Islamic History Podcast · Islamic History Podcast

The Caliphate in Chaos | IHP 11-2

·2 hr 22 min

The episode sits within the larger Umayyad sequence of Season 11. Listeners are told they can jump in here or start from the timeline at the beginning. The first section lays out the early history of Sufism. It defines tasawwuf as a major influence in the Islamic world that emphasizes a personal relationship with Allah. It also explains that the word Sufi comes from the Arabic word suf. The show contrasts that inward focus with the outward guidance of Sharia, including practices like Salat and Zakat. It then places the mystical impulse inside Islam from the beginning, rather than treating it as a later add-on. The narration moves into the seventh through ninth centuries. It identifies early devotees, sometimes called Obad or Nusak, appearing in places like Mesopotamia, Syria, and Iran. Their rough woolen clothing is presented as a sign of rejection of ordinary comfort. The episode also notes that this aesthetic could resemble Christian monastic practice, since Christian monks also wore wool as a sign of penance. From there the episode shifts into a source-heavy account of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. Tariqa Tabari is read and then unpacked in plain terms. The narration describes Hisham appearing melancholy, moving listlessly, and later speaking about a warning that he would die within thirty-three days. The episode follows the sequence of the medicine, the temporary easing of pain, and the report of his death soon after. It then slows down to explain that Lubaha is not easy to identify with certainty. Angina is suggested as the modern Arabic equivalent, but the show is careful not to overstate the diagnosis. It also raises the possibility of a mouth or throat blockage caused by something like diphtheria. The point is not to settle the medical case, but to show how limited the historical evidence is. After that, the episode moves back to Hisham and the wider Umayyad crisis. It returns to the Caucasus and the Khazar conflict. The show cites the scale of the losses and the failure of the frontier campaign. A map of the Caucasus is promised so listeners can follow the cities and regions being named. The episode frames these losses as disastrous for the caliphate's larger project. Across all of this, the pace stays measured and explanatory. It leans on chronology, source citation, and clarification instead of flourish. The result is a history lesson that ties devotion, illness, and imperial weakness into one political world.

As heard by us

A clear, sober pass through Umayyad strain, court illness, and the wider pressures around the caliphate.

This episode moves through the early history of Sufism and the final days of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik with a calm, chronological grip. It works best when it stops to explain names, terms, and sources in plain language, so the listener can see how court illness and spiritual life…

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Press play for an episode that starts with early Sufism and ends with Hisham ibn Abdul Malik's final illness.

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