Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Part Three: The myth of ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’

The myth of ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’

This fable is fabricated by Sayf.

Text of the book

Our sources in the description of the topics have about the battle of al-Jamal have been the traditions and narrations which are considered reliable by all historians. In this survey we have selected the topics from such books and quotations by the narrators and biographers whose statements have been confirmed by those who are well acquainted with such great personalities.

As against these genuine narrations and reliable history books, which we have adopted, there exist narrations which have been forged by a single person, a person whom all biographers have called non-religious and heretical, and yet his false narrations have been quoted by writers and historians in their books. To be more explicit, all these stories and narrations have been fabricated by a man named Sayf ibn ‘Umar at-Tamimi al-Kufi who is said to have died about the year 170 of the Hijrah.

During his life he had fabricated many false myths and fables entering them into historical books. One of these myths is Sayf’s creation of an imagi¬nary characterwhom he has clothed in the garment of a real person to whom he has given the name of ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’.

This imaginary character was no more than a myth, since such a man had never existed in the world, but he was fabricated by Sayf ibn ‘Umar so that he could propagate all kinds of falsehood in ‘Abd Allah’s name and have a free hand in such forgeries. Thus he made up all kinds of strange stories and fables and placed them at the disposal of the Muslims in the name of his fictitious character.

One of his fables briefly says that a man of Sanaa of Yemen, named ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’, also called Ibn as-Sawda’, apparently embraced Islam in the caliphate of ‘Uthman, but he was in fact a very fanatical Jew, and a mysterious, cunning person who wanted to cause riot and sedition among the Muslims and divide them and destroy their unity. It was to this end that he embraced Islam and showed himself a true and devout Muslim in order to deceive them. He began to carry out his plan in the following way:

He began to travel to important Islamic centers and cities and visit Medina, Egypt, ash-Sham, Kufah and Basra, and in these places he presented himself as a missionary, giving the Muslims the good tidings of the resurrection of the Prophet and his return among the people. He also propagated this point that the Prophet’s immediate guardian and successor was ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib whose right of caliphate had been usurped by ‘Uthman. ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ pretended to incline to and support ‘Ali. A number of the Prophet’s companions and other Muslims were taken in by him and believed his words. ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, Abu Dharr, Abu Hudhayfah, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, Malik al-Ashtar, Hujr ibn ‘Adi and others who were the most famous of the Prophet’s companions and their dependents followed and gathered around him. Thus that mysterious Jew managed to win the attention of these exalted men and formed a party known as the Saba’is and it was the members of this group of companions and Muslims who besieged ‘Uthman in his house and killed him.

So in Sayf ibn ‘Umar’s imagination, the Jew, ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’, cunningly entered the Muslim ranks, pretended to love and support ‘Ali, formed a party of Saba’is consisting of the Prophet’s companions and other Muslims and eventually killed their caliph.

Sayf ibn ‘Umar in the same fable continues to narrate the historical events subsequent to ‘Uthman’s assassination down to the battle of al-Jamal, and then with his imaginative brain he created another character in addition to ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ and named him al-Qa‘qa‘ ibn ‘Amr, and made him a companion of the Prophet(172) and gave him the mission of mediation and peace making, and then continued his fable as follows:

In the battle of al-Jamal al-Qa‘qa‘ ibn ‘Amr tried hard to establish peace, sometimes by contact with ‘Ali, and on other occasions with ‘A’ishah, Talhah and az-Zubayr, inviting them to peace and tranquility and warning them of war and bloodshed. At last al-Qa‘qa‘ succeeded as a dove of peace to win the agreement of the commanders of both armies to establish peace between them and so once more silence and tranquility reigned over both camps. The Saba’is, namely ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’, and his followers, were worried about the consequences of this peace and vexed at the disruption of their destructive schemes. So one dark night they gathered together for discussion and prepared plans for ending that peace.

‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ himself, the hero of his fable, proposed that his followers be divided into two groups, one group joining ‘Ali’s army as supporters, and the other group going to ‘A’ishah’s forces as followers, and then one dark night at a certain hour rush upon each other, making both armies believe that they have been attacked by the other army, thus rekindling the fire of war and turning al-Qa‘qa‘’s peace into a bloody combat.

The sabotage party gladly approved the plan of ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ and carried it out excellently one dark night, benefiting much from it. And despite the inclination of the commander of both sides, they incited the Muslims against one another and kindled the fire of war again after it had been extinguished, thus producing the battle of al-Jamal.

