Usāma ibn Zayd ( ar, أُسَامَة ٱبْن زَيْد) was an early
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and
companion of the Islamic prophet
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 ...
.
He was the son of
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Haritha ( ar, زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة, ') (), was an early Muslim, sahabah and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Khad ...
, Muhammad's freed slave and adopted son, and
Umm Ayman (Barakah)
Baraka bint Thaʿlaba ( ar, بَـرَكَـة بنت ثَعلَبَة), commonly known by her kunya Umm Ayman ( ar, أمّ أيمن, links=no), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
She was an Abyssinian slave o ...
, a servant of Muhammad.
Muhammad appointed Usama ibn Zayd as the commander of an expeditionary force which was to invade the region of
Balqa in the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
to avenge the Muslim defeat at the
Battle of Mu'tah, in which Usama's father and Muhammad's adopted son,
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Haritha ( ar, زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة, ') (), was an early Muslim, sahabah and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Khad ...
, had been killed.
This campaign was known as the
Expedition of Usama bin Zayd
The Expedition of Usama bin Zayd was a military expedition of the early Muslim Caliphate led by Usama ibn Zayd that took place in June 632, in which Muslim forces raided Byzantine Syria.Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, p. 31. The expeditio ...
.
Usama's campaign was successful and his army was the first Muslim force to successfully invade and raid
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
territory, thus paving the way for the subsequent
Muslim conquest of the Levant
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
and
Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman Egypt, Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. ...
.
Background and early life
Usama was the son of Barakah (
Umm Ayman
Baraka bint Thaʿlaba ( ar, بَـرَكَـة بنت ثَعلَبَة), commonly known by her kunya Umm Ayman ( ar, أمّ أيمن, links=no), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
She was an Abyssinian slave o ...
), an
Abyssinian, and her second husband,
Zayd ibn Haritha
Zayd ibn Haritha ( ar, زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة, ') (), was an early Muslim, sahabah and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Kha ...
. His parents were married "after Islam" and Usama was born in 612.
[
Usama's mother, ]Umm Ayman
Baraka bint Thaʿlaba ( ar, بَـرَكَـة بنت ثَعلَبَة), commonly known by her kunya Umm Ayman ( ar, أمّ أيمن, links=no), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
She was an Abyssinian slave o ...
served as a slave in the household of Muhammad's parents, Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib
Abdullah may refer to:
* Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname
* Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village
* ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan
* '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
and Aminah bint Wahb
Aminah bint Wahb ( ar, آمِنَة ٱبْنَت وَهْب, ', ), was a woman of the clan of Banu Zuhrah in the tribe of Quraysh, and the mother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Early life and marriage
Aminah was born to Wahb ibn Abd Manaf an ...
. She became Muhammad's slave after the death of Aminah. Following Aminah's death in Al-Abwa
Al-Abwā' on MSA West Compendium of Muslim Texts ( ar, ٱَلْأَبْوَاء) is a Hejazi village between Mecca and Medina belonging to the area of Rabigh, on the western coast of Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad entered it before th ...
, Barakah looked after Muhammad, and moved with him to the household of his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim
Shayba ibn Hāshim ( ar, شَيْبَة بْن هَاشِم; 497–578), better known as ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, ( ar, عَبْد ٱلْمُطَّلِب , lit=Servant of Muttalib) was the fourth chief of the Quraysh tribal confederation. He was ...
in Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, where she served him during his childhood and afterwards, in his adulthood. When Muhammad married Khadija
Khadija, Khadeeja or Khadijah ( ar, خديجة, Khadīja) is an Arabic feminine given name, the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 1995, it was one of the three most popular Arabic feminine names in t ...
, he arranged for Barakah's freedom and marriage to a Khazrajite companion named Ubayd ibn Zayd, who was her first husband. Through this marriage, Usama's half brother, Ayman ibn Ubayd
Ayman ibn ʿUbayd ( ar, أَيْمَن ابْنِ عُبَیْد), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
He was the son of Umm Ayman, who helped raise Muhammad, by her first husband Ubayd ibn Zayd of the Banu Kh ...
was born, and thus she was known as "Umm Ayman
Baraka bint Thaʿlaba ( ar, بَـرَكَـة بنت ثَعلَبَة), commonly known by her kunya Umm Ayman ( ar, أمّ أيمن, links=no), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
She was an Abyssinian slave o ...
