Learning from history, al-Mahdi

[4] ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir ibn ‘Āmir al-‘Ansī al-Madhḥijī al-Makhzūmī (a confederate of Banū Makhzūm) was one of the earliest converts to Islam, and the first Muslim to build a mosque in his own house in which he used to worship Allāh (aṭ-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 3, Part 1, p. 178; Usd al-ghābah, vol. 4, p .46; Ibn Kathīr, aṭ-Ṭārīkh, vol. 7, p. 311). ‘Ammār accepted Islam along with his father Yāsir and his mother Sumayyah. They suffered great tortures by the Quraysh, due to their conversion to Islam, to such an extent that ‘Ammār lost his parents; and they were the first martyrs man and woman in Islam. ‘Ammār was among those who immigrated to Abyssinia, and the earliest immigrants (muhājirūn) to Medina. He was present in the battle of Badr and all other battles as well as places of assembly by the Muslims during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet; and he showed his might and favour in all Islamic struggles in the best way. Many traditions are narrated from the Holy Prophet about ‘Ammār regarding his virtues, outstanding traits and his glorious deeds, such as the tradition which ‘Ā’ishah and other have narrated that the Holy Prophet himself had said that ‘Ammār was filled with faith from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. (Ibn Mājah, as-Sunan, vol. 1, p. 65; Abū Nu‘aym, Ḥilyah al-Awliyā’, vol. 1, p. 139; al-Haytamī, Majma‘ az-zawā’id, vol. 9, p. 295; al-Istī‘āb, vol. 3, p. 1137; al-Iṣābah, vol. 2, p. 512) In another tradition the Holy Prophet said about ‘Ammār : ‘Ammār is with the truth and the truth is with ‘Ammār. He turns wherever the truth turns. ‘Ammār is as near to me as an eye is near to the nose. Alas! a rebellious group will kill him. (aṭ-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 3, part 1, p. 187; al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 392; Ibn Hishām, as-Sīrah, vol. 2, p. 143; Ibn Kathīr, at-Tārikh, vol. 7, pp. 268, 270) Also in the decisive and widely known tradition which al-Bukhārī (in Ṣaḥīḥ, vol. 8, pp. 185—186), at-Tirmidhī (in al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, vol. 5, p. 669); Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (in al-Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 161, 164, 206; vol. 3, pp. 5, 22, 28, 91; vol. 4, pp. 197,199; vol. 5, pp. 215, 306, 307; vol. 6, pp. 289, 300, 311, 315), and all the narrators of Islamic traditions and historians transmitted through twenty-five companions that the Holy Prophet said about ‘Ammār : Alas! a rebellious group which swerves from the truth will murder ‘Ammār. ‘Ammār will be calling them towards Paradise and they will be calling him towards Hell. His killer and those who strip him of arms and clothing will be in Hell. Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī (in Tahdhīb at-tahdhīb, vol. 7, p. 409; al-Iṣābah, vol. 2, p. 512) and as-Suyūṭī (in al-Khaṣā’is al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 140) say: “The narration of this (above-mentioned) tradition is mutawātir (i.e. narrated successively by so many people that no doubt can be entertained about its authenticity).” Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (in al-Istī‘āb, vol. 3, p. 1140) says : The narration followed uninterrupted succession from the Holy Prophet, that he said: “A rebellious group will murder ‘Ammār,” and this is a prophecy of the Prophet’s secret knowledge and the sign of his prophethood. This tradition is among the most authentic and the most rightly ascribed traditions. After the death of the Holy Prophet, ‘Ammār was one of the closest adherents and best supporters of Amīr al-mu’minīn during the reign of the first three Caliphs. During the caliphate of ‘Uthmān when the Muslim protested (to ‘Uthmān) against his policy on the distribution of the Public Treasury (Baytu’l-māl) ‘Uthmān said in a public assembly that, ‘the money which was in the treasury was sacred and belonged to Allāh, and that he (as being the successor of the Prophet) had the right to dispose of them as he thought fit.’ He (‘Uthmān) threatened and cursed all who presumed to censure or murmur at what he said. Upon this, ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir boldly declared his disapprobation and began to charge him with his inveterate propensity to ignore the interests of the general public; accused him with reviving the heathenish customs abolished by the Prophet. Whereupon ‘Uthmān commanded him to be beaten and immediately some of the Umayyads, the kindred of the Caliph fell upon the venerable ‘Ammār, and the Caliph himself kicking him with his shoes (on his feet) on ‘Ammār’s testicles, and afflicted him with hernia. ‘Ammār became unconscious for three days, and he was taken care of by Umm al-mu’minīn Umm Salamah in her own house. (al-Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 5, pp. 48, 54, 88; Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd, vol. 3, pp. 47-52; al-Imāmah wa’s-siyāsah, vol. 1, pp.35-36; al-‘Iqd al-farīd, vol.4, p. 307; aṭ-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 3, Part 1, p. 185; Tārikh al-khamīs, vol. 2, p. 271) When Amīr al-mu’minīn became Caliph, ‘Ammār was one of his most sincere supporters. He participated fully in all social, political and military activities during this period, especially in the first battle (the battle of Jamal) and the second one (the battle of Ṣiffīn). However, ‘Ammār was martyred on 9th Ṣafar 37 A.H. in the battle of Ṣiffīn when he was over ninety years of age. On the day ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir achieved martyrdom, he turned his face to the sky and said : O my Allāh ! surely Thou art aware that if I know that Thy wish is that I should plunge myself into this River (the Euphrates) and be drowned, I will do it. O my Allāh! surely Thou knowest that if I knew that Thou would be pleased if I put my scimitar on my chest (to hit my heart) and pressed it so hard that it came out of my back, I would do it. O my Allāh! I do not think there is anything more pleasant to Thee than fighting with this sinful group, and if knew that any action were more pleasant to Thee I would do it. Abū‘Abd ar-Raḥmān as-Sulamī narrates : “We were present with Amīr al-mu’minīn at Ṣiffīn where I saw ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir was not turning his face towards any side, nor valleys (wādis [of the land]) of Ṣiffīn but the companions of the Holy Prophet were following him as if he was a sign for them. Then I heard ‘Ammār say to Hāshim ibn ‘Utbah (al-Mirqāl): ‘O Hāshim! rush into enemy’s ranks, paradise is under sword! Today I meet my beloved one, Muḥammad and his party’. “Then he said: ‘By Allāh, if they put us to flight (and pursue us) to the date-palms of Ḥajar (a town in Bahrain, Persian Gulf [i.e., if they pursue us along all the Arabian desert] nevertheless) we know surely that we are right and they are wrong.’ “Then he (‘Ammār) continued (addressing the enemies): ‘We struck you to (believe in) its (Holy Qur’ān) revelation; And today we strike you to (believe in) its interpretation; Such strike as to remove heads from their resting places; And to make the friend forget his sincere friend; Until the truth returns to its (right) path.’” The narrator says: “I did not see the Holy Prophet's companions killed at any time as many as they were killed on this day.” Then ‘Ammār spurred his horse, entered the battlefield and began fighting. He persistently chased the enemy, made attack after attack, and raised challenging slogans till at last a group of mean-spirited Syrians surruounded him on all sides, and a man named Abū al-Ghādiyah al-Juharī (al-Fazārī) inflicted such a wound upon him that he could not bear it, and returned to his camp. He asked for water. A tumbler of milk was brought to him. When ‘Ammār looked at the tumbler he said : “The Messenger of Allāh had said the right thing.” People asked him what he meant by these words. He said, “The Messenger of Allāh informed me that the last sustenance for me in this world would be milk.” Then he took that tumbler of milk in his hands, drank the milk and surrendered his