At a glance
- Roles
- Politician
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
Civil wars and revoltsBattlesProphets
Place in the story
- Rival claimanttowardMuhammad · c. 630 CE · c. 9 AH† – 632 CE · 11 AH†Historical
- RebeltowardRashidun Caliphate · 632 CE · 11 AH† – 632 CE · 11 AH†Historical
Arabian polytheism (debated)
How others named them
- “al-Kadhdhab (the arch-liar)” — Muslim tradition
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Musaylima ibn Habib, chief of Banu Hanifa in Yamama — he claimed prophethood in parallel with Muhammad and wrote him about dividing it, then led his people in the Ridda wars' bloodiest battle, killed in it. The sources preserve his letter 'from Musaylima the messenger of God to Muhammad the messenger of God' proposing half the affair — and the Prophet ﷺ's answer. Ibn Ishaq names him al-Hanafi, surnamed the Liar; Ibn Hisham has him ibn Thumama, kunya Abu Thumama. He came with Banu Hanifa's delegation; two tellings cover his time before the Prophet — brought covered in cloth and told 'had you asked me for this palm-branch I would not give it you', or left with the baggage and rated 'not the worst of you in standing'. Back in Yamama he turned and claimed prophethood, saying he was made partner in the affair; he spoke rhymed prose, permitted wine and fornication, dropped prayer while testifying Muhammad was a prophet — and Hanifa joined him. He wrote the Prophet late in year ten asking for half the earth and got the answer that the earth is God's, bequeathed to whom He wills. When the Prophet died and Abu Bakr sent Khalid, the armies met at Aqraba' in 632 CE and Musaylima fell, the blow laid to Wahshi's spear; so many Qur'an memorizers fell that it is counted a reason to hasten gathering it.
Overview
Musaylima ibn Habib, chief of Banu Hanifa in al-Yamama. He claimed prophethood alongside Muhammad's and wrote to him proposing to divide the mission between them. He then led his people in the bloodiest of the battles of the Ridda, in which he was killed.
Life
Banu Hanifa were the greatest tribes of al-Yamama, and Musaylima claimed prophethood among them while the Prophet ﷺ was still alive. The sources preserve his letter, "From Musaylima, Messenger of God, to Muhammad, Messenger of God," proposing that half the affair be his, and the Prophet's reply to it 1 2.
When the Prophet died and Abu Bakr sent Khalid, the two armies met at Aqraba' of al-Yamama in 632 CE. The battle ended with Musaylima's killing. The account attributes the blow to the spear of Wahshi. So many of those who had memorized the Qur'an were killed there that the battle is cited as a reason for hastening its collection 1.
In Ibn Hisham's Sira
Ibn Ishaq names him Musaylima ibn Habib al-Hanafi and gives him the epithet "the Liar." Ibn Hisham says: Musaylima ibn Thumama, known as Abu Thumama 3. He came with the delegation of Banu Hanifa, who stayed in the house of the daughter of al-Harith of Banu al-Najjar. Regarding his presence at the Prophet's assembly there are two accounts. In one, he was brought in wrapped in garments, and the Prophet said to him: "Even if you asked me for this palm-stalk, I would not give it to you." In the other, he was left behind among the baggage, and when the Prophet was told of him he said: "He is not the worst of you in standing" 3 4.
When he returned to al-Yamama he apostatized and claimed prophethood. He said that he had been given a share of the affair alongside Muhammad. He composed rhymed prose, made wine and fornication lawful and abandoned prayer, while still testifying to Muhammad's prophethood. Hanifa united behind him (see his apostasy and his claim to prophethood) 4. Ibn Ishaq counts him, with al-Aswad al-Ansi, among the two liars who spoke in the Prophet's time, and relates the Prophet's dream of two gold bracelets, which he interpreted as referring to those two men 5. At the end of the tenth year he wrote to the Prophet asking for half the land. The Prophet answered that the earth belongs to God, who gives it as an inheritance to whom He wills 6.
For young visitors
Musaylima claimed to be a prophet like Muhammad, and wrote to him proposing that the two of them divide the mission between them. When the Prophet died, their two peoples fought a great battle in which he was killed.
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Opinions on the question
The question: How is Musaylima read in the Sunni tradition and by historians?
First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
More opinions (1)
Academic viewSecondary opinion
Connections
- Born in
- al-Yamama
- Died in
- al-Yamama
- Member of
- Banu Hanifa
- Corresponded with
- Muhammad
- Fought
- Khalid ibn al-Walid
- Participated in
- The Battle of Yamama· The delegation of Banu Hanifa· Musaylima's apostasy and claim to prophethood at al-Yamama· Musaylima's letter to the Prophet and the reply· The Prophet's dream of the two gold bracelets, interpreted as the two liars
- Authored
- Musaylima's letter to the Prophet
- Spouse of
- Sajah bint al-Harith
- Fought by
- Wahshi ibn Harb
- Mentioned in
- Muwatta 537
People and things also explored
Musaylima's apostasy and claim to prophethood at al-Yamama· Muhammad· The Battle of Yamama· The delegation of Banu Hanifa· Musaylima's letter to the Prophet and the reply· Medina· Banu Hanifa· The Battle of Uhud
Sources
- al-Tabari, History vol. X: The Conquest of Arabia (Donner translation, SUNY)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/222
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/223
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/246
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/247
- Watt, Muhammad at Medina (1956)
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
- Sahih al-Bukhari
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Musaylima”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/musaylima/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.