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History of the caliphs / 



3 1924 023 164 654 



HISTORY 



OF 



THE CALIPHS 

BY 

JALALU'DDIN A'S SUYTJTI, 

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ARABIC 



BY 

MAJOR Hf SrjARRETT, 

SECEETAEY AND MEMBER, BOAED OF EXAMINEES, FOET WILLIAM, 
FELLOW OF THE CALCrTTA TNITEESITY. 



CALCUTTA : 

FEINTED BY J. W. THOMAS, BAPTIST MISSION PEESS. 

AND PUBLISHED BY THE 
ASIATIC SOCIETY, 57, PARK STREET. 

1881. 



ORNELL 

UNIVERSITY^ 

V LIBRARY 
X — •- 



INTRODUCTION. 



Extensive as is the reputation of as Suydti as a distinguished author 
and scholar, and unsurpassed for the number and range of the works which 
in every branch of literature known to his age, his unwearied pen never 
ceased to produce, we are indebted to the malice or envy of but one of his 
contemporaries and to his own testimony, for the few details of his life 
and studies that we possess. Eeference to one or other of his multitudi- 
nous volumes is made by writers of his own and succeeding times where 
the kindred subject of which they treat naturally calls for it, but only one 
contemporary biographical notice of him besides his own, is extant. To 
these I shall presently refer. 

Haji Khalifah, at the close of his Lexicon, gives a detailed list of as 
Suyuti's works, prefaced by a column of laudatory epithets which have less 
the ring of sincere admiration than of conventional panegyric, yet hia 
wonder or his envy might well oiFer the incense of adulation to the 
astonishing author of five hundred and four volumes. Kuranic exegesis, 
Tradition and its cognate subjects, jurisprudence, philology, rhetoric, prose 
and poetical composition, the phenomena of nature, curiosities of literature, 
discourses on social questions, criticism, history, biography, all these were 
fields not too vast for his discursive intelligence and none too minute for his 
indefatigable industry. Some of his compositions are indeed, nothing more 
than pamphlets of smaller compass than many an article of a modern Eeview, 
but a considerable number, to judge from some of those, about one-fifth 
of the whole, that have come down to us, must have been of goodly bulk. 
It would doubtless have been better for his reputation as it would assuredly 
have been more profitable to the generality of his readers, had he confined 
his labours to the production of a few works of universal interest and 
written for posterity rather than for his day. By far the greater part of 
his writings were on subjects which have no interest to a European 
student. Two hundred and six works on Tradition and ninety-one on 
Jurisprudence would, it might be supposed, have been thoroughly exhaus- 
tive had not another line been previously written regarding them, yet this 



[ iv ] 

was the contribution of but one author to the store of countless volumes 
that had already preceded his labours and had been forgotten, to be follow- 
ed by others as countless and as unreraembered. 

However much we may regret this misapplied diligence, the age in 
which as Suyuti lived, naturally moulded his literary tastes and influenced 
his course of study, and he but reflected its spirit in seeking pre-eminence 
among the scholarly and erudite of his nation after the manner in which 
they had attained it. Legal studies, inseparably connected as they are 
with the religion of the Moslems, were of the utmost consequence from the 
very infancy of Islam, and at a time when the Crescent waved from the 
pillars of Hercules to the steppes of Tartary, they formed a necessary 
part of the education of all cultured minds. Every Moslem author or nearly, 
every one with whom we are acquainted, was either a recognized doctor 
of jurisprudence or had studied it under some one of its famous masters. 
No college was founded but we read that its first chairs were those of 
Tradition and Law. Other branches of knowledge were indeed, far from 
neglected. Grammar, Medicine and the complicated problems of Inheritance 
were cultivated with assiduity and success, but with the exception of the 
first mentioned of this Eastern Trivium, which is rather an instrument of 
knowledge than an end in itself, they occupied, the second place. In the 
great Mustansiriyah College built on the eastern bank of the Tigris at 
Baghdad by the Caliph al Mustan^ir and endowed by his splendid muni- 
ficence, provision was first made, as as Suyliti tells us, for Chairs of the 
four great Schools of Muhammadan law. The next was that of Tradition, 
the third of Grammar, followed by professorships of Medicine and the Law 
of Inheritance. De Slane in his Introduction to Ibn Khallikan's Biogra- 
phical Dictionary has described the system of education pursued during 
the times of which we write. The young student, he says, commenced 
his labours by learning the Kuran by heart, and as many of the traditions 
as he was able to acquire at his native place : to this he joined a slight 
acquaintance with grammar and some knowledge of poetry. On attaining 
the age of fourteen or sixteen, he began his travels and visited the great cities 
where he learnt traditions and received certificates of licence to relate 
them, from eminent traditionists. He then followed the courses of 
lectures held in the mosques or colleges, and generally attached himself to 
one of the professors. He there learnt by heart the most approved works 
on the dogmas of religion, and studied their commentaries under the 
tuition of his master. He acquired a knowledge of the different readings 
of the Kuran and of its orthodox interpretation, whilst he pursued the 
study of ancient poetry and philology, grammar and rhetoric. The second- 
ary points of jurisprudence, forming the doctrines of the school to which 
he belonged, next became the object of his study and an acquaintance with 



[ V ] 

logic and dialectics completed his education. Having obtained from 
his professors, certificates of capacity and license to teach the works he 
had mastered, he was eligible for the posts of preacher, Kddhi, Mufti, 
Imam or professor. 

Under a system so universal in its adoption and so rigidly upheld by 
learned opinion as the sole method of orthodox mental discipline, profitable 
as a means of worldly advancement as well as the most salutary for the 
soul, it is not surprising that the literary efi'orts of as Suyuti should bear 
principally upon those studies to which such an exaggerated importance 
was attached by his age. Besides the treatises on Jurisprudence and 
Tradition already mentioned, his commentaries and writings on the Kuran 
number thirty-five. Philology, Grammar and Ehetoric claim sixty-three 
of his volumes. Seventy-six were his contribution to general literature, 
and thirty-three were devoted to history and biography. For this classi- 
fied list of his writings, we are indebted to his own autobiography in his 
well-known work entitled Husn al Muhadhirah fi akhbar i'l Misr wa'l 
Kahirah (agreeable colloquy on Misr and Cairo'). This autobiography 
has been published with a Latin version by Albert Meursinge in the 
Prolegomena to his edition of as Suyuti's Tabakat u'l Mufassirin {Classes 
of the Interpreters of the Kurdn). But as it is a work not easily accessible 
and no English translation of the original has as yet appeared I cannot 
more fitly introduce the author to those interested in his life, than in his 
own words. 

" The author of this work," he writes, " is Abu'l Fadhl A'bdu'r 
Eahman-b-u'l Kamal Abu Bakr-b-Nasiri'ddin Muhammad-b-Sabiki'ddin 
Abi Bakr-b-Pakhr Othmau-b-Nasiriddin Muhammad-b-Sayfi'ddin Khidhr- 
b-Najmi'ddin Abi's Salah Ayyiib-b-Nasiri'ddin Muhammad-b-i's Shaykh 
Humami'ddin al Khudhayri al Usuyiiti.* 

In recording the narrative of my life in this book, I have but followed 
the example of recent writers, for it is rarely that any of them has 
published a history without introducing therein his own biography.f 
Eegarding my ancestor Humamu'ddin, I have to observe that he was one 
of the masters of the spiritual life and of the doctors of the mystics. 
Mention of him will follow in the section treating on the Sufis. The 
others who came after him were men of position and authority. Of these, 
one exercised judicial functions in his own city, another held the ofiice of 
inspector of markets, another accompanied the Amir ShaykhiiJ and 

* The name is written TTsuyiiti or Suyuti indifferently. 

t I here omit a list of authors and their works, as irrelevant to the main subject 
of the writer's life. 

t See page 529. Further partioulais of him are furnished by Weil. Gesoh. 

Abb. Cal. Eg. pp. 475, 477, m- 



[ vi ] 

founded and endowed a college at Suyut ;* another was a wealthy mer- 
chant, but I know of none who altogether devoted himself to the acquisi- 
tion of learning except my father, a notice of whom will occur in the 
section treating of the Sliafi'ite jurisconsults. 

As regards our connection with the name of Khudhayri, I do not 
know to what it can refer save the Khudhayri quarter of Baghdad, and 
in fact, a person whom I can implicitly trust, told me that he heard my 
father — may God have mercy on him — say, that his ancestor was a Persian 
or from the East. The connection therefore is apparently with the quarter 
above mentioned. 

I was born after sunset on Saturday night the 1st Bajab, 849 (3rd 
October, 1445), and I was carried, my father being then living, to the 
Shaykh Muhammad the recluse, a man eminent for sanctity, near the 
Nafisif tomb, who gave me his blessing. I grew up an orphan and 
I learnt the Kuran before I was eight years of age. I next got by-hearfc 
the U'mdah, the Minhaju'l Fikh wa'l Usdl and the Alfi'yah of Ibn Malik. 
From the beginning of year 64 I began to devote myself to learning. I 
studied jurisprudence and grammar under a number of doctors and read 
the law of inheritance with the learned and most distinguished professor 
of his age in that science, the Shaykh Shihabu'ddin as Sharimsahi who 
used to say that he had arrived at a great age and had passed a hundred 
by many years. God knows best. I read with him his commentary on 
the Majmliu'.J and received a certificate of licence to teach the Arabic 
language in the beginning of the year 66. In this year I became an 
author. The first work I composed was an exposition of the formula 
Alb ijJl § and 4U| *<~J which I submitted to my master the Shaykh u'l 
Islam A'lamu'ddin al Bulkini|| who wrote to me in praise of it. I con- 
tinued to study jurisprudence with him till his death. I also read with 
him from the beginning the Tadrib,^ by his father, up to the chapter on 

• In Upper Egypt on the western hank of the Nile about 27° lat. Yakiit speaks 
of it as having contained 75 Christian churches and a large Christian population, 
t See Note J page 509. 

I Al Majmuu' fi i'lm i'l Faraidh, by A'hdu'Uah Shamsu'ddin Muhammad-h-Sharaf 
al KilUi as Shafi'i : died 777 (1375). H. K. 

§ My MS. has SilAi**! and omits the second word. The work referred to will 
be found in hia list under the first heading. 

II Abu'l BakS Salilj-b-0majr-b-Easl5n A'lam u'ddin al Bulklni was bom 791 
(1388) and died 868 (1463). Meurs. He was named BuDjini after Bulkinah in Egypt 
in the district of Hauf. 

H gA^I tjS* Vi)-^ (Exeroitatua de partibua juris speoiaUbus) auotore Sirdju'ddin 
Omar.b-Easlau Bolkeiui Shafi'ita, aimo 805 (1463) mortuo. H, K. 



[ ^ii ] 

Procuration. I heard his lectures on the Hawi as Saghir* from the 
beginning, to the chapter de Statibus Mulieris ; and on the Minhaj from 
the beginning, to the chapter on the Poor-rate : and on the Tanbiht from 
its commencement nearly up to the chapter on the Poor-rate ; likewise a 
portion of ar RaudhahJ from the chapter on the Judicial office : a portion 
of the supplement to the commentary on the Minhaj by az Zarkashi ;§ and 
from the chapter on the Cultivation of Waste lands, to the chapter on 
Testaments or thereabouts. In the year 67 he granted me a license to 
teach jv/risprudence and to decide on eases proposed to me and was present 
at my inauguration. || 

When he died in the year 68, I resorted to the Shaykh u'l Islam 
Sharafu'ddin al Munawi^ and read with him a portion of the Minhaj. I 
heard his Expositions on Partition except a few lectures which I missed 
and I attended his readings from the commentary al Bahjah,** and its 
marginal notes by him, and from the commentary on the Kuraa by al 
Baydhawi. For traditions and the Arabic language, I read with our 
Shaykh the learned Imam Taki'uddin as Shumunni the Hanafite and 
continued with him for four years. He wrote to me in praise of two of 
my compositions, a commentary on the Alfiyah of Ibn Malik and the 
Jama'u'l Jawami'tt on the Arabic language, and he gave verbal and 
written testimony of my proficiency in the sciences on more than one 
occasion. He once acquiesced in my bare statement regarding a tradition, 
for verily he adduced in his marginal gloss on as Shifa,JJ the tradition of 
Abu'l Hamra on Captives and alleged its citation by Ibn Majah. I had 
occasion to quote it with its ascriptions and I therefore searched Ibn 
Majah in the place where it was supposed to be, but I did not find it. 
Then I went through the whole book but did not light upon it. Suspect- 

» See p. 514 

t There are many works of thia name as well as that of Minhaj in H. K. 

t t'-'^^^ S?^ '^)J\ ee H. K. 

{ See D'Herb. art. Zsrkeshi. 

II Reference is made to this in the list of his works under the heading " Commen- 
taries and works on the Kuran." 

U Abu Zakariya Yahya-h-Muhammad Sharafu'ddin al Munawi, died 871 (1466). 
Meurs. 

** Al Bahjah al Wardiyah a commentary on the Hawi u's Saghir by Zaynu'ddin 
Omar-b-Mudhaffar-b-i'l Wardi : died 749 (1348). H. K. 

ft sai^l Jr^^^i^ C*!*^-*) C*'?- by Taju'ddin A'bdu'l Wahab as SubH : died 771 
(1369). H. K. ' _, 

XI tf*^*'' l3>«^ "-^ir*^ <5** ^*^' ty the Imam IJafidh Abu'l Fadhl I'yadh- 
b-Musa Yahsabi: died 544 (1149). H. K. notes on this book at some length and 
rnentions the gloss of as Shumunni. 



[ viii J 

ing an oversight, I read it through a second time and again found it not. 
I returned to it a third time but did not discover it. I saw it, however, in 
the Catalogue of the companions by Ibn Kani', upon which I went to the 
Shaykh and informed him. On hearing this from me, he at once took up 
his manuscript and taking a pen, he struct out the name of Ibn Majah 
and wrote Ibn Kani' in the margin. I was distressed at this and dis- 
mayed, on account of the great veneration in which I held the Shaykh, and 
the contemptuous opinion I had of myself and I said " will you not wait 
a little, perhaps you may consult the work yourself ?" He replied : " No, 
I relied for Ibn Majah on the authority of Burhan al Halabi." I did not 
quit the Shaykh until his death, when I attended our Shaykh the learned 
and most eminent master al Kafiaji* for fourteen years. I studied under 
him various branches of knowledge such as Kuranic exegesis, the funda- 
mentals of doctrine, the Arabic language, rhetoric and others and he gave 
me a high diploma. I next attended many lectures of the Shaykh Sayfu'- 
ddin Hanafif on the Eashshaf,J on the Taudhih with his gloss thereon, 
the Talkhi's u'l Miftah and the A'dhud, and I began to write works in 
the year 66. My writings up to this time numbered 300 works exclusive 
of those I obliterated and left unfinished, and they penetrated, praise be to 
God, the countries of Syria, Hijaz, Yaman, India, Mauritania and 
Takrur.§ When I made the pilgrimage, I drank of the water of the well 
Zemzem with various intentions : among others that I should arrive in 
Jurisprudence to the eminence of Shaykh Siraju'ddin al Bulkini, and in 
Tradition to the distinction of the Hafidh Ibn Hajr. From the beginning 
of the year 71 I gave decisions on points of law and I employed myself in 
writing traditions from the beginning of the year 72. I acquired a pro- 
found knowledge of the seven sciences of Exegesis, Tradition, Jurisprudence, 
Grammar and the three branches of Ehetoric after the manner of the Arabs 
and the rhetoricians, and not after the fashion of the Persians and philo- 
sophers. What I am conscious of is this, that the proficiency I attained 
in these six sciences (save jurisprudence) and the writings thereon which 
I perused, none of my Shaykhs ever reached therein nor were therewith 

* So Meurs. points tlie name Or*i J t**^*^' S?'^-^* t£>^.=^l in'*^*' lirf A*J=* 
^a-UjJ Kib -born 790, died 879. According to the Lubbu'l Lubab his name refers 
I4J &S\j3\j «3|y xJSJ ( I. c_K=.ls-'| ) 1=^1 ^^, «Jl^ ^Jl. 

t Mnhammad-b-Muhammad-b-Omar-b-^etlu Bogha al Yektamri, died in 881, 
As Suyuti wrote an elegy on Mm recorded in the Husn al Muhddh. Meurs. 

X The famous commentary of Zamakhshari. The Talkhi's is a work on rhetoric 
by Kazwini. H. E. mentions several Tau^lhilj. The A'dhud is a work on grammar by 
Abu A'li al Farisi composed for A'dhud u'd Dawlah. H. K. 

§ In the extreme south of al Maghrab, aeoording to Ya^tit, probably in the 
6aud£u. 



[ ix ] 

acquainted, still less those inferior to them I do not say the same, by 
Allah, of jurisprudence, for my Shaykh has a deeper insight and a larger 
grasp of the subject. After these seven branches of knowledge comes in a 
lower degree my acquaintance with the fundamentals of jurisprudence, 
with dialectics and grammatical inflexions. Below this, composition and 
epistolary style and the law of inheritance. Below this, the various read- 
ings of the Kuran which I did not study under any Shaykh* and next Me- 
dicine, but Arithmetic I found the most difficult to me and the most remote 
from my inclination, and when I apply myself to a question appertaining 
thereto, it is as though I strove to support a mountain. 

I have now completely acquired, praise be to the Most High, the means 
of diligently investigating and determining cases referred to me. I say this 
in acknowledgement of the favour of God and not in vain-glory, for what 
is the world that one should strive to gain it in glorying, now that the 
time of departure from it is approaching, and hoariness hath begun, and 
the best part of life hath passed. And now if I wished to write on every 
question, a dissertation with its statements and proofs, whether cited or 
reasoned from analogy, the perceptions of it by the mind, its refutations 
and vindications, and a comparison between the contrary opinions held 
regarding it, I should be able to do so by the grace of the Most High, and 
through Him, not of my own strength and ability, for there is no power or 
virtue but in God. Whatever God willeth, there is no power to accomplish 
it save in God Himself. 

At the commencement of my studies, I read somewhat of the science 
of logic, but subsequently the Lord put a dislike of it into my heart, and 
hearing that Ibn u's Salahf had decided a reference to him on the subject 
by interdicting it, I abandoned it for that reason, and the Lord supplied 
its place to me with the science of tradition which is the noblest of all 
studies. As for my Shaykhs in the relation of traditions whom I heard, or 
from whom I received certificates of licence, they were numerous. I have 
adduced them in my CatalogueJ to the number of about 150. I did not 
however, devote myself much to the hearing of traditions as I was employ, 
ed on what was of more importance, vig., the study of their critical exami- 
nation." 

"With these words concludes the autobiography which is followed by 
a catalogue of the author's works. I have now to notice the only other 
memoir of him which we possess, and to which I have already alluded. 
This is furnished to us by his contemporary Muhammad-b-Abdi'r fiahman- 

* i^i-" t>* ^ "^^ (^ ) tliese words axe in Meursinge, but not in my MS. 

t See page 431. 

t There are two of these, called the Greater and the Lesser Mua'jam which are 

given in his list of worlis. 



[ ^ ] 

b-Muhammad Shamsu'ddin as Sakhdwi, and is given by Meursinge in his 
Prolegomena and translated by him into Latin. This fragment, he states) 
is taken from the Leyden Codex 518. {Catal JST. 1876.) entitled 
j/o3U| ^^J| j^ gJlk/tj^*J| (Luna oriens ex Itmiine miea/nte) by Ahmad-b- 
Abdi's Salam Kadhi of Maniif . It contains an excerpt of the principal 
work of as Sakhawi called £«t-i^l ej/' cl*JI g*^l 5'*'' {lumen micant 
hominibus stBculi noni) and gives amongst the celebrities of that age, the 
following notice of as Suyiiti : 

" He was born on the first night of the month of Eajab 849, his 
mother being a Turkish slave, and he was reared an orphan. He learnt 
by-hearfc the Kuran, the U'mdah, the Minhaj both the section on the 
derivative and part of the fundamental principles, and the Alfi'yah on 
grammar. Having proved his capacity in the year 64, he studied gram- 
mar under Shamsu'ddin Muhammad-b-Mlisa al Hanafi Imam of the 
Shaykhuniyah College, and under al Fakhr Othman al Maksi,* as Shams al 
Bami,t Ibn u'l Falati.f Ibn Tusuf one of tjie most eminent doctors of 
the Shaykhuniyah, al Burhan al A'jluni, and according to some, under an 
Nua'mani, with some of them, jurisprudence, with some, grammar. He 
progressed until he read some works on jurisprudence under al A'lam al 
Bulkini. He then read with al Munawi for a very short time who gave 
him a lesson in good manners when, pained at his taking a seat at the 
head of the assembly, he said, " when we were young, we never sat save 
behind the circle of distinguished personages such as these." On this he 
broke ofE§ from him and read altogether with as Sayfu'ddin, as Shumunni 
and al Kafiyaji the Hanafites, somewhat of the sciences, and also, as he 
asserts, with as Shihab as Sharimsahi a part of his commentary on the Maj- 
mdu' of al Kallai : likewise under al I'zz al Mikati his treatise on the 
Mikat,|| and under Muhammad-b- Ibrahim as Sharwani ar Riimi^ the phy- 

* Othmau-b-A'tdi'llah-b-Othmfin al Fakhr Abu A'mr al Maksi bom 818 (1416), 
died 877 (1472). Maks is a village on the Nile adjacent to, Cairo. 

t Mutammad-b-Abmad as Shams al Bami, born 820 (1417) died 885 (1480). 
Meurs. 

t Muhammad-b-A'li al Ku?i as Shafi'i, born 824, died 870. Ibid. 

§ I do not follow Meursinge in his translation of ^^^ — "turn vero totum se 
Bcientiis vovit." This form of the verb bears the meaning of devoting one's self to a 
thing, but the object is not mentioned and the ordinary signification of the word is 
here most applicable. The preceding passage is also misunderstood. The speaker is 
al Munawi not as Suydti. 

II The Mikat is an appointed place of rendezvous for pilgrims proceeding to 
Mecca where they first enter into the state of Ihrdm or prohibition from lawful acts 
which are at that period unlawful. These stations wiU be found mentioned in the 
JAmi' Eumtizby Shamsu'ddin Muhammad al Kohistdni. Meursinge's translation of 
Mi^at " horologia" is quite imtenable. 

ir Bom 778 (1376), died 873 (1468). Meurs. 



[ xl ] 

Bicia,n at Cairo, two abridgments on medicine by Ibn u'l Jamaa'h,* and under 
al I'zz al Hanbali some studies in the fundamental principles of jurispru- 
dence from the Jama' u'l Jawami.' 

Here ends what he asserts to have done. He attached himself to me 
for some time and wrote to me in a long prose epistle the following words, 
" and verily we presented ourselves uninvited to the feast of his compre- 
hensive bounty, and we made the camel of our affliction kneel in the. 
spacious courtyard of his affluence."t Moreover he praised me on other 
occasions in verse and prose as I have elsewhere shown. In the same 
■way, for a very short period he frequented the lectures of az Zayn Kasim 
al Hanafi and al Bikai'i. He also practised himself in poetry under as 
Shihab al Mansuri,J and he heard traditions from the compilers of tradi- 
tion then living such as al Kammasi, al Hijdzi, as Shawi, al Muktumi 
Nashwan and Hajir, and some doctors of Aleppo gave him certificates of 
licence to relate traditions, among them Ibn Mukbil. The last who gave 
him a certificate was as Salah-b-Abi Omar, but nevertheless he had made 
no profound study of all that I have alluded to. He then travelled to 
Fayyiim, Damietta, al Mahallah and other places and took down in writing 
what he had heard from those who professed versification, as al Muliyi'd- 
din-b-Saki'yah and al A'la-b-u'l Janadi al Hanafi. Thence to Mecca by 
sea in Kabii' II, 69 and studied a little under al Muhyi'ddin A'bdu'I Kadir 
al Maliki and profited by the assistance of our friend Ibn Fadhl§ among 
others, and more than one granted him a licence to teach and instruct. Al 
A'lam al Bulki'ni granted him his encouragement until he obtained the 
chair of jurisprudence in the Shaykhiiniyah mosque which had come down 
to him from his father and was present with him at some conferences 
therein. 

Then he held himself aloof || and affected the airs of a Shaykh and 
applied himself to the sciences suitable to that profession. Moreover at 
the time when he used constantly to visit me, he carried off many of 
my compositions such as J^«aLJ &i.sa^)\ JLai^i - &jf^iJf U« J/j 
^ijJ( j^JLe !s^«aJ| . UjKi ui<y«, and others I need not enumerate. Nay he took 

* I'zzu'ddin Mul^ammad-b-Sharafu'ddin Abi Bakr, bom 759 (1358), died 819 
(1416). IMd. 

t As Suyuti means to say that he owed much of solace in his toil to the bounty 
of as Sakhawi. 

t Ahmad-h-Muhammad, horn 798, died 887. Meurs. 

{ The Hafidh, author of a work entitled Durrar as Sunniyah wa Bahiyah, a 
treatise on Muhammadau law, composed 865 A. H. D'Herh. 

II Meursinge does not find the 7th form this verb C*^' and translates it 
'omnes ooUegit vires suas.' Lane gives the form and example u»WI w* £*^l 'he 
withdrew himself from men,' 



[ xii ] 

from the books of the MuljmMi'yah College and elsewhere, many ancient 
compositions which were unknown to many of his contemporaries, on 
various sciences, altered them slightly, transposed them and gave them 
out as his own, and prefaced them with pretentious introductions from 
which the unlearned reader might expect much, but not a part of which 
was fulfilled. The first he produced was a paper on the interdiction of the 
science of logic which he had extracted from a work of Ibn Taymiyah 
and in the greater part of it he was indebted to my assistance. Upon this 
many eminent scholars opposed him and even al A'lam al Bulkini rejected 
him and took from him what he had dictated to him in his lectures on this 
question, and had it not been for my good offices with a number of these, 
such as al Anbasi,* Ibn u'l Falati and Ibn Kasim,t the result would have 
been disastrous. 

He also lectured to a number of the common people in the mosque of 
Ahmad-b-Tdlun ; moreover he acquired a predominancej over some who 
were themselves good for nothing, so that this was the means of his being 
favoured by his executor Shihab-u'ddin-b-u't Tabbakh who provided for 
his being brought up under Barsabai§ Comptroller of the Household. 
After this he attached himself to Inal al Ashkar, II president of the order 
of prefects^ until that personage appointed him professor of tradition in 
the Shaykhuniyah College after the death of the Shaykh Othman al Maksi, 
notwithstanding he had left a son. He was also appointed to the post of 
lecturer on the Sahihayn of al Buhhdri and Muslim although he was 
unable to fulfil the condition attached to those offices by the endower,** 

* A'bdu'r Eahim-'b-rbrahim-'b-Hajjaj Zaynu'ddin al Anbasi, as Shafi'i, 1)0111 829, 
died 891. M. 

t Muhammad-b-K&sim-b-A'U Shamsu'ddin al Maksi as Shafi'i, bom 817, died 
893. 

X I differ from M. in the translation of this passage. He would omit the second 

\J^ in (♦t***i 1^* <rf^* j'**. I would retain it and read the first (^ or perhaps u'^*! 
His rendering of t5^ as " pupillus" is, I think, inadmissible. 

§ Probably Barsabai al Bajashi. See Weil. Gesoh. Abb. Cal. Eg. II, p. 313. 

I Inal al Ashkar az Zahiri. Mention of him is made by Weil first in the reign 
ol Sultan Khush Kadam in 867 (H62) when he was Atabek of Aleppo. In the reign 
of al Malik al Ashraf Kaitbai, he was transferred from the government of Malatiyah 
to that of Aleppo, pp. 307, 333. 

H See Carlyle's edit, of the Maured allatdfat fCantabrig 1792) for this title. Note 
7. p. 41. 

** What those conditions were is mentioned in the IJusn al Muljddhirah in de- 
scribing the foundation of the Amir Bhaykhu. It was begun in Muharram 756 {Jan, 
Feb. 1356). Chairs were appointed for the four orthodox doctrinal schools, a 
chair of Tradition, of Kurau reading, lectures (^^""O on the ^aljiljayn and the Shifa'. 



[ xi'i ] 

and to lecture on Mysticism at the Mausoleum of Barkdk* governor of 
Syria, which is by the gate of al Karafah at Oairo, through the favour of 
his townsman Abu Tayyib as Suyuti, and to other posts. All this, though 
he was not fitted for those offices nor nearly so, and for this reason it was 
said proverbially, that he undertook what he was not qualified to perform. 
He then gave a loose to his tongue and his pen against his Shaykhs who 
were his superiors, even to saying of Kadhi Adhud that he was not of as 
much consequence as a prick in the foot of Ibn u's Salah, and for this he 
was reproved by one of the Hanabalite vice-presidents in the presence of 
their Kadhi. He also disparaged as Sayyidf and ar Eadhi on a point of 
grammar without sufficient foundation, so that he withdrew his statement 
to a stranger who, when he met him, said, " verily thou assertest that the 
Sayyid al Jurjani maintains that a letter (iJ^a.)J intrinsically hath no 
meaning either inherent in it or otherwise, but this statement of the 
Sayyid's testifieth to the falsehood of what thou dost allege." He replied, 
" verily I have seen no statement of his to that effect, but when I was at 
Mecca, I conversed with a distinguished person on this subject, he told 
me what I have asserted and I relied upon his authority." The other 
answered, " it is strange how any one who is an author himself could 
depend upon such a statement in connection with such a master." Thus 
far this assertion. He also said that any one who read with ar Radhi and 
his grammatical teaching, had never reached such a degree of proficiency 
as to entitle him to be called moderately acquainted with grammar. 

He continued thus displaying his presumption till he declared him- 
self prof oundly versed in the seven sciences. § 

He further maintained that if all the learned men of the time were to 
propound thousands of questions to him, he could answer them all by the 
sole exercise of his reasoning powers, and were he to set them but a tenth 
part of the same, they would be unable to solve them. He likewise 
elaborated a work to facilitate the acquisition of the degree of Mujtahid|| 

The head professor who lectured on Mysticism and the Hanafite theology, was required 
to he the most learned Hanafite in Egypt, and to be profoundly versed in exegesis and 
the fundamentals of jurisprudence, and was not to he a ]^a4hi, and this condition was a 
general one for all the salaried College officials. 

* Consult D'Herb. art. Barkok, and Weil. Gesch. Ahb. Cal. Eg. 510 seq. 

t Ahu'l Hasan A'li-h-Muhammad Zaynu'ddin al Husayni al Jurj&u known as 
as Sayyid as Sharif, died 816. Meurs.- 

I KJjf^ has two senses grammatically speaking, one a letter, the other a particle, 
»'. «., what is used to express a meaning and is not a noun or a verb. See Lane. 

k Here follows an extract from as Suyuti' which has already been translated in the 
preceding autobiography. 

I This terra is employed to denote a doctor who exerts all his capacity for the 
purpose of forming a right opinion upon a legal question. The title was common in 



[ xW ] 

in order to assert his own claim to it. And how well spoke one of the 
professors of arithmetic, — " that which he hath confessed* regarding 
himself in order that it might be inferred that he was impartial, is a proof 
of his dullness and lack of understanding from the testimony of masters 
of this science that it is one needing quick intelligence." 

And similar to this is the saying of some one that he claimed the 
rank of Mujtahid to hide his own errors. And to this effect also, are 
his own words when a certain distinguished person met him and desired to 
confer with him on some point, " it cannot be that my store of knowledge 
in scholastic theology is of small account." 

The following speech was made to him by another—" inform me 
regarding the means of acquiring the degree of Mujtadhid. Is there any 
one living conversant with them ?" He replied, " Tes, there are those 
who have some knowledge of them, but they are not collectively united in 
one person but dispersed among a number," The other rejoined, "tell 
me who they are, and we will bring them together for thee, and thou shalt 
speak with them, and if each one of them confesseth that thou hast a 
knowledge of his subject and noteth thee as distinguished therein, it is 
possible that we may allow thy claim." And he was silent and uttered 
not a word. 

He mentions that his compositions number more than 300 volumes, 
but I have seen some of them consisting only of one page, and those that 
are less than a " kurrasah"t are numerous. He mentions amongst them 
a commentary on the ShatibiyahJ and the Alfiyah on the readings of the 
Kuran, notwithstanding his own confession, as has already gone before, 
that he had studied them under no Shaykh. 

Among his writings, the following were fraudulently appropriated 
from the compositions of our Shaykh. § 

..■'•'. * „ I " . , ^ ' ' ' " 

the first ages of IsUm, but the principal points having heen fixed by the great doetors, 
the exercise of private judgment in legal questions soon ceased to be recognized. 
Some later doctors like as Sujrd^i claimed the title and the right, but both were 
refused to them by public opinion. See De Slane I. K. I. p. 201. 

• Alluding to as Suyuti's disinclination to that study. 

t A " kurrasah" according to De Slane (Vol, II, p. 98) generally contains 20 
pages. 

X See Note, p. 603. 

§ Meursinge understands him to mean here, al Bulkimi, as aa Sakh&wi speak* of 
him under this title { l^***" ) in his biography. 



[ *v ] 

All these are the dissertations of our Shaykh, and would that he had 
not altered them when he appropriated them, for if he had given them as 
they were, it would have been more profitable. The works belonging to 
other authors also, among his compositions are numerous. This would be 
seen were all the works named at hand, but in any case, he was given to 
much arrogant boasting. He came to me once and asserted that he had 
read the Musnad of as Shafi'i with al Kammasi, and of his own accord 
communicated to me what contained a falsehood in every part of it. In the 
same way he related on the authority of alKamal brother of alJalal alMahalli, 
a dream in which al Kamal proved his untruth. Al Badru'ddin the Hanbalite 
Kadhi said to me, " I never saw him reading the Jama' u'l Jawitmi' with 
my Shaykh notwithstanding my constant zeal in attendance on him {the 
Shayhh') ; but indeed Khayru'ddin ar Rishi the Nakib studied it under 
him." I said, " perhaps he used to come at the same time." He 
replied, " I never observed it." 

He asserted that he composed the Nafhat u'l Miskiyah wa'l Tuhfat u'l 
Makkiyah (The Mushy Fragrance and the Meccan gift) in one ' kurrasah' 
when he was at Mecca after the manner of the Ifuwan u's Sharaf of Ibn 
u'l Mukri* in a single day, and that he wrote an Alfiyah on tradition 
superior to the Alfiyah u'l I'rakif and other things which it would be 
tedious to mention. Similar to this is his saying (which verifies the adage 
that forgetfulness is the undoing of falsehood) in one place that he knew 
by heart a part of the Minhaj on Fundamentals, and in another that he 
knew the whole of it, and that the course of Dictation was discontinued 
after the death of our Shaykh until he reinstated it. So too his assertion 
that the first who was appointed to the Shaykhliniyah College was al 
Kafiyaji, and his remarking to me several times, " by Allah, if the Turkish 
Superintendent had not appointed him, or had I alone to do in the affair, I 
would not have preferred him from my knowledge of the special claim of 
another." Add to all this the inversions and solecisms in pronunciation 
that fell from him and what arose from his misapprehension of meaning, 
through his not fre quenting the lectures of the learned nor attending their 
evening and nightly assemblies, instead of which he worked alone, deep 
among codices and tomes, and relied upon what had not secured the 
approval of accurate scholars ; moreover he was opposed by all men uni- 
versally when he claimed the degree of Mujtahid. He composed 

the following works: — g?>M'^( ^^ iJ J lsj^J^^ l^^^l 

* See note, p. S40. 

t Alfiyah u'l T'rajki fi XJ?u'l u'l Haditli by the ^lafidh Zaynu'ddin A'bdu'r 
Eahfm-'b-i'l Huaayn al I'raki : died 806 (1403). This and its commentaries are 
noticed at some length by H, K, 



[ xvi ] 

All this during his stay at Mecca, treating discourteously therein the 
people of Hijaz for which he richly deserved severe reproof, some of these 
compositions being more foul than others. Of these I have seen only the 
first which contains great disparagement of al Jaujari and much arrogance 
which in parts shows his folly, nay his rabid rage. The fourth is in refu- 
tation of al Burhan an Nuaraani* where he reads the words of the Kadhi 
I'yadh at the close of the Shifa ,^/aj«a=i lx,ascij in the dual number, 
after he had written him a paper containing hard and coarse language not 
proper to be addressed to scholars, which induced al Burhan to procure 
learned opinion upon it and those who wrote agreeing with his reading 
were al Amin al Iksirai, al U'bbadi, al Bami, az Zayn Kasim al Hanafi, al 
Fakhr ad Dayyimi and the writer of this memoir. Al Burhan wrote a 
pamphlet which he entitled al Kaul al Mufassal fi radd a'la'l Mughaffal. 
{A clear tractate in refutation of the imiecile) ; moreover one of the 
disciples of al Jaujari wrote also in support of him but al Jaujarif was 
incensed against him who undertook this on account of the praise of the 
person eulogized that his work contained. As Suytiti also wrote a letter 
to al Kamal-b-Abi Sharif J and filled it with unworthy attacks on al 
Kirmani. Al Khatib al Waziri sent his son to him at Kaudhah§ to 
exhibit his proficiency in study, but he sent him back, alleging as an 
excuse that he did not fulfil his father's description || of him on certain 
points and that his letter for other reasons, likewise, was not satisfactory 
to him. 

• The Imam Hdfidh Abu'l Padhl ryadh-li-Musa Yah?abi, called as Sabti because 
he was a native of Ceuta. He was bom in 470 (1077) died in 644 (1149). Among his 
best known works are a history of Cordova, a devotional work called Azhar u'r Byadh, 
and the Shifa (Note % p. vii). See his life in D'Herb. The words at the close of the 
Shifa alluded to are, {teste Meurs.) 4i*Ua- j lij.*J if"} ^-Ax-air; Ix^sij gt peouliarem 
nobis faoere volet (Bern) peouliarem favorem turboe Prophetsa nostri ejusque agminia. 
^^-a^^fli. ia here an inf. n. of U*"^ like {.^^d and tS/iS^ Burhanu'ddin took 
it as a dual number. Weijers' note on this in Meurs. is remarkable. Quo modo vero 
Burhanoddinus iste ibi in duali numero ... legere ... equidem plane non intelligo ; et 
magis etiam miror partium stadium eorum eruditorum, qui nud^, ut videtur, Sojuti 
invidi^ ducti, Borhannodino iUi adversus hunc adstipulati, aut oerte illi non plane 
oblecuti sunt. 

t Muhammad-b-A'bdi'l Muni'm Shamsu'ddfn al Jaujari al Kahiri as Shafi'i ; 
bom 822 (1419) died 889 (1484). M. He was the author against whom was directed 
the first treatise mentioned in the last page. 

X Abu'l Hand Muhammad al Kamalu'ddin-b-Abi Sharif as ShAfi'i : bom 824' 
Meurs. 

§ A place, according to Meursinge where as Suydti had an estate. 

II I must differ from Meursinge's rendering of this, " non posse se patri ejus (in 
response suo) omues quos oporteret tituloa dare." 



[ xvii ] 

When a certain student once spoke of the impiety of Ibn u'l A'rabi,* 
he replied, "verily war is announcedf that shall come upon him from God, 
though the judge can find nought against him and he himself deprecates 
examination of his writings for points which he judges orthodox in which 
the believer and discerner of true doctrine cannot concur with him," More- 
over he reported of him that he said, "it is forbidden to examine my 
words." As Suyuti was one of those who adopted this tenet (of Ibn 
A'rabi's) from A'bdu'llah Muhammad-b-Omar al Maghrabi who lived 
near the Karakiha al Hasani College whose lectures he attended for some 
time. More might be said, but were I to discuss all that regarded him, I 
should transgress due limits. To be brief, he wrote hastilyj without 
re/lection : I never knew him to be anything but vain and overweening, 
even towards his own mother, so that she used constantly to complain of 
him, and his conduct continued to grow worse in this respect, — may the 
Most High inspire him with rectitude. 

The Caliph favoured him and appointed him Shaykh of the Baybar- 
siyah College in succession to al Jalal al Bakri,§ after which his zeal 
abated, nay became congealed, so that he sought retirement from the world 
according to what he himself says, " I gave up lecturing and resolving 
cases of law and turned myself to the Most High." Before this time he 
asserted that he had a dream in which the prophet upbraided him, and his 
Vicegerent as Siddik ordered him to be imprisoned for a year, that he 
might revert to lecturing and expounding the law when he took it upon 
himself to abandon them, and that he asked pardon and desisted from his 
purpose : so that if any one came to him with a case, .though he were 

* Muhyiddiu-b-A'li a most voluminous writer on Sufiism, » native of Muroia : 
bom 560 (1165), died 638 (1240). Consult Haj. Khal and the Tabakat al Mufass. of 
as Suyuti, edit, Meurs. also De Slaue. I. K. Vol. IV, p. 351. In Suyflti's notice of 
him it is stated that some of his expressions were not altogether orthodox and that 
though outwardly confirming to the faith, he had some peculiar views on doctrine, 
but ad Dahabi excuses him on the ground that his writings on Sufiism and his austeri- 
ties, had disturbed his intellect, and he imagined things that had no existence. See 
also D'Herb. art. Arabi. 

f Referring to Kur. II, *-[y"J J «Ul^>x) t^ys! tyil* fjg apprized of war that 
shall come upon you from God and his apostle.) Meaning, " you threaten him with war 
from God on account of his impiety, though the temporal judge can find nothing to 
substantiate the charge ; and he himself deprecates examination of his writings to 
prove him unorthodox by wresting his words from their proper sense." The Arabio 
of this passage is obscure and probably corrupt. 

X I cannot concur in Meursinge's translation " Et hoc celeriter describi potest." 

§ A'bdu'l Baka Muhammad-b-A'bdi'r Rahman ad Dahrdti, known as Jalalu'ddfn 
al Bakri; born 807 (1404), died 891 (1486). M. The Caliph who appointed him must 
have been al Mutawakkil 'ala'Uah Abu'l I'zz who died in 903. 



[ xviii ] 

about to drown at the time, lie would take it to write his decision thereon. 
It was not long after this, that he said what has gone before. 

'Al Muhyi'ddin-b-u'l Mughayzil left him when he experienced from 
him great ili-treatment, after he had acted towards him previously with 
generosity and he has related instances of his extravagant pretensions which 
the circumstances themselves verify. As an example, he requested al 
Burhanu'ddin al Karati to appoint him to conduct a judicial case which 
was under his charge. The latter complied and on his own part furnished 
in addition a duplicate of the original process. As Suydti went to him 
accompanied by al A'lamu'ddin Sulayman al Khalif ati to take it, and he 
never thanked him nor uttered a word expressive of his obligation. He 
on one occasion related to Muhyi'ddin after as Sunbati's death, a circum- 
stance showing his injustice. He said, " why hast thou told me of this 
only after his death?" As Suyliti replied, " that thou mayest know the 
hearts of men." And this notwithstanding his great kindness to him, 
especially during the time of the high prices when there was a dearth of 
bread and food in the Shaykhiiniyah, and he used to give him a dinar 
weekly as he states himself. lu the same way a certain Turk left him, 
whom from a Hanafite he had made a Shafi'ite, notwithstanding that as 
Suyiiti had begun by showing great kindness and courtesy towards him. 
Al Maghrabi likewise abandoned him, the same who used to assert his 
great sanctity, and also al Fath al Kami.* 

An instance of his arrogance, is his saying to one of his attendants, 
" when I receive the office of Kadhi, I will appoint thee to such and such a 
thing, nay thou shalt obtain every thing." 

Subsequently in the year 898, the Shaykh Abu'n Naja sonf of 
Shaykh Khalaf opposed him and publicly exposed his deficiencies and 
faults, and he was humbled by him and greatly abased. The Imam al 
Karaki spoke highly of Abu'n Naja as I have fully shown in the Hawa- 
dith.J Previously to this as Suyiiti wrote a work entitled, "the Cautery 
in refutation of as Sakhawi," in which he opposed what is affirmed in the 
Sahih,§ although I never touched upon the subject save some time before, 

* Meursinge conceives that these were all instances of persons who were at first 
attached to as Suyuti but were afterwards driven from him by his violence and harsh- 
ness. 

t Abu'n Naja-b-Khalaf al Mi§ri as Shfifi'i, born 849. He used to hold assem- 
blies in the mosques and other public places to which he drew large numbers even 
from the quarters where as Suyuti lived, and even lectured in Suyuti's own college tha 
Baybarsiyah. M. note 183, p. 43. 

X Meursinge supposes that this is the name of a book {Be rebut gestiaj by as 
Sakhawi but of which no mention is made by H6ji Khalifahi 

§ Meursinge translates *iS'»'^i ti* "inter vera." I understand §alji^ to 
signify the authentic traditions that are known under that name. 



[ ^is; ] 

nay my course towards it having been to speak neither in affirmation or 
denial. Let us praise God the Distributer of understanding." 

The Compiler* adds, " The Sultan al A'adil Tdmani Baif removed 
him from the post of professor of the Baybarsiyah on Monday the 12th 
Eajab 906 {1st Februari/ 1501) when a number of the Sufi Shaykhs of the 
Madrassah held a meeting against him on account of his niggardliness 
with them and his hostility to them by depriving many of them of their 
stipends and appointing others thereto. He received many humiliations 
such as judicial mandates, annoyances, interdictions : and other similar 
things occurred. In the professorship after him was appointed Laishin 
al Bilbisi, known as Ibn u'l Ballan, on Monday the 26th of the said month, 
although there were others superior to him in desert, but fortune prevails 
over merit. Yet he was in no way at ease, fearful lest Jaldlu'ddin (as 
Suyu^i) should disturb him by assorting that al A'adil had forced him 
publicly to forego his right. And indeed this move of al Jalalu'ddin 
actually took place though not persisted in, and thus the position of al 
Bilbisi was insecure. After this Jalalu'ddin's affairs became tranquil and he 
turned aside from this office and that of professor of tradition in the Shaykhu- 
niyah with a view to a life of withdrawal from worldly affairs, and he broke 
off all connection with society by residing at Eaudhah, and I have heard 
that a number of the principal nobles used to visit him whom he did not 
rise to greet. 

The professorship of the Baybarsfyah was offered to him on the death 
of al Bilbisi on Saturday the 25th of Dul Hijjah 909, but he declined it 
and al Kamalu'ddin at Tawil assumed it on Monday the 27th of the said 
month after he had expended largely, it is said, on that account. Jalalu'ddin 
continued in retirement till he died on Thursday the 18th Jumada F, 911 
(ilth October 1505). May the Lord have mercy upon him and- upon us." 

Having now giyen as Sakhawi's strictures on as Suyiitl, I cannot in 
justice refrain from presenting to the reader the latter's opinion of his 
critic, and for this I am indebted to Meursinge who has extracted the follow- 
ing notice from a work of the historian's, entitled liil-*) *'iJt j c^Ij^sJ/I h)Uc| 
{ihe choicest of the great and sons of the Age), Cod. 416th, p. 94. 

" Muhammad-b-A'bdi'r Eahman-b-Muhammad-Abl Bakr-b-Othman- 
b-Muhammad as Sakhawi Shamsu'ddin, the traditionist, the historian, the 
calumniator, was born in 831 (1427-8) and attended while he was 
yet young, the dictations of the Hafidh Ibn Hajr who fostered in him a 
love of the science of tradition. He frequented his classes and wrote out 

* The word «JI*^ here indicates the termination of as Sakhawi's narrative and 
that what follows is by the author who has extracted it. 

t One of the Circassian Mamelukes who reigned three years and a half, 906-9 
(lfiOl-3). M. 



[ XX 1 

many of his compositions with hia own hand. He studied under very 
many collectors of traditions ia Egypt, Syria and Hijaz and he selected 
and extracted them for himself and for others, notwithstanding his mis- 
reading of them and his being destitute of all knowledge, so that he was 
good for nothing but in the mere science of tradition. Then he fell upon 
history and dissipated his life therein and devoted all his efforts to it, and 
lacerated therein the reputations of men and filled it with their misdeeds, 
and all that had been imputed to them whether true or false, and asserted 
that he was thus doing a necessary duty, viz., apportioning blame or praise, 
whereas this is manifest folly and error and blasphemy against God. 

Moreover he was guilty of a fragrant violation of right and was under 
the burden of many sins, as I have shown in the preface to this book. I 
mention this only that no one may be seduced by him or trust to any thing 
that is in his historical writings defamatory of men, especially the learned, 
or pay heed thereunto. He died in Shaa'ban 902." (April 1497.) 

The Leyden copy of the work from which this is taken, Meursinge 
believes to be the only one existing in Europe, and he proposed to himself 
to treat further of it on some future occasion as it contains memoirs more 
or less full, of the distinguished men of as Suytiti's age. Whether he ever 
fulfilled his intentions I do not know, and am therefore unable to give 
further particulars regarding the irregularities alluded to at the close of 
the above extract. This is, however, of little importance. The recrimi- 
nations of authors are little to their credit, and are read with indifference 
when the passions and jealousies which evoked them are hushed and 
forgotten. The supplement to as Sakhawi's narrative bears unwilling 
evidence of the reverence in which as Suyiiti was held at a time when, 
retired from the world, he still received the unsolicited visits of the great. 
His petulant notice of the historian's just criticism of Burhanu'ddin's 
reading of the Shifa of Kadhi I'yadh, and the evident jealousy which 
induced the learned referees to side with Burhdn, his hints of the dis- 
approval with which Bulkini and Munawi regarded our author who never- 
theless speaks of them in his Husn al Muhddhirah in terms of unqualified 
esteem, sufficiently prove the unfairness and suggest the untruthfulness of 
the writer. His rancour against the historian was probably caused by as 
Suyiiti's criticism of his work the Dhu'l Lami', in his pamphlet entitled the 
Cautery, and the name not indistinctly hints that the iron was applied red 
hot. Possibly previous differences may have made his duty a grateful 
one, and a critique undertaken in this spirit, would not be altogether just. 
The angry retort of his patient, however, inflicted as keen a wound as he 
received and the passing satisfaction of an incisive and now forgotten 
criticism, was more than avenged by the immortality of his victim's reply. 



[ xxi ] 

The length to which these hitherto little known particulars of as 
Suyiiti's life have unavoidably led me, precludes any extended notice of 
the work which is here presented to the public. The sources whence the 
author derived the materials for his history are indicated by him at its 
close, and if their treatment does not discover any evidence of originality 
of design, it has at least the merit of condensing into a readable compass, 
not only the principal events which occurred during the reign of each 
Caliph, but the personal details and sketches of court life and manners 
which are often wanting in Abu'l Fida but which lend their chief interest 
to the lively narrative of Masa'udi. To the dignity of a history according 
to the European acceptation of the term, it has indeed no pretensions. To 
investigate the relations of cause and effect, to trace the growth and deve- 
lopment of communities and assign the reasons of their arrestation or 
decline, to discuss the social, political and religious questions which disturb 
the tranquillity or affect the fortunes of states, to analyze the characters of 
public men and the influences which bear on their conduct ; to paint vivid 
descriptions of battle-scenes and pageantries of state ; to survey the arts, 
manufactures, trades and products of a country and all that constitutes 
and adorns its national life, this ideal epic of poetry and philosophy, no 
Eastern historian has ever attempted. Historical science in its infancy 
among the Moslems as De Slane has shown, began with oral traditions 
transmitted from one Hafidh to another, together with the series of 
authorities for each independent fact, till their accumulated store became 
too burdensome for retention by memory. They were then committed to 
writing in the form of a collection of statements supported by lines of 
ascription reaching to the original narrators who were in most cases eye- 
witnesses of what they related. A subsequent writer suppressed the 
ascriptions to a large extent, marshalled the facts and blended the discon- 
nected traditions into one continuous but bulky history. Such were Ibn 
u'l Athir and at Tabari. Then came the abridger who condensed the work 
of his predecessor into a simpler and smaller volume while the greater work 
was consigned to veneration and decay in some public library. Such were 
Abu'l Fida and as Suydti. De Slane has, I think, unfairly censured these 
last-mentioned writers. He considers them to have done nearly as much 
injury to their predecessors as Justin and Florus have done to Livy and 
Tacitus. I do not admit the justness of the parallel nor perceive its 
relevancy. Justin's history, is a compilation of extracts rather than an 
abridgment of the lost books of Trogus Pompeius whose guides were 
exclusively Greek, and who treated in the main but with voluminous digres- 
sions, of the rise, decline and fall of the Macedonian monarchy. Though 
Justin has been censured for omitting much from his original that was 
worthy of record, yet that original was professedly not Tacitus, whose 



f xxii ] 

Histories and Annals are concerned with the period between the second 
consulship of Galba and the death of Domitian, and from the death of 
Augustus to the death of Nero. It is true that the Editio Princeps of 
Florus published about 1471, bore the title, " Titi Livii Epithoma," but 
it is not regarded by modern scholars as an abridgment of Livy, but a 
compilation from various authorities epitomizing the leading events from 
the building of the city to the rise of the Empire. The Epitomes of 
the books of Livy have been ascribed to Floras, and with equal probability 
to Livy himself. There is no internal testimony in favour of either conclu- 
sion, and external evidence is altogether wanting.* It is difficult, therefore 
to perceive in what way the assumed injury has been afEected. The paral- 
lel applied to the Easterns fails in a similar manner. Their merit would 
perhaps be slight, were it confined to their condensation, however judicious, 
of a single work, but this is far from being the case. Abu'l Fida cites no 
less than fourteen authors, and as Suydti, twelve, to whose voluminous 
pages they are indebted for their materials. The greater number of the 
works which they mention have perished, and it is to their labours we owe 
the preservation of much that would otherwise have been irretrievably 
lost. Eeiske's eloquent commendation of Abu'l Fida is a just and sufficient 
testimony to his eminence, and his concluding words wiU suffice me for 
any panegyric of as Suytiti, — ipse usus eum commendabit, quare laudibus 
ejus celebrandis parcam. 

The MSS. from which the text of this work was edited, which is but 
one among the many services of the accomplished Orientalist Colonel 
JS^assau Lees to the world of letters, were the following — 

MS. belonging to Maulvie Muhammad Wajih, Head Professor of the 

Calcutta Madrassah : this copy is now missing. 
„ the property of Maulvie Abd'us Shukiir of Jounpore. Likewise 

missing. 
„ in the possession of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. This latter is 

the only one with which I have been able to collate the text. 

Another MS. is mentioned by Weil in his history of the Abbaside 

Caliphs in Egypt (note, p. 122, Vol. II,) and numbered Cod. 

Goth. N. 321, which I have not seen. 
The system of transliteration of Arabic proper names adopted by me, 
is the same now in general use throughout India. The following letters 
alone present any difficulty, and are thus represented : 

• Consult. Eamsay's art, on Livy in 'WiUiam Smith, CI. D. 



c 


is written 


^ 


» 


u» 


» 


u^ 


» 


h 


}» 


t, 





[ xxiii ] 

h 

dh 
t 

dh 

f, „ -with a comma over the 

vowel. 
Some proper names of persons, such as Omar and Ofchman, and those 
of certain towns and countries, the corrupt spelling of which has been 
consecrated and fixed by custom, are left unaltered. 

In concluding, I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to Maulvie 
Kabiruddin Ahmad whose wide range of reading and intelligent acquain- 
tance with the historical, philosophical and doctrinal literature of the Arabs 
have been of great service to me. In what pertains to the accuracy of 
the translation and the manner of it, I must leave to the criticism of the 
learned, the correction and removal of defects in both, of which I am only 
too conscious, but which with the best endeavours, I have failed to amend. 

H. S. J. 



HISTORY OF THE CALIPHS, 



BT 



JALALU'DDIN A'S SUYUTI. 



After the praises of God, of Him who promises and performs, and 
who threatens and forgives, — and blessings and peace upon our Chief, 
Muhammad, Prince of the nobly born, progenitor of the Caliphs — and 
upon his family and Companions, the possessors of magnanimity and good 
faith, I proceed to give in this slight historical sketch, a biographical 
account of the Caliphs, the Princes of the Faithful, who have stood in 
authority over the people from the age of Abu Bakr the "Witness to the 
Truth — may God approve him — up to this my time, according to the order 
of their reigns one after another. And I have mentioned in the lives of 
all them, the remarkable occurrences which happened during the reign of 
each, and the chief doctors of the faith, and the illustrious personages who 
lived during their time. 

Many circumstances instigated the composition of this work : among 
them, that a collection of the biographies of the chiefs of the faith, and 
those eftdowed with virtue, was desirable and would be welcome, and in 
truth, there are those who have compiled histories in which they have 
introduced these distinguished men, but unsystematically, and without 
giving a full account of them, and their completion would entail prolixity 
and weariness. For this reason I was desirous of separately detailing each 
class of men in a work apart, which would be more advantageous for those 
who wished for particulars of any one class, and easier to consult. Thus 
I have set apart one book for the prophets — upon whom be the benediction 
and peace of God, — and another for the Companions of the Prophet ; 
abridged from the " Isaba" of the Shaykhu'l Islam Ibn Hajr ; — and 
another comprising the various commentators of the Kuran ; and an 
1 



C 2 ] 

abridged work on the lives of the Hufiadh,* epitomized from the TabaHt 
of ad Dahabi ; and a voluminous work on the grammarians and philologists, 
any similar to which had not been before composed; and a book on 
those learned in the fundamentals of the faith, — and a voluminous work 
on those famed for sanctity ; and another on the doctors of the Law of 
Inheritance ; and another on Ehetoricians ; and another on Writers, that 
is authors of prose composition ; and another on those celebrated for cal- 
ligraphy ;t and another on the Arab poets whose works are authori- 
ties in the language, and these comprehend the greater number of eminent 
men of the nation. 

I rest satisfied, regarding doctors of Law, with what other men have 
written on that subject, on account of its abundance, and independence of 
am further information thereon, — and I have likewise contented myself 
with what the Tabakat of ad Dahabi J contains on the Readers of the 
Kuran. The Kadhis are included among the preceding, and therefore, 
among personages of distinction, the history of the Caliphs alone remains 
tmwritten, notwithstanding the eagerness of men for accounts of them. 
I have therefore set apart this book for them but have not included in it, 
any who disputed the Caliphate by force of arms, and did not succeed 
to power, such as many of the descendants of Ali and a few of the House 
of Abbas : neither have I made mention of any of the Caliphs, the descen- 
dants of U'bayd-u'llah,§ because their authority was illegal for many 
reasons— among them — this, that they were not of the tribe of the Kur- 
aysh, and although the ignorant vulgar have named them Fatimites, 

* A Hafidli or one who remembers wliat he has heard or read, is of the 3rd grade 
of the Traditionists. Of these there are five. The Hafidh must know 300,000 tradi- 
tions hy heart, and he able to name the lines of authorities of each. 
Consult Ibn-Sala^ on tradition. 

+ The Khattu'l Mansub is a species of handwriting, the invention of which is 
attributed by Ibn Khali (see life of al-Bawwab) to Abu Abdullah al-Hasan brother 
of Ibn Muklah, while ad pahabi (Tarikhu'l Islam) gives the credit of it to the latter. 
See De Slane's notes on this handwriting. Ait. Ibn al Aamidi the 5^dhi. 

J Abu Abdullah Muhammad a doctor of the Shfifii school, sumamed the ' sun 

■ of religion' bom at Damascus A. H. 673, (1276) but his ancestors were Turkoman. 

He was the chief Hifidh and !l§[.urau reader of Syria. His works are very numerous. 

The Taba]k;dt there mentioned is a biography of the Headers of the ^min. See Ibn 

Khali. 

§ The founder of this house was ITbaydu'llah al Mahdi who assumed the 
Caliphate in 296 A. H. (A. D. 908). At the same period Abdu'Uah was Caliph in 
Spain, and Al Mu^tadir at Baghdad : " In the 10th century" says Gibbon " the chair 
of Mahomed was disputed by three Caliphs who reigned at Baghdad, Caiioan and 
Cordova, excommmiioated each other and agreed in a principle of discord that a sectary 
is more odious and criminal than an unbeliever." 



[ 3 ] ■ 

nevertheless their ancestor was a worshipper of fire. Kadhi Abdu'l JabbAr 
of Basrah says that the name of the ancestor of the Egyptian Caliphs was 
Said and his father was a Jew blacksmith of Salamiyah.* 

The Kadhi Abu Bakr al Bakilanif says that al Kaddah the grandfather 
of Ubaydu'llah, called al Mahdi, was a fire-worshipper, and l/Baydu'llah 
went to Africa and asserted that ,he was a descendant of Ali ; none of 
the genealogists recognised him as such, but ignorant people called them 
Fatimites. 

Ibn Khallakan remarks that most of the learned did not hold as valid, 
the pedigree of Ubaydu'llah al Mahdi, the ancestor of the Egyptian 
Caliphs, insomuch that when al Aziz bi'Udh son of al Muizz in the be- 
ginning of his reign, ascended the pulpit on a Friday, he found there a 
piece of paper, and in it these lines — 

" We have heard a false pedigree 
Eead from the pulpit in the mosque. 
If thou art truly what thou assertest. 
Then name fhy ancestor up to the fifthj generation. 
And if thou mean to verify what thou sayest 
Then give us thy pedigree like that of at Taia. § 
If not, then leave thy pedigree in obscurity 
< And enter with us into a common ancestry 

For the genealogies of the sons of Hashim 
To them aspires not the desire of the ambitious. 

Al Aziz wrote to the Umayyad,|| then ruler of Spain, a letter in which 
he reviled and satirized him, whereupon the Umayyad replied, saying, " After 
the usual greetings, verily thou knewest me, therefore hast thou satirized 
me, and surely if I knew thee, I would answer thee :" and this came sorely 
upon al Aziz and silenced him from reply, for it meant that he was an im- 
postor and his family unknown. 

* The printed edition has ^luJ an arrow-maker — the MS. has Sa^jJLw of 
Sulaymiah — the latter is probably a copyist's error for ixjl« a small town in the 
district of Enessa where according to Ibn !^hallakau Al Mahdi was bom — I have 
preferred the latter reading. 

t Called Bakilani or vendor of beans. He was of Basrah but long resident in 
Baghdad and celebrated as a doctor of scholastic theology a voluminous author, died 
A. H. 403 (1013 A. D.). Ibn KhaU. 

X The text and MS. have *jU> instead of pjl) . It is clear from Ibn Khal- 
lakan that the former is incorrect as al Aziz was fifth in descent from al Mahdi. 

§ A ootemporary of al Aziz. At Taiali'llah reigned as Caliph at Baghdad in 
A. H. 363 (A. D. 913) a lineal descendant from Hashim great-grandfather of Mu- 
jbammad. 

II This must have been either Hakam or Hisham called al Mustansir. Hakam died 
one year after the accession of al Aziz and was succeeded by Hisham al Muayyad. 



[ 4 ] 

Ad Dahabi says that authorities are agreed upon this, that Fbayd- 
u'Uah al Mahdi was not a descendant of Ali ; and how well spoke his grand- 
son al Mtiizz, the ruler of Cairo, when fbn Tabataba,* the descendant of 
All questioned him regarding their origin ! He half drew his sword from 
the scabbard and said " This is my pedigree," and scattering gold among 
the nobles and those who were present, said " here are ike proofs of my 
iiobUifcy." 

And atnong tJie reasons aforesmA is this, that the greater number of 
them were Magians, beyond the pale of Islam; and there were of them, 
some who reviled the prophets, and among them some who held the use of 
wine lawful, and some of them commanded worship unto themselves, and 
the best of them were heretics, unclean and base, who directed the execra- 
tion of the Companions of the jprophet — may God approve them — and to 
such as these, homage is not binding and their headship is illegal. And 
Abu Bakr al Bakilani says that l/baydu'Uah al Mahdi, was a vUe Batini,t 
eager for the subversion of the orthodox faith. He persecuted learned 
men and doctors of law, that he might be able to seduce the people, and 
his descendants followed his ways. They gave a license to wine and for- 
nication and promulgated heresy. Ad Dahabi says that al Kaim the son 
of al Mahdi, was more wicked than his father, an accursed Magian, who 
openly reviled the prophets, and he adds that the House of Ubaydu'llah 
was more malevolent towards the Orthodox faith than the Tartars. 

Abu'l Hasan al KabasiJ says that Ubaydu'llah and his descendants 
put to death four thousand of the learned and pious, seeking to turn them 
from acknowledging the Companions of the prophet, but they preferred 
death — then, well indeed, had he been only a heretic but he was a Magian. 
(Zindik.)§ 

The Kadhi lyadh tells us thatH Abu Muhammad al Kayruwani, al 

* Abu Muhammad Abdu'llah 9th in descent from AU, a native of Hijaz but an 
inhabitant ot Egypt. He was a Sharif noted for the nobility of his character, his vast 
ppssessions and the style in which he lived, born A. H. 286 (A. D. 899) and died 4th 
!Rajab at Cairo A. H. 348 (September A. D. 959). Ibu Khali. 

t This is the same sect as the Assassins so often mentioned in the history of the 
Crusades, founded by Hasan Saba, known as the Old Man of the Mountain. The word 
signifies possessing inward light and knowledge. See Von Hammer-Gesch-dor 



% A doctor of the M41iki school. A great Traditionist — died A. H. 403, (A. D. 
1012.) IbnKhaU. 

§ This term primarily implies an assertor of the doctrine of Dualism, but it is also 
used to signify an atheist or one who denies the world to come and maintains the eter- 
nity of the present. Consult. Lane, art Jj (i,)) De Saoy, Ohresth. Ar. 2nd Ed. II. p. 274. 

II Abu'l Fadtil lyddlj a traditionist — the greatest authority of his age on Arabic 
history and literature. He was educated at Cordova and died in Morocco — ^A. H. 644 
(A. D. 1160). Ibn Khali. 



[ 5 ] 

Kiz^ni, one of the doctors of the Maliki school was asked as to the case of 
one compelled by the House of Ubayd, namely, the Caliphs of Egypt — to 
acknowledge their claims or die. He replied " he must choose death and no 
one can be excused in such an instance : their assumption of authority at first 
took place before their pretensions were understood, but afterwards flight was 
imperative and no one through fear of death could excuse his volimtwry 
abiding, forasmuch as residence in a place, the people of which are 
required to abandon the religious precepts of Islam is not permissible ; 
nevertheless some few doctors of law did remain exceptionally for 
them, lest a Tonowledge of their religious ordinances might be wanting to 
the Muslims and the rulers seduce them from their faith." 

And Yusuf ur Euayni says that the learned of Kayruwan were agreed 
that the House of ITbayd were in the condition of apostates and Magians, 
for they declared openly against the law. Ibn Khallakan remarks as 
follows : " Verily they laid claim to the knowledge of hidden things, and 
accounts of them regarding this are well-known, for when al Aziz cue day, 
g,scended the pulpit, he observed a piece of paper in which was written — 

Verily we are patient under tyranny and oppression 

But not under infidelity and folly ; 

If thou art gifted with the knowledge of what is hidden 

Eeveal to us the writer of this letter. 
A woman, also, once addressed to him. a petition in which was written : 
" By Him who hath exalted the Jews through Misha* and the Christians 
through Ibn Nastur, and hath disgraced the true believers in thee, see 
that thou look into my case," and Misha the Jew was intendant of the 
finances in Syria and Ibn Nastdr in Egypt. 

Among other reasons is this, that their assumption of the Oaliphate, 
occurred at a time when an Abbasi Imam was already in possession with 
priority of allegiance ; it was therefore illegal, for a' covenant of fealty to 
two Imams at the same time cannot be justified, and the fijst is the right- 
ful one. And again there is a tradition to this effect, that this authority 
when it shall come into the possession of the children of Abbas, shall not 
depart from them, until they themselves shall resign it unto Jesus the 
Son of Mary, or al Mahdi.f It is therefore ascertained that whosoever 
assumes the Caliphate during their incumbency is a schismatic and a 
rebel. 

For these reasons therefore, I have made no v mention of any of the 
House of ITbayd, nor of other schismatics but only of the Caliphs who 
unite orthodoxy of headship and a covenant of allegiance. 

* The readings of tlie MS. vary in both places where this name ocouts. 
t The last of the Imams who it is believed, will appear before the Day of Judg- 
ment, to overthrow Bajjal — the Man of Sin that is to come. 



[ 6 ] 

I have prefaced the beginning of the book with a few chapters, con- 
taining observations of importance and what I have introduced of strange 
and remarkable occurrences, is taken from the history of the Hafidh-acl 
Dahabi, and the responsibility for his own work is upon him, and the Lord 
is my helper. 



In explanation of haw the prophet left no successor and the 
mystery of this.* 

Al-Bazzarf in his Musnad (collection of traditions) states on the 
authority of HudayfahJ that the Companions of the prophet said : ! 
Apostle of God, wilt thou not appoint a successor unto us ?" He replied, 
" Verily did I appoint a successor over you, and were you to rebel against 
the successor appointed by me, punishment would come upon you." 

The two Shaykhs§ have recorded regarding Omar that he said when 
he was stabbed. " Were I to name a successor, then, verily, he named a 
successor, who was greater than I," (meaning Abu Bakr,) "and were I to 
leave you without one, then, verily, he also hath left you so, who was 
greater than I," (meaning the Apostle of God). 

Ahmad and al Bayhaki|l in their Proofs of Prophecy, have related on 
good authority from Amar-b-Sufyan, that when Ali was victorious on the 
day of the Camel,^ he said, " O ! men, verily the Apostle of God hath 
committed nothing unto us in regard to this authority, in order that we 
might of our own judgment approve and appoint Abu Bakr, who ruled 
and so continued until he went his way ; then Abu Bakr thought fit to 
nominate Omar who ruled and so continued until the right became estab- 

* As tte mention of the liaea of authorities for each tradition is of no pf ofit to 
the general reader, they will be omitted, the first and last alone being given. 

t Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Abdu'l Baki, surnamed the Kadhi of the infirmary, 
a great traditionist — flourished about A. D. 1123. The MS. has al Bazzdz of whom 
I can find no notice as traditionist but only as a teacher of Kurdu reading. Another 
al Bazzar is Abu Bakr Muhammad Abdu'Uah-b-Ibrahim — a Shafiite doctor, author 
of the Ghilaniyat, died A. H. 354. 

t Abu Abdu'llah-b-u'l Yaman, one of the oompanionB died A, D. 656. Ibn 
Hajar. 

§ Al Bukh£ii and Muslim, the two greatest of the six highest authorities on tra- 
dition — the other are at Tirmidi, Abu Dauud, an Nasai and Ibn Mdja. 

II Abu Bakr-b-al-Husayu called al Bayhaki from his birthplace near Naypabur 
an eminent traditionist bom 384 (994) died 458 (1066). Ibn Khali. 

^ H The battle so called from the camel ridden by Aysha when defeated and taken 
prisoner by Ali under the walls of Basrah A. ^. 66. See Gibbon, Vol. VI, p. 276. 
Ed. Mil. 



[ 1 1 

lished.* Then the people sought worldly advantages and events occurred 
regarding which may the Lord determine." Al.Hakimf in his Mustadrak 
has recorded, and al Bayhaki has confirmed it in his " Proofs" on the 
testimony of Abu WAil, that it was asked of KM. " Wilt thou not appoint 
a successor unto us ?" He replied, " The Apostle of God appointed none, 
shall I therefore do so ? hut if God desireth the good of the people, He 
will unite them after me upon the best of themselves, as He united 
them after their prophet upon the best among them. 

Ad Dahabi remarks that among the heretics there are some idle tra- 
ditions that tAe prophet bequeathed the Caliphate to Ali, and verily 
Huzayl-b-ShurahbilJ says, " Did Abu Bakr obey Ali, the legatee of the 
apostle of God ? Abu Bakr would have been glad to have received the 
bequest from the apostle of God, for then he would have forced Ali to 
submit." 

Ibn Saad§ has recorded on the authority of Hasan that Ali said, 
" When the apostle of God died, he deliberated upon our tnode of govern- 
ment, and we found that the prophet had made Abu Bakr take the lead 
in public prayers. We approved, therefore, for our temporal affairs one 
whom the apostle of God approved for our spiritual concerns. We thus 
gave precedence to Abu Bakr.'J Al Bukhari says in his history that it is 
related on the authority of Safinah|| that the prophet said of Abu Bakr, 
Omar, and Othman — "these shall be the Caliphs after me," but this is not 
to be followed, says al Bukhari, because Omar Ali, and Othman have 
asserted that the prophet did not appoint a successor. 

ibn-Haban^ has recorded the above tradition and relates on the autho- 
rity of Safinah that when the apostle of God built the mosque at Medina, 
he laid a stone on the foundation and said to Abu Bakr, " Lay thy stone 

* For this ourious meaning of &J|yS^ S!/* ^®® Lane art. {>)j^. 

t Abu Abdu'Uah Muhammad bom at Naysabur '321 A. H, (933) and held the 
office of Kadhi under the Samani rule, and died there A. H. 405 (A. D. 1014). He was 
the most eminent traditionist of his time. The Mustadrak ala's Sahihayn (Supple- 
ment to the two Sahihs of al Bukhari and Muslim) is the work alluded to. He compo- 
sed numerous others, on the sciences connected with tradition. Consult, Ibn KhaU. 

J Of the tribe Aud. He was what is called a Tabi or one next in time to the 
Companions. An Nawawi. 

§ Abdu'Uah Muhammad, b. Saad of Basrah called Katib-i-Wakidi from having 
transcribed and completed the works of that historian. Also author of the Tabakati 
Kabir, died 845 A. D. Ibn Khali. 

II Abu Abdu'r Kahman Mihran sumamed Safinah by Muljammad whose freed- 
man he was, on account of his having carried across a stream some of the Companions 
with whom Muhammad was one day walking, Safma signifying a boat. An Nawawi. 

U Abu Abdu'llah • Mu^ammad-b-Yabya-b-Haban, died at Medina A. D. 739, at 
the age of 74 An. Naw. 



[ 8 ] 

by the side of my stone ;" then he said to Omar " lay thy stone by the side 
of the stone of Abu Bakr ;" then he said to Othman, " lay thy stone by 
the side of the stone of Omar." Then he said " These shall be the Caliphs 
after me." 

Abu Zarah says that his authorities are not unreliable, and indeed 
al Hakim has recorded it in his Mustadrak and al-Bayhaki has confirmed 
it in his " Proofs" and others besides these two. I remark that there is 
no contradiction betweeq it and the saying of Omar and Ali that the 
prophet did not name a successor, for the meaning of these two is .that 
at the time of his death, he did not lay down an authoritative injunction 
for the succession of any particular one, and this other refers to what 
occurred at a period antecedent, for it is similar to a saying of the prophet 
in another tradition, " Obey my law, and the law of the Caliphs after me, 
the orthodox, the rightly guided," and to his saying, " Follow those after 
me Abu Bakr and Omar" and others from among the traditions referring 
to the Caliphate. 



On the Imams leing of the Kuraysh, and the Calif hate being the 
prerogative of these. 

Abu Dauiid at Tay^lisi* in his collection of traditions has recorded 
from Abu Barzahf that the prophet said — " The Imams shall he of the 
Kuraysh, as long as they shall rule and do justice and promise and fulfi], 
and pardon is implored of them and they are compassionate." And at 
TirmidiJ from Abu Hurayrah§ that the apostle of God said ; " the sover- 
eignty shall rest in the Kuraysh and judicial authority with the Auxili- 
aries, and calling to prayers with the Abyssinians." And Imam Ahmad 
in his Musnad from tftbah-b-Abdan that the prophet said : " The Caliphate 
shall rest in the Kuraysh and judicial authority with the Auxiliaries and 
the office of calling to prayer with the Abyssinians." His authorities are 
trustworthy. Al Bazzar has recorded from Ali Ibn Abi Tdlib that the 
apostle of God said : " The princes shall he of the Kuraysh ; the just 
among them rulers of the just, and the wicked, rulers of the wicked." 

• Atu Dautid Sulaymfai a Porsian by birth resident at Basrah, died A. D. 81 S. 
Ibn Khali. 

t Abu Barzah Nazlah-b-TTbayd one of the Companions who fought by Mut^inimad's 
side ia seven engagements, died during the campaign in Khurasan 684. Ibn Hajr. 

t Abu I'aa Muljammad called after his birthplace Tirmi^ on the banks of the 
Oxus. He ia one of the six great traditiouists, died A. D. 892. 

§ A well-tnown Compiinion of Muljanunad, his real name is a subject of dispute 
Ibn Uajr places his death in A. H. S9. 



[ 9 ] 

The Imiim Ahmad* has related on the authority of Safinah that he 
heard the Apostle of God say; " The Caliphate shall last for thirty years 
and after it, shall follow a monarchy." The learned say that in these 
thirty years are included only the four Caliphs and the reign of al 
Hasan. And al Bazzar from Abu U'baydah-b-u'lt Jarrah that the prophet 
said " Your religion began with the prophetic mission and in clemency : it 
shall continue with the Caliphate and in clemency ; then shall follow mon- 
archy and despotism." A reliable tradition. A'bdu'Uah-b- Ahmad records 
on the authority of Jabir-b-Samurah from the prophet that he said ; " This 
rule shall continue in honour, its holders overcoming all that oppose them 
therein, up to twelve Caliphs, all of them of the Kuraysh." The two Shaykhs 
and others have recorded this and there are other lines of ascription and 
readings of it ; among them — " this rule shall continue secure," and 
"this rule shall remain in force" — and, according to Muslim, " the rule 
over the people shall continue in force until twelve men shall have ruled 
them ;" and also according to him " this authority shall not come to an 
end until twelve CalijDhs shall have passed away in it from among the 
people ;" — and " Islam shall continue revered and unassailable until there 
shall have heen twelve Caliphs ;" and according to al Bazzar, " the sway 
of my people shall continue to abide until twelve Caliphs, all of them of 
the Kuraysh shall have passed away" — and according to Abu Dauud there 
is an addition ; " and when he returned to his house, there came to him 
the Kuraysh and they said, " then what will follow ?" He replied, " there 
will follow sedition." And also according to him, " This faith shall 
continue to abide until twelve Caliphs shall have been over you, upon all of 
whom the people shall be gathered together :" and according to Ahmad and 
al Bazzar from Ibn Masa'ud who was asked, " How many of the Caliphs 
shall rule this people ?" He replied : " We asked the Apostle of God con- 
cerning them, and he answered " Twelve, like unto the number of the 
chiefs' of the children of Israel." Kadhi I'yadh says that the meaning of 
the twelve Caliphs in this tradition and in those resembling it, is perhaps 
this, that they. would flourish during the period of the glory of the Caliphate 
and the vigour of Islam, and the integrity of its government, and the 
gathering of the people around him who assumed the vicegerency, and 

* The Imam Atu A'bdu'llah. Aljmad as Shaybani-al-Marwazi (native of Marw) 
was the son of Muhammad-h-Hanbal, born at Baghdad A. H. 164 (A. D. 780), a 
traditionist of the first class. It is said he knew by heart a million of these traditions, 
al Bukhari tod Muslim were his disciples. His persistence in refusiag to declare the 
Kui-an created is well-known. He died at Baghdad A. H. 241 (855). 

t Abu U'baydah commonly called the son of al Jarrah — but incorrectly according 
to Ibn Hajr and sin Nawawi who maintain that his father was A'bdu'Uah and his grand- 
father al Jarrah. 
2 



[ 10 ] 

these conditions were found in those round whom the people gathered until 
the sway of the children of Umayyah was troubled and discord fell among 
them in the reign of Walid-b-Yazid, and thus it continued among them 
tmtil arose the Abhaside power and they overthrew their sovereignty." 

The Shajkh u'l Islam Ibn Hajr in the " Commentary on al Bukhari 
gays ;" — the words of the Kadhi I'yadh are the best that have been uttered 
on this tradition, and the most important, on account of their confirmation 
of his remark on some of the lines of ascription of the authentic tradition, 
"upon all of whom the people shall be gathered together:" and the 
elucidation of this is, that the meaning of gathering together, is their 
submission to do him homage, and this very thing came to pass, for the 
people gathered round Abu Bakr, then Omar, then Othman, then A'li until 
occurred the affair of the " two Arbitrators" at Siffin,* and Mu'awiyah 
assumed the Caliphate from that day. 

Then the people gathered round Mu'dwiyah at the time of the treaty 
with al Hasan : then they united upon his son Yazid and the authority 
of al Husayn was never established — nay — he was killed before its accom- 
plishment. Then when Yazid died, discord fell among them until they 
gathered round Abdu'l Malik-b-Marwan, after the death of Ibn uz Zubayr. 
Then they gathered round his four sons, al Walid, and Sulayman, and 
Yazid and Hisham ; and between Sulayman and Yazid, there intervened 
Omar b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. These, therefore, are seven, after the orthodox 
Caliphs, and the twelfth is Walid-b-Yazid b-Abdi'l Malik, round whom the 
people gathered when Hisham, his father's brother died. He reigned about 
four years. Then they rose up against him and slew him and dissension 
prevailed and things were changed from that day, and it never happened 
after that, that the people gathered round any Caliph, for the reign of 
Yazid-b-Walid, the same who rose against his cousin al Walid-b-Yazid, 
was not long : for there marched against him before he died, the son of 
his father's uncle, Marwan-b-Muhammad-b-Marwan. When Yazid died, 
his brother Ibrahim reigned but Marwan slew him ; thereupon the sons of 
A'bbas made war upon Marwan until he was slain. Then the first of the 
Caliphs of the children of Abbas was as Saffah, but his reign was not 
protracted by reason of the multitude of those who went out against him. 
Then his brother al Mansiir held sway, and his reign was long, but the 
remote west passed away from them through the conquest of Spain by the 



* Abu Mtisa Asha'ri on the part of A'li and A'mr b-u'l Aas on the part of Mu'4- 
wiyah. The plain of Siffin, says Gibhon, which extends along the western bank of the 
Euphrates, is determined by D'Anville (1' Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 29) to he the 
Campus Barbarioua of Procopiua, 



[ 11 ] 

descendants of Marwan, and it continued in tteir hands predominant over 
it, until they afterwards assumed the Caliphate — and things came to such 
a pass that nothing remained of the Caliphate in the provinces but the 
name, after it had been that in the time of the children of Abdu'l Malik 
b-Marwan, the Khutbah was read in the name of the Caliphs in all the 
regions of the earth, the east and the west, the right hand and the left, 
wherever the true believer had been victorious, and none in any one of all 
the provinces, was appointed to hold a single office, except by order of the 
Caliph. 

Regarding the immoderate lengths to which things went, verily in the 
fifth century in Spain alone, there were six persons who assumed the title 
of Caliph and together with them, a descendant of U'baydu'llah ruler in 
Egypt and an A'bbasi in Baghdad, exclusive of those who claimed the 
Caliphate in the regions of the earth, of the descendants of A'li and the 
schismatics." He adds, " perhaps this interpretation is the meaning of 
the prophet's words " there will follow sedition," that is, slaughter arising 
from sedition openly occurring and continuous, and such actually occurred. 
And it has been also said that the meaning of it is, the appearance of the 
twelve Caliphs during the whole duration of Islam until the day of judg- 
ment, acting according to the truth, although their reigns may not follow 
in succession one after another ; and this confirms what has been recorded 
by Musaddad in his Musnad-i-Kabir from Abu'l Khuld who says, " This 
people shall not perish until there shall have been from among them, twelve 
Caliphs, all of them labouring in the way of salvation and the true faith, and 
among them, two shall be of the family of Muhammad." According to 
this, therefore, the meaning of his words " there will follow sedition" is, 
the troubles foretelling the resurrection by the coming of Dajjal and the 
issue thereof — (here he ends)." I observe that according to this, of the 
twelve Caliphs, are accounted for, the four and al Hasan and Mu'awiyah 
and Omar Ibn A'bdi'l A'ziz : these are eight and it is probable that there 
may be added to them, al Muhtadi of the House of A'bbas, for he is 
among them what Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz is, among the children of Umayyah, 
and in the same way, ad Dhahir,* on account of what was vouchsafed 
unto him of rectitude of conduct, and there remain two who are to be 
awaited, one among them heinff al Mahdi, for he is of the family of 
Muhammad, upon whom be the blessing and peace of God, 
* Ad Dhahir hi'amri'Uah. 



[ 12 ] 

On the traditions premonitory of the Caliphate of the children of 

Umayyah. 

A't Tirmidi relates on the authority of Yusuf-b-Saa'd that a man stood 
up before al Hasan the son of A'li, after he had sworn allegiance to Mu'a- 
wiyah, and said, " Thou hast blackened the faces of the true believers," 
and he replied " Eeproach me not, may the Lord have mercy on them, 
for the prophet saw the children of Umayyah on his pulpit, and it troubled 
him : then was revealed to him " Verily we have given thee al Kauthar"* 
and there was also revealed to him — " we sent down the Kuran on a night 
of power and what shall make thee understand how excellent the night of 
power is : the night of power is greater than a thousand months"t " in 
which the children of Umayyah shall possess the Caliphate, O Muhammad." 
Al Kasim says, " I have computed and lo ! it is a thousand months, no 
more and no less." At Tirmidi says " this but once recorded tradition, I 
know only from the tradition of al Kasim who is reliable but his master is 
uttknown." Al Hakim has given this tradition in his Mustadrak (Supple- 
ment) and Ibn Jarir in his Commentary — but the Hafidh Abu'l Hajjaj and 
Ibn Kathir say that it is unreliable. 

Ibn JarirJ in his Commentary has related on the authority of the 
grandfather of Abu Sahl that he said, " the Apostle of God saw the child- 
xen of al Hakam-b-Abi'l A'as leap upon his pulpit with the leap of apes, 
and that troubled him and he never brought himself to smile until his 
death, and God revealed to him concerning it, " We have appointed the 
vision which we showed thee only for an occasion of dispute unto men."§ 
The authorities are weak, but there are concurring testimonies from the 
traditions of A'bdu'llah-b-Omar, and Ya'la-b-Murrah, Husayn-b-A'li and 
others. I have quoted it with its authorities in the Commentary and 
Musnad, and alluded to it in my work, the " Eeasons of Eevelation. 

* Kur. VIII. — Al Kauthar is a stream in Paradise — the word signifies " ahxm.- 
dance of good." Hence tKe gift of wisdom. See Sale. 

t Kur. XVIII — the concluding sentence is not in the Kuran. 

{ Abu Jaa'far Muhammad-b-Jarir at Tahari is the author of a great Commentary 
on the j^uran and a famous history. He was a master of the highest authority (Imim) 
on various branclies of knowledge, such as tradition, jurisprudence and the like — bom 
A. H. 224 (838-9) at Amul in Tabaristau and died at Baghdad A. H. 310 (A. D. 923) 
Ibn Khali. 

§ Kur. XVII. This verse is generally supposed to refer to the prophet's journey 
to heaven, which was the occasion of much dispute amongst his followers until con- 
firmed by the testimony of Abu Bakr. See Sale. 



[ 13 ] 



On the traditions annunciatory of the Caliphate of the children 

of A'bhds. 

Al Bazzar has related from Abu Hurayrat that the Apostle of God 
said to A'bbas — " in ye shall rest prophecy and sovereignty :" and at Tir- 
midi from Ibn A'bbas, that the Apostle of God said to A'bbas, " when it 
shall be the morning of the second day, come to me, thou and thy son, 
that I may invoke upon thy descendants a blessing by which, may God 
profit tbee and thy son ;" and he went at dawn and I went with him and 
he clothed us with a mantle ; then he said, " Lord ! vouchsafe unto 
A'bbas and unto his son, an outward and inward mercy ; leave them not 
in sin ; Lord, preserve him in his son." Thus has at Tirmidi quoted 
it in his " Jami'," and Eazin* al A'bdari has added to the end of it, " and 
mate the Caliphate abiding in his posterity." I observe that this tradi- 
tion, and that which precedes it, are the best that have come down on 
this subject. 

At Tabaranif records that the Apostle of God said, " I saw in vision 
the children of Marwan taking possession of my pulpit, one after another, 
which troubled me, and I saw the children of A'bbas taking possession of 
my pulpit one after another and that gladdened me ;" and Abu Nua'ymJ 
in his Huliyah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Apostle of God came forth, and 
there met him A'bbas and he said, " Shall I not give thee good tidings, 
O father of excellence ?" who replied 'Yea, Apostle of God," and he 
said. "Verily God hath begun this authority with me and will fulfil it 
in thy posterity." (The ascription is unreliable.) There has also come down 
a tradition of A'li's on authorities still weaker than this, quoted by Ibn 

* Abu'l Ilasan Eazin-'b-Mu'£wiyah-'b-A'mmar a member of the trite of A'bdu' 
d Dar, a native of Saragosaa in Spain, was Imam to the Maliki school at Mecca. His 
■wort is generally designated Kit&h-i-Eazin, in which he assembled and classed all the 
traditions contained in the Sahi^ of al Bukhari, and Muslim, the Muwatta of Malik, 
the Jami' of at Tirmidi and the Siman of Ahu DauM, died at Mecca A. H. 525 (A. D. 
1130.) Ihn Khali. De Slaue. 

t Ahu'l Kasim Sulaymfc b-Ahmad of the tribe of Lakhm, the chief Hdfidh of 
his time — bom at Tabariya in Syria and having settled at Ispahan contiaued there 
till his death on Saturday 28th of Du'l Ka'adah A. H. 360 (September A. D. 971) at 
the age of about one hundred. His Dictionary (Mu'jam) of the traditionists is the 
best known of hjs works, the large (kabir), small (saghir) and medium (auaat) 
editions of which are frequently alluded to. Ibn Khali. 

J Hafidh Abu Nu'aym Aljmad b-A'bdu'llah author of the *LjJjJ|( *jJ«a. or oma- 

meat of the Saints " containing the lives of the principal Muslim Saints, born in Rajab 
336 (A. D. 948) and died at Ispahan in Safar 430 (A. D. 1038). Ibn Khali. 



[ 14 J 

A'sakir* from the ascription of Muhammad-b-Yunas al Karimi (and he 
was a fabricator of traditions) up to A'li, that the Apostle of God, said to 
A'bbas. " Verily God hath begun this authority with me and will fulfil 
it in thy posterity." And the same has been handed down in the tradition 
of Ibn A'bbas quoted by al Khatibf in his history, and the reading of it 
as follows : " With ye shall begin this authority and in ye shall it be 
fulfilled," and this will appear with its ascrij)tion in the life of al Muhtadi 
bi'llah. It has also come down in the tradition of A'mmar-b-Tasir, quoted 
by al Khatib, and Abu Nua'ym records in the Huliyah on the authority of 
Jabir-b-A'bdu'llah, that the Apostle of God said ; " there shall be kings of 
the posterity of A'bbas, who shall be the rulers of my people ; may God 
glorify the faith through them." Also in his " Proofs" from TJmmu'l 
PadhlJ who said " I was passing by the prophet when he exclaimed — 
" verily thou art pregnant of a boy and when thou givest him birth, then 
bring him to me," and when I gave birth to him, I went to the prophet 
and he called out the AdAn in his right ear, and the§ Ikamah in his left, 
and he made him drink of his spittle and named him Abdu'llah and said 
to me "depart with the Father of the Caliphs." I made this known to 
A'bbas and he spoke of it to the Apostle who said, " he is what she told 
you ; he is the Father of the Caliphs among whom shall be as SaS'ah 
and among whom shall be al Mahdi, and among whom shall be one who 
shall pray together with Jesus the Son of Mary, upon Him be peace." 

Ad Daylami|| in his Musnad u'l Firdaus has related from Aysha a 
tradition ascribed to the prophet — " It shall come to pass that the children 
of A'bbas shall possess a standard, and it shall not depart from their hands 

* Atu'l Kasim A'li, sumamed Thikatuddin, a native of Damascus and chief tiadi- 
tionist of Syria who acquired a superiority in that science that no other had ever attain- 
ed, horn A. H. 499, (1105) died at Damascus A. H. 571, (A. D. 1176). Ibn KhaU. 

t Hafidh Ahu Bakar AJimad-h-A'li known as Alkhatib or the preacher, a native 
of Baghdad who composed a history of the city and is the author of nearly one hun- 
dred works. Though a doctor of law, he made tradition his principal study, bom 
A. H. 392 (A. D. 1002) and died A. H. 463 (A. D. 1071). Ibn KhaU. 

X The " Mother of Excellence," the name of the wife of A'bbas and also of his 
daughter, the former is here meant. 

§ The Ikamah is a sentence which is said after the conclusion of the Adan or call 
to prayer and which announces that prayers have begun. This ceremony is still occa- 
sionally performed at the birth of a child — but is not obligatory. 

II Abu Shujdd Shiruyiah-b-Shahrd4r-b-Shiruyiah-b-Fanna Khusrau of Hamadin 
ad Daylami. He was the author of a history of Hamadan and the " Musnad u'l Fir- 
daus." HAfidh Yahya-b-Mandah says of him that though fairly well read, his know- 
ledge of traditions was imperfect, and he could not distinguish between good and 
untrust-worthy ones and therefore his Firdaus is full of idle tales, died A. H. 509. 
Bustdn u'l Muljaddithin, 



[ 15 ] 

as long as they shall uphold righteousness." And Darakutni* in his 
" A£rad" from Ibn A'bbds that the prophet said to A'bbds, " When thy 
posterity shall inhabit the Sawwadf and clothe themselves in black and 
their followers shall be the people of Khurasan, dominion shall not cease 
to abide with them until they resign it unto Jesus, the Son of Mary." 
Ahmad b-Ibrahim is a worthless authority and his master is unknown and 
the tradition is so little reliable that Ibn u'l JauziJ has mentioned it in 
his " Fabrications" — but there is evidence for it in a tradition ascribed 
to the prophet, quoted by at Tabarani in the " Kabir" — " the Caliphate 
shall abide among the children of my paternal uncle, and of the race of my 
father, until they deliver it unto the Messiah." (A'd Daylami has quoted 
it from Ummi Salimah§ with a different ascription). 

AlU'kayli|| records in his book of " Invalid authorities," a tradition' 
ascribed to the prophet " the children of Abbas shall reign two days for 
every day in which the children of TJmayyah shall reign, and two months 
for every month." Ibn u'l Jauzi has quoted this in his ' Fabrications' 
and has invalidated it on account of the untrustworthiness of Bakkar,^ 
but it is not as he has said, for verily, Bakkar should not be accused of 
falsehood nor fabrication ; moreover Ibn A'di says of him, that he is among 
the doubtful authorities whose traditions are recorded, and has added ' I 
hope there is no harm in aecepting him as an authority ;" and on my life, 
the purport of this tradition is not far from the truth, for the Abbaside 

* Abu'l Hasan A'li-'b-Omar. A Hafidh of great loaming and a Shafii doctor, 
was a native of BagMad — tlie name Darakutni means belonging to Daru'l Entn 
(cotton house) a quarter of Baghdad, born A. H. 306 (A. D. 919; and died A. H. 385 
(A. I). 995). 

t The towns and villages of Babylonian I'rak. 

X Abu'l Faraj Ibn u'l Jauzi a celebrated preacher and doctor of the Hanbalites. 
His compositions are so numerous that it is said (with some exaggeration) that he 
wrote 180 pages a day ; and the parings of his pens were gathered up into a heap and 
in pursuance of his last orders, were employed to heat the water with which his corpse 
was washed. Bom about A. H. 508 (1114-5), died at Baghdad A. H. 597 (A. D. 1281). 
His " Fabricated Traditions" — is in 4 Vols. Ibn -KhaU. Saadi of Shiraz mentions 
him in thte G-ulistan as having counselled him to forego profane music, the neglect of 
which advice waa avenged on the sensitive ears of the poet, at a convivial meeting as 
therein related. 

§ One of the prophet's wives. 

II De Slaue so writes the name, but in a note (Vol. IV, p. 199,) he remarks that 
according to Ibn Duraid, J.JAP should be pronounced A'kil. This is so in respect of 
the son of Abu Talib and Akil-b-Mukarrin the Companion, but U'kayl was the epony- 
mous ancestor of a branch of the Hawazin who were of the tribe of i^ays. See the 
Muntaha'l Arab. 

II One of the authorities in the line of ascription. 



[ 16 ] 

rule, at the time of its splendour, and the extension of its authority 
throughout the countries of the earth, towards the rising and the setting 
sun, besides the remote west, may be placed between the year one hundred 
and thirty and odd and the year 290 when al Muktadir reigned, and in 
his time, its organisation was broken up, and the whole west seceded from 
its sway : then followed dissension and trouble in his government and after 
him, as will appear. Thus the period of the glory of their sovereignty 
and their .dominion was about 160 years, and that is double the reign of the 
illustrious children of Umayyah for that lasted 92 years, from which must 
he deducted nine years, during which, the authority was vested in Ibn u'z 
Zubayr : thus there remains 83 years and a fraction and that is a thousand 
months exactly and so I have afforded confirmation of the tradition. 

Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar* records in his ' Muwaffakiyat, from Ibn Abbds, 
that he said to Mu'awiyah " ye shall not reign a day, but we shall reign 
two, and not a month but we shall reign two months, and not a year but 
we shall reign two years :" and, " the black standards shall be for us, the 
people of the prophetical House," and, " their overthrow shall not come 
save from the side of the west." Ibn A'sakir relates in his history of 
Damascus from Ibn A'bbasf that the' Apostle of God said to him " O God, 
defend A'bbds and the son of A'bbds," and he said this three times : then 
he exclaimed, " uncle, dost thou not know, that al Mahdi shall be of thy 
descendants, — the prospered of God, happy, and approved. " (al KarimiJ is 
a fabricator) . Ibn Saa'd records in his Tabakat (classes) from Ibn A'bbas, 
that al A'bb&s the son of A'bdu'l Muttalib, sent to the children of A'bdu'l 
Muttalib, and he gathered them together about him and A'li held a place 
in his estimation which no other possessed, and al A'bbas said — " O son of 
my brother, verily I have formed an opinion and I do not wish to deter- 
mine anything regarding it until I have sought counsel of thee ;" then 
A'li said — " What is it ?" He replied. " Go to the prophet and ask of 
him, in whom shall rest this authority after him and if it rest in. us, we 



* Atu A'bdu'Uah az Zubayr, a member of the tribe of Kuraysh. He was Kadhi 
of Mecca and composed tbe genealogies of the Kuraysh, a standard authority on the < 
subject. He also taught traditions and died at Mecca A. H. 256 fa.. D. 870) aged 
84. Ibn Khali. He named the book mentioned in the text after his son 
al Muwaffak to whom he dedicated it. Masudi Tome VII. p. 91. 

t Abu'l A'bbas A'bdu'Uah son of A'bbia uncle of Muljammad, born three years 
before the Hijrah. He was considered the ablest interpreter of the Koran of his day 
and the mos^ learned in the traditions, the legal decisions of the first three Caliphs, 
the law, and the sciences of poetry and arithmetic. Appointed governor of Basrah by 
the Caliph A'U, died at Taif A. H. 68 (A. D. 687) aged 70. Ibn KhaU. De Slane. 

X Al Karimi is one of the authoritaas in the line of ascription. 



[ 17 ] 

shall not resign it, by Allah, while there remaineth of us a chief upon the 
earth, and if it rest in other than us, we shall never seek it." A'li said, 
" uncle, in whom shall abide this authority save in thee, and will any 
contend with you regarding this autliority ?" 

Ad Daylami in his Musnad u'l Firdaus, records a tradition ascribed to 
the prophet " When God willoth to form any one for the Caliphate, he 
toucheth his forehead with His right hand." 



On the dignity of the prophetic mantle which the Caliphs wore in succession 

to the very last. 

As Silafi,* in his Tuydriyat, has quoted, with its ascription to al 
Asma'i,t on the authority of Ibn A'mr-b-i'l A'la, that when Kaa'b b-uz 
Zubayr read out before the prophet his poem beginning Banat Su'ad,J lie 
threw to him the mantle that was upon him ; and when Mu'awiyah reigned, 
he wrote to Kaa'b saying, " sell me the mantle of the Apostle of God for 
ten thousand dirhams," but he refused, and when Kaa'b died, Mu'awiyah 
Bent to his children an offer of twenty thousand dirhams, and he received 
from them the mantle, the same which was in the possession of the Caliphs 
of the House of A'bbas, and this has been related by others. But ad 
.Dahabi says in his history ; " regarding the mantle in the possession of the 
Caliphs of the House of A'bbas, verily Yunas-b-Bukayr relates from the 
account of the expedition of Tabiik of Ibn Ishak, that the prophet gave 
a mantle to the people of Aylah,§ with his letter, the same that he wrote 

* ATdu'I Tahir Aljmad, called as Silafi after his grandfather, from the Persian 
(Seh lab) three lips — he received this name as one of his lips was s'plit and appeared 
double. He was a Hafidh and taught traditions and was appointed President of the 
College called after him, founded in A. H. 546 (1151) by al Aadil as Sallar at Alex- 
andria; bom at Ispahan 472 A. H. (1079) and died A. H. 576 (1180). Ibn Khali. 
The printed edition has Turyat for Tuyuriyat. 

t Abu Sa'id A'bdu'l Malik the celebrated philologer, a native of Basrah, but 
'■o:emoved to Baghdad in the reign of Hariin u'r Eashi'd. He was a complete master 
of the Arabic language and was consulted by al Mamiin on all doubtful points of litera- 
ture ; for his numerous treatises, consult Ibn Khali, born A. H. 122 (740), died at 
Basrah 216 (831). 

X This well-known poem was recited before Muhammad on the poet's embracing 
Islam. He had written some satirical verses on the prophet, who in consequence 
ordered his followers to put him to death if they caught him. Kaa'b not caring to 
indulge his wit at the expense of his life, made his submission. The poem begins with 
the praise of his mistress Su'ad and ends with an entreaty of pardon. 

§ On the Red Sea, the Elana of Ptolemy. 
3 



[ 18 ] 

to them granting them immunity and. Abu'l A'bbas as Saffiah purchased 
it for 300 dinars." I remark that that which Mu'awiyah bought was 
lost in the decline of the House of pmayyah. The Imam Ahmad b-Han- 
bal records in his " Zuhd" from TJ'rwah-b-uz Zubayr* that the garment 
in which the Apostle of God went out to meet deputations was a 
mantle from Hadhramaut, its length four cubits, and its breadth two 
cubits and a span, which was in the possession of the Caliphs, and it 
became thread bare, and they lined it with stuffs and it used to be worn 
on the festivals of Adha and Fitr. Verily this mantle was in the possession 
of the Caliphs, and they inherited it in succession, and wore it upon their 
shoulders, on state occasions, whether in assembly or mounted cavalcade, 
and it was upon al Muktadir when he was slain, and was stained with his 
blood, and I think it was lost during the irruption of the Tartars — " for we 
belong to God and unto him shall we return." (Kur II.) 



On some observations which occur scattered throughout these hioffraphies, 

but the mention of which here in one place is most suitable 

and advantageous. 

Ibn u'l Jauzi narrates that according to as Siili.f it is said that every 
sixth Caliph who ruled over the people was deposed, and adds " I reflected- 
on this and observed it with wonder. The supreme authority was vested 
in our prophet ; then there arose Abu Bakr, and Omar and Othman, and 
A'li and al Hasan — and he was deposed. Then Mu'awiyah and Yazid-b- 
Mu'awiyah and Mu'awiyah-b-Yazid and Marwan, and A'bdu'l Malik-b- 
Marwan and Ibn u'z Zubayr and he was deposed. Then al Walid and 
Sulayman and Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz and Yazid and Hisham and al Walid 
and he was deposed. After this the dominion of the House of Umayyah 
ceased, and as SafEah reigned, and al Mansur and al Mahdi and al Hadi 
and ar Eashid and al Amin and he w, is deposed. Then al Mamiin. and al 
Mua'tasim and al Wathik and al Mutawakkil and al Muntasir and al 
Musta'in and he was deposed. Then al Mua'tazz and al Muhtadi, and al 

* Abu A'bdu'Uali, one of the seven great jurisconsults of Medina. His father az 
Zubayr b-A'wwam was one of the ten Companions to whom Muhammad promised 
Paradise. His mother was Asma-d. of Abu Bakr — born A. H. 22 (642-3) died A H 
93 (711-2). Ibn Khali. 

t Abu Bakr as Suli known as the chess-player. He was an accomplished scholar 
and traditionist. He became one of the Caliph ar Radl.ii's' boon companions and was 
intimate with al Muktafi and al Muktadir. He composed numerous works ; the chief 
science he cultivated was biography, died at Ba?rah A. H. 336 (A. D 986-7) Ibn 
KhaU. 



[ 19 1 

Mua'tamid, and al Mua'fcadhid and al Muktafi and al Muktadir and lie was 
deposed, and again a second time and then put to death. Then al Kahirand 
ar Radhi and al Muttaki and al Mustakfi and al Mutii' and at Tail' and he was 
deposed. Then al Kadir and al Kaim and al Muktadi and al Mustadhir and 
al Mustarshid and ar llashid and he was deposed " This is the end of the 
narration of Ibri u'l Jauzi Ad Dahabi says that what al Jauzi has mention- 
ed is defective in several points. One of them is his statement, that 
A'bdu'l Malik was succeeded by Ibn u'z Zubayr, but this was not the case, 
for Ibn u'z Zubayr was fifth and after him came A'bdu'l Malik. Either 
both of them must be fifth, or one was the true paliph and the other a 
rebel, for unto Ibn u'z Zubayr was sworn a prior allegiance, and therefore 
the Caliphate of A'bdu'l Malik was legally established only from the time 
when Ibn u'z Zubayr was killed. The second point is, his omitting to 
count Yazid An i\'akis and his brother Ibrahim wlio was deposed and Mar- 
wan; for thus computing them, al Amin would be the ninth. I remark 
that it has already been said, that Marwan falls out of the account, 
because he was a rebel, and also Mu'avpiyah-b- Yazid, for allegiance was 
sworn to Ibn u'z Zubayr after the death of Yazid, and Mu'awiyah opposed 
him in Syria : these two are therefore one, and the authority of Ibrahiih, 
he who succeeded Yazid An Nakis was not completely established, for 
some acknowledged him as Caliph, and others did not so acknowledge 
him : and there were some who claimed for him the supreme power, but 
not the Caliphate, and he ruled but for forty or seventy days. Therefore 
according to this computation, Marwan the Ass,* was the sixth, for he was 
the twelfth from Mu'awiyah, and al Amin after him, the sixth. Thirdly, 
the deposals are not confined to every sixth, for al Mua'tazz was deprived 
of ofiice and likewise al Kahir, al Muttaki and al Mustakfi. I reply that 
his stctement is not affected by this objection because the meaning is, that 
as regards every sixth, the deposal is undoubted, but he does not deny 
that there were others besides them who were deposed as well. He adds 
in addition to what Ibn u'l Jauzi has stated, that after ar Rashid, reigned 
al Muktafi and al Mustanjid and al Mustadhii, and an Nasir and al Dhahir 
and al Mustansir who was the sixth but was not deposed. Then al Mus- 
ba'sina, and he was the same whom the Tartars slew, and was the last of 
the sovereign Caliphs. The Caliphate was interrupted subsequently for 
three years and a half; then al Mustansir afterwards was elected, 

* " Before his accession to th.e throne" says Gibboa "he had deserved by his Geor- 
gian warfare, the honorable epithet of the Ass of Mesopotamia. He had been governor 
of Mesopotamia and the Arabic proverb praises the courage of that warlike breed of 
asses who never fly from an enemy. The surname of Mervan may justify the compa- 
rison of Homer (Iliad A 557) and both will silence the moderns who consider the ass a 
stupid and ignoble emblem." 



[ 20 ] 

but hv did not actually assume the Caliphate, for he was acknowledged 
in Egypt and he inarched into Trak and encountered the Tartars aid was 
killed likewise, and the Caliphate remained in abeyance a year. Then it 
■was established in Egypt, and the first of the Caliphs was al Hakim, then 
al Mustakfi, then al WdthiTi, then al Hdkim, then al Mua'tadhid, then al 
Mutawakkil who was the sixth and was deposed. Then reigned al Mua'- 
tasim hut he was deposed after fifteen . days and'al Mutawakkil recalled. 
He was again deposed and al Wafchik acknowledged : then al Mua'tasim 
and he was deposed, and al Mutawakkil recalled who continued to reign 
*tintil his death. Nest al Musta'in, and al Mua'tadhid and al Mustakfi, 
then al Kaim, who was the sixth from al Mua'tasim the first (who was 
also al Mua'tasim the second) and he was deposed. Then al Mustanjid 
the reigning Caliph, the fifty first of the Caliphs of the House of A'bbas. 

Note.. It is said thdt the House of A'bbas is distinguinhed hy a be- 
ginning, a middle, and an end — The beginning was al Mansiir, the middle 
al Mamun and the end al Mua'tadhid. The Caliphs of the House of 
A'bbas, were all of them the children of concubines, except as SafEah, al 
Mahdi and al Amin, and no Hashimite, the son of a Hashimite woman,- 
ever ruled the Caliphate except A'li-b-Abi Talib and his son al Hasan, and 
al Amin (so says as Slili) — and no one whose name was A'li ever held the 
Caliphate except A'li the son of Abu Talib and A'li al Muktafi (ad 
Dahabi). I remark that the greater number of the names of the Caliphs 
occur but once, and few twice, and thos.e most frequently recm-ring are 
A'bdu'llah, Ahmad and MuhHUimad, — and all the surnames of the Caliphs 
occur singly up to al Musta'sim, the last of the Caliphs of Irak — Then 
recur the surnames of the Caliphs of Egypt — thus al jMustansir recurs, 
and al Mustakti, and al Wathik, and al R;iwim, and al Mua'tadhid, and al 
Mutawakkil, and al Mua'tasim,* imd al Musta'in, and al Kaim, and al Mus- 
tanjid. All of these recur but once, except al Mustakfi and al Mua'tadhid 
which recur once- oftener, for among the A'bbaside Caliphs, three are 
called by those two names. 

Not one of the Caliphs of the House of A'bbas is distinguished oy a 
surname of the House of U'bayd, except al Kaim, al JHdkim, ad Dhahir 
and al Mustansir, but as regards al Mahdi and al Mansiir, the assumption 
of these surnames by the House, of A'bbas preceded the rise of the H^iuse 
of U'bayd. And some writers have mentioned that none surnamed al 
Kahir was prosperous, either among the Caliphs or the temporal sovereigns, 
and 1 add also, al Mustakfi and al Musta'in, by which surnames two of the 
House of A'bbds were distinguished, and those two were deposed and ex- 
pelled but al Mua'tadhid is among the most glorious of surnames and th« 
* The text has Musta'sim incorrectly. The MS. is accurate in tlie name. 



[ 21 1 

most blessed for hkn who was called by it. No one held the Caliphate after 
the son of his brothers, except al Mustakfi after ar Rashid, and al Mus- 
tansir after al Mua'tasim. Ad Dahabi states this, and adds that no three 
brothers possessed the Caliphate, except the sons of ar Rashid, viz., al Amin, 
al Mamun, and al Mua'tasim, and the sons of al iVlutawakkil, viz., al Mus- 
tansir, al Mua'tazz and al Mua'tamid, and the sons of al Muktadir, viz., 
ar Eadhi, al Muktafi and al Mutii'. He continues, that four of the sons 
of A'bdu'l Malik governed the state, and that no parallel to this is to be 
found, except among temporal sovereigns. I remark that a parallel case 
to it occurs among the Caliphs after the prophet, for four, nay five of the 
sons of al Mutawakkil Muhammad, held the Caliphate, viz., al Musta'in, 
and al Mua'tadhid, and al Mustakfi, and al Kaim and al Mustanjid the 
reigning Caliph. No one ruled the Caliphate during the lifetime of his 
father except Abu Bakr as Siddik, and Abu Bakr at Taii'-b-ul Mutii', 
whose father was struck by paralysis and who voluntarily abdicated in 
favour of his son. 

The learned say that the first who governed the Caliphate while his 
father was alive, was Abu Bakr, and he was the first who appointed a 
successor, and the first who instituted a public treasury and the first who 
named the Kuran al Mushaf. The first who was called, prince of the 
Faithful, was Omar-b-u'l Khattab, and he was the first who made use of 
the scourge, and the first who established the date from the Flight, and 
the first who ordered the prayers called at Tarawih,* and the first who 
established the public registers. 

The first who interdicted pasturage from encroachment, was Othman, 
and he was the first who assigned lands on feudal tenure, that is to say, 
the first who did so to any extent, and the first who made tlie addition of 
the call to prayer on Fridays, and the first who sanctioned a stipend for 
the criers to prayer, and the first who was confused in speech while read- 
ing the Khutbah, and the first who appointed a chief Officer of Consta- 
bulary. 

The first who during his lifetime named an heir to succeed him, 
was Mu'awiyah, and he was the first who introduced eunuchs into his ser- 
vice. The first who ever caused the heads of criminnls to be brought before 
him was A'bdu'llah-b u'z Zubayr. The first who caused his name to be 
struck on the coinage, was A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan. The first who pro- 
hibited his being addressed by name was al Walid-b-A'bdi'l Malik. 

The first introduction of surnames, was by the House of A'bbas. Ibn 
Fadhli'llah says that some think that the House of Umayyah had sur- 

* A form of prayer performed at some period of the night, ia the month of Eama- 
dh^n, after the ordinary prayer of nightfall consisting of twenty or more le'kahs, 
according to different persuasions. Lane's Lex. Art. Iksijji 



[ 22 ] 

names similar to those of the House of A'bbas. I remark that certain 
writers assert the surname of Mu'awiyah to have been an Nasir li dlni'llah, 
and the surname of Yazid, al Mustansir, and that of Mu'awijah his son, 
fir Eaji' ili'l Hakk, and that of Marwan, al Mtitamin bi'llah and that of 
A'bdu'l Malik, al Muwaffak li' amri'llah, and that of his son al Walid, al 
Muntakim bi'llah, and that of Omar b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, al Ma'sum bi'llah, and 
that of Yazid-b-Abdi'l Malik, al Kadir hi Sana' i'llah, and that of Yazid 
an Nakis, as Shakir li anu'mi'llah. 

The iirst time that public opinion became conflicting and disunited 
was in the reign of as Saffah. The first Caliph who gave access to astrologers 
and acted according to the judgments of the stars was al Mansur, and he 
was the first who employed slaves in ofiices of trust and gave them prece- 
dence over Arabs. The first who ordered the composition of polemical 
writings to refute the enemies of the Faith was al Mahdi. The first before 
whom men walked with swords and maces, was al Hadi. The first who 
played at polo in the open plain was ar Rashid. In the reign of al Amin, 
the Caliph was first addressed by word and in writing, by his surname. 
Al Mua'tasim was the first who employed Turks in the office of the public 
registers. Al Mutawakkil was the first who ordered a distinguishing garb 
for Jews and Christians. The first whom the Turks adjudged to death 
was al Mutawakkil : and from this is seen the confirmation of the prophe- 
tical tradition as quoted by at Tabarani by a respectable line of ascription, 
from Ibn Masa'ud who stated that the Apostle of God said, " Molest not 
the Turks, as long as they leave ye unmolested, for verily they who shall 
first take from my people their kingdom and the things which the Lord 
hath conferred upon them, are the sons of Kantdra."* 

The first who invented large sleeves and diminished the size of the 
head-dress was al Musta'in. Al Mua'tazz was the first Caliph who intro- 
duced ornaments of gold on riding animals. Al Mua'tamid was the first 
Caliph treated with severity and kept under restraint and guarded. The 
first who ruled the Caliphate among minors was al Muktadir. The last Caliph 
who kept the troops and public effects under his personal direction was ar 
Itadhi, and he too was the last Caliph, whose poems were collected into a 
Diwan, and the last Caliph who uniformly read the Khutbah and prayed 
before the people, and the last Cali[)h who sat in company with boon com- 
panions, and the last Caliph whose expenses and gifts and rewards, retinue, 
and stipend, and treasury and meats and drinks and festal assemblies, and 
chamberlains, and other affairs were conduoled after the manner of the 

* Banu 5.antura, Turks or Nubians according to the Muntahal u'l Arab, or as 
some siiy Kantdra waa the name of a slave of Abraham's, from whom the Turks are 
duscended. 



[ 23 ] 

'early Calipbate ; and he was the last Caliph who went journeying in gar- 
ments like unto the Caliphs of former times. 

The first time that surnames recurred was after the reign of al Mus- 
tansir, he who ruled after al Musta'^im. {This is mentioned in the Awail 
of al A'skari*). The first Caliph who reigned during his mother's lifetime, 
was Othman-b-AfEan, then al Hadi, and ar Rashid, and al Amin and al 
Mutawakkil, al Mustansir, al Musta'in, al Mua'tazz, al Mua'tadhid and al 
Mutii'. No one held the Caliphate during the lifetime of his father, except 
Abu Bakr as Siddik, and to him-may be added at Taii'. 

A's Siili says : " I know of no woman who gave birth to two Caliphs, 
except Wiladah, the mother of al Walid and as Sulayman, the two sons 
of Ahdu'l Malik ; and Shahin, the mother of Yazid an Nakis and Ibrahim, 
the two sons of al Walid ; and Khayzurdn, the mother of al Hadi dnd ar 
Rashid." I remark, that there may be added, the mother of al A'bbas and 
Hamzah, and the mother of Daulid and Sulayman, the children of the last 
Mutawakkil. 

Those who assumed the title of Caliph, of the House of U'bayd, were 
fourteen : three in Africa, al Mahdi, al Kaim, and al Mansiir, and eleven in 
Egypt, al Miii'zz, al A'ziz, ad Dhahir, al Mustansir, al Musta'li, al Amir, 
al Hafidh, ad Dhafir, al Faiz and al A'adhid. The beginning of their rule 
was in the year two hundred and ninety and odd, and its extinction in the 
year 567. 

Ad Dahabi says that this may be called the Magian or the Jewish 
dynasty, but not that of the descendants of A'li, or the Batinitef not the 
Fatimite, and they were fourteen violaters of covenants not successors to 
the vicegerency, (here he ends). 

Those who assumed the title of Caliph among the descendants of 
Umayyah in the West, J were in a better position than the descendants of 

* Al Hasan-b-A'tdi'llah-ti-Sahl. Atu Hilal al A'skari, a diseiplo of Abu Ahmad 
al A'skari ; author of a Commentaxy on the :^uran in 5 Vols. : the Awail (Initions) : 
a work on prose and vei-se, and another on Proverbs. A scholar of exemplary life. 
Died subsequently to the year 400 A. H. (1009). Tabakat u'l Mufassirin, as Suyuti 
Edit. Mearsinge. No. 29. 

t U'baydu'Uah, the founder of this dynasty, claimed descent from Ismail-b- Jaa'far 
the seventh Imam of the posterity of Ali, and his descendants are termed by the Orien- 
tal writers tlie Ismailites of the West to distinguish them from another branch of the 
same race, the Ismailites of the East. These latter were the famous assassins, 
called also Batinis from their mystical interpretation of the !]^uran, under whose 
terrible daggers, the East crouched for two hundred years. 

t The Arabs termed Spain and Africa, indifferently, the West (Al Maghrab) — 
The word "' Afrikiya," which they sometimes use, is not the whole but only a portion 
of al Maghrab. For its divisions, consult D'Herbelot. 



[ 24 ] 

U'baydu'Uah in many ways, as rer/ards orthodoxy, and tradition and justice 
and merit, and knowledge, and battling and warring with infidels, and 
they were many in number, so that there were together at one time in 
Spain, six persons, each of them calling himself Caliph. 

Some former writers have compiled histories of the Caliphs : among 
them, that by Niftawayh the Grammarian, in two volumes, up to the reign 
of al Kahir, and the Aurak of as Suli, in which he has mentioned the 
Abbasides only up to* — with which I am acquainted, and the history of 
the Caliphs by Abu'l Padhl Ahraad-b-Abi Tahir al Marwazi, al Katib one 
of the most excellent of poets who died in the year 280 A. H.- ; and the 
history of the Abbaside Caliphs by Amir Abu Musa Hariin-b-Muhammad 
al A'bbasi. 

Al Khatib in his History, records with authorities from Muhammad 
b-A'bbad that none of the Caliphs knew the Kuran by heart, except 0th- 
man-b-A'ffan and al Mainun. I remark, that that restriction is not to 
pass unchallenged, fur Abu Bakr knew it accurately also, and several 
auiJiors have made this clear, among them an Nawawi in his Tahdib u'l 
Asma ; and of Ali likewise it is handed down by one line of tradition th.it 
he had the whole of it by heart, after the death of the prophet. Ibn u's 
Saa'i says — " I was present at the ceremony of allegiance sworn to the 
Caliph ad Dbablr, and he was^ seabed at the window of a chamber in a 
white robe, and about him a cloak of camel's hair, and upon his shoulders, 
the mantle of the prophet : the wazir was standing in front of him upon a 
pulpit, and the Comptroller of the Household upon a step below him, and 
he was taking the covenant from the people : and the words of the covenant 
were, " I do homage to our lord and master the Imam, to whom obedience 
is a bounden duty upon all men, Abu Nasr Muhammad aji^ Dhahir bi'amr'illah 
according to the boolc of God, and the law of the prophet and the decision 
of the prince of the faithful, and verily there is no Caliph but he." 

* The MS. has here a blank— the text inserts J^s*-^ ^^\. As SuK died in A. H 335 
and as his History professes only to relate what he had himself seen (see Kashfu'd 
Dhunun), the blank might be filled up with the name of al Mutii li'llah who succeeded 
to the Caliphate in A. H. 334. 



[ 25 1 

Ahu Bah' as Siddik. 

Abu'Bakr'as Siddik, the vicegerent of the apostle of God whose name 
is A'bdu'Uah-b-Abi Kuhafah Othman, b-A'amir, b-A'mr, b-Kaa'b, b-Saa'd, 
b-Taym, b-Murrah, b-Kaa'b, b-Luwayy, b-Ghalib, al Kurayshi, at Taymi, 
unites with the genealogy of the Apostle of God in Murrah."* 

An Nawawi in his Tahdib says " What I have stated regarding the name 
of Abu Bakr being A'bdu'Uah, is correct, and well known. It is said also, 
that his name was Atik {the Liberated), but the truth upon which all 
the learned B,re agreed is, that al A'tik was his surname, not a name, and he 
was surnamed al A'tik on account of his exemption from hell firef as has 
come down in the tradition given by at Tirmidi : and it is also said, on 
account of the " itakat" of his countenance, that is to say, its comeliness 
and its beauty. It is said likewise that there is nothing in his genealogy 
which can be found fault with. Musa'b-b-uz Zubayr and others say, that 
the people concurred in naming him as Siddik (Witness to the Truth), 
because he hastened to testify to the Apostle of God, and steadfastly 
adhered to truth, and there never escaped from him on any one of the many 
events of his life any remissness or hesitation, and he held exalted positions 
in Islam. Among those events, were his conduct regarding the Nocturnal 
journey, and his steadfastness and reply to the unbelievers regarding it, 
and his flight with the Apostle of God, and his forsaking his family and 
children, and his being with the Apostle in the cave, and throughout the 
whole journey : then his exhortations on the day of Badr, and the day of 
HudaybiyahJ when the delay in entering Mecca, was the occasion of grave 

* Murrah 



f ^ 

Tamim Kilab 



Saa'd 

Kaa'b A'bd Manaf 

A'mr Hashim 

A'amir A'bdu'l Muttalib 

I I 

Abu :^uhafa A'bdu'Uah 

Abu Bakr Muhammad, 

t Nine others are included by Muhammad as sharing this distinction, Omar, 
Othman, A'li, Talhah, az Zubayr, Saa'd Ibn Abi "Wakkas, Sa'id, Abu U'baydah, and 
A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Auf. 

