Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr ( ar, مصعب بن عمير) also known as Muṣʿab al-Khayr ("the Good")
was a ''
sahabi
The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
'' (companion) of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. From the Banū ʿAbd al-Dār branch of the
Quraysh
The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
, he embraced
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
in
614
__NOTOC__
Year 614 ( DCXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 614 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
CE and was the first ambassador of Islam.
He died in the Battle of Uhud in
625
__NOTOC__
Year 625 ( DCXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 625 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...
CE.
Early life
Mus‘ab ibn Umair was born to the
Banū 'Abd al-Dār branch of the quraish tribe.
His exact birth year is not known; it is believed that he was born sometime between 594 and 598 CE since he was very young when he embraced Islam in 614.
Mus‘ab was the son of Umayr ibn Hashim and Khunas bint Malik, and his parents were wealthy.
Even as a young man, he was permitted to attend meetings of the Quraysh elders.
Conversion to Islam
The first Muslims used to meet with Muhammad at the house of Al-Arqam known as the Islamic Learning Center.
Mus'ab became interested and went to this house to find out more about Islam. As a result of hearing the reciting of the Qur'an and the preaching of Muhammad, he converted.
At first Mus'ab kept his faith a secret, for he was afraid of how his mother would react.
However, one day,
Uthman ibn Talha
ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥa (Arabic: عثمان بن طلحة) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His father was Talhah ibn Abi Talhah al-‘Abdari who was killed by Zubayr ibn al-Awwam in the Battle of Uhud. Before the conquest of Mecc ...
, saw him entering Al Arqam's house and joining the Muslim prayers. The news spread and eventually reached his mother, who chained him in their house with the intention of making him recant.
Mus'ab was confident in his faith and would not renounce it. Muhammad advised him to join the companions who were emigrating to
Abyssinia
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
so that he would not be harassed again.
First Ambassador of Islam
Mus‘ab ibn Umayr was appointed the first ambassador of Islam and was sent to Yathrib (
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
)
to prepare the city for the forthcoming
Hijra
Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to:
Islam
* Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE
* Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
after the first pledge with the ansar. A man of Medina named Asad ibn Zurarah assisted him. After they had preached Islam, many residents of Medina were converted, including
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh
Saʿd ibn Muʿādh ( ar, سعد ابن معاذ) () was the chief of the Aws tribe in Medina and one of the prominent companions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him). He died shortly after the Battle of the Trench.
Family
Sa'd wa ...
,
Usayd ibn Hudayr
Usayd ibn Hudayr al-Awsi (, also Usaid ibn Hudair) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the Banū Aws tribe in the city of Medina before his conversion to Islam. He inherited his leadership position from his father wh ...
and
Sa'd ibn Ubadah
Saad ( ar, سعد , translit=Saʿd) is a common male Arabic given name which means 'friend / companion'. The name stems from the Arabic verb ( 'to be happy, fortunate or lucky').
''Saad'' is the stem of variant given names Suad and Sa‘id.
...
.
The Medinan converts were known as ''
Ansars'' ("helpers").
Military campaigns
Battle of Badr
He participated in the
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...
. Muhammad’s forces included
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
,
Hamza
Hamza ( ar, همزة ') () is a letter in the Arabic alphabet, representing the glottal stop . Hamza is not one of the 28 "full" letters and owes its existence to historical inconsistencies in the standard writing system. It is derived from ...
, Mus`ab ibn `Umair,
Az-Zubair bin Al-'Awwam,
Ammar ibn Yasir
Abū 'l-Yaqẓān ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir ibn ʿĀmir ibn Mālik al-ʿAnsīy al-Maḏḥiǧī ( ar, أبو اليقظان عمار ابن ياسر ابن عامر ابن مالك العنسي المذحجي) also known as Abū 'l-Yaqẓān ʿAmmār i ...
, and
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari Al-Kinani (, '), also spelled Abu Tharr or Abu Zar, born Jundab ibn Junādah (), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam, and from the Muhajirun. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. No date of birt ...
. The Muslims also brought seventy camels and two horses, meaning that they either had to walk or fit three to four men per camel. However, many early Muslim sources indicate that no serious fighting was expected, and the future Caliph
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic proph ...
stayed behind to care for his sick wife
Ruqayyah Ruqayya ( ar, رقيّة) is an Arabic female given name meaning "spell, enchantment, or incantation.”
It is not to be confused with a separate Arabic term "Ruqia" from Arabic رقى (ruqia) meaning “to rise” or “ascend.”
Ruqayya bint M ...
, the daughter of Muhammad.
Salman the Persian
Salman the Persian or Salmān al-Fārsī ( ar, سَلْمَان ٱلْفَارِسِيّ), born Rūzbeh Khoshnūdān ( fa, ), was a Persian companion (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was raised as a Zoroastrian in Sasanian Persia, t ...
also could not join the battle, as he was still not a free man.
