Zayd al-Khayl comes with the delegation of Tayy

قدوم زيد الخيل في وفد طيء

c. 631 CE · 9 AH

Medina

The delegation of Tayy came with their chief Zayd al-Khayl (may God be pleased with him); the Prophet ﷺ offered them Islam and they became good Muslims. The Prophet said, as Ibn Ishaq heard from men of Tayy, that every Arab praised to him fell short of the praise when he came, except Zayd al-Khayl, who exceeded it; he renamed him Zayd al-Khayr, granted him Fayd and other lands and wrote it for him. On the way home fever struck him at a water called Farda and he died, and his wife burned the Prophet's writs.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Arabia
Review
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In time

620630640 c.
The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate

In space

Medina

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Converts and those who leave

Overview

A delegation of Tayy came to the Prophet, and among them was their chief Zayd al-Khayl. Islam was offered to them, and they embraced it and their Islam was good. 1

The account

Ibn Ishaq relates, on the authority of men of Tayy whom he does not suspect, that the Prophet said: no man of the Arabs was mentioned to him for merit and then came to him without being found less than what was said of him, except Zayd al-Khayl, who did not reach all that was in him. 1 He then named him Zayd al-Khayr (Zayd of Goodness), and granted him Fayd and lands with it, and wrote this down for him. 1 When he went out returning to his people, the Prophet said: "If Zayd survives the fever of Medina." Ibn Ishaq says that the Prophet named the fever by a name other than "the fever" and "Umm Mildamm", and the narrator did not establish it. 1 When he had come from the land of Najd to a water of its waters called Farda, he was struck by the fever there and died. 1 When he felt death approaching, he said two verses mentioning his people's departure toward the eastern lands and his leaving him in a house at Farda in Najd. 1 After his death his wife took the books that the Prophet had granted him and burned them with fire. 1

From the editors' explanation

"Fayd" is the name of a place; "munjid" means in Najd; "yubriyhi" means the journey wears him down and weakens him. 1

Markers of the report

  • The report is from "men of Tayy whom he does not suspect"; in the name of the fever the narrator "did not establish it". 1
  • The order of this delegation is after the delegation of Banu Hanifa in Ibn Ishaq, and before the report of Adi ibn Hatim (may God be pleased with him). 1
For young visitors

Zayd, the chief of Tayy, came with his people and became a Muslim. The Prophet liked him so much that he changed his name from Zayd al-Khayl to Zayd al-Khayr and gave him land, but he fell ill on the way back and died.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Zayd al-Khayl· Tayy· Muhammad
Occurred at
Medina
Part of
The Year of Delegations

People and things also explored

Adi ibn Hatim's flight to Syria, his coming to the Prophet and his conversion· Muhammad· The delegation of Abd al-Qays· The delegation of Banu Hanifa· The delegation of Banu Tamim and the boasting contest· Dimam ibn Tha'laba comes as the envoy of Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr· Farwa ibn Musayk al-Muradi comes to the Prophet and embraces Islam· The delegation and mission to Hamdan

Sources

  1. al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/224
  • al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Zayd al-Khayl comes with the delegation of Tayy”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/delegation-of-tayy/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Related

Adi ibn Hatim's flight to Syria, his coming to the Prophet and his conversion

Adi ibn Hatim, chief of Tayy, a Christian who took the quarter-share, hated the Prophet on hearing of him and kept camels ready; when his slave saw the banners of Muhammad's armies he carried his family to the Christians of Syria, leaving Hatim's daughter, who was captured, released and came to rebuke him and urge him to go to the Prophet. He came to Medina; the Prophet rose, took him home, stood long for a weak old woman who stopped him, threw Adi a cushion and sat on the ground, and Adi said to himself, this is not the way of a king. The Prophet asked whether he had not been a Rakusi taking the quarter-share, which his religion did not allow, and foretold three things: wealth overflowing, a woman travelling safely from al-Qadisiyya to the House, and the white palaces of Babylon opened; Adi embraced Islam and used to say two had come to pass and the third would.