Companions

The men and women who walked beside the Prophet ﷺ. Open any life, in any order, and walk it in small moments.

The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Abu Bakr al-Siddiqرضي الله عنه7 moments

'Umar ibn al-Khattabرضي الله عنه7 moments

'Uthman ibn 'Affanرضي الله عنه5 moments

'Ali ibn Abi Talibرضي الله عنهFamily of the Prophet ﷺ6 moments

Promised Paradise

Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullahرضي الله عنه2 moments

al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwamرضي الله عنه2 moments

'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awfرضي الله عنه2 moments

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqasرضي الله عنه3 moments

Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrahرضي الله عنه2 moments

Sa'id ibn Zaydرضي الله عنه2 moments

Uncles of the Prophet ﷺ

Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalibرضي الله عنهFamily of the Prophet ﷺ3 moments

Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalibرضي الله عنهFamily of the Prophet ﷺBrief · 2 key points

The Prophet's ﷺ uncle, a wealthy and respected man of Quraysh who protected his nephew before he was openly Muslim.
He was the father of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas and ancestor of the Abbasid caliphs.

Freed by the Prophet ﷺ

Zayd ibn Harithahرضي الله عنه3 moments

Umm Ayman (Barakah)رضي الله عنها3 moments

Abu Rafi'رضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A Coptic slave who was given to the Prophet ﷺ and freed by him.
He looked after the Prophet's ﷺ baggage and affairs and narrated his hadith.

Thawbanرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A man whom the Prophet ﷺ bought and freed, and who chose to stay and serve the Prophet ﷺ when given the choice to return to his people.
He later settled in Syria, narrating hadith and never asking anyone for anything.

Safinahرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A slave of Umm Salamah who freed him on condition that he serve the Prophet ﷺ for as long as he lived, and he gladly agreed.
Nicknamed "the Ship" for the loads he carried, he later narrated hadith.

Shuqran (Salih)رضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

An Abyssinian servant of the Prophet ﷺ, named Salih and known as Shuqran.
He guarded the captives at Badr, was freed after the battle, and was later among those who laid the Prophet ﷺ in his grave.

Abu Muwayhibahرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A man whom the Prophet ﷺ bought and set free.
He is remembered for one night: walking with the Prophet ﷺ to al-Baqi' to pray for its dead.

Scholars and Reciters

'Abdullah ibn 'Abbasرضي الله عنه2 moments

'Abdullah ibn Mas'udرضي الله عنه3 moments

'Abdullah ibn 'Umarرضي الله عنه2 moments

Jabir ibn 'Abdullahرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A young man of the Ansar whose father fell at Uhud.
He became a prolific narrator, preserving the Prophet's ﷺ pilgrimage in detail.

Anas ibn Malikرضي الله عنه3 moments

Mu'adh ibn Jabalرضي الله عنه2 moments

Ubayy ibn Ka'bرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

An Ansari scribe of the revelation.
The Prophet ﷺ named him the best reciter of his community, and Allah commanded that the Qur'an be recited to him.

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Asرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A devoted worshipper and scholar who wrote down the Prophet's ﷺ words in his lifetime.
The Prophet ﷺ taught him to temper his zeal with balance.

Zayd ibn Thabitرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A boy of the Ansar who became the Prophet's ﷺ scribe.
Abu Bakr and 'Uthman trusted him to gather the Qur'an into a single written book.

Abu Hurayrahرضي الله عنه3 moments

Commanders and Confidants

Khalid ibn al-Walidرضي الله عنه4 moments

'Amr ibn al-'Asرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A shrewd Qurayshi diplomat who once argued against the Muslims before the Negus and accepted Islam in 8 AH.
He later led the conquest of Egypt and governed it.

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamanرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The Companion to whom the Prophet ﷺ confided the names of the hypocrites.
He asked the Prophet ﷺ about the trials to come, so that he might know evil in order to avoid it.

