Note: Where possible, I have relied on EI2 or EI3 for identifying the names of persons and toponyms; however, for more obscure entries, I have relied heavily on Islamic tradition. In particular, for identifying persons I used al-Balādhurī’s Ansāb al-ashrāf, Jamāl al-Dīn al-Mizzī’s Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, and Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī’s al-Iṣābah fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba. For toponyms, I have predominately relied on al-Samhūdī’s Wafāʾ al-Wafā bi-akhbār dār al-Muṣṭafā and Yāqūt’s Muʿjam al-buldān. Finally, in arranging the entries in alphabetical order the Arabic definite article “al-” as well as the Arabic letters hamzah and ʿayn have been disregarded. Oft-used terms, such as Mecca, Medina, Companion, Ally, and Emigrant are not cross-referenced.
ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, al-(d. ca. 32/653) Muḥammad’s uncle and the eponymous ancestor of the Abbasid line of the Hāshim clan. His descendants would later dominate the caliphate as the Abbasid dynasty, ruling over the heartlands of Islamic civilization from 132/750 to 656/1258.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib(fl. sixth century AD) Father of Muḥammad, he died while trading in Medina prior to the Prophet’s birth. See Genealogical Table.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr (ibn Abī Quḥāfah)(d. ca. 12/633) Son of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (q.v.), famous for helping his father and Muḥammad escape from Mecca during the Hijrah and his valor at the conquest of Taif.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr (ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm)(d. ca. 130/747–48 or 135/752–53) Nephew of ʿAmrah bint ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (q.v.), tradent and Medinese jurist.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Kurayz(d. 57/677 or 59/679) Qurashī noble of the ʿAbd Shams clan and governor of Basra from 29/649–50 to 35/656 under his maternal cousin ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.), and again from 41/661 to 44/664 under Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān. He sided with ʿĀʾishah, Ṭalḥah, and al-Zubayr against ʿAlī at the Battle of the Camel in 36/656.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAtīkMedinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe famous for leading the expedition into Khaybar (q.v.) to assassinate Ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq (q.v.). He is said to have died fighting at the Battle of Yamāmah in 11/632 or with ʿAlī (q.v.) at the Battle of Ṣiffīn in 36/657.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥasan (ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Maḥḍ)Leader of the Hāshim clan at the outset of the Abbasid period, he was killed in an Iraqi prison by the caliph al-Manṣūr (r. 136–58/754–75) in ca. 144–5/762–3 during the revolt of his two sons, Muḥammad and Ibrāhīm.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar (ibn Abī Ṭālib)(d. between 80/699 and 90/709) Son of the Prophet’s cousin Jaʿfar (q.v.) and Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays (q.v.), he became a staunch supporter of his uncle ʿAlī in the Civil War but later eschewed politics. He maintained a reputation for liberality and patronage in Medina, earning him the nickname “the Ocean of Generosity” (baḥr al-jūd).
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd(d. 32/65–63) Companion and famed Qurʾan reader.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn RawāḥahMedinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe and poet who participated in all the major battles of the Prophet until martyred fighting against the Byzantines in the Battle of Muʾtah in 8/629.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl(d. 9/631) Powerful chieftain from the Khazraj tribe remembered as a leading figure among the so-called “Hypocrites” (al-munāfiqūn) who either opposed or offered merely lukewarm support to Muḥammad in Medina.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb(d. ca. 73/693) Companion and brother-in-law to the Prophet. Eleven years old at the time of the Hijrah, he first participated in battle at al-Khandaq in 5/627, after which he participated in all of the subsequent campaigns of the Prophet and even in an illustrious string of battles during the conquests. He remained neutral during the First Civil War.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwāmSon of the Companion and Emigrant al-Zubayr (q.v.), first Muslim child born after the Hijrah in 2/624, and counter-caliph in Mecca for nine years prior to his defeat by the Umayyads in 73/692.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Unays (al-Juhanī)Medinese Ally who led the expedition to assassinate the Jewish merchant Ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq (q.v.); he died in 54/674 or 80/699–700.
ʿAbd ManāfAncestor of Muḥammad and eponymous progenitor of the branch of the Quraysh that included its two most powerful clans: the Umayyah clan (ʿAbd Shams) and the Hāshim clan. See Genealogical Table.
ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (ibn Ḥāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf)Muḥammad’s grandfather, into whose care he and his mother fell after the death of Muḥammad’s father. See Genealogical Table.
ʿAbd al-QaysEastern Arabian tribe, many of whose members settled in Basra during the early Islamic conquests.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (ibn ʿAbd Allāh) ibn Kaʿb ibn Malik(d. ca. 96–125/715–43) Medinese tradent and great-grandson of the Ally Kaʿb ibn Malik (q.v.).
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAttāb ibn Asīd(d. Jumada II 36/November–December 656) Qurashī notable of the ʿAbd Shams clan, whose father ʿAttāb, though he only converted after the conquest of Mecca, served the Prophet and the first caliph Abū Bakr (q.v.) as governor of Mecca and Taif (q.vv.). ʿAbd al-Raḥmān died fighting against ʿAlī (q.v.) at the Battle of the Camel.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf(d. 31/652) Emigrant Companion from the Zuhrah clan of the Quraysh, famed for the fortune he earned as a merchant and for his role as kingmaker at the Shura convened by the caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.). See Genealogical Table.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn AzharNephew of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (q.v.) and Companion, he witnessed the conquest of Mecca and the Battle of Ḥunayn as a youth. He reportedly died during the Umayyads’ siege of Medina, at the Battle of al-Ḥarrah, in 63/683.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām (al-Makhzūmī)(d. before 60/680) Qurashī notable and son-in-law of the caliph ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.), who commissioned him to aid in the project to codify the Qurʾan. He fought against ʿAlī (q.v.) at the Battle of the Camel in 36/656. See Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mālik al-Mudlijī(fl. first/seventh century) Nephew of Surāqah ibn Juʿshum (q.v.) and al-Zuhrī’s source for the story about him.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī(d. 211/826) Yemeni tradent, legal scholar, Qurʾan exegete, and the transmitter (rāwī) of Maʿmar’s book The Expeditions.
Abraham (Ibrāhīm)Patriarch of biblical fame revered in the Qurʾan and Islamic tradition as a prophet, ancient monotheist (ḥanīf), founder of the Kaaba cult in Mecca, and progenitor of the Jews and Arabs through his sons Isaac (Isḥāq) and Ishmael (Ismāʿīl), respectively.
Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ(d. 154/771 or 157/773–74) Baṣran authority on the Qurʾan revered as one of “seven Qurʾan reciters.”
Abū l-ʿĀṣ ibn RabīʿNephew of Khadījah bint Khuwalyid (q.v.) to whom Muḥammad married his daughter Zaynab (q.v.) prior to being called to prophethood. Although Abū l-ʿĀṣ fought against Muḥammad at the Battle of Badr and was taken captive, Zaynab freed him by paying his ransom. Only after the conquest of Mecca did Abū l-ʿĀṣ, seeking refuge with his former wife, become a Muslim.
Abū Bakr (ibn Abī Quḥāfah) al-ṢiddīqFirst caliph after Muḥammad (r. 10–13/632–4) and his father-in-law, he was a wealthy Qurashī merchant and counted among the first converts, if not the first, to Islam among the Meccans. See Genealogical Table.
Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām(d. ca. 93/711–12) Qurashī notable from the Makhzūm clan and one of the famed seven jurists of Medina, known as “the monk of the Quraysh” (rāhib Quraysh) because of his piety. See ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith.
Abū Baṣīr (ibn Asīd ibn Jāriyah al-Thaqafī)(d. before 10/632) Companion numbered among “the oppressed” (al-mustaḍʿafūn) who were imprisoned in Mecca and prevented from making the Hijrah to join Muḥammad in Medina.
Abū Hurayrah(d. 59/678) Companion and the most prolific tradent of Prophetic hadith from the first generation of Muslims.
Abū Isḥāq (ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Sabīʿī)(d. 129/746–47) Tradent from Kūfah.
Abū Jahl ibn Hishām(d. 2/624) Uncle of the Prophet killed at Badr, whose actual name was Abū l-Ḥakam ʿAmr ibn Hishām ibn al-Mughīrah. “Abū Jahl” means “father of ignorance” and is a pejorative name given to him for his inveterate and often cruel opposition to Muḥammad and his early followers.
Abū Jandal ibn Suhayl ibn ʿAmrQurashī Companion numbered those “oppressed” (al-mustaḍʿafūn) who were imprisoned in Mecca and prevented from making the Hijrah to join Muḥammad in Medina. He died at the age of thirty-eight fighting at the Battle of Yamāmah in 11/632.
Abū KabshahSee Ibn Abī Kabshah.
