Learn about the companions, scholars, and notables | Who am I?

0:01 Pause and identify these Companions, scholars, and prominent figures.

0:12 A new challenge: Who am I?

0:16 I am one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

0:23 I embraced Islam in the ninth year of the Hijrah.

0:26 When I arrived in Medina with the delegation of my people from the tribe of Banu Tamim.

0:30 I was among the bravest knights in the Arabian Peninsula.

0:35 I possessed great intelligence and quick wit during battles.

0:41 I was the first to fight at night in the history of the Arabs.

0:45 My reputation grew in battles at the beginning of the Ridda wars.

0:51 The Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,

0:55 often relied on me in fighting the apostates.

0:59 He once said to me,

1:02 "Your voice in the army is better than a thousand men."

1:06 And when Khalid Ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, requested reinforcements

1:10 from the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,

1:14 he sent me to him alone as his reinforcement.

1:17 The Companions were astonished by this and said to Abu Bakr,

1:22 "Do you reinforce the army of Iraq with only one man?"

1:26 The Caliph pointed to me and said to them,

1:31 "An army that contains a man like this will not be defeated."

1:35 The intuition of al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, proved true.

1:39 For when I reached the army of Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him,

1:43 at the Battle of Dhat al-Salasil,

1:46 and the Muslims and the Persians lined up for battle,

1:49 Hormuz, the Persian commander, challenged

1:52 Khalid Ibn al-Walid, the commander of the Muslim army, to a duel.

1:57 Hormuz had conspired with some of his soldiers to betray Khalid

2:02 and kill him during the duel,

2:04 to break the spirit of the Muslims thereby.

2:08 Khalid went out to him and attacked him.

2:11 At that moment,

2:13 the Persian group with whom Hormuz had conspired emerged,

2:18 and they attacked Khalid,

2:20 surrounding him from every side.

2:23 I rushed toward them with great speed,

2:26 and I pushed the treacherous battalion away from Khalid Ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him.

2:31 Then we fought together until we killed them,

2:35 and we killed their commander, Hormuz, along with them.

2:39 This signaled the defeat of the Persian army.

2:46 I also participated in the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah,

2:49 and I was one of its heroes.

2:52 When the Persians attacked us with elephants,

2:55 the ranks of the Muslims were scattered,

2:57 and defeat was nearly upon us.

3:00 I looked at the elephants and contemplated their situation,

3:04 and I saw that they were following the white elephant.

3:07 I asked the Muslim battalion to engage the elephant's guards,

3:12 and I attacked the elephant myself.

3:15 I stabbed it in its eye,

3:17 then I struck its trunk and severed it.

3:20 The elephant fell on its side,

3:23 and the rest of the elephants scattered.

3:25 Allah granted us victory over them.

3:28 After the battle ended,

3:30 the Commander of the Faithful, Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,

3:34 sent to Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him,

3:38 asking him about the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah,

3:41 and about its bravest knights.

3:44 Sa'd answered him, saying,

3:47 "He has never seen anyone like me in combat."

3:50 And he told him about me,

3:52 that I launched thirty charges in a single day,

3:56 killing a champion among the Persian heroes in every charge.

4:01 So, who am I?

Learn about the companions, scholars, and notables | Who am I? | Episode No. (206)

Transcript