Abu l-Haytham b. al-Tayyihan: Difference between revisions

'''Abu al-Haytham b. al-Tayyihān''' (ابو الهيثم بن التيهان) is one of the Prophet (s)'s ṣaḥāba (i.e., companions) and a fellow of Imam ʾAli (a). He was a monotheist even before Islam. He was present at ʾAqaba allegiance, the wars of Badr, ʾUḥud, Khandaq, and Mūta.

Abu al-Haytham opposed Abū Bakr's caliphate after the death of the Prophet (s), and made an allegiance to Imam ʾAli (a) after ʾUthmān's murder. He was killed in the war of Ṣiffīn. Imam ʾAli (a) regrets the loss of fellows like him in Nahj al-Balagha.

His best-known name is Mālik. Some have said that his father's name was Mālik and his title was Tayyahān, and some believe that his father's name was Tayyahān.

His parentage is not clearly known; in most of the sources he is said to belong to the Banī Zaʾur ʾAbd al-ʾAshhal clan from the ʾAws tribe. Some hold that he was from the clan of Qaḍāʾa and Ḥalīf b. ʾAbd al-ʾAshhal. His brother, ʾUbayd or Utayk, fought in the war of Badr with Muslims and was killed in the war of ʾUḥud. Some have confused Abu al-Haytham with his brother.

He was a monotheist before Islam, and averted idols during the Jāhilīyya (Ignorance) period.

He and ʾAsʾad b. Zurara were among the first people from al-ʾAnṣār who converted to Islam, and they made allegiance to the Prophet (s) in ʾAqaba.

He was present in the wars of Badr, ʾUḥud, Khandaq, Mūta, and other ghazwas (battles in which the Prophet (s) participated). After the martyrdom of ʾAbdullah b. Rawāḥa in the war of Mūta, the Prophet (s) appointed him as the agent for the evaluation of the dates of Khaybar and the payment of the Jews' share.

After his immigration (hijra), the Prophet (s) made a fraternity pact between Ibn Tayyahān and ʾUthmān b. Maẓʾun.

After the death of the prophet (s), Abu al-Haytham opposed Abū Bakr's caliphate, and refused his proposal to continue his mission as an evaluator of dates.

Faḍl b. Shādhān is quoted as saying that Ibn Tayyahān was one of the first people who turned to Imam ʾAli (a) immediately after the Prophet (s)'s death.

In ʾUmar's period, he was sent to Jews for the Fadak peace.

==During Imam ʾAli (a)'s Period==

According to Shaykh Ṭūsi, Ibn Tayyahān and ʾAmmār b. Yāsir represented Imam ʾAli (a) for the allegiance of people, and told people:

We make an allegiance to you conditioned upon our obedience of God and the tradition of his Prophet (s), and if we are not committed to this, you do not have to obey us and will have no commitment to our allegiance; and the guide between us is the Quran.

Ibn Babwayh has counted him among Imam ʾAli (a)'s companions and fellows. His participation in the Jamal war with Imam ʾAli (a) has been cited in the sources.

At the beginning of the war of Ṣiffīn, Abu al-Haytham encouraged the Iraqi armies to participate in the war. Some people have said that he died years before this war in 20 AH during ʾUmar's caliphate. Accordingly some people have cast doubts on his participation in the war of Ṣiffīn.

Though Ibn ʾAbi al-Ḥadīd's quotation from Naṣr b. Muzāḥim is not found in the present copies and versions of the latter's book, the presence of an elegy for Abu al-Haytham among the elegies of the Ṣiffīn martyrs in Naṣr b. Muzaḥim's book might, on the one hand, show omissions in the present copy of his book and the correctness of Ibn Abi al-Ḥadīd's quotation from him, and, on the other hand, it shows that Abu al-Haytham is probably killed then, and the issue of his participation in Ṣiffīn might come down to disputes about whether and how the fellows of Badr took part in Imam ʾAli (a)'s wars, just as there is the same controversy regarding the participation of Khuzayma b. Thābit, known as Dhu al-Shahādatayn in Imam ʾAli (a)'s wars.

Kulaynī has quoted from Abu al-Haytham an oration of Imam ʾAli (a)—known as Ṭālūtīyya Oration.

Abu al-Haytham participated in the Ṣiffīn war, and was martyred after ʾAmmār.

In Nahj al-Balagha, Imam ʾAli (a) regrets the loss of companions like him, and cites him thus: "Where is ʾAmmār? Where is Ibn Tayyahān? Where is Dhu al-Shahādatayn?"