Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin

An-Numan ibn Muqarrin (Arabic: النعمان بن مقرن; died December 641) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was a Rashidun army general who fought the war against the Sassanian Empire. He was the leader of the tribe of Banu Muzaynah. The tribe of Banu Muzaynah had their habitations some distance from Yathrib on the caravan route which linked the city to Makkah.

During the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar & Uthman

An-Numan had several brothers, and all of them were accomplished soldiers. During the caliphate of Abu Bakr (r. 632–634), An-Numan and his family played a major role in putting an end to the apostasy wars. They fought under Khalid bin Waleed in the wars in Iraq, and later An-Numan fought under Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas. After the battle of Kaskar, Numan was appointed the administrator of the Kaskar district.

An-Numan was unhappy with the civil appointment and wrote to the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (r. 634–644) requesting active service. In the campaign against the Persians concentrated at Nihawand, Umar appointed An-Numan as the commander of the Muslim army.

In 651, Farrukhzad, the spahbed of Khorasan, and minister of Yazdegerd III, mutinied and left for Tabaristan. On his way to Tabaristan, he met the Arab general Nu'aym near Qazvin, and made peace with him. He then agreed to aid the Arabs against his rival Siyavakhsh, who had murdered his father in 631.

The combined Ispahbudhan-Arab army under the command of Al-Nu'man and Farrukhzad engaged in a night battle against Siyavakhsh's army at the foot of the mountain just outside Ray in the Battle of Ray (651). Farrukhzad led some of Nu'aim's cavalry by a little-known route into the city, from whence they emerged to attack the defenders' rear, causing great slaughter. To set an example, Nu'aym ordered the destruction of the Old Town, which called "al-Atiqah" by the Arabs, (perhaps the aristocratic quarter of Ray). However, the town was later rebuilt by Farrukhzad, whom became the ruler of Ray.

See also

• Sunni view of the Sahaba