Talha ibn Ubayd Allah

Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī (Arabic: طَلْحَة بن عُبَيْد اللّه التَّيمي, c. 594 – c. 656) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is known for being among al-ʿashara al-mubashshara ('the ten to whom Paradise was promised')^[2][3] and was given the title "the Generous" by Muhammad.^[4] Talha played significant roles in the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Camel, where he was killed. He is viewed critically in Shia Islam due to his role in the First Fitna.

Talha was born c. 594,^[1] A member of the Taym clan of the Quraysh in Mecca, Talha was the son of Ubayd Allah ibn Uthman ibn Amr ibn Ka'b ibn Sa'd ibn Taym ibn Murra ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib and of al-Sa'ba bint Abd Allah, who was from the Hadram tribe. Talha's lineage meets with that of Muhammad at Murra ibn Ka'b.

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall describes how Abu Bakr, after embracing Islam, immediately urged his closest associates to do likewise. Among them were Talha, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Uthman ibn Affan, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.^[5] Talha is said to have been among the first eight converts.^{[6]: 115 [1]: 164}

Among the converts in Mecca, Talha shared responsibility as a hafiz, people who memorized every verse of the Quran, along with Abu Bakr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.^[7] During the persecution of the Muslims in 614–616, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid tied Talha to Abu Bakr and left them bound together. Nobody from the Taym clan came to help.^[1]: 164 Thereafter they became known as "the Two Tied Together".^{[6]: 127–128, 337 [5]}

In September 622, while returning from a business trip to Syria, Talha encountered Muslims who had left Mecca and were emigrating to Medina.^[8] Talha gave them Syrian garments and mentioned that the Muslim community in Medina had said that their prophet was slow to arrive. As Muhammad and Abu Bakr continued to Medina, Talha returned to Mecca to put his affairs in order. Soon afterwards, he accompanied Abu Bakr's family to Medina, where he settled.^[1]: 164

At first he lodged with As'ad ibn Zurara, but later Muhammad gave him a block of land on which he built his own house. He was made the brother in Islam of Sa'id ibn Zayd.^[1]: 165 Talha and Sa'id missed fighting at the Battle of Badr because Muhammad sent them as scouts to locate Abu Sufyan's caravan. However, both were awarded shares of the plunder, as if they had been present.^[1]: 165

Talha distinguished himself at the Battle of Uhud by keeping close to Muhammad while most of the Muslim army fled. He protected Muhammad's face from an arrow by taking the blow with his own hand, resulting in the loss of his index and middle fingers. He was also struck twice in the head, and it was said that he suffered a total of 39^[9] or 75^{[1]: 165–166} wounds. Toward the end of the battle, Talha fainted from his heavy injuries,^[10] Abu Bakr soon reached their location to check Muhammad's condition first, who immediately instructed Abu Bakr to check the condition of Talha, who had already passed out due to his severe blood loss^[11] and his hand was left paralysed.^[9] For this heroic defence of Muhammad, Talha earned the byname "the living martyr".^[3][9] Talha is said to be the anonymous believer counted as a "martyr" in Quran 33:23 ^{(Translated by Shakir)}.^[12] Abu Bakr also called the Battle of Uhud "the day of Talha".^[9]

Talha fought at the Battle of the Trench and all the campaigns of Muhammad.^[1]: 166 During the Expedition of Dhu Qarad, Talha personally sponsored the operation through his wealth, thus causing Muhammad to give him the sobriquet "Talha al-Fayyad".^[13]

In the third week of July 632, Medina faced an imminent invasion by the apostate forces of Tulayha, a self-proclaimed prophet. Abu Bakr immediately formed organised elite guard units al-Ḥaras wa al-Shurṭa to defend Medina, appointing Talha, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zubayr each overseeing roughly one-third of the newly organised force.^[14]

For the rest of his life, Talha served Majlis-ash-Shura as a council member of the Rashidun caliphate.^[3]