J "Muhammad" says Sale "-when at Hudaybiyah sent Ja-ww£s-b-Ommeyya 
the Khozaite to acquaint the Mecoans that he was come with a peaceable intention 
4i 



[ 26 ] 

doubts to others : then his weeping when the Apostle of God said " Verily, 
God hath given his servant a choice between this world and the next :" 
then his firmness on the day of the death of the Apostle of God, and his 
reading the Khutbah to the people and consoling them : then, in the con- 
tention regarding the oath of allegiance, his undertaking the charge for the 
good of the true believers : next, his diligence in despatching the army 
of Usamah-b-Zayd to Syria, and his determination regarding it : then his 
rising up to oppose the apostates, and his dispute with the Companions, 
until he overwhelmed them with arguments-and God opened their hearts 
as He had opened his heart to the understanding of the truth, viz., to do, 
battle with the apostates : then his fitting out the army for Syria for his 
conquests and sending it succour : lastly the conclusion of this career 
by an important action which was among the best of his good deeds, and 
the most glorious of his titles to honor, and that was, his appointing Omar 
as his successor over the true believers : and what virtues, and dignities, 
and excellencies without number belong not to the Witness to the Truth ?" 
(an Nawawi). I add that I am desirous of enlarging upon the biography 
of as Siddik to some extent, mentioning therein much of what I know of 
him regarding his life, and I shall arrange this in sections. 



^Regarding his name and surname an allusion to which has 
already preceded. 

Ibn Kathir* says, that all admit that his name was A'bdu'llah-b-Oth- 
mdn, except the narration of Ibn Saa'd on the authority of Ibn Sirin f 
which asserts his name to have leen A'tik whereas the truth is that it was 
his surname. Then there is some disagreement as to the time of his being 
so surnamed, and the reason of it : for some say that it was on account of 

to visit the temple, but they refusing to admit him, he sent Othmiin whom they im- 
prisoned and a report ran that he was slain whereupon, Muhammed called hia men 
about him and they took an oath to be faithful to him even to death." 

* The H£fidh I'mfidu'ddin Isma'il-b-Abdu'Uah ad Damashki died in 774 A. H. 
The name of hia well known history is the " Biddyah wa'l Nihdyah fi't Tdrikh"— « the 
beginning and the end of history." Consult. Haj. Khal. 

t Abu Bakr Muljammad a native of Basrah. He was bom A. H. 33 (A. D. 
653 4) two years before the death of the Caliph Othmdn and died at Basrah A. H. 110 
(A. D. 729). He was a draper by profession, deUvered traditions on the authority 
of Abu Hurayra and others and was skiUed in the interpretation of dreams. Ibn 
Khali. 



[ 27 ] 

the " i'tdkat" of his countenance that is, its beauty — but Abu Nua'ym al 
Fadhl-b-Dukayn says, that it was on account of his priority* in merit — 
and also it is said, on account of the nobility of his pedigree, that is its 
purity, as there is nothing in his lineage that can be accounted a stain, and 
it is said too that he was first so named and afterwards called A'bdu'llah. 
At Tabardni relates from al Kasim-b-Muhammadf that he questioned 
Ayesha as to the name of Abu Bakr, and she replied, " A'bdu'llah ;" then 
he said that the people called him A'tik ; she answered that Abu Kuhafah 
had three sons whom he named Atik, Mua'tak, and Mua'ytak. 

Ibn MandahJ and Ibn A'sakir record on the authority of Mlisa-b- 
■JTalhah that he said, "I asked my father Talhah, why Abu Bakr was 
called A'tik ;" he replied, "his mother had no son surviving and when she 
gave him birth, she took him to the temple and exclaimed, ' O God ! if this 
one is granted immunity from death, then bestow him upon me.' " At 
"Tabarani records from Ibn A'bbas, that he was called A'tik from the beauty 
of his countenance, and Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha that she said " the name 
of Abu Bakr, that by which his family called him, was A'bdu'llah, but the 
name of A'tik superseded it" — and in one reading, " but the prophet named 
him A'tik." 

Abu Ta'la§ records in his Musnad (likewise Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim) 
and confirms it on the testimony of Ayesha, that she said. " By Allah 
verily I was in my house on a certain day and the Apostle of God and his 
Companions were in the courtyard, and a curtain between me and them, and 
lo ! Abu Bakr came up, and the prophet said, " he who would rejoice in 
looking upon one exempted from hell fire, let him behold Abu Bakr," and 
verily his name, that by which his family called him was A'bdu'llah but the 
name of A'tik superseded it." And at Tirmidi and al Hakim from Ayesha, 
that Abu Bakr went to the Apostle of God and he said. " O ! Abu Bakr, 
thou art exempted by the Lord from hell fire," and from that day, he was 
called A'tik. Al Bazzar and at Tabarani record on good authority from 
A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr, that the name of Abu Bakr was A'bdu'llah, and 
the Apostle of God said to him " thou art exempted by the Lord from hell 
fire ;" thus he received the name of A'tik. 



* A'tik signifying: also ancient, noble. 

t Grandson of Abu Bakr one of the most eminent of tbe Tabi'is and of tbe seven 
great jurisconsults of Medina. Ibn Khali. 

X Abu A'bdu'Uah-b-Mandah a celebrated traditionist and a Hafidh of high autho- 
rity, author of a history of Ispahan, died A. H. 301, (A. D. 913-4J. Ibn Khali. 

§ Hafldh Abu Ya'la A^ad author of a well known collection of traditions and 
of works on ascetic devotion and other subjects, born at ilosal A. H. 210 (826) died 
A. H. 307, (919-20). De Slane, I. K. 



[ 28 ] 

As regards as Siddik, it is said that he was so called in the time of 
ignorance, because he was distinguished for his love of truth. (Ibn 
Mandah*) ; and also because he hastened to certify to the truth of the 
prophet with regard to what he announced. 

Ibn Ishakf records on the authority of Hasan al BasriJ andKatadah,§ 
that the first time he was known by it was the morning after the " Noc- 
turnal Journey." Al Hakim relates in his Mustadrak (Supplement) on 
the authority of Ayesha, that the idolaters went to Abu Bakr and said 
" What dost thou think of thy companion, who pretends that he was borne 
by night to Jerusalem ?" He replied, " and did he say that ?" They 
answered " yes ;" then he said' " Verily he hath spoken the truth, and indeed 
I would testify to him in more than that, even to the announcement of 
Ms journey to Heaven, going in the morning and returning in the evening," 
and for this he was called the Witness to the Truth. (The authorities are 
good). 

Sa'id-b-Mansur narrates in his " Traditions" from Ibn Wahab, the 
freedman of Abu Hurayrah that when the Apostle of God returned on the 
night of his Nocturnal journey, he arrived at Du Tua|| and said, " O ! 
Gabriel, verily my people will not believe me." He replied " Abu Bakr 
will testify to thee, for he is a Witness to the Truth." 

Al Hakim in his Mustadrak, (Supplement) records on the authority of 
Nazal- b-Sabrah that he tells us, " I said unto 'Ali, Prince of the Faith, 
ful tell me of Abu Bakr." He replied " The Lord named that man as 

* So the MS. ; the text has Ibn Masada who was one of al Mamun's vizirs, an. 
elegant writer but not stated by Ibn Khallakau to be a traditionist. 

+ Muhammad-b-Ishak-b-Yasfa the freedman. of Kays-b-Makhramah. Tasar was 
one of the prisoners taken al A'yuu't Tamr, sent by KhaHd-b-Walid to Abu Bakr at 
Medina. He is held by the majority of the learned to be a sure authority on tradition 
and his work the "Maghazi wa'e Siyar (conquests and expeditions) bears a high 
character. He went to the Caliph Abu Jaa'far al Mansur at Hira and put the Maghazi 
in writing for his use and the learned of Kufa heard him read and explain that work ; 
died at Baghdad A. H. 151, (768). Ibn KhaU. 

X Abu Sa'i'd al ^asan of Basrah one of the most eminent of the Tabi'i's, his mother 
was a slave of TJmm Salimah one of the prophet's wives. He was born at Medina two 
years before the death of the Caliph Omar and died al Basrah A. H. 110 (728) Ibn 
KhaU. 

§ !^atfidah-b-Dyama as Sadusi, a native of Basrah and one of the Tabi'is, blind 
from birth, but of the greatest learning, much consulted by the Ummyyad family on 
points of history, genealogy and poetry, born A. H. 60, (679-80), died at Wasit A H 
117, (735-6). Ibid. 

II A village near Mecca, not to be confounded with the valley of Tria or Tawa 
according to Sale, where Moses saw the burning bush, (Kur xx.) consult Tdkfit Mua'j. 
Bui. 



[ 29 1 

Siddik by the tongue of Gabriel and by the tongue of Muhammad. He 
■was the vicegerent of the Apostle of God in public prayei'S. He ap^ 
proved him for our spiritual concerns, and we have acquiesced in him for 
our worldly government." (The authorities for this are good). And Dara- 
kutni and al Hakim from Abu Yahya.* " It is beyond computation how 
often I have heard A'li say upon the pulpit that the Lord named Abu 
Bakr, as Siddik upon the tongue of Gabriel ;" and at Tabarani on good 
unexceptionable authorities from Hakim-b Saa'd, " I have heard A'li declare 
and confirm by oath, that God undoubtedly revealed from Heaven, the 
name of Abu Bakr as as Siddik. 

In the tradition relative to the Battle of Ohud, the propJiei said, " Be 
at peace, for verily unto you there is ffiven a prophet, a witness to the truth 
and two martyrs." 

The mother of Abu Bakr was the daughter of his father's uncle. 
Her name was Salma, the daughter of Sakbar, b-A'amir, b-Kaa'b and she 
received the surname of the " mother of goodness" (Ummu'l Khayr) . 



On Ms Nativity and place of hirth. 

He was born two years and some months after the birth of Muhammad 
for he died when he was sixty-three years of age. Ibn Kathir says, 
that what is recorded by Khalifah-b-u'l Khayyat,t on the authority of Yazid- 
b-u'l Asamm, viz., that the prophet said to Abu Bakr " Verily am I the 
greater or art thou ?" and he replied " thou art greater, but I am older in 
years," is a tradition of an imperfect lino of ascription and cited but by one 
authority, for the contrary is notorious, and indeed confirmed on the 
authority of Ibn A'bbas. 

His birthplace was Mecca which he never left except to trade, and he 
was the possessor of great wealth in his tribe, and a man of perfect genero- 
sity, courtesy, and beneficence among them ; as Ibn u'l Dughannah says, 
" Verily thou art affectionate to thy kindred and speakest the truth in what 
thou narratesfc, and acquirest what others are denied and givest help in 
worldly troubles, and art hospitable to the stranger." An Nawawi says 
that he was one of the chiefs of the Kuraysh in the time of Ignorance, 
and one of their conncillors, and beloved among them, and the wisest in 

* The MS. has Atu'l Hayya. There are no less than eleven of this name given 
by Ibn Hajr as being acquainted with Muhammad. 

t Abu A'mr surnamed Shabab a native of Basrah and author of the Tabakat, 
was a HAfidh versed in history and of great talents. Al Bukhari gives traditions on 
his authority, 4ied A. H. 2iO, (A. D. 864-3). Consult. Ibn KhaU— who omits the def. 
article before Khayyat. 



[ 30 ] 

the direction of their affairs ; and when the true faith came, he chose it 
above all things and entered it with the most perfect submission. 

Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar and Ibn Asakir record on the authority of Ma'rdf- 
b-kharrablid, that Abu Bakr as Siddik was one of ten amongst the 
Kuraysh to whom attached pre-eminence both in the time of Ignorance, 
and Islam : for upon him lay the settlement of 'blood-money and fines, and 
that was because the Kuraysh had no king upon whom the direction of all 
affairs might devolve : moreover in each tribe there existed a general juris- 
diction exercised by its several chiefs, and to the Banu Hashira pertained 
the right of Sikayah and Eifadah,* the meaning of which is, that no one 
might eat or drink except of their food and their drink ; and to the 
Banu A'bdu'd Dar, the office of door-keeper and guardian of the Kaa'hah, 
and the Banner and the Council, that is to say, no one might enter the 
Kaa'bah except with their permission, and when the Kuraysh fastened on 
the banner of war, the Banu A'bdu'd Dar bound it for them, and when 
they assembled together for any purpose either to confirm or to annul, their 
gathering could not take place except in the Hall of Council and nothing 
could take effect, save done therein and it appertained to the Banu iftdu'd 
Dar. 

Abu Bakr was the most abstinent of men in the time of Ignorance. 
Ibn A'sakir records with accurate authorities from Ayesha ; " by Allah, 
Abu Bakr never recited poetry,t whether in the time of ignorance or Islam, 
and indeed he and Othman-f orbore from wine even in the time of Ignorance ;" 
and Abn Nua'ym records from her on excellent authority, " Verily Abu 
Bakr denied himself wine in the time of Ignorance ;" and Ibn Asakir from 
Abdu 'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr, " Abu Bakr never recited a verse ;" and from 



* Eifadah was a contribution which the trite of the Kuraysh made in the time 
of Ignorance, for the purpose of purchasing for the pilgrims, wheat and raisins for the 
beverage called AJjAJ. Bach gave according to his ability, and thus they collected 
a great sum in the days of the assembling of the pilgrims. And they continued to 
feed the pilgrims until the end of those days ; the " Sil^ayah" was the supplying this 
beverage and Eifadah, -these provisions. Lane. 

t The Kuran though not directly forbidding yet discredits the profession of verse 
making. 4j (j**^! i[j j*^\ 8^i*J^ I* " We have not taught (Muhammad) the art 
of poetry nor is it expedient fer him," Kur. XXXVI. Sale remarks that this was in 
answer to the infidels who pretended that the Kuran was only a poetical composi- 
tion. Again uyjWl /ni*^i M«Jt Kur. XXVI. "Those err who follow the steps of 
the poets." But the learned have determined that moral, didactic and religious poetry 
is permissible. There are verses imputed to the great Shdfi'i in which he declares that 
were not men of his cloth prohibited from writing poetry, he would Jiave surpassed 
Labid. 



[ 81 ] 

Abu'l A'aliyah av Riahi, that it was asked of Abu Bakr in an assembly of 
the Companions of the Apostle of God " didst thou ever drink wine in the 
time of Ignorance ?" he replied " God forbid," and they said, " why not ?" 
He answered, " 1 sought to preserve my reputatiop and retain my decorum, 
and verily he who drinketh wine destroyeth his reputation and his decorum." 
The narrator says that when this reached the apostle of God, he said," Abu 
Bakr hath spoken truly Abu Bakr hath spoken truly," twice. This 
-tradition is wanting in regularity of transmission and is cited but by one 
authority hothias regards authorities and the text. 



On his outward description. 

Ibn Saa'd relates on the authority of Ayesha that a man said to her, 
" describe to me Abu Bakr,' and she replied, " he was a man of a very fair 
complexion, of slender build, thin cheeked and with a stoop ; he could not 
keep up his lower garments from slipping over his loins ; he was lean, with 
eyes deep set, his forehead prominent, and the backs of his hand fleshless. 
Such is his description. He states also on her authority, that Abu Bakr 
made use of the tinctures of hinna* and katam ; and on the authority off 
Anas, that when the apostle of God went to Medina, there was none among 
the companions with grizzled hair, except Abu Bakr, and he dyed it with 
binna and katam. 



On his embracing the faith. 

At Tirmidi, and Ibn Haban in his Sahih, (authentic traditions) record 
on the authority of Abu Sa'idJ al Khudri, that Abu Bakr said " Have not 
I the greatest claim among men to it," that is, the Caliphate ; " was not 
I the first to embrace the faith ? was it not I who did such a thing ? was 
it not I who did such another thing ?" And Ibn A'sakir on the ascription 
of al Harith from A'li, that he said, " the first who embraced the faith 

* Lawsonia inermia, — the Katam is a herb which mixed with cypress is used as a 
tincture. 

t Abu Sulayt Anas b-Abi Anaa, one of the Banu Najjar, he was a companion of 
Muhammad and fought on his side at Badr. De Slane I. K. 

I Abu Sa'id Saa'd b-Malik of the tribe of Khudra a Companion and an Ansar of 
the third class. At the age of 13, he accompanied his father to Ohud who fell at that 
battle. The son accompanied Muljammad in twelve expeditions, died at Medina A. H. 
74 (693-4). De Slane I, K. 



[ 33 ] 

among the men was Abu Bakr" ; and Khaythamah* on accurate authoritiea 
from Zayd-b-Arkam,t " the first man who prayed with the prophet, was 
Abu Bakr as Siddik" and Ibn Saa'd on the authority of Abu Arwa ad 
Dausi the Companion, that the first who embraced Islam was Abu Bakr as 
Siddik. 

At Tabarani in his Kabir, and 'Abdu'llah b-Ahmad in the " Zawaidu' 
Zuhd," record on the authority of as Shaa'biJ that he said, ",I asked Ibn 
A'bbas what man was the first to embrace Islam ?" he replied, " Abu Bakr 
as Siddik. Hast thou not heard the words of Hassan§ where he says ? 
" When thou rememberest the afl[iiction of a faithful brother. 
Then remember too thy brother Abu Bakr and what he hath done. 
The best of men, the most pious and most just of them 
Save the prophet and the most faithful in performing what he hath 

undertaken. 

The second,|| the follower, the place of whose witnessing is extolled 

And the first among those who have borne witness to the prophets." 

Abu Nua'ym records on the authority Pur^t-b-Saib that he said, " I 

inquired of Maymiin-b-Mihran saying, ' is Ali the most excellent in thy 

opinion, or Abu Bakr, or Omar ?' " He trembled so that the staff fell from 

his hand and then replied " I never thought that I should live to the time 

when any one should be compared to those two — to God be attributed their 

good deeds — they two were the chief in Islam." I said " then was Abu 

Bakr the first to embrace IsMm or Ali ?" he answered " By Allah, verily 

Abu Bakr believed in the prophet in the time of Buhayra, the monk^ ou 

* Abu Khaythamah Zuhayr an eminent traditionist of Nasa who settled at Bagh- 
dad and died A. H. 234 (A. D. 849). De Slane I. K. 

+ One of the Companions, accompanied Muhammad in seventeen expeditions set- 
tled at Kufah and died there A. H. 56 or as some say 68, An Nawawi. 

J Abu Amr A' amir sprang from Himyar and was accounted a member of the tribe 
of Hamdan of which Shaa'b is a branch. He held high rank among the Tabi'is and 
was distinguished for his learning, born about A. H. 19, died A. H. 104 (722). Ibn 
KhaU. 

§ IJassan-b-Thabit was one of the poets who espoused the cause of Muhammad. 
His son A'bdu'r Eahman lived under Mu'awiyah and used to address complimentary 
poems to Eamla, daughter of that Caliph. De Slane I. K. For his elegy on Muljam- 
mad's death see Weil. Leben Muhammad. Vol. II, p. 356. 

II Abu Bakr, is referred to in Kur IX asj'*^' tj'»U.4 lit (yJ-i-*! ^^\ "the 
second of the two when they two were in the cavo." 

IT Muhammad was reclining under a lote tree says Ibn Hajr, while Abu Baler was 
conversing with Buhayra. The latter asked him who it was, that was seated there ; 
he replied that it was Muhammad the son of A'bdu'llah. " Then by Allah, said 
Buhayra, he is the prophet for none has taken shelter under that tree since the time 
of Jesus the Son of Mary." This impressed itself on Abu Bakr's mind and was the 



[ 33 ] 

the occasion of his meeting him." Accouniis va.vy a,s to priority in Islam 
between him and Khadijah when he procured her marriage with the 
prophet* and all this was before A'li was born, and verily there are many 
among the Companions and their immediate successors, and others who say, 
that he was the first to embrace Islam, indeed, some of them assert that 
there is universal assent to this. Again, it is said that A'li was the first to 
join the true faith, and some say, Khadijah, but there is a reconciliation 
of these accounts, in that Abu Bakr was the first to embrace the faith 
among, men, A'li among children and Khadijah among women and the first 
who pointed out this reconciliation, was Abu Hanifah from whom Na'aym 
quotes it. 

Ibn Abi Shaybahf and Ibn A'sakir record on the authority of Salim- 
b-Abi Jaa'd that he said, " I asked of Muhammad-b-Hanifah, — was Abu 
Bakr the first of the people to adopt Islam ?" He replied — " no." I said, 
" for what reason then is he exalted and preferred,' so that no one speaks of 
any but Abu Bakr?" He replied, " because he was the most excellent 
"of them in Islam, from the time he embraced the faith until he attained 
to his God." And Ibn A'sakir on a reliable ascription from Muhammad- 
b-Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkds,J that he said to his father Saa'd, — " was Abu Bakr 
as Siddik the first of you in embracing the faith ?" He said. " No, for 
there were more than five in the faith before him but he was the best of us 
in Islam." 

Ibn Kathir says, " it is clear that Muhammad's family believed before 
every other — his wife Khadijah, his freedman Zayd and the wife of Zayd 
Umm-i-Ayman and A'li and Warakah." Ibn A'sakir records on the 
authority of I'sa-b-Tazid that Abu Bakr said, "I was seated in the court- 
yard of the Kaa'bah where Zayd-b-A'mr-b-Nufayl was sitting, when there 
passed by him Umayyah-b-Abi Salt§ and he said. " How art thou, thou 



cause of Hs early conversion. I may add that Ibn Hajr discords as erroneous the 
opinion held hy Ibn Athir (and adopted by Sprenger) that this Buhayra was the same 
person as the one who figures in a deputation to Muhammad from the king of Abyssi- 
nia forty years afterwards. 

* By assisting Muhammad with money on that occasion as is generally beHeved. 

t The Hafidh Othman a native of Ktifah, died A. H. 239 (A. D. 853-4). He com- 
posed a commentary on the Kuran and a collection of traditions : 30,000 persons are 
said to have attended his lessons. De Slane I. K. 

t Abu Ishak Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkds, a descendant of A'bdu Manat was by his own 
account the third convert to Islam, he being then 17 years of age. He fought in 
aU the prophet's battles ; his death occurred between A. H. 50-8. De Slane I. K. 

§ He was a poet of some reputation of the tribe of Thakif. Ibn Hajr says that 
he was an enquirer after truth, but more for the curiosity of the discovery than with 
intent to follow it. " His verses,". said Muhammad " are pious enough but his heart 
5 



[ 34 ] 

seeker after good ?" He answered " well." The other said " haat thou 

discovered anything ?" He replied ' No :' then the other said— 

" Every religion in the day of judgment : save that founded of God in 

truth, shall perish," 

But regarding the prophet, he that men look for, shall he be from 
among us or from among you ?" Abu Bakr continues, " and I, had not 
heard before that of a prophet expected who was to be sent." He 
adds. " Then I went out to Waraka'-b-Naufal* and he was one who con. 
stantly watched the heavens and muttered frequently to himself and I 
stopped him and related to him the circumstance. He said " Tea — O ! 
sou of my brother, I am skilled in the scriptures and in knowledge ; know, 
that this prophet, he whom men await, shall be by descent of the most 
noble of the Arabs. I am likewise skilled in genealogy, and thy tribe is 
by descent, the most noble among the Arabs." I said. " O uncle, and 
what will the prophet say ?" He replied, " he shall speak that which 
hath been said to him, and know, that he shall not oppress nor be oppress- • 
ed nor desire you to oppress each other." Therefore when the Apostle of 
God was sent, I believed in him and testified to him." 

Ibn Ishak says, that he heard from MuHammad-b-Abdi'r Eahman-b- 
Abdi'Uah b-i'l Ha?in at Tamimi that the Apostle of God said, " I never 
called any one to the true faith but there arose in him an aversion to it, 
and an irresolution and deliberation, except Abu Bakr who delayed not 
from it when I spoke to him, and did not hesitate therein." Al Bayhaki 
says " and this was because he had been accustomed to behold the proofs 
of the prophetic mission of the Apostle of God, and to hear its traditions, 
before his call, and when the prophet summoned him, then verily thought 
and deliberation had passed by for him and he at once embraced Islam." 
He then records on the authority Abu Maysarahf that when the Apostle of 
God went forth, he used to hear one calling to him " O Muhammad," and 
when he heard the voice he would turn fleeing : he told this in secret to 
Abu Bakr who was his intimate friend in the time of Ignorance." 

Abu Nua'aym and Ibn A'sakir record on the authority of Ibn A'bbas 
that the Apostle of God said, " I never spoke to any one regarding Islam 
but he denied me and rejected my words, save the son of Abu Kuhafa and 

is unbelieving." There is a doubt whether he was ever converted, but by spme he 
is considered a Companion. His excuse for not testifying to the prophet was, that he 
had once hinted to his tribe that he himself was likely to be the prophet to come. 

• A cousin of Muljammad's said to have been a convert to Christianity and to 
have been acquainted with the Scriptures, and to have transcribed some portions of 
the Gospels into Hebrew or Arabic' See Muir, Vol. II. p, 61. 

t Tie froedman of al A'bbaa-b-Abdi'l Muttalib. Ibn Hajr. 



, [ 35 ] 

yerily I never said unto him a thing but he acquiesced in it and was stead- 
fast therein." 

And al Bukhdri from Abu'd Darda* that the apostle of God said, 
" will ye not leave un.to me my companion ? verily I said, ! men, I am 
the apostle of God unto ye all, and ye said " thou liest," and Abu Bakr 
said "thou hast spoken truly." 



On Ms companionship with the prophet and the expeditions 
which he accompanied. 

The learned say that Abu Bakr accompanied the prophet from the 
time he embraced Islam to his death, and never separated himself from 
him either in journeying or residence at home, except when he had per- 
mission to depart on account of pilgri^nage or war ; and he was present 
with him in all his expeditions, and acompanied him in his flight, and for- 
sook his family and children with cheerfulness for the sake of God and 
his Apostle, and he was his companion in the cave. The Lord called him, 
" the second of the two when tht-y two were in the cave" when the prophet 
said to his companion, " be not sad for God is with us," and he assisted the 
Apostle of God on other occasions. Splendid, were his services in the 
wars : he was steadfast on the day of Ohud and the day of Hunayn when 
the people fled, as will appear in the chapter on his courage. 

Ibn A'sakir records on the testimony of Abu Hurayrah, that the 
angels took part in the battle of Badr and they said " See ye not as 
Siddik with the Apostle of God in a shed ?" And Abu Ya'la and al Hakim 
and Ahmad from A'li that he said, " the Apostle of God said to me and 
to ^bu Bakr on the day of Badr, " with one of you two is Gabriel and with 
the other Michael." And Ibn A'sdkir from Ibn Sirin, that A'bdu'r 
Eahman the son of Abu Bakr on the day of Badr was on the side of the 
idolaters, and when he was converted to Islam, he said to his father," verily, 
thou wert exposed as a mark to me on the day of Badr, but I turned 
away from thee and did not slay thee." Abu Bakr said, " as to thee, hadst 
thou come before me, I should not have turned away from thee." 

* One of the Companions.' The particulars of this narration will be found in 
Bukhari's aa Sahib- Vol. VI, Kitabu'l Manakib. 



[ 36 ] 

On Ms lraverti,for Tie was the bravest of the Companions. 

Al Bazzar records in his Musnad from A'li that he said ; Tell me who 
is the bravest of men ;" they said " thou art." He replied " Verily I never 
encountered any one but I was even with him, but tell me, who was the 
bravest of men ?" They said, " we know not ; who is he ?'* He said " Abu 
Eakr, for verily on the day of Badr, we made for the Apostle of God a 
shelter from the sun, and we said, " who shall, remain with the Apostle of 
God lest any of the idolaters fall upon him ?" then by Allah, not one of 
us approached except Abu Bakr who brandished a sword over the head of 
the Apostle of God ; no one attacked him but he attacked him likewise : he 
is therefore the bravest of men." Ali said. " I saw the Apostle of God 
assaulted by the Kuraysh, and one threatened him and another shook him 
violently and they said, " thou art he who makest of the gods, one God ;" he 
added, " and by Allah not one of us approached except Abu Bakr who 
struck one and threatened another and pushed aside another and said " woe 
unto ye — will ye slay a man who saith — my God is Allah ?" then A'li lifted 
up the mantle that was on him and wept, so that his beard was wet with 
tears and he said " I conjure ye by Allah, to say whether was the true 
believer* of the family of Pharoah the better or Abu Bakr ?" and the 
people were silent, and he said, " do ye not answer me ? by Allah, a single 
hour of Abu Bakr is better than a thousand hours of the believer of the 
family of Pharoah, for that man concealed his faith and this man pro- 
claimed it." 

Al Bukhari records from U'rwah-b-uz Zubayr that he said, " I asked 
of A'bdu'Uah-b-A'mr-b-i'l A'as,t what was the greatest violence that the 
idolaters had offered to the Apostle of God ; he replied " I saw U'kbah-b- 
Abi Mua'yt go towards the prophet who was praying and throw his cloak 
about his neck, and throttle him violently, whereupon Abu Bakr came and 
drove him from him and said, " will ye slay a man who saith — my God is 



* Tliis person, according to tradition, was an Egyptian and Pharoah's uncle's 
son, but a true believer, who finding that the king had been informed of what Moses 
had done, and designed to put him to death, gave him notice to provide for his safety 
by flight. He is mentioned in the Kuran. Chapters XXVIII and XL. See Sale. 

t Abu Muhammad or Abu A'bdu'r Eahman, the Companion. An Nawawi says 
that the name A'a? commonly so spelt, should be more properly written A'asi. 
He was 12 or 13 years younger than his father and was converted to Islam before him 
and received no less than 700 traditions from Muljammad. His devotion and learning 
were universally acknowledged. The date of his death is differently stated, according 
to some as early as 55 A. H. according to others in 73. Consult An Nawawi and 
Ibu Khali. 



[ 37 ] 

Allah ? and in truth he hath come to you with manifestations from your 
God !" And al Haytham-b-Kulayb in his Musnad from Abu Bakr, '' On 
the day of Ohud, all the people forsook the Apostle of God and I was the 
first to return to him," — ^the rest of the tradition will appear in the 
Musnad as he has related it. And Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha, " when the 
prophet gathered the Companions together there were thirty- eight persons. 
Abu Bakr then entreated the Apostle of God to declare himself openly, 
but he said " O ! Abu Bakr we are only a few ;'' but Abu Bakr did not 
desist from importuning the Apostle of God, until he declared himself. 
The Muslims were scattered round about the Mosque each man among his 
kindred, when Abu Bakr rose before the people preaching, and he was the 
first who summoned the people to God and to his Apostle ; then the 
idolaters fell upon Abu Bakr and upon the Muslims and beat them with 
heavy blows round about the Mosque" — the rest of the tradition will 
follow in the biography of Omar. 

Ibn A'sakir records from A'li, that when Abu Bakr was converted, he 
declared his faith and summoned the people to God and to his apostle. 



On Ms spending Ms substance on the Apostle of God for he was 
the most generous of the Oompanions. 

The Lord hath said, "But he who strictly bewareth idolatry and 
rebellion, shall be removed far from the same : (hell fire) — who giveth his 
substance in alms" &c. to the end of the Sdra. (Kur XCII). Ibn u'l Jauzi 
says that the learned are agreed, that this was revealed regarding Abu Bakr. 
Ahmad records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Apostle of God 
said, " No wealth hath ever availed me, as hath availed me the wealth of Abu 
Bakr," and Abu Bakr wept and said — " I and my wealth are they not 
for thee ! Apostle of God ?" Al Khatib relates a tradition imperfect 
in regularity of transmission, on the authority of Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab,* 
and adds that the Apostle of God made use of the substance of Abu Bakr 
as if it were his own. — And Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha with- different autho- 
rities, and from U'rwah-b-uz-Zubayr,,that on the day when Abu Bakr was 
converted, he had forty thousand dinars — and according to another reading, 
forty thousand dirhams, and he spent them upon the Apostle of God. 
i 

* Abu Muhammad Sa'id-'b-u'l Musayyab, Kurayshi, one of the seven great juris- 
consults of Medina. He was the chief of the first series of Tabi'is— he married the 
daughter of Abu Hurayra and related traditions on his authority, born A, H. 15—16, 
(636-7), died at Medina A. H. 91, (A. D. 709-10). Ibn Khali. 



[ 38 J 

Abu Sa'id al Aa'rdbi records on the authority of Ibn O'mar, that on 
the day when Abu Bakr was converted, he had in his house forty thousand 
dirhams, and when he set out for Medina at the time of the Tlight, he had 
no more than five thousand, all of which he spent upon the manumission 
of slaves, and in aid of Islam. And Ibn A'sikiv on that of Ayesha, that 
Abu Bakr gave freedom to seven slaves all of whom had suffered persecu- 
tion for the sake of God. 

Ibn Shahin* records in his " Sunnah," and al Baghawif in his com- 
mentary on the Kuran, and Ibn A'sakir from Ibn 0'mar,J that he said, 
" I was near the prophet, and by him was Abu Bakr, and upon him a 
garment of goat's hair, and he had pinned it together on his breast with 
a skewer ; then Gabriel came down to him and said " O ! Muhammad, how 
is it that I see Abu Bakr wearing a garment of goat's hair which he hath 
pinned on his breast by a skewer ?" He replied " O ! Gabriel, he. spent his 
substance upon me before the conquest of Meeea." Gabriel said " Then the 
Lord sendeth him His benediction and saith, " Say unto him — art thou con- 
tent with me in this thy poverty or angry ?" Abu Bakr said, " Can I be 
angry with my God ? I am content with my God — I am content with my 
God — I am content with my God," (related only by one authority and its 
ascription is untrustworthy). 

Al Khatib records also a weak ascription, through Ibn Omar to the 
prophet, who said, " Gabriel, upon whom be peace, came down to me 
and upon him was a coarse garment fastened together with a skewer, and I 
said to him " O ! Gabriel what is this ?" He replied, " Verily the Lord 
hath commanded the angels to fasten their garments in heaven as Abu 
Bakr fastens his upon earth." Ibn Kathir remarks that this is excessively 
untrustworthy and adds that were it not that this and the preceding 

* The Hifldli Abu Hafs Omax 'b-Shahin of Baghdad composed works computed 
at 330 in number, among them a Commentary on the Kuran and a collection of tradi- 
tions, died A. H. 386, (A. D. 995). De Slane I. K. 

t Abu Muljammad al Husayn— known as al Farra al Baghawi, a Shafi'i doctor 
Traditionist and Commentator on the Imuran, died A. H. 610 (A. D. 1117) at Marwar- 
rud. Baghawi is the relative adjective, irregularly formed, derived from Bagh or 
Baghshur a town in Khorasan. (Ibn Khali). There is also a traditionist Abu'l K&sim 
al Baghawi, a Hafidh of great repute, died A. H. 317, (A. D. 929). ' De Slane I. K. 

X Abu A'bdu'r Ealiman, A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar i'l Khattdb one of the most eminent 
of the CompanionB for his piety, learning and contempt of the world. During the civil 
wars which raged among the followers of Islam, he remained neutral, occupied in the 
duties of religion. For a period of sixty years, persons came from all parts to consult 
him, and his generosity was so great that he would frequently distribute 30,000dirhams. 
in charity on the days in which he gave audience. Died at Mecca A. H. 73 
(692-3) aged 84. De Slane I. K. 



[ 39 ] 

tradition have been handed down by so many people, the rejection of the 
two would be advisable. > 

Abu* Daudd and at Tirmidi relate on the authority of Omar-b-u'l 
Khattab, that he said, " the Apostle of God commanded us to give alms 
and that was in proportion to the property I possessed, and I said to 
myself, " to-day I will surpass Abu Bakr if I am to surpass him on any 
day, and I brought half of my property." Then the Apostle of God said 
'" what hast thou kept for thy family ?" I replied, " The like unto that ;" 
and Abu Bakr came with all the property that he had, and the prophet 
said, " O Abu Bakr ! what hast thou kept for thy family?" He replied, 
" I have reserved for them God and his prophet ;" then I said, " I shall never 
surpass him in anything." (At Tirmidi says that the tradition is good and 
trustworthy.) 

Abu Nua'ym records in his ' Huliyah,' on the authority of al Hasan al 
Basri that Abu Bakr brought his alms to the prophet secretly and said, 
" O Apostle of God this is my alms and with God belongeth for me the 
world to come ;" then Omar brought his offering and showed it openly and 
said, " Apostle of God this is my alms, and for me belongeth with God 
the world to come." The Apostle of God exclaimed " there is the saime 
difference between your offerings as between your words." (The ascription 
is good but interrupted in transmission.) And at Tirmidi from Abu Huray- 
rah, that the Apostle of God said, " I have never been under obligation 
to any one but I have requited him, save Abu Bakr, and verily he hath 
put obligations upon me, which God will requite unto him on the day of 
resurrection, and the wealth of none hath ever availed me, as hath availed 
me the wealth of Abu Bakr." 

Al Bazzar records on the authority of Abu Bakr that he said, " I 
brought my father Abu Kuhafah to the prophet who said, " why didst 
thou not leave the Shaykh where he was that I might go to him ?" If 
said " it is his duty rather to go to thee." He answered, " I would be 
considerate towards him for the kindnesses of his son towards me." And 
Ibn A'sakir from Ibn A'bbas that the Apostle of God said " No one hath 
benefited me in greater measure than Abu Bakr, who hath aided me with 
his person and his substance and hath given me his daughter in marriage. 

* Atu Daudd Sulayman b-u'l Ashftli of the tribe of Azd, as Sijistani, was a Hafidh 
in the traditions, eminent for his piety and holy life. He was one of the earliest who 
compiled a book of traditions (Kitab u's Sunan). He was bom A, H. 202 (817-8) and 
died at Basrah A. H. 275 (889). Ibn Khali. 

t The text has d^ meaning " Abu Bakr said." 



[ 40 1 



On Ms learning, for verily Tie was the wisest of the Oompanions 
and the most sagacious of them. 

An Nawawi says in his " Tatdib" (and I have copied it from his 
■work) . " The learned of our time have adduced in proof of his great 
wisdom his words in the tradition verified in the " Sahihayn,"* " by Allah 
I will oppose by force every one who maketh a difference between prayers 
and alms;t by Allah, if they withhold from me as much as the halter of a 
camel which they used to pay to the Apostle of God, I will oppose them 
by force for withholding it." The Shaykh Abu Ishak has brought for- 
ward this and other things in his Tabakat, (classes) in testimony that 
Abu Bakr was the wisest of the Companions, for they aU of them, with 
the exception of him, fell short of comprehending the wisdom of this 
course. He then explained to them in his discussion of it with them, that 
his judgment was the right one, and they were converted to it. It has 
been related to me on the authority of Ibn Omar, that he was asked who 
used to decide cases for the people in the time of the Apostle of God. He 
answered, " Abu Bakr and Omar, I know of no others besides those two." 
And the two Shaykhs record on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri that 
henarrates, that the Apostle of God addressed the people and said " God, the 
Holy and Most High, hath given unto one of his servants a choice between 
this world and the things which are His, and that servant hath chosen that 
which is with the Lord God ;" and Abu Bakr wept and said, " my ancestry 
male and female be thy ransom," and we wondered at his weeping because 
the Apostle of God had spoken regarding a servant that had been given 
a choice, but it was the Apostle of God himself who had been left to choose, 
and Abu Bakr was wiser than we were. Then the Apostle of God said. " Abu 
Bakr has been the most generous of men towards me, in his Companionship, 
and worldly goods, and were I to choose a friend besides my God, I would 
assuredly choose Abu Bakr, but the brotherhood of Islam and its affection J 



* The two works entitled Sahih of al Bukhari and Muslim. 

t Keferring to the people of Hira and Yaman who after the death of Muhammad 
accepted prayers to be an article of faith, hut rejected alms-giving. The council having 
assembled to consider this recusancy, the Companions were in favor of letting it pass 
as a matter of little moment, but Abu Bakr strongly insisted on repressing this heresy 
on the spot lest the dangerous example should be followed by others to the peril of 
the rising faith. 

J This termination of this sentence is not ia the printed text or MS. which is 
abrupt and incomplete, but I find it supplied by al Bukhari in his Sharalj on the 
authority of Ibn A'bbas. 



[ 41 ] 

is sufficient for me. There shall not remain a door* but it shall be closed 
except the door of Abu Bakr." (These are the words of An Nawawi.) 

Ibn Kathir says, that as Siddik was the best read, that is the most 
learned of the Companions in the Kuran, inasmuch as the prophet gave 
him precedence of the Companions, as Imam in public prayers by his words, 
" the most learned of the people in the Kurdn shall be their Imam." At 
Tirmidi records from Ayesha, that the Apostle of God said, " it is not 
expedient for a people among whom is Abu Bakr that another than he 
should act as ImAm to them." He was withal the most skilled in the 
traditionary law, so that when the Companions referred to him on several 
occasions he came out before them,'with a relation of the sayings of the 
prophet, which he recollected and bi'ought forward when there was neces- 
sity for it, and which they knew not ; and how could it be otherwise for 
verily he was constantly in the society of the Apostle of God from the 
beginning of his mission till his death : and withal he was one of the 
most acute-minded of the servants of God and the most learned of them, 
and although there are but few traditions recorded, orally transmitted from 
him, on account of the fewness of his days and his death following quickly 
on that of the prophet, yet had his life been prolonged, assuredly they 
would have been far greater in number, and the narrators would not have 
left a single tradition of his but they would have transmitted it, but these, 
in his day, were the Companions, none of whom had occasion to relate on 
his authority, an event in which they themselves had taken part with him : 
they therefore related on his authority only what they did not themselves 
know. ^ 

Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi records on the authority of Maymiin-b- 
Mihrau, that Abu Bakr, when a plaintiff came before him, used to look 
into the book of God, and if he found in it that which would decide 
between the claimants, he decided according to it, and if it were not in the 
Book, and he was aware of a tradition of the prophet respecting such a 
case, he decided according to it ; but if it embarassed him, he would go 
forth and ask of the true believers and say, " such a one and such a one 
came to me ; now do ye know whether the Apostle of God passed judgment* 
on such a case ?" Then sometimes a number of the people would gather 
round him, all of them relating a decision of the Apostle of God in such 
a matter, and he would say, " Praise be to God who hath set amongst us 



• The Commentators give various interpretations of tliis passage : the most 
probatle opinion is, that the doors spoken of, are those of the Mosque built by Mu- 
hammad at Medina and one of which opened on to his house, another on to that of 
Abu Bakr, and the like with Omar and A'li ; and the closing of all but Abu Bakr's 
door, was a secret allusion to his succession to the Caliphate. 
6 



[ 42 ] 

those *ho bear in mind traditions from the prophet." But if it em- 
barassed him to discover a tradition of the Apostle of God concerning it 
he would assemble the chiefs of the people, and the chosen among them 
and consult them, and if their opinions concurred in one decision, he 
would decide accordingly. Omar used to do likewise, and when he was 
unable to find a decision in the Kuran or traditional usage, he would look 
to see if there were a judgment by Abu Bakr in such a case, and if he 
discovered that Abu Bakr had adjudged such a matter, he would decide 
according to that judgment ; otherwise, he would summon the chiefs of the 
people, and when they had concurred in a decision, he acted according to 
it. As Siddik was also the most learned of men in the genealogy of the 
Arabs, more especially that of the Kuraysh. 

Ibn Ishak records on the authority of Yakub-b-U'tbah, who had it 
from an Ansar Shaykh that Jubayr-b-Mu'tim* was amongst the most 
learned of the Kuraysh in the pedigrees of the Kuraysh and the Arabs 
in general, and he used to say, " verily I learnt genealogy from Abu Bakr 
who was one of the most learned in genealogy of the Arabs." And further, 
as Siddfk was skilled in the science of the interpretation of dreams, and 
he used to interpret dreams in the time of the prophet, and indeed Mu- 
hammad-b-Sirin says .(and he was by common consent, the first in this 
science) that Abu Bakr was, after the prophet the best interpreter of 
dreams of this nation. (Ibn Saa'd.) 

Ad Daylami records in his Musnadu'l Firdaus, and Ibn A'sakir on the 
authority of Samurah,t that the Apostle of God said " I have been com- 
mandeo. to cause dreams to be interpreted by Abu Bakr." 

Ibn Kathir says that he was one of the most eloquent of men, and 
the best preacher among them. Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar says " I have heard 
certain of the learned declare that the most eloquent preachers, among the 
Companions of the Apostle of God, were Abu Bakr as Siddik and A'li-b- 
Abi Talib;" and the saying of Omar wUl appear in the tradition of 
Sakifah.J 

* Abu Muhammad or Abu A'di Jubayr-b-Mu'tim, a Companion, of the tribe of 
Kuraysh; was converted before the Khybar Expedition and some say on the day of 
the conquest of Mecca ; died at Medina, A. H. 54 and some say 69. An Nawawi, 
T. A. 

t Abu Sa'id Abu Mujiammad or Abu A'bdu'llah Samurah-b-Jundab the Com- 
panion — foxight at Ohud and other battles, by the side of the prophet — resided at 
Basrah where he acted as governor during the absence of Ziyad b-Abihi at Kufa; died 
at Basrah 68 or 69. An Nawawi. 

} As Sa^ffah was a building in Medina belonging to the Banu Saa'd, where after 
the death of the prophet, the rival claims of the fiigitives of Mecca aid the auxiliaries 
of Medina to elect a successor were iirged with a fierceness, perilous to the common 
cause. 



[ 43 1 

He was likewise the most learned of men in ike Jmowledge of the Lord, 
and the most God-fearing of them : his utterances regarding that and 
regarding the interpretation of dreams and his preachings will all of them 
follow in a future section. Among the proofs which point to his heing 
the wisest of the Companions, is the tradition on the truce of Hudayhiyah,* 
when Omar inquired of the Apostle of God regarding that truce and said 
" why should we accept dishonor in our religion ?" and the prophet answered 
him : then he went to Abu Bakr and inquired of him regarding that which 
he had asked of the Apostle of God, and as Saddik answered him with the 
same answer as the prophet's exactly." (Al Bukhari and others.) 

He was withal, the most judicious of the Companions in counsel and 
the most perfect of them in wisdom. 

Tamam ar Kazi records in his " Fuwaid" and Ibn A'sakir from A'b- 
du'Uah-b-A'mar-b-i'l A'fis that he narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God 
say — Gabriel, came to me and said " verily God commands thee to take 
counsel of Abu Bakr." And At Tabarani and Abu Nua'ym and others, 
from Mu'ad-b-Jabal,t that when the prophet desired to send Mu'ad to 
Yaman, he took counsel of some of the Companions, among them, Abu 
Bakr, and Omar and Othman and Talhah and Az Zubayr and XJsayd-b- 
Hudhayr, and each one of the number gave his opinion : then the prophet 
said, " what dost thou think, O Mu'ad ?" {Mudd continues) I said I ap- 
prove what Abu Bakr hath spoken : the prophet exclaimed " verily the 
Lord in the heavens above willeth not that Abu Bakr should err." Ibn 
Usdmah relates this in his Musnad thus, " verily the Lord in heaven willeth 
not that Abu Bakr as Siddik should err upon earth ;" and at "Tabarani 
records in his Ausat from Sahl-b-Saa'dJ as Sai'di that the Apostle of God 
said " verily the Lord willeth not that Abu Bakr should err," (his autho- 
rities are trustworthy). 

An Nawawi says in his Tahdib, that as Siddik was one of the Com- 
panions who knew the Kuran by heart, and a number others, among them 
Ibn Kathir in his commentary, have stated the same. But the tradition 

* " According to Jellalu'ddin, says Sale, fourscore of the infidels came privatelyto 
Muhammad's camp with an intent to surprise some of his men, but were taken and 
brought before the prophet who pardoned them and ordered them to be set at liberty, 
and this generous action was the occasion of the truce struck up by the Kuraysh with 
Muhammad." 

t Of the tribe of Khazraj, a native of Medina and one of the Companions, died 
A. H. 18 (A. D. 639) aged thirty-three (and some say, thirty-four, and thirty-eight) 
of the plague at Bmaus. An Nawawi. 

% Abu'l Abbas or Yahya Sahl-b-Saa'd one of the Companions and a native of 
Medina; delivered 188 traditions, died at Medina A. H. 88 (A. D. 707). His name was 
ipiuzn and he was called Sahl by the prophet to avoid the ill-omen of its meaning. 
Huzn signifying « grief," and " Sahl," " easy"— "faeUe." An Nawawi, T. A. 



[ 44 ] 

of Anas wMcTi, says " Four persons collected the Kuran in the time of the 
Apostle of God," means, four among the auxiliaries, as he has explained 
in his work Al Ittkan ;* hut what Ibn Abi Daulid says, on the authority 
of as Shaa'bi, viz., that Abu Bakr died and the Kuran was not collected, 
is either to be rejected or interpreted to mean, its collection into a book 
according to the arrangement adopted by Othman. 



On his heing the most eminent of the Companions and the most virtuous. 

The Sunnis are agreed that the most eminent of men, after the Apostle 
of God were, Abu Bakr, then Omar, then Othman, then A'li, then the rest 
of the ten,t then the rest of those engaged at Badr, then the rest of 
those engaged at Ohud ; then the rest of the people of the Covenant, J 
then the rest of the Companions. Abu Man§ur al Baghdadi§ relates this 
as a fkct upon -which all are agreed. 

Al Bukhari narrates on the authority of Ibn Omar that he said, 
" we were making a choice among men in the time of the Apostle of God, 
and we preferred Abu Bakr, then Omar, then Othman ;" and at Tabarani 
adds in the " Kabir" " and the prophet knew of this and did not disap- 
prove it." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn Omar, that he said, 
" we (and among us was the Apostle of God) gave the preference first to 
Abu Bakr, then to Omar, then to Othman, then to A'li ;" and from Abu 
Hurayrah, " we, a gathering of the Companions of the Apostle of God, 
being a considerable number together, said the most distinguished of 
this people after their prophet, are Abu Bakr, then Omar then Othman — 
then we were silent." 

t Called Xj-i*** ^jA* or tlie ten to whom joyful tidings are given. See note, 
page 25. 

i Those whom he called together al Hudayhiyah and who swore to he faithful 
to him till death. 

§ Abu Man?tir A'bdu'l Kahir a native of Baghdad, a dogmatic theologian of the 
Shafi'i school, well acquainted with general literature and versed in a numher of 
other sciences particularly arithmetic ; a book of his on the latter bears the name of 
at Takmila, He was likewise skilled in the law of inheritance and composed poetry, 
died at Isfardin A. H. 429, (A. D. 1037-8) and was interred by the grave of his 
master Abu Ish&k, Ibn Khali. 



C 4,5 ] 

At Tirmidi records from Jabir-b-A'bdu'Uah* that Omar said to Abu 
Bakr " O best of men after the Apostle of God," and Abu Bakr replied — 
nay, thou if thou speakest thus, then verily, I have heard the prophet say 
" the sun hath never risen upon a man better than Omar." And al 
Bukhari from A'li-b-Abi Talib, " I said to my father^who among men is 
the best after the Apostle of God ?" He replied " Abu Bakr." I said 
'■' who after him," he replied " Omar," and I feared lest he should say 
Othman. I continued " then thou." He answered " I am nothing but one 
among the true believers." And Ahmad and others from A'li, " the best 
of this people after its prophet is Abu Bakr and then Omar." Ad Dahabi 
says " this hath come down in regular transmission from A'li, therefore 
may God curse the hereticsf how ignorant are they !" 

At Tirmidi and al Hakim record on the authority of Omar-b-u'l 
Khattab that he said, " Abu Bakr is our chief and the most excellent of us, 
and the most beloved among us of the Apostle of God." And Ibn A'sa- 
kir from Abdu'r EahmanJ-b-Abi Layla, that Omar ascended the pulpit 
and said, " know that the most eminent of this people after its prophet is 
Abu Bakr, and whosoever speaketh otherwise is a slanderer : upon him 
be the retribution that overtaketh the slanderer," and that A'li said, " let 
not any one prefer me in merit to Abu Bakr or Omar, or I shaU scourge 
him according to the punishment of the law for the slanderer." 

Abdu'r Eahman-b-Hamid in his Musnad, and Abu Nua'ym and others, 
record with different authorities from Abu'd Darda, that the Apostle of 
God said, " The sun hath never risen and hath never gone down upon one 
more eminent than Abu Bakr, save he were a prophet ;" and in another 
reading " upon one of the true believers, after the prophets and Apostles, 
more eminent than Abu Bakr." And the same from the tradition of Jabir 
with the reading " The sun hath never risen upon one amongst you more 
eminent than he." At Tabarani and others record this and it has evi- 
dences from other sources which determine its accuracy or trustworthiness 
and indeed Ibn Kathir hath pointed out its absolute authenticity. 



* Atu A'bdu'llah Jabir-b-A'tdi'llali as Salami-al Ans&i, emtraoed Isldm one 
year before tbe first pact, made with. Muhammad al Akaha (Abul Feda, Tom 1, page 
Sa) and -was present at the second; died A. H. 78 (A. D. 697-8) aged ninety-four 
years. De Slane, I. K. 

t The Shiahs and such as maintain the pre-eminence of Ali over his three 
predecessors. 

% Abu I'sa A'bdu'r Eahman one of the principal Tabi'is bom at Kufah where his 
father had settled,6 years before Omar'a death. He died A. H. 83. An Nawawi. 



[ 46 1 

At Tabarani records from Salimah-b-u'l A'kwaa'* that the Apostle 
of God said " Abu Bakr as Siddik is the most eminent of men, save it be 
a prophet ;" and in his Ausat from Saa'd-b-Zurarah, that the Apostle of 
God said, " The holy spirit Gabriel announced to me, — " the best of thy 
people after thee is Abu Bakr." 

And the twp Shaykhs from A'mr-b-u'l A'as, " I said ' Apostle of 
God, who among mankind is the most beloved by thee ?" He replied 
"Ayesha." I said "among men?" "Her father." I sai4 " then who ?" 
lie replied. " Then Omar-b-u'l Khattab." This tradition without the 
"then Omar" has come down in the narrative of Anas and Ibn Omar and 
Ibn A'bbds. 

At Tirmidi, an JSTasaijf and al Hdkim record on the authority of 
A'bdu'Uah-b-Shakii; that he narrates, " I said to Ayesha— which of the Com- 
panions of the Apostle of God was most beloved by him ?" She answered 
"Abu Bakr." I said " which next ?" She replied " Then Omar" I said 
" which next ?" She answered Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah." And at Tir- 
midi from Anas, that the Apostle of God said of Abu Bakr and Omar, 
" These are the chief of the adult dwellers in paradise, of those who have 
been the first and of those who will be the last, save they be prophets and 
Apostles," J 

At Taibarani records in his Ausat on the authority of A'mmar-b- 
Tasir§ that he said, " whosoever giveth precedence to any one of the 
Companions of the Apostle of God over Abu Bakr and Omar, verily he 
putteth a slight upon the Fugitives and Auxiliaries." And Ibn Sa'id on 



* Salimah-b-u'l A'kwaa', one of tlie CompanionB. He swore allegiance to Muham- 
mad on tlie day of Hudaybiyah and aooompanied him in seven of his expeditions. 
He used to reside at Medina, but on the death of Omar, lie left it for Eabadah and 
returned to Medina a few days before his death, A. H. 74 (693J at the age of 80. An 
Nawawi. 

t The Hafidh, Abu A'bdu'r Eahmfin, chief traditionist of his age and author of 
a Sunan or collection of traditions, was an inhabitant of old Cairo. He was a great 
advocate of the rights of A'U and was maltreated by the mob on that account, under 
the effects of which he died A. H. 303, (A. D. 916). Bom at Nasa n city of Khora- 
bSxl a. H. 214-5. (A. D. 829-30). He composed a work called the Al Khasiis (cha- 
racteristics) on the merits of AU. Ibn KhaU. 

X The Muhammadan doctors place the Apostles higher in degree than the prophete. 
The two words cU'y'jjV " prophet apostle," are employed only for those who bear 
the double character. By the latter they signify, one whose divine mission is testified 
to by a sacred hook whereas the prophetical office alone is not always so distinguished. 
The Prophet Apostles are four, Moses, David, Jesus, Muhammad. 

§ One of the Companions, who fell in the battle fought (A, H. 37) between A'li 
and Mu'fiwiyah at Siffi'n. Ibn Khali. 



[ 47 ] 

the authority of az Zubri,* that the Apostle of God said to Hassfin-b- 
Thabit. " Hast thou said anything in verse of Abu Bakr ?" He answered 
" yes." Then he said " speak and I will listen," and he repeated this 
verse — 

" The second of the two in the glorious cave and verily 
The enemy went round about it when they ascended the mountain 
And verily they knew that he was the beloved of the Apostle of 

God: 
Who held no one his equal among the people." 
and the Apostle of God laughed so that his back teeth were visible, and 
said, " thou hast spoken truly, Hassan, he is as thou sayest." 

Ahmad and at Tirmidi record from Anasf-b- Malik that the Apostle of 
God said, " The most compassionate of my people unto my people is 
Abu Bakr, and the most zealous of them-in upholding the commands of 
God, Omar, and the most truly modest among them, Othman, and the 
most learned of them in things lawful and unlawful Mu'ad-b-Jabal, and 
the most skilled in the law of inheritance, Zayd-b-Thabit,J and the most 
learned of them in theKuran Ubayy-b-Kaa'b,§ and in every people, there is 
one that is confided in, and the trusted one of this people is Abu U'baydah- 
b-u'l Jarrah." Abu Ya'la has taken this from the tradition of Ibn Omar 
and added to it " and the best of them in adjudication, A'li." Ad Daylami 
quotes this in his Musnad u'l Firdaus from the tradition of Shaddad-b-Aus 

* Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Shihfib of the Kurayah, one of the most eminent of 
the Tabi'is, jurisconsults and traditioniats of Medina. He saw ten of Muliammad's 
Companions. He was made Kadhi by Yazid-b-Abdi'l Malik and died A. H. 124 
(A. D. 742) at the age of seventy-two or three. Ibn Khali. 

t Abu Hamzah, Anas-b-MaUk surnamed "the servant of God's Apostle." 
*Jj Uy»j /« jl^ was one of the most eminent of the Companions. At his mother's 
request Muhammad prayed for his spiritual and temporal prosperity, through which the 
riches of Anas multiplied, his date trees bore fruit twice a year and he was the father 
of 78 sons ; he was 10 years in his master's service and on his death removed to Basrah. 
He died A. H. 93 (A. D. 711-2). De Slane, I. K. 

X Abu Sa'id-Zayd-b-Thabit a Companion and native of Medina. He was Mu- 
hammad's Secretary and used to commit his dictation of the Kurdn to writing and 
carried on his master's ordinary, correspondence and afterwards acted in the same capa- 
city under Abu Bakr and Omar. He was one of the three to whom Abu Bakr com- 
mitted the task of collecting the !Kuran. He was celebrated for his knowledge of the 
law of inheritance among other subjects and had the charge of the public treasury in 
the Caliphate of Othm£n. He died at Medina A. H. 64. An Nawawi. 

§ One of the Companions, present at the second pact of al A'kabah ; fought at 
Badr and other engagements. Muhammad recited to him the 98th Sura of the Kuran 
as he said, at the express divine command, an honour which no other Companion shared 
with him : died at Medina before A. H. 30 in the Caliphate of Othmdn. An Nawawi, 
T. A. 



[ 48 ] 

and added " and Abu Darr,* the most devout of my people and the most 
sincere, and Abu'd Darda, the most pious of my people, and the most God- 
fearing and Mu'awiyah-b-Abi Sufyan, the most benign of my people and 
the most munificent." And verily my most erudite master Al Kafijif was 
asked whether these characteristics were at variance with those before 
given, and he replied that there was no contradiction. 



On what has been revealed in the verses of the Kurdn in Ms praise and his 
witnessing to the truth and other matters regarding him. 

Know, that I have seen a work of a certain author on the names of 
those regarding whom there hath been a revelation in the Kur4n, but in- 
accurate and incomplete and, I therefore myself composed a work on that 
sutject, comprehensive, exhaustive and accurate and I extract from it here, 
whatever refers to As Siddik. 

The Lord said, " The second of the two when they two were in the 
cave : when he said unto his Companion, "be not grieved for God is with 
us. And God sent down his security upon him." (Kur. e. ix.) The true 
believers are agreed that the Companion mentioned is Abu Bakr, and there 
will appear a tradition from him on this subject. 

Ibn Abi Hatim records from Ibn A'bbas concerning the divine words 
" and God sent down his security upon him," that he said, " that is, upon 
Abu Bakr, for as to the prophet, the security never ceased to be with him." 
And from Ibn Masa'lid,J that Abu Bakr purchased Bilal§ from Umayyah- 
b-Khalaf and Ubayy-b-Khalaf, for a cloak and ten pieces of money and he 
set him free for the sake of God : then God revealed. " By the night 
when it coverefch" (Kur XCII) to the words " verily your endeavour is 
different" that is the endeavour of Abu Bakr and Umayyah and Ubayy. 

Ibn Jarir records from A'amir-b-A'bdu'Uah-b-iz Zubayr that Abu 
Bakr used to give manumission in Mecca to slaves of the true faith, and thus 

* Jundub-'b-Junadah Abu Darr Ali Gtaffari, one of the Companions of an ascetic 
life and one of the earliest converts. There is much variance of opinion regarding his 
real name. He died at Babadah a village three imles from Medina A. H. 32. For 
particulars of his life consult Ibn Hajr, and an Naw. 

t This name is written Kafiaji by by Meursinge. See Introduction. 

% A'bdu'Uah-b-Masa'M-b-Ghafll. A eminent Companion and one of the Fugitives 
both to Abyssinia and Medina and a trusty confidant of Muhammad's whom he 
accompanied on all his expeditions. Some say he died at Kufah, others, at Medina 
about A. H. 32, being a little more than sixty years of age. An Nawawi. 

§ Muhammad's Abyssinian caller to prayer. 



[ 49 J 

he used to set free old women and other women when they embraced Islam 
and his father said to him, " O.my son, I see that thou freest weak women, 
but if thou wert to free strong men, they would stand by thee and protect 
thee, and repel Tiarm from thee." He replied, " father I desire the 
things which are of God." He adds " I was told by some of my family 
that this verse was revealed concerning him " now who is obedient and 
feareth God" (Kur XCII)— to the end. 

Ibn Abi Hatim and at Tabarani record from U'rwah that Abu Bakr 
freed seven slaves, all of whom had suffered persecution for the sake of 
God and regarding him was revealed, " but he who strictly bewareth idolatrif 
and rebellion shall he removed, far from the same" to the end of the Sura 
(Kur. XCII). Al Bazzar records from A'bdu'llah-b-u'z-Zubayr, that this 
verse, " by whom no benefit is bestowed on any that it may be recompens- 
ed," to the end, (Kur. XCII) was revealed concerning Abu Bakr;. and al 
Bukhari records from Ayesha that Abu Bakr never violated an oath until 
God revealed the atonement for an oath violated (Kur. V). 

Al Bazzar and Ibn A'sakir record from Usayd-b-Safwan (who enjoyed 
the Companionship of the prophet) that A'li said, " and he who brought the 
truth was Muhammad and Abu Bakr as Siddik testified to him." Ibn 
A'sakir says, " this is the tradition regarding this reading but perhaps it is 
a reading of A'li's.* 

Al Hakim records from Ibn A'bbas regarding the words of God, 
" and consult them in the affair" (Kur. III.), that they were revealed con- 
cerning Abu Bakr and Omar. And Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn Shaudab 
that the verse " but for him who dreadeth the tribunal of his Lord are 
prepared two gardens," (Kur. LV), was revealed regarding Abu Bakr, and 
there are other ascriptions which 1 have mentioned in the Eeasons of 
Revelation. 

At Tabarani records in his Ausat from Ibn Omar and Ibn A'bbas that 
the divine words " and the good man among the faithful" (Kur. LXVI) 
were revealed concerning Abu Bakr and Omar. And A'bdu'Uah-b-Abi 
Hamid in his Commentary, from Mujahid,t that when " verily God and 
his angels bless the prophet" (Kur. XXXIII) was revealed, Abu Bakr said, 
" O Apostle of God ! God hath never revealed to thee a blessing but he 
hath included me in it." Then was revealed this verse " it is he who 
is gracious to you and his angels intercede for i/ou." (Kur. XXXIII.) 

* That is with the words " ti'l Hakk." The -word in the Kuraa is " Sid^" and 
not " n3.^kk"—^J0^J ^JiJ^Jb *U. i^^\ Kur. XXXIX. 

t The oelehrated Imam and Tabi'i Ahu'l Hajjaj Mujahid-b-Jubayr, was a doctor 
of high authority on jurisprudence and Kuranic interpretation. A'bdu'llah-h-Omar 
(espected him to such a degree that he held his stirrup when he mounted on horse- 
hack, died A. H. 101, (A. D. 719-20). De Slane I. K. 
7 



[ 50 ] 

Ibn A'sakir records from 'Ali-b-u'l Husayn, that the following verse 
was revealed regarding Abu Bakr, Omar and A'li, " and we will remove aU 
grudges from their breasts ; they shall he as brethren sitting over against 
one another on couches" (Kur. XV) ; and from Ibn A'bbas, that, " we have 
commanded man to show kindness to his parents" down to the words "this 
is a true promise which they are promised in this world" (Kur. XL VI) 
was revealed regarding Abu Bakr as Siddik; and from Ibn TJ'aynah,* 
that God had chided all the true believers through the Apostle of God, 
except Abu Bakr alone who had escaped from the reproach : and he recites 
the words "if ye assist not the prophet, verily God will assist him as He 
assisted him formerly when the unbelievers drove him out of Mecca, the 
second of the two when they two were in the cave." (Kur. IX). 



On the traditions handed doim regarding his merit covpled with that of 
Omar over and above what has preceded. 

The two Shaykhs record from Abu Hurayrah that he said, " I heard 
the Apostle of God say, " whilst a shepherd was in the midst of his flock, 
a wolf rushed upon it and carried off from it a sheep and the shepherd pm-- 
sued it. The wolf turned to him and said " who will he a protector to it 
on the day of resurrection ? — the day when there will be no other shep- 
herd than myself ;"t and as a man was driving an ox which he had laden, 
it turned to him and spake and said "verily I was not created for this, but 
I was created for tillage" and the people cried out. " Good God, that 
an ox should talk !" The prophet said, "I believe in it and likewise do 
Abu Bakr and Omar ;" and Abu Bakr and Omar were not there, that is, 
they were not present in the assembly, but he bore witness for them both 
as to their belief in it, because of his knowledge of the perfection of their 
faith." 

At Tirmidi records from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, that the Apostle of 
God said, " there was never a prophet but he had two ministers from the 
dwellers in heaven, and two ministers from among the dwellers on earth, 

* Atu Muhammad Sufyan b-tT'aynah, bom at Kufah A. H. 107 and "taken by his 
father to Mecca where he died A. H. 198 (814 A. D.) He was an Imam of learning, 
piety and of a mortified Hfe, distinguished for the exactitude of the traditions which 
he handed down. Ibn Khali. 

t " Saba' " in Yakit (Mua'jam u'l Bnldan) is a valley in Palestine in which 
tradition says, mankind will be assembled for the judgment. This very tradition is 
quoted in proof— but it also stated that there are other interpretations— what they are 
I cannot discover. In ^ustultoi's commentary on .al Buthpi this tradition is noted 
but without explanation. Sou also Lane, ait.***. 



[ 51 ] 

and my 4iwo ministers of the dwellers in heaven, are Gabriel and Michael, 
and my two ministers of the dwellers on earth are Abu Bakr and Omar." 
The Traditionists and others record from Sa'id-b-Zayd, " I heard the 
Apostle of God say, " Abu Bakr shall be in paradise and Omar shall be in 
paradise, and Othman shall be in paradise and A'li shall be in paradise," 
and he mentioned the whole of the ten ;* and Al Tirmidi from Abu Sa'id 
" verily the dwellers in the lofty mansions [of pa/radise)—ih.Qj that are 
below them shall see them as ye see the stars shining in the horizon of the 
sky, and verily Abu Bakr and Omar shall be among them ;" and from 
Anas, that the Apostle of God went out to his Companions, of the Fugi- 
tives and Auxiliaries, and there were seated among them Abu Bakr and 
Omar, but none of them raised his eyes to him except Abu Bakr and Omar, 
and they remained gazing upon him and he upon them, and smiling upon 
him and he upon them. 

Al Tirmidi and al Hakim record from Ibn Omar that the Apostle of 
God went forth one day and entered the mosque, with Abu Bakr and Omar, 
one of them upon his right hand and the other upon his left, and he held 
their hands and said, " thus shall we arise on the day of judgment ;" and at 
Tirmidi from Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God said, " I shall be the first 
from whom the earth shall be rent asunder, then Abu Bakr and then 
Omar ;" and he and al Hakim record, confirming it on the authority of 
Ibn Handhalah that the prophet looked upon Abu Bakr and Omar and 
said, " these are my hearing and my sight." 

Al Bazzar, and al Hakim record from Abu Arwa ad Dausi,t that he 
said, " I was with the prophet when Abu Bakr and Omar approached and 
he said " praise be to God whg hath strengthened me with ye two." And 
Abu Ta'la from A'mmar-b-Tasir, that the Apostle of God said, " a little 
while ago, Gabriel came to me and I said " O Gabriel, recount unto me 
the merits of Omar b-u'l Khattab," and he answered " if I were to relate 
to thee the merits of Omar, the narration of his merits would not be 
ended during the period in which Noah tarried with his people, for verily 
Omar is a good work amongst the good works of Abu Bakr ;" and Ahmad 
from A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Ghanam, that the Apostle of God said to Abu 
Bakr and Omar " if you were agreed upon a counsel, I would not oppose 
you." 

* See page 25. Note t 

t Ibn Hajr can give no account of this person beyond the mention, of one or two 
traditions (including this with a slightly different reading) on his authority. Hia 
name and genealogy are unknown — he is supposed to have been present with the 
prophet at the affair of " IJ^arifeLarat u'l Kudr" and_ died at the close of Mu'awiyah's 
reign. 



[ 52 ] 

Ibn Saa'd relates on the authority of Iba Omar that he was asked 
who used to give decisions in the time of the Apostle of God, and he replied, 
" Abu Bakr and Omar, and I know of no others besides those two ;" and 
from Abu'l Kasim-b-Muhammad, that Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and A'li 
used to decide cases in the time of the Apostle of God ; and at Tabarani, 
from Ibn Masa'ud that the Apostle of God said, " every prophet hath a 
chosen one among his people, and verily my elect from among my Com- 
panions, are Abu Bakr and Omar;" and Ibn A' sakir from A'li that the 
Apostle of God said, " may God have mercy upoin Abu Bakr who hath 
given me his daughter in marriage, and bore me to the city of refuge 
(Medina) and gave freedom to Bilal — may God have mercy upon Omar 
who ever speaketh the truth though it be bitter, for the speaking of the 
truth hath left him without a friend — may God have mercy upon Othmaa 
before whom the angels are abashed — may God have mercy upon A'li — 
O God encompass him with the truth whithersoever he goeth." 

And at Tabarani records from Sahl that when the prophet returned 
from his last pilgrimage, he ascended the pulpit and blessed God and 
glorified Him and said; ' people,' verily Abu Bakr hath never done me a 
wrong, therefore know this of him. people, verily I am content with 
him and with Omar and Othman and A'li and Talhah and az Zubayr and 
Saa'd and Abdu'r E.ahman-b-A'uf,* and the First FugitiveSjf know this 
of them." 

A'bdu'Uah b-Ahmad records in the " Zawaid u'z Zuhd" from Ibn Abi 
Hazim, that a man came to A'li-b-u'l Husayn and said, " what place did 
Abu !Pakr and Omar hold near the Apostle of God ?" He replied " that 
which they hold at this moment." And Ibn Saa'd from Bistam-b-Muslim^ 
that the Apostle of God said to Abu Bakr and Omar, " no one shall have 
authority over you two after me ;" and Ibn A'sakir, a tradition relat- 
ing direct to the prophet through Anas, " love towards Abu Bakr and 
Omar is faith, hatred towards them is infidelity ;" and from Ibn Masa'ud, 
" love towards Abu Bakr and Omar and a knowledge of them is an in- 
junction of the law :" and from Anas, direct from the prophet, " verily I 
hope for the same henefit to my people, by their pro/essio» of love towards 
Abu Bakr and Omar, that I hope for them by their profession of faith 
" there is no God but God." 



•• Abu Muhammad A'bdu'r Eahman b-A'uf of the ^nraysh a native of Medina, 
one of the ten to whom paradise was assured, died A. H. 32, aged 72. An Nawawi. 

+ The first fugitives to Abyssinia who were driven by the persecution of the 
^uraysh to seek shelter with the king (Naj&hi) of that country. There were eleven 
in number, and four of them were.aooompanied by their wives. See Muir's Life of Mu- 
I^ammad, Vol. II, p. 133. 



[ 53 ] 

On tJie traditions handed down referring exclusively to his merit, over and 
above what has preceded. 

The two Shaykhs record on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he 
said, " I heard the Apostle of God say," he who repeatedly* giv:eth of the 
things that are his, for the sake of God, shall be summoned through the 
gates of paradise in these words : " ' servant of God, this is goodi for thee 
to enter ly," and he who is of those who pray, shall be summoned through 
the Gate of Prayer, and he who is of those who have fought for the faith, 
shall be summoned through the Gate of Religious War, and he who is of 
those who give in alms, shall be summoned through the Gate of Alms, and 
he who is of those who fast shall be summoned through the Gate of Fast- 
ing — that is\ the Gate of Satiety." Then Abu Bakr said, " it cannot be 
necessary that one should be summoned though these gates — shall, then,, 
one be summoned through them all?" And he answered, " yes, and I hope, 
.that thou wilt be among them, Abu Bakr ;" and Ibn DauM and al Hakim 
from A^u Hurayrah that the Apostle of God said, " but thou, Abu Bakr, 
shall be the first of my people to enter paradise ;" and the two Shaykhs 
from Abu Sa'id that the Apostle of God said, " he who hath laid me under 
the greatest obligation of all men both with his person and his goods, is 
Abu Bakr, and if I were to take a friend other than my Lord, I would 
surely take Abu Bakr, but the brotherhood of the faith is sufficient." 

Al Bukhari records on the authority of Abu'd Darda that he said, " I 
was sitting with the prophet when there came forward Abu Bakr, and greeted, 
him and said, " verily a dispute arose between me and Omar and I was hasty 
with him, but afterwards I repented and besought him to forgive me, but 
he refused, wherefore I have come to thee," and he said " May God have 
mercy upon thee, O Abu Bakr" three times. Afterwards, verily Omar 
repented and went to the house of Abu Bakr, but found him not, and he 
hastened to the prophet and the face of the prophet became flushed with 
wrath so that Abu Bakr was afraid, and he fell upon his knees and said 
twice, " Apostle of God, I was more intemperate than he." The prophet 
exclaimed to the bystanders " verily, the Lord sent me unto you as a pro- 
phet, and you said, " thou liest," and Abu Bakr said, " thou hast spoken 
truly," and he comforted me with the service of his person and his goods ; 
then will ye not leave me to me my Companion?" this he said twice and 

• My authorities for this sense of tlie word ^ji^jj are Turbushti and Tibi, see 
the Commentary of Kustulani on this tradition.. 

t The MS. omits. " the Gate of Fasting." The printed text is correct here : the 
words /•(Ji«aJ| us^ y* being in al Bukhari — where it ia explained as I have translated 
it. ' 



[ 54 ] 

after that he was troubled no more." Ibn A'di records a similar account 
from the tradition of Ibn Omar in which is the following, " the Apostle of 
God said," afflict me not in my Companion, for verily the Lord sent me as 
as a guide unto salvation and the true faith and you said, " thou hast lied," 
and Abu Bakr said, " thou hast spoken truly," and had it not been that the 
Lord had named him " Companion," verily I would have taken him as an 
intimate friend but the brotherhood of Islam is sufficient." And Ibn 
A'sakir from al Mikdam* that A'kilf the son of Abu Talib, and Abu Bakr 
were reviling each other and he adds that Abu Bakr used to be a great 
reviler as well as a great genealogist but that he had learned courtesy of 
manner' from his Companionship with the prophet and he turned away from 
A'kil and complained to the prophet, and the Apostle of God rose up before 
the people and said, " will ye not leave unto me my Companion, what is your 
worth, and his ? By Allah there is not a man among you, but darkness is 
upon the door of his house, save the door of Abu Bakr, and verily upon 
his door, there is light — and by Allah, verily ye said to me, " thou hast lied," 
and Abu Bakr said " thou hast spoken truly," and ye withheld your pos- 
sessions, but he gave unto me that which he had, and ye reviled me, but 
he. cherished me and followed me." And al Bukhari from Ibn Omar that 
the Apostle of God said, " he who traileth his garments haughtily, the 
Lord will not look upon him on the day of judgment," and Abu Bakr said 
" should either of the two sides of my garment trail loosely, must I be 
careful of that ?" The Apostle of God replied " thou art not he who doeth 
that >in pride." And Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, that the Apostle 
of God said, '' who among you hath begun the day fasting ?" And Abu 
Bakr replied " I have ;" then he said " who among you hath fed the poor 
to-day?" Abu Bakr replied "I;" then he said, "who among you, hath 
visited the sick to-day," and Abu Bakr replied " I ;" then the Apostle of 
God said " these things shall not come together in a man, but he shall 
enter paradise." Verily this tradition hath been handed down through the 
narration of Anas-b-Malik and Abdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakr, andj has 

mentioned this tradition of Anas and at the end of it " paradise shaU 
surely be thy portion." And al Bazzdr records the tradition of A'bdu'r 

* Al Mikdam-b-Ma'di Karib, one of the Companions— he resided at Emessa, and 
related forty-seven traditions regarding his master, died in Syria A. H. 87 at the 
age of 91. An Nawawi. 

t Ahu Yazid or Abu Isa the 2nd son of Abu Talib ; he fought unwilUngly on the 
side of the infidels al Badr, and was taken prisoner and was converted before Huday- 
biyah. He was a, distinguished genealogist. He was quick in repartee says an 
Nawawi, and generally silenced his antagonist. He died in the Caliphate of Mu'a- 
wiyah, having lost his sight — and was buried at al Bakii' the cemetery at Medina. 

J The MS. has here a blank and the printed text does not supply the omission. 



[ 55 ] 

Rahman and its words are these, " the Apostle of God read the praj^ers in 
the morning : then he turned to his Companions and said " who, among you, 
hath begun the day fasting ?" Omar replied ' ! Apostle of God, I did 
not purpose to myself, during the past night, to fast, thus I have become 
this morning as one who hath broken his fast,"* and Abu Bakr said 
" but I purposed to myself during the night to fast, and thus I have 
risen fasting." Then the prophet said " Hath any among you visited 
the sick to-day ?" and Omar replied, " Apostle of God, we have not 
gone forth from here, how then can we have visited the sick ?" but Abu 
Bakr said '■ I heard that my brotherf A'bdu'r Rahman-b-A'uf was sick and 
I went round that way to him, to see how he was this morning." Then 
he said " hath any one among you fed the poor to-day ?" and Omar 
replied " we have been praying, Apostle of God, and have not gone 
forth," but Abu Bakr said, " I entered the mosque when, behold ! there 
came a beggar, and I found a piece of barley bread in the hand of Abdu'r 
Rahman and I took it and gave it to him," and he said, " Eejoice with 
the good tidings of paradise ;" then he spoke a word which comforted 
Omar, and Omar knew that he should never purpose to do a good work 
but Abu Bakr would be before him in it." 

Abu Ya'la records from Ibn Masa'iid, that he said " I was in the 
mosque praying when there entered the Apostle of God, and with him 
Abu Bakr and Omar and he found me praying and he said, " ask — it shall be 
granted unto you," then he said " whosoever wishes to read the Kuran in 
a fresh and joyous manner, let him read it with the reading of the son of 
Umm A'bd." J Then I returned to my house and i(j^u Baki: came to me and 
gave me the good tidings regarding what the prophet had said ; then caine 
Omar and he found Abu Bakr going forth, having already been before him 
and he said " verily thou art the foremost in good." Ahmad records on good 
authority from Eabii'h-u'l Aslami,§ that he said, " a disputation arose 
between me and Abu Bakr, when he said to me a word which I disliked, 
and he repented and said to me, " Eabii'h return it to me likewise, so 
that there may be retaliation." I replied " I shall not do so." He answered 
" Thou shalt say it or I shall call up against thee, the Apostle of God." 

* The mere act of atstaining from food during tlie day, does not constitute a fast 
religiously speaking. Tlie intention to fast, must precede the abstention to make it 
efficacious. During the long fast of the Eamadhan the intention is pre-supposed and 
need not be daily renewed. 

t The term brother is, aa is weU-kuown, applied lo all of a tribe indisoriminately 
without reference to consanguinity. 

t The mother of Ibn Masa'ud. 

§ Eabii'h-b-Kaa'b-b-Malik al Aslami Hijazi, one of the Companions, settled at 
Medina and died at Harrah in A. H. 63. Ibn Hajr. 



[ 56 ] 

I said, "I will -not do so," and Abu Bakr departed and there came 
some men of the tribe of Aslam and they said to me, " may Grod have mercy 
upon Abu Bakr ! for what reason hath he called up against thee the pro- 
phet, he being the one that hath said to 'thee what he hath said ?" And I 
replied, " know ye not who is Abu Bakr as Siddik ? he is the " second of 
the two" — and he is the grey beard of the Muslims — look to yourselves , 
that he turn not and see ye abetting me against him, lest he be angered 
and the Apostle of God come and be wroth on account of his anger, and 
the Lord be wrathful on account of the anger of those two, and Rabii'h 
perish ;" and Abu Bakr departed and I followed him alone until he came 
to the Apostle of God and he related to him the story as it occurred : then 
the prophet lifted up his head towards me and said," Eabii'h, what hath 
happened between thee and as Siddik ?" I replied, " O Apostle of God 
such and suoh a thing happened and he said to me a word which I disliked, 
then he said to me, " speak to me as I have spoken, so that there may be 
a retaliation," and I refused." Then the Apostle of God said " good, do 
not return it, but say ' the Lord have mercy upon thee, O Abu Bakr :' " then 
I said "the Lord have mercy upon thee O Abu Bakr." 

Al Tirmidi records and approves a tradition on the authority of Ibn 
Omar, that the Apostle of God said to Abu Bakr " Thou shalt be my 
Companion at the Pool,* as thou wert my Companion in the Cave ; and 
A'bdu'llah-b- Ahmad from Ibn A'bbas,tthat the Apostle of God said, " Abu 
Bakr was my Companion and my Comforter in the cave ;" and al Bayhaki 
from HudayfahJ that the Apostle of God said " verily there is a bird in 
paradise whose flesh taffeth like that o/Bactrian Camels ;" Abu Bakr said, 
"it is then delicate of flavour, O Apostle of God" — he replied, " he who 
eateth of them shall enjoy them and thou shalt be of those who shall eat 
of them :" and Abu Ya'la from Abu Hurayrah, that the Apostle of God 
said, " I was borne towards the heavens, and I passed no heaven, but I 
found therein my name, Muhammad the Apostle of God and Abu Bakr 
as Siddik as my vicegerent." Its authorities are weak, but the same has 
been handed down in the tradition of Ibn A'bbas, Ibn Omar, Anas, Abu 

* Salsata, the fountain in paradise where the prophet is believed to give drink ta 
the faithful who are thirsty. 

t These words " from Ibn Abbas'" are omitted in the printed edition but suppKed 
by the MS. 

t Abu A'bdu'Uah Hudayfah-b-u'l Tamdn. He and his father were both at the 
battle of Ohud when his father was accidentally killed by his own side. He was 
much trusted by Muhammad and employed on secret and important negotiatioua. He 
was engaged in the campaign of Nahawand and commanded the troops at the capture 
of Hamaddn, Eay and Dinawar. Omai made him governor of Madain where he died, 
in A. H. 36, forty days after the assassination of Omur. An Nawawi, T. A. 



[ 57 1 

Sa'id and Abu' d Darda with weak ascriptions, but supporting each other 
reciprocally. 

Abu Abi Hatim and Abu J^ua'ym record on the authority of Sa'id-b- 
Jubayr* that he said, " I was reading this verse before the prophet — " Oh 
thou soul which art at rest," (Kur. LXXXIX), when Abu Bakr said " O 
Apostle of God surely this is a good saying,'" and the Apostle of God 
replied, " yea, verily, the angel shall say it to thee at the time of thy death." 
And Ibn Abi Hatim from A'amir-b-Abdi'llah-b-i'z Zubayr that he said, 
that when the verse, " and if we had commanded them, saying, slay your- 
selves," (Kur. IV) was revealed, Abu Bakr said, " Apostle of God, didst 
thou command me to slay myself, I would do so," and he replied " thou 
speakest truly." And Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, 
" the Apostle of God and his Companions went into a pool and he com- 
manded that every man should swim towards his friend;" he adds, " and every 
man swam until there were left the Apostle of God and Abu Bakr, and the 
Apostle of God swam towards Abu Bakr and embraced him and said, " were 
I to choose an intimate friend until such time as I saw the Lord face to face, 
verily I would take Abu Bakr, but he is my Companion." Wakii'f has 
followed him on the authority of A'bdu'l Jabbar-b-u'l Ward, (states Ibn 
A'sdkir,) and Abdu'l Jabbar is trustworthy, and his master, was the Imam 
Ibn Abi Mulaykah but it is irregular in transmission and narrated but by 
one authority. I remark that at Tabarani has recorded it in the " Kabir" 
and Ibn Shahin in the " Sunnat" in a different manner, but in uninter- 
rupted succession from Ibn A'bbas. IbnJ Abi'd Dunya records in the 
" Makarimu'l Akhlak," (noble qualities) and Ibn A'sakir, according to the 
ascription of Sadakah-b-Maymiin al Karashi, from Sulayman-b-Yasar,§ 

* Abu A'bdu'Uah. or Muhammad Sa'id-lD-Ju'bayr-'b-Hisham al Asadi was a black 
and a client by enfranoMsement to tbe tribe of "Waliba-b-u'l Harith. He was an emi- 
nent Tabi'i and a native of Kufab. He learnt his traditions from Ibn Omar and Ibn 
A'bbas. He was put to death by Hajjaj-b-Yusuf for his revolt against Abdu'l Malik-b- 
Marwan, and the last hours of Hajjaj were said to have been tormented by his 
victim's apparition. His death took place in A. H. 95 (A. D. 714) and was followed in 
the same year by that of his murderer. Ibn Khali. 

t Abu Sufiyan Wakii'-b-u'l Jarrah, bornatKufah A. H. 129 an eminent juris- 
consult and traditionist. He studied under Abu Hanifah and used to decide points of 
law. He made the pilgrimage 70 times and on returning from the last, he died at Fayd, 
a town midway between Mecca and Kiifah A. H. 197 (A. D. 812-3). De Slane, I. K. 

X Abu Bakr A'bdu'Uah-b-Muhammad-b-U'bayd a member by adoption, of the 
!^uraysh, and sumamed Ibn Abi' d Dunya, composed works on ascetic and other sub- 
jects, and was a traditionist. He was preceptor to some of the Abbaside family and 
one of hia pupils was al Mua'tadhid. He received a pension of fifteen dinars a month. 
Died A. H. 281, (A. D. 894). De Slane, I. K. 

§ A Tabi'i and one of the seven great jurisconsults of Medina and a traditionist 
of repute, died A. H. 103. An Nawawi. 

8 



[ 58 ] 

that the Apostle of God said, " virtuous qualities are three hundred and 
and sixty in mmber ; when God desires a good servant, he creates in him 
one of these qualities through which, he may gain admission to paradise." 
Abu Bakr said " Apostle of God is there in me one of them ?" He 
replied, " Yes, the sum of them all." And Ibn A'sakir according to 
another ascription through Sad'akah from some other, " virtuous qualities are 
three hundred and sixty ;" and Ahu Bakr said " have I any of these ?" 
He replied, " all of them are in thee, therefore I give thee joy, O Abu Bakr." 
And Ibn A'sakir, according to the ascription of Mujamma'-b-Yakiib the 
Auxiliary, from his father, who said, " there was a circle of the people 
round the Apostle of God, clustered together, so that they were as walls 
around him, but the seat of Abu Bakr among them was vacant, and no 
one among the people sought to take it, and when Abu Bakr came, he 
sat down on that seat, and the prophet turned his face towards him and 
directed to him his discourse, and the people listened. " And from Anas that 
the Apostle of God said, " the love of Abu Bakr, and gratitude towards 
him is incumbent upon every one of my people." And he records the 
same from the tradition of Sahl-b-Saa'd. And from Ayesha, direct from 
the prophet, " all men shall be judged excepting Abu Bakr." 



On what has been handed down of the sayings of the Companions and pious 
early Muslims* regarding his merit, 

Al Bukhdri records on the authority of Jabir, that Omar-b-u'l Khat- 
tab said, " Abu Bakr is our prince." And al Bayhaki in the " Shaa'b u'l 
fman'' (people of the faith) from Omar, that he said, " if the faith of Abu 
Bakr were weighed against the faith of mankind, it would surely out- 
weigh them." And Ibn Abi Khaythamah and A'bdu'llah-b- Ahmad in the 
Zawaid uz Zuhd (Profusions of Piety) from Omar that he said, " verily 
Abu Bakr was ever foremost and conspicuous — verily I would I were 
a hair on the breast of Abu Bakr" (Musaddad in his Musnad) ; and " I 
would wish to be in paradise that I might behold Abu Bakr" (Ibn Abi'd 
Dunya and Ibn A'sakir) ; and " the fragrance of Abu Bakr is sweeter than 
the fragrance of musk" (Abu Nua'ym). 

Ibn A'sakir records from A'li that he went to Abu Bakr and found 
that he was reciting the praises of God, and he said " no one shall look 

* According to Abu'l Mahdsin i-ftl-Jl is particularly applied to Ayosha, Abu 
Bakr, Omar, Othman Talliah, az Zubayr, Mu'awiyah and A'mr-b-u'l A'a? : 
Jl,«aJ| t_ftLJ| ig applied to the first chief persona of the Tiibi'is. Lane, 



[ 59 ] 

upon God, with the record of his deeds in Ms hand,* who is dearer to me 
than this praiser of the Lord." And from A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakr 
as Siddik that the Apostle of God said, " Omar, the son of al Khattab hath 
told me that he never attempted to precede Abu Bakr in a goOd deed, but 
Abu Bakr was before him in it." And at Tabardni in his Ausat from A'li 
that he said, "by Him in whose hand is my life, I never sought to be fore- 
most in any good action, but Abu Bakr anticipated me in it," and from 
Juhayfah, that A'li said, " the best of men after the Apostle of God, are 
Abu Bakr and Omar — never shall there be joined together love of me and 
hatred towards Abu Bakr and Omar in the heart of a true believer." And 
in the " Kabir" from A'mr, that he said, " three among the Kuraysh are 
the most comely of the Kuraysh in face, the best of them in disposition, 
the most constant in heart ; if they converse with thee, they will not lie to 
thee, and if thou speakest with them, they will not give thee the lie, Abu 
Bakr as Siddik, Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah and Othman-b-A'ffan." Ibn 
Saa'd records on the authority of Ibrahimf an Nakha'i, that Abu Bakr 
was named the Compassionate on account of his benignity and clemency. 
And Ibn A'sakir from ar Eabii'-b-Anas, that it is written in the Primeval 
Eecord,J " Abu Bakr is like unto rain which wherever it falleth, it doeth 
good." Also that ar Eabii' said " I looked among the Companions of the pro- 
phet, but I found not a prophet that had a Companion like unto Abu Bakr as 
Siddik." And from Az Zuhri, " among the virtues of Abu Bakr was this, 
that he never doubted concerning God a single moment ?" And from az 
Zubayr-b-Bakkar, " I heard several of the learned say that the preachers 
among the Companions of the Apostle of God were Abu Bakr and A'li." 
And from Abu Hasin, " there was never begotten of Adam among his pro- 
geny, after the prophets and Apostles, any more eminent than Abu Bakr, 
and verily Abu Bakr on the day of Apostasy§ stood up as a prophet among 
the prophets." 

Ad Dinauri records in the " Mujalisat,"|| and Ibn A'sakir from 
as Shaa'bi, that he said, " the most pure, the most High God hath 

* It is the Muhammadan lielief that at the last day, every man shall stand before 
the judgment seat holding in his hand the record of his actions inscribed in it by 
the " Katibayn" or the two attendant angels who are with each man durino- his life. 

t Abu I'mran Ibrahim-b-Yazid an Nakha'i native of Kufah and celebrated as an 
Imam and doctor. He died A. H. 95 or 96 (A. D. 713-4) aged 49. Kakha'i is from 
Nakha' a great branch of the tribe of Madhij in Taman. Ibn Khali. 

% Called also &^=^ ■^j^ the Guarded Tablet, existing before all time in which 
is inscribed everything destined to occur. 

§ See note f, page 40. 

11 A work partly on tradition, partly historical, with extracts from poetical authors 
by Ahmad-b-Mardan ad Dinauri of the MaUki school who died A, H. 113. Ittihafu'n 
Nabala, by Sadik; Hasan Khan of Bhopal. 



t 60 ] 

distihguished Abu Bakr by four qualities, by which He hath distinguished 
none other among men : he named him ' the Witness to the Truth,' 
(as Siddik) and hath named ' The Witness to the Truth' none other besides 
him, and he was the Companion in the Cave with the Apostle of God, 
and his associate in his flight, and the Apostle of God commanded him to 
read the prayers, the Muslims being witnesses." And Ibn Abi Dauud* 
in the Kitabu'l Masabih from Abu Jaa'far, that Abu Bakr used to hear 
the secret converse of Gabriel with the prophet but did not see him. And 
al Hakim from Ibn u'l Musayyab,t that Abu Bakr stood to the prophet 
in the place of a Wazir, for he used to consult him in all his affairs, and 
he was the second to embrace Islam, and the second in the Cave and 
the second in the shed on the day of Badr, and the second in his sepulchre, J 
and the Apostle of God never gave precedence of him to any one. 



On the tradition and the verses of the Kurdn indicative of the Caliphate 
of Ahu £ahr and the sayings of the doctors thereon. 

m 

At Tirmidi records with approval, and al Hakim likewise, confirm- 
ing it on the authority of Hudayfah that the Apostle of God said, 
" Follow these " two after me, Abu Bakr and Omar." And Abu'I 
]Kasim al Baghawi on good authority from A'bda'Uah-b-Omar, " I heard 
the Apostle of God say, ' there shall be twelve Caliphs succeeding me, 
but Abu Bakr shall tarry but a little while.' " There is unanimity 
regarding the correctness of the first part of this tradition, handed down 
in several lines of ascription, and indeed the explanation of it hath already 
gone before in the beginning of this book. In the " Sahihayn" it is stated 
regarding the preceding tradition, that when the prophet was preaching 
near upon the time of his death and said, " God hath given his servant a 
choice," and at the end of the tradition^ " there shall not remain a door 
but it shall be closed save the door of Abu Bakr," and in another reading 

* Abu Bakr A'bdu'llali-b-AM Daulid was a Hafidh of the first eminence at Bagh- 
dad, son of the great traditionist Abu Dauud. He died A. H. 316 (A. D. 928). Ibn 
Khallakan says that he composed a work called " Kitab u'l Masabih (the Book of 
Lanterns). Both the printed text and MS. have " Kitab u'l Masdhif" which must be 
an error. 

t His father's name must be pronounced Musayyab, says Ibn KhallakAn, (as 
beiag the passive participle of the verb Sayab) but it is said that Sa'id pronounced it 
Musayyib (active participle) because he had said " may God reward (sayab) him who 
pronounces my father's name Musayyib." 

X His tomb at Medina is between the tomb of the prophet and that of Omar. 

§ See p. 41. 



[ 61 ] 

of those two authorities, " there shall not remain a wicket in the mosque, 
but the wiolset of Abu Bakr," the learned assert that this was indicitive 
of his Caliphate, for he used to go forth through it to prayer with the 
Muslims." Indeed this reading has come down in the tradition of Anas 
and its words are these, " Close ye these doors leading into the mosque, 
except the door of Abu Bakr." 

The two Shaykhs record on the authority of Jubayr-b-Mu'tim that 
he said, " a woman went to the prophet, and he commanded her to come 
to him another time ; she said, ' suppose I come and find thee not ?' (as 
if she spoke of his death). He answered, ' if thou findest me not, then 
go to Abu Bakr.' " Al Hdkim records and verifies the tradition on the 
authority of Anas that he said, " the Banti Mustalik* sent me to the 
Apostle of God, saying, ' ask him — to whom must we give our poor-rate 
after his death ?' and I went to him and asked him, and he said ' unto 
Abu Bakr.' " And Ibn A'sakir from Ibn Abbas that he said, " a woman 
went to the prophet to ask something and he said to her ' come again 
another time.' She replied ' Apostle of God, if I come and find thee 
not?' (referring to his death). He said ' if thou comest and findest me 
not, then go to Abu Bakr, for verily he shall be Caliph after me.' " And 
Muslim from Ayesha, " the Apostle of God said to me in his last illness 
' call to me thy father and thy brother that I may write a testament, for, 
verily I fear lest the covetous should covet and speak, saying, " I am the 
most worthy,' but God and the true believers will reject all save Abu 
Bakr.' " And Ahmad^and others record the same from her with other 
ascriptions : according to one of them, she said, " the Apostle of God in 
his illness of which he died, said to me, ' call to me A'bdu'r Eahman the 
son of Abu Bakr, that I may write a testament in favour of Abu Bakr, so 
that none may oppose him after me ;' then he said, ' nay, leave it, God 
forbid that the true believers should be at strife regarding Abu Bakr.' " 
And Muslim from Ayesha, that she was asked whom the Apostle of God 
would have named as a successor, if he had appointed one : she replied 
"Abu Bakr." It was said to her "whom next after Abu Bakr ?" she 
answered "Omar." They said to her " whom after Omar ?" She replied 



* The Banu Mustalik (descended]' from Mustalik-t-A'mr-'b-Eal)u'-b-Kharijali) 
dwelt in the district of Kudayd, between Mecca and Medina near tKe sea coast. In 
A. H. 5, this tribe rebelled against Muhammad, but were brought to obedience by 
his marching against them in person, with Omar and defeating them. Eaudhat u's Safa. 
Mu^ammad-b-Khawand Shih. It was on his return from the expedition that Ayesha 
was by an accident, left asleep by the aide of the road and discovered next morning 
by Safwan-b-u'l Mua'ttal and brought to camp. To save her reputation was the object 
of the 24th Chapter of the Kuran. 



[ 62 ] 

" Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah." And the two Shaykhs from Abu Musa* 
al Asha'ri that he said, " the prophet fell ill and his sickness increased, 
and he said, ' command Abu Bakr to read prayers before the people.' Ayesha 
answered, ' Apostle of God, verily he is a man of soft heart : when he 
rises up iiji thy place, he will be unable to pray before the people.' Then 
he said, ' command Abu Bakr to pray before the people,' but she only 
repeated what she had said. Again he exclaimed, ' command Abu Bakr to 
pray before the people — verily ye are the mistressesf of Joseph' — and the 
Apostle went to him himself. Thus he prayed before the people during 
the lifetime of the Apostle of God."J In one of the traditions from 
Ayesha, the reading is, " I frequently returned to this subject with the 
Apostle of God and nothing induced me to this frequent recurrence, but 
that it did not come into my mind that the people would ever be satisfied 
that any man should stand in his place after him, and that I saw that no 
one would stand in his place but the people would take it as an ill omen, 
therefore I hoped that that might tm-n the Apostle of God from naming 
Abu Bakr." And in the tradition of Ibn Zama'a if is recorded, that the 
Apostle of God ordered them to read the prayers, and Abu Bakr was not 
present, but Omar came forth and prayed, then the Apostle of God cried out, 
" No — no — no — God and the Muslims will not sufEer any but Abu Bakr to 
pray before the people." And according to the tradition of Ibn Omar, 
" Omar recited the Takbir and raised his head angrily and said ' where is the 
son of Abu Kuhafah ?' " The learned say that in this tradition is the clearest 
proof that as Siddik was the most eminent of the Companions absolutely, 
and the most deserving of the Caliphate among them and the best of them 
in the ofiice of Imam. Al Asha'ri says, " it is indeed undoubtedly ascer- 
tained that the Apostle of God commanded as Siddik to pray before the 
people in the presence of the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries, by his words, 
' he shall stand as Imam before the people who is the best read of them in 
the Book of God.' This proves that he was the best read, that is the 
most learned of them in the Kuran : and verily the Companions themselves 
were convinced that he was the most deserving of the Caliphate, and among 
these was Omar (and the words of Omar will follow in the Sfection on the 
covenant of allegiance) and among them was also A'li." 

* A'bdu'llah-T3-!^flays Abu Musa al Asha'ri — such is his name given by Ibn Hajr. 
He was the arbitrator (see page 10) at Siflfin on the part of A'li, He had served as 
governor under Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and A'li, and died in A. H. 60 
(A. D. 670-1). Ibn Khali. 

t Meaning " entioers to evil." The MS. and printed edition have (y^l for {^\ 
Lane gives the tradition with lyj^l 

t Here follows a list of other authorities for this tradition which to avoid the 
tedious repetition of names, I have omitted. The few whom these could interest are 
not likely to look for them in an English translation. 



[• 63 ] 

Ibn A'sakir records on his authority that he said, " verily the prophet 
commanded Abu Bakr to pray before the people and indeed I was present, 
and I was not absent and was suffering from no illness ;* and we accepted 
for our temporal affairs what the prophet had approved for our spiritual 
concerns." The learned say that Abu Bakr was recognised for his fitness 
for the Imdmate during the time of the prophet. And Ahmad and Abu 
Dauud and others record on the authority of Sahl-b-Saa'd, that there was 
a feud in the tribe of A'mr-b-A'uf and the prophet arrived and went to 
them after midday, that he might make peace between them, and said, " 
Bilal — if the time of prayers should be at hand and I come not, then com- 
mand Abu Bakr to pray before the people ;" and when the time for after- 
noon prayers came, Bilal announced the prayers and then commanded Abu 
Bakr, and he prayed. 

Abu Bakr as Shafi'if records in the " Ghilaniyat" and Ibn A'sakir 
from HafsahJ that she said to the Apostle of God, " when thou wert ill, 
thou gavest precedence to Abu Bakr :" he replied, " It was not 1 who 
preferred him, but God who preferred him." And Ibn Saa'd from al 
Hasan, that Abu Bakr said, " Apostle of God, I never cease to see myself 
in vision treading in the courtyards of men:" he replied, " thou shalt be 
among men as a road/b/- tJiem :" he added, " and I see on my breast what 
are like unto two spots." He replied " those are two years."§ 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Abu Bakr that he said, " I 
went to Omar and there were some people engaged in eating in his pre- 
sence, and he cast his eyes upon a man, the hindmost of the number, and 
said, ' what dost thou find of events before thy time in the books thou 
readest ?' He replied ' the vicegerent of the Apostle, will be his witness 
to the truth' " (Siddik). And from Muhammad-b-u'z Zubayr, that he said, 
" Omar-b-Abdi'l A'zfz sent me to al Hasan of Basrah, to ask him concern- 

* That is to say that he was an eye-witness in the full possession of his senses. 

t Ahu Bakr Muhammad-h-A'bdu'llah-h-Ihrahiin known as al Bazzar, as Shafi'i, 
died, A. H. 354. The Grhilaniyat is a collection of traditions written from the dicta- 
tion of the author's Shaykhs. It received its name probahly from Ahu Talih Miiham- 
mad-h-Muljammad-b-Ibrahim-h-Ghilan, who taught the traditions. He died in A. H. 
404. - Ittihafu'l Nubala. 

I The daughter of Omar-h-u'l Khattab : her first hushand was Hasan-h-Hudafah 
who fought at Badr and died at Medina — she was then offered hy her father to Abu 
Bakr and Othman successively who both declined the proposal. Omar, mentioning 
this circumstance to Muhammad; he replied, " One shall marry Hafsah who is greater 
than Othman (meaning himself) and one shall marry Othman who is greater than 
Hafsah" (meaning his own daughter Umm Kulthum). Abu Bakr afterwards excused 
himself to Omar ty saying that his knowledge of his master's predilection for Hafsah, 
was the cause of his declining, otherwise he would gladly marry her. Ibn Hajr. 
§ Signifying that they were prophetic of the duration of his Caliphate. 



L «* J 

in" certain things," and I went to him and said to him, " Satirfy me regard- 
ing that in which people difEer — did the Apostle of God name Abu Bakr 
his successor ?" and al Hasan who was seated, stood erect and said, " can 
such a thing be in doubt ! thou hast no father. Yea, by that God than 
whom there is no other Godj verily he named him his successor, for he was 
undoubtedly the most learned in divine knowledge and the most devout 
towards Him and the most steadfast in His fear, inasmuch as he would 
have died for its sake, even though He had not commanded him there- 
unto."* And Ibn A'di records from Abu Bakr-b-A'yyashf that be narrates, 
" ar Eashid said to me, O Abu Bakr how did the people come to appoint 
Abu Bakr as Siddik successor ?" I said, " O prince of the faithful, God was 
silent and his apostle was silent, and the true believers were silent." He 
replied, " By Allah, thou hast but increased my anxiety." I said, J " O prince 
of the faithful, the prophet fell ill during eight days and BUal went in to 
him and said, ' Apostle of God, who is to pray before the people ?' He 
replied, ' command Abu Bakr to pray before the people ;' and Abu Bakr 
prayed before the people during the eight days, and the divine inspiration 
continued to descend wpon Muhammad, but the Apostle of God was silent 
on account of the silence of the Lord, and the Faithful were silent on account 
of the silence of the Apostle of God ; — this pleased him and he said ' May 
God bless thee.' " 

Some of the learned have deduced the Caliphate of as Siddik from the 
verses of the Kuran. Thus al Bayhaki records from al Hasan of Basrah 
reg'arding the divine words, " true believers, whoever of you apostatizeth 
from his religion, God will certainly bring other people to supply his place 
whom He will love and who will love Him" (Kur. V), that he said, " this, 
by Allah, signifietk Abu Bakr and his Companions, for when the Arabs 
apostatized, Abu Bakr and his Companions waged war with them, till he 
brought them back to Islam." And Yunas-b-Bukayr, from Katadah, that 
he said, " when the prophet died the Arabs apostatized," then he goes on 
to relate the expedition of Abu Bakr against them till he says, " and we 
used to declare that this verse was revealed regarding Abu Bakr and his 
Companions, " God will certainly bring other people to supply his place, 

* " If we had commanded them saying ' Slay yourselves or depart from your 
houseSj' they would not have done it." Eur. IV. 

t Abu Bakr Salim-b-A'yyash an eminent Traditionist and native of Kufah. Eigh- 
teen days after the death of ax Eashid, Ibn Ayyash died at Kufah, A. H. 193 (809J at 
the age of ninety-eight. Ibn KhaU. 

t The text has " he said" meaning the narrator. In similar instances in future 
the English idiom will be followed, to avoid breaks in the narrative and references to 
footnotes. 



[ 65 ] 

whom He will love and who will love Him," And Ihn Ahi Hatim, from 
Jiiaybar, regarding the divine words, " say unto the Arabs of the desert 
who were left behind, ye shall be called forth against a mighty and a war- 
like nation (Kur. XLVIII), that he said, " these were the Banu Hunay- 
fah."* Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Kutaybahf say that this verse is a proof 
of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr as Siddik for it was he who summoned the 
people to fight against them. The Shaykh Abu'l Hasan al Asha'riJ relates 
" I heard Abu'l A'bbds-b-u's Shurayh say, that the Caliphate of Abu Bakr is 
predicted in this verse of the Kuran ;" he adds, " for the learned are agreed 
that after its revelation there were no wars to which the people were sum- 
moned except those wherein Abu Bakr summoned them§ and the people, 
to the reduction of the apostates and those who refused tribute." He con- 
tinues " this is demonstrative of the right of the succession of Abu Bakr 
and the duty of allegiance to him, since God has declared that he who 
turneth away from it " shall be punished with a grievous punishment." 
(Kur. XLVIII). 

Ibn Kathir says, " they who interpret the word ' nation' as being the 
Vetsisns dcaA. GcTceoks, for them it is sufficient that it was as Siddik who 
fitted out an army against them, and the final settlement of their affairs was 
left in the hands of Omar and Othman, for those two were but branches of 
as Siddik." The Most High says, " God promiseth unto such of you as 
believe and do good works that he will cause them to succeed the v/ribe- 
lievers in the earth" (Kur. XXIV) ; this verse, says Ibn Kathir, is applica- 
ble to the Caliphate of Abu Bakr." Ibn Abi Hatim records in his Com- 

* They inhabited al Yamamah and were the followers of Muaaylama Muhammad's 
rival. Sale, p. 415. 

t Abu Muhammad A'bdu'Uah-b-Muslim-b-Kutaybah, was a grammarian and 
philologer of eminence. He taught traditions in Baghdad. He was author of very 
numerous works on a variety of subjects. His father was a native of Marw ; but he 
himself was bom at Baghdad, or as some say at Kufah, A. H. 213, (828-9), died A. H 
270 (884). Ibn KhaU. 

t Abu'l Hasan Ali al Asha'ri drew his descent from Abu Musa one of the pro- 
phet's Companions. He was an able defender of the Simnite doctrines and the founder 
of the sect called Asha'ris. Abu Bakr al Bakilani was a great supporter of his peculiar 
views. He was bom in Basrah, A. H. 270 (883-4) and died at Baghdad between A. H. 
330 and 34fl, (941-52). He was at first a MotaziUte but made a public renunciation 
of his belief in freewill and the creation of the Imuran in the mosque at Basrah and 
wrote in refutation of that school. His works are 55 in number. Ibn Khali. 

§ That is " the Arabs who were left behind" mentioned in the above verse. These 
were the tribes of Aslam, Juhaynah, Muzaynah and G-hifar who being summoned to 
attend Muhammad in the expedition of Hudaybiyah, stayed behind and excused them- 
selves by saying that their families must suffer in their absence, whereas in reality 
they wanted firmness in the faith and courage to face the Kiuaysk Sale, p, 414 
9 



I 66 ] 

mentary on the authority of Abdu'r Eahman-b-Abdi'l Hamid al Mahdi, 
th^t the jurisdiction of Abu Bakr and Omar is to he found in the Book o£ 
.God according to the word of God, " God promiseth unto each of you 
as believe and do good works, that he will cause them to succeed the 
'unbelievers in the earth." And al Khatib from Abu Bakr-b-A'yyash, that 
Abu Bakr as Siddlk is mentioned in the Kuran as the successor of the 
Apostle of God, for the Most High God says, " to the poor Fugi- 
tives"* &c., to his word " these are men of veracity." He therefore whom 
God calls " truthful" cannot lie : and the Companions used to address him 
" vicegerent of the Apostle of God." Al Bayhaki records on the authority 
of az Za'faranif that he relates, " I heard as Shafi'i say, " the people 
concurred in the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and that was, because men were in 
perplexity after the death of the Apostle of God, but they found not 
beneath the expanse of heaven a better than Abu Bakr, and they placed 
him in authority over them." 

Asad u's Sunnah in his Fadhail, (excellencies) records on the authority 
of M'uawiyah-b-Kurrahf that he said, " the Companions of the Apostle of 
God never doubted that Abu Bakr was the Vicegerent of the Apostle of 
God, and they never called him anything but vicegerent of the Apostle of 
God, and they in no case concurred in what was false or erroneous." 

Al Hakim records and confirms it on the authority of Ibn Masa'M 
that he said, "the Muslims never approved a thing to be good, but it was 
good in the sight of the Lord, and they never judged a thing to be perni- 
cious, but it was pernicious in the sight of the Lord, and verily all the 
Companions concurred in appointing Abu Bakr successor." And al Hakim, 
records, ad Dahabi verifying it on the authority of Murrah-b-u'1-Tayyib 
that he said, " Abu Sufyan§-b-Harb went to A'li and said, " how is it that 

* "A part also telongeth to the poor Muhajerin. who have been dispossessed of 
their houses and their substance, seeking favour from God, and his good will and 
assisting God and his Apostle. These are men of veracity" (Kui. LIX.) Wherefore 
Muhammad distributed those spoils among the Muhajerin (Fugitives) only and gave 
no part to the Auxiliaries, except only to three of them who were in necessitous 
circumstances. Sale, p. 445. 

t Abu A'li al ^asan-b-Mu^ammad-b as Sabbah, az Zu'far&ni, was one of as 
Shafi'i's disciples. He attained an eminent rank as a doctor of law and tradition, died 
A. H. 260 (874). Za'farani is derived from az Za'faraniyah (the saffron field) a 
village near Baghdad. The street of this name in the city is called after this doctor 
who lived in it. Ibn Khali. 

^ % Mu'awiyai.b-Kurrah-b-Iyfa-b-Hilal. He was the father of the celebrated ?:4dhi 
lyas, Ka'dhi of Basrah, to whom Hariri alludes in his 7th MaUmah, as skilled in tho 
ait of physiognomy, see his life in Ibn KhaUakan; Mu'4wiyah died A. H. 80 (699). 

§ Abu Sufydn §a:^hr-b-Harb-b-Umayya of the Kuraysh, the father of the Caliph 
Mu'awiyah. 



[ 67 1 

this authority is with the least of the Kuraysh in insignificance, and the 
meanest of them ? (that is Abu Bakr) ; by Allah I would like to pour the 
Kwaysh upon him, horse and foot." He adds, A'li replied " verily it is long 
since that thou hast been hostile to Islam, O Abu Sufyan, but that hurts 
it not at all ; we fijid Abu Bakr worthy of the Caliphate." 



On his covenant of altegicmce. 

The two Shaykhs record that Omar-b-u'l Khattab addressed the people 
on his return from the pilgrimage and said in his exhortation — " It hath 
eome to my knowledge that a certain one among you sayeth, ' were Omar 
to die, I would swear allegiance to such a one,' — let not any man deceive 
himself so as to say that fealty to Abu Bakr was hastily given, — although, 
it was even so, yet the Lord prevented the evil consequences thereof ; and 
there is not one among ye to-day behind whom the necks of competitors 
stop short,* like unto Abu Bakr. Verily he was the best among us when 
the Apostle of God died. And verily A'li and aa Zubayr and they that 
were with them, remained behind in the house of Tatimah and all the 
Auxiliaries tarried behind us in the porch of the Banu Sai'dah, and the 
Fugitives gathered round Abu Bakr, and I said to him, " O Abu Bakr come 
with us to our brethren the Auxiliaries ;" and we went, betaking ourselves 
to them, until we met two worthy menf who told us what the people had 
done and said " whither are ye going, ye men of the Fugitives ?" I said, 
" we seek our brethren of the Auxiliaries." They answered, " see, that 
ye do not approach them, but settle your affairs yov/rselves, ye men of 
the Fugitives." Then I said, " by Allah, we will go to them ;" and 
we went on till we came up to them in the porch of the Banu Sai'- 
dah — ^and lo ! they were assembled and in the middle of them was a 
man muffled up in his garments and I said " who is this ?" And 
they said " Saa'd-b-U'badah"J — and I said " what is the matter with 

* " Vor dem man sioh melir teugte" is Weil's translation of tlis passage. Leben 
Muham. p. 350. A'bd'ur Eahman-b-A'H as Sbaybani in the Taysirul Wusul inter- 
prets it, "before whom the neots of riding camels are cut off or stop short." And Ibn 
u'l Athir, the brother of the historian in the Kitab u'n Nihaya a treatise on the obscure 
terms of the traditions, gives it the meaning I have rendered. 

t These two were according to Zuhri, " Oweim-b-Saidah and Ma'an-b-A'di." 
WeU-Leb-Mnham. Vol. II, 352 ; Ma' an was one of those kiUed fighting at Yemamah 
against Musaylamah. 

X Abu Thabit Saa'd-b-TJ'badah b-Dulaym of the Banu Sa'i'dah, native of Medina 
He was the standard bearer of the Auxiliaries in their expeditions. He was distin- 
guished for his liberality. He died in Hawran A. H. 16 and was buried at Mizzah near 
Damascus. An Nawawi. 



[ 68 ] 

him ?" They answered, " He is in pain." And when we were seated, 
their preacher arose and glorified God as was befitting unto Him, and 
said, " and now, I say that we are the Auxiliaries of the Lord and the 
army of Islam, while ye, men of the Fugitives, are but a handful 
amongst us, and verily a party among you have sallied forth seeking that 
ye may uproot us and exclude us from power." And when he was silent, 
I sought to speak, and verily I had embellished a discourse which pleased 
me, which I intended to speak in presence of Abu Bakr, and verily I 
feared the want of some severity on his part,* for he was calmer than I 
and more sedate — Then Abu Bakr said. " Softly with thee," and I was 
loth to anger him for he was wiser than I, and, by Allah, he did not omit 
a word of what had so pleased me in its composition, but he spoke it 
himself unpremeditatedly and surpassed it, so that I was speechless. And 
he said, " and now, as to what ye have said of good regarding yourselves, 
indeed ye are worthy of it, and the Arabs do not recognise this authority 
except in this tribe of the Kuraysh — 'they are the noblest of the Arabs 
by descent and tribe, and verily I approve for ye one of these two men 
whichever ye please." Then he took my hand and the hand of Abu 
U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah. I was not displeased with what he otherwise said, 
but by Allah, were I brought out that thou shouldst strike off my head, 
though it befell me through no crime of mine, it would be more pleasing 
to me than that I should rule a people among whom was Abu Bakr. 
Then a speaker of the Auxiliaries said, " I am of those by means of whose 
counsel people seek relieff — let there he a ruler from among us and a ruler 
from among ye, men of the Kuraysh." Then the confusion increased 
and voices rose high until I feared a tumult, and I said, " stretch out thy 
hand O Abu Bakr," and he stretched out his hand, and I took the oath of 
fealty to him, and • the Fugitives swore allegiance to him ; then the 
Auxiliaries swore allegiance to him, and by Allah, in regard to that for which 
we assembled, we could find nothing more fitting than to swear fealty to 
Abu Bakr — ^we feared that if we separated, from the concourse and no 
covenant were taken, they might conclude a covenant after our departure 
so that we should either have to hold to a covenant with them which we did 
not approve, or to oppose them, whence discord would arise." 

An Nasai, Abu Ya'la and al Hakim record, verifying it on the 
authority of Ibn Masa'lid, that when the Apostle of God died, the Auxi- 

• "Weil ioh an ihm etwas Sot&fe vemiisste. Weil-Iieten Muham. Vol. II, p. 361. 

t Literally " I am their muoh-rutbed little rubbing-post and their propped little 
palm tree loaded with fruit" i. «., as mangy camels seek relief by rubbing themselves 
against a post, so I am suoh a post for ye, and I have a family that wUl aid and defend 
me. See Lane's Lex art J j.& 



C 69 ] 

liaries said, " let there 5e a ruler from among us, and from among ye a 
ruler," whereupon Omar-b-u'l Khattdb went to them and said — " ye men 
of the Auxiliaries, know ye not that the Apostle of God commanded Abu 
Bakr to lead the people in prayer ? now which of ye preferreth himself 
toAbuBakr?" The Auxiliaries exclaimed "God forbid that we should 
take precedence of Abu Bakr." And Ibn Saa'd, al Hakim, and al Bayhaki 
from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, " the Apostle of God died, and the people 
assembled in the house of Saa'd-b- CF'badah and among them were Abu 
Bakr aijd Omar, and the preachers of the Auxiliaries arose and a man 
among them began to speak saying, " O ye men of the Fugitives, whenever 
the Apostle of God appointed one from among you to any authority, he 
joined unto him one of us ; we think therefore that two men, one from 
among you, and one from among us, should assume this authority ;" and 
the preachers of the Auxiliaries followed each other after the same manner. 
Then Zayd-b-Thdbit arose and said, " do ye not know that the Apostle of 
God was of the Fugitives, and we were the Auxiliaries of the Apostle of 
God, therefore are we the Auxiliaries of his vicegerent, as we were his 
Auxiliaries." Then he took Abu Bakr by the hand and said " this is your 
master." Then Omar and afterwards the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries 
swore allegiance to him, and Abu Bakr agcended the pulpit, and he looked 
among the chiefs of the people, but beheld not az Zubayr, He therefore 
summoned az Zubayr and he came and he said, " thou sayest that thou art 
the son of the aunt of the Apostle of God, and his disciple, dost thou wish 
to break the staff of the Muslims?" Az Zubayr replied " no blame be 
laid on thee, vicegerent of the Apostle of God !" and he rose and swore 
allegiance to him. Then Abu Bakr looked among the chiefs of the people, 
and he saw not A'li. He therefore summoned him and he came : then he 
said " thou callest thyself the son of the uncle of the Apostle of God, and 
related unto him through his daughter, dost thou wish to break the staff of 
the Muslims ?" He replied " no blame be laid on thee, O vicegerent of 
the Apostle of God !" and he swore him allegiance." 

Ibn Ishak records on his " Sirat " (record) from Anas-b-Malik that 
after Abu Bakr had received the covenant of allegiance in the porch of 
the Banu Sai'dah, when the morrow came, he seated himself at the pulpit, 
and Omar rose and spoke before Abu Bakr. And he praised God and 
magnified him and then said ;" verily the Lord hath centred your authori- 
ty on the best among you, the Companion of the Apostle of God, and 
" the second of the two when they two were in the cave," therefore 
arise and swear allegiance unto him." And the people swore unto 
Abu Bakr a general allegiance after the allegiance of the Porch. Then 
Abu Bakr spoke and praised God and magnified Him, then continued, 
"and now, ye people, verily I have received authority over you 



[ 70 T 

though I be not the best among you, yet if I do well, assist me, 
and if I incline to evil, direct me aright. Truth is a sacred trust 
and falsehood is a betrayal. He that is weak among you, is strong 
before me, inasmuch as I shall restore unto him his due, if it please' 
God, and he that is strong among you is weak, inasmuch as I shall take 
that which is due from him if it please God. A people abstaineth not from 
warring in the cause of the Lord, but he smiteth them with ignominy, and 
iniquity is never made manifest among a people, but He afflicteth them 
with misfortune. Obey me as long as I obey the Lord and his Apostle, 
and when I turn aside from the Lord and his Apostle, then obedience ta 
me shall not be obligatory upon you. Kiss up to your prayers— may the 
Lord have mercy upon you." 

Abu Mdsa-b-U'kbah in his 'Maghazi' (Battles) records, likewise al 
Hakim, verifying it on the authority of A'bdu'r-Eahman-b-A'uf that Abu 
Bakr preached and spoke saying, " by Allah, I was never covetous of this 
authority, neither by day nor by night, nor desirous of it, nor asked it of 
God either in secret or openly, but I was in fear of sedition. I have no 
repose in this authority. Verily I am invested with a mighty office, the 
power and capacity for which are not in me, save by the assistance of God." 
Then Ali and az Zubayr said, " we were not incensed but for this, that we 
were put aside from the consultation, yet we think Abu Bakr the most 
deserving of that authority/ among men, for he was the Companion in the 
Cave, and we indeed recognise his superiority and his excellence, and verily 
the Apostle of God while he was yet alive commanded him to pray before 
the people." And Ibn Saa'd from Fbrahim at Taymi* that he said " when 
the Apostle of God died, Omar went to Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah" and said 
" stretch out thy hand, for verily I will swear thee allegiance for thou art 
the trusted one of this people according to the word of the Apostle of 
God." And Abu U'baydah replied to Omar, " never before this have I seen 
in thee weakness of mind since thou hast embraced Islam. What ! wilt 
thou swear allegiance to me when there is among you as Si'ddik, and he 
the second of the two ?" And from Muhammad, that Abu Bakr said to 
Omar, " stretch out thy hand, verily I will swear thee allegiance," but Omar 
said to him "thou art more meritorious than L" Abu Bakrreplied," thou art 
firmer than I" and again he repeated it, but Omar said, " then verily thou 
hast my firmness together with thy merit," and he swore allegiance to him. 
And Ahmad from Hamid-b-A'bdi'r Eahman-b-A'uf, " the Apostle of God 
died, and Abu Bakr was with some of the people of Medina, and he came 

• Ibrahim-'b-u'l Hfaith-b-Klialid-b-Sakhr at Taymi, of the Kuraysh. According 
to al Bukhari, ho and his father wero among the Fugitives. That ho survived Muljsun- 
mad is all that is known of him by Ibn Hajr. 



