Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

On the other hand, Marwān would clandestinely deal in an amiable way with the
household of ʿAlī I by fostering family ties with them and according them
gifts. He had also befriended some of them to an extent that he sought amnesty
for them. 1
And when al-Bāqir was asked regarding Marwān and Saʿīd ibn ʿᾹṣ, despite the
former of the two exaggerating in the revilement of ʿAlī I after assuming the
governorship of Madīnah, he said:
كان مروان خيرا لنا في السر وسعيد خير لنا في العالنية
Marwān was better for us in secrecy and Saʿīd was better for us in public. 2
Actually, Marwān has himself explained the reason why he would revile ʿAlī I
in his following words to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn:
ما كان في القوم أحد أدفع عن صاحبنا من صاحبكم يعني عليا عن عثمان
There was no one who defended our man more than your man, referring to
ʿAlī I defending ʿUthmān I.
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn asked him, “Why do you then revile him upon the pulpit?” He
replied:
ل يستقيم المر إل بذلك
The matter will not remain stable but with that. 3
This is diametrically opposed to what Ḥajjāj would do, for it is not known that he
conceded the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt or was considerate of their rights. Rather
1 Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 8/220, 258.
2 Tārīkh Madīnah Dimashq 57/247; al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh 4/15.
3 Tārīkh Madīnah Dimashq 42/438; Tārīkh al-Islām 3/460; Simṭ al-Nujūm al-ʿAwālī 2/533.
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