al-Ash'ath ibn Qays

Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays ibn Ma'dikarib al-Kindi, kunya Abu Muhammad. His name was Ma'dikarib — he was nicknamed al-Ash'ath ("the dishevelled"); Muhammad ibn Yazid said his head was always unkempt, so he was called al-Ash'ath ¹.

Ibn Sa'd said he came as a delegate to the Prophet in year 10 AH with seventy riders of Kinda; he was of Kinda's kings, lord of the Hadramawt quarter-tribute per Ibn al-Kalbi. Bukhari and Muslim recorded his hadith in the Sahih ¹.

Al-Ash'ath had apostatised among the apostate Kindis; captured and brought to Abu Bakr, he became Muslim and was released, and Abu Bakr married him his sister Umm Farwa — a long story ¹. Al-Waqidi relates from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father that he heard al-Ash'ath say to Abu Bakr when brought in the Ridda: "keep me for your war and marry me your sister" — and he did ¹. In al-Tabarani's account, when Abu Bakr married him his sister, al-Ash'ath drew his sword, entered the camel market and began hamstringing every camel; the people cried "al-Ash'ath has disbelieved!" — when finished he cast down his sword and said: "by God I have not disbelieved, but this man married me his sister; had we been in our land the wedding feast would be other than this — people of Medina, eat; camel owners, come take their prices" ¹. And in Qays ibn Abi Hazim's account from Isma'il ibn Abi Khalid, al-Ash'ath put Jarir forward in a funeral prayer saying: "he did not apostatise — I had apostatised" ¹.

He witnessed the Yarmuk in Syria, al-Qadisiyya and others in Iraq, settled in Kufa, and witnessed Siffin with Ali — reports exist of him with Ali ¹.

Khalifa, Abu Nu'aym and more than one said he died forty nights after Ali's killing and al-Hasan ibn Ali prayed over him; it is also said he died in 42 AH — and an account in al-Tabarani suggests he outlived that ¹.