ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muṭīʿ al-ʿAdawī (died 692) was a leading Qurayshi of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and governor of

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

for the anti-

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of ...

from April 685 until his ouster by the pro-Alid leader al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in August 685. He was a military commander against the Umayyads at the

battle of al-Harra The Battle of al-Harra () was fought between the Umayyad army of the caliph Yazid I () led by Muslim ibn Uqba and the defenders of Medina from the Ansar and Muhajirun factions, who had rebelled against the caliph. The battle took place at the ...

and the siege of Mecca in 683. He fought alongside Ibn al-Zubayr in the second siege of Mecca in 692, where he was slain by Umayyad forces.

Origins and family

Abd Allah ibn Muti was born during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

(d. 632). He was the son of Muti ibn al-Aswad; they belonged to the

Banu Adi Banu Adi () was a clan of the Quraysh tribe descended from Adi ibn Ka'b. The Banu Adi were with the Meccans as part of the escort that preceded the Battle of Badr; they did not join Quraysh further. Notable members Clan members include: * Umar ...

clan of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

tribe of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. His mother was Umm Hisham bint Abi'l Khiyar Abd Yalil ibn Abd Manaf. Ibn Muti resided in

, the political centre of the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. He owned shared residential property in the city with a companion of Muhammad and poet

Zayd ibn Thabit Zāyd bin Thābit () was the personal scribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, serving as the chief recorder of the Quranic text. He was an ansar (helper), and later joined the ranks of the Muslim army at age 19. After Muhammad's passing in 632 ...

. The two entered into a legal dispute over the property which was arbitrated by

Marwan ibn al-Hakam Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya (; 623 or 626April/May 685), commonly known as MarwanI, was the fourth Umayyad caliph, ruling for less than a year in 684–685. He founded the Marwanid ruling house of the Umayyad dynasty, which re ...

, the governor of the city in 661–668. Ibn Muti also owned property and a well (called the Well of Ibn Muti) which was located between

al-Abwa Al-Abwā' on MSA West Compendium of Muslim Texts () is a Hejazi village between Mecca and Medina belonging to the area of Rabigh, on the Tihamah, western coast of Saudi Arabia. The Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic Prophet Muhammad in Isla ...

and al-Suqya. Ibn Muti had seven sons and four daughters from different wives and slave women: with his wife Rayta bint Abd Allah he had his sons, Ishaq and Ya'qub; with his wife Umm Abd al-Malik bint Abd Allah ibn Khalid he had his sons, Muhammad and Imran; with his wife Umm Hakim bint Abd Allah he had a daughter, Fatima, and with his fourth wife Bint Kharash ibn Umayya he had two daughters, Umm Salama and Umm Hisham. With his two slave women he had his sons, Ibrahim, Isma'il and Zakariyya and a daughter, Burayha. His grandson Abd al-Aziz ibn Ibrahim participated in the

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al- Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al- Ḥasan al-Mujtabā ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (), was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through his daughter Fati ...

in 762/763 and was arrested, given lashes and released by the

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

Military career

In 664 or 665, he was dispatched by Caliph

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

at the head of 4,000 soldiers from Medina to reinforce the Arab garrison in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

after the garrison commander of the city complained his troops were numerically insufficient to control its oft-rebellious

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Christian inhabitants. In 680, he issued a warning to

Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...

, the surviving grandson of the Islamic prophet

and son of Caliph

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

(), not to leave Mecca for

where sympathizers of his father called for him to claim the

caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

from the ruling Umayyad dynasty. He advised him to take up safe haven in the

Ka'aba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is consi ...

of Mecca where he could rally supporters from the Quraysh against Caliph

Yazid Yazīd (, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701–744), Umayyad caliph ...

