Ubayd Allah b. al-Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib: Difference between revisions

After the martyrdom of Imam 'Ali (a), 'Ubayd Allah supported the caliphate of [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]]. In that period, letters were exchanged between Imam al-Hasan (a) and Mu'awiya, asking each other to give up the caliphate. The letters led to no results, and finally, Mu'awiya departed to Kufa with his army to wage a war. Imam al-Hasan (a) asked people to defend the lands against Mu'awiya. An army of 12,000 soldiers was formed. Imam al-Hasan (a) appointed 'Ubayd Allah as the commander of the army and told him: “this army consists of the best warriors, reciters of the [[Qur'an]], and the companions of [[Amir al-Mu'minin (a)]]”. He sent the army to combat Mu'awiya and asked him to stay there until the Imam (a) and the rest of the army joined them. However, 'Ubayd Allah joined Mu'awiya after being bribed. Al-Baladhuri provided another account of 'Ubayd Allah joining Mu'awiya. According to him, 'Ubayd Allah joined Mu'awiya after finding out that Hasan b. 'Ali (a) was reluctant to stay a caliph. However, remarks by [[Qays b. Sa'd b. Sa'd b. 'Ubada]] who was appointed as the commander of the 12000-army after 'Ubayd Allah's escape imply that 'Ubayd Allah was not a brave and reliable commander. In these remarks, Qays said that 'Ubayd Allah his father, 'Abbas, and his brother, 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas, were not loyal to the Prophet (s) and Imam 'Ali (a).

Some sources have not pointed, however, to 'Ubayd Allah's commandership of Imam al-Hasan's (a) army, only citing Qays b. Sa'd as the commander. According to these sources, Imam al-Hasan (a) removed Qays from the rule of [[Azerbaijan]] and appointed him as the commander of the army, and appointed 'Ubayd Allah as the ruler of Azerbaijan. However, according to al-Tabari's account, 'Ali (a) had appointed Qays as the commander of a 40,000-army and sent him to Azerbaijan. However, Qays postponed the mission until 'Ali (a) was martyred. When Imam al-Hasan (a) became the caliph, he was reluctant to go to war and he knew that Qays was willing to combat the army of [[al-Sham]]. Thus, he removed Qays from the commandership of his army and replaced him with 'Ubayd Allah b. 'Abbas. Since 'Ubayd Allah was aware of Imam al-Hasan's (a) view, he joined the army of Mu'awiya. This account is inconsistent with other accounts according to which Imam al-Hasan (a) commissioned 'Ubayd Allah to combat the army of Mu'awiya and then appointed Qays as his successor and conditioned every action on consultation with Qays.