The Cloud of Witnesses

First wife of the Prophet Muhammad and the first to believe him. A Makkan merchant who ran caravans to Syria. Mother of his daughters Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah. Her wealth shielded the early Muslims through the boycott in the valley of Abu Talib. Died in the Year of Sorrow, before the Hijra.

Wife of the Messenger of Allah, daughter of the first caliph Abu Bakr, "Mother of the Believers." Major hadith narrator — more than two thousand reports trace through her. Taught fiqh from behind the curtain after the Prophet's death. Rode out at the Battle of the Camel against Ali; spoke of the day with grief afterward.

Cousin of the Messenger of Allah, husband of Fatimah, father of Hasan and Husayn. First male — or first child, the reports differ — to embrace Islam. Slept in the Prophet's bed the night of the Hijra. Carried Dhul-Fiqar at Badr, Uhud, Khaybar. Fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph; for the Shia, the first Imam. Struck in the mosque at Fajr by a Khariji and died saying: "By the Lord of the Ka'ba, I have succeeded."

Daughter of the Messenger of Allah and Khadijah, wife of Ali, mother of Hasan, Husayn, Zaynab, and Umm Kulthum. The only of the Prophet's daughters whose line continued. Washed her father's wounds at Uhud. Died six months after he did, not yet thirty.

First muezzin. Born a slave in Makkah, Abyssinian by descent. Tortured under the desert sun by his master Umayya for the sake of Tawhid; said only "ahad, ahad" — One, One. Bought and freed by Abu Bakr. Climbed the Ka'ba at the conquest of Makkah and called the adhan from above the city of his captors. Could not bring himself to call the adhan again after the Prophet's death; went to Sham and died in Damascus.