Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, Muḥammad b. Abī Zaynab Miqlāṣ al-Asadī, who was given the title (laqab) ‘al-Barrād al-Ajdaʿ’, was one of the revolutionaries of the early ʿAbbāsid period. According to various sources, he was the founder of the extremist (ghālī) sect of the Khaṭṭābiyya. He was also considered one of the ‘abwāb’ (gates) of the sacred hierarchy of the Nuṣayriyya.

Al-Maqrīzī (al-Khiṭaṭ, 2/352) re…