Abu l-Aswad al-Du'ali: Difference between revisions

Ẓālim b. 'Amr b. Sufyan (Arabic: {{ia|ظالِم بن عَمْرو بن سُفْیان}}), known as Abu l-Aswad, was born in the period of [[Jahiliyya]]. However, he is quoted as saying that he was born in the year in which the [[Conquest of Mecca]] occurred.

He was from the clan of Banu Kinana Mudar, which was known in Basra as "Ahl al-'Aliya" (the Highlanders or Medinan army regiment of Basra). His tribe was known as "Du'al". People of [[Hijaz]] pronounce "Du'al" as "Dayli". People of his tribe lived in Hijaz near the city of [[Mecca]]. They are mentioned in some events of the early years of Islam in the period of the [[Prophet (s)]].

Abu l-Aswad's mother was from the clan of Banu 'Abd al-Dar. According to a view which is not much reliable, his father was in the army of [[polytheists]] in one of the Prophet's (s) [[ghazwas]] where he was killed. Probably there is a confusion in this view.

Abu l-Aswad had two sons, 'Ata' and Abu Harb. 'Ata' had no offspring, but Abu Harb, who was a poet and a scholar of nahw (Arabic syntax) and was appointed by [[al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf]] as a ruler of a region, had an offspring.

According to some views, Abu l-Aswad was one of the [[Sahaba]], but as Ibn Athir has pointed out, the view that he was one of the Sahaba is rooted in a distortion in the text of a [[hadith]].

Moreover, it is said that he lived for 85, or even 100 years, and given the widely accepted view about the year of his death, he could not have met the [[Prophet (s)]].

Abu l-Aswad met, and talked with, [[Abu Dhar al-Ghifari]] in [[al-Rabadha]] where he was in an exile. The meeting was narrated by [[Musa b. Maysara]] who was from the Du'al tribe.

Abu l-Aswad accompanied [[Imam Ali (a)]] in the [[Battle of Jamal]]. When [[Aisha]] headed towards [[Basra]], Abu l-Aswad and someone else were commissioned by [['Uthman b. Hunayf]] to negotiate with her. In these negotiations, Abu l-Aswad was a little tough on Aisha.

In the [[Battle of Siffin]], at the command of Imam Ali (a), [[Ibn 'Abbas]] ordered Abu l-Aswad to mobilize the forces, then he departed to join the Imam (a), and appointed Abu l-Aswad as his successor in [[Basra]] to be the Imam of [[congregational prayers]] and serve as a judge, and appointed [[Ziyad b. Abih]] as the supervisor of bureaucratical affairs and taxes. During this period, they were hostile to each other, leading Abu l-Aswad to compose libels against Ziyad.

On one account, which is not reliable, in the Battle of Siffin, Imam Ali (a) wanted to choose Abu l-Aswad for [[Arbitration]]. After the battle, Ibn 'Abbas returned to Basra, and when [[Khawarij]] began their seditions, he—as the ruler of Basra—sent Abu l-Aswad to combat them. After a while, Abu l-Aswad accused Ibn 'Abbas of frauds in the Treasury, as a result of which Imam Ali (a) reprimanded Ibn 'Abbas. After this, Ibn 'Abbas left Basra and went to [[Hijaz]]. The attempts by Abu l-Aswad and his tribe to dissuade Ibn 'Abbas from leaving Basra was to no avail. Before leaving the city, Ibn 'Abbas appointed Ziyad b. Abih as his successor. Abu l-Aswad was angry that Ibn 'Abbas did not appoint him as his successor.

When the news of the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a) and people's [[allegiance]] to [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]] was spread in Basra, Abu l-Aswad went on top of the [[minbar]] and said that one of the [[Mariqun]] martyred the [[caliph]]. He called everyone to pledge their allegiance to Imam al-Hasan (a). The [[Shi'as]] pledged their allegiance to him, but a group of [['Uthman]]'s advocates refused to do so and fled to Mu'awiya. In the meanwhile, Mu'awiya sent someone to Abu l-Aswad in order to fool him into thinking that Hasan (a) had made a compromise with Mu'awiya, asking him to call people of Basra to pledge their allegiance to Mu'awiya. In an elegy for the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a), Abu l-Aswad referred to Mu'awiya as being responsible for the Imam's (a) martyrdom.

In 44/664, Ibn 'Amir, the ruler of Basra, sent delegates from Basra to Mu'awiya. Abu l-Aswad was one of the delegates. He and [[Ahnaf b. Qays]] went to Mu'awiya and talked harshly to him.

In 45/665, Mu'awiya appointed Ziyad b. Abih as the ruler of [[Iraq]]. While Abu l-Aswad was not on good terms with him since a long time ago, he still visited Ziyad frequently and whenever he was offended by him, he composed a poem and reproached him. Moreover, he was not much respected probably because of his associations with Imam Ali (a).

