Mus’ab Ibn Umair (RA)

Preface: These articles are only a summary of
the lives of the great Companions and do not
cover all the points of their life stories. These
stories are not intended as biographies, but
rather to provide a glimpse of the main
incidents of each companion’s life. For ease of
reading, we have not inserted “May Allah be
pleased with him (RA)” each time the name of
each Companion is mentioned, but please take
it that the salutations apply to all of them,
may Allah be pleased with them all.
Musab ibn Umar RA was among the Companions
of Prophet Muhammad SAW. He was the flower
of the Quraish, the most handsome and
youthful. Historians and narrators describe him
as ‘The most charming of the Makkans’.
He was born and brought up in wealth, and he
grew up with its luxuries. Perhaps there was no
boy in Makkah who was pampered by his
parents like Mus’ab lbn Umair or Mus’ab the
Good, as he was nicknamed among the Muslims.
He was one of those made by Islam and
fostered by the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
His story is a pride of all mankind. The youth
heard one day what the people of Makkah had
begun to hear about Muhammad the Truthful,
that Allah had sent him as bearer of glad
tidings and a warner to call them to the
worship of Allah the One God. When Makkah
slept and awoke there was no other talk but
the Prophet Muhammad SAW and his religion,
and this boy was one of the most attentive
listeners.
That was because, although he was young, the
flower of clubs and assemblies, the outward
appearance of wisdom and common sense were
among the traits of Mus’ab.
He heard that the Prophet SAW and those who
believed in him were meeting far away from
the dignitaries and great men of the Quraish
at As-Safaa in the house of Al-Arqam lbn Al-
Arqam daar Al- Arqam. He wasted no time. He
went one night to the Daar Al Arqam, yearning
and anxious. There, the Prophet SAW was
meeting his Companions, reciting the Qur’an to
them and praying with them to Allah the Most
Exalted. Mus’ab had hardly taken his seat and
contemplated the verses of Qur’an recited by
the Prophet SAW when his heart became the
promised heart that night.
The pleasure almost flung him from his seat as
he was filled with a wild ecstasy. But the
Prophet SAW patted his throbbing heart with
his blessed right hand, and the silence of the
ocean’s depth filled his heart. In the twinkling
of an eye, the youth who had just become
Muslim appeared to have more wisdom than his
age and a determination that would change the
course of time!
Mus’ab’s mother was Khunaas Bint Malik, and
people feared her almost to the point of terror
because she possessed a strong personality.
When Mus’ab became a Muslim, he was neither
careful before nor afraid of anyone on the
face of the earth except his mother. Even if
Makkah, with all its idols, nobles, and deserts
were to challenge him, he would stand up to it.
As for a dispute with his mother, this was an
impossible horror, so he thought quickly and
decided to keep his Islam secret until Allah
willed. He continued to frequent Daar Al-
Arqam and take lessons from the Prophet SAW.
He was satisfied with his faith and avoided the
anger of his mother, who had no knowledge of
his embracing Islam.
However, Makkah at that time kept no secret,
for the eyes and ears of the Quraish were
everywhere, very alert and checking every
footprint in its hot sands. Once, Uthman Ibn
Talhah RA saw him steadily entering alarm’s
house, then he saw him a second time praying
the prayer like Muhammad. No sooner had he
seen him than he ran quickly with the news to
Mus’ab’s mother, who was astonished by it.
Mus’ab stood before his mother, the people,
and the nobles of Makkah who assembled
around him, telling them the irrefutable truth
and reciting the Qur’an with which the Prophet
SAW cleansed their hearts and filled them with
honour, wisdom, justice, and piety. His mother
aimed a heavy blow at him, but the hand which
was meant as an arrow soon succumbed to the
powerful light which increased the radiance of
his face with innocent glory because it
demanded respect with its quiet confidence.
However, his mother, under the pressure of her
motherliness, spared him the beating and the
pain, although it was within her power to
avenge her gods whom he had abandoned.
Instead she took him to a rough corner of her
house and shut him in it. She put shackles on
him and imprisoned him there until he heard
the news of the emigration (hijab) of some of
the believers to Abyssinia. He thought to
himself and was able to delude his mother and
his guards, and so escaped to Abyssinia.
There he stayed in Abyssinia with his fellow
emigrants and then returned with them to
Makkah. He also emigrated to Abyssinia for
the second time with the Companions whom the
Prophet SAW advised to emigrate and they
obeyed. But whether Mus’ab was in Abyssinia
or Makkah, the experience of his faith
proclaimed itself in all places and at all times.