[ 71 ] 

and uncovered his face and kissed it and said ' May my father and my 
mother he a ransom for thee ? how sweet wert thou in life and art in 
death ! Muhammad is dead — by the Lord of the Kaabah — " and he repeated 
the tradition" — he adds " Abu Bakr and Omar departed leading each other 
along until they came to the Auxiliaries and Abu Bakr spake and did not 
omit a thing of what had been revealed regarding the Auxiliaries, nor of 
what the Apostle of God had said concerning them, but he - mentioned it 
and exclaimed, ' verily ye Icnow that the Apostle of God said, " were the peo- 
ple to march in one valley, and the Auxiliaries marched in another valley, I 
would march in the valley of the Auxiliaries ;" and verily thou knowest 
Saa'd,* that the Apostle of God said when thou wert seated by, " the 
Kuraysh are the masters of this authority and the good men will follow 
those of them that are good, and the wicked will follow the wicked among 
them." Then Saa'd said to him — " thou hast spoken truly — we are the 
ministers and ye are the princes." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri that when 
homage was paid to Abu Bakr, he saw some dissatisfaction among the peo- 
ple and he said, " what keeps you back men ? am not I the most deserv- 
ing of this authority among you ? was not I the first to embrace Islam ? 
was not I this and that ?" and he mentioned his qualifications. And Ahmad 
Eafi't u'l Tai that he said, " Abu Bakr told me of the allegiance sworn to 
him and what the Auxiliaries and what Omar had said to him and he added 
" then they swore allegiance to me and I accepted it from them, for I feared 
lest discord should arise and apostasy follow it." And Ibn Ishak and 
Ibn A'aidJ in his ' Maghazi,' from the same, that he said to Abu Bakr, 
" what brought thee to take upon thyself the government of the people, 
when verily thou hadst forbidden me to rule over two of them ?" He 
replied " I found no way of avoiding it I feared dissensions among the 
people of Muhammad." 

And Ahmad from Kays-b-Abi Hazim, verily I was seated by Abu Bakr 
as Siddik about a month after the death of the Apostle of God and he was 



• Saa'd-b-Ubadah. 

t Eafl'-b-A'mr-b-Jabir-b-Haiith at Ta'i. In the time of ignorance he lived as a 
robber and used to fill ostrich eggs with water and hide them in various places in the 
desert for his own use, and when he became a convert he became a guide for the 
Muslims in their expeditions. He had made a particular friend of Abu Bakr at the 
engagement of Dat SalasU, who used to allow him to sleep on his own bedding and 
gave him some of his own clothes to wear and acted as his spiritual director. He 
died at the close of the Caliphate of Omar. Ibn Hajr. 

X The text has A'abid, for A'aid. The author's real name is Abu A'bdu'Uah 
Muhammad-b-A'aid of the tribe of ;5"™ysh, a native of Damascus and like Ibn Ishak 
the author of a Maghazi. Kashfu'd Dhunun. 



[ 72 ] 

relating the account of it, when the summons to prayer went forth among 
the people, and the people assembled together and he ascended the pulpit 
and said, " O men, I would indeed have been glad if another had sufficed 
for this in my stead, and though you have taken me according to the 
command of your prophet, I am not capable of ferf arming its duties, for 
tlie prophet was indeed preserved from the deceits of the evil one, and 
inspiration descended upon him from heaven." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of al Hasan of Basrah that when 
allegiance was sworn to Abu Bakr, he stood up and preached saying, " and 
now, verily I have been placed in this authority, though I am averse from 
it, and by Allah, I would have been pleased if any of you had sufficed for 
it in my stead, but if you charge me to act unto you as did the Apostle of 
God, I could not undertake it, for the Apostle of God was a servant 
whom the Lord honored with His inspiration and preserved him there- 
by from error, and surely I am a mortal and am not better than any 
one of you — therefore watch over me — and when you see that I am steadfast, 
then obey me, and when you see that I tui'n asidiSi from tJie right path, 
set me aright. And know that I have a devil that seizes upon me, there- 
fore when you see me enraged, avoid me, for at that time, I cannot be 
influenced by your counsels or your glad salutations." And Ibn Saa'd and 
al Khatib, according to the narration of Malik from U'rwah, that when 
Abu Bakr assumed the supreme power, he preached to the people and he 
praised God and magnified Him and said, " and now, verily I have been 
made to rule over you though I am not the most worthy among you ; but 
the Kuran was revealed and the prophet declared the law, and instructed us 
and we learnt of him ; and know, O ' men, that piety is the most solid 
goodness, and the vilest of what is vile is vice, and verily the strongest 
among you before me is he that is weak, inasmuch as I shall take for him 
what is due to him and the weakest among you before me is he that is 
strong inasmuch as I shall take from him that which is due by him : O men, 
verily I am a follower and not an innovator, therefore when I do well, aid 
me, and if I turn aside, direct me aright. I have spoken, and may God 
have mercy upon me and upon you." Mdlik says, ' no one ever becomes 
Imam except upon this condition.' Al Hakim records in his Mustadrak 
(supplement) from Abu Hurayrah that when the Apostle of God died, 
Mecca was convulsed by an earthquake, and Abu Euhafah noticed it and 
said "what is this." They said, " the Apostle of God is dead." He an- 
swered. " It is a momentous thing, who then hath risen up in authority 
after him ?" They said, " thy son." He replied, " will the Banu A'bd 
Mandf and the Banu'l Mughirah consent to this ?" They answered " yes." 
He exclaimed, " there is no overthrower of that which hath been exalted, 
and no exalter of that which hath been humbled." Al Wdkidi records with 



[ 73 ] 

ascriptions to Ayesha, Ibn Omar, Sa'id-b-u'l Mussayyab and others, that 
allegiance was sworn to Abu Bakr on the day of the death of the Apostle 
of God, Monday* the 12th of Rabii' u'l Awwal, in the 11th year of the 
Hijrah. And at TabarAni in his Ausat from Ibn Omar, that he said, 
" Abu Bakr never seated himself in the place of the Apostle of God in 
the pulpit, until after he had passed to the Lord, and Omar never sat in 
the seat of Abu Bakr nor Othman in that of Omar until they had passed 
to the Lord." 



On what occurred during Ms Oaliphate and the chief events that tooh placer 

during his time, such as the despatch of the army of TTsamah, the 

slaughter of the apostates and those who refused the poor rate, 

Musaylamah the liar and the collection of the Kurdn. 

Al Isma'ilif records on the authority of Omar that he said, " when 
the Apostle of God died, some of the Arabs fell from the faith and they 
said, ' we will perform the prayers, but we will not pay the poor rate :' I 
went to Abu Bakr and said, ' O vicegerent of the Apostle of God, conciliate 
the people and be indulgent to them for they are but on a level with brute 
beasts:' and he replied, ' I hoped for thy help and thou hast come to me 
withholding thy aid — thou wert haughty in the time of ignorance and art 
meanspirited in Islam — wherefore then should I conciliate them by lying 
verses and deceitful eloquence ? Alas ! alas ! the prophet is dead and 
divine inspiration is withheld ! By Allah, I will do battle with them as 
long as I can grasp a sword in my hand, even if they deny me the worth of 
a camel's halter.' " Omar adds, "I found him in this business more energetic 
and determined than myself, and he governed the affairs of the people with 
justice — ^thus many of their difficulties were made easy to me when I came 
to rule them." And Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi, and Abu Bakr as Shafi'i 
in his " Fawaid," (Useful Observations) and Ibn A' sakir record from 
Ayesha that she said, " when the Apostle of God died, hypocrisy raised its 
head, and the Arabs apostatized and the Auxiliaries turned away and if 

• " TJInfin Mahomed mourut un samedi, second jour de la semaine ohfez les Musul- 
maus dans le moi Eabie premier." I know not on what authority BoulainviUiers 
makes j^xi" 5ll /•_jJ ("the second day") to he Saturday. See Vie de Mahomed, p. 440. 

t Ahu Bakr Ahmad-b-Ibrahim al Isma'Ui, a great Shafi'i doctor, famous for his 
knowledge of the law and tradition. He was the author of numerous works on 
tradition. He died in Rajah A. H. 371 (982) aged 94. His son Ahu Saa'd, called 
also al Isma'fli, studied under his father and became Shaykh of the Shafi'is in Jurjan, 
died A. H. 396, (A. D. 1005-6) aged 63. De Slanc, Ibn Khali. 
10 



[ 74 ] 

what fell upon my father had fallen upon the solid mountains, it would 
have crushed them ; and the Companions never disputed a single point, but 
he was prompt with its advantages and its merits. They said ' where is 
the prophet to be buried ?' and we found no one who had any knowledge 
regarding this ; but Abu Bakr exclaimed, I heard the Apostle of God say, 
no prophet died but he was buried under the bed in which be expired.' " 
Aysha adds, " they disputed regarding his inheritance, and they found no one 
who had any information on this point ; but Abu Bakr exclaimed, ' I heard 
the Apostle of God say, " we, the Company of the prophets are not inherit- 
ed of — that which we leave is the portion of the poor." 

Some of the learned say that this was the first disagreement that 
occurred among the Companions, for some of them said, " let us bury him 
in Mecca, the city wherein he was born," and others said, " nay, in his 
mosque," and others " nay, in the cemetery of Medina," and others " nay in 
Jerusalem, the Sepulchre of the prophets," until Abu Bakr informed them 
of what he knew. Ibn Zunjawayh says, that as Siddik was the single 
authority for this tradition among the Fugitives and Auxiliaries, and they 
had recourse to him for it. Al Bayhaki and Ibn A'sakir record on the 
authority of Abu Hurayrah, that he said, " by Him, than whom there is 
no other God, if Abu Bakr had not been appointed Caliph, God would not 
have been worshipped," — this he said a second, and again a third time ; 
then they said to him, " how so, Aba Hurayrah !" and he said, " verily 
the Apostle of God sent Usamah-b-Zayd at the head of seven hundred 
men to Syria and when they reached Dii Khushub* the prophet died, and 
the Arabs round about Medina apostatized, and the Companions of the 
Apostle of God gathered about Abu Baler and they said, " recall these — 
will you send these against the Greeks while the Arabs around Medina 
have apostatized ?" but he said, " by Him, than whom there is no other 
God, were dogs to drag the wives of the prophet by their feet, I would not 
recall an army despatched by the Apostle of God, nor would I dismount 
a standard that he had bound." He therefore despatched TJsamah, who so 
acted that he never passed in his march by a tribe inclined to apostatize but 
they said, " were there no strength in them, such as these would not have 
gone forth from among them, but let us leave them to encounter the 
Greeks;" and they encountered them and defeated them and slew them and 
returned in safety whereupon those others remained steadfast in Islam." 
And from U'rwah, " the Apostle of God kept saying in his illness, ' des- 
patch the army of Usamah.' He therefore set out until he reached 
" Jurf,"t and the prophet's wife Patimah sent to him saying, " hasten not, 
for verily the Apostle of God is grievously sick," and he did not proceed 

* A valley about ono march from Medina. Ya^:tit, M. B. 
t Three miles from Medina on the road to Syria, 



[ 75 ] 

until the Apostle of God died and when he was dead, Usamah returned to 
Abu. Bakr and said, " verily the Apostle of God sent me forth but we were 
under different circumstances to what you are now — verily I fear lest the 
Arabs apostatize and if they apostatize, they should be the first to be' 
attacked, and if they do not apostatize I will set forth, for with me are 
the chiefs of the people and the most distinguished amongst them." Then 
Abu Bakr preached to the people and said, " by Allah, were* a bird of prey 
to carry me off, it would be more pleasing to me than that I should set 
about anything before the command of the Apostle of God: he therefore 
despatched him." 

Ad Dahabi says that when the death of the Apostle of God became 
known round about, many of the Arab tribes apostatized from Islam and 
refused the payment of the poor rate, and Abu Bakr as Siddik set out to 
attack them, but Omar and others counselled him to abstain from attack- 
ing them, but he said, " by Allah, if they deny me so much as a camel's halter 
or a kid which they used to pay to the Apostle of God, I will war against 
them for the refusal of it ;" then Omar said, " how canst thou war against the 
people, when verily the Apostle of God said, " I have been commanded to do 
battle against men until they confess that there is no God but God, and verily 
Muhammad is the Apostle of God, and whoever confesseth it his property 
and life are safe from me, save in the claim and account of God therein." 
Abu Bakr replied, " by Allah, I will surely oppose by force those who dis- 
tinguish between prayers and the poor rate, for the poor rate is a due from 
property and verily ^Ae j^j-qpAei! said " save in the claim therein." Omar 
says, " then, by Allah, I saw it was nothing else than that God had dis- 
posed the heart of Abu Bakr to combat them and I knew that it was just." 
And on the authority of U'rwah, " Abu Bakr set out with the Fugitives 
and Auxiliaries until they reached Naka'a over against Najd, and the Arabs 
fled with their families and the people addressed Abu Bakr, saying, " re- 
turn to Medina and to the children and women, and set a man in command 
of the army," and they did not desist until he returned and appointed 
Khalid-b-u'l Walid and said to him, " when they shall have embraced the 
faith, and paid the poor rate, then let any among you who so wishes, 
return," and he went back to Medina. 

Ad Darakutni records on the authority of Ibn Omar, that when Abu 
Bakr set forth and was mounted upon his camel, A'li-b-Abi Talib took it 
by the bridle and said, " whither goest thou, Vicegerent of the Apostle of 
God ? I say unto thee that which the Apostle of God said unto thee on the 
day of Ohud, ' sheath thy sword and make us not anxious for thy person' — 
and turn back to Medina, for, by Allah, if we suffer loss in thee, Islam will 

* MeanLng were he carrion and a feast for birds of prey. 



[ 76 ] 

never be set in order." And from Handhalak-b-A'li-al Laythi, tliat Abu 
Bakr despatched Khalid and commanded him to war against men for five 
objects ; whosoever refused any one of these, he should attack him as he 
■would attack any who had refused all the five, viz., the confession of faith 
" verily there is no God, but God and — verily Muhammad is his servant and 
his apostle — the institution of prayers — the donation of the poor rate, the 
fast of Eamadhan, Khalid and those who were with him, then went forth 
in Jumada' '1 Akhir and he attacked the Banu Asad and Ghatfan and slew 
whom he slew, and captured whom he captured, and the rest returned to 
Islam ; and of the Companions who were slain in this affair were U'kashah*- 
b-Mihsan and Thdbit-b-Akram. 

In Eamadhan of this year, died Tatimah daughter of the Apostle 
of God, the chief of women upon earth, her age being four and twenty. 
Ad Dahabi says that the Apostle of God had no descendants but by her, 
for the posterity of his daughter Zaynabf became extinct (so says az 
Zubayr-b-Bakkar) and Umm AymanJ died a month before her. 

In the month of Shawwal died A'bdu'Uah the son of Abu Bakr as 
Siddik. After this Khalid set out with his army for Tamama to attack 
Musaylamah the liar towards the end of the year. The armies met and the 
investment§ lasted some days. At length Musaylamah the liar, God curse 
him, was slain — Wahshi the slayer of Hamzah killed him. 

Among the Companions that fell in this engagement were Abu Huday- 
fah-b-U'tbah, Salim his freedman, ShuJaa'-b-Wahab, Zayd-b-u'l Khattab- 
A'bdu'llah-b-Sahl, Malik-b-A'mr Tufayl-b-A'mr a'd Dausi, Yazid-b-Kays, 
A'amir-b-Bukayr, A'bdu'Uah-b-Makhramah, Saib-b Othman-b-Madha'un, 
Ubad-b-Bashir, Maa'n-b-A'di, Thabit-b-Kays-b-Shamas, Abu Dujanah 
Simak-b-Harb, and others amounting to seventy. || Musaylamah on the 

* One of the Companions held in much favour hy Muhammad. At Badr his 
sword hroke and Muhammad gave him a dried palm hranoh which became in his hand 
a sword with a white blade and a firm handle with which he returned to the battle. 
He was one of the 70 to whom Muhammad promised paradise without the judgment 
being held regarding them. He was 44 years old when Muhammad died. An Nawawi. 

t She married her aunt's son A'bu'l Afai-b-i'r Eabii' al A'bshami. Ibn Hajr. 

X His foster-mother Barakah, an Abyssinian slave girl who tended Muhammad on 
the death of his father A'bdu'Uah, and continued in the capacity of his nurse after 
the death of his mother Amina. She married Zayd-b-Haritha. Tbn Hajr. 

§ The followers of Musaylamah retired into a garden called the " Hadfkatu'l 
A'bdi'r Eahman, and afterwards ' Hadikatu'l Mawt, or the garden of death, and there 
defended themselves to the last. According to the account of Wahshi quoted in the 
Eaudhat u's Safa he allows Ibn Am&ra a share in the death of Musaylamah as they 
both attacked him at the same time. Hamzah the uncle of Muljammad was slain at the 
battle of Ohud. 

II These were only the principal men among the fallen, for says iQilbon " in the 



[ 77 ] 

day he was slain was a hundred and* fifty years old, his birth Tiaving tahen 
place before that of A'bdu'llah the father of the prophet. 

In the year 12 A. H. as Siddik sent al A'la-b-u'l Hadhrami to 
Bahrayn where they had apostatized, and the armies met at Jawatha, and 
the Muslims were victorious. Then he sent A'kramah-b-Abi Jahl to 
A'mman where they had also fallen from the faith, and he despatched al 
Muhajir-b-Abi Umayyah, against the people of Nujayr who likewise had 
apostatized, and Ziyad-b-Labid the Auxiliary, against another body of the 
apostates. 

In this year died Abu'l A'asi-b-u'r Eabii' the husband of Zaynab 
daughter of the Apostle of God, and as Saa'd-b-Jaththamah al Laythi and 
Abu Marthad al Ghanawi. 

In this year likewise, after the reduction of the apostates as Siddik 
sent Khalid-b-u'l Walid to the land of Basrah, who attacked Ubulla and 
captured it and took Mad&in Kisra, the one in Irak, partly by treaty and 
partly by force. During the same, Abu Bakr undertook the pilgrimage 
and despatched A'mar-b-u'l A'as and the army to Syria and there occurred 
the battle of Ajnadayn in the month of the first Jumada A. H. 13, and 
the Muslims were victorious and Abu Bakr received the good tidings of it 
when he was dying. In this battle, there fell A'krahmah-b-Abi Jahl and 
Hisham-b-u'l A'asi and others. In the same year took place the engage- 
ment of Marju's Suffar,t where the infidels were defeated and al Fadhl- 
b-u'l A'bbas and ot!hers were kiUed. 



The Collection of the Kttrdn. 

Al Bukhari records on the authority of Zayd-b-Thabit that he said, 
" Abu Bakr sent for me at the time of the slaughter of the people at 
Tamama, Omar being with him and said ' verily Omar hath come to me 
saying, " the slaughter of the men at Yamama was great and I fear lest 

first action thy were repulsed with a loss of twelve himdred men : their defeat was 
avenged by the slaughter of 1000 infidels and Museilama himself was pierced, by an 
Ethiopian slave with the same javelin which had mortally wounded the uncle of Ma- 
homet." Decline and Fall. 

* This must be a great exaggeration as it was but a short time before his death 
that the prophetess Sajah fell in love with him for the beauty and manliness of his 
person. After his death she resided with the Taghlabites and was converted in the 
Caliphate of Mu'awiyah. Abu'l Feda Annales, p. 212. 

t Close to Damascus. Several skirmishes took place before Damascus, during 
the siege, little to the credit of the warriors of the Cross. For a detailed account of 
this period, consult the interesting pages of Ockley. 



[ 78 ] 

the loss in action of the readers of the Kuran in the provinces become 
excessive, and therefore much of the Kuran may be lost unless they collect 
it together, and verily I think that the Kurdn should be collected." Abu 
Bakr went on, " and I replied to Omar, how shall I do the thing which the 
Apostle of God hath not done" ? Omar answered " by AUah, it is a good 
work," and he did not cease to persist with me in this matter until God 
enlightened my mind concerning it, and I have come to think as Omar 
thinks." Zayd adds, " Omar, was meanwhile seated by him not speaking : 
then Abu Bakr said, " thou art an intelligent youth and I have no 
doubts regarding thee, and verily thou wert he who recorded the revela- 
tions of the Apostle of God, search therefore for the Kuran and collect 
it." And by Allah, had he charged me with the carrying away of a hill 
from among the mountains, it would not have been weightier upon me than 
that which he commanded me in the collection of the Kuran, and I said, 
" how can you two undertake a thing which the Apostle of God hath not 
donej'" and Abu Bakr said, "by Allah, it is a good work," a»d I did not 
cease discussing it with him, until God enlightened my mind in that 
towards which he had already disposed the minds of Abu Bakr and Omar. 
And I searched for the Kuran and collected it from scraps of paper and 
shoulder-blades* and leafless palm branches, and the minds of men until 
I found from the Sura of Eepentanee (IX) two verses in the possession of 
Khuzaymah-b-Thabit which I found with no one else viz., " now hath 
an Apostle come to you of your own nation" (Kur. IX), to the end. Tlie 
pages in which the Kuran was collected remained with Abu Bakr until 
the Lord took him to Himself, then with Omar until the Lord took him 
to Himself, and afterwards with Hafsah daughter of Omar. Abu Ta'la 
records on the authority of A'li that he said, " the greatest among men 
meriting reward for the volumes of the Kuran is Abu Bakr, for he it was 
who first collected the Kuran between two boards." 



On the things in which he was foremost. 

Among these are, that he was the first to embrace Islam, the first to 
collect the Kuran, the first who named it ' Mushaf,' (the Book) the proof 
of which has been advanced, and he was the first who was called Caliph. 
Ahmad records on the authority of Abu Bakr-b-Abi Mulaykah, that he said, 
Abu Bakr was once addressed " Vicegerent of God." He replied, "I am 

* On oompariBg the passage with the Sahilj of al Bukhari I find a slight differ- 
ence in the reading in various places : for ' shoulder-hlades' (Jlifi or as I should pre- 
fer to read oUfl al Bukhari JjlaJ, has thin whitish stones. 



[ 79 1 

the Vicegerent of the Apostle of God and with this I am content." He 
was the first who ruled the Caliphate while his father was yet alive, and 
the first Caliph for whom his subjects appointed a stipend. Al Bubhari 
records from Ayesha that she narrates, " when Abu Bakr was appointed 
Caliph he said, " my people know that my profession* is not insuiBcienfc 
for the provision of my family, but I am busied with the affairs of the 
Muslims and the family of Abu Bakr will soon consume this property of 
Ms while he is labouring for the Muslims." And Ibn Saa'd from A'ta-b- 
u's Saibf that he said, "after allegiance had been sworn unto Abu Bakr, next 
morning he arose and was going to the market place with some mantles 
upon his arm, when Omar said to him, " whither art thou going ?" He 
replied, " to the market place :" Omar said, " dost thou do this although 
thou hast been given to rule over the Muslims ?" He answered, " whence, 
then shall my family be fed?" Omar replied, "Come! A'bu U'baydah 
shall provide for thee :" and they went to Abu U'baydah and he said " I will 
set apart for 'thee, the allowance for one man of the Fugitives — neither that 
assigned to the best, nor to the meanest among them, and a garment for 
winter and for summer ; when thou hast worn a thing out ; thou canst 
return it and take another." Then he assigned unto him every day, half 
a sheep and the wherewith to cover his head and his person. And from 
Maymlin, " when Abu Bakr became Caliph, they assigned to him two 
thousand dirhams, and he said, " increase the sum for me for I have a family, 
and you have employed me on other work than my own trade" ; so they 
gave him an increase of five hundred dirhams." 

At Tabarani records in his Musnad on the authority of al Hasan-b-A'Ii- 
b-Abi Talib that he said, " when Abu Bakr was near unto death, he said, " O 
Ayesha, behold the camel, the milk of which we have drank, and the plat- 
ter in which we prepared our food, and the garments we have worn ; verily 
we made use of them when wo governed the affairs of the Muslims. When 
I die, give them to Omar." When therefore Abu Bakr died, she sent them to 
Omar, and he said, " the Lord have mercy upon thee, Abu Bakr, for verily 
thou hast afilicted him who cometh after thee." And Ibn Abi'd Dunya, from 
Abu Bakr-b-Hafs that he said, " Abu Bakr, when he was near unto death, 
said to Ayesha, " daughter — we have governed the affairs of the Muslims 
and have not taken for ourselves either a dinar or a dirham, but we have 
eaten the fill of our bellies with the coarse flour of their food, and clothed 
our backs with their rough garments and there doth not remain with us of 
the booty taken by the Muslims, save this Nubian slave and this camel 

* He was by trade a oloth-merohant. 

t Atu's Saib A'ta-bu's Saib-b-Maiik a member of the tribe of Thakif and a native 
of Kfifah, a traditionist of good authority, died A, H, 136 (753-4). De Slane, I. K. 



[ 80 ] 

for drawing water, and this coarse garment, but when I die, send them to 
Omar." He was the first also, to establish a public treasury. Ibn Saa'd 
records on the authority of Sahl-b-Abi Khaythamah and others that Abu 
Bakr had the public treasury at Sunh,* over which no one kept guard. 
It was said to him " wilt thou not place over it some one to guard it ?" 
He replied, " there is a lock upon it" : and he used to give away what was 
in it till it was empty. But when he removed into the city he transferred 
it and placed it in his house ; and the revenue came in to him, and he used 
to distribute it amongst the poor and divide it equally amongst them. He 
used also to purchase camels and horses and arms and give them away for 
the service of God ; and he used to buy garments that were brought in 
from the desert tracts and distribute them amongst the widows of Medina. 

When Abu Bakr died and was buried, Omar summoned the trustees 
amongst them being A'bdu'r Eahman-b -A'uf and Othman-b-A'ffan, and 
entered with them into the treasury of Abu Bakr ; and they opened the 
treasury, but they did not find a thing in it, neither a dinar nor a dirham. 

I observe that this tradition refutes the remark of al A'skari in his 
Awayil (Beginnings) that the first who instituted a public treasury was 
Omar, and that neither the prophet possessed a public treasury nor Abu 
Bakr. Indeed I have refuted this in the work which I composed on the 
Awayil. Moreover I have observed that al A'skari himself adverted to it 
in another part of his book, for he says that the first who superintended 
the public treasury was Abu U'baydah b-u'l Jarrah on the part of Abu Bakr. 
Al Hakim says that the first surname in Islam, was the surname of Aba 
Bakr, Atik. 

The two Shaykhs record on the authorii^ of Jabir that the Apostle of 
God said to Mm, " when the tribute comes from Bahrayn I will give thee 
so much and so much," but when the tribute from Bahrayn came in after 
the death of the Apostle of God, Abu Bakr said — " he who hath a claim 
against the Apostle of God or a promise ^om 7i»OT, let him come to us," 
and I went and informed him and he said " take," and I took and found 
that the promise was for five hundred dirhams, but he gave me two thou- 
sand five hundred. 

* In one of the euburbs of Medina about a mile distant from the house of Mu- 
hammad. Ya^ut, M, B. 



[ 81 •] 

On some examples of Ms gentleness and humility. 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Anisah,* that she said, " Abu 
Bakr settled amongst us three years before he was appointed Caliph, and one 
year after he became so, and the girls of the tribe used to go to him with 
their flocks and he used to milk them for them." And Ahmad in th& 
" Zuhd" from Maymlin-b-Mihran that he said, " a man went to Abu Bakr 
and said ' peace be to thee, Vicegerent of the Apostle of God.' " He re- 
plied " who among these assembled is he ?" And Ibn A'sakir from Abu 
Salih al Ghifari, that Omar-b-u'l Khattab was in the habit of ministering 
at night to an aged blind woman in one of the suburbs of the city, and he 
used to give her to drink and assist her, and it came to pass that he went 
to her and found another who was before him with her and who did what 
she required. He went again another time that he might not be anticipat- 
ed in attendance on her, and lay in wait for him and behold it was Abu 
Bakr who was going to her, he being at that time Caliph, and Omar 
exclaimed " by my life, thou art the man I" And Abu Nna'ym and others 
from A'bdu'r Bahmdn al Ispahani that al Hasan the son of A'li went to 
Abu Bakr, who was then on the pulpit of the Apostle of Grod, and said 
" come down from the seat of my father," and he answered, " thou speakest 
truly for this is thy father's seat" ; and he put him on his lap and wept 
and A'li said, " by Allah, this was not said by my command," and Abu 
Bakr said, "thou speakest the truth ; by Allah, I did not suspect thee." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Omar that he said, " the 
prophet appointed Abu Bakr to lead the pilgrimage in the first pilgrimage 
that took place in Islam ; then the Apostle of God performed it himself 
the following year, and when the Apostle of God died^ and Aba Bakr be- 
came Caliph, he appointed Omar-b-u'l Khattab to lead the pilgrimao-e and 
performed it himself the year following, and when Abu Bakr died and Omar 
became Caliph, he appointed A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'uf over the pilgrimao-e. 
Subsequently Omar failed not to perform it himself each year till his death 
wlien Othman succeeded to the Caliphate, and he appointed A'bdu'r Eah- 
man-b-Auf over the pilgrimage." 



On his illness, death and last testament and. the Oaliphate of Omar. 

Sayf and al Hakim record on the authority of Ibn Omar that th e 
cause of the death of Abu Bakr was through excessive grief for the death 

* Daughter of Khutayb-b-Yasaf, one of the Auxiliaries. She accompanied Mu- 
^lammad in some of his pilgrimages and related traditions from him. Ihn Hajr. 
11 



[ 82 ] 

of the Apostle of God, his body continuing to waste away until he died. 
And Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim on good authorities from Ibn Shihab, that 
Abu Bakr and al Harith-b-Kaladah* were eating broth which had been 
sent as a present to Abu Bakr, when al Harith said to Abu Bakr, " with-; 
draw thy hand, O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, for by Allah, there is 
poison in it, that will do its worTc in a year, and I and thou shall both die 
on the same day." And he withdrew his hand, and these two did not fail 
to sicken until they died on the same day about the close of the year. 
And al Hakim from Shaa'bi that he said, " what can we expect from this 
vile world when even the Apostle of God was poisoned and poisoned was 
Abu Bakr ?" 

And al Wakidi and al Hakim from Ayesha that the beginning of the 
sickness of Abu Bakr, was that he bathed, on Monday the 7th of Jumada'l 
Akhirah, and the day was cold and he took fever for fifteen days and did 
not come forth to prayers and died on Tuesday the 22nd of Jumada'l 
Akhirah in the thirteenth year of the Hijrah being sixty-three years old 
(23rd August, 634)- 

Ibn Saa'd and Ibn Abi 'd Dunya record on the authority of Abu's Safar 
that the Companions went in unto Abu Bakr in his sickness and said, 
" O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, shall we caU unto thee a physician 
that he may look to thee ?" He replied, " verily he hath already seen 
me." And they answered " what did he say ?" He said, " verily I effect 
that which I please."t And al Wakidi on different authorities, that when 
Abu Bakr sickened, he summoned A'bdu'r Eahmdn-b'-Auf and said, " tell 
me of Omar-b-u'l Khattab." He replied " thou canst not ask me concern- 
ing anything but thou art better acquainted with it than I." Abu Bakr 
said " well, even so." A'bdu'r Eahmdn answered, " by Allah, he is even 
better than thy opinion of him." Then he summoned Othman-b-A'ffan 
and said, "tell me of Omar-b-u'l Khattab" and he answered, "thou 
knowest more of him than I." Abu Bakr replied, " Be it so." The 
other replied, " verily, my knowledge of him is that his inward disposition 
is better than his outward appearance, and indeed there is not his like 

* One of Muhammad's Companions— of the tribe of Thakif, and a judge of the 
Arabs. His wife was al Farigha daughter to Hammam-b-tT'rwai, ; going into her 
apartment one morning he found her picking her teeth on which he sent her a sentence 
of divorce for said he " if you have breakfasted before your time, you arc a glutton and 
if you have passed the night with particles of meat between your teeth, you are a 
slut." To this she replied that it was neither one nor the other, but that she was 
removing the fragment of a toothpick. She afterwards married Yusnf-b-tJ'^ayl to 
whom she bore the tyrant at Hajjdj. Ibn Khali. 

t Taken with a slight alteration from the Kur, chapters XI and LXXXV. 



[ 83 ] 

amongst us." Abu Bakr consulted together with those two, Sa'id-b-Zayd, 
and Usayd-b-u'l Hudhayr, and others from among the Fugitives and Auxi- 
liaries, and Usayd said, " verily, I think him the best after thee ; he approves 
what merits approval, and is indignant with what deserves wrath ; 
what he conceals is better than what he suffers to appear, and no one can 
sway this authority more vigorously than he." Some of the Companions 
went unto Abu Bakr and one of them spake to him saying, " what wilt 
thou say to thy Lord, when He asketh of thee regarding the appointment 
of Omar over us, and verily thou seest his asperity of temper" : and Abu 
Bakr said, " by Allah, dost thou think to terrify me ? I shall say God 
I have given the best of thy people to rule over them. Tell others from 
me what I have said," Then he summoned Othman and said, " write — In 
the name of God the most merciful and compassionate. This is the testa- 
ment made by Abu Bakr the son of Abu Kuhafah at the close of his life in 
the world as he is about to leave it, and at the beginning of his life in the 
next, being about to enter it, a time when the infidel believeth and the 
sinner gaineth certitude, and the liar speaketh the truth. I have made 
Caliph over you after me, Omar-b-u'l Khattab — therefore hear and obey 
him, and verily I have not been wanting in my duty to God and His 
apostle and His religion and myself and you: if therefore he acteth 
justly, then will my opinion regarding him and my knowledge of him be 
justified, and if he doeth the contrary, then every action receiveth that 
which it hath earned, and I have intended what is good and know not what 
is hidden, ' and they who act unjustly shall know hereafter with what 
treatment they shall be treated' (Kur. XXVI) and peace be to you and 
the mercy of God and His blessing." He then ordered that they should 
seal the document. After this he commanded Othman who went forth 
with the document sealed, and the people swore allegiance and approved it. 
Then Abu Bakr summoned Omar in private and charged him with what 
he charged him and Omar left him. Then Abu Bakr lifted up his hands 
and said, " O God I have wished in this but their good, and I feared discord 
amongst them, therefore have I done regarding them that which thou 
knowest and exerted my faculties for them to the utmost ; and I have 
appointed to rule over them the best among them and the most vigorous, 
and the most zealous of them for that which directeth them aright ; and 
verily what I have recollected of thy commands, I have remembered, 
therefore put another in my place over them, for they are thy servants and 
their forelocks* are in thy hands. Instruct, Lord, their rulers and 
make him whom tJio'u appointest, to be one of the Orthodox Caliphs and 
render his subjects righteous towards him." 

* By " forelocks'' may be also signified the oMefs of the nation. 



[ «4 ] 

Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim record on the authority of Ibn Masa'iid that 
he said, " the most sagacious of mankind were three — Abu Bakr when he 
appointed Omar as Caliph,— the wife of Moses when she said, " Hire him 
for certain* wages" (Kur. XXVIII) and the minister ofJEcft/ptf when he dis- 
cerned the character of Joseph from his physiognomy and said to his wife 
" use him honorably" (Eur. XII). And Ibn A'sakir from Yasar-b-Hamzah 
that he said, " when Abu Bakr was grievously sick, he stood up over the 
people from a window and said ' O ye men, verily I have made a covenant, 
therefore consent ye to it ;' and the people said, ' we consent, O Vicegerent 
of the Apostle of God ;' then A'li stood up and said, ' I shall not consent 
unless it be for Omar,' and Abu Bakr replied, ' verily it is fir Omar.' 
And Ahmad from Ayesha that she said, ' Abu Bakr, when he was nigh 
unto death said, " what day is this?"' They answered 'Monday:' J he 
said, ' if I die to-night delay not for me my itlrial until to-morrow, for 
verily the dearest to me of all days and nights is that which is nearest of 
them to ihe time of tJie death of the Apostle of God.' And Malik from 
Ayesha, that Abu Bakr gave to her twenty camel-loads of fruit-cuttings 
of the palms from his property at Ghabah,§ and when he was nigh unto 
death, he said, ' O daughter, by Allah, there is not one among the people 
whose richness is more pleasing to me than thine, and none whose poverty 
would be more distressing to me after my death, and verily I had given to 
thee twenty camel-loads of the fruit-cuttings of my palms ; — if thou badst 
cut them and taken them, they would have been thine, but now they are 
the property of my heirs, who are verily thy two brothers and thy two 
sisters — then let them divide it according to the book of God.' She 
replied, ' father, even had it been so that I had cut them, I would have 
left them, but surely she, my sister is Asma, who then is the other sister ?' 
He said, ' the child that is in the womb of the daughter of Kharijah, whom 
I think is a girl.' Ibn Saa'd records this tradition and at the end of it 
adds, 'the child in the womb of the daughter of Kharijah, || verily it hath 
been put into my heart that it is a girl therefore take charge of her with 
kindness,' and from her was born Umm Kulthum." 

* For this story see Kuran XXVIII and Sale's notes, p. 319. 

t His name was Kitfir or Itflr (a corruption of Potiphar) and he was man of great 
consideration, heing superintendent of the royal treasury {al Baydawi). Sale, p. 189. 

t According to a tradition attested hy an Nawawi and others, on a Monday Mu- 
hammad was horn, on a Monday he fled from Mecca, on a Monday, he arrived at 
Medina. His first revelation was made to him on a Monday, and on a Mondav ho 
died. ' 

§ Twelve miles from Medina on the road to Syria. 

II Khdrijah-h-Zayd-h-Ahi Znhayr one of the Auxiliaries, of the tribe of Khazrai 
Abu Bakr married his daughter whom he left pregnant at his death. Ibn Hajr. 



[ 85 ] 

Ibn Saa'd records from U'rwah* that Abu Bakr left away a fifth of 
his property and said, " take of my good that which God taketh of the 
booty of the Muslims."t And by a different ascription from the same, 
that Abu Bakr said, " that I should bequeath a fiftb is preferable to me 
than that I should bequeath a fourth, and to bequeath a fourth is prefera- 
ble to me than if I bequeathed a third, for he who bequeaths a third, leaves 
nothing." And Saa'd-b-Man§tir in his Sunnan (Traditions) from ad Dhah- 
hak,J that Abu Bakr and A'li bequeathed a fifth of their property to such 
among their relations as did not legally inherit from them. 

A'bdu'Uah-b-Ahmad records in the Zawaid u'z Zuhd from Ayesha that 
she said, " by Allah, Abu Bakr did not leave a dinar nor a dirham stamjied 
with the name of God." And Ibn Saa'd and others from Ayesha, " when 
Abu Bakr was grievously sick, I recited this verse appositely, 

' By thy life, wealth is of no avail to a man : 
On the day when the death-rattle is in his throat and his breast 
is contracted by it.' 

and Abu Bakr uncovered his face and said, ' it is not so, but say and the 
agony of death shall come in truth ; this O man, is what thou soughtest to 
avoid' (Kur. L) — behold these my two garments — wash them and shroud 
me in them, for the living is more in want of new ones than the dead." 
And Abu Ya'la from Ayesha, " I went to Abu Bakr when he was at the 
point of death and I said 

' He whose weeping ceaseth not when he is veiled ; 
Verily at some time it shall flow forth.' 

* TJ'rwah, was tlie son of Ayesta's siater Asma who received from Muhammad 
the title of Diltu'n Nitakayn " wearer of the two girdles," for having torn her veil in 
two, with one half of -which she tied up the wallet of provisions aad the water which 
Muhammad and Ahu Bakr took with them in their flight to Medina. She was also the 
mother of the Caliph A'bdu'Uah-h-uz Zuhayr. Ibn Hajr. 

t By the Muhammadan law, a testator can leave away one-third of his property 
to whom he chooses, the other two-thirds going to his heirs. Abu Bakr appeared to 
consider that to leave away the utmost the law allowed would have been ungenerous 
to his heirs. A fifth of the spoils taken in war by the Muslims became the property 
of the Caliph for the use of the State. 

X Ad Dhahhak-b-Sufyan-b-Kaa'b-b-A'bdi'llah of the Banu Kilab. He was one of 
the Companions and was counted for his prowess equal to a hundred horsemen. An 
Nawawi states that it is a glari ng error to call htm the son of !^ays, as some authori- 
tias do. There were two generals, bearing the name of Dhahhak-b-Kays, mentioned 
byDeSlane (I. K. Vol. IV, p. 212). He was placed by Muhammad at the head of 
the Banu Salim who numbered at that time 900 men, saying to them that one who 
was equal to a hundred men was well able to command a thousand. 



[ 86 ] 

And he said, ' do not say that, but say " And the agony of death shall 
come in truth ; this, O man, is what thou soughtest to avoid," ' then he said 
' on what day did the Apostle of God die,' I answered ' on a Monday' : 
he said, ' I hope for death between this and the night ;' and he died on 
Tuesday and was buried before the day broke." And A'bdu'llah-b-Ahmad 
in the Zawaidu'z Zuhd on the authority of Bakr-b-A'bdillah al Muzani, 
that when Abu Bakr was nigh unto death, Ayesha seated herself near his 
head and said. 

Unto every possessor of camels, do his camels return for water : 

And who so spoileth, shall himself be despoiled. 
And Abu Bakr understood it and said, " it is not so, O daughter, but it is 
as the Lord hath said ' and the agony of death shall come' " &c. And Ah- 
mad from Ayesha, that she recited appositely this verse when Abu Bakr was 
dying, 

" And one so unsullied in honor that the cloud draweth moisture 
from his face : 

The protection of orphans, the defence of widows." 
And Abu Bakr said " that must be the Apostle of God." And A'bdu'llah- 
b-Ahmad in the Zawaid u'z Zuhd from U'bada-b-Kays, that when Abu 
Bakr was nigh unto death, he said to Ayesha, " wash me these two gar- 
ments and shroud me in them, for verily thy father shall be one of two 
men, either robed in the best of garments or stripped by an ignoble 
stripping." And Ibn Abi 'd Dunya from Abu Mulaykah, that Abu Bakr left 
as his last commands that his wife Asma the daughter of U'mays, should 
bathe him, and that A'bdu'r Eahman-b- Abi Bakr should help her. And 
Ibn Saa'd from Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, that Omar read prayers over Abu 
Bakr between the tomb and the pulpit of Muhammad and recited the 
" Takbir,"* four times. And from U'rwah and al Kasim-b-Muhammad, 
that Abu Bakr left as his last instructions to Ayesha, that he should be 
buried by the side of the Apostle of God, and when he died, they dug a 
grave for him and laid his head on a level with the shoulder of the Apostle 
of God, and the niche of his grave touched the grave of the Apostle of 
God.f And from Ibn Omar, that Omar, Talhah, Othman and A'bdu'r "S 

• In prayers for the dead, the "takbir,"' that is the saying " Allahu Akbar" God 
is great, is followed the first time, by the recital of the praises of God, the second time 
by those of Muhammad, the third time by prayers for the living and the dead, and the 
fourth by the salutation of dismissal " peace be to you" &o. 

t Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Omar lie side by side at Medina, the graves in 
eohellon, so that the head of Abu Bakr's grave rests on a line with the shoulder of 
that of Muljammad : see a diagram of their position in Burton's Pilgrimage, Vol. II, 
p. 74. The iijsr' or niche is out into the side of the grave and the body rests therein. 



[ 87 1 

Eahman the son o£ Abu Bakr descended into the grave of Abu Bakr. 
And he records likewise on several lines of ascription, that he was buried 
at night. And from Ibn u'l Musayyab that when Abu Bakr died, Mecca 
was convulsed by an earthquake, and Abu Kuhafah said, " what is that ?" 
they answered, " thy son is dead." He said, " It is a terrible calamity — > 
who has arisen in authority after him ?" they replied " Omar ;" he exclaim- 
ed " He was his companion," And from Mujahid that Abu Kuhafah 
returned what he had inherited, from Abu Bakr to the son of Abu Bakr 
and Abu Kuhafah survived Abu Bakr only six months and some days, 
dying in Muharram A. H. 14, at the age of ninety-seven. The learned 
say that none but Abu Bakr ruled the Caliphate during the lifetime of 
his father, and the father of none but of Abu Bakr inherited from his son 
as Caliph. 

Al Hakim records on the authority of Ibn Omar that Abu Bakr ruled 
two years and seven months ; and in the history of Ibn A'sakir, ii is stated 
with the ascription thereof on the authority of al Asma'i, that Khufaf *-b- 
Nudbah as Salami said, mourning Abu Bakr. 

Tell every living thing that there is no permanence for it : 

And for the whole universe, its decree is destruction. 

The goods of men are but as a trust : 

Borrowed on the condition of repayment : 

And a man strives, but there is one who lieth in wait for him : 

The eye mourneth for him and the ardour of the voice. 

He groweth old, or is slain, or subdued : 

Sickness that hath no remedy maketh him to lataent. 

Verily Abu Bakr was as the rain 

What time Orion causeth not the herbage to grow with moisture. 

By Allah, there shall not attain unto the excellence of his days : 

Neither the youth that wears the Mizar,t nor one that wears the 

Eida. 
He who strives to attain unto the excellence of his days : 
Earnestly, is apart and solitary upon the earth. 

* Khufaf-b-U'inayr-b-al Harith, a descendant of Imtil Kays generally known as 
rbn Nudbah, the latter beidg his mother's name. She was a captive in the possession 
of his grandfather Harith, who gave her to his son U'mayr, who had by her Khufaf. 
He was present at the battle of Hunayn, and at the conquest of Mecca where 'he 
carried the standard of the Banu Salim. He shared with Durayd the honor of being 
the two greatest poets of the Arab chivalry ; died in the CaUphate of Omar. Ibn Hajr. 

t The Mizar or drawers, covers the lower part of the body, while the Eida is a 
garment worn over the upper part of the body. 



I 88 ] 



On the traditions related on his authority ascribed to Muhammad. 

An Nawawi says in his Tahdib — " As Siddik has narrated one hundred 
and forty-two traditions from the Apostle of God. The reason of the 
small number of his narrations is that his death preceded the spreading 
abroad of the traditions and the solicitude of the Tabi'is in listening to them, 
and collecting and preserving them." I observe that Omar has mentioned 
in the tradition regarding the oath of allegiance* preceding, " that Abu 
Bakr did not omit a thing of what had been revealed regarding the 
Auxiliaries nor what the Apostle of God had said concerning them, but he 
mentioned it" : and this is the most complete proof of the extent of his 
memory of the traditions, and the amplitude of his knowledge of the 
]^uran,t and I have thought it expedient to inscribe here, consecutively but 
briefly his traditions, mentioning after each tradition the authorities that 
have recorded it, and I purpose to follow them out with their aseriptiong^ 
in a collected form, if it so please God. 

1. The tradition of the Plight, (the two Shaykhs and others.) 

2. 2%e tradition, " The waters of the sea are a means of purifying, 
its dead are lawful to eat." (Darakutni.) 

3. The tradition, " The tooth-stick is a means of purifying the- 
mouth, a cause of approbation to the Lord." (Ahmad.) 

4. The tradition that the Apostle of God eat from a shoulder o_f 
a sheep and then prayed without performing ablution. (Al Bazzar and 
Abu Ya'la.) 

5. The tradition, " Let none of you perform ablution on account of 
food that he hath eaten, the eating of which is lawful unto him." (Al Baz- 
zar.) 

6. The tradition, the Apostle of Go^ forbade the beating of those 
who were at prayer. (Abu Ya'la and al Bazzar.) 

7- The tradition, " The last prayers the prophet prayed, he prayed 
behind me, wearing a single garment." 

8. The tradition, " He who is rejoiced to read the Kuran freshly, 
as it was revealed, let him read it according to the reading of Ibu Umm 
A'bd." (Ahmad.) 

9. The tradition that he said to the Apostle of God, " teach me 
a prayer, which I may say in my prayers," — he replied, " O God I have 

• See page 71 — the word Ui should be inserted hetween S and iiSi to make 
it identical with Omar's words in the tradition quoted, though neither the MS. nor 
printed text have it. . 

t Here follows a list of those who have related traditions on his authority, which I 
see no profit in transcribing. 



[ «9 ] 

wronged my own soul with a great wronging, and none but Thou forgiveth 
sins, therefore pardon me in Thy clemency, and have mercy on me, for Thou 
art the Clement and the Merciful. (Al Bukhari and Muslim.) 

10. The tradition. " He who prayeth in the morning, is under the 
protection of God, therefore seek ye not to violate the promise of God, and 
he who slayeth him. who doth so^ God will summon him and prostrate him 
upon his face in hell fire." (Ibn Majah.)* 

11. The tradition. " No prophet ever died, until one among his 
people had stood before him as Imam in prayer." (Al Bazzar.) 

12. The tradition. " No man committeth a sin, and then performeth 
his ablution so /that it be valid, and then prayeth with two bowings of the 
head and body, and asketh pardon of God, but He forgiveth him." 
(Ahmad and the authors of the Four Sunans, and Ibn Hahan.) 

13. The tradition. " God hath never taken from life a prophet save 
in the place wherein he desireth to be buried." (At Tirmidi.) 

14. The tradition. " God curse the Jews and the Christians — ^take 
ye the sepulchres of their prophets as mosques." (Abu Ta'la.) 

15. The tradition. " Verily a dead bodyf is sprinkled with hot water 
by reason of the lamentations of the living." (Abu Ya'la.) 

16. The tradition. " Beware of hell fire, though it be but for half 
a date, for verily it maketh straight the crooked, and preventeth a wicked 
death, and efEecteth for the hungry what it doth for him who is full." 

17. The tradition, " The obligation of alms-deeds — in full." (Al 
Bukhari and others.) 

] 8. TJie tradition from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, who said — " Often 
times the bridle would fall from the hand of Abu Bakr and he would strike 
the foreleg of his camel and make it kneel down," — they said to him " why 
didst thou not command us^to give it to thee." He replied, " my friend the 
Apostle of God commanded me to ask nothing of men." (Ahmad.) 

19. The tradition. " The Apostle of God commanded Asma the 
daughter of U'mays when she brought forth Muhammad the son of Abu 
Bakr, to bathe herself and invoke the name of God." 

* Albu A'tdu'Ilali Muhammad-b-Tazid-'b-Majah al Kazwini a celebrated Hafidh ia 
the author of a -work in tradition entitled Kitab us Sunan. He is the author of a 
conunentary on the ^iiran and a history of Kazwin. Hia hook on tradition is counted 
one of the six Sahihs (authentic collections) ; horn A. H. 209 (82i-5) died A. H. 273 
(887). Ihn Khali. 

t That ia, punished for the profitless lamentations of the living : another tradition 
says, " verily the dead will he punished for his family's weeping for him. ( o»a*J | ul 
AJLc aIaj *ISjj uiiju) the reason of which Lane thinks to be, that the Arabs used to 
charge their families to weep and wail for them, and the dead are obnoxious to punish- 
ment for having done this. 
12 



[ 90 ] 

20. The tradition. The Apostle of God was asked " which are the 
most excellent actions of the pilgrimage ?" He replied, " the raising of the 
voice in the ' talbiyat,' and the shedding of the blood of the victims 
Iroughtfor sacrifice." (At Tirmidi and Ibn Majah.) 

21. The tradition. — That he kissed the Blach Stone and said, " were 
it not that I have, seen the Apostle of God kiss thee, I would not have 
kissed thee (Ad Ddrakutni). 

22. The tradition that the Apostle of God sent to the people of 
Mecca an ordinance that no idolater should make the pilgrimage after that 
year, and that no one should make the circuit of the Kaaha naked, &c. 
(Ahmad.) 

23. The tradition. " Between my dwelling and my pulpit is a 
garden of the gardens of paradise, and my pulpit is upon a fountain of 
the fountains of* paradise." (Abu Ya'la.) 

24. The tradition of Muhammad's going to the house of Abu 
Haytham-b-u'l Tayyihan, in full. (Abu Ya'la.) 

25. The tradition " Gold with gold, like with like, silver with 
silver, like with like, but who giveth or asketh over and above shall be 
in hell fire." (A'bu Ya'la and al Bazzar.) 

26. The tradition. " Cursed be he who doeth injury to a true believer 
or defraudeth him." (At Tirmidi.) 

27. The tradition, " The avaricious man shall not enter paradise, 
nor the deceiver, nor the betrayer, nor he who ruleth evilly, and the first 
that shall enter paradise is the servant who is obedient to God and obedi- 
ent to his master." (Ahmad.) 

28. The tradition. He who freeth a slave, inherits of him. (Al 
Dhiaf al Mukaddasi in the Mukhtirah.) 

29. The tradition. " WeJ are not inherited of ; that which we leave 
is the portion, of the poor." (Al Bukhari.) 

30. The tradition. "Verily when the Lord ansigneth a means of 
subsistence to a prophet, and afterwards taketh his life, He continueth it 
unto him who cometh after him." (Abu DauM.) 

31. The tradition. " Evading family descent, though in a trifling 
degree, is impiety towards God." (Al Bazzdr.) 



* The text here has icu for &«,J erroneously. Tlie MS. has the correct reading. 
For variations of this tradition, see Burton's Pilgrimage, Vol. II, p. 6S. 

t Hafidh DMA u'ddi'n Muhammad-b-Abdi'l "Wdhid al Mukaddasi al Hanbali, 
died 643 A. H. (124S) The Mukhtdrah (chosen) is a work on tradition. Kashf u'd 
Dhuntin. 

t See page 74. 



[ 91 ] 

32. The traiiiion. " Thou and thy goods belong to thy father." 
Abu Bakr said, " he meant by that only what regards necessary mainte^ 
nance." (Al Bayhaki.) 

33. The tradition. " He whose feet become dusty in the service of 
God, God will preserve them from hell fire.'' (Al Bazzar.) 

Si. The tradition. " I was commanded to war with men." (The 
two Shaykhs and others.) 

35. The tradition. " An excellent servant of God and a brother to 
his kindred is Khalid-b-u'l Walid, and a Sword of the Swords of God which 
He hath drawn against the infidels and hypocrites." (Ahmad.) 

36. The tradition. " The sun hath never risen upon a better man 
than Omar." (At Tirmidi.) 

37. The tradition. " He who hath swayed authority over the Mus- 
lims and hath appointed over them a governor out of favour, upon him 
shall be the curse of God— the Lord shall not accept from him either 
artifice or ransom until He maketh him to enter hell, and he who giveth 
to any one what is reserved for the Lord, verily violateth unlawfully what 
is reserved to God, upon him, therefore, shall be the curse of God." 

38. The tradition — the story of Mai'z* and his stoning. (Ahmad.) 

39. The tradition. " He doeth not amiss who asketh pardon thought 
he return to Ms fault seventy times a day." (At Tirmidi.) 

40. The tradition that Muhammad held a council of war. (At 
Tabarani.) 

il. The tradition when there was revealed " whoso doeth evil shall 
be requited for it" etcetera. (Kur. IV) — (At Tirmidi, Ibn Haban and 
others,) 

42. The tradition. " Verily ye read this verse ' Q true believers, 
take care of your souls' " &c., (Kur. V.) (Ahmad and the authors of the Four 
Sunans,t and Ibn Haban.) 

43. The tradition. " What is thy opinion of two people, of whom 
God maketh the third ?" (The two Shaykhs. ) 

44. The tradition. " God let us not die by spear-thrusts or pes- 
tilence." ' (Abu Ya'la.) 

45. The tradition. " The Siira of Hud hath made me grey," &c. Ad 
Darakutni in the Hal (Defects impairing the validity; of traditions.) 

46. The tradition, " Infidelity moves more stealthily among my 
people than the creeping of an ant,'' &e. (Abu Ya'la and others.) 

* Mai'z-b Malik al Aslami, one of the Compaaiions was stoned on account of 
adultery. 

t The first four of the six 6rreat Masters of Tradition, i. e., al Bukhari, Muslim. 
Abu Daadd and at Tirmidi. 



[ 92 ] 

47. The tradition, " I said, O Apostle of God, instruct me in some- 
thing that I should say in the morning time and 'in the evening" &c. 
(Al Haytham b-Kulayb in his Musnad, and also at Tirmidi and others 
from the ascription of Abu Hurayrah.) 

48. The tradition. " Be careful to say, ' there is no God but God,' 
and to ask pardon of Him, for Satan bath said ' I destroy men by sin, and 
they destroy me by saying there is no God but God, and the asking of 
pardon, and when I see that, I destroy them through their passions for they 
think themselves to be rightly guided-" (Abu Ya'la.) 

49. The tradition when there was revealed ; " lift not up your 
yoices above the voice of the prophet"* I said " O Apostle of God, I will 
not address thee save in the voice of one who is decrepid." (As Sirar), 
al Bazzar. 

50. The tradition. " Every one obtains that which is created for 
him." (Ahmad.) 

51. The tradition. " He who lieth towards me of set purpose or 
refuseth a thing that I have commanded, shall surely dwell in a chamber 
of hell." (Abu Y.a'la.) 

52. The tradition. " There is no escape from this thing" &c., is in 
that o/"" there is no God but God " (Ahmad and others.) 

53. The tradition. " Go forth and call out to the people, ' He 
who confesseth that 'there is no God but God,' shall assuredly possess Para- 
dise ;' and I went forth and Omar met me &c." (Abu Ya'la, and this is 
preserved from the tradition of Abu Hurayrah — ^recorded by only one au- 
thority from the tradition of Abu Bakr.) 

54. The tradition. " There are two classes of my people that shall 
not enter paradise — the Murgiansf and the Kadarians." (Al Darakutni in 
the Hal Defeats invalidating traditions.) 

55. The tradition. " Ask safety of God." (Ahmad, Nasai and Ibn 
Majah who gives many ascriptions of it.) 



* Km. XLIX. This verse is said to have 'been occasioned by a dispute between 
Abu Bakr and Omar concerning the appointment of a governor of a certain place in 
which they raised their voices so high in Muhammad's presence, that it was thought 
necessary to forbid it for the future. Sale. 

t These teach that the judgment of every Muslim guilty of grievous sin will be 
deferred till the rosurreotion, for which reason they pass no sentence on him in this 
world either of absolution or condemnation. They also hold that disobedience with 
faith hurteth not, and obedience with iofldelity profiteth not. This sect is subdivided 
into four species. For the origin of the name and their further doctrines, consult Sale, 
p. 123. Preliminary discourse. The Kadarians deny absolute predestination, the 
Muatazalites are by some comprehended under this denomination. See Sale p. 115. 



[ 93 ] 

56. Tlie tradition. When the Apostle of God desired anything, he 
would say, " God, take for me, choose for me." (At Tirreidi.) 

57. The tradition,. " The prayer of submission is, ' God wTio art 
the dispeller of grief " &c. (Al Bazzdr and al Hakim.) 

58. The tradition. " Every body that is nourished with forbidden 
things, hell fire is its proper portion" — and in another reading "there 
shall not enter Paradise a body that hath been fed on what is forbidden 
to it." (Abu Ya'la.) 

59. The tradition. " There is no part of the body that complaineth 
not of the sharpness of the tongue." (Abu Ya'la.) 

60. The tradition. " The Lord descehdeth on the night in the mid- 
dle of the month of Shaa'ban, and in it pardoneth every mortal except an 
infidel, and the man in whose heart is hatred." (Al Darakutni.) 

61. The tradition. " Verily Bajjal shall come forth from the East 
from a land called Khurasan, and there shall follow him peoples whose 
faces are like two-fold shields." (At Tirmidi and Ibn Majah.) 

62. The tradition: " I have been given seventy thousand who shall 
enter Paradise without judgment being taken of them," &o. (Ahmad.) 

63. The tradition of Intercessioij — in full — concerning the running 
to and fro of people from prophet to prophet.* (Aljmad.) 

64. The tradition. "Were the people to march in one valley and 
the Auxiliaries marched in another' valley, I would march in the valley 
of the Auxiliaries." (Ahmad.) 

65. The tradition. " The Kuraysh are the masters of this authority, 
the good among them will follow the good among them, and the wicked 
among them will follow the wicked among them." (Ahmad.) 

66. The tradition that Muhammad, gave a charge regarding the 
Auxiliaries at the time of his death, and said, " receive those of them that 
do good, and pardon those of them that do evil. (Al Bazzar and at 
Tabarani.) 

67. The tradition. " I know a land called TJ'man whose shores the 
sea washes — in it there is a tribe of Arabs. Were my messenger to go 
among them, they would not assail him with arrows or with stones." 
(Ahmad and Abu Ya'la. ) 

68. The tradition that Abu Bakr passed by al Hasan who was 
playing with some boys and lifted him on to his neck, and said, " by my 
father, he hath a likeness to the prophet, and hath no likeness to A'li." 
(Al Bukhari.) Ibn Kathir says, " this comes under the class of uninter- 



* The belief being that on the Day of Judgment, people will run from prophet to 
prophet praying for their interceesion. 



[ 94 ] 

rupted ascriptions, as it is a confirmation of his remark that the Apostle of 
God resembled al Hasan." 

69. The tradition that the prophet used to visit TJmm Ayman. 
(Muslim.) 

70. The tradition. " The thief must be put to death for the fifth 
theft".* (Abu Ta'la and ad Daylami.) 

71. The tradition, of the narrative of Ohud (at Tayalisi and at 
Tabardni.) 

72. The tradition. " While I was with the apostle of God, behold I 
saw him driving away something from himself, and I did not see what 
thing it was. I said, ' apostle of God, what is it thou art driving away ?' 
He replied ' the world wearied me and I said " away with thee," and it 
said to me, " what ! wilt thou not have me ?" ' " (Al Bazzar.) 

Thus much has Ibn Kathir recorded in the ascriptions of as Siddik, 
(if those traditions traced uninterruptedly to the prophet, but he has 
omitted others which I follow up to complete the number mentioned by an 

NawawLt 

73. The tradition. " Kill a tike wherever you may find it among- 
men." (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 

74. T7ie tradition. " Eeflect whose are the houses ye dwell in 1 
whose the land ye inhabit ! and in the path of whom do ye walk !" (Ad 
Daylami.) 

75. The tradition. " Be frequent in your prayers over me, for the 
Lord hath stationed an angel above my grave, and when a man of my 
people prayeth, the angel sayeth to me, ' verily such a one the son of such 
a one hath this moment prayed for thee.' " (Ad Daylami.) 

76. The tradition. The Friday prayer is an atonement for all that 
occurreth until the next Friday prayer, and ablution on a Friday is an 
atonement, &c. (Al U'kayli in the Dhua'fa {weak authorities). 

77. The tradition. " Verily the heat of hell to my people shall be a& 
that of a hot bath." (At Tabarani.) 

78. The tradition. " Beware of lying, for lying is an estrangement 
from the faith." (Ibn Lai in the Makarim u'l Akhlak (noble qualities). 

79. The tradition. " To every one who hath fought at Badr, is 
announced the tidings of Paradise." (Ad DArakutni in the " Afrad" 
Traditions recorded but by one authority.) 

* According to the law, the thief loses his left hand for the first offence, his right 
foot for the second, Ms right hand for the third and his left foot for the fourth. The 
ingenuity that could contrive a fifth theft under these disadvantages would seom to 
deserve commendation rather than death. 

t An Nawawi mentions one hundred and forty-two, and- as Suydti gives but one 
hundred and four. I am grateful for the omission. 



[ 95 ] 

80. The tradition. " Eeligion is the weighty banner of God ; who is 
able to sustain it ?" (Ad Daylami.) 

81. The tradition. The Sura Y. S* is called the " Commonalty" (the 
throat), &c., (ad Daylami and al Bayhaki in the Shaa'b u'l Imin— people 
of the Faith.) 

82. The tradition. " A monarch just and humble, is the shadow of 
God and His spear upon earth, and every night and day shall be placed to 
his account the good works of sixty just men." (Abu'l Shaykh al U'kayli 
in the Dhua'fa and Ibn Haban in the " Kitab u't Thawab" — Beoord of 
recompense.) 

83. The tradition. " Moses said to his Lord ' What is the reward 
for one who consoleth the bereaved mother ?' He replied ' God will 
cover him with His shadow.' " (Ibn Shahinin the "Targhib." (Incentive) 
and ad Daylami.) 

84. The tradition. " God ! strengthen Islam in Omar b-u'l Khat- 
tab." (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 

85. The tradition. " No game is ever pursued, nor a thorny tree 
lopped, nor the root of a tree cut, but by reason of their infrequency in 
praising God." (Ibn Eahwayhf in his Musnad.) 

86. The tradition. " Had I not been sent unto you, Omar would 
surely have been sent" &c. (Ad Daylami.) 

87. The tradition. " Were the inhabitants of Paradise to trade, 
they would trade in stuffs. "J 

88. The tradition. " He who rebelleth claiming either for himself or 
for another, while an Imam ruleth the people, upon him is the curse of God, 
and the angels and the whole people, — therefore slay him." (Ad Daylami 
in the History of Samadan ?) 

89. The tradition. " He who reeordeth on my authority a doctrine 
or a tradition, the reward thereof shall not cease to be placed to his account 

* The meaning of these letters is unknown ; acme pretend that they stand for Ya 
insan (0 man). This chapter is said to hare several other titles given to it by Mu- 
hammad himself, and particularly that of the heart of the Imuran. It is read to 
persons in their dying- agony. Sale. 

+ Abu Takub Ishak, a native of Marw, as Shahjan was equally distinguished for 
his knowledge of law and tradition as for his piety. Ibn Hanbal considered him an. 
Im£m among the Muslims and an eminent jurisconsult. His Musnad is well-known. 
He was bom A. H. 161 (A. I). 777-8) and died at Naysabiir A. H. 238 (853). ' Rah- 
wayh, says Ibn Khallakdn was a name given to his father, because he was bom on the 
road to Mecca (rah in Persian signifying road and wayh found.) This word is also 
pronounced Edhuya. Ibn Khallakan's philology is not always safe to follow. 

J Abu Bakr, Othman, f all^^h A'bdur Ea^iman-b-A'uf were all cloth-merchants. 
Ibn Kutayb. i 



[ 96 ] 

while that doctrine or tradition continueth." (Al Hakim in the History 
of the doctors of Naysahur.") 

90. TTie tradition. " He who walketh barefoot in the service of God, 
God will not ask of him on the Day of Judgment regarding what was 
obligatory upon him." (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 

91. The tradition. " Whoso would be glad that God should protect him 
from the heat of hell and bring him under His own shadow, let him not be 
harsh with the true believers, but merciful unto them." (Ibn Lai in the 
Makdrim u'l Akhlak and Abu'l Shaykh and Ibn Haban in the " Thawab" 
Mecompense.) 

92. The tradition. " He who riseth in the morning purposing to 
worship God, God will write down to him the recompense of his day, even 
though he sinneth against Him." (AdDaylami.) 

93. The tradition. " No people hath abstained from warring in the 
cause of the Lord, but He hath included them in one common punishment." 
(At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 

94. The tradition. "A slanderer shall not enter Paradise." (Ad 
Daylami but without ascription.) 

95. The tradition. " Despise not any of the Muslims, for the mean- 
est of the Muslims is great before God." (Ad Daylami.) 

96. The tradition. God says " if ye desire my mercy, be merciful 
unto my people." (Abu'l Shaykh, Ibn Haban and ad Daylami.) 

97. The tradition. " I asked of the apostle of God regarding the 
nether garment, and he touched the muscle of his leg, and I said ' 
apostle of God increase the length for me ;' then he touched the lower part 
of the muscle, and I said ' increase the length for me,' he replied, ' it 
would not be good to have it lower.' I said, ' O apostle of God we are 
undone :' he answered, ' O Abu Bakr, be guided aright, and take the middle 
course, thou wilt be safe.' " (Abu Nua'ym in the Huliyah.) 

98. The tradition. "My palm and the palm of A'li are exactly 
equal." (Ad Daylami and Ibn A'sdkir.) 

99. X%e tradition. " Neglect not to invoke God against Satan, for if 
ye do not regard him, he is not heedless of ye." (Ad Daylami but without 
ascription.) 

100. The tradition. " He who buildeth a temple unto God, God will 
build for him a mansion in Paradise." (At Tabardhi in the Ausat.) 

101. The tradition. " He who hath eaten of this unclean* herb, let 
him not approach our temple." (At Tabardni in the Ausat.) 

102. The tradition of the lifting up of the hands in the beginning of 

* Garlic. In two traditions given in the Kitdb u'l IktifA, onions are included in 
this prohibition. These will be found in the life of Omar in that work. 



[ 97 J 

prayer, in the bowing of the head, and in prostration.* (Al Bayhaki in the 
Sunan.) 

103. The tradition. " Give a Camel to Abu Jahl."t (Al Isma'ili in 
the Mua'jam alphabetical Dictionary of the Traditionists.) 

104. The tradition. " Looking upon A'U is worship." (Ibn A'sakir.) 



On what hath ieen handed down of as Siddik in comment 
on the Kurdn. 

Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi records on the authority of Ibn Mulaykah 
that Abu Bakr was asked regarding a verse of the Kuran and he said, 
" what earth would sustain me and what sky would overshadow me, were I 
to speak that concerning the book of God which God hath not intended." 
And Abn TJ'baydah . from Ibrahim at Taymi, that Abu Bakr was asked 
regarding the saying of the Most High, " grapes and clover" (Kur. LXXX) 
and he said, " what sky would overshadow me and what earth would sustain 
me, did I speak regarding the book of God that which 1 know not." And 
al BayBaki and others from Abu Bakr that he was asked regarding the 
meaning of " al Kalalah,"J and he answered " I will presently give an 
opinion regarding it and if it be just, it is from God, but if it be faulty 
it Cometh from me and from the Evil One. I think it to mean lacking 
parent and offspring ;" and when Omar became CaKph, he said, " verily, 
I forbear from setting aside a thing that Abu Bakr hath spoken." 

Abu Nua'ym records in his Huliyah from al Aswad-b-Hilal, that Abu 
Bakr said to the Companions, " What say ye concerning these two verses, 
' As for those who say our Lord is God and who behave uprightly' (Kur. 
•XLI) — ' and they who believe and clothe not their faith with injustice' 
(Kur. VI). They replied, ' and who behave uprightly,' — that is, ^ho diO 
not sin and do not clothe their faith with sin." He replied, " ye have 
placed upon it a meaning which it will not bear ;" then he said, " Who say 
our Lord is God and who behave uprightly" — that is, " who do not incline 

* In the beginning of prayers, lifting up the hands is the universal practice, the 
Shafi"i school alone adopting it in the howings and prostrations. 

t The uncle of Muhammad. 

% Kur. IV. AJ^lwi translated by Sale — " a distant relation.'' Zamalcshari in 
his great Commentary gives it three meanings : — 

1. One who has neither son nor father aUve. 

2. One who has neither father living nor any issue. 

3. One who has no living relative in the direct paternal line, nor through his 
own children. 

13 



to a God other than Him, and who do not clothe their faith with infidelity 
by associating others with Him." And Ibn Jarir from Abu Bakr as 
Siddik, regarding the saying of the Most High, " They who do right shall 
receive a most excellent reward and a superabundant addition" (Kur. X), 
that he said it signified the looking upon the face of the Lord ; and re- 
garding the words of the Most High, " Those who say our Lord is God 
and who behave uprightly," that he said, " Verily the people say this, but 
he who dieth according to iYas precept, he it is who behaveth uprightly." 



On what has leen handed of estallished traditions from as Siddik on the 
subject of his words, decisions, discourses and prayers. 

Al Lalakai* records in his Sunnat on the authority of Ibn Omar that 
a man went to Abu Bakr and said, " dost thou think that fornication in a 
man is predestined?" He answered, "Tes." Then he said, "if God 
hath predestined it concerning me, will He punish me for it ?" He replied 
" yes, thou son of an uncircumcised woman, and by Allah, were a man by 
me, I would command him to bring thee to reason." And Abu Dauu'd in 
his Sunan from Abu Abdu'llah as Sunabihi.t that he once prayed behind 
Abii Bakr at evening prayers, and Abu Bakr read during the first two 
bowings of the head, the first chapter of the Kuran and a Sura of the 
shorter sections,^ and he read in the third bowing, " O Lord, cause not our 
hearts to swerve from truth after thou hast directed us" (Kur III.) And 
Ibn Abi Khaythamah and Ibn A'sakir from Ibn U'aynah, that when Abu 
Bakr was engaged in condoling with a man he used to say, " there is no 
harm in patience and no profit in lamentation : death is easier to bear than 
that which precedeth it, and more severe than that which cometh after it : 
remember the death of the apostle of God, your sorrow will be lessened and 
may God increase your reward." And Ibn Abi Shaybah and ad Darakutni 
from SAlim-b-U'bayd§ who was a Companion, that he said, " Abu Bakr 

* Atu'l KAsim Hibatu'Uah-t-5asan-'b-Mausur ar Eazi. 

t Abu A'bdiillali A'bdiir Rahman-b-Aaalat as Sunabijji, the latter is a branch of 
Banu Mur4d. 

i The Mufassal is that portion of the Kuran from the XLIXth Chapter to the end, 
according to the moat correct opinion and so called because of the many divisions 
between its chapters. 

§ Abu A'bdu'llah Salim-b-"D'bayd-b-Eabii'h, the freedman of Abu Hudayfeh the 
Companion. Abu Nua'ym denies this pedigree, and others assert him to be the son of 
Ma'kal. He was of Persian origin, one of the most eminent of the Companions and 
Auxiliaries. Omar thought so highly of him, that at hia death he is reported to have 



[ 99 ] 

used to say to me, ' Stand between aie and the dawn that I may eat my 
morning meal.'* And from Abu Kilabab and Abd's Safar that they said, 
' Abu Bakr as Siddik used to say, " shut the door that we may eat our 
morning meal." ' And al Bayhaki and Abu Batr-b-Ziyad of Naysabur, in 
the Kafcab u'l Ziyaddt from Hudayfahf-b-Usayd, that he said, ' verily 
I observed Abu Bakr and Omar and what they did in the early part 
of the forenoon, with the intention that the example of those two 
might be followed.' And Abu Dauud from Ibn A'bbds that he said, 
'I testify that Abu Bakr as Siddik said, "eat of fishes those only 
that swim." ' And as Shafi'iJ in the Aa'm (Universal) from Abu Bakr 
as Siddik, that he was averse to the sale of flesh in exchange for a 
live animal. And al Bukhari, that he placed the grandfather in the same 
degree as the father, that is, in regard to inheriting. And Ibn Abi Shaybah 
in his Musannaf, from Abu Bakr, that he said, ' a grandfabher stands 
in the place of the father, if there be no father but he, and the grand- 
son in place of the son, if there be no other than he.' And from al 
Kasim, that a man was brought before Abu Bakr, who had been dis- 
owned by his father, and Abu Bakr said ' smite him on the head 
for Satan is in his head.' And from Ibn Abi Malik, that once when Abu 
Bakr prayed over a dead man, he said, ' God ! his people, and his goods 
and his kindred have forsaken this Thy servant, and his sin was grievous 
but Thou art merciful and compassionate.' " 

Sa'id-b-Mansur records in his Sunan on the authority of Omar, 
that Abu Bakr decided the case of A'asim,§ the son of Omar-b-u'l Khattab 
in favour of the mother of A'a^'im, saying, " her breath and fragrance 
and kindness are better for thee (A'asim) than thine (Omar)." And 
al Bayhaki from ^ays-b-Abi Hazim, that a man went to Abu Bakr 



said that had Salim heen alive, he would not have named a Council of Consultation to 
elect for the Caliphate. Salim fought at Badr and Ohud and the hattle of the Ditch 
and was killed at Yamamah where he carried the standard of the Muslims embrac- 
ing it with the stamps of his arms after his hands had been hewn off. An Nawawi. 

* After the rise of the true dawn (jiUaJi^^' the day begins, and everything by 
which fasting would be broken, becomes unlawful to him who fasta. 

t Hudayfah-b-Usayd one of the Companions — present at Hu^aybyah and was one 
of those who swore to bo faithful to Muhammad when he was seated under the lote 
tree. According to Ibn Haban, he died A. H. 42. Ibn Hajr. 

X Bom A. H. 150 (707—8), died A. H. 204 (820) and buried in the leaser Karafah 
cemeteiy at old Cairo near Mount Mukattam. His life and teaching are well enough, 
known to dispense with an account of them here. Consult Ibn KhaUakan. 

§ A'asim was then a child, and Omar having a quarrel with the mother, wished to 
remove the Ipoy from her control, but Abu Bakr decided against it. The boy became- 
the grandfather of Omar-b-Abdi'l A'ziz the Caliph. 



[ 100 1 

and- said, "my father desireth to take my property, saying, that he is 
in need of the whole of it," and Abu Bakr said to his father, " Surely 
that only of his property is thine which is sufficient for thy suste- 
nance ;" he answered, " O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, did not 
the Apostle of God say, ' thou and thy goods belong to thy father !' 
He replied, ' Yes, but he meant by that only necessary maintenance.' 
And Ahmad from the grandfather of A'mr-b-Shu'ayb,* that Abu Bakr 
used not to kill a freedman in retaliation for a slave. And al Bukhari 
from the grandfather of Ibn Abi Mulaykah, that a man had bitten the 
hand of another who in return knocked out his teeth, and Abu Bakr 
suffered it to pass with impunity. And Ibn Abi Shaybah and al Bayhaki 
from A'krimahf that Abu Bakr adjudged the loss of a. ear to he repaid by 
fifteen camels and said, ' the hair and turban will conceal the disgrace of 
it.' And al Bayhaki and others from Abu Imam al Juni, that Abu Bakr 
sent troops to Syria arid appointed over them Yazid-b-Abi Sufyan and 
said, " I commend to thee ten precepts. Slay not a woman nor a child, 
nor an aged man, and cut not down a tree that beareth fruit, and lay not 
waste a cultivated country, and destroy not a sheep, nor a camel, save for 
food, and lop not a date tree nor burn it, and conceal not plunder and be 
not faint of heart." ' " 

Ahmad, and Abu Dauud and an Nasai record on the authority of Abu 
Barzah al Aslami, that he said, " Abu Bakr was enraged with a man and 
his anger became violent, and I said, to him, ' O Yicegerent of the Apostle 
of God shall I cut off his head ?' He replied, ' woe unto thee — that is 
not lawful for any one after the Apostle of God.' And Sayf in the Kitab 
u'l Futiih, (Beoord of Conquests) on the authority of his Shaykhs, that two 
female singers were brought before Muhajir Ibn Abi (Jmayyah who was 
ruler of Yamamah, one of whom had sung in contumely of the prophet, 
and he cut off her hand and pulled out her teeth ; the other had sung 
deriding the Muslims, and he cut off her hand and pulled out her teeth • 
and Abu Bakr wrote to him, saying, ' I have heard what thou hast done to 
the woman who sang in contumely of the prophet, and if thou hadst 
not been beforehand with me in it, I would have ordered thee to put her 
to death, for punishment in regard to the prophets is not as other punish- 
ments — he among the Muslims, therefore, who doeth such a thing is an 

* Abu Itrahim A'mr-b-Shua'yb-b-Muhaimnad-lj.A'tdi'Uah of the l^uraysh, in 
point of time next to the Tabi'ia. A great many distinguished Traditionists relate on 
his authority and his reputation is high amongst them for aoouraoy. An Nawawi. 

t There are two of this name, one the sou of Abu Jahl, and the other the freedman 
of Ibn A'bbas, one of the moat distinguished of tho Tabi'is the accuracy of whose tradi- 
tions is much praised by al Bukhari, he died A. H. 104. An Nawawi, 



[ 101 ] 

apostate, or being a tributary subject, is a treacherous enemy : but she who 
sang deriding the Muslims, were she among those who profess Islam then 
correction and deprivation of suisiance without mutilation would have been 
sufficient, but were she a tributary subject, then by my life, if I forgave 
her infidelity, it would be a great mercy, and had I been beforehand with 
thee in the like of this, I would assuredly have afflicted her sorely, but 
rather choose thou clemency, and beware thou of mutilating men, for it 
is a sin and a thing to be avoided save in retaliation.' " 

Malik and ad Ddrakutni record on the authority of Safiyah, 
the daughter of Abu U'bayd, that a man seduced a slave girl, a 
virgin, and confessed to it, and Abu Bakr passed order on him, and 
he was scourged and banished to Fadak.* And Abu Ya'la from 
Muhammad-b-Hatib that a man was brought before Abu Bakr who 
had committed theft, and his feet and hands had been cut ofE 
and Abu Bakr said to him, " I do not find that anything can he done to 
thee save what hath been adjudged regarding thee by the Apostle of 
God, on the day that he commanded thy death,f for verily he had know- 
ledge of thee," and he ordered him to be put to death. And Malik from 
al Kasim-b- Muhammad, that a man of the people of Yaman, whose hand 
and foot had b'een cut off for theft came and abode with Abu Bakr and 
complained to him that the governor of Yaman had treated him unjustly 
(and the man used to pray during the night), and Abu Bakr said, " by thy 
father, thy night is not like unto the night of a thief." After a little 
time they lost an ornament belonging to Asma, daughter of Umays, the 
wife of Abu Bakr, and the man went round with them searching and say- 
ing, " God ! with thee he retribution upon him who hath plundered 
by night the people of this just house." Afterwards, they found the 
ornament with a goldsmith who afiirmed that the mutilated man had 
brought it to him. Then the mutilated man either confessed or it 
was proved against him, and Abu Bakr . passed an order upon him and 
his left hand was amputated, and Abu Bakr said, " By Allah, his impre- 
cation upon himself was, to me, more grievous for him than his theft." 
And ad Darakutai from Anas that Abu Bakr ordered amputation for 
the theft of a, shield, the value of which was five dirhams. And Abu Nua'ym 
in his Huliyah, on the authority of Abu Salih that when the people of 
Yaman came J in the time of Abu Bakr and heard the Kuran, they began 
to weep, and Abu Bakr said " Thus were we, and afterwards our hearts 
became hardened." Abu Nua'ym adds — " that is, strengthened, and tranquil 

* A village in Hijaz two days journey from Medina, 
t See page 94, note. 

X That is, when Abu Bakr meditated the conquest of Syria and sent letters to the 
chiefs of Arabia Telis summoning them with their followers. 



[ 103 ] 

with the knowledge of the Most High." And al Bukhaid from Ibn Omar 
that Abu Bakr said, " behold, Muhammad in the people of his House." 
And Abu U'bayd* in the Gharib from Abu Bakr that he said, " happy was 
he who died remaining in his abode," that is, in the beginning of Islam 
before the breaking out of sedition. 

The Four Traditionists and Malik record on the authority of Kabisahf 
that a grandmother went to Abu Bakr as Siddik inquiring of him regarding 
her inheritance and he said, "nothing is due to thee according to the 
book of God, and I know of nothing for thee in the traditions of the 
prophet of God, therefore come back another time, so that I may inquire 
of the people, and he inquired of the people and al MughirahJ-b-Shu'bah 
said " I was present when he gave such as her one sixth ;" and Abu Bakr 
said, "was any other with thee ?" whereupon Muhammad-b-Maslamah arose 
and said the same that al Mughirah had spoken, and Abu Bakr ordered 
the Wee for her. And Malik and Darakutni, from al Kasim-b-Muhammad, 
that two grandmothers went to Abu Bakr demanding their inheritance, the 
mother of a mother and the mother of a father and he accorded the inheri- 
tance to the mother of the mother. Thereupon A'bdur Bahman-b-Sahl the 
Auxiliary who had fought at Badr, and was an associate of the Banu Harith 
said to him, " O vicegerent of the apostle of God dost thou bestow it 
upon her who, if she died, would not be inherited of ?"§ so he divided it 
between the two. And Abdur Eazzak in his Musannaf records on the 
authority of Ayesha, the tradition of the wife of Eufaa'h who was divorced 
from him and married afterwards A'bdur Rahman-b-u'z Zubayr who was 
unable to consummate his marriage, and she desired to return to Rufaa'h, 
but the Apostle of God said, " No, not tiU your marriage be consummated ;" 

* Abu U'bayd al Kasim-b-Saliam, was bom at Herat and was Kadhi of Tarsus for 
eigbteen years. He was conspicuous for bis piety and learning in various branches of 
literature, and his traditions are received as authentic. He died at Mecca in A, H. 224 
according to al BukbSri. The book alluded to in the text is Gharib u'l Hadith (obscure 
expressions occurring in the Traditions). He also wrote a work called " Gharib u'l 
Musannaf, (original collection of rare expressions.) Ibn Khali. 

t Kabi?ab-b-Puayb one of the Tdbi'is, born in the year of the conquest of Mecca 
and died in the Caliphate of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan under whom he acted in the 
capacity of Secretary. An Nawawi. 

I Abu A'bdu'Uah-b-Shu'bah of the tribe of Thakif a native of Kufah, one of the 
Companions. He was present at nearly all the expeditions and actions that took place 
iu his time. Omar gave him the government of Ba?rah and afterwards of Ivufah wherein 
he was confirmed by Otbman and subsequently deposed, but again re-instated by 
Mu'awiyah. and died at Kufah A. H. 60. It is said that he married three hundred 
women, and some say, a thousand. An Nawawi. 

§ According to the Muljammadan law a grandson does not inherit from his mater- 
nal grandmother. 



[ 103 ] 

this much is in the Sahih, and A'hdu'r Eazzak adds, " then she tarried 
some time and then went to him and informed him that he had touched 
her, but he forbade her to return to her first husband and said, ' verily if 
it were thus with her that she returned to Eufaa'h, her marriage would 
not be consummated for the second time :"* then she went to Abu Bakr 
and Omar during their Caliphate but they prohibited her. And al Bay- 
haki from TJ'kbah-b-A'amirt that A'mr-b-u'l A'as and Shurahbil-b-Hasa- 
nahj sent him as a messenger to Abu Bakr with the head of Bannan the 
Syrian general, and when he came to Abu Bakr, he expressed his disap- 
proval, and U'kbah said to him, ' O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, 
they do the same with us,' and he replied, ' do those two follow the ex- 
ample of the Persians and Greeks ? let no head be brought to me for 
verily letters and news are sufficient.' And al Biukhari from Kays-Ibn- 
Hazim,§ that Abu Bakr went to a woman of the tribe of Ahmas called 
Zaynab, and he observed that she did not speak, and he said, ' why doth 
she not speak ?' They replied, ' she has made the pilgrimage and is under 
a vow of silence.' He said to her, ' speak ! for this is not lawful, this is 
one of the practices of the time of Ignorance :' and she spoke and said 
' who art thou?' and he said 'One of the Fugitives;' she said, 'which of 
the Fugitives ?' he replied, ' of the Kuraysh.' She asked, ' of what family 
of the Kuraysh ?' He said, ' verily thou art very inquisitive — I am Abu 
Bakr.' She said, ' How long shall be our continuance in this holy rule 
which God hath brought since the time of Ignorance ?' He replied, ' your 
continuance in it shall be as long as your Imams act uprightly.' She 
^id, 'and what are the Imams?' He answered 'Are there not in thy 
tribe, chiefs and leaders who govern them and whom the tribe obey?' She 
said, ' yes'. He replied, ' then they are those men.' And from Ayesha, that 
Abu Bakr had a slave who used to pay him an impost on his earnings and 
Abu Bakr used to eat of the fruits .of this impost, and he one day brought 
him a thing, of which Abu Bakr eat, and the slave said to him, ' dost thon 

* The Muhammadan law insists on tlie consummation of the marriage with the 
second husband, hefore the first can receive the divorced wife hack. 

t One of the Companions, distinguished for his manner of reading the Kuran — 
he governed Egypt for Mu4wiyah-b-Ahi Sufyan and died there in A. H. 58. He 
carried the news of the taking of Damascus to Omar and reached Medina in seven days 
and returned to Syria in two and a half through the help of his ravocationa at Muham- 
mad's tomb. An Nawawi. ' 

X He was appointed by Abu Bakr and subsequently by Omar to the command of 
the army in Syria, and continued as Omar's lieutenant in that country till his death of 
the plague A. H. 18, at the age of sixty-seven. Ibid. 

§ One of the Tabiis. He was bom before the propagation of Islam and set out 
to pay his homage to Mu^iammad who, however, died before Kays arrived. He was 
a resident of Ktifah and died A. H. 81. Ibid. 



[ 104 ] 

know what this is ?' Abu Bakr said, ' what is it ?' he replied, ' I once told 
the fortune of a man in the time of Ignorance, and my divination was not 
just inasmuch as I deceived him, but he met me and gave me this, of which 
thou hast eaten ;' whereupon Abu Bakr put his hand in his throat and 
reiected everything that was in his stomach." 

Ahmad records in the " Zuhd" from Ibn Sirin that he said, " I do not 
know any one who sought to reject the food that he had eaten except Abu 
Bakr," and he related the story. And an Nasai from Aslam, that Omar 
beheld Abu Bakr who seized hold of his own tongue and said, " this it is 
that hath brought me to that to which I have come." And A'bu U'bayd ia 
the " Gharib," from Abu Bakr, that he passed by A'bdu'r Rahman-b-A'uf 
who was quarrelling with a neighbour and he said to him, " speak not in 
anger with thy neighboiir for that remaineth but men pass away from thee." 
And Ibn A'saldr from Musa-b-U'kbah, that Abu Bakr as Siddlk was once 
preaching, and he said, " Praise be to God — the Lord of created things I glori- 
fy Him and implore His assistance, and ask His mercy in what cometh 
a,f ter death, for my hour and yours are approaching — and I bear witness 
that there is no God but God above who hath no copartner and that Mu- 
hammad is His servant, and His prophet, whom He hath sent in the Truth 
as a messenger of good tidings, and an admonisher and a shining light that 
he may warn the living and certify the Word to the unbelievers — and he 
who obeyeth God and his prophet, verily he hath followed the right way, 
and he who hath sinned against those two, verily hath erred with a mani- 
fest erring : I commend unto ye devotion to God, and adherence to the 
commands of God which He hath laid down for ye and, given for your 
guidance, for verily the whole of the precepts of Islam after the pro- 
fession of faith, are the hearing and obeying those whom God hath ap- 
pointed to rule over ye, and verily he who obeyeth God and those who 
enjoin goodness and prohibit what is unlawful hath prospered and hath 
performed what is incumbent upon him of his obligations ; and beware ye 
of following vain desire, for verily he prospereth who is preserved from 
lust and greed and anger : aTid beware ye of pride, for what pride belongeth 
to him who is made of earth, and who afterwards returneth to earth and 
then the worm devoureth him ? for to-day he is alive and to-morrow he is 
dead ; therefore act ye uprightly from day to day and from hour to hour, 
and fear the prayer of the oppressed, and number yourselves among the 
dead ; and be ye patient for every work is accomplished through patience, 
and be ye watchful, for watchfulness is profitable. Act uprightly for a 
good act is acceptable to God, and refrain from the things against which 
the Lord hath warned ye under pain of His wrath : and vie ye with one 
another in hastening to obtain the things which the Lord bath promised ye 
in His mercy ; and teach ye, and yourselves comprehend, and be heedful 



[ 105 ] 

and in fear, for verily the Lord hath declared unto ye the things for which 
He hath destroyed those that were before ye, and the things through which 
He hath delivered those whom He delivered before ye. Verily He hath 
manifested unto ye in His Book His commands and His prohibitions and 
the works He approveth, and those He abhorreth : and verily by my soul, 
I will not be wanting to you — and God is He whose assistance is implored, 
and there is no power nor strength but in the Lord. And know ye, verily, 
that in your works in which ye have been sincere with God, ye then 
obeyed God, and preserved your portion of excellence, and attained unto 
your desire, and what ye have done over and above what is enjoined for your 
faith, keep before ye as religious merits, that ye may make satisfaction for 
those who have gone before ye, — and make your charitable donations even at 
the time of your poverty and self-need of them. Then bethink ye — O ser- 
vants of God — of your brethren and your companions those that have departed, 
for they have attained to the works that they sent before them, and abide by 
them and are settled in misery or happiness in the state that cometh after 
death. Verily the Lord hath no copartner, and between Him and any of His 
creatures there is no mediatory influence that can bestow good upon him 
or avert from him evil save in His worship and obedience to His com- 
mands, for verily there is no good in the good after which cometh hell-fire, 
and no evil in the evil after which cometh heaven. I say unto ye these 
words, and may God have mercy upon me and ye, and bless ye the prophet 
and peace be upon Him and the mercy of God and His blessing." 

Al Hakim and al Bayhaki record on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b- 
TJ'kaym that he said, " Abu Bakr as Siddik preached to us and he glorified 
God and praised Him as befitted Him, and then said, ' I commend unto ye 
piety to God and that ye praise Him as befitteth Him, and that ye mingle 
desire with fear, for the Lord God praised Zachariah and the people of his 
house, and said, " These strove to excel in good works and called upon us with 
love and with fear and humbled themselves before us" (Kur. XXI.) There- 
fore, know, O servants of God, that the Lord hath your lives as a pledge 
for what is due to Him, and hath taken your compacts* regarding it, and 
hath purchased of ye a little that is perishable, in exchange for eternal 
abundance ; and this Book of God is among ye, whose light cannot be 
extinguished, nor its wonders end ; therefore seek ye illumination from 

* " And wten thy Lord drew forth thy posterity from the loins of the sons of 
Adam, and took them to witness against themselves, saying, am I not your Lord ? They 
answered. Tea, we do bear witness, Kur. VII. The commentators say that God 
stroked Adam's hack and extracted from his loins his whole posterity and assembled 
them in the shape of ants, and after they had, in the presence of the angels, con- 
fessed their dependence on Him, they were returned to the loins of Adam. See Sale. 
14 



[ 106 ] 

its light, and accept counsel from His Book and seek light from it in the 
day of darkness, for verily He hath created ye for His worship and hath 
iippointed for ye gua/rdian angels " honourable in the sight of God writing 
down gotir actions who know that which ye do." (Kvpf. LXXXII). And 
know, O servants of God that ye proceed and draw nigh unto an appointed 
time, the knowledge of which, verily, is hidden from ye, therefore if ye are 
able so to do, that the appointed periods be fulfilled while ye are engaged 
in the works of the Lord, then so act ye, but this ye cannot do save with 
the permission of the Lord. Vie ye with one another in fulfilling the 
alligation of your appointed times before your appointed periods are com- 
pleted, lest they cast ye upon the evillest of your works ; and, verily, there 
are some who have made over the obligations of their appointed times on 
others, and have taken no heed of themselves, therefore I forbid ye to be 
like unto them. Then haste ! haste ! flee ! flee ! for behind ye is a nimble 
pursuer — swift of deed.' And Ibn Ab'id Dunya, and Ahmad in the ' Zuhd' 
and Abu Nua'ym in the ' Huliyah' from Yahya-b-Abi Kathir, that Abu 
Bakr used to say in his discourse, 'where are the comely, beautiful of 
countenance — exulting in their youth? Where are the monarchs who 
built cities and entrenched them round about ? Where are they who gave 
victory on fields of battle ? verily their pillars were overthrown when Fortune 
betrayed them, and they went down into the darkness of the grave. Haste I 
haste ! flee ! flee !' And Ahmad in the Zuhd from Salman,* that he said, 
' I went to Abu Bakr and said, " leave me an injunction," and he replied, 
" Salman, fear God, and know that there shall shortly be victories, but I 
know not what may be thy portion among them, of what thou may mayest put 
into thy belly or cast upon thy back, but, know, that he who prayeth the 
five appointed times of prayer, verily he is under a covenant with God, and 
walketh under the protection of the Most High : therefore slay not any 
of the people of God's covenant, lest thou betray God in His covenant and 
the Lord throw thee prostrate on thy face in hell fire." And from Aba 
Bakr that he said, " the good shall be taken away, the best, followed by 
the next in merit, until there remain the dregs of the people, like the husk of 
dates and of barley — the Lord shall not take heed of them." And Sa'id-b- 
Man?ur in the Sunan from Mu'dwiyah-b-Kurrah that Abu Bakr as Siddik • 
used to say in his prayers, " Lord ! render thou the best of my life its 
close, and the best of my deeds the last, and the best of my days the day of 
Thy meeting." And Ahmad in the Zuhd from al Hasan, " I heard that Abu 
Bakr used to say in his prayers, " God verily I ask of Thee that which may be 
the best for me in the end — God ! vouchsafe that the last good that Thou 

* There are two Companions of the name, one the freedmaa of Muljammad, a 
native oi Persia by birth, and the other Salmdn-b-A'imir. Consult an Nawawi. 



[ 107 1 

bestowest upon me, be Thy approbation, and the loftiest places in the gardens 
of delight." And from A'rfajah* that Abu Bakr said, " he who is able to 
■weep let him weep, or if not, let him endeavour to weep." And from 
Abu Bakr on the authority of A'rzah, " the most deadly of things are 
the two that are red — gold and safEron."t And on the authority of 
Muslim-b-Tas^r,J "the true believer is rewarded in everything, even 
in affliction — for, in the breaking of a shoe-latehet, or some trifle in his 
sleeve, should he lose it, and be in fear for it, he will find it by his side." 
And on the authority of Maymlln-b-Mihran that a raven with large wings 
was brought to Abu Bakr, and he turned it over and said, " no game is 
hunted and no tree is felled save it hath neglected the praises of God." 
And al Bukhari in the " Adab," and A'bdu'Uah-b-Ahmad in the Zawaid u'z. 
Zuhd from as Sunabihi, that he heard Abu Bakr say that the pray«r of a 
brother for his brothers in God is accepted." And A'bdu'Uah in the Zawaid 
u'z Zuhd from Labid the poet, that he went to Abu Bakr and repeated this 
verse — 

" Is not every thing but God unprofitable?" 

He replied. " Thou hast spoken truly." And Labid continued : 

" And every joy is surely fleeting." 

Abu Bakr exclaimed, " thou hast spoken falsely — there is with God a 
joy jbhat never passeth away," — and when Labid had gone, he said " Some- 
times a poet speaketh words of wisdom." 



On Ms sayings wliich manifest the greatness of his fear of his God. 

Abu Ahmad al Hakim records on the authority of Mu'ad-b-.Tabal that 
Abu Bakr entered a garden, and, behold, there was a ringdove in the shade 
of a tree, and he heaved a deep sigh and said, " happy art thou, bird, that 
eatest of the trees and seekest shelter beneath them, and art not called to 
account — would that Abu Bakr were like unto thee." And Ibn A'sakir 
from al Asma'i that when Abu Bakr was once praised, he said, " Lord, 
Thou knowest more of me than I myself, and 1 know more concerning 
myself than they — God, make me better than they think me, and for- 
give me that which they know not, and call me not to account for what 

* A'rfajali-'b-Asa'd-b-Safwaii, one of the Companions, of the Banu Tamm. 

t These are said to destroy women, that is the love of gold and perfnmes, as flesh 
meat and wine called also 01^4-^51 ' are said to destroy men. 

i A'bu A'bdu'lla MusUm-b-Yasar of Ba?rah. kSome say he was the fireedman of 
Othmln, others of Talhah. He was distinguished for his knowledge of jurisprudence, 
he died A. H. 100-1. An Nawawi, 



[ 108 ] 

they say." And Ahmad in the Zuhd from Abu I'mran al Jfini, that Abn 
Bakr as Siddik said, " I would I were a hair in the side of a servant, a true 
believer." And from Mujahid, that Ibn u'z Zubayr when he rose to 
prayers was as a stock of wood in abasement, and I have been told that 
Abu Bakr was the same. And from al Hasan that Abu Bakr said, " by 
Allah, verily I would I were this tree which is eaten of and felled." And 
from Katadah that he said, " it has been related to me that Abu Bakr said 
' I would that I were pasture that cattle might eat me.' " And from 
Dhamrah-b-Habib that a son of Abu Bakr's was near unto death, and the 
youth kept looking towards a cushion, and when he was dead, they said to 
Abu Bakr, " we saw thy son looking towards a cushion," and they moved 
him from the cushion and they found underneath it five or six dinars. 
Then Abu Bakr struck one hand upon the other, and uttered the two pro- 
fessions of faith, and kept saying ' verily we belong to God and urito Him 
shall we return.' O such a one, how greatly doth thy body desire that it 
should be amplified for this."* And from Thabit al Bunani that Abn 
Bakr applied this verse by way of similitude. 

Thou shalt not cease to announce the death of a friend until thou 
art as he is 

And verily the youth eherisheth a hope, and dieth without attaining 
it- 
Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Sirin, that, after the death 
of the prophet, there was no one more apprehensive on account of what he 
knew not, than Abu Bakr, and no one after Abu Bakr more apprehensive 
on account of what he knew not, than Omar, and when a case came before 
Abu Bakr, and he could not find its exemplar in the Book of God, nor a 
tradition regarding it in the Sunnat, he would say, " I will act to the best 
of my judgment, and if it be just, then it is from God, and if erroneous, 
then it is mine, and may God pardon me." 



On what has been handed down of Mm regarding the interpretation 
of dreams. 

Sa'id-b-Mansur records on the authority of Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab 
that he said, " Ayesha dreamed that there came down into her house, three 

* " On tlie Bay of Judgment, their treasures shall be intensely heated in the fire 
of hell, and their forehead and their sides and backs shall, be stigmatized therewith." 
Kur IX. As Suyuti in his Commentary (Tafsir u'l Jaldlayn) says on this passage, 
that the bodies of these reprobates will be inflated and extended in order to become 
capable of receiving the brand of each coin that they have treasured. The identical 
word t*J| is employed by him to express this meaning. 



[ 109 ] 

moons, and she related it to Abu Bakr who was one of the most learned 
in interpretation among men. He said, " verily thy dream hath spoken 
truly — there shall be buried verily in thy house, three of the best of man- 
kind." And when the prophet died, he said, " Ayesha, this is the best of 
thy moons.'' And from Omar-b-Shurhabil, that the apostle of God said, 
" I dreamed that I drove before me some black sheep, then I drove after 
them white sheep, so that the black could not be seen among them." 
And Abu Bakr said, " apostle of God, as for the black sheep, verily they 
signified the Arabs who shall embrace the faith, and increase in numbersi 
and the white sheep are the barbarians who shall be converted until the 
Arabs shall not be seen among them by reason of their numbers." The 
apostle of God replied, " so the angel interpreted it this morning." A 
tradition is also also ascribed to him from Ibn Abi Laylah that the apostle 
of God said, " I dreamed I was at a well drawing from it, and there ap- 
proached me black sheep and behind them grey sheep ;" and Abu Bakr 
said, "suffer me to interpret it" and he continued as above. 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Sirin that he 
said, " the most learned in interpretation of this people after their prophet 
is Abu Bakr." And from Ibn Shihab, that the apostle of God had a 
dream and related it to Abu Bakr and said, " I dreamed as it were that I 
and thou were vying with each other in mounting a ladder, and I preceded 
thee by two steps and a half." He replied, " O apostle of God, the Lord 
will take thee unto His forgiveness and mercy and I shall live after thee 
two years and a half." Al 'Bayhaki records in the Proofs on the au- 
thority of A'bdu'Uah-b-Buraydah that the apostle of God sent A'mr-b- 
u'l A'as at the head of a body of troops, among them being. Abu Bakr and 
Omar, and when they arrived at the field of war, A'mr commanded that 
they should not light fires, and Omar was wroth and purposed going to him, 
but Abu Bakr prevented him and explained to him, saying, " the apostle of God 
hath not placed him* over thee, but for his knowledge of wars this there- 
fore Cometh from him." And from an ascription of Abu Ma'shar that the 
•apostle of God said " verily I shall appoint a man over the people who is 
the best among them, who may be vigilant of eye and clear-sighted in war." 

Khalifah-b-Khayyat and Ahmad-b-Hanbal, and Ibn A'sakir record on 
the authority of Tazid-b-u'l Asamm,t that the prophet said to Abu Bakr 
" Am I the greater or thou ?" He replied " thou art the greater and no- 
bler, but I am older than thou." This tradition is interrupted in trans- 

* The printed text has jUJjtJi'xj. for al»i>jl«..i 

t Atu A'uf Yazid-b-u'l Asamm a native of Kdfah and a Tabi'i. He dwelt at 
Eakkah and died there A. H. 103. He was the son of the sister of Maymuna wife of 
Muhammad and the traditions related by him are considered authentic. An Nawawi, 



[ no ] 

mission and narrated but by one authority, but if it were substantiated, 
this answer should be accounted as a proof of his sagacity and reverence ; 
but this reply is commonly ascribed to A'bbds. And the same is ascribed 
to Sa'id-b-Yarbiin (recorded by at Tabarani) and its reading, that the 
Apostle of God said to him, " which of us is the greater ?" he replied, 
"thou art greater and better than I, but I am the elder." 

Abu Nua'ym records that it was said to Abu Bakr, " O vicegerent of the 
apostle of God, wilt thou not employ in service those who fought at Badr ?" 
He replied, " I know their dignity but I am loth to defile them with the 
world." And Ahmad in the Zuhd from Isma'il-b-Muhammad, that Abu 
Bakr divided the spoil into portions and divided it, equally among the 
people, and Omar said to him, " dost thou apportion it equally among the 
men of Badr and the rest of the people ?" Abu Bakr replied, " verily the 
world is a sufficiency, and the best sufficiency is that which is most compre- 
hensive, but verily the superiority of these* lies in their spiritual rewards." 

Ahmad records in the Zuhd on the authority of Abu Bakr-b-Hafs that 
he said, " I have heard that Abu Bakr used to fast in summer, and break his 
fastf in winter." And Ibn Sa'ad from Hayyan the goldsmith that the 
impression on the signet ring of Aba Bakr was, " excellent is the omnipotent 
God !" — At Tabarani records on the authority of Musa-b-U'kbah that 
he said, " I do not know four people who attained with their sons to 
the time of the prophet, save these four, Abu Kuhafah and his son Abu 
Bakr as Siddik, — and his son Abdu'r Bahman — and Abu A'tik son of 
A'bdu'r Eahman whose name was Muhammad." And Ibn Mandah and 
Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha, that the parents of none among the Tugitives 
embraced Islam, save the parents of Abu Bakr. — Ibn Saa'd and al Bazzar 

* That is, the men of Badr. 

t This would seem to imply that even when the Ramadhan fell in winter, so ortho- 
dox a believer did not comply with the indispensable duty of fasting during that 
month. The explanation however, though so immaterial a point scarcely deserves it, is 
perhaps as follows. According to Lane, the present months of the Muhammadan 
year, were named by KUdb-b-Murrah, an ancestor of Muhammad, about two centuries 
before Islam. These months were lunar, and' from this period, with a view of adopt- 
ing their year to the solar, the Arabs added a month, which they called vJj""*'! 
at the end of every three years, until they were forbidden to do so by Kuran (Ch. IX). 
The abolition of the intercalation was proclaimed by Muhammad at the pilgrimage 
in the tenth year of the Flight. It is obvious from the derivations of the Arabic 
names of the months, that they were called after th« seasons in which they fell. The 
U)l}X!/a. (from is'^J signifying vehement heat) occurred between the middle of 
July and the middle of August : whUe the years were yet adapted to the solar, there 
would be a fixity of recurrence, or nearly so, of the months in the same seasons, and 
thus Abu Bakr might well have fasted in summer frequently enough to account for 
the tradition. 



[ 111 ] 

record on good autborities from Anas that the oldest in years of the compa- 
nions of the apostle of God were Abu Bakr as Siddilj and Subayl-b-A'mr- 
b-Baydhd. 

Note — Al Bayhalji records in the " Proofs" on the authority of Asma 
daughter of Abu Bakr that she said, " In the year of the conquest of 
Mecca, a daughter of Abu ^^uhafah went forth and some horsemen met 
her, and upon her neck was a necklace of gold pieces, and a man wrenched 
it from her neck. And when the apostle of God entered the mosque, Abu 
Bakr stood up and said ' I call upon God and Islam for the necklace of my 
sister' — and by Allah, no one answered him. He repeated it then a second 
time, but no one answered him. Then he exclaimed, ' sister reckon upon 
a reward of God for thy necklace, for by Allah, there is little honesty 
among men now-a-days. ' " 

Note — I have seen in the handwriting of the Hafidh ad Dahabi, the 
names of those who were unequalled in their time, in their special qualifi- 
cations. Abu Bakr as Siddik in genealogy, Omar-b-u'l Khat^ab in stead- 
fastness in the commands of God, Othman-b-A"ffan in modesty, A'li in 
judicial decision, Ubayy-b-Kaa'b in reading the Kuran, Zayd-b-Thabit, in 
the law of inheritance, Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah in honesty, Ibn A'bbaa 
in comment on the Kuran, Abu Darr in truthfulness of speech, Khalid-b-u'l 
Walid in courage, al Hasan al Basri in admonition, Wahb-b-Munabbih in 
narration, Ibn Sirin in interpretation of dreams, Nafi' in reading the Kuran, 
Abu Hanifah in jurisprudence, Ibn Ishak in accounts of military expedi- 
tions, Mukatil in expounding obscurities, al Kalbi in narrations from the 
Kuran, al Khalil in prosody, Fudhayl-b-I'yadh in devotion, Sibawayh in 
grammar, Malik in science, as Shafai in knowledge of tradition, Abu 
U'baydah, in interpreting obscure words occurrirtg in traditions, A'li-b-u'l 
Madini in defects invalidating traditions, Tahya-b-Ma'in in traditional 
authorities, Abu Tammam in poetry, Ahmad-b-Hanbal in the Sunnah, al 
Bukhari in discrimination of traditions, al Junayd in mysticism, Muhammad- 
b-Nasr al Marwazi in reconciling the contradictory meanings of traditions, 
al Jubbai in expounding the tenets of the Mua'tazalites, al Ashari in 
scholastic theology, Muhammad-b-Zakariya ar Eazi, in medicine, Abu 
Ma'shar in astrology, Ibrahim al Kirmani in interpretation of dreams, Ibn 
Nubatah in preaching, Abu'l Faraj al Isbahani in debate, Abu'l Kasim at 
Tabarani on traditions of the highest authority, Ibn Hazm in the literal 
interpretation of the Kuran, Abu'l Hasan al Bakri in lying, al Hariri in 
his discourses, Ibn Mandah in extent of travel, al Mutanabbi in poetry, al 
Mausili in vocal music, as Suli in chess, al Khatib al Baghdadi in quickness 
in reading the Km'an, A'li-b-Hilal in calligraphy, A'ta as Salimi* in fear, 

* rbn KhaUakam gives the life of A'ta-b-Abi Eabah Aslam Mufti of Mecca, and 
a devout ascetic. The ' fear' may therefore signify ' the fear of God' if this be the in- 



[ 112 ] 

al Kadhi al FMhil, in composition, al Asma'i in singular anecdotes, Asha'b 
in covetousness, Ma'bid in singing, Avicenna in philosophy. 



OMAE-B-U'L KHATTi^B. 

Omar-b-n'l Khattdb, b-KTufayl-b-A'bdu'l A'za, b-Eiyah-b-Kurt-b- 
Eazah-b-A'di-b-Kaa'b-b-Luayy, the Prince of the Faithful, Abu Hafs, al 
Kurayshi, al A'dwi, al Faruk, {the Discriminator) embraced Islam in the 
sixth year of the prophetic mission being seven and twenty years of age 
(ad Dahabi). An Nawawi says that Omar was born thirteen years after 
the year of the elephant.* He was one of the chiefs of the Kuraysh and 
was charged with the duties of an envoy in the time of Ignorance ; for the 
Kuraysh, whenever a war took place among themselves, or between them- 
selves and others, used to send him as envoy, that is as a representative, 
and whenever a challenger would contend against their honor, or a boaster 
contest their glory, they would send him to vie and to contend in their name. 
He embraced the faith early — after the conversion of forty men and ten wo- 
men — or as some say, after thirty-nine men, and twenty- three women, and 
others, forty -five men and eleven women. He had no sooner embraced Islam, 
than he openly declared his faith at Mecca and the Muslims rejoiced at it. 
An Nawawi adds, that he was one of the converts, and one of the ten to 
whom Paradise was promised, and one of the just Caliphs, and one of the 
fathers-in-law of the Apostle of God, and one of the most learned and most 
ascetic of the Companions. Five hundred and thirty-nine traditions direct 
from the Apostle of God are ascribed to him. Traditions are related on 
his authority by Othman-b-A'fian by A'li and Talhah and Saa'd, and Ibn 
A'uf and Ibn Masa'dd, and Abu Darr, and Omar-b-A'basah, and his son 
A'bdu'Uah, and Ibn A'bbas, and Ibn liz Zubayr, and Anas, andAbuHuray- 
rah, and A'mr-b-u'l A'as, and Abu Musa al Asha'ri, and al Baraa-b-A'azib, 
and Abu Sa'id al Khudri, and others of the Companions and some besides 
them. I remark, that I will here devote some chapters to the principal 
observations of note connected with his biography. 

dividual meant. I can discover no other name bearing any resemblance with that in 
the text. 

* The year of the defeat of Ahraha-h-u'l Sahah sumamed al Ashram or the slit. 
nosed-Mng or viceroy of Yaman, who marched against Mecca at the head of an ai-my, 
■wherein were several elephants, to avenge the profanation of the ChristiEin Church at 
Sanda, by some of the tribe of Kenanah. His fate and that of his army is well-known. 
See the story in Sale and his comments thereon. In this year Mu\iammad was bom. 



[ 113 ] 



On the accounts which have been handed down regarding his conversion. 

At Tirmidi records on the authority of Ibn Omar, that the prophet 
said, " O God, glorify Islam by the most endeared to Thee of these two 
men, Omar the son of al Khattab or Jahl the son of Hishdm." And al 
Hakim from Ibn A'bbas, that the prophet said, " God, glorify Islam 
by Omar the son of al Khattab in particular." And Ahmad f];om Omar that 
he said, " I went forth to hinder the Apostle' of God, but I found that 
he had preceded me to the mosque, and I stood up behind him and he 
sought to expound the Surah ' al Hakkah.'* And I began to wonder at 
the composition of the Kuran and I said, ' by Allah, this is a poet, as the 
Kuraysh say.' Then he read, ' This is the discourse of an honorable 
apostle and not the discourse of a poet — how little do ye believe,' &c., 
(LXIX). And the true faith entered into my heart with a full posses- 
sion." And Ibn Abi Shaybah from Jabir that he said, "the beginning of 
the conversion of Omar was thus as Omar hath related, ' the painsf 
of labour seized my sister in the night, and I went forth from the house 
and entered the precincts of the Kaa'bah, and the prophet came and entered 
the enclosure and upon him were two garments, and he prayed to God for 
that which God willed and then departed. And I heard a thing the like 
of which I had not heard before, and he went forth and I followed him and 
he said, " who is that ?" and I replied, " Omar," then he said, " O Omar wilt 
thou not leave me night or day ?" and I feared lest he should curse me, 
and I said, " I testify that there is no God but God, and that thou art the 
Apostle of God." He answered " keep this secret." I replied, " No, by 
Him who sent thee in the truth, I will surely proclaim it, as I proclaimed 
my infidelity.'' And Ibn Saa'd, and Abu Ya'la, and al Hakim and al Bayhaki 
in the " Proofs" on the authority of Anas, that Omar went forth girt with 
his sword and a man of the Banu Zuhrah met him and said, " whither art thou 
going, O Omar ?" and he replied, " I intend to slay Muhammad ;" the other 
said, " how wilt thou be secure from the Banu Hashim and the Banu Zuh- 
rah, if thou shouldst slay Muhammad ?" J He replied, " I cannot but think 
that thou hast changed thy faith." He answered, " shall I not assure thee 

* Ch. LXIX, entitled " the InfalliMe" ; the original words is one of the epithets 
of the Day of Judgment. 

t In the text the word (jol'sr*' jg pointed as the objective instead of the nomi- 
native case. 

X The father of Muhammad belonged to the former tribe, his mother to the 
latter, 

15 



[ 114 ] 

of a strange thing, that thy brother-in-law,* and thy sister have changed 
their faith and abandoned thy religion ?" Then Omar departed and went 
to those two with whom was Khabbabjf and when he heard the sound of 
Omar approaching he hid himself in the house. And Omar entered and 
said, "what is this muttering" — (for they were reading the T. H.)J — 
and they said, " it is nothing but a discourse we were holding among our- 
selves." He said, " then perhaps you two have changed your religion," 
and his brother-in-law replied to him, ' 0, Omar suppose the truth were in 
another religion than thine !" whereon Omar sprang upon him and tram- 
pled him heavily under foot ; his sister then came to push him aside from her 
husband, but he struck her a blow with his hand, and her face bled : then 
being angry she said, " and suppose the truth were in another religion than 
thine ! verily I testify that there is no God but God, and that Muhammad 
is His servant and His Apostle." Then Omar exclaimed, " give me the book 
which you have, that I may read it." His sister said, " verily thouart unclean 
and ' none shall touch it except those who are clean' (Kur. LVI) — ^therefore 
rise and bathe or perform ablution." AndOmar rose and made his ablutions 
and took the book and read the T. H., until he came to " Verily I am God ; 
there is no God besides me ; wherefore worship Me and perform tliy 
prayers in remembrance of Me" (Kur. XX). Then Omar said, " direct 
me to Muhammad ;" and when Ehabbab heard the words of Omar, he 
came forth and said, ." Eejoice with good tidings, O Omar, for verily, I 
trust that the prayer of the Apostle of God on Wednesday nightf may be 
for thee when he said, ' God, glorify Islam by Omar, the son al Khattab, 
or A'mr|| the son of Hisham. ' " The Apostle of God was at the time in 
the original house^f which stands at the foot of as Saf a, and Omar went 

• Sa'id-b-Zayd. 

t Atu Abdu'llah Khafbab-b-u'l Aratt was one of the earliest converts. He had 
been taken prisoner in the time of Ignorance and sold as a slave at Mecca. He is 
said to have been a freedman of Anmar daughter of Sabaa' of the tribe of Khuzaa'h 
confederate of the Banu Zuhrah. He died at KAfah A. H. 37 in the Caliphate of A'li 
and was buried outside the city at his special request. It had been the custom in 
Kufah for people to be buried at the doors of their houses, but after Khabbab's death 
and by his example, the custom was abolished, and the dead were buried outside the 
ioty. 

t The XXth Oh. of the Imuran is so entitled. The meaning of the letters is un- 
certain. 

§ The day of the Arabs begins at sunset, the night of Thursday is therefore our 
Wednesday night. 

II This was Abu Jahl's name. An Nawawi describes him in his biography, as 
Abu Jahli^the enemy of God, " the Pharaoh of this people" — this latter epithet was 
given to him by Muhammad as he gazed upon his dead body after the battle of Badr 
■where ho fell fighting against the new faith. 

V The house aUuded to belonged to Arlj^am of the Banu Makhzdm, one of the 



[ 115 ] 

on until he reached the house, at the door of whieh were Hamzah and 
Talhah and others. And Hamzah said, " this is Omar ; if God desireth* 
his good, he will be converted, and if He desireth otherwise, his death will 
sit lightly upon us." The narrator adds, " the prophet was then within, 
under the divine inspiration, and he came forth and went to Omar and 
clasped him round all his garments and his sword belt, and said ' wilt thou 
not cease, Omar, until God sendeth upon thee calamity and chastisement 
such as He sent upon al WaUd-b-u'l Mughirah.'f And Omar said ' I 
testify that there is no God, but God and that thou art the servant of God 
and His Apostle.' " 

Al Bazzar, and at Tabarani and Abu Nua'ym in the " Htdiyah," and 
al Bayhaki in the " Dalail" record on the authority of Aslam J that he 
narrates : " Omar said to me — I was the most violent of men against the 
Apostle of God, and while I was one sultry day in the noontide heat in 
one of the streets of Mecca, a man met me and said, ' I wonder at thee, O 
son of al Klattab, that thou thinkest that thou art this and that while 
verily an event has occurred at thy house.' I said, 'and what is that ?' 
He replied, ' thy sister hath embraced Islam' — Then I turned back in 
wrath until I knocked at the door. They asked, ' who is there ?' I 
replied, ' Omar.' Then they hastened away and hid from me, and 
verily, they had been reading a paper before them which they had 
left and forgotten. Then my sister arose and opened the door,, and I said, 
' enemy of thyself, hast thou changed thy faith ?' and I struck her 
upon the head with a thing that was in my hand arid the blood flowed and 
she wept and said, ' O son of al Khattab ! what thou soughtest to do, do, 
for verily I have changed my faith.' Omar continued, aad I went in and 
sat upon a bedstead, and I looked upon the paper and said, ' what is that ? 
give it to me' — she said, ' thou art not worthy of it for thou art not puri- 
fied from uncleanness, and this book " none shall touch it, except those 
who are clean; " ' but I did not desist until she gave it to me, and I opened 

earliest converts to the faith, and was a favourite resort of Muhammad's. From the 
converts made therein, it was styled, according to al Wakidi, the house of Islam. 
Bee,Muir, Vol. II, p. 118. 

* The printed edition is here in error, there should be no ' tashdid' over this verb, 
which is the 4th form of ^jy apocopated by the particle ^yi. 

t One of the " scoffers" alluded to in Kur. ch. XT. Passing by some arrows, one 
of them hitched in his garment, and he, out of pride, not stooping to take it off, the 
head of it cut a vein in his heel, and he bled to death. See the tragic end of the other 
four in Sale, p. 21.4. Sale spells the name Mugheirah, but I can find no authority for 
it. An Nawawi is clear upon its pronunciation. 

X The freedman of Omar-b-u'l Khattab. According to some, he had been one of 
the prisoners of Yaman— others say that he was an Abyssinian. An Nawawi. 



[ 116 1 

it, and behold ! there was in it ' whatever is in the heavens and the earth 
singeth praise unto God.' (LVII), and I was terrified, and I read unto 
' Believe in God and his Apostle.' Then I exclaimed, ' I testify that 
there is no God but God,' and those who had fled away, came forth to me 
and magnified God and said, ' rejoice with good tidings, for the Apostle of 
God prayed on Monday and said, " God, glorify Thy faith by the most 
endeared to Thee of two men, either Abu Jahl the son of Hisham or 
Omar !" ' and they directed me to the prophet to the house at the foot of 
as Saf a. And I went on until I knocked at the door, and they said, ' who 
is it.' I replied ' the son of al Khattab,' and, verily, they knew my vio- 
lence against the Apostle of God, and no one was bold enough to open the 
door until Muhammad said, ' open for him,' and they opened for me and 
two men seized my arm, until the prophet came to me and said, ' stand off 
from him.' Then he caught me round my garment and drew me to him 
and said, ' be converted, O son of al Khattab. God ! direct him aright.' 
Then I made the profession of faith. Thereupon the Muslims magnified 
God, with a ' takbir' that was heard in the defiles of Mecca. They had 
hitherto sought concealment, and I* never wished to see a man, beating or 
being beaten, but I beheld him while nothing of this could befall me. Then 
I went to my maternal uncle, Abu Jahl, the son of Hisham, and he was a 
man of high consideration, and I knocked at his door and he said, ' who is 
that ?' I replied, ' the son of al Khattab, and verily I have changed my 
religion,' and he said, ' do it not.' Then he went within and shut the door 
upon me, and I said, ' this is nothing ;' and I went on to a man of the chiefs 
of the Kuraysh, and called out to him, and he come forth to me and I ad- 
dressed him in the same words as to my uncle, and he replied to me, as my 
uncle had replied, and he went in and shut the door upon me and I said, 
' this is nothing ! shall the Muslims be beaten and I not be beaten ?' Then 
a man said to me, ' dost thou wish that thy being converted to Islam, should 
be known ?' and I said ' yes.' He replied, ' when the people assemble 
in the precincts of the Kaabah, go to a certain man who cannot keep a 
secret and say to him that which is to be between thee and him, viz., verily 
I have changed my faith, for it is rare that he can conceal a secret.' And I 
went when the people had assembled in the enclosure, and I mentioned what 
was to be between me and him, saying, ' verily I have changed my faith.' 
He replied ' Hast thou really done so ?' I said ' yes.' Then he cried out 
at the top of his voice, ' verily the son of al Khattdb hath changed his 

♦ The Arabic idiom here, is so difficult to transfer with any closeness of translation, 
into English, that I fear I have sacrificed iateUigibility to a desire to be literal. Omar 
means to say, that either before his conversion, or before it was made known, his posi- 
tion as a chief of the !^uraysh secured him from all insult. 



