Similarly...

Similarly, the rulers and governors of the Imam, most of whom were appointed from among the Shi‘ah, had remarkable contribution in the spread of Shi‘ism in other places. As Sayyid Muhsin Amin says, “Wherever the trustees of ‘Ali ( ‘a ) went, the people there would become Shi‘ah.”[^6] Of course, during that period, in addition to Sham which was totally under the influence of the Umayyads, other regions, such as Basrah and north of Iraq, also had inclinations toward ‘Uthman.

The people in those places were inclined toward ‘Uthman[^7] on account of the settlement of ‘Uthman’s relatives there, and this inclination in the north of Iraq continued till the end of the second century AH. Mecca also had anti-Hashimi and anti-‘Alawi tendencies since the Age of Ignorance { yamw al-jahiliyyah }. Similarly, both during the Age of Ignorance and the Islamic period, Ta’if was the same as Mecca.

The other tribes of Quraysh were always competing with Banu Hashim and not willing to accept the leadership of Banu Hashim, and this is one of the reasons for Quraysh’s opposition to the Holy Prophet (S). The people of Ta’if, too, like that of Mecca, rejected the Prophet’s (S) invitation although they submitted after Islam’s acquisition of power. From the time of Hajjaj, Shi‘ism was extended beyond the realm of Iraq and Hijaz.

During that period, as a result of the extreme pressure and harshness of Hajjaj, Shi‘ah went out of Iraq and settled in other Muslim territories. Especially in the eastern part of the Muslim lands at the end of the first century AH, the Shi‘ah centers in Iran were gradually formed.

In Khurasan, the ‘Abbasids took advantage of the people’s love for the descendants of the Prophet (S) and through the slogan, “the appointed one from among the progeny of (S),” they gathered the people around themselves and utilized them in the struggle against the Umayyads. The scattering of the Shi‘ah during the ‘Abbasid period was very obvious.

In the east, in addition to Iran, the Shi‘ah went to Central Asia, India and the Caucasus, among others, and with the collapse of the Umayyad dynasty, the Shi‘ah were also able to exert influence in the west, especially in Africa where a Shi‘ah government of the Idrisis was established during the second century AH. Although their government was a Zaydi one, it can be regarded as a ground for the efforts of the Shi‘ah.