Tarikh (al-Tabari) 2931

Then the year 158 AH began

ذِكْرُ طَرَفٍ مِنْ أَخْبَارِ الْمَهْدِيِّ وَسِيرَتِهِ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ الظَّاهِرِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ الْجَوْهَرِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الدِّمَشْقِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الزُّبَيْرُ بْنُ بَكَّارٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْخَيَّاطُ، قَالَ: دَخَلَ ابْنُ الْخَيَّاطِ الْمَكِّيُّ عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ وَقَدْ مَدَحَهُ، فَأَمَرَ لَهُ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِرْهَمٍ، فَلَمَّا قَبَضَهَا فَرَّقَهَا عَلَى النَّاسِ وَقَالَ: أَخَذْتُ بِكَفِّي كَفَّهُ أَبْتَغِي الْغِنَى وَلَمْ أَدْرِ أَنَّ الْجُودَ مِنْ كَفِّهِ يُعْدِي فَلَا أَنَا مِنْهُ مَا أَفَادَ ذَوُو الْغِنَى أَفَدْتُ وَأَعْدَانِي فَبَدَّدْتُ مَا عِنْدِي فَنُمِيَ إِلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ فَأَعْطَاهُ بِكُلِّ دِرْهَمٍ دِينَارًا. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا سَلَامَةُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ الْمُقْرِئُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عُمَرَ الْخَيَّاطُ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ مَيْمُونٍ الْخُزَاعِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو حُزْمَةَ الْبَاذَغِيسِيُّ، قَالَ: قَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: مَا تَوَسَّلَ أَحَدٌ بِوَسِيلَةٍ وَلَا تَذَرَّعَ بِذَرِيعَةٍ هِيَ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيَّ وَأَحَبُّ مِنْ أَنْ يُذَكِّرَنِي يَدًا سَلَفَتْ مِنِّي [إِلَيْهِ] أَتْبَعَهَا أُخْتَهَا وَأَحْسَنَ رَبُّهَا، لِأَنَّ مَنْعَ الْأَوَاخِرِ يَقْطَعُ [شُكْرَ] الْأَوَائِلِ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَلَفِ بْنِ الْمَرْزُبَانِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْأَدَبِ عَنْ حَسَنٍ الْوَصِيفِ، قَالَ قَعَدَ الْمَهْدِيُّ قُعُودًا عَامًّا لِلنَّاسِ، فَدَخَلَ رَجُلٌ فِي يَدِهِ نَعْلٌ فِي مِنْدِيلٍ، فَقَالَ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، هَذِهِ نَعْلُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَقَدْ أَهْدَيْتُهَا لَكَ، فَقَالَ: هَاتِهَا، فَدَفَعَهَا إِلَيْهِ، فَقَلَبَ بَاطِنَهَا وَوَضَعَهَا عَلَى عَيْنَيْهِ وَأَمَرَ لِلرَّجُلِ بِعَشَرَةِ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ، فَلَمَّا أَخَذَهَا وَانْصَرَفَ قَالَ لِجُلَسَائِهِ: أَتَرَوْنَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَعْلَمْ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَمْ يَرَهَا فَضْلًا عَنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَبِسَهَا، وَلَوْ كَذَّبْنَاهُ لَقَالَ لِلنَّاسِ: أَتَيْتُ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِنَعْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَرَدَّهَا عَلَيَّ وَكَانَ مَنْ يُصَدِّقُهُ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّنْ يَدْفَعُ خَبَرَهُ، إِذْ كَانَ مِنْ شَأْنِ الْعَامَّةِ الْمَيْلُ إِلَى أَشْكَالِهَا، وَالنُّصْرَةُ لِلضَّعِيفِ عَلَى الْقَوِيِّ، فَاشْتَرَيْنَا لِسَانَهُ وَقَبِلْنَا هَدِيَّتَهُ وَصَدَّقْنَا قَوْلَهُ، وَرَأَيْنَا الَّذِي فَعَلْنَاهُ أَنْجَحَ وَأَرْجَحَ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْخَلَّالُ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِمْرَانَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الْأَنْبَارِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْعَنْبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْعَبَّاسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَتْنِي جَدَّتِي فَائِقَةُ بِنْتُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَتْ: بَيْنَا أَنَا يَوْمًا عِنْدَ الْمَهْدِيِّ وَكَانَ قَدْ خَرَجَ مُتَنَزِّهًا إِلَى الْأَنْبَارِ إِذْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ الرَّبِيعُ وَمَعَهُ قِطْعَةٌ مِنْ جِرَابٍ فِيهِ كِتَابٌ بِرَمَادٍ وَخَاتَمٍ مِنْ طِينٍ قَدْ عُجِنَ بِالرَّمَادِ، وَهُوَ مَطْبُوعٌ بِخَاتَمِ الْخِلَافَةِ، فَقَالَ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، مَا رَأَيْتُ أَعْجَبَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الرُّقْعَةِ، جَاءَنِي بِهَا رَجُلٌ أَعْرَابِيٌّ وَهُوَ يُنَادِي: هَذَا كِتَابُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّ، دُلُّونِي عَلَى هَذَا الرَّجُلِ الَّذِي يُسَمَّى الرَّبِيعَ فَقَدْ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَدْفَعَهَا إِلَيْهِ - أَعْنِي هَذِهِ الرُّقْعَةَ. فَأَخَذَهَا الْمَهْدِيُّ وَضَحِكَ وَقَالَ: صَدَقَ هَذَا خَطِّي وَهَذَا خَاتَمِي، أَفَلَا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِالْقِصَّةِ؟ قُلْنَا: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، رَأْيُكَ أَعْلَى [عَيْنًا] فِي ذَلِكَ. قَالَ: خَرَجْتُ أَمْسِ إِلَى الصَّيْدِ فِي غِبِّ سَمَاءٍ، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحْتُ هَاجَ عَلَيْنَا ضَبَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَفَقَدْتُ أَصْحَابِي حَتَّى مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا، وَأَصَابَنِي مِنَ الْبَرْدِ وَالْجُوعِ وَالْعَطَشِ مَا اللَّهُ بِهِ أَعْلَمُ، وَتَحَيَّرْتُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ فَذَكَرْتُ دُعَاءً سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ أَبِي، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: مَنْ قَالَ إِذَا أَصْبَحَ وَإِذَا أَمْسَى: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ [اعْتَصَمْتُ بِاللَّهِ وَتَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهُ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ] الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ وُفِّيَ وَكُفِيَ وَشُفِيَ مِنَ الْحَرْقِ وَالْغَرَقِ وَالْهَدْمِ وَمِيتَةِ السُّوءِ". فَلَمَّا قُلْتُهَا دُفِعَ لِي ضَوْءُ نَارٍ فَقَصَدْتُهَا، فَإِذَا بِهَذَا الْأَعْرَابِيِّ فِي خَيْمَةٍ لَهُ، وَإِذَا هُوَ يُوقِدُ نَارًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَقُلْتُ: أَيُّهَا الْأَعْرَابِيُّ هَلْ مِنْ ضِيَافَةٍ؟ قَالَ: انْزِلْ، فَنَزَلْتُ، فَقَالَ لِزَوْجَتِهِ: هَاتِي ذَاكَ الشَّعِيرَ، فَأَتَتْهُ بِهِ، فَقَالَ: اطْحَنِيهِ، فَابْتَدَأْتُ بِطَحْنِهِ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: اسْقِنِي مَاءً، فَجَاءَ بِسِقَاءٍ فِيهِ مَذْقَةٌ مِنْ لَبَنٍ أَكْثَرُهُ مَاءٌ، فَشَرِبْتُ مِنْهَا شَرْبَةً مَا شَرِبْتُ قَطُّ شَيْئًا إِلَّا وَهُوَ أَطْيَبُ مِنْهُ، قَالَ: فَأَعْطَانِي حِلْسًا لَهُ فَوَضَعْتُ رَأْسِي عَلَيْهِ، فَنِمْتُ نَوْمَةً مَا نِمْتُ [نَوْمَةً] أَطْيَبَ مِنْهَا وَأَلَذَّ، ثُمَّ انْتَبَهْتُ فَإِذَا هُوَ قَدْ وَثَبَ إِلَى شُوَيْهَةٍ فَذَبَحَهَا، وَإِذَا امْرَأَتُهُ تَقُولُ لَهُ: وَيْحَكَ قَتَلْتَ نَفْسَكَ وَصِبْيَتَكَ إِنَّمَا كَانَ مَعَاشُكُمْ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّاةِ فَذَبَحْتَهَا فَبِأَيِ شَيْءٍ نَعِيشُ؟ قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ: لَا عَلَيْكِ هَاتِ الشَّاةَ، فَشَقَّقْتُ جَوْفَهَا وَاسْتَخْرَجْتُ كَبِدَهَا بِسِكِّينٍ فِي خُفِّي فَشَرَّحْتُهَا ثُمَّ طَرَحْتُهَا عَلَى النَّارِ فَأَكَلْتُهَا، ثُمَّ قُلْتُ: هَلْ عِنْدَكَ شَيْءٌ أَكْتُبُ لَكَ فِيهِ؟ فَجَاءَنِي بِهَذِهِ الْقِطْعَةِ وَأَخَذْتُ عُودًا مِنَ الرَّمَادِ الَّذِي كَانَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَكَتَبْتُ لَهُ هَذَا الْكِتَابَ وَخَتَمْتُهُ بِهَذَا الْخَاتَمِ وَأَمَرْتُهُ أَنْ يَجِيءَ وَيَسْأَلَ عَنِ الرَّبِيعِ فَيَدْفَعَهَا إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا فِي الرُّقْعَةِ خَمْسُمِائَةِ أَلْفِ دِرْهَمٍ، فَقَالَ: لَا وَاللَّهِ مَا أَرَدْتُ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِرْهَمٍ، وَلَكِنْ جَرَتْ بِخَمْسِمِائَةِ أَلْفِ دِرْهَمٍ، لَا أَنْقُصُ وَاللَّهِ مِنْهَا دِرْهَمًا وَاحِدًا وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَالِ غَيْرُهَا احْمِلُوهَا مَعَهُ. فَمَا كَانَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا حَتَّى تَكَثَّرَتْ إِبِلُهُ وَشَاؤُهُ، وَصَارَ مَنْزِلًا مِنَ الْمَنَازِلِ تَنْزِلُهُ النَّاسُ مَنْ أَرَادَ الْحَجَّ مِنَ الْأَنْبَارِ إِلَى مَكَّةَ، وَسُمِّيَ مُضِيفَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّ . أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو الْقَاسِمِ الْأَزْهَرِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَرَفَةَ، قَالَ: وَخَرَجَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يَوْمًا إِلَى الصَّيْدِ فَانْقَطَعَ عَنْ خَاصَّتِهِ، فَدَفَعَ إِلَى أَعْرَابِيٍّ وَهُوَ يُرِيدُ الْبَوْلَ، فَقَالَ: يَا أَعْرَابِيُّ، احْفَظْ عَلَيَّ فَرَسِي حَتَّى أَبُولَ، فَسَعَى نَحْوَهُ وَأَخَذَ بِرِكَابِهِ، فَنَزَلَ الْمَهْدِيُّ وَدَفَعَ الْفَرَسَ إِلَيْهِ فَأَقْبَلَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ عَلَى السَّرْجِ يَقْتَلِعُ حِلْيَتَهُ، فَفَطِنَ الْمَهْدِيُّ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ حَاجَتَهُ فَقَدَّمَ إِلَيْهِ فَرَسَهُ، وَجَاءَتِ الْخَيْلُ نَحْوَهُ فَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ وَنَذَرَ بِهَا الْأَعْرَابِيُّ فَوَلَّى هَارِبًا فَأَمَرَ بَرَدِّهِ وَخَافَ أَنْ يَكُونَ فَطِنَ بِهِ، فَقَالَ: خُذُوا مَا أَخَذْنَا مِنْكُمْ وَدَعُونَا نَذْهَبْ إِلَى حَرْقِ اللَّهِ وَنَارِهِ، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: لَا بَأْسَ عَلَيْكَ، فَقَالَ: مَا تَشَاءُ جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاءَ فَرَسِكَ، فَضَحِكَ مَنْ حَضَرَهُ وَقَالُوا: وَيْلَكَ هَلْ رَأَيْتَ إِنْسَانًا قَدْ قَالَ هَذَا؟ قَالَ: فَمَا أَقُولُ؟ قَالُوا: قُلْ جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، قَالَ: أَوَهَذَا أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ قَالُوا: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَئِنْ أَرْضَاهُ هَذَا مِنِّي فَمَا يُرْضِينِي ذَاكَ فِيهِ، وَلَكِنْ جَعَلَ [اللَّهُ] جِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ فِدَاءَهُ، وَجَعَلَنِي فِدَاءَهُمَا. فَضَحِكَ الْمَهْدِيُّ وَاسْتَطَابَهُ وَأَمَرَ لَهُ بِعَشَرَةِ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ. قَالَ ابْنُ عَرَفَةَ: وَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ الْمَهْدِيَّ لَمَّا فَرَغَ مِنْ بِنَاءِ عِيسَى بَاذَ رَكِبَ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ يَسِيرَةٍ لِيَنْظُرَ فَدَخَلَهُ مُفَاجَأَةٌ وَأَخْرَجَ مَنْ كَانَ هُنَاكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ، وَبَقِيَ رَجُلَانِ خَفِيَا عَنْ أَبْصَارِ الْأَعْوَانِ، فَرَأَى الْمَهْدِيُّ أَحَدَهُمَا وَهُوَ دُهِشَ مَا يَعْقِلُ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ: أَنَا أَنَا أَنَا، قَالَ: وَيْحَكَ مَنْ أَنْتَ؟ قَالَ: لَا أَدْرِي، قَالَ: أَلَكَ حَاجَةٌ؟ قَالَ: لَا لَا، قَالَ: أَخْرِجُوهُ أَخْرَجَ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ، فَدُفِعَ فِي قَفَاهُ. فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ قَالَ لِغُلَامٍ لَهُ: اتَّبِعْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُ فَسَلْ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ [وَمِهْنَتِهِ] فَإِنِّي إِخَالُهُ حَائِكًا، فَخَرَجَ الْغُلَامُ يَقْفُوهُ. ثُمَّ رَأَى الْآخَرَ فَاسْتَنْطَقَهُ فَأَجَابَهُ بِقَلْبٍ جَرِيءٍ وَلِسَانٍ بَسِيطٍ، قَالَ: فَمَا جَاءَ بِكَ إِلَى هَا هُنَا؟ قَالَ: جِئْتُ لِأَنْظُرَ إِلَى هَذَا الْبِنَاءِ الْحَسَنِ فَأَتَمَتَّعَ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَيْهِ وَأُكْثِرَ الدُّعَاءَ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِطُولِ الْمُدَّةِ وَتَمَامِ النِّعْمَةِ وَنَمَاءِ الْعِزِّ وَالسَّلَامَةِ، قَالَ: أَفَلَكَ حَاجَةٌ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، خَطَبْتُ ابْنَةَ عَمِّي فَرَدَّنِي [أَبُوهَا] وَقَالَ: لَا مَالَ لَكَ وَالنَّاسُ يَرْغَبُونَ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ، وَأَنَا بِهَا مَشْغُوفٌ وَلَهَا وَامِقٌ. قَالَ: قَدْ أَمَرْتُ لَكَ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِرْهَمٍ، قَالَ: جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَدْ وَصَلْتَ فَأَجْزَلْتَ الصِّلَةَ، وَمَنَنْتَ فَأَعْظَمْتَ الْمِنَّةَ فَجَعَلَ اللَّهُ بَاقِيَ عُمْرِكَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ مَاضِيهِ، وَآخِرَ أَيَّامِكَ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَوَّلِهَا، وَأَمْتَعَكَ بِمَا أَنْعَمَ بِهِ عَلَيْكَ وَأَمْتَعَ رَعِيَّتَكَ بِكَ: فَأَمَرَ أَنْ تُعَجَّلَ صِلَتُهُ، وَوَجَّهَ بَعْضَ خَاصَّتِهِ وَقَالَ: سَلْ عَنْ مِهْنَتِهِ فَإِنِّي إِخَالُهُ كَاتِبًا، فَرَجَعَ الرَّسُولَانِ مَعًا، فَقَالَ الْأَوَّلُ: وَجَدْتُ الْأَوَّلَ حَائِكًا، وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ: وَجَدْتُ الرَّجُلَ كَاتِبًا، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: لَمْ تَخْفَ عَلَيَّ مُخَاطَبَةُ الْكَاتِبِ وَالْحَائِكِ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ [بْنُ عَلِيٍّ] الْخَطِيبُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مَخْلَدٍ الْوَرَّاقُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِمْرَانَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الصُّولِيُّ، قَالَ: قَالَ عَمْرُو بْنُ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الْأَعْجَمِيُّ: اعْتَرَضَتِ امْرَأَةٌ لِلْمَهْدِيِّ فَقَالَتْ: يَا عَصَبَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ انْظُرْ فِي حَاجَتِي، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: مَا سَمِعْتُهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ قَبْلَهَا، اقْضُوا حَاجَتَهَا وَأَعْطُوهَا عَشَرَةَ آلَافِ [دِرْهَمٍ]. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْقَاضِي أَبُو الْعَلَاءِ الْوَاسِطِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سَهْلُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ الدِّيبَاجِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو خَلِيفَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا رَفِيعُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، قَالَ: كَانَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يُصَلِّي بِنَا الصَّلَوَاتِ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْجَامِعِ بِالْبَصْرَةِ لَمَّا قَدِمَهَا، فَأُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ يَوْمًا، فَقَالَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، لَسْتُ عَلَى طُهْرٍ وَقَدْ رَغِبْتُ إِلَى اللَّهِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ خَلْفَكَ فَأْمُرْ هَؤُلَاءِ يَنْتَظِرُونِي، فَقَالَ: انْتَظِرُوهُ رَحِمَكُمُ اللَّهُ، وَدَخَلَ الْمِحْرَابَ وَوَقَفَ إِلَى أَنْ قِيلَ لَهُ: قَدْ جَاءَ الرَّجُلُ، فَكَبَّرَ فَتَعَجَّبَ النَّاسُ مِنْ سَمَاحَةِ أَخْلَاقِهِ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا الْقَاضِي أَبُو الْحَسَنِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْهَاشِمِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْبَخْتَرِيِّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ الْبَرَاءِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ فَرْقَدٍ مَوْلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ، قَالَ: هَاجَتْ رِيحٌ زَمَنَ الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَدَخَلَ الْمَهْدِيُّ بَيْتًا فِي جَوْفِ بَيْتٍ وَأَلْزَقَ خَدَّهُ بِالتُّرَابِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّهُ بَرِيءٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْجِنَايَةِ، كُلُّ هَذَا الْخَلْقِ غَيْرِي فَإِنْ كُنْتُ الْمَطْلُوبَ مِنْ بَيْنِ خَلْقِكَ فَهَا أَنَا ذَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ، اللَّهُمَّ لَا تُشْمِتْ بِي أَهْلَ الْأَدْيَانِ، فَلَمْ يَزَلْ مَكَانَهُ حَتَّى انْجَلَتِ الرِّيحُ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا الْقَاضِي أَبُو الطَّيِّبِ الطَّبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا الْمُعَافَى بْنُ زَكَرِيَّا، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مَنْصُورٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو قِلَابَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي نَصْرُ بْنُ قُدَيْدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عَمْرٍو الشِّعَافِيُّ، قَالَ: صَلَّيْنَا مَعَ الْمَهْدِيِّ الْمَغْرِبَ وَمَعَنَا الْعَوْفِيُّ، وَكَانَ مِنْ مَظَالِمِ الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ جَاءَ الْعَوْفِيُّ حَتَّى قَعَدَ فِي قِبْلَتِهِ، فَقَامَ يَتَنَفَّلُ، فَجَذَبَ ثَوْبَهُ فَقَالَ: مَا شَأْنُكَ؟ قَالَ: شَيْءٌ أَوْلَى بِكَ مِنَ النَّافِلَةِ، قَالَ: وَمَا ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: سَلَامُ مَوْلَاكَ، قَالَ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ: أَوْطَأَ قَوْمًا الْخَيْلَ وَغَصَبَهُمْ عَلَى ضَيْعَتِهِمْ وَقَدْ صَحَّ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي تَأْمُرُ بِرَدِّهَا وَتَبْعَثُ مَنْ يُخْرِجُهُمْ، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: حَتَّى نُصْبِحَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ، فَقَالَ الْعَوْفِيُّ: لَا، إِلَّا السَّاعَةَ، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: يَا فُلَانُ الْقَائِدَ، اذْهَبِ السَّاعَةَ إِلَى مَوْضِعِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَأَخْرِجْ مَنْ فِيهَا وَسَلِّمِ الضَّيْعَةَ إِلَى فُلَانٍ. قَالَ: فَمَا أَصْبَحُوا حَتَّى رُدَّتِ الضَّيْعَةُ عَلَى صَاحِبِهَا. أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ نَاصِرٍ الْحَافِظُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ الْفَقِيهُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ الْجَازِرِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا الْمُعَافَى بْنُ زَكَرِيَّا، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الْأَنْبَارِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ أَبِي الْعَنْبَسِ، عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ يَحْيَى بْنِ مُعَاذٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي سَوَّارٌ، قَالَ: انْصَرَفْتُ يَوْمًا مِنْ دَارِ الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَلَمَّا دَخَلْتُ مَنْزِلِي دَعَوْتُ بِالْغَدَاءِ، فَجَاشَتْ نَفْسِي فَأَمَرْتُ بِهِ فَرُدَّ، ثُمَّ دَعَوْتُ جَارِيَةً لِي أُلَاعِبُهَا فَلَمْ تَطِبْ نَفْسِي بِذَلِكَ، فَدَخَلْتُ الْقَائِلَةَ فَلَمْ يَأْخُذْنِي النَّوْمُ، فَنَهَضْتُ وَأَمَرْتُ بِبَغْلَةٍ لِي فَأُسْرِجَتْ، فَرَكِبْتُهَا، فَلَمَّا خَرَجْتُ اسْتَقْبَلَنِي وَكِيلٌ لِي وَمَعَهُ مَالٌ، فَقُلْتُ: مَا هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ: أَلْفَا دِرْهَمٍ جَبَيْتُهَا مِنْ مُسْتَغَلِّكَ الْجَدِيدِ، قُلْتُ أَمْسِكْهَا مَعَكَ وَاتْبَعْنِي، قَالَ: وَخَلَّيْتُ رَأْسَ الْبَغْلَةِ حَتَّى عَبَرْتُ الْجِسْرَ، ثُمَّ مَضَيْتُ فِي شَارِعِ دَارِ الرَّقِيقِ حَتَّى انْتَهَيْتُ إِلَى الصَّحْرَاءِ، ثُمَّ رَجَعْتُ إِلَى بَابِ الْأَنْبَارِ، وَطَوَّفْتُ فَلَمَّا صِرْتُ فِي شَارِعِ دَارِ الْأَنْبَارِ انْتَهَيْتُ إِلَى بَابِ دَارٍ نَظِيفٍ وَعَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةٌ وَعَلَى الْبَابِ خَادِمٌ، فَوَقَفْتُ وَقَدْ عَطِشْتُ، فَقُلْتُ لِلْخَادِمِ: عِنْدَكَ مَاءٌ تَسْقِينِي؟ فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ. وَقَامَ فَأَخْرَجَ قُلَّةً نَظِيفَةً طَيِّبَةَ الرَّائِحَةِ عَلَيْهَا مِنْدِيلٌ، فَنَاوَلَنِي فَشَرِبْتُ، وَحَضَرَ وَقْتُ الْعَصْرِ، فَدَخَلْتُ مَسْجِدًا عَلَى الْبَابِ، فَصَلَّيْتُ فَلَمَّا قَضَيْتُ صَلَاتِي إِذَا أَنَا بِأَعْمَى يَتَلَمَّسُ، فَقُلْتُ: مَا تُرِيدُ يَا هَذَا؟ قَالَ: إِيَّاكَ أُرِيدُ، قُلْتُ: وَمَا حَاجَتُكَ؟ فَجَاءَ حَتَّى قَعَدَ فَقَالَ: شَمَمْتُ مِنْكَ رِيحَ الطِّيبِ فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّكَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّعِيمِ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُلْقِيَ عَلَيْكَ شَيْئًا، فَقُلْتُ: قُلْ، قَالَ: أَتَرَى هَذَا الْقَصْرَ؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: هَذَا قَصْرٌ كَانَ لِأَبِي فَبَاعَهُ وَخَرَجَ إِلَى خُرَاسَانَ وَخَرَجْتُ مَعَهُ فَزَالَتْ عَنَّا النِّعَمُ الَّتِي كُنَّا فِيهَا، فَقَدِمْتُ فَأَتَيْتُ صَاحِبَ الدَّارِ لِأَسْأَلَهُ شَيْئًا يَصِلُنِي بِهِ وَأَصِيرُ إِلَى سَوَّارٍ فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ صَدِيقًا لِأَبِي، قُلْتُ: وَمَنْ أَبُوكَ؟ قَالَ: فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ، فَإِذَا هُوَ أَصْدَقُ النَّاسِ إِلَيَّ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: يَا هَذَا، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَتَاكَ بِسَوَّارٍ، مَنَعَهُ الطَّعَامَ وَالنَّوْمَ حَتَّى جَاءَ بِهِ فَأَقْعَدَهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ، ثُمَّ دَعَوْتُ الْوَكِيلَ فَأَخَذْتُ الدَّرَاهِمَ مِنْهُ فَدَفَعْتُهَا إِلَيْهِ وَقُلْتُ لَهُ: إِذَا كَانَ الْغَدُ فَصِرْ إِلَى الْمَنْزِلِ. ثُمَّ مَضَيْتُ فَقُلْتُ: مَا أَحْدَثَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِشَيْءٍ أَطْرَفَ مِنْ هَذَا. فَأَتَيْتُهُ فَاسْتَأْذَنْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَأَذِنَ لِي، فَدَخَلْتُ وَحَدَّثْتُهُ بِالْحَدِيثِ، فَأَمَرَ لِي بِأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ فَنَهَضْتُ، فَقَالَ: اجْلِسْ، عَلَيْكَ دَيْنٌ؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: كَمْ؟ قُلْتُ: خَمْسُونَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ، فَأَمْسَكَ وَجَعَلَ يُحَدِّثُنِي سَاعَةً، ثُمَّ قَالَ: امْضِ إِلَى مَنْزِلِكَ، فَصِرْتُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِي، فَإِذَا خَادِمٌ مَعَهُ خَمْسُونَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ قَالَ: يَقُولُ لَكَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْضِ بِهَا دَيْنَكَ، فَقَبَضْتُهَا، فَلَمَّا كَانَ مِنَ الْغَدِ فَأَبْطَأَ عَلَيَّ الْمَكْفُوفُ، وَأَتَانِي رَسُولُ الْمَهْدِيِّ يَدْعُونِي، فَجِئْتُهُ فَقَالَ: فَكَّرْتُ فِي أَمْرِكَ فَقُلْتُ: يَقْضِي دَيْنَهُ وَيَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْحِيلَةِ وَالْقَرْضِ وَقَدْ أَمَرْتُ لَكَ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ، فَقَبَضْتُهَا وَانْصَرَفْتُ. فَأَتَانِي الْمَكْفُوفُ فَدَفَعْتُ إِلَيْهِ الْأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ وَقُلْتُ: قَدْ رَزَقَ اللَّهُ كُلًّا بِكَرَمِهِ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا، وَأَعْطَيْتُهُ مِنْ مَالِي أَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْقَزَّازُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ [بْنِ ثَابِتٍ]، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ الْخَالِعُ فِيمَا أَذِنَ لَهُ أَنْ نَرْوِيَهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ السَّرِيِّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَلَفٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، قَالَ: أُنْبِئْتُ أَنَّ يَعْقُوبَ بْنَ الْمَهْدِيِّ سَأَلَ الْفَضْلَ بْنَ الرَّبِيعِ عَنْ أَرْحَاءِ الْبِطْرِيقِ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ هَذَا الْبِطْرِيقُ الَّذِي نُسِبَتْ إِلَيْهِ هَذِهِ الْأَرْحَاءُ؟ فَقَالَ الْفَضْلُ: إِنَّ أَبَاكَ ؓ لَمَّا أَفْضَتْ إِلَيْهِ الْخِلَافَةُ وَقَدِمَ عَلَيْهِ وَافِدٌ مِنَ الرُّومِ فَاسْتَأْذَنَهُ ثُمَّ كَلَّمَهُ بِتُرْجُمَانٍ يُعَبِّرُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ الرُّومِيُّ: إِنِّي لَمْ أَقْدَمْ عَلَى أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِمَالٍ وَلَا عَرَضٍ، وَإِنَّمَا قَدِمْتُ شَوْقًا إِلَيْهِ وَإِلَى النَّظَرِ إِلَى وَجْهِهِ لِأَنَّا نَجِدُ فِي كُتُبِنَا أَنَّ الثَّالِثَ مِنْ أَهْلِ نَبِيِّ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ يَمْلَأُ الْأَرْضَ عَدْلًا كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْرًا، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: قَدْ سَرَّنِي مَا قُلْتَ وَلَكَ عِنْدَنَا كُلُّ مَا تُحِبُّ، ثُمَّ أَمَرَ الرَّبِيعَ بِإِنْزَالِهِ وَإِكْرَامِهِ، فَأَقَامَ مُدَّةً ثُمَّ خَرَجَ يَتَنَزَّهُ، فَمَرَّ بِمَوْضِعِ الْأَرْحَاءِ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ لِلرَّبِيعِ: أَقْرِضْنِي خَمْسَمِائَةِ أَلْفِ دِرْهَمٍ أَبْنِي بِهَا مُسْتَغَلًّا يُؤَدَّى إِلَيْهِ فِي السَّنَةِ خَمْسُمِائَةِ أَلْفِ [دِرْهَمٍ]، قَالَ: أَفْعَلُ، ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ الْمَهْدِيَّ بِمَا ذَكَرَ، فَقَالَ: أَعْطِهِ خَمْسَمِائَةِ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ وَخَمْسَمِائَةِ أَلْفِ دِرْهَمٍ وَمَا أَغَلَّتْ فَادْفَعْهُ إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا خَرَجَ إِلَى بِلَادِهِ فَابْعَثْ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ، قَالَ: فَفَعَلَ، فَبَنَى الْأَرْحَاءَ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ إِلَى بِلَادِهِ، فَكَانُوا يَبْعَثُونَ بِغَلَّتِهَا إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى مَاتَ الرُّومِيُّ، فَأَمَرَ الْمَهْدِيُّ أَنْ يُضَمَّ إِلَى مُسْتَغَلِّهِ. قَالَ: وَاسْمُ الْبِطْرِيقِ طَارَاثُ بْنُ اللَّيْثِ بْنِ الْعَيْزَارِ بْنِ طَرِيفٍ، وَكَانَ أَبُوهُ مَلِكًا مِنْ مُلُوكِ الرُّومِ أَيَّامَ مُعَاوِيَةَ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي الْأَزْهَرِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ الطُّوسِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الزُّبَيْرُ بْنُ بَكَّارٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي خَالِدُ بْنُ وَضَّاحٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الْأَعْلَى بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ صَفْوَانَ الْجُمَحِيُّ، قَالَ: حَمَلْتُ دَيْنًا بِعَسْكَرِ الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَرَكِبَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يَوْمًا بَيْنَ أَبِي عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ وَعُمَرَ بْنِ بَزِيعٍ، وَأَنَا وَرَاءَهُ فِي مَوْكِبِهِ عَلَى بِرْذَوْنٍ قَطُوفٍ. فَقَالَ: مَا أَنْسَبُ بَيْتٍ قَالَتْهُ الْعَرَبُ؟ قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ: قَوْلُ امْرِئِ الْقَيْسِ إِذْ يَقُولُ: وَمَا ذَرَفَتْ عَيْنَاكِ إِلَّا لِتَضْرِبِي بِسَهْمَيْكِ فِي أَعْشَارِ قَلْبٍ مُقَتَّلِ قَالَ: هَذَا أَعْرَابِيٌّ قُحٌّ، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ بَزِيعٍ قَوْلُ كُثَيِّرِ بْنِ أَبِي جُمُعَةَ: أُرِيدُ لِأَنْسَى ذِكْرَهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا تَمَثَّلُ لِي لَيْلَى بِكُلِّ سَبِيلِ قَالَ: وَمَا هَذَا بِشَيْءٍ، وَمَا [لَهُ] يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَنْسَى ذِكْرَهَا حَتَّى تَمَثَّلَ لَهُ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، عِنْدِي حَاجَتُكَ - جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ - قَالَ: الْحَقْ، قُلْتُ: لَا لَحَاقَ لِي، لَيْسَ ذَاكَ فِي دَابَّتِي، قَالَ: احْمِلُوهُ عَلَى دَابَّةٍ، فَقُلْتُ: هَذَا أَوَّلُ الْفَتْحِ، فَحُمِلْتُ عَلَيْهَا فَلَحِقْتُهُ، فَقَالَ: مَا عِنْدَكَ؟ قُلْتُ: قَوْلُ الْأَحْوَصِ: إِذَا قُلْتُ إِنِّي مُشْتَفٍ بِلِقَائِهَا فَحَمُّ التَّلَاقِي بَيْنَنَا زَادَنَا سَقَمَا قَالَ: أَحْسَنَ وَاللَّهِ، اقْضُوا عَنْهُ دَيْنَهُ. فَقَضَى عَنِّي دَيْنِي. وَكَانَ الْمَهْدِيُّ إِذَا جَلَسَ لِلْمَظَالِمِ قَالَ: أَدْخِلُوا عَلَيَّ الْقُضَاةَ، فَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ رَدِّي لِلْمَظَالِمِ إِلَّا لِلْحَيَاءِ مِنْهُمْ. وَأُتِيَ الْمَهْدِيُّ بِرَجُلٍ قَدْ تَنَبَّأَ ، [فَلَمَّا رَآهُ] قَالَ: أَنْتَ نَبِيٌّ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ قَالَ: وَإِلَى مَنْ بُعِثْتَ؟ قَالَ: أَتَرَكْتُمُونِي أَذْهَبُ إِلَى مَنْ بُعِثْتُ إِلَيْهِ، وُجِّهْتُ بِالْغَدَاةِ فَأَخَذْتُمُونِي بِالْعَشِيِّ وَوَضَعْتُمُونِي فِي الْحَبْسِ، فَضَحِكَ الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْهُ، وَخَلَّى سَبِيلَهُ. قَالَ الرَّبِيعُ: رَأَيْتُ الْمَهْدِيَّ فِي لَيْلَةٍ يُصَلِّي فَقَرَأَ: فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ. قَالَ: فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ الْتَفَتَ إِلَيَّ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِيعُ، قُلْتُ: لَبَّيْكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، قَالَ مُوسَى: وَقَامَ إِلَى صَلَاتِهِ، فَقُلْتُ: مَنْ مُوسَى؟ ابْنُهُ مُوسَى، أَمْ مُوسَى بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، وَكَانَ مَحْبُوسًا عِنْدِي، فَجَعَلْتُ أُفَكِّرُ فَقُلْتُ: مَا هُوَ إِلَّا مُوسَى بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، فَأَحْضَرْتُهُ، فَقَالَ: يَا مُوسَى، إِنِّي قَرَأْتُ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ فَخَشِيتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ قَدْ قَطَّعْتُ رَحِمَكَ، فَوَثِّقْ لِي أَنَّكَ لَا تَخْرُجُ، فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ، فَوَثَّقَ لَهُ فَخَلَّاهُ.

