Historical Sciences Studies

Abstract “Akhbarions”of the 1st and 2nd centuries AH have had lasting effects on the Islamic historiography and the understanding of the Muslims of later centuries. Amer al-Shaabi (28-105 AH) is one of Akhbarions. He, who was famous in the fields of Fiqh and Hadith, and history, has received much attention from Islamic historians. There are contradictory narratives by him about the events and the influential Muslims of the Islamic world. The main purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the contradictions in the narratives of al-Shaabi. The findings reveal that Abu Omar’s narrative changed as a result of the socio-political changes of Kufa and the interests of the nobility of Hamdān tribe and his own. These changes fall under three categories. The period of 28-66 AH was influenced by his childhood environment so that we can detect traces of Shiism in his narratives. The second episodeof his life began with his separation from Mokhtar’s uprising (66 AH) and continued until Ibn al-Ashath’s uprising (81 AH). At this stage, he distanced himself from Shiism under the influence of his status in Fiqh and as a reaction to the growth of the Ghulat. Thus, his narratives became anti-Shiite, although he was still a supporter of Ali in this period. The defeat of ibn al-Ashash (84 AH) marked the third episode of his life in which he became devoted to the Umayyad dynasty to the extent that he quoted a story in favor of the Umayyad Caliphate and against Imam Ali.

Abstract In historical sources and studies, among Abbasid caliphs, al-Amin (April 787 – 24/25 September 813) characterized as a caliph with moral vices. This negative picture emerged from the accounts of Muslims historiographical texts, such as al-akhbâr al-tiwâl, in first centuries of Islam and the contemporary historical studies about Abbasid caliphate, based on that accounts, accept it as his real, historical picture, too. Using critical-interpretative approaches to criticizing the texts, however, it could be found that, due to the special features of the event, Dīnawarī has used the form of ‘narrative-telling’ to represent al-Amin’s personality and the events which led to his murder. Utilizing the educational features of narration and the historical lessons of Islamic culture, he tried to prove an interpretation of the problem of Determinism and Free Will philosophy and its relation to Islamic truths based on mo’tazelian theology. It seems that the very theological assumptions and choosing the narrative-telling form have made these events to be represented as ‘metaphorical realities’.