AFFAIRS OF EGYPT AND OF THE EGYPTIANS IN THE DAYS OF THE KHALIFATE OF A’LI THE COMMANDER OF THE FAITHFUL—P. B. O. H.—AND ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS OF THAT TIME.

There is a tradition that Muhammad B. Abu Khodhyfah B. O’tbah B. Rabya’h had been spending all his time in ascetic and religious exercises. After his father Abu Khod­hyfah had attained martyrdom in the battle of Yamâmah, Muhammad hastened to wait on O’thmân—may Allah be pleased with him—and having attracted the consideration of Dhu-n-nûryn,* he obtained influence and dignity at the residence of the Khalifate. After some time he requested O’thmân to bestow an appointment on him, whereon he sent him to Egypt. At that time, however, also Muhammad B. Abu Bakr had by order of the Khalifah of the period departed to that country. Both these men, although they openly pretended to be on good terms with A’bdullah B. Sa’d B. Abu Sarj, who was governor of the province of Egypt on behalf of O’thmân, were entirely devoted secretly to A’li the Commander of the Faithful. When the inhabitants of Egypt had witnessed the great piety, valour, and liberality of Muhammad B. Abu Khodhyfah, they enter­tained great respect for him, and he was thereby emboldened to reprove the behaviour of A’bdullah in public assemblies, saying: ‘I do not know why O’thmân has appointed a tyrant like this to govern the Musalmâns.’ When A’bdullah perceived that the utterances of Muhammad B. Abu Khod­hyfah were likely to excite disloyalty towards the Khalifah, he sent a letter to Madinah to complain of this state of affairs, whereon O’thmân [instead of blaming] sought to reconcile Muhammad by sending him a costly robe, and ordering thirty thousand dirhems to be paid to him from the land-tax of Egypt. Having received this sum, he went to the cathedral mosque where he had assembled the Egyptians, and said: ‘My enemies have written something against me to O’thmân, but with the result that he has presented me with thirty thousand dirhems and with this robe, which is worth a thousand dirhems, as you may see, in order to bribe me.’ The Egyptians, having obtained this information, lengthened their tongues of reproof against O’thmân, withdrew their hands from the skirt of loyalty to him, became partisans of Muhammad B. Abu Khodhyfah, and openly proclaimed their enmity against O’thmân. When Dhu-n-nûryn was apprised of what had taken place, he sent him the following reproachful letter: ‘I have cherished thee a long time, and, expecting due regard from thee, have sown the seeds of affection into thy heart; but I now perceive that it has borne quite different fruit than that which I expected, and I do not know what the reason for thy opposition and thy restraining the people from loyalty to me may be.’ This letter arrived in Egypt, but produced no effect.

When A’bdullah B. Sa’d had, at the time of the rebellion and the besieging of O’thmân the Amir of the Faithful, departed from Egypt to Madinah for the purpose of aiding and supporting him, the supreme authority in Egypt devolved upon Muhammad B. Abu Khodhyfah. After O’thmân had attained martyrdom, and A’li the Commander of the true believers had become established on the couch of the Khalifate, he appointed Qays B. Sa’d B. A’bâdah, who was one of the Arab ascetics and intelligent men of the period, to the governorship of Egypt, as has been jotted down above by the reed of explanation. Qays obeyed orders, departed to Egypt, and when he arrived there invited the inhabitants, in pleasing language and with heart-ravishing eloquence, to pay homage to his holy lordship the Amir of the Faithful. The people of Egypt adopted his advice, and accordingly preferred to walk on the straight road. Some inhabitants, however, of the surrounding dis­tricts, whose hearts were replete with affection for O’thmân, refused to do so, saying: ‘We shall pay the land-tax, but keep our homage in abeyance until A’li has killed the murderers of O’thmân.’ As this party was bold and strong, Qays deemed it prudent, for the time being, to accept what they had promised, and not to oppose them.