Mus’ab became confident that his life had
become good enough to be offered as a
sacrifice to the Supreme Originator and great
Creator. He went out one day to some Muslims
while they were sitting around the Prophet
SAW, and no sooner did they see him than they
lowered their heads and shed some tears
because they saw him wearing worn out
garments. They were accustomed to his former
appearance before he had become a Muslim,
when his clothes had been like garden flowers,
elegant and fragrant.
The Prophet SAW saw him with the eyes of
wisdom, thankful and loving, and his lips smiled
gracefully as he said, ‘I saw Mus’ab here, and
there was no youth in Makkah more petted by
his parents than he. Then he abandoned all that
for the love of Allah and His Prophet!’
His mother had withheld from him all the
luxury he had been overwhelmed by, when she
could not return him to her religion. She
refused to let anyone who had abandoned their
gods eat of her food, even if he was her son.
Her last connection with him was when she
tried to imprison him for a second time after
his return from Abyssinia, and he swore that if
she did that, he would kill all those who came
to her aid to lock him up. She knew the truth
of his determination when he was intent and
decided to do something, and so she bade him
good bye weeping.
The parting moment revealed a strange
adherence to infidelity on the part of his
mother, and the greater adherence to faith on
the part of her son. When she said to him,
while turning him out of her house, ‘Go away, I
am no longer your mother,’ he went close to
her and said, ‘O mother, I am advising you and
my heart is with you, please bear witness that
there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad
is His servant and messenger.’ She replied to
him, angrily raging, ‘By the stars, I will never
enter your religion, to degrade my status and
weaken my senses!’
So Mus’ab left the great luxury in which he
had been living. He became satisfied with a
hard life he had never seen before, wearing
the roughest clothes, eating one day and going
hungry another. This spirit, which was grounded
in the strongest faith, adorned with the light
of Allah, made him another man, one who
appeals to the eyes of other great souls.
While he was in this state, the Prophet SAW
commissioned him with the greatest mission of
his life, which was to be his envoy to Al-
Medina. His mission was to instruct the Ansar
who believed in the Prophet SAW and had
pledged their allegiance to him at ‘Aqabah, to
call others to Islam, and to prepare Al-Medina
for the day of the great Hijrah. There were
among the Companions of the Prophet SAW at
that time others who were older than Mus’ab
and more prominent and nearer to the Prophet
SAW by family relations. But the Prophet SAW
chose Mus’ab the Good, knowing that he was
entrusting to him the most important task of
that time, putting into his hands the destiny
of Islam at Al- Medina. The radiant city of Al-
Medina was destined to be the home of Hijrah,
the springboard of Islamic preachers and the
liberators of the future. Mus’ab was equal to
the task and trust which Allah had given him
and he was equipped with an excellent mind and
noble character. He won the hearts of the
Medinites with his piety, uprightness and
sincerity. And so they embraced the religion of
Allah in flocks. At the time the Prophet SAW
sent him there, only twelve Muslims had
pledged allegiance to the Prophet SAW at the
Pledge of ‘Aqabah. He had hardly completed a
few months when they answered to the call of
Allah and the Prophet SAW. During the next
pilgrimage season, the Medinite Muslims sent a
delegation of 70 believing men and women to
Makkah to meet the Prophet SAW.
They came with their teacher and their
Prophet’s envoy, Mus’ab Ibn ‘Umair. Mus’ab had
proven, by his good sense and excellence, that
the Prophet SAW knew well how to choose his
envoys and teachers.
Mus’ab had understood his mission well. He
knew that he was a caller to Allah and
preacher of His religion, which calls people to
right guidance and the straight path. Like the
Prophet SAW in whom he believed, he was no
more than a deliverer of the message. There
he stood fast, with As’ad Ibn Zoraarah as host,
and both of them used to visit the tribes,
dwellings, and assemblies, reciting to the
people what he had of the Book of Allah,
instilling in them that Allah is no more than
One God.
He had confronted certain instances which
could have put an end to his life and that of
those with him but for his active, intelligent,
great mind. One day, he was taken by surprise
while preaching to the people to find Usaid lbn
Hudair, leader of the ‘Abd Al-Ashhal tribe, at
Al-Medina confronting him with a drawn arrow.
He was raging with anger and animosity against
the one who had come to corrupt the religion
of his people by telling them to abandon their
gods and talking to them about the idea of
only One God Whom they did not know before
and had never heard of. Their gods were to
them the centre of their worship. Whenever
any of them needed them, he knew their
places. They would invoke them for help. That
was how they thought and imagined!
As for the God of Muhammad, to whom this
envoy was calling, nobody knew His place, nor
could anybody see Him! When the Muslims who
were sitting around Mus’ab, saw Usaid lbn
Hudair advancing in his unbridled anger, they
were frightened, but Mus’ab the Good stood
firm. Usaid stood before him and As’ad lbn
Zoraarah shouting, ‘What brought you here?
Are you coming to corrupt our faith? Go away
if you wish to be saved!’
And like the calmness of the sea and its force,
Mus’ab started his fine speech saying, ‘Won’t
you sit down and listen? If you like our cause,
you can accept; and if you dislike it, we will
spare you of what you hate.’
Allah is the Greatest! How grand an opening
whose ending would be pleasant! Usaid was a
thoughtful and clever man, and here he saw
Mus’ab inviting him to listen and no more. If
he was convinced he would accept it, and if he
was not convinced, then Mus’ab would leave his
neighbourhood and his clan, and move to
another neighbourhood without harm, nor being
harmed. There and then Usaid answered him
saying, ‘Well, that is fair,’ and he dropped his
arrow to the ground and sat down listening.
Mus’ab had hardly read the Qur’an, explaining
the mission with which Muhammad SAW came,
when the conscience of Usaid began to dear
and brighten and change with the
effectiveness of the words. He became
overwhelmed by its beauty. When Mus’ab
finished speaking, Usaid lbn Hudair exclaimed
to him and those with him, ‘How beautiful is
this speech, and how true! How can one enter
this religion?’ Mus’ab told him to purify his
body and clothes and say, ‘I bear witness that
there is no god but Allah.’ Usaid retired for
some time and then returned pouring clean
water on his head and standing there
proclaiming, ‘I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah.’
The news spread like lightning and then Sa’d
Ibn Mu’adh came and listened to Mus’ab, and
he was convinced and embraced Islam. Then
came Sa’d lbn ‘Ubadah.
There and then blessings came with their
entering Islam. The people of Al-Medina came
together asking one another, ‘If Usaid lbn
Hudair, Sa’d Ibn Mu’adh and Sa’d Ibn ‘Ubadah
have embraced Islam, what are we waiting for?
Go straight to Mus’ab and believe. By Allah, he
is calling us to the truth and the straight
path!’
The first envoy of the Prophet SAW succeeded
without comparison. It was a success which he
deserved and to which he was equal.
The days and years passed by. The Prophet
SAW and his Companions emigrated to Al-
Medina, and the Quraish were raging with envy
and their ungodly pursuit after the pious
worshippers. So the Battle of Badr took place,
in which they were taught a lesson and lost
their strong hold. After that they prepared
themselves for revenge, and thus came the
Battle of Uhud. The Muslims mobilised
themselves, and the Prophet SAW stood in their
midst to sort out among their faithful faces
and to choose one to bear the standard. He
then called for Mus’ab the Good, and he
advanced and carried the standard.
The terrible battle was raging, the fighting
furious. The archers disregarded the orders of
the Prophet SAW by leaving their positions on
the mountain when they saw the polytheists
withdrawing as if defeated. But this act of
theirs soon turned the victory of the Muslims
to defeat. The Muslims were taken at unawares
by the cavalry of the Quraish at the mountain
top, and many Muslims were killed by the
swords of the polytheists as a consequence.
When they saw the confusion and horror
splitting the ranks of the Muslims, the
polytheists concentrated on the Prophet of
Allah to finish him off. Mus’ab saw the
impending threat, so he raised the standard
high, shouting, ‘Allahu Akbar! Allah is the
Greatest!’ like the roar of a lion. He turned
and jumped left and right, fighting and killing
the foe. All he wanted was to draw the
attention of the enemy to himself in order to
turn their attention away from the Prophet
SAW. He thus became as a whole army in
himself. Nay, Mus’ab went alone to fight as if
he were an army of giants raising the standard
in sanctity with one hand, striking with his
sword with the other. But the enemies were
multiplying on him. They wanted to step on his
corpse so that they could find the Prophet
SAW.
