Pause,
and get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the noble souls.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and my mother is Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her.
I was born when my father, peace be upon him, was
thirty-three years old.
I embraced Islam alongside my mother when I was seven years old.
I was blessed with remarkable beauty,
and became known as "the woman of the two migrations,"
for I migrated to Abyssinia,
and later to Medina.
Before the advent of Islam, my father, peace be upon him, married me
to his cousin, 'Utbah ibn Abi Lahab.
But when Allah Almighty revealed:
"May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he perish,"
his father said to him,
"My head is forbidden to yours,
unless you divorce the daughter of Muhammad!"
So he separated from me before the marriage was consummated—
an honor bestowed by Allah Almighty upon His Messenger,
shielding his daughter from being touched by a polytheist.
Then 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, proposed to me,
and my father gave me to him in marriage
by the command of Allah Almighty.
I migrated with him to Abyssinia
on an arduous journey,
during which I suffered a miscarriage with 'Uthman's child.
Later, I gave birth to a son with him,
whom we named 'Abdullah.
When he reached six years of age,
a rooster pecked his eye,
causing his face to swell, and he fell critically ill
and passed away.
In the second year of the Hijrah,
I was stricken by a severe fever,
just as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, decreed
the Battle of Badr.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, set out
along with the Muslims,
but the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered
my husband 'Uthman
to remain by my side
to nurse and care for me.
The Prophet allotted him a share of the spoils of war,
and his reward with Allah was deemed equivalent to that of one who fought in the battle.
No sooner had the bearer of glad tidings arrived in Medina
with news of the Muslim victory at Badr,
than he saw the people of Medina
leveling the earth over my grave;
for my appointed time had arrived,
at the age of twenty-two.
When my father, peace be upon him, returned
from the battle
and learned of my passing,
he went out to Baqi' al-Gharqad,
stood over my grave,
and prayed for Allah's mercy and forgiveness for me.
So, who am I?
The answer:
Ruqayyah, daughter of Muhammad,
may Allah be pleased with her.
They filled life with glories through their deeds,
and through them, the world of mankind flourished in splendor.
Pause and get to know the Companions,
the scholars, and the noble souls.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
hailing from the people of Ta'if.
I was an enslaved man belonging to al-Harith ibn Kaladah of Thaqif.
I was known as the freedman of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
When the Muslims besieged Ta'if
after the Battle of Hunayn,
I was inside the fortress alongside Thaqif.
As the siege wore on,
the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded
a herald to proclaim:
"Whosoever among the enslaved scales down the fortress and comes out to us
is a free man."
Thereupon, there emerged from within the fortress
twenty-three men,
and I was among those who came out.
I climbed over the wall of the great fortress of Ta'if
and slid down using a round pulley (bakrah)
that people drew water with.
I went to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
embraced Islam before him,
and informed him that I was an enslaved man.
So he freed me,
and gave me the agnomen (kunyah) derived from the tool I had used to descend the fortress.
Thus my kunyah became far more famous than my actual name.
Later, Thaqif pleaded with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
to return me to them as an enslaved servant,
but he replied, "No,
he is a freeman of Allah and a freeman of His Messenger."
I lived among the Muslims as a free man,
a devoted worshiper, scholar, and fighter in the cause of Allah.
When death approached me,
my children offered to summon a physician for me,
but I refused.
And as my final moments came upon me,
I said to them, "Where is your physician now,
to restore my soul, if he speaks the truth?"
So, who am I?
The best of generations in standing and exemplars,
following the Messenger in whatever he pursued or spoke.
They were here, pouring forth rain upon our lives like fertile clouds.
Abu Bakrah Nufay' ibn al-Harith al-Thaqafi, may Allah be pleased with him.
They departed, leaving in the conscience a lingering question:
Has ever a star risen and shone brightly as they did?
They filled life with glories through their deeds,
and through them, the world of mankind flourished in grace.
