Ibrāhīm fled to Basra. He was hosted in the house of Ḥāris b. ʿĪsā, a member of the Banū Dābiʿa tribe among the people of Basra. During the day, he did not appear in public. His arrival in Basra occurred after he had traveled through many cities. He and his brother had encountered terrifying situations and had faced mortal dangers at various times. Later, in the year 143 of the Hijra, he settled in Basra upon returning from the ḥajj. According to another narration, he arrived in Basra at the beginning of the month of Ramaḍān in the year 145 AH. His brother Muḥammad, after making his appearance in Medina, had sent him to Basra. This is what al-Wāqidī has reported.
According to the narrator, he was secretly inviting the people to pledge allegiance (bayʿa) to his brother. When his brother Muḥammad was killed, in the month of Shawwāl of that year, he began to invite the people to pledge allegiance to himself. According to the well-known narration, Ibrāhīm had come to Basra during his brother Muḥammad's lifetime and had invited the people to pledge allegiance to him. Indeed, we have mentioned this earlier. Allah knows best the truth of the matter.
Upon his arrival in Basra, he was hosted by Yaḥyā b. Ziyād b. Ḥasan al-Nabtī. During his stay, he hid in Yaḥyā's house. Eventually, that year, he appeared in the house of Abū Farwa. Among the first to pledge allegiance to him were Numayla b. Murra, ʿAbd Allāh b. Sufyān, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Zayd, ʿUmar b. Salama al-Hajimī, and ʿAbd Allāh b. Yaḥyā b. Ḥusayn al-Rakāshī. He called the people to pledge allegiance to him. When a great number of people responded to his call, he moved to the house of Abū Marwān, located in the center of Basra. His position was strengthened. People came in groups and pledged allegiance to him. Thus, a great crisis arose.
When news of the actions of Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd Allāh reached Manṣūr, it greatly increased Manṣūr's distress. As if his brother Muḥammad were not enough, now Ibrāhīm had appeared. For Ibrāhīm had emerged before the killing of his brother Muḥammad. The reason for his haste in appearing and showing himself before his brother's death was a letter his brother had sent him. He obeyed his brother's command and invited the people to pledge allegiance to him. Matters in Basra went according to plan for him.
The governor of Basra, appointed by Manṣūr, was Sufyān b. Muʿāwiya. He was secretly a supporter of Ibrāhīm. He was aware of Ibrāhīm's actions but did not take the necessary measures. He even denied the reports brought to him about this and wanted Ibrāhīm's situation to become clear. Manṣūr sent him two commanders from among the Khurāsānīs. Each of these commanders had 2,000 infantry and cavalry under his command. Manṣūr sent them to Sufyān to reinforce him in the war he was to wage against Ibrāhīm.
Manṣūr moved from Baghdad, whose construction had just begun, to Kūfa. While he was there, if anyone from Kūfa was accused of being involved in Ibrāhīm's rebellion, he would send his soldiers at night to kill him in his house. Farātis al-ʿIjlī attempted to rise up in Kūfa, but since Manṣūr was present there, he could not succeed. Meanwhile, many people set out for Basra by every route to pledge allegiance to Ibrāhīm. They were coming to Basra individually or in groups.
Manṣūr set ambushes with his armed men against those heading to Basra and had them killed on the road.
The killers would cut off the heads of those they killed and bring them to Manṣūr, who would then
have these severed heads hung in Kūfa so that the people would look at them and take heed.
Manṣūr, in order to repel the Khārijites, sent word to Ḥarb al-Rāwandī, who was conducting raids in al-Jazīra, ordering him to come to Kūfa. He and his soldiers set out for Kūfa. The supporters of Ibrāhīm
were in a city through which he passed. As he was passing through the city, Ibrāhīm's supporters said to him: "We will not allow you to pass through here. For Manṣūr has summoned you to fight against Ibrāhīm." He replied:
"Move aside, let me continue on my way." But they did not let him pass, so Ḥarb al-Rāwandī fought them.
He killed 500 of them and sent their heads to Manṣūr. Manṣūr said: "This is the beginning of victory."
At the beginning of the month of Ramaḍān of that year, on a Monday night, Ibrāhīm went with about ten cavalrymen
to the cemetery of Banū Yashkur. That same night, Abū Ḥammād al-Abras arrived as reinforcement to Sufyān b.
Muʿāwiya with 2,000 cavalry. Sufyān received them in the government palace. Ibrāhīm and
his companions attacked and seized all the mounts and weapons of these reinforcements.
Thus, they became stronger. This was their first booty.
In the morning, Ibrāhīm had become powerful. He led the people in the morning prayer in the great mosque. Some
gathered around him to watch, others to help. The governor appointed by the caliph, Sufyān b. Muʿāwiya, took refuge in the government palace and brought his soldiers inside.
