Muhammad was the son of
Abdawayh ibn Jabalah, a military officer and governor of
Egypt during the caliphate of
al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833). He himself embarked on a similar career, and early in the reign of
al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) he is mentioned as serving as governor of Barqah in
North Africa. During his administration of that province he was faced with an uprising by a group of
Berbers and tribal
Arabs, which remained unsubdued until al-Wathiq dispatched the army commander
Raja ibn Ayyub al-Hidari to pacify the region. In 854 Muhammad was appointed as governor of Hims after the previous head official
Abu al-Mughith Musa ibn Ibrahim was forced out by the inhabitants. In the following year he was faced with
a large uprising by the city's inhabitants, which he however defeated with the help of reinforcements from
Damascus and
Ramla. As a consequence of the revolt he was ordered by the caliph
al-Mutawakkil to undertake a number of punitive measures against the city residents, including the execution of a number of local leaders and the expulsion of the entire Christian population from Hims. Al-Mutawakkil subsequently awarded him with 50,000
dirhams, as well as gifts and
robes of honor, for his conduct during the event. ==Notes==