Al-Amin

Al-Amأ¯n undertook the Islamic leadership after the death of his father Harun. According to the unanimous resolution of the historians, he was unqualified to this high office, for he was distinguished by mean inclinations of which are the following:

1. His Absorbing in Pleasures
After assuming the caliphate, al-Amأ¯n devoted himself to amusement and glee; he entrusted the affairs of the state to al-Fadl b. al-Rabأ¯', who moved about in the affairs of the state according to his desires and tendencies. He was serious about seeking entertainers as well as he busied himself with the boys and the dancing of women.

2. His Hating Knowledge
Among the qualities of al-Amأ¯~n is that he detested knowledge and hated scholars. He was unlettered.
If al-Amأ¯n had such a quality, then how did Harun entrust him with the affairs of the Muslims and appoint him as a ruler over the greatest empire in the world? He entrusted him with the caliphate in response to the feelings of Mrs. Zubayda and the rest of the 'Abba`sid family whose inclinations were for him.

3. His Weak Opinion
Al-Amأ¯n had no wise opinion, for experiences did not teach him; nor did the days educate him. He was given the wide kingdom while he did nothing well. Al-Mas'u`di has described him, saying: "He (al-Amأ¯n) had ugly behavior and weak opinion. He followed his caprice, neglected his affairs, relied on other than him during great misfortunes, and had confidence in those who were not loyal to him."
Al-Kutubi also described him, saying: "The ugly things were easy to him, so he followed his caprice and did not reflect on anything of his final result. He was the most miserly of the people (in giving) food. He did not worry where he sat or with whom he drank."
Concerning him al-Fakhri said: "I have found nothing good in al-Amأ¯n's behavior in order to mention it. "

4. Concealing himself from Subjects
Another example of his inclinations is that he turned away from people as a sign of pride toward them as well as he hid himself from his subjects and the inhabitants of his kingdom, so Isma`'أ¯~l b. Sabأ¯h, who was preferred to him, hastened to him and said to him:
"O Commander of the faithful, the souls of your commanders, your soldiers, and your subjects in general have become malicious; their viewpoints (toward you) have become bad; and they regard as great what they see because of concealing yourself from them, so sit in front of them for an hour and let them come in to you; surely this will calm them and renew their hopes."
Al-Amأ¯n responded to this advice and sat in his royal court. The poets went in to him and praised him through their poems, but he did not understand their words. When the people departed, he boarded al-Harraqa and went to al-Shamma`siya. As for the horses, they stood in ranks and there were men on their backs; they stood on both banks of the Tigris; the kitchen wares and stored things of the palace were carried along with him.
As for al-Harraqa which he boarded, it was a small ship like the lion. The people had never seen a view more splendid and beautiful than that view. Abu Nu'as was with him on the ship. He had a drink with him and described that ship, saying:
Allah has prepared for al-Amأ¯n mounts which He had not prepared for the Possessor of the mihrab (Sulayman b.Dawud).
When his riders travel by land, he travels on the water riding a jungle lion.
A lion stretching out its arms, running, with wide mouth and showing its teeth.
He does not suffer it with the bridle nor with the whip; nor has he placed his own foot in the stirrup.
The people wonder when they see you riding the image of a lion passing like clouds.
They become calm when they see you riding it, then how (is their condition) when they see you riding al-'Iqab (the Eagle) , with chest, beak, and wings, passing through the waves, going ahead of the birds in the sky in coming and going when they hasten it?
May Allah bless al-Amأ¯n and maintain for him the vitality of youth!
He is a king of whom praise falls short and a lucky Hashmi!
These are some trends and qualities of al-Amأ¯n; they give an account of an insignificant man who devoted himself to his pleasures and lusts, and paid no attention to the affairs of the Islamic state.

