وَقَالَ (عليه السلام):
Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said:
مَا زَالَ الزُّبَيْرُ رَجُلاً مِنَّا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ حَتَّى نَشَأَ ابْنُهُ الْمَشْؤُومُ عَبْدُ اللهِ.
Az-Zubayr remained a man from our house till his wretched son ‘Abdullah came forth. 94
94. ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam (1/622-73/692), whose mother was Asma’, sister of ‘A’ishah (daughter of Abu Bakr), had grown in his dislike of the Banu Hashim especially towards Amir al-mu’minin to such a stage that he was able to change the opinion of his father, az-Zubayr, against Amir al-mu’minin although the latter was the son of his father’s aunt. That is why Amir al-mu’minin said: az-Zubayr had always been from us the Ahlul Bayt (our household), until his ill-owned son ‘Abdullah grew up. (al-Isti‘ab, vol.3, p.906; Usd al-ghabah, vol.3, pp.162-163; Ibn ‘Asakir, vol.7, p.363; Ibn Abi’1-Hadid, vol.2, p.167; vol.4, p.79; vol.20, p.104) ‘Abdullah was one of the instigators of the battle of Jamal. His aunt ‘A’ishah, his father, az-Zubayr, and the son of his mother’s uncle Talhah, had fought against Amir al-mu’minin. Thus, Ibn Abi’1-Hadid writes : It was ‘Abdullah who urged az-Zubayr to fight (in the battle of Jamal), and made the march to Basrah seem attractive to ‘A’ishah. (Sharh Nahjul Balaghah al-balaghah, vol.4 p.79) ‘A’ishah loved her nephew ‘Abdullah very much. To her he was like the only child of a mother, and none in those days was more beloved to her than him. (al-Aghani, Abu’l-Faraj, vol.9, p.142, Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, vol.20, p.120; Ibn Kathir, vol.8, p.336). Hisham ibn ‘Urwah relates : I have not heard her (‘A’ishah) praying for anyone as she used to pray for him (‘Abdullah). She gave ten thousand Dirhams (as a gift) to the one who informed her of ‘Abdullah’s safety from getting killed (by al-Ashtar in the fight of the battle of Jamal), and prostrated to Allah in thanks-giving for his safety. (Ibn ‘Asakir, vol.7, adid, vol.20, p.111)pp.400,402; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid. This was the reason of ‘Abdullah’s authority over her and his complete command over her affairs. He was the one who directed and guided her in the direction he wished. However, ‘Abdullah’s hatred against the Banu Hashim had reach such a stage that according to the narrations of a group of historians : During his (‘Abdullah’s) Caliphate (in Mecca) he did not send blessings on the Holy Prophet in his Friday prayer speech (khutbah) for forty Fridays. He used to say: ‘‘Nothing prevents me from mentioning the Prophet’s name except that there are a certain men (i.e. Banu Hashim) who become proud (when his name is mentioned). In another interpretation : Nothing prevents . . . except that the Prophet has a bad household who will shake their heads on the mention of his name (Maqatil at-talibiyyin, p.474; Muruj adh-dhahab, vol.3, p.79;at-Tarikh, al-Ya‘qubi, vol.2, p.261; al-‘Iqd al-farid, vol.4, p.413; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, vol.4, p.62; vol.19, pp.91-92; vol.20, pp.127-129)‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said to ‘Abdullah ibn al-‘Abbas: I have been concealing my hatred toward you, the people of this house (i.e. the Household of the Prophet) for the last forty years. (al-Mas‘udi, vol.3, p.80; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, vol.4, p.62; vol.20, p.148) He also used to hate Amir al-mu’minin in particular, defame his honour, abuse and curse him. (al-Ya‘qubi, vol.2, pp.261—262; al-Mas‘udi, vol.3, p.80: Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, vol.4, pp.61, 62—63, 79) He gathered Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (the son of Amir al-mu’minin) and ‘Abdullah ibn al-‘Abbas with seventeen men from the Banu Hashim including al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and imprisoned them in the shi‘b (a small mountain valley) of ‘Arim. He intended to burn them with fire, so he placed plenty of wood at the entrance of the shi‘b. Meanwhile, al-Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd ath-Thaqafi dispatched four thousand soldiers to Mecca. On their arrival, they attacked ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr unexpectedly and rescued the Banu Hashim. ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr made an excuse for his brother’s (‘Abdullah) deed saying that this action of his brother’s was a result of the Banu Hashim’s refusal to swear allegiance to him (‘Abdullah), like the action of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab towards the Banu Hashim when they gathered in the house of Fatimah and refused to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr. So, ‘Umar brought wood and intended to burn the house on them. (Maqatil at-talibiyyin, p.474; al-Mas‘udi, vol.3, pp.76—77: al-Ya‘qubi, vol.2, p.261; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, vol.19, p.91; vol.20, pp.123—126,146—148; Ibn ‘Asakir, vol.7, p.408; al-‘Iqd al-farid, vol.4, p.413; Ibn Sa‘d, vol.5, pp.73—81; at-Tabari, vol.2, pp.693—695; Ibn al-Athir, vol.4, pp.249—254; Ibn Khaldun, vol.3, pp.26—28) In this connection, Abu’l-Faraj al-Isfahani writes:‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr always instigated others against the Banu Hashim and pursued them (in his aim) by every worst method; he inspired against them and spoke against them on the pulpits; and remonstrated against them. Sometime Ibn ‘Abbas or someone else from them (Banu Hashim) raised an objection against him. But afterwards, he changed his way and imprisoned Ibn al-Hanafiyyah in a prison at the shi‘b ‘Arim. Then, he gathered Ibn al-Hanafiyyah along with other members of the Banu Hashim who were present (in Mecca) in a prison and collected wood to set fire to it. This was because of the news that had reached him that Abu ‘Abdillah al-Jadali and other followers of Ibn al-Hanafiyyah had arrived (in Mecca) to support Ibn al-Hanafiyyah and fight ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr. Therefore, he hastened to do away with the prisoners. But when this news reached Abu ‘Abdillah al-Jadali, he came there at the time when the fire was already set on them, then he put out the fire and rescued them. (al-Aghani, p.15) So, all these prove the word of Amir al-mu’minin about him.
