Zayd · a Light

The only companion named in the Qur'an was a freed slave

Zayd ibn Haritha was taken as a boy in a raid and sold in Makkah, where he ended up in the household of the Prophet ﷺ. When his father and uncle found him and came with a ransom, he was given the choice and chose to stay. He was freed, and for a time was called Zayd ibn Muhammad, until the Qur'an ended the practice of giving adopted sons the name of the adopter and told believers to call them by their own fathers. He is the only one of the companions mentioned by name in the Qur'an, in Surah Al-Ahzab. He commanded the army at Mu'ta in 629 and was killed there.

Zayd ibn Haritha · died at Mu'ta, 629 CE

Source · Qur'an 33:37; on adoption, Qur'an 33:5