Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3837
Then the Year 322 AH Began
وَفَاةُ الْمَهْدِيِّ صَاحِبِ إِفْرِيقِيَّةَ، أَوَّلُ خُلَفَاءِ الْفَاطِمِيِّينَ فِيمَا زَعَمُوا وَفِيهَا مَاتَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ، الْمُدَّعِي أَنَّهُ عَلَوِيٌّ - الْمُلَقَّبُ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ - بَانِي الْمَهْدِيَّةِ بِمَدِينَتِهِ الْمَهْدِيَّةِ عَنْ ثَلَاثٍ وَسِتِّينَ سَنَةً، وَكَانَتْ وِلَايَتُهُ، مُنْذُ دَخَلَ رَقَّادَةَ وَادَّعَى الْإِمَامَةَ، أَرْبَعًا وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً وَشَهْرًا وَعِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الْخُلَفَاءِ الْفَاطِمِيِّينَ. وَقَدْ كَانَ شَهْمًا شُجَاعًا، ظَفِرَ بِجَمَاعَةٍ مِمَّنْ خَالَفَهُ وَنَاوَأَهُ وَقَاتَلَهُ وَعَادَاهُ، وَقَدْ قَامَ بِأَمْرِ الْخِلَافَةِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَلَدُهُ أَبُو الْقَاسِمِ الْمُلَقَّبُ بِالْخَلِيفَةِ الْقَائِمِ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ وَحِينَ تُوُفِّيَ أَبُوهُ، كَتَمَ مَوْتَهُ سَنَةً حَتَّى دَبَّرَ مَا أَرَادَهُ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ، ثُمَّ أَظْهَرَ ذَلِكَ، وَعَزَّاهُ النَّاسُ فِيهِ، وَقَدْ كَانَ شَهْمًا شُجَاعًا كَأَبِيهِ، فَتَحَ الْبِلَادَ، وَأَرْسَلَ السَّرَايَا إِلَى بِلَادِ الرُّومِ، وَرَامَ أَخْذَ الدِّيَارِ الْمِصْرِيَّةِ، فَلَمْ يَتَّفِقْ لَهُ ذَلِكَ، وَإِنَّمَا جَرَى ذَلِكَ عَلَى يَدَيِ ابْنِ ابْنِهِ الْمُعِزِّ الْفَاطِمِيِّ الَّذِي بَنَى الْقَاهِرَةَ الْمُعِزِّيَةَ، كَمَا سَنَذْكُرُهُ، إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. قَالَ الْقَاضِي ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ فِي " الْوَفَيَاتِ ": وَقَدِ اخْتُلِفَ فِي نَسَبِ الْمَهْدِيِّ هَذَا اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا جِدًّا ; فَقَالَ صَاحِبُ " تَارِيخِ الْقَيْرَوَانِ ": هُوَ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُوسَى بْنِ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ: هُوَ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ التَّقِيِّ، وَهُوَ الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ الْوَفِيِّ، أَحْمَدَ بْنِ الرَّضِيِّ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ الثَّلَاثَةُ يُقَالُ لَهُمُ: الْمَسْتُورُونَ ; لِخَوْفِهِمْ مِنْ خُلَفَاءِ بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ، وَالرَّضِيُّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ هَذَا هُوَ ابْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ الصَّادِقِ، وَقِيلَ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ فِي نَسَبِهِ. قَالَ الْقَاضِي ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ: وَالْمُحَقِّقُونَ يُنْكِرُونَ دَعْوَاهُ فِي النَّسَبِ. قُلْتُ: قَدْ كَتَبَ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ، مِنْهُمُ الشَّيْخُ أَبُو حَامِدٍ الْإِسْفَرَايِينِيُّ وَالْقَاضِي الْبَاقِلَّانِيُّ، وَالْقُدُورِيُّ أَنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ أَدْعِيَاءُ، لَيْسَ لَهُمْ نَسَبٌ صَحِيحٌ فِيمَا يَزْعُمُونَهُ، وَأَنَّ وَالِدَ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ هَذَا كَانَ يَهُودِيًّا صَبَّاغًا بِسَلَمْيَةَ، وَقِيلَ: كَانَ اسْمُهُ سَعِيدًا، وَإِنَّمَا لُقِّبَ بِعُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ. وَكَانَ زَوْجُ أُمِّهِ الْحُسَيْنَ بْنَ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ الْقَدَّاحَ، وَسُمِّي الْقَدَّاحَ ; لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ كَحَّالًا يَقْدَحُ الْعُيُونَ، وَكَانَ الَّذِي وَطَّأَ لَهُ الْأَمْرَ بِتِلْكَ الْبِلَادِ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الشِّيعِيُّ كَمَا قَدَّمْنَا ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ اسْتَدْعَاهُ فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ مِنْ بِلَادِ الْمَشْرِقِ وَقَعَ فِي يَدِ صَاحِبِ سِجِلْمَاسَةَ فَسَجَنَهُ، فَلَمْ يَزَلِ الشِّيعِيُّ حَتَّى اسْتَنْقَذَهُ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَيْهِ الْأَمْرَ، ثُمَّ نَدِمَ الشِّيعِيُّ وَهَمَّ بِقَتْلِهِ، فَفَطِنَ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ لَهُ فَقَتَلَهُ وَقَتَلَ مَعَهُ أَخَاهُ. وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الشِّيعِيَّ لَمَّا دَخَلَ السِّجْنَ وَجَدَ صَاحِبَ سِجِلْمَاسَةَ قَدْ قَتَلَهُ، وَوَجَدَ فِي السَّجْنِ رَجُلًا مَجْهُولًا، فَأَخْرَجَهُ لِلنَّاسِ، وَقَالَ: هَذَا هُوَ الْمَهْدِيُّ، وَرَوَّجَ بِهِ الْأَمْرَ، فَهَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ سُلَالَتِهِ. حَكَاهُ الْقَاضِي ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ وَكَانَ مَوْلِدُ الْمُهْدِيِّ هَذَا فِي سَنَةِ سِتِّينَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ، وَقِيلَ: قَبْلَهَا، وَقِيلَ: بَعْدَهَا. بِسَلَمْيَةَ، وَقِيلَ: بِالْكُوفَةِ. وَأَوَّلُ مَا دُعِيَ لَهُ عَلَى مَنَابِرِ رَقَّادَةَ وَالْقَيْرَوَانِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ لِتِسْعٍ بَقِينَ مِنْ رَبِيعٍ الْآخَرِ سَنَةَ سَبْعٍ وَتِسْعِينَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ، بَعْدَ رُجُوعِهِ مِنْ سِجِلْمَاسَةَ وَكَانَ ظُهُورُهُ بِهَا فِي ذِي الْحِجَّةِ مِنَ السَّنَةِ الْمَاضِيَةِ، سَنَةَ سِتٍّ وَتِسْعِينَ، وَزَالَتْ دَوْلَةُ بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ مِنْ تِلْكَ النَّاحِيَةِ مِنْ هَذَا الْحِينِ إِلَى أَنْ هَلَكَ الْعَاضِدُ فِي سَنَةِ سَبْعٍ وَسِتِّينَ وَخَمْسِمِائَةٍ. وَكَانَتْ وَفَاتُهُ بِالْمَهْدِيَّةِ - الَّتِي بَنَاهَا فِي أَيَّامِهِ - لَيْلَةَ الثُّلَاثَاءِ لِلنِّصْفِ مِنْ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ، وَقَدْ جَاوَزَ السِّتِّينَ عَلَى الْمَشْهُورِ، وَإِلَى اللَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ، وَسَيَفْصِلُ بَيْنَ الْآمِرِ وَالْمَأْمُورِ، يَوْمَ الْبَعْثِ وَالنُّشُورِ.
