Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

This person, a governor from the governors of Madīnah, is calling you to
revile ʿAlī I upon the pulpit. He asked, “And what should I say?” The
man replied, “You can call him Abū Turāb…” 1
This was noticed and picked up by some of their governors and partisans. 2 Hence
some of them would intentionally call the Shīʿah Turābī. 3 This would make them
feel indignant because they knew of the evil intent. 4
Despite this, this did not in the least debase ʿAlī I, due to this name being the
most beloved of names to him; Nabī H had named him with it. 5
The affair had remained such during the reign of most of the Umayyad rulers
after him. But now it was not due to their fear of ʿAlī I because he had moved
on to his Lord. Rather it was out of the fear that people will gather around his
sons who continuously opposed them and anticipated calamities to befall them.
It is well-known that the Alawids themselves did not have such qualities which
would make them qualify for the Khilāfah. Hence their campaign was always
1 Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: chapter regarding he H informing regarding the merits of the Ṣahābah
M, their men and their women, by name: sub-chapter regarding Muṣtafā H naming ʿAlī I
Abū Turāb: ḥadīth no. 6925.
2 See: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 4/1870, 1874; al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh 2/344; Iʿtiqād Ahl al-Sunnah 8/1381; Tārīkh al-
Ṭabarī 2/15, 3/225; Tārīkh Madīnah Dimashq 24/258, 42/18; Muʿjam al-Udabāʾ 3/358; al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh
3/330; Akhbār wa Ḥikāyāt p. 52; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 4/267; al-Wāfī bi al-Wafayāt 15/67; Fawāt al-Wafayāt
1/430; al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 9/234; Nuzhah al-Albāb fī al-Alqāb 2/253.
3 Akhbār al-Wāfidīn min al-Rijāl p. 30; Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī 3/233; Tārīkh Madīnah Dimashq 24/91; al-Kāmil fī
al-Tārīkh 3/330.
4 Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī 3/225; Tārīkh Madīnah Dimashq 24/258; al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh 3/330.
5 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 4/1874. Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalusī has stated the these titles were not considered to be
bad or disrespectful amongst the Arabs. He mentions in al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ:
When the Arabs intend to be light hearted with the addressee, they coin a name for him from the
condition he is in. For example: Nabī H titled ʿAlī I, when he was sleeping on the sand and
his forehead had become dusty, “Stand, O Abū Turāb,” thereby suggesting that he was being light
hearted. See: 8/353.
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