Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, an Umayyad caliph whose governor was al-Hajjaj, and who died in 86 AH. ^{1 2}

According to al-Mas'udi, he was given the oath of allegiance on the night of Sunday, the first of Ramadan 65 AH, and he died in Damascus on Saturday, fourteen days into Shawwal 86 AH, aged sixty-six. ⁹ Al-Salabi says that al-Walid led the funeral prayer and that he was buried between the Jabiya Gate and the Small Gate. ⁸

Al-Mas'udi says that he loved poetry, boasting and panegyric, that stinginess predominated in him, and that he was bold in shedding blood. ⁹

Al-Tabari reports that the followers of Ibn al-Ash'ath deposed him, saying that deposing al-Hajjaj meant deposing Abd al-Malik. ¹ Al-Mas'udi reports that he wrote to al-Hajjaj asking him to describe the rebellion to him, and that when news of Ibn al-Ash'ath's deposition reached him, he went up the pulpit and prayed that God would give the sword of the people of al-Sham power over the people of Iraq. ¹⁰

Al-Mas'udi reports that Amr ibn Sa'id al-Ashdaq was killed in 70 AH after correspondence between them, each seeking power, and that the reports differ on how he was killed. ¹¹

Al-Mas'udi reports that when he went on pilgrimage he ordered the distribution of gifts, and a purse was brought out marked as alms. The people of Medina refused to accept it, because their allowances came from the fay' (property taken without battle). He then addressed them, reminding them of the governorship of Umar and Uthman and of the day of al-Harra. ¹²

Al-Salabi says that he was the first to set aside a day for hearing complaints of injustice, that he fixed the dowry at four hundred dinars as an upper limit, and that he upheld the judgements of Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr and did not overturn them. ⁷ He would instruct his commanders to beware of night raids and to send scouts ahead of every army, and he consulted people before sending an army to the land of the Romans. ⁸

• The judgements on his person are attributed to their authors and do not represent the museum's view. The academic view and other opinions have not yet been added.

The Sheikh relates that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan learned that a body was waiting to be washed and wished to see it, so he went in with his servant and found Abu Hazim washing it (needs_source) ^{13 14}. He says Abd al-Malik looked at his servant and said he wished he had been a washer of the dead and had not governed the affairs of the Muslims for even a single day, and Abu Hazim said to his assistant: look, when they die they wish for our life, and when we die we do not wish for theirs (needs_source) ¹⁴.

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy recounts that Musa ibn Nusayr prayed for martyrdom and for burial in the Prophet ﷺ's city, and dates this to the year 99 AH in the time of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (needs_source) ^{15 16}. He says Musa performed the pilgrimage with Abd al-Malik, who felt blessed by his presence, and that after the rites Musa visited the Prophet's grave and was buried in al-Baqi' (needs_source) ¹⁶.

He recounts that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was strict about correct Arabic, saying that nothing hastened him more than the spread of pulpits and of grammatical errors ¹⁷.

He tells that Abd al-Malik, at twenty-one, said before a woman, "I am the king" ¹⁸; she replied that kingship did not last for those before him and would not last for him ¹⁹.

The Sheikh relates that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan learned that a body was waiting to be washed and wished to see it, so he went in with his servant and found Abu Hazim washing it (needs_source) ¹³. He says Abd al-Malik looked at his servant and said he wished he had been a washer of the dead and had not governed the affairs of the Muslims for even a single day, and Abu Hazim said to his assistant: look, when they die they wish for our life, and when we die we do not wish for theirs (needs_source) ¹⁴.