The killing of Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Imam

مقتل إبراهيم بن محمد الإمام

132 AH

In the year 132 a letter from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad to Abu Muslim fell into the hands of Marwan ibn Muhammad; Marwan ordered Ibrahim seized, and he was seized ¹. Al-Tabari mentions his killing in the index heading ². According to al-Suyuti, Muhammad al-Imam had designated his son Ibrahim as his successor; when the news reached Marwan, he imprisoned him and then killed him; the designation then passed to his brother Abd Allah, who was al-Saffah, and their partisans gathered around him ³. According to al-Mas'udi, they put his head in a bag containing powdered lime; it trembled for a while, then went still. Cushions were placed over the faces of al-Abbas ibn al-Walid and Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, and they sat on top of them. His letter to Abu Muslim contained the words: 'Here is a matter whose signs have appeared; the path is clear and its way is open; nothing remains but the sword and its drawing' ⁴.