Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Amir al-mu'minin was delivering a
lecture from the pulpit of (the mosque of) Kufah when al-Ashath ibn Qays ⁽¹⁾ objected and said, "O' Amir al-mu'minin this thing is not in
your favour but against you." ⁽²⁾ Amir al-mu'minin looked
at him with anger and said:

How do you know what is for me and what is against
me? ! Curse of Allah and others be on you. You are a weaver and son of a weaver. You are
the son of an unbeliever and yourself a hypocrite. You were arrested once by the
Unbelievers and once by the Muslims, but your wealth and birth could not save you from
either. The man who contrives for his own people to be put to sword and invites death and
destruction for them does deserve that the near ones should hate him and the remote ones
should not trust him.

as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: This man was arrested once
when an unbeliever and once in days of Islam. As for Amir al-mu'minin's words that the man
contrived for his own people to be put to sword, the reference herein is to the incident
which occurred to al-Ashath ibn Qays in confrontation with Khalid ibn Walid at Yamamah,
where he deceived his people and contrived a trick till Khalid attacked them. After this
incident his people nicknamed him "Urf an-Nar" which in the parlance stood for
traitor.

AL-ASHATH
IBN QAYS AL-KINDI⁽¹⁾. His
original name was Madi Karib and surname Abu Muhammad but because of his dishevelled hair
he is better known as al-Ashath (one having dishevelled hair). When after Proclamation
(of Prophethood) he came to Mecca along with his tribe, the Prophet invited him and his
tribe to accept Islam. But all of them turned back without anyone accepting Islam. When
after hijrah (immigration of the Holy Prophet) Islam became established and in full swing
and deputations began to come to Medina in large numbers he also came to the Prophet's
audience with Banu Kindah and accepted Islam. The author of al-Istiab writes that after
the Prophet this man again turned unbeliever but when during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr he
was brought to Medina as prisoner he again accepted Islam, though this time too his Islam
was a show. Thus, ash-Shaykh Muhammad Abduh writes in his annotations on Nahj
al-balaghah:

Just as Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn
Salul was a companion of the Prophet, al-Ashath was a companion of Ali and both were
high ranking hypocrites.

He lost one of his eyes in the
battle of Yarmuk. Ibn Qutaybah has included him in the list of the one-eyed. Abu Bakr's
sister Umm Farwah bint Abi Quhafah, who was once the wife of an al-Azdi and then of Tamim
ad-Darimi, was on the third occasion married to this al-Ashath. Three sons were born of
her viz. Muhammad, Ismail and Is'haq. Books on biography show that she was blind. Ibn
Abi'l-Hadid has quoted the following statement of Abu'l-Faraj wherefrom it appears that
this man was equally involved in the assassination of Ali (p.b.u.h.):

On the night of the assassination
Ibn Muljam came to al-Ashath ibn Qays and both retired to a corner of the mosque and sat
there when Hujr ibn Adi passed by that side and he heard al-Ashath saying to Ibn Muljam,
"Be quick now or else dawn's light would disgrace you." On hearing this Hujr
said to al-Ashath, "O' one-eyed man, you are preparing to kill 'Ali" and
hastened towards Ali ibn Abi Talib, but Ibn Muljam had preceded him and struck 'Ali with
sword when Hujr turned back people were crying, "Ali has been killed."
It was his daughter who killed Imam
Hasan (p.b.u.h.) by poisoning him. Masudi has written that:

His (Hasan's) wife Jadah bint
al-Ashath poisoned him while Muawiyah had conspired with her that if she could contrive
to poison Hasan he would pay her one hundred thousand Dirhams and marry her to Yazid.
(Muruj adh-dhahab, vol. 2, p. 650)

His son Muhammad ibn al-Ashath was
active in playing fraud with Hadrat Muslim ibn Aqil in Kufah and in shedding Imam
Husayn's blood in Karbala. But despite all these points he is among those from whom
al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah have related
traditions.⁽²⁾.
After the battle of Nahrawan, Amir al-mu'minin was delivering a sermon in the mosque of
Kufah about ill effects of "Arbitration" when a man stood up and said "O'
Amir al-mu'minin, first you desisted us from this Arbitration but thereafter you allowed
it. We cannot understand which of these two was more correct and proper." On hearing
this Amir al-mu'minin clapped his one hand over the other and said, "This is the
reward of one who gives up firm view" that is, this is the outcome of your actions as
you had abandoned firmness and caution and insisted on "Arbitration" but
al-Ashath mistook it to mean as though Amir al mu'minin implied that "my worry was
due to having accepted Arbitration," so he spoke out, "O' Amir al-mu'minin this
brings blame on your own self" whereupon Amir al-mu'minin said harshly:

What do you know what I am saying,
and what do you understand what is for me or against me. You are a weaver and the son of a
weaver brought up by unbelievers and a hypocrite. Curse of Allah and all the world be upon
you.

Commentators have written several
reasons for Amir al-mu'minin calling Ashath a weaver. First reason is, because he and his
father like most of the people of his native place pursued the industry of weaving cloth.
So, in order to refer to the lowliness of his occupation he has been called 'weaver'.
Yamanese had other occupations also but mostly this profession was followed among them.
Describing their occupations Khalid ibn Safwan has mentioned this one first of all.

What can I say about a people among
whom there are only weavers, leather dyers, monkey keepers and donkey riders. The hoopoe
found them out, the mouse flooded them and a woman ruled over them. (al-Bayan wa't-tabyin,
vol. 1, p. 130)

The second reason is that
"hiyakah" means walking by bending on either side, and since out of pride and
conceit this man used to walk shrugging his shoulders and making bends in his body, he has
been called "hayik".

