Chapter 73 of 1275 min read

Part 73

الجزء الثالث والسبعون: العبور الصحراوي لشيركوه

Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you.. (Quran 9: 123) Another of these scholars was Imam Abul-Qasim al-Hasan ibn Mafraj (d. 309 AH), who was among the first to rebel against Banu 'Ubayd, and died a martyr. He was killed and crucified — along with another man who was called Abu 'Abdullah as-Sidri who was a righteous person — by 'UbaydAllah al-Mahdi,. He had pledged to fight in Jihad against 'Ubayd-Allah and he urged the people to fight, too. News of this reached 'Ubayd-Allah, so he ordered that he be killed.508 Then the scholars took a step further by issuing a fatwa making it obligatory to fight the 'Ubaydi Fatimid state. This came after a meeting and discussions among the Sunni scholars, who formed an alliance with other Muslims (known as ahl al-qiblah — 'people of the qibla509') against the Fatimids, whom they regarded as infidels because of their corrupt beliefs. The scholar of law, Shaykh Abu Bakr ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Khawlani wrote: Shaykh Abu Is-haq as-Siba'i (may Allah have mercy on him) went out with the scholars of North Africa to fight Banu 'Ubayd along with Abu Yazeed. Abu Is-haq used to say, pointing to Abu Yazeed's camp, "These are people of the qiblah, and these" — pointing to the camp of Banu 'Ubayd — "are not people of the qiblah. We must go out and fight alongside those who are people of the qiblah against those who are not people of the qiblah. If we prevail over them, we will not swear allegiance to Abu Yazeed, because he is a Kharijite.510 May Allah cause a just imam to prevail over him, expel him from among us and put an end to his rule over us." Among the religious scholars and devoted worshippers who went out to fight alongside him were: Abul-'Arab ibn Tameem, Abu 'Abd al-Malik Marwan Nasrawan, Abu Is-haq as-Siba'i, Abul-Fadl, Abu Sulayman Rabee' ibn al-Qattan511 and many others.512 On the appointed date, the scholars and other prominent figures and their innumerable masses set out, and none of the scholars or righteous men stayed behind except those who were incapacitated and had a legitimate excuse. Rabee' al-Qattan rode his horse at the head of his ranks, wearing armour, holding a Quran and saying, "Praise be to Allah, Who has caused me to live until I see a group of believers uniting to wage Jihad against Your enemies and the enemies of Your (MESSENGER (SAAW)."513 The scholars put a great deal of effort into that confrontation and gave a real example of Jihad for the sake of Allah against the enemies of Islam. No less than eighty of these scholars were martyred, including Rabee' al-Qattan, al-Mamees and others, but they achieved a great victory and nearly captured al-Mahdiyah, were it not that the moment of betrayal came and things turned against them when Abu Yazeed let them down and showed his ugly side and his hostility towards the People of the Sunnah; he ordered his troops to withdraw, saying, "When you meet the people in battle, withdraw your cover from the people of Qayrawan so that your enemy will be able to kill them and not us, and we will be rid of them."514 His aim by means of this foul trick was to get rid of them, because he thought that if the scholars and religious leaders of Qayrawan were killed, he would be able to gain full control over their followers and call them to whatever he wanted, and they would follow him.515 However, he was utterly defeated when a considerable number of his followers joined his enemy's ranks; only a few of the troops stayed with him, and he was killed horribly on 30 Muharram 336 AH.516 This confrontation between the Sunnis and Shiites had a great impact in the Maghreb later on, as the resistance was carried on among those who came after them, until after Banu 'Ubayd left the Maghreb. After that, they started seeking out the Shiite presence, and when they found them, they would kill them and seize their wealth. Ibn 'Adhari says in his book Al-Bayan al-Maghrib that in Qayrawan there were people who were outwardly following the Shiite madh-hab but were the worst of the Ummah. The masses began to pursue them, and they killed many of them, men and women. The people started attacking the Shiites, plundering their homes and wealth.517 Qadi Tyad described this incident as follows: That began on a Friday halfway through Muharram. The masses killed many of the Rafidis in Qayrawan in the worst manner, and burned them and took their wealth. They destroyed their houses and killed their women and children, and dragged them by their legs, and that was a punishment of Allah that was sent against them. The matter spread beyond Qayrawan to al-Mahdiyah and their other cities. They were killed and burned with fire, and not one of them was left in Ifriqiyah except those who hid.518 This kind of resistance was the toughest and most effective kind, by means of which Allah purified the Maghreb of innovation. Resistance through writing Resistance through writing was one of the best and most beneficial means of resisting the Shiites. It was very effective in annoying and upsetting them, and it is the reason why they declared war on those who did so.

