The Founder of Cairo: The Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Muʿizz and his Era 9780755608232, 9781780765280

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The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Institute of Ismaili Studies was established in 1977 with the object of promoting scholarship and learning on Islam, in the historical as well as contemporary contexts, and a better understanding of its relationship with other societies and faiths. The Institute’s programmes encourage a perspective which is not confined to the theological and religious heritage of Islam, but seeks to explore the relationship of religious ideas to broader dimensions of society and culture. The programmes thus encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the materials of Islamic history and thought. Particular attention is also given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to the contemporary situation. Within the Islamic tradition, the Institute’s programmes promote research on those areas which have, to date, received relatively little attention from scholars. These include the intellectual and literary expressions of Shi‘ism in general, and Ismailism in particular. In the context of Islamic societies, the Institute’s programmes are informed by the full range and diversity of cultures in which Islam is practised today, from the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and Africa to the industrialised societies of the West, thus taking into consideration the variety of contexts which shape the ideals, beliefs and practices of the faith. These objectives are realised through concrete programmes and activities organised and implemented by various departments of the Institute. The Institute also collaborates periodically, on a programmespecific basis, with other institutions of learning in the United Kingdom and abroad.

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The Institute’s academic publications fall into a number of interrelated categories: 1.

2. 3. 4.

5.

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Occasional papers or essays addressing broad themes of the relationship between religion and society, with special reference to Islam. Monographs exploring specific aspects of Islamic faith and culture, or the contributions of individual Muslim thinkers or writers. Editions or translations of significant primary or secondary texts. Translations of poetic or literary texts which illustrate the rich heritage of spiritual, devotional and symbolic expressions in Muslim history. Works on Ismaili history and thought, and the relationship of the Ismailis to other traditions, communities and schools of thought in Islam. Proceedings of conferences and seminars sponsored by the Institute. Bibliographical works and catalogues which document manuscripts, printed texts and other source materials.

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Acknowledgements

Over the many years that I have been working on this text, I have benefited immensely from the guidance, wisdom and experience of many mentors and colleagues: Dr Farhad Daftary for his support and encouragement to undertake the work; Professor Wilferd Madelung and Hamid Haji for their meticulous review of the entire translation; Professor Carole Hillenbrand, Professor Ismail K. Poonawala, Dr Amyn B. Sajoo, Dr Nadia Eboo-Jamal and Shiraz Kabani for their perceptive feedback on various aspects of the Introduction; Shahla Suleman in deciphering the more obscure parts of the Arabic prose; and Feras Hamza for his assistance in translating the verses of Ibn Hāniʾ and other poets in the text. The work has also benefited significantly from Kutub Kassam’s adept editorial input and Nadia Holmes’ editorial support. Hasan al-Khoee’s research assistance has been exemplary. To all these colleagues and many others who have contributed to this work, I express my sincere gratitude. I remain indebted to my family members and close friends for their unstinting support, trust and care. SJ

Introduction

Al-Muʿizz [li-Dīn Allāh] entered Cairo accompanied by all those who had gone [earlier] to receive him, along with all his sons, brothers, paternal uncles and the rest of the sons of al-Mahdī. The coffins of his ancestors, al-Mahdī, al-Qāʾim and al-Manṣūr, were also brought with him. His entry into Cairo and his arrival at his palace took place on Tuesday, 7 Ramaḍān 362 [11 June 973]. Thus, Egypt, after having been the seat of an amīrate, became the seat of a caliphate.1

Founded over a thousand years ago by the fourth Fatimid imam-caliph, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh (d. 365/975), the city of Cairo has continued to function as the principal Egyptian metropolis, ranking today as the most populous city in Africa and the Arab world. As such, it constitutes one of the lasting legacies of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, who is the subject of this work by the foremost Yemeni Ismaili scholar and author, Idrīs ‘Imād al-Dīn. This publication provides the first annotated English translation of the author’s work on the life and times of this seminal Fatimid sovereign. The raison d’être of Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn’s scholarship was to record for the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa (religio-political organisation) and its followers the unfolding of the Ismaili Weltanschauung through the course of history, with the principle of the imamate as its cornerstone. As the chief dāʿī (dāʿī al-muṭlaq) of the Yemeni Ṭayyibī daʿwa and an accomplished scholar, Idrīs drew upon an array of Ismaili and nonIsmaili primary sources across many regions including Iraq, Syria, North Africa, Egypt and Yemen in composing this work. Many of these

1 Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad b. ‘Alī al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafāʾ bi-akhbār al-aʾimma al-Fāṭimiyyīn al-khulafāʾ, vol. 1, ed. Jamāl al-Dīn al-Shayyāl (Cairo, 1967), p. 134; English translation of the reign of al-Muʿizz by Shainool Jiwa as Towards a Shiʿi Mediterranean Empire: Fatimid Egypt and the Founding of Cairo (London, 2009), p. 104.

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have subsequently succumbed to the vagaries of time and circumstance, rendering Idrīs’ record a vital source on Fatimid history and thought. In the ʿUyūn al-akhbār wa funūn al-āthār (Sound Sources and Trustworthy Traditions),2 Idrīs recounts the key developments in Ismaili history spanning across nine centuries. Over the course of seven substantive volumes, he provides a historical narrative of the Prophet Muḥammad and the Shiʿi imams in the Ismaili line until the waning of the Fatimid dynasty in the 6th/12th century. Effectively, Idrīs’ ʿUyūn al-akhbār provides the most comprehensive medieval account of Ismaili history from its inception to the author’s own era. Idrīs’ portrayal of al-Muʿizz and his reign is noteworthy as it is the most extensive extant account of this imam-caliph, which also happens to have been written from within the Ismaili daʿwa tradition. It provides comprehensive coverage of al-Muʿizz’s rule in North Africa, where the Fatimid sovereign spent the major part of his reign. It also relates at length Ismaili perspectives on the imamate, drawing significantly upon the sayings and anecdotes of al-Muʿizz as recounted by his own chief judge (qāḍī al-quḍāt) and chief dāʿī (dāʿī al-duʿāt) al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān (d. 363/974).3 The works of al-Nuʿmān are among the earliest Fatimid writings on the history and doctrines of the Ismaili imams, as well as the authoritative source on al-Muʿizz’s words and actions. Idrīs’ extensive referencing of the Qāḍī’s works in his narrative indicates their continued importance in Ismaili thought, long after the demise of the Fatimid state. The authority and mandate of the imamate, in particular, took on a direct cogency for Idrīs when he succeeded to the role of the chief dāʿī of the Ṭayyibī branch of the Mustaʿlī Ismailis, according to whom the

2 This translation from the ʿUyūn al-akhbār is based on Muḥammad al-Ya‘lāwī’s edition of part of vol. 4 and vol. 5, published as Taʾrīkh al-khulafāʾ al-Fāṭimiyyīn bi’l-Maghrib (Beirut, 1985). Unless otherwise noted, all references to the ʿUyūn are to this edition. For publication details of other editions, see Note on the Translation below. 3 Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nu‘mān b. Muḥammad b. Manṣūr b. Ḥayyūn, commonly known as al-Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, had the distinction of serving the first four Fatimid imam-caliphs from 313/925 to 365/975. Following his appointment as the chief qāḍī over Ifrīqiya in 336/948, a position of high office which al-Muʿizz later extended across the empire, al-Nu‘mān codified the principles of Fatimid Ismaili law and doctrine through his prodigious scholarship and under the tutelage of al-Muʿizz. For a full listing of his writings see Ismail K. A. Poonawala, Biobibliography of Ismāʿīlī Literature (Malibu, CA, 1977), pp. 48–68, and Farhad Daftary, Ismaili Literature: A Bibliography of Sources and Studies (London, 2004), pp. 142–146.

Introduction

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line of their imams had gone into concealment (satr), thus delegating its attendant responsibilities to the chief dāʿī, who in this instance was Idrīs himself. A distinctive feature of the ʿUyūn al-akhbār is that its historical account is clearly informed by an Ismaili worldview of the cosmic order and human destiny. Consequently, Idrīs’ understanding of the role of history, as well as the purpose and method of historical writing, was framed and conditioned by his doctrinal beliefs and commitment to what he believed to be an absolute truth: the divinely designated legitimacy and authority of the Ismaili imams, and their centrality in the unfolding of history. Idrīs’ narrative in the ʿUyūn al-akhbār, therefore, presents an opportunity to examine his notion of history and its role in the exposition of Ismaili doctrine. The ʿUyūn also offers an opportunity to undertake a comparative examination between Idrīs’ historical perspective, which is framed in a particular teleological approach to history, and that of non-Ismaili Muslim historians writing in the same period, whose conception of history bear some similarities as well as notable differences, but who nonetheless had an interest in compiling Fatimid history. In particular, the comprehensive writings of the Mamluk Sunni scholar, Taqī al-Dīn al-Maqrīzī (d. 845/1449), who also wrote a dedicated history of the Fatimid dynasty, provide an invaluable source for this comparative analysis. While Idrīs and al-Maqrīzī were contemporaries, their political, social, religious and cultural milieus were distinct, as was their approach to historical writing and their motivations in composing their works on the Fatimids. Accordingly, their narratives are at times significantly different, not just in their content but also in the method, structure and style of their rendition. Occasionally, however, their texts almost exactly mirror each other, indicating their reliance on common sources as well as a convergence of their viewpoints.

The Fatimid framework It has been argued that inherent in the monotheistic tradition, with its belief in a single universal God, are aspirations for the creation of a universal order which testify to this reality. This engenders the project of a universal empire so as to steer humanity towards the potential of salvation. The consequential relationship between monotheistic faith and the notion of a single, all-embracing polity was manifest in the relationship

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between early Christianity and the Byzantine Empire.4 As successor to the monotheistic tradition, Islam inherited the same predisposition to universalism. This link between religion and state was firmly established during the time of the Prophet Muḥammad and subsequently framed Islamic models of leadership such as the imamate and the caliphate. In both Shiʿi and Sunni Islam, the continued saliency of the principle of universalism was regarded as a culmination rather than a rupture of the historical process.5 The same ideal of a universal order characterised the religio-political vision of the Fatimids, a Shiʿi Ismaili dynasty, who ruled over the North African littoral, as well as Egypt, Syria and parts of the Hijaz, for over two centuries. Proclaiming his caliphate in Ifrīqiya (present-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria) in 296/909, the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī,6 pronounced his lineage from the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of the Prophet Muḥammad, and claimed to be the only legitimate successor to the Prophet’s mantle of temporal and religious leadership over the Muslim umma.7

4 Gareth Fowden is among the authors who have examined the relationship between monotheism and universal sovereignty in his Empire to Commonwealth: Consequences of Monotheism in Late Antiquity (Princeton, 1993). 5 Sumaiya Hamdani, Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood (London, 2006), pp. xvii–xviii. 6 The principal Fatimid sources on ‘Abd Allāh al-Mahdī include: al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ al-daʿwa, tr. Hamid Haji as Founding the Fatimid State: The Rise of an Early Islamic Empire (London, 2006); Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Yamānī, Sīrat al-ḥājib Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī, tr. W. Ivanow in his Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids (London, 1942), pp. 184–223; and Idrīs, ʿUyūn, ed. al-Yaʿlāwī, pp. 141–241. See also Heinz Halm, The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids, tr. M. Bonner (Leiden, 1996); Michael Brett, The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE (Leiden, 2001), pp. 73–100; and Farhad Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines (2nd ed., Cambridge, 2007), pp. 116–128, 137–140. 7 From the first century of Islam, proximity to the Prophet and descent from his lineage had acquired a unique status in the formative Muslim psyche. By the time the Fatimids appeared on the Mediterranean scene, the Imami Shia designation of the Ahl al-Bayt had become circumscribed to the progeny of the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, and the Prophet’s daughter Fāṭima, through their sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, and then particularly through the sons of al-Ḥusayn. A. S. Tritton, ‘Ahl al-Bayt’, EI2 (see note 162 below).

Introduction

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The Fatimid investiture was rooted in the Shiʿi belief in the continuity of divine guidance through prophets and imams, in that just as God had designated the guidance and custodianship of humanity to a succession of prophets from Adam to Muḥammad, so He had also ordained the appointment of the Prophet Muḥammad’s cousin and son-in-law, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and a series of imams descended from him to provide a continuing link to divine providence. According to the Shia, the essential function of the prophets was to communicate the scripture in its exoteric (ẓāhir) sense, and that of the imams is to interpret its esoteric (bāṭin) meaning for the faithful.8 Hence, for the Shia, the manifestation of an imam in each time and age is indispensable, for without it the realisation of truth would not be possible. The Shiʿi imam is considered to be the bearer of the divine light and knowledge inherited from the Prophet. It is incumbent upon humankind, therefore, to recognise and obey the imam of the time in order to secure their salvation. The Fatimid Shiʿi claim was asserted in direct opposition to that of the reigning Abbasid caliphs who also claimed to be from the family of the Prophet and the sole rightful inheritors of his authority. Whereas in the 2nd/8th century, the Abbasids had sought to vest religious authority and leadership in themselves, by the time the Fatimids rose to power, the ability of the Abbasid caliphs to pronounce on religious precepts was on the wane. Instead, in those schools of thought that subsequently came to be known as Sunni, a consensus was emerging that the religious scholars, the ʿulamāʾ, were the true expounders of the faith and, therefore, the ultimate authority over religious doctrine and practice. Earlier, the Abbasids had made strenuous efforts to stem the rising prestige of the ʿulamāʾ, with the caliph al-Ma’mūn’s so-called miḥna and the inquisition of Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal being a case in point;9 but essentially they were

8 For an extended discussion of the relationship of the Shiʿi doctrine of imamate with notions of esotericism, see Henry Corbin, History of Islamic Philosophy, tr. Liadain Sherard (London, 1993), pp. 23–104, and M. A. AmirMoezzi, The Divine Guide in Early Shiʿism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam, tr. D. Streight (Albany, NY, 1994). 9 The miḥna was instituted by the seventh ‘Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mūn (d. 218/833) who sought to have himself recognised as the supreme authority on law and doctrine. Religious scholars were put through trials (miḥna) to enforce their compliance with al-Ma’mūn’s position. Resistance by scholars such as Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (d. 241/855) led to the eventual refutation of the caliph’s stance. A number of scholars have examined the dynamics of al-Ma’mūn’s miḥna, including W. M. Patton, Ahmed Ibn Hanbal and the Mihna (Leiden, 1897); W. M.

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swimming against the consensual Sunni tide. This ultimately gave way to a restriction of their role, so that, whereas in theory they remained God’s representatives on earth, in reality their scope of authority was pegged to a symbolic role, whilst the ʿulamāʾ took over the function of interpreting the faith and defining its practice for the believers. Nonetheless, even after the power of the Abbasids had diminished, the theoretical necessity of the caliphate embodying religious authority remained an abiding principle of Sunni Islam. From the time of the foundation of the Fatimid state in North Africa under the leadership of ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī, the Fatimids invested considerable effort in asserting their own legitimacy and sovereignty. Whereas the first three imam-caliphs, al-Mahdī (d. 322/934), al-Qāʾim (d. 334/946) and al-Manṣūr (d. 341/953), were preoccupied with defending and consolidating their nascent state, it was during the reign of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, and the transformation of his local North African dynasty into a powerful Mediterranean empire, that the conceptual framing of an all-inclusive, universal imamate was systemically fostered through their daʿwa organisation. By the late 4th/10th century, this framework crystallised into a considerable corpus of literature composed by Fatimid dāʿīs. Among these, the erudite works of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān assumed special significance because of the authorisation they received from the imams. The Qāḍī’s prodigious writings spanned a variety of genres from history to hagiography and from protocol to statecraft. Notably, his works laid the foundations of Fatimid law with the Ismaili imam-caliph as its pivot and apex. It was primarily through the works of al-Nuʿmān that the Fatimids articulated a systematic exposition of their doctrines and historic mission. In recognition of the fact that the Fatimid imam was reigning over an empire – unlike the Ithnā ‘Asharī Shiʿi (Twelver) imam whose followers believed him to be in occultation (ghayba) – al-Nuʿmān’s works assiduously represented the Fatimids as historical figures, and present history as a lived experience of the imamate.10 In his works, the Fatimids were

Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought (Edinburgh, 1973), pp. 280–285; J. A. Nawas, ‘A Re-examination of Three Current Explanations for al-Ma’mūn’s Introduction of the Miḥna’, International Journal of Middle East Studies 26/4 (1994), pp. 615–629; and J. P. Turner, ‘The End of the Miḥna’, Oriens 38 (2010), pp. 89–106. 10 Al-Qāḍi al-Nu‘mān, Kitāb al-himma fī ādāb al-a’imma, ed. Muḥammad Kāmil Ḥusayn (Cairo, 1948); ed. Muṣṭafā Ghālib (Beirut, 1979); ed. Muḥammad Sharīf ‘Alī Yamanī al-Ḥarāzī (Beirut, 1996); abridged tr. J. Muscati and K. H. Moulvi

Introduction

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proclaimed to be the indubitable descendants of the Prophet through the Shiʿi Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq,11 and his eldest son Ismā‘īl12 and grandson Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl.13 As successors to and repositories of the Prophet’s wisdom, the imams were vested with the authority to interpret the Qur’an, provide worldly and spiritual guidance, and impart knowledge on the manifest and hidden realities of existence. Early Ismaili doctrine in the pre-Fatimid period had postulated the nascent vision of the mahdī as a single messianic saviour whose manifestation would herald an era of universal justice and harmony.14 This was

as Selections from Qazi Noaman’s Kitab-ul-Himma fi Adabi Ataba-el-a’emma or Code of Conduct for the Followers of Imam (Karachi, 1950). 11 For Shia Muslims, the Imam Abū ʿAbd Allāh Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 148/765) is considered to be one of the foundational teachers of Shiʿi Islam, with many texts on jurisprudence, maxims, prayers and homilies ascribed to him. He is recognised as an authority on hadith in both Shiʿi and Sunni chains of transmissions, and as a Sufi master by a majority of the Sufi tariqahs. See Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, ed. Iḥsān ‘Abbās (Beirut, 1968–72), tr. M. de Slane as Ibn Khallikān’s Biographical Dictionary, 4 vols. (Paris, 1842–71), I:291f; M. G. S. Hodgson, ‘Djaʿfar al-Ṣādiḳ’, EI2; and D. S. Crow, ‘Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq’, Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. M. Eliade (New York and London, 1987). 12 The eldest son of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, Ismāʿīl is considered the progenitor of the Ismaili branch of Shiʿi Islam. There are some discrepancies in the sources about Ismāʿīl surviving his father, but according to a number of sources al-Ṣādiq had designated Ismāʿīl as his successor to the imamate. Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 97–99. 13 Muḥammad was the eldest son of Ismāʿīl and the inheritor of the imamate after his father according to his followers. He was the eldest grandson of al-Ṣādiq and eight years older than his uncle Mūsā whose followers contested Ismāʿīl’s succession. Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl is reported to have left Medina to avoid Abbasid persecution, thus initiating the dawr al-satr or ‘period of concealment’ of the Ismaili imams (see note 40 below). Idrīs provides a detailed biographical account of him in the ʿUyūn, pp. 351–356, and in his Zahr al-maʿānī, cited in Ivanow, Ismaili Tradition, text, pp. 53–58, trans., pp. 240–248. See also Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 95–97. 14 The notion of the mahdī as the messianic saviour gained momentum in the decades leading to the genesis of the Fatimid state. The term al-mahdī, literally meaning ‘the rightly guided one’, derived from the Qur’anic term for guidance (hudā, hidāya), was imbued with a messianic and soteriological function of a chosen person who would restore justice, social order and the ideal religion. Among the Shia, the term acquired a distinct theological and doctrinal potency, with the mahdī or qāʾim (lit. ‘the one who arises’) being a vital figure among the divinely chosen guides from the Ahl al-Bayt, who was tasked with heralding the final Reckoning. During the dawr al-satr, a significant number of the followers

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amplified in al-Muʿizz’s time, through al-Nuʿmān’s works, to include a successive cycle of imams, each of whom would have his designated role in history and share in the mahdī’s fulfilment.15 The designation of the imams and their ongoing succession was characterised as mirroring the continuity of the succession of prophets of the scriptural monotheistic tradition, thus forging a theological link with the Abrahamic tradition and also re-affirming a prophetic lineage of the Fatimid imam-caliphs.16 While al-Nuʿmān’s works assert the Fatimids as the supreme bearers of authority and leadership in the Islamic world, they also reflect al-Muʿizz’s endeavour to foster rapprochement across all segments of the populace within his domains. In so doing, they drew upon the shared repertoire of Muslim traditions to create a modus vivendi between the precepts of Shiʿi and Sunni communities. The imam was considered to be the repository of the divine guarantee (dhimma) of safety and security which he vouchsafed to those living under his reign. This extended not only to the provision of material security, but more broadly, to the articulation of law and dispensation of justice, which were considered integral to the mission of the Prophet. The dhimma of the Fatimids was consequently extended to all their subjects, whether they were of a different madhhab (school of law) or a different creed altogether, including those Christians and Jews who lived under their suzerainty. This conceptual framing of an inclusive, universal imamate as a perpetual providential canopy over all the subjects of the Fatimid empire, irrespective of their religious affiliations, formed the bedrock of the erudite scholarship of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and it was systemically

of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq held that he was the mahdī who would return to restore justice and true religion. During the time of the Fatimid imamcaliph al-Muʿizz, the fulfilment of the functions of the mahdī were extended to include all the subsequent Ismaili imams. For an exposition on the role of the mahdī in Ismaili history, see Farhad Daftary, ‘Hidden Imams and Mahdis in Ismaili History’, in B. Craig, ed., Ismaili and Fatimid Studies in Honor of Paul E. Walker (Chicago, 2010), pp. 1–22. See also W. Madelung, ‘al-Mahdī’ EI2, and W. M. Tucker, Mahdis and Millenarians (Cambridge, 2008). 15 Daftary, ‘Hidden Imams’, pp. 8–9, particularly note 12, which cites a number of primary and secondary sources. 16 The question of Fatimid lineage generated considerable polemic against the Fatimids by their Abbasid opponents and Sunni detractors. For a comprehensive review of medieval and contemporary debates on this subject, see Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE (Leiden, 2001), pp. 29–49.

Introduction

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fostered through the institution of the daʿwa. The potency of this framing is further highlighted by the fact that a notable number of the Qāḍī’s works survived the otherwise systematic destruction of Ismaili literature by the dynasty’s opponents. Some five centuries later, they provided the principal source for Idrīs ‘Imād al-Dīn in his rendering of the history and doctrines of the Ismailis in his monumental ʿUyūn al-akhbār, thus vouchsafing the defining impact of the Qāḍī’s doctrinal synthesis in the subsequent shaping of the Ismaili tradition. In his lengthy chapter on al-Muʿizz lī-Dīn Allāh that is translated here, Idrīs carefully annotates al-Nuʿmān’s relationship with al-Muʿizz and quotes the Qāḍī extensively to testify the extent to which al-Nuʿmān’s considerable literary output arose after close consultation with the imam. As such, Idrīs’ account in the ʿUyūn is as much a homage to al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān as it is to al-Muʿizz. From a textual perspective, it is fortuitous that some of the writings of al-Nuʿmān are extant and available partially in other sources and editions, for they provide a first hand opportunity to examine Idrīs’ approach to his sources and to review the accuracy of his citations.

The reign of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh The fourth Fatimid imam-caliph, Abū Tamīm Maʿadd, was formally invested in 341/953 when he was 21 years old. His birth-name, Maʿadd, invoked the legendary ancestry of the Arabs and its Abrahamic lineage.17 Upon his accession to the caliphate, he adopted the regal title al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, ‘the one who strengthens the religion of God’. In Ismaili speculative thought, al-Muʿizz’s appointment was infused with messianic expectations as he was considered to be the 14th imam, and therefore the one who was to complete the second cycle of seven imams.

17 Maʿadd was the ancestor of the northern Arabian tribes from whom the majority of the non-Yemeni Arabs claimed descent. Arab genealogists linked Maʿadd through his father ʿAdnān to the Prophet Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) and thus to Ibrāhīm (Abraham) himself. Descent from ʿAdnān, Maʿadd, and Maʿadd’s son Nizār became significant genealogical markers of the Arabian tribes, such that many of the tribal confederations, such as the Muḍar, would later be named after the sons of Nizār. It is similarly telling that al-Muʿizz named his son Nizār, the future al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh. W. M. Watt, ‘Maʿadd’, EI2.

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Hence, Idrīs’ account of al-Muʿizz begins by locating al-Muʿizz within this constellation of the imamate.18 During the course of his 22-year reign (341–365/953–975), al-Muʿizz was able to assert Fatimid authority over the North African landscape from the shores of the Atlantic to the Red Sea. His crowning achievement was the conquest of Egypt in 358/969. His vibrant engagement in the region brought the Fatimids into even closer proximity with a host of other significant regional powers such as the Umayyads of Spain, the Byzantines with their capital at Constantinople, and the Abbasids through their Ikhshīdid vassals in Egypt. Each of these dynasties claimed exclusive right to rule and was committed to the expansion of their domains. Inevitably, this led to political as well as ideological strife, which often escalated into military confrontations. In determining his responses to these challenges as well as in venturing into diplomatic and economic interactions, al-Muʿizz had the opportunity and acumen to draw upon the experience of his three predecessors who had weathered numerous internal and external challenges in their half-century rule over the region. Following earlier setbacks, al-Muʿizz was able to build on the naval power which his great-grandfather al-Mahdī had established in the Mediterranean and secured a decisive victory over an Umayyad-Byzantine coalition in 346/955. This compelled both the Byzantine Emperor Romanus II and the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III19 to seek a truce with the Fatimid sovereign. Idrīs quotes extensively from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s vivid eyewitness record of the presence of these delegations at the Fatimid court and their ensuing deliberations, thus providing an informed, firsthand account of the salient issues, contestations and terms of negotiation among them. These eventually resulted in al-Muʿizz granting a time-limited, five-year truce to the Byzantine emperor in terms that were

18 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 524; this text, section 2. 19 Umayyad influence in Spain began in the 2nd/8th century when ʿAbd al-Raḥmān I, having escaped Abbasid persecution, founded an independent amīrate at Cordoba in 138/756. A century and a half later, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III’s 55-year reign witnessed the proclamation of an Umayyad caliphate in Spain (see note 249 below). On Fatimid-Umayyad relations in the 4th/10th century, see Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, pp. 392–396, where he cites a number of primary sources. See also J. M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period (Cambridge, 1987), pp. 71–75, and V. E. Martinez, ‘Fāṭimid Ambassadors in Bobastro: Changing Religious and Political Allegiances in the Islamic West’, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 52 (2009), pp. 267–300.

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particularly favourable to the Fatimids.20 This occasion was celebrated by the leading Fatimid court poet, Ibn Hāniʾ al-Andalūsī,21 in the following verses to extol al-Muʿizz’s success over the Byzantine forces: Whoso seeks guidance in a caliph other than al-Muʿizz [shall know that] verily guidance in [any] other than him is but misguidance. He [is the one] to whose merit the Qurʾan bears witness, [something] confirmed by the Torah and the Gospels. It is possible to describe him except that likeness and images do not apply [to him]. For people in comparison to him are like accidents borne by him, an essential substance. Eyes cast themselves toward him looking, but when they then issue forth they are thinking. I plunged myself headlong into him and failed to understand him, but to my innermost conscience he is intelligible. Each of the imams from among your ancestors [O al-Muʿizz] is excellent, but when you are singled out then every one of them is surpassed in merit [by you]. Stand proud, for when your kin is numbered, Paradise counts among them and you are descended from the noble revelation.

20 The Byzantine proposal for a permanent truce was rejected by al-Muʿizz who argued it was contrary to the Prophet’s own precedent of only entering into circumscribed agreements with his opponents, such as in the treaty of al-Ḥudaybiya (6/628) which was limited to ten years. For al-Muʿizz’s articulation of this precedent see Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 591–592; this text, section 25. 21 One of the foremost Arab poets of his time, Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm Ibn Hāniʾ was of Andalusian origin and his father was reputed to be a Fatimid dāʿī in Spain. Little is known of his early life before he joined the Fatimid court. His Diwān is replete with panegyrics extolling al-Muʿizz and bold expressions of Fatimid universalist claims, as is evident from the verses cited in this translation. He served the Fatimids for a relatively short period as he was murdered in mysterious circumstances en route to Egypt in 362/973. See Farhat Dachraoui, ‘Ibn Hāniʾ al-Andalusi’, EI2; Alfred von Kremer, ‘Über den shiʿitischen Dichter Abu'l-Kasim Muḥammad ibn Hāni’, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 24 (1870), pp. 481–494; and Marius Canard, ‘L’imperialisme des Fatimides et leur propagande’, Annales de l’Institut d’Etudes Orientales 6 (1942–7), pp. 156–193.

12

The Founder of Cairo I deem mankind nonsense whereas you are a truth: a known cannot equal an unknown. All of creation bears witness to your exaltedness; verily, [the testimony of all] creation is an acceptable testimony. Proof of God is in His handiwork among us: you are the proof of that proof.22

While the Umayyad threat was temporarily forestalled by the death of the elderly ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, the Byzantines proceeded next to secure military domination of the eastern Mediterranean. The landing of their commander Nicephorus Phocas23 in Crete in 349/960 caused major consternation amongst its Muslim inhabitants, who appealed for succour to the Abbasid caliph as they were under his suzerainty. When this failed to materialise, they appealed to a number of Muslim rulers including Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī24 who was reigning over Egypt, and the Ḥamdānids25 who ruled over parts of Syria and Mesopotamia. However, none were able to come to their aid. Idrīs recounts these events in considerable detail, quoting at length al-Muʿizz’s letters to the Byzantine emperor as well as to an envoy of Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī, who then appealed to al-Muʿizz

22 Ibn Hāniʾ al-Andalūsī, Dīwān, ed. Karam Bustānī (Beirut, 1952); ed. Zāhid ‘Alī (Hyderabad, 1933), pp. 184–187; Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 588; this text, section 25. All references to Ibn Hāniʾ’s Dīwān in this volume are to Zāhid ‘Alī’s edition. 23 Nicephorus Phocas was a distinguished military commander before he became the Byzantine emperor in 352/963. Numerous wars were waged during his reign, contributing to the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 4th/10th century. See Gustav Schlumberger, Un empereur byzantin au dixième siècle, Nicèphore Phocas (Paris, 1890), and also his L’èpopèe byzantine à la fin du dixième siècle (Paris, 1896–1905). 24 A black slave brought to Egypt in 310/922–923 at the age of 10, Kāfūr was sold to a number of different owners until he was finally purchased for the Ikhshīdid ruler. He was an astute politician who assumed the reins of power at the death of his master in 334/946 and became the de facto ruler over Egypt. For a comprehensive account on Kāfūr see Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, trans., II: 524. 25 The disintegration of the Abbasid caliphate in the 4th/10th century provided the opportunity for two dynasties from the Banū Ḥamdān to rise to power in Mesopotamia and Syria, of whom the most notable representative was Sayf al-Dawla, the amīr of Aleppo. Over time, the Ḥamdānids would become particularly noted for their patronage of renowned poets such as al-Mutannabī. J. Schleifer (W. Montgomery Watt), ‘Ḥamdān’, EI2.

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for military assistance. The Fatimid sovereign had the naval capacity as well as the diplomatic wherewithal to check the Byzantine aggression, as the latter were still bound by the terms of the truce that they had agreed to earlier with the Fatimids. According to Idrīs’ account, al-Muʿizz viewed this as an opportunity to create a coalition of Muslim forces with the Ikhshīdid and Fatimid regiments fighting alongside each other against the Byzantines. Idrīs cites at length al-Nuʿmān’s account of these events. Al-Muʿizz’s correspondence with the Ikhshīdids provides his purpose for the coalition. It also reiterates two signal features of his reign, his emphasis on rapprochement and the universality of his claim: We have heard that you have begun to make preparations for jihād and to assist these people [of Crete] by sending them ships from your side. You are the most befitting for this because of their closeness to you, their links with you, their supply of provisions to your country and your unity under the same daʿwa. Indeed, had we left their matter to you and withheld ourselves, neither you nor they would have had any claim upon us. However, we chose to assist the umma of our grandfather, Muḥammad, and decided not to desist since they pinned their hope on us and have turned to us. We will not stand between you and your waging jihād in the path of God, and we will not hinder you from completing what you hope to do. So our sending of fleets to help you should not deter you from what you are intending to do. If you are anxious from us as regards the safety of those whom you have sent and of your boats, we give you God’s oath and covenant that we will only deal with them with goodwill and we will treat them like our men…. So know this and invest your trust in us. It is the alliance of the Muslims against their enemies and the unanimity of their word that strengthens God’s religion and subdues their enemies. Indeed, we have facilitated the path for you and God is our witness for what we have said.26

In effect, the matter came to naught, as by the time the FatimidIkhshīdid preparations could begin, the Byzantines had already occupied the Cretan capital Candia.

26 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 652–653; this text, section 37.

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While al-Muʿizz assertively pursued Fatimid interests in the Mediterranean, he carefully calibrated the governance of his empire, paying particular heed to the experience of his forefathers in addressing the fractious challenges that had followed the establishment of the Fatimid state. Al-Muʿizz’s predecessors had struggled to assert their authority over the North African populace, which was predominantly Sunni in religious persuasion. The Mālikī ʿulamāʾ, who held an influential position among the North African Sunni populace, had vociferously opposed the Fatimid regime. In this, they were encouraged and supported by the Spanish Umayyad rulers. When their antagonism to the Fatimids converged with the insidious Khārijī revolt of Abū Yazīd,27 they threatened the very survival of the Fatimid dynasty. Once the third Fatimid imam-caliph al-Manṣūr had quelled the rebellion, he had the option to revert to the earlier Fatimid policy of appointing an Ismaili official over urban areas. However, he chose to adopt a more conciliatory stance by appointing a Mālikī administrator instead. Al-Manṣūr’s explicit recognition of a Sunni madhhab as a ‘legitimate religious and legal community’ has been labelled a ‘momentous development in Islamic government’.28 Al-Manṣūr’s gesture of reconciliation with the Mālikīs was the first time that a Muslim legal school different to that of the ruling dynasty was given official recognition. Al-Muʿizz drew upon the experience of al-Manṣūr to cultivate a latitudinarian approach towards the various segments of the Maghribī population. Accordingly, he too appointed Mālikī judges and administrative officials over towns with a Mālikī majority and permitted the utilisation of their precepts on matters pertaining to family law. Nonetheless,

27 The Berber Abū Yazīd became a leading proponent of the Nukkār, a schism of the Khārijī Ibāḍis, earning him the epithet al-Nukkārī. His opposition to the Fatimids culminated in a major revolt in 332/943, which posed a serious challenge to the Fatimid state in the Maghrib, and was only curbed by his defeat and subsequent death in 336/947. His sons, Ayyūb and Yazīd, continued the resistance to Fatimid authority in the Awrās mountains but were killed in battle soon after. See Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, pp. 329, 393, and S. M. Stern, ‘Abū Yazīd Makhlad b. Kaydād al-Nukkārī’, EI2. 28 Wilferd Madelung, ‘A Treatise on the Imamate of the Fatimid Caliph al-Manṣūr bi-Allāh’, in C. F. Robinson, ed., Texts, Documents and Artefacts: Islamic Studies in Honour of D.S. Richards (Leiden, 2003), pp. 69–77.

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in public performance, the Shiʿi norms concerning the regulations on prayer and fasting were maintained across Fatimid lands.29 Whilst al-Muʿizz’s reign in North Africa provides instructive examples of accommodating non-Ismaili Muslims, thus contributing to the stability of the state, it is in Egypt that this inclination towards rapprochement became the hallmark of his statecraft. As heir to an ancient crucible of civilisations, 10th-century Egypt sustained a rich variety of ethnicities, including Arabs, Turks, Greeks, Berbers, Nubians and Sudanese. Reflecting the process and pace of Islamisation in the region, a significant portion of the populace professed Sunni Islam, with a minority Shiʿi presence of Ithnā ‘Asharīs and Ismailis. Egypt was also home to substantive, historically antecedent Christian communities, including the Copts, Melkites and Nestorians, as well as a number of Jewish communities such as the Rabbanites and the Qaraites. In keeping with the ideal of universal sovereignty, upon the Fatimid entry into Egypt, al-Muʿizz offered his dhimma to these varied religious and ethnic groups. The notion of an all-encompassing guarantee of protection, which has antecedents in early Muslim history, emerged from Qur’anic discourse and was based particularly upon the Prophet’s own foundational conduct in Medina. The precepts and terms of al-Muʿizz’s commitment to uphold the dhimma have been preserved in the amān document, the formal written guarantee of safety which the Fatimid commander Jawhar30 issued on behalf of al-Muʿizz to the Egyptians upon his arrival in the country

29 Wilferd Madelung, ‘The Religious Policy of the Fatimids towards their Sunni Subjects in the Maghrib’, in M. Barrucand, ed., L’Egypte Fatimide: son art et son histoire (Paris, 1999), pp. 97–104. 30 Jawhar al-Ṣaqlabī (d. 381/992), the foremost Fatimid general and administrator, was instrumental in the foundation of the Fatimid state in Egypt. The period between 340–366/950–975 can be considered the pinnacle of his career, during which he was the scribe (kātib), first of al-Manṣūr, then al-Muʿizz, both of whose trust and affection for Jawhar is evident in the sources. Al-Muʿizz appointed Jawhar to head campaigns into North Africa and, having proven his military talents, Jawhar was entrused with the conquest of Egypt. In addition to the present text see al-Maqrīzī’s Kitāb al-muqaffā al-kabīr, ed. Muḥammad al-Yaʿlāwi (Beirut, 1981), III: 83–111, Kitāb al-mawāʿiẓ wa’l-iʿtibār fī dhikr al-khiṭaṭ wa’l-āthār, ed. Muḥammad Zaynhum and Madīḥat al-Sharqāwī (Cairo, 1998), II: 92, and Ittiʿāẓ, p. 114; trans., pp. 59–60. See also Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, III: 340–347; ʿAlī Ibrāhīm Ḥasan, Taʾrīkh Jawhar al-Ṣiqillī (Cairo, 1933); and H. Mones, ‘Djawhar al-Ṣikīllī’, EI2.

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in 358/969.31 This document delineates the principles upon which the Fatimids were to base their subsequent two-century reign over Egypt. In all probability, it is because of its historic significance that the amān has been preserved in its entirety in both Ismaili and Egyptian sources. Notably, the document vouchsafes equity and protection to the entire Egyptian populace, under the Fatimid sovereign’s authority and guardianship: Our master and lord, the Commander of the Faithful [al-Muʿizz], has advised his servant [Jawhar] to spread justice and promote the truth, to temper oppression, to eradicate transgression, to enhance sustenance, to be equitable about rights, to aid the oppressed, to repel tyranny, to prefer justice, closeness and compassion, to supervise fairly, to be generous in companionship, to be kind in associations, to scrutinise living conditions, to offer protection to the inhabitants day and night so that they can strive freely to earn their living and can manage their affairs such that it would restore them to their feet… Islam consists of one sunna and a sharī‘a followed [by all]. [You shall have the right] to follow your madhhab (creed) or any other Muslim madhhab; to perform your obligations according to religious scholarship, and to gather for it in your mosques and places of congregation; and to remain steadfast in the beliefs of the worthy ancestors from the Companions of the Prophet, may God be pleased with them, and those who succeeded them, the jurists of the cities who have pronounced judgements and fatwas (legal opinions) according to their madhhabs… I guarantee you God’s complete and universal safety, eternal and continuous, inclusive and perfect, renewed and confirmed through your families, your livestock, your estates and your quarters, and whatever you possess, be it modest or significant. There shall be no opponent opposing you, no harasser harassing you and no pursuer pursuing you. You shall be safeguarded, protected and

31 The amān has been preserved in its entirety in Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 673–678; this text, section 46, as well as al-Maqrīzī’s Itti‘āẓ, pp. 103–107, trans., pp. 68–72, and his Muqaffā, III: 90–94. All three versions are almost identical, indicating that they were taken from the same source. For an English translation of the full document and its analysis, see Shainool Jiwa, ‘Inclusive Governance: A Fatimid Illustration’, in Amyn B. Sajoo, ed., A Companion to the Muslim World (London, 2009), pp. 157–175.

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defended. We will defend you and protect you against [enemies]. We will not let you be harmed, nor will we aid any of your enemies, nor be presumptuous against the powerful among you, not to mention the weak. 32

In addition to formally issuing a guarantee of security for people and property, al-Muʿizz’s amān is notable for its commitment to the continuity of the legal and ritual practices of various Muslim communities. In particular, al-Muʿizz’s recognition of the merits of the Prophet’s companions is significant, bearing in mind the sectarian fractiousness that from time to time had marred Sunni-Shiʿi relations in Egypt. The same ecumenical attitude evident in the amān document pervades the ensuing Fatimid approach towards the Ahl al-Kitāb, the substantial Christian and Jewish communities in Egypt, who were permitted to practice their faith and, by and large, to maintain the upkeep and building of their houses of worship. Another constituency with whom al-Muʿizz actively cultivated his relationships were the ashrāf, the various clans and families who also claimed descent from the Prophet Muḥammad through Fāṭima and ʿAlī. Although the ashrāf had gained stature, influence and social cohesiveness as a group because of their descent, they were not necessarily Shiʿi or Ismaili, with a number adopting a Sunni outlook. While al-Muʿizz’s motives for befriending the ashrāf have been questioned by a number of scholars, with some considering it as a purely diplomatic venture and others viewing it as a sign of Fatimid wariness to their hostility, al-Muʿizz’s efforts at rapprochement were received positively by a significant number of them. As a beneficiary of the North African propensity for the veneration of the Ahl al-Bayt, which had fostered the establishment of the Idrīsid dynasty in the 2nd/8th century and facilitated the rise of the Fatimids in the 3rd/9th century, al-Muʿizz had earlier demonstrated exceptional clemency to a group of recalcitrant Idrīsids who had been taken captive in the Maghrib by his commander Jawhar in 347–348/958– 959.33

32 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 676; this text, section 46; al-Maqrīzī, Itti‘āẓ, p. 105; trans., p. 71. 33 The Idrīsid dynasty was founded by Idrīs b. ‘Abd Allāh, also known as Idrīs al-Akbar (d. 175/791). His descendants governed Fez and the surrounding areas until the 4th/10th century. For an overview of his life and death, see N. Haider, ‘The Community Divided: A Textual Analysis of the Murders of Idrīs

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Quoting al-Nuʿmān, Idrīs relates in detail the generosity which al-Muʿizz bestowed upon the captured Idrīsids in recognition of their familial linkage, whilst also reiterating his singular sovereignty over the umma. In an exclusive audience which al-Muʿizz hosted for the Idrīsids where he granted them the privilege to sit in his presence and to draw near him, he addressed the Idrīsids at length and admonished them as follows: You are aware of our benevolence and bounty to you and our pardon and clemency concerning your preceding actions. We are setting you free because we know of your wish to unite with those whom you have left behind and your longing for one another. So we chose to aid you and grant it to you. So be cognisant and accept it in gratitude as a gesture of goodwill and loyalty. Then you will receive more from us and you will receive our bounties and benefactions. Let he who relates to us through lineage know that this [relation] is only for those who adhere to us and are obedient. As for those who disobey the awliyā’ Allāh (friends of God) and oppose them, their lineage will be severed, just as God severed the lineage between Nūḥ (Noah) and his son when he disobeyed him. If God had not obligated all of creation to obey us and enjoined it with obedience to Him and His Messenger, and made it a creed which people should worship and appointed us to establish His religion, we would not have been concerned about who is loyal to us and who is disloyal. However, by that we wish to fulfil what God has ordered concerning the establishment of faith… He has made us the imams of His creation, and He only accepts the obedience of those who obey them, and He is only content with those who make them content… In fact, God has made all His servants needy of us in matters pertaining to the world and of faith.34

Al-Muʿizz’s interactions with the ashrāf extended beyond the boundaries of his empire. Hence, when a feud broke out between the two leading Hashimid clans in the Hijaz, the Banū Ḥasan and the Banū Jaʿfar,35

b. ‘Abd Allāh’, Journal of the American Oriental Society 128 (2008), pp. 459–475, and D. Eustache, ‘Idrīsids (Adārisa)’, EI2. 34 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 615–617; this text, section 31. 35 Both these clans belonged to the Banū Hāshim, the clan of the Prophet. The Banū Ḥasan were descendants of ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭima through their eldest son, al-Ḥasan, whereas the Banū Ja‘far claimed descent from ‘Alī’s elder

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in 348/959–960, al-Muʿizz was instrumental in mediating conciliation between the two families, bearing the cost of the indemnities due to the aggrieved families so as to ensure a peaceful resolution between them. This disposed the Banū Ḥasan in particular towards al-Muʿizz such that when Jawhar arrived in Egypt, al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar took possession of Mecca and proclaimed al-Muʿizz as the sovereign over Mecca and Medina. Al-Muʿizz reciprocated by investing al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar with the administration of both cities. In Egypt, the ashrāf had formed an established aristocracy of wealthy notables who were well organised and highly respected. They also wielded significant influence in Egyptian society. In the political vacuum that ensued after the death of Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī in 355/966, the ashrāf were among the prominent notables who were involved in the dialogue with al-Muʿizz and his Egyptian dāʿīs to negotiate the Fatimid takeover. Of the five delegates who were selected to represent Egyptian interests to Commander Jawhar upon his arrival in Egypt and to secure a peace agreement, two were senior members of the ashrāf who also occupied leading positions in the Egyptian bureaucracy.36 The fact that these ashrāf were entrusted with the task of negotiating the vested interests of Egyptian nobility with the Fatimid commander indicates that the latter were keen to draw upon the familial connections of the ashrāf with al-Muʿizz. Equally, al-Muʿizz’s reaching out to the ashrāf in other regions would have had a bearing on their inclination to negotiate with his commander.

brother, Ja‘far b. Abī Ṭālib, known as Ja‘far al-Ṭayyār (d. 8/629). (See note 568 below.) From the beginning of the 3rd/9th century, the descendants of ‘Alī saw a continued ascendency of their authority in the Hijaz, though not without considerable infighting between the various sub-groups themselves and between other groups of Hashemite descent. From the end of the 4th/10th century, the Ḥasanids established their hold over Mecca, and various branches of the Banū Ḥasan ruled in the Hijaz either in their own right or as vassals until the 20th century. See A. J. Wensinck (C. E. Bosworth), ‘Makka’, EI2; Bernard Lewis, ‘‘Alids’, EI2; and L. Veccia Vaglieri, ‘Dja‘far b. Abī Ṭālib’, EI2. 36 These were Abū Ja‘far Muslim al-Ḥusaynī (Sharīf Muslim), the central figure in the negotiation of the amān between the Egyptian populace and Jawhar and Abū Ismāʿīl al-Rassī, the leader of the ashrāf, a position he retained until his death in 369/980 and upon whose death al-Muʿizz’s successor al-ʿAzīz performed the funeral prayer. See Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 673; this text, section 46; al-Maqrīzī, Itti‘āẓ, p. 103; trans., p. 68.

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The cooperation of the ashrāf proved instrumental in securing Jawhar’s relatively peaceful victory over Egypt. Al-Muʿizz cemented the alliance by ensuring that the ashrāf continued to remain involved in the Fatimid administration, thus becoming a vital force in securing Fatimid legitimacy over their Egyptian subjects. Ideologically, the significance of the Fatimid sovereign as instituting the rule of the Ahl al-Bayt provided a platform to which the ashrāf could relate and thus contribute to servicing the Fatimid state. Similarly, the ashrāf represented to al-Muʿizz the ideal mediators in the administration of authority between the majority Sunni populace and the Fatimid imam, as they had the flexibility to straddle both sides of the ideological divide. As such, Jawhar’s special regard for the prominent sharīf of Egypt, Abū Jaʿfar Muslim, can be understood in this vein. After remnants of the previous Ikhshīdid and Kāfurid forces failed in their limited attempt to halt the Fatimid advance, the notables of Fusṭāṭ chose Abū Jaʿfar Muslim to formally request a re-issuance of the amān. In his reply, Jawhar remarked: The Sharīf’s letter has arrived; may God lengthen his life, perpetuate his honour, support and strengthen him. [In it] he congratulated us for the blessed conquest which God has paved for us, and he, may God support him, deserves to be congratulated as it is his realm and the realm of his family, and he is worthy of it. As for his request for a guarantee of safety and the return of the original guarantee of safety, I have returned to him what he has sought and I have appointed him on behalf of our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, to guarantee people safety as and how he wishes. 37

The energetic efforts of al-Muʿizz to accommodate the interests of the majority Sunni populace of his domains did not detract him from augmenting the strength of his Ismaili following. In particular, the expansion of the Fatimid daʿwa became a noteworthy feature of his reign. Under his patronage, Cairo became the central headquarters of the daʿwa, servicing a network of regional hubs, known within the daʿwa as jazā’ir or ‘islands’, across the Islamic world which disseminated Fatimid Ismaili teachings through its dāʿīs. In his position as the chief dāʿī under al-Muʿizz and through his scholarship, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān was instrumental in propagating the idea of the daʿwa as

37 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 682; this text, section 48.

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a divine calling and presenting its dāʿīs as model teachers and exemplars.38 The active propagation of the Fatimid mission yielded some immediate results, notably in Sind,39 which became an Ismaili principality for almost five decades (347–353/958–1005), with Multan serving as the locus for the growing activity of the Fatimid daʿwa in the Indian subcontinent. The extension of Fatimid sovereignty to a part of the Indian subcontinent offered an example from which Ismaili dāʿīs in successive generations sought to draw instruction. This is evident from the fact that writing some five centuries later, Idrīs makes a concerted effort to provide a detailed rendering of the inception as well as progression of the daʿwa in Sind, noting its triumphs and tribulations, drawing principally upon the account of al-Nuʿmān. He candidly notes the difficulties that emerged in that region with aberrant interpretations of Fatimid doctrine propagated by certain dāʿīs, while also providing an eyewitness account of al-Muʿizz’s perturbed reaction and corrective action to them. Idrīs had a vested interest in doing so, as the Ṭayyibī daʿwa in Yemen had found a considerable degree of success in spreading its mission in India. Moreover, the fact that Idrīs himself was the chief dāʿī of the Ṭayyibī Ismailis in Yemen where, in the absence of an imam, he steered the dāʿīs under his purview, must have provided a further incentive to the rendition. Another measure al-Muʿizz took to unify the daʿwa was to encourage various non-Fatimid Ismaili groups to recognise the authority of the Fatimid imam-caliphs and coalesce with their standpoint. The origin of these groups can be traced back to the foundational phase of the Ismaili daʿwa during the early years of the Abbasid caliphate when the authorities maintained a sharp surveillance over all the ‘Alid contenders to power, fearing that support for their claim to leadership would undermine their own caliphate. It was in this climate that the Ismaili daʿwa was driven underground for almost a century and a half. During

38 Al-Nuʿmān, Kitāb al-himma, as cited by Daftary, A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community (Edinburgh, 1998), p. 91. 39 For Idrīs’ account of the Ismaili daʿwa in Sind see ʿUyūn, pp. 641–647; this text, section 34. Also see S. M. Stern, ‘Ismāʿīlī Propaganda and Fatimid Rule in Sind’, in Islamic Culture 23 (1949), pp. 298–307, reprinted in his Studies in Early Ismāʿīlism (Leiden, 1983), pp. 177–188; and Abbas Hamdani, ‘Evolution of the Organisational Structure of the Fatimi Daʿwa’, Arabian Studies 3 (1976), pp. 85–114.

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this period, known as dawr al-satr (period of concealment),40 while the daʿwa actively spread its mission across the Islamic world, it nonetheless maintained secrecy about the identity of the Ismaili imams. This contributed to the rise of distinct groups within the daʿwa with a range of varying interpretations regarding the concealed imams. Among these groups the most militant were followers of the dāʿī Ḥamdān Qarmaṭ in Iraq and Bahrain who came to be known as the Qarāmiṭa.41 Their focal point of disagreement was their refusal to acknowledge the imamate of ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī, the first Fatimid imam-caliph. Instead, they anticipated the imminent return to the world of Imam Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl,42 the grandson of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, as the mahdī and qāʾim, the archetypal messiah who would initiate the final era of history. Al-Muʿizz’s long letter to the Qarmaṭī leadership in Bahrain more than half a century later, reiterating their common origins as well similarities in their beliefs, is an illustrative example of his efforts to secure their support.43 In the letter he rebuked the existing Qarāmiṭa

40 The dawr al-satr signifies a particular era in Ismaili history, the first instance of which was from 153/765 to 297/909 when the Ismaili imams, beginning with Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl (see note 13 above), were concealed from public gaze and their identity was a closely guarded secret. That period came to an end with the public manifestation (ẓuhūr) of al-Mahdī bi’llāh in 297/909. The cyclical notion of time, which alternated between eras of concealment and manifestation, was an integral component of medieval Ismaili thought. For details see Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 88–136. 41 The early Ismaili dā‘ī Ḥamdān Qarmaṭ was responsible for winning many converts in Kufa and other parts of southern Iraq. Subsequently, he dispatched his brother-in-law ‘Abdān and other dā‘īs to the surrounding areas, notably eastern Arabia and south-western Iran. Following al-Mahdī’s declaration of his imamate in 286/899, Hamḍān sent ‘Abdān to Salamiyya to investigate this claim, but they were unconvinced and separated from the Fatimid daʿwa. Shortly thereafter Hamḍān disappeared and ‘Abdān was murdered in mysterious circumstances. Modern scholarship has offered a range of opinions regarding the origins of the Qarāmiṭa and their relationships with the Fatimids. See W. Madelung, ‘The Fatimids and the Qarmaṭīs of Baḥrayn’, in Farhad Daftary, ed., Mediaeval Isma‘ili History and Thought (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 21–73. Al-Maqrīzī provides a detailed account of the Qarāmiṭa and their activites in his Itti‘āẓ, pp. 164–190; trans., pp. 122–187. 42 On the messianic figures of mahdī and qāʾim, see note 14 above. 43 The full text of al-Muʿizz’s letter to the Qarāmiṭa is preserved in al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ; trans., pp. 168–180.

Introduction

23

for abandoning the right path of their ancestors and invited them to return to it through recognition of his imamate. He also rehabilitated the founding figures of the Qarmaṭī movement by accommodating some of their views in Fatimid doctrine. This included transposing the pivotal precept of the imminent return of Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl as the mahdī and qāʾim to one where the messianic mission of the mahdī was depicted as an ongoing and continuous historical process to be shared and fulfilled by all the imams. Despite al-Muʿizz’s overtures, the Qarāmiṭa of eastern Arabia remained hostile to the Fatimids, which escalated to outright military confrontation against them after their entry into Egypt. However, al-Muʿizz’s reconcilliatory efforts bore fruit, for within a decade the Qarmaṭī leadership pledged allegiance to al-Muʿizz’s son and successor, al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh.44 There were other elements of the Ismaili daʿwa in the eastern regions, including Iraq and Iran, who had remained unconvinced of al-Mahdī’s claim to the imamate. Among them were a number of leading dāʿīs and intellectuals, such as Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī,45 Muḥammad al-Nasafī46 and

44 Nizār Abū Manṣūr al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh (r. 365–386/975–996) was the first Fatimid sovereign to begin his reign in Egypt after the death of his father al-Muʿizz in Cairo. Under al-ʿAzīz the Fatimid state enjoyed stability and prosperity, facilitated by the administrative acumen of his wazir Ya‘qūb b. Killis. Cf. Shainool Jiwa, ‘al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh’, Encyclopaedia Islamica, ed. Wilferd Madelung and Farhad Daftary (Leiden, 2011), vol. 3, pp. 988–997. 45 The well-known Ismaili dāʿī Abū Ḥātim Aḥmad b. Ḥamdān al-Rāzī (d. 322/933–934) is known to have been active in northern Iran, especially the city of Rayy and the northern Caspian region. He was instrumental in expanding the daʿwa across the region, sending dāʿīs to Isfahan, Azerbaijan and Gurgan. The Kitāb al-zīna became his best regarded work. See Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 111–112; Ḥusain F. al-Hamdānī, ‘Some Unknown Ismā‘īi Authors and their Works’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 65/2 (1933), 359–378; and Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 36–39. 46 Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Nasafī (al-Nakhshabī) was the dā‘ī-philosopher known for incorporating Neoplatonism into Ismaili thought. His success in converting members of the Sāmānid dynasty including their leading figures led to his gaining significant influence in north-eastern Iran. However, following the downfall of the dynasty, he was executed at Bukhara in 332/943. His major philosophical work, the Kitāb al-maḥṣūl, which is no longer extant, caused much reverberation in Ismaili intellectual circles. See Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, p. 113, and Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 40–43.

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Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sijistānī,47 who were particularly important to the Fatimids. The most notable respondent to al-Muʿizz’s overtures was the dāʿī of Khurasan, al-Sijistānī, whose move to the Fatimid fold around 349/960 proved invaluable as he shepherded a number of the adherents of Iran and Central Asia towards the Fatimid cause. Moreover, his philosophical writings paved the way for the infusion of Neoplatonic ideas into Fatimid thought, initiated earlier by his predecessor al-Nasafī. Consequently, the legal framework which al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān had formulated came to be complemented by the metaphysics of Late Antiquity.48 Sijistānī’s influence and impact on the Fatimid daʿwa and its literature is evidenced by the fact that from his time onwards the Ismailis of the Iranian world came to form ‘the largest and the most influential body of believers in the mission of the Fatimids, whose scholarly elite elaborated the dynasty’s doctrine of the imamate into a vast synthesis of contemporary wisdom’.49 In addition to harnessing the resources of the Fatimid daʿwa abroad to his cause, al-Muʿizz vigorously promoted the dissemination of learning in Egypt, principally by the founding of the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo. Additionally, he continued the well-established practice of holding the majālis al-ḥikma (sessions of wisdom). These were assemblies of learning led by the chief dāʿī or his representatives on esoteric knowledge (‘ilm al-bāṭin), held usually in the caliphal palace and conducted exclusively for Ismailis following the inception of the Ismaili daʿwa in North Africa. 50 Idrīs cites a first-hand account from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān on al-Muʿizz’s counsel for the majālis al-ḥikma. When the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, opened

the gate of mercy for the believers and turned his attention to his

47 An eminent Iranian intellectual who died after 361/971, Isḥāq b. Aḥmad Abū Ya‘qūb al-Sijistānī succeeded al-Nasafī as the dāʿī of Khurasan and continued his philosophical legacy. His prolific contribution to Ismaili thought is evident in the daʿwa literature of the time, as demonstrated by Paul E. Walker in his Abū Ya‘qūb al-Sijistānī: Intellectual Missionary (London, 1996), and Early Philosophical Shiism: The Ismaili Neoplatonism of Abū Ya‘qūb al-Sijistānī (Cambridge, 1993). 48 Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, p. 206; Daftary, A Short History, pp. 81–89. 49 Daftary, A Short History, p. 84. 50 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 557–558; this text, section 12. Also see Heinz Halm, ‘The Ismaʿili Oath of Allegiance (ʿahd) and the “Sessions of Wisdom” (majālis al-ḥikma) in Fatimid Times’, in F. Daftary, ed., Mediaeval Isma‘ili History and Thought (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 91–115.

Introduction

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followers by his benefaction and grace, he gave me books on esoteric knowledge (‘ilm al-bāṭin) and instructed me to read out from them in a session every Friday at the palace which during his lifetime was much frequented. People thronged to it and the place became crowded.

Representations of al-Muʿizz: al-Maqrīzī and Idrīs It is a happenstance of history that the two most comprehensive extant sources on the Fatimid era were both written by 15th-century scholars: Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn. Although they wrote their works almost three centuries after the Fatimid dynasty had waned, their writings assume primary source significance as, in constructing their narratives, they draw upon, and in many cases directly quote, a spectrum of earlier North African, Egyptian and Iraqi primary sources, of both Sunni and Ismaili provenance, many of which have been lost and are no longer extant. Though they were contemporaries and died within two decades of each other, al-Maqrīzī and Idrīs, the first an Egyptian Sunni Shāfiʿī jurist and the second a Yemeni, Ṭayyibī Ismaili chief dāʿī, had significantly different interests and motivations when writing about the Fatimid era. The differing elements in their approach to history and its purpose, their varied use of sources, the difference in the focus of their narratives as well as of their target audiences, makes their recording of Fatimid history individually distinctive. This creates a valuable opportunity to study two discrete perspectives from which to understand and examine Fatimid historiography in general, and in particular, differing approaches to the reign of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. Together, their respective works, the Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafāʾ and the ʿUyūn al-akhbār, provide comprehensive coverage of, and shed valuable light on, the life and times of al-Muʿizz. Taqī al-Dīn al-Maqrīzī was an erudite Sunni polymath who dedicated much of his considerable scholarship to the study of Egypt. Born, bred and buried in Cairo, al-Maqrīzī had a distinguished career in the public service of the Mamluk administration. He had the privilege of growing up in a learned environment on both the paternal and maternal sides of his family.51 His maternal grandfather was an eminent Ḥanafī jurist who

51 For an account on al-Maqrīzī’s educational background and his career-related accomplishments, see Nasser Rabbat, ‘Who Was al-Maqrīzī? A

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held a number of important judicial posts and composed numerous treatises. His paternal grandfather was a Ḥanbalī and an established hadith scholar in charge of a premier Damascene institution. Al-Maqrīzī thus had the advantage of being educated in a variety of Sunni madhhabs. Upon gaining stature in the learned circles of his time, al-Maqrīzī chose to adopt the Shāfiʿī madhhab. Al-Maqrīzī’s interest in the Fatimids stemmed from two principal factors.52 Firstly, he regarded them as the premier Muslim dynasty that made Egypt the nucleus of their empire, who invested considerable resources in the country, including the founding of Cairo, and who therefore contributed to its social, economic and intellectual development. The second factor was genealogical: though he was a Shāfiʿī jurist, al-Maqrīzī traced his ancestry to the Fatimids,53 considering himself a scion of the sixth Fatimid imam-caliph, al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh.54 The Fatimids receive significant coverage in several of al-Maqrīzī’s compositions whose scope and range include the three main categories of mediaeval historiography: chronicles, topographies and biographical dictionaries. Moreover, the access that they provide to some vital but no longer extant Egyptian and Fatimid primary sources earn him a distinctive reputation in Fatimid historiography.55 The works that merit particular attention are Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafāʾ bi akhbār al-a’imma al-Fāṭimiyyīn al-khulafaʾ, Kitāb al-mawāʿiẓ wa’l-iʿtibār fī dhikr al-khiṭaṭ wa’l-āthār and

Biographical Sketch’, Mamluk Studies 7 (2003), pp. 10–11, and Franz Rosenthal, ‘al-Maḳrīzī’, EI2. 52 For a detailed discussion of al-Maqrīzī’s scholarship on the Fatimids, see Jiwa, Introduction to Itti‘aẓ, trans., pp. 32–47. 53 Al-Maqrīzī’s claim to the Fatimid lineage was rather controversial especially as he was a seasoned administrator in the Mamlūk regime. For a discussion of his lineage, see ibid., pp. 41–44; Paul E. Walker, ‘Al-Maqrīzī and the Fatimids’, Mamluk Studies 7 (2003), pp. 88–97, and N. Rabbat, ‘Who Was al-Maqrīzī?’ 54 Abū ‘Alī Manṣūr al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh was the sixth Fatimid imamcaliph (r. 386–411/996–1021). After succeeding his father al-ʿAzīz at the age of 11, he would witness a series of protracted power struggles instigated by those seeking to impose their power over him. For the most recent monograph on al-Ḥākim, see Paul E. Walker, Caliph of Cairo: Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, 996–1021 (Cairo and New York, 2009). 55 Excerpts from sources that have otherwise perished such as Taʾrīkh miṣr of Ibn al-Muyassar (d. 677/1278), and accounts from contemporaries of the Fatimid court, including Ibn Zūlāq (d. 386/996), al-Musabbiḥī (d. 420/1029) and Ibn al-Ṭuwayr (d. 617/1220), are at times only accessible in al-Maqrīzī’s works.

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Kitāb al-muqaffā al-kabīr.56 The Mawāʿiẓ provides unique insights into the topographical facets of Fatimid Cairo, while the Muqaffā records invaluable biographical accounts of the prominent figures of Egyptian society. The value of the Ittiʿāẓ lies in the fact that it is al-Maqrīzī’s only chronicle that focuses exclusively on the two-and-a-half-century history of the Fatimids in North Africa and Egypt. As comprehensive as al-Maqrīzī’s works are on the Fatimids, they have their inevitable limitations. Some of these stem from the author’s own proclivities. In recounting the reign of al-Muʿizz in North Africa, for instance, al-Maqrīzī glosses over the salient features of al-Muʿizz’s 22-year rule over the region. This is because al-Maqrīzī’s principal interest was to examine the scope of Fatimid impact on Egypt. Thus the bulk of his substantive 140-page account focuses on the Fatimid preparations, arrival and establishment in Egypt. Yet the Fatimid engagement in North Africa is germane to their history and to the model of governance which al-Muʿizz instituted in Egypt. Al-Maqrīzī’s limited interest in Fatimid engagements outside Egypt may have been exacerbated by his possible lack of access to first-hand North African sources, as he was composing his works almost three centuries after the demise of the Fatimid state. In any case, these works of al-Maqrīzī need to be supplemented with other sources, particularly Ismaili works such as those of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn. These sources have the wherewithal to provide the conceptual positioning of Fatimid rule within the Shiʿi Ismaili framework of authority and leadership. They also have the advantage of providing contemporary perspectives of the Fatimid age written by those from within the Ismaili fold. Unlike al-Maqrīzī, who devotes less than a tenth of his 140-page narrative in the Ittiʿāẓ to al-Muʿizz’s activities in North Africa, nearly two-thirds of Idrīs’ 216-page text in the ʿUyūn is focused on the region, making it the most detailed extant source for the Maghribī phase of al-Muʿizz’s reign.57 In contrast to al-Maqrīzī’s claim to Fatimid pedigree, Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn’s connection to the Fatimid house was more inherent to his position in the daʿwa. Born in 794/1392 at Shibām in the Mount Ḥaraz region of Yemen, Idrīs belonged to the prominent al-Walīd branch of a

56 See notes 1 and 30 above. 57 Idrīs’ rendering of al-Muʿizz’s imamate is the second longest of all his accounts of the Fatimid imams, after that of al-Muṣtanṣir (d. 487/1094).

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Yemeni Qurayshi family which had provided leadership to the Mustaʿlī Ṭayyibī daʿwa from the 7th/13th century. Yemen had been an important hub of the Ismaili daʿwa during the dawr al-satr, the ‘period of concealment’ prior to the rise of the Fatimids during which the Ismaili imams had lived in hiding. Under the pioneering dāʿīs Ibn Ḥawshab58 and ʿAlī b. al-Faḍl,59 the daʿwa flourished in Yemen and became the training centre for dāʿīs who were subsequently sent to different parts of the Muslim world. Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī,60 the founder of the Ismaili daʿwa in Ifrīqiya, as well as al-Haytham,61 the founder of the Ismaili daʿwa in Sind, both undertook their apprenticeship under Ibn Ḥawshab in Yemen. However, the defection of ʿAlī b.

58 Al-Ḥasan b. Faraj b. Ḥawshab, also known as Manṣūr al-Yaman (d. 302/914), was responsible for galvanising the Ismaili daʿwa in Yemen in 268/881. Under him Yemen became a training centre for various dāʿīs who were then despatched to different parts of the Islamic world, including Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Shī‘ī who initiated the Ismaili daʿwa in Ifrīqiya and paved the way for the establishment of the Fatimid state. On the establishment of the Ismaili daʿwa in Yemen see Shainool Jiwa, ‘The Genesis of Ismaili Daʿwa Activities in Yemen’, Bulletin of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies 15 (1988), pp. 50–63. See also Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 59-61; al-Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, Iftitāḥ, trans., pp. 20–40, 45–47, 122–123; and Wilferd Madelung, ‘Manṣūr al-Yaman’, EI2. 59 Originally from Yemen, ‘Alī b. al-Faḍl was won over to the Ismaili daʿwa during his pilgrimage to Karbala and was particularly successful, together with Ibn Ḥawshab, in asserting its authority over parts of Yemen. However, his rejection of the Fatimid claim to the imamate brought him into direct conflict with Ibn Ḥawshab which, in turn, weakened the daʿwa in Yemen. This conflict, compounded by ‘Alī b. al-Faḍl’s alleged Qarmaṭī and antinomian tendencies, led to his denunciation by Idrīs in ʿUyūn, pp. 72–74. 60 Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī was dispatched to North Africa where he succeeded in winning over the Kutāma Berbers to the Ismaili cause and successfully wrested control from the local Aghlabid dynasty in 265/909. In the following year he fell into conflict with al-Mahdī over the administration of the nascent Fatimid state, leading to al-Shī‘ī’s execution. For an extensive account of his activities see Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 83–140; al-Nu‘man’s Iftitāḥ, trans., pp. 45–203; and Ibn al-Haytham, Kitāb al-munāẓarāt, ed. and tr. W. Madelung and Paul E. Walker as The Advent of the Fatimids: A Contemporary Shiʿi Witness (London, 2000). Also see Shainool Jiwa, ‘The Initial Destination of the Fatimid Caliphate: The Yemen or the Maghrib?’, Bulletin of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies 13 (1986), pp. 15–26. 61 Al-Haytham was a nephew of Ibn Ḥawshab who tutored him in Yemen and then sent him to spread the daʿwa in Sind 270/883. See al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, trans., p. 33, and Stern, ‘Ismāʿīlī Propaganda’, p. 177.

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al-Faḍl to the Qarmaṭī fold and his vengeful opposition to the Fatimid cause resulted in an internal schism which caused a major setback to the Ismaili daʿwa in Yemen. Its subdued survival through the next century was subsequently offset by the success of ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Ṣulayḥī, who established the Ṣulayḥid state in the mountainous region of Ḥarāz in 429/1038, and offered allegiance to the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Mustanṣir bi’llāh. Over the next three decades, ʿAlī al-Ṣulayḥī successfully consolidated his authority across most of the country, thus enabling the Fatimid daʿwa to be propagated publicly in his domains.62 A century after al-Muʿizz’s migration to Egypt, the Ismaili daʿwa was convulsed by a major crisis over succession to al-Mustanṣir following his death in 487/1094. The enthronement of al-Mustanṣir’s younger son, al-Musta‘lī,63 secured by the reigning wazir al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī,64 displaced the succession of his eldest son and designated heir Abū Manṣūr Nizār,65 leading to an irrevocable split within the Fatimid daʿwa. While the official establishment in Egypt upheld al-Musta‘lī’s succession, as did the Ṣulayḥid dynasty of Yemen, the majority of the Ismailis in the East, notably Iran, Khurasan and parts of Syria, maintained their allegiance to Nizār and his progeny. Some three decades later, another schism plagued al-Musta‘lī’s daʿwa after the death of his successor, al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh, in 524/1130.

62 The Ṣulayḥid dynasty reigned from 439–532/1047–1138. After ‘Alī al-Ṣulayḥī, it was Queen Arwā bt. Aḥmad (d. 532/1138) who became the most notable regent. See Ḥusain F. Hamdānī (with Ḥasan S. Maḥmūd al-Juhanī), al-Ṣulayḥiyyūn wa’l-ḥaraka al-Fāṭimiyya fi’l-Yamān (Cairo, 1955); Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 261–276; and G. R. Smith, ‘Ṣulayḥids’, EI2. 63 Al-Musta‘lī’s reign coincided with the establishment of the Latin Crusader states and the capture of Jerusalem from Fatimid forces in 492/1099. H. A. R. Gibb, ‘Al-Musta‘lī bi’llāh’, EI2. 64 Abu’l-Qāsim al-Afḍal succeeded his father, Badr al-Jamālī, in 487/1094 as the chief wazir and military commander of the Fatimid state, inheriting the full range and scope of his father’s position. While al-Afḍal is noted for enforcing security and stability in the state, his suzerainty was diminished by the loss of Jerusalem and the establishment of Latin states during the first Crusade. Paul E. Walker, ‘al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī’, EI3. 65 Following al-Mustanṣir’s demise, Nizār was taken captive and executed in 488/1095. Some of his family members are believed to have escaped to the fortress of Alamut in northern Iran where the dāʿī Ḥasan-i Ṣabbāḥ had established what would later become the Nizārī Ismaili state. See H. A. R. Gibb, ‘Nizār b. al-Mustanṣir’, EI2, and Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 241–243.

