Uprising of Fakhkh: Difference between revisions

70 [[Shiite]] pilgrims of [[hajj]] met al-Husayn b. 'Ali in [[Medina]] and decided to rise that year in the days of hajj, but after the threats of the ruler of Medina and the arrest of some of al-Husayn's companions, they decided to start the uprising earlier than planned.

According to ''Tarikh al-Tabari'', the uprising began on [[Dhu l-Qa'da 13]], [[169]]/[[May 17]], [[786 CE|786]]). At the time of morning prayers, 26 people from [[Imam 'Ali (a)]]'s progeny, 10 pilgrims of hajj, and some [[mawali]] entered the mosque chanting "Ahad, Ahad", and they had the [[mu'adhdhin]] (the caller to the prayers) to recite the Shiite version of [[adhan]] (calls for prayers) that included "Hayya 'ala khayr al-'amal" (hasten to the best action). When the ruler of Medina heard the Shiite adhan, he was scared and escaped from the city. People said their prayers with al-Husayn b. 'Ali. After the prayers, al-Husayn b. 'Ali gave a sermon, asking people to follow the tradition of the [[Prophet (s)]]. People pledged their allegiance to him conditional upon the [[Quran]] and the traditions of the Prophet (s) and "al-Murtada min Al Muhammad" (that is, Imam Ali (a)).

After some hours, Khalid al-Barbari, the military commander of the city, and his soldiers attacked the mosque. However, Khalid was killed and his soldiers were defeated. The next day, there was another battle between the two groups leading to the defeat of the [[Abbasids]]. Then the Abbasids asked al-Mubarak al-Turki (a commander of the Caliph), who was then in Medina for performing the [[hajj]] rituals, for help. According to ''[[Maqatil al-Talibiyyin]]'', al-Mubarak was reluctant to engage with those quarrels; so he sent a message to al-Husayn b. 'Ali to send some of his soldiers to launch a camisado against him so that he can find a pretext to flee. Al-Husayn did this, and al-Mubarak escaped to [[Mecca]]. Thus Medina was under al-Husayn's control. According to al-Tabari, their control of Medina lasted only 11 days, until [[Dhu l-Qa'da 24]], [[169]]/[[May 28]], [[786 CE|786]]). In this interval they equipped themselves.

On Dhu l-Qa'da 24, 169 (June 1, 786), Husayn appointed one of his companions, [[Dinar al-Khuza'i]], as the ruler of Medina, and moved with 300 soldiers to Mecca. Before that, he had a meeting with [[Shiites]] and they decided to rise in Mecca during the [[hajj]] days in [[Mina]].

When al-Hadi al-'Abbasi heard the news of the uprising, he ordered some Abbasid seniors who were in [[Mecca]] for [[hajj]] pilgrimage to fight al-Husayn b. 'Ali under the commandership of Muhamamd b. Sulayman. The Abbasids (with 4000 soldiers) and al-Husayn's army encountered on [[Dhu l-Hijja 8]], 169/[[June 11]], [[786 CE|786]]), the [[day of Tarwiya]], in an area called "Fakhkh". The Abbasid commander offered al-Husayn a letter of security but he did not accept it. In the battle, al-Husayn and many of his companions were martyred, some were captivated and some escaped. The heads of the [[martyrs]] as well as the captives were first sent to [[Medina]] and then to [[Baghdad]] to [[al-Hadi al-'Abbasi]].

The sons of [['Abd Allah al-Mahd]] were active in this event. Sulayman b. 'Abd Allah and al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Mahd were killed, but Idris b. 'Abd Allah escaped to [[Morocco]] (Maghrib) and later established the Idrissid government there. Also another brother of his, Yahya b. 'Abd Allah, escaped to [[Daylam]]. He received a letter of security from [[Harun al-Rashid]], but was then deceived into going to Baghdad and was killed there.

After the Fakhkh uprising, the ruler of [[Medina]] set the houses and palm groves of [[Sahib Fakhkh|al-Husayn b. 'Ali]] and some of his household on fire, and confiscated the rest of their palm groves and property. Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi went to Medina and called people of the city to the mosque and had them publically curse al-Husayn and his companions. There are contradictory reports about al-Hadi al-'Abbasi's reactions. On some accounts, he coldheartedly treated the captives of the event as well as the Abbasid rulers who failed to do their duties in the battle. For example, he captivated [[Qasim b. Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah al-'Alawi]], and mutilated his body with a saw, and he was angered at his own commander, Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, who had killed Hasan b. Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah, instead of capturing him and letting the [[Caliph]] decide about him; because of this he confiscated Musa's property.

On the other hand, there are [[hadiths]] according to which al-Hadi reproached those who took al-Husayn's head to him and told them: "al-Husyan was from the progeny of the [[Prophet (s)]], rather than a rebel from Turk or Daylam. Thus people who killed him should at least be deprived of any rewards."

The Event of Fakhkh was one of the most bitter events in the history of [[Shiism]] and 'Alid uprisings. [[Imam al-Jawad (a)]] referred to the event as the worst tragedy of [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] after the [[Event of Karbala]], and the Prophet (s) and other [[Imams (a)]] had foretold the event. Also there are lamentations about the event. It is reported that [[Imam al-Kazim (a)]] cried for the [[martyrs]] of Fakhkh, asking the death of their killers and their intense divine torments from [[God]]. He also sponsored orphans, kids, and widows of the 'Alids who were martyred in Fakhkh. There are [[hadiths]] from the [[Prophet (s)]] and earlier Imams (a) who foretold the event, such as the above hadith from the Prophet (s) and another one from [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]] according to which: the [[Gabriel]] told the [[Prophet (s)]] that in this desert (that is, Fakhkh) a man from your progeny will be murdered whose martyred companions will be rewarded by God.

[[Di'bil al-Khuza'i]] composed poems called "Madaris al-Ayat" or "Ta'iyya" involving lamentations of [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] and recited them for [[Imam al-Rida (a)]] in a meeting hosted by [[al-Ma'mun al-'Abbasi]]. His poems refer to the Event of Fakhkh as well. Part of his Ta'iyya to which Imam al-Rida (a) added two verses is as follows:

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