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It may be very useful or necessary
to study the age of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) and shed lights on the political,
social, religious, cultural, and other sides of that age. Studying an age is
one of the methodical researches that is too necessary in the modern studies
because it uncovers important sides of the external influences on man and shows
his intellectual and all psychological tendencies that arise from his age and
environments as psychologists says. Political life The political life in the time of
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was very bad. There was no security in all countries of the
Islamic world. Anarchy was everywhere because the Abbasid government lost its
authority and influence and no longer had its terrible power it had during the
reigns of al-Mansur, ar-Rasid, and al-Ma’mun. The reasons behind that were: The Prevailing of the Turks on the
Rule The Turks controlled the reins of
power and prevailed on all the bodies of the state to a degree that the Abbasid
caliph had no authority or influence. The decisions were in the hands of the
Turks. They appointed and deposed whoever they liked of caliphs, viziers, and
officials. One of poets described the state of al-Musta’een by saying, “A caliph in a cage between Waseef and Bugha, he repeated what they both said to
him as a parrot does.” The Abbasid caliphs in that period
were like parrots. They had nothing from the caliphate. The Turks did
everything whereas the caliph was in name only with no will or option. The caliphate declined and lost its
solemnity and superiority, and the caliphs had no significance. It was
mentioned that when al-Mu’tazz assumed the caliphate, some of his companions
sent for a diviner and asked him how long the caliph would sit on the throne
and how long he would live. A humorous man from among the attendants said, ‘I
know that.’ They asked him to tell them and he said, ‘The matter is in the
hands of the Turks. They decide how long he rules and how long he lives.’ The
all burst into laughter.[628] Al-Mu’tasim, the Abbasid caliph, appointed
Ashnas the Turk as the wali and gave him the right to appoint walis. It was
prayed for Ashnas on the minbars[629] whereas praying was limited to the caliphs before. During his reign, al-Wathiq
appointed Ashnas as the wali on Ignorance of The Turks The Turks had no any expertness in
the affairs of rule and administration or in the political and economical
affairs. They were like nomads in all their behaviors. Al-Jahidh said about them, ‘The
Turks are people of tents, inhabitants of deserts, and owners of cattle. They
are the nomads of the non-Arabs. Crafts, trade, medicine, agriculture,
engineering, building, digging rivers, and yielding did not attract their
attention. Their interest was in invasions, raids, hunting, riding, fighting
against heroes, searching for booties, and subjugating countries. Their
determination towards all that was well known and all meanings and means were
subjected to that. They mastered these matters and were skilled in them. It is
these things that are their crafts, trades, pleasure, pride, discourse, and
night chat.’ The affairs of the state were in the
hands of these rudes who knew nothing about civilization or development.
Therefore, the nation faced dangerous crises, terrible problems, and too many
misfortunes and bloody events. Corruption of The Rule From the direct results of the domination
of the Turks over the rule was the corruption of the rule and inadvertency.
Bribe was widespread among the officials of the state. The viziers, walis, and
clerks embezzled the monies of land taxes and other taxes and the yields that
came to the state from different countries. In 229 AH, al-Wathiq, the Abbasid
caliph, confiscated from the clerks of the divans about two million dinars,[631] and al-Mutawakkil confiscated ibn az-Zayyat’s money which he had embezzled
and the wealth of his clerk Umar bin al-Faraj ar-Rakhji. It was said that
al-Mutawakkil took from him about one hundred and twenty thousand dinars and
from his brother about one hundred and fifty thousand dinars.[632] He also took from the chief of judges Yahya bin Aktham seventy-five
thousand dinars.[633] Shawqi Dhayf comments on this by
saying, ‘This means that the viziers, clerks, and walis embezzled the wealth of
the state and nation. One thinks that there was no senior official in the state
unless he committed abominable crime. The walis bribed the vizier in order to
stay in their posts. Sometimes bribe was about two hundred thousand dinars
besides gems and other gifts.[634] Even the muhtasibs[635] took bribes and embezzled money through their watching traders and
merchants and the movement of buying and selling in the markets. It was
narrated that Ahmad bin at-Tayyib bin Marwan ar-Rakhsi, the philosopher,
breached the trust when he was the chief of the muhtasibs in The spread of bribe in this manner
was a clear evidence on the corruption of the senior officials in the Abbasid
government and that most of the officials embezzled the wealth of Muslims
unjustly. The Walis of The Islamic Districts The walis over the Islamic countries
often bought their jobs and posts from the viziers. The vizier al-Khaqani sold
the post of the wali over Kufa to nineteen walis in one day and took from each
of them bribe. Most walis went too far in wronging
people and extorting their money unjustly which made most people complain of
their injustice and oppression. At the days of al-Wathiq, his vizier Muhammad
bin Abdul Melik composed a poem and ascribed it to one of the soldiers and gave
it to the caliph. He mentioned a flow of grievances and distresses that the
walis poured over the nation. In his poem he expressed the misfortunes of the
nation and the endless sufferings people received during the days of those
walis whom al-Wathiq set up on the Islamic districts and entrusted with all the
affairs of Muslims. They were excessive in oppression. They embezzled the
treasury and threw the innocent into dark prisons and cells of torture. The Hatred Towards the Abbasid Rule Muslims of all trends and tendencies
hated the Abbasid rule and wished it to disappear a moment after another
because of the bad, devious policies of the Abbasid rulers which were different
from the laws of the Islamic Sharia in most cases, where the wicked became
masters and the free were subdued. The corruption of the Abbasid governments
brought Muslims disasters and misfortunes and threw them into great dangers. The Abbasid rulers and their
officials extorted the wealth of the nation and killed the great and reformers.
