Dirar ibn al-Azwar

A poet and warrior Companion of the Prophet, of the Banu Asad. His full name is Abu'l-Azwar Dirar b. Malik b. Aws al-Asadi; he is also known by the kunya Abu Bilal. Because his father was known by the epithet Azwar, "the crooked-necked", he became famous as Dirar b. al-Azwar. Some sources give his name as Abd b. al-Azwar, but Abd appears to have been his brother.

He was among the wealthy men of the Banu Asad, owning 1000 camels and several herdsmen to tend them. In 9 (630) he went to Medina with a delegation of his tribe and, with the Prophet's permission, recited in his presence his ode, the Lamiyya. In it he said that he had left wine, gambling and amusement — even his family and all his wealth — to come and fight at the Prophet's side against the polytheists, and hoped not to lose by this bargain. Having listened to the ode, the Prophet told him he had made a profitable bargain.

The Prophet sent him as envoy to the Banu Sayda, a branch of the Banu Asad, and to part of the Banu Du'il (Banu Dil). When Tulayha b. Khuwaylid of the Banu Asad came forward claiming prophethood, the Prophet charged Dirar with closely watching the leaders of the Banu Asad. Dirar gathered the Muslims of the tribe to move against Tulayha; but when news of the Prophet's death arrived, Tulayha's following grew rapidly, and Dirar returned to the caliph Abu Bakr together with the Muslim officials posted among the Banu Asad.

In the ridda wars and in the conquest of various regions he served in the army under Khalid b. al-Walid, commanding one of the units Khalid sent against the Banu Tamim. This unit captured Malik b. Nuwayra — the zakat collector of the Banu Tamim who, after the Prophet's death, had opposed the collection of zakat — together with his men and handed them over to Khalid b. al-Walid; according to the source, Malik was killed by Dirar on the commander's order. At the Battle of Yamama (12/633) he again showed great valour under Khalid b. al-Walid.

The source holds that, after taking part in various battles, he fell as a martyr at the Battle of Ajnadayn (13/634). A poem of his describing the agony of a grave wound received in the fierce battle at Baniqya, on the bank of the Euphrates where present-day Najaf stands, also indicates that he died in the year 13. The other reports about his death appear in the Multiple Views section.

His Circle of Influence — He narrated two hadiths from the Prophet: one, that when he recited his ode the Prophet told him he had made a good bargain; the other, that while milking, at the Prophet's order, the milch camel he had given him as a gift, the Prophet warned him: "Do not drain the udder completely!"

His Poetry and Sufi Line — It is narrated that from the Jahiliyya onward he showed great valour in many battles on the back of his famous horse Muhabbar, composing a poem for every battle he fought; works devoted to his life preserve samples of his verse. His sister Khawla bint al-Azwar, brave and a poet like him, also took part in the conquest of lands such as Syria and Egypt and composed poems on those battles.

His Tomb and Complex — According to the source, his grave lies within a small mosque in the village of Dirar, in the Ghawr al-Balawna district of the Jordan Valley (Wadi al-Urdun).