wikishia:Featured Article/2017/2

Qanbar (Arabic: قنبر) was Imam 'Ali's (a) servant and one of his close companions. He was a member of Shurtat al-Khamis and the standard bearer of a wing in Imam 'Ali's army in the Battle of Siffin. He was martyred by al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi. He and other close companions of Imam 'Ali (a) such as Uways al-Qarani, Maytham al-Tammar, Kumayl, Habib b. Muzahir, Malik al-Ashtar and … formed Shurtat al-Khamis.

Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: "He liked Imam 'Ali (a) very much. When Imam left his house at night, he followed him without drawing his attention, to protect him. Reciprocally, Imam 'Ali (a) cared about him. One day, Imam 'Ali (a) bought two garments. One of them cost 2 dirham and the other 3 dirham. Imam 'Ali (a) gave Qanbar the expensive one.

Among Shi'a, Qanbar is regarded as a symbol of loyalty and obedience to Imam 'Ali (a); thus his name is mentioned in their literature frequently. Read more...