They killed many people like the great martyr Zayd the son of Imam Ali bin
al-Husayn who were martyred in the way of justice during the reign of the
Umayyads. They killed a big group of the Alawids like Yahya bin Amr bin
al-Husayn and others who resisted injustice and oppression. Anyhow, Muslims hated
the Abbasid governments and disapproved their oppression and despotism against
people. Oppressing The Alawids From the worst faces of the clumsy
politics the Abbasid followed was the oppression against the Alawids who were
the heralds of the social justice in Islam. The Alawids were tried very
severely and they suffered distresses that no one had ever suffered in the
world of Islam and especially during the reign of al-Mutawakkil who spared no
effort in oppressing and punishing them. He poured on them a flow of
misfortunes and distresses. Historians said that his vizier Ubaydillah bin
Yahya bin Khaqan encouraged him to oppress them.[638] Economical Blockade Al-Mutawakkil imposed an economical
blockade on the Alawids and officially forbade people from helping or doing any
good to them. Whenever he was informed that someone did them good even a bit he
subjected him to severe punishments.[639] Therefore, people refrained from helping them with any kind of help or
giving them any of the legal dues for fear of the revenge and punishment of the
tyrant. The economical blockade harmed the
Alawids and exhausted them to a degree that one dress was used by some women of
them. One of them wore it and offered the prayer and then another one and so
on. They always patched it. They sat at their spindle semi naked with unveiled
heads,[640] whereas the tyrant al-Mutawakkil
spent on his red nights millions of dinars and gifted, without measure,
thousands to singers, drinking companions, and effeminates, but prevented the
progeny of the messenger of Allah (SwT) from receiving their rights and legal
dues until he made them poor and wretched. One day, al-Fath bin Khaqan the
vizier gave al-Mutawakkil a very beautiful maid as a present. She came to him
carrying a gold cup and a vat of crystal full of wine. He spent his nights with
singers, female dancers, and wine whereas the progeny of the Prophet (S)
suffered poverty, hunger, and all kinds of distresses. The Abbasid women and the singers
and dancers around them strutted in silk and brocade while the daughters of the
messenger of Allah (SwT) had no clothes to cover themselves with. Those dark
days passed and al-Mutawakkil recorded in his history black pages full of sins
and crimes against the progeny of the Prophet(a.s.). Gifting Monies To Disparage The
Alawids Al-Mutawakkil gifted great monies to
mercenary poets who criticized the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) in their poetry. He gave
abundant money and gold to Marwan bin Abu al-Janub and appointed him as wali on
Jailing The Alawids From the hard and severe distresses
the Alawids suffered during the reign of al-Mutawakkil was imprisonment.
Al-Mutawakkil arrested and threw many of them into dark prisons for no guilt
but just because they called for the rights of the nation and they adopted its
aims and wishes. From among the prominent Alawids,
who were imprisoned by al-Mutawakkil at that time, was Muhammad bin Salih the
great-grandson of Imam al-Hasan (a.s.),[641] and Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Ja’far al-Husayni who was arrested by
Abdullah bin Tahir, who was one of al-Mutawakkil’s governors, and imprisoned in
Naysabour. He remained in prison until he died.[642] Some other Alawids ran away and
lived disguisedly in far towns and villages for fear of the Abbasid government
like Ahmad bin Eesa bin Zayd bin Ali bin al-Husayn, who died in loneliness,[643] and Abdullah bin Musa bin al-Hasan who was from the eminent Alawids and
well-known heroes. He hid himself for fear of the Abbasids,[644] besides many others as mentioned by Abul Faraj al-Isfahani and other
historians. The Revolt of Martyr Yahya Yahya bin Umar bin al-Husayn bin
Zayd revolted against the Abbasid government calling for the rights of the
oppressed and persecuted people and inviting to establish the rule of Allah in
the earth. He was a brave knight far away from the recklessness of the youth.