Abū Khaythamah (al-Sālimī)Medinese Ally said to have witnessed Uḥud and who died during the caliphate of Yazīd I ibn Muʿāwiyah (r. 64–65/683–4).
Abū Lubābah (ibn ʿAbd Mundhir?)Medinese Ally who died soon after the assassination of the caliph ʿUthmān (q.v.) in 35/656.
Abū LuʾluʾahSlave-client of al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (q.v.) and the assassin of the second caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.).
Abū Mūsā l-Ashʿarī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays(d. 52/672) Companion from the Yemeni tribe of al-Ashʿar, he was a prominent figure in the early Islamic conquests and twice appointed governor of Kūfah, once under ʿUmar (q.v.) in 22/642–43 and again under ʿUthmān (q.v.) in 34/654–55. He is also remembered as one of the two arbitrators, alongside ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, appointed at Ṣiffīn in 37/657 and charged with settling the dispute between ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah.
Abū l-QāsimSee al-Qāsim.
Abū Qatādah (al-Ḥārith ibn Ribʿī)(d. ca. 54/674) Medinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe and cousin to Kaʿb ibn Malik (q.v.).
Abū Ruhm ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd ManāfQurashī notable and uncle of the Prophet. See Umm Misṭaḥ.
Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (ibn ʿAwf al-Zuhrī)(d. 94/712–13 or 104/722–23) Son of the prominent companion ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, he was also a prominent tradent, jurist, and judge (qāḍī) in Medina.
Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb (ibn Umayyah ibn ʿAbd Shams ibn ʿAbd Manāf)(d. ca. 32–34/653–5) Qurashī notable, merchant, and chief opponent of Muḥammad during the Medinese period, Abū Sufyān converted to Islam just prior to the conquest of Mecca. His sons Yazīd and Muʿāwiyah (q.vv.) were instrumental in the early Islamic conquests. See Genealogical Table.
Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib(d. 8/630) Muḥammad’s cousin and milch-brother, who converted after the conquest of Mecca and was slain at the Battle of Ḥunayn.
Abū Ṭālib ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, Abū l-Faḍl(d. ca. AD 619) Paternal uncle of Muḥammad and his caregiver after the death of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. See Genealogical Table.
Abū ʿUbayda ibn al-JarrāḥEmigrant and Qurashī notable from the wealthy Fihr clan, he served under ʿUmar as the supreme commander of the forces in Syria until he perished in the Emmaus Plague in 18/639. See Genealogical Table.
Abū Umāmah Asʿad ibn Zurārah(d. 1/623) Medinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe and the first Medinese to pledge fealty to Muḥammad at ʿAqabah.
Abū Yazīd al-Madīnī(fl. end of the seventh century AD) Early tradent of Basra.
Abū Zamīl Simāk (ibn al-Walīd) al-Ḥanafī(d. before 120/738) Early tradent of Kūfah.
AbyssiniaIn Arabic, “Ḥabash” or “Ḥabashah”; a name of South Arabian origin used in reference to the land and peoples of Abyssinia, it was the destination of several preliminary Hijrahs of the persecuted Meccan Believers prior to the Hijrah to Medina in AD 622. See Negus.
AdhruḥLocated in the south of modern-day Jordan between Petra and Maʿān, it served as the location for arbitration of the conflict between Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.vv.).
Age of Ignorance (Ar. al-jāhiliyyah)Catchall term for humankind’s plight before God revealed the religion of Islam to humanity through the Prophet Muḥammad with special reference to Arabian paganism.
Aḥnaf ibn Qays, al-(d. 67/686) Chief of the Tamīm tribe in Basra. He refused to participate in the Battle of the Camel, though he subsequently joined ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib during his conflict with Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.vv.).
ʿĀʾishah bint Abī Bakr(d. 58/678) Wife of the Prophet Muḥammad and daughter of the first caliph Abū Bakr (q.v), she married the Prophet three years prior to the Hijrah. See Genealogical Table.
AjnādaynBattle between Byzantine and Muslim forces during the conquest of Palestine dated to ca. Jumada I or II 13/July–August 634. Modern geographers have placed the battle in Wādī al-Ṣamt some nine kilometers north of Bet Guvrim.
ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿArār al-Khārifī, al-Minor tradent from Kufah and authority for Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī (q.v.).
ʿAli ibn Abī Ṭālib (ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib), Abū l-Ḥasan(d. 40/661) Muḥammad’s cousin and son-in-law, married to his daughter Fāṭimah, ʿAlī numbered among the earliest converts to Islam and is regarded by Sunnis as the last of the four rightly guided caliphs and by the Shiʿah as the first imam and Muḥammad’s true successor. See Genealogical Table.
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib)(ca. 38/358–59 to 95/713) Great-grandson of the Prophet and fourth imam of the Twelver Shiʿah; known as Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, “The Ornament of the Worshippers.”
ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān(d. ca. 131/749) Tradent from Basra.
AllātOne of the so-called “daughters of God” mentioned in Q Najm 53:19–20 and said to have been worshipped by the Quraysh prior to Islam. See al-ʿUzzā, Hubal.
Allies (Anṣār; sg. Anṣārī)Also “Helpers,” the term anṣār is from the Qurʾan and is the principle moniker for the Medinese Arabs of the Aws and Khazraj tribes (q.v.) who believed in Muḥammad and gave refuge to the Emigrants (q.v.) from Mecca (q.v.; Q Tawbah 9:100, Q Tawbah 9:117). The title is also applied to the disciples of Jesus Christ (Q Āl ʿImrān 3:52, Q Ṣaff 61:14).
ʿAlqamah ibn Waqqāṣ(d. before 80/700) Minor Medinese tradent.
Āmina bint Wahb ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Zuhrah(d. ca. AD 577) Muḥammad’s mother. Though she reportedly foresaw her son’s future glory, she died while he was still a boy. See Genealogical Table.
ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah (al-Taymī)(d. Ṣafar 4/July–August 625) Freedman (mawlā) of Abū Bakr and early convert to Islam, he died at the expedition of Biʾr Maʿūnah.
ʿĀmir ibn LuʾayyClan of the Quraysh.
ʿĀmir ibn Mālik(fl. seventh century AD) Known as “The Lover of Spears” (mulāʿib al-asinnah; lit., “The One Who Plays with Spears”) and a chieftain of the ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿah tribe, he offers the Prophet his protection for an expedition of Muslims to Najd. The protection is not honored by his fellow tribesmen and leads to the massacre at Biʾr Maʿūnah.
ʿĀmir ibn al-ṬufaylBedouin poet, warrior, and fierce opponent to Muḥammad who instigated the massacre at Biʾir Maʿūnah alongside his uncle ʿĀmir ibn Mālik (q.v.).
ʿAmr ibn Abī Sufyān al-Thaqafī(fl. late seventh and early eighth century AD) Early Medinese tradent.
ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ(d. ca. 42–43/662–4) Companion famous for his political cunning, both as the conqueror of Egypt and as a formidable foe to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.) alongside Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.) in the Civil War. He is the founder of Fusṭāṭ, the precursor of modern Cairo, established after the conquest of Egypt.
ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf clanMajor clan of Medina’s Aws tribe (q.v.).
ʿAmr ibn Maymūn al-Awdī(d. ca. 74–77/693–7) Kūfan tradent and early convert from Yemen; companion of Muʿādh ibn Jabal (q.v.).
ʿAmr ibn Umayyah al-Ḍamrīd. ca. 40–60/660–80) Companion and sole survivor of the expedition to Biʾr Maʿūnah (q.v.).
ʿAmr ibn al-Zubayr(d. ca. 64/683–84) Son of the prominent Companion al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (q.v.).
ʿAmrah (bint ʿAbd al-Raḥmān)(d. 98/716) Paternal niece of ʿĀʾishah bint Abī Bakr (q.v.) and important female tradent.
Aʿnaqa LiyamūtSee al-Mundhir ibn ʿAmr.
Anas ibn Mālik(d. 92/711) Companion, scribe of the Prophet and long-lived, prolific tradent of Basra.
ʿAqabah, al-A mountain road between Minā and Mecca where Muḥammad held secret meetings with men from Medina, who pledged him their allegiance prior to his undertaking the Hijrah there in 1/622.
Aqṣā Mosque, al- (Ar. al-masjid al-aqṣā; lit., “the Farthest Mosque”)A location mentioned Q Isrāʾ 17:1 and usually identified with the Temple Esplanade in Jerusalem by subsequent tradition. Today it is also the name of a mosque built on the same location.
Ashtar, Mālik ibn al-Ḥārith al-Nakhāʿī al-(d. ca. 37/658) Virulent opponent of the third caliph ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.) and fiercely loyal partisan and general of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.), he received his nickname “al-Ashtar” (the split-eyed) from an injury he received fighting the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmuk (q.v.) in 15/636.
