al-Tamhid wa al-Bayan fi Maqtal al-Shahid Uthman
- Author died
- 741 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Thaqafah
al-Tamhid wa al-Bayan fi Maqtal al-Shahid Uthman (The Preparation and Clarification Concerning the Murder of the Martyr Uthman) is a historical work by the Andalusian scholar Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Malaqi (d. 741 AH / 1340 CE), dedicated to the biography, caliphate, siege, and assassination of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan .
Author and Context
The author, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Ash'ari al-Maliki, known as Ibn Bakr, was an Andalusian scholar born in 674 AH (or 671 AH) . He served as a judge and sermonizer (khatib) in Granada and travelled to Egypt and the Levant . He died in 741 AH during the Battle of Tarifa . In composing the monograph, al-Malaqi aimed to present the assassination of Uthman and the events surrounding his caliphate impartially, stating that he sought fairness without bias or partisanship by relying on earlier historical authorities .
Structure and Contents
The book is structured into twelve thematic chapters:
- Lineage, children, and wives: covering his genealogy, family, and marriages .
- Embracing Islam and migration: recounting his conversion to Islam and his emigration .
- Pledge of allegiance and the Shura: detailing his election and the consultative council convened after Umar ibn al-Khattab .
- Grievances and controversies: examining the debates surrounding his administration and the grievances raised against him during his reign .
- The march and siege: identifying those who marched against him to Medina and laid siege to his residence .
- Demands for abdication: chronicling the demands made by the rebels that he abdicate and his replies refusing to step down .
- Assassination and burial: describing his murder and the burial site .
- Age and length of caliphate: recording his age at the time of death and the duration of his rule .
- Physical description and dress: documenting his physical appearance and clothing .
- Conduct and virtues: chronicling his character, conduct, and specific virtues .
- Elegies: compiling poems and verses composed in mourning of his death .
- Avenge of his blood: recording the subsequent demands and movements seeking retribution for his killing .
Sources and Methodology
In compiling the accounts, al-Malaqi relied directly on classical historical, biographical, and theological compilations. Among the primary works cited in his introduction are the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Futuh of Sayf ibn Umar, Kitab al-Shari'ah of Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, Kitab al-Maqtal of Umar ibn Shabbah, and the chronicle of Ibn al-Athir .
Editions
The work has been edited and published in modern times, notably by Mahmud Yusuf Zayid (Doha: Dar al-Thaqafah, 1405 AH / 1985 CE) and by Karam Jaci (Cairo: Dar al-Afaq al-Arabiyyah, 1423 AH) .
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