Hadith of black flags
The hadith of black flags or black banners are a body of purported eschatological hadith that describe an army emerging from Khorasan or "the east" bearing black flags, typically preceding the appearance of the Mahdi. Both Western scholarship and Muslim hadith scholars consider the traditions to be spurious. The medieval Muslim scholar Ibn al-Jawzi considered them to be forgeries.
The Abbasids used the traditions to legitimise and marshal support for their revolution against the Umayyad Caliphate, widely disseminating them through propaganda. The Abbasid partisans of Abu Muslim and Abu Salama Hafs [ibn Sulayman al-Khallal|Abu Salama Hafs al-Khallal] flew black banners and were known as the musawwida ; the choice of black corresponded with the popular belief that the colour was associated with the Mahdi. Conscious of their implications, the Umayyads attempted to violently suppress the traditions' dissemination.
In the modern era, the traditions were frequently referenced during the Afghan [Civil War (1992–1996)|first Taliban takeover of Afghanistan], thought to be a precursor to a return of the caliphate. They also inspired the colour of the flag of the Islamic State and have motivated Salafi jihadists.
''Kitab al-Fitan''
The Kitab al-Fitan of Nu'aym ibn Ḥammād, a compilation of apocalyptic hadith, contains multiple black banner traditions, including:''Akhbar al-Abbas''
Black banner traditions are also present in the Akhbar al-Abbas, the Abbasids' semi-official history of their revolution, in which the banners are presented as a sign of salvation. Some are given without a full chain of transmission. One such tradition is attributed to Ibn Abbas:The text also describes a lengthy account where Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of Muhammad, gave Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya a "yellow scroll" detailing the emergence of the black banners, which was eventually given to the Abbasid leader Ibrahim al-Imam.