Tarikh (al-Tabari) 2956
Then the year 169 AH began
سبب موت المهدي ووقت ومكان وفاته ثُمَّ دَخَلَتْ سَنَةُ تِسْعٍ وَسِتِّينَ وَمِائَةٍ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ مِنْهَا تُوَفِّيَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْمَهْدِيُّ ابْنُ الْمَنْصُورِ الْعَبَّاسِيُّ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - وَقَدْ كَانَتْ وَفَاتُهُ بِمَاسَبَذَانَ، كَانَ قَدْ خَرَجَ إِلَيْهَا لِيَبْعَثَ إِلَى ابْنِهِ الْهَادِي لِيَحْضُرَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ جُرْجَانَ حَتَّى يَخْلَعَهُ مِنْ وِلَايَةِ الْعَهْدِ، وَيَجْعَلَهُ بَعْدَ هَارُونَ الرَّشِيدِ، فَامْتَنَعَ الْهَادِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَرَكِبَ الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ بَغْدَادَ قَاصِدًا إِحْضَارَهُ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ بِمَاسَبَذَانَ مَاتَ بِهَا عَلَى مَا سَنَذْكُرُهُ. وَكَانَ قَدْ رَأَى فِي النَّوْمِ وَهُوَ بِقَصْرِهِ بِبَغْدَادَ - وَأَظُنُّهُ الْمُسَمَّى بِقَصْرِ السَّلَامَةِ - كَأَنَّ شَيْخًا وَقَفَ بِبَابِ الْقَصْرِ، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ سَمِعَ هَاتِفًا يَقُولُ: كَأَنِي بِهَذَا الْقَصْرِ قَدْ بَادَ آهِلُهُ وَأَوْحَشَ مِنْهُ أَهْلُهُ وَمَنَازِلُهُ وَصَارَ عَمِيدُ الْقَوْمِ مِنْ بَعْدِ بَهْجَةٍ وَمُلْكٍ إِلَى قَبْرٍ عَلَيْهِ جَنَادِلُهُ وَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا ذِكْرُهُ وَحَدِيثُهُ يُنَادِي بِلَيْلٍ مُعْوِلَاتٍ حَلَائِلُهُ فَمَا عَاشَ بَعْدَهَا إِلَّا عَشْرًا حَتَّى تُوُفِّيَ، رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَسَامَحَهُ وَأَدْخَلَهُ الْجَنَّةَ بِرَحْمَتِهِ. وَيُرْوَى أَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَالَ لَهُ الْهَاتِفَ: كَأَنِّي بِهَذَا الْقَصْرِ قَدْ بَادَ آهِلُهُ وَقَدْ دَرَسَتْ أَعْلَامُهُ وَمَنَازِلُهُ فَأَجَابَهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ: كَذَاكَ أُمُورُ النَّاسِ يَبْلَى جَدِيدُهَا وُكُلُّ فَتًى يَوْمًا سَتَبْلَى فَعَائِلُهُ فَقَالَ الْهَاتِفُ: تَزَوَّدْ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّكَ مَسْئُولٌ فَمَا أَنْتَ قَائِلُهُ فَأَجَابَهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ: أَقُولُ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ حَقٌّ شَهِدْتُهُ فَذَلِكَ قَوْلٌ لَيْسَ تُحْصَى فَضَائِلُهُ فَقَالَ الْهَاتِفُ تَزَوَّدْ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّكَ رَاحِلٌ وَقَدْ أَزَفَ الْأَمْرُ الَّذِي بِكَ نِازِلُهُ فَأَجَابَهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ: مَتَى ذَاكَ خَبِّرْنِي هُدِيتَ فَإِنَّنِي سَأَفْعَلُ مَا قَدْ قُلْتَ لِي وَأُعَاجِلُهُ فَقَالَ الْهَاتِفُ: تَلَبَّثْ ثَلَاثًا بَعْدَ عِشْرِينَ لَيْلَةً إِلَى مُنْتَهَى شَهْرٍ وَمَا أَنْتَ كَامِلُهُ قَالُوا: فَلَمْ يَعِشْ بَعْدَهَا إِلَّا تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا حَتَّى مَاتَ، رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ ابْنُ جَرِيرٍ اخْتِلَافًا فِي سَبَبِ مَوْتِهِ، فَقِيلَ: إِنَّهُ سَاقَ خَلْفَ ظَبْيٍ وَالْكِلَابُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَدَخَلَ الظَّبْيُ إِلَى خَرِبَةٍ، فَدَخَلَتِ الْكِلَابُ وَرَاءَهُ، وَجَاءَ الْفَرَسُ، فَحَمَلَ بِهِ فِي مِشْوَارِهِ، فَدَخَلَ الْخَرِبَةَ، فَكُسِرَ ظَهْرُ الْخَلِيفَةِ فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ سَبَبَ وَفَاتِهِ. وَقِيلَ: إِنَّ بَعْضَ حَظَايَاهُ بَعَثَتْ إِلَى أُخْرَى لَبَنًا مَسْمُومًا، فَمَرَّ الرَّسُولُ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ، فَأَكَلَ مِنْهُ فَمَاتَ. وَقِيلَ: بَلْ بَعَثَتْ إِلَيْهَا بِصِينِيَّةٍ فِيهَا كُمِّثْرَى، وَفِي أَعْلَاهَا وَاحِدَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ فِيهَا سُمٌّ، وَكَانَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يُعْجِبُهُ الْكُمِّثْرَى، فَمَرَّتِ الْجَارِيَةُ تَحْمِلُ تِلْكَ الصِّينِيَّةَ فَرَآهَا فَاسْتَدْعَاهَا، فَأَخَذَ الَّتِي فِي أَعْلَاهَا، فَأَكَلَهَا فَمَاتَ مِنْ سَاعَتِهِ، فَجَعَلَتِ الْحَظِيَّةُ تَنْدُبُهُ، وَتَقُولُ: وَاأَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَاهُ، أَرَدْتُ أَنْ تَكُونَ لِي وَحْدِي، فَقَتَلْتُكَ. وَكَانَتْ وَفَاتُهُ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ - أَعْنِي سَنَةَ تِسْعٍ وَسِتِّينَ وَمِائَةٍ - وَلَهُ مِنَ الْعُمْرِ ثَلَاثٌ وَأَرْبَعُونَ سَنَةً عَلَى الْمَشْهُورِ. نسب المهدي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ الْهَاشِمِيُّ، أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْمَهْدِيُّ، أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَإِنَّمَا لُقِّبَ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ طَمَعًا أَنْ يَكُونَ هُوَ الْمَوْعُودَ بِهِ فِي الْأَحَادِيثِ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ بِهِ، وَإِنِ اشْتَرَكَا فِي الِاسْمِ; لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُشْبِهْهُ فِي الْفِعْلِ، ذَاكَ يَأْتِي آخِرَ الزَّمَانِ وَعِنْدَ فَسَادِهِ، فَيَمْلَأُ الْأَرْضَ عَدْلًا كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْرًا وَظُلْمًا. وَقَدْ قِيلَ: إِنَّ فِي أَيَّامِهِ يَنْزِلُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ بِدِمَشْقَ. كَمَا سَيَأْتِي ذِكْرُ ذَلِكَ فِي أَحَادِيثِ الْفِتَنِ وَالْمَلَاحِمِ وَذِكْرِ الْمَهْدِيِّ وَنُزُولِ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَبِهِ الثِّقَةُ. وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي حَدِيثٍ مِنْ طَرِيقِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ أَنَّ الْمَهْدِيَّ مِنْ بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ مَوْقُوفًا عَلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَكَعْبِ الْأَحْبَارِ، وَلَا يَصِحُّ ذَلِكَ، وَبِتَقْدِيرِ صِحَّةِ شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ لَا يَلْزَمُ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا عَلَى التَّعْيِينِ، وَقَدْ وَرَدَ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ: " الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ وَلَدِ فَاطِمَةَ " فَهُوَ يُعَارِضُ هَذَا. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَأَمُّهُ أُمُّ مُوسَى بِنْتُ مَنْصُورِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحِمْيَرِيِّ. رَوَى عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ، جَهَرَ بِ " بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ". رَوَاهُ عَنْهُ يَحْيَى بْنُ حَمْزَةَ الْبَتْلَهِيُّ قَاضِي دِمَشْقَ، وَذُكِرَ أَنَّهُ صَلَّى خَلْفَ الْمَهْدِيِّ حِينَ قَدِمَ دِمَشْقَ فَجَهَرَ فِي السُّورَتَيْنِ بِالْبَسْمَلَةِ، وَأَسْنَدَ ذَلِكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، وَرَوَاهُ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ حَمْزَةَ. وَرَوَى الْمَهْدِيُّ عَنِ الْمُبَارَكِ بْنِ فَضَالَةَ. وَرَوَى عَنْهُ أَيْضًا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ الضُّبَعِيُّ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الرَّقَاشِيُّ، وَأَبُو سُفْيَانَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ. وَكَانَ مَوْلِدُ الْمَهْدِيِّ فِي سَنَةِ سِتٍّ أَوْ سَبْعٍ - وَقِيلَ: سَنَةَ إِحْدَى - وَعِشْرِينَ وَمِائَةٍ، بِالْحُمَيْمَةِ مِنْ أَرْضِ الْبَلْقَاءِ، وَاسْتُخْلِفَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِ أَبِيهِ فِي ذِي الْحِجَّةِ سَنَةَ ثَمَانٍ وَخَمْسِينَ وَمِائَةٍ، وَعُمْرُهُ إِذْ ذَاكَ ثَلَاثٌ وَثَلَاثُونَ سَنَةً، وَتُوُفِّيَ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ، عَنْ ثَلَاثٍ أَوْ ثَمَانٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً، وَكَانَتْ خِلَافَتُهُ عَشْرَ سِنِينَ وَشَهْرًا وَبَعْضَ شَهْرٍ. وَمِنْ أَخْبَارِ الْمَهْدِيِّ قَالَ الصُّولِيُّ: لَمَّا عَقَدَ الْمَهْدِيُّ الْعَهْدَ لِوَلَدِهِ مُوسَى... قَالَ مَرْوَانُ بْنُ أَبِي حَفْصَةَ: عُقِدَتْ لِمُوسَى بِالرَّصَافَةِ بَيْعَةٌ شَدَّ الْإِلَهُ بِهَا عُرَى الْإِسْلَامِ مُوسَى الَّذِي عَرَفَتْ قُرَيْشٌ فَضْلَهُ وَلَهَا فَضِيلَتُهَا عَلَى الْأَقْوَامِ بِمُحَمَّدٍ بَعْدَ النَّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدٍ حَيِيَ الْحَلَالُ وَمَاتَ كُلُّ حَرَامِ مَهْدِيُّ أُمَّتِهِ الَّذِي أَمْسَتْ بِهِ لِلذُّلِّ آمِنَةً وَلِلْإِعْدَامِ مُوسَى وَلِيُّ عَصَا الْخِلَافَةِ بَعْدَهُ جَفَّتْ بِذَاكَ مَوَاقِعُ الْأَقْلَامِ وَقَالَ آخَرُ: يَا ابْنَ الْخَلِيفَةِ إِنَّ أُمَّةَ أَحْمَدِ تَاقَتْ إِلَيْكَ بِطَاعَةٍ أَهْوَاؤُهَا وَلَتَمْلَأَنَّ الْأَرْضَ عَدْلًا كَالَّذِي كَانَتْ تُحَدِّثُ أُمَّةً عُلَمَاؤُهَا حَتَّى تَمَنَّى لَوْ تَرَى أَمْوَاتُهَا مِنْ عَدْلِ حُكْمِكَ مَا تَرَى أَحْيَاؤُهَا فَعَلَى أَبِيكَ الْيَوْمَ بَهْجَةُ مُلْكِهَا وَغَدًا عَلَيْكَ إِزَارُهَا وَرِدَاؤُهَا [مُكَافَأَةُ مَنْ قَالَتْ: يَا عَصَبَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ ] وَأَسْنَدَ الصُّولِيُّ: (أَنَّ امْرَأَةً اعْتَرَضَتِ الْمَهْدِيَّ فَقَالَتْ: يَا عَصَبَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ انْظُرْ فِي حَاجَتِي، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: مَا سَمِعْتُهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ قَطُّ; اقْضُوا حَاجَتَهَا، وَأَعْطُوهَا عَشَرَةَ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ ! ! ). وَدَخَلَ ابْنُ الْخَيَّاطِ عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ، وَامْتَدَحَهُ فَأَمَرَ لَهُ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِرْهَمٍ، فَفَرَّقَهَا ابْنُ الْخَيَّاطِ، وَأَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ: أَخَذْتُ بِكَفِّي كَفَّهُ أَبْتَغِي الْغِنَى وَلَمْ أَدْرِ أَنَّ الْجُودَ مِنْ كَفِّهِ يُعْدِي فَلَا أَنَا مِنْهُ مَا أَفَادَ ذَوُو الْغِنَى أَفَدْتُ وَأَعْدَانِي فَبَدَّدْتُ مَا عِنْدِي قَالَ: فَنَمَّى ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَأَعْطَاهُ بَدَلَ كُلِّ دِرْهَمٍ دِينَارًا. وَبِالْجُمْلَةِ فَلَهُ مَآثِرُ وَمَحَاسِنُ كَثِيرَةٌ. الشَّيْخُ لَا يَتْرُكُ أَخْلَاقَهُ وَقَالَ قُرَيْشٌ الْخَتْلِيُّ: (رُفِعَ صَالِحُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْقُدُّوسِ الْبَصْرِيُّ إِلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ فِي الزَّنْدَقَةِ، فَأَرَادَ قَتْلَهُ، فَقَالَ: أَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَأَنْشَدَ لِنَفْسِهِ: مَا يَبْلُغُ الْأَعْدَاءُ مِنْ جَاهِلٍ مَا يَبْلُغُ الْجَاهِلُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ وَالشَّيْخُ لَا يَتْرُكُ أَخْلَاقَهُ حَتَّى يُوَارَى فِي ثَرَى رَمْسِهِ فَصَرَفَهُ، فَلَمَّا قَرُبَ مِنَ الْخُرُوجِ.. رَدَّهُ فَقَالَ: أَلَمْ تَقُلْ: وَالشَّيْخُ لَا يَتْرُكُ أَخْلَاقَهُ ؟ قَالَ: بَلَى، قَالَ: فَكَذَلِكَ أَنْتَ لَا تَدَعُ أَخْلَاقَكَ حَتَّى تَمُوتَ، ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِقَتْلِهِ ). أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ قَفَاكَ قَفَا كَذَّابٍ وَقَالَ زُهَيْرٌ: (قُدِمَ عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ بِعَشَرَةِ مُحَدِّثِينَ; مِنْهُمْ: فَرَجُ بْنُ فَضَالَةَ، وَغِيَاثُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ - وَكَانَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يُحِبُّ الْحَمَامَ -، فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ غِيَاثٌ.. قِيلَ لَهُ: حَدِّثْ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، فَحَدَّثَهُ: عَنْ فُلَانٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ مَرْفُوعًا: «لَا سَبْقَ إِلَّا فِي حَافِرٍ أَوْ نَصْلٍ» وَزَادَ فِيهِ: «أَوْ جَنَاحٍ» فَأَمَرَ لَهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ بِعَشَرَةِ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ فَلَمَّا قَامَ... قَالَ: أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ قَفَاكَ قَفَا كَذَّابٍ; وَإِنَّمَا اسْتَجْلَبْتَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِالْحَمَامِ فَذُبِحَتْ ). لَا بُدَّ مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ وَرُوِيَ: (أَنَّ شَرِيكًا دَخَلَ عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ فَقَالَ لَهُ: لَا بُدَّ مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ: إِمَّا أَنْ تَلِيَ الْقَضَاءَ، أَوْ تُؤَدِّبَ وَلَدِي وَتُحَدِّثَهُمْ، أَوْ تَأْكُلَ عِنْدِي أَكْلَةً، فَفَكَّرَ سَاعَةً، ثُمَّ قَالَ: الْأَكْلَةُ أَخَفُّ عَلَيَّ، فَأَمَرَ الْمَهْدِيُّ بِعَمَلِ أَلْوَانٍ مِنَ الْمُخِّ الْمَعْقُودِ بِالسُّكَّرِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، فَأَكَلَ، فَقَالَ الطَّبَّاخُ: لَا يُفْلِحُ بَعْدَهَا ! ! قَالَ: فَحَدَّثَهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، وَعَلَّمَهُمُ الْعِلْمَ، وَوَلِيَ الْقَضَاءَ ). هَكَذَا يُطْلَبُ الْعِلْمُ وَأَخْرَجَ الْبَغَوِيُّ فِي «الْجَعْدِيَّاتِ» عَنْ حَمْدَانَ الْأَصْبَهَانِيِّ قَالَ: (كُنْتُ عِنْدَ شَرِيكٍ، فَأَتَاهُ ابْنُ الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَاسْتَنَدَ وَسَأَلَ عَنْ حَدِيثٍ، فَلَمْ يَلْتَفِتْ شَرِيكٌ، ثُمَّ أَعَادَ فَعَادَ، فَقَالَ: كَأَنَّكَ تَسْتَخِفُّ بِأَوْلَادِ الْخُلَفَاءِ ؟ ! قَالَ: لَا، وَلَكِنَّ الْعِلْمَ أَزْيَنُ عِنْدَ أَهْلِهِ مِنْ أَنْ يُضَيِّعُوهُ، فَجَثَا عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ ثُمَّ سَأَلَهُ، فَقَالَ شَرِيكٌ: هَكَذَا يُطْلَبُ الْعِلْمُ ). وَمِنْ شَعْرِ الْمَهْدِيِّ - أَنْشَدَهُ الصُّولِيُّ -: مَا يَكُفُّ النَّاسُ عَنَّا مَا يَمَلُّ النَّاسُ مِنَّا إِنَّمَا هِمَّتُهُمْ أَنْ يَنْبِشُوا مَا قَدْ دَفَنَّا لَوْ سَكَنَّا بَاطِنَ الْأَرْ ضِ لَكَانُوا حَيْثُ كُنَّا وَهُمْ إِنْ كَاشَفُونَا فِي الْهَوَى يَوْمًا مَجَنَّا وَأَسْنَدَ الصُّولِيُّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِمَارَةَ قَالَ: كَانَ لِلْمَهْدِيِّ جَارِيَةٌ شُغِفَ بِهَا وَهِيَ كَذَلِكَ، إِلَّا أَنَّهَا تَتَحَامَاهُ كَثِيرًا، فَدَسَّ إِلَيْهَا مَنْ عَرَفَ مَا فِي نَفْسِهَا، فَقَالَتْ: أَخَافُ أَنْ يَمَلَّنِي وَيَدَعَنِي فَأَمُوتَ، فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ فِي ذَلِكَ: ظَفِرَتْ بِالْقَلْبِ مِنِّي غَادَةٌ مِثْلُ الْهِلَالِ كُلَّمَا صَحَّ لَهَا وُدِّ يَ جَاءَتْ بِاعْتِلَالِ لَا لِحُبِّ الْهَجْرِ مِنِّي وَالتَّنَائِي عَنْ وِصَالِي بَلْ لِإِبْقَاءٍ عَلَى حُبِّي لَهَا خَوْفَ الْمَلَالِ وَلَهُ فِي نَدِيمِهِ عُمَرَ بْنِ بَزِيعٍ: رَبِّ تَمِّمْ لِي نَعِيمِي بِأَبِي حَفْصٍ نَدِيمِي إِنَّمَا لَذَّةُ عَيْشِي فِي غِنَاءٍ وَكُرُومِ وَجَوَارٍ عَطِرَاتٍ وَسَمَاعٍ وَنَعِيمِ قُلْتُ: شِعْرُ الْمَهْدِيِّ أَرَقُّ وَأَلْطَفُ مِنْ شِعْرِ أَبِيهِ وَأَوْلَادِهِ بِكَثِيرٍ. اسْتِحْيَاءُ الْجَارِيَةِ وَأَسْنَدَ الصُّولِيُّ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي كَرِيمَةَ قَالَ: دَخَلَ الْمَهْدِيُّ إِلَى حُجْرَةِ جَارِيَةٍ عَلَى غَفْلَةٍ، فَوَجَدَهَا وَقَدْ نَزَعَتْ ثِيَابَهَا وَأَرَادَتْ لُبْسَ غَيْرِهَا، فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ.. غَطَّتْ بِيَدِهَا، فَقَصُرَتْ كَفُّهَا عَنْهُ، فَضَحِكَ وَقَالَ: أَبْصَرَتْ عَيْنِي لِحِينِي مَنْظَرًا يَجْلِبُ شَيْنِي ثُمَّ خَرَجَ فَرَأَى بَشَّارًا فَأَخْبَرَهُ وَقَالَ: أَجِزْ، فَقَالَ بَشَّارٌ: سَتَرَتْهُ إِذْ رَأَتْنِي بَيْنَ طَيِّ الْعُكْنَتَيْنِ فَبَدَا لِي مِنْهُ فَضْلٌ لَمْ يَسَعْ فِي الرَّاحَتَيْنِ وَأَسْنَدَ عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ الْمَوْصِلِيِّ قَالَ: (كَانَ الْمَهْدِيُّ فِي أَوَّلِ أَمْرِهِ يَحْتَجِبُ عَنِ النُّدَمَاءِ; تَشَبُّهًا بِالْمَنْصُورِ نَحْوًا مِنْ سَنَةٍ، ثُمَّ ظَهَرَ لَهُمْ، فَأُشِيرَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَحْتَجِبَ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا اللَّذَّةُ مَعَ مُشَاهَدَتِهَا ). مَنِ اسْتَعَانَ بِخَائِنٍ كَانَ شَرِيكَهُ وَأَسْنَدَ عَنْ مَهْدِيِّ بْنِ سَابِقٍ قَالَ: (صَاحَ رَجُلٌ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ وَهُوَ فِي مَوْكِبِهِ: [مِنَ الْكَامِلِ ] قُلْ لِلْخَلِيفَةِ حَاتِمٌ لَكَ خَائِنٌ فَخَفِ الْإِلَهَ وَأَعْفِنَا مِنْ حَاتِمِ إِنَّ الْعَفِيفَ إِذَا اسْتَعَانَ بِخَائِنٍ كَانَ الْعَفِيفُ شَرِيكَهُ فِي الْمَأْثَمِ فَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ: يُعْزَلُ كُلُّ عَامِلٍ لَنَا يُدْعَى حَاتِمًا ) سَمَاحَةُ أَخْلَاقِ الْمَهْدِيِّ وَأَسْنَدَ عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ قَالَ: (كَانَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يُصَلِّي بِنَا الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْجَامِعِ بِالْبَصْرَةِ لَمَّا قَدِمَهَا، فَأُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ يَوْمًا، فَقَالَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ: لَسْتُ عَلَى طُهْرٍ; وَقَدْ رَغِبْتُ فِي الصَّلَاةِ خَلْفَكَ، فَأْمُرْ هَؤُلَاءِ بِانْتِظَارِي. فَقَالَ: انْتَظِرُوهُ، وَدَخَلَ الْمِحْرَابَ فَوَقَفَ إِلَى أَنْ قِيلَ: قَدْ جَاءَ الرَّجُلُ، فَكَبَّرَ، فَعَجِبَ النَّاسُ مِنْ سَمَاحَةِ أَخْلَاقِهِ ). وَقَالَ الْوَاقِدِيُّ: دَخَلْتُ يَوْمًا عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَحَدَّثْتُهُ بِأَحَادِيثَ، فَكَتَبَهَا عَنِّي ثُمَّ قَامَ فَدَخَلَ بُيُوتَ نِسَائِهِ، ثُمَّ خَرَجَ وَهُوَ مُمْتَلِئٌ غَيْظًا، فَقُلْتُ: مَا لَكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ فَقَالَ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى الْخَيْزُرَانِ، فَقَامَتْ إِلَيَّ، وَمَزَّقَتْ ثَوْبِي، وَقَالَتْ: مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْكَ خَيْرًا. وَإِنِّي وَاللَّهِ يَا وَاقَدِيُّ إِنَّمَا اشْتَرَيْتُهَا مِنْ نَخَّاسٍ، وَقَدْ نَالَتْ عِنْدِي مَا نَالَتْ، وَقَدْ بَايَعْتُ لِوَلَدَيْهَا بِإِمْرَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِي. فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: إِنَّهُنَّ يَغْلِبْنَ الْكِرَامَ وَيَغْلِبُهُنَّ اللِّئَامُ. وَقَالَ خَيْرُكُمْ خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِهِ، وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِي. وَقَالَ خُلِقَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ مِنْ ضِلْعٍ أَعْوَجَ إِنْ قَوَّمْتَهُ كَسَرْتَهُ. وَحَدَّثْتُهُ فِي هَذَا الْبَابِ بِكُلِّ مَا حَضَرَنِي، فَأَمَرَ لِي بِأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ، فَلَمَّا وَافَيْتُ الْمَنْزِلَ إِذَا رَسُولُ الْخَيْزُرَانِ قَدْ لَحِقَنِي بِأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ إِلَّا عَشَرَةَ دَنَانِيرَ، وَإِذَا مَعَهُ أَثْوَابٌ أُخَرُ، وَبَعَثَتْ تَتَشَكَّرُ لِي وَتُثْنِي عَلَيَّ مَعْرُوفًا. وَذَكَرُوا أَنَّ الْمَهْدِيَّ كَانَ قَدْ أَهْدَرَ دَمَ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ وَجَعَلَ لِمَنْ جَاءَ بِهِ مِائَةَ أَلْفٍ، فَدَخَلَ الرَّجُلُ بَغْدَادَ مُتَنَكِّرًا، فَبَيْنَمَا هُوَ يَوْمًا فِي بَعْضِ أَزِقَّةِ بَغْدَادَ إِذْ لَقِيَهُ رَجُلٌ، فَأَخَذَ بِمَجَامِعِ ثَوْبِهِ وَنَادَى: هَذَا طِلْبَةُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ. وَجَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَنْفَلِتَ مِنْهُ فَلَا يَقْدِرُ، فَبَيْنَا هُمَا كَذَلِكَ إِذَا أَمِيرٌ فِي مَوْكِبِهِ قَدْ أَقْبَلَ وَإِذَا هُوَ مَعْنُ بْنُ زَائِدَةَ، فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ: يَا أَبَا الْوَلِيدِ، خَائِفٌ مُسْتَجِيرٌ. فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكَ! مَا لَكَ وَلَهُ؟ فَقَالَ هَذَا طِلَبَةُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، جَعَلَ لِمَنْ جَاءَ بِهِ مِائَةَ أَلْفٍ. قَالَ مَعْنٌ: وَيْحَكَ! أَوَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنِّي قَدْ أَجَرْتُهُ؟ أَرْسِلْهُ مِنْ يَدِكَ. ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بَعْضَ غِلْمَانِهِ فَتَرَجَّلَ وَأَرْكَبَهُ، وَذَهَبَ بِهِ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ، وَانْطَلَقَ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ إِلَى بَابِ الْخَلِيفَةِ فَأَنْهَى إِلَيْهِ الْخَبَرَ، فَبَلَغَ الْمَهْدِيَّ. فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى مَعْنِ بْنِ زَائِدَةَ فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ، فَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ الْمَهْدِيُّ. وَقَالَ: يَا مَعْنُ، أَبَلَغَ مِنْ أَمْرِكَ أَنْ تُجِيرَ عَلَيَّ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: وَنَعَمْ أَيْضًا. قَالَ: نَعْمَ، قَدْ قَتَلْتُ فِي دَوْلَتِكُمْ أَرْبَعَةَ آلَافِ مُصَلٍّ، أَفَلَا يُجَارُ لِي رَجُلٌ وَاحِدٌ؟! فَأَطْرَقَ الْمَهْدِيُّ، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَيْهِ وَقَالَ: قَدْ أَجَرْنَا مَنْ أَجْرْتَ يَا مَعْنُ. فَقَالَ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ ضَعِيفٌ. فَأَمَرَ لَهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ بِثَلَاثِينَ أَلْفًا. فَقَالَ: إِنَّ جَرِيمَتَهُ عَظِيمَةٌ، وَإِنَّ جَوَائِزَ الْخُلَفَاءِ عَلَى قَدْرِ ذُنُوبِ الرَّعِيَّةِ. فَأَمَرَ لَهُ بِمِائَةِ أَلْفٍ، فَحُمِلَتْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ مَعْنٍ إِلَى الرَّجُلِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ مَعْنٌ: ادْعُ لِلْخَلِيفَةِ وَأَصْلِحْ نِيَّتَكَ فِي الْمُسْتَقْبَلِ. وَقَدِمَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ وَمَعَهُ كِتَابٌ مَخْتُومٌ، فَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ: هَذَا كِتَابُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، أَيْنَ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يُقَالُ لَهُ: الرَّبِيعُ؟ فَدَلُّوهُ عَلَى الرَّبِيعِ الْحَاجِبِ، فَأَخَذَ الْكِتَابَ وَجَاءَ بِهِ إِلَى أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَأَوْقَفَ الْأَعْرَابِيَّ، وَفَتَحَ الْكِتَابَ، فَإِذَا هُوَ قِطْعَةُ أَدِيمٍ، فِيهَا كِتَابَةٌ ضَعِيفَةٌ، وَالْأَعْرَابِيُّ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّ هَذَا خَطُّ الْخَلِيفَةِ، فَتَبَسَّمَ الْمَهْدِيُّ وَقَالَ: صَدَقَ الْأَعْرَابِيُّ هَذَا خَطِّي، إِنِّي خَرَجْتُ يَوْمًا إِلَى الصَّيْدِ، فَضِعْتُ مِنَ الْجَيْشِ، وَأَقْبَلَ اللَّيْلُ، فَتَعَوَّذْتُ بِتَعَوُّذِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَرُفِعُ لِي نَارٌ مِنْ بُعْدٍ، فَقَصَدْتُهَا فَإِذَا هُوَ الشَّيْخُ وَامْرَأَتُهُ فِي خِبَاءٍ يُوقِدَانِ نَارًا، فَسَلَّمْتُ، فَرَدَّ السَّلَامَ، وَفَرَشَ لِي كِسَاءً، وَسَقَانِي مِنْ مَذْقَةٍ مِنْ لَبَنٍ مَشُوبٍ بِمَاءٍ، فَمَا شَرِبْتُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا وَهِيَ أَطْيَبُ مِنْهُ، وَنِمْتُ نَوْمَةً عَلَى تِلْكَ الْعَبَاءَةِ مَا أَذْكُرُ أَنِّي نِمْتُ نَوْمَةً أَحْلَى مِنْهَا. فَقَامَ إِلَى شُوَيْهَةٍ لَهُ فَذَبَحَهَا، فَسَمِعْتُ امْرَأَتَهُ تَقُولُ لَهُ: عَمَدْتَ إِلَى مَعِيشَتِكَ وَمَعِيشَةِ أَوْلَادِكَ فَذَبَحْتَهَا؟! أَهْلَكْتَ نَفْسَكَ وَعِيَالِكَ. فَمَا الْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهَا، وَاسْتَيْقَظْتُ مِنَ النَّوْمِ فَاشْتَوَيْتُ مِنْ تِلْكَ الشُّوَيْهَةِ، وَقُلْتُ لَهُ: أَعْنَدَكَ شَيْءٌ أَكْتُبُ لَكَ فِيهِ كِتَابًا؟ فَأَتَانِي بِهَذِهِ الرُّقْعَةِ مِنَ الْأَدِيمِ فَكَتَبْتُ لَهُ بِعُودٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الرَّمَادِ خَمْسَمِائَةِ أَلْفٍ، وَإِنَّمَا أَرَدْتُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفًا، وَاللَّهِ لَأُنْفِذَنَّهَا لَهُ كُلَّهَا وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَالِ سِوَاهَا. فَقَبَضَهَا الْأَعْرَابِيُّ، وَاسْتَمَرَّ مُقِيمًا فِي ذَلِكَ الْمَوْضِعِ وَهُوَ فِي طَرِيقِ الْحَاجِّ مِنْ نَاحِيَةِ الْأَنْبَارِ فَجَعَلَ يُقْرِي النَّاسَ فِي ذَلِكَ الْمَوْضِعِ، فَعُرِفَ بِمَنْزِلِ مُضِيفِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّ. وَعَنْ سَوَّارٍ - صَاحِبِ رَحْبَةِ سَوَّارٍ - قَالَ: انْصَرَفْتُ يَوْمًا مِنْ عِنْدِ الْمَهْدِيِّ، فَجِئْتُ مَنْزِلِي فَوُضِعَ لِيَ الْغَدَاءُ، فَلَمْ تُقْبِلْ نَفْسِي عَلَيْهِ، فَدَخَلْتُ خَلْوَتِي لِأَنَامَ فِي الْقَائِلَةِ، فَلَمْ يَأْخُذْنِي نَوْمٌ، فَاسْتَدْعَيْتُ بِبَعْضَ حَظَايَايَ لِأَتَلَهَّى بِهَا، فَلَمْ يَقِرَّ لِي قَرَارٌ، فَنَهَضْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ مِنَ الْمَنْزِلِ، وَرَكِبْتُ بَغْلَتِي، فَمَا جَاوَزْتُ الدَّارَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا حَتَّى لَقِيَنِي رَجُلٌ وَمَعَهُ أَلْفَا دِرْهَمٍ، فَقُلْتُ: مَنْ أَيْنَ هَذِهِ؟ فَقَالَ: مِنْ مُلْكِكَ الْجَدِيدِ. فَاسْتَصْحَبْتُهُ مَعِي، وَسِرْتُ فِي أَزِقَّةِ بَغْدَادَ أَتَشَاغَلُ مِمَّا أَنَا فِيهِ مِنَ الضَّجَرِ، فَحَانَتْ صَلَاةُ الْعَصْرِ عِنْدَ مَسْجِدٍ فِي بَعْضِ الْحَارَاتِ، فَنَزَلْتُ لِأُصَلِّيَ فِيهِ، فَلَمَّا قَضَيْتُ الصَّلَاةَ إِذَا بِرَجُلٍ أَعْمَى قَدْ أَخَذَ بِثِيَابِي فَقَالَ: إِنَّ لِي إِلَيْكَ حَاجَةً. فَقُلْتُ: مَا حَاجَتُكَ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي رَجُلٌ ضَرِيرٌ، وَلَكِنَّنِي لَمَّا شَمَمْتُ رَائِحَةَ طِيبِكَ ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّكَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ النِّعْمَةِ وَالثَّرْوَةِ، فَأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أُفْضِيَ بِحَاجَتِي إِلَيْكَ. فَقُلْتُ: وَمَا هِيَ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ هَذَا الْقَصْرَ الَّذِي تُجَاهَ الْمَسْجِدِ كَانَ لِأَبِي، فَسَافَرَ مِنْهُ إِلَى خُرَاسَانَ، وَبَاعَهَ وَأَخَذَنِي مَعَهُ وَأَنَا صَغِيرٌ، فَافْتَرَقْنَا هُنَاكَ، وَأَصَابَنِي الضَّرَرُ، فَرَجَعْنَا إِلَى بَغْدَادَ، فَجِئْتُ إِلَى صَاحِبِ هَذَا الْقَصْرِ أَطْلُبُ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا أَتَبَلَّغُ بِهِ لَعَلِّي أَجْتَمِعُ بِسَوَّارٍ، فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ صَاحِبًا لِأَبِي، فَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ عِنْدَهُ سِعَةٌ يَجُودُ مِنْهَا عَلَيَّ. فَقُلْتُ: وَمَنْ أَبُوكَ؟ فَذَكَرَ رَجُلًا كَانَ أَصْحَبَ النَّاسَ إِلَيَّ، فَقُلْتُ: إِنِّي أَنَا سَوَّارٌ صَاحِبُ أَبِيكَ، وَقَدْ مَنَعَنِي اللَّهُ فِي يَوْمِكَ هَذَا النَّوْمَ وَالْقَرَارَ وَالْأَكْلَ وَالرَّاحَةَ، حَتَّى أَخْرَجَنِي مِنْ مَنْزِلِي لِأَجْتَمِعَ بِكَ، وَأَجْلِسَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ، وَأَمَرْتُ وَكِيلِي، فَدَفَعَ إِلَيْهِ الْأَلْفَيْنِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ مَعَهُ، وَقُلْتُ: إِذَا كَانَ الْغَدُ فَأْتِ مَنْزِلِي فِي مَكَانِ كَذَا وَكَذَا. وَرَكِبْتُ فَجِئْتُ دَارَ الْخِلَافَةِ وَقُلْتُ: مَا أُتْحِفَ الْمَهْدِيَّ اللَّيْلَةَ فِي السَّمَرِ بِأَغْرَبَ مِنْ هَذَا. فَلَمَّا قَصَصْتُ عَلَيْهِ الْقِصَّةَ تَعَجَّبَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ جِدًّا، وَأَمَرَ لِلْأَعْمَى بِأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ، وَقَالَ لِي: عَلَيْكَ دَيْنٌ؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: كَمْ؟ قُلْتُ: خَمْسُونَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ. فَسَكَتَ وَحَادَثَنِي سَاعَةً، فَلَمَّا قُمْتُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ، فَوَصَلْتُ الْمَنْزِلَ إِذَا الْحَمَّالُونَ قَدْ سَبَقُونِي إِلَى الْمَنْزِلِ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ وَأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ لِلْأَعْمَى، فَانْتَظَرْتُ الْأَعْمَى أَنْ يَجِيءَ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ، فَتَأَخَّرَ، فَلَمَّا أَمْسَيْتُ جَلَسْتُ إِلَى الْمَهْدِيُّ فَقَالَ: قَدْ فَكَّرْتُ فِي أَمْرِكَ، فَوَجَدْتُكَ إِذَا قَضَيْتَ دَيْنَكَ لَمْ يَبْقَ مَعَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَقَدْ أَمَرْتُ لَكَ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ أُخْرَى. فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الثَّالِثُ جَاءَنِي الْمَكْفُوفُ فَقُلْتُ: قَدْ رَزَقَ اللَّهُ بِسَبَبِكَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا، وَدَفَعْتُ إِلَيْهِ الْأَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ الَّتِي مِنْ عِنْدِ الْخَلِيفَةِ، وَزِدْتُهُ أَلْفَيْ دِينَارٍ مِنْ مَالِي أَيْضًا. إِذْعَانُ الْمَهْدِيِّ عِنْدَ ذِكْرِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَأُسْنِدَ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ نَافِعٍ: (أَنَّ قَوْمًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ تَنَازَعُوا إِلَيْهِ فِي نَهْرٍ مَنْ أَنْهَارِ الْبَصْرَةِ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ فِي أَيْدِينَا لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَمَا لَمْ يَقَعْ لَهُ ابْتِيَاعٌ مِنْهَا... يَعُودُ ثَمَنُهُ عَلَى كَافَّتِهِمْ وَفِي مَصْلَحَتِهِمْ، فَلَا سَبِيلَ لِأَحَدٍ عَلَيْهِ. فَقَالَ الْقَوْمُ: هَذَا النَّهْرُ لَنَا بِحُكْمِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ: «مَنْ أَحْيَا أَرْضًا مَيْتَةً.. فَهِيَ لَهُ». وَهَذِهِ مَوَاتٌ. فَوَثَبَ الْمَهْدِيُّ عِنْدَ ذِكْرِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ حَتَّى أَلْصَقَ خَدَّهُ بِالتُّرَابِ، وَقَالَ: سَمِعْتُ لِمَا قَالَ وَأَطَعْتُ، ثُمَّ عَادَ وَقَالَ: بَقِيَ أَنْ تَكُونَ هَذِهِ الْأَرْضُ مَوَاتًا حَتَّى لَا أُعْرَضَ فِيهَا، وَكَيْفَ تَكُونُ مَوَاتًا وَالْمَاءُ مُحِيطٌ بِهَا مِنْ جَوَانِبِهَا ؟ ! فَإِنْ أَقَامُوا الْبَيِّنَةَ عَلَى هَذَا.. سَلَّمْتُ. وَأُسْنِدَ عَنِ الْأَصْمَعِيِّ قَالَ: (سَمِعْتُ الْمَهْدِيَّ عَلَى مِنْبَرِ الْبَصْرَةِ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ بَدَأَ فِيهِ بِنَفْسِهِ، وَثَنَّى بِمَلَائِكَتِهِ فَقَالَ: { إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ } الْآيَةَ آثَرَهُ بِهَا مِنْ بَيْنِ الرُّسُلِ; إِذْ خَصَّكُمْ بِهَا مِنْ بَيْنِ الْأُمَمِ ). قُلْتُ: وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ قَالَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْخُطْبَةِ، وَقَدِ اسْتَنَّهَا الْخُطَبَاءُ إِلَى الْيَوْمِ. وَلَمَّا مَاتَ... قَالَ أَبُو الْعَتَاهِيَةِ وَقَدْ عُلِّقَتِ الْمُسُوحُ عَلَى قِبَابِ حَرَمِهِ: رُحْنَ فِي الْمُوَشَّى وَأَصْبَـ ـحْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ الْمُسُوحُ كُلُّ نَطَّاحٍ مِنَ الدَّ هْرِ لَهُ يَوْمٌ نَطُوحُ لَسْتَ بِالْبَاقِي وَلَوْ عُمِّـ ـرْتُ مَا عُمِّرَ نُوحُ نُحْ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ يَا مِسْـ ـكِينُ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَنُوحُ ذِكْرُ أَحَادِيثَ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ الْمَهْدِيِّ عَنْ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ الْمَدَائِنِيُّ - وَهُوَ ثِقَةٌ صَدُوقٌ -، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَهْدِيَّ يَخْطُبُ فَقَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ ؓ قَالَ: خَطَبَنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ خُطْبَةً مِنَ الْعَصْرِ إِلَى مُغَيْرِبَانِ الشَّمْسِ، حَفِظَهَا مَنْ حَفِظَهَا، وَنَسِيَهَا مَنْ نَسِيَهَا، فَقَالَ: «أَلَا إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا حُلْوَةٌ خَضِرَةٌ...» الْحَدِيثَ بِطُولِهِ. وَقَالَ الصُّولِيُّ: عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ: أَنَّ وَفْدًا مِنَ الْعَجَمِ قَدِمُوا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ - وَقَدْ أَحْفَوْا لِحَاهُمْ وَأَعْفَوْا شَوَارِبَهُمْ -، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «خَالِفُوهُمْ; أَعْفُوا لِحَاكُمْ، وَأَحْفُوا شَوَارِبَكُمْ». وَإِحْفَاءُ الشَّارِبِ: أَخْذُ مَا سَقَطَ عَلَى الشَّفَةِ مِنْهُ ، وَوَضَعَ الْمَهْدِيُّ يَدَهُ عَلَى أَعْلَى شَفَتِهِ. وَقَالَ مَنْصُورُ بْنُ مُزَاحِمٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ حَمْزَةَ: عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ حَمْزَةَ قَالَ: صَلَّى بِنَا الْمَهْدِيُّ الْمَغْرِبَ فَجَهَرَ بِـ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ; مَا هَذَا ؟ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ جَدِّهِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ جَهَرَ بِـ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، فَقُلْتُ لِلْمَهْدِيِّ: نَأْثُرُهُ عَنْكَ ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ الذَّهَبِيُّ: (هَذَا إِسْنَادٌ مُتَّصِلٌ، لَكِنْ مَا عَلِمْتُ أَحَدًا احْتَجَّ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ وَلَا بِأَبِيهِ فِي الْأَحْكَامِ، تَفَرَّدَ بِهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ مَوْلَى بَنِي هَاشِمٍ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَدِيٍّ: كَانَ يَضَعُ الْحَدِيثَ ). رثاؤه وَقَالَ سَلَمٌ الْخَاسِرُ يَرْثِيهِ: وَبَاكِيَةٍ عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ عَبْرَى كَأَنَّ بِهَا وَمَا جُنَّتْ جُنُونًا وَقَدْ خَمَشَتْ مَحَاسِنَهَا وَأَبْدَتْ غَدَائِرَهَا وَأَظْهَرَتِ الْقُرُونَا لَئِنْ بَلِيَ الْخَلِيفَةُ بَعْدَ عِزٍّ لَقَدْ أَبْقَى مَسَاعِيَ مَا بَلِينَا سَلَامُ اللَّهِ عِدَّةَ كُلِّ يَوْمٍ عَلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ حِينَ ثَوَى رَهِينَا تَرَكْنَا الدِّينَ وَالدُّنْيَا جَمِيعًا بِحَيْثُ ثَوَى أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَا
Translation
✧ The reason for al-Mahdī's death, and the time and place of his passing Then the year 169 AH began. In Muḥarram of this year, the Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdī b. al-Manṣūr al-ʿAbbāsī (may God have mercy on him) passed away. His death was at Māsabadhān. He had gone out to it in order to send for his son al-Hādī to come to him from Jurjān so that he might remove him from the succession and place him after Hārūn al-Rashīd. Al-Hādī refused that, so al-Mahdī rode out from Baghdad intending to bring him. When he was at Māsabadhān, he died there as we shall relate. He had seen in a dream while in his palace in Baghdad—I think it was the one called Qaṣr al-Salāmah—as if an old man stood at the gate of the palace, and it is said that he heard a caller saying: "It is as if I see this palace whose inhabitants have perished, And whose people and dwellings have become desolate from it; And the chief of the people has gone, after splendor And kingship, to a grave upon which are its stones; And nothing remains but his remembrance and his talk, While his wives lament with cries in the night." He lived only ten days after that until he died—may God have mercy on him, pardon him, and admit him to Paradise by His mercy. It is narrated that when the caller said to him: "It is as if I see this palace whose inhabitants have perished, And whose landmarks and dwellings have been effaced," al-Mahdī answered him: "Thus are the affairs of people: its new wears out, And every youth one day his deeds shall wear out." The caller said: "Take provision from this world, for you are dying, And you will be questioned—so what will you say?" Al-Mahdī answered him: "I say that God is true, I have borne witness to Him— That is a saying whose virtues cannot be counted." The caller said: "Take provision from this world, for you are departing, And the matter that is to befall you has drawn near." Al-Mahdī answered him: "When is that? Tell me, may you be guided, for I Will do what you have said to me and hasten to it." The caller said: "Tarry three [nights] after twenty nights, Until the end of a month, and you will not complete it." They said: He lived only twenty-nine days after that until he died—may God Almighty have mercy on him. Ibn Jarīr mentioned disagreement about the cause of his death. It was said: He rode after a gazelle while the dogs were before him. The gazelle entered a ruin, and the dogs entered behind it. The horse came carrying him in its course and entered the ruin, and the caliph's back was broken—and that was the cause of his death. It was said: One of his concubines sent poisoned milk to another. The messenger passed by al-Mahdī, and he ate some of it and died. It was said: Rather, she sent her a platter containing pears, and on top of them was one large pear containing poison. Al-Mahdī liked pears, and the slave girl passed carrying that platter. He saw her and summoned her, took the one on top, ate it, and died on the spot. The concubine began to lament him, saying: "Alas, Commander of the Faithful! I wanted you to be mine alone, so I killed you." His death was in Muḥarram of this year—I mean the year 169 AH—and he was forty-three years old according to the well-known opinion. Al-Mahdī's lineage Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib al-Hāshimī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī, Commander of the Faithful. He was only given the title al-Mahdī out of hope that he would be the one promised in the ḥadīths, but he was not him, even though they share the name—because he did not resemble him in action. That one will come at the end of time and amid its corruption, and he will fill the earth with justice as it was filled with tyranny and oppression. It has been said that in his days Jesus son of Mary will descend at Damascus, as will be mentioned in the ḥadīths of the trials and battles and the mention of the Mahdī and the descent of Jesus son of Mary, God willing, and in Him is trust. A ḥadīth has come through the route of ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān that the Mahdī is from the Banū al-ʿAbbās, and it has also come as a statement stopped at Ibn ʿAbbās and Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, but that is not sound. Even supposing any of that were sound, it would not necessarily mean this one in particular. Another ḥadīth has come: "The Mahdī is from the descendants of Fāṭimah," and