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Since al-Āmir’s son al-Ṭayyib was an infant, his cousin, ʿAbd al-Majīd b. Muḥammad,66 took control of the state. Though initially ʿAbd al-Majīd ruled as regent, in 526/1132 he adopted the title al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh and declared himself imam and caliph. The reigning Ṣulayḥid queen, al-Sayyida Arwā, rejected al-Ḥāfiẓ’s claims, championing instead the succession of the infant Ṭayyib. Thus the Musta‘lī daʿwa became split between those who accepted ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Hāfiẓ’s claim, which received the backing of the Fatimid headquarters in Egypt, and those who followed the Ṭayyibī daʿwa which was patronised by al-Sayyida Arwā in Yemen. According to Ṭayyibī sources, when the infant Imam al-Ṭayyib went into concealment, Arwā maintained Ṣulayḥid allegiance to Ṭayyib’s imamate, and consequently, broke off all relations with the Ḥāfiẓi Fatimid state. In 520/1126, Dhu’ayb b. Mūsā al-Wādi‘ī al-Hamdānī succeeded as the chief dāʿī in Ṣulayḥid Yemen, and within a few years he was appointed by al-Arwā as their first dāʿī al-muṭlaq (absolute dāʿī). In the absence of the Ṭayyibī imam, the position of dā‘ī al-muṭlaq was invested with the supreme authority to officiate the religious and temporal mandate of the Ṭayyibī imamate. It was to this high position in the Ṭayyibī daʿwa that the author of the ʿUyūn al-akhbār, ʿImād al-Dīn Idrīs, acceded nearly three centuries later, when he was appointed by his uncle ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh in 823/1428 to become the 19th dāʿī al-muṭlaq of the Yemeni Ṭayyibī Ismailis. He thus assumed absolute responsibility for the material and spiritual wellbeing of his community, making him, in effect, the de facto ruler as well as interpreter of the faith. In his role as the dāʿī al-muṭlaq, therefore, Idrīs was vested with almost all the authority and responsibilities of the hidden Ṭayyibī imam. Idrīs succeeded to the leadership of the Ismaili community in Yemen during a particularly turbulent time in Yemen’s history when interactions between the various ideological and dynastic factions were strained and volatile. As relations between the contending Shiʿi groups in the region, particularly the Zaydīs67 and the Ṭayyibī Ismailis, had been

66 Abu’l-Maymūn ‘Abd al-Majīd (d. 544/1146) was the eldest member of the Fatimid house at the death of al-Āmir. Although initially he reigned as regent, he regained control following a brief usurpation of power by a son of al-Afḍal, nicknamed Kutayfāt, who proclaimed in the name of the Twelver Imam al-Mahdī. A. M. Magued, ‘al-Ḥāfiẓ’, EI2. 67 The Zaydī Shia, named after their progenitor Zayd b. ‘Alī b. al-Ḥusayn (d. 122/740), flourished in Yemen and the southern Caspian region. In Yemen,

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historically intransigent, Idrīs sided with the Sunni Ṭāhirid68 sultan to combat the Zaydīs in northern Yemen. His forces established an upper hand over the Zaydīs by wresting several castles and citadels from them. Thus, in assuming the mantle of leadership, Idrīs became embroiled in the arduous political manoeuvring and military jockeying for power with regional rivals. He embraced this role and excelled at it such that over the 40 years that spanned his leadership, he developed a reputation for being an intrepid general and a honed statesman. The strictures of the battlefield, however, did not limit Idrīs’ interests to the Yemeni landscape. He played an important role in maintaining linkages between the Ṭayyibī communities in Yemen and India. The trend of educating adherents to the Ṭayyibī daʿwa from Gujarat was continued by Idrīs’ successors until the eventual accession of an Indian, Yūsuf b. Sulaymān, as the 24th dāʿī al-muṭlaq in 946/1539. This event facilitated the eventual transfer of the Ṭayyibī daʿwa headquarters from Yemen to Gujarat in 974/1567.69 Maintaining the continuity of Fatimid heritage became one of the abiding traditions of the Ṭayyibī daʿwa. It played a major role in ensuring the transference of a large corpus of Fatimid literature from Egypt to Yemen, where it was to find a safe haven, especially after the pillaging of Fatimid libraries in Cairo by their Ayyubid successors who viewed their writings as heretical. As the dāʿī al-muṭlaq, Idrīs was the executive custodian of this intellectual and literary collection. However, Idrīs was not merely an avid bibliophile; he was also a prolific writer who wrote in prose and verse on Ismaili history and doctrines. His works have withstood the test of time and continue to be studied within Ismaili communities to this day.70 Following the loss of the majority of medieval Ismaili sources, Idrīs’ works have gained the distinction of becoming

the Zaydī Imam al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥaqq established a Zaydī imamate and state in 284/897, which continued in various iterations until 1962. W. Madelung, ‘Zaydiyya’, EI2. 68 Daftary, The Ismāʿīlīs, pp. 268–269. 69 Ibid., p. 279. 70 For example, to this day Bohra students, who belong to the Dawūdī Ṭayyibī daʿwa, are required to transcribe a copy of the ʿUyūn in the Jāmi‘a al-Ṣayfiyya in Surat, India, as part of their curriculum, as noted in Ayman Fuʾād Sayyid, with Paul E. Walker and Maurice Pomerantz, The Fatimids and their Successors in Yaman: The History of an Islamic Community (London, 2002), p. 12.

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among the premier sources for the Fatimid age. Moreover, because of his native knowledge and engagement in the region, Idrīs’ writings form the bedrock of early Yemeni Ismaili history and doctrine. The magnum opus of Idrīs ‘Imād al-Dīn’s voluminous writings is undoubtedly the ʿUyūn al-akhbār wa funūn al-āthār. Reflecting its title, the ʿUyūn seeks to present its readership with the ‘sound sources and trustworthy traditions’ that the author considers significant to the Ismaili worldview. Consequently, it seeks to record how Ismaili principles, values and traditions have infused Ismaili history. In doing so, it also provides the most comprehensive rendering of the life and times of the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. Composed circa 838/1434, the ʿUyūn begins with the inception of Islam, noting the virtues of the Prophet Muḥammad and ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and highlighting the legitimacy of ʿAlī’s succession. It continues over the subsequent volumes to discuss the imamates of ʿAlī’s successors, his sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, then the descendants of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, through the hidden Ismaili imams of the dawr al-satr until the advent of the Fatimid imams. Idrīs’ coverage of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh is located in the fourth and fifth volumes of the work. Notably, in introducing the Fatimids, Idrīs chose to begin with a discussion of the mahdī and its linkage with the notion of the Ahl al-Bayt. In doing so, he seeks to prepare the ground for the advent of the first Fatimid imam-caliph ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī: The Ahl al-Bayt are those by the first of whom God honoured His creation; they are the progeny of the Prophet of God. The first among them is the Prophet of God himself through whom God honoured creation. The mahdī is from them, and through the last of them God will honour the believers, relieve them from the oppressors and destroy the devils. He is the qāʾim of the family of Muḥammad, the one awaited, upon the onset of [the] time. By him God will manifest the religion of Muḥammad over every other religion and will destroy all the oppressors, and to God alone will belong religion.71

Idrīs then focuses on establishing the conditions that would precede the emergence of the mahdī, citing a well-known Prophetic tradition,

71 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 47.

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thereby further furnishing the providential ground for the emergence of the Fatimid state in the Maghrib under ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī: The Prophet of God said: ‘The mahdī is from my progeny, and from the sons of Fāṭima, the foremost of the women of this umma. Whether the days are lengthened or shortened, he will emerge and will fill the earth with justice just as it was filled with tyranny and oppression.’… And he was asked: ‘And when will he emerge, and where he will emerge, O Prophet of God?’ He said: ‘There will be earthquakes in the various regions of the earth. He will emerge in the Maghrib, on his leg a mole, and between his shoulders there will also be a mole, and he will be a stranger.’ And he was asked: ‘And why will he be a stranger, O Prophet of God?’ The Prophet said: ‘Because he will be separated from his people, and will migrate from his country.’ …Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said: ‘Thus was al-Mahdī bi’llāh; he migrated in his hijra away from his country and was separated from his people, and it was said before his appearance there were earthquakes, and he also had the moles mentioned by the Prophet.’72

For Idrīs, the establishment of the Fatimid state was not simply the coming to power of a particular dynasty, as it may have been for other medieval historians such as al-Maqrīzī. Rather it was a preordained, prophesied and providential manifestation of the daʿwat al-ḥaqq, ‘the true mission’. Consequently, prior to discussing the historical narrative of the Imam al-Mahdī, Idrīs concerns himself with annotating the soteriological function of his mission, thus buttressing the belief that recognition of al-Mahdī’s spiritual and worldly authority was necessary to secure salvation. Writing from within the daʿwa tradition, Idrīs deems it incumbent to refute the recurring polemic concerning the ‘Alid lineage of the Fatimids which arose in the decades after ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī’s public assumption of the caliphate. Accordingly, he provides a detailed exposition of the falsehood of the various allegations, criticising the viewpoints of renowned Sunni theologians such as al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111). Idrīs’ continuing engagement to verify the veracity of this lineage

72 Ibid., p. 29. Idrīs relates a number of such traditions of the Prophet concerning the rise of the mahdī, which emerged in a milieu fervent with millenarian expectations.

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demonstrates the living potency of this issue to the partisans as well as detractors of the Fatimids, centuries after the waning of their empire. Following this doctrinal introduction, Idrīs provides a purposeful accounting of the events leading to the rise of the Fatimids. As such, it mirrors the genre of daʿwa literature epitomised by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s Iftitāḥ al-daʿwa, which recounts the inception of the daʿwa in the Maghrib that led to the establishment of the Fatimid state. Idrīs then proceeds to delineate the reigns of each of the Fatimid imam-caliphs, eventually validating the Musta‘lī-Ṭayyibī branch of the imamate. He continues the narrative until just before his own death in 872/1468. In his other historical texts, Nuzhat al-afkār wa rawḍat al-akhbār (The Pleasure of Thoughts and the Garden of Information)73 and the Rawḍat al-akhbār wa nuzhat al-asmār (A Garden of Information and the Pleasures of Conversations),74 Idrīs pursues a more specific agenda, namely, to relate the history of the Ismaili daʿwa in Yemen from its commencement in the 2nd/8th century until his own time. The latter is also particularly valuable in furnishing biographical information on Idrīs himself and shedding light on his contribution to the Ṭayyibī daʿwa in Yemen.75

Al-Muʿizz through the lens of the ʿUyūn Idrīs begins his ʿUyūn al-akhbār with an exposition on the nāṭiq (speakerprophet) and waṣī (legatee) of his own historical cycle, these being the Prophet Muḥammad and ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib respectively. In his presentation of al-Muʿizz, which occurs in the fourth volume of the ʿUyūn, Idrīs represents the imam’s era within this framework of divine guidance. Al-Muʿizz is portrayed as one of a continuing series of imams in the cycles of prophecy, whose lineage is traced to the Abrahamic prophets with the universal purpose of guiding humanity to salvation. In his narrative on al-Muʿizz,

73 The Institute of Ismaili Studies is currently preparing a critical edition of this work from the extant manuscript sources. 74 Ed. Muḥammad b. ‘Alī al-Akwa’ al-Ḥiwālī al-Ḥimyari (Sanaa, 1995). 75 For a comprehensive listing of Idrīs’ works, see A. F. Sayyid’s Introduction to ʿUyūn, vol. 7: The Fatimids and their Successors, pp. 10–16. See also Ḥusain F. Hamdānī, ‘The Doctrines and History of the Ismāʿīlī Daʿwat in Yemen as based on the Dāʿī Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn’s Kitāb Zahr al-maʿānī and Other Works’ (Ph.D. thesis, University of London, 1931), p. 23.

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after praising God for the provision of the imams, Idrīs proceeds to locate him in the constellation of divine guidance thus: Al-Muʿizz is the seventh of the second heptade of imams in the cycle (dawr) of the Prophet Muḥammad, who arose after the waṣī, the commander of the faithful ʿAlī, and the fourth of the four imams of the period of manifestation (al-ẓuhūr), the first of whom was his grandfather Abū Muḥammad, the Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh…76 In the time of the Prophet Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl (Abraham, the friend of God), four [prophets] came together. Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, the messengerprophet of his cycle, to whom God sent revelation and said, ‘I will make you an imam to the nations.’ He pleaded, ‘And also (imams) from my offspring’ (2:124). With him were Ismāʿīl (Ishmael), Isḥāq (Isaac) and Yaʿqūb (Jacob). Also, in the time of Mūsā (Moses) b. ʿImrān there were with him his brother Hārūn (Aaron), Yūshaʿ (Joshua) b. Nūn and Finḥāṣ (Phinehas) b. Hārūn. Then in the time of our Prophet Muḥammad, the best of the prophets and their seal, by whose prophethood and message God sealed the [cycle of] messenger-prophets, He distinguished him (Muḥammad) among all His creation and decreed his path eternal until the Day of Judgement. During his era there was present his brother and helper, his support in establishing the religion of God and his aide, the father of the imams of his progeny, his son-in-law, ʿAlī, who was his waṣī, the commander of the faithful and the seal of the legatees (khātim al-waṣiyyīn), and [there were] their sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. With Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq were his sons Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar and his grandson Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl, three imams in one era. This was also the case with al-Mahdī bi’llāh, al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh, al-Manṣūr bi’llāh and al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh.77

Idrīs then outlines the features of the succession to the imamate: The imamate can only reside in one [imam] after another; he is distinguished by its merits and deserving of its exalted status. He indicates his successor, designates him (yanuṣṣu ʿalayhi) and then makes clear to the adherents of the daʿwa who is to succeed him, and to whom submission

76 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 524; this text, section 2. 77 Ibid.

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The Founder of Cairo is due. Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh’s virtues were apparent, and the worthiness of his succesorship to his pure ancestors was evident.78

Over the subsequent pages of Idrīs’ coverage of al-Muʿizz, he weaves into his narrative those features of al-Muʿizz’s life that establish what Idrīs considers to be the essential pillars of the imamate: the appointment based on hereditary succession, its investiture by explicit designation (naṣṣ), and proof of the succession through the grace of divine wisdom that makes the recipient worthy of the role. He then recounts al-Muʿizz’s credentials and qualities in relation to the virtues attributed to those in possession of the mantle of the imamate. Quoting several anecdotes from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Idrīs highlights the qualities of wisdom and sagacity, epitomised in the biblical prophets and the early Shiʿi imams and now reflected in al-Muʿizz, as clear evidence that he is indeed the rightful and righteous heir to the collective wisdom of prophecy and imamate. Idrīs sums up the role of the imam, citing the following words of al-Nuʿmān: The words of the imams are like an edifice, some parts of which strengthen and reinforce the others because they perceive with the light of God (nūr Allāh). From it they receive knowledge and through its wisdom they speak; from their ancestors they learn, for they are the proofs of God (ḥujajuʾllāh), the Mighty, the Glorious, on earth. As God the Sublime says, ‘Offspring one of the other’ [3:34].79

The primary purpose of Idrīs’ narrative is thus to affirm the continuing succession to the imamate. Consequently, presenting its recipient as possessing the requisite attributes and qualities forms the initial focus of his exposition on al-Muʿizz. Having rooted the designation of al-Muʿizz’s imamate in the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition, Idrīs then draws upon accounts from each of the three preceding Fatimid imams to chronicle the legitimacy of al-Muʿizz’s authority, so as to authenticate his distinction, merit and explicit designation to the imamate. First, he cites an anecdote from his great-grandfather, al-Mahdī, in which he prophesies the prominence of al-Muʿizz. Idrīs

78 Ibid. 79 Ibid., p. 535; this text, section 6.

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then recounts al-Mahdi’s successor al-Qāʾim’s80 intimate nurturance of his grandson, al-Muʿizz, which he compares to the affinity between al-Mahdī and his grandson, al-Manṣūr,81 who subsequently became the third Fatimid imam-caliph. He then recounts various anecdotes by which al-Manṣūr becomes convinced of his choice of al-Muʿizz as the successor to the imamate: When al-Manṣūr received the caliphate, he realised that his son Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh possessed all the requisite merits, so he confirmed him with his covenant. He disclosed this to his loyal and close adherents. He entrusted Jawdhar82 with the responsibility of his palace at

80 Abu’l-Qāsim Muḥammad al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh (r. 322–334/934–946) was born in Salamiyya, Syria, in 281/893, and accompanied his father al-Mahdī in his emigration to North Africa. He succeeded al-Mahdī in 322/934 and, for the most part of his reign, Ifrīqiya remained peaceful. However, the revolt of the Khārijī rebel Abū Yazīd in 332/943 plunged the realm into crisis during the last two years of al-Qāʾim’s life, and he died before the Khārijī rebel was decisively defeated by his son al-Manṣūr. F. Dachraoui, ‘al-Ḳāʾim’, EI2. 81 The succession of al-Manṣūr (r. 334–341/946–953) to al-Qāʾim was kept secret until he had defeated Abū Yazīd in Shawwāl 334/June 946, so as not to embolden the rebels with the knowledge of his father’s demise. During his reign, al-Manṣūr resumed campaigns in central Maghrib against the Umayyads of Spain and the Byzantines in Sicily whilst simultaneously strengthening the daʿwa in the East. He died aged 40, having secured the continuity of the Fatimid state in Ifrīqiya. F. Dachraoui, ‘Al-Manṣūr bi’llāh’, EI2. 82 Ustādh Jawdhar was a Slav whose calibre and commitment earned him the trust and intimacy of the first four Fatimid imam-caliphs. Initially in the service of al-Mahdī, Jawdhar continued as an official under al-Qāʾim, who appointed him director of the treasury and as an intermediary between himself and his officials. He was granted freedom by al-Manṣūr and was invested with increasing power, which culminated in the reign of al-Muʿizz as he entrusted Jawdhar with the responsibilities corresponding to that of chief wazir. Jawdhar’s Sīra, compiled by his private secretary (Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar), an invaluable record containing biographical sections, sermons, letters and directives of the imam, is edited by Muḥammad Kāmil Ḥusayn and M. ‘Abd al-Hadī Sha‘īra (Cairo, 1954); French trans. M. Canard as Vie de l’ustādh Jaudhar (Algiers, 1958); new edition and English trans. Hamid Haji as Inside the Immaculate Portal: A History from the Early Fatimid Archives (London, 2012). Also see M. Canard, ‘Djawdhar’, EI2, and Muḥammad K. Ḥusayn, Fī adab Miṣr al-Fāṭimiyya (Cairo, 1950), pp. 29, 114–116, 170, 309.

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The Founder of Cairo al-Mahdiyya,83 authorising him to manage all its affairs. He set out to fight the deceiver (dajjāl),84 until God rewarded him with victory. Then he proclaimed the appointment (naṣṣ) of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, commending him and exalting his rank. Al-Muʿizz accompanied him during his travels and at home and was his confidante concerning all his matters, the keeper of his secrets and his trusts. The administrative heads (abwāb),85 dāʿīs and people of state could only access al-Manṣūr through al-Muʿizz and at his behest. Al-Manṣūr became cognisant of the merits that al-Muʿizz had been accorded and witnessed in him the greatest excellence. This increased al-Muʿizz’s standing and closeness to al-Manṣūr and further elevated his status.86

Having established al-Muʿizz’s credentials to the imamate, Idrīs relates the significant events of his reign which, while they follow an overall chronological order, are nonetheless infused with anecdotes that highlight al-Muʿizz’s status as inheritor of divine wisdom, analogous to David’s inheritance of wisdom from Solomon, and which exemplifies the exceptional characteristics such as forbearance, magnanimity and composure expected of an imam. These qualities are illustrated through detailed accounts of significant events during his reign, drawn from a variety of Ismaili and non-Ismaili sources. As the historical narrative

83 Al-Mahdiyya was founded by al-Mahdī as the first capital of the Fatimid state. Its strategic location enabled the Fatimids to withstand the subsequent prolonged siege of Abū Yazīd (see note 27 above). A number of al-Mahdiyya’s features were replicated in Fatimid Cairo. See M. Talbi, ‘Mahdiyya’, EI2, and Ayman Fu’ād Sayyid, Al-Dawla al-Fātimiyya fī Miṣr: tafsīr jadīd (2nd ed., Cairo, 2000), pp. 124–125. 84 This refers to the Khārijī leader Abū Yazīd. Fatimid sources regularly refer to him as the deceiver (dajjāl), the arch-villain in Muslim soteriological literature, thus juxtaposing him with the messianic mission of the mahdī. A. Abel, ‘Dadjdjāl, EI2. 85 The term bāb (pl. abwāb), literally meaning ‘gate’ or ‘door’, denoted the highest rank in the Fatimid daʿwa organisation following the imam. The bābs transmitted the imam’s instruction to the ḥujjas (proofs), who administered the provinces of the daʿwa. The highest of these was also referred to as bāb al-abwāb, which is equivalent to the official term dāʿī al-duʿāt. See al-Qāḍī Al-Nuʿmān, b. Muḥammad, Abū Ḥanīfa Muḥammad. Daʿāʾim al-Islām, ed. Asaf A. A. Fyzee (Cairo, 1951–61); English trans. A. A. A. Fyzee as, The Pillars of Islam, rev. Ismail K. Poonawala (New Delhi and Oxford, 2002–4), vol. 1, pp. 16–17. 86 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 528; this text, section 4.

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unfolds, it offers further opportunities to illustrate al-Muʿizz as a paragon of virtue, clemency, patience, knowledge and a resolute advocate of God’s law. This is particularly the case in Idrīs’ recounting of the vigorous diplomatic encounters and military engagements of the Fatimids with the Umayyads and the Byzantines. Expectedly, in his reporting of the life and times of al-Muʿizz, Idrīs also discusses the leading members of the Fatimid daʿwa network and the state administration. Thus, stalwarts such as al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman87 and Jawhar al-Siqillī are mentioned at length. In relating their involvement and influence in the Fatimid realm, Idrīs systematically outlines their contributions to the Fatimid state and daʿwa.

Comparative approaches to Fatimid historiography In contrast to Idrīs, al-Maqrīzī’s coverage of the reign of al-Muʿizz begins with an annalistic biographical account: He (al-Muʿizz) succeeded his father at the end of Shawwāl – it was also said on Friday, the 17th 341 (7 March 953). He took over the administration of matters of state on 7 Dhu’l-Ḥijja 341 (25 April 953). Then he permitted the people to come to him and sat in audience for them. They saluted him as their caliph. He was 24 years old at the time. He was born in al-Mahdiyya at four hours and four-fifths on Monday, 11 Ramaḍān 317 (18 October 929) and ruled for 23 years, five months and 17 days.88

This recounting of the beginning of al-Muʿizz’s reign offers an illustration of the differing approaches to the historical writings of al-Maqrīzī and Idrīs, which becomes further evident as both texts progress in their

87 Son of Ibn Ḥawshab Manṣūr al-Yaman (see note 58 above). Ja‘far left Yemen after the death of his father in 302/914. Seemingly the only son of Ibn Ḥawshab, Ja‘far migrated to North Africa during the reign of al-Qāʾim where he remained a loyal supporter of the Fatimids. A number of his works are extant, relating to esoteric knowledge and Qurʾanic exegesis, including Kitāb al-ʿĀlim wa’l-ghulām, ed. and trans. James W. Morris as The Master and Disciple: An Early Islamic Spiritual Dialogue (London, 2001). Idrīs recounts al-Muʿizz’s high esteem for Ja‘far in ʿUyūn, p. 570; this text, section 20. 88 Al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, p. 105; trans., pp. 53–54.

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narrative.89 While both authors provide substantive chronological accounts of al-Muʿizz’s reign, Idrīs regularly infuses his narrative with anecdotes from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and selected verses of Ibn Hāniʾ and other poets to highlight the eminent status and inimitable qualities of al-Muʿizz. Many such episodes are similarly augmented with precedents from earlier imams and prophets. Thus, the distinction of Idrīs’ work is that he was able to tap into the repertoire of Fatimid sources at his disposal that provide an insider’s perspective on the key issues and developments as they occur. Al-Maqrīzī was an intellectual protégé of Ibn Khaldūn90 whose pioneering sociological approach to account for the rise and fall of dynasties appears to have persuaded al-Maqrīzī that his own period of Mamluk rule was one of decline, which had been accelerated by its dysfunctional administrative and financial apparatus. In al-Maqrīzī’s analysis, the malaise in the Mamluk administration resulted from the injustice of the ruling class, which in turn led to a corrupt appointment system, excessive taxation and a poor currency. This sparked an interest in al-Maqrīzī to examine the development of the Muslim polity and delineating successful models of governance. He came to regard the Fatimid caliphate as one such viable model. The fact that they were located in Egypt, al-Maqrīzī’s homeland, added to their lustre. Al-Maqrīzī’s attitude to the Fatimids was also influenced by his eclectic upbringing which contributed to his affinity towards the Ahl al-Bayt. He maintains a fluidity in his definition of the term such that it transcends its normatised Sunni and Shiʿi interpretations. His inclusion of

89 For a comparative analysis of the two authors, see Shainool Jiwa, ‘Historical Representation of a Fatimid Imam-caliph: Exploring al-Maqrīzī and Idrīs’ Writings on al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh’, Alifba: Studi Arabo-Islamici e Mediterranei, 22 (2008), pp. 57–70 (published proceedings of the International Conference on the Fatimids and the Mediterranean, Palermo). 90 In his work al-Muqaddimah (ed. A. A. A. Wafi (Cairo, n.d.); trans. F. Rosenthal as The Muqadimmah: An Introduction to History (2nd ed., New York, 1967), the renowned medieval historian, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad b. Khaldūn (d. 808/1406) attempted a novel definition of the philosophy of history and a sociological understanding of the nature of society and the patterns of civilisations. There is a considerable corpus of literature on Ibn Khaldūn’s thought and work. For an introductory bibliography see Mohamed Talbi, ‘Ibn Khaldūn’, EI2, and also Muhsin Mahdi, Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of History: A Study in the Philosophic Foundation of the Science of Culture (London, 1967).

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the Fatimids in this category is evident in the first phrase of the title of his work dedicated to them, Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafāʾ. A ḥanīf (pl. ḥunafāʾ), as understood in medieval literature, is a sincere Muslim, a ‘believer in the original and true religion, that is, someone who transcends the sectarian division that prompted some Sunni scholars to denigrate vehemently both Ismaili doctrine and the genealogical claim of the Fatimids.’91 Hence, in the very title used by al-Maqrīzī to address his potential readers, he invites them to rise above the sectarian conflicts that abounded in his time, and which he chose to surpass. Idrīs also uses the term al-ḥanīfiyya in the ʿUyūn, but in Idrīs’ writing, the term invokes an invitation to establish the ideal religion (al-milla al-ḥanīfiyya) towards which al-Muʿizz exhorts the followers of his daʿwa in Sind to strive: We beseech Him to deal with all your enemies similarly and to delight our eyes by seeing you all in safety, to relieve your hearts of rancour, to unify you and to join you in your hearts. It is towards these aims that you should invest your thought and upon it you should develop your vision so that God will manifest the ideal religion (al-milla al-ḥanīfiyya) through you to the highest degree and to record your commendable and continual effort which will lead you to eternal Paradise where you will be in repose, content and in a garden of bliss.92

Idrīs’ approach to historical writing has elicited some reservations regarding the purpose and value of his scholarship. Husayn Hamdani, the leading Ismaili scholar to draw attention to Idrīs’ writing, cautions that Idrīs’ ‘books are not free of occasional partiality and prejudice, of either excessive devotion or fierce polemics, resulting not infrequently in distortions of what really happened and the omission of certain events.’93 Wladimir Ivanow was more scathing in his indictment stating that Idrīs ‘is hopelessly indiscriminate in mixing up Ismaili sources with anti-Ismaili, never specifying them, and thus often placing the reader into the position of helplessness in separating information which one may regard as authentic, from that which is often obvious fiction and insinuation of

91 Rabbat, ‘Who Was al-Maqrīzī?’, p. 9. 92 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 661; this text, section 39. 93 Hamdānī, al-Ṣulayḥiyyūn, p.14; as cited by Sayyid in The Fatimids and their Successors in Yaman, p. 14.

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hostile propaganda. Similarly, he does not discriminate between history and legend, the events as they were in reality and as they should have been according to various religious schemes.’94 These shortcomings solicit questions such as: what is the value of Idrīs’ writings to contemporary historians as they attempt to piece together and interpret yesteryears’ events and personalities? How should they approach his writings as they seek to re-create and re-imagine bygone eras and worldviews? The first point to consider is that Idrīs’ teleological approach to relating Ismaili history, through a rendering of the legitimacy of the imamate, is reflective of the common, pre-modern understanding of history and of the forces that have shaped historiography in monotheistic traditions. The historical writings of Judaeo-Christian communities, particularly in their formative periods, provide suitable comparative antecedents. For those concerned with history as relayed through scriptural narratives, historical writing was the mechanism which provided the contours of identity and continuity of God’s chosen people.95 In these narratives it is God who is the ‘mover of history’, through a process that is essentially ‘linear and directional’.96 It begins with the creation of Adam and is infused with archetypal themes and figures such as God’s covenant, prophets and tyrants, salvation and punishment, etc. Scriptural history is especially marked by heterogeneity of the material used. Yet, the overall coherence of the narratives presents a ‘view of mankind and God’s chosen people from the Creation and the expulsion from Paradise as a result of Adam’s sin.’97 Considering Idrīs’ role in synthesising a particular understanding of Ismaili history, his enterprise is not dissimilar to that of Eusebius, one of the seminal composers of early Christian church history. Both Idrīs and Eusebius were writing not to ‘entertain but to prove and vindicate’.98 The purpose of history was generally not to test, probe or provide an account for all the events as they precisely happened, but rather to teach and inspire by illustrating and exemplifying. History thus had clear social and political functions to instruct, to moralise, to

94 W. Ivanow, as cited by Daftary in Ismaili Literature, p. 7. 95 John Burrows, A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, Romances and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth Century (London, 2007), p. 180. 96 Ibid., p. 179. 97 Ibid., p. 180. 98 Ibid., p. 191.

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edify, enthuse and most importantly it was crafted in order to legitimise or criticise a social order and state.99 According to this perspective, the principal purpose of recording and recalling the past is to instil among the believers a moral compass, to inspire a spiritual vision and exemplify a social order for them and their posterity. Similarly, traditional Muslim historical writing is often homiletic and didactic. It purposefully teaches lessons through recurring patterns of events.100 From a believer’s point of view, this is embedded in Qur’anic exhortations such as, ‘Has not the history of those before you reached you?’ (14:9), and ‘Narrate to them the story so that they may reflect’ (7:176). Idrīs himself notes the purpose of his historical writing in his account on al-Muʿizz. He states that his principal purpose in the ʿUyūn is to record the bestowal of God’s grace upon the righteous imams and to relay their excellence as the progeny of the Messenger. In speaking of the malaise that had afflicted the Abbasid caliphs at the turn of the 10th century, he notes: Our purpose in mentioning them (the Abbasid caliphs) was neither to examine them from the first to the last of them, nor to relate about their state. Indeed, our purpose was to note what God has afflicted upon them, which He facilitated and decreed, and what He bestowed upon His awliyā’, the progeny of His Prophet, the imams of guidance, the suns of truth rising from the west, by whose mention God has extinguished the mention of every impostor.101

Similarly, in quoting a few lines of poetry of a noted 10th-century Shiʿi poet, he expressly states that it is not the poet or his poetry that are the focus of his recounting, but rather how the verses extol the heightened status of the progeny of the Messenger : If our aim were to describe his poetry, we would present examples of it that are most exquisite and accessible, marvellous and wondrous, pleasing and powerful, elevating and excelling. However, that is not our purpose, nor is it our intention. Indeed, what we wished to mention was

99 Chase Robinson, Islamic Historiography (Cambridge, 2003), pp. 7, 12. 100 Carole Hillenbrand, Turkish Myth and Muslim Symbol: The Battle of Manzikert (Edinburgh, 2007), p. 111. 101 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 655; this text, section 35.

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The Founder of Cairo the excellence of the progeny of the Messenger and how God has distinguished them with lofty and weighty status, according to our capacity to do so, for even though we would wish to, we would be unable to describe their exaltedness and their stature. 102

This attitude to history and historical writing is fundamentally different to our contemporary definitions and expectations of history, which have been shaped by post-enlightenment benchmarks of scientific objectivity and empiricism on the one hand and a symbiotic relationship between history and identity, particularly national identity, thus privileging the value of history in society. In Muslim historiography, this pre-modern attitude is evident among its formative crafters. The majority of scholars whose writings have created the classical repertoire of Islamic history composed their works as part of a broad engagement with the subjects and issues of their time and age. Many of them worked as state functionaries who serviced its governance by day and wrote their erudite tomes by night. This is true of al-Maqrīzī as well as of Idrīs. Consequently, their writings provide an informative reading of the key concerns that exercised the author and the significant issues of the times to which they were responding. This is discernible in Idrīs’ response to his milieu, which ranged from his dealings in the corridors of power and diplomacy to his writings on Ismaili history and doctrines. Thus Idrīs’ principal motive in composing the ʿUyūn al-akhbār was to record the historical unfolding of the divine plan that had been designated for the Ismaili imamate. He was concerned with presenting an ontological order manifest through God’s chosen individuals.103 Consequently, while the recording of human engagement is necessary and important, essentially for Idrīs it served a larger, symbolic ethos and moralising function. He elucidated the critical themes that were central to the Ṭayyibī Ismailis and framed the contours of their identity, which charted the connectivity from his own time to that of the Fatimids and through them to the Prophet Muḥammad. This accounts for the durability of the ʿUyūn within the Ṭayyibī daʿwa as a premier text for instructing, edifying and inspiring the faithful to this day.

102 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 648; this text, section 38. 103 Hillenbrand, Turkish Myth, p. 111.

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The value of the ʿUyūn as a primary historical text stems from the fact that, as head of the Ṭayyibī community, Idrīs was the steward of the corpus of Fatimid literary texts that were transferred from Egypt to Yemen in the 5th/11th century. This meant that Idrīs was able to draw upon an array of Ismaili sources whose content is only accessible to us through the prism of the ʿUyūn. Several accounts in the ʿUyūn from the Sīrat al-Kutāmiyya are a prime example of this. This Fatimid text, which is no longer extant, was written by Ḥaydara b. Muḥammad b. Ibrahim who lived during the reign of the sixth Fatimid imam-caliph al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh. In reporting on the life and times of al-Muʿizz, Idrīs quotes extensively from this work to provide insights on a number of key developments as well as offering the most comprehensive annotated bio-bibliography of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, exceeding those available in other extant works, while also furnishing a description of these texts.104 In his chapter on al-Muʿizz in the ʿUyūn, Idrīs also relays material from a number of poets whose biographical details remain vague. These include passages of poetry attributed to figures such as ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar al-Samarqandī, ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Tūnisī and Miqdād b. Ḥasan al-Kutāmī. The praise of the imamate of al-Muʿizz and of the Kutāma tribesmen coursing through these quotations indicate their Ismaili linkages. Similarly, Idrīs quotes from some primary sources about which very little is currently known. These include figures such as al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar al-Anṣārī and Abū Bakr Juhūr (or Jumhūr) b. ʿAlī Juhūr (or Jumhūr) al-Hamdānī. With historical works of Ismaili provenance becoming increasingly available, the discovery of further information on these authors, the nature of their works and their impact on Idrīs’ writings has the potential of being realised in the future. In recounting the key events during al-Muizz’s reign, Idrīs refers extensively to al-Nuʿmān’s Kitāb al-majālis wa’l-musāyarāt105 which provides a first-hand rendition of events as they unfold at the Fatimid court, particularly during the time of al-Muʿizz. The survival of this text offers an instructive opportunity to review how Idrīs systematically

104 For a discussion of the significance of the ʿUyūn in providing details of al-Nuʿmān’s works, see I. K. Poonawala, ‘Sources for Al-Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān’s Works’, in B. Craig, ed., Ismaili and Fatimid Studies in Honor of Paul E. Walker. Chicago, 2010, pp. 92–95. 105 Kitāb al-majālis wa’l-musāyarāt, ed. al-Ḥabīb al-Faqī, Ibrāhīm Shabbūḥ and Muḥammad al-Yaʿlāwī (Tunis, 1978). In this translation, an effort has been made to identify all the passages that Idrīs has quoted from the Majālis.

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utilised a range of sources to weave a coherent historical narrative. It also illustrates how he synthesised his material to maintain what he perceived to be the authentic Fatimid literary tradition. Fortuitously, the ʿUyūn complements and supplements al-Maqrīzī’s Ittiʿāẓ in providing as historically rounded and symbolically representative a rendering of the Fatimid Weltenschauung as is possible within our current purview of primary sources. Together, their accounts provide an instructive case-study of the varied purposes, principles and parameters of historical writing as it relates to the Fatimid tradition.

Note on the translation The Arabic text of Idrīs ‘Imād al-Dīn’s ʿUyūn al-Akhbār wa-funūn al-āthār is now available in three published editions. Muṣṭafā Ghālib’s edition (vols 4–6, Beirut, 1973–1978) was based on two manuscripts, the first of which was transcribed from an autograph copy. This was used in conjunction with the second manuscript, which in fact is a copy of the copy of the autograph, dating some 74 years before the first manuscript. This edition has been critiqued for a number of errors and flaws in the reading of the manuscripts. Subsequently, Muḥammad al-Ya‘lāwī published an edition containing volume 5 and part of volume 6 of the ʿUyūn al-akhbār, focussing solely on Idrīs’ coverage of Fatimid rule in North Africa. This edition was based on a manuscript for which, however, no specific details have been provided. The work is entitled Taʾrīkh al-khulafāʾ al-Fāṭimiyyīn bi’l-Maghrib: al-qism al-khāṣṣ min Kitāb ʿUyūn al-akhbār (Beirut, 1985). Volume 7 of the ʿUyūn was more recently edited and published with an English summary by Ayman Fu’ād Sayyid, Paul E. Walker and Maurice A. Pomerantz as The Fatimids and their Successors in Yaman: The History of an Islamic Community (London, 2002). In 2007, volume 6 of the ʿUyūn was edited by Maḥmūd Fakhūrī and Muḥammad Kamāl (Damascus, 2007) and published by the Institut français de Proche-Orient in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies. This is also based on two manuscript editions, including a copy of the autograph copy. Subsequently, between 2007 and 2012, the full set of seven volumes was published through the collaboration of these two institutions, edited further by Ahmed Chleilat, Yousef S. Fattoum, Ma’moun al-Sagherji and Ayman Fu’ād Sayyid. As this translation project commenced well before the 2010 edition was finalised, it relies primarily on Ya‘lāwī’s 1985 edition. Any significant discrepancies

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between Ya‘lāwī’s 1985 edition and Fakhūrī and Kamāl’s edition have been noted in the footnotes. The full title for Idrīs’ work is generally given as ʿUyūn al-akhbār wa funūn al-āthār fi dhikr al-nabī al-Muṣṭafā al-mukhtār wa waṣiyyihi wa-ālihi. Poonawala has suggested that the phrase funūn al-āthār used in the title should in fact be replaced with ṣāḥīḥ al-āthār.106 Though he does not amplify on the reasons for his assertion, it may well be because of the ambiguity of the term funūn. There is a precedence for the use of ṣāḥīḥ instead of funūn in other similar sounding titles reported within the text of the ʿUyūn itself, such as al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s Kitāb al-ikhtiṣār li ṣaḥīḥ al-āthār ‘an al-a’imma al-aṭḥār. Having noted this, the translation retains the term funūn, as it has now become the standardised part of the title in all the existing editions. In keeping with the prose style of its time, the Arabic text uses a series of pronouns in depicting conversations and to progress the narrative. To aid the readability of the material, this translation at times substitutes proper names where their recurrent use makes the text cumbersome. For example, ‘Whenever he (al-Qāʾim) was alone, he (al-Muʿizz) was with him, and whenever he (al-Muʿizz) was absent, he (al-Qāʾim) would send for him’ has been rendered as ‘Whenever al-Qāʾim was alone, al-Muʿizz was with him, and whenever al-Muʿizz was absent, al-Qāʾim would send for him.’ To further facilitate accessibility of the translation, a number of sectional headings have been inserted in the text that are not present in the Arabic edition. Throughout the text, Idrīs includes the standard invocations following the names of the imams and the prophets. These have been omitted from the translation for ease of reading. For Arabic terms that have entered the English language, such as Sunni, Shia, etc., no diacritics have been used, as also is the case with commonly known names such as Mecca and Medina. All Qur’anic quotations in the text are based on Yusuf Ali’s translation with slight variances. Whenever Hijri dates are mentioned in the original text, their Gregorian counterparts are also indicated in the translation. Wherever possible, annotations have been provided on significant events and names mentioned in the text.

106 Poonawala, ‘Sources for Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s Works’, p. 93.

Translation from Idrīs ‘Imād al-Dīn’s ʿUyūn al-akhbār

1 Preamble A select account of events (akhbār) during the reign of Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, the Commander of the Faithful (amīr al-muʾminīn), Maʿadd Abū Tamīm b. Ismāʿīl al-Manṣūr bi’llāh, blessings of God be upon them both and upon their pure ancestors and their noble descendants. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise be to God who established His awliyāʾ (friends of God) as a means to the salvation of His creation, about whom the Sublime (taʿālā) said in His Noble Book: ‘Those apostles We endowed with gifts, some above others; to one of them God spoke, others He raised to degrees (of honour)’ (2:253).107 Blessings of God upon His Messenger Muḥammad, the means (wasīla) to God, the one by whose merit prayers are answered, and upon his waṣī,108 ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and upon their progeny the foremost greetings and best salutations. In the account of Imam al-Manṣūr bi’llāh,109 we have narrated some befitting information on Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, Commander of the Faithful, blessings of God be upon him and upon his ancestors and upon the pure ones among his progeny. Now we shall mention some [reports] of God’s favours and distinctions upon him, and of the conquests undertaken during his reign. We shall select, summarise, distil and present some of these accounts. From God we seek succour and upon Him we rely.

107 The term awliyāʾ (sing. walī) here refers to the imams in the specific sense of awliyāʾ Allāh (friends of God). More generally, in Fatimid literature and occasionally in this text (see, for example, note 163 below), it is also used for the Kutāma Berbers of Ifrīqiya who responded to the preaching of the early Ismaili dāʿī Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī and remained the stalwarts of the Fatimid state during its North African phase. 108 In Ismaili thought the waṣī (lit. legatee or executor of a will) is the immediate successor to a nāṭiq (a speaking or messenger-prophet) (see note 111 below). Also called asās (lit. foundation), the waṣī’s function is to interpret and convey the esoteric or inner meaning (bāṭin) of the revelation delivered to the nāṭiq. 109 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, pp. 349–518.

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2 Al-Muʿizz and the cycles of the imamate Al-Muʿizz is the seventh of the second heptade of imams in the cycle (dawr) of the Prophet Muḥammad, who arose after the waṣī (legatee), the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī, and the fourth of the four imams of the period of manifestation (al-ẓuhūr),110 the first of whom was his [great] grandfather Abū Muḥammad, the Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān was among those who had precedence in serving the Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh towards the end of his caliphate. He was also the beneficiary of the favours of [the Imam] al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh as were others. As such, Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh disclosed to him the distinction of his grandson Imam al-Manṣūr bi’llāh, the third imam of the ẓuhūr. Al-Nuʿmān asked, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, three imams in one age?’ This astounded him. Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh showed him al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh who was an infant in his cradle and said, ‘He is the fourth of us, O Nuʿmān!’ In the time of the Prophet Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl (Abraham, the friend of God) four [prophets] came together. Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, the nāṭiq (messenger-prophet) of his cycle, to whom God sent revelation and said, ‘I will make you an imam to the nations.’111 He pleaded, ‘And also [imams] from my offspring.’ (2:124). With him were Ismāʿīl (Ishmael), Isḥāq (Isaac) and Yaʿqūb (Jacob). Also, in the time of Mūsā (Moses) b. ʿImrān there were with him his brother Hārūn (Aaron), Yūshaʿ (Joshua) b. Nūn and Finḥāṣ (Phinehas) b. Hārūn. Then in the time of our Prophet Muḥammad, the best of the prophets and their seal, by whose prophethood and messengership God sealed the [cycle of] messenger-prophets, He distinguished him (Muḥammad) among all His creation and decreed his path eternal until the Day of Judgement. During his era there was present his brother and helper, his support in establishing the religion of God and his aide, the father of the imams of his progeny, his son-in-law, ʿAlī, who was his waṣī, the Commander of the Faithful and the seal of the legatees (khātim

110 The ẓuhūr signifies the era (dawr) in which the Ismaili Imam was publicly manifest. This follows the dawr al-satr, the ‘period of concealment’. See note 40 above. 111 In early Ismaili thought the nāṭiq (lit. speaker) is a speaking-prophet, i.e., a messenger-prophet who introduces a new religious law (sharī‘a), and by so doing inaugurates a new cycle in the religious history of mankind.

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al-waṣiyyīn), and [there were] their sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. With Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq were his sons Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar and his grandson Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl, three imams in one era. This was also the case with al-Mahdī bi’llāh, al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh, al-Manṣūr bi’llāh and al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. The imamate can only reside in one [imam] after another; he is distinguished by its merits and deserving of its exalted status. The imam indicates his successor and designates him (yanuṣṣu ʿalayhi), and then makes clear to the adherents of the daʿwa who is to succeed him and to whom submission is due. Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh’s virtues were apparent, and the worthiness of his succesorship to his pure ancestors was evident.

3 The virtues of al-Muʿizz according to his predecessors In one of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad’s reports on Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, al-Nuʿmān recalls al-Muʿizz saying:112 ‘I recollect what the Commander of the Faithful al-Mahdī bi’llāh said. One day I (al-Muʿizz) was carried to al-Mahdī. I was a toddler then, I could understand what was said and remember what took place. He held me, kissed me and placed me under his cloak. He uncovered my navel and placed it against his own. Then he lifted me out, blessed me and asked about my health. He sat me on his lap and ordered some food for me. I was offered a silver gilded plate; upon it were bananas, seasonal apples and grapes. It was placed in front of me but I did not eat any of it. He picked it up and offered it to me, so I took it in my hands. He said, “Take it, eat what is on it and give the plate to so and so”, he mentioned a girl who was of a similar age to me. I replied, “No, instead, I will take the plate and will give her what is on it.” He laughed and was astonished at my alertness. He wished me well and said to the servant, “Carry him.” So I was carried whilst the plate was carried in front of me. Al-Mahdī then added, “He will become prominent.”’ I (al-Nuʿmān) did not corroborate these words with al-Muʿizz.113

112 This is the first of numerous instances of the author including an extract from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s Kitāb al-majālis wa’l-musāyarāt. The page numbers correspond to those in the edition of al-Ya‘lāwī et al (see note 105 above). Across this translation, the beginning and end of each extract from the Majālis are indicated. This extract begins on p. 541. 113 End of Majālis extract, p. 541.

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Then al-Muʿizz remarked, ‘Al-Mahdī was unique in his time and was vested with the secrets of the progeny of Muḥammad; he was the most knowledgeable of them and the one who lifted the cloak of tribulations from them.’ Al-Nuʿmān has said:114 From a young age, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh had a special status with his grandfather al-Qāʾim. Al-Qāʾim used to keep al-Muʿizz in his company, was close to him and confided in him in the absence of his father [al-Manṣūr]. Al-Muʿizz was his messenger and ambassador to the people, conveying commands and prohibitions and anything else. Whenever al-Qāʾim was alone al-Muʿizz was with him, and whenever al-Muʿizz was absent al-Qāʾim would send for him. Similarly, Imam al-Manṣūr held the same position with his grandfather al-Mahdī and was inseparable from him. Al-Mahdī used to confide secrets to al-Manṣūr and no one was privy to what transpired between them. One man, who used to frequent the presence of al-Mahdī when necessary, informed me that there was never a time when al-Mahdī was alone without al-Manṣūr being present, with whom al-Mahdī would be speaking in confidence. When al-Manṣūr saw the man, he would step back until the man’s needs were fulfilled. When he left, al-Manṣūr returned to al-Mahdī. The man remarked, ‘I never heard what was said between them. I did not know of any of those close to al-Mahdī who held the same status with him as did al-Manṣūr. I never saw anyone who, when speaking with him (al-Mahdī) in private, and then after my entry, I could not hear what was said between them – except in the case of al-Manṣūr.’ One day al-Muʿizz noted a similarity to this [relationship], saying that al-Mahdī bi’llāh used to nurture al-Manṣūr with wisdom (ḥikma) and prepare him for the imamate, just as al-Qāʾim did with him.115 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān reported:116 I was accompanying al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh on one of his journeys. During this, al-Muʿizz mentioned al-Qāʾim, the special status al-Qāʾim had granted him, and his affection and closeness to him. He also mentioned what al-Manṣūr had to endure due to the prolonged period during which the matter of his [appointment] was kept secret, and the postponement of its disclosure until the time of al-Qāʾim’s death approached.

114 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 501. 115 End of Majālis extract, p. 502. 116 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 468.

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Al-Muʿizz said: ‘I entered al-Qāʾim’s presence after he had [publicly] proclaimed al-Manṣūr [as his successor] and appointed him over the people, 12 years after the day al-Qāʾim had [privately] informed al-Manṣūr of this, which was three days before al-Qāʾim’s demise.117 By al-Qāʾim’s side was one of his wives. He directed her and she withdrew. Then he brought me close to him, hugged me to his chest, kissed me between the eyes and wept. I shed tears at his weeping, even though I was unaware of what had made him weep. ‘Then he said to me, “O my son, your master (mawlā) and the one who loves you is departing from you in three [days]”,118 raising his fingers to indicate this. ‘I replied, “No, may God preserve the Commander of the Faithful and lengthen his life and make us precede him.” ‘Al-Qāʾim continued: “Listen to what I have to say to you. The worst of the fears that I have for you is that your father (al-Manṣūr) knows your esteem for me and your regard for me, which is higher than that for him; your closeness to me rather than to him and [also] what I know regarding his affinity to the mothers of your brothers.119 I fear for you, the fear of the one who loves you, that al-Manṣūr will divert this matter (the succession) from you, and will grant it to one of them (i.e., al-Muʿizz’s brothers). No, God will never do so, if God wills. However, when you see that he is diverting his preference or leaning away from you, be patient, as is worthy of your position that God caused to be occupied and taken. By God you are its [rightful] owner. Had you not been young in age now, it would not have bypassed you. Soon it will be yours. So I advise you to be God-fearing (taqwa’l llāh), bear the burden and be patient in enduring the suffering that befalls you. Your brothers! Your brothers! Be wise in dealing with their affairs now and in the future.” ‘Then he was overcome with exhaustion and breathlessness. Al-Qāʾim stopped talking for some time, sighed deeply and said, “The brothers, what of the brothers?” Their matter alarmed him as he had suffered hardship in managing their affairs. Then he choked. I (al-Muʿizz) noticed that

117 According to Idrīs, ʿUyūn, p. 339, al-Qāʾim died in Shawwāl 334/May 946. 118 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition of the ʿUyūn (p. 12) includes the word ‘days (ayyām)’ which does not appear in Ya‘lāwī’s edition. 119 Al-Manṣūr had five sons and five daughters, some of whom from different mothers (al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, p. 91). For a full listing of Fatimid genealogy, see Hamid Haji’s representation in al-Jawadharī, Sīrat, trans., Table 1.

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speech was exhausting him, so I stood up and left. Unexpectedly, I came across a woman behind the door listening to what had been said – she was one of the mothers of the sons – she congratulated me concerning what she had heard. Al-Qāʾim passed away three days later.’120

4 The merits of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh for the imamate When al-Manṣūr assumed the caliphate, he realised that his son Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh possessed all the requisite merits, so he confirmed al-Muʿizz with his covenant. He disclosed this to his loyal and close adherents. He entrusted Jawdhar121 with the responsibility of his palace at al-Mahdiyya,122 authorising him to manage all its affairs.123 He set out to fight the deceiver (dajjāl) until God rewarded him with victory.124 Then al-Manṣūr proclaimed the appointment (naṣṣ) of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, commending him and exalting his rank. Al-Muʿizz accompanied him during his travels and at home and was his confidante concerning all his matters, the keeper of his secrets and his trusts. The administrative heads (abwāb), dāʿīs and people of state could only access al-Manṣūr through al-Muʿizz and at his behest. Al-Manṣūr became cognisant of the merits with which al-Muʿizz had been accorded and witnessed in him the greatest excellence. This increased al-Muʿizz’s standing and closeness to al-Manṣūr and further elevated his status.

5 Reports concerning al-Muʿizz’s inherited knowledge Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān reported:125 The Commander of the Faithful al-Manṣūr bi’llāh set out during his reign to attend to the usual matters

120 End of Majālis extract, pp. 468–469. 121 On Ustādh Jawdhar, see note 82 above. 122 See note 83 above. 123 Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī notes in his Sīra (trans., pp. 33–34) that al-Manṣūr invested Jawdhar with authority over the royal household, which was then extended to include the treasury and overall administration. He was thus deputised to oversee the affairs of the state while al-Manṣūr took to the battlefield. 124 That is, the Khārijī rebel Abū Yazīd. 125 Beginning of a long extract from the Majālis, p. 60.

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and to inspect their affairs. He reached Ṭanbās and al-Muʿizz had set out with him, I was among those who were accompanying them both.126 Al-Manṣūr came across a valley. It had rainwater flowing through it, thus irrigating a large area of land, which had many homes and upon which a large dam had been built. When al-Manṣūr reached there, he halted. Two representatives of the estates came and stood in front of him. One of them alleged that by constructing the dam, the other had obstructed the flow of rainwater from his lands. The other asserted that it was his right to do so, and indeed, that it was necessary for him to do so. Each one advanced many arguments, raising their voices and having rude exchanges. Al-Manṣūr heard them arguing but did not pronounce judgement between them. Al-Muʿizz sat mounted a little away and at a distance. [Other] people were either mounted or standing; they were watching what was going on and could hear most of what the representatives were saying. I (al-Nuʿmān) was among those who could hear them; even so, I could not see a way of resolving what transpired between them, for each time I thought to myself that one of them had established a proof, the other one would furnish a counter-argument. Someone from the retinue came over to me and said, ‘Can you hear what is transpiring between these two?’ I replied, ‘Yes’. He added, ‘What is your opinon?’ I rejoined, ‘By God, I have not arrived at the truth of the matter to pronounce with certainty on it; indeed, their matter is unclear to me. It is sufficient for you to note that the Commander of the Faithful has also refrained from judging between them. However, I would say that if they had stood in front of the prince (amīr), I mean al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, he would have judged between them.’ He questioned, ‘On what basis do you say that?’ I responded, ‘Because of my knowledge of him. By God, whenever I have faced an issue the certitude of which I have not been able to establish and I have raised it with him, he has answered me either before I had completed recounting it to him or just as I finished doing so. He would respond with an answer that would only occur to me after reflecting upon it over several nights and days, to such an extent that I

126 Ṭanbās was a village situated three miles to the west of al-Qayrawān. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān (Majālis, p. 60) refers to it as a place of recreation for caliphs but does not specify its whereabouts. Cf. ʿUyūn, 1: 282.

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was left with no doubt regarding its validity to which there could be no alternative.’ I related examples of these to him. While I (al-Nuʿmān) spoke, he was astonished by what God had primed al-Muʿizz with,127 and His guidance to him concerning the truth of these matters. We then noticed that the two men had left the presence of al-Manṣūr bi’llāh and had proceeded to al-Muʿizz in front of whom they stood. Al-Muʿizz was closer to us than al-Manṣūr had been. However, no sooner had they stood in front of him when they left and came towards us; yet we had not heard a word of what they had said. One of the men came and stood between the man I had been speaking with and myself. I noticed that his face was glowing, so I said to him, ‘What has happened regarding your affair?’ He replied, ‘The argument between us is over. The prince resolved the matter between us in one word, after what you heard taking place in front of our master.’128 I asked, ‘How so?’ I glanced at the man to whom I had been speaking about this and said to him, ‘Did I not tell you so?’ The man asked the representative, ‘How did this [resolution] happen?’ The representative responded, ‘After we had spent a while and said much in front of the Commander of the Faithful (al-Manṣūr), he said to us, “Go to your master and he will look into the matter between you.” So we went to al-Muʿizz. When we were standing before him and just as we intended to speak, he said, “Stay silent! Save your breath and mine.” Then he looked at my counterpart and said, “Does this valley, as well as the water that flows through it and the lands that it irrigates, not belong to us?” ‘He replied, “Yes.” ‘Al-Muʿizz continued, “And you are disputing over this water, as each one of you wants to take from what belongs to us?” He rejoined, “Yes.” Al-Muʿizz continued, “Tell me, if you were the keeper of both the estates, would you irrigate one and leave the other dry?” The claimant stayed silent. ‘Al-Muʿizz said, “Say no, if you prefer to speak the truth.”

127 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 17) has what God had ‘adorned (wahaba)’, rather than ‘primed/prepared (hayya’a)’ him with. 128 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 17) has ‘Commander of the Faithful (amīr al-mu’minīn)’ instead of ‘our master (mawlānā)’.

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‘The keeper said, “O my master, I would not do that.” ‘Al-Muʿizz responded, “You have spoken the truth. Do not oblige anyone to do what you would not do for yourself. Go and demolish the dam, and you irrigate what you own and he, what he owns, according to the water that is available for you and him.” Al-Muʿizz gave me the judgement that I had sought, so I left.’ The man I (al-Nuʿmān) had been speaking with looked at me and said, ‘By God, it is as if what was unknown in this matter has been disclosed to you.’ I said, ‘This is only because of what I have known and experienced of him, some of which I have mentioned to you.’ Then I reflected on this unusual case which God, the Mighty, the Glorious, had inspired in al-Muʿizz but had veiled from the imam (al-Manṣūr). I remembered God’s words, the Mighty, the Glorious: ‘And remember Dāwūd and Sulaymān,129 when they gave judgement in the matter of the field into which the sheep of certain people had strayed at night. We did witness their judgement. To Sulaymān We inspired the [right] understanding of the matter. To each [of them] We gave judgement and knowledge’ (21:78–79). Among what has been reported to us from the narrators of the reports of the imams is that two men came to the prophet Dāwūd in dispute over sheep that belonged to one of them but which had strayed into the other’s land and had damaged its crops. Dāwūd said something regarding this and then sent them to Sulaymān to judge between them. Sulaymān said, ‘If the sheep’s owner had deliberately let them stray into that field, then he should compensate for the damage they caused. If he did not do so intentionally and the sheep neither strayed without his wishing that130 nor was that his intent, then he is not responsible, as what the braying livestock graze of their own accord is a waste (i.e., not due for compensation). Sulaymān added, ‘This usually occurs during the day, and the owners of the fields are responsible for watching over them during the day. However, if they stray during the night, their owner is responsible for what they graze, whether that is intentional or otherwise, because the owners of livestock have the responsibility of fencing off their animals throughout the night and preventing them from leaving their pens. For

129 The biblical kings David and Soloman, who are considered prophets in the Muslim tradition, are repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an. See R. Paret, ‘Dāwūd’, EI2, and J. Walker (P. Fenton), ‘Sulaymān b. Dāwūd’, EI2. 130 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 19) has ‘an instead of min, but the translation remains the same.

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it is not the responsibility of the field’s owners to watch over their fields through the night.’ God granted Sulaymān the understanding of this case during his father’s lifetime, yet He veiled it from the latter, so that he (Dāwūd) could see his [son’s] distinction during his own lifetime, being pleased with the wisdom that God had granted him. Similarly, He provided al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh with an understanding of that case during the lifetime of his father al-Manṣūr while He concealed it from the latter, so as to demonstrate to him al-Muʿizz’s distinction during al-Manṣūr’s own lifetime, in order to to gratify him with the wisdom that He had bestowed on him and to elucidate what He had granted al-Muʿizz, so as to delight al-Manṣūr.

6 The inherited knowledge of the Ahl al-Bayt It has been reported to us by the narrators of the imams’ reports that a bedouin came to the mosque of God’s Messenger131 during ʿUmar’s time.132 The bedouin came up to ‘Umar and said, ‘I am a pilgrim in the state of ritual consecration (muḥrim). I walked past ostrich eggs, picked some, cooked and ate them.’ ʿUmar replied, ‘I do not possess knowledge concerning this, but have a seat; soon someone with knowledge on these matters will come.’ He sat until the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, arrived. ʿUmar said to the bedouin, ‘Ask him!’ Al-Ḥasan, a young man at the time, was accompanying ʿAlī. The bedouin approached ʿAlī and repeated, ‘I am a pilgrim in the state of ritual consecration (muḥrim). I walked past ostrich eggs, picked some, cooked and ate them.’ ʿAlī responded, ‘Ask him’ and pointed towards al-Ḥasan. The bedouin exclaimed, ‘Woe upon me! What is the matter with you, O Companions of Muḥammad? Are you not capable of giving me a response? Every time I ask one of you, you refer me to the other.’

131 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (pp. 19–20) has the ‘Prophet’s mosque (masjid al-nabī)’ in place of ‘the mosque of God’s Messenger (masjid rasūl Allāh)’. 132 That is, during the reign of the second caliph, ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb (d. 23/644).

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ʿAbd Allāh b. Masʿūd133 interjected, ‘Ask him, o bedouin, for he is from the people of the Prophet’s house.’ So the bedouin asked him. Al-Ḥasan said to him, ‘O bedouin, do you have camels?’ He replied, ‘Yes’. Al-Ḥasan continued, ‘Take the same number of female camels as the eggs [that you took] and mate them with the male camels. Whatever offspring they produce, give them away as sacrifice.’ The bedouin responded, ‘You have given me respite, may God grant you respite.’ He stood up. ʿUmar approached him and said, ‘What did he say to you?’ So the bedouin told him. ʿUmar rejoined, ‘Return and say to him, “Do you not know that female camels can miscarry before the completion of their pregnancy?”’ Al-Ḥasan answered, ‘Say to the one who mentioned that to you, “Do you not know that eggs can decompose?”’ His father (ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib) went up to al-Ḥasan, kissed him between his eyes and recited [the Qur’anic verse]: ‘Offspring, one of the other, and God hears and knows all things’ (3:34). ʿAbd Allāh b. Masʿūd said, ‘Indeed, the One who made this young man understand this puzzling matter is the same One who made Sulaymān b. Dāwūd understand that issue. The One who enabled this young man to enunciate wisdom is the same One who made Yaḥyā b. Zakariyyā do so.134 By God, if they had referred the matter to the rightful person, they would have received bounties green and ripe from all around them.’135 ʿUmar said to him, ‘O Ibn Masʿūd, are you instigating people against us?’ Al-Ḥasan interposed, ‘You should have answered him without recourse to us.’

133 ʿAbd Allāh b. Masʿūd (d. c.32/652–3) was among the early and wellknown companions of the Prophet, who is noted for his transmission of ḥadīths and his status as a Qurʾan reciter. J. C. Vadet, ‘Ibn Masʿūd’, EI2. 134 This is John the Baptist, who is mentioned numerous times in the Qur’an but whose attested biographical details remain debated. See Andrew Rippin, ‘Yaḥyā b. Zakariyyā’, and J. C. L. Gibson, ‘John the Baptist in Muslim Writings’, Muslim World 45 (1955), pp. 334–345. 135 In this account, Ibn Masʿūd’s comment regarding ‘the matter’ refers to the question of sucession to the Prophet, as is evident from ‘Umar’s reply.

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This incident with al-Ḥasan also took place in the presence of his father ʿAlī as an inspiration from God to him, so as to delight his father’s eyes during his own lifetime, akin to the incident we mentioned regarding al-Muʿizz. The bedouin’s words indicated that he had cooked the eggs and had eaten them and that they had not hatched into chicks. Hence al-Ḥasan ordered him to mate the male camels with the same number of female camels as the [number of] eggs and whatever offspring they produce should be given away. If they do not become pregnant or only some of them do, he is not obliged to give more than what they produce because similarly the eggs too may decompose – as al-Ḥasan said, among the eggs were those that did not have life in them. Thus he should mate the male camels with the female ones until he is certain of their pregnancy and whatever they produce he should give away. If they (the eggs) had life in them then he should mate the male camels with the female ones until they get pregnant and the foetus stirs in their womb. Whatever they produce after that should be given away. If a foetus dies inside the womb, he is not required to compensate for that as sometimes chicks also die inside the egg.136 Al-Muʿizz’s saying to the man, ‘Do not impose upon others what you do not accept for yourself’ is among the sayings of his ancestors: ‘Wish for others what you wish for yourself, and it suffices that it is respectful to oneself not to do what one disapproves of in others.’ One of the imams, [when he] was asked by someone about temporary marriage (nikāḥ al-mutʿa), said, ‘Would you give consent to a female relative of yours to have a temporary marriage?’ He (the questioner) replied, ‘By God, no.’ He (the imam) continued: ‘That is sufficient for you not to impose on others what you do not wish for yourself.’137

136 Yaʿlāwī notes that al-Nuʿmān does not mention this judgement in his chapter on religious duties in the Daʿāʾim. However, he does mention ʿAlī giving a similar judgement which the Prophet accepted after both Abū Bakr and ʿUmar could not resolve it. Daʿāʾim, II: 424, no. 1477. 137 Temporary marriage is not permitted in Ismaili doctrine, as stated by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān in his Kitāb al-Iqtiṣār, ed. Muḥammad Waḥīd Mirzā (Damascus, 1957), p. 109. It is also forbidden in Sunni schools, being acceptable only in Ithnā ‘Asharī Shiʿi law.

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‘The words of the imams are like an edifice, some parts of which strengthen and reinforce the others because they perceive138 with the light of God (nūr Allāh). From it they receive knowledge and through its wisdom they speak; from their ancestors they learn, for they are the proofs of God (ḥujjaju’llāh),139 the Mighty, the Glorious, on earth. As God the Sublime says, ‘Offspring one of the other’ (3:34).140

7 Additional reports on al-Muʿizz’s inherited knowledge These are the words of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad. He also said: Some of our brothers report that al-Manṣūr said,141 ‘I wanted to appoint an administrator over one of the frontier regions (thughūr).142 I pondered over the choice of who would be best suited. My choice did not fall upon anyone except for one man.’ Al-Manṣūr named the man and said, ‘Every time I pondered my choice and turned my thoughts to it, it only fell upon him. So I knew that this was a confirmation from God. I wanted to test God’s purpose concerning the one I wished to appoint in my position (i.e., as his successor) and upon whom I had preferred to invest my trust. So I wrote down the name of the man I had been thinking about

138 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 22) has ‘because they are enlightened (yastadhī‘ūn) by the light of God’ rather than ‘they see/perceive (yastabṣirūn)’. 139 The notion of ḥujja, meaning ‘proof’ or ‘evidence’, is integral to the conception of authority among the Shia. As defined by the early Shiʿi imams Muḥammad al-Bāqir and Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq, the righteous imam is the ḥujja of God’s command, from whom divine guidance can be accessed, and for this reason a ḥujja must exist on earth at all times. See in particular al-Kulaynī, Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad b. Ya‘qūb. Uṣūl al-Kāfī, ed., Muḥammad Ja‘far Shams al-Dīn (Beirut, 1990), vol. 1, pp. 231–234. The same term also came to be applied within the Ismaili daʿwa for a senior dā‘ī in his role as as a proof or evidence of the imam. M. G. S. Hodgson, ‘Ḥudjdja’, EI2. 140 End of Majālis extract, pp. 65. 141 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 71. 142 The thughūr (literally ‘openings’) became the generic term to denote any frontier territories between Muslim and non-Muslim lands. The frontier fortresses in south-eastern Anatolia between the Byzantine and Muslim states were the quintessential thughūr, as well as the marches between Muslim and Christian realms in the north. The term similarly came to correspond to Muslim regions prone to attack from non-Muslims, especially coastal regions such as Alexandria. C. E Bosworth and J. D. Latham, ‘al-Thughūr’, EI2.

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on a sheet of paper143 and sealed it. I placed it in front of me and called him – that is, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. He greeted me and stood. I said to him, “My son, I want to appoint an administrator over such and such a place”, and I mentioned the name of the place, “who do you deem suitable for it?” Al-Muʿizz kissed the ground and replied, “O my master, what is my opinion next to yours? May God grant you success.” I said to him, “Tell me what you think.” He refused to answer, apologising and seeking reprieve. I said to him, “It is imperative for you to say something concerning this, for I have chosen a man whose name is on this note. So take a sheet of paper and write down your choice”.’ Al-Manṣūr then said, ‘When he saw that there was no alternative, he took a pen and paper, wrote on it and handed it to me. Upon it was the name of the person I had chosen. I thanked God for the bounty He had granted me through al-Muʿizz. I threw him the paper which I had sealed and on which I had imprinted the name and said to him, “Open it and look at what it says!” He did so. When he saw that his choice matched my own, he thanked God the Sublime, his face lit up and he became joyous.’ This is amongst what was previously mentioned and reiterated concerning God’s granting of happiness to His awliyāʾ by making them witness the distinction of those who are to succeed them in their position and are vested with their authority. Subsequently al-Muʿizz mentioned this incident to me (al-Nuʿmān).144 And amongst what al-Nuʿmān also narrated from Imam al-Muʿizz, he says: I heard al-Muʿizz saying:145 ‘News reached al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh near the end of his days that one of his dāʿīs had passed away in one of the regions (jazāʾir) of the East.146 Two men belonging to his daʿwa contested his testament, each one claiming that al-Qāʾim had invested him [to succeed the deceased da‘ī]. Before al-Qāʾim could resolve their matter,

143 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 23) has parchment (raqq‘a) for paper (waraqa). 144 End of Majālis extract, p. 72 145 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 265. 146 The Fatimid daʿwa was divided into 12 regions (jazīra, lit. ‘islands’, sing. jazāʾir), defined by geography or ethnicity. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān lists these as lands of the Arabs, Byzantines, Slavs, Nubians, Khazars (or Turks), Hindis, Sindhis, East Africans, Abyssinians, Chinese, Persians and Berbers. See Ivanow, Ismaili Tradition, pp. 20–21, and his ‘The Organization of the Fatimid Propaganda’, Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, NS, 15 (1939), pp. 1–35. See also Eds., ‘Djazīra’, EI2.

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he passed away, may God sanctify his soul. Al-Manṣūr was occupied by warfare until through him God quelled the fire of the rebellion (fitna) and through him ended the tribulation. He corresponded with the dāʿīs as he needed to appoint a dāʿī in that region. Each of the two men who claimed to be the dāʿī had the testament from the deceased dāʿī sent by a messenger who came into the presence of al-Manṣūr with a letter, each stating that he had been nominated [by the previous dāʿī] and seeking his confirmation. ‘One day al-Manṣūr said to me (al-Muʿizz), “Which of the two men do you regard as being suited for that region?” ‘I replied, “God and His walī know best.” ‘He responded, “Say something regarding this.” ‘I stood up and sought reprieve. He rejoined and said, “You must say something. I have [already] pronounced on this [matter], yet I wish to know your opinion, whether it agrees with mine or is contrary to it.” ‘I requested, “Would the Commander of the Faithful grant me some time?” ‘He said, “I grant it to you.” ‘So I left and pondered and reflected over it and my choice fell upon one of them, so I wrote his name on a note. I brought it and placed it in front of him. He enquired, “What is this?” ‘I answered, “The name of the person that I have chosen.” ‘He left it where it was and pulled out a pile of papers and said, “And on this one is written the name of the one I have chosen.” He opened them both and saw that his choice and mine had converged on the same person. I was elated and thanked God. ‘Later I went to him and he said to me, “Were you pleased by our agreement regarding the appointment of the man?” ‘I responded, “How can concurrence with my master not delight me?” ‘He asked, “Would you like me to deepen your happiness?” ‘I replied, “If the Commander of the Faithful so wishes.” ‘He pulled out a note in which al-Qāʾim had written, in his own handwriting, the choice of that same man. He added, “I was browsing through his books and I chanced upon it.” ‘I saw all the three notes, the one that al-Qāʾim had written and the one composed by al-Manṣūr as well as the one that I (al-Muʿizz) had written, and it was as if they were copied from the same original, one resembling the other. On it was written: “These two persons have claimed the investiture of so-and-so. I have scrutinised the letter from each of them and see that so and so has a greater right to it because of such and such.” None of the notes had more writing than the others.’

