Ma'qil
| Servant of 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad | |
|---|---|
| Place of Residence | Kufa |
| Era | Umayyad Dynasty |
| Activities | Pretending to be a Shi'a and finding the hiding place of Muslim b. 'Aqil |
Maʿqil (Arabic: مَعقِل) was a servant of 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad who was commissioned to pretend to be a Shi'a and an advocate of Imam al-Husayn (a) in Kufa. With the help of Muslim b. 'Awsaja, he could find the hiding place of Muslim b. 'Aqil. His reports led to the martyrdom of Hani b. 'Urwa and Muslim b. 'Aqil.
Finding the Hiding Place of Muslim b. 'Aqil
Ma'qil was a servant of 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad in Kufa. Ibn Ziyad ordered him to pretend to be a Shi'a and an advocate of Imam al-Husayn (a), and thus find the hiding place of Muslim b. 'Aqil. He gave 3000 dirhams to Ma'qil and told him: "give these 3000 dirhams to the companions of Muslim b. 'Aqil and tell them to use it against their enemies. Tell them that you are one of them. When you give them the money, they will trust you and will not hide any news from you. Then go to them during mornings and evenings."
Ma'qil contacted Muslim b. 'Awsaja in the Masjid al-Kufa, and told him: "I am from Syria and God blessed me with the love of Ahl al-Bayt (a). Now I have brought 3000 dirhams to see a person from Ahl al-Bayt (a) who has come to Kufa to receive pledges of allegiance for the son of the Prophet's (s) daughter … I have come to you to give you this money and take me to your friend to pledge my allegiance to him."
Muslim b. 'Awsaja asked him to promise to keep it a secret. He then hosted him in his house in order to receive Muslim b. 'Aqil's permission. After the death of Sharik b. al-A'war, Muslim b. 'Awsaja took Ma'qil to Muslim b. 'Aqil. Muslim b. 'Aqil received his pledge for the allegiance to Imam al-Husayn (a), and ordered Abu Thumama al-Sa'idi to receive the money he had brought. Ma'qil went to Muslim b. 'Aqil every day before everyone else and left after everyone else. He then delivered the news of Muslim's activities to Ibn Ziyad.
When 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad arrested Hani b. 'Urwa because of refuging Muslim b. 'Aqil, Hani denied that Muslim b. 'Aqil was in his house. Ibn Ziyad called Ma'qil and told Hani: "do you know him?"
After that, Hani b. 'Urwa was imprisoned and later, he was martyred at the command of 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from معقل (غلام ابن زیاد) in Farsi WikiShia.