Abu Dharr
Next among the select muhajireen who it was hoped would be able to integrate Makkah with al-Madinah was Talhah ibn ‘Ubaid Allah. He belonged to the same family line as Abu Bakr; i.e. from the tribe of Taim.
Prior to Islam he was a merchant and was known to be friendly with ‘Uthman. The two joined together in a commercial trip to al-Sham (Greater Syria) in the same year that both of them became muslims.
Like the rest of the choice Muhajireen, Talhah was an early member of the nucleus Islamic community in Makkah. His Islamic faith responsibilities did not distract from his business-related pursuits. To the contrary, he combined his Islamic integrity with his professional reputation.
On his way back from al-Sham, Talhah encountered the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr who were fleeing Makkah to al-Madinah. Talhah gifted them some of what he had and told them that the people in al-Madinah are anxious and eager to meet them and are somewhat concerned that the Prophet’s (ﷺ) arrival is overdue.
After hearing this, the Prophet (ﷺ) hastened to reach al-Madinah as quickly as he could. Talhah proceeded to Makkah to take care of his business and then joined the Prophet (ﷺ) in al-Madinah, settling in with the rest of the Muhajireen there.
Talhah joined in the battles of Badr, Uhud, and the rest of the battles graced with the presence of the Prophet (ﷺ). He is known to have lived up to his military duties. During the battle of Uhud he capably guarded the Prophet (ﷺ). During fighting, an arrow pierced one of his fingers which resulted in its incapacitation. He sustained numerous bodily injuries during the battle of Uhud.
Talhah’s injuries were so serious that the Prophet (ﷺ) referred to him as a walking martyr ranked alongside the actual martyrs like Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair.
Talhah carried on with his commercial activities punctuated by his attendance of all the military campaigns and battles which the Prophet (ﷺ) participated in. He remained a resident of al-Madinah during the reign of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar as did the rest of the honored Muhajireen.
‘Umar named Talhah to be a member of the Shura council tasked with agreeing upon a successor after he passed on. Talhah declined to be present in its deliberations. Due to prior business-related responsibilities, Talhah was absent from al-Madinah when ‘Umar passed away.
He was summoned to quickly return to al-Madinah and he did. He arrived in al-Madinah, though, when ‘Uthman was already inaugurated as the khalifah. He was upset that the other members of the Shura would install ‘Uthman as leader in his absence. Subsequently, he bolted himself in his residence and said: a person like me is not one to be disregarded.
Afterwards, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf went to him and asked him to endorse ‘Uthman as the khalifah because if he doesn’t the consequences could be devastating. It is even reported that ‘Uthman himself went to Talhah and told him that he (‘Uthman) is willing to reverse the decision to be the khalifah if that is what Talhah wants.
Talhah said to him in affect: Are you serious? ‘Uthman replied: yes, I am. Then Talhah said: if that is the case then I will not challenge your appointment and if you so desire, I will approve of you here and now, and if you wish I will do that in the masjid.
Banu Umayyah were worried about Talhah’s delay in approving of ‘Uthman’s leadership. Once Talhah expressed his endorsement of ‘Uthman, they were relieved.
‘Uthman was known to be in touch with Talhah. It is said that Talhah borrowed from ‘Uthman 50,000 [dirhams or dinars?]. Later Talhah informed ‘Uthman that he is able to pay back the money he borrowed. ‘Uthman answered: the amount is yours in exchange for your chivalry.
There is also information indicating that ‘Uthman in good faith granted Talhah 200,000 [dirhams or dinars?] There were commercial transactions between both ‘Uthman and Talhah: Talhah selling ‘Uthman’s goods in al-Hijaz, and ‘Uthman selling Talhah’s in ‘Iraq.
Talhah was known to be a very generous and openhanded person—averse to accumulating wealth. If, at times, there was substantial money in his immediate possession he was quick to donate to his extended tribal relatives of Taim, in addition to his close friends and colleagues from Quraish and al-Ansar.
Whenever he sensed that there was someone in need he would be quick to offer assistance and relieve individuals and families of any financial burdens. He provided money, clothing and food very substantially. And after all his spending on the poor and needy his fortune remained substantial.
It is said that Talhah was the first to introduce wheat farming in al-Hijaz. When he died he left behind 30 million dirhams; the cash amount was around 2,200,000 dirhams plus 200,000 dinars, the rest was in the form of commercial investments and estates. [Tabaqat ibn Sa‘d]
As mentioned above, Talhah was not in favor of ‘Uthman’s leadership initially because ‘Uthman’s leadership was finalized in the absence of Talhah. Later on, ‘Uthman was able to amicably win him over, and that was followed by a cordial commercial relationship.
Subsequently, though, when the muslim public began to oppose ‘Uthman, Talhah positioned himself as a close confidant of ‘Uthman as history narratives have it. But, then, when the opposition to ‘Uthman picked up momentum and became a rumbling popular wave, Talhah repositioned himself among the popular opposition to ‘Uthman. When ‘Uthman came under siege, Talhah was among those who besieged ‘Uthman.
After ‘Uthman was assassinated Talhah was among those who were surprised to see Imam ‘Ali saddened by ‘Uthman’s assassination. When Imam ‘Ali was popularly approved as the leader of the ummah, Talhah along with al-Zubair ratified and confirmed Imam ‘Ali’s leadership. Thereafter, though, Talhah along with al-Zubair joined the crowd that broke away and wanted to take revenge for the assassination of ‘Uthman and in doing so they violated their bay‘at to Imam ‘Ali.
Talhah was killed during the battle of al-Jamal (36 hijri). Most history books tell us that the person who killed Talhah was Marwan ibn al-Hakam who shot him with an arrow which resulted in Talhah bleeding to death. Some historical narratives say that both Talhah and al-Zubair were withdrawing themselves from the battle engagement of al-Jamal when Marwan ibn al-Hakam decided to take revenge and kill Talhah believing that he [Talhah] was a major figure participating in the assassination of ‘Uthman.
When speaking about al-Jamal, it is important to factor in the underlying currents that converged on the battlefield. There were those who were sincerely seeking revenge for the assassination of ‘Uthman. Among them were Umm al-Mu’mineen ‘A’ishah, along with al-Zubair and Talhah.
Then there were those who were using the ‘Uthman’s assassination to undermine the legitimacy of Imam ‘Ali’s leadership. Notably among them from Bani Umayyah was Marwan ibn al-Hakam and Ya‘la ibn Umayyah while Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan was in Damascus stirring opposition to Imam ‘Ali.
And then there was the camp of legitimacy represented by Imam ‘Ali and those who were with him notable among them is Imam ‘Ali’s sons al-Imam al-Hasan, al-Imam al-Huseyn, Imam ‘Ali’s son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyah, ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, Hashim ibn ‘Utbah, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and many Muhajireen and Ansar who pledged allegiance to Imam ‘Ali after ‘Uthman’s assassination.
The war of al-Jamal ended when al-Hasan, son of Imam ‘Ali wounded the camel that Umm al-Mu’mineen ‘A’ishah was riding. Later on Umm al-Mu’mineen ‘A’ishah and others expressed remorse for having participated in that regrettable war.
Talhah represented a distinctive type of opposition—at one time feeling comfortable with the fortunes coming his way as he was on good terms with the people in power but then when he realized that a gap had developed between those in power and those “in the street” he had a change of heart that had him depart from the war front only to be assassinated on his way out.
He is buried in al-Basrah.
من قاتل لتكون كلمة الله هي العليا فهو في سبيل الله
Whoever fights for the cause of enhancing Allah’s declaration fights on a course to Allah.
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