" ("Mother of Ayman
Ayman ( ar, أيمن, also spelled as Aiman, Aimen, Aymen, or Eymen in the Latin alphabet) is an Arabic masculine given name. It is derived from the Arabic Semitic root () for ''right'', and literally means ''righteous'', ''he who is on the right' ...
").
Usama's father, Zayd ibn Haritha
Zayd ibn Haritha ( ar, زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة, ') (), was an early Muslim, sahabah and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Kha ...
, was a companion and adopted son of Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the third person to have accepted 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 ...
, after Muhammad's wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid ( ar, خَدِيجَة بِنْت خُوَيْلِد, Khadīja bint Khuwaylid, 555 – November 619 CE) was the first wife and is considered to be the first follower of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Khadija was the da ...
, and Muhammad's cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib
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. ...
. He was an Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
of the Udhra branch of the Kalb
The Banu Kalb ( ar, بنو كلب) was an Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the desert between northwestern Arabia and central Syria. The Kalb was involved in the tribal politics of the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, possibly as earl ...
tribe of Najd
Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...
, central Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
[Landau-Tasseron/Tabari p. 6.] Zayd's mother, Suda bint Thaalaba, was from the Maan branch of the Tayy
, location = 2nd century CE–10th century: Jabal Tayy and Syrian Desert
10th century–16th century: Jabal Tayy, Syrian Desert, Jibal al-Sharat, al-Balqa, Palmyrene Steppe, Upper Mesopotamia, Northern Hejaz, Najd
, parent_tribe = Madh ...
tribe.
As such, Usama was born into a family with strong connections to Muhammad and both his parents were prominent in the early Muslim community. His family migrated to 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, ...
with Muhammad to escape the religious persecution 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 ...
in Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
.
Usama had a close relationship with Muhammad and he fought with Muhammad in the Battle of Hunayn
:''This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca.''
The Battle of Hunayn ( ar, غَزْوَة حُنَيْن, Ghazwat Hunayn) was between the Muslims of Muhammad and the Bedouins of the Qays, including its clans of Hawazin a ...
. Ibn Kathir
Abū al-Fiḍā’ ‘Imād ad-Dīn Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Damishqī (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد; – 1373), known as Ibn Kathīr (, was ...
writes that according to Ibn Ishaq
Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...
, Jabir ibn Abd Allah, who witnessed the battle, reported that the Muslim army were panicked by a surprise attack from the enemy and many men fled the battlefield. However, a group of Muhajirun
The ''Muhajirun'' ( ar, المهاجرون, al-muhājirūn, singular , ) were the first converts to Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated with him from Mecca to Medina, the event known in Islam as the ''Hijr ...
stood firmly and defended Muhammad the battlefield. These men were Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
, Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
, 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 ...
, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib
Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib ( ar, ٱلْعَبَّاسُبْنُ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ, al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; CE) was a paternal uncle and Sahabi (companion) of Muhammad, just three years older than his ...
, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith
Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ( ar, أبو سفيان بن الحارث بن عبد المطلب), born al-Mughīra (), was a Companions of the Prophet, companion and first cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Abdalmal ...
, Fadl ibn Abbas
Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās (Arabic: فضل بن عباس; c. 614 – 639 CE) was a brother of Abd Allah ibn Abbas and was a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Biography
Fadl was the eldest son of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of Muhammad and ...
, Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith Rabīʿah ibn al-Ḥārith ( ar, ربيعة بن الحارث)Other transliterations include "Rabah ibn al-Harith" (c.566-c.640) was a first cousin and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Family
He was a son of Al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib ...
, Usama ibn Zayd and Ayman ibn Ubayd
Ayman ibn ʿUbayd ( ar, أَيْمَن ابْنِ عُبَیْد), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
He was the son of Umm Ayman, who helped raise Muhammad, by her first husband Ubayd ibn Zayd of the Banu Kh ...
