—brandishing his sword until he saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whereupon he sheathed (1) it. He was one of the ten who were promised Paradise and one of the six over whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away while fully pleased with them. He accompanied Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and was an exemplary companion to him, and he was Abu Bakr’s son-in-law through his daughter Asmāʾ (2). Their son ʿAbd Allah was the first child born to the Muslims after the Hijrah.

He later set out with the army to Greater Syria as a combatant in the path of Allah and was present at Yarmūk (3), whose warriors considered his presence an honor. There he rendered outstanding service and displayed lofty courage, twice cutting his way through the Byzantine ranks from front to rear. He was also among those who defended and shielded ʿUthmān.

When the Day of the Camel arrived, ʿAlī reminded him of the Prophet’s words—as mentioned earlier—so al-Zubayr withdrew from the fighting and turned back toward Madīnah. On the way he passed a group belonging to al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays, who had remained neutral (5). One of them, called al-Aḥnaf, said, “Why did this man gather the people together, only to return home when they faced one another? Who will go and find out what has happened to him?”

ʿAmr ibn Jurmuz, Fuḍālah ibn Ḥābis, and Nufayʿ, along with a band of misguided men from Banū Tamīm, therefore followed him. It is said that when they overtook him they all attacked him until they killed him. Another report, however, states that only ʿAmr ibn Jurmuz caught up with him and said, “I have a request of you.” Al-Zubayr replied, “Come closer.” Al-Zubayr’s freedman—named ʿAṭiyyah—warned, “He is armed (6),” but he answered, “Even so.” ʿAmr approached and began talking with him (7); when the time for prayer arrived (8) al-Zubayr said, “Prayer.” ʿAmr echoed, “Prayer.” Al-Zubayr stepped forward to lead them, whereupon ʿAmr ibn Jurmuz stabbed and killed him.

A third version—more widely known—relates that ʿAmr caught up with him in a valley called Wādī al-Sibāʿ while al-Zubayr was sleeping during the midday rest; he burst in upon him and killed him. This account is supported by the elegy composed by his wife ʿĀtikah bint Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl. She was the last woman he married; before him she had been married to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who was likewise killed while wed to her, and before that to ʿAbd Allah ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, who also died during their marriage. When al-Zubayr was slain she mourned him with an elegy—finely wrought in both verse and meaning—in which she said (11):

“The son of Jurmuz dealt treacherously with a valorous knight (12)
on the day of encounter—one who never turned his back (13).
O ʿAmr, had you but called him out, you would have found him
neither erratic of heart nor trembling of hand.”