Al-Mukhtar
Encyclopedia
al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ‘Ubayd Allah al-Thaqafī
(622 CE - 687 CE)(Also Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaid) was an early Islam
ic revolutionary who led an abortive rebellion against the Umayyad
Caliph
s after the death of Husayn ibn Ali
at the Battle of Karbala
.
, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia
in 622 CE, 1 AH
, the year the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
began the Migration to Medina
. He went to Medina
along with his father during Umar
's Caliphate
. He was the son of a martyr in the Battle of Yamul Hajr, and grew up in Medina while it was under the rule of Muhammad.
When Yazid I
, the second Umayyad Caliph, took power in 680, the Muslim
s were dissatisfied with their government, and the hereditary succession of men they saw as usurpers of rights and oppressive rulers.
The rebellion which broke out in 686 CE was supported by the faction of Muslims. Al-Mukhtar led the rebellion, which was launched from Kufa
, in present-day Iraq
. It is known that he was rebelling on behalf of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah
, after Hussain ibn Ali A.S. was killed at the Battle of Karbala
. Al-Mukhtar was in prison whilst the Battle of Karbala was taking place. After he was out of prison, he found out about what happened in Karbala and set out to avenge the death of the grand son of Muhammad.
Al-Mukhtar caught many of the men that killed Husayn ibn Ali and his companions in the Battle of Karbala but was later killed by the forces under the command of Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr outside of Kufa in April 687, and many of his followers were killed in the subsequent repression as well.
The majority of the belief according to the records was that Al-Mukhtar's struggle was not a revolution for power rather it was to avenge the oppression and killing of the Household of Muhammad
. He found and killed the men that had killed or helped in the killing of the Household of Muhammad. At the moment he was about to be sentenced and killed by a governor of Yazid, he said that he had not finished a task which Ali had said he will be doing and so no one can kill him and in an interesting sequence he was saved.
The grave of al-Mukhtar can be found within Masjid al-Kūfa in Kūfa, Iraq.
, which continued to exist-awaiting al-Hanifiya's return-for the next two hundred years.
A large scale television series about him has produced. Filming began in 2003 and finished in 2009 named Mokhtarnameh
.
Banu Thaqif
The Thaqif was one of the tribes of Arabia during Muhammad's era. Thaqif was the main tribe of the town of Taif, in present-day Saudi Arabia, and descendants of the tribe still live in that city today and so many names in Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Hatay...
(622 CE - 687 CE)(Also Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaid) was an early Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic revolutionary who led an abortive rebellion against the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
s after the death of Husayn ibn Ali
Husayn ibn Ali
Hussein ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fātimah Zahrā...
at the Battle of Karbala
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq. On one side of the highly uneven battle were a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and on the other was a large military detachment...
.
Life
Al-Mukhtar was born in Ta’ifTa’if
Ta’if is a city in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia at an elevation of on the slopes of the Sarawat Mountains . It has a population of 521,273 . Each summer the Saudi Government moves from the heat of Riyadh to Ta'if...
, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in 622 CE, 1 AH
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
, the year the Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
began the Migration to Medina
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
. He went to Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
along with his father during Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
's Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
. He was the son of a martyr in the Battle of Yamul Hajr, and grew up in Medina while it was under the rule of Muhammad.
When Yazid I
Yazid I
Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān , commonly known as Yazid I, was the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate . He ruled for three years from 680 CE until his death in 683 CE. Many Muslims condemn Yazid's rule as contentious and unjust...
, the second Umayyad Caliph, took power in 680, the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s were dissatisfied with their government, and the hereditary succession of men they saw as usurpers of rights and oppressive rulers.
The rebellion which broke out in 686 CE was supported by the faction of Muslims. Al-Mukhtar led the rebellion, which was launched from Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
, in present-day Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. It is known that he was rebelling on behalf of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah surnamed Abu'l-Qasim was an early Muslim leader. He was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shi'ite Imam and the fourth Sunni Caliph.-Biography:...
, after Hussain ibn Ali A.S. was killed at the Battle of Karbala
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq. On one side of the highly uneven battle were a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and on the other was a large military detachment...
. Al-Mukhtar was in prison whilst the Battle of Karbala was taking place. After he was out of prison, he found out about what happened in Karbala and set out to avenge the death of the grand son of Muhammad.
Al-Mukhtar caught many of the men that killed Husayn ibn Ali and his companions in the Battle of Karbala but was later killed by the forces under the command of Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr outside of Kufa in April 687, and many of his followers were killed in the subsequent repression as well.
The majority of the belief according to the records was that Al-Mukhtar's struggle was not a revolution for power rather it was to avenge the oppression and killing of the Household of Muhammad
Ahl al-Bayt
Ahl al-Bayt is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family of the House. The phrase "ahl al-bayt" was used in Arabia before the advent of Islam to refer to one's clan, and would be adopted by the ruling family of a tribe. Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the...
. He found and killed the men that had killed or helped in the killing of the Household of Muhammad. At the moment he was about to be sentenced and killed by a governor of Yazid, he said that he had not finished a task which Ali had said he will be doing and so no one can kill him and in an interesting sequence he was saved.
The grave of al-Mukhtar can be found within Masjid al-Kūfa in Kūfa, Iraq.
Legacy
Some of his remaining followers constituted a distinct sect, known as the Kaysanites ShiaKaysanites Shia
The Kaysanites were a once dominant Shi'a Ghulat sect that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar. They believed in the Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah. Following the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah the sect split up into numerous sub-sects, each with their own Imam and unique beliefs...
, which continued to exist-awaiting al-Hanifiya's return-for the next two hundred years.
A large scale television series about him has produced. Filming began in 2003 and finished in 2009 named Mokhtarnameh
Mokhtarnameh
Mokhtarnameh is a dramatic action television series producing by Sima film based on the life of Mokhtar Abou Obeid Saghafi. Over 140 actors were cast in it.-Abstract:...
.