There are stories about his relationships with Ziyad and the foundation of the science of Arabic syntax. On some accounts, Abu l-Aswad was tutor of Ziyad's children. It seems that in light of the peace resulted from Ziyad's tyranny in Iraq, Abu l-Aswad was engaged in business or composing romantic poems.

On some accounts, after the martyrdom of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]], Abu l-Aswad composed some poems in the elegy of the Imam (a) and libeled against [['Abd Allah b. Ziyad]]. According to some reports which are said to be not much reliable, he helped [[Durrat al-Sadaf]] to retake the head of Imam al-Husayn (a) near [[Aleppo]] and quarreled with [[Khawli]]'s agents. According to some reports, during Ibn Ziyad's rule, Abu l-Aswad still asked him and even one or two of his agents in southern [[Iran]] for help, and as suggested by his poems, he traveled to Gundeshapur, Jay, and [[Isfahan]], although his requests were ignored.

Abu l-Aswad transmitted [[hadiths]] from [['Umar b. al-Khattab]], [[Imam Ali (a)]], and [[Abu Dhar al-Ghifari]]. His hadiths were mostly transmitted by his son, Abu Harb, as well as Yayha b. Ya'mur, from the clan of Banu Kinana Mudar, and 'Abd Allah b. Burayda. His reliability in the transmission of hadiths has been confirmed by all sources, in particular the sources of [[rijal]].

Abu l-Aswad wrote a monograph in Islamic theology (Kalam). Al-Baghdadi attributed an essay against "Qadaris"—which ironically refers to the [[Mu'tazila]]—to Abu l-Aswad. However, the Mu'tazila themselves have mentioned him among the Mu'tazila as a believer in justice and [[monotheism]].

Abu l-Aswad is mostly known as the founder of the Arabic syntax or grammar (nahw). He is usually referred to as the person who invented the Arabic diacritic.

Abu l-Aswad was the first person who added diacritics to the [[Qur'an]]. According to [[Abu l-Faraj al-Isfahani]], he was ordered by Ziyad to punctuate the volumes of the Qur'an. He did so, and then wrote some materials about nahw.

Thus, the invention of other diacritic marks was sometimes attributed to him, and added to the story.

Al-Qalqashandi believes that the majority of scholars only attribute the invention of the three main diacritic marks—fatha, kasra, and damma—as well as the mark of nunation (tanwin) to Abu l-Aswad.

Today the majority of researchers believe that Abu l-Aswad's poetry was devoid of any artistic value, though in the past, he was deemed as important in all respects. His aphorisms have been cited by many scholars from Ibn Salam, Ibn Sa'd, Jahiz, Ibn Qutayba, and Ibn 'Abd Rabbah to sources in the 19th century, and many others have mentioned him as a well-known and prominent figure among poets and the wise, or the witty, or the stingy, or the lame. Prominent Shiite scholars have quoted many stories concerning each of these characterizations. Abu l-Tayyib al-Lughawi exaggerated about Abu l-Aswad's mastery of the Arabic language, claiming that he was able to speak in any Arabic dialect (of any Arabian tribe).

There are some accounts of his knowledge of Arabic poems. [['Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas]], himself one of the most knowledgeable people about Arabic poems, asked Abu l-Aswad to introduce the best poem to him. In another case, he commented on the best Arabic poem in the presence of [[Amir al-Mu'minin (a)]]. Al-Yaghmuri quoted Ibn al-A'rabi as saying that Abu l-Aswad was one of the four most eloquent Arabs.

He composed poems in the praise or the elegy of [[Imam Ali (a)]] and [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] which led to the widely held belief that he was a passionate supporter of Imam Ali (a). According to some accounts, his support of Imam Ali (a) was a reason why he was overlooked.

* Lughawī, Abu al-Ṭayyib ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. ʿAlī. ''Marātib al-naḥwayn''. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. Cairo: 1375 AH/1955.

* Sayyid Murtaḍā. ''Al-Shāfī fī al-imāma''. Edited by Sayyid ʿAbd al-Zahrāʾ Ḥusaynī. Tehran: 1410 AH.

* Sīrāfī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAbd Allāh. ''Akhbār al-naḥīyīn wa al-Baṣrīyīn''. Edited by Fritz Krenkow. Beirut: 1406 AH.

* Sīrāfī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAbd Allāh. ''Akhbār al-naḥwīyīn wa al-Baṣrīyīn''. Edited by Fritz Krenkow. Beirut: 1406 AH.

* Ṣafdī, Khalīl b. Ībak. ''Al-Wāfī bi l-Wafīyāt''. Edited by Waddād Qāḍī. Beirut: 1402 AH/1982.

* Zabīdī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. ''Ṭabaqāt al-naḥwīyīn wa al-lughawīyīn''. Cairo: 1973.

  | quality = c

  | references =