Al-Khattab bin Nufayl

Al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Nufayl was an Arab chief from the tribe of Quraysh. He lived during the 6th century and was a contemporary of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His son Umar would later become Muslim, and would come to be regarded by Sunni Muslims as the second "Rightly guided Caliph" (Arabic "Rashidun"). Thus, he was the ancestor of a good number of the companions of the Prophet (Arabic: ). Biography Al-Khattab was the son of Nufayl ibn Abd al-Uzza. His father was the chief of Banu Adi clan of Quraysh. After the death of his father, he succeeded him as the chief of Banu Adi. Al-Khattab had a brother who died young. The name of this bother was Amr ibn Nufayl. Amr had a son named Zayd. He had good relations with his tribesmen and kin. However, his relationship with his nephew Zayd ibn Amr started gradually deteriorating because his nephew had denied the subordinate gods to Allāh and he embraced strict monotheism. This angered many members of Nufayl family and Banu Adi clan. Zayd's wife Safiya disliked his travels to Syria. Whenever she saw him preparing for a journey, she reported it to al-Khattab, who would reproach Zayd for abandoning their religion. Zayd did not bother to explain himself to al-Khattab, but he rebuked Safiya for trying to humiliate him. Al-Khattab harassed Zayd so severely that Zayd was forced to leave the city. He spent the last few years of his life in the mountain caves surrounding Mecca. Al-Khattab then instructed the "young irresponsible men of the Quraysh" to ensure that Zayd could never enter the city again. Whenever Zayd tried to enter in secret, al-Khattab's men drove him out again.