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Al-Muʿizz said: ‘Al-Manṣūr embraced and hugged me to his chest. He kissed my neck and placed his cheek against it for a long while. He was weeping so much that his tears wet my collar. I wept at his weeping. No, by God, I did not know the meaning of that weeping until he died, whereupon I realised that it was his farewell to me. When he saw that [incident], he recognised that his time was ending, as he had witnessed the transfer of [God’s] support (al-taʾyīd) to me.’147

8 The transmission of the imamate Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said: This is no different to what al-Muʿizz said about the transmission [of the imamate] from the preceding [imam]. Indeed, divine support is transferred during the last breath of the previous [imam]. This is [essential] for the completion of the matter, for the claim to the imamate and for necessitating obedience, for this cannot occur with two co-existing [imams]. As for the portents, manifestations, strengths and validations, certainly they are present during the lifetime of the imams as proofs (ḥujaj), as al-Muʿizz has explained. They increase step by step until the time of their completion. As the term of the first one draws near, the means of his successor (ḥujja) become stronger and his portents become manifest. That was the reason for al-Manṣūr’s weeping. When he saw that al-Muʿizz was in agreement with him and with al-Qāʾim, he understood the strength of the portents and thus [the end of] his term was approaching. In this manner most of the matters of the world proceed. Things do not get transmitted in one instance; indeed, they only happen gradually, progressing by degrees just as the progression of creation and the emergence of the seasons, one from the other, in the course of time until, step-by-step, the latter departs from the former and becomes independent. It becomes evident in itself and replaces the previous one. On this matter Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad [al-Ṣādiq] is reported as saying ‘ʿAlī is the knowledgeable one (ʿālim) of this community and we inherit his knowledge. None of us passes away until he has witnessed someone in his own family who possesess the same knowledge.’

147 End of Majālis extract, p. 367.

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Similarly, concerning al-Manṣūr tears, he wept when he saw the flow of inspiration to al-Muʿizz. A wise one said, ‘The one who is pleased with his sons will be saddened by himself.’ They mean that intrinsic to the maturing and ascendance of the son is the diminishment and descent of the father. In relation to this one of the poets has said: When men’s children beget children And their bodies tremble with age and their illnesses become chronic, They are crops ready for harvest.148

If this is the case concerning149 the manifest (ẓāhir) creation of bodies and their waxing and waning, how would it be for the esoteric (bāṭin) knowledge of the religions? In what al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān reports on al-Muʿizz, he says:150 I heard him say one day: ‘When al-Manṣūr bi’llāh’s demise approached, he began to counsel me on what to do after him. This man’ – al-Muʿizz then pointed to a slave who was standing in front of him – ‘was present’. Al-Manṣūr looked at him and saw his eyes welling up. He said, “By God, you will experience at the hands of this master of yours the best of deeds and conduct which God has granted him. God will help him to do the best and will support, strengthen and enable him to do what has hitherto been unheard and unseen.” ‘The man asked al-Manṣūr, “O my master, what is left for him to do that you have not already done yourself?” Al-Manṣūr replied, “More, by God, much more. He has potency (quwwa), which he has not manifested. God will manifest it for him and will make it happen at his hands.’151 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said: Al-Muʿizz mentioned, ‘I have witnessed two momentous events whose burden even the mountains would be unable to bear. These were the demise of al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh and that of al-Manṣūr bi’llāh.’

148 Al-Ṭabarī ascribes these verses to either Ayman b. Khuraym or Zirr b. Hubaysh, in his Taʾrīkh. See Taʾrīkh al-Ṭabarī al-ma‘rūf bi-taʾrīkh al-umam wa’l-mulūk (Beirut, 1989), p. 248. I would like to thank Hamid Haji for bringing this to my attention. 149 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 28) has yatadākhiluhā instead of yadākhiluhā, but the translation remains the same. 150 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 93. 151 End of Majālis extract, p. 93.

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When the caliphate of God was transferred to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh Maʿadd b. Ismāʿīl Abū Tamīm, he attained the authority and was forbearing of the weighty calamity and the great loss. This has been recounted by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān among what he has reported from him, and which we have mentioned, regarding al-Muʿizz. Al-Nuʿmān says:152 Whilst I felt apprehensive towards al-Muʿizz, he began to console me. Yet because I knew his status with al-Manṣūr and the regard that he held for him in his heart, I was frightened of what might befall him as a consequence. However, I saw composure, patience, endurance and goodness in him, such that it gave me certitude that the imamate had been transferred to him. I saw its portents and signs, God’s succour to him, the bounties that He had conferred on him and the virtuous conduct that He had facilitated in him.153

9 Al-Muʿizz’s sermon announcing al-Manṣūr’s demise The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, kept secret the demise of his father, the Commander of the Faithful [al-Manṣūr], from the end of Shawwāl when he died until 11 Dhu’l-Hijja/28 April 953, the Day of Immolation (yawm al-naḥr).154 He set out to perform the ʿīd prayer with the halo of tranquillity and the aura of imamate enveloping him. He performed the ʿīd prayer, then he ascended the pulpit and delivered the sermon (khuṭba) in which he announced the demise of his father, the Commander of the Faithful al-Manṣūr bi’llāh. He said:155 In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate, from Him we seek help. God is Great, God is Great. There is no god but God. And God is Great, the Mighty the Powerful, the Creator, the Regulator, the Lord of

152 Beginning of an extract adaptated from the Majālis, p. 82. 153 End of Majālis adaptation, p. 82. 154 Yawm al-naḥr (also known as ‘īd al-naḥr, ‘īd al-aḍḥā or ‘īd qurbān in non-Arab lands) is the second festival of the Islamic calendar. The day is marked with the end of the rituals associated with the pilgrimage and to honour the willingness of Ibrāhīm (Abraham) to sacrifice his son. For a Fatimid perspective see al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, I: 229–237. 155 This khuṭba has also been preserved in Sīrat Jawdhar, trans., pp. 74–81, and translated in Paul E. Walker, Orations of the Fatimid Caliphs: Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams (London, 2009), pp. 126–134.

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Majesty and Omnipotence, of Might and Sovereignty, the One, the Eternal, the Only, the Unique, the Supreme, the Subduer, the Hidden, the Manifest, the First and the Last, Creator of the heavens and the earth by His omnipotence. He reigns over them with glory and He governs with wisdom. He is their Creator and Creator of all the wonders of nature and the marvels of their composition and workmanship. All things, animate and inanimate, supplicate Him, pronounce His proofs and bear witness to Him through professing His unity (tawḥīd), exaltation and glorification. That He created all things from nothingness (ʿadam) testifies that there was nothing prior to Him. That they reach their limit is evidence that He is limitless. That He encompasses their finiteness is the evidence that He is infinite. The frailty, incapacity, poverty and deficiency that creatures exhibit are the most exalted proclamations and the most truthful witness of the Creator who alone is exalted by praise, in His divinity and uniqueness, omnipotence and sanctity, totality and perfection, eternity and permanence, blessed be God, the Lord of the worlds. He has mastery over everything that He has created and He sustains every living being with His sustenance. Then He guides by the intellect the one who acts as His proof (ḥujja) to whom obedience is obligatory, and by the scriptures and the messengers through whom He completed His word,156 God’s blessings be upon them all, and upon Muḥammad, the lord of the messengers, who upholds his mention and whose rank He elevated. He honoured him by granting him intercession (wasīla), distinguished him with all the virtues, and sent him as a guide to His servants and as a light in the land, teaching the ignorant by it, guiding the misguided through it, making the sparse abundant by him and strengthening the meek by him. By him He united after the dispersal, and by him He lit the pitch darkness. Blessings of God be upon him and his rightly guided, good and noble progeny. O people, indeed God has not created you in vain, nor will He overlook you in futility. Neither has He placed any difficulty for you in [the] religion, nor has He taken away from you the admonition (al-dhikr).157 Rather, He has created you for worship and ordered you to obey Him and His Messenger. He has established manifest symbols and decreed

156 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 31) has ḥikmatih (wisdom) instead of kalimatih (word). 157 This refers to the Qur’an, 43:2–5.

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The Founder of Cairo foreordained duties to attain obedience. Among the finest of these symbols and the most blessed days is the Day of the Great Pilgrimage to the primordial abode of God, the house of Ibrāhīm, the friend of God (khalīl Allāh), the prayer direction (qibla) of Muḥammad, the Messenger of God. So draw close to God according to what He has enjoined upon you and has granted you of livestock, following the example (sunna) of Muḥammad, the prophet of mercy and guidance, and in consciousness of piety to God. For God the Great, the Mighty, has said: ‘It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches God. It is your piety that reaches Him’ (22:37). Through piety deeds are accepted and hopes are realised. Glorify God for having guided you and thank Him for what He has entrusted you. It is indeed so that the camel is the best sacrificial offering, and the female is the best camel, so it is with cows and then rams. The sound sacrifice is the one that has healthy eyes and ears and is a lawful possession. We beseech God to accept our deeds by His grace and to fulfil our hopes in His favour, His mercy and His beneficence.

Then al-Muʿizz sat down for a short pause.158 He stood up for the second sermon and said: God is great! God is great! There is no god but God. And God is the greatest. God is greatest in rank, most mighty in authority, and the clearest of signs and evidence such that minds cannot deny His unity, or seek to define and limit Him. Creator of the heavens and the earth, their Sovereign and Regulator, the Unique and Eternal, the One the Only, the One who has no associate or equal, the omnipotent Creator, the Merciful and Forgiving, the Executor of His decree, the One who wills what He wishes, the perfect Crafter of all things, the infinite Provider of all sustenance, the All-encompassing in knowledge. I praise Him, I seek His help, I seek His forgiveness, I seek His guidance, I trust Him and entrust everything to Him. I bear witness that there is no god but God, alone, with no partner. I bear witness that Muḥammad is the chosen one of His servants, the most noble of His creation, the purest of the pure, His messenger to all the worlds, His emissary sent with the imamate to mankind and the jinn

158 The seating and pause is meant to indicate the end of the first sermon.

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(al-thaqalayn)159 to bring them proof of their Lord and to illuminate for them the path to the truth. He (Muḥammad) conveyed God’s message and was merciful and gracious to God’s servants and persevered with the infidels’ deception until [the day] God made truth triumph over falsehood, guidance triumph over error, and by him illuminated160 what was hidden. May the most noble, pure, perfect, complete, augmented, eternal and ever-lasting benedictions be upon Muḥammad and upon the rightlyguided imams of his most noble and chaste family, whom He chose for the caliphate and approved for the imamate; whose proofs He confirmed through the testimony of His Messenger, and obedience to whom He made incumbent in His revelation after He had elevated them from the rest of mankind by their forefathers Muḥammad, the lord of the messengers, and ʿAlī, the best of the legatees (afḍal al-waṣiyyīn), and through their mother, the foremost of women,161 the fifth of the Companions of the Cloak.162 God’s blessings on them all, and on the two Commanders

159 The Qur’an attests that its message is received by both human beings and the jinn (72:1–2). Unlike the demonic-angelic divide generally applied to all supernatural creation in other monotheistic religions, in the Muslim tradition the jinn are seen as having the faculty to distinguish good from evil and thus able to accept or reject Islam. D. B. MacDonald (H. Masse), ‘Djinn’, EI2. 160 Ya‘lāwī’s edition has alhaba whilst Fākhūrī and Kamāl have laḥḥaba (p. 33). Fākhūrī and Kamāl state in their footnote that the former is most likely a distortion of a root form of the latter, but both words give the sense of a type of illumination in darkness or in the unknown. 161 ‘The foremost of women’ (sayyidatul nisā’) is an epithet used by the Prophet for his daughter Fāṭima, the wife of Imam ‘Alī. Fatima occupies a pivotal role in Shiʿi consciousness and expressions of piety. See J. Calmard, ‘Fāṭema’, Encylopaedia Iranica vol. 18, fasc. 4 (London, 1999), pp. 400–404, and M. A. Amir Moezzi, The Spirituality of Shiʿi Islam: Beliefs and Practices tr. Hafiz Karmali (London, 2011), pp. 66, 81. 162 This is a reference to the event when the Prophet Muḥammad gathered under his cloak ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and Fāṭima. According to the traditionists, it was in this instance that verse 33:33 of the Qur’an was revealed, proclaiming that the ‘people of the house’ (Ahl al-Bayt) were purified. Subsequently, these five came to be known as the ahl al-kisāʾ (people of the cloak) or aṣḥāb al-kisāʾ (companions of the cloak). This tradition was drawn upon extensively in Shiʿi doctrine to establish these five (and subsequently the descendants of al-Ḥusayn) as the sole figures to whom the ascription Ahl al-Bayt could be applied. Their identification as the Ahl al-Bayt is further associated with the event of imprecation (mubāhala), a version of which al-Nu‘mān provides in the Da‘ā’im, trans., I: 24. See also F. Daftary, ‘Ahl al-Kisāʾ’, EI3.

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The Founder of Cairo of the Faithful, al-Mahdī bi’llāh and al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh, the lords of humanity and the imams of right guidance by whom God elevated the true call (daʿwat al-ḥaqq), and by whom He caused the faith and the faithful to speak. Through them He gave voice to the faith of the believers and established the pillars of faith. By their truth He annihilated the deception of the pretenders and the falsehood of the liars, and by their swords He severed the well-spring from the oppressors. O God, distinguish the eminent imam, the just legatee (al-waṣī al-ʿādil), the perfectly righteous, the showering rain, possessor of splendid signs, and effective miracles, who expended his purified self generously in times of anxiety and affliction, and who has persevered through misery and adversity until he has cleansed the earth of the enemies’ oppression – Your servant, your walī, your noble one, your sincere friend, Abū Ṭāhir (al-Manṣūr), the one who is victorious through You; the one who relies [solely] upon You and who is committed to You, the one who initiates that which satisfies You, draws close to You and advances to You. You have afflicted us with his death. You have bereft us by his demise. You have separated us from him, and You have made us desolate. So accept his prayer, answer his call and unite him with his loved ones in the abode of Your paradise and the infiniteness of Your mercy. Anxiety and intense longing for you have overcome us. O father! O master! O Ismāʿīl! O Abā Ṭāhir! O sea of knowledge of the pure rightlyguided imams! O most excellent of the progeny of the Messenger and of the descendants of the waṣī [ʿAlī] and the pure and chaste [Fāṭima]! O Imam of the community (umma) and key to the gate of mercy! O the lamp of guidance, beacon of light for mankind, illuminator of the darkest night! O you whom God has distinguished by hastening His favour to you! By God, your demise has afflicted us; our misfortune is overwhelming and solace is naught. Tongues are unable to relate your merits or enumerate your virtues. I swear by Him who has bestowed His honour upon you, granted you the abundance of His giving, and ennobled you by making you a descendant of His Messenger. Had you not inspired in me and confirmed to me that I must establish the truth for God, safeguard the community of your grandfather, God’s Messenger, and salvage them from the deluge of ignorance, rivers of error, chasms of temptation and perdition of tribulation; had the duty to be loyal to God, His Messenger, and the guided imams not been determined for me and ingrained in my chest, by God, I would strike my face, wandering

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through the land, refusing a place to rest and being content with only minimal provisions until death hastens me to you and I secure closeness to you and the mercy of your Lord. Instead I ponder, observe and govern. I see no course of action worthy of your rank or equal to your honour other than patience and perseverance, and so I endure. My Lord bestowed patience upon me, so I am patient. Conviction prevails over me and so I forbear and say, ‘To God we belong, and to Him is our return’ (2:156). There is no power or might except in God, the Most High, the Mighty, the Merciful, and the Compassionate. To Him be praise for what He has burdened us, and gratitude for what He has granted us. Assembly of our awliyāʾ (friends),163 professors of obedience to us and adherents to our walāya (devotional obedience)!164 By God, these are arduous ordeals which ripen the liver. They are massive convulsions during which feet cannot hold ground. Against these battlefields your imams have not failed to ready you or to strengthen you, nor have they ceased supplicating God to steady your feet and protect your hearts when they come to pass and their ordeal has befallen you. Stand firm and you will be safe. Do not stray, for you will be repentant. God will never leave His earth and His epoch without the one whom God establishes in every age for propagating the truth, a witness to creation, by whom the believers become resolute, and whom the depraved and errant infidels repudiate. God, praise be to Him, who created the creation not for His need of them but so that He may be worshipped and His grace and goodness is made manifest to them. God has given them life as an active force and death as a revolving chalice, and what lies beyond death as

163 The term awliyā’ here refers to the Kutāma Berbers who formed the backbone of the Fatimid army since its inception in Ifrīqiya and who occupied key positions in the Fatimid state. See R. Basset, ‘Kutāma’, EI2; al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, trans., esp. pp. 45–55, and Hamdani, Between Revolution and State, p. 104. Cf. note 107 above. 164 The principle of walāya is the first of the seven pillars or articles of faith in Ismaili Shiʿism as defined in the opening chapter of al-Nuʿmān’s Daʿāʾim al-Islām (see note 198 below). There is no precise English equivalent for the term, which has the combined sense of initiation, allegiance, obedience and devotion to the imams. For a comprehensive discussion of this concept in Shiʿism, see Corbin, History of Islamic Philosophy, pp. 25–30, and Maria M. Dakake, The Charismatic Community: Shiʿite Identity in Early Islam (New York, 2007), pp. 15–31.

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The Founder of Cairo a recompense for action (i.e., during life). He has shown you the right path between these two limits through His chosen messengers and select rightly guided imams. He recompenses them according to how well they elucidate and perform, and how proficiently they execute His will and guide His creatures. He has placed degrees of merit among them. God, exalted be His praise, said: ‘Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our servants as We have chosen. But there are among them some who wrong their own souls, some who follow a middle course, and some who are, by God’s leave, foremost in good deeds; that is the highest grace’ (35:32).165 Praise to God, the Lord of the worlds, who was not content that the lower world would be a reward for the believers or a torment for the infidels. O people! There is no living creature who is not subject to death, nor is there death without resurrection, or resurrection without being called to account, be it reward or punishment. Blessed is he who meets God clutching the waistband (ḥujza) of His awliyāʾ, seeking safety through their impeccability, upholding the obligations of submission prescribed by His proofs and sincere friends (i.e., the imams), shaded by the banners of the descendants of our master Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, the lord of messengers, on the day upon which nothing is worthwhile but piety and nothing redeems but true conviction: ‘On the Day when every soul will be confronted with all the good it has done and all the evil it has done, it will wish there were a great distance between it and its evil. But God cautions you (to remember) Himself. And God is full of kindness to those that serve Him’ (3:30). O people! Indeed actions are judged by their ends. God’s recompense is commensurate with loyalty to Him, His Messenger and the rightlyguided imams from the progeny of the Messenger. You have seen the lord of imams (sayyid al-aʾimma), the guardian of the community, and lamp of dispelling darkness in lands, and have witnessed him executing his Lord’s decree in residences and in shrines, conveying that with which his grandfather Muḥammad entrusted him, and demonstrating to you by his example which, were you to follow it, you would not stray, your

165 According to al-Nu‘mān the one who is ‘foremost in good deeds’ is the Fatimid imam; the one who ‘follows the middle course’ is the one who recognises the right of the imams; and the one who ‘wrongs his soul’ is the doubter who keeps distant from the imams. Daʿāʾim, trans., I: 31.

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hands would not be severed from God’s mercy, your eyesight would not be blurred from advancing on the straight path nor from adherence to the Highest Proof (i.e., God). There has never been a walī in the past but that he was succeeded by a waṣī166 who upheld God’s word, sought to earn His reward, and undertook to please God with all his strength and to the best of his ability: ‘On no soul does God place a burden greater than it can bear’ (2:286). God approves of no one to sustain His religion, guide His creation and safeguard the community of His Prophet but the most excellent and distinguished, the unique and inimitable, they of the noblest intentions, sound morals and lofty souls from among the pure progeny. God’s path (sunna) has been availed to His creation and, in the form of a succession of messengers sent to mark the right path in every era and promulgate His faith, God has brought to His dominion that which cannot be denied or refuted. Worshippers are rewarded for obeying them, responding to their call (daʿwa) and embracing their guidance, and punished for treating them with displeasure, and for rejecting or refusing to accept them. He who believes167 in the first of them must not reject the last of them, and belief in the last of them does avail him who rejects the first of them of God’s reward and mercy from painful punishment and lasting shame. God equates submission to the rightly guided imams with submission to the Messenger, and submission to the Messenger with submission to Him. He said: ‘Obey God, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you’ (4:59). This is His practice in regard to prophets and messengers: ‘No change will you find in God’s way, no turning off will you find in God’s way [of dealing]’ (35:43). Should he who affirms Mūsā’s prophecy and ʿĪsā’s mission, peace be upon them both, favour our master Muḥammad, the seal of the prophets and the lord of the messengers, when he denies his (i.e., Muḥammad’s) prophethood? And does he benefit from his actions or receive reward for his devotion? The Light, O people, is sustained in us and the gift of your Lord is granted uninterrupted to us. So where are you going? In what region

166 On the terms walī and waṣī see notes 107–108 above. 167 Fākhūrī and Kamāl (p. 38) have li mu’min, not lil mu’min, but the translation remains the same.

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The Founder of Cairo will you wander? ‘Far, very far is that which you are promised’ (23:36). Obey us and you will be rightly guided. Hold fast on to our rope and you will find the right way.168 Do that which will bring you success and make you happy in the hereafter. Do not place your concerns above your faith. The Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, father of the rightlyguided imams – God’s Blessings be upon him and upon them all – said, ‘God declared lawful what is lawful and provided succour for it, and He declared unlawful what is unlawful and made it dispensable.’ Leave what is paltry for what is abundant and what is constricted for what provides expanse. You have been charged with [good] works and sustenance has been pledged to you. But the search for what has been pledged to you should be subservient over what is incumbent upon you [by God]. O Lord, aid me to be thankful for Your blessings, grant me success in doing what pleases You and brings me close to You, and give me an increasing abundance of Your bounty, and abound Your blessing on me in this world and the hereafter, O God of creation and Lord of the worlds. O Lord, support me with your succour. Grant me success over Your enemies that will revive the faith, and that will strengthen the community of Muḥammad, the master of the messengers. Endow us to visit his tomb, ascend his pulpit, step into his house, perform the pilgrimage to Your sacred house, and witness these majestic shrines with our banners. You have invigorated our strength and that of our awliyāʾ. You have aided them and us with Your succour. You have honoured us with victory and let us triumph over the oppressors. You have subjugated the necks of the seditious and the stubborn for us. You have already fulfilled Your promise to our fathers and forefathers, and your promise is never withheld, Your command never rejected, and sooner or later what You have decreed is accepted and acquiesced. O Lord, by Your mercy, grant me and Your servants what you have bestowed of your kindness, and renew upon me Your grace and blessings. O Lord, as you restore all my strength to me, imbibe in my heart humility towards Your greatness, Your majesty and Your reverence. For there is no strength except in obeying and worshipping You. There is no prosperity except in being dependent upon You. There is no security except in fearing You. There is no happiness in this world or the

168 Allusion to the Qurʾanic verse 3:103: ‘hold fast, all together, by the rope of Allah’, here referring to the imamate.

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hereafter except through Your contentment, O Lord of the worlds, O Lord, forgive all male and female believers, and all male and female Muslims, alive and deceased. Through Your mercy, bestow upon the awliyāʾ of our realm and helpers of our daʿwa, those who strive [for Your cause], are persevering and grateful, what they are deserving for being obedient to You, undertaking Your decrees, befriending Your awliyāʾ and repelling Your enemies. God’s blessings be upon Muḥammad, the master of messengers from the first to the last. Remember God, the Exalted, and He will remember you. I seek God’s forgiveness for me and for you. Praise be to God. His prayers and blessings be upon our master Muḥammad and all his progeny.

The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, appeared in person after the completion of the ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā. He had instructed the Kutāma,169 and so a vast number of their soldiers came on the day of ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā. He gathered his soldiers and his slaves and they all assembled on the day of Aḍḥā to listen to the sermon that we have just mentioned. This was in the year 342/954.170

10 Al-Muʿizz’s campaign in the Awrās mountains Al-Muʿizz set out towards the Awrās Mountains171 despite its fortifications, invincibility and its dense population. People were just recovering from the revolt, the outlying regions of the kingdom were still engulfed in the insurrection, and the roads were as yet insecure. The flames of the revolt had not been quelled and its heat had not yet cooled. The tribal chiefs who had incited the war continued to be recalcitrant and arrogant. They were complicit in inciting trouble and strife, resisting in the mountain strongholds and their vicinities.172

169 See note 163 above. 170 Al-Maqrīzī dates al-Muʿizz’s succession to 341/953. Ittiʿāẓ, p. 93; trans., p. 53. 171 A mountain massif in modern-day Algeria and part of the eastern Saharan Atlas. 172 Al-Muʿizz’s campaign against the rebels of Awrās was in 342/953–4. A concise account of these events is provided in al-Nuʿmān’s Iftitāḥ, trans., p. 234.

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The Commander of the Faithful set out towards them with his victorious soldiers and his reputed banners,173 dislodging them from their fortresses. They submitted to him from near and from afar. God had struck fear in their hearts. Al-Muʿizz took them by surprise in the Awrās Mountains. Nonetheless, he granted them reprieve for their grave crimes and transgressions. He dealt with them with clemency and justice. He treated them in the best way, making them all acknowledge his merits. They submitted in obedience and approached him with humility. This was his decisive victory and comprehensive triumph. The spilling of blood was prevented, catastrophe was averted, fear was quelled and people were assuaged. God united the hearts of the subjects towards him. The causes of the upheaval perished through him. Hence no one opposed him and not a single opponent remained. Muḥammad b. Khazar Abū Maʿbad,174 the Berber chief and son of their amīr who reigned and governed their affairs, came to al-Muʿizz. He extended his hand and submitted to him. God illuminated and guided his path and he was bestowed with the fortune of happiness. He adhered to the daʿwa of the Imam and the oath of allegiance was taken from

173 The unfurling of banners held a particular significance for the Fatimids. Later in the text, Idrīs recounts an epistle which al-Muʿizz sent to his dāʿī Ḥalam b. Shaybān in Sind (see section 39), in which he writes: ‘We have sent seven of our victorious banners to you, to hoist when you need to. When they are raised over the believers during a battle, God increases their might to fight and grants them victory, and through their strength they wreak humiliation upon the infidels, who are vanquished by the power of the One who is gracious to us and is worthy of it [victory].’ A variant translation of this passage can be found in Stern, Studies in Early Ismāʿīlism, p. 182. 174 Muḥammad b. Khazar (d. 350/961–2) was the chief of the Maghrāwa, a notable and ancient confederation of the Berber Zanāta tribes. Following the Muslim conquests in the seventh century, his family, the Banū Khazar, rose to prominence. His submission to al-Muʿizz was celebrated by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān as being the first time that any one of his family had submitted to another authority. This is inaccurate as Muḥammad b. Khazar had previously rallied to the Umayyad cause and his ancestors had similarly functioned as vassals to the Idrīsids. He and members of his family had taken part in rebellions against Fatimid authority, including that of Abū Yazīd. His repudiation of Umayyad suzerainty and his pledge of allegiance to the Fatimids, their arch rivals, made this a cause célèbre for al-Muʿizz. See al-Nu‘mān, Iftitāḥ, trans., p. 234, and T. Lewicki, ‘Maghrāwa’, EI2.

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him.175 He returned to the Shiʿi fold after his enmity, professing an affinity for the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and the imams of his pure progeny. Consequently, he was the recipient of the benefaction, presence and hospitality of Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh such that he became like a slave to the imam. Through all this he continued to enjoy his distinguished rank; his rule did not wane and his status did not decline. He and his ancestors had reigned over the Berbers from pre-Islamic times. The Berbers had submitted to them and they had governed their affairs. He relocated his children, his family and his household to the palace of the Commander of the Faithful. He settled and lived with him in his house and in his state, extremely desirous to do so, and determined to submit to God’s Imam as the best means to be close to Him. The Berber commanders and notables, including those who were well known leaders among them such as Ayyūb b. Simāk, Abu’l-Ghazw Masnūyah and others,176 came with him. They came by their own volition, without duress, submitting and surrendering. They liked being part of the imam’s entourage and living in the seat of his reign for they received his grace and bounty. The Commander of the Faithful departed from his campaign foremost and victorious, powerful and mighty, after the oppressors had submitted to him and the arrogant had been humbled to submission. He arrived at his residence in al-Manṣūriyya177 safe and sound. He then went to al-Mahdiyya, the city of his grandfather, and sojourned there for a few days. He was very gracious to al-Ustādh Jawdhar and granted him generous bounties.

175 Admission to the Ismaili daʿwa involved an oath of allegiance to the imam known as a mīthāq or ‘ahd. See Halm, ‘The Ismaʿili Oath of Allegiance (ʿahd)’. 176 Fākhūrī and Kamāl (p. 43) have the name Mastūyah instead of Masnūyah. 177 Al-Manṣūriyya was founded by al-Manṣūr between 334–6/945–8 near al-Qayrawān to mark his victory over Abū Yazīd. In 337/949, al-Manṣūr transferred the Fatimid capital from al-Mahdiyya to al-Manṣūriyya. Following Jawhar’s conqest of Egypt, he similarly named the newly founded imperial city al-Manṣūriyya, establishing a symbolic link between the Fatimid territories in Egypt and North Africa. Upon al-Muʿizz’s arrival in Egypt, the city was renamed al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya (the Victorious City of al-Muʿizz). Al-Manṣūriyya later became known as Ṣabra or, subsequently, Madīnat ʿIzz al-Islām after the Zīrids broke off relations with the Fatimids in Cairo in 438/1046–7. M. Talbi, ‘Ṣabra’, EI2.

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Al-Ustādh reiterated a request concerning [knowledge of] a religious matter which would be beneficial for the hereafter.178 The Commander of the Faithful replied: O Jawdhar, may God safeguard you! By God, I have never promised you something and then retracted from it. Indeed, you are deserving of every good turn from us. By God, we have never held back anything from you that we have wished to give to anyone else, nor do your intentions or your allegiance require any clarification. Hence there is no impediment in granting you what you seek. We have travelled to al-Mahdiyya only with light, straw-made baggage. What you have requested has to be handed in person from my hand to yours. We will reach al-Manṣūriyya safe and sound, God willing; what you have sought is there and no one else can take it except us. So after two or three days, if you can, feign illness and keep out of people’s sight. After you have assuaged their anxiety at our absence, slip over to see us during the night, without confiding in anyone about this except those whom you trust. When you come to us, you will get what you hope for. You can visit the grave of al-Manṣūr bi’llāh and then leave immediately. [You] will not able to reach us from al-Mahdiyya ‘until spring, and death is in the hands of God. God has said, ‘Nor does anyone know in what land he is to die’ (31:34). I will send you an eloquent book written by al-Manṣūr in his handwriting, which contains the sayings and admonitions of the imams – best salutations, and peace be upon them all. Reflect on it for the next couple of days. Be assured, we will fulfil what you are hoping for, God willing.179

The imam, the Commander of the Faithful, returned to alManṣūriyya. A few days later180 Ustādh Jawdhar undertook what the imam had told him. His hopes were fulfilled and he departed joyfully with no one having noticed him. Jawdhar al-Ustādh remained in al-Mahdiyya only for a short while. Subsequently, the Commander of the Faithful relocated him to

178 On Ustādh Jawdhar see note 82 above; his initial request to al-Muʿizz is recorded in al-Jawdharī’s Sīrat, trans., p. 82. 179 Ibid., p. 83. 180 Fākhūrī and Kamāl (p. 44) have the word iqāma which is absent in Ya‘lāwī’s edition, therefore giving the meaning of ‘after the passing of a few days’.

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al-Manṣūriyya. He housed him in the Dār al-Baḥr inside his palace,181 as was his custom of settling his close affiliates (mawālī) wherever they were. This is what al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān meant when he said:182 I heard al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh say to one of his close slaves who had come to him from al-Mahdiyya and was residing there; he instructed him to stay with him and honoured him with his closeness because of his longstanding loyalty, friendship and probity: ‘Indeed you will not be bereft of closeness to us, goodness that benefits you, happiness that delights and pleases you by its advent,183 and benefaction from which you will gain and benefit, just as those who are close to our enemy will have the same status with him as you have with us. They will not be devoid of God’s wrath, His curse, ignominy and loathing in this life as they deserve that, and what has been prepared for their hereafter is more harmful and wretched. “And the penalty of the hereafter is far more grievous and more enduring” (20:127). Similarly, what has been prepared for our awliyāʾ and for those who are content with our closeness and satisfaction is recompense in the hereafter, which will be loftier and greater than they think and could ever hope for.’ The Ustādh kissed the ground before him as did his close men who were accompanying him. They praised God for the distinction he had granted them and they thanked him to the [fullest] extent that was possible by them.184 The administrators at al-Mahdiyya were appointed by Jawdhar and were under his command. He was their channel and source to his master, the Commander of the Faithful. Nuṣayr185 was his deputy at al-Mahdiyya, Naẓīf was the chancellor of the treasury, and Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb was the commander-in-chief of the navy. All of them were the imam’s freedmen and slaves, who were raised by Jawdhar in purity and

181 The Dār al-Baḥr (the Lake Palace) was named thus because of the artificial lake which was part of the palace complex in al-Manṣūriyya. See al-Nu‘mān, Majālis, p. 326, note 2, and p. 552, note 1, as well as al-Jawdharī, Sīrat, trans., p. 84, note 177. 182 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 463. 183 Fākhūrī and Kamāl (p. 45) have biwurūdih, not liwurūdiha, but the translation remains the same. 184 End of Majālis extract, pp. 464. 185 Nuṣayr al-Ṣaqlabī al-Khāzin was the chief financial controller in al-Mahdiyya and was sent to Tripoli at the end of 357/968 to ensure that the revenues of that city, which covered a large part of Jawhar’s expenses, were efficiently collected. Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 318–319.

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probity, with commendable disposition and righteous deeds, emulating their imams and observing their model as their path, enlightened by the light of their lamps.

11 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s bond with the imams Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said:186 In the days of al-Manṣūr bi’llāh, I used to rely on al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh to advise me on those matters that I needed to undertake and submit to al-Manṣūr. Whenever I intended to do so, I would begin by raising it [first] with al-Muʿizz and sought his sound opinion. Whatever he ordered me to do I would implement, and what he was averse to I would forego. In this he was my lofty support and deep joy. Whenever I had done something according to his opinion, indeed its benefaction and happiness were apparent to me; every time he proscribed me from something and I had foregone it, its negative consequences subsequently became clear to me. When al-Manṣūr bi’llāh died, I felt the need to confer with al-Muʿizz regarding matters as I used to with al-Manṣūr and to apprise him of them. However, I felt bereft of what I used to have with al-Manṣūr. I remained anxious about this for a long time, fearful of raising the matter. When this lingered on, I (al-Nuʿmān) wrote him a note using that as a pretext to raise the issue and to address him concerning it. It said: The Commander of the Faithful knows his slave’s dependence upon you in what he raised with al-Manṣūr, may God sanctify his soul, based on your (al-Muʿizz’s) esteemed opinion and elucidation prior to raising it with al-Manṣūr, following only what you had commanded and proscribed. This ensured continuing peace and wholesome outcomes. Now the slave of the Commander of the Faithful cannot find another master except for this one, upon whom he can rely in the same manner before addressing him and raising matters with him. Among the reports related from his master ʿAlī, the Commander of the Faithful, is his saying that the responsibility of the community rests with the imams. He said: ‘If there are learned men in the time of the rightful imam and his people are immoral, it is incumbent upon the learned men to present themselves to

186 Beginning of a lengthy Majālis extract, p. 351.

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the imam and to inform him of the situation and the righteous course according to them, and to submit themselves to him so that he can deploy them in ways and means that are most effective and beneficial, as he wishes.’ It is incumbent upon the slave of the Commander of the Faithful to disclose to his master his personal situation, his belief in his (al-Muʿizz’s) sovereignty and his sincerity to him in his belief, for this is the essence. No deeds can be righteous without it, being truthful in everything that he says to him and concerning him. God will not question lies that are unintentional and unbeknown, God willing; and [the essence is] is submission to his master and exerting the best effort in striving to achieve his contentment. The Commander of the Faithful knows his slave and his capability. So if he says or does something that is not in accord with his master’s approval,187 it is because he thought it would be in accord with him and his wishes. His grandfather, the Prophet of God, has said, ‘God has disregarded the errors, omissions and coercions upon my community.’ The Commander of the Faithful is the reviver of his grandfather’s practice, following in his footsteps and fulfilling his promise to the people of his time, and obeying his command. If he orders his slave to manage his affairs with goodwill and forgiveness, with the hope of securing reprieve if he oversteps the mark, then he will attend to them to his ability.

Al-Muʿizz wrote on the back of the letter to me: May God safeguard you, O Nuʿmān. I have noted everything you have described in your letter. I have sensed from your words what has been evident to me about you but of which I was not entirely certain until I read this letter. What was apparent was that you were subdued and distant from your usual joy and comfort in your dealings and discussions with us. I noticed that you were dejected, and I was concerned, for there is neither reason nor cause for this. Indeed our aspiration in you is much greater and far exceeds your hope regarding the honour and the eminence of your name and the exaltation of your status, for I have only experienced good deeds from you, which every follower of ours ought

187 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s eition (p. 48) has included the additional text, ‘his master’s approval’, which accords with Ya‘lāwī’s edition.

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Al-Qāḍī said: I do not recall ever being as happy since my birth as I was on the day I read this note. My mind was relieved from the foreboding gloom and released from the burden of weariness, for the manner in which I should proceed with him, present myself to him and address him, were clarified – in all matters [to proceed] with virtuous intentions, sincere conviction and without pretence. I continued to experience all that from him, blessings of God be upon him, his renewed merits, continuing benefactions and customary good deeds. My gratitude to him was even greater as it arose from my acknowledgement of my inadequacies. The clearest description of this was the recognition of my insufficiencies.188 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān had a firmly established status with the imams who were contemporary to him, a stature that very few can compare with and could achieve. We have already mentioned his services to Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh, al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh and al-Manṣūr bi’llāh. He rose in esteem in the time of each of the imams, and his rank continued to increase with each of them, along with those believers who were with him. During the time of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, he ascended to further eminence and esteem and attained nearness and closeness to the imam. Al-Muʿizz exalted his renown and distinguished his brilliance. He appointed him the chief judge (qāḍī al-quḍāt) which was in addition to the responsibility of the daʿwa, thus elevating him to the highest

188 End of Majālis extract, p. 353.

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rank in the daʿwa. Moreover, he appointed him over the maẓālim (court of grievances)189 and gave precedence to al-Nuʿmān’s judgements over those of all other judges. He instructed him to study the books of the imams of his forefathers and to impart their knowledge to his followers and disciples, classifying them according to their rank and entrusting them with the benevolence of the friend of God (al-Muʿizz) according to their knowledge and worthiness.

12 Sessions of wisdom at the caliphal palace Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said:190 When the Commander of the Faithful al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh opened the gate of mercy for the believers and turned his attention to his followers by his benefaction and grace, he gave me books on esoteric knowledge (ʿilm al-bāṭin) and instructed me to read out from them in a session every Friday at the palace which during his lifetime was much frequented.191 People thronged to it and the place became crowded. The overcrowding resulted in poor audibility with many believers spilling into the palace forecourt; consequently those who were at the back were unable to hear. Al-Muʿizz was informed and it was suggested to him that there are people in the daʿwa who lack the ability to comprehend what was communicated. Hence a separate session could be held for them whereby what was imparted was according to their capacity and understanding, thus proving beneficial to them. He acceded to this. However, people from that group became distressed as they felt that he had been remiss with them because of their inability to understand. This was mentioned to him while I was present. He had called on the barber to give him a haircut. As he entered I stood

189 Al-Maqrīzī, Khiṭaṭ (III: 49–51) provides a useful background to the establishment of maẓālim. He states that Imam ʿAlī was the first caliph to provide personal oversight to the maẓālim, a practice that al-Muʿizz revived upon the Fatimid arrival in Egypt. Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt (I: 212), says that Jawhar used to preside over the maẓālim in the presence of the wazir, the qāḍī and a group of prominent jurists. See also Yaacov Lev, State and Society in Fatimid Egypt (Leiden, 1991), p. 135, and J.S. Nielson, ‘Maẓālim’, EI2. 190 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 386. 191 On these weekly ‘sessions of wisdom’ (majālis al-ḥikma), see note 50 above.

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up and those who were in front of him stepped back.192 He summoned me while the barber was cutting his hair and said to me, ‘Yesterday, I heard about what happened regarding their matter, that their distance had prevented them from hearing the Book of God. This has been mentioned in Sūrat Hūd, so go and read it.’ I did not know what he meant but I did not ask him about it or even how he had surmised that, whether it was something he had read or dreamt about. However, I replied, ‘I will look into it, O master.’ I left and read Sūrat Hūd and found the following in the story of Nūḥ (Noah): We sent Nūḥ to his people [with a mission]: ‘I have come to you with a clear warning, that you serve none but God. Verily, I do fear for you the penalty of a grievous day.’ But the chiefs of the unbelievers among his people said, ‘We see [in] you nothing but a man like ourselves. Nor do we see that any follow you but the meanest among us, in judgement immature. Nor do we see in you [all] any merit above us. In fact we think you are liars!’ He (Nūḥ) said, “O my people! See you if [it be that] I have a clear sign from my Lord, that He has sent mercy unto me from His own presence, but that the mercy has been obscured from your sight? Shall we compel you to accept it when you are averse to it? And O my people! I ask you for no wealth in return. My reward is from none but God. But I will not drive away [in contempt] those who believe, for verily they are to meet their Lord, and you, I see, are the ignorant ones. And O my people! Who would help me against God if I drove them away? Will you not then take heed? I tell you not that with me are the treasures of God, nor do I know what is hidden, nor claim I to be an angel. Nor yet do I say of those whom your eyes do despise that God will not grant them [all] that is good. God knows best what is in their souls. I should, if I did, indeed be a wrong-doer”’ (11:25-31).

I learnt from the verses what al-Muʿizz, may God perpetuate his exalted command, intended and instructed, to impart his mercy to all the believers. He wished to bestow his benefactions on all the believers,

192 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 51) excludes the phrase ‘and those who were in front of him (man kāna)’, but they note that Ya‘lāwī’s edition is likely to be more correct here.

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to enrich them with an abundance of His grace and to shower them with His blessings. However, these can only be received by the one who has the capacity and the ability to do so. He can only derive from it his share according to his strength and ability, to take what reaches him, just as daylight reaches the eyes but each eye lets in light according to its health and strength. Hence no light enters the eyes of a person whose eyesight is dim and poorly. Similarly, if containers are placed under a rainy sky, water will only collect in those that are hollow. Those that are flat, inversed or tilted will not receive a drop of water. Only the one that is empty and placed correctly will receive the water according to its volume, capacity and size, large or small. Likewise is this matter. It was said that one of the imams uttered words concerning the esoteric (al-bāṭin) to the believers. One of his slaves was present. Some of the followers thought that the imam had not seen him, so they informed him about it and pointed to him. He replied, ‘Indeed I saw him, but I wish that you would understand what I was saying.’ God has provided a similar example about a group of people who were listening to the Messenger of God but had not understood him, nor were they conscious of that. He (God) said: ‘Among them are men who listen to you, but in the end when they leave you, they say to those who have received knowledge, “What is it he said just then?”’ (47:16). God said that they witnessed and heard what the knowledgeable ones had heard, but they did not recognise it nor did they understand what the Messenger of God had said. It was reported from the Messenger of God that he had gathered some people who were similar to the ones that were mentioned along with those who were knowledgeable. I (al-Nuʿmān) have witnessed this and have seen many examples of people who hear but do not understand what they have heard. Consequently, they retain nothing in their heart. Other people hear the same thing with them and they recognise, comprehend and benefit from it. The awliyāʾ (i.e., the imams) are the ones who know best what to do, what they deserve and upon what they should agree and disagree. For them everything has to be according to measure and balance, and right path and practice.193 This is related by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad.

193 End of Majālis extract, p. 388.

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13 The virtues of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān194 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān was among the people of knowledge and virtue. He has written many books and his knowledge is esteemed. Even his adversaries conceded his virtues and vast knowledge. In fact, all that he wrote in his writings, gathered in his gatherings and compiled in his compilations was taken from the imams with whom he was contemporary, based on what they reported from their pure ancestors. He did not compose any writing nor compile any compilation without checking it with them, step by step. They corroborated the truth and rectified the mistakes. He drew from their sea of knowledge and from them he learnt, and by their benefactions he was able to compile and write his works.

14 Al-Nuʿmān’s works on jurisprudence The following are among his works on jurisprudence: •

Kitāb al-īḍāḥ (Book of Elucidation)195 is a work that provides a classification of traditions that narrators of jurisprudence (fiqh) agreed upon, and which have a sound chain of transmission and confirmed traditions. It consists of 220 parts, as mentioned in a verse of the poem al-Mukhtāra al-muntakhaba (The Favourite, the Chosen). [Al-Nuʿmān said:] I left it composed [of] 200 parts, and it exceeds this number by 20.196

194 This heading appears in the text. 195 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān codified Ismaili law by collecting hadiths transmitted by the early Shiʿi imams, drawing also on other Imāmī and Zaydī sources. The voluminous Kitāb al-īḍāḥ represents the culmination of these initial efforts. Several of his works, for example the Kitāb al-iqtiṣār (see note 203 below) are abridgements of this massive compendium, of which only a fragment, the Kitāb al-ṣalāt, has survived. See Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 31; W. Madelung, ‘The Sources of Ismāʿīlī Law’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 35 (1976), pp. 29–40; and I. K. Poonawala, ‘al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and Ismaʿili Jurisprudence’, in F. Daftary, ed., Mediaeval Ismaʿili History and Thought (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 117–144. 196 The Urjūza was written in verse as a summary of al-Nuʿmān’s Kitāb al-īḍāḥ. There are many extant copies of the Urjūza. Cf. Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 52–53.

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Kitāb mukhtaṣar al-īḍāḥ (Précis on Elucidation)197 is a work in which he (al-Nuʿmān) establishes the traditions that have been reported from the pure imams. He began compiling this work during the reign of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Mahdī bi’llāh, at his instruction and according to what he had indicated, confirmed, clarified and explained to him. Kitāb al-akhbār is a 13-part work on fiqh. Kitāb al-ittifāq wa’l-iftirāq (Book of Agreement and Disagreement) is a seventy-part work on the agreements and disagreements of the jurists concerning the sayings of the Ahl al-Bayt. Kitāb al-muqtaṣar (The Abridgement) is a précis of al-Ittifāq wa’l-iftirāq.

15 The composition of the Da‘ā’im al-Islām Then he composed the work, Daʿāʾim al-Islām fi’l-ḥalāl wa’l-ḥarām wa’l-qaḍāyā wa’l-aḥkām (Pillars of Islam Regarding the Permitted and the Prohibited, the Decrees and Judgements)198 on the authority of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. This was because al-Nuʿmān and a group of dāʿīs came to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz, and mentioned some invented sayings, doctrines and opinions, which had caused disagreement among Muslim groups as well as mentioning what their scholars have agreed upon, deviated about, claimed knowledge of, and disseminated without clear proof. So the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, recounted the sayings of his grandfather, the Messenger of God, which had been confirmed by his pure ancestors. [He said,] ‘You will follow the path of the people who preceded you, step by step and feather by feather, so that if they entered a lizard hole, so will you.’ In another saying he said, ‘You will follow the path

197 This work is not extant. Poonawala, ibid., p. 52. 198 See note 85 above. Compiled around 349/960 under the close supervision of al-Muʿizz, the Dāʿāʾim provided the codification of Ismaili law in the Fatimid state. The first volume deals with acts of worship (ʿibādāt), the second with human relations and transactions (muʿāmalāt). The esteemed status of this work is evident from its continued function as the supreme work of Ismaili law in the Ṭayyibī community, occupying the same legal status as other Muslim books of statute in the Indian subcontinent. See Poonawala, ‘al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and Ismaʿili Jursiprudence’, and his Introduction to the Daʿāʾim, I: xxxiii.

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of those who preceded you, hand-span by hand-span and arm’s-length by arm’s-length, so that if they entered a wasps’ nest, so will you.’ Then al-Muʿizz mentioned the words of the Messenger of God to them: ‘If deviation occurs in my community the scholar should manifest his knowledge, or else God’s curse will be upon him.’ He turned to al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and said, ‘You are meant by that, O Nuʿmān.’ Then he instructed him to compose the Kitāb al-Daʿāʾim; he confirmed its foundations and divided its sections. He apprised him of the sound traditions from his pure ancestors and from the Messenger of God according to their types and categories, avoiding those that the narrators had disagreed upon and were fabricated. Al-Muʿizz added, ‘Indeed, it has been relayed to us from Imam al-Ṣādiq, Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad, who said, “Islam was founded on seven pillars: walāya (devotional obedience),199 this is the best – through it and through the walī its knowledge can be obtained – purity, prayer, almsgiving, fasting during the month of Ramaḍān, pilgrimage to the sacred House of God, and jihād.”’200 Al-Muʿizz instructed al-Nuʿmān, so al-Nuʿmān began by mentioning the walāya of the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, proving how the Messenger had singled out his merits and that he was the foremost person to succeed him over the community. This was after he had elucidated faith (īmān), without which God does not accept any deed and without which one cannot belong to the righteous. He discussed walāya to the imams from the Messenger’s progeny and the obligation to pray for them, and explained the appointment of the imams and that the imams can only be appointed by divine designation (naṣṣ) and notification; as well as the status of the imams with God, their dissociation from those who hold extreme views about them,201 and some of their admonishments to their followers and their supporters. He recounted

199 On the concept of walāya, see note 164 above. 200 Just war, which is interpreted both in a military sense and as an inner struggle for purification. E. Tyan, ‘Djihād’, EI2. 201 ‘Those who hold extreme views about them’ refers to the ghulāt (sg. ghālī). The term signifies those people considered by their contemporaries to have ‘exceeded’ in religion, especially by exaggerating the attributes of the imams. In early Islamic thought, the ghulāt represented a potent tendency and many of their ideas later found expression in some Shiʿi movements. See M. G. S. Hodgson, ‘Ghulāt’, EI2, and his, ‘How Did the Early Shi‘a become Sectarian?’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 75 (1955), pp. 1–13.

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that God has enjoined love for them and urged obtaining knowledge from those whom God has appointed for that [purpose]. Then al-Nuʿmān explained the obligations in Islam concerning purity, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage and jihād, and what ensues concerning what is permitted and prohibited, cases and rulings, selling and buying, food and drink, divorce and marriage, inheritance and bloodwit, testimony and the rest of the established, obligatory categories of jurisprudence. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān completed this work called Daʿāʾim al-Islām according to the precepts established by the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. He used to present it to him section by section and chapter by chapter. Al-Muʿizz confirmed parts of it, corrected the errors and filled the gaps until it was complete. Thus the work emerged as a comprehensive synopsis with utmost precision. This was a miracle of the Commander of the Faithful al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, which he manifested through his dāʿī and supporter al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad, explicating the law (sharīʿa) of his grandfather Muḥammad,202 the Messenger of God, elevating it as a landmark of Islam, to rule by his example, and to abandon innovation [bid‘a] about which the Prophet said, ‘Every innovation is an error and every error leads to Hellfire.’

16 Motivation for al-Nuʿmān’s other compositions Then the Commander of the Faithful instructed al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān to abridge the Daʿāʾim al-Islām in another work titled ‘Iqtiṣār al-āthār fī mā ruwiya ʿan al-a’imma al-aṭhār’ (Summary of the Traditions Related from the Pure Imams).203 He made it accessible and elucidated it for those who sought it. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said:204 Some qāḍīs, governors and seekers of knowledge asked me for a work, which would provide an abridged exposition of the sayings of the Ahl al-Bayt which explicates their meaning, facilitates memorisation and is light on the pocket. So I began to write

202 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 58) has īḍāḥ in place of bayān, rendering the translation as ‘elucidating the law’. 203 Ed. Muḥammad Waḥīd Mīrzā (Damascus, 1957); ed. ʿĀrif Tāmir (Beirut, 1416/1996). The Kitāb al-iqtiṣār was cited by Fatimid chief judges (qāḍī al-quḍāt) in public sessions on law in Cairo mosques. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, pp. 143–144. 204 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 359.

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it and I estimated that when the book was complete it would cost no more than a dinar for those who wished to transcribe it. Hence I named it Kitāb al-dīnār and I mentioned this in the introduction. I presented what I had begun to write to al-Muʿizz. I requested him to peruse the work and to confirm that the traditions were transmitted from him. I sent that with a note in which I made a request. Al-Muʿizz wrote back in his own hand on the reverse of the note: In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate. May God safeguard you, O Nuʿmān. I have leafed through and examined the book, and am pleased with the sound traditions and the excellent summation. However, it contains words which many of our awliyāʾ would find abstruse, so elucidate them such that they can comprehend them so as to ensure that everyone can grasp the knowledge through the words, whether they are distinguished or commonplace. That way it will become valuable and digestible. Name it Kitāb al-ikhtiṣār li ṣaḥīḥ al-āthār ʿan al-aʾimma al-aṭhār. This is better than calling it Kitāb al-dīnār because it contains the knowledge of the awliyāʾ Allāh (friends of God) which all people should desire for their souls and not [out of consideration for] their money. This name (Kitāb al-dīnār) will devalue the work among the rich who will think that they can easily procure it. Moreover, they have the ability to purchase more expensive things from the vanities of their world other than this work. They consider that the money that they have collected and hoarded is a gain; however, this will vanish if they deviate and stinginess takes over their mind. This is so except for those who are protected by God, and they are but a few.

Then he corrected, modified and deleted some sections of what I had submitted to him and confirmed the others by mentioning or marking them. Thereafter, I read it to him, incorporating all his corrections and suggestions and deleting all that he had recommended to remove, copying his words into the text. He permitted that the one who reports from me should mention that I relate from al-Muʿizz and his pure ancestors whom he mentioned, after he had authenticated the reports from them. I benefited tremendously from this and I was exalted by his benefactions. I had presented this work to him so that he could confirm to me that what I had collected, read and heard on the authority of the preceding narrators from al-Muʿizz’s ancestors was correct. Through this work, he unlocked and made accessible to me his wealth of knowledge, which enabled me

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to include in this book all that is prohibited and permitted, the cases and rulings. In this work, he confirmed for me the duties and responsibilities I should fulfil towards those who seek my opinion and when I pronounce judgements, by the praise and grace of God and the benefaction of His walī. I hope that if God extends my life, I shall present everything else I believe in for his review, record it and take the sound [belief] from him. May God let me attain that by His power and strength. It was related from someone who followed Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq that the man asked Imam al-Ṣādiq, ‘O my master, I would like to have my beliefs examined by you.’ Al-Ṣādiq replied, ‘That is among the obligatory duties.’ The follower then pronounced the two testimonies (shahādatayn)205 and attested to the imams, naming them one after the other until he came to al-Ṣādiq’s name. Al-Ṣādiq said to him, ‘Know that the one who believes in God in this way indeed believes in the only religion (dīn) that God accepts from anyone.’ He approved and concurred with his words. Whoever is granted by God the opportunity to present the principles and branches of his religion to His walī, God indeed completes His bounty upon him by enabling him to take them from his imam and having their soundness vouchsafed by His walī. And praise be to God for the knowledge that He has opened up for me and I beseech Him that I reach and attain what is left of it, am able to digest it and receive guidance to achieve it to His satisfaction.206

17 Additional works on jurisprudence Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad wrote the following works on jurisprudence: • •

Kitāb yawm wa layla (Book of Day and Night) which is a fine book on obligatory prayers. Kitāb al-ṭahāra wa’l-ṣalāt wa furūḍihā wa sunanihā (Book of Purity and Prayer and their Obligations and Norms).207

205 The shahādatayn refers to the Muslim profession of faith invoking the two testimonies (shahāda): ‘There is no god but God and Muḥammad is the Messenger of God.’ 206 End of Majālis extract, p. 361. 207 Poonawala lists this in the Daʿāʾim bibliography as contained in the MS collection of Mullā Qurbān Ḥusayn Godhrawala.

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The Founder of Cairo Risālat al-urjūza al-muntakhaba (Epistle of the Chosen Poem), a poem that he composed with rhyming hemistiches about the sections of jurisprudence.208 Kitāb kayfiyyat al-ṣalāt ʿala’l-Nabī (Book on How to Invoke Blessings upon the Prophet). He wrote it as a refutation to those who opposed him. Kitāb al-taqrīʿ wa’l-taʿnīf lī man lam yaʿlam al-ʿilm fataʿāṭā al-taṣnīf (Book of Censure and Rebuke for those who are Ignorant of Knowledge yet Compose Works), in two large volumes. Al-risāla al-Miṣriyya fī’l-radd ʿalā al-Shāfiʿī (The Egyptian Epistle in Refutation of al-Shāfiʿī), in two large volumes.209 Al-radd ʿalā Aḥmad ibn Surayj al-Baghdādī (The Refutation of Aḥmad b. Surayj al-Baghdādī), in two volumes.210 Risālat [dhāt] al-bayān (Epistle on Rhetoric) in which he refutes Ibn Qutayba.211 Kitāb ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib (Book on Differences in the Principles of the Legal Schools), in two volumes.212 Kitāb nahj al-sabīl ilā maʿrifat ʿilm al-taʾwīl (Book on the Path to Seek Understanding of the Science of Esoteric Interpretation), in two volumes.

208 See note 196 above. 209 Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad b. Idrīs (d. 204/820), known more commonly as Imām al-Shāfi‘ī, after whom the Shāfi‘ī madhhab is named. Born in Yemen or Palestine in 150/767 and of Qurashī descent, he studied under a number of prestigious teachers, notably Mālik b. Anas in Medina, for a decade. His support for the Ḥasanid Yaḥyā b. ‘Abd Allāḥ, who revolted around 176/792, led to his temporary detention by the Abbasid authorities. His expositions on the sources of law (fiqh) and his systematisation of analogical reasoning (qiyās) facilitated the subsequent establishment of the madhhab in his name, especially in Fuṣṭāṭ, Egypt, where al-Shāfi‘ῑ spent time and found a considerable following. E. Chaumont, ‘al-Shāfi‘ī’, EI2. 210 Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. ʿUmar Surayj al-Baghdādī (d. 306/918) was a prominent Shāfiʿī scholar of his time and noted for his engagement in debate with other schools. J. Schacht, ‘Ibn Suraydj’, EI2. 211 According to Poonawala (Biobibliography, p. 63) the full title is Risāla fī’l-bayān fī’l-radd ʿalā Ibn Qutayba. Ibn Qutayba’s work ʿUyūn al-maʿārif includes some of the well-known hadiths of the Prophet concerning legal cases and judgments. 212 Ed. Sham’un T. Lokhandwalla (Simla, 1972); ed. Muṣṭafā Ghālib (Beirut, 1973). The Ikhtilāf, composed after 343/954, is a polemical treatise which refutes specific facets of Sunni madhhabs. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 143.

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Al-Qaṣīda al-mukhtāra (The Chosen Poem) is a poem on the imamate and the proof of those who deserve it, [and against] those who claimed it but had no right upon it.213

18 Historical works of al-Nuʿmān and their purpose Historical works (akhbār) which have been authored by him are: • •

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Kitāb sharḥ al-akhbār fī faḍāʾil al-aʾimma al-aṭhār (Book of Exposition of the Reports on the Virtues of the Pure Imams), in 16 parts.214 Kitāb manāqib Banī Hāshim wa-mathālib Banī Umayya (Book on the Virtues of the Banū Hāshim and the Flaws of the Banū Umayya), in two volumes.215 Kitāb iftitāḥ al-daʿwa wa-ibtidāʾ al-dawla (Book on the Inception of the Daʿwa and the Establishment of the Reign), in two volumes.216

213 Ed. I. K. Poonawala under the title al-Urjūza al-mukhtāra (Montreal, 1970); ed. Yūsuf al-Biqʿī, with an introduction by ʿĀrif Tāmir (Beirut, 1999). It is a treatise in verse written by the Qāḍī during the era of Imam al-Qāʾim, and at 2375 verses one of the longest arājiz in Arabic literature. It extolls the imamate and responds to the critique of opponents to the Fatimids, including Sunnis, Muʿtazila, Khārijīs and some Shiʿi groups. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, pp. 144–145. 214 Ed. al-Sayyid Muḥammad al-Ḥusaynī al-Jalalī (Qumm, 1409–1412/1988– 1992, 3 vols; reprint Beirut, 1994, 3 vols); partial ed. al-Juzʾ al-awwal min kitāb sharḥ al-akhbār (Surat, n.d., 1960s); excerpts ed. and trans., W. Ivanow, Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids (London, 1942), text, pp. 1–34, trans. pp. 97–122. The Sharḥ al-akhbār is a collection of 1460 ḥadīths complied by al-Nuʿmān, and revised and approved by al-Muʿizz himself. The bulk of the work is related to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib with about a third on the virtues (faḍāʾil) of the Ahl al-Bayt. Many of the sources which al-Nuʿmān relied upon for this work are no longer extant. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 145. 215 Also known as al-Manāqib li-Ahli Bayti rasūl Allāh wa’l-mathālib li-Banī Umayya, or al-Manāqib wa’l-mathālib, ed. Mājid b. Aḥmad al-ʿAṭiyya (Beirut, 2002). This is a classic Shiʿi exposition of the virtues of Prophet Muḥammad’s clan, the Banū Hāshim from whom the Fatimids trace their lineage, and of the flaws of the Banū ‘Abd al-Shams from whom the Umayyad caliphs descend. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, pp. 144–145. 216 See note 6 above. The Iftitāḥ is the earliest known historical account relating the establishment of the Fatimid caliphate (completed 346/957). It may be partly based on the Sīra of the Fatimid dāʿī Ibn Ḥawshab Manṣūr al-Yaman. See Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 143; Hamid Haji’s Introduction to Iftitāḥ,

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Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said: The Commander of the Faithful instructed me to compile a collection of reports on the reign and the virtues of the Banū Hāshim and the flaws of the Banū ʿAbd Shams in a work, so I did. I collected enough material on these two themes to compile a comprehensive work in many parts, following his guidance and classification. I presented them to him. He liked them and was satisfied with them, praised their content and said: Concerning the reports of the reign (dawla), those who ruled it and those dāʿīs and believers who established it, I would like information on them to be perpetuated in this manner for those who succeed, so that the positive mention of those from bygone times is perpetuated and the prayers of those who succeed them and hear their name is upon them, and so that those who succeed them know the honour that God has prepared for them in the hereafter. That is our duty towards them for they are not amidst us for us to offer this to them.

It is imperative that the successors, the progeny and the awliyāʾ know about the ancestors’ merits and virtues as well as the enemies’ flaws and follies. The adversaries and the enemies require to be publicly censured among the people and for posterity, even though the virtues of the people of merit and the vices of the base are well known and unconcealed, apparent and unveiled. They harbour many suspicions and are steeped in deceit in a myriad of ways. In this they are as God has said: ‘Their intention is to extinguish God’s light [by blowing] with their mouths. But God will complete [the revelation of] His light, even though the unbelievers may detest [it]’ (61:8).

19 Other works of al-Nuʿmān Al-Nuʿmān also wrote the following: •

Kitāb maʿālim al-Mahdī (Book on al-Mahdī’s Qualities), one volume217

trans., and T. Nagel, Frühe Ismailiya und Fatimiden im Lichte der Risalat Iftitah ad–daʿwa: ein religionsgeschichtliche Studie (Bonn, 1972). 217 Poonawala, Biobibliography, p. 56.

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Kitāb ḥudūd al-maʿrifa fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān wa-tanbīh ʿalā al-taʾwīl (Book of the Parameters of Knowledge on the Exegesis of the Qurʾan and Instruction in its Interpretation), 70 parts. Kitāb taʾwīl al-daʿāʾim (Book of the Interpretation of the Pillars). Twelve parts are extant, to the end of the chapter on jihād.218 Asās al-taʾwīl (The Foundation of Interpretation). He wrote this work prior to the Taʾwīl al-Daʿāʾim. It contains the interpretation of walāya and the stories of the Prophet in 17 parts.219 Dāmigh al-mūjaz fī al-radd ʿalā al-‘Utaqī (The Irrefutable Concise Book on the Refutation of al-‘Utaqī), four parts. Kitāb al-taʿaqqub wa’l-intiqād (Book of Investigation and Censure), one part. Letter to Murshid, the dāʿī of Egypt, concerning the instruction of the believers, one part.220 Kitāb taʾwīl al-ruʾyā (Book of the Interpretation of Dreams), one part. Kitāb manāmāt al-aʾimma (Book of the Imams’ Dreams), one volume. Kitāb al-Tawḥīd wa’l-Imāma min khuṭab Amīr al-muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Book Concerning the Unity of God and the Imamate in the Sermons of the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib), two parts. Kitāb al-Duʿāʾ (Book of Invocations), two parts. Kitāb Ithbāt al-ḥaqāʾiq fī maʿrifat tawḥīd al-Khāliq (Book of Confirmation of Truths Concerning the Knowledge of the Oneness of the Creator), one part. Kitāb fī’l-imāma (Book on the Imamate), four parts.

218 Also known as Tarbiyat al-muʾminīn, ed. Muḥammad Ḥasan al-Aʿẓamī, 3 vols (Cairo, 1967–1972); ʿĀrif Tāmir, 3 vols (Beirut, 1415/1995); selection ed. ʿĀdil al-ʿAwwā in his Muntakhabāt Ismāʿīliyya (Damascus, 1958), pp. 3–85. Based on al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s majālis al-ḥikma, this work is the complement to Daʿāʾim al-Islām, offering esoteric interpretations of the pillars of Ismaili faith and other aspects of worship. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 145. 219 Ed. ʿĀrif Tāmir, Silsilat al-makhṭūṭāt al-ʿArabiyya, no. 2 (Beirut, 1960). The Asās provides Ismaili taʾwīl of Qur’anic stories of the prophets from Adam to Muḥammad. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 143. 220 Abū ʿĪsā al-Murshid was a Fatimid dāʿī in Egypt. Al-Maqrīzī notes (Ittiʿāẓ, p. 117, trans., p. 83) that the maẓālim hearings were delegated to him by Jawhar after the foundation of Cairo in 368/969.

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The Founder of Cairo Kitāb al-himma fī ādāb atbāʿ al-aʾimma (The Book of Zeal Concerning the Etiquette of the Followers of the Imams), two parts.221 The poem called Dhāt al-minan (The Boon-bearer), concerning the biography of Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, in two parts. An urjūza poem in rajaz metre entitled Dhāt al-miḥan (The Calamity-bearer), concerning the biography of [Abū Yazīd] Makhlad b. Kaydad al-Māriq al-Dajjāl, in two parts. Kitāb al-majālis wa’l-musāyarāt maʿa al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh (The Book of Audiences and Rides with al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh), four parts.222 Kitāb al-ḥulī wa’l-thiyāb (The Book of Jewellery and Clothes), one part. Kitāb al-shurūṭ (Book of Conditions). Many letters to the qāḍīs and others.

This is what the author of Sīrat Kutāma reported.223 Most of these works are available in the region of Yemen and are well known. However, some of them are not extant. Yet, there is no doubt about the existence of those that are no longer extant at the seat of the great imam,224 God’s proof (ḥujja) to the entire creation, from whom no age is devoid, the inheritor of the ranks of his ancestors. As long as there is rain, the imamate will continue from his noble ancestors to the progeny that will succeed him to the Day of Judgement. Amongst what has been related from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad is that he said: I received a letter from al-Manṣūr in which he said, ‘O Nuʿmān, extract from the Book of God what the commonalty (al-‘āmma) have rejected and dismissed.’ I said to myself, what can there

221 See note 10 above. The Kitāb al-himma is a work of adab concerning manners and etiquette in the presence of the imam. It also includes a rare exposition of the virtues of an ideal dāʿī. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 144. 222 See note 105 above. 223 Idrīs later identifies this author as Ḥaydara b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm (section 66), about whom very little is known except that he lived during the reign of the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Ḥākim (386–411/996–1021). (Cf. Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 93–94.) The existence of the work mentioned here, Sīrat al-Kutāmiyya, is known only through Idrīs’ use of it in the ʿUyūn. As such, it is an example of one of the ‘lost histories’ of the Fatimid period. Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire, Fatimid History and its Sources (London. 2002), p. 142. 224 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 66) has imāmah instead of imām rendering the translation as ‘at the seat of the (office) of the great imamate’.

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be in the Book of God that any who believes in the religion of Islam would reject and dismiss? This weighed heavily on me and I thought at the time that I would not find a single letter; yet I did not consider it appropriate to refer back to him. Then I sought succour from God, for I knew that the walī of God would not have said so without its existence. So I opened the Qurʾan to read it and the first sentence that caught my eye was ‘In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’. I recalled that some people said that this was not part of the Qurʾan, but I established that it is. The subject opened up to me so much that I had collected a twenty-folio section on it. I presented it to al-Manṣūr. He approved of it and was pleased with it. Then he said, ‘Continue!’ So I reached Sūrat al-Māʾida, having begun from Sūrat al-Fātiḥa followed by Sūrat al-Baqara, and I collected examples that amounted to over 600 pages. Whenever I met al-Manṣūr, I presented the work to him. He was pleased with it and said, ‘No one has done such work before.’ Then he passed away, so it remained incomplete. The virtues of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad are well known and his merits are famous and oft-related. He is the one concerning whom the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh said, ‘Whoever achieves a tenth of what al-Nuʿmān has accomplished, I guarantee him heaven on behalf of God. As for Jaʿfar, we have other things to say about him.’ He meant Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan Manṣūr al-Yaman,225 whose father was among the greatest and best dāʿīs.

20 The virtues of Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman226 This dāʿī, Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, emigrated from his father’s land (Yemen); he relinquished the vanities of the world and was not tempted by them. He emigrated to be present in the court of the imams. He gained great merit and a noble rank with them. Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman reached unprecedented status with the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, and became a unique symbol of virtue and piety. It was reported that al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad was afflicted with illness, so all the dāʿīs, awliyāʾ of the state and its commanders

225 See note 87 above. A full list of Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman’s works and editions appears in Daftary, Ismaili Literature, pp. 121–122. 226 This heading appears in the text.

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visited him. Then he recovered from his illness and his health was restored. He came into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, after convalescing from his illness. Al-Muʿizz enquired about his state and praised God for his health; he then asked al-Nuʿmān, ‘Who among our awliyāʾ came to visit you?’ He replied, ‘All of them visited me, except for Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman.’ The Commander of the Faithful began speaking with him. Then he sent for some books, which were brought to him. He opened one of them and said to al-Nuʿmān, ‘Look through this book’. After he had examined it, the Commander of the Faithful said to him, ‘What is your view of it?’ He replied, ‘How can I criticise your words, may God’s blessings be upon you?’ The Imam responded, ‘This is the work of your master Jaʿfar, a sign of his exalted erudition and evidence of his eminent rank.’ When al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān left the presence of the imam, there was no recourse but for him to go to Jaʿfar’s house. When he announced himself, Jaʿfar came to receive him in deference to him and in acknowledgement of al-Nuʿmān’s eminent position. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān could not refrain himself from falling to his knees and kissing Jaʿfar’s feet in recognition of his rank and humility, neither haughty nor vain, neither envious of his exalted status nor dismissive of it. May God bless those awliyāʾ whose status God has exalted and whose rank He has elevated with His awliyāʾ. They are the brethren of purity and the friends of loyalty227 who do not oppose, hate or dismiss each other. May God make us among those who follow them, abide by their guidance and emulate their example. May He not isolate us from them, from the truth of the sincere ones of His people and the best of His worshippers. The dāʿī Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr, may God elevate his sanctity, wrote many works on the knowledge of the Ahl al-Bayt, ranging from the Oneness of God, may His majesty be exalted, to knowledge about His angels, His reward of heaven, the beginning of His creation, stories of the prophets,

227 The phrase used here, ikhwān al-ṣafāʾ wa-khillān al-wafāʾ, echoes the name of the famous proto-Ismaili fraternity of scholars in 4th/10th-century Iraq who produced the eponymous Epistles of the Brethren of Purity. Idrīs’ mention here may provide an indication of the resonance of their work within the later Fatimid daʿwa. For a survey of the debates concerning the Brethren of Purity see Nader El-Bizri, ed., The Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ and their Rasāʾil: An Introduction (Oxford, 2008).

