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Muslim b. Aqil b. Abi Talib: Difference between revisions
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Fearful of increasing Kufan supports of Imam Husayn, [[Yazid]] appointed [[Ubayd Allah b. Ziad]] as the new governor of Kufa to frighten people and force them to leave Muslim. Finally, Muslim was arrested and executed in the day of ‘Arafa. The story of Muslim being left alone and his [[martyrdom]] in Kufa is a recurring theme of [[Rawza]] recited by the Shi'as. | Fearful of increasing Kufan supports of Imam Husayn, [[Yazid]] appointed [[Ubayd Allah b. Ziad]] as the new governor of Kufa to frighten people and force them to leave Muslim. Finally, Muslim was arrested and executed in the day of ‘Arafa. The story of Muslim being left alone and his [[martyrdom]] in Kufa is a recurring theme of [[Rawza]] recited by the Shi'as. | ||
==Birth and Life Events== | ==Birth and Life Events== | ||
There are unusually large discrepancies in the sources as regards his date of birth: the difference between the extreme figures is more than 30 years. According to one report, he fought in Safar 37/July 657 in the right wing (maymana) of [[Ali]]’s army at the battle of [https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Siffin Siffin], together with his cousins [[Hasan]], [[Husayn]] and ʿAbd Allah b. Jaʿfar.<ref>Ibn Aʿtham al-Kufi, K. al-Futuh, Haydarabad 1388-95/1968-75, iii, 32; Ibn Shahrashub, Manaqib, ii, 352.</ref> The report implies that Muslim was born no later than the early 20s/640s. An even earlier date is suggested by an account that during ʿOmar’s reign Muslim, took part in the conquest of al-Bahnasa [q.v.]<ref>Ps.-Waqidi, Futuh al-Sham , Cairo 1354, ii, 136, 146, 153, 159, 160, 169, 181, 184, 185, 190.</ref>, in the course of which two of his brothers, Jaʿfar and Ali, were killed | There are unusually large discrepancies in the sources as regards his date of birth: the difference between the extreme figures is more than 30 years. According to one report, he fought in Safar 37/July 657 in the right wing (maymana) of [[Ali]]’s army at the battle of [https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Siffin Siffin], together with his cousins [[Hasan]], [[Husayn]] and ʿAbd Allah b. Jaʿfar.<ref>Ibn Aʿtham al-Kufi, K. al-Futuh, Haydarabad 1388-95/1968-75, iii, 32; Ibn Shahrashub, Manaqib, ii, 352.</ref> The report implies that Muslim was born no later than the early 20s/640s. An even earlier date is suggested by an account that during ʿOmar’s reign Muslim, took part in the conquest of al-Bahnasa [q.v.]<ref>Ps.-Waqidi, Futuh al-Sham , Cairo 1354, ii, 136, 146, 153, 159, 160, 169, 181, 184, 185, 190.</ref>, in the course of which two of his brothers, Jaʿfar and Ali, were killed.<ref>ibid., ii, 177.</ref> He is said to have been appointed as the first Muslim governor of the town, and to have retained this position until ʿUthman’s caliphate, when he returned to Medina, leaving his brothers and sons behind.<ref>ibid., ii, 193.<br /></ref> Other accounts, in contrast, point to a date of birth in the late 30s/650s: according to these accounts, Muslim’s mother, an umm walad of Nabataean origin<ref>cf. Muhammad b. Habib, al-Munammaq , 505.</ref> whose name is variously given as ʿUlayya, Khalila and Hilya, was bought by ʿAqil in Syria, with the help of [[Muʿawiya]]. This purchase probably took place after Ali’s assumption of the caliphate (in Dhu ’l-Hijja 35/June 656), which is the time usually given as the beginning of Aqil’s friendship with the Umayyad ruler. | ||
==Departure to Kufa== | ==Departure to Kufa== | ||
Muslim came into prominence, when he was sent to Kufa as Imam Husayn’s personal representative. His task was to measure the extent of Kufan support for the Prophet’s grandson. He set off from Mecca on 15 Ramaḍan 60/19 June 680 in the company of a number of Kufans who had come to al-Husayn with messages of support. His first destination was Medina, where he took leave of his family and hired the services of two Ḳaysis to guide him on his way. The guides lost their way in the desert and were too weakened by thirst to be able to proceed; they just managed to show Muslim the right direction before they both (or one of them) died. Muslim saw in this a bad omen, and wrote al-Husayn from al-Maḍiq asking to be relieved of his mission. Al-Husayn sent back a curt note accusing Muslim of cowardice and ordering him to continue. | Muslim came into prominence, when he was sent to Kufa as Imam Husayn’s personal representative. His task was to measure the extent of Kufan support for the Prophet’s grandson. He set off from Mecca on 15 Ramaḍan 60/19 June 680 in the company of a number of Kufans who had come to al-Husayn with messages of support. His first destination was Medina, where he took leave of his family and hired the services of two Ḳaysis to guide him on his way. The guides lost their way in the desert and were too weakened by thirst to be able to proceed; they just managed to show Muslim the right direction before they both (or one of them) died. Muslim saw in this a bad omen, and wrote al-Husayn from al-Maḍiq asking to be relieved of his mission. Al-Husayn sent back a curt note accusing Muslim of cowardice and ordering him to continue. | ||
