Abu Qatada al- Ansari (), also known as Al-Harith ibn Rab'i (), was one of the companions of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. He assisted the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

s of Uhud and Hudaybiyya.

Biography

Abu Qatada was born in Medina. He hailed from Banu Sulaym, branch of

Khazraj The Banu Khazraj () is a large Arab tribe based in Medina. They were also in Medina during Muhammad's era. The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian Qahtanite tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia as a result of the destruction of the Marib ...

tribe Abu Qatada had a

Mawla ''Mawlā'' (, plural ''mawālī'' ), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the te ...

or a freed slave named "Abu Muhammad". Presumably, he had a son named "Qatada ibn al-Harith". His wife was Kabsha bint Kab ibn Malik.

Life during period of Prophet Muhammad in Medina

Abu Qatada participated in every battle except for Battle of Badr. Sometimes after the battle of Khandaq in 627, there is an incident after Muhammad returned from the raid of Banu Lihyan. a band of armed men of

Ghatafan The Ghaṭafān () were an Arab tribal confederation originally based northeast of Medina. The main branches of the Ghatafan were the tribes of Banu Abs, Banu Dhubyan and Ashja'. They were one of the Arab tribes that interacted with Muhammad. Th ...

tribe led by Abd al-Rahman ibn Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari raided the outskirts of Medina and seized 20 milk camels. They also killed the shepherd and took his wife as a captive. Muhammad immediately dispatched several hundreds of horsemen consisted of Abu Qatada,

Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Miqdad ibn Amr al-Bahrani (), better known as al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi () or simply Miqdad, was one of the Sahabah, companions of the Islamic Muhammad, prophet Muhammad. His Kunya (Arabic), kunya was Abu Ma'bad (). Miqdad was born in ...

Ukkash ibn al-Mihsan Ukasha ibn Mihsan () was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, he participated in the Nakhla Raid during Muhammad's era.MubarakpuriThe Sealed Nectar (Free Version) p. 129 He also participated in the Expedition of Ukasha bin Al-Mi ...

, Akhram al-Asadi and others. Akhram and Abu Qatada then engaging some of raiders, Abu Qatada personally engaged Abd al-Rahman in duel after Akhram has been killed by Abd al-Rahman before and finally able to defeat him while

Salama ibn al-Akwa' Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ () was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the commander in the Expedition of Dhu Qarad, and a narrator of Hadīth. Name His full name is Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ al-Aslamī. Legacy He is one of the notable na ...

, who has been engaged the invaders before Abu Qatada arrived still fighting. shortly after that Abu Qatada marched on to catch up with other soldiers ahead until afternoon Due to this accident Muhammad praised both Abu Qatada and Salama saying: Later in 629 AD, Muhammad appointed Abdullah bin Atik as the leader of the expedition to assassinate Abu Rafi because he is the instigator and mediator of tribal alliance during battle of Khandaq. Abdullah and Abu Qatada urged to the Muhammad they want to carry out the mission since the 'Aws tribe counterpart has successfully assassinated Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf before. Abu Qatada and Abdullah then bringing along other 3 members of Khazraj clansmen namely Mas'ud ibn Sinan, Abdullah ibn Unays and Khuza'i ibn Aswad. marching towards the fortress where Abu Rafi lives in Hijaz. they arrived in destination during the dusk. they successfully sneak out of the fortress in the night and then killed Abu Rafi before they immediately leave the place to report to Muhammad. In November 629, Abu Qatada lead two military expeditions under instruction of Muhammad. The first was an expedition to the place of Khadira, which took place in 8th month of Islamic calendar. Abu Qatada are tasked to punish

tribe, as Muhammad has been informed that the tribe is amassing their troops to attack Medina. Abu Qatada leading about 18 men to mount the raid, which took 15 days to reach their destinations. the expedition was a success as Abu Qatada killed and captured several members of Ghatafan tribe during the raid while also manage to secure spoils. This expedition, along with

Expedition of Ibn Abi Al-Awja Al-Sulami Expedition of Ibn Abi Al-Awja Al-Sulami to Banu Sulaym took place in April 629 AD, 12th Month 8AH-1st Month 9AH, of the Islamic Calendar. Expedition During the summer, many expeditions took place, some of them ending disastrously. A month after M ...

helped the growing reputation of the still infant Muslims community in Medina as later several Arab tribes such as Banu Dzobian, Banu Fazara, Banu Murra and Banu Abs pledged their allegiance to Muhammad. The second expedition of Abu Qatada occurred about one month later during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

. Muhammad tasked Abu Qatada to raid a place called Idam with 8 personnel in order to divert the attentions in Arab soils from the plan to mobilize entire Muslims army onto Mecca. During the

Battle of Hunayn The Battle of Hunayn () was a conflict between the Muslims of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tribe of Qays in the aftermath of the conquest of Mecca. The battle took place in 8 AH () in the Hunayn valley on the route from Mecca to ...

Abu Qatada has narrated the word of Muhammad regarding those fighters who were fleeing, his contributions to the battle, and the rules pertaining to the divisions of war booty.

Ali's era (656–661)

He participated in all campaign of Ali ibn ali Talib during his tenure as Caliph including the

Battle of the Camel The Battle of the Camel, also known as The Battle of Basra () took place outside of Basra, Iraq, in 36 AH (656 CE). The battle was fought between the army of the fourth caliph Ali (), on one side, and the rebel army led by Aisha, Talha and ...

. when entering

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

, he was riding a powerful bay. He wore a white turban, carried a sword and a bow, and led a contingent of 1000 horsemen.

Death

Abu Qatada died in Kufa, Iraq in 50 AH or 665 AD.

Legacy

Abu Qatada known in Islamic scholars community as narrators of many hadiths which quoted in several hadith collections, including

Sahih Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

. Abu Qatada narrated: :''A funeral procession passed by Allah's Apostle who said, "Relieved or relieving?" The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is relieved and relieving?" He said, "A believer is relieved (by death) from the troubles and hardships of the world and leaves for the Mercy of Allah, while (the death of) a wicked person relieves the people, the land, the trees, (and) the animals from him." Abu Qatada also narrated hadith regarding

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

ruling of swearing in transaction which became basis guidance for Sunni

Madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

scholars to implement

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

Biography

Life during period of Prophet Muhammad in Medina

Ali's era (656–661)

Death

Legacy

Bibliography

Notes

References