Tarikh (al-Tabari) 4407
Then the year 372 AH began
ذِكْرُ وَفَاةِ عَضُدِ الدَّوْلَةِ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ، فِي شَوَّالٍ، اشْتَدَّتْ عِلَّةُ عَضُدِ الدَّوْلَةِ، وَهُوَ مَا كَانَ يَعْتَادُهُ مِنَ الصَّرَعِ فَضَعُفَتْ قُوَّتُهُ ( عَنْ دَفْعِهِ )، فَخَنَقَهُ، فَمَاتَ مِنْهُ ثَامِنَ شَوَّالٍ بِبَغْدَاذَ، وَحُمِلَ إِلَى مَشْهَدِ ( أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ) عَلِيٍّ، عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَدُفِنَ بِهِ. مدة ولايته وصفاته وَكَانَتْ وِلَايَتُهُ بِالْعِرَاقِ خَمْسَ سِنِينَ وَنِصْفًا. وَلَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ جَلَسَ ابْنُهُ صَمْصَامُ الدَّوْلَةِ أَبُو كَالِيجَارَ لِلْعَزَاءِ، فَأَتَاهُ الطَّائِعُ لِلَّهِ مُعَزِّيًا، وَكَانَ عُمْرُ عَضُدِ الدَّوْلَةِ سَبْعًا وَأَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً. وَكَانَ قَدْ سَيَّرَ وَلَدَهُ شَرَفَ الدَّوْلَةِ أَبَا الْفَوَارِسِ إِلَى كَرْمَانَ مَالِكًا لَهَا، قَبْلَ أَنْ يَشْتَدَّ مَرَضُهُ، وَقِيلَ إِنَّهُ لَمَّا احْتُضِرَ لَمْ يَنْطَلِقْ لِسَانُهُ إِلَّا بِتِلَاوَةِ ( مَا أَغْنَى عَنِّي مَالِيَهْ هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ ). وَكَانَ عَاقِلًا، فَاضِلًا، حَسَنَ السِّيَاسَةِ، كَثِيرَ الْإِصَابَةِ، شَدِيدَ الْهَيْبَةِ، بَعِيدَ الْهِمَّةِ، ثَاقِبَ الرَّأْيِ، مُحِبًّا لِلْفَضَائِلِ وَأَهْلِهَا، بَاذِلًا فِي مَوَاضِعِ الْعَطَاءِ، مَانِعًا فِي أَمَاكِنِ الْحَزْمِ نَاظِرًا فِي عَوَاقِبِ الْأُمُورِ. قِيلَ: لَمَّا مَاتَ عَضُدُ الدَّوْلَةِ بَلَغَ خَبَرُهُ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ، وَعِنْدَهُ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنْ أَعْيَانِ الْفُضَلَاءِ، فَتَذَاكَرُوا الْكَلِمَاتِ الَّتِي قَالَهَا الْحُكَمَاءُ عِنْدَ مَوْتِ الْإِسْكَنْدَرِ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْتُهَا فِي أَخْبَارِهِ، فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: لَوْ قُلْتُمْ أَنْتُمْ مِثْلَهَا لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ يُؤْثَرُ عَنْكُمْ. فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ: لَقَدْ وَزَنَ هَذَا الشَّخْصُ الدُّنْيَا بِغَيْرِ مِثْقَالِهَا، وَأَعْطَاهَا فَوْقَ قِيمَتِهَا، وَطَلَبَ الرِّبْحَ فِيهَا فَخَسِرَ رُوحَهُ فِيهَا. وَقَالَ الثَّانِي: مَنِ اسْتَيْقَظَ لِلدُّنْيَا فَهَذَا نَوْمُهُ، وَمَنْ حَلَمَ فِيهَا فَهَذَا انْتِبَاهُهُ. وَقَالَ الثَّالِثُ: مَا رَأَيْتُ عَاقِلًا فِي عَقْلِهِ، وَلَا غَافِلًا فِي غَفْلَتِهِ مِثْلَهُ، لَقَدْ كَانَ يَنْقُضُ جَانِبًا وَهُوَ يَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ مُبْرَمٌ، وَيَغْرَمُ وَهُوَ يَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ غَانِمٌ. وَقَالَ الرَّابِعُ: مَنْ جَدَّ لِلدُّنْيَا هَزَلَتْ بِهِ، وَمَنْ هَزَلَ رَاغِبًا عَنْهَا جَدَّتْ لَهُ. وَقَالَ الْخَامِسُ: تَرَكَ هَذَا الدُّنْيَا شَاغِرَةً، وَرَحَلَ عَنْهَا بِلَا زَادٍ وَلَا رَاحِلَةٍ. وَقَالَ السَّادِسُ: إِنَّ مَاءً أَطْفَأَ هَذِهِ النَّارَ لَعَظِيمٌ، وَإِنَّ رِيحًا زَعْزَعَتْ هَذَا الرُّكْنَ لَعَصُوفٌ. وَقَالَ السَّابِعُ: إِنَّمَا سَلَبَكَ مَنْ قَدَرَ عَلَيْكَ. وَقَالَ الثَّامِنُ: أَمَا إِنَّهُ لَوْ كَانَ مُعْتَبِرًا فِي حَيَاتِهِ لَمَا صَارَ عِبْرَةً فِي مَمَاتِهِ. وَقَالَ التَّاسِعُ: الصَّاعِدُ فِي دَرَجَاتِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَى اسْتِفَالٍ، وَالنَّازِلُ فِي دَرَجَاتِهَا إِلَى تَعَالٍ. وَقَالَ الْعَاشِرُ: كَيْفَ غَفَلْتَ عَنْ كَيْدِ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ حَتَّى نَفَذَ فِيكَ، وَهَلَّا اتَّخَذْتَ دُونَهُ جُنَّةً تَقِيكَ، إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لِعِبْرَةً لِلْمُعْتَبِرِينَ، وَإِنَّكَ لَآيَةٌ لِلْمُسْتَبْصِرِينَ. شعر عضد الدولة وَبَنَى عَلَى مَدِينَةِ النَّبِيِّ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ سَلَّمَ، سُورًا. وَلَهُ شِعْرٌ حَسَنٌ، فَمِنْ شِعْرِهِ لَمَّاَ أَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو تَغْلِبَ بْنُ حَمْدَانَ يَعْتَذِرُ مِنْ مُسَاعَدَتِهِ بَخْتِيَارَ، وَيَطْلُبُ الْأَمَانَ، فَقَالَ عَضُدُ الدَّوْلَةِ: أَأَفَاقَ حِينَ وَطِئْتُ ضَيْقَ خِنَاقِهِ، يَبْغِي الْأَمَانَ وَكَانَ يَبْغِي صَارِمًا فَلْأَرْكَبَنَّ عَزِيمَةً عَضُدِيَّةً ، تَاجِيَّةً، تَدَعُ الْأُنُوفَ رَوَاغِمَا وَقَالَ أَبْيَاتًا مِنْهَا بَيْتٌ لَمْ يُفْلِحْ بَعْدَهُ، ( وَهِيَ هَذِهِ ): لَيْسَ شُرْبُ الْكَأْسِ إِلَّا فِي الْمَطَرْ، وَغِنَاءٌ مِنْ جِوَارٍ فِي السَّحَرْ غَانِيَّاتٍ، سَالِبَاتٍ لِلنُّهَى، نَاغِمَاتٍ فِي تَضَاعِيفِ الْوَتَرْ مُبْرِزَاتِ الْكَأْسِ مِنْ مَطْلَعِهَا، سَاقِيَاتِ الرَّاحِ مَنْ فَاقَ الْبَشَرْ عَضُدَ الدَّوْلَةِ وَابْنَ رُكْنِهَا، مَلِكَ الْأَمْلَاكِ غَلَّابَ الْقَدَرْ وَهَذَا الْبَيْتُ هُوَ الْمُشَارُ إِلَيْهِ. مناقبه وَحُكِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِي قَصْرِهِ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْغِلْمَانِ يَحْمِلُ إِلَيْهِمْ مُشَاهَرَاتِهِمْ مِنَ الْخِزَانَةِ، فَأَمَرَ أَبَا نَصْرٍ خُوَاشَاذَهْ أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمَ إِلَى الْخَازِنِ بِأَنْ يُسَلِّمَ جَامَكِيَّةِ الْغِلْمَانِ إِلَى نَقِيبِهِمْ فِي شَهْرٍ قَدْ بَقِيَ مِنْهُ ثَلَاثَةُ أَيَّامٍ. قَالَ أَبُو نَصْرٍ: فَأُنْسِيتُ ذَلِكَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَيَّامٍ، فَسَأَلَنِي عَضُدُ الدَّوْلَةِ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ: أُنْسِيتُهُ فَأَغْلَظَ لِي، فَقُلْتُ: أَمْسِ اسْتَهَلَّ الشَّهْرُ، وَالسَّاعَةَ نَحْمِلُ الْمَالَ، وَمَا هَاهُنَا مَا يُوجِبُ شَغْلَ الْقَلْبِ. فَقَالَ: الْمُصِيبَةُ بِمَا لَا تَعْلَمُهُ مِنَ الْغَلَطِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْهَا فِي التَّفْرِيطِ، أَلَا تَعْلَمُ أَنَّا إِذَا أَطْلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مَالَهُمْ قَبْلَ مَحَلِّهِ كَانَ الْفَضْلُ لَنَا عَلَيْهِمْ، فَإِذَا أَخَّرْنَا ذَلِكَ عَنْهُمْ، حَتَّى اسْتَهَلَّ الشَّهْرُ الْآخَرُ، حَضَرُوا عِنْدَ عَارِضِهِمْ وَطَالَبُوهُ، فَيَعِدُهُمْ فَيَحْضُرُونَهُ فِي الْيَوْمِ الثَّانِي، فَيَعِدُهُمْ، ثُمَّ يَحْضُرُونَهُ فِي الْيَوْمِ الثَّالِثِ، ( وَيَبْسُطُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُمْ )، فَتَضِيعُ الْمِنَّةُ، وَتَحْصُلُ الْجُرْأَةُ، وَنَكُونُ إِلَى الْخَسَارَةِ أَقْرَبَ مِنَّا إِلَى الرِّبْحِ. وَكَانَ لَا يُعَوِّلُ فِي الْأُمُورِ إِلَّا عَلَى الْكُفَاةِ، وَلَا يَجْعَلُ لِلشَّفَاعَاتِ طَرِيقًا إِلَى مُعَارَضَةِ مَنْ لَيْسَ مِنْ جِنْسِ الشَّافِعِ، وَلَا فِيمَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِهِ. حُكِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّ مُقَدَّمَ جَيْشِهِ أَسْفَارُ بْنُ كَرْدَوَيْهِ شَفَعَ فِي بَعْضِ أَبْنَاءِ الْعُدُولِ لِيَتَقَدَّمَ إِلَى الْقَاضِي لِيَسْمَعَ تَزْكِيَتَهُ وَيَعْدِلَهُ، فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ هَذَا مِنْ أَشْغَالِكَ، إِنَّمَا الَّذِي يَتَعَلَّقُ بِكَ الْخِطَابُ فِي زِيَادَةِ قَائِدٍ، وَنَقْلِ مَرْتَبَةِ جُنْدِيٍّ، وَمَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِهِمْ، وَأَمَّا الشَّهَادَةُ وَقَبُولُهَا فَهُوَ إِلَى الْقَاضِي وَلَيْسَ لَنَا وَلَا لَكَ الْكَلَامُ فِيهِ، وَمَتَى عَرَفَ الْقُضَاةُ مِنْ إِنْسَانٍ مَا يَجُوزُ مَعَهُ قَبُولُ شَهَادَتِهِ، فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ بِغَيْرِ شَفَاعَةٍ. وَكَانَ يُخْرِجُ فِي ابْتِدَاءِ كُلِّ سَنَةٍ شَيْئًا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ لِلصَّدَقَةِ وَالْبِرِّ فِي سَائِرِ بِلَادِهِ، وَيَأْمُرُ بِتَسْلِيمِ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْقُضَاةِ وَوُجُوهِ النَّاسِ لِيَصْرِفُوهُ إِلَى مُسْتَحِقِّيهِ. وَكَانَ يُوصِلُ إِلَى الْعُمَّالِ الْمُتَعَطِّلِينَ مَا يَقُومُ بِهِمْ وَيُحَاسِبُهُمْ بِهِ إِذَا عَمِلُوا. وَكَانَ مُحِبًّا لِلْعُلُومِ وَأَهْلِهَا، مُقَرِّبًا لَهُمْ، مُحْسِنًا إِلَيْهِمْ، وَكَانَ يَجْلِسُ مَعَهُمْ يُعَارِضُهُمْ فِي الْمَسَائِلِ، فَقَصَدَهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ مِنْ كُلِّ بَلَدٍ، وَصَنَّفُوا لَهُ الْكُتُبَ مِنْهَا " الْإِيضَاحُ " فِي النَّحْوِ، وَ " الْحُجَّةُ " فِي الْقِرَاءَاتِ، وَ " الْمَلَكِيُّ " فِي الطِّبِّ، وَ " التَّاجِيُّ " فِي التَّارِيخِ، إِلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، وَعَمِلَ الْمَصَالِحَ فِي سَائِرِ الْبِلَادِ كَالْبِيمَارِسْتَانَاتِ وَالْقَنَاطِرِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْمَصَالِحِ الْعَامَّةِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَحْدَثَ فِي آخِرِ أَيَّامِهِ رُسُومًا جَائِرَةً فِي الْمِسَاحَةِ، وَالضَّرَائِبِ عَلَى بَيْعِ الدَّوَابِّ، وَغَيْرِهَا مِنَ الْأَمْتِعَةِ، وَزَادَ عَلَى مَا تَقَدَّمَ، وَمَنَعَ مِنْ عَمَلِ الثَّلْجِ، وَالْقَزِّ، وَجَعَلَهُمَا مَتْجَرًا لِلْخَاصِّ، وَكَانَ يَتَوَصَّلُ إِلَى أَخْذِ الْمَالِ بِكُلِّ طَرِيقٍ. وَلَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ عَضُدُ الدَّوْلَةِ قَبَضَ عَلَى نَائِبِهِ أَبِي الرَّيَّانِ مِنَ الْغَدِ، فَأُخِذَ مِنْ كُمِّهِ رُقْعَةٌ فِيهَا: أَيَا وَاثِقًا بِالدَّهْرِ عِنْدَ انْصِرَافِهِ ! رُوَيْدَكَ إِنِّي بِالزَّمَانِ أَخُو خُبْرِ وَيَا شَامِتًا مَهْلًا، فَكَمْ ذِي شَمَاتَةٍ تَكُونُ لَهُ الْعُقْبَى بِقَاصِمَةِ الظَّهْرِ امتداح الشعراء لعضد الدولة وَذَكَرَ ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ أَنَّهُ امْتَدَحَهُ الشُّعَرَاءُ بِمَدَائِحَ هَائِلَةٍ كَالْمُتَنَبِّي وَغَيْرِهِ، فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ السَّلَامِيِّ فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ: إِلَيْكَ طَوَى عَرْضَ الْبَسِيطَةِ جَاعِلٌ قُصَارَى الْمَطَايَا أَنْ يَلُوحَ لَهَا الْقَصْرُ فَكُنْتُ وَعَزْمِي فِي الظَّلَامِ وَصَارِمِي ثَلَاثَةَ أَشْيَاءٍ كَمَا اجْتَمَعَ النَّسْرُ وَبَشَّرْتُ آمَالِي بِمَلْكٍ هُوَ الْوَرَى وَدَارٍ هِيَ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمٍ هُوَ الدَّهْرُ ثُمَّ قَالَ ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ: وَهَذَا هُوَ السِّحْرُ الْحَلَالُ. وَقَالَ الْمُتَنَبِّي أَيْضًا: هِيَ الْغَرَضُ الْأَقْصَى وَرُؤْيَتُكَ الْمُنَى وَمَنْزِلُكَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَنْتَ الْخَلَائِقُ قَالَ ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ: وَلَيْسَ فِي الطِّلَاوَةِ كَقَوْلِ السَّلَامِيِّ، وَلَا اسْتَوْفَى الْمَعْنَى كُلَّهُ، فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ الدَّهْرَ. وَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَحْمَدُ الْأَرَّجَانِيُّ الْقَاضِي فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ بَيْتًا، فَلَمْ يَلْحَقِ السَّلَامِيَّ أَيْضًا، وَهُوَ قَوْلُهُ: لَقِيتُهُ فَرَأَيْتُ النَّاسَ فِي رَجُلٍ وَالدَّهْرَ فِي سَاعَةٍ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي دَارِ قَالَ ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ وَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ أَفْتِكِينُ مَوْلَى أَخِيهِ صَاحِبِ دِمَشْقَ يَسْتَمِدُّهُ بِجَيْشٍ يُقَاتِلُ بِهِ الْفَاطِمِيِّينَ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ عَضُدُ الدَّوْلَةِ: غَرَّكَ عِزُّكَ، فَصَارَ قُصَارُ ذَلِكَ ذُلَّكَ، فَاخْشَ فَاحِشَ فِعْلِكَ، فِعَلَّكَ بِهَذَا تُهْدَا. قَالَ ابْنُ خَلِّكَانَ: وَلَقَدْ أَبْدَعَ فِيهَا كُلَّ الْإِبْدَاعِ. وَقَدْ جَرَى لَهُ مِنَ التَّعْظِيمِ مِنَ الْخَلِيفَةِ مَا لَمْ يَقَعْ لِأَحَدٍ مِمَّنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ ذَا هِمَّةٍ وَصَرَامَةٍ وَعَزْمٍ، اجْتَهَدَ فِي عِمَارَةِ بَغْدَادَ وَالطُّرُقَاتِ، وَأَجْرَى النَّفَقَاتِ وَالصَّدَقَاتِ عَلَى