Abu Shudja Muhammad al-Rudhrawari

• Name — Abū Shujā' al-Rūdhrāwarī • Office — Abbasid Vizier • Term Start — 1078 • Term End — 1078 • Monarch — al-Muqtadi • Predecessor — Banu Jahir • Successor — Banu Jahir • Term Start2 — December 1083 or January 1084 • Term End2 — April or May 1091 • Monarch2 — al-Muqtadi • Predecessor2 — Banu Jahir • Successor2 — Fakhr ad-Dawla ibn Jahir • Prior Term2 — \ • Born — 1045 (437 AH) • Birthplace — Kangavar • Died — June 1095 (Jumada II, 488 AH) • Place of death — Madinah

Abu Shuja al-Rudhrawari was born in Kangavar in 1045 (437 AH). His father was originally from the Rudhrawar district near Hamadan, hence the name "Rudhrawari". His first term as vizier was very short in 1078 (471 AH), after the dismissal of the Banu Jahir. His second term in office was much longer: he was appointed in December 1083 or January 1084 (Sha'ban, 476 AH) and stayed in office until April or May 1091 (Safar or Rabi' I, 484 AH). In 1091, an altercation broke out in Baghdad involving Ibn Samha, a Jewish commercial agent of the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk, and a Muslim carpet seller. In response, Abu Shuja promulgated a harsh anti-dhimmi edict on behalf of the caliph, enforcing them to wear a ghiyar to distinguish them from Muslims. These restrictions were especially harsh and intended to be as humiliating as possible to dhimmis. Based on the accounts of Ibn al-Jawzi and Obadiah the Proselyte, an Italian convert to Judaism who was in Iraq around 1120, the distinguishing features included the zunnar, necklaces with a pendant saying "dhimmi", and distinct black and/or red shoes. Obadiah also wrote that every Jewish woman had to wear a small brass bell either around her throat or on her shoe, so that the noise would serve to mark her as Jewish. Based on Obadiah's account, these distinctions had the effect of singling out Jews for special physical and verbal abuse. The edict specifically stated that these restrictions also applied to government officials. According to Ibn al-Athir, many dhimmi government officials went into hiding due to the edict. Ibn Samha was upset at Abu Shuja's actions and wrote to Nizam al-Mulk. Besides being Ibn Samha's employer, Nizam al-Mulk also wanted to put the Seljuk sultan's authority on the caliph. Nizam al-Mulk was able to pressure the caliph into firing Abu Shuja. According to Ibn al-Jawzi, he was dismissed from office on Thursday, 9 Ramadan, 484 AH (25 October 1091 CE). According to Ibn Khallikan, this happened instead on Thursday, 19 Safar, 484 AH (12 April 1091 CE). According to Ibn Khallikan, he was put under house arrest and then exiled to Rudhrawar, where he lived for a while before going on hajj in 1094. In 1094 (478 AH) he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he ended up spending the last year of his life as a mujawir in Madinah until his death in June 1095 (Jumada II, 488 AH). He was buried at the Baqi al-Gharqad cemetery in Madinah.