The best of generations in standing and exemplars.
I am one of the Companions,
a Thaqafi from Ta'if.
I came with my delegation to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the Year of Delegations,
and I was the youngest among them.
I went ahead to the Prophet, peace be upon him, before they did,
embraced Islam, and he taught me to recite portions of the Qur'an.
I remained closely attached to Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him,
and he used to teach me the recitation of the Qur'an.
When my people prepared to depart,
they said, "O Messenger of Allah, appoint a leader over us."
He appointed me as their leader, saying, "He is prudent and discerning,
and has committed a substantial portion of the Qur'an to heart."
They gladly accepted and said, "We will never replace a leader
appointed over us by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
So I returned with them to Ta'if
as their leader and their imam in prayer.
One day, I complained to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, of a chronic pain
that I had felt in my body ever since I embraced Islam,
which had brought me close to destruction.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to me:
"Place your hand upon the area of your body where you feel pain,
and say, 'In the name of Allah' (Bismillah) three times,
and say seven times:
'I seek refuge in Allah and His power from the evil of what I experience and fear.'"
I did so,
and the pain vanished completely from me.
Later, something began disturbing me during my prayer,
until I no longer knew what I was praying,
and the Qur'an was slipping away from my memory.
When I realized that,
I traveled to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
He asked, "What has brought you?"
I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
something has been invading my prayers,
until I no longer know what I am praying,
and the Qur'an slips from my memory."
He said, "That is Satan.
Come close."
I drew near to him and knelt upon the tops of my feet.
He struck my chest with his hand,
spat lightly into my mouth,
and commanded, "Depart, O enemy of Allah!"
He did that three times,
and then said,
"Return to your land."
By Allah, Satan never confused me in my prayer ever again,
nor did I ever forget anything I wished to memorize.
I also played a decisive role in preventing Thaqif from committing apostasy;
for I delivered a sermon to them after the passing of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and the subsequent apostasy of many Arab tribes.
I said to them:
"O gathering of Thaqif!
You were the last of the people to enter Islam,
so do not be the first of them to apostatize!"
Thus Allah kept them steadfast.
On another occasion, I had dispatched servants of mine to engage in trade.
When they returned,
I asked,
"What have you brought?"
They said,
"We have brought merchandise
in which every dirham yielded tenfold profit."
I asked,
"And what is this trade you have brought
that yields such tremendous profit?"
They said,
"Wine."
I exclaimed,
"Wine?!
When we have been strictly forbidden from drinking it and selling it?!"
So I began opening the mouths of the vessels
and pouring the wine out onto the streets.
So, who am I?
The best of generations in standing and exemplars,
following the Messenger in whatever he pursued,
pouring forth goodness upon our lives like fertile clouds.
The answer:
'Uthman ibn Abi al-'As al-Thaqafi,
may Allah be pleased with him.
They departed, leaving in the conscience a lingering question:
Has ever a star risen and shone brightly as they did?
They filled life with glories through their deeds,
and through them, the world of mankind flourished in grace.
Pause,
Pause,
and get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the prominent figures—
the best of generations in deeds and exemplary standing.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Emigrants (Muhajirun),
and one of the senior Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I embraced Islam early on,
and I was the first to greet the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the greeting of Islam.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed me to return to my people,
so I called them to Islam,
and I remained among them until the Prophet (peace be upon him) emigrated to Medina.
Then I joined him there, accompanied by my people who had embraced Islam.
I took part alongside him in the Battle of the Trench and subsequent campaigns,
and I was the standard-bearer of my people at the Battle of Hunayn.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) marched toward Tabuk,
men began to fall behind.
The people would say,
"O Messenger of Allah,
so-and-so has fallen behind."
And he (peace be upon him) would reply,
"Leave him be.
If there is any good in him,
Allah will cause him to catch up with you;
and if it be otherwise,
Allah has relieved you of him."
While I was traveling with the army,
my camel slowed me down,
causing me to fall behind the caravan.
