A Majlis Recited at Stanmore
Saturday 7 Ramadhan 1416 (eve),
27 January 1996.
By Dr Mahmood Husein Datoo
Some of the Arab communities who had converted to Islam during the
Prophet's lifetime, now withdraw from that pledge and break-off their
connection with Medina soon after the Prophet's death in 11 AH (632 AD).
The coup at Saqifa installs Abu Bakr as the successor to the Prophet.
Abu Bakr is therefore engaged in the apostasy campaigns to bring the deserting communities back into the fold.
Such apostasy campaigns mark the beginning of the outward expansion of the Muslim empire.
On Abu Bakr's death in 13 AH (634 AD), Umar b. Khattab is appointed by Abu Bakr to be his successor and the leader of the Muslims.
Umar continues, and greatly diversifies, with the policy of Abu Bakr to expand the Muslim influence in the region.
Umar sanctions the conquests of lands into Syria, Palestine and Persia.
Sa'd b. Waqqas, the commander of the Muslim army in Iraq, conquers Al-Qadisiya in 15 AH (636 AD); Sa'd's counterpart in the Persian army is a general by the name of Rustam.
Al-Qadisiya is near the border of the then Iraqi and Persia areas.
Next to fall is Madayn in 16 AH - the capital city of the Persian (Sassanaid) empire in the region.
Next to fall is Jalula in 16 AH, and the Muslim army is now deep in Persian territory.
The soldiers are based in Madayn, which is a rich, luxurious city, full of Persian royal pageantry and trappings; its climatic conditions does not suit the Arabic culture - it is not an open dessert terrain.
Umar is informed of the difficult acclimatising hardship of the Arab troops, and he orders Sa'd to search for a suitable stationing place for two purposes: first, to permanently house the Al-Qadisiya fighters thereby maintaining control over the new territory; secondly, to use the place as a launching station for further excursions in to the Persian territory (that is, it should serve as a garrison town).
After careful scrutiny, and (some reports say) with the help of Salman Farsi and Hudhayfa Yamani, a spot is chosen - a plain dessert terrain on the west bank of River Euphrates, near the old Persian city of Al-Hira, south of Madayn and just north of Al-Qadisiya; this is Kufa - so called because of its coarse soil and reddish sand.
Sa'd orders his troops to move there in 17 AH (638 AD) and this is the beginning of Kufa.
The new area has now got to be planned and built into a garrison town.
The troops under Sa'd form a heterogeneous grouping of Arabs; they are not from the same area, clans or tribes, and it is not possible to naturally group them into tribal/clan/area divisions.
The soldiers who had ventured into Syria and Basra were mostly of cohesive groupings from the same tribe/clan, or at most from two predominant tribes, and thus establishing groupings there was much easier.
Also, the concept of township groupings is completely alien to these soldiers, used to a free Bedouin lifestyle based on tribal/clan loyalties.
There are about 24,000 people to be grouped in Kufa (which includes about 4,000 Persians under their leader Daylam who secures special status from Sa'd).
Sa'd assimilates this heterogeneous population into two broad geographical groupings: the Nizaris (North Arabs) and the Yemenis (South Arabs).
The Nizaris are settled on the western side of Kufa, the Yemenis on the eastern side (according to lots drawn by arrows, as was customary then in chance decisions); between the two areas, is to be built a mosque, and this adjoins to the governor's palace and the treasury.
The two broad groupings of the population very soon proves to be
unsatisfactory for three reasons.
Firstly, each group finds it difficult to put up together; the Nizaris and the Yemenis find it awkward to live congenially within and between each other's groupings due to the very nature of the heterogeneity of tribal and/or family groupings.
Secondly, such large groupings of population presents serious logistics in quickly mobilising an army of soldiers ready for action at very short notices, which was part of the reason of establishing the garrison town.
Thirdly, it is administratively cumbersome for the authorities to organise efficiently the distribution of financial allowances (stipends), on which the population depends.
Umar therefore, in 17 AH, orders a change in the administrative arrangement of the population.
With the help of expert Arab genealogies, Sa'd now reshuffles the population according to compatible and congenial tribal genealogies and family alliances.
The population is now divided into seven ("asba") tribal units; each unit contains tribes and clans compatible with each other; broadly, there are four groups of Nizaris and three of Yemenis making up the seven individual units.
Each unit is allocated an area for dwellings, and its own main roads leading to the central mosque; there are smaller roads connecting to other localities.
Each of the seven locality is also allocated its own open space ("jabbana") - no buildings are to be built on this land as it is used primarily for grazing of animals and cemetery.
This arrangement into seven administrative units is to last for nineteen years until 36 AH when Imam Ali (as) becomes the governor of Kufa.
One reason for dividing the population into smaller groups is to facilitate
the distribution of financial allowances (stipends) to the citizens.
Umar, in the year 20 AH (641 AD), introduces the system of stipends to the inhabitants of Kufa and sets up a register of all participants (soldiers) in the various campaigns.
There are three bands of allowances, depending on the seniority of military services:
The allowances varies from 200 to 5,000 dirhams per year per person.
For the purposes of the stipend distribution, each group ("irafa") has a person in charge ("arif") for the distribution to each grouping, who in turn has his own hierarchy system of sub-leaders for distribution down to the people.
The Muslim empire, under Umar, is expanding vastly.
Two new groupings emigrate to Kufa.
