Al-Muti

Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Faḍl ibn al-Muqtadir (914 – September/October 974), better known by his regnal name of al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh (Arabic: المطيع لله‎‎, "obedient to God"), was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974. He had long aspired to the office. Between him and the previous Caliph, al-Mustakfi, bitter enmity existed, which led him to retire into hiding.

When the Buwayhids under Mu'izz al-Dawla entered Baghdad in 945, al-Muti came forth from his retirement and established himself at the new court. But even he, after he became caliph, was no longer allowed a voice in nominating the vizier by the Buwayhid amirs who dominated Iraq. The caliphal office was shorn of every token of respect and dignity. Shi'a observances were set up, such as public mourning on the anniversary of Husayn's death, and rejoicing of the Prophet's testimony in Ali's favor. On one occasion they went so far as to post upon the various mosques sheets inscribed with curses against the early Caliphs, and even against Aisha, the liar. The city was exasperated by the insult, and the placards torn down by the infuriated mob.

The Buwayhids maintained their hold on Baghdad over one hundred years. The material position of the Caliphs throughout the Buwayhid reign was at its lowest ebb. Mu'izz al-Dawla was only prevented from raising to throne a Shi'a Caliph by alarm for his own safety, and fear of rebellion, not in the capital alone, but all around. But the Caliphate of Baghdad, on its spiritual side, was still recognized throughout the Muslim world wherever the orthodox (Sunni) faith prevailed, except for Umayyad Spain and Idrissid Morocco. The Fatimid caliphs, on the other hand, claimed spiritual supremacy not only in Egypt, but also contested the pulpits of Syria. In the East the spiritual dominance varied, but, except Persia and Daylam, the balance clearly favored orthodoxy. The Turks were staunch Sunnis. The great Mahmud of Ghazni, of Eastern fame, held always a friendly attitude towards the Caliphs, and his victories in India were accordingly announced from the pulpits of Baghdad in grateful and glowing terms.

References

• This text is adapted from William Muir's public domain, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall.