Abu Ayyub al-Ansari: Difference between revisions

The lineage of Khalid b. Zayd b. Kulayb b. al-Najjar whose [[kunya]] was Abu Ayyub reaches Najjar who was from [[Khazraj]] tribe. His mother was the daughter of Sa'd b. Qays b. 'Amr b. Imru' al-Qays and his wife was the daughter of [[Zayd b. Thabit]]. According to Ibn Sa'd, Abu Ayyub had a son called 'Abd al-Rahman who had no children.

Abu Ayyub was among the 70 people who gave allegiance to the [[Prophet (s)]] that they would not abandon his support. [[Nasr b. Muzahim]] considered Abu Ayyub among the elders of [[Ansar]] (Helpers) and the [[Shia]] of [[Imam Ali (a)]].

The number of [[hadiths]] attributed to Abu Ayyub reaches 150, but [[al-Bukhari]] and [[Muslim b. al-Hajjaj|Muslim]] have only approved of seven hadiths from him.

What made Abu Ayyub grand in the eyes of Muslims, was going of the Prophet (s) to his house upon his arrival to [[Medina]], regardless of others' insistence. Thus, historians have mentioned his name as the host of the Prophet (s). According to [[al-Baladhuri]], the Prophet (s) resided in his house for seven months, until [[al-Masjid al-Nabawi]] and the Prophet's (s) own house were built up. Al-Mas'udi has reported this period one month.

After the demise of the Holy Prophet (s), Abu Ayyub and 11 other [[companions]], defended the succession of [[Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]]. Therefore, Ibn Athir regarded him among the close companions of Imam Ali (a).

[[Al-Bukhari]] considered him among the five from [[Ansar]] who tried to compile the [[Qur'an]] at the time of the Holy Prophet (s).

Abu Ayyub participated in all the [[ghazwa|battles]] of the Prophet (s) and historians have considered him among the participants of [[battle of Badr|Badr]], [[Battle of Uhud|Uhud]] and [[Battle of Khandaq|Khandaq]] battles. Only once because the commander of Muslims' army was a young man, he refrained to participate in the battle and was always remorseful about it.

Through historical texts, his obedience, loyalty and his great reverence for the Prophet (s) is manifested. According to Ibn Hisham, he was pioneer in expelling the hypocrites who mocked Muslims in [[al-Masjid al-Nabawi]] and some of them were his own relatives. According to some haidths, a verse of the [[Qur'an]] in the event of [[Verse of Ifk|Ifk]] praises Abu Ayyub and his wife.

Upon the siege of the house of [['Uthman]] by the dissidents, Muslims performed the prayer in the mosque of Medina led by Abu Ayyub and he was among the witnesses in front of whom 'Uthman promised that he would thereafter act according to the [[Qur'an|Book of God]] and the conduct of the [[Prophet (s)]].

Abu Ayyub participated in all battles [[Imam Ali (a)]] engaged in, but Ibn Sa'd mentioned only [[Battle of Nahrawan|Nahrawan]], and al-Waqidi mentioned [[Battle of Siffin|Siffin]]. Everyone has mentioned extraordinary braveries of Abu Ayyub. In the Battle of Nahrawan, Ali (a) assigned him as the commander of the horsemen and before beginning of the war, sent him to negotiate with and advise [[Khawarij]].

After Nahrawan, he was assigned by Imam Ali (a) as the governor of [[Medina]], but after [[Mu'awiya]] sent [[Busr b. Abi Artat]] with 3000 soldiers to [[Hijaz]] in 40/660-61, Abu Ayyub left Medina and joined Ali (a) in [[Iraq]]. After invading Medina and taking the city, Busr burned Abu Ayyub's house.

After the martyrdom of Ali (a), Abu Ayyub once again went to the borders for war. Al-Tabari has reported that in 49/669-70, [[Yazid b. Mu'awiya]] moved to war with Romans and took the old Abu Ayyub with himself.

Abu Ayyub passed away in [[52]]/672 due to illness while [[Constantinople]] was besieged by Muslims. According to some reports, he passed away in 50 or 51 AH.

In deathbed, Abu Ayyub made a will to Yazid who had come to visit him, "when I die, take my body as forth as you have moved in the land of the enemy and bury me there." According to another report, he said, "I heard from the [[Prophet (s)]] that a righteous man will be buried at the feet of the wall of Constantinople, I hope it will be me.”

After the demise of Abu Ayyub, Yazid prayed upon his body and ordered that they bury him at the feet of the wall of Constantinople; then, according to some reports, he ordered the horsemen to trample the burial ground and make it disappear so that the enemy would not be able to find his grave.

Ibn Sa'd reported that his grave was so much respected by the Romans that some of them visited his grave especially at the time of drought and asked for rain. According to Ibn 'Abd Rabbih, later a mausoleum was built upon his grave which still existed at his time.

Since then until 857/1453 when Ottoman Turks took Constantinople, his grave was unknown. At that time, his grave was identified mysteriously by Aq Shams al-Din Shaykh al-Islam. In 863/1458-59, the Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II built the [[Ayyub Sultan Mosque]] and a shrine upon his grave. Afterwards, many Ottoman elders were buried beside him and as a formal tradition, Ottoman kings visited his grave upon sitting on the throne and in a special ceremony tied their forefather's sword on their waist which was known as the Ottoman Sword.

Also, the house of Abu Ayyub in [[Medina]] was always respected by Muslims, so that a school for the four schools was built there which was known as Shihabiyya and there, the place where the camel of the [[Prophet (s)]] sat was marked as Mabruka and was visitied by people to receive blessings.

Among those who have narrated from him, people including [[Ibn Ababs]], [[Bura' b. 'Azib]], [[Jabir b. Samura]], Miqdam b. Mu'addi Karb, Abu Imama al-Bahili, Zayd b. Khalid al-Juhani and some other [[Companions]] have been mentioned.

Some of the Followers ([[Tabi'un]]) such as [[Sa'id b. Musayyib]] and 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr and 'Abd Allah b. Hunayn have heard hadiths from him and quoted them. Ibn Sa'd and al-Mizzi have also mentioned a list of those who have narrated from him.

Abu Ayyub have been praised by all [[Sunni]] scholars of [['ilm al-Rijal|rijal]] and some have also regarded him reliable, but [[Shia]] scholars have only praised him and have avoided expressly regarding him reliable; even [[Ibn Dawud al-Hilli]] have mentioned him among Muhmalin [In rijali books, it is reffered to a group of hadith transmitters who are either praised or not have been blamed].

Shia scholars of rijal have different opinions regarding justification of his participation in the battle with polytheists under the command of [[Mu'awiya]] and [[Yazid]] regardless of his firm advocacy of the right of [[Imam Ali (a)]]'s caliphate. [[Fadl b. Shadhan]] considered this act of him negligence and mistake in judgment and added that even though he was not happy with his contemporary caliph, he participated in the wars having the intention of advancing and supporting Islam and the proof for this claim is that there were disputes between him and Mu'awiya; however, rejecting this opinion, [[Ayatollah al-Khoei]] deemed it possible that he acted so with respect to a permission from [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]].

Abu Ayyub was also considered a powerful poet. It is possible that calling him poet was because of the poems he composed in the [[Battle of Siffin]] and also later in replying to the letter of Mu'awiya.

* The material for this article is mainly taken from [http://fa.wikishia.net//view/ابوایوب_انصاری {{ia|ابوایوب انصاری}}] in Farsi WikiShia.

  | references =