The pilgrimage of 199 AH without an imam

حج سنة تسع وتسعين ومئة بغير إمام

July 815 CE · Dhu al-Hijja 199 AH

Mecca

Khalifa ibn Khayyat reports that al-Ma'mun sent Sulayman ibn Dawud ibn Isa to lead the pilgrimage of 199 AH, but Ibn al-Aftas rose at Mecca and raised the white banner; Sulayman withdrew without going to Arafa, and the people stood at Arafa without an imam 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Arabia

In time

800810820830
The Early Abbasid Caliphate

In space

Mecca

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

Khalifa ibn Khayyat says that al-Ma'mun sent Sulayman ibn Dawud ibn Isa ibn Musa to lead the pilgrimage of 199, but Ibn al-Aftas, whom he names Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Hasan ibn Husayn ibn Ali (may God be pleased with him) ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him), rose at Mecca and raised the white banner; Sulayman withdrew without going to Arafa, and the people stood at Arafa without an imam. 1

A disputed name

A marginal note in the manuscript says that al-Aftas was al-Hasan ibn Ali (may God be pleased with him) and that the man in control of Mecca in the days of Abu al-Saraya was Husayn ibn al-Aftas; the editor draws attention to it. 1

The following year

In the year 200 Abu Ishaq, son of the commander of the faithful, led the pilgrimage; Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad and Ibn al-Aftas rose at Mecca, and Abu Ishaq overcame them and sent them to al-Ma'mun. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Mecca
Had participant
Abd Allah al-Ma'mun ibn Harun al-Rashid
During the reign of
Abd Allah al-Ma'mun ibn Harun al-Rashid

People and things also explored

Al-Bukhari's pilgrimage and his stay in the Hijaz seeking hadith, 210/825· Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· Zamzam Well· Dar al-Nadwa· The Kaaba· Al-Masjid Al-Haram· Sabil of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, Masjid al-Haram· Sabils of King Abd al-Aziz on the Mecca-Jeddah road

Sources

  1. Tarikh Khalifa ibn Khayyat (ed. Akram Diya' al-Umari, Dar Tayba) , p. 469
  2. Tarikh Khalifa ibn Khayyat (ed. Akram Diya' al-Umari, Dar Tayba) , p. 470
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The pilgrimage of 199 AH without an imam”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/hajj-of-199-without-an-imam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Related

Al-Bukhari's pilgrimage and his stay in the Hijaz seeking hadith, 210/825

Al-Bukhari set out in 210 after he had heard much in his own town from Muhammad ibn Salam al-Baykandi, Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Baykandi, Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Musnadi, Ibrahim ibn al-Ash'ath and others; when he reached sixteen, having already memorised the works of Ibn al-Mubarak, he made the pilgrimage with his mother and his brother, and when they returned he remained behind seeking hadith.