Hadith expert Ibn Zubair ('Abdullah bin Zubair) Radhiyallahu 'anhu..
A leader during the Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib era and the beginning of the Umayyad caliphate. He was the first baby born among the Muhajirin in Medina. His father's name was Zubair Awwam and his mother, Asma bint Abu Bakar as-Siddiq. He is the cousin and nephew of the Prophet Muhammad from his wife, Aisyah bint Abu Bakar. He was one of the "Four 'Ibadillahs" (four people named Abdullah) from more than 30 companions of the Prophet who were known to memorize all the verses of the Koran. The other three 'Ibadillahs were Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Umar bin Khatab, and Abdullah bin Amr bin As.
Ibn Zubair has been familiar with war since he was 12 years old, when he joined his father in the Yarmuk War, and four years later returned to accompany his father who was a member of Amr bin As's army in Egypt. Ibn Zubair also took part in Abdullah bin Sa'ad bin Abi Sarh's expedition against the Byzantines in Africa. All these events invited the admiration of the people of Medina for him.
During the time of Caliph Usman bin Affan, he sat as a member of the committee in charge of compiling the Qur'an. During the time of Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib, he and Aisyah organized steps to challenge the Caliph to demand a solution to the murder of Caliph Usman. This movement was supported by several figures, such as Ja'la bin Umayyah from Yemen, Abdullah bin Amr Basra, Sa'ad bin As, and Wahid bin Uqbah (the leader of the Umayyads in Hedjjaz) and some senior companions (Talhah bin Ubaidillah and Zubair bin Awwam ), and his father. The conflict between his group and Ali's group that was in power was resolved in the Camel War (Waqiah al-Jamal). In this war he saw his father fall. It was called the Camel War because Aisyah rode a camel while leading the team.
Ibn Zubair returned to fight the Umayyad Dynasty. Even though during the time of Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan his form of resistance was not yet open, he appeared to openly challenge the Umayyad caliphate (government). He protested against Yazid, Mu'awiyah's son, who became caliph following his father's appointment after his father died.
Yazid ordered his guardian in Medina to force Ibn Zubair along with Husein bin Ali (the Prophet's grandson) and Abdullah bin Umar to declare loyalty to him. Ibn Zubair and Husein remained defiant. For safety's sake, the two moved to Mecca.
He remained a challenger to the caliphate even though Husein, not long after that, died sadly in an unequal battle at Karbala. The open statement that Yazid's rule was illegitimate had a wide influence among the ansar in Medina which ultimately gave rise to a rebellion.
After waiting for a good opportunity, Yazid mobilized the Syrian army under the leadership of Muslim bin Uqbah and put down the rebellion of the people of Medina in the Battle of Harran. The death of Muslim bin Uqbah did not prevent the army from moving towards Mecca with the aim of breaking Ibn Zubair's resistance. The army surrounded and showered the city of Mecca with stones and fire arrows which caused the Kaaba to burn. News of the death of Caliph Yazid caused the commander of the troops, Husain bin Numair, to try to persuade Ibn Zubair to join them in returning to Syria. Ibn Zubair rejected this persuasion by saying that he would remain in Mecca. Next, he proclaimed himself as amirulmukminin. Even though the proclamation was nothing more than a name, opponents of the Umayyad dynasty in Syria, Egypt, South Arabia and Kufa once appreciated him as caliph.
After Mu'awiyah, Yazid's son and successor, died, Ibn Zubair emerged as a candidate for caliph with the support of the Bani Qais. Apart from that, there are other candidates, namely, Marwan bin Haqam (supported by Bani Qalb) and two Arab tribes domiciled in Syria, who are also competing with each other to nominate their respective candidates. However, Ibn Zubair was cornered when the map of political power changed, due to the rebellion in Kufa and rebellion among his followers, after Yazid died. The siege that led to his death occurred when Hajjaj bin Yusuf as-Saqafi was assigned by the caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan, son of Marwan bin Hakam, to finish off the resistance of the "Challenger of the Six Caliphs" - from Ali, Mu'awiyah, Yazid, Mu'awiyah, Marwan bin Hakam , until Abdul Malik.
It took no less than seven months to bombard the holy city of Mecca and the Kaaba with al-Hajjaj's troops to paralyze Ibn Zubair's resistance. He still survived when his sons surrendered to al-Hajjaj. His courage revived after a brief encounter with his blind mother, who encouraged him by giving him fighting spirit. In fact, previously, he had expressed to his mother that he was worried that his corpse would be treated sadistically by his killers in the future. His mother said that a goat that had been slaughtered would not feel even a few cuts on the meat. This answer pushed him out of the house where he was defending, advanced into the midst of his opponents who then ambushed and finished him off. His body was placed on the same gallows where his brother, Amr, had experienced something similar. On Abdul Malik's orders, his body was then handed over to his mother. Not long after, after burying his son's body, he died in 94 AH.