Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq, surnamed al-Dibaj ("the handsome"), the younger full brother of
Musa al-Kadhim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
, and son of
Ja'far al-Sadiq appeared in
Mecca in the year 200 A.H. / 815 C.E., in the aftermath of the revolt of
Abu'l-Saraya, claiming that he was the Awaited
Mahdi. He believed in a
Zaydi Shia
Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, ...
type of Imamate and declared himself as the
Caliph of the Muslims and took the oath of allegiance from them and was called the
Leader of the faithful. He was recognized as the
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
by a small group of followers. His followers became denominated as the Shumaytiyya (Sumaytiyya) after their leader Yahya ibn Abi’l-Shumayt (al-Sumayt). However, his revolt against the Caliph
al-Ma'mun
Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
proved unsuccessful in the very same year it started (i.e. 815 C.E.). He ended his revolt by abdicating and publicly confessing his error and was then banished from the
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
and the
Tihamah
Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb.
Etymology
Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in mas ...
.
Al-Dibaj died in 203 A.H. / 818 C.E., and was buried near
Bastam, Iran. The Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun himself was present until the burial was over and said the final prayer on the bier.
Descendants
Isma'il & Ja'far
They were present at the cemetery, attending to the funeral and burial ceremonies of their father Muhammad bin Ja'far.
Yahya
According to
Al-Ma'mun
Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
, Yahya was somewhere in Egypt at the time of his father's death. It is possible he was opposed to the
Abbasid caliphate.
Ali
Known as Al-Harisi. He had settled permanently in Shiraz since the exile of his father's family from
Medina. Seven generations of his descendants lived and multiplied in
Shiraz and some are known to have accompanied armies of
Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
to India.
Al-Qasim
Al-Dibaj had a son named Al-Qasim, who in turn had three children: Umm Kulthum (d.868), Abdallah (d.875) and Yahya (d.877). Al-Qasim and his family went to live in
Egypt after the failure of Al-Dibaj's revolt and were among the first
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 ...
families to resettle in Egypt.
Legacy and Tomb
Al-Dibaj's followers, the Shumaytiyya or Sumaytiyya, believed that the Imamate would remain with his family and that the Mahdi would come from among his family.
Muhammad al-Dibaj was buried in
Jurjan, Iran (near Bastam, Iran) and his grave soon became a site of pilgrimage and known as "qabr al-da'i" (Grave of the
Da'i
A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam.
See also
* Dawah
* Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق)
* ...
/Missionary). In 900 CE,
Muhammad ibn Zayd, the Zaydi ruler of Tabaristan, was killed in battle by the Sunni
Samanids and subsequently beheaded. His head was sent to the Samanid court located in
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
while his "headless torso (badan)" was sent to Jurjan to be buried in Muhammad al-Dibaj's burial site. According to the historian Al-Qummi, in 984 AD, a "a proper structure (turba)
n the burial site of Dibaj and Muhammad ibn Zayd's bodywas erected only on the orders of the
Buyid wazīr al-Ṣāḥib".
[Al-Qummī, Tārīkh-i Qum (Tehran, 1982), pp. 223-224; Leisten, Architektur für Tote, p. 33]
See also
*
Fourth Fitna
*
People claiming to be the Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is a Messianic figure who, it is believed, will appear on Earth before the Day of Judgment, and will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny. People claiming to be the Mahdi have appeared across the ...
*
Descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib
References
Sources
*Al-Maqalat wa al-Firaq, by Sa'ad Ibn Abdillah al-Ash'ari al-Qummi (d. 301), pg.80
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad Ibn Jafar Al-Sadiq
Husaynids
Zaydi imams
Self-declared messiahs
818 deaths
Year of birth unknown
8th-century Arabs
9th-century Arabs
Rebels from the Abbasid Caliphate
9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
Fourth Fitna
9th-century Shia Muslims