Qaṭari ibn al-Fujaʾa ( ar, قطري بن الفجاءة ; died c. 698–699 CE
) was a
Kharjite leader and poet. Born in
Al Khuwayr
Al Khuwayr ( ar, الخوير) is an abandoned village in northwest Qatar, located in the municipality of Ash Shamal. It is a popular domestic tourist attraction due to its history and ruined structures.
History Prior to the 19th century
Al Khuw ...
, he ruled over the
Azariqa
The Azariqa ( ar, الأزارقة, ''al-azāriqa'') were an extremist branch of Khawarij, who followed the leadership of Nafi ibn al-Azraq al-Hanafi. Adherents of Azraqism participated in an armed struggle against the rulers of the Umayyad Cali ...
faction of the Kharjites for more than ten years after the death of
Nafi ibn al-Azraq
Nafi ibn al-Azraq ibn Qays al-Hanafi al-Bakri ( ar, نافع بن الأزرق بن قيس الحنفي البكري, Nāfiʿ ibn al-Azraḳ ibn Qays al-Ḥanafī al-Bakrī; died 685) was the leader of the Kharijite faction of the Azariqa during t ...
in c. 685 CE. He led an uprising against the
Umayyad Caliphate
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 th ...
for more than 20 years.
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 ...
, a 13th-century Muslim scholar, states that 'Qatari' is not his given name, but instead refers to the name of the region where he hailed from.
A member of the
Banu Tamim
Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia ...
tribe, he held the title of
Amir al-Mu'minin
Amir al-Mu'minin ( ar, أَمِير ٱلْمُؤْمِنِين, amīr al-muʾminīn) is an Arabic title designating the supreme leader of an Islamic community. It is usually translated as "Commander of the Faithful", though sometimes also as "Prin ...
, which translates to 'leader of the faithful' and was the formal title of the
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
s.
His nicknames were ''Na'ama'' (ostrich) and ''Abu al-Mawt'' (father of death).
It has been asserted that he was the first Khawarji leader to promote
jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
ism, as his poems glorified courage, death and war in the name of
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
.
He minted the first known Kharijite coins, the earliest of which dated to 688 or 689.
It was minted in the Arab-Sasanian style. The coin bore the
Pahlavi
Pahlavi may refer to:
Iranian royalty
*Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire
*Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979
**Reza Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944 ...
inscription "‛
Abdallah Qatari, the Commander of the Faithful, who has increased the royal glory".
Role in Azariqa faction
In 687, Ibn al-Fuja'a assumed leadership over the Azariqa sub-sect of the
Khawarij
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
sect of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
during the
Second Fitna
The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...
. Leading his troops from
Kerman
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
, he recaptured portions of
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
and marched towards
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
.
Around 698 or 699, the governor of Iraq
al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
Abu Muhammad al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi ( ar, أبو محمد الحجاج بن يوسف بن الحكم بن أبي عقيل الثقفي, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī ʿAqīl al-T ...
sent two of his generals,
al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra
Abū Saʿīd al-Muhallab ibn Abī Ṣufra al-Azdī ( ar, أَبْو سَعِيْد ٱلْمُهَلَّب ابْن أَبِي صُفْرَة ٱلْأَزْدِي; 702) was an Arab general from the Azd tribe who fought in the service of the Ras ...
and
Sufyan ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi
Sufyan ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi al-Asamm ( ar, سفيان بن الأبرد الكلبي, Sufyān ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbī al-Aṣamm; ) was a general of the Umayyad Caliphate who served under caliphs Mu'awiya II (), Marwan I () and Abd al-Malik (). He ...
, to attack Ibn al-Fuja'a and his men who were encamped in
Tabaristan
Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...
. After fleeing to
Semnan, Ibn al-Fuja'a was confronted by Sufyan's forces. Ibn al Fuja'a's forces were defeated and he was decapitated in the encounter.
Shortly after the battle, the remnants of the Azariqa faction met their demise under the leadership of 'Abida ibn Hilal, marking the end of the Islamic sub-sect.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a on
Oxford Database of Arabic Literature'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn al-Fuja'a, Qatari
7th-century Arabs
Kharijites
Islamic religious leaders
People executed by the Umayyad Caliphate
Rebellions against the Umayyad Caliphate
7th-century executions by the Umayyad Caliphate
7th-century Arabic poets
Year of birth uncertain