ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Tawwabin: the Repenters Sulayaman b. Surad and the Shi'a Revival in Kufa Soon after the death of al‑Husayn, the Shi'a in Kufa began to revive but it appears that their revival was very secretive and not on a unified basis. Five groups of Shi'a are reported by Abu Mikhnaf under five separate leaders1 . First there wasa group led by Sulayaman b. Surad al‑Khuza'i who was a com­panion of the Prophet.

Wellhausen casts doubt on this because of the name Sulayaman2 . But Ibn Sa'd explains that the name was given to him by the Prophet and he was originally called Yassar3 . His Shiite sympathies were well‑known. He had fought at Siffin and in the time when al‑Mughira was governor of Kufa, he was made to attend the mosque to hear the denuncia­tion of 'Ali4 . It was also at his house that the group met that sent the first letter to al‑Husayn summoning him to Kufa.

There were two other groups led by Musayyib b. Najaba al‑Fazari and Rifa'a b. Shaddad al‑Bajali. Both of these men elonged to the group that wrote the first letter to Husayn asking him to come to Kufa5 and Rifa'a b. Shaddad had been a member of the Shi'a at the time of Hujr b. 'Adi6 . There are two new names: 'Abd Allah b. Sa'd b. Nufayl al‑Azdi and 'Abd Allah b. Wal(in) al‑Taymi of Bakr b. Wail of Rabi'a. However, at a meeting in 64 A.H.

it is mentioned that all five leaders were over sixty years of age7 . They carried on their activities in secret spreading their propaganda among the Shi'a and others. It is reported that many people answered their call. At some time, probably before the death of Yazid in 64, five leaders and a hundred members of their groups met in the house of Sulayman b. Surad, whom they chose to be the general leader of the Shi'a in Kufa.

Their main programme at this stage seems to have been to take vengeance for the murder of Husayn on his killers or for themselves to be killed in atonement for their desertion of him8 . They named no Imam but they probably felt that after what had happened to Husayh, no surviving member of the family of 'Ali would accept leadership until they had actually secured power. After Sulayman b. Surad had made a speech accepting leadership, Khalid b. Sa'd b.

Nufayl (probably the brother of one of the five leaders, 'Abd Allah b. Sa'd b. Nufayl al‑Azdi) offered to give up his property to the Shi'a. Abu Mu'tamir, Hanash b. Rabi'a al‑Kinani9 offered the same. So Sulayman b. Surad appointed 'Abd Allah b.