The Prophet’s Disciple
Al-Zubayr accepted Islam as a boy — by some accounts at age eight, making him among the very first Muslims. The Prophet specifically applied the word hawari (disciple — the word used for the disciples of Jesus in the Quran) to him alone among the Companions: “Every prophet has a disciple and my disciple is al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.”
He was among the ten Companions whom the Prophet promised paradise by name.
The First Sword
A narration preserved in multiple collections: al-Zubayr heard a rumor that the Prophet had been captured, and he drew his sword and walked through Mecca. He was a boy. He encountered the Prophet himself, who was safe. The Prophet asked what he was doing. Al-Zubayr told him. The Prophet prayed for him. This episode is sometimes cited as the first Muslim to unsheathe a sword in Islam’s defense.
The Battle of the Camel
Al-Zubayr was a major figure in the first civil war (fitnah). He allied with Aisha and Talha ibn Ubaydallah against Ali ibn Abi Talib in the Battle of the Camel (36 AH / 656 CE). Before the battle began, Ali reportedly reminded al-Zubayr of a saying of the Prophet — that a time would come when al-Zubayr would fight Ali unjustly. Al-Zubayr withdrew from the battle.
He was killed while withdrawing, by a man who claimed the Prophet had promised salvation to whoever killed him — a claim the tradition roundly rejects.
See also: Seerah Asmaa Bint Abi Bakr, Aisha Bint Abi Bakr, Seerah Talha Ibn Ubaydullah, Seerah Sad Ibn Muadh, Seerah Badr