Zubayr ibn al-Awwam

Ancestry and early life

His father was the brother of Khadija, Al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid of the Asad clan of the Quraysh tribe. His mother was Muhammad's aunt, Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib. Hence Zubayr was Muhammad's first cousin and brother-in-law.

Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was born in Mecca in 594. He had two brothers, Sa'ib and Abd al-Kaaba; and two sisters Hind bint al-Awwam, who would later marry Zayd ibn Haritha, and Zaynab bint al-Awwam who will mary her paternal cousin Hakim ibn Hizam. He has also a half-brother, Safi ibn al-Harith, son of Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib precedent wedding with Harb ibn Umayya.

Al-Awwam died while Zubayr was still young, the day of Al Ablaa, the third year of the Fijar War. His mother, Safiyya, would beat him severely in order to make him "bold in battle". While he was still a boy, Zubayr fought an adult man and beat him up so fiercely that the man's hand was broken. Safiyya, who was pregnant at the time, had to carry the man home.

Conversion to Islam

Zubayr is said to have entered Islam at the age of 16. He was one of the first men to accept Islam under the influence of Abu Bakr, and is said to have been the fourth or fifth adult male convert.

Zubayr was one of the first fifteen emigrants to Abyssinia in 615, until he returned there in 616. During his stay in Abyssinia, a rebellion against Najashi, king of Aksum and benefactor of the Muslim emigrants, broke out. Najashi met the rebels in battle on the banks of the Nile. The Muslims were greatly worried and decided to send Zubayr to seek news from Najashi. By using an inflated waterskin, he swam down the Nile river until he reached the point where the battle was raging. He watched until Najashi had defeated the rebels and then swam back to the Muslims to report the victory. However, another version recorded Zubayr as crossing the Red Sea from the coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

Zubayr was among those who returned to Mecca in 619 when he heard that the Meccans had converted to Islam. However, as they approached Mecca, they learned that the report was false, and they had to enter the town under the protection of a citizen or by stealth. While he stayed with early converts of Islam in Mecca, Zubayr was given a shared responsibility as a hafiz, someone who memorized every verse of the Quran, along with Abu Bakr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Talha and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. Zubayr joined the general emigration to Medina in 622. At first he lodged with Al-Mundhir ibn Muhammad. It is disputed who became Zubayr's sworn brother, as various traditions name different people, including Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, Talha, Ka'b ibn Malik, or Salama ibn Salama. As a shrewd merchant, Zubayr diverted his trading business route from Mecca to Medina at the beginning of the emigration.

Military career

Zubayr served as one of three main commanders of the Muslim forces in the Battle of Badr, along with Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Ali ibn Abi Talib. In the course of the battle, he killed the Qurayshi champion Ubayda ibn Sa'id of the Banu Umayya.

At the Battle of Uhud, Zubayr volunteered to take up Muhammad's sword, though Muhammad chose to give the sword to Abu Dujana instead. When the tides of the battle turned against the Muslim forces and many fled after Khalid ibn Al-Walid's counterattack, Zubayr was among the few to stand with Muhammad.

Not long after the battle of Uhud, Muhammad sent Zubayr and Abu Bakr to chase the Quraysh forces in Hamra al-Asad, where they captured a Qurayshi soldier from Banu Jumah, Abu Azzah al-Jumahi. Muhammad then ordered Zubayr to execute Abu Azzah for breaking his promise with Muhammad at the battle of Badr to not involve himself in the war against them anymore.

Later, after the invasion of Banu Nadir which resulted in their exile from Medina, their landed estates, which included palm-date gardens and cultivation fields along with their fortress residences, were confiscated and divided among the Muslims. Zubayr and Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Asad were acquired a shared property of al-Buwaylah from this campaign.

Battle of the Trench

During the Battle of the Trench, Zubayr fought and killed Nawfal ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi in a duel. However, other chroniclers such as Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani recorded the man killed by Zubayr as Uthman ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi. The Muslim defenders cheered and praised the sharpness of the sword which Zubayr used, only for Zubayr to reply that it is not his sword which need to be complimented, but the strength of the arm which held the sword. Zubayr caused the enemy horsemen to flee after he defeated a Qurayshi warrior named Hubayr ibn Abi Wahb al-Makhzumi, cutting the entire body of Hubayr into two pieces, along with his horse armour and crupper of Hubayr's horse in a single strike. He then played a critical reconnaissance role when the coalition forces besieged Medina; when Muhammad asked for volunteers to infiltrate and gather intelligence on the betrayals of the Banu Qurayza tribe, Zubayr was the only one who stepped forward multiple times. Recognizing his exceptional bravery and willingness to go when others hesitated, Muhammad praised him, stating: "Every Prophet has a disciple, and my disciple is Al-Zubayr."

