Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3237
The Year 211 AH
ثُمَّ دَخَلَتْ سَنَةُ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ وَفِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ أُدْخِلَ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ السَّرِيِّ بَغْدَاذَ، وَأُنْزِلَ مَدِينَةَ الْمَنْصُورِ، وَأَقَامَ ابْنُ طَاهِرٍ بِمِصْرَ وَالِيًا عَلَيْهَا وَعَلَى الشَّامِ وَالْجَزِيرَةِ، وَقَالَ لِلْمَأْمُونِ بَعْضُ إِخْوَتِهِ: إِنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ طَاهِرٍ يَمِيلُ إِلَى وَلَدِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، وَكَذَا كَانَ أَبُوهُ قَبْلَهُ. فَأَنْكَرَ الْمَأْمُونُ ذَلِكَ، فَعَاوَدَهُ أَخُوهُ، فَوَضَعَ الْمَأْمُونُ رَجُلًا قَالَ لَهُ: امْشِ فِي هَيْئَةِ الْقُرَّاءِ وَالنُّسَّاكِ إِلَى مِصْرَ، فَادْعُ جَمَاعَةً مِنْ كُبَرَائِهَا إِلَى الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ طَبَاطَبَا، ثُمَّ صِرْ إِلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ طَاهِرٍ فَادْعُهُ إِلَيْهِ، وَاذْكُرْ لَهُ مَنَاقِبَهُ، وَرَغِّبْهُ فِيهِ، وَابْحَثْ عَنْ بَاطِنِهِ، وَأْتِنِي بِمَا تَسْمَعُ. فَفَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ ذَلِكَ، فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنْ أَعْيَانِهِ، فَقَعَدَ بِبَابِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ طَاهِرٍ، فَلَمَّا رَكِبَ قَامَ إِلَيْهِ فَأَعْطَاهُ رُقْعَةً، فَلَمَّا عَادَ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ أَحْضَرَهُ قَالَ: قَدْ فَهِمْتُ مَا فِي رُقْعَتِكَ، فَهَاتِ مَا عِنْدَكَ ! فَقَالَ: وَلِي أَمَانُكَ ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ ! فَدَعَاهُ إِلَى الْقَاسِمِ، وَذَكَرَ فَضْلَهُ وَزُهْدَهُ وَعِلْمَهُ. فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ: أَتُنْصِفُنِي ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ ! قَالَ: هَلْ يَجِبُ شُكْرُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: فَتَجِيءُ إِلَيَّ وَأَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الْحَالِ لِي خَاتَمٌ فِي الْمَشْرِقِ جَائِزٌ، وَخَاتَمٌ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ جَائِزٌ، وَفِيمَا بَيْنَهُمَا أَمْرِي مُطَاعٌ، ثُمَّ مَا أَلْتَفِتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَلَا شِمَالِي، وَوَرَائِي وَأَمَامِي إِلَّا رَأَيْتُ نِعْمَةً لِرَجُلٍ أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَيَّ، وَمِنَّةً خَتَمَ بِهَا رَقَبَتِي، وَيَدًا لَائِحَةً بَيْضَاءَ ابْتَدَأَنِي بِهَا تَفَضُّلًا وَكَرَمًا، تَدْعُونِي إِلَى أَنْ أَكْفُرَ بِهَذِهِ النِّعَمِ وَهَذَا الْإِحْسَانِ، وَتَقُولُ: اغْدِرْ بِمَنْ كَانَ أَوْلَى لِهَذَا وَأَحْرَى، وَاسْعَ ( فِي إِزَالَةِ خَيْطِ عُنُقِهِ )، وَسَفْكِ دَمِهِ، تَرَاكَ لَوْ دَعَوْتَنِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ عِيَانًا أَكَانَ اللَّهُ يُحِبُّ أَنْ أَغْدِرَ بِهِ، وَأَكْفُرَ إِحْسَانَهُ، وَأَنْكُثَ بَيْعَتَهُ ؟ فَسَكَتَ الرَّجُلُ، فَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ: مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيْكَ إِلَّا نَفْسَكَ، فَارْحَلْ عَنْ هَذَا الْبَلَدِ، فَإِنَّ السُّلْطَانَ الْأَعْظَمَ إِنْ بَلَغَهُ ذَلِكَ كُنْتَ الْجَانِيَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ وَنَفْسِ غَيْرِكَ. فَلَمَّا أَيِسَ مِنْهُ جَاءَ إِلَى الْمَأْمُونِ فَأَخْبَرَهُ، فَاسْتَبْشَرَ وَقَالَ: ذَلِكَ غَرْسُ يَدِي، وَإِلْفُ أَدَبِي، وَتِرْبُ تَلْقِيحِي. وَلَمْ يُظْهِرْ ذَلِكَ، وَلَا عَلِمَهُ ابْنُ طَاهِرٍ إِلَّا بَعْدَ مَوْتِ الْمَأْمُونِ، وَكَانَ هَذَا الْقَائِلُ لِلْمَأْمُونِ الْمُعْتَصِمَ، فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ مُنْحَرِفًا عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ.
Translation
✧ Then the year two hundred and eleven entered. In this year ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Sarī was brought into Baghdādh and lodged in the City of al-Manṣūr. Ibn Ṭāhir remained in Egypt as governor over it and over Syria and the Jazīrah. One of al-Maʾmūn’s brothers said to him: “ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir inclines toward the descendants of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and so did his father before him.” Al-Maʾmūn rejected that, but his brother repeated it. So al-Maʾmūn appointed a man and said to him: “Go in the guise of the Qurʾān reciters and the devout to Egypt, call a group of its notables to al-Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm b. Ṭabāṭabā, then go to ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir and summon him to him. Mention his virtues to him, make him desire him, probe his inner mind, and bring me what you hear.” The man did that, and a group of its leading men responded to him. He sat at the gate of ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir, and when he rode out he stood before him and gave him a note. When he returned to his residence he summoned him and said: “I have understood what is in your note, so tell me what you have.” He said: “Do I have your safe-conduct?” He said: “Yes.” So he summoned him to al-Qāsim and mentioned his excellence, his asceticism, and his learning. ʿAbd Allāh said: “Will you deal fairly with me?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Is gratitude to God obligatory upon His servants?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Then you come to me while I am in this state: I have a seal in the east that is obeyed and a seal in the west that is obeyed, and in between them my command is carried out. Then I do not turn to my right or my left, behind me or before me, without seeing a favor from a man who bestowed it upon me, an obligation with which he has bound my neck, and a shining white hand with which he began me out of bounty and generosity. You call me to be ungrateful for these favors and this kindness, and you say: ‘Betray the one who is more worthy and more entitled to this, and strive to remove the thread of his neck and shed his blood.’ Do you think that if you summoned me to Paradise openly, God would love that I betray him, be ungrateful for his kindness, and break my oath to him?” The man fell silent. ʿAbd Allāh said to him: “I fear for nothing but yourself. Depart from this land, for if the supreme authority learns of this you will be the one who has wronged yourself and others.” When he despaired of him he came to al-Maʾmūn and informed him. He rejoiced and said: “That is the planting of my hand, the companion of my discipline, and the peer of my cultivation.” He did not reveal that, and Ibn Ṭāhir did not learn of it until after al-Maʾmūn’s death. The one who said this to al-Maʾmūn was al-Muʿtaṣim, for he was ill-disposed toward ʿAbd Allāh.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.