Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3098
The year 195 AH
ذِكْرُ مَنْ تُوُفِّيَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ مِنَ الْأَكَابِرِ 1066 - إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْأَزْرَقُ الْوَاسِطِيُّ . سَمِعَ الْأَعْمَشَ، وَالْجَرِيرِيَّ، وَالثَّوْرِيَّ، وَغَيْرَهُمْ. رَوَى عَنْهُ: أَحْمَدُ وَيَحْيَى. وَكَانَ مِنَ الثِّقَاتِ الْمَأْمُونِينَ، وَمِنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ. قَالَ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ حَمَّادٍ سَجَّادَةَ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ أُمَّ إِسْحَاقَ الْأَزْرَقِ قَالَتْ لَهُ: يَا بُنَيَّ، إِنَّ بِالْكُوفَةِ رَجُلًا يَسْتَخِفُّ بِأَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَى الْحِجِّ فَأَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّي عَلَيْكَ أَنْ لَا تَسْمَعَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا. قَالَ إِسْحَاقُ: فَدَخَلْتُ الْكُوفَةَ فَإِذَا الْأَعْمَشُ قَاعِدٌ وَحْدَهُ، فَوَقَفْتُ عَلَى بَابِ الْمَسْجِدِ، فَقُلْتُ: أُمِّي وَالْأَعْمَشُ ! ! وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ لِلَّهِ ﷺ: "طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ". فَدَخَلْتُ الْمَسْجِدَ، فَسَلَّمْتُ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدِّثْنِي فَإِنِّي رَجُلٌ غَرِيبٌ. قَالَ: مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ ؟ قُلْتُ: مِنْ وَاسِطَ. قَالَ: مَا اسْمُكَ ؟ قُلْتُ: إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ الْأَزْرَقُ. قَالَ: فَلَا حَيِيتَ وَلَا حَيِيَتْ أُمُّكَ، أَلَيْسَ حَرَّجَتْ أَنْ لَا تَسْمَعَ مِنِّي شَيْئًا ؟ قُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ، لَيْسَ كُلُّ مَا بَلَغَكَ يَكُونُ حَقًّا. قَالَ: لَأُحَدِّثَنَّكَ بِحَدِيثٍ مَا حَدَّثْتُهُ أَحَدًا قَبْلَكَ. فَحَدَّثَنِي عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي أَوْفَى قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ: "الْخَوَارِجُ كِلَابُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ". تُوُفِّيَ إِسْحَاقُ بِوَاسِطَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ. 1067 - بَكَّارُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُصْعَبِ بْنِ ثَابِتِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ . يُقَالُ: بَكَّارٌ، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ: أَبُو بَكْرٍ. كَانَ مُدِرَّةَ قُرَيْشٍ شَرَفًا وَبَيَانًا وَلِسَانًا وَجَاهًا وَحُسْنَ أَثَرٍ، وَكَانَ الرَّشِيدُ مُعْجَبًا بِهِ، فَاسْتَعْمَلَهُ عَلَى الْمَدِينَةِ، وَأَقَامَ عَامِلَهُ عَلَيْهَا اثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً وَثَلَاثَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَأَحَدَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا، وَأَخْرَجَ عَلَى يَدِهِ لِأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ثَلَاثَ أُعْطِيَّاتٍ مِقْدَارُهَا أَلْفَ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ وَمِائَتَيْ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ، كُلُّ عَطَاءٍ أَرْبَعُمِائَةِ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ. وَكَانَ الرَّشِيدُ إِذَا كَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ كَتَبَ: مِنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ هَارُونَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِلَى أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ. وَكَانَ عُمَّالُهُ وُجُوهَ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ فِقْهًا وَعِلْمًا وَمُرُوءَةً وَشَرَفًا. وَكَانَ جَوَادًا، فَقَلَّ بَيْتٌ بِالْمَدِينَةِ لَمْ يَدْخُلْهُ صَنِيعُهُ. تُوُفِّيَ فِي رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ. 1069 - مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَازِمٍ، أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ التَّمِيمِيُّ. مَوْلَى سَعْدِ بْنِ زَيْدِ مَنَاةَ. وُلِدَ سَنَةَ ثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ وَمِائَةٍ، وَعَمِيَ بَعْدَ أَرْبَعِ سِنِينَ، وَلَازَمَ الْأَعْمَشَ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً، وَكَانَ أَثْبَتَ أَصْحَابِهِ، وَكَانَ يُقَدَّمُ عَلَى الثَّوْرِيِّ وَشُعْبَةَ، وَكَانَ حَافِظًا لِلْقُرْآنِ ثِقَةً، لَكِنَّهُ كَانَ يَرَى رَأْيَ الْمُرْجِئَةِ. وَرَوَى عَنْهُ: أَحْمَدُ وَيَحْيَى، وَخَلْقٌ كَثِيرٌ. وَرَوَى عَنْ خَلْقٍ كَثِيرٍ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَضْبُطُ حَدِيثَ الْأَعْمَشِ ضَبْطًا جَيِّدًا، وَيَضْطَرِبُ فِي غَيْرِهِ. عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الصِّينِيِّ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا مُعَاوِيَةَ يَقُولُ: حَجَجْتُ مَعَ جَدَّيْ أَبِي وَأُمِّي وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ، فَرَأَنِي أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَقَالَ لِجَدِّي: مَا يَكُونُ هَذَا الْغُلَامُ مِنْكَ ؟ قَالَ: ابْنِي. قَالَ: لَيْسَ بِابْنِكَ. قَالَ: ابْنُ ابْنَتِي. قَالَ: لَيَكُونَنَّ لَهُ شَأْنٌ، وَلَيَطَأَنَّ بِرِجْلَيْهِ هَاتَيْنِ بُسَطَ الْمُلُوكِ، قَالَ: فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ الرَّشِيدُ بَعَثَ إِلَيَّ، فَلَمَّا دَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ ذَكَرْتُ حَدِيثَ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ، فَأَقْبَلْتُ الْتَمِسُ بِرِجْلِي الْبُسَطَ فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا مُعَاوِيَةَ، لَمْ تَلْتَمِسِ الْبِسَاطَ بِرِجْلَيْكَ ؟ فَحَدَّثْتُهُ الْحَدِيثَ، فَأُعْجِبَ بِهِ. قَالَ: وَحَرَّكَنِي شَيْءٌ فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْخَلَاءِ. فَقَالَ لِلْأَمِينِ وَالْمَأْمُونِ: خُذَا بِيَدِ عَمِّكُمَا فَأَرَيَاهُ الْمَوْضِعَ. فَأَخَذَا بِيَدِي فَأَدْخَلَانِي إِلَى الْمَوْضِعِ، فَشَمَمْتُ مِنْهُ رَائِحَةً طَيِّبَةً، فَقَالَا لِي: يَا أَبَا مُعَاوِيَةَ، هَذَا الْمَوْضِعُ، فَشَأْنُكَ، فَقَضَيْتُ حَاجَتِي. قَالَ الْخَطِيبُ: عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ فُضَيْلٍ: مَاتَ أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ سَنَةَ خَمْسٍ وَتِسْعِينَ وَمِائَةٍ فِي آخِرِ صَفَرَ أَوْ فِي أَوَّلِ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ. قَالَ الْمُصَنِّفُ: وَكَذَلِكَ ذَكَرَ أَبُو مُوسَى الْمَدَائِنِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ أَنَّهُ مَاتَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ. وَقَدْ رُوِّينَا عَنِ ابْنِ نُمَيْرٍ أَنَّهُ مَاتَ فِي سَنَةِ أَرْبَعٍ وَالْأَوَّلُ أَكْثَرُ. 1070 - الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ الدِّمَشْقِيُّ، أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ . رَوَى عَنِ اللَّيْثِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، وَالْفَضْلِ بْنِ فُضَالَةَ، وَابْنِ لَهِيعَةَ، وَغَيْرِهِمْ. وَرَوَى عَنْهُ: ابْنُ وَهْبٍ. وَتُوُفِّيَ عِنْدَ انْصِرَافِهِ مِنَ الْحَجِّ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ. وفاة أبي نواس وشيء من سيرته وَأَبُو نُوَاسٍ الشَّاعِرُ وَاسْمُهُ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ هَانِئِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْأَوَّلِ بْنِ صَبَاحِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْجَرَّاحِ بْنِ وُهَيْبِ بْنِ ذَوَّةَ بْنِ غَنْمِ بْنِ سَلِيمِ بْنِ حَكَمِ بْنِ سَعْدِ الْعَشِيرَةِ بْنِ مَالِكِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْغَوْثِ بْنِ طَيِّئِ بْنِ أُدَدِ بْنِ شَبِيبِ بْنِ سَبِيعِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ عَدِيِّ بْنِ عَوْفِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ هَمَيْسَعِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ يَشْجُبَ بْنِ عَرِيبِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ كَهْلَانِ بْنِ سَبَأِ بْنِ يَشْجُبَ بْنِ يَعْرُبَ بْنِ قَحْطَانَ بْنِ عَابِرِ بْنِ شَالَخِ بْنِ أَرْفَخْشَذَ بْنِ سَامِ بْنِ نُوحٍ، كَذَا نَسَبَهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي سَعْدٍ الْوَرَّاقُ أَبُو عَلِيٍّ الْحَكَمِيُّ نِسْبَةً إِلَى وَلَاءِ الْجَرَّاحِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحَكَمِيِّ. وَيُقَالُ لَهُ: أَبُو نُوَاسٍ الْبَصْرِيُّ. كَانَ أَبُوهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ دِمَشْقَ مِنْ جُنْدِ مَرْوَانَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، ثُمَّ صَارَ إِلَى الْأَهْوَازِ، وَتَزَوَّجَ امْرَأَةً يُقَالُ لَهَا جُلْبَانُ. فَوَلَدَتْ لَهُ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ هَذَا، وَابْنًا آخَرَ يُقَالُ لَهُ: أَبُو مُعَاذٍ. ما جاء في أخذه الأدب واللغة وسماعه للحديث ثُمَّ صَارَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ إِلَى الْبَصْرَةِ فَتَأَدَّبَ بِهَا عَلَى أَبِي زَيْدٍ وَأَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، وَقَرَأَ كِتَابَ سِيبَوَيْهِ وَلَزِمَ خَلَفًا الْأَحْمَرَ، وَصَحِبَ يُونُسَ بْنَ حَبِيبٍ الضَّبِّيَّ النَّحْوِيَّ. قَالَ الْقَاضِي ابْنُ خِلِّكَانَ: وَقَدْ صَحِبَ أَبَا أُسَامَةَ وَالِبَةَ بْنَ الْحُبَابِ الْكُوفِيَّ، فَتَأَدَّبَ بِهِ. وَرَوَى الْحَدِيثَ عَنْ أَزْهَرَ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، وَحَمَّادِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، وَحَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، وَعَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ، وَمُعْتَمِرِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ، وَيَحْيَى الْقَطَّانِ، وَعَنْهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ الصَّيْرَفِيُّ، حَكَى عَنْهُ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنْهُمُ الشَّافِعِيُّ، وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ، وَالْجَاحِظُ، وَغُنْدَرٌ. وَمِنْ مَشَاهِيرِ حَدِيثِهِ مَا رَوَاهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ الصَّيْرَفِيُّ، عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: لَا يَمُوتَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يُحْسِنُ الظَّنَّ بِاللَّهِ فَإِنَّ حُسْنَ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ ثَمَنُ الْجَنَّةِ. وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: دَخَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ فِي الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ لَهُ صَالِحُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْهَاشِمِيُّ: يَا أَبَا عَلِيٍّ، أَنْتَ الْيَوْمَ فِي آخِرِ يَوْمٍ مِنْ أَيَّامِ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ مِنْ أَيَّامِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَبَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ هَنَاتٌ، فَتُبْ إِلَى اللَّهِ - عَزَّ وَجَلَّ - مِنْ عَمَلِكَ. فَقَالَ: إِيَّاىَ تُخَوِّفُ بِاللَّهِ ؟ ! فَقَالَ: أَسْنِدُونِي. فَأَسْنَدُوهُ. فَقَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ يَزِيدَ الرَّقَاشِيِّ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: إِنَّ لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ شَفَاعَةً، وَإِنِّي اخْتَبَأْتُ شَفَاعَتِي لِأَهْلِ الْكَبَائِرِ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَفَتُرَانِي لَا أَكُونُ مِنْهُمْ ؟ براعته في الشعر والأدب وَقَالَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ: مَا قُلْتُ الشِّعْرَ حَتَّى رَوَيْتُ لِسِتِّينَ امْرَأَةً؛ مِنْهُنَّ خَنْسَاءُ، وَلَيْلَى، فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِالرِّجَالِ ؟ وَقَالَ يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ السِّكِّيتِ: إِذَا رَوَيْتَ الشِّعْرَ عَنِ امْرِئِ الْقَيْسِ وَالْأَعْشَى مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، وَمِنَ الْإِسْلَامِيِّينَ لِجَرِيرٍ وَالْفَرَزْدَقِ، وَمِنَ الْمُحْدَثِينَ عَنْ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ فَحَسْبُكَ. وَقَدْ أَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ؛ مِنْهُمُ الْأَصْمَعِيُّ، وَالْجَاحِظُ، وَالنَّظَّامُ. وَقَالَ أَبُو عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيُّ: لَوْلَا أَنَّ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ أَفْسَدَ شِعْرَهُ بِهَذِهِ الْأَقْذَارِ لَاحْتَجَجْنَا بِهِ فِي كُتُبِنَا. يَعْنِي شِعْرَهُ فِي الْخَمْرِيَّاتِ، وَالْأَحْدَاثِ. وَقَدِ اجْتَمَعَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الشُّعَرَاءِ عِنْدَ الْمَأْمُونِ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: أَيُّكُمُ الْقَائِلُ: فَلَمَّا تَحَسَّاهَا وَقَفْنَا كَأَنَّنَا نَرَى قَمَرًا فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْلَعُ كَوْكَبًا قَالُوا: أَبُو نُوَاسٍ قَالَ: فَأَيُّكُمُ الْقَائِلُ: إِذَا نَزَلَتْ دُونَ اللَّهَاةِ مِنَ الْفَتَى دَعَا هَمُّهُ عَنْ صَدْرِهِ بِرَحِيلِ قَالُوا: أَبُو نُوَاسٍ قَالَ: فَأَيُّكُمُ الْقَائِلُ: فَتَمَشَّتْ فِي مَفَاصِلِهِمْ كَتَمَشِّي الْبُرْءِ فِي السَّقَمِ قَالُوا: أَبُو نُوَاسٍ قَالَ: فَهُوَ أَشْعَرُكُمْ . وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ لِابْنِ مُنَاذِرٍ: مَا أَشْعَرَ ظَرِيفُكُمْ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ: يَا قَمَرًا أَبْصَرْتُ فِي مَأْتَمٍ يَنْدُبُ شَجْوًا بَيْنَ أَتْرَابِ أَبْرَزَهُ الْمَأْتَمُ لِي كَارِهًا بِرَغْمِ ذِي بَابٍ وَحُجَّابِ يَبْكِي فَيُذْرِي الدُّرَّ مِنْ نَرْجِسٍ وَيَلْطِمُ الْوَرْدَ بِعُنَّابِ لَا زَالَ مَوْتًا دَأْبُ أَحْبَابِهِ وَلَا تَزَلْ رُؤْيَتُهُ دَابِي وَقَالَ ابْنُ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ: أَشْعَرُ النَّاسِ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ: تَغَطَّيْتُ مِنْ دَهْرِي بِظِلِّ جَنَاحِهِ فَعَيْنِي تَرَى دَهْرِي، وَلَيْسَ يَرَانِي فَلَوْ تَسْأَلُ الْأَيَّامُ مَا اسْمِي لَمَا دَرَتْ وَأَيْنَ مَكَانِي مَا عَرَفْنَ مَكَانِي وَقَالَ أَبُو الْعَتَاهِيَةِ: قُلْتُ فِي الزُّهْدِ عِشْرِينَ أَلْفَ بَيْتٍ، وَوَدِدْتُ أَنَّ لِي مَكَانَهَا الْأَبْيَاتَ الثَّلَاثَةَ الَّتِي قَالَهَا أَبُو نُوَاسٍ، وَهِيَ هَذِهِ وَكَانَتْ مَكْتُوبَةً عَلَى قَبْرِهِ: يَا نُوَاسِيُّ تَوَقَّرْ وَتَعَزَّ وَتَصَبَّرْ إِنْ يَكُنْ سَاءَكَ دَهْرٌ فَلَمَا سَرَّكَ أَكْثَرْ يَا كَبِيرَ الذَّنْبِ عَفْوُ اللَّ هِ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ أَكْبَرْ وَمِنْ شَعْرِ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ يَمْدَحُ بَعْضَ الْأُمَرَاءِ: أَوْجَدَهُ اللَّهُ فَمَا مِثْلُهُ لِطَالِبِ ذَاكَ وَلَا نَاشِدِ وَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ بِمُسْتَنْكَرٍ أَنْ يَجْمَعَ الْعَالَمَ فِي وَاحِدِ وَأَنْشَدُوا لِسُفْيَانَ بْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ قَوْلَ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ: مَا هَوًى إِلَّا لَهُ سَبَبُ يَبْتَدِي مِنْهُ وَيَنْشَعِبُ فَتَنَتْ قَلْبِي مُحَجَّبَةٌ وَجْهُهُا بِالْحُسْنِ مُنْتَقِبُ خَلِيَتْ وَالْحُسْنُ تَأْخُذُهُ تَنْتَقِي مِنْهُ وَتَنْتَخِبُ فَاكْتَسَتْ مِنْهُ طَرَائِفُهُ وَاسْتَزَادَتْ بَعْضَ مَا تَهَبُ فَهِيَ لَوْ صَيَّرْتَ فِيهِ لَهَا عَوْدَةً لَمْ يُثْنِهَا أَرَبُ صَارَ جِدًّا مَا مَزَحْتَ بِهِ رُبَّ جِدٍّ جَرَّهُ اللَّعِبُ فَقَالَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ: آمَنْتُ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَهَا. وَقَالَ ابْنُ دُرَيْدٍ: قَالَ أَبُو حَاتِمٍ: لَوْلَا أَنَّ الْعَامَّةَ بَذَلَتْ هَذَيْنِ الْبَيْتَيْنِ لَكَتَبْتُهُمَا بِمَاءِ الذَّهَبِ وَهُمَا لِأَبِي نُوَاسٍ: وَلَوْ أَنِّي اسْتَزَدْتُكَ فَوْقَ مَا بِي مِنَ الْبَلْوَى لَأَعْوَزَكَ الْمَزِيدُ وَلَوْ عُرِضَتْ عَلَى الْمَوْتَى حَيَاتِي بِعَيْشٍ مِثْلَ عَيْشِي لَمْ يُرِيدُوا بين أبي نواس والمحدثين وَقَدْ سَمِعَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ حَدِيثَ سُهَيْلٍ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: الْقُلُوبُ جُنُودٌ مُجَنَّدَةٌ، فَمَا تَعَارَفَ مِنْهَا ائْتَلَفَ وَمَا تَنَاكَرَ مِنْهَا اخْتَلَفَ فَنَظَمَ ذَلِكَ فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ يَقُولُ فِيهَا: إِنَّ الْقُلُوبَ لَأَجْنَادٌ مُجَنَّدَةٌ لِلَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِالْأَهْوَاءِ تَعْتَرِفُ فَمَا تَعَارَفَ مِنْهَا فَهُوَ مُؤْتَلِفٌ وَمَا تَنَاكَرَ مِنْهَا فَهُوَ مُخْتَلِفُ وَدَخَلَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ يَوْمًا مَعَ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الْمُحَدِّثِينَ عَلَى عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ: لِيَخْتَرْ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمْ عَشَرَةَ أَحَادِيثَ أُحَدِّثُهُ بِهَا. فَاخْتَارَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ عَشَرَةً، إِلَّا أَبَا نُوَاسٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: مَا لَكَ لَا تَخْتَارُ كَمَا اخْتَارُوا ؟ فَأَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ: وَلَقَدْ كُنَّا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ قَتَادَهْ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّ بِ ثُمَّ سَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَادَهْ وَعَنْ الشَّعْبِيِّ وَالشَّعْ بِيُّ شَيْخٌ ذُو جَلَادَهْ وَعَنِ الْأَخْيَارِ نَحْكِي هِ وَعَنْ أَهْلِ الْإِفَادَهْ أَنَّ مَنْ مَاتَ مُحِبًّا فَلَهُ أَجْرُ شَهَادَهْ فَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ: قُمْ يَا مَاجِنُ لَا حَدَّثْتُكَ وَلَا حَدَّثْتُ أَحَدًا مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ أَجْلِكَ. فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ مَالِكَ بْنَ أَنَسٍ وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنَ أَبِي يَحْيَى، فَقَالَا: كَانَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُحَدِّثَهُ، لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُصْلِحَهُ. قُلْتُ: وَهَذَا الَّذِي أَنْشَدَهُ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ فِي شِعْرِهِ قَدْ رَوَاهُ ابْنُ عَدِيٍّ فِي " " كَامِلِهِ " " عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ مَوْقُوفًا، وَمَرْفُوعًا مَنْ عَشِقَ فَعَفَّ فَكَتَمَ فَمَاتَ مَاتَ شَهِيدًا وَمَعْنَى هَذَا أَنَّ مَنِ ابْتُلِيَ بِالْعِشْقِ مِنْ غَيْرِ اخْتِيَارٍ مِنْهُ فَصَبَرَ وَعَفَّ عَنِ الْفَاحِشَةِ وَلَمْ يُفْشِ ذَلِكَ فَمَاتَ بِسَبَبِ ذَلِكَ، حَصَلَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ، فَإِنْ صَحَّ هَذَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ نَوْعُ شَهَادَةٍ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَرَوَى الْخَطِيبُ أَيْضًا أَنَّ شُعْبَةَ لَقِيَ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ: حَدِّثْنَا مِنْ طُرَفِكَ، فَقَالَ مُرْتَجِلًا: حَدَّثَنَا الْخَفَّافُ عَنْ وَائِلٍ وَخَالِدٌ الْحَذَّاءُ عَنْ جَابِرِ وَمِسْعَرٌ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِهِ يَرْفَعُهُ الشَّيْخُ إِلَى عَامِرِ قَالُوا جَمِيعًا أَيُّمَا طِفْلَةٍ عُلِّقَهَا ذُو خُلُقٍ طَاهِرِ فَوَاصَلَتْهُ ثُمَّ دَامَتْ لَهُ عَلَى وِصَالِ الْحَافِظِ الذَّاكِرِ كَانَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ مَفْتُوحَةً يَرْتَعُ فِي مَرْتَعِهَا الزَّاهِرِ وَأَيُّ مَعْشُوقٍ جَفَا عَاشِقًا بَعْدَ وِصَالٍ دَائِمٍ نَاضِرِ فَفِي عَذَابِ اللَّهِ بُعْدًا لَهُ نَعَمْ وَسُحْقٍ دَائِمٍ دَاحِرِ فَقَالَ لَهُ شُعْبَةُ: إِنَّكَ لَجَمِيلُ الْأَخْلَاقِ، وَإِنِّي لَأَرْجُو لَكَ. وَأَنْشَدَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ أَيْضًا: يَا سَاحِرَ الْمُقْلَتَيْنِ وَالْجِيدِ وَقَاتِلِي مِنْكَ بِالْمَوَاعِيدِ تُوعِدُنِي الْوَصْلَ ثُمْ تُخْلِفُنِي فَوَابَلَائِي مِنْ خُلْفِ مَوْعُودِي حَدَّثَنِي الْأَزْرَقُ الْمُحَدِّثُ عَنْ شَمْرٍ وَعَوْفٍ عَنْ ابْنِ مَسْعُودِ مَا يُخْلِفُ الْوَعْدَ غَيْرُ كَافِرَةٍ وَكَافِرٍ فِي الْجَحِيمِ مَصْفُودِ فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ إِسْحَاقَ بْنَ يُوسُفَ الْأَزْرَقَ فَقَالَ: كَذَبَ عَدُوُّ اللَّهِ عَلَيَّ، وَعَلَى التَّابِعِينِ، وَعَلَى أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ. طرف من شعره وطرائفه وَعَنْ سُلَيْمِ بْنِ مَنْصُورٍ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ فِي مَجْلِسِ أَبِي يَبْكِي بُكَاءً شَدِيدًا فَقُلْتُ: إِنِّي لَأَرْجُو أَنْ لَا يُعَذِّبَكَ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْبُكَاءِ أَبَدًا. فَأَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ: لَمْ أَبْكِ فِي مَجْلِسِ مَنْصُورِ شَوْقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَالْحُورِ وَلَا مِنَ الْقَبْرِ وَأَهْوَالِهِ وَلَا مِنَ النَّفْخَةِ فِي الصُّورِ وَلَا مِنَ النَّارِ وَأَغْلَالِهَا وَلَا مِنَ الْخُذْلَانِ وَالْجُورِ لَكِنْ بُكَائِي لِبُكَا شَادِنٍ تَقِيهِ نَفْسِي كُلَّ مَحْذُورِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا بَكَيْتُ لِبُكَاءِ هَذَا الْأَمْرَدِ الَّذِي إِلَى جَانِبِ أَبِيكَ، وَكَانَ صَبِيًّا حَسَنَ الصُّورَةِ، يَسْمَعُ الْوَعْظَ فَيَبْكِي خَوْفًا مِنَ اللَّهِ، عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. قَالَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ: دَعَانِي يَوْمًا بَعْضُ الْحَاكَةِ، وَأَلَحَّ عَلِيَّ لِيُضِيفَنِي فِي مَنْزِلِهِ، وَلَمْ يَزَلْ بِي حَتَّى أَجَبْتُهُ، فَسَارَ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ وَسِرْتُ مَعَهُ، فَإِذَا مَنْزِلٌ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ، وَقَدِ احْتَفَلَ الْحَائِكُ فَلَمْ يُقَصِّرْ، فَأَكَلْنَا وَشَرِبْنَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ: يَا سَيِّدِي، أَشْتَهِي أَنْ تَقُولَ فِي جَارِيَتِي شَيْئًا مِنَ الشِّعْرِ وَكَانَ مُغْرَمًا بِجَارِيَةٍ لَهُ. قَالَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ فَقُلْتُ: أَرِنِيهَا حَتَّى أَنْظِمَ عَلَى شَكْلِهَا، وَحُسْنِهَا. فَكَشَفَ عَنْهَا الْحِجَابَ، فَإِذَا هِيَ مِنْ أَسْمَجِ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ وَأَوْحَشِهِمْ، سَوْدَاءُ شَمْطَاءُ دِنْدَانِيَةٌ يَسِيلُ لُعَابُهَا عَلَى صَدْرِهَا، فَقُلْتُ لِسَيِّدِهَا: مَا اسْمُهَا ؟ فَقَالَ: تَسْنِيمُ. فَأَنْشَأْتُ أَقُولُ: أَسْهَرَ لَيْلِي حُبُّ تَسْنِيمِ جَارِيَةٍ فِي الْحُسْنِ كَالْبُومِ كَأَنَّمَا نَكْهَتُهَا كَامِخٌ أَوْ حُزْمَةٌ مِنْ حُزَمِ الثُّومِ ضَرَطْتُ مِنْ حُبِّي لَهَا ضَرْطَةً أَفْزَعْتُ مِنْهَا مَلِكَ الرُّومِ قَالَ: فَقَامَ الْحَائِكُ يَرْقُصُ وَيُصَفِّقُ سَائِرَ يَوْمِهِ، وَيَفْرَحُ وَيَقُولُ: شَبَّهَهَا وَاللَّهِ بِمَلِكِ الرُّومِ. وَمِنْ شَعْرِ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ: أَبْرَمَنِي النَّاسُ يَقُولُونَ تُبْ بِزَعْمِهِمْ كَثْرَةُ أَوْزَارِيَهْ إِنْ كُنْتُ فِي النَّارِ وَفِي جَنَّةٍ مَاذَا عَلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي الزَّانِيَهْ وَبِالْجُمْلَةِ فَقَدْ ذَكَرُوا عَنْهُ أُمُورًا كَثِيرَةً، وَأَشْعَارًا مُنْكَرَةً، وَمُجُونًا كَثِيرَةً، وَلَهُ فِي الْخَمْرِيَّاتِ وَالْقَاذُورَاتِ وَالتَّشَبُّبِ بِالْمُرْدَانِ وَالنِّسْوَانِ أَشْيَاءُ بَشِعَةٌ شَنِيعَةٌ، فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُفَسِّقُهُ وَيَرْمِيهِ بِالْفَاحِشَةِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَرْمِيهِ بِالزَّنْدَقَةِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا كَانَ يُخَرِّبُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ. وَالْأَوَّلُ أَظْهَرُ؛ لِمَا فِي أَشْعَارِهِ، فَأَمَّا الزَّنْدَقَةُ فَبَعِيدَةٌ عَنْهُ، وَلَكِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مُجُونٌ وَخَلَاعَةٌ كَثِيرَةٌ. وَقَدْ عَزَوْا إِلَيْهِ فِي صِغَرِهِ وَكِبَرِهِ أَشْيَاءَ، اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِصِحَّتِهَا. وَالْعَامَّةُ تَنْقُلُ عَنْهُ أَشْيَاءَ كَثِيرَةً لَا حَقِيقَةَ لَهَا. وَفِي صَحْنِ جَامِعِ دِمَشْقَ قُبَّةٌ يَفُورُ الْمَاءُ مِنْ وَسَطِهَا، يَقُولُ الدَّمَاشِقَةُ: قُبَّةُ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ. وَهِيَ مَبْنِيَّةٌ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ بِأَزْيَدَ مِنْ مِائَةٍ وَخَمْسِينَ سَنَةً، فَمَا أَدْرِي لِمَاذَا تُسَمَّى بِهَذَا ؟ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ يَقُولُ: وَاللَّهِ مَا فَتَحْتُ سَرَاوِيلِي بِحَرَامٍ قَطُّ. وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ الْأَمِينُ بْنُ هَارُونَ الرَّشِيدِ لِأَبِي نُوَاسٍ: أَنْتَ زِنْدِيقٌ. فَقَالَ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، كَيْفَ وَأَنَا أَقُولُ: أُصَلِّي الصَّلَاةَ الْخَمْسَ فِي حِينِ وَقْتِهَا وَأَشْهَدُ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ للَّهِ خَاضِعَا وَأُحْسِنُ غُسْلًا إِنْ رَكِبْتُ جَنَابَةً وَإِنْ جَاءَنِي الْمِسْكِينُ لَمْ أَكُ مَانِعَا وَإِنِّي وَإِنْ حَانَتْ مِنَ الْكَأْسِ دَعْوَةٌ إِلَى بَيْعَةِ السَّاقِي أُجِيبُ مُسَارِعَا وَأَشْرَبُهَا صِرْفًا عَلَى جَنْبِ مَاعِزٍ وَجَدْيٍ كَثِيرِ الشَّحْمِ أَصْبَحَ رَاضِعَا وَجُوذَابَ حُوَّارَى وَجُوزٍ وَسُكَّرٍ وَمَا زَالَ لِلْمَخْمُورِ ذَلِكَ نَافِعَا وَأَجْعَلُ تَخْلِيطَ الرَّوَافِضِ كُلِّهِمْ لِفَقْحَةِ بَخْتَيْشُوعَ فِي النَّارِ طَابِعَا فَقَالَ لَهُ الْأَمِينُ: وَيْحَكَ، وَمَا الَّذِي أَلْجَأَكَ إِلَى فَقْحَةِ بَخْتَيْشُوعَ ؟ فَقَالَ: بِهَا تَمَّتِ الْقَافِيَةُ فَأَمَرَ لَهُ بِجَائِزَةٍ. وَقَالَ الْجَاحِظُ: لَا أَعْرِفُ فِي كَلَامِ الشُّعَرَاءِ أَرْفَعَ وَلَا أَحْسَنَ مِنْ قَوْلِ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ: أَيَّةُ نارٍ قَدَحَ الْقَادِحُ وَأَيُّ جِدٍّ بَلَغَ الْمَازِحُ لِلَّهِ دَرُّ الشَيبِ مِنْ واعِظٍ وَناصِحٍ لَو خُطِئَ الناصِحُ يَأَبْى الْفَتَى إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الْهَوَى وَمَنْهَجُ الْحَقِّ لَهُ واضِحُ فَاسْمُ بِعَيْنَيْكَ إِلى نِسْوَةٍ مُهُورُهُنَّ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ لَا يَجْتَلِي الْحَوْرَاءَ مِنَ خِدْرِهَا إِلَّا امْرُؤٌ مِيْزَانُهُ رَاجِحُ مَنِ اتَّقى اللَّهَ فَذَاكَ الَّذِي سِيقَ إِلَيهِ الْمَتْجَرُ الرَّابِحُ فَاغْدُ فَمَا فِي الدِّينِ أُغْلُوطَةٌ وَرُحْ لِمَا أَنْتَ لَهُ رَائِحُ وَقَدِ اسْتَنْشَدَهُ أَبُو هِفَّانَ قَصِيدَتَهُ الَّتِي يَقُولُ فِي أَوَّلِهَا: لَا تَنْسَ لَيْلَى وَلَا تَطْرَبْ إِلَى هِنْدٍ فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ مِنْهَا سَجَدَ لَهُ أَبُو هِفَّانَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ: وَاللَّهِ لَا أُكَلِّمُكَ مُدَّةً. قَالَ: فَغَمَّنِي ذَلِكَ، فَلَمَّا أَرَدْتُ الِانْصِرَافَ قَالَ: مَتَى أَرَاكَ ؟ فَقُلْتُ: أَلَمْ تُقْسِمْ ؟ فَقَالَ: الدَّهْرُ أَقْصَرُ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَعَهُ هَجْرٌ. بعض من مستجاد شعره وَمِنْ مُسْتَجَادِ شِعْرِهِ قَوْلُهُ: أَيَا رُبَّ وَجْهٍ فِي التُّرَابِ عَتِيقِ وَيا رُبَّ حُسْنٍ فِي التُّرَابِ رَقِيقِ وَيَا رُبَّ حَزْمٍ فِي التُّرَابِ وَنَجْدَةٍ وَيَا رُبَّ رَأيٍ فِي التُّرَابِ وَثِيقِ أَرَى كُلَّ حَيٍّ هَالِكاً وَابْنَ هَالِكٍ وَذَا حَسَبٍ فِي الْهَالِكِينَ عَرِيقِ فَقُلْ لِقَرِيبِ الدَّارِ إِنَّكَ ظَاعِنٌ إِلَى سَفَرٍ نَائِي الْمَحَلِّ سَحِيقِ إِذَا امْتَحَنَ الدُّنْيَا لَبِيبٌ تَكَشَّفَتْ لَهُ عَنْ عَدُوٍّ فِي ثِيَابِ صَدِيقِ وَقَوْلُهُ: لَا تَشْرَهَنَّ فَإِنَّ الذُّلَّ فِي الشَّرَهِ وَالْعِزُّ فِي الْحِلْمِ لَا فِي الطَّيْشِ وَالسَّفَهِ وَقُلْ لِمُغْتَبِطٍ فِي التِّيْهِ مِنْ حُمَقٍ لَوْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي التِّيهِ لَمْ تَتُهِ التِّيهُ مَفْسَدَةٌ لِلدِّينِ مَنْقَصَةٌ لِلْعَقْلِ مَهْلَكَةٌ لِلْعِرْضِ فَانْتَبِهِ وَجَلَسَ أَبُو الْعَتَاهِيَةِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ فِي دُكَّانِ وَرَّاقٍ، فَكَتَبَ عَلَى ظَهْرِ دَفْتَرٍ: أَيَا عَجَبًا كَيْفَ يُعْصَى الْإِلَ هُ أَمْ كَيْفَ يَجْحَدُهُ الْجَاحِدُ وَفِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَهُ آيَةٌ تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهُ وَاحِدُ ثُمَّ جَاءَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ فَقَرَأَهَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَحْسَنَ، قَاتَلَهُ اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهِ لَوَدِدْتُ أَنَّهَا لِي بِجَمِيعِ شَيْءٍ قُلْتُهُ، لِمَنْ هَذِهِ ؟ قِيلَ: لِأَبِي الْعَتَاهِيَةِ. فَأَخَذَ الدَّفْتَرَ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَى جَانِبِهَا: سُبْحَانَ مَنْ خَلَقَ الْخَلْ قَ مِنْ ضَعِيفٍ مَهِينِ يَسوقُهُ مِنْ قَرَارٍ إِلى قَرارٍ مَكِينِ يَحورُ شَيئًا فَشَيئًا فِي الْحُجُبِ دُونَ الْعُيُونِ حَتَّى بَدَتْ حَرَكَاتٌ مَخْلُوقَةٌ مِنْ سُكُونِ وَمِنْ شِعْرِ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ الْمُسْتَجَادِ قَوْلُهُ: انْقَضَتْ شِرَّتِي فَعِفْتُ الْمَلَاهِي إِذْ رَمَى الشَّيْبُ مَفْرِقِي بِالدَّوَاهِي وَنَهَتْنِي النُّهَى فَمِلْتُ إِلَى الْعَدْ لِ وَأَشْفَقْتُ مِنْ مَقَالَةِ نَاهِ أَيُّهَا الْغَافِلُ الْمُقِيمُ عَلَى السَّهْ وِ وَلَا عُذْرَ فِي الْمُقَامِ لِسَاهِ لَا بِأَعْمَالِنَا نُطِيقُ خَلَاصًا يَوْمَ تَبْدُو السِّمَاتُ فَوْقَ الْجِبَاهِ غَيْرَ أَنَّا عَلَى الْإِسَاءَةِ وَالتَّفْ رِيطِ نَرْجُو مِنْ حُسْنِ عَفْوِ الْإِلَهِ وَقَوْلُهُ: نَمُوتُ وَنَبْلَى غَيْرَ أَنَّ ذُنُوبَنَا إِذَا نَحْنُ مِتْنَا لَا تَمُوتُ وَلَا تَبْلَى أَلَا رُبَّ ذِي عَيْنَيْنِ لَا تَنْفَعَانِهِ وَهَلْ تَنْفَعُ الْعَيْنَانِ مَنْ قَلْبُهُ أَعْمَى وَقَوْلُهُ: لَوْ أَنَّ عَيْنًا وَهَّمَتْهَا نَفْسُهَا يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ مُمَثَّلًا لَمْ تَطْرَفِ سُبْحَانَ ذِي الْمَلَكُوتِ أَيَّةَ لَيْلَةٍ مَخِضَتْ صَبِيحَتُهَا بِيَوْمِ الْمَوْقِفِ كَتَبَ الْفَنَاءَ عَلَى الْبَرِيَّةِ رَبُّهَا فَالنَّاسُ بَيْنَ مُقَدَّمٍ وَمُخَلَّفِ وَذَكَرُوا أَنَّ أَبَا نُوَاسٍ لَمَّا أَرَادَ الْإِحْرَامَ بِالْحَجِّ قَالَ: إِلَهَنَا مَا أَعْدَلَكْ مَلِيكَ كُلِّ مَنْ مَلَكْ لَبَّيْكَ قَدْ لَبَّيْتُ لَكْ لَبَّيْكَ إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكْ مَا خَابَ عَبْدٌ سَأَلَكْ لَبَّيْكَ إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لَكْ وَالْمُلْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ أَنْتَ لَهُ حَيْثُ سَلَكَ لَوْلَاكَ يَا رَبِّي هَلَكْ لَبَّيْكَ إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ وَاللَّيْلُ لَمَّا أَنْ حَلَكْ وَالسَّابِحَاتُ فِي الْفَلَكْ عَلَى مَجَارِي الْمُنْسَلَكْ كُلُّ نَبِيٍّ وَمَلَكْ وَكُلُّ مَنْ أَهَلَّ لَكْ سَبَّحَ أَوْ صَلَّى فَلَكْ لَبَّيْكَ إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لَكْ وَالْمُلْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكْ يَا مُخْطِئًا مَا أَغْفَلَكْ عَجِّلْ وَبَادِرْ أَمَلَكْ وَاخْتِمْ بِخَيْرٍ عَمَلَكْ لَبَّيْكَ إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لَكْ وَالْمُلْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكْ وَقَالَ الْمُعَافَى بْنُ زَكَرِيَّا الْجَرِيرِيُّ: ثِنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ، سَمِعْتُ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ يَحْيَى ثَعْلَبًا يَقُولُ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ، فَرَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا تُهِمُّهُ نَفْسُهُ، لَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُكْثَرَ عَلَيْهِ، كَأَنَّ النِّيرَانَ قَدْ سُعِّرَتْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَمَا زِلْتُ أَتَرَفَّقُ بِهِ، وَتَوَسَّلْتُ إِلَيْهِ بِأَنِّي مِنْ مَوَالِي شَيْبَانَ، حَتَّى قَالَ: فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ نَظَرْتَ ؟ فَقُلْتُ: فِي عِلْمِ اللُّغَةِ وَالشِّعْرِ. قَالَ: مَرَرْتُ بِالْبَصْرَةِ وَجَمَاعَةٌ يَكْتُبُونَ عَنْ رَجُلٍ الشِّعْرَ، وَقِيلَ لِي: هَذَا أَبُو نُوَاسٍ فَتَخَلَّلْتُ النَّاسَ وَرَائِي، فَلَمَّا جَلَسْتُ أَمْلَى عَلَيْنَا: إِذَا مَا خَلَوْتَ الدَّهْرَ يَوْمًا فَلَا تَقُلْ خَلَوْتُ وَلَكِنْ قُلْ عَلَيَّ رَقِيبُ وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفَلُ سَاعَةً وَلَا أَنَّ مَا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ يَغِيبُ لَهَوْنَا لَعَمْرُ اللَّهِ حَتَّى تَتَابَعَتْ ذُنُوبٌ عَلَى آثَارِهِنَّ ذُنُوبُ فَيَا لَيْتَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ مَا مَضَى وَيَأْذَنُ فِي تَوْبَاتِنَا فَنَتُوبُ وَزَادَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي رِوَايَةٍ عَنْ أَبِي نُوَاسٍ بَعْدَ هَذِهِ الْأَبْيَاتِ: أَقُولُ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيَّ مَذَاهِبِي وَحَلَّ بِقَلْبِي لِلْهُمُومِ نُدُوبُ لِطُولِ جِنَايَاتِي وَعِظَمِ خَطِيئَتِي هَلَكْتُ وَمَا لِي فِي الْمَتَابِ نَصِيبُ وَأَغْرَقُ فِي بَحْرِ الْمَخَافَةِ آيِسًا وَتَرْجِعُ نَفْسِي تَارَةً فَتَتُوبُ وَيُذْكَرُ عَفْوٌ لِلْكَرِيمِ عَنِ الْوَرَى فَأَحْيَا وَأَرْجُو عَفْوَهُ فَأُنِيبُ فَأَخْضَعُ فِي قَوْلِي وَأَرْغَبُ سَائِلًا عَسَى كَاشِفُ الْبَلْوَى عَلَيَّ يَتُوبُ قَالَ ابْنُ طَرَارَا الْجَرِيرِيُّ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَتْ هَذِهِ الْأَبْيَاتُ: لِمَنْ ؟ قِيلَ: لِأَبِي نُوَاسٍ، وَهِيَ فِي زُهْدِيَّاتِهِ. وَقَدِ اسْتَشْهَدَ بِهَا النُّحَاةُ فِي أَمَاكِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ قَدْ ذَكَرْنَاهَا. من شعره عند موته وَقَالَ حَسَنُ ابْنُ الدَّايَةِ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَبِي نُوَاسٍ وَهُوَ فِي مَرَضِ الْمَوْتِ، فَقُلْتُ: عِظْنِي. فَأَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ: تَكَثَّرْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتَ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا فَإِنَّكَ لَاقِي رَبًّا غَفُورَا سَتُبْصِرُ إِذْ وَرَدْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَفْوَا وَتَلْقَى سَيِّدًا مَلِكًا قَدِيرَا تَعَضُّ نَدَامَةً كَفَّيْكَ مِمَّا تَرَكْتَ مَخَافَةَ النَّارِ السُّرُورَا فَقُلْتُ: وَيْلَكَ، فِي مِثْلِ هَذِهِ الْحَالِ تَعِظُنِي بِهَذِهِ الْمَوْعِظَةِ ؟ فَقَالَ: اسْكُتْ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: ادَّخَرْتُ شَفَاعَتِي لِأَهْلِ الْكَبَائِرِ مِنْ أُمَّتِي وَقَدْ تَقَدَّمَ لَهُ بِهَذَا السَّنَدِ لَا يَمُوتَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يُحْسِنُ الظَّنَّ بِاللَّهِ وَقَالَ الرَّبِيعُ وَغَيْرُهُ، عَنِ الشَّافِعِيِّ: دَخَلْنَا عَلَى أَبِي نُوَاسٍ فِي الْيَوْمِ الَّذِي مَاتَ فِيهِ، وَهُوَ يَجُودُ بِنَفْسِهِ، فَقُلْنَا: مَا أَعْدَدْتَ لِهَذَا الْيَوْمِ ؟ فَأَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ: تَعَاظَمَنِي ذَنْبِي فَلَمَّا قَرَنْتُهُ بِعَفْوِكَ رَبِّي كَانَ عَفْوُكَ أَعْظَمَا فَمَا زِلْتَ ذَا عَفْوٍ عَنِ الذَّنْبِ لَمْ تَزَلْ تَجُودُ وَتَعْفُو مِنَّةً وَتَكَرُّمَا وَلَوْلَاكَ لَمْ يَصْمُدْ لِإِبْلِيسَ عَابِدٌ فَكَيْفَ وَقَدْ أَغْوَى صَفِيَّكَ آدَمَا رَوَاهُ الْحَافِظُ ابْنُ عَسَاكِرَ. وَرُوِيَ أَنَّهُمْ وَجَدُوا عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ رُقْعَةً مَكْتُوبًا فِيهَا بِخَطِّهِ: يَا رَبِّ إِنْ عَظُمَتْ ذُنُوبِي كَثْرَةً فَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُ بِأَنَّ عَفْوَكَ أَعْظَمُ إِنْ كَانَ لَا يَرْجُوكَ إِلَّا مُحْسِنٌ فَمَنِ الَّذِي يَدْعُو وَيَرْجُو الْمُجْرِمُ أَدْعُوكَ رَبِّ كَمَا أَمَرْتَ تَضَرُّعًا فَإِذَا رَدَدْتَ يَدِي فَمَنْ ذَا يَرْحَمُ مَا لِي إِلَيْكَ وَسِيلَةٌ إِلَّا الرَّجَا وَجَمِيلُ عَفْوِكَ ثُمَّ أَنَّي مُسْلِمُ وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ ابْنُ الدَّايَةِ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَهُوَ فِي السِّيَاقِ، فَقُلْتُ: كَيْفَ تَجِدُكَ ؟ فَأَطْرَقَ مَلِيًّا، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ، فَقَالَ: دَبَّ فِيَّ الْفَنَاءُ سُفْلًا وَعُلْوًا وَأُرَانِي أَمُوتُ عُضْوًا فَعُضْوَا لَيْسَ تَأْتِي مِنْ سَاعَةٍ بِيَ إِلَّا نَقَصَتْنِي بِمُرِّهَا فِيَّ جَزْوَا ذَهَبَتْ جِدَّتِي بِلَذَّةِ عَيْشِي وَتَذَكَّرْتُ طَاعَةَ اللَّهِ نِضْوَا قَدْ أَسْأْنَا كُلَّ الْإِسَاءَةِ فَاللَّهُمَّ صَفْحًا عَنَّا وَغَفْرًا وَعَفْوَا ثُمَّ مَاتَ مِنْ سَاعَتِهِ، سَامَحَهُ اللَّهُ. وَقَدْ كَانَ نَقْشُ خَاتَمِهِ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُخْلِصًا. فَأَوْصَى أَنْ يُجْعَلَ فِي فَمِهِ إِذَا غَسَّلُوهُ، فَفَعَلُوا بِهِ ذَلِكَ. وَلَمَّا مَاتَ لَمْ يَجِدُوا لَهُ مِنَ الْمَالِ سِوَى ثَلَاثِمِائَةِ دِرْهَمٍ وَثِيَابِهِ وَأَثَاثِهِ. وَقَدْ كَانَتْ وَفَاتُهُ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ بِبَغْدَادَ وَدُفِنَ فِي مَقَابِرِ الشُّونِيزِيَّةِ فِي تَلِّ الْيَهُودِ، وَلَهُ خَمْسُونَ سَنَةً، وَقِيلَ: سِتُّونَ سَنَةً. وَقِيلَ: تِسْعٌ وَخَمْسُونَ سَنَةً. وَقَدْ رَآهُ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِهِ فِي الْمَنَامِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ ؟ فَقَالَ: غَفَرَ لِي بِأَبْيَاتٍ قُلْتُهَا فِي النَّرْجِسِ: تَأَمَّلْ فِي نَبَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى آثَارِ مَا فَعَلَ الْمَلِيكُ عُيُونٌ مِنْ لُجَيْنٍ فَاخِرَاتٌ بِأَحْدَاقٍ هِيَ الذَّهَبُ السَّبِيكُ عَلَى قَصَبِ الزَّبَرْجَدِ شَاهِدَاتٌ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ لَهُ شَرِيكُ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: غَفَرَ لِي بِأَبْيَاتٍ قُلْتُهَا، وَهِيَ تَحْتَ وِسَادَتِي، فَجَاءُوا فَوَجَدُوهَا فِي رُقْعَةٍ بِخَطِّهِ وَهِيَ هَذِهِ الْأَبْيَاتُ: يَا رَبِّ إِنْ عَظُمَتْ ذُنُوبِي كَثْرَةً فَلَقْدْ عَلِمْتُ بِأَنَّ عَفْوَكَ أَعْظَمُ الْأَبْيَاتِ. وَقَدْ تَقَدَّمَتْ. وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ لِابْنِ عَسَاكِرَ، قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: رَأَيْتُهُ فِي الْمَنَامِ فِي هَيْئَةٍ حَسَنَةٍ وَنِعْمَةٍ عَظِيمَةٍ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ ؟ قَالَ: غَفَرَ لِي. قُلْتُ: بِمَاذَا ؟ وَقَدْ كُنْتَ مُخَلِّطًا عَلَى نَفْسِكَ ؟ فَقَالَ: جَاءَ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ إِلَى الْمَقَابِرِ، فَبَسَطَ رِدَاءَهُ وَصَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ، قَرَأَ فِيهِمَا أَلْفَيْ مَرَّةٍ قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ثُمَّ أَهْدَى ثَوَابَ ذَلِكَ لِأَهْلِ تِلْكَ الْمَقَابِرِ، فَدَخَلْتُ أَنَا فِي جُمْلَتِهِمْ فَغَفَرَ اللَّهُ لِي. وَقَالَ ابْنُ خِلِّكَانَ لَمَّا صَحِبَ أَبَا أُسَامَةَ وَالِبَةَ بْنَ الْحُبَابِ قَدِمَ بِهِ بَغْدَادَ فَكَانَ أَوَّلَ شِعْرٍ قَالَهُ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ: حَامِلُ الْهَوَى تَعِبُ يَسْتَخِفُّهُ الطَّرَبُ إِنْ بَكَى يَحِقُّ لَهُ لَيْسَ مَا بِهِ لَعِبُ تَضْحَكِينَ لَاهِيَةً وَالْمُحِبُّ يَنْتَحِبُ تَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ سَقَمِي صِحَّتِي هِيَ الْعَجَبُ وَقَالَ الْمَأْمُونُ: مَا أَحْسَنَ قَوْلَهُ: وَمَا النَّاسُ إِلَّا هَالِكٌ وَابْنُ هَالِكٍ وَذُو نَسَبٍ فِي الْهَالِكِينَ عَرِيقُ إِذَا امْتَحَنَ الدُّنْيَا لَبِيبٌ تَكَشَّفَتْ لَهُ عَنْ عَدُوٍّ فِي ثِيَابِ صَدِيقِ قَالَ ابْنُ خِلِّكَانَ: وَمَا أَشَدَّ رَجَاءَهُ بِرَبِّهِ حَيْثُ يَقُولُ: تَكَثَّرْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتَ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا فَإِنَّكَ لَاقِي رَبًّا غَفُورَا سَتُبْصِرُ إِذْ وَرَدْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَفْوًا وَتَلْقَى سَيِّدًا مَلِكًا قَدِيرًا تَعَضُّ نَدَامَةً كَفَّيْكَ مِمَّا تَرَكْتَ مَخَافَةَ النَّارِ السُّرُورَا
Translation
✧ Mention of the notables who died in this year 1066 - Isḥāq b. Yūsuf b. Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Azraq al-Wāsiṭī. He heard al-Aʿmash, al-Jarīrī, al-Thawrī, and others. Aḥmad and Yaḥyā narrated from him. He was among the trustworthy, reliable ones, and among the righteous servants of God. Al-Ḥasan b. Ḥammād Sajjādah said: It reached me that the mother of Isḥāq al-Azraq said to him: "My son, in Kufa there is a man who belittles the people of ḥadīth, and you are on your way to the ḥajj. I ask you by my right over you not to hear anything from him." Isḥāq said: I entered Kufa, and there was al-Aʿmash sitting alone. I stopped at the door of the mosque and said: "My mother and al-Aʿmash!! And the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.'" So I entered the mosque, greeted, and said: "O Abū Muḥammad, narrate to me, for I am a stranger." He said: "Where are you from?" I said: "From Wāsiṭ." He said: "What is your name?" I said: "Isḥāq b. Yūsuf al-Azraq." He said: "May you not live, nor your mother live! Did she not adjure you not to hear anything from me?" I said: "O Abū Muḥammad, not everything that reaches you is true." He said: "I shall narrate to you a ḥadīth I have not narrated to anyone before you." Then he narrated to me from Ibn Abī Awfā, who said: I heard the Messenger of God ﷺ say: "The Khawārij are the dogs of the people of Hell." Isḥāq died in Wāsiṭ in this year. 1067 - Bakkār b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muṣʿab b. Thābit b. ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr. He is called Bakkār, but he is actually Abū Bakr. He was the mudirrah of Quraysh in nobility, eloquence, tongue, prestige, and good reputation. Al-Rashīd admired him, so he appointed him over Madinah, and he remained its governor for twelve years, three months, and eleven days. Through his hand he distributed to the people of Madinah three grants, their amount being one million two hundred thousand dinars, each grant being four hundred thousand dinars. When al-Rashīd wrote to him, he wrote: "From ʿAbd Allāh Hārūn, Commander of the Faithful, to Abū Bakr b. ʿAbd Allāh." His officials were the leading people of Madinah in jurisprudence, knowledge, manliness, and nobility. He was generous, and there was scarcely a house in Madinah into which his beneficence did not enter. He died in Rabīʿ al-Awwal of this year. 1069 - Muḥammad b. Khāzim, Abū Muʿāwiyah al-Tamīmī, client of Saʿd b. Zayd Manāt. He was born in the year 113 AH and became blind after four years. He kept company with al-Aʿmash for twenty years, and he was the most reliable of his companions. He was given precedence over al-Thawrī and Shuʿbah. He was a memorizer of the Qurʾān, trustworthy, but he held the view of the Murjiʾah. Aḥmad and Yaḥyā, and many others, narrated from him. He narrated from many people, but he accurately controlled the ḥadīth of al-Aʿmash well, and he was confused in others. From Ibrāhīm al-Ṣīnī, who said: I heard Abū Muʿāwiyah say: I performed the ḥajj with my two grandfathers, my father's and my mother's, when I was a boy. A bedouin saw me and said to my grandfather: "What will this boy be to you?" He said: "My son." He said: "He is not your son." He said: "My daughter's son." He said: "He will surely have a great affair, and he will surely tread with these two feet of his upon the carpets of kings." He said: When al-Rashīd arrived, he sent for me. When I entered upon him, I remembered the bedouin's ḥadīth, and I began to feel for the carpets with my foot. He said: "O Abū Muʿāwiyah, are you feeling for the carpet with your feet?" So I told him the ḥadīth, and he was amazed by it. He said: Something stirred in me, and I said: "O Commander of the Faithful, I need the privy." He said to al-Amīn and al-Maʾmūn: "Take the hand of your uncle and show him the place." So they took my hand and led me into the place, and I smelled a pleasant fragrance from it. They said to me: "O Abū Muʿāwiyah, this is the place, so do what you need." And I relieved myself. Al-Khaṭīb said, from Muḥammad b. Fuḍayl: Abū Muʿāwiyah died in the year 195 AH at the end of Ṣafar or the beginning of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. The author said: Likewise Abū Mūsā al-Madāʾinī and others mentioned that he died in this year. We have also narrated from Ibn Numayr that he died in the year 194, but the former is more common. 1070 - Al-Walīd b. Muslim al-Dimashqī, Abū al-ʿAbbās. He narrated from al-Layth b. Saʿd, al-Faḍl b. Fuḍālah, Ibn Lahīʿah, and others. Ibn Wahb narrated from him. He died upon returning from the ḥajj in this year. The death of Abū Nuwās and something of his biography And Abū Nuwās, the poet. His name is al-Ḥasan b. Hāniʾ b. ʿAbd al-Awwal b. Ṣabāḥ b. ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Jarrāḥ b. Wuhayb b. Dhawwah b. Ghanm b. Salīm b. Ḥakam b. Saʿd al-ʿAshīrah b. Mālik b. ʿAmr b. al-Ghawth b. Ṭayyiʾ b. Udad b. Shabīb b. Sabīʿ b. al-Ḥārith b. Zayd b. ʿAdī b. ʿAwf b. Zayd b. Humaysaʿ b. ʿAmr b. Yashjub b. ʿArīb b. Zayd b. Kaḥlān b. Sabaʾ b. Yashjub b. Yaʿrub b. Qaḥṭān b. ʿĀbir b. Shālakh b. Arfakhshadh b. Sām b. Nūḥ. Thus he was given lineage by ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Saʿd al-Warrāq Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥakamī, in relation to the clientage of al-Jarrāḥ b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥakamī. He is called Abū Nuwās al-Baṣrī. His father was from the people of Damascus, from the army of Marwān b. Muḥammad, then he moved to al-Ahwāz and married a woman called Julbān. She bore him this Abū Nuwās and another son called Abū Muʿādh. What has come about his education in literature and language and his hearing of ḥadīth Then Abū Nuwās went to Basra and was educated there under Abū Zayd and Abū ʿUbaydah. He read the book of Sībawayh and kept company with Khalaf al-Aḥmar, and he accompanied Yūnus b. Ḥabīb al-Ḍabbī the grammarian. Al-Qāḍī Ibn Khallikān said: He also accompanied Abū Usāmah Wālibah b. al-Ḥubāb al-Kūfī and was educated by him. He transmitted ḥadīth from Azhar b. Saʿd, Ḥammād b. Zayd, Ḥammād b. Salamah, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Ziyād, Muʿtamir b. Sulaymān, and Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān. From him Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. Kathīr al-Ṣayrafī narrated, and a group narrated from him, among them al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, al-Jāḥiẓ, and Ghundar. Among his well-known ḥadīths is what Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. Kathīr al-Ṣayrafī narrated from Ḥammād b. Salamah, from Thābit, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: "Let none of you die except while he thinks well of God, for thinking well of God is the price of Paradise." Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm said: We entered upon him while he was dying. Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAlī al-Hāshimī said to him: "O Abū ʿAlī, today you are in the last day of the days of this world and the first day of the days of the Hereafter, and between you and God there are faults, so repent to God, Mighty and Majestic, from your deeds." He said: "Do you frighten me with God?!" He said: "Prop me up." So they propped him up. Then he said: Ḥammād b. Salamah narrated to me from Yazīd al-Raqqāshī, from Anas b. Mālik, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: "Every prophet has an intercession, and I have reserved my intercession for the grave sinners of my community on the Day of Resurrection." Then he said: "Do you think I will not be among them?" His brilliance in poetry and literature Abū Nuwās said: I did not compose poetry until I had memorized the poetry of sixty women, among them Khansāʾ and Laylā. So what do you think about men? Yaʿqūb b. al-Sikkīt said: If you have memorized poetry from Imruʾ al-Qays and al-Aʿshā among the pre-Islamic poets, and from the Islamic poets Jarīr and al-Farazdaq, and from the modern poets Abū Nuwās, that suffices you. More than one person praised him, among them al-Aṣmaʿī, al-Jāḥiẓ, and al-Naẓẓām. Abū ʿAmr al-Shaybānī said: Had Abū Nuwās not corrupted his poetry with these filths, we would have used him as evidence in our books. He meant his poetry about wine and youths. A group of poets gathered before al-Maʾmūn, and he said to them: "Which of you is the author of: When he sipped it, we stood as if we saw a moon on the earth swallowing a star." They said: Abū Nuwās. He said: "Which of you is the author of: When it descends below the uvula of a young man, his worry calls for departure from his chest." They said: Abū Nuwās. He said: "Which of you is the author of: It walked through their joints like the walking of recovery in sickness." They said: Abū Nuwās. He said: "He is the most poetic of you." Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah said to Ibn Munādhir: "How poetic your witty Abū Nuwās is in his saying: O moon that I saw at a funeral, wailing sorrowfully among companions. The funeral brought him out to me unwillingly, despite the doorkeepers and chamberlains. He weeps and sheds pearls from narcissus, and strikes the rose with jujube. May death never cease to be the habit of his lovers, and may his sight never cease to be a malady. Ibn al-Aʿrābī said: The most poetic of people is Abū Nuwās in his saying: I covered myself from my fate with the shadow of its wing, so my eye sees my fate, but it does not see me. If the days were to ask my name, they would not know, and where my place is, they would not know my place. Abū al-ʿAtāhiyah said: I composed twenty thousand verses on asceticism, and I wish I had instead the three verses that Abū Nuwās composed, which are these, and they were written on his grave: O Nuwāsī, be dignified, be comforted, and be patient. If a time has grieved you, then what has pleased you is more. O great sinner, God's pardon is greater than your sin. From the poetry of Abū Nuwās, may God have mercy on him, praising one of the princes: God brought him into being, and there is none like him for a seeker of that or a desirer. It is not impossible for God to gather the whole world in one person. They recited to Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah the saying of Abū Nuwās: No passion but it has a cause, from which it begins and branches out. A veiled woman fascinated my heart, her face veiled with beauty. She was alone, and beauty took her, selecting and choosing from it. She clothed herself with its novelties, and sought more of what it gave. If you returned to her in it, no desire would turn her away. What you jested about became serious; often seriousness is drawn by play. Ibn ʿUyaynah said: I believe in the One who created her. Ibn Durayd said: Abū Ḥātim said: Had the common people not cheapened these two verses, I would have written them in gold water. They are by Abū Nuwās: If I asked you for more than what I have of affliction, you would be unable to give more. If my life were offered to the dead with a life like mine, they would not want it. Between Abū Nuwās and the ḥadīth scholars Abū Nuwās heard the ḥadīth of Suhayl, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of God ﷺ said: "Hearts are recruited troops; those that recognize one another come together, and those that deny one another differ." He versified this in a poem of his, saying: Indeed hearts are recruited troops for God on earth, recognizing one another by passions. Those that recognize one another are united, and those that deny one another are different. One day Abū Nuwās entered with a group of ḥadīth scholars upon ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Ziyād. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid said to them: "Let each of you choose ten ḥadīths and I will narrate them to him." Each chose ten, except Abū Nuwās. He said to him: "Why do you not choose as they chose?" He began to recite: We have narrated from Saʿīd from Qatādah, From Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab, then Saʿd b. ʿUbādah, And from al-Shaʿbī, and al-Shaʿbī is a sheikh of great endurance, And from the best we narrate, and from the people of benefit, That whoever dies as a lover has the reward of martyrdom. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid said to him: "Get up, you debauched one! I will not narrate to you, nor to any of these because of you." This reached Mālik b. Anas and Ibrāhīm b. Abī Yaḥyā, and they said: "He should have narrated to him; perhaps God would reform him." I say: This verse that Abū Nuwās recited in his poetry has been narrated by Ibn ʿAdī in his "Kāmil" from Ibn ʿAbbās as a stopped report and as a raised report: "Whoever falls in love, remains chaste, conceals it, and dies, dies a martyr." The meaning of this is that whoever is afflicted with love without choice, then is patient, refrains from indecency, does not disclose it, and dies because of that, obtains a great reward. If this is authentic, that is for him a kind of martyrdom, and God knows best. Al-Khaṭīb also narrated that Shuʿbah met Abū Nuwās and said to him: "Narrate to us some of your anecdotes." He said, extemporizing: Al-Khaffāf narrated to us from Wāʾil, and Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ from Jābir, And Misʿar from some of his companions, the sheikh raised it to ʿĀmir. They all said: Any young girl to whom a person of pure character attaches himself, And she continues to him, and remains in constant union with the remembering, mindful one, Paradise will