حرب سمير

c. 600 CE

The first dissension and war among the Ansar: over a Ghatafani's horse at the Banu Qaynuqa market, Samir of Banu Amr ibn Awf killed the client Ka'b ibn al-Ajlan; the quarrel over the client-half diyya became a war that drew in every clan of the Ansar, until al-Mundhir ibn Haram al-Najjari — grandfather of Hassan ibn Thabit (may God be pleased with him) — arbitrated full blood-money and a return to the old custom; the hatred had by then taken root ¹.

Depth

At a glance

Era: Pre-Islamic Arabia
Region: Arabia
Review: Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

In time

Pre-Islamic Arabia · The Prophetic Era

Overview

Ibn al-Athir describes it as the first dispute and war to break out among the Helpers, that is among the Aws and the Khazraj. ²

The cause

Ka'b ibn al-Ajlan al-Tha'labi had settled with Malik ibn al-Ajlan al-Salimi and made an alliance with him. A dispute arose in the market of the Banu Qaynuqa' over a horse, and Ka'b boasted, so Samir, a man of the Aws, grew angry and insulted him. Then Samir killed him in the market at Quba. ²

The blood-money and arbitration

The Banu Amr ibn Awf offered the blood-money, but Malik would accept only the full blood-money, and among them the blood-money of an ally was half that of a kinsman. They fought, and the clans of the Helpers joined in. Then they made al-Mundhir ibn Haram al-Khazraji their arbiter, and he judged the blood-money of a free kinsman and a return to their old custom. They accepted this, but the enmity remained between them. ²