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Al-Ḥusayn was at Zubala (or Thaʿlabiyya, or Zarud, or Sharaf) when he received news of the tragedy. Shi’i authors maintain that al-Ḥusayn gave his entourage the option of withdrawing and that members of Muslim’s family were among those who chose to stay with him to the end. The lists of those killed at Karbala do indeed include Muslim’s brothers ʿAbd Allah, ʿAbd al-Raḥman and Jaʿfar; some say that in all five brothers died on the battlefield.<ref>Ibn Maʿsum al-Shirazi, al-Darajat al-rafiʿa , Najaf 1382/1962, 165.</ref> ʿAbd Allah, a son of Muslim from his marriage to ʿAli’s daughter [[Ruqayya]], was also reportedly killed in the battle; some sources refer to two sons who perished there.<ref>e.g. al-Safadi, al-Wafi , xii, ed. Ramadan ʿAbd al-Tawwab, Wiesbaden 1399/1979, 426.</ref> Two other sons (sometimes identified as Muhammad and Ibrahim) are said to have escaped from ʿUbayd Allah’s camp a year after Karbala only to be brutally murdered by a Kufan who expected to be rewarded by ʿUbayd Allah (but who was beheaded instead).<ref>Ibn Babawayh, Amali , Najaf 1389/1970, 73-9.</ref> Their story, like that of their father, is re-enacted in the annual [[taʿziya]] plays.<ref>Pelly, The Miracle play, i, 190-206.<br /></ref> In some versions of these plays, the two sons are said to have been decapitated at the same time as their father<ref>e.g. Metin And, The Muharram observances in Anatolian Turkey , in P.J. Chelkowski (ed.), Taʿziyeh : ritual and drama in Iran , New York 1979, 251.</ref>; and the text accompanying several pictorial renderings of this event identifies their executioner as al- Ḥarith b. Badr.<ref>R. Milstein, Miniature painting, 101, 102, 104.<br /></ref> | Al-Ḥusayn was at Zubala (or Thaʿlabiyya, or Zarud, or Sharaf) when he received news of the tragedy. Shi’i authors maintain that al-Ḥusayn gave his entourage the option of withdrawing and that members of Muslim’s family were among those who chose to stay with him to the end. The lists of those killed at Karbala do indeed include Muslim’s brothers ʿAbd Allah, ʿAbd al-Raḥman and Jaʿfar; some say that in all five brothers died on the battlefield.<ref>Ibn Maʿsum al-Shirazi, al-Darajat al-rafiʿa , Najaf 1382/1962, 165.</ref> ʿAbd Allah, a son of Muslim from his marriage to ʿAli’s daughter [[Ruqayya]], was also reportedly killed in the battle; some sources refer to two sons who perished there.<ref>e.g. al-Safadi, al-Wafi , xii, ed. Ramadan ʿAbd al-Tawwab, Wiesbaden 1399/1979, 426.</ref> Two other sons (sometimes identified as Muhammad and Ibrahim) are said to have escaped from ʿUbayd Allah’s camp a year after Karbala only to be brutally murdered by a Kufan who expected to be rewarded by ʿUbayd Allah (but who was beheaded instead).<ref>Ibn Babawayh, Amali , Najaf 1389/1970, 73-9.</ref> Their story, like that of their father, is re-enacted in the annual [[taʿziya]] plays.<ref>Pelly, The Miracle play, i, 190-206.<br /></ref> In some versions of these plays, the two sons are said to have been decapitated at the same time as their father<ref>e.g. Metin And, The Muharram observances in Anatolian Turkey , in P.J. Chelkowski (ed.), Taʿziyeh : ritual and drama in Iran , New York 1979, 251.</ref>; and the text accompanying several pictorial renderings of this event identifies their executioner as al- Ḥarith b. Badr.<ref>R. Milstein, Miniature painting, 101, 102, 104.<br /></ref> | ||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
Although Muslim did not die at Karbala, he is counted among its martyrs<ref>cf. al-Tabari, ii, 387.</ref>, and is even referred to as the first shahid.<ref>al-Majlisi, Biḥar al-anwar , c, 428.<br /></ref> The Shiʿis recommend visiting his grave in Kufa, and the text is preserved of a number of prayers to be recited there | Although Muslim did not die at Karbala, he is counted among its martyrs<ref>cf. al-Tabari, ii, 387.</ref>, and is even referred to as the first shahid.<ref>al-Majlisi, Biḥar al-anwar , c, 428.<br /></ref> The Shiʿis recommend visiting his grave in Kufa, and the text is preserved of a number of prayers to be recited there.<ref>ibid., 426-9.</ref> | ||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
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[[Category: Battel of Karbala]] | [[Category: Battel of Karbala]] | ||
[[Category: Husayn’s Followers]] | [[Category: Husayn’s Followers]] | ||
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