Hazrat Amr Ibn Hamiq (رضئ اللہ تعالی عنہ)

‘Amr b. Hamiq b. Kahin b. Habib al-Khuza’i is from the Khuza’a tribe. There is no information about his life before Islam. But as it is said that he was eighty years old when he was martyred in 50/670-71, it can be said that he lived about thirty years before Hijra.

After the Hudaybiyya Peace Treaty, ‘Amr migrated to Medina, joined the Prophet (s) and converted to Islam. ‘Amr b. Hamiq was a companion of the Prophet (s) and recorded some hadiths from him. Jubayr b. Nufayr, Rifa’a b. Shaddad and others narrated hadiths from him. He was also a narrator of Hadith al-Ghadir.

It is quoted that once he supplied water for the Prophet (s), the Prophet (s) prayed for him as follows: “O’ God! Bless him with his youth”. Because of this praying, ‘Amr lived 80 years without having one white hair string in his head and face.

During Imam ‘Ali’s (a) caliphate, ‘Amr was one of the distinguished companions of Imam. Al-Kashshi introduce him as one of disciples of Imam Ali (a). According to a count, he was to Imam ‘Ali (a) like Salman al-Farsi to the Prophet (s).

He attended the Battle of Jamal, Battle of Nahrawan and Battle of Siffin. Imam Ali (a) told him: “I wish I had 100 people like you in my army”, and then prayed for him as follows: “O’ God! lighten his heart with piety and show him the right path!”

When, in the Battle of Siffin, volumes of the Qur’an were put on spears by the army of Mu’awiya b. Abi Sufyan, he supported Imam Ali (a) and opposing that group he said to Imam Ali (a): :”O’ Amir al-Mu’minin (a)! I swear to God that we have not followed you out of prejudice and bias. We have followed God’s commands and we have sought only the right path. And if someone else invited us to what you invite us, it would be subject to disputes and the truth would disappear.”

‘Amr b. Hamiq, in the Arbitration, was one of the people along with al-Hasan b. ‘Ali (a), al-Husayn b. Ali (a), ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, ‘Abd Allah b. Ja’far, and Malik al-Ashtar, in Imam Ali’s (a) meeting with Mu’awiya’s representative, witnessed conditions that Imam (a) posed for the Arbitration.

During Imam ‘Ali’s (a) caliphate, ‘Amr was one of the distinguished companions of Imam. Al-Kashshi introduce him as one of disciples of Imam Ali (a). According to a count, he was to Imam ‘Ali (a) like Salman al-Farsi to the Prophet (s).

He attended the Battle of Jamal, Battle of Nahrawan and Battle of Siffin. Imam Ali (a) told him: “I wish I had 100 people like you in my army”, and then prayed for him as follows: “O’ God! lighten his heart with piety and show him the right path!”

When, in the Battle of Siffin, volumes of the Qur’an were put on spears by the army of Mu’awiya b. Abi Sufyan, he supported Imam Ali (a) and opposing that group he said to Imam Ali (a): :”O’ Amir al-Mu’minin (a)! I swear to God that we have not followed you out of prejudice and bias. We have followed God’s commands and we have sought only the right path. And if someone else invited us to what you invite us, it would be subject to disputes and the truth would disappear.”

‘Amr b. Hamiq, in the Arbitration, was one of the people along with al-Hasan b. ‘Ali (a), al-Husayn b. Ali (a), ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, ‘Abd Allah b. Ja’far, and Malik al-Ashtar, in Imam Ali’s (a) meeting with Mu’awiya’s representative, witnessed conditions that Imam (a) posed for the Arbitration.

Mu’awiya ordered that ‘Amr’s head be circulated in cities. Then he ordered that ‘Amr’s head be sent to his imprisoned wife, Amina bt. Shurayd. His agents threw his head to his wife’s lap. She sent a curse to Mu’awiya. He ordered his agents to bring her to him. There was then a harsh conversation between her and Mu’awiya.

According to Ibn Athir, ‘Amr b. Hamiq’s resting place outside Mosul was very well-known and frequently visited by people. There is a huge darih built over his grave. Abu ‘Abd Allah Sa’id b. Hamdan, the cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and Nasir al-Dawla al-Hamdani,was the first person who constructed ‘Amr’s grave in Sha’ban 336/948.