Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr () also known as Muṣʿab al-Khayr ("the Good") was a ''

sahabi 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 ...

'' (companion) 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 ...

. From the Banū ʿAbd al-Dār branch 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 ...

, he embraced

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 ...

614 __NOTOC__ Year 614 ( DCXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 614 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...

CE and was the first ambassador of Islam. He died in the Battle of Uhud in

625 __NOTOC__ Year 625 ( DCXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 625 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...

CE.

Early life

Mus‘ab ibn Umair was born to the

Banu Abd al-Dar Banū ‘Abd ad-Dār (, "Sons of the Servant of the House" — referring to the Kaaba) is a sub-clan of the Arabian Quraysh tribe. His exact birth year is not known; it is believed that he was born sometime between 594 and 598 CE since he was very young when he embraced Islam in 614. Mus‘ab was the son of Umayr ibn Hashim and Khunas bint Malik, and his parents were wealthy. Even as a young man, he was permitted to attend meetings of the Quraysh elders.

Conversion to Islam

The first Muslims used to meet with Muhammad at the house of Al-Arqam known as the Islamic Learning Center. Mus'ab became interested and went to this house to find out more about Islam. As a result of hearing the reciting of the Qur'an and the preaching of Muhammad, he converted. At first Mus'ab kept his faith a secret, for he was afraid of how his mother would react. However, one day,

Uthman ibn Talha ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥa (Arabic: عثمان بن طلحة) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His father was Talha ibn Abdullah (Abi Talha) al-‘Abdari who was killed by Zubayr ibn al-Awwam in the Battle of Uhud. Before the conquest ...

, saw him entering Al Arqam's house and joining the Muslim prayers. The news spread and eventually reached his mother, who chained him in their house with the intention of making him recant. Mus'ab was confident in his faith and would not renounce it. Muhammad advised him to join the companions who were emigrating to

Abyssinia Abyssinia (; also known as Abyssinie, Abissinia, Habessinien, or Al-Habash) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, ...

so that he would not be harassed again.

First Ambassador of Islam

Mus‘ab ibn Umayr was appointed the first ambassador of Islam and was sent to Yathrib (

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, ...

) to prepare the city for the forthcoming

Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (also ''Hejira'' or ''Hegira''), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers in 615 CE * L ...

after the first pledge with the ansar. A man of Medina named Asad ibn Zurarah assisted him. After they had preached Islam, many residents of Medina were converted, including

Sa'd ibn Mu'adh Saʿd ibn Muʿādh al-Ansari () () was the chief of the Aws tribe in Medina and one of the prominent companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He died shortly after the Battle of the Trench. Family Sa'd was born in Medina 590 CE, the son o ...

Usayd ibn Hudayr Usayd ibn Hudayr al-Awsi (, also Usaid ibn Hudair or Osayd ibn Hudayr) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the Banū Aws tribe in the city of Medina before his conversion to Islam. He inherited his leadership position ...

and

Sa'd ibn Ubadah Saad () is a common male Arabic given name. The name stems from the Arabic verb ( 'to be happy, fortunate or lucky'). ''Saad'' is the stem of variant given names Suad and Sa‘id. It may be a shortened version of Sa'd al-Din, and is not to ...

. The Medinan converts were known as '' Ansars'' ("helpers").

Military campaigns

Battle of Badr

He participated 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 ...

. Muhammad’s forces included

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

Hamza The hamza ( ') () is an Arabic script character that, in the Arabic alphabet, denotes a glottal stop and, in non-Arabic languages, indicates a diphthong, vowel, or other features, depending on the language. Derived from the letter '' ʿayn'' ( ...

, Mus`ab ibn `Umair, Az-Zubair bin Al-'Awwam,

Ammar ibn Yasir Ammar ibn Yasir (; July 657 C.E.) was a ''Sahabi'' (Companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a commander in the early Muslim conquests. His parents, Sumayya and Yasir ibn Amir, were the first martyrs of the Ummah. Ammar converted to I ...

, and

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari Al-Kinani (, '), also spelled Abu Tharr or Abu Zar, born Jundab ibn Junādah (), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam, and a member of the Muhajirun. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. His dat ...

