❖ Mukhtār al-Thaqafī: The False Claimant of Prophethood ❖
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
What is said about Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd al-Thaqafī?
Answer:
Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd al-Thaqafī was a false claimant of prophethood. The Shīʿī belief of badāʾ originated from his fabrication.
✿ Statements of the Scholars
❀ Imām ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī رحمه الله (d. 429H) said:
زعم أن الوحي ينزل عليه.
“Mukhtār al-Thaqafī claimed that revelation descended upon him.”
(al-Farq bayn al-Firaq, p. 34)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774H) said:
قد تواتر خبر المختار بن أبى عبيد الكذاب … وكان يزعم أنه نبي، وأن جبريل كان يأتيه بالوحي.
“It has been recurrently reported about Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd, the liar, who was appointed as governor of Iraq, that he claimed to be a prophet and that Jibrīl used to bring revelation to him.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah: 9/252)
Conclusion:Mukhtār al-Thaqafī was a notorious liar and a false claimant of prophethood. His heretical innovations, such as the doctrine of badāʾ, became a root for deviation.