He was not accused of any defect.[645] People loved him and were loyal to him because he began his rising by
refraining from shedding blood or taking anything from people’s properties. He
treated the all with justice and fairness. The cause of his revolt was for an
isolation and misfortune he and others suffered from the Turks during the reign
of al-Mutawakkil.[646] Groups from the people of Kufa
followed him and he revolted with them during the reign of al-Musta’een. The
caliph assigned Muhammad bin Tahir to fight Yahya. He marched towards him with
a big army. After violent fighting Yahya was martyred and a page from the
bright pages of jihad in Islam was folded. After the martyrdom of Yahya,
Muhammad bin Tahir sat in a public meeting to receive congratulations for
killing the progeny of the messenger of Allah (SwT). Villains and flatterers
showed him joys and delight and congratulated him for the victory of killing
the grandson of the messenger of Allah. Abu Hashim al-Ja’fari went to
Muhammad bin Tahir and said to him, ‘O emir, you are delighted for killing a
man, who if the messenger of Allah was alive he would be consoled for his
death.’ Muhammad bin Tahir became silent and
terrible silence prevailed over the meeting. The captives from Yahya’s companions
were taken to People became sad for the death of
Yahya and wept for him too much. No one was elegized more than him. Many
well-known poets elegized him and criticized the Abbasids. Anyhow, the killing of Yahya was one
of the great, shocking events in that age, for by killing him the sanctity of
the Prophet (S) was violated whereas Allah, in the Holy Qur'an, had made the
love for the Prophet’s progeny as the reward for the Prophet’s efforts in
carrying out the mission of Allah. Destroying the Tomb of Imam Husayn Al-Mutawakkil destroyed the tomb of
Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) and this was one of many other terrible misfortunes
Muslims were afflicted with at that time. Al-Mutawakkil was full of rage
whenever he heard or saw crowds of people visit the shrine of Imam al-Husayn
(a.s.) the master of the youth of Paradise, whereas the graves of his
(al-Mutawakkil’s) fathers and their cousins the Umayyads turned into dunghills
in dark, dreary places which were resorts for beasts. Those graves, with their
misery and gloominess, told the oppression and violence of their inhabitants
against Muslims. The direct reason that made al-Mutawakkil
destroy the holy shrine was that some songstress sent him her maids before he
assumed the rule to sing for him when he drank, and when he became the caliph,
he sent for her to send him a songstress but she was not there. It was said to
him that she had gone to visit the holy tomb of Imam al-Husayn (a.s.). She was
informed of that while she was in Kerbala. She hurried back to The tyrant was alarmed and angry
when he heard that the pilgrimage was to the holy tomb of Imam al-Husayn
(a.s.). He arrested the lady of the maid and confiscated all her wealth, and
ordered his officials to destroy the tomb. They refused insistently to destroy
the tomb of the grandson of their Prophet. Then, al-Mutawakkil asked some Jews,
headed by ad-Dayzaj, to destroy the tomb. They responded to him and destroyed
the holy tomb in 237 AH,[648] and destroyed all buildings around the tomb. They plowed the land around
the tomb and made water flow over the land[649] but water turned around the tomb without reaching to it; therefore, it
was called al-Ha’ir. A pleHasant smell was emitted from the tomb that people
had never smelt like it.[650] A nomad from bani Asad got the honor
of visiting the holy tomb after it had been destroyed. He began smelling the
earth so that it might guide him to the holy tomb. When he took a handful of
earth, smelt it, and found it emitting a very pleHasant smell. He cried and
addressed Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) saying, ‘May my father and mother die for you!
How fine you are! How fine your tomb is, and how fine your earth is!’ Then he
recited the following verse, “They wanted to hide his tomb from his
companion, but the fine smell of the tomb’s
earth guided to the tomb.”[651] Al-Mutawakkil wanted to remove the
tomb of Imam Husayn (a.s.), the master of the youth of Professor Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad
says, ‘It is today a sanctuary that Muslims, agreeing or disagreeing,
circumambulate, and it deserved to be circumambulated by every man. It is an
eternal symbol of that which this alive human gives among all creatures. The
dome of the heaven has never shaded a place of a martyr at all more honorable
than those domes with the meaning of martyrdom and the memorandum of martyrs…’[652] Forbidding Muslims from Visiting
Al-Husayn Al-Mutawakkil forbade Muslims
officially from visiting the holy shrine of Imam Husayn (a.s.). He established
military checkpoints and distributed spies everywhere to watch and chase the
visitors and punish them severely with killing, crucifying, cutting the hands,
and other kinds of punishment. In spite of all those severe punishments,
Muslims did not refrain from visiting the grandson of their holy Prophet (S).
