Muslim ibn Aqil

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Shia Islam Muslim ibn Aqil al-Hashimi (Template:Langx) was a relative of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslim was the son of Aqil ibn Abi Talib and a cousin of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam, who dispatched him to Kufa in Iraq to ascertain their support upon the accession of the Umayyad caliph Yazid (Template:Reign). The Kufans welcomed Muslim and overwhelmingly pledged to support Husayn against the Umayyad rule, which they considered illegitimate and tyrannical. In response, Yazid replaced the mild governor of the city with his strongman Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, who soon discovered the hideout of Muslim through an informant. When Ibn Ziyad imprisoned or killed Hani ibn Urwa, who was secretly sheltering Muslim, he came out in open revolt and surrounded the governor's palace with his supporters in September 680 CE. With a combination of threats and promises, however, Ibn Ziyad induced Kufan tribal leaders to abandon Muslim and withdraw their men. A deserted Muslim was arrested after a strong resistance and executed. Before this turn of events, he had written to Husayn and urged him to come to Kufa. Husayn thus left Mecca with his family and a few supporters, but his caravan was intercepted and massacred by the Umayyad forces in October 680 in Karbala, near Kufa. Muslim is revered in Shia Islam for his bravery and moral uprightness. His shrine in Kufa is a destination for Shia pilgrims.

Early life

Muslim was the son of Aqil (Template:Died in), a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (Template:Died in). His mother might have been a freed slave (Template:Transliteration) of Nabataean origin whose name is differently given as Ulayya, Khalila, and Hilya. His date of birth is also reported variously and the sources differ significantly, ranging from the early 640s CE to the late 650s.Template:Sfn Muslim seems to have enjoyed a reputation as a fierce warrior.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn By one account, he fought in the Battle of Siffin (657) for his uncle Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam and the fourth caliph (Template:Reign) after Muhammad. By another account, Muslim fought in the conquest of al-Bahnasa in Egypt during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph (Template:Reign). According to this account, Muslim was consequently appointed as its governor and served there until Umar was replaced with Uthman ibn Affan (Template:Reign), whereupon Muslim returned to Medina. By yet another account, sometime after 670, he reportedly duped Mu'awiya, the governor of Syria at the time, into buying from him a plot of land in Medina that actually belonged to his cousin, Husayn ibn Ali.Template:Sfn

Envoy to Kufa

Husayn ibn Ali denounced the accession in 680 of the Umayyad caliph Yazid, who succeeded his father Mua'wiya in breach of the 661 peace treaty with Husayn's brother Hasan (Template:Died in). When pressed to pledge his allegiance, Husayn fled from his hometown of Medina to Mecca, accompanied by his family. There he received many letters and messengers from the predominantly Shia town of Kufa in Iraq, inviting him there to lead them against the Umayyad rule, which they considered illegitimate and tyrannical. Husayn responded that he would lead them in the right way if they were united in their support and tasked Muslim with assessing the situation in Kufa. Husayn sent a similar letter to the inhabitants of Basra in Iraq and invited them to follow him to set right the Sunna of Muhammad, which had been obliterated by innovations, he wrote.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Muslim thus left Mecca on 19 June 680 (15 Ramadan 60), hired two guides in Medina, and then set out for Kufa.Template:Sfn According to the Sunni historian al-Tabari (Template:Died in),Template:Sfn his guides lost their way and perished from thirst along the way, whereby Muslim wrote to Husayn to be relieved from his duty but the latter insisted that he continue.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Muslim entered Kufa on 9 July 680 (5 Shawwal 60) and first hid in the house of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi or Muslim ibn Awsaja, where he received the pledges of 12,000 to 30,000 men.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn But these were in effect pledges not to Husayn but to the tribal leaders who supported him at the time, that is, loyalty not to a cause but to men, according to the Islamicist Mahmoud M. Ayoub (Template:Died in).Template:Sfn Early on, he also attended a secret meeting of the Kufan Shia leaders, where he received their support. The attendees included Abis ibn Abi Shabib al-Shakiri, Habib ibn Muzahir, and Sa'id ibn Abd Allah al-Hanafi, all of whom were later killed alongside Husayn. As his support grew, however, Muslim was even able to preside over public meetings in mosques.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He now wrote to Husayn and urged him to come to Kufa.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The governor of Kufa at the time, Nu'man ibn Bashir, was probably aware of Muslim's arrival and his intentions but did not harm him.Template:Sfn As a companion of Muhammad, Nu'man did not act perhaps because Muslim was a relative of Muhammad,Template:Sfn or perhaps the governor did not want to act on mere suspicions.Template:Sfn Umar ibn Sa'd and some others soon wrote to Yazid,Template:Sfn who replaced Nu'man by Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad and ordered him to kill or banish Muslim.Template:Sfn Described as energetic, resourceful, and ruthless,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Ubayd-Allah was already the governor of Basra at the time.Template:Sfn He hurried to Kufa via the shortest route, reportedly wearing a black turban and veiled. Some Kufans apparently mistook him for Husayn and enthusiastically welcomed him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Upon arrival, he publicly threatened to punish any sign of revolt with beheading and crucifixion.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Failed revolt and execution

