Harith
bin Shuraih
Banu Abbas had started a series of
secret maneuvers to establish their caliphate and destroy that of Banu Umayyah
in 100 A.H. when Umar bin Abdul Aziz was Caliph. These conspiracies were
conceived and carried out with great care and wisdom. A few particular Hadiths
(statements) of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
were given much publicity and some were fabricated expediently. To some
statements, a few sentences were added and all of them were designed to
convince the masses that the Islamic Caliphate was destined to come to Banu
Abbas very soon. Since the insurgent parties had been using Banu Hashim's claim
to caliphate and the illegal capture of power of Banu Umayyah as a weapon,
these factors were exaggerated and manipulated. For this particular mission
specially qualified persons were pressed into service. Banu Umayyah, in their
intoxication of power never attached much importance to these ploys nor did
they think it necessary to stamp them out nor did they like to involve
themselves in the investigation of these types of secret intrigues.
In parallel with the Abbasids, the
Fatimids and Alawiites also had been carrying on similar manipulations and
conspiracies for a long time and all of these conspiracies had been nurtured in
Khorasan because the atmosphere there was most suitable for them. Harith bin
Shuraih, the chief of the well-known tribe of Azd in Khorasan was captivated
with the ideas of the Alawiites and the Fatimids. In 116 A.H., he wore black
clothes and invited people to the Qur'an and Sunnah and to pledge themselves to
Imam Rada, arriving in Faryab, he started the mission.
[Editor's note: Black was the color
of the Abbasids therefore it indicated opposition to the Umayyads. Invitation
to the Book and Sunnah refers to the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet
Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). These are
unassailably correct and all Muslims agree on them and every political activist
knows the people will support such a platform. The oath of allegiance to Imam
Rada however, was the political objective of Harith bin Shuraih.]
Four thousand dedicated people
gathered round him. He led the army towards Balkh, which at that time was ruled
by Nasr bin Sayyar. He came out with ten thousand soldiers to fight but was
defeated. Harith bin Shuraih captured Balkh, deputed Sulaiman bin Abdullah bin
Hazim there and marched towards Jurjan. He easily occupied it and then moved
towards Merv. In Merv Asim bin Abdullah wanted to persuade the people to gather
and fight but Harith bin Shuraih had won them to his side through secret
correspondences.
Harith had gathered sixty thousand
people around him that included the well known chiefs of Azd and Tamim and the
large land owners of Faryab and Taliqan. Asim bin Abdullah had made all
possible preparations to repel the attack. Harith invaded Merv with great courage
but just at the time the battle began four thousand people of the Azd and Tamim
tribes deserted him and joined Asim's army. That resulted in the lessening of
the fighting spirit of Harith's troops but the battle continued on unabated.
Harith eventually had to retreat and Asim did not pursue them. When Asim
reached Rahban and encamped there, he had a cavalry of only three thousand men
that remained with him. Harith then steadied himself and began to fortify and
build up his captured territory and put it on a war footing.
When informed of the situation
Hisham bin Abdul Malik from Damascus asked Asim to explain, the latter replied
that because Khorasan's authority was directly linked to the caliph's court
delay was caused in sending news and receiving reinforcements on time. It was
therefore appropriate, he argued, that just as the province of Khorasan was
once under Iraq; similarly it should be brought under Iraq again, so that help
from both Basra and Kufa could arrive in time. Hisham appreciated the idea but
dismissed him from the governorship of Khorasan and wrote to the governor of
Iraq Khalid bin Abdullah Qasri to make his brother Asad bin Abdullah the
governor of Khorasan.
When Asim became aware of his
dismissal and of the new arrangements, he reconciled with Harith bin Shuraih
and said to him, "Come and let us write a missionary letter to him and
invite him to follow the Book and the Sunnah. If he refuses we will jointly try
to oppose him." But the reconciliation did not last long nor did it bear fruit.
Both disagreed on some point and the disagreement escalated to the extent that
they began fighting against each other.
In the battle, Harith was defeated
and most of his supporters were arrested and killed by Asim. Asim wanted to
please Hisham bin Abdul Malik with the victory but Asad bin Abdullah had almost
reached there with the certificate of governorship and as soon as he arrived,
he arrested Asim.
This happened in 117 A.H.,
immediately after taking control of Khorasan, Asad began to take back the
cities of Khorasan from Harith. He captured Balkh and then turned to Termiz
(city in southern Uzbekistan). In brief, he remained at war with Harith and the
Turks for two years. Harith's condition deteriorated considerably and along
with a few followers of his, continued to search for a place to take refuge. In
119 A.H., two important Chinese leaders were killed while fighting against the
Islamic army and the chain of Asad's victories crossed Turkistan and reached
western China.
In Rabia al-Awwal 120 A.H., Asad
died in Balkh. At the time of his death, he declared Jafar bin Hanzala Nahrwani
to be his deputy who remained at this post for four months. After that in
Rajab, Nasr bin Sayyar was made the governor of Khorasan. That same year, 120
A.H. the enemies of the Iraqi governor, Khalid bin Abdullah complained to
Hisham bin Abdul Malik against him with the result that he was dismissed and
replaced by Yusuf bin Umar Thaqfi. While Yusuf did not indulge in vices and
performed the obligatory religious duties he was at the same time merciless and
foolish.
When Nasr bin Sayyar took over the
governmental responsibilities he first tried to stop the unjust practice of
collecting the Jizya from the converts. He was able to put an end to it and an
immediate impact was seen, Islam started spreading among the Turks very
rapidly.
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