They crowded around the holy shrine. When al-Mutawakkil knew about that,
he sent one of his leaders with an army to prevent people from visiting the
shrine. People resisted and said to the leader, ‘If you kill us all, we will
not refrain from visiting him (Imam Husayn).’ He wrote to al-Mutawakkil about
the situation and al-Mutawakkil ordered him to give up. In 247AH al-Mutawakkil was informed
that people in great masses came to visit the holy shrine. He sent them a big
army and ordered the caller to call out that al-Mutawakkil would be free from
whoever visited al-Husayn.[653] He killed, imprisoned, and imposed big taxes on people but he failed to
stop them from visiting the holy shrine of Imam al-Husayn (a.s.). People
offered their lives and wealth generously for the sake of visiting Imam
al-Husayn (a.s.). Complaint of Muslims Muslims complained of al-Mutawakkil
and abused him in their societies and meetings. They wrote the cursing against
him on mosques and walls, in the streets of “By Allah, if the Umayyads had killed the son[655] of the Prophet unjustly, his cousins[656] did the same; here is his tomb destroyed! They felt sorry that they did not
participate in killing him, So they chased him in the grave.’[657] The Abbasids exceeded what the
Umayyads did in oppressing and distressing the Alawids. In fact, in spite of
all severity and malice the Umayyad treated the Alawids with, they were better
and nobler much more than most of the Abbasid kings. Some Umayyad rulers had
had virtues that the founder of the Abbasid state al-Mansur ad-Dawaniqi had not
any as Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said. Economical life The economical life in the age of
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was absolutely confused. There was no scientific,
economical system that the state depended on. The state sank under economical
confusion that was governed by neither the Islamic economical system nor
others. The caliph, the Turks, the viziers, and the officials robbed the
economy of the nation and extorted its wealth, and then accumulated great capitals
in their private treasuries at the time when poverty and wretchedness were
widespread everywhere in the nation. The majority of people moaned under the
pressure of poverty. They could not have the slightest necessities of living
whereas al-Mutawakkil and other Abbasid caliphs, who were contemporary with
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), excessively wasted the wealth of Muslims. The Waste of Al-Mutawakkil Al-Mutawakkil spent the wealth of
Muslims on his lusts and pleasures over the limit. The treasury was as his own
property and he spent from it as he liked. Al-Mas’oudi says, ‘Expenditures did
not reach at any time what it reached at the time of al-Mutawakkil.’[658] The wealth was spent on singers, the maids of the palace who were about
four thousands, clowns, and the poets who disparaged the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and
this class were given great amounts. The wealth of Muslims was spent
excessively in this way while it was supposed to be spent on Muslims to better
their lives and conditions. When one of his sons was
circumcised, al-Mutawakkil held a festival and spent uncountable money.
Al-Imrani reported that event by saying, ‘A tablecloth was spread at the bank
of the Every one took three handfuls and it
was so on until the sunset. Al-Mutawakkil also ordered dinars and dirhams to be
poured in the middle of the meeting. The money was poured and was so much that
it prevented people from seeing each other. A caller called out that Amir’ul-
Mu’minin (al-Mutawakkil) allowed the attendants to loot from those monies.
People threw themselves on those heaps of money and carried them off. When
night came, candles of ambergris were lit. Some of those candles were like
date-palm trees which were set up at the bank of the Celebrating the Homage to his Sons Al-Mutawakkil spent great monies on
the celebration he held on the occasion of taking homage to his sons Muhammad
al-Muntasir, az-Zubayr al-Mu’tazz, and Ibrahim al-Mu’ayyad on Monday, the first
of Muharram in 236AH. He invited all classes of people and spent astonishing
amounts in that celebration. A tablecloth of about four farsakhs[660] was spread in the garden which he had established in The palace was seven farsakhs long
and one farsakh wide. It was filled with people. Statues of ambergris, camphor,
and vessels of musk were put before people. Whoever drank a cup of drink, took
some musk, smelt it, and put it into his pocket or gave it to his servant. The
vessels were refilled continuously. It was so since the sunrise until the
sunset. Al-Mutawakkil sat on a throne of gold studded with jewels and the heirs
apparent were standing before him wearing crowns studded with jewels. People of
different classes were sitting or standing. The sunrays reflected on gold
vessels spread in the meeting, gold belts, and gilded swords and shields. These abundant monies, which were
spent on such celebrations and festivals, were the wealth of Muslims that must,
according to Islam, be spent to improve the conditions of Muslims, grow their
powers, and increase their incomes, but unfortunately nothing of that happened
under the shadow of those corrupted regimes. Bondmaids The palaces of the Abbasids were
crowded of bondmaids who were brought from different countries of the world.
Al-Mutawakkil had about four thousand bondmaids and he slept with all of them.[661] Of course, millions of dinars from
the treasury of Muslims were spent on these bondmaids, and because of these bad
behaviors the general economy of the nation was paralysed. Palaces Al-Mutawakkil and other Abbasid
caliphs built huge and unequaled palaces where no one had ever seen like them.
