Timing of Sahabah becoming Muslims
Introduction
After the Muslim conquests began, a Muslim's standing in the Islamic state depended on his services to the community, and especially on the length of time he had been a member of the community. Early converts (who had faced persecution along with Muhammad) had a much higher status than later converts (who may have joined only after there were worldly reasons to do so). The first male convert may thus be presumed to have a special status. This importance that was attached is highlighted in the controversies regarding the identity of the first male Muslim. Also, except for the Sahabah that merited extraordinary accomplishments, Sunni rank all Sahabah according to their time.
First
The first converts to Islam at the time of Muhammad were:[1]
- Khadija bint Khuwaylid - First person to convert and first female convert.[2]
- Zainab , Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum , Fatimah -Among the early female converts, after their mother Khadija
- Ali ibn Abi Talib - First male to convert.[3]
- Zayd ibn Harithah - One of three males, besides Abu Bakr and Ali, to convert.
- Abu Bakr - First male outside the Prophet's family to convert.[3]
- Uthman - Fourth male convert, after Abu Bakr, Ali and Zayd.
Others
Some other early converts were:
- Yasir ibn Amir - One of the early converts, also the second martyr of Muhammad's Ummah[1]
- Ammar ibn Yasir - One of the early converts
- Abu Dhar al-Ghifari- One of the early converts
- Sumayyah bint Khabbab - Seventh person to convert[4] was the first martyr of Muhammad's Ummah[1]
- Sa'd ibn Abi-Waqqas - One of the first converts[5]
- Lubaba bint al-Harith - Second woman to convert[6]
- Bilal ibn Ribah - One of the early converts
- Abd-Allah ibn Mas'ud - One of the early converts
- Jafar ibn Abi Talib - One of the early convert
- Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf - Among the first converts
- Zubayr ibn al-Awwam - One of the early converts
- Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah - One of the early converts
- Khalid ibn Sa`id - One of the early converts
- Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah - One of the early converts
- Khabbab ibn al-Aratt - One of the early converts
- Said ibn Zayd - Converted before Umar
- Fatimah bint al-Khattab - Converted before Umar
- Abu-Hudhayfah ibn Utbah - One of the early converts
- Mus`ab ibn `Umair - One of the early converts
- Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib - Converted in 616 A.D.
- Asma bint Abu Bakr - About the eighteenth person to convert[7]
- Umar - around the fiftieth or sixtieth or so person to convert, and he did so during 4 BH (617–618 CE)[3][8]
- Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya - Among the first people to convert
- Abd-Allah ibn Abd-al-Asad - Among the first people to convert
- Sawda bint Zama - One of the early converts
References
- Razwy, Sayed A.A. (1997). "Abu Bakr the first Khalifa of the Muslims". A restatement of the history of Islam & Muslims : C.E. 570 to 661. Stanmore, Middlesex: World Federation of KSI Muslim Communities. ISBN 0950987913. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
Abu bakr was the son of abu qahafa, and made his living as a merchant in Makkah. He accepted Islam after Khadija, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Zayd bin Haritha.
- "Khadijah, Daughter of Khuwaylid, Wife of Prophet Muhammad". Al-Islam.org.
- Tabari. Tarikh e Tabari.
I (Muhammad ibn Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqqas) asked my father whether Abu Bakr was the first of the Muslims. He said, 'No, more than fifty people embraced Islam before Abu Bakr; but he was superior to us as a Muslim. He also writes that Umar Bin Khattab embraced Islam after forty-five men and twenty-one women. As for the foremost one in the matter of Islam and faith, it was Ali Bin Abi Talib.'
- Al-Isabah [vol 8 ./189-190] with additional details taken from 'at-Tabaqat al-Kubra Volume 8 pg 193.
- Sa'ad Ibn Abi Waqqas (radhi allahu anhu) Archived 2005-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
- "Marriage to a 'past': Parents should not reject a proporal without a good reasons - and being a convert with a past is not an acceptable one". themodernreligion.com.
- Asma bint-Abu-Bakr Archived 2006-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Suyuti. "Umar". History of the Caliphs.
quoting al-Dhahabi: 'He (Umar) accepted Islam in the sixth year of prophecy when he was twenty-seven years old.'