Ibrāhīm besieged them. Sufyān b. Muʿāwiya asked him for amān (guarantee of safety), and Ibrāhīm granted it. Then
Ibrāhīm entered the government palace. In front of the iwan, a mat was spread for him to sit on.
At that moment, the wind blew and the mat was overturned. People considered this an omen of misfortune.
Ibrāhīm said: "We do not consider such things to be bad omens," and sat on the mat. To make it clear to the caliph that the governor Sufyān was innocent, he had him put in chains. He seized the wealth in the bayt al-māl (public treasury). There were 600,000 dirhams there. According to another narration, there were 2,000,000 dirhams. With this money, Ibrāhīm became even stronger.
At that time, Jaʿfar and Muḥammad, the sons of Sulaymān b. ʿAlī, the uncle of the caliph Manṣūr, were also in Basra. They marched against Ibrāhīm with 1,600 cavalry. Ibrāhīm defeated them. Ibrāhīm sent Madāʾ b. Qāsim with eighteen cavalry and thirty infantry against them. They defeated the 600 cavalry under the command of Jaʿfar and Muḥammad. Ibrāhīm gave what remained to them.
Ibrāhīm sent orders to the people of Ahwāz to pledge allegiance to him. They pledged allegiance and submitted to his authority. The governor of Ahwāz sent 200 cavalry under the command of Muġīra. The governor Muḥammad b. Kays, with 4,000 cavalry, confronted Muġīra. Muġīra defeated him and invaded his territory. Ibrāhīm also sent troops to the land of Fars and captured it. In the same way, he took Vāsiṭ, Madāʾin, and Sawād. His position became very strong. But the news of his brother Muḥammad's death reached him and he was deeply grieved. He led the people in the ʿĪd prayer in a sorrowful state. In fact, someone said: "While he was delivering the sermon and announcing the death of his brother Muḥammad, I saw the face of death on Ibrāhīm's face."
Ibrāhīm's growing strength drove Manṣūr to rage. He gathered his troops and set out. He left Numayla as his deputy in Basra and left his son Ḥasan as Numayla's assistant.
Upon hearing of Ibrāhīm's actions, Manṣūr did not know what to do against him. He was truly bewildered. He deeply regretted having dispersed his troops to various parts of the country. He had sent 40,000 soldiers with his son Mahdī to the city of Rayy; 40,000 soldiers with Muḥammad b. Ashʿath to Ifriqiyya; and the remaining troops with ʿĪsā b. Mūsā to the Ḥijāz. Only 2,000 cavalry remained with Manṣūr. He ordered many fires to be lit. At night, fires were lit everywhere by his command. Anyone who saw the fires would think there was a large army there.
Then Manṣūr wrote a letter to ʿĪsā b. Mūsā, saying: "When you read this letter, come to me immediately and leave all your affairs." As soon as ʿĪsā b. Mūsā received Manṣūr's letter, he came to him at once. Manṣūr said to him: "Go against Ibrāhīm in Basra. Do not be intimidated by the large number of men with him, for they are the dead camels of the Hāshimites. Trust my word, reach out your hand, and trust the soldiers with you; you will remember what I have told you." Indeed, the outcome was as Manṣūr had said.
Manṣūr also wrote to his son Mahdī, ordering him to send Ḥāzim b. Ḥuzayma with 4,000 soldiers to Ahwāz. Ḥāzim went to Ahwāz and expelled Muġīra, the governor appointed there by Ibrāhīm, from the city. He made the blood of the people there permissible for three days, then returned to Basra. Manṣūr brought all the regions that had broken their pledge back under obedience. During this time, for more than fifty days, he did not leave the prayer ground. He stayed there day and night; his clothes became dirty, but he did not change them until Allah granted him victory. Meanwhile, he was told: "People are blaming you for not going to your wives." He replied: "O Ibrāhīm, either I will see your head before me, or my father's head will be brought to me. This matter must be resolved."
I went to Manṣūr. Because of the multitude of troubles, he was sorrowful and distressed. His grief and distress were so great that he could not string words together because of the many holes and the widening of the patch. Nevertheless, he had taken precautions for what he would face and had made the necessary preparations to close the gaps. Basra, Ahwāz, Fars, Madāʾin, and Sawād had slipped from his hands. In Kūfa, there were 100,000 soldiers under Ibrāhīm's command, waiting for a single call to rush into battle with him. Despite this, Manṣūr endured the calamities and did not withdraw from the affair. He had become like the man described by the poet:
"The brave made the brave a master, taught him to repeatedly attack the enemy and finish the job, and made him a courageous ruler."
Ibrāhīm, with 100,000 warriors, set out from Basra toward Kūfa. Manṣūr sent ʿĪsā b. Mūsā against him with a force of 15,000 men. At the head of the vanguard was Ḥamīd b. Qaḥṭaba, commanding 3,000 soldiers. Ibrāhīm arrived and encamped at Bahamrā with his army of 100,000, establishing his camp. One of the commanders said to him: "You are close to Manṣūr. If you advance against him with a group of your soldiers, you will cut off his head, for he has no troops to defend himself."
