Abu Musa al-Ash'ari: Difference between revisions

'Abd Allah b. Qays's originality goes back to Ash'ar tribe from [[Yemen]], which was part of Qahtan tribe itself. Zabiyya, his mother, converted to Islam and passed away in [[Medina]].

===Converting to Islam===

The information on the time when Abu Musa converted to Islam is not accurate and confirmed. According to a number of narrations, he visited [[Sa'id b. 'As b. Umayya]] in [[Mecca]] and became allegiant (halif) of him, and he converted to Islam, afterwards he accompanied other Muslims in their second migration to [[Abyssinia]] (Habasha). However, Ibn Sa'd believed Abu Musa was never an allegiant, and he returned [[Yemen]] after converting to Islam. In addition, Musa b. 'Aqaba b. Ishaq and Abu Mash'ar and other biography writers did not mention Abu Musa's name among those who migrated to Abyssinia; which confirms the second notion.

Also [[Ahmad b. Hanbal]] quoted from the grandson of Abu Musa that, along with his tribe members, Abu Musa visited [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] three days after the [[battle of Khaybar]] and they received loots, despite the fact that they did not attend the battle.

According to another report, Abu Musa along with fifty members of his family set out for [[Medina]] from Zubayd in Yemen by a ship in 7/628-9 They were hit by a storm that pushed them toward [[Abyssinia]] where they met [[Ja'far b. Abi Talib]] and other [[Muhajirun]] (the immigrants). Then they went to Medina together which is the reason of regarding Abu Musa among Muhajirun. Meanwhile, the Jews in [[Khaybar]] accepted to submit to [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]].

Abu Musa was once appointed as the successor of the leader of Muslims' army when [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] sent soldiers to suppress [[Hawazin]] tribes once more in [[Shawwal]] 8/630 then after the martyrdom of their leader, Abu Musa was in charge of Muslims' army and he managed to achieve victory. In the same year, Abu Musa and [[Mu'adh b. Jabal]] were in charge of teaching [[Qur'an]] to people of [[Mecca]]. Also Abu Musa became the governor of [[Yemen]] in 10/631 before [[Hajjat al-Wida']].

Abu Musa remained the governor of some regions of Yemen in the time of [[caliphate]] of [[Abu Bakr]]. He also fought against the apostates.

Abu Musa became politically active in the time of the [['Umar b. al-Khattab]]. Mughira b. Shu'ba was replaced with Abu Musa as the governor of [[Basra]], who was the fourth appointed governor of this city by 'Umar b. al-Khattab. Abu Musa managed to rule over [[Basra]] for over 12 years, except for a short interval, when he was sent to [[Kufa]] to replace [[Ammar b. Yasir]]; but he retuned Basra after a short time. Abu Musa was selected as the judge of Basra by 'Umar b. al-Khattab as well.

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari prepared as army and attacked [[Khuzistan]] and [[Fars]]. He managed to conquer cities after long fights and sieges. A number of the conquered cities were defensively strong and they were re-conquered at times.

Abu Musa remained the governor of [[Basra]] in the early years of Uthman's caliphate as it was recommended by [['Umar b. al-Khattab]]. Therefore, it is concluded that 'Umar b. al-Khattab regarded Abu Musa as a trustworthy person. He was also in charge of judicial system of Basra. It seems right that Abu Musa was Emir of Basra six years after the death of 'Umar b. al-Khattab as it is reported that he was dismissed due to complaints of people in 29/649-50.

When [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] became the [[caliph]] of Muslims, Abu Musa sent a letter to him and informed him of people's [[oath of allegiance]] to him. While Imam 'Ali (a) removed all of Uthmans' deputies and officials, despite his own will he accepted to keep Abu Musa in his position as [[Malik al-Ashtar]] recommended. However later it was revealed that Abu Musa was not willing to take oath of allegiance to Imam 'Ali (a). When Abu Musa was the governor of Kufa, he gave a comment on disagreements between [[Talha]] and [[Zubayr]] with Imam (a) as he said: "The caliph must be a person who give orders and dominate."

