Asad ibn Zurara

d b ': As'ad ibn Zurarah ibn 'Adis ibn 'Ubayd ibn Tha'labah ibn Ghunam ibn Malik ibn al-Najjar, whose name was also Taim Allah, and it was said: al-Najjar because he hit a man with a qadum and thus injured him (najjara), or for other reasons. He was also known as al-Najjar ibn Tha'labah ibn 'Amr ibn al-Khazraj al-Ansari al-Khazraji al-Najjari, and it was said: As'ad al-Khayr, and his kunya was Abu Umamah.

He was one of the first of the Ansar to embrace Islam. The reason for his Islam, as mentioned by al-Waqidi, was that As'ad ibn Zurarah went to Mecca with Dhakwan ibn 'Abd Qays to compete for the hand of 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah's daughter. They heard about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, visited him, and he presented Islam to them, recited the Quran to them, and they became Muslims. They did not approach 'Utbah and returned to Medina, being the first to bring Islam to Medina.

Ibn Ishaq said: As'ad ibn Zurarah actually became Muslim with the group that preceded their people to Islam at the First 'Aqabah.

He was a participant in the pledge at 'Aqabah, attending the First, Second, and Third 'Aqabahs, where he gave his pledge. The first pledge was with six or seven people, the second with twelve men, and the third with seventy men. Some do not count the pledge of six as 'Aqabah and only acknowledge two 'Aqabahs. Abu Umamah was the youngest of them, except for Jaber ibn 'Abd Allah, and he was the najib (standard-bearer) of Banu al-Najjar.

Ibn Manda and Abu Nu'aym stated that he was the najib of Banu Sa'idah, and that there were twelve nujaba': Sa'd ibn 'Ubada, As'ad ibn Zurarah, Sa'd ibn al-Rabi', Sa'd ibn Khaythamah, al-Mundhir ibn 'Amr, 'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah, al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur, Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Tayyan, Asid ibn Hudayr, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn Haram, 'Ubada ibn al-Samit, and Rafi' ibn Malik.

It is said: Abu Umamah was the first to give his pledge to the Prophet ﷺ on the night of 'Aqabah, and it was also said: it was someone else, which will be mentioned in its place.

He was the first to lead the Friday prayer in Medina, at a place called Nayi' al-Khudamat, a hill in Hayrah Banu Bayadah, with forty men.

As'ad ibn Zurarah died in the first year of Hijrah in Shawwal, before the Battle of Badr, which took place in Ramadan of the second year. He died of an illness called: al-dhabh. The Prophet ﷺ cauterized him with his own hand, and As'ad died with the mosque nearby.