الْمُجَاوِرِينَ بِالْحَرَمَيْنِ وَأَهْلِ الْبُيُوتَاتِ، وَحَفَرَ الْأَنْهَارَ، وَبَنَى الْمَارَسْتَانَ الْعَضُدِيَّ، وَأَدَارَ السُّورَ عَلَى مَدِينَةِ الرَّسُولِ ﷺ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ فِي مُدَّةِ مُلْكِهِ عَلَى الْعِرَاقِ، وَكَانَتْ خَمْسَ سِنِينَ. وَقَدْ كَانَ عَاقِلًا فَاضِلًا، حَسَنَ السِّيَاسَةِ، شَدِيدَ الْهَيْبَةِ، بَعِيدَ الْهِمَّةِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَتَجَاوَزُ فِي سِيَاسَتِهِ الْأُمُورَ الشَّرْعِيَّةَ، كَانَ يُحِبُّ جَارِيَةً، فَأَلْهَتْهُ عَنْ تَدْبِيرِ الْمَمْلَكَةِ، فَأَمَرَ بِتَغْرِيقِهَا، وَبَلَغَهُ أَنَّ غُلَامًا لَهُ أَخَذَ لِرَجُلٍ بِطِّيخَةً، فَضَرَبَهُ بِسَيْفِهِ فَقَطَعَهُ نِصْفَيْنِ، وَهَذِهِ مُبَالَغَةٌ. وَكَانَ سَبَبَ مَوْتِهِ دَاءُ الصَّرْعِ، وَحِينَ أَخَذَتْهُ عِلَّةُ مَوْتِهِ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كَلَامٌ سِوَى تِلَاوَةِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى مَا أَغْنَى عَنِّي مَالِيَهْ هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ [ الْحَاقَّةِ: 28، 29 ]. وَحَكَى ابْنُ الْجَوْزِيِّ: أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُحِبُّ الْعِلْمَ وَالْفَضِيلَةَ، وَكَانَ يُقْرَأُ عِنْدَهُ " كِتَابُ إِقْلِيدِسَ " وَكِتَابُ النَّحْوِ لِأَبِي عَلِيٍّ الْفَارِسِيِّ، وَهُوَ " الْإِيضَاحُ وَالتَّكْمِلَةُ " الَّذِي صَنَّفَهُ لَهُ وَغَيْرُ ذَلِكَ. وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ أَنَّ لَهُ شِعْرًا، فَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ، وَقَدْ خَرَجَ مَرَّةً إِلَى بُسْتَانٍ لَهُ فَقَالَ: أَوَدُّ لَوْ جَاءَ الْمَطَرُ، فَنَزَلَ الْمَطَرُ فَأَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ: لَيْسَ شُرْبُ الْكَأْسِ إِلَّا فِي الْمَطَرْ وَغِنَاءٌ مِنْ جِوَارٍ فِي السَّحَرْ غَانِيَاتٍ سَالِبَاتٍ لِلنُّهَى نَاغِمَاتٍ فِي تَضَاعِيفِ الْوَتَرْ رَاقِصَاتٍ زَاهِرَاتٍ نُجَّلٍ رَافِلَاتٍ فِي أَفَانِينِ الْحِبَرْ مُطْرِبَاتٍ مُحْسِنَاتٍ مُجَّنٍ رَافِضَاتِ الْهَمِّ إِبَّانَ الْفِكَرْ مُبْرِزَاتِ الْكَأْسِ مِنْ مَخْزَنِهَا مُسَقَّيَاتِ الْخَمْرِ مَنْ فَاقَ الْبَشَرْ عَضُدُ الدَّوْلَةِ وَابْنُ رُكْنِهَا مَالِكُ الْأَمْلَاكِ غَلَّابُ الْقَدَرْ سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بُغْيَتَهُ فِي مُلُوكِ الْأَرْضِ مَا دَارَ الْقَمَرْ وَأَرَاهُ الْخَيْرَ فِي أَوْلَادِهِ لِيُسَاسَ الْمُلْكُ فِيهِمْ بِالْغُرَرْ قَالَ: فَيُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ مُنْذُ قَالَ: غَلَّابُ الْقَدَرْ، لَمْ يُفْلِحْ بَعْدَهَا. وَذَكَرَ غَيْرُهُ: أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَبْيَاتَ آخِرُ مَا أُنْشِدَتْ فِيهِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، ثُمَّ كَانَتْ وَفَاتُهُ عَقِبَ ذَلِكَ، وَكَانَتْ وَفَاتُهُ فِي شَوَّالٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ، عَنْ سَبْعٍ أَوْ ثَمَانٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً، وَحُمِلَ إِلَى مَشْهَدِ عَلِيٍّ، فَدُفِنَ فِيهِ. وَقَدْ كُتِبَ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ فِي التُّرْبَةِ الَّتِي بُنِيَتْ لَهُ عِنْدَ مَشْهَدِ عَلِيٍّ: هَذَا قَبْرُ عَضُدِ الدَّوْلَةِ وَتَاجِ الْمَمْلَكَةِ أَبِي شُجَاعِ بْنِ رُكْنِ الدَّوْلَةِ، أَحَبَّ مُجَاوَرَةَ هَذَا الْإِمَامِ الْمُتَّقِي لِطَمَعِهِ فِي الْخَلَاصِ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي كُلُّ نَفْسٍ تُجَادِلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهَا [ النَّحْلِ: 111 ] وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَصَلَوَاتُهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعِتْرَتِهِ الطَّاهِرَةِ. وَقَدْ تَمَثَّلَ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ بِهَذِهِ الْأَبْيَاتِ، وَهِيَ لِلْقَاسِمِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ: قَتَلْتُ صَنَادِيدَ الرِّجَالِ فَلَمْ أَدَعْ عَدُوًّا وَلَمْ أُمْهِلْ عَلَى ظَنِّهِ خَلْقَا وَأَخْلَيْتُ دُورَ الْمُلْكِ مِنْ كُلِّ نَازِلٍ فَشَرَّدْتُهُمْ غَرْبًا وَشَرَّدْتُهُمْ شَرْقَا فَلَمَّا بَلَغْتُ النَّجْمَ عِزًّا وَرِفْعَةً وَصَارَتْ رِقَابُ الْخَلْقِ أَجْمَعُ لِي رِقَّا رَمَانِي الرَّدَى سَهْمًا فَأَخْمَدَ جَمْرَتِي فَهَا أَنَا ذَا فِي حُفْرَتِي عَاطِلًا مُلْقَى فَأَذْهَبْتُ دُنْيَايَ وَدِينِي سَفَاهَةً فَمَنْ ذَا الَّذِي مِنِّي بِمَصْرَعِهِ أَشْقَى ثُمَّ جَعَلَ يُكَرِّرُ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ مَا أَغْنَى عَنِّي مَالِيَهْ هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ إِلَى أَنْ مَاتَ كَمَا ذَكَرْنَا. وَأُجْلِسَ ابْنُهُ صَمْصَامُ الدَّوْلَةِ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَعَلَيْهِ ثِيَابُ السَّوَادِ، وَجَاءَهُ الْخَلِيفَةُ الطَّائِعُ مُعَزِّيًا، وَنَاحَ النِّسَاءُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ أَيَّامًا كَثِيرَةً، وَلَمَّا انْقَضَى الْعَزَاءُ رَكِبَ صَمْصَامَةُ إِلَى دَارِ الْخِلَافَةِ، فَخَلَعَ عَلَيْهِ الْخَلِيفَةُ سَبْعَ خِلَعٍ، وَطُوِّقَ وَسُوِّرَ، وَأَلْبَسَهُ التَّاجَ، وَلَقَّبَهُ شَمْسَ الدَّوْلَةِ، وَوَلَّاهُ مَا كَانَ يَتَوَلَّاهُ أَبُوهُ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ، وَكَانَ يَوْمًا مَشْهُودًا.
Translation
✧ Mention of the death of ʿAḍud al-Dawlah In this year, in Shawwāl, the illness of ʿAḍud al-Dawlah intensified, and it was the epilepsy that used to afflict him. His strength weakened (to resist it), and it choked him, and he died from it on the eighth of Shawwāl in Baghdādh. He was carried to the shrine of (the Commander of the Faithful) ʿAlī, ﷺ, and buried there. The duration of his reign and his qualities His governorship over Iraq lasted five and a half years. When he died, his son Ṣamṣām al-Dawlah Abū Kālījār sat for the mourning, and al-Ṭāʾiʿ lillāh came to him to offer condolences. The age of ʿAḍud al-Dawlah was forty-seven years. He had sent his son Sharaf al-Dawlah Abū al-Fawāris to Kirmān as its ruler before his illness worsened. It is said that when he was on his deathbed, his tongue uttered nothing but the recitation of ("My wealth has not availed me; my power has perished from me" [Qur'an 69:28-29]). He was wise, virtuous, good in governance, very accurate, intensely awe-inspiring, far-reaching in ambition, penetrating in judgment, loving of virtues and their people, generous in places of giving, and withholding in places of prudence, considering the outcomes of affairs. It is said: When ʿAḍud al-Dawlah died, news of it reached one of the scholars, and with him was a group of eminent virtuous men. They recalled the words that the sages had said at the death of Alexander, which I have mentioned in his accounts. One of them said: "If you were to say something similar, it would be transmitted from you." One of them said: "This person weighed the world with other than its scales, gave it more than its value, sought profit in it, and lost his soul in it." The second said: "He who awakens for the world, this is his sleep; and he who dreams in it, this is his awakening." The third said: "I have not seen a rational man in his reason, nor a heedless man in his heedlessness, like him. He was undoing a side while thinking it was firm, and incurring loss while thinking he was gaining." The fourth said: "He who strives for the world, it mocks him; and he who mocks, turning away from it, it strives for him." The fifth said: "He left this world vacant, and departed from it without provisions or a mount." The sixth said: "Indeed the water that extinguished this fire is great, and the