He is Khubayb ibn Adi ibn Malik ibn Amir ibn Majda’ah al-Awsi al-Ansari, a noble companion of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), one of the early heroes of Islam, from Al-Madinah.

Khubayb participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud alongside the Prophet (saw). The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent him, along with six other Companions (ra), to teach Islam to the tribes of 'Udal and al-Qarah.

Ibn Hisham, in his biography, volume 3, mentions the martyrdome of Khubayb ibn Adi under the heading “The Day of Al-Raji” that a group from ‘Udal and Al-Qarah—two tribes of Ma'ad, tracing their lineage back to Al-Hawn ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah, came to Al-Madinah and pretending to be Muslim. They said, “O Messenger of Allah, we have embraced Islam, so send with us some of your Companions to teach us about the Deen, recite the Quran to us, and instruct us in the laws of Islam.”

So the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent six of his Companions (ra), among them Khubayb. Ibn Adi, may Allah (swt) be pleased with him, went out with the people until they reached a watering place belonging to the tribe of Hudhayl ​​in the Hijaz region called al-Raji’. There, the group betrayed them and called upon the Hudhayl ​​tribe to attack them. A party from the Banu Lihyan tribe descended upon them, swords in hand, and said, “By Allah, we do not wish to kill you; rather, we intend to use you to gain something from the people of Makkah. You have Allah’s covenant and pledge that we will not kill you.”

Three of the Companions (ra) said, “By Allah, we will never accept a covenant or pledge from a polytheist” and they fought until they were martyred. As for the other three, among them Khubayb ibn Adi (ra), they softened and became weak, desiring life. They tied their bowstrings, and one of them, Abdullah ibn Tariq (ra), withdrew his hand from the bowstring, took his sword, and the people retreated from him. They pelted him with stones until they martyred him, and his grave is in Dhahran.

Then Khubayb ibn Adi, his Companion, and Zayd ibn al-Dathnah (ra) were taken to Makkah to be sold for two captives from the tribe of Hudhayl ​​who were being held there. Hujayr ibn Abi Ihab, from the Banu Usayd ibn Amr ibn Tamim, bought Khubayb ibn Adi for Uqbah ibn al-Harith ibn Amir, so that he would martyr him in revenge for his father, al-Harith ibn Amir ibn Nawfal, whom Khubayb ibn Adi had killed at the Battle of Badr. This was due to a kinship between them, as Abu Ihab al-Tamimi and al-Harith ibn Amir were maternal half-brothers.

Then Khubayb ibn Adi stayed with them until the sacred months passed before they killed him. Qat Mawiya, the freedwoman of Hujayr ibn Abi Ihab, who had been imprisoned in her house, said, “When his execution was imminent, he said to me, ‘Send me a piece of iron so I may purify myself before my execution.’ So I gave a razor to a boy from the tribe and said: ‘Take it into this man’s house.’ By Allah, no sooner had the boy taken it to him than I exclaimed, ‘What have I done! By Allah, the man has taken his revenge by killing this man!’” The boy, when he handed him the iron, Khubayb took it from his hand and said, “By your life, your mother did not fear my treachery when she sent you with this iron to me!” Then he let him go” (Ibn Hisham’s Biography, Vol. 3, p. 127).

When the Quraysh took him to al-Tan’im to crucify him, he said to them, “If you see fit to let me pray two rak’ahs, then do so.” They said, “Go ahead and pray.” So he prayed. He performed two rak'ahs, completing them perfectly, then turned to the people and said, “By Allah, were it not that you might think I prolonged the prayer out of fear of being killed, I would have prayed much longer” (Previous source, p. 127).

Then Khubayb concluded his life, after they had raised him on the cross and bound him, with a supplication that made those present tremble, (اللَّهمّ إنَّا قَدْ بَلَّغْنَا رِسَالَةَ رَسُولِكَ، فَبَلِّغْهُ الْغَدَاةَ مَا يُصْنَعُ بِنَا)“O Allah, we have delivered the message of Your Messenger, so inform him tomorrow of what was done to us.” Then he said, (اللَّهمّ أَحْصِهِمْ عَدَداً، وَاقْتُلْهُمْ بَدَداً، وَلَا تُغَادِرْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَداً)“O Allah, count them. Cut them all down, and leave none of them alive” (Previous source, pp. 127-128). This call terrified Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, and Sa'id ibn 'Amir al-Jumahi would faint in public whenever it was mentioned. Al-Harith ibn al-Barsa' said, “I never thought any of us would survive.”

He recited verses of poetry in which he said, “I care not when I am martyred as a Muslim, where I fall for the sake of Allah (swt), and if He wills, He will bless the scattered limbs of a torn body.”

Abu Maysarah, brother of Banu Abd al-Dar, took the spear and placed it before Abu Sarwa’ah Uqbah ibn al-Harith—because of his young age—then stabbed him with it until he was killed. The Quraysh left him crucified, and they kept watch around him to prevent anyone from taking him down and burying him.

Hassan ibn Thabit, may Allah (swt) be pleased with him, said, lamenting Khubayb, “Why do your eyes not cease their tears, flowing like scattered pearls upon your chest? For Khubayb, the most noble of youths, as they knew, never faltering in battle, nor reckless. Go, Khubayb, may Allah (swt) reward you with goodness, and grant you Paradise in the company of the houris. And what will you murderers say when the Prophet (saw) asks you, whilst the righteous angels are on the horizon? How did you murder a man who bore witness against a tyrant, a tyrant who spread corruption amongst people and within the land.”

Al-Tabari added in his history, Volume 2, that after the killing of Khubayb ibn Adi, the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri and a man from the Ansar to kill Abu Sufyan ibn Harb in Makkah. Their mission was discovered when a man from Quraysh recognized Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri, and they did not reach their goal. And Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri said, “I came to Khubayb’s wooden cross, fearing the eyes, and I climbed it, and I untied Khubayb, and he fell to the ground. I moved away not far, then I turned around and I did not see any trace of Khubayb, as if the earth had swallowed him up. No trace of Khubayb has been mentioned until this moment” (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2, pp. 541-542). Therefore, Khubayb ibn Adi (ra) was known as (بليع الأرض)“the one swallowed by the earth.”