Al-Qaswa (camel)

The Arabic word qaswāʾ (lit. 'One whose ears are cropt'^[1]) is a feminine superlative derived from the triliteral root "q-ṣ-w", meaning "to cut" or "to clip", traditionally interpreted as referring to a she-camel whose ear-tip has been slightly notched, a common mark of ownership or distinction in Arabian pastoral culture.^[6] A near-synonymous name, al-ʿAdba' (from ʿaḍb, "to cut"), shares the same semantic field, causing some classical scholars to treat the two as interchangeable designations for the same animal.^[7]

The question of whether al-Qaswa, al-ʿAdba', and al-Jadʿa' referred to one, two, or three distinct camels has been debated within Islamic scholarship since the second century AH. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah enumerated all three names separately in Zad al-Ma'ad (vol. 1, p. 129), while other classical authorities held that al-Qaswa and al-ʿAdba' were two names for the same animal.^[8]

No detailed physical description of al-Qaswa survives in the authenticated hadith literature. Historical sources identify her as originating from the Banu al-Harith tribe.^[9] Under her alternate name al-ʿAdbāʾ, a hadith in Sunan an-Nasa'i describes her as a racing camel that had previously remained unbeaten until she was overtaken by a Bedouin riding a young camel. Muhammad reportedly responded:

When Allah raises something of this world, He inevitably lowers it.^[10]

Classical commentators including Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani interpreted the report as a lesson on the impermanence of worldly distinction and prestige.^[11]

Islamic biographical tradition records that al-Qaswa was acquired in c. 617 CE through the mediation of Abu Bakr (c. 573–634 CE), the Prophet's closest companion.^[5] She was purchased for 400 silver dirhams when approximately four to five years of age,^[12][13] a price placing her firmly in the upper register of quality riding camels of the Arabian Peninsula.^[14]

Under the name al-ʿAdba, a hadith in Sunan an-Nasaʾi describes her as a she-camel "who could not be beaten" in racing until a bedouin on a younger camel eventually outpaced her.^[15] The Prophet is reported to have responded:

When Allah raises the status of something in this world, He inevitably brings it down again.^[16]

Islamic tradition holds that al-Qaswa served as Muhammad's mount during the hijrah, the migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, the event from which the Islamic calendar is dated. According to Ibn Hisham's recension of Ibn Ishaq's Sīra, Muhammad departed the Cave of Thawr after three days of concealment and rode al-Qaswa northward to Medina, accompanied by Abu Bakr and a guide, by routes chosen to avoid Qurayshi pursuit.^[17]

Upon Muhammad's arrival in Medina, tribal leaders competed to host him, each pulling at al-Qaswa's reins.^[18] The Prophet declined to arbitrate, reportedly declaring:

Leave the camel alone, for she is under the command of God.^[19]

Al-Qaswa walked through the settlement and knelt on an open plot, a date-drying ground (mirbad) belonging to two orphan boys of the Banu Najjar tribe, Sahl and Suhayl. Muhammad interpreted this as indicating the site for his mosque, purchased the land, and construction of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi commenced.^[20][21]That site in present-day Medina remains one of Islam's holiest places.

Al-Qaswa accompanied Muhammad into several military engagements of early Islam.^[22] Classical sources record her presence at the Battle of Badr, the first major armed conflict between the Muslim community and the Quraysh of Mecca.^[23][24] Sīra accounts note that Muhammad shared his camel in rotation with his companions during the march, dismounting to walk on foot in turn.^[25]

The most extensively documented episode involving al-Qaswa in the canonical hadith literature concerns the events leading to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in 628 CE. According to Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadiths 2731–2732), narrated by al-Miswar ibn Makhrama and Marwan ibn al-Hakam, Muhammad led approximately 1,400 companions toward Mecca for a lesser pilgrimage (umrah). Before setting out, according to versions cited by Imam Ahmad, al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, and al-Nasa'i, the Prophet bathed, donned new garments, and mounted al-Qaswa, accompanied by his wife Umm Salama.^[26]

As the party neared a mountainous pass (thaniyya) on the approach to Mecca, al-Qaswa sat down and refused to advance. When companions declared her stubborn, Muhammad corrected them:^[27]

Al-Qaswa has not become stubborn, for stubbornness is not her habit. But she has been stopped by Him Who stopped the elephant.^[28]

The reference refers the Year of the Elephant (c. 570 CE), in which, according to the Quran (surah 105), an army accompanied by war elephants was prevented from destroying the Kaaba. The party withdrew to the well of Hudaybiyyah, where negotiations with the Quraysh produced the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, widely regarded as a turning point in the expansion of early Islam, leading to the peaceful conquest of Mecca in 630 CE.^[29]

