Transcript The Family & Mosque in Islam

Islamic History: the First 150 Years
The Abbasid Revolution
Richard Cawley
Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University
Session Plan
1. The Banu al-Abbas
2. Mukhtar’s Legacy, the Black Flags & the
Fall of the Umayyads
3. The First 150 Years of Islam: a Brief
Overview
Section I: The Banu al-Abbas
The Banu al-Abbas
• The Banu al-Abbas (or family of Abbas) are named after alAbbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (see Family Tree)
• In other words, Abbas was the paternal uncle of
Muhammad and Ali
• He was therefore an important figure within the Bani
Hashim
• Abbas does not seem to have immediately become a
Muslim
• However, after his conversion, given his relationship to
Muhammad, Abbas was an important figure within the early
Muslim community (dying in 32AH or 652CE)
• His descendents were also important
• His son, Abdullah ibn Abbas was an important companion of
Muhammad and later became an acknowledged expert on
Quranic exegesis (tafsir)
• Abdullah seems to have died in 68AH/687CE
The Banu al-Abbas
• Both Abbas and his son Abdullah were supporters of Ali, although
they remained on reasonable terms with Muawiya
• Abdullah seems to have paid homage to Yazid I
• He also seems to have been particularly close to Ali’s third son
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya
• An apocryphal source, Akhbar al-Abbas, states that Muawiya
attempted to place Abdullah at the head of the Hashim clan,
which failed (fol. 13a, Omar, 61)
• At any rate, both Muhammad and Abdullah were expelled from
Mecca by Ibn al-Zubayr for failing to pledge allegiance
• Abdullah’s son Ali appears to have been the first member of the
family with overtly political ambitions
• Known as al-Sajjad (‘The Prostrator’) and Dhu al-Nafathat
(‘Owner of Callouses’)
• Ali was thus viewed by the Umayyads as a potential threat and
was thus watched closely
• Despite this, he seems to have a good relationship with Abd alMalik
The Banu al-Abbas
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Under Abd al-Malik’s son, al-Walid, Ali was twice
flogged
For marrying the widow of Abd al-Malik
Political intrigues
He was also accused of murdering his brother Salit
ibn Abdullah and was exiled to Humayma, in the
Syrian countryside on the road to Mecca
Ali died in 118AH/736CE and his son Muhammad
then became prominent
Muhammad seems to have continued and expanded
his father’s intrigues and also seems to have been
particularly close to ibn al-Hanafiyya’s son, Abdullah
(known more widely as Abu Hashim)
Abu Hashim was also a suspect in the eyes of the
Umayyad and was forced to live in Damascus
Section II: Mukhtar’s Legacy, the Black Flags & the Fall of the
Umayyads
Mukhtar’s Legacy
• As we saw last week, the revolt of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi involved a
number of interesting religious ideas
• We also looked at Mukhtar’s claim to be the representative of ibn alHanafiyya
• Although defeated, some supporters of Mukhtar continued to believe
in the charisma of Ibn al-Hanafiyya
• As we saw, some of them believed that he was the Mahdi and held
that he had not actually died, and would soon return as an avenging
Messianic figure
• Others believed that he had died and that his legacy and authority (in
religious and political terms) had passed to his son Abu Hashim
• Our sources state that some among these groups believed that the
imam was more than merely human
• Although such ideas do seem to have circulated amongst these
groups, we also have to account for the bias of our sources
• Generally speaking, such beliefs are considered heretical and are
labelled ‘extremist’ (ghuluww)
Abu Hashim
• At any rate, the main point is clear
• Abu Hashim was the leader of a small group of devoted followers
• Some of these followers believed he had ‘magical powers’ and was
more than simply human
• Furthermore, it is also interesting to note that there do seem to have
been differences of belief/opinion within the Hashim clan
• That is, the Hasanid, Husaynid and Jafarid lines were essentially
debating who was the real imam, or the inheritor of Ali’s legacy