The third reason is --- and it is
more conspicuous and clear --- that he has been called a weaver to denote his foolishness
and lowliness because every low person is proverbially known as a weaver. Their wisdom and
sagacity can be well gauged by the fact that their follies had become proverbial, while
nothing attains proverbial status without peculiar characteristics. Now, that Amir
al-mu'minin has also confirmed it no further argument or reasoning is needed.

The fourth reason is that by this
is meant the person who conspires against Allah and the Holy Prophet and prepares webs of
which is the peculiarity of hypocrites. Thus, in Wasa'il ash-Shiah (vol. 12, p. 101) it
is stated:

It was mentioned before Imam Jafar
as-Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) that the weaver is accursed when he explained that the weaver implies
the person who concocts against Allah and the Prophet.

After the word weaver Amir
al-mu'minin has used the word hypocrite, and there is no conjunction in between them in
order to emphasise the nearness of meaning thereof. Then, on the basis of this hypocrisy
and concealment of truth he declared him deserving of the curse of Allah and all others,
as Allah the Glorified says:

Verily, those that conceal what we
have sent of (Our) manifest evidences and guidance, after what we have (so) clearly shown
for mankind in the Book (they are), those that Allah doth curse them and (also) curse them
all those who curse (such ones). (Qur'an, 2:159)

After this Amir al-mu'minin says
that "You could not avoid the degradation of being prisoner when you were unbeliever,
nor did these ignominies spare you after acceptance of Islam, and you were taken
prisoner." When an unbeliever the event of his being taken prisoner occurred in this
way that when the tribe of Banu Murad killed his father Qays, he (al-Ashath) collected
the warriors of Banu Kindah and divided them in three groups. Over one group he himself
took the command, and on the others he placed Kabs ibn Hani' and al-Qasham ibn Yazid
al-Arqam as chiefs, and set off to deal with Banu Murad. But as misfortune would have it
instead of Banu Murad he attacked Banu al-Harith ibn Kab. The result was that Kabs ibn
Hani' and al-Qasham ibn Yazid al-Arqam were killed and this man was taken prisoner alive.
Eventually he got a release by paying three thousand camels as ransom. In Amir
al-mu'minin's words, "Your wealth or birth could not save you from either," the
reference is not to real 'fidyah' (release money) because he was actually released on
payment of release money but the intention is that neither plenty of wealth nor his high
position and prestige in his tribe could save him from this ignominy, and he could not
protect himself from being a prisoner .
The event of his second
imprisonment is that when the Holy Prophet of Islam passed away from this world a
rebellion occurred in the region of Hadramawt for repelling which Caliph Abu Bakr wrote to
the governor of the place Ziyad ibn Labid al-Bayadi. al-Ansari that he should secure
allegiance and collect zakat and charities from those people. When Ziyad ibn Labid went to
the tribe of Banu Amr ibn Muawiyah for collection of zakat he took keen fancy for a
she-camel of Shaytan ibn Hujr which was very handsome and of huge body. He jumped over it
and took possession of it. Shaytan ibn Hujr did not agree to spare it and said to him to
take over some other she-camel in its place but Ziyad would not agree. Shaytan sent for
his brother al-Adda' ibn Hujr for his support. On coming he too had a talk but Ziyad
insisted on his point and did not, by any means, consent to keep off his hand from that
she-camel. At last both these brothers appealed to Masruq ibn Madi Karib for help.
Consequently, Masruq also used his influence so that Ziyad might leave the she-camel but
he refused categorically, whereupon Masruq became enthusiastic and untying the she-camel
handed it over to Shaytan. On this Ziyad was infuriated and collecting his men became
ready to fight. On the other side Banu Waliah also assembled to face them, but could not
defeat Ziyad and were badly beaten at his hands. Their women were taken away and property
was looted. Eventually those who had survived were obliged to take refuge under the
protection of al-Ashath. Al-Ashath promised assistance on the condition that he should
be acknowledged ruler of the area. Those people agreed to this condition and his
coronation was also formally solemnised. After having his authority acknowledged he
arranged an army and set out to fight Ziyad. On the other side Abu Bakr had written to the
chief of Yemen, al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayyah to go for the help of Ziyad with a contingent.
Al-Muhajir was coming with his contingent when they came face to face. Seeing each other
they drew swords and commenced fighting at ad-Zurqan. In the end al-Ashath fled from the
battle-field and taking his remaining men closed himself in the fort of an-Nujayr. The
enemy was such as to let them alone. They laid siege around the fort. Al-Ashath thought
how long could he remain shut up in the fort with this lack of equipment and men, and that
he should think out some way of escape. So one night he stealthily came out of the fort
and met Ziyad and al-Muhajir and conspired with them that if they gave asylum to nine
members of his family he would get the fort gate opened. They accepted this term and asked
him to write for them the names of those nine persons. He wrote down the nine names and
made them over to them, but acting on his traditional wisdom forgot to write his own name
in that list. After settling this he told his people that he has secured protection for
them and the gate of the fort should be opened. When the gate was opened Ziyad forces
pounced upon them. They said they had been promised protection whereupon Ziyad's army said
that this was wrong and that al-Ashath had asked protection only for nine members of his
house, whose names preserved with them. In short eight hundred persons were put to sword
and hands of several women were chopped off, while according to the settlement nine men
were left off, but the case of al-Ashath became complicated. Eventually it was decided he
should be sent to Abu Bakr and he should decided about him. At last he was sent to Medina
in chains along with a thousand women prisoners. On the way relations and others, men and
women, all hurled curses at him and the women were calling him traitor and one who got his
own people put to sword. Who else can be a greater traitor? However, when he reached
Medina Abu Bakr released him and on that occasion he was married to Umm Farwah.

Forward to Sermon 20.

Back to Sermon 18.