Many of the Quraishi nobles, including
Amr ibn Hishām
ʿAmr ibn Hishām al-Makhzūmī ( ar, عمرو بن هشام المخزومي), (570 – 13 March 624), also known as Abu Jahl (lit. 'Father of Ignorance'), was one of the Meccan polytheist pagan leaders from the Quraysh known for his opposition t ...
,
Walid ibn Utba
Walīd ibn ʿUtba (died 624) was the son of Utba ibn Rabi'a and brother of Abu Hudhayfa ibn Utba and Hind bint Utba. Just like his father, Walid was opposed to Muhammad and Islam.
He was a fierce Meccan warrior who was killed by Ali ibn Abi Tali ...
, Shaiba, and
Umayah ibn Khalaf
Umayya ibn Khalaf () (died 13 March 624) was an Arab slave master and the chieftain of the Banu Jumah of the Quraysh in the seventh century. He was one of the chief opponents against the Muslims led by Muhammad. Umayya is best known as the maste ...
, joined the Meccan army. Their reasons varied: some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan; others wanted to avenge Ibn al-Hadrami, the guard killed at Nakhlah; finally, a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims. Amr ibn Hishām is described as shaming at least one noble, Umayah ibn Khalaf, into joining the expedition.
Death in the Battle of Uhud
In the
Battle of Uhud
The Battle of Uhud ( ar, غَزْوَة أُحُد, ) was fought on Saturday, 23 March 625 AD (7 Shawwal, 3 AH), in the valley north of Mount Uhud.Watt (1974) p. 136. The Qurayshi Meccans, led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, commanded an army of 3,000 m ...
in 624 CE, Muhammad assigned Mus'ab ibn Umayr to carry the Muslim flag.
During the battle, some Muslims, who were under the impression that the battle was over, left their positions on the battlefield,
giving the opposing forces hope of attacking Muhammad himself. On realizing the danger, Mus'ab, who was of a similar position and colouring to Muhammad, raised his flag and shouted the ''takbir'' ("Allah (God) is The Greatest!"), with the intention of diverting the enemies' attention towards himself and allowing Muhammad to remain unhurt.
Mus'ab was attacked, and his right hand was severed holding the flag, but he continued to repeat the words of the Quran, and took the flag in his left hand.
When his left hand was severed he took hold of it with his arms but never let the flag fall. "Muhammad PBUH is only a Messenger of God. Messengers have passed away before him." (Qur'an, 3:144)
Eventually Musab was hit by a spear thrown by Ibn Qami'ah
and died.
Burial
Sixty-five Muslims were killed in the battle.
Khabbab ibn al-Aratt
( ar, خبّاب بن الأرتّ), , was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad whom Islamic tradition regards as one of the ten earliest converts to Islam.. Born as a slave in Mecca, he later became a swordsmith and was able to build u ...
narrated: Muhammad stood beside Musab's body and recited: "Among the believers are men who have been true to what they have pledged to God.
The Messenger of God testifies that you are martyrs in the sight of God." When Mus'ab's wife,
Hammanah bint Jahsh
{{Infobox person
, name = Hamnah bint Jahsh حمنة بنت جحش
, image =
, caption =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Mecca
, death_date =
, death_place = Medina
, b ...
, heard about the death of her brother and maternal uncle, she replied, "To Allah we belong and to him we will verily return. I ask Allah's forgiveness for him." But when she heard about the death of her husband Mus'ab, she shouted and cried.
See also
*
Sunni view of the Sahaba
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
*
List of Sahabah
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of expeditions of Muhammad
__NOTOC__
The list of expeditions of Muhammad includes the expeditions undertaken by the Muslim community during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Some sources use the word ''ghazwa'' and a related plural ''maghazi'' in a narrow techn ...
*
Banu Hashim
)
, type = Qurayshi Arab clan
, image =
, alt =
, caption =
, nisba = al-Hashimi
, location = Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa
, descended = Hashim ibn Abd Manaf
, parent_tribe = Qu ...
*
Saʽd ibn ʽUbadah
Sad ibn Ubadah ibn Dulaym ( ar, سعد بن عبادة بن دليم) (d. 637) was the chief of the Sa'ida clan of the Khazraj tribe in Medina in the early seventh century. He was later recognised as the chief of the whole Khazraj tribe, and then ...
*
Usayd ibn Hudayr
Usayd ibn Hudayr al-Awsi (, also Usaid ibn Hudair) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the Banū Aws tribe in the city of Medina before his conversion to Islam. He inherited his leadership position from his father wh ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mus'ab Ibn 'Umair
Sahabah killed in battle
Sahabah who participated in the battle of Uhud
Sahabah hadith narrators
Sahabah martyrs