the thirteenth of Dhu al-Ḥijjah, 136 AH, and that he was thirty-three—others say thirty-two, thirty-one, or even twenty-eight—years old at the time of his death.

More than one authority relates that his caliphate lasted four years and nine months. He was fair-skinned, tall and handsome, with a slightly aquiline nose and curly hair, a fine beard and pleasant face. His speech was eloquent, his judgement sound, and his wit quick.

At the very beginning of his rule, ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī came in to see him carrying a muṣḥaf, while the leading figures of Banū Hāshim, both of his own household and others, were present. He said, “Commander of the Faithful, grant us the right that Allah has assigned to us in this Qur’an.”

Those in attendance feared that al-Saffāḥ might react harshly or be at a loss for words, which would bring reproach upon him and upon them. Yet al-Saffāḥ turned to him, neither angry nor perturbed, and replied, “Your grandfather ʿAlī was better and more just than I am, and when he held this office he gave your grandfathers al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn—who were both better than you—something that I have already given you, and I have even added to it besides. Is this how you repay me?”

ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Ḥasan had no answer, and the people marvelled at the swiftness, freshness, and excellence of the caliph’s spontaneous reply.

A hadith touching on this matter has been recorded—may Allah have mercy upon its transmitters. Imām Aḥmad says in his Musnad (1): “ʿUthmān ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us, Jareer narrated to us from al-Aʿmash, from ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Near the end of time, when trials become manifest, there shall arise a man called al-Saffāḥ; he will distribute wealth by the handful.’” (2)

Zāʾida and Abū Muʿāwiya likewise transmitted it from al-Aʿmash. In its chain appears ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī, concerning whom the scholars have spoken critically; and whether the person intended by the ḥadīth is this al-Saffāḥ remains a matter for consideration. Allah knows best. Earlier, when speaking of the fall of the Umayyad state, we cited reports and traditions that point in the same direction (3).

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār said: Muḥammad ibn Salamah ibn Muḥammad ibn Hishām related to me, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Makhzūmī informed me, Dāwūd ibn ʿĪsā narrated from his father, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-ʿAbbās—who is al-Saffāḥ—who said: “I entered upon ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz while a Christian man was with him. ʿUmar asked him, ‘Whom do you reckon will be caliph after Sulaymān?’ The Christian replied, ‘You.’

“ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz then said to him, ‘Tell me more.’ The man continued, mentioning another and going on until he spoke of the caliphate of the Banū Umayyah to its very end.

“Afterwards I kept that Christian in mind. One day I came across him, ordered my servant to detain him, and went to my house. I then questioned him about what would come to pass…"