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Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan
NameShimr bin Dhil-Jawshan
Other NamesAbu Sabigha, Shimr
Personal Details
Birth Place{{{birth_place}}}
Brith Date{{{birth_date}}}
Death Place{{{death_place}}}
Death Date66 AH (c. 685 CE)
ReligionIslam

Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan, was among the Tabi'un and commanders of the army of Umar ibn Sa'd in the Event of Karbala, who is among the detested figures among Shiites due to the severity of his violence in this event. Shimr was in the army of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) during the Battle of Siffin; but later joined the enemies of the Imam and his family. He was defeated against Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and was beheaded.


Name and Lineage

Biographers have described the name and lineage of Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan with differences: Shurahbil bin Aws, Shurahbil bin A'war, Uthman bin Nafi', Aws bin A'war[1], al-Dababi[2], al-Amiri, al-Hanzali[3], al-Saluni[4], al-Sakuni[5] and al-Kalabi. However, historians have recorded his fame as such: Abu al-Sabigha, Shurahbil Amiri Kalabi, nicknamed Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan[6]. The fame of his nickname is such that few historians have mentioned his name and have used only his nickname to introduce him[7].

His father, who was nicknamed "Dhil-Jawshan" due to his swollen and armor-like chest[8], was from the Levantines[9] residing in Kufa[10]. He had witnessed the presence of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) and was counted among his Companions. Ibn Kathir in Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah writes about him: "Dhil-Jawshan was among the noble and great Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny)[11]."

Although the fluent nature and good poetry[12] of Dhil-Jawshan caused his name to be placed among the speakers of his time, but no more knowledge of him has been recorded in history.


Era of the Caliphs

Shimr did not have much role during the government of Abu Bakr; because even if we consider him among the Companions of the Prophet of God (peace be upon him and his progeny), he did not have much age during this period to be able to take on an important and decisive role. During the time of Umar and Uthman also no name of Shimr has been recorded in history. With the killing of Uthman in the year 35 AH, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) was chosen for the caliphate. His Holiness chose Kufa as the capital of his government and resided there. With the arrival of the Caliph to Kufa, Shimr, who was counted among the chiefs and elders of Kufa, went to His Holiness and was in the retinue of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him) in wars and conflicts.


Presence in the Battle of Siffin

Shimr was present in the Battle of Siffin and showed many braveries among the soldiers of the Imam (peace be upon him). In this war, due to the conflict with Adham bin Mahrez Bahili, he was severely injured, such that Adham split his forehead bone with a sword. Shimr also stabbed him with a spear in revenge and threw him off the horse. However, Adham escaped death with the help of the Levantines. After the Battle of Siffin, Adham spoke with his friends in a place called "Udhraj" about the braveries and courage he had performed in the Siffin. He asked his friends: Do you know Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan? They answered: Yes, we know him. Adham said: Have you recently met him and seen the effect of the sword strike on his face? "Abdullah bin Kibar Nahdi" and "Sa'id bin Hazim Saluni" answered: Yes, we have seen the wound that is on his forehead. Adham said proudly: By God I swear! I inflicted that fatal blow on him in the Battle of Siffin and marked the wound on his face[13].

Notes

  1. ↑ Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil, vol. 4, p. 337; Tarikh Dimashq, vol. 23, p. 186; Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 5, p. 212.
  2. ↑ Al-Dababi with fatha and two unpointed letters to al-Dabb, a branch of Banu Harith and from Quraysh. Lubab al-Albab, no. 2543.
  3. ↑ Al-Isti'ab, vol. 2, p. 701.
  4. ↑ Manaqib Al Abi Talib, vol. 4, p. 107.
  5. ↑ Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, p. 226.
  6. ↑ Tarikh al-Sahabah, p. 132; Al-Tarikh al-Kabir, vol. 4, p. 250; Al-Iqd al-Farid, vol. 3, p. 306; Akhbar al-Tiwal, p. 239; Al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat, vol. 16, p. 180.
  7. ↑ Ishtiqaq, p. 296.
  8. ↑ Al-Isti'ab, vol. 2, p. 467; Al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat, vol. 16, p. 180.
  9. ↑ Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil, vol. 4, p. 337.
  10. ↑ Al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat, vol. 16, p. 180.
  11. ↑ Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 8, p. 204.
  12. ↑ Al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat, vol. 16, p. 180.
  13. ↑ Safinah al-Bihar, entry Shimr; Tarikh al-Tabari, vol. 5, p. 28; Al-Kamil, vol. 2, p. 377; Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah by Ibn Abi al-Hadid, vol. 5, p. 213.

Deviation and Affiliation with the Kharijites

The end of the Battle of Siffin marked the beginning of the deviation of a group ostensibly Muslim known as the Kharijites. The initial cores of this deviant group, known as the Kharijites of Nahrawan and Mariqin, were dismantled during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny), but during the time of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), they reached the stage of emergence with the slogan "La hukma illa lillah". The names of some leaders and individuals who were members of this movement have been recorded in historical sources, but in none of these sources is the name of Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan seen among these individuals. Only Sheikh Yasin in the valuable book Sulh al-Hasan (peace be upon him) has written thus: The leaders of the Kharijites in Kufa were: Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi, Shayth ibn Rub'i, Abdullah ibn al-Kawwa', al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, and Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan[1].

The author of Hidayat al-Kubra narrates from Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (peace be upon him) such that: Hasan ibn Ali (peace be upon him) said to his brother Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) at the time of his death: "Indeed, my father Ali (peace be upon him), after the Battle of Siffin, informed the people of my Martyrdom and yours in a sermon. Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, the father of Ja'dah—the killer of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him)—who was present in the assembly, stood up and said: You are reporting news that even the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) did not claim. Where have you obtained this knowledge? My father replied: O inciter of the battlefield! Indeed, your son, Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath, is also among the killers of Husayn (peace be upon him). By God! Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan, Shibth ibn Rub'i, Zubaydi, and Amr ibn Hurayth are also among them[2]."

In this sermon, he named a number of Kharijites and included Shimr among them. Perhaps his intention was to say: You Kharijites who claim piety are the ones who will kill the daughter of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny).

After that, Shimr became among the associates of Muawiyah. Shaykh Mufid in the noble book al-Ikhtisas has stated: Muawiyah sent a letter to the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him). His Holiness also wrote the response to that letter and sent it to Damascus via 'Tarmah ibn Adi al-Ta'i'. After he arrived in Syria, he asked: Where are the commanders of Muawiyah? He was answered: Which one of them do you want? He said: I want Abu al-A'war al-Sulami, Amr ibn al-As, Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan, and Hudi ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Kindi[3].

In this report, Shimr is explicitly placed among the officials of Muawiyah's army, and this itself is clear evidence of his opportunistic spirit. After this period, Shimr, by turning to the Umayyads, openly placed himself in the row of opponents of the family of Infallibility and Purity (peace be upon them).


The Caliphate Period of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) and Muawiyah

With the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), we see Shimr in the retinue of Imam al-Mujtaba (peace be upon him) and against Muawiyah. This matter can be interpreted in two ways. It is possible that due to his opportunistic spirit, he saw the situation such that he pledged allegiance to Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) and entered his army. Also, it is possible that he was among the infiltrated forces of Muawiyah's fifth column in the Imam's (peace be upon him) army who were of no benefit to His Holiness except for sabotage. Sheikh Muhammad Jawad Mughniyyah, one of the scholars and exegetes of Shia from Lebanon in the 14th century AH, writes: "Many of the individuals who participated in the killing of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) were in his retinue during the time of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) and before the peace treaty, became the cause of the disintegration of his army. Among them is Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan[4]."

Another one of Shimr's political efforts during this period was participation in the plot to kill Hujr ibn Adi. Shimr was among those who gave false testimony against him and paved the groundwork for the killing of this great Companion of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him).


The Event of Karbala

When Muslim ibn Aqil went to Kufa on behalf of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) in the year 60 AH, Shimr was among the individuals who were commissioned by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, to disperse the people from around Muslim. In his speeches, he called Muslim a sedition-monger and frightened the Kufans from the army of Syria[5].

In the afternoon of the 9th of Muharram in the year 61 AH, Shimr arrived in Karbala with four thousand soldiers and a threatening letter from Ibn Ziyad for Umar ibn Sa'd. Upon seeing the letter, Ibn Sa'd said to Shimr: You have ruined a matter in which there was hope for rectitude.

