View source for Abu Ayyub al-Ansari

{{Short description|Companion and the standard-bearer of Muhammad}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Abu Ayoub Al-Ansari<br/>{{Nobold|{{lang|ar|أبو أيوب الأنصاري}}}}
| image        = Eyupsultan.JPG
| alt          = 
| caption      = The [[Eyüp Sultan Mosque|tomb of ''Abu Ayyub'']] in Istanbul, Turkey
| birth_date   = 
| birth_place  = [[Medina|Yathrib]], [[Hejaz]], Arabia (present-day [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]])
| death_date   = {{circa|674}}
| death_place  = [[Constantinople]], [[Eastern Roman Empire]] (present-day [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]])
| monarch1   = [[Ali]]
| office1      = [[List of caliphal governors of Medina#Rashidun governors|Rashidun governor of Medina]]
| term1        = 
| predecessor1 = [[Sahl ibn Hunaif]] <small>(From 657)</small>
| successor1   = [[Marwan ibn al-Hakam]] <small>(662–669)</small>
| parents      = {{ubl|Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Thaalba ibn Abdul Awf al-Khazraji <small>(father)</small>|Hind bint Saeed <small>(mother)</small>}}
| relations    = [[Banu Khazraj]] <small>([[Banu Najjar]])</small>
| relatives    = 
| spouse       =  Umm al-Hasan bint Zayd ibn Haris <br /> Umm al-Ayyub al-Ansari  
| children     = Abu Mansur al-Tabi'i <br /> Abd al-Rahman <small>(died as an infant)</small> <br /> Khalid <br /> Ayyub <br /> Umrah  
}}
'''Abu Ayyub al-Ansari'''<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/8824/ |title = A Part of the Eyoub (i.e., Uyüp) Cemetery, I, Constantinople, Turkey |website = [[World Digital Library]] |date = 1890–1900 |access-date = 2013-10-18 }}</ref>  ({{langx|ar|أبو أيوب الأنصاري|Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī}}, {{langx|tr|Ebu Eyyûb el-Ensarî}}, died c. 674)<ref>Or 52 A.H, see Ibn Sa'd and Tabari, cited in {{cite book |first=Philip K. |last=Hitti |title=A History of the Arabs |location=London |year=1951 |edition=Revised |page=202 |oclc=398068 }}</ref> — born '''Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha'laba''' ({{langx|ar|خالد ابن زيد ابن كُليب ابن ثعلبه|Khālid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Thaʿlaba}}) in [[Yathrib]] — was from the tribe of [[Banu Najjar]], and a close companion ([[Arabic]]: الصحابه, ''sahaba'') and the [[standard-bearer]] of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. Abu Ayyub was one of the [[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]] (Arabic: الأنصار, meaning aiders, helpers or patrons) of the early Islamic history, those who supported Muhammad after the [[hijra (Islam)|hijra]] (migration) to Medina in 622. The patronym ''Abu Ayyub'', means father (abu) of Ayyub. Abu Ayyub died of illness during the [[Siege of Constantinople (674–78)|First Arab Siege of Constantinople]].

== Biography ==
Abu Ayyub was born in [[Medina]], [[Hejaz]] as Khalid bin Zayd to the [[Banu Najjar|Najjar family]] of the [[Banu Khazraj]]. As Abu Ayyub was the head of his family, he was one of the chosen elders in Medina who went to the valley of [[Aqaba]] and pledged allegiance to Islam at the hands of Muhammad, who named him ''Abu Ayyub al-Ansari''. After the migration, Muhammad united the [[Muhajirun]]s and [[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]]s into a single allegiance.

=== Waqif in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi ===
[[Waqf|Waqif]] of [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi]]: The land of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi belonged to two young orphans, Sahal and Suhayl, and when they learned that Muhammad wished to acquire their land for a mosque, they went to Muhammad and offered the land to him as a gift.  Muhammad insisted on paying for the land because they were orphaned children. The ultimately agreed purchase price was paid by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari who thus became the waqif (or creator of a charitable endowment) of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi on behalf of Muhammad.

He was chosen as the [[List of caliphal governors of Medina#Rashidun governors|Rashidun governor of Medina]] during the caliphate of [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]].<ref>{{harvnb|Yarshater|1985–2007|loc=v. 17: p. 206}}; {{EI2|loc=s.v. "Abu Ayyub al-Ansari"}}; {{harvnb|Khalifah ibn Khayyat|1985|p=201}}.</ref>

=== Life in Egypt ===
Following the Muslim conquest of [[Egypt]], Abu Ayyub moved to [[Fustat]], where he lived in a house adjacent to the mosque of [[Amr bin Al'aas]] that had been completed in 642. Several other companions were his neighbours, including [[Zubayr ibn al-Awwam]], Ubaida, Abu Dhar, [[Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab|Abdullah ibn Umar]] and Abdullah ibn Amr bin Al'aas.<ref>Masud ul-Hasan, Hadrat 'Umar Farooq, Islamic Publications Ltd. Lahore 1982</ref>

During his military career, "he did not stay away from any battle in which the Muslims engaged from the time of Muhammad to the time of [[Muawiyah I]], unless he was at the same time, engaged in another battle being fought elsewhere."<ref>Muhammad ibn Sa'd, ''Kitāb at-Tabāqat al-Kabīr'' (The Great Book of Generations).</ref>

=== Last military campaign ===
{{main article|Siege of Constantinople (674–678)}}
In a hadith in Qital al-Rome, a chapter of [[Sahih Muslim]], Muhammad prophesied that the first army to charge Constantinople will enter Paradise.

[[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari]] records a number of raids against the [[Byzantine Empire]] under the period A.H. 49 (9/2/669 - 28/1/670). Though Abu Ayyub was by then an old man, that did not deter him from enlisting. Shortly after engaging in battle,<ref>'the real hero of the campaign was the aged Abu Ayyub al-Ansari ... whose presence in the contingent was desired for the blessing that might bring'. In {{harvtxt|Hitti|1951|pages=201-202}}.</ref> it is recorded that he fell ill and had to withdraw. The chief of army staff Yazid ibn Muawiya asked, "Do you need anything, Abu Ayyub?" to which Abu Ayyub replied, "Convey my ''salaams'' (Islamic greeting and farewell) to the Muslim armies and tell them, "Abu Ayyub urges you to penetrate deep into enemy territory, as far as you can go; and that you should carry him with you, and that you should bury me under your feet at the walls of Constantinople." At this, he died. Yazid ordered the Muslim army to fulfil his request, and they pushed back the enemy's forces until they reached the walls of Constantinople where Abu Ayyub was finally interred.

About this battle, Aslam ibn 'Imran narrates that when they were fighting the Byzantines, a Muslim soldier penetrated deep into enemy ranks. The people exclaimed, "''[[Subhan Allah]]!'' He has contributed to his own destruction." Abu Ayyub al-Ansari stood up and answered, "O people! You give this interpretation to this verse, whereas it was revealed concerning us the [[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]]. When Allah had actually given honour to Islam and its supporters had become many, some of us secretly said to one another, 'Our wealth has been depleted, and Allah has given honour to Islam and its supporters have become many, let us stay amidst our wealth and make up what has been depleted of it.' Thereupon, Allah revealed to Muhammad, 'And spend in the Path of God (فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ), and do not contribute to your own destruction / And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining].',"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.quran.com/2/195|title=Qur'an, Chapter 2 Baqara, first half of verse 195}}</ref> refuting what we had said.

== Descendants ==
{{main article|Ansari (nesba)}}
The descendants of Abu Ayyub can be found around the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and [[Indian subcontinent]]. Two of his sons, Khalid and Ayyub, remained in the Arabian Peninsula and their descendants traveled to other countries such as [[Qatar]] and [[Bahrain]]. His other son, Abu Mansur Ummatul Ansari took part in the [[Muslim conquest of Khorasan]] under the Muslim general [[Ahnaf ibn Qais]]. He settled in [[Herat]] and his family remained there until 1526. The prominent [[Hanbali school|Hanbali]] scholar from Herat, [[Abdullah Ansari]] was descended from Abu Ayyub through his son, Abu Mansur. Consequently, the family migrated to the Indian subcontinent with the [[Mughal empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Babur]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ANSARISOFYUSUFPUR|title=Ansaris of Yusufpur|date=November 2013}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2024|reason=This appears to be a potentially self-published religious work. Please cite a reliable source per WP:RS.|certain=y}}

