The Firsts

Thabit ibn Qays (ra): Promised Jannah After A Sin

Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra)

Siblings with very different personalities can serve Islam in their own ways. Omar ibn al khattab (ra) was outspoken and larger-than-life. What about his older brother, Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra), the silent giant of this ummah?

Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid (ra): From False Prophet to Shaheed

Is your faith journey complicated? Wait until you hear this story. He embraced Islam. Then he left it. Then he committed the worst sins. He thought he could repent again. After so many twists and turns, you might be surprised at how his story ended.

Ka’b ibn Zuhayr (ra): The Story of the First Burda

Prior to his conversion, Ka’b ibn Zuhayr (ra) is responsible for the latest diss tracks coming out about Islam. He’s insulting the Prophet ﷺ, the Muslims, and making implications about Muslim women. But as the Prophet ﷺ’s power grows, the world is closing in on the poet. Where will he go?

Thumama ibn Uthal (ra): The most powerful Muslim of his time?

The Quraysh abuse a man who is performing umrah. But they quickly realize the consequences, because he may have been the most powerful Muslim in the world at the time.

Muhammad ibn Maslama (ra): The Knight of Rasulullah ﷺ

He was named Muhammad before Islam. He was the knight of the Messenger ﷺ. He was the guardian of Madinah. He was the caliph's investigator. Who was he?

A Foiled Conspiracy: Umayr ibn Wahb (ra) & Safwan ibn Umayyah (ra)

After the Battle of Badr, two cousins secretly conspired to kill the Prophet ﷺ. Neither of them could have predicted where this conspiracy would eventually take them.

The Children of Ta’if Who Stoned the Prophet ﷺ

Imagine having stoned the Prophet ﷺ as a child, only to realize who he was as an adult. How do you even become Muslim on that day? Were any of the children even listening to what he was saying while they carried out the brutal order to stone him? Since the Prophet ﷺ had hope in their Islam, did he get to see the fruit of that hope in his lifetime?

Abu Mahdhura (ra): The Kid Who Mocked Adhan

As the Prophet ﷺ left the siege of Ta’if, a group of youth were making fun of the adhan. The Prophet ﷺ saw past their mockery and stuck to his hope of their becoming Muslim. In one of the most beautiful stories of the Prophetic lens, we gain new insight into how he brought the best out of people even in the worst of times.

Abu Bakra (ra): The Freed Slave of Allah

So often confused for Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra), this prolific narrator of hadith escaped Ta’if in such a unique way that he was named after this incident. After this lecture, you will never read his name as a typo again.

The Jinn Who Became Muslim

Imagine the first Muslims, but amongst the Jinn. Who were the first converts amongst them, and how did that happen? When did Allah send them? And what was the connection of the Jinn Muslims to the rejectors of Ta’if?

Addas (ra) of Ta’if: The Brother of Yunus (as)

As the Prophet ﷺ lay battered and beaten in the garden after Ta’if, Allah sent him this one special slave who would be the only known human convert on the worst day of the Prophet ﷺ’s life.

The Prophet ﷺ’s Bodyguard: Mughira ibn Shu‘ba (ra)

He came to Islam after a severely checkered past, but never let his flaws stop him from assuming his place in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ. He used his strength and sense of movement to monitor the Prophet’s every move, and came back to Ta’if with the command to destroy their idol.

Urwa ibn Masud (ra): The Chief Who Resembled Isa (as)

A noble leader with a striking presence, he initially resisted the call of Islam and was a chief negotiator from Quraysh to the Prophet ﷺ in Hudaybiyyah. But when Islam entered his heart, he sought to lead his people to faith and lost his life in the process.

The Most Honored Man By The Prophet ﷺ

If you saw him in Madinah, you would be taken aback by how he was honored by the Prophet ﷺ and the companions like no other human being, and if you heard him speak then you would know he was special. The last uncle of the Prophet ﷺ and a blessed connection for this Ummah.