it contradicts this one. And God knows best. His mother was Umm Mūsā bt. Manṣūr b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥimyarī. He narrated from his father, from his grandfather, from his father ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās, that the Messenger of God ﷺ recited "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful" aloud. It was narrated from him by Yaḥyā b. Ḥamzah al-Batlahī, the judge of Damascus. It is mentioned that he prayed behind al-Mahdī when he came to Damascus, and he recited the basmalah aloud in the two sūrahs, and he attributed that to the Messenger of God ﷺ, and more than one narrated it from Yaḥyā b. Ḥamzah. Al-Mahdī also narrated from al-Mubārak b. Faḍālah. Narrating from him also were Jaʿfar b. Sulaymān al-Ḍubaʿī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Raqqāshī, and Abū Sufyān Saʿīd b. Yaḥyā b. Mahdī. Al-Mahdī was born in the year 126 or 127—and it was said 121—AH, at al-Ḥumaymah in the land of al-Balqāʾ. He was made caliph after his father's death in Dhū al-Ḥijjah of the year 158 AH, and his age then was thirty-three. He died in Muḥarram of this year at the age of forty-three or forty-eight. His caliphate lasted ten years, a month, and part of a month. From the reports about al-Mahdī Al-Ṣūlī said: When al-Mahdī concluded the pledge for his son Mūsā, Marwān b. Abī Ḥafṣah said: "A pledge was concluded for Mūsā at al-Ruṣāfah, By which God tightened the bonds of Islam— Mūsā, whose excellence Quraysh knew, And they have their virtue over all peoples. By Muḥammad, after the Prophet Muḥammad, The lawful came to life and every unlawful died— The Mahdī of his community, through whom it became Safe from humiliation and from destruction. Mūsā, the holder of the staff of the caliphate after him— By that the places of the pens have dried." Another said: "O son of the Caliph, the community of Aḥmad Longs for you with obedience, their desires; And you will surely fill the earth with justice, like what Its scholars used to tell the community— Until its dead would wish, if they could see, From the justice of your rule what its living see. Upon your father today is the splendor of its kingship, And tomorrow upon you are its cloak and its mantle." [The reward of the woman who said: O kinsmen of the Messenger of God ﷺ] Al-Ṣūlī narrated: (A woman confronted al-Mahdī and said: "O kinsmen of the Messenger of God ﷺ, look into my need." Al-Mahdī said: "I have never heard it from anyone before. Fulfill her need, and give her ten thousand dirhams!"). Ibn al-Khayyāṭ entered upon al-Mahdī and praised him, and he ordered fifty thousand dirhams for him. Ibn al-Khayyāṭ distributed it and composed: "I took his hand with my hand, seeking wealth, And I did not know that generosity from his hand is contagious— So I am not one of those who gained what the wealthy gained, I benefited and it infected me, so I scattered what I had." He said: That was reported to al-Mahdī, and he gave him a dinar for every dirham. In sum, he had many noble deeds and good qualities. The old man does not abandon his character Quraysh al-Khatlī said: (Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAbd al-Quddūs al-Baṣrī was brought before al-Mahdī on a charge of heresy. He wanted to execute him, but he said: "I repent to God Almighty," and recited about himself: "What enemies attain from an ignorant man Is less than what the ignorant man attains from himself; The old man does not abandon his character Until he is buried in the dust of his grave." So he let him go. When he was close to leaving, he called him back and said: "Did you not say: 'The old man does not abandon his character'?" He said: "Yes." He said: "Then likewise you will not abandon your character until you die." Then he ordered him executed.) I bear witness that the back of your neck is the neck of a liar. Zuhayr said: (Ten ḥadīth transmitters were brought before al-Mahdī, among them Faraj b. Faḍālah and Ghiyāth b. Ibrāhīm—and al-Mahdī loved pigeons. When Ghiyāth entered, it was said to him: "Narrate to the Commander of the Faithful." He narrated to him: from so-and-so, from Abū Hurayrah, raised to the Prophet: "There is no prize except in a hoof or a blade," and he added to it: "or a wing." Al-Mahdī ordered ten thousand dirhams for him. When he stood up, he said: "I bear witness that the back of your neck is the neck of a liar. You only sought that out." Then he ordered the pigeons slaughtered.) Three things are unavoidable. It was narrated: (Sharīk entered upon al-Mahdī, and he said to him: "One of three things is unavoidable: either you take up the judgeship, or you teach my children and narrate to them, or you eat one meal with me." He thought for a while, then said: "The meal is lighter for me." Al-Mahdī ordered the preparation of varieties of marrow solidified with sugar and other things, and he ate. The cook said: "He will not prosper after it!" He said: Then he narrated to them after that, taught them knowledge, and took up the judgeship.) This is how knowledge is sought. Al-Baghawī narrated in al-Jaʿdiyyāt from Ḥamdān al-Aṣbahānī who said: (I was with Sharīk when the son of al-Mahdī came to him. He leaned back and asked about a ḥadīth, but Sharīk paid no attention. Then he repeated, and he repeated. He said: "It is as if you look down on the children of caliphs?!" He said: "No, but knowledge is more becoming to its people than that they should waste it." So he knelt on his knees and then asked him, and Sharīk said: "This is how knowledge is sought.") From al-Mahdī's poetry—recited by al-Ṣūlī: "What keeps people from us, What weariness people have of us— Their only concern is To dig up what we have buried. If we dwelled in the belly of the earth, They would be wherever we were; And if they confronted us One day in love, they would go mad." Al-Ṣūlī narrated from Muḥammad b. ʿImārah who said: Al-Mahdī had a slave girl with whom he was infatuated, and she likewise, except that she avoided him a great deal. He secretly sent to her someone who learned what was in her heart. She said: "I fear that he will tire of me and leave me, and I will die." Al-Mahdī said about that: "A young maiden like the crescent moon Has won my heart; Whenever my love for her is sound, She comes with some pretext— Not out of love for separation from me And distance from my union, But to preserve My love for her, for fear of weariness." And he said about his boon companion ʿUmar b. Bazīʿ: "Lord, complete my bliss With Abū Ḥafṣ, my companion; The pleasure of my life is only In song and vineyards, And fragrant slave girls, And listening and bliss." I say: Al-Mahdī's poetry is more delicate and refined than the poetry of his father and his sons by far. The slave girl's modesty. Al-Ṣūlī narrated from Ibn Abī Karīmah who said: Al-Mahdī entered the room of a slave girl unawares and found her having taken off her clothes and