Ashṭāṭ, al-Pool of water near ʿUsfān (q.v.).
ʿĀṣim ibn ThābitFirst of the Medinese Allies to be martyred by the Liḥyānīs at al-Rajīʿ (q.v.), he was also the maternal grandfather of ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb al-ʿAdawī (q.v.), the son of the second caliph, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.).
ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb al-ʿAdawī(d. ca. 70/689–90) Qurashī notable, son of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.) and grandson (or nephew, some early scholars say) of the Ally ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit (q.v.) via his mother, Jamīlah bint [ʿĀṣim ibn] Thābit ibn Abī l-Aqlaḥ al-Anṣārī. He was the maternal grandfather of the Umayyad caliph ʿUmar (II) ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–20), who was greatly revered by the Medinese.
Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr (Dhāt al-Niṭāqayn)(d. 73/693) Daughter of the first caliph and half sister to ʿĀʾishah, she married the Companion al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (q.v.) after the Hijrah (q.v.), a marriage that ended in divorce but from which were born ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, a claimant to the caliphate, and ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr (q.v.), a seminal scholar of prophetic biographical traditions.
Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays al-Khathʿamiyyah(d. 39/659–60) Widow of Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.), who subsequently married Abū Bakr and then ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.vv.). She had been among those early Meccan followers of Muḥammad who undertook the preliminary emigrations to Abyssinia to flee persecution in Mecca.
Assembly House (dār al-nadwah)In pre-Islamic times, the main meeting hall of Mecca located north of the Kaaba and where the elders of the Quraysh gathered to plan and adjudicate.
Aswad ibn Abī l-Bakhtarī, al-(fl. seventh century AD) Qurashī notable who converted to Islam after the conquest of Mecca, he fought alongside ʿĀʾishah (q.v.) at the Battle of the Camel and subsequently changed his allegiance to Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.).
Aws and KhazrajThe two main tribes of Yathrib from whose ranks the Allies (q.v.) were drawn and who gave refuge to Muḥammad and his earliest Meccan Believers after the Hijrah (q.v.).
AwṭāsWadi where the Battle of Ḥunayn was fought in 8/630, located near the oasis of Taif.
Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, al-(d. ca. 131–2/748–50) Prominent tradent and legal authority from Basra.
BadrThe site of the first of the grand thematic battles of the Prophet’s biography in Ramadan 2/March 624 during the Medinese period, located some 159 kilometers southwest of Medina and nearly 50 kilometers inland from the Red Sea coast.
Bal-QaynArabian tribe of southern origin descended from Quḍāʿah and whose territories lay in the regions between Wādī l-Qurā and Taymāʾ (q.v.) as well as farther north.
BarīrahHandmaiden to ʿĀʾishah (q.v.).
Basra (al-Baṣrah)Garrison city founded in 17/638 during the Islamic conquests of southern Iraq and located near the Shaṭṭ al-Arab river. See Kūfah.
Baysān (Bet Shean)Site of a battle between Byzantine and Muslim armies during the early Islamic conquests in ca. 13/634, located thirty kilometers south of Lake Tiberius.
Bilāl (ibn Rabāḥ)(d. ca. 17–21/638–42) Emigrant Companion of Abyssinian origin and the first muezzin.
Biʾr MaʿūnahWell located on the road from Mecca and Medina, remembered for a massacre committed against Muslims in ca. Safar 4/July–August 625.
Bostra (Ar. Buṣrā)Ancient fortified town located south of Damascus and approximately thirty kilometers north of the modern Syria–Jordan border.
Budayl ibn Warqāʾ al-Khuzāʿī(d. ca. 10/632) Meccan chieftain of Khuzāʿah who played a prominent role in the negotiations at Ḥudaybiyah (6/628) and converted to Islam after Mecca’s conquest. He subsequently fought alongside the Muslims at Ḥunayn (8/630) and Tābūk (9/630).
Busr ibn Arṭaʾah(ca. 3–70/625–89) Qurashī notable from the ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy clan (q.v.) and a notoriously vicious military commander for Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.).
Caliph (Ar. khalīfah, pl. khulafāʾ)See Commander of the Faithful.
Commander of the Faithful (Ar. amīr al-muʾminīn)Title borne by Muḥammad’s first successors as the leaders of the Muslim community (ummah) that emphasizes their leadership of a religious community of believers and the military role that leadership entails. These leaders are often called caliphs (Ar. khulafāʾ, sg. khalīfah), meaning “successor” or “vicegerent.”
Companion (Ar. ṣaḥābī, pl. ṣaḥābah)Honorific for Muḥammad’s followers who either knew him intimately or met him prior to his death.
Dhāt al-SalāsilA location in the northern Ḥijāz and the target of a Muslim raid of the same name in ca. Jumada II 8/September 629.
Dhū l-ḤulayfahLocated at modern-day Abar ʿAlī, some ten kilometers from Medina, it is the location stipulated for Medineses to don the garments of pilgrimage and to enter the state of purity (iḥrām) required to initiate the rites of pilgrimage on the way to Mecca.
Dhū l-MajāzMarket near ʿArafah, approximately twenty kilometers east of Mecca on the road to Taif. Alongside ʿUkāẓ, Majannah, and Minā, Dhū l-Majāz was one of the four markets where the Quraysh would hold their pilgrimage fairs.
Dhū l-MarwahLocated in Wādī l-Qurā, “the Valley of Villages,” in the northern Ḥijāz, approximately a four- or five-day journey from Medina.
Diḥyah (ibn Khalīfah) al-Kalbī(d. 50/670) Mysterious Companion and merchant, he delivered the Prophet’s letter to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius.
Emigrants (al-muhājirūn)Earliest Meccan converts to Islam, many of whom were from the Quraysh or their slave-clients (mawālī) and who followed or preceded Muḥammad in his Hijrah to Medina.
FadakSmall village near Khaybar, about a three-day journey from Medina. Fadak was known for its dates and cereals. The fate of the Prophet’s share in the ownership of Fadak and its produce became a cause of disagreement between Abū Bakr and Fāṭimah (q.vv.). Fāṭimah claimed ownership of the land as her inherited right, a right denied her by Abū Bakr.
Faḍl ibn al-ʿAbbās, al- (ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib)Cousin to the Prophet, who accompanied him in his last hours and attended to his burial alongside ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.). He settled in Syria after the conquests, and died in the Emmaus Plague that struck the region in 18/639.
Faḥl (Pella)Located twelve kilometers southeast of Baysān, it was the location of a battle between Byzantines and Muslims during the early Islamic conquests in ca. Dhū l-Qaʿdah 13/January 635.
Farwah ibn Nufāthah al-Judhāmī(d. after 6/628?) Byzantine governor over the inhabitants of the hinterlands of ʿAmmān, or Maʿān, of al-Balqāʾ, who is said to have been crucified at the pool of ʿAfrā in Palestine by the Byzantines for confessing belief in the prophethood of Muḥammad.
Fāṭimah bint Muḥammad (al-Zahrāʾ)(d. 11/632) Youngest child of Muḥammad and his wife Khadījah (q.v.), and the first wife of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.). She bore four children to ʿAlī: al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn (q.vv.), Zaynab, and Umm Kulthūm.
Gabriel (Jibrīl, Jibrāʾīl)The angel who, in the Qurʾan, brings down the revelation to the Prophet’s heart by God’s leave (Q Baqarah 2:97) and who, in the Bible, interprets the prophet Daniel’s vision (Dan. 8:16–12, 9:20–27) and announces the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1:11–20, 26–38).
Ghamīm, al-A place between ʿUsfān and Mount Ḍajnān.
GhassānChristianized tribal confederation of the Azd, who migrated from South Arabia and settled in the Levantine hinterlands of the Late Roman empire in the late fifth century and rose to power locally as allies to the Roman emperors. Their rulers, or phylarchs, are frequently referred as the “kings” (mulūk) of Ghassān in Islamic sources.
GhaṭafānA group of Northern Arabian tribes whose lands lay in Najd between the Ḥijāz and the Shammar Mountains.
Ḥabīb ibn Maslamah (al-Fihrī)(d. ca. 42/662 or later) Qurashī notable and military commander of Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.).
Ḥafṣah(d. Shaʿban 45/October–November 665) Daughter of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and Muḥammad’s fourth wife, whom he wedded in Shaʿban 3/February 625; her copy of the Qurʾan, inherited from her father, purportedly served as the basis for the third caliph ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān’s codification thereof.
Hajj (Ar. al-ḥajj, al-ḥijjah)Seasonal pilgrimage to Mecca with many attendant rites, such as the donning of a simple white garment, circling around the Kaaba, and an animal sacrifice. It must be undertaken in the month of Dhū l-Hijjah.
