Tarikh (al-Tabari) 384
the accounts of past peoples from the Israelites and others
قِصَّةُ الْمَلِكَيْنِ التَّائِبَيْنِ قَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بسنده عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: بَيْنَمَا رَجُلٌ فِيمَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ كَانَ فِي مَمْلَكَتِهِ فَتَفَكَّرَ فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مُنْقَطِعٌ عَنْهُ، وَأَنَّ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ قَدْ شَغَلَهُ عَنْ عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ فَتَسَرَّبَ فَانْسَابَ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ قَصْرِهِ فَأَصْبَحَ فِي مَمْلَكَةِ غَيْرِهِ، وَأَتَى سَاحِلَ الْبَحْرِ وَكَانَ بِهِ يَضْرِبُ اللَّبِنَ بِالْأَجْرِ فَيَأْكُلُ وَيَتَصَدَّقُ بِالْفَضْلِ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى رَقِيَ أَمْرُهُ إِلَى مِلْكِهِمْ وَعِبَادَتُهُ وَفَضْلُهُ فَأَرْسَلَ مَلِكُهُمْ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُ فَأَبَى أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُ فَأَعَادَ ثُمَّ أَعَادَ إِلَيْهِ فَأَبَى أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُ، وَقَالَ: مَا لَهُ وَمَا لِي ؟ قَالَ: فَرَكِبَ إِلَيْهِ الْمَلِكُ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ الرَّجُلُ، وَلَّى هَارِبًا فَلَمَّا رَأَى ذَلِكَ الْمَلِكُ رَكَضَ فِي أَثَرِهِ فَلَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ قَالَ: فَنَادَاهُ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ عَلَيْكَ مِنِّي بَأْسٌ، فَقَامَ حَتَّى أَدْرَكَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ: مَنْ أَنْتَ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ ؟ فَقَالَ أَنَا فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ صَاحِبُ مُلْكِ كَذَا وَكَذَا، تَفَكَّرْتُ فِي أَمْرِي فَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّ مَا أَنَا فِيهِ مُنْقَطِعٌ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ شَغَلَنِي عَنْ عِبَادَةِ رَبِّي فَتَرَكْتُهُ وَجِئْتُ هَاهُنَا أَعْبُدُ رَبِّي عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَقَالَ لَهُ: مَا أَنْتَ بِأَحْوَجَ إِلَى مَا صَنَعْتَ مِنِّي. قَالَ: ثُمَّ نَزَلَ عَنْ دَابَّتِهِ فَسَيَّبَهَا ثُمَّ تَبِعَهُ فَكَانَا جَمِيعًا يَعْبُدَانِ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَدَعَوَا اللَّهَ أَنْ يُمِيتَهُمَا جَمِيعًا قَالَ: فَمَاتَا. قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ: فَلَوْ كُنْتُ بِرُمَيْلَةِ مِصْرَ، لَأَرَيْتُكُمْ قُبُورَهُمَا، بِالنَّعْتِ الَّذِي نَعَتَ لَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ.
Translation
✧ The story of the two repentant kings Imam Ahmad said with his chain on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Masʿūd, from his father, who said: While a man among those before you was in his kingdom, he reflected and knew that it would be cut off from him, and that what he was in had distracted him from the worship of his Lord. So he slipped away and stole out one night from his palace and found himself in another's kingdom. He came to the seashore, where he worked making bricks for wages, eating and giving the surplus in charity. He continued thus until his affair, his worship, and his virtue reached their king. Their king sent to him to come to him, but he refused to come. He repeated, then repeated to him again, but he refused to come to him, saying, "What has he to do with me?" He said: The king rode out to him. When the man saw him, he turned and fled. When the king saw that, he galloped after him but did not catch him. He said: He called out to him, "O servant of God, there is no harm to you from me." So he stood until he caught up with him and said to him, "Who are you, may God have mercy on you?" He said, "I am so-and-so son of so-and-so, the possessor of such-and-such kingdom. I reflected on my affair and knew that what I was in is cut off, and that it had distracted me from the worship of my Lord, so I left it and came here to worship my Lord, Mighty and Majestic." He said to him, "You are no more in need of what you have done than I." He said: Then he dismounted from his mount and set it loose, then followed him. The two of them together worshiped God, Mighty and Majestic, and they called upon God to cause them both to die together. He said: So they died. ʿAbd Allāh said: If I were at the sands of Egypt, I would show you their graves, with the description that the Messenger of God ﷺ described to us.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.