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knowledge about the angels, accounts of the obligations of the sharīʿa, all of which is the manifest truth which is evident in the hearts of the knowledgeable ones. He has also written a biography (sīra) on his father al-Manṣūr who conquered Yemen, and we have reported from it.

21 Reports on the clemency and patience of al-Muʿizz The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, was clement and forgiving; this made his distant enemies draw close to him and who became his loyal servants and slaves. We have already mentioned how the people of Mount Awrās came and submitted to him after they had been recalcitrant and haughty. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said:228 Countless times I witnessed al-Muʿizz during his audiences, when attending to matters or during his outings, being opposed in ways that would invoke anger and punishment. Perhaps a slave of his would oppose his views, interrupt him as he was speaking and protest against what he had ordered and instructed him. He would reply to al-Muʿizz in regards to matters that he ought not to, causing anguish in the hearts of those who were present and who heard them. Yet, I never saw al-Muʿizz become angry or punitive about it. The most [angry] I ever saw him was when one day al-Muʿizz left al-Manṣūriyya for some purpose. People crowded around his mount and surrounded him from every direction, requesting their needs and presenting their issues. Although he had appointed administrators, they refused [to address them] and reverted only to al-Muʿizz. Throughout all this he was receiving them, listening to them and issuing orders to fulfil their needs until it became impossible for him, for he could not move and his horse turned around and bolted under him. So al-Muʿizz ordered them to leave, instructing his footmen to disperse them. Yet they persisted and remained, nor were the footmen able to scatter them. So he pulled a lance from the hands of one of his men and said, ‘What it takes to disperse you (the crowd) is to strike one of you with this!’ Then he looked at us, smiled instantly and said, ‘Do you see what we are [caught up] in?’ He continued to talk as if no one had opposed him regarding any matter.

228 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 211

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Although those who were accompanying him, including myself, were extremely vexed by what we saw, by God he did not react that way, except for what I have already mentioned. He used his generous disposition in the same way as a rod is used to threaten and scare a child who is ignorant for his own benefit. Indeed, I (al-Nuʿmān) followed suit in being clement to those of my men and slaves who were ignorant and disregardful, to forgive their mistakes and pardon their errors; yet they were arrogant, and made it difficult for me to deal with many of their matters. Then I compared the grief, fury and reprisal that I used to experience with the comfort of clemency and the joy of forgiveness and forbearance. I realised that I was in a much better state. I had often meted out punishment and when my anger had subsided, regretted the punishment and censured myself for it. Many matters which I was previously unable to resolve with coercion were now resolved. Perpetual praise be to God. Similarly, I noticed that the command of al-Muʿizz led to positive outcomes and good deeds because of the clemency, perseverance and patience that God had bestowed on him. Often I reflected on this and mentioned to him the words of a learned one whose slaves were behaving impudently, and when he was asked by someone, ‘Why are you not punishing your slaves and reforming them?’, he responded, ‘I tried that and then I realised that it is easier to reform my ways than reform their behaviour. So I let them be, those among them who improve, improve and those who are vexatious can remain so.’229 [Al-Nuʿmān said]:230 ‘One spring day, al-Muʿizz set out riding to a place that had been described to him as being lush with foliage and flowers, as was the road leading to it. When he left the al-Manṣūriyya gate, people thronged around him requesting their needs and presenting their issues. He continued to speak with them face to face, one individual after another and one group after another, talking and discussing with them, until he arrived at the place that had been described to him. He left the place while he was thus engaged; his eyes had not set upon what he had come to see, except to cast a brief glance. Yet he was not exasperated by the peoples’ behaviour. Those of us who were around him were vexed for him. His footmen were dispersing the people but he ordered them to let them come close. Many of them continued their discussion with

229 End of Majālis extract, pp. 212. 230 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 259

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him, repeating their requests. Those who were around him instructed [the people] to leave. Some of them winked at him with the intention of providing relief and so that he would look at what he came for. He restrained them and ordered those who had come to continue speaking until they had finished making their requests and left of their own volition. That was his habit during most of his outings and I have never known or heard of anyone who has been described as being as forbearing as he was.’231 [Al-Nuʿmān said]:232 One day I was present in the audience of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. He spoke for a little while and then he said to one of his servants, ‘Prepare the bath.’ The servant replied, ‘Yes’. Al-Muʿizz sat for a long while and I was certain that he had earlier instructed its preparation. Then he called for his horse which he rode while we accompanied him on foot to the bathhouse in the palace. He dismounted so as to enter the bath but found that the door was locked and the bath was unprepared. He asked for the key but it was missing. He stood waiting for a long time, yet he did not rebuke, nor show signs of anger, nor say anything about it. He asked for a chair, sat on it and began conversing until the key was brought and the bath was prepared; then he stood up and entered. Through all this he remained calm and did not get agitated. The servant who claimed that he had prepared the bath was standing in front of him. I was incensed with him and with the one who was to have prepared the bath.233 Among what al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad reports of the clemency, patience and generosity of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, is that he said: One day al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh mentioned an astrologer who had come to him from the Maghrib. The Commander of the Faithful presented him with a house, clothes, a riding animal and gifts. He also stipulated a salary for him as he had travelled from afar to come to him. However, the astrologer only stayed a short while before he sought permission to leave, which was granted. This surprised us. One day, while I was with al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, he said to me, ‘Shall I tell you the reason for his departure?’ I said, ‘The Commander of the Faithful may do so if he so wishes.’

231 End of Majālis extract, p. 259. 232 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 210 233 End of Majālis extract, p. 210.

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Al-Muʿizz said, ‘When this man came to us and began benefiting from our bounty, he was envied by one of his astrologer colleagues, who sought to discredit us. He mentioned a certain date of birth to him and said, ‘What do you forecast for a person who was born on this date?’ The astrologer replied, ‘I see ill-fortune engulfing him. His days are undoubtedly numbered.’ The colleague rejoined, ‘He is your host, the one whom you approached. This is his birth date.’ Al-Muʿizz said, ‘He was referring to us by this. So this weak-minded person thought it better to leave with the gains he had already accrued from us, and sought our permission to do so, and as we already knew what had been said to him, we gave him permission, so he left. On his departure he presented us with a letter hinting at a request. Previously, I had ordered 200 dinars to be given to him. They had been placed in a parcel and I was about to send it to him. Then I enquired what time he had presented the letter and realised it was at an auspicious time for him. I said, ‘I do not think he acted without first investigating whether it would be a fortuitous moment for him. By God, I will falsify that for him.’ So I set it [the purse] aside for us to give it to him at a later time without him requesting it; so I put it away and he left deprived of it.’ I (al-Nuʿmān) said to him, ‘Indeed, God has bestowed His walī with patience, clemency and generosity which, in my opinion, He has granted none other.’ Al-Muʿizz replied, ‘Did I not tell you some time back about a man who was gossiping about us and explained to you what he said, and I saw your anger and fury towards him? You said to me, “I wish I would succeed in catching him red-handed so he could be punished; then I would be satisfied and my heart would be relieved”.’ I responded, ‘Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, that was so and I still feel the same way.’ Al-Muʿizz asked, ‘Do you think you could have acted and avenged in the same way as God has on our behalf?’ I enquired, ‘How is this?’ He rejoined, ‘Have you not heard his news?’ I replied, ‘By God, no.’ He continued, ‘He died three days ago as a cancerous sore infected his mouth and corroded his body and consumed him from inside out.’ I responded, ‘To God’s wrath.’ He confirmed, ‘Yes, to God’s searing Hellfire. Do you know what he alleged would befall us?’ I replied, ‘No, unless the Commander of the Faithful informs me.’ He said, ‘He pronounced his judgement on us, claiming the stars had predicted our reign would perish. However, at that very time, God made him perish by an illness which afflicted that with which he pronounced this. Do you think we could have done more than that to him? Many of those who wish us harm either by their actions or words might be asked,

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“Are you not apprehensive that al-Muʿizz will get to know of this?” They would reply, “He is forbidden to [harm] us.’” He smiled and said, ‘Yes, by God, I am forbidden to oppress and transgress. However, God will make me victorious and will avenge those who seize from me what is not theirs. By God, if I wished I could strike and attack them. However, if I did so and people came to know that I had avenged myself in that manner, then they would aggravate their wrongdoing against each other and prevail upon my mind as they prevailed over the minds of those who preceded me. Rather, I seek to ignore them, but God does not ignore what the wrongdoers do. He knows best what they conceal and what they manifest.’ I said, ‘Praise be to God who granted the Commander of the Faithful this illustrious merit, exalted him with the evident proof, bestowed on him forbearance, patience and clemency, and avenged him from the rebellious and iniquitous. Indeed the Commander of the Faithful and his predecessors are, according to the words of the most truthful of the speakers: ‘Offspring, one of the other, and God hears and knows all things’ (3:34). Then I (al-Nuʿmān) mentioned something similar234 to that which befell the deprived astrologer from whom al-Muʿizz withheld what he was going to bestow [in order to] to illustrate to him [the astrologer] what his dependence on the stars and the fortuitous hour had yielded him. This was similar to what was reported to us about (the Imam) Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad [al-Ṣādiq] that a follower (mawlā) of his had bequeathed half a house to him and the other half to another man who practised astrology. Al-Ṣādiq summoned the other man to come so that the house could be divided. However, the astrologer refused [to come] until he had chosen an hour that was fortuitous for him. He then came seeking the division, so al-Ṣādiq sent someone to do so [on his behalf]. The man returned to him, cursing astrology and said, ‘O son of the Messenger of God, I used to like a particular side of the house and I postponed the division until I had chosen my fortuitous hour, as I was certain that during that time my wish would be fulfilled. When the house was divided and the arrow was flung, you were given what I love and I was given what I hate.’ Abū ʿAbd Allāh [al-Ṣādiq] said to him, ‘If you had not thought your choice would get you what you wanted, we would have given you what you desired; indeed, we would have left it all to you. But no, by God,

234 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 77) has fīmā maḍā instead of fī mathal, rendering the translation as ‘something [that had occurred] previously’.

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you will only take that which was given to you. However, I will advise you, which if you accept, will be better for you than this which you desired.’ He [the man] asked, ‘What is that, may God ransom me for you?’ Al-Ṣādiq replied, ‘When you wake in the morning, give alms as it dispels misfortune from your day, and in the evening give alms as it repels ill fortune from your night.’ Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh smiled and said, ‘It is as he (al-Ṣādiq) said it.’

22 Reports on al-Muʿizz’s quest for knowledge The Commander of the Faithful [al-Muʿizz] directed the matters of his daʿwa and opened the gates of his knowledge and wisdom. He used to sit in person to exhort his supporters (shīʿa) and followers with lofty exhortations and instil in them learning and good action. He taught them himself and drew their young and their old close to him. The wisdom, knowledge and eloquence that he manifested was not evident in anyone else. He was distinguished in the various types of knowledge, attaining a proficiency in some areas that even the experts lacked. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad has recounted his merits, virtues and erudition which were possessed by none other than God’s proofs and awliyāʾ whom He had appointed to guide His servants, chose them for His lands, and designated them successors to the prophets and imams of the faithful. God’s support of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh was evident in the eloquence and knowledge that he manifested from the early years of his life and experience. People knew of no teacher to teach him or inspirer to inspire him except for the imam (walī Allāh) who confided his secrets in him and made him responsible after him. He imparted the knowledge of his forefathers that they had inherited from the Messenger of God, which had been revealed in his heart by the Trustworthy Spirit (al-rūḥ al-amīn).235 Even so, he coveted knowledge, avidly seeking it, augmenting it and was eager for it.

235 In a number of sayings attributed to the Imams Muḥammad al-Bāqir and Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq, the imams were said to be inspired by the ‘Holy Spirit’ (al-Rūḥ al-Qudus), by which they they are guided, protected and granted knowledge of the unseen. In subsequent Shiʿi Imāmῑ thought, the notions relating to this celestial spirit, one with Qur’anic antecedents, become integral in conceptions of the imamate. See, for example, al-Kulaynῑ, Uṣūl al-Kāfῑ, I: 327–329.

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It was reported from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān that he said:236 I heard al-Muʿizz expressing what he felt by saying, ‘By God, I find no greater bliss, comfort and yearning than in seeking knowledge. If the people of this lower world were to discover this, they would renounce everything for it. If God in His majesty had not obligated me to attend to the exoteric (ẓāhir) matters of this world, to establish support for the people and to ensure their welfare, I would have renounced that in pursuit of knowledge and reflected over it. Nonetheless, the responsibility that I have been designated with concerning the matters of this world entails considerable knowledge for those who comprehend, and a proof for those who consider and contemplate.’237 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān narrated a similar report regarding Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. He said:238 One day while I was accompanying al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh to attend to a matter, something was mentioned concerning knowledge which had been discussed previously. He said: I came across something similar a few nights ago and I know a work that discusses the issue, so I sent for it. However, the one who was to bring the book did not know its location. So I went in person to the library and opened some trunks. I began searching for that work in the place where I reckoned it should be. That was in the early evening. I leafed through the books. Every time I came across a text and thumbed through it, I saw something I wished to examine. Then another text would pass my hands and the same thing would happen. I continued standing, leafing through one text after another. So engrossed was I in what I was doing that I did not think to sit down. Only when it was midnight did I become aware of my prolonged standing after I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I left, and when I awoke [the next morning] the pain was still afflicting my leg.239

I (al-Nuʿmān) said, ‘By God, my master, this is the [true] yearning for knowledge, a longing the likeness of which has not been mentioned of anyone preceding the Commander of the Faithful; so may God

236 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 94 237 End of Majālis extract, p. 94. 238 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 533 239 This episode is also recounted in Heinz Halm, The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning (London, 1997), p. 91.

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felicitate him for what He has granted him, and bless him with it.’ He bowed his head in humility and murmured some words that I did not understand.240 This is the narration of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad. The record of the imams from the progeny of the Messenger of God is wellknown and their distinction is apparent. Everything that is said in the reports on them and on their legacy bears testimony to their excellence, and their elevated status in enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and in exhorting and reminding the believers, and of their wholesome words, and their worship of God, while being pious in this world and mindful of the hereafter, transmitting the knowledge of the Messenger and his waṣī. This is unlike the record and account of the Umayyads and the Abbasids, which consists of playing the mandolin, backbiting, reviving falsehood, eradicating the established path (sunna), expressing innovations, and merry-making with singing maids.

23 Reasons for enmity towards the imams Indeed, the slanderers slander them and the proponents assert claims to weaken the awliyāʾ Allāh, being covetous and envious of them, denying the distinction that God has granted them of resplendent nobility and illustrious, elevated stature, because they restrain the people from their vile habits and from their propensity to yearn for things that are forbidden by the true law. For that reason they avert from them, harbour enmity towards them, fabricate grave falsehood and say abominable things about them. The one who is just in his speech and uses his reason would find that they have great merit and distinguished status with God, and he would believe in God and in them. Thus he would submit to God and give obedience to Him according to what He has made incumbent. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān reported from the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, saying:241 One day, I [al-Nuʿmān] heard al-Muʿizz say in a gathering, ‘If I were to seek the approval of people I would achieve it in the easiest manner for them. However, this, if you must know, would hurtle them to Hellfire.’ It was asked of him, ‘What is that, O Commander of the Faithful?’ Al-Muʿizz replied:

240 End of Majālis extract, p. 533. 241 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 92.

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Allowing them to indulge in their lusts, to permit them – and we seek refuge in God [from this], to drink alcohol publicly, commit adultery and sodomy, and revel in merriment and music as the prominent, presentday kings do themselves. They permit this to those whom they conquer. Had we allowed that we would hear nothing but praise and gratitude. However, God has entrusted us with their affairs and has made it incumbent upon us to reform them, and to accept and assist those of them who turn to us, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil to them. We wish their salvation from Hellfire, yet they are resentful of us. We wish their entry into Paradise, yet they detest this of us.

A man who was present in the audience mentioned the Umayyad usurpers in Andalusia, that they and their subjects drink wine and sell it openly in their markets, freely amuse themselves with youths and publicly commit adultery. Indeed, their women’s prison is open to anyone who wishes to come, approach the guards, choose a woman that he desires, and for each woman there is a set price, and upon payment for the woman of his choice, he would openly fornicate with her in many forbidden ways. He went on to mention those. Al-Muʿizz responded: This is what we have previously mentioned. We know that reforming the manifest facets (ẓāhir) of the people and winning their hearts [towards it]242 is much easier and more attainable than reforming and inclining them to the belief and upholding the truth, because truth is bitter, except to a few. The people from past and present time have hated us for nothing else but this. Had it not been for ʿAlī upholding the truth for all people and refusing to condone any aspect of it by being lenient or turning a blind eye to it, no one would have been inclined to Muʿāwiya, and aligned with him against ʿAlī. Permissiveness regarding falsehood, leniency towards the truth, injustice, attachment to the world, abandoning the enjoining of good and the forbidding of evil, failure to establish God’s rights and legal punishments (ḥudūd) which He decreed to be established, all these were factors responsible for the usurpation of the Umayyads in the first place. To this day they adhere to it, whereas we have held on to the truth, which according to the common people, is our limitation. By God, no, we will not

242 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 83) includes the word bihā which is absent in Ya‘lāwī’s text.

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24 Naval encounters with the Umayyads Amongst what al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad related was that:244 The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz, was informed that when an Umayyad ship sailing from the East arrived between Sicily and Ifrīqiya, it passed by an island where it unexpectedly met another vessel which had a group of people from Sicily heading for Ifrīqiya. On board the vessel was also a letter from the Governor of Sicily to the Commander of the Faithful.245 The Andalusians246 feared that they would be reported [to al-Muʿizz], so they took the helm and seized some of their merchandise. Among these was the sack containing a letter from the governor of Sicily. They abandoned the boat and its passengers on the island, where they remained stranded until another ship sailed by which they boarded and conveyed the news. The Commander of the Faithful was angered and ordered a naval fleet to set sail. He enlisted land and sea conscripts for the fleet and appointed Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, the governor of Sicily,247 as its commander in 343/954.

243 End of Majālis extract, p. 93. 244 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 164. 245 Sicily was important in the two-pronged Fatimid struggle in the Mediterranean against the Umayyads of Spain and the Byzantines. After Nicephorus Phocas invaded Crete in 349/960 and the island fell under Byzantine control, al-Muʿizz ordered Fatimid forces to move against Byzantine strongholds in Sicily. Taormina was captured by Aḥmad b. Ḥasan al-Kalbī in 351/962 and in 352/963 his cousin, Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār, laid siege to Rametta. Late in 353/964, a Byzantine fleet arrived at Reggio and an army marched on Rametta. It was defeated by a force led by Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār and one of its two commanders, Manuel Phocas, was killed. The other Byzantine commander, Nicetas, was captured soon after and spent two years in Fatimid custody in relative comfort. For more details see Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 240–242. 246 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 84) has the addition asḥāb al-amawī, rendering the translation as ‘the Andalusian peoples of the Umayyad [amīr]’. 247 Al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī’l-Ḥusayn was the third governor of Sicily from the al-Kalbī family. He ruled twice, from 336 to 341/947–953 and then from 353

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He ordered him to pursue the ship wherever it was, and even if it had reached Andalusia he was not to abandon it until he had torched it. The commander was unable to reach the ship until it docked in al-Mariyya (Almeria),248 the Andalusian harbour, which was the hub for building and directing the Umayyad ships and fleet, as well as its arsenal. News reached the Umayyad [ruler]249 that a fleet was approaching his ship, so he prepared his army and equipped his ships with men, weapons and supplies. Ḥasan b. ʿAlī arrived with his ships which had limited supplies as he was only sent to pursue one ship. However, God aided His walī and granted him victory. Ḥasan b. ʿAlī and his men defeated the Umayyad fleet, torched it and reduced it to ashes. The men from the fleet disembarked and advanced to al-Mariyya, which they subjugated. He burnt and pillaged and killed those who offered resistance.250 All the Umayyad men were defeated and all their ships, equipment, provisions and weapons were burned and their stores were plundered. Those who could flee

to 359/964–970. He has been mentioned a number of times earlier in the ʿUyūn (pp. 264 and 469 in particular). The incident referred to here is reported in al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, under the year 344/956 (trans., p. 234), and Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar wa diwān al-mubtada’ wa’l-khabar fī ta’rikh al-‘arab wa al-barbar wa man ‘āsarahum min dhawī al-sha‘n l-akbar (Beirut, 1956–1961), IV: 46, among other sources. This contradicts the date 343/955 given here, which was added by Idrīs in a note and not reported from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān. Later, Idrīs mentions the date of the fleet’s return as 24 Rabiʿ I 344/18 July 955, which is not mentioned in the Majālis, p. 165. On the dynastic rule of the Kalbids over Sicily, see Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 320–321, 361–363, 399. 248 A town on the south-eastern Spanish coast founded by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III in 344/955 to strengthen his Mediterranean defences against the Fatimids in Tunisia. Its Arabic name ‘al-Mariyya’, meaning ‘the watchtower’, refers to the renowned Moorish castle Alcazaba. (J. Bosch-Vilà, ‘al-Mariyya’, EI2). The episode of Ḥasan b. ʿAlī’s raid on Almeria is also related in al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis, pp. 164–165; Ibn al-Athīr, ʿIzz al-Dīn Abu’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī. al-Kāmil fi’l ta’rikh, ed. C. J. Tornberg (Leiden, 1851–1876), VI: 349; and E. Lévi-Provençal, Histoire de l’Espagne musulmane (Paris, 1950–1953), II: 108, as noted by by Haji, Iftitāḥ, trans., p. 234, n. 410. 249 ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh was the first Umayyad amīr to claim the caliphate (r. 300–350/912–961), a century and a half after the establishment of Umayyad rule in Spain, following the Fatimid claim some 20 years earlier. His rule was spent in struggles against the Byzantines and the Fatimids, whilst also securing the internal stability of his state. See E. LeviProvençal, ‘ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III’, EI2, and Histoire, II. 250 The last part of this sentence is not in the Majālis, p. 165.

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did so. Those who stayed back and surrendered were left unharmed, while those inhabitants who had fought them from the outset were killed. The ship that had originally transgressed was set alight among others. That is all that the Commander of the Faithful had ordered them to do. They departed victorious, safe and unharmed. They arrived on Friday when six days remained in Rabīʿ I 343/18 July 955. Calamity befell the Umayyad and havoc was wreaked in his lands, causing him great consternation. He assembled ships and mobilised all his men along with those in his lands who were known for their spite. The following year he sent forth a fleet after he had written to the Byzantine oppressor seeking his assistance.251 He preceded his request with gifts, which his messengers delivered. The Byzantine Emperor responded by sending a fleet from Constantinople under the command of the Domesticos,252 which met up with the Umayyad ships from Andalusia.

25 Naval encounters with the Byzantines The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, congregated his awliyāʾ and informed them of this, and [told them] that the Byzantines had sought an accord on the condition that there would be no hostilities against them over a long period. He asked them, ‘What do you make of this?’ They replied, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, you are superior to us. We think that you should sign the accord with the Byzantines. Then that is taken care of and we can focus our total attention on them (i.e., the Umayyads).’ Al-Muʿizz responded, ‘God forbid. I would not initiate anything other than what God has ordered. God, blessed be His name, has said, “O

251 This is the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, ‘al-Farfūrī’, son of Leo VI (293–348/905–59). During his reign the Byzantines conquered Germanicea on the eastern frontier in 339/949 and crossed the Euphrates in 342/952. See Arnold Toynbee, Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World (Oxford, 1973); and on Fatimid–Byzantine relations during this time, Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 220–244. 252 Domesticos was a military title for the commander of the Byzantine army. The Emperor had two Domesticos at this time, one for the eastern and the other for the western regions. The Domesticos here referred to is Nicephorus Phocas who subsequently became the Emperor (see note 23 above).

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Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and so be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, an evil refuge indeed” (9:73). He also said, “O you who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about” (9:123). They (the Byzantines) are closer to us and it is sufficient for us that God supports us against the deviant Umayyads who seek aid from the polytheists against their brothers in religion, and that they join them and become part of their coalition. That should be sufficient shame and humiliation for them in this world and in the hereafter.’253 He sent ʿAmmār b. ʿAlī b. Abī’l-Ḥusayn at the head of a sizeable force. He landed in Sicily where he secured a victory against the Byzantines and sunk many of their vessels. That was in the year 345/956. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, left al-Manṣūriyya and headed for al-Mahdiyya after he had mobilised the Kutāma and the people of Ifrīqiya into armies whose [numbers] would fill the heavens and whose banners were unfurled in the skies. The strength [of the army] was impressive and its supplies prominent. When he reached al-Mahdiyya, he ordered for the fleet to be prepared, for which he selected the bravest and the most heroic warriors and chose the strongest and most experienced people who were fearless of all danger. He appointed his slave and secretary Jawhar254 and Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, the governor of Sicily, to command the troops. He sent off the fleet with orders to place troops in every port en-route to Andalusia.255 The Byzantine fleet encountered that of the the Commander of the Faithful in Sicily. Then the Umayyad fleet arrived to join that of the polytheists. God supported His walī against the Byzantines who were defeated at sea after they had engaged in a great battle against the forces of the Commander of the Faithful, a sanguine battle in which a great many of the Byzantines were killed or drowned. They fled from the

253 End of Majālis extract, p. 165. 254 On Commander Jawhar, see note 30 above. 255 Idrīs’ narrative here is different from that of al-Nuʿmān in that he adds the name of Jawhar as the commander of the fleet. There is no mention of any naval campaign led by Jawhar in the sources except by Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Amāl al-ʿālām, tr. Raphaela C. Castralo (Madrid, 1983), vol. 3, p. 32, which states that al-Qāʾim prepared a fleet to send to Genoa led by Jawhar. Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (6:249) mentions the Genoa campaign under the year 323/959 but does not name Jawhar.

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fleet of the Commander of the Faithful to Majāzariyya256 to protect their land. So the latter pursued them, confronted them at sea, defeated and dispersed them. The Commander of the Faithful’s armies reached their lands and killed many of them, burning their towns and destroying their churches; they achieved the pinnacle in punishing the enemy. Al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar al-Anṣārī257 said in his history: ‘The Byzantines were killed so ignominiously that no one had heard of a similar defeat except at the Battle of Yarmūk258 against the Byzantines in Syria, near Tiberius.’ The Umayyad fleet arrived at some Maghribī port, which was deserted and had few provisions. They anchored there hoping to achieve a feat that would assuage those whom they had left behind. However, the inhabitants of these regions attacked and killed many of them. They pursued them to the sea where an even larger number were drowned than had been killed. They looted their weapons and displayed them along with the heads of those who had been killed. The Andalusians heard the reports concerning the Byzantines, so they left, defeated and dejected. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, received the message while he was strolling amongst a large legion. He dismounted off his horse and fell into prostration to God, in gratitude and humility, covering his noble face with earth. Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ al-Andalūsī al-Azdī composed a qasīda (ode) describing the conquest and defeat of the Domesticos and the Christian Byzantines who were killed with him,

256 Corresponding to the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily and the tip of Calabria in southern Italy. The city of Messina itself came under Muslim rule in 228/842 and remained so until the arrival of the Normans in the mid5th/11th century. C. Wickham, Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400–1000 (London, 1981). 257 Little is known about this author. Ya‘lāwī (Taʾrīkh, p. 486) notes that Idrīs has quoted him four times in theʿUyūn. He also states that this cannot be al-Ḥusayn b. Idrīs al-Anṣārī as he died before al-Muʿizz’s migration to Egypt. Ya‘lāwī further notes that the quotations of al-Anṣārī seem to be interposed on Idrīs’ text or are generally only contained in the margins and subsequently incorporated into the published editions. 258 The decisive defeat of Heraclius’ army by the Muslims near the river Yarmūk in 12/636 marked a significant moment in Muslim expansion outside Arabia, thus enabling Arab rule to extend into Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia. See Fred M. Donner, The Early Islamic Conquests (Princeton, 1981), pp. 130–146; W. E. Kaegi, Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests (Cambridge, 1995), pp. 112–145; and C. E. Bosworth, ‘Yarmūk’, EI2.

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the arrival of the message, and the praise [offered by] al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh.259 A day extensive and lengthy in pride wherein stands an endless array of brilliance and ornament,260 [A day] that dispels the darkened horizon and makes good261 a sickly age.262 With this [day] the frontier fortifications of Syria have wiped away their tears after they had drenched the soil shedding them.263 With this [day] a king, who fulfils [and lives up to] the words of noblemen, has removed the darknesses of religion and of this world, Unveiling his ‘Alid resoluteness that makes disbelief ring out and howl [in fear]. For if ships could not be loaded with his armies, they certainly carried his resolutions effusively and acceptingly, And if a sword’s edge could not pierce [through the enemy], the revelation would cut off the heads [of his enemy] by his very hand. A king has received from the farthest reaches of his frontiers the news of leaders of states, [states] that will now turn to his possession. A good tiding which fugitive nights have borne: the most promising of endeavours is the one that comes fleeing with a load.

259 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, p. 256. See note 21 above. 260 The language here is rich in polyvalence, especially in the phrase ghurar wa-ḥujūl. The root gh-r-r refers to whiteness and brilliance, often used to describe a white patch on a horse’s forehead, but also refers to the foremost aspect of something. The term ḥijl refers to an anklet but also to a white-footed horse. Thus the image is that of brilliance from head to toe that subsumes the arrayed forces of al-Muʿizz on the day of victory. 261 Lit., it becomes healthy’ (ṣaḥḥa, yaṣuḥḥu). 262 Here ʿalīl can also be connected through its secondary sense of ‘pleasant’ (when it refers to air), to the day of victory which itself cured a diseased age, that is, the era prior to the victory of al-Muʿizz. 263 This line is in reference to the thughūr of Syria, which in this period had come under increasing attack from the Byzantines. See note 142 above.

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The Founder of Cairo Deputations bring this [news of victory]; yet to repeat it would not be hard, nor is its bearer wearied. Their lips were well-nigh met with moistened greetings and kisses before hearing [the news of the victory]. The bearer of the good tidings unveils the light of a caliph’s joy across whose face flows the essence264 of guidance. By God, how excellent was the sight of the one who saw his (al-Muʿizz’s) humbleness when he received [the news from] the post-horse of the defeated host, And [the sight of] his prostration when his forehead, his ornaments and the crown met the sand of the earth! The might of the caliphal title, the augustness, the glory, his veneration and exaltation did not prevent him [from that prostration]; Submissive and modest amidst the parades [of soldiers], while the earth is humbled and bends under [the weight of] such augustness. Seek then that soil, for verily it has been imbued with the musk of his breaths. This [act of prostration] shall become for the imams265 after you a customary way of giving thanks, the like of which can never be changed. Whosoever’s sincerity is like his (al-Muʿizz’s) shall never be incapacitated by any procrastination or haste when in difficulty. Had the Byzantines seen you on that day they would have known that God was guardian of what you desired. Would that I knew what they would be saying if they knew this about you. They would dearly wish that that were never true, but every one of them is verily bereaved by the loss of a beloved one. That shall lead them to [see] the one of [true] resolve, in whom resides neither surrender nor defeat. You are the one who shall inherit their lands, as verily as this earth is auspicious and the prostration [you made] is proof.

264 Lit., ‘the water’, in keeping with the imagery of kisses and moistened lips. 265 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 90) has fi’l a’imma rather than li’la’imma, rendering the translation ‘in the imams’.

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Say to the Domesticos, gatherer of those hosts who hardly launched a spear or an arrow for him: ‘Ask Manuel’s men, for you exposed him to danger, in which battle did Manuel meet his final resting place? ‘He prevented the soldiers from turning back home in retreat – may he perish retreating [as he did] with his evil deeds! ‘Do not speak lies, for every piece of news communicated to you that gladdens is verily wrong. ‘And if you decide that the situation has turned out the opposite of its intended goal then that decision had deviated from intelligence. ‘Your decision was certainly misguided in battle and ever are the decisions of armfuls of men misguided. ‘You sent the fleet bearing arms but the fleet itself ended up rewarding us with [its] armour. ‘You cast into the throats of jungle lions what was left – a quarry consumed. He (Manuel) rendered unto us what you (Domesticos) had gathered [of fighting men], then folded into the sea – a vanquished coward.

Until where he (Ibn Hāniʾ) says: In that which the Domesticos had coveted by war, God possessed a brandished sharp sword. Its land is no Aleppo, nor its expanses Egypt, nor is its gulf the breadth of the Nile. O would that Heraclius had appeared therein so that he might fold [in defeat], while disgrace and obscurity befell [his] commander! So let the infidels know with sure knowledge that the Cross has been subdued while you have acquired power. And let them worship other than the Messiah,266 for after that [defeat] the religion of monks can no longer offer any hope [of future victory].

266 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 92) has rabb al-masīḥ, ‘let them worship the Lord of the Messiah’, instead of ghayr al-masīḥ, ‘other than the Messiah’.

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The Founder of Cairo What was that [scene of defeat] which the captured [soldiers] testified to [by their very capture], where the tyrant is ridiculed by the hopelessly misguided one?267 They [the captives] have become free from Islam [but] under its swords; surely they should put their trust in patience, a virtue. They followed the way of heretics, but after this there can be no way to live.

Until Ibn Hāniʾ says, in praise of the Commander of the Faithful: Whoso seeks guidance in a caliph other than al-Muʿizz [shall know that] verily guidance in [any] other than him is but misguidance. He [is the one] to whose merit the Qurʾan bears witness, [something] confirmed by the Torah and the Gospels. It is possible to describe him except that likeness and images do not apply [to him]. For people in comparison to him are like accidents borne by him, an essential substance. Eyes cast themselves toward him268 looking, but when they then issue forth they are thinking. I plunged myself headlong into him and failed to understand him, but to my innermost conscience he is intelligible. Each of the imams from among your ancestors [O al-Muʿizz] is excellent but when you are singled out then every one of them is surpassed in merit [by you]. Stand proud, for when your kin is numbered, Paradise counts among them and you are descended from the noble revelation. I deem mankind nonsense whereas you are a truth: a known cannot equal an unknown. All of creation bears witness to your exaltedness; verily, [the testimony of all] creation is an acceptable testimony. Proof of God is in His handiwork among us; you are proof of that proof.

267 The tyrant being the Emperor and the latter his Domesticos. 268 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 93) has ʿalayhī, ‘upon him’, instead of ilayhī.

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He (Ibn Hāniʾ) also said in praise of al-Muʿizz and mentions the failure of the Umayyads:269 Are the tears of this rain pearls or [just rain-] drops? How beautiful it would be if one could catch them. Between the clouds and the winds rages a bloody battle, [like] the clatter of arms and blades clashing in the air. It is as though it were a wrathful person who is quickly satisfied, but then neither his satisfaction lasts nor his wrath. Spring has given us a lush untouched paradise, the scent of which effuses as camphor does from a [lady’s] scent box. There are heavy clouds in all corners of the sky, cleaving and clumped, from which a straight downpour descends. It is as though its [broken] showers from every side were a flood of water that rises then subsides. Lightning shows its head with a flashing glow, executing its excessive decrees against the clouds. There are two ropes long and short for day and night; they retract from us and then extend.270 The earth strews leaves across the face of the soil, just as plains are stretched out along its edges. Winds send forth fragrant breaths like perfume mixed with rosewater. It is as though these were the breaths of al-Muʿizz emanating; its moistness271 cannot be doubted or mistaken. By God, if the stars272 were like him, there would not befall this world any misery or despair. With the light of its [new] beginning, this age has unveiled for us a reign without weakness or failure.

269 Ibn Hāni’, Dīwān, pp. 184–187. 270 The description is of the alternating light and dark effect of the storm clouds. 271 The term nadā also means generosity. Much of this description of the rain (ghayth, related to the term ghawth, relief, assistance) is meant as a metaphor for al-Muʿizz. 272 This is used to convey a sense of fate or fortune.

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The Founder of Cairo Such that there has come to power over mankind a king whose very reign has been adorned with [great] possessions273 and powers. He has marked out for himself a station above the brilliant stars to which no possession can come near or be compared to.274 An imam of justice in every aspect just as they have decreed and required in a just imam. By virtue of his excellence he stands apart from what has been and what is yet to unfold, just like a necklace whose centre is [always] more excellent than its edges. He shall not grow delighted in amassing wealth, nor shall he end up in this world exultant [with its adornments]. In fact, he is the contrary of what the envious one presumes about him, and above the fate of the exaggerator or the easy-going one. The raging fingers of his vanquishing hand can reduce the deluge of all of the seas of the earth if they were to converge [upon him]. A countenance connected to the very substance of the water of [God’s] throne,275 [being] of stock (lit. ‘vein’) attached to the pure magnificence [of God]. A sun276 whose rising points are brimming with the truth, neither tyranny nor transgression can find their way towards it. His sword brandished in a right hand of victory scares away lions from their hiding places.

273 The word amlāk here also suggests that all kings are now subservient to him. 274 There is extensive paronomasia here. The poet plays on the sense of khaṭṭa, ‘to demarcate’, as in a plot of land on which then a person builds his property, signifying possessions (harkening back to the amlāk of the previous line). In other words, whatever status any person has, it cannot be compared to that of al-Muʿizz. 275 A hyperbole indicating al-Muʿizz’s sublime status and proximity to the Divine, since God’s ʿarsh is described in the Qur’ān (11:7) as being ‘upon the water (ʿalā al-mā’)’. 276 Standing alone, the phrase shamsun mina’l-Ḥaqq denotes ‘a sun from God’, i.e., a powerful source of truth sent by God.

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The Umayyads have been frustrated in what they sought from him (al-Muʿizz), just as hair combs are frustrated by a bald man’s head. Enraged, they sought the stars from the lowest earth through deception, but they ended up far away from the reach of their goals.277 Moreover, the Criterion (i.e., the Qurʾan) has discriminated between the two of you in the manner that satisfaction is distinct from wrath. You (al-Muʿizz) are not like other people – [in this respect] even ʿUrqūb278 is noble – while [they] seek the place where the crown and the earrings are. Yet I am not complaining to myself about love of you, for in my innermost heart [they] are an impure279 company. O you who are the most excellent from among all peoples, Arabs and non-Arabs, and from among the young and old of the family of Aḥmad (i.e., Muḥammad). May this victory be salubrious, not because I heard of it nor am I presuming upon the will of God, But I am optimistic, and fate has a way of being victorious; God extends hopes [for us], and thus in turn they are extended [to us]. I only request something which has been requested from the imam by the energetic racers, From atop a black horse whose destination cannot be overtaken, [not even] by a star plunging headlong from the sun’s horizon, As it is egged on by a rider whose ways have become constrained, waning, grey hairs in his beard. Verily, if kings were brought together and compared to you, you are a sea of plenty, they mere drops.

277 Or ‘from the ranges of their (the stars’) summits’, the ‘stars’ being the Fatimids. 278 One who represents the proverbial liar and deceiver. 279 As opposed to the pure lineage of the Fatimids.

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The Byzantine Emperor sent large sums of money and spectacular gifts to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh.280 He requested that those Byzantines who were in the region of Calabria281 could remain there in lieu of a sum of money for each person, the payment of jizya (poll tax) to the Commander of the Faithful and the release of Muslim prisoners in the East. The Commander of the Faithful deemed this [arrangement]to be beneficial for the faith and for the Muslims particularly as God had empowered and strengthened him and through it relieved his heart and that of the believers.282 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said:283 The envoy who came to al-Muʿizz was one of the Byzantine patriarchs and a nobleman, a messenger from their tyrant, the ruler of Constantinople, with a personal commitment to pay jizya for the inhabitants of the Calabria region. He came bearing a large number of gifts including gold and silver vessels studded with jewels, silk and brocade, and among them other articles that were precious, and a letter from the sender offering submission to the Commander of the Faithful, beseeching him to cease fighting and seeking peace. He also sent a large number of released prisoners from the East, which no previous Byzantine oppressor had ever sent to any of the Maghribī rulers nor to any of the imams prior to al-Muʿizz. No Byzantine tyrants had ever paid land tax or jizya on his kingdom’s people to anyone else. The envoy kissed the ground several times in front of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh and stood before him. He conveyed a message and then gave him his letter. He then sought permission to present the gifts in his presence, which was after he had delivered the jizya revenue to the Governor of Sicily according to the customary terms. The Commander of the Faithhful granted him permission and accepted the gifts. They exceeded what the Byzantine tyrant had previously sent. His letter requested a permanent treaty in lieu of the payment of the land tax and jizya on the people of Calabria, and suggested that he would send a messenger to finalise this and to fulfil what is required of someone like him who is seeking al-Muʿizz’s affection and satisfaction.

280 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 167. 281 Calabria, the southernmost region in Italy, marked the frontier between Byzantine rule and the Muslim rulers of Sicily in the 4th/10th century. Cf. U. Rizzatino, ‘Ḳillawriya’, EI2. 282 End of Majālis extract, p. 167. 283 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 367.

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Al-Muʿizz responded to the envoy that the faith and the law forbade his seeking a permanent treaty as God had sent Muḥammad as His messenger and appointed the imams from his progeny to summon the people to His religion, to fight the opponents until they submit or pay the jizya voluntarily and submissively, and obey the authority of the imam of the Muslim people and enter into his protection (dhimma). The truce can only be permitted for a limited period of time according to what the imam of the Muslims considers best for them and for the religion. Were the treaty to be permanent, the jihād obligatory on the believers would be falsified, and the call to Islam would be severed and the orders of the Book would be annulled. Al-Muʿizz apprised him that a person of his king’s stature, who had sent him, ought not to be oblivious of the fact that this is the religious duty of the one he is corresponding with and addressing, and that he should not request for things that transgress the religious duty of that person. Al-Nuʿmān said, ‘The infidel acknowledged this on his sender’s behalf and requested an extension of the peace treaty on his behalf.’ Al-Muʿizz responded [to the envoy], ‘We have already mentioned our answer to this in our letter,284 that so long as he complies with the conditions that we have stipulated and fulfils what he has promised to do for us, we will not commence hostilities against him, unless we terminate his treaty, or until after the period of the treaty between us has ended. ‘We do not deceive and betray like you deceive and betray.’ Then, he mentioned a number of things they had done. The envoy apologised to him on his king’s behalf and said that he had been unaware of these matters, that he condemned them and had sought the perpetrators but was unable to find them. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz, continued: If the matter is as you describe it, that your king’s orders are contravened and he is incapable of subjugating those of his countrymen who oppose him, then what is the advantage of having a treaty with him when he is weak and vanquished? How would you and him regard my agreement

284 This is apparently the second time that the same envoy had been sent to al-Muʿizz. See al-Nu‘mān, Majālis, p. 386; Farhat Dachraoui, Le Califat Fatimid au Maghreb (296–365 H./909–975 Jc.) (Tunis, 1981), pp. 243, 250, as cited in Ya‘lāwī, Taʾrīkh, p. 592. The embassy referred to here is that of 358/969, during the time of the Domesticos Nicephorus Phocas. The first embassy was during the time of Constantine the seventh.

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The Founder of Cairo to a treaty with him on the premise that I form a pact with those people from the East who are not part of my kingdom and who challenge him, such as Ibn Ḥamdān285 and others? If they renounce from what they have pledged then there would be no treaty between him and me. As for those who are within my kingdom and under my obedience, you and he know that they have more propensity than your co-religionists and your countrymen to be diffident and treacherous, if they so chose. Have you or he heard of a single one of them opposing what I have ordered or questioning any aspect of it?

The infidel acknowledged this and affirmed the stature of the walī Allāh, requesting and beseeching him. Al-Muʿizz refrained from responding to this. Instead, he began to ask at length about the relations between them, the people of Ṭarsūs and Ibn Ḥamdān,286 seeking information on their wars and interactions. All that while, the infidel was replying to what was being asked from him. The people at court glanced at each other wondering about the purpose of the questions and the conversation that ensued. Then the infidel reverted to seeking his king’s request for al-Muʿizz to send an envoy to his court. He mentioned the successive envoys that had been sent to him and his ancestors ever since God had granted them authority. However, no envoy had been sent either from him or them to the Byzantine king. Al-Muʿizz responded: No one sends an envoy to another person except for seeking the fulfilment of a need from him or because matters compel him to do so. By the grace of God, we are not aware of any need that we have from your master, nor are we obliged to him. So why would we send an envoy? By God, this is so unless the matter concerns religion, in which case it is incumbent upon us to send a messenger and to negotiate about it, and that is permissible in his religion. However, we suspect that he would be too haughty for this. If we were to send a message concerning this and we were assured that he

285 This refers to the Ḥamdānid Sayf al-Dawla. See note 25 above. 286 Ṭarsūs is a city in the Mersin province of present-day Turkey, situated at the mouth of the Berdan River, which flows into the Mediterranean. Its location meant that it long functioned as a centre of trade in the region. Upon the Fatimid arrival in Egypt, Ṭarsūs was in the hands of the Ḥamdanids. C. E. Bosworth, ‘Ṭarsūs’, EI2.

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would respond to it, it would facilitate our despatch of the envoy as per his request and yours on his behalf. If that were not for the sake of God and His religion, we would not do so, and it is not incumbent upon us to do so, unless we are certain that he will respond, because we do not consider that we should ask for any matter, even if it were for God, if we might be humiliated. Were that to happen, it would lead to severe repercussions for him. We do not oblige you to respond on his behalf or to take a decision for him, for you are not obliged to do that nor is it incumbent upon you. However, we shall order that you relay what we wish to be conveyed to him. So depart and inform him about it for this is an important matter. Once you learn with certainty that he will respond, inform us on his behalf. This will facilitate our sending an envoy to him. If this were concerning worldly matters and all that it entails, it will be difficult for us to send a messenger to him. Conversely, if it is for God and for seeking His recompense, it is easy for us and, in fact, incumbent upon us to do so.

The wretched one recognised the profoundness of the Commander of the Faithful’s words. He thanked and praised him to the extent of uttering what amounts to infidelity and association with God, which is in his [the envoy’s] creed. Al-Muʿizz rejected this and was submissive to God as it behoves him to be. He apprised him that his words were unacceptable even though his intentions were to exalt him and that this was permissible in his view. Then he ordered him to return to his residence, which he had arranged for him and the envoy did so. Thereafter, al-Muʿizz turned to those who were in the audience as if he knew what was in their hearts. He said: Some of you may be wondering why I asked at length about their relationship with the people of the East? We were not merely wishing to engage him in conversation. However, I knew that he was a messenger who had been instructed on what he was to say and had been briefed about what he should answer according to what his sender thought he would be asked. So we approached him about matters concerning that which we knew he had not been instructed, and on which his sender did not expect him to be questioned, until we had extracted from him our evidence against him in such and such ways.’

He mentioned many of these ways, which we had heard during the conversation but were unaware of these being proofs until he mentioned

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them. Then we realised that they were firm proofs which were imperceptible to any of those who were present until he had mentioned and explained them. They kissed the ground before him and expressed their happiness for the support, wisdom and knowledge that God had granted him. This was after al-Muʿizz had sought their thoughts on the conversation that had taken place between him and the messenger, and [asked] for their views on his purpose in doing so, without any of them having realised why. Then al-Muʿizz asked them if what they had heard from him would constitute an argument which would support him against the sender. None of them knew. Thereafter, al-Muʿizz said what we have mentioned previously.287 These are the words of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān according to what was confirmed and reported from him. Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ al-Maghribī composed the following, commending the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, noting the presence of the Byzantine envoys who had come imploring for a treaty.288 Indeed she289 visited us by night under the stillness of the stars, some among the tribesmen awake, while we were keep-

ing night vigil. The gleaming dawn had hastened her pace and [you could see] a beam of its light in the last moments of the night. She journeyed [towards us] unadorned, angry for the pearls alone, for neither the throat nor the neck knew what had befallen them. It was not long before pendants and necklaces from the string of my tears adorned her chest. The white gazelle was not up for amorous talk, the fruits of her tree close by as she reclined upon a soft couch and looked around For a better one, arranging her hair as she inclined towards her mates and turned away [from them]. Has she not been told that we have become too old for youthful desire, wasted [as we are], and that this is a new age?

287 End of Majālis extract, p. 370. 288 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, p. 96. 289 This refers to the Byzantine delegation (sifāra, fem.). The first seven lines of the qaṣīda observe the classic poetic convention of describing the female beloved’s night visit.

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O would that old age remain and would that I had not said, choking in anguish, ‘I wish I were young again!’ I have never seen the like of me, one without endurance, nor the like of my eyes, restless, Nor the like of these nights that inspire no confidence, nor pretty girls who keep no promises, Nor the like of al-Muʿizz, the son of the Prophet, as a caliph to whose clear merit God is witness, Nor is it right to reckon the stars of the heaven when one reckons with his fathers and ancestors. His swords, those whose blades are unsheathed, to this day have not known their scabbards. And among his steeds are those [ever-ready] bolting horses; until now their saddle blankets have not been removed.

And Ibn Hāniʾ also says:290 Verily, you expend for the cause of God all that the stars conceal as they stand motionless. Small wonder then that you have made glorious the religion of Muḥammad, for you alone among all mankind are the one who keeps it together. It is by your name that the enemy refers to it; verily, they affirm [this] but their intention is to repudiate [it]. You were angered that its [Islam’s] throne was overthrown in Syria and [when] the grave news came to you from the districts [about their fall]. You alone among all men spent sleepless nights over this [predicament], while the treacherous freedman and the outcast slept.291

290 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, p. 101. 291 Ya‘lāwī (Taʾrīkh, p. 596) notes that these derogatory epithets refer in general to the Abbasids and the Umayyads, these being titles first ascribed to their ancestors. The ‘freedman’ refers to the progenitor of the Abbasids, al-ʿAbbās (d. 32/653), from whom the dynasty took its name. Though an uncle of the Prophet, al-ʿAbbās partook in the battle against the Muslims at Badr (2/624) where he was captured and subsequently freed, hence the epithet. Yaʿlāwī also notes the ‘outcast’ refers to the ancestor of the Umayyads, Marwān b. al-Ḥakam (d.

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The Founder of Cairo But in spite of them the truth was reinforced by those who uphold it and the praiseworthy one took up the meritorious deed. For among them are those who repudiate and deny the revelation and harbour enmity to religion and resist it. They were not gladdened [as they ought to have been] by the misfortune that befell the sons of Caesar (i.e., the Byzantines): such is their persisting rancour and vengefulness. They went far away from them even though their homelands were near [theirs], while your hosts came near [to engage them] even though you came from afar. And I say, ‘Will the Domesticos [ever] forget his gratitude [to you], when the post reached him with [news of] your pardon? And his kissing the dust above his cheeks as it rises from the earth underneath him to his temples?’ Letters of entreaty confide in you on his behalf and words come to you from him while he lies in prostration. If his actual words are lost in the translations [of these letters], the tears that he has shed between the written lines [suffice as] witness [to his predicament]. For [days and] nights submissive messengers followed one after another and delegation after delegation came to you.

And Ibn Hāniʾ [also] says [within this poem]:292 Would that the father of the two grandsons (i.e., ʿAlī b. Abī Tālib) from his grave see how you have manifested and restored his rulings, How your dominion has embraced the lands of Tihāma and all that is brought together by the lands of Najd;

65/685), who was cursed by the Prophet and forced to leave Medina. However, the label ‘outlaw’ was originally applied to Marwān’s father, al-Ḥakam b. Abi’lʿĀs, as Marwān himself was only a child at the time of the Prophet’s death. See W. M. Watt, ‘al-ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’, EI2, and C. E. Bosworth, ‘Marwān b. al-Ḥakam’, EI2. 292 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, p. 103.

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And how you have taken by force from the Byzantines that from which even the obdurate Chosroes hesitated. He (ʿAlī) would have indeed seen your right hand dyeing [with blood] his sword as you defend the ideal religion [dῑn al-ḥanīf]. I bear witness that you have been given the totality of his merits; you yourself are witness to my knowing that. If some aspect of your character was sought in relief, great is the person who exists and great is the thing sought. To you flee the Muslims in their entirety,293 having been divided and separated; you are [now] the one to bind [them together]. Indeed, the Commander of the Faithful is as they expect him to be, but [this] Commander of the Faithful has more.

The Byzantine Emperor continued to send his envoys and patriarchs to the Commander of the Faithful, entreating him with his courtesy and gifts in seeking the truce. He was [called] Nicephorus. The Commander of the Faithful had written and sent a letter to him in which he outlined the argument against the Christians (naṣārā)294 who rejected the prophethood of Muḥammad, providing evidence from the Torah, the Gospel and the scriptures of the prophets of which no one had the knowledge except for the awliyāʾ Allāh. This is according to what the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, had said: ‘If a cushion were to be folded for me, I would judge the people of the Torah according to their Torah and the people of the Gospel according to their Gospel.’ Undoubtedly, this stream flows from that mountain. Does not the rush only produce the spear? Are not jewels extracted from their mines and are not silver and gold found only in their treasuries? If the community [of Muslims]referred the Book (i.e., the Qur’an) back to God and His Messenger, they would have had

293 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 107) has bi asrihim, ‘to you flee the Muslims with their families’. 294 The term naṣāra was the generic term used to denote Christians in early Muslim literature, deriving from the Qur’anic use of the term. Its appellation stems from that of Nazarene, that is, the religion of Jesus of Nazareth (the town known in Arabic as al-Nāṣira). Though the name Nazarene would come to denote a distinct school of the Judaeo-Christians in the formative period of Islam, in Muslim literature the term naṣārā continued to encompass all of Christianty until the 6th/12th century. J. M. Fiey, ‘Naṣāra’, EI2.

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the knowledge, and if they had submitted and obeyed the bearers of authority (wulāt al-amr) from the Prophet’s progeny they would have been safe. However, they preferred the life of this world over that of the hereafter and they secured a pitiful bargain. They followed those who were not from the pure progeny. They supported by their opinion the tyrannical transgressors, without a designation (naṣṣ) from the Messenger on which they could rely. Nor did they refer to the people of remembrance (ahl al-dhikr)295 from whom people seek solace for their tribulations. May God let them perish! No one loses except the liars! The work which the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, ordered to be sent to the Byzantine Emperor is well known and extant, and is available for those who wish to peruse and study it.296

26 Umayyad attempts to seek truce with al-Muʿizz When the news reached the Umayyad ruler of Andalusia regarding Byzantine matters and that their Emperor sought a truce [with the Fatimids], the Umayyad ruler became resentful and extremely anxious. He was frightened that harm would befall him. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said:297 So he (the Umayyad ruler) surreptitiously sent an envoy, with a letter which appeared as if one of his men was corresponding with one of the Commander of the Faithful’s men concerning the truce, the peaceful settlement and the cessation of hostilities. He mentioned the shedding of Muslim blood and their occupation with one another prevented them from raiding the polytheists. The messenger came with the letter and conveyed verbally on behalf of his master what

295 In Shiʿi thought the term ahl al-dhikr, from the Qur’anic verse 16:43 (‘and ask the people of remembrance if you do not know’) designates the imams. In a tradition attributed to Imam Muḥammad al-Bāqir, when asked about this verse, he said that the Prophet had pronounced, ‘I am the remembrance (al-dhikr) and the imams are the people of the remembrance (ahl al-dhikr).’ Similarly, Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq is reported to have said, ‘We are the people of remembrance, and we are the ones who should be asked.’ See al-Kulaynī, Uṣūl al-Kāfī, I: 67–268. 296 The work being referred to in the text is al-Risāla al-Masīḥiyya which is incorrectly attributed to al-Muʿizz. See Yaʿlāwī, Taʾrīkh, pp. 77 and 298, where he discusses the work in the context of Ibn Hāniʾ. 297 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 167.

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was left unmentioned in the letter concerning the request for a truce, accord, cessation of hostilities and strife, supplementing the plea in his own words. The envoy conveyed this verbally to the Commander of the Faithful, who said to him: Concerning his anxiety about warfare, strife and the shedding of blood, he need not be anxious as he has not witnessed anything from us in this regard to concern him. However, we cannot guarantee his safety. When the rebels from his region rose against us, we sought succour from God who made us victorious and granted us more than what we had aspired. He was alarmed, agitated and aghast and he collaborated against us with the polytheists, against whom he is now asking us to refrain from fighting and waging war. However, that would be a detraction and renunciation of Islam. Had he not considered this when he sent them his money, his gifts and his envoys seeking support from them against us? Had he not witnessed what God meted out to them all?298 Had He not sent them all away defeated, disappointed and dejected? Yet, he has not witnessed us making any manoeuvres against him; so why this anxiety and why this haste? As regards his call for peace, cessation [of hostilities], accord and settlement – while he claims that he is the Commander of the Faithful, the only one of his ancestors to be so called,299 according to his claim and presumption – we say: Only we are deserving of this; neither he nor anyone else. We consider that God obligated us to oppose anyone else who presumes and claims this apart from us. Aside from what exists between our ancestors and his ancestors, what occurred between our fathers and his fathers, in the distant times and in the present time – that ancient, original enmity and hostility, both in the jāhilliya300 and

298 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 110) has jam‘ihim instead of jam‘iyahum, but the translation remains the same. The editors also note that these are a reference to the Byzantine and Umayyad naval forces. 299 However, the ancestors of ‘Abd al-Raḥmān III, who had reigned from Damascus, had assumed the title and trappings of caliphs. See note 249 above. 300 In the Muslim historical tradition, the term al-Jāhiliyya means ‘the age of ignorance’, the period of Arab history immediately preceding that of the Prophet Muḥammad and the onset of Islam. The Prophet’s mission, the onset of revelation and the knowledge generated as part of this process, brought the jāhiliyya to an end. See Eds., ‘Djāhiliyya’, EI2. For the relationship between

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The Founder of Cairo in [the era of] Islam, and what they thought of us and demanded from us in the era of Islam, [as well as] from the curses of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his progeny, on their fathers and his killing of them in their [state of] polytheism and disbelief, their demand for vengeance and satisfaction of blood, and our demand for vengeance for our people who were killed under their power and days of their rule – so how can a settlement that he has mentioned be reached after such devastating events? The words of God are a sufficient deterrent for us: ‘You will not find any people who believe in God and the Last day, loving those who resist God and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers or their kindred’ (58:22). Indeed, I am not a hypocrite concerning God’s religion, neither am I willing to be close to the enemies of God, nor be a charlatan in matters relating to God. Return with this reply of mine, as I have no other. I do not have authority over this matter, indeed it all rests with God: ‘In Him I trust and to Him I turn (42:10)’. If God motivates me against him and fills my heart with the will to attack and fight, then undoubtedly He would wish to root him out and eradicate him, and to purify the earth from his filth and to terminate his reign and his era. If He expunges that from my heart and directs me towards someone else, then this is indeed for a purpose which He will realise, and as a postponement that He will use against him and to grant him time, the extent of which only God knows. God has said: ‘Let not the unbelievers think that Our respite to them is good for themselves: we grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity (3:178)’. So he (the Umayyad ruler) should consider one of two options and he should expect one of two consequences: either perish, which will accelerate his extermination, or postponement from God which will accrue his offences. We are awaiting from God one of two good conclusions and we seek from Him to achieve the best of these two: either a quick victory from God against him which will cure our heart and that

knowledge (‘ilm) and the idea of the jāhiliyya, see Franz Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant (Leiden, 2006), pp. 32–34. Al-Muʿizz’s reference here is to the persecution and then outright confrontation between members of the Banū Umayya, notably their leading clansmen Abū Sufyān b. Ḥarb, and the Prophet in the earlier years of his mission, and then the subsequent confrontations between ʿAlī b. ʿAbī Ṭālib, his sons and descendants against the Umayyad clans.

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of the believers, or let him be with his sins, depravities and disgrace, for it would be a pleasure to see the enemy in that state. It was said that it is sufficient for you to see your enemy transgress God’s commands as transgression draws destruction closer and it brings on the punishment of torture of Hellfire.’

The Commander of the Faithful sent away the envoy and ordered the man who had received the letter to send a rebuking and threatening reply to its sender. So he did. The envoy left with the response.301 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said: The second messenger came bearing another letter from the Umayyad. Both letters were presented to the Commander of the Faithful and were read aloud while we were in his presence. Both of them contained contradictions, dissoluteness and lack of direction, as reported in al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s Kitāb al-Majālis wa’lMusāyarāt.302 He also mentioned the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh’s objections to every part of the letters, exposing their depravity and deficiency.303 Al-Muʿizz dismissed the envoy without a reply except to remark, ‘It has been said that it is your sincerity and not your intimidation that reflects upon you.’ Al-Manṣūr had [once] written to the Byzantine Emperor, ‘When the sword speaks, the pen falls silent.’ Al-Muʿizz ordered the man who had received the message not to pen a single word in response; hence the envoy returned disappointed. He ordered the troops to be despatched to the Maghribī lands to pursue all those who obeyed the Umayyads, to slay them and to re-conquer their lands.

27 Al-Muʿizz dispatches Jawhar westwards Then the Commander of the Faithful sent his slave, the chief commander and scribe Jawhar, with a massive army. He headed towards the Maghrib

301 End of Majālis extract, p. 169. 302 This is the first instance in which Idrīs acknowledges al-Nuʿmān’s Kitāb al-Majālis as his source. 303 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 112) has bayyana instead of tabayyana, but the translation remains the same.

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and conquered the entire region. He expelled the Umayyad supporters and propagators of their authority. Memorable conquests took place during this time. The Commander of the Faithful resolved to send a fleet across the sea to Andalusia to oust the Umayyads and to eradicate their vestige until he heard that the Christian Byzantines had won victories in Aleppo304 and Damascus and were coercing the Muslims. So the Commander of the Faithful directed his attention from the West to the East and to Syria. He conquered Egypt and Syria. We will mention this when we come to it with the succour of God, the Exalted, and through the blessings of His awliyāʾ. God had indulged the Umayyad oppressors in their pleasures until they exhausted what they have been granted. They took from this world that which in the hereafter will be severe and tortuous upon them. They will have to face the consequence of their oppressive acts upon people and for their corruption on earth. This is similar to what we have mentioned earlier concerning what the Commander of the Faithful said to the Umayyad envoy: ‘If God motivated me against him and filled my heart with the will to fight him’ …until he said, ‘If He expels that from my heart and directs me towards someone else, then this is indeed for a purpose, which He will realise, and as a respite that He will use as an argument against him and to grant him time, the extent of which only God knows. God said, “Let not the unbelievers think that Our respite to them is good for themselves. We grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity” (3:178). Thus, he should consider one of the two options and should expect one of the two consequences.’ Commander Jawhar reached the Atlantic Ocean to the west and returned with invaluable and innumerable gifts for the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. On this occasion Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ al-Maghribī composed verses extolling the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh and mentioned Commander Jawhar’s gift.305 Verily, thus let him gift, he who has led an army and embarked upon [the matter] and fulfilled it according to the imam’s opinion.

304 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 113) has ‘alā rather than fī, rendering the translation ‘upon Aleppo’. 305 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, p. 140.

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[It is] the gift of one who did justice to the [good] counsel and who was able to see what the people could not see. Verily, thus let the [fine] white corpulent camels be fetched [from the spoils]; verily, thus let the slender horses be prepared alongside [them], Drawing the tails of their Yemeni garments that are draped over them, galloping away with their embellished embroidery of silk. You see them like gazelles stretching their necks upwards, cloaked in the radiant springtime of Yabrīn, Striding along with the swinging gait of fair maidens, with the garments of fair maidens covering them for all to see. They drag the long [dress] tails of beautiful women, [as though] to teach beautiful women how to strut. So let not the many colours of the embroidery conceal the beauty of their [own] colours and thereby conceal that which is fairer for the eye to look at.

To where Ibn Hāniʾ says: Verily, such [gifts] are being given to the best Hāshimī,306 the most excellent to mount a [war] steed and [ascend] a pulpit, One who always preferred the charging horses [be chosen] for their riders so that they trampled the heads of the enemies together with their armour. He [thus] honoured them (the horses) by [capturing] spoils from every hypocrite and every obdurate [sinner] who had become high-handed and tyrannical. He adorned their necks with rubies red as burning coals, giving off light in their brilliance, and [with] green emeralds, And pierced their ears with pearls for which they were created, fittingly [so], though they be more brilliant and more valuable than them.

306 That is, a descendant of the Prophet’s clan, the Banū Hāshim, in this case al-Muʿizz.

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The Founder of Cairo How many an arrangement of [pearl] earrings suspended [from their ears], like the [constellation of] Pleiades, is enhanced in beauty by these [horses] as they sway to and fro! Upon how many an ear of a fast gliding horse carrying such [pearl necklaces] has hung the [fate of the] kingdoms of Chosroes and Caesar! They (the horses) are adorned with what endures ages in value, strutting about with it in honour and pride.

And Ibn Hāniʾ’s final words in this poem are: Verily, Jawhar’s vanguard with [their bringing of] part of the gifts were like the reception hastily prepared for a guest. And had he not hastened [to bring] some of them instead of others, the paths of the earth and passageways of the sea would have been too narrow [to carry them all at once]. I say to those in my company, as I received his (Jawhar’s) envoys and the desert had become choked with [the advent of] camels and cavalry, And the awesome young camels swayed like mountains and the excellent bald horses surged like [waves of great] seas, And the news of him gladdened me as though it were [the arrival of] camels bearing sackfuls of musk emitting its

sharp scent: ‘By my life, if he has decorated the caliphate with his speech, then verily he has also decorated the battle-days with his planning!’ Spears tremble tumultuously before him as he undertakes [to face] the spears [of the enemy], while the horses, the night and the journeying in the night become submissive before him. He is the [unbreakable] lance [of war], so stab him in the chest [with your dagger] however you wish, but he will never tire of war, nor will he be broken. From him the battalions have begotten a grand commander, one of quick pace, eased [by God] unto [the execution of] righteous deeds. [In battle] the sovereign power marshals him as it wishes, [be it] as a cutting sword, an arrow, a spear, a coat of armour or a helmet.

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I find man to be nothing more than the sum of his efforts, and so he who makes the greatest effort will be the one most worthy of glory. It is by exalted determination that one rises to exaltedness, and so he who rises higher in determination will be the one who prevails. He who wishes to advance will never procrastinate, and he who wishes to procrastinate will never advance. Lo! Great commanders before Jawhar would have been fit [only] to strive to serve Jawhar. They may have been the stars of their time, but we deem the sun (i.e., Jawhar) more splendid and more brilliant. May God never deprive your servant (Jawhar) of His assistance, for he continues to enjoy the assistance [of God] and to be granted victory. When the angels fight the enemy before him, they fill God’s heaven with the exclamation of your name. You (al-Muʿizz) did not choose him; [even] when he had become pure and had banished [all] harm, rather it was God who elected [him as your commander] in the Mother of the Book.307 You put him in charge of the army and the entire command [was his alone], and you had thereby put in charge of the thicket [of war] a magnificent lion.

307 The enigmatic expression Umm al-Kitāb (‘Mother of the Book’) appears three times in the Qur’an (3:7, 13:39, 43:4) and a number of times in the hadith literature. Its interpretations have varied across Muslim schools of thought and traditions. These include: a heavenly prototype of the Qur’an, the ‘celestial matrix’ of all revealed revelations, the first intellect (al-ʿaql al-awwal) and the quintessence of all writing. A significant number of these interpretations point to a type of heavenly, celestial phenomenon that corresponds to ‘pre-existent divine knowledge’. It is in this sense that it has most likely been used in this poem by Ibn Hāniʾ. In the Shiʿi tradition, the Umm al-Kitāb has further been suggested as the ‘immaterial place’ from where the light of the Prophet Muḥammad and Imam ‘Alī first emanated. See Amir-Moezzi, Spirituality, pp. 134–135. The term Umm al-Kitāb also comes to denote a revered text in the Central Asian Ismaili tradition, a syncretic Gnostic work of the early ghulāt movements of Iraq, which contains a number of discourses attributed to Imam al-Bāqir on cosmology, eschatology and soteriology. See E. Geoffroy, ‘Umm al-Kitāb’, EI2, and F. Daftary, ‘Umm al-Kitāb’, EI2.

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Al-Qāḍī al-Quḍāʿī308 said: ‘Jawhar was originally from Byzantium. A servant called Ṣābir brought him. Ṣābir handed him over to Khayrān, who passed him on to Khafīf309 who took him to Imam al-Manṣūr bi’llāh to whom he became well known and who accompanied him in his battles. Jawhar became his scribe and then that of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. He continued to rise until he reached the highest stature and most eminent position with Imam al-Muʿizz. Al-Muʿizz fostered a brotherhood between [Jawhar] and Jawdhar310 and bonded them for their merits, their faith, their sincerity and loyalty to the imams and for their sound advice. He appointed Jawhar as the chief commander, sending him at the head of his troops to lead them. He conquered lands and continued to serve the imams with probity and propriety.’

28 The revolts of Ibn Wāsūl and Aḥmad b. Bakr Ibn Wāsūl311 revolted and subjugated Sijilmāsa.312 He revoked his obedience to the imams and proclaimed himself ‘al-Shākir li’llāh (the one who

308 Abū ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. Salāma al-Quḍāʿī (d. 454/1062) was a Shāfīʿī jurist who served the Fatimids in Egypt as their deputy qāḍī and participated in an embassy to the Byzantine court. He wrote several books, including two historical works, ʿUyūn al-maʿārif wa-funūn akhbār al-khalāʾif and Tawarīkh al-khulāfaʾ, a treatise on the biography and merits of al-Shāfiʿī entitled Kitāb manāqib al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī and a hadith work arranged by isnād known as the Kitāb al-shihāb. Ibn Khallikān, Wafāyāt, vol. 3, pp. 616–617. 309 Al-Maqrīzī (Ittiʿāẓ, p.140; trans., p. 61) mentions Khafīf al-Ṣaqlabī as the curtain bearer, who also functioned as an envoy from al-Muʿizz to the Kutāma. 310 See note 82 above. 311 In 342/953, a year after al-Muʿizz succeeded as the Fatimid imam-caliph, Muḥammad b. al-Fatḥ al-Midrārī b. Wāsūl declared himself caliph in Sijilmāsa. At the time the Fatimids were occupied with fighting Mūsā b. Abi’l-ʿĀfiya in the Maghrib. Ibn Wāsūl was finally apprehended by Jawhar in 347/958 and sent as a captive to al-Manṣūriyya. Ibn ʿIdhārī, in his Kitāb al-bayān al-mughrib fī akhbār al-Andalus wa’l-Maghrib (ed. G. S. Colin and E. Levi-Provençal. Leiden, 1948– 1951, p. 222), states that Jawhar killed Ibn Wāsūl in Rajab 348/959. This contradicts Ibn Khaldūn (Kitāb al-ʿIbar, IV: 47), who claims he arrived as a captive in a cage in Ifrīqiya, which is supported by al-Nuʿmān’s claim that he stayed there for a while. See Majālis, p. 224 and 441; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, VIII: 207. 312 Sijilmāsa was a trade centre and oasis town situated on the northern edge of the Sahara desert in south-east Morocco. It became the centre of an independent Khārijī amīrate under the Miknāsa tribe in Abbasid times whose

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is thankful to God), the Commander of the Faithful’. Similarly, Aḥmad b. Bakr seized control of Fez.313 God enabled the Commander of the Faithful, al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh, to defeat him after he had [first] revolted and he was brought to al-Qāʾim as a captive. He ordered his arrest and he was apprehended in al-Mahdiyya during the reign of al-Qāʾim. Then al-Manṣūr bi’llāh was benevolent to him and released him, [but] then Ibn Bakr reverted to his oppression and depravity. He abandoned the yoke of obedience to the imams and began propagating for the Umayyads. He, may God curse him, openly cursed the imams from his pulpit. The Commander of the Faithful [al-Muʿizz] resolved to send troops to Sijilmāsa and then to Fez. The road leading to these towns was arduous and distant, with the danger of being severed. People were frightened to the extent that they avoided the risk of travelling through it.

