As'ad ibn Zurara

A First Ansari Muslim

As’ad ibn Zurara was of Banu Najjar of the Khazraj, and among the very first of the Ansar to meet the Prophet ﷺ and believe at Aqaba, where he was made one of the twelve naqibs (leaders) of his people. 1 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 1 · pp. 149, 153 — Idris Kandhlawi — As'ad among the first to pledge at Aqaba and appointed a naqib of the Ansar.

Host of the Call, and the First Jumu’ah

When the Prophet ﷺ sent Mus’ab ibn Umayr to teach in Madinah, Mus’ab lodged with As’ad and made his house the centre of the call, from which Islam spread through the city. 2 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 132–133 — Najeebabadi — Mus'ab lodges with As'ad ibn Zurara and makes his house the base of the da'wah in Madinah. As’ad was also the first to gather the Muslims for the Friday prayer in Madinah. He died early — in the first year of the Hijra, before the Prophet’s ﷺ mosque was even finished — and the Prophet ﷺ, asked who should lead Banu Najjar after him, said: “You are my maternal kin; I am of you, and I am your head.” 3 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 1 · pp. 203–204 — Idris Kandhlawi — As'ad institutes the first Jumu'ah; his death in 1 AH before the mosque was complete; the Prophet's words to Banu Najjar.