Abu Hashim

Abu Hashim was born to Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, the third Imam of the Kaysanites, who became the leader of the Alids, after his half-brother Husayn's death in 680. Abu Hashim had a brother named Hasan, who was a narrator of hadith. He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh.

Following Ibn al-Hanafiyya's death, Abu Hashim was chosen as the Imam of the Kaysanites.[1] Historical sources report that the latter sometime resided in Syria.[2] In Damascus, Abu Hashim was reportedly arrested by Umayyad authorities. An Alid caravan from Mecca arrived in Damascus and helped Abu Hashim to be released. The latter is reported to have lived in Damascus until caliph al-Walid I's (r. 705–715) death when Abu Hashim announced his return to Medina.[3] According to several early sources, Shia Muslims used to meet Abu Hashim and took him as their 'Master' (walī).[4] According to accounts preserved by al-Nuwayri, Abu Hashim had a friendly meeting with caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715–717), in which the latter fulfilled the needs of Abu Hashim.[4]

Abu Hashim died shortly after a visit to an Umayyad court.[2] According to the historian al-Masudi (c. 896–956), Abu Hashim died during the reign of caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705). Mu'awiya I's (r. 661–680) nephew Abd Allah ibn al-Harith (c. 630–703) is reported to have attended the funeral of Abu Hashim.[1] On his deathbed, Abu Hashim reportedly nominated his distant cousin Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah as his successor.[1][5] According to al-Tabari (c. 839–923), Abu Hashim also gave his books to Muhammad and purportedly said "This matter (of caliphate) will remain among your descendants only".[6] The Abbasids used this as a propaganda tool during their revolution to boost their legitimacy and appeal to pro-Alid masses. Two of Muhammad ibn Ali's sons Saffah (r. 750–754) and al-Mansur (r. 754–775) would eventually become the first and second Abbasid caliphs respectively.[7][8][9]

According to the Sunnis, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani graded the two sons of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya to be weak in Hadith, arguing that one was a murji'i, and the other to be a Shi'ite.[10] On the other hand, Ibn Sa'd stated that "Abu Hashim has knowledge and transmission. He was reliable in Hadith, and had narrated a few accepted hadiths."[11]

• Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
• Glasse, Cyril (2008). The Concise Encyclopædia of Islam. Stacey International. ISBN 9781905299683.
• Hawting, Gerald R. (2000). The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661–750 (Second ed.). London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24072-7.
• Landau-Tasseron, Ella, ed. (1998). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIX: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and their Successors: al-Ṭabarī's Supplement to his History. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2819-1.
• Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780853982005.
• Cook, Michael A.; Ahmed, Asad; Sadeghi, Behnam; Bonner, Michael (2011). The Islamic Scholarly Tradition: Studies in History, Law, and Thought in Honor of Professor Michael Allan Cook. Brill. ISBN 9789004194359.
• Nagel, T. (1983). "ABŪ HĀŠEM ʿABDALLĀH B. MOḤAMMAD B. ḤANAFĪYA". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition.
• Shaban, M.A. (1970). The Abbasid Revolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521295345.