Jump to content

Ash'ath Family

Add links
From wikishia
Ash'ath Family
EraIslam until the late Umayyad period
LineageKinda Tribe
Headal-Ash'ath b. Qays al-Kindi
Well-known Figures
FiguresMuhammad b. al-Ash'ath al-Kindi ● Ja'da ● Qays ● Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad al-Kindi


The Ashʿath Family (Arabic: خاندان اشعث) refers to al-Ash'ath b. Qays al-Kindi and his children, who played roles in the martyrdom of three Imams: Imam Ali (a), Imam al-Hasan (a), and Imam al-Husayn (a). Al-Ash'ath helped Ibn Muljam al-Muradi to assassinate Imam Ali (a). Ja'da, his daughter, poisoned Imam al-Hasan (a). This family was a branch of the Kinda Tribe. They participated in the Battle of Siffin, the Day of Ashura, and some events and battles during the times of Umar b. al-Khattab, Uthman b. Affan, Imam Ali (a), Mu'awiya, and al-Mukhtar.

Status of the Ash'ath Family

The Ash'ath family refers to al-Ash'ath b. Qays al-Kindi and his children. This family is an Arab clan and a branch of the Kinda Tribe.[1] Before Islam, al-Ash'ath lived in Hadhramaut in Yemen.[2] He, along with some people from his tribe, went to Medina to Prophet Muhammad (s) in the 10th year of Hijra[3] and after the Conquest of Mecca and became Muslim.[4]

According to a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a), some members of this family played a role in the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a), Imam al-Hasan (a), and Imam al-Husayn (a).[5]

Ja'da, the wife of Imam al-Hasan (a), Muhammad b. al-Ash'ath, Qays b. al-Ash'ath, and 'Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad b. al-Ash'ath belong to this family. This family was considered influential during the times of Umar b. al-Khattab,[6] Uthman b. Affan, Imam Ali (a),[7] and the Umayyads. Al-Ash'ath participated in the Battle of Yarmouk and other battles during the time of Umar b. al-Khattab.[8] He was also the governor of Azerbaijan during the time of Uthman and was retained in this position during the time of Imam Ali (a).[9]

Imam al-Sadiq (a):

— Indeed, al-Ash'ath b. Qays was implicated in the killing of the Commander of the Faithful (a). His daughter, Ja'da, later poisoned al-Hasan (a), and his son, Muhammad, was involved in the killing of al-Husayn (a)., Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, p. 167, hadith 187.

Al-Ash'ath's Role in the Martyrdom of Imam Ali (a)

Main article: Al-Ash'ath b. Qays al-Kindi

Al-Ash'ath was a Companion of the Prophet[10] and one of Imam Ali's (a) commanders in the Battle of Siffin.[11] Historians believe that he played a role in the Martyrdom of Imam Ali (a).[12] A narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a) also refers to al-Ash'ath's role in the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a).[13] Al-Ya'qubi, a historian, wrote that when Ibn Muljam al-Muradi went to Kufa to kill Imam Ali (a), he stayed at al-Ash'ath's house for a while.[14] According to Ibn Sa'd (d. 230/845), a Sunni historian, it was at al-Ash'ath's suggestion that Ibn Muljam went to the mosque before dawn to assassinate the Imam.[15]

Al-Ash'ath's Opposition to Imam Ali (a) in the Battle of Siffin

According to historians, in the Battle of Siffin, after Laylat al-Harir when many were killed and Imam Ali's (a) victory was imminent,[16] al-Ash'ath opposed Imam Ali (a) regarding the continuation of the war. He stood up among the Kindis and, in a speech with a conciliatory tone, demanded an end to further bloodshed.[17] When Mu'awiya saw this situation, he ordered the Qur'ans to be raised on spears. Seeing the Qur'ans, al-Ash'ath threatened Imam Ali (a) with death if he did not stop the war and forced the Imam to accept Arbitration.[18] The Imam initially proposed Malik al-Ashtar and then Ibn Abbas for arbitration; but al-Ash'ath opposed and pushed others towards Abu Musa al-Ash'ari.[19] He supported Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and prevented the continuation of the war.[20]

After the Battle of Nahrawan, when Imam Ali (a) ordered preparations for war with Mu'awiya, al-Ash'ath believed that the soldiers were tired and did not consider war with Mu'awiya advisable.[21]

