Kulthum ibn al-Hidm

ProfileKulthum ibn al-Hidm

Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with him) was of the Banu Amr ibn Awf of the Aws, whose land at Quba lay on the edge of Madinah. According to the early biographies, he was the chief of his clan and an old man, known for his humility. When he heard of Islam and of the Prophet ﷺ, he believed at once, and told his people to put everything they had at the Prophet's ﷺ disposal. When the Prophet ﷺ reached Quba, he stayed with the Banu Amr ibn Awf for fourteen nights (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early biographies, he spent the nights in Kulthum's house, because Kulthum was an old man, meeting the elders and chiefs of the tribes who came to him, and Kulthum was in effect his host and brother among the Ansar. According to the early biographies, the Prophet ﷺ spent his days at the house of Sa'd ibn Khaythamah, where the young and unmarried Muhajirun stayed, and his nights with the elders, so that he honoured both. According to the early biographies, the Prophet ﷺ took part in laying the stones of the mosque, working alongside them, and the people of Quba, who had been waiting for months, were surprised to see the leader they had longed for carrying stones.

According to the early biographies, Kulthum died soon after, only a short while after As'ad ibn Zurarah, and the two are said to be the first of the Ansar buried at al-Baqi', one a man who first went out to believe and the other the man who hosted the Prophet ﷺ. The masjid at Quba is named in the Quran as one founded on taqwa from the first day. The Prophet ﷺ used to visit it on foot and riding (Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim), and said that praying one prayer in the Quba mosque is like an Umrah (Jami at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan; Sunan Ibn Majah, graded hasan), and that whoever purifies himself at home and then comes to pray in it has a reward like an Umrah (Sunan Ibn Majah, graded hasan).

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