WEBVTT 00:00:01.459 --> 00:00:04.459 Pause 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:12.269 and get to know the Companions, scholars, and prominent figures. 00:00:12.269 --> 00:00:16.269 A new challenge: Who am I? 00:00:16.269 --> 00:00:23.120 I am one of the Companions from the tribe of Tayy. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:28.120 I grew up in the desert, raised amidst its sands and mountains, 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:31.120 until I memorized its trails and barren lands, 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.119 as if I were one of its very children. 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:36.119 I heard of Islam 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:42.119 and of the delegations coming to Medina to pledge allegiance to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:45.119 but I paid no heed to that, 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.119 being preoccupied with raiding homes and tribes, 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:51.119 stealing their livestock and wealth, 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:54.119 and fleeing with it into the labyrinth of the desert, 00:00:54.119 --> 00:01:00.119 relying on my mastery of its conditions and pathways. 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:02.119 Thus, horsemen feared pursuing me, 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:06.120 dreading destruction in the desert from getting lost and dying of thirst. 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:08.120 As for me, 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:12.120 I used to drink from water I stored inside ostrich eggs, 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:17.120 which I buried in scattered locations throughout the vast wilderness. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:21.120 Because of this, I became known among the people as the "Thief of the Desert." 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:28.500 The Prophet, peace be upon him, dispatched an expedition toward the land of Tayy, 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:33.500 which included Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and senior figures among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:37.500 When they reached the mountains of Tayy, they lost their way 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.500 and feared perishing in those perilous wastes. 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:44.500 So they sought an expert guide familiar with those deserts, 00:01:44.500 --> 00:01:47.500 and they found none better than me. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:50.500 They summoned me and took me as their guide, 00:01:50.500 --> 00:01:55.500 and I accompanied them on that journey for days and nights. 00:01:55.500 --> 00:02:00.500 I witnessed things about their conduct that made me pause and reflect upon their state: 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:03.500 they were devoted worshipers by night, 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:05.500 valiant knights by day, 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:07.500 ascetic regarding this worldly life, 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.500 yearning for Allah and the Hereafter. 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:14.500 The one who caught my attention most among them was Abu Bakr; 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:16.500 I stayed close to him, 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.500 observing him without his noticing. 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:21.500 When my mission with them came to an end, 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:24.500 I came to al-Siddiq and said to him, 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:28.500 "What should I do if I wish to become one of you and like you?" 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:30.500 So he guided me to Islam, 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:32.500 and I embraced Islam. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:35.500 After that dark past, 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:38.500 I became a soldier among the soldiers of the Muslims. 00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:43.259 During the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:46.259 he sent word to Khalid ibn al-Walid, 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:49.259 instructing him to march swiftly toward Damascus 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:52.259 to aid the Muslim army there, 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:55.259 which was on the verge of defeat and annihilation. 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:59.259 Khalid sought a skilled, expert guide of the desert routes 00:02:59.259 --> 00:03:03.259 to show him the shortest path leading to the Levant. 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:05.259 So I went to him 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:07.259 and mentioned a shortcut to him, 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:10.259 though there was no water along it 00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:13.259 until after a five-day march. 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:16.259 I asked Khalid to bring twenty camels, 00:03:16.259 --> 00:03:18.259 take them to drink water 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:21.259 until their bellies were full, 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:24.259 and carry as much water on their backs as possible. 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:26.259 They did so. 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.259 Then I led them through that desert, 00:03:29.259 --> 00:03:32.259 and each day we would slaughter four camels; 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:35.259 the beasts would drink from what was in their bellies, 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:39.360 and the men would drink from what was carried on their backs. 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.360 On the morning of the sixth day, 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:44.360 I was afflicted with ophthalmia in my eyes, 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.360 and I could no longer see a thing, 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.360 while our water supply had run out. 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.360 The men were overcome with exhaustion and thirst, 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:56.360 so Khalid came to me and said, 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.360 "Where is the water?" 00:03:58.360 --> 00:03:59.360 I said to him, 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.360 "Do you see two hills resembling two breasts?" 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:04.360 Khalid looked and said, 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:05.360 "Yes." 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:07.360 I said to him, 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:11.360 "Search for a boxthorn tree in this vicinity." 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:14.360 They searched, but could not find it. 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:15.360 So I told them, 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:17.360 "Scour the ground thoroughly for it." 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.360 They searched diligently 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.360 and found it uprooted from its place, 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:26.360 with only its root remaining. 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:28.360 I told them, 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:30.360 "Dig beneath it." 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.360 Sweet water gushed forth from it, 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:35.360 with which Allah quenched the thirst of that army. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:38.360 The Muslims praised Allah for that, 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.360 and I told them, 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:44.360 "I last passed by this place thirty years ago; 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:46.360 that was my knowledge of it." 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:50.220 People forgot the "Thief of the Desert" 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:53.220 and came to know me for goodness and generosity. 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:56.220 I used to give abundant charity to the poor, 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:59.220 and I would feed the congregations of three mosques 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:02.220 from the labor of my own hands and the sweat of my brow. 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:04.220 Yet despite that, 00:05:04.220 --> 00:05:07.220 I possessed only a single garment, 00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:09.220 which I wore at home 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:11.220 and went out in for prayer. 00:05:11.220 --> 00:05:13.379 So, who am I? 00:05:21.509 --> 00:05:25.740 We will pin the correct answer in the comments 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:28.740 upon the release of the next episode, 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:30.740 if Allah wills.