Sirat Ibn Hisham 69
The rising of Sayf b. Dhī Yazan and the reign of Wahriz over Yemen
[ ابْنُ ذِي يَزَنَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ كِسْرَى، وَمُعَاوَنَةُ كِسْرَى لَهُ ] قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ: أَنَّ سَيْفًا لَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ طَأْطَأَ رَأْسَهُ، فَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ: إنَّ هَذَا الْأَحْمَقَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَيَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْبَابِ الطَّوِيلِ، ثُمَّ يُطَأْطِئُ رَأْسَهُ ؟ فَقِيلَ ذَلِكَ لِسَيْفِ؛ فَقَالَ: إنَّمَا فَعَلْتُ هَذَا لِهَمِّي؛ لِأَنَّهُ يَضِيقُ عَنْهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ. قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ: أَيُّهَا الْمَلِكُ، غَلَبَتْنَا عَلَى بِلَادِنَا الْأَغْرِبَةُ، فَقَالَ لَهُ كِسْرَى: أَيُّ الْأَغْرِبَةِ: الْحَبَشَةُ أَمْ السِّنْدُ فَقَالَ: بَلْ الْحَبَشَةُ، فَجِئْتُكَ لِتَنْصُرَنِي، وَيَكُونُ مُلْكُ بِلَادِي لَكَ، قَالَ: بَعُدَتْ بِلَادُكَ مَعَ قِلَّةِ خَيْرِهَا، فَلَمْ أَكُنْ لِأُوَرِّطَ جَيْشًا مِنْ فَارِسَ بِأَرْضِ الْعَرَبِ، لَا حَاجَةَ لِي بِذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ أَجَازَهُ بِعَشَرَةِ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ وَافٍ، وَكَسَاهُ كُسْوَةً حَسَنَةً. فَلَمَّا قَبَضَ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ سَيْفٌ خَرَجَ، فَجَعَلَ يَنْثُرُ ذَلِكَ الْوَرِقَ لِلنَّاسِ، فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ الْمَلِكَ، فَقَالَ: إنَّ لِهَذَا لَشَأْنًا، ثُمَّ بَعَثَ إلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: عَمَدْتَ إلَى حِبَاءِ الْمَلِكِ تَنْثُرُهُ لِلنَّاسِ، فَقَالَ: وَمَا أَصْنَعُ بِهَذَا مَا جِبَالُ أَرْضِي الَّتِي جِئْتُ مِنْهَا إلَّا ذَهَبٌ وَفِضَّةٌ: يُرَغِّبُهُ فِيهَا. فَجَمَعَ كِسْرَى مَرَازِبَتَهُ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: مَاذَا تَرَوْنَ فِي أَمْرِ هَذَا الرَّجُلِ، وَمَا جَاءَ لَهُ ؟ فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ أَيُّهَا الْمَلِكُ، إنَّ فِي سُجُونِكَ رِجَالًا قَدْ حَبَسْتَهُمْ لِلْقَتْلِ، فَلَوْ أَنَّكَ بَعَثْتَهُمْ مَعَهُ، فَإِنْ يَهْلِكُوا كَانَ ذَلِكَ الَّذِي أَرَدْتَ بِهِمْ، وَإِنْ ظَفِرُوا كَانَ مُلْكًا ازْدَدْتَهُ. فَبَعَثَ مَعَهُ كِسْرَى مَنْ كَانَ فِي سُجُونِهِ، وَكَانُوا ثَمَانَماِئَةِ رَجُلٍ
Translation
✧ [Sayf b. Dhī Yazan before Kisrā, and Kisrā’s assistance to him] Ibn Hishām said: Abū ʿUbaydah narrated to me: When Sayf entered upon him, he lowered his head, and the king said, “Does this fool enter upon me through this tall door and then lower his head?” That was said to Sayf, and he said, “I only did this because of my grief, for everything is too narrow for it.” Ibn Isḥāq said: Then he said to him, “O king, the blacks have overcome us in our land.” Kisrā said to him, “Which blacks? The Abyssinians or the Sind?” He said, “Rather the Abyssinians. I have come to you that you may aid me, and the dominion of my land shall be yours.” He said, “Your land is far away, and its good is little; I would not embroil an army of Persia in the land of the Arabs. I have no need of that.” Then he gave him a gift of ten thousand full dirhams and clothed him in fine clothing. When Sayf received that from him, he went out and began scattering those silver coins among the people. That reached the king, and he said, “This man has some affair.” Then he sent for him and said, “You intended to scatter the king’s gift among the people?” He said, “And what shall I do with this? The mountains of my land from which I have come are nothing but gold and silver” — enticing him thereby. So Kisrā gathered his marzbāns and said to them, “What do you think concerning the affair of this man and what he has come for?” One speaker said, “O king, in your prisons there are men whom you have detained for execution. If you were to send them with him, then if they perish, that is what you desired for them; and if they prevail, it is a dominion you would have increased.” So Kisrā sent with him those who were in his prisons, and they were eight hundred men.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.