Ḥajjāj ibn ʿIlāṭ, al-(d. soon after 13/634) Companion of the Sulaym clan who converted at the conquest of Khaybar and who settled in Ḥimṣ in Syria during the early Islamic conquests.
Ḥamnah bint JaḥshSister of the Prophet’s wife, Zaynab bint Jaḥsh (q.v.), she was wedded to Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh (q.v.) after her first husband, Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr, was slain at Uḥud.
Ḥamrāʾ al-AsadElevated location approximately sixteen kilometers south of Medina, visible from the ravine leading to Mecca.
Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib(d. 3/625) Paternal uncle of the Prophet, early believers, and martyr at the Battle of Uḥud.
Ḥanẓalah ibn Sabrah ibn al-Musayyab (al-Fazārī)(fl. second/eighth century) Kūfan tradent and grandson of al-Musayyab ibn Najaba al-Fazārī, an early partisan of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.).
Ḥarām ibn MilḥānMedinese Ally said to have been among those martyred at Biʾr Maʿūnah.
Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, al-The eldest son of the Prophet’s grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; he died before the birth of Muḥammad. See Genealogical Table.
Ḥārith ibn ʿĀmir ibn Nawfal, al- (ibn ʿAbd Manāf)(d. 2/624) Powerful Meccan notable of the Quraysh slain by Khubayb the Ally at Badr and infamous for having stolen golden gazelles from the Kaaba before Islam.
Ḥārith ibn Ḥāṭib, al- (ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qurashī al-Jumaḥī)(d. ca. 65–86/685–705) One of the few Muslims born in Abyssinia during his parents’ sojourn there while fleeing the persecution of the Meccans before the Hijrah.
Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj, al-One of the five main clans of the Khazraj tribe in Medina.
Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, al-(d. 49/669) Grandson of the Prophet and second imam of the Twelver Shiʿah, he ended the First Civil War by brokering an agreement with Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.) in 40/661 in the wake of the assassination of his father ʿAlī.
Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan, al- (ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib)(d. 97/715–16) Great-grandson of the Prophet and successor to his father al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī in managing the properties (ṣadaqah) of the ʿAlids under the Umayyads.
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, al-(d. 110/728–29) Renowned traditionist, pietist, and scholarly authority of Basra.
HawāzinA large northern Arabian tribe that included the Thaqīf and the Saʿd ibn Bakr (q.vv.), against whom the Muslims fought at the Battle of Ḥunayn following the conquest of Mecca.
HeracliusByzantine/East Roman emperor from AD 610 to 641.
Hejaz (Ar. Ḥijāz)Region of northwestern Arabia running along the Red Sea coast and bordered to the East by the Sarāt Mountains, it is the sacred heartland and spiritual birthplace of Islam wherein Mecca and Medina lie.
HijrahSee Emigrants.
Hilāl ibn Umayyah(fl. first/seventh century) Medinese Ally whose repentance for not accompanying Muḥammad during his expedition against Tabūk was accepted.
ḤirāʾMountain located northeast of Mecca where Muḥammad is said to have received his first revelation of the Qurʾan.
Hishām ibn ʿUrwah(d. 146/763) Son of ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr (q.v.) and, after Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (q.v.), the most important transmitter of ʿUrwah’s maghāzī traditions.
Ḥubāb ibn al-MundhirMedinese Ally from the Khazraj clan who witnessed Badr and reportedly died during the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.).
HubalAccording to later tradition, a chief idol worshipped in Mecca (q.v.) as a deity and before whom the Meccans cast lots. Unlike the so-called “daughters of God,” Hubal never receives mention in the Qurʾan; however, tradition asserts that Hubal’s idol was housed in the Kaaba (q.v.) prior to Muḥammad’s conquest of Mecca, after which it was destroyed. See Allāt, al-ʿUzzā.
ḤubāshahAnnual market located in Tihāma (q.v.), about a six-day journey south of Mecca.
ḤudaybiyahLocated just on the northern outskirts of the sacred territory that included Mecca, it served as the site of the story of Muḥammad drawing up an armistice agreement with the Meccan Quraysh in Dhū l-Qaʿdah 6/March 628.
HudhaylTribe of Northern Arabian descent that resided near Mecca and Taif (q.vv.).
ḤunaynValley a day’s journey from Mecca on the way to Taif (q.v.) and mentioned in Q Tawbah 9:25–26 as the site of a battle fought in 8/630 soon after the Muslims’ conquest of Mecca.
Hurmuzān(d. 23/644) Former leading general to the Sassanid monarch of Persia, Yazdegerd III, he was taken captive during the Islamic conquests in Persia and brought to Medina. He subsequently acted as an advisor until he was killed by ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (q.v.), who implicated him in the caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb’s (q.v.) assassination at the hands of the Persian slave Abū Luʾluʾah (q.v.).
Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, al- (ibn Abī Ṭālib)Grandson of the Prophet and third imam of the Twelver Shiʿah, who was martyred by the Umayyads at Karbalāʾ on 10 Muḥarram 61/10 October 680.
Ḥuyayy ibn AkhṭabLeading chieftain of the Jewish clan al-Naḍīr in Medina, he took up residence in Khaybar with his family and many of his fellow clansmen after their expulsion from Medina. Ḥuyayy was later put to the sword by the Muslims in Medina alongside another Jewish clan, the Qurayẓah, for his role in aiding them to plot against the Muslims in ca. Shawwal 5/February–March 627. See Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy.
Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿAbd Allāh(d. ca. 68/687–88) Paternal cousin and Companion of the Prophet, a man of legendary learning to whom vast swaths of the Islamic tradition are attributed.
Ibn Abī l-ḤuqayqSee Sallām ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq.
Ibn Abī KabshahMeaning “descendant of Abū Kabsha,” this was a derisive nickname for Muḥammad, the original significance of which is disputed. One explanation asserts that Abū Kabshah was an ancestor of Muḥammad from the tribe of Khuzāʿah who became infamous when he rejected his tribe’s idolatrous religion; thus, Muḥammad’s enemies called him “Ibn Abī Kabshah,” because he too abandoned his tribe’s religion. Other explanations assert that either his milchmother’s husband or the maternal grandfather of the prophet’s own maternal grandfather, Wahb ibn ʿAbd Manāf, was known by the name “Abū Kabshah.”
Ibn Abī Najīḥ(d. between 130–31/747–49) Meccan legal authority.
Ibn Abī Sarḥ, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd(d. ca. 36–37/656–8) Qurashī notable of the ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy clan (q.v.) and notorious apostate scribe of Muḥammad, whom the Prophet later pardoned thanks to entreaties on his behalf by his milch-brother ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.). Ibn Abī Sarḥ subsequently distinguished himself during the conquest of Egypt under ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (q.v.).
Ibn Abī Yaḥyā(d. 184/800) Medinese hadith-scholar and teacher of ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī, disparaged for his inclinations toward Shiʿism (al-tashayyuʿ).
Ibn Abjar, Ḥayyān al-Kinānī(alive in 76/695) Progenitor of a famous family of physicians from Kūfah, reputed by some to have been a Companion.
Ibn al-Daḥdāḥah, ThābitA confederate (ḥalīf) of the Medinese Allies who died shortly after the treaty of Ḥudaybiyah.
Ibn al-Dughunnah (al-Ḥārith ibn Yazīd)(fl. seventh century AD) Chieftain of the Qārah clan of the Hūn tribe, who were allies with the Zuhrah clan of the Quraysh.
Ibn Kaʿb ibn MālikSee ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik.
Ibn Khaṭal (Hilāl ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Manāf al-Adramī)(d. 8/630) One of the handful of persons whose death Muḥammad ordered upon his conquest of Mecca. Ibn Khaṭal embraced Islam and undertook the Hijrah to Medina, after which the Prophet appointed him a collector of the alms-levy (al-ṣadaqah). He apostatized after he killed a slave in fit of fury because the slave neglected to prepare his meal. He then fled to Mecca seeking refuge, fearing that Muḥammad would execute him for his crime.
Ibn Mubārak, ʿAbd Allāh(d. ca. 181/797) Tradent and legal authority from Khurasan famed for his commitment to fighting on the frontier and for works on asceticism (zuhd) and jihad.
Ibn al-NābighahTerm of abuse directed against ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (q.v.). His mother, al-Nābighah, was a slave woman whom her Qurashī master prostituted, thus casting considerable doubt on his actual paternity.
Ibn ShihābSee al-Zuhrī.
Ibn Sīrīn, Muḥammad(34–110/654–728) Basran tradent.
Ibn Ṭāwūs(d. 132/749–50) Yemeni tradent.
Ibn ʿUmarSee ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.
