Imam Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah (D. 145AH)
Imam Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh
Peace Be Upon Him
Imam Abu al-Ḥasan Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan al-Sibt (may God be pleased with them) — the full brother of Imam Muḥammad ibn ‘Abdullāh al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah. He called the people after the killing of his brother in the year 145, and allegiance was pledged to him by the Mu’tazilah alongside the Zaydiyyah and the distinguished Imams.
Al-Ṭabarī related that when the Banū Ḥasan were brought out in chains, Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn Ḥasan said:
What brings you to recall the desolate ruins and those of the dwelling —
whether they be far from you or near?
Save foolishness, when grey has already alarmed you
with a colour like tow.
Fifty of your years have passed, as
the reckoners counted when they reckoned.
My soul be the ransom of a grey-haired elder there,
and a youth whose shackle-scar marks the traces of his bonds.
And the noble, radiant masters among his sons —
in whom neither kinship nor lineage was respected.
O rings of the fetter, what you have enclosed
of forbearance and piety adorned with noble descent,
and mothers from the free-born noble women
who gave you pure, fair, eloquent ladies of high birth.
How shall I make excuse before God when no
inherited swords were drawn for your sake,
and no raid, marshalled and assembled,
was led in which the mares of thoroughbreds cried out,
and the swift horses, and the long, supple spears
with their sharp and piercing heads —
until we repay the sons of Nutaylah1 with justice,
measured by the full measure of what they have milked:
killing for killing, and a captive
who in chains is bound, stripped, and taken.
The family of the Messenger Aḥmad have become among the people
like one with a loathsome affliction, shunned as if diseased.
Woe upon them for what their own hands have wrought —
and what a rope binding them to this community they have cut.
And what a rope of loyalty to the King they have betrayed,
fastened with a covenant whose knot was tightly bound.
— Imam Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh (peace be upon him)
In al-Ṭabarī it is also related: When ‘Abdullāh ibn Ḥasan and his household were brought forward in chains and came in sight of al-Najaf, he said to his household: “Do you not see in this village anyone who will defend us from this tyrant?”
Two brothers — the sons of Ḥayy, al-Ḥasan and ‘Ali — met him with their hands on two swords, and said: “We have come to you, O son of the Messenger of God — command us to whatever you wish.” He said: “You have fulfilled what was upon you, and you will not avail anything against these people.”
The Banū Ḥasan were imprisoned at al-Hāshimiyyah. When they were brought before Abu Ja’far, he looked at Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan and said: “Are you the Yellow Silk?” He said: Yes. He said: “By God, I shall kill you with a killing the like of which I have not inflicted upon any of your household.” He then ordered a built pillar to be broken open, and the man was thrust inside it, and it was built up around him while he was still alive.
Al-Faḍl ibn Dukayn Abu Nu’aym narrated: Thirteen men of the Banū Ḥasan were imprisoned, along with the ‘Uthmānī and two of his sons in the Palace of Ibn Hubayrah, on the eastern side of Kufa toward Baghdad. The first of them to die was Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan, then ‘Abdullāh ibn Ḥasan — and he was buried near where he died.
It is said in Al-Shāfī: The Sharīf al-‘Aqīqī narrated, on a chain going back to ‘Umar, who said:
“I was with Muḥammad ibn ‘Abdullāh in his house and we mentioned al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah. We went out until we reached the Stones of Oil. He said: ‘Here, O Abu Ḥafṣ, is where al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah will be killed.’ Then he said: ‘By God, I wish it had already been killed, even if I myself were he.’ Then ‘Ali ibn al-Ḥusayn passed by us and said: ‘What keeps you here, O Abu ‘Abdullāh?’ And he mentioned al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah, and said: ‘Your cousin said such and such.’ ‘Ali ibn al-Ḥusayn said: ‘These are two souls: a soul that will be killed in the sanctuary, and a soul here.'”
When the news of his brother’s death reached Imam Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh (may God be pleased with them) — while he was serving as the caller of his brother al-Mahdī to the religion of God in Baṣra, having taken control of it and much of its surroundings on the day of ‘Īd, the first of Shawwāl — he led the people in the ‘Īd prayer, then mounted the pulpit, delivered a sermon, and announced his brother’s killing to the people. He wept, and the people wept.
