Anas ibn Malik

Anas ibn Malik al-Ansari was a Companion (sahabi, a contemporary who knew the Prophet Muhammad) born in Yathrib — later Medina — around 612 CE, roughly ten years before the Hijra (the Prophet's 622 CE migration to that city). Tradition reports that when Muhammad arrived in Medina, Anas's mother, Umm Sulaym, brought her young son to him to serve in his household; Anas is said to have attended the Prophet for about ten years, earning the by-name Khadim al-Nabi ("Servant of the Prophet"). Sira (biographical tradition) lists his presence at events such as Khaybar, the conquest of Mecca, the siege of Ta'if and the Farewell Pilgrimage; these reports come from the tradition rather than from independently attested record.

After the Prophet's death (632 CE), Anas eventually settled in Basra in southern Iraq, traditionally during the governorship of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari around 638 CE, and spent most of his long life there. He is counted among the mukthirun — the handful of Companions credited with transmitting an unusually large number of reports (hadith) about the Prophet's words and conduct — and is widely remembered as one of the last surviving Companions in Basra.

The sources disagree on the details of his death: most place it between 91 and 93 AH (roughly 710–712 CE) in Basra, and report him as extraordinarily aged, with estimates from the high nineties past one hundred lunar years. Such advanced ages and early dates are traditional estimates and should be read with caution.