Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib

Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib al-Zubaīdi al-Madḥ'hijī (Arabic: عمرو بن معد يكرب الزبيدي المذحجي) (died 642 CE) was an Arabian cavalry commander of the Zubaid clan in Yemen, part of the Madhhij tribe confederation.

Arab tribes residing mainly in Iraq, particularly the sub-branches of Zubaid such as Jubur, Obaid and Al Uqaydat, claim to be direct patrilineal descendants of Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib.

[7] Classical sources state that Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib had lived long before the founding of Islam, as he met Abd al-Muttalib, grandfather of Muhammad.

He also met Abraha, a famous Aksumite warlord who, according to a narrative from the Al-Fil chapter of the Quran, was destroyed by the hell birds sent by God during his invasion of Mecca.

[19] Abu Ubaydah Mu'ammar ibn Muthanna, a famous writer from Basra during the 8th century, described Amr, Antarah, and Durayd as three of the finest cavaliers of the ancient era.

[27] Amr described to caliph Umar that the three bravest opponents he faced were:[28] Aside from his famous poetry which was quoted by various historians, the Zubaidi were known as one of the Arab tribes which engaged in pre-Islamic tribal warfare.

[18] As Amr had farms and a house in Tatlit, near Abha, in the modern Asir Region, adjacent to the settlement of the Khawlan clan, the majority of his conflicts and battles occurred in the far north of Yemen.

[46] Following this, as the Yemeni Arabs in the Madhhij dwelling region grew discontent with the rule of Sassanids, because they are not willing to submit under a faction which they thought of as another foreign invader, they revolted.

[52] The revolts were spearheaded by the now united Madhhij Arabian tribes, where the first clash against the Sassanids occurred in the Madhab Valley in Al-Jawf, in Ramadan 2 AH / 622 CE, where Amr participated in this battle.

[52] The Madhhij suffered heavy losses, as many of their clan chieftains were felled, with the survivors of the battle including Amr and his nephew, Qays ibn Maksuh.

[56] Amr's sword was presumably originating from the Arabian-Indian sea trade, which according to Ali ibn al-Athir, had become the standard of Arab Muslim army weapons during the time of Muhammad.

[61] According to the record of Usd al-ghabah fi marifat al-Saḥabah, Amr came to Medina as a prisoner and was guarded by a caliphate soldier named Al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya.

[70] Later, Amr was involved in the Siege of Emesa in 636 CE along with Kindite tribe soldiers, where he marched to rendezvous with Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, who had recently pacified Jerusalem.

[72][71] The forces of Harbees were swiftly demolished by the Rashidun troops of Amr, which caused the city of Emesa to be captured quickly as there were no more adequate defenders left.

[5] Historical narratives from poets recited during this battle revealed that Amr was the first to realize the elephants of Sassanid armies had paralyzed the horses of Rashidun, as the mounts were not used to being close with such animals.

[96] As the battle started, al-Qa'qa then executed the plan as he immediately galloped forward with his special units that included Amr on a daring charge to penetrate the surprised Sasanian lines.

[90] According to the book of Abu al-Faraj as-Shi'i al-Isfahani, it is during this battle that Amr revealed the name of his sword, Dhu al-Nun, during his taunting poem towards the Sassanid army.

[57] It is noted by Cordoban writer Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih in his anthology, the Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd, that Mujashi belonged to Banu Sulaym, a tribe which was a mortal enemy of the Zubadi.

[108] Amr also wrote about the continuation of the conquests of Persian territory, which were under command of Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi, that encompassed from Sawad, Fars province, until they managed to reach and capture the mountainous area of Makar.

[35] Meanwhile, there are other similarly dubious accounts recorded by Abu Hanifa Dinawari which were sourced from al-Farra that Amr ibn Ma'di-Yakrib still lived during the reign of Mu'awiyah.

[125] Jabir ibn Abd Allah praised Amr and Tulayha as soldiers that participated in the battle of al-Qadisiyah who did not desire worldly gain and were exceptionally pious.

[144] Aside from his military service to Islam, Amr also passed down a Hadith, which reported that he heard the recitation of Talbiyah during hajj pilgrimage ritual, taught to him by Muhammad.

"[5]Based on critical commentaries and review from Al-Suyuti works, Amr was also known as one of several Sahabah who had possessed rare knowledge regarding the Asbab al-Nuzul or revelation of certain Qur'an verses.

Amr reprimanded Qays from threatening Salman, advising him to beware of such a prideful attitude while reminding him the fate of the powerful ʿĀd peoples preceding them, which did not help them to avert disaster.

[Notes 8] Later scholars, such as 12-13th century Hanbalite scholar Abu al-Barakat Zayn al Abidin ibn al-Munaji, also recorded the war ethics of Ghanima or spoils of war according to Islam jurisprudence, where he described how Amr killed one of the Sassanid commander's bodyguards in battle, and cut both hands off the bodyguard to acquire the golden bracelets on his wrists, Zayn al-Abidin used this case as the allowance of certain soldiers to acquire the spoils from the enemy he personally killed by his own hands, which was in line with one of the ruling stated in one Hadith from Muhammad regarding such a situation.

[150] Werner Daum noted that Amr was probably the most famous and legendary of the ancient Arab heroes, who roamed the land seeking honour in glorious battles and through poetry.

[152] Yahya al-Juburi, modern era Arabic literature expert, has worked on a commentary book regarding the poetries compilation within "Diwan Amr ibn Ma'dikarib".

[156] Stylistically, Amr's poetry sometimes used a simile from natural phenomena, such as comparing the scene of lightning appearing over clouds to a group of women gathering together in mourning.

[161] Abbas al-Azzawi wrote in his book, "al-Ash'ar al-Iraq" (عشائر العراق), that the Jubur then technically formed the smaller sub branch of Zubaid clans through Amr.

[162] Another notable sub-branch of Zubayd in modern times, the Al Uqaydat, who are according to Max von Oppenheim the largest tribe in all of Mesopotamia,[163] are reportedly claimed as descendants of Amr as well.