Pause and discover the Companions, scholars, and prominent figures.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Mothers of the Believers and a wife of the noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And the most beloved of people to him.
He married me as a virgin before the migration to Medina.
And he never married any virgin besides me.
Then he consummated our marriage when I was nine years old,
After his return from the Battle of Badr,
In the second year of the Hijrah.
I remained with him and enjoyed his favor until his passing.
I narrated abundant knowledge from him,
So much so that the scholars considered me the absolute most knowledgeable woman of the Ummah in fiqh.
Divine revelation used to descend upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
While he was with me under my blanket.
And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, declared
That my superiority over other women
Is like the superiority of Tharid over all other food.
During the Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq,
I set out with the army in the company of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Along the way, I went aside to relieve myself,
And the army moved on without noticing my absence.
When I returned to their camp, I found no one.
So I stayed put, hoping they would miss me and return for me.
Then the noble Companion Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal, may Allah be pleased with him, came along.
He took me and brought me back to catch up with the army.
When the hypocrites saw us,
They slandered us with the Lie (al-Ifk) and said,
"By Allah, neither did he remain safe from her, nor did she from him!"
But Allah Almighty declared my innocence from above seven heavens,
And revealed concerning me Qur'anic verses that will be recited until the Day of Resurrection,
In magnificent verses from Surah an-Nur.
Because of me, the verse of Tayammum (dry ablution) was revealed,
When I lost my necklace while we were on a journey.
I went to search for it,
Detaining the army when they were without any water.
When the prayer time arrived,
Allah revealed the verse of Tayammum.
Thereupon, Usayd ibn Hudayr, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
"May Allah reward you with good!
For by Allah, no hardship has ever befallen you that you disliked,
Except that Allah made it a source of good for you and for us.
This is not the first of your blessings, O family of Abu Bakr!"
And my father said to me,
"By Allah, my dear daughter, you are truly blessed!
Look at what blessing and ease
Allah has granted the Muslims through your detaining them."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, once raced with me
On one of his journeys,
And I outran him.
Later, when I grew older and gained weight,
He raced me again and won,
Then said, "This one is for that one."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed away
In my room and on my assigned night,
And Allah joined my saliva with his at the time of his death,
And his soul was taken while he rested between my chest and my neck.
So, who am I?
The answer:
Aisha bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both.
Pause
And discover 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,
And among the earliest people to embrace Islam in Mecca.
I migrated to Abyssinia,
Then returned to Mecca,
Where I was confined and detained,
Unable to migrate to Medina
Even after the Prophet, peace be upon him, migrated there.
So I remained in Mecca
Until the Prophet, peace be upon him, dispatched
An expedition of Muslims
Led by 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, may Allah be pleased with him.
They encountered a force from Quraysh
Led by 'Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl.
I had been forced out with the polytheists,
But when the two groups met without engaging in battle,
I separated myself from the polytheists
And joined the Muslim expedition.
I participated in all the major battles alongside the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And I was the first person whose horse galloped in the cause of Allah.
I was swift to answer the call to jihad,
A brave warrior equal to a thousand horsemen.
At the Battle of Badr,
I rode out on my horse with the Muslims.
When the caravan escaped us
And battle became imminent,
The Prophet, peace be upon him, consulted his Companions,
Saying,
"Give me your counsel, O people."
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, stood up
And spoke excellently.
Then 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, stood up
And spoke likewise.
Then I stood up and said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
Go forward to what Allah has commanded you,
For we are with you.
By Allah, we will not say to you as the Children of Israel said to Moses:
“They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here.” (5:24)
'We are sitting right here.'
Rather,
“They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here.” (5:24)
'We will fight alongside you both!'
By the One Who sent you with the truth,
If you were to take us to Bark al-Ghimad,
We would fight alongside you against all resistance until you reached it."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, spoke well of me
And supplicated for me.
A long time after the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
A man passed by me
And said,
"Blessed are these two eyes that have seen the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him!
By Allah, how we wish we had seen what you saw!"