File:Muslim bin ageel in Kufa.jpeg

Entrance to the shrine of Muslim ibn Aqil in Kufa, Iraq

With the arrival of Ibn Ziyad, Muslim relocated to the house of Hani ibn Urwa,Template:Sfn a Muradite elder.Template:Sfn There he is said to have missed an opportunity to kill Ibn Ziyad when the latter came to visit Hani, who was ill or feigning illness, or visit the Basran Sharik ibn al-A'war al-Harithi, who was ostensibly a guest of Hani but was actually there to support Muslim.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to various sources, Muslim abandoned the plot to kill Ibn Ziyad because his nerves failed or because Hani (or his wife) was against the plot or because he recalled a prophetic tradition that prohibits treachery (in this case against a guest who had been given an assurance of safety).Template:Sfn Soon afterward Ibn Ziyad found the hideout of Muslim through an informant, possibly named Ma'qil, who infiltrated the inner circle of Muslim by pretending to be a supporter and donating to his cause.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Ibn Ziyad then summoned Hani, forced him to admit sheltering Muslim, and then badly beat him when he refused to surrender his guest. Hani either died on the spot or was imprisoned.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Muslim now came out in open revolt, probably after learning about the arrest of Hani. He surrounded the governor's palace with some 4,000 men, the date of which is variously given as 3, 8, 9, 10 September 680 (2, 7, 8, 9 Dhu al-Hijja 60).Template:Sfn With a combination of threats and bribes, however, Ibn Ziyad successfully induced the tribal leaders to abandon Muslim and withdraw their men.Template:Sfn At nightfall, a deserted Muslim wandered around the city until a Kindite widow by the name of Taw'a sheltered him. The next morning, however, her son Bilal disclosed the location of Muslim to a Kindite leader, apparently a descendant to al-Ash'ath ibn Qays (Template:Died in).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The leader passed on the information to the governor, an act which earned that leader the title of "the most perfidious of Arabs," according to the Arab polymath Ibn Habib (Template:Died in).Template:Sfn Some sixty or seventy men then surrounded the house and eventually restrained a wounded and exhausted Muslim after incurring some losses.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was promised safety (Template:Transliteration) by some accounts, which was not honored later.Template:Sfn Indeed, Muslim was brought to Ibn Ziyad, who ordered his execution after a sharp exchange.Template:Sfn He gave his last will to Umar ibn Sa'd by most accounts, asking him to inform Husayn about the treachery of the Kufans, pay his debts, and bury his corpse.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was then decapitated in public on the roof of the citadel, his head and torso thrown down. The executioner is named Bakr ibn Humran al-Ahmari, whom Muslim had apparently wounded earlier during the raid of his hideout.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Hani was executed too, their bodies were dragged in the streets and then possibly crucified posthumously.Template:Sfn Their heads were sent to Yazid who congratulated Ibn Ziyad and ordered him to arrest Husayn and his supporters, and to fight those who would fight him.Template:Sfn

Aftermath

File:A scene from the Battle of Karbala, Ottoman Baghdad, circa 1580-90.jpg

Abd-Allah ibn Muslim riding into battle to avenge his father, an illustration of the Battle of Karbala, dated 1580-90

Muslim was thus executed, a day after his failed revolt,Template:Sfn after about two months of his arrival in Kufa.Template:Sfn Encouraged by his letter and unaware of his execution, Husayn left Mecca for Kufa around the same time, perhaps on 10 or 12 September 680 (8 or 10 Dhu al-Hijja 60), accompanied by his family and a small number of supporters.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He probably received the news of Muslim's death along the way at al-Tha'labiyya.Template:Sfn Some Sunni reports indicate that Husayn considered aborting his mission but was convinced otherwise by Muslim's sons.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This is to be discounted, suggests the Islamicist Wilferd Madelung.Template:Sfn It is more likely that Husayn pressed on towards Kufa even after learning about Muslim's execution,Template:Sfn per most Shia accounts,Template:Sfn for he had earlier told other well-wishers about his vision of his grandfather Muhammad,Template:Sfn who had told him by one account that God had willed to see him killed and his family shackled.Template:Sfn Husayn's caravan was indeed intercepted and massacred on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram 61 AH) in Karbala, near Kufa, by the Umayyad forces who first surrounded them for some days and cut off their access to the nearby river Euphrates.Template:Sfn Muslim's family stayed with Husayn throughout and probably two of his sons were killed alongside Husayn in Karbala.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The women and children were then taken captive and marched to Kufa and later the capital Damascus.Template:Sfn The captives were paraded in the streets of Damascus,Template:Sfn and then imprisoned for an unknown period of time.Template:Sfn They were eventually freed by Yazid and returned to Medina.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Personal life

Ruqayya, daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, was married to Muslim and bore him his son Abd-Allah, who was killed alongside Husayn in the Battle of Karbala in 680. Another son of Muslim might have also perished in Karbala, while two other sons, often identified as Muhammad and Ibrahim, are said to have been killed about a year later at a young age. The two children had apparently fled the camp of Ibn Ziyad but were murdered by a Kufan, possibly al-Harith ibn Badr, who sought the prize money offered by the governor.Template:Sfn

Commemoration

Muslim is revered in Shia Islam for his bravery and moral uprightness, and his story has received much attention from Shia authors.Template:Sfn Shias commemorate the events of Karbala throughout the months of Muharram and Safar,Template:Sfn particularly during the first ten days of Muharram, culminating on the tenth (Ashura) with processions in major Shia cities.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The main component of these ritual ceremonies (Template:Transliteration, Template:Singular Template:Transliteration) is the narration of the stories of Karbala,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn intended to raise sympathy and move the audience to tears.Template:Sfn It is in these ceremonies that Muslim is commemorated as the "first of the martyrs of Karbala,"Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn alongside his sons.Template:Sfn A common commemorative narrative describes the emotional scene when Husayn disclosed the death of Muslim to his young daughter, whose family was among those who accompanied Husayn to Karbala.Template:Sfn Pilgrimage to his shrine in Kufa is recommended in Shia Islam, accompanied by the recitation of a number of preserved prayers.Template:Sfn