Safwan ibn Muattal

Ṣafwān ibn al-Muʿaṭṭal al-Sulamī (; d. 638 or 679) was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Arab commander in the Muslim conquests. He was one of the first members of the Banu Sulaym to embrace Islam. He was accused, allegedly by the poet Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy, of having an affair with Muhammad's wife Aisha after the two became separated from a Medina-bound caravan. Later, Safwan became a commander and moved from Medina to Basra during the Muslim conquest of that region. Afterward, he took part in the military campaigns against the Byzantines in al-Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) and Armenia, where he is said to have been slain. However, other reports mention that he died decades later as governor of Armenia.

Life Early life Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal belonged to the Dhakwan clan of the large Banu Sulaym tribe. His year of birth is not recorded in the sources. Most of the Sulaym inhabited the al-Harrah region and many members of the Dhakwan lived in the city of Mecca where they maintained close ties with the Quraysh; Safwan was an exception among the Dhakwan and lived in Medina.

Safwan became the subject of a controversy following the expedition when he and Muhammad's wife Aisha became separated from the caravan returning to Medina. Rumors circulated that they had an illicit affair, but the allegations turned out to be false. When Iyad reached Harran, he dispatched Safwan and Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri to subdue Samosata; after Safwan and Maslama captured several villages and forts in Samosata's vicinity, the townspeople negotiated terms of surrender with the Muslims guaranteeing their personal safety and no harm to their properties in exchange for a head tax and recognition of Muslim rule.

When Uthman became caliph in 644 he made Mu'awiyah governor of all Syria, Jazira and the frontier areas of these provinces. Uthman directed Mu'awiyah to continue the conquest of Shimshat in Armenia, a task which he delegated to Safwan and Habib ibn Maslama. However, in 678/79, Safwan's forces finally subdued Kamacha; a fellow member of the Sulaymi Dhakwan clan, Umayr ibn al-Hubab, played an integral role in Kamacha's capitulation. Reports vary widely regarding Safwan's year of death, with one mentioning that he died fighting in Armenia in 638, and other sources, including al-Waqidi, claiming that he died as governor of Armenia in 678/79.