2. Yahya ibn Abi Katheer- Was the faqeeh

of the tabi’een in Yemen. Faqeeh Says… From now on, you’ll be presented with many names of some great scholars of Islam. I want you to get used to these names, because soon you’ll be reading books of Fiqh which frequently attributes different opinions to them and discuss different opinions in Fiqh and you need to have a basic knowledge of their names and the periods they lived in. One more thing: don’t you think it’s time to know more Muslim scholars than those you’ve always heard of and whose names you repeatedly mention in your conversations? Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 52

Stage 4 Era of the Great Imaams of Fiqh Building & Flowering (132H-339H/753CE-960CE) Geographical and Political Review: The ‘Abbasids The Ummayyads were not the best Khilafah, by any means, but they brought a lot of good to the Islamic state. In fact, Abdul Maalik ibn Marwaan, the fourth Khalifa of their dynasty, was considered a scholar of hadith. There is an incident where he was greeted as “ameer almu’mineen,” which meant his father had passed away. He was reading Qur’aan at this time and kept reading. Then he closed it and said, “Subhanallah, this may be the last time I have contact with this book” (authenticity is debated of this incident). After the Ummayyad khilafa came the Abbasid khilafa. The Abbasids were followers of the Sunnah and they came from Khurasaan in Iran and formed an alliance with the Alawis of the Shia. This alliance caused a literal massacre of the Ummayyads at the hands of Abu Abbas al Saffah. The Ummayyads went to the West (toward Andalus) after their defeat, they established their own khilafa there and remained there for about three centuries. Abu Abbas al Saffah was the leader of the Abbassid Khilafa. He gained the name al Saffah meaning “the Butcher,” because of all the people he killed in his ruthless efforts to eliminate the Ummayyad family. His full name was Abu AlAbbas Abdullah Al Saffah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim ( .)أ  اس  ا  احThe Abbassid khilafa traces their ancestry to Rasulullah (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) via his uncle Abbas. The Abbasids made dramatic changes in the Islamic state, including moving the capital of the state from Basrah to Baghdad. Baghdad became known as “Dar-us-Salaam” because it became a trading and religious center. People would travel to this city due to its’ diversity, great scholars and famous schools. It was also known to be very tolerant of other cultures and thus it became diverse and remained the capital for over 500 years. The Abbasids however reached their peak during the time of Haroon Al-Rasheed, the fifth Abbasid khalifah, it was under him that the Abbasid khilafa flourished. He helped establish the regions of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakistan, and that area in general. Because he helped establish them he also received military support from them. There are some stories against him that claim he was a wrongdoer but they are fabricated. He was a pious man and was known to fluctuate between Hajj and Jihaad on a yearly basis. There were two periods for the ‘Abbasids centralization and decentralization aka Medieval Period. Centralization of the khilafa and the Ummah in the first 200 years with their capital. Then, decentralization due Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 53

to corruption, luxury, and forming of new states within. During the decentralization period the people as a whole recognized the authority of the Khalifah though they had differences with him. Many states were formed within the ‘Abbasids and this was due to resentment of Arabs and other groups due to reliance of the Khalifa on Turkey for armed forces. Characteristics of this Stage