wind that shook this pillar is violent." The seventh said: "Only he who had power over you stripped you." The eighth said: "Verily, had he been one to take heed in his life, he would not have become a lesson in his death." The ninth said: "The one ascending in the degrees of the world goes toward descent, and the one descending in its degrees goes toward elevation." The tenth said: "How did you neglect the ruse of this matter until it penetrated you? Why did you not take a shield to protect you? Indeed in that is a lesson for those who take heed, and you are a sign for the discerning." Poetry of ʿAḍud al-Dawlah He built a wall around the city of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. He had good poetry. Among his poetry is when Abū Taghlib b. Ḥamdān sent to him apologizing for helping Bakhtiyār and seeking safety. ʿAḍud al-Dawlah said: "Did he awaken when I trampled the narrowness of his throat, seeking safety, while he had sought a sharp sword? I shall ride a resolution of ʿAḍud, a Tājī one, leaving the noses humbled." He also recited verses, among them a line after which he never prospered (and these are they): "Drinking the cup is only in the rain, and singing from neighbors in the early dawn, Glowing maidens, captivators of the mind, melodious amid the folds of the lute strings, Presenting the cup from its rising-place, serving the wine to him who surpassed mankind, ʿAḍud al-Dawlah and son of its pillar, king of kings, conqueror of fate." And this line is the one referred to. His virtues It is related that in his palace there was a group of servant boys to whom their monthly allowances were brought from the treasury. He ordered Abū Naṣr Khawāshādha to instruct the treasurer to hand over the allowances of the servant boys to their head in a month of which three days remained. Abū Naṣr said: "I forgot that for four days. Then ʿAḍud al-Dawlah asked me about it, and I said, 'I forgot it.' He spoke harshly to me, so I said, 'Yesterday the new month began, and right now we will carry the money, and there is nothing here that warrants occupying the heart.' He said: 'The calamity of what you do not know of error is greater than the calamity of negligence. Do you not know that if we release their money before its due time, the favor is ours over them; but if we delay it from them until the next month begins, they come to their official and demand it, and he promises them, so they come to him on the second day, and he promises them, then they come to him on the third day, (and they loosen their tongues), so the favor is lost and boldness arises, and we would be closer to loss than to profit.' He relied in affairs only on the efficient, and he did not make intercessions a path to oppose one who was not of the same kind as the intercessor, nor in what pertained to him. It is related that the commander of his army, Asfār b. Kardawayh, interceded for one of the sons of the ʿudūl (upright witnesses) so that he might be presented to the judge to hear his endorsement and appoint him as a just witness. He said: "This is not among your affairs. What pertains to you is addressing an increase for a leader, or moving the rank of a soldier, or what relates to them. As for testimony and its acceptance, that belongs to the judge, and neither we nor you may speak about it. When the judges know of a person what makes acceptance of his testimony permissible, they do so without intercession." At the beginning of every year he would disburse a great deal of wealth for charity and benevolence throughout