Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari: The First Host of the Prophet ﷺ After His Migration to Madinah

      He was the noble Companion Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ‘Awf ibn Ghanm ibn Malik ibn An-Najjar, known as Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari. Abu Ayyub embraced Islam before the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ arrived in Madinah, the Ansar surrounded him, each hoping that he would stay at his home. They held the reins of his she-camel, Al-Qaswa’, but he told them, “Let her be, for she is commanded.”

The camel eventually knelt in a drying yard belonging to two orphan boys from Banu An-Najjar, in front of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari’s house. Abu Ayyub hurried joyfully to carry the Prophet’s ﷺ belongings into his home, where the Prophet ﷺ stayed.

Ibn Hisham narrated:

“When the camel reached the homes of Banu Malik ibn An-Najjar, it knelt at the door of the Prophet’s mosque, which at that time was a drying yard belonging to two orphan boys from Banu An-Najjar, namely Sahl and Suhayl, who were under the care of Mu‘adh ibn ‘Afra’. When the camel knelt, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not dismount. It rose and walked a short distance, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ held its reins without pulling them. Then it turned back, returned to its original resting place, and knelt there. It settled down, lowered its neck to the ground, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dismounted. Abu Ayyub, Khalid ibn Zayd, carried his belongings and placed them in his house, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed with him. The Prophet ﷺ then asked who owned the drying yard. Mu‘adh ibn ‘Afra’ replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it belongs to Sahl and Suhayl, the two orphan boys under my care. I will compensate them for it, so you may make it a mosque.’”

   The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ initially chose to stay on the ground floor of Abu Ayyub’s house. However, as soon as Abu Ayyub went upstairs, he became deeply distressed and could not bear the thought of living or sleeping above the place where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lived and slept. Abu Ayyub repeatedly pleaded with the Prophet ﷺ to move to the upper floor, and the Prophet ﷺ eventually agreed to his request.

 

The Blessed Hospitality of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari

Abu Ayyub’s hospitality was filled with blessings and miracles. He would prepare food for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companion, Abu Bakr. When the leftover food was returned, Abu Ayyub and his wife would seek blessings by tracing the places where the Prophet’s ﷺ fingers had touched it.

On one occasion, Abu Ayyub prepared enough food for two men. However, the Prophet ﷺ asked him to invite thirty of the most prominent Ansar. Abu Ayyub was worried that he had no additional food, but he obeyed. After they ate, the Prophet ﷺ asked him to invite thirty more, then another sixty. In total, 180 men from the Ansar ate from that food, by the blessing of the Prophet’s ﷺ supplication.

Abu Ayyub narrated:

“I prepared food for the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr, enough for both of them. I brought it to them, and the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Go and invite thirty of the prominent Ansar.’ This was difficult for me, as I had nothing more to offer. It was as if I pretended not to hear him. He said again, ‘Go and invite thirty of the prominent Ansar.’ So I invited them, and they came and ate until they were satisfied. Then they testified that he was the Messenger of Allah and pledged allegiance to him before leaving. Then he said, ‘Invite sixty.’”

The narrator then mentioned the rest of the hadith and said that 180 men, all from the Ansar, ate from that food.

Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari and the Second Pledge of Al-‘Aqabah

    Abu Ayyub attended the Second Pledge of Al-‘Aqabah, where he pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ. The Second Pledge of Al-‘Aqabah took place during the Hajj season in the thirteenth year of the Prophet’s mission. Seventy-three men and two women from Yathrib pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ, promising to support and protect him as they protected their own families. This pledge paved the way for the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari was among those who attended the pledge. 

 

Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari and the Incident of Al-Ifk (the Slander)

    The Incident of Al-Ifk (the Slander) was a painful event in which false accusations were made against Aishah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ. Some hypocrites spread rumors about her, causing great distress to the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions. Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari and his wife took a different stance from many others during the Incident of Al-Ifk, in which Aishah, the Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, was falsely accused. He maintained a good opinion of the Prophet’s household.

He said to his wife, “O Umm Ayyub, tell me, if you were in Aishah’s place, would you do what Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was accused of doing?” She replied, “No, by Allah.” He then told her that Aishah was better than her and all the women of the worlds.

It has been reported that the following verse was revealed in connection with Abu Ayyub and his wife, as they refrained from repeating the hypocrites’ accusations and regarded them as a grave slander against Aishah, the Mother of the Believers:

Allah says:

“Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and women think well of one another and say, ‘This is an obvious slander’?”
(لَّوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا وَقَالُوا هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُّبِينٌ)
(Surah An-Nur, 24:12)