The first major grouping is a wave of Arab immigrants; these are mainly soldiers, who after the conquest of Syria and Egypt by 20 AH (641 AD), see no prospects of military advances further westwards, and therefore come to Kufa with anticipation (correctly as it turns out to be) of incursions eastwards into the Persian empire, and hope to benefit from the booty of wars.
These Arab soldiers participate in the campaign of Nihawand (in Persia) in 21 AH with great valour, and Umar rewards them with a high level of stipends.
On hearing of the high stipend paid to these soldiers, a second wave of Arab immigrants flock to Kufa, also anticipating to benefit from further campaigns and hence being rewarded with an annual stipend.
These new Arab immigrants are accommodated in the unused spaces ("jabbana") reserved for each of the seven groupings.
These immigrants also find work as labourers in the fields of the Arab landlords and the conquered Persian lands now under the influence of Muslim empire.
The second major grouping to emigrate to Kufa is the Persian element.
The conquests of Persian territories, like Qadisiya, Jalula, Madayn and Nihawand, into the Muslim fold results in many Persians being taken as war captives and slaves to Kufa.
Economic migrants - as Kufa was just on the border of the then Persia, and Kufa was a growing city, many Persians find it easy to emigrate there for want of better economic prospects; some had lost their jobs as labourers with their royal landlords as the imperial system collapsed under he Muslim influence.
The initial presence of about 4,000 Persians ((Daylamites) in the founding of Kufa, coupled with the recent Nihawand influx, made it culturally attractive for other Persian immigrants to come to Kufa.
The Persians in Kufa are not granted full citizenship as their Arab counterparts; they are called the clients ("mawali") and are not allowed to own land, and are commonly regarded as second class citizens inferior to the Arabs.
By the time of Umar's death in 24 AH (644 AD), the population of Kufa is
well over 100,000 people (some reports say about 140,000).
With Kufa expanding, it also attracts tradesman and craftsmen of various skills to come and settle there.
As it was, Kufa started off with a heterogeneous composition of Arab tribes and clans; the new influxes of the Arabs and Persians further cosmopolises the population.
The uneasy and in many instances, rebellious and treacherous strands of cosmopolitan Kufa is perhaps reasoned by four circumstances:
There are two broad groups of people vying for status and power in Kufa
1. The first group is the religious hierarchy, who claim a higher status due to their early conversion to Islam, being companion of the Prophet (saww), involvement in the early militarily campaigns.
This group is given that status by Umar, who also awards them a higher stipend than the rest, and appoints officials from this group.
2. The second group vying for power is the Arab tribal aristocracy who wish
to claim a higher status due to their tribal or clan nobility, strength,
reputation or wealth.
This group is denied any influence in Kufa by Umar.
The interest of the Persian clients is thus best served in allying
themselves with the first group (rather than the hostile group of Arab tribal
However with Umar's death and Othman's succession in 23 AH, the roles are reversed; the tribal aristocracy are now given the positions of influence and status, and the religious hierarchy are removed from office.
Religious people like Malik b. Ashtar, Musyyab b. Nokhaba, Adi b. Hatim, Hujr al-Kindi are removed from office to be replaced by Othman's friends and relatives from the Ummayads.
After Othman's death in 35 AH, Imam Ali (as), by popular insistence, takes
over the leadership of the Muslims.
The religious hierarchy in Kufa are the first to swear allegiance to Imam Ali (as) and they remain loyal throughout.
The tribal aristocracy and the Ummayads, who are now in position of high influence in all key areas, see their positions threatened.
An alliance between Mecca and Basra is formed to defeat Imam Ali (as) who has the support of the religious group in Kufa; the alliance is unsuccessful at the battle of Jamal.
Imam then makes Kufa his headquarters for strategic reasons as he still has to contend with Muawiya in Syria, and the Imam's core supporters are from Kufa.
He restores the religious hierarchy of influence, and removes from office the tribal leaders.
In order to weaken the stronghold of the tribal aristocracy and tribal leadership in Kufa, Imam now (in 36 AH - 656 AD) makes the third administrative change in the groupings of the seven tribal units established by Umar, which have been in effect for past nineteen years.
The seven tribal units is retained, but its composition is changed; the tribes are reshuffled and reorganised into seven new units, such that there is no undue domineering influence of one tribe or clan over another, which has since developed in the past nineteen years due to the wave of Arab immigration into Kufa.
In the battle of Siffin against the forces of Muawiya, the tribal chiefs play havoc with Imam's administration, for they fear further loss of status if Imam is allowed to consolidate his power, and yet, they also fear a dominating influence from Syria if Muawiya wins; thus a stalemate in the conflict is the ideal solution for them, and they find a safe haven with the Kharijites movement.
The change in composition of the seven units effected by Imam Ali (as)
remains active for fourteen years.
In 50 AH (670 AD), Ziyad b. Abu Sufyan is made the governor of Kufa by Muawiya; this is in addition to being a governor of nearby Basra.
He completely demolishes the seven tribal administrative units into four ("arba") administrative blocks independent of any tribal genealogy.
Basra, which was founded just before Kufa, was divided into four administrative blocks from the beginning, which was not based on any tribal or clan genealogy; Basra had the advantage of a homogeneous population.
Ziyad chooses the four blocks system for Kufa as well, for it has worked extremely well for political and administrative controls in Basra where he is the governor.
The tribes are now all intermingled into four groups, carefully mixed for political expediency to ensure no rebellion from the tribes and the consolidation of the Ummayad power.
Ziyad's style of government is dictatorial, exercised through deputies responsible for the various groupings.