Identity of first male Muslim
Encyclopedia
There is some disagreement among Muslim
s, and among historians of Islam
, as to the identity of the first male convert to Islam after Muhammad
.
The early historian Ibn Ishaq
puts Ali ibn Abi Talib
, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, first; Tabari
presents three candidates, and does not decide between them. One account in Tabari says that the first male convert was Zayd ibn Harithah
, a freed slave who had become Muhammad's adopted son. Other accounts say that it was Abu Bakr
, a man of standing among Meccans and a distant kinsman of Muhammad as well as good friend, who was the first convert.
, in what is now west-central Saudi Arabia.
Why is the question of priority important? After the Muslim conquests began, a Muslim's standing in the Islamic state depended on his services to the community, and especially on the length of time he had been a member of the community. Early converts (who had faced persecution with Muhammad) had a much higher status than later converts (who may have joined only after there were worldly reasons to do so). The first male convert may thus be presumed to have a special status.
Arguments for and against the claims of Ali or Abu Bakr are especially significant in the light of the disputes over the leadership of the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad. Ali and his followers felt that Muhammad had clearly indicated that he wanted Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, to succeed him; other Muslims stood behind Abu Bakr. After a period of internal dissension or even strife, Abu Bakr was recognized as the first caliph
. This event is discussed in detail in the article Succession to Muhammad
.
Differences in opinion over the succession, and the later course of affairs in the Muslim community, ultimately led to a split between the majority Sunni denomination and the minority Shi'a denomination.
was the first male to accept Muhammad as a prophet, a special distinction that foreshadows his later role as rightful successor to Muhammad. They say that Muhammad, Khadija (Muhammad's wife), and Ali all gathered for prayer before the Kaaba
, thus becoming the first Muslims to worship in public.
Shi'a cite that when the Prophet Muhmmad asked who is a believer, Ali, at 13, was the first to declare his affirmation. Muhammad went on to ask two more times, no one else step forward. In fact, after the third time, people started to wonder and snicker at the 13 year old, at which Muhammad replied that the wisdom Ali contained exceed the wisdom of the group assembled.
Some Shi'as assert that Ali should not even be called a convert, as he and Muhammad were hanif
, pre-Islamic monotheists, and had refused to worship idols even from birth.
historians of Islam. William Montgomery Watt
, the author of one of the more detailed English biographies of Muhammad. He wrote:
Since no political or religious faction ever formed behind Zayd, his claims to priority have been only intermittently advanced.
As the quote from Watt indicates, academic historians are reluctant to speak with much certainty on the matter. All the texts relating to the first years of Islam were written down some 150 years after the events in question -- as well as after the events had become matters of intense dispute. In the eyes of the academic, there is not enough reliable data to form a firm conclusion.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, and among historians of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, as to the identity of the first male convert to Islam after Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
.
The early historian Ibn Ishaq
Ibn Ishaq
Muḥammad ibn Isḥaq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer...
puts Ali ibn Abi Talib
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, first; Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
presents three candidates, and does not decide between them. One account in Tabari says that the first male convert was Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
, a freed slave who had become Muhammad's adopted son. Other accounts say that it was Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
, a man of standing among Meccans and a distant kinsman of Muhammad as well as good friend, who was the first convert.
Introduction
This conversion would have happened sometime between 610 CE, when Muhammad started sharing his experiences (visions of divine origin) with his immediate family, and 612 CE, when Muhammad first began preaching in public to his fellow citizens in MeccaMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, in what is now west-central Saudi Arabia.
Why is the question of priority important? After the Muslim conquests began, a Muslim's standing in the Islamic state depended on his services to the community, and especially on the length of time he had been a member of the community. Early converts (who had faced persecution with Muhammad) had a much higher status than later converts (who may have joined only after there were worldly reasons to do so). The first male convert may thus be presumed to have a special status.
