He was the son of al-Khattab ibn Nufayl, a member of the Adiclan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, and of Asma bint Wahb of the Asad tribe. He was older than his brother Umar. He is described as "a very tall dark man". He gave his brother Umar a chanceto go with Quraysh's trade caravan and trade with Syria's traders and always showed kindness and love to Umar. He became a Muslim sometime before August 616. He joined the general emigration to Medina in 622 and was made the brother in Islam of Maan ibn Adi. His marriage to his cousin, Atiqa bint Zayd, was childless and ended in divorce. In Medina he married two women from the Amr clan of the Aws tribe. One was Habiba bint Abi Amir, who bore him a daughter, Asma; Habiba's niece Jamila was briefly married to Zayd's brother Umar. The other was Lubaba, a daughter of Abu Lubaba ibn Abd al-Mundhir, who was the mother of his son Abdulrahman. He fought at the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, the Battle of the Ditch and "all the battles with Allah's Messenger". At Uhud Umar urged Zayd to borrow his armour. Zayd put it on but then he took it off again, saying, "I want what you want for yourself." At the Battle of Yamama on December 632, Zayd carried the Muslims' standard. When Muslim baggage was exposed to plunder by the enemy, Zayd said, "As for the baggage, there is no baggage! As for the men, there are no men!" Then he shouted, "O Allah, I apologise for the flight of my companions! I am not guilty before Thee of what Musaylimah and Muhakkam have done!" Zayd continued to hold the standard while fighting with his sword and he did not drop it until he was killed. His killer was Abu Maryam al-Hanafi, who claimed: "Allah honoured him at my hand and did not weaken me at his hand." He was martyred seconds after his second cousins, Abdullah ibn Suhail and Abu Hudhayfa ibn 'Utba, and adopted distant relative, Salim Mawla Abu Hudhayfa. His tomb in Uyaynah was a site of veneration until around 1740 when Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab campaigned to have it leveled.
