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Muslim b. Aqil b. Abi Talib: Difference between revisions
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On 5 Shawwal 60/9 July 680 Muslim reached Kufa. According to most sources, he went first to the house of [[al-Mukhtar b. Abi ʿUbayd al-Thaqafi]] [q.v.], later known as Dar Salim (or Salm or Muslim) b. al-Musayyab.<ref>cf. Muhsin al-Amin, Aʿyan al-Shiʿa , xxxiii, Beirut 1369/1950, 402.</ref> Other accounts<ref>e.g. Muhammad al-Baqir, as reported in al-Tabari, ii, 228.</ref> maintain that Muslim proceeded first to the house of Muslim b. ʿAwsaja al-Asadi. | On 5 Shawwal 60/9 July 680 Muslim reached Kufa. According to most sources, he went first to the house of [[al-Mukhtar b. Abi ʿUbayd al-Thaqafi]] [q.v.], later known as Dar Salim (or Salm or Muslim) b. al-Musayyab.<ref>cf. Muhsin al-Amin, Aʿyan al-Shiʿa , xxxiii, Beirut 1369/1950, 402.</ref> Other accounts<ref>e.g. Muhammad al-Baqir, as reported in al-Tabari, ii, 228.</ref> maintain that Muslim proceeded first to the house of Muslim b. ʿAwsaja al-Asadi. | ||
==The Kufan’s Pledge of Allegiance== | ==The Kufan’s Pledge of Allegiance== | ||
In his place of hiding, he received the oath of allegiance on behalf of al-Husayn; the number of men who gave the oath is put at between 12,000 and over 30,000. Muslim, encouraged by this response, sent a letter to al-Husayn urging him to come. The governor of Kufa, al-Nuʿman b. Bashir [q.v.], was told of Muslim’s arrival but refused to attack him. Some supporters (or spies) of [[Yazid]], regarding this as a dangerous sign of weakness, wrote to the caliph urging him to send a strong man to deal with the situation. Yazid thereupon had al-Nuʿman replaced by [[ | In his place of hiding, he received the oath of allegiance on behalf of al-Husayn; the number of men who gave the oath is put at between 12,000 and over 30,000. Muslim, encouraged by this response, sent a letter to al-Husayn urging him to come. The governor of Kufa, al-Nuʿman b. Bashir [q.v.], was told of Muslim’s arrival but refused to attack him. Some supporters (or spies) of [[Yazid]], regarding this as a dangerous sign of weakness, wrote to the caliph urging him to send a strong man to deal with the situation. Yazid thereupon had al-Nuʿman replaced by [[Obayd-Allah Ibn Ziad]] [q.v.], then already governor of Basra, and ordered him to have Muslim killed or banished. | ||
== | ==Obayd Allah b. Ziad as the New Governor of Kufa== | ||
When Muslim heard of | When Muslim heard of Obayd Allah’s arrival, he left the house in which he was staying and, under cover of darkness, went to the home of [[Haniʾ b. ʿUrwa al-Muradi]] [q.v.] Haniʾ, aware that Muslim was a wanted man, was at first reluctant to admit him yet subsequently treated him with all due hospitality. During his stay there, Muslim missed an opportunity to kill ʿUbayd Allah. According to one version, Haniʾ was behind the plot; he feigned sickness, knowing that Obayd Allah would come to visit him, thus providing Muslim with a chance to strike. But at the crucial moment Muslim’s nerves failed him, and ʿUbayd Allah left unscathed.<ref>Ibn ʿAbd Rabbihi, ʿIqd , iv, 378; al-Bayhaqi, Mahasin , 60.</ref> A second version, more complimentary to Muslim, attributes the plot to Sharik b. al-Aʿwar al-Harithi, an ardent supporter of Ali who none the less enjoyed ʿUbayd Allah’s confidence and had arrived with him from Basra. Sharik, who had been taken ill, also stayed at Haniʾ’s home, and his plan similarly called for Muslim to kill ʿUbayd Allah when the governor came to pay him a sick call. ʿUbayd Allah came, but Muslim remained in the closet in which he was hiding. The reasons given by Muslim for his inaction are said to have been opposition by Haniʾ (or by one of his wives), as well as a Prophetic tradition forbidding the slaying without prior warning of someone who has been given an assurance of safety.<ref>cf. Lane, Lexicon , s.v. f-t-k.</ref> Sharik, who had hoped to deliver Basra to Muslim, died of his illness three days later. | ||
==Searching for Muslim== | ==Searching for Muslim== | ||
Meanwhile, ʿUbayd Allah was making strenuous efforts to discover Muslim’s hideout. He dispatched a mawla of his (called Maʿqil in some sources) with orders to ingratiate himself with al-Husayn’s followers by swearing allegiance to al-Husayn and by donating 3,000 dirhams for the cause. The mawla succeeded in infiltrating the inner circle of followers, finally gaining access to Muslim himself. When he found out where Muslim was staying, ʿUbayd Allah summoned Haniʾ, forced him to admit that he was harboring Muslim, and beat him on the face with an iron-tipped cane. One version has it that Haniʾ died on the spot from these blows. According to more widespread reports, he was badly wounded and then incarcerated in ʿUbayd Allah’s fortress; Haniʾ’s clansmen thought that he had been killed, and the qadi Shurayh was sent to allay their fears. | Meanwhile, ʿUbayd Allah was making strenuous efforts to discover Muslim’s hideout. He dispatched a mawla of his (called Maʿqil in some sources) with orders to ingratiate himself with al-Husayn’s followers by swearing allegiance to al-Husayn and by donating 3,000 dirhams for the cause. The mawla succeeded in infiltrating the inner circle of followers, finally gaining access to Muslim himself. When he found out where Muslim was staying, ʿUbayd Allah summoned Haniʾ, forced him to admit that he was harboring Muslim, and beat him on the face with an iron-tipped cane. One version has it that Haniʾ died on the spot from these blows. According to more widespread reports, he was badly wounded and then incarcerated in ʿUbayd Allah’s fortress; Haniʾ’s clansmen thought that he had been killed, and the qadi Shurayh was sent to allay their fears. | ||