Who Was al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi? The liar of Thaqif in Islamic History

Before the worldBefore Adam

The first nationsAdam to Shuayb

Egypt and Bani Israilc. 1300–1000 BCE

Bani Israil and Romec. 1000 BCE – 250 CE

Arabia before IslamUp to 570 CE

Enemies of the Prophet ﷺ610–632 CE

After the Prophet ﷺ632–1000 CE

Crusades and conquests1090–1502 CE

The end of timeStill to come

Ten signs before the Hour

Isa ibn Maryam descends
A landslide in the east
A landslide in the west
A landslide in Arabia
The smoke
The sun rises from the west
The Beast of the earth
A fire from Yemen drives people to their gathering

Sahih Muslim lists ten major signs before the Hour without fixing their order. This follows a common order given by the scholars. Sahih Muslim 2901a ↗

Villains of history63 / 76

المختار بن أبي عبيد الثقفي

al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi

The liar of Thaqif685–687 CE

Relied onVengeance for Husayn, and claims of revelation

Undone byMus'ab ibn al-Zubayr

He took Kufa in the name of avenging Husayn and hunted down his killers, among them Ibn Ziyad. The historians report that he then claimed Jibril came to him, and spoke in rhymed prophecies.

How it ended

Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr besieged him in Kufa and he was killed in 687.

And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him …
Quran 6:93

The lessonA just cause does not make a false claim true.

In the Quran

6:93

Stood against: Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr
Source: Authentic hadithThe Prophet ﷺ foretold 'a liar and a destroyer' from Thaqif (Sahih Muslim 2545). Asma' bint Abi Bakr said 'the liar we have seen'; al-Nawawi and other scholars say she meant al-Mukhtar. His claims of revelation come from the historians.Sahih Muslim 2545 ↗

Every villain in Islamic history, from Iblis to the Dajjal

Each entry is drawn from the Quran, authentic hadith (with links to sunnah.com), the classical commentators and the historians. Companions who fought Islam and later became Muslim are not included, nor are figures Muslims disagree about.