ʿIkrimah(d. 105/723–24) Slave-client (mawlā) of Ibn ʿAbbās (q.v.) freed by the latter’s son, ʿAlī, and an oft-cited authority of traditions from his master.
ʿIkrimah ibn ʿAmmār (al-ʿIjlī al-Yamāmī)(d. 159/776) Basran tradent.
ʿIkrimah ibn Khālid(d. 105/723–24) Meccan tradent.
Ismāʿīl ibn Sharūs (Abū l-Miqdām al-Ṣanʿānī)(fl. mid-second/eighth century) Minor Yemeni tradent.
ʿIyāḍ ibn Ghanm (al-Fihrī)(d. 20/641) Companion and famed general of the Islamic conquests in Mesopotamia and Syria.
Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh the Ally(d. ca. 78/697) Medinese Companion from the Khazraj tribe, he became a staunch supporter of ʿAlī (q.v.) and his son later in life, and a prolific tradent.
Jābiyah, al-About eighty kilometers south of Damascus in the Jawlān (Golan Heights). ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb traveled there as Commander of Faithful after the Muslims achieved victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmūk (q.v.) in ca. Rajab 15/August 636.
Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib (ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib)(d. 8/629) Cousin of the Prophet, elder brother of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.), and among the earliest converts to Islam. He was known as “the angel-winged” (dhū l-janāḥayn) after being martyred at the Battle of Muʾtah in ca. 8/629. See Genealogical Table.
Jamīl ibn Maʿmar al-Jumaḥī(d. ca. 21/642) Companion and confidant to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.) who witnessed Ḥunayn (q.v.) and the conquest of Egypt.
Jerusalem Temple (Ar. bayt al-maqdis; lit., House of the Holy)Common name for Jerusalem in early Arabic tradition, which refers to the location of the Temple Esplanade in particular.
Jesus, son of Mary (ʿĪsā ibn Maryam)Jesus of Nazareth of the Gospels, he is revered as a prophet in Islam but not regarded as the Son of God, although the Qurʾan does affirm his miracles as well as his virgin birth, and speaks of him as the Christ (Ar. al-masīḥ) and the Word of God (kalimat Allāh).
Jiʿrānah, al-Watering hole between Mecca and Taif where the spoils from the Battle of Ḥunayn were divided.
Jufaynah(d. 23/644) Christian writing tutor to the children of the Companion Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ (q.v.) murdered by ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (q.v.) when implicated in the murder of his father ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.). See Abū Luʾluʾah.
KaabaMecca’s famous sanctuary, also known as the “House of God” (Ar. bayt Allāh) and “the Sacred Mosque” (al-masjid al-ḥarām), it is a cube-shaped structure toward which Muslims worldwide direct their prayers and to which they undertake the greater pilgrimage, the hajj (q.v.) in Dhū l-Hijjah and, in other months, a lesser pilgrimage (q.v.) called an ʿumrah. In pre-Islamic times, tradition asserts, the Kaaba was a cultic center of pagan idol worship patronized by the Quraysh (q.v.), although the Prophet Abraham had founded the site to serve rather as the centerpiece for a cult of monotheistic worship. It was ostensibly to its original purpose as a site of monotheist worship that Muḥammad restored the Kaaba during his mission as God’s prophet.
Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf(d. ca. Rabīʿ I 3/September–October 624) Leader of the Jewish Naḍīr clan (q.v.) assassinated by Muslim tribesmen from the Aws (q.v.) for plotting against the Muslims and for scurrilous verses he purportedly composed against the Prophet and the Muslim women of Medina. See Ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq.
Kaʿb ibn LuʾayyClan of the Quraysh (q.v.). See Genealogical Table.
Kaʿb ibn Malik(d. 50/670 or 53/673) Bard of the Prophet and Medinese Ally from the Khazraj clan (q.v.).
KalbChristianized Arabian tribe of southern origin and a powerful branch of Quḍāʿah (q.v.) whose territories lay in the steppe regions between Syria and Iraq.
Kalbī, Muḥammad ibn Sāʾib al-(d. 146/763) Early historian and scholar from Kūfah.
Kathīr ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-MuṭṭalibCompanion, son of the Prophet’s uncle al-ʿAbbās (q.v.), and early tradent of Medina who died during the caliphate of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān (r. 685–705).
Khadījah bint Khuwaylid(d. 619) Muḥammad’s first wife, the first to believe in his prophethood, and the mother of his daughters Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthūm, and Fāṭimah (q.vv.). See Genealogical Table.
Khālid ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ(d. ca. Jumada I or II 13/July–August 634) Companion and Emigrant who converted to Islam after receiving a vision at age five, he was also among those to undertake the first Hijrah (q.v.) to Abyssinia. He is said to have died during the conquest of Syria, either at Marj al-Ṣuffar or Ajnadayn.
Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah(d. 21/642) Qurashī military commander who defeated the Muslims at Uḥud but who, after his conversion in 6/627 or 8/629, distinguished himself as one of the Muslims’ most skilled military strategists, for which reason tradition calls him “God’s Sword” (sayf Allāh).
Khālid ibn al-Zubayr(fl. first/seventh century) Companion and son of al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (q.v.), born in Abyssinia.
KhazrajSee Aws and Khazraj.
Khubayb ibn ʿAdī the Ally(d. ca. Safar 4/July–August 625) Early Muslim martyr from the Aws clan.
Khuwaylid ibn AsadFather of Khadījah bint Khuwaylid (q.v.), Muḥammad’s first wife, and grandfather of the Companion al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (q.v.).
KhaybarOasis approximately 150 kilometers from Medina, famous for the wealth of its date palms and, during Muḥammad’s lifetime, its large Jewish population.
KhuzāʿahNorthern Arabian tribe closely allied to the Quraysh and key to their power in Mecca.
Khuzāʿī ibn Aswad (or Aswad ibn Khuzāʿī al-Aslamī)Medinese Ally and member of the expedition to assassinate Sallām ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq (q.v.).
KinānahArabian tribe whose territory lay near Mecca.
KūfahA garrison city, like Basra (q.v.), founded in 17/638 during the Islamic conquests on the banks of the Euphrates river in the alluvial plain of Iraq. The city briefly served as ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib’s (q.v.) capital during his vying for the caliphate and remained a key center for Shiʿite Islam for centuries thereafter.
Layth ibn Saʿd, al-(94–175/713–91) Famed tradent and jurist of Egypt.
Lesser pilgrimage (Ar. ʿumrah)Any pilgrimage to the Kaaba (q.v.) in Mecca (q.v.) undertaken outside the month of Dhū l-Hijjah. See Hajj.
LiḥyānClan from the Hudhayl tribe (q.v.).
Mālik ibn ʿAwf al-Naṣrī(d. ca. 92/710–11) Bedouin chieftain of the Hawāzin (q.v.) who fought against the Muslims at Ḥunayn in 8/629 but who, after his defeat, joined causes with the Muslims and participated in the early Islamic conquests.
Mālik ibn Aws ibn al-Ḥadathān al-Naṣrī(d. ca. 91–92/709–11) Late Companion.
Mālik ibn Mighwal(d. 157/774 or 159/776) Kūfan tradent.
Maʿmar (ibn Rāshid al-Azdī)(d. 153/770) Basran tradent and principle author of The Expeditions.
Maʿn ibn ʿAdī (al-Balawī)(fl. first/seventh century) Companion and tribal confederate (ḥalīf) of the Medinese Allies.
Manāṣiʿ, al-Area designated for women to relieve themselves in Medina located due east of the Prophet’s mosque and north of Baqīʿ al-Gharqad.
Maʿrūr ibn Suwayd (al-Asadī)(d. ca. 82/701) Kūfan tradent who purportedly lived to be 120.
Marwān (I) ibn al-ḤakamCompanion and first caliph of the Marwānid branch of the Umayyads (r. 64–65/684–5), he was a formidable power broker among the Islamic conquest elite from the caliphate of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.) onward.
Maslamah ibn MukhalladMedinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe who was instrumental in the conquest of Egypt and later served as the region’s governor from ca. 47/668 until his death on 25 Rajab 62/9 April 682.
Masʿūd ibn SinānMedinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe who participated in the assassination of Ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq (q.v.) and purportedly died fighting at the Battle of Yamāmah in 12/632.
Maymūnah (bint al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥazn al-Hilāliyyah)(d. 61/681) Muḥammad’s last wife, whom he married in 7/629 during his lesser pilgrimage (q.v.) to Mecca prior to the city’s conquest.
MeccaThe cultic center of the Hejaz in pre-Islamic Arabia and of the Islamic world thereafter, Mecca was the birthplace of Muḥammad and central hub of its powerful ruling tribe, the Quraysh; it remains the holiest city of Islam and the direction of prayer (qiblah) for all Muslims.
