The companions رضي الله عنهم
Kaʿb ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه
كعب بن مالك
A poet of the Anṣār who stayed behind from Tabūk without an excuse and refused to invent one.
One of the three whose repentance Allah accepted in the Qur'an
His challenges and choices
- He stayed behind from Tabūk without an excuse, then told the Prophet ﷺ the truth rather than make one up.
- The Muslims were told not to speak to him for fifty nights, until the earth felt narrow to him.
His standing in the sources
- When he entered the mosque after his repentance was accepted, Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh رضي الله عنه rose, shook his hand and congratulated him. Kaʿb رضي الله عنه said he never forgot this kindness.
- He said Allah had not blessed him with anything greater, after Islam, than being truthful with the Prophet ﷺ that day.
In the Qur'an
- At-Tawbah 9:117–119 — The three who were left behind.Reported occasion of revelation
Where they appear
- Conquest, completion and farewell
Told the Prophet ﷺ the truth about staying behind from Tabūk; endured fifty days of being shunned until his repentance was accepted in Sūrat at-Tawbah.
Connected lives
- Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh رضي الله عنه
When he entered the mosque after his repentance was accepted, Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh رضي الله عنه rose, shook his hand and congratulated him. Kaʿb رضي الله عنه said he never forgot this kindness.
Sources and accounts
Ḥadīth references open their collection. Biographical accounts attributed to ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm are book accounts, not independent authentication of each report. Open the book
Kaʿb ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه
One of the three whose repentance Allah accepted in the Qur'an
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418He stayed behind from Tabūk without an excuse, then told the Prophet ﷺ the truth rather than make one up.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418The Muslims were told not to speak to him for fifty nights, until the earth felt narrow to him.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418When he entered the mosque after his repentance was accepted, Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh رضي الله عنه rose, shook his hand and congratulated him. Kaʿb رضي الله عنه said he never forgot this kindness.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418He said Allah had not blessed him with anything greater, after Islam, than being truthful with the Prophet ﷺ that day.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 44189:117–119 — The three who were left behind.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418Biographical account and appearances
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418; ; ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm, al-Mubārakpūrī
Connected accounts
Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh رضي الله عنه — When he entered the mosque after his repentance was accepted, Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh رضي الله عنه rose, shook his hand and congratulated him. Kaʿb رضي الله عنه said he never forgot this kindness.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4418