One of al-Mutawakkil’s palaces was built on a ship. Millions of dinars were
spent on those palaces. Ash-Shabasti said that the palaces
cost al-Mutawakkil two hundred and seventy-four million dirhams and five
hundred and thirteen million and twenty-five thousand dinars.[662] An-Nuwayri said that al-Mutawakkil spent on building his palaces about
one hundred and fifty million dinars and two hundred and fifty-eight million
and five hundred thousand dirhams.[663] Here we talk about some palaces of al-Mutawakkil: 1. Al-Ja’fari It was the most important palace of
al-Mutawakkil. The building of this palace cost him about two million dinars.[664] When the palace was completed, al-Mutawakkil sent for clowns and
jesters, and when they performed some comic scenes, he gave them two million
dirhams.[665] But time attacked al-Ja’fari and
turned it into ruins that even beasts rejected it because it told the
oppression and cruelty of al-Mutawakkil. 2. Al-Burj It was a very beautiful palace. He
spent on the building of this palace about one million and seven hundred
thousand dinars.[666] Ash-Shabasti described it by saying,
‘Al-Burj was the most beautiful building of al-Mutawakkil. He made in it big
statutes of gold and silver and a wide pool with plates of gold and silver. Beside the pool there was a tree of
gold with birds that whistled. It was adorned with jewels. He called the place
Tuba as the name of the 3. Al-Maleeh It was a wonderful palace. He spent
on it five million dirhams.[668] 4. Ash-Shabandaz It was one of his wonderful palaces
that cost ten million dirhams.[669] 5. Al-Mukhtar It was a very wonderful palace that
cost five million dirhams.[670] It had wonderful pictures, one of which was a picture of a church with
monks.[671] This showed that he was influenced
by Christianity. 6. Al-Gharw It was a very beautiful palace that
cost one million dirhams.[672] 7. Barkwar It was the most beautiful and most
wonderful of al-Mutawakkil’s palaces. He spent on it twenty million dirhams.[673] It was in this palace that al-Mutawakkil had held his excessive banquet
on the occasion of circumcising his son al-Mu’tazz as we have mentioned before. 8. Al-Hayr It was a beautiful palace that cost
four million dirhams.[674] Al-Mutawakkil and other Abbasid
caliphs adorned their palaces with wonderful pools surrounded by wonderful
pictures and statutes. They adorned some pools with plates of gold and silver
and furniture stud with jewels and gems.[675] Those pools were a place of
amusement for the Abbasid caliphs and their mock at people. One day,
al-Mutawakkil ordered Ibadah the effeminate to be thrown into one of those
pools in the winter while it was very cold. Ibadah was about to die and then
al-Mutawakkil ordered him to be taken out of water and to be given new clothes
to put on. He approached and asked him, ‘How are you now?’ Ibadah said, ‘I have just come from
the afterlife?’ Al-Mutawakkil laughed and asked him,
‘How was my brother al-Wathiq there?’ Ibadah said, ‘I did not visit the
Hell.’ Al-Mutawakkil laughed and gifted
him.[676] He shot ibn al-Abrah the foolish
poet by the mangonel and when he went high in the air, al-Mutawakkil said,
‘Clear the way! The mangonel is coming to you.’ The poet fell into the pool. Nets
were thrown over him and he was caught like fish.[677] It was required from al-Mutawakkil
to spend his time and efforts to serve the Islamic nation and work for its
development in the economical, cultural, social, and other fields, but he did
nothing of that. Instead, he spent his time and the wealth of Muslims on
vanities, amusements, and lusts. His palaces were places for singing, drinking,
and other vices. Gifts To The Poets Al-Mutawakkil and other Abbasid
caliphs gifted great monies to mercenary poets who formed the most important
part of the media at that time. The poets, who criticized the Alawids in their
poems, got too much money because they fixed the position of the Abbasids and
made people think that they were closer to the Prophet (S) and worthier of his
position than the Alawids. Once, Ibrahim bin al-Mudbir recited
a poem praising al-Mutawakkil who was pleased with it and gave the poet fifty
thousand dirhams and asked his vizier Ubaydillah bin Yahya to find him a good
job. He gave Abul Shibl al-Barjami thirty
thousand dirhams after reciting him a poem of thirty verses,[678] and gave as-Sawli one hundred thousand dirhams, and so did his son.[679] When Marwan bin Abul Janub praised
him in a poem, he gave him two hundred thousand dirhams and new clothes. For
another poem he gave him one hundred and twenty thousand dirhams, fifty
garments, a mule, a horse, and a donkey.[680] The poet praised al-Mutawakkil on another occasion and got from him one
hundred and twenty thousand dirhams and some clothes,[681] and fifty thousand dirhams on another occasion.[682] As for Ali bin al-Jahm the poet,
al-Mutawakkil made him so wealthy because he dedicated his poetry to praise the
caliph particularly. The excessive gifts of al-Mutawakkil were not limited to
poets only, but they included singers, clowns, and drinking companions.
Al-Mas’oudi says, ‘No one in his (al-Mutawakkil’s) state was expert in serious
or love poetry unless he got a good share of money.’[683] The wealth of the nation and its
economical abilities were dispelled on vanities, amusements, and pleasures.
