From the book Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi'ite Literature (Volume 1), by Hossein Modarresi
Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilalı, allegedly a Kufan disciple of ‘Alı who escaped from Kufa eastward when Hajjaj cracked down on the pro-‘Alıd elements in Kufa. He went into hiding in the town of Nawbandagan in Iran’s southern province of Fars where he later died while Hajjaj (d. 95) was still in power. It is, however, obvious that such a person never existed and that the name is only a pen name used for the sole purpose of launching an anti-Umayyad polemic in the troublesome later years of that dynasty.
This is the oldest surviving Shı‘ite book and one of the rare examples of works surviving from the Umayyad period. The original core of the work which is preserved to a great extent in the current version is definitely from the reign of Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik (r. 105–25), almost certainly from the final years of his reign when the long-established Umayyad hegemony was already under threat from troubles concerning his succession. There are repeated references in the work to the twelve unjust rulers who usurped the leadership of the Muslim community after the Prophet: the first two caliphs, ‘Uthman, Mu‘awiya, his son Yazıd, and “seven members from the offspring of al-Hakam b. Abı’l-‘A s, the first of them being Marwan” (Kitab Sulaym: 110, 174, 175, 205; see also 136, 170, 200). From among the Shı‘ite Imams, only the first five are mentioned by name, and it is said that the Imamate will continue in the descendants of Muhammad b. ‘Alı b. al-Husayn (al-Baqir) (ibid.: 206; see also 168). Likewise, it is stated that the “masters of Paradise” among the descendants of ‘Abd al-Muttalib were the Prophet, ‘Alı, his brother Ja‘far, their uncle Hamza, Hasan and Husayn, Fatima, and the Mahdı (ibid.: 217; see Kafi 1: 450, 8: 49–50 for other similar statements from the period; these statements obviously predate the formulation of the Imamite theory that considers the Imams to be more excellent than anyone other than the prophets, including Ja‘far and Hamza, a theory already present by early ‘Abbasid period). The hope was that one of the offspring of Fatima (Kitab Sulaym: 140), more specifically a descendant of Husayn (ibid.: 175), would overthrow the Umayyad government.
The Shı‘ites at the time were reckoned to be only seventy thousand. The book focuses only on Kufa, describing the situation of the Shı‘ites there in some detail (ibid.: 180–82), a clear indication that the book is from that city, and possibly also suggesting that Shı‘ism had not yet spread beyond that region in any noticeable way. The language of the book is eschatological, depicting some of the historical events of the first century of Islam as seen through a Shı‘ite perspective in the form of prophecies from the Prophet and ‘Alı. In common with books of this nature up to our time, the prophecies have been updated in two or three stages in later periods by the insertion of words or sentences here and there. There is thus a reference in two passages of the book to the black banners from the East that would bring the Umayyad caliphate to an end (ibid.: 157, 175). The reference is obviously an updating and does not necessarily point to a Hashimite Shı‘ite sympathy, as the book has a clear ‘Alıd, pro-Husaynid provenance. There is also a reference to twelve (sic) Imams from among the descendants of ‘Alı who would succeed him (ibid.: 217–18). The relevant passage is inserted in a paragraph that describes how God looked at the people of the earth and selected from among them the Prophet and ‘Alı as his chosen ones. (This follows the statement about the masters of Paradise noted above). The passage then continues by asserting that God then took a second glance (at the earth) and chose, after the Prophet and ‘Alı, twelve legatees of the descendants of the Prophet to be the elect of his community in each generation.
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January 24, 2015, 11:31:26 PM