Khuzayma b. Thabit: Difference between revisions

Khuzayma b. Thabit b. Fakih b. Tha‘labah b. Sa‘idah Ansari was one of the Prophet’s (s) companions and Imam Ali’s (a) friends. He was the first companion of [[the Prophet (s)]] who converted to Islam and believed in the Prophet (s). He was martyred in the Battle of Siffin.

Khuzayma b. Thabit b. Fakih b. Tha‘labah b. Sa‘idah Ansari was from Medina, the tribe of Ows, Bani Khatmah family. He was one of the great companions of the Prophet (s) and a famous friend of Imam Ali (a).

His mother, Kabshah, the daughter of Aws, was from Bani Sa‘idah. His kunya was Abu ‘Umarah. He was of the first people from Medina who believed in Islam and became a special companion of the Prophet (s). He broke the idols of Bani Khatmah by his hands.

When ‘Uthman was killed (35 AH) and the people of Medina paid allegiance to Ali (a), Khuzayma b. Thabit paid allegiance to Imam (a) as well.

In the Battle of Siffin, Khuzayma was one of the commanders of Imam’s army. Although at that time he was an old man, with a firm belief in Imam Ali’s (a) truthfulness, he fiercely fought against Mu’awiya’s army and Mu'awiya's deception did not weaken him. In the Battle of Siffin, when ‘Ammar b. Yasir was martyred, Khuzayma b. Thabit went into his tent, performed his full ritual ablution. Then, he went to the battlefield and fought until he was martyred.

Khuzayma b. Thabit has quoted from the Prophet (s) that ‘Ammar b. Yasir would be killed by a group of oppressors. Khuzayma was martyred in 37 AH in a stage of Battle of Siffin when the fight became very fierce and has become known as Yawm Waq‘ah al-Khamis. Imam Ali (a) has mentioned Khuzayma b. Thabit as one of the martyrs of Siffin and one of his brothers who remained steadfast in the right way. Therefore, according to previously mentioned traditions, this matter that Khuzayma b. Thabit did not fight in the Battle of Jamal and in the Battle of Siffin until ‘Ammar was martyred, cannot be true.

Some historical narrators believe that Khuzayma b. Thabit passed away at the time of [[‘Uthman]] and the one who attended the Battle of Siffin was a person with the same name. However, according to general and specific traditions, martyrdom of Khuzayma b. Thabit in Siffin has been related by successive transmitters and denial of Khuzayma’s martyrdom in Siffin is actually an attempt by the enemies to claim that those who struggled in the Battle of Badr did not side with Ali (a) in Siffin. Moreover, most of the historians such as Khatib Baghdadi and Ibn Abi al-Hadid have said that Dhu al-Shahadatayn was Khuzayma b. Thabit, and according to genealogical references, there was no other one called Khuzayma b. Thabit among Ansar. The belief that Khuzayma is someone other than Dhu al-Shahadatayn is actually originated from the bias propagated by Umayyads.

# ‘Umarah (his son)

# Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah Ansari

# ‘Umarah b. ‘Uthman b. Hanif

# ‘Amr b. Maymun

# Ibrahim b. Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas

# Abu ‘Abd Allah Jadali

# ‘Abd Allah b. Yazid Khatmi

# ‘Ata’ b. Yasar

Khuzamah b. Thabit had a talent for composing poems and a large number of poems have been attributed to him. Some have counted him among Shi‘a poets. Khuzayma, who was present in the events such as Saqifah Bani Sa‘idah, Jamal, and Siffin, has composed many poems about Imam Ali (s) in which he has praised and supported him. Also, the daughter of Khuzayma has composed an elegy about his father. The grave of Khuzayma is not known in Siffin.