• The claims of Abu Hashim and the Abbasids also reveal further
differences of opinion
• In any case, Abu Hashim dies in 98AH/716-717CE, without issue
• Our sources indicate that before his death, Abu Hashim passed on
his imamate (or rather his claim to it) to Muhammad ibn Ali ibn
Abdullah ibn Abbas
• In other words, Muhammad was now the imam of Abu Hashim’s
supporters
• As this claim was the original justification for the Abbasid revolution
we might justly wonder about its actual authenticity
Abu Hashim
• In some senses, however, its veracity is of secondary importance:
the important point being that it was accepted as such
• Baladhuri (Ansab al-Ashraf fol. 746b) states that Abu Hashim was
poisoned by the Umayyads:m
‘We thought that the Imamate and the affair [the caliphate] were in us
but now there is no doubt that you are the Imam and the caliphate is in
your sons’
• Other sources differ somewhat in the details, but this is unimportant
for our purposes
• Muhammad seems to have begun organising his followers into an
effective underground movement
• However, his moves came to the notice of the Umayyad government
• Hashim ibn Abd al-Malik is said to have sharply criticised him:
‘Wait for the realm which you expect and on which you relate
traditions ascribed to the Prophet and put up your youngsters as
candidates for it’
‘Wait for the black flags and your debt will be paid’ (Ansab fol. 748b;
Akhbar fol. 82a)
The Da’wa
• Most tellingly, he is also said to have remarked that the…
‘Bani Hashim have turned the Prophet into a market [selling false
traditions ascribed to him]’ (Ansab fol. 72a)
• Although this can be seen as Umayyad propaganda, it also suggests
that there were an increasing number of Prophetic Traditions in
circulation
• Muhammad’s supporters began drawing others to their cause
• He concentrated particularly upon Kufa (the home of the Shia)
• He also concentrated upon the Arab tribes based in Khurasan
• As we saw previously, these were made of large contingents from
Kufa and Basra (many of whom were the most disruptive)
• Muhammad’s organisation was simply known as al-Da’wa (‘The Call’)
and based itself on calls for ‘vengeance for the Ahl al-Bayt’ and by
stressing that they had a better title to rule than the Umayyads
• In other words, the Da’wa was part of the broad Shiite milieu and
must, therefore, be considered as another expression of the ideas we
looked at in the last session
Al-Rida min Aal Muhammad
• The Da’wa seems to have strictly organised and to have prohibited
premature uprisings, as well as any support for Alid contenders
• It thus did not co-operate in Zayd’s revolt, nor in that of Abdullah ibn
Muawiya
• Their most famous slogan was to appoint ‘the Chosen from the family
of Muhammad’ (al-Rida min Al Muhammad)
• This meant that the exact leader of the movement was kept secret
• This was presumably to escape Umayyad hands, as well as
attempting to appeal to as broad a Shiite audience as possible
• After Muhammad’s death in 125AH/742-3CE, leadership passed to
his son Ibrahim
• With Ibrahim, an active and militant phase began
• Propaganda efforts were stepped up a number of new agents were
recruited
• The most important of these was a man called Abu Muslim
• Abu Muslim (whose name literally means ‘Father of Muslim’) seems
to have been a Persian
• However, there is much uncertainty about this man’s origins
The Death of Ibrahim ibn Muhammad
• At any rate, Abu Muslim was able to recruit a large number of
malcontents into the Abbasid organisation
• In other words, the time for action was fast approaching
• However, before these plans could come to fruition, the Umayyad
government discovered the identity and whereabouts of the Abbasid
leader Ibrahim
• He was swiftly arrested and executed in 131AH/749CE
• This was a devastating blow to the Abbasid movement and his two
brothers barely escaped
• Leadership then passed to the senior brother, Abdullah (who became
the first Abbasid caliph, al-Saffah)
• At this point, no doubt realising that is was now or never, al-Saffah
ordered his agents and partisans to proclaim the revolt publicly
• Abu Muslim is then said to have unfurled the black flags of the