MedinaKnown as Yathrib in pre-Islamic times and situated about 160 kilometers from the Red Sea and 350 kilometers north of Mecca, it soon became known as “the city of the Prophet” (Ar. madīnat al-nabī) after it became the destination of Muḥammad’s Hijrah, the site of the Prophet’s Mosque, and the capital for his polity and that of the first three caliphs thereafter.
Mihjaʿ (al-ʿAkkī)(d. Ramadan 2/March 624) Freedman (mawlā) of ʿUmar and the first Muslim martyred at the Battle of Badr.
Mikraz ibn Ḥafṣ(fl. seventh century AD) Qurashī notable of the ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy clan (q.v.).
MināLocated in the hills east of Mecca on the road to ʿArafah, it serves as a waypoint on the course of the pilgrimage rites for the Hajj (q.v.) and was the site of one of the Meccan pilgrimage fairs before Islam. See Dhū l-Majaz; ʿUkāẓ.
Miqsam ibn Burjah(d. 101/719–20) Early Meccan tradent.
Miqyas (ibn Ḍubābah) al-Kinānī(d. ca. Ramadan 8/January 630) Apostate Muslim whom the Prophet ordered to be killed after Mecca’s conquest. He purportedly converted to Islam after his brother Hāshim ibn Ḍubābah was accidently killed during the expedition of Muraysīʿ (ca. Shaʿban 5/December 626–January 627) by a Medinese Ally, but his conversion was merely a ploy to gain access to his brother’s killer, whom he murdered even though he accepted payment of the wergild.
Misṭaḥ ibn Uthāthah ibn ʿAbbād ibn al-Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd Manāf(d. 34/654–55 or 37/657–58) Companion and Emigrant implicated in spreading vicious rumors against ʿĀʾishah (q.v.) and who, according to some authorities, reputedly fought alongside ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib at Ṣiffīn (q.vv.).
Miswar ibn Makhramah, al- (al-Zuhrī)(2–64/623–83) Companion, Qurashī notable, and maternal nephew of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (q.v.), he was revered as one the “scholars of Quraysh” (ʿulamāʾ Quraysh).
Moses (Mūsā)Israelite leader of the exodus from Egypt of biblical fame, revered as a prophet in the Qurʾan and the Islamic tradition.
Muʿādh ibn JabalMedinese Ally from the Khazraj clan who fought at Badr (q.vv.) at age twenty-one and whom Muḥammad sent to Yemen as his representative. He died in Syria from the Emmaus plague in 18/639.
Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyānr. 40–60/660–80) Son of Muḥammad’s archrival Abū Sufyān, he converted along with his father at the conquest of Mecca. After the murder of the third caliph, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.), he vied with ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.) to become the undisputed Commander of the Faithful (q.v.), a goal he achieved after ʿAlī’s assassination in 40/661. Muʿāwiyah was the first in Sufyānid line of Umayyad caliphs. See Genealogical Table.
Muʿāwiyah ibn Ḥudayj al-Khawlānī(d. ca. 52/672) Participant and leader in the conquests of Egypt and North Africa, he was a staunch partisan of Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān and the Umayyads (q.vv.).
Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah, al- (al-Thaqafī)(d. ca. 50/670) Companion and nephew of ʿUrwah ibn Masʿūd (q.v.) who, though notorious for his criminality and lax faith, earned a reputation as a cunning fox (dāhiyah) in the political realm, serving as governor of Kūfa, first under ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and later under Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.vv.).
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qārī(fl. second/eighth century) Medinese tradent.
Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq(10–38/632–58) The son of the first caliph, and staunch supporter of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib’s (q.v.) bid for the caliphate during the Civil War. He fought alongside ʿAlī against his own half sister ʿĀʾishah (q.v.) at the Battle of the Camel and served briefly as ʿAlī’s governor in Egypt until killed by the supporters of Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (q.vv.).
Mulāʿib al-AsinnahSee ʿĀmir ibn Mālik.
Mundhir ibn ʿAmr al-Sāʿidī, al-(d. ca. Ṣafar 4/July–August 625) Medinese Ally from the Khazraj tribe known as “Aʿnaqa Liyamūt” (lit., he who hastens toward death), killed at Biʾr Maʿūnah (q.v.).
Murārah ibn Rabīʿah(fl. first/seventh century) Medinese Ally from the Aws tribe whose repentance for not accompanying Muḥammad during his expedition against Tabūk was accepted.
Naḍīr, al-Major Jewish tribe in Medina alongside the Qurayẓah (q.v.), famed for their wealth garnered from date-palm farming and for their towering, fortress-like houses surrounding Medina. See Ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq; Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf.
NajdA name meaning “highlands,” applied to the plateau region of the Arabian Peninsula east of the Hejaz.
NajrānArabian urban center of pre-Islamic South Arabia, Christianized in the fifth century, where the Ḥimyarites martyred large numbers of Christian of the Balḥārith tribe in ca. AD 520. By Muḥammad’s lifetime, the Axumite ruler of Abyssinia had constructed a martyrion there commemorating the martyrs’ deaths.
Negus (Ar. al-najāshī; from Geʿez, nägâsî)Rulers’ title in the Axumite kingdom of Abyssinia. Named for its capital city of Axum, the kingdom was founded in the first century AD and lasted until the end of the seventh century. During Muḥammad’s lifetime, Axum was regarded as Christian kingdom, the process of its Christianization having begun in the mid-fourth century under King Ēzānā (r. ca. AD 320–50), and was viewed as major regional power whose influence extended to South Arabia.
Nuʿaym ibn Masʿūd al-Ashjaʿī(d. ca. 35/656) Companion involved in the massacre of the Qurayẓah (q.v.).
Pagans (mushrikūn; sg. mushrik)Literally “associators,” so-named because they were deemed guilty of shirk: giving worship to and seeking the intercession of beings (angels, demons, gods, etc.) alongside and to the neglect of the one God. Although Muḥammad’s non-Christian and non-Jewish enemies are portrayed as the primary mushrikūn, in the Qurʾan the Jews’ worship of ʿUzayr (perhaps Ezra or, more likely, Enoch) and the Christians’ worship of Jesus is considered to render them guilty of shirkas well.
Qādisiyyah, al-Small town on the edge of the settled regions of Iraq, known for its palm groves. It was the site of a key victory of the Muslim armies over the Persians in ca. 16/637 that opened Iraq and Persia to further conquest.
Qāsim, al-, son of the Messenger of GodSon of Khadījah and Muḥammad who died at two years of age and after whom Muḥammad was called by the tekonym “Abū l-Qāsim.”
Qāsim ibn Muḥammad, al- (ibn Abī Bakr)(d. ca. 106/724–25) Medinese tradent numbered among the so-called seven jurists of Medina; grandson of the caliph Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (q.v.).
Qatādah ibn Diʿāmah(ca. 61–117/681–735) Blind scholar of Basra revered as a tradent and Qurʾan exegete.
Qays ibn Makshūḥ al-ʿAbsī(fl. first/seventh century) Chieftain of the Murād branch of the Madhḥij tribe of Yemen who converted during the caliphate of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (q.v.) and who aided the Muslims during their defeat of the Yemeni prophet al-Aswad al-ʿAnsī and, subsequently, in the conquest of Iraq and Persia.
Qays ibn Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah(d. 85/704 or earlier) Companion, Medinese Ally from the Khazraj clan, and partisan of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.) numbered among the “cunning foxes” (duhāh) of the Arabs. See Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah.
QuḍāʿahArabian tribe of southern origin whose territories lay along the trade routes between Mecca and Syria.
QulzumAncient town and seaport in the Suez region of Egypt valued from antiquity for its canal to the Red Sea.
QurayshMuḥammad’s tribe and the one that dominated the affairs of Mecca in his lifetime and, thereafter, the leadership of the early Islamic polity.
QurayẓahOne of the wealthy Jewish clans of Medina, along with al-Naḍīr (q.v.). The men of the Qurayẓah were massacred and its women and children sold into captivity after betraying the Muslims during the Battle of the Trench in Dhū l-Qaʿdah 5/April 627.
Qutham ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-MuṭṭalibYoung cousin of Muḥammad said to resemble him, and milch-brother of al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (q.v.). He reputedly died as a martyr in Samarkand in ca. 56/676, where there is a tomb dedicated to him known as the Shāh-e Zendah.
Rajīʿ, al- Watering hole located between ʿUsfān and Mecca (q.vv.).
Rawḥāʾ, al- Wadi located fifty to sixty kilometers from Medina and a way-point for the hajj.
Ruqayyah, daughter of the Messenger of God(d. 2/624) One of Muḥammad’s daughters from his marriage to Khadījah (q.v.), she was Fāṭimah’s (q.v.) elder sister and a wife of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.).