29 The enlisting of the Kutāma The Commander of the Faithful ordered that only those young men of the Kutāma should be sent to this campaign who would [enthusiastically] hasten to him in obedience. Within a few days he received far greater numbers than were needed. They hastened to him and were joyous to do so. Al-Muʿizz was generous to them and rewarded them amply. He appointed his and his father al-Manṣūr’s slave, Abu’l-Ḥasan Jawhar, over them and placed them under his command and obedience. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said:314 When they were ready to depart, the prominent Kutāma shaykhs and I were present in the Commander of the Faithful’s gathering in which he mentioned the enthusiasm of those who had hastened to join the army, and that he had been anxious

alliance with the Umayyads in Cordoba in the fourth/tenth century enabled it to withstand the Fatimids for a time. When the Miknāsa supported the Fatimids, Sijilmāsa naturally came under Fatimid influence, remaining thus until the Miknāsa themselves were ousted by the Maghrāwa Berbers and other allies of the Umayyads. M. Terrasse, ‘Sidjilmāsa’, EI2. 313 Aḥmad b. Bakr b. Sahl al-Judhāmī was first arrested in 323/935 by the Fatimid commander Maysūr al-Fatā and imprisoned in al-Mahdiyya for some time. He was apprehended again by Jawhar when he subjugated Fez in 348/959. He was then sent as prisoner to al-Manṣūriyya along with Ibn Wāsūl. Al-Nu‘man, Majālis, p.385, n.2. 314 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 255.

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that they would consider it arduous to enlist, as he was aware of their previous reluctance to do so, and now that was significantly different to their present response. Then al-Muʿizz said, ‘This is what I had mentioned to you in previous gatherings that if I sent for any one of you whom I choose, I would get what I wish from you.’ Then al-Muʿizz permitted those who had hastened to him to enter his audience. They came into his presence, one regiment after the other, and they filled the palace. He extolled them and spoke kindly and at length to them. Amongst what I recall him saying to them was: May God bless you and favour your companions and your rulers. Indeed, you have fulfilled my expectation of you and hope in you. You are from a blessed source and righteous origins. God began the manifestation of our authority by you and by you He will complete and sustain it, by His power and strength. I am aware of your zeal in responding to what I have instructed you to do and what I wish from you. I wish that you will attain what I hope you will. May God elevate your rank and reputation by it. You are the scions, the brethren and the kin. No one measures up to you in my esteem and no one has the status that you have in my heart. This is because of [the affection] in your hearts for me. God has not aided any of his previous awliyāʾ in the manner that He has aided us through you. That is how your ancestors were and you follow suit. You have been raised on your love, support and loyalty to us. It nurtures you and forms part of your disposition. So rejoice for the grace that God has granted you, for you are the partisans of God and His supporters, His soldiers and His beloved. By God, my resolve in sending you on this campaign is not for defence or for any calamity to befall you or for achieving worldly gain. As for the calamity, the select (al-khāṣṣa) and the commonalty (al-‘āmma), the close and the distant ones, know that the dearest wish of the oppressors among us in the world, those who believe in the religion of Islam, and the polytheists, is to be safe from us and to forestall our wrath. Today, by God’s grace, none of them can dare covet anything that we possess. As regards the ephemeral worldly gains, we have spent money on this campaign which we know we will not recover, even if God aids us and grants us victory. However, the following are our reasons for doing so: Firstly, God has obligated us to undertake jihād against those who

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oppose our authority, claim our titles and covet what God has granted us. Secondly, God tests His followers through their undertaking jihād with us on His behalf and we entrust them with it, so that we may apprise those among them who will fight and be patient so God can elevate their ranks, amply recompense them and grant them greater reward. How many of you present in this army are [now] in [a state of] obedience and will return being obeyed, [how many] are being led and will return a leader? Indeed, what elevates you with us and with your Lord are your intentions and your actions. By these you draw near to us and to your Creator. If it had not been for the path that God has ordained to be followed and without which people’s affairs would not progress, I would not have appointed any of you, or anyone other than you as each one of you is entitled to be the foremost. However, people need a leader to thrive. Hence, I have appointed someone who is known to you – that is Jawhar.315 I designate him over you on my behalf and I place him among you to be my eyes and ears, although each one of you is capable of monitoring yourself. I have also ordered substantive rewards for you such that I have not bestowed on anyone prior to you. You know that none before you have been given anything comparable by anyone before me. I do not consider this exorbitant for you. In fact it is less than what the most junior of you deserve. What you have with God and with me, and what you will receive, will be loftier and greater. So set out with God’s blessing, His satisfaction, His contentment, His help and His succour. Be as I hope you to be, satisfied, contented and harmonious with each other. Be good to each other and to those who accompany you. Treat the slaves316 whom I am sending with you as your brothers.317 Unite with them, as they are your support and strength. Your loyalty to me unites you to them; so do not distinguish between you and them. May God grant you good companionship and sound leadership.

315 This clarification is not mentioned in the Majālis, p. 256. 316 The term ‘slaves’ refers to Jawhar and other Sicilians and Slavs who were in the service of the Fatimids and thus ethnically distinct from the Kutāma Berbers. Al-Muʿizz’s exhortation to the Kutāma concerning Jawhar’s command of the campaign is a possible indication of ethnic and social rivalry between the Kutāma and the Sicilian slaves. 317 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 122) has ikhwatikum in place of ikhwānikum, but the translation remains the same.

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They kissed the ground in front of him several times and thanked him for what he had done. They promised on their lives to be loyal to what he ordered. They were filled with happiness by what they had heard from him. This was apparent and was reflected on their faces. Then al-Muʿizz ordered to usher in those who had joined the army and were present from among the Berber tribes, among whom were those who had rebelled and had recanted after being defeated. He accepted them and forgave them, such as the Banū Kamlān318 and others who had hastened to join them. When they were in his presence, they kissed the ground and stood. One of the Kutāma shaykhs who was present said, ‘O our master, these are the ones about whom God said, “It may be that God will grant love [and friendship] between you and those whom you (now) hold as enemies”’ (60:7). He replied, ‘Yes, indeed, God has made this possible for them, for the happiness that He has anticipated for them. Hence, they have attained loyalty (walāya) after enmity, guidance after error, victory after severance, repudiation and hostility against us. So their repentance is accepted and their transgressions are forgiven, if God wills.’ They kissed the ground before al-Muʿizz and acknowledged his benefactions and thanked him for his graciousness and forgiveness. He said, ‘How many of you will hasten to join this victorious army?’ They responded, ‘O our master, all of us will hasten to do so. Whoever you accept is the fortunate one.’ He replied, ‘May God bless you and make you successful. I will endeavour to make you prosper, if God wills.’ He permitted the slaves to enter and he imparted the same advice to them that he did to the awliyāʾ (i.e., the Kutāma). He ordered them to consider them as brothers and be congenial to them. They bade him farewell and departed.319

30 Victory over the Maghribī contenders Ibn Wāsūl and Ibn Bakr When the Commander Abu’l-Ḥasan Jawhar the scribe proceeded with the troops and soldiers of the Commander of the Faithful in 347/858, he

318 The Banū Kamlān were members of the Zanāta confederation, whom al-Qāʾim had expelled from their lands during the construction of al-Muḥammadiyya (al-Masīla). They were the last of the Berber groups who continued to support the Khārijī rebel Abū Yazīd. See Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, pp. 314, 322. 319 End of Majālis extract, p. 258.

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communicated with the people of Sijilmāsa sometime prior to his arrival there, sending them letters of warning in which he instructed them to apprehend Ibn Wāsūl. If they did so, he would grant them safety, be charitable to them and would forgive their transgressions which they had committed by following and submitting to the person who had committed the grave crime. When the army approached, Ibn Wāsūl departed from Sijilmāsa, fleeing for his life. Some of the city’s inhabitants caught up with him. They apprehended him and brought him to the Commander. The Commander berated the people of Sijilmāsa for letting him be. Then he resolved to forgive them and appointed an administrator from them to rule over them. He left for Fez with the Commander of the Faithful’s entire army. En route at Ifkān,320 Jawhar killed Yaʿlā b. Muḥammad al-Zanātī,321 the ruler of Fez who called himself imam. In his palace he (al-Zanātī) had a parasol to indicate that he was in audience which was hoisted as he stood up. When the Commander reached the region where Aḥmad b. Bakr lived – the one who had revoked his obedience to the imams, who was propagating for the Umayyads and who had subjugated the city of Fez – all the people of the region responded, repented and returned to obedience except for Aḥmad b. Bakr, who persisted in his errant ways. The troops encircled the city of Fez, the siege was drawn out and the matter intensified. People began to despair of the protracted siege by the troops, and the frightened fled from the army. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān said:322 One day when Aḥmad b. Bakr was mentioned, while he was in that predicament, that is, under siege, al-Muʿizz said: Last night I dreamt about the enemy of God, that I had apprehended him and ordered for him to be killed. He beseeched me for mercy, so I said, ‘By God, had I found you under the curtains of the Kaʿba, I would not have released you and would have killed you.’ So he began remonstrating

320 Ifkān (alternatively Āfakkān or Fakkān) is located approximately 15 miles south-west of modern Mascara in Morocco. 321 Yaʿlā b. Muḥammad al-Yafranī, the ruler of Ifkān, was a rival of Muḥammad b. Khazar, though both belonged to the Zanāta confederation. When Ibn Khazar gave allegiance to al-Muʿizz, al-Yafranī responded by declaring his loyalty to the Umayyads, provoking Jawhar to kill him and burn his city. See Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 234–235. 322 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 358.

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with me, objecting to what I had said to him, saying, ‘What necessitates your killing me under the curtains of the Kaʿba?’323 I responded, ‘The least that necessitates me to do so is this remonstration of yours.’ Then I heard a voice behind me, which I could not see, saying, ‘By God, well done! You are right. May God grant right guidance by you. Yes, by God, he should be killed for his temerity. May God curse him.’ I turned back to find that the person who was saying that was al-Manṣūr bi’llāh.

[Al-Nuʿmān said]: Less than ten days elapsed between al-Muʿizz relating this incident and the day on which God granted him victory and power over the accursed Ibn Bakr, who was taken prisoner. [Al-Nuʿmān said]:324 News of the conquest of the city of Fez came to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, when most people had lost hope because of the time the army had spent upon it, the flight of soldiers from the scene, the strength of its inhabitants, the massive provisions of supplies in the city and because of its formidable trenches and fortresses. Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar al-Anṣārī wrote in his history: ‘At Fez there were battles, massacres and sieges for eleven months outside the wall. Aḥmad b. Bakr was killed during the siege. However, his son Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Bakr and Muḥammad b. Wāsūl survived. Both were taken prisoners.’325 Al-Muʿizz said: This is according to God’s words: “(Respite will be granted) until the apostles give up hope (of their people) and (come to) think that they were treated as liars. Then reaches them our help” (12:110). By God, the apostles did not despair of His grace and succour to them, but they were betrayed by those who deserted them and who did not fulfil the obligations that God has enjoined upon them to fight their enemies. So they (the apostles) withdrew their aspirations from people and invested

323 Since the pre-Islamic era, the shedding of blood has been forbidden in the precinct of the Ka‘ba, the site being considered a sacred enclave (ḥaram). A. J. Wensinck, ‘Ka‘ba’, EI2. 324 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 491. 325 For an account of Jawhar’s campaigns in the Maghrib, see al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 93–94, trans., pp. 54–56.

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them instead in their Lord, and He granted them the victory that he had promised them.

Each time news regarding Fez came to al-Muʿizz and his courtiers were despondent about its conquest, we heard him saying with confidence, ‘I rely in its matter and all my matters solely on God, and I do not pin my hopes on anyone other than Him, and I am confident of His grace and His victory.’ When the news of its conquest arrived, al-Muʿizz said, ‘By God, sometimes I want to appeal to God for an abundance of His grace, which is akin to this. However, I am embarrassed to do so because of the bounty He has already bestowed on me. To Him is my praise and there is no associate to Him. Perhaps I pleaded to God to lengthen my enemy’s life so that God would humiliate him for his transgressions and he would hear and see what God has granted me, which will cause him grief and envy.’ Then al-Muʿizz added, ‘Do you know my intention in writing the letter I sent recently to those wretched ones – the people of Fez?’ He had written a letter offering them safety if they repented. He apprised us of it. When it reached them, they returned it and repudiated it. We replied, “God and his walī know best.”Al-Muʿizz continued: By God, through it I intended their devastation by establishing God’s evidence against them. I knew that when they received my letter while they were in control, and our soldiers were getting weary in their positions and some of them had reneged, that they would reject it. I intended it to have the same purpose as the letter from the Messenger of God to the ruler of Fars,326 who when he received it, ripped it. Consequently, God Almighty rent asunder his kingdom. Likewise was the letter from al-Manṣūr bi’llāh to the accursed Makhlad (Abū Yazīd) and his companions while they were besieged at the citadel of Kiyāna.327 He sent them a peace accord, which they rejected. God made him victorious over them

326 For a range of accounts regarding the delegations dispatched by the Prophet to various rulers neighbouring Arabia, see Ibn Isḥāq, Sīrat Rasūl Allāh, tr. A. Guillaume, The Life of Muḥammad (Oxford, 1955), pp. 652–659. 327 Kiyāna is the name of both the citadel and the mountain which dominates al-Masīla. It later came to be called Qalʿat Abī Ṭāwil. Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, p. 232, n. 401.

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shortly thereafter. I had similar intentions in sending the letter, which you have witnessed. My expectations were fulfilled by the praise and grace of God.

Then al-Muʿizz suitably praised God and thanked Him for His bounty as best as he was able and capable to do so.328 Al-Nuʿmān said: When the return of the army from the Maghrib to the capital was drawing near, Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh ordered two vehicles to be designed for Ibn Wāsūl and Ibn Bakr, so that each would be placed in one of them and pulled along upon orders. This was something the like of which no one had ever heard of or seen before. Al-Muʿizz described these to the carpenters. He said: A flat surface should be built of panels of wood and placed on four poles in a conical shape that is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. It should be ten hand-spans in height and at the lower end a wooden cage should be built. A door should be built at the back from which the captive329 can be entered and locked. It is to have a ceiling and on the top [of the cage] should be a coffin, which would have a door that can be opened and shut, and a small window, which can be opened just enough for light to beam through. In the centre of the cage should be a large wooden joist similar to a boat mast and at the bottom a peg connected to the surface of the chair and also connected to the ceiling of the cage and the ceiling of the coffin which is atop. It should protrude from the ceiling of the coffin like a column, on top of which would be a chair just big enough for a person to sit on and around it would be a mesh to prevent the captive from falling down. Two men were to be placed in each coffin. They should not be seen and would have two rods by which they would rotate the central pole so that the chair on top would rotate with the person who was sitting on it, such that his face would be seen by all, but no one would know who was rotating him.

We were astonished when we saw how the cages were made, how he had invented them and was inspired to do so, may God’s blessings be

328 End of Majālis extract, p. 492. 329 Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition (p. 128) has asad meaning lion, but they note in their footnote that Ya‘lāwī’s correction to asīr (captive) makes more sense in this context.

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upon him. Al-Muʿizz said, ‘I dreamt about it sometime before these two imposters were detained. I looked at it and it looked exactly as it does in front of me now. I inspected it and said, “What is this?” And it said to me, “This will be used to display your enemies.” So I memorised its shape and I had this modelled on that.’

31 Al-Muʿizz’s favourable treatment of the Ḥasanids and praise for the Kutāma [Al-Nuʿmān] said:330 When the victorious army returned from the lands of the Maghrib after God had granted victory to His walī over Ibn Wāsūl who claimed to be the imam, and the perfidious Ibn Bakr who had subjugated Fez, God secured it and the lands adjacent to it in the Maghrib at the hands of His walī in 348/958. The time span of the Commander Jawhar’s march and return was 32 months.331 Commander Jawhar apprehended the sons of all the prominent Maghribīs and their leaders [and took them] as his hostages. He brought them along with all those influential people in the region whose disloyalty he feared. Amongst them were a group of Ḥasanids who traced their descent to the sons of Idrīs b. ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, whom we have mentioned previously,332 who had asserted their rule over the tribes and had claimed sovereignty. When they arrived in his presence, the Commander of the Faithful ordered that they receive hospitality. He robed them, conferred gifts upon them, gave them riding animals and was extremely magnanimous to them. For a while they lived thus. Then he ordered their release and repatriated them. He ordered gifts, robes and riding animals for them and sent clothes and a saddle load of gifts for the elite and elder members of their people. Al-Muʿizz ordered that they should be presented in order to bid him farewell. They filed past in front of him. He invited the Ḥasanids to draw close to him and instructed them to sit down. Then he addressed them all: You are aware of our benevolence and bounty to you and our pardon and clemency concerning your preceding actions. We are setting you

330 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 483. 331 Jawhar’s identity and the time of his march are omitted from the Majālis. 332 See note 33 above.

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free because we know of your wish to unite with those whom you have left behind and your longing for one another. So we chose to aid you and grant it to you. So be cognisant and accept it in gratitude as a gesture of goodwill and loyalty. Then you will receive more from us and you will receive our bounties and benefactions. Let he who relates to us through lineage know that this [relation] is only for those who adhere to us and are obedient. As for those who disobey the awliyāʾ Allāh and oppose them, their lineage will be severed, just as God severed the lineage between Nūḥ (Noah) and his son when he disobeyed him.333 If God had not obligated all of creation to obey us and enjoined it with obedience to Him and His Messenger, and made it a religion through which [people] should worship and appointed us to establish His religion, we would not have been concerned about who is loyal to us and who is disloyal. However, by this we wish to fulfil what God has ordered concerning the establishment of faith. If this dissolute Ibn Bakr had obeyed us, we would not have been averse to let him rule over Fez and even cities greater than that, for we are not interested in it and in the world. We are not threatened by any powerful person, nor would we have taken it upon ourselves to fight him if God had not made that incumbent upon us and appointed us to do so on His behalf. If this dissolute one and those who followed and obeyed him in opposing us had submitted to us, they would not have jeopardised themselves and their families to desecration. If God had not predisposed us to clemency and mercy, which inhibits us from being destructive, they would have exposed themselves to desecration, the shedding of their blood and perdition to the last one of them; and they have made themselves susceptible to bloodshed and self-perdition. However, we forgave them, as we are able to do so and were clement to them, as God has predisposed us to clemency and mercy. We spared those who remained among them and all those over whom God has granted us control; we protected their households and have refrained

333 A reference to the Qur’an 11: 42–46, where Nūḥ (Noah) asks God to save his son from the flood after the son had refused to enter the ark. Subsequently ‘He (God) said: O Nūḥ! Lo, he is not of your household (ahlik); lo, he is of evil conduct’, the sense being that Nūḥ’s son (who in later tafsīr literature is identified as Canaan) had severed his lineage with his father because of his disobedience. Al-Muʿizz is drawing on this story in relation to the Ḥasanids who similarly could not claim their lineage to the Prophet due to their disobedience to the rightful imam.

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from shedding their blood. What is the matter with this dissolute one over whom God has granted us control, after his hostilities and warfare against us which are sufficient to detain him, and yet we forgave him and were generous to him?334 We only did this so God would extend his sorrow of being a prisoner and he would witness God’s favours to us and witness our conferment of these to whom among you we consider worthy of our bounty, and among those who resemble you, who are obedient to us, submit to our authority, turn repentantly to us and do not persist in their disobedience to us. Ibn Bakr knows that if God wished well for him, He would have done so and would have enabled him to do so. He would have benefited more than anyone else from our bounty and generosity. In all this, God intended to grieve his heart and to lengthen his sorrow and regret. He (Ibn Bakr) will suffer His chastisement, exalted be His praise, in his life, which is only the inception of the destiny that is to follow of perpetual suffering, and eternal and inescapable torment. Indeed, by God, we do not seek your loyalty to us, your obedience to our authority and your reliance and that of others upon us, as an honour by which we would be exalted, nor as a demonstration of worldly gain. God has already conferred that on us and has made us masters. He has bestowed on us His favours and benefactions such that we cannot thank Him enough. Nor do our eyes dilate over other trivialities, for God has bestowed on us with His abundant munificence and closest bond. He has exalted us by the exalted authority of His truth; He has glorified us by the glorious honour of His religion. We have attained our purpose through our grandfather Muḥammad, His prophet. He has made us the imams of His creation, and He only accepts the obedience of those who obey them, and He is only content with those who make them content. What else besides His favour and benefactions that He has generously bestowed on us would we seek from any of His servants, for there is no nobler rank that one can hope to ascend to through any of His creation? In fact, God has made all His servants needy of us in matters pertaining to the world and of faith. To Him is all praise for what He has conferred and bestowed upon us and for His benevolence to us.

334 This refers to Ibn Bakr’s earlier capture by Maysūr al-Khādim, who sent him to al-Mahdī, and his subsequent release at al-Mahdiyya in 351/952 from where he returned to Fez. See Ya‘lāwī, Taʾrīkh, p. 616, and his cited references.

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The Founder of Cairo However, we persevere with our souls and bodies, commanding our awliyāʾ and expending our wealth for achieving what God has appointed us to accomplish, attaining it for Him and for what He has ordered us to establish regarding the aspects of His religion, so as to protect it, establish His law (sharīʿa) and revive His path (sunna) and His judgements (aḥkām) which the liars have extinguished. We summon those who are committed to this and encourage them towards it, and we fight those who oppose it and deviate from us concerning it. So understand this from us and convey it to those whom you will return to, and you will not be deprived of God’s favours, nor ours, as long as you hold steadfast to our rope and obey it.335 Do not relinquish God and us by deviating from our authority and heeding our enemies, for God’s hand is supreme and our hand will be upon you and upon them and upon all those who oppose us and who deviate from our authority.336 This is a promise that He has made in His Book and an obligation that He, the blessed and exalted, has enjoined. So towards whom will you incline instead of us? Who will you substitute for us? Whose daʿwa will you choose over ours, for this is the daʿwa of our grandfather Muḥammad? The tyrant of the Umayyads towards whom this vile Ibn Bakr leant, propagating for them, heeding their falsehood and substituting them for us, they are the enemies of our grandfather Muḥammad; they were the causes of his battles, his curses, his banishment, and [they] are the party of Satan and his armies. We are the party of God, the party which, according to His promise, will be victorious, and [we are] the party of the Messenger of God and his purified progeny. By God, their despicable nature will not be able to stand firm against, withstand and resist our virtues. They cannot deny our truth, despite the hostility and aggression that they have displayed against us. Indeed, their hearts fear us and their skins shudder from us. If the skin of one of their dead ones comes in contact with the skin of one of our dead ones, it shudders. This is akin to what is said about the skin of some animals if they are in proximity to lion-skin. Indeed, the fear and awe that God has placed in our enemies’ hearts is greater than the fear which God has placed into the hearts of animals for lions. Who would equate us with the impure ones among the Umayyads and those in a similar state? Only he whose heart God has blinded and

335 Allusion to Qur’an 3:103. 336 Allusion to Qur’an 48:10.

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has been consumed with misery and destruction. So acknowledge the favours that God has conferred upon you and has gifted you. Follow His commands and be thankful to Him for what He has bestowed upon you and what He has rewarded you, to our contentment. By that you will achieve His continuous blessings and His abundant favours. Indeed, what I have said about myself is not said in arrogance, nor have I described God’s favours upon me in vainglory. On the contrary, I have said so in acknowledgement of His favours upon me and in gratitude for His blessings. I see myself as the least of His servants, out of humility for His majesty and the most submissive to it, in self-abasement and deference to His omnipotence.337

Al-Muʿizz wept and the fear of God was apparent on his face. They kissed the ground in front of him, acknowledged his favours and thanked him as best as they could. They mentioned to him what they believed and what they knew concerning their awliyāʾ whom they had left behind, and their conviction to obey him and to give him allegiance. They bade him farewell and departed. Previously, leading members from the awliyāʾ of the Kutāma had entered along with distinguished slaves and others. When a group of them left, all those that were sitting, arose to leave. He instructed them to sit, so they did. Similarly, those who were standing remained so. He approached them and enquired about their affairs. He remembered their predecessors who had deceased and sought God’s mercy upon them. He encouraged them to follow their predecessors in desiring to seek the wisdom (al-ḥikma), to listen to it and be diligent about it.338 Their diligence concerning this was mentioned to him. They and other awliyāʾ among them gathered every Friday at the Congregational mosque to attend the Friday prayer and to seek refuge (al-tahjīr) there. After the performance of the Friday prayer and before the performance of the afternoon prayer, they would stay and listen to [the lecture] and discussions (al-munāẓara) on jurisprudence.339 Then they would all gather, along with

337 Al-Muʿizz’s address to the Ḥasanids articulates the conviction of the Fatimids as the ‘party of God’ and ‘imams of His creation’. 338 The reference here is to majālis al-ḥikma, on which see note 50 above. 339 The munāẓarāt (sg. munāẓara) were theological discussions held before an audience, often in the presence of a caliph or wazir, and took the form of questions and answers. These munāẓarāt gave rise to a genre of theological literature,

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those among them who had missed the Friday prayer, at the palace which was frequently visited during his long life, to listen to the wisdom, manifesting their responsiveness and yearning for it. Al-Muʿizz said: This is what we wish from them and others, for it is their fortune, the amelioration of their situation and the completion of God’s favours upon them. They and their predecessors were with our predecessors who have passed on – may God sanctify their souls. They bestowed less favours upon them compared to what we do, as that was according to what was enjoined at that time and was considered wise in their era, and our era which succeeds theirs, is the blessed one. Their predecessors used to absorb little of the knowledge and wisdom that was bestowed upon them, and when they had done so they abandoned it. Our predecessors did not rebuke them when they relinquished the seeking of further favours from God. Now we grant the people of our age what we should give them at the onset, and we will give them more if we sense yearning and responsiveness in them. We continue to bestow upon them even if they cease seeking more from us. We wish to make them all luminaries by whom people are guided, beacons who illumine their path with their light, and the learned ones from whom they acquire knowledge.

They (the Kutāma awliyāʾ) kissed the ground before him, thanked him for his favours and for the innumerable benefactions that he had bestowed upon them. Al-Muʿizz said: For you and others among you in particular, as well as more generally for all those who give allegiance to us, I wish that what you feel about us in your hearts is in conformity with what your tongues pronounce to us, for God recompenses His servants for their intentions, or else you will be like the frustrated, cursed one, meaning a man called Qayṣar, who was a hypocrite. One of our men had asked him to raise an issue with us but he dismissed it, saying, ‘People’s needs are only addressed when they are needed. Currently, our master does not have any enemies for which

an early Fatimid example of which is Ibn al-Haytham’s Kitāb al-munāẓarāt (see note 60 above). See also E. Wagner, ‘Munāẓara’, EI2, and J. van Ess, ‘Disputations praxis in der islamischen Theologie. Eine vorläufige Skizze’, Revue des Études Islamiques, 44 (1976), pp. 23–60.

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he would need men.’ That man (i.e., the one who had raised the issue) concealed this from us. He accepted his words, befriending and trusting him. Would he be someone who respects the [oath of loyalty] taken from him for us and whose intentions towards us are sound? They replied, ‘May God curse the one who does so.’

Al-Muʿizz responded: Yes, may God have mercy on those who informed us of it in sincerity, and yet in his heart he resented it when he heard [the reply]. Protect yourselves from the likes of him and do not invest your loyalty in anyone other than us. By God, we have not required you to do so [to seek loyalty in others], or else tell me: have any of your older or younger ones ever written a note to me, whether it is day or night, saying that he wishes to meet me, and I have proscribed him from doing so, or requested to meet me for a need that he had, or for a matter that he wished to pass on to me, and that I have restrained him or repulsed him? Then, by God, none of you can say that, or anything [similar] concerning this to me, so what evidence can you find in yourselves to follow anyone other than me, while I wish the elevation of your stature and your honour?

They kissed the ground in front of him, thanked him and acknowledged his favours and benevolence.340

32 Ibn Hāniʾ’s praise of Jawhar’s capture of Ibn Wāsūl and Ibn Bakr Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ al-Maghribī al-Andalusī eulogised Commander Jawhar. He mentioned Ibn Wāsūl and his capture and made reference to Ibn Bakr in his poem.341 He says: Possessor of manifold resoluteness by which he (Jawhar) destroyed the enemy and assailed the lion of the den so

that it withdrew.

340 End of Majālis extract, p. 488. 341 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, no. 10.

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The Founder of Cairo And when he (al-Muʿizz) chose him (Jawhar), with the angels as his hosts, for their destruction, the millstones [of war] began to turn on their pivots. So he adorned it with plenteous diplomacy; a leading chief, if he wishes he goes after his goal, but if he wishes he says [his words] articulately. Through him (Jawhar) he (al-Muʿizz) pushed them (the enemy) away, for his impact is more striking than a sword, greater and graver than the props of [Mount] Raḍwā. It is true that his commanders offered [him] counsel, though, as I see it, one brought up among kings is better-placed to counsel kings. The Commander of the Faithful found him to be as he knows him, for the [royal] abode never took him far away. And when sedition enveloped a part of the land, fanning the scorching and seething flames of war, By you (al-Muʿizz) he (Jawhar) defeated the Korah342 of the western lands as he sought corruption, as well as its Pharaoh who was enslaving and slaughtering. He flew headlong [into battle] with battalions all around him until he came to stand in your presence amid the shade of the pavilion, an indomitable one.

Ibn Hāniʾ also says in it: You (Jawhar) attained your wish concerning Ibn Wāsūl by force, and you ripped [Mount] Yadhbul343 from underneath him until it heaved away. Assuredly you should vilify him as one of the disobedient, for indeed I see one who has imbibed [heavily] such [disobedience] reeling in a frenzy,

342 Korah (Qārūn), the Biblical and Qur’anic figure whose name was used (along with that of Pharoah) as a metaphor for unjust and arrogant rulers. Qārūn was renowned for his splendid wealth which ultimately led to his destruction. See R. Tottoli, ‘Korah’, Encylopaedia of the Qur’an, ed. Jane D. McAuliffe (Leiden, 2005). 343 A mountain in Najd, halfway between al-Yamāma and Baṣra. It is not clear why the poet has chosen this mountain for his metaphor; it may be that it is a particularly large mountain, or that it had some strategic significance.

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As he dies and lives between his hopes [for freedom] and his despair [of mercy], one for whom [only] impending death would grant rest. Encased [as he is] in chains, resembling the underside of a striped serpent, I show you, in the reflection of the imamate: a [mere] resemblance of its name, [sitting in chains] atop the laden saddle of a mature camel, the self-styled imam, Whom the spears [of war] have deprived of his pretensions [to power]: earlier he was a dragon, now but a [mere] fly. What has happened to him? The faces of his propagandists have become disfigured, while he has been severed, one of worthless opinion, [now] vile. This Judhāmī of tall stature had been obscure throughout his life, but [now] he can be clearly seen [in his true colours].344 I say to him in rebuke, as he sits in the shackles of captivity, with the fetters pulling him back and forth, the chains binding his head upwards: ‘If the disciples of your wanton aggression have suffered a calamitous loss, what you have been made to suffer is [still] more calamitous!’ There is none like his son in fanning the flames [of war], and [none] more headstrong in battle with his grip on the reins and more ambitious. A [strong] hand of yours has in battle drained away the vigour of his youth, from which it [then] caused streams [of blood] to flow along the ground. You have bereft him of his son, the branch, whose uppermost parts [now] droop, as the budding meadow has [now] become desiccated. By my life, if you were to make him join his beloved ones [in death], assuredly he was [always] the fastest among them to [rush into] the straits of war.

344 The tribe of Judhām was an ancient Arabian tribe who settled in Palestine and Syria just prior to the Muslim conquests. Subsequently, they became integrally linked to Umayyad interests in the region. C. E. Bosworth, ‘Djudhām’, EI2.

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The Founder of Cairo How many a silent schemer at night you have surprised so that in the morning you brought him the cup of death. You have demolished what [rebellious] obduracy had constructed after its [evil] intentions had come to rest firmly in those seditions.

Ibn Wāsūl had a valiant son who was a catalyst for the fire of dissension and in causing his father to oppose the imams. One of Commander [Jawhar’s] men killed him while he was on his way to Sijilmāsa. About him, Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ says the following in his poem: And there is no son like him, brighter than a comet in battle,  Unbound and wilful, unbent and unbridled, aspiring.  When effaced in battle, the waters of youth Squeezed by your hands, exploding into overflowing streams. You inflicted him (the son of Ibn Wāsūl), breaking and twisting one of his branches,  And the fine flowers in their garden all dried,  By my life! Join him together with his [deceased] intimates,   For he was the most ardent to bring them to the difficulties of war.  And how many sleeping people, planning against you, have you shocked, Waking them with the cup of death in the morning,  Ruining the edifices of their stubbornness,  Whose foundations were shaky and unstable?

Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said:345 al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh permitted Ibn Wāsūl in his presence while he was still in fetters, a few days after the latter’s arrival. When Ibn Wāsūl appeared before him, al-Muʿizz instructed him to sit down, so he did. Al-Muʿizz left him alone

345 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 414.

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until he saw him calm down. Then he approached him without aggression and said, ‘What made you claim what you did (i.e., Ibn Wāsūl’s claim to the imamate) and style yourself the way you have?’ He replied, ‘It was heinousness and ignorance, O Commander of the Faithful.’ Al-Muʿizz rejoined, ‘Can you provide proof for this?’ He replied, ‘God forbid, I have no proof except to admit to my ignorance and error.’ Al-Nuʿmān said: Ibn Wāsūl glanced at me as a witness. This was because he had [earlier] said to someone who had confronted him, that ‘I have heard that the Qāḍī has writings and books, some of which I would like to peruse.’ When the one to whom he said this informed me, I showed him a work, which proved that his assertion to leadership was made without the confirmation of the imam, and that he had transgressed further by claiming the imamate, referring to himself as the Commander of the Faithful, taking the title al-Shākir li’llāh, and in refutation of what we had heard of his self-proclaimed assertions. He was ashamed when he learnt this and admitted to his error and ignorance. The Commander of the Faithful heard about this, so I (al-Nuʿmān) said to him, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, he has sought refuge from these words and has retracted them.’ Al-Muʿizz said to Ibn Wāsūl, ‘Do you swear by God and bear witness to Him that what you say is your belief and intention?’ Ibn Wāsūl swore to that and bore himself witness to God that his belief and intention were as he had declared them to be. Then the Commander of the Faithful began to converse with him asking him about news concerning himself and the town that he had arrived from. Every time he did so, he would revert to probing him about the proofs concerning his claims. So he would reiterate the confession of his error and ignorance. Amongst what al-Muʿizz questioned Ibn Wāsūl [about] was, ‘What do people say to you about us and ascribe to us regarding what we claim and say?’ Ibn Wāsūl remained silent. Al-Muʿizz continued: Say what you know about this and what you have been told about this for we will not be humiliated by hearing it, nor will we censure you for saying it, even if it is the most abominable allegation by the liars and the oppressors. In fact, the only one who feels humiliated when hearing reprehensible things about him is the one who is indeed like so, for he knows he is the same as what is being said about him. Thus he would be distressed, for if God discloses and reveals that about him, people would know and he would be ashamed. As for the one between whom and God

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The Founder of Cairo there exists a true bond, the one who possesses discernment and knowledge, if he is accused of reprehensible acts for which he is not responsible and which he did not commit, hearing that would please him as it will earn him God’s recompense and God’s revenge will be upon the one who made that allegation. Consequently, we like to hear about such allegations and are desirous of it. So tell us what you have heard about us and do not refrain from any of it!

He replied, ‘If the Commander of the Faithful can exempt me from this, then please do so as my tongue cannot articulate those words.’ Al-Muʿizz responded, ‘Is not what you have heard about us that we reject the prophethood of Muḥammad and have claimed prophethood after him, that we reject his example (sunna) and his law (sharīʿa), and that we propagate for something other than those two?’ Ibn Wāsūl remained silent. The Commander of the Faithful said to him, ‘Woe upon you, speak! Is this not what you have heard being ascribed to us, and is attributed to us?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ Al-Muʿizz rejoined: May God curse those who have said this, ascribing it and arrogating it to us, creating fabrications about us, reproaching us with it and imputing it to us. How could we say this or propagate it when our grandfather Muḥammad is the honour with which God has swathed us and the glory with which He has cloaked us? By him (the Prophet) we gain distinction over people and by him we are glorified among the Arabs and the non-Arabs. So how could we repudiate his prophethood or disown his favours or allege that it (prophethood) belongs to us, exclusive of him? By God, if God had sent a prophet after him – nay, that cannot happen! – we would be among the farthest of people in our commitment and desire of him. Indeed, the Banū ʿAbd Shams346 have antagonised and detested us because of it (i.e., this lineage). As one of them has said, ‘We fed them and so did you, we performed good deeds like you did, as if we were two

346 The Banū ‘Abd al-Shams refers to the entire Umayyad clan, as their progenitor Umayya was himself the son of ‘Abd al-Shams b. ‘Abd al-Manāf of the tribe of Quraysh. As such, the terms Banū ‘Abd al-Shams and Banū Umayya are often used interchangeably. ‘Abd al-Shams’s brother Hāshim, another son of ‘Abd al-Manāf, was the progenitor of the clan of the Messenger, the Banū Hāshim. G. Levi Della Vida (C. E. Bosworth), ‘Umayya’, EI2.

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horses in a race, and you said, “The Prophet is from us!” By God, we will not submit to that nor will we affirm it for you.’ If we asserted our disavowal from the law (sharīʿa) of our grandfather Muḥammad, then who would call to its preservation and adherence? Certainly, by God, if we say that God has bequeathed us with his honour, his distinction and his glory, and has appointed us as imams over his umma (community) after him, and obliged people’s allegiance to us after him (the Prophet), as was due to him, then we have spoken the truth, as God has said: ‘Obey God, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you’ (4: 59). By God, we are the ones charged with authority, whose obedience God has enjoined upon people, and [we are] the people of remembrance (ahl al-dhikr) whom He instructed people to ask, in spite of those who repudiated that and were averse to it. This is God’s grace and His benefaction upon us for which we are unable to thank Him except through His succour. No one can vie with us on this course except for the one who alleges to be haughty, and no one can challenge us on it except the stray infidel. There is no other way than the one we have [already] called for and no rank higher than the one we aspire to. It is sufficient for us that we are able to thank God for His benefactions upon us. So how could we desist from it and call for something that God would burn one for in Hellfire, and utter the words of those infidels who falsified the prophethood of our grandfather Muḥammad? God will question the one who alleges what we have said and what we have not and will censure him for his actions.

Al-Muʿizz then continued, ‘Tell us what else has been told to you about us?’ Ibn Wāsūl replied, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, in sincere faith and honesty, all that I know is what you have said.’ Al-Muʿizz responded, ‘Indeed, we have heard that it has been said to you that we have a head that we worship and prostrate to instead of God, and that it emits dinars from its mouth.’ Ibn Wāsūl replied, ‘We have heard that being said.’ The Commander of the Faithful continued, ‘What kind of a head did they say it was – a human head, an animal head, a snakehead or what?’ He answered, ‘I do not know what they say, may God curse them.’ Al-Muʿizz rejoined, ‘Indeed, by God, we worship the head of everything, their Lord and Creator, God, the Sustainer of all the worlds, who is the One who has bestowed [bounty] on us, favoured us, chosen us and honoured us.’ Ibn Wāsūl replied, ‘By God, that is so, O Commander of the Faithful.’ The Commander of the Faithful continued, ‘I am shocked

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by these defective minds and corrupt, delusive imaginations that accept such implausible tales which they have a propensity for, and with which they convince people, such that they attribute it to someone, or they accept it from those who say it, or they affirm it as if they had seen it with their own eyes and had heard the claimant with their own ears.’347 Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said:348 The Commander of the Faithful ordered that Ibn Wāsūl, who had claimed the imamate and had styled himself Commander of the Faithful, was to be brought to him, and he sheltered him in the palace cellar in fetters. Then the month of Ramaḍān began, and Ibn Wāsūl requested to pray the Friday prayer behind the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, who was informed about this. Al-Muʿizz said to the one who had relayed this: Say to him: prayer and all the other acts are not accepted unless [they are performed] with intention and conviction. If you had believed in our imamate, you would not have ended up in this state and we would not have withheld Sijilmāsa from you, for it holds no significance for us, nor does the rest of the world and all that it contains. We would not have taken on the burden of sending our supporters with armies against you and exerted ourselves in organising and accomplishing this. If you had truly desired to follow us, you would have secured the ensuing favours and rewards while you were firmly lodged in your place, secure in your power, for we would have ensured that for you. Since you rejected our imamate and claimed it instead for yourself, God enabled us to capture and overpower you. So what would you, who is trying to claim our status, benefit by following us in our prayer while you are a prisoner at our hands? If your intention in saying your prayer with ours is to gain favour and that was your genuine intention, and you acquiesce to our imamate, disavowing what you have done and are remorseful about deviating from it, by God, this will benefit you whether you pray with us or not. If you wanted to demonstrate your inclination towards us and to beseech us so as to please us, by God, nothing from you will please us more than that which pleases God. Indeed, our heart is attached to Him and it does not tilt towards anyone unless He is pleased with a person’s actions and

347 End of Majālis extract, p. 417. 348 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 411.

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He wishes his happiness. So if you wish this from us, be sincere with God in what transpires between you and Him and believe in this. Then you will receive it at the appointed time from Him whose mention is exalted, and in this world you will receive what is in our hearts; so forsake adorning yourself with falsehood.

[Al-Nuʿmān] said: The messenger reported, When I conveyed this to Ibn Wāsūl, he was startled. He did not know what to say, except that he said, “By God, these cannot be but the words of prophethood. Truly, he is the descendant of the Messenger of God and this is the inheritance of that wisdom.” [Al-Nuʿmān] said: Someone who was permitted to meet with Ibn Wāsūl and to ask him as to his needs, referred to al-Muʿizz that Ibn Wāsūl had asked him if he had any works of Aristotle. The one whom Ibn Wāsūl asked this was among those who were interested in these works. The messenger said, ‘I said to Ibn Wāsūl, “Why do you want the discourse of Aristotle when your companions renounce it?” He replied, “Those who renounce it are ignorant.”’ When the messenger had conveyed this to al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, al-Muʿizz responded, ‘Say to him, “Perhaps what you want from the writings of Aristotle is his letter to Alexander concerning the preservation of the life of captured kings, so that you can extract from it that which will implore us to preserve your life?”’ The man said, ‘I informed Ibn Wāsūl about the words of the Commander of the Faithful. He was speechless. Later he said, ‘I believe that they are ascribed prophethood for reasons such as these. By God, that is exactly what I had in mind and I only wanted the writings for the very reason that he has mentioned.’ Then he mentioned a tradition that was related from the Messenger of God: ‘I was sent as a prophet when these two towns’, meaning Mecca and al-Ṭāʾif,349 ‘had forty men, the conjecture of each one of them being as good as the certainty of another.’350 He continued, ‘If that condition was so amongst other people, how would it be among the progeny of the prophets?’351

349 A town in south-east Arabia in the Sarāt mountains near Mecca. 350 This tradition (also cited by by al-Nuʿmān in Daʿāʾim, I: 199) signifies the collective ignorance and error of the men in both the towns. 351 End of Majālis extract, p. 413.

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Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān352 b. Muḥammad said: ʿĪd al-Fiṭr was visited by a great storm and it became very slushy and muddy. Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh was informed that the road to the place of [the ‘Īd] prayer (muṣallā) was filled with water, dirt and mud, and people thought that he would perform the ʿĪd prayer in the mosque. He responded, ‘Be that as it may, it is imperative that we fulfil the obligation to God in the open space according to the orders of Him whose mention is exalted and the example of His Messenger.’ He mentioned the hadith of the Prophet who recalled the night of Qadr in the month of Ramaḍān and said,353 ‘I dreamt that I was praying that night in water and mud. Thereafter, people were soaked by the rain.’ The Messenger of God arrived at the mosque and prayed. By the time he finished praying, his forehead and nose were smeared with slush because he had prostrated in it.’ Al-Muʿizz said: This is the least that can be performed for the sake of God, and a great deal more. By God, if we had to crawl on our knees in this mud for the sake of God’s pleasure and for His acceptance of us, we would do so. Indeed, the Messenger of God used to say, “If you hear the caller of the people of my household (dāʿī āla baytī), hasten to him even if you have to crawl over ice and fire.” If God has obligated people to do that for us and we are among His creation to whom He has granted His favours and has graced us with His benefactions, what [then] is incumbent upon us and upon the rest of creation for Him? He is too exalted for us to compromise Him or for us to be presumptuous in bearing hardships for His sake. God forbid that we become arrogant in our worship of Him or that we slacken in obedience to Him.

The following day, al-Muʿizz set out accompanied by people, wading through water and mud, and by the time they had left, they were soiled and their clothes were soaked. It was a scene that satisfied God with His walī and the followers of his madhhab who accompanied him, if God wills.354

352 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 457. 353 Laylat al-qadr (Night of Power) denotes the anniversary of the night on which the Qurʾan was revealed to the Prophet. M. Plessener, ‘Laylat al-Ḳadr’, EI2. 354 End of Majālis extract, p. 458.

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Al-Nuʿmān said: This ʿĪd arrived while Ibn Wāsūl and Ibn Bakr were imprisoned in the palace shed. When they had arrived at the end of Shaʿbān, the people thought that no sooner had they arrived they would be executed. When they were spared, it was said they would be executed on ʿĪd al-Fiṭr. When al-Muʿizz left the mosque and entered his palace, he ordered them to be brought into his presence, while he was mounted on his horse with a spear in his hand. They kissed the ground and stood. He said to them, ‘Which is better for you, the state you are in now, in disobedience and enmity, or to be here today among all our supporters and followers, performing your obligations to God with us, and to be settled in your own land, in obedience to us, as God Almighty has made it incumbent upon you and upon the rest of His creation, living peacefully, safely and contentedly?” Ibn Wāsūl did not understand what he had said. I think fear and dread had overwhelmed him, so he replied, ‘The state we are in now is better, O our master.’ The Commander of the Faithful smiled when he realised that he had misunderstood him. I think that the wretched one thought that al-Muʿizz had repeated what he had said to him on a previous occasion, for al-Muʿizz had said to him on the day that Ibn Wāsūl was [first] brought to him, ‘By God, indeed the state that you find yourself in now, even though you are a fettered prisoner, is better than the way you were, insubordinate to God in your transgressions against Him and titling yourself the way you had, despite your resentment of your current state.’ Ibn Wāsūl responded, ‘It is as the Commander of the Faithful has said.’ I think [on this day] that he thought that the Commander of the Faithful had repeated what he had said to him on the matter earlier. When al-Muʿizz realised that Ibn Wāsūl had misunderstood what he had said, he left him and turned to Ibn Bakr and said: As for you Ibn Bakr, God has enabled us to overpower you when you erred. Then we were generous to you and released you from captivity and repatriated you. However, you did not appreciate the good turn. On the contrary, you belittled our benefaction, subjugated the lands near us and summoned for [rulers] other than us, and you said, amongst what we have heard about you, “These al-Fawāṭim”,355 meaning those who

355 The term al-Fawāṭim, designating descent from Fāṭima, the Prophet’s daughter, here refers to the Idrīsid-Ḥasanid sharīfs of Fez and North Africa, with whom Ibn Bakr was equating al-Muʿizz.

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were in your region, whom you could please by giving them a little wine and paltry gifts, implying by it that we would not be pleased except by receiving a great deal more. If you were wise enough you would have known that the only people who would have been pleased by what you said were those who are like you or even lower than you. If only you had supported us in public or had sent us a citron as a gift, you might have succeeded in inclining us towards you as you have alleged you can do. Instead you have opposed and forsaken us. Then we sent our troops against you. You proclaimed that you were loyal to us. However, you closed the city gates on them and did not come out to receive our slave, the commander of our armies. When he requested that you send your son so that he could represent you, you indicated a black slave who was in front of you and said to Jawhar’s messenger, “If he had asked me for the head of ten of these slaves, I would not have given them to him!” Our troops fought against yours and our awliyāʾ were killed. Then you wrote to us that you had a tacit agreement with our commander and you requested us to grant you the same status as our awliyāʾ. Do you think that if you had exasperated one of your women and had treated her in the manner that you have treated us, that she would have been pleased with you? So beware O wretched one, do not challenge and venture against us the way you have.

Al-Muʿizz uttered these words angrily, circling the spear in his hand and pointing its tip at the dissolute Ibn Bakr. Many of those who were present thought that he would fling it at him, so they stepped away from where he was standing. The traitor was silenced and dismayed. The most he was able to say was, ‘O my master, I am your slave and I have erred.’ Then al-Muʿizz turned to them both and said, ‘What would you have done to the one who had behaved in the manner that you have with me, if God had empowered each of you over him, as he has empowered me over both of you?” They remained silent. He looked at Ibn Wāsūl and said, ‘Speak! God witnesses what is in your heart. What would you have done in that situation?’ He replied, ‘Who am I to be compared with even a slave of the Commander of the Faithful, let alone with something he would do?’ Then the Commander of the Faithful’s horse widened its legs and urinated. Many of those who were around him stepped back from it.

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Ibn Wāsūl stepped aside a little as he was facing the horse. The horse urine trickled towards him. The Commander of the Faithful said to him, ‘Why are you recoiling from horse urine?’ He stayed silent. Al-Muʿizz continued, ‘Tell me and do not hesitate. In fact, many of our slaves have done what you have.’ Ibn Wāsūl said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, we were told it is impure (najis).’ Al-Muʿizz asked, ‘Why do you say it is impure?’ He replied, ‘Because it is forbidden to eat its meat, and if one cannot eat its meat, its urine is impure.’ Al-Muʿizz questioned, ‘Why can its meat not be eaten? Have you not heard that it is sold in Muslim slaughterhouses in many of their garrison towns?’ Then al-Muʿizz looked at me and said, ‘What is your view on the matter, O Nuʿmān?’ I said, ‘I say what my masters have said and what we have reported on their authority from the Messenger of God that ʿAlī said: “The Messenger of God passed by a man from the Anṣār in front of whom was a dying horse. The Messenger of God said to him, ‘Slaughter it and you will be doubly rewarded for sacrificing it, distributing it in anticipation of God’s reward.’ He requested, ‘O Messenger of God, can I keep some of it?’ He responded, ‘Yes, eat from it and give us some, if you wish.’ He slaughtered it and gave a leg to the Messenger of God.” ʿAlī said, “The Messenger of God ate some of it and fed it to us as well.”’ I (al-Nuʿmān) said: The commonalty (al-ʿāmma) rely on this tradition to permit the slaughter of horses and eating its meat. As for the Ahl al-Bayt, they only permit the slaughtering of those horses which are unhealthy and unfit to live, as that is what the Messenger of God prescribed to be slaughtered, when he saw it suffering. They do not accept the slaughter of the healthy ones as God has said, ‘And (He has created) horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride and use for show’ (16:8), and His words, ‘Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war’ (8:60). So they permitted the slaughter of those horses that were unhealthy and unfit to live and the eating of their meat. They forbade the slaughtering of healthy and fit horses, in accordance with the hadith texts, because they provide might to Islam and power and glory to its owners when they are healthy. However, if they become unhealthy and unfit to live, this description of them becomes invalid, hence it is permitted to slaughter them and to eat their meat according to the tradition. God says: ‘So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny your-

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selves that which he withholds from you’ (59:7). Many reports have been narrated from the Messenger of God concerning this.

Al-Muʿizz smiled, turned his horse’s reins and entered the palace from the special gate (bāb al-khāṣṣa) where a feast had been laid out for the people. A food-server sent Ibn Wāsūl and Ibn Bakr to a room and served them food. They ate and were returned to their place. People were discussing what transpired between the Commander of the Faithful and the two of them. One of the people said to me, ‘We thought that Ibn Bakr would be killed.’ I [al-Nuʿmān] replied, ‘If he were to be killed now would he not depart and be relieved of the suffering that he is facing, even though he would face the wrath of God? However, it pleases us to see him thus and to make him witness these memorable occasions, and to rebuke him in this manner until the walī Allāh decides what he wishes to do, which will be the best outcome and the ultimate hope.’ Al-Nuʿmān said: When the Commander [Jawhar] captured Ibn Wāsūl and God granted him victory over him, he reprimanded the people of Sijilmāsa. Then he pardoned them, appointed one of them as a governor over them and departed. They pounced on that governor and killed him and appointed instead Muntaṣir b. Muḥammad b. al-Muʿtazz,356 whose father and grandfather had been appointed as governors of the land by the Commander of the Faithful and were among the loyal supporters (ahl al-walāya). When Ibn Wāsūl had occupied the land, he arrested Muntaṣir, who was then a young man, and kept him captive with him for some time. The people of the city appointed Muntaṣir leader after they had killed the governor that the Commander (Jawhar) had appointed over them. They maligned him (the previous governor) with vile acts, which they claimed necessitated his death. They asserted that the rabble and the commoners murdered him. They used that as a pretext to promote

356 Muntaṣir’s grandfather al-Muʿtazz was appointed by Maṣāla b. Ḥabbūs over Sijilmāsa in 309/921 and remained loyal to the Fatimid daʿwa until he died in 321/933, just before the demise of al-Mahdī. His son, Muḥammad b. al-Muʿtazz, succeeded him in 331/943 and was succeeded in turn by his son al-Muntaṣir Samkū when he was 13 years old, until his paternal cousin, Muḥammad b. Wāsūl, ousted him. See ‘Abu Ubayd al-Bakrī, al-Mughrib fī dhikr bilād Ifrīqiya wa’l-Maghrib (Baghdad, n.d.) p. 153, as cited in Ya‘lāwī, Taʾrīkh, p. 798; and Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, VI: 131.

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their nominee for his loyalty and affection. It was said that Muntaṣir strove for that [position] and immediately sent a messenger to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, along with the people of the city, apologising to him and describing the circumstances to him. He dismissed their messenger saying that their apology was unacceptable and that he would not grant them safety until their notables came to him – and he named them – accompanied by Muntaṣir, to explain themselves. Only then would he consider what to do with them. The messenger returned with that message. No sooner had he arrived then Muntaṣir left to come to him with 200 of his notables that the Commander of the Faithful had named. They rode along sandy tracks and waterless deserts in apprehension that they would be unexpectedly attacked, until they arrived and the Commander of the Faithful received them. When they came in front of him, they kissed the ground and remained standing. He glanced irately at them and then bowed his head in silence for sometime, so their faces darkened and their limbs began to tremble, and none of them could voice a word for the fear they experienced within themselves. He raised his head and said: O people of Sijilmāsa, you acted the way you did during the reign of alMahdī bi’llāh. However, he overpowered you time and again. He forgave you and was benevolent to you as he was in your vicinity during his stay [in Sijilmāsa],357 as would anyone whom God had granted His generous disposition and good character. Even though you did not extend your goodwill to him nor did you perform any good deeds towards him, he pardoned you, was charitable, forgiving and gracious to you. In spite of all that, you did not give him his due appreciation, nor were you grateful to him. You heard a roar from Satan’s bellows and you replied; he called to you and you responded. A pretender (Ibn Wāsūl) rose among you with false claims and usurped the rule. You knew his lineage and his motives. He controlled your affairs, lied and claimed that which was not his. He styled himself as the Commander of the Faithful and imam of the Muslims over you. You knew that, yet you did not doubt him; you were

357 On al-Mahdī’s arrival in the Maghrib, see Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 100ff.

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certain, yet you did not question him – that is unacceptable. One should not submit to the likes of him. However, you submitted, obeyed, supported and followed him. By doing so, you have split from the community of Muslims (jamā‘at al-muslimīn), have abandoned the party of the believers (ḥizb al-mu’minīn) and have committed grave religious misconduct. Too much has reached us concerning his affair and yours to be able to dismiss it, or to be heedless, for God, exalted be His name, has obliged us to establish His truth in His lands and fight those who deviate from His religion and the practice of His Messenger, and to take your place and the place of this offender. So we raised an army against you from among our awliyāʾ, the helpers of our dominion, and [from] our slaves, under a slave [Jawhar] whom we had appointed over them, and we have directed him to counsel and admonish you to reconsider and repent before attacking you. While heading towards you he continued to send messages through his messengers to you to affirm the proof, at times cajoling and at other times threatening, gently at times and firmly at others, calling you to obedience, striving to restrain you from insurrection and error, seeking [from you] to capture the enemy of God among you if he persisted in his transgression and error, if you were able to do so, or to free yourselves from him, and to abandon him, if you could not gain control over him. His messages were sent to you, and those of you who [incidentally] came across [him] also conveyed his messages. In spite of all that you were persistent in your falsehood and were committed to the sinner who was misguiding you, until our army reached your vicinity, our troops spread in your region and the spies of the enemy of God surveyed its (army’s) capacity, equipment and strength, and reported it to him, and he realised that neither he nor your armies had the strength to match ours. When they (the army) attacked you and invaded your houses, you were [still] following the imposter, and he slipped away escaping behind your backs. If you wanted to capture him you could have done so, by surrounding his house whenever you wished and by confiscating his wealth. However, you continued to persist in your allegiance to him and in supporting him until it was wrested from you and God empowered us over him by His mercy and benefaction, as is His fine custom, without any favours from you or indeed from anyone else. He placed us over you and gave us power over you, while you continued in your transgression and error, so you deserve to be smitten and destroyed. Then our slave

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acted with you according to our order, to be magnanimous, forgiving and merciful. Yet when he withdrew from you, you renewed your transgression. So what do you deserve to be done to you?

Al-Muʿizz spoke these words in fury. Their faces changed and became pale and ashen, their limbs trembled and most of them were stunned into silence. One of them said in dismay and alarm, ‘If the Commander of the Faithful wishes to punish, then we are deserving of it, and if he chooses to forgive, he is the forgiving, the gracious and the merciful one.’ Al-Muʿizz was momentarily silent. Then he summoned Muntaṣir b. Muḥammad b. al-Muʿtazz, drew him close and instructed him to sit down. Muntaṣir repeatedly kissed the ground and thanked the Commander of the Faithful. Then al-Muʿizz turned to the delegation and said, ‘Indeed you are deserving of painful chastisement and punishment. However, as God has created us to be compassionate, forgiving and merciful, we will forgive your previous misdeeds so long as you recant and reform yourselves. We have appointed this slave of ours as governor over you’, and he pointed to Muntaṣir. Muntaṣir kissed the ground and so did they several times and they thanked al-Muʿizz as best as they could, and their anxiety and apprehension subsided. He ordered them to be dismissed to where he had lodged them and gave a robe of honour and a mount to Muntaṣir. He similarly honoured their prominent men. He gave instruction for them all to be housed, and they lived there for some time in the most affluent and congenial conditions. Subsequently, when he decided to send them back, he appointed Muntaṣir to rule over Sijilmāsa as its governor. He bestowed upon him a splendid robe of honour, several horses and saddles decorated in silver, and he showered him with many gifts. He also presented mounts, clothes and gifts to all those who accompanied him. He repatriated them with what far exceeded their aspirations and imagination, for their ultimate hope was to escape death. They departed, their tongues proclaiming gratitude and their hearts filled with joy. Al-Ḥasan al-Anṣārī reported in his history: In 351 [962-3] Ibrāhīm b. Abī Yazīd358 was killed and his head was sent to Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn

358 This Ibrāhīm was the sixth son of the Kharījī rebel Abū Yazīd, following Aḥmad, Ayūb, Faḍl, Yazīd and Yūnus, as mentioned in a margin of the manuscript and noted by Yaʿlāwī.

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Allāh. He was killed in the Awrās, in the region of Bāghāya.359 He had gathered troops to rise in rebellion. However, Abu’l-Ḥasan al-Mawṣilī,360 the Governor of Bāghāya, fought him until he had killed him. He [al-Nuʿmān] said: In that year Taormina,361 which was in Byzantine lands, was conquered. It was subjugated by Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī’l-Ḥusayn during his father’s lifetime.362

33 Circumcision of the Fatimid princes Amongst what al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said was:363 When Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh decided to circumcise his sons. ʿAbd Allāh, Nizār al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh364 and ʿAqīl, he wrote to his close associates, his awliyāʾ, all his soldiers, slaves and merchants, artisans in his capital, the common citizens of al-Manṣūriyya and al-Qayrawān and all the inhabitants of the towns of Ifrīqiya and its environs, whether they were sedentary or nomadic. He instructed messages to be sent to his governors from

359 Bāghāya was a strategically important fortified town at the foot of Awrās range. See Ibn Ḥawqal, Abu’l-Qāsim Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Kitāb Ṣūrat al-arḍ, ed. J. H. Kramers (Leiden, 1938–1939), pp. 84–85. 360 He was Ḥusayn b. Khalaf al-Mawṣilī. Al-Muʿizz appointed him to administer the collection of taxes before he departed for Egypt. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, VII: 45. 361 A Sicilian town in the province of Messina, taken by the Fatimids from the Byzantines in 351/962. See al-Nuwayrī, Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad, Nihāyat al-ʿArab, fi funun al-adab, ed. M. M. Amin and M. H. Muḥammad (Cairo, 1992), 24:370. 362 The addition from al-Ḥasan al-Ansārī ends here. Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī had succeeded his father as the Governor of Sicily in 341/952 and reigned until 358/969 when his brother ʿAlī took over the governorship of Sicily. Ibn Khaldūn, al-Ibār, vol. 4, p. 209. 363 Beginning of Majālis extract, p. 556. Al-Maqrīzī, in his Ittiʿāẓ (p. 94, trans., p. 56), reports this event verbatim, apparently from the same source as the Majālis of al-Nuʿmān. A notable difference, however, is that al-Maqrīzī includes dhimmīs among those circumcised. 364 The third son of al-Muʿizz, Nizār Abu’l-Manṣūr was 20 years old when his father appointed him heir apparent, following the death of his elder brother ʿAbd Allāh. He took the regnal title al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh and was the first Fatimid sovereign to begin his rule in Egypt.

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nearby Barqa365 and its districts, to distant Sijilmāsa and its borders and all the regions that lay between them, to every corner of his kingdom, to the island of Sicily and to all the classes of people, whether they were settled or nomadic, to bring their boys for circumcision from Tuesday, 1 Rabiʿ I 351/8 April 962, to the end of that month. He also ordered that a large sum of money and robes should be transported to each of these towns so that they could be distributed to every Muslim family, be they noble or common, who circumcise their boys. Al-Nuʿmān said: We saw the loads that were carried to Sicily. They amounted to fifty loads of money in addition to the robes. Similar amounts were sent to every governor to distribute among the people of his jurisdiction. Al-Muʿizz attended the circumcision of his sons on the above-mentioned Tuesday. He, the pure one, sat to witness the circumcision of all the people of the capital as well as the bedouins from nearby. He ordered the pitching of tents in the al-Baḥr palace courtyard, alongside the water, and permitted [entry to] the boys along with the fathers, mothers, slaves and servants who wished to accompany them, and the slaves whom they wished to circumcise. Al-Muʿizz was determined that the circumcisions should continue for the entire month. Rumour spread among the people that he had ordered that if anyone did not get their boys circumcised during this period of circumcision, and wished to do so during the seven years that followed, he would be deprived of his bounty and would be contravening his orders. So people hastened to bring all their sons and slaves. When he heard that he said, ‘The one who has broadcast this has done well, for those who love our reign would not tarry in coming forth.’ Al-Muʿizz would sit from morning and continued being seated while they were circumcised. They passed in front of him and were given cloth, and were rewarded generously so that no one was left out, noble or common, free or slave, close or distant, settled or nomad. The circumcisers were in the tents, sitting on chairs with benches in front of them for the boys to sit on. People held their boys on their laps, sprinkling the powder that stemmed the bleeding from the circumcised parts,

365 Barqa was both the name of the Byzantine town (modern al-Marj) and the coastal province (Cyrenaica) in medieval North Africa. It was conquered by the Arabs in 34/655 and became a major military and commercial thoroughfare between Egypt and the Maghrib. Also note Ibn Ḥawqal al-Baghdādī’s brief synopsis on Barqa in the text, section 45. It was at Barqa that al-Muiʿzz’s trusted chamberlain Jawdhar died. J. Despois, ‘Barḳa’, EI2.

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and [some] would be standing with incense and rosewater spraying it on their heads and faces to alleviate their fear. Clowns had toys to entertain them (the boys) and divert their attention. Then they would celebrate as they left to take them home. The elite were presented robes and gifts which were according to their status, and which would therefore take long to describe. He gifted the people with gifts, which were in addition to cloth; each of their boys received 150–200 dirhams. The least amount was given to those who were unknown among the bedouins, people similar to them and their slaves; each boy received 10 dirhams. On each day of this month at least between 5,000 and 10,000 boys were circumcised. Many people began talking about this and discussing it. They were astonished and reckoned at the outset that this could not be brought to completion and that the money would be insufficient to fulfil all the expectations. They said that there were such a large number of boys that a whole year would not suffice to complete it. Al-Nuʿmān said: I was one of those who was astonished and became anxious. So I mentioned it to al-Muʿizz one day. He said to me: O Nuʿmān, assuage yourself, for indeed we have set aside sufficient money to spend on this. By God, it is not something which would cause us anxiety, and we will neither incur a loss by spending it, nor is it something for which we have to delve into our treasure, or indeed our forefathers’ provisions, and it (the money) is not needed for anything else. Many of the worldly kings who have preceded us would have spent similar amounts and much more in sinful acts which God considers abominable. We wish to do this for the sake of God, to carry out our obligation to Him, to revive the practice of our grandfather, His Messenger, and the creed of His intimate, Ibrāhīm (Abraham). By God, we seek by it nothing except for God and His closeness. None of those [kings] ever sought to seek His love or to embellish themselves before Him. We have set aside money for this and, therefore, it is imperative that we spend it [on this task]. We had already planned for this in the hope that God would keep us alive to fulfil it.

By that he meant this month which he had earmarked for it. It was God’s will for him that by Wednesday, the last day of that Rabīʿ I, the circumcision of all those who had come from sedentary and bedouin regions was completed. On that day over 12,000 boys gathered and each

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one to the last of them was circumcised. The following day around 300 of them straggled in. Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh was observing them from his balcony as they were gathering at the palace gate, so he ordered their circumcision. The matter was thus completed for each one, to the very last of them within the time that he had earmarked for it, to the extent that if all of them were counted and divided by the number of days that had been allocated for it, all of them, to the last one, could not have been circumcised within that timeframe except by the pleasure of God. This was done for all the villages and cities in every direction. No one knew the [extent of the] innumerable sums of money, cloth and expenses that were spent except those who were responsible for the expenditure. The days of this month were filled with feasts, bliss, celebrations and benefactions in every region of the Commander of the Faithful’s realm, from the nomadic to the sedentary regions. Everyone benefited from his benefactions; his bounty was manifest on them. The rich became more affluent and the poor were eased from their poverty. The inhabitants of every household were filled with joy. This good deed had not been preceded by anyone prior to him, and no one considered that anyone would have the same ability to do what he had done. Praise be to God for what He enabled His walī and for bestowing His grace upon him.366

34 Account of the daʿwa in Sind367 Sind was among the regions where victories (fatḥ) were achieved for the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh.368 In that region there was a dāʿī who was corrupt and who had transgressed. Many Magians [were] converted at his hand. He let them commit many acts that are forbidden in Islam but which they considered permitted in their religion. When the Commander of the Faithful al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh heard of this matter, he was appalled and repulsed, in humility to God, and wished to revive the creed of his grandfather Muḥammad, the Messenger of God. He wrote to the people of his daʿwa in Sind to abandon

366 End of Majālis extract p. 558. The previous Fatimid imam-caliph al-Manṣūr had a similar circumcision ceremony in 341/952–3; it lasted 17 days, during which 100,000 boys were circumcised at an estimated cost of 200,000 dinars. Cf. al-Maqrīzī, Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 174–175. 367 This heading appears in the text. 368 See note 39 above.

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that dāʿī, for he had corrupted and dissociated from God’s religion, and had failed to fulfil his duty to the religion of God concerning forbidding the evil and enjoining the good in his words and in his actions.369 Dāʿī Ḥalīm b. Shaybān370 lived in that region; he was known for his worship, integrity, good intentions and clear conscience. The letter of the Commander of the Faithful did not arrive until after the death of the dāʿī who had been negligent in fulfilling his duties. The believers entrusted Ḥalīm b. Shaybān to lead them while awaiting the imam’s instructions. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad related the following in one of his works. Al-Nuʿmān said:371 One of the dāʿīs from a distant region in a faraway land was summoning to the awliyāʾ Allāh after he had succeeded to the position of previous dāʿīs. A large number of its inhabitants had responded to him, the majority of who were Magians. Nonetheless, Islam had spread among them for a long time. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, heard that the new dāʿī had caused turmoil. This was because he had summoned a large number of Magians who had not submitted [to Islam]. He let them commit what is forbidden in Islam, which they considered to be permitted [in their religion]. They committed what God has prohibited such as marrying those who are forbidden to them, and eating and drinking what is unlawful, thus violating God’s injunctions, and God’s trust was vested in someone who was undeserving of it. For the sake of this world he sought this from them as he thought they were greater than their actual worth. Then he overstepped [further] and permitted the people of his daʿwa amongst the Muslims and others to commit acts that are forbidden by God. The Commander of the Faithful found this unbearable when he heard about it. Al-Muʿizz condemned him, dissociated [himself] from him to God, cursed him, was distressed by his matter, and apprehension filled his heart. He had previously sent messengers on his behalf, but

369 Neither al-Nu‘mān nor Idrīs mention the name of this transgressing dā‘ī. For more information, see Stern, ‘Ismāʿīlī Propaganda’, pp. 179–180. 370 Also known as Jalam b. Shaybān, Ḥalim headed the Ismaili daʿwa in Sind following the founding of an Ismaili state in Multan in 347/958 and established close links with the Fatimid court. The Ismaili state suffered repeated invasions and massacres by the Ghaznavids in the early 5th/11th century. See Abbas Hamdani, The Beginnings of the Ismaili Daʿwa in Northern India (Cairo, 1956), and Stern, ‘Ismāʿīlī Propaganda’. 371 Beginning of a lengthy Majālis extract, p. 477.

