El papel de los mawāli en los desarrollos políticos de Kufa: Un análisis
histórico-social
The role of the mawāli in the political developments of Kufa:
A historical-social analysis
Reza Gahremani
1
, Ja’far Hassanzadeh Kalshani
2a
, Mahboub Mahdavian
3
Department of History of Islamic Nations, Khoy Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khoy, Iran
123
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1703-0180
1
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9968-5235
2
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5887-1680
3
Recibido: 12 de abril de 2010 Aceptado: 15 de enero de 2021
Resumen
El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar el papel de los mawāli en los desarrollos políticos en
Kufa (Iraq). Este artículo busca explicar el papel de la población mawāli en las interacciones y
desarrollos políticos y sociales de Kufa, refiriéndose a recursos confiables y examinando las
palabras de historiadores. El método de esta investigación fue descriptivo-analítico el cual se
realizó en un método documental utilizando las fuentes disponibles. Los resultados mostraron que
debido a su estructura social compleja y heterogénea, esta ciudad albergaba varios estratos sociales
que jugaron un papel clave en el desarrollo político, incluido el mawāli. En el principio y la teoría
del Islam, la igualdad y la hermandad de los musulmanes son importantes. Pero este no fue el caso
en la práctica y los mawāli fueron expuestos al insulto, el desprecio y los prejuicios de los árabes.
Los mawāli eran considerados esclavos y ciudadanos de segunda clase por los árabes porque, a
diferencia de los árabes guerreros, cultivaban o trabajaban como jornaleros, artesanos, tenderos y
comerciantes y trataban de liberarlos de la esclavitud. Gradualmente, el mawāli ganó un papel y
un lugar relativamente importantes y altos puestos en los pilares administrativos y militares, de
modo que muchos comandantes famosos y los primeros eruditos islámicos eran principalmente de
mawāli. Esta gente tuvo una gran influencia cultural en los árabes.
Palabras clave: Kufa, Mawāli, Umayyad, Política, Islam, Irán
Abstract
The objective of this research was to analyze the role of mawāli in the political developments in
Kufa (Iraq). This article seeks to explain the role of the mawāli people in the interactions and
a
Corresponding Author E-mail: hasanzadeh.jafar@gmail.com
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Apuntes Universitarios
, 2021: 11(
2
), abril-junio ISSN:
2304-0335 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17162/au.v11i2.656
apuntesuniversitarios.upeu.edu.pe
political and social developments of Kufa by referring to reliable resources and examining the
words of historians. The method of this research was descriptive-analytical which was done in a
documental method using the available sources. The results showed that due to its complex and
heterogeneous social structure, this city hosted various social strata that played a key role in
political developments, including the mawāli. In the principle and theory of Islam, equality and
brotherhood of Muslims are important. But this was not the case in practice and the mawāli were
exposed to insult, contempt and prejudices of the Arabs. The mawāli were considered as slaves
and second-class citizens by the Arabs because unlike the warlike Arabs, they farmed or worked
as laborers, craftsmen, shopkeepers and merchants and tried to free them from slavery. Gradually,
the mawāli gained a relatively important role and place and high positions in the administrative
and military pillars so that many famous commanders and early Islamic scholars were mainly from
the mawāli. These people made a great cultural influence on the Arabs.
Keywords: Kufa, Mawāli, Umayyad, Politics, Islam, Iran
Introduction
By looking at the history of political, social and cultural developments of cities in different
periods, one can understand the role of cities in the transfer of culture, beliefs and religion from
one land or geographical area to another. At some point in history, governments, in addition to
political functions, have intentionally or unintentionally used these cities as a means of
transmitting their own culture to other lands (Dinouri, 1991: 288). The city of Kufa as the inheritor
of the geographical location of Hira, in addition to its military function which was a key factor in
its establishment, acquired the same characteristic over time due to being located on the border of
two cultures (Majlesi, 2009). After the defeat of the Sassanid Empire, the Muslims needed a
military base outside the Arabian Peninsula to command their attacks, conquer new lands, spread
Islam and also manage their possessions. Subsequently, the military city of Kufa was established,
and with regard to the importance of the conquests to the Muslims, this city became one of the
important areas of the Islamic Caliphate (Momtahen, 2006).