People began to say about me what they were saying about those who stayed behind.
As for me,
when I was delayed because of the camel,
I dismounted,
took my belongings, hoisted them onto my back,
and set out on foot following the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) halted at one of his encampments,
and a Muslim man looked out and said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
there is a man walking along the road."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
"Be so-and-so!"
naming me by name.
When the people looked closely at me,
they said, "O Messenger of Allah,
by Allah, it is indeed he!"
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
"May Allah have mercy on him:
he walks alone,
dies alone,
and will be resurrected alone."
And what the Prophet (peace be upon him) foretold came to pass.
For after I took part in the Islamic conquests during the eras of Abu Bakr and 'Umar,
and the early part of the caliphate of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them all),
I asked permission from the Commander of the Believers, 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him),
to move to al-Rabadhah,
and he granted me permission.
So I lived there in solitude.
When death approached me,
I gave instructions to my wife and my servant boy,
saying to them both:
"When I die,
wash me, shroud me,
and place me by the side of the road.
Then, to the very first caravan that passes by you,
say to them:
'This is so-and-so,
a Companion of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.'"
They did just that.
Soon, a caravan from the people of Kufah arrived,
among whom was 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).
They asked, "Who is this deceased person?"
and the two informed them.
Thereupon Ibn Mas'ud wept
and said,
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) spoke the truth
when he said of him:
'May Allah have mercy on him:
he walks alone,
dies alone,
and will be resurrected alone.'"
He and those with him prayed over me,
and he laid me in my grave with his own hands.
So, who am I?
The answer:
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari,
may Allah be pleased with him.
They filled life with glories through their deeds,
and through them the world of mankind flourished in grace,
the best of generations in steadfastness and example.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the younger Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the first child born to the Ansar in Medina after the Hijrah.
My father was also a Companion,
and he was the first among the Ansar to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him)
on the Day of Saqifah.
I was born in Medina fourteen months after the Hijrah,
and my mother brought me to the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He performed tahnik on me
and gave her the glad tidings that I would live a praiseworthy life,
be killed as a martyr,
and enter Paradise.
I heard from the Prophet (peace be upon him) the hadith of the ship,
in which he says:
"The likeness of the one who observes Allah's limits and the one who violates them
is like that of a people who drew lots for their places on a ship.
Some of them occupied its upper deck, while others occupied its lower deck.
Whenever those on the lower deck sought water,
they had to pass by those above them.
So they said,
'If only we made a hole in our portion,
we would not harm those above us.'
If they leave them to do what they intend,
they all perish together;
but if they restrain their hands,
they are saved, and all of them are saved together."
One day,
the poet al-A'sha came to me while he was ill,
at a time when I was governor of Homs.
I said to him,
"What brings you here?"
He replied,
"That you might aid me, uphold our kinship, and settle my debt."
I said,
"By Allah, I do not possess what you seek,
but I shall ask the people for something on your behalf."
Then I stood up and ascended the pulpit,
and said, "O people of Homs!
This is your cousin from Iraq,
and he is asking you for some assistance.
What do you say?"
They replied,
"Decide concerning our wealth as you see fit."
But I refused to impose it on them.
So they said,
"We have decided concerning our wealth:
two dinars from every man."
There were twenty thousand men registered in the military register (diwan),
so I disbursed to him from the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal)
forty thousand dinars.
Then, when their stipends were issued,
I deducted two dinars from the stipend of every man among them.
So, who am I?
The answer:
Al-Nu'man Ibn Bashir,
may Allah be pleased with him.
A question:
Is there any like them—stars high and radiant?
They filled life with glories through their deeds,
and through them the world of mankind flourished in grace.
Pause,
pause,
and get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the eminent figures.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
He gave me a choice, saying,
"Choose for yourself:
if you choose Islam,
I will keep you for myself;
and if you choose Judaism,
I may set you free so that you may rejoin your people."