[ 117 ] 

faith ;' then they fell upon me, and I did not cease to beat them, nor they 
to beat me, while the people gathered round me. Then my uncle said, 
' what is this gathering ?' they said to him, ' Omar hath changed his faith.' 
Then he stood up in the enclosure and waved his sleeve saying, ' verily I 
take under my protection the son of my sister,' and they gave way from 
me. But I did not like to see one of the Muslims beating or being beaten, 
but I would see him and say, ' this is nothing, perchance it may befall me,'* 
and I went to my uncle and said ' thy protection is returned to thee' and 
I did not cease from beating and being beaten until God exalted Islam." 
Abu Nua'ym in the " Dalail," and Ibn A'sdkir record on the autho- 
rity of Ibn Abbas that he said, " I asked of Omar, ' why art thou called 
al Pdruk ? {the discriminator) ?' and he said, ' Hamzah embraced 
Islam three days before me, and I went to the mosque, and Abu Jahl 
hastened to the prophet and reviled him, and Hamzah was informed of 
it ; so he took his bow and went to the mosque towards a group of the 
Kuraysh in which was Abu Jahl, and he leaned upon his bow over against 
Abu Jahl and regarded him, and Abu Jahl saw that mischief was in his 
countenance,' and he said, ' what is the matter with thee O ! Abu U'ma- 
rah ?'t and Hamzah lifted up his bow and struck him with it upon the 
two cupping-veins of the neck and cut them, and the blood flowed, where- 
upon the Kuraysh adjusted the matter amicably, fearing mischief." 
Then Omar continued, " the Apostle of God was at that time concealed in 
the house of Arkam the son of A'bu'l Arkam al Makhziimi, and Hamzah 
went away and embraced Islam. Three days afterwards, I went forth 
when behold ! there came a certain man of the tribe of the Banu Makhzum, 
and I said, ' hast thou turned away from the faith of thy fathers and 
followed the faith of Muhammad ?' and he replied, 'if I have done so, 
then verily, one hath done so likewise who hath a greater claim upon thee 
than I.' I said — ' and who is that ?' He answered, ' thy sister as well as 
thy brother-in-law.' And I departed and reached the house, and I heard 
a low whispering, and I entered and said, ' what is this ?' and words did 
not cease to pass between us, until I took my brother-in-law by the head 
and smote him and covered him with blood, but my sister rose against me 

* That is, I hope it may hefall me. The MS. has j^JL^ for the i>,j of the 
printed edition which makes the sense clearer. This passage is similar to the one I 
have already noted in a preceding page, with the difference, that he is now descrihing 
a state of feeling arrived at since his conversion had heen made puhlic. His zeal as a 
convert and his natural pugnacity would not permit him to behold a Muslim being 
beaten without wishing to share in the unpopularity of the new faith. Hia fervour 
would not be content with anything but hard knocks which, however, he returned 
as freely as he received them. 

t His surname : it was also that of al Bara-b-A'azib — the Companion. 



[ 118 ] 

and seized my head and said, ' verily that hath been done in spite of thee.' 
And I was ashamed when I saw the blood and I sat down and said, ' show 
me this writing,' but she replied, ' none shall touch it except those who 
are clean.' And I arose and bathed, and they brought out to me a paper 
in which was ' In the name of God, the most merciful and Compassionate' 
(and I said ' names, good and holy'). T. H. we have not sent dowh the 
Kuran unto thee that thou should'st be unhappy and I read on to His 
words ' most excellent names' (Kur. XX). And there arose in my heart 
a great awe and I said, ' is it from this the Kuraysh have fled ?' and I 
embraced Islam and said, ' where is the Apostle of God ?' She replied 
' verily he is in the house of Arkam,' and I went and knocked at the door 
and the people gathered together and Hamzah said to them, • what is it 
•with ye ?' They said, ' it is Omar' ; he replied, ' what ! Omar ! open the 
door to him, and if he cometh to us amicably, we will receive him, and 
if he turneth away from us we shall slay him ;' and the Apostle of God 
heard that, and he came forth and Omar made the profession of faith. 
Then the people of the house magnified God with a ' takbir' that was heard 
by the dwellers in Mecca. I said, ' Apostle of God, are we not in the 
Truth ?' he replied, ' yes.' I said, ' then wherefore this concealment ?' 
So we came forth in two ranks, I at the head of one of them and Hamzah, of 
the other, until we entered the mosque, and the Kuraysh looked upon me 
and upon Hamzah, and a great grief fell upon them. The Apostle of God 
therefore, named me the Discriminator, from that day, because Islam was 
made manifest and truth distinguished from falsehood." Ibn Saa'd records 
from Dakwan* that he narrates, " I said to Ayesha, who named Omar, the 
Discriminator ?" she replied, " the prophet." And Ibn Majah and al 
Hakim from Ibn A'bbds, that he said, " wlien Omar embraced Islam, 
Gabriel descended and said, ' Muhammad, verily the dwellers in heaven 
announce with rejoicing the conversion of Omar.' " Al Bazzar records, and 
al Hakim, who verifies it on the authority of Ibn A'bbas, that when Omar 
was converted, the idolaters said, " verily, to-day, the sect have avenged 
themselves upon us," and the Lord revealed,t " prophet ! God is thy sup- 
port, and such of the true believers that have followed thee" (Kur. VIII). 
And al Bukhari from Ibn Masa'M that he said, " we continued increasing 
in honour from the time when Omar was converted." And Ibn Saa'd and 
at Tabarani from Ibn Masa'ud, that he said, " the conversion of Omar 



* There are seven of this name mentioned by Ibn Hajr. The one referred to 
in the text is probably the freedman of Huljammad. 

t Some say this passage was revealed in a plain called aJi Beida, hetween Mecca 
and Medina during the expedition of Budr. tSale. 



[ 119 ] 

was a conquest, his flight* a victory, and his Imamate a divine mercy, 
and verily, we said that we were unable to pray in the House of Ood 
until Omar was converted, and when Omar was converted, he fought 
with them until they left us alone and we prayed therein." Ibn Saa'd and 
al Hdkim record from Hudayfah, that he said, " when Omar was con- 
verted, Islam was as a man advancing who doth not progress without 
approaching, and when Omar was slain, Islam was as a man retreating, 
who doth not progress without receding." And at Tabarani from Ibn 
A'bbas, that he said, " the first who openly manifested Isldm was Omar-b- 
u'l Khattab." His authorities are trustworthy and excellent. And Ibn 
Saa'd from Suhayb, " when Omar was converted, Islam was declared and 
the people openly invited to it, and we sat in a circle round the temple and 
went in procession round the temple, and avenged ourselves on those who 
had oppressed us, and returned back upon them somewhat of that which 
they had brought upon us." And Ibn Saa'd from Aslam, the freedman of 
Omar, " Omar was converted in the month of Du'l Hijjah in the sixth year 
of the prophetic mission, and he was then six and twenty years old." 



On Ms FliffM. 

Ibn A'satir records on the authority of A'li, that he said, " I never 
knew any one flee unless secretly, except Omar-bu'l Khattdb, for he, when 
he resolved on flight, girt on his sword and slung over him his bow and 
grasped in his hand its arrows, and went to the Kaa'bah where in its 
quadrangle were the chiefs of the Kuraysh, and he went round about it 
seven times, then prayed two rakaa'hsf at the station of Abraham, and 
went to each, one by one, in their circle and said, ' may the faces be foul 
of such as desire that his mother be bereaved of him and his child be left 
an orphan and his wife a widow, and if there he such a one, let him meet 
me behind this valley' — but no one followed him." And from al Bara.J 
that he said, "the first man who came to us, of the Tugitives was 
Musaa'b-b-U'mayr, then Ibn Umm Maktiim,§ then Omar-bu'l Khattab with 

* To Medina with the prophet. 

t A rakaa'h is a single act of standing in prayer, followed hy an inclination of 
the head, and two prostrations. 

t Itn Hair gives six of the name— the reference in the text is prohahly to al 
Bara-b-A'azib, one of the Auxiliaries of Medina. 

§ Some say his name was A'tdu'Uah, others A'mr-h-Kays. His mother's name 
was A'atikah of the Banu Makhzdm. He resided at Medina after Badr, being then 
blind, and used to ofaoiate as Imam at public prayers when Muhammad was absent in 
his expeditions. A'warifu'l Ma'arif of Ibn. Kutaybah. 



[ 120 1 

twenty horsemen, and we said, ' what is the Apostle of God doing ?' He 
replied, ' he cometh after me ;' then then Apostle of God arrived and with 
him Ahu Bakr."* 

An Nawawi says that Omar was present with the Apostle of God in 
all his expeditions, and was of those who remained steadfast to him on the 
day of Ohud. 



On the traditions handed down, regarding his merit, other than what 
has preceded in the life of Abu Bakr. 

The two Shaylihs record on the authority of Ahu Hurayrah that the 
Apostle of God said, " while I was asleep, I saw myself in Paradise, and he- 
held there was a woman performing her ablutions by the side of a house ; 
I said, ' whose is this house ?' they replied ' Omar's.' Then I recollected 
thy jealousy and I turned back." And Omar wept and said, " should I be 
jealous of thee, Apostle of God !" And from Ibn Omar that the Apostle 
of God said, '' whilst I was asleep, I dreamt that I drank (meaning 
milk) so that I saw the stream issuing from my nails, and I gave it to 
Omar." They said, " how dost thou interpret it, Apostle of God !" He 
answered, " it was knowledge." And from Abu Sa'id, al Khudri, " I 
heard the Apostle of God say, ' whilst I was sleeping, I saw the people pre- 
sented to me, and upon them were garments, some of them reaching to the 
breast and some of them reaching below it, and Omar was presented to me 
and upon him a garment which he was dragging along.' They said, 
'how dost thou interpret it, Apostle of God!' He answered — 'it was 
religion.' " And from Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas, that the Apostle of God said, 
" O son of al Khaftdb — by Him in whose hand is my life, the devil hath 
never met thee walking in a road, but he hath taken a road other than 
thy road." And al Bukhari from Ibn Hurayrah, that the Apostle of God 
said, " verily there have been among those who have gone before ye 
among the nations, men inspired, and if there be such a one among my 
people, it is Omar." And at Tirmidi from Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of 
God said, " verily God hath placed truth upon the tongue of Omar the 
son of al Khattab and upon his heart." 

Ibn Omar says, " never did a thing come upon the people, and they 
said one thing regarding it, and Omar another, but the Kur^n revealed it 
after the manner that Omar had said." And at Tirmidi and al Hakim, 

* Al Bard, as quotedl Ijy an Nawawi, places four others between Ibn Umm Maktdm 
and Omar, viz., A'mm4r-b-Yiisir Saa'd-b-Ati \Vakka?, Ibn Masa'ud and Bilal. 



t 121 ] 

who has verified it from U'kbah-b-A 'amir, record, that the Apostle of God 
said, " if there were to be a prophet after me, it would be Omar the son 
of al Khattab." And at Tirmidi, from Ayesha, that the Apostle of God' 
said, " verily I behold the evil spirits among Genii and men, fleeing from 
before Omar." And Ibn Majah anH al Hakim from Ubayy-b-Kaa'b, that 
the Apostle of God said, " the first with whom Truth joineth hands, and the 
first it blesseth, and the first it taketh by the hand and entereth Paradise, 
is Omar." And from Abu Darr that he narrates, " I heard the Apostle of 
God say, ' verily the Lord hath placed truth upon the tongue of Omar, by 
which He speaketh.' And Ahmad and al Bazzar from Abu Hurayrah 
that the Apostle of God said, ' verily the Lord hath placed truth upon the 
tongue of Omar and upon his heart.' And Ibn Manii' in his Musnad from 
A'li, that he said, ' we the Companions of Muhammad did not doubt that 
the divine presence spake by the tongue of Omar.' And al Bazzar from 
Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God said, ' Omar is the lamp of the dwellers 
in Paradise.' And from Kudamah-b-Madhu'iin on the authority of his 
brother,* Othman-b-Madhu'dn, that the Apostle of God said, ' this is the 
bolt against discord' — and he pointed with his hand to Omar — ' there shall 
not cease to be between you and discord, a gate strongly bolted, as long as 
he liveth among you.' " 

At Tabarani records in the A'usat from Ibn A'bbas, that Gabriel came 
to the prophet and said, " greet Omar with a salutation and tell him that 
his anger is glory and his approval, command." And Ibn A'sakir from 
Ayesha, that the prophet said, " verily Satan avoideth Omar." And 
Ahmad on the ascription of Buraydah,t that the prophet said, " verily 
Satan avoideth thee, Omar !" • and Ibn A'sakir from Ibn A'bbas that 
the Apostle of God said, " there is not an angel in heaven, but he revereth 
Omar and not a demon on earth but he fleeth from Omar." And at 
Tabarani in the Ausa't from Abu Hurayrah that the Apostle of God said, 
" verily God gloried regarding the pilgrims of A'rafahJ in general and 
Omar in particular." And at Tabarani and al Daylami from al Fadhl b-u'l 
A'bbas that the Apostle of God said, "the Truth. after me is with Omar 
wherever he may be." 

* The text and MS. have 'unole' which appears to be an error. 

t Ahu A'bdu'llah Buraydah h-u'l IJusayh, one of the Companions. He resided 
at Medina, afterwards at Basrah and removed suhsecLuently to Marw where he died 
A. H. 62. He related 164 traditions from Muhammad. An Nawawi. 

t This is given differently hy different authorities. In the Kitah u'l Iktifa 
( lilsr'i**); ill J/ai ^Jl^^l V^ ) '^7 Ibrahim-h-Ahdu'Ua, al Wasabi, al Yamani, 
as Shafi'i— God vied Vith his angels regarding men on the day of A'rafah. Lane 
gives another reading, "the angels vied with them." The day of A'rafah is the 
9th of Du'l Hijjah— for its ceremonies, consult Burton. 

16 



[ 122 ] 

The two Shaykhs record on the authority of Ibn Omar and Abu 
Hurayrah that the Apostle of God said, " whilst I was sleeping, I saw 
myself by a well, upon which was a bucket, and I drew up from it what 
God willed ; then«Abu Bakr took it and he drew up a bucket-full or two, 
and there was feebleneas in his drawing and may God have mercy upon 
him. Then came Omar and he sought to draw, and the bucket became 
changed into a large bucket, and I have not seen a chief of the people do 
his wonderful deeds, so that the people satisfied their thirst and abode at 
the water." ? 

An Nawawi says in his Tahdib, that the learned assert that this is an 
indication of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and Omar, and the numerous con- 
quests and triumphs of Islam during the time of Omar. At Tabarani 
records on the authority of Sadisah,* that the Apostle of God said, " verily 
Satan hath never met Omar since his conversion but he hath fallen 
prostrate on his face." And from Ubayy-b-Kaa'b that the Apostle of God 
said, " Gabriel said to me, ' verily Islam will weep at the death of Omar.' " 
And in the Ausat from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, that the Apostle of God said, 
" he who hateth Omar, hath hated me, and he who loveth Omar, hath 
loved me, and verily, the Lord gloried regarding the people on the evening 
of the day of A'rafah in general, and rejoiced over Omar in particular, and 
the Lord hath never sent a prophet, but there was among his people one 
inspired, and if there be such a one among my people, it is Omar." They 
said " Apostle of God, how inspired ?" He replied, " the angeb speak by 
his tongue." (His authorities are good.) 



On the sayings of the Companions and tlie early Muslims regarding him. 

Abu Bakr as Siddik said, " there is not upon the face of the earth a 
man dearer to me than Omar." (Ibn A'sakir.) It was said to Abu Bakr 
in his illness, " what wilt thou say to thy God, now that thou hast appointed 
Omar to rule ?" He replied, " I will say to Him 'I have appointed over 
them the best of them." (Ibn Saa'd.) A'li said, « when the righteous are 
mentioned, then quick and mention Omar : we used to say not without 
reason that the divine presence speaketh by the tongue of Omar." 
(At Tabarani in the Ausat.) And Ibn Omar said, " I never saw any one 
after the Apostle of God, from the time that he died, more vehement and 
yet more beneficent than Omar." (Ibn Saa'd.) And Ibn Masa'dd " if the 

* The freedwoman of Htaf?ah, the daughter of Omar. She belonged to the 
Auxiliaries. Ibn Hajr. 



[ 1^3 1 

■wisdom of Omar were placed in the scale of a balance, and the wisdom of 
living things upon the earth in the other scale, the wisdom of Omar would 
outweigh them, and verily people used to think that he bore away nine- 
tenths of wisdom." (At Tabardni in the Kabir and al Hakim.) And 
Hudayfah— " it is as if the wisdom of mankind lay hidden in the bosom 
of Omar ;" and, " by Allah I know not a man whom the reproof of the 
censurer in what relateth to the service of God, doth not touch, but 
Omar." And Ayesha speaking of Omar said, " by Allah, he was active in 
affairs, singly undertaking their management." And al Mu'awiyah, " Abu 
Bakr sought not the world and it sought not him,' but Omar, the world 
sought though he sought it not, while we are plunged in it up to the 
middle." (Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar in the Maukifiyat.) 

, Jabir relates that A'li went to Omar when he was at prayers and 
said, " may the mercy of God be upon thee! -there is no one with the 
record of whose actions it would be more pleasing to me to meet God, 
(after the Companionship of the prophet) than this performer of prayers." 
(Al Hdkim). And Masa'tid has said, " when the righteous are mentioned, 
then quick and mention Omar — verily Omar was the most learned of us 
in the book of God, and the most profoundly versed in the religious ordi- 
nances of the Most High." (At Tabarani and al Hakim.) Ibn A'bbas 
was asked regarding Abu Bakr, and he said " he was like goodness itself ;" 
and he was asked regarding Omar, and he said, " he was like a wary bird 
that seeth a snare in every path, to take it ;" and he was' questioned about 
A'li, and he said, " he was full of resolution and vigilance and wisdom and 
dignity" (recorded in the Tuyuriyat). 

At Tabarani records on the authority of U'mayr-b-Eabii', that Omar 
said to Kaa'b al Ahbar,* " what description of me dost thou find ?" "I find 
thy description to be a horn of iron,"t he said, " and what is a horn of 
iron ?" He replied, " a resolute prince whom the reproof of the censurer in 
what relateth to the service of God, doth not touch." Omar said, " then 
what ?" He replied " there shall come after thee a Caliph whom a cruel 
faction shall slay." He asked, " then what ?" He answered, " then shall 
follow calamity." And Ahmad and al Bazzar and at Tabarani from Ibn 
Masa'ud that he said, " Omar, the son of al Khattab, was distinguished above 
men, for four things : 

* A Jew who embraced Islam in the time of Omar and a constant companion of 
that Caliph. D'Herbelot gives the name to a hook in which are recorded many, 
fabulous stories of Islam. The author he adds, is unknown and his work contains 
many Christian traditions, among them, that of the guardian angels. According to the 
the Muntaha 1' Arab, al Ahb&r is incorrect— it should be Hibr, (/4^) which signifies a 
Jewish or Christian doctor of science. 

t Kings xxii. 11. 



[ 124 ] 

1. " In the affair of the prisoners on the day of Badr,* whom he 
ordered to be put to death, and God revealed, ' unless a revelation had been 
previously delivered from God,' &c., (Kur. VIII). 

2. " In the affair of the veil.f He commanded the wives of the 
prophet that they should be veiled and Zaynab said to him, ' thou art against 
us, O son of al Khattab, and yet the divine inspiration descends within our 
house;' then God revealed, ,' and when ye ask of the propJiefs wives, 
what ye may have occasion for, &c.,' (Kur. V). 

3. " By the prayer of the prophet, ' O God strengthen Islam by 
Omar.' 

4. " By his voice in favour of Abu Bakr, he being the first to swear 
allegiance to him." 

Ibn A'sakir records from Mujahid, that he narrates, " we used to say 
that the devils were chained during the rule of Omar, and were unloosed 
when he perished." And from Salim-b-A'bdi'UahJ that he said, " news 
of Omar was long in reaching Abu Musa, and he went to a woman 
possessed by a devil, and he asked her about him and she said, ' stay till 
my demon cometh,' and he came and she asked of him regarding Omar, 
and he said, ' I left him, girt round with a garment smearing with pitch 
the public camels, § and that man, no devil seeth but he falleth upon his 
nostrils, the angel is before his eyes, and Gabriel speaketh by his 
tongue.' " 

Sufyan || al -Thauri says " whosoever thinketh that Ali had more 
right to the Caliphate, than Abu Bakr or Omar, hath ascribed blame to 
Abu Bakr, Omar, the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries. And Sharik^f has 

* For an account of this, consult Sale, p. 146. 

t Consult Sale, p. 349. 

X The grandson of Omar distinguished for the piety and austerity of his life, 
died at Medina, A. H. 105-8. 

§ " The abstinence and humility of Omar," says Gihhon " were not inferior to the 
virtues of Abu Batr : his food consisted of barley-bread or dates : his drink was 
■water ; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places, and a Persian 
satrap who paid his homage to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on 
the steps of the mosque of Medina." Decline and Fall. 

II Abu A'bdu'llah Sufyan at Thauri-b-Sa'id-b-MasrIik was a native of Kufah and 
of the highest authority in traditions and other sciences. He was made Kadhi of 
Ktifah by al Mahdi, but he fled and concealed himself to avoid the honour and its heavy 
responsibility — an amusing account of this is given by Ibn Khallikan, SufyAu was 
born A. H. 95 (A. D. 713-4), and died at Basrah A. H. 161 (777-8). 

1 The printed edition has Shurayk, but this is an error. There is no one of any 
note bearing that name, while Abu A'bdu'llah Sharik an Nakha'i was the person who 
was appointed Kddlii of KHfah, after Sufyfa at Thauri s flight. He was a strong up- 
holder of All's merits, and his evidence is therefore adduced in proof of the superiority, 



[ 125 ] 

observed, ' no oiie who hath goodness in him, placeth A'li before Abu Bakr 
and Omar.' And Abu Usamah says ' do ye know who were Abu Bakr 
and Omar ? — those two men were the father of Islam and its mother. 
And Jaa'far as Sddik,* ' I am quit of any one who mentioneth Abu Bakr 
or Omar otherwise than favorably.' " 



On the coincidences of the sayings of Omar with the Kuran wMcTi some of 
the learned compute at more than twenty. 

Ibn Mardawayh records on the authority of MujAhid that Omar 
would form a judgment and the Kuran would reveal it. And Ibn Asakir 
from Ali, that he said, " verily there are in the Kuran some judgments 
after the judgment of Omar ;" and from Ibn Omar, an ascription reach- 
ing to the prophet, " the people never spake regarding a thing, Omar 
likewise having spoken regarding it, but the Kurdn was revealed after the 
manner that Omar had spoken." And the two Shaykhs from Omar that 
he said, " I was in accordance with my Lord in three things ; I said ' 
Apostle of God if we were to take the station of Abraham for a place of 
prayer, and there was revealed, take the station of Abraham for a 
place of prayers' (Kur. II) : and I said, ' Apostle of God, there go 
unto thy women the righteous and the sinner, and did thou but command 
them to be veiled !' — then Was revealed the verse regarding the veiling ; 
and the vrives of the prophet assembled in indignation and I said, ' if he 
divorce you, his Lord can easily give him in exchange better wives than 
you.' (Kur. LXVI) and the like unto that was revealed." And Muslim 
from Omar that he said, " I was in accordance with my Lord in three 
things — ^regarding the veiling — regarding the prisoners of Badr — and the 
station of Abraham." Therefore in this tradition there is a fourth in- 
stance : again according to the Tahdib of an Nawawi, the Kuran was re- 
vealed coincidently with his judgment, regarding the prisoners of Badr — 
the veiling — the station of Abraham and the prohibition of wine. Thus 

universally acknowledged, of Abu Bakr and Omar. I can, however, find in Ibn Khalli. 
kan no hint of Shank's assertion of the pre-eminence of Abu Bakr and Omar — the 
evidence seems quite the other way, and I strongly suspect that as Suyuti's citation is 
not to be trusted. 

* The Imam Abu A'bdu'llah Jaa'far as Sadik (the Veracious) foiuih iu descent 
from Ali-b-Abi Talib, born A. H. 80 (A. D. 699), died and buried at Medina A. H. 
148 (766). The same tomb contains the bodies of his father Muhammad al Bakir, his 
grandfather A'li Zayn u'l A'abidin and his grandfather's uncle, al Hasan son of A'li. 
" How rich a tomb," says Ibn Khallikan "ia generosity and nobility !" 



[ 126 ] 

a fifth instance is added, the tradition regarding which is in the Sunan 
and the Mustadrak of al Hakim, namely, that he said, ' O God, manifest 
■unto Tis regarding wine, a distinct declaration ;' God then revealed its prohi- 
bition.* 

Ibn Abi Hatim records in his Commentary on the authority of 
Anas that Omar said, " I was in accordance with my Lord in four things — 
the following verse was revealed, ' we formerly created man in a finer sort 
of clay' &c. (Kur. XXIII) and when it was revealed, I said, ' wherefore, 
blessed be God, the most excellent Creator,' and then came down, ' Wherei 
fore blessed be God, the most excellent Creator.'f (Kur. XXIII). A 
sixth instance is thus added in this tradition, and for the tradition there 
is another line of ascrip'tion which I have adduced in the Tafsir u'l 
Musnad. Again I have seen in the work ' Tadhail u'l Imamayn' {Distin- 
guishing merits of tlie two 'Lmkxa%),hj AhxL A'bdu'Ilah as Shaybani, that 
Omar was in accordance with his Lord in one and twenty instances. He 
mentions these six and adds 

7th. " The story of A'bdu'Uah-b-Ubayy." I observe that its tradition is 
in the Sahih on the authority of Omar who said, " when A'bdu'llah-b- 
Ubayy died, the Apostle of God was invited to read prayers over him, and 
he stood over him, but I arose and advanced until I was abreast of him and 
said, ' Apostle of God ! what ! over the enemy of God, the son of Ubayy 
who said one day such and such a thing, — and by Allah, but a little 
while after there came down " Neither do thou pray over any of them who 
shall die" &c.' " Kur. IX). J 

8th. " ' They will ask thee concerning wine &c.' (Kur. 11). 

9th. " ' O true believers, come not to prayers when ye are drunk' (IV). 
I remark that these two with the verse from the Sura of the ' Table' (IV) 
are but one single instance, and the three are in the preceding tradition. 

10th. " When the Apostle of God was frequent in asking pardon for a 
faction, Omar said, ' it shall be equal unto them ;' then God revealed ' It 
shall be equal unto them, whether thou ask pardon for them' (Kur. 
LXIII). I observe that at Tabarani has recorded this on the authority 
of Ibn A'bb^s. 

11th. " When Muhammad consulted the Companions regarding the ad- 
vance to Badr, Omar counselled the advance, and there came down • as 
the Lord brought thee forth from thy house, &c.,' (Kur. VIII). 

* In Chs. Ill and V. 

t These words are ascribed by Sale to A'bdu'Uah-b-Saa'd, Muhammad's amanu- 
ensis. See Sale's %mc. p. 108. 

X For the story, consult Sale, p. 159. 



[ 127 ] 

12th. ■ " When he consulted the Companions regarding the affair of the 
Falsehood,* Omar said, ' who gave her to thee in marriage, Apostle of 
God ?' He replied ' Allah' — Omar said, ' dost thou then think that thy 
Lord would put a deceit upon thee regarding her ? God forbid ! this is a 
grievous calumny,' (Kur. XXIV), and the like was revealed. 

13th. " The account concerning him in the matter of the fast when 
Omar went in unto his wife after waking from sleep, and that was forbid- 
den in the beginning of Islam ; and there was revealed, ' it is lawful for 
you on the night of the fast, &c.' (Kur. II). I note that Ahmad has 
recorded this in his Musnad. 

14th. " The words of the Most High ' whoever is an enemy to Gabriel, 
&c.,' (Kur. II). I not.e that Ibn u'z Zubayr'and others have recorded this 
with numerous lines of ascription and the nearest of these to coincidence 
with the Kurdn is that recorded by Ibn Abi Hakim on the authority of 
A'bdu'r Rahman-b-Abi Laylah, viz., that a Jew met Omar and said, ' verily 
Gabriel, he whom your master speaketh of, is an enemy to us ;' and Omar 
saidto him, ' whosoever is an enemy to God, or his angels, or his Apostles, 
or to Gabriel or Michael, verily God is an enemy to the unbelievers.' 
(Kur. II) . Thus it was revealed by the tongue of Omar. 

15th. " The words of the Most High. ' And by thy Lord, they will 
not perfectly believe, &c.,' (Kur. IV). I observe that Ibn Abi Hatim and 
Ibn Mardawayh have recorded the story of this, on the authority of Abu'l 
Aswad, who said, .' tw.o men carried their dispute for decision before the 
prophet, and he judged between them, and the man against whom he had 
decided, said, " let us appeal to Omar the son of al Khattab," and they 
went to him, and the other maxi said, "the Apostle of God has judged in 
my favour against this man, but he exclaimed let us appeal to Omar ;" and 
Omar said, " was it so ?" He replied " yes." Then Omar said, "■ stay where 
ye are until I come out unto you," ' and he went out to them grasping his 
sword, and he smote him who had said, ' let ns appeal to Omar,' and slew 
him and the other went back and said, ' Apostle of God ! Omar hath 
slain my Companion.' He answered ' I should not have thought that 
Omar would dare to slay a true believer.' Then God revealed, ' and by 
thy Lord they will noi perfectly belieye,' &c. Thus the blood of the man 
was made lawful and Omar was absolved from the guilt of his death. To 
this tradition there is also concurrent testimony which I have adduced in 
the Tafsir u'l Musnad. 

16th. " The asking permission to enter, and this was because his slave 
vrent in to him, while ha was sleeping, and he said, ' God ! forbid their 

* The imputations against the conduct of Ayesha when she was accidentally left 
behind on the return march to Medina after the expedition againat the Banu Mustalik, 
see Sale, p. 288^ 



[ 128 ] 

entrance ;' and there'Vas revealed the verse regarding the asking permis- 
sion (Kur. XXIV.) 

17th. "His words concerning the Jews. ' Verily they are a people 
not seeing the right course.'* 

18th. " The words of the Most High, ' And.there shall be many of the 
former and many of the latter.' (Kur. XXXVI) I note that Ibn A'sakir 
has recorded the story of this in his history, on the authority of Jabir-b- 
A'bdu'Uah and it is in the Asbab u'n Nuzul (Reasons of Revelation). 

19th. " He adduced the citationf ' The man and woman of advanced 
years when they commit adultery,' &c. 

20th. " On the day of Ohud, when Abu Sufyan called out, ' is there 
a certain one among the people ?' his saying, ' do. not answer him,' and 
the Apostle of God acted conformably to his counsel. I note that Ahmad 
has recorded this in his Musnad." 

As Shayhomi continues, " and there should be added to this, that 
which Othman-b-Sa'id a'd Darami in the work ' The Refutation of the 
Jahmiyah,'J has recorded from Salim-b-A'bd'illah, that Kaa'b al Ahbar 
said, ' woe unto the king of earth from the king of heaven ;' and Omar 
exclaimed, ' save unto him who calleth himself to account,' and Kaa'b 
replied ' by Him in whose hand is my life, verily it is in the Pentateuch — 
thou hast indeed said according to it,' and Omar fell worshipping." 

I have also seen in the Kamil of Ibn A'di on the authority of Ibn 
Omar that Bilal used to call out, when he summoned to prayers, " I testify 
that there _is no God, but God — come ye to prayers," and Omar said to 
him, " say at the end of it, ' I testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of 
God ;' and the Apostle of God said, ' say as Omar hath spoken.' " 



On Ms miracles. 

Al Bayhaki and Abu Nua'ym have both of them recorded in the proofti 
of prophecy, and al Ldlakai in the commentary on the Tradition, and ad 
Dayr§ A'akuli in his observations, and Ibn al Aa'r4bi|| in the " Miracles 

* This refers to Kur. II. j*^ ^S^^ '■=**^ 

+ A case of this kind was brought before Omar, and he directed them to be stoned, 
quoting^ at the same time this verse which was revealed but never written. It is not 
to be found in the KurAn, but retains all the authority of the written ordinances. 

% A sect of the l^adaris who deny absolute predestination. 

i Dayr u'l A'dktil is a town situated on the Tigris fifteen parasangs distant £pom 
Baghdad. The traditionist here alluded to is probably Yahya Abdu'l Karim-b-u'l 
Haytham who died in A. H. 278. Takii( M. B. 

II Abu Abdu'llah Muhammad-b-Ziyad, a genealogist and philologar of the highest 



[ 129 ] 

of the saints," and al Khatib in the Traditionists of Malik, on the authori- 
ty of Ibn Omar, that he said, " Omar had despatohed an army at the head 
■of which was a man called Sariyah, and while Omar was one day preaching 
he hegan to call out, ' Sdriyah ! the hill !' three times. After this ar- 
rived a messenger from the army, and Omar questioned him and he said, ' O 
prince of the faithful, we were being routed, and while we were thus, lo! 
we heard a voice calling out, " Sdiriyah ! the hill," three times, so we 
stayed our backs against the hill, and the Lord put them to flight.' He 
adds — ' they said to Omar, " verily thou didst call out so." This hill near 
to which Sariyah was, is by Nahawand in Persian Irak.' " Ibn Mardawayh 
records from Ibn Omar that he said, " Omar was preaching on a Friday, 
when he uttered vague words in his discourse saying, ' O Sariyah ! the hill ! 
he who asketh of the wolf to keep guard, doth wrong :' and the people 
looked one upon the other, and A'li said to them, ' let him explain what 
he hath said.' And when he ceased, they asked of him, and he replied, 
' we thought that the infidels had routed our brethren, who verily were 
passing by a hill, and if they inclined towards it, they would have to fight 
on one front only, and if they passed heyond it they would be destroyed ; 
then there went forth from me what ye thought ye heard.' He adds 
that a messenger arrived a month afterwards, .and said that they had heard 
the voice of Omar on that day, and he .continued, ' we inclined towards 
:the hill and God gave us the victory.' " 

Abu Nua'ym records in the "Proofs" from A'mr-b-u'l Harith* that he 
,aaid, " while Omar was preaching on a Friday, lo ! he abruptly checked his 
discourse and exclaimed — ' Sariyah ! the hill !' twice or three times, and 
then proceeded with his preaching, and some who were present exclaimed 
'verily he raveth — surely he is mad.' Whereon A'bdu'r Ea^man-b- 
A'uf who had confidence in him, went to him and said — 'thou givest them 
occasion to speak against thee, for whilst thou wert preaching, behold ! 
thou didst cry out " Sariyah, the hill!" — what meaneth this?' He 
replied, ' verily, by Allah, I could not restrain it ! I saw them fighting 
near a hill, and they were being attacked in their front and rear, and I 
could not help exclaiming " 0, Sariyah ! the hill," that they might gain 
the hill.' And they tarried until the messenger of Sariyah arrived with 
his despatch, saying, " the enemy met us upon a Friday, and we fought 
them until, when the hour of congregating for prayer arrived, we heard 

reputation ; a list of his works is given by Ibn Khali. He was hom A. H. 160 (767) 
and died at Sarraman-raa A. H. 231 (846). 

* A'mr-b-u'l Harith b-Abi Dhirar, a native of Kufah and a Companion. He was 
the brother of Juayriyah one of Muljammad's wives and of the Banu Mustali^. An 
Nawawi. 

17 



[ 130 ] 

one calling out ' Sariyah ! the hill !' twice, and we gained the hill and 
we continued to prevail over our enemy until the Lord defeated them and 
slew them." ' Then those that had reproached Omar, said, ' leave this 
man alone, for verily he is in collusion with him.' " 

Abu'l giasim-b-Bishran in his Fawaid records on the authority of Ibn 
Omar, that Omar b-u'l Khattab said, to a man, "what is thy name?" 
He replied, " Jamrah" {a live coal). He said, " The son of whom ?" He 
answered, " the son of Shihab" {flame). He asked, "of what tribe?" he re- 
plied, " al Hurkah" IJieat). He said, "where is thy dwelling?" he an- 
swered, " at al Harrah" {warmth). He asked, " at which of them ?" He 
replied " of Dat Ladha" (filaeing). Then Omar said, " go to thy family 
for verily they have been burnt." And the man returned and found that 
his people had been burnt to death. 

Abu'l Shaykh records in the Kitab u'l A'dhamat {Booh of greatness) 
on the authority of Ifays-b-u'l Hajjdj, who had it from one who related it 
to him, that when Egypt was conquered, A'mr-b-u'l A'As arrived on a cer- 
tain day of one of the Coptic months, and the Jieople said to him, " verily 
our Nile hath an observance without which it will not rise." He asked 
" and what is that ?" They said, " when eleven nights of this month* 
have elapsed, we seek a girl, a virgin, living with her parents, and we 
obtain the consent of her parents, and we robe her with garments and 
ornaments, the best that can be had,, and throw her into this Nile." And 
A'mr said to them — " this can never be in Islam for verily Islam 
destroyeth what preceded it." They therefore departed, and the Nile 
rose neither little nor much, so that they meditated leaving their country. 
And when A'mr saw that, he wrote to Omar-b-u'l Khattab concerning 
it, g.nd Omar replied to him, saying, " verily thou hast acted rightly in 
what thou hast done, for verily, Isldm destroyeth what preceded it," and 
he sent a slip of paper within his letter, and wrote to A'mr, saying, " verily, 
I have sent thee a slip of paper' within my letter, which cast into the 
Nile." And when the letter of Omar reached A'mr-b-u'l A' as, he took the 
slip of paper and opened it, and behold, there was in it, " From the servant 
of God, the Prince of the Faithful, to the Nile of Egypt— Now, if thou 
didst rise of thy own power, then rise not, but if the Lord caused thee to 
rise, then I implore the Lord, the One, the Conqueror, to make thee 
rise !" And he cast the slip of paper into the Nile, a day beforef the 
Festival of the Cross. And when they entered upon the next morning, 

• Abu'l Mahaein determines this to be the Oopldo month of Bunah, that is, the 
Syrian month of Huzayr&ii or our June approximately. Nujum uz Zahirah. 

t Abu'l Mahfisin has fj^J vHS^-" "^ (ji ^ This date, according to the 
Calendars of the Eastern and Western Churches, is the 14th September. 



[ 131 ] 

verily the Lord had caused it to rise sixteen, cubits in a single night ; thus 
the Lord put an end to this custom' among the people of Egypt up to this 
day. 

Ibn A'sdkir records on the authority of Tarik-b-Shihab* that he said, 
" if a man spoke with Omar in conversation and told him a falsehood, he 
would say, ' withhold this,' then as he continued the conversation, ho 
would say, * withhold this also,' and the man would say to him, ' all that 
I said to thee was the truth, except what thou didst command me to with- 
hold.' And from al Hasan that he said, ' if there was a man who knew a 
falsehood when it was spoken, it was Omar-b-u'l Khattab.' " 

Al Bayhaki records in the Proofs on the authority of Abu Hudbah al 
Him§i that he said, " Omar was informed that the people of Irak had 
pelted with stones their governor, and he wenj} forth in a violent anger 
and prayed, but was distracted in his prayers, and when he came to the 
salutation, he said, ' God, verily they have put confusion upon me, there- 
fore put thou confusion upon them, and place over them a youth of the 
Banu Thaklf who may rule over them after the manner of the rule of 
the time of Ignorance, not receiving with favour the beneficent among 
them, and not pardoning their evildoers.' "' I observe that he referred by 
this, to al Hajjaj. Ibn Lahia'hf says that at that time al Hajjaj was 
not born. 



On some particulars of his character. ' 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of al Ahnaf-b-u'l KaysJ that he 
said, " we wefe seated at Omar's door, when there passed by a slave girl, 

* Abu A'bdu'Uah, Tarik b-Shihab the Companion. He was bom before the risa 
of Islam, and fought in about thirty or forty expeditions under Abu Bakr and Omar. 
He was a native of Kufah and died there in A. H. 83. Ad. Nawawi. 

t Abu A'bdu'r Eahmau A'bda'llah-b-Lahia'h al Ghafiki, a native of Egypt was 
a narrator of traditions and historical narratives and pieces in prose and verse but 
of weak memory and of little repute. He was appointed Kadhi of Old Cairo by 
Abu Jaa'far al Manjur A. H. 155 (A. D. 772) and removed from ofSoe A. H. 
164. He was the first !^adhi who made it his duty to be present when watch was 
kept for the new moon in Eamadhan but this custom was discontinued under the 
Fatimite dynasty and re-established by Salah ud Dm. He died at Old Cairo A. H. 
174 (790) or some say A. H. 170, aged eighty-one. Ibn Khali. 

i Abu Bakr ad Dahhak-b-Kays (a different person from the one who fell at Marj 
Kahit) surnamed at Tamimi, was generally known as al Ahnaf or the Clubfoot. Hs 
was chief of his tribe and held high rank among the Xabi'is and possessed a great 



E 132 1 

and tliey said, ' she is the concubine of the Prince of the Faithful.' And 
Omar exclaimed, ' she is not a concubine of the Prince of the Faithful 
and is not lawful to him, verily she is the property of the Lord.'* Then 
■we said, ' what then is lawful to him of the property of the Most High 
God ?' He replied, ' verily, nothing is lawful to Omar of what belongeth 
to the Lord, but two garments, a garment for winter and a garment for 
summer, and what may enable him to perform the pilgrimage and the 
religious visitations, and my sustenance and that of my family is like 
unto that of a man of the Kuraysh, neither the richest nor the poorest 
of them. Beyond this I am but a man among the Muslims.' Khuzay- 
mah-b-Thabitt says, that when Omar appointed a ruler, be would write to 
him and make it conditional upon him, that he should not ride a palfrey, 
nor eat delicacies, nor clothe himself in fine garments, nor close his doors 
against the needy, for if he should do this, verily punishment would come 
upon him." A'krimah-b-Khalid and others narrate, that HafsahJ and 
A'bdu'llah and some others expostalated with Omar and said, " if thou 
wert to eat good food, it would confirm thee in maintaining the truth:" he 
exclaimed, " are ye all of this opinion ?" They said, " yes." He replied, " I 
understand your counsel, but I have left my two Companions upon a road, 
and if I depart from their road, I shall not find them at the journey's end." 
He adds, " and a dearth fell upon the people, and he eat that year, neither 
butter nor fat." Ibn Abi Mulaykah narrates that U'kbah-b-Farkad spoke 
to Omar about his food, and he exclaimed, "fie on thee, 'shaU I eat of 
. good things during my life in this world, and seek enjoyment in them." 
Al Hasan states that Omar went in to his son A'asim who' was eating flesh 
meat, and he exclaimed, " what is this ?" He replied, " I had a great craving 
for it." Omar retorted, " dost thou eat everything thou hast i craving 
for ? It would be sufficiently immoderate in a man that he should eat all 
that he desired." Aslam mentions that Omar said, " a craving for fresh 
fish hath come upon me." He continues, " whereon Yarfa§ mounted his 

reputation for aouteness, learning and prudence. Hia influence was such, that, as 
Mu'iwiyah's sister said of him, if he were angered, he had one hundred thousand of 
the tribe of Tamim to share his anger without asking him the reason of it. He died 
at Kufah about A. H. 67- The notice of his life in Ibn Khali will repay perusal. 

• /. e. The State Treasury, used for the benefit of all the Muslims. 

+ Abu TJ'm&ah Khuzaymah-b-Thabit, was one of the Auxiliaries, and a native of 
Medina. Surnamed also Khatmah, from his once smiting a man on the nose (/th^) 
He fought al Badr and other battles, and was present with A'U at the fight of the 
Camel, and at SifFin whore he himself was killed A. H. 37. An Nawawi. 

% His daughter (wife of Muljammad) : A'bdu'Uah was his son. 

§ The frecdman of Omar. 



[ 133 ] 

camel and rode four miles on and four miles back and purcliased a basket- 
ful of a miktal weight,* and brought it, and then betook himself to his 
camel and washed it down and repaired to Omar who said, ' come, that I 
may see the camel,' and he looked upon it and exclaimed, ' thou hast for- 
gotten to cleanse this sweat that is under its ear. An animal hath been 
punished to serve the appetite of Omar — no, by Allah, Omar shall not taste 
of thy basket.' " 

Katddah says, that Omar when he was Caliph, used to wear a garment 
of woollen stuff patched partly with leather, and would wander through 
the streets with a scourge over his shoulders with which he chastised the peo- 
ple, and passing by bits of rag and dates, he would gather them up and throw 
them into the houses of people, that they might make use of them. Anas 
says, " I saw between the shoulders of Omar, four patches in his shirt." 
And Abu Othman an Nahdi, " I saw upon Omar a nether garment patched 
with leather." And A'bdu'llah-b-A'amir-b-Eabii'h,t " I made the pil- 
grimage with Omar, and he erected neither a tent of goat's hair, nor one 
of wool — he would throw his cloak, and mat of dressed skin upon a bush 
and seek shelter beneath it." And A'bdu'llah-b-Isa, " upon the face of 
Omar were two dark furrows worn from weeping." And al Hasan, " Omar 
would come to a verse of the Kuran of his daily recitation, and would fall 
down in a faint so that it would be some days before he recovered." And 
Anas, " I entered an enclosure and I heard Omar say — and between me and 
between him there was a wall" — " Omar, son of al Khattab, Prince of the 
Faithful ! good ! by Allah, thou must fear God, son of al Khattab, or 
He will surely punish thee !" And A'bdu'llah-b-Aamir-b-Eabii'h, " I saw 
Omar take up a straw from the ground, and he said, ' would that I were 
this straw ! O ! would that I were nothing ! would that my mother had not 
borne me !' " And U'baydu'Uah-b-Omar-b-Hafs, " Omar-b-u'l Khattab car- 
ried upon his neck a skin of water, and people expostulated with him re- 
garding it, and he said — ' my spirit made me vain, and I wished to abase 
it.' And Muhammad-b-Sirin, a kinsman of Omar's went to him and 
besought him to make him a grant from the public treasury, but Omar 
reproved him and said, ' dost thou wish that I should meet God a faith- 
less, prince ?' and he bestowed upon him ten thousand dirhams from his 
own property." And an Nakha'i, " Omar used to carry on trade while he 
was Caliph." And Anas, " the stomach of Omar used to rumble from eating 



* About 80 lbs. 

t Descended from A'nz the son of "Wail and a confederate of al Khattab the 
father of Omar. He was born four years before Muhammad's death, and his father 
was a Companion of note, ' He died A. H. 85. An Nawawi. 



[ 134 ] 

oli^re oil in the year of destruction,* and verilj he had forbidden himself 
the use of butter, and he tapped his stomach with his finger and said 
' verily there is nothing else for us but that, until the people have the 
means of living.' And Sufyan-b-U'aynah narrates that Omar said, ' the 
most beloved of men to me, is he who discovers to me my faults.' Aslam 
says, ' I saw Omar the son of al Khattab take a horse by the ear, and with^ 
the other hand holding his own ear, leap upon the back of the horse.' 
And Ibn Omar, ' I never saw Omar, in a passion, but he restrained himself 
from what he sought to do when God was mentioned to him or the fear 
of God put into him, or a man read him a verse of the Kuran.' Bilal 
said to Aslam, ' what do you think of Omar ?' He replied, ' he is the 
best of men, but when he is angry, it is a fearful thing,' and Eilal said, 
' if thou art by him when he is angry; thou hast but to read the Kuran 
to him until his ^anger departs.' Al Ahwas-b-Hakim narrates on the 
authority of his father, that some flesh-meat was brought to Omar dressed 
with butter, but he refused to eat them and said ' they are both delica- 
cies.' Ibn Saa'd gives all these details and records on the authority of 
al Hasan that Omar said, ' The simple way by which I govern the people- 
is that I frequently change their rulers.' " 



On Ms appearance. 

Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim record on the authority of Zirr.f that ha 
said, " I went forth with the people of Medina on a festival day, and I 
saw Omar walking barefoot ; he was advanced in years, bald, of a tawny 
colour — a left-handed man, tall and towering over the people." Al Wakidi 
observes, " it was not known to us that Omar was tawny coloured, unless 
it was that Zirr saw him in the year of destruction, when verily, his colour 
might have altered while he eat olive oil." Ibn Saa'd states on the 
authority of Ibn Omar that the latter was describing Omar and said, " he 
was a man fair of complexion, a ruddy tint prevailing, tall, bald and grey." 
And from U'bayd-b-U'mayr " Omar used to overtop the people in height." 
And from Salimah-b-u'l Akwaa', " Omar was ambidexter, that is, that he 
could use both his hands equally well." 

* The 17th year of the Flight in which men and cattle perished in great numhera. 
The word comes from ^Ujj ashes ; — heing thus called, hecause the earth became like 
ashes by reason of the drought. Lane. 

t Probably Abu Miriam Zirr, Hubaysh-b-Hubdsa, a member of the tribo of Asad 
and a native of Kufah. Ho was a great master in the art of reading the i^urdu and 
celebrated as a philologiSr. Ho died at a very advanced age A. H, 82 (A. D 701). Do 
Slano, I. K. 



[ 135 ] 

Ibn A'sakir records from Abu Eaja al U'taridi that he said, " Omar 
was a man, tall, stout, very bald, very ruddy, with scanty hair on the 
cheeks, his moustache large, and the ends of it reddish." In the history 
of Ibn A'sdkir, it is recorded with various ascriptions, that the mother of 
Omar-b-u'l Khattab, was Hantamah, the daughter of Hisham b-u'l Mu- 
ghirah, and sister of Abu Jahl-b-Hisham ; thus Abu Jahl was his maternal 
uncle. 



On. Ms OalipTiate. 

He assumed the Caliphate according to the bequest of Abu Bakr in A. H. 13. 
Juraada'l Akhirah, the thirteenth year of the Plight. Az Zuhri says that A. D. 634. 
Omar was elected to the Vicegerency on the day of the death of Abu 
Bakr and that was on Tuesday, the 22nd. of Jumada'l Akhirah, (recorded by 
al Hdkim). He directed the government with the most complete success 
and victories were numerous during his time. 

In the year 14 A. H. Damascus was taken, partly by convention, 
partly by force : Emessa and Baa'lbek* by convention, and Basrah and 
UbuUah, both by force. In the same year, Omar assembled the people 
for the prayers called at Tarawiht (al A'skari in the Awail). 

In the year 15 A. H. the whole of the country of the Jordan was sub- 
dued by force of arms, save Tiberias which was taken by convention ; and in 
the same, occurred the battles of Yermuk J and Kadisiyyah. (Ibn Jarir.) 
During the same Saa'd§ founded Kdfah, and Omar established stipends for 
the soldiers and instituted the registers, and assigned allowances according 
to priority of merit. || 

In the year 16 A. H. al Ahwaz was taken and al Maddin, and in the 
latter, Saa'd held the Friday prayers in the hall of Khusrau, and this was the 
first congregation assembled in Irak, and that was in the month of Safar. 
In the same year was the battle of Jalula^ in which Tezdajird grandson 
of Khusrau was defeated and fled to Eai ; Takrit was captured and 

• According to Taktit, the pronunciation of this is »-*^"^ — Ba'lubakka. 

t See ETote, p. 21. 

% Hieromax, a stream formed by the springs of Mount Hermon, which loses 
itself in the Jordan below the lake of Tiberias. 

§ Ibn Abi Wakkas. 

II See an Nawawi. Art. Omar. 

H A river that flows through Ba'kuba, and where the Persians were defeated with 
great slaughter, no less than a hundred thousand it is said, having fallen. The river 
took its name of Jallila, says Yakut, from the excessive \ (JU.) number of the slain. 



[ 136 ] 

Omar marched and took Jerusalem, and preached at al Jabiyah* his famous 
discourse. And in the same Kinnasrin was taken by force of arms, and 
Aleppo and Antioch, and Manbij by treaty andSanij by force, and Kirkisiyah 
by treaty. In the month of Kabii' u'l Awwal, the Era of the Flight was 
adopted by the advice of A'li. 
A. D. 638. In the year 17 A. H. Omar ejoJairged the mosque of the prophet, and 

A. H. 17. a famine occurred in Hijaz and it was called the year of destruction and 
Omar through the merits of A'bbas prayed for rain for the people. Ibn 
Saa'd records on the authority of Niyar al Aslami, that when Omar went 
forth to pray for rain he appeared with the mantle of the Apostle of God 
upon him. And from Ibn A'unf that he said, " Omar took the hand of 
Abbds, and lifted it up and said, ' God ! I implore Thee by the uncle of 
Thy prophet, that Thou wilt cause this drought to pass away from us, and 
send down rain upon us ;' and they did not quit the place till it rained, 
and the heavens poured down rain upon them for days." During the same 
year al Ahwaz was taken by treaty. 

In the year 18 A. H., Jundaysabdr was occupied by convention, and 
Hulwan by force. A pestilence also occurred at Emaus ; Edessa and Sumay- 
sat were taken by force, and Harran and Nagibin and a part of Mesopota- 
mia by force (though some say by convention), and Mosal and its adjacent 
districts. 

In the year 19 A, H., CsesareaJ was overpowered. In the year 20 
A. H. Egypt was conquered by force of arms, though it is also said, that 
with the exception of Alexandria which was taken, the whole of Egypt sur- 
rendered under convention. Ali-b-Eab4h says that the whole of Mauritania 
was won by force of arms,§ : Tustar|| was also taken possession of. In 
the same died the Eoman Emperor {Seraclius), and Omar expelled 
the Jews from Khaybar and Najran and apportioned Khaybar and Wadi u'l 
Elura among those who had been present at the eacpedition.''^ 

In the year 21 A. H. Alexandria was taken by storm, and Nahdwand, 
and after this the Persians were unable to muster an army : also Barkah 
and other places. 

* In the province of Jaydlir in Palestine — Omar's discourse will be found in the 
Futuhu's Shiim of al Azdi, p. 227. 

t The freedman of MiBwar-t-Makhramah, the Companion. 

J This word in the original should be spelt with a (j° instead of a jj» 

§ Gibhon places the complete conquest seven years later under Othmto, the conduct 
of the invasion being entrusted to the foster-brother of the Caliph, A'bdu'Uah-b-Saa'd, 
the amanuensis of Muhammad. 

II The present Shiister in EJiuzistSn. Ya^tit. 

f "Wadi u'l '^\sxB. is between Tayma and Khaybar. The expedition directed by 
Muhammad took_place A. H. 7. For the apportionment of the lands, my authority is 
Yalfut. 



[ 137 ] 

In the year 22 A. II. jALdarbijdn was subdued by force, others say A. H. 22. 
surrendered under convention, and Dinaur, Masabddn, and Hamaddn cap- A. D. 642-3. 
tured, and Tripoli in Morocco and Eai and A'skar and Kumas. 

In the year 23 A. H. took place the conquest of Kirman, Sajistdn, and 
Makrdn of the mountainous districts, and Ispahan and its dependencies. 

Towards the close of the year occurred the death of our prince Omarj 
after his return from the pilgrimage, he being martyred. Sa'id-b-u'l 
Musayyab says that when Omar returned from Mina,* he made his camel 
kneel in the watercourse and throwing himself backwards, lifted up his 
hands to heaven, and exclaimed, "O God ! I am advanced in years and my 
strength has failed, and my zeal dissipated ; take me therefore to thyself 
while as yet I have not fallen short of my duty nor exceeded due bounds ;" 
and the month of Du'l Hijjah did not elapse before he was slain, (al 
Hakim) (3rd November 6di4). 

Abu Salih as Sammanf narrates that Kaa'b u'l Ahbar said to Omar, 
" I find in the Pentateuch that thou wilt be martyred." He replied, " how 
can martyrdom be mine, I being in the land of Arabia ?" And Aslam, that . 

Omar said, " God, give me for my portion, martyrdom in thy cause, 
and grant that my death may be in the city of Thy Apostle," (al Bukhari). 
Maa'dan-b-Abi Talhah narrates that Omar preached and said, " I beheld a 
vision as if a fowl had struck me with its beak one or two blows, and 
verily I see in it but my approaching death. And verily there are some 
who enjoin me to name a successor, and indeed the Lord will not neglect J 
His faith and His Vicegerency, but if anything overtake me, then the 
Vicegerency is to be determined by consultation among those six with 
whom the Apostle of God, when he died, approved"- (al Hakim). Az 
Zuhri states that Omar used not to suffer a captive who had reached the 
age of puberty, to enter Medina, but al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah, being in 
Kufah, wrote to him and mentioned to him that he had with him, a youth, 
a cunning workman, and asked his permission that he might enter Medina, 
and added that he was a master of several trades profitable to the people, 
for he was a blacksmith, an engraver and a carpenter. Omar therefore 
gave him permission to send him to Medina, and al Mughirah put a tax§ 
upon him of one hundred dirhams a month. He, however, went to Omar 



* The return from Mina to Mecca during the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, ia 
called an Nafr or the Flight. 

t Abu Salih as Samman named also Dhakwan and sumamed az Zaiyat, was a 
Mawla of the tribe of Ghatfan and an eminent Traditionist, died at Medina A. H. 101 
(719-20). De Slane, I. K. 

X Compare Kur. II, aSCJI+jI fA/iJ;.' i^\ ^Ji l-oj 

§ That is, that ho was to pay that sum to his master from his earnings. 

18 



[ 138 1 

A. H. 23. and complained of the severity of the tax, hut Omar replied that the tax 
A. D. 643. was not excessive ; he, therefore, departed indignantly murmuring. Omar 
waited some days and then sent for him and said, " was not I informed 
that thou sayest, that if thou wouldst thou art able to make a mill that 
will grind by means of the wind ?" He looked upon Omar sullenly and said, 
" verily I will make a mill for thee that men shall talk about," : when he 
retired, Omar said to those that were about him, " the slave but now 
threatened me." After a little, Abu Lliliiah* took a double-bladed dagger, 
having its haft in the middle, and hid in a corner of one of the^recesses of 
the mosque before day-break, and remained there until Omar came forth 
rousing the people to prayers, and when he drew near him, he stabbed him 
with three blows. (Ibn Saa'd.) A'mr-b-Maymdn the Auxiliary narrates, 
that Abu Luliiah, the slave of al Mughirah, struck Omar with his double- 
bladed dagger, and wounded together with him twelve men, of whom 
six died, and a man of Irak threw a garment over him, and when he was 
suffocating in it, he slew himself. Abu Eafi',t states, that Abu LuMah 
the slave of al Mughirah, used to make miUs, and al Mughirah tasked him 
daily with an impost of four dirhams, and he met Omar and said, " O 
Prince of the Faithful, verily al Mughirah hath been hard upon me, there- 
fore speak to him;" and he answered, "act well towards thy master," 
and it was the intention of Omar to speak to al Mughirah regarding it. 
But the other grew angry and said, " the justice of Omar is extended unto 
all the people, save unto me." He therefore purposed his death, and 
took a dagger and sharpened it and poisoned it, and while Omar was ex- 
claiming, " get ye into your ranks, before the takbir is said," the slave 
went and stood over against Omar in the rank and smote him in the 
shoulder and in the side, and Omar fell, and he wounded thirteen men with 
him, of whom six died. Omar was carried to his family, and the sun 
being about to rise, A'bdu'r Kahman-b-A'uf read prayers before the people 
from the two shortest Suras. They brought Omar date-wine, and he drank 
of it and it came out of his wound, but it could not be distinguished ^rgm 
ike blood; they therefore gave him milk, and it came out of his wound, 
and they said, " there is no harm to thee" and he answered, " if there be 
harmj in being slain, why then I am slain." The people then began to 

* The slave's name. 

t There are several of this name. The one referred to is prohahly the freedman 
of Muhammad. He had heen given by A'bbds to Muhammad who gave him his liberty 
on hearing of the conversion of A'bbas. Some say he died before Othman's murder, 
others, during the Caliphate of A'li. Ibn Hajr and an Nawawi. 

t In other narrations given in the Kitab u'l Iktifa on the authority of A'mr-b- 
Mayytin the outflow of the milk from the wound, was decisive in regard to the woimd 
being mortal. The physician who was called' in, told him he could not live till the 
evening. > 



[ 139 ] 

praise him, saying, " tliou wert such and such," but lie said " yet, by Allah, A. H. 23. 
I would that I might escape from judgment with these as a sufficiency,* A. D. 643. 
nothing due by me nor to me, and that the Companionship of the Apostle 
of God were a security unto me." Then Ibn A'bbas praised him, but be 
said — " if the fulness of the earth in gold were mine, assuredly I would 
ransom myself therewith from the terror of the day of resurrection,t and 
verily, I have made ihe election to. the Oaliphate to be determined in con- 
sultation by Othman, A'li, Talhah, az Zubayr, A'bd'ur Eahman-b-A'uf, and 
Saa'd." And he commanded Suhayb to pray before the people, and ap- 
pointed for the six a term of three days J wherein to deliberate (al Hakim). 
Ibn A'bbas says that Abu Lultiah was a Magian. A'mr-b Maymdn nar- 
rates that Omar said, " praise be to God, that he hath not caused my death 
by the hand of a man who professeth Isldm." Then he said to his son, 
" A'bdu'Uah, see what debts I owe ;'' and they computed and found them 
to be eighty-six thousand Mrhams, or about that. And he said, " if the 
property of the family of Omar be sufficient, then pay it from their goods, 
otherwise ask of the Banu A'di, and if their goods be not sufficient, then 
ask of the Kuraysh. Go to Ayesha, the Mother of the Faithful, and say, 
' Omar asketh leave -that he may be buried with his two Companions.' 
And A'bdullah went to her and she said, ' I wished it (meaning the place) 
for myself, but now I shall assuredly give him the preference over my- 
self.' And A'bduUah went hack and said, ' verily she hath given permis- 
sion ;' then Omar praised the Most High God. They said also to him 
"make a testament, prince of the Faithful, and appoint a successor." 
He answered, " I do not see any one more entitled to this authority than 
those men with whom the Apostle of God, when he died, was content," 
and he named the six. He added, " let A'bdu'Uah the son of Omar be 
present with them, but he must have no part in the affair, and if the 

* IjlflS" iy(^ i.iJ'i lii| CDiiJ J This is the reading of the same tradition on the same 
authority, in the Kitab u'l Iktifa. The ^Ji referring to the praises which were being 
made of him. 

■)■ »ih^\ lit. " the place whence one will look down on the day of resurrection, 
but it may be taken as a noun of time and applied to the day of judgment, see Lane 
art. ^U,. 

X This is made clear from the Kitab u'l Iktifa, in two traditions from Simak-b- 
Harb and Anas respectively. Omar ordered the father of Talhah to take fifty men and 
post themselves at the door of the house where the six were to deliberate, and to suffer 
no one to enter, nor the third day to elapse without the election being concluded. 
According to the former tradition, the Ansars were directed to confine the six for three 
days in a house, and if by that time their deliberations were not satisfactorily conclu- 
ded, they were to enter and slay them. An effectual method of quickening the most 
hesitating judgment. 



[ 140 ] 

A. H. 23. government fall to Saa'd, then let him be the man, but if not, then let 
•A. D-. 643, whichever of ye be" named to rule, seek his assistance, for verily I did not 
remove him either for incapacity or treachery."* He went on to say, " I 
commend to the Caliph after me, the fear of God, and I commend to him 
the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries, and I commend to him the welfare of 
the people of the provinces," with other similar charges. And when he 
died, we went forth with him at a foot-pace and A'bdu'Uah the son of 
Omar, saluted and said, " Omar desireth permission," and Ayesha replied 
" bring him in ;" and he was taken in and placed there with his Compa- 
nions. When his burial was over, and they had returned, those of the 
Council assembled, and A'bdu'r Kahman-b-A'uf said, "delegate your 
authority unto three among you." Then az Zubayr said, " I give my 
authority to A'li," and Saa'd said, " I give my authority to A'bdu'r Rahman," 
and Talhah said, " I give my authority to Othman." The narrator continues, 
" then those three went apart and A'bdu'r Rahman said, ' I do not desire it' 
— now which of you two will be quit of this affair ? and we will put it to 
him (and God be his witness and Islam) to consider the best among the 
Muslims in his own judgment, and to strive for the welfare of the people." 
Then the two Shaykhs A'li and Othman were silent, whereon A'bdu'r 
Rahmdn said, " give the choice unto me, and the Lord be my witness, 
I shall not fail ye in choosing the best of ye." The two agreed and 
he retired apart with A'li and said, " thou hast the priority in Islam and 
kinship with the Apostle of God as thou well knowest, the Lord be thy 
witness, that if I give thee the authority, thou vrilt do justice, and if I put 
another over thee, thou wilt hear and obey !" He said, " yes." Then 
he retired apart vrith the other and said the same to him, and when he 
received their promises, he swore allegiance to Othman, and A'U likewise 
swore Mm allegiance. 

It is recorded in the Musnad of Ahmad on the authority of Omar 
that he said, " if my death overtake me, and Abu U'baydah be yet alive, 
I appoint him my successor, and if my Lord enquireth of me, I shall 
answer that I heard the Apostle of God say, 'every prophet hath one 
in whom he confides, and my trusted one is Abu U'baydah the son of al 
Jarrdh ; but if my death overtake me and Abu U'baydah be dead, I appoint 
as successor Mu'adL the son of Jabal, and if my Lord enquire of me why I 
appointed him, I shall answer that I heard the Apostle of God say that he 

* The people of Kdfah complained to the Caliph against Saa'd, on acoovint of his 
injustice and oppression, and his unorthodox manner of reading prayers, and Chnar 
removed him from his government and appointed in his place A'mm&r-h-Y4sir. Ibn 
Athir. OoUey asorilnes the removal of Saa'd to Othm&, in the 35th yew of the 
Flight. 



[ 141 ] 

would be raised up on the day of resurrection in front of the doctors of A. H. 23. 
science, a little apart."* However they both died during bis Caliphate. A. D. C43. 
In the same Musnad it is stated on the authority of Abu Eafi', that Omar 
when dying was spoken to regarding the appointment of a successor, and he 
said, " verily, I have seen among my Companions an evil covetousness, and if 
one of two men were attainable to me, and I could make over this authori- 
ty to him, I would trust him, viz., Salimf the freedman of Abu Hudayfab, 
and Abu TJ'baydah-b-u'l Jarrab." 

Omar was stabbed on Wednesday the 26th of Du'l Hijjah and was 
buried on Sunday the first of the Sacred month of Muharram being sixty- 
three years old — some say he was sixty-six, and some sixty -one, and others 
sixty, which al Wakidi prefers. Again, according to some, he was fifty- 
nine, and to others, fifty-five or fifty-four. Subayb prayed over him in 
the mosque. 

According to the Tahdib of al Muzani,J the impression on the signet 
ring of Omar was " Death is a sufficient admonisher." 

At Tabarani records on the authority of Tdrik-b-Shibab, that Umm 
Ayman said on the day that Omar was slain, " Islam is to-day rent." And 
from A'bdu'r Ealiman-b-Yasar,§ " I witnessed the death of Omar and the 
sun was eclipsed on that day." (His authorities are trustworthy.) 



On the things in which he was foremost. 

Al A'skari says that he was the first who was called Prince of the 
Faithful, and the first who adopted the Era of the Flight, and the first 
who establis-hed a public treasury, and the first who instituted the prayers 
{at TardwiK) of the month of Kamadhan, and the first who went the 
rounds at night, and the first who punished lampooning, and the first who 
gave eighty stripes for indulgence in wine, and the first who prohibited 
marriage limited to a term, and the first who forbade the sale of female 

* Acoording to an Nawawi the tradition makes the distance a bow shot, tpl^ 
*Ul«J| (i^AJ iyj A^a-*! fyi i'** 

t Salim was slain at Tam&mah. See, note §, p. 98. 

J Abu Ibrahim Isma'fl'-b-Tahya al Muzani, was a disciple of the Imam as 
Shafi'i and a native of Egypt. He was of most austere life, a Mujtahid, and a 
profound thinker. He was the author of many works, the most celebrated being the 
Mukhta§aru'l Mukhta?ar (Abridgement abridged) a treatise on the legal doctrines 
of the Shdfiites. He died at Mi?r A. H. 264 (878). Muzani signifies belonging to 
Muzayna a well-known tribe named after Muzayna, daughter of Kalb. Ibn KhaU. 

§ The MS. has Busbar, the printed edition. " Yas&r" with (Bushdr) in brackets. 
I can find no notice of the individual alluded to, in any works to which I have access. 



[ 143 ] 

A. H. 23. slaves who had borne children to their masters, and the first who assembled 
A. D. 643. the people .to prayers over the dead with four Takbirs, and the first 
who instituted the public register, and the first who made conquests, 
and made a survey o£ the Sawad,* and the first who brought corn 
from Egypt by the bay of Aylah (Akaba) to Medina, and the first who 
constituted the poor-rate in Islam to be used unaliehably for the service 
of God, and the first who adopted the deviation by excess in the division 
of inheritances,t and the first who instituted the dedication of horses for 
religious service, and the first who said, " may God lengthen thy life," (he 
said it to A'li) ; and the first who said, " may God strengthen thee," (he 
said it to A'li). This is the end of al A'skari's narration. 

An Nawawi mentions in his Tahdfb, that he was the first who adopted 
the use of the scourge. Ibn Saa'd states this in his Tabakat, and adds 
that it used to be said afterwards " verily the scourge of Omar is more 
terrible than your swords." He continues, " he was the first who established 
Kddhis in the provinces, and the first who founded the cities of Basrah 
and Klifah, and placed in a flowrishing condition Mesopotamia, Syria, 
Egypt and Mosal." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ism&'il-b-Ziyad, that he said, 
that A'li, passing by the mosques in the month of Ramadhan in which 
lamps were burning, exclaimed, " may the Lord illumine Omar in his grave 
as he hath illumined for us our mosques." 

Ibn Saa'd says that Omar established raeal-houses, and placed within 
them flour and parched barley-meal, and dates and currants, and what might 
be necessary to aid the disabled traveller, and he stored along the road be- 
tween Mecca and Medina, what would relieve those unable to continue 
their journey. He likewise demolished the mosque of the prophet and 
increased and enlarged it and floored it with pebbles. It was he who ex- 
pelled the Jews from Hijaz to Syria, and transferred the people of Najrdn 
to K6fah. He also put back the praying station of Abraham, to the place 
where it now stands, it having before adjoined the Temple. 

* The paiticularsof this survey will be found in Yakut ait. i^y^. 

t For the explanation of the term ^y^ I must refer the reader to the Muham- 
madan Law of Inheritance, as it is too lengthy to transcribe here. Cousult also Lane 
art. {jjc 



[ 143 ] 



On some accounts of Mm and Ms decisions. 

Al A'skari records in the Awail, and al Tabarani in the Kabir, and al A. H. 23. 
Hdkim on the ascription of Ibn Shihab that Omar-b-A'bdil A'ziz inquired A. D. 643. 
of Abu Bakr-b-Sulaymdn b-Abi Hathmah, saying, " how was it in the time 
of Abu Bakr that it used to be written, ' From the Vicegerent of the 
Apostle of God,' and afterwards Omar used at first to write ' From the 
Vicegerent of Abu Bakr ?' Who then first wrote, from the prince of the 
Faithful?" He answered, "as Shifa who was one of the Fugitive women, 
told me that Abu Bakr used to write, ' From the Vicegerent of the Apostle 
of God,' and Omar used to write, ' From the Vicegerent of the Vicegerent 
of the Apostle of God,' until Omar wrote to the prefect of Irak to send 
him two sturdy men, whom he might question regarding Irak and the 
people thereof; and he sent him Labid-b-Eabii'h and A'di-b-Hatim. 
They arrived at Medina and entered the mosque, and found A'mr-b-u'l 
A'as, and they said, ' ask permission for us to see the prince of the Faith- 
ful.' A'mr replied, ' by AUah, ye have hit his name.' And A'mr went 
in to him and exclaimed, ' peace be to thee prince of the Faithful.' He 
said ' how hast thou come by this name ? verily thou must explain what 
thou hast said.' Then the other informed him of what had happened and 
said 'thou art the prince and we, the Faithful.' Thus the letters have 
continued to be so inscribed up to this day." 

An Nawawi in his Tahdib says that A'di-b-Hatim, and Labid-b- 
Babii'h, called him by that name when they went to him from Irak, and 
some say, that al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah called him by it. Again it is 
asserted that Omar said to the people, " you are the Faithful, and I am 
your prince ;" he was therefore called prince of the Faithful, and before 
that he was addressed as Vicegerent of the Vicegerent of the Apostle of 
God, but they gave up that phrase on account of its length. Ibn A'sakir 
records on the authority of Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah that he said, " it used 
to be written, ' From Abu Bakr, Vicegerent of the Apostle of God,' and 
when Omar-b-u'l Khattab ruled, they wished to address him Vicegerent 
of the Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, but Omar said, ' this is too long.' 
They answered, ' not so, but we have made thee to rule over us and thou 
art our prince.' He said, ' yea — ye are the Faithful and I am your 
prince.' Thus it came to be written, Pyince of the Faithful." 

Al Bukhari records in his history on the authority of Ibn u'l Mu- 
sayyab that the first who adopted the usage of dating was Omar-b-u'l 
Khattab two years and a half after his accession to the Caliphate, and he 
dated from the 16th year of the Flight, by the advice of A'li. As Silafi 
in the Tuyyuriyat records from Ibn Omar, that Omar wished to write 



[ 144 ] 

A. H. 23. a record of memorable actions, and he prayed for the blessing of God for 
A. D. 643. a month, and he arose one morning determined upon it, but after a little 
he said, " verily I remember a people* who were before ye, who used to 
write books, and they gave themselves up to it, and neglected the Book of 
God." And Ibn Saa'd from Shaddad,t that the first sentence that Omar 
uttered when he ascended the pulpit, was, " God, verily I am rough in 
temper, therefore soften me, and verily I am weak, therefore strengthen 
me, and verily I am avaricious, therefore make me generous." And Ibn 
Saa'd and Sa'id-b-Manslir and others from Omar, that he said, " I place 
myself with regard to the property of the Lord, in the position of a guar- 
dian of an orphan's property. If I am in good circumstances, I refrain 
from touching it, and if I am in distress, I take of it with moderation, and 
when I am again in good circumstances, I repay it." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Omar that Omar-b-u'l 
Khattab, when he was in need, would go to the Superintendent of the 
public treasury, and ask a loan of him, and he was often in distress, and 
the Superintendent of the treasury would go to him to exact the debt and 
press him, and Omar would be evasive with him, but sometimes his stipend 
would be due, and he would pay the debt. And from Ibn u'l Bara-b- 
Ma'rlir,J that Omar went forth one day, and complained of a sickness, 
and honey was recommended to him, and he was told that a bottle of it 
was in the public treasury, and he said, " if ye permit me, I will take it, 
otherwise it is unlawful for me," and they gave him permission. And 
from Salim-b-A'bdi'llah, that Omar would put his hand into the saddle 
gall of his camel and say, " verily I fear lest I may be brought to account 
for what hath befallen thee." 

And from Ibn Omar, that when Omar desired to hinder the people from 
anything, he would go to his family and say, " verily I know not any one 
who hath done a thing which I have forbidden, but I doubled his punish- 
ment." 

It has been related to me from another source, that Omar went forth 
one night wandering about Medina, as he was frequently in the habit of 



* He refers to the Jews and Christians. 

t Shaddad-h-Aus the Companion. He helonged to the tribe of the Najjar, and 
was a native of Medina, but he lived much at Jerusalem and died there A. H. 58, 
aged 75. His tomb, says an Nawawi, " is still to be seen outside the Gate of Mercy," 
one of the twenty gates of the great Masjid. 

X Bishr-b-u'l Bara-b-Ma'rlir the Companion, an Ansdr of the tribe of Ehazraj 
He was present at Akabah, Badr and Ohud and died at Khaybar from eating of the 
sheep of which Muhammad partook and which the Jews are said to have poisoned, 
Some say he died at once, others after great suffering. An Nawawi. 



[ 145 ] 

doing, when lie passed by the house of one of the women of the Arabs ^- H. 23. 
whose door was bolted upon her, and she was saying, ^- "■ °*^' 

This night whose stars wander in their nightly journey, is wearisome 

And keeps me sleepless, for I have none with whom I may be merry. 

And, by Allah, were there no God whose issues were to be feared ! 

But I fear a Watcher, who keepeth ward : 

Over our souls, and whose recorder never is negligent. 

The fear of the Lord and shame hindereth me : 

And my husband, too worthy of honor that his place should be taken. 
He therefore wrote to his prefects in the field that no one should be . 
detained on military service against the enemy for more than four months. 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Salman that Omar said to him, 
" am I a monarch or a Caliph ?" and Salman answered him, " if thou tax 
the land of the Muslims in dirhams, less or more, and putteth them to 
unlawful use, thou art a monarch and not a Caliph," and Omar took warning 
by it. And from Sufyan-b-Abi'l A'rja, that Omar said, "by Allah, I 
know not whether I am a Caliph or a monarch, if I be a monarch, it is a 
terrible thing." A speaker said to him, " prince of the Faithful, there 
is a difference between the two." He said, "what is it?" He replied, 
" a Caliph doth not take save lawfully, nor give save where it is due, 
and thou, thanks be to God, art such, but a monarch oppresseth the people, 
and taketh from this and giveth to that :". and Omar was silent. And ' 
from Ibn Masaiid that Omar was riding a horse, and his garment fell back 
from his thigh, and the people of Najran saw upon his thigh a dark mole 
and they said, " this is he whom we find in our books that he is to turn 
us forth from our land." And from Saa'd al Jari that Kaa'b al Ahbar 
said to Omar, " I find thee verily in^ the Book of God, posted at one of the 
gates of hell, hindering the people from falling into it, and when thou 
diest, they will continue to rush headlong, into it, till the day of judg- 
ment." And from Abu Maa'shar, that he narrates, " my Shaykhs told me 
that Omar said, ' this authority cannot be rightly conducted except by 
severity without haughtiness and leniency without weakness.' " 

Ibn Abi Shaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority of Hakam- 
b-TJ'mayr,* that Omar wrote, " now, let not the Commanders of armies and 
divisions inflict upon any one the scourging ordained by law until he 
arriveth at Darbf, lest rage inspired ly Satan induce him to desert to the 

* Hakam-'b-H'mayr al Thamali, Thamalah is a branch of tlie tribe of Azd 
Ibn Hajr has little to say of bim but that he was present at Badi and that his tradi- 
tions are not to be relied upon. 

t The ancient Derbe near the Cilioian gates, the chief mountainous pass from the 
direction of the countries occupied by the Arabs into the Greek Empire. Lane. 
19 



t 146 1 

4- H. 23. infidels." Ibn Abi Hatim records in his Commentary on the authority of 
A. D. 643. as Shaa'bi, that the Roman Emperor wrote to Omar saying, " verily my 
messengers who come to me from thee, pretend that thou hast with thee 
a tree, which in its nature has none of the qualities of a tree. It 
sproijteth like asses' ears, then it openeth put like a pearl, then it becometh 
green like the green emerald, then it turneth ruddy and becometh 
like a red ruby, next it ripeneth and cometh to maturity, and turneth. 
into the most delicious honey-cake that is eaten. Next it drieth up and 
becom,eth the preservation of the dweller in his house, and a store for 
the traveller ; now if my messengers have spoken truly then I cannot 
think this tree to be other than one of the trees of paradise." Whereupon 
Omar wrote to him, saying, " From the servant of God, the prince of the 
Faithful, to Caesar the Eoman Emperor — verily thy messengers have spoken 
truly. This tree which we possess, is the same which the Lord caused to 
sprout* for Mary when she bore Jesus her Son. Therefore fear God and 
assume not Jesus to be God, besides God, for, ' verily the likeness of Jesus 
in the sight of God is as the likeness of Adam : He created him out of the 
dust,' " &c., (Kur. III). 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Omar that Omar issued an 
order to his prefects, among them being Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas, and in 
accordance therewith they wrote the amount of the property in their pos- 
session and Omar shared their property with them, and took half and gave 
them half. And from as Shaa'bi, that Omar when he employed a prefect 
wrote down the amount of his property. And from Abu Imamah-b-Sahl-b- 
Hunayf t that he said, " Omar remained some time without supporting himself 
from the public treasury until poverty thus came upon him, and he sent to 
the Companions of the Apostle of God and took counsel of them and said, 
' verily I have diligently employed myself in this authority, what therefore 
do I deserve from it ?' And A'li said, ' morning and evening food,' and 
Omar accordingly took that." And from Ibn Omar, that Omar ma,de the 
pilgrimage and spent during his pilgrimage sixteen dinars, and he said to 
Ms son " O A'bdu'Uah, I have been wasteful of this money." 

A'bdu'r EazzakJ records in his Musannaf on the authority of Katadah 
and as Shaa'bi, that a woman went to Omar and said, " my husband rises 

* This was a certain palm tree which the Muhammadan tradition supposes Mary 
to have leaned upon for support, and though a withered trunk, it put forth leaves and 
fruit'that she might gather and eat, Kur. XIX. The stupidity of the Eoman and the 
effrontery of the Arah are only to he matched hy the mendacity of the narrator. 

t One of the Companions helonging to the AnsSrs. 

t Prohahly A'hdu'r Eazzak as Sandni one of the most celebrated traditionists of 
his age. People travelled to Yaman from all parts to hear him. Died A. H. 211 
(826-7). De Slane, I. K. 



[ 147 ] 

in tbe night to pray and fasts all day," and Omar said " verily thou hast A. H. 23. 

praised thy husband highly." Whereon Kaa'b-b-Siwar exclaimed, " but A. D. 643; 

slie complains of him !" And Omar said, " how ?" He replied, " she means 

that she has not her share of her husband's society." He answered, 

" then if thou thinkest that, judge between them." He said, " prince of 

the Faithful, the Lord hath permitted to him four wiyes, and to her of 

every four days, one day, and of every four nights one night." And from 

Ibn Jurayh* that he said, " one whom I can believe, told me that while 

Omar was wandering about Medina, he heard a woman say — 

' The night is wearisome and its bounds gloomy 

And it hath kept me sleepless while 

I have no friend with whom to be merry. 

And were there no fear of God whose like there is not !' 
And Omar exclaimed, ' what is the matter with thee ?' She replied, 
' thou hast sent my husband on service for some months, and I pine for 
him.' He said, ' dost thou desire to do evil ?' She replied, ' God forbid !' 
Then he said, ' restrain thyself, for verily, a messenger shall go to him,' 
and he sent for him, and wrote that the troops should not be kept on service 
for more than four months." And from Jabir-b-A'bdi'Uah that he went 
to Omar complaining to him of the treatment he had met with from his 
women, and Omar said " verily, I find the same, so much so that when I 
ask for anything I want, my wife says to me, ' thou goest only after the 
girls of a certain tribe, watching for them.' Thereupon A'bdu'Uah-b- 
Musa'dd said to him, ' hast thou not heard that Abraham, upon whom be 
peace, complained to the Lord of the temper of Sarah, and it was said to 
him verily she was made from a rib,t therefore put up with what she does 
as long as thou seest no unsoundness in her faith.' And from A'krimah 
b-Khalid, that a son of Omar's went to him, and he had anointed and comb- 
ed his hair, and put on fine garments, and Omar smote him with his 
scourge until he made him cry, and Haf sah said to him, ' why dost thou 
strike him ?' He answered, ' I saw that his spirit had made him vain, 
and I wished to abase it within him,' And from Layth-b-Abi Salim that 
Omar said, ' give not as names al Hakam or A'bdu'l Hakam, for the Lord 
is the only ruler (Hakam), and call not a road Sikkah.' "J 

* The MS, has Jurayj and not Jurayh as in the printed text — of Jurayh, I can 
find no mentioit. A'bdu'l Malik-b-Jurayj, according to Ibn Khallakan was celehrated 
for his learning ; and it is said that he was the first after the promulgation of lalim 
who composed books. He was a native of Mecca and a member by adoption of the 
Kiiraysh. Bom A. H. 80 (699-70), and A. H. 149 (766). 

t Meaning that she was crooked by nature and hard. ' A crooked rib' is a meta- 
pTior for a woman amongst the unpolished sons of the desert. 

J The only reason I can suggest for this prohibition is the tradition c*«k. j U> 



[ 148 ] 

A. H. 23. Al Bayhaki records in the Shaa'b u'l Fmain on the authority of ad 

A. D. 643, Dhahhak that Abu Bakr said, " by Allah, I would I were a tree by the 
wayside, that camels might pass by me and seize me and take me in their 
mouths and chew me and swallow me, then cast me forth as ordure, and- 
that I were not a mortal man." And Omar said, '' would that I were a 
ram, bhat my people might fatten me as it appeared goad to them, so that 
when I became as fat as could be, those whom they loved might visit 
them, and they might kill me for them, and make part of me roast and 
part of me dried flesh, and eat me, and that I were not a mortal man." 
And Ibn A'sakir from Abu'l Bakhtari,* that Omar Ibn u'l Khattab was 
preaching from the pulpit, when al Husayn the son of A'li stood up 
against him and said, " come down from the pulpit of my father !" and 
Omar replied, " it is the pulpit of thy father, not the pulpit of my father, 
who hath counselled thee to this ?" Then A'li rose and said, " by Allah, 
no one counselled him to this — but (turning to Ms son) I vsriU assuredly 
make thee smart, O traitor;" and Omar said, " hurt not the son of my 
brother, for he hath said truly that it is the pulpit of his father;" (The 
authorities are trustworthy.) Al Khatib in his Euwat (narrators') records 
on the authority of Abu Salamah-b-A'bdi'r Eahman and S'aid-b-u'l Mus- 
sayyab, that Omar and Othman were disputing on a certain point among 
themselves, when a looker on exclaimed, " verily they will never agree," 
but they did not separate except upon the best and most admirable 
agreement, regarding it. And Ibn Saa'd from al Hasan, that at the 
first discourse that Omar preached, he praised God and glorified Him, 
and then said, " verily I am tried with^e and ye are tried with me, 
and I have followed as Vicegerent among ye after my two Companions^ 
As to those who are with us, we have undertaken their affairs in person, 
and as to those who are away from us, we have appointed over them as 
rulers, men of power and trust, and he who doeth well, we will give 
him increase of benefits, and whoso doeth evil, we will punish, and may 
• the Lord have mercy upon me and ye." And from Jubayr-b-u'l Huway- 
rith that Omar took counsel of the Muslims regarding the establishing of 
registers and A'li said to him, " divide every year the revenue that is 

lyi ill (♦>*j'ii ^^-".'l "The ploughshare enters not the abode of a people, but they 
become abased " The same word signifying, " a ploughshare'' and " a road." Omar might 
have held its use as of ill-augury to his people. The real meaning of the tradition 
however is, that with the introduction of agriculture begins the extortion of orulers. 

* Abu'l Bakhtari Wahb-b-Wahh of the Kuraysh and a native of Medina: he re- 
moved from Medina to Baghdad under the Caliphate of Harun ar Rashid. He was- 
appointed Kadlji of Medina and afterwards removed. He died at Baghdad A. H. 200 
(815-16) under the Caliphate of al Mdmtin. He was liberal with his purse, but noto- 
rious as a fabricator of traditions and Ibn l^anbal ctilUi him a liar. Ibn Khali. 



[ 149 ] 

collected for thee and keep not back anything." And Othman said, " I A. H. 23. 

see that there is a large revenue sufficient for the people, and if they do A. D. 6-43. 

not keep a register so that he who hath received may be distinguished 

from him who hath not received, I fear that affairs will fall into confusion." 

Then al Walid-b-Hisham-b-i'l Mughirah said to him, " prince of the 

Faithful, verily I have been to Syria, and I have seen that its princes- have 

established registers and organized armies, therefore establish registers 

and organize troops," and he took his counsel. Then he summoned A'kil- 

b-AbiTalib andMakhramah-b-Naufal and Jubayr-b- Muslim who were among 

the most skilled genealogists of the Kuraysh, and he said, " write down 

the people according to their degrees," and they wrote beginning with 

the Banu Hashim, then followed them up with Abu Bakr and his 

people, then Omar and his people, in the Caliphate, and when Omar 

looked into it, he said, " begin with the kindred of the prophet, the nearest 

after the nearest, until ye place Omar where God hath placed him." 

And from Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, that Omar established the registers in 

the month of Muharraija the 20th year of the Flight. And from al 

Hasan, that Omar wrote to Hudayfah, saying, " give the men their stipends 

and rations," and he replied, " verily I have done so and a large sum is 

over." Thereupon Omar wrote to him, " verily the booty which God hath 

given unto them, belongeth not to Omar nor to the family of Omar, — • 

divide it among them." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Jubayr-b-Muti'm, that he said 
" while Omar was standing'upon the mount of A'rafah,* he heard a man call 
out and say, " O Caliph, Caliph." And another man heard him, (and 
they were taking provisions for the way) and said " what is the matter 
with thee — may Allah cleave thy uvula." Then I advanced towards the 
man and called out to him." Jubayr continues : " verily the next day I was 
standing with Omar at al Aka'bah,t casting stones at it when there came 
a stone with force, striking violently the head of Omar. Then I turned 
that way and heard a man from the mount say, — " dost thou know, by the 
Lord of the Kaa'bah that Omar shall never again stand in this station 
a,fter this year ?" Jubayr adds. " And lo ! it was he who had called out 
among us the day before, and the thing weighed heavily upon me." And 
from Ayesha that she said, "at the time of the last pilgrimage which 
Omar performed with the mothers of the true believers,! when we returned 

* This was on the second day of the pilgrimage called the Taum A'rafah the 
9th of Du'l Hijjah. 

t Jamrat u'l A'kabah, or as it is vulgarly termed, Shaytan al Kabir, the great 
devil — one of the three piUars stoned during the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. See 
Burton Vol. Ill, pp. 238-282. 

J The wives of Muhammad. 



[ 150 ] 

A. H. 23. from A'rafah, passbg loj al Muhassab,* I heard a man upon his camel 
A. D. 643. saying, ' where was Omar the prince of the Faithful!' and I heard! 
another man reply, ' here was the prince of the Faithful ;' then he made 
his caTnel kneel down and raised his voice, wailing, and said — • 

' Upon such an Imam as thou be peace and bless 

May the hand of Grod, that lacerated exterior. 

Whosof goeth with speed or rideth upon the wings of the ostrich : 

To overtake that which thou hast sent before thee yesterday, will be 
out-stripped. 

Thou hast adjudged affairs but left behind them 

Calamities in their sleeves not yet unloosed'.' 
And that rider moved not, nor was it known who he was, and we used to 
say that he was a Jinn. And Omar returned from that pilgrimag,e and 
was stabbed (with a dagger) and died." And on the authority of Omar 
that he said, " this authority shall rest with the men of Badr as long as 
one of them is left ; then with the men of Oliud as long as one of them 
is left, and then with such and such, but there shall be no part in it for 
a liberated slave, nor for the son of a liberated slave, nor for a Muslim 
hecome so at the conquest of Mecca." And from an Nakha'i, that a man 
said to Omar, " wilt thou not name as successor, A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar ?" He 
said, " may Allah smite thee ! by Allah, never have I desired this of God 
that I should appoint as successor a man who knoweth not properly how to 
divorce his wife. "J And from Kaa'b that he said, " there was amongst, 
the children of Israel a king ;§ when T recall him, I think of Omar, and 
when I recaU Omar, I think of him. And he had with him a prophet who 
was inspired, and the Lord inspired the jirophet to say to him, ' make thou 
thy covenant, and write unto me thy testament, for verily thou art a 
dead man in three days.' " The prophet therefore told him this, and when 
it was the third day he fell down between the wall and the bed. Then 
he turned to his Lord and said, " Lord ! if Thou knewest that 1 was just 
in government,, and, when affairs became troubled that I followed Thy 

* Tte Bame of tlie way tetween the mountains, opening upon the part called 
^hj J/t between Mecca and Miaa, so called from the pebbles in it. Lane. 

■^ (_j**" also signifies running to and fro between as Safd and al Maiwah. The 
meaning is probably that the merits acquired by Omar iu his pilgrimage are not to be 

f 
surpassed. I prefer to read (3^^. for ci^W as otherwise the CT* is left ' en 1' air,' 
without its complement. 

X A'bdu'llah once attempted to put her away at a time when divorce was not 
permitted by the Muljammadan law. 

§ Ezeohias, Kings iv. xx. 



[ 151 ] 

guidance, and was such and such, then lengthen my life, that my son may A H. 23. 

grow up and my people be set in order." And the word of the Lord came A. D. 64i3. 

to the prophet, saying, " verily he hath said so and so, and indeed hath 

spoken truly, and verily I have added to his life fifteen years, and during 

that there is time that his son may grow up and his people be set in 

order." And when Omar was stabbed, Kaa'b said — " if but Omar were to 

ask of his Lord, He would surely preserve him." Omar was informed of 

this, and he said, " God, take me to Thyself while as yet I am not 

enfeebled nor under reproach." And from Sulayman-b-Yasdr, that the 

Jinns mourned over Omar. 

Al Hakim records on the authority of Malik-b-Dindr* that a voice 
was heard on the mount of Tabalahf when Omar was slain, saying, 

" Let him who wept, weep for Islam : 
For verily they are about to be laid prostrate, and their appointed 

time hath not been exceeded. 
And the world hath gone back and its good withdrawn : 
And verily he is wearied of it who was confident in the promise." 

Ibn Abi 'd Dunya records on the authority of Yahya-b-Abi Eashid of 
Basrah, that Omar said to his son, " be moderate in the expenses of my 
shroud, for verily if there be aught of good with God in my favour, he 
will give nie in exchange what is better than it, and if I have been 
otherwise, He will strip me and be swift in my stripping. And be moder- 
ate in my grave that ye dig for me, for verily if there be aught of good 
with God in my favour, he will widen it unto me as far as my eye can 
reach, and if I have been otherwise, he will straighten it upon me until my 
ribs interlace. And let no woman go forth with me, and praise me not for 
that which is not in me, for the Lord knoweth best what I am. Therefore 
when you go forth, hasten in your going, for if there be aught of good 
with God in my favour, you will speed me on to that which is my good, 
and if I have been otherwise, ye cast from your necks an evil that ye 
bear." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn A'bbas that al A'bbas said, 
" I asked of the Lord a year after Omar died, that he would show him 
unto me in sleep," and I saw him after a year and he was wiping the sweat 
from his forehead and I said to him, " with my father — mayest thou 
ie rcmsomed, and with my mother — how is it with thee ?" He replied, " it 

* Abu Yahya, MaKk-b-Dmar of Basrah, an ascetic and one of the Tabiis. Ha 
was freedman of one of the women of the Bauu Najfah. He is regarded as a trust- 
worthy authority, died A. H. 123 or 129. An Jfawawi. 

t Eight days' march from Mecca and six from Tajf. 



[ 152 ] 

A. H. 23.' is but now tliat I am free from the Judgment and Omar would have 
A. D. 643. perished,* had I not indeed met One who is Merciful and Compassion- 
ate." And from Zayd-b-Aslam,t that Abdu'llah-b-Omar-b i'l A'as saw 
Omar in sleep and he said, " how hast thou done ?" he replied, " how 
long is it that I left jou ?" He answered, "twelve years ssgo." He said 
'' verily it is even now that I am free from Judgment." Ibn Saa'd records 
on the authority of Salim-b-Abdi'Uah-b-Omar that he said, " I heard a man 
of the Auxiliaries say, ' I prayed to God that he would show me Omar in 
sleep, and I saw him after ten years and he was wiping the sweat from his 
forehead and I said, prince of the Faithful, what hast thou been doing ?" 
He replied, " I have but now been freed from Judgment, and had it not 
been for the mercy of my God> I had perished." 

Al Hakim records on the authority of as Shaa'bi that A'atikah the' 
daughter of Zayd-b-A'mr b-Nufayl said, mourning Omar — 

" Eye ! let thy tears and weeping be abundant : 

And weary not — over the noble chief. 

Death hath afflicted me in the fall of a, horseman 

Distinguished in the day of battle and of contumely. 

The stay of Faith, the defence against inclement fortune : 

And a champion unto the afflicted and ojDpressed. 

Say unto the hopeless and the desolate, die ! 

Since death hath given us to drink the cup of dissolution." 

Among the distinguished people who died during Omar's time were, 
U'tbah-b-Ghazwan, — al A'la-b-u'l Hadhrami, — Kays-b-u's Sakan — Abu 
Kuhafah father of as Siddfk — Saa'd-b-U'badah — Suhayl-b-A'mr — Ibn 
Umm Maktdm the Muaddin — Ayyash-b-Abi Eabii'h — A'bdu'r Hahman 
brother of az Zubayr-b-A'wam — Kays-b-Abi Sa'saa'h one of those who col- 
lected the Kuran — Nauf al-b-u'l Harith-b-i'l Muttalib — his brother Abu 
Sufyan — Mariyah, mother of the Sayyid Ibrahim — Abu Ubaydah-b-u'l Jarrah 
Maa'd-b-Jabal — Yazid-b-AbiSufyan— Shurahbil-b-Hasanah — alFadhl-b-u'l 
A'bbas — Abu Jaridal-b-Suhayl — Abu Malik al Asha'ri — Saf wan-b-u'l Mua't- 
tal— U'bayy-b-Kaa'b— Bilalthe Muaddin— U'sayd-b-u'l Hudhayr— al Bara- 
b-Mdlik the brother of Anas — Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh — A'yadh-b-Ghanam 
Abu'l Haytham-b-u't Tayyihdn— Khalid-b-u'l Walid— al Jartid, chief of the 
Banu Abdi'l Kays— an Nu'm^n-b-Mukarran — Katadah-b-u'n Nu'man — al 
Akra'-b-Hdbis — Saudah, daughter of Zama'-h — U'waym-b-Saidah — Ghilan 
at Thakafi — Abu Mihjan at ThS,kafi — and others of the Companions. 

* Lit. his means of support would have heen destroyed — or his dwelling would 
have heen demolished. 

t Ahu Usdmah Zayd-h-Aalam tho froedman of Omar, a native of Medina, and one 
of the Tahi'is, distinguished for his piety and theological learning, and much sought 
after for his instructions and discourses. He died at Medina about A. H. 136. An 
Nawawi. 



[ 153 ] 

A. H. 23. 
OTHMA'N-B-A'FFA'N. A. D. 643. 

Othman-b-A'fian-b-Abi'l A'as-b-Umayya-b-Abdi's Shams-b-Abd Ma- 
naf-b-Kusayy-b-Kilab-b-Murrah-b-Kaa'b-b-Luayy-b-Ghalib, al Kuraysbi 
al Umawi, Abu A'mr, called also Abu A'bdu'llah and Abu Lay lab, was 
born in ths 6th year of the Elephant. He was converted early and was 
one of those called to Islam by as Siddik. He took part in the two 
Flights, the first to Abyssinia and the second to Medina, and married 
Eukayyah, the daughter of the Apostle of God before the prophetic 
mission, and she died at his house on one of the nights of the fight of Badr, 
and he was detained from Badr through his attendance on her, with the 
permission of the Apostle of God, who assigned to him a portion of the 
spoils and compensated him. He is therefore numbered among those pre- 
sent at Badr, and the messenger arrived with the news of the victory of the 
Muslims at Badr, on the day that they buried her at Medina. The Apostle 
of God then gave him in marriage after her, her sister Umm Kulthum 
and she died in his house in the 9th year of the Hijrah. The learned say 
that no one besides him is known to have married the two daughters of a 
prophet, and for that, he has been named possessor of the two Luminaries. 
He was one of the first early converts, and the foremost of the Fugitives 
and one of the Ten to whom the attainment of Paradise was testified, and 
one of the Six, with whom, when the Apostle of God died he was well 
content, and one of the Companions who, collected the Kuran. Indeed Ibn 
A'bbad* says that none but he and al Mamlin, among the Caliphs, collected 
the Kuran. Ibn Saa'd says that the Apostle of God appointed him Vice- 
gerent at Medina during his military expeditions to Dat u'r Eik^a' and 
Ghatfan. One hundred and forty-six traditions are related by him on the 
authority of the Apostle of God.f 

Ibn Saa'd records on the testimony of A'bdu'r Eahman-b-hatib that 
he said, " I never saw any one of the Companions of the Apostle of God, 
who, when he narrated a tradition, gave it more completely and excellently 

* Abu'l Eaaim Isma'il-b-Abi'l Hasan A'bbad the Sahib the wonder of his age 
for his talents, virtues and generosity. He was Vizir to Muwayyid u'd Doulah-b- 
Rukn u'd Dawlat-b-Buwayh and subsequently to his brother Fakhr u'd Dawlah. He 
was the author of numerous works, the most known being the Muhit, a work on 
philology, another on epistolary writing, one on Festivals, and another on the rank of 
Imam, stating the merits of Ali and tie legitimacy of those who preceded him. Born 
A. H. 326 (938) at Istakhar and died at Eai A. H. 385 (995). Ibn KhaU. De Slane 
writes the name A'bbad but according to Meursiugo (De Interpret, Kur. p. 39) Suyuti 
makes it A'bbad and I'bbad. The Munt. Arab, gives A'bbad. 

+ Here follows a list of those who have narrated traditions on his authority 
which I have omitted. 
20 



[ 154 ] 

A. H. 23. than Othman-b-A'ffan, save verily he were a man who held traditions in 
A. D. 6-13. great fear. And on the authority of Muhammad-b-Sirin that the most 
learned of them in the ceremonials of the pilgrimage, was Othman, and 
after him Ibn Omar.'' Al Bayhaki records in his Sunan on the authority 
of A'bdu'llah-b-Omar-b-Aban al Jua'fi that he narrates, " my maternal 
uncle Husayn al Jua'fi said to me, ' dost thou know why Othman hath 
been called Possessor of the two Luminaries ?' I said, ' no.' He replied, 
' none hath ever been united to the two daughters of a prophet from the 
time that God created Adam, nor shall he so till the resurrection cometh 
to pass, save Othman — for that reason he hath been called Possessor of the 
two Luminaries.' " 

Abu Nua'ym records on the authority of al Hasan that he said, " verily 
Othman was called Possessor of the two Luminaries, because we know 
none save him, who hath closed his door upon the two daughters of a 
prophet." And Khaythamah in the Fadhail u's Sihabah, {Merits of the 
Companions) and Ibn A.'sakir from A'li-b-Abi Talib, that he was asked 
regarding Othman and he said, " that man is called in the court of 
heaven, Possessor of two Luminaries — he was the son-in-law of the Apostle 
of God through his two daughters." Al MaKni records on a weak ascrip- 
tion from Sahl-b-Saa'd that he said, " Othmdn is called Possessor of the two 
Luminaries because he passeth over from one station to another in Para- 
dise and there gleameth for him two streams o4 light, and he is called so 
on that account." He adds, that he received the surname of Abu A'mr 
in the time of Ignorance, but when Islam arose, Eukayyah bore him A'b- 
du'llah, and he received the surname (Abu A'bdw'llah) from him. 

His mother was Arwa, daughter of Kurayz-b-Rabii'h-b-Habib-b- 
Abdi's Shams, and her mother was Umm Hakim al Baidha, daughter of 
Abdu'l Muttalib-b-Hashim, twin sister of the father of the Apostle of God. 
Thus the mother of Othman was the daughter of the paternal aunt of the 
prophet.* 



* Hashim 
A'bdu'l Muttalib 




A'bdu'Uah Umm Hakim 



Mul,iDmmad. Aiwa. 



[ 155 ] 

Ibn Ishak says that hb was the first to embrace Isldm after Abu Bakr, A H. 23. 
and A'li, and Zayd-b-Harithah. Ibn A'sakir records on various ascriptions, A. D. 643. 
that Othiman was of middling stature, neither short nor tall, of a comely 
aspect, fair, inclined to yellow, upon his face the scars of small-pox, full 
bearded, large of limb, broad between the shoulders, fleshy in the thigh, 
long in the forearms, which were clothed with hair. He was curly -headed, 
bald, having the most beautiful teeth of all men, his locks falling below 
his ears dyed a yellowish colour, and verily he used to bind his teeth with 
gold wire. And on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-Hazm al Mazini,* that 
he said, " I have seen Othmdn the son of Affdn, but I have never seen man 
or woreian more beautiful of face than he." And from Mtisa-b-Talhah, 
that Othman was the most comely of men. And from Usamah-b-Zayd that 
he said, " the Apostle of God sent me to the house of Othman with a dish 
of meat and I entered, and lo ! there was Eukayyah seated. And I began 
to look now upon the face of Eukayyah, and now upon the face of Othman, 
and when I returned, the Apostle of God enquired of me and said, " didst 
thou go in to them ?" I said " yes ;" he continued, " hast thou ever seen a 
more comely pair than those two ?" I said " no — Apostle of God." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Ibrahim-b-i'l' 
Harith at Taymi, that when Othman became a Muslim, his paternal uncle 
al Hakam-b-Abi'l A'as-b-XJmayyah, took him and bound him with a cord 
and said, " dost thou turn from the faith of thy fathers to the religion of 
an innovator ? by Allah, I will never let thee go until thou abandonest 
what thou art about." And Othman said, " by Allah, I will never forsake 
it nor abandon it." And when al Hakam saw his steadfastness in his 
faith, he released him. 

Abu Ta'la records on the authority of Anas, that the first of the Mus- 
lims who emigrated with his family to Abyssinia was Othman-b-A'ffan, 
aAd the Apostle of God said, " may God protect those two, for Othman 
was assuredly the first who emigrated with his family after Lot." And 
Ibn A'di from Ayesha, that when the prophet married his daughter TJmm 
Kulthum to Othman, he said to her, '' verily thy-husband resembles jnost, 
among men, thy forefather Abraham and thy father Muhammad." And 
Ibn A'di and Ibn A'sakir, from Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God said, 
" I find a resemblance in Othman to my forefather Abraham." 

* There are three families of the Mazins— those of the tribes of Tamim, Kays and 
Eabii'h. 



[ 156 1 

A. H. 23. On the traditions lumded down regarding his merits, over and 

A. D. 643. above what has preceded. 

The two Shaykhs record on the testimony of Ayesha, that the prophet 
gathered together his garments when Othman entered, and said " shall I 
not be bashful before the man before-whom the angels stand abashed ?" 
And al Bukhari from Abu A'bdu'r Eahman as Sulami,* that Othman when 
he was besieged in his house, stood up overlooking the hesiegers and said, 
" I conjure ye, by Allah, and I call on none but the Companions of the 
prophet,— do ye not know that the Apostle of God said, ' he who aideth 
in providing for the army of distress,t for him is Paradise' — and I fitted 
them out ? Do ye not know that the Apostle of God said, ' he who diggeth 
the well at Etimah.J for him is Paradise,' and I dug it?" And they 
testified to the truth of what he said. 

At Tirmidi records on the authority of A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Khabbab, 
that he said, " I saw the Apostle of God encouraging the army of distress, 
and Othman exclaimed, ' Apostle of God ! I answer for one hundred 
camels with their housings and saddles for the sake of God :' and the 
prophet continued encouraging the troops, and Othman cried out, ' O 
Apostle of God, I answer for two hundred camels with their housings and 
I saddles for the sake of God.' And he went on encouraging the troops, 
and Othman called out, ' O Apostle of God — I answer for three hundred 
camels with their housings and saddles for the sake of God.' Then "the 
Apostle of God descended from the pulpit, saying, " Othman will not be 
judged whatever he may do after this." And from Anas and al Hdkim, 
verified on the authority of A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Samurah§ that Othman went 
to the prophet with a thousand dinars, when he was fitting out the army 
of distress and poured it into his lap, and the Apostle of God began turn- 
ing it over, saying twice, " it shall not harm Othman, whatever he may ^o 

* A'bu A'fcdu'r Eahmfin A'bdu'Ilah-b-Habib as Sulami al Kufi was bom in the life- 
time of Muhammad. He learned to read tbe Kurfa under the tuition of the Caliphs 
Othmlji and A'li and taught the same aoienoe in the mosque of Kufah, died A. H. 74 
(693-4). De Slane I. K. 

t The army of Tabuk. This expedition against the Greeks was undertaken 
at a time of great heat and drought, and the sufferings of the troops procured for it 
this name. He furnished them with 960 camels and 60 horses. 

X Between Jurf and ZighAbah, near Medina; Omar purchased it firom the Jews 
for twenty thousand dirhams, and gave it to the Muslims. An Nawawi. 

§ Abu S'aid, A'bdu'r Ealimfai, son of Samurab. the Companion. (See note t 
p. 42). He was a resident of Ba?rah. He fought in Khorasln in the time of Othm4n 
and overran Sigistdn and Kabul. He related fourteen traditions from his master. 
Died at Bairah (and some say at Marv) A. H. SO or 51. An Nawawi. 



[ 157 ] 

after this day." And from Anas that he said, " when the Apostle of God 
commanded the allegiance pleasing* to God to be, sworn to him, Othmdn "*■• "*''' 
was the messenger of the Apostle of God to the people of Mecca, aiid the 
men sware allegiance, and the prophet said, ' verily Ofchman, is employed 
in the requirements of God and the needs of His Apostle,' and he struck 
one hand upon the other, and the hand of the Apostle of God as a pledge 
for Othman was better than their hands for themselves." And from Ibn 
Omar that the Apostle of God spoke of dissensions and said, alluding to 
Othman, "this one shall be wrongfully slain in them." 

At Tirmidi and al Hakim and Ibn Majah record on the authority of 
Murrah-b-Kaa'b that he said, " I heard the apostle of God speaking of 
troubles that he thought to- be near at hand, when a man passed by 
muffled up in his garment, and he said, ' this man to-day is in the path of 
salvation ;' and I went to him and lo ! it was Othman, and I turned my 
face towards ^Ae ^ro^Ae^, and said, 'this man?'' He replied 'yes.'" And 
at Tirmidi and al Hakim from Ayesha, that the prophet said, " O Othman, 
perchance the Lord may clothe thee with a garment, and if the hypocrites 
desire to take it from thee, put it not off till thou meetest me in Paradise." 
And at Tirmidi from Othman that he said on the day of the siege of his 
house, " verily, the apostle of God, hath made a covenant with me, and I 
am awaiting its fulfilment." 

Al Hdkim records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he said, 
" Othman purchased Paradise from the prophet on two occasions ; viz., 
when he dug the well of Riimah, and when he fitted out the army of dis- 
tress." And Ibn A'sakir from Abu Hurayrah, that the prophet said, 
" Othman among the Companions, most resembles me in disposition." And 
at Tabarani from A'smah-b-Malik that he said, " when the daughter of the 
apostle of God died under the roof of Othman, the apostle of God said, 
" Give your daughters in marriage to Othman — if I had a third daughter, I 
would assuredly give her in marriage to him, and I have never wedded any 
to him save under inspiration." And Ibn A'sakir from A'li, that he narrates, 
" I heard the apostle of God say to Othman, " if I had forty daughters, 
I would wed them with thee one after the other, until not one of them 
was left." And from Zayd-b-Thabit that he narrates, " I heard the 
Apostle of God say, Othman passed me, and there was with me one 
of the angels who said, ' he shall he a martyr — his people shall slay him — 
I am abashed before him.' " Abu Ya'la records on the authority of Ibn 
Omar that the prophet said, " verily the angels stand abashed before 

* At HudayWyah. The word m^J^J is used, because it is employed with 
reference to this occasion in Kur. XL VII. 



[ 158 ] 

A. H. _3. Othman as they stand abashed before God and his apostle." And Ibn 

A. D. 613. A'sakir from al Hasan that the modesty of Othman was mentioned in his 

hearing, and he said, " if it were that he was in the middle of his house, 

and the door closed upon him, and he were to put aside his clothes to pour 

water upon himself, modesty would forbid him to straighten his back." 



On Ms Caliphate. 

He was sworn allegiance to as Caliph, three nights after Omar was 
buried, and it is related that the people at that time were gathered about 
A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'uf taking counsel with him, and speaking privily 
with him, and there was not a man of judgment who was in private with 
him who held any one equal to Othman. And when A'bdu'r Bahman took 
his seat for the covenant of allegiance, he praised God and glorified him and 
said in his discourse, " verily I see that the people reject all but Othman." 
(Ibn A'sakir from Miswar*-b-Makhramah). But according to another 
account, he said, " and now O A'li I have regarded the people and I have 
not seen any of them equalling Othman, therefore make not a way unto 
the Caliphate for thyself." Then he took the hand of Othman and said, 
" I swear allegiance to thee according to the law of God, and the law of 
his apostle, and the law of the two Caliphs after him." And A'bdu'r Bah- 
man swore fealty to him, and Fugitives and the Auxiliaries swore him allegi- 
ance. 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Anas, that Omar an hour before 
be died sent to the father of Talhah the Auxiliary and said, " go at the head 
of fifty of the Auxiliaries with those men of the Council, for as I count 
upon it, they will assemble together in a house. Stand thou at that door 
with thy Companions and suffer none to go in to them and let not the 
third day pass with them before they give authority to one among them." 
It is recorded in. the Musnad of Ahmad on the authority of Abu Wailf 

• Abu A'bdu'r Eahman Miswar-b-Makhramali-b-Naufal descended from Murrah. 
He was bom at Mecca two years after the Fligbt and was one of the moat skilled of the 
Companions in jurisprudence. He remained at Medina till the death of Othman and 
then returned to Mecca, and after the death of Mu'awiyah, remained with Ibn az 
Zubayr, till tlje siege by al Hajj&j, when he was killed by a stone from a catapult. 
An Naw. 

+ Abu Wdil Shakik-b-Salimah a Tabi'i of the tribe of Asad, native of Kufah. He 
was a cotemporary of Muljammad but never saw him, died A. H. 79. His authority 
as a traditiouist is acknowledged. An Nawawi. 



[ 159 ] 

that he narrates, ''■ I said to A'bdu'r Rahman-b-A'uf, ' how did ye swear A. H. 23. 
allegiance to Othman and pass over A'li?' he replied, ' it was not my A. D. 643. 
fault. Verily I began with A'li and I said, " I will make with thee a cove- 
nant of allegiance according to the Book of God, and the law of His 
apostle, and the institutions of Abu Eakr, and Omar." And he replied 
" in as far as I am able ;" then I offered the same to Othmdn and he 
accepted.' " 

And it is related that A'bdu'r Rahman said to Othman in private, " if 
I make not a covenant of allegiance with thee whom dost thou counsel to 
me ?" He replied, " A'li ;" and he said to A'li, " if I make not a covenant 
of allegiance with thee, whom dost thou counsel to mp ?" he said, " Oth- 
man." Then he summoned az Zubayr and said, " if I make not a cove- 
nant of allegiance with thee, whom dost thou counsel to me ?" He 
replied, "A'li or Othman." Then he summoned Saa'd and said, " whom 
dost thou counsel to me? for I and thou desire it not : " and he said, 
" Othman." Then A'bdu'r Rahman took counsel with the chief men, and 
he said that most of them were for Othman. 

Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim record on the authority of Ibn Masa'iid that 
he said, " when Othman was sworn allegiance to, we placed in authority 
the best that remained among us, and we were not remiss in our duty." 

In this year of his Caliphate, Rai was taken, for it had been taken 
before and lost again. In "the same, the people were attacked with a great 
issuing of blood from the nose, and it was called the Year of the He- 
morrhage. This haemorrhage seized Othman, so that he was detained 
from the pilgrimage and deputed another j,n his stead. During the same 
many Grecian fortresses were taken, and Othman placed Saa'd-b-Abi 
Wakkas in the government of Kufah, and removed al Mughirah. 

In the year 25, Othman removed Saa'd from Kiifah and appointed 
al Walid-b-U'k'bah-b-Abi Muayt', who was a Companion, a brother of 0th- 
man's on the motlier's side, and that was the first thing with which he was 
reproached in that he preferred his relations to posts of authority : moreover 
it is related that al Walid read morning prayers to the people four 
rakaa'ts, while he was intoxicated, and he looked upon them and said, 
" shall I go on for ye ?" 

In the year 26, Othman enlarged the sacred mosque and extended 
it and purchased the adjoining buildings for its augmentation. During 
the same Sablir* was taken. 

In the year 27, Mu'awiyah led an expedition against Cyprus, and 
crossed the sea with his troops, and with him was U'badah-b-u'l Samitf 

* Shahpur probatly. Near Shiraz. Tlie MS. has Naysabtir. 

t He was one of the Companipns sent by Omar to Syria at the time of its con- 



[ 160 ] 

A. H. 27. and his wife Umm Haram, daug'hter of Milhan, a woman of the Auxiliaries. 
A. D. 647. She fell from her mule, and died there for the faith. The prophet had 
foretold to her this expedition and prayed that she might be one of them. 
She was buried at Cyprus. 

During this year Arrajan (jErghdn) and Darabjird were taken ;* and 
in the same Othman removed A'mr-b-u'l A'as from Egypt and appointed 
over it A'bdu'llah-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Sarh, who led an expedition against Nor- 
thern Africa and overran it both plains and hills, and each man of the 
troops received a thousand and some say, three thousand dinars. Spain 
was als6 subsequently conquered in this year. 

An anecdote deserves mention. Mu'awiyah had urged upon Omar-b- 
u'l Khattab the expedition to Cyprus and the neeessity of reaching it by 
a sea voyage, and Omar wrote to A'mr-b-u'l A'as, saying, " describe to me 
the sea and its rider." And he wrote, saying, "Verily I saw a huge con- 
struction, upon which mounted diminutive creatures, if it is stiU, it rends 
the heart, if it moves, it terrifies the senses. Within it the faculties grow 
diminishing and calamities augmenting. Those inside it, are like worms 
in a log. If it inclines to one side, they are drowned, if it escapes, they 
are confounded." When Omar read the letter, he wrote to Mu'awiyah, 
saying, " By Allah, I will not set a true believer upon it." 

Ibn Jarir says that Mu'awiyah proceeded against Cyprus in the time 
of Othman, and concluded a peace with its inhabitants on condition of 
tribute. 

In the year 29, Persepolis was taken by force of arms and Kasa and 
other places. During the same, Othman enlarged the mosque of Medina 
and built it of carved stone, and fashioned its pillars of stones, and its roof 
of teakwood, and made its length one hundred and sixty cubits and its 
breadth one hundred and fifty cubits. 

In the year 30, Jtir was taken, and many towns in the land of Khura- 
san. Naysabtir was occupied by treaty, though some say, by force ; and 
Tiis and Sarkhas both by treaty and likewise Marw and Bayhak.f When 
these extensive provinces were conquered, abundant was the tribute unto 
Othman, and wealth came unto him from every side, so that he established 



quest to teach the people the Kuran. He died at Jerusalem and some say at Eamlah 
in A. H. 34, aged 72. An Nawawi. 

* An aliph is omitted in the printed edition. DfirAhjird is near Persepolis : another 
town of the name is near Nayaabur. 

t Aooording to Ydkut, Bayha^ comprises the country hetween Naysahflr, or as 
it is commonly written Nishapur, Kiimis and Juwayn, and contains throe hundred 
and twenty-one villages. 



[ 161 ] 

for himself treasuries and gave bountiful stipends,* and he would order a A. H. 30. 
man a hundred thousand badras, in each " badrah,"t being four thousand A. D. 650. 
ounces. 



In the year 31, {Sere a hiatus in the MSS. The intervening years have 
little to mark them). In 31, according to Abu'l Fida, {Annals') Yezdi- 
jird died, and a rebellion broke out in Khurasan, but was quelled by 
Othmdn. In 83 died Iln Masa'ud, the Companion. In 34 and 35 
occurred the seditions in Kufah against the nepotism of Othmdn. In 
the year 35 took place the assassination of Othmdn. 

Az Zuhri says that Othman ruled the Caliphate twelve years. For 
six years he governed without the people having anything to reproach 
against him ; and he was more beloved by the Kuraysh than Omar, for 
Omar was stern with them, and when Othman ruled them, he treated them 
with leniency and was attached to them. But afterwards he became heed- 
less of their affairs, and appointed his kinsmen and the people of his house 
to authority during the last six years, and bestowed upon Marwan a fifth 
of the revenues of Africa, and lavished on his kindred and family the 
property of the State, and explained it as the assistance to kindred which 
the Lord had enjoined, and said, " verily Abu Bakr and Omar have neg- 
lected in that matter what was incumbent upon them, and I have taken it 
and divided it among my kindred ;" but the people disapproved of it. 
(Ibn Saa'd). 

Ibn A'sakir records, after another account, on the authority of az 
Zuhri that he narrates, " I said to Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, ' canst thou tell 
me the ma,nner of the death of Othman, and how it was with the people 
and with him, and why the Companions of Muhammad forsook him ?' 
and Ibn u'l Musayyab replied, ' Othman was slain unjustly, and he who 
slew him was a wrongdoer, but those who forsook him are to be excused.' 
I said, ' how was that ?' He replied, ' when Othman assumed, the govern- 
ment, some of the Companions disapproved of his rule, because Othman 

Jill might also mean that he caused provisions and the like to poitr in plenti. 

fully — as in Omar's orders to Jthe tax-gatherers eri*^~*'l *^ (jyil ; tut here the 
context seems to refer to stipends from the treasury. 

t A badrah is a purse containing a sum of, from one thousand to ten thousand 
dirhams. It appears incredihle that in the early days of the Caliphate such extrava- 
gance could have existed, hut the lavish hounty of Othman is noticed by Gibbon and 
it gained for him in return but ingratitude and discontent. 
21 



[ 162 ] 

A. H. 35. had a great affection for his tribe. He ruled the Caliphate twelve 
A. D. 655-6. years, and frequently appointed to office among the Banu Umayyah, 
' those who had not enjoyed the Companionship of the Apostle of 
God. Thus there were committed by his prefects those actions which 
the Companions of Muhammad did not approve. Othman, however, 
favoured them and did not remove them, and during the last six years, he 
preferred the children of his uncle and appointed them to rule, and let 
none others share with them, nor enjoined on them the fear of God. 
Thus he appointed A'bdu'llah-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Sarh to govern Egypt and he 
remained over it some years. The people of Egypt complained and sought 
redress against him. And verily before this, there had occurred on the 
part of Othman a slight towards A'bdu'Uah-b-Masa'lid, and Abu Darr 
and A'mmar-b-Ydsir, and the Banu Hudayl and the Banu Zuhrah had in 
their hearts what was in them on account of Ibn Masa'ud, and the Banu 
Ghafdr, and their confederates and those that were wroth concerning Abu 
Darr, had in their hearts what was in them, and the Banu Makhzum were 
wroth with Othman on account of A'mmdr-b-Yasir. And the people of 
Egypt came complaining against the son of Abu Sarh, and Othman wrote 
to him a letter threatening him in it, but the son of Abu Sarh refused to 
submit to what Othman had forbidden him, and he scourged him who 
had come from Othman, of the people of Egypt that had gone to Othman 
complaininff,,-ajndL slew him. Then seven hundred of the people of Egypt 
went forth, and they alighted at the mosque at Medina,, and made their 
complaint to the Companions at the appointed places of prayer, of what 
the son of Abu Sarh had done to them. Thereupon Talhah-b-TJ'bayd- 
i'llah arose and spoke harsh words to Othman, and Ayesha sent to him 
and said, ' the Companions of Muhammad have come to thee and asked 
of thee the removal of this man and thou hast refused, yet this man hath 
put to death a man among them. Therefore do them justice against thy 
governor.' And A'li-b-Abi Talib went in to him and said, ' verily they 
demand of you one man in the place of another and have claimed for him 
tie revenge for blood, therefore remove him from over them and judge 
between them, for a claim stands against him, therefore do them justice 
upon him.' He replied to them, ' choose ye a man that I may appoint 
him over ye in his place.' And the people pointed out to him Muhammad 
the son of Abu Bakr, and said, ' place over us Muhammad the son of Abu 
Bakr.' And he wrote him his charge and appointed him. And there 
went forth with them a number of the Fugitives and Auxiliaries that they 
might see what was happening between the people of Egypt and the son 
of Abu Sarh, and Muhammad and those with him set forth. But when 
they were at the third day's stage from Medina, behold ! there came up 
with them a black slave upon a camel striking the camel violently like to 



[ 163 ] 

A man who pursues or is pursued, and the companions of Muhammad* A. H. 35. 
said to liim, ' what is thy adveijture and thy condition ? for verily thou A. D. 655-6. 
art either fleeing or pursuing.' And he said to them, ' I am the slave of the 
prince of the Faithful who hath sent me to the prefect of Egypt.' And a 
man said to him, ' this is the prefect of Egypt.' He replied, ' it is not this 
one I want.' " 

Then Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr was informed regarding him, 
and he sent a man in pursuit of him, who caught him and brought him 
before him, and he said, " slave, who art thou ?" And he began saying at 
one time, " I am the slave of the prince of the Faithful," and at another, 
" I am the slave of Marwan," until a man recognized him as the slave of 
Othman. Then Muhammad said to him, " Unto whom art thou sent ?" 
He replied, " to the prefect of Egypt." He asked, " with what ?" He 
answered, " with a letter." He said, " Is the letter with thee ?" He re- 
plied, " no" whereupon they searched him, but found no letter upon him, 
but with him was a ewer in which was something dried up that rustled, and 
they shook it that it might be cast out, but it did not come out, so they 
broke the ewer when lo ! there was in it a letter from Othman to the son 
of Abu Sarh. Then Muhammad assembled those that were with him of 
the Fugitives and Auxiliaries and others, and he opened the letter in their 
presence, when behold ! there was in it : " When Muhammad and such a 
one and such a one reach thee, contrive a scheme for their death, and set 
aside his charge, and remain in thy government until my advice reach thee, 
and imprison such as come to me seeking redress against thee ; verily my 
advice will reach thee in regard to that matter, if it please God." And 
when they read the letter, they were terrified and confounded, and they 
turned back to Medina, and Muhammad sealed the letter with the seals of 
the people who were with him, and gave it to a man among them, and they 
proceeded to Medina and assembled Talhah and az Zubayr and A'li and 
Saa'd and those who were among the Companions of Muhammad. Then 
they reopened the letter in their presence and informed them of the story 
of the slave, and read to them the letter. And there was not one of the 
people of Medina but was wroth against Othman, and it increased the 
wrath and anger of those who were enraged on account of Ibn Masa'ud, 
Abu Darr, and A'mmar-b-Yasir. And the Companions of Muhammad 
went to their homes there not being one among them, but he was grieved 
at what they had read in the letter. And the people besieged Othman, and 
Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr led against him the Banu Taym and 

* The usual benediction foUo-ws this name, but I am inclined to tbink it has 
been inadvertently inserted, Muliammad here referring to the son of Abu Bakr and 
not to the founder of Islam. 



