Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah

أبو العباس السفاح

Acclaimed caliph in Rabi' II 132 ¹. Al-Tabari mentions his coming to Abu Muslim and his death in 136 ². According to al-Suyuti, he was born in 108, or as some say in 104, at al-Humayma in the district of al-Balqa', where he grew up; his mother was Ra'ita al-Harithiyya. The motto on his seal was: God is the trust of the servant of God, and by Him he is kept safe. He was the most generous of men: he never promised a sum without delaying it past its due time. Al-Dhahabi said that in his reign the community split and obedience was abandoned from Tahert and Tubna to the lands of the Sudan and the whole realm of al-Andalus ³. According to al-Mas'udi, describing al-Saffah through a report from al-Qahir's informant, he was quick to shed blood, and his governors in East and West followed him in this, such as Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath in the Maghrib, Salih ibn Ali in Egypt, Khazim ibn Khuzayma and Humayd ibn Qahtaba; yet he was also a generous, open-handed man who gave much money ⁴. According to al-Mas'udi, when Ibrahim knew there was no escape for him, he made al-Saffah his heir and charged him not to remain at al-Humayma until he had set out for Kufa. A Bedouin woman met them on the road and said: 'I have never seen faces like these, between one caliph, another caliph and a rebel: this one will hold it, you will succeed him, and that one will rise against you.' Dawud ibn Ali, in awe of him at Dumat al-Jandal, said: 'Whoever loves life is humbled,' and turned his mount to go with him. Abu Hamid al-Tusi discovered his affair at the Kunasa market and gave him the oath of allegiance on Friday, twelve nights into Rabi' II 132. He gave the sermon standing, unlike the practice of the Umayyads, and the people cried out: 'You have revived the sunna!' His caliphate lasted four years, nine months and twenty days, and he died at al-Anbar, in the city he had built ⁵. No caliph loved conversing with men as he did. When two of his intimates fell out, he would not accept the testimony of either against the other, saying that old grudges breed bitter enmity. When he was present, his face was at its most open ⁶. Al-Abdi, according to al-Mas'udi, said that he was quick to shed blood and his governors in East and West followed his example, such as Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath in the Maghrib, Salih ibn Ali in Egypt, Khazim ibn Khuzayma and Humayd ibn Qahtaba; yet he was also a generous, open-handed man who gave much money ⁴