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Muslim ibn Aqil

Muslim ibn Aqil al-Hashimi (Arabic: مُسْلِم ٱبْن عَقِيل ٱلْهَاشِمِيّ, romanizedMuslim ibn ʿAqīl al-Hāshimī) was a relative of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslim was the son of Aqil ibn Abi Talib and a cousin of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam, who dispatched him to Kufa in Iraq to ascertain their support upon the accession of the Umayyad caliph Yazid (r. 680–683). The Kufans welcomed Muslim and overwhelmingly pledged to support Husayn against the Umayyad rule, which they considered illegitimate and tyrannical. In response, Yazid replaced the mild governor of the city with his strongman Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, who soon discovered the hideout of Muslim through an informant. When Ibn Ziyad imprisoned or killed Hani ibn Urwa, who was secretly sheltering Muslim, he came out in open revolt and surrounded the governor's palace with his supporters in September 680 CE. With a combination of threats and promises, however, Ibn Ziyad induced Kufan tribal leaders to abandon Muslim and withdraw their men. A deserted Muslim was arrested after a strong resistance and executed. Before this turn of events, he had written to Husayn and urged him to come to Kufa. Husayn thus left Mecca with his family and a few supporters, but his caravan was intercepted and massacred by the Umayyad forces in October 680 in Karbala, near Kufa. Muslim is revered in Shia Islam for his bravery and moral uprightness. His shrine in Kufa is a destination for Shia pilgrims.

Muslim ibn Aqil al-Hashimi
Arabic: مُسْلِم ٱبْن عَقِيل ٱلْهَاشِمِيّ

10 September 680(680-09-10) (aged 48)

Execution ordered by Ibn Ziyad

Envoy of Husayn ibn Ali

Muhammad
Ali (uncle)
Husayn ibn Ali (cousin)

Early life[edit]

Muslim was the son of Aqil (d. 670 or 683), a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (d. 632). His mother might have been a freed slave (umm walad) of Nabataean origin whose name is differently given as Ulayya, Khalila, and Hilya. His date of birth is also reported variously and the sources differ significantly, ranging from the early 640s CE to the late 650s.[1] Muslim seems to have enjoyed a reputation as a fierce warrior.[1][2] By one account, he fought in the Battle of Siffin (657) for his uncle Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam and the fourth caliph (r. 656–661) after Muhammad. By another account, Muslim fought in the conquest of al-Bahnasa in Egypt during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph (r. 634–644). According to this account, Muslim was consequently appointed as its governor and served there until Umar was replaced with Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656), whereupon Muslim returned to Medina. By yet another account, sometime after 670, he reportedly duped Mu'awiya, the governor of Syria at the time, into buying from him a plot of land in Medina that actually belonged to his cousin, Husayn ibn Ali.[1]

Envoy to Kufa[edit]

Husayn ibn Ali denounced the accession in 680 of the Umayyad caliph Yazid, who succeeded his father Mua'wiya in breach of the 661 peace treaty with Husayn's brother Hasan (d. 670). When pressed to pledge his allegiance, Husayn fled from his hometown of Medina to Mecca, accompanied by his family. There he received many letters and messengers from the predominantly Shia town of Kufa in Iraq, inviting him there to lead them against the Umayyad rule, which they considered illegitimate and tyrannical. Husayn responded that he would lead them in the right way if they were united in their support and tasked Muslim with assessing the situation in Kufa. Husayn sent a similar letter to the inhabitants of Basra in Iraq and invited them to follow him to set right the Sunna of Muhammad, which had been obliterated by innovations, he wrote.[3][4][5]


Muslim thus left Mecca on 19 June 680 (15 Ramadan 60), hired two guides in Medina, and then set out for Kufa.[1] According to the Sunni historian al-Tabari (d. 923),[6] his guides lost their way and perished from thirst along the way, whereby Muslim wrote to Husayn to be relieved from his duty but the latter insisted that he continue.[1][7] Muslim entered Kufa on 9 July 680 (5 Shawwal 60) and first hid in the house of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi or Muslim ibn Awsaja, where he received the pledges of 12,000 to 30,000 men.[1][8] But these were in effect pledges not to Husayn but to the tribal leaders who supported him at the time, that is, loyalty not to a cause but to men, according to the Islamicist Mahmoud M. Ayoub (d. 2021).[8] Early on, he also attended a secret meeting of the Kufan Shia leaders, where he received their support. The attendees included Abas ibn Abi Habib al-Shakeri, Habib ibn Muzahir, and Sa'id ibn Abd-Allah al-Hanafi, all of whom were later killed alongside Husayn. As his support grew, however, Muslim was even able to preside over public meetings in mosques.[9][4] He now wrote to Husayn and urged him to come to Kufa.[1][10]


The governor of Kufa at the time, Nu'man ibn Bashir, was probably aware of Muslim's arrival and his intentions but did not harm him.[1] As a companion of Muhammad, Nu'man did not act perhaps because Muslim was a relative of Muhammad,[7] or perhaps the governor did not want to act on mere suspicions.[11] Umar ibn Sa'd and some others soon wrote to Yazid,[12] who replaced Nu'man by Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad and ordered him to kill or banish Muslim.[1] Described as energetic, resourceful, and ruthless,[12][13][14] Ubayd-Allah was already the governor of Basra at the time.[15] He hurried to Kufa via the shortest route, reportedly wearing a black turban and veiled. Some Kufans apparently mistook him for Husayn and enthusiastically welcomed him.[16][15] Upon arrival, he publicly threatened to punish any sign of revolt with beheading and crucifixion.[8][15]

Personal life[edit]

Ruqayya, daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, was married to Muslim and bore him his son Abd-Allah, who was killed alongside Husayn in the Battle of Karbala in 680. Another son of Muslim might have also perished in Karbala, while two other sons, often identified as Muhammad and Ibrahim, are said to have been killed about a year later at a young age. The two children had apparently fled the camp of Ibn Ziyad but were murdered by a Kufan, possibly al-H'arith ibn Badr, who sought the prize money offered by the governor.[1]