Pause and learn about the Companions, scholars, and notable figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am the paternal aunt of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
the full sister of Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him),
the Lion of Allah and His Messenger,
and the mother of al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him),
the disciple of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
I was the only paternal aunt of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who embraced Islam.
I was renowned for patience and steadfast endurance,
and I raised my children upon toughness, chivalric horsemanship, and valor.
I emigrated to Medina
and participated alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his military expeditions.
On the Day of Uhud,
I went out with the Muslims;
I carried water,
quenched the thirst of the wounded,
and sharpened arrows.
After the battle ended,
news reached me of the martyrdom of my brother Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him),
and that his body had been mutilated.
So I stepped forward to see him,
but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to my son al-Zubayr:
"Go meet your mother and turn her back,
lest she see what has been done to her brother."
My son al-Zubayr met me
and said, "O my mother!
Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) commands you to turn back."
I said, "And why?
For it has reached me that my brother has been mutilated,
and that is for the sake of Allah!
I shall surely reckon it with Allah and bear it patiently, if Allah wills."
Al-Zubayr mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
so he said:
"Let her be."
So I came to my brother Hamzah,
looked upon him,
recited the verse of return to Allah, and sought forgiveness for him.
Then he was buried.
During the Battle of the Trench,
I was stationed in the fortress of Fari'
along with the women and children.
A Jewish man passed by us
and began circling the fortress
to see whether there were any fighting men inside it.
That was after Banu Qurayzah had waged war
and broken the treaties binding them to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
There was no one with us in the fortress to defend us,
as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and the Muslims were at the front lines facing the enemy.
When I saw that,
I prepared myself and seized a wooden post,
then went down from the fortress toward him,
struck him with the post until I killed him,
severed his head,
and threw it down at the Jews.
When they saw what had befallen their companion,
they said:
"We knew that Muhammad
would never leave the people of this fortress without anyone to defend them."
So they dispersed.
Thus, I was the first woman
to kill a man from among the polytheists.
So, who am I?
The answer:
Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib,
may Allah be pleased with her.
Pause
and learn about the Companions, scholars, and notable figures.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
from Banu Asad,
and among the bravest knights in both the Pre-Islamic Era and Islam.
I used to be counted as equal to a thousand horsemen.
I embraced Islam in the ninth year of the Hijrah
and pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
But when I returned with my tribe's delegation to our homelands,
I apostatized from Islam
and claimed prophethood,
shortly before the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Then my following grew,
and people rallied behind me after his death (peace be upon him).
The Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) fought against me,
and I killed several senior Companions.
Then I was defeated when I encountered Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him),
so I fled to the Levant.
Later, I embraced Islam again,
came before the Commander of the Faithful, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him),
and pledged allegiance to him upon Islam.
He accepted it from me and pardoned me.
I took part in the Muslim conquests
and dedicated my horsemanship and bravery to the service of Islam,
in order to expiate for my past apostasy.
At the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah,
the Muslims were under the command of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him),
facing the Persians,
who held overwhelming superiority in numbers and equipment.
Before the battle commenced,
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched me
at the head of a seven-man vanguard
to gather reconnaissance on the Persian army,
instructing us to capture a Persian soldier if we could.
As soon as we exited the Muslim camp,
we were surprised by the Persian army right before us,
having thought they were far away from us.
My companions deemed it best to turn back,
but I refused to return before completing the mission assigned by Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him).
So my six companions returned to the Muslim army,
while I rode forward on my horse,
storming into the Persian army all alone.
I circled behind their lines
until I reached a large white pavilion
with horses of the finest pedigree tethered before it.
I realized it was the tent of the Persian commander, Rustam,
so I severed its ropes and cut the horses loose,
causing the tent to collapse on whoever was inside.
Then I rode off,
intending thereby to humiliate them.
As I pulled back toward the Muslim camp,
three of their elite champion horsemen pursued me.
Once we were beyond their camp,
I turned to fight them:
I killed two of them
and took the third prisoner,
bringing him before the Muslim camp.
Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the prisoner:
"Tell me about your army."
In utter astonishment, the Persian replied:
"Shall I tell you about my army?!
