At a glance
- Roles
- Companion · Poet
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia · Levant & Iraq
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Place in the story
- Companion · c. 622 CE · c. 1 BH† – c. September 629 CE · c. Jumada I 8 AH†Tradition
- Commander · c. September 629 CE · c. Jumada I 8 AH† – c. September 629 CE · c. Jumada I 8 AH†Tradition
- Martyr (as regarded) · c. September 629 CE · c. Jumada I 8 AH†Tradition
- PoetTradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Abdullah ibn Rawaha the Ansari of Khazraj, kunya Abu Muhammad; he witnessed the Aqaba as a deputy and Badr, Uhud and every witness field but the conquest, and was one of the commanders at Mu'tah.
Abdullah ibn Rawaha the Ansari of Khazraj, kunya Abu Muhammad; he witnessed the Aqaba as the deputy of Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj, and witnessed Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Hudaybiyya, Khaybar and the umra of fulfillment and every witness field with the Prophet ﷺ save the conquest and after — he had fallen before it — and was one of the commanders at Mu'tah. His mother was Kabsha bint Waqid ibn Amr ibn al-Itnaba of Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj, and he was the uncle of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Abdullah ibn Rawaha the Ansari of Khazraj, kunya Abu Muhammad, witnessed the Aqaba as a deputy and witnessed Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Hudaybiyya, Khaybar and the umra of fulfillment, and was one of the commanders at Mu'tah. His mother was Kabsha bint Waqid ibn Amr ibn al-Itnaba of Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj, and he was the uncle of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir. He was of those who witnessed the Aqaba, the deputy of Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj, and he witnessed Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Hudaybiyya, Khaybar and the umra of fulfillment and every witness field with the Prophet ﷺ save the conquest and after, for he had been killed before it.
Overview
Abd Allah ibn Rawaha al-Ansari al-Khazraji, kunya Abu Muhammad. He attended the Aqaba as a chief, and attended Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Hudaybiyya, Khaybar and the Lesser Pilgrimage, and was one of the commanders at the raid of Mu'tah. 1
Lineage
His mother was Kabsha bint Waqid ibn Amr ibn al-Itnaba, of the Banu al-Harith of the Khazraj, and he was the maternal uncle of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir. 1
His battles
He was among those who attended the Aqaba, a chief of the Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj, and attended Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Hudaybiyya, Khaybar and the Lesser Pilgrimage, and all the battles with the Prophet ﷺ except the conquest and what followed it, for he had been killed before it. 1
Mu'tah
He was one of the commanders at the raid of Mu'tah. 1
What is related of him
Ibn al-Athir relates from Hammad ibn Zayd, from Thabit, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, that he came to the Prophet while he was preaching and heard him say "Sit down", so he sat where he was outside the mosque until the Prophet finished. The Prophet said to him: "God increase you in eagerness for obedience to God and obedience to His Messenger." 1
It is said that he was the first to go out to the raid and the last to return from it, and that he was among the poets who defended the Messenger of God. 1
For young visitors
Abd Allah ibn Rawaha (may God be pleased with him) was one of the Ansar of Medina. He attended the Aqaba, Badr, Uhud and all the battles. He was a poet who defended the Prophet with his verse, the first to set out for a raid and the last to return from it. He was martyred at Mu'tah.
Notes for researchers
- The date of his death at Mu'tah is given in other sources; it does not appear on page 666 as read, so we do not give a year here.
- The verses Ibn al-Athir quotes from his poetry about the Prophet are not reproduced here; the edition should be consulted before quoting them.
- The statement that he was "one of the commanders at the raid of Mu'tah" is from Ibn al-Athir and should be checked against Ibn Ishaq's and Ibn Sa'd's accounts.
His sending to al-Yasir ibn Rizam
Ibn Ishaq relates that the Prophet sent him with a few of his companions to al-Yasir ibn Rizam, the Jew of Khaybar, when he learned that he was gathering Ghatafan to attack the Prophet; they lured him down with a promise and then killed him on the road; see the account. 2
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Connections
- Participated in
- Abdullah ibn Rawaha's expedition to Khaybar and the killing of al-Yasir ibn Rizam· The Battle of Mu'tah· Dispatch of the Mu'tah army· The army's halt at Ma'an and Ibn Rawaha's speech· Martyrdom of Abd Allah ibn Rawaha after his hesitation· The army's march to Mu'tah
- Member of
- The Ansar· The early Muslim community
- Died in
- Mu'tah
- Mentioned in
- Hassan ibn Thabit's elegies for the Mu'tah martyrs· Ka'b ibn Malik's elegy for the Mu'tah martyrs· Muwatta 2049· Muwatta 2050
People and things also explored
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib· Zayd ibn Haritha· The Battle of Mu'tah· Abbad ibn Qays· al-Harith ibn al-Nu'man ibn Usaf· Suraqa ibn Amr ibn Atiyya· Medina· Martyrdom of Abd Allah ibn Rawaha after his hesitation
Sources
- Usd al-ghaba fi ma'rifat al-sahaba — Ibn al-Athir , p.666
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/266
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Abd Allah ibn Rawaha”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abd-allah-ibn-rawaha/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.