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

0:01 Pause and reflect on the Companions, the scholars, and the prominent figures of our history.

0:12 Try to determine who I am.

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

0:23 I embraced Islam among the very first to do so.

0:26 I migrated to Abyssinia and then to Medina.

0:30 I witnessed all the battles alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

0:35 I was one of the skilled archers.

0:38 I served as a commander of the military expeditions and detachments for the Prophet, peace be upon him.

0:43 And for the Caliphs after him.

0:45 The Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, sent me to al-Ubulla in the land of Iraq.

0:53 To conquer it and cleanse its land of the Persians.

0:57 As he bade me farewell, he said to me:

1:00 "Set out, you and those with you,

1:02 until you reach the furthest borders of the Arabs,

1:05 and the nearest borders of the non-Arabs.

1:07 Proceed with the blessing of Allah.

1:09 Call those who respond to you to Allah.

1:12 If they refuse, then [demand] the jizya.

1:15 And if not, then the sword, without hesitation.

1:18 Struggle against the enemy,

1:20 and fear Allah, your Lord."

1:22 So I set out until I conquered al-Ubulla.

1:25 Then, I laid out the city of Basra in Iraq.

1:29 I built it and developed it for the Muslims.

1:33 The Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, appointed me as its governor.

1:38 I was ascetic regarding worldly life,

1:40 and I disliked holding authority.

1:42 I delivered a sermon to the people and said:

1:45 "O people,

1:46 the world has signaled its departure,

1:49 and has turned its back.

1:51 Nothing remains of it except a mere remnant,

1:54 like the dregs of a vessel that one of you might sip.

1:59 Know that you are in a temporary abode from which you will inevitably depart.

2:04 So, depart from it with the best of what you have prepared,

2:07 to an abode that will never perish.

2:10 It has been mentioned to us

2:12 that a stone thrown from the edge of Hell

2:15 will plummet for seventy years

2:18 without reaching its bottom.

2:20 By Allah, it will be filled.

2:23 And it has been mentioned to me

2:24 that the distance between the two doorposts of the gates of Paradise

2:28 is a journey of forty years.

2:30 Yet, by Allah, a day will come upon them

2:33 when they will be crowded with people.

2:36 I seek refuge in Allah

2:38 from considering myself great,

2:41 while being small in the sight of Allah.

2:43 I remember myself with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

2:48 as one of seven.

2:50 We had no food except the leaves of trees,

2:53 until the corners of our mouths became ulcerated.

2:56 I found a cloak,

2:58 so I tore it into two halves.

3:00 I gave half of it to Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas,

3:03 and I wore the other half.

3:05 Today, there is not one man alive among those seven

3:09 who is not a governor of one of the provinces."

3:13 When the Hajj season arrived,

3:17 I appointed one of my brothers as my deputy over Basra,

3:20 and I set out to perform Hajj.

3:22 When I finished the Hajj,

3:24 I traveled to Medina.

3:26 There, I asked the Commander of the Faithful

3:29 to relieve me of the governorship.

3:32 But ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, refused and did not relieve me.

3:36 I left his presence,

3:38 and I prayed to Allah that He would never return me to Basra,

3:42 nor to the governorship ever again.

3:44 Allah answered my prayer,

3:47 for death overtook me while I was on the road,

3:50 near Medina.

3:52 So, who am I?

3:55 Share your answers in the comments below the video.

4:03 We will pin the correct answer in the comments

4:07 when the next episode is released, if Allah wills.

Learn about the companions, scholars, and notables | Who am I? | Episode No. (216)

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