Al-Saffah

Abu al-‘Abbās ‘Abdu'llāh as-Saffāḥ أبو العباس عبد الله السفّاح‎
As-Saffah is proclaimed the caliph, from Balami's Tarikhnama
1st Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate
Reign	25 January 750 – 10 June 754
Predecessor	Dynasty established Marwan II as Umayyad Caliph
Successor	al-Mansur
Born	721
Died	10 June 754 (aged 33)
Spouse	Umm Salamah bint al-Makhzum
Issue	Raitah bint As-Saffah
Full name Kunya: Abul-Abbas Given name: Abdullah Laqab: as-Saffah Nasab: Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim
Father	Muhammad
Mother	Raita Al-Harsia
Religion	Islam

Abu al-‘Abbās ‘Abdu'llāh ibn Muhammad al-Saffāḥ, or Abul `Abbas as-Saffaḥ (Arabic: أبو العباس عبد الله بن محمد السفّاح‎‎) (b. 721/722 AD – d. 10 June 754) was the first caliph of the Abbasid caliphate, one of the longest and most important caliphates (Islamic dynasties) in Islamic history. (Due to different traditions of transcribing Arabic names, the spellings As-Saffah and Al-Saffah may both be found.)

Abū'l ‘Abbās' laqab or caliphal title "As-Saffāḥ" (السفّاح) meaning 'The Generous', comes from the Classical Arab verb 'yasfaH' (يسفح), which literally means 'to pour' or 'to pour out', to suggest he would pour wealth and blessings out on the Muslim Ummah. The title also had Messianic connotations, because he wanted to be seen as the mahdi. 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. However, the meaning of the verb 'yasfaH' has in fact shifted to mean 'to pour out blood' or 'to shed blood' in Modern Arabic and the title 'As-SaffaH' to mean 'one who pours out blood' or 'shedder of blood'.

As-Saffāḥ was head of one branch of the Banu Hāshim from Arabia, a subclan of the Quraysh tribe who traced their lineage to Hāshim, a great-grandfather of Muhammad via 'Abbās, an uncle of Muhammad, hence the title "Abbasid" for his descendants' caliphate. This indirect link to Muhammad's larger clan formed sufficient basis for As-Saffah's claim to the title caliph. However, the tradition that 'Abbās himself never converted to Islam, or only did so halfheartedly, weakened that legitimacy.