[ 164 ] 

A. H. 35. others ; and when A'li saw that, he sent to Talhah and az Zubayr and 
A. D. 655-6. Saa'd and A'mmar and others of the Companions, all of them being men 
who had fought at Badr. Then he went to Othman taking with him the 
letter, the slave and the camel, and Ali said to him, " is this slave, thy 
slave ?" He replied, " yes." He continued, " and this camel, thy camel ?" 
He answered, " yes." He said, " then didst thou write this letter ?" He 
said, " no," and he swore by Allah, saying, " I did not write this letter, 
nor command it to le written, nor have I any knowledge of it." A'li said 
to him, " then is the seal thy seal ?" He answered, " yes." He said, 
" then how could thy slave go forth with thy camel, and with a letter upon 
which is thy seal, thou knowing not of it ?" But Othman swore by the 
Lord, saying, " I did not write this letter nor command it to he written, 
nor did I ever send this slave to Egypt." 

Now as to the writing, they recognised it to be the writing of Mar- 
wan, and they doubted regarding Othman, but demanded of him that he 
should give up to them Marwan, but he refused, Marwan being with him 
in the house. Then the Companions of Muhammad went forth from him 
much enraged, and they were in doubt regarding him for they knew that 
Othman would not swear falsely, save that some said, " Othman will not 
be absolved in our hearts, unless he giveth up to us Marwan, that we may 
interrogate- him and learn the affairs of the letter, and how he commanded 
the death of a man among the Companions of Muhammad without due 
cause, and if it be Othman that vsrrote it, we will depose him, and if it be 
Marwan that wrote it upon the suggestion of Othman, we shall consider 
what we shall do concerning Marwdn." And they kept to their houses, 
but Othman refused to give Marwan up to them, for he feared death for 
him. And the people besieged Othman and prevented him from obtaining 
water ; he therefore looked down upon the people from above and exclaim- 
ed, " Is A'li among ye ?" And they said, " no." He said, " is Saa'd 
among ye ?" They replied, " no'' ; then he was silent. Again he exclaimed, 
" Will not any one inform A'li that he may give us water to drink ?" Ali 
was then informed of this and he sent three large leathern water bottles 
filled with water, but it was nigh unto not reaching him, for a number of 
the freedmen of the Banu Hashim and the Banu Umayya were wounded 
on account of it until the water reached him. A'li was then informed that 
the death of Othman was sought, and he said, " verily we desire of him 
MarwAn, but the death of Othman — no," and he said to al Hasan and al 
Husayn, " go ye with your swords until ye stand over the door of Othmdn 
and suffer not any one to go in to him." And az Zubayr sent his son and 
Talhah sent his son, and a number of the Companions of Muhammad sent 
their sons to prevent the people from going into Othmdn, and to demand 
the surrender of Marwan. And when Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr 



[ 165 ] 

saw that, and that the people had shot arrows against Othman, until al A. H. 35. 

Hasan was stained with blood at his door, and an arrow had reached Mar- A. D. 655-6. 

wan who was inside the house, and Muhammad the son of Talhah was dyed 

with Mood and Kanbar the freedman of A'li had his head broken, then Mu- 

hammad-b-Abi Baki- feared that the Banu Hashim might be angered at the 

-condition of al Hasan and al Husayn and provoke a tumult, so he took the 

hands of two men and said to them, " if the Banu Hashim arrive and see 

the blood upon the face of al Hasan, they will disperse the people from 

Othman, and what we desire will miscarry, but come with me until we 

climb above him upon the house, and slay him without any one's knowing 

it. And Muhammad and his two Companions climbed from a house of a 

man of the Auxiliaries until they penetrated unto Othman, and not one 

of those who were with him knew of it, for all those that were with him 

were upon the tops of the houses, and he was alone with his wife. Then 

Muhammad said to the two, " stay where ye are, for verily his wife is with 

him, so that I may enter before ye, and when I s6ize him, then come in 

and set upon him until ye slay him." And Muhammad entered and seized 

him by the beard, and Othman said to him, " by Allah, could thy father 

see thee, thy behaviour towards me would surely be hateful to him :" 

thereupon his hand relaxed its hold, but the two men went in to him and 

set upon him until tlW slew him, and then' came forth fleeing towards 'i/ 

whence they had entered. Then his wife screamed, but her screaming 

was not heard by reason of the clamour in the house, and she mounted up 

to the people, and said, '' verily the prince of the Faithful hath been slain." 

And the people entered and found him slain, and the news reached A'li, 

and Talhah and az Zubayr and Saa'd and those that were in Medina, and 

they set forth, for verily their senses left them at the news they had 

heard, until they went in to Othman and found him slain, and they repeated 

the ejaculation : " Verily we belong to God and unto Him shall we return" 

(Kur. II). Then A'li said to his two sons, " how was the prince of the 

Faithful slain and ye two at his door ?" and he raised his hand and struck • 

al Hasan, and smote the breast of al Husayn, and reviled Muhanimad the 

son of Talhah and A'bdu'llah the son of az Zubayr, and went forth in great 

anger until he reached his house. Then the people hastened to him and 

said, " we swear thee allegiance, wherefore stretch out thy hand, for a chief 

is of necessity to us." And Ali said, " that belongeth not to me, — verily 

that is with the men of Badr, for with whomsoever the men of Badr are 

content, he is Vicegerent." 

But there was not one of the men of Badr, hut went to A'li and said, 
" we know none more deserving of it than thee — stretch forth thy hand 
that we may make a covenant with thee." And they swore allegiance to 
him, and Marwan and his son fled, and A'li went unto the wife of Othman 



[ 166 ] 

A. H. 35. and said to her, " who slew Othman ? " She replied, " I know not ; two 
A. D. 655-6. men went in to him, whom I do not recognize and with them was Muham- 
mad the son of Abu Bakr," and she informed A'li and the people of what 
Muhammad had done. And A'li sent for Muhammad and asked him con- 
cerning what the wife of Othman had mentioned, and Muhammad said 
" she hath not spoken falsely — verily, by Allah, I went in to him, and I 
purposed to slay him, but he bid me remember my father, and I stood off 
from him turning in repentance to God, — by Allah, I did not slay him nor 
hold him ;" and the wife of Othman said, " he hath spoken truly, but he 
brought the two within." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Kananah the freedman of 
Safinah, and others, that it was one of the Egyptians, a man with blue 
eyes and ruddy complexion that slew Othman — he was called Himar. 
Ahmad records on the authority of al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah, that he went 
into Othman, when he was beseiged and said, " thou art verily the Imam 
of the people, and yet there hath befallen thee what thou seest ; and verily 
now I place before thee three courses ; choose one of them. Either go 
forth and fight them, for surely with thee are numbers and force, and thou 
art in the right and they are in the wrong — or cut open for thyself a door, 
other than the door over which they stand, and mount thy camel and get 
thee to Mecca, for they will not hold it lawful to slay thee while thou art 
there, — or betake thee to Syria, for verily the people of Syria, among them 
is Mu'awiyah." But Othman said, " if I go forth and fight, I cannot be 
the first of those who have succeeded the Apostle of God, to shed blood — 
and if I set out for Mecca, then have I heard the Apostle of God say, " a 
man of the Kuraysh shall be buried in Mecca upon whom shall be half the 
chastisement of the world" — and I shall not be he — and if I betake me to 
Syria, then I cannot forsake the city of my Flight, and the neighbourhood 
of the Apostle of God." 

Ibn A'sdkir records on the authority of Abu Thaur al Fahami that he 
narrates, " I went in to Othman while he was besieged and he said, " I have 
laid up with my Lord ten things — ^verily I was one of four in Islam — and 
the Apostle of God gave me his daughter in marriage — afterwards she 
died and he gave me in marriage his other daughter — and I never courted* 
nor sought Jier, nor have I applied my right hand to an unworthy use, since 
I made a covenant of allegiance with it, with the Apostle of God, — and 
never has a Friday passed over me since I became a Muslim, but I freed a 
slave, except when I had nothing in my possession, when I would free one 
afterwards, — and I have never committed fornication either in the time of 
Ignorance or Isldm — and never have I stolen either in the time of Igno- 
rance or Islam — and verily I collected the Kuran in the time of the Apos- 
tle of God." 

* It may also moan — " I nover onriclied mysolf — nor dosivod might . 



[ 167 ] 

The assassination of Othmdn took place in the midst of the three days A. IT. 35. 
next after the day of sacrifice,* in the year 35. It is also said that he A. D. 055-6. 
was slain on Friday thg 18th of Du'l Hijjah (I7th June, 656) and was 
buried on Friday night between sunset and night-fall in Hash Kaukabf 
in the cemetery, and he was the first buried therein. 

Others say that he was slain on Wednesday, and some, on Monday 
the 24th of Du'l Hijjah, and on the day he was slain, he was eighty-two 
years old. It is also said that he was eighty-one, — and eighty -four — and 
eighty-six— and eighty-eight or nine — and ninety. Katadah says that az 
Zubayr read prayers over him and buried him, Othman having charged 
him to do that. 

Ibn A'di and Ibn Asakir record from a tradition of Anas transmitted 
uninterruptedly from the prophet, " verily the Lord hath a sword 
sheathed in a scabbard as long as Othmdn liveth, and when Othman shall be 
slain, that sword shall be drawn, and it shall not be sheathed until the day 
of resurrection." A'mr-b-Kaid is the sole authority for this, and he is the 
author of traditions of unacknowledged authority. Ibn A'sakir records 
on the authority of Yazid-b-Abi Habib that he said, " I have heard that 
the whole party that attacked Othman were all seized with insanity." 
And from Hudayfah, that he said, " the beginning of seditions is the 
murder of Othman, and in the last times of sedition will be the coming 
of Dajjal, and by Him in whose hand is my life, not a man shall die hav- 
ing in his heart a grain's weight of the desire of Othman's murder, but he 
would follow Dajjal, did he attain unto his time, and if he hath not attain- 
ed unto his time, he will believe in him in his grave." And from Ibn 
A'bbas, that he said, " if the people had not sought the blood-wit of Oth- 
man, they would have been stoned from Heaven." And from al Hasan, 
that he said, " Othman was slain and A'li was absent on an estate belonging 
to him, and when he heard it, he exclaimed, " O God ! verily I have not 
approved, nor abetted it." 

Al Hakim has recorded and verified on the authority of Kays-b-A'bbad 
that he narrates, " I heard A'li on the day of the Camel say, ' O God, I 
am guiltless before thee of the blood of Othman,' and verily my mind wan- 
dered on the day of the murder of Othman, and my spirit revolted, and 
they came to me to swear allegiance and I exclaimed, ' verily I am ashamed 
to make a covenant with a people that have slain Othman, and verily 

* 7. e. the 11th, 12th and 13th of Du'l Hijjah— these days were so called ( (hi 
f\iJ!Si\ \ heoauae the flesh of the victims was therein out into thin stripes and dried in 
the sun. Lane. 

t A piece of ground hought hy Othman and attached to the cemetery at Medina, 
TaWt. 



[ 168 ] 

A. H. 35. I am ashamed before God that allegiance should be sworn to me, while 
A. D. 655-6. Othmanisyet unburied.' Then they departed and when. the people re- 
turned, they questioned me concerning the covenant of allegiance ; I re- 
plied, ' O God, I am in fear for that which hath been done against Othman.' 
Then they came to a determination and swore allegiance and exclaimed, 
' prince of the Faithful ;' and it was as if my heart was rent and I 
said, ' God, smite me on account of Othman until thou art content.' "* 
Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Abu Khaldah al Hanafi that he 
narrates, " I heard A'li say, ' verily the Banu Umayyah think that I put 
Othman to death, but no !^by that God besides whom there is no other 
God, I did not slay nor abet, nay, verily I forbade it but they disobeyed 
me.' And from Samurah, that he said, ' verily Islam was in a strong 
fortress, and verily they have made in Islam a breach by their slaying of 
Othman, which will not be closed till the day of resurrection, and verily 
the Caliphate was with the people of Medina, but they have cast it forth 
and it shall not return to them.' And from Muhammad-b-Sirin, that he 
said, ' the piebald horsesf were never missing in battles, and among the 
troops until Othmdn was slain, and never were there variations in the ap- 
pearance of the new moons until Othman was slain, and the redness in the 
horizon of the sky was never seen until al Husayn was murdered." 

A'bdu'r Razzak records in his Musannaf on the authority of Hamid- 
b-Hilal, that A'bdu'llah-b-Saldm went to the besiegers of Othman, saying, 
" slay him not, for by Allah, not a man among ye shall slay him but he 
will meet the Lord mutilated, without a hand. And verily, the sword of 
God hath continued sheathed, but surely by Allah, if ye slay him, the 
Lord will indeed draw it, and will never sheathe it from ye — never was a 
prophet slain, but there were slain on account of him, seventy thousand, 
and never a Caliph, but there were slain by reason of him five and thirty 
thousand before the people were again united." And Ibn A'sakir from 
A'bdu'r Rahman-b-Mahdi, that Othman had two merits which belonged not 
to Abu Bakr nor to Omar, viz., his self-coUectedness until he was slain, 
and his uniting the, people upon owe text of the Kuran. And al Hakim 
from as Shaa'bi that he says, " I have not heard among the elegies on 
Othman, any more beautiful than the words of Kaa'b-b-Malik — ■ 

' He restrained his hands, and made fast his gate : 
And he knew that the Lord was not heedless. 



♦ These reiterated asseverations of his innooence have the air of conscious guilt. 
Githon gives it as doubtful whether he was sincere in his oppositon^^to the rehela, 
and adds, that it is certain that he enjoyed the benefit of their crime. 

t Upon which, it is feigned that the angels were mounted who fought in tha 
Muslim ranks against the infidel. 



[ 169 ] 

And he spake unto the people of the house, " slay ye them not A^Jl. 35. 

The Lord forgiveth every man that doth not contend." A. D. 655-6. 

Thou hast seen how the Lord hath poured out upon them 

Enmity and hatred, following harmony with one another. 

And thou hast seen how goodness turned fleeing afterwards 

From the people, with the jlight of hastening winds." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Musa-b-Talhah, that he said, " I 
saw Othman go forth on a Friday wearing two yellow coloured garments, 
and take his station at the pulpit, and the Muaddin was calling to prayers, 
while he was conversing, asking the people concerning their current prices 
and their news, and the sick among them." And from A'bdu'Uah ar 
Eumi, that Othman performed his ablutions at night himself, and it was 
said to him, " if thou didst order some of thy servants, they would 
suffice for thee." He replied, " no, the night is for them that they may 
repose therein." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of A'mr the son of Othman-b- 
A'ffan, that the impression on the signet ring of Othman was, " I believe 
in Him who hath created and completely formed his creatures," (Kur. 
LXXXVII). And Abu ISTua'ym in the " Dalail," from Ibn Omar, that 
Jahjah al Ghifdri stood up before Othman while he was preaching, and 
seized his staff out of his hand, broke it across his knee, but the year did 
not pass by, before the Lord sent upon his foot a gangrene, of which he 
died. 



On the thinffs in which he was foremost. 

AI A'skari says in the Awail that he. was the first who bestowed gifts 
of revenue lands, and the first who enclosed pasturage, and the first who 
lowered his voice in pronouncing the Takbir, and the first who embellished 
the mosque at Medina, and the first who commanded the first call to 
prayers on the Fridays, and the first who gave stipends to tCe callers to 
prayer. He was the first who became impeded in his speech in preaching, 
whereupon he exclaimed, " ye people, the first mounting is a hard task, 
but after to-day, there are yet days and if I live the discourse will come 
to ye after its wont — for we were never preachers, but the Lord will teach 
us." (Ibn Saa'd.) He was the first who made: the discourse precede 
prayers on the Eed, and the first who committed to the discretion of the 
people the payment of their poor-rates, and the first who governed the 
Caliphate during the lifetime of his mother, and the first who established 
a constabulary, and the first who set apart an enclosure in the mosque, in 
22 



[ 170 ] 

A. H. 35. ' fear lest there slaould befall him what befell Omar. Thus much is men- 
A D. 655-6. tioned by al A'skari. He adds, that the first occasion in which dissension 
fell among the people, and some accused others of error, was in his time, 
concerning the things for which they censured him — before that they dif- 
fered in matters of jurisprudence but did not accuse each other of error. 
I note that there remain of the things in which he was foremost, the 
following, viz., that he was the first of this people who emigrated with his 
family for the sake of God, as hath gone before, and the first who united 
the people upon one text in the reading of the Kurdn. Ibn A'sakir re- 
cords from Hakim-b-A'bbdd-b-Hanif that the first laxity that shewed 
itself in Medina when the world waxed prosperous and the fatness of men 
reached its height, was the flying of pigeons* and the shooting withf cross- 
bows. Othman appointed over this a man of the Banu Layth in the eighth 
year of his Caliphate, and he cut the wings of the pigeons and broke the 
hows. 

Among the distinguished people who died during Othman's time, were, 
Surakah-b-Malik-b-Ju'shum — Jabbar-b-Sakhr — Hatib-b-Abi Baltaa'h — 
I'yadh-b-Zuhayr. — Abu TJsayd as Sai'di — As-b-u's Samit — Harith-b- 
Naufal — A'hdu'Uah-b-Hudafah— Zayd-b-i^^harijah, he who spake after 
death — Labid the poet — Al Musayyab, the father of Sa'id — Mu'ad-b-A'mr 
b-'il Jamiih — Ma'bid-b-u'I A'bbas — Mu'aykab-b-Abi Fatimah ad Dausi — 
Abu Lababah-b-Abdi'l Mundir, Nua'ym-b-u'I Masa'ud al Ashja'i and 
others of the Companions ; and besides the Companions, Hutayah the poet, 
and Abu Duayb the poet, of the tribe of Hudayl. 



A'LI-B-ABI TA'LIB. 

A'li was the son of Abu Tdlib. The name of Abu Tdlib was A'bd 
Mandf, the son of Abdu'l Muttalib, whose name was Shaybah, the son of 
Hashim. Hashim's name was A'mr, son of A'bd Manaf, and the latter's 
name, al Mughirah, the son of Kusayy, whose name was Zayd-b..Kilab-b- 
Murrah-b-Kaa'b-b-Luayy-b-Ghalib-b-Fikr-b-Malik-b-Nadr-b-Kananah. Se 
was called Abu'l Hasan, and Abu Turab, which names the prophet 
gave him as surnames. His mother was Fatimah, the daughter of 
Asad, the son of Hashim, and she was the first Hashimite woman givino- 
birth to a Hashimi, that had been converted to Islam and taken part in 
the Flight. A'li was one oi Vne iQn io -vihom th^ attainment of VaxzAim 

* For wagers. 

t For ^ in the printed edition the MS. has 4j both forms are allowable. 



[ 171 ] 

was testified, and the brother of the Apostle of God in the J'raternal Union* A. H. 35. 
and his son-in-law through Fdtimah, the queen of womankind. He was A. D. 655-6. 
also one of the earliest converts to Isldm and one of the most learned 
doctors of divinity and renowned heroes and famous ascetics and most cele- 
brated preachers. He was one of those who collected the Kurdn and read 
it under the tuition of the Apostle of God, and Abu'l Aswad ad Duali,t 
Abu Abdu'r Rahman as Sulami,J and Abdu'r Eahmdn-b-Abi Laylah§ read 
under his tuition. 

He was the first Caliph of the Banu Hdshim and the father of the 
two grandsons of Muhammad. He embraced Islam early ; indeed Ibn 
A'bhas and Anas and Zayd-b-Arkam and Salman al Farisi, and others have 
said that he was the first who embraced Islam, and some say that there is 
a consensus for this. 

Abu Ya'la records on the authority of A'li that he said, " the Apostle of 
God was sent on his prophetic mission on Monday and I became a Muslim 
on the Tuesday." His age when he was converted was ten years and some 
say nine, and some eight, and others, under that." Al Hasan-b-Ziiyd-b-i'l 
Hasan says, that he never worshipped idols from his infancy. (Ibn Saa'd.) 
When the prophet fled to Medina, he commanded him to remain behind 
at Mecca for some days, in order to discharge for him certain trusts and 
charges and bequests which were incumbent on the prophet, and then join 
him with his family, and he did so and was present with the Apostle of 
God at Badr and Ohud and all the expeditions except Tabiik, for verily 
the prophet had appointed him his Vicegerent at Medina. Throughout 
all these operations, his services were conspicuous, and the prophet gave 
him the standard to ca/rry on many battle-fields. Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab 
says that A'li received on the day of Ohud sixteen wounds. It is estab- 
lished in the Sahihayn that the prophet gave him the standard on the day 
of Khaybar and told him that victory would be at his hands. The accounts 
of his bravery, and his services in the wars are well-known. 

" A'li was advanced in years, stout, bold, very hairy, of middle stature, 
inclining to shortness, full-bellied, with a very large beard white as cotton 
which filled the space between the shoulders, and very tawny-complexioned. 

* Muhammad united tiie Fugitives and Auxiliaries in the brotlierhood of Islam, 
each man taking a brother. Muhammad's choice was A'U. Hamzah took Zayd-h- 
Harith — and Jaa'far AU's brother, took Muad-b-Jabal. For the rest consult Ibn 
Hisham. 

t A'bu'l Aswad Dhalim-b-A'mr-b-Sufyan Kadhi of Basrah of which town he 
was a native. He was one of the Tabi'is and the first who gave lectures on grammar. 
An Nawawi. 

X See note * p. 156. 

§ See note % p. 45. 



[ 172 ] 

A. H. 35. Jabir-b-A'bdu'llah says that A'li on the day of Khaybar, carried the gate- 
A. D. 655-6. upon his back, so that the Muslims got upon it and took the fort, and 
indeed they dragged the gate afterwards, but it took forty men to lift it. 
(Ibn A'sakir.) Ibn Ishak has recorded in the Maghazi and Ibn A'sakir, 
on the authority of Abu Eafi',* that he said, " A'li seized a gate near the 
fort, the fort of Khaybar, and used it as a buckler to guard himself, and 
it continued in his hand while he was fighting, until the Lord gave us the 
victory. Then he cast it from him, and verily I know that we eight men 
tried to turn over the same gate, and we were not able to turn it over." 
Al Bukhari narrates in the Adab on the authority of Sahl-b-Saa'd, 
that the dearest of his own names to A'li was Abu Turab, and that he 
was well pleased to be called by it. It was the prophet alone who named 
him Abu Turab, and that because, one day being angry with Fatimah, 
he went forth and lay down by the wall in the mosque, and the prophet 
came up, and verily A'li's back was covered with dust The prophet there- 
fore began to brush the dust from his back and to say, " sit up, father 
of dust." {^Abu Turab.) Five hundred and eighty-six traditions are ascrib- 
ed to him, on the direct authority of the Apostle of God, and traditions 
have been related on his authority by his three sons, al Hasan, al Husayn, 
and Muhammad-b-u'l Hanafiyah ; — by Ibn Masa'ud and Ibn Omar, — Ibn 
A'bbas — Ibn uz Zubayr — Abu Musa — Abu Sa'id— Zayd-b-Arkam — Jabir- 
b-Abdu'Uah, — Abu Imamah — Abu Hurayrah and others of the Companions 
and Tabi'is, upon all of whom be the approbation of God. 



On the traditions transmitted regarding Ms merit. 

The Imam Ahmad-b-Hanbal says, "there hath not come down to us 
regarding the merits of any one of the Companions of the Apostle of God, 
what hath been transmitted concerning A'li." (Al Hakim.) The two 
Shaykhs record on the authority of Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas, that the Apostle 
of God left A'li-b- Abi Talib behind as his Vicegerent during the expedition 
of Tabuk, and A'li said, " Apostle of God, dost thou leave me behind 
among the women and children ?" He replied, "art thou not content to 
be to me in the relation of Aaron to Moses, save that there shall be no 
prophet after me ?" And from Sahl-b-Saa'd that the Apostle of God said 
on the day of Khaybar, " I wiU surely give the standard to-morrow to a 
man, at whose hands the Lord will give victory, one who loveth God and 

* " Abu Eafe" says Gibbon with characteristic humour in relating this story, 
" was an eye-witnesa, but who shall be witness for Abu Uafo f" 



[ 173 ] 

His prophet and whom God and His prophet love," and the people passed A. H. 35. 
the night in perplexity as to the one among them to whom it would be A. D. 655-6. 
given. And when they entered upon the dawn, they went early to the 
Apostle of God, each qfall of them hoping that it would be given to him, 
but he said, " where is A'li the son of Abu Talib ?" They said to him, 
" he complaineth of pain in his eyes." He replied " then send for him ;" 
and they brought him and the Apostle of God spat upon his eyes and 
prayed for him, and he was healed so that it was as if he had no pain, 
and he gave him the standard. Muslim records on the authority of Saa'd- 
b-Abi Wakkas, that when this verse, "Let us all together, our sons and 
your sons," (Kur. Ill), was revealed, the Apostle of God summoned A'li 
and Fatimah, and al Hasan and al Husayn, said, " God, these are my 
family." And al Tirmidi^ from the prophet, that he said, " he whose friend 
I have been, A'li is also his friend ;" and in some of the readings there is 
this addition, " God, befriend him who is a friend to A'li and, be an 
enemy to him who is an enemy to A'li ;" and in a tradition of Ahmad from 
Abu Tufayl* the latter says, " A'li assembled the people in the enclosure 
before the mosque, and said, ' I ask in the name of God, of every Muslim 
that heard the Apostle of God speak on the day of Ghadir Khumm,t 
what he said, when he arose.' Then there stood up before him thirty of 
the people, and they bare witness that the Apostle of God said, ' he whose 
friend I have been, A'li is also his friend, — God, befriend whomsoever is 
a friend to him, and be an enemy to him who is his enemy.' " And at Tir- 
nidi and al Hakim, verified, on the authority of Buraydah, that the Apos- 
tle of God said, ." verily the Lord enjoined upon me the love of four men, 
and declared unto me that He loved them." They said to him, " Apostle 
of God, name them to us.'' He replied, ''A'li is among them;" (this lie 
said three times), " and Abu Darr and Mikdad and Salman." And at Tir- 
, nidi, an Nasai, and Ibn Majah from Hubshi-b-Junadah,J that the Apostle 
of God said, " A'li is a part of me and I of A'li." And at Tirmidi from 
Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God united his Companions in a fraternal 
union, and A'li approached with his eyes filled with tears, and said, " 

* Atu Tufayl A'amir-'b-'Watliilah.-'b-A'bdi'llali one of the Companions. Accord- 
ing to Muslim lie died A. H. 100, the last of the Companions. Ibn Hajr. 

t A pool near Juhfah between Mecca and Medina ; it received the name of Khumm 
from a dyer so called, according to Zamakshari. The SHias assert that it was here 
that Muhammad preached and constituted A'li his successor by his words that follow. 
Mawla may signify master as well as friend, and is thoir interpretation of the 
tradition. 

% ^ubshi-b-Junadah-b-Nasr-b-Imamah as Saluli, one of the Companions. He 
accompanied the Pilgrimage of Farewell and then settled at Kufah. According to al 
A'skari he took part in some of A'li's battles. Ibn Hajr. 



[ 174 ] 

A. TI. 35. Apostle of God, thou hast united in brotherhood thy Companions, but hast 
A. D. 655-6. not made a brotherhood between me and between any one," and the Apos- 
tle of God replied, " thou art my brother in this world and the next." 

Muslim records on the authority of A'li that he said, " by Him who 
hath cleft the seed and created the soul, verily the Illiterate prophet pro- 
Inised me, that none but a true believer should love me, and none but a 
hypocrite hate me." And at Tirmidi from Abii Sa'id al Khudri that he 
said, " we used to distinguish the hypocrites by their hatred to A'U." And 
at Tirmidi and al Hdkim from A'li, that the Apostle of God said, " I am 
the city of wisdom and A'li is its gate." This tradition is reasonably good, 
but not perfect, as al Hakim asserts, nor fabricated as a number of others, 
among them, Ibn Jauzi and an Nawawi maintain : indeed, I have explained 
its position in the appendices to the Fabricated Traditions. 

Al Hakim records and verifies on the authority of A'li, that he said, 
" the Apostle of God sent me to Yaman,* and I said, ' O Apostle of God, 
dost thou send me — and I a youth-^to judge between them, while I know 
not the office of a judge ?' and he struck my breast with . his hand and 
said, ' God,' direct him aright and confirm his tongue,' and by Him 
who hath cleft the seed, I never hesitated in my judgment between two 
parties." And Ibn Saa'd from A'li, that they said to him, " How is it that 
thou hast the most traditions of any of the Companions of the Apostle 
of God ?" He replied, " verily whenever I asked'of him he informed me, 
and when I was silent, he began a discourse with me." And from Abu 
Hurayrah, that Omar-b-u'l Khattab said, " A'li is the best of us in judi- 
cial decision." And from Ibn Masa'ud, that he said, " we used to declare 
that the best j udicial authority among the people of Medina, was A'li. ' ' And 
from Ibn A'bbas, " whenever a trustworthy person tells me a judgmentf 
of A'li's, I do not deviate from it." And from Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, that 
Omar-b-u'l Khattab used to beg God to preserve him from a perplexing 
case which the father of al Hasan was not present to decide ; and, that Omar 
said, " none of the Companions used to say ' ask ye of me,' except A'li." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn Masa'ud that the most 
learned of the people of Medina in the law of inheritance and in judicial 
decisions was A'li. And from Ayesha, that when A'li was mentioned to 
her, she said, " verily he is the most learned in the Sunnah that is left," 

* In A. H. 10, Muhammad sent A'li to Yaman to summon the people to Islam. 
He had already despatched Khalid-h-u'l "Wali'd, whose efforts had been unsuccessful 
On A'li's arrival, he read Muhammad's letter to the people of Yaman, and the whole 
tribe of Hamdin wore converted in a single day. The remainder shortly afterward, 
followed their example. Ibn u'l Athir. Kamil, Vol. II. 

t The MS. has ^i^*^ instead of ^^Jt of the printed edition. 



[ 175 ] 

Masriik* says that the wisdom of the Companions culminated in Omar, A. H 35. 
A'li, Ibn Masa'dd and A'bdu'Uah. . A. D. 655-6. 

A'bdu'llah-b-Ayyash-b'iA'bi Eabii'h says that A'li had an exceedingly 
biting tooth for knowledge, and be had pre-eminence by reason of his 
family connections, and priority in Islam, and his being the son-in-law of 
the Apostle of God, and his knowledge of the Sunnah, and intrepidity 
in war and liberality with his wealth. At Tabarani records in the Ausat 
on a weak ascription from Jabir-b-A'bdi'llah, that the Apostle of God 
said, " the people are of various stocks but I and A'li are of one stock." 
And at Tabarani and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn A'bbas that he said, " the 
Lord never revealed the wordsf ' O true believers' but that A'li was imder- 
stood to he, the lord and chief of them, and verily the Lord hath reproved 
the Companions of the prophet in various places, but hath never men- 
tioned A'li save with approval." And Jbn A'sakir from Ibn A'bbas that 
there hath not been revealed in the Book of God regarding any one what 
hath been revealed concerning A'li, and that three hundred verses have 
been revealed concerning A'li. 

Al Bazzar records on the authority of Saa'd, that the Apostle of 
God said to A'li, " it is not lawful for any one to be in the mosque, while 
under the obligation of performing a total ablution except for me and for 
thee." And at TabarAni records and al Hakim likewise, verifying on the 
authority of Umm Salmah that she said, " when the Apostle of God 
was angered, none dared speak to him but A'li." And from Ibn Mas'ald 
that the prophet said, " to look upon A'li is devotion." And at fabarani 
in the Ausat from Ibn A'bbas that he said, " A'li possessed eighteen 
eminent qualities which belonged to no other of this people." And Abu 
Ya'la from Abu Hurayrah that Omar-b-u'l Khattab said, " verily A'li 
hath been endowed, with three qualities, of which had I but one, it would 
^be more precious to me than were I given high bred camels." It was 
asked of him what they were ; he replied, " his marriage with Fatimah, 
daughter of the prophet, his remaining in the mosque while that is per- 
mitted to him which is not lawful for me, and his carrying the standard 
on the day of Khaybar." And Ahmad and Abu Ya'la according to a 
sound ascription from A'li that he said, " I have never had a disorder of 
the eyes, nor an ache of the head, since the Apostle of God, drew his hand 
over my face, and spat upon my eyes on the day of Khaybar when he gave 
me the standard." And Abu Ya'la and al Bazzar from Saa'd-b-Abi Wak- 

* Abu Ayesha Masruk b-u'l Ajdaa' of Kufah one of tlie Tabi'is. He is regarded 
as an autbentio relator of traditions and was devoted to tbe aoq^uisition of knowledge, 
died A. H. 62-3. An Uawawi. 

t Kur, XXXIII ^assm. 



[ 176 ] 

A. H. 35. kas, that the Apostle of God said, " who grieveth A'li, grieveth me." And 

A, D. C55-6. at Tabarani. according to a sound ascription from U'mm Salmah, that the 

Apostle of God said, " he who hath loved Ali, verily he hath loved me, 

and who hath hated A'li, verily he hath hated me, and who hath hated me, 

verily he hath hated the Lord." 

Ahmad records and al Hakim verifying it on the authority of Umm 
Salmah that she narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God say, ' he who hath 
reviled A'li, verily he hath reviled me.' " And from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, 
that the Apostle of God said to A'li, " verily thou wilt do battle for the 
Kuran, as thou hast done battle for its revelation." Al Bazzar, Abu Ta'la 
and al Hakim record from A'li, that he said, " the Apostle of God sum- 
moned me and said, ' verily there is in thee a similitude to Jesus — 
the Jews hated Him to that degree that they slandered His mother, 
and the Nazaranes so loved Him, that they gave Him a dignity that He 
hath not, — now verily, by reason of me two classes of men shall perish — 
the enthusiastic partizan that speaketh in extravagant praise of what is not 
in me, and the enemy whose hatred of me bringeth him to slander me.' " 

At Tabarani records in the Ausat and Saghir* from Umm Salmah 
that she narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God say, ' A'li is with the 
Kuran and the Kuran with A'li — they shall not be divided until they 
arrive at the fountain of Kauihar in Paradise.'' " And Ahmad and al Ha- 
kim from A'mmar-b-Yasir, according to a sound ascription that the pro- 
phet said to A'li — "the most miserable of mankind are two men — the fair 
man of the tribe of Thamudf who hamstrung the camel, and he who 
shall smite thee, A'li, upon this (meaning the top of his head) until this, 
(meaning his beard) shall be moistened with its blood." And al Hakim 
records, verifying it on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri, that he said, 
" the people complained of A'li, and the Apostle of God arose among us 
preaching and exclaimed, ' complain not of A'li, for by Allah, verily he is^ 
somewhat rough in respect of that which is due to God, and for the sake 
of God.' " 

Ibn Saa'd says that allegiance was sworn to A'li as Caliph, the day 

after the murder of Othman, at Medina, and all those of the Companions 

who were there acknowledged him, and he adds that Talhah and az Zuhayr 

swore allegiance unwillingly, and not of free accord. They subsequently 

departed for Mecca where Ayesha was, and they took her and went forth 

' with her to Basrah seeking vengeance for the blood of Othman, This 

reaching A'li, he set out for Irak, and met at Ba§rah, "Talhah, az Zuhayr, 

and Ayesha and those that were with them. This was the battle of the 

Camel which took place in Jumada'l Akhirah in the year 36 A. H. In it 

• See Sale, notes/, g. h. page 1^4. The man's name Was Kedar. 

t See Note t, p. 13. 



[ 177 ] 

were slain Talhah and az Zubayr and others, and the slain amounted to -^- H. 36. 
thirteen thousand, and A'li remained at Basrah fifteen nights and then set -A-. B. 650-7. 
forth for Kiif ah. After this Mu'awiyah-b-A'bi Suf yan and those that were 
with him in Syria, rose against him, and the news reached A'li and he 
marched forth and they met at Siffin in Safar of the year 37. The en- 
gagement lasted for days, and the men of Syria lifted up the Kurans on 
the points of their lances demanding their rights therein contained, a 
stratagem of A'mr-b-u'l Aas. The people were thus loth to fight and 
clamoured together for a reconciliation, and they appointed two arbitrators. 
A'li appointed Abu Musa al Asha'ri, and Mu'awiyah, A'mr-b-u'l A'as,.and 
they wrote between them a document to the effect that they should meet 
at the beginning of the year al Adruh* and consider concerning the gov- 
ernment of the nation. The people then separated and Mu'awiyah re- 
turned to Syria and A'li to Kiifah. Then there arose against him schis- 
matics from among his companions and those that were with him, and they 
said, " judgment belongeth only to God," and they encamped at Hardra. 
A'li sent to them Ibn A'bbas, and he contended with them and convinced 
them by argument, and a large body of them returned, but some remained 
firm and marched to an Nahrawan and obstructed the road, A'li then 
went out against them and overthrew them at an Nahrawan, and among 
them was slain Du at Thudayyah,t and that was in the year 35. And the 
people assembled at Adruh in Shaa'ban of that year, and Saa'd-b-Abi Wak- 
kas and Ibn Omar, and others of the Companions were present. A'mr 
cunningly gave precedence of himselfj to Abu Miisa who spoke and deposed 
A'li ; then A'mr spoke and confirmed M'uawiyah and swore allegiance to 
him. The people separated upon this, and Ali thus became opposed to his 
Companions, so that he bit his finger with rage and said, " I have been re- 
belled against and Mu'awiyah is submitted to." Then there gathered 
together three men of the schismatics, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Muljam al Mu- 

* In the district El-Belka in Syria. 

t This person, whose real name is not given by Ibn Hajr, lived in the time of 
Muhammad, and -^as noted for his exceeding devotion and piety though not a Muslim, 
Muhammad said that he was diabolically possessed, and Abu Bakr and Omar went 
into hia house to kill him, but finding him in prayer, withdrew. He was found 
among the slain at Nahrawan, and he is said to have resembled a Nubian in appear- 
ance with one breast like that of a woman (hence his name) upon which were small 
hairs like that upon the tail of the Jerboa. Ibn Hajr. 

X When the two Arbitrators met , they agreed that each should depose his master, 
and then proceed to adjudicate their respective claims. A'mr pleading the seniority 
and age of Abu Mdsa, courteously insisted on his initiating the deposition, which hav- 
ing been done, A'mr declared that since one of the claimants had renounced his pre- 
tensions, the best course to pursue was to confirm the other which was accordingly 
done. 

23 



[ 178 ] 

A. H. 37. i-adi, and al Burk-b-A'bdi'llali at Tamimi, and A'mr-b-Bukayr at Tamimi, 
A. D. 657-8. and they i^et at Mecca, and entered into a covenant and bound them- 
selves by a league that they would certainly slay those three, A'li-b-Abi 
Talib, Mu'awiyah-b-Abi Sufyan, and Amr-u'l A'as, and free the people 
from them ; and Ibn Muljam said, " I will take Ali for ye," and al Burk 
said, " I will take Mu'awiyah for ye," and A'mr-b-Bukayr said, " I will 
suffice for ye for A'mr-b-u'l A'as." And they pledged themselves that it 
should be on the same night, the night of the 11th or the 17th of Rama- 
dhan. Then they went each of them to the city where his man was, and 
Ibn Muljam arrived at Kufah, and met his companions of the schismatics, 
but he concealed from them what they intended to do on the night of 
Friday the 17th of Eamadhan of the year 40. And A'li awoke in the 
morning and said to his son al Hasan, " I saw in the night the Apostle of 
God, and I said, ' Apostle of God, what have I not met at the hands of 
thy people, of oppression and contention ?' and he said to me, ' call the 
curse of God. upon them.' And I said, 'O God, give in exchange be- 
tween me and them their good to me, and take in exchange between 
them and me my evil, for them.' Upon this Ibn u'l Nabbah the Muaddin 
entered, and exclaimed, ' to prayers,' and A'li went forth from the door 
crying out, ' O people — to prayers — to prayers' and Ibn Muljam came 
before him, and smote him with a sword, and it struck the top of his fore- 
head and reached his brain. Then the people rushed upon him from every 
side, and seized and bound him. And A'li lingered Friday and Saturday, 
and died on Saturday night* (2lst January 661) and al Hasan, al Husayn 
and A'bdu'llah-b- Jaa'f a] bathed him, and al Hasan read prayers over him, and 
he was buried in the night in the palace at Klifah. The limbs of Ibn Mul- 
jam were cut off, and he was put into an osier basket and burnt in the fire." 
This is the whole narrative of Ibn Saa'd, ai^^ verily he has done well in 
his account of this event, and has not amplified his narrative as others 
have done, for it is more suitable for this occasion. Muhammad has said 
" when my Companions are mentioned, refrain from speaking" — and he 
adds, " sufficient for my Companions, is the mention of their death."t 

In the Mustadrak, it is recorded on the authority of as Suddi,t that 

* Weil notices that thougli Friday the 17th of Ramadhan A. H. 40 is generallv 
stated to he the day on which A'li was wounded, the 17th of the month actually fell 
on a Sunday. He thinks it prohahle that the day of his death was ia later times con- 
founded with that on which he was stahhed. 

t Without details regarding the manner of it. Such is the only sense I can ex- 
tract from the passage. The MS. has JUwf tjla^l which is to me unintelligible. 

X The Professor Abu Muhammad Hibat-u'UAh-b-Sahl-h-Omar, al Bastftmi, gener- 
ally known as Suddi. IIo explained the Muwatta of Malik to al Muwayj'ad at 
Tiisi. IbulihaU. 



[ 179 J 

A'bdu'r Rahman-bMuljam al Muradi loved a woman of tlie Schismatics A. H. 40. 
called Katam, and he married her and assigned for her dowry three thou- ^ D. (joi. 
sand dirhams and the slaying of A'li. With reference lo this al b'arazdak* 
has said, 

" I have not seen a dowry sent by a generous man 

Like unto tha dowry of !^Catam, manifest — not obscure. 

Three thousand dirhams, and a slave and a maid 

And the smiting of A'li with a cleaving sword. 

For there is no dowry be it ever so costly, costlier than A'li : 

And no criminal violence but is less than the violence of Ibn Muljam.f" 

Abu Bakr-b-A'yyash says, that the grave of A'li was kept concealed 
in order that the Schismatics might not dig it up, and Sharik states that 
his son al Hasan carried him to Medina. Al MubarradJ states on the 
authority of Muhammad-b-Habib, that the first who was transferred from 
one grave to another was A'li. 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Sa'id-b-Abdi'l A'ziz, that when 
A'li was slain, they took him to bury him by the apostle of God, and while 
they were on their road one night, lo ! the camel upon which he was borne, 
fled away and it was not known whither it went, nor could they overtake 
it, and for this reason the people of I'rak say that he is in the clouds. 
Others assert that the camel came into the land of Tayy, and they took 
the hoSy and buried it. A'li when he was slain was sixty-three years of 
age, and some say sixty-four, and sixty-five and fifty-seven, and fiftif-eight. 
He had nineteen concubines. 

* Atu Fira3 Hammam-'b-GhalilD-b-Sa'sa'a, a celetrated poet of the tribe of Tamim. 
The anoedotes told of him are very numerous ; the reader should consult Ibn Khali 
who has a long article on his wit and adventures, the latter not very reputable. He 
died at Basrah A. H. 110 (728-9) at the age of nearly a hundred. His surname Faraz- 
dak (lump of dough) was given him on account of his ugly face. 

t I do not foUow M. Barbier de Eeynard in his rendering of this passage : " TJne 
ame, si energique quelle soit vaut-elle 1' ame d' Ibn Moldjem." Les Praiiies d 'Or. 
Tom. IV. p. 428. 

X Abu'l A'bbas Muljammad-h-Yazid known as al Mubarrad, a distinguished gram- 
marian. Ha resided at Baghdad and composed numerous works on literary subjects 
such as al Kamil, arEoudhah and al Muktadhib. He was a contemporary of Thaa'lah — 
the author of the Fasih, and with them terminated the series of the great philologers. 
He was horn A. H. 210 (826) and died at Baghdad A..H. 286 (899). His surname al 
Muharrad was given to him from his having been concealed in the wicker case of a 
large water jar ; his friend who had concealed him there to avoid an importunate 
visitor in search of him, called out as soon as the latter had gone, al Mubarrad, al Mu- 
barrad ! ( Who wants cool water). Ibn Khali. 



A. H. 40. 
A. D. 661. 



[ i«o 1 



On some of the accotmts of A'li, Ids judicial decisions and 



Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of al Hasan that he said, that 
■when A'li entered Basrah there stood up before him Ibn u'l Kawwa, and 
5ays-b-A'bbad, and said, " wilt thou not inform us concerning this course 
of thine on which thou goest, assuming authority over the people, involving 
them in confusion ? was it a charge of the apostle of God, that he laid 
upon thee ? tell us — for thou art firm and undeviating with regard to what 
thou hast heard." And he said, " as to there being on me a charge from 
the Apostle of God, concerning that, — no — by Allah — surely if I was the 
first to maintain that he spoke truth, I will not be the first to put a lie 
upon him, and if I had received from the prophet a charge regarding that, 
I would not have suffered a brother* of the children of Taym the son of 
Murrah, nor Omar the son of al Khattab, to stand upon his pulpit, and I 
would surely have fought them with my own hand, even though I had not 
got but this my garment ; but the apostle of God was not slain mur- 
derously, nor did he die suddenly, but he lingered some days and nights in 
his illness, the Muaddin coming to him and summoning him to prayers. 
And he commanded Abu Bakr to pray before the people, though he knew 
my high consideration, and verily a woman among his wives desired to turn 
him from Abu Bakr, but he refused and was angered and said, " ye are the 
mistresses of Joseph — direct Abil Bakr to pray before the people." 

And when the Lord took his prophet, we looked into our affairs, and 
chose for our temporal interests, him whom he had approved for our reli- 
gious affairs, for prayers were the fundamental principle of Islam and Abd 
Bakr was the chief of the faith and the pillar of the faith. We therefore 
swore allegiance unto Abii Bakr, and he was worthy of it, not two of us 
being at variance over him, and none of us gave testimony against another, 
nor denied his privilege. I therefore discharged unto Abu Bakr his due, 
and acknowledged obedience to him and fought on his side in his armies 
and I ever accepted what he bestowed upon me and fought when he 
sent me to war and inflicted in his presence the prescribed castiga- 
tion for offences with my scourge. And when he was taken away, 
Omar assumed the Caliphate and governed it according to the in- 
stitutes of his Companion and what he knew of his polity. And 
we swore allegiance unto Omar, not two of us being at vai-iance over him, 

* Abu Bakr. 



[ 181 ] 

and none of us gave testimony against another, nor denied his privilege. A. H. 40. 
I therefore discharged unto Omar his due and acknowledged obedience to A. D. 661. 
him and fought on his side in his armies, and I ever accepted what 
he bestowed upon me, and fought when he sent me to war, and in- 
flicted in his presence the prescribed castigation for offences with my 
scourge. And wlien he was taken away, I bethought me of my connec- 
tions,' and my priority in Islam, and my precedence and my merit, and I 
considered that Omar would not hold any one equal to me, but he feared 
that the Caliph after him would not commit a fault but it would attach 
to him in his grave, therefore he withdrew from it, himself and his son, 
and if there had been any partiality on his part he would surely have 
chosen his son for it, but he threw the responsibility of it from himself 
on to a party of the Kuraysh, six in number, I being one of them. And 
when the party assembled, I thought that they would not hold any one 
equal to me, and A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'uf took our engagements that we 
should hear and obey whomsoever the Lord should place over our affairs. 
Then he took Othman the son of A'ffan by the hand, and struck liis own 
hand upon his hand, and I regarded my own conduct, and lo ! my sub- 
mission had already preceded my allegiance, and behold my engagement 
had been taken for another. We therefoi'e swore allegiance unto Othman, 
and I discharged unto him his due, and acknowledged obedience to him, 
and fought on his side in his armies and I ever accepted what he bestowed 
upon me and fought when he sent me to war, and inflicted in his presence, 
the prescribed castigation for offences with my sourge. And when he was 
slain, I considered my own affairs, and lo ! the two Vicegerents who had 
assumed the government by virtue of the command of the Apostle of 
God unto them to read prayers, had passed away, and this one for whom 
the engagement had been taken, verily, was slain, therefore the people of 
Mecca and Medina and the men of these two cities,* swore allegiance unto 
me — but there hath usurped the government, one who is not like unto me 
and whose kinship is not as my kinship, nor his knowledge like unto my 
knowledge, nor his priority in the faith like unto my priority, and I had 
more claim to it than he." 

Abu Nua'ym records in the Dalail, on the authority of the father of 
Jaa'far-b- Muhammad, that two men having an altercation, were brouo-ht 
before A'li who sat himself at the foot of a wall, and a man said to him 
" the wall will fall down," and A'li said, " Go to — God is a sufficient 
protector," and he decided between them, and arose, and then the wall 
fell. 



* Eajrah and Kufah. 



[ 182 ] 

A. H. 40. It is recorded in the " Tuyuriyat" with its ascription to the same 

A. D. 661. authority, that a man said to A'li, " we hear thee say in thy preaching 
'0 God make me righteous with that through which thou hast made 
righteous the orthodox Vicegerents, the rightly guided.' Who then are 
they ?" And his eyes filled with tears and he said, " they are my two 
friends Abu Bakr and Omar, the Imams of salvation, the two elders of 
Islam, and the two men of the Kuraysh who are followed after the Apostle 
of God. He who followeth those two, is preserved, and whoso goeth 
after their footsteps is directed aright over the Straight Bridge ahove Hell, 
and he who cleaveth unto those two he is of the company of the Lord." 
And A'bdu'r Bazzak records on the authority of Hujr al Madari, that he 
narrates, " A'li said to me, ' how will it go with thee when thou art ordered 
to curse me ?' I said, ' will that come to pass ?' He said, ' yes ;' I 
answered ' then what shall I do ?' He said, ' curse me, but do not renounce 
me.' He adds, — ' and Muhammad-b-Yusuf, the brother of al Hajjaj, 
who was governor of Yaman ordered me to curse A'li' and I said, ' the 
prince hath commanded me to curse A'li, therefore curse ye him with the 
curse of God,' and no one comprehended it but one man." 

At Tabarani records in the Ausat and Abu Nua'ym in the Dalail on 
the authority of Zaddn, that A'li was relating a tradition when a maa 
accused him of speaking falsely, and A'li said to him, " shall I curse thee 
if 1 have lied?" and he said, '• curse," and A'li cursed him, and he did not 
quit the place till his sight left him. And from Zirr-b-Hubaysh* that two 
men were sitting down, eating their morning meal, and one of the two had 
five loaves, and the other three loaves, and when they had placed the meal 
before them, a man passed and saluted them and they said, " sit down and 
eat," and he sat down and eat with them, and they shared equally in their 
meal the eight loaves, and the man arose and threw to them eight dirhams 
and said, " take these in exchange for what I have eaten belonging to ye 
two and have received of your food." They then quarrelled over it and the 
owner of the five loaves said, " for me are five dirhams and for thee three," 
and the owner of the three loaves exclaimed, " I shall not agree unless 
the dirhams are divided equally between us ;" and they took their case 
before A'li the prince of the Faithful and related to him their adventure, 
and he said to the owner of the three, " verily thy companion hath offered 
to thee what he hath offered, and his loaves were more than thine, there- 
fore be content with three." But he replied, " by Allah, I will not be 
satisfied with him except in my exact due." And A'li said, " in baie right 
thou shouldst have only one dirham and he seven dirhams." And the 

* Aba Maryant Zirr-b-IJubaysh, n native of Kfifah one of the Tabi'is. lie was 
■born in the time of Ignorance and died A, H. 82. An Niiwawi. 



[ 183 ] 

man said, " Good God !" and A'U answered, " that is so." The other said, A. H. 40. 
'' inform me of the grounds of this being my bare right, that I may A. D. 661. 
acquiesce in it." A'li answered, " are there not in eight loaves, four and 
twenty thirds which ye have eaten and ye are three men ? and it is not 
known who is the greatest eater amongst ye and who the least, you will 
therefore be considered in your eating as equal." He went on, " now thou 
hast eaten eight-thirds, and verily thou hadst but nine-thirds, and thy 
companion eat eight-thirds, and Ije owned fifteen-thirds of which he eat 
eight — there remain of his, therefore, seven which the owner of the dir- 
hams eat, and he eat of what belonged to thee one out of nine. There- 
fore for thee is one for thy one, and for him seven. " And the man ex- 
claimed " now I am content." 

Ibn A'bi Shaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority of A'ta 
that a man was brought before A'li and two men testified against him that 
he had committed theft, whereupon A'li tools up a certain case in which 
the people were concerned and threatened false witnesses . and said, "a 
false witness was never brought before me but I did to him such and such 
a thing." Then he summoned the two witnesses but could not find them, 
wherefore he let the accused go. 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of an ascription to the father of 
Jaa'far-b-Muhammad that the signet ring of A'li was of stamped coin, 
the impression on it being " excellent is the Omnipotent God." And from 
A'mr the son of Othman-b-A'ffan that the impression on the signet ring 
of A'li was, " the kingdom is the Lord's." And from al Madaini,* that when 
A'li entered Ktifah, one of the wise men of the Arabs went in to him and 
said, " by Allah, O prince of the Faithful, verily thou hast adorned the 
Caliphate, but it hath not adorned thee, and thou hast exalted it, but it 
hath not exalted thee, and it was more in need of thee than thou of it." 
And from Mujammi', that A'li used to sweep out the public treasury and 
then pray within it, in the hope that it would be testified in his favour 
that he did not keep the state property within it withheld from the 
Muslims. 

Abu'l Kasim al Zajjaji narrates in his Dictations, that he had been 
told that the father of Abu'l Aswad said, " I went in unto the prince of 
the Faithful A'li and found him looking down in deep thought and I said 
to him " what art thou thinking over prince of the Faithful ?" He replied, 

* Atu'l Hasan A'li-b-Muhammad a native of Madain, a client by enfranchise- 
ment (Mawla) to the family of A'bd Shams-b-A'bd Manaf. He was bom A. H. 135 
(752-3) and died A. H. 225 (839-40.) He wrote upwards of twenty works on Mu 
hammad, and a number on the history of the §;uraysh, and the Umayyad and Abba- 
side Caliphs and other subjects. De Slane, Ibn Khali. 



[ 184 ] 

A. H. 40. ' " verily I have beard in this your city a faulty pronunciation of the 
A. D. 661. vowels ; I was therefore thinking of composing a work on the principles 
of the Arabic language." I exclaimed, " if thou doest this thou wilt give 
us life, and this language will be presei-ved amongst us." Three days after- 
wards I went to him, and he threw me a writing in which was, " In the 
name of God, the most Merciful the most Compassionate. Speech consists 
entirely of nouns, verbs and particles. A noun is that which denotes the 
thing named, and a verb is that which denotes the actiom named, and a, 
particle is that which expresses a signification, being neither a noun nor a 
verb." Then he said, " examine it and add to it what may occur to thee : 
know, O Abu'l Aswad, that objects are of three kinds, expressed, under- 
stood, and what is neither expressed nor understood, and verily the learned 
have vied with each other in the definition of what is neither expressed nor 
understood." Abu'l Aswad continues, " then I collected accordingly some 
parts of speech and showed them to him. Among them were particles 
governing the accusative. Of these I mentioned " verily" and " that,"* 
and " would that," and " perhaps" and " as if," but I did not include 
" but." He said to me " why hast thou omitted it ?" I replied, " I did not 
count it among them." He said, " yes it is among them, therefore add it 
to them." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Eabii'h-b-Najid that A'li 
said, " be among men like the bee among birds, for there is none among 
the birds but thinks them insignificant, but if the birds knew what of good 
there is in their bellies, they would not think thus of them. Mix with 
the people with your tongues and persons and separate yourselves from 
them in deeds and in your hearts, for verily to a man shall be given that 
which he hath earned, and he shall appear at the day of resurrection with 
him whom he loveth." And from A'li that he said, " give ye a more urgent 
heed to the acceptance tefore Ood of your works rather than to the 
works themselves, for verily an action accompanied by the fear of God is 
not of little account, for how can an action accepted by God, be of light 
estimation ?"t 

And from Yahya-b-Jua'dahJ that A'li said, " O ye bearers of the 
Kuran, act ye according to it, for he is a wise man who hath understood 
and acted according as he hath understood, and whose knowledge hath 
accorded with his works, and it shall come to pass that there shall be sects 

* The MS. has also vy' " certainly not." 

t The text of the printed edition is here incorrect for '•^i read '-'•*':! and for 
iJ^SJ^ read clkflA^ 

J Of the Kuraysh descended from Mabhzum, one of the Tabi'is. He was son of 
A'li'a sister. An Nawawi. 



[ 185 ]. 

carrying a knowledge that goeth not beyond their coUar-bonea, whose dis- A. H. 40. 
position is at variance with their exterior show, and whose works are A. D. 661. 
opposed to their understanding, sitting in a circle contending for superi- 
ority one with another, until a man will be wroth with his neighbour that 
he should sit by another than himself and leave him — such as these, their 
works in these their assemblies shall not ascend to God." And from A'li, 
"the grace of God is the be'st guide, a good disposition the best companion, 
wisdom the best friend, and good breeding the best inheritance, and there is 
nothing more hateful than pride." And on the authority of al Harith that a 
man went to A'li and said, " tell me what is Tate." He replied, " it is a 
gloomy road — tread it not." He asked again, " tell me what is Fate." He 
said, " it is a deep sea — enter not upon it." Again he asked, " tell me what 
is Fate." He replied, " it is a mystery of God's which is hidden from thee, 
therefore seek not to penetrate it." He asked again, "tell me what is Fate." 
He exclaimed, " questioner, hath the Lord created thee for what He 
hath willed, or what thou hath willed ?" He replied " indeed for what 
He hath willed." Ali answered, " Then He will use thee as He thinketh 
fit." 

He also records of the sayings of A'li.* 
" Misfortunes have their terminations. When any one is in misfor- 
tune, it must be that it will have an end : therefore it behoveth the wise 
man when distress cometh upon him, to submit to it until its time is ac- 
complished, for verily in repeUing it before the fulfilment of its term, there 
is an increase to its calamities." 

It was said to A'li, " what is generosity ?" He replied, " that from 
which the iniative proceedeth, for what cometh after a request is liberality 
and munificence." 

A man went to A'li and praised him and spoke extravagantly, and it 
happened that A'li had heard somewhat of him before that, so he said to 
him, " verily I am not as thou sayest, yet I am above that which is in thy 
heart." 

" The punishment of sin is lukewarmness in devotion, and straitness 
of means, and the lessening of enjoyment. A lawful appetite is not sought 
to be gratified, but there cometh that which diminisheth it." 

A man said to A'li, and he secretly hated him, " may the Lord make 
thee firmly established." A'li replied, " upon thy heart," (on the authority 
of Ibn Eabii'h). 



* A collection of one hundred and sixty-nine moral sentences, attributed to A'li 
is given by Ockley. See. Hist. Sar. p. 339. 
24 



[ 186 ] 

A. H. 40. Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman used to versify * but A'li was tbe best 

A. D. 661. poet of the three. (As Shaa'bi.) 

He records likewise oa the authority of Nabit al Ashja'i that A'li 

spoke this verse. 

f 
" When hearts contain despair, 

And the spacious breast is stifled by what is within it, 

And cares make their abode and repose, 

And sorrows anchor in their habitations, 

And no way is seen for the dispelling of distress, 

And the stratagem of the cunning availeth not, 

There shall come to thee in thy despair a helper 

Whom the Answerer of prayer who is nigh, shall bring. 

For all sorrows when they have reached their term, 

There is linked to them an approaching joy." 

And on the authority of as Shaa'bi, that A'li said to a man to whom 
the society of another man was displeasing — 

" Consort not with a foolish brother, beware of him : 
For how many a fool hath corrupted the gentle when he hath frater- 
nised with him ! 
A man is judged by the man with whom he consorteth ; 
For there are comparisons and similitudes for one thing vrith another. 
The measure of a sandal is made when it is matched with it. 
And the evidence of the feeling of one heart towards another is when 

they meet." 
And from al Mubarrad that upon the sword of A'li was inscribed — 
" Men lust after the world and plot for it, 
Yet its clearness is mingled for thee with impurities. 
They do not give thee of it thy portion, according to thy wisdom, 

when it is distributed : 
But men have their allotted shares according to their destinies, 
How many there are of the wise and sagacious nnprospered : 
While a fool hath gained his wealth by his errors. 
If it could be acquired by force and rapine, 
Falcons would swoop off with the subsistence of sparrows." 

And on the authority of Hamzah-b-Habib az Zayyat that A'li used to 
speak this verse : 

• The expression j**«l uj^ ' he spoke poetry is used, for poetry was always 
spoken by the Arats in classical times, and seldom written if written at all, until after 

the lifetime of the author. Lane, Art j*^ 



C 187 ] 

" Disclose not thy secret but to thyself, A. H. 40. 

For every confidant, hath a confidant ; A. D. 681. 

For verily I have seen erring men, 
Who do not aspire to a high sense o£ honour." 

He records likewise on the authority of U'kbah-h-Abi'l Sahba, that 
■when Ibn Muljam stabbed A'li, al Hasan who was weeping went in unto 
him and A'li said, " my dear son, treasure in thy memory from me four 
things and yet four.'' He said, " what are they, father ?" He replied, 
" wisdom is the richest treasure, and folly the greatest poverty, and the 
most hateful of what is odious is pride, and the noblest excellence a good 
disposition." Al Hasan said, " and the other four ? He replied, " beware 
thee of the companionship of a fool, for he will desire to profit thee and 
will do thee harm, and beware of the friendship of a liar, for he will bring 
nigh unto thee what is afar off and make distant from thee what is near at 
hand — and beware thee of the friendship of a miser, for he will withhold 
from thee what thou art most in need of — and beware thee of the friend- 
ship of a libertine for he will sell thee for a trifle." 

And from A'li that a Jew went to him and said, " when did our God 
exist ?" and the face of A'li flushed with anger and he said, " creation was 
not and He was ; He was while yet there was no being : He existed without 
a cause — He was, having no beginning and no end — -all limits fall short of 
him, for he is the end of all ends," and the Jew embraced Islam. 

Ad Darraj, in his well known work, records on an obscure ascription 
to Shurayh. the Kadhi,* that when A'li set forth to SifKn, he lost a coat of 
mail belonging to him, and when the war was over, and A'li returned to 
Kufah the armour came into the hands of a Jew, and he said to the Jew, 
" the armour is my armour — I neither sold it nor gave it away." The Jew 
replied, " it is my armour and in my possession." A'li said, "let us go to 
the Kadhi," and A'li preceded him and sat by the side of Shurayh and said, 
" were not my opponent a Jew, I would assuredly sit on a level with him 
in the court, but I heard the apostle of God say, ' treat them with 
ignominy, for the Lord hath treated them with ignominy.' Shurayh said, 
' proceed, prince of the Faithful.' And he said, ' yes — this armour 
which is in the hand of this Jew, is my armour — I neither sold it nor gave 
it away.' Shurayh exclaimed, ' what dost thoa say, Jew ?' He replied, 

* Abu Umayyah Shurayh al Harith-b-^ays of the tribe of Kinda. He was an 
eminent Tabi'i bom before the promulgation of Islam and appointed Kadhi of Kiifah 
by Omar — a post he held with scarcely any iaterruption for seventy-five years. He was 
one of the four persons called the smooth-faced chiefs (as S£dat at Tula) the others 
being A'bdu'llah-b-u'z Zubayr, Kays-b-Saa'd, and al Aljnaf-b-Kays. He died A. H. 
87, at the age of one hundred years. Ibn Khali. 



[ 188 ] 

A. 11. 40. 'it is my armour and in my possession.' Then Shurayh said, ' hast thou 
A. D. 6G1. any proof, prince of the Faithful ?' He said, " yes, Kanbar andal Hasan 
are witnesses that the armour is my armour.' Shurayh replied, 'the 
evidence of a son is not admissible in favour of a father ' A'li exclaimed, 
' what ! the evidence of one among the people of Paradise not admissible !' 
I heard the apostle of God say — ' al Hasan and al Husayn are the two 
chiefs of the youth among the dwellers in Paradise.' The Jew said, ' the 
prince of the Faithful caused me to appear before the Kadhi and the Kadhi 
gave judgment against him, — I testify that this is the Truth — I testify 
that there is no God but God, and I testify that Muhammad is the apostle of 
God and that this armour is thy armour.' " 



The discourses of A'li , in exposition of the Kuran are numerous and 
are fully treated in my commentary supported by their ascriptions. And 
verily Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of A'li that he said, " by Allah, 
a verse of the Kuran was never revealed, but I knew regarding what it was 
revealed and where it was revealed and concerning whom it was revealed, 
for my Lord hath given unto me a wise heart and an eloquent tongue." 
And he and others on the authority of Abii't Tufayl that A'li said, " ask 
ye me regarding the book of God, for verily there is not a verse but I 
know whether it was revealed by night or day, in the plains or on the 
mountains." 

IBn Abi Dautid records from Muhammad-b-Sirin that he said, " when 
the Apostle of God died, A'li delayed to swear allegiance to Abd Bakr, and 
Abd Bakr met him and said, ' art thou averse to my holding authority ?' 
He said, ' no, but I have sworn not to put on my mantle except for prayers 
until I have collected the Kuran.' And they think that he wrote it accord- 
ing to the order of its revelation." Muhammadb-Sirin adds, " if that book 
were to be met with, there would be found in it much instruction." 



On some of his short sententious maxims worthy of remark. 

1. Precaution consists in evil opinion (recorded by Abu'l Shaykh-b- 
Hiyan). 

2. He is near of kin whose kinship is affection though his relation- 
ship be distant, and he is remote whom enmity hath rendered distant 
though his kinship be close, for there is nothing nearer to the body than 
the hand, but when the hand is corrupted it is cut offi, and when cut off it 
is cauterised. (Abu Nua'ym.) 

3. Take ye live maxims from me. 1. ' Let none of ye fear any- 
thing but his sin, 2. And hope for nothing but his Lord. 3. He who 



[ 189 ] 

knoweth not, let him not be ashamed to learn. 4. He who knoweth, let A. H. 40. 
him not be ashamed when he is asked concerniug what he knoweth not, A, D. 661. 
to say " God knows best." 5. Patience is to faith what the head is to the 
body ; when patience departeth, faith departeth, and when the head goeth 
the body goeth. (Ibn Mans'ur in his Sunan.) 

4. The perfect doctor of the law is he who doth not make men 
despair of the mercy of God and is not indulgent to them in respect 
of their sii)s against God — and doth not proffer them immunity from the 
chastisement of. God and doth not willingly forsake the Kuran for other 
than it — for there is no profit in devotion in which there is no knowledge, 
and no knowledge unless accompanied by comprehension, and no proper 
reading of the Kurdn without meditation upon it. (Dhurays in the 
Fadhail u'l Kuran. (Excellencies of the Kuran.) 

5. I make it incumbent upon myself when I am asked what I know 
not, to say God knoweth best. (Ibn A'sakir.) 

6. He who seeketh to do justice unto men, let him desire for them 
what he desireth for himself. (Ibid.) 

7. Seven things are of the devil. 1. Excessive anger. 2. Exces- 
sive sneezing.* 3. Excessive yawning. 4. Vomiting. 5. Bleeding at 
the nose. 6. Clandestine discourse. t 7. Sleeping during devotional 
exercise. 

8. Eat ye the pomegranate for it is astomachic. (A'bdu'llah-b- Ahmad 
in the Zawaid u'l Musnad.) 

9. Thy reading the Kuran under the tuition of a learned man, and 
his reading it to thee are equal in meritorioumess. (Al Hakim in his 
History.) 

10. A time shall come upon the people when a true believer will be , 
more abject than a female slave. (S.a'id-b-Mansur.) 

And by Abu'l Aswad ad Duali is the following, eulogizing A'li. 
" And now, eye, alas for thee ! come to my aid ! 
Now weep for the prince of the Faithful ; 
And let Umm Kulthiimt weep for him 

* It is also said in a tradition v^^^''' h^. J o*'^*^l 'r*"^ ol " He (Muham- 
mad) used to like sneezing and dislike yawning," because the former is accompanied 
■by lightness of body and openness of the pores, whereas in yawning the contrary is 
the case, hut the Arabs used to augur ill from sneezing, so that if a man were journey, 
ing and heard a sneeze, it prevented him from going on. With regard to yawning, it 
is said, kiJii f^it!a-\ ijjIjJ lit "when any one of you yawns, let him cover his 
mouth," for it is believed, that the devil leaps into the uncovered yawning mouth. 
Lane. . . 

.J. ^Jkx^\ ^^ isy^\ l+JI Kur. LVIII. 

I The daughter of A'li by Fatimah and wife of Omar. 



[ 190 ] 

A. H. 40. With her flowing tears, for verily she hath beheld death. 

A. D. 6G1. Now say to the schismatics wheresoever they may be : 

May the eyes of the envious never be refreshed. 

In the month of the Fast have ye made us to grieve 

For the best of all men universally. 

Ye have slain the best of those that have mounted steeds 

And tamed them or put foot upon a vessel, 

Of those who wear and adjust sandals : 

And of those who read the Kuran and its perspicuous verses. 

And in him were the noblest virtues 

And the love of the Apostle of the Lord of created things. 

Verily the Kuraysh knew wheresoever they were, 

That thou wert the best of them in ancestry and faith. 

When I stood* before the face of the father of Husayn, 

I saw the radiance that shone above his eyes. 

And before his death we were happy, 

Beholding the son-in-law of the Apostle of God among us, 

Establishing the truth in which there was no thought of evil, 

And acting equitably between enemies and kinsmen ; 

Knowledge with him was not hidden. 

Nor was he created among the proud of heart. 

The people became when they lost A'li 

Like unto the ostrich bewildered in a country bare of herbage. 

Eejoice not, Mu'awiyah, son of Sakhr : 

For verily the continuance of the Caliphs is with us." 

Of the distinguished persons who died during the time of A'li 
whether by a natural death or by violence were, Hudayfah-b-u'l Imam — 
Az Zubayr-b-u'I A'wam — Talhah — Zayd-b-Siihan — Salman al Farisi — 
Hind-b-Abi Halah and Uways al Kurani — Khabbab-b-u'l Aratt — A'mmar- 
b-Yasir — Sahl-b-Hanif — Suhayb-ar Kurni — Muhammad the son of Abu 
Bakr as Siddik — Tamim ad Dari — Khawwat-b-Jubayr — Shurahbil-b-as 
Samt — Abu Maysarah al Badri — Safwan-b-A'ssal — A'mr-b-A'nbasah — 
Hisham-b-Hakim — Abu Kad freedman of the prophet and others. 

* I prefer the reading of the first to the second person sing, and in this follow, 
M. Eeynard in the Praiiies d 'Or. Tom. IV, p. 436. 



[ 191 ] 

A. H. 40. 
AL HASAN-B-A'LI-B-ABl TALIB. A. D. 661. 

Al Hasan was the son of A'li, tlie son of Abu Talib, Abu Muhammad, 
grandson of the Apostle of God, and his descendant, the last of the 
Caliphs according to his prediction.* 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of I'mran-b-Sulayman that al Hasan 
and al Husayn were two of the names of the dwellers in Paradise, the 
Arabs never having been named by those two in the time of Ignorance. 

Al Hasan was born in the middle of the month of Eamadhan in the 
3rd year of the Plight. It is stated that he heard traditions from the 
prophet, and Ayesha and others of the Tabi'is — among them his son al 
Hasan, and Abu'l Haura Rablah-b-Shayban. As Shaa'bi and Abu Wail, have 
related traditions on his authority. He resenibled the prophet in appear- 
a)ice, and the prophet named him al Hasan and slaughtered a sheep as a 
sacrifice for him on the seventh day, and shaved his head and ordered that 
the weight of his hair in silver should be given in alms, and he was the 
fifth of the people of the mantle. t Al A'skari says that this name (al 
Hasan) was not known in the time of Ignorance. 

Al MufadhalJ says that the Lord concealed the names of al Hasan 
and al Husayn until the prophet named his two sons§ by them, and al 
Bukhari records on the authority of Anas that no one resembled the pro- 
phet more than al Hasan the son of A'li. The two Shaykhs record on the 
authority of al Bara that he said, " I saw the Apostle of God, with al 
Hasan upon his shoulder, and he was saying " God verily I love him, 
therefore love Thou him," And al Bukhari from Abu Bakr that he said, 
" I heard the prophet, while on the pulpit with al Hasan by his side, look- 
ing now upon the people, and now upon him, exclaim, ' verily this son of 

• Muhammad is reported to have said, " the Caliphate shall continue after me 
thirty years and then shall he a kingdom." Muhammad died in the 11th year of the 
Flight and J^asan's ahdioation was in the year 40 from whence it is plain, says al 
Bukhari that not only was Muhammad a prophet but Hasan was his rightful successor. 
Ook. Hist. Sar. p. 352. 

t When Mulbammad went forth to dispute with the amhassadors from the people 
of Najran on the suhjeot of religion he took with him A'li Fatima, al Hasan and al 
^usayn, and some say gathered them under his mantle. See Sale, Kur. p. 44. 

J Ibn Khali gives two of the name, both philologers of eminence and authors of 
numerous works. One, Ahu Talib al Mufaddhal-b-Salama of the school of Kufah. 
The other Abul A'bhas al Mufaddhal-b-Muhammad-b-Ya'la, a native of Kufah author 
of the Mufaddhal, died A. H. 168. 

§ They were always looked upon by him in the light of his children, his own 
having died at an early age. 



[ 19a ] 

A. H. 40. mine is a prince and perchance the Lord will unite through his means, the 
A. D. 661. two contending parties o£ the Muslims.'* And from Ibn Omar that the 
prophet said, ' they two are my descendants in the world meaning al 
Hasan and al Husayn.' " 

At Tirmidi and al Hakim record on the authority of Abu Sa'id al 
Khudri that the Apostle of God called al Hasan and al Husayn the two 
princes of the youth of Paradise. And at Tirmidi from Usarnah-b-Zayd 
that he narrates, " I saw the prophet with al Hasan and al Husayn on 
either hip, and he exclaimed ' these are my two sons and the sons of my 
daughter. God, -verily I love them, wherefore love Thou them and love 
him who loveth them.' And from Anas that the Apostle of God was asked 
' which of the people of thy house are dearest to thee ?' He replied, ' al 
Hasan and al Husayn.' Al Hakim records on the authority of Ibn 
A'bbas, that the prophet advanced, carrying upon his neck al Hasan, and 
a man met him and said, ' an excellent steed thou ridest, lad !' the Apostle 
of God replied, ' and he is an excellent rider.' " 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-u'z Zubayr that 
he said, " the one most resembling the prophet of his family, and the most 
endeared to him of them was al Hasan the son of A'li — I saw him come 
while Muhammad was worshipping and mount upon his neck (or, he says, 
his back) and Muhammad did not make him get down until he himself got 
down — and indeed I saw him in the act of bowing in prayer, separate his 
legs for al Hasan so that he might pass through from the other side." 
And from Abu Salimah-b-A'bdu'r Eahmanf that the Apostle of God used 
to put out his tongue towards al Hasan the son of A'li, and when the boy 
saw the redness of the tongue, he would be merry with him. Al Hakim 
records on the authority of Zubayr-b-u'l Arkam, that al Hasan rose and 
preached and a man of the tribe of Azd Shanuwwah stood up and said, " I 
testify verily that I saw the Apostle of God take him in his lap, saying, 
' he who loveth me, let him surely love him, and he that is present, let 
him inform him who is absent,' and were it not for reverence of the Apos- 
tle of God I would have told it to no one." 

Al Hasan had many virtues — he was a prince gentle of disposition, 
grave, reserved and dignified ; generous, greatly extolled, averse from strife 
and the sword, and given much to marrying — he would bestow upon one 
man as much as a hundred thousand dirhams. 

Al Hdkim records on the authority of A'bdu'Uah-b-U'bayd-b-U'mayr 
that al Hasan performed the pilgrimage on foot twenty-five times, his 

* The Syrians who set up Mu'awiyah, and the people of I'rdk who took the side 
of al IJasan. 

t A Tahi'i, son of A'bdu'r Eahm4n-h-A'uf, died at Medina A, H. aged 72. 



[ 193 J 

horses being led beside him. And Ibn Saa'd from U'mayr-b-Ishak that -A- H, 40. 

he said, " no one ever discoursed before me whom I more wished when A. D. 661. 

he spoke that he should' not be silent, than al Hasan the son of A'li, and 

I never heard from him an improper word except once, when there was 

verily a dispute between al Hasan and A'mr-b-Othmdn regarding some 

land. Al Hasan proposed a thing which A'mr did not approve, and al 

Hasan said, there is nothing for it then in my opinion but to act in spite 

of him."* He adds, " this was the harshest word of impropriety that I 

ever heard from him." 

He also said, " Marwdn was ruler over us and he used to revile A'li 
every Friday from the pulpit and al Hasan used to listen without retorting 
a thing. Then he sent a man to say to him, ' I swear by A'li, and by 
A'li, and by A'li, and by thee, and by thee, and by thee, and I find not a 
comparison for thee but that of a mule, which when it is asked, " who is 
thy father?" replies, " my mother is a mare." ' Al Hasan replied to him 
' go back to him and say to him from me — verily I will not blot out from 
thee a thing that thou hast said by reviling thee in turn, but • my place of 
meeting and thine is before God, and if thou hast spoken the truth, the Lord 
will reward thee according to thy truth, and if thou hast lied, then the Lord 
is terrible in vengeance.' " 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Euzayk-b-Sawwar that there 
passed words between al Hasan and Marwan and al Hasan was silent. 
Then Marwan blew his nose with his right hand, and al Hasan said to 
him, " Out upon thee ! dost thou not know that the right hand is for 
honour and the left for what is base ? Shame upon thee !" Marwan held 
his peace. And from Asha'th-b-Sawwar on the authority of another, that 
a man sat down by al Hasan, and he said, " verily thou hast sat down by 
me as I was about to rise — wilt thou give me permission ?" And from 
A'li-b-Zayd-b-Juda'an, that al Hasan gave away his property twice for the 
sake of God, and three times shared his property with God by religious 
donations, so that he would give a sandal, and keep a sandal, and give a 
boot and keep a boot. And from A'li the son of al Husayn, that al Hasan 
was given to divorcing his wives, and he never separated himself from a 
woman but she stiU continued to love him, and he married ninety women. 
And from the father of Jaa'far-b- Muhammad that he said, " al Hasan 
used to marry and divorce till I feared that he would cause enmity 
amongst the tribes." A'li once said, " O men of Kufah, give not your 
daughters in marriage to al Hasan, for he is a man that divorceth fre- 
quently :" and a man from Hamadan exclaimed, " by Allah, we will surely 
give in marriage to him and such as he approves, he may retain, and such 

* Lit; that his nose should cleave to the dust, i. e., render him suhmisaive. 
25 



[ 194. 1 

A. H. 40. as he dislikes, he may divorce." And from A'bdii'llah-h-Husayn, that af 
A. D. 661. Hasan was a man much given to taking women in marriage, and they 
rarely committed a fault towards him, and it was seldom with a woman 
he married but she loved him and was passionately attached to him. 

Ihn A'sakir records on the authority of Juwayrah-b-Asma that when 
al Hasan died, Marwan wept over his bier, and al Husayn said to him, 
" dost thou weep for him and verily thou hast given him to sufier* what 
thou hast given him to suffer." He replied, " verily, I would have done 
the same to one even more forbearing than he," and he pointed with his 
hand to the hill.f And from al Mubarrad that it was said to al Hasan — 
" Abti Darr sayeth — poverty is dearer to me than wealth, and sickness than 
health." He replied — " may God have mercy upon Abii Darr, but I say, 
that he who confideth in the good choice of the Lord for him, desireth not 
to be in any other condition than that which the Lord hath chosen for 
him, and this is the highest attainment of resignation unto what Fate hath 
ordained." 

Al Hasan assumed the Caliphate after the assassination of his father, 
according to the allegiance sworn to him by the people of Kufah, and 
governed it during six months and some days. Then Mu'awiyah marched 
against him and the affair was left in the hands of God. Then al Hasan 
sent to him, offering to resign the government to him on the condition 
that the Caliphate should revert to himself after him, J and that he should 
not call upon any one of the people of Medina, Hijaz and I'rak for any- 
thing that had happened during his father's lifetime, and that he should 
pay his debts. Muawiyah accepted his demands, and they made peace upon 
this. Thus was made manifest the prophetical prediction in his words 
" the Lord will unite through his means, the contending parties of the 
Muslims." And he abdicated the Caliphate in his favour. Al Balkini§ 
indeed has sought to prove from his renunciation of the Caliphate which 
is the highest of dignities, the lawfulness of the renunciation of offices. 

His abdication of the Caliphate took place in the year 41 in the month 
of Eabii' u'l Awwal, and some say in Eabii' u'l A'khir (August 661) and 
Jumada li'l Awwal. His Companions used to say to him, " O shame of 
the Muslims," and he would reply, " shame is better than hell fire." And a 
man said to him, " peace to thee, dishonourer of the Muslims." He 

* Lit. to swallow. 

t A8 fortearing — or as self-contained — as a hill — is a proverbial compaiison in 
AraWo. 

J This condition I find in no other author I have consulted. 

§ The surname of Jalflu'ddin, author of a work on the difficulties of science. His 
best known composition is the Muhimmat ul Muhimmat, a commentary on Asnavi tho 
great Jurisconsult who died A. H. 882. D'Herb. art. Ballfini. 



[ 195 ] 

replied, " I am no dishonourer of the Muslims, but I was loth to have ye A. H. 41. 
slaughtered for the sake of a kingdom." Al Hasan then removed from A. D. 661. 
Kiifah to Medina and settled there. 

Al Hakim records on the authority of Jubayr-b-Nufayr* that he nar- 
rates, " I said to al Hasan, verily the people say that thou desirest the Cali- 
phate." He replied, " the chiefs of the Arabs were under my authority, 
warring with those with whom I warred, and at peace with those with whom 
I was at peace — yet I abandoned it, seeking the favour of God, and to 
spare the blood of the people of Muhammad : shall I then again seize it 
amid the despondency of the people of Hijaz ?" 

Al Hasan died at Medina of poison. His wife Ja'dah, daughter of al 
Asha'th-b-Kays poisoned him. Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah suborned her to poison 
him, promising that he would then marry her, and she did so. And when al 
Hasan was dead, she sent to Yazid claiming the fulfilment of what ha 
had promised, but he replied, " I did not approve thee for al Hasan, shall 
I then be content with thee for myself ?" His death took place in the year 
49. Some say, however, it ocowrei on the 5th of Eabii' u'l Awwal in the 
year 50, and others in the year 51. His brother endeavoured to make him 
confess to him who poisoned him, but he would not inform him and said,' 
" the Lord is terrible in His vengeance if it be the one 1 suppose, and if 
not, by Allah, let not an. innocent man be put to death on my accounb." 

Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of I'mran-b-Abdi'llah-b-Talhah 
that al Hasan saw in a dream that there was as if inscribed between his 
eyes " Say God is One" (Kur. CXII) and he announced the good news to 
the people of his house, and they related it to Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, and ha 
exclaimed " if his dream speak truly, little time remaineth unto his death." 
And he lived but a few days when he died. 

Al Bayhaki and Ibn A'sakir record on a line of ascription through 
the father of Abu Mundir Hisham-b- Muhammad, that al Hasan was in 
straitened circumstances, and they used to give him an allowance of one 
hundred thousand dirhams a year. One year Mu'awiyah withheld it from 
him, and he was in great distress. He himself narrates " I sent for an ink- 
horn that I might write to Mu'awiyah to remind him of me, but I refrained 
and I saw the Apostle of God in a dream. And he said, ' how art thou 
O Hasan ?' I replied, ' well ; father,' and I complained to him of my allow- 
ance being kept back from me and he said, ' didst thou send for an ink- 
horn to write to a creature like unto thyself, reminding him of it ?' I 
answered ' yes, Apostle of God — what then should I do ?' He said 
' say — God, instil into my heart Thy desire, and cut off my hope from 
all beside Thee, so that I may not hope in any one save Thee, Lord ! and 
vouchsafe unto me Lord of created things that which my strength is too 
« OneoftheTabi'is. 



[ 196 ] 

A. H. 41. weak to reach, and my striving falleth short of, to which my desire attaineth 
A,. D. 661. not nor doth my supplication aspire, and which hath not passed upon my 
tongue, of what Thou hast bestowed of certitude upon any one of those that 
have gone before, and those that have come after.' 

He continues, " by Allah, I did not persist with this prat/er for a week, 
but Mu'awiah sent me 1,500,000, dirhams, and I exclaimed, ' praise be to 
the Lord who doth not forget him who remembereth Him and disap- 
pointeth not him that calleth upon Him.' Then, I saw the prophet in 
a dream, and he said, ' Hasan, how art thou,' and I said, ' well, O 
Apostle of God,' and I related to him my story and he said, * thus it is, 

my son, with him who hopeth in the Creator and hopeth not in the 
creature.' " 

It is stated in the Tuyyuriyat on the authority of Salim-b-I'sa, the 
Kuran-reader of the people of Kdfah, that when al Hasan was nigh unto 
death, he became affected with violent grief, and al Husayn said to him, 
" what meaneth, brother, this lamentation ? Verily thou goest unto the 
Apostle of God and unto A'li, and they two are thy fathers, and unto 
Khadijah and Fatimah, and they two are thy mothers, and unto al Easim 
'and at Tahir, and they two are thy maternal uncles,* and imto Hamzah 
and Jaa'far, and they two are thy paternal uncles." Al Hasan said to him, 
" brother, verily I am entering upon one of the decrees' of the Most 
High, upon the like of which I have not entered, and I behold a people 
among the creatures of God, the like of whom I have never seen." Ibn 
A'bdi'l Barr says, " it has been related to me in different ways, that when 
al Hasan was near unto death, he said to his brother — " O my brother, 
verily thy father cast his eyes upon this authority, but the Lord averted 
it from him, and Abu Bakr held it ; afterwards again he raised his eyes 
to it, but it was turned from him unto Omar ; then at the time of the 
Council, he had no doubt that it would not pass from him, but it was 
turned from him unto Othman, and when Othmdn was slain A'li was 
sworn allegiance to : then it was contested until the sword was drawn, and 
it never rested undisturbed in his possession. And verily, by Allah, I do 
not think that the Lord will unite in us the prophetic mission and the 
Caliphate, and indeed I know not with what indignity the rabble of Kufah 
have not treated thee, and cast thee forth. And verily I asked of Ayesha that 

1 might be buried with the Apostle of God, and she agreed, therefore when 
I am dead, ask that of her, and I do not think otherwise of the people 
but that they will hinder thee, and if they do so, do not dispute with 
them." And when he was dead, al Husayn went to Ayesha, the mother 
of the Faithful, and she said, " yes ; willingly," but Marwdn hindered 

* Sons of Muhammad. 



[ 197 1 

them, and al Husayn and those that were with him took up their arms A. H. 41. 
until Abu Hurayrah turned him back. Afterwards he was buried in al A. D. G61. 
Bakii' by the side of his mother. 



MU'AWITAH-b-ABI SUJTYAN. 

Mu'awiyah, the son of Abli SufySn Sakhr-b-Harb-b-IJmayyah-b- 
A'bdi's Shams-b-A'bd. Manaf-b-Kusayy alUmawiy — Abu A'bdu'r Eahman, 
embraced Islam with his brother on the day of the conquest of Mecca. 
He was present at Hunayn,* and was of those whose hearts were conei- 
liatedf by MuJiammad. He became sincerely converted to Islam, and was 
one of the Secretaries to the Apostle of Grod. It is said that he had one 
hundred and sixty traditions from Muhammad. Of the Companions who 
related traditions on his authority, were Ibn A'bbas, Ibn O'mar, Ibn u'z 
Zubayr, Abu'd Darda — Jarir al Bijli, Nu'man-b-Bashfr and others. And 
among the Tabi'is, Ibn u'l Musayyab, Hamid-b-A'bdi'r Eahman Ac. 

He was of those celebrated for acuteness and forbearance, and verily 
traditions of his merit have been transmitted, which are seldom well esta- 
blished. At Tirmidi records on the authority of the prophet, substantia- 
ting it from A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi A'mirah the Companion, that he said 
to Mu'awiyah, " God, make him a guide unto others and himself rightly 
directed." And Ahmad in his Musnad from I'rbadh-b-Sariyah that he 
narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God say, ' O God, instruct Mu'awiyah in 
writing and accounts, and preserve him from eternal punishment.' " 

Ibn Abi Shaybah records in the Musannaf, and at Tabarani in the 
Kabir on the authority of A'bdu'l Malik-b-TJ'mayr, that Mu'awiyah said, 
" I never ceased to desire the Caliphate since the Apostle of God said to 
me, ' Mu'awiyah, when thou rulest, act with kindness.' " 

Mu'awiyah was a man, tall, fair, handsome and of awe-inspiring 
aspect, and Omar used to look upon him and say, " this is the Caisar of 
the Arabs." It is recorded of A'li that he said, " be not averse to the 
rule of Mu'awiyah, for verily when ye lose him, ye will see heads fall from, 
their shoulders." Al Makburif says, " ye admire the sagacity of Hera- 

» This tattle was fought in 8 A. H. in the valley of Hunayn, about 3 miles from 
Mecca, between Muhammad and the tribes of Havazen and Thakif. See Sale, Kur. 
p. 161. 

t These were certain Arabs of name and position whom Muhammad won over to 
his side by showing them every consideration, in order that their example might be 
followed by their tribes. The Muntaha'l Arab gives a list of thirty of them. 

I Abu Sa'id Kaysan Makburi— a Tabi'i— he was called Makburi because he lived 
near a graveyard. Muntaha'l Arab. 



[ 198 3 

A. H. 41. clius and Khusrau, and ye pass over Mu'awiyah ?" He was proverbial 
A. D. 661. for his forbearance. Ibn Abi'd Dunya and Abu Bakr-b-Abi A'asim have 
severally composed a work solely on his forbearance. Ibn A'un narrates 
that a man said to Mu'awiyah, " by Allah, thou must surely act uprightly 
with us, Mu'dwiyah, or we will assuredly set thee right." He said, 
" how ;" he replied, " with a stick." Mu'awiyah answered " Very well — I 
will act uprightly." 

Kabisah-b- Jabir* says, " I was much in company with Mu'awiyah and 
I never saw a man of more settled forbearance, and slower to folly and 
further from indolence than he ; — and when Abu Batr sent me to Syria, 
Mu'awiyah set forth with his brother Yazid-b-Abi Sufyan, and Yazid dying, 
appointed, him his successor in Damascus. Omar confirmed him in this, 
and subsequently Othman, who added to his goTTernment the whole of 
Syria, and he was prefect for twenty years and Caliph twenty years.'' 
Kaa'b al Ahbar said, " no one shall rule this people as long as Mu'awiyah." 
Ad Dahabi says that Kaa'b died before Mu'awiyah was made Caliph, and 
that Kaa'b was right in what he said, for Mu'awiyah continued Caliph 
for twenty years, and none of the princes of the earth contended with him, 
unlike others who came after him, for they had opponents and portions of 
their dominions passed out of their sway. Mu'awiyah went forth against 
A'li as has preceded, and assumed the title of Caliph. Then he marched 
against al Hasan, who abdicated in his favour. He therefore became firmly 
established in the caliphate from Eabii' u'l Akhir or Jumada '1 Awwal 41. 
The year was therefore called the year of Union, on account of the gather- 
ing of the people under one Caliph. During this year Mu'awiyah appointed 
Marwan-b-u'l Hakam over Medina. 
I In the year 43 Eukhkhajf and other places in Sijistan were captured 

/ and Waddan in Barkah and KlizaaJ of the country of the Moors. And in 
the same Mu'awiyah appointed as his lieutenant Ziyad " the son of his 
father," and this is the first instance in Islam in which the command of 
the prophet was Yiolated§ — (at Tha'alabi|| and others). 

* Atu'l A'la Kabisah-b-Jabir al Asadi a native of Kufah and one of the TaM'is, 
of respeotatle authority aa a Traditioniat. Died a little before 83 A. H. An Nawawi 

t The printed edition has ^^ which is an error. The MS. gives ^^ and Ibn 
u'l Athir confirms it. 

% The MS. has (j_yJ but I am unable to trace the names in Yakut. 

§ Ziyad was the reputed son of Abu Sufyan by Sumayyah who was married to a 
Greek slave. According to the prophetical law the child belonged to his legal fether 
the Greek, but Mu'iwiyah, anxious to secure in his interest so eminent a man, publicly 
acknowledged him as his brother by the father's aide, notwithstanding the remonstran- 
oea of his family. The doubtful parentage of Ziydd gained for him the vague diatinc- 
tion of " the son of his father." See Ockley, Abul Fida, D'Herb. 

II Ibn Khali gives two of this surname— both from Nayaabur, Abu Ishdk, a well 



[ 199 ] 

In the year 45 al Kikan* was reduced and in the year 50, Kuhistan A. H. 45^ 
conquered. In the same year Mu'awiyah invited the people of Syria to A. D. 665-6. 
engage for the succession after him of his son Yazid, and they made a 
covenant with him. He was the first who made a compact for the Cali- 
phate to descend to his son, and the first who did so while in sound health. 

Afterwards he wrote to Marwdn at Medina, to take the covenant /row 
tie people, and Marwdn preached and said, " verily the prince of the Faith- 
ful hath seen fit to appoint his son Tazid as successor over ye according to 
the institution of Abu Bakr and Omar," whereupon A'bdu'r Eahman the 
son of Abu Bakr as Siddik arose and said, " rather according to the insti- 
tution of Khusrau and Cffisar, for Abli Bakr and Omar did not do so for 
their children, nor for any one of the people of their house." 

In the year 51, Mu'awiyah performed the pilgrimage, and took the 
covenant for his son. Then he sent to the son of Omar and recited the 
profession of faith and said, " now, O son of Omar, verily thou didst say 
unto me, that thou in truth wouldst not wish to pass a single dark night 
without there being over thee during it a ruler — therefore, verily, I warn 
thee that thou break not the stafE of the Muslims nor strive for the dis- 
turbance of their harmony." Then the son of Omar praised God and 
glorified Him and said, " now, verily there were before thee Caliphs who 
had sons, thy son being no better than their sons, yet they did not regard 
in their sons what thou regardest in thy son, but they chose for the Mus- 
lims the best wheresoever they knew Jiim to he, and thou dost caution me 
lest I break the staff of the Muslims, but I have not been doing so, and 
indeed I am but a man among the Muslims and when they are agreed 
upon a thing, then surely I am one of them." And he said, '' may the Lord 
have mercy upon thee," and the son of Omar departed. Then he sent to 
the son of Abd Bakr and recited the profession of faith, and began his 
discourse, but the other cut short his speech and said, " verily, thou assured- 
ly hast desired that I should commend thee to God in the affair of thy 
son, but, by Allah, I shall not do so — by Allah, I will refer this matter to 
a, council of the Muslims, or I will assuredly by circumvention unsettle it 
upon thee." Then he sprung up and departed. But Mu'awiyah said, 
" O God, suffice to me against him in whait Thou wiliest." Then he said, 
" Softly, youth — go not within sight of the people of Syria, for verily I 
fear lest they anticipate me with regard to thee, until I tell them in the 
evening that thou hast sworn allegiance." Next he sent to the son of a'z 
Zubayr and said, ' son of a'z Zubayr — verily thou art a crafty fox which 

known Commentator on the Kuran — -who died A. H. 629 (1035-6), the other Abu 
Mansur Abdu'l Malik a volximinous author ; died A. H. 3fi0 (961). 
* Yaklit places this district between Sind and Khurasan. 



[ 200 ] 

A. IT. 51. whenever it cometh out of one hole goeth into another, and verily thott 
A. D. 671. hast supported these two men and hast blown into their nostrils, and hast 
carried them against their judgment." The son of az Zubayr replied, " if 
indeed thou art weary of the government, resign it, and bring us thy son 
and we will swear allegiance to him. Hast thou considered if we make a 
covenant for thy son together with thee, which of ye two we must hear 
and obey ? The covenant can never be made with ye two conjointly." 
Then he departed, whereupon Mu'awiyah ascended the pulpit and praised 
God and glorified Him and said, " verily, we have heard the sayings of 
certain misguided men who think that the son of Omar and the son of Abu 
Bakr and the son of az Zubayr have not sworn allegiance to Yazid, where- 
as they have heard and obeyed him and made a covenant of allegiance with 
him." And the people of Syria said, " by AUah, we shall not be content 
until they swear allegiance to him before witnesses, otherwise we shall 
smite their necks" but he said, " great God, how prompt are the people to 
evil against the Kuraysh — ^let me not hear this speech from any of ye after 
to-day." Then he descended and the people said, " the son of Omar and 
the son of Abd Bakr and the son of az Zubayr have sworn allegiance," and 
the Syrians said, " no ! by AUah," but the people said " yes". And Mu'awiyah 
set forth and arrived in Syria. It is stated on the authority of Ibn Mun- 
kadir* that Ibn Omar said when the covenant was made for Tazid, " if he 
proveth good we will be content, and if wicked we must be patient." 

Al Kharaitit records in the Hawatif {Monitors) on the authority of 
Hamid-b-Wahb that Hind the daughter of TJ'tbah-b-Eabii'h was the 
wife of al Fakah-b-u'l Mughirah, and he was one of the youths of tlio 
Kuraysh, and he possessed a banqueting house which the people could 
enter without permission. One day the house was empty, and al Fakah 
arose. Hind being within, and went forth on some businees of his and a 
man of those who used to guard the house, came and entered it, but when 
he saw the woman he turned fleeing ; but al Fakah observed him, and he 
went up to her and kicked her with his foot and said, " who was he that 
was with thee ?" She replied, " I did not see any one and I did not wake 
until thou didst wake me." But he said to her " go to thy family." And 
the people spoke concerning her, wherefore her father took her apart 
and said to her, " daughter — verily people talk much about thee, there- 
fore teU.me concerning it, and if the man speak truly, I will suborn one 
who will slay him and the talk about us will cease, and if he lieth, I 
will summon him before certain soothsayers of Yaman." The narrator 

* Abu Bakr Mu^ammad-'b.Munkadir of the Kuraysh was a traditionist of good 
authority. Ho died A. H. 130, (747-8). De Slane, I. K. 

t Abu Bakr Mubammad-b-Jaa'far, al Kharaiti authority of the Mak&rim u'l 
Akhlalf and other works died at Jaffa or Askalon, A. H, 328 (939-40). De Slane, I. K. 



[ 201 ] 

continues, " tten she swore to him upon that by which they used to swear A H. 51. 
in the time of Ignorance that he spoke falsely concerning her, wherefore A, D. 671- 
U'tbah said to al Fakah, ' verily thou hast charged my daughter with k 
grave thing, therefore summon me before certain of the soothsayers of 
Yaman.' And al Fakah went forth with a party of the Banu Makhziim, 
and U'tbah at the head of a party of the Banu A'bd Manaf, and with 
them Hind and other women along with her in familiar intercourse. 
But when they drew near the confines, the appearance of Hind was 
transformed and her countenance changed and her father said to her, ' O 
daughter, verily I see the change of appearance that hath come over thee, 
and what is that, but on account of the guilt thou feelest.' She replied, 
' no, by Allah, father ! it is not from guilt, but I know that you go unto 
a mortal who may fail or prove right, therefore I cannot trust him that 
he brand me not with a stain which will be a reproach to me among the 
Arabs.' But he said to her, ' verily I will prove him for thee before he 
look into thy business.' And he whistled to his horse until he staled and 
he inserted a grain of wheat and bound it with a thong. And they reached 
the soothsayer in the morning who slew a camel for them, and received 
them with honour, and when they had finished their morning meal, U'tbah 
said to him, " verily we have come to thee concerning an affair, and indeed 
I have concealed from thee a hidden thing that I may prove thee — where- 
fore see what it is," He replied, " wheat." He said, " I desire what is 
clearer than this." He answered "a grain of wheat in a colt." And 
U'tbah said, " thou hast spoken truly, see into the business of these women." 
Then he began to approach each one of them, striking her shoulder and 
saying " rise," until he came to Hind and he struck her shoulder and said 
" rise thou undefiled and no adulteress, and verily thou shalt give birth to 
a king called Mu'awiyah." Then al Fakah looked upon her and took 
her by the hand, but she withdrew her hand from his hand said, — " go 
to, for by Allah, I will surely endeavour that it is by another than thee." 
And Abu Sufyan married her and she brought forth Mu'awiyah. 

Mu'awiyah died in the month of Eajab of the year 60 (April 6S0) J 
and was buried between the gate of al Jabiyah, and the Little Gate. It i 
is said that he lived seventy-seven years, and he possessed a little of the 
hair of the Apostle of God and a paring of his nail, and enjoined as his last 
request that it should be put into his mouth and eyes, and he added, " do 
this and leave me alone with the Most Merciful of the Merciful." 



26 



[ 202 ] 

A. H 60. 

A. D. 680. . On some accounts of Mm. 

Tbn Abi Sbaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority o£ Abu 
Sa'id-b-Jumhan that he narrates, " I said to Safinah, — verily the Eanu 
Umayyah conceive that the Caliphate is among them." He replied, 
" verily the fieree-eyed sons* lie — they are the most rigorous of kings and 
the first of the kings is Mu'awiyah." And al Bayhaki and Ibn A'sakir 
from Ibrahim-b-Suayd al Armani that he narrates, " I said to Ahmad-b- 
Hanbal, — who are the Caliphs ?" He answered, " Abu Bakr, Omar, Ofchman 
and A'li." I said, " and Mu'awiyah ?" He replied, " no one had more 
claim to the Caliphate in the time of A'li than A'li." And as SUafi in 
the Tuyyuriyat from A'bdu'llah-b-Ahmad-b-Hanbal that he states, "I 
asked my father concerning A'li and Mu'awiyah," and he answered, " know, 
that A'U had many enemies, and his enemies searched for a fault in him 
but they found it not, wherefore they went to a manf who had fought 
with him and battled with him, and they praised him extravagantly setting 
a snare themselves for him." And Ibn A'sakir from A'bdu'l Malik-b- 
TJ'mayr,} that Jarlyah-b-Kudamah as Saa'di went to Mu'awiyah who said 
to him, " who art thou ?" He replied, " Jariyah the son of Kudamah." 
He said, " and what art thou near to being — art thou anything but a 
bee ?" He answered, " dost thou not imderstand, that verily, thou hast 
likened me to it, and it protects itself with a sting and is sweet of juice ! 
by Allah, Mu'awiyah is nothing but a bitch, howling to the dogs, and 
IT'mayyah is but the diminutive of a female slave."§ And from al Fadhl- 
b-Suayd, that Jariyah-b-Kudamah went to Mu'awiyah who said to him, 
" thou art the procurator of A'li the son of Abu Talib and the kindler 
of fire in thy burnings, going round about the villages of the Arabs, 

* Lit. blue-eyed, which ia employed as signifying hostility because the SS\\ blue- 
nesa or Kghtness of the eye is predominant in the Greeks and the Daylam between 
whom and the Arabs is a confirmed enmity. Imr u'l Kays, used this adjective in this 
sense, piwan, p. 34, Ar Text. Consult Lane, and Chenery, notes to 10th aasembly of 
al Hariri. 

t I- «., Mu'fiwiyah. 

J Abu A'mr or Abu Omar A'bdu'l Malii-b-TJ'mayr was one of the Tibi'ia and a 
native of Kufah of which town he was K&dhi, He ia considered a good authority by 
Borne and doubtful by others, as his memory towards the close of his life failed him. 
He died about A. H. 136. An Kawawi. 

§ Meaning that the names themselves have that signification in Arabic. I know 
not why he should have likened Jariyah to a bee, the name not bearing that meaning, 
unless it be for the same reason that a ship is termed Jdiiyah because it runs or flows 
on the sea, and thus the bee in the air. Jai'iyah likewise signifies a female slave. 



[ 203 ] 

shedding their blood."* Jariyah replied, " Mu'awiyah — put A'li aside A. H. 60. 

from thee, for we have never 'hated A'li since we loved him, and never A. D. 680. 

acted with dissimulation towards him since we dealt sincerely with him." 

He answered, "alas for thee, O Jariyah, how contemptible wert thou 

to thy family when they named thee Jariyah." He replied, " Mu'awiyah, 

thou wert contemptible to thy family when they called thee Mu'awiyah." 

He said, " thou hast no free mother." The other replied, " a free mother 

bore me not ! verily the hilts of the swords with which we met thee at 

SifKn are in our hands." He answered, "verily thou threatenest me!" 

He replied, " verily thou didst not seize us by violence, nor conquer us 

by force, but thou gavest us engagements and compacts, and if thou fulfil 

thy part to us, we will fulfil ours, but if thou inclinest to the contrary, 

then verily, we will abandon them. Behind us are tall men, and strong 

coats of mail, and sharp lances, and if thou stretchest, out towards us the 

distance between thy thumb and forefinger in treachery, we will meet thee 

with both arms reach of deceit." Mu'fiwiyah exclaimed, " may the Lord 

not multiply the like of thee among the people." And on the authority 

of Abu 't Tuf ayl A'amir-b-Wathilah the Companion, that he went in unto 

Mu'awiyah who said to him, " wert thou not among the slayers of 0th- 

man ?" He replied, " no, but I was among those that were with him but 

did not assist him." He said, " and what hindered thee from assisting 

him ?" He answered, " the Fugitives and Auxiliaries did not aid him." 

He said, "but surely his claim upon them that they should aid him was 

imperative !" He retorted, " then what hindered" thee, prince of the 

Faithful from helping him, for with thee were the people of Syria ?" 

Mu'Awiyah replied, " but my seeking vengeance for his blood is helping 

him." Abu't Tufayl laughed and then exclaimed, " thou and Othman are 

as the poetf says : 

* Mu'awiyah had sent A'bdu'llai-b-u'l Hadhrami to Basrah to secure that town 
for him and A'li despatched Aa'yan-b-Dhahiah for the same purpose. The latter was 
killed whereupon Jariyah was sent and he besieged A'bdu'llah in his house and set it 
on fire and burnt him to death. Ibn Hajr. 

t M. Barbier de Eeynard's text of Masa'ddi gives this poet's name as Hanafi. In 
a note it is stated that according to a MS. in the Asiatic Society of Paris, the name 
should be Ja'di ^jA*^, The readings of the first hemistich of the verse are various. 
Masa'ddi has iSJIjIaaJJI in the text and iSULij in the above-mentioned MS., but the 
scansion of both these is faulty. The same MS. has ^jj^^i for j,ijiJj. The printed 
edition of as Suyuti has kSiixfiJi Ji. I would amend it i«lijjij)/ as the negative here de- 
stroys the sense unless employed as a query. In the second hemistich a , after JU^ 

which is necessary in the scansion, is erroneously omitted but is found in Maaa'udi's 
version. 



[ 204 ] 

A. H. 60. • I win surely find thee weeping for me after my death : 

A. D. 680. And during my life, thou didst not* furnish me with my food.' " 

As Shaa'bi says, that the first who preached seated to the people, was 
Mu'dwiyah and that was when his flesh had increased and his stomach had 
grown large. (Kecorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah.) Az Zuhri states that Mu'a- 
wiyah was the first who introduced the discourse before prayers on the Eed. 
(Abdu'r Kazzak in his Musannaf.) And Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab says that 
he was the first who introduced the call to prayers on the Eed, (Ibn Abi 
Shaybah) and who diminished the number of the Takbirs. Al A'skari says 
in his Awail, " Mu'awiyah was the first to establish post-messengers in 
Islam, and the first who appointed eunuchs for his personal service, and 
the first with whom his subjects jested familiarly, and the first to whom it 
was said hy the Muaddin, " peace be to thee, O prince of the Faithful and 
the mercy of God and His blessing — to prayers ! May the Lord have mercy 
upon thee," — and the first, who established the office of the Seal, and he 
appointed to it A'bdu'llah-b-Aus al Ghassani, and confided to him the Seal, 
and upon the stone of it was inscribed, " every work has its reward ;" and 
that continued with the A'bbaside Caliphs to the end. The reason of his 
instituting it was, that he commanded to be given to a man one hundred 
thousand dirhams, and he opened the document and made it two hundred 
thousand, and when the account was taken to Mu'awiyah, he disavowed it, 
and established the register of the Seal from that day. " And he was the 
first who established an enclosure in the great mosque, and the first who 
permitted the stripping of the Kaa'bah, for before that its vesture was 
thrown one over another." 

Az Zubayr-b-Bakkdr records, in the Muwaffikiydt on the authority of 
the son of az Zuhri's brother, that he narrates, " I said to az Zuhri — who 
was the first who demanded an oath in the covenant of allegiance ?" He 
replied, " Mu'dwiyah made them swear by God, but when A'bdu'llah-b- 
Marwan came, he made them swear upon divorce and manumission.* Al 
A'skari records in his book of the Awail on the authority of Sulayman-b- 
A'bdu'Uah-b-Maa'mar, that Mu'dwiyah went to Mecca or Medina and 
arriving at the mosque, sat himself down among a circle in which were, 
Ibn Omar, Ibn A'bbds and A'bdu'r Eahmdn-b-Abi Bakr. And they wel- 
comed him, but Ibn A'bbds turned fi-om him and Mu'awiyah said, " I have 
more claim to his authority than this recusant and the son of his paternal 
uncle."t And Ibn A'bbas said, " why ! for priority in Islam, or early 
companionship with the Apostle, or kinship with him ?" He answered, 

* That ia, that the penalty of the violation of their oath would be divorce of their 
■wives and manumission of their slaves. 

t /. «., A'li — A'bbfis and Abu TAlib being brothers. 



[ 205 ] 

" no, but for being the son of the paternal uncle of the murdered OtJiman."* A. H. 60. 
He retorted, "then this one more deserveth it," meaning the son of Abu A. D. 680. 
Bakr. Mu'awiyah answered, "his father died a natural death." Ibn 
A'bbas replied, " then this one has more claim to it," meaning the son of 
Omar. He answered, " verily an infidel slew his father." The other re- 
joined, " then that is the worse for thy argument, for it was the Muslims 
who were wroth with the son of thy paternal uncle and slew him." 

A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad-b-U'kayl says that Mu'awiyah arrived at 
Medina, and there met him Abu Katadah the Auxiliary, and Mu'awiyah 
said, " all the people have come unto me except ye, men of the Aux- 
iliaries." He replied, " we had no riding animals." He said, " where were 
yo«w camels for drawing water ?" " We lamed them in the chase after thee 
and thy father at Badr," After a little Abu Katadah said, " verily the 
Apostle of God said to us, ' you will see after me a state of calamity.' " 
Mu'awiyah asked, " what then did he command you to do ?" He replied, 
" he commanded us to be resigned." He answered, " then be resigned," 
This reached A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hassdn-b-Thabit, and he said — 

" Now, give Mu'awiyah the son of Harb 

The prince of the Faithful, this message from us, 

' We will then be resigned and wiU await you 

At the day of mutualf endamaging and contention.' " 
Ibn Abi'd Dunya and Ibn A'sakir record on the testimony of Jabalah- 
b-Suhaym that he narrates, " I went in unto Mu'awiyah during his Cali- 
phate, and round his neck was a rope and a child was leading him, and I 
said to him, ' O prince of the Faithful, dost thou do thus ?' ' fool,' he 
said, 'be silent,' for I heard the Apostle of God say, 'he who hath a 
child, let him act towards him as a child,' " (recited but by one authority 
according to Ibn A'sakir.) Ibn Abi Shay bah records in the Musannaf on 
the authority of as Shaa'bi, that a youth of the Kuraysh went in to Mu'a- 
wiyah and spoke harshly to him, and Mu'awiyah said to him, " son of 

* TTmayyali. 



! ,. 1 

A'bu'l A asi Harb 

Affan Abu Sufyan 

Othm&i Mu'dwiyah. 

t That is tbe day of resurrection called yjliJJ; ^jj or the day of mutual cheating 
or overreaching, because the people of Paradise wiU then overreach the people of hell 
by their state of enjoyment while the latter -will suffer the punishment they deserve or 
because the former will impute defect to the latter for preferring infidelity to faith. 
Lane. The LXIVth Chap, of the Kuran is so named. 



[ 206 ] 

A. H. 60. my brother ! I warn thee against a king, for a king waxes angry with the 
A. D. 680. sudden anger of a child, and seizes with the gripe of a lion." And from 
as Shaa'bi that Ziyad said, " I appointed a man as collector and he em- 
bezzled the proceeds of the taxes and fearing that I woidd punish him, he 
fled to Mu'Awiyah, and I wrote to him, gaymg, " verily this is disrespect 
towards me,"* but he wrote to me, saying, " verily it is not fitting for me 
nor for thee to govern men by one kind of polity : if we were to be le- 
nient to them all, we would confound men in iniquity, and we should not be 
hard with them all for we would drive men to ruin, wherefore act thou 
with severity and harshness and I will act with mildness, and clemency." 
And from the same, I heard Ma'awiyah say, " a people were never yet 
divided but the wicked prevailed over the just, save this people." It 'is 
recorded in the Tuyyuriyat on the authority of Sulayman al Makhzumi, 
that Mu'awiyah gave a general audience to the people, and when the assem- 
bly had gathered together, he said, " recite ye to me three verses by an 
Arab, each verse complete in its meaning ;" and they were silent. Then 
A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr rose and said, " This Abu Khubayb here, is the 
most eloquent and learned of the Arabs," and Abu Khubayb said, " what 
is it ?" Mu'awiyah said, " recite to me three verses by an Arab, each 
verse complete in its meaning." He replied, " for three hundred thousand 
dirhams V Mu'awiyah said, " and wiU they be worth it?" He answered, 
"thou hast the choice; therefore thou art the best iudge."f Mu'awiyah 
said, " out with them :" and he recited to him from Afwah al Azdi. J 

" I have proved men age after age. 
And have seen none but dissemblers and praters." 
Mu'awiyah exclaimed " he hath spoken truly, go on." He continued— 

" And I have not seen among evils, any more calamitous in their 

fall, 
Or more distressing than the enmity of men," 
Mu'awiyah said " he hath .spoken truly, go on." He continued — 
" And I have tasted the bitterness of all things : 
And there is no favour more bitter than supplication." 
Mu'dwiyah exclaimed, " he hath said truly," and he ordered him three hun- 
dred thousand dirhams, 

* The MS. has rightly u^t^w which words are improperly inverted in the 
printed edition. 

t Lit. " complete and sufficient." 

X The printed edition has (_jjjjl which is incorrect. See the Muntaha'l Arab art. 



[ a07 1 

Al Bukhari and an NaSai and Ibn Abi Hatim in his commentary, A. II. 60. 
record with various readings, that Marwdn was preaching in Medina, he A. D. 6S0. 
being then ruler over Hijaz on the part , of Mu'awiyah, and he said, 
" verily God hath shown the prince of the Faithful in regard to his son, 
an excellent counsel, and if he appointeth him successor, verily then Abu 
Bakr and Omar named successors," (and in one reading " according to the 
institution of Abu Bakr and Omar"). Whereupon A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi 
Bakr said, " rather according to the institution of Heraclius and Khusrau, 
for, by Allah, Abu Bakr did not give it to any of his sons nor to any of the 
people of his house, and Mu'awiyah hath not done this save from par- 
tiality and favour to his son." And Marwan said, " art thou not he who 
said to his parents ' Fie upon you ?' " (Kur. XVII.) And A'bdu'r Eah- 
mdn said, " art thou not the son of the accursed, of him thy father whom 
the Apostle of God cursed ?" but Ayesha exclaimed, " Marwan hath lied, 
that* was not revealed regarding A'bdu'r Eahman, but it was revealed 
regarding such a one the son of such one, but the Apostle of God cursed 
the father of Marwan and Marwan was then in his loins — therefore Marwan 
is full of the curse of God." 

Ibn Abi Shaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority of U'rwah, 
that Mu'awiyah said, " there is no forbearance without tryings of temper." 
And Ibn A'sakir from as Shaa'bi that he said, " the most sagacious of the 
Arabs are four, Mu'awiyah, A'mr-b-u'l A'as, Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah and 
Ziyad : but Mu'Swiyah shows it in his forbearance and gravity, A'mr in 
difficulties, al Mughirah in swift action, and Ziyad in great and small 
things. The most eminent judges were four, and the most sagacious men 
four, and the judges were Omar, A'li, Ibn Masa'iid, and Zayd-b-Thabit 
and the most sagacious, Mu'awiyah, A'mr-b-u'l A'as, al Mughirah and 
Ziyad." And from Kabisah-b-Jabir that he said, " I have associated with 
Omar the son of al Khattab and I never saw a man more learned in the 
book of God, or more profoundly versed in the religion of God than he, 
and I have associated with falhah the son of U'baydu'llah, and I have 
never seen a man more munificent in large gifts of wealth, unsolicited, 
than he, and I have associated with Mu'awiyah and I have never seen a 
man of greater forbearance or slower to folly or more extreme in gravity 
than he, and I have associated with A'mr the son of al A'as and I have 
never seen a man purer in ancestry and a gentler companipn than he, and 
I have associated with al Mughirah the son of Shuu'bah, and if there were 
a city with eight gates, out of any gate of which one could not go forth 
save by cunning, he would assuredly get out by them all." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Hamid-b-Hilal, that A'kil 
the son of Abti Talib begged of A'li and said, " I am poor and needy, there- 
* I. e., the verao above-mentioned. " Fie upon you," 



[ 208 ] 

A. H. 60. fore give unto me." He replied, " wait until my stipend cometh with' that 
A. D. 680. of the other Muslims, and I will give unto thee with them," but he was 
importunate and A'li said to a man, " take him by the hand and go with 
him to the shops of the people of the market and say, ' break these locks 
and take what is in the shops,' A'kil said, ' dost thou wish to make me a 
thief ?' A'li retorted, ' and dost thou wish to make me a thief that I 
should take the property of the Muslims and give it to thee, and not to them ?' 
He answered, ' I shall assuredly go to Mu'awiyah.' He replied, ' that 
as thou wiliest,' and he went to Mu'awiyah and begged of him, and he 
gave him a hundred thousand dirhams and said, ' get up on the pulpit and 
mention what A'li hath given thee and what I have given thee.' Then 
he mounted, and praised God and glorified him, and said, ' people I tell 
ye, verily I tempted Ali in regard to his religion and he preferred his 
religion, and verily I tempted Mu'awiyah in regard to his religion and he 
preferred me to his religion.' " 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of the father of Jaa'far-b-Mu- 
hammad, that A'kil went in unto Mu'awiyah who said, " that is A'kil 
and his paternal uncle was Abd Lahab," and A'kil said, "this is Mu'awi- 
yah and his maternal aunt was the bearer of wood*" (Kur. CXI). And 
from al Auzaa'i,t that Khuraym-b-F4tik went unto Mu'awiyah, and his 
nether garment was tucked up, and he had shapely legs. And Mu'awiyah 
said, " if but those legs belonged to a woman ;" and Khuraym said " like thy 
hips, prince of the Faithful." 

There died during the reign of Mu'awiyah among distinguished per- 
sons, Safwan-b-Umayyah and Hafsah, U'mm Habibah, Safiyyah, Maymu- 
nah, Saudah and Juayriyyah mothers of the Faithful,— ^Labid the poet, 
Othman-b-Talhah al Hajabi, A'mr-b-u'l A'as, A'bdu'Uah-b-Salamthe learn- 
ed doctor, Muhammad-b-Maslamah, Abu Musa al Asha'ri, Zayd-b-Thabit, 
Abu Bakrah, Kaa'b-b-Malik, al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah, Jarir al Bajli, Abu 
Aylib al Ansari, I'mran-b-Hasin, Sa'id-b-Zayd, Abd Katadah al Ansari, 
Fudhalah-b-U'bayd, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakr, Jubayr-b-Mu'tim, Usa- 
mah-b-Zayd, Thauban, A'mr-b-Hassan-b-Thabit, Hakim-b-Hizam, Saa'd- 

* " The hands of Abu Lahab shall perish and he shall perish. His riches shall 
not profit him nor that which he hath gained. He shall go dovfn to be burned in 
flaming fire and his wife also bearing wood, on her neck a cord of twisted fibres of » 
palm tree." Kur. CXI. Her name was TJmm Jamil, she was the daughter of Harb and 
sister of Abd Sufyau. See Sale. 

t Abu A'mr A'bdu'r Eahmdn-b-Tuhmid al Auzaa'i the chief doctor of law among 
the Syrian Muslims and the most learned in jurisprudence. He dwelt at Bayrtit ; Suf- 
y&n at Thauri was his pupil in traditions, with many others. Born al Baalbek A. H. 
88 (707) died at Bayrut. His tomb is in a village called Hantds outside the gate of 
the city. Ibn Khali. 



