Abd al-Rahman b. Abd Allah al-Arhabi

Abd al-Rahman b. Abd Allah al-Arhabi
Full Name	'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah al-Arhabi
Companion of	Imam al-Hussain
Lineage	Banu Hamdan
Place(s) of Residence	Kufa
Death/Martyrdom	61/680
Cause of Death/Martyrdom	Martyred in the Battle of Karbala
Burial Place	Holy Shrine of Imam al-Hussain

'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah al-Arhabi (martyrdom 61/680) was was martyred in Karbala. Alongside Qays b. Mushir, he delivered letters of Kufians to Imam Hussain. Then, he accompanied Muslim b. 'Aqil in his journey to Kufa. After the martyrdom of Muslim b. 'Aqil, he left Kufa secretly to join the caravan of Imam. He fought against Yazid's army on the Day of Ashura.

Name and Lineage

'Abd al-Rahman was a brave man and influential in Kufa who was among companions Imam Ali and Imam Hussain. 'Abd al-Rahman was son of 'Abd Allah al-Arhabi. Arhab was one of the famous branches of the Shi'a tribe of Banu Hamdan.

His name was reported in various ways as 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kudari, 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah al-Arhabi, and 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Ubayd al-Arhabi. His name is mentioned in Ziyarah al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa as 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah b. al-Kudari al-Arhabi and has been greeted in Ziyarah al-Rajabiyya of Imam Hussain as 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah al-Adhri.

Delivering the Letters of the People of Kufa

When Imam Hussain refused to give allegiance to Yazid b. Mu'awiya and went to Mecca, the People of Kufa wrote letters to invite Imam to Kufa. 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah and Qays b. Mushir were among those who were sent by the people of Kufa with 53 letters, as another report says, 153 letters or according to al-Akhbar al-tiwal 50 letters to Imam al-Hussain. The content of all these letters was inviting Imam to go to Kufa. They entered Mecca on the Ramadan 10 or 12, 60/July, 680 and met with other delegates of Iraq who had brought similar letters for Imam.

Companionship of Muslim in His Journey to Kufa

In response to the letters of Kufians, Imam Hussain decided to send Muslim b. 'Aqil to Kufa in order to measure the extent of Kufan support. Muslim b. 'Aqil was accompanied by Qays b. Mushir al-Saydawi, 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah, and 'Umarat b. 'Ubayd al-Saluli in his journey to Kufa. After Muslim b. 'Aqil was martyred, 'Abd al-Rahman left Kufa secretly and joined the caravan of Imam Hussain.

Battle of Karbala and Martyrdom

On the Day of 'Ashura, 'Abd al-Rahman killed and injured some soldiers of 'Umar b. Sa'd's army. He is considered among the martyrs of the first attack of the enemy. Banu Asad buried his body together with other martyrs of Karbala in the collective grave of the martyrs.

References

• WikiShia, An online encyclopedia of the school of Ahl al-Bayt