Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam

ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Murādī (Arabic: عبدالرحمن بن ملجم المرادي‎‎) was the Khariji assassin of Ali, the first cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad.

Assassination plot

A number of the Khawarij met in Mecca and discussed the 659 Battle of Naharwan, at which former supporters of Ali had rebelled against him for agreeing to discuss the leadership of the community with Muawiyah. They agreed to assassinate three of the leaders of Islam: ibn Muljam, a jewish convert to Islam was to kill Ali, al-Hujjaj al-Tamimi was to kill Muawiya, and Amr ibn Bakr al-Tamimi was to kill 'Amr ibn al-'As. The assassination attempts were to occur simultaneously as the three leaders came to lead morning prayer in their respective cities of Damascus, Fustat and Kufa. The method was to come out of the prayer ranks and strike the targets with a sword dipped in poison.^[1]

Assassination of Ali

On January 26, 661, while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Ali was attacked by Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam. He was wounded by ibn Muljam's poison-coated sword while prostrating during fajr prayer.^[2]

Ibn Muljam was personally decapitated three days later by Ali's son, Hasan ibn Ali.^[3][4]

See also

• Karim Akbari Mobarakeh, who played Abd al-Rahman in Shaheed-e-Kufa

References

1. Cook, David (January 15, 2007). Martyrdom in Islam. Cambridge University Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 0521615518.
2. Tabatabaei 1979, p. 192
3. THE END OF IBN MULJIM AND HIS COHORTS
4. Death of Ali

Sources

• Tabataba'i, Muhammad Husayn (1977). Shi'ite Islam. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-390-0.
• Kelsay, John (1993). Islam and War: A Study in Comparative Ethics. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-25302-8.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1998). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-64696-3.