[ 209 ] 

b-Abi Wakkas, Abu'l Tusr, Kutham-b-ul A'bbas, and bis brotber U'bayd- A. H. 60. 
u'llab, U'kbab-b-A'dmir, and Abu Hurayrah (in tbe year 59, for be used A. D. 680. 
to pray " God, verily I fly to thee for protection against tbe year 60 and 
tbe reign of cbildren," and his prayer was heard)-;-and others. 



YAZrD-B-MU'AWIYAH. 

Tazid tbe son of Mu'aWiyab, Abu Khalid, the Uinkyyad, was bom 
in tbe year 25 or 26. He was stout, very corpulent and hairy — His 
mother Maysun* was the daughter of Bahdal al Kalabi, He narrated 
traditions on the authority of bis father, and they are related on bis 
authority by his son Khalid and A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marw^n. His father 
made bim his heir, and tbe people were averse to it as hath gone before. 
Al Hasan of Basrah says, " two men threw into confusion the affairs of 
the people, A'mr the son of al A'a? on the day he suggested to Mu'awiyab 
tbe lifting of tbe Kurans on the lances, and they were upraised (and Ibn 
u'l Kara adds, ' and the schismatics asserted that judgment helongeth to 
Ood, and this judgment will continue to he maintained till the day of re- 
surrection,') and al Mugbirab-b-Shuu'bab, for verily he was Mu'awiyah's 
prefect over Kufah, and Mu'awiyab wrote to bim, saying, ' when thou 
readest this letter, come to me — deposed from thy office,' but be delayed 
about it, and when be arrived, Mu'awiyab said to him ' what delayed 
thee ?' He replied, ' an affair which I was settling and arranging,' and 
Mu'awiyab said, ' what was that ?' He replied, ' the covenant of alle- 
giance for Yazid, after thee.' He said, 'and hast thou done it?' He 
answered ' yes' : Mu'awiyab replied, ' go back to. thy prefecture.' And 
when be went put his Companions said to him, ' bow goes it with thee ?' 
He answered, ' I have placed the foot of Mu'awiyab in the stirrup of error 
in which it will continue till tbe day of resurrection'.' Al Hasan says, 
' for this reason, these have taken covenants of allegiance for their sons, 
and were it not for that, there would have been a Council of election till 
the day of resurrection.' " 

Ibn Sirin states that A'mr-b-Hazm went to Mu'awiyab and said to 
him, " I call the Lord to thy remembrance in regard to the people of 
Muhammad, concerning him whom thou placest as thy successor over 
them." He replied, "thou, hast given me counsel and spoken according' 

.• This Bedouin tride of Mu'flwiyah was a graceful poetess — some of her verses 
are translated in Carlyle's specimens of Arabian poetry. One song especially is well 
known and is given in Ockley and in Burton's Pilgrimage. The lattpr says that the 
Bedouins never hear it without screams of joy. 
27 



[ 210 1 

A. H. CO. to thy judgment, but verily there remain none but my son and their sons, 

A. D. 680. and my son is the most deserving." 

A'tiah-b-Kays says that Mu'awiyah preached and said, " O Lord, i£ I 
have surely made a covenant for Yazid on account of the merit I saw in 
him, then cause him to arrive at that which I have hoped, and assist him, 
but if it was indeed the love. of the father for his son that hath influenced 
me, and if he be not deserving of that which I have done for him, then 
*tale him away before he arriveth at it." And' when Mu'awiyah died, the 
people of Syria swore allegiance to Yazid. Then he sent to the people of 
Medina, one who was to take the covenant of allegiance for him, but al 
Husayn and Ibn u'z Zubayr refused to acknowledge him- and they too 
went forth in the night to Mecca. With regard to Ibn u'z Zubayr he 
neither swore allegiance nor made any pretension on his own account, but 
as to al Husayn, the people of Kufah had written to him in the time of 
Mu'awiyah soliciting him to come to them and he had refused, but when 
Yazid was acknowledged he reverted to what had been formerly meditated, 
determining at one time to remain and at another purposing to go to them. 
Ibn u'z Zubayr counselled him to set out, but Ibn A'bbas used to say " do 
not do it," and Ibn Omar said to him, " go not forth, for the Lord gave the 
apostle of God a choice between this world and the next, and he chose the 
next, and thou art a part of him, and thou shalt not obtain it" meaning the 
world, and he fell upon his neck and wept and bade him adieu. Ibn Omar 
used to say, " al Husayn prevailed over us concerning his departure, and by 
my life, verily he had beheld a warning example in his father and. his bro- 
ther ;" and Jabir-b-A'bdu'Uah and Abu Sa'id, and Abti Wakid al Laythi 
Tised to address him similarly, but he did not yield to any of them and 
resolved upon the journey to Irak, whereupon Ibn A'bbas said to him, " by 
Allah, verily, I think thou wilt be slain among thy wives and children as 
Othman was slain." But he did not acquiesce, and Ibn A'bbas wept and 
said " the eye of the son of az Zubayr hath become refreshed."* And when 
Ibn A'bbas saw Abdu'llah-b-u'z Zubayr, he said to him, " what thou hast 
desired hath come to pass — ^this al Husayn is about to set forth and will 
quit thee and al Hija'z," Then he quoted appositely — 
" lark ! in this pasture land. 
The valley is open to thee, lay thy eggs and sing. 
Peck at what thou wiliest to peck,"t 

* Meaniog, that he saw his own way to the Caliphate only through the death of 
al Husayn whose march to Kiifah he had counselled. 

t The verses are Kulayb Wail's of the tribe of Taghlib — the most powerful chief 
of Najd, The proverbial " guarded domain of Xulayb," was any land he chose to 
take for pasture, prohibiting others therefrom. It is said, he would put a dog in a 
field and wherever its bark could be heard, the prohibition of pasturage extended. 



[ 211 ] 

And the people of I'rak, sent messengers and letters to al Husayn, A. H. 60. 
inviting him among them, whereupon he set forth from Mecca to I'rak A. D. 680. 
on the 10th of Du'l Hijjah, and with him a party of his household, men, 
women and children. Then Yazid wrote to U'baydu'llah-b-Ziydd, his 
prefect in I'rak to oppose him, and he sent against him an army of four 
thousand men, commanded by Omar-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas. And the 
people of Kiifah deserted al Husayn, as had been their way with his father 
before him, and when the troops came up with him he profferred sub- 
mission to them and to return and go to Yazid to place his hand in the 
band of Yazid, but they refused everything bu^ his death, and he was slain 
-and his head was carried in a platter until it was placed before Ibn Ziyad — 
may God curse his slayer, and Ibn Ziyad with him and Yazid likewise. 

He was slain at Karbala and the narrative of his death is long the 
mention of which the heart cannot endure, " il^erily we belong to God, and 
verily unto Him shall we return." There were slain together with him six- 
■teen men of his family. And when al Husayn was murdered, the world 
stood stiU for seven days, and the sun upon the walls appeared as safEron- 
coloured sheets, and the stars struck one upon the other. His murder took 
place on the 10th of Muharram, and the sun was eclipsed on that day and 
the horizon of the sty became red for six months after his death. The 
redness did not cease to be seen after that, but it had never been beheld 
before. 

It is said that not a stone was turned in Jerusalem on that day but 
fresh blood was found beneath it, and the saffron that was in their army 
became ashes, and they slew a camel in their army and they saw in its 
flesh, as if flames, and they cooked it and it became like the colocynth, 
and a man spake some words against al Husayn and the Lord launched at 
him two stars from heaven and his sight was destroyed. 

At Thaa'labi says that historians have recounted in several ways 
on the authority of Abdu'l Ma^k-b-U'mayr al Laythi, that he said, " I saw 
upon this palace," and he pointed to the royal palace of Kiifah, " the head 
of al Husayn the son of A'li upon a buckler, before U'baydu'Uah-b-Ziyad ; 
afterwards I beheld the head of U'baydu'llah-b-Ziyad before al Mukhtar-b- 
Abi U'bayd ; again, I saw the head of al Mukhtar before Musaa'b-b-u'z 
Zubayr ; next I saw the head of Musaa'b before A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwdn, 

From this dog, he is supposed to have received the name of Kulayb. Once when ha 
was walking in his domain, a lark flew away from her eggs at his approach, upon 
which he said, "Pear not, thy eggs are under my protection," and then added the 
verse quoted which concludes thus : " The fowler is far from thee, so be glad#-yet, 
sure, he will take thee some day, so beware." See Ohenery's notes to 19th and. 26th 
Assemblies of al Hariri. 



[ 212 ] 

A. H. 60. and I related this circumstance to A'bdu'l Malik who was startled at it 
A. D. 680. and left the place."* 

At Tirmidi records on the authority of Salmaf that she narrates, " I 
went ib unto TJmm, SalimahJ and she ' was weeping and I said, ' what 
makes thee weep ?' She repliedi ' I saw the apostle of God in a dream, 
with dust on his head and beard,' and I said, ' what hath come to thee, O 
, apostle of God ?' He replied, ' I witnessed but now the murder of al 
Husayn.' " And al Bayhaki in the Dalail from Ibn A'bhas that he said, 
" I saw the Apostle of God at midday, with dishevelled hail-, soiled with 
dust and in his hand a phial of blood, and I said, ' with my father and my 
mother, mayst thou he ransomed, what is this ?' He replied, ' this is the 
blood of al Husayn and his Companions, I have not ceased to gather it up 
from to-day ;' and they computed the day and found that he was slain on 
that day." 

Abu Nua'ym records in the Dalail from Umm Salimah, that she said, 
" I heard the jinns weeping for al Husayn and lamenting over him." 
And Thaa'lab in his Dictations from Abu Jandb al Kalabi that he narrates, 
" I went to Karbala and I said to one of the Arab Chiefs, ' tell me re- 
garding what hath reached me, «««., that ye hear the lamentations- of the 
jinns ;' and he said, ' thou wilt not meet with any one, but he will tell 
thee that he hath heard it.' I replied, ' then tell me what thou hast 
heard.' He replied, ' I have heard them saying — 

The Apostle stroked his forehead 

And he had a radiance in his checks ; 

His parents were the noblest of the KuraysL, 

And the grandsire the best of grandsires.' " 

And when al Husayn and the children of his father were slain, Ibn 
Ziyad Sent their heads to Yazid who at first rejoiced at their death, but 
repented afterwards when the Muslims hated him for it, and the people 
bore him enmity and bore him enmity with justice. 

Abu Ya'la records in his Musnad on a weak ascription to Abu TJ'bay- 
dah, that the Apostle of God said, " the government of my people shall 
not cease to be based on justice until the first that shall subvert it shall 
be a man of the Banu Umayyah called Yazid." Ar Euyani records 
in his Musnad on the authority of Abu'd Dardd, that he narrates, " I heard 

• According to Ockley, he commanded the castle to be demolished to arert the 
ill oinen — Maea'udi says jj"''^ I (j** (ills' <.s*^l (j'^l (•<*«^^l 

\ Freedwoman. of Muhammad or according to others of §afiyyah-d of A'bdu'l 
Muttalib^Bhe married Abu Eafi,' freodman of Muljammad. 

1^ See note § page 15. 



[ 213 ] 

the Apostle &f God say, ' the first who will alter my law, will be one of A. H. GO. 
the Banu Umayyah called Yazid.' " Naufal-b-u'l Furat Says, " I was with A. D. 680. 
Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, when a man mentioned Yazid and said, ' the prince of 
the Faithful Yazid the son of Mu'dwiyah said,' and he exclaimed, ' dost 
thou call him prince of the Faithful ?' and he gave orders regarding him, 
and he was scourged twenty lashes." , 

In the year 63 it reached YaziA, that the people of Medina had re- 
belled against him and deposed him, wherefore he sent against them a 
large force and ordered it to attack them and then march to Mecca to , 
engage Ibn u'z Zubayr. And they set out and there took place the battle 
of Harrah over against the gate of Taybah, and what shall make thee 
understand what the battle of Harrah was ! Al Hasan mentions it once 
and says, " by Allah, scarcely one of them escaped." A large number of 
the Companions and others were slain in it, and Medina was sacked and a 
thousand virgins violated. Verily we belong to God and verily unto Him 
shall we return. The apostle hath said, " he who intimidateth the people 
of Medina, the Lord shall put him in fear and upon him be the curse of 
God and his angels and of aU mankind" (Muslim relates this). The reason 
of his deposition by the people of Medina was that Yazid became bound- 
less in iniquities. Al Wakidi records with various lines of ascription, that 
A'bdu'Uah-b-Handhalah-b-i'l Ghasil said, " by Allah, we did not rebel 
against Yazid until we feared that we sh9uld be stoned from Heaven on 
account of a man who would marry slave mothers who had home children 
to tJieir masters and daughters and sisters, and drink wine and abandon 
public prayers." Ad Dahabi says, " when Yazid had done unto the people 
of Medina what he had done, together with his drinking wine and indul- 
gence in forbidden things, the people became violent against him and more 
than one rebelled against him, and the Lord did not bless his life and while 
the army of Harrah marched to Mecca, the commander of the troops* died 
on the way. But he appointed over them a chief to succeed him and they 
reached Mecca and besieged Ibn u'z Zubayr and attacked him and launched 
engines of war against him, and that in Safar of the year 64. And from 
^ihe sparks of their fires, the coverings of the Kaa'bah took fire and its roof 
and the two horns of the ram, the one by which Ishmael was ransomedf 
and which were in the roof." 

The Lord destroyed Yazid in the middle of the month of Eabii' u'l I 
Awwal of this year (11th November, 683) and the news of his death arrived '-^ 

f Muslim-b-TJ'kbali, he died at a place called Harsha having appointed Husayn ' 
((^«a&.) b-Numayr as Sakuni to succeed him. Ibn Khali, art. Abu Jaa'far. 

t The printed edition should have, with the MS. t5** for tS'<i'». It is ■well- 
known that the Muhammadans maintain that lehmael and not Isaac waa taken for 
saorifloe by Abraham. 



[ 214 ] 

A. H. 64. -while the fighting was going on. And Ibn u'z Zubayr called out ; " O 
A- D. 683. men of Syria, verily your oppressor is dead ;" and they were routed and 
broken and the people captured them, and Ibn u'z Zubayr invited the 
covenant of allegiance for himself, and assumed the title of Caliph. But 
,the people of Syria swore allegiance to Mu'awiyah the son of Tazid, but 
his reign was not long, as will appear afterwards. Among the verses t^ 
' Tazid are, • 

This sorrow hath returned and drawn near, 

And embittered sleep and withheld it. 

Gazing upon the stars I watched them 

And when a planet rose 

It circled over until, verily, I saw it 

Declining to its fall. 

And my love in Matirlin,* what time 

The ant eatethf of what she hath garnered. 

Hath a pleasant abode and when she arriveth, 

She alighteth at a temple near Damascus 

Under the domes in the midst of cloisters 

Round which the olives are ripening. 
Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar that he 

said — " Abu Bakr the witness to the truth, ye have well hit his name 

and Omar, the discriminator, a horn of iron, ye have well hit his name, 

Ibn A'fiFan the possessor of two luminaries, unjustly slain, is given a double 

portion of divine mercy. Mu'awiyah and his son are kings of the Holy 

land. As SafEah, and Salam,J and aLMansiir, and Jabir, and al Mahdi, 

and al Amin and the prince of wrath, are all of them of the Banu Kaa'b- 

b-Lawayy, all of them virtuous, their like cannot be found." Ad Dahabi 

• says that this is given in various ways, but no one has traced its ascription. 

Al Wakidi states on the authority Abu Jaa'far al Bakir,§ that the 

X first who covered the Kaa'bah with silk brocade was Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah. 

There died of distinguished people in the reign of Yazid, besides 
those who were killed with al Husayn and in the battle of Harrah, Umm 
Salimah the mother of the Faithful, Khalid-b-U'rfutah, Jarhad al Aslatni, 

* A village near Damascus. 

t The printed edition has "-^^l for J^t The MS. here agrees with Yakut who 
gives these verses with slight variants under ait — liij^'*^! 

J I am unahle to explain the introduction of the names, Salam, J&hir and the 
prince of wrath. The MS. is in accordance with the text but both are probably iu 
error. Its unintelligibility may account for ita lack of ascription. 

J Muliammad-b-A'li-b-al iJusayu-b-A'U-b-Abi Talib called al Baiiir, from the 
profundity of his knowledge. Muntaha'l Arab. 



[ 215 I 

Jabir-b-A'tik, Burayda bu'l Husayb, Maslamah-b-Mukhallad, A'lkamah-b- A. H. 64. 
Kays an Nakha'i the doctor of law, Masriik, Miswar-b-Makhramah and A. D. 683. 
others. The number of the slain at Harrah of the Kuraysh and the 
Auxiliaries, were three hundred and six. 



MU'AWIYAH-B-YAZrD. 

Mu'awiyah-b-Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah, Abu A'bdu'r Rahman, called also 
Abu Tazld, and Abu Layla, was acknowledged Caliph according to the 
covenant of his father in the month of Eabii' u'l Awwal 64i. He was 
a virtuous youth, and was sufBeriug in health when appointed Caliph, and 
continued ill till he died. He never came forth to the people and did not 
take any part in affairs, nor prayed before the people. The duration of. 
his Caliphate was forty days ; some say two months and others three 
months. He died being one and twenty years of age. When he was at the 
point of death, it was said to him, " wilt thou not name a successor ?"' 
He replied, " I have not enjoyed the sweets of it, therefore I shall not 
take upon myself its bitterness." 



A'BDU'LLAH-B-U'Z ZUBATE. 

A'bdu'llah was the son of az Zubayr-b-i'l A'wwdm-b-Khuwaylad, b- 
Asad-b-Abdi'l U'zza-b-Kusayy, His surname was Abu Bakr and he. 
was also called Abu Khubayb, a Companion, son of a Companion. His 
father was one of the ten unto whom the atiainmenf of Paradise was tes- 
tified, and his mother was Asma, daughter of Abd Bakr as Siddik, and his 
father's mother was Safiyyah, paternal aunt of the Apostle of God. He 
was born at Medina twenty months after the Flight, and it is also said, 
within the first year, and he was the first child born to the Fugitives after 
(he Flight. The Muslims rejoiced at his birth with an exceeding joy> 
for the Jews used to say, " we have bewitched them therefore no son 
shall be born to them. The Apostle of God rubbed his palate with a 
date,* which he had first chewed and named him A'bdu'llah and gave him 
the surname of Abu Bakr after the name and surname of his grandfather. 

He was a great observer of fasting and devotions and given to long 
* A custom with a newly born child to induce it to suck. 



[ 216 ] 

A. H. 64. prayer, attached to his kindred and of great intrepidity. He apportioned 
A. D. 683. his timq into three srecwrmg nights ; on one night iie prayed standing till 
morning, on the next with body inclined, and the next worshipping on his 
face till the morning. It is said that he had thirty-three traditions from 
the prophet, and his brother TJ'rwah, and Ibn Abi Mulaykah, A'bbas-b- 
Sahl, Thdbit al Bunani, A'ta, TJ'baydah as Salmani and others relate them 
on his authority. « 

He was one of those who refused to acknowledge Tazid-b-Mu'awiyah 
and he fled to Mecca making no pretension to the Oalvphate for himself 
but refusing to swear allegiance. And Yazid was wroth against him 
with exceeding anger, but when Yazid died, he was acknowledged Caliph 
and the people of Hijaz, Yaman, I'rak and Khurasan obeyed him. He 
renewed the building of the Kaa'bah and made for it two gates after the 
plans of Abraham, and included within it six cubits of the enclosure 
when Ayesha his aunt related to him the tradition from the prophet.* 
External to his authority were only Syria and . Egypt, and Mu'awiyah-b- 
Yazid was acknowledged in those two places, but his reign was not long, 
and when he died the people of those two countries obeyed Ibn u'z Zubayr 
and swore him allegiance. Then Marwdn-b-u'l Hakam rebelled and took 
possession of Syria and then of Egypt and remained in possession till he 
died in the year 65, after having covenanted for his son A'bdu'l Malik. 

It is most just what ad Dahabi observes that Marwan is not to be 
counted amongst the princes of the Faithful,t but as a rebel in revolt 
against az Zubayr, nor was his covenant for his son legal, but the Cali- 
phate of A'bdu'l Malik became rightful from the time that az Zubayr was 
slain. Ibn u'z Zubayr, however, remained at Mecca as Caliph until A'bdu'l 
Malik obtained the ascendancy who despatched al Hajjaj to oppose him at 
the head of forty thousand men, and he besieged him, for some months 
and attacked him with engines of war. The friends of az Zubayr then 
deserted him and stole secretly to al Hajjaj, who defeated him and slew 

* This tradition is thus given in al Bukhari, " Muhammad said to Ayesha, • were 
it not that thy tribe have been, but lately converted from infidelity, I would order the 
temple to be demolished, and what had been excluded from it I would again adjoin to 
it, and would make two gates, to the east and west, and thus fashion it after the plan 
of Abraham.' " The narrator adds, that this tradition induced Ibn u'z Zubayr to de- 
molish the temple — see §aljilj, p. 206. Delhi edition, 1848. 

t Weil omits Ibn u'z Zubayr and places the name of Marwan between Mu'a- 
wiyah II and A'bdu'l Malik. Maea'udi however, clearly, states that the" authority 
of Ibn u'z Zubayr became established even in Syria, and he was publicly proclaimed 
from aU the pulpits of Isl4m except that of Tiberias, where Hasan-b-MaHk held for 
Khffid-b-YazId— see Prairies d'Or. Tom. 5, p. 194. Ockley likewise recognises Ibn 
u'z Zubayr as 9th Caliph, but places Marw4n after him as the 10th. 



r 217 ] 

him" and crucified him, and that on Tuesday the 17th* of JutaiMa'l Awwal, A. H. 73. 
and say Jumada'l Akhirah of the year 73 (3rd October 692). A. D. 692. 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Zayd-b-A'b- 
di'Uah-b-Oraar that he said, " I was standing upon the summit of the Mil 
of Abu Kubays, at the time the engines were laid against Ibn u'z Zubayr 
when a thunderbolt i^W-from heaven, so that I saw it wheeling round as 
if it were a red wild ass, and it burnt up of the people at the engine about 
fifty men, Ibn u'z Zubayr was the best horseman of his time among the 
Kuraysh — and his exploits are well attested. 

Abu Ya'la records in his Musnad on the authority of Ibn u'z Zubayr 
that the prophet was bled and when it was over, he said to him, " A'b- 
du'llah, go with this blood and pour it out where no one may see thee }" 
and when he departed he drank it. 

On his return the prophet said to him, "what hast thou done ?" He 
replied, " I designed it for a most secret place and I have put it therein." 
He said " perhaps thou hast swallowed it." He replied, " yes." He ex- 
claimed, " woe unto the people from thee, and woe unto thee from the peo- 
ple ;" and they used to think that the strength that was in him was from 
that blood. And from Nauf ul Bikalif that he said, " verily I find in the 
revealed book of God that the best horseman among the Caliphs is Ibn 
u'z Zubayr." 

A'mr-b-Dinar says " I never saw one at prayers more devout than Ibn 
u'z Zubayr, and he ^yas once praying in the enclosure of the temple when a 
ioltfrom a catapult struck the side of his garment, but he did not heed it." 
Mujahid says, " there was no method of devotion which men from its hard- 
ship failed to perform, but Ibn u'z Zubayr undertook it, and verily a 
torrent came and flooded the temple, whereupon he went round it swim- 
ming." Othman-b-'Talhah says that Ibn u'z Zubayr could not be matched 
in three things — in bravery, piety or eloquence, and he had a voice that 
when he preached resounded in the hills. Ibn A'sakir records from U'rwah 
that an Nabighah al Jaa'di recited this verse regarding Ibn u'z Zubayr. 

Thou didst remind us of Siddik when thou didst rule us ; 

And of Othman and the Discriminator, and the poor rejoiced. 

And thou didst administer justice equally amongst the people, and it 
was undeviating • 

But in the morning returned the dark sable clouds. 

And .from Hisham-b-Urwah and Khubayb, that the first who covered 
the Kaa'bah with silk brocade was A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr, its covering 

* Weil, following Masa'udi makes it the 14tli— as the 14th and not the 17th was 
a Tuesday. 

t Abu Yazi'd Nauf-b-Pudhalah, a Tabi'i of the Banu Bikal— Mimt Arab 

28 



[ 218 ] 

A. H. 73. having been of haircloths and dressed leather. And from Omar-b-Kaya 
A. D. 692. that he said, " Ibn u'z Zubayr had one hundred servants, each servant 
among them speaking a different tongue, and Ibn u'z Zubayr used to speak 
with each of them in his own tongue and when I regarded him in his 
worldly conduct, I used to say, ' this man never turns to God for the twink- 
. ling of an eye,' and when I regarded him in his religious conduct, I used to 
say, ' this man never turns to the world for the twinkling of an eye.' " 
And from Hisham-b-U'rwah, " the first word my paternal uncle Ibn u'z 
Zubayr distinctly uttered as a child was ' sword,' and he never let it out of 
his mouth, and his father when he heard that, would say, ' well, by Allah, thou 
shalt have it for a day and a day and days.' " And from Abu U'baydah, 
that A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr al Asadi, went to A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr-b- 
i'l Awwam and said, " prince of the Faithful, between me and thee there 
is relationship through a certain female." Ibn u'z Zubayr replied, " yes, 
it is as thou sayest, but if thou wilt consider this, thou wilt mark that all 
men go back to one father and mother." He said, " O prince of the 
Faithful, my means of subsistence are at end." He replied, " I never was 
surety to thy family that it would suffice for thee until thou dost return 
to them !" He answered, " O prince of the Faithful, my camel is foot- 
sore." He replied, "help her by cooling her hoof and pasture her on the 
plant called Subt,* and cover her with hair and ride her in the morning and 
the evening." He exclaimed " prince of the Faithful, verily I came to 
thee asking for relief, but I did not come to thee asking for a prescription — 
the Lord curse the camel that bore me to thee ;" and Ibn u'z Zubayr re- 
plied " and its rider." And al Asadi departed, reciting this verse — 

" I see that with Abu Khubayb, needs 
Are unsupplied, and there is no Umayyad in the land 
Among the Banu A'as or the descendants of Harb 
Eesplendent like the white star of a generous steed. 
And I said to my companions, ' draw nigh to my stirrup 
For I shall leave the interior of Mecca in the darkness 
And when I pass Dat I'rk,t there shall be for me 
No return to this son of remissness.' " 

A'bdu'r Eazzak records in his Musannaf on the authority of az Zuliri, 

that never was a head brought to the Apostle of God at Medina, not even 

after the battle of Badr, but a head was once taken to Abu Bakr, and he 

I disapproved of it. The first to whom heads were taken was A'bdu'llah- 

b-u'z Zubayr. 

* Lane makes this to be a plant resem'bliiig the AUhea ojkinalis or marsh mallow, 
t A place near Mecca -where the pilgriins from Irak put on the pilgrim's dress 
lefore approaching the Kaa'bah. 



[ 219 ] 

During the reign of u'z Zubayr occurred the rebellion of al Mukhtdr, A. H. 73. 
the liar, he who pretended to prophecy,* and Ibn u'z Zubayr despatched A- D. 0024 
an army to oppose him until he overpowered him in the year 67 and put 
him to death — may God curse him. 

Of the distinguished men who died during the reign of a'z Zubayr, 
were, Usayd-b-Dhuhayr. A'bdu'Uah-b-A'mr-b-i'l A'aa, an Nu'man-b-Bashir, 
Sulayman-b-Surad, Jabir-b-Samurah, Zayd-b-Arkam,- A'di-b-Hatim, Ibn 
A'bbds, Abd Wakid al Laythi, Zayd-b-Khalid al Juhni, Abti'l Aswad ad 
Duall and others. 



A'BDII'L MALIK-B-MAEWAN. 

A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan-b-i'l Hakam-b-Abi'l A'as-b-TJ'mayyah-b-A'bd 
Shams-b-A'bd Manaf-b-Kusayy-b-KiMb, — A'bu'l Walid, was born in the 
year, 26, and was acknowledged Caliph according to the covenant of his 
father, during the Caliphate of Ibn u'z Zubayr, but his Caliphate was not 
valid, and he continued as a usurper over Egypt and Syria. Subsequently 
he took possession of I'rak and the adjacent provinces, till Ibn u'z Zubayr 
was slain in the year 73, from which day his Caliphate became valid and 
his authority established. 

During this year, al Hajjaj pulled down the Kaa'bah and restored it 
to the condition in which it now is ; he likewise suborned a man to strike 
• Ibn Omar with a poisoned javelin, of which he sickened and died. 

In the year 74 al Hajjaj went to Medina and began to oppress its 
people and humiliate the remnant of the Companions of the Apostle of 
<3rod therein, and sealedf them in their necks and hands, thereby bringing 

* On what ground this is asserted I cannot find. Neither d'Herbelot, nor Ootley 
nor Weil, nor Masaudi mention it. The latter says that when his wives were com- 
manded hj' Musa'b to curse their dead husband, two of them refused testifying to his • 
piety and his exertions in the cause of God and his prophet and his avenging the 
hlood of Husayn. One of these two women subsequently relented under threat of 
death and called al Mukhtar an infidel, adding that she would have abjured Islam like- 
wise under a similar threat. The other died rather than consent to the intimidations 
of Musa'b. The aim of al Mukhtar's ambition was to extirpate the murderers of al 
Husayn, and avenge his death which he amply accomplished by killing, according to 
Ockley, nearly fifty thousand men. He was slain in the 67th year of his age after hav- 
ing beaten all the generals of Tazid, Marwan and Abdu'l Malik and made himself mas. 
ter of Baylonian Irak. 

t Lane says that the "sealing of the neck" ( (3''*^5" f**'^ ) is mentioned in the 
Kisalah Yuaufiyah thus— Omar sent Ibn Hunayf to seal the ^J^ or imbeUvers of 



[ 220 ] 

A. H. 73. ttem into contempt, such as Anas, Jabir-b-A'bdi'Uah, and Sahl-b-Soa'd as 
A. D. 692. Saa'di-— verily we belong to God and unto God do we return. 

In the year 75 the Caliph A'bdu'l Malik made the pilgrimage with 
the people, and he sent al Hajjaj as governor to I'rAk. 

In the year 77 Heraolea was taken, and A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Marwan, 
demolished the principal mosque at Cairo and enlarged it on all four sides. 

In the year 82 the fortress of Sinan in the district of Masisah,* was 
taptured, and the expedition to Armenia and Sinhajah in nothern Africa 
took place. 

In the year 83 the city of Wasit was founded by al Hajjaj. 
-^ In the year 84 Masisah was occupied and the valleys of Mauritania. 

In the year 85 the city of Ardabil was founded and the city .of 
Bardaa'h,t both by A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Abi Hatim-b-i'n Nu'man al Bahili. 

In the year 86 the forts of Taulak and Akhram were taken. During 
the same occurred the Pestilence of the Girls, so called because it began 
with the women : in the same died the Caliph A'bdu'l Malik in the month 
of Shawwdl leaving seventeen sons. Ahmad-b-A'bdi'llah al I'jli says that 
A'bdu'l Malik was foul of breath, and that he was a six months' child. 
Ibn Saa'd says that he was pious and virtuous when at Medina before the 
Caliph, and Tahya al Ghassani mentions that A'bdu'l Malik was often in 
the company of Umm u'd Darda,J and she said to him on one occasion, 
" it has reached me, prince of the Faithful, that thou drinkest wine after 
all thy piety and devotion." He replied " yes, by AUah, and it is the 
pleasantest liquor I have tasted." Nafi' says, " verily I have seen Medina 
and there is not in it a youth more zealous nor more learned in the law, 
nor more virtuous nor more versed in the book of God than A'bdu'l Malik 
the son of Marwan," and Abu'z Zanad observes that the jurists of Me- 
dina are four, Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, A'bdu'l Malik-b- Marwan, U'rwah-b- 
u'z Zubayr and Kabisa'h-b-Duayb. Ibn Omar remarks that men beget a 
son, but Marwan begot a father,§ and A'bbadah-b-Lubni, that it was said 
to Ibn Omar, " verily ye are a body of elders, and it will soon be that ye will 

the Sawfid, and he sealed 5,00,00.0 of them in classes : that is, he marked them twelve 
dirhams and twenty-four and forty-eight, tying a thong upon the neck of each and 
Jutting upon the knot a seal of lead. 

* On the north frontier of Syria. 

t In Adarbijdu. 

J Abu 'd Darda the Companion had two wives of this name — the first Zhayrah 
died during his lifetime, the second Hujaymah is here alluded to. On her husband's 
death she vowed to remain a widow, and refused Mu'&wiyah's offer of marriage, saying 
that she hoped to marry her husband again in Paradise.' She ended her days in great 
piety between Jerusalem and Damascus. An Nawawi. 

§ Meaning one moro illustrious than himself. 



[ sal ] 

,pas^ aWay, whom then shall we consult after ye ?" He replied, "verily Mar- A. H. 86. 

wan bath a son learned in the law, consult him." Suhaym the freedman of A. D, 703. 

Abu Hurayrah narrates that A'bdu'l Malik, when be was a lad went in to 

Abu Hurayrah who said, " this man shall govern Arabia." And TJ'baydah- 

b-Eiyah al Ghassani, that TJmmti'd Darda said to A'bdu'l Malik, " I never 

ceased thinking that this authority would come to thee since I saw thee." 

He replied, " how so ?" She answered, " I never saw any one better than 

thou art as a narrator of traditions nor one more intelligent as a listener 

to them." And as Shaa'bi, " I never associated with any one, but I found 

in myself a superiority over him, save A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan, and verily 

I never related a tradition to him but he added to it, and never a verse of 

poetry but he capped me in it." 

Ad Dahabi says that A'bdu'l Malik heard traditions frem Othman and 
Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa'id and Umm Salimah, Barirah,* Ibn Omar and 
Mu'awiyah ; and U'rwah, Khalid and others have related them on his 
authority. 

Bakr-b-A'bdu'Uah al Muzani narrates "a Jew whose name was Tusuf 
embraced Islam, and he had read the scriptures, and he passed by the 
house of Marwan and said, ' woe to the people of Muhammad from the 
people of this house,' and I said to him ' for how long ?' He replied, 
• until the black standards come from Khorasan.' A'bdu'l Malik had a 
friend who slapped him on the shoulder and said 'fear God in tliy 
cJiarge of the people of Muhammad when thou rulest them.' He replied, 
' leave me ! fie on thee, what hath such as I am to do with that dignity !' 
The other answered ' fear God in what concerneth them.' " The narrator 
continues, " Yazid despatched an army against the people of Mecca and 
A'bdu'l Malik said, ' God preserve me, is it sent against the sanctuary of 
God?' and Yusuf slapped his shoulder and said, ' thy army against them 
ehaU be greater.' " 

Yahya al Ghassani relates, "when Muslim-b-U'kbaht arrived at 
Medina, I entered the mosque of the Apostle of God and sat down by the 
side of A'bdu'l Malik, and he said to me, ' art thou of this army ?' I 
said ' yes.' He replied ' may thy mother be childless of thee ! dost thou 
not know against whom thou goest ? — against the first-born in Islam 
and against the son of the disciple of the Apostle of God and against a son 
of the Possessor of the two Girdles, J against him whose palate the 
Apostle of God rubbed with a date ! By Allah, if thou goest to him in the 

* Barirah was the daughter of Safwan and the freedwoman of Ayesha. An 
Nawawi. 

t He commanded the army despatched by Yazxd against Medina, and after- 
wards to engage Ibn u'z Zubayr at Mecca. (See p. 213.) 

% See note •, page 85. 



I 232 ] 

A-. H. 86. daytime, thou wilt find him fasting, and if thou goest to him at night, 

A. D. 705. thou wilt find him praying — and if the people of the earth comhine to slay 

him, the Lord will assuredly fling them headlong into hell-fire.' And 

when the Caliphate fell to A'bdu'l Malik, he sent us with al Hajjaj until 

we slew him." 

Ibn Abi Ayesha says that the announcement of the government having 
devolved upon him reached A'bdu'l Malik when the ?!uran was in his 
lap, and he closed it and said, " this is my last time with thee ;" and Ma- 
lik narrates, " I heard Yahya-b-Sa'id say ' those who prayed in the mosque 
between midday and the afternoon were A'bdu'l Malik and certain youths 
with him — when the Imam had read the midday prayers they used to 
stand praying till the afternoon ; and it was said to Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, 
if we could but stand and pray as those pray !' He replied, ' devotion 
lieth not in much prayer and fasting, but verily devotion consisteth in 
meditation on the commands of God and abstaining from the things 
that God hath prohibited.' " Musa'b-b-A'bdu'Uah says, that the first who 
was named Abdu'l Malik in Islam, was Abdu'l Malik-b-Marwan. And 
Yahya-b-Bukayr narrates, " I heard Malik say that the first who coined 
dinars was Abdu'l Malik and he inscribed on them a verse of the Kuran." 
Mu^a'b states that Abdu'l MaUk inscribed on the dinar, " Say God is One" 
(Kur. CXII) and on the reverse, " there is no God but God ;" and its circum- 
ference was a rim of silver, and he inscribed outside the rim, " Muhammad 
is the Apostle of God, whom He hath sent as a guide unto salvation and the 
true faith." 

It is stated in the Awdil of al A'skari with its ascription, that A'bdu'l 
Malik was the first who wrote at the headings of letters " Say there is 
one God," together with the mention of the prophet and the date, and the 
Grecian emperor wrote, saying, " verily you have introduced in your epistles 
somewhat of the mention of your prophet, therefore abandon it, otherwise 
there will reach you on our dinars the mention of what you will not like." 
And this pressed sorely upon A'bdu'l Malik and he sent to Khalid-b-Yazid- 
b-Mu'awiyah and consulted him, who said " forbid their money and strike 
for the people coins upon which shall be the praise of God and His pro- 
phet and do not forego for them that which they dislike in your epistles." 
He therefore coined dinars for the people in the year 75. And the first 
Caliph who was parsimonious was A'bdu'l Malik, and he was named 
" Sweat of a stone," and obtained the surname of the " Father of flies" 
from his foul breath. He was the first in Islam who acted ^treacherously 
and the first who forbade speaking in presence of the Caliphs, and the first 
who prohibited exhortation to uprightness of conduct.* 

* I. e. venturing to suggest to the Calipl, a particular course of conduct or 
condemning any that lie might have adopted, a not unfrequent practice with holy 
fanatics in early times— compare wy_/*4J4 /♦*>* ^J (Kur. VII.) 



[ 223 ] 

He then records with its ascription on the authority of Ibri u'l Ka- A. H. 86. 
labi, that Marwdn-b-u'l Hakam hp,d named A'mr-b-Sa'id-b-i'l Aas to the A. D. 705. 
succession after his own son, but A'bdu'l Malik slew him, and his assas- 
sination was the first act of treachery in Islam. One has said — 

people ! be not prevailed over in your judgments, for verily 
Ye have experienced perfidy from the sons of Marwan. 
And verily they slew A'mr and did not act uprightly, 
Asserting treachery and fraud to be the command of God ; 
And they slay men ripe of judgment, in sound mind 
That they may give children to rule over the affairs of men. 
They jest with the Book of God and take 

Their desires in iniquities against the Lord, to be a means of ap- 
proaching him. 

He has also recorded with an ascription, (in which comes al Karimi 
who is suspected of falsehood) on the authority of the father of Jurayj, 
that he said, " A'bdu'l Malik preached to us in Medina after the death of Ibn 
u'z Zubayr, in the year of his pilgrimage, the year 75, and after praising 
and glorifying' God, he said " now, I am not a weak Caliph, to wit 
Othman, nor a Caliph a hypocrite, to wit Muawiyah, nor a Caliph weak 
in understanding, to wit Yazid — now, verily the Caliphs before me used 
to consume and enjoy this property of the State — now forsooth, I will not 
heal the diseases of this people save with the sword until your spears rise 
erect for me. Ye thrust upon me the deeds of the Fugitives, but ye do not 
yourselves according to their works — therefore you will add only to your 
punishment until the sword shall decide between me and between ye. 
This A'mr, his kinship was such as it was and his position such as it 
was — he said with his head — thus, and I said with my sword — thus. Now, 
I will endure anything from you but attacking a governor or raising a 
standard — verily the collar which I put upon the neck of A'mr-b-Yazid 
is with me — by Allah, no one shall do his deed, but I will put it upon his 
neck — by Allah, no one shall enjoin upon me the fear of God after this my 
rising to-day but I will smite his neck" — then he descended. ■ 

Al A'skari then continues that Abdu'l Malik was the first that altered 
" the public registers from Persian to Arabic and the first that raised up 
his hands on the pulpit. I remark that ten innovations are thus summed 
up in him of which five are reprehensible. 

Ibn Abi Shaybah records with its ascription in the Musannaf on the 
authority of Muhammad-b-Sirin, that the first who introduced the call to 
prayers on the festivals of Fitr and Adhha were the children of Marwan, 
either A'bdu'l Malik or one of his sons. Abdu'r Kazzak records from Ibn 



[ 224 ] 

A. H. 86. ' Jurayj that he said, " more than one person has told me that the first who 
A. D. 705. covered the Kaa'bah with silk brocade was A'bdu'l Malik, but verily those 
among the jurists who have been best acquainted with that subject, say, 
■ ' there hath reached us what we know regarding the covering of the Kaa'- 
bah more exact, than that.' Yusuf-b-u'l Majishlin* says that when Abdu'l 
Malik sat down to administer justice, men stood at his head with swords. 
And al Asma'i, that it was said to Abdu'l Malik, ' greyness is hastening 
upon thee,' he replied, ' and how could it be otherwise when I give forth 
my wlole intellect to the people every Friday.' " Muhammad-b-Harb az 
Ziyadi narrates that it was said to Abdu'l Malik " who is the best of men ?" 
he replied, " he who is humble in a lofty station, devout though in authori- 
ty and just though in power." And Ibn Ayesha, that Abdu'l Malik when 
a man from any of the remote countries came in to him, used to say, 
" spare me four things — and say after that what thou pleasest — do not lie 
to me for liars have no judgment, and do not answer me regarding what 
I do not ask thee for it is a distraction from what I do ask thee, and do 
not be extravagant in my praise for I know myself better than thou, and 
do not incite me against my subjects forverily clemency unto them is more 
needful for me." 

Al Maddini says that when Abdu'l Malik was made aware of his ap- 
proaching death, he said, " by Allah, I would that from the time I was 
born until to-day, I had been a porter ;" then he commended unto his sons, 
the fear of God, and warned them against dissension and discord, and said, 
" be ye as sons of a virtuous mother, and be brave in war, and as a beacon 
in doing good, for verily war doth not bring death before its time, and as 
to goodness, its reward and its fame endure, and be ye sweet in bitterness 
and lenient in severity, and be ye as Ibn A'bd al Aa'la as Shaybani says — 

' Verily arrows when they are gathered together, and hath sought 
To break them, a strong man full of rage and might. 
They resist and cannot be broken, but if they be separated 
Then rupture and weakness belong to what is dispersed.' 

* Abu Tusuf YaVfib, the father of TuBuf, was the son of Abd Salama Tiiaix, a 
client of the Banu Taym. He was a Mawla of the Munkadirs, a family of Medma. 
He pretended to have been ravished to heaven in spirit, and to have seen Muhammad 
with Abu Bakr and Omar at his right and left hand and Omar-b-Adi'l A'ziz at his feet. 
He died at Baghdad under the Caliphate of al Mahdi, A. H. 164 (780-1). Ibn Khali 
says that Mdjish-iin signifies rose colour or tinged with red and white, and the name 
was given liim by Sukaynah-d-of IJusayn-b-Abi f^Hb. Another explanation is that as 
they were originally from Ispahan, they saluted each other when they met with 
" Shlirii-Shdm" and were therefore called Mdjishun. The etymology is not satisfae. 
tory. 



[ 225 ] 

Walid, fear God in that in which I leave thee to succeed me ; and A. H. 86. 
he -went on to say — " look to al Hajjaj, and honour him, for verily, he it A. D. 705t 
is who hath coerced for you the pulpits, and he is thy sword, Walid, and 
thy right hand against those who oppose thee, — therefore hear not the 
word of any one against him, for thou art more in need of him than he of 
thee — and summon the people when I die to the covenant of allegiance, 
and he who saith with his head — thus — say with thy sword — thus." 

Another relates that when A'bdu'l Malik was on the point of death^ 
his son al Walid went in unto him, and A'bdu'l Malik recited appositely — 

How many a visitor hath a sich man, who doth not visit him 

But to learn whether he shall see him die. 

Al Walid wept ; and A'bdu'l Malik said, " what is this ? dost thou 
whine with the whining of a slave girl ? When I am dead, gird up thy 
loins and go forth and put on the skin of a leopard and lay thy sword 
upon thy shoulder, and whosoever showeth himself against thee smite him 
on the neck, and he who submits shall die a natural death." I remark 
that if the crimes of A'bdu'l Malik had been only the appointing of al 
Hajjaj over the Muslims and the Companions, bringing them into contempt 
and degrading them- by death, stripes, reproach and imprisonment — and 
verily he slew of the Companions and the greatest of the Tabi'is what is 
beyond count, to say nothing of others besides them, and sealed the neck 
of Anas and others of the Companions with a seal, intending thereby their 
humiliation, — then, for these alone, may God not have mercy upon him nor 
pardon him. 

The following are lines of A'bdu'l Malik's — 

By my life, verily, I have lived a long space in the world. 

And the world hath come nigh to me with the striking of sharp 

That which delighted me hath gone [swords. 

Like a flash that hath passed among enduring remains. 

And O would that I had never busied myself with the kingdom for a 
moment. 

Nor diverted myself amidst the joyous pleasures of life. 

And that I had been as one clad in rags, living on a little 

For a time until he visited the narrowness of the tombs. 

In the history of Ibn A^sakir it is stated on the authority of Ibrahim- 
b-A'di that he said, " I saw A'bdu'l Malik at a time when four events werei 
announced to him during the night and he was not moved nor did his face| 
alter — to wit the death of U'baydu'Uah-b-Ziyad, the death of Hubaysh-b-p— 
Daljah* in Hijaz, the rupture between himself and the Greek Emperor, 

« The only mention I can find of tliis name is in tlie Muntahal Arab where he is 
mentioned as a traditioaist. 
29 



[ 226 ] 

A. H. 86. and the rebellious march of A'mr-b-Sa'id to Damascus." And in the same 
A. D. 705. it is stated on the authority of Asma'i that four men never spoke in- 
correctly either in earnest or jest— as Shaa'bi, A'bdu'l Malik, al Hajjaj- 
b-Yusuf and Ibn u'l Kirriyyah.* 

As Silafi mentions in the Tuyyuriyat with its ascription, that A'bdu'l 
Malik went forth one day and a woman met him and exclaimed, " O prince 
of the Faithful !" He said, " what is thy business ?" She replied, " my 
brother died and left six hundred dinars, and there was given to me of his 
inheritance but one dinar, and it was said to me, ' this is thy due ;' and 
the thing was incomprehensible to A'bdu'l Malik and he sent to as Shaa'bi 
and asked of him, who said, ' yes, this man died and left two daughters and 
they had two-thirds, four hundred, and a mother who had a sixth, one 
hundred, and a wife who had an eighth, seventy-five, and twelve brothers, 
who had twenty-four, and for this woman remaineth one dinar.' " 

Ibn Abi Shaybah relates in the Musannaf from Khalid-b-Muhammad 
of the Kuraysh, that A'bdu'l Malik said, " he who desireth to take a female 
slave for his amusement, let him take a native of Barbary, and who needs 
one for the sake of children, let him have a Persian, and who desireth to 
have one for service, let him take a Greek." 

Abu U'baydah narrates that when al Akhtal recited to A'bdu'l Malik 
his verse in which he says of the TTmayyads — 

The most inveterate enemy ends by submittingf to them 
And they are greatest of men in meekness when they are in power. 
He said, " slave, take him by the hand, and lead him forth and put upon 
him robes of honour as many as will cover him up — then he said,"„" verily 
every tribe hath a poet, and the poet of the Banu Umayyahis al Akhtal."} 
Al Asma'i says that al Akhtal went A'bdu'l Malik who said, " come now, 
describe intoxication to me." He replied, " its beginning is pleasure and 

* Alu Sulayman Aiytib al Hilffi. Al Kirriyyah -which signifies — ^the crop of a 
bird, was given to Jamaa, mother of Jusham, one of his ancestors. He was an untu- 
tored Arab of the desert, hut the elegance and precision of his language gave him the 
reputation of one of the best orators of that people. He was summoned by al HajjAj to 
his court and honored so far as to be entrusted by him with a mission to A'bdu'l Malik. 
He was put to death afterwards in A. H. 84 by that tyrant for hafing allowed himself 
to be compelled to join in the rebellion of Ibn u'l Ashath. Ibn Khali. 

f For i5'-ft*~:! read illsi«>J : the verse will be found in the Kitab u'l Aghani, "Vol. 7. 

} The life of al Akhtal is given by M. Causain de Perceval in the Journal Asia- 
tique for April ' 34. His real name. was Grhydth-b-Ghauth and. belonged to the Banu 
Malik, a branch of the Taghlabites. He was a Christian like the greater number of 
the tribes of Bihr£, Taghlib, and Tandkh and remained attached to his faith, notwith- 
standing the many seductive offers made to him to abandon it for IsUm. He died at 
an advanced age recommending Faiazdal^ with his last breath, to cover his rival Jarir 
with ridicule. 



[ 227 ] 

its end a headache, and between that there is a moment, the crisis of which A. H. 86. 
I -will not describe to thee." He said " and what is its crisis ?" he re- A. D. 705. 
plied, " verily thy kingdom, prince of the Faithful, then is of less 
account to me than the latchet of my shoe," and he versified, saying, 

When my boon Companion giveth me to drink and giveth yet again 

Three goblets of bubbling wine • , 

I go forth trailing my garment behind me as if 

I were lord over thee, prince of the Faithful. 

At Tha'alabi narrates that A'bdu'l Malik used to say, " I was born in 
the month of Ramadhdn, and weaned in Eamadhan, and completed learning 
the JEfuran by heart in Eamad.han, and I reached the age of puberty in 
Eamadhan, and the Caliphate fell to me in Eamadhan, and I fear lest I 
die in Eamadhan," and when he entered upon the month of Shawwal and 
felt safe, he died. (8th October 705.) 

Of those of note who died in the reign of A'bdu'l Malik were, Ibn 
Omar, Asma, daughter of as Siddik, Abu Sa'id-b-u'l Mua'Ua, Abu Sa'id 
al Khudri, Eafi'-b-Khadij, Salimah-b-u'l Akwa', I'rbddh-b-Sariyah, Jabir- 
b-A'bdi'Uah, A'bdu'Uah-b-Jaa'far-b-Abi Talib, as Saib-b-Yazid, Aslam the 
freedman of Omar, Abu Idris al Khaulani, the Khadhi Shurayh, Aban-b- 
Othman-b-A'ffan, al Aa'sha the poet, Ayub-b-u'l Kirriyah, proverbial for 
eloquence, Khalid-b-Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah, Zirr-b-Hubaysh, Sinan-b-Sali- 
mah-b-i'l Muhabbik' Suwayd-b-Ghaflah, Abu Wail Tarik-b-Shih^b, Mu- 
hammad-b-u'l Hanafiyah, A'bdu'Uah-b-Shaddad-b-i'l Had, Abu TJ'baydah- 
b-A'bdi'llah-b-Masa'ud, A'mr-b-Harith, A'mr-b-Salimah al Jirmi and 
others. 



AL WALrD-B-ABDI'L MALIK. 

Al Walid-b-Abdi'l Malik, Abii'l A'bbas, was brought up effeminately, 
says as Shaa'bi, by his parents and he grew up without ciiture. Elih-b- 
Zinbaa' narrates, " I went in one day to Abdu'l Malik, and he was medita- 
ting, and he said, ' I was thinking to whom I should commit the govern- 
ment of Arabia, and I cannot find any one.' I said, ' what dost thou think of 
al Walid ?" He replied, " verily he is not well versed in grammar." Walid 
heard this and he rose at once and assembled the grammarians, and sat with 
them in his house for six months and then came forth more ignoran't than 
before, and A'bdu'l Malik said, " verily he is excusable." Abd'z Zinad* states 

* A native of Medina, a doctor of law and one of the Tati'is. His varied 
information and his erudition gained him preeminence among the learned of his day. 
He died A. H. 130, (A. D. 748), aged 66. De Slane, I. K. At page 220 the name 
ia misspelt Zauad. 



[ 228 ] 

A. H. 86. that al Walid mispronounced to a great degree ; he exclaimed from the 
A. D. 705. pulpit of the prophet's mosque, " O people of al Medina."* 

Abu A'krinah ad Dhabi says that al "Walid read from the pulpit, " O 
that death had made an end of me."t (Eur. LXIX), and below the pulpit 
stood Omar-b-A'bdi'l Aziz and Sulayman-b-Abdi'l Malik, and Sulayman 
exclaimed, " by Allah, I would it had." Walid was despotic and tyrannous. 

Abu Nu'aym records in the Huliyah from Ibn Shaudab that Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz said, " al Walid in Syria, al Hajjaj in I'rak, Othman-b- 
HabbarahJ in Hijaz and Kurrah-b-Sharik in Egypt, have filled the earth, 
by Allah, with tyranny." And Ibn Abi Hatim in his Commentary, from 
Ibrahim-b-Abi Zuraa'h, that al Walid said to him, " will the Caliph be 
judged ai the resurrection, ?" He replied, "O prince of the Faithful, art 
thou more honoured of the Lord, or David ? Verily the Lord united in 
him the prophetic mission and the vicegerency, yet hath he threatened 
him in His Book and said, " David," &c. (Kur. XXXVIII.) § 

Al Walid, however, stirred up religious wars in his time and great 
conquests were made under his Caliphate — and withal he used to circum- 
cise orphans and appointed teachers for them and assigned for those crip- 
pled by disease, persons to attend them and for the blind those who should 
lead them, and he embellished the mosque of the prophet and enlarged it 
and settled a daily allowance on the doctors of law and the infirm and 
the poor and forbade their begging of the people, and assigned for them 
what would suffice ybr their maintenance a,nd. xegulntedi aSaiis by a thorough 
administration ; and Ibn Abi A'ylah says, " the Lord have mercy on al 
Walid, and where is the like of Walid who conquered India and Spain and 
built the mosque of Damascus, and who used to give platters of silver 
which I divided among the readers || of the Kurau of the mosque at 
Jerusalem ?" 

Al Walid assumed the Caliphate according to thb covenant of his 
father in the month of Shawwal in the year 86, and in the year 87, he set 

• It is impoBsiMe to render the error in a translation as it consista in a misplaoe- 
ment of the diacritical points. He said " Ya ahl u'l Medinah" instead of " Ya ahla'l 
Medinah," the vocative requiring the objective case when the noun is in construe"- 
tion. 

t Misplacing the vowel-points again. " Ya laytu ha for Y& layta ha. 

J The MS. has Janadah. 

§ " David ! verily we have appointed thee a sovereign prince in the earth 

judge therefore between men with truth and follow not thy own lust, lest it cause 
thee to err from the way of God." Kur. XXXVIII. 

II Both the MS. and the printed edition have Ir* (readers of the Kuran,) but it 
is possible that ]y^ (the poor) might have been the original word and the elision of 
the «-> taken place through the error of a copyist. 



[ 229 1 

about the building of the mosque at Damascus and ordered the enlarge- A. H. 87. 
ment of the mosque of the prophet and its thorough construction. During A. D. 706. 
the same BIkand* was taken by force of arms and Bukhara, and Sardinia 
and Matmtirah,t Kumayldm and the Persian Gulf. And Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
A'ziz, governor of Medina made the pilgrimage with the people, and per- 
formed by mistake the ceremony of standingf on Mount A'rafah on, the 
Day of Victims and was sore grieved thereat. 

In the year 88 Jurthumah§ and Tddnah|l were taken — and in the 
year 89, the islands of Majorca and Minorca. In the year 91 were cap- 
tured Nasaf ^ and Kash, Shiiman, and other towns and forts by the Cas- 
pian Sea. In the year 92 the whole of Spain was subdued and the cities 
of Armdil** and Katarbtin — and in 93 Daybal and other places were 
conquered, and Kirakh, Barham, Bajah, al Baidha, Khuwdrazm, Samar- 
kand, and Sughd. In 94, Kdbul, Farghanah, Shash and Sandarah were 
taken and in 95, Miikantt and Darband. In 96, Tus and other places. 

In this year died the Caliph al Walid in the middle of Jumdda'l 
i^kkirah at the age of fifty-one, (23rd February 715). Ad Dahabi says 
that religious wars were continuous throughout his reign, and great conquests 
were made as in the time of Omar-b-u'l Khattab. Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz 
saiys, " when I put al Walid in his grave, behold he kicked in his shroud, — 
that is, he struck the earth with his foot." Among the sayings of al Walid 
is the following, "if God had not mentioned the family of Lot in the 

* A town between Bukhara and the Oxus. 

t On the firontiers near Tarsus. Kumaykim, according to the Muntaha'l Arah is 
the name of a stream, hut it does not say where. 

% The Wakf or standing on Mount Arafah should take place on the second day 
of the pilgrimage, 9th Of Du'l Hijjah, and the ceremony of the Day of Victims on 
the third day, 10th of Du'l Hijjah. 

§ In Najd. 

II On the frontiers of Masisah, north of Syria. 

U Nasaf is a large town between Samarkand and the Oxus, and Kash is three para- 
gangs from Jurjan. • , 

* * Both these places are in Sind ; Ibn u'l Athir writes the second name Kannazbur 
and in some readings Firbur, Kimur and Fabryur. Daybal is in Sind. Of Barham I 
can find no mention, but Ibn Athir speaks of a place, Brahmauabad in Sind, taken and 
destroyed at this time. Bajah, Yakut places in Africa, and al Baidha so called from its 
white citadel, in the district of Persepolis. Kirakh is written Kiraj by Ibn Athir and 
he states that Muhammad-b-ul !?.asim who commanded the army in Sind, hearing at 
Multdn of the death of his uncle al Hajjaj, returned at once to Eori Bakkar and 
thence proceeded to Kiraj. I am inoUned to ihink that this must be Karachi, as Daybal 
or Dewal is stated by Blphinstone to have been probably close to that seaport. See 
Blph. India, p. 263, where will be found a sketch of Kasim's conquests. 

tt Mukan is in Adarbijan. Tus had already been conquered in the time of Othman. 
Another reading is Tuways which I cannot find, but Yakut mentions a district Tawa- 
wis, near Bukhara. The MS. is here wanting. 



[ aso ] 

A. H, 96. Kuran, (VII, XV, XXVII, LXVI) I wotdd never have thought that any 

A. D. 715. one would act thus." 

Of persons of note who died in the reign of al Walid, were U'tbah- 
b-A'bdu's Sulma, al Mikddm-b-Ma'di Karb, A'bdu'llah-b-Bashr al Mazini, 
A'bdu'Uah-b- Abi Aufa, Abu'l A'aliyah, Jabir-b-Zayd, Anas-b-Malik, Sahl-b- 
Saa'd, as Saib-b-Yazid, as Saib-b-Khallad, Khubayb-b-A'bdi'llah-b-i'z 
Zubayr, Bilal-b-Abi'd Dardd,, Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, Abu Salimah-b-A'bdi'r 
Eahman, Abu Bakr-b-A'bdi'r Eahmdn, Sa'id-b-Jubayr martyred, slain by 
al Hajjaj may the Lord curse him, Ibrahim an Nakha'i, Mutarrif, Ibrahim- 
b-A'bdi'r Kahman-b-A'uf, al A'jjaj the poet and others. 



SULAYMAN-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 

Sulayman-b-A'bdi'l Malik, Abu Aytib, was among the best of the 
kings of the Banu Umayyah, and he assumed the Caliphate according t© 
the covenant of his father in succession to his brother, in Jumada'l Akhi- 
rah of the year 96. He has related a few traditions on the authority of 
his father and A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hubayrah, and his son A'bdu'I Wahid 
and uz Zuhri have transmitted them from him. 

He was eloquent, fluent of speech, preferring justice, a lover of war. 
He was born in the year 60. It is to be accounted among his merits that 
Omar-b-Abdi'l A'ziz was as his prime minister, and he used to follow his 
beneficial counsels ; and he deposed the revenue collectors of al Hajjaj and 
released those who were in the prisons of I'rak, and restored public pray- 
ers to their original appointed times, the Banu Umayyah having suffered 
them to lapse into dilatoriness. Ibn Sirin says, " the Lord have mercy on 
Sulayman who inaugurated his Caliphate by the restoration of prayers to 
their stated times, and closed it by appointing as his successor Omar-b- 
.^'bdi'l A'ziz." Sulayman forbade singing, and he was among those famed 
as large eaters, for he eat at a sitting seventy pomegranates, a lamb, six 
fowls, and a Makkiik* of Taif currants. Tahya al Ghassani says that 
Sulayman looked into a mirror and his youthf ulness and beauty surprised 
him, and he said, " Muhammad was the prophet, and Abu Bakr Witness 
to the Truth, and Omar the Discriminator, and Othman the Bashful, and 
Mddwiyah the Forbearing, and Yazid the Patient, and A'bdu'I Malik the 
Administrator, and Walid the Tyrant, and I am the Young King ;" but the 
month in which he thus spoke did not pass over him but he died, and the 
day of his death was Friday the 10th of Safar in the year 99 (22nd Sept. 

* Atout 11 pounds and a quarter. It is not astoniehmg that after this feat, he 
had an attack of iudigeetion which proved fatal. 



[ 231 ] 

717). During his reign were conquered Jurjan, and the Iron Portress,* A. H.'99. 
and Sarda, and Shakka, and Tabristan and the city of as Sakalibah.f A. D. 7l7. 

Of persons of note that died during his time were, Kays-b-Abi Hazim, 
Mahmud-b-Labid, al Hasan-b-i'l Husayn-b-A'li, Kurayb freedman of Ibn 
A'bbas, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-i'l Aswad an Nakha'i and others. 

A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hassdn al Kandnl says, that Sulaymdn died at 
Dabik,J engaged in leading an expedition. When he sickened, he said to 
Eajd-b-Hayat, " who is to succeed me in this authority ? shall I appoint 
my son?" He replied, "he is absent." He said, " then my other son ?" 
He answered, " he is a child." He said, " then whom dost thou advise ?" 
He replied, " I think that thou shouldst appoint Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." He 
said, " I fear that my brothers will not consent." He rejoined, " appoint 
Omar, and after him Tazid-b-A'bdi'l Malik and write a document and seal 
it and summon them to take a covenant regarding it sealed." He replied, 
" vferily thou hast conceived wisely." Thereupon he called for paper and 
wrote the covenant therein and gave it Eaja, and said, " go forth unto the 
people and let them make a covenant regarding that which is within it, 
sealed as it is." And he went forth and said, " verily the prince o£ the 
Faithful hath commanded ye to make a covenant of allegiance for him 
wJiose name is in this document." They said, " who is in it ?" He answered, 
" It is sealed — ye cannot be informed concerning the one who is in it until 
the Caliph dieth." They said, " we will not swear allegiance." And he 
returned to Sulayman and informed him of it, and he said, "go to the 
commander of the guards and the watch, and assemble the people and order 
them to take the oath, and he who refuses smite his neck." And they 
swore allegiance. Eaja relates, " while I was returning, behold I met His- 
ham and he said to me, Eaja, verily thou knowest thy credit with me, 
and verily the prince of the Faithful hath done a thing and I know not 
what it is, and verily I fear that it may be that he hath put the Caliphate 

• I do not find any sucli name in YakAt, it is protaMy some local name given to 
a strong fort, unless Darband is meant, which was defended by Anushirwan by an 
iron gate. Neither Sarda or Shakka are given, nor are they noticed by Ibn u'l Athir. 

t So likewise Ibn u'l Athir, Tabari calls it Sakalie. WeU says that it should be 
Sakalibah -which he considers a district to the N. and N. W. of Constantinople. He 
can find no town of that name. Yakut makes as Sakalibah a (slav) district " between 
Bulgaria, and Constantinople." The word city I imagine, must be an error, or must 
refer to the then capital city of the Thracian towns of the Propontis, round which Mas- 
lamah wheeled his army after the passage of Abydus, to invest Constantinople defend- 
ed by Leo the Isaurian. An army of Bulgarians from the Danube at the oaU of Leo 
fell upon the Saracen army and slaughtered twenty -two thousand. See Gibbon, 
Ch. LIL 

J Near Chalcis. He was preparing, according to Gibbon, to lead against Constan- 
tinople the remaining forces of the East. 



[ 232 ] 

A. H. 99. from me, and if it be indeed that he hath put it aside from me, tell me 
A. D. 717. while there is yet time ia the affair, that I may see what to do ," and I 
said, " good God ! the prince of the Faithful hath asked me to conceal a 
thing, and shall I tell it to thee ? that can never be." Then I met Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz and he said to me, " Eaja, a grave thought has occurred 
to my mind concerning this man, I fear lest it be that he hath put the 
Caliphate upon me and I am not equal to this position, therefore tell me 
while there is yet time in the affair, perchance I may escape from it as long 
as I live." I said, " good God ! the prince of the Faithful asked me to 
conceal a thing and shall I tell it to thee ?" Shortly after Sulayman died 
and the document was opened, when lo ! within was the covenant for Omar- 
b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, and the faces of the sons of A'bdu'l Malik changed, but 
when they heard that after him was to be Yazid the son of A'bdu'l Malik, 
they returned and came to Omar and did homage to him as Caliph ; but he 
was stupified at it, and was not able to rise until they took him by the 
arms and brought him to the pulpit and helped him to mount it. He sat 
£1 long time without speaking, at last Eaja said to them, " do ye not stand 
up to the prince of the Faithful to swear allegiance to him ?" Then they 
made the covenant with him, and he stretched out his hand to them. Then 
he arose and praised God and glorified Him and said, " O people, I am 
not one who decideth but one who executeth, nor one who begin- 
neth but one who followeth — and verily the countries and cities round 
about ye, if they submit as ye have submitted then I am your ruler, 
but if they refuse then I am not a ruler for ye." Then he descended, 
and there came to him the master of the horse, and he said, " what is 
this?" The man replied, "the Caliph's charger." He said, " I have 
no need of it — bring me my mule," and they brought him his mule and 
he proceeded to his house. Then he called for an ink horn and wrote 
with his own hand to the prefects of the provinces. Eaja says, " I 
thought that he would soon lack strength, but when I saw his actions in his 
correspondence, I knew that he would become powerful." It is related 
that there fell some words between Marwan-b-A'bdu'l Malik* and Sulay- 
mdn during the Caliphate of Sulaymdn, who said to him " O son of an 
ttncircumcised woman !" and Marwan opened his mouth to answer him, when 
Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz stopped his mouth and said, " I conjure thee for God's 
sake — he is thy Imam and thy brother and he is thy elder in years." And 
Marwan held his peace, and said, " thou hast slain me, by Allah, verily thou 
hast put vdthin me that which is hotter than fire," and he died before the 
evening. 

Ibn A'bi'd Dunya records on the authority of Ziyad-b-Othm^n that 
he went in unto Sulaym4n-b-A'bdi'l Malik when his son Ayiib died, and 
• It must be rememhered that A'bdu'l Malik had seventeen sons. 



[ 233 ] 

said, " prince of the Faithful, verily A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakrah A. H: 99. 
used to say ' he who desireth the things that are eternal, let him habitu- A. D. 717. 
ate himself to misfortunes.' " 



OMAR-B-A'BDI'L A'ZfZ. 

Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz-b-Marwdn — the good Caliph — Abu Hafs, was 
the fifth of the orthodox Caliphs. Sufy^n at Thauri says that the five 
Caliphs are Abu Bakr, Omar, Othmdn, A'li, and Omar-b-A'bdi'l Aziz (Abu 
Dauud). Omar was born at Hulwan, a village in Egypt, of which his father 
was governor in the year of the Flight 61, or as some say 63, His mother 
was Umm A'asim, daughter of A'asim-b-Omar-b-i'l Khattdb. On Omar's 
face was a scar, a horse having kicked him in the forehead when he was 
a boy. His father wiping the blood off him said, " if thou art he of the 
Scar of the Banu Umayyah, verily thou art fortunate." (Ibn A'sakir.) 
Omar-b-u'l Khattab used to say, " of my posterity there shall be a man 
with a scar in his face who shall fill the earth with justice" (at Tirmidi). 
The opinion of his father regarding him proved true. Ibn Saa'd records 
that Omar-b-u'l Khattab said, " would that I knew which of my posterity 
shall be the possessor of the letter Shin* in Ms name — he who is to fill 
the earth with justice as it hath been filled with tyranny." And from Ibn 
Omar that he said, " we used to say that the world would not pass away 
until a man of the posterity of Omar should rule, doing according to the 
works of Omar, and Bilal-b-A'bdi'Uah-b-Omar had a mole upon his face, 
and they used to think that it was he until the Lord sent Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
A'ziz." 

Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz related traditions on the authority of his father 
and Anas and others ; and az Zuhri, Muhammad-b-u'l Munkadir, Yahya- 
b-Sa'id the Auxiliary, Maslamah-b-A'bdi'l Malik, Eaja-b-Hayat and many 
more related them on his. 

He learnt the Kuran when he was yet a child, and his father sent him 
to Medina to be instructed there, and he used to attend U'baydu'llah-b- 
A'bdi'llah,t studying science under his tuition. When his father died, 
A'bdu'l Malik sent for him to Damascus and married him to his daughter, 

* The word ' scar' or fracture begins with that letter. 

t Abu Ahdu'Uah U'baydu'Uah-b-A'bdi'llah-'b-tl'thah, was one of the seven great 
jurisconsidts of Medina. Az Zuhri called him an ocean of knowledge, and Omar-b- 
Abdi'l Aziz used to saj' that an evening with Il'baydu'llah was worth a thousand pieces 
of gold out of the public treasury. He died at Medina A. H. 102 (720-1). One of his 
poems is given in the Hamdsah. Ibn KhaU. 

30 



[ 234 ] 

A. H. 99. Fdtimah. Even before his Caliphate he walked in virtue save that he was 
A. D. 717. over given to luxury, and the envious that found fault with him did not 
reproach him save for excess in luxury and haughtiness in his gait. When 
al Walid assumed the Caliphate, he made Omar governor of Medina and 
he ruled it from the year 86 to the year 93 when he was removed, and he 
went to Syria. After this, verily, al Walid determined to set aside his 
brother Sulayman from the succession, and to appoint his own son ; and 
many of the principal men, willingly or unwillingly obeyed him, but Omar- 
b-A'bdi'l A'ziz objected, and said, " the covenant unto Sulayman is upon 
our necks," and he was firm, and al Walid immured him, but he was inter- 
ceded for after three days and they found him with his neck drooping 
from exhaustion. Sulayman learnt this regarding him and nominated him 
to the succession in the Caliphate. 

Zayd-b-Aslam narrates that Anas said, " I never prayed behind an 
Imam after the Apostle of God, resembling the Apostle of God more in 
the manner of his praying, than this youth, i. e., Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz — > 
while he was governor of Medina." Zayd-b-Aslam adds, "he used to dwell 
long in his bendings and prostrations, and shortened the time of standing 
and sitting," (this tradition has several lines of ascription to Anas — record- 
ed by al Bayhaki and others). 

Muhammad-b-A'li-b-i'l Husayn was asked regarding Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
A'ziz, and he said, " he is the noblest of the Banu Umayyah and verily he 
wUl be raised up at the day of resurrection, unequalled and alone." 

Maymiin-b-Mihran said that the learned in comparison with Omar 
A'bdi'l A'ziz were mere students, Abd Nuaym records on the authority of 
Eiyah-b-U'baydah by a sound ascription, that he said, " Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
A'ziz went forth to prayers, and an old man was leaning on his arm, and I 
said to myself, ' verily this old man is rude ;' and when he had prayed and 
entered his house, I joined him and said, ' may God prosper the Amir, 
who was the old man that was leaning on thy arm ?' He replied, O Riyah 
didst thou see him ?' I said ' yes.' He answered, ' I do not hold thee 
to be other than a virtuous man — that was my brother al Khidhr* who 
came to me and told me that I shall rule this people, and shall act with 
justice unto them.' " And from Abd Hashim that a man went to Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz and said, " I saw the prophet in a dream, with Abd Bakr on 
his right hand and Omar on his left, and lo ! two men were disputing and 
thou wert seated before him, and he said to thee. ' Omar when thou 
rulest, do according to the works of these two, of Abd Bakr and Omar.' 

* This person as is well known, is regarded as a prophet, and was supposed to 
have been the minister of an ancient king of Persia. By some he is said to he Elias, 
and by others St, George of England. His aid is frequently invoked by Muljammadan 
story-tellers whether the knot be worthy of his untying or otherwise. 



[ 235 ] 

And Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz made him swear before God, sm/ing ' didst thou -^- H. 99. 
see this ?' And he swore, and Omar wept." A. D. 717. 

He was acknowledged Caliph according to the covenant of Sulayman in 
the month of Safar 99 as hath gone before, and he continued in the Cali- 
phate for two years and five months about the duration of thai ot Ahi. 
Bakr, filling the earth with justice, removing grievances and establishing 
good laws. When the writi;ig of the covenant was read containing his 
name, he was stupified and said, " by Allah, verily I never asked for this 
authority of God." The master of the horse brought him the Caliph's 
charger, but he refused it, and said, " bring me my mule." Hakam-b-Omar 
relates, " I was present with Omar-b-Abdi'l A'ziz when the equerries came 
demanding of him provender j^j" the horses and the stipends of their atten- 
dants. He exclaimed, * send them to the Syrian towns, and let any one buy 
them who listeth, and put the prices of them with the property of the 
Lord — this grey she mule sufllceth for me.' " Omar-b-Darr says, that when 
Omar returned from the funeral of Sulayman, his freedman said to him 
" why do I see thee sad ?" He replied, " one should grieve to be in the 
station that I am in, — there is not one of this people, but I wish to give 
him his due without his writing to me about it or demanding it from me." 
And from A'mr-b-Muhajir and others, that when Omar was appointed 
Caliph, he stood up before the people and- praised God and glorified him 
and said, " people ! there will be no revealed Book after the Kuran and 
no prophet after Muhammad, — now verily I am not one who decideth but 
one who exeouteth, nor one who beginneth but one who followeth, and I 
am not better than any one of ye but I am more forbearing in meekness, 
and verily a man that fleeth from a tyrannous Imam, doeth not wrong- 
fully — surely there is no obedience due from the creature to what is sinful 
before the Creator." And from az Zuhri, that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz wrote 
to Salim-b-A'bdi'Uah* to describe to him the practice of Omar-b-u'l Khat- 
tab concerning the poor-rate, and he wrote to him regarding what he asked 
telling him, " verily if thou doest unto thy age and thy people according 
to the works of Omar unto his age and people, thou wilt be greater before 
the Lord than Omar." And from Hammadf.that when Omar was appoint- 
ed Caliph he wept and said ifo a certom ^erso«. "0! such a one, dost 

* Grandaon of Omar-b-u'l Khattab. 

t Abu'l Kasim Paminad-b-AW Layla Saptir (or Maysara) a Daylamite torn at 
Kufah called ar Eawiyah (the narrator) because lie was able, according to his own 
account to the Caliph al "Walid-b-A'bdi'l Malik, to recite the poems of more poets than 
the Caliph had ever read or heard of. In one sitting he recited two thousand poems 
by poets who flourished before Muhammad, and it was he who united in one collection 
the seven "Muallakat." He was treated by the Umayyads with preference and 
honour. He was bom A. H. 95 (713—4) and died in 155 (A. D. 772). Ibn KhalL 



[ 236 ] 

A. H. 99. thou fear on my account ?" He replied, " how is thy desii-e with regard 
A. D. 717. to money ?" He said, " I have no love for it." He answered, " then fear 
not for the Lord will assist thee." And from Mughirah, that at the time 
Omar succeeded to the Caliphate, he assembled the sons of Marwan and 
said, " verily the Apostle of God possessed the estate of Fadak, from which 
he derived funds and supported by it the children of the Banu Hashim 
and gave in marriage their orphans by its means, and verily Fatimah asked 
him to bestow it upon her and he refused, and it continued thus during the 
lifetime of Abu Bakr and Omar. Afterwards Marwdn assigned it away, 
and it hath come into the hands of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. Now I think 
that a thing forbidden to Fatimah by the Apostle of God is no right of 
mine, and verily I call ye to witness that I have restored it to what it 
was in the time of the Apostle of God." And from al Layth, that 
when Omar became Caliph, he began with his kindred and the people of 
his house, and confiscated what was in their hand, and called their sub- 
stance, exactions. 

Asma-b-U'bayd narrates that A'nbasah-b-Sa'id-b-i'l A'as went in to 
Omar-b-A'hdi'l A'ziz and said, " O prince of the Faithful ! the Caliphs be- 
fore thee used to bestow gifts but thou hast forbidden them to us, and I 
have a family and an estate — wilt thou permit me to go to my estate to 
improve the circumstances of mj iamilj ?" He replied, " the most beloved 
of ye to me is he who spares me, his keep." Then he added, " be freq^uent 
in the remembrance of death, for if thou be in straitened circumstances 
it will enlarge them for thee, and if in- affluence it will straiten it upon 
thee." 

Furdt-b-u'l Sdib narrates that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz said to his wife 
Fatimah, daughter of A'bdu'l Malik who possessed a jewel which her 
father had given her, the like of which had never been seen, " choose whether 
thou wilt give up thy jewel to the public treasury, or suffer me to separate 
from thee, for verily I am loth that I and thou and it should be in one 
house." She replied, "I prefer thee to it, and to double «fe ©aZwe." He 
therefore gave orders and it was taken away and placed in the public 
treasury of the Muslims ; and when Omar died, and Yazid succeeded to 
the Caliphate, he said to Fatimah, " dost thou wish that I should return 
it to thee ?" she answered, " no, by Allah, I did not care for it during his 
life and shall I take it again after his death ?" A'bdu'l A'ziz says that 
one of the prefects of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'zi'z wrote to him, sayinff — " verily 
our city is in ill condition — if the prince of the Faithful thinketh fit to 
assign us money that we may repair it, let him do so :" and Omar wrote 
to him, saying, " when thou readest this letter, fortify it with justice and 
purify its streets from oppression — for verily that is its restoration, and peace 
be to thee." Ibrahim as Sakuni states that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz said, " I never 
lied from the time that I knew that a lie was a disgrace to its utterer." 



[ 237 ] 

And Kays-b'Jubayr says that Omar among the Banu Umayyah is like the A. H. 99. 
true believer of the family of Pharaoh.* And Maymtin-b-Mihran, that the A. D. 717* 
Lord used to be regardful of His people by means of a succession of pro- 
phets, but that verily the Lord now watcheth over His people through 
Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. And Wahb-b-Munabbah, "if there be a guide among 
this people it is Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." 

Muhammad-b-Pudhalah narrates that A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar-b-A'bdil 
A'ziz passed by the dwelling of a monk in Mesopotamia, and the monk 
went down to him, and he had never visited any one before, and said, 
" knowest thou why I have come down to thee ?" He replied, " no." 
He answered, " on account of the merits of thy father, I find him among 
the just Imams in the position of the month of Eajab among the sacred 
months ;" Aytib-b-Suwayd has interpreted this to mean that the throe 
consecutive months Du'l Kaa'dah, Du'l Hijjah, and al Muharram, are Abti 
Bakr, Omar and Othman, and Eajab, separate from them is Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz. Hasan al Kassab says, " I saw wolves grazing with sheep 
in the desert during the Caliphate of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz and I said, 
' good God ! a wolf among sheep apd not injuring them !' The shepherd 
answered, " when the head is sound, there is no harm to the body.' " 
Malik-b-Dinar narrates that when Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz ruled, the shepherds 
said, " on account of this good man who rules the people as a just Caliph, 
the wolves restrain themselves from our flocks." And Miisa-b-Aa'yan, 
" we were tending sheep in Kirman during the Caliphate of Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz, and the sheep and the wolf used to pasture in one place, but 
meanwhile one night, behold, a wolf attacked a sheep, and I said, ' I 
cannot but think that the just man is dead,' and they enquired and found 
that he had died that night." Walid-b-Muslim states that he had heard 
that a man in Khurasan related, saying, " a stranger came to me in my sleep 
and said, ' when he of the Scar among the sons of Marwan rules, go and 
swear allegiance to him for he is a just Imam,' and I began whenever a 
Caliph arose, to ask regarding him until Omar A'bdi'l A'ziz succeeded, 
and the stranger came to me three times in my sleep, so 1 set out and 
swore allegiance to him." He also states on the authority of Habib-br 
Hind al Aslami that he said, " Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab said to me, 'verily 
the Caliphs are three, Abu Bakr, Omar, and > Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz,' I 
replied, Abu Bakr and Omar, verily we know them, but who is Omar ? 
He answered, ' if thou livest thou wilt attain to Ms time, and if thou diest 
lefore that he will come after thee.' I remark that Ibn u'l Musayyab 
died before the Caliphate of Omar." 

Ibn A'un says that when Ibn Sirin was asked regarding wine, he said, 
*' the Imam of salvation that is, Omar-b-A'bdil A'ziz has forbidden its 

* See page 36, Note •. 



[ 238 ] 

A. H. 99. use." And al Hasan declared, that if there is a Mahdi,* it is Omar-b- 
A. D. 717. A'bdi'l A'ziz and if not he, then there is no other than Jesus the son of 
Mary." Malik-b-Dinar said — "people assert that Malik is an ascetic, 
whereas the ascetic is Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, for the world came to him. 
and he abandoned it." And Yunas-b-Abi, Shabib, " I saw Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
A'ziz and verily the waist-band of his drawers was hidden in the folds of 
fat of his stomach : I saw him again after he had become Caliph, and if 
I had wished to count his ribs without touching them I could have done 
so." 

His son A'bdu'l A'zfz.said, " Abu Jaa'far al Manslir enquired of me, 
gayvng, " what was the income of thy father when he succeeded to the 
Caliphate?" I replied "forty thousand dinars?" He asked, "and how- 
much when he died ?" I replied, " Four hundred dinars, and if he had 
lived longer it would have been less." Maslamah-b-A'bdi'l Malik narrates, 
" I went in to Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz to visit him in his illness, and lo, he 
was wearing a dirty shirt and I said to Fatimah the daughter of A'bdu'l 
Malik, " dost thou not wash his shirt ?" she replied, " by AUah, he has 
no other." 

Abu Umayyah, the eunuch, the slave of Omar said, " I went in one 
day to my mistress, and she gave me a meal of lentils, and I said, " every 
day lentils !" she replied, " my son, such is the meal of thy master the 
prince of the Faithful." When death was approaching, he sent me with 
a dinar, to the people of the monastery of Sima'dn-^ to say — " if ye sell me 
a place for my grave, it is well otherwise I will turn from ye elsewhere: 
and I went to them and they answered " were it not that we are averse to 
his leaving us we would not consent." Al A'un-b-u'l Maa'ramar narrates 
that Omar went to his wife and said, " O Fatimah, hast thou a dirham 
that I may buy some grapes with it ?" She said, " no'' and added, " and 
thou, the prince of the Faithful, dost thou not possess a dirham where- 
with to buy grapes ?" He replied, " this is easier for me than to labour 
under manacles in hell." 

Sahl-b-Sadakah says that when Omar was appointed Caliph, lamenta- 
tion was heard in his house and they enquired about it and people said^ 

* " The directed" the surname of the twelfth and last Jm&ca of the race of 
A'U. His name was Abu'l ^asim Muliammad son of Hasan aJ. A'skari the eleventh 
Imdm. He was horn at Sarramanra 265 A. H., and he descended into a, cistern 
in presence of his mother at 9 years of age, whence he is expected to return towards 
the end of the world to join the Messiah in combating Antichrist and establishing 
one faith. See D. Herb, and Ibn KhaU. 

f In the district about Damascus — a pleasant spot says Yatfit surrounded by 
gardens and buildings — Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz was buried here but the site of his. 
grava is unknown. 



[ a39 ] 

that Omar had given his female slaves a choice, saying, " verily business A. H. 99. 
hath come upon me that will keep me engaged from ye ; therefore she that A. D. 717. 
■wishes that I should free her, I hereby free her, and she that desires that 
I should retain her, I will retain her though I have no need of her" — and 
they wept in despair at it. According to his wife Patimah, when he 
entered, the bouse, he used to throw himself down at his place of. prayer 
and would not cease to weep and pray until the drowsiness of his eyes 
overpowered him and when he awoke, he would do the same thing through- 
out the night. 

Al Walid-b-Abi'l Musayyab said, " I never knew any one more in 
fear of the Lord than Omar." And Sa'id-b-Su'ayd, that Omar prayed 
before the people on a Friday, wearing a shirt patched at the collar in 
front and behind, and a man said to him, " prince of the Faithful, verily 
God hath given unto thee, and wert thou but to clothe thyself properly !" 
Omar looked down awhile, then raised his head and said, " moderation is 
most meritorious in affluence, and pardon most praiseworthy in power." 

Maymdn-b-Mihran narrates, " I heard Omar say, ' if I remained 
among you fifty years, I should not perfect justice amogst you — verily I 
desire a thing, but fear lest your hearts endure it not, I therefore leave the 
world with that in my desire unfulfilled — wherefore if your hearts are 
averse to this thing, they must rest content with the other.' " 

And Ibrahim-b-Maysarah, " I said to Talis* ' is Omar A'bdu'l A'ziz 
the Mahdi ?' He replied, ' he is a Mahdi but not the Mahdi, for he hath 
not entirely perfected justice.' " Omar-b-TJsayd says, " it was before Omar's 
death that a man used to come to us with a considerable sum of money 
and say, ' use this as ye think fit,' and he continued until he had brought 
all his property : thus Omar verily provided for the wants of the people." 
And Juwayriyah,t " we went in to Fatimah, the daughter of A'li-b-Abi Talib, 
and she praised Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz and said, ' if he had remained with'us, 
we should have needed none after him.' " 

A'ta-b-Abi Eabah J narrates, " Fatimah the wife of Omar, told me that 
she went in to him, and he was at his place of prayer, his tears streaming 

* Abu A'bdu'r Eahmiln Ta<is-b-Kaysan al Khaulani one of the most eminent of 
the Tabi'ls, was of Persian extraction. He died at Mecca A. H. 106 (725) and the 
crowd at his funeral was so great that the governor had to send a guard to clear the 
■way. Abu'l Faraj al Jouzi says that he was oaUed Taus because he -was the peacock 
of the ^uran readers, but it is the general opinion that it was his real name. Ibn 
KhaU. 

f The traditionist, a member of the Dubaia'h tribe — died A. H. 173, (A. D. 
789-90.) De Slane, I. K. 

J He was a Mulatto bom at al Janad and Mawla to the Fikr family at Mecca. 
He held a high rank as a Tabi'i, a jurisconsult and ascetic and he and al Mujahid were 
tiie muftis of Mecca. He died A. H. U5 (733-4) at the age of 88. Ibn KhaU. 



[ 240 ] 

A. H. 99. over his beard, and she said, ' prince of the Faithful, has anything 
A. D. 717. happened?' He replied, 'OFitimah, verily lam invested with authority 
over the people of Muhammad, the Arabs among them and the foreigners, 
and I was meditating upon the poor that are starving and the sick that 
are destitute, and the naked that are in distress, and the oppressed that are 
stricken, and the stranger that is in prison and the venerable elder, and him 
that hath a large family and small means, and the like of them in the 
countries of the earth and the distant provinces, and I felt that my Lord 
would ask an account of them at my hands on the day of resurrection, and 
I feared that no defence would avail me, and I wept.' " Al Auzaa'i says 
that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz was seated in his house and virith him were the 
chiefs of the Banu Umayyah, and he said, " do ye wish that I should give 
each one of you to rule over a province ?" and one of them said, " why 
dost thou propose to us what thou wilt not perform ?" He replied, " do 
ye see this carpet of mine, verily I know that it will fall to ruin and decay, 
yet verily I am loth that ye should soil it with your feet — therefore how- 
can I place ye in authority over my administration — in authority over 
the property of the Muslims and their persons ? this cannot be for you — • 
it cannot be !" And they said to him, " why, have we not kinship — have we 
not a claim ?" He replied, — " ye and the most remote of the Muslims are 
but equal in my sight in this matter, save that a long journey's distance 
keeps that man of the Muslims from me." 

Hamid narrates, " al Hasan dictated to me a letter addressed to Omar- 
b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, in which he employed all his powers of persuasion and 
lamented his needs and his larje family, and Omar ordered him a present." 
And al Auzda'i, that when Omar desired to punish a man, he kept him in 
confinement for three days and then punished him, not wishing to be hasty 
in the first impulse of anger. And al Juayriyah-b-Asma, that Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz said, " my heart is most covetous — nothing of worldly goods is 
given to it but it desires something still better, and when I was given 
that than which nothing in the world is greater, my heart longed for that 
which is better than it — namely, heaven." According to A'mr-b-Muhajir 
the expenditure of Omar every day was two dirhams. Yusuf-b-Ya'kub al 
Kahili says that Omar used to wear at night a cloak of camel's hair and 
the lamp in his house was placed on the top of three reeds upon which was 
some clay. Omar ordered his servant to heat some water for him and he 
went and heated a vessel in the public kitchen, whereupon Omar ordered 
him to take a dirham's worth of wood and place it in the kitchen. (A'td al 
Khurasani.) He used to light a wax-caudle for himself when engaged in 
the needs of the Muslims, and when he had finished their business, he 
would extinguish it and light his own lamp. (A'mr-b-Muhajir.) The 
Caliph was always attended by three hundred guards and three hundred 
armed attendants, but Omar said to the guards, " verily I have among ye 



[ 24.1 ] 

Fate as a defender and Deatt as a guard — he among ye who remains, A. H. 99. 
shall have ten dinars, and whoso wishes may go to his family." A. D. 717. 
{A.1 Hakam-b-Omar.) A'mr-b-Muhajir relates, " Omar once longed for 
an apple, and one of the people of his house made him a present of 
one, and he said, ' how sweet is its odour, and how beautiful it is ! take 
it O slave ! to him who sent it, and give him greeting and say to him 
" verily thy present hath pleased us very much." I said to him, ' O prince 
of the Faithful, he is the son of thy uncle and one of thy own house, and 
verily I have heard that the prophet used to eat such presents ;' he replied, 
' fie on thee — verily a present to the prophet was a present, but to us in 
these days it is a bribe.' " " I never knew Omar during his Caliphate," 
says Ibrahim-b-Maysarah, " strike any one but one man who had received 
presents from Mu'awiyah, and he struck him three stripes." When Omar 
discontinued to the people of his house, the special allowance which used 
to be issued to them, they murmured against it, but he said, " my property 
will not be enough for ye all, yet as for this money, your claim to it is 
as the claim of a man dwelling afar at-Birku'l Ghimad."* (Al Auzaa'i.) 
He also wrote to cancel such orders of al Hajjaj as were opposed to public 
opinion. Yahya al Ghassani says, " when Omar made me prefect of Mosul, 
I found theft, and house-breaking more common there than in the majority 
of cities, wherefore I wrote to inform him of the state of the city and 
asked him whether I should take men up on suspicion and chastise them 
on mere accusation, or arrest them on clear proof and according as the law 
directed ; he wrote to me in reply that I should arrest them only on clear 
proof and as the law directed, for if justice would not make them honest, 
then may God not reform them. I therefore acted accordingly and I did 
not leave Mosul until it had become one of the most orderly of cities and 
least frequent in theft and house-breaking." And Eaja-b-Hayat narrates, 
" I was conversing one night with Omar when the lamp grew dim aod 
near it was an attendant asZ«ep. I exclaimed, " shall I rouse him ?" He 
said, " no." I said, " shall not I get up then ?" He replied, " it is not 
polite for a man to exact service from his guest ;" and he went to the oil 
flask and trimmed the lamp and returned and said, " I arose as Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz and have returned as Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." According to 
Nuaym, Omar's secretary, Omar said, " fear of vainglory verily prevents 
me from speaking much." MakMl observes, " if I were to swear to it I 
would but speak the. truth, that I never saw any one more pious and god- 
fearing than Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." 

When the niention of death was made, Omar, says Sa'id-b-U'rubah, 
would tremble in all his joints. He used to assemble every night the 
doctors of law and converse with them on death and the resurrection, and 
* Or Birku'l Ghamad a town at the extreme comer of Yaman. Yakut M. B. 
31 



[ 242 ] 

A. H. 99. they would weep as if a bier were before them. (A'ta.) Ubaydu'llah-b- 
A. D. 717. A'yzar narrates, " Omar preached to us in Syria from a pulpit of clay and 
said, ' people purify your inner thoughts and your exterior conduct will 
be amended — direct your actions with regard .to the world to come, and 
your worldly concerns will not be amiss — and know that a man between 
whom and Adam there is no living ancestor, has assuredly a heriditary 
portiotfin death,* peace be to ye.' " 

The Banu Marwan assembled at Omar's gate and said to his son 
A'bdu'l Malik — " say to thy father that the Caliphs before him used to make 
grants to us and recognised our station, but verily thy father hath prohi- 
bited to us that which is in his hands ;" and his son went in to him and 
informed him, and he replied, " tell them forsooth my father says to ye — 
* verily I fear, if I should rebel against my Lord, the punishment of the 
Great Day.' " (Kur. VI,) (Wuhayb-b-u'l Ward). 

Omar said, " take ye for counsel that which those before ye approved 
to be good, and take not that which is opposed to them, for they were 
better than ye and wiser." Jarirf once came and took his post for a long 
time at the gate of Omar who would not notice him, whereupon he wrote 
■to A'un-b-A'bdi'Uah who was a confidant of Omar's — 

reader with the flowing turban, 

This is thy day, verily my day hath passed. 
Tell our Caliph if thou meetest him 

1 am at the gate like one chained to a pillar. 
(Al Auza'ai.) 

When Omar succeeded to the Caliphate, Bilal-b-Abi Bardah went and 
congratulated him and said, there have been those whom the Caliphate 
ennobled, but thou hast ennobled it, and there have been those whom it 
has graced it, but thou bast lent a grace to it and thou art as Malik-b- 
Asma says : 

" Thou addest a sweet odour to the most delicious fragance 
If thou but touch it — where is thy like ? where ? 
For lo ! the pearl gives lustre to the beauty of the face 
But the beauty of thy face gives lustre to the pearl." 
(Jdayriyah.) 

When A'bdu'l Malik-b-Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz died, Omar began to 
praise him whereupon Maslamah J said, " O prince of the Faithful, if he had 
lived thou wouldst have made him heir." He said, " no," He answered 
• Lame mentions this (art tWj* ) as a tradition. 

t Abu Hazrah Jarir-b-A'tiyai— the poet— the great rival of Farazda^ and al 
Akhtal— for his history consult Ibn Khali. Kitabu'l Aghani— and the Journal 
Asiatique for April '34. 

t Son of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwfin. 



[ 243 ] 

" and why not, for thou wert but now praising him." Omar said, " I fear A. H. 99. 

that there might have been a consideration in my regard towards him, such A. D. 717. 

a consideration as a son holds in the eye of his father," (Ju'dnah). A man 

said to Omar — " leave me a charge." He said, " I commend to thee the. 

fear of God and the preferring of Him above all fhings, and affliction will be 

■withheld from thee and help will be vouchsafed to thee from> God" (Ghassan.) 

The daughter* of XJsamah-b-Zayd went in to Omar and he arose before 

her and advanced towards her, and made her sit down in his seat,, and he 

sat down before her and left her no wish ungratificd. (Abu A'mr.) The 

sons of Marwan assembled together and they said, " if we went in to the- 

prince of the Faithful, we might naake him favourably disposed towards 

us by pleasantry ;" and they entered and one among them spake and jested, 

and Omar regarded him;, then another added his jest to the other's, and 

Omar said, " is it for this ye have assembled — for the lowest kind o£ 

discourse and that which breeds enmities ? When ye assemble, betake 

yourselves to the Book of God, and if ye go beyond that, then to the laws 

of the Apostle of God,, and if ye go again beyond that, then employ 

yourselves in the interpretation of the meanings o£ the traditions." 

(Al Hajjaj-b-A'nbasah.) 

lyas-b-Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah. says, " I liken Omar to none but an 
excellent workman who has no tools with which to work — that is, he has 
none to help. him." And Omar-b-Hafs narrates, " Omar said to me, ' when 
thou hearest a word from a Muslim, do not impute to it aught of evil as 
long as thou canst find for it a good motive.' " 

Omar used to dissuade Sulayman-b-A'bdi'l Malik from putting the 
^aruriyah sectariansf to death and he would, say to him, " imprison them 
until they show repentance." And a Hariiri was brought before Sulay- 
man who said to him, "well now !" The Hariiri replied, " what shall I 
say, O villain, son of a villain ?" Sulayman exclaimed — " send for Omar- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz ;" and when he came, he said, " listen to the speech of this 
man," and the Haruri repeated it, find Sulayman said,. " what dost thou 
think should he done to him ?" but he was silent. He said again " I com- 
mand thee to tell me what thou thinkest regarding him." He answered, 

* Her name was Fatimah; slie resided at the village of Mizzah near Damascus 
after the death of her father, the -well known Mawla of the prophet who was des- 
patched at the head of an army to Syria at the time the prophet was dying. (See page 
1i) Usamah- died at Medina, and some say at Wadi'l Kur4 about A. H. S4. 

t A sect erf schismatics called after Harura, a town two miles distant from Kufah 
tecause they first assembled there and taught that government belongs only to God. 
They consisted of Nejdeh and his Companions holding their tenets. They were also 
called Mubayyadhah because their ensigns in war were white. They dived so deeply, 
says Lane, into matters of religion that they became heretics — and hence the appella- 
tion is applied also to any who do thus. Lane, art. j^ 



[ 244 ] 

A. H. 99. " I think with regard to him that thou shouldst revile him as he hath reviled 
A. D. 717. thee." He replied, " the matter ends not thus," and he commanded regarding 
him, and his head was struck off, and Omar departed. But Khalid the 
captain of the guard, overtook him, and said, " Omar, how couldst thou 
say to the prince of the Faithful — ' I do not see anything for him but that 
thou shouldst revile him as he hath reviled thee ? verily I was expecting 
that he would command me to strike off thy head." He replied, " and if 
he had commanded thee, wouldst thou have done it ?" He answered, " yea, 
by Allah." Now when the Caliphate fell to Omar, Khalid came and stood 
up in the place of the captain of the guard and Omar said, " O Khalid 
put this sword from thee" and he added, " O God, verily I have humbled 
Khalid for thy sake, therefore raise him up never again." Then he looked 
upon the faces of the guard, and summoned A'mr-b-Muhajir the Auxiliary 
and said, " O A'mr, verUy thou knowest that there is no kinship between me 
and thee save the kinship of Islam, but I have heard thee diligently 
reading the Kuran, and I have seen thee praying in a place when thou 
didst think that none observed thee, and I saw thee pray with devotion and 
thou art one of the Auxiliaries — take this sword therefore, for verily I give 
thee the command of my guard." (Yahya al Ghassdni.) Shu'ayb says, " I 
have been told that A'bdu'l Malik-b-Omar-b A'bdi'l A'ziz went in to his 
father and said, " O prince of the Faithful what wilt thou say unto thy Lord 
hereafter when he questioneth thee ?" and added, " thou hast witnessed 
heresies and hast not crushed them, and laws fallen into disuse and 
thou hast not revived them." And his father answered, " may the Lord 
have mercy upon thee and reward thee for a good son — my child, verily 
thy tribe have bound this authority knot by knot and loop by loop, 
and were I to seek to oppose them by taking away what they possessed, 
.1 would not be safe from their making a rupture with me in which much 
blood would be shed — by Allah, the loss of worldly goods would be easier 
unto me than that a cupping-glass of blood should be spilt on my account, 
yet art thou not content that a single day in the world should come to thy 
father, except he crush a heresy therein and revive a law." 

Omar said, " he is happy who is preserved from disputation, anger and 
covetousness " (Ma'mar.) It was said to Omar, " if thou wert to appoint 
a bodyguard and to be careful in thy food and drink."* He replied, " God 
if thou knowest that I fear aught except the day of resurrection believe 
not in my fear." (Artah-b-Mundir.) 'Adi-b-u'l Fadhl narrates, " I heard 
Omar preaching to the people, and he said, ' fear ye God, O people ! and 
proceed with moderation in your quest of worldly goods, for if the destined 
portion of any one be upon the summit of a mountain or in the depths of 

* Such aentenoea where the apodosjs is wanting to complete the period are common 
enough in the Semitic languages and may be found frequently in the Bible, «. g. 
Gen. Hi. ii. 



[ 245 ] 

the earth, it will reach him.' " And Azhar says, " I saw Omar preaching to A. H 99. 
the people wearing a patched garment." And Abdu'Uah-b-u'l A'la, " I A. D. 7l7. 
heard Omar preaching on a Friday a single discourse which he kept repeating 
and beginning it with these seven sentences — ' Praise he to God, we glorify 
Him and implore His help and His pardon, and we fly to God for protection 
against the wickedness of our passions and the evil of our deeds ; whom 
God directeth, none can misguide, and there is no guide for him whom God 
alloweth to go astray — and I testify that there is no god but one God who 
hath no copartner — and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His 
apostle ; — he who obeyeth God and His apostle, verily he foUoweth the 
right path — and whoso rebelleth against God and His apostle, verily goeth 
astray.". Then he commended unto them the fear of God and continued to 
preach, and he concluded his final discourse with these verses " my 
servants who have transgressed" (Kur. XXXIX) to the conclusion of the ' 

section. Hajib-b-Khalifah al Biirjumi says, " I was present when Omar 
being then Caliph, was preaching, and he said in his discourse, ' verily that 
which the apostle of God and his two companions have instituted, is the 
faith which we conform to and follow out and that which others besides 
.those two have established we may put aside.' " (Abu Nuaym gives with 
their ascriptions in his Huliyah all that I have advanced.) 

Ibn 'Asakir records on the authority Ibrahim-b-Abi A'ylah that he 
said, " we went in to Omar on the day of the festival,* and the people were 
greeting him, and saying, " the Lord be propitious unto us and unto thee 
P prince of the Faithful," and he returned it to them and did not dis- 
approve their conduct. I remark that this is an excellent precedent for 
a congratulatory salutation for the day of the festival, and for the year 
and for the month. He records also from Ju'linah, that Omar gave A'mr- 
b-Kays as Sakiini the command of an expedition against the Greeks and 
said, " receive graciously those among them that do good and forgive those 
of "them that do evil — and be not the foremost among them, lest thou be 
slain, nor yet the hindermost lest thou appear cowardly, but be in the 
middle so that thy place may be seen and thy voice heard." And from 
Saib-b-Muhammad, that A'bdu'l Jarrah-b-A'bdi'Uah wrote to Omar, saying, 
" verily the people of Khurasan are a race whose community is unruly 
and verily nothing will mend them but the sword and the scourge, therefore 
if the prince of the Faithful see fit to permit their use to me ?" And 
Omar wrote, " now, verily thy letter hath reached me, saying, that the 
people! of Khurasan are a community that are unruly, and that nothing 
will mend them but the sword and the scourge, but in truth thou hast 

* By the term Eed is meant one of the two principal religious festivals of the 
Muslims. Eed u'l Adha (festivals of the victims) held on the 10th of Du'l Hijjah or 
the Eed ul Eitr the festival of the breaking of the fast after the Bamadhan. 



[ 246 ] 

A. H. 99. spoken falsely for justice will mend them and truth — therefore spread 
A. D. 717. these amongst them and peace he to thee." And from TJmayyah-b-Zayd, 
of the Kurayshr that he said, " when Omar dictated his correspondence to 
me, he would say, ' God I fly to thee for protection from the evil of my 
tongue.' " And from Salih-b>- Jubayr that he said, " I have often times 
discoursed with Omar on a subject and he would get wroth and I would 
say — ' it is written in a book, — fear the wrath of a youthful king and be- 
gentle with him until his anger departeth ;' and he would say to m& 
afterwards, ' let not what thou seest in me, O Salih, hinder thee from 
recurring to the subject with me when thou seest it Jit.'' " And from 
A'bdu'l Hakim-b-Muhamraad al Makhzlimi that Jarir-b-u'l Khatafi went 
before Omar and was about to recite poetry when Omar checked him, but 
he said " indeed I am about to make mention of the Apostle of God." 
Omar replied — " well if it be the Apostle of God, then mention him" — and 
Jarlr went on. 

Verily He who sent the prophet Muhammad 

Hath conferred the Caliphate on a just prince, 

Who hath restored extortions with exactness to their just owners 

Prom their unrighteousness, and made straight the errii^ of the- 

deviator. 
Verily I seek of thee a present bounty 
For the heart clings to the love of the present. 
Omar said to him " I find nothing due to you in the book of God," 
He replied, " yes, prince of the Faithful — verily I am a wayfarer." He 
therefore ordered him fifty dinars from his privy purse. 

It is recorded in the Tuyyuriyat that Hariz-b-Othman a'r Eahbi went 
in with his father to Omar who asked the latter regarding his son, and) 
then said, "teach him the great science." He answered, " and what is th& 
great science ?" Omar replied, " contentment, and abstaining fromi molest- 
ing others'' Ibn Abi Hatim records from Muhammad-b-Kaa'b al Karadhi 
that he narrates, " Omar, summoned me and said, ' define justice to me.' 
I said, ' well, thou askest regarding a momentous thing — be to the little 
ones among men as their father — to the great as their son — to your equals 
among them as a brother and the same towards women, and punish men 
according to the degree of their faults and the measure of their bodily 
endiwance, and strike not, be sure, a single blow of a scourge in anger 
lest thou exceed justice and be of those who oppress.' " 

Abdu'r Eazzdk records in his Musannaf from az Zuhri that Omar 
used to make his ablutions after eating anything that had touched the 
fire, so that he would make his ablutions after eating sugar. And from 
Wuhayb that Omar said, " he who considers his words as a part of his 
actions will be sparing of his conversation." 



[ 247 1< 

Ad Dahabi says that Ghaylan* professed a denial of predestination A. H. 99. 
during the Caliphate of Omar, who sought to make him abjure, wherefore A. D. 717. 
he said, " verily I was in error but thou hast directed me aright." Omar 
exclaimed, " God — if he be sincere, forgive him, otherwise crucify him 
and cut off his hands and feet." And his prayer concerning him took 
effect, for he was seized in the Caliphate of Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik and 
his limbs were cut off and he was crucified at Damascus for the denial of 
predestination. Some other author says that the Banu TJmayyah used to 
vilify A'li-b-Abi Talib in the Khutbah, and when Omar ruled, he abolished 
this and wrote to his prefects to discontinue it, and he read in its place 
" verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good." (Kur. XVI) 
and the rest of the verse, and the reading of this has continued to this 
day. 

Al Kali says in his Dictations on the authority of Ahmad-b-Ubayd 
that Omar before his Caliphate versified. 
" Eestrain thy heart from love 

And from subservience to passion, 

For by the life of thy Lord, verily in 

The greyness of thy head and its baldness 

Is an admonisher if thou canst 

Take warning as he is admonished who is wise. 

Till how long wilt thou not forbear ? 

Till how long and how long ! 

After thou hast been called of mature age 

Dost thou still snatch at the name of youth ! 

Youth is worn out and thou 

If thou live, will be a hostage to calamity. 

That sufficeth as an admonisher 

To a man from wandering astray." 
At Tha'alabi says in the Lataif u'l Ma'arif (Curiosities of Knowledge) 
that Omar-b-u'l Khattab, Othman, A'li, Marwan-b-u'l Hakam and Omar- 
b-A'bdi'l A'ziz were bald, and after that, baldness ceased to he seen among 
the Caliphs. Az Zubayr-b-Bakkdr says that a poet said of Patimah 
daughter of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan and wife of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. 

Daughter of a Caliph — a Caliph her grandsire. 

Sister of Caliphs and her husband a Caliph." 

♦ Ghayl4n of Damascus according to Sale, (p. 112) together with Mabad al 
Juhni and Jonas al Aswari, broached heterodox opinions concerning predestination 
shortly after the rise of the first heresy in Isl&m, that of the Kharijites under the Cali- 
phate of A'li. Their opinions were followed by Wasil-b-A'ta the founder of the 
Mu'atazalitea. 



[ 248 1 

A H. 99. He continues " no other woman but herself can claim in her behalf this 

A, D. 717. verse up to my time," and I add up to mine. 



His siclcness and death. 

Ayah states that it was said to Omar A'bdu'l A'ziz, " if thou wert to 
go to Medina and w^rt to die there, thou wouldst be buried in the place of 
the fourth grave with the Apostle of God." He replied, " by Allah, that 
the Lord should chastise me with every torture save hell-fire, would be 
preferable to me than that the Lord should conceive that I deemed myself 
worthy of that place." WaKd-b-Hisham says that it was said to Omar 
in his sickness, " wilt thou not get thyself a remedy ?" He answered — 
" verily I knew the moment in which I was given to drink poison, and if 
my cure were but to touch the lobe of my ear or were I brought a per- 
fume which I had only to raise to my nose, I would not do it." U'bayd- 
b- Hasan narrates that when Omar was on the point of death, he said io 
those present — " depart from me," and Maslamah and Fatimah sat down 
by the door and they heard him saying, " welcome these faces that are 
not the faces of men or genii." Then he said, " as to this future mansion 
of paradise,'' (Kur. XXVIII) and the rest of the verse : then the sound 
grew faint, and they went in and found him dead. Hisham says that when 
the news of Omar's death went abroad, Hasan al Basri said, " the best of 
men is dead :" and Khalid ar Ribi'i, " I find in the Pentateuch that the 
heavens and the earth shall weep over Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz for forty 
mornings." Yusuf-b-Mdhak says, '' while we were levelling the earth- over 
the grave of Omar, lo ! there fell upon us a scroll of parchment from the 
sky in which was written, ' In the name of God the most Merciful, the 
Compassionate. Immunity from God for Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz from hell- 
fire.' " 

Ka'tadah narrates that Omar wrote to the heir who was to succeed 
him, " In the name of God the most Merciful the Compassionate." 

From Omar-b-Abdi'l Aziz, to Tazid-b-A'bdi'l Mallik. 

" Peace be to thee ! Verily I glorify God unto thee, besides whom there 
is no other God. And now, verily, I write to thee, being nigh unto death 
through my sickness, and insooth I know that I shall be questioned 
regarding the things that I have governed, the King of this world and the 
next taking account, of me concerning it, and I am unable to hide from 
him a tittle of my deeds. If therefore He be content with me verily I 
shall be happy and shall escape from enduring contempt, but if He be 
displeased with me, then woe unto me for that which 1 shall become. I 
ask of God, of Hiin besides whom there is no other God, to save me 



[ S49 ] 

through His mercy from hell-fire and to vouchsafe unto me His approba- A . H. 99. 
tion and Paradise. Let the fear of God be upon thee — and the people — A. J). 717. 
the people — be thy care, for verily thou will remain after me but a little 
while." (Abu Nua'ym has given all this with their ascriptions in the 
Huliyah). 

Omar died at Dayr-Sima'an, in the district about Emessa* on the 20th 
or as some say the 25th of Eajab of the year 101 (5th or 10th February 
720), he being at that time thirty-nine years and six months old. His 
death was caused by poison. The Bahu Ummayyah hated him on account 
of his severity to them and his confiscating from them much that they bad 
plundered. He neglected to take precautions and they gave him poison to 
drink. Mujahid narrates, " Omar said to me, ' what do people say 
about me ?' I replied ' they say thou art disordered in mind' He replied, 
' I am not disorderd in mind : verily, I knew the moment in which they 
gave me poMOW to drink.' Then be summoned one of his slaves and said 
— ' alas ! for thee — what brought thee to give me poison to drink ?' He 
replied, ' one thousand dinars that I was given and the promise that I should 
be liberated.' Omar said, 'bring them here.' Mujahid adds that he brought 
them and Omar put them into the public treasury and said to him, ' go that 
no one may see thee. ' " 

Among people of note who died in Omar's reign were, Abu Imamah- 
b-Sahl-b-Hunayf, Kharijah-b-Zayd-b-Thabit, Salim-b-Abi'l Jaa'd, Busr-b- 
Sa'id,t Abu Othman an Nahdi, and Abu's Saha. 



XAZrD-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 

Yazid-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-i'l Hakam, Abu Khalid, of the house of TJmay- 
yah, a native of Damascus, was born in the year 71 and ruled the Caliphate 
in succession to Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, according to the covenant of his bro- 
ther Sulayman, as hath gone before. A'bdur Eahman-b-Zayd-b-Aslam 
says that when Yazid ruled he said to the people " take as your rule of life, 
the conduct of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz ;" and there were brought to him 
forty Shaykhs and they testified to him, saying — " for the Caliphs there 
is neither a day o/' reckoning nor punishment." 

* Yakdt says Damascus : it is probably somewhere between those two towns. 
Another of the same name was in Mount Lebanon and a third near Antiooh. Sima' an 
is Simon, and Yakut says that the convent was named, it is supposed, after Simon 
Peter, " one of the great doctors of the Christians !" 

t Ibn u'l Athir, says Busr-b-Saa'd. The name Abu's SaJba is probably wrong — 
I have never met a name of the kind and, it is not mentioned in the Kamil. Abu Sali]^ 
Zakwan died in the time of Omar and also Abu Salih Saman. 
32 



[ 250 ] 

A- H. 101. When Omar died, Yazid exclaimed, " by AUaL, Omar was not more 

A. D. 720. in need of the Lord than I," — and for forty days he continued to follow 
the example of Omar, and then abandoned it. (Ibn u'l Majishiin). 
When Omar was on the point of death, he wrote to Tazid-b-A'bdi'l Malifc 
saying, " peace be to thee ! now, verily I do not see myself other than 
what I am — I commend to thee in God's name the people of Muhammad — • 
for verily thou wilt leave the world to one who wiU not praise thee, and 
wilt go unto One who wUl not hold thee excused — and peace he to thee !" 
(Sulaym -b-Bashir. ) 

In the year 102 Yazid-b-u'l MuhaUab rebelled against the Caliphate, 
and Muslamah-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-Marwan was despatched against him, and 
Yazid was defeated and slain, and that at A'kr* a place near Karbala. 
Al Kalbi says, " I was a youth when people used to say that the Banu 
Umayyah slaughtered religion on the day of Karbala and clemeneyf on 
the day of A'kr. Yazid died towards the endj of Shaa'bin in the year 
105 (28th January 724). 

Of people of note who died during his reign were, ad Dhahhak-b- 
Muzahim, A'di-b-Artah, Abu'l Mutawakkil an Naji, A'ta-b-Yasdr, Mujahid, 
Yahya-b-Wathab the Kmin reader of Kufah, Khalid-b-Maa'dan as Shaa'bi 
the scholar of Irak, A'bdur Eahman-b-Hassan-b-Thabit, Abu Kilabah al 
Jarmi, Abii Burdah-b-Abi Miisa al Asha'ri, and others. 



HISHA'M-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 

Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik, Abu'l Walid was born after the year 70§ 
and succeeded to the Caliphate according to the covenant of his brother 
Yazid. Musaa'b az Zubayri says that A'bdu'l Malik had a dream regarding 
which he questioned Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, who interpreted it to mean that 
four of the issue of his loins would bear sway. Hisham was the last of 
these. He was discreet and wise. He would never allow any money to 
enter his treasury until forty people had testified upon oath that it had 

* The printed edition has A'kir which ia inooireot. 

+ By the Caliph's orders 300 Irdlian prisoners were put to death at K6fah. This 
inhumanity was not however confined to one side, for Mu'Awiyah, Yarid's son, accord- 
ing to Weil, on leaving Wdsit slaughtered 32 of the prisoners he had taken. Among 
them A'di-h-Artah and his son. See Weil, Gesoh, CaHph, and Ibn Khali, who has 
a long article on Ya^id-h-Muhallah. The family of MuhaUab were as celebrated 
under the Umayyads for generosity as the Barmekides under the house of A'bbds: 

t On the 26th according to Ibn u'l Athir. 

§ In the year 72 according to Ibn u'l Athir. 



{ 251 ] 

been rightfully exacted, and that to every just claimant had been given A. H. 105. 
his due. A. D. 724. 

A man once addressed Hishdm abusively, and he said to him, " O such 
a one, it doth not befit thee to revile thy Caliph." And once he was wroth 
with a man and said^ — " by Allah, verily I intended to scourge thee !" (Al 
Asma'i.) Sahbal-b-Muhammad says, " I never saw one of the Caliphs to 
whom tlie shedding of blood. was more hateful and upon whom it was more 
grievous, than Hisbam." It is recorded on Hisham's authority that he said, 
" there is not one remaining of the pleasures of the world, but I have enjoyed 
it, save one — a friend regarding whom I can dispense with the trouble of 
being vigilant concerning what is between me and him." 

When Hisham built ar Eusaf ah* near Kinnisrin, he desired to retire 
there for one day during which no care should approach him, but the day 
•Was not half spent when there floated towards him a feather covered with 
blood from some part of the frontier and was borne to him, and he ex- 
claimed, " not a single day !" 

' It is said that the following line is his and no other of his is recorded. 
" If thou dost not rebel against concupiscence, it will lead thee 
To what will occasion evil speaking against thee. 

He died in Eabii't u'l Akhir of the year 125. (6th February 743). 

In the year 107 of his reign ^aysariyah in Asia Minor J was taken by 
the sword. 

In the year 108 Khanjarah§ was taken by al Battal the famous hero. 

In the year 112 Kharshanah|| near Malatiyah was captured. 

Of persons of note who died in the reign of Hisham, were, Salim-b- 
A'bdi'llah>b-Om:ar, Talis, Salayman-b-Yasar, I'kramah Mawla of Ibn 

* Atoiit four parasangs west of Eakkah towards the desert. He built it when 
the plague desolated Syria and used to reside in it during the summer. One of 
Yakfit's authorities (Ibn Butlan) asserts it to have been originally a fort built of stone 
Sn which was a large Christian Church built by Constantine the son of Helena. 
iBeneath the Church was a ciatem on marble piUais paved with marble and full of rain 
water. The people living in its neighbourhood were mostly Bedouin Christians. The 
;word ]8asaf«.h *i/«j signifies a dam oonstruoted for the purpose of obstructing or 
retaining water — hence the place was so called after the cistern in the fort, no other 
water nearer than the river Euphrates being procurable. 

t On the 6th according to WeU. 

% Yakut spells this word AjjI-^' and not *-iy'>^ as in the text. 

§ The printed edition and MS. both have Hanjarah. Yakut does not give it, but 
tiames Khanjarah as a portion of the Grecian territory. Abdullah al -Battal was one 
of the Generals of Mu'awiyaii-b-Hisham who commanded the troops in Asia Minor. 
In 739-al Battal was defeated in one of his expeditions and slain. See Weil, p. 638, 
Vol. 1, and Ibn ul Athir for the year A. H. 122. 

II Haraanah in the printed edition and MS, but Ibn u'l Athir and Yailfiit make it 
Kharshanah. 



[ 252 ] 

A. H. 125. A'bbas, al Kdsim-b-Muhammad-b-Abi Bakr i's Siddik, Kuthay tbe poet 
A. D. 743. lover of A'zza, Muhammad-b-Kasl-al Karadbi,* al Hasan al Basri, Muham- 
mad-b-Sirin, Abu't T'ufayl A'amir-b-Wathilah the last of the Companions, 
Jarir, Tarazdak, A'tiyah al A'tifi, Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah, Makhul, A'ta-b- 
Abi Eabah, Abu Jaa'far al Bakir, Wahab-b-Munabbih, Sukaynah daugh- 
ter of al Husayn, al A'a'raj, KatMah, Nafi Mawla-b-Omar, Ibn A'amir 
the Kuran reader of Syria, Ibn Kathir Kuran reader of Mecca, Tbabit 
al Bunani, Malik-b-Dinar, Ibn Muhayyasahf the Kuran reader, Ibn 
Shihab az Zuhri, and others. 

Among the narratives concerning Hisham, Ibn Asakir records on the 
authority of Ibrahim-b-Abi A'ylah that he said, " Hisham desired to place 
me over the finances of Egypt, but I declined and he grew wroth so that 
his countenance was agitated and there was a fierceness in his eye, and h© 
cast upon me a forbidding look and said, ' thou shalt assuredly take charge 
willingly or againsb thy will;' but I restrained myself from speaking 
till his anger had calmed down, and I said, ' prince of the Faithful, may 
I speak ?' He replied, ' yes.' I said, ' verily God hath spoken in His 
glorious Book, " we proposed the faith unto the heavens and the earth and 
the mountains and they refused to undertake the same &c." (Kur XXXIII 
now, by AUah, O prince of the Faithful, He was not wroth with them when 
they were loth, and I do not deserve that thou shouldst be angered against 
me because I refused, or that thou shouldst force me when I am unwill- 
ing' — and he laughed and forgave me." And from Khalid-b-SafwanJ 
that he said, " I visited Hisham and he said, ' say, what is it ? O son of 
Safwan,' — I began — one of the kings set forth on a pleasure excursion to al 
Khaurnak,§ and he was a man of wisdom as well as of wealth and power, and 
he looked round and said to his, courtiers — ' xmto, whom doth this belong' ? and 



* Ibn u'l Athir writes this name Kurti (j^j*' but Ibn Khali confirms the reading 
of tbe text ; al ^aradhi signifies a dealer in Karadh. .tjJ the leaf of the salam tree used 
in tanning. See Ibn Kball, De, S. Vol. 3, p. 373. 

t KTot Muhayyasan as in the text. See Ibn u'l Athir for the spellings of this 
name, under the year 113 A. H. 

X His father was the chief of tbe Banu Tamim and a great orator. Khilid was 
equally distinguished in his oratory and his avarice and his frequent divorces. No night, 
he used to say, was so pleasant as tbe one wherein he had dismissed his wives. Ibn 
Kutaybah K. M. 

§ This was an Nua'm4n-b-Imr u'l Kays-b-A'di descended from KahtSn— tha 
palace of Khaumak built by him was near Kufah. It was designed by a Greek called 
Sinimm&r and finished in sixty years. The architect was thrown from its summit by 
order of Nua'mAn for boasting that by the removal of a secret part of the masonry the 
building would faU. The story in the text is given much the same in Yakut. 



[ 253 ] 

tbey said — ' unto the ting.' He exclaimed, ' have ye seen any who hath been A. H. 125. 
favoured as I have been favoured ?' " Now there was with him one of the most A. D. 743. 
excellent of those versed in lore and he said, " verily thou hast enquired 
regarding a certain matter — dost thou give rne leave to reply ?" The king 
answered, " yes." He said, — " hast thou regarded the condition in which 
thou art ? is it a thing in which thou wilt continue or rather a thing which 
hjith come to thee by inheritance, and which shall pass from thee to another 
as it hath come to thee ?" He answered — " such is the case." He continu- 
ed, " dost thou then pride thyself on a trifling thing which thou dost possess 
but for a short time and from which thou must sever for a time that will 
endure, and of which account will be demanded of thee ?" The king 
exclaimed, "alas! then — where is there a refuge and where a haven of 
retreat ?" and a cold shudder seized him. The other said, " either thou 
must continue in thy sovereignty and act in obedience to God in regard to 
what displeaseth or gratifieth thee, or thou must relinquish thy kingdom 
and lay down thy crown and cast from thee thy worn garments and 
Worship thy Lord." He answered, " I will reflect to-night and will go. 
to thee in the morning." And when it was morning, he knocked at his 
door and said, " I have chosen this mountain and these solitudes and have 
put on my garments of sackcloth, and if thou wilt be my companion — 
do not deny me." And they dwelt upon the mountain until they died — 

A'di-b-Zayd-b-Hammad* says on this subject t 
" O thou who rejoieest at other's afiliction and scoffest 
At fortune ! art thou exempt and perfect ? 
Or hast thou a firm covenant with time ? 
Nay ! thou art an arrogant fool ! 

Whom hast thou seen whom Death hath suffered to endure ? 
Or who hath over him a defender to save him from being wronged ? 
Where is Khu§rau — king of kings — father of 
Sasan, and where Sabur before him ? 
And the fairf illustrious race, monarchs 
Of Eiim ? no mention of them remains. 
And the Lord of Hadhr J when he founded it and when 

* Not al Himar as in tte text. He was a poet of the time of Ignorance. He and 
his family professed tlie Christian religion. For his life consult Kitab u'l Aghani. 
Tom. II. p. 18, and the Journal Asiatique for Novemher '38. 

t Called also Banu'l A'sfar from A'sfar, son of Rum, son of Esau, son of Isaac, son 
of Abraham. See Lane, for other derivations of this word. 

X Between Mosul and Tabrit. The name of a certain king Satirun is connected 
with this city's early history — it was huilt of cut stone and was of great magnificence 
which is still attested, according to Yakut, by the remnants of its ruined walls. It 
afterwards fell into the possession of a chief called Dhayzan and being built under 



t 254 ] 

The Tigris anil the Khablir went back towards it — 

He built it strongly of marble and covered it with oement, 

And now birds have 'their nests in its pinnacles. 

Death hath not respected him and perished 

Hath his kingdom, and his gate is deserted. 

And remember the Lord of Khaurnak the day 

That he gazed from an eminence and be the memory a guide to thee ! 

His wealth gladdened him and the plenty 

That he possessed — and the river lay before him and Sadir.* 

And his heart repented and he said, 

What is the happiness of a creature that is about to die ? 

And after prosperity and empire and dominion 

The graves have concealed them there, 

And they become like unto a withered leaf 

That the .east and west winds whirl away." 

The narrator continues, " and Hisham wept until his beard was wet, 
and he commanded his two daugbters to take up his couch and he secluded 
himselft in his palace. And his servants and his retinue went to Khalid- 
b-Safwan and said, ' what hast thou desired with the prince of the Faith- 
ful ? thou hast ruined his happiness.' He replied, ' begone from me — ■ 
I have verily made a covenant with God, that I would never be alone with 
a king, but I would remind him of the Most High.' " 



AL WALrD-B-TAZrD-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 

Al Walid-b-Yazid-b-A'bdi;i Malik-b-Marwan-b-i'l Hakam,— the pro- 
fligate Caliph, Abu'l A'bbas was born in the year 90. When his father 
was on the point of death, he was unable to appoint him successor as he 
was but a child ; he therefore covenanted for his brother Hishim, and 
named him heir after Hisham. He assumed the government on the death 
of Hisham in Eabii' u'l Akhir in the year 125. He was a libertine and 
a wine-drinker land a breaker of the divine commands. He vri^hed to make 

talismanio influence, it could not be taken save by the breaking of the spell. For the 
atory consult Ya^lit. The heroine was the daughter of Dhazan, who had been so 
delicately nuituted that a crumpled myrtle leaf disturbed her sleep. Ibn Khali says that 
Satirun and Dhazau were the same person. See under " art" Muljammad-b-J4bir. 

* A river near Hirah— also a palace built near Khaurnak by Nu'aman the Great 
for a Persian king — consult Yakdt. 
,"' <^ 

t For (•>' read fy I believe the text here to be corrupt. The MS. has J^\ 



[ 255 ] 

the pilgrimage in order that he might drink upon the summit of the Kaa'bah. A. H. 126. 
The people abhorred him for his profligacy, and rose up against him and A. D. 74i4i. 
he was slain on (27th) Jumada'l Akhirah of the year 126. (16th April 
744). 

It is recorded on his authority that when he was besieged he said to 
the people, " have not I increased your largesses ? Have not I removed 
your grievances ? Have not I given unto the poor among ye ?" They 
replied, " we do not reproach thee for ourselves, but we find fault with 
thee for thy transgressions against the prohibitions of God, and the drinking 
of wine and marriage with the concubines of thy father who have borne 
children to him, and thy contempt for the commands of the Lord." And 
when he was slain and his head was cut off and taken to Tazid an Nakis, 
he placed it on a spear, and his brother Sulayman-b-Tazid looking upon it 
said — " away with it — I testify that he was a wine-drinker, licentious and 
profligate and he sought to seduce me into immorality." 

Al Mu'afa al Jariri* says, " I have collected some particulars regard- 
ing the life of al Walid and his verses which contain the wickedness he 
committed through his folly and weakness of mind and the heresies he 
openly expressed regarding the Kuran, and impiety towards God." Ad 
Pahabi observes that the impiety and atheism of al WaM are not clearly 
established, but he was notorious for drinking and profligacy, and for that 
reason they rebelled against him. 

Mention of al Walid was once made in the presence of al Mahdi and 
a man said that he was an atheist, and al Mahdi replied, "go to, the 
Vicegerency of God in his charge is too sublime an office that He should 
have given it to an atheist." Al Walid was one of the most comely of 
men as well as one of the most violent and he was among the most polished 
of poets. Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah az Zuhri was always reviling al Walid 
and finding fault with him to Hisham, and saying, " it is not lawful for 
thee to do other than put him aside,'' but Hisham was not able to do so, 
and if az Zuhri had lived until al Walid reigned, the latter would have put 
him to death. (Abu'z ZinM.) 

Hisham desired to put aside al Walid and bestow the succession ijpon 
his son, but al Walfd said, 

Thou hast been ungrateful for the favours of thy benefactor — wert thou 
but thankful 

The most Merciful would requite thee with favour and bounty. 

I have seen that thou hast planned industriously to set me aside, 

* Prohably Abu Ma'sAd al Mu'afa-b-Imr4n, a native of Mosul of the tribe of 
Azd, who studied jurisprudence under Sufyan at Thauri. He was remarkable for his 
learning and piety, died A. H. 184. I. K. De Slane. 



[ 256 ] 

A. H. 126. If thou wert wise, thou wouldst annul what thou has designed. 

A. D. 744. I behold thee working enmity upon those that remain, 

Happy for them wert thou to die from the evil thou workest ! 

I am as one among them to-day, while their frequent exclamation is 

O would that we had been in happier circumstances* or that thou 
hadst never lived, 
(ad Dhakhak-b-Othmdn). 

Hammad ar Eawiyah narrates, " I was one day with al Walid and 
two astrologers came in to him and said, ' we have looked into what thou 
hast commanded us, and we have found that thou wilt reign for seven 
years. I was desirous,' continues Hammad, 'to deceive him so I said 
falsely — "I too am learned in signs and the systems of knowledge, and 
verily I have looked into this and have found that thou wilt reign forty 
years." And he looked down in thought and then said, ' what they have 
declared will not afflict nor what thou hast said, make me over-confident. 
By AUah, I will assuredly gather in the revenue lawfully like unto the 
gathering of him who was to live forever, and I will surely disburse it 
according to its just claims, as he would disburse it who was to die to- 
morrow.' " 

In the Musnad of Ahmad verily there hath come down a tradition — 
" there shall be over this people, a man called al Walid ; he will assuredly 
be more hard upon this people than Pharaoh upon his subjects." 

Ibn Fadhli'Uah says in the Masalik (Ways).t " Al Walid was an 
inexorable tyrant, a title that does not wrong him — a path which he trod, 
but which did not guide him aright — ^the Pharaoh of this transitory age — 
of this world filled with calamities. He wUl come at the day of resurrec- 
tion at the head of his tribe, bringing them into hell-fire and delivering 
them over to shame. Miserable the station where they alight — and hateful 
their place of return on that plain of assemblage. He hath shot arrows 
at the holy Book, and hath been licentious and hath not fearedj sins." 

As Slili records on the authority of Sa'id-b-Salim that Ibn Miyadah 
repeated to al Walid the verse of his in which he says : 

" Tou have surpassed the Kuraysh, save the family of Muhammad 

Save the Banu Marwdn, the eminent. 

* I read -vritli the MS- ,J^. Of the word uir^ in the printed edition, I can make 
no sense. 

t jIaioDI iJ^jl/ojUit ^^J^S\ t-iJU*. Yj(g oculorum de historia prinoi- 
pum magnarum urhiuta— in twenty folios by Shihib-uddin Ahmad-b-Yahya-b- 
Muhammafl, al Kirmami, a'd Dimish^i, as Shafl'i known as Ibn Fadhli'llah, died 749 
(1848). A supplement to this work was written by the author's son. Haj. lihal. 

X It may be also translated — " hath not concealed his sinn" — according as the verb 
may be taken from the root vjj^ or (j^ 



[ 357 ] 

Al Walid said to him, " I see that thou hast put before us the family A. H. 12ft 
of Muhammad." He replied, " I do not think it is lawful to do otherwise." A. D. 7414, 
And this Ibn Miyadah is he who says of al Walid also in his long poem. — 

" I purposed to say a true speech. 

And verily I shall say it in spite of enemies. 

I have seen al Walid the son Yazid blessed. 

His shoulders strong under the burdens of the Caliphate." 



YAZrC-AN-NAKIS-B-U'L WALI'D. 

Yazid the Eetrencher, Abii Khalid-b-u'l Walid-b-Abdi'l Malik was 
surnamed the Eetrencher because he cut down the allowances to the troops. 
He usurped the Caliphate and slew his nephew al Walid and took posses- 
sion of the government. His mother was Shahfarand daughter of Firiiz 
son of Yazdajird, and the mother of Firlz was daughter of Shiruyah son 
of Khusrau, and the mother of Shiruyah was daughter of Khakan the 
Turkish chief and the grandmother of Firdz was the daughter of the 
Eoman Emperor — for this reason Yazid says boastingly : 
" I am the son of Khusrau, my ancestor was Marwan 
Csesar was my grandsire and my grandsire was Khakan. " 
At Tha'alabi says that he was the most noble in descent on both sides 
as well in regard to the monarchy as the Caliphate, and when he had put 
al Walid to death he stood up to preach and said, " now verily, by Allah, 
I have not rebelled out -of insolence or ingratitude, nor seeking after worldly 
advantage, nor aiming at sovereignty and verily I have been but an 
oppressor unto my own soul if the Lord have not mercy upon me — but I 
came forward out of zeal for God and His religion as a summoner to His 
Book and the laws of his prophet, at a time when the banners of right 
guidance were defaced, the light of piety extinguished and a tyrant appear- 
ed making lawful, things that are forbidden and indulging in heretical 
innovations.* And when I beheld that, I feared that a darkness had come 
over ye which would not be removed for the multitude of your transgres- 
sions and the hardness of your hearts, — and I feared lest he should seduce 
many of the people to follow his course, and that they would consent, 
wherefore I asked of the Lord a blessing upon my purpose, and I sum- 
moned those of my family and under my authority who obeyed my call, and 
the Lord freed the people and the cities from him by the jurisdiction that is 
from God and there is no power or strength but from God. ye people ! 

* He himself was a Mua'tazalite. See Masa'udi. 
33 



[ 258 ] 

A. H. 126. verily I promise ye, if I rule your afEairs, that I shall not lay a brick upon 
A. D. 744. a brick, nor a stone upon a stone, nor carry away revenue from any city until 
I have fortified its frontier and expended for its welfare what will sufiice to 
make ye secure, and if any balance should remain, I will transfer it to the 
city that is next to it, in order that the means of subsistence may be duly 
provided for, and that you may all be on an equality therein. If therefore 
ye desire to swear allegiance to me on the conditions I have proposed, I 
am yours, and if I deviate ^o»8 my word, allegiance to me will not be bind- 
ing upon ye. And if ye see any one more capable than I am for this autho- 
rity, and ye desire to make a covenant with him then I will be the first to 
swear him allegiance and ask pardon of God for myself and for ye."* 

Othman-b-Abi'l A'atikah says that the first Caliph who came forth 
armed on the two festivals was Yazld-b-u'l Walid : he came forth then 
between two ranks of armed horsemen from the gate of the fort to the 
place of prayer. 

And on the authority of Abu Othman al Laythi, that Yazid said, " O 
children of Umayyah, beware of singing, for it lessens shame, increases 
concupiscence and destroys manliness and indeed it takes the place of wine 
and doth that which intoxicating liquor effects, but if needs be that ye do it, 
then restrain your women therefrom, for song is an incentive to in- 
continence." 

Ibn A'bdi'l Hakam narrates, " I have heard as Shafi'i say that when 
Yazid assumed the government, he summoned the people to deny pre- 
destination and seduced them to it and honoured the followers of Ghaylan. 
Yazid did not long enjoy the Caliphate but died in the same year on the 
7th of D'u'l Hijjah :t thus his Caliphate lasted not quite six months, he 
being thirty-five years old, some say forty-six. It is said he died of the 
plague." 



IBRAHtM-B-U'L WALfD-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 

Ibrahim-b-u'l Walid-b-A'bdi'l Malik was acknowledged Caliph after 
the death of his brother Yazid an Naki? who as some say made a testament 
in his favor, while others assert that he did not. Burd-b-Sinan narrates, 
" I was with Yazid-b-u'l Walid when he was on the point of death, and 
KatanJ came to him and said, ' I am a messenger from those who are 

• This disconree is translated ly Weil from Tabari and it is given by Ibn u'l 
Atbir. Tbey differ slightly, but much less so from each other than either of them from 
the text of as Suyliti. 

t According to Weil the end of that month. 

J Perhaps ^atan-b-Mudrik al ]K.iUbi governor of Ba^ah. 



[ 259 ] 

behind thy gate asking of thee in the name of God's justice why thou hast A. H. 126. 
appointed over their affairs thy brother Ibrahim.' But he grew wroth A. D. 744. 
and said ' I appoint Ibrahim ?' — then he said to me '0 father of the 
learned, whom dost thou think that I should appoint ?' I replied, ' I 
shall not counsel thee regarding the conclusion of what I warned thee 
against entering upon.' Then a faintness came over him so that I thought 
that he was dead. Then Ka^an sat down and forged a testamentary docu- 
ment as if from the dictation of Yazid and summoned some people and asked 
them to bear witness to it — but no, by Allah, Yazid made no testament 
at aU." 

Ibrahim continued in the Caliphate seventy days* and was then 
deposed, for Marwan-b-Muhammad set forth against him and received the 
covenant of allegiance and Ibrahim fled. Afterwards he came and abdicat. 
ed the government and resigned it to Marwan and voluntarily swore him. 
allegiance and Ibrahim lived after that till the year 132 and he was killed 
among those of the Banu Ummayyah who were slain in the massacre 
perpetrated by as Saffah. • 

It is related in the history of Ibn A'sakir that Ibrahim heard tradi- 
tions from az Zuhri and narrated them on the authority of his paternal 
uncle Hisham, and his son Yakiib recited them from him. His mother 
was a slave concubine,t and he was the brother of Marwan u'l Himar by 
l]is mother. His deposal took place on Monday the 14th of Safar in the 
year 127 (23rd November 744). Al Madaini says that his authority was 
never completely established, one party acknowledging him as Caliph and 
another acknowledging his temporal government, and another refusing 
altogether to swear him allegiance, and one of the poets of that time has 



We swear Ibrahim J allegiance every Friday — 
Verily a government must perish that hath thee for its ruler. 
It has been said by some one that the impression on his signet ring 
was, " Ibrahim relies upon God !" 

* Lit. nights, but the word O^ is often used to signify a period of twenty-four 
hours counted from the sunset of one day to the sunset of the next. 

t TJmm-Walad, eiguiflea a slave who has home a child to her master." After 
she has hecome a mother, she can no longer he sold, and is considered as married to 
her master though no marriage ceremony may have been performed. 

t For (^^[fi\ e'^ of the text, I read with Masa'udi, (^^^j>\ ^^. 



[ 260 1 

A. H. 127. 

A. D. 744. MAEWAN AL HIMAE. 

Marwan the Ass, Abu A'bdu'l Malik-b-Muhammad-b-Marwan-bi'l 
Hakam was the last of the Caliphs of the Band Umayyah. He was 
surnamed al Jaa'di after his preceptor al Jaa'd-b'Dirham,* and the Ass, 
because he was never weary of fighting those who rose up against him, 
and he would mate march after march and was patient \inder the hard- 
ships of war. It is a proverbial expression — " such a one is more patient 
than an ass in war," and for that reason he was so named. Another reason 
given is, that the Arabs name every hundred years an ass, and when the 
rule of the Banu Umayyah was nigh upon a hundred years, they called. 
Marwan the Ass, on that account. 

Marwan was born in Mesopotamia of which his father was adminis- 
trator in the year 72 and his mother was a slave concubine. Before his 
Caliphate he had the government of several important prefectures and 
took Iconium in the year 105. He ^was famed for his horsemanship, 
intrepidity, manliness, sagacity and recklessness. When al Walid was 
slain and the news reached him, he being in Armenia, he summoned 
such of the Muslims as approved him, to do him allegiance, and they swore 
fealty to him. As soon as he heard of the death of Yazid, he disbursed 
sums of money and set out and fought Ibrahim and put him to flight. 
Marwan was then acknowledged Caliph and that occurred in the middle o£ 
Saf ar in the year 127 and his authority was firmly established. 

The first thing he did was to command the exhuming of Yazid an 
Nakis, and he took him out of his grave and crucified him for his murder 
of al Walid. However he found little repose in the Caliphate on account 
of the number of those that rose 'against him on every side up to the 
year 132. Then the Banii A'bbas rebelled against him, and at their head 
A'bdu'Uah-b-A'li, the paternal uncle of as SafEah. He set out to engage 
them, and the two armies met near Mosul. Marwan was routed and he 
returned to Syria, but A'bdu'Uah followed him and Marwan fled to Egypt. 
Salih, the brother of A'bdu'Uah pursued him and they met at the village 
of Blisirt and Marwdn was slain in Du'l Hijjah of the same year. (5th 
August 750.) 

* Ibn u'l Athir says that Jaa'd had the reputation of being an atheist, and he 
indoctrinated Marwan with his own heresies, teaching the creation of the Kor&n and 
the denial of predestination. 

t Four several places all in Egypt — says Gibhon tore the name of Busir or 
Busiria, so famous in Greek fable. The first where Marwan was slain to the west of 
the Nile in the provinoe of Fium or Arsinoe, the second in the Delta, the third near 
the Pyramids, the fourth, which was destroyed by Dioolotian, in the Thebuia. Chap. 
XII, Decline and Fall, 



[ 261 ] 

Of people of note who died during his reign were, as Suddi, the A. H. 132. 
elder, Malik-b-Din4r, the ascetic, A'asim-b-Ahi'n Najiid, the Kuran reader, A. D. 750. 
Yazid-b-A'bi Habib, Shaybah-b-Nisah the Kuran reader, Muhammad-b- 
u'l Munkadir, Abu Jaa'far Tazid-b-i'l Ka'kaa' the KurSn reader of Medina, 
Abu Aylib as Sikhtiyani, Abu'z Zinad, Hammam-b-Munabbih, and Wasil- 
b-A'ta the Mua'tazalite. 

As Siili records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Salih, that when 
Marwan was slain, his head was cut off and sent to A'bdu'Uah-b-A'li, who 
gazed upon it, and it was removed, when a cat came and tore out the 
tongue and began to gnaw it ; whereupon A'bdu'Uah-b-A'li said, " if the 
world had shown us none other of its wonders but the tongue of Marwan 
in the mouth of a eat, it would have been sufficient for us." 



AS SAFFA'H, 
First Oaliph of the Souse of AHibaB. 

As' Saffah, the first Caliph of the House of A'bbds, Abii'l A'bbas, 
A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad-b-A'li-b-A'bdi'llah-b-A'bbas-b-A'bdi'lMuttalib-b- 
Hashim, was born in the year 108 (some say 104) at Humaymah in 
the district of Balk;a, and there grew to manhood. He was acknowledged 
Caliph at Kiifah. His mother was Eaitah of the tribe of Harith. He 
related traditions on the authority of Ibrahim-b-Mu^iammad the Imam, 
and his paternal uncle. Isa-b-A'li related them on his. He was younger 
than his brother al Mangiir. , 

Ahmad records in his Musnad on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri 
that the Apostle of God said, " there shall come forth from the people of 
my house, after the lapse of time and the appearance of seditions, a man 
called as Saffah, and it shall come to pass that his largesses of money shall 
be by handfuls." 

U'baydu'Uah al A'yshi narrates — " my father relates ' I heard the 
Shaykhs saying — by Allah, verily the Caliphate hath come to the children 
of A'bbas, and there is not upon the earth any more learned in the Kuran, 
nor more distinguished for piety nor more devout than they.' " The origin 
of the authority of the Banii A'bbas was that the Apostle of God told 
his uncle A'bbas that the Caliphate would descend to his posterity, and his 
descendants continued in expectation of it (Ibn Jarir at Tabari). The 
latter relates from Eishdin-b-Kurayb, that Abu Hashim A'bdu'Uah-b- 
Muhammad-b-i'l Hanafiyah went to Syria, and met Muhammad-b-A'li-b- 
A'bdi'Uah-b-A'bbas and said, " cousin, verily I have information which 
I wish to lay before thee, but be sure tell no one of it — ^verily this authority 



[ 262 ] 

A. H. 132. which people hope for, shall be with you." The other replied, " verily 
A. D. 750. I was aware of it, but let no one hear of it from thee." 

Al Madaini* narrates on the authority of a number of people, that the 
Imam Muhammad-b-A'li-b-A'bdi'llah-b-A'bbas said, "we have three op- 
portunities — the death of Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah, the beginning of the century, 
and the rupture in Africa. At that time the summoners shall summon 
the people in our behalf, and our allies from the east shall come until their 
horsemen shall reach the west." 

And when Tazid-b-Abi Muslim was slain in Africa and the Berbers 
were reduced, Muhammad the Imam sent a man to Khurasan and com- 
manded him to invite the people to approve one of the posterity of Mu- 
hammad and not to name any one. Then he despatched Abd Muslim al 
Khurasani and others, and wrote to the principal men who received his 
letters favourably, but it came to pass that Muhammad died, leaving the 
succession to his son Ibrahim. On the news of this reaching Marwan, he 
imprisoned Ibrahim and put him to death. Ibrahim had bequeathed the 
succession to his brother A'bdu'Uah as Saffah and his followers gathered 
about him and he was acknowledged as Caliph at Kufah on the 3rd Eabii' 
u'l Awwal in the year 132. He read prayers to the people on the Friday 
and said in his discourse, " praise be to God who hath chosen Islam for 
Himself and hath honored it and exalted it and magnified it and hath chosen 
it for us and strengthened it by us, and made us its people, its asylum and 
its defence to maintain and protect it." Then he went on to mention the 
kinship of the Banw A'bbds alluded to in the Kuran until he said, " and 
when the Lord took to Himself His prophet, his companions stood up in 
authority untU the Banu Harb and Marwan usurped it, and they were 
tyrannous and appropriated every thing to themselves. And God bare 
with them for a time until they angered Him, wherefore He took ven- 
geance upon them by our hands, and restored unto us our right, that He 
might be bountiful through us upon those who are outcastf throughout 
the earth, and He. hath ended with us as He began with us and we of the 
prophetical house have no grace but through God. ye people of Kiifah 
ye are the seat of our regard and the abiding place of our affection — ^ye 
have not been remiss in this, nor hath the rigour of the tyrannous turned 
ye from it — for ye are the most favored people unto us and of those who 
most honour us ; wherefore verily I have increased your largesses by a 

* Atu'l Hasan A'li-b-Mulfammad al MadSini vraa a Mawla of the family of A'bd 
Shams-b-A'bd Manaf. Ho was bom A. H. 135 (762-3) and died A. H. 225 (839-40). 
He was a disciple of the Mua'tazalite doctor Ma'mar-b-u'l Ashath. He wrote upwards 
of twenty works on Muljammad and many others biographical and historical ti-eatises, 
De Slane I. K. 

t Tor tyiM>^] read Ijij^AUf 



[ 263 ] 

hundred dirhams each. Therefore he prepared, for I am the justifying A. H. 132. 
shedder of blood and the destroying avenger."* A. D. 750. 

fsa-b-A'lif when he mentioned their setting out from HumaymahJ 
for Kiifah, used to say, " fourteen men departed from their homes, seeking 
what we sought through the greatness of their resolution, the steadfast- 
ness of their hearts." 

When news of the allegiance sworn to as Saffah reached Marwdn, he 
set forth to encounter him, but was defeated as hath gone before, and after- 
wards slain. At the ceremony of allegiance sworn to as Saffah, a count- 
less number§ of the Banu Ummayyah and their followers were put to death 
and his dominions were firmly settled under his authority to the furthest 
confines of the West. 

Ad Daha'bi says that in his reign the unity of the State was dissolved 
and all between Tahart and Tubnah as far as the Soudan fell from his 
obedience, as well as the entire kingdom of Spain, and there come forth in 
these provinces, those|| who took possession of them, and that so conti- 
nued. 

As Saffah died of small-pox in Du'l Hijjah in the year 136 (9th June 
754) bequeathing the succession to his brother Abd Jaa'far. In the year 
136 he removed to Anbar and made it the seat of government. 

Eegarding accounts of as Saffah, S'lili relates among his sayings, 
" As power becomes great, concupiscence grows less. It is rare that bounty 
is given unasked but a just claim is destroyed thereby. Verily they are 
the basest and meanest of men who account avarice prudence, and cle- 
mency ignoble. When forbearance is mischievous, to pardon is weakness. 
Patience is praiseworthy save in what prejudices the faith or renders 
sovereignty contemptible, and moderation is commendable except at the 
season of 'opportunity. As Sdli adds that as Saffah was the most generous 
of men — he never made a promise and delayed its fulfilment at its 
appointed time, nay he never rose from his seat without performing it. 

* This discourse whicli is here consideratly shortened, is given in full by Ibn 
n'l Athir. During its delivery as Saffah -was seized with an attack of fever and sat 
down. His uncle Dauud-b-A'li rose and continued the oration which will be found 
in tlie Kamil. 

t The uncle of the Caliph al Mansur and of as Saffa^. 

J The K£mil has erroneously **j!*^ 

§ Sulayman-b-A'li put to death a number of them at Baarah, and had their bodies 
flung to the dogs. Abdu'llah-b-A'U, in Palestine massacred about ninety of them. 
" The laws of hospitality were violated by a, promiscuous massacre, the board was 
spread over their fallen bodies and the festivity of the guests was enlivened by the music 
of their dying groans." The surprising accuracy of Gibbon can only be known to 
those who consult his authorities. Though the KamU is not one of them, the above 
passage is almost a Hteral' translation from it. 

11 The Edrisites of Mauritania and the Fatimites of Africa and Egypt. 



[ 264 ] 

A. H. 136. A'bdu'Uah-b-Hasan once said to him, " I have heard of a million 

A. D. 754. dirhams but have never seen them," whereupon he ordered concerning 
them and they were brought, and he commanded him to take them with 
him to his house. 

As Siili says that the impression on his signet-ring was, " God is the 
reliance of A'bdu'Uah and on Him he confideth." Scarcely any poetry of 
his has been handed down. 

Sa'id-b- Muslim al Bahili narrates that A'bdu'llah-b-Hasan went in 
unto as SafEah and the assembly was full of the Banii Hashim and their 
followers and the chiefs of the people and with him he carried the Kuran 
and he said, " prince of the Faithful, give us our right which God hath 
vouchsafed unto us in this book." He replied, " verily thy great-grand- 
father A'li, who was better than I am and more just, held this authority, 
and he gave unto thy progenitors al Hasan and al Husayn somewhat, and 
it would be but right did I give thee the same, and if I have done 
that, verily I have given thee thy due, and if I have done more, then 
this should not be my reward from thee." And A'bdu'Uah departed and 
returned no answer, and the people were astonished, at the reply of as 
SafEah. Historians say ^that under the House of A'bbas the unity of 
Islam was dissolved, and the Arab name lapsed from the registers, and the 
Turks were installed in public offices and the Daylamites came into power, 
and afterwards the Turks, and a mighty empire belonged to them, and 
the dominions of the earth were parcelled out and on every side was a 
usurper, doing violence to the people and ruling them with tyranny. They 
say that as Saffah was quick to shed blood and his prefects in the east and 
west followed his example in that, but withal he was liberal with his 
wealth. « 

Of people of note who died in his reign were Zayd-b-Aslam, Abdu'- 
Uah-b-Aslam, A'bdu'llah-b-Abi Bakr-b-Hazm, Eabii' ar Eai,* jui-isconsult 
of Medina ; A'bdu'l Malik-b-U'mayr, Tahya-b-Abi Ishak al Hadbrami, 
Abdu'l Hamid the wellknown scribe slain with Mai'wan at Bu§ir, Mansiir- 
b-u'l Mu'atamtr, and Hammam-b-Munabbih.' 



AL MANS'im. 

Al Man§dr Abu Jaa'far, A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad-b-A'li-b-A'bdi'Uah-b- 
A'bbas (whose mother was Salamah a Berber slave concubine) was born in 
the year 95 and had known his grandfather but had no traditions from 

* Or the Eationalist, so called, because he drew many of his legal decisions from 
the fourth source of Muljammadan law, which is entitled Hai (private judgment) or 
Kiyas (analogy). This system was followed by the Hanafites who were called 
Ashabu'r Eai, or Eationalists. See De Slane, I. K. notes to Uabii' u'r Eai. 



[ 265 ] 

him. He narrated tbem on the authority of his father and A'ta-b-Tasdr ; A. H. 136. 
and his son, al Mahdi, from Jiim. -A-. D. 754. 

He was acknowledged Caliph according to the bequest of his brother 
and was the foremost among the Band A'bbas in majesty of demeanour, 
bravery, prudence, iudgment and haughtiness — a hoarder of wealth, averse 
to pastime and frivolity, of cultivated mind, of excellent converse in science 
and literature and with a natural taste for jurisprudence. 

He put a multitude of people to death until his power was established, 
and it was he who scourged Abji Hanifah on account of Ms refusal to 
accept the office of Kddhi, and then put him in prison where he died after 
some days. It is also said that he despatched him by poison because he 
had passed a judicial sentence authorizing rebellion against him. He was 
polished in language, eloquent and fluent, well fitted, for governing but 
excessively avaricious. He was surnamed Abu'd Dawanik* on account of his 
scrutiny of the accounts of intendants and artificers even to fractions of 
dirhams and grains. 

Al Khatib records on the authority of the prophet that he said, 
*' from us shall arise as Saffdh and from us al Manslxr, and from us al Mahdi," 
(ad Dahabi states this to be unacknowledged and its ascription interrupted). 
He and Ibn A'sakir and others state on the ascription of Sa'id-b-Jubayr 
that Ibn A'bbas said, " from us shall come as SafEah, from us al Mansdr 
and from us al Mahdi." The ascription of this is pronounced by ad 
Dahabi to be sound. Ibn A'sakir records from Abu Sa'id al Khudri that 
he narrates, "I heard the apostle of God say, 'from us shill arise 
al Kaim, from us al Man?ui', from us as Saffah and from us al Mahdi. As to 
al Kaim, the Caliphate shall come to him, and during his reign not a 
cupping-glass of blood shall be spilt, as to al Mansur, his standard shall 
not be turned back : as to as Saffah, he will lavish treasure and blood and 
with regard to al Mahdi, he shall fill the Caliphate with justice as it hath 
been filled with tyranny.' " 

And from al Mansur, that he said, " I beheld myself as it were in the 
precincts of the temple and the Apostle of God was in the Kaa'bah the 
door of which was open and a crier cried out, ' where is A'bdu'llah ?' and 
piy brother Abu'l A'bbas arose and stood upon the step and was taken 
within, and it was not long before he became forth with a spear upon 
which was a black pennon measuring four cubits. Then there was cried 
out, ' where is A'bdu'Uah ?' And I stood upon the step and was made to 
ascend and lo ! there was the Apostle of God and Abu Bakr, Omar and 
Bilal, and he invested me with authority and commended to me his people, 
and put on my head a turban, the windings of which were twenty and 

* A Danilj ia the sixth part of a dirham. 



[ 266 ] 

A. H. 136. three and he said, 'take this unto thyself, father of |^the Caliphs, until 

A. D. 754. the day of resurrection.' " 

Al Man§ixr assumed the Caliphate in the beginning of the year 
137. The first thing he did was to put to death Abu Muslim al Khura- 
sani, the author of their Call and the founder of their dynasty. In the 
year 138 A'bdu'r Eahman-b'Mu'awiyah-b-Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b- 
Marwan the TJmayyad entered Spain and conquered it. His reign was 
long and Spain continued in the hands of his descendants until after the 
fourth century. This A'bd'r Bahman was a man of learning and justice. 
His mother was a native of Barbary. 

Abu MudhafEar al Abiwardi says that people used to say that the 
two sons of two Berber women ruled the world — al Manslir and A'bdu'r 
Eahmah-b- Mu'awiyah. 

In the year 140 he laid the foundation of the city of Baghdad. In the 
year 141 appeared the Bdwandiyah* sectaries the asserters of metemp- 
sychosis and al Mansur put them to death. During the same, Tabaristaa 
was conquered. 

Ad Dahabi says that in the year 143 the doctors of Islam began at 
this period to compose works on tradition, jurisprudence and the inter- 
pretation of the Kuran. Thus Ibn Juraijf wrote at Mecca, Malik com- 
posed the Muwatta at Medina, al Auzaa'i wrote in Syria, Ibn Abi 
A'rubah,J Hammad-b-Salamah§ and others in Basrah, Ma'mar, in Taman,|| 
Sufyan at Thauri in Klifah, Ibn Ishak drew up his Maghazi (wars of 
Islam.) Abu Hanifah wrote treatises on law and the theory of private 
judghaent. Very soon after Hushaym,^ al Layth, and Ibn Lahia'h com- 

• 'Weil is in accordance with. Ibn u'l Athir wlio calls tiiem " Edwandiyah, a people 
of Khurasan, followers of A'bu MuaUm and believing in metempsychosis." Masa'udi 
calls the sect Khurramiyah — in one MS. (*j!'^;^)and in two others ^j^ and *il'^^ 
YakAt places Efiwand between Kfahdn and Ispahan. The text *i*i>:!j is incorrect. 

t Abu KhaJid A'bdu'l Malik of Mecca, by adoption a member of the Kuraysh. 
It is said he was the first in Islam to compose books, died A. H. 149, (766). Ibn 
Khali. For fi^ read ^>J- 

I A traditionist of Basrah, died A. H. 166, (772-3.) De Slane I. K. 

§ Abu SulamaJi Hammad-b-Salamah, a traditionist of the highest order, descended 
from an enfranchised slave of this Banu Tamim, died A. H. 167. Ibid. 

II Ma'mar-b-Abi U'rwah Eashid a Mawla to the tribe of Azd, learned traditions 
from az Zuhri a native of Basrah and settled in Taman, died A. H. 153. De Slane 
I.K. 

IT Abu Mua'wiyah, Hushaym the Traditionist was a, native of Basrah died 
A. H. 183. De Slane in translating this passage of ad Dahabi (Introduction to Vol. 1,) 
gives " Ibn Hishsim," for " Hushaym." Ibn Hishim's family was also of Basrah 
though he was born at old Cairo. He is the author of the history of the Prophet drawn 
from Ibn IshfiVs work and called Sirat Ibn Hish&ca. He died A. H. 218 I have not 
the work of ad Dahabi to consult : the Nujum, of Abu'l Maljasin from which De Slauo 



[ 267 ] 

posed their works. Then followed Ibn u'l Mubarak and Abu Yusuf and A. H. 143. 
Ibn Wahab, at which period the collection of works of science and their A. D. 760. 
classification increased greatly and, treatises on the Arabic language and 
idiom were drawn up and also on history and the encounters of the desert 
Arabs. Before this period, the learned used to discourse from memory or 
lectured on science from manuscripts, accurate, but unsystematically 
arranged." 

In the year 145 occurred the rebellion of the brothers Muhammad 
and Ibrahim, the two sons of A'bdu'llah-b-Hasan-b-i'l Hasan-b-A.'li-b-Abi 
Talib, but al Manglir defeated and slew them and a large number of the 
descendants of the prophetical House. Verily we belong to God and verily 
unto Him shall we return. Al Man^dr was the first who occasioned 
dissensions between the A'bbassides and the Aliites for before that they 
were united. He persecuted many of the learned who had risen with them 
or counselled rebellion, by puttbg them to death and scourging them and 
in other ways — among them Abu Hanifah and A'bdu'l Hamid-b-Jaa'far, 
and Ibn A'jlan. Among those who pronounced on the legality of rebel. 
ling with Muhammad against al Manstir, was Malik-b-Anas. It was said 
to him-^" upon our necks is the oath of allegiance to al Mansdr !" He 
replied — " ye swore allegiance under compulsion and an oath is not binding 
upon one who is forced." 

In the year 146 occurred the expedition against Cyprus. In the 
year 147 al Man§ur removed his paternal uncle I'sa-b-Musa' from the 
succession to which as SafEah had appointed him after al Mansdr. Isa 
was he who fought for him against the two brothers and defeated them 
and he rewarded him by setting him aside against his will and nominating 
his own son al Mahdi. 

In the year 148 the whole empire was firmly established under the 
authority of al Mansdr, and awe of him waxed great in the minds of 
men. The provinces submitted to him and Spain alone was excluded from 
his sway, for A'bdu'r Rahman-b-Mu'awiyah, the Umayyad, of the house of 
Marwan, had taken possession of it, but he was not called prince of the 
Faithful but " the prince" only and in the same way, his posterity. 



cites, has " Hisham" without any p^e&x. DeSlane is incorrect in his translation of 
tJiB word t^lr ' in his Introduction!, (p. xxiv) as will he seen on a reference to the 
original in Abul Mahasin where the name Eahii' does not occur. Moreover after the 
words islr^ in the Nujum follows **yJy Now Eabii' was jurisconsult of Medina 
and Ibn Khali mentions nothing of his ever having been at Kufah whereas it was 
Abu Hanifah' 3 native town/ For the biographies of those authors not mentioned in 
the notes, consjdt Ib n £!■ i. 



/ 
/ 



[ 268 ] 

A- H. 145. In the year 149 al Man^ur completed the building of Baghdad. In 

A, D. 762. the year 150, the Khurasan troops under their leader Usfcad Sis* revolted 
from his authority and seized the grea^ part of Khurasan, and calamities 
increased and evils waxed great and affairs grew serious with al Man§ur, 
for the strength of the army of Khurasan amounted to 3,00,000 warriors 
horse and foot. Ajthamf al Marwazi engaged them in battle but he 
was slain and his army destroyed. Then al Manslir despatched Khazim- J 
b-Khuzaymah to attack them at the head of a prodigious force that 
obstructed the plains, and the two armies met and fought obstinately. 
It was a famous battle. It is said that seventy thousand men were slaia 
in it and Ustad Sis was routed and he fled to the mountains. The general, 
Khazim, gave orders in the following year regarding the prisoners, and 
their heads were struck off and they were in number 14000. Then they 
besieged Ustad Sis for some time, until he surrendered. They kept him 
in confinement and dismissed his troops who numbered 30,000, 

In the year 151 al Manstir built ar Rusafah {^of KufaK) and made it 
a strong and lofty construction. 

In the year 153, al Mansur compelled his subjects to wear tall caps— 
they used to make them of reed and paper, and cover them with black. 
Abd Dulamah§, says — 

We desired an increase from the Imam 
And the chosen Imam gave us an increase to our caps. 
Thou mayest behold them on the heads of men as if 
They were wine jars of the Jews covered with the bumlis. 
In the year 158 al Manslir commanded the governor of Medina to 
imprison Sufyan at Thauri and A'bbad-b-Kathir and they were put into 
confinement, and the people feared that al Mangur would put them to 
death when he came from the pilgrimage, but the Lord did not suffer him 
to reach Mecca in health, for he arrived ill and died, and the Lord was 
sufficient for them against his wicked purpose. His death occurred at 
Batnll in Du'l Hijjah (6th) (7th October 775) and he was buried between 
al Hajin and Bir Maymun. Salm^ al Khdsir says, 

* So Ibn u'l Atliir and Weil. The text gives (jHS** ol*«l which is incorrect, 
t Ibn u'l Athir has " Ajsham" /,ma.\ 

X For (•j''^ read ^j^ 

§ Abd Dultoah was an Abyssinian slave celebrated for his wit, his amusing 
adventures and his talekt for poetay. He died A. H. 161 (778-9). His real name was 
Zand. Some amusing stories regarding him, may be found in Ibn KhaUikdn. 

II Batn Mutt or Marr, five miles from Mecca. This name is not mentioned by 
"Weil or Ibn Athir : Masa'udi says that death overtook him at the Bustan of the Banu 
A' Amir on the Irdk road. Al IJaj-dn fe a hill overlooking Mecca. 

II A native of Basrah, a poet notorious for his profligati. Ufe, He lived at Bagh.< 



[ 269 ] 

The pilgrims returned and left the son of Muhammad A. H. 158. 

As a pledge at Mecca in the niched tomb. A. D. 775. 

They witnessed the entire ceremonies while their Imam 

Beneath the broad stone, purposing, to perform the pilgrimage, 
witnessed them not. 
Eegarding accounts of al Manstir, Ibn A'sAkir records with its ascrip- 
tions, that Abu Jaa'far al Mansur used to travel for the purpose of acquir- 
ing knowledge, before his Caliphate. Once when he was about to enter 
a place of resort, the guardian seized him and said, " pay down two dirhams 
before thou enterest." He replied, " loose me for for I am one of the 
Banii Hashim." The man said, " pay down two dirhams." He replied 
" loose me, for I am one of the descendants of the uncle of the prophet." 
The man went- on, "pay down two dirhams." He replied, "loose me 
for I am a man versed in the book of God." The man repeated " pay 
down two dirhams." He exclaimed " loose me for I am a man 
skilled in jurisprudence and the law of inheritance." He replied " pay 
down two dirhams." When at length the man's insistance wearied 
him, he paid the two dirhams and returned and set himself to amassing 
money and to scrupulous niggardliness therein, until he received the 
nickname of Abii'd Dawanik. And on the authority of Eabii'-b-Yunas 
the chamberlain, who narrates, " I heard al Mansur say, ' the Caliphs 
are four, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and A'li, and the kings are four, 
Mua'wiyah, A'bdu'l Malik, Hisham and I." And from Malik-b-Anas, 
" I went in unto al Mansur and he said, ' who are the most excellent of 
men after the apostle of God !' I replied, ' Abu Bakr and Omar.' He 
said, ' thou hast hit it — and such is the opinion of the prince of the Faith- 
ful.' " And from Isma'il al Fihri, " I heard al Mansiir on the day of A'rafah, 
saying in his discourse from the pulpit at A'rafah, ' ye people ! verily 
I am the Lord's ruler upon His earth and I govern ye through His grace 
and guidance and I am His treasurer over His tribute which I divide 
according to His pleasure and bestow with His permission. And verily 
the Lord hath made me as a lock upon it : when He willeth to open me, 
he openeth me that I may give unto ye, and when it pleaseth Him to fasten 
me. He fasteneth me. Wherefore turn ye to the Lord, O ye people! and 
ask of Him on this glorious day in which he hath given unto ye of His 
grace, as he hath made known to ye in His Book when he saith, " this 
day I have perfected your religion for ye and have completed my mercy upon 



dad and received his epithet (the loser) because he sold a copy of the Kurau to huy a, 
book of poetry or else because he squandered his patrimony. He died about 186 
A, H. De Slaue I. E. 



C 270 1 

A. H. 158. ye, and I have chosen for ye Islam to be your religion" (Kvir. V)*, that He 
A. D. 775. may vouchsafe unto me justness of conduct, and guide m? to rectitude and 
inspire me with clemency unto ye and kindness towards ye, aiid open me 
to be bountiful unto ye, and the distribution of your allowances in equity, 
for he hearkeneth and granteth.' " As Suli records this and mentions 
further at the beginning of it, that the reason of this discourse was that the 
people esteemed him niggardly, and he adds at the end, " and people said 
■*the prince of the Faithful transfers to his God the responsibility of 
•withholding his hovmty^ " And he records on the authority of al Asma'i 
and others that al Mansdr ascended the pulpit and said, " praise be unto 
God : I glorify Him and implore His aid, and I believe in Him and put 
iny trust in Him and I testify that that there is no god but one God who 
hath no equal." Then there arose before him a man who said, " O prince 
of the Faithful, be thou mindful of Him whom thou art praising." He 
answered, " welcome, welcome, verily thou hast admonished me by One that 
is great and put me in fear of One that is mighty — God forbid, that I should 
be as one who when it is said to him, ' fear God,' his pride takes it as an 
offence, but the exhortation began with me and proceeded from me ; and 
thou ! thou speaker, I swear by Allah, it was not God thou thoughtest of, 
but thou soughtest that it should be said — he arose and spake and was 
punished but bore it patiently. But the thing is not worthy of notice 
from such a speaker, and take this as a favourable opportunity from 
God.t Have a care. Verily I have pardoned it. Beware, ye men, of 
the like of it ; — and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His 
apostle." He then returned to his discourse asflitently as though he were 
reading it from paper. 

He also records with various ascriptions that al Mansdr said to his 
eon al Mahdi— " O Abd A'bdu'llah, nothing maketh a Caliph virtuous but 
piety, nor well disposeth a monarch but obedience, nor reformeth a people 
but justice ; and thf best of men to pardon is he who is the most powerful 
of them to chastise, and the feeblest of men in intellect is he who op- 
presseth him that is beneath him. Do not proceed with an aSair until 
thou hast reflected upon it, for the meditation of a wise man is a mirror 
which showeth him his faults aud his merits. son, seek the continuance 
of bounty by gratitude, and of power by pardon, and of obedience by con- 
ciliating affection, and of victory by humility and forgiveness of men." And 
from Mubdrak-b-Fudhdlah that he said, " we were with al Mansiir when 
he summoned a man and sent for a sword, and Mubarak said, ' prince 

* This passage it is said wa3 revealed on Friday evening, being the day of the 
pilgrims visiting aoimt A'rafat the last time Muljammad repaired to the temple of 
Mecca, therefore cUed the pilgrimage of Valediction. Sale, p. 81. 

t The KdmU has «!»>** il l«*^l. 



[ 271 1 

of the Faithful, I heard al Hasan declare that the Apostle of God said, A. H. 158, 
" when the day of resurrection cometh, a crier of the Lord's shall rise A. D. 775. 
and shall cry out — arise those whose reward is with God, and none shall 
stand up but he who hath pardoned." And al Man§ur said — let him go 
his way.' " 

And from al Asma'i, that a man was taken to al Man§iir whom he 
■was about to punish, but the man said, " prince of the Faithful, ven- 
geance is but justice, but forgiveness would be super-eminent virtue and 
may God preserve the prince of the Faithful from choosing for himself the 
less noble of two courses without being able to attain to the higher 
degree ;" and he pardoned him. And from the same, that alMansiir met a 
desert Arab in Syria and said to him, " praise God, O Arab, who hath taken 
from ye the plague under the government of us of the prophetical house ;" 
He replied, " verily God hath not overwhelmed us with both bad dates and 
bad measure, your government and the plague." 

And from Muhammad-b-Mansiir al Baghdadi, that a certain devotee* 
stood up before al Mansiir and said, " verily the Lord hath given unto 
thee the whole earth, redeem then thy soul, with a portion of it. 
Remember the night which thou shalt pass in the grave, — a night 
thou hast never before so passed, and remember the night which shall 
bring forth the day that hath no night after it." And al Manglir was 
silenced and commanded money to be given to him, but he said, " if I 
needed thy money, I should not have admonished thee." And from 
A'bdu's Salam-b-Harb, that al Mansiir sent for A'mr-b-U'bayd who came 
to him, and he commanded money to be given to him but he refused to 
accept it, and al Mansiir said, " by AUah, thou shalt accept it." He re- 
plied, " by Allah, I will not accept it." Al Mahdi who was present said 
to him, " verily the prince of the Faithful hath taken his oath." He 
replied, " the prince of the Faithful is more able to pay the expiation of 
broken oaths than is thy uncle."*!- Al Mansiir said to Him, " ask for what 

• This was A'mr-b-TJbayd whose mention follows in the next anecdote. Both of 
ihem are related in his life in Ibn Khallikan. He was a celebrated ascetic and 
Bcholastio theologian ; his devotion was proverbial though his orthodoxy is disputed 
ly nearly all but his own sect of the Mu'atazalites of which he was the chief. He was 
liom A. H. 80 (699) and died A. H. 144 (761-2). Al Mansur composed an elegy on 
his death tod praised bim as an orthodox believer and saint. 

t In Ibn Khallikan, he addresses al IMahdi, as " son of my brother" and therefore 
calls himself his uncle, not of course meaning that there existed the remotest relation- 
ship, for A'mr's father acted as lieutenant to the successive chiefs of police at Ba?rah 
and had been one of the prisoners taken at Kabul. The expiation for breaking an 
oath consists in granting freedom to a slave or in once feeding and clothing ten 
paupers — if this cannot be done, a fast for three days is obligatory. De Slaue, I. K. 
Vol. I, p. 53. 



[ 272 ] 

A. H. 158. thou needest." He replied, " I ask thee not to send for me until I go to 
A. D. 775. thee, and not to give unto me until I ask of thee." He said, " dost thod 
know I have made this al Mahdi my heir ?" He replied, " the supreme 
power will come to him the day it comes to him, and thou wilt be other- 
vrise employed than in providing for it." And from A'bdu'Uah.b-Salih 
that al Man^tir wrote to Sawwar Kadhi of Basrah, saying, " look to the 
piece of land regarding which a certain officer and a certain merchant 
have disputed and give it to the officer ;" and Sawwar wrote, " verily it 
was proved to me that it belonged to the merchant, and I cannot withdraw 
it from his possession except on clear evidence." Then al Mansur wrote, 
" by Allah, save whom there is no God, thou shalt give it to the officer ;" 
Sawwdr replied to him, " by Allah, save whom there is no God, I shall 
not withdraw it from the possession of the merchant except lawfully." 
When this letter reached al Manstir, he exclaimed, " thou hast filled thy 
office with justice and my judges are now turning me to justice." And 
from another source that Sawwar was denounced to al Mansur who summon- 
ed him, and al Mangur happened to sneeze and Sawwar did not bless him, 
and al Man§lir said, " what prevented thee from saying a blessing ?" He 
replied, " because thou didst not praise God."* Al Mansur said, " indeed 
I praised God to myself," and he answered " I prayed for a blessing on 
thee to myself." The Caliph exclaimed, " go back to my office, for verily 
if thou payest no regard to me, thou wilt pay none to any other." 

And from Numayr al Madani who narrates, " al Man§iir arrived at 
Medina, and Muhammad-b-Imran at Talhai was holding judgment as 
Kadhi and I was his scribe. And certain camel-owners sought justice 
against al Mansdr in some affair, and Muhammad ordered me to write to 
him to appear, and to do them justice ; but I asked to be excused, but he 
would not excuse me, wherefore I wrote the summons and sealed it." He 
said — " by Allah, no one shall go with it but thyself." Wherefore I car- 
ried it to ar Eabii%rho went in imto al Mansur. Shortly after he came 
forth and said to the people, " verily the prince of the Faithful saith to 
ye — " I have been summoned to the judgment-seat, but let no one go up 
with me." Then he and ar Eabii' went, but the Kadhi did not rise be- 
fore him, nay, he loosed his mantle and wrapped it round his legs and back, 
and then summoned the plaintiffs. They made their plaint and he decided 
in their favour against the Caliph ; and when he had finished, al Mansur 
said to him, " may God reward thee for thy judgment, with the best of 
rewards — verily I have commanded to be given to thee, ten thousand 
dinars." 

* The prayer for the sneezer (-which is, may God avert from thee what may mako 
thy enemy rejoice at thy affliction) is uttered, when he has, in odedience to an 
injunction of tho prophet said *^ <W^I praise be to God. Lane, art. 



[ a73 ] 

And from Muhainmad-b-Haf? al I'jli, that a son was born to A'bii A- H. 158. 
l)uldmah, who went early in the morning to al Mansur and informed him A- D. 775. 
and recited — 

" If there sat above the sun, on account of their liberality 
A people, it would be said — sit ye children of A'bbas. 
And ascend upon the rays of the sun, all of ye 
Unto heayen, for ye are the most bountiful of men. 

Then Abu Dulamah drew out a purse and al Manst5r said, " what 
is that ?" He replied, " I mean to put into it what thou orderest for me." 
He said, " fill it for him with dirhams," and it held a thousand dirharas. 
And from Muhammad-b-Sallam al Jimhi, that it was said to al Mansur, 
" is there any yet left of the pleasures of the world that thou hast not en- 
joyed ?" He replied, " one thing is still Wanting-^that I should sit upon 
a bench, and round me the traditionists, the disciple writing from dictation, 
saying, 'whom didst thou mention* may the Lord have mercy on thee ?' " 
The next morning the courtiers and the sons of the ministers came with 
their ink-horns and tablets, but al Mansiir said, "ye are not they — for 
.they are of soiled garments, weary of foot, long of hair, the couriers of the 
earth, the transmitters of tradition." And from A'bdu's 8amad-b-A'li, 
:that he said to al Manslr, " verily thou hast applied punishment as if 
thouhadst never heard of pardon." He answered, "because the Banli Mar- 
wan, their bones have not yet decayed and the swords of the descendants 
of Abu Talib have not been sheathed, and we are among a people who saw 
us subjects yesterday and Caliphs to-day, and the fear of us will not take 
possession of their hearts save by ignoring pardon and the adoption of 
chastisement." And from Yunas-b-Habib that Ziyad-b-A'bdi'Uah al 
Harithi wrote to al Mansur, petitioning for an increase to his allowances 
and stipends, and employed all his eloquence in the composition of his letter 
but al Mansur noted on the case, saying, "verily wealth and eloquence 
when combined in one individual, make him vain-glorious, and the prince 
of the Faithful hath compassion on thee on that account ; therefore be 
content with eloquence." And from Muhammad-.b-SaUam, that a slave 
girl saw al Mansur with a patched tunic, and she exclaimed — " the Caliph 
with a patched tunic !" He replied, " fie on thee, hast thou not heard the 
words of Ibn Harmah rf 

* That is, of course, asking for the names of the authorities whom the tradition- 
ist mentions in the asoriptioua of any tradition. 

t Abu Isha^ Ibrahim-b-A'li-b-Maslamah-b-A'amir-b-Harmah died A. H. 176. 
Al Asma'i says of him that he was the last of the poets, and his life has been written 
by as Suli (probably not now extant). This is the only information regarding him 
furnished by De Slane in his life of as Suli, I. K. 

35 



[ 274 ] 

A. H. 158. Verily a youth may attain honor though his mantle 

A. D. 775. Be thread-hare, and the collar of his tunic, patched." 

Al A'skari says in the Awdil that al Mansdr among the sons of Ahhas, 
■was like A'bdu'l Malik among the Banu Umayyah, in niggardliness. One 
of the people saw upon him a patched tunic, and said, " great is He who hath 
tried Ahd Jaa'far with poverty in his own kingdom." 

Salm the camel-driver once drove al Manslir's camel, singing to it, 
and al Manslir was so excited with delight, that he nearly fell from the 
animal, and he rewarded him with half a dirham. The man said, " I drove 
Hisham and he rewarded me with ten thousand." The Caliph replied, "He 
had no right to give thee that from the public treasury. O Kabii',* ap- 
point some once to take it from him ;" and they did not finish with him 
until al Manstir made him drive the camel, going and coming for nothing. 

In the Awail of al A'skari it is stated that Ihn Harmah was much 
addicted to wine, and he went into al Man?iir, and versified, saying, 
" His glances from both sides of his throne 
When he launches them, contain punishment or favour. 
On the one hand he to whom thou gxaxi^Sii protection, thou protectesb 

from destructionjf 
On the other, he whom thou wishest to be bereft of a child, he is 

bereft. 
And al Manslir was pleased with him and said, " what is thy need ?" 
He replied, " write to thy prefect at Medina not to punish me, if he finds 
me drunk." Al Man^dr answered, " I will not abate a single restrictive 
ordinance of the ordinances of God." He said " contrive some expedient 
for me." And al Manslir wrote to his prefect, saying, " whoever bringeth 
before thee Ibn Harmah drunk, scourge him with a hundred stripes and 
scourge Ibn Harmah with eighty." "Wherefore when the watch nsed to 
pass by Ibn Harmah when he was drunk, he would exclaim, " who will 
buy a hundred for eighty," and then leave him and pass on. Al Mangur 
gave him on this occasion ten thousand dirhams and said to him, " take care 
of them, O Ibrahim, for there is nothing for thee like it again with me." 
He replied, " verily I will meet thee on the bridge of as Sirat with it, 
with the seal of the court treasurer."} 

• Abu'l Tadhl Rabii'-b-Yimas was cham'beTlaui to al Man?tir, and later, on 
the deposition, of Abu Ayub, al !Muri£iii, became his vizier, and continued in the service 
of al Mahdi in the same capacity. The Caliph treated him -with signal favor. He 
died in A. H. 170 (786) in the reign al H£di, poisoned according to some, by that Galiph. 
Ibn Khali. 

t This line is faulty : in the text the word Xam| as it stands has no meaning and will 

not scan— I suggest and adopt the following emendation, cffiir ' *J^I c*i*T (j^\ *l» 
% The word '^'H'^ is used by Masa'&di in this sense, in his life of al Mahdi. 



[ a75 ] 

Among the lines of al Mansdr, and they are few, is the following — A. H. 158. 

When thou hast formed an opinion he steadfast in it, ^' ■'-'■ "'^• 

For verily it is an iH-judgment that is vacillating. 

Nor grant thy enemies respite in power for a single day 

But be beforehand with them, lest they obtain the same to-morrow. 

Abdu'r Eahman-b-Ziyad-b-Anu'm al Ifriki narrates, " I was pursuing 
my studies with Abti Jaa'far al Manslir before his Caliphate, when he took 
me into his house and placed some food before me, wherewith there was 
no flesh-meat. Then he called out, ' girl ! hast thou any sweetmeats ?' 
She said, 'no.' 'Nor any dates?' 'No.' Then he laid himself down 
and read ' peradventure your Lord will destroy your enemy,' &c. (Kur. 
VII.) And when he succeeded to the Caliphate, I visited him, and he 
said, ' how is my government compared with that of the Banu Umyyah ?' 
I replied, 'I see no oppression under their rule, but I find it also 
under thine.' He exclaimed, ' we have no helpers.' I answered, ' Omar-b- 
A'bdi'l A'ziz said that a monarch is like a market that attracts to 
itself what will sell freely in it : if he be virtuous, they bring him the 
virtuous among them ; if he be wicked, they bring him the wicked among 
them,' whereupon al Mansur lowered his eyes." 

Among the sayings of al Mansur are,* " kings can tolerate every 
thing but three practises — revealing a secret, an outrage on his harem, or 
a blow aimed at his power. When thy enemy stretches out his hand to 
thee, cut it ofE if thou art able, otherwise kiss it." The ascriptions of these 
are given by as Suli who also records on the authority of Ya'kiib-b-Jaa'far 
as one of the instances related of the quick apprehension of al Manslxr,t 
that he entered Medina and said to ar Eabii', " find me a man who will 
point out to me the chief rasmsions of the people." And a man came to 
him and began to inform him about the houses, save that he never began 
to speak until al Manslir questioned him. And when he left him he 
ordered him a thousand dirhams. The man asked ar Eabii' for it, but 
he replied, " he said nothing to me about it, but he will soon ride round 
again when you can remind him." Al Mansdr continued his ride a second 
time, and the man began to give him information regarding the homes, 
but found no opportunity of speaking on the subject of his reward. At 
length when the Caliph desired to leave him, the man said, beginning of his 



Speaking of Sharik, he says, *i«?^l iJ^ ^^jjk ^ V"^ translated by M.de Meynard, 
" le Khalife lui ayant donnfi un bon sur le payeur de la cour." 

* This is told by Masaudi of al Mamun. 

t This story will be found in Ibn Khallikan's life of ai Eabxi'-b-Yunas. 



( 276 ] 

A. H. 158. own accord, " and this, O prince of the Faithful, is the house of A'atikah 
A. D. 775. of whom al Ahwas* says 

" O dwelling of A'atikah which I avoid 

Through dread of foes, upon thee my heart is fixed." 
Al Maristir was displeased at his beginning to speak unasked, but he 
went over the poem in his mind, and behold there was in it, 

" I see that thou performest what thou dost promise 
But there are some insincere of speech who' promise what they 
never perform." 
Al Mansdr laughed and said — " confound thee ! Eabii' give him a thou- 
sand dirhams." 

As Siili records on an ascription from Ishak of Mosul that al Manslir 
never joined his courtiers in convivial drinking bouts or musical entertain- 
ments, but when he sat, a curtain was between him and them, a distance 
of twenty cubits being between it and them and he the same distance from 
it. The first of the Banu A'bbas who mixed with his courtiers, was al 
Mahdi. And from Yaklit-b-Jaa'far, that al Mansur said to Kutham-b-u'l 
A'bbas-b-A'bdi'Uah-b-i'l A'bbas, who was his prefect over Yamamah and 
Bahrayn, " what is the meaning of Kutham and whence is it derived ?" 
He replied, " I do not know." Al Manslir exclaimed, " thy name a 
Hashimite name, and thou not understand it ! by Allah, thou art ignorant." 
He replied, " will the prince of the Faithful deign to enlighten me re- 
garding it ?" Al Manslir said, " the Kathim is he who broacheth a cask 
of wine after eating and " yekthimu al ashiya" means, he takes the things 
and breaks them." 

It is related that a fly was worrying al Mansur, whereupon he sent 
for Mukatil-b-Sulaymanf and asked him why God had created flies ? He 
replied, " to humble the mighty by their means." Muhammad-b-A'li al 
Khur^sani says that al Manslir was the first Caliph who admitted astro- 
logers into his society, and acted according to the dictates of the stars, and 
the fii'st Caliph for whom Syrian and Persian books were translated into 
Arabic, such as the apologue of Kalilah and Damnah,J and Euclid. He 

• A'tdu'Ilah-b-Muhammad al An?ari, sumamed al Ahwas (and not al Akhwa§ 
as the text and all the MSS. of Ibh Khali except the autograph have it) was a 
descendant of one of the An?Ara. He cultivated poetry and such was the virulence of 
his satires that Omar-h-A'hdi'l A'ziz banished him to the island of Dahlak in the Red 
Sea. Omar's successor recalled him, and he died A. H. 179 (796-6.). De Slane, I. K. 
Vol. I, p. 586. 

t Ahu'l IJasan MuHtil-h-Sulayman-b-Bashir; he was distinguished as an 
eminent commentator on the IJuran. As a traditionist his authority is disputed, and 
the general opinion is unfavorable to his veracity. He died at Basrah, A. H. 150 
(767-8. Ibn Khali. 

% Translated by A'bdu'llah Ibn u'l Mutaffa' the Katib renowned for the elegance 



I 277 ] 

was the first who appointed his freedmen to offices and preferred them A. H. 158. 
before Arabs, and this custom became frequent after his time, until the A. D. 775, 
Arab sway and preeminence declined. He was also the first who sowed 
dissensions between the Banu A'bbas and the descendants of A'li for before 
that they were united in interest. 



Traditions from the narration of al Matisur. 

As Suli says that al Man^iir was the most learned of men in traditions 
and genealogy, famous for his research. Ibn A'sakir in his history of 
Damascus gives the ascription of a tradition told by al Mangur from 
Ibn A'bbds, that the prophet wore his signet ring on his right hand. And 
as Siili mentions an ascription through al Manslir from Ibn A'bbas that 
the Apostle of God said, " the people of my house are like unto the ark 
of Noah ; who saileth in it is saved, who remaineth behind perisheth." 
And through al Mangdr from the father of Ibn A'bbas that the apostle of 
God said, " when I appoint a governor and fix for him his stipend, whatever 
else he may acquire over and above, is unlawful plunder." And from the 
father of Yahya-b-Hamzah al Hadhrami that he narrates, " al Mahdi 
appointed me to the office of Kadhi and said, " be fearless in thy judgments 
for my father told me on the authority of al A'bbas that the Apostle of God 
said, " the Lord saith — by my majesty and glory, I will take revenge upon 
the oppressor in his present life and in his life to come, and I will take 
vengeance upon him who seeth one oppressed, being able to succour 
him and yet doth it not.' " And through al Mansiir from Ibn A'bbas 
that the prophet said, " every connection and every affinity shall be sunder- 
ed at the day of resurrection, save connection with me and affinity to me. 
And from the same that he said, " I heard A'li-b-Abi Talib say, ' journey 
not in the last three nights of the lunar month nor when the sun is in 
Scorpio.' " 

Of people of note who died in the reign of al Mansdr were Ibn u'l 
Mukaffa', Suhayl-b-Abi Salih, al A'la-b-A'bdi'r Eahman, Khalid-b-Yazid 
al Misri the jurisconsult, Dauiid-b-Abi Hind, Abu Hazim Salimah-b-Dinar 
al Aa'raj (the lame), A'ta-b-Abi Muslim al Khurasani, Yunus-b-U'bayd, 
Sulayman al Ahwal (the one-eyed), Musa-b-U'kbah, author of the Maghazi, 
A'mr-b-Ubayd al Mu'atazali, Yahya-b-Sai'd al Ansari, al Kalbi, Ibn Ishak 
Jaa'far-b-Muhammad as Sadik, al Aa'mash, Shibl-b-A'bbad the ICuran 

of his style. He was a Persian by birth, and a Magian but made the- profession of 
Islam : his orthodoxy however was always suspected. He was put to death under al 
Mansur's orders. 



[ a78 ] 

A. H. 15^. reader* of Mecca, Muhammad-b-A'jldn, al Madani the jurisconsult, Muham- 
A. D. 775. mad-b-Abdi'r Eahman-b-Abi Layla, Ibn Juraij, Abu Hanifah, Hajjaj-b- 
Art^t, Hammad ar Eawiyah, Edbah the poet, al Jariri, Sulayman at Tamimi, 
A'asim al Ahwal, Ibn Shirmah ad Dhabbi, Mukatil-b-Hayyan, Mukatil-b- 
Sulayman, Hisham-b-TJ'rwah, Abu A'mr-b-i'l A'li,, Asha'b at Tammaa', 
the avaricious, Hamzah-b-Habib az Zayyat, al Auzaa'i' and others. 



AL MAHDI. 

Al Mahdi Abu Abdu'llah Muhammad-b-i'l Mansdr was born at Aidajt 
in the year 127 or as some say 126. His mother was Umm Musa, daughter 
of al Mansdr a descendant of the Himyarite J princes. He was munificent, 
much extolled, of handsome countenance, beloved by his subjects and o£ 
orthodox belief. He persecuted the Ziadiks§ and destroyed a considerable 
number of them. He was the first who commanded the writing of pole- 
mical works in refutation of the Zindiks and the heretics. He related 
traditions on the authority of his father and Mubarak-b-Fudhalah ; and 
Tahya-b-Hamzah, and Jaa'far-b-Sulayman al Dhaba'i, and Muhammad-b- 
A'bdi'Uah ar Eakashi, and Abu Sufyan Sa'i'd-b-Tahya the Himayarite, 
have narrated them from him. " I have never known it said," observes ad 
Pahabi, " that there was any invalidation or correction of his testimony." 
Ibn A'di records from a tradition of Othman ascribed to the prophet, " al 
Mahdi shall be of the descendants of my uncle A'bbas." Muhammad-b-u'l 
Walid the Mawla of the Band Hashim is the single authority for this, and 
he was one who fabricated traditions. Ad Dahabi in this place adduces a 
tradition of Ibn Masa'dd ascribed to the prophet, " the name of al Mahdi 
shall correspond with mine and the name of his father with that of my 
father." 



* The difference between a " Kixi" and a " Mukri," is that the first reads the 
Eurdn to his pupils, the second makes them read and coTiects them where they 'eir. 
De Slane, I. K. p. 676, Vol. 1. 

+ Between Khuzistan and Ispahan. 

t His genealogy aooording to Masa'fidi, al Maii|(ir-h-A'bdi'Uali-b-pi Sabm-b- 
Abi Sarh, descended from Dd Eu'ayn a Himyrite prince. 

§ The precise religious or irreligious code of this free-thinking commune of 
seotaiians, is nowhere satisfactorily given, but the broad principles of their school 
seems to have been a denial of the existence of a Supreme Being, the rejection of all 
religious systems, but a strict observance of the laws of nature as imprinted in the 
heart of man and the profession of the love of humanity in its widest sense. A practical 
application of this last, permitted incestuous marriages. Consult Weil, p. 105, under 
al Mahdi. 



I a79 ] 

When al Mahdi grew up, his father appointed him governor of A. H. 158. 
Tabaristan and its dependencies, and he was taught polite literature and A. D. 775. 
associated with the learned and distinguished himseH. Subsequently his 
father named hJm to the succession and when his father died, he was 
acknowledged Caliph. The news reached him at Baghdad and he preached 
before the people and said, " verily the prince of the Faithful is a servant — 
he hath been summoned and hath answered to the summons, and he hath 
been commanded and hath obeyed." Then his eyes filled with tears and 
he said, " verily the apostle of God wept at separating from his friends, 
and indeed, I have suffered a great separation and have been invested with 
a weighty charge, but the prince of the Faithful reckons upon a reward 
from God and I implore His assistance upon the Caliphate of , the Muslims. 
O ye people ! be inwardly, as ye appear outwardly, obedient to us, and we will 
grant ye security and ye will be made worthy of commendation in the end. 
Lower ye the wings of submission imto him who hath diffused justice 
amongst ye, and hath put away coercion from ye and hath shed peace over 
ye, since the Lord hath approved him as a promoter of these things. By 
Allah, I wUl consume my life between chastising and favouring ye." 
Niftawayh says that when the public treasure came into the hands of al 
Mahdi, he set about the removal of grievances and took a considerable part 
of the public stores and distributed them and treated generously his kind- 
red and his clients. Another author observes that the first who congratu- 
lated al Mahdi on his accession to the Caliphate and condoled with him 
on his father's death was Abu Dulamah who said 
" Of my eyes one of them is seen joyful 

Glad for its lord, while the other sheds tears. 

Weeping and smiling by turns, for saddens it 

That which it takes iU, and that which it experiences, mates it glad. 

Now the death of the Caliph in the inviolable state of pilgrimage, 
grieves it, 

And that this most clement one has arisen, gladdens it. 

I have never before beheld what I have now seen nor do I experience 

My combing one hair while plucking out another. 

The Caliph is dead, alas for the religion of Muhammad ! 

But there comes to ye after, one that succeeds him. 

God hath granted to this, the honor of the Caliphate 

And to the other the beauteous gardens of delight." 
In the year 159 al Mahdi made a covenant for the succession in favor 
of his sons Miisa al Eadi and Harun-ar Eashid after him. In the year 
160, Barabad* in India was taken by force. During the same al Mahdi 
* So the word is given both by Ibn u'l Athir and Weil. The latter cannot 
determine the position of the town, but supposes it to have been on the sea coast or 
on one of the arms of the Indus. The expeditionary fleet was commanded by A'bdu'l 



[ 280 1 

A. H. 160, made the pilgrimage and the guardians of the Kaa'bah informed him that 

4- D. 776-7. they feared its breaking in from the number of coverings over it, and he 

gave orders regarding it, and it was stripped and restricted to the covering 

;of al Mahdi. Snow* was carried to al Mahdi at Mecca. Ad Dahabi 

.observes that this was never arranged for any sovereign before. 

In the year 161, al Mahdi commanded the construction of the Mecca 
:road, and built houses along it and made reservoirs, and he ordered the 
.abandonment of the reserved places for Imams in the mosques of Islha and 
lessened the size of the pulpits and restricted them to the measure of the 
pulpit of the Apostle of God. 

In the year 163 and the following years, conquests in the Grecian 
provinces were numerous. In the year 166 al Mahdi removed to Kasr u's 
Saldmf and he ordered to be established for him a postal service of mules 
and camels from the prophetical city (Medina) and from Yaman and 
Mecca to the royal residence. Ad Dahahi says that he was the first who 
established a post from al Hijaz to al I'rak. During this and the follow- 
ing years al Mahdi was energetic in the persecution of the Zindiks and in 
exterminating them and hunting them down throughout the provinces 
and putting people to death on mere suspicion. In the year 167 he 
ordered a great enlargement of the sacred mosque (of Mecca) J and brought 
a number of buildings within its enclosure. In the year 169 al Mahdi 
died : he had given chase to an animal, and the quarry rushed into a ruined 
-building ; the horse following, al Mahdi struck his back against the door- 
way and died on the spot. This took place on the 22nd Muharram. 
(4th August 785). It is also said that he died of poison. Salm al Khasir 
laments him as follows : 

" There weeps over al Mahdi one that weeps 
As if frenzy were on her, yet she is not insane. 
Yea — she tears her countenance and discovers 
Her locks and reveals her tresses. 

Verily, if the Caliph has passed away after his exaltation, 
Surely he has left deeds which have not passed away. 

Malik-'b-Shihd'b al Masma'i. The troops before setting sail on tlieir return wera 
attacked by a disease in the mouth, of which about a thousand died. Shipwreck added 
to their discomfiture and a similar attempt was not repeated. 

* " A pious and charitable motive may sanctify the foundation of cisterns and 
caravanseras which he distributed along a measured road of 700 miles, but his train 
of camels laden with snow could serve only to astonish the natives of Arabia and 
to refresh the fruits and liquors of the royal banquet." Decline and Fall. Chapter LII. 

t " The palace of peace" — Yakub states this to have been erected at Rakkah, by 
ar Eaahid the son of al Mahdi — Eabkah is the ancient Nicephorium. 

X Burton is an error in giving the year 163, as the date of this enlargement. See 
Mecca, p. 161. 



[ 281 ] 

The peace of God throughout each day ■ A. H. 169. 

Be upon al Mahdi from the time when he remained a pledge of the A. D. 785. 
grcme. 

"We have left religious peace and worldly happiness all 

"Where the prince of the Faithful lies buried." 
Among accounts of al Mahdi, as Suli says that when he covenanted 
for the succession of his son Musa, Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah said, 
" Allegiance hath been covenanted for Mtisa at Eusafah 

By which God hath made fasb the loops of Islam. 

Mlisa, he whose merit the Kuraysh know 

And unto them is preeminence among the tribes. 

Through Muhammad {Musa) after the prophet Muhammad 

AU lawful things have sprung to life, and all that is forbidden hath 
perished. 

The guide of his people — who are through him 

Protected from ignominy and deprivation. 

Musa sways the rod of the Caliphate after him (al Mahdi) 

And with that are dried up the records of pens !"* 
Another says — ' 

" O son of the Caliph, verily the people of Ahmad {Muhammad) 

Their desires incline to thee in obedience. 

Thou shalt fill the earth with justice, like unto that 

Which the learned of the people used to relate to them, 

Until their dead shall desire to witness 

Of the justice of thy rule what the living behold. 

Then upon thy father now be the gladness of their empire 

And hereafter upon thee its garment and its mantle." 
As Stili records with its ascription that a woman advanced before al 
Mahdi, and said, " O sinewf of the Apostle of God ! see to my need." 
He exclaimed, "I have never heard that epiVAef from any one — (turning 
to his attendants), do what she wants and give her ten thousand dirhams." 
Kuraysh al Khuttali says that Salih-b-A'bdi'l Kuddiis al Basri was brought 



* *l.aJ( (juaa. jg aji expression that signifies an unalteraWe fact, the ink of the 
pen that decreed it having dried up — so the tradition IJJ' '^'' '•^ f^\ •-*=>■ that is, 
all that a man meets with in the world has already been destined and cannot be avoid- 
ed or altered. See the Sahih of Bukhari, Chapter on Fate, p. 976, Folio and Kirmani's 
notes on this expression. 

t It may also mean — " heir." The word signifies also the heirs of a person who 
lias left neither parent nor ofispring, and can be applied to a single person as weU as 
to a pi. number. 
36 



[ 282 ] 

k. H. 169. before al Mahdi on the charge of being a Zindik, and Salih exclaimed, 
^.. D. 785. " I repent before God," and he recited to him regarding himself. 
" Enemies suffer not at the hands of a fool 
What a fool sufiers at his own. 
And an old man will not abandon his habits 
Until he is hidden in the dust of his grave." 
Al Mahdi therefore let him go, but when he was about to depart, he 
called him back and said, " didst thou not say that an old man will not 
abandon his habits ?" ' He replied, " yes." " In the same way then," said 
he, " thou wilt not abandon thy ways until thou diest," whereupon he- 
ordered him to be put to death. Zahir states that ten traditionists were 
brought before al Mahdi, among them Faraj -b-Fudhalah and Ghiyath-b- 
Ibrahim. Now al Mahdi took pleasure in pigeons and when Ghiyath was 
introduced, it was said to him, " recite a tradition unto the prince of the 
Faithful." Whereupon he related from so and so on the authority of Abu 
Hurayrah from the prophet, " there shall be no wager except on a hoof* 
or an arrow or lance head" and he added to it, " or a wing." Al Mahdi 
then ordered for him ten thousand dirhams," but as he arose, al Mahdi 
said, " I declare that the nape of thy neck is as the nape of the neck of 
a liar. Surely thou hast interpolated that." Then he gave orders regard- 
ing the pigeons and their throats were cut. It is related that Sharik went 
in unto al Mahdi who said to him, " one of three things thou must do — 
either thou must take the office of Kadhi, or thou must instruct my sons 
and relate traditions to them or eat a meal with me." He considered a 
moment and said, " to eat with thee will be least inconvenient to me." 
Whereupon al Mahdi ordered dishes of marrow mixed with sugar and 
other things, of which he eat ; but the cook said, " he will not prosper 
after it." The narrator adds that after this Sharik taught traditions to 
them and accepted the office of Kadhi.f 

Al Baghawi records in the Ja'diyat on the authority of Hamdan al 
Isbahani that he narrates, " I was with Sharik when there came to him the 
son of al Mahdi, who leaning against the wall asked him concerning a 
tradition, but Sharik did not take any notice of him, so he repeated Jiia 

* The tradition is not here given entire, it should te t-***^ j' j*'*' j' ""^^ ts* ^' 
" except in the hoof of «■ catml, or that of a horse, mule or aas, or in the case of an 
arrow or lance head" — (shooting or throwing the lance), because all these are used 
in fight with the enemy. Lane, art (3^ 

t Masalidi adds to this story that the Caliph having given Sharik an order on 
the paymaster, Sharik made some difficulty on the subject of payment, upon which 
the paymaster said — "you have'not been selling cloth P" " No," said Sharik, " but some* 
thing more precious, my religion." Mvacvii ud Dahab, Vol, VI, 



[ 283 ] 

question and Sharik repeated Ms conduct, when the former said to him, A. H. 169. 
" it seems as though thou thinkesfc lightly of the sons of the Caliph !" He A. D. 785. 
replied, " not so, but knowledge is too precious in the estimation of its 
possessors, for them to throw it "away." The other then sank down upon 
his knees and then put his question, whereupon Sharik said, " thus should 
knowledge be sought." 

Among the verses of al Mahdi recited by as Siili are the following — 

" The people will not restrain themselves from us. 
The people do not weary of us, 
Verily their endeavour is 
To dig up what we have buried. 
If we dwell in the bowels of the earth 
They would come where we were."* 

As Siili records with its ascription to Muhammad-b-U'marah, that al 
Mahdi had a slave girl of whom he was passionately fond, and she likewise 
of him, save that she avoided him not a little, whereupon he sent one 
clandestinely to her who knew what was in her mind, and she said to him, 
" I feai- lest he should weary of me and leave me and I should die." 
Al Mahdi then said concerning this, 

" A girl fresh as a new moon 

Hath conquered my heart. 

Whenever my love is assured to her 

She bringeth but excuses ; 

Separation is not pleasing to me 

Nor our refraining from meeting. 

Nay, I will continue in my afEection 

For her, keeping in fear, satiety." 
The following is by him on his boon-Companion, Omar-b-Bazii'. 
" O God r perfect unto me my joy 

Through Abu Hafs my comrade : 

Tor the pleasure of my life 

Is in song and wine, 

And perfumed slave girls 

And music and enjoyment. 



• * The next line I have omitted to translate as 1 can make no sense of it and 
Ibelieve it to be corrupt. I give it for tlie benefit of those wbo may succeed better. 

*"^ ^ji i!fj«''l ts' * ^J^^ it}^ C^ J The first two lines only of the verse are given 
\>j Masa-ddi but differently to those in the text. They are placed in the mouth of Abd 
2akkar a singer performing before the Caliph Harun ar Bashid. 



I 284 ] 

v. S. 169. I obiserve that the poetry o£ al Mahdi is much smoother and Jnoro 

k. D. 785. graceful than that of his father or of his sons. 

As Siili also states with ascription to Ishak of Mosul, that al Mahdi 
at the beginning of his reign, like al Manstir, kept himself secluded from 
/ his courtiers for about a year, after which he mixed with them. It was • 
suggested to him that he should withdraw himself more, but he said, 
"verily the enjoyment consists in their being present." And on the 
authority of Mahdi-b-Sabik, that a man called out to al Mahdi while he 
was among his cortege. 

Say to the Caliph, Hatim is a traitor to thee, 
Then fear God and Save us from Hatim. 
For when a virtuous man asks the assistance of a traitor 
He becomes a partner in his guilt. 
Whereupon al Mahdi said, " let every one of my prefects who is 
named Hatim, be deprived of office." And from Abli TJ'baydah that he 
said, " al Mahdi used to read to us the five appointed services of prayer 
in the mosque of Bagrah when he came there. One day prayers were 
being begun when a desert Arab exclaimed, ' I am not in a state of legal 
purification, and verily I desire to join the prayers behind thee.' Whereon 
he ordered them to wait for him, and they waited for him, and al Mahdi 
entered the arched niche of the mosque and stayed until it was said that 
the man had come, upon which he recited the takbir, and the people wonder- 
ed at the considerate courtesy of the Caliph." And from Ibrahim-b-Nafi', 
that some of the people of Basrah carried a dispute concerning one of the 
streams about Basrah before al Mahdi, and he said, " verily the earth 
belongeth to God being in our hands for the ienefit of the Muslims, 
therefore that regarding which there hath been no purchase, its value, 
reverts to all of them and fo« their advantage. Therefore no one indi- 
vidual hath any claim upon it." Then the deputation said, "this 
stream is ours by the direction of the apostle of God, for he said, ' he who 
cultivateth waste land it belongeth to him,' and this land is waste." Al 
Mahdi threw himself forward at the mention of the prophet, until his cheek 
touched the ground, and he exclaimed, " I hearken unto what he hath said 
and obey." Then he continued, " it remains now to be shown that this is 
waste land, so that I may make no objection, and yet how can it be waste 
when the water surrounds it on all sides — now if they can establish the proof 
of this, I will assent." 

And on the authority of al Asma'i, I heard al Mahdi from the pukiit 
at Basrah say, " verily the Lord hath laid upon ye a command, in tJie 
performance of which He Himself set the example and made His angels 
follow Him for He hath said, ' verily God and his angels bless the pro' 
phet &c.' (Kur. XXXIII.) He hath distinguished him by means of it 



[ a85 ] 

among the apostles inasmuch as He hath distinguished ye by it among A. H. 169. ' 
nations." A. D. 785. 

I have to observe that he was the first to speak thus in a discourse, 
and preachers unto this day have been guided by it as an example. 

When al Mahdi died, and sackcloths were, hanging from the cupolas 
of the Caliph's harem, Abu'l A'tahiyah* said — 

" At eve, they went in dyed garments. 
And in the morning they were clad in sackcloth. 
Unto every butting ram in the world 

Shall come a day when there shall be one butting against him. 
Thou art not immortal 
Didst thou live to the age of Noah: 
Weep for thyself, hapless one 
If thou art to weep." 



Traditions from the narration of al MaTidi. 

As Stili gives a tradition through al Mahdi from Abu Sa'id al Ehudrl 
who said, " the apostle of God preached a discourse to us from the after- 
noon until sunset which some remember and some have forgotten, and he 
said in it, ' now verily the goods of this world are sweet and refreshing* 
and the rest of the tradition in full." 

And through al Mahdi from A'bbas, that a deputation of Persians 
visited the apostle of God, and they had shaved their beards and allowed 
their moustaches to grow long, and the prophet said — " do the contrary of 
what they do — let your beards grow long and shave your moustaches," and 
the shaving of the moustache means the removal of as much of it as falls 
upon the lip," and al Mahdi placed his hand upon his upper lip. 

Mansiir-b-Muzahim and Muhammad-b-Yahya-b-Hamzah, narrate of 
of Hamzah-b-Yahya that he said, " al Mahdi read to us the evening prayer 
and called out in a high voice, ' In the name of God, the most Merciful, 
the most Compassionate.' I exclaimed, * prince of the Faithful what 
means this !' He replied, ' my father related to me, on the authority of 

* Atu lehak Isma'il-b-u'l ;^a3im was bom at Ain u't Tamr in A. H. 130, brought 
up at Ktifah and settled at Baghdad. He was surnamed Abu'l A'tahiyah, and also 
al Jarrar, because he sold jars. He was among the principal of the poets who flourish- 
ed in the eariy times of Islam and ranted in the same class with Bashshar and Abu 
NawS.s. His- passion for U'tba, a female slave of al Mahdi and his numerous odes to 
her, added to his notoriety, but did not advance his suit, for though the Caliph was 
wilUng to bestow her upon him, she disbelieved in his affection and abhorred his face. 
He died at Baghdad in 211 (A. D. 826). Ibn Khali. 



[ 286 ] 

A. H. 169. Ibn A'bbas, that the prophet called aloud — In the name of God, the 
A. D. 785. most Merciful, the most Compassionate' — I said to al Mahdi, 'may I 
transmit this on thy authority ,?' He replied, ' yes.' " 

Ad Dahabi says, " this ascription is unbroken in continuity but I 
pever knew any one adduce al Mahdi, or his father as authority for religious 
ordipances." Muhammad-b-u'I Walid, client of the Banii Hashim is the 
only authority for this, and Ibn A'li states that he fabricated traditions. 
I remark that he is not alone in this, for I have noticed another that 
follows him. 

Of people of note who died in the reign of al Mahdi were Shu'bah- 
J-m'Z Sajjdj Ahu Bistdm, Ibn Abi Dib, Sufyan at Thauri, Ibrahim-b- 
Adham the ascetic, Dautid at Tai the ascetic, Bashshar-b-Burd the most 
eminent of the post-classical' poets, Hammad-b-Salamah, Ibrahim-b- 
Tahman and Khalil-b- Ahmad, author of the treatise on prosody. 



AL HADI. 



M Hadi, Abd Muhammad, Musa-b-u'l Mahdi-b-i'l Mansur, whose 
mother was a Berber slave concubine called al Khayzuran, was born at 
JBai in the year 147 and was acknowledged Caliph after his father, in 
accordance with the latter's deed of succession. Al Khatib says that no 
one ruled the Caliphate before him at his age. He continued in it for a 
year and some months. His father ch^ged him as his last bequest to 
exterminate the Zindiks and he pursued them actively and put to death 
a large number of them. He used to be called Musa Atbik, because his 
upper lip was contracted, and his father placed a servant in charge over 
him when he was a child, who whenever he saw his mouth open would say, 
" Musa, draw your lips together !" (Atbik), whereon be would recover 
himself and compress his lips. He was therefore thus distinguished. 

Ad Dahabi says that he was addicted to drinking and frivolous amuse- 
ment, and used to ride a brisk-going donkey, and did not uphold the 
dignity of the Caliphate ; yet withal he was eloquent, with a great com- 
mand of language, well educated, an aspect of awe encompassed him and 
he possessed intrepidity and hardiness. Another author describes him as a 
despot, and as being the first before whom men marched with sharp 
scimitars and staves and strung bows. His prefects imitated him in this 
and the wearing of arms prevailed much in his time. 

He died in Eabii' u'l Awwal* in the year 170, (15th Sept. 786). 
Accounts are conflicting regarding the manner of his death. Some say 

• The text taa " Akhir." Tlxis is an error protally of the copyist as in the 
life of ar Bashid, as Suyiti places al Hddi's death in Eabii' I, All other authorities 



[ 287 T 

that he pushed one of his courtiers over a precipitous bank upon the A. H. 170/ 
stumps of a reed bed that had been cut, but the courtier clung to him and A. D. 786. 
he fell and a reed entered his nostril and they were both kiUed. It is said 
too that he had an ulcer in his stomach. Another account is, that his 
mother al Khayzurdn poisoned him, when he sought to murder ar Kashid 
in order to confer the succession on his own son. 

It is said that his mother was an imperious woman, assuming absolute 
direction of afiairs of state. A line of persons attended at her gate every 
morning, but he forbade them doing so, and addressed her in rough lan- 
guage, and said,* " verily, if there attendeth a noble at thy gate, I will 
assuredly strike off his head — but as for thee, hast thou not a spindle to 
employ thee, or a Kuran, or beads to engage thee in devotion ?" And she ' 
arose beside herself with anger, and it is reported that he sent her poisoned 
food, but she caused some of it to be given to a dog which was imme- 
diately affiectedt by it. She therefore conspired to put him to death 
when he was prostrate with fever and they smothered him with the bed 
covering and sat upon its sides. He left seven sons. 

Of the verses of al Hddi, are the following on his brother Hdriin 
when he refused to renounce the succession. 

I counselled Hariin, but he rejected my counsel. 

And every man that taketh not advice, repenteth ; 

I invite him to a deed that will restore harmony between us, 

But he turneth from it, and in that he doth wrong. 

And were it not for my expectation of his consent from day to day 

He should do what I say under compulsion. 

Among the events of al Hadi's reign, it is recorded by Al Khatib on 
the authority of al Padhl that al Hadi was wroth with a man, and they 
interceded for him with the Caliph, upon which he was pacified towards 
him, and the man went to make his excuses, and al Hadi said to him, 
" my approval exempts thee from the pain of apology." And on the 
authority of Musaa'b, that Marwan-b-Abi Haf jah went in unto al Hadi 



concur in the mouth teing Eahii' I, except Tabari, who says Jumada I, and a 
Makin, Eahii' II, hut this latter is a mere slip of the pen, as he himself states the 
duration of al Hadi's reign te be one year and 52 days, which fits in with 14th Eabii' 
I. Weil fixes the date at the 16th Eabii' I. See Gesh, der. Cal. 

* This speech is not accurately given by as Suydti and is marred in the telling. 
Ibn u'l Athir and Masau'di concur in their narratives of it. 

t The verb J^J^I has not this meaning in the Lexicons, but it is plain that 

^i " 
this IS the sense mtended which would be usually expressed by^" 



[ 288 ] 

A. H. 170. and recited to him a panegyric on him, until he came to the following verse, 
A. D. 786. ujg bounty and intrepidity are to-day so evenly balanced 

That no one knows with which the superiority lies. 

Al Hadi said to him, " which dost thou prefer, thirty thousand dirhams 
down, or one hundred thousand paid through the accountant's office ?" 
He replied " give the thirty thousands dirhams down and let the hundred 
thousand come round to me through the office." Al Hadi said " nay, both 
shall be paid down together," and the sum was taken to him. 

As S'lili observes that no woman is known to have given birth to two 
Caliphs, except al Khnzayran, the mother of al Hadi and ar Eashid, and 
Wiladah, daughter of al Abbas, of the tribe of A'bs,* wife of A'bdu'l 
Malik-b-Marwan, who bore al Walid and Sulayman ; and Shahint daughter 
of Firliz son of Tazdajird, son of Khusrau, who bore to al Walid-b- 
A'bdi'l Malik, Tazid an Nakis and Ibrahim, both of whom succeeded to 
the Caliphate. I remark that there may be added to these, Bai Khatlin, 
the concubine of the last al Mutawakkil who gave birth to al A'bbas and 
Hamzah who both ruled the Caliphate ; and Kazl a concubine of the same 
who bore Dauud and Sulayman who governed it likewise. 

As Slili also says that no Caliph was ever known to ride post, except al 
Hadi wAo ro<?e from Jurjan to Baghdad, J He adds that the impression on 
his signet ring was, "the Lord is the reliance of Mdsa and in him he confides." 

The following, according to as Siili is by Salm al Khasir eulogising 
al Hadi. 

Mdsa is a rain — a cloud that riseth early, — and is then discharg- 
ed — he appropriates power to himself — how hath he forcibly seized — and 
waxed strong ! — and then pardoned ! — just in disposition' — of enduring tb- 
■coYin—for good and evil — weal and woe — the best of mortals — of the race 
of Mudhar — a moon that is ' at full — unto him who beholdeth — He is 
the refuge — of them that are nigh — and the glory — of those that remain. 

As Sdli says, " this detached verse — is of the! measure Musta'filun — 
Musta'filun ;§ he was the first to employ it and I have never heard 
poetry of this detached character by any one else." 

* There are two of this name ; one a branch of the Kaya A'yldn, the eponymous 
head of which was A'bs-b-Baghidh-b.Eayth, and the other of the Banu Kudljaa'h 
sprung from A'bs-b-Khaulan. Muntaha'l Arab. 

t See page 257. The name there given is " Shahfarand." 

X This took place when the death of his father was announced to him and he 
accomplished the distance according to Ibn u'l Athir, in twenty days. 

§ A variety of the Eajaz, dimeter acataieotio, the third epitrite 

*-' — varied by the diiamb ^ '-' 

O carminum | dulces notas, 
Quaa ore fun i dia melloo. 



[ 289 ] 

He .traces an ascription to Sa'id-b-Salm who is reported to have said, A. H. 170. 
" verily I trust that the Lord will be merciful unto al Hadi on account A. D. 786. 
of an act of his which I witnessed. I was present with hitn one day when 
Abu'l Khitab, as Saa'di was reciting a poem to him in his praise continuing 
till he came to, 

" ' best of those whose hands tie the waist band, 
O best of those whom the face of Mudhar hath invested with their 
authority.' " 

Al Hadi said to him, " have a care ! whom dost tliOii mean ? Shame 
on thee !" For he excepted no one in his verse ; whereupon I exclaimed, 
"O prince of the Faithful, surely, he means of the people of this age." 
The poet then reflected and said, 

" Save the prophet, the Apostle of God* to whom 
Belongeth preeminence and thou, in that preeminence, doth glory." 

Al HMi said, "now thou hast hit it and hast done well," and he 
ordered fifty thousand dirhams to be given to him. 

Al Madaini says, that al Hadi condoled with a man on account of the 
■loss oi his son, and said, "he made thee glad when he was to thee a 
temptationf and an evil, and now grieveth thee when he hath become unto 
thee a reward and a mercy !" 

As Slili narrates that Salm al Kh5,sir recited on al Hadi the following 
verse coupling condolence and congratulation. 

" Verily Musa hath assumed the Caliphate and guidance unto salvation, 
And Muhammad {al Mahdi) prince of the Faithful, is dead. 
He is dead whose loss the people suffer in common 
And he hath arisen who will suffice thee for him who is gone." 

And Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah says similarly — 
" Verily there pride themselves in every city 
On account of the grave of the prince of the Faithful, the ceme- 
teries. / 

* Wto -was eigMeenth in direct descent from Mudhar-b-Mzar-h-Maa'd-b-Adnan ; 
the generations between Adnan and labmael are uncertain, some enumerating eigbt, 
others (and among these, Muhammad himself) counting no more than three. See Sale's 
Genealogical Tables. 

t This is said with reference to Kur. VIII, " Know that your wealth and your 

children are a temptation to you" "^^ (^iJ^jl j ^^J \y'\ '*J| 1^1*1 j and it is men- 
tioned in a tradition that the death of a child is the occasion of a storing of reward 
unto the father, 

37 



[ 290 ] 

A. H. 170. And had they not been consoled in his son after his death, 

A. D. 786. Never would the pulpits have ceased to weep over him. 

And if Miisa had not arisen upon them, they would have wailed 
With a yearning cry, as the tribes yearn for the best portions of 
plunder." 



Traditions from the narration of al Sddi. 

As Sdli narrates from al Mutallib-b-U'ikashah al Marri that he said, 
" we went to al Hadi as evidence against a man who had reviled one of 
the Kuraysh and passed on even to the disparagement of the prophet — 
whereupon he convened an assembly for us, to which he summoned the 
chief jurisconsults of his time, and had the man brought into his presence ; 
and we gave evidence against him. The countenance of al Hadi changed, 
and he hung down his head, and then raised it, and said, ' I heard my 
father al Mahdi relate on the authority of Ibn A'bbas, that he said — he who 
desireth to put scorn upon the !^uraysh, may the Lord put scorn upon him, 
and thou, O enemy of God, wert thou not satisfied in desiring that for the 
Kuraysh but thou must pass on to disparage the prophet ? Strike off his 
head :" (recorded by al Khatib from the ascription of as Siili) : and the 
tradition in this narration stops thus with Ibn Ahhds, but one with aiiother 
ascription traced to the prophet, hath also come down. 

Of people of note who died in the reign of al Hadi were, Nafi', 
Kuran reader of the people of Medina and others. 



HAEITN U'E RASHrD. 

Ar Eashid Harlin, Abli Jaa'far-b-u'l Mahdi Muhammad-b-il Mansur 
A'bdi'Uah-b-Muhammad-b-A'Ii-b-A'bdi'llah-b-i'l A'bbas succeeded as Ca- 
liph by the covenant of his father on the death of his brother al Hadi on 
Friday night the 16th Rabii' I, in the year 170. As Suli mentions that 
that on this night al Mamdn was born to him, and in the whole coarse of 
time there has never been a night but this, in which a Caliph died, a 
Caliph succeeded, and a Caliph was born. He used to be called Abii Musa 
but took henceforth the surname of Abd Jaa'far. He related traditions 
on the authority of his father and grandfather and Mubarak b-Fudhdlah, 
and his son al Mamiin and others have related them on his. He was one 
of the most distinguished of Caliphs and most illustrious of the princea 



[ a9i ] 

of the earth. He undertook many military expeditions as well as pil- A. H. 170. 
grimages, as Abu'l A'la al Kilabi has said concerning him — A. D. 786. 

" He who seeketh or desireth to meet thee 
Will finA thee either in the two sacred cities or on the most distant 

frontier. 
If in the country of the enemy, it will be on a high-mettled charger, 
If in the land of the desert, on a camel's saddle." 

His birth took place at Eai when his father was Prefect over it and 
over Khurasan in the year 148. His mother was a slave concubine called 
Khuzayran who was also the mother of al Hadi, and Marwan-b-Abi 
Haf§ah* has said regarding her : 

" Khuzayran, rejoice thee and again rejoice ! 
Tor thy two sons have come to rule the universe." 

Ar Eashid was very fair, tall, handsome, of captivating appearance, 
and eloquent. He was versed in science and literature. During his Ca- 
liphate, he used to pray every day a hundred " rakaa'ts," until he died, never 
neglecting them save for some special cause, and he used to give in charity 
from his private purse every day a hundred dirhams. 

He loved science and its professors, and held in reverence the sacred 
shrines of Isldm and abhorred disputation in religion and controversy on 
established points pf doctrine. The opinion of Bishr al Marrisif on the 
creation of the Kuran was reported to him, and he exclaimed — " if I catch 
him, I will strike off his head." 

He used to weep over his own extravagance and his sins, especially when 
an exhortation was addressed to him. He loved panegyric and would 
bestow large sums in reward for it. There are likewise verses attributed 
to him. 

On one occasion Ibn u's SammafcJ the preacher went in unto him and 

* He was descended from Atu Hafsah Yazid, according to some a Jewisli convert, 
according to others one of the captives taken at Istathar. He was purchased by 
Othman, given to Marwau-h-al Hatam who married him to one of his own concuhines 
by whom he had had a daughter called Hafsah. This girl was brought up by Yazid as his 
own and he received the surname of " father of Hafsab " Marwan, the subject of this 
notice, was extremely avaricious and asked 1000 dirhams for every verse he wrote in 
praise of the Abbaside Caliphs. De Sacy Chrest. Arab. Tom. Ill, p. 518. 

t Abu A'bdu'r Eahman Bishr-b-Grhidth al Marrisi a theologian and jurisconsult 
of the school of Hanifah. He taught openly the creation of the Kuran and he be- 
longed to the sect of the Murgians which is called after him the Marrisian, and he held 
that it was not an act of infidelity to bow down to the sun and moon but only a tolten 
of it. He died at- Baghdad A. H. 218, (833-4). Ibn Khali. De Slane writes 
incorrectly " Marisi" for Marrisi." 

J Abu'l Abbas Muljammad-b-Sabih surnamed al Ma^kur (or as Ibn u'l Athir says 



[ 292 ] 

A. H. 170. he exerted himself to the utmost to do him honor, and Ibn u's Sammak 
A. D. 786. said to him — " thy humility in thy greatness is nobler than thy greatness :" 
then he addressed him an exhortation and made him weep. He was also in 
the habit of going in person to the house of al Fudhayl-b-I'yadh. * 

A'bdu'r Bazzak says, " I was with al Fudhayl at Mecca when Hardn 
• passed by and al Fudhayl said, " the people dislike this man, but there is 
not on earth any more esteemed by me than he — were he to die, thou 
wouldst surely behold most serious events occur." 

Abu Mu'awiyah ad Dharirf says, " I never mentioned the prophet 
before ar Eashld, but he said, ' may God bless my lord ;' and I related to 
him this tradition of his, ' I would that I might do battle for the sake 
of God and be slain, and be brought to life and slain again,' and Harun wept 
until he sobbed aloud ; and I once related to him the tradition, ' Adam 
and Moses entered into a disputation,' and there was by him one of the 
chiefs of the Kuraysh, and the Kurayshi said, — but where did he meet 
him ? — At this ar Bashid grew wroth and exclaimed — ^the leather mat 
and the sword ! — shall a Zindik impugn a tradition of the prophet !' — 
But I continued to pacify him and to say, ' O prince of the Faithful, it 
came from him unpremeditatedly,' until he was appeased. I was once 
taking a meal with ar Bashid, when a man whom I did not perceive poured 
water upon my hand, and ar Bashid said, ' dost thou know who is pouring 
water upon thee ?' I said, ' no.' He replied, ' it is I, out of reverence for 
thy knowledge.' " Mansur-b-A'mmar J says "I never saw any more copious 
in tears when engaged in devotional exercises than three men, al Fudhayl- 
b-I'yadh, ar Bashid, and another." 

TJ'baydu'llah al Kawariri narrates that when ar Bashfd met al Fudhayl, 

al Mudakkar) and known as Ibn u's Sammak, (son of the seller or catclier of fish). 
He was a native of Kdfah. and a professional narrator of anecdotes. His devotion, his 
pious exhortations and the elegance of his language acquired hini great celebrity. He 
died at Kufah, A, H. 183 (799-80). Ibn KhaU. 

» Abu A'li al Fudhayl-b-I'yadh a celebrated ascetic. Drew his origin from a 
family of the tribe of Tamim which had settled at Talakan in Khurasan. Ho was 
bom at Abiward or Samarkand, passed his youth at Abiward and then went to learn 
traditions at Kufah, from thence he removed to Mecca where he dwelt tell his death 
in 187 A. H. (803). It is said that his commenced life as a highway robber and was 
converted by hearing a sentence of the ]§luran pronounced, when he was about to 
climb a wall to see a girl whom he loved. Ibn KhaU. 

t Abd Mu'awiyah Muhammad-b-Khazim, ad Dhan'r (the blind) adopted member 
of the tribe of Minkar, born at Kufah A. H. 113. He was a traditionist of eminence, 
died A. H. 195 (811). De Slane, I. K. 

% A native of Khui'as&n (or of Ba?rah as some say) celebrated for his wisdom 
piety and eloquence as a preacher. Ho also deUverod traditions. Ho resided at Cairo 
and died A, H, 226 (839-40). Do Hlaue, I. K, 



[ 293 ] 

the latter said to him, " thou with the handsome face ! art thou he who A. H. 170. 
is answerahle lefore Qod for this people ? IJayth related to me on the A. D. 786. 
authority of al Mujdhid, that the verse ' and the cords of relation between 
them shall be cut asunder,' (Kur. II) signifieth the connection that was 
between them in the world, and Harlin began to weep and sob."* As 
an instance of his good qualities, it is said that when the news of the 
death of Ibn u'l Mubarakf reached him, he gave an audience of condolence 
and commanded his nobles to condole with him on the loss of Ibn u'l 
Mubarak. 

Niftawayh says that ar Eashid followed in the footsteps of his grand- 
father Abu Jaa'far save in covetousness, for no Caliph before him, had 
been as munificent as he. He bestowed on one occasion on Sufyan-b- 
TJ'yaynahJ one hundred thousand dirhams, and on another, two hundred 
thousand on Ishdk§ of Mosul, and he gave Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah for a 
poem, five thousand dinars, a robe of honor, a horse from his own stud and 
ten Greek slaves. 

Al Asma'i narrates, " ar Eashid said to me, ' Asma'i, what hath made ■ 
thee neglect me and keep aloof from me ?' I replied, ' by Allah, prince 
of the Faithful, the provinces, after thee could not attach me to them, 
until I came to thee.' And he was silent but, when the people dispersed 
he said 'what means could not attach me,' (alakatni).|| I said, 

' Of thy two hands, one keepeth not within it a dirham 
Through munificence, while the other sheddeth blood with a sword.' 

* This story ia related differently and protaWy more correctly in Ibn Khali. 

t Abu Abdu'r Eahman Abdu'Uah al Marwazi, a Mawla to the tribe of Handha- 
lah, a man of profound learning and of mortified life. He loved retirement and was 
extremely assiduous in the practice of ascetic devotion. He died at Hit on the 
Eupbrates on his return from a military expedition in A. H. 181 (797). Tbe nauseous 
details of his funeral are given by Masa'udi. Ibn KbaU. 

J He was an imam of learning and piety and distinguished for the exactitude 
of his traditions. His parents lived at Klifab where be was born A. H. 107. He 
made the pilgrimage seventy times. He died at Mecca, A. H. 198 (814). Ibn KbaU. 
In the text for ***** read *^i* 

§ Abu Muhammad Isbtt known by the name of Ibn u'n Nadim al MausUi (son 
of the boon companion from Mosul) a member' by adoption of the tribe of Tamun and 
bom al Arrajan. He was a constant companion of the Caliphs in their parties of plea- 
sure : he was well versed in pure Arabic and tbe history of the poets, in jurisprudence 
and tradition, and as a singer was without a rival. Born A. H. 150, died 235 (A. D. 
850). Ibn Khali. 

II The verb ilakat means to bind to one's self or to put raw silk into an inkstand 
as is the oriental custom, to prevent the reed-pen being overcharged with ink. Al 
Asm'ai who had a marvellous command of the Arabic language and knowledge of the 
poets and their works, purposely used an uncommon word to attract the attention of 



[ 294 1 

A. H. 170. He replied, ' thou hast said well and continue to be thus ; honor us in 
A. D. 786. public and instruct us in private,' and he ordered for me five thousand 
dinars." 

In the Murdju'd Dahab (Meadows of goli) of Mas'audi, the author 
says that ar Eashid desired to unite the Mediterranean and the Red Sea at 
a point adjacent to Farama,* but Yahya-b- Eashid the Barmecide said to 
him that the Greeks would carry off the people from the sacred mosque 
(at Mecca) and that their ships would come up to al Hijaz ; he therefore 
abandoned it. 

Al Jahidhf observes that there were assembled round ar Eashid such 
a company as were never united under any other Caliph, to wit, his 
ministers the Barmecides, his Kadhi Abu Yusuf, his-poet Marwan-b-Abi 
Hafsah, his boon companion al A'bbas-b-Muhammad the paternal uncle 
of his father, his chamberlain al Fadhl-b-u'r Eabii' one of the most cele- 
brated and remarkable of men, his musician Ibrahim of Mosul, and his wife 
Zubaydah. Another author says that all the days of ar Eashid were as happy 
in their joyousness as if they had been marriage-feasts, and ad Dahabi 
states that a narrative of the adventures of ar Eashid would extend to 
great length and his good actions are numerous. There are accounts of 
him also in his diversions, forbidden pleasures and musical entertainments, — 
may God exalt him. 

Of people of note who died in his reign were Malik-b-Anas, al Layth- 
b-Saa'd, Abu Yusuf the disciple of Abu Hanifah, al Kasim-b-Maa'n, 
Muslim-b-Khalid al Zanji, Niih al Jami', the Hafidh Abu U'wanah al 
Yeshkuri, Ibrahim-b-Saa'd az Zuhri, Abu Ishak al Fazari, Ibrahim-b-Abi 
Yahya the master of as Shafi'i, Asad al Klifi one of the most eminent of 
the disciples of Abd Hanifah, Ismail-b-A'yyash, Bashir-b-u'l Mufadhdhal, 
Jarir-b-Abdi'l Hamid, Ziyad al Bakkai, Sulaym the Kuran reader, the 
disciple of Hamzah,J Sibawayh the great master of Arabic, Dhaygham 

Haron, and then illustrated it by a verse which instructed the Caliph in its meaning 
as well as in the needs of the speaker. The Arabic verse in the printed edition is 

inoorreot. The word <-^l« should be pointed i^"" and the second hemistich should 

begin, with the word 1 1>>^ which has been omitted, but which is in the MS. Th^ 
metre is Bajaz. 

* Near what is now el Arish on the Mediterranean ; the town, of Farama has dis- 
appeared and no trace of it remains. See Yakut for its history. 

+ Abu Othmin Amr-b-Bakr known as al Jihidlj (the starer) and al Hadaki (the 
goggle-eyed) on account of the prominence of his eyes. He was a native of Ba?rah, 
celebrated for his learning and author of numerous works on every branch of science. 
One of his best works is the Book on Animals. Numerous anecdotes are told of him 
by Ibn KhaU whom the reader may consult. He died at Bajrah A. H, 255 at the age 
of ninety. 

t Probably IJamzah-b-^abib az Zayyat one of the seven readers of the ^uran and 
maslor of al Kisai, diod at IJulw&n A. H 166 (772-3). Ibn KhaU. 



[ 295 ] 

the ascetic, A'bdu'llah al U'mari the ascetic, A'bdu'Uah-b-u'l Mubarak, A, H. 170. 
A'bdu'Uah-b-Idris ad Kiifi, A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Abi Hazim, ad Darawardi, al A. D. 786. 
Kisdi master of the Kuran readers and grammarians and Muhammad-b-u'l 
Hasan the disciple of Abti Hanifah both on the same day ; A'li-b-Mushir, 
Ghunjar, fsa-b-Yunas as Sabii'i, al Fudhayl-b-I'yadh, Ibn u's Sammak the 
preacher, Marwdn-b-Abi Hafsah the poet, al Mu'dfa-b-I'mran al Mawsili, 
Mua'tamir*-b-Sulayman, al Mufadhdhal-b-FudMlah Kadhi of old Cairo, 
Musa al Kadhim (the forbearing), Musa-b-Eabii'h Abu'l Hakam al Misri 
one of the saints, an Nua'man-b-A'bdi's Salam al Isbahani, Hushaym, 
Yahyaf-b-Abi Zaidah, Yazid-b-Zuray', Yunas-b-Habib the grammarian, 
Yakdb-b-A'bdi'r Eahraan, the Kurdn reader of Medina, Sa'saa'h-b-ti's 
Sallam, the learned doctor of Spain, one of the disciples of Malik, 
Abdur Eahman-b-u'l Kasim the most eminent of the disciples of Malik 
al A'bbas-b-u'l Ahnaf, the famous poet, Abu Bakr-b-A'yydsh, the K!uran 
reader, Yusuf-b-u'l Majishun and others. 

The following are among the events of his reign. In the year 175 
A'bdu'Uah-b-Musaa'b az Zubayri falsely accused Yahya-b-A'bdi'llah-b- 
Hasan, the descendant of A'li of having invited him to rebel with him 
against ar Eashid, whereupon Yahya imprecated with him the curse of 
God upon which ever of them spoke falsely, in the presence of ar Eashid 
and locked his hand in the hand of the other, and exclaimed, " say — O God, 
if thou knowest that Yahya did not invite me to oppose and rebel against 
the prince of the Faithful here, then commit me to my own power and 
strength, and utterly destroy me by a chastisement from thee. Amen. 
Lord of created things." Az Zubayri stammered hesitatingly but repeated 
it, and Yahya did the like, and they arose and departed and az Zubayri died 
the same day. 

In the year 176 the city of DubsahJ was captured by the Amir 
A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-Salih al A'bbasi. In the year 179 ar 
Eashid performed the lesser pilgrimage in the month of Eamadhan and 
remained in the state of Ihram§ until he made the greater pilgrimage and 
went on foot to A'rafah from Mecca. 

In the year 180 occurred the great earthquake in which the top of 
the minaret at Alexandria fell. In the year 181, the fort of Saf§af || was 

* " Mua'mmar" according to Ibn u'l Athir. tS***-'' W^/^ y^ ej'i'^ {^yij*** 

t "Zakariya." Ibn u'l Athir. 

X Ibn u'l AtMr bas Dalsah or Dulsa, for the word is not pointed, but Dulsah is 
stated in a note to be a variant. I cannot find the name on the map. He places this 
event in the year 190. 

{ I. e. abstaining from all acts which axe unlawful at that season. 

II On the frontier of Syria between Antiooh and the Grecian territory. 



[ 296 ] 

A. H. 180. captured by force of arms, the captor being ar Eashid. In the year 183 
A. D. 796. the Khazars* burst upon Armenia and fell upon the true believers and 
piade great slaughter and carried away captive more than a hundred thou- 
sand souls. Thus a grievous calamity fell upon Islam, the like of vrhich 
had not been heard of before. 

In the year 187, there came a letter to ar Eashid from Nicephorusf 
the Roman Emperor breaking the truce which had been established be- 
tween the Muslims and Irene Empress of Eome. The letter ran as follows : 
" From Nicephorus, the Eoman Emperor, to Harun, sovereign of the Arabs : 
After preliminaries — verily the Empress who preceded me gave thee the 
rank of a rook and put herself in that of a pawn, and conveyed to thee many 
loads of her wealth, and this through the weakness of women and their 
folly. Now when thou hast read this letter of mine, return what thou 
hast received of her substance, otherwise the sword shall decide between 
me and thee." When ar Eashid read the letter, he was so inflamed 
with rage, that no one durst look upon his face, much less speak to him, 
and his courtiers dispersed from fear, and his ministers speechless forbore 
from counsel. Then ar Eashid sent for an inkhorn and wrote upon the 
back of the letter. " In the name of God, the most Compassionate the 
most Merciful, from Hartin the prince of the faithful to Nicephorus the 
Eoman dog. Verily I have read thy letter, son of an unbelieving mother, 
and the answer thou shalt behold and not hear." Thereupon he set out 
the same day and did not stay until- he reached Heraclea, and there took 
place a famous battle and a manifest victory, and Nicephorus implored 
peace and engaged to pay a tribute which he would transmit to him every 
year and it was accepted. But when ar Eashid returned to ar Eakkah, 
the dog violated the engagement, deeming impossible the return of ar 
Eashid in the winter, and no one durst tell ar Eashid of the violation, but 
A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Yusuf at Tamimi versified, saying, 

" Nicephorus hath violated what thou didst concede to him, 
Therefore around him* the circle of destruction shall revolve. 
Give the good news to the prince of the Faithful, 
Verily he is a spoil that the great God hath vouchsafed thee." 
And Abu'l A'tahiyah made some verses which were shown to ar Eashid, 
and he said — " indeed hath he done so ?" He therefore set out on his 

* A Turkieh. tribe north, of Derbend, their eponymous ancestor being Khazar the 
son of Japhet, the sou of Noah — for a particular account of them, consult Yakdt. The 
cause of their irruption was the death of the Khiikiins daughter whom the Barmecide 
Fadhl-b-Yahya had wooed. The Khdkdn had been informed that the Muslims had 
put her to death. According to another account the murder of the Khalfto himself by 
an Arab provoked the calamity. See Weil, Vol. Y, p. 168. 

t The printed edition has j;*^ for Jj^ 



[ 297 ] 

return march in the face of tbe greatest hardships until he caused his camel A. TI. 180. 
to kneel in the Emperor's courtyard, and continued until he attained his A- i). 79o. 
purpose and accomplished the object of his holy war : and concerning this, 
Abu'l A'tahiyah says, 

Now hath Heraclea perished in war 

At the hand of the king who is guided to success. 

Harun hastened thundering with death, 

And lightening with bright cutting swords ; 

And his standards upon which victory alights 

Speed by as though they were broken masses of cloud. 

In the year 189 he ransomed his people in captivity with the Romans, 
so that there did not remain a single Muslim captive in their territories. 
In the year 190 he took Heraclea and spread his troops over the Roman 
territories. ShurahiUb-Maa'n-b-Zaidah captured the fortress as Sakdliyah, 
and Yazid-b-Makhlad,* Malakuniyah.f Humayd-b-Ma'yuf set out against 
Cyprus, and devastated and wasted it by fire and carried away into captivity 
sixteen thousand of its people. 

In the year 192 ar Rashid marched towards Khurasdn, and Muham- 
mad-b u's Sabah at Tabari mentions that his father accompanied ar Rashid 
to an Nahrawan, and he used to enter into conversation with him on the 
road, until he said one day, " §abah I do not think that thou wilt see 
me again after this," J I replied, " nay — may the Lord bring thee back in 
safety." He continued, " I do not think thou knowest what I have." I 
answered, " no— by Allah." Ar Rashid said " come till I show thee," and he 
left the road and signed to his attendants who retired. Then he said " the 
faithfulness of God, Sabah, he thy oath, that thou keep it secret concern- 
ing me," and he uncovered his stomach, when lo ! there was silken bandage 
round about his stomach, and he said, " I have concealed this disease from 
all men, for each one of my sons hath a spy upon me ; Masrur is the spy 
of al Mamiin, and Gabriel the son of Bakhtishuu' § is the spy of al Amin, 
and I have forgotten the third. There is not one of them but counts my 
breathings, and reckons my days and finds my life too long, and if thou 
wishest to know this, I will at once send for a horse and they will bring 
me one very lean in order to increase my malady hy its roughness." And 
he sent for a horse and they brought one such as he described, and he 

* Read *ii* for o.J.i'' 

+ The printed edition has erroneouly al i^uniyah. Malakuniyah is stated by 
Yakut to be near Iconium. According to Theophanes, the Arabs took Thebasa (Dub- 
sah or Dalsah ?) Malacopsea, Sideropolia, and Andrasua. Neither Yaktit nor Weil fix' 
the position of aa Sakaliyah. See Weil's notice of these names, Xom. II, p. 160. 

% The narrative hero passes from the third to the first person with the usual JU, 

§ His physician. 

88 



[ 298 ] 

A. H. 192. glanced at me and then mounted and bid me farewell, and set out for 
A. D. 807. Jurjan. Shortly after he left it in the month of Safar of the year 193, 
■while stiU suffering, for Tus, and continued there till he died. 

Ar Eashid had covenanted for the succession of his son Muhammad in 
the year 175 on account of his mother Zubaydah's great eagerness for it 
and surnamed him al Amin, he being at the time five years of age. Ad 
Dahabi says that this was the first unsettlement that came upon the Mus- 
lim state as regards the Imamate. He afterwards covenanted for his son 
A'bdu'llah after al Amin in the year 182 and surnamed him al Mamiin and 
bestowed on him the government of all the provinces of Khurasan. Next 
he covenanted for the succession of his son al Kdsim after his two brothers, 
in the year 186 and surnamed him al Miitamin, and made him governor 
of Mesopotamia and the frontiers while he was yet a child. When he had 
thus partitioned the world among these three, it was observed by one of 
the learned, that he had thrown among them what would be their injury, 
and that the evil of it would work mischief to his people. The poets 
recited congratulatory poems on the covenant of allegiance, and he after- 
wards suspended copies of the covenant in the temple of Mecca, and regard- 
ing this Ibrahim of Mosul and said — 
" The best of affairs in their issue, 
' The most just of ordinances in their completion. 
Is a deed, the decrees of which hath promulgated 
The most Merciful in the Sacred Temple." 

And A'bdu'l Malik-b-Salih says :* 

" The love of the Caliph is a love to which submit themselves not 
The sinner against God, and the schismatic who promoteth discord. 
God invested Harlin with this jurisdiction 
When He chose him. He verified our faith and our laws. 
And Harun through this benignity unto us, hath given jurisdiction 

over the earth 
Unto al Amin, al Mdmtin, and al Mutamin." 

It has been stated by some authorities that ar Eashid withheld the 
Caliphate from his son al Mua'tasim on account of his being illiterate, 
but the Lord caused it to come to him and made all the Caliphs succeeding 
him, to be of his descendants, and did not establish a Caliph from among 
sons of ar Eashid, save of his stock. 

* AM A'bdu'r Eahman A'bdu'l Malik-b-SaUlj-'b-A'li-b-A'bdi'lIah-'b-i'l A'bbSs- 
b-A'bdi'l Muttalib. He was the most elegant speaker of all the surviving descendants 
of al A'bb&B. The town of Manbij which he held as appanage, was his place of rcsi- 
donoe. He died at Eakkah A. H. 193. Ibn Khali, 



[ 299 ] 

Salm al Khasir says regarding the covenant in favour of al Amin — A. H. 193. 
" Say to the dwellings on the vrhite sand-hills , A.D.808-9. 

Watered by the morning rain-clouds, 
Verily men and spirits have sworn allegiance to the guide unto 

salvation 
Unto Muhammad, the son of Zubaydah, daughter of Jaa'far.* 
Verily God prospered the Caliphate, when he built 
The House of Vicegerency, for the nobly born, the illustrious, 
For he is the Caliph through his sire and grandsire 
Who bear testimony unto him by evidence of sight and report." 
Upon this Zubaydah stuffed his mouth with jewels which he sold for 
twenty thousand dinars. (£10,000.) 



Some particulars of the life of or BasMd. 

As Silafi records in the Tuyytiriyat with ascription to Ibn u'l Muba- 
rak, that when ar Rashid succeeded to the Caliphate, one of the slave girls 
of al Mahdi made an impression on him and he sought her hand, but she 
said, " I am not lawful unto thee, since thy father used to visit me." But 
he grew violently enamoured of her and sent to Abti Yusuf,t and asked o£ 
him, sajfing, " hast thou any remedy for this case ?" He replied, " O prince 
of the Faithful — what ! is a slave girl to be believed whenever she makes 
an assertion ? do not credit her — for verily she is not to be trusted." Ibn 
u'l Mubarak observes on this " I know not at whom I should most 
wonder in this affair — whether at this man who steeped his hands in the 
blood of the Muslims and seized their goods, or at this slave girl who of 
her own accord shrunk from the prince of the Faithful, or at this juris- 
consult and judge of the earth who said, 'violate the honour of thy 
father and gratify thy lust and put it upon my shoulders ?" As Silafi records 
also on the authority of A'bdu'Uah-b-Yusuf that ar Eashid said to Abli 
Tusuf, " I have bought a slave and wish to take her at once before the 
legal period of abstention be passed — hast thou a device to offer ?" He 

• Son of the Caliph al Mansdr. 

t The Kadhi Ahli Yusuf Yakub al An?ari. He was a native of Kufah and one 
of Abu Hanifah's disciples, a legist, a learned scholar and a Hafidh. While at Bagh- 
dad, he acted as !^adhi to al Mahdi, al Hadi and Harun by the latter of whom he was 
treated with great honor and respect. He was the first who bore the title of Kadhi u'l 
Kudhat (or Chief Justice) and it is said that he was the first who changed the dress of 
the ulema (learned) and gave it the form which it retains to this day. The anecdotes 
told of him by Ibn Khali are numerous. He was bom 113 A. H, and died at Bagh- 
dad A. H. 182 (798) holding the Kadhiship till his death. 



[ 300 ] 

A. H. 193. replied, " Yes— give her to one of thy sons and then marry her."* And 
A.D.808-9. from Ishak-h-Eahwayh that ar Eashid sent for Abd Yusuf one night, 
who gave him his judgment on the case reguired. Ar Rashid then ordered 
one hundred thousand dirhams (£2,500) to be given to him. " Abd Yusuf 
exclaimed if the prince of the Faithful sees good, he will order it to be 
given at once before morning." Ar Rashid said to Ms attendants, " bring 
it immediately ;" but one of his suite exclaimed " the Treasurer is at his 
house and the doors of the Treaswry are locked." Abii Yusuf retorted 
" verily the doors were locked when he sent for me." They were therefore 
opened and the money given. 

