At a glance
- Roles
- Companion · Commander
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
BattlesConverts and those who leave
Place in the story
- CompanionTradition
- Convert to IslamTradition
- Commander · 624 CE · 2 AH†Tradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was one of the earliest Muslims; his mother Safiyya was the Prophet ﷺ's aunt. At Badr he was one of the army's only two horsemen, and Sunnis count him among the ten promised Paradise. He died in 36 AH after withdrawing from the Battle of the Camel.
Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi was one of the first to enter Islam, called by Abu Bakr in the years of the secret call; his mother Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib (may God be pleased with her) was the Prophet ﷺ's aunt. At Badr he was one of the Muslim army's two horsemen and held the right wing; he rode out on the scouting patrol with Ali and Sa'd that captured two camel-keepers of Quraysh. Sunnis count him among the ten promised Paradise, and al-Sallabi says he was the first to draw a sword for God's sake. His estate left lands and houses but no dinar or dirham. He died in 36 AH after withdrawing from the Battle of the Camel.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi was of the first vanguard — one of the eight who preceded the people into Islam through Abu Bakr's call — and his mother Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib (may God be pleased with her) was the Prophet ﷺ's aunt. At Badr he was one of the army's two horsemen, commanding the right wing, and rode on the scouting patrol with Ali and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that captured two of Quraysh's camel-keepers, giving the estimate of the enemy army. Al-Sallabi makes him the first to draw his sword for God's sake, and the Prophet's joining of both parents to him at the Trench is recorded; his estate held lands and properties — al-Ghaba, eleven houses in Medina, and houses in Basra, Kufa and Egypt — but no dinar or dirham, with a rebuttal of Will Durant's claim of ten thousand slaves. He died in 36 AH after withdrawing from the Camel battle; al-Sallabi names Amr ibn Jurmuz in Wadi al-Siba'.
Summary
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi, one of the first to embrace Islam. His mother was Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's aunt 1.
His role at Badr
He was one of the two horsemen of the Muslim army; the Muslims had only two horses. He was given command of the right wing 2. He went out on a reconnaissance patrol with Ali and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. They captured two boys who were water-carriers for Quraysh. From the camels slaughtered, the Prophet estimated the strength of the army as between nine hundred and a thousand 3.
After Badr
In the Sunni narration he is one of the ten given the glad tidings of Paradise. He was killed in 36 AH after leaving the Battle of the Camel 4.
In the secret call (The Sealed Nectar, p.76)
The book counts him among those who embraced Islam through the call of Abu Bakr during the years of the secret call. He was one of the eight who came before the people and formed the first rank and vanguard of Islam 5 6. The book names him with his Asadi lineage 5.
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Connections
- Child of
- Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib
- Spouse of
- Umm Kulthum bint Uqba
- Parent of
- Urwa ibn al-Zubayr
- Member of
- Quraysh· The Muhajirun· The early Muslim community
- Participated in
- The Battle of Badr· The three years of the secret call· Ali's stance during the siege of Uthman· Ali's pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr· Stipends of Heirs and the Dead· Conquest of Egypt and Alexandria· The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)· Hatib ibn Abi Balta'a's letter to Quraysh· The Hijra· Battle over the Quraysh standard at Uhud· Muslim deployment at Uhud and the archers' post· Uthman consults the Companions on the campaign to Ifriqiya
- Mentioned in
- Muwatta 1544· Muwatta 2270· Muwatta 2417· Muwatta 1006
People and things also explored
Ali ibn Abi Talib· Uthman ibn Affan· The Battle of Uhud· Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah· Muhammad· Mecca· al-Miqdad ibn Amr· The early Muslim community
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.205
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , pp.210-211
- al-Tabaqat al-Kubra — Ibn Sa'd
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.76
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham , 1/245-262
- Asma al-Matalib fi Sirat Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/zubayr-ibn-al-awwam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.