At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
HospitalityConverts and those who leaveBattles
Place in the story
- HosttowardMuhammad · 622 CE · 1 BH†Historical
- ProtectortowardThe Muhajirun · 622 CE · 1 BH†Historical
- AllytowardMuhammad · 622 CE · 1 BH† – 632 CE · 11 AH†Historical
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Overview
The Ansar, meaning "the helpers": the Aws and the Khazraj of Yathrib, who pledged to the Prophet and sheltered him. Their pledge moved Islam from the call of the vulnerable to an established state.
History
The Aws and the Khazraj entered two pledges at al-Aqaba, by which Yathrib accepted to host the Prophet and the Muhajirun and to protect them 1. After the Hijra, the Ansar became the mainstay of the people: the men of the market, the orchard and the sword, at Badr, Uhud, the Trench and after 2.
At the Saqifa of Banu Sa'ida the question of authority was raised, and it was settled for Quraysh under Abu Bakr with the agreement of the Ansar. Sunnis see this event as a swift settlement; the Prophet's family and their followers see it as a betrayal of the promised 'Alid succession 3.
Legacy
For Sunnis the Ansar are a lasting support, of whom it is said: "none loves them but a believer". In the Shia account they are the party to the dispute that won. Both sides agree that Medina could not have been without them 2.
Connections
- Has member
- Abbad ibn Bishr· Abbad ibn Qays· Abd Allah ibn Jubayr ibn al-Numan al-Ansari· Abd Allah ibn Rawaha· Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Haram· Abdullah ibn Atik· Abu Abs ibn Jabr· Abu al-Darda' (Uwaymir)· Abu Ayyub al-Ansari· Abu Dujana· Abu Lubaba ibn Abd al-Mundhir· Abu Said al-Khudri· Abu Talha al-Ansari· al-Abbas ibn Ubada· al-Bara' ibn Azib· al-Bara' ibn Malik· al-Bara ibn Ma'rur· al-Harith ibn al-Nu'man ibn Usaf· Al-Harith ibn Aws ibn Mu'adh· al-Khansa' bint Khidham· al-Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidh· Amr ibn al-Jamuh· Amr ibn Hazm· Anas ibn al-Nadr al-Ansari· Anas ibn Malik· As'ad ibn Zurara· Asim ibn Thabit· Asma' bint Marthad· Asma' bint Yazid ibn al-Sakan· Awf ibn al-Harith (Ibn Afra')· Bishr ibn al-Bara'· Fadala ibn Ubayd· Hanzala ibn Abi Amir al-Ansari (the one washed by the angels)· Haram ibn Milhan· Hassan ibn Thabit· al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir· Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman· Jabbar ibn Sakhr al-Ansari· Jabir ibn Abdullah· Khawla bint Tha'laba· Khubayb ibn Adi· Ku'ayba bint Sa'd· Kulthum ibn al-Hidm· Layla bint al-Khatim· Mu'adh ibn Amr ibn al-Jamuh· Mu'adh ibn Jabal· Mu'awwidh ibn Afra· Muhammad ibn Maslama· Nusayba bint Ka'b (Umm Umara)· Qutba ibn Amir ibn Hadida· Rafi' ibn Khadij· Rafi' ibn Malik ibn al-Ajlan· Rufayda al-Aslamiyya· Sad ibn al-Rabi al-Ansari· Sa'd ibn Khaythama· Sa'd ibn Mu'adh· Sa'd ibn Ubada· Sa'd ibn Zayd al-Ashhali· Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal· Samura ibn Jundab· Sawad ibn Ghaziyya· Shaddad ibn Aws· Suraqa ibn Amr ibn Atiyya· Thabit ibn Aqram· Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas· Ubada ibn al-Samit· Ubayy ibn Ka'b· Umayr ibn al-Humam· Umm al-Ala' al-Ansariyya· Umm Atiyya al-Ansariyya· Umm Mubashshir bint al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur· Umm Muni' (Asma bint Amr)· Umm Sulaym bint Milhan· Umm Waraqa bint Abdullah· Usayd ibn Hudayr· Uthman ibn Hunayf· Uwaymir al-Ajlani· Zayd ibn Arqam· Zayd ibn Thabit
- Lived in
- Medina
- Allied with
- The Muhajirun
- Protected
- The Muhajirun
- Participated in
- The Pledges of Aqaba· The brotherhood of the Muhajirun and Ansar· The Pledge of the Tree (Bay'at al-Ridwan)· The Constitution of Medina· Expedition of al-Sawiq· Expedition of Buhran· Expedition of Dhu Amarr· First encounter with the six Ansar at al-Aqaba
- Mentioned in
- Abu Afak's verses on the rider who split the sons of Qayla· Hassan ibn Thabit's poem enumerating the Ansar's campaigns with the Prophet· Hassan ibn Thabit's poem 'We were the kings of men before Muhammad'· Hassan ibn Thabit's poem 'Those are my people, if you ask, noble'· Hassan ibn Thabit's reply to al-Zibriqan, 'The chiefs of Fihr and their brothers'· Hassan ibn Thabit's second reply to al-Zibriqan, 'Is glory anything but ancient lordship and bounty?'· Bukhari 2462 — The Saqifa account· Bukhari 3779 — Were it not for the hijra I would be one of the Ansar· Bukhari 3807 — The best houses of the Ansar· Bukhari 4330 — The Ansar are the inner garment, the people the outer· Bukhari 4331 — The Prophet gathers the Ansar in a leather tent· Muwatta 172· Muwatta 262· Muwatta 575· Muwatta 758· Muwatta 1092
People and things also explored
Medina· The Battle of Uhud· The Battle of Badr· The Pledges of Aqaba· Muhammad· The Muhajirun· The Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab)· The Hijra
Sources
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- Watt, Muhammad at Medina (1956)
- Sahih al-Bukhari
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Ansar”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/ansar/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.