Anne Stephens (Khadiejah) of www.Muhammad.com articulated in 37 booklets some of the 9408 companies of Prophet Muhammad, whom Hafiz Ibn Hajar compiled their biographies. Enjoy

1. INVITATION LETTERS TO
THE MUQAWQAS, PRIMATE OF THE
CHRISTIAN, COPTIC CHURCH IN EGYPT
THE TRIBESMEN OF NAJRAN
THE TRIBE OF BAKR BIN WAA’IL
THE TRIBE OF JUDHAMA
CONVERSION OF ZAID SON OF SU’NA
THE RABBI
Hayatus Sahabah by Muhadith Kandahlawi (Kandhelvi)
Rendered into current English
by
Khadeijah Abdullah Darwish (Anne Stephens)
Free give away
Acquired from Amazon’s Kindle
Not for sale or resale by any third party
©2013 - www.Muhammad.com
THE INVITATION TO THE MUQAWQAS, PRIMATE OF
THE CHRISTIAN, COPTIC CHURCH IN EGYPT
Abdullah, son of Abd Qaari narrates that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him, sent Hatib, son of Abi Balta’ah with a letter to the Primate of the Coptic
Church in Alexandria, Egypt.
Upon his arrival Hatib gave the letter to the Muqawqas who kissed it and hosted Hatib in
a most excellent manner and when he sent Hatib back to the Messenger of Allah, praise
and peace be upon him, gave him gifts for the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him. The gifts including clothing, a saddled mule (whom the Prophet, praise and
peace be upon him, named Duldul) and a young Christian Coptic girl by the name of
Maria whom the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, renamed Maryam and was the
mother of Abraham, the son of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him.

2. Hatib, son of Abi Balta’ah narrates that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him, sent him to the Muqawqas, in Alexandria. When he delivered the letter, the
Muqawqas hosted Hatib in his palace, where he stayed for a while. The Muqawqas
gathered his high priests and called for Hatib to attend a meeting. Upon presenting
himself, he told Hatib, “I wish to ask you several questions, so understand them well. Tell
me about your leader, is he really a prophet?” Hatib replied, “Indeed yes, he is the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. Next he asked, “If he is really the
Prophet of Allah, why didn’t he curse his people when they drove him out of his city
(Mecca)?” Hatib responded by asking, “When Jesus, the son of Mary was seized by his
people to crucify him, why didn’t he pray to Allah to destroy them?” The Muqawqas
replied, “You are a wise man who has come from the company of a wise man. Here are
some gifts I am sending with you to Muhammad, I am also sending you body guards as
a protective escort until you reach your place of safety.”
THE LETTER FROM THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH
TO THE PEOPLE OF NAJRAN.
Before embracing Islam, the grandfather of Abd Yasoo, was a Christian. Abd Yasoo
narrates that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, sent a letter to the
people of Najran before the Chapter “The Ants” (Naml) was revealed. (Before the
revelation of that chapter, his letters did not begin with the words ‘In the Name of Allah,
the Merciful, the Most Merciful’ as it is in that chapter that he learned that Prophet
Solomon commenced his letter to Sheba and that he was the first to do so).
The letter commenced,
“I begin in the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
From Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of Allah
To the High Priest and people of Najran
Peace be upon you. Before you I praise the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
I call you away worshipping the worshipers of Allah, and from the friendship of the
worshipers of Allah to the friendship of Allah.
Should you refuse (to accept Islam) the payment of the head tax (Jizya) becomes
obligatory upon you, but if you refuse this, I will declare war against you.
Peace.
When the High Priest read the letter he was alarmed and extremely frightened.
Immediately, he sent for Shurabel, son of Wada’ah from the Najran tribe of Hamdan.
Whenever a problem arose, he was the first to be called upon even in preference to
heroes, leaders and the hierarchy. The High Priest handed Shurabel the letter from the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, then asked, “O Abu Maryam! What
is your opinion?” Shurabel replied, “You are well aware that Allah promised Abraham,
the prophethood from the children of his son Ishmael. I would not be surprised if this
person is the one. I can offer no opinion in the matter of prophethood. Had it been a
worldly matter, I would have advised you and exerted myself to assist you.” The High
Priest asked Shurabel to step aside and be seated, which he did.
Thereafter the High Priest sent for Abdullah, son of Shurabel who was also from Najran
but belong to the branch tribe of Dhu Asbah from the Himyar tribe. The High Priest read
the letter to him and then asked his opinion whereupon he replied with a similar reply.
After having heard his reply he asked Abdullah to step aside and be seated, which he
did.
2

