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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Abdullah Ibn Saba’ and Other Myths The Tale of ‘Abdullah bin Saba’ In the Name of the Most Merciful God For one thousand years historians have been recording astonishing stories about ‘Abdullah Bin Saba΄, and his followers — Sabaian. a) Who was Abdullah and who were Sabaian, his followers? b) What did Abdullah say, and what has he done?

Summary of what is known from the Historians A Jew from Sana in Yemen posed as convert to Islam in the time of ‘Othman the third Caliph, and plotted against Islam and Muslims. He travelled abroad to large cities such as Kufa, Basra, Damascus and Egypt, preaching a belief in the resurrection of the as being like the return again of Jesus to this world, before Doomsday.

He also preached the idea of apostleship, and claimed that al-Imam ‘Ali was the true successor of the — accusing ‘Othman of unjustly usurping al-Imam ‘Ali's place. He strongly urged the people to murder Caliph ‘Othman, who was later assassinated. The historians named this Jew, ‘Abdullah bin Saba΄ as the hero of the stories. He was known as Ibn Amatus-Sawda, meaning son of a negro slave.

Abdullah sent his missions to many cities pretending to preach true Islamic faith — enjoining good, and denouncing bad, encouraging the people to revolt against their governors and even to kill them. On the list of the followers of ‘Abdullah Bin Saba΄ are some good S ah abis (companions of the Prophet) — for example Abu Dharr also some Tabe'in such as Malik Ashtar.

In the time of al-Imam ‘Ali, two men Talha and Zubair, revolted against al-Imam ‘Ali demanding the persecution of the murderers of ‘Othman. Because of this the battle of Jamal was planned. al-Imam ‘Ali and his two opponents agreed to a settlement, but some Sabaian, namely those who were guilty of murdering ‘Othman, did not want the quarrel to be settled because their names had been disclosed. So, those Sabaians secretly enrolled in both armies — the army of al- Imam ‘Ali and the rebellious army.

During the night while everyone was dreaming of the peace treaty to be agreed upon the next day, the plotters started shooting at both sides. As a result of this the Battle of Jamal started without the permission or knowledge of the commanders of either side. Before discussing the story of Ibn Saba in detail, it is worthwhile examining those personalities whose names are on the lists of Sabaian. Abu Dharr. ‘Ammar Bin Yasir. Abdur-Rahman Adis. Sa‘sa‘a Bin Souhan.