gray mule, so that they might seek victory through it against the enemies. They surrounded it, supplicating, crying out for help, seeking victory, and humbling themselves. The keeper of the chair was Ḥawshab al-Bursumī. When al-Mukhtār saw them, he said: "Indeed, by the Lord of those sent forth in succession (al-mursalāt ʿurfā), we shall surely kill rank after rank, and after a thousand Qāsiṭites, a thousand more." Then al-Mukhtār bade him farewell after enjoining upon him three things. He said: "O son of al-Ashtar, fear God in your private and public affairs, hasten the march, and engage your enemy in battle quickly." The people of the chair continued marching with Ibn al-Ashtar, and Ibn al-Ashtar kept saying: "O God, do not take us to task for what the foolish among us have done, following the practice of the Children of Israel—by Him in whose hand is my soul—when they devoted themselves to their calf." When Ibrāhīm and his companions crossed the bridge, the people of the chair turned back. The State of the Chair by Which al-Mukhtār Sought Victory Ibn Jarīr said: The reason for adopting this chair was what ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad b. Shabbawayh narrated to me with his chain of transmission from Ṭufayl b. Jaʿdah b. Hubayrah, who said: Once I was in need of silver coins, and while I was in that state, I passed by the door of a neighbor of mine who had a chair that had been ridden upon and was very dirty. It occurred to me that I might say something about it. So I went back and sent to him, saying, "Send me the chair." He sent it, and I brought it to al-Mukhtār and said to him: "I had been concealing something from you, and it has now occurred to me to mention it to you." He said: "What is it?" I said: "A chair on which Jaʿdah b. Hubayrah used to sit, as if he saw in it a remnant of knowledge." He said: "Glory be to God! You have delayed this until today? Send for it." He said: So I brought it after it had been washed, and it turned out to be a piece of bright wood that had absorbed oil. He ordered for me twelve thousand dirhams. Then a call was made among the people: "Prayer in congregation!" He said: Al-Mukhtār addressed the people and said: "There was nothing in the past nations but that its like will occur in this nation. There was among the Children of Israel the Ark (al-Tābūt), through which they were granted victory, and this is its like." Then he ordered that its coverings be removed, and the Sabaʾiyyah stood up and raised their hands and said "Allāhu akbar" three times. Then Shabath b. Ribʿī stood up and objected to the people, and he almost declared those who showed this veneration to this Ark to be disbelievers. He suggested that it be broken, taken out of the mosque, and thrown into a cesspit. The people thanked Shabath b. Ribʿī for that. But when it was said, "This is ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ziyād, he has advanced," al-Mukhtār sent Ibrāhīm b. al-Ashtar with an army, and with him the chair, carried on a gray mule covered with silk cloths, with seven men on its right and seven on its left. When they faced the Syrians and defeated them and killed Ibn Ziyād, their veneration for this chair increased until they reached disbelief through it. Ṭufayl b. Jaʿdah said: I said, "Indeed we belong to God and to Him we return," and I regretted what I had done. The people spoke about this chair, and criticism of it increased, so it was hidden and never seen after that. Ibn al-Kalbī mentioned that al-Mukhtār asked the family of Jaʿdah b. Hubayrah for the chair on which ʿAlī used to sit, and they said: "We have nothing of what the Amīr says." He insisted upon them until they realized that if they brought any chair whatsoever, he would accept it from them. So they carried to him a chair from one of the houses and said, "This is it." Shibām, Shākir, and the rest of al-Mukhtār's chiefs went out with it, having wrapped it in silk and brocade. Abū Mikhnaf related that the first person to serve as keeper of this chair was Mūsā b. Abī Mūsā al-Ashʿarī. Then he was criticized for that, so he handed it over to Ḥawshab al-Bursumī, who remained its keeper until al-Mukhtār perished—may God disfigure him. It is reported that al-Mukhtār used to pretend that he did not know how his companions venerated this chair. Aʿshā Hamdān said about this chair: "I bear witness against you that you are Sabaʾiyyah, and I, O shurṭah of polytheism, know you well. I swear your chair is no sakīnah, even if wrappings have been wound around it, And it is not like the Ark among us, even if Shibām strive around it, and Nahd and Khārif. I am a man who loved the family of Muḥammad, and I followed a revelation contained in the maṣāḥif, And I followed ʿAbd Allāh when Quraysh—their elders and nobles—banded together against him." Al-Mutawakkil al-Laythī said: "Convey to Abū Isḥāq, if you come to him, that I am a disbeliever in your chair. Shibām leap around its sticks, and Shākir carry the revelation for it, Their eyes reddened around it, as if they were swollen chickpeas." I say: This and its like are among the things that indicate the paucity of al-Mukhtār's intellect and that of his followers, his weakness, his scant knowledge, his abundant ignorance, his poor understanding, and his promoting falsehood among his followers, comparing falsehood to truth in order to mislead the rabble and gather around him the ignorant masses. From Abū Anas al-Ḥarrānī, who said: Al-Mukhtār said to a man from among the scholars of ḥadīth: "Fabricate for me a ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ that I shall be a caliph after him and seek vengeance for his slaughtered progeny, and here are ten thousand dirhams, a robe of honor, a mount, and a servant." The man said: "As for from the Prophet ﷺ, no. But choose whomever you wish from among the Companions, and reduce the price as you wish." He said: "From the Prophet it is more binding." He said: "And the punishment upon him is more severe."
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