The Masnavi, Book One (Oxford World's Classics)

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr as-Seddiq (‘the Veracious’), the 
first successor of
the Prophet Mohammad as caliph, and thus considered by Sunni
Muslims to have been the 
first of the four Rightly-guided Caliphs. See
omar, osman, and ali.
Abu Jahl (lit. ‘Father of Ignorance’), the name traditionally given by
Muslims to a mortal enemy of the Prophet in 
mecca whose original
name was Abu

l-Hakam, which implies that he became ignorant after
having been wise (the cognate ‘
hekma’ means wisdom).
Abu Yazid Abu Yazid al-Bestami (or Bayazid Bestami; d. 
261/874), an
eminent Su
fi from what is now north-central Iran. He is a highly popu-
lar
figure in Persian Sufi literature, in particular because of the many
bold and controversial statements he is reported to have made, such as
‘There is nothing under my cloak but God.’
Aisha a wife of the Prophet Mohammad and the daughter of his com-
panion and successor 
abu bakr as-Seddiq. She is the source of a large
number of reports about the sayings and deeds of the Prophet, or
hadith.
Ali Ali ebn Abi Taleb, often referred to as ‘the Lion of God’, cousin
and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad, who was brought up in
the same household. He is presented in Su
fi literature as the first Sufi
saint, on account of being the disciple of the Prophet. In Sunni Islam
he is revered as the fourth Rightly-guided Caliph, while in Shi’i
Islam he is the 
first Imam, or religious and political successor of the
Prophet.
Azrael the Angel of Death, who appears in many stories to signal to
individuals the imminence of their death. This is represented memor-
ably in one of the shorter stories in Book One of the 
Masnavi (see vv.
960–74).
Baghdad the capital in Iraq of the Abbasid caliphate.