ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah ibn Thaʿlabah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Qays belonged to the Khazraj tribe of Yathrib (Madinah) and was known by the kunyahs Abū Muḥammad, Abū Rawāḥah, and Abū ʿAmr. Born before the advent of Islam, he grew up in Madinah and was among the literate members of his tribe during the period of Jāhiliyyah.

He embraced Islam at the Second Pledge of al-ʿAqabah (Bayʿat al-ʿAqabah al-Thāniyah) in the year preceding the hijrah and was among the twelve Anṣār representatives selected to support the emerging Muslim community. The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ employed him as one of his scribes and entrusted him with important responsibilities, including diplomatic dealings with the Jews of Khaybar.

ʿAbd Allāh participated in the major campaigns of the Prophet ﷺ, including Badr, Uḥud, al-Khandaq (the Trench), Khaybar, and al-Ḥudaybiyyah. He was one of the three commanders appointed for the Expedition of Muʾtah in 8/629. When the Muslim forces encountered the much larger Byzantine-allied army, he encouraged the believers to remain steadfast and fight courageously. He was subsequently martyred in the battle, becoming one of the most celebrated martyrs among the Companions.

Renowned as one of the foremost poets of the Prophet ﷺ, Ibn Rawāḥah employed poetry in the service of Islam, defending the new faith, praising the Messenger of God ﷺ, exhorting believers to piety, and inspiring courage in times of conflict. His literary contributions, together with his military service and role as a scribe, secured his place among the distinguished Companions and made him one of the most prominent poet-warriors in the history of early Islam.

## References

1 Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, trans. Syed Muḥammad Ibrāhīm and Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān Ṣiddīqī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 2:292.2 Ṣafī al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī, al-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm (Urdu) (Lahore: Maktabah al-Salafiyyah, 1995), 527. 3 Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār and Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām, Sīrat Ibn Hishām, Urdu trans. Syed Yāsīn ʿAlī Ḥusnī Niẓāmī (Lahore: Idārah Islāmiyāt, 1994), 2:258-259. 4 Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd al-Baṣrī, Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, trans. ʿAbdullāh al-ʿAmadī (Karachi: Dār al-Ishāʿat, 2003), 1:319, 343, 349. 5 Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Zād al-Maʿād, trans. Rais Aḥmad Jaʿfarī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 1: 879.