Al-Fadl ibn Abbas

Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās (; c. 614 – 639 CE) was a cousin and companion of the prophet Muhammad. A prominent member of the Banu Hashim, he served as a commander in the Rashidun army and participated in the early conquests of the Levant and North Africa, notably at the siege of Cyrenaica. He died in Syria during the Plague of Amwas.

Biography Fadl was the eldest son of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of Muhammad and a wealthy merchant of Mecca, and of Lubaba bint al-Harith, a sister of Muhammad's wife Maymuna. He was among those who "stood firm" at the Battle of Hunayn in 630, after which his family emigrated to Medina.

Fadl married his cousin, Safiya bint Mahmiya, and they had one daughter, Umm Kulthum, who was born in Muhammad's lifetime. He also married Amra bint Yazid of the Kilab tribe, but this marriage ended in divorce after only a few months.

According to his brother Abd Allah, Fadl was an extremely handsome man. At the Farewell Pilgrimage in March 632, he rode pillion on Muhammad's camel. On his own admission, he gazed at a pretty girl on another camel so intently that Muhammad had to take his chin and turn his face away from her three times. It was concerning this incident that Muhammad made his famous remark: “I saw a young man and a young woman, and I could not trust Satan with them.”

When Muhammad succumbed to his final illness, it was Fadl and his cousin Ali who supported him in his final walk to Aisha's house. After Muhammad's death, Fadl was one of those who entered his grave and helped to lay his body.

He took part in many battles of the Muslims against Byzantines and Persians. During the Rashidun invasion towards Levant, after Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah had pacified the area in Moab, he sent Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Fadl ibn Abbas to subdue the city of Amman. Then Zubair managed to kill the Byzantine commander named Nicetas and continued with the city of Amman subdued.

Later, the Muslim forces besieged Barqa (Cyrenaica) for about three years to no avail.

Fadl transmitted some hadiths about Muhammad, but he did not live long enough to be known as a great teacher. He died of the plague in Amwas, Syria, in 18 AH (639 CE), aged about 25.

Status in Shia Islam He is well regarded by Shias since he refused to give his oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr.