ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books History of Shi'ism: From the Advent of Islam up to the End of Minor Occultation Lesson 20: The Shi‘ah-Populated Places during the Second Century Hijri At the beginning of the second century AH, Shi‘ism extended beyond the frontiers of the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq as it encompassed the entire Muslim domain. In view of the scattering of the Shi‘ah and ‘Alawis in the Muslim territories, this matter can be discerned.

From the time of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the migration of the Shi‘ah and ‘Alawis to the other regions had begun. These migrations were further expedited during the second century AH with the beginning of the propaganda and movements by the ‘Alawis.

After the failure of the uprising of Zayd in Kufah, his son Yahya along with a number of his supporters went to Khurasan.[^1] After him, the uprising of ‘Abd Allah ibn Mu‘awiyah, a descendant of Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib at-Tayyar, covered the regions such as Hamedan, Qum, Rey, Qirmis, Isfahan, and Fars, and ‘Abd Allah himself lived in Isfahan. Abu’l-Faraj al-Isfahani says, “The notables of Banu Hashim went to him and he designated each of them to rule over a district.

Even Mansur and Safah (who later became the first two ‘Abbasid caliphs) had connivance with him and this continued till the time of Marwan Himar and the emergence of Abu Muslim.”[^2] During the ‘Abbasid period, the ‘Alawi movements always emerged, one definite consequence of which was the scattering of the ‘Alawis in the different regions.

For example, after the uprising of Muhammad Nafs az-Zakiyyah during the reign of Mansur and his defeat, the descendants of Imam al-Hasan ( ‘a ) were scattered in the different places. In this regard, Mas‘udi thus says: The brothers of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah (Nafs az-Zakiyyah) were scattered in the different places. His son, ‘Ali ibn Muhammad, went to Egypt where he was killed later. His other son, ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, went to Khurasan and from there proceeded to Sind where he was killed.

His third son, Hasan ibn Muhammad went to Yemen where he was put behind bars and passed away while in prison. His (Nafs az-Zakiyyah’s) brother, Musa, went to Mesopotamia. Another brother of Nafs az-Zakiyyah, Yahya, went to Rey and from there he proceeded to Tabaristan. Another brother of his, Idris, went to Maghrib.