The Sharīf and the incidents caused by his use of drums

Theʿirāqī sharīf Abū Ghurra is reported here to have caused incidents because of his love for drums and the freer use of them made in al-ʿIrāq and other countries compared to India.

فلما عَلِمَ بذلك أعمل السفر مُظْهِرًا أنه يريد خراسان قاصدًا زيارة قبر علي بن موسى الرضا بطوس وكان قَصْدُه الفرار، فلما زار قبر علي بن موسى قَدِمَ هراة وهي آخر بلاد راسان، فغَلَبَتْ عليه الدنيا وتَرَكَ العبادة والزهد وتَصَرَّفَ في الأموال تصرفًا قبيحًا، فرُفِعَ أَمْرُه إلى السلطان وأعلم أصحابه أنه يريد بلاد الهند، فرَجَعَ أَكْثَرُهم عنه وتَجَاوَز هو أرض خراسان إلى السند، فلما جاز وادي السند المعروف ببنج آبضَرَبَ طبوله وأنفاره فراع ذلك أهل القرى وظنوا أن التتر أتوا للإغارة عليهم وأجفلوا إلى المدينة المسماة بأوجا وأعلموا أميرها بما سمعوه، فركب في عساكره واستعد للحرب وبعث الطلايع فرأوا نحو عشرة من الفرسان وجماعة من لرجال والتجار ممن صحب الشريف في طريقه معهم الأطبال والأعلام، فسألوهم عن شأنهم فأخبروهم أن الشريف نقيب العراق أتى وافدًا على ملك الهند فرجع الطلايع إلى الأمير وأخبروه بكيفية الحال فاستضعف عقل الشريف لِرَفْعه العلامات وضَرْبه الطبول في غير بلاده، ودخل الشريف مدينة أوجا وأقام بها مدة تُضْرَب الأطبال على باب داره غُدْوَة وعشيٍّا وكان مُولَعًا بذلك. ويُذْكَر أنه كان في أيام نقابته بالعراق تُضْرَب الأطبال على رأسه، فإذا أَمْسَكَ النقّارُ عن الضرب يقول له: زِدْ نقرة يا نقار حتى لُقّبَ بذلك، وكتب صاحب مدينة أوجا إلى ملك الهند بخبر الشريف وضَرْبه الأطبال بالطريق وعلى باب داره غدوة وعشيٍّا ورفعه الأعلام، وعادة أهل الهند أن لا يَرْفَع علمًا ولا يَضْرِب طبلًا إلا من أعطاه الملك ذلك ولا يفعله إلا في السفر، وأما في حال الإقامة فلا يُضْرَب الطبل إلا على باب الملك خاصة، بخلاف مصر والشام والعراق، فإن الطبول تُضْرَب على أبواب الأمراء، فلما بَلَغَ خبره ملك الهند كَرِهَ فِعْلَه وأَنْكَرَهُ وفَعَلَ في نفسه، ثم خرج الأمير إلى حضرة الملك، وكان الأمير كشلي خان، والخان عندهم أعظم الأمراء، وهو الساكن بملتان كرسي بلاد السند، وهو عظيم القدر عند ملك الهند يدعوه بالعم؛ لأنه كان ممن أعان أباه السلطان غياث الدين تغلق شاه على قتال السلطان ناصر الدين خسرو شاه قد قدم على حضرة ملك الهند فخرج الملك إلى لقائه فاتفق أن كان وصول الشريف في ذلك اليوم، وكان الشريف قد سبق الأمير بأميال وهو على حاله من ضَرْب الأطبال، فلم يَرُعْه إلا السلطان في موكبه، فتَقَدَّمَ الشريف إلى السلطان فسَلّمَ عليه وسأله السلطان عن حاله وما الذي جاء به فأخبره، ومضى السلطان حتى لقي الأمير كشلي خان وعاد إلى حضرته ولم يلتفت إلى الشريف ولا أَمَرَ له بإنزال ولا غيره. [ص. ١٢٧-١٢٨]

Then the world got the better of him, he gave up his devotions and his pious abstinences, and made unrighteous use of the moneys at his disposal. This conduct of his was brought to the notice of the Sultan accordingly. When Abū Ghurra learned of this he set out on a journey, giving out that he was making for Khurasān with the object of visiting the tomb of ʿAlī b. Mūsā al-Riḍā, at Ṭūs, but his real purpose was to escape. So, after visiting the tomb of ʿAlī b. Mūsā, he proceeded to Herat, which is the last of the cities of Khurasān, and informed his companions that he intended to go to India. Most of them abandoned him, but he for his part went on from the territory of Khurasan towards Sind. After crossing the river of Sind, which is called Panj Āb, he had his drums [ṭubūl] and his coiled trumpets [anfār] sounded, and thereby so startled the villagers that they thought that the Tatars had come to raid them and fled in panic to the city called Ūjā, where they informed the governor of what they had heard. He rode therefore with his troops and prepared for battle. When he sent out the scouts, they discovered about ten horsemen and a number of men on foot and merchants who had accompanied the Sharīf on his road, carrying kettledrums [aṭbāl] and banners. The scouts asked them who they were and what they were doing, and were told that the Sharīf, the Naqīb of al-ʿIrāq, had come on a mission to the king of India. They returned and reported the circumstances to the governor, who opined that the Sharīf showed little intelligence in hoisting his banners and beating his drums [ṭubūl] outside his own country. The Sharīf entered the city of Ūjā and stayed there for a time, having the drums [aṭbāl] beaten at the gate of his residence morning and evening, for that used to give him much gratification. It is said that in the days of his marshalship in al-ʿIrāq, the drums [aṭbāl] were beaten before him and when the drummer [naqqār] finished beating he would say to him 'One more roll [naqra], drummer [naqqār]', until the phrase stuck to him as a nickname. The governor of the town of Ūjā wrote to the king of India to report [the arrival of] the Sharīf and his drumbeating [ḍarb al-aṭbāl], both on his journey and before his residence morning and evening, as well as his flying of banners. Now the custom among the people of India is that no person hoists a banner or beats [yaḍrib] a drum [ṭabl] except those to whom the king has given this privilege, and [even then] they do so only while travelling. When in residence, however, no drum [ṭabl] is beaten [yuḍrab] except at the king's gate alone. In Egypt, Syria and al-ʿIrāq, on the other hand, drums [ṭubūl] are beaten [tuḍrab] at the gates of the military commanders. When the report on the Sharīf reached the king of India, therefore, he was displeased and annoyed at his action, and resented it. The Sharīf departed some time later for the king's capital. Now the amīr Kishlū Khān (the term khān is applied by them to the greatest of the amīrs), being the resident in Multān, the seat of government in the country of al-Sind — he is held in high regard by the king of India, who calls him 'Uncle', because he was one of those who aided the king's father, the sultan Ghiyāth al-Dīn Tughluq-Shāh, to fight against the Nāṣir al-Dīn Khusraw-Shāh — had come to the capital of the king of India and the king went out to receive him. It happened that the Sharīf's arrival was on that same day. The Sharīf had preceded the amīr by some miles [and as he approached the city] with his drums [aṭbāl] beating as usual, suddenly he met the Sultān with his cortege. The Sharīf went forward to the Sultān and saluted him, but the Sultān, after asking him how he was and why he had come and hearing his answers, went on till he met the amīr Kishlū Khān, and returned to his capital without paying any attention to the Sharīf or giving orders for his lodging or anything else.

260-262

1330 circa