I listened to what he said
And felt astonishment,
Then I turned to him and said,
"What drives one of you to wish for a scene that Allah spared him from,
Not knowing how he would have fared had he witnessed it?
By Allah, there were people who witnessed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Whom Allah cast face-down into Hellfire
Because they did not respond to him nor believe him.
Do you not praise Allah for bringing you forth from your mothers' wombs
Knowing none but your Lord,
Believing in what your Prophet brought,
Having been spared the trial through others?"
I had a large belly,
And I had a Roman servant boy
Who said to me, "Let me make an incision in your belly
And remove some of its fat so that you become slender
And your body becomes lighter,
For I am experienced in this."
So he cut open my belly
And removed some of the fat and tissue,
Then sewed it up.
However, the wound became infected,
The boy fled,
And I passed away because of that.
So, who am I?
The answer:
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr,
May Allah be pleased with him.
Pause
And discover 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,
And a veteran master poet of the Mukhadramun.
Indeed, I am one of the authors of the Mu'allaqat,
And my poetry was full of wisdom.
I was renowned for horsemanship and bravery,
And famous for eloquence and oratory.
I was among the nobles of the people in both the Pre-Islamic Era (Jahiliyyah) and Islam.
The Mother of the Believers Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, recited
Around one thousand lines of my poetry from memory.
I came as part of my tribe's delegation to the Prophet, peace be upon him, before the Conquest of Mecca,
And embraced Islam along with them.
Although I was among the greatest poets,
I did not compose poetry in Islam,
For Allah Almighty replaced it for me with the Qur'an,
So I was content with it instead of poetry.
I only composed a single line of verse in Islam,
And that line was:
"No noble free man rebukes himself like his own conscience,
And a person is rectified by a righteous companion."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, endorsed some of my pre-Islamic poetry,
Saying, "The truest word ever uttered by a poet is:
'Verily, everything besides Allah is falsehood,'"
Which was from my verse.
'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to his governor in Kufa
Asking him to summon me
So that I might write some poetry for him.
I said to the governor, "If you wish, I can recite poetry from the Jahiliyyah."
He replied, "Rather, from your poetry in Islam."
So I wrote out Surah al-Baqarah for him
And sent it to him,
Saying, "Allah has replaced poetry for me in Islam with this Surah."
So, who am I?
The answer: Labid ibn Rabi'ah, may Allah be pleased with him.
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
From among the Ansar.
I embraced Islam as soon as it reached Medina.
I set out with the Prophet, peace be upon him, for the Battle of Badr,
But my leg was fractured at al-Rawha',
So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sent me back to Medina.
Yet he allotted me my share of the spoils and reward of Badr,
So I was considered as one who had witnessed it.
I fought alongside the Prophet, peace be upon him, at Uhud
And stood firm with him on that day
When the people were scattered and exposed,
And I pledged allegiance to him unto death.
On that day, I killed
'Uthman ibn 'Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah
And took his spoils of war,
And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, granted me his spoils;
He did not grant spoils to anyone else on that day besides me.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked me on the day of Uhud
While he was in the mountain pass,
Saying, "Have you seen 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf?"
So I said, "Yes,
I saw him near the side of the mountain,
surrounded by a band of polytheists,
so I hastened toward him to protect him;
then I caught sight of you, so I turned aside toward you."
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Verily, the angels are defending him."
So I returned to 'Abd al-Rahman
and found seven slain men of the polytheists lying before him.
I said to him,
"May your right hand be blessed!
Did you kill all of these?"
He replied:
"As for this one,
Arta'ah ibn Shurahbil (may Allah be pleased with him) killed him;
and these two, I killed them;
but as for the rest,
they were killed by someone I did not see."
I said,
"The Messenger of Allah spoke the truth."
And on the Day of Uhud, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
kept asking:
"What happened to my uncle?
What happened to Hamzah?"
So I went out searching for him,
and I found him slain,
having been mutilated.
I stood over him deeply shaken,
unable to move
out of grief for him,
wondering what I would say to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
until I had delayed returning to him.
Then 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived
and found me,
and he found Hamzah lying slain
beside me.
So he took my hand,
and we returned and informed the Prophet (peace be upon him)
of his martyrdom.
Later, I took part in the expedition of Bi'r Ma'unah,
and I was martyred on that day.
'Amr ibn Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and I were tending the grazing camels,
when we saw birds hovering over the encampment of our companions.
So we went to them,
and found that they had all been killed.
I said to 'Amr,
"What do you think we should do?"
He replied,
"I think we should catch up with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and inform him."
But I said,
"I will never hold back from a spot where my companions were slain."
So I rushed after the polytheists,
and when I caught up with them,
I fought them until I was killed.
Who am I?
The answer:
Al-Harith ibn al-Simmah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Pause,
and learn about the Companions, the scholars, and notable figures!
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
from the Ansar,
and a chieftain of the chiefs of Banu Salamah from the Khazraj.
I was also among the renowned archers.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) made me the leader of my people,
when he asked,
"Who is your leader, O Banu Salamah?"
They said,
"Al-Jadd ibn Qays,
although he has some stinginess in him."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"And what disease is worse than stinginess?
Rather, your leader is the fair, curly-haired youth,"
pointing toward me.
I witnessed the Second Pledge of al-'Aqabah alongside my father,
who was one of the twelve chieftains (Nuqaba') present there.
I participated alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him)
in Badr, Uhud, and the battles that followed,
until the conquest of Khaybar took place.
When Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, granted victory
to His Messenger (peace be upon him),
Zaynab bint al-Harith, the Jewish woman, presented
a roasted sheep as a gift to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
having laced it with poison.
She put the most poison into the shoulder and foreleg,
having been told that it was the favorite cut of the sheep to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered,
I entered with him,
and the roasted sheep was served to us.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) took a bite from the shoulder and ate of it,
and I also ate from the sheep.
I sensed the taste of poison in the morsel I took.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"Hold back your hands!
For the shoulder of this sheep has informed me that it is poisoned."
I said,
"By the One Who honored you with the truth, O Messenger of Allah,
I indeed noticed that in the bite I just took,
and nothing prevented me from spitting it out
except that I disliked to spoil your meal for you;
nor would I hold my life dearer than yours."
After that, I began to feel the effects of the poison spreading through my body;
I did not even rise from my place before my complexion changed,
and death overtook me swiftly, so my soul departed.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) then sent
for the Jewish woman
and asked her,
"What drove you to do what you did?"
She replied,
"If you were truly a prophet, what I did would not harm you;
and if you were merely a king, I would have rid the people of you."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) handed her over
to my kin,
and they executed her in lawful retribution (qisas).
Who am I?
The answer:
Bishr ibn al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur
(may Allah be pleased with them both).
Pause,
and learn about the Companions, the scholars, and notable figures!
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
from the Ansar.
I attended Badr and all the major campaigns with the Prophet (peace be upon him).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed me over Khaybar after its conquest,
and I used to bring him of its dates.
I was present with the Muslims at the Battle of Badr,
and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was straightening the ranks before the battle began,
holding a featherless arrow in his hand
with which he aligned the battle line.
He passed by me while I was standing slightly out of the line,
so he prodded me in the stomach with the arrow and said,
"Stand in line!"
I said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
you have caused me pain,
while Allah has sent you with the truth,
so let me have retribution from you!"
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) uncovered his abdomen
and said,
"Take retribution."
But I embraced him and kissed his stomach.
He asked me,
"What prompted you to do this?"
I replied,
"O Messenger of Allah,
what you see has arrived,
and I am not safe from being killed,
so I wished that my very last moment with you
would be that my skin touches your skin."
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed for goodness on my behalf
and said to me,
"Stand in line."
I fought valiantly in that battle,
and during it, I captured Khalid ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi,
the brother of Abu Jahl.
I brought him to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
who placed him among the captives.
Who am I?
The answer:
Sawad ibn Ghaziyyah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Pause!
Pause,
and learn about the Companions, the scholars, and notable figures!