Rather, let me tell you about this man
who captured me!
Indeed, we have never seen the likes of this man:
he penetrated two fortified camps
through which an entire army could not pass,
severed the ropes of our commander's tent,
set his horses loose,
killed two of our finest horsemen,
and captured me—
and I used to consider myself among the bravest of the Persians!
What an extraordinary hero is this!"
That Persian then embraced Islam
and provided Sa'd with vital intelligence about the Persian army.
I continued steadfast upon my Islam and jihad,
taking part in the battles
and fighting for the cause of Allah,
until I fell as a martyr at the Battle of Nahawand.
So, who am I?
The answer: Tulayhah ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Pause
and learn about the Companions, scholars, and notable figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the senior Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
and an ally of the Ansar.
I was present with the Prophet (peace be upon him) at Uhud
and all subsequent military expeditions.
I enjoyed the utmost trust of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
serving as his keeper of secrets,
and I received directly from him hadiths concerning the tribulations that will occur until the Day of Resurrection,
such that I came to envision them as though seeing them with my own eyes.
During the Battle of the Trench,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted
to ascertain intelligence about the confederates who had gathered against us.
We were in the midst of a bitterly cold, harsh night,
afflicted with fear and hunger.
He (peace be upon him) called out:
"Is there not a man who will bring me news of the enemy,
whom Allah will place alongside me on the Day of Resurrection?"
We remained silent, and none of us answered him.
Then he asked a second time:
"Is there not a man who will bring us news of the enemy,
whom Allah will place alongside me on the Day of Resurrection?"
We remained silent, and none of us answered him.
Then he asked a third time,
and still none of us answered him.
So he (peace be upon him) said to me:
"Stand up and bring us news of the enemy." Having called me by name, I had no choice but to stand. He (peace be upon him) said to me, "Go and bring me news of the enemy, and do not provoke them against me." I replied, "I hear and obey, O Messenger of Allah!" When I went out,
it felt as if I were walking in a heated bath until I reached the enemy and learned their news.
As I prepared to return, I saw Abu Sufyan, the leader of the polytheists at the time, warming his back by the fire.
I placed an arrow in the notch of the bow, intending to shoot him,
but then I remembered the instruction of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):
"Do not provoke them against me."
So I returned the arrow to its place;
had I shot it, I would have struck him.
I returned to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
and informed him of the enemy's news.
Once I had completed my mission,
the severe cold I had previously felt returned to me,
so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wrapped me
in the extra fold of a cloak he was wearing while praying.
I remained asleep until dawn,
and when the caller announced the prayer,
he (peace be upon him) said to me:
"Wake up, O heavy sleeper!"
When death approached me, I wept.
It was said to me, "What makes you weep?"
I said, "I do not weep out of regret for this worldly life;
rather, death is dearer to me.
"Yet I do not know what I am advancing toward—
toward Allah's pleasure or toward His wrath."
When they brought me the shroud,
I looked at it,
and found it to be expensive.
So I said, "This is no shroud for me;
two white sheets are quite sufficient for me,
without a shirt.
For I shall remain in the grave only a short time,
until it is exchanged for something better than them,
or something worse than them."
Then I murmured some words, saying,
"Welcome to death!
A beloved visitor arriving upon yearning;
he who regrets shall never prosper."
Then my soul departed.
So, who am I?
Pause,
and learn about the Companions, the scholars,
and the notable figures.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I was one of the poor Companions.
I was short and of homely appearance,
poor, and of obscure lineage,
yet possessed a sense of humor.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, loved me,
and he once said to me,
"Will you not get married?"
I said, "And who would marry me off, O Messenger of Allah?"
He, peace be upon him, replied,
"I will marry you off."
I said, "In that case, you will find me unmarketable,
O Messenger of Allah."
But he said, "Yet in the sight of Allah, you are not unmarketable."
One day, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said
to a man from the Ansar,
"Marry your daughter to me."
The Ansari rejoiced and said,
"Yes, with utmost delight and honor, O Messenger of Allah!"
But he, peace be upon him, said,
"I do not want her for myself;
I want her for this one,"
pointing toward me.
The man hesitated and said,
"Let me consult her mother."
