Wahshy ibn Harb
Encyclopedia
Wahshy ibn Harb was the Ethiopia
n slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im
and a Sahaba
(companion of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
). He is best known for killing a leading Muslim
general, Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
Muhammad's uncle, prior to accepting Islam
, and afterwards killing Musaylimah
, the leader of an enemy apostate
army who were waging war against the Muslims.
to kill one of the three persons (Muhammad, Ali ibn Abi Talib, or Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib) so that she might avenge her father's death during the Battle of Badr
.
Washy said in reply, "I cannot approach Muhammad at all, because his companions are nearer to him than anyone else. Ali too is extraordinarily vigilant in the battlefield. However, Hamza is so furious that, while fighting, he does not pay any attention to any other side and it is possible that I may be able to make him fall by some trick or by taking him unawares." Hind was content with this and promised that if he was successful in performing the job she would set him free. Some believe that Jubair made this promise to his slave (Wahshy) as his (Jubayr's) uncle had been killed in the Battle of Badr.
Wahshy went on to say, "On the Day of Uhud (625) I was pursuing Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He was attacking the centre of the army like a ferocious lion. He killed every one whom he could approach. I hid myself behind the trees and stones, so that he could not see me. He was too busy in fighting. I came out of ambush. Being an Ethiopian, I used to throw my weapon like Ethiopians and it never missed the target. I, therefore, threw my javelin towards him from a specific distance after moving it in a particular manner. The weapon fell on his flank and came out from between his two legs. He wanted to attack me but severe pain prevented him from doing so. He remained in the same condition till his soul departed from his body. Then I approached him very carefully and having taken out my weapon from his body returned to the army of Quraysh and waited for my freedom."
in 634. Wahshi relates his story of conversion:
"After the Battle of Uhud
, I continued to live in Makkah
for quite a long time until the Muslims conquered Makkah. I then ran away to Ta'if
, but soon Islam reached that area as well. I heard that however grave the crime of a person might be, [Muhammad] forgave him. I, therefore, reached [Muhammad] with Shahada
tayn on my lips. Muhammad
saw me and said "Are you the same Wahshy, the Ethiopian?" I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon he said: "How did you kill Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib?" I gave an account of the matter. Muhammad
was moved and said: "I should not see your face until you are resurrected, because the heart-rending calamity fell upon my uncle at your hands". It is explained by Islamic scholars that the reason for Wahshy avoiding Muhammad, was not out of continued anger against Wahshy, but in case Wahshy interpreted a look on the face of Muhammad as anger for him, which would therefore make him distraught.
Wahshi says: "So long as Muhammad
was alive I kept myself hidden from him. After his death the battle with Musaylimah took place. I joined the army of Islam and used the same weapon against Musaylimah and succeeded in killing him with the help of one of the Ansar
. If I killed the best of men (Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib) with this weapon, the worst man, too, did not escape its terror."
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im
Jubayr ibn Mut'im
Jubayr ibn Mut‘im was one of the Meccan enemies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad whom later became a Sahaba.-Aisha:In , Abu Bakr had initially engaged his daughter Aisha to Jubayr ibn Mut'im, but when Jubayr's father Mut`im ibn `Uday was informed that Abu Bakr had adopted Islam and rejected...
and a Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
(companion of the Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
). He is best known for killing a leading Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
general, Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
Hamza ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib [b.568-d.625] was the paternal uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and his foster-brother. He and Muhammad were raised together as they were almost the same age. With excellence in the arts of wrestling and swordsmanship...
Muhammad's uncle, prior to accepting Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and afterwards killing Musaylimah
Musaylimah
Musaylimah or Maslamah bin Ḥabīb was one of a series of men who claimed to be a prophet around the same time as Muhammad. He is viewed as a false prophet by traditional accounts, and frequently referred to by the epithet "the Liar" .-Biography:...
, the leader of an enemy apostate
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
army who were waging war against the Muslims.