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they had concealed from al-Muʿizz what he was doing. The imam questioned the messengers, so they apprised him of the matter. As they were good-hearted, he informed them of the consequences of the dāʿī’s grave acts. Hence they dissociated themselves from him and repented to the walī of God for following his command. Consequently he re-admitted them into his daʿwa and purified them. Al-Muʿizz then asked them and others from the regions, as well as others who were present, as to who was the best one among them. They mentioned a man to him. Al-Muʿizz wrote to him to administer the people of that region, to inform those whom he trusted among the sincere believers for that purpose, and to devise a stratagem to kill the enemy of God who had apostatised from his religion, an innovator who had transgressed, to repudiate his transgression and to manifest the religion of God according to God’s and His awliyā’s orders. Al-Muʿizz sent the messengers with these orders and with a letter, which was in response to his (the dāʿī’s) letter, containing what al-Muʿizz considered should be written. He confided in us, his select people who were in his company at the time, sharing his distress concerning this with us, in graciousness and closeness. We (al-Nuʿmān and others present) were apprehensively awaiting what would happen in that region, and were troubled. We said, ‘A people who are reared372 on the forbidden, how can they be restrained when it has spread among them and become their creed?’ Our apprehension concerning the recipient of the letter was greater than our hope for the perdition of the dissolute renegade. Nonetheless, we placed our trust concerning this in God for his walī, that He would fulfil al-Muʿizz’s hopes and aspirations, as is His norm. No sooner had the messengers arrived at that place (Sind) and were departing from it, then other messengers came from that direction with letters and contributions which they had brought. Al-Muʿizz permitted them to enter, so they kissed the ground before him and rubbed their cheeks on it in seeking closeness to him. They praised God and thanked Him for enabling them to reach al-Muʿizz, for entering his proximity and being close to him. Those who were in his audience stepped back, as was expected of them, so that al-Muʿizz could speak with them in confidence. He asked them about the situation. They spoke at length, and we could hear what they said but in discretion paid no heed, so as not to hear what we were

372 Fākhurī and Kamāl edition (p. 167) has taṭā‘amū rather than taṭ‘amū, but the translation remains the same.

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not meant to. As we were watching his face, it became radiant as he heard what he had, and he praised God continuously, and no sooner had they completed conversing and departed, then al-Muʿizz turned to us, filled with joy and happiness. He said, ‘Did you hear what they said?’ We replied, ‘We heard but did not understand.’ He rejoined, ‘Yes, listen to this: They (the messengers) mentioned that God has increased the number of the people who profess our daʿwa and those who are close to us are in support of them. Even though the dissolute one has propagated what he has among them, it has not become widespread among them, and the only ones who have followed him are those who trust him and are close to him. God has enlightened one of the rulers of that region who is endowed with power, provisions, weapons and men, and he has responded to the daʿwa along with his people and he has joined the party of believers. Their position is such that they have publicly declared [the daʿwa]. They have proclaimed my name and have given it renown; they have inscribed it on banners and have pronounced it from the minbars. The other rulers of the region censured them and set out against them with an innumerable force and the number of believers did not add up to a tenth of them. When the submitting ruler373 and his men realised this, they gathered at a [certain] place and dug a trench around it. Inevitably, as their enemy advanced towards him, they immediately fell in due to their large numbers. They assaulted them and the submitting ruler ordered his men to attack them along with the party of believers, for he was foresighted and sincere in his intentions. They said to him, ‘How can we attack them when they stand in front of us numbered like sand granules?’ He replied, “Do not heed the people in front of you, instead cast your gaze at the sky, for the One who is above that is with you, and He is your support and succour.” So they attacked with determination and sincere intentions. He led the attack on a group of them and they attacked alongside him. The vast host (mala’) that they were facing were defeated and God enabled them (the followers of the daʿwa) to capture them. They killed an innumerable number of them and pillaged their riches, weapons and livestock. God dispersed the assemblage of their enemies. People

373 That is, the one who had joined the daʿwa.

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from surrounding areas offered their obedience and submitted to their rule. Many towns fell under their control and they appointed administrators over them, and our daʿwa was manifest within them. They firmly fortified themselves in a towering, impregnable citadel, settling in it and using it as a place of refuge. The cursed renegade dāʿī was among them; they believed he was under our allegiance and they glorified his matter as they thought that he was summoning for us. It was not until the messengers whom we had sent had reached the nearest of the regions, which was still a month’s travelling distance from there, that God allowed what we wished to happen to the dissolute one, without coercion or constraint. He was afflicted with an illness, which hastened his death such that he was unable either to designate someone to his position or nominate someone to replace him, so as to assume his position and take on his rank. God has saved us from his burden and has righteously granted us what we wished from Him through His favours and benefactions and by what He has accustomed us of His munificent custom. When the enemy of God died, the dāʿīs gathered to determine who should succeed him until such time when they received our decision on the appointment. Their choice concurred on a man whom we had [already] selected, appointed and confirmed in writing, for by that God sought the convergence of their decision, the confluence of their words and the manifestation of their power against their enemy. They nominated him over them and sent us a message to apprise us of their action. The appointee was impressed by their action and said to them, “Since you have concurred on my appointment, listen to me.” They responded, “Yes, we will listen and obey you.” He chose four of them and said to them, “You are responsible for everyone and each dāʿī is responsible for the people of his daʿwa, and I will take responsibility for delivering the community’s letters to al-Muʿizz’s court. Whatever the walī Allāh commands we will abide by it and whomsoever he appoints over us, we will listen and obey him.” He chose the men to accompany him to come to us and proceeded. Only a few days passed before he chanced upon our envoys. He was elated and delighted to meet them. He enquired about the matter. They handed our letter to him and [also] gave our letters to each of the dāʿīs instructing them about the doomed one. He returned to his town, and sent to us a group of those who had accompanied him, carrying what was

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Al-Muʿizz took the two letters and personally read them in full to us. From the man’s (the appointed dāʿī’s) words which we heard, we found neither a single slip in a word nor an improper meaning. In them we found his purity of words and meanings that corroborated the decision of the walī Allāh to appoint him. He mentioned his joy and happiness concerning his orders from the walī Allāh and regarding the revival of God’s religion, as well as what was censured about the doomed one’s distortion of religion, corruption of the people and perpetration of what is forbidden by God. They (the dāʿīs) recounted [all of] this in their letters. The man (the appointed dāʿī) expounded the way in which he invited the Magians to the religion of Islam as is incumbent, then taking [the oath] from them after they have submitted as is essential, and he consulted al-Muʿizz regarding his regions and how he ought to conduct his affairs. He mentioned an idol that was worshipped in his region around which the Magians performed pilgrimage, similar to the Muslims performing the annual pilgrimage to the House of God. So he sought advice on whether to destroy it and remove its vestiges, as well as on many other related matters which are too long to mention in this work. He sought succour and enlightenment from the walī Allāh and disseminated it among those in his region. We (al-Nuʿmān and others) were at a loss to describe our joy concerning this, and the effect it had on our hearts, by what God had enabled him (the appointed dāʿī) to attain at the hands of His friend (walīhī), to facilitate him, gladden him and confer good deeds through him. We began to kiss the ground before him, and thanked and praised God for making us capable and gainful of him, and we beseeched Him to fulfil His promise to His walī and attain closeness to Him.374 The authority of the walī Allāh, the Commander of the Faithful, spread throughout the horizons. The recalcitrant and the oppressive yielded to him and the transgressors and the hypocrites were subdued. His dāʿīs spread in all the regions, and his knowledge was apparent among the bedouins and the sedentary inhabitants. His stature continued to rise and ascend; loftiness was accompanied by good fortune.

374 End of Majālis extract, p. 481.

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35 The Abbasid malaise The power of the Abbasids waned, their wazirs dominated them and their amīrs overpowered their authority. Their condition oscillated between being opposed and killed, dethroned with their eyes gorged or struck such that they became disfigured.375 We have previously mentioned376 the Abbasid al-Muqtadir377 and Muʾnis al-Khādim,378 and the events concerning the killing of al-Muqtadir at the hands of Muʾnis, and the rise of the one who was known as al-Qāhir and his killing of Muʾnis. Al-Qāhir was dethroned on the day that Makhlad the deceiver (al-dajjāl) occupied al-Qayrawān.379 After al-Qāhir, al-Rāḍī Muḥammad b. al-Muqtadir was given allegiance and he ruled as the caliph at Baghdad for six years, 10 months and 10 days. Then he died in Rabīʿ I 329/December 941. His brother, the one who was known as al-Muttaqī li’llāh Ibrāhīm b. al-Muqtadir, succeeded him. However, he was deposed from power after three years and his eyes were gouged when ten days remained in Ṣafar 333/October 944. Allegiance was given after him to the one self-styled al-Mustakfī bi’llāh b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Muktafī, who ruled as caliph for one year and five months and died in Rabīʿ I 334/October 945.

375 In this period, the gouging of eyes became a common method of dethroning Abbasid caliphs, as well as of ruling out possible candidates, since according to custom this infirmness or injury disqualified them from office. 376 Idrīs, ʿUyūn, vol. 5, p. 217. 377 The Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir suceeded his brother al-Muktafī in 295/908 and reigned until 320/932. He was briefly ousted from power on two occasions, first by Ibn al-Muʿtazz, then by his brother Muḥammad al-Qāhir. His long reign was plagued by power struggles, financial deficits, the uprising of the Qarāmiṭa, and the loss of control of large areas of the Abbasid caliphate, including the Maghrib. K. V. Zetterstéen (C. E. Bosworth), ‘al-Muḳtadir’, EI2. 378 Mu’nis al-Khādim or Mu’nis al-Muẓaffar was a leading Abbasid general from 296 to 321/908–933. He became a virtual ruler after securing the dismissal of the wazir Ibn al-Furāt and plotted against the caliph al-Muqtadir in favour of his half-brother, al-Qāhir, who assumed the caliphate after al-Muqtadir’s death. Muʿnis’s autocratic ways eventually led to his execution under al-Qāhir’s orders in 321/933. H. Bowen, ‘Muʾnis al-Muẓaffar’, EI2. 379 Idrīs has confused al-Qāhir with al-Muttaqī, for Abū Yazīd Makhlad occupied Qayrawān in 333/944 when al-Muttaqī was dethroned, while al-Qāhir was removed from office in 320/932.

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After him, the one known as al-Muṭīʿ li’llāh al-Faḍl b. al-Muqtadir380 was given allegiance. He reigned for 29 years. [At that time] power was vested in the Buyid rulers (Banī Buwayh); only al-Muṭī‘’s name was inscribed on coins and pronounced in the sermons, but he was helpless and powerless. He died when eight nights remained in Muḥarram 364/ October 974, after he was compelled to abdicate. This was when ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. Buwayh al-Daylamī (ʿAḍud al-Dawla)381 ordered a Daylamī to topple him off his throne and to arrest him. Allegiance was then paid to his son titled al-Ṭā’ī‘ b. al-Muṭīʿ b. al-Muqtadir.382 The Buyid Bahāʾ al-Dawla,383 son of ʿAḍud al-Dawla, arrested al-Ṭā’ī‘ on Saturday when 12 nights remained in Shaʿbān 381/29 October 991. He compelled him to abdicate and obligated him to give allegiance to Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Isḥāq b. al-Muqtadir. This continued to be their (the Abbasid) condition, oscillating between abdication, being murdered, having their eyes gouged and

380 With the Buyids wielding power in Abbasid lands and the Fatimids establishing their rule in North Africa, al-Muʿṭiʿ li’llāh’s reign marks a low point in the Abbasid caliphate. Paralysed after a stroke, he was, as the text relates, forced to abdicate in favour of his son, ʿAbd Karīm al-Ṭāʿī, in 363/974 and died soon afterwards. K. V. Zettersteen (C. E. Bosworth), ‘al-Muṭīʿ li’llāh’, EI2. 381 Abū Shujāʿ Fannā Khusraw (d. 372/983), the son of Rukn al-Dawla, was the Buyid amīr al-umarā. He received the title ʿAḍud al-Dawla in 356/967 from the Abbasid caliph al-Mutiʿ, during whose reign he extended Buyid supremacy. In the early years of his amīrate, he actively courted the Fatimids. However, once he had secured a firm foothold in Baghdad, he assumed a hostile stance towards them. See Shainool Jiwa, ‘Fatimid-Buyid Diplomacy during the Reign of al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh (365/975–386/996), Journal of Islamic Studies, 3 (1992), pp. 57–71, and H. Bowen, ‘Aḍud al-Dawla’, EI2. 382 ʿAbd al-Karīm b. al-Faḍl al-Ṭāʿī li-Amr Allāh (or li’llah) (r. 363–381/974– 991). His authority was completely overshadowed by the Buyids, initially by ʿAḍud al-Dawla, the caliph’s father-in-law, and after the latter’s death his son, Bahāʾ al-Dīn who, as Idrīs reports, deposed him. K.V. Zettersteen (C.E. Bosworth), ‘al-Ṭāʿī li-Amr Allāh’, EI2. 383 He was the third son of ʿAḍud al-Dawla, who ruled Iraq and southern Iran from 379 to 403/989–1012. His ousting of al-Ṭā’ī in favour of the latter’s cousin, al-Qādīr, was motivated by the need to secure the treasury funds so he could pay his troops. It was in his time that the ancient Iranian title Shahanshah (king of kings) was imprinted on coins. See C. E. Bosworth, ‘Bahāʾ al-Dawla’, EI2, and W. Madelung, ‘The Assumption of the Title Shāhānshāh by the Būyids and the Reign of the Daylam (Dawlat al-Daylam)’, Journal of Near East Studies, 28 (1969), pp. 84–108, 168–183.

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being dominated by the non-Arabs (al-ʿajam) – God afflicts calamity upon all oppressors! They had no hold over power or a shred of authority to make decisions. Our purpose in mentioning them was neither to examine them from the first to the last of them, nor to relate about their state. Indeed, our purpose was to note what God has afflicted upon them, which He facilitated and decreed, and what He bestowed upon His awliyāʾ, the progeny of His Prophet, the imams of guidance, the suns of truth rising from the west, by whose mention God has extinguished the mention of every impostor. The Abbasid state declined and they were unable to revive it.

36 Byzantine incursions into Crete The Byzantine ruler strengthened his hold over Syria and from there attacked Muslim rulers. The Byzantine ruler, Nicephorus Phocas,384 sent 700 warships against Crete to fight them. [The Cretans] sought help from the Banū Ḥamdān, from Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī385 and from the Buyids who dominated the Abbasids. However, they did not find anyone to aid or support them. The Christians inflicted a crushing defeat upon them and they were about to perish, so they sought succour from al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, the Commander of the Faithful. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad said:386 The Byzantine tyrant had requested a peace [treaty] and settlement from the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, for which he had sent abundant money. He sought a long-term or even a permanent truce if that were possible. When it became evident to the imam that this was good for Islam and for the Muslims, to unite them and strengthen them for fighting the polytheists, he responded with a five-year truce.387 After this, and before the period of the truce had ended, he (the Byzantine emperor) sent the Domesticos – who was among his closest and most favoured men – with well-equipped supplies and fortified armies until they docked at the island of Crete, which was then under the Abbasid daʿwa.

384 above. 385 386 387

On Nicephorus Phocas and the title Domesticos, see notes 23 and 252 On Kāfūr see note 24 above. Beginning of Majālis extract, pp. 442. The truce was agreed in 346/957.

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When the Cretans realised that they were incapable of defending themselves and they recognised that the Abbasids were unable to assist or aid them, they sent a boat with some men headed by one of their dignitaries to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, pleading for his help and requesting al-Muʿizz to rescue and aid them. Al-Muʿizz decided that, even though they had antagonised him, he would respond to their request and would not surrender them to the polytheists. When al-Muʿizz heard of their news, and this was before their envoy had arrived, he ordered the gathering of provisions and supplies so as to send them the fleets as quickly as possible. Then their messenger arrived and conveyed their message to him. Al-Muʿizz resolved to terminate his covenant with the polytheist as God has commanded in His Book, as the polytheist was insistent on fighting them. Al-Muʿizz gave instruction that a letter was to be written to the Byzantine regarding this and dictated it in the presence of his court, using eloquent language the like of which I had never heard. After al-Muʿizz had issued them an ultimatum [in his letter] to either cease fighting the people of Crete or to terminate the covenant with him, he said, ‘[This is] just as the Messenger of God had terminated his contract with the disbelieving Arabs and had sent ʿAlī with a letter of termination388 which he read to them during the pilgrimage, according to God, the most truthful of speakers: “If you fear treachery from any group, return [their covenant] to them, [so as to be] on equal terms” (8: 58), and His words, “And that God will never guide the snare of the false ones.” (12:52). Then al-Muʿizz said in his letter to the Byzantine: Do you not know that thus far the people of Crete used to give allegiance to others but now they have turned to us and have sought our help? In order to continue the pact with us, it is incumbent upon you to let them be and to cease opposing them. Indeed, resistance by the people of falsehood to the people of truth does not strip the latter of their right, even if they (people of falsehood) challenge it against them, as it is God’s will that they achieve it. Crete and other parts of the rest of the earth are ours, for God has appointed

388 This refers to the ninth sūra of the Qur’an, commonly known as al-Tawbah. According to tradition, it was revealed to revoke the treaty between the early Muslims and the Quraysh, a revocation that was delivered by ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib. The notion of barā’a, approximated to disassociation or at times excommunication, was to have particular significance in Shiʿi thought. See Dakake, The Charismatic Community, pp. 65–67, 198–199.

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us over them, to rule them on His behalf, regardless of whether some among them obey us and some oppose us. However, it is not by their obedience that we rule over them, nor does their opposition and rejection give us a right to abandon them. If that were the case, then the matter that God has appointed us for would not be God’s [prerogative] but theirs, for them to give allegiance if they wish or to reject it, if they so choose. No, indeed this rests with God to whom belong the heavens and the earth, and He is the one who chose us, made us sovereigns and conferred it upon us. If this were up to people, we would not have been able to fight those who oppose us, nor restore what they seized by usurpation from our hands, except that God has enabled us to do so and has strengthened us by it. If you assert anything other than this, and you consider that what is in your hands is yours, [the Emperor] Romanus had previously overpowered you and your father before you. Then you two defeated him. If you think that someone who seizes something and overpowers it, that it then becomes his and ceases to belong to its rightful owner who [originally] possessed it, then neither you nor your father should have overthrown Romanus and confiscated what was in his possession. This is the way of the people of truth (ahl al-ḥaqq) according to us. If you acknowledge this then you are just, and if you are ignorant of it then your ignorance is no evidence against those who know. If you continue to fight those who seek our aid, then your accord with us will be annulled. So watch yourself and your people for we will fight a war against you and them with the aid and support of God, and there is no power and no strength save in God.

Al-Nuʿmān said: The people of Crete sought help from the ruler of Egypt (Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī), as they were part of the same daʿwa that united them with the daʿwa of the Abbasids, their ships carried supplies and provisions to the people of Egypt, and their gifts were sent to its administrators. However, he was unable to assist them. He enquired if someone among them would write to the Commander of the Faithful to aid and rescue them. He sent a group of people from among them to request and beseech the Commander of the Faithful to do so. Then he pretended that he was assisting them by sending some boats to sea, as news had reached him that the people disapproved of his reluctance to assist them. The Commander of the Faithful responded to the one who had corresponded with him from Egypt, informing him that he had ordered fully equipped fleets to be sent to them.

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37 Al-Muʿizz’s invitation to the ruler of Egypt for the defence of Crete Amongst what al-Muʿizz had written to him was: Say to your ruler: God, praise be to Him, has indeed granted us His grace and has aided us with His succour and support, and we consider that by His power and strength, His rendering us victorious and vanquishing our enemy, we will restrain the unbelievers’ hand which they have extended to fight in this region and to harm its people. We have heard that you have begun to make preparations for jihād and to assist these people [of Crete] by sending them ships from your side. You are the most befitting for that because of their closeness to you, their links with you, their supply of provisions to your country and your unity under the same daʿwa. Indeed, had we left their matter to you and withheld ourselves, neither you nor they would have had any claim upon us. However, we chose to assist the umma of our grandfather Muḥammad and decided not to desist since they pinned their hope on us and have turned to us. We will not stand between you and your waging jihād in the path of God, and we will not hinder you from completing what you hope to do. So our sending of fleets to help you should not deter you from what you are intending to do. If you are anxious about us as regards the safety of those whom you have sent and of your boats, we give you God’s oath and covenant that we will only deal with them with goodwill and we will treat them like our men. We will work hand in hand with them and will share with them what God will bestow on us. We will accord them the same status as our men in this matter and all others, and will give your boats the same rank as our fleets until, God willing, we are victorious. Then they will return to you or as God orders what He wishes to happen. So know this and invest your trust in us. It is the alliance of the Muslims against their enemies and the unanimity of their word that strengthens God’s religion and subdues their enemies. Indeed, we have facilitated the path for you and God is our witness for what we have said. If you trust in this and prefer to wage jihād, then order the dispatch of your boats toward the port of Tīna in the region of Barqa as it is close to the island of Crete and they can join our fleet at this port at the beginning of Rabīʿ II by God’s guidance, strength, support, succour and aid. If you do not do so, then we have counselled you, advised you and have fulfilled our obligations to you. By His power and strength and His support, succour and aid, we are not in need of you or any others. We have the insight

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and resolve to send our fleet, our men and our supplies, and what God has bestowed upon us and enabled us, with which we think that, by His power and strength, we will be capable to attain and gain what we aim at and strive for. We seek God’s help, we rely upon Him and we depend on His support. He is sufficient for us and He is an excellent trustee.389

The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, hastened to send a fleet loaded with men and much equipment and money. While he was exerting himself to do so, news reached him that the Byzantines had seized Crete and had entered the town in the night by an agreement with those who had surrendered to them. They killed and pillaged and entered into the congregational mosque on their horses, torched it and took its pulpit to Byzantine lands. The Commander of the Faithful was distressed by what had befallen the Muslims and at the neglect that the Egyptians had displayed while they were nearer to them and at the lost opportunity to support them. That was in the year 350/970. In this year the Domesticos, who was the most powerful [commander] of the Byzantine King, set out following the mountain pass known as Ḥiṣn al-Jabal. He attacked Tall Mawza, fought its inhabitants and overpowered them. Then he entered the town and killed its men, women and children. He then headed to ʿAyn Zarba390 and cut its water supplies [to the people]. Their situation was aggravated, disagreements broke out among them, and they had no one to direct them. They severed their allegiance (daʿwa) to Ibn Ḥamdān when they lost hope of his support and when their conditions worsened. The Domesticos sent the amīr of Crete to forewarn them about what had befallen the people of Crete. Then he offered them safety for their lives and their belongings, except for their weaponry, and he took possession of it.

389 End of Majālis extract, p. 448. 390 Now a deserted Anatolian town to the south of Sīs, the Arab geographers include ʿAyn Zarba among the thughūr. Although the Ḥamdānid Sayf al-Dawla spent considerable resources on its fortification, it surrendered to Nicephorus Phocas in 350/962 and its Muslim population was expelled. Miskawayh provides a detailed description of the Byzantine siege and ravages in Tajārib al-umam, ed. and tr. H. F. Amedroz and D. S. Margoliouth as The Eclipse of the ‘Abbasid Caliphate (Oxford and London, 1920–1921), vol. 2, pp. 190–191. See also M. Canard, Histoire de la dynastie des Hamdanides de Jazīra et de Syrie (Paris, 1953), vol. 1, pp. 806–808, and his ‘ʿAyn Zarba’, EI2.

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38 Byzantine subjugation of Sayf al-Dawla Many wars and memorable battles had been fought between Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥamdān,391 the ruler of Aleppo, and the Christian Byzantines. Sayf al-Dawla was renowned for his valour, reputed for his succour, famed for his fighting and jihād, which elevated his status. He was extremely generous and charitable, goodlooking and well mannered. The weight of every dinar which he set for payment was ten dinars. The poets sought him out and the eloquent ones eulogised him. Outstanding poets and eloquent luminaries gathered at his gate, the likes of which had not ever gathered even at the gates of caliphs. Such is his status, which has lasted over the course of the ages, that Abu’l-Ṭayyib Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Mutanabbī392 composed his best poetry in praise of Sayf al-Dawla’s greatest achievements. Abu’l-Ṭayyib was unmatched in his eloquence. His collection of poetry is beyond description and most well known. Abu’l-Ṭayyib noted Sayf al-Dawla’s wars and battles, his jihād against the Christian Byzantines and his raids upon them. These wars lasted a number of years until the Byzantines defeated him. He received no support, aid or backing from the Abbasid caliphs. The Byzantines captured his paternal cousin Abū Firās b. Ḥamdān,393 who was a valiant soldier and an eloquent poet. Abū Firās was a Shiʿi who loved the progeny of the Prophet from Fāṭima

391 Sayf al-Dawla’s charismatic leadership qualities, his erudition as well as his immense suffering at the hands of the Byzantines have made him one of the extrolled chivalric Arab heroes of Muslim literature. He is also known to have had Shiʿi sympathies. See Th. Bianquis, ‘Sayf al-Dawla’, EI2, for both Arab and Christian sources on Sayf al-Dawla; and M. Canard, Sayf al-dawla, recueil de texts (Algiers, 1934). 392 The renowned poet al-Mutanabbī (d. 354/965) flourished at the court of Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo. He also held positions as a panygerist for Kāfūr in Egypt and the Buyid amīr of Shiraz. His Dīwān became a model of Arabic poetry and has inspired numerous recensions, commentaries and studies. See R. Blachère’s Un poète arabe du IVe siècle de Hégire: Abouṭ-Ṭayyib al-Motanabbī (Paris, 1935), and R. Blachère (Ch. Pellat), ‘al-Mutanabbī’, EI2. 393 The poet Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī (d. 932/968) was appointed to various positions by Sayf al-Dawla, who was his brother-in-law. His outspokenly Shiʿi verses and satire of the Abbasids are notable, but his Rūmiyyāt, the poems of his captivity by the Byzantines, are the main source of his enduring fame. H. A. R Gibb, ‘Abū Firās’, EI2.

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al-Zahrāʾ and the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī. He composed a poem, which began: The faith is torn asunder, and the truth is oppressed, and the dues of the family of the Prophet of Allah have been divided.

And it contains the following [verse]: Let not the Abbasids transgress their authority; the sons of ʿAlī are their masters even though they (the Abbasids) hold power.394

This is a well-known and famous poem. While in captivity, he composed many eloquent poems, which were most finely crafted, for they had purity of style and finesse and attested to the torment and agony of exile in his heart. If our aim were to describe his poetry, we would present examples of it that are most exquisite and accessible, marvellous and wondrous, pleasing and powerful, elevating and excelling. However, that is not our purpose, nor is it our intention. Indeed, what we wished to mention was the excellence of the progeny of the Messenger and how God has distinguished them with lofty and weighty status, according to our capacity to do so, for even though we would wish to, we would be unable to describe their exaltedness and their stature. Abū Firās languished in prison for some years. Then he bought his freedom, so the Byzantine soldiers released him after he had endured great suffering. His condition did not ameliorate thereafter; he did not survive long and passed away. The Byzantines overpowered Sayf al-Dawla and the Abbasids were incapable of supporting and aiding him. Consequently, the Byzantine armies attacked him and committed atrocities against him. In 351/962 the Byzantines conquered Aleppo and Sayf al-Dawla was routed and fled. In mid-Rajab 354/15 August 965 the Byzantines seized al-Maṣīṣa. Then they conquered Ṭarsūs. Usayd b. Hamām al-Makḥūl al-Qurashī395

394 Abū Firās, Dīwān Abī Firās al-Ḥamdānī, ed. Khalīl al-Duwayhī (Beirut, 1944), p. 301. 395 This is one of a series of poets quoted by Idrīs in the text about whom no further information is currently available, indicating that he relied on texts that are no longer extant.

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composed a poem in which he praises Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī, the ruler of Egypt, and rouses him to rescue the fortresses and describes what the Byzantines had done to him: A momentous calamity and a tremendous affair: the towns of Syria and the frontiers are lost! With what patience can the hearts endure what has happened in Syria and at the frontiers? What Egypt will you have left if Syria is gone and there is no longer any protector [for you] in the north?396 Where are the affirmers in [God’s] Oneness if conquest is no more and there is none left to instigate jihād? Where are the followers of the Qurʾan and revealed knowledge? For verily by its light we are illumined. Where are the faithful, O proof of God? To battle in Syria, O troops! He has summoned you to jihād whether [you come] bearing arms or not; upon you has been inscribed His command, because whoso among you contravenes [it] has only earned the Blaze397 by his contravention. For the frontiers of Islam are in the land of Syria and no imam can deny it. But the imam in whom the [Muslim] community have placed their hope is captive in the grip of the Magians,398 And the son of Ḥamdān has taken flight to the frontier, and for the men of the frontiers he can offer them only peril. The chain of guidance has been unravelled by misguidance, and if the chain is not bound, its string will have been severed. By Muʿizz, Nāṣir and Sayf, religion has perished and Nicephorus is on the attack, Raging at the frontier fortifications, taking children captive while he is secure, untroubled by any warning.

396 The word al-shām means the north; for this reason Syria itself is known as al-shām in Arabic, indicating its position in relation to Arabia. 397 Sa‘īr, one of several names for hellfire in the Qurʾan. 398 This is a derogatory reference to the Abbasid caliph who was controlled by the Buyids at this time.

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By Muʿizz and Nāṣir he (the poet) means Muʿizz al-Dawla399 and Nāṣir al-Dawla,400 the sons of Buwayh, and by Sayf he means Sayf al-Dawla b. Ḥamdān. His is a long poem. Kāfūr did not have the power or the control over the frontier regions (thughūr), while their caliphs, the Abbasids, were prisoners at the hands of the non-Arabs and were [subjected to] poked eyes and slit ear cartilages. When matters turned grave for Kāfūr, the situation deteriorated and he was apprehensive that the Christians would occupy Egypt, he made contact with a dāʿī of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, who was in Egypt, and submitted to the walī Allāh who possessed authority. He entered into the oath of allegiance of the imam, following his commands and prohibitions in conducting his affairs.401 He wrote about this to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz, and sought his aid against the Christians, beseeching him to rescue the party of Muslims from the oppression of the disbelievers. So the Commander of the Faithful prepared fleets and loaded them with men, equipment and funds, and they attacked the Christian Byzantines while their armies and their hordes were advancing towards the frontiers. They secured victory over them and their fleets, a victory the likes of which had been unheard of over the years and generations. God

399 Muʿizz al-Dawla was the honorific title of Abu’l-Ḥusayn Aḥmad b. Abī Shujā‘ Fanā Khusraw Būya (d. 356/967), the youngest of the three brothers of the first generation of Buyids. After his march on Baghdad, he had himself appointed amīr al-umarāʾ in 334/945, which marked the beginning of a century of Buyid rule in Iraq. The Abbasid caliphs remained the nominal head of state but, in practice they were under Buyid subjugation. K. V. Zettersteen (H. Busse), ‘Muʿizz al-Dawla’, EI2. 400 Nāṣir al-Dawla (Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. ʿAbd Allāh), the brother of Sayf al-Dawla, became head of the Ḥamdānid family upon the death of his father, Abu’l-Hayjāʾ ‘Abd Allāh, in 317/929, at a time when the Ḥamdānids were profiting from the diminishing authority of the Abbasids. By 332/943–4 al-Ḥasan was in control of most of the Jazīra and northern Syria but was soon drawn into a protracted struggle against the Buyids. See G. W. Freytag, ‘Geschichte der Dynastien der Hamdaniden’, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 11 (1856–57), pp. 177–252, and H. Bowen, ‘Nāṣir al-Dawla’, EI2. 401 It is well attested that al-Muʿizz delayed the Fatimid invasion of Egypt until Kāfūr had died (al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 102; trans., p. 67). According to al-Qifṭī (in the margins of al-Kāmil, VII: 66) it was al-Muʿizz’s mother who had advised her son to do so in recognition of Kāfūr’s good turn, for he had honoured her when she had passed through Egypt on her way to the pilgrimage. However, there is no evidence from any of the other extant sources that Kāfūr had submitted to al-Muʿizz in the manner described by Idrīs in this text.

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bestowed them with the victory of religion and the might of Islam. They conquered many Byzantine fortresses and torched their lands seeking succour from the Ever-living and Eternal. The Byzantine commander fled and became a fugitive. He remained in that state, as he found no support or aid from the soldiers of God. That happened in 345/956.402

39 Al-Muʿizz’s letter to the dāʿī of Sind This was mentioned in a letter which Imam al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh wrote in reply to the dāʿī of Sind, Ḥalīm b. Shaybān.403 Ḥalīm had sent a letter [to al-Muʿizz] in which he had mentioned the victory that God had granted him over the region of Sind, upon which He had granted His walī authority, and that he had destroyed the idols for which he had sought al-Muʿizz’s permission. He asked the Imam about issues concerning the practice of the religion and to annul others which the evil dāʿī404 had introduced in pursuing the path of the transgressors. He also enquired about issues relating to jurisprudence, the permitted and the forbidden, and about matters concerning (esoteric) interpretation (taʾwīl), the knowledge of which God has vested in the people of remembrance (ahl al-dhikr), from one imam after another. The imam responded to him in a well-known, famous decree, which is inscribed in the blessed pages and begins as follows: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. From the slave of God and His walī, Maʿadd Abū Tamīm al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, the Commander of the Faithful, to Ḥalīm b. Shaybān, peace be upon you. We indeed praise God to you, of whom there is no god but Him, and we ask Him to bless Muḥammad, His slave and His Messenger, and his pure, chosen progeny.

402 This probably refers to a series of engagements between the Fatimids and the Byzantines around the island of Sicily. Following their capture of Ṭabarmīn (Taormina) in 351/962, the Fatimid forces routed a substantial Byzantine army soon after, and by 354/965 won a decisive victory following the sinking of the Byzantine fleet in the Straits of Messina. See Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, p. 242. 403 On Ḥalīm b. Shaybān, see note 370 above. Stern has published an excerpt of this letter from the ʿUyūn in his ‘Heterodox Ismāʿīlism’. 404 See section 34 for Idrīs’ previous account of the activities of this wayward dāʿī.

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And now: Your letter to us is a letter from the one (i.e., Ḥalīm) who has successively received abundant grace from God, the Exalted, and who reflects it generously. This has elevated his stature with Him and he has thanked Him constantly for it. He has been successively bountiful to him and he has persevered in praising Him for it. He chose to bestow upon him His benevolent favours, and His gracious generosity, and he has submitted to His power and strength, and vouched to secure His victory. So he subjugated the world’s kings and tyrants for His sake, making His true religion triumph, through which He has elevated him and has taken His right from the oppressors and the heretics who disbelieved in His signs and deviated from the guided path. He has made him exceptional in ways that He has not done to anyone in respect to what he wished and strove for, and towards which he turned his aspirations and hope of achieving success in his endeavours, so that the enemy yielded in support to him and his opponents befriended him when they witnessed, in astonishment, the evidence of God’s promises to us, the signs of His support for us, proofs of His miracles and the vision of His signs which He promised to manifest to the worlds. God, the exalted among the speakers said: ‘And say, “Praise be to God who will soon show you His signs so that you shall know them”’ (27:93), and He said: ‘Soon will We show them Our signs in the furthest regions (of the earth) and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth’ (41:53). There remains no king of the western lands or tyrant, either from the East or from the farthest borders of the kingdom, including those who were beyond the desert and the prairies amongst the Ethiopian kings, who did not give allegiance and submitted to [our] sovereignty. They arrive at the threshold of the Commander of the Faithful and send their messengers with offerings and gifts, striving among themselves to find the best to send to us so as to seek our satisfaction and to gain their share of the allegiance to which God has spurred His worshippers. The infidels among the Byzantines, under the state of submission, paid their tax (jizya) and abided by the treaty until they secured from the Syrian lands what they sought, the news of the least of which broke the hearts of those who are discerning and sagacious. and caused pain to those who were near and distant; [the news] of the conquered cities, the taking of women and children captive, the defilement of what was forbidden and the shedding of blood. No one stopped them and no one prevented them, none arose in anger for the sake of God, exalted be His

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Al-Muʿizz] says in this noble decree: [Regarding] your description of what God has enabled you (i.e., Ḥalīm) to achieve against those who had encroached upon you and advanced against you, so as to dislocate you from your lands, and about the

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dreadful war that occurred between you and them, until God granted you victory and aided you with support and succour so that you killed them ignominiously and you destroyed the idol of the people, and you built a congregational mosque in its place. There is no greater merit than this and no more apparent favour and no greater reward and everlasting pride. It has filled our heart with joy and happiness and pleased God, our Lord and Master, and we prostrate to Him in worship, praise and gratitude. We beseech Him to deal with all your enemies similarly and to delight our eyes by seeing you all in safety, to relieve your hearts of rancour, to unify you and to join you in your hearts. It is towards these aims that you should invest your thought and upon it you should develop your vision so that God will manifest the ideal religion (al-milla al-ḥanīfiyya) through you to the highest degree and to record your commendable and continual effort which will lead you to eternal Paradise, where you will be in repose, content and in a garden of bliss. We would like you to send this idol’s head to us if you can, and after that I hope that God will aid you to send us the heads of the rest of the idols which you will subsequently destroy. For in that there is everlasting pride for you, to encourage the faithful brothers for our sake, to increase their fervour and their desire to meet you, so as to cooperate in establishing God’s truth. Indeed, God has brought closer the fulfilment of His promise to us of that which was remote. Praise be to God as He is worthy of it and its patron.

He concluded his above-mentioned noble decree with the following: We have sent seven of our victorious405 banners to you, to hoist when you need to. When they are raised over the believers during a battle, God increases their might to fight and grants them victory, and through their strength they wreak humiliation upon the infidels, who are vanquished by the power of the One who is gracious to us and is worthy of it [victory]. May God shower you and those of your people who are believers with their (banners’) blessings, make you triumphant over your enemies and vent the anger in our breast through you and your brothers until no one

405 Fākhūrī and Kamāl (p. 193, n. 2) note that instead of al-manṣūra (victorious) a variant version of the ʿUyūn has ‘al-Manṣūriyya’, thus indicating that these banners might be somehow related to the imam-caliph al-Manṣūr.

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remains on earth except those who give allegiance to the one and only God, so that all faith will only be for God as He has promised, and He never breaks His promises. We honour you and the believers who are with you with compassionate peace. God’s mercy and blessings be upon you. This was composed on Sunday, when 11 nights remained in Ramaḍān 354/17 September 965. May God’s blessings be upon Muḥammad, His Prophet, and His chosen one among His people, abundant peace.

This is a report (khabar) of the events in Sind regarding the display of the banners of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, the emergence of his daʿwa and the grandeur of his authority and sovereignty. This [report] is corroborated by a tradition that was reported by al-Ḥanawī from Salmān and from Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān,406 who trace this report back to the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī [who said], ‘Indeed, the progeny of Muḥammad will reach its apogee when the banners are displayed in Sind.’ Regarding this tradition, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad says, ‘The daʿwa of the Master of the Time (walī al-zamān) has appeared in Sind and his supporters fought there. One of his dāʿīs there defeated and killed the ruler of the kingdom of Sind who was a Magian.407 He killed his men, destroyed the idol that they used to worship and converted the temple there into a congregational mosque, which exalted his authority, by the strength and power of God who always fulfils His promise to His followers. This is in accordance with the report of the hoisting of the banners in Sind as they were raised there during the daʿwa of the awliyāʾ Allāh, by which God strengthened its people and where the authority of the Master of the Time was made manifest.’

40 The death of Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī As for the account of Egypt, Commander Jawhar al-Muʿizzī’s departure towards it and God’s paving its conquest and occupation by His walī and

406 Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān, a companion of the Prophet, was from the tribe of Ghaṭfān and then became allied to one of the Anṣār. He witnessed the Battle of Uḥud and the majority of the early conquests until his death at Madā’in (Ctesiphon) in 36/656. See Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba fi tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba (Beirut, 1995), vol. 3, pp. 651–652. 407 This passage does not appear in al-Nu‘mān’s Majālis and is likely to have been taken from another of his works to which Idrīs had access.

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the progeny of His Prophet: Egypt had been governed by the Ikhshīdids and the sermon (khuṭba) and the daʿwa were proclaimed for the Abbasid caliphs. When al-Ikhshīd died, he had two young sons; hence his slave al-Ustādh Kāfūr, a eunuch, became the ruler and administrator of Egypt. He administered its affairs as servant to his two masters Anūjūr408 and ʿAlī, the sons of al-Ikhshīd. It was Kāfūr and not them who was in control and at the helm of its affairs. Then death overtook them both and authority came to be vested in Kāfūr. The Abbasid al-Muṭīʿ appointed him over Egypt instead of the Ikhshīdids. God guided Kāfūr to the authority of the imams from the family of His Messenger and to give allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. An oath was taken from him at the hands of a dāʿī of the Commander of the Faithful in Egypt. He joined the daʿwa and wrote to the Commander of the Faithful to pay his allegiance to him and to follow his command.409 The Commander of the Faithful instructed him to begin the construction of Cairo. So he went to the location which the imam had described.410 He found the foundations of an old building, so he began the construction and continued building atop it. Then death overcame him while he was in the early stages of construction. The news of his death reached the Commander of the Faithful who sought God’s mercy upon him and interceded with God (tawassala) to forgive him. The Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids, who were the notables of Egypt, gathered when al-Ustādh Kāfūr died and they agreed to give authority over Egypt and its regions to Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ikhshīd, who was 11years old at the time, on the condition that he would be succeeded

408 After a notable military career, Kāfūr was appointed to supervise the education of Abu’l-Qāsim Anūjūr and ‘Alī b. al-Ikhshīd, the sons of Muḥammad b. Ṭughj al-Ikhshīd. Anūjūr formally suceeded him in 334/946 and was followed by his brother ‘Alī b. al-Ikhshīd in 349/961. During this period, however, real authority was held by Kāfūr, who openly declared himself ruler only after ‘Alī’s death. See Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, pp. 290–291, 293, and A. S. Ehrenkreutz, ‘Kāfūr’, EI2. 409 See note 401 above. 410 This detail is not found in any other extant Fatimid and non-Fatimid sources, all of which name Jahwar as the one who initiated the building of Cairo, following extensive planning with al-Muʿizz. For a comprehensive account of the foundations and building of Cairo, see al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʾāẓ, pp. 112–113; trans., pp. 77–79.

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by his paternal cousin al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj;411 Shamawʾal al-Ikhshīdī412 would oversee the armed forces and the administration of finances would be under the wazir Jaʿfar b. al-Furāt.413 [All this was agreed upon] before Kāfūr’s burial. They took him to his grave on Tuesday, when 10 days remained in Jumādā II 357/5 April 968. Al-Ustādh Kāfūr’s rule over Egypt lasted 21 years, two months and 20 days, of which he reigned for two years, four months and nine days after the two sons of his master died. After the death of Kāfūr, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ikhshīd was proclaimed from the pulpits of Egypt and Syria, and Mecca and Medina, and after him al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj was proclaimed. The Qarāmiṭa revolted in Syria and there was turmoil in Egypt.414 Al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh arrested the wazir Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl [b. al-Furāt]. A group of Egyptian notables met with the awliyāʾ and wrote to the Commander of the Faithful al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, urging him to send troops. Mentioning the strength of the Byzantines and the Franks among the Christians and the polytheists, the rise of the Qarāmiṭa in

411 Al-Maqrīzī has al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh (Ittiʾāẓ, p. 118; trans., p. 85) instead of ‘Abd Allāh mentioned by Idrīs here. As Idrīs calls him ʿUbayd Allāh in the remainder of the text, the same has been maintained here. After Kāfūr’s death in 357/968, economic and social pressures came to a head and unrest racked Fusṭāṭ. Al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh came to Fusṭāṭ from Ramla in the following year but failed to bring stability to the capital. After his return to Ramla, the notables had little choice but to seek external aid; thus their welcome of the Fatimid conquest. (Lev, State and Society, pp. 13–14). Subsequently, al-Ḥasan fought the Fatimid forces in Syria. He was defeated and captured by Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ in 359/970, and dispatched to al-Muʿizz in the Maghrib. He returned to Egypt with al-Muʿizz and died in the time of his successor, al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh, in 371/980–1. The imam prayed over him and honoured him by placing an embroidered cloth over his coffin. His biography appears in al-Maqrīzī, Muqaffā, III: 343–346. 412 Shamūl or Shumawʾal (as in Fākhūrī and Kamāl’s edition, p. 196) was appointed by al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh as his successor over Damascus, but relations between them became strained. When al-Ḥasan sought support from Shamūl to confront the Fatimid armies at Ramla, Shamūl hesitated and instead corresponded with Jawhar. Al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 173, 179; trans., pp. 90–91, 96. 413 Jaʿfar b. al-Furāt (d. 391/1001) was wazir to the Ikhshīdid house and was honoured as such upon Jawhar’s entry into Egypt. Prayers were said over him upon his death by al-Qādī Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. al-Nuʿmān. See Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, trans., I: 319–323, and al-Maqrīzī, Muqaffā, III: 42–50. 414 On the Qarāmiṭa, see the Introduction and note 41 above.

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Syria and the weakening of the Muslims, they appealed for his aid and succour.

41 Preparations for Jawhar’s march to Egypt Commander Jawhar suffered a serious illness and was on the verge of death with no hope of recovery. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, said, ‘Do not be grieved or anxious for him, for he will recover from his illness and God will secure Egypt at his hands.’ The Commander was cured of that illness and his recovery was the first portent of the conquest and the herald of victory. Al-Qāḍī Ibn Khallikān415 has mentioned in his history that al-Muʿizz used to say to ʿAlī b. al-Nuʿmān, ‘You are the qāḍī of Egypt.’ Ibn Khallikān said, ‘That was in accord with destiny. That was al-Muʿizz foreseeing the matter and anticipating it.’ Ibn Khallikān was unaware that [this] was a facet of the knowledge of prophecy which he inherited from the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī [who inherited it] from the Messenger of God, who was inspired with it by the Trustworthy Spirit (al-rūḥ al-amīn) from the Lord of the Universe. As the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī said, ‘There is not a single group that guides or misguides a hundred whose commander and leader, rank and file, are unknown to me.’ Knowledge is inherited by his progeny and continues with his descendants. God will not let His earth be devoid of someone who sustains His proof. When the news of Kāfūr’s death reached al-Muʿizz and the Egyptian supporters and notables had written to him, he began to equip and gather the troops and appointed his slave Jawhar as a commander over

415 Ibn Khallikān (d. 681/1282) held important legal posts at different times in his life, including being the chief qāḍī of Egypt and Syria, but his lasting importance was his contribution to the Arab biographical tradition through his Wafāyāt al-aʿyān. Compiled over a period of 20 years, this encyclopedic compendium includes biographies of men of stature, often quoting from sources that are no longer extant or remain unpublished. J.W. Fück, ‘Ibn Khallikān’, EI2.

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them. So Jawhar set off to Raqqāda.416 Ḥasan b. Zūlāq417 said in his Sīrat Jawhar, ‘Commander Jawhar left with over a 100,000 troops and accompanying him were over 1,200 chests of money in the year 358/968. He added, ‘The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, used to visit Jawhar every day and [spend time] in seclusion with him. He instructed him to take as much money as he needed, in addition to what he had already conferred on him.’

42 Jawdhar’s monetary contribution for the Egyptian expedition The author of Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar,418 the client of the imams, said: When our lord had resolved to send troops to the East and needed the disbursement for that purpose, Ustādh Jawdhar expressed his probity by offering the proceeds which he had accumulated through his good management of selling items from the warehouses. This was added to the rest of the fund along with [his own] money, which he donated, seeking closeness [to God]. This amounted to 100,000 gold dinars and 22,000 dirhams, which he sent to our lord al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. Our lord replied to his letter, which explained all this, in the following note:419

416 Located six miles south of Qayrawān, Raqqāda was founded by the Aghlabid amīr Ibrāhīm II in 263/876 and served as their centre of power until the Fatimids asserted themselves in North Africa. Al-Mahdī resided at Raqqāda until 308/920 when he established the new capital, al-Mahdiyya, after which Raqqāda fell into disrepair. Georges Marçais, ‘Raḳḳāda’, EI2. 417 Ibn Zūlāq or Zawlāq (d. 387/977) wrote a variety of works on Egypt, including narrative histories, topographies and biographies, during the time of the Ikhshīdids and the early Fatimids. These included entries on al-Muʿizz, al-ʿAzīz and Jawhar – none of which are extant but which, nevertheless, are the source of much subsequent historiography on the period. He was recognised as a leading Egyptian historian, a Shāfiʿī scholar with Shiʿi sympathies according to al-Maqrīzī, and among those who went out to Maḥallat Hafṣ to receive al-Muʿizz when he arrived from the Maghrib. See his biography in Muqaffā, III: 284–286; also R. Gottheil, ‘al-Ḥasan ibn Ibrahim ibn Zulak’, Journal of the Americal Oriental Society 28 (1907), pp. 254–270, and his ‘Ibn Zūlāḳ’, EI2. 418 On the Sīra of al-Ustādh Jawdhar see note 82 above. 419 See al-Jawdharī, Sīrat, trans., pp. 94–95, for a slightly variant translation of this letter.

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‘O Jawdhar, may God preserve you. We have noted what you have mentioned and we beseech God to confer upon you His favour, His affection and His forgiveness, which fulfils your hopes, and that He is benevolent to you. We hope we will be able to recompense your kindness to us and alleviate your pain, so that you can accompany us on the pilgrimage to the sacred House of God exoterically (ẓāhiran), just as you have already done so esoterically (bāṭinan).420 May there be in our treasury lawful wealth, whose accumulation will bring for us reward before God and disgrace for our enemies in this world. People worship only that which is solid, while what we need to spend is, by God, something which, if it came from the waters of the sea, would not421 be a wonder. It is not all used on us; rather, all contribute to its usage and spending. We have reached a stage where we cannot allow complacency in attaining our goals. So I implore God to accept it from us and to receive it purely for His sake. Regarding the money that you have collected along with that which you have donated, may God accept your endeavours and reward you with His ample pleasure. You are better suited than any other to augment and protect it, so keep it with you, God willing.’

43 Jawhar’s departure for Egypt One day the Commander of the Faithful rode to the camp and sat in Jawhar’s tent while Jawhar stood in front of him. He said to the shaykhs whom he had sent with Jawhar, ‘By God, if Jawhar marched with his whip alone, he would conquer Egypt. You will enter Egypt peacefully, in your

420 From a Fatimid Ismaili perspective, the exoteric pilgrimage entails visiting the Ka‘ba and performing the associated rituals of the ḥajj, while the esoteric pilgrimage is to recognise and pledge allegiance to the imam. See al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Dīn al-Shirāzī’s Diwān, tr. Mohamad Adra as Mount of Knowledge, Sword of Eloquence: Collected Poems of an Ismaili Muslim Scholar in Fatimid Egypt (London, 2011), no. 46, pp. 189–193. 421 The word ‘not (mā)’ in Ya‘lāwī’s edition is not found in any of the surviving manuscripts of the Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar, nor in Muṣṭafā Ghālib’s edition of the ʿUyūn (6:138). I would like to thank Hamid Haji for bringing this to my attention.

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robes422 and will greet the Egyptians. Jawhar will settle on the ruins of Ibn Ṭūlūn423 and will build the city of Cairo, which will conquer the world.’ Then al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh instructed Jawhar to depart and he did so the following day. The Commander of the Faithful rode to meet him at Raqqāda and halted on his mount. Jawhar’s and his men’s tents were un-pitched and packed. Al-Muʿizz stood close to Jawhar while he was on his horse, leaning towards him and speaking privately with him. Then al-Muʿizz turned to his sons and said, ‘Bid farewell to Jawhar!’ So they dismounted and the people of the realm followed suit and bid him farewell. When they had completed their farewells, Jawhar kissed the hand and the foot of the Commander of the Faithful as well as that of his horse’s hoof. Then the Commander of the Faithful said to him, ‘Mount!’ So Jawhar mounted his horse and sat atop it. The Commander of the Faithful was advising him and conversing with him for a long time while sitting astride his horse and Jawhar was mounted. Then the Commander of the Faithful stopped and said to him: ‘Go!’ So Jawhar turned and headed towards his troops. The Commander of the Faithful returned to his palace and removed all the garments he had been wearing, except his trousers and his signet ring and sent them to Jawhar. The Commander [Jawhar] left Ifrīqiya on Saturday, 14 Rabī‘ II 358/6 March 969.

44 Ibn Hāniʾ’s poem on Jawhar’s departure for Egypt Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ al-Andalusī composed the following poem in which he extolled Commander Jawhar, mentioned his farewell and his departure and described his army in a long poem.424

422 As opposed to entering in armour which would indicate a military conquest. 423 Founder of the Ṭūlūnid dynasty and governor of Egypt, Ibn Ṭūlūn (d. 270/884) is an illustrative example of a slave being appointed to high office and becoming an independent ruler in all but name. He built a large, independent military force and added his name beside the caliph’s on the coinage. He retained a large share of the Egyptian state revenues from the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, ploughing it into the local economy, thus paving the way for its greater regional prosperity and independence. Zaky M. Hassan, ‘Aḥmad b. Ṭulūn’, EI2. 424 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, pp. 192–195.

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I saw with my own eyes over and above what I used to hear, and I have been awed by a day more awesome than the

[Day of] Gathering.425 This day it is as though the horizon has been obscured by its like (the grand army) so that the sunset has reappeared from whence it arises.426 Thus, I do not know, once I have greeted, how to see [the army] off, nor do I know, once I have seen [them] off, how to bid farewell. And how am I to make my way through the army when this army is [like] a deep sea and when I am forever enamoured by the one who commands it? And what path is there – there is none for me – through that mass [of soldiers]? Nor is there a spot on the ground for my horse [to tread]! Verily, this is an assembly of such [men] whose eyelids have not tasted a wink of sleep nor have ever known any

slumber. In this poem Ibn Hāniʾ also says: In no army before the army of Jawhar have the mounted camels trotted and cantered for ten [days without rest]. The still mountains move as it (the army) moves, and prostrate and bow (in awe) from the slight rustle [which it makes]. When it comes upon a land it builds cities in it, and when it departs from a land it remains [nothing more than] a wasteland.

Ibn Hāniʾ also says: Until the sword of the Hāshimī reign (dawla) becomes manifest with a light from God shining brilliantly upon its face,

425 That is, the Day of Judgement. 426 The term ufq, or ufuq, may be used adjectivally of a horse to denote excellent breed. The imagery conveyed is that of rows of cavalry ranged as far as the eye can see, obscuring the horizon at the height of the day (ghadāt), so that it is as though the sun is setting when it has actually just risen.

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The Founder of Cairo It is as though the shade of the banners before him (Jawhar) are the clouds of God’s victory that never disperse. It is as though the unsheathed swords when they flow over the land are a brimming sea overflowing with waves. It is as though the blades of the lances are [striped] snakes flickering their tongues with their fangs drenched in poison. It is as though the excellent short-haired steeds, led alongside him, are gazelles that have bent their necks stretching them forwards [ready to charge]. It is as though the noble ironclad [warriors], having assembled all around him, are lions [lurking] in the bushes that will not recoil [from the hunt]. It is as though the infantry guards [standing] below his knees are torrents of his magnanimity, come to gush forth [into battle]. It is as though the speedy noble steeds spread to the right across the desert are a mirage rising in the morning hours. It is as though the indomitable Khurāsānī camels, when broken in for him, are like the captives of kings, tormented by the restraints, [now] submissive. It is as though the anklets of the mounted camels, when they begin ringing out, are the reverberating echoes across the open deserts. The faint chime of the [camels’] nose-rings stirs up a fervent longing in them, and so affection is incited in them and they are attached [to their leader]. Verily, majestic is he who leads all these creatures and each one of them is more yielding to him than the hilt of [his] sword. The commanders stand all around him but the [final] word is his, while the entire caliphal attire heralds him. As he trails [behind him] the train of the caliphal [gown], a touch of musk emanates from him by the diffusion of the guidance [that flows from him]. To him belong the garbs of nobility, the merits of which have been singled out for him, glittering fabrics interwoven with shiny gold. His robes are the robes of the Commander of the Faithful; by the pleasure [of God] he has clothed him of them that which can never be removed.

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Between his hands his steeds are led by their saddles studded with pure gold. His standards are everywhere [to be seen], and so are the domes of his [ceremonial edifices], and when his sentries are summoned to a matter, they hasten [to respond]. [He is] a sovereign; you will see that [all] other sovereigns are [far] below the extent of his sway, with their necks inclined towards the ground in submission [to his will]; They [these kings] stand on their very feet, their [battle] swords thrown down, each one of them obedient and compliant. The treasuries, as well as the huge number of gifts and the raised porticos, become available [in the place] where he sees fit. And as the tent-ropes of the pavilions begin to heave in the morning and the spears begin to sway all around him, And eighty thousand men, ironclad and armoured, draw their Indian swords [standing at the ready] around his throne, I will have seen the one upon whom the [entire] world is dependent, as he sets about realising the will of destiny.

Ibn Hāniʾ offers his apologies for not being present at the sending off of the army. He recited the [following] poem in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful when he returned from bidding farewell:427 I saw off the victorious army with a seeing off of one resolved, and I bid it farewell, though not a farewell of one separated [from it forever]. Indeed, I was on the verge of not caring about those whom I had left behind, but [then] I was prevented by that resolve of mine which [eventually] turned [me] away. Had I preoccupied myself solely with the permission [to go], I would have gone and would not have concerned myself with the reproach of reproachers.

427 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, pp. 309–312.

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The Founder of Cairo I am moved by a day to which I shall do justice, so that poets may know the nature of my stand.428 I am filled with love for Egypt at the moment of a scene for which those who were absent from it bite their nails. For if I did not witness that day in full view, I witness it [now] with all ears and with all my heart. Indeed, my mind has conjured up for me an image of the victory, observing it closely for me, [but] without the look of one [actually] on the lookout. So it is: when proof of the existence of something has been established for the discerning one, it is [for him like] an inescapable blow [of the sword]. Yet, I certainly fulfilled some needs of mine, letting my eyes delight in [the sight of] the huge army. And I caught sight of [a group of] noble men among the supporters of the Hāshimī realm, striving for the sake of the realm of Hāshim. I followed their way through the paths of jihād so that I may be burnt as they are burnt by the scorch of the hot desert winds. How excellent is that [host] encompassed within the pavilion and over which the shade of the streaming flags hovering in the air has been cast! For there stand the lamps [that guide through] darkness and the party of the imam, lions in the straits of battle. And among the army is one standing (Jawhar), permeating [with his presence] the entire army, his hands outstretched with scales to establish justice.429 Deviser of a war in which he is neither miserly with his own soul430 nor a hoarder of [its] spoils. Nor is he one to turn away his banners from any [enemy] combatants [out of fear], nor to withhold his grace from one asking for peace.

428 The term muqāwim has several nuances: resistance, reluctance, position; one might also render the verse as ‘. . . so that poets may know where I stand (with regard to this great day)’. 429 This eulogy of Jawhar plays on the word al-qāʾim (the riser) since he is the ‘one standing’ among them, maintaining justice (qāʾim bi’l-ʿadl). 430 For he is ready to sacrifice it in battle.

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He is the first to come to the aid of the distressed caller and the first to crush [the back of] the affluent tyrant. [We ask for] your approval of him, O son of God’s [recipient of] revelation! For, he has indeed taken care of God’s awliyā’, the care of a [shepherd for his] flock. When they disagree on a matter, he reconciles them: a physician [with remedies] for the maladies of diseased souls. For his opinion never follows whim in any situation, nor do his ears stop to listen to any slander. May he be compensated with the rewards of good for [his conduct towards] them, for he has indeed given them a profuse shower of justice to drink from. He has conducted himself with them (the awliyā’) in a manner which none from among mankind has conducted himself, except [only] the likes of Kaʿb and Ḥātim.431 He has bestowed upon them the [glorious] protection of those days of yours, [O Prophet], which pride themselves on having been the days of grandeur and nobleness. None before you were able to destroy the armies of the East, especially [not] after the magnificent gifts [they were given], And after remunerations the like of which people had never seen nor had ever been told of in the bygone days of old. So let not him who stayed behind ask me about them and then end up regretting his ideas [about them]. Upon my life, they are the supporters of the truth and all of them are, in terms of glory, [members] of a house of exalted pillars. They have verily shown in gratitude to the grace of their Lord and their leader what I am not oblivious to.

431 It is unclear which Ka‘b is referred to here. Ḥātim is most likely a reference to Ḥātim al-Ṭā‘ī, one of the most renowned pre-Islamic figures of Arabia. Belonging to the Arabian tribe of the Ṭayyi’, Ḥātim came to represent the ideal of Arabian chivalry, in particular for his acclaimed generosity and hospitality. His son ‘Adī was converted at the hands of the Prophet and subsequently became an ardent supporter of ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib until his death around 66/686. See C. van Arendonk, ‘Ḥātim al-Ṭā‘ī’, EI2, and E. Kohlberg, ‘Adī b. Ḥātim, EI3.

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The Founder of Cairo And I have indeed been made to carry from them noble admonitions conferred by noble souls. To you, O Commander of the Faithful, I carry these as trusts, like sealed possessions [secured for their owners]. I have given testimony by what I have seen and have become aware of, the testimony of an upright person and not the testimony of a sinner. I offer this [testimony] on behalf of the people by way of a sermon, which, if it were to be delivered in the [pilgrimage] season, would not dishonour them.

45 Jawhar’s march westwards Jawhar led the troops and the armies of the Commander of the Faithful until he reached Barqa. There its governor, Aflaḥ b. al-Nāshib, who had been appointed by the Commander of the Faithful, met him on foot as he had been instructed by the Commander of the Faithful to do so.432 Ibn Ḥawqal al-Baghdādī said:433 Barqa is a city that is midway between Miṣr and al-Qayrawān, steppe and coastal, important and affluent, and with a range of merchandise. Its inhabitants use lakes which have rainwater for drinking. It has a wide expanse of inhabited villages around it, which would

432 Al-Maqrīzī reports in his Khiṭat (II: 92) that Aflaḥ al-Nāshib, had offered to pay al-Muʿizz 50,000 dinars in lieu of not dismounting in the presence of Jawhar. However, al-Muʿizz refused this offer and insisted that Aflaḥ pay homage to the governor by dismounting. Ibn Khallikān mentions the sum of 100,000 dinars for this purpose (Wafayāt, trans., I: 342). The same report is found in al-Maqrīzī’s Muqaffā (II: 29) where the ruler is named Aflaḥ al-Ṣaqlabī. This incident does not seem to have disrupted the relationship between this governor and al-Muʿizz, for he continued to hold distinction at the Fatimid court, as is evident from this report. 433 From Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, with much abridgement. An important 4th/10th-century Arab geographer, Abu’l-Qāsim b. ʿAlī al-Nasībī b. Ḥawqal travelled extensively, leaving for posterity an invaluable description of the Muslim lands in the medieval period in his Kitab ṣūrat al-arḍ, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Leiden, 1873); ed. J. H. Kramers (Leiden, 1938–1939); trans. and revised by J. H. Kramers and G. Wiet as Configuration de la terre (Paris and Beirut, 1964); this excerpt, p. 69. While Ibn Ḥawqal’s exact relationship with the Fatimids is unclear, it is apparent that he had Ismaili leanings and was able to obtain information in person from highly placed authorities. See Paul E. Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and its Sources (London, 2002), p. 139, and A. Miquel, ‘Ibn Ḥawḳal’, EI2.

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take a day to walk across. It is surrounded on all sides by a mountain range and its soil is [fertile] red, and its people always don red clothes and are well known for that. A large number of Berbers live around it. Aflaḥ originated from Barqa and from there he fought those who opposed the Commander of the Faithful among the Berbers and others, as well as the Egyptian tribes such as the Banū Qurra and others among the bedouins. Regarding this Muḥammad b. Hāniʿ composed a poem in which he praised him thus: By your [efforts] the kingdom of the two easts and their peoples have been subjugated, and have returned [to obedience] after having reneged [on their pledge] and renounced [the imam]. By your resoluteness the supports of their foundations have collapsed, and by your being near they have grown in obedience. By [repeated] attacks you have levelled the seat of their might and their army until they were subdued for the cavalry. To you is ascribed [the cause of victory], for there you were [fighting]: the honour of the roasting belongs only to the one who sparks the fire. Violent storms were unleashed by you against the bedouins, shedding the blood of opponents through men who were their match. The eyes of the folk of [Banū] Qurra have not seen joy ever since they were made to drink by you the boiling water they were made to drink. This tribe you slaughtered and that tribe you deprived of its sons by bringing [them] to their knees at [their] watering-holes. There you removed them from the Lake434 and the deserts, that which made the [very] earth cave in by the severity of its upheaval. Thus you [even] distracted the tent-dwellers from fixing these (their tents) and you have branded them as men in flight like ostriches.

434 This buḥayra could refer to the name of a well-known district in Egypt near the Nile Delta, so called because of the lake there.

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The Founder of Cairo And your horses, made lean [through exhaustion], aspired to [conquer] the oases until they, going straight ahead,

reached Aswān.

46 Jawhar’s issuance of the guarantee of safety News of Jawhar’s march at the head of al-Muʿizz’s armies, soldiers and the Maghribī troops reached Egypt, and so its inhabitants became alarmed and frightened. Their notables and amīrs conferred.435 The wazir Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl joined them. Al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj had freed him and appointed him to rule Egypt and had then returned to Syria. Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl consulted the group and all of them were of the view that they should correspond with Jawhar seeking peace and safety, and none of them differed on that. When they asked the Sharīf Abū Jaʿfar Muslim b. ʿUbayd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī436 to be their messenger to the Commander and to mediate a settlement between them and him, he agreed provided that al-Sharīf Ibrahīm b. Aḥmad al-Ḥasanī al-Rassī437 and Abu’l-Ṭayyib ʿAbbās b. Muḥammad al-ʿAbbāsī and the qāḍī of Egypt, Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad b. Aḥmad,438 would accompany him. Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl sent for them and instructed them to go to Jawhar with

435 There is a noticeable similarity in the narrative between this text and al-Maqrīzī’s Ittiʿāẓ (pp. 102–108; trans., pp. 66–74) concerning the events leading to the Fatimid invasion of Egypt. Al-Maqrīzī identifies the source of this text as Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. Ibrāhīm b. Zūlāq al-Miṣrī. Idrīs’ references to al-Ḥasan b. Zūlāq as a source earlier (see note 417 above) make it likely that he too has drawn from the same text. 436 Abū Jaʿfar Muslim al-Ḥusaynī (also al-ʿAlawī) was a senior member of the Ḥusaynid branch of the ashrāf in Egypt. He led the delegation of notables from Fusṭāṭ to Jawhar in order to negotiate a truce. The cordial relationship he forged with the Fatimids was, however, clouded by the defection of his brother, Akhū Muslim, to the Qarāmiṭa. See Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, p. 412; Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, trans., I: 322, n. 1 (under the entry on Jaʿfar b. al-Furāt). 437 Abi’l-Qāsim Ibrāhim b. Abī Abd Allāh Aḥmad al-Ḥasanī al-Rassī, from al-Rass, a village of Medina, was appointed leader of the ashrāf during al-Muʿizz’s time after his father’s death and held the post until his own death on 13 Shaʿbān 369/4 March 980. His burial ceremony was attended by al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh. See al-Maqrīzī’s biography of him in Muqaffā, I: 37 and II: 465–466. 438 Al-Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir al-Dhuhlī was a Mālikī scholar who came from a family of judges and was himself a qāḍī of Fusṭāṭ, Baghdad, Wāsiṭ and Damascus before being appointed qāḍī of Egypt in 348/959–960, a post he held for 18 years.

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the Sharīf Muslim b. ʿUbayd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī. The wazir Ibn al-Faḍl wrote a letter to the Commander Jawhar negotiating his demands and the group followed suit. Muslim and those who were accompanying him went to Jawhar on Monday, when 11 nights remained in Rajab 358/7 June 969. They reached him while he was in Tarrūja.439 They presented him with the message that they were to deliver to him and he responded to their requests and agreed to all the conditions that they had sought. He wrote a letter for them, the text of which is as follows: In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. This is a letter of Jawhar al-Kātib, the servant of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, may God’s blessings be upon him, to the people of Miṣr and others who inhabit there. The delegates, whom you had asked to correspond with me and meet with me, have arrived. They are: The Sharīf Abū Jaʿfar – may God lengthen his life Abū Ismāʿīl al-Rassī – may God help him Abu’l-Ṭayyib al-Hāshimī – may God help him The Qāḍī – may God strengthen him.440 They have mentioned, on your behalf, that you seek a guarantee of safety (amān) for yourselves, your wealth, your lands, your livestock and all your matters. I informed them of what our master’s order had brought to pass and the benefit of his oversight over you. So praise God for what he (al-Muʿizz) has bestowed upon you and thank Him for his protection441 of you. Persevere in adhering to what is incumbent upon you and hasten to obey the one who brings you safety. He is the one who has sent the victorious troops and triumphant armies only to strengthen and protect you, and to wage jihād on your behalf as hands have grabbed you. The polytheist (i.e., the Byzantine emperor) has behaved arrogantly towards you,

He was on good terms with al-Muʿizz and continued as a qāḍī during his reign. See his biographical entry in Muqaffā, V: 189–190. 439 This is located south of Alexandria and on the western edge of the Delta. Refer to al-Shayyāl’s description of it in Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ 1:148. 440 In the Ittiʿāẓ, p. 103; trans., p. 68, Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad b. Naṣr is included in this list. For further information on this Fatimid dā‘ī see note 461 below. 441 The text reads ḥabākum, whereas al-Maqrīzī has ḥamākum, which makes more sense in the context.

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coveting possession of your lands. In this year, he seeks to overpower you and hankers after the possession of your wealth and property, as he has already done to others like you in the East. His determination has been reinforced and his temerity strengthened and so, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, our lord and master, may God’s blessing be upon him, has pre-empted him by sending out his victorious armies and dispatching his glorious troops to fight him, to protect you, and to wage jihād on your behalf, and on behalf of all the Muslims in the East, who have been disgraced and who have been overcome with submissiveness, and engulfed by disasters and have suffered successive calamities. They have endured continuous fear, their appeals for help have increased, their yelling has become progressively louder and their outcry has become thunderous. No one has been able to come to their rescue except for him who has been sickened by their suffering and has suffered from their affliction. His eyes have wept for what has affected them and he has been kept awake because of what has befallen them. He is our master and lord, the Commander of the Faithful, may God’s blessing be upon him. He has hoped, by the grace and benevolence of God that God has always bestowed upon him to make those who have been overwhelmed by terror feel safe, and to dispel the fear of those who have continually lived in dread. He wishes to restore the pilgrimage which has fallen into abeyance, and whose obligations and rights are neglected by the worshippers because of the fear that has engulfed them, as they could not safeguard themselves or their wealth, and have been repeatedly vanquished, their blood shed and their wealth seized. Al-Muʿizz intends to repair the roads,442 eradicate corruption and prevent the offenders from committing crimes, so that people can travel, spread out and enter and leave with food and provisions. News has reached him, blessings of God be upon him, that Egypt’s roads have been cut off and restricted by fear, since there has been neither a restraint nor a defence against the wrongdoers.443

442 Ittiʿāẓ’s rendition of this part of the text (p. 104; trans., p. 69) is: ‘As has been his custom, al-Muʿizz intends to repair…’ 443 There had been a rupture in the performance of the ḥajj over the previous years because the Qarāmiṭa had pillaged the pilgrimage routes. The weakened Abbasids managed occasionally to buy the safety of the pilgrims for which the Qarāmiṭa levied exorbitant sums. In addition to the ideological differences between the Fatimids and the Qarāmiṭa, another cause of contention between them was the economic loss the latter suffered as the Fatimids refused to pay the

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Then he will improve the coinage and adjust it to be of the same standard as the blessed, auspicious manṣūrī dinars.444 He will eliminate their metal impurities, which is one of the three characteristics of reform incumbent upon someone ruling over the Muslims. He must exert all his time and effort in their achievement. Our master and lord, the Commander of the Faithful [al-Muʿizz], has advised his servant (Jawhar) to spread justice and promote the truth, to temper oppression, to eradicate transgression, to enhance sustenance, to be equitable about rights, to aid the oppressed, to repel tyranny, to prefer justice, closeness and compassion, to supervise fairly, to be generous in companionship, to be kind in associations, to scrutinise living conditions, to offer protection to the inhabitants day and night so that they can strive freely to earn their living and can manage their affairs such that it would restore them to their feet. [He has also advised his slave to] establish support for them so that their minds are assuaged, their hearts are in harmony and their words are in unison in obedience to the walī of God, our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful. His master has ordered him to annul the unjust taxes that he disapproves of, from being levied upon you. He has instructed me to administer your inheritance according to the Book of God and the sunna of the Prophet, and that I discontinue the deduction of money that used to be withheld from your legacies for the public treasury and sent there without that being stipulated by the deceased, for there is no lawful reason that it should proceed to the treasury.445 He has instructed me to undertake the repair of your

30,000 dinars that the Qarāmiṭa demanded annually for the protection of the Egyptian pilgrims since Ikhshīdid times. 444 The third Fatimid imam-caliph al-Manṣūr introduced a distinctive design to the Fatimid coinage, featuring concentric circles of writing around a central field with a horizontal inscription. In the brisk international trade which stretched from the shores of the Atlantic to the seas of China, Fatimid dinars were particularly valued for their gold content. See Walker, Sources, p. 97, and Paula Sanders, Ritual, Politics, and the City in Fatimid Cairo (Albany, NY, 1994), pp. 85–86. 445 Fatimid law stipulated that the state could not inherit from its subjects and legacies had to be exhausted according to the heirs specified in the Qur’an. It was only permitted in exceptional circumstances, such as a famine which was afflicting Egypt prior to the arrival of Jawhar. See E. Tyan, Histoire de l’organisation judiciare en pays d’Islam (Leiden, 1960); Th. W. Juynboll, ‘Farāʾiḍ’, EI2; and R. Le Tourneau, ‘Bayt al-māl’, EI2.

