Tarikh (al-Tabari) 2891
Then the year 155 AH began
ذِكْرُ عَزْلِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنِ الْكُوفَةِ، وَاسْتِعْمَالِ عَمْرِو بْنِ زُهَيْرٍ وَفِيهَا عَزَلَ [ الْمَنْصُورُ ] مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ عَنِ الْكُوفَةِ، وَاسْتَعْمَلَ عَلَيْهَا عَمْرَو بْنَ زُهَيْرٍ الضَّبِّيَّ أَخَا الْمُسَيَّبِ بْنِ زُهَيْرٍ. وَقِيلَ: إِنَّمَا عُزِلَ سَنَةَ ثَلَاثٍ وَخَمْسِينَ، وَكَانَ عَزْلُهُ لِأَسْبَابٍ بَلَغَتْهُ عَنْهُ، مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ قَتَلَ عَبْدَ الْكَرِيمِ بْنَ أَبِي الْعَوْجَاءِ وَكَانَ قَدْ حَبَسَهُ عَلَى الزَّنْدَقَةِ وَهُوَ خَالُ مَعْنِ بْنِ زَائِدَةَ الشَّيْبَانِيِّ، فَكَثُرَ شُفَعَاؤُهُ عِنْدَ الْمَنْصُورِ، وَلَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ فِيهِ إِلَّا ظَنِينٌ مِنْهُمْ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ بِالْكَفِّ عَنْهُ إِلَى أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُ رَأْيُهُ. وَكَانَ ابْنُ أَبِي الْعَوْجَاءِ قَدْ أَرْسَلَ إِلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ يَسْأَلُهُ أَنْ يُؤَخِّرَهُ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ، وَيُعْطِيَهُ مِائَةَ أَلْفٍ، فَلَمَّا ذُكِرَ لِمُحَمَّدٍ أَمَرَ بِقَتْلِهِ، فَلَمَّا أَيْقَنَ أَنَّهُ مَقْتُولٌ قَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ وَضَعْتُ أَرْبَعَةَ آلَافِ حَدِيثٍ حَلَّلْتُ فِيهَا الْحَرَامَ، وَحَرَّمْتُ فِيهَا الْحَلَالَ، وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ فَطَّرْتُكُمْ يَوْمَ صَوْمِكُمْ، وَصَوَّمْتُكُمْ يَوْمَ فِطْرِكُمْ، فَقُتِلَ. وَوَرَدَ كِتَابُ الْمَنْصُورِ إِلَى مُحَمَّدٍ يَأْمُرُهُ بِالْكَفِّ عَنْهُ، فَوَصَلَ وَقَدْ قَتَلَهُ فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ قَتْلُهُ غَضِبَ، وَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ هَمَمْتُ أَنْ أُقِيدَهُ بِهِ ! ثُمَّ أَحْضَرَ عَمَّهُ عِيسَى بْنَ عَلِيٍّ وَقَالَ لَهُ: هَذَا عَمَلُكَ، أَنْتَ أَشَرْتَ بِتَوْلِيَةِ هَذَا الْغُلَامِ الْغِرِّ، قَتَلَ فُلَانًا بِغَيْرِ أَمْرِي، وَقَدْ كَتَبْتُ بِعَزْلِهِ، وَتَهَدَّدَهُ. فَقَالَ لَهُ عِيسَى: إِنَّ مُحَمَّدًا إِنَّمَا قَتَلَهُ عَلَى الزَّنْدَقَةِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ أَصَابَ فَهُوَ لَكَ، وَإِنْ أَخْطَأَ فَعَلَيْهِ، وَلَئِنْ عَزَلْتَهُ عَلَى أَثَرِ ذَلِكَ لَيَذْهَبَنَّ بِالثَّنَاءِ وَالذِّكْرِ، وَلَتَرْجِعَنَّ بِالْمَقَالَةِ مِنَ الْعَامَّةِ عَلَيْكَ، فَمَزَّقَ الْكِتَابَ.
Translation
✧ Account of the dismissal of Muḥammad b. Sulaymān from Kūfah and the appointment of ʿAmr b. Zuhayr In this year [al-Manṣūr] dismissed Muḥammad b. Sulaymān b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās from Kūfah and appointed over it ʿAmr b. Zuhayr al-Ḍabbī, the brother of al-Musayyab b. Zuhayr. It is said: he was only dismissed in the year fifty-three, and his dismissal was due to matters that reached him about him, among them that he had killed ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Abī al-ʿAwjāʾ, whom he had imprisoned for heresy. He was the maternal uncle of Maʿn b. Zāʾidah al-Shaybānī, and his intercessors were many with al-Manṣūr, but none spoke about him except as suspect among them. So he wrote to Muḥammad b. Sulaymān to refrain from him until his opinion came to him. Ibn Abī al-ʿAwjāʾ had sent to Muḥammad b. Sulaymān asking him to grant him a delay of three days and he would give him one hundred thousand. When that was mentioned to Muḥammad, he ordered him to be killed. When he became certain that he was to be killed, he said: By God, I have fabricated four thousand ḥadīths in which I made the lawful unlawful and the unlawful lawful. By God, I have made you break your fast on the day of your fasting and made you fast on the day of your breaking the fast. Then he was killed. Al-Manṣūr's letter reached Muḥammad ordering him to refrain from him, and it arrived after he had killed him. When his killing reached him, he became angry and said: By God, I considered retaliation for him! Then he summoned his paternal uncle ʿĪsā b. ʿAlī and said to him: This is your doing; you advised the appointment of this inexperienced youth. He killed so-and-so without my order, and I have written his dismissal. And he threatened him. ʿĪsā said to him: Muḥammad only killed him for heresy. If he was right, it is for you; if he was wrong, it is upon him. If you dismiss him immediately after that, the praise and remembrance will go with him, and the talk of the common people will turn against you. So he tore up the letter.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.