At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Anti-Muslim hatredSlavery and freedomBattles
Place in the story
- PersecutortowardBilal ibn Rabah · c. 612 CE – c. 615 CEHistorical
- OpponenttowardMuhammad · c. 613 CEHistorical
- Military opponenttowardThe early Muslim community · 624 CE · 2 AH†Historical
Arabian polytheism (documented)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Umayya ibn Khalaf, a chief of Banu Jumah — the master who tortured his slave Bilal on Mecca's scorching ground, and one of the chiefs killed at Badr. The sources keep Umayya above all in one scene: his slave Bilal stretched on the scorching ground with the rock on his chest, until Abu Bakr came and bought him for the dearest price and freed him — one of the earliest documented confrontations of the story: a master against a believer, wealth against faith. At Badr he marched with Mecca's chiefs and was killed; the account says the Ansari youths held him to account for the burning-ground morning.
Overview
Umayya ibn Khalaf was a leader of the Banu Jumah. He was the master who tortured his slave Bilal on the hot stones of Mecca, and he was one of the nobles killed at Badr.
Life
The sources remember Umayya above all for one scene: his slave Bilal stretched out on the hot sand with a rock on his chest, until Abu Bakr came and bought him at a high price and freed him. 1 This is one of the earliest documented confrontations in the story: a property owner against a believer, wealth against faith. 2.
At Badr he went out with the nobles of Mecca and was killed. The tradition records that the young men of the Ansar settled accounts with him for the morning of the hot sand. 1.
Legacy
In the exhibit's account, Umayya stands opposite Bilal: a man who owned a human being, set against the voice that called millions to prayer. His name generally remains a measure of how costly faith was in the early years.
For young visitors
Umayya tortured his slave because of his faith. Today the slave's name is remembered with honour, and the master's name generally is not.
At the torture of Bilal (The Sealed Nectar p.90)
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Connections
- Persecuted
- Abu Fakiha· Bilal ibn Rabah
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- Badr
- Member of
- Banu Jumah· Quraysh
- Participated in
- The Battle of Badr· Expedition of Buwat· The departure night of the Hijra· Last Quraysh delegation to Abu Talib· The persecution of the vulnerable Muslims· The plot at Dar al-Nadwa
People and things also explored
Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)· Quraysh· al-Nadr ibn al-Harith· Mecca· Muhammad· Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt· Utba ibn Rabi'a· The Prophetic Era
Sources
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.90
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Umayya ibn Khalaf”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/umayya-ibn-khalaf/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.