Alids

The Alids are an Islamic community descended from the fourth caliph Ali (r. 656–661). They are split into three branches, the Hasanids, Husaynids and Hanafids, who are the descendants of Ali's sons Hasan, Husayn and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya respectively. The Alids community are found predominantly in the Middle East.

Alids
(Arabic: بنو علي)
Ahl al-Bayt of Banu Hashim of the Quraysh of the Adnaniyyun of Banu Ismail
The name of Ali, respectively written in the Hagia Sophia Mosque, Turkey
Nisbaal-Alawi
LocationArabia (majority)
Middle East
North Africa
Central Asia
Horn of Africa
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Descended fromAli ibn Abi Talib
(Ahl al-Bayt)
Branches
ReligionIslam

Etymology and names

Primarily Sunnis in the Arab world reserve the term sharif or "sherif" for descendants of Hasan ibn Ali, while sayyid is used for descendants of Husayn ibn Ali. Both Hasan and Husayn are grandchildren of Muhammad, through the marriage of his cousin Ali and his daughter Fatimah. However ever since the post-Hashemite era began, the term sayyid has been used to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn. Arab Shiites use the terms sayyid and habib to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn; see also ashraf. They also use the title Mirza to denote the maternal descendants of Hasan and Husayn.

To try to resolve the confusion surrounding the descendants of Muhammad, the Ottoman Caliphs during the 19th Century C.E. attempted to replicate the Almanach de Gotha (the tome listing the noble houses of Europe) to show known and verifiable lines of descent. Although not 100% complete in its scope (some lines might have been excluded due to lack of proof, although no false lines are included) the resulting "Kitab al-Ashraf" (Book of the Sharifs), kept at the Topkapı Palace museum in Istanbul is one of the best sources of evidence of descent from Muhammad.

The Awans claim descent from Ali, through his son Abbas ibn Ali. The Hanafid branch are the descendants of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya.[1]

History

Role in the Second Fitna

Following the assassination of Ali in 661, his son Hasan was chosen as caliph by a group of Muslims in Kufa, the headquarters of the community.[2] Ali's political rival Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) began negotiating with Hasan and both leaders signed a peace treaty. After a short reign of six months, Hasan surrendered his control of Iraq to Mu'awiya, recognizing the latter as the caliph. In the nine-year interval of Hasan's abdication, he and his younger brother Husayn obeyed Mu'awiya's rule, keeping aloof from political involvement against Mu'awiya.[3] Following Hasan's death in 670, his pro-Alid followers turned to Husayn, concerning an uprising, against Mu'awiya, though Husayn refused as he instructed them to wait as long as Mu'awiya was alive due to Hasan's peace treaty with him.[4] Prior to his death, Mu'awiya appointed his son Yazid (r. 680–683) as his successor, an unpreceded move in the caliphate and a violation of the peace treaty. Yazid's succession was opposed by several sons of Muhammad's prominent companions, including Husayn.

The pro-Alid Kufans pledged allegiance to Husayn as their Imam, and invited him to Kufa to protest against Yazid. While Husayn was on his route to Kufa with a retinue of about 70 men, his caravan was intercepted by a 1,000-strong army of the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. The former was forced to head north and encamp in the plain of Karbala on 2 October 680, where a larger Umayyad army of 4,000 arrived.[5] The Umayyad forces denied access of the Euphrates river to Husayn, and the latter and his partisans spent three days without water until a group of fifty men led by Abbas ibn Ali was able to access the river.[4] Subsequently, on 10 October (10 Muharram 61 AH), the pro-Alid forces and the Umayyad forces fought in the Battle of Karbala, in which Husayn and his partisans being killed.[6] One of Husayn's Kufans betrayers Sulayman ibn Surad later initiated the Tawwabin Uprising, to avenge the former. He and his supporters fought Ibn Ziyad's forces at the Battle of Ayn al-Warda, in which they were defeated, Sulayman being killed.[7]

