Abu Sufyan ibn Harb

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For the son of companion and first cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, see Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith.
Abu Sufyan
أَبُو سُفْيَانُ
Born
Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya

c. 567 CE
Arabia
Diedc. 653(653-00-00) (aged 85–86)
Medina, Rashidun Caliphate
Resting placeAl-Baqi Cemetery, Medina
OccupationMajor leader of the Quraysh tribe
Era624–630
Spouses
Children
Parent
  • Banu Umayya
    (clan)
Military career
Battles/wars

Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya (

Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I
(r. 661–680) and namesake of the Sufyanid line of Umayyad caliphs which ruled from 661 to 684.

Abu Sufyan was a leader and merchant from the

Ta'if. After Muhammad's death, he may have been appointed as the governor of Najran by Caliph Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) for an unspecified period. Abu Sufyan later played a supporting role in the Muslim army at the Battle of the Yarmuk against the Byzantines in Syria. His sons Yazid
and later Mu'awiya were given command roles in that province and the latter went on to establish the Umayyad Caliphate in 661.

Life

Early life

Abu Sufyan's given name was Sakhr and he was born around c. 567 to his father

Hijrah (emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622). A prominent financier and merchant, Abu Sufyan engaged in trade in Syria, often heading Meccan caravans to the region.[1] He owned land in the vicinity of Damascus.[2][3]

Opposition to Islam

In 624, a caravan Abu Sufyan was leading back to Mecca from Syria faced an assault by Muhammad, prompting him to send for aid.

Abu Jahl ibn Hisham was dispatched.[1] In the ensuing confrontation, Abu Sufyan, "by skillful and vigorous leadership eluded the Muslims", according to the historian W. Montgomery Watt.[1] However, under Abu Jahl's command, the Meccans pursued a direct confrontation with the Muslims, which resulted in the rout of the Quraysh at the Battle of Badr. One of Abu Sufyan's sons, Hanzala, was killed at Badr and another son, Amr, was taken captive, but released.[1] Among the other Meccan casualties were Abu Jahl himself and Utba ibn Rabi'a, who was one of Abu Sufyan's fathers-in-law. In the aftermath of Badr, Abu Sufyan was charged with avenging Meccan losses, the command he held likely being hereditary. Subsequently, Abu Sufyan inflicted significant losses on the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud in 625, but the Quraysh were generally unsatisfied with the battle's results.[1] Two years later, he led the attempted siege of Medina, but was defeated by the Muslim defenders at the Battle of the Trench, and his morale may have taken a blow at this failure.[1] The command of the Meccan forces were transferred to his Qurayshi rivals, Safwan ibn Umayya, Ikrima ibn Amr and Suhayl ibn Amr.[1]

Conversion to Islam

Though Abu Sufyan did not participate in the truce

Ta'if, traditional rivals of Mecca, and the latter's tribal backers from the Hawazin confederation.[1] During this battle, which ended in a decisive Muslim victory, he lost an eye, and was rewarded a relatively high percentage of the spoils to reconcile his heart.[4][5] Because of his past trade relations with Ta'if, where he also owned property and had kinsmen, Abu Sufyan played a leading role in the dismantlement of the pagan sanctuary of al-Lat in the city.[1]

Later life and death

Abu Sufyan was appointed the governor of Najran, in southern Arabia, either by Muhammad or more likely, by the first caliph, Abu Bakr (r. 632–634).[1] He initially opposed the latter's succession of Muhammad as leader of the nascent Muslim state.[1] Abu Sufyan, seeing no hope that a member of the Banu Abd Shams could attain the role, aimed to keep the leadership in the hands of his next closest kinsmen, the Banu Hashim, specifically Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin, son-in-law and early supporter of Muhammad.[6] According to the historian Wilferd Madelung, Abu Sufyan, by dint of his chieftainship of the Banu Abd Shams and the generosity he had received from Muhammad, was duty-bound by a tribal code of honor to offer Ali such support, as doing otherwise "would have been shameful".[6] Ali, however, refused his support, citing Abu Sufyan's late conversion to Islam and the potential backlash from the Muslim community should he accept his backing.[7] Western historians generally dismiss this episode as propaganda by the Muslim traditional sources, which were hostile to the Umayyads,[8] the branch of the Banu Abd Shams to which Abu Sufyan belonged and which ultimately became the ruling family of the Caliphate in 661 until 750.

Abu Bakr ordered the

al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib of the Banu Hashim, by allowing them to sit on his throne in Medina.[10] Abu Sufyan died in 653 at the age of 88.[1]

Family and descendants

Family tree of the Sufyanid ruling family of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Sufyanids were the descendants of Abu Sufyan

Abu Sufyan's wife

al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba).[11]: 169  Abu Sufyan and his wife Safiya bint Abi Amr ibn Umayya had Amr (taken captive in the Battle of Badr and later released),[13]: 313  Hind (he married al-Harith ibn Nawfal, by whom she had six children: Abd Allah, Muhammad al-Akbar, Rabi'a, Abd al-Rahman, Ramla and Umm al-Zubayr),[11]: 169  and Sakhra (She married Sayyid ibn al-Akhnas and is said to have had children by him).[11]: 169  Atiqa bint Abi Udhayhir[13]: 189  of the Daws tribe[16]: 220  had Anbasa.[16]: 220  Other Abu Sufyan's children include Ḥārith,[17] Al-Faraa,[13]: 214  and Azzah.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Watt 1960, p. 151.
  2. ^ a b Madelung 1997, p. 45.
  3. ^ Donner 1981, p. 96.
  4. ^ Guillaume 1955, p. 594.
  5. ^ Poonawala 1990, p. 31.
  6. ^ a b Madelung 1997, p. 40.
  7. ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 40–41.
  8. ^ Madelung 1997, p. 41.
  9. ^ Donner 1981, p. 362.
  10. ^ Madelung 1997, p. 109.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Muhammad ibn Saad, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  12. ^ Ibn Hajar. Al-Isaba vol. 6 p. 658 #9271.
  13. ^ a b c d e Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  14. ^ Ibn Hajar. Al-Isaba vol. 5 p. 60 #6248.
  15. ^ "Hadith - Book of Divorce - Sahih al-Bukhari - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  16. ^ a b Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Morony, M. G. (1987). Volume 18: Between Civil Wars: The Caliphate of Mu'awiyah. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  17. ^ Nasa'i vol. 2 #1814.
  18. ^ Muslim 8:3413.

Bibliography

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