Muta, the martyrs' first home |
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Collection title
Islamic eras in Jordan
First broadcast date
2003
Abstract
This page from history shows the beginnings of Muslims conquests who fought the Romans who killed the prophet’s messenger.
Presentation of both armies (Muslims and Romans), the historical battle which happened in Mutah (located in Karak, South of Jordan) the military strategy adopted by the Muslim’s army, the martyrs who fought for religion.
Presentation of Mutah’s region, the different civilizations which passed there such as: the Romanian, Byzantine and the Islamic ones.
Presentation of tombs and shrines of famous religious people and military Muslim leaders.
People go and visit these shrines to remember the martyrs who died for Islam in the first Islamic eras.
Production companies
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Television - Own production
Broadcaster
JRTV - Jordan Television
Audiovisual form
Documentary
Primary theme
Arab and muslim worlds
Secondary themes
- Tourism and cultural sites / Archaeological sites
- Society and way of life / Religious Practices
Credits / Cast
- Toufan Fawaz - Author of original work
- Toufan Fawaz - Speaker
- AL Kardi Innad - Director
Map locations
- Jordan - Transjordan Plateau - Karak
Additional information
Jordanian sahara - Arab island - knights - archaeological sites - old maps of the region
Context
The Battle of Mu’ta and its martyrs
Norig Neveu
This video is part of a series on Islamic history produced in Jordan in the 1980s. The event at the centre of the film is the Battle of Mu'ta which took place in 629, while the Prophet Muhammad was still alive. Mu'ta is a town town in southern Karak, so it was one of the Islamic expansion's first battles outside the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in a defeat for the Muslim troops led by three of the Prophet's Companions: Zayd ibn Haritha, 'Abd Allah ibn Rawaha and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. They were fighting the army of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius.
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib was the son of Abu Talib, a prominent member of the Mecca tribe of Bani Hashem who had protected the Prophet Muhammad from being persecuted by the people of Mecca. Tradition relates that after the death of the first two generals Zayd ibn Haritha and 'Abd Allah ibn Rawaha during the battle, the banner of Islam was given to Ja'far. The latter had both arms cut off as he tried to protect the flag. Then people saw him flying away from the battlefield, hence his nickname Ja'far al-Tayyar, meaning Ja'far flying. His mausoleum in the town of al-Mazar, was an important place of pilgrimage until the mid-20th century.
Since 1996 the mausoleums of the three companions of the Battle of Mu'ta have been part of a major renovation programme. This has led to the creation of the largest religious complex in Jordan, consisting of a mosque, library and shops. The creation of this complex is characteristic of Jordan's ambition to promote Islamic tourism and particularly its desire to rewrite the country's Islamic history. Indeed, the improvements to these sites allow the Hashemite monarchy to put its territory at the centre of regional Islamic history. Part of this policy is to highlight the links between the Companions of the Prophet and the Hashemite family, a descendant of the Prophet, thus allowing it to promote its central role in history.
The religious infrastructures built or renovated in Jordan since the 1990's represent an attempt to harmonize national religious architecture. These monuments are part of the country's aim to develop religious tourism. In this context, Mu'ta has many visitors, mainly Shiite pilgrims. Indeed, Ja'far ibn Abî Talib was the brother of Ali, for Sunnites the fourth caliph and for Shiites an Imam. In the 1990's the mausoleum was popular with Iraqi refugees in Jordan and tourists from the Middle East. However, since 2006 and the execution of Saddam Hussein visits have decreased significantly, although the site remains one of the most visited on Jordan's Islamic tourism circuit.
Bibliography
Fr. Buhl, « Mu’ta », in Encyclopédie de l’Islam, Tome VII, Mif-Naz, XVI, Nouvelle édition, Paris, E.J. BrillLeiden et Maisonneuve et Larose, 1993, pp. 757 à 758.
L. Veccia Vagleri, « Dja’far Bin Abî Talib », in Encyclopédie de l’Islam, Tome II, C-G, 1965, XXII, p. 382.
Norig Neveu, «La sacralisation du territoire jordanien, Reconstruction des lieux saints nationaux, 1980-2006», in Archives de Sciences sociales des Religions, no 151, 2010, pp. 107-128.