It is on record that before the arrival of Qays B. Sa’d in Egypt, Moa’wiah B. Abu Sofiân had despatched A’mru B. A´ass with some men to that province, with instructions to get hold of the then governor by some stratagem. When A’mru B. A´ass had arrived near Egypt, he sent a courier with the following message to Muhammad B. Abu Khodhyfah: ‘I have repented of paying homage to Moa’wiah, and A’li being superior to him in every respect for elevating the banners of Islâm and destroying unbelievers and tyrants, as is evident to everyone, I have turned away from Moa’wiah, and come here to make a covenant and agreement with thee, so that we may aid and support A’li according to our best ability as long as a spark of life remains in our bodies, and discharge our duties towards the Khalifate in partnership with thee. The upshot of these preliminary remarks is, that we ought to have an interview in a suitable place, so that we may tell to each other what we have to say.’ Muhammad B. Khodhyfah, deceived by these words, fell into the trap, left the city, and met A’mru B. A´ass in an arbour, where both engaged in conversation till the men who had been placed in ambush rushed from every side into the arbour, took hold of Muhammad, fettered him, and conveyed him to Syria under the leadership of A’mru B. A´ass, where Moa’wiah cast him into prison. A few days afterwards the spouse of Moa’wiah, who was the daughter of Muhammad’s uncle, concealed a file in the victuals which she sent to Muhammad, so that he filed off the bonds from his legs and escaped. In his flight he took refuge in a cave, where he was, however, discovered by A’bdullah B. A’mru Khusha’my, whom Moa’wiah had sent in pursuit of him, and caught. As, however, A’bdullah apprehended that, being a close relative of Moa’wiah, the latter would spare his life, he therefore killed him himself on that very spot, and returned to Damascus.

When his sacred lordship the Amir of the Faithful had vanquished the army of Bossrah, and Qays B. Sa’d had become confirmed as Governor of Egypt, Moa’wiah was much dismayed and grieved, because he apprehended that if A’li the Commander of the true believers were to march from the Arabian E’râq, and Qays B. Sa’d—who had during the lifetime of the prince of existences—u. w. bl.—been a commandant of the Anssâr, and was distinguished by valour as well as intelligence—from Egypt to Syria, his authority would be imperilled; he therefore grasped with his hand the skirt of cunning and stratagem, and desired to induce Qays B. Sa’d, by fair promises and sweet words, to side with him in his opposition to the rightful Khalifah; but it did not occur to his mind that—

The cavalier of the world, the son of Destân-Sâm,
Will not in sport put his head into the snare.*