life to Allāh, the Almighty. When Amīr al-mu’minīn came to know of his death, he came to ‘Ammār’s side, put his (‘Ammār’s) head on his own lap, and recited the following elegy to mourn his death : Surely any Muslim who is not distressed at the murder of the son of Yāsir, and is not be afflicted by this grievous misfortune does not have true faith. May Allāh show His mercy to ‘Ammār the day he embraced Islam, may Allāh show His mercy to ‘Ammār the day he was killed, and may Allāh show His mercy to ‘Ammār the day he is raised to life. Certainly, I found ‘Ammār (on such level) that three companions of the Holy Prophet could not be named unless he was the fourth, and four of them could not be mentioned unless he was the fifth. There was none among the Holy Prophet’s companions who doubted that not only was Paradise once or twice compulsorily bestowed upon ‘Ammār, but that he gained his claim to it (a number of times). May Paradise give enjoyment to ‘Ammār. Certainly, it was said (by the Holy Prophet) “Surely, ‘Ammār is with the truth and the truth is with ‘Ammār. He turns wherever the truth turns. His killer will be in hell.” Then Amīr al-mu’minīn stepped forward and offered funeral prayers for him, and then with his own hands, he buried him with his clothes. ‘Ammār’s death caused a good deal of commotion in the ranks of Mu‘āwiyah too, because there were a large number of prominent people fighting from his side under the impression created in their minds that he was fighting Amīr al-mu’minīn for a right cause. These people were aware of the saying of the Holy Prophet that ‘Ammār would be killed by a group who would be on the wrong side. When they observed that ‘Ammār had been killed by Mu‘āwiyah’s army, they became convinced that they were on the wrong side and that Amīr al-mu’minīn was definitely on the right. This agitation thus caused among the leaders as well as the rank and file of Mu‘āwiyah’s army, was quelled by him with the argument that it was Amīr al-mu’minīn who brought ‘Ammār to the battlefield and therefore it was he who was responsible for his death. When Mu‘āwiyah’s argument was mentioned before Amīr al-mu’minīn he said it was as though the Prophet was responsible for killing Ḥamzah as he brought him to the battle of Uḥud. (aṭ-Ṭabarī, at-Tārīkh, vol. 1, pp. 3316-3322; vol. 3, pp. 2314-2319; Ibn Sa‘d, aṭ-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 3, Part 1, pp. 176-189; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 3, pp. 308-312; Ibn Kathīr, at-Tārīkh, vol. 7, pp. 267-272; al-Minqarī, Ṣiffīn, pp. 320-345; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Istī‘āb, vol. 3, pp. 1135-1140; vol. 4, p. 1725; Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al ghābah, vol. 4, pp. 43-47; vol. 5, p. 267; Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāghah, vol. 5, pp. 252—258; vol. 8, pp. 10—28; vol. 10, pp. 102—107; al-Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp. 384—394; Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, al-‘Iqd al farīd, vol. 4, pp. 340—343; al-Mas‘ūdī, Murūj adh-dhahab, vol. 2, pp. 381—382; al-Haytamī, Majma‘ az-zawā’id, vol. 7, pp. 238—244; vol. 9, pp. 291—298; al-Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf (Biography of Amīr al-mu’minīn), pp. 310—319.)

[5] Abu’l-Haytham (Mālik) ibn at-Tayyihān al-Anṣārī was one of the twelve chiefs (naqīb [of anṣār]) who attended the fair and met at al-‘Aqabah — in the first ‘Aqabah and among those who attended in the second ‘Aqabah — where he gave the Holy Prophet the ‘pledge of Islam’. He was present in the battle of Badr and all other battles as well as places of assembly by the Muslims during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. He was also among the sincere supporters of Amīr aI-mu’minīn and he attended the battle of Jamal as well as Ṣiffīn where he was martyred. (al-Istī‘āb, vol. 4, p. 1773; Ṣiffīn, p. 365; Usd al ghābah, vol. 4, p. 274; vol. 5, p. 318; al-Iṣābah, vol. 3, p. 341; vol. 4, pp. 312—313; Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd, vol. 10, pp. 107—108; Ansāb al-ashrāf, p. 319).

