Beautiful Egypt 163 – «Al-Asmai’» July 10, 2016

   I would like to wish our Muslim brethren many happy returns on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr (Lesser Bairam) which we will celebrate within a few days. I also wish our country safety and renown.

   In the previous article, we tackled the tenure of both Saleh bin Ali bin Abdullah, the Abbasid and Abu Oun Abdul Malek bin Yazid on Egypt. We shed light on the incidents which Pope Khail and Abba Moses went through, then the departure of both men, having honestly served the congregation and borne lots of tribulations. At that time, Abu Ja’far al-Mansur became caliph after the death of Abu al-Abbas Abdullah, his brother who had made him heir apparent.

Abu Ja’far al-Mansur (136-158 Hijri) (754-775 A.D.)

   He is the second and most powerful of the Abbasid caliphs. His full name is Abu Ja’far Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Abbas. At the beginning of the Abbasid caliphate’s era, he moved with Abu al-Abbas, his brother, to Kufa to help him with the State affairs. In 136 Hijri (754 A.D.), Abu Ja’far was proconsul of Hejaz. At that time, he got to know that his brother had died, and that the caliphate was passed to him. So, he returned instantly and took over. He was given the title “al-Mansur”.

   The State affairs were not that easy to handle, for the Abbasid State was still new. Al-Mansur faced several internal and external challenges. Yet, he overcame them as he was strict and intelligent, which made him the most powerful of the Abbasids. Thus, historians consider him the true founder of the Abbasid State. He established a State that endured for many centuries. He set laws, made politics, and invented things. His sons followed suit. Al-Mansur became famous everywhere due to his wisdom and farsightedness. In fact, he was able to overcome the rebellions that broke out from within and without, which enabled him to establish the State. He had cities and buildings founded and the economy regulated. Thus, security prevailed, and ministries affairs were well-handled. He was quite meticulous at choosing his page, ministers, and assistants. Likewise, he cared for the army, provided it with good weapons, and befriended scientists and men of letters. Al-Mansur was able to make his son heir apparent, instead of Eissa bin Mussa, his cousin.

   Among the rebellions and seditions which he faced was that of Abdullah bin Ali, his uncle. It took place in 137 Hijri (755 A.D.) His uncle was proconsul of Syria. He was combated and defeated by Abu Muslim of Khorasan. Subsequently, he fled to Soliman bin Ali, his brother, who was then proconsul of Basra. When Abu Ja’far al-Mansur got to know about this, he brought Abdullah, put him in jail where he remained till his death which occurred after the passage of ten years. In the self-same year of Abdullah’s defeat, al-Mansur contrived to get Abu Muslim killed. He appointed Abu Dawoud Khaled bin Ibrahim proconsul of Khorasan, but soldiers rebelled and marched to his mansion. Seeing them come, he started calling his assistants. During so doing, he fell from above, broke his back and died. So, Abu Ja’far appointed Abdul Jabbar bin Abdul Rahman al-Azdi in his stead.

   Abu Ja’far faced the Rahavand rebellion in 141 Hijri (758 A.D.) It was stirred up by some of the people of Khorasan who believed in Reincarnation (transmigration). They claimed that the spirit of Adam relived in their chief. They came to Abu Ja’far’s palace and started roaming inside it. Abu Ja’far arrested their chiefs. So, they rebelled, attacked the prison and set them free. After that, a battle broke out in which the caliph almost got killed. But the army intervened and overcame the rebellion.

   In 144 Hijri (758 A.D.), Abdul Jabbar bin Abdul Rahman al-Azdi, proconsul of Khorasan, became disreputable, which made the caliph angry. So, he sent him one of his commanders and his son. As they approached, the citizens rebelled against Abdul Jabbar, relinquished him and his assistants to the caliph’s messengers, after which the caliph had him killed. Abu Ja’far also overcame another rebellion in Tapuria, as well as that of the Alawites in 145 Hijri (763 A.D.) There were other rebellions in Andalusia, Africa, Armenia, Persia, and the Indus. He overcame all, save that of Andalusia.

   Abu Ja’far, then, started directing his efforts towards regulating the State’s affairs. He set the best managerial methods and restored what wars and raids had ruined. He used to roam throughout the country to supervise building and renovation. He had Malta restored and Basra and Kufa re-fortified. Likewise, he counted the population of the entire State and regulated taxes. He was so protective of the State’s money that he was accused of miserliness. Here, it is worthy to recount the story of Ja’far and Al-Asmai’:

   Caliphs were in the habit of bestowing gifts and money unto poets. Abu Ja’far, however, made an intrigue so as not to do this. He issued a directive that whoever creates a poem would be awarded gold as weighty as what he carried it on would be. So, poets hurried to his palace to recite poems. Yet, no sooner had any poet recited anything than he would say he had heard it beforehand, and that it was not ascribed to the speaker. After that, he would call one of his servants and ask him about the poem. The latter would say he knew it, then would recite it, after which he would call a maid, ask her the same question, she would reply the same way and recite the poem, too. Poets would go crazy at this! Having created their poems only on the day before, to find people who knew them by heart drove them mad. The caliph’s servant would memorize any poem after listening to it twice. The maid would do the same after a third listening. In effect, the caliph would recite the same poem after having listened to it only once from the poet’s mouth.

   Poets were quite sad, as they did not know what the secret was. Then al-Asmai’ heard the story. Being a philologist, he decided to help them. One morning, al-Asmai’ disguised in Bedouin’s clothes and requested the caliph’s audience. Meeting the caliph, al-Asmai’ said that he heard of the gold reward. The caliph replied, “Recite your poem!” Al-Asmai’ recited a poem, starting as follows:

The call of the curlew awoke my heart so slothful.

Not only silver lakes and flowers so beautiful,

But also the charm of your eyes so delightful.

   The poem was so difficult that the caliph could hardly memorize any of its syllabi. Neither could servant nor the maid. So, Abu Ja’far could do nothing but give him the promised reward. As a result, al-Asmai’ told the caliph that his father bequeathed him a piece of marble that could only be carried by four sentries. Abu Ja’far asked him to bring it over. He brought it only to take all the caliph’s safe contents against it. As al-Asmai’ was leaving, the minister recognized him and told the caliph about his identity. The caliph ordered that his veil be taken off from his face. When he saw him, he exclaimed, “How come you do so? Return the money to me!” Al-Asmai’ answered that he would do so only if the caliph gave poets their awards. The caliph agreed and did what al-Asmai’ requested. Al-Asmai’ returned the money to the caliph. Thus ended this story, but… Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center