Abd Allah ibn Hanzala

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥanẓala ibn Abī ʿĀmir al-Anṣārī (625/26 – August 683) was a companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. He was the leader of the Ansar faction of Medina during the city’s revolt against the Umayyad caliph Yazid I in 682–683. He was killed when he led his forces to confront Yazid’s expeditionary army at the Battle of al-Harrah in August 683.

Life Abd Allah was the son of Hanzala ibn Abi ‘Amir, a sahaba (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who had been slain at the Battle of Uhud in 625. Abd Allah was born after his father's death. Hence, he became known as "Ibn al-Ghasīl" after his father’s nickname "al-Ghasīl al-Malāʾika" (the one washed by the angels). Despite the warm reception, the delegation left Damascus with the conviction that Yazid was unfit to be caliph. Meanwhile, the Quraysh of Medina, who also opposed Yazid, chose Abd Allah ibn Muti as the leader of their faction. His body was subsequently decapitated and his head was given to Ibn Uqba. The two soldiers credited with his death were rewarded by Yazid.