This is the story of how the battle of al-Jamal was started, according to Sayf ibn ‘Umar, a story that has no true foundation, since the heroes of it, namely ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ and al-Qa‘qa‘ ibn ‘Amr were fictitious characters. Even though the whole story is a myth, fabricated by Sayf ibn ‘Umar before the year 170 of the Hijrah, some writers of history have adopted it included it in their books. In this way with the passage of time it has assumed the form of a real historical event, finding a place for itself in reliable books of history, and on this basis a reader may not allow himself the slightest doubt about its authenticity. Thus most Islamic historians and even Orientalists have not realized that the story is only a fable fabricated by that liar.

Sayf ibn ‘Umar is the only source of the myth

There is no one else but Sayf who is at the root of this fable, and everyone else has adapted it from him.at-Tabari (who died in 310 of the Hijrah) borrowed the story from this narrator and quoted it in his book. Ibn ‘Asakir (who died in 571 of the Hijrah) did the same thing for his book of the“History of Medina and Damascus” ; Ibn Abi Bakr (who died in the 741 of the Hijrah) for his“al-Tamhid wa al-bayan” and adh-Dhahabi (who died in 747 of the Hijrah) in his book of history. Thus their only source had been Sayf ibn ‘Umar.

Later historians too until the present time have taken the story directly from at-Tabari who had copied it from that myth- making narrator. We have revealed this fact in our book on ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ and have shown how later historians have relied on at-Tabari in quoting the story. Here we cite as examples two past and present writers and historians:

1-Among past historians we must mention Ibn Khaldun, the great thinker and historian. In his book of“al-Mubtada’ wa al-khabar” he describes the murder of ‘Uthman and the battle of al-Jamal and then quotes some parts of this fable. He says in volume two, page 425:“Such was the story of the battle of al-Jamal which we have briefly quoted from at-Tabari’s history, and as we consider this book reliable, we have confined our description of this story to that book and quoted it.” He also says on page 247 of the same book:“I have selected all these historical events which are briefly quoted in my book from the great history of Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari, since I have found his history book more reliable than other books, and have relied on it in my quotations and since in it there are few cases of doubt, criticism and sarcasm levelled at the great and good companions of the Prophet.”

2-As for the present historians, we may mention Sa‘id al-Afghani in whose book of“‘A’ishah wa as-siyasah in pages 32-34, pages 48-52, pages 145-147, and pages 155-185 he speaks of their false stories of ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ and his followers and speaks of the source of his book on page five. He says:

“In narrating historical events I rely on the history of at-Tabari from which alone I have taken historical topics, since at-Tabari’s history is closer than all other books and sources to historical events, and the date of writing precedes other books of history. Moreover this author has taken a greater care in observing historical honesty and trustworthiness than many other historians, and also later reliable historians and writers have mostly relied on this source in narrating the events in their books. I, too, am greatly interested in this book so that I am inclined to quote his very words and phrases.”

Again on page 47 of the same bookSa‘id al-Afghani said:“We rely mostly on at-Tabari’s history in our descriptions.”

As our reader can see, after at-Tabari had resorted to quoting this fable of Sayf ibn ‘Umar in his book, later historians, too, relying on the fame and high scholarly position of at-Tabari, have quoted from him the same fable without any scrutiny and reflection. Thus a false and forged story has been publicized as a reliable and true historical event and an undeniable fact.

We draw the reader’s attention to his diagram on the next page showing how various narrators have taken their information about the story from former narrators tracing it back to the first narrator, namely ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’, proving that its single source has been the mendacious Sayf bin ‘Umar, and the narrations of past and present historians are based on his myth only. Those scholars who study the life of great men, are quite familiar with Sayf the forger of traditions.( 173)

The myth of ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ and how it appeared

Inner complexes are united

‘A’ishah! Do you utter such words about ‘Ali?

Zaynab, daughter of Umm Salamah

After the battle of al-Jamal which ended with the victory of ‘Ali, ‘A’ishah returned home deeply distressed and broken- hearted, since in addition to her defeat and failure she had lost her cousin, Talhah, a man for whom she had cherished many hopes and wished to take the seat of the caliphate and hold the rein of Muslim affairs.

In this battle, not only Talhah, ‘A’ishah’s cousin but also Muhammad bin-Talhah, another very closer relatives of hers, were killed. az-Zubayr, too, who was the husband of her sister,Asma’( 174) and commander of the army lost his life.

It was in this state of deep sorrow as well as regret for ignoring the counsels of well-wishers that she returned home. She came back to Medina with a heart full of rage and rancor for ‘Ali. However she had no remedy but to conceal her hatred and enmity in her heart during the life and rule of ‘Ali and hide that fire under the ashes of fortitude.

But when the news of ‘Ali’s death reached her she prostrated herself in thankfulness and was so overjoyed that she recited the following lines:

“ ‘Ali has gone and there is no return for him. With his death I was overjoyed in the same way that a traveller’s family is on his return. Indeed, my eyes were brightened with his departure.”