In 635 to 636, caliph Umar assembled his council, including Zubayr, Ali and Talha, about the battle plan to face the Persian army of Rostam Farrokhzad in Qadisiyyah.^[15] At first the caliph himself led the forces from Arabia to Iraq,^[15] but the council urged Umar not to lead the army in person and instead appoint someone else, as his presence was needed more urgently in the capital.^[15] Umar agreed and asked the council to suggest a commander. The council agreed to send Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas; Sa'd served as the overall commander on Persian conquest and won the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.^[15]

Later, the caliph heard that Sassanid forces from Mah, Qom, Hamadan, Ray, Isfahan, Azerbaijan, and Nahavand had gathered in Nahavand to counter the Arab invasion.^[16] Caliph Umar responded by assembling a war council consisting of Zubayr, Ali, Uthman ibn Affan, Talha, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib to discuss the strategy to face the Sassanids in Nahavand.^[17] The caliph wanted to lead the army himself, but Ali urged the caliph to instead delegate the battlefield commands to the field commanders, prompting the caliph decides instead delegate the reinforcement commands to Zubayr, Tulayha, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, Abdullah ibn Amr, Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays and others under the command of Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin to go to Nahavand,^[18] to face the army of the Sasanian Empire in the battle of Nahavand.^[19]

Talha was killed at the Battle of the Camel on 10 December 656. Several conflicting narratives have been provided to explain how it happened. According to one account, during the battle, Marwan ibn al-Hakam, who was fighting on the same side as Aisha, shot Talha in the thigh.^[20] Another account attributes Talha's death to being killed by Ali's supporters while retreating from the field.^[21] Talha hugged his horse and galloped off the battlefield. He lay down using a stone as a pillow, while the auxiliaries tried to staunch the blood flow. Whenever they stopped pressing, the bleeding resumed. In the end, Talha said, "Stop it. This is an arrow sent by God." He died of this injury, aged 64.^{[1]: 170–171}

Talha was described as a brown-skinned man with a great deal of wavy hair, a handsome face and a narrow nose. He liked to wear saffron-dyed clothes and musk. He walked swiftly and, when nervous, he would toy with his ring, which was of gold and set with a ruby.^{[1]: 167–168}

Talha had at least fifteen children by at least 12 different women.^[22]

The known descendants of Talha by his various wives and concubines have divided into six lines.^[3]

Talha was a successful cloth merchant who eventually left an estate estimated at 30 million dirhams.^{[1]: 153, 169–1670} According to modern writer Asad Ahmed, his wealth was second only to that of Uthman ibn Affan.^[3] He owned property in Iraq that reportedly yielded four to five hundred dinars in gold,^[3] and initiated agricultural ventures such as al-Qumh (wheat) cultivation for his community.^[3] Talha is said to have amassed much of his fortune by exchanging properties acquired from the Battle of Khaybar for lands in Iraq held by Arab Hejazi settlers, and through transactions of several estates in Hadhramaut with Uthman.^[3] He also profited from trade throughout Syria and Yemen during his lifetime.^[3]

Talha ibn 'Ubayd Allah is buried in Basra, Iraq in a mausoleum which is currently under construction as of 2025. The mausoleum was formerly part of a 1973 mosque complex that was destroyed by explosives in a revenge attack by Shi'ite militias for the 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing.^[23][24][25]

• Sunni view of the Sahaba
• List of Sahabah
• The ten to whom Paradise was promised
• Aisha
• Banu Taym

• Abdullah, Murihah; Abdullah, Abdul Hafiz; Rosman, Arieff Salleh; Ilias, Mohd Faeez (2016). "Tanggungjawab Hufaz Menurut Al-Nawawi Dalam Al-Tibyan Fi Adabil Hamlatil Quran" [Hufaz's Responsibilities According to Al-Nawawi in Al-Tibyan Fi Adabil Hamlatil Quran]. International Journals of Humanities Technologies and Civilization (in Indonesian). 1 (12): 43. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
• Landau-Tasseron, Ella, ed. (1998). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIX: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and their Successors: al-Ṭabarī's Supplement to his History. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2819-1.
• Q. Ahmed, Asad (2011). The Religious Elite of the Early Islamic Ḥijāz: Five Prosopographical Case Studies (Illustrated ed.). Occasional Publications UPR. ISBN 978-1900934138. Retrieved 7 December 2021.