Then he said:
“O God, if You know that Muḥammad went forth in anger for Your religion and in repudiation of this black stain, and in preference of Your right — then have mercy upon him, forgive him, and make the Hereafter a better abode and returning-place for him than this world.”
And he recited:
O Father of Watering-Places — O crusher of horsemen among men —
whoever is bereaved of one like you in this world has truly been bereaved.
God knows that if I had feared them,
or if the heart had trembled within with fear of them,
they would not have killed him, and I would not have surrendered my brother to them
until we both died, or lived together.
In Al-Maqātil it is narrated: He swallowed his saliva; words gathered in his mouth and he faltered for a while. Then he burst out weeping and sobbing, and the people wept. “By God, I saw ‘Abd al-Wāḥid ibn Ziyād tremble from head to foot, until his tears wetted his beard.”
He also said: “No day has passed over me since the killing of Muḥammad except that I have found it long, out of longing to join him.”
In Al-Maqātil, with its chain, Ja’far ibn Muḥammad narrated directly:
“When Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan was killed at Bākhmarrā, we were expelled from Medina — not one adult male among us was left behind — until we came to Kufa, where we remained for a month, expecting to be killed. Then al-Rabī’ the chamberlain came out to us and said: ‘Where are these ‘Alawīs? Bring two men of judgment from among them before the Commander of the Faithful.’ So I and al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd entered before him. When I stood before him, he said: ‘Are you the one who knows the unseen?’ I said: ‘None knows the unseen save God.’ He said: ‘Are you the one to whom this revenue is brought?’ I said: ‘It is brought to you.'”
He said: “Do you know why I have summoned you?” I said: No. He said: “I intended to demolish your houses, strike terror into your hearts, uproot your palms, and leave you in al-Sarāt where no one from the people of the Ḥijāz or Iraq would come near you.”
Then: “Sulaymān was given abundance and gave thanks; Ayyūb was tried and was patient; Yūsuf was wronged and forgave — and you are of that lineage.” He smiled and said: “Say it again to me.” So I repeated it. He said: “Let your people have such a man as their chief. I have pardoned you and remitted the offence of the people of Baṣra. Now narrate to me the ḥadīth you narrated from your father, from his forefathers, from the Messenger of God ﷺ.”
I said: My father narrated from his forefathers, from ‘Ali, from the Messenger of God ﷺ: “Maintaining ties of kinship causes dwellings to flourish and lifespans to lengthen, even if those involved are unbelievers.” He said: That is not it.
I said: “The ties of kinship are suspended from the Throne, calling: O God, join whoever joins me, and sever whoever severs me.” He said: That is not it.
I said: God (Glorified be He) says: “I am al-Raḥmān — I created al-raḥm and derived its name from My own name. Whoever joins it, I shall join; and whoever severs it, I shall sever.” He said: That is not it either.
I said: “A certain king on earth had three years remaining of his life. He maintained his ties of kinship, and God made them thirty years.” He said: “That is the ḥadīth I wanted.”
On the right flank of his army was Imam ‘Īsā ibn Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali. In his charges he most closely resembled Ḥamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib in courage and bearing.
When the arrow struck him, he clasped his horse and his companions formed around him like a wall of iron. Four hundred were killed around him — among them Bashīr al-Raḥḥāl, the scholar and ascetic of the Mu’tazilah. When asked why he had risen against Abu Ja’far, Bashīr said:
“One day someone brought me into a certain house, and I saw ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan nailed to the wall with iron spikes. I fell unconscious out of the enormity of what I had witnessed, and I gave a covenant to God that I would never be present when two swords were raised against each other without being on the side of the one against whom they were raised.”
Imam Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh ordered one of his commanders to carry the banner and said to him: “Do not move from your place.” The man took it and continued to fight until the Imam was killed — yet he did not stir from the place the Imam had commanded him to stand. When he was told the Imam had been killed, he said: “He told me not to move.” He fought on until his horse was hamstrung, then continued on foot until he was killed.
