al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba
المغيرة بن شعبة
Thaqafi Companion renowned for wit and statecraft; he broke the gate of al-Lat with the pickaxe during its demolition in 9 AH, first feigning a collapse that struck terror into the watching Thaqafis.
At a glance
- Roles
- Companion · Politician
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Sacred space and pilgrimageHumour and everyday life
Place in the story
- CompanionTradition
- Commander · c. December 630 CE · c. Ramadan 9 AH†Tradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Summary
A Thaqafi Companion famed for cunning; he struck al-Lat's door with the iron mallet on the day of its demolition in year 9 AH, after terrifying al-Ta'if's people with his feigned fall 1.
His account
In the mission to demolish al-Lat, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba took the mallet and told his companions: "by God I will make you laugh at Thaqif" 1. He struck with the mallet, then fell and rolled; al-Ta'if's people shuddered and cried: God keep al-Mughira far — the goddess has slain him! He sprang up saying: God confound you — she is naught but a lowly heap of stones and clay 1. Then he struck the door and broke it, climbed her highest wall with the men, and al-Lat was demolished and razed to the ground until her foundation was dug up and her jewellery and covering brought out 1.
For young visitors
A clever man who pretended to fall to show al-Ta'if's people that an idol neither harms nor helps — then broke its door, and the building was torn down.
Connections
- Member of
- Thaqif
- Born in
- Ta'if
- Participated in
- The demolition of al-Lat
People and things also explored
Ta'ifThe Battle of HunaynThe delegation of ThaqifThe demolition of al-LatThe Prophet's journey to al-Ta'ifThe siege of Ta'ifal-LātAbd Yalil ibn Amr
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, p. 449
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/al-mughira-ibn-shuba/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.