his lands, and he commanded that it be handed over to the judges and the notables of the people so that they might distribute it to those deserving. He gave to idle administrators what sustained them, and he accounted it against them when they worked. He was a lover of the sciences and their people, drawing them near and treating them well. He would sit with them and debate questions with them. Scholars from every country came to him, and they compiled books for him, including "al-Īḍāḥ" in grammar, "al-Ḥujjah" in Quranic readings, "al-Malakī" in medicine, and "al-Tājī" in history, among others. He created public works in all the regions, such as hospitals, bridges, and other public utilities. However, in his last days he introduced oppressive taxes on surveying, levies on the sale of animals, and other goods, and he increased upon what had preceded. He prohibited the production of ice and silk, making them a monopoly trade for the elite. He used every means to take wealth. When ʿAḍud al-Dawlah died, his deputy Abū al-Rayyān was arrested the next day, and from his sleeve a note was taken, in which was written: "O you who trusts in time when it turns away! Go slowly, for I am well acquainted with the age. O gloating one, act gently! How many a gloater will have as his final outcome a back-breaking calamity." The poets' praise of ʿAḍud al-Dawlah Ibn Khallikān mentioned that poets praised him with tremendous panegyrics, such as al-Mutanabbī and others. Among that is the saying of Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Salāmī in an ode of his: "To you he folded the breadth of the vast earth, making the utmost aim of the mounts that the palace might appear to them. I was, along with my resolve in the darkness and my sword, three things, as the vulture gathered. I gave good tidings to my hopes of a king who is all creation, an abode that is the world, and a day that is all time." Then Ibn Khallikān said: "This is lawful magic." Al-Mutanabbī also said: "She is the utmost goal, and seeing you is the desire, and your dwelling is the world, and you are the creatures." Ibn Khallikān said: "It is not in sweetness like the saying of al-Salāmī, and it does not exhaust the entire meaning, for he did not mention time (al-dahr)." Abū Bakr Aḥmad al-Arrajānī, the judge, said in an ode of his a line, but he also did not catch up to al-Salāmī. It is his saying: "I met him and saw all people in one man, and time in one hour, and the earth in one abode." Ibn Khallikān said: And Aftikīn, the mawlā of his brother, the ruler of Damascus, wrote to him requesting a reinforcement army to fight the Fatimids. ʿAḍud al-Dawlah wrote to him: "Your might has deceived you, and its utmost result became your humiliation. Fear your foul deeds, for perhaps by this you will be guided." Ibn Khallikān said: "He was wonderfully creative in these." He received from the caliph an honor that had not occurred for anyone before him. We have already mentioned that he possessed high ambition, firmness, and resolution. He strove to develop Baghdād and the roads, disbursed expenditures and charities to the neighbors of the two sacred sanctuaries and the noble families, dug canals, built the ʿAḍudī hospital, and erected the wall around the city of the Messenger ﷺ. All of this was during his reign over Iraq, which was five years. He was wise, virtuous, good in governance, intensely awe-inspiring, far-reaching in ambition. But he exceeded in his governance the boundaries of Islamic law. He loved a slave girl, and she distracted