be open for him, grazing in its blooming pasture. And any beloved who spurns a lover after continuous, flourishing union, Far be he from God's punishment, yes, and a lasting, repelling distance. Shuʿbah said to him: "You have beautiful morals, and I have hope for you." Abū Nuwās also recited: O enchanter of the eyes and the neck, and my killer with promises. You promise me union, then you break your promise, so woe to me from the breaking of my promise. Al-Azraq the ḥadīth scholar narrated to me from Shamar and ʿAwf, from Ibn Masʿūd: None breaks a promise but an unbelieving woman, and an unbeliever chained in Hell. This reached Isḥāq b. Yūsuf al-Azraq, and he said: "The enemy of God lied about me, about the Successors, and about the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ." Anecdotes of his poetry and witticisms From Sulaym b. Manṣūr, who said: I saw Abū Nuwās in the assembly of my father weeping bitterly. I said: "I hope that God will never punish you after this weeping." He began to recite: I did not weep in the assembly of Manṣūr out of longing for Paradise and the houris, Nor from the grave and its terrors, nor from the blast of the trumpet, Nor from the Fire and its chains, nor from abandonment and injustice. But my weeping is for the weeping of a gazelle, from whom my soul protects every danger. Then he said: I only wept because of the weeping of this beardless youth who was beside your father. He was a boy of beautiful appearance, listening to the exhortation and weeping out of fear of God, Mighty and Majestic. Abū Nuwās said: One day one of the weavers invited me and insisted that I be his guest in his house, and he did not cease until I accepted. He went to his house and I went with him. It was a decent house, and the weaver had made every effort and was not remiss. We ate and drank. Then he said: "My master, I would like you to say some verses about my slave girl." He was infatuated with a slave girl of his. Abū Nuwās said: I said: "Show her to me so that I may compose according to her form and beauty." He unveiled her, and behold, she was one of the ugliest of God's creation and the most repulsive, black, grey-haired, with a pendulous lip, her saliva flowing onto her chest. I said to her master: "What is her name?" He said: "Tasnīm." So I began to recite: Love of Tasnīm kept me awake at night, a slave girl in beauty like an owl. Her breath is like a condiment, or a bundle of garlic. I farted from love for her a fart that frightened the king of Byzantium. He said: The weaver stood up dancing and clapping the rest of his day, rejoicing and saying: "By God, he compared her to the king of Byzantium." From the poetry of Abū Nuwās: People importuned me, saying, “Repent!”— by their claim, because of the multitude of my sins. If I am in the Fire or in Paradise, what is it upon you, O sons of the adulteress? In sum, they have mentioned many things about him, disapproved poems, and much shamelessness. He has in wine-poetry, obscenities, and amorous verses about beardless youths and women: ugly, abominable things. Among the people are those who declare him sinful and accuse him of immorality; among them are those who accuse him of heresy; and among them are those who say that he was only ruining himself. The first is more apparent, because of what is in his poems. As for heresy, it is far from him, but he had much shamelessness and dissoluteness. They have attributed to him, in his youth and old age, things whose truth God knows best. The common people transmit many things from him that have no reality. In the courtyard of the mosque of Damascus there is a dome from whose center water gushes; the Damascenes say: “The Dome of Abū Nuwās.” It was built after his death by more than one hundred and fifty years, so I do not know why it is called by this name. And God knows best. Muḥammad b. Abī ʿUmayr said: I heard Abū Nuwās say: By God, I never opened my trousers for anything forbidden. Muḥammad al-Amīn b. Hārūn al-Rashīd said to Abū Nuwās: “You are a heretic.” He said: “O Commander of the Faithful, how can that be when I say: I perform the five prayers at their proper times, and I bear witness to the oneness of God in humility. I perform the washing well if I incur major impurity, and if a poor man comes to me I am not one to refuse. And I, whenever the cup calls to the allegiance of the cup-bearer, I answer swiftly; and I drink it pure over the side of a kid and a young goat, full of fat, still suckling; and jūdhāb of fine flour, walnuts, and sugar—that has always benefited the intoxicated. And I make the mixing of all the Rāfiḍīs a seal upon the anus of Bukhtīshūʿ in the Fire.” Al-Amīn said to him: “Woe to you! What compelled you to the anus of Bukhtīshūʿ?” He said: “By it the rhyme was completed.” So he ordered a reward for him. Al-Jāḥiẓ said: I know of nothing in the speech of poets loftier or finer than Abū Nuwās’s saying: What fire did the kindler strike, and what seriousness did the jester attain? How excellent is gray hair as an admonisher and sincere adviser, even if the sincere adviser is mistaken. The youth refuses anything but following passion, while the path of truth is clear to him. So cast your eyes upon women whose dower is righteous deeds. None beholds the dark-eyed maiden from her chamber except a man whose scale is weighty. Whoever fears God, that is the one to whom the profitable commerce is driven. So go forth—there is no confusion in religion—and return to what you are returning to. Abū Hiffān asked him to recite his ode whose opening is: “Do not forget Laylā, nor be stirred with longing for Hind.” When he finished it, Abū Hiffān prostrated to him. Abū Nuwās said to him: “By God, I will not speak to you for a while.” He said: That grieved me. When I wanted to leave, he said: “When shall I see you?” I said: “Did you not swear?” He said: “Time is too short for there to be estrangement along with it.” Some of His Excellent Poetry Among his excellent poetry is his saying: O how many a face in the dust, ancient; O how many a beauty in the dust, delicate; O how many a resolve in the dust, and courage; O how many an opinion in the dust, firm. I see every living thing perishing, and the son of a perisher, and one of noble lineage deeply rooted among the perishing. So say to the near neighbor: You are departing on a journey far in destination, remote. When a wise man tests the world, it reveals to him an enemy in the garments of a friend. And his saying: Do not be greedy, for humiliation is in greed, and honor is in forbearance, not in recklessness and folly. Say to one who is conceited in arrogance, out of foolishness: If you knew what is in arrogance, you would not be arrogant. Arrogance corrupts religion, diminishes intellect, destroys honor—so beware of it. Abū al-ʿAtāhiyah Ismāʿīl b. al-Qāsim sat in the shop of a stationer and wrote on the back of a notebook: How wondrous! How can God be disobeyed, or how can the denier deny Him? In every thing there is a sign of Him, indicating that He is One. Then Abū Nuwās came and read it, then said: “He has done well, may God slay him! By God, I would love that it were mine in exchange for everything I have composed. Whose is this?” It was said: “Abū al-ʿAtāhiyah’s.” He took the notebook and wrote beside it: Glory be to Him who created creation from a weak, contemptible drop, driving it from a resting place to a firm resting place. It changes little by little within the veils, beyond the eyes, until movements appeared, created from stillness. Among Abū Nuwās’s excellent poetry is his saying: My youthful wildness has ended, so I have renounced pastimes, when gray hair cast calamities upon the parting of my hair. Reason forbade me, so I inclined to justice and feared the words of a forbidder. O heedless one who persists in negligence, there is no excuse for one who persists in forgetfulness. Not by our deeds can we attain deliverance on the day when marks appear upon the foreheads—except that, despite evil and neglect, we hope for the beautiful pardon of God. And his saying: We die and decay, but our sins, when we die, do not die or decay. O how many a one with two eyes that do not benefit him—can