Several sources in the sīra tradition also associate the revelation of surah al-Fath (Quran, chapter 48)^[30] with Muhammad being mounted on al-Qaswa at the time. The companion Asma bint Yazid is quoted in some traditions as stating she was holding al-Qaswa's nose-rope during the revelation descended upon the Prophet.^[31]

Islamic tradition records that al-Qaswa carried Muhammad throughout his only complete hajj as prophet, the Ḥajjat al-Wadā (Farewell Pilgrimage) of 10 AH (632 CE).^[32][4] The most detailed account is attributed to the companion Jabir ibn ʿAbdullah, whose narration is preserved in Sahih Muslim (Book of Hajj).^[4]

According to the Islamic sources, Muhammad departed Medina on 25 Dhu al-Qi'dah mounted on al-Qaswa.^[4] He performed the hajj rites with a gathering described in Islamic sources as exceeding 100,000 pilgrims,^[33] and delivered the Farewell Sermon on the plain of Arafat on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah while seated on the camel.^[34] Classical sīra works, including |Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE) and Zad al-Ma'ad by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, note that al-Qaswa's presence from the hijra (migration) to the Farewell Pilgrimage framed the full arc of Muhammad's prophetic mission.^[35][33]

Al-Qaswa is not mentioned by name in the Quran, nor does the Quran identify any of Muhammad's animals individually. Information about al-Qaswa derives primarily from the hadith corpus and early sīra literature.^[36]

Later sīra and tafsīr traditions nevertheless associate certain Quranic passages with events involving al-Qaswa. Islamic tradition holds that surah al-Fath was revealed during the return from Hudaybiyyah, during which Muhammad was riding al-Qaswa.^[37] According to a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad also compared al-Qaswa's halting at Hudaybiyyah to the elephant referenced in surah al-Fil.^[38]

Al-Qaswa holds a prominent position in Islamic historical consciousness for several reasons.^[45] She is attested by name in Sahih al-Bukhari at key turning points of early Islamic history, unusual documentary prominence for an animal subject.^[3][46] Her behaviour at Hudaybiyyah is explicitly linked in the hadith to divine intervention, placing her alongside the elephant of surah al-Fil in a tradition of theologically meaningful animal behaviour. Her selection of the Masjid al-Nabawi site is understood within the tradition as divinely guided choice.^[47]

Classical commentators including Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, in his commentary Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari, discuss the Hudaybiyyah hadith at length, presenting the Prophet's correction of his companions as a lesson against attributing base motives to what may be divinely guided behaviour.^[48]

Al-Qaswa is also cited in Islamic scholarship and devotional literature as an illustration of Muhammad's humane treatment of animals.^[49] Numerous hadith reports record the Prophet's prohibitions against overburdening riding animals, striking animals on the face, or branding them on sensitive parts of the body.^[50][51][52] Muslim ethical writers have interpreted Muhammad's reported conduct toward al-Qaswa within this broader framework of compassion toward animals and responsible stewardship over domesticated creatures.^[53]

Early Islamic sources provide little information about the death of al-Qaswa. Her date of death is not recorded in the early sources. However, she is last mentioned alive in Sahih Muslim in reports concerning Muhammad's Farewell Pilgrimage in 10 AH / 632 CE, where he is described riding al-Qaswa during the pilgrimage rites and sermons.^[54] A report attributed to Al-Waqidi and cited by Muhammad al-Zurqani in Sharh al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah states that she died during the caliphate of Abu Bakr after being left to graze freely at Al-Baqi in Medina.^[55]

The report is historical rather than hadith-based, and no authenticated hadith describing the circumstances of al-Qaswa's death is known from the canonical collections. Classical hadith critics including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Muhammad al-Bukhari regarded al-Waqidi as a weak transmitter of hadith.^[56]

Later devotional narratives describe a separate and more detailed narrative, widely circulated in Islamic popular tradition and sīra literature — states that al-Qaswa refused food and water after the death of Muhammad, wept, and died within days of grief. Some versions add that she lost her eyesight and that the companions tied a black ribbon around her eyes as a sign of mourning. This account appears in devotional works such as Yusuf al-Nabhani's Jāmi al-Ṣalawat,^[57] reportedly lack an early isnad and do not appear in the canonical hadith collections or the major early sīra works.^[55]

• Buraq
• Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn

• "هل تعرفون ما هي " الناقة القصواء"؟؟". وكالة أنباء سرايا الإخبارية - حرية سقفها السماء (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2026.

• HARIS, MOHAMMED (24 December 2023). The Story of the Camel Al-Qaswa. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp. ISBN 979-8-8728-2249-3. Retrieved 1 June 2026.