Sixth Rashidun Caliph: Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir
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Muhammad ibn Ali was the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn and Fatima bint al-Hasan. Therefore, he is a symbol of the unified Hasanid and Husaynid branches of the Ahl-al-Bayt, which strengthened his chances of succession as Caliph and which made him very renowned within the Ummah. Not many could say they had the honor of having al-Hasan and al-Husayn as their grandfathers.
Like his father, he was born too late to meet the Prophet in person. However, like his father, that did not stop the Prophet from giving him his famous honorary title and, in his specific case, sending al-Baqir his regards through the last of the Sahaba: Jabir ibn Abd Allah. Back in the days of the Prophet Muhammad, he told Jabir that he would meet a man called al-Baqir, and asked him to send his own regards to that man. Jabir spent most of his later years looking for al-Baqir, until Zayn al-Abidin presented his son to him. Despite being blind at that point, it is said Jabir immediately knew that the little Muhammad ibn Ali was indeed al-Baqir and kissed his forehead before finally sending the Prophet's regards.
The title al-Baqir is an abbreviation of Baqir al-'ilm, which means "he who splits knowledge open", in reference to his great wisdom. Muhammad al-Baqir was a renowned scholar from a very young age. His mother, Fatima bint al-Hasan, was often called "Sadiqa", the truthful one, due to her great devoutness and truthfulness. Al-Baqir usually attributed his scholar nature to his mother, who seems to have forged the character of the young Muhammad.
He grew up during the later years of Ali ibn Abi Talib's reign, and later during his grandfather's, al-Hasan, reign. He was surrounded by great religious dedication and truthfulness, as a member of the family of the Prophet. Despite the capital being in Kufa, he was born and raised in Medina, and there he also received his education. He showed great intelligence from a very early age, and soon became the favorite son of Zayn al-Abidin among the Ummah. This caused some tensions with his brother Zayd, who despite also being popular failed to be as renowned as al-Baqir.
Throughout his father's reign, Muhammad al-Baqir began to teach and gathered dozens of followers. He wrote several books in which he detailed some of his sermons. He began writing the Umm al-Kitab during his early years as a teacher, being a book that contained the answers to certain questions asked to him by his students and other scholars. It would only be published by his disciple Jabir ibn Yazid, however. He also wrote the Al-Manasik, which was a treatise on the rituals of the Hajj. He left several commentaries on the Qu'ran that would later be passed down by his disciples.
Once he became Caliph, he wrote the Musnad al-Khalifa al-Baqir (Scripture of the Caliph al-Baqir), which consists of six volumes and discusses doctrines and laws. The book mentions legal issues like divorce, manumission, testimony, inheritance, marriage, funerals; ritual practices like supplications, tahara, prayer, fasting, zakat and hajj; and more doctrinal matters like monotheism, the Caliphate, iman and kufr. The doctrines of this work would later be expanded and reworked by his son Ja'far, who would use it alongside Zayn al-Abidin's Risalat al-Hoquq and the previous Caliphs' teachings to reform and standardize Sharia or Islamic Law. His brother Zayd would reply to this text of his and focus more importance on the doctrine of the Imamate, which would be a form of protest against the no longer well-guided Caliphate (in his view).
His election came with great controversy. The Shura was really split between the two popular sons of Zayn al-Abidin: Zayd ibn Ali and Muhammad al-Baqir. Abd Allah ibn Ali was also a candidate, but barely had support. In the end, Muhammad was victorious by little margin, and inherited a Caliphate that was at its territorial peak, in great economic shape and in relative stability.
However, following his brother's self-imposed exile to Tabaristan alongside his followers, the stability began to fall apart.
Controversies and early accusations
The exile of Zayd ibn Ali was shocking to many, especially within the Ahl-al-Bayt, and was very quickly blamed upon Muhammad. The recently elected Caliph found himself getting accused from all fronts of having exiled his brother. After two more members of the Shura followed Zayd to Tabaristan, the situation only got worse for him. Several members of the Shura tried to force him into abdication within his first few months of reign, but ultimately failed due to Al-Baqir's popularity among the Ummah. Eventually, Muhammad managed to set the record straight and prove he did not exile his brother, and that it had been self imposed.
Immediately after his rise, several of his disciples were given important roles in madrasah (some even built at Medina and Kufa exclusively for themselves) and even political positions within the Caliphate. For such, he was accused of nepotism, and once again was pressured by the Shura. This time, they managed to force Muhammad into dismissing several of his disciples from their recently earned positions of power. However, he continued to build two great madrasah and houses of wisdom (or libraries) in Medina and Kufa respectively; in which his disciples were given important roles and funding from the state for their teachings.
