Rafi' b. Khadij

Usama ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, was the son of Zayd ibn Harithah — the freed slave and beloved companion of the Prophet ﷺ — and was himself deeply loved by the Prophet, who called him and his father 'my beloved, son of my beloved' (hubbiy ibn hubbiy). He was raised in the Prophet's household from birth and was treated almost as a grandson. Despite his young age, the Prophet appointed him as the commander of a military expedition just before his own death — an appointment that stirred controversy among some because he was young — demonstrating the Prophet's unwavering confidence in him. After the Prophet's death, Caliph Abu Bakr completed the dispatch of Usama's expedition despite the crisis of apostasy. Usama narrated hadiths from the Prophet on legal matters, eschatology, and the Prophet's personal character. Among his notable narrations is the hadith on the prohibition of killing someone who has declared the testimony of faith even in battle. He settled in Wadi al-Qura and died around 54 AH. His narrations appear in the Sahihayn and major Sunan collections.