Usaamah ibn Zayd ibn Haritha al-Kalbi () was an early

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and companion of the Islamic prophet

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 was the son of

Zayd ibn Haritha Zayd ibn Ḥāritha al-Kalbī () (), was an early Muslim, Sahabi 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 Khadija, Muhammad's cousin Ali, a ...

, Muhammad's adopted son, and

Umm Ayman Baraka bint Thaʿlaba (), commonly known by her Kunya (Arabic), kunya Umm Ayman (), was an early Muslim and one of the disciples (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was an Kingdom of Aksum, Abyssinian slave of Muhammad's parents, Abdull ...

, 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 known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

to avenge the

Battle of Mu'tah The Battle of Mu'tah (, or ') took place in September 629 (1 Jumada al-Awwal 8 AH), between the forces of Muhammad and the army of the Byzantine Empire and their Ghassanid vassals. It took place in the village of Mu'tah in Palaestina Sa ...

, in which Usama's father and Muhammad's adopted son,

Zayd ibn Harithah Zayd ibn Ḥāritha al-Kalbī () (), was an early Muslim, Sahabi 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 Khadija, Muhammad's cousin Ali, a ...

, 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 expedit ...

. Usama's campaign was successful and his army was the first Muslim force to successfully invade and raid

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

territory, thus paving the way for the subsequent

Muslim conquest of the Levant The Muslim conquest of the Levant (; ), or Arab conquest of Syria, was a 634–638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. A part of the wider Arab–Byzantine wars, the Levant was brought under Arab Muslim rule and develope ...

and

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of Amr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long Roman Egypt, Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broa ...

Background and early life

Usama was the son of Barakah (

), an Abyssinian, and her second husband,

. His parents were married "after Islam" and Usama was born before

Hijrah The Hijrah, () also Hegira (from Medieval Latin), was the journey the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the e ...

. Usama's mother,

served as a slave in the household of Muhammad's parents,

Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (; ; ) was the father of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Ibn Hisham note 97.Muhammad ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. He was the son of A ...

and Aminah bint Wahb. She became Muhammad's slave after the death of Aminah. Following Aminah's death in Al-Abwa, Barakah looked after Muhammad, and moved with him to the household of his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, where she served him during his childhood and afterwards, in his adulthood. When Muhammad married Khadija, 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 was born, and thus she was known as "

" ("Mother of Ayman"). Usama's father,

, was a companion and adopted son of Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the third person to have accepted

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, after Muhammad's wife

Khadija bint Khuwaylid Khadija bint Khuwaylid (November 619) was the first wife of Muhammad. Born into an aristocratic clan of the Quraysh, she was an affluent merchant in her own right and was known to have a noble personality within her tribe. In his early 20s, she e ...

, and Muhammad's cousin

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

. He was an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

of the Udhra branch of the Kalb tribe of

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

, central

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

Landau-Tasseron/Tabari p. 6. Zayd's mother, Suda bint Thaalaba, was from the Maan branch of the

Tayy The Tayy (/ALA-LC: ''Ṭayyi’''; Musnad: 𐩷𐩺), also known as Ṭayyi, Tayyaye, or Taiyaye, are a large and ancient Arab tribe, among whose descendants today are the tribes of Bani Sakher and Shammar. The '' nisba'' (patronymic) of Tayy i ...

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, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

with Muhammad to escape the religious persecution of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

. Usama had a close relationship with Muhammad and he fought with Muhammad in 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 ...

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

writes that according to

Ibn Ishaq Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar al-Muttalibi (; – , known simply as Ibn Ishaq, was an 8th-century Muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Islamic proph ...

Jabir ibn Abd Allah Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥarām al-Anṣārī (, died 697 CE/78 AH), Abu Muhammad and Abu Abd al-Rahman also wrote his nickname was a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and narrator of Hadith. Imami sources say ...

, 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'' (, singular , ) were the converts to Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated from Mecca to Medina; the event is known in Islam as the '' Hijra''. The early Muslims from Medina are called the ...

stood firmly and defended Muhammad the battlefield. These men were

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

, Ali,

Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib () was a paternal uncle and sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, just three years older than his nephew. A wealthy merchant, during the early years of Islam he protected Muhammad while he was in Mecca, ...

Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (), born al-Mughīra (), was a companion and first cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Abdalmalik ibn Hisham. ''Notes to Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasool Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (19 ...

, Fadl ibn Abbas,

Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith Rabīʿah ibn al-Ḥārith ()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 of the Hashim clan of the Qur ...

, Usama ibn Zayd and Ayman ibn Ubayd. Usama's half-brother Ayman ibn Ubayd was killed that day whilst defending Muhammad.Ibn Kathir, The Battles of the Prophet, pp. 175–176

Expedition of Usama ibn Zayd

The

was a military expedition of the early Muslim

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

led by Usama ibn Zayd that took place in June 632, in which Muslim forces raided

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

.Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, p. 31. After the

Farewell Pilgrimage The Farewell Pilgrimage () 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 brought about the intent to perform Hajj in Muhammad tha ...

, Muhammad appointed Usama ibn Zayd as the commander of an expeditionary force which was to invade the region of Balqa in the

. Muhammad commanded all the

sahaba The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

, except for his family, to go with Usama to Syria to avenge the Muslims’ defeat at the

, in which Usama's father and Muhammad's adopted son,

, 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 () 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 ...

states that: However, soon after the expedition was dispatched,people stayed in Medina refusing to go under Usama's army and disobeyed the prophet The campaign was not reengaged until leadership of the community passed to

, 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

territory successfully, thus paving the way for the subsequent

and

, 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 (–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 death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

", 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.

References

{{Authority control Family of Muhammad Companions of the Prophet 615 births 678 deaths Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars People from Mecca Banu Kalb

Background and early life

Expedition of Usama ibn Zayd

Later life

See also

References