Talha

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Talha ibn Ubaydullah
طلحة ابن عبيدالله
Title	Blessed Companion, Jawad – the Generous
Personal
Born	c. 594 C.E. Mecca, Arabia
Died	c. 656 C.E / 36 A.H Basra, Rashidun Caliphate now Iraq
Resting place	Basra, Iraq
Religion	Islam
Muslim leader
Influenced by Muhammad

Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī (Arabic: طَلْحَة بن عُبَيْد اللّه التَّيمي; 594–656) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is mostly known for being among the ten to whom Paradise was promised. He is best known for his roles in the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Camel, in which he died. According to Sunnis, he was given the title "The Generous" by Muhammad.^[1]

Biography[]

Talha was born c. 594,^[2] Hailed from Banu Taym, Talha was the son of Ubayd Allah ibn Uthman ibn Amr ibn Ka'b ibn Sa'd ibn Taym ibn Murra ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib. His lineage meets with the lineage of the prophet Muhammad at Murra ibn Ka'b. His mother, al-Sa'ba bint Abd Allah, was from the Hadram tribe.

Acceptance of Islam[]

In 612, his kinsman Abu Bakr took him to visit Muhammad, and Talha became a Muslim.^[2]: 164 He was said to have been one of the first eight converts.^[3]: 115 Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall described after Abu Bakar embraced Islam, he immediately came and urged his closest associates, such as Talha, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Uthman ibn Affan, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, to embrace Islam.^[4] Talha and Abu Bakar were once tied by Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid, one of Meccan chief, because they embracing new religion and denouncing the traditional polytheism of Meccan society.^[4] While he stayed with early converts of Islam in Mecca, Talha was given a shared responsibility as a hafiz, peoples who memorized every verse of the Quran, along with Abu Bakr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.^[5]

During the persecution of the Muslims in 614–616, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid tied Talha to Abu Bakr and left them roped together. Nobody from the Taym clan came to help.^[2]: 164 Thereafter they were known as "the Two Tied Together".^{[3]: 127–128, 337}

Emigration to Medina[]

In September 622, when Talha were undergoing business travel to Syria at that time, he met with the Muslims who had escaped from Mecca and were emigrating to Medina.^[6] Talha gave them some Syrian garments and mentioned that the Muslim community in Medina had said that their prophet was slow to arrive. As Muhammad and Abu Bakr continued to Medina, Talha returned to Mecca to put his affairs in order. Soon afterwards, he accompanied Abu Bakr's family to Medina, where he settled.^[2]: 164 At first he lodged with As'ad ibn Zurara, but later Muhammad gave him a block of land on which he built his own house. He was made the brother in Islam of Sa'id ibn Zayd.^[2]: 165 Talha and Sa'id missed fighting at the Battle of Badr because Muhammad sent them as scouts to locate Abu Sufyan's caravan. However, both were awarded shares of the plunder, as if they had been present.^[2]: 165

Talha distinguished himself at the Battle of Uhud by keeping close to Muhammad while most of the Muslim army fled. He protected Muhammad's face from an arrow by taking the shot in his own hand, as a result of which two of his fingers were cut. He was also hit twice in the head, and it was said that he suffered a total of 75 wounds in the battle.^{[2]: 165–166} Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri recorded the details of the event, where in his narrative Talha suffered thirty nine wounds, or thirty five stabs, while his index finger and his middle finger were cut.^[7] Meanwhile, Muhammad al-Bukhari narrated one chain from Qays ibn Abi Hazim authority, that Talha's hand were paralyzed as it was once wounded by arrow while shielding Muhammad in Uhud battle.^[7] As the battle ended, Talha passed out due to the heavy injuries he sustained.^[8] Abu Bakar soon reached their location to check Muhammad condition first, who immediately instructing Abu Bakar to check the condition of Talha, who already passed out due to his severe bloodloss.^[9]

Due to his grievous injuries for his heroical defense shielding Muhammad, Talha were nicknamed as "living martyr".^[10] This narration were supported Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri narrated the historiography of Quran revelation and hadiths of Prophetic biography from the records of Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, that sacrificial act of Talha during the battle of Uhud and his nickname as "living martyr".^[7] Hadith scholars also noted that the Quran chapter Al-Aḥzāb Ayah 23|Quran 33:23 ^{(Translated by Shakir)} about some believer who are counted as "martyred", where Muhammad pointed Talha as one which meant by the verse.^[11] Abu Bakr also testified that the battle of Uhud as "the day of Talha", due to his distinguishing service protecting Muhammad from danger.^[7]

Talhah also fought at the Battle of the Trench and all the campaign of Muhammad.^[2]: 166 During the Expedition of Dhu Qarad, Talha personally sponsored the operation through his wealth, thus causing Muhammad to praise Talha and giving him a nickname "Talha al-Fayyad".^[12]

It is during his stay in Medina with Muhammad, that a famous Hadith of the ten to whom Paradise was promised revealed, where Talha included among them.^[10]

Ridda Wars[]

In the third week of July 632, Medina faced an imminent invasion by the apostate forces of Tulayha, a self-proclaimed prophet. Abu Bakr scraped together an army mainly from the Hashim clan (the clan of Muhammad), appointing Talha, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam as Commanders of one-third of the newly organised force each.^{[citation needed]}

Rashidun caliphate[]

For the rest of his life after the death of Muhammad, Talha has served Majlis-ash-Shura council member of Rashidun caliphate.^[10]

