Part of Ramadan events and lessons (series completed)
· Lesson 16 of 31
Ramadan events and lessons | Episode (16) | The death of Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf Al-Thaqafi
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Transcript
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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
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Summary of the book:
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"Ramadan:
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Events and Lessons."
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The Death of Al-Hajjaj
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ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi.
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Time:
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In the month of Ramadan,
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in the ninety-fifth year
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of the Hijrah.
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Indeed, a person's deeds and words
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during their lifetime
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constitute the legacy that remains after them.
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If they were righteous,
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they bequeath them praise
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and commendation among people;
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but if they were wicked,
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they bring upon them people's hatred
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and condemnation,
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etching in the minds of successive generations
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a distorted image,
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from following whose bearer
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people recoil.
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The criteria for righteousness and its opposite
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vary among people
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according to their whims and doctrines.
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What we mean here by this
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is whatever constitutes righteousness or corruption
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in the scales of the divine law (Shariah),
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and what deserves praise or blame
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in the eyes of the people of faith, who
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pronounce such judgments
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and weigh such attributes
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against the standard of the wise Shariah.
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While sins vary
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in their degrees of blameworthiness
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before Allah and among His creation,
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injustice undeniably stands
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at the very forefront,
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occupying a prime place
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in the ranks of transgressions.
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Although injustice likewise
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has varying degrees,
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no injustice—after associating partners
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with Allah—surpasses the injustice
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of shedding inviolable blood,
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let alone the blood of the masters
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among the righteous and the intimate,
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near allies of Allah.
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The history of mankind has chronicled
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the annals of kings, princes,
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and governors,
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transmitting of their circumstances
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a great deal,
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recounting their virtues and their vices,
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their tyranny and their justice.
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However, there is
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one historical figure
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who became a proverb
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in tyranny, particularly in
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the shedding of blood.
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Historians of diverse
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persuasions have unanimously characterized him as such.
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This figure
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is Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
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al-Thaqafi.
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So let us draw a little closer
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to the life of this man,
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to learn something of his biography,
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and to take heed from what he did
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and what became of him.
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For indeed, this man had
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contradictory states,
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numerous phases,
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and transgressions
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by which he surpassed the governors before him,
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so much so that not even
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the Companions,
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may Allah be pleased with them, were safe from his harm.
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His Name, Lineage, and Birth:
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He is Al-Hajjaj
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ibn Yusuf ibn Abi 'Aqil
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ibn Mas'ud ibn 'Amir
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ibn Malik ibn Ka'b
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ibn 'Amr ibn Sa'd
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ibn 'Awf ibn Thaqif—
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who was Qasiyy ibn Munabbih
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ibn Bakr ibn Hawazin—
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Abu Muhammad al-Thaqafi.
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He was born in Al-Ta'if
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in the year 39 AH,
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or it is said
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in the year 40 AH,
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and it is also said in the year 41 AH.
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It was in Al-Ta'if
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that he grew up and was raised.
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His Rule:
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Al-Hajjaj moved to the Levant (al-Sham)
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and attached himself to Rawh ibn Zinba',
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the deputy of 'Abd al-Malik
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ibn Marwan,
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serving among the ranks of his police forces.
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He continued to distinguish himself
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until 'Abd al-Malik entrusted him
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with the command of his army,
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upon the recommendation of Rawh ibn Zinba'.
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He ordered him to fight
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'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
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so he marched toward the Hijaz
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with a massive army.
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He killed 'Abdullah and dispersed
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his gathering,
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wherefore 'Abd al-Malik appointed him governor over Mecca,
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Medina, and Al-Ta'if.
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He then dismissed him from them
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and appointed him governor over Iraq
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after the death of his brother Bishr,
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while rebellion was raging therein.
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So he set out for Iraq,
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crushed the rebellion,
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entered Kufa,
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and dealt harshly with its people as he did.
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He built the city of Wasit
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between Basra and Kufa,
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and his rule was firmly established over it
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and over Iraq for twenty years.
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His Treatment of Some of
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the Companions and Leading Tabi'un:
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The conduct of
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Al-Hajjaj was never good
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toward the surviving Companions
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of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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nor toward
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their prominent students from among
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the Tabi'un; for he killed
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some of them and mistreated
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others with his tongue.
