al-Nadr ibn al-Harith
النضر بن الحارث
c. 575 CE – March 624 CE · Ramadan 2 AH† †
† Hijri date derived by computation from the Gregorian/Julian date; it may differ from the transmitted date by a day or two.
A Qurashi who had traveled to al-Hira and returned with Persian tales of kings and heroes, offering them against the Prophet's recitation — captured at Badr and executed on the march home.
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
Anti-Muslim hatredLiteratureBattles
Place in the story
- OpponenttowardMuhammad · c. 613 CEHistorical
- Military opponenttowardThe early Muslim community · 624 CE · 2 AH†Historical
Arabian polytheism (documented)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Brief
Al-Nadr ibn al-Harith was a Qurashi who had traveled to al-Hira and returned with the Persians' tales of kings — offering his storytelling against the Prophet's recitation. Captured at Badr, he was executed on the march home.
Life
Where the Prophet recited, al-Nadr recited the Persian cycles — Rustam and Isfandiyar — to hold Quraysh's audiences. The tafsir tradition links him to the verses about those who buy "idle tales" to lead people astray 1.
At Badr he fought on the Meccan side and was captured; like Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, he was one of two prisoners put to death on the return — the tradition says at the Prophet's order, for his years of mockery 1 2.
Legacy
He is the story's rival narrator: two men telling Arabia's two stories in the same marketplace, until battle decided between them. The museum displays his fate without editorializing — the early war was fought in words before it was fought in blood.
For young visitors
Al-Nadr told Persian adventure stories to compete with the Prophet's recitation. After the battle he was one of two prisoners who were not spared.
Connections
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- Badr
- Member of
- Banu Abd al-DarQuraysh
- Persecuted
- Muhammad
- Participated in
- The Battle of BadrThe affair of the Badr prisonersThe departure night of the HijraThe plot at Dar al-Nadwa
- Revealed in
- Qur'an 31:6
People and things also explored
Uqba ibn Abi Mu'aytAbu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)Umayya ibn KhalafMus'ab ibn UmayrThe Battle of BadrSuhayl ibn AmrUmar ibn al-KhattabMuhammad
Sources
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Watt, Muhammad at Mecca (1953)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “al-Nadr ibn al-Harith”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/al-nadr-ibn-al-harith/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.