Habib Ibn Zayd Al-Ansari
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ḥabīb ibn Zayd al-Anṣārī (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: حبيب بن زيد الأنصاري) ''
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 ...
'' and
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
of
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 ...
.


Biography

His father,
Zayd ibn Asim Zaid or Zayd (; ) is an Arabic given name and surname. Zaid *Zaid Abbas (born 1983), Jordanian basketball player *Zaid Abdul-Aziz (born 1946), American basketball player *Zaid Al-Harb (1887–1972), Kuwaiti poet *Zaid al-Rifai (1936-2024), Jorda ...
, was one of the first in
Yathrib 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, ...
to accept Islam and his mother, Nusaybah bint Kab was the first woman to fight in defence of Islam. Habib accompanied his parents, aunt and brother to
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 ...
with the group of 75 people who pledged loyalty to
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 ...
at Aqabah. Habib did not participate in the
battle of Badr The Battle of Badr or sometimes called The Raid of Badr ( ; ''Ghazwahu Badr''), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ; ''Yawm al-Furqan'') in the Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan, 2 AH), near the pre ...
or the
battle of Uhud The Battle of Uhud () was fought between the early Muslims and the Quraysh during the Muslim–Quraysh wars in a valley north of Mount Uhud near Medina on Saturday, 23 March 625 AD (7 Shawwal, 3 AH). After the expulsion of Hijrah, Muslims from ...
because he was considered too young to bear arms. Thereafter, however, he took part in all the engagements which Muhammad fought, distinguishing himself by his bravery.Muhammad Raji Hassan, Kinas (2012). ''Ensiklopedia Biografi Sahabat Nabi''. Jakarta: Penerbit Zaman. ISBN 978-979-024-295-1


Death

By 630 Islam was the dominant force in
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 ...
, and the tribes converged on Mecca to proclaim their acceptance of Islam, including a delegation from
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, ...
called
Banu Hanifah Banu Hanifa () is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdul Qays, Taghlib, al-Namm ...
, who appointed Musailama ibn Habib as their spokesman. On his return to Najd, Musailama recanted his allegiance, claiming to be a prophet himself. For various reasons the Banu Hanilab rallied around him, mostly out of tribal loyalty (''
asabiyyah 'Asabiyyah (, also 'asabiyya, 'group feeling' or 'social cohesion') is a concept of social solidarity with an emphasis on unity, group consciousness, and a sense of shared purpose and social cohesion, originally used in the context of tribalism ...
''). One member of the tribe declared:
''"I testify that Muhammad is indeed truthful and that Musaylamah is indeed an imposter. But the impostor of Rabiah'' (the tribal confederation to which the Banu Hanifah belonged) ''is dearer to me that the genuine and truthful person from Mudar'' (the tribal confederation to which the
Quraish The Quraysh () are an 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 the seventh centu ...
belonged)."
Before long, the number of Musailama's followers increased and he felt powerful enough to write a letter to Muhammad;
''"From Musailama, the messenger of God to Muhammad, the messenger of God. Peace be on you. I am prepared to share this mission with you. I shall have (control over) half the land and you shall have the other half. But the Quraish are an aggressive people."'' He then wrote to Musailama: ''"In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Compassionate. From Muhammad the Messenger of God, to Musailama the imposter. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. God will bequeath the earth to whosoever of His servants He wishes and the final triumph will be for those who are careful of their duty to God."''
Musaylamah's influence spread and Muhammad chose Habib ibn Zayd to deliver another letter inviting him to abandon his claims. He presented the letter, which angered Musailama who ordered Habib chained and brought before him the following day. On the following day, Musailama presided over his assembly with his senior advisers and common people. He then ordered Habib to be brought before him and asked him if he believed Muhammad is the Messenger of God, which he affirmed. Musailama then asked
''"And do you testify that I am the Messenger of God?"'' To which Habib replied ''"My ears have been blocked against hearing what you claim."'' Musailama then ordered his executioner to sever one of Habib’s limbs. He then questioned him again and Habib's answers were the same. Musailama thereupon ordered his henchman to cut off another part of Habib's body, which fell to the ground beside the other severed limb. Faced with Musaylamah's persistent questioning and the blows of his henchman, Habib kept on repeating: ''"I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God."'' Habib could not survive this torture much longer and he soon died. News of Habib's death reached his mother who said: ''"It was for such a situation that I prepared him... He pledged allegiance to uhammadon the night of Aqabah as a small child and today as an adult he has given his life for uhammad If God were to allow me to get near to Musailama, I would certainly make his daughters smite their cheeks and lament over him."''
The day she wished for arrived after the death of Muhammad when
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 ...
declared war on the imposter. The Muslim army that confronted the forces of Musailama included Habib's mother Nusaybah and his brother Abdullah ibn Zayd. At the Battle of Yamamah she was seen cutting through the ranks of soldiers. When she eventually reached Musaylamah, he had already been killed by
Wahshy ibn harb Waḥshī ibn Ḥarb (), also known as Abu Dusmah was a former slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im before becoming a freedman and a ''Sahabi'' (companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). He is best known for killing a leading Muslim fighter, Hamza ibn ...
and her son Habib was avenged. At Habib's death, Muhammad had commended him and his entire family and had prayed: ''"May God bless this household. May God have mercy on this household."''


References

{{Reflist


Sources

*''Hadrat Umar Farooq'', Prof. Masudul Hasan, Islamic Publications
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
Companions of the Prophet