Amir al-Mu'minin: Difference between revisions

The title derives from the common Arabic term designating a military commander, {{Transliteration|ar|[[amir|amīr]]}}, and was used for Muslim military commanders already during the lifetime of [[Muhammad]]. In this capacity it was, for example, borne by the Muslim commander at the [[Battle of al-Qadisiyya]].{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} On his accession in 634, the second caliph [[Umar]] ({{reign|634|644}}) adopted the title. This was likely not for its military connotation, but rather deriving from a [[Quran]]ic injunction to "Obey God and obey the Apostle and those invested with command among you" ([[Sura 4]], verses 58–62).{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} According to [[Fred M. Donner]], the title's adoption marked a step in the centralization of the nascent Muslim state, as the {{Transliteration|ar|amīr al-muʾminīn}} was acknowledged as the central authority of the [[early Muslim conquests|expanding Muslim empire]], being responsible for appointing and dismissing generals and governors, taking major political decisions, and keeping the {{Transliteration|ar|[[divan|dīwān]]}}, the list of those Believers entitled to a share of the spoils of conquest.{{sfn|Donner|2012|pp=135–136}} From Umar on, the title became a fixed part of caliphal titulature;{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} Indeed, it appears to have been the chief title of the early caliphs,{{sfn|Donner|2012|pp=98–99}} and the actual title of caliph ({{Transliteration|ar|khalīfa}}, {{lit.|successor}}) does not appear to have been adopted until the reign of the [[Umayyad]] caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] ({{reign|685|705}}), when he adopted it as a means to strengthen his position, whose legitimacy had been shaky following the [[Second Fitna]].{{sfn|Donner|2012|pp=210–211}}▼

Among [[Sunnis]], the adoption of the title of {{Transliteration|ar|amīr al-muʾminīn}} became virtually tantamount to claiming the caliphate. As a result, the title was used by the great Islamic dynasties that claimed the universal leadership over the [[Ummah|Muslim community]]: the Umayyads, [[Abbasids]], and [[Fatimids]].{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} In later centuries, it was also adopted by regional rulers, especially in the western parts of the Muslim world, who used the caliphal rank to emphasize their independent authority and legitimacy, rather than any ecumenical claim.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} The [[Caliphate of Cordoba|Umayyads of Cordoba]] adopted it in 928, whence it was also used by several other minor rulers of [[al-Andalus]]. From 1253, the [[Hafsids]] of [[Ifriqiya]] claimed the caliphate, and were followed by the [[Marinids]] of [[Morocco]], following whom all successive [[History of Morocco|Moroccan dynasties]]—the last two of them, the [[Saadi Sultanate|Sa'di dynasty]] and the current [[Alawi dynasty]], also by virtue of their claimed [[sharif|descent from Muhammad]]{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=6}}—have also claimed it.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} The [[Constitution of Morocco]] still uses the term {{Transliteration|ar|amīr al-muʾminīn}} as the principal title of the [[King of Morocco]], as a means to "[legitimise the monarchy's] hegemonic role and its position outside significant constitutional restraint".{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=7}}▼

At the same time, the title has retained a connotation of command in the {{Transliteration|ar|[[jihad|jihād]]}} ('holy war'), and has been used thus throughout history, without necessarily implying a claim to the caliphate.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}}{{sfn|Pennell|2016}} It was used in this sense by the early [[Ottoman sultans]]—who notably rarely used the caliphal title after they took it from the Abbasids in 1517—as well as various [[West Africa]]n Muslim warlords until the modern period.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=445}} The title was used by [[Aurangzeb]], the sixth emperor of the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name="Waseem2003" /> [[Muhammad Umar Khan]] of the [[Khanate of Kokand|Kokand Khanate]] took on the title.<ref name="Sobolev1876" />▼

[[Abdelkader El Djezairi]] assumed the title in 1834.{{Sfn|Esposito|2003|p=1}} The Afghan ruler [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] likewise used it when he proclaimed a {{transl|ar|jihād}} against the [[Sikh Empire|Sikh]] in 1836.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=2}}{{sfn|Shahrani|1986|p=35}}<ref name="Shahrani1986" /> According to historian Richard Pennell, this pattern reflects the use of the term {{transl|ar|amīr al-muʾminīn}} for regional rulers with the connotations of wide-ranging and absolute authority over a region, the power to conduct relations with foreign states, the upkeep of the [[Sharia]], and the protection of Muslim territory from non-believers.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=16}} [[Timur]] (Tamerlane) also used the title.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}▼

When [[Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz|Hussein bin Ali]] was buried in the compound of the [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] [[Sharifian Caliphate|as a caliph]] in 1931, the following inscription was written on the window above his tomb:{{lang-ar|هَذَا قَبْرُ أَمِيرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلْحُسَيْن بْنُ عَلِي|lit=Haḏa qabru ʾamīri ʾal-mūˈminīna ʾal-Ḥusayn bnu ʿAlī}} which translates to "This is the tomb of the Commander of the Faithful, Hussein bin Ali."<ref>{{cite book |author1=Muhammad Rafi |title=La Mecque au XIVème siècle de l'Hégire / مكة في القرن الرابع عشر الهجري |date=1964 |publisher=/ |location=La Mecque |page=291 |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=IslamKotob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTBHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT406 |title=الشريف الحسين الرضي والخلافة لنضال داود المومني |publisher=IslamKotob |language=ar |access-date=2023-12-26 |archive-date=2024-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102085623/https://books.google.com/books?id=iTBHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT406#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>▼

In 1996, the title was adopted by the [[Taliban]] leader [[Mullah Omar|Muhammad Umar]].{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=2}} Mullah Mohammed Omar was conferred the title in April 1996 by a Taliban-convened [[shura]] (assembly) of approximately 1000-1500 Afghan [[ulama]] in [[Kandahar]], when he displayed the [[Shrine of the Cloak|Cloak of the Prophet]] before the crowd. The title granted legitimacy to Omar's leadership of Afghanistan and his declared jihad against the government led by [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]]. Omar was still referred to as Amir al-Mu'minin by his followers and other jihadists, notably al-Qaeda leader [[Ayman az-Zawahiri|Ayman al-Zawahiri]]. [[Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor|Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor]], the successor of Mullah Omar, was conferred the title in July 2015 upon his appointment as the new leader of the Taliban.<ref name="Joscelyn2015" /> [[Hibatullah Akhundzada]], the third [[List of Taliban leaders|Supreme Leader of the Taliban]], was also conferred the title upon his election in 2016 and became the [[Supreme Leader of Afghanistan|Leader]] of [[Afghanistan]] in 2021.<ref name="Voice" /> In 2005, the [[Islamic State]] leader [[Abu Umar al-Baghdadi]] adopted the title, nine years before the Islamic State proclaimed its caliphate in 2014.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|pp=2–3}} [[Abu Umar al-Baghdadi]] was conferred the title after his appointment in October 2006 by the Mujahideen Shura Council as the first Emir of the newly declared Islamic State of Iraq.<ref name="Kohlmann2006" /><ref name="Bunzel2015" /> As Richard Pennell commented, by claiming the title they positioned themselves as potential "caliphs-in-waiting",{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=16}} but for the moment, the title was simply the expression of their claim to an overarching "activist authority" over the areas they controlled.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|pp=17–18}}▼