1 00:00:00,460 --> 00:00:03,459 Pause. 2 00:00:03,459 --> 00:00:08,460 Get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the distinguished figures. 3 00:00:12,460 --> 00:00:16,460 Here is a new challenge: who am I? 4 00:00:16,460 --> 00:00:23,980 I am the companion of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 5 00:00:23,980 --> 00:00:26,980 and the first muezzin of Islam. 6 00:00:26,980 --> 00:00:28,980 I was born in Makkah 7 00:00:28,980 --> 00:00:33,079 and was an Abyssinian slave belonging to the tribe of Banu Jumah. 8 00:00:33,079 --> 00:00:36,079 When I heard of Islam, I accepted it, 9 00:00:36,079 --> 00:00:39,079 whereupon my masters seized me and tortured me. 10 00:00:39,079 --> 00:00:43,079 They cast me onto the sun-baked sand of Makkah, 11 00:00:43,079 --> 00:00:47,079 placing heavy boulders upon my chest so that I might renounce my religion. 12 00:00:47,079 --> 00:00:50,079 They used to hand me over to the children, 13 00:00:50,079 --> 00:00:55,079 who would drag me through the mountain passes of Makkah while beating me, 14 00:00:55,079 --> 00:01:00,079 saying to me: "You will remain like this until you die, 15 00:01:00,079 --> 00:01:05,079 or until you disbelieve in Muhammad and worship al-Lat and al-'Uzza." 16 00:01:05,079 --> 00:01:10,079 Yet amidst that severe affliction and excruciating torment, I would say: 17 00:01:10,079 --> 00:01:14,239 "He is One, He is One; He is One, He is One." 18 00:01:14,239 --> 00:01:18,239 Then one day, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by me; 19 00:01:18,239 --> 00:01:22,239 he purchased me from them and set me free. 20 00:01:22,239 --> 00:01:25,239 Thus 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: 21 00:01:25,239 --> 00:01:29,239 "Abu Bakr is our master, and he set free our master." 22 00:01:29,239 --> 00:01:32,140 I migrated to Madinah 23 00:01:32,140 --> 00:01:36,140 and lived there by the side of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 24 00:01:36,140 --> 00:01:38,200 and in his service. 25 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,200 When the call to prayer was instituted, 26 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,200 the Prophet, peace be upon him, chose me 27 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,200 to be his first muezzin. 28 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,200 So I called the adhan for him throughout his lifetime. 29 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:54,969 One day, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked me, 30 00:01:54,969 --> 00:01:59,969 saying: "Tell me of the most hopeful deed you have performed in Islam, 31 00:01:59,969 --> 00:02:04,969 for I heard the rustle of your footsteps before me in Paradise." 32 00:02:04,969 --> 00:02:07,969 I replied: "O Messenger of Allah, 33 00:02:07,969 --> 00:02:10,969 I have not performed any deed that is more hopeful to me 34 00:02:10,969 --> 00:02:15,969 than that whenever I purify myself at any hour of the night or day, 35 00:02:15,969 --> 00:02:21,969 I pray with that purification whatever prayer has been prescribed for me to perform." 36 00:02:21,969 --> 00:02:27,729 When the Prophet, peace be upon him, passed away, 37 00:02:27,729 --> 00:02:29,729 I stopped calling the adhan 38 00:02:29,729 --> 00:02:34,729 and set out for jihad and garrison duty for the cause of Allah in the Levant. 39 00:02:34,729 --> 00:02:39,789 Later, I came to Madinah during the caliphate of 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, 40 00:02:39,789 --> 00:02:46,789 and the Muslims requested that I raise the call to prayer in the Mosque of the Prophet, peace be upon him. 41 00:02:46,789 --> 00:02:51,789 The Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, urged me persistently to do so, 42 00:02:51,789 --> 00:02:53,789 so I granted their request. 43 00:02:53,789 --> 00:02:56,789 I ascended the roof of the Mosque to call the adhan, 44 00:02:56,789 --> 00:02:58,789 but no sooner had I begun with the takbir— 45 00:02:58,789 --> 00:03:00,789 "Allah is the Greatest, 46 00:03:00,789 --> 00:03:02,789 Allah is the Greatest"— 47 00:03:02,789 --> 00:03:06,789 than Madinah shook with weeping, 48 00:03:06,789 --> 00:03:12,889 as if the people remembered their days with the Prophet, peace be upon him. 49 00:03:12,889 --> 00:03:15,050 And when I reached: 50 00:03:15,050 --> 00:03:19,050 "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," 51 00:03:19,050 --> 00:03:21,050 weeping overcame me, 52 00:03:21,050 --> 00:03:25,050 and the voices of the people rose in sobbing. 53 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:33,139 No day was ever seen in Madinah with more weeping after the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 54 00:03:33,139 --> 00:03:35,849 than that day. 55 00:03:35,849 --> 00:03:39,849 After that memorable and tearful night, 56 00:03:39,849 --> 00:03:42,849 I packed my riding mounts and returned to the Levant, 57 00:03:42,849 --> 00:03:44,849 remaining stationed there 58 00:03:44,849 --> 00:03:47,909 until my death came to me. 59 00:03:47,909 --> 00:03:49,909 As I was on my deathbed, 60 00:03:49,909 --> 00:03:51,909 my wife exclaimed: 61 00:03:51,909 --> 00:03:53,939 "O what a tragedy!" 62 00:03:53,939 --> 00:03:54,939 But I said: 63 00:03:54,939 --> 00:03:56,939 "Rather, what joy! 64 00:03:56,939 --> 00:03:58,939 Tomorrow we shall meet our beloved ones— 65 00:03:58,939 --> 00:04:01,939 Muhammad and his companions!" 66 00:04:01,939 --> 00:04:05,639 So, who am I? 67 00:04:05,639 --> 00:04:09,639 Share your answers with us in the comments below the video, 68 00:04:09,639 --> 00:04:13,900 and we will pin the correct answer in the comments section 69 00:04:13,900 --> 00:04:15,900 upon the release of the next episode, 70 00:04:15,900 --> 00:04:17,899 Allah willing. 71 00:04:17,899 --> 00:04:23,279 They were the best of generations in stance and example, 72 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:28,279 following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke. 73 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:30,279 They were here, 74 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,279 quenching the clouds of our lives, 75 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,279 and so our stands— 76 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,279 their remembrance rises high. 77 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:44,279 They departed, leaving a question in our conscience: 78 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:49,279 Has a star like them ever risen and shone in the sky? 79 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:54,279 They filled life with proud glories by their deeds, 80 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:58,279 and the world of mankind flourished through them.