(). After a short stay in Mecca, Husayn ultimately headed for Kufa and once again encountered Ibn Muti at a watering place along the desert route, where Ibn Muti pleaded with him that he not confront the Umayyads. Husayn ignored his advice and was slain by Umayyad forces at the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...

on the outskirts of Kufa. Ibn Muti had attempted to depart Medina as well, but was persuaded by his distant relative Abd Allah ibn Umar to remain in the city and not rebel against the caliph. When Yazid sent his envoy

Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari Nu'man ibn Bashir ibn Sa'd al-Ansari (; –684) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was also a commander and statesman of the Umayyad Caliphate. A supporter of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan during the First Muslim Civil War, he was appo ...

to warn the inhabitants of Medina in 682 not to rebel against the caliph's rule, Ibn Muti derided him. The people of Medina rose in revolt and Yazid dispatched his Syrian troops led by

Muslim ibn Uqba Muslim ibn Uqba al-Murri (; pre-622–683) was a general of the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I () and his son and successor Yazid I (). The latter assigned Muslim, a staunch loyalist who had distinguished himself at the ...

to subdue the city. The Medinese were organized along factional lines and Ibn Muti was made commander of the Quraysh contingent. After the Syrians bested the Medinese, Ibn Muti and many of his Qurayshite fighters fled for Mecca where they were given safe haven by the Qurayshite leader

. He later became one of the main commanders of Mecca's defence during the abortive Umayyad siege of the city in 683.

Governorship of Kufa

After Yazid's death, Ibn al-Zubayr gained recognition as caliph in most of the provinces of the Caliphate except parts of Syria. He appointed Ibn Muti as governor of Kufa and its dependencies in April 685, replacing Abd Allah ibn Yazid al-Khath'ami. Upon hearing from his advisers news of Ibn Muti's appointment, the Syria-based Umayyad caliph

Abd al-Malik Abdul Malik () is an Arabic (Muslim or Christian) male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and ''Malik''. The name means "servant of the King", in the Christian instance 'King' meaning 'King ...

called him "a brave man who has fallen many a time, and a valiant one, how he hates fleeing". Ibn Muti appointed Iyas ibn Mudarib al-Ijli as the head of his ''

shurṭa ''Shurṭa'' () is the common Arabic term for police. Its literal meaning is that of a "picked" or elite force. The ''shurṭa'' or police force were established in the early days of the Caliphate, perhaps as early as the caliphate of Uthman (644� ...

'' with orders to severely punish seditious activities in the city. After Iyas raised suspicions of rebellion by the pro-Alid noble al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi (who fought alongside Ibn Muti against the Umayyads in Mecca), Ibn Muti attempted to summon al-Mukhtar. But al-Mukhtar delayed his appearance before the governor and secretly organized a coup against him by his Kufan partisans. The Kufan Arab nobility largely supported Ibn Muti, but al-Mukhtar's forces were strengthened with the recruitment of the Kufan grandee

Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar Ibrahim ibn Malik al-Ashtar ibn al-Harith al-Nakha'i (; died October 691), better known as Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar () was an Arab commander who fought in the service of Caliph Ali (r. 656–661) and later served the pro-Alid leader al-Mukhtar al-Th ...

. Ibn al-Ashtar was instrumental in the fighting which ultimately forced Ibn Muti to withdraw from the city. Most of the fighting took place in the streets and alleys of Kufa, with the pro-Alid opponents of the governor led by al-Sa'ib ibn Malik al-Ash'ari and Ibn al-Ashtar ultimately besting Ibn Muti's men and forcing him and a small coterie of supporters to barricade in the city's fortified palace. He was persuaded by his supporter, the Arab noble Shabath ibn Rib'i al-Tamimi, to secretly escape the city alone after refusing an earlier suggestion to formally surrender, which he deemed a betrayal of Ibn al-Zubayr. Ibn Muti praised the Arab nobles on his side and dismissed Mukhtar's supporters as lowly men before evacuating. His supporters then obtained

safe conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually, an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...

in return for giving al-Mukhtar their allegiance. In a different account of events, Ibn Muti departs Kufa after being granted 100,000 silver

dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...

s and safe conduct by al-Mukhtar.

Later service and death

After leaving Kufa, Ibn Muti established himself in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

where the Zubayrids remained in control. Ibn Muti returned in 689/90 to Mecca in the company of Mus'ab, Basra's governor and brother of Ibn al-Zubayr. Despite a pardon issued for him by Abd al-Malik, Ibn Muti fought and died alongside Ibn al-Zubayr during the Umayyad siege of Mecca led by

al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Abu Muhammad al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi (; ), known simply as al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (), was the most notable governor who served the Umayyad Caliphate. He began his service under Caliph Abd al-Malik (), who successiv ...

Origins and family

Military career

Governorship of Kufa

Later service and death

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading