Zubair Ibn Al-Awwam

Abu Abdullah Zubair ibn Al-Awwam (ابو عبداللہ زبیر ابن العوام) was one of the ten blessed Companions (عشرۃ المبشرۃ). ¹ He was a nephew of Khadija and a cousin of

Muhammad . ² He did not miss any battle that the Holy Prophet participated in and accepted at an early age. ³

Lineage

His full name was Abu Abdullah Zubair ibn Al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid ibn Asad ibn Abd Al-Uzza ibn Qusay ibn Kilab ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b ibn Luayy Al-Quraishi Al-Asadi. His mother was Safiyyah bint Abd Al-Muttalib . Thus, she was a paternal aunt of the

of Allah . ⁴

Childhood

Zubair was orphaned at a young age. Hence, he was brought up by his mother, who trained him to face the challenges and hardships of life, and ensured that he grew up strong and tough. In order to do this, she used to beat him severely, to the extent that the people would try to stop her, as they feared that such beating could destroy the boy, physically and emotionally. His mother replied that this beating would make his son brave in battle and sharper in instinct. Her training did make Zubair a strong boy, as an account narrates that he broke a hand of a man while fighting him in Makkah. ⁵

Acceptance of Islam

Zubair is included among the early coverts of

. Some suggest that he was the fourth or fifth person to accept Islam after Abu Bakr . ⁶ Regarding the age at which he accepted Islam, different accounts are reported. Some state that he was six years old, others claim eight, twelve and even fifteen years. Thus, his exact age when he accepted Islam cannot be ascertained, however, it is certain that he accepted Islam at a young age. ⁷ Furthermore, it is also acknowledged that he migrated to Madinah at the age of eighteen. ⁸

Persecution and Migration to Abyssinia

After accepting

, Zubair faced many persecutions, even from his close pagan relatives. One of the main persecutors was his paternal uncle, used to hang him in a mat and would smoke him with fire. He would ask Zubair to renounce Islam and return to paganism, but Zubair replied that he will never return to . ⁹ He faced all these oppressions patiently and did not renounce Islam, and when he got the chance, he migrated to Abyssinia to avoid these persecutions. ¹⁰

Unsheathing the Sword for Islam

Zubair was the first Muslim to unsheathe his sword in the way of

. The incident is narrated as:

  إن أول رجل سل سيفه الزبير بن العوام، سمع نفحة نفحها الشيطان: أخذ رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم، فخرج الزبير يشق الناس بسيفه، والنبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم بأعلى مكة، فلقيه فقال: «ما لك يا زبير؟»، قال: أخبرت أنك أخذت، قال: فصلي عليه، ودعا له ولسيفه. ¹¹

  The first man to unsheathe his sword in defense of Islam was Al-Zubair ibn al-Awwam. He heard a rumor, spread by Satan, that the Messenger of Allah had been captured. Al-Zubair rushed out, cutting through the people with his sword. He encountered the Holy Prophet in the upper part of Makkah. The Holy Prophet asked him, "What is the matter with you, O Zubair ()?" He replied, "I was told that you had been captured." The Holy Prophet then prayed for him and his sword, invoking blessings upon them both.

In another account it is mentioned that a rumor was spread which stated that the Holy Prophet had been martyred, so Zubair came out with his sword. When the Holy

saw him in such an agitated state and wielding an unsheathed sword, he asked Zubair about his intentions. Zubair replied that he was going to the people of Quraysh to take his revenge. Upon hearing this, Prophet Muhammad prayed for him. ¹²

Migration to Madinah (Yathrib)

When Zubair migrated to Madinah, he initially stayed with Al-Mundhir ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Uqba ibn Uhayha ibn Al-Julah. ¹³ After his arrival in Madinah, brotherhood (Mawakhat) was established between Zubair and Salamah ibn Salaamah ibn Waqsh , ¹⁴ so he moved in with him.