Kufa was built in 17 Hijri lunars (It is related to the Islamic year. Equivalent to the
Gregorian years) and in fact during the time of the second caliph by Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, after
returning from the battle of Qadisiyyah. This city emerged as a military base consisting of
numerous Arab tribes and mawāli. An important issue after the formation of Kufa was the presence
of different Arab tribes, which created a heterogeneous tribal structure and composition and each
area belonged to a specific tribe and with the expansion of Islamic borders and the need to have
more troops and soldiers, the population of Kufa increased. A number of Iranians who had the
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opportunity to develop and attend other social classes with the fall of the Sassanid Empire went to
different cities to find new jobs, among which Kufa was a suitable place for them. This article is
intended to investigate the role of mawāli according to their role in the political developments of
Kufa (Majlesi, 2009).
Methodology
The researcher uses the method of historical research when dealing with an issue that has
occurred in the past and ended in the past. In other words, the time frame is closed. Centuries ago,
it happened (Kheiri, 1983). Historical research is a systematic and accurate study of the past, and
the historian works with great skill on points about an event or a person (Pishvaei, 2002). Historical
research is the application of the scientific method to historical issues. This research is in fact a
systematic search. In other documents and sources, which contain facts in the field related to the
historical researcher's question about the past. Therefore, historical research necessarily deals with
events that have taken place before the researcher's decision to study them (Dinouri, 1991). In this
study, researchers seek to examine the role of mawāli in the political developments of Kufa in
order to answer the questions that have been questioned and resolve the existing ambiguities.
Historical Review of the Mawali People in Kufa
Mawāli
Mawāli, who’s singular is mawla, has several meanings in Arabic, one of which is servant.
On the other hand, in some historical and literary books, all non-Arab nations that came under
Arab domination were called mawāli (Dinouri, 1991). Further, among the Arabs, whenever the
master freed his servant, the relationship between the two after freedom was called wala
(friendship) and the freed servant was called mawla. For example, Zayd ibn Harithah was called
the mawla of the Prophet because Muhammad had set him free. With the development of Islam,
due to the increase in freed slaves of the Arabs, a new social class emerged under the name of
mawāli (Majlesi, 2009).
Their first major entry into the Islamic field was in the form of an army of four thousand
men. After the defeat of Rostam Farrokhzad, the commander of the Iranian army, against
the Muslims and his death, they decided to convert to Islam. To this end, they entered into
negotiations with Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, the commander of the Muslims. They were known
at that time as the emperor’s soldiers and gave their leadership to a person named ‘Deylam’.
After entering the Islamic field, they made a pact with a tribe of Bani Tamim led by ‘Zohra
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ibn Hawiyah’ and thus became known as ‘Mawāli Bani Tamim’. After fighting in the
battles of Mada’in and Jalula, they came to Kufa and settled in an area of it. From this time
on, they were influential in various political and even ideological developments in Kufa
(Balazori, 1987, p. 279).
This group, known as “Hamra” (red-faced) by the Arabs because of the freshness of their
skin and cheeks and also due to the name of their leader, was referred to as “Hamra Deylam”. In
Kufa, they formed the primary nucleus of the mawāli and over time, their population increased by
the migration of other Iranians so that during the rule of Imam Ali (AS) in Kufa, they constituted
about one fifth of the population of Kufa. At this time, they had a famous mosque in Kufa, which
was known as “Hamra Mosque” (Majlesi, 2009).
Class
The word “class” means a group of people, which is called Classe in French, derived from
the Latin root “Classis”. The concept of class was first introduced in the 19
th
century by Adam
Smith, but there is disagreement over the definition of social class (Vosouqi et al., 1991). Below
are some definitions in brief:
1- Arthur Boer (1902) believed that social class is a set of social groups that enjoy similar
economic conditions and relations of production, social status and political stance (Vosouqi et al.,
1991).