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The Founder of Cairo mosques and adorn them with carpets and lighting, and give those who call to prayers, the administrators and those who lead the prayers, their allowance. It will be given abundantly to them and will not be withdrawn from them. I will only pay them from the treasury and not by draft on those who gain from them. When the Commander of the Faithful’s servant mentioned what was included in the letter to those [delegates] – sent on your behalf – May God support them, and keep you all safe through your obedience to our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful – they said you had mentioned matters you wished to be addressed in the safety document (amān). In response to your request and to ease your minds, I have mentioned these [in the amān]. It would otherwise be meaningless to mention them and not beneficial to announce them, for Islam consists of one sunna and a sharīʿa followed [by all]. They are: [the right] to follow your madhhab (creed) or any other Muslim madhhab; to perform your obligations according to religious scholarship, to gather for them in your mosques and places of congregation; and to remain steadfast in the beliefs of the worthy ancestors from the Companions of the Prophet, may God be pleased with them, and of those who succeeded them, the jurists of the cities who have pronounced judgements and fatwas (legal opinions) according to their madhhabs. The duty of the call to prayer and its performance, fasting in the month of Ramaḍān, the breaking of the fast, the celebration of its nights, [payment of] the alms tax, [the performance of the] pilgrimage, and the undertaking of jihād, will all be maintained according to the command of God in His Book and what Muḥammad has decreed in his sunna; and the dhimmīs (Jews and Christians) will be treated according to previous custom. I guarantee you God’s complete, universal safety, eternal and continuous, inclusive and perfect, renewed and confirmed through the passage of days and recurrence through the years, for your lives, your property, your families, your livestock, your estates and your quarters, and whatever you possess, be it modest or significant. There shall be no opponent opposing you, no harasser harassing you and no pursuer pursuing you. You shall be safeguarded, protected and defended. We will defend you and protect you against [enemies]. We will not let you be harmed, nor will we aid any of your enemies, nor be presumptuous against the powerful among you, not to mention the weak.

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I shall continue to exert effort for whatever exudes goodness to you, is beneficial to all of you, brings bounty to you, and enables you to experience blessings and rejoicing through obedience to our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful. You have the commitment of what I have undertaken in person and have accorded you by God’s sacred covenant and protection, and by the covenant of His prophets and messengers, and by the covenant of our masters the imams, the forefathers of our master the Commander of the Faithful, and by the covenant of our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, and the covenant of his servant and slave (Jawhar). You must show obedience to our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, and proclaim and announce it by fulfilling the commitment. Come out to meet and greet me, and stand before me when I cross the bridge and camp at the blessed halting place.446 Defend and observe your allegiance, persevere with it and hasten to fulfil its obligations. Do not forsake any friend of our master, the Commander of the Faithful; do not assist his enemies, but uphold what you have pledged to him and abide by what you are ordered. May God guide you all on the straight path. This guarantee of safety [was written] in Jawhar’s own hand in Shaʿbān of the year 358/June–July 969. Blessings of God be upon Muḥammad and all his progeny.

Commander Jawhar also wrote in his own hand: Jawhar the scribe, the servant of the Commander of the Faithful – may God’s blessing be upon him and upon his pure ancestors and his most noble descendants awaited until the Day of Judgement – said: I have written this guarantee of safety (amān) upon the order of our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful. I promise all the inhabitants of the city and others who accept [it] that I will fulfil all that is stipulated in it. All praise is due to God, the Lord of the worlds, God is my support and an excellent trustee, and may God’s blessings be upon our master, the Prophet Muḥammad and upon his righteous progeny.

446 This was the resting place where the riding beasts would halt and camp on the outskirts of Fusṭāṭ. It was regarded in esteem during Fatimid rule and was named al-Manākh al-Saʿīd. Maqrīzī, Khiṭaṭ, II: 311.

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Jawhar wrote in his own handwriting on the above-mentioned date, and the witnesses signed in their own handwriting. They were: Sharīf Abū Jaʿfar Muslim b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir al-Ḥusaynī Sharīf Abū Ismāʿīl Ibrāhīm b. Aḥmad al-Ḥasanī al-Rassī Abu’l-Ṭayyib al-ʿAbbās b. Aḥmad al-Hāshimī Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad b. Aḥmad His son, Abū Yaʿlā Muḥammad b. Muḥammad Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Muhallab Abū Muḥammad ʿAmr b. al-Ḥārith al-Mālikī447

Jawhar honoured and housed the group while they were his guests. He used to welcome Sharīf Abū Jaʿfar when he would come to visit him and would accompany him when he was leaving until he had mounted. Subsequent to the departure of the envoys, the Ikhshīdids and the Kafūrids regretted the reconciliation and resolved to fight. So they began to mobilise troops and to unload their tents. The news of the revocation of the reconciliation and the intention of the Egyptians to fight reached Sharīf Muslim and the notables who accompanied him, while they were in Jawhar’s presence. They kept it secret from the Commander, fearing that he would detain them and they hurriedly excused themselves. He permitted them, gave them robes of honour and gifts as well as giving 10,000 dinars to each of them. Jawhar heard about the revocation of the guarantee of safety after they had left, so he set out and caught up with the notables at Maḥallat Ḥafṣ.448 He said to them, ‘I have heard that your people have repudiated what they had asked you to do, so return my document to me.’ They were pleasant and courteous to him and said, ‘May God triumph you and make you victorious!’ He said to the Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir, ‘I have

447 The first four names are mentioned earlier, prior to the commencement of the amān declaration. Little is mentioned in the sources regarding the final three names, who were likely to be public notaries for their signatures to have legal binding. Regarding Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Muhallab, al-Maqrīzī notes briefly in his Muqaffā’ (1:298) that he was born in 290/901 and died in 370/981, and that his name was listed in the amān declaration. 448 Maḥallat Ḥafs was situated west of Damanhūr in the Nile Delta. Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, p. 419.

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a question.’449 Abū Ṭāhir responded, ‘What is the question?’ The Commander rejoined, ‘What would you say if someone wished to traverse across the city of Miṣr and make it a threshold to fight the polytheists and they (people of Miṣr) prevented him [from doing so]? Would he be justified in fighting them?’ The qāḍī replied, ‘Yes.’ The Commander continued, ‘Then take your document,’ and smiled. The qāḍī responded, ‘God will suffice you.’ They were frightened of him but he bid them farewell and let them depart in peace. Sharīf Abū [Jaʿfar] Muslim and those accompanying him returned to al-Fusṭāṭ450 when seven days remained in Shaʿbān 358/July 969. Wazir Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl rode towards him, and the Ikhshīdids, the Kāfūrids and others gathered in his presence. So Sharīf Abū Muslim read them the decree which the Commander had written and handed each one of them the reply to their letters, which included what they had sought as regards safety, allotments [of land] and governorship. He also handed the wazir Abu’l-Faḍl his letter, which was the kindest reply that any wazir could hope for.

47 Skirmishes with the Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids When the Sharīf read the decree to them, they rejected the reconciliation and Naḥrīr said,451 ‘There is nothing between us and them save this sword!’ The Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids rallied together, their followers joined them, and the place was filled with them. They deliberated a little and said, ‘We will only fight under an amīr!’ Then they appointed Naḥrīr Shuwayzān over them. He was the younger of the two; the elder Naḥrīr submitted to his appointment.452 They mistrusted the wazir

449 The phrasing of Jawhar’s question here, mas‘alatun, indicates that Jawhar was seeking a legal opinion from the qāḍī. 450 An Arab garrison town founded during the 1st/7th century and the locus of Muslim rule in Egypt prior to the establishment of Cairo. Al-Maqrīzī recounts at length the development of Fusṭāṭ in the Khiṭaṭ, I: 790–791, 818–826, 912–926. 451 Naḥrīr Shuwayzān headed the Ikhshīdids in Fusṭāṭ upon Kāfūr’s death and led them in their conflict against the Kāfūrids, which began towards the end of Jumādā II 357/April–May 968 and ended with the latter’s defeat. See Lev, State and Society, p. 14. 452 This is most likely Naḥrīr al-Arghulī Abu’l-Ḥasan, an Ikhshīdid slave. For further events concerning him, see Maqrīzī, Ittiʾāẓ, pp. 109, 188; trans., pp. 93, 103.

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Abu’l-Faḍl, so he left them, as did Sharīf Muslim. Subsequently, Sharīf Muslim returned Jawhar’s letter, as per his condition. They began mobilising the troops, then they set off, one contingent after another, towards al-Jīza and al-Jazīra.453 The armies followed one another and were stocked with armour, equipment and weapons. Naḥrir camped at al-Jazīra and secured the bridges. Fighting began at al-Jazīra on 11 Shaʿbān/29 June 969 and some of Jawhar’s troops and horses were apprehended. When they had seized control of the bridge, Commander Jawhar set out for Munyat al-Ṣayyādīn.454 The Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids feared that they (Jawhar’s troops) would cross over from al-Makhāḍa, so they appointed Muzāḥim b. Rāʾiq455 to guard al-Makhāḍa. However, Ibn Rāʾiq left al-Makhāḍa and abandoned it. The Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids proceeded to al-Makhāḍa on Sunday leaving Mufliḥ al-Wahbānī456 responsible over it (al-Jazīra). They were numerous and well equipped. They set out for al-Makhāḍa on Sunday, 15 Shaʿbān/4 July 969 and arrived at Munyat Shalqān. When Commander Jawhar saw them, he said to Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ,457 ‘O Jaʿfar, the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, wanted you for this day.’ So Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ sailed across in a ship with a contingent of his men until they reached them. Fighting broke out between them, battle

453 An island on the Nile which links Fusṭāṭ to the east and Giza to the west by two bridges. Al-Maqrīzī (Khiṭaṭ, 3:276) relates that the bridges consisted of some 30 aligned boats, tightly secured with wooden beams and overlaid with soil. C. M. Becker, ‘Miṣr’, EI2. 454 Literally, ‘fisherman’s village’. In the Ittiʿāẓ (p. 109; trans., p. 75), it is called Munyat Shalqān, which is present day Shalqān. Ibn Khallikān reports in the Wafayāt (trans., I: 343) that Jawhar went to Munyat al-Ṣayyādīn and seized Munyat Shalqān. 455 Muzāḥim b. Muḥammad b. Rāʾiq was subsequently appointed by Jawhar as governor of al-Ḥawf and of al-Faramā on the Mediterranean coast. It is possible that he rewarded him for leaving al-Makhāḍa unguarded (Ittiʿāẓ, p. 167; trans., p.103). His father, Muḥammad b. Rāʾiq, was the first amīr al-umarāʾ under the Abbasids. D. Sourdel, ‘Ibn Rāʾiḳ’, EI2. 456 Mufliḥ al-Wahbanī is mentioned in Ittiʿāẓ (p. 118; trans., p. 85). 457 Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ was a senior commander of the Fatimid army and a prominent member of the Kutāma. Son of a well-respected commander who was governor of Tripoli, Barqa and Bāja, Jaʿfar participated in the conquest of Egypt and Syria. He was appointed over Ramla in Syria at the end of 358/969 and over Damascus at the beginning of 359/969, where he stayed until 360/970–1 when he was killed in a battle against the Qarāmiṭā. For a comprehensive account of his activities in Syria see Maqrīzī, Muqaffā, III: 50–58.

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was joined and the heroes were valiant. A number of Ikhshīdids and their followers were killed and they were defeated during the night. They went to al-Fusṭāṭ, entered houses and plundered as much as they could. They also looted Naḥrīr Shuwayzān’s house, who had been appointed over them. Consequently, he left in the early hours of Monday, 16 Shaʿbān/5 July and escaped to Syria. As for Naḥrīr, known as the elder, he was killed in that battle at al-Makhāḍa.

48 The re-issuance of the guarantee People awoke [the following day] in great fear. The Ikhshīdid and Kāfūrid women left their homes barefooted. Abū Muḥammad al-Rūdhbārī, the land tax (kharāj) administrator, and Abū Muḥammad al-Farghānī came along with the rest of the people, alarmed and apprehensive, and hastened to Sharīf Muslim al-Ḥusaynī. He assuaged them and said, ‘Indeed, we have met this man, that is, Commander Jawhar, and we trust his wisdom and his forbearance.’ Hence they asked him to write to the Commander to grant them the guarantee of safety (amān) again. Sharīf Muslim wrote to him, congratulating him on the conquest and entreated him to re-issue the guarantee of safety as per their request. Then they asked him to send another letter, which he did. He sent another messenger using a thoroughbred. The people sat with Sharīf Muslim awaiting a reply. Then a group of people from Miṣr who had been to Commander Jawhar returned with his order to protect the people. He sent with them one of his notables who bore a white banner on which was inscribed the name of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz. In front of him were men ringing bells, proclaiming protection for the people and forbidding plunder, hence no one was harmed or looted. The people were assuaged and opened their houses, their shops and the markets resumed as if there was no tribulation. Towards the end of the day Commander Jawhar al-Muʿizzī’s458 reply to Sharīf Muslim arrived through his messenger. So Muslim read it [silently], and then read it aloud to the people. The text of which is as follows: In the name of God the Merciful the Compassionate. The Sharīf’s letter has arrived; may God lengthen his life, perpetuate his honour, support

458 The title ‘al-Muʿizzī’, meaning belonging to al-Muʿizz, is used here to indicate Jawhar’s legal status as a slave of al-Muʿizz.

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The Founder of Cairo and strengthen him. [In it] he congratulated us for the blessed conquest which God has paved for us, and he, may God support him, deserves to be congratulated as it is his realm (dawla) and the realm of his family,459 and he is worthy of it. As for his request for a guarantee of safety and the return of the original guarantee of safety, I have returned to him what he has sought and I have appointed him on behalf of our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, to guarantee people safety as and how he wishes. I had already written to the wazir to protect the houses of those who have fled until they accept our obedience and enter into the same guarantee as the rest of the people. The Sharīf, may God support him, should meet me on Tuesday, when 17 days have elapsed in Shaʿbān/[5 July 969] with a group of the ashrāf, the ʿulamāʾ and the country’s notables, God willing.’

When the Sharīf read the letter to the people they rejoiced and were assuaged. The fear that had gripped them subsided and they left to make the preparations to meet Jawhar. The Sharīf’s messenger, who had been sent to the Commander, said to the Sharīf, ‘I have seen the heads of Naḥrīr al-Kabīr, Mubashshir, Bilāl al-Ṭunbāʾī and Yumna al-Ṭawīl460 in a silver tub along with many other heads strewn at the sides of the Commander’s tent.’ Until then the Sharīf had been uncertain of who had been killed and who had been spared. On Tuesday, when 17 days passed in Shaʿbān/5 July 969, Sharīf Muslim al-Ḥusaynī, the wazir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl and a group of inhabitants of Miṣr left for al-Jīza. When they met with Commander Jawhar, his herald announced, ‘Everyone dismount, save the Sharīf and the wazir.’ So all the people dismounted and greeted the Commander one after the other. Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad b. Naṣr461 was introducing Jawhar to the people, while Muslim al-Ḥusaynī was to his right and wazir Abu’l-

459 That is, the reign of the descendants of the Prophet. 460 They were the Ikhshīdids and Kāfūrids killed in their confrontation with the Fatimid forces. Their death is similarly recounted by al-Maqrīzī in the Itti‘āẓ, p. 109; trans., p. 75. 461 He was a prominent Egyptian Fatimid dā‘ī instrumental in soliciting support from the Egyptian notables and persuading them to invite al-Muʿizz to restore order following Kāfūr’s death. See Halm, Empire of the Mahdi, pp. 409–410, and Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, p. 96.

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Faḍl was to his left, and they remained on their mounts until the last of the people had completed their greetings.

49 Jawhar’s rule in Egypt and the founding of Cairo The Commander Jawhar al-Muʿizzī entered the Egyptian city (al-Fusṭāṭ) on Tuesday when 17 days passed in Shaʿbān 358/6 July 969. People began entering [the city] from sunset and they crossed the bridges with their armour and equipment, accompanied by domes, loads and banners. The prominent soldiers entered in their regalia and were greeting the people, just as the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, had promised them the day he bid them farewell. Accompanying Commander Jawhar were 1,200 chests of money. Commander Jawhar entered in the afternoon, preceded by his banners and drums, and donning an embroidered silk robe. He crossed the city and went to his camp. He selected the site for al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya (the City Victorious of al-Muʿizz) and began to build its wall and to fortify it. The troops continued to enter for seven days, from Tuesday morning until Monday evening. It was a memorable conquest which God had granted His walī, the one who strengthened His religion (al-Muʿizz li-dīnih). He, the Exalted One, decreed to strengthen his hand and extend it, and He bestowed him with the treasures of the world, just as He had made Yūsuf (Joseph), son of Ya‘qūb (Jacob), a master over it (i.e., Egypt). Indeed, God strengthens whomsoever among His awliyāʾ on earth He wishes and constricts whomsoever He wishes among them, to test His worshippers so as to distinguish between them justly, graciously and in preference to others, and to inflict trials to test them, praise be to Him. Praise be to God for what He draws close, what He protects and inflicts; to Him belongs the end and the beginning, and He does as He wills. Commander Jawhar abolished Abbasid rule over Egypt and its provinces, from its minbars, its coinage, its banners and ceremonials after they had reigned over it for 225 years and eight months, as Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās462 entered Egypt in mid-Dhu’l-Ḥijja 132/24 July

462 Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAlī (d. 152/769), a member of the Abbasid family, was instrumental in establishing Abbasid rule in Egypt after the fall of the Umayyads. Having twice been governor of Egypt, he subsequently turned his attention to

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750. Marwān b. Muḥammad al-Umawī, the last of the Umayyad rulers,463 was killed at Būṣīr464 when seven nights remained in Dhu’l-Ḥijja of that year/1 August 750. Abbasid rule in Egypt continued until Commander Jawhar severed it. He abandoned the donning of black clothes during the sermon, as this was an Abbasid custom. The day following Jawhar’s entry, he instructed ʿAlī b. al-Walīd,465 the qāḍī of his troops, to parade [the town] accompanied by the police. Ahead of them were mules loaded with money, while the crier was calling out, ‘Whosoever is in need of charity, come along!’ They distributed that wealth as alms-giving. Then they went to the al-ʿAtīq congregational mosque and distributed charity there as well.466 Commander Jawhar confirmed wazir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl over the wazirate and the wazir used to ride every day to Commander Jawhar’s camp.

50 The first Fatimid sermon in Egypt On Friday, when 10 days remained in Shaʿbān [3]58/8 July 969, Jawhar rode to the al-ʿAtīq congregational mosque for the Friday prayer. The prayer leader stood at the pulpit donning a white robe.467 He delivered

bolstering the frontier regions of Syria against the Byzantines. A. Grohmann (H. Kennedy), ‘Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās’, EI2. 463 He was Marwān II b. Muḥammad b. Marwan b. al-Hakam (r. 127–132/744–749–750), grandson of Marwān I and the last of the Umayyad caliphs who ruled from Damascus. G. R. Hawting, ‘Marwan II’, EI2. 464 Several places in Egypt are called Abūṣīr/Būṣīr since it refers to places where the ancient Egyptian God Osiris was venerated. There are contending views concerning the particular Būṣīr in which this Ummayad caliph was killed. G. Wiet, ‘Būṣīr or Abūṣīr’, EI2. 465 ʿAlī b. al-Walīd was also known as al-Ishbīlī (the Sevillian), according to al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ (pp. 113 and 165; trans., pp. 101 and 131), where he gives his death date as 362/973. 466 The ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ mosque in Fusṭāṭ was for a period known as the crown of all mosques. As it became dated and newer mosques were erected, it gained the appellation of al-ʿAṭīq (the old or the ancient). 467 The donning of the white robe in the Friday prayer was a public display of allegiance to the Fatimids. The white robes and banners of the Fatimids distinguished them from the black robes of the Abbasids. Al-Maqrīzī provides an interesting anecdote of Jawhar’s ire at a notable in the Fatimid court in Cairo wearing clothing which resembled the Abbasid black. Ittiʿāẓ, p. 132; trans., p. 101.

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the sermon and invoked blessings upon the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. In the second sermon he said:468 O God, bless Your servant and Your walī, the fruit of prophethood and the descendant of the guiding and rightly guided family, servant of God, the Imam Maʿadd Abū Tamīm al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, Commander of the Faithful, as You have blessed his pure fathers and distinguished ancestors, the righteous imams. O God, elevate his rank and raise his word, make his proof clear, gather the community (umma) to his obedience, and unite their hearts in devotion and companionship to him. Render the righteous course through his acceptance and make him the inheritor of the lands in the East and the West. Make the beginnings and the conclusions of his affairs praiseworthy. For indeed, You have said, and Your word is the truth, ‘And verily, We have written in the Scripture, after the Reminder (given to Moses), “My righteous slaves will inherit the earth”’ (21:105). He (al-Muʿizz) has been angered for Your religion, at the violation of Your sanctity and at the extinction of the jihād in Your path. When the pilgrimage to Your house and the visitation to Your Prophet’s tomb, God bless him and grant him salvation, were barred, he prepared himself for the jihād. He undertook precautions for each concern. He sent troops for Your victory and he expended money in Your obedience. He exerted effort in seeking Your pleasure, and so the ignorant was deterred and the insolent one was curbed.469 O God, grant victory to his troops, to those whom he has sent forth to fight the polytheists, to carry out jihād against the heretics, to defend the Muslims, and to safeguard the frontier regions (thughūr) and the two sanctuaries (Mecca and Medina), and to eliminate oppression and greed, and to spread justice in the lands. O God, unfurl his banners to heights of fame and grant victory to his conquering armies. Restore righteousness by him and at his hands. By him, grant us ultimate security. Indeed, you are the doer of whatever you wish.’

468 Al-Maqrīzī identifies the reciter as Hibat Allāh b. Aḥmad and adds, ‘when he came to the du‘ā’ (supplication), he read it from a sheet of paper’. Ittiʿāẓ, p. 114; trans., p. 81. 469 Al-Maqrīzī adds at this point, ‘the truth was manifest and falsehood was dissipated’ (Ittiʿāẓ, p. 115; trans. p. 82). It is surprising that Idrīs left out this sentence.

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The Commander [Jawhar] ordered the minting of the Muʿizzī dinars. On the obverse was inscribed the following: There is no god but God, Muḥammad is the Messenger of God. He has sent him ‘with guidance and the religion of truth to proclaim it over all religion even though the pagans may detest (it).’ [9:33]. ʿAlī is the best of the legatees (afḍal al-waṣiyyīn), and the deputy of the best of the messengers (wazīr khayr al-mursilīn).’

On the reverse was the following: The Imam Maʿadd summons to the Oneness of God, the Eternal. Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, Commander of the Faithful. This dinar was minted in the year 358 [968–969].

Commander Jawhar ordered the supervision of the land tax and personally adjudicated the court of grievances (maẓālim) on Saturdays. Wazir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar b al-Faḍl, the qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad b. Aḥmad and a group of notaries and legists attended his court. Jawhar confirmed Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir in his position of judge, and alongside every Egyptian notary he appointed a Maghribī one. Upon establishing his sovereignty over Egypt, Commander Jawhar wrote to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muiʿzz li-Dīn Allāh, conveying the glad tidings of conquest and sent him some heads (of opponents killed in battle). Abū Jaʿfar Muslim Sharīf al-Ḥusaynī and wazir Abu’lFaḍl Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl also wrote to him, as did Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ, congratulating him on the victory. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ’s letter arrived prior to that of Jawhar. The Commander of the Faithful was delighted and said to the messenger, ‘Keep it a secret.’ Then Jawhar’s letter arrived and the news spread. The Commander of the Faithful held a public audience in al-Manṣūriyya where people congratulated him and poets recited poetry in his presence. Among these were the following verses of Muḥammad b. Hāniʾ:470

470 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, pp. 131–139.

Translation of the Text

51 Ibn Hāniʾ’s poem about the conquest of Egypt The Abbasids say, ‘Has Egypt been conquered?’ Tell the Abbasids, ‘The matter has been ordained!’ Jawhar has already gone beyond Alexandria, with good tidings shining down on him and victory preceding him. And already Egypt has sent its delegations to him, and to its set-up bridges another bridge has been added. This day has arrived only to see your hands (i.e., of the Abbasids) bereft of it (Egypt) and of other [territories] with nothing [remaining yours]. So do not dwell upon the memory of an age that has now passed away. That age is now bygone; this [now] is a [new] age. Was it the [advancing] army that you had doubts about? Not so fast! There go the fluttering spears and the huge battalions! God’s steeds now stand high, rising like the rising of the dawn [to be guardians] over [this] religion and [the life of] this world. Here now is the son of God’s Prophet demanding his blood revenge, eager that he should not forsake [the opportunity for] his revenge. Leave the watering [of steeds] from the waters of the Euphrates for his steeds, for you will not [be able to] defend either its shallows or its deeper waters. Can there be any doubt that the sun is the sun once it has emerged before the [very] eyes and there is no cover [to be found] from it? This is nothing but one sign after another and a warning for you, if warning is of any avail to you. So be ‘as reaped crops, stilled [by death]’ (21:15), or submit in compliance to a king in whose palm lies [the power to bring] death and resurrection. Obey an imam who outstrips all imams in merit, just as the pious deed outstrips all [good] deeds in merit. Come to a giver of drink whose plenteous reservoirs [of mercy] you could never exhaust, just as small ants could never exhaust the [reservoirs of the] seas.

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The Founder of Cairo For if you follow him, he will be your [patron] lord who enjoys, by virtue of [his descent from] the Messenger of God, pride of place exclusively among you. Otherwise, perish he who is far removed, for what separates you from him can never be bridged by time. Were the verses and the noble sūras revealed regarding the son of the father of the two grandsons [of the Prophet] or that freedman of yours [al-ʿAbbās]?!471

Ibn Hāniʾ further says: For indeed, this world has turned472 [its fortunes now] in favour of the family of the Prophet, while the upstart reign [of the

Abbasids] drags its tails [behind itself in retreat]. And he (al-Muʿizz) has restored the rights of the Ṭālibids,473 he whose good deeds to his family increase in purity, and

also the treasure-trove [of his past deeds] increases in purity. The exalter of guidance and religion, and of the womb through which the means [of this religion]474 came together475 – to him thanks are due! He who imbibes from them (the imams) in every east and west will have that fear and fright replaced with security.

471 The term ṭalīq (pl. ṭulaqāʾ), lit. one who has been freed, is a derogatory one originally used for those who had been freed upon the orders of the Prophet. Though generally ascribed to those Meccans who only converted after the Muslim conquest, here it refers to the Prophet’s uncle al-ʿAbbās who was captured and subsequently released by the Muslims at the Battle of Badr. 472 The word dālat used here is derived from the root d-w-l (meaning to ‘turn, to alternate’), and is used by the poet to indicate a new dawla (from the same root, meaning ‘state’, or ‘reign’) has come to be established. 473 This appellation includes the descendants of Abū Ṭālib, ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib as well as ‘Alī’s brothers, Ja‘far and ‘Aqīl. 474 Or, ‘to this victory’. 475 ‘The womb through which the means (asbāb) came together’ is likely to be a reference to Fāṭima, through whom, in early Shiʿi thought, the lights of Muḥammad and ‘Alī became conjoined and manifest in the imams from her progeny.

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And thus every Imāmī will come forth [radiant] as if Sirius is [shining] over his hand and on his face [the splendour of] the full moon.

Up to where Ibn Hāniʾ says: So with this [victory] give the good news to the Sacred House [of God], promptly, as soon as circumambulation [of the House] is astir with people and individuals Have become weakened [from the effort of the pilgrimage]. For it is as though he (al-Muʿizz) has [already] visited it (the House), so that Ṭayba and the Blessed Valley (surr) have by this inclined away from the palaces of kings.476 Is the House, the House of God, anything other than his sacred precinct (ḥarīm)?477 And can one separated [by distance] from his home endure to be away from his home? [These are] his first dwellings, those that fill him with longing [for them], and are thus unavoidable for him nor will he fail to reach them; And [they are the place] where his grandfather (the Prophet) received the Holy Spirit and [where] God’s words, the secret and the proclaimed, turned to him. So if the House should wish for such [again], then the appointed time for these is [now] near – for after hardship comes [only] ease.478 And if it (the House) should yearn in longing for you, then verily a diffusion of your scent can be found in its air.

476 In other words, with the Fatimid victory the sacred places have turned their backs to the Abbasids and are joyous with anticipation at the arrival of the imam. Al-Ṭayba is another name for Medina given to it by the Prophet. 477 Another play on words, for ḥarīm can also mean the female member(s) of a household; so the house of the Prophet represents the House of God primarily through the figure of Fāṭima. 478 An allusion to the Qur’anic verse 94:6.

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The Founder of Cairo Are you not the son of the one (the prophet Ismāʿīl) who built it? As soon as you come to it, its misfortunes shall disappear and its dust-ridden waymarks shall shine [again]: A season beloved to the Meccan valley, in which Mecca and al-Ḥijr greet Maʿadd. 479 There, the earth becomes resplendent with light and comes together in proximity, such that travellers do not deem the journey [to Mecca] to have been far. And you (the pilgrims) will become aware of what is obligatory in the pilgrimage as opposed what is supererogatory in it, and the community will be able to discriminate between good and evil. I bear witness that you (al-Muʿizz) have verily brought great honour to this religion, for I had feared for it that haughtiness should take sole possession of it. Thus you proceeded with [great] resolve, and hereafter no person will disobey you but an ignorant one, mistaken about you. I congratulate you on this victory which I look upon with eyes that will not be shut by disbelief. That [by itself] is a [sufficiently] clear illustration of a caliph in comparison to whom, when it comes to his good deeds, others are insignificant. We approve for you, O people of Egypt, a reign under whose auspices security and wealth shall be at our service. We have been a [good] example for you of old, and nothing has ever been hidden or concealed from you of our circumstances. Are we anything but an assemblage of men who, [only] by having sought of his favour, [now] possess [fine] bald prancing steeds and hordes of camels?

479 Maʿadd is the birth name of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh (see note 17 above). Ḥijr refers to a walled off semi-circle which is adjacent to the Ka‘ba and believed by some to be the burial place of the Prophet Ismāʿīl. There are varied opinions on whether the Ḥijr is part of the Ka‘ba, though all schools include it as part of its circumambulation.

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And [other verses] belonging to this [poem] are:480 O reigning one, whose manner is [like] the manner of angels! Nay! verily, the disposition of prophets is a [special]

disposition. O provider of the source of life from the palm of his hand – or at the very least, from its lines481 spring the seas! Verily, the days are your days, the blessings of which you will enjoy half while we enjoy the other half. Yours shall be the glory from these [days]. O may good and exaltedness be yours, while for us [let] there remain from them the milk cow and its milk. Indeed, you have been so generous that there is none to ask for money, and you have expended such that no huge amount of money has any worth. I wish for a generation whose time has [now] passed; if only they had remained longer in the arena of life or were [able] to return, To witness the days [now] and [the bounties of] life after them: verdant gardens and hopes fulfilled.

ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Tūnisī482 said, when addressing the Commander of the Believers and remembering the Commander Jawhar, in his poem: If Jawhar has been extolled with fair praise, then [that is because] you (al-Muʿizz) indeed enjoy the honour of

[being his] leader and [him] being led [by you]. [He is] a full moon that moves by the [guidance of the] stars and a fierce lion that engages with [lesser] lions in the thick of [flying] spears. He has safeguarded the caliphate and for the sake of it has always readily offered sound decisions in all grave situations,

480 Idrīs does not follow the arrangement of verses in this qaṣīda. Yaʿlāwī has rearranged them with reference to Zāhid ʿAlī’s edition. 481 This is rich in symbolism, since the root s-r-r can refer to the innermost, the secret, the most verdant part of a valley, as well as the lines inscribed on the palm. 482 No further information could be found about this poet.

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ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar al-Samarqandī484 said in a long poem, the beginning of which is: Verily, may God delight the eyes of guidance! For how many graces [from God] have you obtained by them (the eyes) for those who are thankful for them? If they were to inform of [the state of] the land of Egypt, then they would indeed be referring to [all] the plains and

mountains of the land. Blessed be Islam in having exacted its revenge, and this world is congratulated on [receiving] the justice of its prince. Thus the props of Islam have been reinforced after having been shattered and the borrowed reins of kingship have been reacquired from their borrower. And he has re-established among creatures what is obligated to God, he who has illuminated the path of truth after it had been blotted out.

483 Literally, ‘a watering-hole already visited’. 484 No further information could be found regarding this poet.

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When tyranny in Egypt had become widespread and its [women] mourners repeatedly took to crying out with wails and laments, Its divining arrow, which was not a winning one, came forewarning [of evil] and it suffered ill omens; And it (Egypt) requited felicity with ingratitude, so that it ended up with Wretchedness, visiting the refuge of every dwelling, each in turn. At that time a certain band insisted on hypocrisy and listened [attentively] to the misguided and the deluded among them. It thought that by severing a bridge485 it was extending its life, but this notion only served to shorten what remained of its [life’s] brevity. And it was struck by a firm rock from Jawhar which pulverised the firmness of the enemies’ rocks. And he unleashed the [engulfing] seas of his army against its waters such that his decisions acted for him by replacing

[the strategy intended by] its bridges. And before they realised he was in the midst of their land: how noble a garden and a brook it is [now]! He rent them asunder486 so that they are like reaped crops struck by the blaze of a firebrand; It is as though the [dead] people’s necks with their heads [sitting] atop them are letters on a line waiting to be vowelled. Say, then, to the Abbasids, ‘Sheathe your swords [now], for of old you disobeyed your Lord when you drew them. You were given charge over the people’s affairs – an evil rule it was – so you substituted decency therein with indecency.’ If you [then] say, ‘[But] assuredly we slew the Umayyads on account of the corruption of the misguided ones and the disbelief of the infidels among them’,

485 This is one of the bridges across the Nile. 486 This expression tafarraqu aydī Sabaʾ is a figure of speech from the Qur’an (34:15–19), referring to the manner in which the inhabitants of Sheba became dispersed throughout the land as a result of divine punishment.

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The Founder of Cairo Then [we shall say,] ‘We have indeed found you after them to be following a manner of conduct and a way viler than theirs. You shed blood and said, “We sought revenge thereby.” [‘What!] Is revenge [ever] exacted by neglecting it [when it was due]? [That blood was] the blood of noble individuals which cannot remain unavenged, nor is the [entire] world equal to the death of its lowest [creatures]. You must drink [again] from the cup [of death], from which you drank [before] by the hands of those who uprooted it (the world) and ruined it. Relinquish, then, those borrowed reins [of kingship]! For they, in spite of yourselves, belong to the one who lent them [to you].’

52 Celebration of ‘Ῑd al-Fiṭr and ‘Ῑd al-Naḥr On the last day of Shaʿbān 358/17 July 969, Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir rode out to observe the crescent, as was the custom. However, he could not see it. The following morning, the first day of Ramaḍān, Commander Jawhar began fasting along with all his troops. Subsequently, the Qāḍī rode out to observe the crescent [of the month of] Shawwāl accompanied by a large number of people, as was his custom.487 However, he could not see it. The following morning Commander Jawhar did not fast and performed the ʿĪd prayer with his troops.488 ʿAlī b. al-Walīd al-Ishbīlī, the qāḍī of his troops, pronounced the sermon. After praising God in his sermon, he invoked blessings upon the Prophet, the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and the imams. He cursed their oppressors and betrayers. He summoned for the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, and mentioned Jawhar and eulogised him.

487 This was to determine the first date of the month of Shawwāl and therefore the end of the fasting period of Ramaḍān. 488 In the Ittiʿāẓ, p. 116; trans., pp. 82–83, Jawhar broke the fast according to astronomical calculations, which was standard Fatimid practice.

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The following morning the Egyptians headed to the place of prayer (muṣallā) to perform the ʿĪd prayer. They prayed on their own and a Hāshimī called Ibn Zabraj led them in prayer. Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir accompanied them in the prayer along with a large number of people. Jawhar censured the qāḍī for doing so. The latter apologised to him. Jawhar absolved him and refrained from mentioning it further.489 Naḥrīr Shuwayzān, who had been appointed [commander] in Egypt (by the remnants of the Ikhshīdids/Kāfūrids), sought protection from Jawhar who granted it to him. On Friday 8 Dhu’l-Qaʿda/22 September 969, Commander Jawhar gave instructions that the following should be added to the sermon: ‘O God, shower your blessings upon Muḥammad, the chosen one, upon ʿAlī the approved one, upon Fāṭima, the Radiant, the Pure, upon al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, the two grandsons of the Messenger, from whom God has removed all impurity and whom He has sanctified. O God, bless the pure imams, the forefathers of our master, the Commander of the Faithful.’ Commander Jawhar celebrated ʿĪd al-Naḥr. The sermon was pronounced in the name of our master, the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. Prayers were recited for him and his forefathers and supplications were made for them. The Commander (Jawhar) sacrificed animals and distributed the meat to all the people. He fed the people in his camp and ate with them. Poets extolled him and he rewarded them generously. The Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids, who had been granted safety in Egypt, joined forces and their numbers added up to 14 chiefs and 5,000 soldiers. It was reported from Muslim b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī that he had never heard of such numbers being granted safety. However, they were afflicted by misfortune and dissent, for they did not take advantage of the matter when it was opportune. Subsequently, they realised it after they were bereft of it. That was when the Commander heard about them and was displeased.

489 Although Jawhar rebuked him for following the people of Fusṭāṭ in observing the crescent, the Sunni practice of sighting the moon was allowed and the ʿĪd prayers were recited the following day. This issue continued to cause friction among the Egyptians and so 40 years later, in Ramaḍān 399/May 1009, the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh issued an edict which validated both the Fatimid and Sunni practices of determining the Ramaḍān dates, thus enabling both groups to celebrate ʿĪd festivals peacefully on separate days. Halm, The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning, pp. 36–37.

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Then Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ’s son died,490 so Jawhar attended the funeral, as did most people including the Ikhshīdids and the Kāfūrids who left the funeral with Commander Jawhar. The Commander said to them, ‘A letter has arrived from our master and yours that will please you, so accompany me to heed and follow it.’ So they went with him and he immediately apprehended each one of them. They were Naḥrīr Shuwayzān, Fatak al-Khādim al-Aswad,491 Dawī al-Ṣaqlabī,492 Ḥakal al-Ikhshīdī, Luʾluʾ al-Ṭawīl, Abū Manḥal, Mufliḥ al-Wahbānī, Mutlaghī al-Turkī, Faraj al-Bajkamī and others.493 That was when five days remained in Dhu’l-Ḥijja at the end of 358/8 November 969. The Commander kept them prisoners in his camp for six months until he sent them to the Commander of the Faithful, which we will mention later. The Commander (Jawhar) used to send them food every morning, afternoon and evening and met with them every night and conversed with them, assuring them the best of rewards from the Commander of the Faithful. The Commander of the Faithful’s gift for Commander Jawhar arrived when 12 days remained in al-Muḥarram 359/28 December 969. These were 65 mules loaded with money and 70 donkeys loaded with wrapped loads. In Ṣafar of this year/December 969–January 970, Maghribī troops arrived to Commander Jawhar and with them were some horses of the Commander of the Faithful as a gift for his slave Commander Jawhar. Subsequently, troops also arrived from the Maghrib bearing money on camel-loads. Commander Jawhar sent Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ with a strong, well-equipped army in Ṣafar 359/December 969–Janurary 970, for the Qarāmiṭa had taken control of Syria and had occupied Ramla. Al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj, the paternal nephew of al-Ikhshīd, joined them.

490 On Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ, see note 457 above. 491 Fatak al-Khādim and Abū Manḥal were among the Kāfūrid commanders who were exiled from Egypt by the Ikhshīdids. They fought Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ who defeated and apprehended them and subsequently sent them to Jawhar. 492 Al-Maqrīzī mentions Durrī al-Ṣiqillī instead of Dawī al-Ṣaqlabī in Ittiʿāẓ, p. 117; trans., p. 85. 493 Additionally, after their capture (see section 54) the following were added to the prisoners and transported aboard ships to Alexandria and from there they were taken overland to al-Qayrawān: al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj, al-Ḥasan b. Jābir, his scribe, Ibn Ghazwān al-Qarmaṭī, Fatik al-Hindī/ al-Haykalī, the slave of Mulhim. Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 121–122; trans., p. 88.

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53 Introduction of Ismaili law and rituals in Fatimid Egypt On Friday, 8 Rabī‘ I of this year/18 January 970,494 Commander Jawhar prayed the Friday prayer at the Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn congregational mosque along with a large number of troops. ʿAbd al-Samīʿ b. ʿUmar495 gave the sermon in which he mentioned the family (Ahl al-Bayt) of the Messenger of God. He recounted their merits, extolled Jawhar, prayed for him and said aloud in his recitation, ‘In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate’,496 as Jawhar had instructed that it was to be said aloud along with what else was meant to be pronounced aloud in the prayer. The prayer leader recited Sūrat al-Jum‘a and Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn in the Friday prayer.497 The muezzins announced the call to prayer at the Ibn Ṭūlūn Mosque with, ‘Come to the best of deeds.’498 Jawhar ordered that this should be proclaimed in the rest of the towns and cities. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Ḥunayf said aloud, ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful’ in the al-ʿAtīq congregational mosque, in abhorrence and distress for he was a Mālikī.499 When ʿAbd al-Samīʿ extolled Commander Jawhar in the sermon and prayed for him, Jawhar censured him for it and said to him, ‘This is not the custom of our masters.’ Commander Jawhar ordered that inheritance revert back to the relatives on the maternal side, that no brother or sister or paternal uncle or paternal cousin can inherit with the daughter of the deceased, no

494 According to al-Maqrīzī, Jawhar attended the prayer on Friday, 8 Jumādā I 359/18 March 970. Ittiʿāẓ, p. 120; trans., p. 87. 495 ʿAbd al-Samīʿ b. ʿUmar al-ʿAbbāsī was later appointed imam of the ʿAmr Mosque by al-Muʿizz. It seems that he complied with the new religious injunctions and was succeeded in the post by his father. See his biography in al-Maqrīzī, Muqaffā, VI: 70, and also al-Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 170 and 196. 496 The audible recitation of the basmala in the daily prayer is a characteristic feature of the Shiʿi madhhabs, unlike the Sunni schools which differ as to its necessity. See al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Da‘ā’im (trans., I: 201), where he provides numerous sayings by the early Shiʿi imams on this injunction. 497 In the Daʿāʾim (I: 202), al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān states that Sūrat al-Jumʿa and Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn, along with Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, are chapters of the Qur’an that cannot be replaced during the Friday prayers. 498 This is the distinguishing feature of the Shiʿi call to prayer. Al-Maqrīzī (Khiṭaṭ, III: 204–212) gives an account of the genesis of the ʿadhān (call to prayer) in Egypt, noting that the Mālikī protocol was followed until the arrival of Jawhar. 499 No further information could be found regarding this Mālikī imam.

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one can inherit with the son or daughter except the husband or the wife and the parents and the grandmother, and no one can inherit with the mother except those who inherit with the father and the son. This was followed in Egypt and its regions. That was the doctrine (madhhab) of the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt) of the Messenger, and there is extensive evidence for this. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān explained this in a manner that satisfied peoples’ hearts and assuaged them.500 It is not evident except to those who are just and who affirm and acknowledge the truth wherever it is found and recognise it, and not by those who repudiate, are contemptuous and stubborn.

54 Fatimid armies battle the Qarāmiṭa in Egypt Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ caught up with the Qarāmiṭa while al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj was in al-Ramla. They were well equipped, numerous and well prepared. There ensued a fierce battle between them in which the Qarāmiṭa and their supporters were defeated, and so they fled, routed as God had enabled this. A large number of them were killed. Abū Ghazwān al-Qarmaṭī501 and al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj were both taken prisoners. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ occupied al-Ramla. News of this reached Commander Jawhar in Rabīʿ II 359/February 970 and he was pleased. The captives were brought to Commander Jawhar on 7 Jumādā I/17 March 970. The cursed Qarmaṭī and al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh were in an exposed dome along with a number of prisoners. They halted at Munyat al-Aṣbagh for some five hours so people gathered to watch them and began insulting them. Then they were taken to Commander Jawhar’s tent and Naḥrīr Shuwayzān’s companions were added to the prisoners. Upon Commander Jawhar’s entry into Egypt and Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ’s exploits in Syria, Miqdād b. Ḥasan al-Kutāmī502 composed the following:

500 In the second part of Daʿāʾim (II: 360–397), pertaining to laws relating to human interaction (mu’āmalāt), al-Nuʿmān provides a comprehensive exposition of Fatimid laws of inheritance. 501 In the Ittiʿāẓ (p. 121; trans., p. 88), al-Maqrīzī refers to him as Ibn Ghazwān. 502 No further information could be found regarding this poet.

Translation of the Text We ourselves brought the lean horses with dusty dishevelled hair from the West, traversing the deserts for months. Upon them [ride] the Kutāmiyyūn from among the [Banū] Ḥimyar and those army-men like them from among the Berbers, Brandishing our brown lances, those of them that are slender and long and medium-sized stocky spears. Whenever we set up camp somewhere, the darkness rallies for us the stars of the night like an army [standing] over it, Battalions which, in their zealous duty [to avenge], do not fail the Prophet, or ʿAlī or al-Muʿizz, or Jawhar. Eighty thousand [men] who, [as they head] for the battleclash, don their apparel of resoluteness as [their] robes of honour and finest armoury. Disposed to his command, they stand all around a magnificent one as he accedes to the victory, a blessed soul, a luminary, The time-honoured heir of the august kings from the family of Hāshim in his youth and their commanding master in his senior years. He attached himself to the [swift] war-steeds for the war and donned his resilient armour for the battle and fastened his [battle] garb; One of resoluteness, either receiving success as it comes into his hands or embarks upon success producing it [by his own efforts]. If war should obstruct him he repels its adversities, [turning them] against it, makes a thrust503 and negotiates the difficult terrain. In the open fields [of battle] his fellow believers refrain from calling him anything but the wise one, the marshal. After him kings have refused every available spoil and selected him as the prime jewel.

503 Or ‘he hurls a mountain’ (by way of counter-attack).

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The Founder of Cairo If the situation should become one of battle-engagement, he unsheathes (intaḍa) in its darkness a gem (ʿaqīqa)504 of an opinion [that shines] like a [bright] flame and illuminates [it]. He rose [to the occasion] and dissolved all the fierce and courageous lions (riʾbālun haṣūr)505 from Egypt to Barqa. Just as he sought shelter in the great Muqaṭṭam mountain at night, he headed for the [enemy] soldiers who had garrisoned themselves [there] in Egypt.506 Thus they are still in it [lying dead] like a harvested field, for it was they who brought this shower of disgrace upon it (Egypt). They were the ones who refrained from embracing the [righteous] affair when it came to them, and so he removed from them the crooked [that was in them], [making it] turn in retreat. So they ended up being nothing but ostriches fleeing towards Syria or crushed heads in Egypt. And after he rid it (Egypt) of the filth and transformed it from its [state of] barrenness, he sought for it a life of bloom. He bombarded every hideout across its expanse with rocks and made Jaʿfar target Syria.

504 The words here each have several meanings. The verb intaḍā normally refers to the unsheathing of a sword, which is why the word ʿaqīqa (any variety of quartz) is employed, as it may describe the glimmer of a sword. This fits the image of the darkness (sawād) being cleaved by the illuminating judgement he gives in the midst of the commotion of battle; sawād generally refers to denseness, hence black and so evokes a multitude. 505 The text has riʾāl which does not make sense and should be read as riʾbāl, one of the many names for lion, especially since the entire hemistich is concerned with lions (asad, ḍirghām, huṣṣar), and the rare adjective haṣūr is often used in conjunction with these (riʾbālun haṣūr, a fierce lion). I am grateful to Feras Hamza for this elucidation. 506 The root m-ṣ-r also has the meaning of becoming few and far between, which may equally fit the context of the preceding line, namely, that he has destroyed all the strong elements of the enemy force. It is not clear who is the agent of the verb iʿtaṣama and this should usually be followed by the preposition bi-, which, however, may have been omitted by poetic licence.

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Ask, then, any stalwart from among the Kutāma, [how] he makes the heads of those in Syria roll and fly [off their bodies]. He has established a market-place for the striking of necks, fighting battles all the way from the Euphrates to Dummar.507 So do not speak lies; you shall not find on this day men more supportive and more steadfast than my folk.

55 Jawhar’s gift to al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh Commander Jawhar sent a gift to the Commander of the Faithful on 17 Jumādā I/27 March 970. The people came out to see it; it consisted of 21 domes loaded on she-camels, which included five domes and the camel coverings decorated with gold, one studded with jewels and the rest were silk and brocade; 50 horses, saddled and bridled, 50 decorated she-camels and more than 50 camels. These she-camels and camels had wrapped loads, tied cages, rarities and birds. Jaʿfar b. Jawhar508 set out with this gift to al-Manṣūriyya, and his father sent with him al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj, Naḥrīr and the rest of the Ikhshīdid and Kāfūrid prisoners. When they had crossed the sea and were on land, their chains were released and they were mounted on saddled horses and camels. When they reached the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, he acquitted and honoured them. He gave them riding animals in al-Qayrawān and settled them there in good houses, granting them carpets and ornaments. In Rajab 359/May 970, Commander Jawhar instructed the distribution of 150,000 dirhams among the frail and the poor, and said, ‘This is charity from our master, the Commander of the Faithful, from his own wealth.’

507 This is a well-known steep area outside Damascus. 508 Very little is known about Jaʿfar b. Jawhar in the historical sources. The only son of Commander Jawhar who is well known, and achieved fame particularly under the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Ḥākim, was al-Ḥusayn b. Jawhar.

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56 Revolt of Zunbur al-Ikhshīdī In Shaʿbān of the same year/June 970, Zunbur al-Ikhshīdī509 revolted in one of the Egyptian regions, mobilised [his men] and attacked al-Faramā.510 He apprehended its governor who had been appointed by Jawhar and propagated for the Abbasid [caliph] al-Mutīʿ, and had his name inscribed on his banners. Commander Jawhar corresponded with him through the Sharīf Abu’l-Qāsim Yaḥyā al-Ḥusaynī,511 and proscribed and censured him. However, he paid no heed except to intensify and persevere in his strife and tyranny, resistance and transgression. Hence Commander Jawhar sent his troops overland and by sea. Meanwhile, Zunbur had attacked and seized Ṣahrajat.512 Commander Jawhar ordered the plunder of his house in Fusṭāṭ and arrested his in-law, ʿAlī b. Naṣr al-Sarrāj, and confiscated some of his (Ibn Zunbur’s) belongings that had been (in ʿAlī’s) safekeeping. Muslim b. ʿUbayd Allāh al-Sharīf al-Ḥusaynī interceded for him, so Jawhar honoured the Sharīf by releasing ʿAlī. Then Zunbur returned and plundered the estates in Lower Egypt. Commander Jawhar’s troops fought against him at Ṣahrajat and defeated him. The troops pursued him and killed a large number of his followers, and he fled towards Tinnīs.513 Then he rode by the Dead Sea, heading to Syria and from there to Byzantium. A number of Zunbur’s banners were taken into Fusṭāṭ whilst they were lowered. Commander Jawhar sent a fleet equipped with men and weapons in pursuit of Zunbur who had taken a number of Maghribīs

509 Al-Maqrīzī (Ittiʿāẓ, p. 122; trans., p. 88) refers to him as Bashīr al-Ikhshīdī. 510 Al-Faramā was a fortified town on the Mediterranean. Al-Maqrīzī, Khiṭaṭ, I: 591–595. 511 He was probably a close relative of Sharīf Muslim. 512 Ṣahrajat is located approximately 80 km to the north-east of Cairo, between Ṭanṭā and al-Manṣūriyya. 513 An important medieval port and commercial centre on the eastern side of the Nile delta, Tinnīs was renowned in Fatimid times for its official looms and an iridescent fabric known as buqalāmūn. See al-Maqrīzī, Khiṭaṭ, I: 496–511; Y. Lev, ‘Tinnīs: An Industrial Medieval Town’, in M. Barrucand, ed., L’Egypte Fatimide, pp. 83–96; and Alice A. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher (London, 2000), p. 148.

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from Damietta514 so as to kill them. However, the people of Damietta prevented him from doing so and they fought him. So he went by sea towards al-Ḥammām where he was apprehended along with a group of his followers and slaves and they were shackled. News of this reached the Commander (Jawhar) who appointed a man called Ibrāhīm b. Aḥmad instead over Zunbur’s territories. At the beginning of Ramaḍān people abandoned the observance of the crescent as they could not see it [that evening]. They followed Commander Jawhar in his fast and broke the fast with him. This was after the dāʿīs of the Commander of the Faithful in Fusṭāṭ attended [the court], and the qāḍīs and the legists also attended. They (the dāʿīs) debated the issue with them, and they pronounced the following words of God Almighty: ‘Ramaḍān is the [month] in which was sent down the Qur’an as a guide to mankind, also clear [signs] for guidance and judgement [between right and wrong]. So every one of you who is present [at his home] during that month should spend it in fasting, but if one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period [should be made up] by days later’, until His exalted words: ‘[He wants you] to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you.’ They accepted the evidence that to complete a month requires 30 days and they affirmed that. Commander Jawhar celebrated ʿĪd al-Fiṭr and the sermonisers gave the sermon in which they recalled the imams from the progeny of Muḥammad (Āl-Muḥammad) and recounted their merits. The people accompanied Commander Jawhar to al-Muʿizz’s palace constructed in Cairo and feasted with him, where he was generous and charitable to them. When 14 days passed in Shawwāl/20 August 970, Zunbur was brought as a prisoner together with guards. People gathered to see him because of his notoriety. He was mounted on a camel and accompanying him was a group of his followers. He was brought to the Commander’s residence while Qāḍī Abū Ṭāhir and wazir Abu’l-Faḍl were with him. The Commander said to Zunbur, ‘What made you oppose the Commander of the Faithful?’ He replied, ‘This is his doing’, and he pointed at a slave called Najīb. Najīb rejoined, ‘By God, no. I had nothing to do with it!’ So

514 Damietta or Dimyāṭ was a town in Lower Egypt on the eastern bank of the Nile, near its confluence with the Mediterranean. Strategically located, it played a crucial role in the struggle between the Franks and Muslims in Fatimid and Aghlabid times. See P. M. Holt, ‘Damietta’, EI2, and al-Maqrīzī, Khiṭat, I: 597–599.

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the Commander Jawhar ordered their imprisonment for their involvement until the end of Rabīʿ II in the year [3]60/10 March 970, and Zunbur was executed.

57 Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ’s expeditions in Syria In 359/970 Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ conquered the city of Damascus after he had fought severely against those who were occupying the city and defeated them; hence they retreated and were dispersed across the land. The Qarāmiṭa fled and some of them crossed the sea into Byzantium. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ pronounced the sermon in the name of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh in Damascus and its regions, and he ordered the addition of, ‘Come to the best of deeds,’ in the call to prayer (adhān). News of this reached Commander Jawhar in the last month of Dhu’l-Ḥijja 359/ October–November 970.515 Ibn Ḥawqal al-Baghdādī said: Damascus is the most prominent city in Syria. It is situated in a land that is surrounded by mountains, abundant water, woodlands and expansive, fertile area called al-Ghūṭa,516 which is one marḥala517 wide and two marḥalas long. Its water source is a spring called al-Fīja518 whose fountainhead is an arm-length and handspan wide. Then it flows through all the lands gushing from its source… and its water flows into all the houses, roads and baths…In Muslim

515 Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ conquered Damascus twice. He established the sermon for the first time in Muḥarram 359/November 969 (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, VII: 36). However, Sharīf Abu’l-Qāsim al-Hāshimī incited the people of Damascus against him because of excesses by the Kutāma. So, they expelled him and he did not return until Muḥarram 360/November 970. 516 Ghūṭa was a term used in Syria to refer to areas of intense cultivation and irrigation surrounded by barren land. The Ghūṭa of Damascus consists of an area of gardens and orchards below the gorges of Rabwa irrigated by a network of trenches into which flow waters from the Barada river. In Muslim tradition this area was often counted as one of the four earthly paradises. N. Elisseef, ‘Ghūṭa’, EI2. 517 Marḥala, pl. marāḥil, a term commonly used by medieval Arab geographers to refer to a phase of a journey, most often the distance a traveller can cover in one day. Al-Muqaddasī (p. 206) proposes 6–7 farsakhs (each farsakh is approximately 6 km) to be the average marḥala. Ed., ‘Marḥala’, EI2. 518 This is the origin of River Barada according to Yāqūt, as cited in Yaʿlāwī, Taʾrīkh, p. 701, n. 288.

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lands there isn’t another mosque of its kind anywhere in its beauty, its architecture, its marble and gold. These are the words of Ibn Ḥawqal.519 Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ dispatched Tāzrūf at the head of troops and weaponry.520 He set out for Ḥims (Homs) and conquered it. Its people gave allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. When Tāzrūf entered Salamiyya,521 its inhabitants presented him with a letter from Imam al-Mahdī bi’llāh which stated that they would be relieved of land tax if their town was conquered. So Tāzrūf wrote to Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ about it who replied, ‘Relieve them of the taxes and do not impose it upon them.’ Tāzrūf did so, according to the instruction of al-Mahdī bi’llāh. In Dhu’l-Ḥijja of this year, 20 camels laden with goods, cloth coverings and money arrived from the Commander of the Faithful al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh to Commander Jawhar for the Ḥaramayn (Mecca and Medina). [Jaʿfar] Ibn Falāḥ wrote to Jawhar asking him permission to send troops to raid Antākiya (Antioch), which was in Byzantine Christian hands. The Commander permitted him to do so; hence he appointed ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUbayd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī, the brother of Muslim (i.e., of Sharīf Muslim al-Ḥusaynī) and sent his slave Fataḥ with him. He gave them a considerable amount of money and sent with them a large number of troops from Damascus, so their numbers swelled to almost 20,000. They attacked Antioch and besieged those who were there, tightening the blockade until they were on the verge of vanquishing it. Then the Byzantine forces arrived with unforeseen numbers, so they feared for their Muslim armies and retreated to Damascus. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ’s wealth increased, and his almsgiving and largesse extended to Egypt and the Maghrib. His power was glorified, hence the Byzantines and the ruler of Baghdad were frightened. The country submitted to the suzerainty of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. The sermon was pronounced in his name in the Ḥaramayn and in Sind; his kingdom stretched over the entire Maghrib including its far western regions and Egypt and Syria. His dāʿīs were active in all the regions, openly and secretly. People recognised his excellence and his eminent status was evident to everyone.

519 This is an extract from Ibn Ḥawqal, Kitāb ṣūrat al-arḍ, pp. 160–161. 520 No further information is available on this commander. 521 Salamiyya in Syria served as the headquarters of the pre-Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa and the residence of the Imam ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī before his migration to North Africa. J. F. Kramers (F. Daftary), ‘Salamiyya’, EI2.

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58 Appointment of ʿAbd Allāh as the heir apparent The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, wanted to confirm one of his sons as the ḥujja (proof)522 and to entrust him with the matters of the world and of religion and to appoint him as the heir apparent of the Muslims. His son Imam al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh Nizār b. Maʿadd was still a child then,523 so he appointed his son ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz and entrusted him with this position until his son Nizār had reached maturity and he invested him with the succession. Prince ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz possessed eminent excellence and distinguished status. However, the imamate was not given to him but passed on after al-Muʿizz to his son Nizār. When the secretary, Manṣūr al-Jawdharī, spoke about the imams’ honouring of their slave Jawdhar, whom they liberated and freed, and regarding his devotion and precedence, he said:524 ‘We have previously mentioned how (the Imam) al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh honoured and distinguished Ustādh Jawdhar by solely entrusting him, through taking the oath from him, for al-Manṣūr bi’llāh [as heir apparent], and the Ustādh kept it a secret for seven years. Then al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh did the same by taking his sole oath for Prince ʿAbd Allāh at al-Mahdiyya during the journey in which he (the Ustādh) was carrying the money. The Ustādh kept it a secret from him for seven months according to what he had been ordered. After seven months, our master took the oath from others such as Muḥammad b. ʿAlī,525 Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan526 and ʿUslūj b. ʿAskar527 and others, and

522 See note 139 above. 523 As Nizār was born at al-Mahdiyya in 344/955, he was just over 15 years old at this time, an age which would not in itself preclude him from becoming the heir apparent. 524 The following passage is derived from al-Jawhdharī’s Sīra, trans., pp. 155–158. 525 No further information is available on him. 526 He was Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī. 527 This was probably al-Muʿizz’s senior Ifrīqiyan officer, ʿUslūj b. al-Ḥasan. After Ibn al-Furāt was dismissed, he worked alongside Yaʿqūb b. Killis in managing the Egyptian revenues. They instituted a comprehensive reform of the fiscal regime, whereby new people were encouraged to invest into the system on renewed terms, enriching the state treasury and broadening the base of the dynasty’s support. See Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, p. 332, and also al-Nuʿmān’s account of how a governor should look after the affairs of ahl al-kharāj (taxpayers) in the Daʿāʾim, II: 449–451.

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instructed them to keep it a secret. It was the norm that when knowledge of the heir apparent was confirmed to [anyone including] Ustādh Jawdhar, he would not heed anyone after the imam except him (the successor) to the extent that Ustādh Jawdhar said on many occasions, such that the imam could hear him, ‘Obedience is only obligatory to God and to the imam in his age after he succeeds his father; then it is obligatory to whomsoever the imam designates as his heir apparent, and the rest [of the Fatimid family] receive the affection of being related and nothing beyond that.’ When our master left for al-Mahdiyya to take the treasured goods and then returned to his capital, and the Ustādh needed to leave al-Mahdiyya, our master instructed his sons, his brothers and all the state officials to receive him. However, our master did not instruct the Ustādh on how to greet his sons, the princes, nor did he designate who should have precedence and who should have antecedence. This is because our master was wondering, ‘How will he greet them?’ People’s eyes were focussed at that time on our master’s eldest son, Tamīm. When the Ustādh drew near them he acted according to what he believed to be the right course to establish the truth and to single out the one whom God had selected. He approached Prince ʿAbd Allāh and kissed the ground before him and then kissed his stirrup. The prince was leaning towards him so that he was on the verge of falling over out of modesty. Then the Ustādh rode off without turning towards anyone else or greeting anyone except him. The others were embarrassed and people viewed it as a grave matter. There were those who thought he had acted correctly and others who thought he was mistaken. When the news of what he had done reached our master, he was very pleased and said, ‘Jawdhar has always been righteous since his existence.’ When they arrived and the Ustādh left after he had greeted our master, and [al-Muʿizz] did not take up the matter with him, the family members of the palace were distressed; they blamed Jawdhar and censured him severely. When the Ustādh heard about what they had done he was upset, as our master had not addressed this with him at all. So he wrote a note to our master describing what had happened and that he did what he had so as to single out the right candidate from the rest, as according to his faith that is the only thing he could do. He also described what the people of the palace and others with evil intentions had done. When his note reached the Commander of the Faithful, he replied to him as follows: O Jawdhar, may God protect you! Your status with us is but a reflection of what you have chosen in pursuing the satisfaction of your masters and

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because you have not equated them to others. Consequently, God has bestowed you with happiness in this life and in the hereafter. For you to kiss their hands was sufficient rather than kissing the ground. By God, you have made the distinction only according to what God has made distinct among them. I have answered them regarding what you have mentioned, and I have justified on your behalf that firstly you had greeted them all by kissing the ground, as you have mentioned. May God grant you success, and do not heed those who are annoyed or pleased. May God complete his favours upon you and grant you peace and good health, God willing.

Then the Commander of the Faithful announced his son ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz’s name, elevated his rank and heightened his status. He made him the master of [access to] his presence and director over his dāʿīs’ matters and the governor over all the people of his kingdom.

59 Al-Muʿizz sets out westwards at the head of an army Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh had resolved to emigrate to the lands of Egypt. This coincided with the revolt of Makhrama b. Muḥammad b. Khazar528 in the region of the Berbers and the Awrās Mountain. He won over the rabble and rebelled at the fringes of the kingdom. The rebellious, the corrupt and those who foment insurrection in the land revolted with him and he wanted to revive what had subsided with the death of al-Dajjāl Makhlad b. Kaydād (Abū Yazīd). Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh wanted to oust every trace of his corruption and eradicate it once and for all, and to inflict the severest punishment upon those who were rebellious in the land, so that it would not prevail in the Maghrib and cause instability and disruption in the kingdom, especially as he had resolved to emigrate. So the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, set out in person accompanied by his son ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz with massive armies, a large number of troops and well-equipped supplies to pursue the insurgent known as Abū Khazar and rectify the situation in the Maghrib. He departed when seven days were left in Shawwāl

528 The revolt of Ibn Khazar is mentioned by Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, VII: 35 and Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, IV: 48 under the year 358. Al-Maqrīzī refers to the same event as Idrīs under the year 360/970–1 in Ittiʿāẓ, p. 128; trans., p. 96.

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358/8 September 969. The secretary Manṣūr al-Jawdharī said:529 When our master had resolved to set out to pursue the insurgent known as Abū Khazar, he instructed the Ustādh (Jawdhar) to go to al-Mahdiyya to protect the treasures that were there and to prepare equipment for the east. Word was spreading among people that the Ustādh [Jawdhar] was going to be appointed the ruler over Ifrīqiya. So Jawdhar wrote to our master informing him about what he had heard in this regard and requested al-Muʿizz not to make Jawdhar part from him, for happiness was being able to gaze upon the face of the Commander of the Faithful. Al-Muʿizz replied at the back of the letter: O Jawdhar, we have read your note. These are the things that ignorant people and those who do not know about us say. No, by God, we have not considered this for you for a number of reasons. Firstly, we do not wish to deprive you from God’s grace upon us as we wish you to witness it. Secondly, you are not amongst those whom we would find burdensome and from whom we would seek refuge. Thirdly, your long life has been devoted in obedience to God and to us. Fourthly, in addition to all this, you will not find those who will have the intention to support you in what you wish to curb of people’s corruption and greed and their current disposition; hence you will find no succour or support or one who will stand by your side. So do not occupy yourself with something that will enfeeble your heart. By God, we would not leave you here except out of kindness and mercy for you, as we know that if you were absent from us for this specific aim, you would not be alive until this day. So rest assured, for you will not leave us until you have performed the pilgrimage and have visited the grave of our grandfather Muḥammad, by the grace of God upon us and upon you. By your right, our hope for you in our heart is no different to what you have mentioned, and it, in fact, exceeds that in beneficence and goodwill. We wish for the people of our time that which we plead for, and which we hope they can attain, until we achieve our purpose. We hope that we will find in the one whom we appoint here the same intentions and care as yours has been for our reign [dawlatana]. Indeed, God will choose for us what is best by His power and strength, if God wills.

529 Cf. al-Jawdharī, Sīrat, trans., pp. 115–116.

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When our master set out on his journey to Biskra530 and the Ustādh headed towards al-Mahdiyya, the Commander of the Faithful passed by a spring called ʿAyn Kisrā. So he halted there and remembered the Ustādh and said, ‘May God hold Jawdhar dear to Him, for he would have enjoyed halting at this spring and drinking from it. Bring forth an earthen pot!’ So they were brought and filled in his presence and sealed. He sent them with a note to Muḥammad the Secretary,531 which is as follows: O Muḥammad! Send these to Jawdhar, may God protect him, with this note of ours and tell him that we have recalled him by ʿAyn Kisrā, may God grant him mercy and well-being. I have ordered that two earthenware of water be filled for him in our presence from the mouth of the spring and we have sent them to him along with 50 dinars from the auspicious coinage minted in Miṣr which is issued in our name532 by the grace and benevolence of God, so that he witnesses them and is blessed by them. I hope that God will lengthen his life so that he can perform the pilgrimage with us and we can bestow him with [coins] that are minted for us in Baghdad, and indeed, by then God will have fulfilled our hopes. Inform him about our well-being and continuing beneficence, and that we have armies that God uses as He pleases, to subjugate our enemies wherever they may be, so he (Jawdhar) should be content. We have achieved all that is best, which God will please him with, abundant praise be to God as He is worthy of it.533

60 Al-Muʿizz’s defeat of Ibn Khazar’s rebellion Then the Commander of the Faithful set out immediately with his armies until he eradicated the wicked and had removed the vestiges

530 Biskra was an oasis town in the valleys dissecting the Awrās and Atlas mountain ranges. The route separated the two mountain ranges and became much used by travellers and armies alike. J. Despois, ‘Biskra’, EI2. 531 As mentioned by al-Jawdharī in his Sīrat (trans., p. 118), he was Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān, one of the scribes of Ustādh Jawdhar. 532 This refers to the dinar minted by Commander Jawhar in Egypt in 358/968–969, see Maqrīzī, Itti’āẓ, p. 115; trans., p. 82. 533 Al-Jawdharī, Sīrat, trans., pp. 110–111.

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of the apostates, and God had enabled him to subjugate the rebellious Makhrama b. Muḥammad b. Khazar.534 Al-Muʿizz killed him in a grave and violent battle in which a large number of his followers were killed. So the revolt subsided and ended, the enemies were frightened and dispersed, and hearts were calmed and assuaged. The imam returned to al-Manṣūriyya successful and victorious, sustained and contented. The heads [of the vanquished] were paraded throughout all the regions and some were sent to Egypt to deter the reprehensible and to reassure the hearts of the faithful. Al-Ḥasan b. Ibrāhīm b. Zūlāq said: ‘In Shaʿbān 360/June 971 the envoys of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, arrived bearing the head of Makhrama b. Muḥammad b. Khazar along with the heads of 3,000 of his companions. They were paraded in Fusṭāṭ and Cairo and among them was a shaykh riding a horse defaming and cursing him as well as the other [rebels].’ On Friday, 12 Shaʿbān [360]/9 June 971535 a letter of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh to Commander Jawhar was read out from the pulpit of the congregational mosque of al-ʿAtīq, telling the news of Makhrama and his companions. The letter also gave counsel on the affairs of the Egyptians.

61 Ibn Hāniʾ’s poem on the defeat of Ibn Khazar Ibn Hāniʾ al-Andalusī composed a poem in basīṭ in which he praised the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. He described the battle and also mentioned Prince ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz:536

534 This Makhrama has been mentioned elsewhere in the text and it could be that Idrīs was mistaken in both the name and the dates, for the insurgent was not killed in 358/969. Rather, according to Ibn al-Athīr (Kāmil, VII: 35) he repented and returned in 359/970. Al-Muʿizz accepted his repentance and provided him subsistence. As for the insurgent in 360/971, he was Muḥammad b. al-Khayr b. Khazar. He did not die in battle but committed suicide when Buluggīn b. Zīrī raided his house (Ibid., VII: 43). It is likely, therefore, that the heads which were brought to Cairo according to Ibn Zūlāq’s report were those of Muḥammad b. al-Khayr and his companions. 535 Idrīs does not report on the rest of the events in 358/969. Instead, he moves onto the events in 360/971. 536 Ibn Hāniʾ, Dīwān, pp. 275–282.

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The Founder of Cairo As is your custom, [O] son of God’s Prophet, the slaughter of kings and the transfer of kingship and the reigns of fortune remain. To where shall the escape be for an aggressor whom you have overtaken, whose mother shall have two handfuls of mourning? It is out of the question that one defending himself against you should remain invincible, even if he were to climb onto the horns of the white-streaked mountain goat, And even if he were to be armoured with the claws of a lion or he were to lie between the curved fangs of a snake. As for the enemy, do not concern yourself with destroying him, for he is as one chained to a peg. Where is there a haughty one that can thwart you when you have already tamed the recalcitrant? So do not wonder about the meek. They fear you to the extent that they avoid their own souls, so that they do not even speak to them secretly because of the magnitude of their terror. Their heads scarcely remain atop their bodies, as though their bodies were playing about their heads. Here is al-Muʿizz, with the sword of God in his hand: can his enemies have any power against God? And here are his blazed steeds with their fine markings, emerging from the swirls of dust like blazing flames. When he attacks, heads hasten to [roll onto] the battleground as though receiving the earth [eager] to kiss it.

And Ibn Hāniʾ also says in this [poem]: Your swords have killed a nation of Pharoahs who never desisted [from evil], for a long time now, like mountains [in strength]. They were the ones who reigned tyrannically with what they had plundered from lion-hearts, and they were the ones who severed the forelocks of the tent-dwellers and those of fine attire.

Translation of the Text From the time of [King] Saul, or even from before him, their cauldrons [of enmity] have been ablaze boiling with fury at [weaker] religious communities. By [killing] Ibn al-Khazar, you (al-Muʿizz) have verily dealt a mortal blow to a tyrant, refusing to yield, intractable [simply] for the sake of [prolonging] dispute. For he continues to enjoy the obedience of his clan: to him devious matters and [vain] ceremony are referred. He [thinks that he] could almost disobey the decrees of the heaven when he casts his eyes across the [ranged] horses and camels. You have excised from him a long-standing disease, one that goes back to the time of paganism: a jester, amusing himself with the enemy, Belonging among those who knowingly deny religion and the illuminating truth, and among the enemies of the imams and the rejecters of Messengers; And of the despots of this world, who have [now] passed away, concerning whom God sent down His revelations, whereupon it was recited… [that they will be destroyed].

