Hazrat Usama ibn Zayd

The Beloved of the Prophet ﷺ

Usama ibn Zayd was the son of Zayd ibn Haritha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُHazrat Zayd ibn Harithaرَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُThe freedman the Prophet ﷺ loved; the only Companion named in the Qur'anMuhajirun · Early Converts · Martyrs, and dearly loved by the Prophet ﷺ — who, asked whom of his family he loved most, named Usama among them, seating him and Hasan رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُHazrat Hasan ibn Aliرَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُGrandson of the Prophet ﷺ; master of the youth of Paradise; the caliph who reconciled the UmmahAhl al-Bayt on his knees and praying for them. 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 2 · pp. 535 — Kandhlawi — the Prophet names Usama among those he loved most and seats him with Hasan. In his final illness the Prophet ﷺ appointed Usama — barely twenty — commander of an expedition against the Byzantines, ordering senior Companions to serve under him, and Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُHazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiqرَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُFirst Caliph; the Prophet's closest companionKhulafa Rashidun · Ashara Mubashara · Muhajirun later insisted on dispatching that army even amid the apostasy, refusing to hold back what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had ordered. 2 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 242–243, 277–279 — Najeebabadi — the Prophet appoints young Usama commander over senior Companions; Abu Bakr dispatches the army after the Prophet's death.

Virtues in the Hadith

On a raid Usama killed a man who had declared “There is no god but Allah,” judging it said only out of fear of the sword; the Prophet ﷺ rebuked him gravely:

أَفَلاَ شَقَقْتَ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ

”Did you split open his heart (to know what was in it)?”

Sahih Muslim 96a · Book 1 (Faith), Hadith 183 · narrated by Usama ibn Zayd

Usama lived on, honoured among the Companions, and died in Madinah.