Uqba ibn Amir

Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani (Arabic: عقبة بن عامر الجهني‎, romanized: ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir al-Juhanī; died 677/78) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a prince, a writer, a poet, an eloquent speaker and a jurist. He witnessed the conquest of the Levant, then the conquest of Egypt with Amr ibn al-As and Umayyad governor of Egypt in 665–667, then joined Mu’awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan in the Battle of Siffin. He died in the Egypt province.

He was appointed governor of Egypt in the year 44 AH , and was dismissed in the year 47 AH, and he was appointed governor of the sea conquest. He died in Egypt, and he has 55 hadiths. In Cairo , there is the “ Uqba ibn Amir Mosque ” next to his grave.

His full name is Uqba ibn Amir ibn Abs ibn Amr ibn Adi ibn Amr ibn Rifa’ah ibn Mudawwa’ah ibn Adi ibn Uthman ibn al-Rabi’ah ibn Rashdan ibn Qays ibn Juhaynah Abu Abs, also known as Abu Hammad al-Juhani.

Uqba ibn Amir hailed from the Juhayna tribe, a branch of the Quda'a confederation resident across Syria and northwestern Arabia.^[1][2]

Uqbah ibn Amir was among the first to pledge allegiance to Muhammad upon his migration to Medina in the first year of the Hijra. At the time, Uqbah was a young man tending sheep for his family. When he heard of the arrival of prophet Muhammad, he went to him to pledge allegiance to him. The books of hadiths and biographies of the Companions recorded the news of that. Ibn Hajar said:

And in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Qays ibn Abi Hazim, on the authority of Uqbah ibn Amir, he said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, came to Medina while I was tending my sheep. I left them and then went to him and said, "Pledge allegiance to me," so he pledged allegiance to me for the migration.

.^[3] And since that day at the beginning of the first year of the Hijra, Uqba ibn Amir took his place among the companions of the Messenger of God. Being a young man enabled him to master writing, to memorize what was revealed of the Qur’an, to comprehend the Prophetic hadiths, to gain an understanding of the inheritance laws, jurisprudence, and the sciences, and to reach in all of that what most of the companions did not reach. So Uqba ibn Amir became one of the most famous and knowledgeable companions. Ibn Yunus al-Masri said:

: He was a reader knowledgeable in the inheritance laws and jurisprudence, eloquent of tongue, a poet and writer, and he is one of those who collected the Qur’an; and his copy of the Qur’an is in Egypt until now in his handwriting. I saw it with “Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Qudayd” in a different composition than that in the copy of Uthman

.^[4] His biography in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' states:

Uqbah ibn Amir Al-Juhani: The Imam, the reciter, the companion of the Prophet. He was a knowledgeable, eloquent reciter, a jurist, a scholar of Islamic law, and a poet of great stature.

.^[5]

He became a well-known companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and had been the latter's muleteer.^[6][7] Uqba was also a poet and became known for his writing skills.^[6] He developed a reputation as an early reader of the Quran and possessed a version of the Muslim holy book that was different than the version descended from Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656).^[1][6] His recension of the Quran fell into oblivion after the Umayyad governor of Egypt, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, had another codex produced in accordance with the Uthmanid canon.^[8] Uqba is credited with the transmission of avreage 55/57 hadiths (traditions of Muhammad).^[6]

Uqba ibn Amir and the Juhayna tribe were among the vanguard of the Arab Islamic army that set out to conquer the Levant in Safar 13 AH, Ibn Saad said:

When the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, passed away, and Abu Bakr called the people to the Levant, Uqba ibn Amir went out and witnessed the conquests of the Levant

,^[9] Uqba ibn Amir and his tribe were in the fourth army, which was led by Amr ibn al-Aas, in the conquest of Gaza and parts of Palestine. Then the four armies met in the Battle of Yarmouk and other battles.^[10]

