Hujr ibn Adi
Hujr ibn Adi | |
|---|---|
| Native name | |
| Died | c. 671 Adra, Syria |
| Allegiance | Rashidun Caliphate |
| Service/ | Rashidun army |
| Years of service | 636–661 |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Children | Humam |
Hujr ibn Adi ibn Mu'awiya al-Kindi (Arabic: حُجْر ٱبْن عَدِيّ ٱبْن مُعَاوية ٱلْكِنْدِيّ, romanized: Ḥujr ibn ʿAdī ibn Muʿāwiya al-Kindī; d. 671) was an Arab Muslim commander in the service of the Rashidun caliphs Umar (r. 634–644) and Ali (r. 656–661).[1] He played a leading role in the early Muslim conquests of Byzantine Adra and Sasanian Jalawla.
Belonging to the tribe of Kinda, Hujr converted to Islam and became a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 670, Hujr was sentenced to death by the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I, after the former objected to the Umayyad tradition of publicly cursing Ali, the fourth Rashidun Caliph for Sunni Muslims and the first Imam for Shia Muslims.[2][3]
Early life and titles
Hujr was given two titles: "al-Kindi" (Arabic: ٱلْكِنْدِيّ, al-Kindīy) and "al-Adbar". The first title was "al-Kindi", meaning The Person From Kinda, an Arabian tribe. The second title given to Hujr was "al-Adbar".[4]
Military career
Under Umar
Under the second caliph Umar, Hujr participated in the Battle of Qadisiyya in 636.[5] In 637, Hujr was the commander of the right wing of the army of Muslims in the Battle of Jalawla.[6] He was also present in the conquest of Syria and he was one of the army which conquered Adra. According to Ibn Asakir, Hujr is reported as the conqueror of Adra.[7]
Under Ali
After his presence in the conquests, he stayed in Kufa.[8] In the Battle of Camel, the fourth caliph Ali assigned Hujr as the commander of Kinda, Hadramut, Quda'a, and Mahra tribes.[9] In the Battle of Siffin, Hujr served as one of the commanders of Ali's army and the head of the combatants of Kinda tribe.[10] In the arbitration in the Battle of Siffin, Hujr was one of the witnesses of the agreement between 'Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and 'Amr ibn al-'As.[11] In the Battle of Nahrawan, he was the commander of the right wing of the army of Ali against Khawarij.[12] When Mu'awiya sent Dahhak b. Qays to attack the nomads of Iraq and make insecurity; Imam 'Ali (a) sent Hujr with 4000 combatants to confront them. Hujr chased them to Tadmur, and defeated them.[13] After Ali's assassination, Hasan ibn Ali made a treaty with Mu'awiya. Hujr met with Husayn ibn Ali and proposed his view about continuing the war with Mu'awiya though Husayn told Hujr to follow Hasan.[14] In 658, the Syrians pledged allegiance to Mu'awiya I as the Commander of the Believers (amīr al-mu'minīn), acknowledging the latter as the caliph. Afterward, Ali broke off communications with Mu'awiya, mobilized for war and invoked a curse against Mu'awiya as a ritual in the morning prayers.[15] In return, Mu'awiya also began cursing Ali and his supporters at pulpits.[16]
Assassination
After Ali's assassination in 661, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba was appointed the governor of Kufa by Mu'awiya. While al-Mughira was addressing a speech at a pulpit in Kufa, Hujr intervened and criticized the latter for his 'senility' as cited by al-Tabari (c. 839–923).[17] After al-Mughira's death in 671, Mu'awiya assigned Ziyad ibn Abihi as the former's successor.