Chapter 73 of 1275 min read

Part 73

الجزء الثالث والسبعون: العبور الصحراوي لشيركوه

Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you.. (Quran 9: 123) Another of these scholars was Imam Abul-Qasim al-Hasan ibn Mafraj (d. 309 AH), who was among the first to rebel against Banu 'Ubayd, and died a martyr. He was killed and crucified — along with another man who was called Abu 'Abdullah as-Sidri who was a righteous person — by 'UbaydAllah al-Mahdi,. He had pledged to fight in Jihad against 'Ubayd-Allah and he urged the people to fight, too. News of this reached 'Ubayd-Allah, so he ordered that he be killed.508 Then the scholars took a step further by issuing a fatwa making it obligatory to fight the 'Ubaydi Fatimid state. This came after a meeting and discussions among the Sunni scholars, who formed an alliance with other Muslims (known as ahl al-qiblah — 'people of the qibla509') against the Fatimids, whom they regarded as infidels because of their corrupt beliefs. The scholar of law, Shaykh Abu Bakr ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Khawlani wrote: Shaykh Abu Is-haq as-Siba'i (may Allah have mercy on him) went out with the scholars of North Africa to fight Banu 'Ubayd along with Abu Yazeed. Abu Is-haq used to say, pointing to Abu Yazeed's camp, "These are people of the qiblah, and these" — pointing to the camp of Banu 'Ubayd — "are not people of the qiblah. We must go out and fight alongside those who are people of the qiblah against those who are not people of the qiblah. If we prevail over them, we will not swear allegiance to Abu Yazeed, because he is a Kharijite.510 May Allah cause a just imam to prevail over him, expel him from among us and put an end to his rule over us." Among the religious scholars and devoted worshippers who went out to fight alongside him were: Abul-'Arab ibn Tameem, Abu 'Abd al-Malik Marwan Nasrawan, Abu Is-haq as-Siba'i, Abul-Fadl, Abu Sulayman Rabee' ibn al-Qattan511 and many others.512 On the appointed date, the scholars and other prominent figures and their innumerable masses set out, and none of the scholars or righteous men stayed behind except those who were incapacitated and had a legitimate excuse. Rabee' al-Qattan rode his horse at the head of his ranks, wearing armour, holding a Quran and saying, "Praise be to Allah, Who has caused me to live until I see a group of believers uniting to wage Jihad against Your enemies and the enemies of Your (MESSENGER (SAAW)."513 The scholars put a great deal of effort into that confrontation and gave a real example of Jihad for the sake of Allah against the enemies of Islam. No less than eighty of these scholars were martyred, including Rabee' al-Qattan, al-Mamees and others, but they achieved a great victory and nearly captured al-Mahdiyah, were it not that the moment of betrayal came and things turned against them when Abu Yazeed let them down and showed his ugly side and his hostility towards the People of the Sunnah; he ordered his troops to withdraw, saying, "When you meet the people in battle, withdraw your cover from the people of Qayrawan so that your enemy will be able to kill them and not us, and we will be rid of them."514 His aim by means of this foul trick was to get rid of them, because he thought that if the scholars and religious leaders of Qayrawan were killed, he would be able to gain full control over their followers and call them to whatever he wanted, and they would follow him.515 However, he was utterly defeated when a considerable number of his followers joined his enemy's ranks; only a few of the troops stayed with him, and he was killed horribly on 30 Muharram 336 AH.516 This confrontation between the Sunnis and Shiites had a great impact in the Maghreb later on, as the resistance was carried on among those who came after them, until after Banu 'Ubayd left the Maghreb. After that, they started seeking out the Shiite presence, and when they found them, they would kill them and seize their wealth. Ibn 'Adhari says in his book Al-Bayan al-Maghrib that in Qayrawan there were people who were outwardly following the Shiite madh-hab but were the worst of the Ummah. The masses began to pursue them, and they killed many of them, men and women. The people started attacking the Shiites, plundering their homes and wealth.517 Qadi Tyad described this incident as follows: That began on a Friday halfway through Muharram. The masses killed many of the Rafidis in Qayrawan in the worst manner, and burned them and took their wealth. They destroyed their houses and killed their women and children, and dragged them by their legs, and that was a punishment of Allah that was sent against them. The matter spread beyond Qayrawan to al-Mahdiyah and their other cities. They were killed and burned with fire, and not one of them was left in Ifriqiyah except those who hid.518 This kind of resistance was the toughest and most effective kind, by means of which Allah purified the Maghreb of innovation. Resistance through writing Resistance through writing was one of the best and most beneficial means of resisting the Shiites. It was very effective in annoying and upsetting them, and it is the reason why they declared war on those who did so.