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A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
a native of Mecca, and the son of one of its chief leaders.
Both my brother 'Abdullah and I embraced Islam,
but we kept our faith secret.
When my father found out about our Islam,
he imprisoned us, bound us in chains, and tortured us,
preventing us from emigrating with the Muslims to Medina.
So my brother feigned before them that he had renounced Islam
and returned to their religion, so they released him.
Then my brother 'Abdullah marched out with the polytheists when the call to arms came for Badr,
traveling alongside my father and under his financial care,
with my father harboring no doubt that he had reverted to his pagan ways.
But when the Muslims and polytheists clashed at Badr,
and the two hosts caught sight of each other,
my brother 'Abdullah defected to the Muslim ranks,
coming before the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
before the battle began,
and thus fought at Badr as a Muslim.
That enraged my father with a tremendous fury.
As for me, I remained in captivity
until the Muslims arrived to perform the Umrah in the sixth year after the Hijrah.
The Quraysh opposed them and barred them from entering the Sanctuary,
so they encamped at al-Hudaybiyyah.
Emissaries came and went between the two parties
until they agreed upon terms of peace.
The Quraysh sent my father to ratify the treaty with the Prophet, peace be upon him.
And while they were writing out the terms of the treaty,
I suddenly emerged, fleeing toward the Muslims, hobbling in my chains,
until I collapsed before them.
When my father saw me, he said:
"This is the very first matter upon which I demand you uphold the terms, O Muhammad!
Hand him back to me!"
The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied:
"Release him to me as a gift."
But he adamantly refused.
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, handed me back.
At that, I cried out at the top of my voice:
"O assembly of Muslims!
Am I to be returned to the polytheists so that they may persecute me away from my religion?!"
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to me:
"Be patient and seek your reward with Allah,
for Allah will surely make for you and the oppressed ones with you a relief and a way out.
Indeed, we have made a treaty of peace with these people,
and we will never break our word."
Then my father stepped toward me
and began striking my face with a thorny branch.
'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was deeply aggrieved by this,
so he drew near to me and began walking by my side, saying:
"Be patient,
for they are only polytheists,
and the blood of any of them is merely like the blood of a dog."
He kept bringing his sword closer to my hand,
hoping that I would take it and strike down my father with it,
but I did not do so.
Later on, I escaped a second time from my captivity and fetters,
and joined Abu Basir, may Allah be pleased with him, and his band along the seashore.
Together, we formed a company of Muslims,
never letting a caravan belonging to the Quraysh pass by without seizing it,
until the Quraysh became desperate because of us.
So they sent word to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
pleading with him to summon us to join him,
and he did so.
Because of all these circumstances,
I was unable to participate alongside the Prophet, peace be upon him,
in any of his military expeditions prior to the Conquest of Mecca.
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 section
upon the release of the next episode,
if Allah wills.