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He was not content with targeting their living,
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but rather transgressed
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against their dead with vile
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utterances as well.
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Among the most famous of those he transgressed against were
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'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
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his mother Asma'
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bint Abi Bakr,
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Anas ibn Malik,
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Ibn 'Umar, Sahl ibn Sa'd,
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and Jabir ibn 'Abdillah,
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may Allah be pleased with them
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all.
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And from the scholars of the Tabi'un:
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Sa'id ibn Jubayr,
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Al-Hasan al-Basri, and others.
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Among the examples concerning some
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of the Companions we mentioned:
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his killing of 'Abdullah
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ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him)
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in Mecca, and his bombarding
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of the Ka'bah with catapults
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in the year seventy-three
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of the Hijrah;
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his aggression against Anas ibn Malik,
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may Allah be pleased with him;
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his insolence against 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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long after he had died;
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his abuse of Salamah ibn al-Akwa',
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may Allah be pleased with him;
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and his mistreatment of Ibn 'Umar,
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may Allah be pleased with them both.
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What Has Been Mentioned of His Merits:
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Notwithstanding what
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historians have recorded about Al-Hajjaj
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regarding his evils,
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he nevertheless had merits
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cited by his biographers.
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This is in accordance with the justice
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commanded by Allah Almighty
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in His saying:
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"O you who have believed,
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be persistently standing firm for Allah,
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witnesses in justice,
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and do not let
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the hatred of a people prevent you
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from being just.
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“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.” (5:8)
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And fear Allah;
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indeed, Allah is fully Aware
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of what you do."
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Al-Hajjaj was once mentioned
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unfavorably in the presence of 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi,
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so he grew angry and said:
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"You only ever mention
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the faults!
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Do you not know that he was the first to
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strike a dirham inscribed with:
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'There is no deity except Allah,
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Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,'
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and the first to build a city
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after the Companions in Islam,
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and the first to introduce
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camel litters (mahamil).
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Also, a Muslim woman
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was taken captive in India,
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so she cried out, "O Hajjaj!"
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Word of this reached him,
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and he kept saying,
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"Here I am at your service! Here I am!"
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He spent seven thousand dirhams
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until he rescued the woman.
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Among the merits
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recorded by historians
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for al-Hajjaj
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was his great care for the Noble Qur'an,
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his eloquence and rhetoric
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in his speech
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and his sermons,
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and his Islamic conquests.
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He played an undeniable role
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in spreading Islam
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to numerous lands.
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Ibn Kathir said,
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"He was fiercely eager for jihad."
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Another trait was his pardoning of those who
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spoke well to him
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and answered him with candid honesty;
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regarding this,
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there are many accounts.
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Among them is that
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he once delivered a sermon,
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saying, "O people!
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Restraining oneself from what Allah has forbidden
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is far easier than enduring
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the punishment of Allah."
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A man stood up before him
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and said to him,
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"Woe to you, O Hajjaj!
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How brazen is your face,
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and how little is your shame!
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You do all the evil that you do,
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yet you utter words like these?!
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You have failed, and your effort has gone utterly astray!"
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Al-Hajjaj said to the guards,
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"Seize him."
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When he finished his sermon,
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he said to the man,
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"What emboldened you against me?"
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The man replied,
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"Woe to you, O Hajjaj!
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You dare to defy Allah,
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yet I should not dare to defy you?!
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How could I not dare to confront you,
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while you dare to defy Allah,
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the Lord of the worlds?!"
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Thereupon al-Hajjaj said,
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"Let him go."
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So he was released.
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Statements of some scholars and historians concerning him:
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'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz said,
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"If every nation competed in wickedness,
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each nation bringing forth
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its most vile evildoer,
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and we brought forth al-Hajjaj alone,
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we would surely surpass them all."
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Ibn Kathir said,
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"He possessed great courage and leadership,
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but his sword was reckless with oppression,
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and he frequently
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killed lives that Allah had made sacred
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over the slightest suspicion;
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he would become enraged with the fury
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of tyrannical kings."
