to his parents, a man who fasted frequently and spent long nights in prayer. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us: “Two great liars will emerge from Thaqīf; the latter of the two will be more wicked than the former—he is a ruthless destroyer.” Imām Aḥmad transmitted the report with this exact chain and wording.
Muslim also recorded it in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1), in the Book of Virtues, through ʿUqbah ibn Mukram al-ʿAmmī al-Baṣrī, from Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Ḥaḍramī, from al-Aswad ibn Shaybān, from Abū Nawfal, from Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Among the people of Thaqīf there will be a liar and a destroyer.” The ḥadith includes a lengthy account of how al-Ḥajjāj slew her son ʿAbd Allāh in 73 AH, as will be mentioned later.
Al-Bayhaqī cited this narration in Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (2). The scholars state that the “liar” is al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd. Outwardly he championed the cause of the Prophet’s Household, but inwardly he practiced soothsaying, confiding to his intimates that revelation descended upon him—though I do not know whether he actually claimed prophethood. A special throne was set up for him, venerated, surrounded by attendants, draped in silk, and carried on mules; he tried thereby to imitate the Ark of the Children of Israel mentioned in the Qur’an. Beyond doubt he was a misguided man who misled others. Allah relieved the Muslims of him after using him to exact retribution from another group of wrongdoers, as He said: “Thus We set some wrongdoers over others because of what they used to earn” (al-Anʿām 129).
The “destroyer,” on the other hand, is the ruthless killer al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf al-Thaqafī, the governor of Iraq under ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān, who wrested the province from Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr, as will soon be detailed.
Al-Wāqidī (3) reports that al-Mukhtār continued to profess allegiance to Ibn al-Zubayr until Muṣʿab arrived in Basra at the beginning of 67 AH and declared his opposition. Muṣʿab then marched against him and fought him while al-Mukhtār had about twenty thousand men. On one occasion al-Mukhtār charged and routed Muṣʿab, but his army would not stand firm; they began deserting to Muṣʿab, abandoning al-Mukhtār and condemning his sorcery and lies. When al-Mukhtār realized this he withdrew to the governor’s palace, where Muṣʿab besieged him for four months, finally killing him on 14 Ramaḍān 67 AH. It is said that al-Mukhtār was sixty-seven years old at the time (4).
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When Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr had settled in Kūfa he summoned Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ashṭar to come to him, while ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān also instructed him to present himself (5). Ibn al-Ashṭar was uncertain what to do, so he consulted his companions as to which summons he should answer. They finally agreed to return to their own city, Kūfa. Thus Ibn al-Ashṭar came to Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr, who honoured and exalted him.