Amr ibn Hisham: Encyclopedia - Amr ibn Hisham

Amr ibn Hisham

Amr ibn Hashim known as Abu Jahl (meaning father of folly/ignorance, see also Jahiliyyah) was named by Muhammad himself. He was one of the leaders in Mecca prior to the city's surrender to Muhammad's army.

His son was Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl.

Abu Jahl became the head of of the Banu Hashim after the death of Abu Talib, becoming one among the leaders of Quraish, and among the chieftains that in varying degrees kept a relentless hostility towards the Muslims.

When a Muslim convert was discovered among the hierarchy of a tribe, Abu Jahl would reprimand the convert and then ridicule him in front of his fellow tribesmen so that he lost their respect.

Traders who converted also suffered in Abu Jahl hands. When he discovered a trader had converted he gave orders that no one should engage in business with him. As a result, the convert trader was unable to sell his wares and he became impoverished.

The freemen who suffered most were poor converts, who, in the eyes of Abu Jahl, were the least important on the social scale. Abu Jahl would beat the converted without mercy and urged others to follow his example.

As for convert slaves belonging to the unbelieving Quraish, they received the harshest punishment, for their standing was by far the weakest. Common punishments included brutal beatings followed by food and water depravation, but perhaps the most severe punishment was that of being pinned down upon the scorching hot sands of Mecca, left to endure the blistering heat of the sun without relief.

Abu Jahl beat Zinnira for her conversion to such an extent that she lost her eyesight. He also came to Sumayyah bint Khabbab (mother of Ammar ibn Yasir) and inflicted mortal wounds by stabbing her with a spear in her private parts. She was the first 'shaheedah' (martyr) in Islam.

Some of the physically weaker converts were unable to endure their prolonged punishment and recanted. However, their recantations were not authentic. Those who remained undetected would offer their prayers in secret, but there were many who did not have the privilege of privacy and their grief at not being able to offer their prayers was considerable.

One time, after hurting Muhammad, Muhammad prayed for his destruction.

Abu Jahl was killed in the Battle of Badr by two youths, Muawwaz ibn Amr and Muaaz ibn Amr.

Amr ibn Hisham - Succesion

See also

• Family tree of Amr ibn Hisham
• Sahaba
• Taqiya

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Amr ibn Hisham", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki