Abd al-Wahid ibn Abdallah al-Nasri

Abd al-Wahid ibn Abdallah (Arabic: عبد الواحد بن عبد الله‎), known as al-Nasri or al-Nadri, was an eighth-century governor of Medina, Mecca and al-Ta'if from 723 to 724.

Career

Abd al-Wahid held various posts during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik, initially serving as the governor of Homs at an unspecified date[1] and then of al-Ta'if in 721/2. In 723 he was additionally appointed as governor of Medina and Mecca,[2] and in that same year he was selected to act as the leader of the pilgrimage.[3]

Upon his appointment to Medina, Abd al-Washid carried out the caliph's instructions to fine and torture the previous governor Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri for his conduct against Fatimah bint al-Husayn. In contrast to his predecessor he made sure to maintain good relations with the city elites and regularly consulted with the local notables al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and Salim ibn Abdallah ibn Uthman, with the result that his administration soon became extremely popular among the Medinese.[4] His initial choice to lead the judiciary of Medina was Sa'd ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Zuhri, but he eventually dismissed him and replaced him with Sa'id ibn Sulayman ibn Zayd al-Ansari instead.[5]

Following the death of Yazid in January 724 Abd al-Wahid was initially confirmed in his governorships by Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, but responsibility for the pilgrimage of that year was given to the new caliph's uncle Ibrahim ibn Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi. In November of that year Hisham decided to appoint Ibrahim as governor of Medina, Mecca and al-Ta'if as well, and Abd al-Wahid was dismissed from office after a term of less than two years.[6]

Notes

1. Ibn 'Asakir 1996, p. 247; Al-Shafi'i 2013, p. 463.
2. Powers 1989, pp. 167, 180-182, 191; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 375; Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, p. 332; Ibn 'Asakir 1996, pp. 244 ff.; McMillan 2011, p. 120.
3. Powers 1989, p. 191; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 377; Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, pp. 330, 335; Ibn 'Asakir 1996, pp. 244 ff.; McMillan 2011, p. 121. According to Al-Mas'udi 1877, pp. 60–61, Abd al-Wahid also led the pilgrimage of 722.
4. Powers 1989, pp. 180-182; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 375; McMillan 2011, pp. 120–21.
5. Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, p. 334; Waki' n.d., pp. 150 ff., 167; Judd 2014, pp. 154 ff..
6. Blankinship 1989, pp. 3, 7, 8; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 394; McMillan 2011, p. 139. Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, p. 357 replaces Ibrahim with his brother Muhammad ibn Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi. According to Waki' n.d., pp. 167–68, Abd al-Wahid was dismissed as governor after contesting a ruling against him by his qadi Sa'id ibn Sulayman, where he had been found guilty of having extorted the residents of Malal; Judd 2014, pp. 102, 112, 156.

References

• Ibn 'Asakir, Abu al-Qasim 'Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah (1996). al-'Amrawi, 'Umar ibn Gharama (ed.). Tarikh Madinat Dimashq, Vol. 37 (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Blankinship, Khalid Yahya, ed. (1989). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXV: The End of Expansion: The Caliphate of Hishām, A.D. 724–738/A.H. 105–120. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-569-9.
• Judd, Steven C. (2014). Religious Scholars and the Umayyads: Piety-minded supporters of the Marwanid caliphate. Oxford and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-84497-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Khalifah ibn Khayyat (1985). al-'Umari, Akram Diya' (ed.). Tarikh Khalifah ibn Khayyat, 3rd ed (in Arabic). Al-Riyadh: Dar Taybah.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Al-Mas'udi, Ali ibn al-Husain (1877). Les Prairies D'Or, Tome Neuvième (in French). Translated by Barbier de Meynard and Abel Pavet de Courteille. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McMillan, M.E. (2011). The Meaning of Mecca: The Politics of Pilgrimage in Early Islam. London: Saqi. ISBN 978-0-86356-437-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Powers, Stephan, ed. (1989). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXIV: The Empire in Transition: The Caliphates of Sulaymān, ʿUmar, and Yazīd, A.D. 715–724/A.H. 96–105. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0072-2.
• Al-Shafi'i, Muhammad ibn Idris (2013). Lowry, Joseph E. (ed.). The Epistle on Legal Theory. New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-6998-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Waki', Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn Hayyan (n.d.). Akhbar al-Qudat (in Arabic). Beirut: 'Alam al-Kutub. OCLC 957287781.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub (1883). Houtsma, M. Th. (ed.). Historiae, Vol. 2 (in Arabic). Leiden: E. J. Brill.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)