In the previous sections, we recounted how, in the seventy-fifth year of the Hijra, al-Ḥajjāj entered Kufa, delivered a sudden sermon to its people, threatened them in his address, and how the Kufans were greatly afraid of him. We also described his killing of ʿUmayr b. Dābiʿ and Kumayl b. Ziyād. Afterwards, we narrated in detail his killing of Ibn al-Ashʿath. Subsequently, he turned against the leaders, commanders, ascetics, and scholars who were with him, and finally killed Saʿīd b. Jubayr.
Qāḍī al-Muʿāfa Zakariyyā relates from ʿĀṣim as follows:
After Dayr al-Jamājim, al-Ḥajjāj delivered the following speech to the Iraqis:
O Iraqis! Satan has entered into you, mingled with your flesh and blood—he has penetrated your nerves and ears, in short, all your limbs. Then he settled deep within your ears, your brain, your body and your ruh (the spirit). He found comfort, made his home, laid eggs and hatched offspring. Then he advanced gradually. He implanted hypocrisy and wretchedness within you, placed discord in your minds. You have taken him as a proof to be followed, a commander to be obeyed, a trustworthy person to be consulted and whose command is to be listened to. How does he benefit you in terms of experience? How does his bayān (clear exposition) avail you?
Were you not my companions at Ahwaz? There you plotted and schemed. You agreed upon betrayal. You united in kufr (disbelief). You thought Allah would abandon His religion and caliphate without support. By Allah, I will strike you with the tip of my spear. You will then flee swiftly to other places for refuge and be routed.
What kind of battle was the Battle of Zawiyah? At that time, you were scattered, routed, lost your strength, and fell into mutual discord. Allah did not help you. Your qalb (the heart) was seized by fear, and you turned to retreat. Like frightened camels fleeing their homeland and quarreling among themselves, you fell back. You did not inquire about the state of your brothers; your elders did not care for their children. At that time, weapons bit you, and spears pierced you.
What kind of battle was the Battle of Dayr al-Jamājim? In that battle, you fought the enemy, acts of heroism were seen. Heads were severed from bodies, and friends forgot their friends.
O Iraqis! O you who became kuffār (disbelievers) after wickedness! O you who betrayed after abandoning aid to your friend, who turned against each other! When we send you to guard the borders, you betray and return. You do not fulfill the tasks assigned to you; when you are secure, you cause turmoil. When you are afraid, you act as hypocrites. You do not remember blessings, nor do you show shukr (gratitude) for good. If someone who breaks a covenant wishes you to lose your dignity, if a rebel seeks your help, if a deviant asks you for deviation, if an oppressor seeks your support, if someone who has gone astray asks for your backing, you always respond to his call and rush to his aid. Whether you like it or not, all of you, mounted or on foot, hasten to him.
O Iraqis! If someone calls or shouts, you always obey and assist him. O Iraqis! Have admonitions not benefited you? Have events not deterred you? Has Allah not intensified His pressure upon you? Has He not made you taste the heat of His sword? Has He not made you feel the pains of His punishment and torment?"
After this, al-Ḥajjāj turned to the Syrians and said: "O Syrians! I am for you like a male ostrich. I am a horned bull; I protect my offspring from filth. I keep stones away from my young, shelter them from rain. I defend them from lizards and protect them from black flies. O Syrians! You are my shield and cloak, my tunic and skin; you are friends and helpers. You are the hairs of my body and my confidants. Through you, honor is preserved; with you, enemy armies are attacked. Those who are stubborn and turn away are routed thanks to you."
Ibn Abī al-Dunyā relates from ʿUbaydullāh b. Muḥammad al-Tamīmī:
"I heard an old man of Quraysh, known by the kunya Abū Bakr al-Taymī, say: I heard al-Ḥajjāj, a man of eloquence and rhetoric, say in a sermon: Truly, Allah, the Exalted, created the prophet Adam and his progeny from the earth. He made them walk upon the surface of the earth. They ate its produce, drank from its rivers, and traversed its plains and stony grounds. Then Allah sent them underground. The earth consumed their flesh, just as they had consumed its produce. Just as they drank from the rivers of the earth, the earth drank their blood. Just as they traversed the earth by walking across its plains and stony grounds, the earth tore them apart in the grave and separated their joints from one another."
