Zamakan Abdul Malik bin Marwan Part 1 From a Jurist to the Founder of the Umayyad Marwania State

He built his own dynasty upon the debris of the fallen Umayyad and fastened his grip upon the entire Islamc nation AbdulMalik ibn Marwan Directed by Alaa Askar AbdulMalik ibn Marwan with Naif BD | Part 1 Before we explain who is AbdulMalik, we have to explain the political situation At the end of Rashidun Caliphate and with the end of Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib's era Who stepped aside from his position to Mu'awiya ibn Ani Sufyan in order to avoid blood shed Yazid ibn Mu'awiya became his successor and then Mu'awiya ibn Yazid after him Making him Mu'awiya II, who at young age was dying and did not name successor after him They told him that he will cause huge disarray if he didn't nominate someone He said: "By Allah, did not taste the throne's sweetness and will not relish in its bitterness" Others said he told them: "By Allah won't taste its bitterness and leave its sweetness to Umayyad" As in he knew they'll mess up after his death, so he won't carry their sins from nominating someone Who'd be unjust and he won't just hand over the goodness of the throne Which certainly led to disarray because no one knew who's the successor The internal affairs on Yazid ibn Mu'awiya's era was greatly disrupted because Al-Hassan ibn Ali and AbdulAllah ibn Al-Zoubair Didn't agree with nominating him to begin with, based on The fact Mu'awiya forced them to do that and it's situation we will mention on other episodes, anyway What happened was Oubaid-Allah ibn Zyad -May Allah curse him-, was known to assassinate Al-Hussain Many things happened because of that and they all led for Abdullah ibn Al-Zoubair to announce himself as the Caliph At Mecca and Madina He also banished Bani Umayya out of Madina, but that's for later because it was strategic mistake At that time Abdul-Malik was one of the people who were chased out of Madina with his family Meaning it was before he had any relation to the Levant, anyway Yazid sent Muslim ibn Oqba to regain his control in Al-Hijaz, He put Madina under three days siege, even let the army roam around After that they headed to Mecca And that's where Muslim ibn Oqba died so Al-Husien ibn Al-Numair Al-Ascloney takes the command after him He started to siege Mecca as well and used catapult against it, meaning Al-Hajaj wasn't the only one who attacked Mecca But ibn Al-Zoubair stood his ground and during that, the Caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya passed away Causing the Umayyad army to retreat without achieving its goals, that turn of events Led the situation in Mecca and Madina become under Abdul-Allah ibn Al-Zoubair's control, and Egypt as well After that Al-Zoubair's eyes started to glance over the Levant and Iraq The aftermaths of the dynasty's breaking apart led Abul-Allah ibn Al-Zoubair to make his own country For those who don't know who he is; he is the son of Ama' bint Abi Bakur Al-Siddiq, who was able in short time period To take control Egypt and Iraq and BTW Al-Khawarij were on his side because they hated Umayyad Another party that was linked to were the Shia, who always sided with Ali ibn Abu Talib Who seek revenge for the assassination of Al-Hussain they were led by Al-Mukhtar Al-Thaqafi Also hated Umayyad Umayyad felt threatened especially after finding out that Al-Zoubair was preparing an army for the Levant The Umayyad figures gathered for counseling at Tal Al-Jabia in Syria They agreed that the next Caliph will be from another household other than Mu'awiya's, meaning from another family Which was the Marwani branch making Marwan ibn Al-Hakam the new Caliph And they agreed that his successor will be Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiya so thing will be back as they were After Khalid, Amr ibn Sa'ed Al-A'as will be his successor and that was their agreement So the Caliph was Marwan ibn Al-Hakam, who was able to restore little of the dynasty's glory and recalim Egypt As it was known about Umayyad; they broke their promise So he let his son be next in-line for the throne How it happened? They say one day there was meeting and Sa'ed ibn Amr ibn Al-A'as was there, the third nominee He previously agreed with man to stand up and start discussion, so he rose up and said "Some wish for peace, to achieve that they pledged for Abdul-Malik" He delivered As for Khalid ibn Yazid; he had his consultants around him and they all said to him "Why don't you marry his mother? That would put him in his place before the people" His mother is the widow of Yazid ibn Mu'awiya Game of Thrones Indeed, he was wed to her just to humiliate her son One day, he summoned him to his court and before all of his people he looked at him and said "By Allah. You're fool, come here you son of *peep*" (omg wut) Khalid grew upset and told his mother, who told him to