== Mosque and türbe ==
{{main article|Eyüp Sultan Mosque}}
{{Quote box
| quote  = “built of white marble by Mehmed II, the Conqueror, in 1459, adjacent to the türbeh of Abu Eyúb Ensari, the legendary standard-bearer of the prophet, whose tomb here was revealed in a vision a few days after the conquest…”<ref name="WDL"/>
| source = [[Baedeker]]'s ''The Mediterranean, seaports and sea routes: Handbook for Travellers'', 1911
| width  = 50%
 |align  = right
}}
[[File:DSC04789 Istanbul - Türbe di Eyüp - Foto G. Dall'Orto 30-5-2006.jpg|thumb|right|The [[türbe]] of ''Abu Ayyub al-Ansari'']]
After the [[Conquest of Constantinople]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]], a [[türbe|tomb]] was constructed above Abu Ayyub's grave and a mosque built in his honour by Sultan [[Mehmed the Conqueror]]. From that point on, the area now known as the locality of [[Eyüp]] became sacred and many Ottoman officials requested burial in proximity of Abu Ayyub.<ref name="EyyupSultan">{{cite web | url=http://www.travelturkeyusa.com/islamic-treasures-of-turkey/ | title=Ayyub Sultan Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey | access-date=2014-11-29 | archive-date=2018-08-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822114946/http://www.travelturkeyusa.com/islamic-treasures-of-turkey/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> His tomb was discovered by the Ottoman saint [[Akshamsaddin|Akşemseddin]]. The tomb was rebuilt by Sultan [[Mahmud II]] in 1882. This mosque was the traditional site for the coronation ceremony of the Ottoman Sultans, where each new Sultan was girded with the [[Sword of Osman]], the founder of the Ottoman Empire.  Obeying the order of [[Sheikh Edebali]], [[Osman I]] had gone to the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.{{sfn|Goodwin|1971|p=412}}

== Some ''hadith'' narrated by Abu Ayyub ==
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari is credited with narrating many [[Hadith|sayings of Muhammad]]. Well-known examples of these include:

* The Messenger of Allah said: "It is not permissible for a Muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights. When they meet, this one turns away (from that one) and that one turns away (from this one) and the best of them is the one who greets his brother first."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/urn/2054230|title=Agreed upon hadith by Sahih Bukhari and Muslim.}}</ref>
* Abu Ayyub al-Ansari narrates that on the night of [[Isra and Mi'raj|Mi'raj]], Muhammad passed by [[Islamic view of Abraham|Ibrahim]] ([[Abraham]]). Ibrahim asked, "O [[Gabriel|Jibreel]], who is with you?" Jibreel answered, "Muhammad." Ibrahim said to him, "Command your [[Ummah]] to plant trees of Paradise in abundance, as the soil of Paradise is fertile and its plain is spacious." It was asked, "Which are the trees of Paradise?" He replied, "[[La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah]] (Arabic لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله)."<ref>from [[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], [[Majma al-Zawa'id]]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Sunni view of the Sahaba]]

== Notes ==
<!-- Use MLA style citation format for books, encyclopedias, and periodicals -->
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book | last=Goodwin | first=Godfrey | year=1971 | title=A History of Ottoman Architecture | url=https://archive.org/details/historyofottoman0000good_o1e5 | url-access=registration | publisher=Thames and Hudson | place=London | isbn=0-500-27429-0 }}
* {{cite book | last = Khalifah ibn Khayyat | author-link = Khalifa ibn Khayyat | title = Tarikh Khalifah ibn Khayyat, 3rd ed | publisher = Dar Taybah | language = ar | year = 1985 | location = Al-Riyadh | editor-last = al-Umari | editor-first = Akram Diya' }}
* Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, History v. 18 "Between Civil Wars: The Caliphate of Mu'awiyah," transl. [[Michael G. Morony]], SUNY Press, Albany, 1987.
* Muhammad Ibn Sa'd, ''Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir'', np, nd.
* {{cite book |first=Philip K. |last=Hitti |title=A History of the Arabs |location=London |year=1951 |edition=Revised |oclc=398068 |ref=none }}
* {{The History of al-Ṭabarī}}
* Talib Hashmi, Seerat Mezban e Rasool (SAW) Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari (R.A), Lahore; Taha pub; 2005
* Mahmud Ansari, [https://archive.org/details/ANSARISOFYUSUFPUR Ansaris of Yusufpur] 2013

{{Ali's companions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari}}

[[Category:Abu Ayyub al-Ansari| ]]
[[Category:Companions of the Prophet]]
[[Category:Eyüp|*]]
[[Category:674 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Medina]]
[[Category:Najjarite people]]
[[Category:Ansar (Islam)]]
[[Category:Muslim martyrs]]
[[Category:Burials at Eyüp Cemetery]]
[[Category:Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars]]
[[Category:Rashidun governors of Medina]]