Martyrdom of Meytham bin Yahya at Tammar

During the period of the martyrdom of Muslim bin Aqeel (a.s.), the other significant events, which occurred, are the martyrdom of Meytham at Tammar and Rushayd al Hajari. Besides it is appropriate that we quote here the martyrdom of Hujr bin Adi and ‘Amr bin Humaq.
Meytham was one of the distinct and favorite companions of the Commander of the faithful Imam Ali (a.s.), rather he, ‘Amr bin Humaq, Muhammad bin Abu Bakr and Oways Qarani were among his disciples. Keeping in mind their merit and worthiness, Imam Ali (a.s.) had trained them with concealed knowledge and mysteries, which would occasionally be apparent from them.
Once Meytham told Abdullah bin Abbas, who was one of the students of Imam Ali (a.s.) and had learnt the Qur’anic Exegeses from him, and whom Muhammad bin Hanafiyah had referred to as “the Divine of the nation” that, “O son of Abbas! Ask from me whatever you desire regarding the interpretation of the Qur’an, as I have recited the revelations of the Qur’an before Imam Ali (a.s.) and have received it’s interpretation from him.” Abdullah bin Abbas addressed his maid servant saying, “Bring me a paper and pen”, and started writing down.
It is narrated that when the order was issued to hang Meytham he called out in a loud voice saying, “O people! Whoever desires to listen to the mysterious sayings of the Commander of the faithful Ali (a.s.), come closer to me.” Hearing this people gathered around him and he started narrating the astonishing traditions. While this dignified personality (Allah’s Mercy be upon him), was among the abstinents and was such that the skin of his body had dried due to excessive worship and abstinence.
In Kitab al Gharat it is related by Ibraheem Saqafi, that Imam Ali (a.s.) had trained Meytham in abundant knowledge and concealed mysteries, which he would occasionally relate to the people, after hearing which the Kufans would fall in doubt and accuse Imam Ali (a.s.) of sorcery and deceit (for they could not digest and comprehend it). One day Imam Ali (a.s.), in the presence of a large gathering of some of his genuine followers as well as the skeptical ones said, “O Meytham! After my death you will be seized and will be hanged. Then on the preceding day blood shall ooze from your nose and mouth, which will dye your beard. Then on the third day a weapon will be pierced in your stomach, which will result in your death, thus look forward to that day. The place where you shall be hanged is facing the house of ‘Amr bin Hurays. You shall be the tenth one from among those people who shall be hanged, while the timber of your gallow will be the shortest among all, and it will be nearer to the ground. And I shall show you the palm-tree on whose trunk you shall be hanged.”
Then after two days he showed him the palm-tree. Thereafter Meytham always came near the tree and recited Prayers and would say, “What a blessed palm-tree you are, for you have been created and are growing up for me “.
After the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a.s.), Meytham often went to visit the palm-tree until it was cut down, then he looked after it’s trunks. He would go to ‘Amr bin Hurays and say, “I will be your neighbor, thus fulfill the rights of neighborhood well.” ‘Amr would not understand his meaning and would ask, “Do you intend buying the house of Ibn Mas’ood or Ibn Hakeem”?
In Kitabul Fazael it is written that Imam Ali (a.s.) often came out of the Mosque of Kufa and sat near Meytham talking to him. One day as usual he came to Meytham and said, “Should not I give you glad tidings”?
Meytham asked him as to what it was. He said, “One day you shall be hanged.”
He asked, “O my Master! Will I die the death of a Muslim”? Imam answered in the affirmative.
Aqiqi relates that Abu Ja’far Imam Muhammad al Baqir (a.s.) held Meytham very dear, while Meytham was a believer, was grateful in prosperity and forbearing in adversity.

Meeting between Habib bin Mazahir and Meytham at Tammar
It is related in Manhajul Maqal from Shaikh Kashshi, who relates through his chain of transmitters reaching Fazl bin Zubayr, who relates that one day Meytham was mounted on his horse when he passed by Habib bin Mazahir Asadi, who was near a group of the people of Bani Asad. They started speaking to one another in a manner that the necks of their horses had joined each other.
Habib said, “Verily I see an old bald man with a large belly who sells watermelon near Darur Rizq. He shall be hanged because of his love for the Prophet’s Household (Ahlul Bayt) (a.s.) and his stomach shall be punctured on the gallows itself.”
Meytham said, “I too recognize a red-faced man who has two long tresses, he shall go to defend and aid the grandson of the Prophet and shall be killed, while his severed head will be paraded in Kufa.” Saying this they both departed from one another. The people who were present there and heard their conversation said, “We have never seen greater liars than these two.”
Now they had not yet dispersed when Rushayd Hajari came to search them (Meytham and Habib) and asked the people their whereabouts. The people said that they had left and related to him their conversation. Rushayd said, “May Allah’s blessings be upon Meytham, he forgot to say one sentence, that the one who gets the severed head to Kufa will get a reward of a hundred dirhams”, saying this he left.
