Wahshi ibn Harb
وحشي بن حرب
c. 600 CE – c. 645 CE · c. 24 AH† †
† Hijri date derived by computation from the Gregorian/Julian date; it may differ from the transmitted date by a day or two.
An Abyssinian slave famous for his javelin: promised his freedom for killing Hamza at Uhud, he later became a Muslim and, in the tradition's account, also killed the false prophet Musaylima at Yamama.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
BattlesSlavery and freedomConverts and those who leave
Place in the story
- Military opponenttowardThe early Muslim community · 625 CE · 4 AH† – 625 CE · 4 AH†Historical
- Convert to Islam · c. 630 CE · c. 9 AH†Tradition
- Commander · 632 CE · 11 AH† – 633 CE · 12 AH†Tradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Brief
Wahshi ibn Harb was an Abyssinian slave famed for his javelin. At Uhud he killed Hamza to win his freedom; after the conquest he became a Muslim — and the tradition says his javelin later killed the false prophet Musaylima.
Life
His owner Jubayr ibn Mut'im promised him freedom if he killed the Prophet's uncle. At Uhud Wahshi threw the javelin that killed Hamza 1.
After the conquest he kept out of the Prophet's sight — the tradition remembers him saying he feared he could not be forgiven. He converted, and the Prophet is reported to have accepted him while asking him to keep from his presence 2.
At Yamama in 632 his javelin found Musaylima. The tradition preserves his own summation: "I killed the best of people and the worst of people" 2.
Legacy
Wahshi's two javelins frame the era: the man whose weapon killed the faith's first great martyr and then its first great pretender.
For young visitors
Wahshi's spear killed a hero of Islam — and then, after he joined the Muslims, killed the man who falsely claimed to be a prophet. He said so himself.
Connections
- Born in
- Aksum
- Fought
- Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib· Musaylima
- Participated in
- The Battle of Uhud· Battle of Yamama· Martyrdom of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib at Uhud
People and things also explored
The Battle of Uhud· Martyrdom of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib at Uhud· Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib· Mount Uhud· The early Muslim community· Khalid ibn al-Walid· The Battle of Badr· Battle over the Quraysh standard at Uhud
Sources
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- al-Tabari, History vol. X: The Conquest of Arabia (Donner translation, SUNY)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Wahshi ibn Harb”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/wahshi-ibn-harb/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.