Zaid
bin Ali
The treatment that was meted out to
Husain bin Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي
الله عنه)
at Karbala and to Abdullah bin Zubair (رضي الله عنه)
in Makkah by the government of the Banu Umayyah and after that the policy that
was adopted by Hajjaj and Ibn Zeyad in the Hijaz and Iraq, all combined to
terrify and silence the Arab tribes of the Hijaz and Iraq. Moreover, their
acquisition and use of wealth created such a negative impression on the masses
that it gave rise to ill feelings ultimately leading to the gradual
disappearance of sincerity and sympathy for Banu Umayyah. Hisham's 20-year rule
was outwardly an age of peace. In his time, there were no tyrants like Hajjaj
and Ibn Zeyad in Iraq and the Hijaz. Banu Hashim were repeatedly reminded of
their own ruin and Banu Umayyah's successes. They considered those who were not
taking extraordinary advantages of the government directly to be their
sympathizers. The fear and awe they had inspired also vanished. In this
atmosphere, Banu Hashim made up their mind to pull down Banu Umayyah's
government and establish their own. They had been watching and gaining
experience. Since the administrations of Uthman bin Affan (رضي الله عنه)
and Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه), they felt that strategy and planning was
more effective than swords in changing governments. Therefore, secret planning,
conspiracies and subversive activities were started on a large scale. The work
was simultaneously begun by two families of Banu Hashim. The descendents of Ali
bin Abi Talib and the descendents of Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib began their
struggles separately. The struggles made by the Abbasids will follow later. At
present mention is being made about the struggles of the Alawites or Fatimids.
It has been mentioned above that
Hisham bin Abdul Malik deputed Yusuf bin Umar Thaqfi as the governor of Iraq.
During his regime in 122 A.H. Zaid bin Ali bin Husain bin Ali bin Abi Talib
began to take the oath from the people secretly. As the popularity of Banu
Umayyah due to reasons mentioned above had declined so much, Zaid bin Ali was
highly successful in the matter of taking the oath and 15,000 people took the
oath at his hands in Kufa.
Imam Abu Hanifa was one of the
supporters of Zaid bin Ali. [Editor's note: Imam Abu Hanifa is the founder of
one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence that are universally accepted
by Muslims.]
Those who watched and understood the
past historical developments advised Zaid bin Ali not to revolt but to wait for
some time, he did not act upon their counsel and he revolted in Kufa. Yusuf bin
Umar Thaqfi tried his best to put it down and the parties clashed. Just as the
Kufans had betrayed Husain bin Ali (رضي الله عنه)
and Musab bin Zubair, similarly they betrayed Zaid bin Ali.
When the time for using swords and
displaying valor came, they started cross arguing like students. They said to
him, "First tell us what is your opinion about Abu Bakr Siddiq (رضي الله عنه)
and Umar bin Khattab (رضي الله عنه)?" He, said, "I never heard
anyone in my family calling them bad names". They said, "The members
of your family were entitled to the caliphate and they did not feel offended at
the taking of the caliphate by these two (Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنه), and now Banu Umayyah instead of you has
taken it, so how can you call them unjustified and fight with them?"
Having said so, they annulled their oath and left. Zaid bin Ali called them
Rafdees "refusers". Only 220 persons were left with him. With that
handful of men, he faced several thousand fighters of Yusuf Thaqfi. He had
called at the house of each one of them to remind them of their oath and
solicited their support but none was forthcoming. Finally, after defeating the
Governor's army several times, he received an arrow on the forehead and
succumbed to the wound. Yusuf bin Umar Thaqfi had his head cut off and sent to
Hisham bin Abdul Malik in Damascus. Zaid bin Ali's son Yahya bin Zaid left for
Nainwa (situated on the east bank of the Tigris opposite Mosil in Iraq) after
his father's death and remained in hiding there and then finding an opportunity
went to Khorasan.
Zaid bin Ali's attempt ended in
failure due to his haste and lack of foresight. But the Abbasids did not lag
behind in taking advantage of it and they learnt the lesson of being more
careful and foresighted in the matter and they were able to take a more correct
estimation of the influence of Banu Umayyah in the country. Zaid bin Ali's
death did even more to induce and predispose the people to sympathize with Banu
Hashim because Hisham bin Abdul Malik had Zaid bin Ali's head hung on the entry
gate to Damascus. Yusuf Thaqfi in Kufa, hung up the dead bodies of Zaid bin
Ali's comrades, which continued to dangle there for years making the people
hate Banu Umayyah and sympathize with Banu Hashim even more.
The
Conspiracy of the Abbasids
The caliphs of Banu Umayyah like
Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik venerated and entertained Abu Hashim Abdullah bin
Mohammad bin Hanfia bin Ali bin Abi Talib. However, he too was prejudiced
against Banu Umayyah because of his being a Hashimite and he wanted to ruin
Banu Umayyah's rule and bring Banu Hashim into power. His efforts were confined
to his followers and friends whom he confided in if he found them capable. Such
people were available to him in abundance and they were found both in Iraq,
Khorasan and the Hijaz.
