(Friday Sermon - August 23, 2019 )

Background

Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Auf’s name is also recorded as Umair. His father’s name was Auf and his title was Abu Amr. He was born in Mecca, and according to Ibn Sa‘d, he was from Yemen. (Al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez Al-Sahaba, Vol. 4, pp. 552-553, Amr bin Auf, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005) (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, p. 254, Amr bin Auf, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2012)

Historians, authors, and narrators of Ahadith have provided different viewpoints about his actual name and there is a lot of discrepancy in the narrations regarding this. Imam Bukhari, Ibn-e-Ishaaq, Ibn Sa‘d, Alamah Ibn Abdil Bar, Alamah Ibn Aseer Jazri etc. all have mentioned his name as Amr, whereas, Ibn Hisham, Musa bin Uqba, Abu Ma‘shar Muhammad bin Umar Waqadi etc. mentioned his name as Umair. Alamah Badrruddin Aini and Alama Ibn Hajar Asqalaani – both of whom have written commentaries of Sahih Bukhari – state that Amr bin Auf and Umair bin Auf are both names of the same person. (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, p. 310, Vol. 4, p. 269, Umair bin Auf, Dar-ul-Kutub-al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990) (Al-Istiab, Vol. 3, p. 274, Amr bin Auf al-Ansari, Dar-ul-Jeel, Beirut, 2002) (Umdatul Qari, Vol. 15, p. 121, Dar Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 2003) (Al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez Al-Sahaba, Vol. 4, pp. 552-553, Amr bin Auf, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005) (Usdul Ghaba, Vol. 4, p. 246, Amr bin Auf, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)(Ibn Hisham, p. 463, Wa min Bani Aamir, Dar-ul-Kutub-al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2001)

According to Imam Bukhari, Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Auf Ansari was a confederate of the Quraish tribe called Banu Aamir bin Loi. Whereas, Ibn-e-Hisham and Ibn Sa‘d have mentioned him to be from the family of Banu Aamir bin Loi. In view of these two differing narrations, Alama Badruddin Aini, a commentator of Bukhari, has inferred, “In actuality, Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Auf was from the Ansari tribe of Aus or Khazraj. He visited Mecca and stayed there as well and became an ally of some of the people living there. Hence in this regard he was an Ansari [native of Medina] as well as a Muhajir [those Muslims who migrated from Mecca].” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitabul Jizya, Bab Al-Jizyati wal Mawa‘adati Ma‘a Ahlil Harb, Hadith 3158) (Umdatul Qari, Vol. 15, p. 121, Dar Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 2003) (Ibn Hisham, p. 463, Wa min Bani Aamir, Dar-ul-Kutub-al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2001) (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, p. 310, Umair bin Auf, Dar-ul-Kutub-al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)

Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Auf was one of the early converts to Islam. (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, p. 254, Amr bin Auf, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2012)

Participation in Battles and Demise

Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Auf stayed in the home of Hazrat Kulthum^(ra) bin Al-Hidam in Quba during the migration from Mecca to Medina. He participated in all the battles alongside the Holy Prophet^(sa), including the Battles of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq. (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sad, Vol. 3, p. 217, Umair bin Auf, Dar Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1996) (Al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez Al-Sahaba, Vol. 4, p. 553, Sa’d bin Khaithama, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1995)

He passed away during the Khilafat of Hazrat Umar^(ra), who led his funeral prayer. (Al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez Al-Sahaba, Vol. 4, p. 553, Amr bin Auf, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005)