Another Prophecy of Imam Ali (a.s.)

regarding the decline of the Umayyad dynasty

Ibn e Abil Hadeed writes:

“In another prophecy, Imam Ali (a.s.) speaks about the shameful fate of the Umayyad dynasty:

          انّ لبني امیّة مروداً یجزون فیہ ، ولو قد اختلفو فیما بینھم،ثم لو کادتھم الضباع لغلبتھم۔

" Verily the Umayyad dynasty has its own duration and tenure within which they will rise; whenever they will initiate disputes amongst themselves, if the predators deceive them with their plots and strategies, they will dominate them completely. "

قال الرضی رحمہ اللّٰہ تعالی: وھذا من افصح الکلام وأغربہ، والمرودُ ھاھنا مفعل من الأرواد، وھو الامھال و الانظار، فکأنّہ علیہ السلام شبّہ المھلة الّتی ھم فیھا بالمضمار الّذی یجرون فیہ الی الغایة، فاذا بلغوا منقطعھا انتفض نظامھم بعدھا۔

Syed Razi (r.a.) says: ‘This is one of the most fluent and articulate statement. The word ‘Mirwad’ is derived from ‘Irwad’ which means grace and provision; Imam (a.s.) has compared their grace period with a position of competition that they will be lively until it remains and as it nears its end, their system will be distorted.

          Ibn e Abil Hadeed writes in the illustration of this statement that it is an evidence of unseen prophecies because the kingdom of the Umayyad dynasty was absolutely systematic until the initiation of disputes between them. Their battles were against others. Like the battle of Mu’awiyah in Siffeen, the battles of Yazid bin Mu’awiyah against the people of Medina and against the son of Zubair in Mecca, the battle of Marwan against Zahhak, the battle of Abdul Malik against the sons of Ash’as and Zubair, the battle of Yazid bin Abdul Malik against Bani Muhlab and the battle of Hisham against Zaid bin Ali.

           Just when Walid bin Yazid attained power and his paternal cousin Yazid bin Walid revolted against him and killed him, a great rift emerged between the Umayyad dynasty and the promised condition occurred and the one who had promised it, had rightly said that since the assassination of Walid, the Abbasids began to invite people towards them.

          Marwan bin Muhammad arrived from the island with the motive of attaining Caliphate and dethroned Ibrahim bin Walid and killed a group of Umayyad individuals, which resultantly shook the system of the nation and the kingdom and disintegrated it, and the Hashemite rule emerged and prospered with the decline of the Umayyad rule. The downfall of their kingdom took place by the hands of Abu Muslim who himself was initially weak and helpless and this topic turned out to be the implication of the words of Imam Ali (a.s.) as he said:

          ‘If the predators deceive them, they will overcome them completely.[1]