Muhammad ibn Maslamah al-Ansari (; 588 or 591 – 663 or 666) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a military commander in the early Muslim community. He fought in nearly all major battles of Muhammad’s time, including Badr, Uhud, the Trench, and Khaybar, and was entrusted with special missions such as the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf. During the Expedition of Tabuk he served as deputy governor of Medina. Under Caliph Umar, he served as the caliph’s personal inspector, investigating governors and public complaints across the caliphate, and he also took part in the Arab conquest of Egypt under Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. After Uthman’s assassination, he refused to pledge allegiance to Ali and withdrew from political conflict, living in seclusion to avoid the civil war; he was later murdered in Medina, reportedly by a man angered by his neutrality. Ibn Maslamah was also known as “The Knight of Allah’s Prophet,” and was respected for his loyalty, discipline, and reliability as a hadith narrator.
Early life and conversion
Muhammad ibn Maslamah was born in Medina to Maslamah ibn Khalid and Umm Sahm Khulayda bint Abi Ubayda of the Sa'ida clan, as a member of the Aws tribe. According to Ibn Sa'd, his lineage is: Muhammad ibn Maslamah ibn Khalid ibn Adi ibn Majda'a ibn Haritha ibn al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj ibn Amr ibn al-Nabit ibn Malik of the Aws.
Ibn Maslama embraced Islam at the hands of Mus'ab ibn Umayr before his fellow Aws clansmen Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and Usayd ibn Hudayr, and before Muhammad's and Meccan Muslims migration to Medina around the year of 621-622 AD. After the Meccans arrived in Medina, the inhabitants of Medina were immediately instructed by Muhammad to bond brotherhood with the Meccans, with Ibn Maslama being paired with Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah. The reason for his pairing with Abu Ubayda was due to Muhammad's observation that Ibn Maslamah's character and temperament, along with personal tastes and a similar attitude with Abu Ubayda, were compatible.
Campaign under Muhammad
Early Campaigns Thus, Hereafter the arrival of Muslims of Mecca, Ibn Maslamah served in various military campaigns, where the first pitched battle was fought at the Battle of Badr in March 624. Later, when the Muslims defeated the Qaynuqa tribe in April, Ibn Maslamah supervised their expulsion from Medina and the seizure of their possessions. Muhammad awarded him a coat of mail. In the same year, approximately in the month of September, Ibn Maslamah was sent by Muhammad along with some of his kinsmen and allied tribe of Aws on a mission to assassinate Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a Jewish man who would recite defamatory poetry about Muhammad and also made explicit poems about Muslim women. Ibn Maslamah pretended to Ka'b that he didn't support Muhammad and would side with Ka'b against him, on the condition that Ka'b would give him a camel load or two of food as a loan. Ka'b wanted something in return and Ibn Maslamah offered to leave his weapons with him as collateral. Ka'b then came out to meet him and a few others during night time and after the men smelled his head for perfume, they killed him. While Ibn Maslamah and his colleagues managed to escape undetected within the night, the tribes of Ka'b learned about the death of Ka'b the next day after they found the corpse of Ka'b on the ground.
Battle of Uhud and Banu Nadir In April 625, the Muslims were engaged in the Battle of Uhud against Quraysh who were under Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. Ibn Maslamah was put in charge of fifty men that were tasked with patrolling the camp at night time before the battle. In this battle, the Muslims suffered heavy losses from the unexpected flanking from behind by Khalid ibn al-Walid. As the Muslims retreated, Ibn Maslamah was one of few soldiers who stood by Muhammad. Later, In August 625 Ibn Maslamah brought the message to the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir that Muhammad wanted to expel them. This act by Ibn Maslama shocked Nadir tribesmen, as they did not think an Aws clansmen would dare to threaten them like that Later, when the Nadir tribe surrendered to Muhammad and were expelled from Medina, it was Ibn Maslamah who supervised their exit and collected all their confiscated property and weapons.
Dumat al-Jandal and Thumama In 626, between August and September, Ibn Maslamah participated in the expedition to Dumat al-Jandal, where he was the only member of the party to capture a human prisoner; the other raiders returned only with cattle and camels. The captive brought back by Ibn Maslamah was Thumama ibn Uthal, the chieftain of the Banu Hanifa of Al-Yamama in central Arabia. Thumama was subsequently released by Muhammad without ransom, an act which prompted him to embrace Islam and return to his people to advocate for the faith. This conversion held significant political weight, as the Banu Hanifa were a vital agricultural community in Central Arabia and major suppliers of wheat to surrounding tribes. Following his conversion, Thumama imposed a grain embargo against the Quraysh of Mecca, severely disrupting their supply lines and compelling them to negotiate with the nascent Muslim state in Medina.
