Sudan Archive

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He named one of his palaces Qasr al-Khuld, also in imitation of the name of Paradise. He made a short door through which only those who bowed as if in prayer could enter, in his honor. He commissioned some jurists to fabricate hadiths in praise of the Abbasids and in praise of the Prophet, describing him with attributes that applied to his son, the Mahdi. The Mahdi himself was prone to religious "hallucinations," which were evident in many of his actions, especially his extreme zeal in fighting those he called heretics, pursuing and killing them, and presenting himself as a defender and protector of the faith. He named his two sons after the prophets Moses and Aaron. He gave Moses the title Al-Hadi. When he despaired of naming Aaron Al-Mahdi, because he himself was "the Mahdi," he named him Al-Rashid, which is a word equivalent in its primary meaning to Al-Mahdi. And so on. The concept of "Al-Mahdi" was magnified in the Maghreb by the Berbers. They were fed up with the injustice of the rulers and became fanatical against the tribalism of others, even though they also became fanatical for Islam. The Banu Aghlab, of Arab descent, inflicted severe suffering upon them, imposing heavy taxes that they could not afford. They complained bitterly, but their pleas were ignored. The Shi'a seized this opportunity and called for independence from the Abbasid state, and the Shi'a spread among them.

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