During the conquest of Damascus in Rajab 14 AH, Uqba ibn Amir was one of the Companions who took over and entered the city of Damascus on the day of its conquest. Ibn Hajar (clarification) said: Uqba ibn Amir witnessed the conquests and was the messenger to Umar about the conquest of Damascus.^[3]

Uqba ibn Amir contributed significantly to the Arab Islamic conquest of Egypt, along with Amr ibn al-'As. He played a prominent role in the conquest of Bahnasa in Upper Egypt and its south. Al-Waqidi said:

In the heart - the heart of the army - were Amr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani, and the rest of the Companions, the princes and standard-bearers who witnessed the battles with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace

.^[11] Uqba was one of the princes and commanders of the Arab Islamic army in fighting Patriarch Ptolemy and the Romans who were with him in Dahshur and the city of Bahnasa. Al-Waqidi said:

Abdullah bin Awn told us: Jabir bin Sinan told us on the authority of Uqba bin Amir, who said: The Romans and Christians were throwing stones and arrows from the top of the wall, and the Muslims encountered a great matter from the enemy of God, Al-Batayyus, the likes of which they had never seen before. The first to reach them was Al-Batayyus, may God curse him, so the Muslims endured it with the patience of the noble.

^[12]

Uqba ibn Amir was at the head of the Islamic force at Bab al-Qundus in the city of Bahnasa, and with the storming of Bab al-Qundus the conquest began, culminating in the conquest of that city and the fall of the last Roman stronghold. The banner of Islam was raised in Upper Egypt, and this occurred at the end of the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Uqba was with Amr ibn al-As when he conquered Fustat, and then Amr ibn al-As directed Uqba ibn Amir to the rest of the villages in the lower reaches of the country, conquering their lands and making peace with the people of their villages on a similar basis to the peace treaty of Fustat.^[13]

During the First Fitna, he was an active supporter of his friend Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan against Caliph Ali (r. 656–661).^[6] Mu'awiya became caliph in 661 and appointed Uqba the governor of Egypt,^[1] replacing the caliph's deceased brother, Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, in 664.^[7] According to the 9th-century historian al-Tabari, in 668/69, Uqba led the Arab troops of Egypt alongside the troops of Medina in a naval raid against Byzantine territory.^[14] He was replaced as governor by Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari in 669.^[7]

When Uqba fell ill with a fatal illness, he gathered his sons and advised them, saying: O my sons, I forbid you from three things, so adhere to them: Do not accept a hadith from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, except from a trustworthy person, do not borrow money even if you wear an abaya (a garment open at the front), and do not write poetry, for it will distract your hearts from the Qur’an.^[15][16]

He died in Egypt in 677/78.^[1] An honorary tomb was built on his grave in the cemetery of Qarafa al-Kubra near Fustat. During the Mamluk period in the 14th century, it was one of several ziyarat (Muslim pilgrimage sites) visited by Egyptian Muslims.^[17]

• Kennedy, Hugh (1998). "Egypt as a Province in the Islamic Caliphate, 641–868". In Petry, Carl F. (ed.). Cambridge History of Egypt, Volume One: Islamic Egypt, 640–1517. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 62–85. ISBN 0-521-47137-0.
• Landau-Tasseron, Ella, ed. (1998). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIX: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and their Successors: al-Ṭabarī's Supplement to his History. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2819-1.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1992). Religious and Ethnic Movements in Medieval Islam. Variorum. ISBN 9780860783107.
• Morony, Michael G., ed. (1987). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XVIII: Between Civil Wars: The Caliphate of Muʿāwiyah, 661–680 A.D./A.H. 40–60. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-933-9.
• Taylor, Christopher S. (1999). In the Vicinity of the Righteous: Ziyāra and the Veneration of Muslim Saints in Late Medieval Egypt. Leiden, Boston and Koln: Brill. ISBN 90-04-11046-1.
• Tillier, Mathieu (2022). "Une tradition coranique égyptienne ? Le codex de ʿUqba b. ʿĀmir al-Ǧuhanī". Studia Islamica. Vol. 117. pp. 38–637.