Arguments for and against the claims of Ali or Abu Bakr are especially significant in the light of the disputes over the leadership of the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad. Ali and his followers felt that Muhammad had clearly indicated that he wanted Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, to succeed him; other Muslims stood behind Abu Bakr. After a period of internal dissension or even strife, Abu Bakr was recognized as the first caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
. This event is discussed in detail in the article Succession to Muhammad
Succession to Muhammad
The Succession to Muhammad concerns the various aspects of successorship of Muhammad after his death, comprising who might be considered as his successor to lead the Muslims, how that person should be elected, the conditions of legitimacy, and the role of successor...
.
Differences in opinion over the succession, and the later course of affairs in the Muslim community, ultimately led to a split between the majority Sunni denomination and the minority Shi'a denomination.
Shi'a view
Shi'a Muslims all assert that AliAli
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
was the first male to accept Muhammad as a prophet, a special distinction that foreshadows his later role as rightful successor to Muhammad. They say that Muhammad, Khadija (Muhammad's wife), and Ali all gathered for prayer before the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
, thus becoming the first Muslims to worship in public.
Shi'a cite that when the Prophet Muhmmad asked who is a believer, Ali, at 13, was the first to declare his affirmation. Muhammad went on to ask two more times, no one else step forward. In fact, after the third time, people started to wonder and snicker at the 13 year old, at which Muhammad replied that the wisdom Ali contained exceed the wisdom of the group assembled.
Some Shi'as assert that Ali should not even be called a convert, as he and Muhammad were hanif
Hanif
Hanif is a term that refers to those who maintain the pure monothestic Muslim beliefs of the patriarch Ibrahim. More specifically, in Islamic thought it refers to the people during the period known as the Age of Ignorance, who were seen to have rejected idolatry and retained some or all of the...
, pre-Islamic monotheists, and had refused to worship idols even from birth.
Sunni view
Sunni Muslims are more apt to dismiss the claims of Ali and advance those of Abu Bakr -- or, to dismiss Ali's conversion as the act of an obedient child, not of the conscious choice of a grown man who had much to lose by following Muhammad. It is commonly said that Abu Bakr was the first grown man to accept Islam, and Ali the first child; this formulation does not draw any conclusions as to whether Abu Bakr or Ali was the very first male.Orientalists' outlook
The identity of the first male Muslim is of little importance to WesternWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
historians of Islam. William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
, the author of one of the more detailed English biographies of Muhammad. He wrote:
- "It is universally agreed that Khadijah was the first to believe in her husband and his message, but there was a hot dispute about the first male. At-TabariMuhammad ibn Jarir al-TabariAbu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
has a large selection of source material, and leaves the reader to decide for himself between the three candidates, AliAli' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, Abu BakrAbu BakrAbu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
, and Zayd ibn HarithahZayd ibn HarithahZayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
. The claim of Ali may in a sense be true, but for the Western historian it cannot be significant, since Ali was admittedly only nine or ten at the time and a member of Muhammad's householdAhl al-BaytAhl al-Bayt is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family of the House. The phrase "ahl al-bayt" was used in Arabia before the advent of Islam to refer to one's clan, and would be adopted by the ruling family of a tribe. Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the...
. The claim made for Abu Bakr may also be true in the very different sense that, at least from the time of the Abyssinian affair, he was the most important Muslim after Muhammad; but his later primacy has probably been reflected back into the early records. As a matter of sheer fact Zayd b. Harithah has possibly the best claim to be regarded as the first male Muslim, since he was a freedman of Muhammad's and there was a strong mutual attachment; but his humble status means that his conversion has not the same significance as that of Abu Bakr." (Watt 1953, p. 86)
Since no political or religious faction ever formed behind Zayd, his claims to priority have been only intermittently advanced.
As the quote from Watt indicates, academic historians are reluctant to speak with much certainty on the matter. All the texts relating to the first years of Islam were written down some 150 years after the events in question -- as well as after the events had become matters of intense dispute. In the eyes of the academic, there is not enough reliable data to form a firm conclusion.