Translation

✧ Mention of a portion of the reports about al-Mahdī and his conduct ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. Thābit informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ẓāhirī informed us, saying: ʿAlī b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Mughīrah al-Jawharī informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. Saʿīd al-Dimashqī related to us, saying: al-Zubayr b. Bakkār related to us, saying: Yūnus b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Khayyāṭ informed me, saying: Ibn al-Khayyāṭ al-Makkī entered upon al-Mahdī after having praised him, and he ordered for him fifty thousand dirhams. When he received them, he distributed them among the people and said: I took with my palm his palm, seeking wealth, and I did not know that generosity from his palm is contagious. So neither I myself gained what the wealthy gain, nor did I gain, and he infected me, so I scattered what I had. This reached al-Mahdī, and he gave him for every dirham a dinar. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: Salāmah b. al-Ḥusayn al-Muqriʾ informed us, saying: ʿAlī b. ʿUmar al-Khayyāṭ informed us, saying: al-Ḥusayn b. Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Saʿīd related to us, saying: Hārūn b. Maymūn al-Khuzāʿī related to us, saying: Abū Ḥuzmah al-Bādhaghīsī related to us, saying: al-Mahdī said: No one has sought approach by any means or taken a path by any avenue that is closer to me and dearer to me than that he remind me of a favor that has gone before from me [to him], so that I follow it with its sister and its Lord makes it good. For withholding the latter favors cuts off [gratitude for] the former ones. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. Thābit informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Muḥammad informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. al-ʿAbbās informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. Khalaf b. al-Marzubān informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. al-Faḍl informed me, saying: One of the people of letters informed me, on the authority of Ḥasan al-Waṣīf, who said: Al-Mahdī held a general session for the people, and a man entered with a sandal in his hand wrapped in a cloth. He said: "O Commander of the Faithful, this is the sandal of the Messenger of God ﷺ, and I have given it to you as a gift." He said: "Give it to me." So he handed it to him. He turned its sole over and placed it on his eyes, and he ordered for the man ten thousand dirhams. When he received them and departed, he said to his companions: "Do you think I did not know that the Messenger of God ﷺ never saw it, let alone wore it? But had we called him a liar, he would have said to the people: 'I brought the Commander of the Faithful the sandal of the Messenger of God ﷺ, and he returned it to me.' Those who would believe him would be more numerous than those who reject his report, since it is the nature of the common people to incline to their own kind and to support the weak against the strong. So we bought his tongue, accepted his gift, confirmed his words, and considered what we did to be more successful and more weighty." ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Khallāl informed me, saying: Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿImrān related to us, saying: Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim al-Anbārī related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-ʿAnbarī related to us, saying: al-ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar b. Sulaymān b. ʿAlī related to us, saying: My grandmother Fāʾiqah bt. ʿAbd Allāh related to me, saying: While I was one day with al-Mahdī, and he had gone out for recreation to al-Anbār, al-Rabīʿ entered upon him with a piece of a leather bag containing a letter written in ashes and sealed with a seal of clay kneaded with ashes, and it was stamped with the seal of the caliphate. He said: "O Commander of the Faithful, I have never seen anything stranger than this note. A Bedouin man brought it to me, calling out: 'This is the letter of the Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdī. Direct me to this man called al-Rabīʿ, for he ordered me to hand it to him' — meaning this note." Al-Mahdī took it and laughed and said: "He spoke the truth; this is my handwriting and this is my seal. Shall I not tell you the story?" We said: "O Commander of the Faithful, your judgment is higher [in insight] in that matter." He said: "I went out yesterday to hunt in the aftermath of rain. When morning came, a thick fog arose upon us, and I lost my companions until I could not see any of them. I was afflicted with cold, hunger, and thirst such as God alone knows. I was bewildered at that, and I remembered a supplication I had heard from my father, from his father, from his grandfather, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: 'Whoever says in the morning and in the evening: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and there is no might and no strength except with God, [I have sought refuge with God and placed my trust in God; there is no might and no strength except with God,] the Exalted, the Magnificent, will be protected and spared and healed from burning, drowning, collapse, and an evil death.'" When I said it, the light of a fire was shown to me, and I headed toward it. There was this Bedouin in his tent, and he was kindling a fire before him. I said: "O Bedouin, is there any hospitality?" He said: "Dismount." So I dismounted. He said to his wife: "Bring that barley." She brought it to him. He said: "Grind it." Then I began to grind it. I said to him: "Give me water to drink." He came with a waterskin containing a mixture of milk, mostly water. I drank from it a draught such that I have never drunk anything but it was more pleasant than it. He said: "He gave me a saddle cloth of his, and I placed my head on it, and I slept a sleep such that I have never slept [a sleep] more pleasant and delightful than it. Then I awoke, and there he was, having sprung upon a small ewe and slaughtered it. His wife was saying to him: 'Woe to you! You have killed yourself and your children. Your livelihood was from this ewe, and you have slaughtered it; how shall we live?' He said: 'I said: Do not worry; bring the ewe.' I split open its belly and took out its liver with a knife in my boot, and I sliced it, then threw it on the fire and ate it. Then I said: 'Do you have anything on which I can write for you?' He brought me this piece, and I took a stick from the ashes that were before him. I wrote this letter for him and sealed it with this seal, and I ordered him to come and ask about al-Rabīʿ and hand it to him. And there in the note is five hundred thousand dirhams." He said: "No, by God, I only wanted fifty thousand dirhams, but it came to five hundred thousand dirhams. By God, I will not reduce it by a single dirham, even if there were nothing else in the treasury. Carry it with him." It was only a short while before his camels and sheep multiplied, and his place became one of the waystations where people stopped who intended the pilgrimage from al-Anbār to Makkah, and he was named the Host of the Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdī. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: Abū al-Qāsim al-Azharī informed me, saying: Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm informed us, saying: Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. ʿArafah related to us, saying: One day al-Mahdī went out to hunt and became separated from his close retinue. He came upon a Bedouin while he wanted to urinate. He said: "O Bedouin, hold my horse for me until I urinate." He hurried toward him and took hold of his stirrup. Al-Mahdī dismounted and handed the horse to him. The Bedouin turned to the saddle and began to pull off its ornaments. Al-Mahdī noticed, and after he had finished his need, he brought his horse forward. The horses came toward him and surrounded him, and the Bedouin became aware of them and fled. He ordered that he be brought back, and he feared that he had been found out. He said: "Take what we have taken from you and let us go to God's burning and His fire." Al-Mahdī said: "No harm shall befall you." He said: "What do you wish? May God make me a ransom for your horse." Those present laughed and said: "Woe to you! Have you ever seen anyone say this?" He said: "What should I say?" They said: "Say: May God make me a ransom for you, O Commander of the Faithful." He said: "Is this the Commander of the Faithful?" They said: "Yes." He said: "By God, if this from me pleases him, then that does not please me in it. But may [God] make Gabriel and Michael a ransom for him, and make me a ransom for them." Al-Mahdī laughed and found him pleasant, and ordered for him ten thousand dirhams. Ibn ʿArafah said: It reached me that when al-Mahdī finished building ʿĪsā Bādh, he rode with a small group to inspect it. He entered it suddenly and expelled the people who were there, except that two men remained hidden from the sight of the assistants. Al-Mahdī saw one of them, and he was stupefied, not knowing what to do. He said: "Who are you?" He said: "I, I, I." He said: "Woe to you, who are you?" He said: "I do not know." He said: "Do you have a need?" He said: "No, no." He said: "Take him out; may God take out his soul." He was pushed on the back of his neck. When he went out, he said to a servant of his: "Follow him without his knowing, and ask about his situation [and his craft], for I suspect he is a weaver." The servant went out following him. Then he saw the other man and asked him to speak, and he answered with a bold heart and a fluent tongue. He said: "What brought you here?" He said: "I came to look at this beautiful building and to enjoy looking at it and to pray much for the Commander of the Faithful for length of life, completeness of blessing, increase of might, and safety." He said: "Do you have a need?" He said: "Yes, I asked for the hand of my cousin, but [her father] rejected me and said: You have no wealth, and people desire wealth. I am infatuated with her and loving toward her." He said: "I have ordered for you fifty thousand dirhams." He said: "May God make me a ransom for you, O Commander of the Faithful. You have given generously and increased the gift, and you have shown favor and made the favor great. May God make the remainder of your life longer than its past, and the last of your days better than its first, and may He let you enjoy what He has bestowed upon you and let your subjects enjoy you through you." So he ordered that his gift be hastened, and he sent some of his close retinue and said: "Ask about his craft, for I suspect he is a scribe." The two messengers returned together. The first said: "I found the first man to be a weaver." The other said: "I found the man to be a scribe." Al-Mahdī said: "The address of the scribe and the weaver did not escape me." ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad informed us, saying: Aḥmad [b. ʿAlī] al-Khaṭīb informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Makhlad al-Warrāq informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿImrān informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-Ṣūlī related to us, saying: ʿAmr b. Abī ʿAmr al-Aʿjamī said: A woman intercepted al-Mahdī and said: "O kin of the Messenger of God ﷺ, look into my need." Al-Mahdī said: "I have never heard it from anyone before her. Fulfill her need and give her ten thousand [dirhams]." ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: al-Qāḍī Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Wāsiṭī related to us, saying: Sahl b. Aḥmad al-Dībājī related to us, saying: Abū Khalīfah related to us, saying: Rafīʿ b. Salamah related to us, on the authority of Abū ʿUbaydah, who said: Al-Mahdī used to lead us in the prescribed prayers in the congregational mosque of al-Baṣrah when he arrived there. One day the prayer was announced, and a Bedouin said: "O Commander of the Faithful, I am not in a state of purity, and I have desired from God to pray behind you, so order these people to wait for me." He said: "Wait for him, may God have mercy on you." He entered the prayer niche and stood until it was said to him: "The man has come." Then he pronounced the takbīr. The people marveled at the magnanimity of his character. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: al-Qāḍī Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ibrāhīm al-Hāshimī informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. ʿAmr b. al-Bakhtarī related to us, saying: Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. al-Barāʾ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh b. Farqad, client of al-Mahdī, related to me, saying: A wind blew in the time of al-Mahdī. Al-Mahdī entered a room within a room and pressed his cheek to the dust, then said: "O God, You are free from this crime. All this creation is other than me. If I am the one sought from among Your creation, here I am before You. O God, do not let the people of the religions gloat over me." He remained in his place until the wind cleared. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: al-Qāḍī Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Ṭabarī informed us, saying: al-Muʿāfā b. Zakariyyā informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. Manṣūr related to us, saying: Abū Qilābah related to me, saying: Naṣr b. Qudayd related to me, saying: Abū ʿAmr al-Shiʿāfī related to me, saying: We prayed the sunset prayer with al-Mahdī, and with us was al-ʿAwfī, who was one of those who handled grievances for al-Mahdī. When al-Mahdī finished the sunset prayer, al-ʿAwfī came and sat in his prayer direction. He stood to pray voluntary prayers, and he pulled his garment and said: "What is the matter with you?" He said: "Something more worthy of you than the voluntary prayer." He said: "And what is that?" He said: "The greeting of your master." He said, standing over his head: "He trampled a people with horses and seized their estate from them. This has been established before me. Order its return and send someone to remove them." Al-Mahdī said: "Until morning, God willing." Al-ʿAwfī said: "No, except this very hour." Al-Mahdī said: "O so-and-so the commander, go this hour to such-and-such a place and remove those in it and deliver the estate to so-and-so." He said: They had hardly reached morning before the estate was returned to its owner. Muḥammad b. Nāṣir al-Ḥāfiẓ informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Faqīh informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Jāzirī informed us, saying: al-Muʿāfā b. Zakariyyā informed us, saying: Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim al-Anbārī related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: Abū al-ʿAbbās Muḥammad b. Isḥāq b. Abī al-ʿAnbas related to us, on the authority of Isḥāq b. Yaḥyā b. Muʿādh, who said: Sawwār related to me, saying: One day I returned from the palace of al-Mahdī. When I entered my house, I called for lunch, but my soul was agitated, and I ordered it to be taken away. Then I called for a slave girl of mine to play with her, but my soul did not feel comfortable with that. I went for the midday nap, but sleep did not come to me. I got up and ordered a mule of mine to be saddled. I rode it, and when I went out, an agent of mine met me with money. I said: "What is this?" He said: "Two thousand dirhams I collected from your new revenue." I said: "Keep it with you and follow me." He said: I gave the mule its head until I crossed the bridge. Then I went along the street of the slave dealers' quarter until I reached the open