Pause.
Get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the prominent figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I am originally from the lands of Persia.
I was once an enslaved person.
I was sold just as goods are sold.
Until a woman from the people of Makkah bought me.
She then set me free.
However, her husband was impressed by me.
So he adopted me as his son.
Then we both embraced Islam together.
When Islam abolished adoption,
I began to be called his freedman.
And we became brothers in faith.
My heart became attached to the Qur'an.
The word of Allah became my preoccupation at all times.
When I migrated to Madinah,
I was the leader of the people there in prayer.
Until the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived.
Then he became the leader.
One night,
I was reciting the Qur'an in the mosque with a beautiful voice.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, passed by me.
She heard my recitation.
She could not help but sit and listen to me.
Until she was late to reach the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
When she came to him,
He asked her the reason for her delay.
She said, "There is a man in the mosque,
who has the most beautiful voice in reciting the Qur'an that I have ever heard."
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, took his cloak,
and went out to listen to my recitation.
He recognized me and said,
"Praise be to Allah who has placed someone like you in my Ummah."
One day, while advising his Companions, he, peace be upon him, said:
"Take the Qur'an from four:
From me, from Ibn Mas'ud,
from Ubayy ibn Ka'b,
and from Mu'adh ibn Jabal."
This was because of our distinction over others in reciting the Qur'an,
and our devotion to it.
Even though I am a non-Arab Persian,
the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
valued me and gave me precedence over others.
For the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
when he was on his deathbed:
"If so-and-so were alive,
I would have appointed him as the Caliph."
Meaning me by that.
I participated with the Prophet, peace be upon him,
in all the military expeditions.
Then I participated with the Muslims in fighting the apostates.
In the Battle of Yamamah,
when the Muslims were initially overwhelmed,
and the banner of the Muhajirun fell from Zayd ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
I stepped forward and took the banner.
The people said to me,
"We fear that the enemy might reach the Muslims through you."
I replied,
"I would be a wretched bearer of the Qur'an if
the Muslims were reached through me."
"That is not how we used to act with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
Then I dug a hole in the ground,
and stood in it with the banner.
I kept fighting and fighting,
and blows came at me from every direction,
until wounds overwhelmed me.
I fell to the ground,
covered in blood.
The battle ended with the victory of the Muslims.
People came to check on the fallen,
and they found me with a lingering breath.
I asked them,
"What happened to my brother and master, Abu Hudhayfah?"
They said, "He was killed."
I said,
"Lay me down beside him."
They said,
"He has been killed right beside you;
his feet are at your head."
A broad smile appeared on my face.
For this is my brother;
we embraced Islam together,
we lived together,
and we died together.
Then I departed from this life thereafter.
So, who am I?
Share your answers with us in the comments below the video.
We will pin the correct answer in the comments
when the next episode is released,
if Allah wills.