The Firsts

A granddaughter of the Prophet ﷺ, exemplary for her patience, courage and generosity. She established institutions to support the poor, elderly, and disabled. She persevered after the painful massacre of her family at Karbala, and eloquently spoke truth to power.  Zaynab bint Ali (ra) is from the great women of the Ahl al-Bayt and is an enduring role model for every generation of Muslims.

Who is Husayn (ra)? The beloved grandson of the Prophet ﷺ, a role model for believers in their pursuits of justice, and the master of the youth of Jannah. Dr. Omar Suleiman explores his life in depth: his birth and childhood, his grandfather ﷺ's love for him, his sense of justice, his service to the ummah , his tragic martyrdom at Karbala, and the lessons his story teaches us today. 

The Prophet ﷺ called his grandson a sayyid, and indeed, Hasan (ra) was a master among men. Explore the life and legacy of Hasan ibn Ali (ra) in rich detail: his joyous birth, the Prophet ﷺ’s love for him, his unique personality and generosity, his worship and many Hajj journeys, his leadership as the fifth caliph, and his reconciliation and reuniting of the ummah.

The son of the first martyrs, a martyr himself, and the father of a martyr. Ammar ibn Yasir (ra) was part of a family chosen by Allah for shahadah . Learn his inspiring story, from being one of the first Muslims; facing torture and witnessing the martyrdom of his parents, Sumayyah (ra) and Yasir (ra); building masajid and fighting battles alongside the Prophet ﷺ; and ultimately sacrificing his lif...

A Palestinian companion of the Prophet ﷺ. The first to light up masjids with oil lamps. He loved the Qur’an. He famously met the Dajjal. This is the story of the incredible Tamim al-Dari (ra).

The son of Hatim al-Tai, one of the most famous figures in Arab history, walks into the Prophet ﷺ’s room in Madinah. What happened next transformed the heart of this Christian king. How did the son of Arabia’s most famous man become one of Islam’s closest companions?

How beautiful would you be if an angel wiped your face? It happened to Jarir ibn Abdullah (ra), a Yemeni companion of the Prophet ﷺ. He was called “the Yusuf of this ummah.” But he had another special gift—the power of persuasion.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.