Umar b. al-Imam Ali (a)

Priority: c, Quality: b
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Umar b. al-Imam Ali (a)
Burial Place of most of the martyrs of the Battle of Karbala, near the holy grave of Imam al-Husayn (a) in his shrine
Burial Place of most of the martyrs of the Battle of Karbala, near the holy grave of Imam al-Husayn (a) in his shrine
Well-Known As'Umar al-Atraf
FatherImam 'Ali (a)
MotherLayla bt. Mas'ud
Place(s) of ResidenceMedina
Demise61/680
Place of BurialKarbala


ʿUmar b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Arabic:عُمَر بن عَليّ بن اَبي طالِب d. 61/680), known as 'Umar al-Atraf was one of the children of Imam Ali (a) and according to some historians, was among the martyrs of Karbala, while some others believe he was not present in the Battle of Karbala. It is said that except him (who was called 'Umar al-Asghar), Imam Ali (a) had another son called 'Umar al-Akbar, whose mother was Umm Habiba and was not present in the event of Karbala.

His Life

Some have mentioned 'Umar b. Ali as 'Umar al-Akbar[1] whose teknonym was Abu l-Qasim or Abu Hafs.[2] There are different reports about the name of his mother. Ibn Sa'd and al-Ya'qubi reported the name of his mother as Sahba (Umm Habib), daughter of Rabi'a al-Taghlibi, and reported that she was taken captive by Khalid b. Walid in 'Ayn al-Tamr and brought to Medina, but there is no information about the year Imam Ali (a) married her.[3] Some other sources have mentioned her name as Layla bt. Mas'ud al-Darami. Al-Fakhr al-Razi mentioned that 'Umar was the youngest child of Imam Ali (a).[4]

According to Sepehr, Imam Ali (a) had two sons called 'Umar: 'Umar al-Akbar whose mother was Umm Habiba and was not present in the Event of Karbala; and 'Umar al-Asghar who was martyred after his brother Abu Bakr in the Event of Karbala.[5]

Cause of Naming

Al-Baladhuri and al-Dhahabi wrote that 'Umar b. al-Khattab made his name the same as his own and gave him a slave. [6] He also changed the name of some others.[7] Another point is that names such as 'Umar was a common name at that time and more than 20 of the Companions of the Prophet (s) were named 'Umar.[8]

Presence in the Battle of Karbala

There are disagreements among historians and biographers about the presence of 'Umar b. Ali in Karbala: al-Khwarazmi,[9] Ibn Shahr Ashub,[10] al-Mamaqani and some others counted him among the martyrs. It is reported that he made war cries on the Day of 'Ashura and attacked the enemy.[11] He attacked Zahr, the killer of his brother, and killed him.

Al-Khwarazmi reported his martyrdom after the martyrdom of his brother Abu Bakr. It is said that first, his horse fell down and then they martyred him.[12]

Also, there are reports about the absence of 'Umar b. Ali in Karbala by Abu l-Faraj, Ibn Sa'd, and some others who did not mention his martyrdom. Also, shreds of evidence about his presence in Karbala have been reported. According to one report, he was not present in Karbala and lived until the caliphate of 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan.[13] Accordingly, he had complaints about donations of the Prophet (s) and Imam Ali (a)[14] and passed away after all the children of Imam Ali (a).

Notes

  1. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 3, p. 14.
  2. ʿAmrī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 7; Ibn ʿAnba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib, p. 362.
  3. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 3, p. 114; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 139; Ibn Ḥazm, Jumhurat ansāb al-ʿarab, vol. 1, p. 31.
  4. Rāzī, al-Shajarat al-mubāraka, p. 189.
  5. Sepihr Kāshānī, Nāsikh al-tawārīkh, vol. 2, p. 333-355.
  6. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 413; Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, vol. 4, p. 134.
  7. Ibn Ḥajar, al-Iṣāba, vol. 5, p. 29; vol. 1, p. 186.
  8. Ibn Ḥajar, al-Iṣāba, vol. 4, p. 587-597.
  9. Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 28.
  10. Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib, vol 4, p. 107.
  11. Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 28-29.
  12. Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 28-29.
  13. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh-i Ṭabarī, vol. 5, p. 154.
  14. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 149; Qāḍī al-Nu'mān, Sharḥ al-akhbār, vol. 3, p. 184-191.

References

  • ʿAmrī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn. Edited by Mahdawī Dāmghānī. Nashr-i Kitābkhāna-yi Marʿashī Najafī, [n.d].
  • Balādhurī, Aḥmad b.Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edied by Suhayl Zakkar and Rīyāḍ Ziriklī. 1st edition. Beirut: Dār al-fikr, 1417 AH-1996.
  • Dhahabī, Muḥammad b. al-Aḥmad al-. Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ. Edited by Shuʿayb al-Arnāʾūt and Muḥammad Naʿīm al-ʿArqasūsī. 9th edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Risāla, 1413 AH.
  • Group of Researchers. Nigāhī no bi jaryān-i Āshūrā. 7th edition. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1390 Sh.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, 1412 AH.
  • Ibn Ḥazm, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad. Jumhurat ansāb al-ʿarab. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1403 AH.
  • Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Manīʿ al-Ḥāshimī al-Baṣrī. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭā. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1418 AH.
  • Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. 2nd edition. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwaʾ, 1412 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAnba, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī. ʿUmdat al-ṭālib fi ansāb Āl Abī Ṭālib. 2nd edition. Qom: Intishārāt-i Raḍī, 1362 Sh.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿala l-ʿibād. volume 1. 1st edition. Edited by Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt. Qom: Intishārāt-i al-Muʿtamir al-Ālamī, 1413 AH.
  • Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. volume 5. Beirut: [n.d].
  • Yaʿqūbī, Aḥmad b. Abī Yaʿqūb al-. Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī. 6th edition. volume 2. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1415 AH.