Life in Madinah

In Madinah, Zubair participated in all the important battles fought by

Muhammad . ¹⁵ He was present at Uhad, Trench (Khandaq/ Ahzab), Khayber, conquest of Makkah, Hunain, Taif and other important battles. ¹⁶ Zubair once told Abdullah , his son, that his body was filled with the scars, which he had received while fighting for the Messenger of Allah and . ¹⁷

On the day of Badr, Zubair was wearing a yellow turban which was imitated by the angels when they came to assist the Muslims in the battle field. ¹⁸ In this battle, the Muslims only had two horses, of which one belonged to Zubair , ¹⁹ named ‘Al-Ya’sub’. ²⁰

In the Battle of Uhud, Zubair took an oath to sacrifice his life for the Holy

. When the archers left their place and chaos ensued amongst the Muslim ranks, Zubair remained steadfast with Prophet Muhammad and did his best to protect the Messenger of Allah, without caring for his own life. ²¹

During the battle of trench,

Muhammad honored him and said: 'may my father and mother be sacrificed for you'. ²² Additionally, the Messenger of Allah asked that who amongst his companions would bring information about Al-Quraidha tribe of the Jews. Zubair responded enthusiastically. So, the Holy Prophet took his hand and said that every Prophet had a disciple and his disciple was Zubair . ²³

During the conquest of Makkah, Zubair was appointed as the commander of the left flank of the Muslim Army. When they had taken over Makkah,

Muhammad came to Zubair and Miqdad and cleaned the dust from their faces. Then, he announced that Zubair and Miqdad were to be given a double share in the war booty. ²⁴

Role during the Era of the Rashidun Caliphs

During Abu Bakr’s caliphate, Zubair played active part in the war against the apostate forces of Tulayha, the false prophet. During the caliphate of Umar ibn Al-Khattab , Zubair participated in some of the Islamic conquests, including the conquest of Persia and Egypt. ²⁵ Zubair was also included in Umar’s six member council, as a candidate for the post of Caliph, which was proposed by Umar on his death bed. ²⁶

When Ali became the caliph, Zubair pledged allegiance for Ali , but after some time, he went to Makkah, joined Talha and Aisha (The Mother of the Faithful), and decided to avenge Uthman . ²⁷ This resulted in The Battle of the Camel, which was fought between Ali on one side and Aisha , Talha and Zubair on the other.

Wives and Children

Zubair had eleven sons and nine daughters from six women. However, it is an established fact that he only had 4 women in marriage, at one time. Following are the names of his wives and children:

1. Asma’ bint Abi Bakr Al-Siddiq: From her Zubair had ‘Abdullah, ‘Urwa, Al-Mundhir, ‘Asim, Al-Muhajir Daraja, Khadija the elder, Umme Al- Hasan and ‘A’isha
2. Umme Khalid Ama bint Khalid ibn Saeed ibn Al-‘As ibn Umayya: Offspring include: Khalid, ‘Amr, Habiba, Sawda and Hind
3. Al-Rabbab bint Unayf ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Musad: Offspring include Mus‘ab, Hamza and Ramla
4. Zaynab, Umm Ja‘far bint Marthad ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd ‘Amr: Children include Ubayda and Ja‘far
5. Umme Kulthum bint ‘Uqba ibn Abi Mu‘ayt: From her, Zubair had a daughter named Zaynab
6. Al-Halal bint Qays ibn Nawfal ibn Jabir of the Banu Asad: From her, he had a daughter Khadija junior. ²⁸

Repayment of Loans

He was such a generous person that he used to take loans and give it in charity. On the day of the Battle of Camel, he called his son ‘Abdullah ibn Zubair and told him that he was greatly worried about his debts. Then, he asked him to sell the property and settle his debts. He advised that if any of the wealth was left after settling debts, then a third would be for Abdullah ibn Zubair’s children. When Abdullah ibn Zubair calculated his debts he found them to be two million and two hundred thousand dirhams. Zubair had not left a dinar or dirham in cash. All his wealth was left in the form of land. Details of his wealth include a place, which was called Al-Ghaba, eleven houses in Madinah, two houses in Basra, a house in Kufa and a house in Egypt. He also had plots of land in Egypt, Alexandria and Kufa. The total worth of his property was around thirty five million two hundred thousand dirhams. ²⁹

Demise

Zubair was martyred due to the treachery at the Battle of Camel while he was leaving the battle field. He was 64 years old at that time. ³⁰ It is narrated that during the Battle of Camel, Ali contacted Zubair and reminded him about his pledge of allegiance to his caliphate. Ali then reminded him that the Messenger of Allah once mentioned in front of him that a day would come when Zubair would misjudge and fight Ali . When he remembered that saying, Zubair stopped fighting and decided to return to Madinah. The conspiracy makers did not like his move, as they wanted to prolong war and slay maximum Muslims on both sides. Thus, they decided to kill Zubair to deepen the division between the Muslims. Zubair stopped by the water source of Banu Mujashy while he was going to Madinah. There he met two people who accompanied him, and stabbed and martyred him when they got the chance. He was then buried in Wadi Al-Siba’. ³¹

 

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