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Death of Malik al-Ashtar on the way to Egypt

وفاة مالك الأشتر في الطريق إلى مصر

between 657 and 659 CE

Misr (Egypt)

Ali chose Malik al-Ashtar to govern Egypt after Qays ibn Sa'd was replaced. He died at the edge of the Red Sea before entering Egypt. A rumour says he was poisoned in honey, and some people of the kharaj were accused; the book leans toward Mu'awiya having incited it.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Egypt & Nile
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

In time

640650660670
The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period

Civil wars and revoltsPolitics, governance and authority

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موجز

اختار علي مالكاً الأشتر النخعي والياً على مصر بعد أن ترك قيس بن سعد ولايتها، فمات الأشتر في الطريق قبل أن يدخل مصر 12. وروي أنه سُقي شربة مسمومة من عسل، ويميل الكتاب إلى أن معاوية حرّض على قتله 2.

تولية الأشتر

يذكر الكتاب أن علياً عيّن الأشتر على مصر بعد أن استقرت الشكوك حول قيس بن سعد، وقد التقى علي بالأشتر قبل سفره، وقال له: «ليس لها غيرك» 2. ويقول الكتاب إن الأشتر توجه إلى مصر ومعه رهط من أصحابه 2.

الوفاة

وصل الأشتر إلى أطراف البحر الأحمر فمات قبل أن يدخل مصر 2. وقد قيل إنه سُقي شربة مسمومة من عسل، واتهم أناس من أهل الخراج بتسميمه 2.

موقف الكتاب

يرى الكتاب، متابعاً الدكتور يحيى اليحيى، أن معاوية حرّض على قتل الأشتر، ويعرض الكتاب الرواية بصيغة التمريض «قيل»، فلا يثبتها ثبوتاً قاطعاً 2.

ملاحظات للباحثين
  • الكتاب لا يحدد تاريخ الوفاة، والسنة المقدرة هنا مشتقة من ترتيب الولاة في الكتاب.
  • خبر السم مروي بصيغة تضعيف، وينبغي عدم نقله بوصفه ثابتاً.

Opinions on the question

The question: Did al-Ashtar die of poison or of another cause?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The book follows Yahya al-Yahya in suggesting Mu'awiya incited the killing; the poisoning is reported with the marker قيل (it was said) {cite:sallabi-ali-vol1 p. 335}.
More opinions (1)

Other viewOther opinion

The book reports that people of the kharaj were accused of poisoning him, without confirming it or naming a source here (needs_source) {cite:sallabi-ali-vol1 p. 335}.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Malik al-Ashtar al-Nakha'i· Ali ibn Abi Talib
Occurred at
Misr (Egypt)
Part of
The Rashidun Caliphate

People and things also explored

Qays ibn Sa'd's governorship of Egypt and Ali's letter to him· Reported advice to Ali by Ibn Abbas and al-Mughira on keeping or removing Uthman's governors· Ali appoints the sons of al-Abbas and Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as governors· Ali's oversight of his governors: inspectors, complaints and discipline· Ali flogs the poet al-Najashi al-Harithi for drinking wine in Ramadan· Ali frees two men who each confessed to one killing and pays the diya from the treasury· Ali's rulings on the apostate and the zindiq, and the ways he killed them· Ali's judgment: Shurahah flogged and stoned after confessing zina

Sources

  1. Asma al-Matalib fi Sirat Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1 — Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi , p. 334
  2. Asma al-Matalib fi Sirat Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1 — Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi , p. 335
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Death of Malik al-Ashtar on the way to Egypt”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/death-of-malik-al-ashtar-en-route-to-egypt/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Qays ibn Sa'd's governorship of Egypt and Ali's letter to him

Ali sent Qays ibn Sa'd to govern Egypt after Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa's death. Qays organised the province and did not force those who held back from the pledge. Abu Mikhnaf's narrations of letters between Qays and Mu'awiya and of his removal are largely rejected by the book, which prefers a version in which Ali asked him to come to Kufa.