Mu’adh bin Amr: Brave, young hero of Badr

Mu‘adh bin Amr bin Jamuh belonged to the Banu Salma clan of the Banu Khazraj tribe of Madinah. He was part of the deputation from Madinah that participated in the second pledge of Aqabah near Makkah in 622 AD.

Mu‘adh ibn Amr was a son of Amr ibn al-Jamuh, a prominent leader of the Banu Salma, and was a devotee of the deity Manāt, and kept an idol carved from wood in his house.

Having participated in the second pledge of Aqaba, and pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Mu’adh bin Amr and his friend, Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with them) actively participated in the calling of the people of Madinah to Islam.
His brothers Muawwaz and Khallad ibn Amr secretly embraced Islam alongside their mother, Hind.

They later opened up to him but he was reluctant to abandon Manāt, the idol he worshipped. Mu’adh bin Amr connived with his friend, Mu’adh bin Jabal, and would steal the idol from its chamber every night and throw it away in a cesspit. Amr bin Jamuh was disturbed until when he was convinced that the idol had no power at all and did not deserve to be worshipped.

The conversion of Amr bin Jamuh’s family was a significant event in the early days of Islam. It marked a turning point in the history of Madinah, as more and more people began to accept Islam.

Mu’adh bin Amr was one of the two young Ansar boys who killed Abu Jahl, one of the most prominent leaders of the Quraysh tribe and a sworn enemy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). According to one narration, Mu’az bin Amr cut Abu Jahl’s leg, causing him to fall.

Abdul-Rahman bin Auf narrates that at Badr, he was standing between two Ansari youths – Muádh bin Amr who was 13 years old, and Mu‘adh bin Afraa (according to some sources) who was 14 years old. Abdul-Rahman wished that he was in between two people who were more mature and stronger. He was astonished when the boys separately asked him if he knew Abu Jahl. He asked them why to which they responded that they wished to kill him because of his enmity to the Messenger of Allah. When he spotted Abu Jahl, he pointed to him and the two youths drew their swords, pounced on him and killed him.

“They then returned to inform the Holy Prophet of the news to which he asked who among them killed Abu Jahl. They both laid claim to the kill. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) then asked whether they had wiped their swords to which they replied in the negative. The Messenger of Allah then inspected their swords and said that both of them had killed Abu Jahl.

Mu’adh bin Amr lost one of his hands at Badr which incapacitated him. He died in Madinah during the caliphate of Uthman bin Affan and was buried in the revered Jannatul Baqi cemetery.