poison.” He drank it, and it did him no harm.

“Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās” was a man whose supplications were answered: he never supplicated without receiving an answer. It was he who defeated the armies of Chosroes and conquered Iraq.

When “ ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb” dispatched an army, he appointed a man named “Sāriyah” as its commander. While ‘Umar was delivering a sermon, he began calling out from the pulpit, “Sāriyah, the mountain! Sāriyah, the mountain!” When the army’s messenger arrived, ‘Umar questioned him. He replied, “Commander of the Faithful, we encountered an enemy who defeated us. Suddenly, we heard someone calling, ‘Sāriyah, the mountain! Sāriyah, the mountain!’ We took up positions with our backs to the mountain, and Allah defeated them.”

When “al-Zabīrah” was tortured for her faith in Allah, she refused to renounce Islam and lost her sight. The polytheists said, “Al-Lāt and al-‘Uzzā have afflicted her sight.” She replied, “No, by Allah!” Allah then restored her sight.

“Sa‘īd ibn Zayd” supplicated against Arwā bint al-Hakam, and she was struck blind because she had lied about him. He said, “O Allah, if she is lying, blind her and cause her to die on her own land.” She became blind, fell into a pit on her land, and died.

“Al-‘Alā’ ibn al-Hadramī” was the governor appointed by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, over Bahrain. In his supplication he would say, “O All-Knowing, O Forbearing, O Most High, O Magnificent!”