124 - Isḥāq ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUyayna narrated to us, from Ṭuʿma al-Jaʿfarī, from ʿUmar ibn Qays, who said: When Ḥuṭayṭ al-Zayyāt was brought before al-Ḥajjāj, he said to him: "Are you a Ḥarūrī?" He said: "I am not a Ḥarūrī, but I made a covenant with Allah that I would strive against you with my hand, my tongue, and my heart. As for my hand, you have severed it; as for my tongue, you hear what it says; and as for my heart, Allah knows best what is in it."

He said: Then Ḥawshab—the chief of his guards—leapt up and whispered something to him.

He said: Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "Do not listen to him, for he is giving you deceitful counsel."

He said: Then al-Ḥajjāj said to him: "What do you say about Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, may Allah have mercy on them both?" He replied: "I say good of them."

He said: "What do you say about ʿUthmān, may Allah have mercy on him?" He said: "I was not yet born then."

So al-Ḥajjāj said to him: "O son of an uncircumcised woman, were you born in the time of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar and not born in the time of ʿUthmān?"

Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "O son of an uncircumcised woman, do not be hasty! I found that the people had agreed upon Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, so I concurred with their view, while they differed concerning ʿUthmān, so silence was permissible for me."

Then Maʿadd—the officer in charge of al-Ḥajjāj's torture—leapt up and said: "If the commander sees fit to hand him over to me, by Allah, I will make you hear his screaming."

He said: "Take him with you."

He said: So he carried him off and spent the entire night torturing him, yet Ḥuṭayṭ did not speak a word to him. When morning approached, he called for a screw-press, leaned heavily on his leg, broke it, and reclined upon it.

He said: So Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "O most corrupt and meanest of people, do you recline upon my leg after breaking it? By Allah, I will never speak to you!"

When morning came, he entered upon al-Ḥajjāj, and al-Ḥajjāj said to him: "What did your prisoner do?"

He said: "If the commander sees fit to take him back, for he has corrupted my prisoners for me; they feel ashamed not to endure with patience."

He said: "Bring him to me." So he was brought and placed before him.

He said: Beside al-Ḥajjāj was an elder from among the elders of the people of al-Shām.

He said: Ḥuṭayṭ said to al-Ḥajjāj: "How did you see it?" Isḥāq said: Meaning Maʿadd's statement to him: "By Allah, I will make you hear his screaming."

He said: Al-Ḥajjāj said to him: "Do you recite anything from the Qur'ān?" He said: "Yes."

He said: "Recite, then." Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "No, rather you recite."

He said: Al-Ḥajjāj said to him: "Recite." Ḥuṭayṭ said: "No, rather you recite."—refusing him each time.

He said: So al-Ḥajjāj recited: {Has there come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing mentioned?} (1) until he reached His statement: {And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive} (8).

He said: So Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "Stop."

He said: So al-Ḥajjāj stopped, and Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "Here you are torturing them!"

He said: So he said: "Bring on the torture!"

He said: Large packing-needles or palm-thorns were brought, and he ordered them to be thrust into his fingertips.

The elder beside al-Ḥajjāj said: "By Allah, I have never seen today a man more patient than him."

He said: Ḥuṭayṭ said to him: "Indeed, Allah pours patience upon the believers abundantly."

He said: Al-Ḥajjāj said to Maʿadd: "Woe to you, relieve me of him!"

He said: So he carried him away from before him.

One of al-Ḥajjāj's guards said: I felt pity for him, so I approached him and said: "Do you have any need?" He said: "No, except that my tongue has dried up, so I cannot remember Allah."

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated to us, from his father, that al-Ḥajjāj said: "Does he have any close relative?" They said: "A mother and a brother." He said: So he placed the screw-press upon his mother, and Ḥuṭayṭ said: "O my mother, be patient!" And he killed her.