❖ The Sharʿi Status of Mukhtār al-Thaqafī and His Claim to 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 born in the year of Hijrah. His life went through various phases, but in the end, he claimed prophethood.
✿ Prophetic Forewarning
❀ The Prophet ﷺ said:
إن فى ثقيف كذابا ومبيرا.
“In Thaqīf there will be a great liar and a great tyrant.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2545)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676H) said:
اتفق العلماء على أن المراد بالكذاب هنا المختار بن أبى عبيد وبالمبير الحجاج بن يوسف والله أعلم.
“The scholars are agreed that the ‘liar’ mentioned here refers to Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd, and the ‘tyrant’ refers to al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf. And Allah knows best.”
(Sharḥ al-Nawawī: 16/100)
✿ Testimony of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه
He said:
“There is no letter — or he said, no verse (ʿAmr the narrator was unsure) — in the Qur’an except that some people have acted upon it, or will act upon it. Once I recited:
﴿وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ﴾
(Al-Anʿām: 93)
‘And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah or says, “It has been revealed to me,” while nothing has been revealed to him, and one who says, “I will reveal the like of what Allah has revealed”?’
I used to wonder who would act upon this, until Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd did so.”
(Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah by al-Bayhaqī: 6/484, with an authentic chain)
Conclusion:Mukhtār al-Thaqafī is unanimously regarded by the scholars as the “great liar” foretold by the Prophet ﷺ. His claim to prophethood brought him under the Qur’anic condemnation of those who falsely attribute revelation to themselves.