According to several narrators, al-Ḥajjāj, in a sermon of admonition, said to the people: "I will tell you about a man whom you should all strive to be like. A man who silenced and subdued his nafs (the lower self), put a rein on it and brought it under his control. He directed it to obedience to Allah. Again, with the rein he placed upon his nafs, he prevented it from disobeying Allah.
May Allah have mercy on the man who rejected his own nafs.
May Allah have mercy on the man who blamed his own nafs.
May Allah have mercy on the man who made his own nafs his enemy.
May Allah have mercy on the man who called his nafs to account before being called to account by others.
May Allah have mercy on the man who looked at his own scale of deeds.
May Allah have mercy on the man who examined his own reckoning.
May Allah have mercy on the man who weighed his own deeds.
May Allah have mercy on the man who reflected on what he will read in his book of deeds on the Day of Resurrection, who pondered what he will see on his scale. His qalb prevented him from evil, and his thoughts and concerns governed him.
May Allah have mercy on the man who held the reins of his deeds as he holds the reins of his own camel. If his deeds led him to obedience to Allah, he followed them; if his deeds led him to disobedience, he refrained.
May Allah have mercy on the man who took his command from Allah.
May Allah have mercy on the man who rose and desired to rise higher.
He became angry at sins, enraged at hypocrisy. He desired what is with Allah....."
Al-Ḥajjāj kept repeating: "May Allah have mercy on the man who...." Until Mālik b. Dīnār began to weep." Al-Madāʾinī relates from al-Shaʿbī:
"I heard such a speech from al-Ḥajjāj that I had never heard from anyone before. In his speech, he said: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, has decreed mortality for this world and eternity for the Hereafter. It is not possible for a realm decreed to be eternal to be mortal, nor for a realm decreed to be mortal to be eternal. Let not the visible world deceive you and cause you to forget the unseen Hereafter. Crush your long hopes with short lifespans."
Al-Madāʾinī relates from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī:
"A word I heard from al-Ḥajjāj while sitting on these branches struck me deeply. He said: 'If an hour of a man's life is wasted on something other than his purpose of creation, he will suffer a long regret until the Day of Resurrection.'"
Shurayk al-Qāḍī relates from ʿAbd al-Malik b. ʿUmayr that one day al-Ḥajjāj said:
- We help the afflicted according to the extent of their affliction. A man stood up and said:
- Grant me something, for I killed Ḥusayn.
- How did you kill him?
- I speared him, then hacked him with a sword. No one else participated with me in this act.
- Go. By Allah, you and Ḥusayn will never be gathered in the same place.
He said this and gave the man nothing." Al-Haytham b. ʿAdī relates: "A man came to al-Ḥajjāj and said:
- My brother joined the uprising and fought with Ibn al-Ashʿath, and registered his name in the payroll, but you cut off my salary and destroyed my house.
- Have you not heard the poet's words?
'Be kind to those who wrong you, for disease spreads from the resting place of mangy camels to healthy ones.
Many a person is questioned for the sins and crimes of his relatives, while the criminal himself is spared.'
- O commander! I have heard Allah, the Exalted, say otherwise. His word is truer than yours and the poet's.
- What has Allah, the Exalted, said?
- He said: 'They said, "O Aziz, he has a father who is old and great in age, so take one of us in his place. Indeed, we see you as one who does good." He said, "Allah forbid that we take except him with whom we found our possession. Indeed, we would then be wrongdoers."' (Yūsuf 12:78-79)
- O slave, re-register this man's name in the payroll, rebuild his house, and pay his salary. Also, order a crier to announce: 'Allah spoke the truth, the poet lied.'
Al-Haytham b. ʿAdī relates from Ibn ʿAbbās: "ʿAbd al-Malik wrote to al-Ḥajjāj, ordering him to behead Aslam b. ʿAbd al-Bakrī and send him the head, because Aslam had spoken against him. Upon receiving the letter, al-Ḥajjāj summoned Aslam. Aslam said to him:
- O commander, you are here, but the Commander of the Faithful is not. Allah, the Exalted, says in a noble verse: 'O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.' (al-Ḥujurāt 49:6) What ʿAbd al-Malik heard about me is baseless; I support twenty-four women, and none but me provides for them. They are all standing at the door.