Nothing was spent on the public welfare. Shawqi Dhayf says, “…In this way millions of dinars and dirhams were
spent, without consideration or control, on the parties of the palace; those
parties which supplied the stories of “A thousand and one nights” with all what
might come to one’s imagination of luxury and lavish spending. That wealth,
which was supposed to be spent on preparing armies to resist the Turks and the
Byzantines, was wasted foolishly while people strove and worked hard, but
suffered poverty and wretchedness. At the same time, al-Mutawakkil and other
than al-Mutawakkil played with the people’s wealth. Millions after millions were spent
on building high palaces which were places for singing, dancing, and drinking,
and heaps of gold and silver were scattered here and there. It was narrated
that one day al-Mutawakkil was drunken in his palace called al-Barkwar. He said
to his drinking companions where it was not the season of flowers, ‘What do you
think if we hold a festival of flowers?’ They said to him, ‘These days are
not of flowers.’ He sent for Ubaydillah bin Yahya, who was one of his viziers,
and asked him to coin five million dirhams each of two weights of silver. When
the dirhams were coined, he ordered his vizier to dye some of the dirhams red,
some yellow, some black, and to leave some as they were. The vizier did as he
was ordered. Then al-Mutawakkil ordered his seven hundred servants and retinue
to prepare a new garment and cap different in color from each other and they
did. Al-Mutawakkil waited until a windy day came and he ordered a large tent of
forty doors to be erected. He came into the tent surrounded by his
drinking companions and his servants wearing their new dresses. He ordered the
dirhams to be scattered a group after another like flowers. They were scattered
successively and the wind carried them for they were light. They flew in the
air like flowers did.[684] It was a result of idleness, and
excessive luxury. The caliphs enjoyed life to the extent of foolishness and
mania, whereas classes of people behind them lived in straits and pressing
poverty.’[685] The general economical life The general economical life in the
Islamic nation was absolutely bad. Poverty bit most of people who were in
terrible neediness. The general wealth was accumulated near singers, clowns,
the retinue and agents of rulers especially the Turks who were so wealthy that
they did not know how to spend that wealth. They spent great monies on every
kind of pleasure and lust. Whenever they became bored with a pleasure
they turned to another one. Thus, their lives passed between singing,
amusement, and meetings of drinking that were held in the great palaces which
were built with the money of the poor, the deprived, and the miserable. Anyhow, the economical life in most
of the Islamic countries was paralyzed or confused, and that made reformers to
rise in armed revolts against the Abbasid rule. Land Tax The collection of the land tax was
an important side in the economical life. The Abbasid governments entrusted
this job to a group of severe and harsh men. They collected taxes that Islam
had not legislated. They collected those taxes with all severe and violent
means, and people suffered too much during those dark periods. General Misery The majority of the Islamic peoples
suffered misery, poverty, and deprivation during the Abbasid ages. Ulama’, men
of letters, and thinkers often and always complained of their difficult lives.
Poverty attacked most people that they hardly found a bite to satisfy their
hunger or a rag to cover their semi-naked bodies against the cold of winter.
Some well-known scholars, poets, and authors lived lives of misery. Many times they could not find a bit
of bread to eat or to give to their families and children. Studying and seeking
knowledge at that time led scholars to poverty and deprivation. As an example,
al-Jahidh, who was one of the best and most eminent scholars, authors, and men
of letters and intellect, suffered pressing neediness and misery, whereas
singers, dancers, and clowns lived at absolute ease. Many poets of that age
invited in their poetry towards asceticism and Sufism because of the poverty
and deprivation they underwent. The religious life The religious life in the age of
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was confused and turbid. Many suspicions and illusions were
raised against the Islamic belief by the powers that had spites and enmities
against Islam. Muslim ulama’, and at the head was Imam al-Hadi (a.s.),
confronted those suspicions and spurious arguments and they refuted them. Heresies and Errors A wicked group of atheists and
apostates slipped among the Shia and spread some heresies and errors. Muslims
were tried too much by these polytheists because of the falsehood they spread
by which they misled simple and naïve people. The heads of those heretics were
Ali bin Hasakah al-Qummi, al-Qassim al-Yaqtini, al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Baba
al-Qummi, and Muhammad bin Nusayr. The Heresies of Ibn Hasakah Ibn Hasakah said that Imam Abul
Hasan al-Hadi (a.s.) was the God, the creator, and the manager of the universe.
He claimed that he (ibn Hasakah) was a prophet sent by Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) to
guide people. He annulled the Islamic obligations such as zakat, the hajj, and
fasting, for whoever believed in his belief. Simple people of no understanding
believed him and inclined to his heresies. One of Imam al-Hadi’s companions
wrote a letter to the Imam saying, “May I die for you my sire! Ali bin Hasakah
claims that he is from your guardians and that you are the First and the Old.
He claims that he is your bab and your prophet, and that you yourself have
ordered him to invite for that. He claims that prayer, zakat, hajj, and fasting
are the knowing of you and the knowing of one who is like ibn Hasakah who is
the bab and the prophet. He says that whoever believes in this is a perfect
faithful and therefore prayer, fasting, hajj, and other obligations are not
required from him. Many people inclined to him. Would you please favor your
followers with an answer to save them from perishment?’[686] The Imam Disavows Him Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) disavowed ibn
Hasakah and invited people to reject him and reject his followers and kill
them. He wrote a letter as a reply to the previous letter saying, “Ibn Hasakah tells lies. The curse of Allah be
on him! He is not one of my guardians. May Allah curse him. By Allah, Allah did
not send Muhammad and the prophets before him except with prayer, zakat,
fasting, hajj, and guardianship. Muhammad did not invite except to Allah alone
with no partner. So do we, the guardians from his progeny. We are slaves of Allah not
associating with Him anything. If we obey Him, He will have mercy on us and if
we disobey Him, He will torture us. We do not have any authority on Allah but
Allah has the authority on us and on all His creatures. I, before Allah,
disavow whoever says that and I resort to Allah from this saying. Desert them!
May Allah curse them. Block them up into narrow passages and if you find any of
them, split his head with stone!’[687] The Heresies of Al-Fihri Muhammad bin Nusayr al-Fihri
an-Namiri was from the heads of atheists and the chiefs of unbelievers. He
spread among people that Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was the Creator and God. He
permitted the marriage with one’s mahrams (close relatives that it is unlawful
to get married to) like one’s mother, sister, daughter, and the like. He
permitted sodomy and considered it as one of the good pleasures that Allah had
not forbidden and that it was a means of being humble before Allah. He believed
in transmigration (of souls at or after death into another body). By these heresies he tried to fight
Islam and distort the reality of the infallible Imams (a.s.). Interpreting the Obligations These deviant atheists interpreted
the Islamic obligations according to their own corrupted tendencies. They said
that the prayer, which Allah had ordered to be performed, was not that known
kind of worship but it was a particular man. They also said that the zakat was
not the tax that Allah had imposed, but it was a particular man. They also
interpreted the sins that Allah had prohibited according to their own
tendencies. Ibrahim bin Shaybah wrote a letter
to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) saying, “May I die for you! There is a group of people
among us disagreeing on acknowledging your virtues and position by different
sayings that hearts are disgusted of and chests cannot bear. They narrate
traditions on that that we cannot accept because they say terrible things and
we cannot refute or deny if they are ascribed to your fathers. We are
suspicious about these sayings. They interpret the meaning of the sayings of
Allah, (…surely prayer keeps (one) away
from indecency and evil),[688] and (And keep up prayer and
pay the zakat)[689] and say that prayer means a man and
neither bowing nor prostration. They also say that zakat is a man and not the
paying of money. They interpret other obligations in the same way and even
sins. Would you please favor your followers with that which has their safety
and rescue from the sayings (beliefs) that take them to perishment? From among
those who claim they are guardians and invite people to follow them are Ali bin
Hasakah and al-Qassim al-Yaqtini. What do you say about them?” Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) replied, ‘This
is not from our religion and you have to reject it.’[690] Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was tried seriously by those deviants who
disbelieved in Allah and denied his signs. The Imam warns against them Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) warned his
followers and the rest of Muslims from associating with those excessive
atheists. He wrote to Ali bin Muhammad bin Eesa, ‘May Allah curse al-Qassim
al-Yaqtini and Ali bin Hasakah al-Qummi. Satan has appeared to him and so he
inspires falsehood to deceive others.’[691] He also wrote to al-Ubaydi warning him
from the heresies of those excessive atheists and inviting him to disavow them.
He said in the letter, “I disavow, before Allah, al-Fihri and al-Hasan bin
Muhammad bin Baba al-Qummi and you have to disavow them. I warn you and all my
followers from them, and I curse them. The curse of Allah be on them. They eat the monies of people in the
name of us. They are seditious and harmful. May Allah harm them, throw them
into curse, and plunge them into mischief. Ibn Baba claims that I have sent him
(as an apostle) and that he is a bab. The curse of Allah be on him. Satan has
mocked and seduced him. Allah may curse whoever accepts from him. O Muhammad,
if you can split his head with stone, do! He has harmed me. May Allah harm him
in this life and in the afterlife.”[692] Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) asked his
followers (the Shia) to kill the head of the extremists Faris bin Hatim. He
said, ‘Faris claims that he acts in the name of me. He is seditious calling for
heresies. His blood is to be shed by whoever can kill him. Who will relieve me
from him by killing him and I will assure Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) permitted the
killing of the extremists. He wrote to one of his companions, ‘…if you can
overcome any of them, break his head with a stone!’[694] Once, as-Sariy bin Salamah sent a
letter to Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) asking him about the extremists and what they
called for. The Imam replied to him, ‘May Allah keep you safe from their
extremism. It suffices that the guardians of Allah have disavowed them. May
Allah fix you on what you are in…in this life and in the afterlife and make you
not go astray after He has guided you.’[695] Causes of Extremism The causes that led such people to
say that Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was the god and the creator of the universe
were-as we think- as the following: 1. The charismata and miracles that
Allah had endowed Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) and his fathers with, which the deviants
and those who had spite towards the Imam advantaged of to fabricate heresies in
order to attack Islam and do away with it. 2. The disengagement from the
Islamic values and principles; and so they permitted all what Islam had
prohibited. 3. The greed for people’s wealth;
therefore, they took it wrongly and extorted the legal dues that the Shia paid
to their Imams (a.s.). With the Waqifites After the death of Imam Musa bin
Ja’far al-Kadhim (a.s.), a sect from the Shia called the Waqifites appeared on
the stage of the Islamic life. They denied the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim
(a.s.) and claimed that he was raised to the Heavens as Jesus Christ (a.s.)
was. The chiefs of this sect claimed so because there were great monies of the
legal dues of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (a.s.) with them. They embezzled these monies and did
not deliver them to Imam ar-Ridha (a.s.) after the death of Imam al-Kadhim
(a.s.). This sect kept on resisting the Twelver Shia until the Shia called them
as al-Mamturah (dirty dogs that were wetted by rain and they became (ritually)
impure and consequently they would impurify whoever they might touch). One of the Shia wrote to Imam
al-Hadi (a.s.) asking him if it was permissible for him to curse those
al-Mamturah in prayer, and the Imam replied to him that it was permissible.[696] The Creation of The Qur'an From the terrible problems Muslims
were tried with in their religious life was the problem of “the creation of the
Qur'an” which the Abbasid rulers contrived and spread to do away with their
opponents. Many people were killed because of this heresy and spites and
hostilities spread among Muslims. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) wrote a letter
to Ahmad bin Isma’il bin Yaqtin in 227AH saying to him, “May Allah safeguard us
and you from the sedition! If He does, it shall be a great blessing and if not,
it shall be the perishment. We see that disputing on the Qur'an is a heresy
that both the asker and the answerer participate in; the asker deals with what
is not his and the answerer burdens himself with what it is not his duty. The creator is but Allah the
Almighty and whatsoever else is created, and the Qur'an is the speech of Allah.