And Ibn Hāniʾ also says in it: The throne of [the Arabs of] ʿAdnān537 and its pulpit has [now] become established by [the efforts of] him who has conquered the towns by force and made the [travel] routes secure; Who has no resolution except to resolve for him, even the mountains of Sharawrā from him would not stand, Who reduced the two great Easts to [yield to] the powerful and valiant in them, and spread cavalry and infantry throughout the land, from Egypt to Aleppo, and entwined the valleys with the mountains [under his power], While his horses were brought to the [banks of the] water of the Euphrates and did not depart [there from] until they had quenched their thirst, then drunk again.

537 See note 17 above.

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And Ibn Hāniʾ also says in it: Sovereign rule has [now] been consolidated in him, for you have made great summons to it, but without being dependent [on others]. When you reinforced the grip of this [power] by [the hand of Prince] ʿAbd Allāh, you strengthened through it one of well-protected honour who will not be debased. You possess some [special] insight into all of God’s handiwork, and so you do not resolve upon doing something that will not be done. It is thanks to [divine] revelation that you make the [correct] choices, never embarking on something unless [enjoined to it] from on high; so rise [high], Seeking guidance through God’s proofs, following them, and striking the original flints of wisdom. For a kingdom whose dome God has established through the Imam’s son is assuredly a kingdom that will never be transferred [to any other]. If he (the Imam’s son) were to contend with the stars, their [celestial] stations would not be beyond his reach, and if he were to clash with decreed fate he would not be frightened. You have indeed returned from the blessed spots of the [Meccan] valley to where the shadow does not return in the late afternoon.538 The enduring righteous deeds come to him in [rapid] succession like the successive drops of continuous rain showers. Is it not the case that from the moment he began to conduct the affair, it spontaneously brought [about] what he had never reckoned or imagined?

538 In other words, he has returned to Egypt, from west to east, whereas the evening shadows, moving east to west, never return the other way.

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The conquest [of Egypt] is but the first of the graces [granted by God] through him (the imam’s son), and at his hands there will be consequences soon for the Banū Marwān.539 By [the unleashing of] his winds, war destroyed the Banū Khazar and sought assistance with his [blessed] name at the moment of attack and at the homecoming. So if you were to commit him to his resolve, you would thereby be committing him to [be resolved as deadly as] a fine spear.

And in it Ibn Hāniʾ says: Egypt is now delightful for us and for its inhabitants, and for the chargers as well as the gliding camels. Our stay, O seekers of hospitality, will not be [a long one], for in the separation [that will come] we will be too busy for pleasures and amorous talk. Would that we could relieve our souls of their hardship, or that our riding camels be released from their hobbles! Let this day [be the one to] wear the crown [of glory] with pride, if there was ever an exemplary day to be crowned. Should not all other days fall down in prostration before it, given that it has acquired an honour that has eluded [all others] and has not been attained [by any other]? It is flanked on all sides by [glorious] endeavours, and so it drags the tails of its fine attire embroidered with spring and embroidered with glory. Two springs coincide on this [day]: the spring that is the season and that [spring] of the moments of victory, which quench the burning desires of the heart.

539 The Banū Marwān refers to the particular branch of the Umayyad family (the sons of Marwān b. al-Ḥakam) to whom the line of the Umayyad caliphate passed after Marwān was given the oath of allegiance in Syria in 64–65/684–685. All subsequent Umayyad caliphs, in Damascus as well as later in Spain were of Marwānid descent. Here, Ibn Hāniʾ is referring to the Umayyads of Spain. C. E. Bosworth, ‘Marwān I. b. al-Ḥakam’, EI2.

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62 Incursions of the Qarāmiṭa into Syria and Egypt and the death of Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ The accursed Qarmaṭī Abū Ṭāhir al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad al-Aʿṣam540 arrived in Syria with a massive army of Arabs and non-Arabs, among whom were his Qarāmiṭa followers. This cursed al-Aʿṣam was a descendant of Sulaymān b. al-Ḥasan who had entered Mecca in 317/929 and had the sermon proclaimed in his name.541 He had pounced upon the Black Stone and had struck it with a metal rod until there were fissures in it. Then he said, ‘You are only a stone which cannot harm or benefit!’ He was blasphemous and obstinate, causing oppression and depravity on earth.542 The accursed Abū Ṭāhir advanced to Damascus where Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ was stationed. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ set out against him while he was ill, striving to sacrifice himself for the sake of God, for victory or martyrdom. The Damascenes sided with the Qarāmiṭa in fighting against him. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ was killed in that battle and became a martyr, may God’s mercy and contentment be upon him. The Qarāmiṭa entered Damascus; they conquered it and gained control of it. Commander Jawhar heard of the death of Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ on Dhu’lQaʿda 360/September 971. He passed away when three nights remained in Shawwāl/22 August 971.543 The Qarāmiṭa set out for al-Ramla, where Saʿāda b. Ḥayyān544 was the governor on behalf of Commander Jawhar,

540 Al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad al-Aʿṣam (d. 366/977) was a commander of the Qarāmiṭa in Bahrain. Also known as Abū Ṭāhir after another prominent Qarmaṭī leader, Abū Ṭāhir Sulaymān, his paternal uncle, he was involved in a series of major confrontations with the Fatimids, including victory over them outside Damascus in 360/970–971. He was defeated by Jahwar soon afterwards in his attack on Cairo. Al-Maqrīzī provides a comprehensive account of al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad and the actions of the Qarāmiṭa, in Ittiʿāẓ, 1:151–208; trans., pp. 122–187. 541 Abū Ṭāhir Sulaymān (d. 332/943) was a son of Abū Saʿīd al-Jannābī, the founder of the Qarmaṭī state in Bahrain. It was Abū Ṭāhir who used the town of al-Aḥsāʾ as his place of refuge (dār al-hijra), from where he organised attacks on Iraq, Syria and the pilgrimage route. Al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, p. 180; trans., p. 156. 542 Abū Ṭāhir raided Mecca on 7 Dhu’l-Ḥijja 317/929 after which he headed back towards Bahrain with the Black Stone. Al-Maqrīzī, Itti‘āẓ, pp. 182; trans., p. 159. 543 According to al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ (p. 188; trans., p. 166): when six days remained in Dhu’l-Qaʿda 360/18 September 971. 544 He was a Maghribī commander and perhaps a Kutamī. Al-Muʿizz sent him to assist Jawhar with a large army in 360/971. Jawhar appointed him as a

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and they took control over it. Saʿāda retreated from them to a place called Yāfā and fortified himself there. They set out against Sa‘āda and fought him. They addressed him from behind the fortification to surrender the place and to come out to them and they would grant him safety. Saʿāda b. Ḥayyān responded, ‘I am only a slave following orders.’ When they felt dejected by his conduct, they set out for Egypt with a large army, which they had gathered from among the Qarāmiṭa and the rabble in Syria and its environs, who were oblivious of the merits of Islam and who could not distinguish between the permitted and the forbidden. Their news reached Commander Jawhar, so he dug a trench around Cairo and built a large gate over it and erected two gates across it at the Ikhshīdid Square. Jawhar constructed a bridge over the canal known as the Canal of the Commander of the Faithful and distributed weapons to the Maghribī and Egyptian men. On the day of [ʿĪd] al-Naḥr 360/3 October 971 the Commander rode with large armies and prayed the ʿĪd prayer and returned to his palace. Then he offered sacrifices, distributed the meat and was munificent and charitable to the people. At the end of Dhu’l-Ḥijja of this year/October 971, the Qarāmiṭa raided al-Faramā,545 exacted money from its inhabitants and detained its administrator, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Yūsuf. In Muḥarram, at the beginning of 361/23–24 October 971 the Commander sent a number of ships with supplies to Saʿāda b. Hayyān who was in Yāfā.

63 Fatimid and Qarmaṭī armies battle outside Cairo In Ṣafar [3]61 [November 971], the Qarāmiṭa troops advanced until they reached ʿAyn Shams. Commander Jawhar began preparations to fight them when 10 days remained in Ṣafar/12 December 971. He closed the gates of Cairo and regulated the people’s leaving and entering [the city]. Then the Commander set out to fight the Qarāmiṭa, taking his tents

governor over al-Ramla. However, he could not withstand the Qarmaṭī attacks and returned to Egypt. He died in 362/973. See Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 179–180, 183; trans., p. 96. 545 See note 510 above. In the Ittiʿāẓ (p. 181; trans., p. 97), the town that was besieged by the Qarāmiṭa was called al-Qulzum, an ancient seaport whose main importance was as a point of departure for shipping on the Red Sea. E. Honigmann,‘al-Ḳulzum’, EI2.

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with him. Sharīf Muslim accompanied him along with all the prominent ‘Alid ashrāf, and the subjects went out to support him. The Qarāmiṭa arrived on Friday, 1 Rabīʿ I/22 December 971; Commander Jawhar advanced to fight them. Fighting intensified and none of the prominent Egyptians and courageous ones refrained from joining Jawhar. The Maghribīs advanced against the Qarāmiṭa, the fighting escalated and many people were killed on both sides. They rejoined battle on Saturday and at the end of the day both sides were levelled and the fighting continued. People awoke early on Wednesday morning and severe fighting recurred and matters intensified, yet the people remained resilient. The cursed al-Aʿṣam was defeated and retreated to Syria. The imam’s armies were victorious over him, and God exalted Islam. Jawhar returned triumphant and victorious, confirmed and delighted. News reached the Commander from Upper Egypt that ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Ahyaj had defected,546 was summoning for the imamate of the Abbasids and that he had inscribed [the Abbasid caliph] al-Muṭīʿ’s name on his banners. So Commander Jawhar sent 40 ships equipped with men and weapons, and at its helm [he] appointed one of the prominent men who was with him, called Bishāra.547 He also sent Tāzrūf with a massive army by land, who succeeded in occupying Upper Egypt. Ibn Ahyaj fled clandestinely to Baghdad, abandoning everything that he had confiscated. Thus, it was taken as booty and brought to Commander Jawhar along with many heads of Ibn Ahyaj’s companions, which were paraded in the Egyptian regions. Then Commander Jawhar sent Ibrāhīm, his brother’s son, accompanied by Abū Muḥammad,548 to Syria with mighty armies and numerous supplies to fight the Qarāmiṭa.

64 Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh’s migration to Egypt The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, may God’s blessings be upon him and upon his pure forefathers and noble progeny,

546 He was ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Hayj al-Kilābī. According to al-Maqrīzī in the Ittiʿāẓ (pp. 183–184; trans., p. 102), he was skinned and crucified in Jumādā I 362/ February 973. 547 In al-Maqrīzī’s Ittiʿāẓ (1:185; trans., p. 100) he is called Bishāra al-Nūbī. 548 No information is available on Jawhar’s nephew, Ibrāhīm, or on Abū Muḥammad.

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prepared to journey to Egypt. His departure from al-Manṣūriyya was on Monday when eight days remained in Shawwāl 361/6 August 972 after he had gathered money, the like of which was unheard of by any previous ruler, to take with him and he left behind what he did not require. He set out with a grand entourage and supplies, massive armies and soldiers prepared [for battle]. He instructed the gold dinars to be melted and recast as ingots with his name inscribed on them and two ingots were loaded on each camel. He appointed Abu’l Futūḥ Buluggīn b. Zīrī b. Manād al-Ḥimyarī al-Ṣanhājī549 as governor over al-Mahdiyya, al-Manṣūriyya, al-Qayrawān, the Ifrīqiyan towns and the adjoining lands of the Maghrib. Buluggīn was called Yūsuf but was well known by the name Buluggīn. We have already mentioned his father Zīrī b. Manād’s story and his jihād by Imam al-Manṣūr bi’llāh’s side during the time of Makhlad b. Kaydād (Abū Yazīd). The Commander of the Faithful entrusted Yūsuf b. Zīrī as his administrator over the West and the Ifrīqiyan lands, as he wished, and he placed all the administrators in the West under his authority and he enjoined them to obey him. Buluggīn was among his loyal followers and the best among the people of his reign. Among the offspring of al-Mahdī bi’llāh who emigrated with al-Muʿizz were Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad and Abū Ṭālib Mūsā, the two sons of ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī bi’llāh, and four ladies from among the daughters of Imam al-Mahdī, all of whom died in Egypt. And among the offspring of al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh were Jaʿfar and ʿAbd al-Jabbār, the two sons of Muḥammad al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh, and four daughters of al-Qāʾim, all of whom died in Egypt. Al-Muʿizz’s brothers, Ḥaydara and Hāshim, the sons of Ismāʿīl al-Manṣūr bi’llāh and their five sisters, all of whom died in Egypt. Among the offspring of the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, were ʿAbd Allāh, Tamīm the poet, Imam Nizār al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh and ʿAqīl, the sons of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. Many of the chiefs (umarāʾ), dāʿīs and the notables of his state emigrated with him. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad also accompanied him along with all his sons. At the instruction of al-Muʿizz,

549 Buluggīn b. Zīrī was the son of the Berber chief Zīrī b. Manād who died fighting for the Fatimids in North Africa (see section 68). Buluggīn succeeded his father as a military commander and, upon al-Muʿizz’s departure for Egypt, he was appointed viceroy over the Fatmid territories in North Africa. Al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, p. 99; trans., p. 62.

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al-Nuʿmān appointed the Qāḍī Aḥmad b. al-Qāsim b. Abī’l-Minhāl as his deputy over the Ifrīqiyan lands, al-Mahdiyya and the all the West.550 The qāḍīs across the entirety of the West were under the authority of Aḥmad b. al-Qāsim.551

65 The demise of al-Ustādh Jawdhar Al-Ustādh Jawdhar emigrated with al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh; however, death overtook him at the town of Barqa as we have mentioned earlier. Manṣūr al-Jawdharī552 said: When our master resolved to move to the East, correspondence was exchanged between the Ustādh [Jawdhar] and Prince ʿAbd Allāh, may God sanctify his soul, in which ʿAbd Allāh outlined Jawdhar’s rights according to the actions of ʿAbd Allāh’s pure forefathers. In the first letter which the Ustādh sent to him, he reminded him about his share of the mules on which he used to carry his goods during his travels with our master. ʿAbd Allāh sent him the following response, with invocations: May God protect you, complete His grace upon you, increase your gratitude to Him, enable you to achieve the contentment of His walī, our master and our lord, blessings of God be upon him; may He fulfil your hopes and our hopes for you with him (al-Muʿizz) and [bestow] His favours upon you, and grant you the pilgrimage to the sanctified house of God and the visit to the tomb of our grandfather Muḥammad with him, for He is the generous Benefactor, the Most Gracious and Benevolent. And now, we have received your letter after our great longing for you, which God knows. We thank God, the Exalted, the Mighty, and are

550 Qāḍī Aḥmad b. al-Qāsim b. Abi’l-Minhāl subsequently headed the maẓālim courts in Cairo at the behest of the Fatimid wazir Ibn Killis. Brett, Rise of the Fatimids, p. 370. 551 The transference of the seat of the Fatimids and their entire polity, including the treasury and royal tombs, from Ifrīqiya to Cairo signifies the beginning of the Egyptian phase of the dynasty. Although Fatimid Cairo was founded a few years earlier, al-Maqrīzī states that it was only after al-Muʿizz’s emigration that Egypt ‘became the seat of the caliphate’. Ittiʿāẓ, p. 134; trans., p. 104. 552 From here begins an extended narrative taken from al-Jawdharī’s Sīra (pp. 141–147; trans., 159–165), with minor differences in phrasing.

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grateful to Him for what has arrived in your letter and for His benevolence upon you for your safety and good health. We beseech Him to augment His grace and benevolence upon you. We have passed on your letter to our master and our lord, blessings of God be upon him. When he received it he replied in his own blessed, generous hand at the bottom of your letter as you will see, for we have sent it to you. God is sufficient for us and the most excellent trustee.

The letter arrived and at the bottom of it the following was written in the hand of the Commander of the Faithful: O Jawdhar, may God protect you. ʿAbd Allāh, may God save him, has read your letter to us and has apprised us of your reminder regarding the taking of mules from the stable, that you have the custom to take from the stable and about your anxiety regarding our multiple commitments and our need for them (the mules), in that we may have forgotten or abandoned you. I hope God will not dawn a day when we forsake your matters in this life and in the hereafter. By God, if there were a choice between giving you priority over ourselves, we would have done so without holding back. So be content and cheered by what God has bestowed upon you and has granted you of our contentment, may God sustain that for you.

Our master set out for the East. He gave Jawdhar the mules, which were for loading as well as ones that carry litters, among which was one on which he used to ride himself and was fond of. His munificence and the array of gifts, which he bestowed upon him and his companions, were beyond description. When Jawdhar arrived at a place called Ajdābiya, illness overcame him and he said to me (al-Jawdharī): ‘I am pining to see our master’s face. Infirmity has enveloped me and I am unable to stand on my feet because they have weakened.’ So I asked him if I could precede him and meet with Prince ʿAbd Allāh, the heir apparent of the Muslims (walī ‘ahd al-muslimīn), concerning this matter. He permitted me, so I set out and met with him and described his condition and his deep longing to see our master and him. So he informed our master and returned to me with his response and said, ‘Our master instructs you to bring him to this place’, and he pointed to a dome in the auspicious tent in which he was having his midday meal. Then he said, ‘Stop with him here in the litter and do not let him step down!’

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He cautioned me not to let him step down and forewarned me of our master’s punishment if I did so. I returned to the Ustādh and apprised him. He was delighted and his spirits lifted. Then I arrived at the place at which I was instructed to stop. When we halted there he said to me, ‘Help me step down.’ I gave him the excuse that access to the place we were heading for was blocked and there was no way to proceed except to wait in the litter until the path was cleared. He accepted that and the litter was placed on a female mule while he was sitting in it. Presently our master, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, the Commander of the Faithful, appeared wearing a turban and sandals and leaned inside the litter. He embraced him as a brother embraces his brother and a friend embraces his friend. Then the Ustādh glared at me in reproach for having left him in the litter. Al-Muʿizz said to him, ‘He had no choice as he was obeying our orders.’ Then al-Muʿizz came closer to the Ustādh and enquired about his condition and said, ‘Do not despair, for God will lengthen your life and postpone your demise until you witness with us God’s favours that He has bestowed upon us over the oppressors’ lands.’ The Ustādh responded, ‘O my master, by God, your slave’s state is unworthy of what you have done for him, for I am just a Slav (Ṣaqlabī), a non-Arab slave without any merit to which I can lay claim save that I am your slave who is enlightened by your guidance.’ Al-Muʿizz rejoined, ‘Do not fret, O Jawdhar, for God has obligated obedience to us and made it incumbent willingly or out of fear, and you are among those who has obeyed God through us willingly, not out of fear. Have you forgotten how every Slav who was with you during the times of your masters, the pure imams, was enjoying himself in his house, whereas your [own] pleasure lay in living in a room near the latrine in the palace of your master al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh? You did not choose what others chose of the comforts of the world. Instead, God has willed happiness for you now and in the hereafter.’ Then the Ustādh glanced at Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān, the scribe who was standing with us, indicating to him to lead the animal and depart so as to lighten the discomfort our noble master had imposed on himself by standing on his feet. When our master saw him he said, ‘Stop O Muḥammad, and let him do so, for gazing upon us comforts his heart.’ Then the Ustādh kissed the ground and we did the same and departed. After that day he did not see our master and it was as if that was the farewell stop.

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Subsequently, when we arrived at a place called Mashliyya553 near Barqa, he became weaker and his illness worsened. Despite all this, his mind was sound and his intellect was unaffected. He called me and said: We are entering Barqa which is a large town and is inhabited by some easterners, especially after the arrival of Ibn Naṣr [the treasurer] to our master, amongst what was said. Our reputation in the exalted state is considerable because of our master’s distinction of us, so it is incumbent upon us to embellish our troops with supplies, complete with weapons and smart uniforms, so that our entry is perfect and splendid. So write to Prince ʿAbd Allāh informing him and to request our master to send weapons and supplies in addition to what we possess. Apprise him that I would like to enter the blessed palace in this manner. However, I am unable to stand on my feet and what our master did at Ajdābiya would be very difficult for me, and I am also concerned that when I arrive, those who envy us because of our master’s favours will say that by entering in this manner I have only wanted to because of what our master did for me, and words to that effect.

He sealed the letter and sent it with a courier who was with us. The reply came from Prince ʿAbd Allāh who said: May God protect you, complete His favours upon you, continue His blessings upon you and protect us from being deprived of you and grant you the pilgrimage to the sacred house with our master. We have received your letter, may God protect you, and we have pondered over its entirety after our master has pondered over it, and we kissed the ground before him. He replies to you with God’s best and finest salutations. He has commanded, and may his command be always glorious, honoured and revered, that this letter be sent to you to apprise you, may God protect you, that he has instructed Naṣr the treasurer to send the camels and a large quantity of weapons which [the imam] specified to him and which will reach you, God willing. He conveys to you to prepare [your] arrival to the blessed presence on any day that is convenient for you that you

553 Haji notes in his translation of al-Jawdharī's Sīra (p. 162) that this should be corrected to Malītīya, a known locality on the route from Ajdābiya at one stage, or 15 miles, from Barqa.

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wish to arrive on, and your arrival at the auspicious palace gate will be in your litter in the same manner as at Adjābiya, in your finest apparel. Do not reproach yourself in this manner regarding the litter in the least, for there is nothing for you to reproach yourself or to reproach you about. As you have said, ‘When we came towards you at Adjābiya’, [the imam] conveys to you, ‘it is not you who imposed upon us [this journey] so that you should assume the blame for it. Rather, it is we who did it of our own volition in our desire to visit you and to see your condition. May God grant you complete well-being, perfect health and safety by His favour. So do what we have instructed you to do.’ He said, ‘Rejoice in what God has bestowed on you by His satisfaction and that of His walī, which has not been granted to anyone else apart from you in your era. You are deserving of it; so praise and thank God so that He deems you worthy of even more of His gracious munificence, His abundant favours and His grace. I beseech God to safeguard and maintain His benefactions upon you and that His blessings follow in succession upon you with sound integrity, as we would wish for you and the best of health that we hope for you, by His benevolence and His peace, may God’s mercy and His blessings be upon you.

This was the last note that he received from the imam and his heir apparent, may God’s blessings be upon them both. [Ibn] Naṣr arrived with the supplies at the mentioned location and distributed the weapons among the men. Jawdhar’s frailty and his illness worsened hence he could not be brought to the palace. He was taken to Barqa to a house that was vacated for him and in which he stayed. I went to our master and informed him of his arrival. He said, ‘How is his condition?’ I replied, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, blessings of God be upon you, he is very frail. However, he seems to be craving for death as if he can visualise the place where he will be heading to and is longing for it.’ Al-Muʿizz said, ‘To his station in His mercy, close to his masters, blessings of God be upon them all.’ Then he turned to those who were standing in front of him and amongst them were Prince ʿAbd Allāh, Isḥāq b. Mūsā and other Sudanese slaves; this was after they had completed their meal. He said, ‘This poor Jawdhar. By God, if we were to enumerate what our pure forefathers before us received from him and what we have received after them, in closeness to us and in the path of God, it would exceed 100,000 dinars, and he has done that without any land allotments (iqtāʾ) and

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estates.’ Then he gave me some apples that were in his hand and said, ‘Give these to him and say to him, “These have been sent to us from Egypt. I beseech God to preserve your life and recuperate your body so that you can witness it [Egypt] with us.”’ I kissed the ground and departed and I conveyed what he had recounted. The Ustādh kissed the ground and praised God and excelled in praising Him. Then he engaged me in conversation and continued to do so, while he remained mentally alert, through the course of the night. Then his condition relapsed. Morning broke with him breathing his last breaths and he passed away at the time of the midday prayer, may God have mercy upon him and be content with him. He was carried from the city of Barqa at night to the palace where our master was staying at a place called Mayāsir. He ordered the ritual ablution of the body. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad, Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān the scribe, and I attended to that task. Prayers were recited upon him the following day and he was buried at a place in the mosque in the aforementioned palace.

66 Al-Muʿizz’s arrival in Egypt The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, advanced until he reached Alexandria when six days remained in Shaʿbān 362/26 May 973.554 Ibn Khallikān said in his History: He rode from Alexandria and entered a bath where the qāḍī of Egypt, Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad b. Aḥmad met him, along with the notables of the city. They greeted him and he sat with them at the watchtower where he spoke to them at length, apprising them that he had not entered Egypt to extend his empire or to accrue wealth, but rather that he wished to establish the truth, the pilgrimage and the jihād; that he wished to complete his life with righteous deeds and to act upon what his grandfather (Prophet Muḥammad) had commanded. He exhorted them at length and some of those present wept. He presented the qāḍī and some members of the congregation with robes and gave them mounts. They bade him farewell and left. He departed from Alexandria at the end of Shaʿbān.

554 This is the date which Ibn Khallikān has also mentioned in Wafayāt, trans., III: 379.

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On Saturday, the second day of the sublime month of Ramaḍān/6 June 973, he arrived at the coastal port of Miṣr (i.e., al-Fusṭāṭ) at al-Jīza. He met with the wazir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar b. al-Furāt, mentioned previously. Al-Muʿizz stayed there for three days and the troops began to ferry their loads at the coast of Miṣr. On Tuesday, when five days remained in Ramaḍān of the same year, al-Muʿizz crossed the Nile. Ḥaydara b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm,555 the author of al-Sīra alKutāmiyya said: When Imam al-Muʿizz arrived and crossed the bridge at al-Jīza to go to Miṣr, no one rode alongside him except al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and ʿUslūj b. al-Ḥasan riding behind him; the rest of the people were walking in front of him. Ibn Khallikān said: He entered Cairo but did not enter Fusṭāṭ which had been decorated for him, as it was thought that first he would go there, and so the people of Cairo were unprepared for his reception as they were expecting him to enter Fusṭāṭ. When he arrived in Cairo, he entered the palace and in each hall (majlis) that he entered he fell in prostration to Almighty God. Then he prayed two rak‘a’s and the people departed from him. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, settled in his palace at al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya on Tuesday, 5 Ramaḍān 362/10 June 973. Ibn Khallikān said: He is the one after whom al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya is named, as Commander Jawhar [began] building it for him on Friday, when 13 days remained in al-Muḥarram 360/20 November 970.556 Among what Abū Bakr Juhūr b. ʿAlī Juhūr al-Hamdānī,557 may God have mercy upon him, mentioned: Ibn Ḥawqal al-Baghdādī said, ‘Cairo was founded by the Scribe Jawhar for the Commander of the Faithful al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh and included shops, markets, baths, beautiful houses and lofty palaces within its confines, the likes of which no other city had. It also had a dīwān (administrative bureau), a magnificent

555 On Ḥaydara b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm see note 223 above. 556 Al-Maqrīzī states that Jawhar had begun building it since Shaʿbān 358. Ittiʿāẓ, p. 162; trans., p. 80–81. 557 Ya‘lāwī’s edition notes (p. 727) that this author is named as Jumhūr in the original, but it is more likely to be Juhūr because Idrīs has quoted from an Abī Bakr Juhūr al-Wādi‘i earlier in the ʿUyūn (p. 476). Very little is known about this historian. Ya‘lāwī surmises that he was among the Yemenī historians from whom Idrīs drew information.

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congregational mosque and cavalry, infantry and horses which many countries were incapable of possessing.’ Ibn Khallikān said:558 Sharīf Ibn Ṭabāṭabā met al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh and said to him, ‘What is your lineage O our master?’ Al-Muʿizz fixed a day to meet. People gathered on that day, he drew his sword and said, ‘This is my lineage!’, and he expended some dinars and said, ‘This is my noble descent!’ They said, ‘We hear and obey.’ We [Idrīs] say: These are false allegations, meagre and trivial words. How can that be so when al-Muʿizz’s lineage is well known to be from the root of prophethood, the tree of trusteeship (wiṣāya) and the branches of the imamate? This was only said out of obduracy and dissension, as they could not find any defects or blemishes in him. Hence they fabricated these words and they contrived these travesties, which do not resonate with those who are reasonable minded and are acceptable to only the most ignorant. How can that be true when Sharīf al-Rāḍī,559 with his eminence among them, addressed the Abbasids by saying: ‘Why should I stand in ignominy among you when in Egypt there is a Fatimid caliph, whose father is my father and whose friend is my friend if I should be wronged by the distant stranger?’ This was because of the honour that the Fatimid imams gave to the Ḥasanids and Ḥusaynids so that their prestige heightened and their status increased among the Abbasids after they had been murdered, exiled and imprisoned in the Umayyad and Abbasid reigns (dawla) and threatened with murder and torture. They were spared from this humiliation after the appearance of al-Mahdī bi’llāh. Their status was raised wherever they were until they became like shining stars and new moons among the people.

558 This is reported by Ibn Khallikān in Wafayāt (trans., II: 47) under the entry of ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭabāṭabā. 559 Abu’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn (d. 406/1016) was an influential Ithnā ‘Asharī Shiʿi scholar who came to be popularly known as al-Sharīf al-Raḍī. Scion of a wealthy and well-regarded ‘Alid family, he inherited the office of representative (naqīb) of the Prophet’s descendants, commander of the pilgrimage and head of the maẓālim from his father. However, his fame was to continue through the ages for his notable literary endeavours including his extensive poetry, but mainly for his compilation of Nahj al-Balāgha, a collection of sermons and sayings of Imam ‘Alī. For a comprehensive biographical coverage on him see Ḥasan Ja‘far Nūr al-Dīn, al-Sharīf al-Raḍī: Ḥayātuhū wa-shi‘ruhū (Beirut, 1990).

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Those who wish to know the lineage of the imams and their excellence, their noble descent and their origins, should read the work al-Maṣābīḥ fi’l-imāma by Dāʿī Ḥamīd al-Dīn,560 for it heals hearts and polishes the minds and contains clear proofs which no one can repudiate except those who repudiate the truth after it is evident and deny sunlight after witnessing it. ‘Their intention is to extinguish God’s light [by blowing] with their mouths’ (61:8). They turn the rabble of the people like themselves away from its walls. Yet God has promised to complete His light and has said in His Noble Book, ‘Truly, it is not their eyes that are blind but their hearts which are in their breasts’ (22:46). We beseech God for His protection to strengthen our devotion to the imams, by whom God has completed the religion and perfected His bounty.

67 Al-Muʿizz establishes his authority in Egypt The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, set out for his capital and the abode of his might at al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya. He inhabited it and settled in it and made it his residence. He established himself there and the affairs of state gained stability and its means became strengthened. The banners of Islam ascended, its buttresses were firmly established, the pillars of its faith became solid and its principles became apparent. He reigned over Egypt, Syria and the two Holy Cities (Mecca and Medina), and the sermon was proclaimed [in his name] in all the districts and cities surrounding them. The pilgrims who came from all the regions to the sacred house of God were under his banner. His rule extended over Ifrīqiya, the Maghrib, Tripoli, Sijilmāsa, Barqa and Sicily. His daʿwa was established and his dāʿīs spread throughout the regions of Sind and Hind. His daʿwa was not absent from any region; in some regions it was overt and in others it was covert and in dissimulation (taqiyya).

560 One of the most prolific Ismaili authors, Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī (d. after 411/1020) was a highly influential and acclaimed Fatimid dāʿī. His numerous works covered a range of subjects concerned with Ismaili doctrine and philosophy. For an annotated listing of his works see Daftary, Ismaili Literature, pp. 124–128. The work mentioned here, al-Maṣābīḥ fī ithbāt al-imāma, has been translated by Paul E. Walker as Master of the Age: An Islamic Treatise on the Necessity of the Imamate (London, 2007).

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He retained Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbd Allāh as head of the judiciary in Egypt as Commander Jawhar had done, and Abū Ṭāhir referred to al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad in all his judgements, consulting him on all legal matters and executing them according to his counsel and opinion. ʿAbd Allāh b. Thawbān561 was appointed to oversee judicial and legal matters over the Maghribīs and he literally and systematically followed al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s authority (amr). When ʿAbd Allāh b. Thawbān died, the office of judge was handed over to the eminent qāḍī ʿAlī b. al-Nuʿmān. Matters progressed prosperously, and worldly and religious benefit spread under the auspices of the one who strengthens God’s religion (Muʿizzī dīn’illāh).

68 Buluggīn b. Zīrī’s defeat of Muḥammad b. al-Khayr Al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar al-Anṣārī said in his history: Prior to al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh’s departure to Egypt, the Andalusian Muḥammad b. al-Khayr562 revolted in [3]60. He fled with 4,000 military slaves, the majority of whom were cavalrymen, from al-Masīla to Fez and onto Zanāta lands, crossing the sea to Andalusia. Al-Muʿizz wrote to Zīrī b. Manād al-Ḥimyarī563 who was based in an adjacent region, ‘Search him out from wherever you know he has settled!’ So Zīrī pursued him from his territory in Zanāta lands for almost two months. However, Zīrī fell off his horse and was killed, may God have mercy upon him and be content with him, along with a group of men who were with him. This was while al-Muʿizz was at al-Manṣūriyya. When he arrived in Egypt he wrote to his son, Yūsuf b. Zīrī, after he had appointed him over his empire in the Maghrib, ‘Seek your revenge from the Zanāta and confront them on such and such a day!’ When Muḥammad b. al-Khayr killed Zīrī he did not

561 In the Ittiʿāẓ (p. 191; trans., p. 108), al-Maqrīzī gives his name as Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Thawbān, and says that he arrived with al-Muʿizz who then appointed him over the court of grievance (maẓālim) in 362/972–973, and he died in 364/975. 562 Muḥammad b. al-Khayr was a Maghrāwī Zanātī and not Andalusian. The Andalusian present in the battle was Jaʿfar b. Ḥamdūn b. al-Andalusī, the ruler of al-Masīla. He broke his allegiance to the Fatimids, joined the Zanāta and supported Muḥammad b. al-Khayr in his revolt and witnessed the battle in which Zīrī was killed in 360/971. Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, VII: 47. 563 Father of Buluggīn b. Zīrī. See note 549 above.

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envisage that he had such a son; hence he gathered the Zanāta. Yūsuf b. Zīrī preceded him with 7,000 cavalrymen and 40,000 infantrymen. Yūsuf caught up with him in the morning. Muḥammad b. al-Khayr’s wife was a beautiful woman who wore her [fine] clothes, perfumes and jewellery, and stood with about 1,000 women of her maids, cousins and Zanāta women and began to goad her husband, and the women accompanying her began goading their own people (qawm) similarly. Muḥammad b. al-Khayr headed for the banners and killed their bearers. Meanwhile, al-Muʿizz’s governor, Yūsuf b. Zīrī, was lying in ambush for him. He emerged from the ambush and defeated Ibn al-Khayr’s men. When he saw that his men were defeated, he cut his own throat with his sword and died swiftly saying, ‘By my hands, not yours, O Yūsuf!’ It was said that Yūsuf b. Zīrī hastened towards him as he was taking his last breaths and said, ‘I am Yūsuf’, and took his spoils and booty and his sword, and it was a mighty sword. In the morning Yūsuf gathered the Zanāta chiefs and decapitated them. He spread a rug over their heads and sat over them with his men and ate bread. Yūsuf said, ‘No one has done this before!’ The heads of Muḥammad b. al-Khayr and his killed Zanāta men were paraded in the provinces. Then Yūsuf sent them (the heads) to Cairo where they were paraded in the Egyptian regions and its outskirts.

69 Resumption of the Fatimid–Qarmaṭī conflict The Qarāmiṭa increased their control over Syria and the accursed Abū ʿAlī564 al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad b. Bahrā, surnamed al-Aʿṣam al-Qarmaṭī, entered. Many of the bedouins and non-Arabs who strove to corrupt the path (sharī‘a) of Muḥammad, responded to his summons. He overtook the country and repeatedly committed the worst abominations until he reached al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya and arrived at the torrent-beds of al-Ṭawāḥīn565 in Jumādā I 363/Feburary 974. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, set out accompanied by his son, Prince ʿAbd Allāh, and all his supporters and soldiers from the people of the Maghrib and Egypt in 363/974.

564 On this Qarmaṭī leader, see note 540 above. 565 Suyūl al-Ṭawāḥīn is in the north-east of Bilbays.

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Many skirmishes and major, well-known battles occurred between al-Muʿizz and the accursed Qarmaṭī. The heir apparent of the Muslims, Prince ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz, led some of these battles on the instruction of his father and defeated the Qarāmiṭa. His soldiers killed over 1,000 cavalrymen and apprehended another 1,000. The Prince took them to his father’s camp and the defeated Qarmaṭī fled. God granted His walī, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, His victory from the heavens. This defeat was in Shaʿbān 363/April–May 974. It was reported from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad in his work Muʾāzarat al-taʾwīl li-taʿbīr al-ruʿyā,566 where he said: Among what al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh dreamt he said: Among what I dreamt on Tuesday night, 2 Rabīʿ II 363/30 December 973 was that I was sitting in an elevated place watching over the fighting that was occurring in front of me, observing the attacks and the banners. In front of me lay the swords of the companions of the Messenger of God when a group of people superior in demeanour, beautiful and perfect, magnificent and radiant, greeted me and sat around me. The best of them in demeanour and most excellent in appearance sat behind me. I did not know at the time anyone [among them] but Imam al-Manṣūr bi’llāh. He was smiling at me and pointing, so as to draw my attention as to the [eminent] state of these people. To my right hand side was a man with a tawny complexion who said, ‘What about these swords in front of you?’ I replied, ‘These are the swords of the Messenger of God that I brought and gathered to smite the infidels’ faces to the last one of them, as the Messenger of God had done previously.’ Then he stood up, and I said, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am your forefather ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.’ I said, ‘My master?’ Al-Manṣūr rejoined, ‘Your master and mine.’ Then I said, ‘This is the blast that God mentioned: “It was no more than a single mighty blast, and behold! They were (like ashes) quenched and silent.” (36:29).’ He responded, ‘Yes, that is so.’

566 This work of al-Nuʿmān has been mentioned before in section 19.

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I said, ‘Today is a day such as the one when it was bellowed from the clouds in the skies: “There is no sword but Dhu’l-Fiqār and no youth but ʿAlī.”567 ʿAlī smiled, then he extended his hand to lift the ancient sword Dhu’l-Fiqār. Then I said, ‘The uncertainty regarding the sword has ceased.’ He took it, stepped forward and struck the head of the cursed al-Aʿṣam. I praised God and thanked Him, for He is worthy of it. Among the people who were present, arose a flawless man, so I said, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am your paternal uncle, Ḥamza.’ I responded, ‘My lord, the lion of God and of His Messenger.’ He smiled and stretched his hand in which he was carrying his sword. By that I understood that I should take it, so I said, ‘O uncle, this is your sword by which no one can strike but you.’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ Then he stepped forward and slit three heads in one strike, [slaying] al-Aʿṣam’s brothers. Then Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār568 stood up from among them, stepped forward and killed a large number. Thereon, one after the other stood up, mentioned their name and stepped forward until the last of them stood up and I said to him, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī.’569 I said, ‘Your sword is not amongst these and I do not wish you to be involved with this matter.’

567 A famous saying attributed to the angel Gabriel concerning ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib and his sword Dhu’l-Fiqār given to him by the Prophet. According to al-Muʿizz this was symbolic of ‘Alī’s unique inheritance as the Prophet’s successor. It was attested that the sword was in al-Muʿizz’s possession after having being used in battle by his father al-Manṣūr. Over the centuries, the sword has become a regular feature of popular art and literature in veneration of Imam ‘Alī. Al-Nu‘mān, Majālis, pp. 114–115 and 208–209. 568 Ja‘far b. Abī Ṭālib was the elder brother of ‘Alī. He died during the lifetime of the Prophet in the Battle of Mu‘ta in 8/629 after losing both his arms. Later, the Prophet is said to have seen Ja‘far in a dream flying in heaven with angelic wings having replaced his arms. This led to the title al-Ṭayyar (the one who flies) ascribed to him posthumously. L. Veccia Vaglieri, ‘Dja‘far b. Abī Ṭālib’, EI2. 569 He was a companion of the Prophet and governor of the garrison town of Kufa in Iraq. He gained infamy among the Shi‘a for arbitrating in favour of Mu‘āwiyah against ‘Alī after the Battle of Siffin. L. Veccia Vaglieri, ‘al-Ash‘arī, Abū Mūsa’, EI2.

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He questioned, ‘Why not?’ The group smiled and a man who was sitting behind me laughed. So I turned to look at him and said, ‘Who are you, O my master?’ He responded, ‘I am your forefather, the Messenger of God.’ I turned so I could kiss the ground in front of him. He lifted my face and placed it on his lap and hugged me. I said, ‘O Messenger of God, I praise God for granting me the good fortune of your succour.’ Thrice he said, ‘All praise is due to God.’ Then I awoke after all the wrongdoers had been killed, while I was delightfully embracing the Messenger of God.’

This is reported from al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad. Events occurred as al-Muʿizz had foreseen them. God’s soldiers continued to pursue the dissolute tyrants until they had deterred them from Syria and expelled them from its regions. Al-ʿAṣam was killed after the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz, had corresponded with him,570 objecting to him and demonstrating God’s signs to him. However, he persisted in his recalcitrance and arrogance on earth, being rebellious and wilful against God’s servants, so God relieved the world of him and granted victory to the Commander of the Faithful against him. He returned to his exalted residence and the capital of his empire, and the countries submitted to him and the people gave their obedience to him. As God ameliorated the corruption, His justice prevailed and His grace spread. At his hands God manifested the proof of the truth as he was deserving of it. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad b. Ḥayyūn al-Tamīmī – may God have mercy upon him – passed away at the end of Jumādā II 363/27 March 974. Praise be to God, the Mighty and the Gracious, who said, ‘All that is on earth will perish but will abide (forever) the face of your Lord, full of majesty, bounty and honour’ (55:26–7). We have mentioned the merits of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad, his writings and compositions, which bear witness to his merits and his elevated stature and exalted status with the awliyāʾ of God.

570 The full text of al-Muʿizz’s long letter to the Qarāmiṭa has been preserved by al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, pp. 251–265; trans., p. 180.

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70 Demise of Prince ʿAbd Allāh Prince ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz passed away at the beginning of ʿĪd571 during the lifetime of his father al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh. The Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, composed the following: We, the sons of the chosen one (Muḥammad), are men who [will always] suffer ordeals; the first among us as the last shall be tried [by God]. An oddity among mankind is our [suffering of] trials, for both our Ṣādiq and our Bāqir endured them. People shall rejoice in this ‘īd of theirs, while our ‘īds are [always] funerals.572

And his brother Tamīm said in his elegy:573 Every community shall end up perishing; the nights [and days] are but pretence and deception. To God return possession and dominion as well as princes and their subjects. And if death is inevitable, then [even] the one who lives long is paltry and insignificant. What is this grave affair I see and what calamity whose averting is warned against, has descended upon the people? How can calamities not affect the soul when they have befallen one who is precious and beloved?

571 In the Ittiʿāẓ (p. 217, trans., p. 196), al-Maqrīzī reports that Prince ʿAbd Allāh died on the 22 or 23 of Jumādā I 364/8 February 975. There is no indication as to which of the two ʿĪds Idrīs is referring here. 572 Ibn Khallikān attributes a similar composition to al-‘Azῑz bi’llāh on the occasion of the death of his father al-Muʿizz: ‘We, the descendants of al-Muṣṭafā (the chosen one), undergo afflictions which none among us can survive except those who are able to master their grief. Strange that we, of all mankind, must suffer from misfortune! The first of our family had his trials and so also has the last! The people here before us are all rejoicing at their festivals; but festivals, for us, are days of mourning.’ Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, trans., x: 322. 573 Tamīm b. al-Muʿizz al-Fāṭimī, Dīwān (Cairo, 1957), p. 147.

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Such it is that when calamity befalls a great one, it is great, and when it befalls an insignificant one it is insignificant. How is it that heaven has not fallen upon the earth and its sun and moons have not disappeared? The day the prince died, nay [it is] the day when patience has died, indeed the day when happiness died. The day when the soil was made wet by tears shed for him and breasts constricted upon the hearts. The day when turbans were taken off and when the secrets of homes and women’s chambers were made public.574 A day that has made [all] eyes shed tears such that even the tawny lion and the gullible gazelle shed tears in it. I heard the sighing and they were like wails and saw the tears like seas. A time of winter became, by the raging blaze of [lamenting] breaths, like the heat of the midday sun. The angels of God escorted his bier and watered it with mercy and purity, At a [sacred] place that was hidden to the faces of the mourners, though [both] grief and the people (anām)575 were present. They buried him and covered his resplendence and thus departed, both the burier and the buried. How many a helper he had in that place but none can help when it comes to the violence of death. If we were left to offer [ourselves] as ransom, he would be ransomed from the grip of death by a myriad of human beings, As well as [by] swords, and the like of their number of servants and spears, and the like of their number of comrades. May God sanctify his spirit and may that splendour and light [of God] reside in his tomb.

574 In other words, men and women were grieving everywhere. 575 The Arabic anām refers to everything that is manifest on earth, that is, the totality of creation, but in this context it means people in general.

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71 Appointment of al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh as the next imam Imam Nizār b. Maʿadd al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh b. al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh had attained the characteristics of excellence and perfection ascending to elevated ranks, possessing virtues and all good qualities. His father then designated him as the imam after him, appointing him over his matters, and entrusting him and authorising him to permit and to bind and unbind for him. He designated (naṣṣa) him in a gathering which included senior dāʿīs, people of his daʿwa, prominent amīrs and the people of his empire. He wrote to inform his dāʿīs in all the regions and announced his station and proclaimed it.

72 The demise of al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh Al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh reigned in al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya until he had consolidated the caliphate, resolved the affairs of the daʿwa and established the authority of the empire in the East and the West. God wiped out every obdurate one with victory and conquest. Then he followed his pure ancestors and his demise was like theirs, a misfortune, as God has said in His Noble Book: ‘Truly you will die (one day) and truly they (too) will die (one day)’ (39:30). His demise, may God bless him and bestow His mercy, His benedictions and His favours upon him, was on Friday 11 Rabīʿ II/15 December 975; it was also said 13 of that month, 365/17 December 975. His caliphate from the demise of al-Manṣūr bi’llāh and his accession to the imamate was 23 years, five months and 10 days and from that of his stay in Egypt was two years, seven months and four days. Jawhar’s rule over Egypt until al-Muʿizz’s arrival was four years and 19 days. Among what was said as an elegy was the following by Prince Tamīm b. al-Muʿizz in the khafīf metre:576 How can bodies not be deprived of their hearts and [not] see sallowness in place of radiant [youthful] faces? Who shall offer condolences to the steeds, or who shall entertain the king’s session and the melancholy throne?

576 Tamīm b. al-Muʿizz, Dīwān, p. 147.

Translation of the Text

273

After you [died] they lost their hearts, which ought to be torn apart, and so they have ripped apart their chests. O Muʿizz, O Muʿizz! [is the lament] until the tears become smothered in blood. Let other than me [enjoy the] taste of life, for verily after you I find that life has nothing sweet in it.

It was said that al-Muʿizz’s demise was at al-Bahnasā.577 Ibn Mākūlā578 said: Bahnasā is one of the villages of Egypt. Al-Muʿizz was accompanied by his heir apparent and the caliph who succeeded him, al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh. He informed him that he would pass away that night, so he entrusted him with what was decreed and entered the prayer niche (miḥrāb) of the mosque at Bahnasā and passed away after he had completed the sunset (maghrib) prayer. Amongst what he had instructed his son, the caliph after him, was to take him to al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya (Cairo) and bury him there. Al-ʿAzīz bi’llāh kept his [father’s] death a secret, carried him to Cairo and buried him there. It was said that al-Muʿizz had taken the coffins of al-Mahdī bi’llāh, al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh and al-Manṣūr bi’llāh to Cairo, which contained their noble bodies and buried them there. It was also said that the coffins of the three concealed (mastūrīn) imams were also carried and buried there.579 We have already mentioned what al-Wāqidī has said that the manifest Imams took Imam al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī’s head to Cairo and buried it there, blessings of God be upon them as well as His favours, His benedictions and His compassion. As al-Wāqidī said in Khaṣāʾiṣ al-aʾimma,580 the Egyptian caliphs transferred it from Bāb al-Farādīs581

577 According to Ibn Khaldūn (al-‘Ibar, IV: 51), al-Muʿizz died at his camp at Bilbays while preparing to fight the Qarāmiṭa. 578 Ibn Mākūlā ʿAlī b. Hibat Allāh al-ʿIjlī (d. 486/1094) was a Baghdadi traditionist and son of a wazir of the Buyid dynasty. J.-C. Vadet, ‘Ibn Mākūlā’, EI2. 579 That is, from the dawr al-satr, see note 40 above. 580 In the two most recent published editions (Ya‘lāwī and Fākhūrī/Kamāl) of the ʿUyūn, the editors note that the al-Wāqidī mentioned in this sentence cannot be the same as the well-known early Muslim historian al-Wāqidī (d. 207/822). Fākhūrī and Kamāl note this is most likely a misspelling and could likely refer to ‘Alī b. Ḥanẓala ‘al-Wādi‘ī’, a Ṭayyibī dā‘ī muṭlaq in Yemen. Daftary, Ismaili Literature, p. 108, lists the works of this ‘Alī b. Ḥanẓala but there is no mention of a work called Khaṣā’iṣ al-a’imma. 581 Bāb al-Farādīs was the name of one of the gates of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, lending its name to the graveyard of Farādīs which is close by.

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to ʿAsqalān (Ascalon) and then transferred it to al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya, and it is a large sanctuary [which people] visit.582 May God’s blessings, benedictions and favours be upon them. All praise is due to God, the Lord of the worlds, for inculcating us with devotion to them and apprising us of our obligation to obey them. We beseech God to make us among those who enter their ark and are salvaged from the flood of error. Blessings of God be upon His Messenger whom He has chosen, and upon his progeny, peace be upon them all. God is sufficient for us, the perfect Trustee, the perfect Master and the perfect Patron. And there is no power nor strength except in God, the Supreme, the Sublime.

582 The al-Ḥusayn Mosque (masjid al-imām al-Ḥusayn, or masjid sayyidnā al-Ḥusayn), located in Maydān al-Ḥusayn in the vicinity of the al-Azhar mosque, continues to be a highly venerated shrine in present-day Cairo.

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Index

al-ʿAbbās 127n.291, 224 Abbasids 5–6, 12, 10, 12n.25, 21, 43, 108, 127n.291, 179–181, 182, 183, 186, 187, 188n.398, 189, 195, 219, 220, 223, 224, 229, 238, 254, 263 ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar al-Samarqandī 45, 228–230 ʿAbd Allāh b. Masʿūd 61 ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz 170, 242–244, 247, 250, 255, 256–257, 259–260, 266, 267, 270–271 ʿAbd Allāh b. Thawbān 265 ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUbayd Allāh alḤusaynī 241 ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Ahyaj 254 ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III b. Muḥammad, 10, 12, 111n.249, 131n.299 ‘Abdān, 22n.41 Abū Bakr Juhūr b. ʿAlī Juhūr alHamdānī 45, 262 Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Muhallab 214 Abū Firās b. Ḥamdān 186–187 Abū (or Ibn) Ghazwān al-Qarmaṭī 232n.493, 234 Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī 23 Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad b. Naṣr, 209n.440, 218 Abū Jaʿfar Muslim al-Ḥusaynī, see al-Sharīf Muslim Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad b. Aḥmad 208, 214–215, 222, 230, 231, 239, 261, 265

Abū Yazīd al-Nukkārī, Makhlad b. Kaydād 14, 38, 56, 98, 142n.318, 145, 169n.358 179, 244, 255 Abuʾl-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Isḥāq b. alMuqtadir 180 Abuʾl-Qāsim ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abīʾl-Ḥusayn (al-Kalbī) 170 Abuʾl-Qāsim Yaḥyā al-Ḥusaynī 238 abwāb 38, 56 Adam 5, 42 adhān 212, 233, 240 ʿAḍud al-Dawla, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. Buwayh al-Daylamī, 180 al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī 29 Aflaḥ b. al-Nāshib 206, 207 Ahl al-Bayt 4, 17, 20, 32, 40, 60–63, 71n.162, 89, 91, 100, 165, 233 ahl al-dhikr 130, 159, 190 Ahl al-Kitāb 17 Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ikhshīd 195, 196 Aḥmad b. Bakr 139, 143–144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150 153, 163–164, 166 Aḥmad b. al-Qāsim b. Abīʾl-Minhāl 256 Ajdābiya 257, 259 Aleppo 12n.25, 117, 134, 186, 187, 249 Alexandria 223, 261 ‘Alī b. Abd Allāh 30, ‘Alī b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Tūnisī 45, 227–228 ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib 5, 17, 32, 34, 35, 51, 52, 60, 61, 62, 66, 71, 72, 76, 79, 82, 85n.189, 90, 97, 109, 128, 129, 165, 182, 187, 194, 197, 222, 230, 231, 235, 267–269

285

286

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ʿAlī b. al-Faḍl 28–29 ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Ṣulayḥī 29 ʿAlī b. al-Nuʿmān 197, 265 ʿAlī b. al-Walīd 220, 230 ‘Alids 21, 33, 115, 254, 263n.559 amān 15–17, 20, 209–214, 217 al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh 29–30 ʿAmmār b. ʿAlī b. Abī’l-Ḥusayn (alKalbī) 113 Andalusia/Andalusians 11fn.21, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 130, 265 Anūjūr, Abuʾl-Qāsim 195 ʿAqīl b. al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh 170, 255 ashrāf 17, 18–20, 218, 254 al-ʿAtīq mosque, Fusṭaṭ 220, 233, 247 awliyāʾ as the imams 51, 64, 74, 77, 87, 92, 100, 106, 108, 129, 134, 140, 148, 174, 181, 194, 219, 269 as followers of the imams 73, 76, 77, 81, 92, 96, 99, 100, 112, 142, 150, 151, 152, 164, 168, 170, 192, 196 see also walī Awrās mountains 77–78, 101, 170, 244 al-ʿAzīz biʾllāh 9n.17, 23, 170, 242, 272, 273 Bāb al-Farādīs 273 Bāghāya 170 Bahāʾ al-Dawla 180 Bahrain 22, 252n.540-n.542 Banū Ḥamdān see Ḥamdānids Banū Ḥasan/Ḥasanids 18–19, 147– 153, 263 Banū Hāshim see Hāshimī/Hāshimid Banū Jaʿfar 18–19 Banū Kamlān 142 Banū Khazar 78n.174, 251 Banū Qurra 207 Banū Umayya see Umayyads Barqa 171, 184, 206–207, 236, 256, 259, 260, 261, 264 bāṭin 5, 24, 25, 67, 85, 87, 199

Berbers 15, 78, 79, 142, 207, 235, 244 Biskra 246 Buluggīn b. Zīrī b. Manād, Yūsuf 255, 265–266 Būṣīr 220 Buyids 180, 181, 189n.399–n.400 Byzantines 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 39, 63n.142, 110n.245, 133, 134, 138, 170, 191, 196, 209, 241 diplomatic encounters with alMu‘izz, 122–130 Domesticos 112, 114, 117, 128, 181, 185 emperors of the 10, 12, 112, 118n.267, 122, 129, 130, 133, 181, 183, 209 incursions into Crete 181–183, 185 naval encounters with 112–130 subjugation of Sayf al-Dawla 186–190 Cairo (al-Qāhira) 25, 26, 27, 31, 38n.83, 253, 256n.551, 266, 274 al-Azhar mosque 24 celebration of ‘Īd in 239 Fatimid-Qarmaṭī battle outside 253–254 founding of 1, 195, 200, 219–220 as headquarters of daʿwa 20 al-Ḥusayn mosque 274 al-Mu‘izz’s arrival in 262, 264 al-Mu‘izz’s demise and burial in 272–273 Calabria 122 Christians/Christianity 4, 8, 15, 17, 42, 114, 129, 134, 181, 186, 196, 212 Companions of the Cloak 71 Companions of the Prophet 16, 17, 60, 212, 267 Constantinople 10, 112, 122 Copts 15 Crete 12, 13, 181–185

Index dāʿī al-muṭlaq 1, 30–31, 273n.580 Damascus 134, 240, 241, 252, 273n.581 Damietta 239 Dār al-Baḥr 81, 171 daʿwa 6, 9, 13, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 85n.38, 39, 41, 53, 64, 75, 77, 78, 79n.175, 84, 150, 181, 183, 184, 185, 195, 272 da‘wat al-haqq 33, 72 Idrīs and the Ṭayyibī 1, 21, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33–35, 44 Literature of the 2, 24, 34, 95 al-Mu‘izz and the 20, 24, 85, 106, 194, 264 in Sind 21, 173–177 Dāwūd (David) 38, 59–60 Day of Judgement 35, 52, 98, 201, 213 dhimma 8, 15, 123 Dhūʾl-Fiqār 268 dinar 92, 104, 159, 186, 198, 211, 214, 222, 246, 255, 260, 263 Egypt, 1, 4, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31, 40, 45, 97, 117, 134, 183, 188, 189, 195–196, 206–230, 233– 234, 234–237, 238, 241, 244, 249, 251–261, 264, 265, 266, 272, 273 al-Faramā 238, 253 Fatak al-Khādim al-Aswad 232 Fāṭima, 4n.7, 17, 18n.35, 33, 71, 72, 163n.355, 186–187, 224, 230, 231 Fatimids 3, 4–9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 39, 40, 41, 44 Fez 139, 143, 144–145, 147, 148, 265 Finḥāṣ (Phinehas) 35, 52 al-Fusṭāṭ/Miṣr 20, 196n.411, 209, 215, 217, 218, 219, 238, 247, 262 al-Ghūṭa 240 Gospels, the 11, 118, 129 Gujarat 31

287

al-Ḥāfiẓ l-Din Allāh, ʿAbd al-Majīd b. Muḥammad, 30 ḥajj see pilgrimage al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, 26, 45, 231n.489 Ḥalīm b. Shaybān 174, 190, 191, 192 Ḥamdān Qarmaṭ 22 Ḥamdānids 12, 181, 189n.400 see also Sayf al-Dawla Ḥamza b. ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib 268 hanīf/al-ḥanīfiyya 41, 129, 193 Ḥarāz 27, 29 Hārūn (Aaron) 35, 52 al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib 32, 35, 53, 60–62, 230, 231 al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad al-Aʿṣam 252, 254, 266, 268 Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (al-Kalbī) 110–111, 113 al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar 19 al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar al-Anṣārī 45, 114, 144, 169, 265 al-Ḥasan b. ʿUbayd Allāh b. Ṭughj 196, 208, 232, 234, 237 al-Ḥasan b. Zūlāq 198, 247 Hāshimī/Hāshimid, 18, 95, 96, 135, 158n.346, 201, 204, 235. Ḥātim al-Ṭā‘ī 205 Ḥaydara b. Muḥammad b. Ibrahim 45, 98n.223, 262 al-Haytham 28 Hijaz 4, 18 ḥikma 54, 69n.156, 151 Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān 194 ḥujja see proof al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib 4n.7, 32, 35, 53, 71n.162, 230, 231, 273 Ibn Bakr see Aḥmad b. Bakr Ibn Hāniʾ al-Maghribī al-Andalūsī, 11–12, 40, 114–121, 126–129, 134–137, 144, 153–156, 200–206, 207–208, 222–227, 247–251

288

The Founder of Cairo

Ibn Ḥawqal al-Baghdādī 206, 240– 241, 262–263 Ibn Ḥawshab 28, 39n.87, 95n.216 Ibn Khaldūn 40 Ibn Khallikān 197, 261, 262, 263 Ibn Khazar, Makhrama b. Muḥammad 244–251 Ibn Mākūlā 273 Ibn Naṣr 259, 260 Ibn Qutayba 94 Ibn Ṭabāṭabā 263 Ibn Ṭūlūn, Aḥmad 200 Ibn Ṭūlūn’s congregational mosque 233 Ibn Wāsūl 138–139, 142–144, 146, 147, 153, 154, 156–161, 163–167 Ibn Zūlāq see al-Ḥasan b. Zūlāq Ibrāhīm b. Abī Yazīd 169–170 Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl (Abraham) 9n.17, 35, 52, 70, 172 Idrīs b. ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Ḥasan b. alḤasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib 147 Idrīs ʿImād al-Din aims of his scholarship 1 as dāʿī al-muṭlaq 30–31 and Ismaili worldview 3 life 27–28 portrayal of al-Muʿizz 2, 34–39 reliability 41–42 sources 1–2, 9, 45–46 teleological approach to Ismaili history 42–44 works 31–34 Idrīsids 17–18, 163n.355 see also Banū Ḥasan/Ḥasanids Ifkān 143 Ifrīqiya 4, 28, 100, 113, 170, 200, 245, 255, 256, 264 Ikhshīdids 10, 13, 20, 195, 214, 215– 217, 231, 232, 237, 253 Imamate 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 22, 23, 24, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 56, 66, 68, 70, 71,

95, 97, 98, 155, 157, 160, 242, 254, 263, 272 Iran 23, 24, 29 Iraq 1, 22, 23, 25 ʿĪsā (Jesus) 75 Isḥāq (Isaac) 35, 52 Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) 52, 226 Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar 7, 35, 53 Ithnā ʿAsharī 6, 15, 263n.559 Jaʿfar b. al-Faḍl (b. al-Furāt) 196, 208, 209, 215, 216, 218, 220, 222, 239, 262 Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ 216, 222, 232, 234, 236, 240–241, 252 Jaʿfar b. Jawhar 237 Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman 39, 99–101 Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq 7, 22, 35, 53, 66, 90, 93, 105–106 Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār (b. Abī Ṭālib) 268 Jawdhar, Ustādh 37, 56, 79–81, 138, 198–199, 242–243, 245–246, 256–261 Jawhar al-Siqillī 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 39, 113, 133–138, 139, 141, 142–143, 147, 153–156, 164, 166, 168, 194, 197, 198, 199–222, 223, 227, 229, 230–232, 233–237, 238–239, 240, 247, 252–254, 262, 265, 272 jazāʾir 20, 64 al-Jazīra 216 Jews 8, 15, 17, 212 jihād 13, 90, 91, 97, 123, 140–141, 184, 186, 188, 204, 209–210, 212, 221, 255, 261 al-Jīza 216, 218, 262 jizya 122–123, 191 Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī 12, 19, 181, 183, 188, 189, 194–197 Kafūrids 20, 195, 214, 215–217, 231, 232, 237 Khafīf al-Ṣaqlabī 138

Index Khārijīs 14, 138n.312, 142n.318 see also Abū Yazīd Khurasan 24, 29 al-Kirmānī, Ḥamīd al-Dīn 264 Kiyāna 145 Korah (Qārūn) 154 Kutāma 28n.60, 45, 51n.107, 73n.163, 77, 98, 113, 139–142, 151–153, 237 Laylat al-qadr 162 Light/nūr 5, 36, 63, 75, 96, 201, 264 madhhab 8, 14, 16, 26, 94n.209, 94n.212, 162, 212, 233n.496, 234 Maghrib 14, 17, 33, 34, 103, 133, 146, 147, 232, 241, 244, 255, 264, 265, 266 Maghribī, 14, 27, 114, 122, 133, 147, 208, 222, 232, 238, 253, 254, 265 Magians 173, 174, 178, 188, 194 Maḥallat Ḥafṣ 214 mahdī 7–8, 22, 23, 32–33 al-Mahdī, ʿAbd Allāh 1, 4, 6, 10, 22, 23, 32, 33, 35, 36–38, 52–54, 72, 84, 89, 96, 167, 241, 255, 263, 273 al-Mahdiyya 39, 56, 79, 80, 81, 113, 139, 242, 243, 245, 246, 255, 256) majālis al-ḥikma 24–25, 85–87 Majāzariyya 114 al-Makhāḍa 216, 217 Makhrama b. Muḥammad b. Khazar see Ibn Khazar Mālikīs 14, 208n.438, 233 Mamluks 25, 40 al-Manṣūr bi’llāh 1, 6, 14, 35, 37–38, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56–57, 58, 59, 60, 63–65, 66–68, 68–77, 82, 84, 98–99, 133, 138, 139, 144, 145, 193n.405, 211n.444, 242, 255, 267, 272, 273 Manṣūr al-Jawdharī 242, 245, 256

289

al-Manṣūriyya 79, 80, 81, 101, 102, 113, 170, 222, 237, 247, 255, 276 al-Maqrīzī, Taqī al-Din 3, 25–27, 33, 39, 40–41, 44, 46 al-Mariyya (Almeria) 111 Mashliyya 259 maẓālim, 85, 97n.220, 222, 265n.561 Mecca 19, 47, 161, 196, 221, 241, 250, 252, 264 Medina 15, 19, 47, 196, 221, 225n.476, 241, 264 miḥna 5 Miqdād b. Ḥasan al-Kutāmī 45, 234–237 Mufliḥ al-Wahbānī 216, 232 Muḥammad, the Prophet and Messenger of God, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 15, 17, 18, 32, 33, 34, 35, 43, 44, 51, 52, 60, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 83, 87, 89, 90, 91, 94, 97, 113, 106, 108, 121, 123, 127, 129, 130, 131n.300, 132, 145, 148, 149, 150, 158-159, 161, 162, 165, 166, 168, 172, 173, 182, 184, 187, 190, 192, 194, 197, 205, 212, 213, 221, 223, 224, 225, 230, 231, 245, 248 256, 261, 267, 268, 269, 270, 274 Muḥammad al-Bāqir, 63n.139, 106n.235, 130n.295, 137n.307, 270 Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl, 7, 22, 23, 53 Muḥammad b. al-Khayr 265–266 Muḥammad b. Khazar, Abū Maʿbad 78–79 Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān 246, 258, 261 Muʿizz al-Dawla 189 Multan 21, 174n.370 munāẓarāt 151 Muʾnis al-Khādim 179 Muntaṣir b. Muḥammad b. alMuʿtazz, 166–167, 169 Munyat al-Ṣayyādīn 216 Munyat Shalqān 216

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The Founder of Cairo

al-Muqtadir, 179 Murshid, Abū ʿĪsā 97 Mūsā (Moses) 35, 52, 75 al-Mustaʿlī 29 al-Mustanṣir biʾllāh, 29 al-Mutanabbī, Abuʾl-Ṭayyib Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn 186 al-Muṭīʿ li’llāh, 180, 195, 238, 254 al-Muttaqī li’llāh Ibrāhīm b. alMuqtadir 179 Muzāḥim b. Rāʾiq 216 Naḥrīr al-Arghulī 215, 217, 218 Naḥrīr Shuwayzān 215, 216, 217, 231, 232, 234, 237 al-Nasafī, Muḥammad 23, 24 Nāṣir al-Dawla 188, 189 naṣṣ 36, 38, 56, 90, 130, 272 nāṭiq 34, 52 Nicephorus Phocas 12, 110n.245, 112n.252, 129, 181, 188 nikāḥ al-mutʿa 62 Nizār, Abū Manṣūr 29 Nūḥ (Noah) 18, 86, 148 Nuṣayr al-Ṣaqlabī al-Khāzin 81 pilgrimage 70, 76, 90, 91, 178, 182, 199, 206, 210, 212, 212, 221, 225, 226, 245, 246, 256, 259, 261. proof 12, 36, 38n.85, 63, 66, 69, 71, 74, 95, 98, 105, 106, 116, 118, 188, 197, 242, 250, 269. al-Qāḍi al-Nuʿman, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 24, 27, 33, 34, 36, 39, 40, 45, 47, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 81, 82, 84–85, 87, 88, 90–99, 100–110, 122–126, 130–133, 139, 143, 144, 147, 156–169, 170–178, 183, 194, 234, 255, 256, 261, 262, 265, 267–269

al-Qāḍī al-Quḍāʿī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. Salāma 138 qāḍī al-quḍāt 2, 8491n.203 al-Qāhir 179 qāʾim see mahdī al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh 1, 6, 35, 37, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 64–65, 66, 67, 72, 84, 139, 242, 255, 258, 273 Qarāmiṭa 22–23, 29, 196, 210n.443, 232, 234–237, 240, 252–254, 266–269 al-Qayrawān 170, 179, 206, 237, 255 al-Ramla 232, 234, 252 Raqqāda 198, 200 Romanus II 10, 183 Saʿāda b. Ḥayyān 252–253 Ṣahrajat 238 Salamiyya 241 Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās 219 satr, 3, 7n.13–n.14, 22, 28, 30, 32, 52n.110, 273 Sayf al-Dawla b. Ḥamdān 12n.25, 124, 185, 188, 189 al-Sayyida Arwā 29n.62, 30 Shāfiʿī 25, 26 Shamawʾal al-Ikhshīdī 196 sharī‘a 16, 266 al-Sharīf Ibrahīm b. Aḥmad alḤasanī al-Rassī 208, 214 al-Sharīf Muslim b. ʿUbayd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī, 19n.36, 20, 208, 209, 214–218, 222, 231, 238, 241, 254 al-Sharīf al-Raḍī 263 Shia/Shī‘ī 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 17, 27, 30, 36, 40, 43, 63n.139, 71n.162, 79, 90n.201, 106n.235, 130n.295, 186. al-Shīʿī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh 28 Sicily 110, 113, 171 (122, 164) Sijilmāsa 138, 139, 143, 156, 160, 166, 167, 169, 171, 264

Index al-Sijistānī, Abū Yaʿqūb 23–24 Sind 21, 28, 41, 173–178, 190–194, 241, 264 Ṣulayḥids 29–30 Sulaymān (Solomon) 59–60, 61 sunna 16, 70, 75, 108, 150, 158, 211, 212 Sunni 4–6, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20, 25, 33, 40, 41 Syria 1, 4, 12, 29, 114, 115, 127, 134, 181, 188, 191, 196, 208, 217, 232, 234, 236, 237, 238, 240–241, 252–253, 254, 264, 266, 269 al-Ṭā’ī‘ b. al-Muṭīʿ b. al-Muqtadir180 al-Ṭāʾif 161 Ṭālibids 224 Tamīm b. al-Muʿizz, 255, 270–271, 272–273 Ṭanbās 57 Taormina 170 Tarrūja 209 Ṭarsūs 124, 187 al-Ṭawāḥīn 266 taʾwīl 94, 97, 190 al-Ṭayyib 30 Ṭayyibī Ismailis 1, 2, 21, 25, 30–31, 34, 44–45 Tāzrūf 241, 254 thughūr 63, 116n.263, 189, 192, 221 Tinnīs 238 Torah, the 11, 118, 129 ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb 60–61 Umayyads 10, 12, 14, 39, 108, 109, 110–112, 113, 114, 119, 121, 130–134, 139, 143, 150, 229, 263 as Banū ʿAbd Shams 96, 158

291

as Banū Marwān 251 umma 4, 13, 18, 33, 72, 159, 184, 192, 221 Usayd b. Hamām al-Makḥūl alQurashī 187–188 ʿUslūj b. ʿAskar 242, 262 walāya 73, 90, 97, 142, 160 walī 65, 72, 75, 90, 93, 99, 104, 106, 111, 113, 124, 145, 147, 162, 166, 173, 175, 177, 178, 189, 190, 194, 211, 219, 221, 256, 260, 267 see also awliyā’ al-Wāqidī 273–274 waṣī 34, 35, 51, 52–53, 71, 72, 75, 108, 222 wasīla 51, 69 Yadhbul, Mount 154 Yaḥyā b. Zakariyyā (John the Baptist) 61 Yaʿlā b. Muḥammad al-Zanātī 143 Yaʿqūb (Jacob) 35, 52, 219 Yarmūk 114 Yemen, 98, 99, 101, 135 daʿwa 28–29 Ṭayyibī Ismailis 2, 21, 25, 30–31, 34, 44–45 Yūshaʿ (Joshua) 35, 52 Yūsuf (Joseph) 219 ẓāhir 5, 67, 107, 109, 199 Zanāta 265–266 Zaydīs 30–31 Zīrī b. Manād 255, 265 ẓuhūr 22n.40, 35, 52 Zunbur al-Ikhshīdī 238–240