The Ansar
الأنصار
'The Helpers' — the Muslims of Medina, of Aws and Khazraj, who invited the Prophet to their city, sheltered the refugees, and supplied the community's fighting strength.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
HospitalityConverts and those who leaveBattles
Place in the story
- HosttowardMuhammad · 622 CE · 1 BH†Historical
- ProtectortowardThe Muhajirun · 622 CE · 1 BH†Historical
- AllytowardMuhammad · 622 CE · 1 BH† – 632 CE · 11 AH†Historical
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Overview
The Ansar — "the Helpers" — Yathrib's Aws and Khazraj who pledged to the Prophet and sheltered him; their pledge carried Islam from a vulnerable call to a standing state.
History
The Aws and Khazraj entered the two pledges of Aqaba, in which Yathrib undertook to host the Prophet and the Muhajirun and protect them 1. After the hijra the Ansar became the pillar of souls: the people of market, orchard and sword at Badr, Uhud, the Trench and after 2.
At the Saqifa of Banu Sa'ida the charge of rule was raised, and it settled on Quraysh under Abu Bakr by the Ansar's concurrence — an event Sunnis see as a swift settlement, while the Prophet's household and their Shia see it as a betrayal of the promised Alid succession 3.
Legacy
The Ansar are Sunnis' everlasting support — "none loves them but a believer" — and in the Shia account they are the winning side of the dispute; both sides agree Medina could not have been without them 2.
Connections
- Has member
- Abbad ibn BishrAbbad ibn QaysAbd Allah ibn Jubayr ibn al-Numan al-AnsariAbd Allah ibn RawahaAbdullah ibn Amr ibn HaramAbdullah ibn AtikAbu al-Darda' (Uwaymir)Abu Ayyub al-AnsariAbu DujanaAbu Lubaba ibn Abd al-MundhirAbu Said al-Khudrial-Abbas ibn Ubadaal-Bara' ibn Azibal-Bara' ibn Malikal-Bara ibn Ma'rural-Harith ibn al-Nu'man ibn Usafal-Khansa' bint Khidhamal-Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidhAmr ibn al-JamuhAmr ibn HazmAnas ibn al-Nadr al-AnsariAnas ibn MalikAs'ad ibn ZuraraAsim ibn ThabitAsma' bint MarthadAsma' bint Yazid ibn al-SakanBishr ibn al-Bara'Fadala ibn UbaydHanzala ibn Abi Amir al-Ansari (the one washed by the angels)Haram ibn MilhanHassan ibn Thabital-Hubab ibn al-MundhirHudhayfa ibn al-YamanJabir ibn AbdullahKhubayb ibn AdiKulthum ibn al-HidmLayla bint al-KhatimMu'adh ibn Amr ibn al-JamuhMu'adh ibn JabalMu'awwidh ibn AfraMuhammad ibn MaslamaNusayba bint Ka'b (Umm Umara)Qutba ibn Amir ibn HadidaRafi' ibn KhadijSad ibn al-Rabi al-AnsariSa'd ibn KhaythamaSa'd ibn Mu'adhSa'd ibn UbadaSa'd ibn Zayd al-AshhaliSafwan ibn al-Mu'attalSamura ibn JundabSawad ibn GhaziyyaShaddad ibn AwsSuraqa ibn Amr ibn AtiyyaThabit ibn AqramThabit ibn Qays ibn ShammasUbada ibn al-SamitUbayy ibn Ka'bUmayr ibn al-HumamUmm al-Ala' al-AnsariyyaUmm Atiyya al-AnsariyyaUmm Mubashshir bint al-Bara' ibn Ma'rurUmm Sulaym bint MilhanUmm Waraqa bint AbdullahUsayd ibn HudayrUthman ibn HunayfUwaymir al-AjlaniZayd ibn ArqamZayd ibn Thabit
- Lived in
- Medina
- Allied with
- The Muhajirun
- Protected
- The Muhajirun
- Participated in
- The Pledges of AqabaThe brotherhood of the Muhajirun and AnsarThe Pledge of the Tree (Bay'at al-Ridwan)The Constitution of MedinaExpedition of al-SawiqExpedition of BuhranExpedition of Dhu AmarrFirst encounter with the six Ansar at al-Aqaba
People and things also explored
MedinaThe Battle of UhudThe Pledges of AqabaThe Battle of BadrMuhammadThe HijraThe MuhajirunThe Prophetic Era
Sources
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- Watt, Muhammad at Medina (1956)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Ansar”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/ansar/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.