Following Husayn's death, his son Ali ibn Husayn adopted a life of retirement and prayer, leaving Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as the visible leader of the Alids.[8] In 685, the pro-Alid Taifian revolutionary Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi (c.622–687) sought support from Arab tribal nobility and the non-Arab clients (mawāli), and declared Ibn al-Hanafiyya to be the Mahdi.[9] With the aid of Alids, Mukhtar seized Kufa from Umayyad control, and called for the establishment of an Alid caliphate. Following Ibn al-Hanafiyya's death, his followers, called the Kaysanites, pledged allegiance to his son Abu Hashim as their Imam.[10] On the other hand, the non-Kaysanite Alids split into two divisions, with most of them choosing Muhammad al-Baqir as their Imam, and another group, the Zaydis supporting al-Baqir's half-brother Zayd ibn Ali as their Imam.[11]

Participation in the Third Fitna

Following al-Baqir's death, his son Ja'far al-Sadiq was designated as the Imam. The latter withdrew from politics, not laying any claim to the caliphate. On the other hand, the Umayyad authority experienced another civil war over the question of leadership, with the main contenders being Yazid III (r. April 744  October 744) and Marwan II (r. 744–750). The war escalated following the eleventh Umayyad caliph al-Walid II's overthrew, and the usurpation of Yazid III, which was challenged by Marwan II. The historical rivalry between the Qays and Yaman rearose, as the former tribe supported Marwan, whereas the latter tribe supported Yazid.

Taking advantage of this civil war, the Alid leader Abd Allah ibn Mu'awiya (fl.744–746/7), launched a rebellion against the Umayyads in Persia. He was a great-grandson of caliph Ali's brother Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. Ibn Mu'awiya was a prominent leader of the Kaysanites, who claimed Imamate, following Abu Hashim's death.[12] Ibn Mu'awiya managed to seize large regions of Persia, including most of Jibal, Ahwaz, Fars and Kerman.[12] Marwan II dispatched a strong Umayyad army against Ibn Mu'awiya, whose forces were soon defeated at Marw al-Shadhan in 747, and his rule over Persia collapsed. Ibn Mu'awiya himself managed to flee to Khurasan, where the Persian general Abu Muslim executed him.[12]

On the other hand, the Abbasids, the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, began protesting against the Umayyads, and soon conquered their north easternmost province Khurasan, led by Abu Muslim. The Abbasids had the active support of most of the Alids, the most common reason being their same tribe, the Banu Hashim. At the same time, the capture and murder of the primary Alid opposition figures rendered the Abbasids as the only realistic contenders for the void that would be left by the Umayyads.[13] Among the most prominent critics of the Abbasids, and especially Abu Muslim, was Ja'far al-Sadiq, who even burned a letter of Abu Muslim's invitation to fight the Umayyads.[14]

After the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads in 750, their first caliph Saffah (r. 750–754) maintained cordial relations with the Alids, as he invited the community to courts, and give suggestions.[15] His successor al-Mansur (r. 754–775) faced problems dealing, with In the Alid military general Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya's, uprising in Medina his brother Ibrahim's revolt in Basra.[15] Though Ja'far himself didn't support al-Zakiyya's revolt, his immediate family, including his sons Abd Allah and Musa, supported al-Zakiyya, participating in the protest as well.[16]

Following Ja'far's death in 765, the Alids split further as his successor was disputed amongst the community. Abd Allah led the Fathites, Musa became the head of the Twelvers, whereas Ja'far's eldest son Isma'il was supported the Isma'ilis.

Involvement in the Fourth Fitna

During the Abbasid civil war between the brothers al-Amin (r. 809–813) and al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833), several pro-Alid leaders made abortive attempts to overthrow the caliphate. The first revolt was made by Ibn Tabataba, who allied himself with another pro-Alid leader Abu al-Saraya. Their uprising was initially successful, as the rebels defeated the Abbasid troops of Hasan ibn Sahl, governor of Iraq under al-Ma'mun. Some accounts claim that Ibn Tabata was poisoned while al-Tabari reports that Abu al-Saraya poisoned the former.[17]