3. Following this, he sent for Jabar, son of Faydh who was also from Najran but belonged
to the tribe of Banu Harith, the son of Ka’b which was a branch of the tribe of Banul
Himas. The High Priest read the letter to him, and yet again his opinion was similar to
that of the other two and he was asked to sit down with the others.
Now that they had all agreed on the matter the High Priest called for the bells to be rang,
fires to be lit and flags to be raised in the churches, which was customary when trouble
was anticipated during the daytime. When there was trouble during the night, they would
only ring the bells and light fires. The bells were wrung and the flags raised and the
people living in the length and breadth of the valley gathered. The valley was very large,
so large that it would take a rider, speeding as fast as possible the whole day to travel,
and there were seventy-three villages in which there were one hundred and twenty
thousand warriors.
Once they were all gathered, the High Priest read the letter of the Messenger of Allah to
them, and everyone agreed that Shurahbel, son of Wada’ah from the tribe of Hamdan,
Abdullah, son of Shurahbel from the tribe of Dhu Asbah, and Jabar, son of Faydh from
the tribe of Banu Harith should be sent to gain further information about the Messenger
of Allah, praise and peace be upon him.
Soon after the delegation left for Medina, upon reaching Medina, they changed the
clothes they had worn for traveling and dressed themselves in decorative long garments
made in Yemen that they had brought with them and wore gold rings. Upon approaching
the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, they tried to greet him, but he
was no responsive. They spent the entire day seeking an opportunity to speak to the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, but he declined to speak to them so
long as they wore those (ornate) clothes and gold rings.
The three from Najran decided to look for Othman, son of Affan and Abdur Rahman, son
of Auf whom they knew and eventually found them sitting with a group of Muhajiren
(migrants) and Ansar (helpers). They went up to them and said, “O Othman, O Abdur
Rahman. Your Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, wrote a letter to us and we have
arrived in response to that letter. However, when we went to greet him, he did not return
our greeting and although we tried all day seeking an opportunity to speak to him, we
have been unable to do so. What do you advise should we return?” Ali, son of Abi Talib
was also sitting in the gathering, so Othman and Abdur Rahman asked him, “What is
your opinion?” Ali replied to them saying, “I think they should take of their clothes and
rings and put on their traveling clothes then return to the Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him. This they did and returned to greet the Messenger of Allah, praise
and peace be upon him, thereupon the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon
him, responded to their greeting and said, “I swear by the One who has sent me with the
truth that iblis (satan) was with you when you came to me the first time.” The Messenger
of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, then inquired about them and they asked him
questions. During the conversation they asked, “What have you to say about Jesus? We
are Christians and will be returning to our people. If you are a Prophet, we would be
pleased to hear what you have to say about him.” The Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him, answered saying, “I will tell you more after my Lord has informed
me about him.” The following morning the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him, received a new revelation:
3

4. ‘Truly, the likeness of (Prophet) Jesus with Allah, is as the likeness of Adam,
He created him from dust then He said to him "Be" and he was.
The truth is from your Lord, therefore, do not be among the doubters.
(To)Those who dispute with you concerning him
after the knowledge has come to you, say,
'Come, let us gather our sons and your sons,
our womenfolk and your womenfolk, ourselves and yourselves.
Then let us humbly pray, so lay the curse of Allah upon the ones who lie.'
Koran Ch.3:59-61
The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, recited these new verses to
them but the refused to accept it as well as the challenge of Allah in the last verse that
spoke of those who doubted the truth that read, “Then let us humbly pray, and so lay the
curse of Allah upon the ones who lie”. The next morning they came again to the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and found him with (his grandsons)
Hasan and Husayn wrapped in his cloak with their mother Lady Fatima and his wives
standing behind him. Upon seeing that the Shurahbel said to his companions, “You are
well aware that people from all parts of our valley are satisfied with my decisions. I swear
by Allah, what I see here is an extremely serious and weighty affair. If Allah has sent him
as His Messenger, we will be the first Arabs to oppose him. This insult will neither leave
his heart, nor those of his Companions until they destroy us. We are Arabs who are
nearest (in location) to him (and easy to attack). If he has been sent as the Messenger of
Allah, praise and peace be upon him, then, if both parties take part in a supplication to
lay the curse of the ones who lie, then the party in the wrong would be destroyed, even
their hair and fingernails.” Two of the party asked Shurabel, “What then is your proposal,
O Abu Maryam?” He replied, “I propose that we negotiate (a treaty) with him, because I
do not see him as a person who would make conditions that are futile.” The two told
Shurabel to do as he thought appropriate.
Shurabel addressed the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, saying, “I
propose something better than laying a curse.” The Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him, asked, “What is that?” Shurabel replied, “We are prepared to accept
whatever conditions you make.” The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,
said, “Perhaps there are people you left behind who may criticize you (for this).”
Shurabel replied, “You may ask my two companions about that possibility.” The
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, asked them, whereupon they
replied, “The people the length and breath of our valley are always satisfied with the
decisions of Shurabel.” The Messenger of Allah and his family, peace be upon them,
returned home without the curse falling upon the people from Najran (on account of their
reluctance to swear). The next day they met again with the Messenger of Allah, praise
and peace be upon him, and he wrote the following letter:
“I begin in the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
This is the treaty that Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of Allah, has written for
the people of Najran. He has determined that all their fruit, crops, gold, silver, produce
and slaves will remain as their property on condition that they pay two thousand sets of
clothing, one thousand sets in every month of Rajab, and one thousand sets in every
month of Safar.”
The party from Najran received the treaty and returned to Najran. When they reached
home, they found their High Priest and his step brother, who was also his cousin called
4

5. Bashir, son of Mu’awiya better known as Abu Alqama with him, mounted on their
camels. The letter was handed to their High Priest and as he was reading the letter, Abu
Alqama’s camel stumbled and he fell off. As Alqama fell, he cursed the Messenger of
Allah, praise and peace be upon him, whereupon the High Priest said to him, “By Allah,
you have cursed a prophet who has be sent!” Abu Alqama (was affected by these words
and) said, “If he is a true prophet, then I swear by Allah that I will not unfasten my
satchels until I meet the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him!” Without
hesitation he turned his camel in the direction of Medina and the High Priest did likewise
saying, “Understand well what I have to say. I have said what I did in fear so that the
Arabs may hear from me that we have acknowledge the right of the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, that we have not! accepted his call and submitted to him
as the other Arabs have done, even though we are the most noble of the Arabs and
have the most homes (greater in population).” Abu Alqama said to him, "No! By Allah! I
shall never accept anything coming from your head!" Abu Alqama beat his camel and left
the High Priest behind. As he rode, he spurred his camel on as he recited the following
couplets:
O Messenger of Allah, to you the camels runs with her rope shaking.
In her belly lies her unborn calf in a breech position
Her (master’s) religion is now other than Christianity.
Abu Alqama met the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and embraced
Islam and lived close to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, until he
was finally martyred.
Later, the three who had just returned from Medina went to see a monk called the son of
Abi Shimr who lived at the top of his monastery. They told him that a Prophet had been
sent in the district of Tihamah and about their meeting with him. They told the monk
about the challenge involving a curse, and how they had declined to take the challenge,
and also that Abu Alqama had embraced Islam and left to meet the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him.
Upon hearing this, the monk declared, “Take me down from here before I throw myself
off this monastery!” They helped him down, and he left to meet the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, taking with him several gifts amongst which was a shawl,
a cup and a staff. The monk stayed with the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him, for some time and listened to the Revelation. However, he did not declare his
witnessing, and left the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, promising
that he would return shortly, however, soon after his departure the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, passed away.
Before the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, passed away the High
Priest, Abdul Harith together with several tribal leaders and members of the hierarchy
went to visit the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and heard the
recitation of the Koran.
The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon, wrote the following letter addressed
to the High Priest, priests and others of Najran:
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah
5