Al-Ḥajjāj ordered the women to be brought in. When they entered, one said, 'I am Aslam's aunt,' another, 'I am his maternal aunt,' another, 'I am his sister,' another, 'I am his wife,' and another, 'I am his daughter.' A girl between eight and ten years old approached al-Ḥajjāj, who asked her:
- Who are you?
- I am Aslam's daughter. May Allah rectify the commander.
After saying this, the girl knelt and recited a poem:
'O Ḥajjāj! Have you not heard the mourning for him that lasts all night,
And the cries of his daughters and aunts?
O Ḥajjāj! If you kill him,
Eight women, ten women, two and four women will not accept it.
O Ḥajjāj! Tell me, who will take his place?
Be gentle and do not shake us further.
O Ḥajjāj! Either be generous and grant us a favor,
Or kill us all at once.'
Al-Ḥajjāj wept and said: 'By Allah, I will not harm your situation nor shake you further. I will not assist the caliph against you.' He then wrote to ʿAbd al-Malik, informing him of what Aslam and his daughter had said. ʿAbd al-Malik then wrote to al-Ḥajjāj, ordering him to release Aslam, treat him well, show kindness to his daughter, and inquire about her condition at all times."
According to one narration, al-Ḥajjāj once addressed the people, saying:
'O people! Do not commit what Allah has forbidden. To be patient is easier than to endure Allah's punishment.' Upon this, a man stood up and replied:
- Woe to you, O Ḥajjāj! How shameless and brazen you are! You do what you do, and then make such a speech! Your effort is in vain.'
Upon this, al-Ḥajjāj ordered his guards to seize the man and hold him aside. After completing his speech, he summoned the man and said:
- What made you so bold against me?
- Woe to you, O Ḥajjāj! You are bold against Allah, and should I not be bold against you? Who are you to be audacious toward Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and I should not be audacious toward you?'
Upon this answer, al-Ḥajjāj ordered his guards: 'Release him.' The man was set free.
Al-Madāʾinī said: Two men from the followers of Ibn al-Ashʿath were brought as captives before al-Ḥajjāj. When he ordered both to be executed, one said to him:
- I have done you a favor.
- What is that favor?
- One day, Ibn al-Ashʿath spoke ill of your mother, and I opposed him and gave him the necessary response.
- Who can testify to this?
- This companion of mine.
When al-Ḥajjāj asked the other, he confirmed his friend's words, saying, 'Yes.' Al-Ḥajjāj then asked him:
- Why did you not do as your friend did?
- Because I was angry with you. Thereupon, al-Ḥajjāj ordered his guards: 'Release this one for speaking the truth, and the other for acting kindly toward me.' Both were released.
Muḥammad b. Ziyād relates: A man named Jahdar b. Mālik from the Banū Ḥanīfa tribe, a highwayman and murderer, was in Yamāma. Al-Ḥajjāj rebuked and reprimanded the governor of Yamāma for not capturing Jahdar. The governor searched for him, eventually caught him, and sent him to al-Ḥajjāj.
When Jahdar was brought before him, al-Ḥajjāj asked:
- What drove you to these acts?
- The courage of my heart, the oppression of the ruler, and the hardship of the times drove me to this. If the commander tests me, he will find me among his best helpers, a skilled horseman, a brave fighter, and a humble subject. Whichever warrior or horseman I have faced, I have always found myself stronger and able to defeat him.
- We will throw you into a pond with a raging lion. If the lion kills you, we are rid of feeding you; if you kill the lion, you will be set free.
He then had Jahdar chained by his right hand to his neck and thrown into prison. He wrote to his governor in Kaskar, ordering him to send a fierce lion.
While Jahdar was in prison, his wife, Sulayma Umm ʿAmr, recited poems expressing her grief. In one of her poems, she said:
'Will not the night bring me and Umm ʿAmr together? If it does, we will draw near to each other.
Yes, just as we see the crescent, so will you. When it rises for me by day, it rises for him too.
When you pass beyond the date groves of Najd and the valleys of Yamāma, bring news of my death. And say: Jahdar was captured yesterday. He was wary of the blows of Yemen's sharp swords.'
When the lion sent from Kaskar arrived, al-Ḥajjāj ordered it to be starved for three days. After three days, he brought it out into the garden. Jahdar, with his right hand chained to his neck, was also brought out. A sword was placed in his left hand, and he was set against the lion. Al-Ḥajjāj and his companions sat and watched. Jahdar advanced toward the lion, reciting a poem:
'Two lions in a narrow space, both noble and combative, deadly and fierce in spirit.
If Allah lifts the veil of doubt, He is more worthy to leave this place.'
The lion looked at Jahdar, roared fiercely, and stretched. It advanced toward him. When it was a spear's length away, it leapt at Jahdar, who struck it with his sword, stabbing its throat. The lion fell to the ground like a tent toppled by a storm, collapsing from the force of the blow. Jahdar also fell from the lion's fierce attack and the effect of the chains. Al-Ḥajjāj and his companions exclaimed 'Allāhu akbar.' Jahdar turned to them and recited another poem:
'O camel! If you see that on a dark, dusty, stormy day I am in distress, advancing against a lion while chained, trying to drive it out of the garden,
Know that its claws are hard and rough, its teeth like sharp picks or shards of glass.
It looks at a man with two eyes that seem to shine with the light of lamps.
It is as if it wears a bright cloak, or is dressed in a piece of silk.
Then you will know that I am a man of honor who protects his dignity.
I am descended from a tribe of fortress-holders.'
After this, al-Ḥajjāj set Jahdar free, telling him he could go if he wished or stay if he wished. Jahdar chose to stay with al-Ḥajjāj, who bestowed upon him fine gifts and abundant wealth.
One day, al-Ḥajjāj denied that Ḥusayn was a descendant of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), arguing that he was only his daughter's son. Yaḥyā b. Yaʿmur said to him: 'You are lying.' Al-Ḥajjāj replied: 'Either you bring proof from Allah's Book for what you say, or I will strike off your neck.'
Yaḥyā replied:
- Allah, the Exalted, says: 'And We gave him Isaac and Jacob—each of them We guided. And Noah We guided before; and among his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the doers of good. And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias—and all were of the righteous. And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot—and all We preferred over the worlds.' (al-Anʿām 6:84-86) In this noble verse, the Prophet Jesus, mentioned among the descendants of Abraham, is referred to only by his mother Mary. Likewise, Ḥusayn is the grandson of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) through his daughter.
Al-Ḥajjāj said to him: 'You have spoken the truth,' and exiled him to Khurasan.
Although al-Ḥajjāj was a man of eloquence and rhetoric, he would sometimes recite some Qur'anic verses incorrectly, which Yaḥyā b. Yaʿmur would correct. For example, he would sometimes pronounce the kasra "inna" as the fatḥa "anna," and vice versa.
He would also recite the word "aḥabba" in this noble verse as "aḥabbū."
Al-Aṣmaʿī and others said: ʿAbd al-Malik wrote a letter to al-Ḥajjāj, asking about yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Al-Ḥajjāj asked the messenger: 'Was Huwaylid b. Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya present with ʿAbd al-Malik?' The messenger replied, 'Yes.' Al-Ḥajjāj then wrote this reply to ʿAbd al-Malik: 'Yesterday is death, today is action, and tomorrow is hope.'
Ibn Durayd relates from Abū ʿUbayda Maʿmar b. al-Muthannā:
'When al-Ḥajjāj killed Ibn al-Ashʿath, he faced no more problems in Iraq and found comfort. After this, he gave out abundant gifts to the people. Upon this, the caliph ʿAbd al-Malik sent him a letter: "I have heard that you give in one day what the Commander of the Faithful does not give in a week, and spend in a week what he does not spend in a month.
In all your affairs, fear Allah, O servant of Allah! Be humble and fearful before Allah. Increase the tribute and spoils for the Muslims.
Be for them a refuge and a fortress."
Al-Ḥajjāj replied to him:
'By my life, the messenger brought your letters; they are written papers, then folded and sealed.
I received a letter whose content is both gentle and harsh.
I was admonished. Admonition benefits the intelligent.
So many things have happened to me that sometimes I gave little from much, and sometimes I found a reason to give nothing.
If I am a whip of punishment over the people,
There remains no benefit to be hoped for from me.
Are people pleased with this, or are they angry?
Or am I praised among them for this, or blamed and despised?
When I first came to these lands, as you know, the fires of enmity were blazing.
As you know, I have suffered much here. I kept struggling.
Now, I am grappling with death itself.
As you have heard, this state has gone through many upheavals.
If someone other than me had been the ruler here, he would have flown away in fear.
When I met one of their forbidders, I faced him openly, never veiling myself.
If the army of these people had not protected me, the wolves and hyenas would have devoured my limbs.' ʿAbd al-Malik then replied to al-Ḥajjāj: 'Act as you know best.'
Al-Thawrī relates from Muḥammad b. Mustawrid al-Jumaḥī:
'A thief was brought before al-Ḥajjāj. He said to him:
- You were rich enough not to steal, and had enough not to appear before a judge. Now you are here, and one of your limbs will be lost.
- When benefactors become few, a man becomes generous in destroying himself.
- You have spoken the truth. By Allah, if making a good excuse could avert the legal penalty, I would do so. But, O boy, the sword is sharp, and the one who wields it is skillful.' He then cut off the thief's hand."
Abū Bakr b. Mujāhid relates from al-Farrāʾ: "One day, al-Ḥajjāj ate lunch with al-Walīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik. After the meal, al-Walīd invited him to drink nabīdh, but al-Ḥajjāj replied: 'O Commander of the Faithful, what is lawful is what you declare lawful. But I have forbidden the Iraqis and those under my authority from drinking nabīdh. I do not wish to contradict the words of the righteous servant: "I do not wish to differ from you in what I have forbidden you."' (Hūd 11:88)"
ʿUmar b. Shabba relates from his teachers: "ʿAbd al-Malik wrote to al-Ḥajjāj, reproaching him for extravagance and excessive spending, as well as for excessive bloodshed, and said: 'Wealth belongs to Allah. We are only its treasurers. To withhold what is due or to give what is not due is the same.' At the end of the letter, he wrote these verses: 'If you do not cease from what I dislike, and if you seek my approval by contending with me in what I pursue,
You will not fear what someone like you should fear, and if you milk the milk and waste it,
If you see in me the heedlessness and distraction peculiar to the Quraysh, Often a man chokes even while drinking water, unable to swallow. If you see in me the sudden leap and attack peculiar to the Umayyads, Know that I am the author of all these and similar actions. Be wary of any harm that may come to you from me. If one day something comes to you from me, be cautious, lest the mourners weep over you.'
When al-Ḥajjāj read this letter, he replied to ʿAbd al-Malik:
'I have received the Commander of the Faithful's letter. In it, he writes that I have squandered wealth and lives. By Allah, I have not been excessive in punishing the rebellious, nor have I failed to give the obedient their due. If this is extravagance, let the Commander of the Faithful punish me and subject me to a penalty from which I cannot escape.' At the end of his letter, he wrote these verses:
'If I do not seek your approval and do not fear your harm,
May the stars not disappear on this day of mine.
If al-Ḥajjāj has wronged you,
Let his mourners weep for him in the morning.
I make peace with those with whom you make peace.
I fight those with whom you do not make peace.
If I do not show affection to the one who shows me kindness for admonition, and do not overcome the one who sets his scorpions upon me,
In my view, whoever fears me today and hopes for my tomorrow,
The strangeness of the times is beyond counting.'
It is related from al-Shāfiʿī that al-Walīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik ordered Ghāz b. Rabīʿa to secretly ask al-Ḥajjāj: 'What do you feel about what you have attained in this world?'
When Ghāz b. Rabīʿa asked al-Ḥajjāj this, he replied: 'By Allah, even if I had two ingots or a heap of gold and spent them in the way of Allah, they would not replace the obedience with which Allah has tested me.'
Allah, the Exalted, knows best the truth.