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The Islam of Iyas ibn Mu’adh: the young Ansari converted during a quest for alliance in Mecca, Abu al-Haysar’s handful of dust, his death proclaiming Allah’s greatness, the battle of Bu’ath and the story of Rafi’ ibn Malik and Mou’adh ibn ’Afra, from Ibn Ishaq, al-Boukhari and Abu Zar’a.
Updated on 07 September 2026 at 11:07 PM
Ibn Ishaq said: al-Husayn ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Amr ibn Sa’d ibn Mu’adh related to me, from Mahmoud ibn Labid: when Abu al-Haysar Anas ibn Rafi’ arrived in Mecca with young men of the Banu Abd al-Ashhal, among them Iyas ibn Mu’adh, seeking an alliance with Quraysh against their people of the Khazraj, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was told of them and came to them. He sat with them and said: “Would you be interested in something better than what you came for?” They asked: “And what is that?” He said: “I am the Messenger of Allah to the servants: I call them to worship Allah without associating anything with Him, and the Book has been revealed to me.” Then he presented Islam to them and recited the Quran to them.
Iyas ibn Mu’adh, one of the youngest, said: “O my people, this is, by Allah, better than what you came for.” Abu al-Haysar Anas ibn Rafi’ then seized a handful of dust from al-Batha and threw it in the face of Iyas ibn Mu’adh, saying: “Leave us: by my life, we came for something else.” Iyas fell silent. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rose from their presence, and they headed back to Medina; it was the time of the battle of Bu’ath between the Aws and the Khazraj. Iyas ibn Mu’adh did not long survive.
Mahmoud ibn Labid said: those of his people who informed me of his state kept telling me that they would hear him proclaim that there is no deity but Allah, glorifying, magnifying and praising Him until he died. They did not doubt that he died a Muslim: Islam had penetrated him in that council, at the moment when he heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) what he heard from him.
Ibn Kathir notes: Bu’ath is a place in Medina where a great battle occurred: many notables and grandees of the Aws and the Khazraj perished there, and few of their elders remained. al-Boukhari related in his Sahih, from Ubayd ibn Isma’il, from Abu Uthmana, from Hisham, from his father, from Aisha, who said: “The day of Bu’ath was a day Allah advanced for His Messenger: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived in Medina when their notables had been dispersed and their leaders killed.”
Abu Zar’a ar-Razi mentioned in his book Dala’il an-Nubuwwa a chapter on the Islam of Rafi’ ibn Malik and Mou’adh ibn ’Afra. He related through a long chain, going back to Rafi’ ibn Malik, that he set out with his cousin Mou’adh ibn ’Afra until they reached Mecca: that was before the departure of the six Ansar. Coming down the slope, they saw a man under a tree; they came to him and greeted him with the greeting of jahiliya; he returned to them the greeting of Islam: he had already heard of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They were surprised and asked: “Who are you?” He said: “Dismount.” They dismounted and asked: “Where is this man who claims what he claims and says what he says?” He said: “I am he.” They said: “Then present Islam to us.” He presented it to them, saying: “Who created the heavens, the earth and the mountains?” They answered: “Allah created them.” “Who created you?” “Allah.” “Who then made these idols you worship?” “We did.” “Is the Creator more worthy of worship, or the creature?” “The Creator.” He said: “You are more worthy of being worshipped, you who made them; and Allah is more worthy of being worshipped than anything you have made. I call you to the worship of Allah, to the testimony that there is no deity but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, to maintaining the ties of kinship and abandoning aggression, even if the people become angry.”
They said: “By Allah, even if what you call us to were false, it would be among the noblest of matters and the finest of morals. Keep our mounts until we circle the House.” Mou’adh ibn ’Afra sat with him. Rafi’ narrated: “I circled the House, then brought out seven cups, dedicated one of them, faced the Kaaba and said: O Allah, if what Muhammad calls to is true, make his cup come out. Seven times, and I threw them seven times. Then I cried: I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The people gathered against me and said: a madman, a man turned Sabaean. I answered: no, a man who has believed.” He then came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the upper part of Mecca; when Mou’adh ibn ’Afra saw him, he said: “You have come with a face other than the one you left with, O Rafi’.” He believed, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught them the sura Yousouf as well as “Read, in the name of your Lord who created.” Heading back to Medina, when they reached al-Aqiq, Mou’adh said: “I have never spent a night out: let us stay until morning.” Rafi’ replied: “Stay, with what I carry of good?! I could never do that.” Whenever Rafi’ traveled and returned, he would present [Islam] to his people. Its chain and text are excellent.