The followers of Ahlul- Bait were fooled into believing that...

The followers of Ahlul- Bait were fooled into believing that Muhammad was fighting to return the rightful Imams to power. Little did they suspect that Muhammad had his own hidden agenda of reserving the Caliphate for himself and his children. He started his campaign against the Ummayade administration, gaining support day by day. However, before he could succeed in his mission, he died in AH 125.

At his death bed he appointed his sons Ibrahim, Abdullah Abu Abbas (later on surnamed As-Saffah), and Abdullah Abu Jaffer (latter surnamed Al-Mansoor) as his successors, one after the other. They continued with their mission with care and caution using the watch-word "the rights of the Ahlul Bait-People of the House." The effort of the Abbaside propaganda was helped by the unfit ruler who succeeded Hisham: Walid II Walid II.

Walid II, in the words of Amir Ali, was of "a fickle temperament and debased nature which often broke forth in cruel deeds." The cruelty with which he got Yahya, the son of Zaid killed and his body hung on the cross, made him very unpopular. According to Amil Ali: 'Thefateof Yahya created a great sensation in Khorasan and accelerated the downfall of the Ommeyads...

and when Abu Muslim stood forth as the 'Avengor of the House' they (the people) flocked to his standard dressed in black, which hereforth became the Abbaside color..." Besides these three personalities from among Bani Hashim who had their eyes on the Caliphate, there were two other personalities who could not have a direct claim to the Caliphate but who could play the part of "King-Makers" because of their military strength and skills. These two personalities were Abu Muslim and Abu Salma.

Abu Muslim: He was native of Isphahan (Iran) and joined the services of Muhammad Bin Ali Bin Ibne Abas. Because of his organizational skills, he was incharge of raising the support for the ABBASIDE movement in Khorasan. He was very successful at his job which became easier at the death of Hisham and the coming to power of Walid II, as his already been noted. The martyrdom of Zaid's son, Yahya, offered Abu Muslim yet another golden opportunity.

Young Yahya's martyrdom aroused a lot of sympathy for him and anger for the Ummayades. Abu Muslim seized this opportunity and at that very moment came out in the open to oppose the Ummayade's floundering administration, capitalizing on the sympathy of the people. Nasra, the governor of Khorasan was busy putting down other uprisings in the West, and in Yemen.