Mention of Some Devoted Companions

The mother caused great suffering to both brothers.

I asked:

“Why have all these people gathered?”

The people told me:

“Look! Your mother has seized your brother and is swearing an oath to Allah that until Amir abandons his disbelief, she will neither sit in the shade of a date palm nor eat or drink anything.”

Hearing this, Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه said:

“By Allah, mother! Do not sit in the shade of a date palm and do not eat or drink anything until you become fuel for Hell.”

In short, he did not care about his mother’s threat and remained steadfast upon his religion.

Similarly, through the efforts of Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه, Hazrat Talhah al-Taymi رضي الله عنه also accepted Islam.

Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه brought him to the presence of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, and he accepted Islam at the Prophet’s ﷺ hand.

After this, Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and Hazrat Talhah رضي الله عنه openly announced their acceptance of Islam.

Upon hearing their announcement, Nawfal ibn ‘Adawiyyah seized them.

This man was known as the “Lion of Quraysh.”

He tied both of them with the same rope.

Even their tribe, Banu Taym, did not come to their rescue against this treatment.

Since Nawfal had tied both of them with a single rope and their bodies were closely joined together, they came to be called Al-Qarinayn, meaning “the two who are joined together.”

Because of the oppression of Nawfal ibn ‘Adawiyyah, the Noble Prophet ﷺ would say:

“O Allah! Protect us from the evil of Ibn ‘Adawiyyah.”

Hazrat Talhah رضي الله عنه describes the reason for his accepting Islam in the following way:

“Once I went to the marketplace of Busra.

There I saw a monk. He was standing in his monastery and saying to the people:

‘Ask those who have returned from Hajj this time: Is there anyone among them who is a resident of the Haram?’

I stepped forward and said:

‘I am a resident of the Haram.’

Hearing my words, he asked:

‘Has Ahmad appeared?’

I asked:

‘Who is Ahmad?’

Then the monk said:

‘Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib…

This is his month. He will appear in this month. He is the final Prophet.

The place of his appearance is the Haram, and the place of his migration is a region where there are gardens and green fields.

Therefore, you must take the initiative in going toward this Prophet.’”

The words of this monk became firmly engraved in my heart.

I immediately departed from there and hurried back to Makkah.

When I reached Makkah, I asked the people:

“Has any new event taken place?”

The people told me:

“Yes! Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Amin has begun inviting people toward Allah, and Abu Bakr has accepted following him.”

As soon as I heard this, I left my house and went to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه.

I told him everything the monk had said.

After hearing the entire account, Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه went to the Noble Prophet ﷺ and related the whole incident to him.

The Prophet ﷺ was very happy upon hearing it.

At that very moment, I also accepted Islam.”

Hazrat Talhah رضي الله عنه was one of the Asharah Mubashsharah—the ten Companions whom the Noble Prophet ﷺ gave the glad tidings of Paradise during their lifetime.

Similarly, among those Companions who accepted the Kalimah through the efforts of Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه, five were included among the Asharah Mubashsharah.

They were:

• Hazrat Zubayr رضي الله عنه
• Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه
• Hazrat Talhah رضي الله عنه
• Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman رضي الله عنه

Some scholars have added a sixth Companion to this list:

• Hazrat Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah رضي الله عنه

Among these Companions, Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat ‘Uthman, Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman, and Hazrat Talhah رضي الله عنهم were cloth merchants.

Hazrat Zubayr رضي الله عنه used to slaughter animals, while Hazrat Sa‘d رضي الله عنه worked in making arrows.

After them, Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه accepted Islam.

He describes his acceptance of Islam in the following way:

“One day, I was grazing the goats of the family of ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt.

At that time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came there.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه was also with him.

The Prophet ﷺ asked:

‘Do you have any milk?’

I said:

‘Yes, but I am only a trustee.’
(That is, the milk belonged to someone else and had been entrusted to me.)

He ﷺ said:

‘Do you have any goat that has not yet given birth to a kid?’

I said:

‘Yes, there is one such goat.’

I brought that goat near him ﷺ.

Its udders had not yet fully developed.

He ﷺ passed his hand over the place of its udders.

At that very moment, the goat’s udders became full of milk.”

According to another narration, the goat’s udders had already dried up.

The Prophet ﷺ passed his hand over them, and they became full of milk.

Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه was astonished upon seeing this.

He took the Prophet ﷺ to a clean stone.

The Prophet ﷺ sat there and milked the goat.

He gave that milk first to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه to drink.

Then he gave some to me, and finally, he himself drank from it.

After that, he ﷺ said to the goat’s udders:

“Contract.”

Immediately, the udders returned to exactly the way they had been before.

Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه says:

“When I saw this miracle of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I said to him:

‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about its reality.’

Hearing this, he ﷺ placed his hand on my head and said:

‘May Allah have mercy upon you. You are indeed knowledgeable.’”

This ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud was more commonly known by his mother’s name than by his father’s name.

His mother’s name was Umm ‘Abd.

He was very short in stature and extremely thin.

Once, some Companions began laughing at him.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“‘Abdullah is the heaviest of all of them on the Scale because of his rank.”

It was regarding him that the Noble Prophet ﷺ also said:

“For my Ummah, I have also become pleased with that which Ibn Umm ‘Abd, that is, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, has become pleased with; and whatever ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud considered disliked for the Ummah, I also considered it disliked.”

The Prophet ﷺ respected him greatly.

He would make him sit close to him and would not keep anything hidden from him.

For this reason, he frequently came and went in the Prophet’s ﷺ house.

He would walk ahead of the Noble Prophet ﷺ or alongside him.

When the Prophet ﷺ performed Ghusl, he would hold up a sheet to provide privacy.

When the Prophet ﷺ went to sleep, he would wake him at the proper time.

Similarly, whenever the Prophet ﷺ stood up to go somewhere, Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه would put his shoes on for him.

Then, when the Prophet ﷺ reached somewhere and sat down, he would take his shoes and hold them in his hands.

Because of these services, it became commonly believed among some of the Companions رضي الله عنهم that he was one of the members of the household of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

The Prophet ﷺ gave him the glad tidings of Paradise.

Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه used to say:

“The entire world is a collection of sorrows; if there is any happiness in it, it is only a temporary benefit.”

After Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه, Hazrat Abu Dharr al-Ghifari رضي الله عنه accepted Islam.