the Jazīra raid — Kumayl's counterattack and Shabīb's pursuit to Baʿlabakk (39 AH)

غارة ابن قباث على الجزيرة وانتصار كميل وشبيب

659 CE · 39 AH

Nasibin (Nisibis) → Baalbek

Muʿāwiya sent ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Qubāth raiding into the Jazīra; Shabīb ibn ʿĀmir warned Kumayl ibn Ziyād, who rode out with six hundred and routed them — ordering no fleeing man pursued and no wounded man finished. Shabīb chased the Syrians across the Euphrates as far as Baʿlabakk, then swept the Raqqa country bare of stock; ʿAli wrote forbidding any property but arms and mounts: «may God have mercy on Shabīb — he pushed the raid far and made the victory swift» 1.

Depth

At a glance

Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

650660670
The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period

Sides

Summary

Mu'awiya sent Abd al-Rahman ibn Qubath ibn Ushaym to the Jazira. Shabib ibn Amir of Nasibin alerted his companion Kumayl ibn Ziyad, who set out with six hundred horsemen, caught up with the raiders, defeated them and inflicted heavy killing. He ordered that no fleeing man be pursued and no wounded man be finished off; only two of his companions were killed. Shabib pursued the defeated men, crossed the Euphrates and raided as far as Ba'labakk. Mu'awiya sent Habib ibn Maslama after him, but did not catch him. Shabib returned and raided the districts of al-Raqqa. Ali wrote to him forbidding him to take people's property, apart from the horses and the weapons they fight with, and said of Shabib that he had gone far in the raid and hastened the victory. 1.

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Nasibin (Nisibis)· Baalbek
Had participant
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Qubath ibn Ashim· Kumayl ibn Ziyad al-Nakha'i· Shabib ibn Amir· Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri· Ali ibn Abi Talib

People and things also explored

Ali's counsel to Kumayl ibn Ziyad on knowledge and its people· The Jazira· The ruling on one who abandons prayer· The wise sayings attributed to Ali· Poetry attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib· Abu Bakr's Sortie to Naq' and Khalid's Command· Abu Sufyan's mission to Medina· al-Adil takes the Khabur and Nisibis and besieges Sinjar

Sources

  1. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 727-728
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “the Jazīra raid — Kumayl's counterattack and Shabīb's pursuit to Baʿlabakk (39 AH)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/ibn-qubath-jazira-raid-39/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Related

Ali's counsel to Kumayl ibn Ziyad on knowledge and its people

Ali took Kumayl ibn Ziyad by the hand into the open country and counselled him on knowledge: hearts are vessels, and people are of three kinds, learned scholars, students seeking salvation, and a rabble that follows every caller. He compared knowledge with wealth and said the scholar outranks the worshipper who fasts and fights.