In only two years of rule, Al-Baqir had already faced major backlash from the Shura, who went from greatly supportive of him to skeptical. For such, the Caliph secluded himself at his palace in Kufa and continued to give sermons to his disciples and to do his writings. He rejected many proposals for further campaigns, not wanting to risk the apparent stability of the Caliph for further expansion. His seclusion also meant that the governors of the provinces could act more autonomously, with only the Shura acting as a regulator; and that allowed the worsening of the conditions of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus.
With the Bani Umayya in firm control of Al-Andalus, it seemed oddly suspicious that Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa died in strange circumstances in 729, leaving the position of governor of Ifriqiya without a holder. Normally, his son would have taken over, but he had failed to earn the respect of the local officials. Instead, Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik was elected as the governor of the province. Ironically, the officials that put him in power were swiftly removed from power in favor of other Bani Umayya or Kharijites. Al-Walid then began to plot against the governor of Egypt, though not before applying the same reforms made by his cousin Mu'awiya back in Al-Andalus.
Through the 730s, taxes were added in Ifriqiya and Al-Andalus that were exclusive to non-Arabs, even if they were Muslim. This was in direct opposition to the policies of the Caliphate and the Shura back in Kufa, but they were too busy with internal matters of politics and debates. And with the seclusion of the Caliph, the Banu Umayya only had free reins to do what they pleased.
Exorbitant taxes were enforced on non-Arabs in general, and many of them were outright enslaved. This caused the Berber majority of the provinces to join the Khawarij movement en masse and soon the Umayya governors found themselves facing a massive opposition from the locals. Their own Kharijite officials, which they had used to gain political power, began to plot against them as they fundamentally disagreed with their approach.
In 732, the governor of Ifriqiya, Al-Walid, was to meet and have dinner with several of his commanders and officials at Kairouan. Everything went normally, until suddenly dozens of Berber soldiers stormed into the room. The Kharijite officials stood up and joined in with the Berbers, who handed them weapons of their own. The governor and his family were massacred, except for his son Masrur, who managed to escape the city disguised as a woman.
This marked a spike in Kharijite activity, as they took over Ifriqiya, the Maghreb and then began to rise up in rebellion in Al-Andalus. In 733, Mu'awiya and his family were encircled at a house they were hiding in and they were all massacred. The entire city of Cordoba was put under siege and all Banu Umayya were persecuted. It is said only Masrur, Sufyan ibn Mu'awiya and al-Asbagh ibn Muhammad survived after the brutal persecution of the Banu Umayya and their relatives.
Masrur fled north to Al-Andalus, thinking it would be safe for him there. However, a slave trader told him not to go to Cordoba and he instead went to the port in Cartagena to flee to Marseille, where he stayed until the Fitna began. Once that happened, he crossed the north of Italy until he reached the lands of the Avars, where he would settle and live the rest of his days; marrying an Avar woman and having a family. One of his sons would go on to meet Mojmir I, but more on that when the time comes.
As for Sufyan, he fled to the north as well, but was captured by a band of Franks who sold him as a slave to some Dumnonian nobles. Sufyan ended up being freed during an Gaelic raid against the weak Dumnonians, and was taken back to the kingdom of Meath, where he lived the last days of his life as a part of the court of the local king.
Al-Asbagh ibn Muhammad was the only one to escape towards the south, into the Maghreb. However, after almost being identified by some Kharijite Berbers, he joined a Sanhaja caravan into the Sahara. There, he spent several months crossing the Sahara until he reached Koumbi Saleh, the capital of the Wagadu empire.
Muhammad al-Baqir finally came out of seclusion in 733 to address the clear threat in the western end of his empire. He began to gather a massive army at Fustat, in charge of his brother Abd Allah. However, a series of Azariqa revolts in Fars forced him to retreat from Fustat once enough forces had been gathered to march on Ifriqiya and recapture it from the Kharijites.
Maysara al-Matghari
This time allowed the different Kharijite rebels spread across Al-Andalus, the Maghreb and Ifriqiya to meet and organize with each other. Among the many different leaders of each Kharijite group was Maysara al-Matghari. A lowborn Berber water-carrier of the Imteghren tribe, who served under the Caliphal army. Despite his complete lack of relevant background, and his humble profession, his righteousness, devoutness and piety was said to simply be unmatched.
He had ended his service after the bad conditions of his people were made evident, and he returned to the Maghreb to lead a protest. Alongside a group of Berbers from his tribe, he presented a series of complaints to the governor, but they were ignored. In response, the tribe ordered one of their scribes to write and send a letter to Kufa. This, however, was intercepted at Kairouan by the local Umayyad governor. He was one of the Berbers who understood that what was happening to them was against Islamic Law, but still had great resentment at the Caliphs for their inability to intervene against the corrupt governors of the provinces.
Like most of his people, Maysara turned to the Kharijites in desperation and adhered to the Sufrite sect, which was one of the more moderate ones. However, he would have no reservations in collaborating with the Azariqa and the Najdat, the most radical of the Kharijites. Eventually, he rose as the chieftain of the Matghari rebels. He participated in the assassination of Al-Walid, gaining prominence for being the one to land the final blow to the corrupt governor. From there, he continued to lead his people during the following operations of capturing surrounding towns, persecuting the Banu Umayya and their relatives, as well as corrupt officials that got away. He quickly earned the respect of the Arab Kharijites (veterans of the original revolts who had fled to the Maghreb) due to his piety and dedication to Islam. Maysara was also very dedicated to his new Kharijite ways, frequently consulting with the elder Kharijites of the first generation that remained alive.
In 733, the Berbers (mainly the Ghomaras, Berghwata and Miknasa) and the Arab Kharijites (mostly Himyarite and Bedouin nomads, with some members of Quraysh) met at Tangier after conquering it. There, the chieftains of the tribes and the local heads of the Kharijite sects prepared their plans for the takeover of the provinces of Ifriqiya, Al-Andalus and Al-Faranj. That would be the initial part of the plan, which would be followed by an invasion of Egypt and then the conquest of Syria and Arabia, to completely seize control of the Caliphate. They also formed a council, mostly formed by Kharijite scholars and Berber chieftains, to elect a rightful Khawarij Caliph as per the criteria of the elders and scholars, and strictly adhering to their versions of the Qu'ran. In the end, Maysara al-Matghari was chosen as the most righteous and fit, and became the first Khawarij Caliph.
The proclamation of Maysara, with no blood connection whatsoever to the Prophet, as a Caliph outraged the Shura and the Ummah back in the East. Al-Baqir pressured his brother Abd Allah, as now his throne was threatened by a parallel and illegitimate Caliph. It also marked the beginning of the First Fitna; the first major civil war in the Islamic world.
Beginning of the Fitna, and the end of Al-Baqir
Abd Allah only managed to put an end to the Azariqa rebels in 735, and was forced to stop at Damascus to let his exhausted men rest. In the meantime, Maysara had magnificently led the Khawarij armies into crushing victories against the weak local Rashidun garrisons of Ifriqiya and Al-Faranj. All of Al-Andalus and Ifriqiya were firmly under control of the rebels, who managed to capture Kairouan after a brutal siege in 734. Maysara then moved towards Al-Faranj, where he was currently subjugating the Baskunisi.
Al-Baqir was heavily criticized for his seeming inaction, and his family suffered the consequences. Abd Allah was dismissed as commander of the army, and instead, Mus'ab ibn Thabit, a descendant of Zubayr, was put in charge. After his ascension to power, he began to press for Al-Baqir's abdication in the Shura, rallying decent amounts of support. However, he was unable to push the Caliph into surrendering. In response, Al-Baqir suggested replacing Mus'ab with al-Mundhir, a descendant of Muhsin and the current governor of Qunstantiniya. Seeing as his proposal was unpopular, however, he decided against carrying it out.
Mus'ab moved his men to Fustat, where he gathered Sudanese, Beja and Habasha reinforcements. This helped refresh a severely exhausted army of veterans from previous wars and rebellions. With this force, the Zubayrid general finally marched towards Ifriqiya in early 736. His march was interrupted at Tripoli when he received the news of the tragedy that had struck Kufa.
While having dinner with some members of the Shura at his palace, a group of armed Azariqa Kharijites had infiltrated disguised as his guards. Once inside the same room as the Caliph, they killed the genuine guards and brutally stabbed Al-Baqir and the members of the Shura to death. The fifteen men were shortly after captured and executed, saving at least the Caliph's family.
Despite the recent unpopularity of the secluded ruler, his death was still perceived like a major tragedy, especially as it had come at the hands of the Kharijites. The news hit the Ummah precisely like a stab to the heart, and a great ceremony followed in the ceremonial and religious capital of Medina, becoming the second to last Rashidun Caliph to be buried in the Mosque of the Prophet.
Mus'ab stopped his march and returned to Kufa, knowing that an election was coming. Ja'far ibn Muhammad insisted on being present as well, as the obvious candidate to succeed his father, but Al-Mundhir advised him against it. Instead, Ja'far was taken to Qunstantiniya to prevent a tragedy, given the belief that the sons of the Caliph were next in line for assassination. The hiding of the sons of the Caliph left no immediate successor ready to face the Fitna, which discarded them immediately for the Shura. The council offered the throne to Zayd, who still was in Tabaristan, but he refused. This led to a final decision between two candidates: Mus'ab ibn Thabit and Al-Mundhir ibn Ismail. The direct Muhsinid lineage of the latter certainly brought interest to him as a genuine option, but the younger, more militarily experienced Mus'ab rose as Caliph, partially due to his own reputation and due to his lineage from Zubayr, as well as descent from the Prophet through a daughter of Ali and Fatima.
Thus, Mus'ab was proclaimed Caliph and returned to Tripoli as such.