Later Imam 'Ali (a) sent a letter by his son, [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]], to remove Abu Musa from Kufa. Abu Musa delivered a speech to people of Kufa and said the disagreement between [['Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]] with [[Talha]] and [[Zubayr]] is [[Quraysh]]-related fight and others should stay away from it. When Imam Al-Hasan (A) arrived in Kufa, people supported him to throw Abu Musa out of palace and they prevented him from plundering public properties. Based on a narration, Abu Musa fled afterwards, and he was allowed to live without punishment.

Abu Musa is significantly famous in historical resources for the political role he played in [[the Arbitration]] after [[the battle of Siffin]] which unintentionally or intentionally led to seizure of power by [[Banu Umayyad]]. When [[Mu'awiya]]'s army were facing an eminent defeat in the battle of Siffin, [['Amr b. al-'As]] tricked a number of Imam's soldiers to stop fighting, as a result the fate of the battle was supposed to be concluded by the Arbitration. People of [[Syria]] elected 'Amr b. al-'As as their arbitrator. [[Ash'ath b. Qays]] and some others, who later came to be called [[Mariqun]], suggested Abu Musa al-Ash'ari as the arbitrator from [[Kufa]]. But [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] suggested [['Abd Allah b. 'Abbas]] or [[Malik al-Ashtar]]. Imam 'Ali (a)'s suggestions were opposed by Ash'ath and his friends; they refused Malik al-Ashtar on the grounds that he is pro-war, and they rejected Ibn 'Abbas on the grounds that 'Amr b. al-'As is from the Mudari tribes so his interlocutor should be Yemeni.

Hence, Abu Musa al-'Ash'ari and [['Amr b. al-'As]] were chosen to decide the fate of the battle and judge the situation which would make peace between the parties for almost a year. After days of negotiations, Abu Musa proposed to remove both [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] and [[Mu'awiya]] from [[caliphate]] and appoint [['Abd Allah b. 'Abbas]] as the caliph of Muslims which was confirmed by 'Amr b. al-'As. However, when they decided to announce the verdict, 'Amr b. al-'As tricked Abu Musa to begin the talk. As it was agreed between both of them, Abu Musa announced the removal of [['Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]] from caliphate, while on the other hand 'Amr b. al-'As refused to remove [[Mu'awiya]], and he announced Mu'awiya as the caliph. When Abu Musa was deceived, he cursed 'Amr b. al-'As and went [[Mecca]].  

As it is concluded, Abu Musa was a weak-willed, narrow-minded and unwise man. Imam 'Ali (a) was forced to accept Abu Musa and the arbitrator; as [[Ibn 'Abbas]] stated Imam believed Abu Musa was never superior to any other as the arbitrator.

In 40/661 Mu'awiya sent Busr b. Artat to take oath of allegiance from those who did not accept the result of [[the Arbitration]], which terrified Abu Musa; however he was not harmed. Later Abu Musa took oath of allegiance to Mu'awiya and visited him in [[Syria]] occasionally, but [[Mu'awiya]] generally ignored him.

Personality of Abu Musa has been described differently in historical and narrative sources of [[Sunni]] and [[Shi'ite]] Muslims. According to a number of narrations, Abu Musa and his family are praised in a Quranic verse. He was regarded among the six knowledgeable companions of [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]]. Hence, he was a sources of acquiring [[fiqh]] laws in the time of [['Umar b. al-Khattab]].

It is stated Abu Musa recited [[Quran]] beautifully and with a striking tone.

Abu Musa al-'Ash'ari narrated a great deal of [[hadiths]] from Prophet Muhammad (s) in different topics. Also al-Dhahabi regarded him as a [[Muhaddith]] (hadith narrator) and among few people who recited [[Quran]] for [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]]. A large number of narrators have narrated hadiths from Abu Musa including [[Anas b. Malik]], [[Abu Sa'id al-Khudri]], [[Abu Imama al-Bahili]], [[Burayda b. Husayb|Burayda al-Aslami]], [[Abd al-Rahman b. Nafi']], [[Sa'id b. Musayyib]], [[Zayd b. Wahb]] and others.