Al-Bara' ibn Malik

ProfileAl-Bara' ibn Malik

Al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) was the brother of Anas ibn Malik, and the son of Umm Sulaym. According to the early biographies, he was the older brother, and most of them say that he and Anas shared both parents, though some say only a father. He should not be confused with al-Bara' ibn Azib, the Companion whose name is common in the books of hadith. According to the early biographies, he narrated no hadith himself, nothing is recorded of his childhood or of how he accepted Islam, and he did not fight at Badr, probably because he was too young. His whole recorded life is in battle.

According to the early biographies, he was short and thin, with untidy hair, dusty clothes, and little to say, and people who saw him took him for a nobody, while his brother Anas had presence and eloquence. The Prophet ﷺ described him: many a person with dishevelled hair, covered in dust, with two old garments, whom no one notices, would have his oath on Allah fulfilled, and al-Bara' ibn Malik was one of them (Jami at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan). The Prophet ﷺ also once asked about two men who passed by, one admired by all and one poor and ignored, and said that the poor man was better than an earth full of the other kind (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early biographies, he was a quiet man, and his only known words were that he wanted Allah and Paradise, and that he was called when there was a battle.

According to the early biographies, he fought in every battle with the Prophet ﷺ from Uhud onwards, he was one of those who gave the pledge under the tree at Hudaybiyyah, and he stayed with the Prophet ﷺ at Hunayn when the others fled. According to the early biographies, he had a fine voice, and on journeys he sang to the camels that carried the men, as Anjasha did for those carrying the women, until the Prophet ﷺ told Anjasha to go slowly with the glass vessels (Sahih al-Bukhari).

His best-known deed came at the battle of Yamamah against Musaylimah, the false prophet. The Muslims had been repulsed once, and Musaylimah's men held a walled garden called the Garden of Death. According to the early biographies, al-Bara' told Khalid to put him on a shield, and throw him over the wall, and he would open the gate. They did it, and he landed among the defenders, fought his way to the gate and opened it, and the Muslims came in. According to the early biographies, he also cut down Musaylimah's bodyguard, which left Musaylimah exposed. Wahshi then threw his spear at Musaylimah, and an Ansari man struck him with a sword (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early biographies, he was left with a great many wounds, and Khalid ibn al-Walid stayed with him for a month to nurse him.

According to the early biographies, when Umar became caliph he wrote to his governors not to make al-Bara' the commander of any army, because he was so brave that he would lead the men to destruction, and said that he was the best of soldiers to have in the ranks. According to the early biographies, the Muslims in battle would ask him to swear by his Lord and pray for victory, and he did, at Qadisiyyah and elsewhere. Anas told how he once went in to see his brother when he seemed to be dying, and found him singing war songs. Anas told him that Allah had given him something better to recite, but al-Bara' answered that Allah would not deny him death in battle. He recovered.

His last battle was Tustar, in the time of Umar. According to the early biographies, the Muslims were losing, and the others asked al-Bara' to swear on his Lord, and he asked for victory three times, the third time asking also to be joined to the Prophet ﷺ. The Persians threw burning iron hooks over the wall, and one caught Anas. Al-Bara' jumped on him and pulled the hook out with his bare hands until the flesh was burned from them. According to the early biographies, he was killed in that battle and the Muslims won it. Anas lived on for decades, and a great part of what he handed down about the Prophet ﷺ reached us because of the day his brother saved him.

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