Maytham al-Tammar

Maytham ibn Yahyā at-Tammār ( ) was a slave belonging to a woman of Banu Asad . Ali ibn Abi Talib (The First Shī`a Imām and the fourth Sunni Caliph) purchased this slave from the woman and set him free in the way of Allah . He was a man of high character and a true lover of Allāh, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his Ahl al-Bayt . Maytham at-Tammār proved to be one of the nearest disciples of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He used to sell dates and on this account he was known as Maytham-e-Tammār . He used to take lessons from Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Ali ibn Abi Talib acquainted him with a good many secrets of the faith. Ali ibn Abi Talib taught him many branches of knowledge which included ilm-e-Manaya wal Balaya (the knowledge of death and future calamities) and ilm-e-Taweel (Interpretation and exegesis of Quran). At times with the permission of his master, Maytham used to acquaint the public about the deep secrets learnt by him. At times on account of the frank speech of Maytham people used to think that Maytham had lost his head. They could hardly understand the depth of his words. Once Ali ibn Abi Talib, told Maytham that he would be hanged on account of the love for the Imam of his time. He also gave the address and told him that he would be hanged in a farm next to the house of Amr lbn Huraith. The tree on which he would be hanged was the smallest of the ten trees existing in the farm at that time. Maytham was also informed that his tongue would be cut out because he would not stop praising his Imam of time (Ali ibn Abi Talib). After getting this information, it is recorded in history that, Maytham used to go to the tree pointed out by Ali ibn Abi Talib, clean the place and water the tree and offer prayers saying, "Oh tree! You are for me and I am for you. Months and years passed by, Ali was martyred then Hasan ibn Ali (the Second Shī`a Imām ) was martyred and Maytham kept waiting for the time. Finally on 60 A.H. , when Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad was appointed as the Governor of Kufa , things started to get complicated. Maytham then went to perform Hajj and there after returned to Kufa. One day, Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, called him and asked him to come to his Court, and said, "Oh Maytham! Inform me where your Allah is?" Maytham immediately replied. "He is in quest of an opportunity to punish the transgressors." Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad then asked him about his connections with Ali ibn Abi Talib. Maytham replied that Ali ibn Abi Talib was his master and that he loved him. Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad then asked him, "Did your master tell you anything about your end?" Maytham replied, "Yes, he informed me that I would be hanged and that my tongue would be cut." Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad sent a roar of laughter and said, "I will see that your master did not tell you the truth. I will see that his prophecy is belied." Maytham said, "My master's words are true because he got that information from Allah. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad was informed by Jibril, and Jibril came with the message of Allah." Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad ordered Maytham to be jailed. Maytham escaped from jail and joined Al-Mukhtar . Al-Mukhtar had risen in revolt to avenge the massacre of Karbala . Discussions took place between Al-Mukhtar and Maytham. But Maytham was caught by the order of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad and was ordered to be hanged. Maytham was brought to the same tree to be hanged as pointed out by Ali ibn Abi Talib. Maytham began singing the praises of his master, and about a thousand people gathered to see Maytham being hanged. Even after being hanged, the tongue of Maytham went on singing the praises of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad was informed about this and the tyrant ordered that the tongue of Maytham to be cut and thus the prophecy of Ali ibn Abi Talib came true and Maytham died after his tongue was cut out.¹