The statement just made is confirmed also by the following letter which he despatched to Qays: ‘It is evident to the denizens of the world that the Lord O’thmân, whose exploits and laudable acts the calculator of imagination is unable to enumerate, has been killed by the sword of tyranny, and in this matter the Lord A’li took his full share. It is hoped that thou, who hast among others also been a partner in this crime, wilt repent and turn back to God, and wilt, according to thy power and best ability, aid and support me. If thou agreest with me and helpest me, the govern­ment of the Arabian and of the Persian E’râq will devolve upon thee as soon as we have attained our object and unveiled the countenance of our aspirations; but even before that time arrives I shall grant thee all thy desires and respond to all thy wishes.’ When Qays had become acquainted with the contents of this letter, he wrote in reply: ‘He who knows what is invisible and visible is aware that I have in no way agreed with the opponents of O’thmân, and that I have not assented to the murder of his lordship; neither do I know whether A’li the Com­mander of the Faithful has instigated anyone to kill him. I keep my adherence to thee in abeyance; be, however, aware for a certainty that I shall never do anything which displeases thee.’ When Moa’wiah had concluded from the perusal of this letter that Qays meant to impose upon him, he sent the following reply: ‘Imposture and fraud will make no impression upon me. Be either my friend or my foe.’ Afterwards Qays revealed his mind by despatching to him this message: ‘I am astonished that thou advisest me to oppose a man who is more worthy than others, and has a greater right to the Khalifate and government, and is nearest to the apostle of Allah in character and relationship. Thou invitest me to obey one who is noted for qualities contrary to these. I shall by no means rebel against so blessed an individual, to become a partisan of Satan and to enrol myself in the army of Eblis.’* When Moa’wiah had despaired of enrolling Qays in his own interest, he resorted to a new stratagem, so that he effected his removal from the governorship of Egypt by the command of A’li the Amir of the Faithful. The details of this affair are: That after Moa’wiah had been disappointed in his efforts to bring over the Governor of Egypt to his own side, he often vented the following sentiments in public assemblies: ‘Although Qays B. Sa’d outwardly pretends to be loyal to A’li, he gives me advice and makes professions of sincerity to me in every letter he sends me; and my allegation [that he only pretends to be loyal] is confirmed by the fact that he culti­vates the friendship of, and associates with, such men as Yazid B. Hâreth, and Muslim B. Muhammad, and Bashir B. Artlah, and others of the people of Egypt, who have delayed to pay allegiance to A’li; and here is a letter which he has written to me: “The first man to fight against thy opponents and for thee will be myself.”’—He uttered many sentiments of this kind, and when the relations of Qays with the hypocrites and opponents were brought to the notice of the Commander of the Faithful, who entertained suspicions of the Governor of Egypt, he stated them to Muhammad B. Abu Bakr and to A’bdullah B. Ja’fer, asking them for their opinion. They replied: ‘If the Amir of the true believers has lost confidence in Qays, let him draw the line of removal over the page of his duties, and, removing him from his post, appoint another man to be Governor of Egypt. Thou must, however, first prove and try him by ordering him to attack those people upon the river banks of whose minds the trees of affection for O’thmân have been flourishing so that up to this time they have not paid allegiance to thee. If he cheerfully does his best to obey thy command, all will be well; but in the contrary case another governor must supersede him, to free thy noble mind from apprehensions.’ A’li the Amir of the Faithful approved of this suggestion, and wrote the following letter to Qays: ‘It is rumoured that the people of such and such a locality have up to this time not yet stretched forth the hand of allegiance, and have not yet placed the foot of obedience into the circle of loyalty to me. Thou art to invite them to pay homage to me: if they do so, all will be well; but if not, thou must attack them.’ When Qays received this letter, and had understood its contents, he wrote in reply: ‘The people whom the Amir of the Faithful commands me to attack are bold and powerful; they have many friends and adherents in the province of Egypt. If I engage in waging war against them and extirpating them, I shall be so occupied as to be unable to attend to any other business. At present circumstances require that I leave the opponents as they are, and have nothing to do with them.’ When A’li the Commander of the Faithful had become acquainted with the contents of this letter, his suspicions about Qays increased, so that he consulted Muhammad B. Abu Bakr and A’bdullah B. Ja’fer Ttayyâr, and removed him from the governorship of Egypt, appoint­ing thereto Muhammad B. Abu Bakr, who was the maternal brother of A’bdullah B. Ja’fer Ttayyâr. Then Qays returned in dismay and sorrow to Madinah, on which occasion Hasân B. Thâbet, who was somewhat ill-disposed towards A’li B. Abu Ttâleb, said to Qays: ‘Thou, being an accomplice in the murder of O’thmân, hast been removed from thy post by A’li, but that great crime remains on thy neck.’ Qays replied: ‘O thou whose heart and whose eyes are blind, be off from my assembly; and I swear by God that if I appre­hended no hostilities between my people and thy tribe, I would deliver thy body from the load of thy head!’ Merwân B. Hukum having likewise uttered words of the same pur­port to Qays, the latter waited in spite of them on A’li the Commander of the Faithful, and departed to Ssafyn. When Moa’wiah had been apprised of this act, he sent the follow­ing message to Merwân: ‘If thou hadst sent a hundred thousand lion-killing men to aid A’li, I would have felt it less than thy sending Qays B. Sa’d to him.’

Muhammad B. Abu Bakr having arrived in Egypt, read out the letters patent appointing him governor to the nobles and magnates of Egypt, took his position on the masnad of the administration, and sent a courier with the following message to the partisans of O’thmân: ‘Select one of two things, and either pay homage to A’li the Com­mander of the Faithful or emigrate from this province.’ They replied: ‘We must be given some respite that we may see what turn affairs will take.’—According to one tradition, Muhammad B. Abu Bakr was displeased with this answer, and despatched one of the Amirs with troops to attack those people, who, having drawn their hands out from the sleeve of bravery, vanquished these forces. Muhammad B. Abu Bakr then again sent troops, who were likewise defeated; whereon he sent a letter to A’li the Commander of the Faithful, to inform him of the state of affairs. When his lordship had ascertained that there was no other remedy except conciliation, he sent a message to Muhammad B. Abu Bakr, not to attack those people until the proper opportunity arrived, when they could be sup­pressed. After A’li the Commander of the true believers had become acquainted with the affairs of Egypt, and with the trick played by Moa’wiah to remove Qays therefrom, the latter rose in his esteem, and he repented of having sent Muhammad B. Abu Bakr to that province. When the people of Syria had resolved to adhere to Moa’wiah [and to support his claim to the Khalifate], he despatched an army to Egypt, and they killed Muhammad B. Abu Bakr, as will be narrated in these pages if it pleaseth Allah —who be exalted.