Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

ABU MUSLIM ABDUR RAHMAN IBN MUSLIM ALKHURASANI
Abu Muslim was undoubtedly the greatest figure of his age and the king maker of Abbasid dynasty. By his zeal, wisdom and generalship he changed the outlook of the entire Muslim world and raised the house of Abbas on the ruin of the Banu Umayyah. He was hard and harsh in his treatment and is said to have killed 600,000 in cold blood besides killing a large number in the battle-field but all that he did was to establish and nourish the Abbasid dynasty. Early Life
Surprisingly we know very little before his arrival at Merv about the man to whom the ”Abbasids owed their victory.” The reports about his early life do not agree on a single detail. When he was personally asked about his origin, he evaded the question and instead advised the inerrogators not to attach any importance to such unimportant details. In spite of the newly discovered sources, and the valiant effort of F. Umar, one must agree with R.N. Frye that the origins of Abu Muslim cannot definitely be determined from Islamic sources. There seems to have been a deliberate attempt to cover all traces of his past and to present him in a new image. The key to this new image is his assumed name Abu Muslim Abdur Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khurasani. His kunya, Abu Muslim, means the father of a Muslim. His name ”Abdur Rahman, he who worships the Compassionate applies to every Muslim. The name itself is reputed to have been one of the favourite names which the Holy Prophet gave to many of his newly converted companions. Abu Muslim also assumed Muslim as his father’s name. In other words the name represents a Muslim who is a son of a Muslim and the father of a Muslim. His nisba is most significant. He related himself only to Khurasan, and not to a tribe or a clan, either as a member or a Mawla, as was the practice at the time. One must not forget that he was not from Khurasan, he only came there. There could not have been greater emphasis placed on the idea that in the new society promised by the revolution every member would be regarded only as a Muslim, with the same rights and the same responsibilities regardless of racial origins or tribal connections.
Hugh Kcnned\. The Early Abbasid Caliphate P
The Abbasid Revolution
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