Muslim ibn Aqil

Muslim ibn Aqil al-Hashimi was a relative of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslim was the son of Aqil ibn Abi Talib and a cousin of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam, who dispatched him to Kufa in Iraq to ascertain their support upon the accession of the Umayyad caliph Yazid. The Kufans welcomed Muslim and overwhelmingly pledged to support Husayn against the Umayyad rule, which they considered illegitimate and tyrannical. In response, Yazid replaced the mild governor of the city with his strongman Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, who soon discovered the hideout of Muslim through an informant. When Ibn Ziyad imprisoned or killed Hani ibn Urwa, who was secretly sheltering Muslim, he came out in open revolt and surrounded the governor's palace with his supporters in September 680 CE. With a combination of threats and promises, however, Ibn Ziyad induced Kufan tribal leaders to abandon Muslim and withdraw their men. A deserted Muslim was arrested after a strong resistance and executed. Before this turn of events, he had written to Husayn and urged him to come to Kufa. Husayn thus left Mecca with his family and a few supporters, but his caravan was intercepted and massacred by the Umayyad forces in October 680 in Karbala, near Kufa. Muslim is revered in Shia Islam for his bravery and moral uprightness. His shrine in Kufa is a destination for Shia pilgrims. Early life Muslim was the son of Aqil, a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His mother might have been a freed slave of Nabataean origin whose name is differently given as Ulayya, Khalila, and Hilya. His date of birth is also reported variously and the sources differ significantly, ranging from the early 640s CE to the late 650s. Muslim seems to have enjoyed a reputation as a fierce warrior. By one account, he fought in the Battle of Siffin (657) for his uncle Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam and the fourth caliph after Muhammad. By another account, Muslim fought in the conquest of al-Bahnasa in Egypt during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph. According to this account, Muslim was consequently appointed as its governor and served there until Umar was replaced with Uthman ibn Affan, whereupon Muslim returned to Medina.