After reciting these lines she asked: Who is his assassin? They said that he was of the Murad tribe. Then she recited a poem the meaning of which is as follows:

“Although in his (‘Ali’s) death he was far from us,

Yet long live the youth who brought us the news

And overjoyed us!”

When ‘A’ishah’s words were heard by Zaynab, daughter of UmmSalamah( 175) , she reproached ‘A’ishah saying:“ ‘A’ishah! Do you utter such words about ‘Ali? And do you regard his death a source of joy for yourself?”

‘A’ishah said in apology:“I have become forgetful. Please remind me when I am in such a state.” (176)

According to Abu al-Faraj, after this conversation she recited a poem the meaning of which is as follows:

“It was customary for us to eulogize

Our friends with many titles and epithets,

And compose odes and poems in their praise,

But that time has gone and that era is past.

Nowyour praising them is like the buzz of a fly

That is of no avail nor is it of the slightest use.”

What ‘A’ishah meant was that with ‘Ali’s death the occasion had passed for praising him.

The above account showed examples of ‘A’ishah’s hatred and enmity towards ‘Ali, which she expressed knowingly or involuntarily and thus, revealed her complexes about him.

‘A’ishah’s hostility towards ‘Ali’s children

‘A’ishah’s enmity was not confined to ‘Ali. It was so deep and wide that it included his children and family, too.

Historians narrate that ‘A’ishah veiled herself in the presence of ‘Ali’s sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and thus she regarded them as strangers, despite the fact that Ibn ‘Abbas objected to her and told her that both al-Hasan and al-Husayn were intimate relatives.( 177)

Ibn Sa‘d after describing ‘A’ishah’s conduct says: Abu Hanifah(178) and Malik(179) are quoted saying that the wife of a man would be always intimate towards his children and grandchildren, and none of them can marry her. The Muslims are unanimous about this point.

In our opinion, this matter about which all Muslims are unanimous and which is confirmed by Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu Hanifah and Malik, is not something, which ‘A’ishah did not know. But ‘A’ishah’s purpose in her conduct was to negate the kinship of al-Hasan and al-Husayn to the Prophet as his grandchildren.

‘A’ishah lays the foundation of a second war

‘A’ishah started an even more violent war against ‘Ali.

Text of the book

From the day that ‘A’ishah incited the people against ‘Uthman and started a great riot, her relationship with the Banu Umayyah who were of ‘Uthman’s house and his supporters was darkened, and this disagreement changed into an irreconcilable hostility with ‘Uthman’s assassination.But when ‘Ali became caliph and ‘A’ishah rose against him, these two hostile sides, namely ‘A’ishah and the Umayyads reconciled. Although these two were opposed to each other, that both of them were hostile to ‘Ali and this common objective brought them closer to each other and made a kind of friendship possible.

The Umayyads gathered around ‘A’ishah’s banner, and turned their enmity into friendship and alliance. They concentrated their forces in order to overthrow ‘Ali from his position as caliph thensettle their own differences. But contrary to their expectation ‘Ali emerged victorious in that battle and compelled ‘A’ishah to retire her house.

Although after the battle of al-Jamal, ‘A’ishah had lost her army, power and. influence, yet she could not remain quiet or show fortitude towards those vexing complexes. So she made her relationship and alliance stronger with the Umayyads and their chief of the time, Mu‘awiyah, and concluded a pact of cooperation with them to resume her activities against ‘Ali.

She took preliminary steps for another uprising, and thus started another war against ‘Ali, the consequence of which were even more harmful and dangerous than the battle of al-Jamal.

‘A’ishah could not abandon her opposition to ‘Ali, and so after the battle of al-Jamal she resumed that opposition by means of a cold war and verbal attacks. But this cold war did not come to an end with the death of ‘Ali, and its scope lasted to the last moments of ‘A’ishah’s life. She continued this hostility towards ‘Ali’s sons, and this time she resorted to a war of fabricating traditions against ‘Ali, the evil results of which have unfortunately remained down to the present day in the history of Islam. Even after so many centuries the ill-omened consequences ofwhich, have not been removed from the realm of Islam.

Mu‘awiyah had always been opposed to ‘Ali and used all his force and power in this course. He resorted to every possible kind of trickery and cunningness, and employed all his wealth and power for a war against ‘Ali. Therefore ‘A’ishah became a great and strong supporter of Mu‘awiyah. You will read an account of this alliance in the third volume of this book which will be published soon under the title of“‘A’ishah in the time of Mu‘awiyah” .

We pray to God to make this book a source of benefit to all Muslims and a means of eternal salvation for us.