Al-Mughira b. Shu'ba: Difference between revisions

| known for = Attacking the house of [[Lady Fatima (a)]]

| Known for = participation in [[attack to the house of Lady Fatima (a)]] • enmity towards Imam Ali (a)

'''Al-Mughīra b. Shuʿba''' (Arabic: {{ia|مغيرة بن شعبة}}) (b. 2 or 3 years after [[Bi'that]]/612 or 613 - d. [[50]]/670-1) was a [[companion]] of [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]]. He played a role in the attack to [[Lady Fatima]]'s (a) house. Mughira was appointed as the governor of [[Bahrain]], [[Basra]] and [[Kufa]] by the order of [['Umar b. al-Khattab]]. Later in the time of [[Mu'awiya]], he became the governor of Kufa. Al-Mughira cursed [['Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]] and his followers in the [[Masjid al-Kufa]]. [[Abu Lu'lu'a]] the murderer of 'Umar b. al-Khattab was the slave of al-Mughira.

Al-Mughira converted to Islam in 5/626-7 and was present in [[Hudaybiyya Peace Treaty]] and [[Pledge of al-Ridwan]].<ref>Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, ''al-Iṣāba'', vol. 6, p. 156; Maqrizī, ''Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ'', vol. 6, p. 162.</ref> In 9/630-1 when Thaqif tribe converted to Islam, Prophet Muhammad (s) ordered al-Mughira and [[Abu Sufyan]] to go to [[Ta'if]] and break al-Lat idol.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 3, p. 99.</ref>

According to [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]], al-Mughira b. Shu'ba played a role in the attack to [[Lady Fatima]]'s (a) house in order to force [['Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]] and his close [[Companions of Imam Ali (a)|companions]] to take oath of allegiance to the first caliph, [[Abu Bakr]].<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Jamal'', p. 117; Ṭabrisī, ''al-Iḥtijāj'', vol. 1, p. 83-84.</ref> Based on ''[[al-Ihtijaj]]'', [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]] condemned al-Mughira and said: "You hit Lady Fatima (a) so harsh that she was injured and it led to miscarry ([[Muhsin b. Ali]])."<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''al-Iḥtijāj'', vol. 1, p. 278.</ref>

Umar b. al-Khattab appointed him as the governor of [[Bahrain]], but people refused to accept him and complained to 'Umar. Then he was dismissed and appointed as the governor of [[Basra]]. When some people attested that al-Mughira had committed adultery, Umar removed him and appointed him as the governor of [[Kufa]].<ref>Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, ''al-Iṣāba'', vol. 6, p. 157; Maqrizī, ''Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ'', vol. 6, p. 162; Dhahabī, ''Tārīkh al-Islām'', vol. 4, p. 121.</ref> He is regarded amongst the first ones who called 'Umar b. al-Khattab, "Amir al-Mu'minin".<ref>Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, ''al-Iṣāba'', vol. 6, p. 157.</ref> According to sources, [[Abu Lu'lu'a]] who killed 'Umar b. al-Khattab was the slave of al-Mughira.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol. 3, p. 266.</ref>

In the time of [[Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]], Mughira did not take oath of [[allegiance]] to Imam (a) and he did not attend the battles as well.<ref>Dhahabī, ''Tārīkh al-Islām'', vol. 4, p. 121.</ref> After the [[Arbitration]], he took oath of allegiance to [[Mu'awiya]] and again he was appointed as the governor of Kufa where he lived for the rest of his life, until 50/670.<ref>Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, ''al-Iṣāba'', vol. 6, p. 157.</ref> In the time of the [[Peace Treaty of Imam al-Hasan (a)]] and Mu'awiya, he brought Mu'awiya's letter to [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]].<ref>Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī'', vol. 2, p. 215.</ref>

Based on historical sources, al-Mughira was amongst the first ones who proposed the succession of [[Yazid b. Mu'awiya]]<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 5, p. 301-302.</ref> which took place in 56/676. However, as Mughira died in 50/670, it cannot be true.

Once al-Mughira addressed [[Sa'sa'a b. Sawhan]], a companion of Imam Ali (a) and an orator, saying : "Avoid fault-finding with [['Uthman b. 'Affan|'Uthman]]. Avoid mentioning [[Virtues of Imam Ali (a)|Ali's virtues]]. I know his virtues more than you. But the power is in the hands of this ruler [Mu'awiya] who will punish anyone who criticizes Uthman."<ref>Ibn Athīr, ''al-Kāmil'', vol. 3, p. 429.</ref>

{{Notes}}

*Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. ''Al-Aghānī''. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1415 AH.

*Dhahabī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-. ''Tārīkh al-Islām''. Second edition. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1409 AH.

*Diyār al-Bakrī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad. ''Tārīkh al-khamīs fī aḥwāl anfus al-nafīs''. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, [n.d].

*Ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. ''Al-Futūḥ''. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1411 AH.

*Ibn Athīr, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. ''Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh''. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, 1385 AH.

*Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. ''Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba''. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1415 AH.

*Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. ''Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya''. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, [n.d].

*Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Manīʿ al-Baṣrī. ''Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā''. Second edition.  Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1418 AH.

*Maqrizī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. ''Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ bi-mā li-l-nabīyy min al-aḥwāl wa l-amwāl wa l-ḥafdat wa l-matāʿ''. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1420 AH.

*Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. ''Al-Jamal''. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.

*Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk''. Second edition. Beirut: Dār al-Turāth, 1378 AH.

*Ṭabrisī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. ''Al-Iḥtijāj ʿalā ahl al-lijāj''. Mashhad: Nashr-i Murtaḍā, 1403 AH.

*Thaqafī, Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad al-. ''Al-Ghārāt''. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1410 AH.

*Yaʿqūbī, Muḥammad b. Abī Yaʿqūb al-. ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī''. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, [n.d].