Bishr b. Sawt

Bishr b. Sawt

Murderer of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Aqil
Full Name	Bishr b. Sawṭ (Sumayṭ) al-Hamdani al-Qabidi
Teknonym	Abu Asma
Place of Residence	Kufa
Death/Martyrdom	66/685-6
Cause of Death/Martyrdom	Killed by 'Abd Allah b. Kamil during the Uprising of al-Mukhtar
Era	Umayyad Dynasty
Activities	An accomplice in the martyrdom of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Aqil in the Battle of Karbala

Bishr b. Sawṭ (Sumayṭ) al-Hamdānī al-Qābiḍī (Arabic:أبو أسماء بِشر بن سَوط (سمیط) الهَمداني القابِضي) (killed in 66/685-6), was among the soldiers of 'Umar b. Sa'd in the Battle of Karbala and cooperated in the martyrdom of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Aqil. He was killed in the Uprising of al-Mukhtar.

Name

His kunya was Abu Asma' and his name is mentioned in different sources as Bishr b. Sawt al-Hamdani, Nashr b. Shawt al-'Uthmani, Bishr b. Shumayt al-Qanisi, Bishr b. Sumayt al-Qabisi, Bishr b. Hut al-Qabidi, Bishr b. Huwayt al-Qanisi and Bishr b. Khawt al-Hamdani.

The Battle of Karbala

In the Battle of Karbala, Bishr b. Sawt was in the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd. On the Day of 'Ashura, he and 'Uthman b. Khalid al-Juhani killed 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Aqil and stole his clothes. In some sources, the martyrdom of 'Abd al-Rahman is mentioned to have been done by 'Uthman b. Khalid and the martyrdom of Ja'far b. 'Aqil is said to have been done by Bishr b. Sawt. Bishr is cursed in the Ziyarah al-Shuhada as the murderer of Ja'far b. 'Aqil.

Fate

Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari has quoted Musa b. 'Amir 'Adwi from Bani Juhayna as saying,

"In 66/685-6, al-Mukhtar sent 'Abd Allah b. Kamil to capture Bishr b. Sawt and 'Uthman b. Khalid. Ibn Kamil besieged Banu Dahman mosque and threatened that if they do not submit the two, he will kill them all. Following his threat, an army went to capture Khalid and Bishr and found them in a place called Jubana where they wanted to escape toward Jazira and brought them to Ibn Kamil. 'Abd Allah beheaded them in a place called Well of Ja'd and then burned their bodies by order of al-Mukhtar."