At a glance
- Roles
- General · Companion · Commander
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- 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
BattlesConverts and those who leave
Place in the story
- Military opponenttowardThe early Muslim community · 624 CE · 2 AH† – 630 CE · 9 AH†Historical
- Convert to Islam · 630 CE · 9 AH†Tradition
- Commander · 632 CE · 11 AH† – 636 CE · 15 AH†Tradition
- Martyr (as regarded) · 636 CE · 15 AH†Tradition
- Convert to IslamtowardMuhammad · 630 CE · 9 AH†Historical
- Companion · 630 CE · 9 AH†Tradition
- CommandertowardRashidun Caliphate · 632 CE · 11 AH† – 634 CE · 13 AH†Historical
Arabian polytheism (documented) · Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl (may God be pleased with him) led the only resistance inside Mecca on the day of its conquest, then entered Islam to serve as a soldier under the new banner and fell at Yarmuk.
Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl (may God be pleased with him) inherited his father's fighting — he led the only resistance inside Mecca on the day of the conquest, then fled toward Yemen; his wife Umm Hakim reached him with the Prophet ﷺ's safe-conduct, so he returned and gave allegiance. In Abu Bakr's days he led the troops against Musaylima in the Ridda wars, then marched to Syria and fell at Yarmuk around 636 CE.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl (may God be pleased with him) inherited his father's fighting — he led the only armed resistance on the day Mecca was taken — then entered Islam and became a soldier under the new faith's banner, dying a commander; his life in the tradition is the picture of the foe's son turned soldier. He fought in the Meccan ranks through the war years and led the sole party that resisted inside Mecca on the day of the conquest, then fled toward Yemen. His wife Umm Hakim reached him with the Prophet ﷺ's safe-conduct, so he returned and gave allegiance. In Abu Bakr's days he led the troops against Musaylima in the Ridda wars, then marched to Syria and was killed at Yarmuk around 636 CE.
Brief
Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl (may God be pleased with him) inherited his father's fight. He led the one armed resistance on the day of the Conquest of Mecca, then embraced Islam and became a soldier under the new faith, and he died a commander. In the tradition his life is an image of the opponent's son who became a soldier.
Life
He fought in the Meccan ranks through the years of war. On the day of the Conquest he led the only group that resisted inside Mecca, and then he fled toward Yemen. His wife, Umm Hakim, caught up with him under the Prophet ﷺ's safe-conduct, so Ikrima returned and pledged allegiance 1.
In Abu Bakr's time he led troops against Musaylima in the wars of the Ridda, and then marched to Syria. He was killed at Yarmuk around 636 CE 2.
Legacy
The tradition draws the line plainly: the father died fighting the Prophet at Badr, and the son died fighting for the Prophet's community at Yarmuk.
For young visitors
The son of the greatest enemy of the faith became a soldier in it, and died the death his father had died, but on the other side.
His account in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum
Abu Uthman Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl, Amr ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi al-Qurashi, a noble Companion and a doughty knight. In the Jahiliyya he was among the fiercest enemies of Islam, under the influence of his father 3.
He fought the Muslims at Badr, Uhud and the Trench, and he tried to repel the army that conquered Mecca at al-Khandama. When Mecca was taken he fled to Yemen. His wife Umm Hakim bint al-Harith, who had embraced Islam, followed him and secured a pledge of safety for him from the Prophet. He returned repentant and remorseful. When the Prophet saw him, he sprang up to him joyfully and said: "Welcome, rider and emigrant" 3.
His Islam was good, and he gave himself in God's cause, making up for what had passed. He would place the mushaf on his face and weep, exclaiming: "The Book of my Lord! The word of my Lord!" He led the armies in the Ridda wars in Oman and Mahra, and he was martyred facing forward in the glorious battle of Yarmuk in Syria, after leading the company of death 2.
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Connections
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- The Yarmuk
- Child of
- Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)
- Spouse of
- Umm Hakim bint al-Harith al-Makhzumiyya
- Member of
- Banu Makhzum
- Fought
- The early Muslim community
- Participated in
- The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)· Battle of the Yarmuk· The Battle of Ajnadayn· The Battle of Badr· The Siege of al-Nujayr
- Converted under
- Muhammad
- Mentioned in
- Muwatta 1568
People and things also explored
Khalid ibn al-Walid· Quraysh· The early Muslim community· Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)· Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah· Bilal ibn Rabah· Mus'ab ibn Umayr· Mecca
Sources
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- al-Tabari, History vol. X: The Conquest of Arabia (Donner translation, SUNY)
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ikrima-ibn-abi-jahl/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.