eyes benefit one whose heart is blind? And his saying: If an eye, on the Day of Reckoning, its soul imagined it represented, it would not blink. Glory be to the Lord of the dominion! What a night whose morning was in labor with the Day of Standing! The Lord of creation wrote annihilation upon mankind, so people are between one sent ahead and one left behind. They mentioned that when Abū Nuwās intended to enter the sacred state for the pilgrimage, he said: Our God, how just You are! King of all who possess. Here I am, O Lord, at Your service. Here I am, praise is Yours, and dominion; You have no partner. No servant who asks You fails. Here I am, praise is Yours, and dominion; You have no partner. You are for him wherever he travels; were it not for You, my Lord, he would perish. Here I am, praise is Yours, and dominion; You have no partner. And the night when it grew dark, and the swimmers in the celestial sphere, along the courses of the orbit—every prophet and angel, and everyone who raised the talbiyah to You, glorified or prayed, so it is Yours. Here I am, praise is Yours, and dominion; You have no partner. O sinner, how heedless you are! Hasten and hurry toward your hope, and seal your deeds with good. Here I am, praise is Yours, and dominion; You have no partner. Al-Muʿāfā b. Zakariyyā al-Jarīrī said: Muḥammad b. al-ʿAbbās b. al-Walīd related to us: I heard Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā Thaʿlab say: I entered upon Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal and saw a man whose soul distressed him, who did not like anyone to press upon him, as if fires had been kindled before him. I kept being gentle with him and sought access by saying I was a client of Shaybān, until he said: “In what have you looked?” I said: “In the science of language and poetry.” He said: “I passed through Baṣrah while a group was writing down poetry from a man; I was told, ‘This is Abū Nuwās.’ I threaded through the people behind me, and when I sat down, he dictated to us: If you are alone one day, do not say, ‘I am alone,’ but say, ‘There is a watcher over me.’ Do not suppose that God is heedless for an hour, or that what is hidden from Him is absent. By God’s life, we amused ourselves until sins followed one upon another, sins upon sins. Would that God might forgive what is past and permit our repentance, so that we might repent. Some of them added in a narration from Abū Nuwās, after these verses: I say, when my paths become narrow and lamentations for sorrows settle in my heart, because of the length of my crimes and the greatness of my error: I have perished, and I have no share in repentance. I drown in the sea of fear, despairing, and my soul returns at times and repents. Pardon from the Generous One toward creatures is mentioned, and I revive and hope for His pardon, so I turn to Him. I humble myself in speech and ask eagerly—perhaps the Remover of affliction will turn to me. Ibn Ṭarārā al-Jarīrī said: These verses have been narrated. Whose are they? It was said: Abū Nuwās’s, and they are among his ascetic poems. The grammarians have cited them as evidence in many places, which we have mentioned. Some of His Poetry at His Death Ḥasan b. al-Dāyah said: I entered upon Abū Nuwās when he was in his fatal illness and said: “Admonish me.” He began to say: Multiply sins as much as you can, for you will meet a forgiving Lord. You will see, when you come to Him, pardon, and you will meet a master, a king, powerful. You will bite your hands in regret for the joys you left behind out of fear of the Fire. I said: “Woe to you! In such a state you admonish me with this admonition?” He said: “Be quiet. Ḥammād b. Salamah related to us, from Thābit, from Anas, who said: The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘I have reserved my intercession for the grave sinners of my community.’ And it has already been mentioned with this chain: ‘Let none of you die except while thinking well of God.’” Al-Rabīʿ and others related from al-Shāfiʿī: We entered upon Abū Nuwās on the day he died, while he was giving up his soul. We said: “What have you prepared for this day?” He began to say: My sin has become great to me, but when I compared it with Your pardon, my Lord, Your pardon was greater. You have not ceased to pardon sin; You continue to bestow and pardon, as grace and generosity. Were it not for You, no worshiper could withstand Iblīs—how then, when he led astray Your chosen one, Adam? The ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir narrated it. It is narrated that they found at his head a scrap of paper on which was written in his own hand: O Lord, if my sins are great in number, I have known that Your pardon is greater. If none hopes in You except a doer of good, then who is it that the criminal calls upon and hopes in? I call upon You, my Lord, as You have commanded, in supplication; if You turn away my hand, then who will have mercy? I have no means to You except hope and the beauty of Your pardon, and then that I am a Muslim. Yūsuf b. al-Dāyah said: I entered upon him while he was in the throes of death and said: “How do you find yourself?” He bowed his head for a long while, then raised it and said: Annihilation crept through me, below and above, and I see myself dying limb by limb. No hour comes to me but it diminishes me, by its bitterness, a portion. My vigor for the pleasure of my life is gone, and I remember obedience to God as a wasted thing. We have done every evil, so O God, grant us forbearance, forgiveness, and pardon. Then he died at once—may God pardon him. The inscription on his signet ring was: “There is no god but God, sincerely.” He had bequeathed that it be placed in his mouth when they washed him, and they did that with him. When he died, they found no money with him except three hundred dirhams, his clothes, and his furnishings. His death was in this year, in Baghdad, and he was buried in the Shūnīzī cemetery, on the hill of the Jews. He was fifty years old; it is said sixty; it is said fifty-nine. One of his companions saw him in a dream and said to him: “What has God done with you?” He said: “He forgave me because of verses I composed about the narcissus: Contemplate the plants of the earth and look at the traces of what the King has done: eyes of fine silver, splendid, with pupils of pure gold, upon stalks of chrysolite, bearing witness that God has no partner. In another narration from him, he said: “He forgave me because of verses I composed, and they are under my pillow.” They came and found them on a scrap in his handwriting, and they are these verses: “O Lord, if my sins are great in number…”—the verses, which have already been mentioned. In a narration by Ibn ʿAsākir, one of them said: I saw him in a dream in a fine appearance and great blessing, and I said to him: “What has God done with you?” He said: “He forgave me.” I said: “For what? You used to make a mess of yourself.” He said: “One night a righteous man came to the cemetery, spread his cloak, and prayed two rakʿahs in which he recited ‘Say: He is God, the One’ two thousand times, then gifted the reward of that to the people of those graves. I was included among them, and God forgave me.” Ibn Khillikān said: When he accompanied Abū Usāmah Wālibah b. al-Ḥubāb, he brought him to Baghdad. The first poetry Abū Nuwās composed was: The bearer of passion is weary; delight makes him light. If he weeps, it is his right; what is in him is no play. You laugh, jesting, while the lover sobs. You marvel at my sickness; my health is the marvel. Al-Maʾmūn said: How excellent is his saying: People are nothing but one who perishes and the son of one who perishes, and one of lineage deeply rooted among the perishing. When a wise man tests the world, it reveals to him an enemy in the garments of a friend. Ibn Khillikān said: How great was his hope in his Lord when he says: Multiply sins as much as you can, for you will meet a forgiving Lord. You will see, when you come to Him, pardon, and you will meet a master, a king, powerful. You will bite your hands in regret for the joys you left behind out of fear of the Fire.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.