When Allah Guided the Children of Abu Lahab

The only enemy of the Prophet ﷺ mentioned by name in the Quran, yet his own children became Muslim and would read about their father’s punishment. The incredible story of the believing children of the Prophet ﷺ's uncle and how he received them.

Hakim ibn Hizam (ra): When Money Stops Mattering

The nephew of Khadijah (ra) and a core figure in the decade prior to the Prophet ﷺ receiving revelation. He held out on Islam because of his worldly focus, yet eventually embraced Islam and a new focus on the hereafter.

Mothers of the Prophet ﷺ: Amina and Halima al-Sa’diyya

The Prophet ﷺ spent some of his earliest years with his foster mother Halima al-Sa’diyya (ra), and never forgot the love she nurtured him with. What was it like to find her again in his final years of life?

The Prophet ﷺ’s Brother: Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith (ra)

He was the first cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, and his brother in that he was nursed by the same woman. He was one of the closest and most beloved people to him. When Islam came, he turned his back on the Prophet ﷺ and became a bitter enemy until the very end where after a painful reunification, came a beautiful ending.

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb (ra): Forgiving the Enemy

For two decades he was a chief antagonist of the Prophet ﷺ, only to be forgiven and given a position of leadership for the sake of the greater cause.

Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl (ra): The Pious Son of Pharoah

He was the son of the Pharoah of this Ummah who fought the Prophet ﷺ and his companions even up until the opening of Makkah. But through a journey of many twists and turns, came back to the Prophet ﷺ as one of his most loyal companions. His story of selflessness and martyrdom is ever inspiring and impactful.

Amr ibn al-As (ra): From Rafah to Egypt

From his moments of opposing the Prophet ﷺ in practically every battle of Islam, and his seeking to remove the one place of refuge for the Muslims in Abyssinia, Amr (ra) doesn’t just turn a corner and embrace Islam, but he spreads it to Egypt and many places of the world including Gaza which weighs so heavily on us today.

Amr ibn al-As (ra): His Wicked Father & “Better” Brother

Before understanding Amr ibn al-As (ra), you need to know about his father who was a staunch opponent of the Prophet ﷺ, and his brother Hisham (ra) who was a companion long before him, with a legendary story of his own.

Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): The Legendary Military General

After he became Muslim, he immediately became perhaps the greatest factor in the spread of Islam throughout the world. Learn about his military genius, his legacy and contributions, and his unexpected death.

Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): Becoming the Sword of Allah

The story of how a feared enemy of Islam became it's greatest general.

Abu Saeed al Khudri (ra): The Jewel of Madinah

He was given the lofty title of the Mufti of Madinah for his rare combination of Hadith and Fiqh. He narrates over 1000 ahadith from the Prophet ﷺ, and lived a long life of devotion all in his home city of Madinah.

Rabiah ibn Kab (ra): The Prophet’s Companion in Jannah

He fell in love with the Prophet ﷺ at first sight, lived in his blessed shadow until he died, and was promised his blessed companionship eternally in Paradise.

Saeed ibn Amir (ra): Haunted by Murder

He was a pious governor in Islam who would repent to Allah after witnessing the crucifixion of Khubayb (ra). How did Saeed and other companions who participated in the massacres of Bi'r Mauna and Al Rajee find their way back to Allah after such horrific actions?

Khubayb ibn Addiy (ra): A Prisoner of Many Miracles

Khubayb (ra) is a man of many tragic firsts in Islam. But his story is also filled with many lessons of perseverance, ethics, and sincerity even in the midst of desperation. And for that Allah would bestow miracles upon him that no other companion would encounter.

Asim ibn Thabit (ra): Protector of Faith

Asim (ra) was one of the very first to protect our Prophet ﷺ, and of the most beloved companions of them all. Though he was pursued in vengence by an ambushing tribe, he was given a miracle through his last prayer witnessed even by his most hateful enemies.