Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Flight to Egypt and Sijilmasa

Once again, Sa'id and his entourage had to flee the Abbasid manhunt, making for Tulunid Egypt. Sa'id arrived in Fustat, the capital of Egypt, in early 904, and settled there in the house of a local convert, with the help of the local da'i, Abu Ali. According to the generally considered reliable report of Ibn Hawqal, the latter was none other than Hamdan Qarmat, who had returned to Sa'id's allegiance. Sa'id assumed the guise of a wealthy Hashemite merchant, but local authorities, warned by Baghdad, became suspicious. The loyal eunuch Ja'far was even questioned under torture, but revealed nothing. Sa'id remained in Fustat until January 905, when the Abbasid troops under Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Katib invaded Egypt and ended the Tulunid regime, bringing the province once again directly under Abbasid control.

To escape the Abbasids, Sa'id was once again forced to flee. His entourage apparently expected him to head to Yemen, where the missionaries Ibn Hawshab and Ibn al-Fadl had conquered most of the country in the name of the Isma'ili imam. Instead, Sa'id resolved to turn west to the Maghreb, much to the surprise and dismay of his followers: while Yemen was part of the civilized Arab world, the Maghreb was wild and uncultured, far from the centres of the Islamic world, politically fractured, and dominated by Berber tribes. Indeed, the chief missionary Fayruz abandoned his master and made for Yemen on his own. The reason for Sa'id's choice is unknown, but the historian Wilferd Madelung suggests that he had doubts about Ibn al-Fadl's loyalty; the latter would indeed eventually renounce his allegiance and declare himself to be the awaited mahdi. At the same time, however, the situation in the Maghreb was promising. The da'i Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i had converted the Kutama Berbers to his cause, and by 905 had achieved some first victories against the autonomous Aghlabid dynasty that ruled Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) under nominal Abbasid suzerainty. The later Fatimid apologist, Qadi al-Nu'man, insists that Abu Abdallah had already sent messengers to Salamiya inviting his master to the Maghreb, in an effort to make the decision appear foreordained; but as Halm and Brett have remarked, the episode throws light on the improvised manner in which Sa'id appears to have run his movement.

Sending the trustworthy Ja'far back to Salamiya to dig up the treasures hidden there, Sa'id joined a merchant caravan going west, accompanied by Abu Abdallah's brother, Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad. On the way, the caravan was attacked by Berber tribes, which left Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad wounded, and Sa'id's library and many of his possessions in the hands of their attackers. The party made a stop at Tripoli, where they waited for Ja'far to join them with the recovered treasure. In the meantime, Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad was sent ahead to Kairouan, the Aghlabid capital. Unbeknownst to him, news of Sa'id and his identity as one sought by the Abbasid government had already reached the city, and he was immediately arrested. As a result, once again Sa'id had to alter his plans: instead of crossing the Aghlabid domains and making for the country of the Kutama, he joined another caravan heading west, skirting the southern fringes of Aghlabid territory. He was accompanied only by his son and Ja'far. Pressuring and even bribing the caravan leader to make haste, they eventually arrived in Sijilmasa.

An oasis town in modern eastern Morocco, Sijilmasa was the terminus of several trans-Sahara trade routes, and far from the reach of the Aghlabid emirs. Indeed, its Midrarid ruler, al-Yasa ibn Midrar, like most Berbers, espoused Kharijism, making them foes of the Abbasid caliphs. Posing once again as a wealthy merchant, Sa'id bought a nice residence in the city, and was slowly joined by the rest of his household over the following months. There he remained for the next four years, continuing his mercantile activities which apparently brought him additional wealth, all the while remaining in contact with Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i, who now embarked on the conquest of Ifriqiya. His identity did not remain a secret for too long: the Aghlabid emir, Ziyadat Allah III, informed the Midrarid emir of the true nature of the merchant from the east, but, aided by rich gifts from Sa'id, the emir of Sijilmasa saw no reason to do anything about it. Already before the conquest of the Aghabid emirate was complete, Abu Abdallah sent a troop of Kutama to escort Sa'id to Ifriqiya, but they were waylaid by the Rustamid emir of Tahert and had to turn back.
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