Umm Ja’far, Zubaydah was the darling queen of fifth Abbasid Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (170H, 786 A.D to 193H, 809 A.D). Her name was Amatul Aziz but she came to be known as Zubaydah. Her grandfather Abu Ja’far Mansur who had endearly named her Zubaydah, made very special arrangements for her education. Very competent and highly qualified teachers and scholars were hired. Zubaydah, herself was very intelligent and right-minded. She obtained education with great interest and developed an attachment with the Quran and Hadith, which persisted for the entire of her life. She excelled in Arabic literature as well as other fields of learning. Her erudition could be compared with those of the celebrated scholars of her days.

Zubaydah was a very graceful lady. She was kind hearted, generous and literary minded. Though her living was regal and her magnificence and splendour was unparalleled in the precincts of the royalties. On the one hand thousands of dinars were spent on her single dress, her footwears were studded with diamonds and pearls and her palaces were lighted with candles of amber. Her kitchen expenditures were more than ten thousand dirhams daily. Hundreds of people would live on her kitchen.

Dhul-Nun al-Misri 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.244H/859CE)

Famous Egyptian Sufi [full name Dhul Nun Abu Fayd Thawban ibn Ibrahim al-Misri]. Born in Akhmim, upper Egypt [796 CE]; died in Djiza near Cairo. Considered among the most prominent figures of early Sufism & holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as JUNAYD, AL-BAGHDADI [d.910] & ABU YAZID AL-BISTAMI [d.874] Allah be pleased with all. A legendary alchemist and thaumaturage, he is supposed to have known the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in Arabia and Syria. Wisdom sayings & poems, which are extremely dense & rich in sufi imagery, emphasize knowledge or gnosis [m'arifah] more than fear [makhafah] or love [mahabbah], the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. No written work has survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings & aphorisms attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.

Al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.243H/858CE)

He was one of the earliest author of Sufi treatises and the teacher of JUNAYD AL-BAGHDADI, ABD 'AL-QAHIR AL-BAGHDADI, TAJ AL-DIN AL-SUBKI, and Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi Allah be pleased with them all all reiterate the statement whereby "Upon the books of al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi on kalam, fiqh, and hadith rest those among us who are mutakallimfaqih (jurist), and sufi."1 His extant works are: (theologian),faqih (jurist), and sufi."1 His extant works are:

• Kitab al-ri'aya li huquq Allah (Book of observance of the rights of Allah); Shaykh al-Islam al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam wrote an abridgment of it.2 
• Kitab al-tawahhum (Book of imagination), a description of the Day of Judgment;
• Kitab al-khalwa (Book of seclusion);
• Risalat al-mustarshidin (Treatise for those who ask for guidance);
• Kitab al-ri'aya li-huquq Allah (Book of the observance of the rights of Allah);
• Kitab fahm al-Qur'an (Book of the understanding of Qur'an);
• Kitab mahiyyat al-'aql wa ma`nahu wa ikhtilaf al-nas fihi (Book of the nature and meaning of the mind and the differences among people concerning it);
• Al-Masa'il fi a'mal al-qulub wa al-jawarih wa al-'aql (The questions concerning the works of the hearts, the limbs, and the mind);
• Kitab al-'azama (The book of magnificence);
• Al-Wasaya wa al-nasa'ih al-diniyya wa al-nafahat al-qudsiyya li naf'i jami' al-bariyya (The spiritual legacies and counsels and the sanctified gifts for the benefit of all creatures).

1] Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Kitab Usul al-Din p. 308-309; Taj al-Din Subki, Tabaqat al-shafi'iyya 2:275; Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya 1:(#9)26-27.

2] Al-Subki mentions it in Tabaqat al-shafi'iyya. A copy of it is found at the Chester Beatty Library, ms. 3184

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Fatimah bint Asad, was the mother of ‘Ali bin Abu Talib, and the mother-in-law of the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah bint Muhammad. Her grandsons, Hasan and Husain are to be the leaders of the youths of Paradise. Besides ‘Ali, she had two other sons, Ja’far Tayyir who was a famous General. He led the forces of Islam in the battle of Mu’tah and was martyred in the same battle.

