'Abd al-Wahid ibn 'Abdallah al-Nasri

'Abd al-Wahid ibn 'Abdallah (Arabic: عبد الواحد بن عبد الله‎), known as al-Nasri or al-Nadri, was an eighth century governor of Medina, Mecca and al-Ta'if from 723 to 724.

Career

'Abd al-Wahid held various posts during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn 'Abd al-Malik, initially serving as the governor of Homs at an unspecified date^[1] and then of al-Ta'if in 721/2. In 723 he was additionally appointed as governor of Medina and Mecca,^[2] and in that same year he was selected to act as the leader of the pilgrimage.^[3]

Upon his appointment to Medina, 'Abd al-Washid carried out the caliph's instructions to fine and torture the previous governor 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri for his conduct against Fatimah bint al-Husayn. In contrast to his predecessor he made sure to maintain good relations with the city elites and regularly consulted with the local notables al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and Salim ibn 'Abdallah ibn 'Uthman, with the result that his administration soon became extremely popular among the Medinese.^[4] His initial choice to lead the judiciary of Medina was Sa'd ibn Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Zuhri, but he eventually dismissed him and replaced him with Sa'id ibn Sulayman ibn Zayd al-Ansari instead.^[5]

Following the death of Yazid in January 724 'Abd al-Wahid was initially confirmed in his governorships by Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik, but responsibility for the pilgrimage of that year was given to the new caliph's uncle Ibrahim ibn Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi. In November of that year Hisham decided to appoint Ibrahim as governor of Medina, Mecca and al-Ta'if as well, and 'Abd al-Wahid was dismissed from office after a term of less than two years.^[6]

Notes

References

• Ibn 'Asakir, Abu al-Qasim 'Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah (1996). al-'Amrawi, 'Umar ibn Gharama, ed. Tarikh Madinat Dimashq, Vol. 37 (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
• Judd, Steven C. (2014). Religious Scholars and the Umayyads: Piety-minded supporters of the Marwanid caliphate. Oxford and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-84497-0.
• Khalifah ibn Khayyat (1985). al-'Umari, Akram Diya', ed. Tarikh Khalifah ibn Khayyat, 3rd ed (in Arabic). Al-Riyadh: Dar Taybah.
• Al-Mas'udi, Ali ibn al-Husain (1877). Les Prairies D'Or, Tome Neuvième (in French). Ed. and Trans. Charles Barbier de Meynard and Abel Pavet de Courteille. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.
• McMillan, M.E. (2011). The Meaning of Mecca: The Politics of Pilgrimage in Early Islam. London: Saqi. ISBN 978-0-86356-437-6.
• Al-Shafi'i, Muhammad ibn Idris (2013). Lowry, Joseph E., ed. The Epistle on Legal Theory. New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-6998-0.
• Waki', Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn Hayyan (n.d.). Akhbar al-Qudat (in Arabic). Beirut: 'Alam al-Kutub.
• Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub (1883). Houtsma, M. Th., ed. Historiae, Vol. 2 (in Arabic). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
• Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. (1985–2007). The History of al-Ṭabarī (40 vols). SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7249-1.