The genealogy of this person is as follows: Talha b. ʿUbaydullāh b. ʿUthmān b. ʿAmr b. Kaʿb b. Saʿd b. Taym b. Murra b. Kaʿb b. Luʾayy b. Ghālib b. Fihr b. Mālik b. Naḍr b. Kināna, Abū Muḥammad al-Qurashī al-Taymī. Because he was a generous and noble person, he was also known by the names Talḥat al-Khayr and Talḥat al-Fayyāḍ. He became Muslim in the earliest days of Islam through Abū Bakr. Nawfal b. Ḥuwaylid al-ʿAdawī used to tie Abū Bakr and Talha b. ʿUbaydullāh tightly together with a rope. The Banū Tamīm tribe could not rescue these two Muslims from Nawfal. For this reason, Talha and Abū Bakr were called "qarīnān" (the two close companions). The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) made Talha the brother of Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī. Talha participated in all the military expeditions alongside the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) except for the Battle of Badr. He did not participate in the Battle of Badr because he was in Syria for trade or as an envoy. For this reason, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him a share of the spoils obtained at Badr and stated that he would receive the reward as if he had participated in that battle.
In the Battle of Uhud, Talha showed great valor. On that day, his hand became paralyzed. With this hand, he protected the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), and the paralysis in his hand continued until his death. Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, when speaking of his valor at Uhud, used to say, "All the success at the Battle of Uhud belongs to Talha."
During the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Talha has made Paradise obligatory for himself." Because during the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) wore two coats of armor one over the other. While wearing these armors, he tried to climb a mountain, but when he could not manage, Talha bent his head, and the Messenger of God climbed the mountain by stepping on his back. For this reason, he said: "Talha has made Paradise obligatory for himself." Talha is one of the ten Companions (ṣaḥāba) who were given the glad tidings of Paradise. He was one of the six members of the council (shūrā) formed to select the caliph after the martyrdom of ʿUmar. He was a companion of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and maintained this companionship well, so much so that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away being pleased with him. Abū Bakr and ʿUmar also passed away being pleased with him.
When the trouble concerning ʿUthmān arose, he withdrew to one side, and some people even claimed that he was involved in the plot against ʿUthmān. For this reason, when he was present at the Battle of the Camel and found himself face to face with ʿAlī, ʿAlī advised him, and he withdrew and began to stand in the rear ranks. At that moment, a stray arrow struck his knee (according to another narration, his neck), but the narration that it struck his knee is more well-known. The arrow that struck his leg pinned his leg to the side of his horse, and when the wounded horse became unruly and threw him to the ground, he cried out: "O servants of Allah, come to me!" His slave came, mounted behind him, and held him on the horse, thus taking him to Basra. He died in a house in Basra. According to another narration, Talha died on the battlefield.
When ʿAlī was inspecting the dead after the battle, he saw him among the dead, wiped the earth from his face, and said: "May Allah have mercy on you, O father of Muḥammad! It pains me greatly to see you lying dead beneath the stars of the sky. I complain to Allah about the shame and sorrow. By Allah, I would have wished to die twenty years ago."
According to one narration, the person who shot and killed Talha was Marwān b. Ḥakam. When Marwān struck him, he said to ʿUthmān's son Abān: "I have protected you from some of those who killed ʿUthmān and saved you from them." According to other narrations, someone other than Marwān struck Talha. Although the previous narration is more famous, in my opinion, this narration is closer to the truth. Allah knows best.
Talha was killed on the tenth day of the month of Jumādā al-Ākhira in the thirty-sixth year of the Hijra (on a Thursday). He was buried near the region of Kalʿa. He was sixty years old when he was killed. There are also narrations that he was a little over sixty. He had a dark complexion. There is a weak narration that he had a fair complexion. His face was handsome. His hair was thick, and his height was closer to short. His daily income was 1000 dirhams.
Ḥammād b. Salama narrated from Zayd b. Judʿān as follows:
"A man saw Talha in his dream. Talha was saying to him: 'Take me out of this grave and bury me elsewhere, for the water in this grave is disturbing me.' After seeing this dream repeatedly, the man went to Ibn ʿAbbās, the governor of Basra, and told him his dream. Ibn ʿAbbās and his men bought a house in Basra for 10,000 dirhams, exhumed him from his grave, and buried him in that house. When they exhumed his body, they saw that the side touched by the water had turned green, and his body was as fresh as on the day he was killed."
Many virtues and exemplary stories have been narrated about Talha. For example, Abū Bakr b. Abī ʿĀṣim narrated from Mūsā b. Talha that Talha said:
"In the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of God gave me the name Talḥat al-Khayr (Talha of Goodness and Charity). When equipping the army of hardship (preparing the army that would go to Tabūk), he gave me the name Talḥat al-Fayyāḍ (Talha the Generous). In the Battle of Ḥunayn, he gave me the name Talḥat al-Jūd (Talha the Bountiful)."
Abū Yaʿlā al-Mawṣilī narrated from Talha's sons Mūsā and ʿĪsā that Talha said: A few of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God,
said to a Bedouin who asked about the meaning of the verse, "Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow {i.e., given his life in this cause}." (al-Aḥzāb, 33:23): "You should ask the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) about the meaning of this verse." The Bedouin came to the mosque and asked the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) about the meaning of this verse. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pay attention to him. He asked again, and again he was ignored. At that moment, I entered the mosque wearing a green garment. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'Where is the one who asked that question?' The Bedouin said:
'Here I am.' The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to me and said:
'This one is among those who will give his life in this cause.'" Abū'l-Qāsim al-Baghawī narrated from Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh that
the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Whoever wishes to look at a martyr walking on the earth, let him look at Talha b. ʿUbaydullāh."
Al-Tirmidhī narrated from ʿAlī, the son of Abū Ṭālib, that he said: "These ears of mine heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Talha and Zubayr are my neighbors in Paradise.' According to several chains of transmission, ʿAlī said: 'I hope that I, Talha, Zubayr, and ʿUthmān will be among those about whom Allah, the Exalted, says: We removed whatever rancor was in their hearts, so they are brothers, sitting on couches, facing one another.' (al-Ḥijr, 15:47) Ḥammād b. Salama narrated from Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab that he said: 'A man spoke against Talha, Zubayr, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī. Saʿd forbade the man from speaking against them, saying: "Do not speak against my brothers." But the man did not heed this warning. After that, Saʿd got up, performed two units of prayer, and then supplicated: "O Allah! If there are words in what this man has said that would incur Your wrath, show me a sign of it today and make him a lesson for the people." As the man was leaving, a camel came out from among the people, seized the man, threw him to the ground, pressed him with its chest, and finally killed him. I saw the Muslims present come and say to Saʿd: "Congratulations, O Abū Isḥāq, your supplication has been answered."'