2- McIver and Parsons (1913) believed that social class is a group or groups of people who
are distinguished from other classes on the basis of social status and their level of education, source
of income, housing, place of residence, etc (Vosouqi et al., 1991).
3- Sorokin (1905) also considers social class as a group of people who have similar
conditions in terms of job and economic and political status (Vosouqi et al., 1991).
4- Orberg (1916) believes that social class is a large group of people with similar conditions
in terms of status in a given social system of production based on historical conditions in relations
of production and social relations of production and access to means of production and how to
achieve social wealth (Vosouqi et al., 1991).
The general definition of social class is as follows: A part of society that differs from other
parts of society in terms of common values, a certain social status, collective activities, the amount
of wealth and other personal assets and social customs (Vosouqi et al., 1991).
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Historical geography of Kufa and the reasons for its establishment
Kufa is located eight kilometers east of Najaf on the banks of the Euphrates River. This
city is bounded by the Euphrates to the east, a desert to the west, the ancient city of Hira to the
southwest and Dhu al-Kifl to the northeast. It is located near the Euphrates and one of the branches
of the Euphrates is flowing in its east (Istakhri, 1989).
After the victory of the Muslims in the battle of Qadisiyyah and the siege of Ctesiphon (Le
Strange, 2004), the second caliph ordered Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, the commander of the Islamic
army in Iraq, to stay there. After living in Mada’in for fourteen months, the Muslims could not get
used to it, despite the privileges of this city. Due to the herds they brought with them from the
Arabian Peninsula, they had to adapt to a place that had both a dry and desert environment and a
suitable agricultural situation. In fact, Muslim commanders in Mesopotamia were looking for a
suitable place to protect the newly occupied regions, without being separated from Saudi territory
by natural obstacles, such as rivers and the sea. After correspondence with the second caliph and
on his order, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas sought a place suitable for the living of the Arabs and their
camels (Tabari, 1993). So, the purpose of building Kufa was to “establish a permanent camp for
the army on the western side of the Euphrates” (Le Strange, 2004).
For the other hand, the city of Kufa was considered a political-military base in
Mesopotamia during the Umayyad period and was regarded a center for controlling and monitoring
Iran due to its geographical location. Indeed, in the Umayyad era, the ruler of Iraq was the main
ruler of Iran as far as Khorasan and this increased the political-military importance and, as a result,
the economic prosperity of Kufa during the Umayyad reign (Izadi, 2000).
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Figure 1. Location of Kufa in Iraq
The socio-political situation of Iranians in Kufa
Iranians and Islam
Since the formation of Kufa coincides with the invasions of the soldiers of the Islamic
Caliphate to the borders of Iran and the entry of Islam into this land, it seems that some points
should be mentioned in this regard. The history of Iranians’ acquaintance with Islam dates back to
the time of the life of the Great Prophet. Salman, one of the most prominent companions of the
Prophet (PBUH), was Iranian. The Yemeni Persians also welcomed Islam with open arms and
remained steadfast in their Islam after the decease of the Prophet (PBUH) although most of the
Yemeni Arabs apostatized. The Iranian ruler of this land called Si Bakht sent a cash tax to Medina
instead of Ctesiphon (Balazori, 1987). In fact, a large number of people living under the Sassanid
rule were burdened by heavy taxes and numerous wars and did not make a considerable effort to
maintain this rule. This made useless even the sacrifice of some Sassanid generals such as Rostam
Farrokhzad, Bahman Jaduya and Hormozan (Dinouri, 1991).
However, with respect to the acceptance of the rights of the People of the Book, including
Zoroastrians, and their freedom of action in maintaining their beliefs, the full spread of Islam in
Iran took centuries. But from the very first days of the arrival of Muslims, there is ample evidence
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concerning the cooperation and assistance of Iranians and even their acceptance of Islam (Balazori,
1987).
