Can the Yamani Carry a Black Flag? A Critical Review of the Claim

[Daralhidaye.ir]| Nazim al-Uqayli, regarding the black flags, narrates a tradition from the book Al-Fitan by Nu’aym ibn Hammad to prove, by his own assertion, that the black flag is related to the Yamani movement.

The Document of the Claim Yamani Carry a Black Flag

From al-Hasan, that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, mentioned a tribulation that his Ahlul-Bayt would face, until Allah sends a black banner from the East. Whoever aids it, Allah will aid him, and whoever forsakes it, Allah will forsake him, until they come to a man whose name is like my name and they will entrust their command to him, and Allah will support and aid him.

The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, referred to a calamity that would afflict his Ahlul-Bayt, until God sends a black banner from the direction of Khorasan. Whoever helps this banner has helped God, and whoever humiliates it, God will humiliate him. These banners will pledge allegiance to a man with the same name as me, and God will support them with his help.

— Al-Fitan (Ibn Hammad), p. 189

An Indication for the Yamani?

Nazim al-Uqayli, regarding the indication of the above narration for the Yamani, says:

“If we were to say that these banners are not the banners of the Yamani, then a great contradiction arises; because in that case, the Yamani is commanded to aid these banners, and if he does not aid these banners, he is condemned to humiliation; whereas the station of the Yamani is far from such a description; because Imam al-Baqir (a) describes the banner of the Yamani as the most guiding of banners; therefore, considering what has been stated, that victory and conquest are with him and he is the banner that presents the conquest and victory to Imam Mahdi (aj); therefore, now, there is no escape from this statement that this eastern black banner is the same as the banner of the Yamani or that it is a follower of his and a part of his sacred revolution; rather, the descriptions of that banner correspond with the descriptions of the Yamani’s banner and emphasize it.”

— A Study on the Personality of the Promised Yamani, Vol. 1, p. 57

Response to the Indication for the Yamani

In response to al-Uqayli’s reasoning, if we say that the black banner of the East is different from the banner of the Yamani, no contradiction whatsoever arises, because the banner of the Yamani is different from the black banners of the East in several aspects:

First Aspect: The Banner of the Yamani and the Khorasani

The black banners emerge from the East, whereas the banner of the Yamani will emerge from Yemen. Sayyid ibn Tawus narrates in this regard:

From Jabir from Abu Ja’far (alayhis salam), he said: A youth from the Banu Hashim will emerge with a mark on his right palm, and he will come from Khorasan with black banners. Before him is Shu’ayb ibn Salih, who will fight the companions of the Sufyani and defeat them.

Jabir narrates from Imam al-Baqir (alayhis salam) who said: A young man from the Banu Hashim will emerge from Khorasan, along with black banners. In the palm of his right hand is a mark, and a person named Shu’ayb ibn Salih is in his service. He will fight the companions of the Sufyani and will defeat them.

— Al-Malahim wa al-Fitan, p. 53

On the same page of the book Malahim, it is stated:

FROM THAWBAN, HE SAID: WHEN YOU SEE THE BLACK BANNERS HAVE EMERGED FROM THE DIRECTION OF KHORASAN, THEN GO TO THEM, EVEN IF CRAWLING ON SNOW, FOR INDEED AMONG THEM IS THE CALIPH OF ALLAH, AL-MAHDI.

Thawban says: If you see black banners that emerge from Khorasan, join them, even if you have to crawl on snow; because among them is the Mahdi, the Caliph of God.

— Al-Malahim wa al-Fitan, Vol. 1, p. 53

If we place this narration and other narrations that indicate the emergence of the black banners from the East side by side, we conclude that the eastern black banners, under the generalship of Shu’ayb ibn Salih, will be the same as the banners of the Khorasani.

Second Aspect: The Signs of the Appearance

Some of the narrations in which the definitive signs of the appearance are mentioned have conjoined the Yamani and the Khorasani. It is from the self-evident rules of Arabic literature that the reason for the permissibility of conjunction (‘atf) is the necessity of distinction between the conjoined (ma’tuf) and the one it is conjoined to (ma’tuf ‘alayh). Therefore, if the Yamani and the Khorasani were one and the same, they would not be conjoined to each other.

Third Aspect: The Khorasani as an Independent Sign?

If the movement of the Khorasani is a follower or a part of the Yamani’s movement, one cannot speak of the Khorasani as an independent sign; just as the narrations have not spoken of Shu’ayb ibn Salih as a sign independent of the Khorasani and have introduced him as the general of the Khorasani.

But regarding the statement of al-Uqayli who says: “If we do not say that the banners of the East are the banners of the Yamani, in that case, the Yamani is commanded to aid these banners, and if he does not aid these banners, he is condemned to humiliation; whereas the station of the Yamani is far from such a description.”

The falsehood of al-Uqayli’s words is clear; because the goal of the movement of the Yamani and the Khorasani is to aid the Imam of the Time (alayhis salam), and the one who is humiliated is the one who stands against these two movements. So as long as the goal of both is one, siding with the Khorasani does not necessitate enmity with the Yamani; just as providing aid to the Yamani is not synonymous with enmity towards the Khorasani.

In conclusion, the black banners are independent of the banners of the Yamani, and the description of being “the most guiding” does not cause their unification, even though they have a single goal.