Zayd ibn Haritha

The adopted son and freedman of the Prophet; the only Companion named in the Qur'an, and the first commander to fall as a martyr at the Battle of Mu'ta. His full name is Abu Usama Zayd ibn Haritha ibn Sharahil (Shurahbil) al-Kalbi. Because the Prophet loved him dearly he was known as "hibb Rasul Allah" (the beloved of God's Messenger).

He was born some thirty-five years before the beginning of the Prophet's mission; he belonged to the Kalb tribe, of Yemeni origin. Although he was only ten years younger than the Prophet, as his adopted son he was at first called Zayd ibn Muhammad; after the revelation of the verse commanding that adopted sons be called after their own fathers (al-Ahzab 33/5) he came to be called by the name of his father Haritha. In the Jahiliyya, while still a child, he was kidnapped by men of the Banu al-Qayn as he travelled with his mother Su'da to visit her relatives, was sold as a slave and in the end came into the possession of Khadija, who gave him to the Messenger of God.

Men of his tribe who came to Mecca for the pilgrimage recognised him and informed his family. His father Haritha came to Mecca bringing his ransom and asked the Prophet to return him. The Prophet let Zayd meet his family and told him he could go with them if he wished; but Zayd chose to stay with the Messenger of God. The Prophet then took him to the Hijr beside the Ka'ba and said: "Bear witness that Zayd is my son; he is my heir and I am his heir!" — and then set him free.

Zayd, who never left the Prophet, was among the first to affirm his prophethood. He was with him on the journey to Ta'if; as the people of Ta'if drove the Prophet out of the town, Zayd shielded him with his own body from the stones thrown at him and was wounded. In Mecca he was declared the brother of Hamza; Hamza would tell him before going to battle what should be done if he were killed, and did so on the day of Uhud, where he was martyred. After the Hijra he stayed for a while in the house of Sa'd ibn Khaythama at Quba known as "Bayt al-uzzab" (the bachelors' house), and was declared the brother of Usayd ibn Hudayr.

He took part in the campaigns of Badr, Uhud and the Trench, the Hudaybiya expedition and the conquest of Khaybar. It was he who brought the news of the victory of Badr to Medina, riding the Prophet's camel al-Qaswa'; at the Trench he was standard-bearer of the Emigrants. The expeditions of al-Qarada, al-Jamum, al-Is, al-Taraf, Hisma, Umm Qirfa, Wadi al-Qura (twice) and Madyan were made under his command. At the beginning of Rabi' al-Awwal of the 6th year of the Hijra (July 627) he was sent to al-Jamum to punish the Banu Sulaym, who had joined the Trench with a force of 700 men. During the campaigns of Safawan and al-Muraysi' he remained in Medina as the Prophet's deputy. A'isha said: "Whenever the Messenger of God sent Zayd with an army, he always made him its commander."

He married several times. From his first marriage, in Mecca, to Umm Ayman, the Abyssinian nurse of the Prophet, his son Usama was born; he also married Umm Kulthum bint Uqba, Durra bint Abi Lahab and Hind bint al-Awwam. After Badr he married Zaynab bint Jahsh, daughter of the Prophet's paternal aunt Umayma; this marriage, arranged through the Prophet, did not last because of incompatibility and ended in divorce. Then with the revelation of the verse (al-Ahzab 33/37) the custom forbidding marriage with the divorced wives of adopted sons was abolished, and the Prophet married Zaynab. The source's assessment of the reports on this matter is given in the Multiple Views section.

When Shurahbil ibn Amr, one of the Ghassanid chiefs, killed the Prophet's envoy al-Harith ibn Umayr, an army of 3000 men was prepared, and the Prophet gave its banner to Zayd: "If Zayd is martyred, let Ja'far take the banner; if he too falls, let Abd Allah ibn Rawaha take it." The army met the Byzantine army at Ma'an; the two armies drew up for battle at Mu'ta (Jumada al-Ula 8 / September 629). Zayd, bearing the banner as first commander, fell at the very beginning of the battle; all three commanders were martyred in that order. The Prophet announced the news of the martyrdom to his Companions in Medina with tears in his eyes and prayed three times: "O God, forgive Zayd!" To Sa'd ibn Ubada, who found it strange that the Prophet, who had forbidden wailing for the dead, should weep, he said: "This is the longing of the beloved for his beloved." It is recorded that Zayd was fifty-five when he fell.

His son Usama was also among the Companions known for their closeness to the Prophet; shortly before his death the Prophet gave him command of the army prepared to be sent against Byzantium (Safar 11 / May 632), in which Abu Bakr and Umar also served. Besides Usama, Zayd had two other children, Zayd and Ruqayya; his elder brother Jabala was also a Companion.

His Tomb and Complex — Mu'ta is a place with extensive farmland south of the Dead Sea, 11 km from Kerak and 50 km from Jerusalem. Today at the site of the battle stand the remains of the historic Mu'ta Mosque and, 500 m from it, the tombs of the three martyred commanders. Recently the names of the martyrs of Mu'ta were inscribed on a monument, and a mosque (Jami' al-Mashhad) was built beside it.