Al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya

Al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya ibn al-Mughira ibn Abd Allah (Arabic: المهاجر بن أبي أمية المغيرة بن عبد الله, romanized: Al-Muhājir ibn Abī Umayya ibn al-Mughīra ibn ʿAbd Allāh) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from the Banu Makhzum clan and a Muslim commander active in Yemen during the Ridda wars (632–633).

Life

Al-Muhajir's birth name was al-Walid until it was changed to al-Muhajir (the Emigrant) by Muhammad; the latter noted that one of the Pharaohs bore the name al-Walid and that the name was used so excessively by the Banu Makhzum clan of the Quraysh tribe to which al-Muhajir belonged that it practically became a deity of the clan.[1]

Al-Muhajir's father was Abu Umayya Suhayl, a son of al-Mughira ibn Abd Allah, a prominent pre-Islamic leader of the Makhzum in Mecca.[2] Abu Umayya was well known for his generosity to traveling companions on the road and was popularly known as Zad al-Rakb (Provider for the Passengers).[2] Al-Muhajir's mother was Atika bint Amir from the Firas clan of the Kinana tribe, which was noted for its martial prowess.[3] Al-Muhajir's sister was Umm Salama, one of the wives of Muhammad.[4] He was a paternal first cousin of Khalid ibn al-Walid.[5]

Muhammad appointed al-Muhajir as the tax collector over the Yemenite tribes of Kinda (specifically its Banu Mu'awiya branch) and Sadif.[5] He married Asma bint al-Nu'man ibn Abi al-Jawn, a Kindite noblewoman and former wife of Muhammad; she later married al-Muhajir's Makhzumite kinsman Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl.[6] In 631 Muhammad appointed al-Muhajir governor of Yemen's principal city Sana'a.[7][8] He did not take up the post, remaining in Medina until the accession of Caliph Abu Bakr in 632.[8]

Abu Bakr dispatched al-Muhajir to reinforce the governor of Yemen, Ziyad ibn Labid al-Ansari, and suppress the rebellion of the Banu Mu'awiya clan of Kinda in Hadhramawt (south Arabian coastal region) during the Ridda wars.[9][10][11] The Kinda was ultimately surrendered to al-Muhajir and Ikrima.[10]

References

1. Kister 1975, pp. 15–16.
2. Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 80.
3. Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 175.
4. Donner 1993, p. 20, note 125.
5. Blankinship 1993, p. 143, note 776.
6. Donner 1993, p. 185 note 1131, 190 note 1156.
7. Blankinship 1993, p. 143, notes 776–777.
8. Hinds 1991, p. 138.
9. Lecker 1994, p. 343.
10. Lecker 2004, p. 693.
11. Donner 1981, pp. 86–87.

Bibliography

• Donner, Fred M., ed. (1993). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume X: The Conquest of Arabia, A.D. 632–633/A.H. 11. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-1071-4.
• Donner, Fred M. (1981). The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05327-8.
• Blankinship, Khalid Yahya, ed. (1993). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XI: The Challenge to the Empires. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0851-3.
• Hinds, M. (1991). "Makhzūm". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 137–140. ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3.
• Kister, M. J. (1975). ""Call Yourselves by Graceful Names ...". Lectures in Memory of Professor Martin M. Plessner. Jerusalem: Institute of Asian and African Studies, The Hebrew University. pp. 3–25.
• Landau-Tasseron, Ella, ed. (1998). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIX: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and their Successors: al-Ṭabarī's Supplement to his History. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2819-1.
• Lecker, M. (2004). "Al-Ridda". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XII: Supplement. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 692–695. ISBN 978-90-04-13974-9.
• Lecker, Michael (November 1994). "Kinda on the Eve of Islam and during the "Ridda"". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 4 (3): 333–356. doi:10.1017/S1356186300005964. JSTOR 25182938.