Imam al-Hādī (peace be upon him) said in Al-Aḥkām:
“The like of Muḥammad ibn ‘Abdullāh and his brother Ibrāhīm — the two striving, resolute ones in the command of God — who were not seized in God’s cause by the blame of any blamer; who went forward step by step, patient and seeking their reward with God; while the most dreadful examples had been made of their fathers and uncles, and they had been killed in the most hideous manner — yet none of that deterred them from upholding the command of their Creator and striving in the pleasure of their Creator. So may God’s prayers and blessings be upon those souls, those elders — for they were patient for God and sought their reward with Him, and they did not waver or grieve. Rather they were as He said of their forefathers: They did not weaken for what befell them in the path of God, nor did they lose strength, nor did they submit — and God loves the patient.”
[Āl ‘Imrān: 146]
It is said in the Sharḥ al-Nahj, in the enumeration of the foretellings of the Commander of the Faithful, that he foretold the killing of al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah in Medina near the Stones of Oil, and said regarding his brother Ibrāhīm: “He shall be killed after he prevails, and he shall be overcome after he overcomes. A stray arrow shall come to him in which his end lies — woe upon the hand that drew the bow: may it be paralysed and its arm weakened.”
More Zaydīs, Mu’tazilīs, and ḥadīth scholars rallied to him than had rallied to any member of his household. It is said in Al-Shāfī: He was a learned and excellent man, a gifted orator, an extraordinary poet, and courageous to a degree that he did not care whether death came to him or he went out to meet it. His register comprised one hundred thousand fighters.
Abu Isḥāq al-Fazārī told Abu Ḥanīfah: “You did not fear God when you issued a ruling to my brother that he should go out with Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan — and so he was killed.” Abu Ḥanīfah replied: “Your brother’s killing where he was killed is equal in merit to his being killed had it been on the day of Badr, and his martyrdom alongside Ibrāhīm is better for him than life.” Abu Isḥāq asked: “What prevented you yourself from doing so?” He said: “The people’s deposits were in my keeping.”
Shu’bah ibn al-Ḥajjāj used to say to people when they asked him: “What keeps you sitting? This is the lesser Badr.”
Abu Ḥanīfah was also asked: “Which is more beloved to you, after the obligatory ḥajj: going out to this man or performing the ḥajj?” He said: “A campaign after the obligatory ḥajj is better than fifty pilgrimages.”
When Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was killed, Sufyān al-Thawrī said: “I do not think prayer will be accepted — except that prayer is still better than abandoning it.”
Among the notable scholars who rallied to him and fought alongside him:
- Shu’bah ibn al-Ḥajjājthe foremost ḥadīth scholar of his age
- Hushaym ibn Bashīrson was killed alongside him
- ‘Abbād ibn al-‘Awwām
- Yazīd ibn Hārūn
- Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf al-Azraq
- Muslim ibn Sa’īd
- Al-Aṣbagh ibn Zayd
- Ibrāhīm ibn Numayla (al-Kāmil)distinguished in knowledge, deeds, and courage
- Al-Muḍḍā ibn al-Qāsim al-Tha’labī
- Mu’āwiyah ibn Ḥarb ibn Qaṭanthe learned ascetic
- ‘Abbād ibn Manṣūr al-Shāmī
- Bashīr al-Raḥḥālscholar and ascetic of the Mu’tazilah; martyred at his side
- Muṭar al-Warrāq
- Ḥakam al-Mu’tazilī
- Al-Mufaḍḍal ibn Muḥammad al-Ḍabbīauthor of the Ikhtiyārāt
- Abu Khālid al-Aḥmar
- Abu Dāwūd al-Ṭahawī
- Ḥasan and Ḥusayn al-‘Arniyān
- Junāda ibn Suwaydgiven command of three hundred men
- Al-Azraq ibn Thammah al-Ṣuraymmīwent out with two swords; companion of ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd
- Burayda al-Asadī
- Hāshim ibn al-Qāsim
- ‘Amr ibn ‘Awnpresent at Bākhmarrā; among the finest ḥadīth scholars
- Mu’ammal ibn Ismā’īlfrom the scholars of Kufa, companions of Sufyān
- Ḥanbaṣof great standing and importance
- Dāwūd ibn al-Mubārak al-Hamdānīmartyred in the battle
- Hārūn ibn Sa’dcame from Kufa with companions of Zayd ibn ‘Ali
- ‘Āmir ibn Kathīr al-Sarrājyoung, strong, and brave
Among the elegies composed for Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abdullāh are the words of Ghālib ibn ‘Uthmān al-Hamdānī, of the family of Dhū al-Mish’ār:
The one killed at Bākhmarrā, who
called out until every witness heard.