not worry and that she'll take care of it he just has to be quiet They say one night Marwan went to his chambers, tired from his Caliph duties He just lied down on his bed, looked at his wife and asked her "Did Khalid tell you of today?" She said: "What about it? You're higher than Khalid for him to come and talk of you" 'whatchu sayin' He shrugged it off The moment his sleep evened during his slumber, she took pillow and She smothered him, others say she used her weight and Killed him As historians say his death was in vein In vein or was it in-- no no, that's bad cut that Marwan ibn Al-Hakam died and Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan was his successor And Abdul-Malik was born in 26 and became Caliph on 65 He was the first Arab to be named Abdul-Malik; that name wasn't heard of He was true worshiper of God, he narrated Hadith about the Propher and Abu Huriarah as well Abdul-Allah ibn Omar and many other people too He always stayed at the Masjid, he was devoted man who had an incredible charisma He was at Masjid when people came to him to break the news of his father's death, he was reading Qur'an And they gave their condolences in very chic way it was highly proper and what did they say to him? They said: "Peace be upon you, Commander of the Faithful" That's when he got it 'my father died' He didn't look up at them, he kept his sight on the Qur'an and said: "This is our last meeting, the end of my bond to you" And he closed the Qur'an And the devoted religious man turned into ruthless tyrant, in one second Even ibn Katheer once said: "Madina had 4 grand scholars, Sa'ed ibn Musaib, Uorua, Qoubaisah, and Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan till he became Caliph" One time, Abdul-Malik met his friend Sa'ed ibn Al-Musaib, the grand scholar. So Abdul-Malik told him: "By Allah, doing good or even bad deeds bring me no joy" So he said: "Then your heart had completely withered" Some say that Abdul-Malik found that his father died in that way and he wanted to avenge his father But they told him if he did that the public will know that he died by woman's hand To them it was disaster First of his external challenges along with the-- disaster to me too (me 3) First of his external challenges along with the internal ones were the Romans The Roman rebelled and entered the Levant, but Abdul-Malik knew how to handle them He offered them some Jasmine tea and also! Also he paid the tribute And it was one thousand Dinar every Friday That's for Abdul-Malik because that's smart call He told himself let's make room for what's happening on the inside and he focused on the civil wars There's two crucial names to remember to understand Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan and to know how he thinks First: Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Al-Thaqafi Second: Oubaid-Allah ibn Zyad He's the one who killed Al-Hussain ibn Ali Those two were the worst of criminals in an believable way The first and grandest dilemma was ibn Al-Zoubair, he wanted to take Al-Hijaz and his brother Mous'ab wanted Iraq BTW, Mous'ab was very close to Abdul-Malik to the point they were brothers-like Abdul-Malik prepared an army, fought in Iraq, he won, and he killed Mous'ab; Al-Zoubair's brother He looked at his severed head and said-- Listen to his wisdom and what being king is like dread the hour when he's away, but the sword found way between us. Reigning never knew kindness." And he preformed sajdah of thankfulness As for Abdul-Allah ibn Al-Zoubair; he sent him Al-Hajjaj to put Mecca under siege, once again Who didn't hesitate with attacking Ka'aba using catapults, he insulted so many names such as Asma'a bint Abi Bakur Al-Siddiq and Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet's servant. He even pulled him by his beard saying "So what, Anis?" To belittle him And here we must commend Abdul-Allah ibn Al-Zoubair, when he previously fought Al-Hajjaj he was in his 60s personally think all what he lacked was political malice and maybe if he was 20 years younger. Like if he was 40 y/o By Allah he would've wrecked Al-Hajjaj and his army, he's almost like-- this man is can't even describe his strength, when he was still toddler his first word was Nothing like us when we said "Mama, baba" No, his very first word he uttered was "Sword (Saif), sword, sword, sword." His father predicted that he'll become great warrior in the future And the Prophet had an encounter with him; he (the Prophet) gave him the bad blood from his Wet cupping/Hijama And told him to put it somewhere no one can find it So he drank it He returned to the Prophet and he told him that he put it in place where no human or demon can ever find it The Prophet looked at him and said: "Did you drink it?" He went silent So the Prophet said to him: "Woe to you from the people and woe to the people from you." They say he fought them in