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The Karkh–Sunni reconciliation and joint pilgrimage to the two shrines

مصالحة أهل الكرخ وأهل السنة وخروجهم المشترك إلى المشهدين

c. 1050 CE · 442 AH

Baghdad → Kufa

In 442 the quarter-factions united against the police chief Ibn al-Naswi, vowing to burn their own markets and quit the city if he crossed; the hostility dissolved into an extraordinary truce — Karkh prayed at the Sunni Qala'in gate with 'hayya ila khayr al-amal' answered by 'al-salatu khayrun min al-nawm', Karkh invoked mercy on the Companions, and in Dhu'l-Hijja the two communities marched together to the shrines of Ali and Husayn, the Sunni black banner bearing the caliph's name beside Karkh's gilded standards, Turks and Sunnis joining a pilgrimage they had never attended before, while onlookers scattered dirhams over them 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

104010501060 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

In space

BaghdadKufa

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

Sects and schoolsCities

Sides

Summary

In 442 AH a remarkable truce was concluded in Baghdad between the people of al-Karkh and the Sunnis, after a season of killing around the newly built gates. The two sides mixed and went out together to visit the two shrines. 1

The scene

Ibn al-Nasawi was appointed to cross to the west bank to keep the city under control. The common people of al-Karkh, al-Qalayin, Bab al-Sha'ir and Bab al-Basra agreed on one position: if he crossed, they would burn their markets and withdraw from the city. The people of al-Karkh went to the gate of the al-Qalayin canal and prayed there, giving the call to prayer with the phrase "Hasten to the best of deeds"; the people of al-Qalayin answered with "Prayer is better than sleep." The two sides made peace, and the people of al-Karkh openly prayed for mercy on the Companions. In Dhu al-Hijja the two groups went out to visit the shrines of Ali and al-Husayn. The people of al-Qalayin raised a black banner bearing the name of the caliph, and the people of al-Karkh brought out gilded, multicoloured floats in the shape of mangonels. Some Turks and Sunnis who were not used to such visits also came out, and people scattered coins over them. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Baghdad· Kufa

People and things also explored

The Bab al-Tibn shrine exhumed and the Sammakin gate battle· The gate-building war between Karkh and al-Qala'in· The diwan manifesto impugning the Ubaydid genealogy· The Shawwal Earthquake of 450· The Baratha Mosque Affair in 420· Al-Qadir's rescript imposing distinguishing dress on the dhimmis· Al-Qadir bans dealing in Maghrebi dinars· The recantation of Abu'l-Wafa' Ibn 'Aqil

Sources

  1. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.487-488
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Karkh–Sunni reconciliation and joint pilgrimage to the two shrines”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/karkh-qalain-truce-442/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

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The Bab al-Tibn shrine exhumed and the Sammakin gate battle

In Safar 443 the Sunni–Shi'i war resumed over the 'wa-Ali khayr al-bashar' inscription on the new Sammakin gate; water was cut to Karkh until a waterskin sold for a qirat, and rosewater was mixed into public troughs. The Darzijani 'ayyar al-Tuqtuqi stormed the Taq al-Hurrani stronghold, beheaded two men and raised the heads on the new mosque's wall, then crucified two more on the gate after killing three, hurling their heads into Karkh with 'have your heads for breakfast'. The city rose: the Bab al-Tibn shrine was seized and looted, corpses — the 'Awfi, al-Nashi' and al-Judhu'i among them — were dragged out and burned or reburied elsewhere, the teak domes torched, the Hanafi jurists' khan in Qati'at al-Rabi' sacked, and at last Baratha's khutba returned with 'hayya ala khayr al-amal' dropped and al-Abbas named.