Name Al Muqanna Died 779 AD, Uzbekistan | ||
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Hashim (Arabic/Persian: هاشم), better known as al-Muqanna‘ (Arabic: المقنع "The Veiled", died ca. 783. was a Persian who claimed to be a prophet, and founded a religion which was a mixture of Zoroastrianism and Islam. He was a chemist, and one of his experiments caused an explosion in which a part of his face was burnt. For the rest of his life he used a veil and thus was known as "Hashemi" ("The Veiled One"). Nafisi and Arian-Pour have elaborated him on the "Khorrām-Dīnān" armies.
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Name and early life
Before he came to be known by the nickname of "al-Muqanna", he was called by his birth name, Hashim. Early scholars believed that he was born in Sogdia. However, it is now agreed that his birthplace was in Balkh, a city close to Sogdia.
Biography
Hāshem was an ethnic Persian from Merv, originally a clothes pleater. He became a commander for Vehzādān Pour Vandād Hormozd (Known By The Arabs As: Abu Moslem) of Xorāsān province of Iran (Persia). After Vehzādān's murder in 755 AD, Hashem claimed to be an incarnation of God, a role, he insisted, passed to him from Abū Muslim, who received it via ‘Alī from the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hāshem was reputed to wear a veil in order to cover up his beauty, whereas his followers wore white clothes in opposition to Abbasid invaders' black. He is reputed to have engaged in magic and miracles in order to gain his followers.
Hāshem was instrumental in the formation of the Xhorrām-Dīnān armies which was lead by Pāpak Xorram-Din, a Persian uprising whose intent was to overthrow the invading Arabs. When Hāshem's followers started raiding towns and mosques of other Muslims and looting their possessions, the Abbasids sent several commanders to crush the rebellion. Hāshem poisoned himself rather than surrender to the Abbasids, who had set fire to his house. Hāshem died eventually in a Persian fort near Kesh. After his death, the Xhorrām-Dīnān armies continued to exist until the 12th century.