When he consulted her,
the mother said, "No, by Allah,
we shall never marry her to him!"
The young woman overheard the matter,
and asked her parents, "Who asked for my hand from you?"
So her mother informed her,
to which she said, "Would you turn down the Messenger of Allah?
Hand me over to him,
for Allah will never let me go to waste."
Her father then went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and informed him,
so the Messenger of Allah married her to me.
And he prayed,
"O Allah, pour abundant good upon her,
and do not make her life
one of hardship and distress."
After that, there was no woman among the Ansar more prosperous than her
in wealth and spending.
A few days after my marriage,
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out
on a military expedition, and I set out with him.
When Allah granted him victory,
he said to his Companions,
"Are you missing anyone?"
They replied, "We are missing so-and-so."
He said, "Look again, are you missing anyone?"
They replied, "No."
He, peace be upon him, said,
"Yet I am missing Julaybib,"
referring to me.
"Search for him among the slain."
They searched for me and found me,
and they said, "O Messenger of Allah,
here he is beside seven of the polytheists;
he killed seven,
and then they killed him."
The Prophet said, "He is of me and I am of him!
He is of me and I am of him!
He is of me and I am of him!"
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, placed me
upon his forearms,
and my grave was dug for me,
having no bed other than the forearms of the Messenger of Allah.
Then he, peace be upon him, placed me
into my grave with his noble hands.
So, who am I?
The answer is Julaybib,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Pause, and learn about the Companions,
the scholars, and the notable figures.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I was one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I came to him one day
while he was delivering a sermon, as I was newly embraced
in Islam.
I said, "O Messenger of Allah!
A stranger has come asking about his religion,
not knowing what it is."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, stepped down toward me,
leaving his sermon,
and sat upon a chair with iron legs.
He began teaching me
from what Allah had taught him,
and then returned to his sermon and completed the rest of it.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, taught me
Surah Al-Baqarah,
and I never abandoned it nor did it ever slip my mind
since the Messenger of Allah taught it to me.
Along with it, I learned
whatever else I could from the Qur'an.
My back never ached from standing in the night prayer.
Whenever I finished my prayer,
I used to supplicate, saying:
"O Allah, grant me life as long as life is
good for me, and cause me to die
a pure, wholesome death,
envied by any who hear of it among my fellow
Muslims for its chastity
and purity,
and make my death martyrdom in Your path."
And my prayer was answered for me.
I went out in an army commanded by 'Abd al-Rahman
Ibn Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him.
When night fell, I stood in prayer
away from my companions.
Towards the end of the night,
I pillowed my head on my armor and fell asleep.
The army marched off without noticing me,
and the enemy spotted me.
Some non-Arab enemy soldiers came upon me while I was asleep,
took my sword, and killed me.
Then my companions noticed my absence
and returned for me,
only to find those enemy soldiers seeking to plunder me
and mutilate my body.
When they saw the Muslims, they fled and left me.
So, who am I?
Abu Rifa'ah,
Tamim Ibn Usayd al-'Adawi, may Allah be pleased with him.
Pause,
and learn about the Companions, the scholars,
and the notable figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I was one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I embraced Islam in the ninth year of the Hijrah,
took part in the Battle of Tabuk,
and was among the poor Muslims
residing with Ahl al-Suffah.
I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and prayed Fajr with him.
Whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
concluded the prayer,
he would examine the faces of his Companions.
When he approached me, he did not recognize me, and asked,
"Who are you?" So I informed him.
He asked, "What brought you?"
I said, "I came to pledge allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allah."
He said, "In what you love
and what you dislike?" I said, "Yes."
So I embraced Islam and pledged allegiance.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
was preparing for Tabuk,
and I had no mount to carry me.
So I began calling out, "Who will provide me a mount
in exchange for my share of the spoils?"
Ka'b Ibn 'Ujrah, may Allah be pleased with him, called me
and said, "I will carry you,
taking turns: a turn by night and a turn by day;
your hand will share equally with mine in food,
and your share of the spoils will be mine." I agreed,
and we set out.
