Sharifian lineage
ʿAbd Allah al-Kamil
Died c. 762 · Medina and Iraq · father of Idris I
ʿAbd Allah al-Kamil (“the Complete”) was the head of the descendants of al-Hasan in Medina in the time of the last Umayyads and the first Abbasids. Father of the claimant Muhammad an-Nafs az-Zakiyya and of Moulay Idris, founder of the Idrisid dynasty, he is one of the direct ancestors of Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari.
One nickname, two lines
He owes his nickname “al-Kamil” to the fact that he was a descendant of al-Hasan through his father, al-Hasan al-Muthanna, and of al-Husayn through his mother, Fatima bint al-Husayn. He thus united the two branches of the Prophet's family.
Head of the Hassanids of Medina
In Medina he was regarded as the head of al-Hasan's descendants, at a time when many hoped to see the Prophet's family take the lead of the community. To overthrow the Umayyads he allied himself with other groups, among them the Abbasids, with whom he made an agreement providing that power would go to his son Muhammad an-Nafs az-Zakiyya.
Abbasid betrayal and prison
Once the Umayyads were overthrown (750), the Abbasids refused to honour this commitment. The caliph al-Mansur demanded ʿAbd Allah al-Kamil's allegiance; he refused, and was imprisoned. He died in detention around 762.
His descendants
His sons Muhammad an-Nafs az-Zakiyya and Ibrahim rose in revolt in 762-763 against the Abbasids and were killed. Another son, Idris, escaped the repression and fled westward: he founded the Idrisid dynasty in Morocco.