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

companion Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Umayyad governor of Egypt in 665–667 and died in the province.

Life

Uqba ibn Amir hailed from the Juhayna tribe, a branch of the Quda'a confederation resident across Syria and northwestern Arabia.Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 293, note 1329. He became a well-known

of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and had been the latter's muleteer.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 and possessed a version of the Muslim holy book that was different than the version descended from Caliph Uthman (). His recension of the Quran fell into oblivion after the Umayyad governor of Egypt, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, had another codex produced in accordance with the Uthmanid canon. Uqba is credited with the transmission of several hadith (traditions of Muhammad). During the First Muslim Civil War, he was an active supporter of his friend Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan against Caliph Ali (). Mu'awiya became caliph in 661 and appointed Uqba the governor of Egypt, replacing the caliph's deceased brother, Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, 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 in a naval raid against Byzantine territory. He was replaced as governor by Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari 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. During the Mamluk period in the 14th century, it was one of several ziyarat (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