As-Saffah

Who was As-Saffah?

Abu al-`Abbās `Abdu'llāh ibn Muhammad as-Saffāḥ, or Abul `Abbas al-Saffaḥ was the first caliph of the Abbasid caliphate, one of the longest and most important caliphates in Islamic history.

As-Saffāḥ is a messianic religious title from hadith literature on the mahdi, which, in older Arabic, meant the Generous from the Arabic verb yasfaḥ, "to pour out," implying the future ruler would be liberal in dispensing wealth to Muslims.. The new caliph appropriated this messianic title in his first sermon in Kufa in 749 AD. A weaker alternative explanation of the title is slaughterer or shedder of blood for his ruthless efforts to eliminate the rival Umayyad family - unlikely, however, since no caliph would have appropriated the title for himself if that were the original meaning.