Abd Allah al-Aftah

Good article since 27 February 2017‎
Priority: c, Quality: a
From wikishia
(Redirected from 'Abd Allah al-Aftah)
Abd Allah al-Aftah
Roleclaimed imamate after Imam al-Sadiq (a)
EpithetAbd Allah al-Aftah
FatherImam al-Sadiq (a)
MotherFatima bt. Husayn b. 'Ali b. al-Husayn b. 'Ali (a)
Place(s) of ResidenceMedina
Childrenno children
DemiseMuharram, 149/February-March 766. [70 days after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a)]


ʿAbd Allah b. Jaʿfar (Arabic: عبدالله بن جعفر); (d. 149/766) known as ʿAbd Allah al-Afṭaḥ (عبدالله الافطَح) was the second son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) who claimed imamate after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a) and his followers became famous as Fatahiyya. Some of those who followed Abd Allah soon left him due to his lack of religious knowledge. Abd Allah died 70 days after claiming imamate, and since he did not have any children, the rest of his followers turned to Imam al-Kazim (a) for their matters.

His Life

'Abd Allah was the second son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) (after Isma'il).[1] His mother was daughter of Husayn b. 'Ali b. al-Husayn b. Ali (a).[2] He was known as Abd Allah Aftah because of having wide toes.[3]

According to al-Shaykh al-Mufid, Abd Allah's position before his father was not like his other brothers because he was against his father in beliefs. He also associated with Hashwiyya and tended toward Murji'a.[4]

Abd Allah had no children,[5] but in some Isma'ili and other sources,[6] it has been said that instead of Isma'il, Fatimid caliphs introduced his brother, Abd Allah Aftah as their imam and their ancestor, but later changed their manner and introduced Isma'il as their imam.

Abd Allah died 70 days after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a).[7]

Family tree of Ahl al-Bayt (a)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Khadija
 
 
 
Muhammad
 
 
 
Mariya
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Al-Qasim
 
'Abd Allah
 
Lady Fatima
 
 
 
Ibrahim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam Ali
 
 
 
 
Umm al-Banin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Husayn
 
 
Imam al-Hasan
 
Lady Zaynab
 
Umm Kulthum
 
Muhsin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Al-'Abbas
 
Abd Allah
 
Uthman
 
Ja'far
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Muhammad
 
'Awn
 
Ali
 
Al-'Abbas
 
Umm Kulthum
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Al-Hasan
 
Al-Qasim
 
'Abd Allah
 
Fatima
 
Zayd
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
'Abd Allah
 
Zaynab
 
Ibrahim
 
Al-Hasan
 
al-Hasan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Muhammad
 
Ibrahim
 
Idris
 
 
 
 
 
Nafisa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Sajjad
 
'Ali al-Akbar
 
'Ali al-Asghar
 
Fatima
 
Sukayna
 
Ruqayya
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Baqir
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Zayd
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Sadiq
 
'Abd Allah
 
Ibrahim
 
'Ubayd Allah
 
'Ali
 
Yahya
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Kazim
 
Muhammad
 
Ali
 
Ishaq
 
Umm Farwa
 
'Abd Allah
 
Isma'il
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Rida
 
Ma'suama
 
Hamza
 
Ishaq
 
Ahmad
 
Ibrahim
 
Muhammad
 
 
 
Imam al-Jawad
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-Hadi
 
Musa
 
Fatima
 
Hakima
 
Amama
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imam al-'Askari
 
Husayn
 
Muhammad
 
Ja'far
 
 
 
Imam al-Mahdi
 
 


Progeny of the Prophet (s)

Claiming Imamate

Upon the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a), Abd Allah was his eldest son. With this justification that imamate reaches the eldest son of Imam, claimed imamate and soon some Shia followed him. It is narrated that before his martyrdom, Imam al-Sadiq (a) foresaw about claiming imamate by Abd Allah and advised Imam al-Kazim (a) to leave Abd Allah because he would die soon afterwards.[8]

His Incompetence in answering Questions of the Companions

It is mentioned that Shia and companions of Imam al-Sadiq (a) asked Abd Allah some questions to ensure about his claim, but he could not give proper answers, and thus many Shia left him. These questions have been mentioned in different sources, for example, Some Shia from Khurasan came to Medina after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a) and asked some questions from Abd Allah, but he could not answer them.[9]

Hisham b. Salim and Mu'min al-Taq asked him about Zakat of 100 Dirhams. He answered two dirhams.[10] It is reported that he was asked, "if someone tells his wife, without having a witness, 'I have divorced from you by as many times as the number of stars in the sky', would it be correct?" He answered, "the divorce is correct."[11]

Fatahiyya

When Abd Allah claimed imamate, some Shia followed him and were known as Fatahiyya.[12] At the time of Imam al-Sadiq (a), Shias commonly said that the eldest son reaches the position of imamate. Accordingly, some who did not hear about Imam al-Sadiq's (a) declaration of Imam al-Kazim's imamate followed Abd Allah, who was the elder brother and had claimed imamate. When he died 70 days after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a), the rest of his followers returned to Imam al-Kazim (a).[13]

Notes

  1. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 210.
  2. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 209.
  3. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 211.
  4. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 211.
  5. Ibn Hazm, Jamhara 'ansab al-'arab, p. 59.
  6. Ibn Ḥazm, Jamharat ansāb al-ʿarab, p. 59.
  7. Qāḍī Nuʿmān, Sharḥ al-akhbār, vol. 3, p. 310.
  8. Masʿūdī, Ithbāt al-waṣīyya, p. 198.
  9. Nūrī, Mustadrak al-Wasāʾil, vol. 15, p. 467.
  10. Nabāṭī al-Bayāḍī, al-Ṣirāt al-mustaqīm,vol.2, p. 191.
  11. Nabāṭī al-Bayāḍī, al-Ṣirāt al-mustaqīm, vol. 2, p. 192.
  12. Subḥānī, Buhūth fī l-milal wa l-niḥal, vol. 8, p. 78.
  13. Shahristānī, al-Milal wa l-niḥal, vol. 1, p. 148.

References

  • Ibn Ḥazm al-Āndulusī, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-. Jamharat ansāb al-ʿarab. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1418 AH.
  • Masʿūdī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn al-. Ithbāt al-waṣīyya. Qom: Anṣārīyān, 1426 AH.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh Mufīd, 1413 AH.
  • Nabāṭī al-Bayāḍī, ʿAlī b. Yūnus al-. Al-Ṣirāt al-mustaqīm. Najaf: al-Maktaba al-Murtaḍawīyya, 1384 AH.
  • Nūrī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad Taqī al-. Mustadrak al-Wasāʾil. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1408 AH.
  • Qāḍī Nuʿmān al-Maghribī. Sharḥ al-akhbār fī faḍāʾil al-aʾimma al-aṭhār. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1409 AH.
  • Shahristānī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Karīm. Al-Milal wa l-niḥal. Fourth edition. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1415 AH.
  • Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Buhūth fī l-milal wa l-niḥal. Qom: Muʾassisat Imām al-Ṣādiq, 1418 AH.