Maytham ibn Yaḥyā al-Tammār al-Asadī al-Kūfī or Meesum al Tammar (Arabic: ميثم ابن يـحيى التمار) was an early Islamic scholar, a companion and disciple of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
[7] Maytham received the title al-Tammar because he owned a market store in Kufa where he would sell dates and other types of fruit.
After the time of Muhammad and the death of Uthman, Ali succeeded him as the fourth Rashidun Caliph, in the year 656 AD.
[5] One day, Ali saw a lady from the Banu Asad tribe, who had a male slave of 'Nabataean' origin.
[3][4][6] Ali ibn Abi Talib approached the woman and began to converse with her, in order to purchasing the slave, Salim.
[5] Other variants of this event state that Ali told Maytham to take a break and visit his family.
[2][5] Eventually, Maytham returned to his stall and asked Ali if he managed to sell any dates.
[2] A couple hours passed by, the man returned to Maytham's market shop upset at the taste of the dates that he recently purchased from the ruling caliph of the time, Ali.
He saw him as a humble and kind Caliph, who sought to teach his fellow citizens manners, religion, and a good lifestyle.
[5][18] He also says, "Ali ibn Abi Talib is the caliph of the state and I am a Tammar (date seller).
"[5][18] Furthermore, people who knew the caliph, Ali, were astonished to find him at times sitting next to a Tammar (date seller) conversing.
[2] As the cousin of Muhammad, Ali would follow his footsteps and educate people about the teachings of Islam.
[2][5][21] It is documented that Ali would take Maytham to a nearby desert in the middle of the night to teach him about future affairs/matters/events.
[2] At times with the permission of his master/teacher, Maytham used to acquaint the public about the deep secrets that he learned from Ali.
[2][5][21] With ilm-e-Manaya wal Balaya, Maytham prophesied specific events that would occur in the future.
[2][5][21] According to Kashshi and Liyakatali Takim, Maytham possessed supernatural knowledge unmatched by ordinary people.
[21] Kashshi also mentions that Maytham's ability to predict future events was a feat that was later matched by Muhammad ibn Sinan.
[21] Maytham 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 Ali.
[2] Once Ali ibn Abi Talib, told Maytham 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 ibn Huraith.
Maytham was also informed that his tongue would be cut out because he would not stop praising his Imam of time (Ali ibn Abi Talib).
In 60 A.H., when Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad was appointed as the Governor of Kufa, things started to get complicated.
Maytham was brought to the same tree to be hanged as pointed out by Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Even after being hanged, the tongue of Maytham went on singing the praises of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
The book Nafasul Mahmoom states that "Maytham was martyred ten days before Husayn ibn Ali came to Iraq."
[23] In 2006, a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle implosive explosive device near the shrine of Maytham al-Tammar in Kufa, Iraq.