his 6th decade Before the battle started he went to his mother, asking her if he should just surrender to stop Muslims from killing each other She said: "Don't stop, men had died for you and for your cause. What's more important; you are right" He said: don't fear death, only dread the thought of having my body made an example of" So imagine, the heart of mother. The strong heart of Asma'a bint Abi Bakur when she told him: sheep doesn't worry about its skin when it's already dead" as in 'so what if they did that? You're already dead' He went out, fought furiously but he died and Al-Hajjaj He was ruthless with his body, he beat him up and hung him upside down at Mecca's gates Head down and legs up, some narrations say he even called for dogs or cats and they were dead so they would rot quickly And kept them by his head, this was just pure revenge and didn't have any political meaning think Al-Hajjaj had reason to do that to ibn Al-Zoubair, since he was originally sent for him from the days of Taif On his way to there, he met with people who said "Do you go to who ill speaks of you?" He asked of what he said and they replied that he said you're lesser than them, it was lot of sayings So he took it to his heart, he could be just that type of grudge holding of man. Just full of hatred And he is! it's not me saying that It's his own words! When Abdul-Malik asked him: "Tell me of your flaw" Al-Hajjaj: "wut?" Abdul-Malik: "Every man as flaw, describe yours" He said: Commander of the Faithful. I'm spiteful, envious and malevolent" The other one said: "Then you share blood with my son" Leading us to head to the second dilemma; the people of Iraq and how they always were against Umayyad Abdul-Malik's son; Waleed once saw his father angry and wondering why Iraq are like that with them He (Waleed) said that he has suggestion for him Whenever they sent someone they were chased off or had rocks thrown at them when they preach, just insulting them He told him to send Al-Hajjaj, Abdul-Malik found it odd because Waleed hated him "By Allah nothing had changed, only see that we relocate the unjust from Al-Hijaz" Because he was their Governor "--To Iraq" Either way he's bad news So Abdul-Malik gathered his commanders and asked "who's willing to take Iraq?" But they were quiet because they knew what's up He repeated the question and every time Al-Hajjaj said: "Me, Commander of the Faithful" And he answered: "It's not yours, Hajjaj", it repeated three times he would ask and other would nominate himself Abdul-Malik: "Everything has sign or mark to happen, what is your sign and mark to take such position?" Al-Hajjaj: "Punishment and pardon. Ability and simplicity. Pulling close and pushing away, and plundering Righteousness and loyalty, prudence and determination, preparedness and firmness fought in the depths of wars, who disputed me I'll cut him, and who disobeyed me I'll suppress him Who argues with me shall be removed. Those who approach me will be welcomed and those who ask for safety will be given And the obedient shall be treasured." Abdul-Malik said: "You're fit for the role, Hajjaj" Al-Hajjaj was almost like the winning horse, he'd send him there to clear everything up and won't mind the bad talk either He traveled to Iraq, entered Masjid Al-Kufa on friday. The people were waiting for who Umayyad will send for them this time To be insulted and have rocks thrown at By the way, Iraqi people know of Al-Hajjaj; that's why when he walked in he was covering his face and watching them He avoided their rocks and kept taunting them, wanted to bring our their worst He unraveled himself saying: am the son of Gala and high grounds, When put the turban, you will know me" When the people recognized him, silence loomed within Masjid beckoning him to start his famous preaching people of Iraq, people of discord and hypocrisy. see heads blossoming, ready to be harvested and will pluck them people of Iraq, come to you with sword of mercy and sword of punishment, I've lost the sword of mercy on my way" And he lived to his words, he threatened that he'll behead people for the smallest things. Even ordered them to prepare to war Al-Muhalab ibn Ubi Suffrah was his aid against Al-Khawarij, who said "By Allah, I'll behead anyone see within the next 3 days" He killed too many and was purely unjust Btw, it feels bad when someone steps up and say people of Iraq are the people of discord and hypocrisy however On the second part, we will talk about Masjid in Kufa and we'll tell what happened to Al-Hajjaj The next dilemma, is considered one of the major ones and when you read about it in history and books And personally it's one of my favorite stories Which is the revolution of Abdul-Rahman ibn Al-Asha'th Who's that? One of Al-Hajjaj's leaders, he was man of unbelievable pride and arrogance Even Al-Hajjaj hated him, he waited for his smallest mess up Because he never respected Al-Hajjaj, he used to say about him: "How come we're under the command of 'Reghal' man?" And he was mocking his appearance because he was short Ibn Al-Asha'th was the commander of the islamic army, he clashed with the Turks and it all was during 79 And the ruling Turkish king at that time, who's fighting Muslims is King Ratbil, who had hand in hindering the advancement of the Islamic wave The Caliph Abdul-Malik ordered Al-Hajjaj to send supplies to the frontier fighting the Turks So he prepared an army with ibn Al-Ash'ath in the lead Who's btw descendant of Kindah Kings Al-Ash'ath fought the Turks, he put Ratbil under siege who sent him messenger asking for truce and promised To pay tribute and with interests as well But Al-Ash'ath refused at that stage Winter however, came for Muslims and that led him to rethink his decision He wanted to know what's the best for Muslims so he wrote for Al-Hajjaj; asking for his inputs Al-Hajjaj sent him an insulting letter saying "Did you turn into coward? Can't you gather some men around you to do your job?" And he belittled him, reading the letter made him furious He gathered his men and said: "This is Al-Hajjaj's letter and I'm here telling you that I'm disavowing him as my leader" He made his choice His leaders agreed with him, not just them! Even scholars.. Like really, REALLY, grand scholars sided with him He told him that their fight isn't with Ratbil, it's with Al-Hajjaj When he found out about it he did what he always does, he ran to the Caliph telling him they're conspiring against him His habit He told him no! he wants your throne and scheming against you' Leading the Caliph to prepare an army, while at Iraq Ahl-Hajjaj was consulting with Abu Suffrah--- Just because He consulted Al-Muhalab ibn Abi Suffrah, who was one of the toughest warriors He asked if he should attack them, Al-Muhalab said "If you want my opinion, people of Iraq will protect their son, children, women and their own homes If you come between them and what they protect, they will annihilate you without hesitation, fight fiercely see that you leave Iraq, letting him return to their homes and families, they're too close with them Being around their children and wives will soften them for when you come to attack them and cursh them" He asked the ones around him and they were like "nooo! we're stronger than this! we will let them enter Iraq with their heads bowed down and defeated" Al-Hajjaj was sold, he met with the army and was defeated by Abdul-Rahman Al-Ash'ath Al-Hajjaj ran away and that's when Abdul-Malik became truly concerned So he sent his son AND his brother to Iraq They were sent to test waters, to know if they didn't want Al-Hajjaj they will appoint Al-Ash'ath The other way around is possible, just tell us People of Iraq said they wanted neither and that's when Al-Ash'ath made fatal error He told the people around him that since how it'll goes he'll make Al-Hajjaj bite the dust and dethrone Abdul-Malik The battle took place at Al-Zawiah city, the moment Al-Ash'ath uttered these two words he was defeated And he feld to who? To his forbidden love; King Ratbil Yeah, Ratbil Who treated him well and generously hosted him Till he received threatening letter from Al-Hajjaj who told him, it was sent for Ratbil it said That if he doesn't hand him over he will break down his city top of him, at that time he could've done it Rabil was like 'That's Arab business, not mine. Leave it to them' They say when they grew near Al-Hajjaj; Al-Ash'ath was handcuffed Only one of his hands was cuffed into another handcuff linked to the soldier next to him Al-Ash'ath saw the fences and was dazzled by how grand they were, they even had corridors among them He looked at the soldier next to him and asked him to take him through them as they headed to Al-Hajjaj, for fresh air And since he was grand and well-known warrior he was liked and it's common for some favoritism to happen betwwn soldiers The soldier agreed on letting him catch some air He went to the fences and looked down, it was great distance to the ground. He looked at the soldier and smiled And he jumped With the soldier! He took him down with him To their death He preferred to kill himself so he will not be mocked or looked down upon by Al-Hajjaj That's the end of our episode The Era of Abdul-Malik is the time when he was able to concrete the authority of Umayyad dynasty And personally think -but Allah knows better- that their true ruling started with Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan Because the others were distracted by their own problems, but that's my own opinion On the next episode we will go into the details of Abdul-Malik's era and how he reigned over the new Umayyad dynasty We'll see you next time and don't forget! To like, share and subscribe Every like, comment and subscribe truly makes difference to us Till next time