Pause and learn about the Companions, scholars, and prominent figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am the freedman of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the son of his freedman,
and his beloved and the son of his beloved.
I was born before the Hijrah and lived under the care of Islam,
and I was raised in the Prophetic household.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) loved me immensely,
for he would hold me along with al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him),
and say: "O Allah, love them both, for I love them."
He (peace be upon him) used to seat me on his thigh and pray for me,
and he would often carry me in front of him on his mount,
caring for me with utmost tenderness.
One day, my nose was running, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) intended
to wipe the mucus away from me with his noble hand.
Thereupon, 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "Let me wipe it away from him, O Messenger of Allah."
But he (peace be upon him) replied: "O 'A'ishah, love him, for indeed I love him."
I was dark-skinned, whereas my father was fair-skinned,
which caused some people to doubt the legitimacy of my lineage to my father (may Allah be pleased with him)
because of the difference in our skin colors.
One day, I slept beside my father and we covered our heads with a cloak,
leaving our feet uncovered.
Then Mujazziz al-Mudliji, the physiognomist, passed by us
and remarked: "These feet belong to one another,"
having recognized the clear resemblance between them.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was overjoyed by this,
to the extent that he entered upon 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)
with his radiant face gleaming with delight and gladness at what the physiognomist had said,
which thoroughly refuted the claims of those who spoke about us without knowledge.
One day, the Commander of the Believers, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), sat
distributing funds from the public treasury among the Muslims.
He gave his son, 'Abdullah, his share,
and then my turn came,
and 'Umar gave me double what he had given his son 'Abdullah.
So 'Abdullah questioned his father, saying:
"Why have you favored him over me,
when I witnessed with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
battles that he did not witness?"
'Umar answered him, saying:
"O my son,
he was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than you were,
and his father was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than your father was!"
Thus, I gave preference to what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) loved over what I loved.
The Companions well recognized my status with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him);
therefore, when they wished to intercede with the Messenger of Allah regarding the woman who had committed theft,
they came to me so that I might intercede on her behalf,
hoping that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) might accept it from me.
But when I spoke to him concerning her,
the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) changed color,
and he said:
"Do you dare intercede regarding one of the prescribed limits set by Allah?"
I became terrified and said:
"Ask forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allah."
When evening came,
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood to deliver a sermon;
he praised Allah as He deserves to be praised,
and then said:
"To proceed:
The people before you were ruined only because
whenever a noble person among them stole, they would let him go,
but whenever a weak person among them stole, they would enforce the legal punishment upon him.
By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad,
even if Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, were to steal,
I would surely sever her hand."
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave orders
concerning that woman,
and her hand was severed.
The engraving on my ring was:
"The beloved of the Messenger of Allah."
So, who am I?
Share your answers with us in the comments below the video,
and we will pin the correct answer in the comments
upon the release of the next episode, if Allah wills.