I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
I have longed for Islam
and believed in you before you even called me.
I have no attachment left to Judaism,
nor do I have in it a father or a brother.
You have given me the choice between disbelief and Islam;
Allah and His Messenger are dearer to me than emancipation
and returning to my people."
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) freed me
and married me,
making my emancipation my bridal gift (mahr).
Then he sent me to Umm Sulaym,
and I stayed with her until my waiting period ('iddah) was completed.
She then prepared me for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came in to me,
he noticed a greenish bruise by my eye,
and asked,
"What is this?"
I said,
"I saw in a dream
as though the moon approached from Yathrib
and fell into my lap.
When I recounted the dream to my cousin,
he slapped me and said,
'Do you wish to marry the king of Yathrib?'
So this mark is from his slap."
Hafsah felt jealous of me one day and said,
"You are the daughter of a Jew!"
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered upon me while I was weeping,
and asked me the reason for my tears.
I told him what Hafsah had said to me,
so he said,
"Say to her:
'Indeed, my father was a prophet,
my uncle was a prophet,
and my husband is a prophet;
so with what do you boast over me?'"
I loved the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, intensely.
When his wives gathered around him during his final illness,
I said,
"By Allah, O Prophet of Allah,
I wish that what has afflicted you was upon me instead."
His wives winked at one another in disapproval,
so the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to them,
"Rinse your mouths."
We asked, "For what reason, O Messenger of Allah?"
He replied,
"Because of your winking at her!
By Allah, she is truly speaking from her heart."
Who am I?
The answer:
Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab,
may Allah be pleased with her.
Did ever a star like them rise high and gleam?
They filled this life with glories through their deeds,
and the world of mankind flourished in grace through them.
Pause,
and get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the noble souls,
the best of generations in stances and example.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Companions,
from the Emigrants (Muhajirun),
and one of the very foremost in accepting Islam.
I was older than the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
by ten years,
and I held a lofty status with him.
I migrated to Medina,
and the Prophet appointed me as commander
over sixty mounted men from the Emigrants.
He tied a battle banner for me,
and it was the first banner ever tied in Islam.
We encountered two hundred men of Quraysh,
led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb,
at the Pass of al-Murrah.
We shot arrows at one another
without engaging in sword combat,
and that was the very first skirmish in Islam.
Then I took part in the Battle of Badr.
At the beginning of the battle,
'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah stepped forward,
followed by his son al-Walid
and his brother Shaybah.
'Utbah called out, saying,
"Who will duel us?"
Some young men of the Ansar stepped forward to face him,
so he asked,
"Who are you?"
They replied,
"We are from the Ansar."
He said,
"We have no business with you;
we only want our own kinsmen."
Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Stand up, O Hamzah!
Stand up, O 'Ali!"
And he pointed to me and said,
"Stand up!"
Hamzah advanced toward 'Utbah and killed him,
and 'Ali advanced toward al-Walid and killed him.
As for me,
I dueled Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah.
We exchanged blows for a while,
then each one of us
struck the other.
Shaybah struck my leg,
and I fell to the ground.
Then Hamzah and 'Ali charged at Shaybah and killed him,
and they carried me to the Muslim camp while my last breath remained.
Later, I passed away at al-Safra',
where I was buried,
during the last ten nights of Ramadan.
Who am I?
The answer:
'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, may Allah be pleased with him.
They departed, leaving in the conscience a question:
Did ever a star like them rise high and gleam?
They filled this life with glories through their deeds,
and the world of mankind flourished in grace through them.
Pause and get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the noble souls,
the best of generations in stances and example.
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 tribe of Ghatafan.
I was exceptionally sharp-witted,
holding an esteemed standing among both the Arabs and the Jews.
I used to visit the Jews of Banu Qurayzah,
staying with them for days at a time,
drinking of their drinks
and eating of their food;
then they would load me with dates,
and I would return with them to my family.
