At a glance
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- Era
- The Prophetic Era
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Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Da'wa and Christian missionBattlesConverts and those who leave
Place in the story
- Convert to Islam · c. 613 CETradition
- Companion · c. 613 CETradition
- MissionarytowardMedina · 621 CE – 622 CE · 1 BH†Tradition
- Martyr (as regarded) · 23 March 625 CE · 7 Shawwal 3 AH†Tradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Mus'ab ibn Umayr was one of the first Muslims and the first envoy the Prophet ﷺ sent to Yathrib — known as 'the Reciter' because he taught people the Qur'an. He carried the Muhajirun's banner at Badr and Uhud, where he fell in 3 AH.
Mus'ab ibn Umayr al-Abdari al-Qurashi was among the earliest to enter Islam. When his mother learned of it she starved him and cast him out — he had been one of the softest-living of men — until his skin roughened. After the pledge of Aqaba the Prophet ﷺ sent him with the pledgers to Yathrib to teach the Muslims the laws of Islam; he stayed with As'ad ibn Zurara and the two spread Islam with zeal — he was known as 'the Reciter' — until hardly an Ansar house lacked Muslim men and women. He carried the army's general banner at Badr and the Muhajirun battalion's banner at Uhud, where he fell; he was shrouded in a cloak that left his feet bare when it covered his head, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (may God be pleased with him) said he had been better than himself.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Mus'ab ibn Umayr al-Abdari al-Qurashi was among the earliest to enter Islam. When his mother learned of it she starved him and cast him out — he had been one of the softest-living of men — until his skin roughened. After the pledge of Aqaba the Prophet ﷺ sent him with the pledgers to Yathrib to teach the Muslims the laws of Islam; he stayed with As'ad ibn Zurara and the two spread Islam with zeal — he was known as 'the Reciter' — until no Ansar house lacked Muslim men and women save Banu Umayya ibn Zayd, Khatma and Wa'il up to the year of the Trench. At Badr the army's general banner was placed in his hand; at Uhud the Prophet made him banner-bearer of the Muhajirun battalion; he fell that day and was shrouded in a cloak that bared his feet when it covered his head and his head when it covered his feet — Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (may God be pleased with him) saying 'Mus'ab ibn Umayr was killed though better than I'.
Overview
Mus'ab ibn Umayr al-Abdari al-Qurashi, one of the first to embrace Islam, the first envoy the Prophet ﷺ sent to Yathrib. He then carried the banner of the Emigrants at Badr and Uhud and was martyred at Uhud. 1
In Mecca
When his mother learned of his Islam, she starved him and expelled him from her house, though he had been among the most comfortable of people, until his skin became rough. 2
Envoy to Yathrib
After the Pledge of al-Aqaba, the Prophet sent Mus'ab with those who had pledged to teach the Muslims of Yathrib the laws of Islam. He alighted at As'ad ibn Zurara, and they spread Islam with great zeal and energy; he was known as "the reciter". 3 No house of the Ansar remained without Muslim men and women, except the Banu Umayya ibn Zayd, Khatma and Wa'il, until the year of the Trench. 4
Badr and Uhud
His martyrdom
He was killed on the day of Uhud, and shrouded in a cloak which, if his head was covered, his feet showed, and if his feet were covered, his head showed. Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (may God be pleased with him) said: "Mus'ab ibn Umayr was killed, and he was better than me." 7
For young visitors
Mus'ab ibn Umayr was a young man who was wealthy in Mecca. When he embraced Islam, his family abandoned him and he went hungry. The Prophet then sent him to Medina to teach people the laws of Islam, and Islam entered the houses of the Ansar. He was killed at Uhud while carrying the banner.
Notes for researchers
- al-Rahiq al-Makhtum relays from Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq and Rahmah lil-Alamin; their texts have not yet been checked, and they should be before the entry is relied on.
- The wording "he starved him and expelled him", and the length of his mission in Medina and its date, are not given here by year; a second source for the dates should be added.
The leadership of the army at Badr (*al-Rahiq al-Makhtum*, p. 205)
The Prophet gave him the banner of the general command, which was white, when the army went out to Badr (the preparations before Badr). 5
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Connections
- Spouse of
- Hamna bint Jahsh
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- Mount Uhud
- Member of
- Banu Abd al-Dar· Quraysh· The early Muslim community
- Converted under
- Muhammad
- Participated in
- The first migration to Abyssinia· The Battle of Badr· The Battle of Uhud· The build-up to Badr: Abu Sufyan's caravan, Mecca's muster and the Prophet's march· The affair of the Badr prisoners· The first Friday prayer in Yathrib· The first pledge of al-Aqaba· The persecution of the vulnerable Muslims· The Pledges of Aqaba· Burial of the Uhud martyrs· Defense of the Prophet at Uhud· Uhud war council and Muslim mobilization
People and things also explored
Muhammad· The Battle of Uhud· Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib· The Battle of Badr· The Prophetic Era· Medina· Mecca· The early Muslim community
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.144, p.205, p.252, p.282
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.89
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.144
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.146
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.205
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.252
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.282
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print)
- Sahih al-Bukhari
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Mus'ab ibn Umayr”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/musab-ibn-umayr/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.