Abu 'Amir al-Fasiq

His real name was ʿAbd ʿAmr ibn Ṣayfī al-Awsī. Before Islam he was among the most respected leaders of the Aws tribe, a figure equivalent in stature to ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy among the Khazraj. He had adopted a form of pre-Islamic monotheism (Ḥanīfiyyah) and was known as Abū ʿĀmir ar-Rāhib (the monk), being one of the few Arabs of his era to renounce idol worship before the Prophet ﷺ arrived.

When the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah, Abū ʿĀmir refused to accept Islam, whether out of arrogance, jealousy, or tribal pride. Unable to reconcile himself to a new order that replaced his authority, he abandoned his own people and emigrated to Makkah, where he joined the Quraysh and boasted to Abū Sufyān of his influence over the Aws.

At the Battle of Uḥud (3 AH), after Abū Sufyān's messenger failed to split the Anṣār from the Muhājirūn, Abū ʿĀmir stepped forward: 'Leave this to me. My people have always respected me.' He walked in front of the Aws contingent and announced himself. But the Aws, transformed by Īmān, immediately stripped him of his honored title: 'You are not Abū ʿĀmir ar-Rāhib! You are Abū ʿĀmir al-Fāsiq!' And they cursed him until he retreated in shock, returning to Abū Sufyān saying, 'My people have been afflicted with some disease; I do not recognize them anymore.'

His own son, Ḥanẓalah ibn Abī ʿĀmir (Ghasīl al-Malāʾikah), fought on the Muslim side at Uḥud and was martyred. After Uḥud, Abū ʿĀmir al-Fāsiq eventually made his way to Syria, where he died in bitterness, having lost both his people and his son to the very faith he rejected.