When the confederates marched to fight the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
I marched with my people while still adhering to my pagan faith.
During our siege of Medina,
Allah cast Islam into my heart,
so I kept it secret from my people
and slipped away until I reached the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
When he saw me, he asked,
"What brings you here?"
I said,
"I have come to you as a Muslim,
and I bear witness that what you brought is the truth.
Command me, O Messenger of Allah, with whatever you wish."
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied,
"You are only a single man,
so sow discord among them on our behalf as much as you can."
I said,
"I shall do so, O Messenger of Allah."
I went to Banu Qurayzah and said,
"Keep my visit secret."
They said, "We will."
I said,
"Indeed, Quraysh and Ghatafan
will ultimately withdraw from Muhammad;
if they find an opportunity, they will seize it,
but if not, they will depart back to their homelands
and leave you alone to face Muhammad.
Do not fight alongside them until you take hostages from them,
for they will not leave while their hostages are in your hands."
They said,
"You have offered sound counsel and sincere advice."
Then I went to Abu Sufyan
and said to him,
"I have come to you with sincere advice,
so keep it confidential."
He said, "I will."
I said,
"Know that Qurayzah have regretted their breach with Muhammad,
and they desire reconciliation and rapprochement with him.
While I was with them, they sent word to him saying,
'We will take from Quraysh and Ghatafan
seventy of their noblemen
and hand them over to you to strike their necks,
and we will stand with you against Quraysh and Ghatafan
until we drive them away from you.'
So if they send word to you asking for hostages,
do not surrender a single man to them, and beware of them."
Then Qurayzah sent word to Quraysh, saying,
"By Allah, we will not go out to fight Muhammad with you
until you give us hostages from among yourselves to remain in our hands,
for we fear that you might abandon the battlefield
and leave us alone to face Muhammad."
Abu Sufyan thought to himself,
"By Allah, that man spoke the truth."
So he sent a reply to them, saying,
"By Allah, we will not give you any hostages;
rather, come out and fight alongside us!"
The Jews said,
"We swear by the Torah
that the report the man gave us is the absolute truth."
Thus, each side lost faith in the support of the other,
and the alliance fractured completely;
their unity broke down and they were divided,
which was the first herald of their defeat.
Then Allah sent against them the fierce wind
and unseen forces from Himself,
bringing about their undoing.
Who am I?
The answer:
Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Did ever a star like them rise high and gleam?
They filled this life with glories through their deeds,
and the world of mankind flourished in grace through them,
the best of generations in stances and example.
I am one of the Companions,
from the Ansar,
and one of the leaders on the night of the Pledge of al-'Aqabah.
I accepted Islam because of a woman:
I went to propose marriage to Umm Sulaym
after the death of her husband,
but she said,
"A man like you is not easily turned away,
but you are an unbeliever.
If you embrace Islam,
I will gladly accept you as a husband,
and I will take your conversion to Islam as my dowry."
So I embraced Islam
and subsequently 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 Islam itself."
One day,
a young son of ours fell ill.
I went out to attend to some of my errands,
and during my absence the boy passed away.
When I returned,
I asked, "How is the boy doing?"
My wife Umm Sulaym replied,
"He is more at rest than he was before."
She then brought me dinner,
and I ate;
after that, I lay with her.
When I had finished,
she said,
"What would you think if a certain family
borrowed something from another family,
and when the owners asked for their borrowed property back,
they refused to return it?"
I said,
"They have no right to do that."
She then said,
"Indeed, your son was a trust lent to you by Allah Almighty;
He let you enjoy him as long as He willed,
and He took him back when He willed."
This struck me deeply.
In the morning,
I went to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and told him what my wife, Umm Sulaym, had done.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked,
"Did you spend the night together as husband and wife?"
I replied, "Yes."
He said,
"May Allah bless you both in this night of yours."
Consequently, Allah granted me nine sons,
all of whom memorized the Qur'an.
