القبض على ابن الفرات وابنه وقتلهما

القبض على ابن الفرات وابنه وقتلهما

312 ھ

In the year 312 the vizier Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Furat was arrested and his son was sought. Al-Tabari reports that the army commanders incited the young men to demand that the two be killed, so al-Muqtadir ordered them killed, and their heads were thrown into the Tigris ^{1 2}. According to Ibn al-Athir, al-Muhsin, the vizier's son, had been hiding with his aunt, the sister of al-Fadl ibn Ja'far ibn al-Furat, dressed as a woman, until a righteous woman whose maidservant had seen him in the house pointed him out to Nasr the chamberlain. Al-Muqtadir ordered Nazuk, the chief of police, to bring him; he was tortured to make him agree to a confiscation, but he refused, saying: «I will not let you combine myself and my wealth against me». The vizier Abu al-Qasim told Mu'nis, Harun ibn Gharib and Nasr the chamberlain to move Ibn al-Furat to the caliphal palace instead of having his wealth extracted, since they could not feel safe while the two of them lived. Nazuk slaughtered them both like sheep. Ibn al-Furat had seen his brother al-Abbas in a dream saying to him: «You and your son are with us on Monday». His son was killed on Monday, thirteen days into Rabi' al-Akhir, and his head was carried to his father, who was alarmed; he was then presented to the sword and said: «Nothing but the sword. Reconsider my case, for I have great wealth and many jewels»; he was told: «The matter is far beyond that». Ibn al-Furat was seventy-one years old and his son thirty-three; al-Muqtadir ordered their heads drowned. Ibn al-Furat used to say that al-Muqtadir would kill him, and his words came true, for the caliph used to answer him with «yes» whenever he spoke to him on any matter ³