Sacred House (Ar. al-bayt)See Kaaba.
Sacred Mosque (Ar. al-masjid al-ḥarām)See Kaaba.
Sacred Precincts (Ar. al-ḥaram)The environs around Mecca, especially the Kaaba, wherein sacred proscriptions, such as those against shedding blood, must be followed.
Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ(d. ca. 50/670–71 or 58/677–78) Qurashī notable of the Zuhrah clan, Companion, and Emigrant, he is credited with founding the garrison city of Kūfah during the early Islamic conquest of Iraq.
Saʿd ibn BakrClan of the Hawāzin tribe (q.v.).
Saʿd ibn MuʿādhAlly and chieftain of the ʿAbd al-Ashal clan of the Aws tribe of Medina who issued the sentence against the Qurayẓah clan (q.v.) and who died shortly thereafter from an arrow wound suffered at the Battle of the Trench in 5/627.
Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah(d. 16/637) Ally, chieftain of the Sāʿidah clan of the Khazraj tribe of Medina, and fierce rival to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy (q.v.). He settled in Syria during the early Islamic conquests. See Qays ibn Saʿd.
Saʿīd ibn Zayd (al-ʿAdawī)d. ca. 50–52/670–72) Emigrant, Qurashī, and one of the earliest converts to Islam. It was in his house that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.) purportedly converted to Islam, and he is said to have witnessed the Battle of Yarmūk (q.v.) and the conquest of Damascus.
Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy (ibn Akhṭab)(d. 50/670 or 52/672) Eleventh wife of the Prophet from the Jewish Naḍīr clan of Medina and daughter of a bitter opponent of Muḥammad. Her marriage took place after Khaybar was captured by the Muslims in ca. Ṣafar 7/June–July 628. See Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab.
Ṣafwān ibn al-Muʿaṭṭal al-Sulamī al-Dhakwānī(d. 17/638 or 19/640 in Armenia) ʿĀʾishah’s (q.v.) escort back to the Muslim caravan when she was accidently left behind and with whom she was accused of having had illicit relations.
Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah (ibn Khalaf al-Jumaḥī)(d. ca. 41–42/661–3) Qurashī notable who converted only after the Battle of Ḥunayn (q.v.) and whose father was an inveterate opponent of Muḥammad and the Muslims. See Umayyah ibn Khalaf.
Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab(d. 93/712 or 94/713) Tradent of Qurashī extraction regarded as one of the seven jurists of Medina.
SalʿMountain situated on the outskirts of the center of Medina.
Sālim (ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar)(d. ca. 106/724) Medinese tradent and jurist and son of Ibn ʿUmar (q.v.).
Sallām ibn Abī l-Ḥuqayq al-Aʿwar, Abū RāfiʿJewish merchant and chieftain of the Naḍīr tribe (q.v.) assassinated in ca. 3/625 by a band of Allies from the Khazraj (q.vv.) in a night raid on Khaybar (q.v.). See Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf.
Sharīk (ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Nakhaʿī)(ca. 95–177/713–94) Kūfan tradent and judge.
Shawṭ of al-Jabbānah, al-Expanse of land north of Medina where the Muslim fighters mustered prior to the Battle of Uḥud.
Shaybah ibn Rabīʿah(d. 2/624) Qurashī notable of the ʿAbd Shams slain alongside his brother ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah (q.v.) in a contest with ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith (q.v.) at the Battle of Badr (q.v.).
Shuʿayb ibn Khālid al-Bajalī(fl. mid-eighth century) Judge (qāḍī) in Rayy in Iran appointed over the affairs of the non-Muslims (ʿāla ahl al-dhimmah).
Shura (shūrā)Literally “consulation,” in the Qurʾan shūrāmeans either an authority’s consulation with his subordinates (Q Āl ʿImrān 3:159) or consultation between power-sharing peers (Q Shūrā 42:38). After the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.), shūrā comes to refer to an “elective assembly” and an institution whereby appointed leaders of the Muslim community deliberate to choose one of their number to rule over the affairs of the community.
Shuraḥbīl ibn ḤasanahCompanion, Emigrant, and leading commander in the early Islamic conquest of Syria, he died in the Emmaus Plague in 18/639.
Solomon (Sulaymān)David’s son and king of Israel of biblical fame, he is revered as a prophet and ideal king in the Qurʾan and Islamic tradition.
Ṣuhayb (ibn Sinān)(d. 38/358–59) Companion and Emigrant known as the “Roman” (al-rūmī) because the Byzantines took him into captivity as a boy, though his family originally lived in Persian territory near Ubullah along the Tigris. He came to the Hejaz after he had been purchased as a slave by a Meccan.
Suhayl ibn ʿAmrQurashī notable from the ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy clan (q.v.) prominent in the negotiations at al-Ḥudaybiyah who converted after the conquest of Mecca. He participated in the conquest of Syria and died in the Emmaus Plague of 18/639.
SulaymNorthern Arabian tribe of the Hejaz whose territory lay in a basalt desert known today as Ḥarrat Ruhāṭ.
SunnahA word that literally means “a well-trodden path” but that is used figuratively to refer to normative practice, especially the practice of the Prophet Muḥammad and his Companions.
Surāqah (ibn Mālik) ibn Juʿshum al-MudlijīChieftain of the Kinānah tribe whose pursuit of Muḥammad during his Hijrah is miraculously thwarted. Tradition asserts that he converted after the conquest of Mecca and died during the Caliphate of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.).
Syria (Ar. al-Shām)Approximately identical with the Levant in modern parlance, including modern-day Israel-Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and southeastern Turkey.
TabūkTown located in northwestern Arabia and the target of an expedition of the Prophet in 9/630.
TaifFortified town situated high in the mountains, approximately 120 kilometers southeast of Mecca, and famous for its surrounding orchards and gardens. It was dominated by the Thaqīf tribe, who served as guardians of the town’s shrine.
TamīmLarge Arabian tribe of northern descent whose territories lay in central and eastern Arabia.
TaymāʾOasis settlement in northwestern Arabia located some four hundred kilometers north of Medina and known for its Jewish inhabitants.
Thābit (ibn Aslam) al-Bunānī(d. 123/741 or 127/745) Tradent of Basra.
ThaqīfNorthern Arabian tribe that dominated Taif and major trade partner with Mecca’s Quraysh, with whom they extensively intermarried. See Taif.
Thumāmah ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Anas(fl. early second/eighth century) Tradent, grandson of the Companion Anas ibn Mālik, and judge (qāḍī) of Basra.
ThawrCave where Abū Bakr and Muḥammad hid during their Hijrah while being pursued by their Meccan enemies.
TihāmahCoastal lowland region of the Arabian Peninsula running along the Red Sea coast from Aqabah to the Bab al-Mandeb between modern Yemen and Djibouti.
ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥarīth ibn al-Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd Manāf(d. 2/624) Qurashī notable, Companion, and Emigrant martyred at Badr.
ʿUbayd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās (ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib)(d. 58/677–78 or 87/706) Companion, cousin of the Prophet, and brother of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (q.v.).
ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtbah ibn Masʿūd(d. ca. 98/716) A tradent revered as one of the seven jurists of Medina, he was also an accomplished poet.
ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar(d. 37/657 at Ṣiffīn) Son of the second caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (q.v.), notorious for his pursuit and murder of those he suspected to be behind his father’s assassination. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.) vowed to hold him accountable for the murders, leading ʿUbayd Allāh to make a common cause with Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.). See Abū Luʾluʾah.
Ubayy ibn Khalaf(d. 3/625) Qurashī notable of Mecca, close friend of ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ (q.v.), and inveterate opponent of Muḥammad in Mecca who was later slain by the Prophet’s own hand at the Battle of Uḥud (q.v.).
ʿUdhayb, al-Body of water near the site of al-Qādisiyyah (q.v.) and later a waypoint on the hajj route from Kūfah to Mecca (q.vv.).
UḥudMountainous plateau approximately five kilometers north of Medina where a major battle between the Muslims and the Meccan Quraysh took place in Shawwāl 3/March–April 635, according to al-Zuhrī (q.v.).
ʿUkāẓThe most prominent of the pre-Islamic Meccan pilgrimage fairs, it was held in the month of Dhū l-Qaʿdah prior the pilgrimage to ʿArafah and Mecca (q.v.) and was situated southeast of Mecca between Nakhlah and al-Tāʾif (q.v.). See Dhū l-Majāz, Minā.
Umaymah bint Khalaf (al-Khuzāʿiyyah)(fl. seventh century AD) Companion, Emigrant, and wife of Khālid ibn Saʿīd (q.v.).
