Ammar b. Mu`awiya
| Ammar b. Mu`awiya | |
|---|---|
| Native name | عمار ابن معاویه |
| Activities | Author of an account on the martyrdom of al-Hussain |
Ammar b. Mu`awiya (d. 133) was the author of an account on the martyrdom of al-Hussain.
the Battle of Karbala[edit | edit source]
From the little that has survived of Jabir's account, it is difficult to assess his work; but what remains does call into question the account of his contemporary, Ammar b. Mu`awiya al-Duhni.[1]
This narrative is reported by al-Tabari, and `Ammar claims to be reporting on the authority of the Imam al-Baqir.
The report begins with a vivid introduction in which Ammar says that he asked the Imam al-Baqir to tell him about the death of al-Hussain so that it might be as if he was there himself. What follows is an account which agrees in its basic outline with the version of Ibn al-Kalbi, while being much shorter and briefer.
This version seemingly adds nothing to Ibn al-Kalbi’s narrative. It differs only in giving a different house for the one which Muslim b. `Aqil stayed in when he came to Kufa; it does omit some of the things which Ibn al-Kalbi has reported, but nothing of real substance. What, then, is the purpose of this narrative? It is clearly put forward as the authoritative Shi’i account.
Ammar was a well-known traditionalist who, while being regarded as trustworthy by the general run of traditionalists, was also known for his Shi’i inclinations, and as an adherent of the Imam al-Baqir. He died in 133[2] and is claimed to have a book of traditions on the authority of the Imam al-Baqir.
This account might well be regarded as the official account of the Imam al-Baqir and therefore the one which should be accepted.