Abu Lubaba al-Ansari

Abu Lubaba al-Ansari

Personal Information
Full Name	Bashir b. 'Abd al-Mundhir b. Rufa'a al-Ansari
Teknonym	Abu Lubaba
Well Known As	Abu Lubaba al-Ansari
Lineage	Aws
Well-Known Relatives	Mubashshir b. 'Abd al-Mundhir (brother), Rufa'a b. 'Abd al-Mundhir (brother)
Muhajir/Ansar	Ansar
Place(s) of Residence	Median
Religious Information
Presence at ghazwas	All of them except for battles of Badr, Sawiq, and Banu Qaynuqa'

Abū Lubāba Bashīr b. ʿAbd al-Mundhir b. Rufāʿa al-Anṣārī (Arabic:أبولبابة بشير بن عبدالمنذر بن رفاعة الأنصاري) was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (s). He was the deputy of the Prophet (s) in Medina while he was in the battles of Badr, Sawiq, and Qaynuqa', and in other battles, he fought alongside the Prophet (s). In the Battle of Banu Qurayza, he made a mistake, and in order to make a tawba from the mistake, he had a sit beside a pillar in Masjid al-Nabi until Quranic verses 27 from Sura al-Anfal and 102 from Sura al-Tawba were revealed about him and his tawba was accepted by God.

Name and Lineage

His name was Bashir, and since he had a daughter called "Lubaba", his teknonym was "Abu Lubaba". He was from the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf's clan from the Aws tribe.

Brothers

Abu Lubaba had two brothers. Thus, some sources have confused them with Abu Lubaba. One of his brothers was Mubashshir b. 'Abd al-Mundhir who was martyred in the Battle of Badr. The other was Rufa'a b. 'Abd al-Mundhir who attended the Second Pledge of 'Aqaba, the Battle of Badr, and the Battle of Uhud in which he was martyred. The latter brother was, according to some sources, a head of Ansar, and in some sources, he was mentioned as "Abu Lubaba". Moreover, Abu Lubaba al-Ansari should not be confused with another Abu Lubaba whose name was Marwan.

Role in the Prophet's (s) Battles

Abu Lubaba al-Ansari accompanied the rest of the army in the Battle of Badr, but the Prophet (s) told him to return to Medina and serve as his deputy there. After the battle, the Prophet (s) granted him a share of booties. He was also a deputy of the Prophet (s) in Medina in the battles of Sawiq, and Qaynuqa'.

In the rest of the battles, Abu Lubaba fought alongside the Prophet (s), and in the Conquest of Mecca, he was the standard-bearer of the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf clan.

The Battle of Banu Qurayza

In the Battle of Banu Qurayza, when the Jews were under a tremendous pressure because of the siege, they sent a representative to the Prophet (s) and asked him to send Abu Lubaba, who was their ally, to them. It is said that the Prophet (s) had commissioned Abu Lubaba to fight Banu Qurayza. Abu Lubaba went to the fort where people asked him whether they should surrender to the Prophet (s). He said "yes", but he pointed to his throat and thus implied that if they surrendered, they would be killed. Thus, he dissuaded them from the surrender. He soon regretted what he had done. So, he went to the mosque and fastened himself to a pillar and swore not to leave until God accepts his tawba. It is said that on this occasion, verse 27 of Sura al-Anfal, "O the believers! betray not the trust of Allah and the Messenger, nor misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you", as well as verse 102 of Sura al-Tawba, "Others have acknowledged their wrong-doings: they have mixed an act that was good with another that was evil. Perhaps Allah will turn unto them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful", were revealed.

However, there are other accounts according to which his mistake was his refusal to attend the Battle of Tabuk.

Transmission of Hadiths

Abu Lubaba transmitted some hadiths from the Prophet (s). His two sons, Sa'ib and 'Abd al-Rahman, as well as 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar and 'Abd Allah b. Ka'b al-Qurazi transmitted his hadiths.

Death

There is a disagreement about the year of his death. According to one view, he died before the murder of 'Uthman b. 'Affan or in the period of the caliphate of Imam 'Ali (a), and according to another view, he was alive until 50/670-1.