Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part III: History Lesson 47 2. Rulers of the Time
2. Rulers of the Time
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2. Rulers of the Time
The thirtythree years of imamate of Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi coincided with the caliphate of the following six caliphs Mu‘tasim bin HÄrun, WÄthiq bin Mu‘tasim, Mutawakkil bin Mu‘tasim, Muntasir bin Mutawakkil, Musta‘in, and Mu‘tazz bin Mutawakkil.
WÄthiq bin Mu‘tasim had a very promiscuous lifestyle, and had no time to harass the Shi‘as and the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt. During his caliphate, a large number of the descendants of Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) had settled in Samarra, the ‘Abbasid capital. But the peaceful days for the ‘Alids and the Imam did not last long. After WÄthiq, his brother Mutawakkil, came to power. Mutawakkil was the most cruel of all the ‘Abbasid caliphs; he is comparable to YazÄ«d bin Mu‘Äwiyah of the Umayyads.
Mutawakkil, on the one hand, started promoting the ShÄfi‘i madhhab in order to distract the masses away from the Ahlul Bayt. And, on the other hand, he intensified harassment of the Shi‘as. He had such hatred for the Ahlul Bayt that in 236 A.H. he ordered the grave of Imam Husayn (a.s.) be leveled to the ground, and that the surrounding area be transformed into farmlands so that no trace of the grave be left. This all was done to stop the Shi‘as from visiting (ziyÄrat) the graves of Imam Husayn (a.s.) and the other martyrs of Karbala. But when AllÄh wishes to protect His “light” no human can do anything about it!
The attempt to erase all traces of Imam Husayn’s grave angered many Muslims; people starting writing anti-‘AbbÄsid slogans on the walls. Opposition poets also expressed their feelings on this issue. A famous poem against Mutawakkil is given below:
By AllÄh, if the Umayyids unjustly killed
Husayn, son of the Prophet’s daughter,
his cousins[47] have committed a similar crime
for I swear that Husayn’s grave has been erased.
It seems that they regret for not participating
in the massacre, so they now go after the grave!
Mutawakkil enjoyed torturing the followers of the Ahlul Bayt; even the persons appointed by him as governor in Medina and Mecca were instructed to prevent people from being kind and courteous towards the Ahlul Bayt. In 234 A.H., Mutawakkil ordered Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi (a.s.) to be brought from Medina to Samarra where he was placed in a house next to the caliph’s garrison. The Imam lived under constant surveillance until Mutawakkil was murdered by his own troops at the instigation of his own son, Muntasir.
Muntasir bin Mutawakkil reversed the policies of his father towards the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.); he was kind and generous to them; he returned the property of Fadak to the descendants of Imams Hasan and Husayn (a.s.). Unfortunately his caliphate did not last for more than six months when he died in 248 A.H.
Musta‘in came to power after Muntasir and continued the oppressive policies of his ancestors. But soon his own Turkish troops rebelled against him and pledged allegiance to Mu‘tazz bin Mutawakkil whom they rescued from prison. Finally, Musta‘in was killed and Mu‘tazz become the caliph.
It was during the reign of Mu‘tazz bin Mutawakkil that Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi was martyred by poisoning.
