أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِك
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
Anas ibn Malik
Served the Prophet ﷺ · Ansari · Teacher of Basra
may Allah be pleased with him
Khazraj — Banu an-Najjar, of Madinah · Madinah and Basra, into the 90s AH
His mother brought him to the Prophet ﷺ as a boy, and he served in the household for about ten years. He lived a very long life afterwards and became one of the main channels through which the next generation learned.
Known for
He served the Prophet ﷺ for about ten years
His mother brought him when he was a boy, shortly after the Hijrah.
He reported that he was never once reproached in those years
He said the Prophet ﷺ never said the least word of irritation to him, and never asked him why he had done something or why he had not.
One of the most prolific narrators among the Companions
He settled in Basra and taught there
He is generally reported as the last of the Companions to die in the city.
Story
His story in moments
Short episodes from his life, in order. Read one at a time.
In full
Life & legacy
In the household
Anas was a boy in Madinah when the Prophet ﷺ arrived. His mother, Umm Sulaym, brought him and offered his service.
He stayed for about ten years, until the Prophet ﷺ died. That is the source of his particular value as a narrator: most Companions saw the public moments, and Anas saw the domestic ones — how the household ran, what was eaten, how people were spoken to.
Basra
He later settled in Basra, which was becoming one of the main centres of the Muslim world, and taught there for decades.
He outlived nearly everyone of his generation. Students who came to him were meeting someone who had watched the whole thing from inside the house, and by then there was almost no one else left to ask.
He died in Basra at a great age, in the 90s AH.
How the sources describe him
He saw the ordinary days, not only the great ones
He was still teaching when almost everyone else had gone
Connect
People around him
Family
His mother, who brought him to the Prophet ﷺ and offered his service.
Alongside
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺCompanion
He served in his household for about ten years, from boyhood.
Full timeline
- 1 AH approximate
Brought by his mother to serve the Prophet ﷺ
- 11 AH
The Prophet ﷺ dies; his service ends
- The decades after the Prophet's ﷺ death
Settles in Basra and teaches
- In the 90s AH approximate, reports differReports give 91, 92 and 93 AH.
Dies in Basra at a great age
Part of
Sources & review
Draft content — undergoing reviewThis content was written for SahabaMate and has not yet been checked by a reviewer against the works below. Treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
Sahih al-Bukhariصحيح البخاري
Hadith collection · Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
Sahih Muslimصحيح مسلم
Hadith collection · Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabahالإصابة في تمييز الصحابة
Classical biography · Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Siyar A'lam an-Nubalaسير أعلام النبلاء
Classical biography · Shams ad-Din adh-Dhahabi
SahabaMate editorial summary
Editorial summary
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