May Allah reward him with good:
he would give me my turn to ride and even grant me extra,
and I would eat with him and he would save food for me.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, dispatched
Khalid Ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him,
to Ukaydir al-Kindi
at Dawmat al-Jandal, I went out with him.
We took spoils, and my share was six young she-camels.
I brought them to Ka'b Ibn 'Ujrah
and said, "Come out!"
Ka'b came out smiling,
saying, "May Allah bless
them for you! I did not provide you a mount
intending to take anything from you."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came to us
one day while we were sitting
in the Suffah, visibly affected
by hunger, and said:
"How will you be when you are fully satiated
with wheat bread and olive oil,
"You have eaten all types of food,
and worn all kinds of garments,
so are you better today or back then?"
We replied, "Back then."
He said, "No, you are better today.
Not many days passed
before we were eating all types of food
and wearing all kinds of garments."
So, who am I?
The answer: Wathilah ibn al-Asqa'
(may Allah be pleased with him).
Pause and get to know
the Companions, scholars, and 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),
from the Ansar, known for courage,
resourcefulness, sacrifice, and devotion.
I embraced Islam early on
and took part in the battles alongside the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Abu Rafi',
the Jewish leader, used to harm the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
and aid the disbelievers against him. So, the Messenger of Allah
sent
men from the Ansar
to assassinate him and relieve the Muslims
of his evil, appointing me as their leader.
Abu Rafi' was in a fortress of his
at Khaybar, so we set out toward him.
We did not reach the fortress until the sun had set
and the shepherds were returning with the livestock
to the fortress. I said to my companions,
"Stay where you are,
for I am going to slip in and act politely with the gatekeeper,
that I might enter."
So I approached until I got close to the gate,
then covered my face with my garment
as if I were relieving myself.
The gatekeeper called out to me, "Hey you!
If you want to enter, then come in,
for I want to lock the gate."
So I entered the fortress and hid
near the gate to assess my situation
and arrange my plan.
Then he hung the keys on a peg
and left. I went up to the keys,
took them, and unlocked the gate
slightly, then looked up at a room
in the highest part of the fortress where some people were staying up chatting.
I recognized that it was Abu Rafi's room.
When his night companions departed,
I climbed up to him.
Every time I opened a door, I locked it behind me,
until I reached Abu Rafi'.
I found him in a pitch-black room
with his wife, unable to distinguish
between the two of them because of the extreme darkness.
So I called out to him, "O Abu Rafi'!"
He said, "Who is this?"
I lunged toward the sound
and struck him with my sword.
Then I quickly backed away.
I realized he had not died,
so I returned to him, disguising my voice,
and said, "What is wrong with you, O Abu Rafi'?"
He said, "May your mother be bereft of you!
A man in the house just struck me with a sword!"
Knowing his location,
I struck him with the sword a second time.
Then I pressed the tip of the sword into his belly
until it came out through his back.
Then I hurried out,
opening the doors one by one.
My eyesight was weak,
so I fell from the staircase and broke my leg.
I bound it with my turban
and proceeded until I sat down near
the fortress gate.
When morning broke,
a announcer stood upon the wall, crying out:
"The merchant of Hijaz has died!"
So I went to my companions and said,
"Deliverance! Deliverance!
Allah has killed Abu Rafi'!"
We then set out toward Medina,
and when we entered the city,
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
was upon the pulpit delivering a sermon.
When he saw us, he said, "May your faces be triumphant!" We replied,
"And yours, O Messenger of Allah!"
When he saw my broken leg,
he said, "Stretch out your leg."
I stretched it out, and he wiped over it;
it was healed as if I had never suffered from it at all.
So, who am I?
The answer: 'Abdullah ibn 'Atik
(may Allah be pleased with him).
Pause and get to know the Companions!
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am a Mother of the Believers
and a wife of the noble Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
I was known as the Mother of the Poor,
because I used to feed them and give them charity,
both before Islam and after it.
I was the first of the Mothers of the Believers
to be buried in al-Baqi'.
During my life, I maintained
good relations
with everyone around me
and with all the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
No one ever mentioned me
except with praise.
I occupied myself
with remembrance, worship,
and helping the needy,
keeping myself away from gossip,
people's problems, and their private affairs.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) married me
after the martyrdom of my husband at the Battle of Uhud.