Nevertheless, Umar Sa'd accepted Ibn Ziyad's order regarding taking allegiance from Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) or fighting him[6] and Shimr became the commander of his army.

Notes

  1. ↑ Sulh al-Hasan, pp. 60 and 70.
  2. ↑ Hidayat al-Kubra, p. 184.
  3. ↑ al-Ikhtisas, p. 139; Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 33, p. 286.
  4. ↑ al-Shia wa al-Hakimun, p. 62.
  5. ↑ Waqui'at al-Taff, Abu Mikhnaf, pp. 123–124.
  6. ↑ Ansab al-Ashraf al-Baladhuri, Vol. 2, p. 483; History of al-Tabari, Vol. 5, pp. 414–415.

Day of Ashura

On the morning of Ashura, Shimr took command of the left wing of Ibn Sa'd's army[1]. When Abdullah ibn Umayr al-Kalbi was martyred, Shimr ordered his slave (Rustam) to martyr Abdullah's wife with a spear while she was sitting by his bedside[2]. Also, Shimr captured Nafi' ibn Hilal al-Jamali, a brave companion of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), after a fierce battle, while Nafi's arms were broken, and martyred him[3].

In the afternoon of Ashura and before the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), Shimr intended to attack the Imam's (peace be upon him) tent camp and plunder it, but the Imam (peace be upon him) warned him against this act, and Shimr returned[4].


Attack on the Tents

After the martyrdom of the Imam (peace be upon him), by the order of Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan, the Kufan army attacked the tents and began looting the tents of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)[5]. He went into the tent where Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) was lying ill, and upon seeing His Holiness (peace be upon him), intended to martyr him, but some prevented this act[6]. Then Shimr ordered that fire be set to the tents of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) and burn them[7].

After Ashura, Shimr and several Kufan soldiers were ordered to take the heads of the martyrs to Kufah, to Ibn Ziyad[8]. Also, he and his companions were commissioned by Ibn Ziyad to take the captives of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)[9] and, according to one narration, the heads of the martyrs of Karbala to Syria[10]. Upon entering Yazid's court, Shimr reported to Yazid regarding the manner of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and his companions as follows:

"O Commander of the Faithful! Hussein ibn Ali came towards us with eighteen members of his family and sixty of his Shi'a. We went to war with them and asked them to either surrender and submit to the rule of Amir Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, or prepare for battle. They preferred battle over surrender; so at sunrise we charged at them and surrounded them from all sides. When they saw our swords above their heads, they became helpless fugitives and fled from us to the hills and hollows, like doves seeking refuge in God from the fear of a hunting hawk [they too fled aimlessly this way and that]!!!. O Commander of the Faithful, it took no longer than the time it takes to slaughter a camel or rest for half a day before we struck them all down. Now their bodies are naked, their clothes bloodied, and their faces dust-covered. Their bodies are exposed to the sunlight and the wind blows upon them; their visitors are eagles and their caretakers are hawks in the dry desert land[11]."

Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan, like many Kufan nobles, after Yazid's death joined Abdullah ibn Zubayr and pledged allegiance to Abdullah ibn Muti - the Zubayrid governor of Kufah. During the Revolt of Mukhtar, he rushed to assist Ibn Muti and went with his forces to the Salim neighborhood of Kufah to prevent the formation of Mukhtar's revolt; but he, like his counterparts, could not succeed and was defeated by the revolutionary forces of Kufah[12]. In the Event of Yawm al-Sabi' also, Shimr rose in collaboration with the Kufan nobles and entered the field to crush Mukhtar's revolt; but again he could not accomplish anything and was defeated[13].


Martyrdom of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)

Shimr ordered the archers to target the body of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)[14]. Then by his command, everyone attacked the Imam (peace be upon him), and individuals including Sinan ibn Anas and Zar'ah ibn Shurayk inflicted the final blows on the Imam (peace be upon him)[15]. Regarding the person who severed the head of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) from his body, there are various narrations; in some narrations it is said that Shimr sat on the Imam's (peace be upon him) chest and severed his head from the nape[16].


