Maytham al-Tammar
Meesum ibn Yahyā al-Tammār or Meesum al-Tammar was an early Islamic scholar, a companion and disciple of Ali ibn Abi Talib and a forefather of Sufism.
Birth and Early Life
Meesum ibn Yahyā was born at Nihrawan, an area near Kufa. He was the son of Yahyā. Hence, ibn Yahyā.Early life
A lady from Banu Asad bought Meesum. Accordingly, Meesum worked for this lady until the caliphate of Imam Ali.Mesum's Titles
The first title/address was Mawali, meaning a slave of Persian origin living in Kufa. But after Meesum was freed from the shackles of slavery, he no longer was addressed as a Mawali. The second and most famous title given to Meesum was al-Tammar. Tammar stems from the Arabic word Tammer. In Arabic, Tammer means dates. Therefore, al-Tammar means "the date seller". In Hebrew, Tamar means palm tree, date palm, or dates. Meesum received the title al-Tammar because he owned a market store in Kufa where he would sell dates and other types of fruit. In addition, al-Kufi was another title given to Meesum. Al-Kufi simply means a person from Kufa.Freedom from slavery
After the time of Muhammad and the caliphate of Uthman, Imam Ali became Caliph in the year 656 AD. As the new caliph, Imam Ali moved the Islamic capital from Medina to Kufa for two reasons: to keep Mu'awiyah in check, and because Kufa had an illustrious history. Moving to Kufa, Imam Ali use to go around the city of Kufa. It is documented that if he encountered a slave he would try to free him or her. One day, Imam Ali saw a lady from the Banu Asad tribe, who had a male slave of Persian origin. Imam Ali approached the woman and began to converse with her, in order to purchasing the slave, Salim. The two started to negotiate a price, and the lady's initial asking price was 50 dinar. As Imam Ali gave her the 50 dinar she changed the price to 100 dinar. She kept raising the price, since she realized that Imam Ali was willing to pay her a much higher price. Seeing the price soar, a companion of Imam Ali then asked, "O Amir al-Momineen, who is this man? What is he? He's originally a Persian, he is a slave, what the point of paying this much?" Finally, she settled at 500 dinar. Imam Ali handed her the 500 dinar. She then called Salim and stated to him that Imam Ali has purchased you. After buying Salim, Imam Ali set him free from the shackles of slavery for the way of Allah. It demonstrated the Islamic view of slavery; Islam establishes that slavery is immoral and that all humans are equal in the perspective of Allah. The only thing that differentiates a human is their Taqwa. Islam called for a gradual emancipation of slaves. Meaning that masters/owners should not just set slaves free but they should help them build a foundation financially so that they could support themselves. Thus, Imam Ali took Meesum under his wings after he freed Meesum. Moreover, a person who frees a slave is showered with blessing and would be protected from hell fire.Mesum's first encounter with Imam Ali
After Imam Ali set him free, he greeted Salim by the name Meesum. Meesum was the name that his mother gave to him after his birth; no one in Kufa knew that Meesum was Salim's real name. Upon hearing a stranger calling him by Meesum, Salim was shocked, baffled, and astonished that a person other than his parents knew about his real name. He questioned Imam Ali as to how did he knew that Meesum was his real name. Imam Ali replied, "Come with me do not worry. Allah's Apostle has told me that the Iranians call you Meesum. Still shocked, Meesum willing went with Imam Ali who would later become his best friend and teacher.Salim himself narrates this event:
Other narrations state that Imam Ali tells Salim, "Your name is Meesum, you are Iranian, you are of Iranian origin. Be proud of your Iranian origin."