movement in Khurasan
• These black were understood to be apocalyptic symbols and were
apparently modelled on Muhammad’s own standard
The Black Flags of Khurasan
• Abu Muslim’s revolt could not have come at a worse time for the
Umayyad forces in Syria
• Marwan II, who had only recently become caliph, was facing
widespread rebellion
• Indeed, Sulaiman (a disgruntled relative) had made off with most of his
treasury
• There were also a number of revolts throughout the empire, including a
number of khariji inspired uprisings
• Abu Muslim’s forces quickly outmanoeuvred the governor Khurasan,
Nasr in Sayyar, who soon found himself besieged in Merv
• A revolt at Kufa was also instigated by the Abbasid agent there, Abu
Salama
• Thus the Umayyad Syrian troops based at Wasit in Iraq were effectively
tied down
• Although the details are complex, Abu Muslim’s forces (said to be some
50,000 strong) swept into Iraq
• Marwan’s forces marched to the Zab river to await the onslaught
• And in 132AH, the two sides met in battle (Battle of the Zab)
• Tabari gives quite a long account of the battle and its various phases
(see Tab. 3.38) onwards
Abbasid Victory
• Umayyad forces were completely routed and the Khurasani troops of
the Abbasids entered Damascus
• Once firmly established there, the Abbasid general ordered a purge of
the Umayyad family
• The sources relate that almost the entire Umayyad clan was put to
death
• Despite this, an Umayyad prince managed to escape to Spain where he
eventually founded a small, rival caliphate at Corduba
• With the Abbasid capture of Damascus, the conflict effectively ceased
• However, there was not an immediate return to stability
• Al-Saffah died shortly afterwards and his brother, known as al-Mansur
(‘the Victorious’) became caliph
• Before his rule was established, he had to face a serious Alid uprising in
Kufa and Medina
• This was led by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, better known to history as
Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (or ‘the Pure Soul’)
• This marked the effective end of Abbasid links with the broad Shia
milieu from which it emerged
• Subsequent Abbasid caliphs based their rule on a supposed testament
from the Prophet to al-Abbas (thereby circumventing Ali)
Questions?
Section III: The First 150 Years: a Brief Overview
Overview
• Essentially, in this overview, we will attempt to draw together our
study of the first 150 years of Islamic history through a number of
key themes
• Sources
• Impact of Muhammad
• Claiming Muhammad's legacy
• Sources
• As we have seen, there is a vast range of sources for early
Islamic sources
• Although each individual source has its particular strengths and
weaknesses, they can be drawn together to form a reasonably
coherent whole
• We have seen that a number of scholars have done this, from
within and beyond the Islamic tradition
• Methodological approaches to these sources have given rise to
differing accounts
• The traditional Muslim picture
• The ‘revisionist’ accounts of scholars such as Crone and
Wansbrough
Overview
• Impact of Muhammad
• Although we have not looked at the life of Muhammad during this
course, the figure of the Prophet looms large
• Muhammad’s life and teaching radically altered the religious, cultural,
social and political norms of Arabian life
• These ‘changes’ are wrapped up in the concept of Prophetic Sunna
• Muhammad’s role as the last Prophet also seems to have been
generally acknowledged almost immediately
• That is, the early Muslim community seems to have been aware from its
very beginnings that there would be no prophet after him
• This again underlined his importance, especially with regards to the
attention given to preserving the revelation he received (the Quran) and
his own apparent words (the Hadith)
• Claiming Muhammad’s Legacy
• His importance is again strongly emphasised by subsequent Islamic
history which, in many senses, was about a ‘debate’ (often violent)
about had the right to hold and develop his legacy
• Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali
• Growth of a religious party
• Use of Prophetic statements to support all manner of ideas and beliefs