Malik bin
al-Harith al-Nakha’i (r.a.) was one of the most pious and loyal companions of
the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) and
the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.). Al-Ashtar is a title given
to him because he was struck on his eyelid in the Battle of Yarmouk. His date of birth is not available but it is
reported that he was 10 years older than Imam Ali (a.s.) and 20 years younger
than the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.). He
was from Yemen.
He is recognized for his piety, humbleness as well as his
fierce and steadfast defense for Islam. He was the fiercest warrior of his time
and was the right hand of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).
The Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.) sent Khalid bin Waleed to Yemen to invite people toward Islam, but
his approach was such that the people started pelting stones at him. Then Imam
Ali (a.s.) was sent. When he along with some Muslims reached Yemen, the Yemenis
again threw stones, but Imam Ali advised his companions to be patient. When
Imam Ali (a.s.) finished his invitation of Islam to them they were so impressed
by his personality that the tribes of Kinda, Banu Nakha, Hamadan, and Thaftan
converted to Islam. The prominent personalities like Hujr bin Adi, Kumail bin
Ziyad and Malik were among them.
Encounter with
Waleed bin Uqba, the Governor of Kufa:
Waleed bin Uqba
was the half brother of the third caliph Usman bin Affan. He used to consume
alcohol openly and was expelled from the country by the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.). Surah al-Hujarat Ayah 6 exposes his character stating him to be
an evil man: “Believers, if one who publicly commits sins brings you any news,
ascertain its truthfulness carefully, lest you harm people through ignorance
and then regret what you have done.”
One day, he entered the mosque drunk and led the Morning
Prayer four rakat instead of two rakat and at the end asked the Muslims if he
should continue! Malik along with Kumail bin Ziyad and nine other Muslims
complained to him. Instead of accepting his mistake he expelled them to Sham
(Syria). Muawiya said: “How dare you
speak about the governor and cause disunity. Quran says ‘Obey Allah, obey the
prophet, and obey the leaders among you!” They were expelled from Syria as
well. They were returning to Madinah and were stopped on the way at Rabza,
where Abu Dharr Ghifari was in a very bad health after being banished by the
third caliph. Malik and nine other Muslims returned to Madinah and complained
about the behavior of Waleed and Muawiya but nothing was done.
Soon the caliph was assassinated by the Muslims. Now the
multitude of Muslims requested the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.)
to accept the caliphate but the Imam refused. Malik was among them. When the
pressure increased, then Imam Ali (a.s.) accepted their demand. On assuming the caliphate, he immediately
removed every unjust governor.
Battle of Jamal: Marwan played a vital role in arranging a
large army along with Ummul Momineen Aisha, Talha and Zubair. They headed
towards Basra. Imam Ali (a.s.) sent Malik to enlist support from Kufans and by
his powerful speech enlisted support of over 18,000 people. When they joined
the forces of Imam Ali (a.s.), he gave
the command of the right wing to Malik and left wing to Ammar bin Yasser and
the army’s standard to his son Muhammad bin Hanafiyah. As usual, Imam Ali (a.s.) ordered his men not to attack first. He
asked for a volunteer to take the Glorious Qur’an to the rebels, a brave man
came forward. When the man went to the rebels he was martyred. The Imam raised
his hands and prayed. The war began and Malik’s men fought bravely. Imam Ali
(a.s.) asked Malik to cut the feet of Hazrat Aisha’s camel and asked Muhammad
bin Abi Bakr to support his sister when the camel falls. Thus the mission was
accomplished and Hazrat Aisha was respectfully sent back to Madinah.
Battle of Siffin: Imam
Ali (a.s.) removed all corrupt governors replacing them with honest, truthful,
trustworthy, God-conscious ones. He appointed Malik as the governor of areas near
the border of Shaam (Syria). The infamous and power-hungry Muawiya, who sought
to eliminate the caliphate of Imam Ali (a.s.) and fearful of his removal, formed an
army to defend his power. Imam Ali (a.s.) exchanged letters with him but he
openly disobeyed. Imam Ali (a.s.) sent an army towards Sham. The two armies met
at Kirkeesiya. Malik tried to persuade Muawiya to avoid bloodshed. Muwiya's army
made a surprise attack at night but was suppressed. The real battle took place
at Siffin. Muawiyah’s army captured the River Euphrates and denied water to
Imam Ali (a.s.)’s army. Imam Ali (a.s.)
sent Malik to recapture the river but it was the nobility of Imam Ali (a.s.)
who allowed the enemy to take water!
Malik was a brave and fearless a warrior. During the war,
Malik said that he had killed the same number as Imam Ali (a.s.). The Imam replied that before killing he was
seeing if there was any believer in the next seven generations of the victim! At the height of the war,
Muawiya tricked Imam Ali (a.s.)’s army and asked his men to raise Qur’an on
their spears. Imam Ali (a.s.) tried to convince his men about the trick but
about 22,000 Kharijites refused to obey him.
Malik was only two rows away from Muawiya when the Imam recalled him.
This was the discipline that Malik stopped the fight and returned to the Imam.
Imam Ali (a.s.)’s
letter to Malik:
Imam Ali (a.s.) had sent a directive to Mailk regarding the governance. The former Indian Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi used to give this letter to any new cabinet minister. In
the year 1997, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan had
conducted a survey to search for the best document on Justice and found this
letter to be the best document ever written.
Martyrdom of Malik
by Mua’wiya: Muhammad bin Abi Bakr was the governor of Egypt. Muawiya’s
companion Amr bin As wanted to become the governor of Egypt. He rallied 6,000
men and advanced toward Egypt. On hearing this news from Muhammad, Imam Ali
(a.s.) dispatched Malik to help him. When Muawiya heard about it, he planned to
eliminate Malik by poison. He sent a delegation to the owner of a service
station at Qilzim City where travelers used to stop for rest. The owner was promised
life time tax free facility. Consequently, Malik was poisoned in honey and died
instantly. On hearing the news of Malik’s martyrdom, he was very sad and said: “Women would become baron to give birth to
a man like Malik. Malik was to me
like I was to Rasul Allah!” When his
plan was successful, Muawiya was jubilant and said: “Ali ibn Abi Talib had two
hands, I cut off one of them in Siffin; it was Ammar ibn Yassir. Today, I have
cut off the other hand, it is Malik.”
Malik had two sons; Ishaq and Ibrahim. Ishaq fought in
Karbala with Imam Hussayn (a.s.) and Ibrahim helped Mukhtar avenge the martyrs
of Karbala.
Sources used:
Malik al-Ashtar by
Kamal al-Sayyid
WIKIPEDIA
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