English Translation of al-Jahshiyari’s Kitab al-Wuzaraʾ wa al-Kuttab: 8: Scribes During the Reign of Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik

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Scribes During the Reign of Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik

Sālim b. Nuʿaym al-Ḥimyarī worked as the scribe of Sulaymān. A letter arrived from Maslamah reporting his entry into Byzantine lands, noting his advances beyond what anyone had accomplished. Sulaymān said to his scribe, "Inscribe on it that this achievement belonged to God, not to Maslamah." Scribes attached to Sulaymān included al-Layth b. Abī Ruqayyah at the Bureau of Correspondence (dīwān al-rasāʾil) and Nuʿaym b. Salāmah at the bureau of the seal.

A man from Palestine, known as Ibn Baṭrīq, served as his scribe. He advised Sulaymān to establish al-Ramlah. This was prompted by that Ibn Baṭrīq asked the residents of Ludd for a plain site in the church [jurisdiction] so that he could build a house. They refused. He threatened to destroy the church [if his demand was denied]. Sulaymān [decided to agree with him and argued for destruction of the Church by] saying, "The Commander of the Faithful, ʿAbd al-Malik, constructed a dome in the Mosque of Jerusalem over this rock, and that was recognized as his work. Al-Walīd built the Mosque of Damascus, and that was also recognized as his. Now, if I build a mosque and a city and people were relocated to that city, [that would not be objectionable]. So he built the city of al-Ramlah and its mosque, and this was the cause of the destruction of Ludd.

When Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik decided to construct the mosque in Ramlah, he sought the pillars of the Church of St. George. The patriarch delayed him, writing to Byzantine lands, and was instructed to lead the Caliph to [obtain the pillars] from a cave near al-Dārūm,[1] because that cave contains the remaining pillars from which the Church was built. So the patriarch led the caliph to the place. Sulaymān extracted the columns and completed the mosque, leaving the Church of St. George intact.

Administration of expenditures, state properties, treasuries, and slaves was managed by the scribe ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr b. al-Ḥārith.

When Sulaymān assumed the caliphate, he dismissed Yazīd b. Abī Muslim, the scribe of al-Ḥajjāj, from Iraq, including his military and fiscal responsibilities, in the year 96 AH. He appointed Yazīd b. al-Muhallab over the military command. He had initially entrusted him with the conduct of war, prayer, and the collection of taxation (kharāj). Yazīd, however, was reluctant to assume responsibility for the taxation, mindful of the devastation left by al-Ḥajjāj in Iraq. He feared that if he were excessively harsh in extracting it, the local population would resent him, and if he were lenient, the revenues collected would fall short of what al-Ḥajjāj had previously secured. Yazīd therefore requested to be excused from the collection of the kharāj, and he advised Sulaymān to appoint Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, the scribe, in his stead. Sulaymān accepted this counsel and implemented it.

Then Sulaymān entrusted Yazīd with the governance of Khurāsān, in addition to Iraq, in the year 98 AH. He advanced toward Jurjān, which was a stronghold. Every governor of Khurāsān had faced resistance there, but Yazīd persisted and pressed the siege, ultimately capturing the city.

Yazīd b. al-Muhallab had al-Mughīrah b. Abī Qurrah, a client (mawlā) of the Suddūs, who served as his scribe. Yazīd wrote to Sulaymān about the capture of Jurjān, to magnify the importance of the victory and the source of divine favor in it, and to indicate the amount of wealth that had come into his possession—what God had bestowed upon the Muslims—after each rightful claimant had received their due from the spoils and fayʾ. The remaining total amounted to six million dirhams.

Al-Mughīrah advised him: “Do not specify the sum; leave it general. Perhaps the Commander of the Faithful, if unaware of the precise amount, will permit you to [use it], if he learns the exact figure, he may find it too much and command it to be sent to him. If he withholds his hands from you concerning it, at least the record of the wealth will remain in the archives. Should a successor assume the office after you, it may be claimed from you, and if someone hostile to you takes office, they will not be satisfied with anything less than multiples of it.

Yazīd refused to follow this counsel, insisting on stating the exact amount, and he finalized the letter accordingly. The report reached Sulaymān at the beginning of the year 99 AH, but he passed away in Ṣafar of that year before he could command disposition of the wealth.

When ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz assumed the caliphate, he dismissed Yazīd b. al-Muhallab from office. Upon his arrival, the caliph inquired of him regarding the funds about which he had informed Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik. Yazīd replied: “You know the close relation and position I held in the sight of Sulaymān. I only reported to him [the amounts] in writing so that the people might hear of it. I knew that he would neither take anything I mentioned from me nor compel me to act against my will [in those funds]. ʿUmar said: “I find nothing in your case but imprisonment. Fear God, and fulfill the trust in handling the funds left by your predecessor, for these are the rights of the Muslims. I cannot leave them unaccounted.” He then ordered Yazīd to be imprisoned. Yazīd remained in confinement until the death of ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, at which point he escaped in the year 101 AH, fearing Yazīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik. Sulaymān, had previously declared that Yazīd b. Abd al-Malik would become caliph after ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. This [fear] led him to go against Yazīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik and not accept his caliphate. Eventually, Yazīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik sent military forces under the command of his brother, Maslamah b. ʿAbd al-Malik, who executed Yazīd and the majority of the al-Muhallab family.

Yazīd b. al-Muhallab held a special position with Sulaymān. He would sit upon his throne. When Sulaymān approached, Yazīd would step aside for him. If Yazīd b. al-Mullab would come, while Sulaymān was on the throne, Yazīd would sit alongside him.

It is related that Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik said to Yazīd b. Abī Muslim: “Do you think your companion [that is, al-Ḥajjāj] has reached the bottom [of Hell], or is he still falling into it?” He replied: “Do not say that, O Commander of the Faithful. He is [the governor] who befriends your friends, and sends fear into your enemy. He has placed himself as a shield for you and his religion as a protection for you.  On the Day of Resurrection, he will have your father’s right hand and your brother’s left hand. Assign him wherever you wish [either in Hell or Paradise].”[2]

Sulaymān appointed a man from among the clients (mawālī) of Muʿāwiyah, named Usāmah b. Zayd, a resident of Damascus and a distinguished scribe, to oversee the kharāj in Egypt. It was reported to him that ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz had reprimanded him and censured him regarding his conduct. Usāmah b. Zayd presented himself before Sulaymān, bringing with him the accumulated revenue, and informed him of what he himself had needed. Then he decided to go back to his duty. However, before leaving, he [decided to see the caliph] and timed his appearance to coincide with ʿUmar’s presence at Sulaymān’s court. When the appointed time for his appearance arrived, he sought permission to enter, and upon reaching the caliph, he said: “O Commander of the Faithful, I have come only after the people have been overburdened and overtaxed. If you see fit to show them leniency, to ease their burdens, and to reduce their taxation to a level compatible with the upkeep of their lands and the welfare of their livelihoods, then do so. Any shortfall may be rectified in the following year.” Sulaymān said o him: “May your mother be bereaved! Draw the milk, and when it ceases, draw the blood and the afterbirth.”

Usāmah b. Zayd then departed and waited [outside for] ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz to leave the council. He mounted and traveled along ʿUmar, saying: “It has reached me, O Abū Ḥafṣ, that you blame and reproach me. Today I have heard what I said to your cousin, and what he replied, and you now understand my justification.” ʿUmar responded: “By God, what I have heard are merely the words of a man, yet they avail you nothing.” When Sulaymān passed away, ʿUmar, at his grave, issued orders removing Usāmah b. Zayd and Yazīd b. Abī Muslim from office. People whispered and criticized, saying: “This is greed. He did not even wait until the man was buried!” When ʿUmar heard of this, he replied: “By God, I feared God Almighty, and I was too conscientious to allow them to judge matters of the people for even an instant while I was entrusted with their affairs.”

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[1] al-Dārūm (also called al-Dārūn): a fortress located beyond Gaza on the route to Egypt. It was destroyed by Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn in 584 AH. (From Muʿjam al-Buldān).

[2] For this reason, Sulaymān imprisoned him, and he remained in confinement during the reigns of Sulaymān and ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. He was subsequently released by Yazīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik and appointed over Ifriqiyah. There, the troops rose against him, and he was killed. (See al-ʿAqd al-Farīd, on the caliphate of Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik).