The son of Zubayr, nephew of Muhammad's first wife, Khadija, and of Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr and sister of Muhammad's third wife, Aisha.
As a young man, Ibn al-Zubayr took part in campaigns against the Byzantines and the Persians; he al and the Persians; he also accompanied his father and Aisha in the Battle of the Camel against Ali. During Muawiya's reign (661-680), Ibn al-Zubayr remained in the background; upon Yazid's accession to the caliphate, Ibn al-Zubayr refused to swear allegience to him and sought refuge in Mecca. After the failure of Husayn's revolt at Kerbala, he began to gather adherents and in 682 declared Yazid deposed. His example was followed by the Medinans. In 683, Yazid responded with his Syrian armed forces, who defeated the Medinans and besieged Mecca. However, the death of Yazid several months later and the subsequent outbreak of civil war in Syria forced a retreat of the Syrian army.
Amidst the confusion, Ibn al-Zubayr proclaimed himself to be the "Commander of the Faithful", and opponents of the Umayyads in various parts of the empire declared him to be caliph. The reestablishment of caliphal control by the Marwanid line of Umayyads and the revolt of al-Mukhtar in Kufa brought setbacks for his supporters in Iraq and Syria; in the meantime, Kharijites had occupied large portions of Arabia, effectively isolating Ibn al-Zubayr to the Hijaz. In 691 the caliph Abd al-Malik sent a Syrian army to Mecca under the command of al-Hajjaj; the city was beseiged for six months, and Ibn al-Zubayr was slain on the battlefield in 692.
Some sources portray Ibn al-Zubayr as a pious and brave challenger of Umayyad rule, while according to others he was a spiteful, self-seeking man.