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Companions
and a freed client (mawla) of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
I had been an enslaved servant belonging to Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her),
and she said to me,
"I will manumit you
on the condition that you serve the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
for as long as you live."
I replied,
"Even if you had not made that a condition upon me,
I would never have parted from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
as long as I live."
So she set me free.
One day, I went out on a journey with the Prophet (peace be upon him)
and his companions,
and their baggage became too burdensome for them.
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to me,
"Spread out your cloak."
I spread it out,
and he placed all their belongings into it,
then loaded it onto me
and said,
"Carry it,
for you are nothing less than a ship (safinah)!"
Thus he gave me a moniker by which I remained known,
to the point that it overshadowed my actual name
and became the dearest of names to me.
So I carried the gear;
and even if they had loaded upon me that day
the burden of one camel, or two camels,
or five, or six,
it would not have felt heavy to me.
Once, I boarded a ship at sea,
and it was wrecked with us aboard.
So I grabbed hold of a wooden plank from it,
and the waves cast me onto the shore.
No sooner had I arrived
than a lion stood right by my head!
So I said,
"O lion,
I am the freedman of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
Thereupon, the lion lowered its head,
nudged me gently with its shoulder,
and walked beside me, guiding me along the path
until it brought me safely to the Muslim army.
Then it murmured softly and turned away,
so I knew it was bidding me farewell.
Who am I?
The answer:
Safinah, may Allah be pleased with him,
the freedman of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Pause here,
and discover the Companions, scholars, and luminaries.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am among the younger Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I was born in Mecca two years before the Hijrah,
and was raised upon Islam.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) passed away
when I was twelve years of age.
I took part alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him)
in expeditions such as the Battle of Tabuk.
I became one of the greatest military commanders of the early Islamic conquests:
I was among those who participated in the conquests of the Levant,
and I am the conqueror of the lands of Armenia.
I wore down the Byzantines with my numerous battles and victories over them,
so much so that I came to be called "Habib ar-Rum" (the Scourge of the Byzantines).
I was among the nobles of Quraysh and their bravest warriors,
raising the banner of their glory.
I was counted in the rank of Khalid ibn al-Walid and Abu 'Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with them both,
in courage, daring, and magnificent achievements on the battlefield.
That was because I was raised for warfare from my earliest youth,
having grown accustomed to thrusting and striking from childhood.
Thus, I spent most of the days of my life in battles,
and I played a profound role in establishing the pillars of Islam in distant lands and remote realms
through long striving, especially in the lands of the Byzantines.
Yet along with that, I was gentle toward the soldiers and ascetic toward worldly life.
The people of the Levant used to praise me lavishly,
holding me in the highest regard for righteousness,
and they would say that my supplications were always answered.
Whenever I encountered an enemy or besieged a fortress, I preferred to say:
"There is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Magnificent."
Indeed, one day I besieged a fortress,
and raised my voice with "There is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Magnificent,"
and the Muslims raised their voices along with me,
whereupon the fortress cracked open,
the Byzantines were routed,
and Allah granted us victory!
Who am I?
The answer:
Habib ibn Maslamah,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Pause here,
and discover the Companions, scholars, and luminaries.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the noble Companions,
and the father of the confidant of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I was an ally of the Ansar.
I was involved in a bloodshed feud among my people during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah),
so I fled from them to Medina
and allied myself with Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal.
I embraced Islam when I was already an old man,
and I took part in the Battle of Uhud with the Prophet (peace be upon him).
I did not participate in Badr with the Prophet (peace be upon him),
and nothing kept me from attending it
except that my son and I set out toward the outskirts of Medina,
but the disbelievers of Quraysh captured us along the way.
They said, "You intend to join Muhammad!"
We replied, "We intend only to reach Medina."
So they took from us a solemn covenant and pledge before Allah
that we would proceed straight to Medina
and not fight alongside him.
When we came to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
we informed him of this,
and he said, "Depart;
we will fulfill their covenant to them,
and we seek the help of Allah against them."
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went out
to the Battle of Uhud,
he placed me and Thabit ibn Waqsh, may Allah be pleased with him,
inside the fortress along with the women and children,
because we were two elderly men unable to fight.
