Conversion of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam

Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, the Prophet's cousin (son of his aunt Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib), accepted Islam at the age of approximately sixteen through Abu Bakr's invitation. His uncle would punish him by wrapping him in a mat and fumigating him with smoke to force him to renounce Islam, but al-Zubayr refused to recant. He was one of the ten companions promised Paradise (al-Asharah al-Mubashsharah) and the Prophet called him his disciple (hawari), saying: 'Every prophet has a disciple, and my disciple is al-Zubayr.' He would become one of the greatest warriors of Islam, distinguishing himself at Badr, Uhud, and in the conquest of Egypt.