Others said: "Let us first deal with the soldiers before us; then Manṣūr will already be within our grasp."
Ibrāhīm dissuaded them from the first opinion, but had he followed it, he would have succeeded. Then someone said: "Let us dig a trench around our army." Others said: "There is no need to dig a trench around our army." Ibrāhīm abandoned the idea of digging a trench. Then a commander suggested attacking ʿĪsā b. Mūsā's army at night. Ibrāhīm replied: "I do not approve of this idea." He also abandoned the idea of a night attack. Meanwhile, others advised him to divide his troops into detachments, so that if one was defeated, at least the other would stand firm.
Some said: "The best is to fight in ranks, for the Exalted Allah has said: 'Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly.' (al-Ṣaff 61:4) The command belongs to Allah; He does what He wills."
But if Ibrāhīm's army had gone to Kūfa and attacked the other side at night, or if he had arranged his army in detachments, he would have succeeded, by Allah's decree. The two armies met and formed ranks at Bahamrā, which is sixteen farsakhs from Kūfa. There, the two sides fought fiercely. Ḥamīd b. Qaḥṭaba and his vanguard were routed. ʿĪsā b. Mūsā said to them: "Return for Allah's sake, then attack!" but no one paid attention to him. ʿĪsā b.
remained in place with a hundred men from his own clan. He was told:
"It would be better if you withdrew from here so that Ibrāhīm's soldiers do not crush you." He replied: "By Allah, I will not leave my place until Allah grants me victory or I am killed here."
Previously, one of the astrologers had prophesied to Manṣūr: "The soldiers around ʿĪsā b. Mūsā will first scatter, then return and gather around him, and the outcome will be in ʿĪsā's favor."
The routed troops continued to flee. Eventually, they reached a river between two mountains and stopped. They could not cross the river. Then they all returned together to the front. The first to return was Ḥamīd b. Qaḥṭaba, who had been among the first to flee. Then they engaged in fierce battle with Ibrāhīm's soldiers. Many men were killed on both sides. Ibrāhīm's men were routed and fled. Ibrāhīm himself stood firm with 500 (or 400 or 90) men. The men of ʿĪsā b. Mūsā were victorious. Ibrāhīm was killed along with his men. His severed head was mixed with those of his companions. Ḥamīd brought the severed heads to ʿĪsā b. Mūsā. Eventually, they recognized Ibrāhīm's head and sent it with a messenger to Manṣūr.
The astrologer Nūbaḫt had entered Manṣūr's presence before Ibrāhīm's severed head was brought and had informed him of Ibrāhīm's death, but Manṣūr did not believe him. Thereupon, Nūbaḫt said: "O Commander of the Faithful, if you do not believe me, imprison me; if the matter is not as I have said, then kill me." At that moment, a messenger arrived and reported the rout of Ibrāhīm's army.
When Ibrāhīm's severed head was brought to him, Manṣūr recited the following verse by Muʿakkar b. Aws b. Ḥimār al-Bārīqī:
"He left his staff, his purpose fulfilled.
The eyes of the traveler were gladdened by his return."
It is reported that when Ibrāhīm's severed head was brought to him, Manṣūr was greatly grieved and wept so much that his tears flowed down his cheeks. Then he said: "By Allah, I did not wish for it to end this way. O Ibrāhīm, we have tested each other."
Afterwards, Manṣūr gave orders and had the severed head displayed in the market at a designated place. He also granted the astrologer Nūbaḫt, who had informed him of Ibrāhīm's death, an estate of 2,000 dunums.
An astrologer may speak the truth in one matter, but in many matters he lies. To accept his lies as truth is kufr (disbelief). Manṣūr and his astrologer were together in misguidance. Rulers have made it a custom, passed from father to son, to believe the words of astrologers. This is a misguidance that is not permissible to follow.
Manṣūr's freedman Ṣāliḥ says: When Ibrāhīm's severed head was brought to him, Manṣūr gathered the general assembly. People came to him to congratulate him and, to win Manṣūr's favor, uttered vile words against Ibrāhīm. Manṣūr remained silent, his face pale, and did not speak. Finally, Jaʿfar b. Ḥanzala al-Ḥarrānī entered. He stood and greeted, saying: — O Commander of the Faithful, may Allah grant you great reward for what you have done regarding your cousin, and may He forgive the faults he committed against you.
Manṣūr's face turned pale. He turned to Jaʿfar and said:
— Welcome, O Abū Khālid, come and sit here. Those present understood that Jaʿfar's words were well received by Manṣūr. From then on, everyone who entered the assembly began to repeat what Jaʿfar b. Ḥanzala had said.
Abū Nuʿaym Faḍl b. Dukayn said: Ibrāhīm was killed five days before the end of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijja of this year, on a Thursday.