After the battle, Muhammad immediately instructed the Muslim army to march without ceasing or resting to the settlement of Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe who had reportedly betrayed the Muslims in the previous battle. Banu Qurayza was besieged for several days before the Muslim soldiers, including Zubayr, broke through with a battering ram, and forced the surrender and execution of the garrison.

Pledge of the Tree

In March 628 CE (6 AH), Muhammad set out for Mecca to perform the ritual pilgrimage of Umrah. The Quraysh denied the Muslims entry into the city and posted themselves outside Mecca, determined to offer resistance even though the Muslims did not have any intention or preparation for battle, which caused Muhammad to send Uthman ibn Affan as his envoy to meet with the leaders of Quraysh and negotiate their entry into the city. The Quraysh had Uthman stay longer in Mecca than they originally planned, which caused Muhammad to believe that Uthman had been killed. In response, Muhammad gathered his nearly 1,400 Sahaba and called them to pledge to fight until death and avenge the death of Uthman. After the pledge, verses were revealed in the Qur'an commemorating and appreciating the pledge and those who made it:

Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity on them and rewarded them with a near victory.

Due to this verse, the pledge is also known as the Pledge of Acceptance as it was believed in Islam to be a cause for God's blessing towards those who took pledge, including Zubayr, while at the same day, the ratification of treaty of Hudaybiyyah also occurred.

Battle of Khaybar

In 628, Zubayr participated in the Battle of Khaybar, defeating the Jewish champion Yasir in single combat. Afterward, the Muslims commented on how sharp his sword must have been; Zubayr replied that it had not been sharp but he had used it with great force. Later during the battle, Zubayr fought and killed another opposing champion in a duel. After the Muslims had conquered most of these eight Khaybar fortresses, the Jewish treasurer, Kinana, was brought to Muhammad, but he refused to reveal where their money was hidden. However, later Muhammad ibn Maslama decapitated Kinana, in retaliation for his brother Mahmud, who had been killed in the battle a few days earlier. Zubayr was later made one of the eighteen chiefs who each supervised the division of a block of the spoils of victory.

Later, as the Muslim forces returned to Medina from Khaybar, they passed one more hostile Jewish fortress in Wadi al-Qura. During this battle Zubayr facing at least two enemy who challenged him to a duel; Zubayr accepted and defeated them both.

Conquest of Mecca until death of Muhammad

In December 629, on the eve of the Conquest of Mecca, Zubayr and Ali brought back to Muhammad a letter from a spy intended for the Quraysh, making Muhammad confident that the Muslims would now take Mecca by surprise. When Muhammad entered Mecca, Zubayr held one of the three banners of the Emigrants and commanded the left wing of the conquering army.

Later, during the Battle of Hunayn in 630 CE (8 AH), the Hawazin tribe forces under Malik ibn Awf ambushed the Muslims under the valley, which drove almost the entire Muslim army into retreat except Muhammad and several of his men. Most scholars, including Bukhari, Muslims, Tirmidhi, and Albani accept the primary report that only Muhammad and two of his uncles, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, stood their ground. possibly including Zubayr. However, the Hawazin forces paused as they almost surrounded Muhammad and his followers, giving time for the Muslim army to regroup. After they consolidated themselves and rescued Khalid, who has been gravely injured during the first clash, the Muslims commenced a general counterattack, with Zubayr on the front of the Rashidun cavalry. The Hawazin forces were immediately driven out of the valley by the frontal attack led by Zubayr after a short engagement. Nafi' ibn Jubayr reported that he saw Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib passing instructions from Muhammad to Zubayr to plant the rallying flag. After the battles in Awtas, the Muslims engaged in the lengthy Siege of Ta'if, although they did not succeed in forcing an immediate surrender of the Hawazin. Later, Zubayr participated in the last campaign with Muhammad, the Expedition of Tabuk.

At some point, Muhammad assigned Zubayr and Jahm ibn al-Suht to be registrars and auditors of the zakat funds. Muhammad also employ Al-Zubayr as one of his scribe. After the death of Muhammad, Ali ibn Zayd and several Tabi'un mentioned the scars covering Zubayr's body from wounds that he had suffered. It is said that in all of the battles with Muhammad, Zubayr wore a distinctive yellow turban, except for the Battle of Hunayn, in which he reportedly wore a red one.

During Rashidun caliphate

In the third week of June 632, during the Ridda Wars, the rebel army under Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid moved from Dhu Qissa to Dhu Hussa, from where they prepared to launch an attack on Medina. Abu Bakr received intelligence of the rebel movements, and immediately prepared for the defense of Medina in the form of newly organised elite guard unit al-Ḥaras wa-l-shurṭa to guard Medina. Zubayr was appointed as one commander of these units. These troops rode to the mountain passes of Medina at night, intercepting the rebel forces and forcing them to retreat to Dhu Qisha.

Later, Abu Bakr insisted on sending Usama ibn Zayd to Balqa to execute the last will of Muhammad. The caliph appointed Zubayr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Khalid ibn al-Walid as officers under Usama. Tabari states that the expedition was successful, and Usama reached Syria and became the first Muslim force to successfully raid Byzantine territory, thus paving the way for the subsequent Muslim conquests of Syria and Egypt from the Byzantine Empire.

Since all horses and trained camels were brought by main army to Balqa, Abu Bakr and the rest of Haras forces left in the capital had to resort to fighting the rebels with only untrained camels. However, as the rebels retreated to the foothills on the outskirts of the city, Abu Bakr and the Medinese army could not catch up to the battle in the outskirt of Medina due to their untrained camels, so they had to wait until the next day to gather momentum for the second strike. The Medinese army engaged the rebels in the Battle of Dhu al-Qassah, which resulted in a rout of the rebel army. Then, after the rebels retreated from the outskirt of Medina, the caliph went further to the north to crush another Bedouin rebellion in Dumat al-Jandal.

According to Ibn Hisham on secondhand testimony, as Khalid ibn al-Walid engaged the biggest rebel faction led by Musaylima, Zubayr participated in the Battle of al-Yamama while bringing the ten-year old Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr on his horse. Hisham ibn Urwah has recorded that when the Muslim army faced a dire situation in the battle, while one of Zubayr brother, Sa'ib ibn al-Awwam had also fallen during the battle, Zubayr gave a rousing speech towards the Muslims to reinvigorate their spirit, which then followed with the Muslims pushing back until they gained the upper hand in the battle.

During the Rashidun invasion of the Levant, after Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah had pacified the area in Moab, he sent Zubayr and Fadl ibn Abbas to subdue the city of Amman. al-Waqidi recorded that Sa'id ibn Amir al-Jumahi testified that during the battle, he saw in the front of Muslim army Zubayr and Fadl fighting ferociously against the Byzantines atop of their horses. Said ibn Amir followed by saying that the Rashidun army butchered the fleeing Byzantine soldiers, while some were captured as prisoners of war. Then Zubayr managed to kill the Byzantine commander Nicetas and subdued the city of Amman.

Legacy

In Islamic scholarship

Zubayr is generally viewed by Islamic scholars as an important figure, who collectively classified Zubayr as being among the highest-ranked Companions of Muhammad, due to his inclusion among the ten Muslims to whom Muhammad guaranteed Paradise while they were still alive.

Aside from his inclusion in the hadith about ten companion who guaranteed paradise, scholars also exalted Zubayr for these six particular events:

His migration from Mecca to Medina, for their perseverance and willingness to leave worldly possessions in favor of mass migration due to the instruction of Muhammad.

The Battle of Badr, at which he won an honorific title of Al-Badri.

The Battle of Uhud, for which he received the title of Al-Uhudi.

The Battle of Hamra al-Asad

The Battle of the Trench, for which Muhammad himself bestowed upon him the special title of Hawari Rasulullah for his distinguished service.

The Pledge of the Tree.

Shia Muslims generally view Zubayr negatively, as he is considered a heretic for his involvement in the Battle of the Camel.

Prayer and ethics

Zubayr established a number of traditions in Islamic prayer and ethics, including a prayer gesture of clasping his right middle, ring, and pinky fingers while pointing the index finger and putting the thumb above the clasped middle finger, whether to sit down while eating and drinking, prohibiting sleep during Fajr, and reciting sura Ar-Ra'd, Ayah 13|Quran 13:13 (Translated by Shakir) whenever a Muslim hears the sound of thunder.

Hadith and law

As one of principal companions of Muhammad who followed him from the beginning of Islam, many hadith are attributed to Zubayr. However, there are very few hadith from Zubayr in comparison with other companions of Muhammad, as he was reluctant to tell many hadith about Muhammad even though he had been constantly in his company. As he explained to his son Abd Allah, "I heard Allah’s Messenger say, ‘Anyone who tells a lie about me should take a seat in the Fire.'"

In his exegesis, Zubayr emphasized the importance of sunnah and tradition as guidance, as opposed to the more analytical qiyas method of Ahl al-Ra'y. Thus, Sunni Islam Madhhab scholars have accepted hadith and exegesis from Zubayr as the source of Islam jurisprudence.

Zubayr's ruling on Islamic law have been influential to the Shafi'i, Hanbali, Hanafi, and Zahiri schools.

In the modern era, Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia used the practice of Zubayr as one of their source of fatawa, such as an act of government to spying any endangering act from enemy of the state, such as criminal behavior, alleged terrorism, and other illegal conduct. The committee based this ruling of espionage from the act of Zubayr of spying on Banu Qurayza for their alleged betrayal during the Battle of the Trench on the instruction of Muhammad.

In Egypt, Zubayr's jurisprudence has had a widespread legacy. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, noted that because of the extended stays of both Zubayr and Amr ibn al-As in the region, Egyptian Muslims and jurists traditionally base many of their legal verdicts and rulings on the precedents Zubayr established during his military and administrative tenure in North Africa.

Rules of war

Zubayr's conduct has been influential on Islamic interpretation of the rules of war, such as the use of military deception, the division of spoils of war at the Battle of the Yarmuk, and the treatment of prisoners of war.

Entrepreneurship

Zubayr was known to be very wealthy as a result of his business career. His practice of offering loans with no interest became widespread in the Islamic world.

Manumission of slaves

Zubayr owned at least a thousand slaves and reportedly freed one each day. Some of his ex-slaves became prominent in their own right, including Yarba ibn Rabban Mawla al-Zubayr, who became a scholar of hadith. Another slave who gained prominence was Abu Yahya Mawla al-Zubayr. Daniel Pipes argued that the practice of early Muslims such as Zubayr and Uthman ibn Affan of owning massive number of slaves and casual manumissions was the first indication of Mamluk, an Islamic military slave system.

Descendants

Zubayr's status as an early Muslim hero and model of religious piety prompted many ethnic communities across the world to claim themselves as his descendants. particularly in Hejaz and Egypt. The Zubairi community which dwells in India and Pakistan also claims Zubayr as their ancestor, as descendant clans of Zubayr allegedly migrated from their homeland to the Indian subcontinent during the Umayyad campaigns in India in the 7th century AD.

The descendants of Zubayr, known as Zubayrids, were influential in Iraq and Iran.

Personal characteristics

Zubayr is described as of medium height, lean, dark-complexioned, and hairy, though with a thin beard. His hair hung down to his shoulders, and he did not dye it after it turned white. One report described him as having had blue eyes. Other reports consider him burly and tall. Much of his body was covered with battle scars from his many military engagements. He was said to possess extraordinary physical strength, as he was reported of being able to split an adult man body perfectly into two with a single blow of his sword.

Zubayr owned many horses, and established a high quality pedigree which was bred by his descendants for generations. He possessed a large number of properties, many slaves, and vast wealth, though he was said to be generous.

Family

Zubayr married eight times and had twenty children.

Asma bint Abi Bakr. They were married before the Hijra of 622 and divorced when Urwa was young, around 645.

Abd Allah

Al-Mundhir

Asim

Al-Muhajir

Khadija the Elder

Umm Al-Hasan

Aisha

Urwa

Umm Kulthum bint Uqba of the Umayya clan. They were married in 629, but she disliked him, and they were divorced in a matter of months. After their daughter was born, Umm Kulthum married Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf.

Zaynab

Al-Halal bint Qays of the Asad tribe.

Khadija the Younger

Umm Khalid Ama bint Khalid of the Umayya clan. She was one of the emigrants who returned from Abyssinia in 628.

Khalid

Amr

Habiba

Sawda

Hind

Al-Rabbab bint Unayf of the Kalb tribe.

Mus'ab

Hamza

Ramla

Atika bint Zayd of the Adi clan, a widow of Umar.