Murra b. Munqidh al-'Abdi
| Murderer of Ali Akbar (a) | |
|---|---|
| Lineage | 'Abd al Qays |
| Well-known Relatives | Munqidh b. Nu'man (father) |
| Era | Umayyad Dynasty |
| Known for | A member of Umar b. Sa'd's army |
| Activities | Participating in the Battle of Karbala |
Murra b. Munqidh al-ʿAbdī (Arabic: مُرّة بن مُنقذ العَبدی) was in the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd in the Battle of Karbala. In historical sources, he is mentioned as the murderer of 'Ali al-Akbar (a). He was hit by his right arm when he was surrounded by al-Mukhtar's soldiers, leading to his paralysis until his death. He could escape the surround and joined Mus'ab b. al-Zubayr in Basra.
Name and Lineage
Murra was from the 'Abd al-Qays tribe.[1] He is variously mentioned as Murra b. Munqidh b. Shuja' al-'Abdi,[2] Murra b. Munqidh b. Nu'man al-'Abdi,[3] and Murra b. Munqidh b. 'Abd al-Qays.[4]
His father, Munqidh b. Nu'man, was the flag-holder of the 'Abd al-Qays tribe in the army of Imam 'Ali (a) in the Battle of Jamal. He held the flag of the tribe when a number of the tribe's flag-holders such as Qasim b. Muslim, Zayd b. Sawhan, and Sayhan b. Sawhan were martyred. He gave the flag to his son, Murra b. Munqidh who held the flag until the end of the battle.[5]
In the Battle of Ashura
Murra b. Munqidh was in the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd in the Battle of Ashura. He speared 'Ali al-Akbar (a), making him fall on the ground.[6] In historical sources, he is mentioned as the murderer of 'Ali al-Akbar (a).[7] When 'Ali al-Akbar (a) recited a paean to the effect that "we deserve the Prophet Muhammad (s) more than Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan, 'Umar b. Sa'd, and 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad", Murra b. Munqidh al-'Abdi said: "I will be blamed with the biggest sin of Arabs if … I do not make his father mourn for him."[8]
He is cursed in Ziyara al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa as the murderer of 'Ali al-Akbar (a).[9]
After the Ashura
When al-Mukhtar was hunting down the murderers of Imam al-Husayn (a), he commissioned 'Abd Allah b. Kamil and a group of others to arrest Murra b. Munqidh. Ibn Kamil surrounded Murra's house. Murra fought Ibn Kamil's people while riding his horse. He speared and injured 'Abd Allah al-Shibami, a soldier of Ibn Kamil.[10] Ibn Kamil hit Murra's right arm with his sword; his arm broke but it was not amputated. Murra could escape the surround. He went to Basra and joined Mus'ab b. al-Zubayr.[11] His arm was paralyzed until his death.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 5, p. 471; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 4, p. 243.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol.3, p. 200.
- ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 8, p. 185,
- ↑ Ibn Khaldūn, Tārīkh, vol. 3, p. 34.
- ↑ Maqrizī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʾ, vol. 13, p. 247; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 522.
- ↑ Dīnawarī, al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, p. 256.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, vol. 5, p. 468; Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 5, p. 476; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 4, p. 74.
- ↑ Abu l-Faraj, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 115.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Iqbāl al-aʿmāl, vol. 3, p. 74.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, vol. 6, p. 64.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 6, p. 409; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, vol. 6, p. 64.
- ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 4, p. 243.
References
- Abu l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn. Edited by Sayyid Aḥmad al-Ṣaqar. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, [n.d].
- Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Jumal min ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Suhayl Zakār & Riyāḍ al-Ziriklī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH/1996 CE.
- Dīnawarī, Aḥmad b. Dāwūd al-. Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl. Edited by ʿAbd al-Munʿim ʿĀmir and Jamāl al-Dīn Shiyāl. Qom: Manshūrāt al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1368.
- Ibn al-Athīr, al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Abī l-Karam. Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1385 AH/1965 CE.
- Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1407 AH/1986 CE.
- Ibn Khaldūn, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad. Dīwan al-mubtadaʾ wa l-khabar fi tārīkh al-ʿarab wa al-barbar wa man ʿāṣarahum min dhawi al-shaʾn al-ʾakbar. Edited by Khalīl al-Shaḥāda. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1408 AH/1986 CE.
- Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Manīʿ al-Ḥāshimī al-Baṣrī. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭā. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya,1410 AH/1990 CE.
- Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Iqbāl al-aʿmāl al-ḥasana. Edited by Jawād Qayyūmī. Qom: Markaz al-Nashr al-Tābiʿ li-Maktab al-Aʿlām al-Islāmī, 1416 AH.
- Maqrizī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Imtāʿ al-asmāʾ bimā li-Nabī min al-aḥwāl wa al-amwāl wa al-ḥafda wa al-matāʾ. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Namīsī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1420 AH/1999 CE.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dar al-Turāth, 1387 AH/1967 CE.