Oppressors are a test of Allah on believers. The
steadfastness of believers increase when they face oppressors and oppression.
On the other hand, the oppressors feel a sense of pride and power on being able
to successfully torture the oppressed ones. They forget, the power granted to
them is granted by Allah for doing good and they will be questioned for
misusing the power. Wealth and power of this world encouraged them to show
their hatred towards Allah, the Ahle Bait (a.s.) and the followers of Ahle Bait
(a.s.).
Mutawakkil ala Allah al Abbasi (l.a) was one such
oppressor. He was the Tenth Abbasid caliph who ruled from 232 to 247 A.H. He
like his oppressive predecessors exploited religion to achieve power and
worldly aims. He was born to a slave girl named Shuja, MutawakkilAbbasi (l.a)
was such an opportunist and power hungry that he did not even hesitate to
murder his son and close advisor, who had played an important role in raising him to the throne.
He did all this to remain in the seat of power. Some of the historians
have praised him saying that there are only three caliphs:
Abu Bakr: because of his position against apostates,
Umar: because of his attitude towards
tyrants, and
Mutawakkil: because of
his revitalization of the Sunnah
However he was
as despicable as his predecessors and ancestors. Let us list down his evil and
oppressive acts.
Al-Mutawakkil lived a life of play with no tendency to
seriousness. His life was full of amusement and joking. Historians say, ‘No
play, joking, or clowning appeared in the meetings of the Abbasid caliphs
before al-Mutawakkil. When al-Mutawakkil assumed the rule, he brought all that
to his meeting and then most of the upper class imitated him in that. He brought imitators, who imitated the
gestures and voices of some people and did comic acts, in his meeting.
Let us have a look at his other vices which makes him an accursed
:
1. Hatred for the sons of Ameerul Momeneen (a.s):
Mutawakkil once asked
Abu Yusuf the teacher of his two sons Motaz and Muayyad:
اين دو كودك در نزد تو بهترند يا حسن
و حسين فرزندان على
"Whom do you love more, my sons or
al-Hasan and al-Husain.”
When answer was in favour of Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (a.s),he handed
him to the Turkish bodyguards, who so chastised and manhandled him that Abu
Yusuf died two days later.
2.
Laughing at the insult of
Ameerul Momeneen (a.s)
Ubadah
al-Mukhnath was among his companions. He
used to put a pillow on his belly and uncovered his bald head and dance before
the caliph, while the singers sang:
"Here is the bald one,
the bellied one, the caliph of the Mus1ims, i.e., 'Ali,
Mutawakkil was amused at
it.
3.
Demolition of the Mausoleum of Imam Husain (a.s)
In 236 A.H.
al-Mutawakkil ordered the demolition of Imam Husain (a.s)'s grave and the area
surrounding it. The historians have
stated two reasons for it.
One
reson which is mentioned is that he once
called for his concubine and it was told to him that she had gone to Karbala
for pilgrimage. Not able to withstand her absence he ordered for the demolition
of the holy grave.
The
other reason that has been cited by the historians is that he was afraid of
large number of shias gathering at the mausoleum of Imam Husain (a.s) and
wanted to curb any potential uprising.
4.
The Created-ness of Holy Quran
He also put an end to
the debate on whether Quran is created or not, ruling in the favour of it being
not created hence shaking the very foundation of monotheism.
5.
Oppression on Alavis (Shias):
Mutawakkil
strongly opposed the Shias and adopted various means to oppress them. He
ordered his governors in Egypt that no land should be rented to Alavis and any
witness against them should be accepted.
Further,
he prosecuted the important figures of Shias like Yahya ibn Umar who was
presented before him on the pretext that he planned rebellion against him.
Yahya was flogged eighteen times and then imprisoned.
He
also persecuted Isa b Jafar ibn Muhammad who rightly reviled the first two
caliphs and their daugther. He ordered that he be beaten to death and thrown in
the river.
He
appointed harsh and oppressive governors like Umar ibn Faraj over Alavis who
tortured and practiced an oppressive policy on them, punishing them harshly for
a small mistake. By this harsh treatment Alavi families
lost even their clothes. They remained in hiding for safety.
6.
Torturing Imam
Ali ibne Mohammed An-Naqi (a.s.)
Mutawakkil forced Imam Ali Naqi (a.s) to reside in the poor
quarters under the heavy observation of guards thus preventing Imam from free
and natural life. He also raided the house of Imam (a.s) on the pretext that he
(a.s) was gathering arms and planning to rise against him. Once he summoned
Imam (a.s) while being drunk and asked Imam to recite a poem. He also
dishonored Imam (a.s) by offering the pious and Infallible Imam a goblet of
wine, Imam (a.s) recited the following reprimanding him and expressing his
displeasure for him:
They passed the night on
the summits of the mountains,
Protected by valiant warriors, but their place of refuge availed
them not
After all their pomp and
power they had to descend from their lofty to the custody of the tomb
O what a dreadful
change: Their graves had already received them, a voice heard exclaiming:
Where are the thrones and the crowns and the robes of state?
Where are now the faces
of the delicate, which were shaded by veils and protected by the curtains of
the audience hall?
To this demand the tomb gave answer sufficient.
The worms, it said, are
now reveling upon these faces.
Long had these men been eating and drinking but now they are
eaten in turn
Al-Mutawakkil was shaken and intoxication flew from his head. He
began terribly crying. Al-Mutawakkil ordered his men to take the glasses of
wine away from the meeting.
7.
Laughing on the blessed
existence of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s)
Mutawakkil had a
habitual guest and companion, a poet Ali ibn Jahm who opposed the Shias.He once
recited:
Look at these Rafidis who believe that there is a hidden Imam
The Imam is the one who has twenty thousand Turkish guards
(Mutawakkil) with arrows ready.
Mutawakkil was a bigot
and was finally killed by his son with the help of Turkish guards. He was
murdered on the 4th of Shawwal 247 A.H. May Allah curse and increase his
punishment manifold.
May Allah help us protect our imaan, when we confront an
oppressor. May Allah give patience to those who are oppressed. May Allah hasten
the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) who will end oppression and
oppressors from this land of Allah.
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