. The Muslims also brought seventy camels and two horses, meaning that they either had to walk or fit three to four men per camel. However, many early Muslim sources indicate that no serious fighting was expected, and the future Caliph

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

stayed behind to care for his sick wife

Ruqayyah Ruqayyah () is an Arabic female given name meaning "to rise”,”she who rises high”. It is not to be confused with a separate Arabic term "Ruqia" from Arabic رقى (ruqia) meaning “to rise” or “ascend.” However, it is also suggested it ...

, the daughter of Muhammad.

Salman the Persian Salman Farsi (; ) was a Persian religious scholar and one of the companions of Muhammad. As a practicing Zoroastrian, he dedicated much of his early life to studying to become a magus, after which he began travelling extensively throughout Weste ...

also could not join the battle, as he was still not a free man. Many of the Quraishi nobles, including

Amr ibn Hishām Amr ibn Hisham (), better known as Abū Jahl (; ) was the Meccan Quraysh polytheist leader of the Mushrikites known for his opposition to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the most prominent flag-bearer of opposition towards Islam. A promine ...

Walid ibn Utba Al-Walīd ibn ʿUtba ibn Abī Sufyān () (died 684) was an Umayyad ruling family member and statesman during the reigns of the Umayyad caliphs Mu'awiya I () and Yazid I (). He served two stints as the governor of Medina in 677/78–680 and 681–68 ...

, Shaiba, and

Umayah ibn Khalaf Umayya ibn Khalaf ibn Habib ibn Wahb ibn Hudhafa ibn Jumah al-Jumahi (; 563 – 13 March 624) was an Arab slave master and the chieftain of the Banu Jumah of the Quraysh in the seventh century. He was one of the chief opponents against the Muslims ...

, joined the Meccan army. Their reasons varied: some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan; others wanted to avenge Ibn al-Hadrami, the guard killed at Nakhlah; finally, a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims. Amr ibn Hishām is described as shaming at least one noble, Umayah ibn Khalaf, into joining the expedition.

Death in the Battle of Uhud

In 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 ...

in 624 CE, Muhammad assigned Mus'ab ibn Umayr to carry the Muslim flag. During the battle, some Muslims, who were under the impression that the battle was over, left their positions on the battlefield, giving the opposing forces hope of attacking Muhammad himself. On realizing the danger, Mus'ab, who was of a similar position and colouring to Muhammad, raised his flag and shouted the ''takbir'' ("Allah is Greater!"), with the intention of diverting the enemies' attention towards himself and allowing Muhammad to remain unhurt. Mus'ab was attacked, and his right hand was severed holding the flag, but he continued to repeat the words of the Quran, and took the flag in his left hand. When his left hand was severed he took hold of it with his arms but never let the flag fall. "Muhammad is only a Messenger of God. Messengers have passed away before him." (Qur'an, 3:144) Eventually Musab was fatally wounded by Ibn Qami'ah and died.

Burial

Sixty-five Muslims were killed in the battle.

Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (), , was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad whom Islamic tradition regards as one of the ten earliest converts to Islam.. Born as a slave in Mecca, he later became a swordsmith and was able to build up enough of a reputation to eventu ...

narrated: Muhammad stood beside Musab's body and recited: "Among the believers are men who have been true to what they have pledged to God. The Messenger of God testifies that you are martyrs in the sight of God." When Mus'ab's wife,

Hammanah bint Jahsh Hamnah bint Jahsh or Hammnah ({{langx, ar, حمنة بنت جحش), was a companion of Muhammad. Biography She was the daughter of Jahsh ibn Riyab, an immigrant to Mecca from the Banu Asad tribe, and Umayma bint Abd al-Muttalib, a member o ...

, heard about the death of her brother and maternal uncle, she replied, "To Allah we belong and to him we will verily return. I ask Allah's forgiveness for him." But when she heard about the death of her husband Mus'ab, she shouted and cried.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mus'ab Ibn 'Umair Sahabah killed in battle Sahabah who participated in the battle of Uhud Sahabah hadith narrators Sahabah martyrs