When the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] grew up and proclaimed himself to be the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] and Last Messenger of Allah, she still stood by him. All the relentless persecution did not deter her in any way. She was exceptionally fond of her son Ja’far, but for the sake of Islam she bore the separation from him and his wife, Asma bint ‘Omais, when they migrated to Abyssiniah on the Prophet’s orders with the first group of migrant Muslims.

Fatimah bint Asad, being one of the first to swear allegiance to Islam and its concept of the Oneness of Allah, faced the economic and social boycott of the Shi’ab Abi Talib for those three terrible years. She was also a member of the privileged group who migrated to Madinah.

Hadrat Shaykh Maroof al-Karkhi 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.200H/815CE)

Muqtada-e-Ahl al-Tariqat, Rahhuma-e-Raahe Haqiqat, Hadrat Shaykh Maroof Karkhi radi Allahu anhu is the ninth Imam and Shaykh of the Silsila Aaliyah Qaderiya. He attained all his knowledge under the watchful eye of Imam Ali Raza radi Allahu anhu. He became mureed of Hadrat Habeeb Raa'ee, and was blessed with Khilafat from Hadrat Habeeb Ra'ee, Hadrat Ali Raza and Hadrat Awliyah Ta'ee Allah be pleased with them all.

He passed away on a Friday or Saturday, on the 2nd of Muharram, 200 Hijri. After his demise, Hadrat Muhammad bin Abul Hussain radi Allahu anhu says, that he saw Hadrat Maroof Karkhi radi Allahu anhu in his dream and he asked him how Almighty Allah had treated him. He said;

Almighty Allah pardoned me, not because of my piety but because of what I heard from Hadrat Samaak radi Allahu anhu in Kufa, when he said, 'He who leaves all ties and turns towards Allah, then Allah Almighty Allah sends his Mercy towards him and he turns all his servants in his direction.' I followed this advice of his and turned completely towards Allah, and with the exception of the khidmat of Hadrat Ali (Raza) radi Allahu anhu I left everything else.

Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l -ridwan (d.226H/840CE)

Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu was born in 150 Hijri or 767 C.E. in the city of Merv in Egypt. He was one of the early Sufi Masters and a teacher of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal Radi Allahu anhu. Imam Ahmad was the founder of the Hanbali school of Islamic thought. His title was Al-Hafi (The Barefoot). One legend explains the reason for his title that he lead a corrupt life, and then made his repentance on the hand of Imam Moosa Kazim. At that time he was barefoot. There are other legends about his title too. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal Radi Allahu anhu, in order to attain this marifa, although he was at a high degree in knowledge and ijtihad, ran to be in the service of Hadrat Bishr al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu. When he was asked why he kept close to Bishr al-Hafi, he answered, 'He knows Allah better than I do.'

Some quotes of Bishr al-Hafi :

Regarding renunciation (zuhd) he said :  "Renunciation is a king who dwells only in a free and empty heart."

Regarding sadness (huzn), Bishr al-Hafi says: 'Sadness or sorrow is like a ruler. When it settles in a place, it does not allow others to reside there.'

Regarding Imam al Azam Abu Hanifa Radi Allahu anhu he said: "None criticizes Abu Hanifa except an envier or an ignoramus".

Regarding tawakkal [trust in Allah] Bishr al-Hafi said: "One of them may say: 'I have put all my trust in Allah [tawakkaltu 'ala 'llah],' although he is actually telling a lie. For, by Allah, if he had really put all his trust in Allah, he would be perfectly content with the way Allah treats him."

Bishr al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu passed away in 840 C.E. or 227? Hijri and is burried in Baghdad, Iraq

Fatimah bint Abdul Malik was a highly placed woman of first century Hijrah. She was wife of the great Banu Umayyad Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz and daughter of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. She was raised in palatial atmosphere like princesses and she was familiar with the royal culture.

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, himself a man of great beauty was regarded one of the few who greatly were mindful of their get-up. His diet and dress were equally worthy of royalty. But after he had to take over the charge of the Caliphate, he gave up all princely practices. He turned his mouth away from the superb and delicious cuisine. The pulses were started to be cooked daily and all the people of his household were sick with the pulses.

One day a servant complained his matron that he was fed up with the pulses. She silenced him to tell that his master, the Commander of the Faithful, too ate the same and they themselves, as well.