As Siili records with ascription to Ya'kub-b-Jaa'far, that ar Eashid 
set out in the year in which he assumed the Caliphate, in order to ravage 
the outlying Eoman provinces and returned in Shaa'bdn and performed 
the pilgrimage with the people at the close of the year, and distributed 
great sums among the Sacred Cities. He had previously seen the prophet 
in a dream who had said to him, " this authority will come to thee during 
this month ; make war therefore and perform the pilgrimage and give 
largely to the people of the Sacred Cities:" all of which he carried out. 
And from Mu'awiyah-b-Salih on the authority of his father, that the first 
verse composed by ar Rashid was when he made the pilgrimage in the 
year of his accession to the Caliphate ; he entered a house and lo ! at the 
head of a chamber in it was a line of a verse written upon the wall. 

" Now, O prince of the Faithful, dost thou not see 
(I ransom thee) that separation from a friend is a momentous thing ?" 

"Whereupon he sent for an inkhorn and wrote beneath it with his own 
band — 

" Yes ; and the camels marked for sacrifice, and what moves 
In Mecca wearied, at a hurried pace." 

And from Said-b-Muslim that the understanding of ar Rashid was as 
the understanding of the learned. An Nu'mdni versified to him in describ- 
ing a horse, 

" As if his two ears when he raises his head 
Were the first feather of a wing or an obliquely-nibbed pen." 

Ar Rashid said " omit lyli' (as if) and say " thou wouldest think his 
two ears." So that the verse may run smoothly.f 

And from A'bdu'llah-b-u'l A'bbas-b-i'l Fadhl-b-i'r Rabii' that ar 
Rashid swore that he would not approach a female slave of his for a certain 
number of days, and he was much attached to her. And when the period 

* This legal period of abstention not being required in cases of marriage. 
t The Caliph's emendation does not touch the scansion which is the sam« with cither 
word. The metre is Rajaz. 



[ 301 ] 

had elapsed, she did not seek to make him reconciled to her, whereupon he -A-. H. 193. 
said, A.D. 808-9. 

" *He shunned me when he saw me infatuated 

And prolonged his patience, when he discovered it. 

He was my slave and hath now become my master 

Verily this is among the wonders of the age." 
Then he sent for Abd'l A'tahiyah and said " Cap these lines" who said, 
" The potency of love hath disclosed to him my humiliation 

In my love for him, and he hath a comely face : 

And through the one I have become his slave 

And through the other hath appeared and become manifest what I 
feel." 
Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn U'layyah that ar Rashid 
seized a Zindik, and gave orders that his head should be struck off, and the 
Zindik said, " why dost thou strike ofE my head ?" He replied " I shall 
free the people from thee." He replied "and where art thou against 
the thousand traditions which I have falsely ascribed to the Apostle of 
God, not one word of which he spoke ?" Ar Eashld answeved, " and where 
art thou, enemy of God, before Abii Ishak al Fazari, and A'bdu'llah-b-u'l 
Mubarak who can sift and eject them letter by letter ?" 

As Siili records on the authority of Ishak al Ha^himi that he said, 
" we were with ar Rashid when he exclaimed, ' I hear that the people 
suspect me of hatred towards A'li-b-Abi Talib, whereas, by Allah I love no 
one with the love I bear to him, but these people are the most violent in 
bating and reviling us, and in attempting to excite discord in our kingdom, 
notwithstanding that we have taken their blood-revenge, and shared with 
them what we possess, so that they are more favourably inclined to the 
children of Umayyah than towards us. But as to the descendants of his 
loins, they are indeed the chiefs of the people and the first in merit, and 
verily my father al Mahdi related to me on the authority of Ibn Abbas 
that he heard the prophet say regarding al Hasan and al Husayn — whoso 
loveth those two, verily loveth me, and whoso hateth those two, verily he 
hateth me ; — and he likewise heard him say — Fatimah is the chief of the 
women of the universe, save Miriam the daughter of I'mranf and Asyah 
daughter of Muzahim.' " 

* This mode of appealing to a mistress under tlie mark of an address to one of 
the other sex is common in oriental poetry. It is from a jealousy of making public 
the circumstances of life, or the attractions of those whom Eastern custom rigidly ex- 
cludes from the gaze of men. According to De Slane this is still carried so far in 
Cairo that pubHo singers dare not amuse their auditors with a song in which the be- 
loved indicated is a female. 

t This is the name given in the Kurau to the father of the Blessed Virgin. (Kur, 



[ 302 ] 

A. H. 193. It is related that Ibn u's Samtnak went in unto ar Eashid who called 

A. D. 808-9. for water to drink, and a goglet was brought to him, and when he took hold 
of it, Ibn u's Sammak said " gently ! O prince of the Faithful ! if thou 
wert forbidden this draught, at how much would'st thou purchase it ?" He 
answered " with the half of my kingdom." The other said — " drink, may 
the Lord make it wholesome to thee." And when he had drunk, Ibn u's 
Sammak said, " I ask of thee, if its emission from thy body were forbid- 
den thee, at how much would'st thou purchase its emission ?" He replied 
" with the whole of my kingdom." He continued " verily a kingdom 
■whose price is a draught of water and its emission, is not worth contending 
for." And Harun wept bitterly. 

Ibn u'l Jauzi relates that ar Eashid said to Shayban, " give me an 
admonition." He replied, " that thou shouldst consort with one who will 
terrify thee until security cometh upon thee, is better than that thou 
shouldst consort with one who will inspire thee with a feeling of security 
until fear cometh upon thee." Ar Eashid said, " explain this to me." He 
replied, " he who saith to thee, ' thou art answerable for thy people,' is a 
better counsellor unto thee than one who saith — ye people of the propheti- 
cal house — yoursins are forgiven ye— for ye are the kinsfolk of your pro- 
phet." And ar Eashid wept until those who were around him had com- 
passion on him. 

In as Suli's work of the Aurak it is stated with its authorities, that 
when ar Eashid assumed the Caliphate, and installed Yahya-b-Khalld as 
first minister, Ibrahim of Mosul said, 

" Didst thou not see that the sun was wan, 
But when Hardn came, its rays shone forth. 

The world has become clothed with beauty through his sovereignty, 
For Harun is its monarch and Tahya its minister." 
Whereupon ar Eashid made him a present of one hundred thousand 
difhams and Yahya gave him fifty thousand. 

The following is by DauM-b-Eazin of Wasit on Hardn. 
" Through Harun the light hath shone over every city. 
And in the justice of his disposition the ways of rectitude are 

through him established. 
The Imam whose works are directed to the service of God, 
And what most frequently occupy him to that end, are war and 

pilgrimage. 
The eyes of the people are blinded by the light of his face 
When his shining countenance appeareth before men. 

Ill, see Sale's notes, p. 39). Asyah was the wife of Pharaoh who saved the life of 
Moses from the anger of her husband, (Kur, XX, Sale, p, 257). 



[ 303 ] 

Hopes grow ample through the munificence of his hand, A. H. 193. 

For he giveth unto him who hopeth from him beyond what he A. D. 808-9. 
hopeth." 
The Kddhi al Fadhil* observes in one of his Epistles. " I know of no 
journey ever undertaken by a monarch in search of knowledge, save that 
by ar Eashid, who journeyed with his two sons al Amin and al Mamdn to 
study the Muwattaf under Malik : the original of the Muwatta heard by ar 
Eashid was in the library of the Egyptians. Afterwards the Sultan Salah- 
u'ddin-b-Aydb travelled to Alexandria and studied the Muwatta under Ibn 
Tahir J-b-A'uf — I do not know of a third that can he added to these two." 
The following is by Man§ur an Namari§ on ar Eashid — 
" He made the Kuran his Imam and his guide 
When the Kuran chose him as a defence." 
And from a poem of his is this verse — 

" Noble qualities and beneficence are valleys, 
God hath caused thee to dwell in them where they meet." 

It is said that ar Eashid rewarded him for this with a hundred thou- 
sand dirhams. 

* AhA A'li Atdu'r Eahim al Lakhmi, al A'skalani, known as the Kadhi al Fadtiil 
(the excellent Kddhi) was the son of the KMhi al Aahraf (the most nohle) and grandson 
of the Kadhias Sa'id (fortunate). He was horn at Asoalon in A. H, 529 and was Vizir 
to al Malik an Nasir Salah-u'ddm hy whom he was treated with great favour. He 
was pre-eminent as a writer of epistles and surpassed every predecessor. Such is the 
judgment of Ibn Khali confirmed hy the opinion of his contemporaries but to a Euro- 
pean taste, his style is turgid, and the specimens of his correspondence given by Ibn 
Khali, show the conventional mannerism and the hackneyed tropes of all Oriental 
letter writers. He died at Cairo A. H. 696, (1200). 

t The famous work on tradition by MaUk-b-Anas, which ia part of the basis on 
which the Malikite system of jurisprudence is founded. 

J The printed edition has incorrectly the name A'li for the preposition a'la (tj^) 
and Ibn (wO for abi (i^') The MS. has not these faults. Abd Tahir Isma'il-b- 
Makki-b-Isma'il-b-Isa-b-A'uf az Zuhri was a, doctor of the school of Malik and a 
Mufti of the highest consideration, The Hafidh as Silafi attended his lectures and as 
the text rightly says, the Sultan Salah-u'ddm studied the Muwatta under him. He 
died A. H. 681 (U86). 

§ Mansur-b-u'l Zibrikan-b-Salmah called an Namari because descended from 
Namar-b-Kasit. He was a native of Mesopotamia and brought by al Fadhl-b-Yahya 
to the notice of ar Eashid. This poet adroitly copied Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah in join- 
ing to his eulogies of the Caliph the disparagement of the family of A'li, by which he 
intended to show that he did not recognize their claim to the Imamate. A practice 
pleasing to the Caliph, notwithstanding his professions of love towards A'li and his 
affected kindness to his descendants. Mansur died at Eas u'l A'yn in the reiga of 
Hariin ; consult Kitab u'l Aghani, Tom. 12. 



[ 304 ] 

A. H. 193. Al Husaya-b-rahra narrates that ar Eashid used to say — "among 

A.D.803-9. the most pleasing to me of what has been said in my praise, is — 

The father of al Amin, al Mamun and al Mutamin 
" How generous is he as an affectionate father ! and how generous 
those whom he hath begotten." 
Ishak of Mosul says, " I went in unto ar Eashid and recited to him, 
' A woman enjoyed thrift, I said to her. Stay thee 
For that is a thing to which there is no way. 
I see that men are friends of the munificent and I see not 
A miser in the universe that hath a friend. 
And verily I have seen that avarice bringeth contempt on those that 

practise it. 
And my spirit is too generous that it should be called avaricious. 
And the best of circumstances for a youth — if thou knowest it, 
Is when he hath acquired a thing, that he be in the habit of giving 

to others, 
My gift is as the gift of the abundant in generosity, 
And I have not, as thou verily knowest, little. 
And how should I fear poverty and be deprived of wealth 
While the judgment of the prince of the Faithful is so excellent.' " 
Ar Eashid exclaimed — " no indeed — how ? if it please God. O Fadhl, 
give him one hundred thousand dirhams. To Grod be attributed the flow 
of the verses he hath brought us ! How admirable is their point and how 
beautiful their arrangement !" I said, " O prince of the Faithful, thy words 
are better than my verse." He replied, " O Fadhl, give him another 
hundred thousand." 

In the Tuyyuriyat with its ascription to Ishak of Mosul, it is stated 
that Abd'l A'tahiyah said to Abu Nawas* I would that I had been before 
hand with thee in the verse in which thou didst praise ar Eashid. 
" Verily I used to fear thee, but what freed me 

From fearing thee was thy fear of God." 
Muhammad-b-A'li al Khurasani says that ar Eashid was the first 
Caliph who played with hockey stick and ball and shot arrows at a target, 
and the first Caliph of the sons of al A'bbds that played at chess, and 
as Siili states that he was the first who appointed degrees and classes for 
singers. Of the verses of ar Eashid in lament over his female slave 
Haylanah, (Helen) as Siili quotes the following : 

* The ready wit and brilliant powers of extempore versification of ar Eashid'a 
famous poet may be souglit for in D'Horbelot's meagre sketch of his life, by the reader 
who may be unacquainted with Arabic. The Arabic scholar needs no roforenco to the 
life of one of the best known figures of his time. 



{ 305 ] 

" I endured afflictions and sorrow ^- "• ^^°' 

When death took HayMnah to itself. A- D. 808-9, 

I parted from my happiness when I lost her 

And care not now what it may be. 

She was my world : and when she sank 

Into her grave, I parted from my world. 

Verily people have multiplied, but I 

Behold no creature after her. 

By Allah, I shall not forget thee 

As long as the wind shaketh the boughs on the uplands." 
And quoted by as Sdli is this verse by him — 
" O, mistress of the mansion in Firk, 

And mistress of the Sultan and his kingdom 

For God's sake, spare to slay me 

For I am neither Daylam nor Turk." 

Ar Eashid died at Tds in Khurasan while leading a military expedi- 
tion, and was buried there on the 3rd Jumada II, 193* (23rd March 809) 
at the age of forty-five, and his son Salih read prayers over him. 

As Siili says that ar Rashid left one hundred million dinars, and 
furniture and jewels and bullion and beasts of kinds, to the value of one 
hundred and twenty-five thousand dinars. 

Another author states that Gabriel the son of Bakhtishuu' erredf in 
his medical treatment of ar Rashid which was the cause of his death, and 
ar Rashid purposed to have him quartered, but he said, " give me time 
till to-morrow and thou wilt enter upon the morning in health." But he 
died the same day. 

It is said that ar Rashid dreamed that he was leading the prayers as 
Imam at Tiis, and he wept, and said " dig me a grave ;" and one was dug 
for him, and he was borne in a covered litter upon a camel, and it was driven 
along until he beheld the grave, and he said, " O son of man, thou art 
about to come to this." And he gave orders to a party who set him down, 
and they read over him the entire Kuran while he was in the litter on the 



* It is as "Weil remarks, a strange fact that notwithstanding the full and splendid 
court kept by ar Eashid and the learned doctors, authors, traditionists and poets 
that attended it, the date of his death, as that of his birth, is uncertain. Accor- 
ding to Wdkidi, he died on Friday night, 3rd Jumada II, according to Hisham, Sunday 
night in the beginning of Jumada II. According to others Jumada I. The duration 
of his Caliphate is also a, matter of dispute — Weil follows Wakidi whose narrative 
accords with that of" as Suyliti. 

t The MS. has JaJi (was rough or harsh) instead of kle (erred) of the printed 
text, , 

39 



[ 306 ] 

A. H. 193. edge of the grave. When he died allegiance was sworn in the army to 
A. D. 809. al Amin, he being at that time in Baghdad. When the news reached him, 
he prayed before the people on the Friday and preached a discourse and 
announced the death of ar Eashid unto the people, and they swore alle- 
giance to him. Eaja the eunuch took the mantle, sceptre and signet ring 
and rode post from Marw till he reached Baghdad in twelve days in the 
middle of the month of Jumada II, and deposited them with al Amin. 
The following is by Abii'sh Shis* lamenting ar Eashid — 

" A sun hath set in the East 
And for it my eye weepeth ; 
We have never before seen a sun 
That set where it riseth." 

Abd Nuwas has the following partly in condolence and partly in 
congratulation. 

" The stars revolve in fortunate and sinister aspects, 
And we too are in grief and joy. 
The heart weeps while the eye smiles 
For we are in gloom and in gladness. 
The rising al Amfn makes us smile 
And the death yesterday of the Imam makes us weep. 
They are two moons. One hath appeared at Baghdad 
In al Khuld,t and a moon at Tus hath sunk in the grave." 

Of the traditions recited by ar Eashid, as Suli mentions one related 
by him on the authority of Anas that the Apostle of God said, " fear hell- 
fire, though it be but for the value of a split date." And from A'li-b-Ab£ 
Talib that the prophet said, " purify your mouths, for they are the path- 
ways of the Kurdn." 



AL AMrN. 



Al Amin Muhammad, Abd A'bdu'llah, son of ar Eashid was the heir 
of his father and assumed the Caliphate after him. He was one of the 
finest of youths in appearance — fair, tall, handsome, possessed of great 
strength and vigour and of renowned bravery. It is said that he once 

• Muhammad-'b-A'bdu'llah-b-Eazin al KhuzSa'i surnamed Abu'sli Shfs. He com- 
posed poema in honour of aa Kashid, al Amin and that GaUph's eon and successor, and 
wrote elegies on the death of ar Eashid. He died A. H. 196. Ibn KhaU. 

t " Paradise" the name of the palace at Baghdad, built by al Man^ur, Yakut. 



[ 307 ] 

killed a H6n* with his own hands. He was eloquent, polished in speech, A. H. 193. 
well-educated and accomplished, but defective in judgment, of great prodi- A. D. 809. 
gality, weak in mind, apathetic and unfit for government. 

As soon as he was acknowledged Caliph, on the following day, he 
ordered the construction of a level piece of ground near the palace of al 
Mansur for playing at ball. In the year 194 he removedf his brother al 
:5asim from the government to which ar Eashid had appointed him, and 
there occurred an estrangement between him and his brother al Mamiin. 

It is said that Fadhl-b-Kabii', being aware that when the Caliphate 
came to al Mamdn, he would have no mercy on him, J instigated al Amin 
and urged him to set him aside and give the succession to his son Miisa. 
When the disgrace of his brother al Kaaim reached al Mamiin, he cut off 
all communication with al Amin and omitted his name from the uniforms§ 
and the coinage. Shortly after al Amin sent to him desiring him to yield 
Mlisa precedence in the succession to the Oaliphate before himself and stated 
that he had named him NAtik-b-i'l Hakk (proclaimer of the truth). 
But al Mamiin rejected it and refused him. The messenger|| (of al Amin) 
joined the party of al Mamiin, and did homage to him as Caliph in secret. 
Afterwards he used to keep him informed of news and sent him advices 
from I'rak. 

And when he returned and informed al Amin of the refusal of al 
Mamiin, he struck out his name from the succession and sent for the deed 
which ar Rashid had written and deposited in the Kaa'bah. They there- 
fore brought it to him and he tore it in pieces and the estrangement le- 
tween the brothers was thus increased. His counsellors urged their advice 
on him and Khuzaymah-b-Khazim^ said, " O prince of the Faithful, he 
who lieth to thee, giveth thee no good counsel, and he who speaketh the 
truth to thee, doth not betray thee. Do not encourage** the officers to call 

* The narrative of the feat is given by Ma§a'udi. 

t That is Mesopotamia, hut allowed him to retain the governorship of Kinnasrin 
and command of the fortresses of the marches. "Weil. 

J He was the prime minister of al Amin and altogether wedded to his interest. 
He had also suffered the maltreatment of one of al M&mtin's messengers in his presence 
by one of his suite, and allowed him to speak harshly of that prince of which al Mamuu 
Was informed by the messenger himself on his return. Ibn u'l Athir. 

§ So Weil translates this word j^. The MS. has "khutbah" (*i^'»') Ibn u'l 
Athir has j^ with the printed text. 

I His name was A'bbas-b-Miisa, one of four delegates despatched by the Oaliph 
to al Mamiin. 

IT The printed text and MS. have — Hazim-b-Khuzaymah, but this is an error^ 
Masa-ddi, Ibn u'l Athir Ibn Khaldun and Weil who follows them, write the name as I 
have given it. 

** For .s' of the printed text, read, as in Masaudi and Ibn u'l Athir, /g.^ar'. 

The MS. has also ^^y^^ but without the Tashdid. 



[ 308 ] 

A. H. 194. for deposal, for they will some dm/ depose thee, and do not incite them 
A. D. 810. to violate a compact, for they will violate their covenant of allegiance 
to thee, for verily he who deceives shall be deceived, and he who perjures 
himself shall be betrayed." But be would not listen to advice, and set 
about conciliating the officers with presents, and had the covenant of suc- 
cession taken for his son Mdsa who was at that time a child in arms, and 
surnamed him Natik-b-i'l Hakk. One of the poets has said regarding 
this.* 

" The Caliphate is ruined by the treachery of the vizier. 

The profligacy of the prince and the folly of his counsellor ; 

For Fadhl is the vizier and Bakr the councillor. 

Seeking that in which lieth the perdition of the prince. 

And stranger than either one or the other 

Is that we should swear allegiance to a little child, 

Onet that is unable to blow its nose 

And is never out of the lap of its nurse. 

And J what is this, but that Fadhl and Bakr 

Seek to deface the Illustrious Book. 

And were it not for the vicissitudes of Fortune, these two 

Would never be among princes and leaders." 
When al Mdmun was assured of his having been set aside, he assumed 
the title of the prince of the Faithful and was thus addressed. Al Amin 
appointed A'li-b-I'sa-b-Mahan to the mountainous districts of Hamaddn, 
Nahawand, Kumm and Ispahan in the year 195. A'li-b-I'sa then set 
forth from Baghdad in the middle of Jumada II, at the head of an army 
forty thousand strong, the like of which had not been seen, to engage al 
Mamun, and he took with him a silver chain,§ in order as he thought to 
bind him with it. Al Mamlin despatched against him Tahir-b-u'1-Husayn at 
the head of less than four thousand men. He was victorious and A'li was 
slain and his army routed. His head was taken to al Mdmun and 
sent through Khurasan and al Mamiin was saluted as Caliph. The 
news reached al Amin while he was engaged in fishing, and he said 
to him who brought the reporb, " Confound thee ! Leave me, for Kau- 
thar (his eunuch) hath taken two fish, and I have not taken anything as yet." 

* This, according toMasaMi was a blind poet of BagMad called A'li-lD-Al)i Tffib. 

Some of the Hnes I have omitted for reasons obvious to tbose who can read tbe original. 

t So this line rirns in Masa'udi jy« aUa> JirH m) y # 4iJ| ^-«» ^^-«^ ir»Ji-' ly'" 

j.llojS;'^ The one in the text is probably the correct one, but it is untranslatable. 

X Masaddi haSjU j pLxj J/| ti'lil* j He also gives a closing line which ia not 

in the text, jjjfia:-'| ji,<oj 1^a3 jiy jl^s'^li jywi ^^^ j But it hath summits like 
hills upon which worthless things are flung up. 

§ This, according to Tabari, was given to Aliby al Amin, according to Ibn Khal- 
ddn by Zubaydah. Weil. 



[ 309 ] 

A'bdu'llat-b-Sdlih al Jarmi* says, that when A'li was slain, the people A. H. 195. 
in Baghdad raised a great tumult and al A.min repented of having set aside A. D. 811. 
his brother. The nobles too, sought to obtain what they could of him, and 
despatched their troops to demand pay of al Amin, and the contest con- 
tinued between him and his brother. The affairs of al AmIn daily grew worse 
through his abandonment to frivolity and follies, while those of al Mamiin 
improved till the inhabitants of the Sacred Cities and the greater part of 
I'rak swore aUegianee to him. The circumstances of al Amin at length 
became desperate, the discipline of the army was destroyed, and his treasures 
dissipated, by reason of which the condition of the people fell into a griev- 
ous state. Meanwhile violence, devastation and ruin waxed great and in- 
creased through the continuance of hostilities and the play of the engines 
of war and the liquid naphtha, till the splendours of Baghdad were obli- 
terated and dirges were sung over it. And among the pieces recited 
regarding it, is the following — 

" If wept tears of blood over Baghdad when 

I lost the delights of a happy life ; 

The eye of the envious fell upon it 

And destroyed its people by the engines of war." 
The siege of Baghdad continued for fifteen months, and the greater 
number of the Abbasides and ministers of State joined the forces of al 
Mamuri and none remained with al Amin to defend him, but the rabble and 
the vagabonds J of Baghdad, and this lasted till the beginning of the year 
198. Then Tahir-b-u'l Husayn entered Baghdad at the point of the sword, 
and al Amin fled -with his mother and family from the palace to the city of 
al Manslir,§ and all his troops and servants dispersed, and food and water 
became scarce among them. 

Muhammad-b-Eashid narrates, " Ibrahim-b-u'l Mahdi|| told me that 
he was with al Amin in the city of al Mansur, and added, " he sent for me 

* In the text this name is marked Jurmi, Taut I think this is an error. Ibn Khal 
in his life of Ahti Omar al Jarmi (so De Slane writes the name) says that there are 
several trihes so called. The Muntaha'l Arab gives the name Jarm, hut not Jurm, nor 
is there such a town in YakAt who, however, mentions Jirm as a place near Badakhshan, 

t Ten more lines of this poem may he found in Mas' audi. 

J Kazimirski gives two plurals to this word — viz., jjfe.Jsj|jA. and «X*^ , The 
text and MS. have ^mJi^, Lane does not give it. 

§ The old city called also the city of Ahti Jaa'far. Masa'lidi. See M. deMeynard's 
translation, Tom VI., p. 471. 

II Brother to Hardn ar Eashid. He had great talent as a singer and was an agreeable 
companion at parties of pleasure. He was surnamed at Tinnin or the dragon, from his 
large frame. He was proclaimed Caliph at Baghdad during the absence of al Mamdn in 
Khurasan, and so contiaued for nearly two years. His flight and adventures have been 
■ given by Tabari and others and are well known. He died at Sarr-man-raa A. H. 224 
(839). IbnKhaU. 



[ 310 ] 

A. H. 198. one night, and I went to him and he said, ' dost thou not observe the "beauty 
A..D.813-14i. of the night, the splendour of the moon and its radiance on the water? 
what sayest thou to a bout of wine ?' I replied ' do as thou wilt.' Then 
we drank together and he sent for a slave girl whose name was Dhaa'f 
(weakness) and I was struct with the ill-omen of her name. He command- 
ed her to sing and she sang a verse of an Nabighah al Jaa'di's.* 

' By my life, Kulayb had more allies. 

Had more numerous foUowersf than thou, and yet was stained with 
blood.' 

The Caliph felt this as in ill augury and said ' sing something else.' 
So she sang — 

' Their departure hath made mine eye to weep and hath rendered it 

sleepless. 
For separation is a cause of weeping unto friends. 
The adversity of fortune continued to attack them 
Until they destroyed one another, for the adversity of fortune is 

inimical. 
And to-day I weep for them greatly and lament them 
Until I return so incessantly that no tears are left in my eyes.' 

He exclamed — ' may Allah curse thee ! knowest thou nothing but that ? 
She replied ' I thought that thou didst like this.' Then she sang again — 
' But, by the Lord of repose and movement, 
Verily death hath many snares. 
Days and nights do not recur nor 
Do the stars revolve in the sky and the firmament. 
Save to take a king from his kingdom. 
Verily his authority passeth to another monarch, 
But the kingdom of the Lord is everlasting. 
It deoayeth not neither is it shared.' 

He exclaimed — ' Begone — Allah curse thee !' and she arose and 
stumbled over a crystal goblet of price and broke it. He said, ' alas, Ibrd- 

* Ha8san-b-|f ays a member of the trite of Jaa'd-Tj-Kaa'b known as an. NAbighai 
al Jaa'di was one of tbe most celebrated of the poets contemporary with Muhammad. He 
was born before the promulgation of Islamism and fought on A'li's side at Siffin. He 
died during the reign of Abdu'Uah-b-uz Zubayr. He was Burnamed an Nabighah because 
he did not give any proofs of poetical talent till after his 30th year. De Slan§. Ibn 
Khali. 

+ So I venture to translate U!^j.«j( The phrase <-*JiJt aIj^ (-Lift* means 
Okayl has numerous horsemen, ljAJA'O a man having many dependents. Masa'Adi 
has l/«jA.j,v.j| and Ibn u'l Athir the same. 



[ 311 ] 

tim !— dost thou not see ? by Allah. I cannot but think that my time is A. H. 198. 

drawing near !' I replied ' nay— may Allah prolong thy life and render A.D.813-14v 

glorious thy kingdom.' Then I heard a voice from the Tigris, saying—' the 

case is judged regarding which ye two called for a judicial decision' — at 

■which Muhammad al Amin sprung up in great trouble. A night or two 

after this, he was slain. He was taken and imprisoned in a house and a 

party of Persians were let in upon him, and they struck him with their 

swords, and cut him through the nape of his neck and went with his head 

to Tahir, who placed it upon a wall of a garden, and it was proclaimed by 

the crier, ' This is the head of the deposed Muhammad,' and his body 

was dragged by a rope." 

Tahir then sent the head, the mantle, the sceptre and the praying 
carpet which was of palm branches lined, to al Mdmdn. The assassin- 
ation of his brother weighed sorely on al Mamiin for he would have 
preferred that he should have been sent to him alive in order that he might 
consider his intention regarding him. He therefore hated Tahir and neg- 
lected him with total oblivion till he died in distant exile.* Thus were 
verified the words of al Amin, for he had written a letter with his own hand 
to Tahir-b-u'l Husayn when he was summoned to war against him in which 
he said ' O Tahir, no assertor of our rights hath ever arisen in our behalf, 
since we came to power, but his reward from us was the sword — therefore 
look to thyself or meddle not — consider Abd Muslim and such as he, who 
spent themselves in serving the A'hlasides and their end was death at their 
hands." Kegarding the murder of al Amin, is the following by Ibrahim al 
Mahdi. 

" Turn to the mansion on the hills, effaced by the blowing winds 

At Khuld, formed of stone and tile. 

And the polished marble with which it was faced 

And its gate, a gate of resplendent gold. 

And convey for me a message to 

The prince, concerningt the ruled and him who rules. 

Say to him ' O son of the prince of right guidance. 

Cleanse the cities of God from the 'presence of Tahir ; 

It was not enough for him that he should cut J the jugular veins of 
al Amin 

« His splendid Ibanislunent to the almost iBdependent government of Khuristo 
may weU have consoled him for the loss of the society of a capricious master from whose 
taidy remorse he did not feel himself safe. D'Herhelot says that al MAmtin could not 
look upon Tahir without weeping. He became the founder of the dynasty that hears 
his name. 

t Ibn u'l Athir has ts^* for lif* of the text. 

X The text makes tliis and another verb in the next line passive without any 



[ 312 ] 

A H 198. I'i^e the slaughter of sacrificial ofEerings, with cutting blades, 

A.D. 813-14. ^^^ ^® must* drag his limbs 

With a rope, meaning thereby to act as a merciless avengerf ; 

Verily death hath settled on his eyelids 

And his eye hath a troubled glance.' " 
Asd among the verses that were composed is also — 

" Why should I lament thee ? why ? for thy mirth, 

O Abii Musa and thy continual frivolity ? 

And for thy neglect of the five devotions at their appointed times 

Through, thy passion for wine ? 

For Shanif J I shall not mourn 

Nor care I for the retribution that hath befallen Kauthar. 

Thou wert incapable of rule nor 

Was obedience rendered unto thee in the Arabian kingdom. 

Why should we mourn for thee ? for what thou hast exposed us to 

At one time to the engines of war, and at another to pillage ?" 
There is a poem by Khuzaymah-b-u'l Hasan supposed to be recited by 
Zubaydah, in which he says : § 

" Tahir came, may the Lord not purify Tahir from sin. 

For Tahir was impure in the purpose for which he came. 

He turned me forth with uncqvered head and unveiled. 

And plundered my goods and destroyed my dweUings. 

What 1 have suffered will afiiict Harun, 

And what hath befallen me from the basest and most corrupt of. 
mankind. 

Eemember, O prince of the faithful my kinship : 

I ransom thee with my life, thou who art revered and remembered. 
Ibn Jarir says that when al Amin assumed the government, he pur- 
chased eunuchs and gave excessive prices for them, and admitted them to 
his intimacy and abandoned the society of his wives and slave girls. 
Another author observes that on his accession he sent into the districts in 
quest of buffoons, and allowed them stipends and procured a number of 

occasion. The sense is made clearer by allowing them to stand simply as transitive 
verbs which from Ibn u'l Athir, it is evident they are. 
• i^>jsri Ji\ ^J^ iijn u'l Athir. 

J These were two of his minions. 

§ This poem is omitted in the MS., but it wiU be found in Ma?a'udi where it is 
stated to be written by Zubaydah herself to al Mdmun. There are several additional 
Hues in Maja'udi and some variants from those in the text, the last lino especially 
being altogether diflforont. 



[ 313 1 

wild beasts, and animals of prey and birds, and kept apart from his family A. H, 198. 
and his nobles, and treated them with contempt. He wasted what was in A.D.813-14. 
the public treasuries and squandered jewels and objects of price in profu- 
sion and built numerous palaces in various places for purposes of amusement, 
and on one occasion he gave a boat full of gold as a present to one who 
sang to him the following verse — 

" I kept retired from thee till thou saidst, 'he knoweth not the distress 
of aversion,' 

And I visited thee so often that thou saidst, * he hath no self- 
restraint.' " 

He also built five barques in the shape of a lion, an elephant, an eagle, a 
serpent and a horse, and spent great sums on their construction, regarding 
which Abd Nuwas said, 

" The Lord hath subjected unto al Amin 

Animals for his riding which have never been subjected to Solomon. 

For whenever his riding camels go by land, 

He goeth upon the water mounted on a lion* of the forest. 

A lion with outstretched limbs ready to spring 

With wide jaws and terrible teeth." 

As Sdli relates on the authority of Muhammad-b-A'mr ar Rumi, that 
Kauthar the eunuch of al Amin went forth to watch the fighting and a 
missile struck him in the face. Al Amin set about wiping the blood from 
his face and said — 

" They have struck the apple of my eye, 
And on account of me, have they struck him. 
May Allah punish for my heart's sake 
Those who have set it on fire." 

But he was unable to add to these lines, so he summoned A'bdu'llah-b- 
u't Taymi the poet and said to him " Cap these two." Upon which he 
exclaimed — 

" There is no equal to him whom I love, 

The whole world is dazed in him. 

Union with him is sweet, but 

Parting is bitter and hateful. 

Those who see in him his 

Superiority over them, are envious of him. 

In the same manner as the monarch that reigns is envied by his 
brother." 



For c*aJ read 



40 



[ 314 ] 

A. H. 198. Upon which al Amin gave him three mule-loads of dirhams. But when 

A.D,813-14. al Amin was slain, at Taymi went to al Mamlin and vaunted his praises, but 
he would not allow him an audience, whereupon he betook himself to al 
Fadhl-b-Sahl who introduced him into al Mamdn's presence, and when he 
had made his salutation, the Caliph said, " Come, O Taymi, some more 
of—" 

In the same manner as the monarch that reigns 
Is envied by his brother. 
At Taymi said,* 

" A'bdu'llah al Mamun was succoured 
When they oppressed him. 
The covenant was violated 
Which they had formerly made with him. 
His brother did not deal with him 
As his father had directed." 
Upon this he pardoned him and ordered ten thousand dirhams to be 
given to him. 

It is said that Sulayman-b-Mansur complained to al Amin that Aba 
Nuwas had satirized him and he replied, " O uncle, can I put him to death 
after his saying — 

I offer praise unto Muhammad al Amin, 
And beside it there is no commodity so desired. 
Praise speaketh truly of Muhammad al Amin, 
Though of praise there is much that \» false and lieth. 
Verily the bright moon waneth after it hath reached its fulness. 
But the splendour of the light of Muhammad waneth not : 
And if the pebbles of the sons of al Mansiir be counted 
Then Muhammad among them is like a picked sapphire." 
Ahmad- b-Hanbal observes " verily I trust that the Lord wiU be 
merciful unto al Amin for his repudiation of Isma'il-b-U'layyah, who was 
brought unto him, and the Caliph said — son of an adulteress — it is thou 
that sayest that the Kuran is created !" 

Al Masa'lidi says, " no one up to my time hath ruled the Caliphate 
being a Hashimite and the son of a Hashimite woman, save A'li-b-Abi 
Talib, his son al Hasan, and al Amin whose mother was Zubaydah daughter 
of Jaa'far-b-Abi Jaa'far al Mangdr : her name was Amat u'l Aziz (hand- 
maid of the Almighty) and Zubaydahf was a surname given to her." 

* To the reader -who ia not acquainted -with the Arabic it may he as well to 
mention that this is continued in the same metre and rhymes with the preceding lines 
to al Amin. 

+ Zubaydah is diminutive of " Zubdah" cream or fresh butter. See hor life in 
Ibn Khali, And Do Slane's note. 



[ 315 ] 

tsbak of Mosul states that there were q[ualities in al Amin to be A. H. 198. 
found united in no other — he was one of the handsomest of men in A.D.Sla-l*. 
face and one of the most generous ; the noblest of the Caliphs by his 
father's and mother's side, skilled in letters, versed in the art of poetry, 
but enslaved by sensuality aad frivolity, and notwithstanding his extra- 
vagance in money, a niggard in his table. 

Abul Hasan al Ahmar says, " I used often to forget a verse by which 
a point of grammar might be illustrated, and al Amin would adduce it 
for me, and I have never met among the sons of a monarch any quicker of 
apprehension than he and al Mamin, His assassination occurred on (the 
24.th or 25th) Muharram of the year 198, (24ith or 25th September, 813) 
he being twenty-seven years of age." 

Of people of note who died during his reign were : Ismail-b-U'layyah, 
Ghundur, Shakik al Balkhi the ascetic, Abti Mu'awiyah ad Dharir (the blind) 
Muwarrij* as Saddsi, A'bdu'llah-b-Kathir the Kuran reader, Abu Nuwas 
the poet, A'bdu'llah-b-Wahb, disciple of Malik, Warsh the Kuran reader, 
Wakii' and others. 

A'li-b-Muhammad an Naufali and others say that neither as Saffah 
nor al Mansiir nor al Mahdi nor al Hadi nor ar Bashid were prayed for 
in the pulpits by their surnames, nor so addressed in epistolary correspon- 
dence until al Amin reigned, and he was prayed for as al Amin in the 
pulpits, and correspondence was conducted in his name thns, " From the 
servant of God Muhammad al Amin prince of the Faithful," and to the 
same effect al A'skari observes in his Awail, viz., that the first who was 
prayed for by his surname in the pulpits was al Amin. 

Among the verses of al Amin addressed to his brother al Mamun, 
reviling him on account of the base descent of his mother, on hearing that 
al Mamiin was in the habit of recounting his vices and asserting his own 
superiority over him, are the following quoted by as Stili — 

" Be not vain-glorious for thyself in the absence of the choicest 
of thy race. 
For vaunting is justified alone in a perfect man. 
And if thou exaltest thyself over men through their merit, 
Then pause, for thou art not pre-eminent. 
Thy grandsire hath bestowed upon thee what thou didst desire, 

yet forsooth 
Thou wilt find the reverse of thy wishes with Marajil,! 
Thou ascendest the pulpit each day, hoping 
For that which thou shalt not obtain after me. 

* The text has erroneously " Muwarrakh," but the MS. ia correct. Muwarrij 
was a grammarian of Basrah. See his life in Ibn Khali, 
t The name of his mother who was a slave concubine. 



[ 316 1 

A. H. 198. And thou reproachest one who is above thee in merit 

A.D.813-14i. And repeatest vain words regarding me." 

I remark that this verse is of approved merit, and if it is really his, it 
is better than the poetry of his brother and his father. As Suli says, that 
the following lines on his eunuch Kauthar who was serving wine to him 
while he was reclining on a couch of narcissus flowers, and the moon had 
just risen are ascribed to him, but others ascribe them to al Husayn b-u'd 
Dhahhak* al Khalii', a boon companion of his who was never separate from 
him. 

" The full moon hath so pourtrayed thy beauty of thy face that 
I deemed I saw thee and yet saw thee not. 
Whenever the tender narcissus breathes, 
I think it the sweet breath of thy brightness. 
An illusion of my desires hath occupied me with thee 
In the splendour of the one and the fragance of the other. 
I will abide while I live, in thankfulness 
Unto the one and the other while they resemble thee." 
By him also are these lines on his eunuch Kauthar — 
" What seek the people of a lover 
Afflicted for one he loves ? 
Kauthar is my faith and my worldly fortune, 
Both my sickness and my physician ; 
The most despicable of men is he who reproveth 
A lover on account of his beloved." 

The following was composed by him when he despaired of his kingdom, 
and Tahir obtained the mastery over him. 
" O soul ! now must thou beware 
For where is there a refuge from Fate ? 
Every man, of what he feareth 
And hopeth, is in peril. 
He who sippeth the sweets of life 
Shall one day be choked by affliction." 
As Siili records with its ascription that al Amin said to his scribe, 
"Write as follows: From the servant of God, Muhammad, prince of the 
Faithful, to Tahir-b-u'l Husayn — Greeting to thee ! And now, verily, things 

* Generally known by the appellation of al Khalii' (the libertine). He waa bom 
at Ba?rah in 162 A. H., descended from a native of Khurdsan. He was a writer and a 
poet, and was admitted to the society of the Caliphs and enjoyed their favour to an 
extent almost unequalled by any other save Ibrdhim of Mosul. He had some amusing 
adventures with Abu Nuwds. He died A. H. 250 (864) having nearly attained his 
hundredth year. Ibn Khali. An account of him will be found in the Kitdb u'l 
Agh&ni. Fol. 6, p. 170— but the verses in the text ai'e not oitod therein. 



[ 317 3 

have proceeded between me and between my brother even to the rending A. H. 198. 
of veils, and the disclosure of what is inviolable, and I am not sure but A.D. 813-14. 
that he may covet this authority which is distant and remote from Mm, 
through the difEerences in our friendship and the opposition of our interests. 
Yet, verily, I am content that thou shouldst write me a safe-conduct to my 
brother, and if he be generous towards me, such conduct is worthy of him, 
but if he put me to death, then hath manliness destroyed manliness, and 
the sword cloven the sword, for, verily, I would rather that a lion should 
rend me than that a dog should bark at me," but Tahir refused his re- 
quest. And on the authority of Ismail-b-Abi Muhammad al Yazldi, that 
he said, " my father used to discourse with al Amin and al Mamlin on sub- 
jects in which they displayed their eloquence, and he used to say, " the 
children of the Caliphs of the House of Umayyah used to be sent out to 
the desert, that they might gain purity of speech, but ye are even more chaste 
in language than they." As Siili says, " I know not of any relation of a 
tradition by al Amin save this one. Al Mughirah-b-Muhammad al Muhal- 
labi said to me, ' I saw a company of the Banu Hashim, among whom was 
one of the sons of al Mutawakkil, with al Husayn-b-u'd Dhahhak, and 
they asked him regarding al Amin and his acquirements. Al Husayn 
described his accomplishments as considerable. ' And in theological law ?' 
asked they. He replied ' that al Mamun was more profoundly versed in it 
than he.' 'And in tradition?' they said. He answered 'I never heard 
a tradition from him but once, when it was announced to him that a slave 
of his had died in Mecca, when he exclaimed — my father related to me a 
tradition, heard from A'bbas, who said — I heard the prophet say — he who 
dies engaged in the functions of the pilgrimage, shall be raised giving the 
salutation Labayk.' "* 

At Tha'alabi in the Lataif-u'l Ma'arif observes that Abu'l A'ynaf 
used to say, " were Zubaydah to let loose her braided locks, they would 

* This Taltiyat or cry of supplication (wMcli signifies, " here I am at thy service") 
is incumbent upon the pilgrim. To use it frequently is meritorious and is a aunnat 
or practice, a, single Talbiyat is a " shart " or positive condition. The refrain is 

See Burton's Mecca, p. 232. 

t Ahu Abdu'llah Muhammad-h-al Kasim, Maula to the Caliphal Mansur was a blind 
man remarkable for his repartees, verses and literary knowledge. He was born at al 
Ahwaz A. H, 131 and bred at Basrah. He received the surname of Abu'l A'yna from 



[ 318 ] 

L H. 198. fasten upon nothing but Caliphs or heirs to the Caliphate, for al MansAi? 

\..D.813-14. was her grandsire and as SafEah the brother of her grandsire, and al Mahdi 
her paternal uncle, and ar Eashid her husband, and al Amia her son, and 
al Mamun and al Mua'tasim the sons of her husband, and al Wathik and 
al Mutawakkil her husband's grandsons, and as for the heirs-apparent, they 
are numerous. Like her, in this respect, of the House of Umayyah was 
A'atikah, daughter of Tazid-b-Mu'awiyah. Tazid was her father, Mu'awiyah 
her grandfather, Mu'awiyah-b-Yazid her brother, Marwan-b-u'l Hakam 
her father-in-law, Abdu'l Malik her husband, Yazid her son, al Walid her 
son's son, al Walid, Hisham and Sulayman the sons of her husband, and 
Yazid and Ibrahim the two sons of al Walid, grandsons of her husband. 



AL MAMITN. 

Al Mdmlin A'bdu'Uah Abli'l A'bbis the son of ar Eashid was horn 
in the year 170 on Thursday night* in the middle of Eabii' I, the 
same night on which al Hadi died, and on which his father ar Eashid, 
succeeded him. His mother was a slave concubine named Marajil who 
died in giving birth to him. In his childhood he applied himself to learn- 
ing. He heard traditions from his father and Hushaym and A'bbad-b- 
u'lA'wam, Yusuf-b-A'tiyah, Abu Mu'awiyah adpharir,Ishma'il-b-U'layyah, 
Hajjaj al Aa'war (the one-eyed) and men of their class.f 

Al Yazidi instructed him in polite accomplishments and he assembled 
the jurisconsults from all quarters, and became a proficient in jurisprudence 
and the Arabic language, and the history of the encounters of the desert 
Arabs. When he grew up he applied himself to philosophy and the sciences 
of the ancients and became profoundly versed in them, and it was that 
which seduced him into asserting the creation of the Kuran. f Jaa'f ar-b- 

his having asked Abu Zayd al An?firi, the diminutive of A'yni (a large-eyed female) 
to -wbioli he received the answer ' TJ'yayna O Ahu'l A'ynA, which nickname clung 
to him ever after. He died, according to Bome in 283, according to others 282 A. H. 
Some of his witty replies are given hy Ibn KhaU from whom the above extract is 
taken. 

* In the life of ar Eashid, this event is given as having occurred on Friday 
night. See page 290. 

t For j***^ read as in the MS. (»«*fl■^^. 

% The orthodox Muslims maintain, if I may venture upon a definition of their 
belief, that the Kurin, the uncreated Logos, was from the beginning, — co.eternal 
with the Deity, not of His essence in hypostatic union, but an inseparable inherent 
quality of it, like His Unity. Al Mdmtin adopted the opinions of the Mua'tazalites 
(whom Weil terms the Protestants and Rationalists of Islam) who asserted tho 
necessity of its creation by the Deity, They believed the word of God to have been 



[ 319 ] 

Abi Othman at Tayalisi and others Lave related traditions on his authority. A. H. 198. 
He was the most distinguished of the House of A'bbas for his prudence, A.D.813-14. 
his determination, his clemency and judgment, his sagacity and awe- 
inspiring aspect, his intrepidity, majesty and liberality. He had many 
emiment qualities, and a long series of memorable actions are r worded of 
him were it not that he marred them hy what he did in forcing men to an 
interrogation regarding the creation of the Kuran. Of the House of 
A'bbas none wiser than he ever ruled the Caliphate. He was eloquent and 
fluent of speech, and he used to say, " Mu'awiyah ruled through his A'mar, 
and A'bdu'l Malik through his Hajjaj, but I by myself." It used to be 
said that the Band A'bbas were distinguished by a beginning, a middle 
and an end, for the beginning was as Saffah, the middle al Mamun, and 
and the end al Mu'atadhid. 

It is related that in one of the fasts of the Eamadhan, he read the 
Kuran through thirty-three times. He was notorious for his attachment 
to the Shiite doctrines which indeed led him to exclude his brother al 
Miitamin and confer the succession upon A'li ar Eidha* as we shall shortly 
mention. Abu Maa'shar.f the astrologer, says that al Mamun was wont 
to govern with justice, possessed a natural turn for jurisprudence, and 
deserved to be accounted among the greatest doctors. Of ar Eashid, it is 
reported that he said, " verily I recognise in A'bdu'llah {al Mamun) the 
prudence of al Mansur, the piety of al Mahdi, and the maje.sty of al Hadi, 
and if I chose to mention him in connection with a fourth (meaning 
himself), I might do so, and yet I gave precedence to Muhammad {al 
Amiri) before him, although I knew him to be a slave to his passions, 
lavishly profuse of what he possessed, and calling into counsel with him 
his concubines and wives, and had it not been for Umm Jaa'far {ZubaydaK) 
and the affection of the Banu Hashim for him, I would have placed 
A'bdu'llah before him.' 

Al Mamiin assumed the supreme power after the assassination of his 
brother in the year 198, while he was in Khurasan and he took the surname 
of Abu Jaa'far. As Suli says that the A'bbassides preferred this surname, 
because it was the surname of al Mansiir, and it possessed in their minds 

created in subjeeto, and to consist of letters and sound, copies tliereof being -WTitten 
in books to express the original. They also vent further and affirmed, that -whatever 
was created in subjeeto was an accident and liable to perish. See their doctrines in 
Sale. The arguments of al Mamun in defence of his opinions will afterwards appear 
in a letter to his Prefect at Baghdad. 

* The son of Musa, the sixth in descent from A'li-b-Abi Talib. 

t Abu Maa'shar Jaa'far-b-Muhammad, al Balkbr the celebrated astrologer was the 
great master of his age in that art. He composed a number of works on the science 
of the stars, such as the Mudkhil {Introduction) the Zij (astronomical tables). He was 
very successful in his divinations. He died A. H. 272 (885-6J. Ibn Khali. 



[ 320 1 

A. H. 198, a majesty and an auspieiousness on account of the longevity of those who 

A.D.813-14. were so named, such as al Mansur and ar Eashid. 

In the 201 he excluded his brother al Mutamin from the succession 
and appointed as heir after him A'li ar Eidha the son of Mdsa al Kadhim 
(the meek) the son of Jaa'far as Sadik {the vfriffht). His extravagant 
attachment to the Shiite doctrines induced him to this, so that it was even 
said, that he himself purposed abdicating and resigning the government to 
him. It was he who named him ar Eidha (the accepted of God and men), 
and he coined money in his name, gave him his daughter in marriage and 
promulgated this in the various quarters of his empire. He likewise 
commanded the abandonment of black garments* and the adoption of 
green. This was highly displeasing to the Banii'l A'bbas, and they rose 
■up against him and swore allegiance to Ibrahim the son of al Mahdi who 
was surnamed al Mubarak (blessed). Al Mamun prepared to oppose him 
and various affrays and engagements took place and al Mamiin set out 
for Irak. Now it came to pass that A'li ar Eidha diedf in the year 203, 
whereupon al Mamun wrote to the people of Baghdad telling them as 
they were angered against him on account of his having taken the cove- 
nant of allegiance for A'li, that he was now dead, but they returned him 
a rough answer, so al Mamun began his advance. Now Ibrahim the son 
of al Mahdi heard that the people had withdrawn from their engagement 
to him, wherefore he hid himself in the month of Du'l Hijjah. Thus his 
reign lasted two years all but a few days, and he remained in concealment 
for the space of eight years. Al Mamiin arrived at Baghdad in Safar 
204, and the Abbasides and others entreated him to return to the wearing 
of black and the abandonment of green ; he at first hesitated but after- 
wards consented. 

As Siili records with its ascription that one of the women of his 
family said to al Mamun, " verily thou art generous to the descendants of 
A'li-b-Abi Tdlib, but the government in thy hands is more powerfully 
employed against thy interests for their benefit than it would be in their 
hands for thine," but he replied, " verily I have done what I have done, 

* According to Itn Khaldfln, the A'bbasides adopted iDlack as mourning for the 
slaughter of so many of the Hashlmites under the Umayyad dynasty. The followers of 
A'li who rose against the Ahhasidea took the opposite colour, white. The adoption of 
green hy al Mamun, Weil supposes to have been suggested by an idea of a mixture 
of the two colours, as significant of an alliance between the two — the word j*^^ 
meaning grey as well as green. The rebel Aliites in the reign of al Man?ur wore 
yellow according to Tabari. Al Mdmidn, however, soon recalled the order, and the 
cherished black was again resumed. See Weil. Tom II, p. 216. 

t It was strongly suspected that he died of poison administered at the instigation 
of al Mdmfin ; Masa'iidi attributes Uis death to indigestion from eating grapes, but 
alludes to the rumour that he was poisoned. 



[ 3ai ] 

because Abii Bakr when he ruled, did not appoint any of the Banii Hashim A. H. 204 

to office, and so with Omar and Othmdn ; then A'li succeeded to the A. D. 819. 

government and he appointed A'bdu'llah-b-A'bbas to Basrah, Ubayd- 

u'llah to Yaman, Maa'bad to Mecca and Kutham to Bahrayn, and he left 

none of them without naming them to some post. This therefore was 

upon our shoulders, until I recompensed him in his posterity by what I 

have done." 

In the year 210, al Mamiin married Buran daughter of al Hasan-b- 
Sahl* and her outfit amounted to many thousand dinars. Her father 
presented the chief officers of State with robes of honour and entertained 
them for the space of nineteenf days, and wrote on slips of paper the 
names of estates belonging to him, and scattered them among the generals 
and the A'bbassides, and into the hand of whomsoever a slip fell with the 
name of an estate in it, he received it, and he showered before al Mamiin 
a tray full of pearls when the bride was conducted to him. 

In the year 211 al Mamun commanded it to be proclaimed that who- 
soever should speak well of Mu'awiyah should be outlawed and that A'li- 
b-Abi Talib was to he considered the best of men after the Apostle of 
God. In the year 212 al Mamiin made public his doctrine on the creation 
of the ICnran conjoined with the deolaration of the superiority of A'li 
over Abu Bakr and Omar, but the people shrunk from it with aversion 
and the country was near being involved in rebellion, but he did not obtain 
by this what he desired, wherefore he desisted from it until the year 218. 
In the year 215 al Mamun undertook an expedition against the Byzantines 
and captured by force of arms the fortress of Kurrah, and the fortress 
of Majidah,J and then returned to Damascus. In the year 216 he again 
advanced into the Eoman territory and took a number of fortresses and 
again retired to Damascus. Afterwards he proceeded to Egypt and entered 
it, and was the first who entered it of the A'bbaside Caliphs. In the year 
217 he returned to Damascus and repeated his invasion of the Soman 
territory. § 

* His prime minister. The cost of tlie nuptials is stated by Ibn Khali to have 
been 60 million dirhams (about £1,200,000). Buran's grandmother presented the 
OaUph with 1000 pearls — and on the marriage night a candle of ambergris weigh- 
ing 801b was placed in a candlestick of gold. The Caliph himself protested against 
this wild extravagance. In compensation for hia expenses he gave al Hasan one 
year's revenue of Fars and al Ahwaz. Ibn Khali. 

t For **^«« in the text which is a misprint, rea **«J 

X So Ibn al Athir and Weil : the text has Majid. Both these places are in the 
neighbourhood of Tarsus. 

§ As Suyuti omits to mention the conquest of Crete and Sicily. " Under the 
reign of al Mamfin, at Baghdad, of Michael the Stammerer at Constantinople, the 
41 



[ 322 ] 

A. H. 218. In the year 218 be submitted the people to an inquisition regarding 

A. D. 833. the doctrine of the creation of the Kursln, and he wrote to bis prefect in 

Baghdad, Ishak-b- Ibrahim al Khuzaa'i cousin of Tahir-b-u'l Husayn 

regarding the interrogation of the learned, a letter in which he says as 

follows: 

" Verily the prince of the Faithful is aware that the public at large, 
and the general herd of the rabble and vulgar mob who have no insight 
nor knowledge, nor seek illumination from the light of wisdom and its 
demonstration, are a people ignorant of God and blind in regard to Him, 
and in error as to the truth of His doctrine, and fail to estimate Him 
according to the reality of His transcendence, and to arrive at a true 
knowledge of Him and to distinguish between Him and His creature, and 
that inasmuch as they have formed an ill opinion of the difEerence between 
Him and His creation and what He hath revealed in the Kuraa, for they 
are agreed upon its being from the beginning, not created by God nor 
produced by Him ; yet, verily, the Most High hath said, ' verily we have 
made the same an Arabic Kuran' (Kur. XLIII). Now, indeed whatever 
He hath made. He hath created, as the Most High hath said, ' and hath 
created the darkness and the light,' (Kur. VI) and, ' do we relate unto 
thee of the histories of the Apostles,' (Kur. XI) — vim., of what had 
previously occurred — wherefore He announceth that He relateth events 
subsequent to which He produced the Kurdn. Again He says, ' this hoo&j 
the verses of which are guarded against corruption, and are also distinctly 
explained,'* (Kur. XI). .Therefore is God the guardian of His book and 
its expounder, He is therefore its maker and its originator. Further, they 
pretend to adhere to the prophetical traditions and that they are the people 
of orthodoxy and of the church, and all besides them are in error and 
infidelity, and they pride themselves on this and seduce the ignorant 
by it, so that a number of persons following a false course and yielding 
submission to other than God, have inclined to agreement with them. 
Thus they wrest the truth to the side of their vain words and make of 
other than God a channel to their own error." He goes on to say, " the 
prince of the Faithful therefore considereth these to be mischievous people 
who would hinder a portion of the divine unity, and vessels of ignorance 
and beacons of falsehood and the tongue of Satan speaking among his 

islands of Crete and Sicily were subdued by the Arabs. Hie former of these con- 
quests is disdained by their own writers who were ignorant of the fame of Jupiter and 
Minos, but it has not been overlooked by the Byzantine historians.'' Decline and 
Fall, (0. lii). The history of Sicily under the MusUms may be read with interest in 
the pages of Amari-Storia dei Musulmini di Sicilia. 

* So distinctly explained that this single passage alone has received many dif- 

ferent interpretations on account of the ambiguity of the words i-i**^i^T and >^A-A*, 
The difficulties of private judgment are not confined to the churches of the West. 



[ 823 ] 

accomplices and terrifying his enemies — the people of God's word. It is A. H. 218. 
right, therefore, that the sincerity of such a one should he suspected and his A. D. 833. 
testimony rejected, for he is not to he trusted who is ignorant as to his 
true course and his portion in the divine unity, and hath heen moreover in 
exceeding'error and hath wandered astray from the right path. And by the 
life of the prince of the Faithful, the greatest liar among men is he who 
speaketh falsely of God and of His revelation, and who inventeth untruths 
and doth not comprehend God with a real comprehension of Him. Assemble, 
therefore, the Kadhis that are with thee and read to them my letter and 
question them as to what they maintain, and discover from them what they 
believe in regard to the creation of the Kuran and its being called, into 
existence, and inform them that I seek no assistance in my service, nor do 
I put my confidence* in one who is untrustworthy in his faith. And if 
they allow it and are of accord, then command them to .interrogate those 
witnesses that come before them and to question them as to their belieff 
in the matter of the Kuran, and to reject the testimony of those who do 
not allow it to be created, and write to me regarding what cometh to thee 
concerning the Kadhis of the people under thy jurisdiction in their inter- 
rogations, and orders about them will be issued accordingly." Al Mamun 
likewise wrote to him to send seven individuals to him, and they were, 
Muhammad-b-Saa'd Katib u'l Wakidi, Yahya-b-Ma'in, Abu Khaythamah, 
Abu Muslim disciplej of Yazid b-Harun, Isma'il-b-Daudd, Isma'il-b-Abi 
Masa'iid, and Ahmad-b-Ibr^him adDauraki. They were accordingly sent 
to him and he questioned them on the creation of the Kuran and 
they admitted it, wherefore he sent them back from Rakkah to Baghdad. 
The reason of their having been summoned was, that they at first hesita- 
ted, but afterwards admitted it through fear. He wrote again to 
Ishak-b-Ibrahim to summon the jurisconsults, the Shaykhs and the tradi- 
tionists and to inform them of what the seven had admitted. He 
did so, and some joined in agreement, while others were recusant and 
Yahja-b-Ma'in said, '' we consented through fear of the sword." After- 
wards he wrote another letter to Ishak, after the manner of the first, and 

« The MS. has (J-'li ^ in place of the (JJjt S of the text, 
t The MS. has ly* the text w*. 

t Lit. one who writes at the dictation of another. It was the custom for the 
disciples of a master of any science to sit round him and write down the information 
he gave them : these manuscript records were termed Amali or dictations. Yazid-b- 
Earun was a famous traditionist of Baghdad. It was through dread of his opposition 
that al Mamtin hesitated for some time to assert publicly his doctrine on the creation 
of the :^uran, a doctrine which Yazid strenuously opposed. He was born A. H. 118, 
died 206. See De Slane I. K. regarding further particulars of his life. The lives of 
the others mentioned (except the last) will be found in Ibn Khali. 



[ 324 1 

A. H. 218. commanded him to summon those who were recusant. He therefore 
A. D. 833. summoned a number among whom were Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Bishar-b-u'l WaHd 
al Kindi, Abd Hassan az Ziyddi, A'li-b-Abi Mukdtil, al Fadhl-b-Ghanim, 
TJ'baydu'Uah-b-Omar al Kawariri (the flask-seller), A'li-b-u'l Jaa'd, Sajjadah, 
ad Dayyal-b-u'l Haytham, Kutaybah-b-Sa'id, Saa'dawayh al Wasiti, Ishak- 
b-Abi Israil, Ibn u'l Haras * Ibn U'layyah the elder, Muhammad-b-Nlih 
al I'jli, Tahya-b-A'bdu'r Eahman al Omari, Abu Nasr at Tammdr (the 
date-seller) Abii Ma'mar al ICatia'i, Muhammad-b-Hatim-b-Maymiin and 
others, and he showed them the letter of al Mamiin, but they hung back 
and dissembled, neither admitting nor denying. Then he said to Bishar-b- 
u'l Walid " what dost thou say ?" he answered " verily I have informed 
the prince of the Faithful more than once." The other continued, " and 
what is thy opinion now ? for verily a letter has newly arrived from the 
prince of the Faithful." He answered, " I say, it is the word of God." 
He rejoined, " I do not ask thee that — is it created ?" Bishar replied, 
" there is nothing better to say than what I have told thee, besides I 
have a stipulation with the prince of the Faithful that I need not discuss 
it." Then Ishak addressed A'li-b-Mukatil, "what dost thou say?" He 
replied, " the Kuran is the word of God, but if the prince of the Faithful 
lay on us a command, we hear and obey." Abii Hassan az Ziyadi replied 
to the same effect. Next he questioned Ahmad-b-Hanbal " what dost 
thou say ?" He answered " it is the word of God." He asked, " is it 
created ?" he replied, " it is the word of God, I shall not say more than 
this." Then he interrogated the rest and recorded their answers. Ibn u'l 
Baka said, " I declare that the Kurdn was made and brought into existence 
on the authority of the revealed text to that effect." Ishak said to him 
" and what is made is created." He replied " yes." " Therefore," said 
Ishak, " the Kuran is created." He answered, " I do not say it is created." 
Then Ishak sent their answers to al Mamun, and a letter from al Mamiin 
reached him, saying, " what the pretenders to orthodoxy and the seekers 
after an authority for which they are unfitted have replied, hath reached 
me. Now whoso doth not admit that the Kuran is created, suspend his 
exercise of judicial powers and authority to relate tradition." He goes on 
in his letter. " As to what Bishar sayeth, verily he lieth, for there passed 
no stipulation between the prince of the Faithful and him,t more than the 
accounts which the prince of the Faithful has of his belief and sincere 
profession and assertion that the Kuran is created. Summon him before thee 
therefore, and if he recanteth, publish his case abroad, but if he persisteth 
in his infidelity and denieth, in his impiety and heresy, that the Kurdn is 
created, smite him on the neck and send his head to me. The same with 

» MS. and Itn u'l Athi'r. Harash i^j* 
t MS. >-^i LS* " in this matter." 



[ 325 ] 

Ibr^him-b-u'l Mahdi : question him, and if he assents, it is well, i£ not cut A. H. 218. 
off his head. As for A'li-b-Abi Mukatil, say to him, ' art thou not he who A. D. 833. 
said to the prince of the Faithful that thou verily canst absolve and bind ?.' 
As to ad Dayyal, inform him that the grain which he stole from the 
granaries is what distracts him from other affairs. With regard to Ahmad- 
b-Yazid-b-i'l A'wam and his saying that he cannot give a better answer 
concerning the Kuran, tell him that he is a child in mind though not in 
years — he is ignorant — he will find an answer to his liking when he is 
better taught ; if he doth not do so, the sword is behind it. As to Ahmad- 
b-Hanbal, inform him that the prince of the Faithful is aware of the 
matter of his argument and draws an inference from it, of his ignorance 
and falsehood. As to Fadhl-b-Ghanim, tell him that it is not unknown 
to the prince of the Faithful what he was about in Egypt and what wealth 
he acquired in less than a year — to wit in his ofiice of Kadhi. As for az 
Ziyadi tell him that he used falsely to claim clientship with a spurious 
son."* (But Abli Hassan az Ziyadi denied that he was client Jy descent 
of Ziyad " the son of his father," but that he was called az Ziyadi for other 
reasons.) As to Abu Na§r the date-seller, verily the prince of the Faithful 
likeneth the meanness of his intellect to the baseness of his trade. With 
regard to Ibn Niih and Ibn Hatim inform them that they employ them- 
selves in taking usury, to the hindrance of their knowledge of the divine 
unity, and if nothing justified the prince of the Faithful in hostility to 
them in the cause of Q-od, but their usury and what hath been revealed 
regarding such as they, that alone would justify it, but how much the 
more when they have added infidelity to usury and have become like the 
Nazarenes. As to Ibn Shujaa' inform him that the prince of the Faithful 
was with him but a short time since, and took from him what he took of 
the property which he authorized unto Ibn Hisham from the substance 
of the prince of the Faithful. As for Saa'dawayh of Wasit, say to him — • 
" may the Lord bring to shame that man whose pretentiousness in tradition 
and the craving for authority therein have led him to lie at the time of in- 
terrogation. With regard to him known as Sajjadah and his denial that he 
had heard from those who had conversed with the learned, of the doctrine 
that the Kur£n is created, tell him that his occupation, and the counting 
of beads (date stones) and his directions for the adjustment of his prayer- 
carpet and the deposits made with him by A'li-b-Yahya and others, are what 
cause him to forget the divine unity. As to the flask-seller, what is 

* See note §, page 198. It will be remembered that Mu'awiyab attempted to 
procure the recognition of Ziyad as the son of Abti Sufyan by Summayya the wife 
of a Greet slave whom he met in a tavern and ia a fit of drunkenness seduced. The 
truth of the affliation, however, was doubtful and Ziyad was known or unknown aa 
the " son of his father," 



[ 326 ] 

A. H. 218. manifest of his circumstances and taking of bribes and presents, sufficiently 
A, D. 833. reveals his religious profession, his evil course of life and the weakness of 
his understanding and of his faith. As to Yahya al Omari, if he be a 
descendant of Omar-b-u'l Khattab, the answer to him is apparent. With 
regard to Muhammad-b-u'l Hasan-b-A'li-b-A'4'sim, if he foUoweth his 
ancestors who have passed away, he cannot have professed adherence to the 
doctrinal school which is mentioned in connection with him, besides, he is 
but a lad in need of being instructed. And verily the prince of the 
Faithful sent to you one known as Abu Mushir, after the prince of the 
Faithful had subjected him to inquisition on the subject of the Kuran ; 
— he faltered and hesitated about it, until the prince of the Faithful called 
for the sword for him when he abjectly yielded. Now interrogate him in the 
matter of his assent, and if he standeth by it, publish it abroad and 
proclaim it, and such as do not draw back from their heresy of those thou 
hast named after Bishar and Ibn u'l Mahdi, send them bound to the camp 
of the prince of the Faithful, that he may question them, and if they recant 
not, he will put them to the sword." The narrator says — " but all of them 
yielded upon this, save Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Sajjadah, Muhammad-b-Niih and 
the flask-seller, whereupon Ishak gave orders regarding them and they 
were put in fetters. Then he questioned them the following day, they 
being in fetters, and Sajjadah yielded. Again he interrogated them a 
third time, and the flask-seller submitted, and he sent Ahmad-b-Hanbal 
and Muhammad-b-Niih to the Eoman territories.* Afterwards it came to al 
Mamiin's ear that these had reaUy yielded under compulsion, wherefore he 
was enraged and summoned them to him, and they were being taken to 
him when the news of the death of al Mamun reached them before their 
arrival in his presence. Thus the Lord was merciful to them and banished 
their fear." 

Now al Mamdn fell sick in the Eoman territories, and when his illness 
became serious, he sent for his son A'bbas to be brought to him, and he 
feared that he would not reach him in time, but he arrived when al 
Mamdn was in the last distress. And, verily, letters had been already 
despatched to the provinces containing the following, " From A'bdu'llah 
al Mamun, and his brother Ishak the Caliph after him, under authority of 
these presents." Some say that this occurred by order of al Mamiin, 
while others assert that they wrote this at a time when a swooning fit was 
on him. 

Al Mamiin died on Thursday the 18th Eajab, 218 (^th August 883) 
at Badandun in the Eoman territories and was carried to Tarsus and there 
buried. t Al Masa'udi relates that he encamped on the stream of Badan- 

* Where the Caliph with his army was at the time. 

t Known to the Byzantines under the name of iroBoi'Soi' or ttoSoi'tos. Yakut, 
places it at a day's march from Tarsus. Within the fortifications of which is the 



[ 327 ] 

dun and its coldness and limpidity, the beauty of the place and its'abundant A, H. 218. 

■verdure pleased him. He saw in the stream a fish glittering like silver A. D. 833. 

which struck him with admiration, but no one could swim in the streani 

on account of the intensity of its coldness. He therefore offered a sword* 

to any one who would bring it out An attendant went in and caught it 

and came out, but it struggled and got away into the water, and the chest 

and throat of al Mamiin were splashed and his garments drenched. The 

attendant went in a second time and caught it. And al Mamdn said " let it 

be fried at once." Shortly after an ague seized him and he was covered 

up with blankets while he was shivering and crying out.f Then they 

lighted a fire round him and the fiah was brought, but he could not touch 

it in his distraction regarding his own condition. After a little he rallied 

from his sufEering and asked the interpretation of the name of the place 

in Arabic. They said, " stretch out thy feet," J and he regarding it as 

an evil omen. Then he asked the name of the country and they said 

" Eakkah." Now according to the horoscope drawn at his birth, it was 

foretold that he would die at Kakkah, wherefore he always avoided making 

a stay at Eakkah, but when he heard this reply from the Romans he 

knew Ms fate and despaired and said " O Thou whose kingdom never endeth, 

have mercy on one whose kingdom hath passed away." When the news 

of his death reached Baghdad, Abu Sa'id al Makhzlimi said — 

" Hast thou seen the stars protect 
Mamun and his kingdom firmly established ? 
They have abandoned him between the two valleys of Tarsus 
As they abandoned his father at Tus." 

At Tha'alabi observes, " there are not known of any father and son 
among the Caliphs any more distant graves than those of ar Rasliid and 
al Mamun." He adds, " similarly the sepulchres of five of the sons of al 
A'bbas are separated by a wide interval of space, the like of which men 
have not seen, for the tomb of A'bdu'Uah is in Taif, that of U'baydu'llah at 
Medina, that of al Fadhl in Syria, of Kutham in Samarkand, and of Maa'bad 
in Africa." 

tomb of al Mamun. According to him one of the gates of the town is called the • 
gate of Badandfin. 

* Masa'udi, has ''H** " a prize." 

t " The cold ! the cold !" i:yM ^J^\ Masa'udi. 

X Podendon — from iroSo and reicai. 



A. H. 218. 
A, D. 833. 



[ 328 ] 

On some accoiMtts of al Mdmun. 

Niftawayh* says that Hamid-b-u'l A'bbAs-b-i'l Wazir related to me 
as follows : " We were in the presence of al Mamiin when he sneezed, but 
we did not pray for a blessing upon him, whereupon he said, ' why do ye 
not pray for a blessing upon me ?' we replied, ' we held thee too exalted, 
O prince of the Faithful.' He answered, ' I am not one of those monarchs 
who thinketh himself above prayer.' " Ibn A'sakir records on the authority 
of Muhammad al Tazidi that he said, " I used to instruct al Mamiin, and 
one day I went to him but he was in privacy, wherefore I sent to him one 
of the attendants to inform him of my arrival, but he delayed, and I . sent 
again to him and still he tarried, so I said ' this youth often diverts 
himself with idle trifling.' They replied, ' yes, and withal when he leaves 
thee, he is ill-tempered with his attendants and they meet with great 
annoyance from him, therefore set him right with correction.' And when 
he came out, I ordered him to be brought up and I struck him seven blows 
with a scourge, and he was rubbing his eyes which were in tears when they 
called out, ' Jaa'far-b-Yahya* is coming.' So he took a kerchief and wiped 
the tears from his eyes and gathered up his garments and went to his 
carpet, sat down cross-legged and after a little, said, ' let him come in.' 
He then entered and I withdrew from the assembly, fearing that he 
would complain to him of me. Jaa'far then advanced in front of him and 
conversed with him and made him laugh and went out again. Then I 
came up and said, ' verily I feared that thou wouldst complain of me to 
Jaa'far.' He replied, ' O Abli Muhammad, I would not have told ar 
Eashid of this, how then Jaa'far ! indeed I am much in need of correc- 
tion.' " 

And from A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad at Taymi that he relates — " Ar 
Rashid designed to make a journey, wherefore he commanded the people 
to prepare for it and informed them that he would set out at the end of 
the week, but the week passed and he did not go, so they gathered round al 
Mamiin and asked him to obtain information concerning it, wherefore al 
Mamiin wrote to ar Bashid, who did not know that he could versify, the 
following lines ; — 

" best of those whom a beast of burden conveyeth, 
And of those whom a saddled charger foUoweth, 
Is there an appointed time for the march that we may know it, 
Or is our order for the march to remain obscure ? 

* This famous grammarian was a native of "Wdait where he was born in A. H. 
244, he resided at Baghdad and died there A. H. S23. Ibn Khali. 

t For the Kfe and unhappy end of this famous minister of ar Eashid consult 
Ibn Khali, and D'Herbelot. 



[ 339 ] 

There is no knowledge of this save with the king, A. H. 218. 

From his lustre we borrow light in the darkness. A. D. 833. 

If thou go forth, good guidance will set out following thee 

And if thou remain, good guidance will be detained with thee." 
Ar Rashid read them and was pleased with them, and wrote upon 
them, " O my little son ! what hast thou to do with verse-making,* which 
is the highest qualification of the base, but the last of the accomplishments 
of the noble." He also records on the authority of al Asma'i that the 
impression on the signet ring of al Mamiin was, " the servant of God son 
of the servant of God." And on that of Muhammad-b-A'bbad, that none 
of the Caliphs knew the Kuran by heart except Othman-b-A'ffan and al 
Mamiin. I observe, that I have already refuted this limitation in the 
remarks that have preceded. He records likewise on the authority of 
Ibn U'aynahjt that al M&mlin assembled the learned and held a public 
andience, when there came forward a woman and said, " O prince of the 
Faithful, my brother died and left six hundred dinars — they have given 
me but one dinar, saying, " this is thy share." Al Mamiin computed and 
made the fractional division of the inheritance and said to her, " this is thy 
portion." The learned said to him, " how dost thou know, prince of the 
Faithful ?" He said to her, " this man left two daughters." She answered, 
" yes." He proceeded, " then they have two-thirds, viz., four hundred, and 
be left a mother, and she has one-sixth, viz., one hundred, and he left a wife 
and her share is an eighth, viz., seventy-five — and, by Allah, hast thou twelve 
brothers ?" She said, " yes." He went on — " they get two dinars a piece 
and one dinar comes to thee." And from Muhammad-b-Hafs al Anmati 
(the carpet merchant), that he narrates, " we were breakfasting with al 
Mamiin on a festival day and there were placed upon the table more than 
three hundred dishes, and every time a dish was served, al Mamun looked 
upon it and observed, " this is good for such a thing and hurtful for such 
another. Now if there be among you one who is phlegmatic, let him 
avoid this, and he among you, who has the yellow bile J let him eat of this, 
and he who is subject to atrabiliousness, let him not partake of this, and 
he who desires to eat but little, let him restrict himself to this." Upon 
this Yahya-b-Aktham§ said to him, " prince of the Faithful, if we were to 

• |^»SJ| MS. 

t In the printed text for. ^iM^ read *^e. The MS. ia here correct, 
t According to early notions on this subject the four constituent humours of the 
body were: f^h phlegm, j^"^^! yellow tile, *Ti>j«"-'l black bile, and (•<iJl 

the blood. See Lane, Art. ctj^. 

§ Yahya-b-Aktham was appointed ?;adhi of Ba§rah by al Mamun in A. H. 202. 
See I. K. Life of Ibn Abi Duwad. 
43, 



[ 330 ] 

A. H. 218. enter upon the discussion of medicine thou wouldst be a G-alen in the 
A,. D. 833. knowledge of it, or of the stars, a Hermes in their computation, or of 
jurisprudence an A'li-b-Abi Talib in its comprehension, or should liberality 
be spoken of, thou wouldst be a Hatim Tai in its description, or the truth 
of tradition, an Abu Darr in its proof, or generosity a Kaa'b-b-Mamah* 
in his deeds, or good faith, a Samuel b-A'adiya in fidelity."t Al Mamun 
was pleased at this speech and said, " verily, man is distinguished by his 
intellect, and were it not for that, no flesh would be better than other flesh, 
nor blood than other blood." 

And from Yahya-b-u'l Aktham — " I never saw a more perfect man 
than al Mamlin — I once passed a night with him and he awoke and said, 
'O Yahya, see what there is near my foot.' I looked but saw nothing. 
He then called for a candle and the attendants hastened up, and he said, 
' search' and they searched and lo ! beneath his quilt was a snake as long as 
his body, and they killed it, and I said ' verily the knowledge of the 
unseen is a further addition to the accomplishments of the prince of the 
Faithful !' He replied — ' God preserve me ! no — but a secret monitor called 
to me but now when I was sleeping and said — 

" 0, thou who sleepest at night — awake ! 
!For calamities travel by night. 
The reliance of a youth on his fortune 
Is like trusting to loosened fastenings." 

And I awoke and knew that something had happened either near or at a 
distance, and I reflected on what might be near and it was what thou hast 
seen.' " And from U'marah-b-U'kayl, " Ibn Abi HafjahJ the poet said 

* One of the principal chiefs of the trihe of Iy£dh, noted for his liberality. Da 
Slane, I. K. under Yakut al ^amawi. 

t Samuel the son of A'adiya, proverbial among the Arabs for his good feiith. His 
name is introduced in the 23rd Assembly of al Hariri. The story of his fidelity ia 
briefly as follows: Imr'u'l Kays having fled from the pursuit of the king of Hira took 
refuge with Samuel in his castle of al Ablak in Tayma. Thence he proceeded to the 
court of the emperor Justinian to implore aid against his enemies, leaving with Samuel 
his daughter and several suits of mail. After various adventures at the Greek court, 
he died at Ancyra. On his death the prince of Ghassan determined to seize the 
armour of the warrior poet and besieged Samuel in his castle. Samuel's infant son 
was by some accident, captured outside the gate and Samuel was offered the choice of 
surrendering the armour or seeing his child slain. On his refusal to betray his trust 
the alternative was carried out before his father's eyes. The siege was raised and 
Samuel had the satisfaction of delivering the armour to the heirs of Imr' u'l lj;ays at the 
fair of TJ'kadfe. See Chenery's Hariri. Abu'l Feda. Anteislam Hist. p. 133. 

X Marwan-b-Abi gaf?ah a native of al Yaradma and grandson of Abu Had^ah the 
Mawla of Marwau-b-u'l ^akam, bom, A. H. 105, died at Baghdad A. H. 182, He 



[ 331 ] 

to me, "dost thou know that al Mamiin doth not understand poetry ?" I A. H. 218. 
replied " who is there that hath a quicker perception of it than he ? by A. D. 833. 
Allah, verily did we recite the first line of a verse he would anticipate 
the end of it without ever having heard it." Ibn Abi Hafsah replied, 
" verily I recited to him a line which I had well expressed, but I did not 
see him moved by it — and it was this — 

The Imam of right guidance, al Mamtin, is employed 

In the concerns of religion, while men are busy about the world." 

I said to him, " thou hast done no more than make of him an old 
woman in her closet with beads in her hand, for who can rise to the trans- 
action of worldly affairs, when he is diverted from them by other things 
and trammelled by them ? Thou hast not spoken as thy uncle spoke of al 
Walid— 

He doth not lose his portion in the world 

Nor do the things of the world distract him from religion." 

Ibn A'sdkir states that he had heard that an Nadhr-b-Shumayl* related 
as follows : I went to al Mamun when he was at Marv, wearing worn out 
garments and he said to me, " O Nadhr, dost thou come into the presence 
of the prince of the Faithful in such garments ?" I replied, " O prince of 
the Faithful verily the heat of Marv cannot be kept out except by wearing 
old garments like these." He said, " nay, but thou livest in a miserable 
way." We then spoke on tradition. At length al Mamiin said, " I heard a 
tradition from Hushaym-b-Bushayrf on the authority of Ibn A'bbas who 
related that the apostle of God said, ' when a man marries a woman for 
her piety and beauty, it is a preventive (sadad) against want.' " I replied 
" the wordsj of the prince of the Faithful have reported truly the ti'adi- 

tanked as a, poet with the first of his age and his best piece is considered his Kasida 
rhyming in-l-(al Ldrmiyh) composed in honor of Maa'n-h-Zaida aa Shaybani. Ibn; 
Khali. 

* Abii'l Hasan, at Nadhr-b-Shumayl-b-Kharashah-b-Tazid, at Tami'mi was a 
native of Basrah and celebrated as a grammarian.. He was skilled as a, jurisconsult 
and traditionist and well acquainted with poetry and the battles of the desert Arabs. 
He left Basrah, where he found no means of support and settled al Marv and acquired 
great wealth. The story in the text is given in Ibn Khali, with some variation. An 
Nadhr died A. H. 204 (A. D. 820). 

t Hushaym-b-Bushayr a native of Wasit acquired a high reputation as a tradi- 
tionist at Baghdad. He knew by-heart twenty thousand of them. Died A. H. 183- 
(799) at the age of 79. De Slane ; Ibn KhaU. 

I Ibn Khall's version has here C^ cri^^*-'! ^"1 k t5*'« and the Kitab u'l 
Agh&ni, (in the life of tJamzah-b-Baipi) l^J*^\ ^'•t ^ ^jS<^ without 
the mention of Hushaym. 



[ 332 ] 

A. H. 218. tion from Hushaym. It was related to me by A'uP al A'ard.bi* on the 
A. D. 833. authority of al Hasan that the prophet said, ' when a man marries a 
woman for her piety and beauty, it is a preventive (sidad) against want.' 
Al Mamdn was at the time lecturing, but sat up then and exclaimed, ' is 
eadad a mispronunciation, O Nadhr ?' I said, ' yes here, but undoubtedly 
a mispronunciation of Hushaym's, for he was an incorrect speaker.' He 
asked, ' what is the difference between the two ?' I answered, ' Sadad 
means, following a right course of action, and sidad, what is necessary to 
support life and whatever thou mayest stop up a thing with.' He said, 
' do the Arabs (of the desert) know this distinction ?' I replied ' yes, al 
A'rji,t a descendant of Othman-b-A'ffian, says as follows — 

They have left me to perish and what a youth have they left to 
perish 
One who coitld have helped them in an evil day or in the defence 
(sid£d) of a breach.' " 
Al Mamdn looked down for a little and then said, " the Lord confound 
those who have no education." After a little he said, " recite to me, 
O Nadhr the most captivating verse composed by the Arabs." I replied 
the lines of Ibn £aidh;( on al Hakam-b-Marw^ : 
" She says to me with sleepy eyes 
Stay with us ; but I did not stay, 
' Which of the chiefs hast thou visited ?' I said to her 
' What chief but al Hakam !' 
Whenever the two chamberlains§ of his tent, say 
' This is Ibn Baidh at the door,' be smiles : 
Verily I paid in advance in regard to thee, as a pledge — 
Come,|| let him enter and give me my earnest money." 
He continued — " recite to me the verse expressive of the greatest 

* A'uf-b-A'bi Jamxla Btcmaiued al Aa'rabi (the deseit Arab) b<»e a &ii reputation 
as a traditioniat. 

t A'bdu'llah-'b-A'inr al A'rji, a graEdson of the Caliph Othman: his life extracted 
from as Suyuti's Shar^ Shawkhidul Mughni, is given hy De Saoy in his Anthologie 
Giammaticale, p. 453. De Slaue ; Ibn Khali. A notice oi him will aJso be found in 
the Kitdb ul Aghfini. 

J Uamzah-b-Baidfh al 9anafi was one of the best poets of the TJmayyad dynasty 
as well as one of the most licentious. He was a native of Kufah and eulogised al 
Muhallab and his son, also Abfai-b-u'I WaL'd and the ^idj^i Bil41-b-Abi Burdah. He 
received large rewards from them. A long notice of him will be found in the 
Kitab u'l Agh&ni, where the verses in the text are also given. He did not live till the 
accession to power of the Abbaside dynasty, 

{ For l+*''^" m?4 ^^ 

li The text and M;S. are here in error. It should be as in the Eitib u'l Aghini— 



[ 833 ] 

justice of conduct, which the Arabs have spoken." I repeated the lines A. H. 218. 
of Ibn A'rdbah* of Medina— A. D. 833. 

" Verily, though the son of my uncle were to chide, 

I would thrust away such as came behind and after him. 

And my wealtbf should aid him, even were he a man 

Far remote in his land and sky. 

And I should be the lord of his secret and preserve it 

Until there seized me a yearningj for the time of its fulfilment. 

And if misfortunes injured his camels at pasture 

My healthy camels should join his afflicted with mange. 

And were he to call me by name to ride a steed 

That was refractory, I would sit on his back for him. 

And were he to come on his way and on his own affairs 

I would not look into what was behind his tent. 

And were he to wear a handsome garment, I should not say 

Would that upon me were the beauty of his mantle." 
He said, " now recite to me a verse of the Arabs, most expressive of 
content." Upon which I quoted the lines of Ibn A'bdal al Asadi — 
" Verily I am a man who continues (and that 

By the favour of God) being well instructed, to teach polite learning. 

I remain at home while home is free from disquiet to me. 

And if I am far away, I am cheerful. 

I grasp not at the friendship of a friend nor 

Make my mind desire a thing after it hath passed away. 

I seek myself what a generous man seeketh 

Of the means of subsistence and am moderate in my desire thereof. 

Verily I behold a generous man when 

I seek a benefit of him, eager to grant it. 

But the slave pursueth not what is lofty nor 

Giveth ought to thee save in fear. 

Like an ass, galled in the back§ and vicious, 

Which is good for nothing untU it is beaten. 



* For (J4^\ read t*^"^' as in the E. A. De Slane states that he was 
a traditionist of Ba?rah. Died A. H. 156. 

t For LffJ^ read (as in the MS. and Kitah u'l Aghani) ^SJ^ 
t t5^ L^ fc*** Kitab u'l Aghani. 

§ The MS. and Kitab u'l Aghani have in the first hemistich t^'jJf jl**'l J*« 
H 3**Jl. The text is here in error. In the second hemistich the K. A. has 
lJ-*J=! for ay^- 



[ 334 ] 

A. H. 218. And I have found no firm stay* save 

A. D. 833. Religion, from what I have experienced, and nobility of race. 

Verily he who stays tranquilly at home is nourished, who never 

Hath bound pack or saddle on his camel, 

While support of existence is withheld from the owner of the 
camel and pack 

And one who never ceases to travel." 
Al Mamiin exclaimed, " thou hast said well, Nadhr !" He then took 
a piece of paper and wrote something I know not what : then he observed, 
" How do you form the imperative from turdb !"' (earth or dust). I said 
" atrib,"f (cover him with earth or dust). " And of t'ln ?" (elay). I said, 
"tin" (plaster or seal up). He went on, "what then would a writing 
be ?" I said " mutrab, (sprinkled with dust) or matin," (plastered or sealed 
with clay). He exclaimed, "better and better," and he wrote for me an 
order for fifty thousand dirhams. Then he commanded an attendant to 
take me to al Padhl-b-Sahl, and I went with him and when al Fadhl read 
the writing, he exclaimed, " O Nadhr, didst thou charge the prince of the 
Faithful with a mispronunciation ?" I said, " by no means, but Hushaym 
spoke very incorrectly and the prince of the Faithful did but foUow his 
words." Then he ordered me on his own account thirty thousand dirhams, 
thus I set forth for my house with eighty thousand." 

Al Khatib records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Ziyad the desert 
Arab, that he relates as follows : " Al Mamun sent for me and I went to 
him, and he was in the garden walking with Yahya-b-Aktham, and I saw 
the two moving with their faces turned from me, so I sat down, and when 
they came forward, I arose and saluted him as Caliph and I heard him say 
to Yahya, ' O Abu Muhammad how good are his manners ! He saw us 
turned from him and sat down, and then seeing us advance, he arose and 
returned me my salutation.' Then he said ' tell me regarding the verse of 
Hind the daughter of U'tbahJ — 

We are the daughters of Tarik 

Moving upon cushions with the walk of the desert grouse.* 

* hj' is the loop-shaped handle of the water sTdn and *»^ its suspensory thong. 

t The text points the word " itrah," but the simple triliteral form •.yJ is in- 
transitive and the transitive derived conjugation (IV.) is here meant (JLmI) as is clear 
from Ihn Khalli^an's narrative where, after the words ' hotter and better,' al Mamun 
says boy, earth, him, and plaster him *^^ j *J^I (•il* k The text has likewise 
erroneously " mutayyan for matin. 

X "Wife of Abu Suf5'4n and mother of Mu'dwiyah. The words were Used by her on 
the day of Ohud, quoting proverbially tho saying of az Zarkd al lyddhiyali when 
Kisrah warred with lyddh. Lane gives the following version ; t^^5' (3j'-'= <S»^ e^*"" 
Cj ♦wl ,^1^ j^.Uj J./ciy "We are the daughters of tho morning star, wo bond not to a 



[ 335 1 

'Who is this Tarifc? for I have looked in her pedigree and found him A. H. 218. 
not.' I replied, ' O prince of the Faithful I do not know of him in her A. D. 833. 
pedigree.' He answered ' assuredly she meant by it the star, claiming 
descent from it on account of her beauty — according to the words of the 
Most High. " By the heavens and the nocturnal star.' " (Kur. LXXXVI.) 
I said, ' corroborate that ly proof, prince of the Faithful.' He rejoined, 
' I know it perfectly well.' Then he threw to me a piece of amber -which 
he was turning about in his hands and I sold it for five thousand dirhams." 

And from Abu U'badah* who says, that al Mdmiin was one of the 
greatest sovereigns of the earth and that this title was justly due to him. 

And from Ibn Abi Dauiid that one of the schismatics came before 
al Mdmun, and he said to him, " what induced thee to oppose us ?" He 
answered, "a verse of the Book of God." Al Mamun said " and which is 
that ?" He replied, " the words of the Most High, ' and who so judgeth 
not according to what God hath revealed, they are infidels' (Kur. V)." The 
Caliph asked " hast thou any certain knowledge that this was revealed ?" 
He replied " Yes." " And what is thy proof ?" " The consensus of the 
people." Al Mamtin replied " then as thou art content with their agree- 
ment concerning the revelation, be content with their unanimity in the 
interpretation thereof." The other said, "thou hast spoken truly, peace 
be to thee. O prince of the Faithful." 

Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Man§ur that 
al MAmiin said, " one of the signs of a man of distinction is that he will 
ill-treat one who is above him, and will suffer one who is beneath him to 
ill-treat him." And from Sa'id-b-Muslim that al Mamiin said, " I would 
that those who commit crimes were aware of my conception of pardon, 
that fear might leave them and joy be unmixed in their hearts." And 
from Ibrahim-b-Sa'id al Jauhari, that a man stood before al Mamun who 
had committed a crime, and he said to him, "by Allah, I will slay thee !" 
He replied, " O prince of the Faithful act gently in regard to me for com- 
passion is the half of mercy." He replied, " how can I ? now that I have 
sworn to slay thee." He answered, " it is better to meet God as a perjurer 
than to meet Him as a slayer," — upon which al Mamiin let him go his 
way. 

Al Khatib records from Abu's Salt A'bdu's Salam-b-i's Salih that he 
narrates as follows, " I passed the night with al Mamian and the attendant 

lover &c. Two other lines with variations of the others will he found in Ibn 
Hisham used by Hind as an encouragement to the youths going to battle at Ohud. 
j3j 'jJ'.'*"' cj' (3^^ \j^^ ii)i If ye advance we shall embrace ye. If ye fly, we 
shall abandon ye. 

* Probably Abli U'bfidah al Buhturi the poet, the friend and contemporary of Abu 
Tanunam the author of the Hamaeah; his Ufe will be found in Ibn Khali. 



[ 336 I 

A. H. 21 8. who used to trim the lamp went to sleep, and al Mdmun arose and trimmed 
A. D. 833. it and I heard him say, ' I am sometimes in the bath-room when the 
servants are reviling and traducing me, not knowing that I hear them but 
I forgive them.' " As Sdli records on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-u'l 
Bawwab that he said, " al Mamiin was so forbearing that he used to enrage 
us. On one occasion he sat cleaning his teeth behind a curtain on the 
banks of the Tigris and we were standing before him, when a boatman 
passed and said — ' do ye imagine that this al Mamun hath any worth in my 
eyes, when verily he hath put to death his own brother ?' — and, by Allah, 
he did nothing more than smile and say to us, ' what contrivance have ye, 
that I may have merit in the eyes of this excellent man ?' " 

Al Khatib records on the authority of Tahya-b-Akhtham that he 
narrates as follows, " I never knew a man more noble than al Mamun. I 
passed a night with him and he was seized with coughing and I saw him 
close his mouth with his sleeve, so that I might not awake, and he used to 
say that the beginning of equitable dealing is that a man should be just to 
his intimate friends, then to those who are nearest to them in succession, 
until he reaches the lowest grade." 

Ibn A'sdkir records from Yahya-b-Khalid al Barmaid that he relates, 
" al Mamiin said to me, O Yahya take every opportunity of satisfying the 
needs of men, for the heavens are too inconstant and fortune too unjust, to 
leave a man in one condition and continue unto him his enjoyments." 

And from A'bdu'Uah-b-Muhammad az Zuhri, — " al Mamiin said, 
' superiority in argument is more pleasing to me than superiority of force, 
for superiority of force vanishes by its decay, whil^ superiority in argu- 
ment nothing can destroy.' " And from U'tbi, " I hfeard al Mamun say, 
' he who praiseth thee not for goodness of intention will not thank thee for 
excellence of deed.' " And from Abu'l A'aliyah, "I heard al Mamiin say, 
' how odious is contentiousness in monarchs, and more odious than that, 
is vexation in judges, before comprehension of what is before them, and 
more odious than it, is the shallowness of jurisconsults in religion, and 
more odious still is avarice in the rich, jesting in old men, idleness in youths 
and cowardice in soldiers.' " 

And from A'li-b-Abdi'r Eahim al Marwazi, that al Mamiin said, " he, 
of all men is most unjust to himself, who draweth near to one who keeps him 
at a distance, and abaseth himself before one who honoureth him not and 
receiveth the praise of one whom he doth not know." And from al 
Mukhdrik,* " I recited to al Mdmlin the words of Abd'l A'tdhiyah." 

• He was one of the first singers of his time. He once sung in the presence of the 
Oaliph ar Tlashid who was so delighted, that he caused the curtains usually placed 
between himself and the musicians to he removed, and ordered him to draw near and 
sit on the throne hy his side. Ee was afterwards attached to the service of al Mamun 



[ 337 ] 

" I am in need of the protection of a master, A. H. 218. 

Who is compassionate and who is unrufl3.ed though I trouble him." A, D. 833. 

He said to me, " repeat it," and I repeated it seven times, whereupon 
he exclaimed, " O Mukharik,' take the Caliphate from me and give me 
such a master." 

And from Hudbah-b-Khdlid, " I was at breakfast with al Mamdn, 
and when the table was taken away, 1 began to gather up what was on the 
ground, and al Mamun looked at me and said, ' hast thou not had enough ?' 
I replied, ' yes, but Hammad-b-Salamah told me on the authority of Anas 
that he had heard the apostle of God say, — whoso eateth what is under 
the table is secure from poverty : whereupon he ordered me a thousand 
dinars.' " And from al Hasan-b-A'bdtis as SaflEar (the brazier), that when al 
Mamiin married Baran, the daughter of al Hasan-b-Sahl, the people sent 
presents to al Hasan, and a poor man sent him two wallets in one of which 
was salt and in the other glasswort and wrote to him at the same time, 
saying, " May I be sacrificed for thee — these goods of little worth fall short 
of the extent of my desire, but I was unwilling that the scroll of the beneficent 
should be folded up and no mention of my name within it, therefore have 
I sent unto thee what is commenced with,* on account of the auspiciousness 
and blessing of it, and what is concluded with, by reason of its goodness 
and cleansing properties." Al Hasan took the two wallets and went 
with them to al Mamun, who was pleased thereat and ordered them to be 
emptied and filled with dinars. As Suli records on the authority of 
Muhammad-b-u'l Kasim that he had heard al Mamiin say, " by Allah, 
I delight in pardon to such an extent, that I fear I may not be rewarded 
on account of it, and if men knew the extent of my love of pardoning, 
they would come to me guilty of crimes." 

Al Khatib records on the authority of al Manstir al Barmaki, that 
ar Eashid possessed a slave girl whom al Mamun loved, and once while 
she was pouring out water for ar Rashid from a vessel she held, al Mamiin 
who was behind him, made a sign of a kiss to her, and she reproved him 
with her eyebrows and delayed in pouring out the water. Hariin looked at 
her and said, " what is this ?" and she faltered in her answer to ar Rashid. 
Whereupon he said — " if thou dost not tell me, I will certainly put thee 
to death." She replied, " A'bdu'llah made a sign to me of a kiss." Harun 
looked towards him, and lo ! shame and fear so fell upon him that it made 
Hariin take pity on him, and he embraced him and said, " dost thou love 
her ?" He said, " yes." He answered, " rise and take her into that room." 

and accompanied him to Damascus. He died A. H. 230 (844-5). He was surnamed 
Abu'l Hina. De Slane, I. K. 

* The Arabs heginning their meals by tasting salt and using glasswort to wash 
their hands with. 
43 



[ 338 ] 

A. H. 218. And, he arose and as he went, ar Rashid said to him, ' say a verse on 
A. D. 833. this' and he recited — 

" A gazelle, I hinted with my glance 
As to my feelings to her.* 
I kissed her from afar. 
But she made excuses with her lips, 
And returned the best of answers 
By the contraction of her eye-brows. 
But I did not quit my place 
Before I obtained possession of her." 

Ibn 'Asakir records on the authority of Abu Khalifah al Fadhl-b- 
Habab, that he narrates, " I heard a slave-dealer say as follows : ' I showed a 
slave girl to al Mamlin, skilled in versifying, eloquent, well-bred and a good 
chess-player, and I asked of him a thousand dinars as her price, and he said, 
" if she can cap a verse I will recite to her by a verse of her own, I will 
purchase her for what thou askest, and will give thee over and above the 
bargain," and al Mamiin recited — 

' What wilt thou say regarding one whom sleeplessness hath emaciated 
Through the strength of his love for thee, so that he became distracted.' 
And she capped it thus — 

' When I find a lover whom hath smitten 
The sickness of love, I will show him kindness.' " 
As Suli from al Husayn al Khalii' that he narrates as follows, " when 
al Mamiin was angered with me and stopped my stipend, I composed a 
poem wherein I praised him and gave it to one who conveyed it to him." 
The beginning of it is — 

" Eeward me, for I thirst for the promise : 
When wilt thou fulfil the promise confirmed by vow ? 
I fly to thee for protection from the breach of faith of princes, and 

verily thou seest 
That I die for love of thee. 

Will he who is incomparable in goodness, grudge me 
A slender gift? and verily I alone have given him an incomparable love." 
&e., until he says — 

" The Lord found A'bdu'llah the best of His servants, 
And he gave him sovereignty and God knoweth His servants best. 
Now surely al Mamun is a defence unto his people 
Distinguishing between error and right guidance." 

* The pronoun is here in the mascvilino, the reason of which has been heforo 
explained. 



[ 339 ] 

" Al Mamdn observed ' verily he hath done well, save that he is the A. H. 218. 
author of the following : A. D. 833. 

' O mine eyes ! rain abundantly and weep over Muhammad (al-Amin) 

And spare not thy tears over him and give your aid. 

May public affairs fail of success after Muhammad 

And the unity of the kingdom not cease to be divided. 

May al Mamdn not enjoy the kingdom after him. 

And not cease to be an exile in the world and a fugitive.' 

This then is against the other and I have nothing for him. " The 
chamberlain said, " where, then, is the prince of the E'aithful's practice of 
pardon ?" He replied, " well as to that, why, yes," and he ordered him a 
present and restored to him his stipend. 

And from 'Ulayyah Hammad-b-Ishak, that when al Mamun went to 
Baghdad, he held inquiry into wrongful exactions every day until noon. 
And from Muhammad-b-u'l 'Abbas, that al Mamiin was very fond of chess 
and used to say, " this sharpens the intellect," and he originated some 
moves in it. He used to say, " I will never hear any one say, 'come let us 
play,' — but, ' let us fall on, let us press one another.' " However he did not 
excel in it, and he would exclaim, " I have the administration of the world 
and am equal to it, whereas I am straitened in the ordering of a space two 
spans by two spans." 

And from Ibn Abi S'aid, that Di'bil* satirized al Mamiin saying : 
" I belong to the same tribe as those whose swords 

Slew thy brother and raised thee to the throne. 

They exalted thy fame after its long abasement 

And drew thee forth from the depth of thy degradation." 

When al Mamiin heard it, he did no more than say " what little shame 
hath Di'bil ! when was I obscure who indeed have been reared in the lap of 
Caliphs?" and he did not punish him. As Suli states also from various 
sources that al Mamiin used to drink date-wine. And on the authority of 
Jahidh, that the associates of al Mamiin used to assert that the colour of his 
face and of his body was the same except his legs which were yellow as if 
anointed with saffron. 

And from Ishak of Mosul, that al Mamiin said, " the sweetest of songs 

* Abu A'li D'itil-b-Ali'l Khuzaa'f, was a good poet, but addicted to satire and 
scurrility, always ready to slander mem of merit, not sparing even the Caliphs. Ibra- 
him-b-u'l Mahdi was so irritated at one of his cutting verses, that he complained to al 
Mamun who counselled him to put up with it in silence as he himself had done in 
regard to the lines quoted in the text which are given by Ibn Khali. D'ibil was born 
A. H. 148, and died at Tib near Wasit A. H, 2i6. Ibn KhaU. His life will also be 
found in the Kitab u'l Aghani. 



[ 340 ] 

A. H. 218. is that which, the hearer, whether it be well or ill sung, rejoiceth over. 

A. D. 833. And from 'Ali-b-i'l Husayn that Muhammad-b-Hamid* was standing over 
al Mamun while he was drinking^ when Gharib broke forth and sang a 
verse of an Nabighah al Jaa'di's. — 

" Like the hem of the striped garment of Yaman." Whereupon al 
Mamdn suspected that she did not begin without a reason and the company 
were silent. He therefore said, " may I be repudiated by ar Eashid ! but 
if I am not told truly regarding this, I will cause the culprit to confess with 
grievous blows and will punish him heavily, but if I am told the truth, I 
will forward the true speaker's desire." Whereupon Muhammad-b-Hamid 
replied, " my lord, I made signs of a kiss to her." He rejoined, " now comes 
the truth, thou hast spoken truly, dost thou wish that I should marry thee 
to her?" He answered, "yes." Then al Mamiin said, "praise be to God 
the Lord of all creatures, and may God bless our chief Muhammad and his 
offspring — verily I give in marriage unto Muhammad the son of 
Hamid, my freedwoman Gharib and I assign her as a dowry from him 
four hundred dirhams with the blessing of God and by the ordinance of the 
prophet. Take her hand," and she arose with him. Then al Mu'atasim 
went to the threshold and said to Ibn Hamid, " the brokerage !" He 
replied, " it is thine" — The other said — " my brokerage is that she must 
sing to me during the night." And she continued to sing to him till the 
morning and Ibn Hamid at the door. Then she arose, took his hand 
and departed with him. And from Ibn A'bi Dauud, that the Roman 
Emperor sent a present to al Mamiin of two hundred pounds of musk 
and two hundred skins of sable, and al Mamun said, " double the gift 
for him that he may know the splendour of Islam." And from Ibrahim- 
b-u'l Hasan that al Madaini told al Mamiin that Mu'awiyah said, " the 
Band Hashim are lions and swift to wrath, but we are more numerous in 
chiefs." Al Mamun replied, '' verily he hath made an admission and 
adduced a claim ; he is therefore, in his claim, a plaintifE, and in his admis- 
sion a defendant." 

As Siili likewise records on the authority of Abut Hsamah that he 
narrates as follows, — " one of my companions told me that Ahmad-b-Abi 
Khalidf was once reading stories to al Mamiin and said, " a certain at 

* De Slane in a note to the life of AM Tammdm mentions a Muljammad-b-Hamid 
at Tusi, a son of one of al Mamun's principal generals who fell in battle against Babak 
al Khurrami in Adarbijdn A. H. 214. He is mentioned as renowned for his Uberality 
and that his death gave great pain to al Mamun. It is probably the same person, the 
accent on the name being misplaced in one or other version. 

t The MS. has Ibn Abi tJsfimah, of whieh name there are two, at Tamimi, n 
traditionist and al Halabi, a disciple of the poet an Ndmi. Abu Usdmah Junfidah 
was a philologer of distinction who died A. H. 399. 

J Ahmad-b-Abi KhAHd al Ahwal was vizier to al Mimun and al Mua'tasim, 
succeeding al Fadhl-b-Saljl in that post. Ho was a man of great intelligence and 



[ 341 ] 

Tharidi"* (it being al Yazidi) and al Mdmtin laughed and called out ' ho ! A. H. 218. 

page, bring some food to Abu al A'bbas for verily he is hungry' — and he A. D. 833. 

■was ashamed and said, ' I am not hungry but the author of the story 

is a dunce, for he has pointed the ya ((^) with the points of the ih 

(>i)).' Al Mamun exclaimed, ' never mind.' And they brought food and 

he eat until he had done. Then he went on and came to the story of a 

certain al Hamsi, instead of which he said, al Khabisi,t whereupon 

al Mamlin laughed and called out, ' ho ! boy, a dish of Khabis.' Ahmad 

said, ' verily the author of the story was a fool, for he hath made an open 

mim ((*) and it is as, if there were two dots.' Al Mamun laughed and 

said, ' were it riot for the incorrectness of those two words, thou would'st 

have remained hungry.' " 

And from Abu A'bbad that he said, " I do not think that God ever 
created a disposition more excellent than that of al Mamlin nor one more 
generous, and in truth he was aware of the gluttony of Ahmad-b-Abi 
Khalid, so that .whenever he sent him on any business, he gave him his 
breakfast before he sent him. It was represented to him in a case that if 
he, the prince of the Faithful, saw fit to settle some provision upon Ibn 
Abu Khalid, it would he well, as he was in the habit of favouring the more 
powerful party for the sake of his entertainment, wherefore al Mamiin 
settled upon him a thousand dirhams a day for his table, yet notwithstand- 
ing, he would desire greedily to eat at the expense of others. ' Di'bil the 
poet has said regarding this — 

" We thank the Caliph for the settlement 
Of a maintenance upon the son of Abu Khalid. 
Thus he hath restrained his tyranny over the Muslims 
And given him his occupation at home." 
And from Ibn AbiDauu.d,J " I heard al Mamiin say to a man 'whether 
thy conduct be marked with perfidy or with token of good, I will not hold 
thee responsible for either ; thou wilt not cease to do evil, and I to do good, 
and thou to be in fault and I to forgive until it shall be pardon itself that 
shall amend thee,' " And from al Jahidh that Thumamah-b-u'l Ashras§ 

foresight and expressed himself elegantly in speech. He died A, H. 240. See De 
Slane's correction of D. Herhelot's error regarding this Wazir. Vol. I, p. 20. 

* Tharid signifies sliced tread in milk or broth with meat. 

t Khabis is a kind of sweetmeat. 

% I am of opinion that this name should be Ibn Abi Duad, the Kadhi who died in 
240 A. H. Ibn Abi Dauud the Hafidh died in 316. It is scarcely probable that he 
could have heard and remembered speeches of al M£mlin's in 218. 

§ Abu Maa'n Thmnamah-b.u'l Ashras surnamed al Majin or the licentious for his 
disorderly life. Al Mamfin met him once in the street in a state of intoxication and 
said to him, " is it you Thumamah P" " Yes P" " Are you drunk P" No. " Do you know 
me ?" " Yes.'' "Who am I ?" " I don't know." This threw the Caliph into such 
a fit of laughter that he nearly fell off his horse. He died A. H. 213. De Slaue, I. K. 



[ 34a ] 

A. H. 218. said, " I have never seen any one more eloquent than Jaa'far-b-Yahya al 

A. D. 833. Barmaki and al Mamun." 

As Silafi records in the Tuyytiriydt on the authority of Hafs al 
Madiani, that a negro who pretended to the gift of prephecy was brought 
before al Mamtin and said, " I am Moses the son of Imran," and al 
Mamun said to him, " verily Moses the son of Imran drew forth his hand 
from his bosom white, therefore draw forth thy hand white, that I may 
believe in thee." The negro replied, " surely that was done by Moses 
when Pharaoh said to him, ' I am thy most High God.' Therefore say as 
Pharaoh said, that I may draw out my hand white, otherwise it will not 
become white." Also that al Mamun said, " a revolt has never broken 
out against me, but I found the cause of it in the tyranny of the prefects." 
Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Yahya-b-A'ktham, that al Mam«n 
used to preside at a disputation on questions of jurisprudence every 
Tuesday, and there came a man wearing a garment which he had tucked 
up, and holding his shoes in his hand and he stopped on, the border of the 
carpet and said, " peace be to you." Al Mamiin returned his salutation and 
the other said, "tell me regarding this seat which thou occupiest — dost 
thou sit there* with the unanimous consent of the people or by violence 
and force?" He replied, " neither the one nor the other, but one who 
governed the afEairs of the Muslims bequeathed it to me and to my 
brother, and when the authority devolved upon me, I felt that I needed 
the unanimous consent of the Muslims in the east and the west in 
accepting me, but I saw that if 1 abandoned the government, the 
security of Islam would be disturbed, and their afEairs fall into confu- 
sion, and that they would contend in strife one with another, so that holy 
wars and pilgrimages would be neglected, and the highways infested with 
robbers, wherefore I arose in defence of the Muslims, until they should be 
of accord upon one man whom they should approve, and I would then 
resign the government to him : now when they agree upon a man, I will 
abdicate in his favour." The man replied, " peace be to you and the mercy 
of God and his blessing," and he departed. And from Muhammad-b-u'l 
Mundir al Kindi, that ar Rashid, being upon the pilgrimage entered Kiifah 
and summoned the Traditionists, and none stayed away but A'bdu'Uah-b- 
Idris, and Isa-b-Yunas. He sent al Amin and al Mamun to them, and 
Ibn Idris related to them one hundred traditions, and al Mamun said, 
" O uncle ! Suffer me to repeat them by heart." He answered, " do so," 
and he repeated them and Ibn Idris marvelled at his memory. Some 
author states that al Mamiin took away books of philosophy and works 
of Grecian writers from the islands of Cyprus. This much ad Dahabi 
briefly narrates. Al Fakahi says that the first who covered the Kaa'bah 
with white brocade was al Mamun, and this continued to be the custom 
* 1 profor to read, i^>-^ aa in the MS. for *-»-l.^ 



[ 34.3 ] 

after him till tlie time of the Caliph an Nasir, save when Mahraiid the A. H- 218. 
son of Sabaktagin during the interval, covered it with yellow brocade, A. D. 833, 

The following are among the sayings of al Mamiin. " There is no 
pleasure greater than that of observing the intellects of men. Stra- 
tagem is of no avail to turn back an affair when it advances, or to advance 
it where it is retrogressing. The best of conferences is where one gets 
an insight into men. Men are of three classes. Those who are as 
nourishment, necessary under all circumstances ; those who are like 
medicine, necessary on occasion of sickness, and those who are like 
diseases, hateful under every condition. The answer of none has 
ever embarrassed me, as the answer of a man of the people of Kiifah 
embarrassed me, whom its inhabitants sent to me and he complained 
against their governor. I replied, " thou liest, for he is a just man." 
He said, " the prince of the Faithful hath spoken truly and I have 
lied : verily thou hast specially chosen him for us in this city, to the 
exclusion of other cities, now appoint him to another city that he may 
encompass them with his equity and justice as he hath encompassed 
us." I said, *' rise, and be off, verily I shall remove him, from over 
you." 

The following are among the lines of al Mamiin : 
" My tongue concealeth your secrets 
And my tell-tale tear is an informer of my secret. 
Were it not for my tears, I should conceal my love. 
Yet were it not for love, I should have no tears." 
And on chess — 

" A square field of red-dressed leather 
Between too friends known for generosity ; 
They call war to mind and invent stratagems therein, 
Without being guilty of shedding blood there. 
This one attacks that, and that 
Falls upon this, and the eye of caution sleepeth not. 
See then the ingenious foes moving with skill 
Among two armies without drum or banner." 
As Suli records on the authority of Muhammad-b- A'mr, that Asram-b- 
Humayd* presented himself before al Mamiin with whom was al Mua'tasim, 
and the Caliph said " describe me and my brother and give no preference 
to either over his fellow ;" whereupon he versified after a little : 
" I saw a ship sailing upon a sea. 
Towards two seas, beyond which are other seas, 

* This individual is mentioned in Ibn Khall's life of A'bdu'Uah-b-Tahir, as the 
author of some verses quoted, but no other information is given of him. 



[ 344 ] 

A. H. 218. Towards two princes whose splendours both, 

A. D. 833. Are equal, at whom the beholder is confounded. 

They are two Princes ; this resembles that, 
And that this, and that and this are chiefs ; 
If this were that and that this 
In this and that together would be my delight. _ 
A canopy of glory is extended over the one 
And the face of the other is a shining moon." 



Traditions related on the authority of al M&mun. 

Al Bayhaki mentions on the authority of Jaa'far-b-Abi Othman at 
Tayalisi that he relates as follows, " I was praying the afternoon prayer at 
ar Eu?afah behind al Mamun in the enclosed space of the mosque on the 
day of A'rafah, and when he pronounced the salutation the people responded 
with the Takbir, and I saw al Mamtin behind the railing exclaiming, " no, O 
people ! no people ! to-morrow is the day prescribed by Abu'l Kasim 
{Muhammad)." And when the day of Adha {lOth I>ul Hijjah) arrived, I 
went forth to prayers and he ascended the tribune and praised God and glori- 
fied Him and said, " God is exceeding great, and frequent be the praise of God, 
and I extol the perfections of God morning and evening !" Hushaym-b- 
Bushayr related to me on the authority of Abu Burdah-b-Din4r that the 
apostle of God said, " he who performeth sacrifice before he prayeth, 
assuredly it is a flesh ofEering which he hath anticipated before its time, 
but who so performeth sacrifice after he hath prayed, verily he fulfiUeth 
the ordinance. God is exceeding great, and frequent be the praise of God 
and I extol the perfections of God morning and evening. O Lord, amend 
me and seek to render me virtuous, and amend others through me." 
Al Hakim says, " I have copied this tradition only from Abu Ahmad 
who is in my opinion a trustworthy authority, and it continued to occupy 
my thoughts until I mentioned it to Abu'l Hasan ad Darakutni who 
observed, 'this relation is, in my opinion, soundly transmitted from 
Jaa'far.' I said, ' does any corroborative authority follow our Shaykh Abu 
Ahmad in this ?' He said, ' yes' and recited a tradition from the Wazir 
Abu'l Fadhl Jaa'far-b-u'l Furat through Jaa'far at Tayalisi to Yahya-b- 
M'ain* who said that he had heard al Mamdn and mentioned the discourse 
and the tradition." 

* Abfi Zakariya Yahya-b-M'ain was a native of Baghdad, a celebrated ^iifidh 
and noted for the exactitude of his traditional information, On his death, he left one 
hundred and thirty cases and four water-jar stands filled with books. Aljmad-b-^anbal 
used to declare that any tradition unknown to Ibn Ma' in was not a true tradition, 



[ 345 ] 

As Suli states that Yabya-b-Ma'in says as follows: " Al Mdmiin A. H. 218. 
preached to us at Baghdad on a Friday which happened to coincide with A. D. 833. 
the day of A'rafah, and when he came to the salutation, the people shouted 
the Takbir, but he disapproved of the Takbir and he leaped up and seized 
the wooden rail of the enclosure and said, ' people, this Takbir should 
not be said out of its place. I have heard from Hushaym on the authority 
of Ibn 'Abbas that the apostle of God used to continue the Talbiyat until 
he had thrown stones at the Jamrat* u'l 'Akabah, and the Takbir was 
pronounced on the morrow at midday at the close of the Talbiyat, if God 
so willeth." 

And that Ibrahim al Mosuli says, " we were with al Mdmiin when 
a man stood before him and said, ' prince of the Faithful, the apostle 
of God said — creatures are the household of God, and the most pleasing 
of the servants of God unto God (may He be honored and glorified) is he who 
most profiteth His household.' Al Mamiin cried out and said, ' be silent, I 
am more learned in tradition than thou art : Yusuf-b-A'tiah, the brazier told 
me on the authority of Thabit-b-Anas that the prophet said — creatures are 
the household of God, and the most pleasing of the servants of God unto 
God, is he who most profiteth His household.' "f Ibn 'Asa'kir records this 
by the same ascription. 

As Siili also mentions that he had heard a tradition on the authority 
of 'Abdu'l Jabbar-b-'Abdu'Uah who relates — " I heard al Mamiin preach- 
ing and he spoke in his discourse of modesty and he described and praised 
it and said, ' Hushaym told me on the authority of Abu Bakrahf and 
Imran-b-Husayn that the apostle of God said — modesty is a part of faith 
and faith hath its portion in Paradise, while obscenity is brutishness, and 



and that he was created for the express purpose of exposing false ones. He said of 
himself that he had written quantities of traditions under the dictation of liars and 
made use of the paper for heating his oven. I thus obtained, he added, one advan- 
tage that of having bread well- baked. He died A. D. 233. 

• Vulgarly called the Shaytan u'l Kabir or Great Devil. Another pillar is the 
Wuata or central place of stoning built in the middle of Muna and there is a third at 
the eastern end called al TJla. These mark the successive spots where the devil in the 
shape of an old Shaykh appeared to Adam, Abraham and Ishmael and was driven back 
by the throwing of stones, the size of a bean, as enjoined by Gabriel. This Jamrat u'l 
Akabah is a dwarf buttress of masonry about 8 feet high by 2 J placed against a rough 
wall of stones at the Mecoan entrance to Muna. Burton's Mecca, p. 282. 

t The parenthetical sentence of the first speaker was apparently an incorrect 
transmission. 

t Abu Bakrah Nufai-b-u'l Harith was a companion of Muhammad's, who named 
him Abu Bakrah or the father of the pulley, because he let himself down by a puUey 
from the castle of Taif when it was attacked by the Muslims in A. H. 8. I'mran-b- 
IJusayn al Khuzaa'i was also a Companion, became Kadhi of Basrah and died there 
A. H. 53. De Slane; I. K. 



[ 346 ] 

A. H. 218. brutishness hath its portion in hell fire.' " Al Hdkim mentions on the 
A. D. 833. authority of Yahya-b-Aktham the Kadhi, that he says as follows—" Al 
Mamdn said to me one day, ' O Tahya, I wish to relate traditions.' I 
replied, ' and who is fitter for this than the prince of the Faithful ?' 
He said, ' let them place a tribune for me,' and he ascended it and the first 
tradition he gave us was through Hushaym from Abu Hurayrah that the 
prophet said — ' Imr u'l Kays is the leader of the poets in hell :' then he 
related about thirty traditions and afterwards descended and said, ' O 
Yahya what dost thou think of our lecture ?' I replied, ' a most excellent 
lecture, O prince of the Faithful thou hast instructed high and low.' He 
answered, ' no ! by thy life !' I observed no pleasure that you took in 
it : a lecture is for men with thread-bare garments and ink-horns." 

Al Khatib says that he was told on the authority of Ibrdhim-b-Sa'id 
al Jauhari that when al Mamun conquered Egypt, a person said to him, 
" praise be to God, O prince of the Faithful who hath sufficed thee against 
thy enemies, and subjugated to thee the two I'raks and the Syrian provinces 
and Egypt and withal thou art the descendant of the uncle of the apostle 
of God." Al Mamun replied,* " well said, now there is one condi- 
tion still wanting to me, and that is, that I should sit in an assembly 
and below me a disciple who should say ' whom didst thou mention, may 
the Lord be well pleased with thee ?' and I should reply — the two 
Hammads, Hammadrb-Salamah and Hammad-b-Zaydf narrated to me 
on the authority of Anas-b-Mdlik that the prophet said, ' he who sup- 
porteth two daughters or three or two sisters, until they die, or he 
is taken from them by death, shall be with me in Paradise like these 
two,' and he pointed to his fore and middle fingers. Al Khatib remarks 
that there is a glaring error in this story and he supposes it probable that 
al Mamiin related this on the authority of some person who had it from 
the two Hammads, and that, because the birth of al Mamiin occurred in 
the year 170, and Hammad the son of Salamah died in the year 167, three 
years before al Mamun was born, and Hammad-b-Zayd died in the 
year 179." 

Al H4kim mentions that he was told on the authority of Muhammad- 
b-Sahl-b-A'skar that he narrates as follows : " Al M^mun one day stood 
waiting for the call to prayers and we were standing before him, when there 
came up to him a stranger with an ink-horn in his hand, who said, ' O prince 
of the Faithful, I am a master of tradition, devoted to it.' Al Mamun 
said, ' what dost thou remember on such and such an article ?' and he could 

* For oJlaJ read J'**. 

t Abu Ismail IjIaraindd-'b-Zayd surnamed al AzraV (blue-eyed) a native of Ba§rah 
who receive his knowledge from the first doctors of his age under some of whom his 
namesake b-Salamah studied. He held a high repute as a jurist, traditiouistand^dfidh 
died A. H. 179. D. Slane I. K, 



[ 347 ] 

not mention a word about it, while al Mamdn continued, ' Husliaym A. H. 218. 

told me who had it from Hajjaj, who had it from such and such a one' A. D. 833. 

&c., until he mentioned the article, then he questioned him on a second 

article, and he could not say a word about it, and al Mamlin gave it and 

then turning to his companions said, ' one of these searches for traditions 

for three days and then says — I am a traditionist. Give him three dir- 

hams." 

Ibn A'sakir quotes from Yahya-b-Aktham as follows : " I passed a night 
"with al Mamun and I awoke in the middle of the night, being thirsty and 
I tosfed about and al Mamun said, ' Yahya, "what is the matter with 
thee ?' I replied, ' I am thirsty.' He leaped up from his couch and 
brought me a goglet of water. I said, ' O prince of the Faithful, wilt thou 
not call a servant ? wilt thou not summon a page ? He replied, ' no my 
father told me on the authority of U'kbah-b-A'amir that the apostle of 
God said, ' the chief of the people is their servant.*' Al Khatib mentions 
a similar tradition from Yahya-b-Aktham save that he traces it up to 
Jarir-b-A'bdu'llah who heard the apostle of God say, " the chief of the people 
is their servant." Ibn A'sakir g