Ubayd Allah Ibn Umar
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Ubayd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (; died summer 657) was a son of Caliph
Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...
(). His killing of Hormuzan, whom he suspected of involvement in his father's assassination in 644, and his pardon by Caliph Uthman () was opposed by Ali, the cousin 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 ...
. When Ali became caliph in 656, he refused Ubayd Allah's appeal to uphold Uthman's pardon, prompting Ubayd Allah to defect to Ali's principal enemy, the governor of Syria Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The latter made Ubayd Allah a commander of his elite battalion at the
Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin () was fought in 657 CE (37 Islamic calendar, AH) between the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the rebellious governor of Syria (region), Syria Muawiyah I, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The battle is named after its ...
, where he was slain.


Life


Early life and family

Ubayd Allah was a son of Umar ibn al-Khattab, a companion 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 ...
and a member of 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 ...
who ruled as caliph from 634 until his assassination in 644. Ubayd Allah's mother was a woman of the Khuza'a tribe who Umar later divorced; the historian
al-Mada'ini Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi Sayf al-Qurashi (; 752/753–843), commonly known by his al-Mada'ini (), was a scholar of Iranian descent who wrote in Arabic and was active under the early Abbasids in Iraq in the first half ...
(d. 843) holds that her name was Mulayka bint Jarwal and that she married the well-known Meccan genealogist Abu al-Jahm ibn Hudhayfa after her divorce from Umar, while al-Waqidi (d. 823) holds that her name was Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal. Ubayd Allah was married to Asma, a daughter of Utarid ibn Hajib, a notable of the Darim clan of the Banu Tamim tribe. He was also married to Bahriyya, the daughter of Hani ibn Qabisa, a distinguished Arab commander at the Battle of Dhi Qar (609) who hailed from the Rabi'a tribe.


Killing of Hormuzan

In revenge for his father's assassination by Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz, a highly skilled Persian artisan taken captive by Arab forces and brought to
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, ...
,. On Abu Lu'lu'a, see further . Ubayd Allah killed Hormuzan, a captured Sasanian officer and Muslim convert who became Umar's adviser on Persian affairs. Ubayd Allah also killed Jufayna, a Christian from
al-Hira Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. The Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the Arabian Desert ...
who served as a tutor for the children of the Muslim leader
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri () was an Arabs, Arab Muslims, Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar, Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a cl ...
, and the young daughter of Abu Lu'lu'a. Ubayd Allah's targeting of Hormuzan and Jufayna stemmed from a claim by
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (; born ʿAbd Amr ibn ʿAwf; ) was one of the companions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. One of the wealthiest among the companions, he is known for being one of the ten to whom Paradise was promised. Background ...
or Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr that the two men had been seen together in possession of the sword used by Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz to kill Umar. Ubayd Allah's killings were generally viewed by the Muslim community as acts of murder and not as a justified revenge for his father's slaying. Umar's successor, Uthman (), pardoned Ubayd Allah, considering his execution as an excessive measure in view of his father's assassination; he instead accepted blood money, which he paid out of his own funds.


Role in First Fitna and death

Clemency for Ubayd Allah aroused controversy in Medina. It was opposed by Ali, Muhammad's cousin, who declared that he would slay Ubayd Allah should he obtain authority over the matter. Other Muslim leaders also advocated that Ubayd Allah should be punished for his actions. Uthman, seeking to remove Ubayd Allah from Medina, granted him an estate near
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 ...
in Iraq, which became known as Kuwayfat Ibn Umar ("Litte Kufa of the Son of Umar"). The estate was close to Baziqiya, which was 10 kilometers south of Nahr Kutha and 15 kilometers north of Qasr Ibn Hubayra. When Ali became caliph following Uthman's assassination in 656, he ultimately established his capital at Kufa. Ubayd Allah sought, via mediators including Malik al-Ashtar, an amnesty from Ali with consideration to the latter's previous stance regarding his stay of execution. Ali declined his appeal, prompting Ubayd Allah to gain refuge with Ali's principal challenger during the
First Fitna The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main battles between the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali, an ...
, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. At the weeks-long
Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin () was fought in 657 CE (37 Islamic calendar, AH) between the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the rebellious governor of Syria (region), Syria Muawiyah I, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The battle is named after its ...
in 657, Ubayd Allah fought in Mu'awiya's ranks against Ali's forces. On 22 July, he challenged Ali's son
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya (, , 15–81 AH) was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the fourth caliph in Sunni Islam () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ibn al-Hanafiyya was an effective lieutenant for his father Ali during his caliphate. Aft ...
to a duel, which Muhammad accepted. Upon hearing of the duel, Ali recalled his son out of concern that Ubayd Allah would succeed in slaying him. During the all-out fighting on 27 July, Mu'awiya made Ubayd Allah the commander of his elite battalion (). His battalion joined the
Himyarite Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qataban, Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According ...
troops of
Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...
led by Samayfa ibn Nakur in the fray against Ali's Rabi'a contingent, largely consisting of the Bakr ibn Wa'il branch of the tribe. Their combined forces initially gained an advantage, but afterward the Bakr's ranks swelled with tribesmen from the Abd al-Qays, another branch of the Rabi'a. In the Rabi'a's counterattack, Ubayd Allah was slain. After the day's fighting was over, his wife Bahriyya appealed to her tribesmen to hand over Ubayd Allah's body which she then had her servants bury. An elegy by the Taghlibi poet Ka'b ibn Ju'ayl was then read in his honor:
The eyes weep only for a horseman bayd Allah whose fellows fled at Siffin while he stood firm, exchanging he company ofAsma is wifefor the swords of akr ibnWa'il.
He was a warrior; if only the fields of death had spared him, utthey left Ubayd Allah on the battleground, his flowing veins spitting out blood from the wound.
Because of his descent from Umar and the consequent connection to the "glorious early caliphate", Ubayd Allah's death represented a blow to Mu'awiya's prestige, according to the historian
Wilferd Madelung Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung FBA (26 December 1930 – 9 May 2023) was a German author and scholar of Islamic history widely recognised for his contributions to the fields of Islamic and Iranian studies. He was appreciated in Iran for his "know ...
. Up to four men from the Rabi'a had claimed to have slain Ubayd Allah and taken the sword called ("Lord of the Sword Belt") that he had inherited from his father. When Mu'awiya ultimately prevailed in the civil war and became caliph in 661, he pressured the Bakr to hand over the sword; it was found to be in the possession of the Bakrite tribesmen Muhriz ibn Sahsah of
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 ...
. Mu'awiya had the sword confiscated from him and then transferred to Ubayd Allah's brother Abd Allah ibn Umar in Medina. The purported grave of Ubayd Allah lies in a corner of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Homs.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Authority control Umar 657 deaths 7th-century Arab people Banu Adi People of the First Fitna Children of Rashidun caliphs People from the Rashidun Caliphate Military personnel killed in action Sons of caliphs