Who Was Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf? The poet who called for war in Islamic History

Before the worldBefore Adam

The first nationsAdam to Shuayb

Egypt and Bani Israilc. 1300–1000 BCE

Bani Israil and Romec. 1000 BCE – 250 CE

Arabia before IslamUp to 570 CE

Enemies of the Prophet ﷺ610–632 CE

After the Prophet ﷺ632–1000 CE

Crusades and conquests1090–1502 CE

The end of timeStill to come

Ten signs before the Hour

Isa ibn Maryam descends
A landslide in the east
A landslide in the west
A landslide in Arabia
The smoke
The sun rises from the west
The Beast of the earth
A fire from Yemen drives people to their gathering

Sahih Muslim lists ten major signs before the Hour without fixing their order. This follows a common order given by the scholars. Sahih Muslim 2901a ↗

Villains of history46 / 76

كعب بن الأشرف

Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf

The poet who called for war624 CE · 3 AH

Relied onHis poetry and his fortress

Undone byA night visit from Muhammad ibn Maslamah

A rich chief and poet of Madinah, bound by its covenant. After Badr he rode to Makkah, mourned the dead of Quraysh, urged them to fight again, and wrote verses against the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslim women.

How it ended

The Prophet ﷺ asked who would deal with him, 'for he has harmed Allah and His Messenger'. Muhammad ibn Maslamah and his companions killed him outside his fortress.

Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, who believe in superstition and false objects of worship and say about the disbelievers, "These are better guided than the believers as to the way"?
Quran 4:51

The lessonFulfil every commitment; it will be asked about (17:34).

In the Quran

4:51-52 3:186

Stood against
Source: Authentic hadithHis killing is in Sahih al-Bukhari. The commentators say 4:51 came down when he told Quraysh their religion was better guided; his journey and poems are from Ibn Ishaq.Sahih al-Bukhari 4037 ↗

Every villain in Islamic history, from Iblis to the Dajjal

Each entry is drawn from the Quran, authentic hadith (with links to sunnah.com), the classical commentators and the historians. Companions who fought Islam and later became Muslim are not included, nor are figures Muslims disagree about.