There are many amazing child sahaba of the Prophet for Muslim kids to learn about. Child sahaba are so appealing to Muslim children as they spent their childhoods around the Prophet and learning from him. We can learn so much about the Prophet’s great character through his interactions with children. Their education and role models while they were young led to them achieving incredible lives seeking Allah’s pleasure. Their lives are far too epic to summarise in one blog post but here are a few highlights from 10 great child companions. Most of this information came from the book titled ‘Child Companions Around the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him’ available from Darussalam.
Hasan bin Ali
The eldest grandson of the Messenger and son of the rightly guided Caliph Ali and the leader of the women in Jannah, Faatimah, Hasan was raised with the best role models from an early age. This was evident in his pious character.
Hasan loved to worship Allah. He read surah al-Kahf every night before sleeping and performed hajj 25 times on foot! He was also incredibly generous and loved to help Muslims. He said that he loved to fulfil his brother in Islam’s need more than spending one whole month in the masjid. An example of this is when Hasan heard a man ask Allah to give him 10,000 dirhams, so he went to his house and sent the money to him!
His humility and love for unity have had a lasting impact on the ummah. He gave up his position as Caliph to ensure the Muslims were united. An example of a child companion that all Muslim kids should learn about.
Hussain bin Ali
The Messsenger’s younger grandson was beloved by his grandfather and benefitted like his brother from having the best role models and family.
He was very generous and it’s reported that he wouldn’t refuse any request from a person at his door. He was also very brave and fought in battles as part of the Muslim army.
Abdullah bin Zubair
Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with them) was one of the amazing child sahaba from a very special family. He was the first child born from the people who made hijirah to Madinah. He was one of the 4 Abdullahs, four child sahaba who were called Abdullah and grew up around the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). His father Az-Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the 10 companions promised Jannah, his mother was the daughter of the Prophet’s best friend, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), and his two aunts were Mothers of the Believers Aishah and Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with them).
‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas
This wonderful companion was the cousin of the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) and his aunt Maymunah was a Mother of the Believers. He loved to spend time at her house with the Prophet. Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) grew to be a wise and knowledgeable scholar. He knew so much about Islam he was called Habr Al-Ummah (the learned man of the nation) and Al-Bahr (the sea).
‘Abdullah bin Ja’far
‘Abdullah bin Ja’far was born in the Kingdom of Aksum in East Africa where his parents had made hijrah. His father was the cousin of the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). ‘Abdullah bin Ja’far was known as the Sea of Generosity due to his love of giving charity. He lived until he was 90 years old and was buried in Madinah.
‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar
‘Abdullah bin Umar was the son of the rightly guided Caliph, ’Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He copied his father’s love of the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). He used to follow in the footsteps of the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) wherever he went, sit where he sat, pray where he prayed and visit where he visited. He used to water the tree where the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) used to sit so that people could enjoy the blessing of copying the Messenger. The Mother of the Believers, ‘Aisha said “No one followed in the footsteps of the Prophet more closely than Ibn ‘Umar did.” He was reported to have freed a thousand or more slaves.
‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr
‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam at a young age and travelled to Madinah to join the Muslims there. His father was ‘Amr Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) who was once a strong opponent of the Muslims but later accepted Islam at the same time as Khalid bin Waleed. ‘Abdullah used the blessing of his strong memory to learn as much Qur’an as possible. He would sit with the Messenger and his Companions and write down verses of the Qur’an. He did not just write the Qur’an he also used to record the sayings of the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). He asked the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) about writing down what he said and he replied “Write, for by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, nothing emanates from me except the truth.”(Ahmad 2/200) ‘
Usamah bin Zayd
‘Usamah’s father Zayd is greatly honoured as the only Companion whose name is mentioned in the Qur’an. He was treated like a son by the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) and they remained very close his entire life. His mother was Um Ayman a female companion from the Kingdom of Aksum who cared for the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) when his mother passed away. Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them) was among the child sahaba who were very brave from a young age. He wanted to join the battle of Badr when he was just 10 years old and was sent back from Uhud when people spotted him carrying a sword that was almost as tall as him! He was later made commander of the Muslim army by the Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace).
Anas bin Malik
Anas’s mother, the pious companion Um Sulaim (may Allah be pleased with her) wanted him to learn about great character from the best example so she took Anas to the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) when he was 8 years old. She gave Anas to the Messenger as a helper and this proved to be a huge blessing for Anas, his family and for all the Muslims. Anas, as the Prophet’s helper, was always in his company. As a result, he saw his actions and listened to his speech. The Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) used to advise Anas about how to please Allah. Due to this, Anas narrated 2286 hadith, the third highest total of any Companion.
Sa’eed bin Al-Aas
Sa’eed (may Allah be pleased with him) was born around the time when hijrah from Makkah to Madinah took place. He was a small child when his father died. Instead of being angry with the Muslims for killing his father, he had a natural love of the truth and believed in Allah and his Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). As a boy he bravely travelled to the Messenger to join him and learn from him.
He was famous for his generosity and mastery of the Arabic language.
Resources to help you teach your kids about child sahaba
I hope you have found these suggestions for child companions to teach your kids about helpful. If you would like get started right away with reading passages and worksheet packs for child companions then please click the links below.
There are two kinds of resources, a reading comprehension set that includes Hasan bin Ali, Abdullah bin Zubair and Abdullah bin Abbas or individual packs for Abdullah bin Ja’far, Abdullah bin ‘Umar, Abdullah bin ‘Amr, Usamah bin Zayd, Anas bin Malik and Sa’eed bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with them.) Plus a review pack to revise all the individual packs.
What’s Included?
✔️3 Page biography passage in child-friendly language
✔️Worksheet to check understanding – perfect for Islamic Studies.
✔️4 Worksheets developing English skills
✔️Answer key
⌛Save time as everything is prepared for you.
✏️Low prep – just print and go!
⭐Black and white to save your ink!
✅Answer keys save you time googling for information!
Reading Comprehension Set: Etsy, TPT, Teach Me Islam Website
Child Companions Individual Packs: Etsy, TPT, Teach Me Islam Website
