The conversion of Abu Quhafa
إسلام أبي قحافة عثمان بن عامر
January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AH
At Dhu Tuwa or upon the entry into Mecca, Abu Bakr led his aged, blind father Abu Quhafa to the Prophet to profess Islam; the Prophet remarked with tenderness that he should have gone to the old man instead, and instructed that his white hair be dyed.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Converts and those who leaveThe elderly
Summary
At Dhu Tuwa, or at the entrance of Mecca, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq led his blind, aged father Abu Quhafa to the Prophet to declare his Islam; the Prophet received him with humility and honour and ordered his white hair changed 1.
What happened
Abu Quhafa was an old, blind sheikh who on the day of the conquest watched the army's arrival from Mount Abu Qubays with his youngest daughter; hearing the dark mass of horse and its neighing he said: "daughter, the army has spread out, by God" — and they came down 1.
Abu Bakr took him by the hand and brought him to the Prophet. Seeing him, the Prophet said: "why did you not leave the sheikh in his house until we could come to him ourselves?" Abu Bakr answered: "Messenger of God, it is more fitting that he walk to you than that you walk to him" 1. The Prophet sat him before him, stroked his chest, and he became Muslim. His head was white as a tuft of thaghama, and the Prophet said: "change this hair of his and keep it from black" 1.
For young visitors
Abu Bakr brought his old, blind father to the Prophet to declare his Islam. With all gentleness and respect for his age, the Prophet said: it would have been more fitting for us to go to him at his house and spare him the walk.
Connections
- Had participant
- Abu Quhafa Uthman ibn AmirAbu Bakr al-SiddiqMuhammad
- Occurred at
- Dhu Tuwa
- Part of
- The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)
People and things also explored
MeccaAbu Sufyan's mission to MedinaUmar ibn al-KhattabThe conversion of Abu Sufyan ibn HarbThe proscribed persons on the day of the ConquestAbu Quhafa Uthman ibn AmirIkrima ibn Abi JahlKhalid ibn al-Walid
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/48
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The conversion of Abu Quhafa”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/abu-quhafa-conversion/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.