Utba ibn Ghazwan al-Mazini

Utba ibn Ghazwan was among the very earliest Muslims — he accepted Islam before the Muslims had a meeting place and was one of the seven earliest converts. He was among the emigrants to Abyssinia in the first hijra and later emigrated to Madinah. He participated in the major battles. During the conquest of Iraq, Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed him to lead operations in southern Iraq (near the Persian Gulf). In 14-15 AH, he established the garrison town (amsar) of Basra at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates delta region. Basra was founded as a military base to facilitate the Persian campaigns and became one of the greatest cities of the Islamic world, a center of Islamic scholarship and commerce for centuries. After founding Basra, Utba went to Madinah to report to Umar and then died during the journey or shortly after returning to Arabia in 17 AH. His sermon in Basra before leaving — in which he reminded the Muslims of his humble origins and warned against attachment to worldly wealth — is preserved in Islamic literature as a masterpiece of ascetic exhortation.