Pause
and get to know the Companions, scholars, and prominent figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Companions from the tribe of Tayy.
I grew up in the desert, raised amidst its sands and mountains,
until I memorized its trails and barren lands,
as if I were one of its very children.
I heard of Islam
and of the delegations coming to Medina to pledge allegiance to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
but I paid no heed to that,
being preoccupied with raiding homes and tribes,
stealing their livestock and wealth,
and fleeing with it into the labyrinth of the desert,
relying on my mastery of its conditions and pathways.
Thus, horsemen feared pursuing me,
dreading destruction in the desert from getting lost and dying of thirst.
As for me,
I used to drink from water I stored inside ostrich eggs,
which I buried in scattered locations throughout the vast wilderness.
Because of this, I became known among the people as the "Thief of the Desert."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, dispatched an expedition toward the land of Tayy,
which included Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and senior figures among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
When they reached the mountains of Tayy, they lost their way
and feared perishing in those perilous wastes.
So they sought an expert guide familiar with those deserts,
and they found none better than me.
They summoned me and took me as their guide,
and I accompanied them on that journey for days and nights.
I witnessed things about their conduct that made me pause and reflect upon their state:
they were devoted worshipers by night,
valiant knights by day,
ascetic regarding this worldly life,
yearning for Allah and the Hereafter.
The one who caught my attention most among them was Abu Bakr;
I stayed close to him,
observing him without his noticing.
When my mission with them came to an end,
I came to al-Siddiq and said to him,
"What should I do if I wish to become one of you and like you?"
So he guided me to Islam,
and I embraced Islam.
After that dark past,
I became a soldier among the soldiers of the Muslims.
During the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,
he sent word to Khalid ibn al-Walid,
instructing him to march swiftly toward Damascus
to aid the Muslim army there,
which was on the verge of defeat and annihilation.
Khalid sought a skilled, expert guide of the desert routes
to show him the shortest path leading to the Levant.
So I went to him
and mentioned a shortcut to him,
though there was no water along it
until after a five-day march.
I asked Khalid to bring twenty camels,
take them to drink water
until their bellies were full,
and carry as much water on their backs as possible.
They did so.
Then I led them through that desert,
and each day we would slaughter four camels;
the beasts would drink from what was in their bellies,
and the men would drink from what was carried on their backs.
On the morning of the sixth day,
I was afflicted with ophthalmia in my eyes,
and I could no longer see a thing,
while our water supply had run out.
The men were overcome with exhaustion and thirst,
so Khalid came to me and said,
"Where is the water?"
I said to him,
"Do you see two hills resembling two breasts?"
Khalid looked and said,
"Yes."
I said to him,
"Search for a boxthorn tree in this vicinity."
They searched, but could not find it.
So I told them,
"Scour the ground thoroughly for it."
They searched diligently
and found it uprooted from its place,
with only its root remaining.
I told them,
"Dig beneath it."
Sweet water gushed forth from it,
with which Allah quenched the thirst of that army.
The Muslims praised Allah for that,
and I told them,
"I last passed by this place thirty years ago;
that was my knowledge of it."
People forgot the "Thief of the Desert"
and came to know me for goodness and generosity.
I used to give abundant charity to the poor,
and I would feed the congregations of three mosques
from the labor of my own hands and the sweat of my brow.
Yet despite that,
I possessed only a single garment,
which I wore at home
and went out in for prayer.
So, who am I?
We will pin the correct answer in the comments
upon the release of the next episode,
if Allah wills.