The hadith of black flags (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: أحاديث الرايات السود) is a motif featured in Islamic apocalyptics, about people carrying black banners. These hadith were used by some to justify following the

Abbasid Revolution The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early Islamic history, by the third, the Abbasid Caliphate ...

.TOURAJ DARYAEE ''APOCALYPSE NOW: ZOROASTRIAN REFLECTIONS ON THE EARLY ISLAMIC CENTURIES'' University of California, Los Angeles p. 193-194 Many Islamist and some jihadistic groups identify themselves with black banners bearing a white .

In hadith

The

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

attributed to

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

say:

Interpretation

Early Islam

Greater Khorasan Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...

is a large territory that includes most of northern Afghanistan and north-eastern Iran. From a political point of view it also includes

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

and

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...

. The region that is now known as Khorasan Province encompasses less than half of historical Khorasan; the rest of that region now belongs to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. These black banners may be those with which Abu Muslim came and overthrew the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

in 132 AH. Flag of Jihad

Jihadism

Modern

Jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

organizations such as Al-Qaeda and

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

also use black flags. Justin O'Shea characterizes this hadith as "narrated by

Abu Hurayrah Abu Hurayra ( ar, أبو هريرة, translit=Abū Hurayra; –681) was one of the companions of Islamic prophet Muhammad and, according to Sunni Islam, the most prolific narrator of hadith. He was known by the ''kunyah'' Abu Hurayrah "Fathe ...

but of questionable origin," and cites Will McCants' description of a "mythology" in which one sign of the End Times is that a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

army with yellow flags will arise to fight the ( Sunni) black flags in Syria — a mythology promoted and exploited by

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

References

Donner, F. (1986). Black Banners from the East: The Establishment of the ’Abbāsid State–Incubation of a Revolt, by Moshe Sharon. (The Max Schloessinger Memorial Series, monograph 2.) The Magnes Press, Jerusalem; E. J. Brill, Leiden1983. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 20(1), 73-75. doi:10.1017/S0026318400059058 {{Cite book , title=Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS , author=Joby Warrick , year=2016 , publisher=Penguin Random House , isbn=9780804168939

External links