COMPANIONS from Iran

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Iranian Companions of all time. This list of famous Iranian Companions is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Salman the Persian (568 - 657)

With an HPI of 72.08, Salman the Persian is the most famous Iranian Companion.  His biography has been translated into 46 different languages on wikipedia.

Salman al-Farsi (Arabic: سَلْمَان ٱلْفَارِسِيّ) was a Persian religious scholar and one of the companions of Muhammad. As a practicing Zoroastrian, he dedicated much of his early life to studying to become a magus, after which he began travelling extensively throughout West Asia to engage in constructive dialogue with non-Zoroastrian groups. His quests eventually prompted his conversion to Christianity and later his conversion to Islam, which occurred after he met and befriended Muhammad in the city of Yathrib. He was a prominent non-Arab companion and one of Muhammad's closest friends; Muhammad had once stated to a gathering of his followers that he regarded Salman as a part of his family. In meetings with the other companions, he was often referred to by the kunya Abu ʿAbdullah. Prior to the Battle of the Trench in 627, Salman suggested to Muhammad and the other early Muslims that a large trench be dug around Yathrib (citing a technique commonly used by the Sasanian army) in order to help defend against the Quraysh, who were marching from Mecca in order to besiege the city. After Muhammad's death in 632, Salman became closely associated with Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib and is believed to have participated in the Muslim conquest of Persia, aiding the territorial expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate outside of the Arabian Peninsula.

2. Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (1932 - 2001)

With an HPI of 69.36, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary is the 2nd most famous Iranian Companion.  Her biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (Persian: ثریا اسفندیاری بختیاری, romanized: Sorayâ Esfandiâri-Baxtiâri; 22 June 1932 – 25 October 2001) was Queen of Iran as the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom she married in 1951. Their marriage suffered many pressures, particularly when it became clear that she was infertile. She rejected the Shah's suggestion that he might take a second wife in order to produce an heir, as he rejected her suggestion that he might abdicate in favor of his half-brother. In March 1958, their divorce was announced. After a brief career as an actress, and a liaison with Italian film director Franco Indovina, Soraya lived alone in Paris until her death.

3. Shahnaz Pahlavi (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 63.98, Shahnaz Pahlavi is the 3rd most famous Iranian Companion.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Shahnaz Pahlavi (Persian: شهناز پهلوی, born 27 October 1940) is the first child of the former Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his first wife, Princess Fawzia of Egypt.

4. Leila Pahlavi (1970 - 2001)

With an HPI of 53.05, Leila Pahlavi is the 4th most famous Iranian Companion.  Her biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Leila Pahlavi (Persian: لیلا پهلوی, 27 March 1970 – 10 June 2001) was a princess of Iran and the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Shah and his third wife, Farah Pahlavi.