The genealogy of this person is as follows: Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām b. Khuwaylid b. Asad b. ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā b. Quṣayy b. Kilāb b. Murra b. Kaʿb b. Luʾayy b. Ghālib b. Fihr b. Mālik b. al-Naḍr b. Kināna, Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Qurashī al-Asadī.
His mother was Ṣafiyya bint ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. This woman was the paternal aunt of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām became Muslim at the age of fifteen, in the earliest days of Islam. There are also various reports that he became Muslim at a younger or older age. He first emigrated to Abyssinia, then to Medina. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) declared him and Salama b. Waqsh to be brothers. This person participated in all the battles (ghazwas). On the day of the Battle of the Trench, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
– Who will bring us news of the enemy (your people)? When he asked this, Zubayr replied:
– I will bring it.
When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this request, Zubayr again responded; when he repeated it a third time, Zubayr again responded. Thereupon, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every prophet has a disciple (ḥawārī). My disciple is Zubayr.”
According to one report, Zubayr said: “On the day of Banū Qurayẓa, the Messenger of God brought together his mother and father for me.” It is also reported that Zubayr was the first person to draw a sword in the path of Allah. When the Companions (ṣaḥāba) in Mecca received news that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) had been killed, Zubayr came with his sword drawn. When he saw the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) alive, he sheathed his sword again. He was one of the ten who were given the glad tidings of Paradise, and one of the six with whom the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was content at the time of his death. He was a companion of Abū Bakr and maintained this companionship well. He became his son-in-law by marrying his daughter Asmāʾ. Zubayr’s son ʿAbdullāh was born from Asmāʾ. ʿAbdullāh was the first child born to the Muslims after the emigration (hijra). Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām went to Syria with the Muslims for jihād and participated in the Battle of Yarmūk.
The Muslims were honored by his participation in this battle. In this battle, his great valor and lofty resolve were witnessed. He traversed the ranks of the Byzantine army from one end to the other twice. When ʿUthmān was besieged by the rebels, he defended him against these rebels. In the Battle of the Camel, when ʿAlī reminded him of certain matters, he withdrew from the battle and returned to Medina. On his way back, he encountered Aḥnaf b. Qays. These men kept their distance from both ʿAlī and ʿĀʾisha, maintaining their neutrality. As Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām was returning home, a man said: “What is with this man? He brought people face to face, and just as they were about to fight, he returned home. Who will investigate what he has done and inform us?” Thereupon, ʿAmr b. Jarmūz, ʿAbdullāh b. Fuḍāla b. Ḥābis, and Nufay, along with a group of rebels from the Banū Tamīm tribe, set out in pursuit of Zubayr.
When they caught him, they killed him together. In another report, it is related that ʿAmr b. Jarmūz caught Zubayr and said to him:
– I have business with you.
– Come closer. (According to what ʿAṭiyya, Zubayr’s freedman, related, ʿAmr had a weapon with him. He approached Zubayr and began to speak with him. When the time for prayer arrived, Zubayr said to him:)
– Let us pray.
– Yes, let us pray.
When Zubayr stepped forward to lead the prayer, ʿAmr b. Jarmūz struck him from behind and killed him.
In another report, it is said that ʿAmr b. Jarmūz caught Zubayr at a place called Wādī al-Sibāʿ while he was sleeping in the midday heat, attacked him, and killed him. This is a well-known report. As expressed in a poem by his wife ʿĀtika bint Zayd, ʿAmr the son of Jarmūz killed him in Wādī al-Sibāʿ. This woman had previously been married to ʿUmar. When ʿUmar was killed, ʿAbdullāh, the son of Abū Bakr, married her. When he too died, Zubayr married her. When Zubayr was killed, his wife ʿĀtika composed an elegy for him in the form of a qasīda with a clear meaning, saying:
“The son of Jarmūz betrayed a noble hero. That hero was diligent, aggressive, and courageous in battle.
O ʿAmr, son of Jarmūz! If I had awakened Zubayr from his sleep, you would have seen that he was neither cowardly nor inept.
May your mother lose you, O son of Jarmūz! After killing someone like him, can you ever see another who enters battle morning and evening?
He plunged into many fierce battles.
Your attack could not have deterred him from battle, O son of a lowly one!
Allah is my Lord. If you kill a Muslim, you will incur the burden of intentional murder.”
ʿAmr b. Jarmūz killed Zubayr, severed his head, and brought it to ʿAlī. He thought that by doing this he would gain favor with ʿAlī. When he asked permission to enter ʿAlī’s presence, ʿAlī said: “Do not allow him to come to me, and give him the tidings of Hell.”
In another report, it is related that ʿAlī said: I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “Give the tidings of Hell to whoever kills the son of Ṣafiyya (that is, Zubayr).” ʿAmr b. Jarmūz entered the presence of ʿAlī with Zubayr’s sword, and ʿAlī said to him: “This sword of Zubayr long relieved the Messenger of God from troubles and brought him ease.”
It is related that when ʿAmr b. Jarmūz heard ʿAlī say this, he committed suicide. According to another report, he lived until Zubayr’s son Muṣʿab became governor of Iraq. When Muṣʿab became governor of Iraq, ʿAmr b. Jarmūz hid from him. Thereupon, people said to Muṣʿab:
– ʿAmr b. Jarmūz is here. He is hiding from you. If you wish, we can bring him so you may kill him.
– No, tell him to come out; I will not harm him. He is safe. By Allah, I will not take revenge on him for my father Zubayr, nor will I apply retribution (qiṣāṣ) to him. For he is too insignificant and lowly for me to consider him equal to Zubayr.
Zubayr was wealthy. He gave much in charity. During the Battle of the Camel, he made his will to his son ʿAbdullāh. When he was killed, it was found that he was in debt to the amount of 2,000,200,000 dirhams. After these debts were paid, his estate was divided among his heirs. Each of his four wives received a share of 1,200,000 dirhams. Accordingly, the total amount of property distributed to his heirs was 38,400,000 dirhams. One third of the property he bequeathed amounted to 9,200,000 dirhams. His total wealth was 75,600,000 dirhams. The portion previously paid for his debts was 1,200,000 dirhams. Thus, the total of his debts, the amount he bequeathed, and the estate distributed to his heirs was 59,800,000 dirhams.
He acquired all this wealth from jihād, from the khums (one-fifth share) due to his mother, and from good trade routes and lawful earnings. It is reported that he had 1,000 slaves. These slaves would pay him tribute, and he would often distribute this tribute as charity in the path of Allah. May Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment.
He was killed on Thursday, the tenth day of the month of Jumādā al-Ākhira in the thirty-sixth year of the Hijra. At the time of his death, he was sixty-six or sixty-seven years old. He was of dark complexion, of medium height, of normal build, and had a light beard. May Allah be pleased with him.