I did not remain long
in the household of prophethood,
for I passed away in Rabi' al-Akhir
of the fourth year after Hijrah,
after spending the most beautiful eight months of my life
among the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
So, who am I?
The answer: The Mother of the Believers,
Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (may Allah be pleased with her).
Pause!
Pause and get to know the Companions,
scholars, and prominent figures!
A new challenge:
Who am I?
From the Ansar,
from the Khazraj, from the clan of Banu al-Najjar,
I am the brother of Anas ibn Malik,
the servant of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
I was present with the Prophet (peace be upon him) in
all the battles except Badr.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said regarding me:
"There may be an unkempt, dust-covered person, held in no esteem,
who, if he were to swear by Allah, Allah would fulfill his oath."
Who is this man?
After the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
I participated in the Wars of Apostasy,
and I was one of the keys to victory for the Muslims
on the Day of al-Yamamah.
For after Musaylimah the Liar and those with him fortified themselves
in a massive orchard
surrounded by a high wall, known as 'The Garden',
and after the siege dragged on,
I said to my companions,
"Lift me up on a shield upon the tips of your spears,
then hurl me over into the garden!"
So they did.
I stormed the garden
and faced the army of Musaylimah the Liar all by myself.
I fought those defending the gate of the garden
until I managed to open it,
and the Muslims entered, exclaiming,
"Allah is the Greatest!"
Thus, we won the battle.
On that day, I sustained
over eighty wounds,
and Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed
with me for a month, treating my wounds.
I was famous for duels before battles,
having slain one hundred brave warriors
in single combat.
Because of my extreme courage, valor,
and fearless attitude toward death,
the Caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote
to the army commanders
instructing them never to appoint me over an army or a detachment,
reasoning
that I was a force leading straight to destruction.
In one of the battles while we were besieging the Persians,
the Persians were lowering iron grappling hooks
on heated chains
that would pierce a man's body until he died.
One of them caught my brother Anas
(may Allah be pleased with him).
I rushed to him and grabbed the chain with my bare hands
to free him from it,
until I succeeded in doing so.
Then I looked at my hands
and saw that the flesh had fallen off from the intense heat.
Later, I attained martyrdom
in the great Battle of Tustar.
So, who am I?
The answer: Al-Bara' ibn Malik
(may Allah be pleased with him).
Pause
and get to know the Companions, scholars,
and prominent figures!
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am from among the Emigrant Companions.
I embraced Islam early on, while the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was still in the house of al-Arqam,
and I later made both migrations.
My mother was Arwa bint 'Abd al-Muttalib
ibn Hashim, the paternal aunt of the Prophet,
peace be upon him.
One day, I entered upon my mother and said to her,
"I have followed Muhammad."
She replied, "The most deserving of your support
and aid is your maternal cousin.
By Allah, if we had the strength and capability
that men possess, we would certainly protect him
and defend him." So I said,
"O my mother, what prevents you
from accepting Islam and following him,
when your brother Hamzah has already embraced Islam?"
She said, "I am waiting to see what my sisters will do,
and then I shall join them."
I said, "I implore you by Allah
to go to him, greet him with peace,
believe in him, and testify
that there is no god but Allah."
She said, "Then I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
Thereafter, she used to defend the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Once, she grabbed a camel's jawbone
and struck someone with it
until he fell drenched in his own blood.
One day, I saw Abu Jahl
accosting the Prophet, peace be upon him,
accompanied by a number of disbelievers from Quraysh,
and they harmed him
and tormented him,
severely abusing him,
inflicting injury upon him.
So I went straight to Abu Jahl
and struck him a blow that fractured his skull.
They seized me and tied me up,
but my maternal uncle Abu Lahab intervened
until he freed me from their grip.
He then said to my mother, "Do you not see your son?
He has made himself a shield defending Muhammad!"
She replied, "It is the best day of his life,
for he has brought the truth from Allah."
They said,
"Have you also followed Muhammad?"
She replied, "Yes." Who am I?
The answer is Tulayb ibn 'Umayr,
may Allah be pleased with him.