When people heard him they said, “Verily he is a more greater liar than them.” These people then say that after a lapse of some days we saw Meytham on the gallows near the house of ‘Amr bin Hurays, and the severed head of Habib bin Mazahir being paraded in Kufa after he was martyred along with Imam Husayn (a.s.). Thus we witnessed with our own eyes whatever those men had predicted.
Meytham says that one day Imam Ali (a.s.) called me and said, “What will be your state at that time O Meytham, when the man, whose father is not known, but the Bani Umayyah have included him among them (viz. Ubaydullah bin Ziyad) will call you and order you to disassociate yourself from me?”
I said, “O Commander of the faithful! By Allah! I shall never disassociate myself from you.” He said, “In that case you shall be killed and hanged on the gallows.”
I retorted, “By Allah! I shall forebear, while this is quite insignificant in the way of Allah.” Imam said, “O Meytham! You shall then be along with me in my status (in Paradise).”
Saleh bin Meytham relates that Abu Khalid Tammar has narrated to me, that one day I was with Meytham in the river of Euphrates on Friday, when a storm started. Meytham, who was sitting in a boat called Ziyan, came out and looking towards the storm said, “Tie the boats firmly, for I see a fearful storm ensuing, while Mu’awiyah has just died.”
When next Friday dawned, a messenger came from Syria. I met him and inquired about the reports there­in. He said that, “The people therein are in a good state. Mu’awiyah has died and people are taking the oath of allegiance to Yazid.” I asked him as to which day he died, to which he replied that it was on the last Friday.

The Commander of the faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) reveals his mysteries to a well
Shaheed al Awwal Shaikh Muhammad bin Maki has related that Meytham said: One day my Master, the Commander of the faithful Imam Ali (a.s.), took me out of Kufa to the desert until we reached the Mosque of Ja’fi. Then he turned towards the Qibla and recited four units of Prayers. After finishing the Prayers he glorified Allah and stretched his hands saying, “O Lord! How shall I call upon You when I have disobeyed You. And how shall I not call upon You when I recognize You and Your love is present in my heart. I have stretched my hands full of sins in Your presence and my eyes full of desires ...... (till the end of a long supplication).”
Then he recited a supplication in a silent tone and fell into prostration and repeated, “Al Afw” (O Pardoner) a hundred times. Then he arose and came out of the Mosque and I started following him until we reached a desert. Then Imam drew a line and said, “Beware, do not cross this line.”
Saying this he went away from me. The night being dark I said to myself, “You have left your Master alone in spite of several of his enemies, what will be your excuse in the presence of Allah and His Prophet? By Allah! I will follow him so as to inquire his condition in spite of disobeying his orders.”
Hence I followed him and saw him bending his upper body with his head into a well and talk­ing with it, while hearing to it too. He became aware that someone was with him; hence he turned towards me and asked who it was. I replied that I was Meytham. He said, “Did not I order you not to cross the line”?
I replied, “O my Master! I was afraid lest your enemies might harm you, thus I was uneasy.” He asked, “Have you heard whatever I said (to the well)”?
I re­plied in the negative. He continued, “O Meytham! My heart contains mysteries, and when it becomes narrow on account of it, I dig the earth with my fists and bury the mysteries under the stones, the Beeches grow from the earth, among my seeds this tunes in.”
Shaikh Mufeed writes in Irshad that Meytham was a retainer of one of the women of Bani Asad. Imam Ali (a.s.) bought him from her and freed him. He asked his name, to which he replied that his name was Salim. Imam said, “The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) informed me that the name your father had kept in Persia was Meytham.”
Meytham replied, “Verily the Prophet of Allah (S) and the Commander of the faithful (a.s.) speaks the truth. By Allah! That is my name.” Imam said, “Then return to the name by which the Prophet has addressed you and leave the name Salim, while your agnomen (Kuniyah)1 should be Abu Salim.”
One day Imam Ali (a.s.) told him, “After my death you will be arrested and put to the gallows and a weapon shall be pierced into your stomach. Then on the third day blood will come forth from your nose and mouth, which will dye your beard, thus await that dye. You shall be hanged at the door of ‘Amr bin Hurays, you being the tenth (to be crucified among other nine), while the timber of your gallow will be the shortest and will be the nearest to the ground than others. Come, I shall show you the Palm-tree by whose trunk you shall be hanged.”
Then he showed him the Palm-tree. Meytham often visit­ed the tree and Prayed below it and would say, “What a blessed palm-tree you are, that I have been made for you and you have been made for me.” He often went near the tree and took care of it until it was cut down. He knew that place in Kufa where he would be hanged.
He often visited ‘Amr bin Hurays and would say, “I shall soon be your neighbor, thus be a fair neighbor to me.” ‘Amr would say, “Are you buying the house of Ibn Mas’ood or Ibn Hakeem”? For he was not aware as to what Meytham meant.
