Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas
ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (
al-Saffah and al-Mansur
.
Life
Ali was the youngest son of
Abd Allah ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and Zur'ah bint Mishrah, a daughter of one of the "four kings" of the tribe of Kindah.[1] According to tradition he was born on the exact night that the assassination of Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 661) took place, but there are also alternative sources that dispute the year of his birth.[2]
As an adult, Ali eventually ran afoul of the
Humayma, establishing that place as the new headquarters of the Abbasid family. He died at Humayma in 735-6 or the following year, by which time his son Muhammad had already assumed leadership of the family and the Abbasid propaganda effort.[3]
Characterization and offspring
Ali is described as being a handsome man of large stature and fair complexion, with black-dyed hair, a long beard, and a bald head which was concealed by a cap. He was considered extremely pious and was said to pray constantly, and in orthodox circles he eventually came to be known by the surname of "al-Sajjid" (meaning one who prostrates himself habitually).[4]
Ali reportedly fathered upwards of twenty male children during his stay at Humayma.Abd Allah,[8] were active participants in the Abbasid Revolution, and several of them continued to play a prominent role in the first decades of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Notes
- ^ Elad 2005, pp. 311–12; Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 39: p. 54.
- ^ Zetterstéen 1960, p. 381; Ibn Khallikan 1843, p. 217.
- ^ Zetterstéen 1960, p. 381; Kennedy 1993, p. 396; Ibn Khallikan 1843, pp. 217 ff.
- ^ Zetterstéen 1960, p. 381; Ibn Khallikan 1843, pp. 216, 219, 220; Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 39: p. 54.
- ^ Ibn Khallikan 1843, p. 220.
- ^ a b Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 28: p. 56.
- ^ Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 27: p. 195.
- ^ a b c d Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 27: p. 150.
References
- Elad, Amikam (2005). "Mawali in the composition of al-Ma'mun's army: a non-Arab takeover?". In Bernards, Monique; Nawas, John (eds.). Patronate and Patronage in Early and Classical Islam. Leiden & Boston: Brill. pp. 278–325. ISBN 978-90-04-14480-4.
- Ibn Khallikan, Shams al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad (1843). Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, Vol. II. Trans. Baron Mac Guckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
- ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-7249-1.
- OCLC 495469456.