Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani ( ar, عقبة بن عامر الجهني‎, ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir al-Juhanī; died 677/78) was a companion of the Islamic prophet

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 ...

and 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 ...

governor of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in 665–667 and died in the province.

Life

Uqba ibn Amir hailed from the

Juhayna The Juhaynah ( ar, جهينة, also transliterated as ''Djuhaynah'' and ''Johaynah'') are a nomad tribe of the Arabian Peninsula and the largest clan of Banu Quda'a. They are one of the most powerful Arabian tribes that rule important parts of ...

tribe, a branch of the

Quda'a The Quda'a ( ar, قضاعة, translit=Quḍāʿa) were a confederation of Arab tribes, including the powerful Kalb and Tanukh, mainly concentrated throughout Syria and northwestern Arabia, from at least the 4th century CE, during Byzantine rule, t ...

confederation resident across Syria and northwestern

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

.Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 293, note 1329. He became a well-known companion of the Islamic prophet

and had been the latter's

muleteer An ''arriero'', muleteer, or more informally a muleskinner ( es, arriero; pt, tropeiro; ca, traginer) is a person who transports goods using pack animals, especially mules. Distribution and function In South America, muleskinners transport ...

.Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 32, note 144.Kennedy 1998, p. 69. Uqba was also a poet and became known for his writing skills. He developed a reputation as an early reader of the

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, ...

and possessed a version of the Muslim holy book that was different than the version descended from 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 ...

(). His recension of the Quran fell into oblivion after the

governor of Egypt,

Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, عبد العزيز بن مروان بن الحكم, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; died 12 May 705) was the Umayyad governor and ''de facto'' viceroy of Egypt between 685 and his death. He w ...

, had another codex produced in accordance with the Uthmanid canon. Uqba is credited with the transmission of several

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 ...

(traditions of Muhammad). During the

First Muslim Civil War The First Fitna ( ar, فتنة مقتل عثمان, fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān, strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman) was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of t ...

, he was an active supporter of his friend

Mu'awiya 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 ...

against Caliph

Ali 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 ...

(). Mu'awiya became caliph in 661 and appointed Uqba the governor of Egypt, replacing the caliph's deceased brother,

Utba ibn Abi Sufyan Utba ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb ( ar, عتبة بن أبي سفيان بن حرب, ʿUtba ibn Abī Sufyān ibn Ḥarb) was a member of the Umayyad ruling family and served as the Umayyad governor of Egypt in 664–665, during the reign of his broth ...

, in 664. According to the 9th-century historian

al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

, in 668/69, Uqba led the Arab troops of Egypt alongside the troops of

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, ...

in a naval raid against

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

territory. He was replaced as governor by

Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari Maslama ibn Mukhallad ibn Samit al-Ansari () to whom the tecnonymics Abu Ma'n or Sa'id or Umar are ascribed, was one of the companions of the Prophet and active in Egypt in the decades after its conquest by the Muslims. Biography He was born ...

in 669. He died in Egypt in 677/78. An honorary tomb was built on his grave in the cemetery of Qarafa al-Kubra near

Fustat Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by ...

. During the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

period in the 14th century, it was one of several

ziyarat In Islam, ''ziyara(h)'' ( ar, زِيَارَة ''ziyārah'', "visit") or ''ziyarat'' ( fa, , ''ziyārat'', "pilgrimage") is a form of pilgrimage to List of Ziyarat sites, sites associated with Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, his family members and ...

(Muslim pilgrimage sites) visited by Egyptian Muslims.Taylor 1999, pp. 1, 66.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uqba Amir 678 deaths 7th-century Umayyad governors of Egypt People of the First Fitna Quda'a Sahabah hadith narrators Umayyad people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Year of birth unknown