He led the armies against the armies,
advancing as the raging lions advance.
With the keen blades and the spears,
and the lightning-flashes and the thunderclaps.
He called to the religion of Muḥammad,
while they called to the religion of Ibn Ṣā’id.
He charged at them with the chest of a piebald
swift horse, leading and guiding.
With the sword drawn, cutting through
their skulls with the strongest of arms.
Then an aimed arrow came
to his forehead, from a disbelieving right hand.
He fell, struck down upon his forehead —
for there is no created being who is immortal.
His supporters scattered,
and he came to rest in the most honourable of abodes, alone.
My soul be your ransom — fallen,
with no pillow spread beneath you.
My soul be your ransom — a stranger
in his land, among distant people.
What a man was he whom the sons of the sons of slave-women
triumphed over.
Those are the martyrs, the steadfast,
the noble ones at times of hardship.
The stock of Yathrib and the open valleys,
where the creeds converge and are contested.
The dwellings of Dhī Ṭawā became desolate,
then the plains of Mecca, then the holy sites.
Al-Khayf from them, then the stoning-place,
at the standing-place of the journeying litters of the rightly-guided.
Then the basins of Zamzam, then the Maqām,
then those departing from it and those arriving.
Then al-Suwayqatān, then Yanbu’,
then the Baqī’ of Yathrib with its ridge-tombs.
The lands have become desolate of the sons of
al-Ḥasan ibn Fāṭimah, the rightly-guided.
— Ghālib ibn ‘Uthmān al-Hamdānī
Among the elegies also are the words of ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṣ’ab al-Zubayrī:
O my two companions, leave aside reproach and know
that I am in this no more blameworthy than you.
Stand at the grave of the son of the Prophet and give salutation —
there is no harm in your standing by it and saluting.
A grave that contains the best man of his age
in lineage, goodness of disposition, and generosity.
A man who by justice drove away the oppression of our lands
and drove away the gravest of sins and bestowed blessings.
He did not turn away from the path of the straight way,
nor depart from it, nor open to foulness any matter.
Had fate exalted anything before him,
after the Prophet, it would have been he who was exalted.
You were struck as Zayd was struck, and as al-Ḥusayn —
a loss that has humiliated the Muslims and crushed them.
They sacrificed Ibrāhīm, the finest of sacrifices —
and so his days came to an end, and were cut off.
By God, had the Prophet Muḥammad
— may God’s prayers and peace be upon him —
witnessed his community levelling their spears at his son
until they clothed him in blood from iron,
he would have known with certainty that they had squandered
that kinship and deemed the sacred thing lawful.
— ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṣ’ab al-Zubayrī
And the words of Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥīm al-Yashkarī, who elegised the Banū Ḥasan and Banū Ḥusayn together:
The young man who is truly generous is one who is noble
and has not in this life attained what is forbidden.
He was mindful of God in his innermost affairs
and clung to the company of the God-fearing.
O chosen ones of God — you are the company
by whom we are watered at our time of drought with gentle rain.
You preceded all people in holding fast to
the truth from the beginning, and you led the nations.
Love for them is obligatory upon me — and whoever
does not see that is one who has sinned.
O Lord, be wrathful at their enemies
wherever they may settle, and hasten the vengeance.
Weep — if you are one who weeps — forever
for Zayd and Yaḥyā and the radiant ones after them.
And the two brothers who sought nothing
but the path of salvation, and were cut down.
And weep for al-Ḥusayn at Fakhkh — his place of falling —
pious, God-fearing, holding fast to the truth.
Prayers upon them from the Imams who came before,
from a merciful Lord — and blessed is the one who is shown mercy.
— Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad al-Yashkarī
- Imam al-Ḥasan ibn Ibrāhīm his mention will come, God Almighty willing
Scholarly References & Annotations
Nutaylah: the mother of al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib — noted by the Author (peace be upon him).