Amr ibn Hisham

Amr ibn Hisham was a Meccan Qurayshi polytheist leader known for his opposition to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the most prominent flag-bearer of opposition towards Islam. A prominent head of the Makhzum clan, Amr was known as Abu al-Hakam ('Father of Wise') among pre-Islamic Arabs. After Muhammad started preaching monotheism, Amr opposed him and often used to physically attack early Muslim. He persecuted many Muslim converts, including Sumayya bint Khabbat, and Yasir ibn Amir. His cruel torture methods towards Muslims made Muhammad give him the title Amr as Abu Jahl ('Father of Ignorance') and Firawn al-Umma ('Pharoah of the Umma'). Following the migration to Medina, Amr gathered a large army of polytheists to attack Medina and kill Muslims. On 13 March 624, the Battle of Badr took place, in which Amr was a major leader. In the battle, Amr was fatally wounded by Mu'awwidh ibn Amr and Mu'ādh ibn 'Amr and eventually killed by Abd Allah ibn Masud. Ancestry and early life Amr was born in Mecca in . His father was Hisham ibn al-Mughira, an arbitrator of local disputes in Mecca in the Hejaz (western Arabia). He belonged to the Banu Makhzum, a leading clan of the Quraysh tribe and Mecca's pre-Islamic aristocracy. Hisham was known as the 'lord of Mecca' and the date of his death was used by the Quraysh as the start of their calendar. Amr was also called Ibn al-Hanzaliyya, indicating that his mother belonged to the Hanzala tribe.