الرحلةThe Journey

زيد بن حارثة

Zayd ibn Harithah (RA)

Also known as: Zaid bin Harithah, Hibb Rasul Allah

c. 42 BH – 8 AH · c. 581–629 CE

Companions

The Prophet's freed slave and adopted son, the only Companion named in the Quran, killed leading the army at Mu'tah.

Zayd was a boy of the tribe of Kalb when he was captured in a raid and sold as a slave in Makkah. Khadijah gave him to the Prophet ﷺ, who freed him. When Zayd's father and uncle found him and came to ransom him, Zayd chose to stay with the Prophet ﷺ, who then adopted him; he was known as Zayd ibn Muhammad until the Quran ended the practice of adoption by name (33:4–5). He was among the very first to accept Islam.

Zayd married Zaynab bint Jahsh, and after their divorce the Prophet ﷺ married her, as the Quran describes; in that verse (33:37) Zayd is named, the only Companion mentioned by name in the Quran. He fought at Badr and led several expeditions. In 629 the Prophet ﷺ appointed him commander of the army sent to Mu'tah in Syria, naming Ja'far and then 'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah to succeed him if he fell. All three were killed there. His son Usamah was also among the Prophet's beloved.

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Life journey

  1. c. 581 CE Makkah مكة
    Taken captive as a boy from the tribe of Kalb and sold in Makkah, where Khadijah gave him to the Prophet ﷺ; the year is approximate.
  2. 622 CE Madinah المدينة
  3. 629 CE Mu'tah مؤتة
    Died 629 CE · 8 AH
    Commanded the army at Mu'tah and was the first of its three commanders to be killed.

In the Quran

33:37

Places in their life

The Ka'bah in al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah
The Ka'bah in al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah
Photo: Adli Wahid (minor modifications by Basile Morin), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
Photo: TheHadiRahim, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya
  • Sahih al-Bukhari (Book of Military Expeditions, the Battle of Mu'tah)
  • Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth year approximate. His birthplace in the lands of Kalb is not shown, so the map starts in Makkah.