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Abu Afak

أبو عفك

c. 625 CE · c. 3 AH

An old man of Banu Amr ibn Awf, then of Banu Ubayda, of al-Aws; Ibn Ishaq says his hypocrisy became open when al-Harith ibn Suwayd ibn al-Samit was killed, and he composed verses reviling a rider who had split the unity of the sons of Qayla; the Prophet ﷺ said 'who will deal with this wretch for me?' and Salim ibn Umayr (may God be pleased with him) killed him; Umama al-Muzayriyya's verses allude to his great age.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Poet
Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Arabia
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Life in time

525550575600625650675700725 c. c. c. c. c. c.
Pre-Islamic Arabia · The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period Contemporaries: al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib · Abdullah ibn Abbas · Abdullah ibn Mas'ud · Abdullah ibn Salam · Abdullah ibn Ubayy

Dissent, heresy and freethoughtLiterature

Place in the story

Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.

Overview

A man of the Banu Amr ibn Awf, then of the Banu Ubayda, whom Ibn Ishaq names only by his kunya. 1 He says that his hypocrisy "showed itself" when al-Harith ibn Suwayd ibn al-Samit was killed, and he composed verses in which he mentions the fidelity of the sons of Qayla to their covenants, and that a rider came to them and split their gathering. 2 The Prophet said: "Who will rid me of this wicked man?" Salim ibn Umayr went out and killed him; see the account and its parallels. 2 In the verses of Umama al-Muzayriyya it is said that he was stabbed at the end of the night "in his great age". 2

Marks of the report

  • The description as a hypocrite comes from Ibn Ishaq's words, while the description "wicked" is attributed to the Prophet in the report; there is no chain for the report.
  • His old age is inferred from Umama's verse, not from a biography of him.

Connections

Explore the connections

Member of
Banu Amr ibn Awf
Authored
Abu Afak's verses on the rider who split the sons of Qayla
Participated in
Salim ibn Umayr's mission to kill Abu Afak
Mentioned in
Umama al-Muzayriyya's two verses on the killing of Abu Afak

People and things also explored

Salim ibn Umayr's mission to kill Abu Afak· Umama al-Muzayriyya· Abu Afak's verses on the rider who split the sons of Qayla· Muhammad· Umama al-Muzayriyya's two verses on the killing of Abu Afak· Umayr ibn Adi al-Khatmi's mission to kill Asma' bint Marwan· Banu Amr ibn Awf· The Ansar

Sources

  1. al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/284
  2. al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/285
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abu Afak”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abu-afak/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Salim ibn Umayr's mission to kill Abu Afak

Ibn Ishaq relates that Abu Afak, of Banu Amr ibn Awf and then of Banu Ubayda, showed his hypocrisy openly when al-Harith ibn Suwayd ibn al-Samit was killed, and composed verses reviling a rider who had split the sons of Qayla and broken their unity; the Prophet said: who will deal with this wretch for me? and Salim ibn Umayr, one of the Weepers, went out and killed him; Umama al-Muzayriyya spoke two verses on it.