Let us allow a living witness to describe for us
the last scene of Mus’ab the Great. Ibn Sa’d
said: Ibrahim lbn Muhammad lbn Sharhabil
Al-’Abdriy related from his father, who said:
Mus’ab lbn ‘Umair carried the standard on the
Day of Uhud. When the Muslims were scattered,
he stood fast until he met lbn Qumah who was
a knight. He struck him on his right hand and
cut it off, but Mus’ab said, ‘and Muhammad is
but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away
before him ‘ (Qur’an 3:144). He carried the
standard with his left hand and leaned on it.
He struck his left hand and cut it off, and so
he leaned on the standard and held it with his
upper arms to his chest, all the while saying,
‘And Muhammad is but a Messenger.
Messengers have passed away before him’.
Then a third one struck him with his spear, and
the spear went through him. Mus’ab fell and
then the standard.
He fell after he had struggled for the sake of
Allah in the great battle of sacrifice and
faith. He had thought that if he fell, he would
be a stepping stone to the death of the
Prophet SAW because he would be without
defence and protection. But he put himself in
harm’s way for the sake of the Prophet SAW.
Overpowered by his fear for and love of him,
he continued to say with every sword stroke
that fell on him from the foe, ‘and Muhammad
is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed
away before him ‘(3:144). This verse was
revealed later, after he had spoken it.
After the bitter battle, they found the corpse
of the upright martyr lying with his face in
the dust, as if he feared to look while harm
fell on the Prophet SAW. So he hid his face so
that he would avoid the scene. Or perhaps, he
was shy when he fell as a martyr, before
making sure of the safety of the Prophet of
Allah, and before serving to the very end,
guarding and protecting him.
Allah is with you, O Mus’ab! What a great life
story!
The Prophet SAW and his Companions came to
inspect the scene of the battle and bid
farewell to its martyrs. Pausing at Mus’ab’s
body, tears dripped from the Prophet’s eyes.
Khabbab lbn Al-Arat narrated: We emigrated
with the Prophet SAW for Allah’s cause, so our
reward became due with Allah. Some of us
passed away without enjoying anything in this
life of his reward, and one of them was Mus’ab
Ibn Umair, who was martyred on the Day of
Uhud. He did not leave behind anything except
a sheet of shredded woollen cloth. If we
covered his head with it, his feet were
uncovered, and if we covered his feet with it,
his head was uncovered. The Prophet SAW said
to us, ‘Cover his head with it and put lemon
grass over his feet.’
Despite the deep, sad pain which the Prophet
SAW suffered over the loss of his uncle
Hamzah and the mutilation of his corpse by the
polytheists in a manner that drew tears from
the Prophet SAW and broke his heart; despite
the fact that the field of battle was littered
with the corpses of his Companions, all of whom
represented the peak of truth, piety and
enlightenment; despite all this, he stood at the
corpse of his first envoy, bidding him farewell
and weeping bitterly. The Prophet SAW stood
at the remains of Mus’ab lbn Umair saying,
while his eyes were flowing with tears, love and
loyalty, ‘Among the believers are men who
have been true to their covenant with Allah
‘ (Qur’an 33:23).
Then he gave a sad look at the garment in
which he was shrouded and said, ‘I saw you at
Makkah, and there was not a more precious
jewel, nor more distinguished one than you, and
here you are bare- headed in a garment!’ Then
the Prophet SAW looked at all the martyrs in
the battlefield and said, ‘The Prophet of Allah
witnesses that you are martyrs to Allah on the
Day of Resurrection.’ Then he gathered his
living Companions around him and said, ‘O
people, visit them, come to them, and salute
them. By Allah, no Muslim will salute them but
that they will salute him in return.’
Peace and blessings of Allah O Mus’ab. Peace
be on you, O Martyrs.
Acknowledgement :
Reproduced from:
Men Around the Messenger by Khalid
Muhammad Khalid
Most of the information for this work has been
obtained from
“Shining Stars Among the Prophet’s
Companions Volume One” by Abdul Basit Ahmad
“Heroes of Islam” by Mahmoud Esma’il Sieny
“The Sealed Nectar” by Safi-ur-Rahman Al
Mubarakpuri
“The Biography of ’Uthman Ibn ‘Affan- Dhun-
Noorayn” by Dr. Ali Muhammad Sallabi
“The Successors of the Messenger” by Khalid
Muhammad Khalid