Who Was Tulayhah al-Asadi? The false prophet who came back 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 history55 / 76

طليحة بن خويلد الأسدي

Tulayhah al-Asadi

The false prophet who came back631–632 CE

Relied onClaimed revelations and the tribes of Asad

Undone byKhalid ibn al-Walid at Buzakhah

A chief of Banu Asad who claimed prophethood in the Prophet's ﷺ last year, and led tribes of Najd against Madinah after his death.

How it ended

Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated him at Buzakhah in 632 and he fled to Syria. He later repented, returned to Islam, and fought bravely for the Muslims at Qadisiyyah and Nahavand.

O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the favor of Allah; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
Quran 5:54

The lessonThe door of repentance stays open, even for one who claimed to be a prophet.

In the Quran

5:54 6:93

Stood against: Abu Bakr
Source: Recorded by historiansFrom al-Tabari. He is remembered as a warning and as a hope: his false claim ended, and his repentance was accepted.

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.