Abstract:

In this article Ya'qubi and three claims that are used to ground Ya'qubi's being a Shi'ite are addressed. However, some difficulties are faced in researching these claims about Ya'qubi. The first of these is that there is not enough information about Ya'qubi himself. The present information about him has appeared as a result of one-paragraph information and interpretation of the quotations made by the authors contemporary with Ya'qubi in their works by the later researchers. When interpretation is the case, it is not possible to state the absolute accuracy of this information. That's why, the littleness of the information about Ya'qubi means lacking the most important element in determining his sectarian tendency. Another difficulty about this subject is that in his surviving works it is seen that Ya'qubi gave more information about Abbasids although he is expected to have given more information about Tahirids and Tulunids as he lived in these two states. It is a great lack that the book he wrote about Tahirids has not reached the present day in terms of determining his view on Tahirids, under whose sway he lived. Additionally, while addressing the claim that Ya'qubi was Shi'ite moving from his works, as examining the narrations about every event in his work would go over the limits of the article, general assessments on his works are dwelt on. The first of the evidence that was effective in accepting that Ya'qubi was Shi'ite is the narration about Ya'qubi's grandfather Wadih, that in the battle of Fakhkh after the supporters of Ali were beat, Wadih Idris b. Abdullah to flee to Maghrib. This narration gives the information that Wadih was at the same time "an evil Rafidhi". This report in Taberi comes via Abdullah b. Abdurrahman b. Jesus, Muhammad b. Yusuf b. Yakub al-Hashimi and via Abdullah b. Omar as-Selci. As a result of the research we made on these reporters Abdullah b. Abdurrahman b. Jesus and Muhammad b. Yusuf b. Yakub al-Hashimi each have one report in Abârü'd-state'l-ʿAbbâsiye verified by Abd al-aziz ad-Duri. However, these reports are far from giving information about reporters. No information was found about Abdullah b. Omar as-Selci. For this reason, the reporters of Tabaret narrating that Tabaret is Tabaret are unknown as no information about them is found. It is obvious that a report by unknown reporters has no value of evidence. Secondly, the fact that Tahir b. Huseyn, who is the founder of Tahirids which is one of the states Ya'qubi served for, is descent of Iran and that the administrators of Tahirids were often imputed with being Shi'ites is associated with the possibility for Ya'qubi to have served for a Shi'ite state. That Tahirids are Shi'ites is an important factor that would raise the possibility for Ya'qubi to be a Shi'ite. However, both not being able to accurately determine the ethnic origin of the Tahirid founder, and Tahirid administrators' not having pursued a pro-Shi'ite policy show that the Tahirid was a Sunni state. It is obvious that Tulunids, another state for which Ya'qubi served, is Sunni. It does not stand to reason to consider Ya'qubi a Shi'ite because administrators of both Tahirids and Tulunids were not Shi'ites, Ya'qubi preferred to serve for two Sunni states by not going to Idrisid dynasty (172/789) founded by Idris b. Abdullah, whom Ya'qubi's grandfather to flee, and because no cases were mentioned about Ya'qubi's rebellion against the current conditions. Because no absolute information is reached about Ya'qubi's biography, his community in which he lived and his sectarian tendency, researchers generally applied to his works to prove that he was Shi'ite. To assert that Ya'qubi was Shi'ite moving from his work called History, which is one of the three surviving books of his, generally a superficial analysis method is used that is based on the chapter headings in the work. With reference to the fact that Ya'qubi used the expression "caliphate" for Ali and Hasan, and "eyyam" for others, researchers acknowledged that Ya'qubi made a differentiation between the legitimacy of Ali and Hasan and the illegitimacy of other administrators. Also, they considered it an evidence for Ya'qubi being a Shi'ite that he used the title "Decease (Death)" for the death of the Twelve Imams, Imams of Shi'ite. In relation to these claims, by examining the manuscripts of Ya'qubi's printed History, Elton L. Daniel confirmed that the basis of 1883 publication of Ya'qubi's History by Houtsma and its reprints made in the Arab world depended on the late Cambridge manuscript that was copied in Safawid period under Shi'ite rule, in February-March 1685. In another surviving work by Ya'qubi called the Book, there is seen an irregularity in the use of prayer sentences, and descriptions "amir al-muminin" and "caliphate". It is understood from these irregular expressions in Ya'qubi's work that he considered Umayyad and Abbasid rulers as caliphates as well as the four great caliphates. As the differences in descriptions and prayers may result from the copying process, it may also be thought that the author aimed not to tire readers by using the same expression over and over. In Müşâkeletü'n-nâs li-zamânihim, it is claimed that there are three characteristics that reflect Ya'qubi's Shi'ite tendency. The fact that he praised Salman al-Farisi's personality, that he used the expression "alayk as-salam" only with the name Ali b. Ab Talib, and that he gave wider coverage to Abbasid caliphate Me'mun, who was tolerant against Shi'ite view, than other caliphates. by William G. Millward states that the first two claims might result from the ornamentations of the copyist while transferring the text, but when they are considered along with the third claim, the possibility for Ya'qubi to be a Shi'ite raises. However, Millward, does not explain that "Ya'qubi defined Abu Bakr as the most ascetic of Muhammad's Muslims" is present in the text and how he relates this to Shi'ite. Also, he does not refer to that Ya'qubi used prayer words equally for Abu Bakr, Omar and other sahabas and gives less place to Ali compared with Abu Bakr, Omar and Uthman. Therefore, when Ya'qubi's works are considered, it is seen that Ya'qubi acted in a even-tempered way about definitions in which he is said to have reflected Shi'ite perspective. Consequently, while evaluating Ya'qubi, it would be a truer approach to prefer an objective perspective rather than a Shi'ite perspective.

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