Following Ibn Tabata's death, Abu al-Saraya led the anti-Abbasid movement, but he was defeated by the Khuzistan's governor al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Ma'muni.[18] In October 815, the wounded Abu al-Saraya was executed by decapitation by the Abbasid authority.[19] The leadership of the rebellion then came to Muhammad ibn Ja'far, another of Ja'far al-Sadiq's sons. Under the latter's leadership, the rebellion was weakened.[20] Ibn Ja'far eventually surrendered and died in 818.[21]

The most prominent of the anti-Abbasid protests of the Fourth Fitna was by Ibrahim ibn Musa al-Murtada, a son of Musa al-Kadhim. Previously, under the command of Abu al-Saraya, Ibrahim had seized Yemen from the Abbasids. His brutal administration of the region earned him the title al-Jazzar (lit.'the Butcher').[22] Though he was defeated by Abbasid forces in 616, he marched towards Mecca, and seized the city, after killing its governor, Yazid ibn Muhammad al-Makhzumi.[22]

During this civil war, al-Ma'mun sought the support of many Alids, chiefly by proclaiming Ali al-Rida, a son of Musa al-Kadhim, for the caliphate.[23] The former also invited Alid sympathies to his court.[23] Later on, al-Ma'mun also had Ibn Musa al-Murtada allied to the Abbasids, by recognizing the latter as the legitimate governor of Mecca. [22]

Dynasties

There are several dynasties of Alid origin (under two main branches; Sayyids and Alvis):

Genealogical trees

Simplified Alid Interrelationships as presented in Burke's Peerage

This is a table of the interrelationships between the different parts of the Alid dynasties:[31]

Family of Alids
Fatimah al-Zahra bint Muhammad (Family tree)Ali al-Murtadha
ibn Abi Talib
Khawlah bint Ja'far
Hasan al-MujtabaHusayn al-SibtMuhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah
MuhammadZaydQasimHasan al-MuthannaBeshrFatimah bint HasanAli Zayn al-AbidinAliAbu HashimHasan
HasanYahyaMuhammadAbdullahTalhaHasanAbu Bakr al-Siddiq
(Family tree)
Hasan (Alavids)MaymūnahUmm al-Husayn[32]AliMuhammad ibn Abi Bakr
Abdullah al-KamilDa'wudHasanIbrahim al-GhamrJa'farMuhammadHasanQasim ibn Muhammad
SulaymanAli al-AbidIsma'ilHasanAliMuhammad al-BaqirUmm Farwah bint al-Qasim
SulaymanidsHusayn
Sahib Fakhkh
Ibrahim
Tabataba
HasanHusayn al-AsgharUmar al-AshrafZaydJa'far al-Sadiq
MuhammadAl-Qasim al-RassiUbaydullahYahyaIdris
Imams
of Yemen
Hasan al-UtrushHasanHusayn
Musa al-JawnYahyaIbrahimIdris al-AkbarMuhammad al-Nafs al-ZakiyyaSulaymanJa'farIsa
IbrahimAliAbdullahIdrisids of
Morocco
,
Hammudids
of Spain
and Senussids of Libya
Alaouites of Morocco
and Saadids of Morocco
Sulaymanids
of the Maghrib
Sharifs
of Sus
Yahya ibn Umar ibn Yahya ibn Husayn ibn Zayd al-Kufi
Yusuf
al-Ukhaidhir
Husayn
al-Ukhaidhir
Isma'il ibn Ja'farAbdullah al-AftahMusa
al-Kadhim
Ishaq al-Mu'taminMuhammad al-Dibaj
Banu al-UkhaidhirMusaSalihSulaymanMuhammad ibn Isma'ilMuhammad ibn AbdullahAli
al-Ridha
AhmadAli al-Uraidhi
Muhammad ibn YusufBanu Qatadah of Mecca & Banu FulaytaBanu Salih
of Ghana
Sulaymanids
of Mecca and Jizan
Hidden Isma’ili ImāmsMuhammad
al-Jawad
Yusuf ibn MuhammadFatimid caliphsAli al-HadiMusa al-Mubarraqa
Ismāʿīl ibn YusufMuhammadMusta'liNizarHasan
al-Askari
MuhammadJa'far
Hassan ibn IsmāʿīlAl-HafizAl-AmirImams of AlamutMuhammad
al-Mahdi
Ahmad ibn HassanAl-ZafirAl-TayyibAga Khans
Abu'l-Muqallid Ja'far[33]Fatimid caliphs

Below is a simplified family tree of Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali. For the ancestors of ibn Ali see the family tree of Muhammad and the family tree of Ali. People in italics are considered by the majority of Sunni and Shia Muslims to be Ahl al-Bayt (People of the House). The Twelver Shia also see the 4th to 12th Imamah as Ahl al-Bayt.

