We are now in a small town in a narrow valley. There is no vegetation, no livestock, no gardens, no rivers. Desert after  desert separates the town from the rest of the world. During the day the heat of the sun is unbearable and the nights are  still and lonely. Tribes flock to it like animals in the open country ...

Muadh Bin Jabal was a young man growing up in Yathrib as the light of guidance and truth began to spread over the Arabian  peninsula. He was a handsome and imposing character with black eyes and curly hair and immediately impressed whoever  he met. He was already distinguished for the sharpness of his intelligence among young men of his own ...

If you wish you may consider yourself among the Muhajirin or, if you wish, you may consider yourself one of the Ansar.  Choose whichever is dearer to you.” With these words, the Prophet, peace be upon him, addressed Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman when he met him for the first time in  Makkah. How did Hudhayfah come to have this choice’? His ...

Amr Ibn al-Jamuh was one of the leading men in Yathrib in the days of Jahiliyyah. He was the chief  of the Banu Salamah and was known to be one of the most generous and valiant persons in the  city. One of the privileges of the city’s leaders was having an idol to himself in his house. It was hoped  ...

Abul Aas belonged to the Abd ash-Shams clan of the Quraysh. He was in the prime of his youth, handsome and very impressive looking. He was the epitome of Arab chivalry and was endowed with all the characteristics of pride, manliness and generosity. He took great pride in the traditions of his ancestors. Abu-l Aas inherited the Quraysh love for ...

When he was still a youth, not yet past the age of puberty, he used to roam the mountain trails of  Makkah far away from people, tending the flocks of a Quraysh chieftain, Uqbah ibn Muayt. People  called him “Ibn Umm Abd”–the son of the mother of a slave. His real name was Abdullah and his  father’s name was Masud. ...

Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was a cousin of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Mother of the Believers, may  God be pleased with her. His father was Qays ibn Said and his mother was Aatikah bint Abdullah.  She was called Umm Maktum (Mother of the Concealed One) because she gave birth to a blind  child. Abdullah witnessed the rise of Islam in Makkah. ...

History would have by-passed this man as it had bypassed thousands of Arabs before him. He, like them, would have had no  claim to attention or fame. The greatness of Islam, however, gave to Abdullah ibn Hudhafah the opportunity to meet two  world potentates of his time–Khusraw Parvez the King of Persia and Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor. The story of ...

The life of Aishah is proof that a woman can be far more learned than men and that she can be the teacher of scholars and  experts. Her life is also proof that a woman can exert influence over men and women and provide them with inspiration and  leadership. Her life is also proof that the same woman can be ...

“You [Ali] are my brother in this world and the next.” (Ahaadeeth) Ali (RA)’s Election After Uthman(RA) ‘s martyrdom, the office of the caliphate remained unfilled for two or three days. Many people insisted that Ali(RA) should take up the office, but he was embarrassed by the fact that the people who pressed him hardest were the rebels, and he ...