The year, in which he was martyred, Meytham went for Hajj and thereafter went to the presence of Umm Salama (a.s.). Umm Salama asked him as to who he was and he replied that he was Meytham. She said, “By Allah! I have often heard the Prophet remember your name at mid-night.”
Then Meytham inquired about Imam Husayn (a.s.) from Umm Salama, to which she replied that he was in his garden. He said, “Please tell him that I would have loved to offer my salutations to him, but Allah willing, we shall meet one another in the presence of the Lord of the worlds.” Umm Salama called for some scent and perfumed Meytham’s beard with it and said, “Very soon it will be dyed with blood.”
Thereafter Meytham went to Kufa and was seized and taken to Ubaydullah. Ubaydullah was told that, “This man is the most beloved of Ali.” He said, “Woe be to you! This Persian man”? He was replied in the affirmative. Then Ubaydullah asked Meytham, “Where is your Lord”? Meytham replied, “In ambush of the oppressors, while you are one of the oppressors.”
Ubaydullah said, “Even after being a Persian (non-Arab) you say what you mean (your Arabic is eloquent). Tell me then, what your Master (Imam Ali) predicted to you as to what I shall do to you”? Meytham replied, “Yes, he did tell us that I will be the tenth one whom you shall put to the gallows, and that the timber of my gallow would be the shortest, and also that I shall be closer to the ground than them.” Ubaydullah said, “By Allah! I shall do the opposite of what he said.” Meytham replied, “How can you do the opposite, when by Allah, Imam Ali (a.s.) had heard it from the Prophet (S), while he had heard it from Jibra’eel, who in turn heard it from the Almighty. How can you oppose them? And I even know the place in Kufa where I shall be hanged, and I shall be the first in Islam to be bridled.”
Thus Meytham was imprisoned along with Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaydah Saqafi. Meytham told Mukhtar, “You shall be freed from here and will rise to avenge the blood of Imam Husayn (a.s.), and you shall kill him who will kill us.” When Ubaydullah called for Mukhtar to be killed, a message arrived from Yazid ordering him to free Mukhtar. He released him and ordered Meytham to be crucified.
He came out of the prison and confronted a man who told him that, “Do you not have the ability to free yourself from this”? Meytham smiled and pointing to the Palm-tree said, “I have been created for it and it has been brought up for me.”
When Meytham was hanged on the gallows, people gathered around him at the door of the house of ‘Amr bin Hurays who said, “By Allah! He often said that he would be my neighbor.” When Meytham was crucified, ‘Amr ordered his maid to sweep the ground beneath and sprinkle water and fumigate it.” Meytham then started relating the virtues of Bani Hashim on the gallows.
News reached Ubaydullah that the slave had insulted him to which he ordered that a bridle should be put in his mouth; hence Meytham was the first man in Islam to be bridled. Meytham was martyred ten days before Imam Husayn (a.s.) came to Iraq. On the third day a weapon (probably a spear) was pierced into his stomach and he exclaimed “Allaho Akbar”, and at the end of the day blood oozed from his nose and mouth. (May Allah\'s Mercy and Blessing be Upon him)
It is related that seven date-sellers pledged that they would take the corpse of Meytham from there and bury him. During night they came there when the guards had lightened a fire and could not see them. They took him down from the gallows and buried him near the stream in the street of Bani Murad, and threw away the gallow into the garbage. When morning dawned the horsemen went in pursuit of them but failed to find them.
I (the author) say that among the progeny of Meytham is Abul Hasan Meytham bin Ali bin Isma’il bin Shu’ayb bin Meytham at Tammar, who was a Shi’ah Mutakallim (Scholastic) during the times of Mamoon and Mu’tasim. He held debates with the atheists and opponents, and his contemporary was Abu Huzayl Allaf, the chief of Mu’tazilah in Basra.
Shaikh Mufeed narrates that Ali bin Meytham once asked Abu Huzayl Allaf that, “Do you not believe that Iblees (Shaitan) restrains from performing all good deeds and that he invites towards the evil”? Abu Huzayl replied in the affirmative. Ali said, “Then does he invite towards evil without being unaware that it is evil, and he stops from good without knowing that it is good”?
Abu Huzayl replied, “Yes, he knows all that.” Abul Hasan (Ali) continued, “Thus it is proved that Shaitan is aware of all that is good or evil.” Abu Huzayl agreed to it, to which Ali said, “Then tell me about the Imam (Caliph) after the Prophet whether he knew all that was good or evil”? Abu Huzayl replied in the negative. Ali said, “Then Shaitan is more learned than your Imam.” Hearing this Abu Huzayl was dumb-founded.
It should be noted that frequently Meytham is pronounced with a Kisrah (a vowel coming below an alphabet) below meen (as Meytham), but some write the name of Maysam bin Ali Bahrani, the expounder of Nahjul Balagha, with the Fatha (a vowel coming above an alphabet) of meem (as Maysam).