The Banū Aws (Arabic: بنو أوس pronounced [ˈbanuː ʔaws], "Sons of Aws") or simply Aws (Arabic: أوس, also romanised as Aus) was one of the main Arab tribes of Medina. The other was Khazraj, and the two, constituted the Ansar ("Helpers of Muhammad”) after the Hijra.
The Aws tribe descend from the ancient tribe al-Azd, a branch of the Qahtanite Arabs Aws and Khazraj were known as Banū Qayla (بنو قيلة [ˈbænuː ˈqɑjlæ]) in pre-Islamic era.
The Muslim–Quraysh War (Arabic: الحرب الإسلامية-القرشية) was a 6-year military and religious conflict in the Arabian Peninsula between the early Muslims led by Muhammad on one side and the Arab pagan Quraysh tribe on the other. The war started in March 624 with the Battle of Badr, and concluded with the Conquest of Mecca.
Muhammad, born in Mecca, began spreading Islam in the city at the age of 40. Initially, he met no opposition from the Meccans, who were indifferent to his activities until he attacked their beliefs. As tensions arose, Muhammad brought his followers to migrate to Medina after successful negotiations with the Banu Aws and Khazraj to mediate their tribal conflicts.
The Quraysh (Arabic: قُرَيْشٍ) are an Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founder prophet Muhammad was born. By the seventh century, they had become wealthy merchants, dominating trade between the Indian Ocean, East Africa, and the Mediterranean. The tribe ran caravans to Gaza and Damascus in summer and to Yemen in winter, while also mining and pursuing other enterprises on these routes.
When Muhammad began preaching Islam in Mecca, the Quraysh initially showed little concern. However, their opposition to his activities quickly grew as he increasingly challenged Arab polytheism, which was prevalent throughout pre-Islamic Arabia. As relations deteriorated, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (the journey known as the Hijrah) after negotiating with the Banu Aws and the Banu Khazraj to mediate their conflict. However, the two sides proved unable to reach a peaceful resolution, and the Quraysh continued to obstruct Muhammad's community's attempts to perform the Islamic pilgrimage at Mecca, prompting him to confront them through armed conflict, primarily by conducting raids on their caravans. These raids eventually escalated into several major battles, including those at Badr, Uhud, and "the Trench" (Medina's outskirts). Following these engagements and changes in Medina's political landscape, including the expulsion of three Jewish tribes, Muhammad reportedly shifted the focus of his military campaigns from Quraysh caravans to the northern Arab tribes, such as the Banu Lahyan and the Banu Mustaliq.
The Ansar (Arabic: الأنصار, romanized: al-Anṣār, lit. 'The Helpers' or 'Those who bring victory'), also spelled Ansaar or Ansari, were the local inhabitants of Medina (mostly Muslims) who supported the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and his followers (the Muhajirun), when they fled from Mecca to Medina during the hijrah. The Ansar belonged to the Arabian tribes of Banu Khazraj and Banu Aws.