. Usama's half-brother Ayman ibn Ubayd
Ayman ibn ʿUbayd ( ar, أَيْمَن ابْنِ عُبَیْد), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
He was the son of Umm Ayman, who helped raise Muhammad, by her first husband Ubayd ibn Zayd of the Banu Kh ...
was killed that day whilst defending Muhammad.[Ibn Kathir, The Battles of the Prophet, pp. 175–176]
Expedition of Usama ibn Zayd
The Expedition of Usama bin Zayd
The Expedition of Usama bin Zayd was a military expedition of the early Muslim Caliphate led by Usama ibn Zayd that took place in June 632, in which Muslim forces raided Byzantine Syria.Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, p. 31. The expeditio ...
was a military expedition of the early Muslim Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
led by Usama ibn Zayd that took place in June 632, in which Muslim forces raided Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.[Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, p. 31.]
After the Farewell Pilgrimage
The Farewell Pilgrimage ( ar, حِجَّة ٱلْوَدَاع, Ḥijjatu Al-Wadāʿ) refers to the one Hajj pilgrimage that Muhammad performed in the Islamic year 10 AH, following the Conquest of Mecca. Muslims believe that verse 22:27 of the Quran ...
, Muhammad appointed Usama ibn Zayd as the commander of an expeditionary force which was to invade the region of Balqa in the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Muhammad commanded all the sahaba
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 ...
, except for his family, to go with Usama to Syria to avenge the Muslims’ defeat at the Battle of Mu'tah, in which Usama's father and Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Haritha ( ar, زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة, ') (), was an early Muslim, sahabah and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Khad ...
, had been killed. Usama's leadership was initially rejected by some because of his young age at the time, however Muhammad dismissed these concerns.[Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar (Free Version), p. 303]
In reference to this event, the Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Al ...
states that:
However, soon after the expedition was dispatched, news was received of Muhammad's death, forcing the army to return to Medina. The campaign was not reengaged until leadership of the community passed to Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
, who chose to honour Muhammad's wishes and reaffirmed Usama's command. Usama's campaign was successful and his army was the first Muslim force to invade and raid Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
territory successfully, thus paving the way for the subsequent Muslim conquest of the Levant
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
and Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman Egypt, Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. ...
, both of which took place during Usama's lifetime.
Later life
After the death of Muhammad, Usama settled in Wadi al-Qura, then later in Medina. He died in al-Jurf "at the end of the caliphate of Mu'awiyah
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
", i.e., c.680.[Muhammad al-Jarir al-Tabari, ''Al-Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk''. Translated by Ella Landau-Tasseron (1998). ''Volume 39: Biographies of the Companions and Their Successors'' (Albany: State University of New York Press), 65.]
See also
*Sahabah
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 ...
*Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Haritha ( ar, زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة, ') (), was an early Muslim, sahabah and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Khad ...
*Ayman ibn Ubayd
Ayman ibn ʿUbayd ( ar, أَيْمَن ابْنِ عُبَیْد), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
He was the son of Umm Ayman, who helped raise Muhammad, by her first husband Ubayd ibn Zayd of the Banu Kh ...
*Umm Ayman
Baraka bint Thaʿlaba ( ar, بَـرَكَـة بنت ثَعلَبَة), commonly known by her kunya Umm Ayman ( ar, أمّ أيمن, links=no), was an early Muslim and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
She was an Abyssinian slave o ...
*List of non-Arab Sahabah
The list of non-Arab Sahaba includes non-Arabs among the original Sahaba of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muhammad had many followers from amongst the Arabs, from many different tribes. However, he also had many non-Arab Sahaba, from many differe ...
*Afro-Arabs
Afro-Arabs are Arabs of full or partial Black African descent. These include populations within mainly the Sudanese, Emiratis, Yemenis, Saudis, Omanis, Sahrawis, Mauritanians, Algerians, Egyptians and Moroccans, with considerably long estab ...
References
{{Reflist
Family of Muhammad
Companions of the Prophet
615 births
678 deaths
Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars
People from Mecca
Banu Kalb