In 635 to 636, caliph Umar assembled his council, including Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Talha, about the battle plan to face the Persian army of Rostam Farrokhzad in Qadisiyyah.^[13] At first the caliph himself led the forces from Arabia to Iraq,^[13] but the council urges Umar not to lead the army and instead appoint someone else, as his presence was needed more urgently in the capital.^[13] Umar agreed and asked the council to suggest the commander to lead the army. The council agreed to sent Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas; Sa'd served as the overall commander on Persian conquest and won the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.^[13]

Later, the caliph heard that Sassanid forces from Mah, Qom, Hamadan, Ray, Isfahan, Azerbaijan, and Nahavand had gathered in Nahavand to counter the Arab invasion.^[14] Caliph Umar responded by assembling a war council consisting of Zubayr, Ali, Uthman ibn Affan, Talha, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib to discuss the strategy to face the Sassanids in Nahavand.^[15] The caliph want to lead the army himself, but Ali urged the caliph to instead delegate the battlefield commands to the field commanders, prompting the caliph decides instead delegate the reinforcement commands to Zubayr, Tulayha, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, Abdullah ibn Amr Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays and others under the command of Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin to go to Nahavand,^[16] to face the army of the Sasanian Empire in the battle of Nahavand.^[17]

Battle of the Camel and death[]

Tomb of Talha ibn Ubayd Allah at Basra, Iraq

The Battle of the Camel was fought between Ali on one side and Aisha, Talha and Zubayr on the other on 10 December 656. According to some sources, during the battle, Marwan ibn al-Hakam, who was fighting on the same side as Aisha, shot Talha in the thigh. Marwan commented, "After this, I will never again seek a killer of Uthman." Other sources attribute Talha's death to being killed by Ali's supporters while retreating from the field.^[18] Talha hugged his horse and galloped off the battlefield. He lay down using a stone as a pillow, while the auxiliaries tried to staunch the blood flow. Whenever they stopped pressing, the bleeding resumed. In the end, Talha said, "Stop it. This is an arrow sent by God." He died of this injury, aged 64.^{[2]: 170–171}

According to a hadith, Muhammad named Talha among the ten to whom Paradise was promised (Arabic: العشرة المبشرون, al-ʿashara al-mubashsharūn).^[19]

Family[]

Talha had at least fifteen children by at least eight different women.^[20]

1. Hamna bint Jahsh of the Asad tribe, whom he married in 625
   1. Muhammad ibn Talha, who was also killed at the Battle of the Camel
   2. Imran ibn Talha
2. Khawla bint ibn Ma’bad ibn Zurara ibn Adas ibn Zayd of the Tamim tribe
   1. Musa ibn Talha
3. Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
   1. Zakariya
   2. Yusuf, who died in childhood
   3. A'isha bint Talha
4. Suda bint Aqf of the Murra clan
   1. Isa
   2. Yahya
5. al-Jarba bint Qasama (Umm al-Harith) of the Tayy tribe
   1. Umm Ishaq bint Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, married first to Hasan ibn Ali and later to the latter's brother Husayn ibn Ali
6. Umm Aban bint Utbah ibn Rabi'ah
   1. Ya'qub "the Generous", who was killed at the Battle of al-Harrah
   2. Isma'il bin Talha
   3. Ishaq ibn Talha
7. A concubine
   1. al-Sa'ba
8. Another concubine
   1. Maryam
9. al-Faraa bint Ali, a war-captive from the Taghlib tribe
   1. Salih

The known descendants of Talha has divided into six lines from various wives and concubines.^[10]

Personal Characteristic[]

Talha were described as a dark-skinned man with a lot of wavy hair, a handsome face and a narrow nose. He liked to wear saffron-dyed clothes and musk. He walked swiftly and, when nervous, he would toy with his ring, which was of gold and set with a ruby.^{[2]: 167–168} One of Talha's hand were paralyzed as it was once wounded by arrow while shielding Muhammad in Uhud battle.^[7] Talha index and middle finger were cut from heavy injuries he sustained in Uhud battle.^[7]

Talha was a successful cloth-merchant who eventually left an estate estimated at 30 million dirhams.^{[2]: 153, 169–1670} According to modern contemporary writer Asad Ahmed, Talha possessed wealth that second only to Uthman ibn Affan, the third Rashidun caliph.^[10] Report from Munzir ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi has said that Talha has one property in Iraq which yielded four to five hundred dinar gold.^[10] His enterprise were including the initiation of al-Qumh (wheat) agricultural work among his community.^[10] Talha were said accumulated his lucrative properties and wealth by exchanging his properties which he got from the battle of Khaybar with the properties in Iraq which possessed by Arab Hejazi settlers in Iraq, while also engaging transaction of several land properties in Hadhramaut with Uthman.^[10] Talha also said drew profits for his lifetime trade within Syria-Yemen trade.^[10]

Tomb[]

The tomb of Talha ibn Ubayd Allah is located in Basra, Iraq. The tomb is located near a large mosque with modern architecture. The grave itself is under the cenotaph under the dome, which is built in a similar style to the cenotaph of Anas ibn Malik.

See also[]

• Sunni view of the Sahaba

References[]

Sources[]

• Abdullah, Murihah; Abdullah, Abdul Hafiz; Rosman, Arieff Salleh; Ilias, Mohd Faeez (2016). "Tanggungjawab Hufaz Menurut Al-Nawawi Dalam Al-Tibyan Fi Adabil Hamlatil Quran" [Hufaz's Responsiblities According to Al-Nawawi in Al-Tibyan Fi Adabil Hamlatil Quran]. International Journals of Humanities Technologies and Civilization (in Indonesian). 1 (12): 43. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
• 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.
• Q. Ahmed, Asad (2011). The Religious Elite of the Early Islamic Ḥijāz: Five Prosopographical Case Studies (Illustrated ed.). Occasional Publications UPR. ISBN 978-1900934138. Retrieved 7 December 2021.