The Killings of the Prophet Muhammad's Family Members According to al-Isfahani's "al-Maqatul al-Talebiyyin"

Ja'fer b. Abû Tâlib's being murderd in the Battle of Mu'tah (8/629) during the period of Muhammad, and then his son Muhammad b. Ja'fer's in the Battle of Siffin (37/657) against Muaviyah in the lines of his uncle Ali was the first losses of Tâlibîs, which were accelerated under the caliphates of Umayyads and Abbasids. Besides Tâlibîs' kinship with the Prophet, Ali's being son-in-law of the Prophet and thus his generation being called as Ahl al-Bayt had made Tâlibîs the strongest candidate for the power. After Caliph Osman was murdered, Ali was elected as Caliph; thus the circumstances inevitably drew Tâlibîs into the power struggle. So, Tâlibîs were considered as a potential threat for the power from the caliphates of Umayyads and Abbasids, and were consequently subjected to oppresion, persecution and even massacre. This study aims to explore Tâlibîs fate and the reasons of their death by taking Maqatul al-Tâlibiyyîn to the centre, an early Islamic historical source by Abu al-Faraj al-Isphahani, an Arab historian from the Umayyad family. Keywords: Tâlibis, Umayyads, Abbasids, Massacres, al-Isphahani.