Do not make for Him a name from yourself so that you shall be from the
deviants. May Allah make us and you from among those who fear their Lord in
secret and they are fearful of the hour (of doom).’[697] The life of amusement The Abbasid kings, who ruled at the
time of Imam al-Hadi (a.s.), indulged in pleasures, amusement, singing, and all
lusts. Their red nights were full of drinking, singing, and dancing, but with
no seriousness or any remembrance of Allah. Not only had the caliphs behaved
so, but also their viziers, clerks, walis, officials, and in fact the rest of
people. They pounced upon pleasures and amusements and turned away from the
pure life that Islam had determined for them. Wining Drinking wine was widespread in that
age. Al-Mutawakkil the caliph, his viziers, and his retinue drank wine often
and it was something common for them. They were indifferent to the prohibition
and the severe penalty that Islam had legislated for drinking wine. The bottles
of wine were from the most precious presents for the Abbasids. Abdullah bin
Ahmad bin Hamdun narrated that his father said, ‘We went with al-Ma’mun and
with al-Mu’tasim to fight the Romans. Muhammad bin Abdul Melik az-Zayyat gifted
us with matured Iraqi drinks and wrote with them some verses of poetry.’ Al-Mutawakkil was the fondest of
wine among the Abbasid kings, and all bodies of his government were like him.
He spent most of his life between the cups of wine, and he was killed while he
was drunk. Debauchery Debauchery and corruption spread
widely during the reigns of the Abbasid kings. It was an outstanding phenomenon
not only near the kings, but also near the rest of people. The general conduct
of people at that time was colored with debauchery, dissoluteness, and vices.
It was the kings themselves, who pounced upon amusement, desires, and all
unlawful pleasures, that encouraged the rest of people to follow these ways.
The spiritual life had influence neither inside their palaces nor on their conducts
in the outside. Notes: [629] An-Nujum az-Zahirah, vol.2 p.229. [630] Tareekh al-Ya’qubi, vol.3 p.205. [631] Tareekh at-Tabari, vol.9 p.125. [632] Muruj ath-Thahab, vol.4 p.19. [633] Tareekh at-Tabari, vol.9 p.197. [635] A muhtasib was the official who controlled prices, weights, and measures
in the market. [636] Muruj ath-Thahab, vol.4 p.170. [637] Al-Asr al-Abbasi ath-Thani (the second Abbasid age), p.120-121. [638] Maqatil at-Talibiyin, p.597. [640] Maqatil at-Talibiyin, p.599. [641] Maqatil at-Talibiyin, p.600. [645] Maqatil at-Talibiyin, p. 639. [646] Muruj ath-Thahab, vol.4 p.93. [647] Maqatil at-Talibiyin, p.p.644. [649] Maqatil at-Talibiyin, p.598. [651] Sharh Shafiyyat Abu Firas, vol.2 p.144. [652] Abu ash-Shuhada, by Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad. [653] Sharh Shafiyyat Abu Firas, p.144. [654] Fawat al-Wafiyyat, vol.1 p.203. [656] The Abbasids who were the cousins of the Prophet (a.s) and of Imam
Husayn (a.s). [657] Akhbar ad-Duwal, p.159, Tareekh al-Khulafa’, p.347. [658] Muruj ath-Thahab, vol.4 p.159. [659] Al-Anba’ fee Tareekh al-Khulafa’. [660] Farsang: a unit of distance equal to 6km. [661] Siyer A’lam an-Nubala’, vol.8 p.153, Tareekh al-Khulafa’, p.349, Akhbar
ad-Duwal, p.116. [663] Nihayat al-Arab, vol.1 p.406. [664] Mu’jam al-Buldan, vol.2 p.143. [665] Tareekh at-Tabari, vol.9 p.212. [666] Tareekh al-Ya’qubi, vol.3 p.222, ad-Diyarat, p.103. [668] Mu’jam al-Buldan, vol.3 p.175. [675] Nihayat al-Arab, vol.1 p.406. [676] Al-Iqd al-Fareed, vol.6 p.430. [677] Fawat al-Wafiyyat by al-Kutubi, vol.2 p.356. [678] Al-Aghani by Abul Faraj al-Isfahani, vol.14 p.193. [681] Tareekh al-Khulafa’, p.349. [683] Tareekh al-Khulafa’, p.349. [685] The Second Abbasid Age, p.68-69. [689] Qur'an, 2:43 and other verses. [694] Wassa’il ash-Shia, vol.18 p.554. |