Truth and truth-seeking
Islam is a religion that did not limit itself to a particular nation, but addressed the nature of
all human beings. That is why God says: “So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to
truth. [Adhere to] the nature of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should
there be in the Divine creation. That is the correct religion, but most people do not know” (The
Holy Quran, Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 30).
Although the Prophetic tradition and the manners of Ahlul-Bayt emphasized this point, the
Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs soon took a different path and the pre-Islamic Arab aristocracy and
the tyrannical aristocrats spoke of the preference of one race over another. The humiliation of non-
Arabs was pursued while several verses in the Quran emphasized the issue of “the position of man
as the caliph of God on earth and even as having dignity” (The Holy Quran, Surah al-Baqarah,
Verse 29).
Finally, what Islam proposed was the establishment of truth in human society because truth
has an inherent existence. Therefore, truth is durable and lasting, but falsehood has a subordinate
and non-original existence although it appears under the guise of truth. This idea was at odds with
the ignorant Arab thought as well as the distorted Zoroastrianism at the time. According to John
Noss, the belief in the origin of evil and the cause of crime and offence has evolved over time and
gradually turned Zoroastrianism into a moral dualism (Noss, 1991).
The place of the Mawāli people in Kufa
Mawāli is the plural of mawla and literally means friend, helper, great owner, blesser and
liberator, lord, master, lover, chief, freemen and so on (Dehkhoda, 1998). The term ‘wala’
(friendship) also comes from the root ‘mawla’ meaning lord and master (Momtahen, 2006). Mawla
and mawāli have been used in the Quran in two meanings: teacher and educator and honorable and
respectable (Dehkhoda, 1998). Mawāli, in terms of Islamic history, also includes non-Arab natives
who allied themselves with the Arabs through neighboring treaties and non-Arab Muslims who
did not take part in the war against the Muslims and were not captured (Zubaydi, 1970). The
Iranians, who were captured by the Arabs in groups during the wars, or even those who later
converted to Islam and were liberated were also considered among the mawāli. Besides, “those
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who gradually abandoned the religion of their fathers and converted to Islam were among the
mawāli. This group entered the Islamic regions from outside the Islamic territory from the
beginning of the first century AH and with their own specific goals, which were sometimes
benevolent, they chose the love of Ahlul-Bayt (AS) and mixed their heart teachings with this love
and changed their basic structure and played the greatest role in its development and expansion,
especially in the first century (Momtahen, 2006).
Mawāli were called non-Arabs who became part of the Arab tribes by entering the Islamic
territory and making alliances with Arab tribes so that those Arab tribes added their name to the
name of their tribe when introducing. For example, each of the mawāli of Bani Tamim tribe was
referred to as Mawla Bani Tamim and the most important benefit that mawāli gained from this
situation was that when committing a crime and being sentenced to blood money, the members of
the tribe rushed to their aid as they fought in wars with their allied tribe” (Zubaydi, 1970: 74).
For the other hand, the Mawāli’s first large-scale entry into the Islamic field was in the
form of an army of four thousand men. After the defeat of Rostam Farrokhzad, the commander of
the Iranian corps against the Muslims, and his death, mawāli decided to convert to Islam. To this
end, they entered into negotiations with Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, the commander of the Muslims
(Momtahen, 2006). Mawāli were known at that time as the emperor’s soldiers and gave their
leadership to a person named ‘Deylam’. After entering the Islamic field, they made a pact with a
tribe of Bani Tamim led by Zohra ibn Hawiyah and thus became known as Mawāli Bani Tamim.
After fighting in the battle of Mada’in, they came to Kufa and settled in an area of it (Balazori,
1920). It was not obligatory for mawāli to stay with the tribe in the city where their master lived;
that is, they were free to choose to live wherever they wanted, provided that there was no
relationship such as serving or working for the master as a treasurer or lawyer, etc. that would
require them to stay with him (Momtahen, 2006).
Mawāli’s bottlenecks in different periods
The Arabs took wives from mawāli but did not allow them to marry Arab women. These
discriminations against mawāli intensified during the Umayyad domination over the Islamic
government so that they were called elj (meaning fat wild ass) and were never called with a
respectable nickname (Zaydan, 1986). Mawāli were not allowed to pray over their dead people
and at the time of eating a meal, they were placed aside so that their being mawāli would become
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evident. “In the courts, their testimony was not accepted and in wars, they were not given the
position of a commander or other important positions and even were not allowed to ride horses
and were used as people dying in place of others and as regular infantry” (Zubaydi, 1970, p. 77).
Even Hajjaj bin Yusuf, the ruler of Iraq in the days of the Umayyads, cauterized the hands of
mawāli so that they were distinguished from other classes (Momtahen, 2006). Additionally, Hajjaj
ibn Yusuf, after defeating Ibn Ash’ath, arrested those mawāli who were in his company and
ordered to cauterize them and tattoo the name of the land to which they were exiled on their hands
(Zaydan, 1986).
The Arabs usually entrusted less important jobs to mawāli. For example, the job of a judge
was never delegated to one of mawāli because, according to the Arabs, noble people were worthy
of such positions and those with honorable lineage should have this position. Based on the
foregoing, it is concluded that mawāli were never equal to the Arabs in terms of social status
(Momtahen, 2006). The Arabs believed that mawāli were not of the same status as they were for
three reasons:
1) Mawāli’s lineage
2) The appointment of mawāli to the jobs that were not respected in the view of the Arabs
3) Mawāli being born a slave, especially in the case of mawāli of Ataqa
Mawāli formed an important part of the army of Imam Hussein. But in the incident of
Ashura, they did not play a significant role on both sides involved, i.e. the forces of Imam Hussein
(AS) and Yazid’s corps. Mawāli’s most political appearance was in Mukhtar’s corps, which took
place in 66 AH so that most of Mukhtar’s corps against the Umayyads were mawāli (Dinouri,
2005). Mukhtar Thaqafi was considerd a Shiite figure and in Sunni historical books as well as
books on sectarianism, various beliefs have been attributed to him and it has been stated that
Mukhtar Thaqafi claimed the Mahdism of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the son of Ali, and
considered himself as his representative in Kufa (Tabari, 1995). Mahdism ostensibly shares Shiite
beliefs and was not widespread in Arab circles until then. Hence, it was thought that these beliefs
were instilled in him by Mukhtar Thaqafi’s Iranian troops. In this way, the great role of mawāli as
one of the social strata that constituted the city of Kufa during this period is clarified.
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Mawāli agreeing and cooperating with the Umayyads
It should be noted that according to available resources, until the end of Mukhtar Thaqafi’s
uprising in 66 AH, religious, Shiite and ideological teachings were very rare among mawāli and
religious beliefs such as Mahdism, Vesayat, Rij'at (return), Badā, infallibility, etc. were unknown
to them (Tabari, 1995). Therefore, they could not have such cultural and ideological power to
influence people like Mukhtar Thaqafi and the Kufi Arabs of Mukhtar’s corps and as it was
mentioned, “the only reason for them to join Mukhtar Thaqafi’s corps was friendship with Ahlul-
Bayt and liberation from the oppression of the Umayyads and their agents, as well as liberation
from social and economic discrimination and legal deprivation. Despite the prevalence of anti-
Umayyad tendencies in mawāli circles, many of them also started to cooperate with the Umayyad
government and many of Ziyad ibn Abihi’s guards were from mawāli. Further, according to some
resources, the killer of Hani ibn Urwa was the servant of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, who was known
as Turkish Rashid and was considered one of mawāli (Tabari, 1995).
