Ibn ʿAbbās quits Basra for Mecca (40 AH)

فراق عبد الله بن عباس البصرة

660 CE · 40 AH

Basra → Mecca

Ibn ʿAbbās left Basra for Mecca — so most sīra men say, against the report that he stayed governor till ʿAli's death. Abū'l-Aswad al-Duʾalī had written to ʿAli that his cousin had consumed what was under his hand; ʿAli demanded the jizya accounts, Ibn ʿAbbās answered «send whom you like to the post, I am leaving», gathered his maternal uncles of Hilāl — all of Qays rallied — and carried off the treasury as «our pay». The Basrans overtook him at al-Ṭaff; Qays swore the money would not be touched while one of them lived; Ṣabra ibn Shaymān persuaded most back («they are worth more to you than the money»), Banū Tamīm fought on until al-Aḥnaf's rebuke fell flat, and Ibn ʿAbbās reached Mecca 1.

Depth

At a glance

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In time

650660670
The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period

In space

BasraMecca

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Summary

According to most of the historians, Abd Allah ibn Abbas left Basra for Mecca in the year 40. The cause was that Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali wrote to Ali that Ibn Abbas, his cousin, had consumed everything under his hands, and that he could not keep silent about it. Ali asked him about the accounts of the jizya, and Ibn Abbas said: "Send to your agent whomever you like, for I am leaving it." He then summoned his maternal kin of the Banu Hilal ibn Amir, and all of Qays gathered with him; he carried money and said: "These are our stipends." The people of Basra caught up with him at al-Taff, wanting to seize him, but Qays stood between him and them, and Sabra ibn Shayman persuaded most of them to turn back. Banu Tamim fought them until al-Ahnaf withdrew from them when they did not accept his counsel, and Ibn Abbas went on to Mecca. 1.

Connections

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Occurred at
Basra· Mecca
Had participant
Abdullah ibn Abbas· Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Zalim ibn Amr· Sabra ibn Shayman al-Huddani· al-Ahnaf ibn Qays· Ali ibn Abi Talib

People and things also explored

The Hijra· Mecca· The three years of the secret call· Ali appoints the sons of al-Abbas and Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as governors· Ali burns people in Kufa who claimed he was God· Ali declines to keep Muawiya in office· The complaint of Ali's troops after Yemen and the Prophet's words: do not complain of Ali· The custody of Hamza's daughter

Sources

  1. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 735-736
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ibn ʿAbbās quits Basra for Mecca (40 AH)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/ibn-abbas-leaves-basra-40/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

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Related

The Hijra

The migration of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, the event from which the Islamic calendar is counted.