Translation
✧ The death of al-Mahdī, the ruler of Ifrīqiyah, the first of the caliphs of the Fāṭimiyyīn, as they claimed In this year died Abū Muḥammad ʿUbayd Allāh, the claimant of ʿAlid descent – nicknamed al-Mahdī – the builder of al-Mahdiyyah in his city al-Mahdiyyah, at the age of sixty-three. His reign, from the time he entered Raqqādah and claimed the imamate, lasted twenty-four years, one month and twenty days, and he was the first of the Fāṭimid caliphs. He had been astute and courageous, and he overcame a number of those who opposed him, fought him, and were hostile to him. After him, his son Abū al-Qāsim, nicknamed al-Khalīfah al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh, took charge of the caliphate. When his father died, he concealed his death for a year until he had arranged the matters he intended; then he made it public, and people offered him condolences. He was astute and courageous like his father; he conquered lands, sent raiding parties into the lands of the Byzantines, and sought to seize the Egyptian territories, but this was not accomplished by him. Rather, it was accomplished by his grandson al-Muʿizz al-Fāṭimī, who built Cairo, the city of al-Muʿizz, as we shall mention, if God Almighty wills. Al-Qāḍī Ibn Khallikān said in "al-Wafayāt": There has been very great disagreement about the lineage of this al-Mahdī. The author of "Tārīkh al-Qayrawān" said: He is ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. Others said: He is ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Taqī, who is al-Ḥusayn b. al-Wafī Aḥmad b. al-Raḍī ʿAbd Allāh. These three are called "the hidden ones" because of their fear of the ʿAbbāsid caliphs. This al-Raḍī ʿAbd Allāh was the son of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. Other things were said about his lineage. Al-Qāḍī Ibn Khallikān said: The critical scholars deny his claim to this lineage. I say: More than one of the imams, among them Shaykh Abū Ḥāmid al-Isfarāyīnī, al-Qāḍī al-Bāqillānī, and al-Qudūrī, wrote that these people are impostors with no sound lineage as they claim, and that the father of this ʿUbayd Allāh was a Jewish dyer in Salamiyyah; it is also said his name was Saʿīd, and he was only nicknamed ʿUbayd Allāh. The husband of his mother was al-Ḥusayn b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Maymūn al-Qaddāḥ, who was called al-Qaddāḥ because he was an oculist who lanced eyes. The one who paved the way for him in those lands was Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī, as we mentioned before. Then he summoned him, and when he arrived from the lands of the east, he fell into the hands of the ruler of Sijilmāsah, who imprisoned him. Al-Shīʿī continued until he rescued him and handed the rule over to him. Then al-Shīʿī regretted it and resolved to kill him, but ʿUbayd Allāh became aware of this and killed him and killed his brother with him. It is said that when al-Shīʿī entered the prison, he found that the ruler of Sijilmāsah had killed him, and he found an unknown man in the prison, so he brought him out to the people and said: "This is al-Mahdī," and thus he promoted his cause. These people are from his progeny. This was related by al-Qāḍī Ibn Khallikān. This al-Mahdī was born in the year 260 AH – though it was also said before or after that – in Salamiyyah, or it is said in al-Kūfah. The first time prayer was made for him from the pulpits of Raqqādah and al-Qayrawān was on Friday, with nine days remaining of Rabīʿ al-Ākhar, in the year 297 AH, after his return from Sijilmāsah. His appearance there had been in Dhū al-Ḥijjah of the previous year, 296 AH. The rule of the ʿAbbāsids came to an end in that region from that time until al-ʿĀḍid perished in the year 567 AH. His death occurred in al-Mahdiyyah – the city he had built during his reign – on Tuesday night, the middle of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of this year, having passed the age of sixty according to the well-known account. To God belongs the outcome of all matters, and He will judge between the commander and the commanded on the day of resurrection and rising.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording. Ask what scholars say about its grade