Islamic Timeline of RevelationOpen in flowchart →
Historical figurePhase 4a · Muhajirun, Ansar, Tabi‘eenMajor figure

al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi

المختار بن أبي عبيد الثقفي

d. 67 AH date disputed

Kufan leader who seized Kufa in 66 AH in the name of avenging al-Husayn, killed many of those responsible including Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad and Umar ibn Sa'd, claimed to act for Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, and was killed by Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr in 67 AH.

Biography

After the Tawwabun movement of Sulayman ibn Surad failed (65 AH), al-Mukhtar took Kufa and pursued al-Husayn's killers; his army under Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar killed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad at Khazir (67 AH). He was defeated and killed by Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, brother of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (historical sources).

Sahih Muslim records Asma bint Abi Bakr telling al-Hajjaj that the Prophet ﷺ said there would be a liar and a destroyer from Thaqif; scholars commonly identified the liar with al-Mukhtar because of claims attributed to him.

Sources & explanation

۞ Qur'an

No specific verses cited for this node.

📜 Hadith verified on sunnah.com

  • Sahih Muslim 2545 Sahih

    After the killing of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, Asma' confronted al-Hajjaj with the hadith that from Thaqif would come a great liar and a destroyer; she said the liar had been seen (commentators identify him as al-Mukhtar) and the destroyer was al-Hajjaj.

💬 Explanation Unverified

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's perspective

Methodological note (not a direct quote): Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's widely known approach is to build narratives primarily on the Quran and Sahih Hadith, to set aside weak or fabricated narrations, and to avoid sectarian framing. Applied to this node: A verified Mirza video mentions al-Mukhtar and the Tawwabun in the aftermath of Karbala; his assessment of al-Mukhtar is not verified here.

Related videos Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza

Empires in their lifetime

Further references

  • Sahih Muslim (Asma bint Abi Bakr: the liar and the destroyer from Thaqif)
  • Tarikh al-Tabari (historical)

Connections

Linked with