desert. Then I returned to the gate of al-Anbār and wandered around. When I came to the street of the Anbār quarter, I reached the gate of a clean house, with a tree over it and a servant at the gate. I stopped, and I was thirsty. I said to the servant: "Do you have water to give me?" He said: "Yes." He rose and brought out a clean pitcher with a pleasant smell, over which was a cloth. He handed it to me, and I drank. The time of the afternoon prayer came, and I entered a mosque at the gate and prayed. When I finished my prayer, there was a blind man groping. I said: "What do you want, O man?" He said: "I want you." I said: "What is your need?" He came and sat down and said: I smelled from you the scent of perfume, and I thought you were one of the people of comfort, so I wanted to tell you something. I said: "Speak." He said: "Do you see this palace?" I said: "Yes." He said: "This palace belonged to my father. He sold it and went out to Khurāsān, and I went out with him. The blessings we had left us. I arrived, and I came to the owner of the house to ask him for something to help me, and then I would go to Sawwār, for he was a friend of my father." I said: "Who is your father?" He said: So-and-so son of So-and-so, and he turned out to be the most truthful of people to me. I said to him: O you, God has brought you Suwwār, whom hunger and sleeplessness prevented until he came and seated him before you. Then I summoned the agent and took the dirhams from him and handed them over to him, and I said to him: When tomorrow comes, go to the house. Then I went away, and I said: The Commander of the Faithful has never originated anything more novel than this. So I came to him and asked permission to enter, and he gave me permission. I entered and told him the story, and he ordered two thousand dinars for me. I rose, but he said: Sit. Do you owe any debt? I said: Yes. He said: How much? I said: Fifty thousand dinars. He was silent and began talking with me for a while, then he said: Go to your house. I went to my house, and there was a servant with fifty thousand dinars. He said: The Commander of the Faithful says to you: Pay off your debt with it. I took it. When the next day came, the blind man was late in coming to me, and a messenger of al-Mahdī came calling me. I went to him, and he said: I thought about your situation and said: He pays off his debt and will need some means and a loan, so I ordered fifty thousand dinars for you. I took it and departed. Then the blind man came to me, and I handed him the two thousand dinars and said: God has provided each one, through His generosity, abundant good. And I gave him from my own wealth two thousand dinars. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad al-Qazzāz informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī [b. Thābit] informed us, saying: Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Khāliʿ informed us in what he permitted him to narrate from him, saying: ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. al-Sarī informed us, saying: Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Khalaf informed us, saying: Isḥāq b. Muḥammad b. Isḥāq informed us, saying: I was informed that Yaʿqūb b. al-Mahdī asked al-Faḍl b. al-Rabīʿ about the mills of the patrician, and he said: Who is this patrician to whom these mills are attributed? Al-Faḍl said: When your father ؓ attained the caliphate, an envoy from the Byzantines came to him and asked his permission, then spoke to him through an interpreter who translated for him. The Byzantine said: I have not come to the Commander of the Faithful for wealth or goods; I have come only out of longing for him and to look upon his face, because we find in our books that the third of the people of the Prophet of this community will fill the earth with justice as it was filled with oppression. Al-Mahdī said: What you have said has pleased me, and you shall have from us all that you love. Then he ordered al-Rabīʿ to lodge him and honor him. He stayed for a while, then went out for a stroll, and he passed by the site of the mills. He looked at it and said to al-Rabīʿ: Lend me five hundred thousand dirhams to build with them a revenue-producing property that will yield five hundred thousand dirhams a year. He said: I will do it. Then he informed al-Mahdī of what he had mentioned, and he said: Give him five hundred thousand dinars and five hundred thousand dirhams, and whatever it yields, hand it over to him. When he departs to his country, send it to him every year. He said: So he did. He built the mills, then departed to his country, and they used to send its yield to him until the Byzantine died. Then al-Mahdī ordered it to be joined to his revenue-producing property. He said: The name of the patrician was Ṭārāth b. al-Layth b. al-ʿAyzār b. Ṭarīf, and his father had been a king among the kings of the Byzantines in the days of Muʿāwiyah. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. ʿAlī informed us, saying: Al-Azharī informed me, saying: Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm informed us, saying: Aḥmad b. Sulaymān al-Ṭūsī informed us, saying: Al-Zubayr b. Bakkār narrated to us, saying: Khālid b. Waḍḍāḥ narrated to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā b. Muḥammad b. Ṣafwān al-Jumaḥī narrated to me, saying: I incurred a debt at the camp of al-Mahdī. One day al-Mahdī rode out between Abū ʿUbayd Allāh and ʿUmar b. Bazīʿ, and I was behind him in his procession on a slow-paced packhorse. He said: What is the most fitting verse the Arabs have uttered? Abū ʿUbayd Allāh said: The saying of Imruʾ al-Qays when he says: Your eyes did not shed tears except to strike with your two arrows the vital parts of a heart already slain. He said: This is a pure Bedouin. ʿUmar b. Bazīʿ said: The saying of Kuthayyir b. Abī Jumʿah: I wish to forget her memory, but it is as though Laylā appears to me on every road. He said: This is nothing. Why does he wish to forget her memory so that she appears to him? I said: O Commander of the Faithful, I have what you need – may God make me your ransom. He said: Catch up. I said: I cannot catch up; my mount cannot do that. He said: Mount him on an animal. I said: This is the first of the conquest. So I was mounted on it and caught up with him. He said: What do you have? I said: The saying of al-Aḥwaṣ: When I say that I am healed by meeting her, the fever of meeting between us has increased our sickness. He said: By God, he has done well. Pay off his debt for him. So he paid off my debt. When al-Mahdī sat for grievances, he would say: Bring in the judges to me; for were it not for shame before them, I would not have to redress grievances. Al-Mahdī was brought a man who had claimed prophethood. When he saw him, he said: Are you a prophet? He said: Yes. He said: And to whom were you sent? He said: Would you let me go to the one to whom I was sent? I was sent in the morning, and you seized me in the evening and placed me in prison. Al-Mahdī laughed at him and let him go. Al-Rabīʿ said: I saw al-Mahdī one night praying, and he recited: “So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your ties of kinship?” (Q 47:22). When he finished his prayer, he turned to me and said: O Rabīʿ. I said: At your service, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Mūsā. Then he stood for his prayer. I said: Who is Mūsā? His son Mūsā, or Mūsā b. Jaʿfar? The latter was imprisoned with me. I thought and said: It is none other than Mūsā b. Jaʿfar. So I brought him. He said: O Mūsā, I recited this verse: “So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your ties of kinship?” (Q 47:22). I feared that I might have severed your kinship ties, so give me a guarantee that you will not go out. He said: Yes. So he gave him a guarantee, and he released him.

Grades by grader

No grade is recorded for this wording.