Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl
عكرمة بن أبي جهل
c. 585 CE – c. 636 CE · c. 15 AH† †
† Hijri date derived by computation from the Gregorian/Julian date; it may differ from the transmitted date by a day or two.
Son of Abu Jahl: a leader of the Meccan opposition who was pardoned at the conquest of Mecca, became a Muslim, and died fighting under the banner of Islam on the Syrian front.
At a glance
- Roles
- General
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- 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
BattlesConverts and those who leave
Place in the story
- Military opponenttowardThe early Muslim community · 624 CE · 2 AH† – 630 CE · 9 AH†Historical
- Convert to Islam · 630 CE · 9 AH†Tradition
- Commander · 632 CE · 11 AH† – 636 CE · 15 AH†Tradition
- Martyr (as regarded) · 636 CE · 15 AH†Tradition
Arabian polytheism (documented) · Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Brief
Ikrima, son of Abu Jahl, inherited his father's fight — commanded the only armed resistance at the conquest of Mecca — and then became a Muslim and died a commander under the new faith. His life is the tradition's emblem of the enemy's son turned soldier.
Life
He fought on the Meccan side through the war years and led the one group that resisted inside Mecca at the conquest — then fled toward Yemen. His wife Umm Hakim went after him with the Prophet's letter of safety, and Ikrima returned to pledge Islam 1.
Under Abu Bakr he commanded against Musaylima in the Ridda wars, then marched to Syria; he was killed at the Yarmuk, around 636 CE 2.
Legacy
The tradition draws the line explicitly: the father killed fighting the Prophet at Badr, the son killed fighting for the Prophet's community at the Yarmuk.
For young visitors
The son of Islam's greatest enemy became one of its soldiers — and died the same death his father died, on the opposite side.
Connections
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- The Yarmuk
- Child of
- Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)
- Spouse of
- Umm Hakim bint al-Harith
- Member of
- Banu Makhzum
- Fought
- The early Muslim community
- Participated in
- The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)Battle of the YarmukThe Battle of Badr
- Converted under
- Muhammad
People and things also explored
QurayshIkrama ibn Abi JahlKhalid ibn al-WalidThe early Muslim communityThe Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)Bilal ibn RabahMus'ab ibn Umayr
Sources
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- al-Tabari, History vol. X: The Conquest of Arabia (Donner translation, SUNY)
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ikrima-ibn-abi-jahl/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.