[6] Khuzaymah ibn Thābit al-Anṣārī. He is known as Dhu’sh-Shahādatayn because the Holy Prophet considered his evidence equivalent to the evidence of two witnesses. He was present in the battle of Badr, and other battles as well as in the places of assembly of the Muslims during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. He is counted among the earliest of those who showed their adherence to Amīr al-mu’minīn and he was also present in the battle of Jamal and Ṣiffīn.‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā narrated that he saw a man in the battle of Ṣiffīn fighting the enemy valiantly and when he protested against his action, the man said : I am Khuzaymah ibn Thābit al-Anṣārī, I have heard the Holy Prophet saying “Fight, fight, by the side of ‘Alī.” (al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Muwaḍḍih awhām al-jam‘ wa’t-tafrīq, vol. 1, p. 277). Khuzaymah was martyred in the battle of Ṣiffīn soon after the martyrdom of ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir. Sayf ibn ‘Umar al-Usayyidī (the well know liar) has fabricated another Khuzaymah, and claimed that the one who was martyred in the battle of Ṣiffīn was this one and not the one with the surname of ‘Dhu’sh-Shahādatayn’. aṭ-Ṭabarī has quoted this fabricated story from Sayf either intentionally or otherwise, and through him this story has affected some other historians who quoted from aṭ-Ṭabarī or relied on him. (For further reference, see al-‘Askarī, Khamsūn wa miah ṣahābī mukhtalaq [one hundred and fifty fabricated companions], vol. 2, pp. 175—189). After having denied this story Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd adds (in Sharḥ Nahj al-balāghah, vol. 10, pp. 109-110) that: Furthermore, what is the need for those. who want to defend Amīr al-mu’minīn to make a boast of abundance with Khuzaymah, Abu’l Haytham,‘Ammār and others. If people treat this man (Amīr al-mu’minīn) with justice and look at him with healthy eyes they will certainly realize that should he be alone (on one side) and the people all together (on the other side) fighting him, he will be in the truth and all the rest will be in the wrong, (aṭ-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 3, part 1, pp. 185, 188; al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp. 385,397; Usd al-ghābah, vol. 2, p. 114; vol. 4, p. 47; al-Istī‘āb, vol. 2, p. 448; aṭ-Ṭabarī, vol. 3, pp. 2316, 2319, 2401; al-Kāmil, vol. 3, p. 325; Ṣiffīn, pp. 363, 398; Ansāb al-ashrāf, pp. 313—314).

[7] Among the people who were present in the battle of Jamal on the side of Amīr al-mu’minīn there were one hundred and thirty Badries (those who participated in the battle of Badr with the Holy Prophet) and seven hundred of those who were present in the ‘pledge of ar-Riḍwān’ (Bay‘atu’r-Riḍwān) which took place under a tree. (adh-Dhahabī, Tārīkh al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 171; Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ, at-Tārīkh, vol. 1, p. 164). Those who were killed in the battle of Jamal from the side of Amīr al-mu’minīn numbered some five hundred (some said that the number of martyrs were more that). But on the side of the people of Jamal twenty thousand were killed. (al-‘Iqd al farīd, vol. 4, p. 326). Among those who were present in the battle of Ṣiffīn on the side of Amīr al-mu’minīn, there were eighty Badries and eight hundred of those who gave the Holy Prophet the ‘pledge of ar-Riḍwān.’ (al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 104; al-Istī‘āb, vol. 3, p. 1138; al-Iṣābah, vol. 2, p. 389; at-Tārīkh, al-Ya‘qūbī, vol. 2, p. 188). On the side of Mu‘āwiyah forty-five thousand were killed, and on the side of Amīr al-mu’minīn twenty-five thousand. Among these martyrs (of Amīr al-mu’minīn) there were twenty-five or twenty-six Badries and sixty-three or three hundred and three of the people of the ‘pledge of ar-Riḍwān’. (Ṣiffīn, p. 558; al-Istī‘āb, vol. 2, p. 389; Ansāb al-ashrāf, p. 322; Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd, vol. 10, p. 104; Abu’l-Fida’, vol. 1, p. 175; Ibn al-Wardī, at-Tārīkh, vol. 1, p. 240; Ibn Kathīr, vol. 7, p. 275; Tārīkh al-khamīs, vol. 2, p. 277). Besides the distinguished and eminant companions of Amīr al-mu’minīn like ‘Ammār, Dhu’sh-Shahādatayn and Ibn al-Tayyihān, who lay martyred in Ṣiffīn were: i. Hāshim ibn ‘Utbah ibn Abī Waqqāṣ al-Mirqāl was killed on the same day when ‘Ammār was martyred. He was the bearer of the standard of Amīr al-mu’minīn’s army on that day. ii. ‘Abdullāh ibn Budayl ibn al-Warqā’ al-Khuzā‘ī was sometimes the right wing Commander of Amīr al-mu’minīn’s army and sometimes the infantry Commander.