him from managing the kingdom, so he ordered her drowned. He learned that a servant-boy of his had taken a watermelon from a man, so he struck him with his sword and cut him in two halves. This is an exaggeration. The cause of his death was epilepsy. When his fatal illness seized him, he had no speech except the recitation of His saying, the Exalted: "My wealth has not availed me; my power has perished from me" [Qur'an 69:28-29]. Ibn al-Jawzī related that he loved knowledge and virtue, and that "Euclid's book" and the book of grammar by Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī, which is "al-Īḍāḥ wa-al-Takmilah," which he compiled for him, and others, were read in his presence. It is mentioned that he had poetry. Among it is his saying when he once went out to a garden of his and said: "I wish rain would come." Then rain fell, and he composed, saying: "Drinking the cup is only in the rain, and singing from neighbors in the early dawn: Glowing maidens, captivators of the mind, melodious amid the folds of the lute strings, Dancing, brilliant, wide-eyed, trailing in the varieties of embroidered garments, Delighting, excellent, maddening, casting aside anxiety during thought, Presenting the cup from its storehouse, giving wine to him who surpassed mankind: ʿAḍud al-Dawlah and son of its pillar, owner of kings, conqueror of fate. May God make easy for him his desire among the kings of the earth as long as the moon revolves, And may He show him good in his sons, so that the kingdom may be governed among them by the noblest marks." He said: It is said that from the time he said "conqueror of fate," he never prospered afterward. Others mentioned that these verses were the last that were recited in his presence, and then his death followed immediately after. His death occurred in Shawwāl of this year, at the age of forty-seven or forty-eight. He was carried to the shrine of ʿAlī and buried there. It was written on his grave in the tomb that was built for him at the shrine of ʿAlī: "This is the grave of ʿAḍud al-Dawlah and Tāj al-Mamlakah Abū Shujāʿ b. Rukn al-Dawlah. He loved the neighborhood of this God-fearing Imam out of his desire for deliverance on the day when every soul will come pleading for itself [Qur'an 16:111]. Praise be to God, and His blessings be upon Muḥammad and his pure progeny." At his death he recited these verses, which are by al-Qāsim b. ʿUbayd Allāh: "I killed the heroes of men, leaving no enemy, nor did I give respite to any creature on his suspicion. I emptied the abodes of kingship of every dweller, scattering them west and scattering them east. When I reached the star in might and elevation, and the necks of all creation became my slaves, Fate shot me with an arrow, extinguishing my ember. Here I am in my pit, stripped and cast down. I wasted my world and my religion through folly. Who is more wretched than I in his downfall?" Then he kept repeating this verse: "My wealth has not availed me; my power has perished from me," until he died, as we have mentioned. His son Ṣamṣām al-Dawlah was seated on the ground, wearing black garments, and the caliph al-Ṭāʾiʿ came to him offering condolences. Women wailed over him in the markets for many days. When the mourning ended, Ṣamṣām rode to the palace of the caliphate, and the caliph bestowed upon him seven robes of honor, a collar, bracelets, and crowned him, titled him Shams al-Dawlah, and appointed him to what his father had held before him. It was a memorable day.
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