Al-Sindi b. Shahik

Priority: c, Quality: b
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Al-Sindi b. Shahik
Full NameAl-Sindī b. Shāhik
Death183/799-800
Cause of DeathDrowning in Baghdad
Known forGuarding the prison of Imam al-Kazim (a) and finally killing him


Al-Sindī b. Shāhik (Arabic: السِنْدي بْن شاهِك) is among famous figures during the rule of Abbasids. He was the guard of the prison of Imam al-Kazim (a) and treated him harshly. With a mission he had from Harun al-Rashid, he finally killed Imam (a).

Life

The remains of the prison of al-Sindi b. Shahik in Baghdad

There is no information about the date of his birth. About him, it is said that al-Sindi was not Muslim and was Jewish; and in his prison, Imam al-Kazim (a) suffered a lot.[1] It is reported that he was ruthless and wicked and away from all moral values. About his harsh treatment of Imam (a), it is reported that he treated Imam (a) with cruelty, harassed him upon eating and drinking and tied him in chains.[2]

The Murderer of Imam al-Kazim (a)

He was ordered to kill Imam al-Kazim (a).[3] It is reported that al-Sindi poisoned Imam al-Kazim (a) by the order of Harun al-Rashid and the incitement of Yahya b. Khalid al-Barmaki. He poisoned Imam (a) by poisonous dates and after Imam al-Kazim (a) experienced two days of illness and suffering, was martyred on the third day.[4]

However, al-Sindi b. Shahak used a trick to pretend that Imam (a) passed away of a natural death.[5] He ordered his servant to move away the clothes of Imam al-Kazim (a). Al-Sindi b. Shahak told a group of people who had gathered upon the body of Imam (a) and said, "Look at the body of Musa b. Ja'far (a)! Do you see any sign of wound or lashes?" They said, "no, except that he (a) has passed away."[6]

Death

In a report, it is said that when he and the gathering of people after the martyrdom of Imam al-Kazim (a) were on the bridge of Baghdad, suddenly the horse of al-Sindi shied and threw him in the water and he was drowned.[7]

Notes

  1. Motahhari, Sayrī dar sīra-yi aʾimma, p. 100.
  2. Qarashī, Pazhūhishī daqīq dar zindigānī-yi Imām Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 148.
  3. Masʿūdī, Ithbāt al-waṣīyya, p. 374.
  4. Ṭabrisī, Zindigī-yi chahārdah maʿṣūm, p. 431.
  5. Qummī, al-Anwār al-bahīyya, p. 306.
  6. Qummī, al-Anwār al-bahīyya, p. 311.
  7. Qummī, Muntahā l-āmāl, vol. 3, p. 1541.

References

  • Masʿūdī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn al-. Ithbāt al-waṣīyya. Translated to Farsi by Muḥammad Jawād Najafī. Tehran: Islamīyya, 1362 Sh.
  • Motahhari, Morteza. Sayrī dar sīra-yi aʾimma-yi aṭhār. Tehran: Ṣadrā, 1383 Sh.
  • Qarashī, Bāqir Sharīf. Pazhūhishī daqīq dar zindigānī-yi Imām Riḍā. Translated to Farsi by Muḥammad Ṣāliḥī. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1382 Sh.
  • Qummī, ʿAbbās. Al-Anwār al-bahīyya. Translated to Farsi by Muḥammad Mūḥammadī Ishtihārdī. Qom: Nāṣir, 1380 Sh.
  • Qummī, ʿAbbās. Muntahā l-āmāl. Qom: Dalīl-i Mā, 1379 Sh.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Zindigī-yi chahārdah maʿṣūm. Translated to Farsi by ʿAzīz Allāh ʿAṭārudī. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1390 AH.