Attab ibn Asid

A Young Governor of Makkah

Attab ibn Asid was a young Qurayshi of Banu Umayya when, after the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ — leaving the city for the Umrah from Ji’rana — appointed him governor of Makkah for his religious knowledge, though he was “little more than twenty years old.” He fixed his stipend at one dirham a day, that he might never need to depend on the people; he left Mu’adh ibn Jabal behind to teach them the Qur’an. 1 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 229 — Najeebabadi — Attab ibn Asid made first Muslim governor of Makkah at about twenty; stipend of one dirham per day.

On accepting his stipend he said:

“May Allah keep that liver hungry which is hungry on one dirham.”

He also led the Hajj in 8 AH — the year of the conquest — before the Islamic rites of Hajj had been instituted in their final form. 4 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 3 · pp. 48 — Idris Kandhlawi — Attab leads the 8 AH Hajj before Islamic rites are fully instituted.

The Hajj and the Day of Abu Bakr’s Death

He led the Hajj as governor the following year, while pagans still attended by their old rites alongside the Muslims. He died in Makkah the very day Abu Bakr passed away in Madinah. 2 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 314, 317 — Najeebabadi — Attab leads the Hajj as governor; dies the same day as Abu Bakr.