Abu Fukayha (c.540–c.620) was the ''kunya'' of Yasar, a 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 ...

. Three verses of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

were revealed about a situation that concerned him.

Biography

Abu Fukayha was ancestrally from the Azd tribe in Yemen.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina'', pp. 173-174. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. He was a slave 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 ...

in the possession of Safwan ibn Umayya ibn Muharrith of the Kinana tribe. His master manumitted him at an unknown date; but his social status in the city remained "insignificant".Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. He had one son, Abu Tajra, and two daughters, Fukayha and Baraka. #Abu Tajra became the '' mawla'' of the Abdaldar clan and in his turn had two daughters, Barra and Habiba. #Baraka was a ''mawla'' of Abu Sufyan. She married Qays ibn Abdallah, a member of the Asad tribe and an ally of Sa'id ibn al-'As ibn Umayya. They had one daughter, Umayya. #Fukayha married Hattab ibn al-Harith from the Juma clan. Baraka and Fukayha were among the Muslims who migrated to Abyssinia, together with Safwan ibn Umayya's daughter Fatima. The aged Abu Fukayha became a

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 ...

. He suffered under the persecution of 614-616, when he was tortured until he did not know what he was saying.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. Muhammad said that a Muslim who denied his faith under such circumstances, yet "whose heart remains at rest in its faith," was not to blame. Abu Fukayha and other poor men used to sit in the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

with Muhammad. The Quraysh used to jeer at Muhammad for consorting with humble people, saying: "These are his companions, as you see. Is it such creatures that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

has chosen from among us to give guidance and truth? If what Muhammad has brought were a good thing these fellows would not have been the first to get it, and God would not have put them before us." Muhammad produced this prophecy in response. Abu Fukayha is not mentioned among those who emigrated 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, ...

in 622. It is likely that he had died of natural causes by this date.

Historical Note

It is popularly believed that Abu Fukayha was bought and manumitted by

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 ...

.Premières mesures coercitives
/ref> This is not correct. His name does not appear on Ibn Ishaq's list of slaves bought by Abu Bakr, which professes to be complete. Rather, Ibn Ishaq expressly states that it was Abu Fukayha's original master, Safwan, who freed him.

References

{{reflist Companions of the Prophet