Battle of the Trench and Qurayza The next major battle Ibn Maslamah participated in was the Battle of the Trench which occurred in the spring of 627, when the coalitions of Quraysh, Ghatafan, and other smaller tribes numbered to 10,000, besieged Medina. Ibn Maslamah stood as guard at Muhammad's tent by night. Then, the following day after the besiegers of Medina retreated, Ibn Maslamah participated in the punitive siege operation against another Jewish tribe in Medina, the Qurayza tribe who betrayed Medina and sided with the coalition army in the Battle of the Trench. As the Qurayza tribesmen surrendered, Ibn Maslamah was the one who tied the prisoners' wrists. Ibn Maslamah was tasked to guard the Jewish tribe captives who were to be executed. A Jew named 'Amr ibn Suda snuck past the guard during the night, slipped out of Medina and was never seen again. Ibn Maslamah told Muhammad that he had deliberately allowed 'Amr to escape because he had not participated in the treachery of the Qurayza. Muhammad accepted this story and said that God had delivered Amr because of his faithfulness. When the Qurayza prisoners were being sold, Ibn Maslamah bought a woman and her two sons for 45 coins of dinar. These coins were acquired by Ibn Maslamah when he was awarded three portions of the spoils of war, since the Fiqh ruling in Islam allowed the horsemens for bigger spoils from Infantry, and Ibn Maslamah fought in this siege on his horse.
Raids and expeditions Ibn Maslamah led 30 horsemen on the raid to al-Qurata in June 627. They marched by night and hid by day; at al-Sharaba, they attacked the Bakr clan of the Kilab tribe and killed ten of them. They then drove the captured livestock—150 camels and 3,000 sheep—back to Medina. The following month, Muhammad sent him with ten men to the Ghatafan territory in Dhu al-Qassah. Ibn Maslamah and his men were ambushed at night while they were sleeping. When the enemy began shooting arrows, Ibn Maslamah was the first to awaken and warned his men to return fire. The Bedouins threw spears and killed three of his men; the Muslims killed one of the attackers before the ambushers killed seven more of the party. Ibn Maslamah fell with a wounded ankle, though he managed to survive and escape after the enemies stripped the corpses and departed. Later, a Muslim traveler found Ibn Maslamah, provided him with food and water, and transported him back to Medina. Ibn Maslamah was also present at the al-Muraysi in January 628.
During the Pledge of the Tree, Ibn Maslamah was among the twenty horsemen who were sent as an advance guard to Hudaybiyyah and he was on the night-watch roster. One night the Quraysh sent fifty men to the Muslim camp. Ibn Maslamah managed to capture them and bring them to Muhammad. According to one tradition, he was later a witness to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah;
Siege of Khaybar
At the Battle of Khaybar in May/July 628, Ibn Maslamah identified the optimal location for the Muslim encampment. On the first day of the battle, his brother Mahmud was fatally wounded at Fort Na'im when the Jewish warrior Marhab threw a millstone from the battlements, which struck Mahmud on the head. Mahmud died three days later, during which time Ibn Maslamah pledged to provide for his brother's daughters.
Ibn Maslamah sought to avenge his brother by challenging Marhab to a duel. During the combat, he managed to strike off one of Marhab's legs. Before Ibn Maslamah could deliver the final blow, Ali intervened and decapitated the Jewish champion. This led to a dispute regarding the spoils of war, specifically Marhab's weaponry; when the matter was referred to Muhammad, he granted Marhab's sword, shield, cap, and helmet to Ibn Maslamah. Later in the campaign, Ibn Maslamah killed another champion named Yusayr and served in the unit that shielded Muhammad during the siege of the fortress of al-Saab ibn Muadh.
Following the fall of the fortresses, the treasure of the Abu'l-Huqayq clan was sought from Kinana ibn al-Rabi. Kinana was interrogated by Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and once he could no longer speak, Muhammad ordered al-Zubayr to hand him over to Ibn Maslamah, who was then tasked with his execution. Upon the total subjugation of Khaybar, the Muslim forces advanced on the Jewish settlement of Wadi al-Qura. After securing the territory, the spoils were divided, and Ibn Maslamah was awarded a share for his service in the campaign.
Under the Rashidun Caliphs
During the Caliphate Ibn Maslamah worked as a tax-collector, bringing in zakat that was due from the Ashja tribe which was a subtribe of Ghatafan.
Under Umar In 638, Caliph Umar sent Ibn Maslamah to the newly founded settlement of Kufa. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, hero of Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and Siege of Ctesiphon (637), had built a public citadel next door to his own house. The noise from the nearby market was so deafening that Saad had built a locked gate into the citadel, which prompted the Caliph to send Ibn Maslamah to destroy the gate, which he did by setting fire to it. He refused all of Sa'd's offers of hospitality, but handed him a letter from Umar reminding him that the citadel should be available to the public and suggesting that he move his house. Sa'd didn't believe in the letter and denied that Umar would make such remarks. Ibn Maslamah did not have enough supplies for his homeward journey. Later, in 642 Ibn Maslamah continued his job as the Caliph's personal overseer, investigating any complaints across the caliphate realm. Until he found more complaints against Sa'd in Kufa, then Ibn Maslamah was sent to back Kufa to investigate. He visited all the local mosques and heard all the complaints in public. Nearly everyone expressed satisfaction with Saad's conduct as governor; but eventually there was an accusation that he did not lead the prayers correctly and spent too much time hunting. Ibn Maslamah escorted Sa'd and his accusers to Umar, which resulted in Sa'd being cleared of all charges after the accusations were revealed to be groundless; nonetheless, Umar later replaced Sa'd as governor.
Under Uthman
Later, after the ascension of Uthman as caliph, Ibn Maslamah continued to act as inspector under Uthman. In 655 Uthman sent him to Kufa to investigate certain complaints; but Ibn Maslamah reported back that he had found nothing amiss.