When the battle began,
I said to my companion:
"May you lose no father!
What are we waiting for?
By Allah, neither of us has much left of his life;
we are but an owl of today or tomorrow!
Shall we not take our swords,
catch up with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
that Allah may grant us martyrdom alongside him?"
So we took our swords,
caught up with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
and entered among the ranks of the Muslims,
without them realizing who we were.
As for my companion Thabit ibn Waqsh,
the polytheists quickly killed him;
but as for me,
the swords and spears of the Muslims struck me,
for they did not recognize me.
My son cried out to them, saying,
"My father! It is my father!"
But they did not realize it until after they had killed me.
They said, "By Allah, we did not recognize him!"
and they were speaking the truth.
My son said:
"May Allah forgive you,
and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wished
to pay him my blood money,
but he refused to accept it,
giving it as charity to the Muslims.
This only elevated him further in the sight of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
in status and virtue,
and he prayed for his well-being.
Who am I?
The answer:
Al-Yaman,
Husayl ibn Jabir,
the father of Hudhayfah,
may Allah be pleased with them both.
Pause here,
and discover the Companions, scholars, and luminaries.
A new challenge:
Who am I?
I am one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
My origin is from Persia.
I was once an enslaved servant,
bought and sold just like merchandise,
until a woman from the people of Mecca bought me
and emancipated me.
Her husband took a liking to me,
so he adopted me as his son.
Then we entered Islam together.
When Islam abolished adoption,
I came to be called his freedman,
and we became brothers in faith.
My heart became deeply attached to the Qur'an,
and the Words of Allah became my constant occupation at all times.
When I emigrated to Medina,
I used to lead the people in prayer there
until the Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived,
whereupon he became the leader.
One night,
I was reciting the Qur'an in the mosque with a beautiful voice,
and 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, passed by me.
She heard my recitation
and could not help but sit and listen to me,
so much so that she was delayed in returning to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
When she came to him,
he asked her about the reason for her delay,
and she said, "There is a man in the mosque
with the most beautiful voice reciting the Qur'an I have ever heard."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) took his cloak
and went out to listen to my recitation.
He recognized me and said:
"Praise be to Allah, Who has placed someone like you in my Ummah!"
And he (peace be upon him) said one day,
advising his Companions:
"Take the Qur'an from four:
from myself, from Ibn Mas'ud,
Ubayy ibn Ka'b,
and Mu'adh ibn Jabal."
That was because of our distinction above others in the recitation of the Qur'an
and our total devotion to it.
Even though I was a non-Arab Persian,
the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
held me in high esteem and gave me precedence over others.
The Commander of the Believers, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said
when death approached him:
"If so-and-so were alive,
I would have appointed him as the Caliph,"
referring to me by that statement.
I participated alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him) in all the military expeditions,
and then I took part with the Muslims in fighting the apostates.
During the Battle of al-Yamamah,
when the Muslims were initially exposed and forced back,
and the banner of the Emigrants fell from the hand of Zayd ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
I stepped forward and took up the banner.
The people said to me,
"We fear that we may be overrun from your flank!"
So I said,
"What a wretched bearer of the Qur'an I would be then,
if the Muslims were to be attacked from my flank!
This is not how we used to act alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him!"
Then I dug a pit in the ground,
stood inside it holding the banner,
and kept fighting and fighting
while blows struck me from every direction,
until I was weighed down by wounds
and fell to the ground,
covered in blood.
The battle ended with victory for the Muslims,
and the people came looking among the fallen.
They found me with a spark of life still in me,
so I said to them,
"What happened to my brother and patron, Abu Hudhayfah?"
They said, "He was killed."
I said,
"Lay me down beside him."
They said,
"Look, he was killed right beside you;
his feet are by your head."
A broad smile came over my face,
for this was my brother:
we embraced Islam together,
we lived together,
and we died together.
Then, shortly after, I departed this life.
Who am I?
The answer: Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah,
may Allah be pleased with them both.