Walid ibn Walid

Al-Walid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira was an early companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Al-Walid belonged to the Banu Makhzum clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca and was a brother of the prominent Muslim commander Khalid ibn al-Walid. He fought with the Quraysh against Muhammad at the Battle of Badr in 624, during which many of his clansmen were slain. He was captured by the Muslims during the battle, but was released and embraced Islam. Upon his return to Mecca, he was shackled and imprisoned. According to the history of al-Tabari (d. 923), al-Walid and his Makhzumite kinsmen Salama ibn Hisham (a brother of Abu Jahl) and Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'a emigrated from Mecca to join Muhammad and his followers in Medina, where he later died of heart failure. He was mourned by Muhammad's Makhzumite wife Umm Salama, who recited: For al-Walīd b. al-Walīd b. al-Mughīrah, O my eye, let your tears flow, The likes of al-Walīd b. al-Walīd Abū al-Walīd protect the clan [against its foe]. Al-Walid's eldest son was also called al-Walid. Muhammad, considering the Makhzum's usage of this name to be excessive, changed the younger al-Walid's name to Abd Allah. Abd Allah's descendants became a prominent family in Medina and inherited the properties of Khalid ibn al-Walid after the deaths of his last descendants in because they were the closest blood relatives of the prominent commander, and continued to be in possession of the properties at least through the late 9th century. References Bibliography