Chapter XLVIII

YEZID APPOINTED HEIR APPARENT.--HEREDITARY NOMINATION
BECOMES A PRECEDENT.

A.H. LVI. A.D. 676.

[Sidenote: Precedents for nomination or election to the Caliphate.]

The election of a Caliph on each recurring succession, excepting only that of Omar, had been followed by the risk of serious perils to the peace of Islam. The choice was supposed to be a privilege vested in the inhabitants of Medîna--‘Citizens,’ as well as ‘Refugees;’ but the practice had been various, and the rule had been oftener broken than observed. The Prophet himself nominated no one. Abu Bekr may be said to have been chosen by acclamation.[581] Abu Bekr, on his death-bed, named Omar his successor. And Omar, establishing yet another precedent, placed the nomination in the hands of Electors. It is true that on the two last-named occasions, the choice was ratified by the homage of Medîna; but that was little more than the formal recognition of an appointment already made. At the fourth succession, the election of Aly, though carried out under the compulsion of insurgent bands, resembled somewhat the popular election of the first Caliph. Then followed the unsuccessful rebellion of Talha and Zobeir, based on the allegation that homage had been extorted from them under pressure. After that, ensued the struggle between Muâvia, the _de facto_ sovereign of Syria, and Aly, which ended in the irregular recognition of Muâvia as Caliph upon the so-called Arbitration of Dûma, and in the double Caliphate. On the death of Aly, who (we are told) declined to nominate a successor, his son Hasan was elected, not, as heretofore, by the people of Medîna, but by the citizens of Kûfa. And, finally, we have the first example of abdication, when Hasan resigned his rights into the hands of Muâvia, and left him sole Caliph of Islam.

[Sidenote: The initiative in election no longer at Medîna.]

Whatever the rights of Medîna originally may have been, circumstances had now materially altered the only practical means of exercising them. Having been abandoned as the seat of government, the privilege of choosing a Caliph, or of confirming his nomination, however much it may have vested by prescription in the citizens of Medîna, had become an anachronism now. The succession, as in the case of Hasan, followed necessarily, and at once, upon the death of the reigning Caliph, and Medîna could only ratify what had taken place elsewhere. The functions of the citizens of Medîna were thus, from the course of events, transferred to the inhabitants of the seat of government, wheresoever it might be.

[Sidenote: Danger surrounding each succession.]

Again, that which had happened after the election of Aly, might happen again at any fresh accession to the throne. Zobeir and Talha raised the standard of revolt on the plea that their oath was taken under compulsion; while between Aly and Muâvia, there followed a long and doubtful contest. The internecine struggle had imperilled the existence of Islam. Not only had the ranks of the Faithful been seriously thinned by the blood shed on either side; but, from without, enemies might at any moment have taken advantage of the strife. Muâvia, in point of fact, made a truce with the Byzantine Court while the civil war impended. But if a similar opportunity again offered, the foes of Islam might not be so forbearing, and a fatal wound might be inflicted thus upon the empire torn by intestine conflict.

Influenced by such considerations, as well, no doubt, as by the desire of maintaining the Caliphate in his own line, Muâvia entertained the project of declaring his son, Yezîd, to be the Heir Apparent. [Sidenote: Muâvia’s design to nominate his son Heir Apparent.]By securing thus an oath of fealty to his son throughout the Moslem world, he would anticipate the event of his own decease, and thus prevent the peril of a contested election when it did occur. Ziâd, summoned to advise, was favourable to the design, but enjoined deliberation, and a preliminary cautious canvass throughout the provinces. He also counselled Yezîd, who was devoted to the chase and careless of public affairs, to amend his ways in preparation for the throne, and show before the people a character more fitted for the high dignity in store for him. Moghîra likewise was strongly in favour of the scheme.[582] But it was not till both these counsellors had passed away, that Muâvia found himself in a position to proceed with the design.

[Sidenote: Yezîd declared Heir Apparent. A.H. LVI. A.D. 676.]

So soon as Muâvia felt secure of adequate support, and especially that Medîna would not resent the invasion of its elective privilege,[583] provision was made that deputations from all the provinces, and also from the chief cities, should present themselves before the Caliph at Damascus. These, received in state, affected to press the nomination; and accordingly, without further ceremony, the oath of allegiance was taken by all present to Yezîd as next successor to the Caliphate. Syria and Irâc, having without demur tendered their homage to the same effect, Muâvia set out for the Hejâz, followed by a retinue of a thousand horse, ostensibly to perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, but in reality to obtain the assent of the Holy Cities to what had been enacted at Damascus and elsewhere. [Sidenote: Mecca and Medîna forced to swear allegiance.]The leading dissentients at Medîna were Hosein the second son of Aly, the son of Zobeir, Abd al Rahmân son of Abu Bekr, and the son of Omar. Muâvia received them roughly as they came out to meet him on his entry into the city; and so, to avoid further mortification, they departed at once for Mecca. The remainder of the citizens ratified the nomination of Yezîd, and took the oath accordingly. Continuing his progress, and having arrived at Mecca, Muâvia carried himself blandly towards the people of the Holy City during the first few days of his visit, which were occupied with the rites of pilgrimage. But as the time of departure drew nigh, he stood up to address them on his errand; and although his speech was gilded with many plausible assurances that the privileges of the Sacred places would be religiously respected, there was at the first no response. Then arose Abdallah son of Zobeir, and boldly said that the oath of homage to an Heir Apparent would be opposed to all the precedents of Islam. To such cavils, the Caliph, in answer, urged the danger in which Islam was continually placed from the risk of a contested succession followed by renewed bloodshed. The various objections then raised may thus be summarised: ‘We shall consent,’ the spokesmen said, ‘to any one of these three things. _First_, do as the Prophet did, and leave the election absolutely to the citizens of Medîna. Or, _secondly_, do as Abu Bekr did, and nominate a successor from amongst the Coreish.[584] Or, _thirdly_, like Omar, appoint Electors who shall, from amongst the same, choose a candidate to succeed thee. Only, like Abu Bekr and Omar, thou must exclude thine own sons and thy Father’s sons.’ ‘As for the first course,’ replied the Caliph, ‘there is no one now left like unto Abu Bekr, that the people might choose him. As for the rest, verily I fear the contentions and war that would ensue were not the succession fixed aforehand.’ Then, finding all his arguments wasted in the air, he called out the body-guard, and at the point of the sword caused all the city to take the oath.

[Sidenote: Muâvia’s action becomes precedent for future successions; even among Abassides.]

The example of Syria, Irâc, and the Holy Cities, was followed by the whole empire without reserve. And ever after, the precedent of Muâvia more or less prevailed; that is to say, succession to the Caliphate was based partly on descent, partly on the choice of the reigning Caliph, his nomination being confirmed by an oath of fealty taken first by the inhabitants at the seat of government, and then generally throughout the empire. The last condition, representing the fiction that the elective power was vested in the body of the Faithful, became almost nominal, and the oath of allegiance was consequently enforced by force of arms against recusants. The practice thus was for the Commander of the Faithful to proclaim as his successor the fittest, the noblest born, or the most favoured, of his sons, or (in default of immediate issue) the best qualified amongst his kinsmen. To him, as Heir Apparent, a provisional and anticipatory oath of fealty was taken during his father’s lifetime; and the succession, as a rule, was guided by that choice. Sometimes even two successions were thus anticipated, the reigning prince making a double nomination; but such attempt to forestall the distant future was calculated to breed, rather than prevent, dissension.[585]

The practice thus begun by the Omeyyads, was followed equally by the Abbassides; and proved a precedent even for later times.