[602] Whatever the cruelties of Hajjâj, it must be confessed that he had a rebellious race to deal with. And in respect of his attack on Mecca, from whence Ibn Zobeir so long defied the empire, it is difficult to see how that attack could have been avoided; but the necessity is forgotten, and only the sacrilege, with its testudos and battering rams, remembered. In point of cruelty, indeed, it would not be easy for inhumanity to outdo the deeds of some of the Abbasside Caliphs. But Hajjâj was the servant of the ‘godless’ Omeyyads, and indiscriminate abuse must be heaped both on him and his Master.
[603] For the unbridled sensuality of the times, the use of wine and other breaches of the Moslem law, and the demoralisation that festered in these seats of luxury, I must again refer to H. von Kremer’s excellent work, Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen, Wien, 1875.
[604] The term Shîya (Sheea) means simply sect or party; but it has come to signify the partisans of the house of Aly, holding this Divine claim. Imâm means head or leader, and, according to the Shîyas, the Imâmate, or Headship of all Islam, vests in the house of Aly. Hence we are continually hearing of an Imâm, or successor of this line, as about to appear.
[605] 26th Dzul Hijj, A.H. 132, August 5, A.D. 750.
[606] He was the fifth in descent from the Prophet’s uncle; that is, he was the grandson of Aly, who was the grandson of Abbâs. Al Saffâh signifies, ‘The Butcher.’
[607] Thus the use of wine, and the Mutáah or temporary marriage, could be justified. The latter, by which a conjugal contract can be entered into for a limited period, is still a tenet of the Shîyas; but is justly reprobated by the orthodox.
[608] When he found that the scheme must be given up, he caused his son-in-law—now an inconvenient appendage—to be removed by poison.
[609] For example, it was only under a Motázilite court that any such discussion as the Christian ‘Apology of Al Kindy’ could have been allowed to see the light.
[610] For the ‘Ordinances of Omar,’ see above, p. 212.
[611] Such is the character of the Wahâbee revival which, born in the present century, spread rapidly and widely over Arabia, and extended in some of its features (chiefly of a protesting character) even to India.