the first Fijār of the Anṣār — the murdered hostages at the gardens

الفجار الأول للأنصار — غدر الأوس بالرهائن

c. 615 CE

The Khazraj mustered over the three murdered hostages and met the Aws at the gardens — ʿAbdallāh ibn Ubayy leading them against Abū Qays ibn al-Aslat — in a fight so savage they nearly destroyed one another. Named «the Fijār» for the betrayal of the lads, it was the first of that name. Qays ibn al-Khaṭīm, come late with only his sword, fought so well despite grave wounds that his standing was made ¹.

Depth

At a glance

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In time

Pre-Islamic Arabia · The Prophetic Era

In space

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Sides

Aws

Commanders: Abu Qays ibn Sayfi ibn al-Aslat

Khazraj

Commanders: Abdullah ibn Ubayy

Summary

The First Fijar of the Ansar is named for the treachery of the Aws against three hostage boys. The Khazraj gathered under Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul and met the Aws, led by Abu Qays ibn al-Aslat, at al-Hada'iq. They fought until some of them almost destroyed one another. Qays ibn al-Khatim was in his orchard. He turned back and found that his people had already gone out, and he could get no weapon but a sword. He went out with it, fought bravely, was badly wounded, and his standing grew. ¹

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at: Medina
Had participant: Abdullah ibn Ubayy· Abu Qays ibn Sayfi ibn al-Aslat· قيس بن الخطيم

People and things also explored

Medina· Medina's society at the Hijra· The Battle of Uhud· The death of Abdullah ibn Ubayy and the Prophet's prayer over him· The Siege and Expulsion of Banu al-Nadir· the second Fijār — ʿAmr ibn al-Nuʿmān slaughters the Qurayẓa–Naḍīr hostages· The Incident of the Slander (Hadith al-Ifk)· Quraysh's letter to Abdullah ibn Ubayy after the Hijra

Sources

al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 506

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “the first Fijār of the Anṣār — the murdered hostages at the gardens”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/fijar-al-ansar-1/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Medina

City in the Hejaz to which the Prophet migrated in 622 CE; site of the Prophet's Mosque and the first Muslim community. The Prophet declared it a sanctuary as Abraham declared Mecca — its bounds 'between 'Ayr and Thawr' (or 'to Uhud' in the reading Abu 'Ubayd and al-Hazimi preferred) and 'between its two lava fields'; within them hunting and tree-cutting are forbidden and the bloodwit for unintended killing is heavier. Samhudi counts nearly ninety-five names for it, among them Tayba, Taba and Yathrib.