After Ashura

After the return of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) to Medina, Shimr also returned to Kufah upon completion of his mission. It is said that he performed Prayer and sought forgiveness from God, and in justification of his participation in the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), he said that he had obeyed his commanders[17].

Notes

  1. ↑ Al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 2, p. 487.
  2. ↑ Al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 2, p. 493.
  3. ↑ Al-Tabari, History, Vol. 5, pp. 441–442.
  4. ↑ Al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 2, p. 499; Al-Tabari, History, Vol. 5, p. 450; Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, p. 118.
  5. ↑ Al-Mahalli, Hamid ibn Ahmad; Al-Hada'iq al-Wardiyyah fi Mana'qib al-A'imma al-Zaydiyyah, Sana'a, Maktabat Badr, 1st ed., 1423 AH, Vol. 1, pp. 213–214.
  6. ↑ Ibn Sa'd, Ibid., Vol. 5, Part 1, p. 480; and Al-Tabari, Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 454.
  7. ↑ Al-Mahalli, Ibid., p. 214.
  8. ↑ Al-Tabari, Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 456; Shaykh Mufid, Ibid., p. 113; and Ibn Athir, Ibid., Vol. 4, p. 84.
  9. ↑ Shaykh Mufid, Ibid., p. 119.
  10. ↑ Al-Tabari, Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 460; and Al-Mahalli, Ibid., p. 217.
  11. ↑ Al-Dinawari, Ibid., pp. 260–261.
  12. ↑ Al-Baladhuri, Ibid., Vol. 6, p. 389; Al-Tabari, Ibid., Vol. 6, pp. 18–29; and Ibn Athir, Ibid., Vol. 4, pp. 217–234.
  13. ↑ Al-Baladhuri, Ibid., Vol. 6, p. 398; Al-Tabari, Ibid., Vol. 6, pp. 44–50; Miskawayh, Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 158; and Ibn Athir, Ibid., Vol. 4, p. 224.
  14. ↑ Shaykh Mufid, Al-Irshad, Vol. 2, pp. 111–112.
  15. ↑ Al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 2, p. 500; Al-Tabari, History, Vol. 5, p. 453; Mufid, Vol. 2, p. 112.
  16. ↑ Al-Khwarizmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, Vol. 2, pp. 41–42; Mufid, Al-Irshad, Vol. 2, p. 112; Al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 2, pp. 500–501; Al-Tabari, History, Vol. 5, p. 453.
  17. ↑ Ibn Asakir, History of Medina Damascus, Vol. 23, p. 189; Al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I'tidal, Vol. 2, p. 280.

References

  • Al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf.
  • Al-Tabari, History.
  • Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, Maqatil al-Talibiyyin.
  • Al-Mahalli, Al-Hada'iq al-Wardiyyah.
  • Ibn Sa'd, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra.
  • Shaykh Mufid, Al-Irshad.
  • Al-Dinawari, Al-Akhbar al-Tiwal.
  • Ibn Athir, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh.
  • Miskawayh, Tajarib al-Umam.
  • Al-Khwarizmi, Maqtal al-Husayn.
  • Ibn Asakir, History of Medina Damascus.
  • Al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I'tidal.

Death

Following the uprising of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in 66 AH, Shimr participated in the war against him, but Mukhtar defeated him and other Umayyad commanders in the Battle of Jabbana al-Sabu' (one of the quarters of Kufa)[1] and Shimr fled from Kufa. Mukhtar sent a group along with his slave (Zarbi) after him. Shimr killed Mukhtar's slave[2] and fled to a village named Satidama, and from there went to a village named Kaltaniya (between Shush and the village of Saymara)[3] and sent a letter to Mus'ab ibn Zubayr, who was preparing for war with Mukhtar. However, some of Mukhtar's soldiers besieged Shimr, and while his companions had fled, they killed him, sent his head to Mukhtar, and threw his body to the dogs[4], and Mukhtar also sent Shimr's head to Muhammad ibn Hanafiyya[5].


See also


Notes

  1. ↑ Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 6, pp. 58–59; Tabari, vol. 6, pp. 18, 29.
  2. ↑ Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 6, p. 65; Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 6, p. 52.
  3. ↑ Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 6, p. 52.
  4. ↑ Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 6, pp. 65–66.
  5. ↑ Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, p. 305.


References

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