At a glance
- Roles
- Companion
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Arabia
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Place in the story
- CompanionTradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Usama ibn Zayd (may God be pleased with him) ibn Haritha (may God be pleased with him), 'the dear son of the dear', son of Umm Ayman the Prophet ﷺ's nursemaid. Born into Islam, he was about twenty when the Prophet died; the Prophet gave him command of a great army but died before it set out, and Abu Bakr dispatched it. He held himself apart from the strife and died in 54 AH.
Usama ibn Zayd (may God be pleased with him) ibn Haritha (may God be pleased with him) al-Kalbi, 'the dear son of the dear', kunyah Abu Muhammad or Abu Zayd, son of Umm Ayman the Prophet ﷺ's nursemaid. Ibn Sa'd says he was born into Islam and was twenty when the Prophet died — Ibn Abi Khaythama says eighteen. The Prophet gave him command of a great army but died before it set out, and Abu Bakr dispatched it. Umar revered and honored him, preferring him in stipend over his own son Abdullah ibn Umar. He held himself apart from the strife after Uthman's death, living at al-Mizza near Damascus, then Wadi al-Qura, then settling in Medina where he died at al-Jurf in 54 AH on Ibn Abd al-Barr's dating.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Usama ibn Zayd (may God be pleased with him) ibn Haritha (may God be pleased with him) al-Kalbi, 'the dear son of the dear', kunyah Abu Muhammad or Abu Zayd, son of Umm Ayman the Prophet ﷺ's nursemaid. Ibn Sa'd says Usama was born into Islam and was twenty when the Prophet died; Ibn Abi Khaythama says eighteen. The Prophet gave him command of a great army and died before it set out; Abu Bakr dispatched it. Umar revered and honored him and preferred him in stipend over his own son Abdullah ibn Umar. Usama held himself apart from the strife after Uthman's death until he died late in Mu'awiya's caliphate: he lived at al-Mizza in the Damascus countryside, then returned to Wadi al-Qura, then came down to Medina and died there at al-Jurf — Ibn Abd al-Barr establishing 54 AH.
Summary
Usama ibn Zayd ibn Haritha al-Kalbi, known as “the beloved son of the beloved.” He was known as Abu Muhammad, and it is also said Abu Zayd. His mother was Umm Ayman, the Prophet's nurse. 1.
Birth
Ibn Sad said that Usama was born in Islam, and that the Prophet died when he was twenty years old. Ibn Abi Khaythama said eighteen. 1.
The army the Prophet appointed him to lead
The Prophet had appointed him to command a great army, but the Prophet died before it set out, and Abu Bakr sent it on its way. 1.
Umar's regard for him
Umar honoured and respected him, and he gave him a higher stipend than his own son Abdullah ibn Umar. 1.
Civil strife and death
Usama stayed out of the strife after the killing of Uthman until he died at the end of Muawiya's caliphate. He had settled in al-Mazza, in the district of Damascus, then returned and settled in Wadi al-Qura, and then went down to Medina, where he died at al-Jurf. Ibn Abd al-Barr confirmed that he died in the year 54 AH. 1.
Those who transmitted from him
Among the Companions, Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) and Ibn Abbas transmitted from him. Among the senior Successors were Abu Uthman al-Nahdi and Abu Wail, and others. His virtues are many, and his reports are well known. 1.
“Who will be your guarantor of la ilaha illa Allah?”
Ibn Ishaq reports from Usama that he met Mirdas ibn Nahik during the raid of Ghalib ibn Abdullah on the land of Banu Murra, together with a man from the Ansar. The man said, “I bear witness that there is no god but God,” and they killed him. When they told the Prophet, he said, “O Usama, who will be your guarantor of la ilaha illa Allah?” He kept repeating it until Usama wished that his own Islam had begun on that day and that he had not killed the man. He swore to God that he would never kill a man who said it again. 2.
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Connections
- Spouse of
- Fatima bint Qays al-Fihriyya
- Child of
- Umm Ayman (Baraka bint Tha'laba)· Zayd ibn Haritha
- Participated in
- Ghalib ibn Abdullah's raid on the land of Banu Murra and the killing of Mirdas ibn Nahik· The expedition of Usama ibn Zayd· The Battle of Hunayn· The burial of the Prophet· The Farewell Sermon at Arafat· Umar's Stipend Register· Uthman's Land-Grants in Iraq
- Mentioned in
- Muslim 96 — Did you split open his heart?· Muslim 2740 — No trial more harmful to men than women· Muwatta 1475· Muwatta 1697· Muwatta 2612· Muwatta 1164· Muwatta 1186· Muwatta 1192
People and things also explored
Muhammad· Muwatta, Book of Pilgrimage (hajj)· The Prophetic Era· Arafat· Mecca· Medina· The early Muslim community· The Battle of Mu'tah
Sources
- al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-sahaba — Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani , p.43
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/271
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Usama ibn Zayd”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/usama-ibn-zayd/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.