Family tree of Hasan ibn Ali

The Hashemites of Sharifate of Mecca, Kings of Jordan, Syria and Iraq are descended from Hasan ibn Ali:

Genealogical tree of the Hashemite family showing their descent from Muhammad,[34] [35] which is contradictory to the previous family tree of Hasan ibn Ali in some parts.

[36] [37] [38]

The Alaouites, Kings of Morocco, are also descended from Hasan ibn Ali through Al-Hassan Ad-Dakhil:

Genealogical tree of the Alouite family showing their descent from Muhammad.[39][40]

Genealogoical chart of the descent from Muhammad of the Idrisid dynasty, rulers of Fez and Morocco, Kings of Tunis, and the Senussi dynasty, founders and heads of the Libyan Senussi Order and Kings of Libya are also descended from Hasan ibn Ali through Idris al-Azhar.

Genealogical tree of the Idrisid and the Senussi family showing their descent from Muhammad.[40]

Family tree of Husayn ibn Ali

The kin which ruled over Medina were descended from the other brother Husayn ibn Ali.

Muhammad
(Islamic prophet and messenger)
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
FatimahAli
(4th Sunni Rashidun Caliph)
Muhsin ibn AliHasan ibn Ali
(5th Sunni Rashidun Caliph)
Husayn ibn AliUmm Kulthum bint AliZaynab bint Ali
ShahrbanuRubab bint Imra al-QaisLayla bint Abi Murrah al-ThaqafiUmm Ishaq bint Talhah
Fatima SughraSakinah bint HusaynAli al-Asghar ibn HusaynSukayna bint HusaynAli al-Akbar ibn HusaynFatimah bint Husayn
Mother of ‘UmarAli ibn Husayn
4th Twelver/Zaidi and 3rd Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Fatimah bint al-HasanJayda al-SindhiAli al-Akbar ibn Husayn
‘Umar al-AshrafMuhammad al-Baqir
5th Twelver and 4th Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Farwah bint al-Qasim
(Umm Farwa)
Zayd ibn Ali
5th Zaidi Imam
Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn
‘AlīHamidah KhatunJa'far al-Sadiq
6th Twelver and 5th Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Fatima bint al-Hussain'l-Athram bin al-Hasan bin AliZaynab bint Husayn
al-ḤasanMusa al-Kadhim
7th Twelver Imam
Abdullah al-Aftah ibn Ja'far al-SadiqIsma'il ibn Jafar
6th Musta'li/Nizari Imam
UnknownUmm Kulthum bint Husayn
‘AlīUmmul Banīn Najmah
al-Nāṣir al-KabīrAli ar-Ridha
8th Twelver Imam
Sabīkah a.k.a. KhayzurānMuhammad ibn Ismail
7th Sevener/Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Fatima
SumānahMuhammad al-Taqi
9th Twelver Imam
UnknownAhmad al-Wafi
8th Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Other issue
Ali al-Hadi
10th Twelver Imam
Hâdise (Hadīthah) / Suzan (Sūsan) / Sevil (Savīl)Other issueMuhammad at-Taqi
9th Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Unknown
Hasan al-Askari
11th Twelver Imam
NarjisRabi Abdullah
10th Musta'li/Nizari Imam
Muhammad al-Mahdi
12th Twelver Imam

Family tree of Abbas ibn Ali

This is a simplified family tree of Abbas ibn Ali.

