Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb
al-Khazraji. His mother was Hind bint Sa'id ibn Qays al-Khazraji. It is also
said that her name was Zahra bint Sa'd ibn Qays. His sons were Khalid, Ayyub,
and Abu Mansur. His sons Khalid and Ayyub remained in the Arabian Peninsula,
while his son Abu Mansur participated in the Islamic conquest of Khorasan, and
his descendants traveled to the Indian subcontinent.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was a noble Companion, distinguished by
his courage, piety, and love of jihad. He was devoted to and loved the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He was also humble, ascetic, and
tolerant and loved helping people and putting them before himself. He was
present at the Pledge of Aqaba with the seventy Ansar in Mecca. He was among
the companions who accompanied the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in
all his campaigns.
When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
migrated to Yathrib, he stopped in Quba and stayed with the Banu Amr ibn Awf
for five days, during which he established the Quba Mosque. Then he intended to
enter Yathrib, but he was confronted by the Banu Salim ibn Awf, then the Banu
Bayadah, then the Banu Sa'idah, then the Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj, and
finally his maternal uncles, the Banu Adi ibn al-Najjar, who asked him to stay
among them, saying, "Come, O Messenger of God, to our numbers, our
resources, and our protection." He declined, saying, speaking of his
she-camel al-Qaswa, "Let her go, for she is guided." He continued
until he passed by the Banu Malik ibn al-Najjar, and al-Qaswa knelt at the site
of the mosque's entrance. The Prophet Muhammad dismounted, and Abu Ayyub
carried his belongings into his house, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and ordered... The
Prophet Muhammad built the mosque.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him,
established a bond of brotherhood between Abu Ayyub and Mus'ab ibn 'Umair. Abu
Ayyub participated in all of the Prophet Muhammad's battles. Ibn Hisham stated
that Abu Ayyub was the one who captured Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi', the Prophet's
son-in-law (the husband of the Prophet's daughter, a title given to the husband
of his daughter), on the day of Badr.
Abu Ayyub greatly respected the Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, and was devoted to him, following in his footsteps. It was
narrated that Abu Ayyub said, "The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, came to stay with me. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stayed
on the lower floor, and Abu Ayyub stayed on the upper floor. Then Abu Ayyub
awoke..." One night, Abu Ayyub said, “Let’s walk over the head of the Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!” So they moved aside and slept on
one side. Then he said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The lower level is more
comfortable.” He said, “I will not go above a roof while you are under it.” So
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) moved to the upper level, and Abu
Ayyub went to the lower level. He would prepare food for the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him), and then… He was brought to him and asked about the
position of his fingers. He followed the position of his fingers and prepared
food for him containing garlic. When he was returned to him, he asked about the
position of the Prophet's fingers, may God bless him and grant him peace, and
was told, "He did not eat it." He was alarmed and went up to him and
said, "Is it forbidden?" The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him
peace, said, "No, but I dislike it." He said, "Then I dislike
what you dislike." He said, "And it was The Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, who was approached" (Source: Sahih Muslim; Hadith
classification: Sahih).
Abu Ayyub was strict in enforcing the Prophet Muhammad's
commands. Some hypocrites mocked the Muslims in the mosque, so the Prophet
Muhammad ordered them to be forcibly expelled. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari went to Umar
ibn Qays, a member of the Banu Ghanm ibn Malik ibn al-Najjar tribe, who had
been the custodian of their idols in the pre-Islamic era. He grabbed him by the
leg and dragged him out of the mosque, while Umar cried, "Are you
expelling me, Abu Ayyub, from the threshing floor of Banu Tha'labah?" Then
Abu Ayyub went to Rafi' ibn Wadi'ah, another member of the Banu al-Najjar
tribe, grabbed him by the collar, shook him violently, slapped him in the face,
and expelled him from the mosque, saying, "Shame on you, hypocrite!"
O wicked one, your steps, O hypocrite, are from the mosque of the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And the following verse was revealed concerning Abu Ayyub:
“Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think
good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"? (Surat
An-Nur: 12) This refers to the incident of the slander, where Aflah, the freed
slave of Abu Ayyub, narrated that Umm Ayyub said to Abu Ayyub, “Do you not hear
what people are saying about Aisha?” He said, “Yes, and that is a lie. Would
you, Umm Ayyub, have done that?” She said, “No, by Allah.” He said, “Then
Aisha…” And God is better than you, so the verse was revealed concerning them.
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir)
After the death of the Prophet, Abu Ayyub continued to
participate in military expeditions. He used to say, “God said: March forth,
whether you are light (being healthy, young and wealthy) or heavy (being ill,
old and poor), strive hard with your wealth and your lives in the Cause of
Allah. This is better for you, if you but knew” (Surat At-Tawbah 9:41). I
find myself either light or heavy. Abu Ayyub did not miss any Muslim military
expedition except for one year when a young man was appointed commander of the
army, so he stayed behind that year. After that year, he began to yearn and
say, "What do I care who was appointed over me?"
When Uthman was killed, Ali ibn Abi Talib became caliph, and
the fitna (civil strife) began. Ali appointed Abu Ayyub as governor of Medina
when he intended to march to Iraq. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, in his history,
mentions a narration from Awana ibn al-Hakam al-Kalbi, on the authority of
Ziyad ibn Abdullah al-Bakka'i, that Abu Ayyub remained governor of Medina until
Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan sent Busr ibn Artat with 3,000 men to the Hijaz. They
arrived in Medina, and Abu Ayyub fled from them and joined Ali in Kufa without
fighting them. This agrees with what al-Hakim al-Nishapuri stated in his
Mustadrak, that he did not participate in the Battle of Siffin with Ali.
However, there is agreement that Abu Ayyub fought alongside Ali ibn Abi Talib
against the Kharijites and that he commanded Ali ibn Abi Talib's cavalry at the
Battle of Nahrawan.
After Mu'awiya's rule was established, Abu Ayyub did not
hold back from the campaigns, even joining Yazid ibn Mu'awiya's army heading
towards Constantinople. However, he fell seriously ill during the siege. When
his condition worsened, he instructed his companions, saying, "Bury me
beneath your feet. I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon
him) say, 'Whoever dies without associating anything with God will enter
Paradise.'" Yazid came to him and asked, "What is your need?"
Abu Ayyub replied, "Yes, when I die, carry me on your mount, then take me
into enemy territory as far as you can find a safe place to stop. If you cannot
find a safe place, bury me there, then return." When he died, he was
carried on a mount, then he was buried at the foot of the fortress of
Constantinople, and Yazid led the funeral prayer. There is disagreement
regarding the date of his death; it has been said to be 50 AH, 51 AH, 52 AH, or
55 AH. Abu Ayyub left behind a son, Abd al-Rahman, whose mother was Umm Hasan
bint Zayd ibn Thabit.
After the Muslims conquered Constantinople in 1453, under
the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, they built a mosque over the grave of
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari in 1458, naming it the Eyüp Sultan Mosque after him.
A marble plaque hangs outside the Mosque of Abu Ayyub
al-Ansari (may God be pleased with him) in Istanbul, mentioning his name and
some of his virtues in Arabic.
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