Qays ibn Hubayra al-Makshuh al-Muradi

قيس بن هبيرة المكشوح المرادي

A Muradi nicknamed al-Makshuh for a cautery on his waist from an ailment; the Prophet ﷺ sent him to Yemen to fight al-Aswad al-Ansi, ordering him to win over the Abna' and dispatching Farwa ibn Musayk with him; reaching Yemen as the Prophet's death was reported he feigned accord with al-Aswad until let into San'a with a company of Madhhij, Hamdan and others, won over Fayruz al-Daylami (may God be pleased with him) and Dadhawayh — chief of the Abna' after Badham — and they agreed on killing al-Aswad, entering his chamber at dawn where Qays slaughtered him — some say Fayruz killed him and Qays merely struck off the head — took his head and proclaimed his lying from the city wall; afterwards accused of killing Dadhawayh, and Abu Bakr hearing he meant to expel the Abna' from San'a had al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya bring him, made him swear fifty oaths at the Prophet's minbar that he had not killed him, then released him and sent him to Syria with those volunteering to fight the Byzantines.

Overview

Qays ibn Hubayra of Murad, nicknamed al-Maksuh because he was cauterised on his flank for an ailment he had. ¹

To Yemen

The Prophet sent him to Yemen to fight al-Aswad al-Ansi. He instructed him to win over the Abna', and sent Farwa ibn Musayk with him. ¹

The killing of al-Aswad

News of the Prophet's death reached him in Yemen. He showed al-Aswad that he was of his opinion, until al-Aswad let him enter Sana'a. Then he won over Fayruz al-Daylami and Dadhawayh, and they agreed to kill al-Aswad and entered on him at dawn. ¹ The report says that Qays slaughtered him, though it is also said that Fayruz killed him and Qays finished him off. See the killing of al-Aswad al-Ansi. ¹

Afterward

He was accused of killing Dadhawayh. When word reached Abu Bakr that he wanted to drive the Abna' out of Sana'a, al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya brought him to Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr made him swear fifty oaths at the Prophet's pulpit that he had not killed him. Then he released him and sent him to Syria with those who had volunteered for the raid on the Byzantines. ¹

The Ridda Wars

In al-Baladhuri: when Abu Bakr succeeded, groups of the Arabs apostatized and withheld the alms, some saying 'we keep the prayer but will not pay the zakat', whereupon Abu Bakr said 'if they withheld from me a hobbling-cord — some say a she-goat kid — I would fight them', the 'iqal being a year's alms; Abdullah ibn Masud said the Muslims had stood after the Prophet at a station where they nearly perished had God not graced them with Abu Bakr: they had all agreed not to fight over a young she-camel or a weaned camel 'and to eat the Arab villages' yield and worship God until certainty came to us', but God resolved him to fight, and he accepted from them only the humiliating condition or the annihilating war — the first that they confess their slain are in the Fire and return what they took of Muslim property, the second that they leave their homes; in Tariq ibn Shihab's report he offered the Buzakha delegation the choice of the annihilating war or the humiliating peace: surrender of armour and mounts, return of what was taken, blood-money for the slain Muslims, their own slain in the Fire; Aisha said 'when the Prophet died there befell my father what would have crushed the firm mountains — hypocrisy reared its head in Medina and the Arabs apostatized'; Abu Bakr went out to al-Qassa directing the columns against the apostates, was attacked by Kharija ibn Hisn and Manzur ibn Zabban the Fazaris who were routed with Talha ibn Ubaydillah pursuing them to lower Thaniyyat Awsaja, then appointed Khalid ibn al-Walid over the army and Thabit ibn Qays over the Ansar, beginning with Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid at Buzakha, followed by the affairs of Yamama, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Hadramawt, Mecca, Tihama and Iraq.

Qays ibn Hubayra al-Makshuh al-Muradi

At a glance

Overview

To Yemen

The killing of al-Aswad

Afterward

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

The Ridda Wars