Ali ibn Abi Talib (4th Caliph)Umm al-Banin Fatimah bint Huzam
Lubaba bint UbaydillahAbbas ibn Ali (Haydar II)
Ubaydullah
Al-Hasan
Hamza
Ja'far
Ali
Qasim
Tayyar
Qasim
Hamza
Yaala
Abdullah Awn (Qutb Shah)
Awans

See also

References

  1. Daftary 1992, p. 561.
  2. Wellhausen 1901, p. 18.
  3. Madelung 1997, p. 324–327.
  4. Vaglieri 1971, p. 607.
  5. Munson 1988, p. 23.
  6. Ayoub 2011, p. 111.
  7. Wellhausen 1901, p. 73.
  8. Daftary 1992, p. 59.
  9. Madelung 1986, p. 1231.
  10. Hawting 2000, p. 52.
  11. Jenkins 2010, p. 55.
  12. Zetterstéen 1987, p. 26–27.
  13. Hawting 2000, p. 113.
  14. Donaldson 1933, p. 130–141.
  15. Kennedy 2016, p. 67.
  16. Meri 2006, p. 552.
  17. Scarcia Amoretti 1971, p. 951.
  18. Gibb 1960, p. 149.
  19. Gibb 1960, pp. 149–150.
  20. Daftary 1992, p. 35.
  21. Daftary 1992, p. 94.
  22. Geddes 1963–64, p. 102–03.
  23. Andersson 2018, p. 72.
  24. Ibn Khaldoun, Histoire des Berbères, 2003, Berti, Alger.
  25. الاسحاقي الصومالي, عبدالرحمن. كتاب تحفة المشتاق لنسب السيد اسحاق.
  26. يحيى, بن نصر الله الهرري. مناقب الشيخ أبادر- متحف الشريف عبد الله في هرر.
  27. Zaylaʻī, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān Shaykh Maḥmūd; زيلعي، عبد الرحمن شيخ محمود. (2018). al-Ṣūmāl ʻurūbatuhā wa-ḥaḍāratuhā al-Islāmīyah = Somalia's Arabism and Islamic civilization (al-Ṭabʻah al-ūlá ed.). Dubayy. ISBN 978-9948-39-903-2. OCLC 1100055464.
  28. Kathryn Babayan, Mystics, Monarchs and Messiahs: Cultural Landscapes of Early Modern Iran, Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London : Harvard University Press, 2002. p. 143: "It is true that during their revolutionary phase (1447-1501), Safavi guides had played on their descent from the family of the Prophet. The hagiography of the founder of the Safavi order, Shaykh Safi al-Din Safvat al-Safa written by Ibn Bazzaz in 1350-was tampered with during this very phase. An initial stage of revisions saw the transformation of Safavi identity as Sunni Kurds into Arab blood descendants of Muhammad."
  29. R.M. Savory, "Safavid Persia" in: Ann Katherine Swynford Lambton, Peter Malcolm Holt, Bernard Lewis, The Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press, 1977. p. 394: "They (Safavids after the establishment of the Safavid state) fabricated evidence to prove that the Safavids were Sayyids."
  30. RM Savory, Safavids, Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed.
  31. Daftary, Farhad. "ʿAlids." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online, 2014.
  32. Al-Yasin, Shaykh Radi. "1". Sulh al-Hasan. Jasim al-Rasheed. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. p. 4.
  33. Madelung, "Al-Ukhaydir," p. 792
  34. The Hashemites: Jordan's Royal Family
  35. Stitt, George (1948). A Prince of Arabia, the Amir Shereef Ali Haider. George Allen & Unwin, London.
  36. Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press.
  37. Antonius, George (1946). The Arab Awakening. Capricorn Books, New York.
  38. The Hashemites, 1827-present
  39. "Morocco (Alaoui Dynasty)". Usa-morocco.org. Archived from the original on 2005-08-29. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  40. Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (1980). Burke's Royal Families of the World: Africa & the Middle East. Burke's Peerage.

Bibliography

  • Descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib (Dynastie des Alides, in French):
  • Moroccan branch of the Alids (among which the members of the (royal) Alaouite dynasty of Morocco):
  • Idrisid branch of the Alids (among which the members of the (royal) Idrissid dynasty of Morocco):
  • Fatimid branch
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