Draft:Thiqāt Amīr al-Mu'minīn
Thiqāt Amīr al-Muʾminīn (Arabic: ثقات أميرالمؤمنين), or the Ten Trustworthy Ones, designates a group of ten confidants of Imam 'Ali (a) whom the Imam invited to provide testimony regarding the authenticity of his letter. This measure was intended to dispel doubts concerning the document's provenance. Authored following the Battle of Nahrawan, the epistle contained a critique of the governance of the Three Caliphs who preceded him. The Imam (a) instructed 'Ubayd Allah b. Abi Rafi' to read the letter to the public in the presence of these witnesses.
Citing Muhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 328/939-40) in the book Al-Rasa'il, Ibn Tawus (d. 664/1266) reports that upon Imam 'Ali (a)'s return from the Battle of Nahrawan, people inquired about his opinion regarding the previous caliphs. The Imam (a) expressed displeasure, questioning the utility of such an inquiry at a time when Egypt had fallen and Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan had killed Ibn Khadij and Muhammad b. Abi Bakr.[1] He subsequently summoned his scribe, 'Ubayd Allah b. Abi Rafi', and dictated a letter in response to their questions. In the document, the Imam (a) described the chaotic condition of the Jahiliyya (Pre-Islamic Arabs), citing practices such as infanticide, plunder, and idol worship.[2] Imam 'Ali (a) then addressed the conduct of the Three Caliphs, the tragic events ensuing after the passing of the Prophet (s), and the spurious pretexts employed to marginalize him from political authority and the caliphate.[3]
To authenticate the letter, the Imam (a) instructed 'Ubayd Allah b. Abi Rafi' to summon ten of the Imam's trusted associates. When 'Ubayd Allah requested the Imam (a) to specify the individuals, the Imam (a) listed their names.[4] According to Ibn Tawus, 'Ubayd Allah invited eleven individuals.[5] Once assembled, the Imam (a) directed him to take the letter and recite it to the people every Friday in the presence of these witnesses. He further instructed that should anyone incite Fitna or raise objections, they were to be invited to arbitration based on the Book of God.[6]
These ten individuals, also referred to as the Ten Trustworthy Ones (Thiqat 'Ashara),[7] include:
- Asbagh b. Nubata
- 'Amir b. Wathila al-Kinani
- Razin b. Hubaysh al-Asadi; some sources identify him as Zirr b. Hubaysh al-Asadi[8] or Wazar b. Jaysh.[9]
- Juwayriya b. Mushir al-Abdi
- Khandaf b. Zuhayr al-Asadi; Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi records his name as Khandaq b. Zuhayr al-Asadi.[10]
- Haritha b. Mudarrib al-Hamdani; Fayd Kashani identified him as Haritha b. Musarrif al-Hamdani.[11]
- Al-Harith b. 'Abd Allah al-A'war al-Hamdani
- Misbah al-Nakha'i
- 'Alqama b. Qays
- Kumayl b. Ziyad al-Nakha'i
- 'Umayr b. Zurara.[12][13]
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, p. 235.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, pp. 236-237.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, pp. 236-237; Muḥaddithī, Farhang-i Ghadīr, 1387 Sh, pp. 178-179.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, pp. 236-237.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, p. 236.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, pp. 236-237.
- ↑ Muḥaddithī, Farhang-i Ghadīr, 1387 Sh, pp. 178-179.
- ↑ Al-Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 30, p. 8.
- ↑ Māmaqānī, Tanqīḥ al-maqāl, 1431 AH, vol. 2, p. 81.
- ↑ Al-Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 30, p. 8.
- ↑ Fayḍ Kāshānī, Nawādir al-akhbār, 1371 Sh, p. 193.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja, 1375 Sh, p. 236.
- ↑ In some versions of Kashf al-mahajja, the names of 9 people are mentioned: 1. Asbagh b. Nubata, 2. Abu l-Tufayl 'Amir b. Wathila al-Kinani, 3. Razin b. Hubaysh al-Asadi, 4. Juwayriya b. Muddarrib al-Hamdani, 5. al-Harith b. 'Abd Allah al-A'war al-Hamdani, 6. Misbah al-Nakha'i, 7. 'Alqama b. Qays, 8. Kumayl b. Ziyad, 9. 'Umayr b. Zurara. See: Ibn Ṭāwūs, Kashf al-mahajja li-thamarat al-muhja, 1370 AH, p. 174.
References
- Fayḍ Kāshānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Nawādir al-akhbār fīmā yataʿallaq bi-uṣūl al-dīn. Edited by Mahdī Anṣārī Qummī. First edition. Tehran: Muʾassisa-yi Muṭāliʿāt wa Taḥqīqāt-i Farhangī, 1371 Sh.
- Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Kashf al-mahajja li-thamarat al-muhja. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥassūn. Second edition. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1375 Sh.
- Al-Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimmat al-aṭhār. Second edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Māmaqānī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tanqīḥ al-maqāl fī ʿilm al-rijāl. Edited by Muḥyī al-Dīn Māmaqānī & Muḥammad Riḍā Māmaqānī. First edition. Qom: Muʾassisa Āl al-Bayt (a) li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1431 AH.
- Muḥaddithī, Jawād. Farhang-i Ghadīr. Third edition. Qom: Maʿrūf, 1387 Sh.