His deposing Al-Ma'mun
Al-Amأ¯n assumed the caliphate on the day when his father al-Rashأ¯d died; he received the ring of the caliphate, the gown, and the (iron) bar which the 'Abbasid kings had received before him.
Shortly after that, the relationships between al-Amأ¯n and Al-Ma'mun become corrupt, for the retinues who were around them played an important role in creating the crises between them; they exchanged letters which carried insults and curses for each other; and there was in them no summons to cordiality and good will.
Accordingly, al-Amأ¯n officially removed his brother al-Ma'mu`n from the office of regency and entrusted it to his son Mu`sa`, who was still a baby in the cradle, and called him al-Natiq bi al-Haqq (the one who says the truth).
Then he sent someone to the Holy Ka'ba to bring him the document of regency which was hung on it and in which al-Rashأ¯d had appointed al-Ma'mun as a successor (after al-Amأ¯n).
When it was brought to him, he tore it up and did not fulfill it. The historians said that this procedure occurred according to the viewpoints of al-Fadl b. al-Rabأ¯' and Bakr b. al-Mu'tamir. Concerning his breaking regency and his pledging allegiance to his son, a blind man from Baghdad said:
The cheat of the minister, the act of the Ima`m, and the opinion of the adviser have lost the caliphate.
That is (nothing) except the way of vainglory, and the way of vainglory is the most wicked of all ways.
The Caliph's deeds are wonderful, but the minister's deeds are more wonderful than them.
The most wonderful of this and that is that we pledge allegiance to the young child from among us, to him who does not rub his nose well and does not remove the fire stone from his own shoulder.
And that is (nothing) except a tyrannical, seductive one who desires to abolish the brilliant Book.
Were it not for the change of the time, would these two (qualities) concern moral lessons or thinking?
However, they are discords like mountains therein he was promoted by the action of the ignoble one.

Al-Rashأ¯d is Responsible for these Events
It was Harun al-Rashأ¯d who created the enmity and discord between his two sons, for he appointed al-Amأ¯~n as a king after him and nominated al-Ma'mu`n as a successor after al-Amأ¯~n; concerning that he wrote promises and covenants, made (some people) bear witness to that, and then he ordered the document of regency to be hung on the Ka'ba; whilst he was fully aware of the violent enmity between the two brothers.
As a result sorrowful events occurred and resulted in killing ten thousand people and destroying Baghdad. In this connection a poet expressed his deep regret toward al-Rashأ¯~d's procedure, saying:
I say out of the grief in my own soul and the increasing tears of my eye: Firmly prepare yourself for terror; you will meet that which will prevent you from sleeping.
Surely if you stay long, you will see an affair which will prolong for you depression and sleeplessness.
The opinion of the well-mannered king regarding dividing the caliphate and country is the most evil one.
If he had followed the opinion with knowledge, his black partings would have turned white.
Through the opinion he desired to put an end to the differences between his two sons and to make them show affection toward each other.
But he indifferently exited enmity (between them) and made dispersion inherit their friendliness.
He lighted between them a fierce war and made it easy for them to avoid leadership.
So woe be to the subjects shortly after that, for he (al-Rashأ¯d) has given to them as gift intense distress, clothed them in an endless tribulation and made them accompany declination and corruption.
Copious seas will flow out of their blood; they will not see their exhaustion.
So the sin of that is always against him, whether that is right or wrong!

Destructive Battles
When al-Amأ¯n officially removed his brother from succession and informed him of that, he summoned 'Ali b. 'Isa, gave him a gold shackle, and said to him: "Shackle al-Ma'mun and do not kill him until you bring him to me." He gave him two million dinars in addition to furniture, horses and mules. When the news concerning the procedures which al-Amأ¯n took against his brother came from Baghdad, al-Ma'mu`n deposed his brother.
He appointed himself as a general ruler over Islamic world; deprived al-Amأ¯n of land tax; removed his name from the embroidery, the dirham, and the dinar; mutinied against him; summoned Ta`hir b. al-Husayn and Harthema b. A'yun to war against him; and supplied them with an army.
The two armies met in al-Ray and a terrible battle took place between them, at which rivers of blood flowed. Finally al-Ma'mu`n's Army gained a victory over al-Amأ¯n's Army; the commander-in-chief of his armed forces was killed; and all his provisions and weapons were looted.
Then Ta`hir b. al-Husayn wrote to al-Fadl b. Sahl, al-Ma'mu`n's minister, to tell him about this marvelous victory and to congratulate him on it. He has mentioned in his letter: "I am writing to you while the head of 'Ali b. 'Isa is on my lap; his ring is in my hand; and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds."
So al-Fadl hastened to al-Ma'mu`n, gave him good news of this victory, and congratulate him on the caliphate. As for al-Ma'mu`n, he became sure of the victory, hence he sent gifts and properties to Ta`hir, thanked him very much for that, named him Dha` al-Yaminayn wa Sa`hib Khayr al-Yadayn (the possessor of the two right hands and owner of the best hands), and ordered him to head for Iraq in order to occupy Baghdad and to but an end to his (al-Ma'mu`n's) brother.
When al-Fadl b. al-Rabأ¯', al-Amأ¯n's minister, came to know of the defeat of the army and murder of 'Ali b. 'Isa b. Maha`n, he became perplexed and was sure of the fatal blow which befell them; concerning that the poet says:
I wonder at the people who hope for a success in an affair through which affairs are not completed.
And how is complete that which they have concluded and sought while dissoluteness is in the foundation of their building?
The seductive Satan whose promises are delusive have invited them to error.
He achieves through them (his goals) and play with them just as wine plays with him who drinks it.
They have treacherously schemed against the Truth and al-Ma'mun; the fallacious are never successful!
He (al-Ma'mun) is just, excellent, and kind to us; the hearts show love for him.
The final results of the affairs are surely for him; the Sharأ¯'a and the Zabur bear witness to that.
This poetry gives an account of the victory of al-Ma'mu`n. It shows that he wined the caliphate; that the authority did not go well with al-Amأ¯~n, for the foundation of those who supported him was standing on licentiousness and oppression; that error and temptation moved them; and that al-Ma'mu`n was victorious, for he was just and highborn, and made the hearts of the people incline to him
Baghdad is besieged
Al-Ma'mu`n's Army, headed by Tahir b. al-Husayn, went in a hurry to Baghdad, and it could blockade it. As for al-Amأ¯n, he was sure of defeat, so he wrote to Ta`hir and asked him for security for his own soul, his family, and his supporters. He promised to hand over the caliphate to his brother al-Ma'mu`n. However, Ta`hir said: "He (al-Amأ¯n) has been besieged; his wing has been broken; and his sinful followers have been defeated. No, by Him in whose hand is my soul, (I will not leave him) until he puts his hand in my hand and yields to me." He did not responded to anything of what he (al-Amأ¯n) wanted.
Accordingly, Baghdad remained besieged for a long time to the extent that the features of civilization wherein were destroyed; poverty and misery dominated all its inhabitants; the mischievous and deviants assassinated the innocent, looted properties, and followed women. So a group of the good people headed by Sahl b. Sala`ma resisted them with their own weapons and drove them away from Baghdad.
Any how, Baghdad suffered heavy casualties, lost its embellishment and radiance; bereavement, sadness, and mourning spread all over its districts. Hence a group of poets lamented over it; among them is al-A'ma`, who says in his poem:
I weep for burning and demolishing houses, looting seeds and provisions, manifesting veiled women bareheaded; they went out without veil or loincloths.
You could see them bewildered, not knowing where to go, fleeing just like fleeing antelopes.
Baghdad seemed as if it was not the best view and place of amusement which the eye of a viewer and of a beholder had seen.
Yes such was it, but the decree of the fates took away its beauty and dispersed its unity.
