Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3978
Then the year 331 AH began
وَفِيهَا أَرْسَلَ مَلِكُ الرُّومِ إِلَى الْمُتَّقِي لِلَّهِ يَطْلُبُ مِنْدِيلًا، زَعَمَ أَنَّ الْمَسِيحَ مَسَحَ بِهِ وَجْهَهُ، فَصَارَتْ صُورَةُ وَجْهِهِ فِيهِ، وَأَنَّهُ فِي بَيْعَةِ الرُّهَا. وَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ إِنْ أَرْسَلَ الْمِنْدِيلَ، أَطْلَقَ عَدَدًا كَثِيرًا مِنْ أَسَارَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَأَحْضَرَ الْمُتَّقِي لِلَّهِ الْقُضَاةَ وَالْفُقَهَاءَ، وَاسْتَفْتَاهُمْ فَاخْتَلَفُوا، فَبَعْضٌ رَأَى تَسْلِيمَهُ إِلَى الْمَلِكِ وَإِطْلَاقَ الْأَسْرَى، وَبَعْضٌ قَالَ: إِنَّ هَذَا الْمِنْدِيلَ لَمْ يَزَلْ مِنْ قَدِيمِ الدَّهْرِ فِي بِلَادِ الْإِسْلَامِ لَمْ يَطْلُبْهُ مَلِكٌ مِنْ مُلُوكِ الرُّومِ، وَفِي دَفْعِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ غَضَاضَةٌ. وَكَانَ فِي الْجَمَاعَةِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ عِيسَى الْوَزِيرُ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ خَلَاصَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنَ الْأَسْرِ وَمِنَ الضُّرِّ وَالضَّنْكِ الَّذِي هُمْ فِيهِ أَوْلَى مِنْ حِفْظِ هَذَا الْمِنْدِيلِ، فَأَمَرَ الْخَلِيفَةُ بِتَسْلِيمِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَإِطْلَاقِ الْأَسْرَى، فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ وَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى الْمَلِكِ مَنْ يَتَسَلَّمُ الْأَسْرَى مِنْ بِلَادِ الرُّومِ، فَأُطْلِقُوا.
Translation
✧ In this year, the king of the Romans sent to al-Muttaqī li-llāh requesting a cloth, which he claimed the Messiah had wiped his face with, so that the image of his face became on it, and that it was in the church of al-Ruhā. He mentioned that if he sent the cloth, he would release a large number of Muslim captives. So al-Muttaqī li-llāh brought the judges and jurists and sought their legal opinion, and they differed. Some saw fit to hand it over to the king and release the captives, while others said: This cloth has always been in the lands of Islam since ancient times, and no king of the kings of the Romans has demanded it, and in giving it to them there is humiliation. In the assembly was ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā the vizier, and he said: The deliverance of the Muslims from captivity and from the harm and distress they are in is more worthy than preserving this cloth. So the caliph ordered that it be handed over to them and the captives released. He did that and sent to the king someone to receive the captives from the lands of the Romans, and they were released.
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