Muhammad ibn Maslamah

A Companion of the Aws entrusted with removing Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf; known for wisdom, loyalty, and decisiveness.

Identity & lineage

Of the Aws of Madinah. Chosen for the mission precisely because the Aws — unlike the Khazraj — had no pre-Islamic blood-feud with Banu Nadir, so acting through him would not reignite the jahili civil war.

Role in the Seerah

The Prophet’s ﷺ instrument against a treaty-breaking belligerent — a case study in disciplined, sanctioned action rather than mob reprisal.

Key episodes

• The mission against Ka’b: volunteered to deal with Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf and obtained the Prophet’s ﷺ leave to “say things he did not mean” as a permitted ruse of war.
• The execution: using a fabricated loan/mortgage pretext to approach the wary Ka’b while armed, and working with Abu Na’ila (Silkan ibn Salama) and others, he lured Ka’b from his fortress at night and killed him (see The Assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf). One accomplice, al-Harith ibn Aws, was wounded and was healed by the Prophet’s ﷺ saliva.

The ultimatum to Banu Nadir (EP 051–060)

When the Banu Nadir plotted to assassinate the Prophet ﷺ, it was Muhammad ibn Maslamah whom the Prophet ﷺ sent to deliver the 10-day ultimatum to leave Madinah. His former Jahiliyyah friends among them reproached him for turning against them; he answered that “Islam has severed the old loyalties” — that friendship and allegiance now held only for the sake of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

At Banu Qurayza and al-Qurta (EP 061–062)

• The guard who spared Amr ibn Sa’da. On watch at the Banu Qurayza siege, he recognised Amr ibn Sa’da — the lone man of the tribe who had refused the treachery — and let him slip away (“O Allah, overlook my overlooking of him”). The Prophet ﷺ approved: “a man whom Allah saved because of his honesty.”
• The raid on al-Qurta: he led the sariyya (30 men) against Banu Bakr ibn Kilab on which the chieftain Thumamah ibn Uthal was captured (see Expeditions Between Khandaq and Hudaybiyyah).

Character & lessons

Wisdom, loyalty, and decisiveness under trust — the ruse was sanctioned strategy against an active enemy, not treachery against a covenant-keeper.

Death

A long-lived Companion (ra); in later years he was noted for withdrawing from the fitna of the civil wars.

Cross-references

Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf · The Assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf · Muhammad ﷺ · The Constitution of Madinah · Madinah (Yathrib) · The Expulsion of Banu Nadir · The Judgment of Banu Qurayza · Thumamah ibn Uthal (ra) · Expeditions Between Khandaq and Hudaybiyyah

Sources

• S007 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 041–050.
• S008 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 051–060 (the 10-day ultimatum to Banu Nadir).
• S009 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 061 (sparing Amr ibn Sa’da at Qurayza) & EP 062 (the al-Qurta raid; Thumamah’s capture).
• Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim (the killing of Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf).
• Ibn Ishaq / Ibn Hisham, Sirat Rasul Allah.