The Ansar

Sa'd ibn Mu'adhرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The chief of the Aws whose Islam brought his whole clan into the faith in a single evening.
At his death the Prophet ﷺ said the Throne of the Most Merciful shook.

Sa'd ibn 'Ubadahرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The generous chief of the Khazraj, one of the twelve leaders of the pledge at 'Aqabah.
His open table fed the poor of Madinah.

Abu Ayyub al-Ansariرضي الله عنه2 moments

Hassan ibn Thabitرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The foremost poet of the Ansar, who put his gift in the service of the Prophet ﷺ.
He was told that the Holy Spirit would support him as long as he defended Allah and His Messenger.

The Freed and the Seekers

Usamah ibn Zaydرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The son of Zayd ibn Harithah and Umm Ayman, loved by the Prophet ﷺ like a grandson.
As a young man he was given command of the last army the Prophet ﷺ prepared.

Salim, freed man of Abu Hudhayfahرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A freed slave of Persian origin who became one of the foremost reciters of the Qur'an.
He was trusted to lead the Muhajirun in prayer and fell holding the banner at Yamamah.

'Ammar ibn Yasirرضي الله عنه3 moments

Bilal ibn Rabahرضي الله عنه3 moments

Salman al-Farisiرضي الله عنه4 moments

Hearts That Turned

'Adi ibn Hatimرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The son of the legendary generous Hatim al-Ta'i, a Christian chieftain who fled the Muslims and later met the Prophet ﷺ as a guest.
He held his tribe firm when others left Islam.

Thumamah ibn Uthalرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A chief of Banu Hanifah who was captured, tied to a pillar of the Prophet's mosque, and won over by mercy.
He later stood against Musaylimah's false prophecy when his people followed it.

Jubayr ibn Mut'imرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

A noble of Quraysh whose father protected the Prophet ﷺ after Ta'if.
He came to Islam later and became one of the great authorities on the lineages of the Arabs.

'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayrرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The son of al-Zubayr and Asma' bint Abi Bakr, and the first child born in Islam in Madinah after the Hijrah.
A devoted worshipper and a brave man, he refused to give allegiance to Yazid and ruled the Hijaz for years.

Suhayl ibn 'Amrرضي الله عنهBrief · 2 key points

The eloquent Qurayshi negotiator who drafted the treaty of Hudaybiyyah against the Muslims.
He embraced Islam at the Conquest of Makkah and later steadied the people in Makkah when the Prophet ﷺ passed away.

Honourable Mentions

Abu Talib ibn 'Abd al-MuttalibBrief · 2 key points

The uncle who raised the Prophet ﷺ from the age of eight and protected him from Quraysh for decades.
He died without professing Islam, and the Prophet ﷺ never stopped loving him.

Al-Mut'im ibn 'AdiBrief · 2 key points

A chief of Banu Nawfal who never accepted Islam, yet helped tear up the boycott against the Prophet's ﷺ clan and protected him when he returned from Ta'if.
After Badr, the Prophet ﷺ said that had al-Mut'im been alive, he would have freed the captives for his sake.

Waraqah ibn NawfalBrief · 2 key points

Khadijah's cousin, an old man of Quraysh who had left the idols, become a Christian and studied the earlier scriptures.
On the night of the first revelation he recognised what had come to the Prophet ﷺ and promised to stand by him.

Al-Najashi (Ashamah)Brief · 2 key points

The Christian king of Abyssinia who gave the persecuted Muslims of Makkah a safe home and refused to hand them back to Quraysh.
He came to believe in the Prophet ﷺ without meeting him, and the Prophet ﷺ led the funeral prayer for him.

Halimah al-Sa'diyyahBrief · 2 key points

The Bedouin woman of Banu Sa'd who took the orphan Muhammad ﷺ to nurse when no one else would.
He honoured her all his life; whether she herself accepted Islam is a matter on which scholars differ.

Before you begin

Lecture 11Sunni beliefs about The Sahaba (The Companions)