and, prior to Islam, he had been sent as an envoy to Chosroes, who ordered him to build a palace for him in Ṭāʾif. On that occasion Chosroes asked him, “Which of your children is dearest to you?” He replied, “The youngest—until he grows up; the sick—until he recovers; and the one who is away—until he returns.” Chosroes exclaimed, “How did you come by such wisdom? These are the words of the sages!” He then asked, “What is your staple food?” Ghaylān answered, “Wheat.” Chosroes said, “Indeed—such speech is produced by wheat, not by dates and milk.”

Maʿmar ibn al-Ḥārith (1) ibn Maʿmar ibn Ḥabīb ibn Wahb ibn Ḥudhāfah ibn Jumah al-Qurashī al-Jumaḥī was the brother of Ḥāṭib and Ḥiṭāb; their mother was Qaylah (2) bint Maẓʿūn, the sister of ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn. Maʿmar embraced Islam before the Prophet ﷺ entered the House of al-Arqam, fought at Badr and every subsequent battle, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ established brotherhood between him and Muʿādh ibn ʿAfrāʾ.

Maysarah ibn Masrūq al-ʿAbsī (3) was a devout elder—some maintain that he was a Companion. He fought at Yarmūk and pushed into Byzantine territory as commander of an army of 6,000 men. Endowed with lofty resolve, he killed, captured, and won spoils in the year 20 AH. He narrated from Abū ʿUbaydah, and among those who reported from him was Aslam, the freedman of ʿUmar (Ibn al-Athīr does not mention him in al-Ghābah).

Wāqid ibn ʿAbd Allāh (4) ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn ʿAzīz (5) al-Ḥanẓalī al-Yarbūʿī, an ally of Banū ʿAdiyy ibn Kaʿb, embraced Islam before the Prophet ﷺ entered the House of al-Arqam and fought at Badr and every engagement thereafter. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ paired him in brotherhood with Bishr ibn al-Barāʾ ibn Maʿrūr. He was the first to kill an enemy in the path of Allah—glorified is He—at the valley of Nakhlah, together with ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jahsh, when they slew ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥaḍramī. He died during the caliphate of ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him).

Abū Khirāsh al-Hudhalī (6), the poet (7)—whose given name was Khuwaylid ibn Murrah—could out-run horses on foot. A fearsome killer in the pre-Islamic era, he embraced Islam and his faith was sound. He died in the time of ʿUmar. Some pilgrims once came to him, so he went off to fetch them water; on the way a snake bit him. He nevertheless returned with the water and provided them with a sheep and a cooking pot, without telling them what had happened. By morning he had died, and they buried him. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr and Ibn al-Athīr include him among the Companions, though it appears he did not come as part of a formal delegation; rather, he accepted Islam during the Prophet’s lifetime, making him one of the muḍramūn. Allah knows best.