intending to put on others. When she saw him, she covered herself with her hand, but her palm was too small for it. He laughed and said: "My eye saw, to my misfortune, A sight that brings me shame." Then he went out and saw Bashshār, told him, and said: "Complete it." Bashshār said: "She covered it when she saw me Between the folds of the two flanks; So there appeared to me of it a surplus That did not fit in the two palms." He narrated from Isḥāq al-Mawṣilī who said: (At the beginning of his reign, al-Mahdī used to conceal himself from his boon companions, imitating al-Manṣūr, for about a year. Then he appeared to them, and he was advised to conceal himself, but he said: "Pleasure is only with witnessing it.") Whoever seeks help from a traitor is his partner. He narrated from Mahdī b. Sābiq who said: (A man called out to al-Mahdī while he was in his procession: [in kāmil meter] "Say to the Caliph: Ḥātim is a traitor to you, So fear God and spare us from Ḥātim; When the upright man seeks help from a traitor, The upright man is his partner in the sin." Al-Mahdī said: "Every agent of ours named Ḥātim is dismissed.") The generosity of al-Mahdī's character. He narrated from Abū ʿUbaydah who said: (Al-Mahdī used to lead us in the five prayers in the congregational mosque of al-Baṣrah when he came to it. One day the prayer was about to begin, and a Bedouin said: "I am not in a state of purity, but I desire to pray behind you, so order these people to wait for me.") He said: wait for him, and he entered the prayer niche (miḥrāb) and stood until it was said: the man has come, so he said the takbīr, and the people marveled at the graciousness of his character. Al-Wāqidī said: One day I entered upon al-Mahdī and related to him some ḥadīths, and he wrote them down from me. Then he rose and entered the quarters of his women, then came out full of anger. I said: What is the matter with you, O Commander of the Faithful? He said: I entered upon al-Khayzurān, and she rose against me, tore my garment, and said: I have never seen any good from you. By God, O Wāqidī, I only bought her from a slave-dealer, and she has attained with me what she has attained, and I have pledged allegiance to her two sons for the command of the believers after me. I said: O Commander of the Faithful, the Messenger of God ﷺ said: 'They overcome the noble, and the ignoble overcome them.' And he said: 'The best of you is the one who is best to his family, and I am the best of you to my family.' And he said: 'Woman was created from a crooked rib; if you straighten it, you break it.' And I related to him on this subject everything that came to my mind, so he ordered for me two thousand dinars. When I reached my house, behold, the messenger of al-Khayzurān had caught up with me with two thousand dinars except ten dinars, and with him were other garments. She sent to thank me and praised me with kindness. They mentioned that al-Mahdī had declared the blood of a man from the people of Kūfa lawful and set a hundred thousand [dirhams] for whoever brought him. The man entered Baghdad in disguise. One day, while he was in one of the alleys of Baghdad, a man met him, seized the collar of his garment, and called out: 'This is the wanted man of the Commander of the Faithful.' The man tried to free himself but could not. While they were in this state, an emir approached in his retinue, and he was Maʿn b. Zāʾidah. The man said: 'O Abū al-Walīd, a fearful man seeking protection.' He said: 'Woe to you! What is the matter with you and him?' He replied: 'This is the wanted man of the Commander of the Faithful; he has set a hundred thousand for whoever brings him.' Maʿn said: 'Woe to you! Did you not know that I have granted him protection? Release him from your hand.' Then he ordered one of his servants to dismount and mount the man, took him to his house, and that man went to the caliph's gate and reported the news, which reached al-Mahdī. He sent for Maʿn b. Zāʾidah. He entered upon him, greeted, and al-Mahdī did not return the greeting. He said: 'O Maʿn, has your affair reached the point that you grant protection against me?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'And yes, even so?' He said: 'Yes. I have killed in your state four thousand praying men; shall not one man be granted protection for my sake?' Al-Mahdī bowed his head, then raised it to him and said: 'We have granted protection to the one you have protected, O Maʿn.' He said: 'O Commander of the Faithful, the man is poor.' So al-Mahdī ordered thirty thousand for him. He said: 'His offense is great, and the gifts of caliphs are according to the sins of the subjects.' So he ordered a hundred thousand for him, and it was carried before Maʿn to the man. Maʿn said to him: 'Pray for the caliph and set right your intention in the future.' A bedouin came with a sealed letter, saying: 'This is the letter of the Commander of the Faithful; where is the man called al-Rabīʿ?' They directed him to al-Rabīʿ the chamberlain. He took the letter, brought it to the Commander of the Faithful, and had the bedouin stand. He opened the letter and found it was a piece of leather with weak writing, and the bedouin claimed that it was the caliph's handwriting. Al-Mahdī smiled and said: 'The bedouin has spoken the truth; this is my handwriting. I went out one day to hunt and lost the army. Night approached, and I sought refuge with the refuge of the Messenger of God ﷺ. A fire appeared to me from afar, so I made for it, and there was the old man and his wife in a tent kindling a fire. I greeted, and he returned the greeting, spread a cloak for me, and gave me a drink of a mixture of milk and water. I have never drunk anything but that it was sweeter than this. I slept a sleep on that cloak the like of which I do not recall ever sleeping sweeter. Then he went to a small sheep of his and slaughtered it. I heard his wife say to him: "You have gone to your livelihood and the livelihood of your children and slaughtered it! You have destroyed yourself and your dependents." He did not pay attention to her. I woke from sleep and roasted some of that sheep. I said to him: "Do you have anything on which I may write you a letter?" He brought me this piece of leather, and I wrote for him with a stick from that ash five hundred thousand, but I only intended fifty thousand. By God, I shall carry it out for him in full even if there is nothing in the treasury besides it.' The bedouin took it and remained residing in that place, which is on the pilgrim road from the direction of al-Anbār, and he used to host people there, so it became known as the place of the host of the Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdī. On the authority of Sawwār, the owner of the open area of Sawwār, who said: One day I returned from al-Mahdī's presence and came to my house. Lunch was placed before me, but I had no appetite