Pause and reflect on the Companions, the scholars, and the prominent figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Muhajirun (Emigrant) Companions.
I came to Mecca before the advent of Islam.
And when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sent,
I followed him and embraced Islam.
Then I returned to my people in Yemen,
calling them to Allah the Exalted.
I remained in that state until I heard of the migration of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
to Medina.
So I set out toward him, accompanied by some fifty-odd men of my people.
We boarded a ship,
but we were driven off course,
and our ship cast us upon the land of the Negus, may Allah be pleased with him, in Abyssinia.
There, we met Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
We stayed with him,
until we arrived in Medina in the seventh year of the Hijra.
We reached the Prophet, peace be upon him, just as he was conquering Khaybar.
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to us:
"You, the people of the ship, have two migrations."
I possessed a beautiful voice for reciting the Qur'an,
and the Prophet, peace be upon him, once said to me:
"You have been given a flute from the flutes of the family of David."
One night, I stood praying in the mosque,
and the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him, heard my voice,
so they stood listening to my recitation.
When morning came,
it was said to me that the Mothers of the Believers had been listening to my recitation during the night.
I replied, "Had I known, I would have embellished my recitation even more,"
"and made it even more moving."
'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say to me:
"Remind us of our Lord, the Exalted,"
so I would recite the Qur'an in their presence.
I would sometimes lead the people in prayer,
and because of the beauty of my voice, they would wish I had recited Surah al-Baqarah.
After the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
the Commander of the Believers, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, sent me to Basra
to teach the people the Qur'an.
The people said,
"No rider has come to Basra who is better for its people than he."
Later, a delegation from the people of Basra came to 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
and he asked them about me.
They said, "We left him teaching the people the Qur'an."
He, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Indeed, he is a man of great intellect."
I gathered those who had learned the Qur'an from me in Basra,
and they numbered nearly three hundred.
I instilled in them a deep reverence for the Qur'an,
and said, "This Qur'an will either be a reward for you,"
"or a burden against you."
"So follow the Qur'an,"
"and do not let the Qur'an follow you,"
"for whoever follows the Qur'an,"
"it will lead him to the gardens of Paradise."
"But whoever is followed by the Qur'an,"
"it will seize him by the nape of his neck,"
"and cast him into the Fire."
Before my death,
I exerted myself intensely in worship.
It was said to me,
"If only you would pause and be gentle with yourself."
I replied,
"When a racehorse is released,"
"and it nears the finish line,"
"it exerts all that it has."
"And what remains of my life is even less than that."
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.