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The Death of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan

وفاة عبد الملك بن مروان

86 AH

Al-Tabari records the death of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the middle of Shawwal in the year 86 1, and gives differing accounts of the length of his caliphate 1 and of his age on the day he died 2. According to al-Suyuti he died in Shawwal of the year 86, leaving seventeen sons; that year saw the plague of the girls, so called because it began among women. It is said that power came to him while the copy of the Mushaf lay in his lap, and that he closed it and said, 'This is the last of my time with you' 3. The book mentions that he died in Damascus in 86 AH, that his son al-Walid led the funeral prayer over him, that his age at death was sixty years in the most widely known report, and that he used to say he feared he would die in Ramadan, and he died in Shawwal 4

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Overview

al-Tabari reports the death of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the middle of Shawwal 86 AH. 1 He gives various accounts of the length of his caliphate, and of his age on the day he died. 1 2

al-Suyuti's account

He died in Shawwal 86 AH and left seventeen sons. That year was the plague of the girls, so called because it began among women. al-Suyuti relates that the matter came to him while the Qur'an was in his lap, and he closed it and said: "This is the last covenant with you." 3

al-Sallabi's account

al-Sallabi says that he died in Damascus, and his son al-Walid led the funeral prayer over him. His age on the day of his death was sixty years by the most famous account. He used to say that he feared to die in Ramadan, and he died in Shawwal. 4

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.6 p.418
  2. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.6 p.419
  3. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 355, 358
  4. The Umayyad State: Factors of Prosperity and Consequences of Collapse — Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi (Part Two, 2005) , p.128
  • The Umayyad State — Bakr Muhammad Ibrahim Bakr (1st ed., Markaz al-Raya lil-Nashr wal-I'lam, Cairo 2002)
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islam.museum contributors. “The Death of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/death-of-abd-al-malik/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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