ʿUmayr ibn SaʿdMedinese Ally from the Aws clan who participated in the conquest of Syria. He settled in Ḥimṣ, where he served as governor and died during the reign of either ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb or Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (q.vv.).
UmayyadsCaliphs descended from the ʿAbd Shams clan of the Quraysh whose rule lasted from 40/661 to 132/750, when they were toppled by the Abbasids. The first Umayyad caliph was ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.), but convention recognizes Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān (q.v.) as the founder of the dynasty.
Umayyah ibn Khalaf (al-Jumaḥī)(d. 2/624) Qurashi notable, wealthy trader, and opponent of Muḥammad slain by the Muslims at Badr (q.v.). See Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah.
Umm Ayman (Barakah bint Thaʿlabah)(d. ca. 10/632) The Prophet’s servant nanny, whom he fondly called his “second mother” (ummī baʿda ummī) and to whom he married his adopted son Zayd ibn al-Ḥārithah (q.v.).
Umm Ḥabībah (Ramlah bint Abī Sufyān)(d. 44/664–65) Wife of the Prophet and daughter of Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb (q.v.). She was previously married to the early Meccan convert ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Jaḥsh, but when they undertook the Hijrah to Abyssinia together, ʿUbayd Allāh converted to Christianity and abandoned Islam, causing the dissolution of the marriage. The Prophet married her after she arrived in Medina upon returning from Abyssinia in ca. 8/629.
Umm Jamīl (Fāṭimah) bint al-Khaṭṭāb(fl. first/seventh century AD) Early convert and sister of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.
Umm Kulthūm, daughter of the Messenger of God(d. 9/630) One of Muḥammad’s daughters from his marriage to Khadījah (q.v.), she married ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.) after the death of her sister Ruqayyah (q.v.).
Umm Misṭaḥ bint Abī Ruhm(fl. seventh century AD) Mother of Misṭaḥ ibn Uthāthah (q.v.) who reveals to ʿĀʾishah (q.v.) the involvement of her son in spreading rumors about ʿĀʾishah’s alleged affair.
Umm Salamah (Hind) bint Abī Umaymah ibn al-Mughīrahd. ca. 59–60/678–80) Companion, Emigrant, and wife of Muḥammad. He married her in 4/626 after the death of her first husband, Abū Salamah ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Asad, who died from wounds received at Uḥud (q.v.).
ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ(d. 2/624) One the most inveterate opponents of Muḥammad, along with Ubayy ibn Khalaf (q.v.), with whom he is said to have been friends. He is the father of al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah (q.v.).
ʿUqbah ibn al-Ḥārīth, Abū Sarwaʿah(d. before 72/691) Qurashī notable of the Nawfal clan and reputed executioner of the martyr Khubayb ibn ʿAdī (q.v.).
ʿUrwah ibn Masʿūd al-Thaqafī(d. 9/630) Negotiator with the Prophet at al-Ḥudaybiyah on behalf of the Quraysh, he later converted to Islam but was killed by his fellow tribesmen in Taif (q.v.) during the Muslims’ siege of the city.
ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr(ca. 23–93/643–712) Son of the the Companion al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (q.v.) and prominent tradent, regarded as one of the seven jurists of Medina.
Usāmah ibn Zayd(d. ca. 54/674) Companion and son of Zayd ibn Ḥārithah and Umm Ayman (q.vv.) who distinguished himself in battle under the Prophet and during the caliphate of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (q.v.).
ʿUsfānWatering hole located two days’ journey by caravan from Mecca to Medina (q.vv.).
ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah ibn ʿAbd Shams ibn ʿAbd Manāf(d. 2/624) Chieftain of the Quraysh and opponent of the Prophet slain at Badr.
ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffānCompanion, Emigrant, and Qurashī notable of the ʿAbd Shams, and the third caliph of Islam (r. 23–35/643–55) known as Dhū l-Nūrayn, “Possessor of Two Lights,” after having married the Prophet’s two daughters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthūm (q.vv.). See Genealogical Table.
ʿUthmān (ibn ʿAmr ibn Sāj) al-Jazarī(fl. mid-eighth century) Tradent, preacher (qāṣṣ), and slave-client of the Umayyads.
ʿUwaym ibn SāʿidahMedinese Ally from the Aws clan who died during the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.
ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn ibn Badr al-Fazārī(fl. first/seventh century) Cheiftain of the Fazārah clan of Ghaṭafān (q.v.) whose territory lay in Wādī l-Rummah in Najd, he converted to Islam just prior to the conquest of Mecca.
ʿUzzā, al-One of the three so-called “daughters of God” mentioned in Q Najm 53:19–20 said to have been worshipped by the Quraysh prior to Islam. See Allāt, Hubal.
Wādī l-SibāʿValley outside Basra where al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (q.v.) was killed after fleeing the Battle of the Camel.
Wahb ibn Munabbih(ca. 34–110/654–728) Yemeni tradent of Persian origin.
Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ(d. 197/812) Arab tradent of Kūfah.
Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, al-(d. ca. 1/622) Qurashī notable, powerful leader of the Makhzūm clan, and vicious persecutor of Muḥammad’s followers in Mecca.
Walīd ibn ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ, al-(d. 61/680) Qurashī notable of the Umayyah clan who converted to Islam after the conquest of Mecca in 8/630. During the conquests, he had a notorious run as the governor of Kūfah under ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (q.v.), a position he lost due to his reputation as a debauched drunk.
Walīd ibn ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah, al-Son of ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah and Qurashī notable of the ʿAbd Shams clan slain in a contest with the Hāshim clan at Badr in 2/624.
Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Rāshid ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā ibn QuṣayyQurashī monotheist and cousin of Muḥammad’s first wife, Khadījah (q.v.), who was reputedly learned in the biblical tradition.
Wāṣil al-Aḥdab (ibn Ḥayyān al-Asadī)(d. ca. 120/738) Kūfan tradent known as “the hunchback” (al-aḥdab).
Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlāʾ al-Bajalī(fl. mid-eighth century) Tradent of al-Rayy in Iran.
YarmūkRiver flowing into the Jordan River nine kilometers south of Lake Tiberius and the name of the most decisive victory of the Muslims against the Byzantines during the Islamic conquest of Syria. It was fought in Rajab 15/August 636 in Syria in Wādī al-Ruqqād near the river’s banks.
YathribSee Medina.
ẒafārAncient capital of the South Arabian kingdom of Ḥimyar in the Yemen and the origin of the beads in ʿĀʾishah’s (q.v.) prized necklace.
ZamzamSacred well of Mecca located within its Sacred Precincts southeast of the Kaaba (q.vv.); legend claims that the well was first discovered by Abraham’s (q.v.) consort Hagar and her son Ishmael and subsequently rediscovered by Muḥammad’s grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (q.v.).
Zayd ibn Dathinnah(d. Ṣafar 4/July–August 625) Medinese Ally and Companion taken captive alongside Khubayb ibn ʿAdī (q.v.) and later killed during the expedition of Biʾr Maʿūnah (q.v.).
Zayd ibn Ḥārihtah “The beloved of the Messenger of God” (ḥibb rasūl allāh), who was once considered Muḥammad’s adopted son and thus known as Zayd ibn Muḥammad at the time of his conversion. He had been a freed slave of Muḥammad prior to his adoption. Zayd’s adoption by Muḥammad was subsequently nullified by a revelation abolishing adoption (Q Aḥzāb 33:4–5), and he then returned to his former name, Zayd ibn al-Ḥārithah al-Kalbī. He is the only Muslim aside from Muḥammad to be mentioned by name in the Qurʾan (see Q Aḥzāb 33:37). He perished on the battlefield as the commander of the expeditionary force to al-Muʾtah in ca. 8/629.
Zayd ibn al-Ḥasan (ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib)Great-grandson of the Prophet and sharif of the Hāshim clan charged with the management of the lands inherited from the Prophet (al-ṣadaqāt), he lived at least until the reign of ʿUmar II ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–20).
Zaynab bint Jaḥsh (al-Asadiyyah)(d. 20/641) Wife of the Prophet, whom he married in 4/626 after her divorce from his freedman and adopted son Zayd ibn Ḥāritha (q.v.) in accord with divine command; cf. Q Aḥzāb 33:37.
Zaynab, daughter of the Messenger of God(d. 8/629–30) Khadījah’s (q.v.) and Muḥammad’s eldest daughter, who married Abū l-ʿĀṣ ibn Rabīʿ (q.v.).
Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām, al-Companion, Emigrant, and Qurashī notable murdered in 35/656 after he fought in the Battle of the Camel against ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.). See Genealogical Table.
Zuhrī, Ibn Shihāb al-(d. 124/742) Qurashī notable and eminent founding figure of the Islamic scholarly tradition. He was Maʿmar’s (q.v.) teacher and his principal source for the narrations found in The Expeditions.