Al-Mukhtar b. Abi 'Ubayd al-Thaqafi: Difference between revisions

In his book ''Siyar a'lam al-nubala''', [[Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi]] writes of al-Mukhtar's activity in support of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] during Mu'awiya's rule. Al-Dhahabi reports that during Mu'awiya's rule, al-Mukhtar went to [[Basra]] and invited its residetns to Imam al-Husayn (a). He was arrested by [['Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad]], who was the governor of Basra at the time, and whipped one hundred time. Then he was exiled to [[Ta'if]].

* '''[[Muslim b. 'Aqil]] in al-Mukhtar's House''': al-Mukhtar was one of the individuals who rushed to the help of Muslim b. 'Aqil. Muslim b. 'Aqil went to al-Mukhtar's house when he arrived in Kufa but moved out to [[Hani b. 'Urwa]]'s house when 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad found where he was settled.

* '''Collaboration with Muslim b. 'Aqil''': Historical reports show that al-Mukhtar intended to support Muslim b. 'Aqil, but on the day Muslim b. 'Aqil was martyred, al-Mukhtar had left Kufa and went to Khatarniyya, a place outside of Kufa, to gather supporters. Muslim b. 'Aqil and Hani b. 'Urwa had been already martyred when he went back to Kufa.

* '''Day of [['Ashura']] in Prison''': Upon Muslim b. 'Aqil's martyrdom, 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad set to kill al-Mukhtar, but on [['Amr b. Hurayth]]'s mediation, he was spared. Nevertheless, 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad injured his eye with a whip and imprisoned him. Al-Mukhtar was incarcerated until the end of Imam al-Husayn's (a) uprising.

* '''Seeing Imam al-Husayn's (a) Head''': When the captives of 'Ashura' entered Kufa, 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad brought the prisoners who supported Imam al-Husayn (a) to see the captives, one of whom was al-Mukhtar. A foul discussion ensued between the two. Upon seeing Imam Husayn's (a) decapitated head, al-Mukhtar cried, grieved, and hit himself on his head.

After the [[Event of 'Ashura']], al-Mukhtar was freed with [['Abd Allah b. 'Umar]]'s mediation with [[Yazid]], since al-Mukhtar's sister, Safiyya b. Abi 'Ubayd, was 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar's wife. Nonetheless, 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad let him free on the condition that he leaves Kufa within three days, and if he is seen afterwards, he will be killed.

Al-Mukhtar pledged his allegiance to [['Abd Allah b. Zubayr]] on the condition that he would be consulted before 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr did anything, and that he was not disagreed with.

When [[Yazid b. Mu'awiya|Yazid]] attacked [[Mecca]] and encircled 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr, al-Mukhtar sided with 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr and fought next to him against Yazid's army, but when 'Abd Allah announced himself caliph, al-Mukhtar separated and left for Kufa, and created the grounds for his uprising.

Six months had passed from Yazid's death when al-Mukhtar reached [[Kufa]] in the middle of [[Ramadan]].

'Abd Allah b. Zubayr sent [['Abd Allah b. Muti']] as his governor to Kufa. War broke out between the two and al-Mukhtar came out victorious.

Al-Mukhtar refused to participate in the [[Uprising of Tawwabun]], because he believed it was useless, and that [[Sulayman b. Surad al-Khuza'i]] was unfamiliar with combat skills and tactics.

With al-Mukhtar's refusal, four thousand individuals, of the sixteen thousand who had given their allegiance to Sulayman b. Surad retreated because they believed he was incompetent in combat tactics.

It should be mentioned that al-Mukhtar was in prison when the Tawwabun Uprising occurred. When the Tawwabun were defeated, he sent a letter to the family of the dead to express his sympathy to them. The leaders of the Tawwabun had decided to free him from prison, but al-Mukhtar cautioned them from doing so, since he would be freed soon. Once again, al-Mukhtar was released with 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar's mediation.