Pause and reflect upon the Companions, the scholars, and the eminent figures.
A new challenge: who am I?
I am one of the senior Companions from the Ansar.
I am from the Banu Harithah of the Aws tribe.
My name during the Jahiliyyah was 'Abd al-'Uzza.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, changed my name.
I embraced Islam when the Prophet entered Medina.
I was among the few who knew how to write in Arabic before the advent of Islam.
I, along with Abu Burdah, may Allah be pleased with him,
used to break the idols of our people, the Banu Harithah, after we embraced Islam.
I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say:
"Whoever’s feet become dusty in the cause of Allah,
Allah will forbid the Fire from touching them."
Thus, I strove to participate in Jihad.
I witnessed all the battles alongside the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Furthermore, the Prophet, peace be upon him, sent me with a group of the Ansar
to assassinate Ka'b Ibn al-Ashraf the Jew,
who used to harm the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions.
After the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
the two Caliphs, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab and 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with them both, appointed me
as a collector of zakat funds.
Once, the Caliph 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, came to visit me while I was ill.
He found me in a state of unconsciousness.
When I regained consciousness, he asked me, "How do you find yourself?"
I replied, "I am well; we have found all our affairs to be in good order,
except for certain minds that have caused ruin between us and the workers,
and we have barely managed to rid ourselves of them."
I intended to tell the Caliph, may Allah be pleased with him,
that we found our affairs and circumstances to be good and upright,
with the exception of some individuals with corrupt minds
who acted as intermediaries between us and the governors.
They harmed us and corrupted the management of our affairs,
and we were only able to escape their harm and influence with great difficulty.
I lived in Medina for seventy years.
My death occurred there in the year thirty-four.
'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, led my funeral prayer.
I was buried in al-Baqi'; so, who am I?
Find out in the next episode, if Allah wills.