عُمَيْرُ بْنُ وَهْب
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
Umayr ibn Wahb
Plotted with Safwan to kill the Prophet ﷺ · Told a secret only the two of them knew · Became a caller
may Allah be pleased with him
Quraysh — Banu Jumah · Makkah and Madinah, in the years after Badr
A Makkan who, grieving Badr, agreed privately with Safwan ibn Umayyah to kill the Prophet ﷺ and travelled to Madinah to do it, using his captive son as cover. He accepted Islam after being told what he and Safwan had said to each other with no one else present, and went back to call his own people to it.
Known for
He agreed with Safwan ibn Umayyah, in private, to kill the Prophet ﷺ after Badr
Safwan undertook to look after Umayr's debts and family if he went through with it. The two spoke where they believed no one else could hear.
He travelled to Madinah under cover of ransoming his captured son
The Prophet ﷺ told him what he and Safwan had agreed between themselves in private
No one else had been present for that conversation.
He accepted Islam and went back to call his own people to it
Story
His story in moments
Short episodes from his life, in order. Read one at a time.
In full
Life & legacy
The plot
After Badr, Umayr ibn Wahb sat with Safwan ibn Umayyah in Makkah. Both had lost people they cared about, and both were bitter. Umayr's son, Wahb, had been taken captive.
Between the two of them, and believing no one else could hear, they agreed that Umayr would go to Madinah, using his son's ransom as the reason for the journey, and kill the Prophet ﷺ there. Safwan promised to see to Umayr's debts and his family while he was away.
Umayr sharpened his sword and, by report, treated its edge with poison before setting out.
Exposed, and convinced
Umar ibn al-Khattab saw him arrive armed and grew suspicious, and brought him before the Prophet ﷺ. What was said there is set out in the moment below.
Once he accepted Islam, Umayr asked to be taught and then returned to Makkah to call people to it, rather than staying where it was safer to remain a Muslim quietly.
The sources say comparatively little about the rest of his life, and no year of death is given with any agreement.
How the sources describe him
Once he was convinced, he reversed course completely and at once
He went back among people who knew what he had set out to do, and preached to them anyway
Connect
People around him
Alongside
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺCompanion
Set out to kill him, and accepted Islam when told the substance of a private conversation no one else had heard.
Grew suspicious of him on arrival in Madinah and brought him before the Prophet ﷺ.
- Safwan ibn UmayyahCompanion
Agreed with him in private, after Badr, that Umayr would kill the Prophet ﷺ while Safwan looked after his debts and family. Safwan himself accepted Islam some years later.
Full timeline
- 2 AH
His son Wahb is taken captive at Badr
- Shortly after Badr, 2 AH
Agrees with Safwan ibn Umayyah to kill the Prophet ﷺ
- Shortly after Badr, 2 AH
Travels to Madinah, is exposed, and accepts Islam
- Shortly after Badr, 2 AH
Returns to Makkah and calls his people to Islam
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.
As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyahالسيرة النبوية
Classical biography · Ibn Hisham, from the recension of Ibn Ishaq
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Tarikh ar-Rusul wa'l-Mulukتاريخ الرسل والملوك
Classical history · Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabahالإصابة في تمييز الصحابة
Classical biography · Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Companions of the Prophet
Modern biography · Abdul Wahid Hamid
SahabaMate editorial summary
Editorial summary
Where a reference names a work without a page or number, that is deliberate: SahabaMate does not publish a locator it cannot stand behind.
SahabaMate Pro
Want to remember what you learn about the Sahabah?
Pro will help you retain what you have read — personalised review, learning paths, and your own Sahaba Album.