The Ten Promised Paradise

A collection of short biographies of the ten companions whom the Prophet Muhammad named as being promised Paradise, drawn from the writings of the Hanbali scholar and preacher Ibn al-Jawzi. Each chapter takes one companion in turn, sketching his background, his acceptance of Islam, the qualities the Prophet praised him for, and the episodes of his life that later generations remembered him by. The treatment is brief rather than exhaustive, which makes it a manageable first read on the Sahabah for someone who has not worked through a full biographical dictionary. Suited to students who want the essential outline of these ten lives in one short volume, and to anyone reading around the seerah who wants the people closest to the Prophet in sharper focus.