Role of Al-Ash'ath's Children in the Martyrdom of Imams

Right: Anoushirvan Arjmand in the role of al-Ash'ath; left: Karim Akbari Mobarakeh in the role of Ibn Muljam, from the TV series Imam Ali.
  • Ja'da bt. al-Ash'ath: Ja'da was the wife of Imam al-Hasan (a). It is said that Mu'awiya promised her marriage to Yazid.[22] Ja'da killed Imam al-Hasan (a) by poisoning him; but after the martyrdom of Imam al-Hasan (a), Mu'awiya prevented Ja'da's marriage to Yazid.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 1, p. 133.
  2. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 1, p. 133.
  3. ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 118.
  4. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istīʿāb, 1412 AH, vol. 1, p. 133.
  5. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, p. 167, hadith 187.
  6. ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 118.
  7. ↑ Dīnawarī, Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, 1368 Sh, p. 156; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, Dār Ṣādir, vol. 2, p. 200.
  8. ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 118.
  9. ↑ Dīnawarī, Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, 1368 Sh, p. 156; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, Dār Ṣādir, vol. 2, p. 200.
  10. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar, Al-Iṣāba, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 239.
  11. ↑ Minqarī, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, 1382 AH, p. 137.
  12. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, Dār Ṣādir, vol. 2, p. 212; Ibn Saʿd, Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410 AH, vol. 3, p. 26.
  13. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, p. 167, hadith 187.
  14. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, Dār Ṣādir, vol. 2, p. 212.
  15. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410 AH, vol. 3, p. 26.
  16. ↑ Minqarī, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, 1382 AH, pp. 477-480.
  17. ↑ Ibn Muzāḥim, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, 1403 AH, pp. 480-481; Dīnawarī, Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, 1960, pp. 188-189.
  18. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, Dār Ṣādir, vol. 2, pp. 188-189.
  19. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, Dār Ṣādir, vol. 2, p. 189.
  20. ↑ Minqarī, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, 1382 AH, pp. 480-481.
  21. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, 1387 AH, vol. 5, p. 89; Thaqafī, Al-Ghārāt, 1355 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 24-25; Dīnawarī, Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, 1368 Sh, p. 211; Ibn al-ʿAdīm, Bughyat al-ṭalab, 1409 AH, vol. 4, p. 1911.
  22. ↑ Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad, p. 331 (Persian trans., 1377 Sh, p. 453).
  23. ↑ Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn, 1385 AH, p. 48.
  24. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, p. 167, hadith 187.
  25. ↑ Dīnawarī, Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, 1368 Sh, p. 239; Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn, Dār al-Maʿrifa, p. 107; Ibn al-Athīr, Al-Kāmil, 1385 AH, vol. 4, p. 33.
  26. ↑ Ibn Ḥibbān, Al-Thiqāt, 1393 AH, vol. 5, p. 352.
  27. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, 1417 AH, vol. 3, pp. 204, 207.
  28. ↑ Dīnawarī, Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, 1373 Sh, p. 259.
  29. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, Dār al-Turāth, vol. 6, p. 116.
  30. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 6, p. 328.
  31. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, Dār al-Turāth, vol. 6, pp. 389-391.

References

  • Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn. Najaf, Al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydariyya, 1385 AH.
  • Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Beirut, 1417 AH/1996.
  • Dīnawarī, Aḥmad b. Dāwūd al-. Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl. Edited by ʿAbd al-Munʿim ʿĀmir. Qom, Manshūrāt al-Raḍī, 1368 Sh.
  • Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad Bajjāwī. Beirut, Dār al-Jīl, 1412 AH/1992.
  • Ibn al-Athīr, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba. Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, 1409 AH/1989.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by ʿĀdil Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mawjūd & ʿAlī Muḥammad Muʿawwaḍ. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH/1995.
  • Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Saʿd. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭā. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1410 AH/1990.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1407 AH.
  • Madelung, Wilferd. Jānishīnī-yi Ḥaḍrat-i Muḥammad (The Succession to Muhammad). Translated by Aḥmad Namāyī et al. Mashhad, Bunyād-i Pazhūhishhā-yi Islāmī, 1377 Sh.
  • Minqarī, Naṣr b. Muzāḥim. Waqʿat Ṣiffīn. Edited by ʿAbd al-Salām Muḥammad Hārūn. Cairo, Al-Muʾassisa al-ʿArabiyya al-Ḥadītha, 1382 AH/1962; Offset Qom, Manshūrāt Maktabat al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1404 AH.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā l-ʿibād. Qom, Kongere-yi Shaykh Mufīd, 1413 AH.
  • Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abū l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut, Dār al-Turāth, 1387 AH/1967.
  • Yaʿqūbī, Aḥmad b. Abī Yaʿqūb al-. Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī. Beirut, Dār Ṣādir, n.d.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Ash%27ath_Family&oldid=201673"