Muhammad ibn al-Fath Wasul ibn Maymun al-Amir () () was the tenth
Midrarid emir of
Sijilmasa
, alternate_name =
, image = 1886608-the ruins of Sijilmassa-Rissani.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Sijilmasa ruins
, map_type = Morocco
, map_alt =
, coordinates =
, location = Errachidia, Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco
, region =
, type = Sett ...
. He was the first Midrarid ruler to adopt
Maliki Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
.
Biography
He was a son of al-Fath Wasul ibn Maymun al-Amir (), and cousin of his predecessor, al-Muntasir Samgu ibn Muhammad and was an enemy of the
Fatimids
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...
and supporter of the
Caliphate of Córdoba.
It is known that he served in the Umayyad armies in
al-Andalus at the
Battle of Simancas on August 1, 939, and had converted to
Maliki Sunnism, the prevailing ''
madhhab'' on the
Iberian Peninsula. He carried out a coup in 942–943 against the 13-year-old al-Muntasir and his grandmother who acted as regent, and took the power; al-Muntasir was imprisoned.
Considered a partisan of the Umayyads, his assumption of power alarmed the Fatimid Caliph. Muhammad sought the support of the Berbers to make war on the Fatimids. He assumed the caliphal title of ''
amir al-mu'minin'' and the regnal title ''al-Shakir li-llah'' ("the grateful one toward God") and from 944 to 950 started minting coins called ''mathaqil shakiriyya''. These moves irritated the Fatimid government, which decided to put an end to it.
The caliph
al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Muizz li-Din Allah ( ar, ابو تميم معد المعزّ لدين الله, Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, Glorifier of the Religion of God; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth Fatimid calip ...
sent the general
Jawhar against Sijilmasa. The general, when he arrived, addressed the notables, demanding the delivery of Ibn Wasul, but they refused; despite this, Ibn Wasul left the city with his family and treasures and his most loyal supporters, towards the fortress of
Tasagdalt. On September 958, Jawhar entered the city without fighting and changed the ''shakiriyya'' coins to Fatimid coins. Ibn Wasul left his refuge and approached the city to see what was happening. He was recognized by a member of the Matghara tribe, who handed him over to Jawhar, and on October of the same year, Ibn al-Fath was taken prisoner, chained, and sent to
al-Mansuriyya with the Maghrawa emir of Fez,
Ahmad ibn Bakr, captured at the same time, and some children of the notables of the city of Sijilmasa as hostages. They arrived in
al-Mansuriyya on November 959. He was confined in a castle and received a humiliating treatment by being taken around in a cage.
Jawhar appointed a governor whose name was not known, but shortly after leaving the city he was expelled by the rebellious population who proclaimed again the al-Muntasir Samgu ibn Muhammad.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Wasul
10th-century Berber people
10th-century deaths
10th-century monarchs in Africa
10th-century Moroccan people
Miknasa
Prisoners and detainees of the Fatimid Caliphate