Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri
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Ḥabīb ibn Maslama al-Fihrī ( ar, حبيب بن مسلمة الفهري; –) was an
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
general during the
Early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
, under
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
.


Life


Origin and career under Umar

Born in
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, Habib was a member of the Muharib ibn Fihr clan of the
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
tribe (the tribe to which
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
belonged). He fought with distinction in the
Muslim conquest of the Levant The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
and of
Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, ...
against the Byzantines. He led a cavalry squadron in the
Battle of Yarmuk The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 63 ...
, and Caliph
Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
() appointed him first as governor of
Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...
and later of Upper Mesopotamia. His record in the battles against the Byzantines led to his nickname of ''Ḥabīb al-Rūm'' ("Habib of the Byzantines", which if translated fully results in the rather ironic "The Beloved One of the Byzantines"). Caliph Umar is said to have been impressed by him, and to have opened the treasury (or the arsenal, according to other accounts) for him to take what he wished; Habib only took a set of weapons, leaving the treasure untouched.


Career under Uthman

Caliph
Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic proph ...
() instructed the governor of
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
, to send him in an expedition to Byzantine-controlled
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
—although some sources insist that the Caliph commissioned Habib directly. Muslim sources place this event right after Uthman's accession in 644, but Byzantine and Armenian sources place it ten years later, in 653/654. The campaign was a great success for the Arabs: Habib's forces took Melitene and defeated the Byzantine governor of Armenia, Maurianos, in a night attack near Dvin. According to the Armenian historian Sebeos, the Arabs pursued the defeated Byzantine commander as far as
Caucasian Iberia In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages ...
or even the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
, and took
Trapezus Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
and Theodosiopolis. The treaties of capitulation for Dvin and
Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
that he concluded at that time are preserved by the literary sources. During this expedition, he is said to have brought one of his wives, Umm Abdallah bint Yazid al-Kalbiyya, with him, who was as valiant and fearless as he. Before the night assault on Maurianos' camp, he is reported to have asked her where he would find her after the battle, and she replied "either in Maurianos' tent, or in paradise". When Habib reached the Byzantine commander's tent, she was already there.


First Fitna and career under Mu'awiyah

Habib was briefly appointed governor of the subdued Armenian territories, but was then recalled to take command of the borderlands with Byzantium in northern Syria, centred on
Qinnasrin Qinnasrin ( ar, قنسرين; syr, ܩܢܫܪܝܢ, ''Qinnašrīn'', lit=Nest of Eagles), also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as ( la, Chalcis ad Belum; grc-gre, Χαλκὶς, ''Khalkìs''), was a historical town in ...
, from where he was engaged in fighting against the
Mardaites The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima ( syr, ܡܪ̈ܕܝܐ; ar, ٱلْجَرَاجِمَة / ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah''), inhabited the highland regions of the Nur Mountains. The Mardaites were early Christians following either Miaphysitism or Monothelit ...
and the Byzantines. When Uthman was besieged at his home in
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
by rebels, Mu'awiyah sent Habib with 4,000 Syrian troops to rescue him, but his vanguard had only reached Wadi al-Qura in the northern
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
when news of Uthman's murder reached him. Historian
Wilferd Madelung Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung FBA (b. December 26, 1930 in Stuttgart) is a German-British author and scholar of Islamic history. Life After World War II, the adolescent Wilferd accompanied his parents to the USA where his father Georg Hans Madel ...
however considers stories of Uthman's requesting aid against fellow Muslims a later invention. In the
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
that broke out following, he remained loyal to Mu'awiyah. During the armistice and negotiations that followed the first clashes between the supporters of Mu'awiyah and those of Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law
Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, Habib, along with Shurahbil ibn al-Simt al-Kindi and Ma'n ibn Yazid ibn al-Akhnas al-Sulami, was sent as an envoy to Ali. Habib demanded of Ali the surrender of Uthman's murderers, as well as asking him to resign the caliphal office and submitting the issue of succession to a council (''
shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...
''), terms which Ali rejected with scorn. During the three-day
Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657 CE (37 AH) between Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the rebellious governor of Syria. The battle is named after its location S ...
on July 26–28, Habib commanded the left wing of the Syrian forces, facing Abdallah ibn Budayl at the head of
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
ite forces stiffened by a force of "
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
readers". He played a major role during the first day, when Ibn Budayl advanced towards Mu'awiyah's position in the centre, with the aim of personally killing the Syrian leader. Habib counterattacked and routed the entire right wing of Ali's army, surrounded Ibn Budayl and the Quran readers, and began pushing towards Ali's centre in turn. One of Ali's generals, al-Ashtar, managed to rally the retreating right wing and rescue Ibn Budayl, but a new assault by the latter on Mu'awiyah's position failed and he was killed. According to
Ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...
, Habib's "signal service at the Battle of Siffin" made him one of Mu'awiyah's favourite generals. After Mu'awiyah became caliph, he appointed Habib governor of Armenia and Adharbayjan.


Death and legacy

Most sources place his death in , before he was fifty years old, either in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
or in Armenia. One account, however, records him as being alive in 671. His reputation among later generations was impressive: tall and a successful commander, he was admired for his moral rectitude and reputed to perform miracles through prayer. According to one story, after his death the Caliph Mu'awiyah prostrated himself in thanks to God for having such a servant; Habib had demanded that he u'awiyahfollow the norms of the rightly-guided caliphs Umar and
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
(), and Mu'awiyah had complied. This reputation led to subsequent claims that he was to be placed among the ''
Sahabah The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
'', the companions to Muhammad. These claims were promoted by his numerous descendants, but also by the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
partisans, who in their quarrels over legitimacy with the
Alids The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inclu ...
tried to claim the allegiance of as many ''Sahabah'' as possible for Mu'awiyah. While Habib himself claims to have met Muhammad in Medina and campaigned with him, most sources insist that he was twelve years old when Muhammad died, thus having played no role in the latter's regime. Isolated sources give very different accounts, claiming that he was merely two years old or as old as 22 when Muhammad died; some sources accept him as a source of
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
s, while others dismiss him.


Family

Habib had three wives, all from the tribe of
Banu Kalb The Banu Kalb ( ar, بنو كلب) was an Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the desert between northwestern Arabia and central Syria. The Kalb was involved in the tribal politics of the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, possibly as early ...
, among them Na'ila bint Umara al-Kalbiyya, who had formerly been married to Mu'awiya. Two of his sons survived him. One of them, Maslama, commanded the contingent from Damascus during the
Second Arab Siege of Constantinople The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
in 717–718. Habib owned a house in Damascus, overlooking the Barada River, as well as a residence in the city's environs, in the
Hawran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the ...
. The 9th-century scholar Abu Zur'a al-Dimashqi reported that Habib's descendants were numerous in the Hawran area.


See also

*


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{cite book , editor-last = McGuckin de Slane , editor-first = William , editor-link = William McGuckin de Slane , title = Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, translated from the Arabic by Bn. William McGuckin de Slane, Vol. II , year = 1843 , publisher = Oriental translation fund of Great Britain and Ireland , location = Paris , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6p0TAAAAYAAJ 610s births 662 deaths 7th-century Arabs 7th century in Armenia Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars People of the First Fitna Generals of the Rashidun Caliphate People from Mecca Quraysh Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate Year of birth unknown Umayyad governors of Arminiya People of the Muslim conquest of the Levant Rashidun governors of Arminiya