for it. I entered my private room to take a nap, but sleep did not come. I summoned one of my concubines to divert myself, but I could not settle. I got up, left the house, mounted my mule, and had not gone far from the house when a man met me with two thousand dirhams. I said: 'Where is this from?' He said: 'From your new property.' I took him along with me and walked in the alleys of Baghdad to distract myself from the vexation I was in. The time of the afternoon prayer came at a mosque in one of the quarters, so I dismounted to pray there. When I finished the prayer, a blind man seized my clothes and said: 'I have a need of you.' I said: 'What is your need?' He said: 'I am a blind man, but when I smelled the fragrance of your perfume, I thought you were a man of wealth and affluence, so I wished to disclose my need to you.' I said: 'What is it?' He said: 'This palace opposite the mosque belonged to my father. He traveled from it to Khurasan, sold it, and took me with him while I was young. We separated there, affliction befell me, and we returned to Baghdad. I came to the owner of this palace to ask for something to sustain myself, hoping to meet Sawwār, for he was a companion of my father, and perhaps he has means to be generous to me.' I said: 'Who is your father?' He mentioned a man who had been one of the dearest people to me. I said: 'I am Sawwār, your father's companion. Today God has denied me sleep, rest, food, and comfort until He brought me out of my house to meet you and sit before you.' I ordered my agent, and he handed over the two thousand he had with him. I said: 'Tomorrow come to my house at such-and-such a place.' I mounted and went to the palace of the caliphate and said: 'Tonight nothing more extraordinary than this has been presented to al-Mahdī in his evening conversation.' When I told him the story, he marveled greatly and ordered for the blind man two thousand dinars. He said to me: 'Do you have a debt?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'How much?' I said: 'Fifty thousand dinars.' He fell silent and conversed with me for a while. When I rose from before him and reached my house, the porters had already preceded me with fifty thousand dinars and two thousand dinars for the blind man. I waited for the blind man to come that day, but he was delayed. When evening came, I sat with al-Mahdī, and he said: 'I have thought about your affair and found that if you pay your debt, nothing will remain with you, so I have ordered another fifty thousand dinars for you.' On the third day the blind man came to me, and I said: 'Through you, God has provided abundant good.' I gave him the two thousand dinars from the caliph and added another two thousand dinars from my own wealth. Al-Mahdī's compliance when the Prophet ﷺ was mentioned It is reported from Ibrāhīm b. Nāfiʿ: (That a group from the people of Basra disputed before him concerning a canal of the canals of Basra. He said: 'The land belongs to God and in our hands is for the Muslims. What has not had a purchase from it, its price returns to the whole of them and in their welfare, so no one has a claim over it.' The people said: 'This canal is ours by the ruling of the Messenger of God ﷺ, for he said: "Whoever revives dead land, it is his," and this is dead land.' Al-Mahdī leapt up at the mention of the Prophet ﷺ until he pressed his cheek to the dust and said: 'I have heard what he said and I have obeyed.' Then he returned and said: 'It remains that this land must be dead so that I do not dispute it. How can it be dead while water surrounds it on all sides? If they establish proof of this, I will hand it over.' It is reported from al-Aṣmaʿī that he said: (I heard al-Mahdī on the pulpit of Basra saying: 'God has commanded you with a matter in which He began with Himself, and secondly with His angels, for He said: {Indeed God and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet} [Q 33:56], preferring him thereby among the messengers, just as He singled you out thereby among the nations.) I say: He was the first to say that in a sermon, and preachers have followed it to this day. When he died, Abū al-ʿAtāhiyah said, when sackcloth was hung over the domes of his sanctuary: They went forth in embroidered garments, and morning came upon them with sackcloth. Every butting one of time has a day of butting. You shall not remain, even if you were granted the life of Noah. Wail over yourself, O wretched one, if you are to wail. Mention of ḥadīths from the transmission of al-Mahdī From Aḥmad b. Hishām, he said: Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muslim al-Madāʾinī narrated to us—and he is trustworthy and truthful—he said: I heard al-Mahdī deliver a sermon and say: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from ʿAlī b. Zayd, from Abū Naḍrah, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī ؓ who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ delivered a sermon to us from the afternoon prayer until the sun became yellowish. Those who memorized it memorized it, and those who forgot it forgot it. He said: 'Indeed the world is sweet and green...' and the full ḥadīth. Al-Ṣūlī said: From ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās, from his father: that a delegation of non-Arabs came to the Messenger of God ﷺ having shaved their beards and let their mustaches grow. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Be different from them; let your beards grow and trim your mustaches.' Trimming the mustache is taking what hangs over the lip from it. Al-Mahdī placed his hand on his upper lip. Manṣūr b. Muzāḥim and Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā b. Ḥamzah said: From Yaḥyā b. Ḥamzah who said: Al-Mahdī led us in the sunset prayer and recited aloud 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.' I said: 'O Commander of the Faithful, what is this?' He said: 'My father narrated to me, from his father, from his grandfather, from Ibn ʿAbbās: that the Prophet ﷺ recited aloud 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.' I said to al-Mahdī: 'Shall we relate it on your authority?' He said: 'Yes.' Al-Dhahabī said: (This is a connected chain, but I know of no one who used al-Mahdī or his father as authorities in legal rulings. It is unique to Muḥammad b. al-Walīd, the client of Banū Hāshim. Ibn ʿAdī said: He used to fabricate ḥadīth.) Elegies for him Salam al-Khāsir said elegizing him: A weeping woman for al-Mahdī, tearful, as if she had madness, though she was not mad. She scratched her cheeks, revealed her tresses, and showed her horns. If the caliph has decayed after might, he left behind endeavors that have not decayed. God's peace, as many as each day, be upon al-Mahdī when he lay as a pledge. We left the religion and the world altogether where the Commander of the Faithful lay.
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