Part 70

'Pharaoh said: I show you only that which I see [correct], and I guide you only to the path of right policy!)' (Quran 40: 29) Destroying the books of those who followed the Sunnah They destroyed the books of those who followed the Sunnah and forbade people to circulate them, as they did with the books of Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Hashim at-Tajeebi (d. 346 AH), who died and left behind dozens of books, all written in his own hand. They were taken to the sultan of Bani 'Ubayd who seized them and did not let people have any access to them, out of spite and hatred towards Islam.475 preventing Sunni scholars from teaching. They banned Sunni scholars from teaching in the mosques, spreading knowledge and meeting with students. The books of the Sunnah were only read in homes, for fear of Banu 'Ubayd. Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd, Abu Muhammad ibn at-Tabban and others used to come to Abu Bakr ibn alLabbad, the Sunni Shaykh of Qayrawan, in secret, hiding the books in cloths wrapped around their middles until they were soaked with sweat, out of fear of Banu 'Ubayd.476 Abolishing Shariah law They waived all Islamic obligations for those who followed their call, whereby they would take them into a cellar and 'Ubayd-Allah would come in wearing an animal skin turned inside-out and crawling on all fours, saying "Bah" to them. Then he would let them out and explain these actions to them, "When I entered on all fours, what I meant by that was to teach you that you are like animals with nothing, no ablution, no prayer, no zakdh411 no obligations at all; all of that is waived for you. As for the animal skin turned inside-out, what I meant by that was to teach you that religion has been turned upside-down. As for my saying 'Bah' to you, what I meant by that was to teach you that all things are permissible (in Arabic, mubdh) to you, including adultery, fornication, and drinking alcohol."478 Forcing people to break the fast before the moon was sighted They would often force the people to break the fast of Ramadan before the new moon of Shawwal was sighted.479 They would even kill anyone who issued a fatwa stating that there was to be no breaking of the fast until the new moon was sighted, as they did with the juristic scholar Ibn alHubula, the Qadi of the city of Barqah. Adh-Dhahabi wrote in his biography: The imam and martyr, the Qadi of the city of Barqah, Muhammad ibn al-Hubula. The Emir of Barqah came to him and said, "Tomorrow is Eid ." He said, "We should see the new moon (first); I will not tell the people to break the fast, and bear their sins." (The emir) said, "Instructions to that effect came in a letter from al-Mansoor." The view of the 'Ubaydis was that they should break the fast based on calculations, and should not pay any attention to the sighting of the moon. The moon was not sighted, but the next day the emir ordered that there be drums and banners and preparations for the Eid. The Qadi said, "I will not go out or pray (the Eid prayer)." So the emir ordered another man to deliver a khutbah 481 and he wrote to al-Mansoor, telling him what had happened. Al-Mansoor ordered that the Qadi be brought to him. He went to him and (Al-Mansoor) said to him, "Change your mind and I will pardon you," but he refused. So he ordered that (the Qadi) be hung out in the sun until he died. He kept asking for water because he was thirsty but was not given any. Then they crucified him. May the curse of Allah be upon the wrongdoers 482 Erasing all reminders of the Sunni caliphs The rulers of the Fatimid state in the Maghreb strove to remove all reminders of the Sunni caliphs who had come before them. 'Ubayd-Allah issued orders that the names of the rulers who had built the fortresses and mosques be removed, and his name be put in their place. This Batini, Rafidi Shiite appropriated the endowment funds and the weaponry of the fortresses; he expelled the worshippers and Almoravids483 from the castle of Ziyad alAghlabi and made it a storage facility for weapons.484 Bringing their horses into the mosques One of the many crimes of 'Ubayd-Allah was that his horses came into the mosques; when it was said to their owners, "How can you let them into the mosque?" they answered, "Their dung and urine are pure (tahir), because they are the horses of al-Mahdi." The caretaker of the mosque objected, so they took him to al-Mahdi, who killed him. Ibn 'Udhara commented: At the end of his life, 'Ubayd-Allah was punished with an appalling disease: worms at the end of his anus that ate his intestines, which continued until he died.485 Modern Muslims who read the history of the 'Ubaydi Fatimid state do not know anything but that which is written for them of the political history of this state: "So-and-so died and so-and-so succeeded him, and it was a state which loved and propagated knowledge," — meaning books of philosophy. Few mention the way in which these Batinis oppressed the Sunni scholars.