Ka'b ibn Malik

Ka'b ibn Malik al-Ansari (died approximately 50 AH / 670 CE) was an Ansari companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, a poet, and one of three companions whose famous repentance is recorded in the Quran. Born into the Banu Salama clan of the Khazraj tribe in Medina, Ka'b had pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ at both the First and Second 'Aqaba pledges, helping lay the foundations of the Muslim community.

Ka'b was a gifted poet who used his talent in defense of Islam, composing verses that bolstered the morale of the Muslims in their confrontations with the Quraysh. The Prophet ﷺ valued his poetry and included him alongside Hassan ibn Thabit and 'Abd Allah ibn Rawaha as the trio of poet-companions who defended Islam through verse.

His greatest trial came in 9 AH when the Prophet ﷺ called the Muslims to the Expedition of Tabuk. Ka'b, along with Murara ibn al-Rabi'a and Hilal ibn Umayyah, stayed behind without valid excuse. When the Prophet ﷺ returned, he commanded that the three be shunned — no one was to speak to them. For fifty nights Ka'b endured this exclusion, which he later described as having made the earth feel constricted despite its vastness. Then Allah revealed his forgiveness in Surah al-Tawbah (9:118), lifting the boycott. Ka'b's own account of this trial, preserved at length in Sahih al-Bukhari, is considered one of the most detailed and psychologically rich first-person narratives in all of hadith literature. It testifies to his honesty, his remorse, and the justice of the Prophetic process of accountability. Ka'b continued to participate in the life of the Muslim community until his death during the caliphate of Mu'awiyah.