An investigation of Abbasid Slogan in the Public Mind

Hussein Husseinian Moghaddam[1]

Abstract

The Abbasid movement claimed to inaugurate a new era of justice centered on the slogan "al rida min al ahl bayt Muhammad rasul Allah". The Abbasid Caliphate was eventually established in the year 132 AD and Abu al-'Abbās as-Saffāh was declared as the caliph. Commentators and historians believe that public understanding of the slogan " al ahl bayt Muhammad rasul Allah ", in the era of Abbasid, referred to the children of Fatimah; the Prophet Muhammad's daughter (pbuh) or Shiite Imams. But, in the Abbasid revolution, this slogan deviated from its original reference, content and semantic role and was expanded to include Abbasid dynasty. Due to this misinterpretation, Abbasid Caliphate faced with several challenges. What makes the issue subject to critical study is the reasons for which the Abbasids declared a slogan that was not in congruence with the status of their family or in case of winning the rebel, there was no hope of gaining a role in the areas of politics and power, unless through deception.  This study investigates the slogan " al ahl bayt Muhammad rasul Allah", attempts to clarify the strategy taken by the Abbasids and then discusses the familiarity of people with the Abbasid slogan. The paper also depicts a broader sense of the word "Al"(al ahl bayt Muhammad rasul Allah) as formed in the public mind of the people in the Abbasid era. Then its consistency with historical statements, Quranic discourse and Shiite and Sunnis literature will be explained. At the end, the root of this historical mistake will be elaborated.