The incidents caused by the Qarmatians in Mecca

الحوادث التي أحدثها القرامطة بمكة

316 AH

In 316 the Qarmatian al-Janabi entered Mecca as the pilgrims gathered for the season; he killed Muslims in the Sacred Mosque, pulled out the Black Stone and took whatever ornaments and treasures were there. The stone was returned years later. At the same time Qarmatians ravaged the countryside of the Euphrates ¹. Al-Mas'udi, in his register of the pilgrimage commanders, notes that in the season of 317 no pilgrimage was completed because of the Qarmatian incident, except for a small group who went out as a raiding party; their pilgrimage was held without an imam, and they were on foot ². According to Ibn al-Athir, in 317 Mansur al-Daylami led the pilgrims, and Abu Tahir reached them in Mecca on the day of Tarwiya. He plundered the pilgrims' property and killed them, even within the Sacred Mosque and inside the House itself, and pulled out the Black Stone and carried it to Hajar. The governor of Mecca, Ibn Makhlad, went out with a group of the ashraf who asked him for their property; they were not granted it, they fought him, and he killed them all. They tore off the Ka'ba's door and sent a man up to pull out the spout, who fell and died; the dead were thrown into the well of Zamzam and the rest buried where they had been killed in the Sacred Mosque, without shroud, washing or prayer. They took the Ka'ba's covering and divided it among their companions. When al-Mahdi Abu Muhammad Ubayd Allah in Ifriqiya heard of this, he wrote to rebuke and curse him: 'You have attached the name of unbelief and apostasy to our Shi'a and the propagandists of our dynasty. Unless you return to the people of Mecca and the pilgrims what you took from them, and restore the Black Stone to its place with the Ka'ba's covering, I am innocent of you in this world and the next.' When the letter reached him he put the stone back as described and recovered what money he could ³

Overview

The sources record the entry of Abu Tahir al-Janabi al-Qarmati into Mecca at the time the pilgrims were gathered, what befell the people there, and then the return of the Black Stone years later. Al-Tabari dates the event to 316 AH, and Ibn al-Athir places it in the pilgrimage season of 317 AH. ¹ ³

What the sources report

Al-Tabari says that al-Janabi entered Mecca in 316 AH, killed the Muslims in the Sacred Mosque, tore out the Stone, and took the jewellery and treasures in it; the Stone was returned years later. He adds that other Qarmatis in the same period ravaged the Euphrates countryside. ¹

Al-Mas'udi, in his list of the commanders of the pilgrimage, says that the pilgrimage of 317 AH was completed only by a few people, and that it was performed without an imam, and that they went on foot. ²

Ibn al-Athir's account

Ibn al-Athir relates that Mansur al-Daylami led the people on the pilgrimage in 317 AH, and Abu Tahir met them in Mecca on the day of Tarwiya. He plundered the pilgrims' property and killed them, even in the Sacred Mosque, pulled out the Black Stone and carried it to Hajar. ³

He says that the amir of Mecca, Ibn Makhlad, went out with a group of the notables asking him about their property; they were not given intercession and fought him, and were killed. He also says that Abu Tahir tore off the door of the House, the dead were thrown into the Zamzam, and the rest were buried in the Sacred Mosque without shroud, washing or prayer. ³

The Mahdi's rebuke and the return of the Stone

Ibn al-Athir relates that al-Mahdi Ubayd Allah in Ifriqiya wrote to Abu Tahir rebuking him, and demanded that he return what he had taken and the Stone and the covering. When the letter reached him he returned the Stone and recovered as much of the money as he could. ³

Note

The accounts differ on the year of the event between 316 and 317 AH. Settling the date needs an additional source, and so does the presentation of the academic view and of the other parties.