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Al-Dhahabi said,
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"He was a tyrannical despot,
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a malicious Nasibi,
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a shedder of blood.
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Yet he possessed bravery,
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daring resolve,
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cunning, shrewdness,
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eloquence, articulateness,
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and veneration for the Qur'an.
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I have detailed his terrible
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record in Tarikh
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al-Kabir: his siege
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of Ibn al-Zubayr at the Ka'bah,
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his bombarding it with catapults,
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his humiliation
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of the people of the Two Holy Sanctuaries,
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followed by his governorship over Iraq
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and the entire East for twenty
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years,
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his wars against Ibn al-Ash'ath,
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and his delaying of the prayers
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until Allah finally destroyed him.
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We revile him and do not love him;
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rather, we hate him for the sake of Allah,
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for doing so is
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among the firmest handholds of faith.
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Yet he had good deeds
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submerged in the ocean of his sins,
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and his affair rests with Allah.
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He affirmed basic monotheism (Tawhid)
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on the whole,
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and he has counterparts among tyrannical
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despots and rulers."
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It was narrated from Salih ibn Ahmad
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ibn Hanbal that he said to his father,
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"A man mentions before him
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al-Hajjaj or someone else,
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and curses him." Ahmad replied,
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"I do not like that;
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it would be better if he phrased it saying,
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'May the curse of Allah
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be upon the wrongdoers.'"
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His death:
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Al-Hajjaj passed away on the eve
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of the twenty-seventh of the month of Ramadan—
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and it was also said
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five days before the end
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of Ramadan—
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in the year 95 AH.
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He lived fifty-five years,
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according to the view that
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he was born in the Year of Unity ('Am al-Jama'ah),
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in the year 40 AH.
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When he was on his deathbed,
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he began reciting:
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"O my Lord! My enemies have sworn an oath and strived hard,
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asserting
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that I am a man
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among the dwellers of the Fire!
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Do they swear such an oath
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upon blind ignorance? Woe to them!
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What do they know of the One of abundant
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pardoning and concealing of faults?!"
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When he died,
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no one knew of his death
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until a bondwoman looked down from a rooftop,
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wept, and announced:
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"Lo! Indeed,
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the feeder of the hungry,
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the maker of orphans,
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the widower of women,
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the cleaver of heads,
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and the master of the people of the Levant
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has died!"
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Then she began chanting:
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"Today, those who once hated us will pity us,
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while those who once feared us
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will now feel safe
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from us."
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Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman said,
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"I told Ibrahim
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al-Nakha'i that al-Hajjaj had died,
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and he wept
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out of sheer joy."
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And from Ibn Tawus, on the authority of his father:
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he was informed of the death
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of al-Hajjaj repeatedly,
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and when he verified his death,
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he recited: "So the remnants of the people who did wrong were cut off.
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“So of the people who did wrong the last remnant was cut off. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!” (6:45)
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And praise be to Allah,
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the Lord of the worlds."
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More than one narrator reported
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that when al-Hasan was given the glad tidings
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of the death of al-Hajjaj,
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he fell prostrate in gratitude to Allah
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the Almighty; he had been
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in hiding, so he came out
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and said, "O Allah,
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You have caused him to die, so rid us
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of his oppressive ways."
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From this event, there are several lessons:
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First,
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a person's biography
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constitutes his lasting history after him,
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whether in praise or condemnation;
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whoever lives his life
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righteously will be praised,
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and whoever spends his life
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corruptly will be condemned.
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Second,
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a single person may combine
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commendable traits with vile,
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wicked qualities;
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there is scarcely an evil person who does not have
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some praiseworthy qualities
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alongside his wickedness.
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Third,
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injustice is an enduring stigma of blame and disgrace
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that cannot be erased by
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any of the merits mentioned,
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nor does it fade with the passing of time.
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Fourth,
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a person must maintain good expectations
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of Allah, no matter how numerous
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his sins may be.
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Fifth:
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fairness and detachment from the emotions
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and whims of the self
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are the true standard by which
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we ought to measure people,
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and through which we should pass just judgment.
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Ramadan:
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lessons and reflections.