Abu Shuja al-Rudhrawari

Abu Shuja al-Rudhrawari was born in Kangavar in 1045 (437 AH). In response, Abu Shuja promulgated a harsh anti-dhimmi edict on behalf of the caliph, enforcing them to wear a ghiyar to distinguish them from Muslims. According to Ibn Khallikan, he was put under house arrest and then exiled to Rudhrawar, where he lived for a while before going on hajj in 1094. In 1094 (478 AH) he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he ended up spending the last year of his life as a mujawir in Madinah until his death in June 1095 (Jumada II, 488 AH). He was buried at the Baqi al-Gharqad cemetery in Madinah. == Legacy ==

Al-Rudhrawari was highly esteemed by later Muslim sources, who praised him both for his piety and generosity as well as his literary ability. According to Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, "No vizier had ever displayed such zeal as he for the service of religion and the observance of the law. In all affairs connected with religion he was strict and severe, but in temporal matters, easy and indulgent. Never did he incur the slightest reprehension for remissness in his duty towards God." Ibn al-Sam'ani praised him for his "consummate merit, vast intelligence, dignified conduct, and unerring foresight." Ibn al-Hamadani credited him with helping restore some of the Abbasid caliphate's prestige and respect. The memory of the edict attributed to Abu Shuja was particularly powerful among the Jewish community. Besides Obadiah the Proselyte, its effects were also mentioned in a heavily fictionalized Judeo-Arabic epistle found in the Cairo Geniza that is a retelling of the Book of Esther. It depicts a period of extended hardship by the Jewish community which it blames on Abu Shuja: "the root of these calamitites was an evil man named Abu Shuja". == Notes ==