Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

these matters politically demanding them to do so. Even if at times denigrating
did occur it was restricted to the individuals they were disillusioned with, 1 it did
not exceed them to others of their family, let alone extending to their father ʿAlī
I.
Despite their long history, they are not known for any sort of resentment toward
ʿAlī I, with the exception of what is reported about al-Mutawakkil, 2 as opposed
to the Umayyads who continued to disrespect him decades after he passed away.
Some books of history also state that the Khalīfah Mahdī 3 released some of the
Alawids from prison after merely seeing ʿAlī I saying the following to him in
a dream:
يا محمد:‏ فهل عسيتم إن تولّيتم أن تفسدوا في الرض وتقطّ‏ عوا أرحامكم
O Muḥammad! So would you perhaps, if you came into power, cause
corruption on earth and sever your family ties. 4
Contingent on this difference between the Umayyad Rulers and the Abbasid
Rulers was the conduct of their governors. Hence on the one hand the Umayyad
Rulers, with the exception of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz V, displayed open Naṣb.
1 Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 6/212.
2 I did not make mention of Ibn al-Muʿtaz despite some accusing him of disillusionment with ʿAlī
I because the period of his rule only lasted for one day and one night. Al-Maʿṣūmī says in Simṭ al-
Nujūm al-ʿAwālī 3/485, “It is not appropriate to consider him among the rulers.”
3 Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Hāshimī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī, the third
Abbasid Ruler. He was born in 127 A.H. He was courageous and generous, was a man of prominence,
and was loved by his subjects and affectionate to them. He was extremely concerned with settling
injustices and doing away with heretics. He was the first person who ordered that books be authored
to counter them. He passed away in 169 A.H. See: Tārīkh Baghdād 5/391; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 7/400;
al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 10/151; Tārīkh al-Khulafāʾ 271.
4 Tārīkh Baghdād 13/30; al-Muntaẓam 9/87; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 6/272; al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah
10/183.
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