What had befallen the people before them befell them, so they have become conversations reported by those in deserts and cities.
O Baghdad! O house of the kings and place of obtaining various kinds of wishes! O place of pulpits!
O garden of the world! O place of seeking riches and of creating funds through the stores!
Explain to us, where are those as far as I knew that they lived in the flourishing meadow of livelihood?
And where are those kings who walked in processions in the morning and were as beautiful as the bright stars?
The whole poem is pain and anguish for the destruction which included both properties and souls in Baghdad. Another poet describes the condition of Baghdad and the destruction occurred wherein, saying:
Who envied you, O Baghdad? Were you not the delight of the eye for a time?
Were not there in you people whose neighborhoods and houses were one of the ornaments?
The time shouted to them through separation and they perished. What a kind of pain of separation have you found through them?
Another poet mourned for Baghdad and the tragedies which befell its inhabitants, saying:
My eye wept for Baghdad when it lost the freshness of the elegant life.
Worries have taken the place of our delight and distress replaced our plenty.
The eye of an envier befell us and annihilated our people with the catapult.
So some people were forcibly burnt by fire, and a female weeper wailed over a drowned one.
A female crier calling out: O my friends! A female sayer saying: O my brother!
A woman with intensely white and deep black eyes, coquetry, limbs perfumed with musk called out to the compassionate one but there was none compassionate, for the compassionate one was lost along with the gentle one.
And people took their goods out of the shadow of a world, but it was sold at every market.
And an emigrant with a distant house placed without a head in the middle of the road.
He was among their dead, so they did not know to which party he belonged.
There was no son to stay with his father, and the friend escaped from the friend.
This poem shows that Baghdad led a life of chaos, for murder spread; there was no security; and fear dominated it.
Al-Amأ¯n is murdered
Al-Ma'mun's Army besieged al-Amأ¯~n; yet he was absorbed in amusement and glee. The historians narrated: "Al-Amأ¯n was fishing along with a group of his servants. He was in love with one of them called Kawther. Kawther went out in order to look at the army which surrounded the palace, and he was wounded in the face. Al-Amأ¯n came to him, washed the blood off his face, and said:
They have struck the delight of my eye, and because of me they have struck him! May Allah punish the people who have burnt him!
News about his defeated army and his besieged palace successively came to him; still he paid not attention to all of that and went on, along with Kawther, catching fish and putting them into a large basin, and said: "Kawther has caught three fish, and I have caught nothing except two fish."
In spite of that critical situation, he went on amusing himself. Any how, the vanguards of al-Ma'mu`n's Army attacked him, beheaded him, and sent his head to Ta`hir b. al-Husayn, who installed it on a spear, and recited these words of Him, the Exalted: O Allah, Master of the Kingdom, You give the kingdom to whomever You please and take away the kingdom from whomever you please.
A poet satirized him, saying:
If a king occupies himself with amusement, then decide against his kingdom through woe and destruction.
Do you not see that the sun descends in the Balance when it leaves early in the morning; and it is the sign of amusement and glee.
Tahir sent al-Amأ¯n's head to al-Ma'mu`n in Khurasan. When al-Ma'mun saw the head, he became sad and felt sorry for him; however, al-Fadl said to him: "Praise belongs to Allah for this great favor, for Mohammed (i.e. al-Amأ¯n) wished to see you in this state in which you have seen him."
Then al-Ma'mu`n ordered the head of his brother to be installed on a piece of wood in the door yard. Then he gave salaries to the soldiers and ordered them to curse the head. Each soldier took his salary and cursed it. A non-Arab soldier took his salary, and it was said to him: "Curse this head." "May Allah curse him and his parents," he retorted. It was said to him: "You have cursed the Commander of the faithful (i.e. al-Ma'mu`n)." Al-Ma'mu`n heard him, but he overlooked him. Then he ordered the head of his brother to be brought down and to be returned to Iraq, so it was buried along with the body.
With this tragedy al-Amأ¯n's life ended, and it gives an account of that al-Ma'mu`n was cruel toward his brother and had no mercy on him, and that he was merciless because he craved for the kingdom.
As for al-Amأ¯n, he did not face Imam al-Rida, peace be on him. Perhaps, the reason for that is that he was busy warring against his brother al-Ma'mun.