The Counterfeit Money Incident
The caliph, Imam Ali, would at times visit the market place of Kufa. In his visits he would stop by Meesum's store to converse with him. One day, Meesum was at his market store in Kufa selling dates. Imam Ali approached Meesum and said to him to take a prayer break. Other variants of this event state that Imam Ali told Meesum to take a break and visit his family. Another variant states that Meesum went to go buy something. Before leaving, Meesum requested Imam Ali to sell some dates. While Meesum was gone, Imam Ali looked over his shop. A shopper came looking to buy some dates. He looked around and them purchased four dates from Imam Ali. Some variants say he purchased four Dirhams worth of dates. But he purchased the dates using counterfeit money. Eventually, Meesum returned to his stall and asked Imam Ali if he managed to sell any dates. Imam Ali tells Meesum he sold some dates and handed Meesum the money. Meesum was shocked that Imam Ali sold the dates and did not realize that the money was fake. However, Imam Ali mentions to Meesum to remain patient because the shopper would come back for a reason. Meesum became confused, he had a feeling that the shopper would not come back because he essentially got free dates. A couple hours passed by, the man returned to Meesum's market shop upset at the taste of the dates that he recently purchased from the ruling caliph of the time, Imam Ali. The man requested for a return. Imam Ali then tells the man the dates were bitter because the money you gave was bitter. The man was surprised and astonished. He then took his counterfeit money and left.Meesum himself narrates this event:
Meesum comes back:
The man returns:
Meesum's Views of Imam Ali
Meesum viewed Imam Ali in a very positive light. He saw him as a humble and down to earth Caliph, who sought to teach his fellow citizens manners, religion, and a good lifestyle. Meesum himself says, "Only Allah knows what lessons I learned from Ali ibn Abi Talib. I didn't find a human on this earth like Amir al-Momineen. If you want to see the embodiment of humility, then see what I saw with Ali ibn Abi Talib. He also says, "Ali ibn Abi Talib is the caliph of the state and I am a Tammar. Amir al-Momineen would come and sit by me. I would be there, I would sell dates. He would come and sit near me. Which king would sit next to a man selling dates. Whereas Ali ibn Abi Talib would come, sit near me. Look at the humility of the man." Furthermore, people who knew the caliph, Imam Ali, were astonished to find him at times sitting next to a Tammar conversing.Teachings of Imam Ali
As the cousin of Muhammad, Ali would follow his footsteps and educate people about the teachings of Islam. He taught/trained many religious scholars both Muslims and non-Muslims. Among these religious scholars was Meesum al-Tammar. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib took Meesum under his wings, he taught Meesum many secrets about faith, religion, and the world. In addition, he taught Meesum many branches of knowledge, including ilm-e-Manaya wal Balaya and ilm-e-Taweel. It is documented that Imam Ali would take Meesum to a nearby desert in the middle of the night to teach him about future affairs/matters/events. At times with the permission of his master/teacher, Meesum used to acquaint the public about the deep secrets that he learned from Imam Ali. On account of the frank speech of Meesum, people used to think that Meesum had lost his head/gone insane. They could hardly understand the depth and logic of his words.Teachings narrated my Meesum:
Ilm-e-Manaya wal Balaya
As a student of Imam Ali, Meesum was taught various categories of knowledge. One of these categories was ilm-e-Manaya wal Balaya. With ilm-e-Manaya wal Balaya, Meesum prophesied specific events that would occur in the future. According to Kashshi and Liyakatali Takim, Meesum possessed supernatural knowledge unmatched by ordinary people. Kashshi also mentions that Meesum's ability to predict future events was a feat that was later matched by Muhammad ibn Sinan.Mesum The Scholar
Meesum became one of the top scholars of his time, in part of his desire to increase his understanding about various subjects and the teachings of Imam Ali. People would come to Meesum for explanations of Quranic verses, since he possessed ilm-e-Taweel. Abdullah ibn Abbas is documented to be one of the people that would take lessons from Meesum.Prophecy of death
Once Ali ibn Abi Talib, told Meesum that he would be hanged on account of the love for the Imam of his time. He also gave the address and told him that he would be hanged in a farm next to the house of Amr lbn Huraith. The tree on which he would be hanged was the smallest of the ten trees existing in the farm at that time. Meesum was also informed that his tongue would be cut out because he would not stop praising his Imam of time. After getting this information, it is recorded in history that, Meesum used to go to the tree pointed out by Ali ibn Abi Talib, clean the place and water the tree and offer prayers saying, "O tree! You are for me and I am for you. Months and years passed by, Ali was martyred then Hasan ibn Ali was martyred and Meesum kept waiting for the time.Confrontation with ibn Ziyad
In 60 A.H., when Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad was appointed as the Governor of Kufa, things started to get complicated. Meesum then went to perform Hajj and thereafter returned to Kufa. One day, Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, called him and asked him to come to his Court, and said, "O Meesum! Inform me where your Allah is?" Meesum immediately replied. "He is in quest of an opportunity to punish the transgressors." Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad then asked him about his connections with Ali ibn Abi Talib. Meesum replied that Ali ibn Abi Talib was his master and that he loved him. Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad then asked him, "Did your master tell you anything about your end?" Meesum replied, "Yes, he informed me that I would be hanged and that my tongue would be cut." Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad sent a roar of laughter and said, "I will see that your master did not tell you the truth. I will see that his prophecy is belied." Meesum said, "My master's words are true because he got that information from Allah. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad was informed by Jibril, and Jibril came with the message of Allah."Final days and death
Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad ordered Meesum to be jailed and sent him to al-Tamura, a fearful prison underground, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was in the same prison with Meesum. Meesum and Mukhtar would hold conversations in prison but later on the orders of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad he was ordered to be hanged for creating mischief. Meesum was brought to the same tree to be hanged as pointed out by Ali ibn Abi Talib. Meesum began singing the praises of his master Ali, and about a thousand people gathered to see Meesum being hanged. Even after being hanged, the tongue of Meesum went on singing the praises of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad was informed about this and the tyrant ordered that the tongue of Meesum to be cut and thus the prophecy of Ali ibn Abi Talib came true and Meesum died after his tongue was cut out.The book Nafasul Mahmoom states that "Meesum was martyred ten days before Imam Husain came to Iraq." Imam Hussein entered Sharraf, on the border of Iraq and Hijaz on the 25th of Dhul Hijjah 60AH.