Muhammad ibn Maslamah

Who was Muhammad ibn Maslamah?

Muhammad ibn Maslamah, sometimes surnamed as Ansari was a Companion of Muhammad.

He was among the first in Yathrib to become a Muslim and was a halif or an ally of the Aws tribe in Medina indicating he was not an Arab. He became a Muslim at the hands of Musab ibn Umayr, before Usayd ibn Hudayr and Sad ibn Muadh who were influential men in the city.

In 622 when Muhammad arrived in Medina he paired off each Muhajir with one of the Ansar, joining Muhammad ibn Maslamah with Abu_Ubaydah_ibn_al-Jarrah. Muhammad ibn Maslamah took part in all the military engagements of Muhammad except the Battle of Tabouk. On that occasion, he and Ali were put in charge of an army which was left behind to protect Medina. Later in life, he would related these battles to his ten children.

In 624, Muhammad ibn Maslamah volunteered when the Prophet Muhammad called upon his followers to kill Ka'b, a chief of the Banu Nadir, who had written poetry the Muslims found offensive. Muhammad ibn Maslama collected four others, including a foster-brother of Ka'b. By pretending to have turned against Muhammad, they enticed Ka'b out of his fortress on a moonlight night for what was supposed to be negotiations of Ka'b's sale of food to them. After Ka'b walked out of his fortress to meet Muhammad ibn Maslama and his companions, they attacked Ka'b and killed him in spite of his vigorous resistance.