One day, I said to Umm Sulaym,
"I heard the voice of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sounding frail,
and I recognized the signs of hunger in it;
do you have anything to eat?"
She replied, "Yes,"
and brought out some barley loaves,
preparing some bread.
Then I went to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and found him sitting in the mosque surrounded by people.
I said to him, "O Messenger of Allah,
I have prepared some food for you."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to those with him,
"Stand up, everyone."
So he set out, and I rushed ahead of them
until I reached Umm Sulaym
and said to her,
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has come along with the people,
and we have nothing to feed them all!"
She replied,
"Allah and His Messenger know best."
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, arrived
and said,
"Bring what you have, O Umm Sulaym."
So she brought that bread to him,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, supplicated over it whatever Allah willed him to say.
Then he said to me,
"Admit ten men."
I admitted them,
and they ate until they were fully satisfied, and then left.
Then he said,
"Admit another ten."
I admitted them,
and they ate until they were fully satisfied, and then left.
And it continued like this
until all the people had eaten,
and they were seventy or eighty men in total.
After the passing of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
I fasted continuously for twenty-some years,
never breaking my fast except on the day of Eid or during illness,
until death overtook me.
So, who am I?
Abu Talhah al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him.
Pause,
and learn about the Companions, the scholars, and the notables.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Companions,
a Hudhalite and an ally of Banu Zuhrah.
In my youth in Mecca,
I used to tend the sheep of 'Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu'ayt.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed by me,
accompanied by Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,
and he said,
"O young boy,
do you have any milk?"
I said, "Yes,
but I have been entrusted with them."
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Is there a young ewe that has not yet mated with a ram?"
I said, "Yes,"
and brought him a young ewe.
He wiped its udder,
and milk began to flow.
He milked it into a vessel,
drank, gave Abu Bakr to drink, and then gave me to drink.
Then he said to the udder,
"Contract,"
and it shrank back.
I said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
teach me some of these words."
He patted my head and said,
"Indeed, you are a boy destined to be taught."
So I embraced Islam then and there,
and was among the very earliest converts,
before the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered the house of al-Arqam.
I remained closely attached to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in Mecca,
and was bold in practicing the faith;
I was the first to recite the Qur'an publicly in Mecca after the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I endured what the earliest Muslims endured of the persecution of Quraysh,
until I migrated to Abyssinia,
and later to Medina.
I also remained constantly by the side of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in Medina:
I used to help him put on his sandals,
walk before him carrying his staff,
and when he reached his gathering,
I would take off his sandals,
tuck them under my arms,
and hand him his staff.
I used to enter his private quarters before him carrying his staff,
and during journeys,
I was the keeper of the secrets of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his bedding,
his tooth-stick, his sandals, and his water for purification.
I was the one who screened the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, when he bathed,
awakened him when he slept,
and kept him company when he walked,
to the point that some of the Companions thought I was of his household, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I took part in Badr and in all the battles alongside the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
In the blessed Battle of Badr,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Who will go and see what became of Abu Jahl?"
I said, "I will, O Messenger of Allah."
Abu Jahl had been one of the fiercest torturers against me in Mecca.
I went to him and found him lying prostrate,
with his last breath remaining after having been struck down by the sons of 'Afra'.
I stood upon his chest and killed him.
Then I came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said,
"I have killed Abu Jahl!"
He asked, "By Allah, besides Whom there is no other deity?"
He repeated it three times,
and then said, "Allah is the Greatest!
Come and show him to me."
So we went, and there he lay, struck down and slain.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"This was the Pharaoh of this Ummah."
So, who am I?
The best of generations in their stands and exemplary deeds,
following the Messenger in whatever he pursued or spoke.
They refreshed the barren clouds of our lives.
The answer: 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him.
They departed, leaving a question echoing in the conscience:
Has any star ever risen and shone as brilliantly as they did?
They filled life with glories through their righteous deeds,
and the world of mankind flourished through their radiant grace.