During the Battle of Uhud
Wahshy had been appointed by Hind bint UtbahHind bint Utbah
Hind bint ‘Utbah was an Arab woman who lived in the late 6th and early 7th centuries CE; she was the wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, a powerful man of Mecca, in western Arabia. Both Abu Sufyan and Hind originally opposed the Islamic prophet Muhammad...
to kill one of the three persons (Muhammad, Ali ibn Abi Talib, or Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib) so that she might avenge her father's death during the Battle of Badr
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr , fought Saturday, March 13, 624 AD in the Hejaz region of western Arabia , was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Mecca...
.
Washy said in reply, "I cannot approach Muhammad at all, because his companions are nearer to him than anyone else. Ali too is extraordinarily vigilant in the battlefield. However, Hamza is so furious that, while fighting, he does not pay any attention to any other side and it is possible that I may be able to make him fall by some trick or by taking him unawares." Hind was content with this and promised that if he was successful in performing the job she would set him free. Some believe that Jubair made this promise to his slave (Wahshy) as his (Jubayr's) uncle had been killed in the Battle of Badr.
Wahshy went on to say, "On the Day of Uhud (625) I was pursuing Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He was attacking the centre of the army like a ferocious lion. He killed every one whom he could approach. I hid myself behind the trees and stones, so that he could not see me. He was too busy in fighting. I came out of ambush. Being an Ethiopian, I used to throw my weapon like Ethiopians and it never missed the target. I, therefore, threw my javelin towards him from a specific distance after moving it in a particular manner. The weapon fell on his flank and came out from between his two legs. He wanted to attack me but severe pain prevented him from doing so. He remained in the same condition till his soul departed from his body. Then I approached him very carefully and having taken out my weapon from his body returned to the army of Quraysh and waited for my freedom."
Conversion to Islam
He later converted to Islam and killed the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah (also known as Musaylimah al-Kadhdhaab meaning "Musaylimah The Liar") during the battle of YamamaBattle of Yamama
The Battle of Yamama was fought in December AD 632 as part as the Ridda or apostate wars on the plain of Aqraba in the region of Yamama between the forces of Muslim Caliph Abu Bakr and Musaylimah, an apostate.-Background:...
in 634. Wahshi relates his story of conversion:
"After the Battle of Uhud
Battle of Uhud
The Battle of Uhud was fought on March 19, 625 at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now northwestern Arabia. It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb from Mecca, the town from...
, I continued to live in Makkah
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
for quite a long time until the Muslims conquered Makkah. I then ran away to Ta'if
Ta’if
Ta’if is a city in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia at an elevation of on the slopes of the Sarawat Mountains . It has a population of 521,273 . Each summer the Saudi Government moves from the heat of Riyadh to Ta'if...
, but soon Islam reached that area as well. I heard that however grave the crime of a person might be, [Muhammad] forgave him. I, therefore, reached [Muhammad] with Shahada
Shahada
The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...
tayn on my lips. Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
saw me and said "Are you the same Wahshy, the Ethiopian?" I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon he said: "How did you kill Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib?" I gave an account of the matter. Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
was moved and said: "I should not see your face until you are resurrected, because the heart-rending calamity fell upon my uncle at your hands". It is explained by Islamic scholars that the reason for Wahshy avoiding Muhammad, was not out of continued anger against Wahshy, but in case Wahshy interpreted a look on the face of Muhammad as anger for him, which would therefore make him distraught.
Wahshi says: "So long as Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
was alive I kept myself hidden from him. After his death the battle with Musaylimah took place. I joined the army of Islam and used the same weapon against Musaylimah and succeeded in killing him with the help of one of the Ansar
Ansar (Islam)
Ansar is an Islamic term that literally means "helpers" and denotes the Medinan citizens that helped Muhammad and the Muhajirun on the arrival to the city after the migration to Medina...
. If I killed the best of men (Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib) with this weapon, the worst man, too, did not escape its terror."