Pause.
Get to know the Companions, the scholars, and those of the highest rank.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Companions from the Ansar and one of the leaders present on the night of al-'Aqabah.
I embraced Islam because of a woman.
I had proposed to Umm Sulaym after the death of her husband.
She said, "A man like you cannot be turned away."
"But you are a disbeliever."
"If you embrace Islam, I will be pleased to have you as a husband."
"I will make your Islam my dowry."
So I embraced Islam, and then I married her.
The Muslims used to say,
"We have never heard of a dowry,"
"more noble than the dowry of Umm Sulaym."
For she made her dowry the acceptance of Islam.
Then, one day,
a son of ours fell ill.
I went out to attend to some of my needs,
and the boy passed away.
When I returned,
I asked, "What has become of the boy?"
My wife, Umm Sulaym, replied,
"He is quieter than he was before."
She then brought me my dinner,
and I ate.
Then I was intimate with her.
When I had finished,
she asked, "What do you think of a family,"
"who were lent something,"
"by another family?"
"When the owners asked for their loan back,"
"they refused to return it."
I said, "That is not right for them to do."
She said, "Well, your son,"
"was a loan from Allah the Exalted."
"He let you enjoy him for as long as He willed,"
"and He took him back when He willed."
This weighed heavily upon my soul.
When morning came,
I went to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and informed him of what my wife, Umm Sulaym, had done.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"Did you consummate your marriage last night?"
I said, "Yes."
He said, "May Allah,"
"bless you both,"
"in your night."
Allah then blessed me with nine children,
all of whom had memorized the Qur'an.
One day, I said to Umm Sulaym,
"I heard the voice of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sounding weak,"
"and I could detect hunger in it."
"Do you have anything?"
She said, "Yes."
She brought out some barley loaves,
and prepared some bread.
Then I went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and found him in the mosque with people around him.
I said to him, "O Messenger of Allah,"
"I have prepared some food for you."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to those with him,
"Rise."
He set off, and I walked ahead of them,
until I reached Umm Sulaym.
I said to her,
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and the people have come,"
"and we do not have enough to feed them all."
She said,
"Allah and His Messenger know best."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrived,
and said,
"Bring what you have, Umm Sulaym."
She brought him that bread.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, prayed over it.
Then he said to me,
"Give permission for ten men to enter."
I gave them permission.
They ate until they were full and then left.
Then he said,
"Give permission for ten more."
I gave them permission.
They ate until they were full and then left.
And so it continued,
until all the people had eaten.
The group consisted of seventy or eighty men.
After the passing of the Messenger, peace be upon him,
I fasted continuously for over twenty years.
I would only break my fast on the days of Eid or in times of illness,
until my time came.
So, who am I?
Find out in the next episode, if Allah wills.
The best of generations in their stance and example.
They followed the Messenger wherever he led or spoke.
They were here, watering our lives like rain.
Their memory lives on within us, exalted.
They departed, leaving a question in our conscience:
Is there any star that has risen and shone like them?
They filled life with pride through their deeds,
and the world of the people flourished because of them.