Hujr and thirteen of his companions were captured by Ziyad ibn Abihi, the governor of Kufa. He summoned four prominent leaders and asked them about Hujr's actions. Khalid ibn Urfutuh represented the Banu Tamim, Qays ibn al-Walid was in charge of the Banu Kinda, Abu Burda ibn Abu Musa for the Banu Madh'hij, and lastly Amr ibn Hurayth of the people of Medina. These four chiefs testified that Hujr gathered many people, openly abused the caliph and called for war against Mu'awiya.[18]
The latter then reportedly sent Hujr and his followers to the caliph, who hesitated either to execute the men or not. Mu'awiya released six of the thirteen men and left the others in charge of Ziyad. In Adra, Ziyad's forces killed Hujr and six his followers, though the historian al-Ya'qubi claimed that seven were killed but named six, Hujr among them.[19][20] Al-Tabari cites Hudba ibn Fiyad al-A'war, who threatened Hujr.[21] This marked the first political execution in Islamic history.[22] Later on, Mu'awiya regretted giving Ziyad the responsibility of Hujr and his men.[23]
Mughira tried to bring Hujr near to him by sending him money, though Hujr rejected.[24] In year 670, Ziyad ibn Abih, gained the rule of Kufa, in addition to the rule of Basra, by the order of Mu'awiya. He, warned Hujr about supporting 'Ali (a) and criticizing Mu'awiya, but he still was calling people against Mu'awiya.[25]
When Ziyad was in Basra, Hujr and his men stoned 'Amr b. Hurayth, the deputy of Ziyad in Kufa, because he was cursing Ali. When Ziyad was informed about the event came to Kufa immediately and captured Hujr and his men.[26] Ziyad sent the captured with 100 men of his army to Mu'awiya, and in his letter to Mu'awiya wrote that Hujr and his men have defied the ijma' about cursing Abu Turab [Ali] and refused the order of the caliph. He also attached the testifying of some of the elite of Kufa about the explicit opposition of Hujr to cursing Ali.[27]
According to some narrations, his last wish was that his son should be executed before him lest death terrify him (his son) and therefore accede to the condition of cursing Ali.[28] When Hujr and his men reached Adra, Mu'awiya issued their death warrant.[29][30]
Desecration of shrine
Hujr, his son Humaam ibn Hajar, and some other companions are buried in Adra, in the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. A mosque had been built around his grave which became a pilgrimage site for Muslims.[citation needed]
On 2 May 2013, Jabhat al-Nusra attacked the mausoleum and exhumed his remains.[citation needed] His body was taken to an unknown location by the rebels.[citation needed] According to a report published in the New York Times, a widely distributed Facebook photo of the desecration of the pilgrimage site gives credit for the exhumation to a man named Abu Anas al-Wazir, or Abu al-Baraa, a leader of a military group called the Islam Brigade of the Free Syrian Army.[31][32]
References
- ^ "Soften your heart, learn about Hujr ibn 'Adi al-Kindi – Islamic Philosophy". islam.hilmi.eu. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- ^ "Hujr bin Adi al-Kindi:The Great Martyr". imamreza.net. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ Tareekh e Dimshaq
- ^ Ibn Muḥammad (Ibn-ʻAbd-Rabbihī), Aḥmad. The Unique Necklace "al-ʻIqd Al-Farīd" Trans. Issa J. Boullata. Vol. 3. Reading, UK: Garnet Publishing Limited, 2007. Print. ISBN 1859642403 Pg. 289
- ^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.6 p.217; Ibn Athir, Asad al-ghaba, vol.1 p.461; Ibn Qutayba, Al-Ma'arif, p.334
- ^ Baladhari, Futuh al-Buldan, p.264; Tabari, Tarikh, vol.4 p.27
- ^ Ibn 'Asakir, Tarikh madina Dimashq, vol.12 p.207,210-211
- ^ Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.145
- ^ Tabari, Tarikh, vol.4 p.485; Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.145-146; Mufid, Al-Jamal wa al-nusra, p.255-256,320
- ^ Ibn 'Asakir, Tarikh madina Dimashq, vol.12 p.210; Ibn Muzahim, Waq'a siffin, p.103-104, 195, 205, 243
- ^ Tabari, Tarikh, vol.5 p.54; Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.195-196; Ibn Muzahim, Waq'a siffin, p.506-507
- ^ Tabari, Tarikh, vol.5 p.85; Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.210
- ^ Tabari, Tarikh, vol.5 p.135; Ya'qubi, Tarikh, vol.2 p.195-196
- ^ Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.220
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 257.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 258.
- ^ Hawting 1996, p. 124.
- ^ Hawting 1996, p. 140.
- ^ Ya'qubi, Tarikh, vol.2 p.231
- ^ Tabari, Tarikh, vol.5 p.275-278; cf. Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.6 p.220
- ^ Hawting 1996, p. 150.
- ^ Hasson 2002, p. 520.
- ^ Kilpatrick 2003, p. 270.
- ^ Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.223
- ^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.6 p.218; Ya'qubi, Tarikh, vol.2 p.230
- ^ Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.223; cf. Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.6 p.218
- ^ Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, p.223-224; Ya'qubi, Tarikh, vol.2 p.230; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.6 p.219; Tabari, Tarikh, vol.5 p.269-270
- ^ "Shrine of the great companion Hujr ibn Adi destroyed and body reportedly exhumed". aimislam.com. 2 May 2013.
- ^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.6 p.219; Mas'udi, Muruj al-dhahab, vol.3 p.189
- ^ Ya'qubi, Tarikh, vol.2 p.231
- ^ ERDBRINK, THOMAS (6 May 2013). "Iran Warns Syrian Rebels After Report of Shrine Desecration". New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ "Syrian rebels have taken iconoclasm to new depths, with shrines". The Independent. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
History of Tabari - Hujr ibn Adi
Bibliography
- Hasson, Isaac (2002). "Ziyād b. Abīhi". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XI: W–Z. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 519–522. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.
- Hawting, G. R., ed. (1996). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XVII: The First Civil War: From the Battle of Siffīn to the Death of ʿAlī, A.D. 656–661/A.H. 36–40. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2393-6.
- Kilpatrick, Hilary (2003). Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilation and the Author's Craft in Abū L-Faraj Al-Iṣbahānī's Kitāb al-Aghānī. ISBN 9780700717019.
- Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-52-164696-3.