Abu Talha al-Ansari

Abu Talha al-Ansari, Zayd ibn Sahl ibn al-Aswad ibn Haram al-Najjari al-Khazraji, known as "famous for his kunya". Ibn Hajar corrects those who call him Sahl ibn Zayd, which is the view of Ibn Lahi'a in naming those who witnessed the pledge of al-Aqaba. ¹ Ibn Sa'd relates from one of his grandchildren that his name was Zayd. ¹ He said: "I am Abu Talha and my name is Zayd." ¹ He was one of the excellent Companions, and he was the husband of Umm Sulaym. ¹

Al-Nasa'i relates from Anas that Abu Talha proposed to Umm Sulaym. She said that a man like him should not be refused, but that he was an unbeliever and she was a Muslim, and she could not lawfully marry him: "If you embrace Islam, that is my dowry." He embraced Islam, and that was her dowry. ¹ In Ibn Sa'd's report he was "better than a thousand men". ²

Anas relates that he shot arrows in front of the Prophet at Uhud; whenever the Prophet raised his head to look, Abu Talha lifted his chest and said: "My chest is a shield for your chest." ² In a mursal report in Ahmad, the Prophet said that his voice in the army was better than a company. ²

Urwa and Musa ibn Uqba were certain that he witnessed al-Aqaba, and they all named him among those who witnessed Badr. Ibn Hajar considers that the report about Uhud may conflict with the view that he witnessed al-Aqaba. ²

The views on his death differ in the Isaba. They are set out in the list of views at the top of the page.