Abdullah ibn Rawaha

Poet and Champion of the Ansar

Abdullah ibn Rawaha was an Ansari chief of the Khazraj and one of the poets who answered the enemies of Islam in verse. He took the pledge of Aqaba, fought at Badr, and was counted among the foremost of his people in faith and courage.

The Battle of Mu’ta

When the army marched to Mu’ta in 8 AH, Ibn Rawaha wept at the farewell — not from love of the world, he explained, but from dread of the Fire over which all must pass. At Ma’an, when the Muslims learned of the vast Byzantine host before them and some counselled sending to the Prophet ﷺ for reinforcements, he rallied them: they had never fought by numbers but by the strength of their faith, and ahead lay one of two goods — victory or martyrdom. 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 514 — Kandhlawi — Ibn Rawaha's tears at the farewell to Mu'ta and his rallying of the army at Ma'an: one of two good things, victory or martyrdom. When Zayd ibn Haritha and then Ja’far were martyred, Ibn Rawaha seized the banner. Reluctant for a moment to dismount into the fray, he spurred his own soul with verse; a kinsman offered him meat, for he had gone hungry, but at one bite he heard the roar of battle, cast it away, and fought on until he too fell a martyr. 2 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 514–515 — Kandhlawi — Ibn Rawaha takes the flag after Zayd and Ja'far, rebukes his own soul, casts away the meat, and is martyred.

Virtues in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ had named the three commanders of Mu’ta in advance, the last of them Ibn Rawaha:

إِنْ قُتِلَ زَيْدٌ فَجَعْفَرٌ، وَإِنْ قُتِلَ جَعْفَرٌ فَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَوَاحَةَ

”If Zayd is killed, then Ja’far; and if Ja’far is killed, then Abdullah ibn Rawaha.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 4261 · Book 64 (Military Expeditions), Hadith 295 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 59, Hadith 560 · narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar