Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-ʿĀbid ( ar, الحسين بن علي العابد) was an
Alid
The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...
who rebelled at
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
against the
Abbasid caliph
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came t ...
al-Hadi
Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...
. He was killed with many of his followers at the
Battle of Fakhkh
The Battle of Fakhkh () was fought on 11 June 786 between the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate and the supporters of a pro-Alid rebellion in Mecca under al-Husayn ibn Ali, a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali.
Husayn and his supporters planned an uprisi ...
outside
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
on 11 June 786, whence he is known to history as the Man of Fakhkh ( ar, صاحب فخ, Ṣāḥib Fakhkh).
Family and early life
Husayn's father was , a great-grandson of
al-Hasan ibn Ali
Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ...
, and his mother was Zaynab, the daughter of Abdallah ibn al-Hasan al-Muthanna, a grandson of al-Hasan ibn Ali. Both of his parents were renowned for their piety, to the point that his father volunteered to join his Alid relatives who were imprisoned by the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliph
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...
in 758 and 762, dying in prison in 763.
Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al- Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al- Ḥasan al-Mujtabā ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakīyya ( ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن الحسن بن الحسن بن علي الملقَّب ...
, who led a
major Alid revolt in
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
against the
Abbasids
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
in 762, was a brother of Husayn's mother.
Husayn thus grew up in what the historian
Laura Veccia Vaglieri
Laura Veccia Vaglieri (1893 – 1989) was an Italian orientalist.
A scholar and one of the pioneers of Arabic and Islamic studies in Italy, Veccia Vaglieri served as professor at the Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" and was the a ...
describes as "an atmosphere of extreme piety and of secret hatred for the Abbasids". Nevertheless, Husayn had friendly relations with the third Abbasid caliph,
al-Mahdi
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abba ...
(), who gave him money and released an Alid prisoner at Husayn's intercession. According to Veccia Vaglieri, "
ere exist many anecdotes about his love for the poor, his charity, his inability to understand the value of money and his boundless generosity".
Revolt
Shortly after Caliph al-Mahdi died in July 785, Husayn and his followers rose in revolt at Medina, hoping to take advantage of the as yet unstable position of al-Mahdi's successor,
al-Hadi
Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...
. Probably on 16 May 786, Husayn and his fellow conspirators tried to seize control of Medina. At the
Mosque of the Prophet
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qu ...
, Husayn took the pulpit, symbolically dressed in white and wearing a white turban, and
received the allegiance of is followers, with the
regnal name
A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
of , 'the One pleasing to God from the house of Muhammad'.
The rebels failed to rally the ordinary people to their cause, however, and were quickly confronted by the local garrison. Over the following days, the partisans of the Alids (, the 'wearers of white') and the Abbasids (, the 'wearers of black') clashed repeatedly, but the latter emerged victorious, confining the Alids and their partisans to the precinct of the Great Mosque. With his uprising clearly a failure, Husayn left the city for
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
on 28 May, with some 300 followers.
On 11 June 786, at the
wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
of , some northwest of Mecca, Husayn's small force encountered the Abbasid army, under the command of a number of Abbasid princes who had been present in the city with their armed retinues for the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
. In the ensuing battle, Husayn and over a hundred of his followers were killed, and many taken prisoner. Many Alids managed to escape the battle by mingling with the Hajj pilgrims. Among them were
Idris and Yahya, the brothers of Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya. Idris eventually moved to the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
, and in 789 established the
Idrisid dynasty
The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ar, الأدارسة ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid an ...
in the area of modern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, while his brother Yahya raised a revolt in
Daylam
Daylam, also known in the plural form Daylaman (and variants such as Dailam, Deylam, and Deilam), was the name of a mountainous region of inland Gilan, Iran. It was so named for its inhabitants, known as the Daylamites.
The Church of the East es ...
in 792.
References
Sources
*
*
* {{EI2 , last = Veccia Vaglieri , first = L. , authorlink = Laura Veccia Vaglieri , title = al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, Ṣāḥib Fak̲h̲k̲h̲ , url = http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_2979 , volume = 3 , pages = 615–617
786 deaths
Hasanids
Rebels from the Abbasid Caliphate
People killed in action
8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
Arab rebels
8th-century Arabs