6. To the High Priest, Abul Harith, his priests, soothsayers and monks.
Everything you possess, no matter whether the quantities are large or small, shall enjoy
the protection of Allah and His Messenger. The position of priests, monks and
soothsayers will remain the same, as will the rights due to them together with any
authority entrusted to them. This protection of Allah and His Messenger will remain intact
so long as you continue to do what is right and are not in opposition (to the Muslims) or
oppressors.
This letter was written by the hand of Mughiera, son of Shu’ba.
THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH’S LETTER TO THE
TRIBE OF BAKR, SON OF WA’IL
Marthad, son of Dhabiyan narrates that a letter from the Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him, reached them but they could find no one from their tribe to read it
until a man from the tribe of Dabe’ah came and read it to them.
From The Messenger of Allah
To the Bakr son of Wa'il tribe
Accept Islam and live in peace.
THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH’S LETTER TO THE
TRIBE OF BANU JUDHAMA
Ma’bad Judhami narrates that when Rifa’ah, son of Zaid met the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,
wrote the following letter to his tribe.
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah
(This letter has been) handed to Rifa’ah the son of Zaid whom I have sent to his people
and those amongst them to invite them to Allah and His Messenger. Whosoever accepts
belief, will be among those of the party of Allah and His Messenger. As for those who
turn their away, they will have two months respite.
When the letter was delivered to Rifa’ah they all accepted belief in Allah and His
Messenger, praise and peace be upon him.
THE CONVERSION OF RABBI ZAID, SON OF SU’NA
Abdullah, son of Shalom narrates that when Allah decreed that Zaid, son of Su’na
should accept Islam, Zaid said to him, “When I looked at Muhammad, praise and peace
be upon him, I recognized all except two of the signs of the prophethood, and the two
remaining signs I had not tested. Those signs were that his gentleness would overcome
his anger and that the more foolish a person acted towards him, the more patient he
would become.”
Zaid narrates the time when the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, had
just come out from his room with Ali, son of Abi Talib when a rider who Zaid presumed to
a Bedouin came to him and said, “O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,
some people from a certain tribe embraced Islam because I told them that they will
6

7. receive an abundance of sustenance if they accepted Islam. However, no rain has fallen
and they are afflicted. O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, I fear that
they will leave the fold of Islam out of greed just as they had entered it out of greed. If
you are agreeable perhaps you might send them something to assist them.”
Zaid narrates, “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, looked at the
person beside him, who I think was Ali and Ali said, “O Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him, I do not think there is anything left from the wealth.” I (Zaid)
approached the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and said,
“O Muhammad, “there is a date grove but its fruit are not yet ripe I will buy them in
advance against its harvest, when they are harvested I will ask you for them.”
Whereupon the sale and date of collection was agreed upon, and Zaid opened his purse
and paid the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, eighty mithqal (approx.
400 grams) of gold. The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, received
the gold and gave it to the Bedouin, saying, “Take this to assist them, and deal fairly with
it.”
Zaid continued and narrates that there were only two or three days left before the
repayment of the loan was due, and during that time the Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him, accompanied by Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and several other
Companions went to perform a funeral. After the funeral they sat near a wall and I went
up to him and grabbed hold of the collar of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him, and I stared angrily into his face and demanding, “O Muhammad, when are
you going to repay your debt? By Allah, all the children of Abdul Muttalib are poor
payers. This I know for certain because I have experienced it before!” Omar’s eyes
began to roll with anger as he stared at me in fury and said, "O enemy of Allah, what are
you mumbling. I swear by Allah, that if I did not fear, I would have your head severed!"
The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, looked up and smiled at Omar
and told him, "Omar, this person and I are in need of something else. He should have
told me to take care that I fulfill his rights, and should have advised in a better manner
when presenting his claim. Go, take him and fulfill his rights, and because he was
threatened give him, in compensation, twenty extra measurements of dates as his right.
Zaid narrated that Omar took him and paid what was due and added twenty extra
measurements of dates. When I (Zaid) asked what the extra dates were for, Omar said
that he had been ordered by the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, to
do this on account of the threat he (Omar) had made. I then asked, “O Omar do you
recognize me?” Omar replied that he did not, whereupon Zaid told him, “I am Zaid, son
of Su’na.” “What” exclaimed Omar, “the Rabbi?” I replied that I was and Omar asked,
“Why did you behave and speak in the way you did? I replied, “O Omar, when I looked at
Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, I recognized all the signs of his
prophethood except for two that I had not been able to examine. The first was the
gentleness of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, which overrides
his anger. The second was that the more foolishly a person acts towards him the more
tolerant he becomes. Now I have examined both, therefore I make you a witness to my
acceptance of Islam and give half my wealth to the nation of the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him. Omar said, “Say that it is for part of the nation because
you will not be able to give all of them.” Thereupon I told him “then it is for part of the
nation.” Omar and I returned to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,
and I embraced Islam at the hand of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon
him.
7

8. Thereafter I participated in many encounters with the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace
be upon him. Later, Zaid, son of Su’na became a martyr during one of the encounters.
May Allah be pleased with all the Companions.
8