Utbah ibn Ghazwan

ProfileUtbah ibn Ghazwan

Utbah ibn Ghazwan (may Allah be pleased with him) was of the Mazin tribe, an ally of the clan of Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf of Quraysh. According to the early biographies, he was among the first to accept Islam in Makkah, and migrated to Abyssinia, and then to Madinah, where the Prophet ﷺ joined him in brotherhood with Abu Dujanah. According to the early biographies, he fought at Badr, Uhud and the Trench, and in the campaigns after.

Ibn Umar told that Utbah ibn Ghazwan gave a sermon on the pulpit and said that he had seen himself the seventh of seven with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they had nothing to eat but the leaves of trees, until their gums hurt (Sunan Ibn Majah, graded sahih).

Umayr al-Adawi told that Utbah ibn Ghazwan gave them a sermon, and said that the world had announced its end and little of it was left, like the water left in a vessel, and that they were moving to a home that has no end, so they should move with the best they had before them. He said that he had been the seventh of seven with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, with nothing to eat but the leaves of the tree, until the corners of their mouths were sore. They found a sheet, and tore it in two, and he and Sa'd ibn Malik, that is, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, each made a lower garment of half. And now there was none of them who was not the governor of a city. He sought refuge in Allah from thinking himself great while he was small in the sight of Allah, and said that prophethood does not last, but turns at last into kingship, and that they would soon see the rulers who came after them (Sahih Muslim).

According to the early biographies, in the time of Umar he led an army against the Persian port of al-Ubullah and the land around it, and settled the Muslims at the place where the city of Basra grew up, and built its first mosque. According to the early biographies, he governed it for about six months, and disliked ruling, and asked Umar several times to relieve him. When Umar kept him in the post, he prayed to Allah that he would not be returned to it. According to the early biographies, he died on the road back to Madinah, after falling from his camel.

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