The events of the Umayyad period in Kufa
During the events of the Umayyad period in Kufa in the early first century and during the
formation and ideological consolidation of Shi’ism, which usually included the period from the
time of Imam Sajjad to Imam Sadiq, the non-Arab companions of these great men and Imams,
who were referred to as mawāli, constituted a negligible percentage compared to the Arab
companions of those great men so that out of 61 companions of Imam Sajjad, only 20 were mawāli
and also, out of 466 companions of Imam Baqir, 25 were mawāli and only 440 out of 3223
companions of Imam Sadiq were mawāli (Ja’farian, 2003). In the Umayyad period, in spite of the
strictness and wrongdoings and discrimination against mawāli and the Arabs’ prejudice and with
respect to the Umayyad’s idea of tribalism, which had prevented mawāli from doing any activity,
important figures appeared among them in various fields, like Sa’id ibn Jubayr (94 AH), Tawus
ibn Sian (16 AH), Abdul Hamid Katib (132 AH), and Nafi’ Deylami (117 AH) (Hamavi, 1979).
Many of the important heads of the administrative organization as well as a number of
Umayyad secretaries, advisers, employees, and government officials were non-Arabs, despite their
harsh and discriminatory policies toward the mawāli and the reason was the Arab belief indicating
that Arabs have been created for mastery and lordship and others for slavery and servitude.
Therefore, some jobs, especially industry and agriculture, trade and cultivation, and some court
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affairs were entrusted to mawālia and they were just rulers and engaged in political affairs, and
considered accounting, bookkeeping, and correspondence as low-ranking jobs, and appointed
mawāli to them” (Jurji Zaydan, 1986: 699). But it should be noted that this was not only due to
this Arab belief, but the Arab people were farther away from industry than any other nation or
ethnic group.
According to the writings by Ya’qubi, a number of mawāli revolted in Kufa during
Muawiyah’s rule against his governor, Mughira ibn Shu’ba. They were under the command of a
man named Abu Ali. Although they had converted to Islam, they did not surrender to Muawiyah
and said that they would never become polytheists and it did not take long that all were killed in a
clash in “Badoria” region (Ya’qubi, 1992).
The role of mawāli of Kufa in the uprising of Mukhtar Thaqafi
In his uprising, Mukhtar Thaqafi, instead of the extensive use of Arab tribes and aristocrats
in Kufa, focused all his efforts on using the power of mawāli who were humiliated throughout the
years of the Umayyad rule because of the Arab ethnic tendencies promoted by the supporters of
the Umayyads. During all these years, this social stratum suffered the worst disrespects and
injustices and was deprived of special social positions. Mukhtar’s strength was the use of this
humiliated force (Ya’qubi, 2002).
In addition to the support of the people of Kufa and Tawwabin (the penitents), Mukhtar
also gained the support of mawāli who were in fact among the weak and oppressed because he
pledged allegiance to the people to follow the Quran and the Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet and
the vengeance for the killing of Hussein ibn Ali (AS) and to defend the weak and the oppressed
(Zarrinkoub, 2000). When a number of people came to Mukhtar Thaqafi to verify his claim as
being approved by Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, he said: “Regarding what you said that
someone invited you to avenge the blood of Ahlul-Bayt, I swear by God that I want God to take
revenge for us at the hands of whomever He wants from His servants (Balazori, 1987).
Since Kufa was the center of the Iraqi Shiites and the aristocrats of Kufa were opposed to
Mukhtar, he tried to use the power of the people of Kufa, including those who did not participate
in Tawwabin uprising or returned from it, for the benefit of himself and Ahlul-Bayt (AS) and
against the aristocrats of Kufa (Ibn Athir, 1992; Tabari, 1995).
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The suppression of the aristocrats of Kufa and Mukhtar’s search for the killers of Imam
Hussein (AS) caused the aristocrats to flee and meanwhile, the aristocrats of Kufa and Zubayrian
allied to fight Mukhtar” (Dinouri, 2005). Eventually, Mukhtar’s excessive attention to and trust in
mawāli and non-Arab people caused most individuals to consider his movement as an anti-Arab
movement and as a result, they joined Mus’ab ibn Zubayr, Mukhtar’s enemy and stubborn
opponent, preparing the ground for his defeat” (Momtahen, 2006).
The situation in Kufa changed during Mukhtar’s time. Slaves would kill or even sometimes
abuse their masters if they had a role in Karbala to the extent that they made their master give a
piggyback. The aristocrats and oppressors were humiliated. On the other hand, Mukhtar had killed
many people. Zubayr’s sons as well as the Umayyads and the fugitive aristocrats of Kufa became
his enemies. For this reason, they launched the most severe propaganda attacks on him. They said
that he claimed to be a prophet and that he was a liar and power seeker, and in short, they attributed
any irrelevant word they could to him (Ja’farian, 2003).
The role of mawāli of Kufa during the time of Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq
In the history of Islam, the greatest changes and transformations occurred during the period
of Imamate (leadership) of Imam Hassan (AS), which was contemporary with the Umayyad
caliphate. “The Umayyads tarnished the image of religion and confused Muslims by turning the
caliphate into a monarchy, distorting the teachings of Islam, spreading ideas mixed with Arab
racial prejudice and fabricating hadiths and superstitions” (Pishvaei, 2002). In this situation, “the
presence of Shiite Imams and especially Imam Baqir (AS) played an important role in the
purification and reconstruction of religious culture and provided the ground for the establishment
of Shiite jurisprudence or Ja’fari jurisprudence by his dear son, Imam Sadiq (AS)” (Ja’farian,
2003).
The life of Imam Baqir (AS) coincided with the Umayyad caliphate and during this period,
the Shiites were severely persecuted. This strictness began from the very beginning of the
Umayyad caliphate, but intensified in some periods. “For example, during the twenty-year rule of
Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in Iraq, the Shiites were subjected to the worst pressure. Hajjaj was one of the
cruel and oppressive commanders of the Umayyads who played a significant role in strengthening
the Umayyad caliphate since Abdul Malik ibn Marwan came to power. Abdul Malik, due to the
devotion of Hajjaj towards the Umayyads, gave him the government of Iraq since 75. His reign
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was one of the bloodiest periods of the Umayyad caliphate and during this period, Hajjaj were very
strict with the Shiites, Kharijites and Iranians. Hajjaj ordered contrary to Islam that non-Arab
Muslims, like infidels, must pay Jizyah (tribute)” (Kheiri, 1983: 134).
What happened after the painful incident of Karbala in 61 AH was the disruption of
composition and serious transformation among the social classes of revolutionaries and also those
who supported the revolutionaries but were not very serious in the struggle despite their hatred of
the Umayyad regime, due to not having a clear stance. The revolutionaries tried more than ever to
remove the main obstacle, i.e. the social stratum of the aristocracy, and isolate the aristocrats before
facing the enemy and not to rely on their verbal support and empty slogans in the confrontation
(Beizoun, 1941).
Kufa was the place of publication and development of Islamic sciences from the beginning
of its establishment. Massignon writes in his book Khitat al-Kufa: Some civilized and urban tribes
from Yemen and Hadhramaut, such as the tribes of Kanda, Bajila from Yemen, Mazhaj, Hamir,
Hamedan and the tribe of Bani Abdul Qays from the city of Hijr and the tribe of Bani al-Hamra
from Iranians, founded the scientific and intellectual movement of Kufa (Kheiri, 1983).
The life periods of each of the Imams had special features according to the conditions of
the time and therefore, each can be used in a specific field. The era of Imam Sadiq (AS) can be
considered the period of Cultural Revolution in the history of the lives of religious leaders and
imams; an era that, on the one hand, due to the development of the geographical extent of the
Islamic world and the entry of schools of thought outside the religion of Islam in the scope and
territory of Islamic rule, had caused the conflict of opinions and clashes of ideas to reach its peak
and this drew Muslims into challenging ideological debates. On the other hand, this conflict of
opinions and clashes of ideas had led to the emergence of different sects and religions within the
Islamic society, each promoting its own ideas and beliefs. The fact that Muslims were faced with
different schools and ideas had created special conditions for the Islamic society (Hassan, 1977).
Mawāli’s role in the fall of the Umayyad dynasty
Explicit Arabism prevailed in the Umayyad government. Non-Arabs who converted to
Islam for various motives were deprived of many important privileges and still had to pay Jizyah
even though they became Muslim. The Umayyads themselves were from Quraysh and Qays tribes
and were not accustomed to the anti-racist teachings of Islam. On the other hand, they did not
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understand the expansion of the geographical scope of Islam. So, the most natural result was the
mawāli’s movement, which also played a role in the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate (Zaydan, 1986).
The spread of Islam in the Central Asia and the gradual decrease in the collection of Jizyah due to
the conversion of the people of this region to Islam caused the emptying of the treasury. Therefore,
the policy of collecting Jizyah from new Muslims was resumed. Farmers had to pay tribute instead
of tithes. This led to a revision of previous policies and property (ownership) became free for all
Muslims. But mawāli did not give up his alliance with the Abbasids. In general, the phenomenon
of economic discrimination was another factor in the fall of the Umayyads (Ja’farian, 2003).
Socially, by getting rid of the hard life of the past after the conquest of Islam and growing
up in the Islamic culture, the mawāli believed that they were no less in the field of science than the
Arabs. This new class later became the leader of the Abbasid dynasty during the caliphate. The
weakness of the Arab element due to the rivalry between the Qaysi and Yemeni branches in
Khorasan led to the emergence of Iranian forces, which played a key role in the victory of the
Abbasids and the destruction of the Umayyads (Athir, 1992).
Internal conflicts weakened the Umayyads day by day and thus prepared a good
opportunity for the protesting people to the point that they made the Umayyad rulers faced with a
serious threat by their successive uprisings and revolts. For example, with the death of Yazid, the
people of Medina in the battle of Harra, Tawwabin and Mukhtar in Iraq and the Zubayrian in
Mecca waged great wars against the Umayyad caliphs. In the last years, the Alawites and Abbasids
revolted until the last Umayyad caliph (Marwan ibn Muhammad known as Marwan Hamar) was
killed by the Abbasids, and with his assassination, the Umayyad rule officially ended (Pishvaei,
2002).
Conclusion
Kufa was the most important Islamic city in the first centuries, and the influence of classes
on its political developments was very significant. In the time of Uthman, the Arabs considered
mawāli as second-class citizens and not only had they promoted this way of thinking that the Arabs
have conquered them, but also they treated them from a position of racial superiority. This led to
discontent among the mawāli of Kufa. Uthman’s policy of discrimination included not only non-
Arabs but also the superiority of the Umayyads over other Arabs, especially the Yemeni Arabs.
This led to the formation of a strong front of the Iranians and Yemenis of this city against him. In
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addition, Muawiyah was concerned about the large population of Iranians living in Kufa so that at
his command, Ziyad ibn Abihi relocated many of them to Levant, Basra and Khorasan. This issue
can be considered as one of the main factors in the spread of Shi’ism in this region. Arabism that
began since the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, considering mawāli as second-class citizens and
depriving them of the spoils of war and inequality in the distribution of the treasury, which
intensified during the time of the later caliphs, especially the Umayyad period, made a huge group
of mawāli of Kufa, at least intellectually, associated with these currents.
During the Umayyad rule, mawāli were never called with a respectable nickname. They
were not allowed to pray over their dead people and ride horses and were used as infantry. During
their hard life in Kufa, they did not forget the taste of Alawite justice and since the martyrdom of
that Imam; their trace can be seen in most of the anti-Umayyad and Abbasid revolts. The intensity
of Iranians’ anger over this discrimination led them to join any movement (including the
Kharijites) that chanted the slogan of equality and justice, though falsely. The culmination of this
anger and discontent can be seen in the joining of nearly twenty thousand Iranians to Mukhtar’s
uprising, whose main slogan was revenge for the blood of Hussein ibn Ali (AS) and its approach
was equality of Arabs with non-Arabs. The uprising of the Iranians of Mukhtar’s corps in 66 AH
can be considered as the first uprising of the Iranian Shiites after the emergence of Islam, which
became the basis for the influence of Zaydi Shi’ism in Tabarestan and Alawites’ turning to that
land.
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