Mohammad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin
Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib also was busy thinking how to dethrone Banu Umayyah
and establish the caliphate of Banu Abbas. During Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik's
rule, Abu Hashim Abdullah bin Mohammad went to Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik in
Damascus. On his return journey, he stayed with Mohammad bin Ali bin Abdullah
bin Abbas in Balqa (west-central Jordan). By chance, he fell ill and died
there. On his deathbed, he asked him to try to take the Islamic caliphate. This
was a form of authorization and all those people who were Abu Hashim's
followers and confidants came and took the oath at Mohammad bin Ali's hands
secretly. After that in 100 A.H. during Umar bin Abdul Aziz's caliphate
Mohammad bin Ali Abbasi sent his agents to the Islamic countries like Iraq,
Khorasan, Hijaz, Yemen, and Egypt. Though Umar bin Abdul Aziz had reduced, to a
great extent, the hatred and enmity, most of the people harbored dislike in
their hearts against Banu Umayyah and Mohammad bin Ali's movement remained
continuously active. On his behalf, Maisarah in Iraq and Abu Mohammad Sadiq in
Khorasan continued suggesting to the people the benefits of an Abbasid
caliphate. Mohammad bin Ali settled on the outskirts of Balqa and from there,
he made publicity for his movement in the other Islamic countries. After a
short time, he appointed 12 deputies and sent them to spread their message to
all the Islamic countries and they met with success everywhere.
In 102 A.H. or according to another
narration in 104 A.H. Abu Mohammad Sadiq, along with some influential persons
of Khorasan who agreed with his mission, came to Mohammad bin Ali. It was
during that time that Mohammad bin Ali came with his 15 day old son and said to
them, "This will be your chief". (That child later came to be known
as Abdullah Saffah and became the first Abbasid caliph). Then Bukair bin Mahan
who was in Sindh with Junaid, visited Kufa and met Abu Mohammad Sadiq. He
invited Bukair and he accepted at once. These events occurred in 105 A.H. In
107 A.H. Bukair who was the responsible officer in charge of the movement in
Iraq and Khorasan, sent Abu Ikrama, Abu Mohammad Sadiq, Mohammad Khaneen, and
Ammar Ebadi to Khorasan for advancing the cause of the caliphate of the
Abbasids. Asad Qasri was the Governor of Khorasan at that time. He came to know
by chance that some persons were asking people to support the caliphate of the
Abbasids. He had all of them arrested and killed. Only Ammar managed to escape
and informed Bukair. Bukair sent the details to Mohammad bin Ali who replied,
"Thank Allah! Your missionary work and struggles have proved successful
and fruitful. Now you should await your own deaths too". In 118 A.H.,
Bukair made Ammar bin Zaid the chief of the supporters of Banu Abbas and sent
him to Khorasan. He went there and introduced himself as Kharash. He preferred
sympathy with Banu Abbas to even prayer and fasting and said to the people,
"Far superior to fasting and prayer is the struggle to establish the
caliphate of Banu Abbas and keep it a guarded secret and save it from
exposure". Hearing about these statements Mohammad bin Ali expressed his
displeasure with him. When the Governor of Khorasan, Asad Qasri, became aware
of Kharash's activities, he had him arrested and killed. Mohammad bin Ali was
annoyed at the weak faith of the Khorasanis. After which, an influential
delegation from Khorasan came to him and begged to be excused for their
weakness.
Mohammad bin Ali made one of them
his deputy and sent them back to Khorasan. He gave them some wooden staffs,
which symbolized power and authority. In 124 A.H., Mohammad bin Ali died in
captivity. He made his son Ibrahim his successor at the time of his death and
left a will for his deputies and disciples to recognize Ibrahim bin Mohammad
bin Ali as their leader and obey him. Bukair paid a visit to Ibrahim and
received instructions from him, then set out to Khorasan to communicate to the
people there the news of Mohammad bin Ali's death and the succession of his son
as their leader. Bukair reached Khorasan and after collecting the people of the
same mind, informed them of the situation and gave them instructions. The
supporters of Banu Abbas brought the little cash they had and deposited it with
him. Bukair went back to Imam Ibrahim with the money and in 124 A.H., Ibrahim
sent Abu Muslim to Khorasan. The details about Abu Muslim and Imam Ibrahim and
the future situation of the movement will be narrated later on.
The state of Hisham bin Abdul
Malik's caliphate has already been narrated in brief. According to Yazid bin
Abdul Malik's will, Waleed bin Yazid was the heir-apparent after Hisham.
However, Hisham wanted to depose Waleed and make his own son his successor. The
noblemen and leaders of the government were not willing to accept it and he did
not succeed in his aim. The attempted dismissal of Waleed created enmity
between Hisham and Waleed. On 6 Rabi-al-Thani 125 A.H. after running the caliphate
for nineteen and a half years Hisham bin Abdul Malik died.
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