Whenever 'Umar Ibn Al Khattaab mentioned
Abu Bakr he would say, "Abu Bakr is
our master and the emancipator of our
master." That is to say, Bilaal.
Indeed, the man to whom 'Umar would give
the agnomen "Our Master" must
be a great and fortunate man. However,
this man - who was very dark in
complexion, slender, very tall, thick-
haired and with a sparse beard, as
described by the narrators -would hardly
hear words of praise and commendation
directed at him and bestowed bountifully
upon him without bending his head,
lowering his eyelids and saying with
tears flowing down his two cheeks,
"Indeed, I am an Abyssinian.
Yesterday I was only a slave!"
So who is this Abyssinian who was
yesterday only a slave? He is Bilaal Ibn
Rabaah the announcer of the time of
Muslim prayer and the troublemaker to
the idols. He was one of the miracles of
faith and truthfulness, one of Islam's
great miracles. For out of every ten
Muslims, from the beginning of Islam
until today and until Allah wills, we
will meet seven, at least, who know
Bilaal. That is, there are hundreds of
millions of people throughout the
centuries and generations who know
Bilaal, remember his name and know his
role just as they know the two greatest
Caliphs in Islam, Abu Bakr and 'Umar!
Even if you ask a child who is still in
his first years of primary school in
Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia or China, in
the two Americas, Europe or Russia, in
Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran or Sudan, in
Tunis, Algeria or Morocco, in the depth
of Africa and in the mountains of Asia,
in every place on the earth where
Muslims reside, you can ask any Muslim
child, "Who is Bilaal, child?"
He will answer you, "He was the
muezzin of the Messenger (PBUH) and he
was the slave whose master used to
torture him with hot burning stones to
make him apostatize. But instead he
said, 'One, One.'"
Whenever you consider this enduring fame
that Islam bestowed upon Bilaal, you
should know that before Islam this
Bilaal was no more than a slave who
tended herds of camels for his master
for a handful of dates. Had it not been
for Islam, it would have been his fate
to remain a slave, wandering among the
crowd until death brought an end to his
life and caused him to perish in the
profoundest depths of forgetfulness.
However, his faith proved to be true,
and the magnificence of the religion
which he believed in gave him, during
his lifetime and in history, an elevated
place among the great and holy men of
Islam. Indeed, many human beings of
distinction, prestige, or wealth have
not obtained even one-tenth of the
immortality which Bilaal the Abyssinian
slave gained. Indeed, many historical
figures were not conferred even a
portion of the fame which has been
bestowed upon Bilaal.
Indeed, the black colour of his
complexion, his modest lineage, and his
contemptible position among people as a
slave did not deprive him, when he chose
to embrace Islam, of occupying the high
place which his truthfulness, certainty,
purity, and self-sacrifice qualified him
for. For him, all this would not have
been on the scale of estimation and
honour except as an astonishing
occurrence when greatness is found where
it could not possibly be.
People thought that a slave like Bilaal
- who descended from strange roots, who
had neither kinfolk nor power, who did
not possess any control over his life
but was himself a possession of his
master who had bought him with his
money, who came and went amid the sheep,
camels, and other livestock of his
master - they thought that such a human
creature would neither have power over
anything, nor become anything. But he
went beyond all expectations and
possessed great faith that no one like
him could possess! He was the first
muezzin of the Messenger and of Islam, a
position which was aspired to by all the
masters and nobles of the Quraish who
embraced Islam and followed the
Messenger. Yes, Bilaal Ibn Rabaah.
Oh what valour and greatness are
expressed by these three words - Bilaal
Ibn Rabaah!
He was an Abyssinian from the black
race. His destiny made him a slave of
some people of the tribe of Jumah in
Makkah, where his mother was one of
their slave girls. He led the life of a
slave whose bleak days were alike and
who had no right over his day and no
hope for his tomorrow.
The news of Muhammad's (PBUH) call began
and reached his ears when people in
Makkah began to talk about it and when
he began listening to the discussions of
his master and his guests, especially
Umayah Ibn Khalaf, one of the elders of
the Bani Jumah, of which Bilaal was one
of the slaves. How often did he hear
Umayah talking to his friends for some
time and to some persons of his tribe.
Many times they talked about the
Messenger with words that were
overflowing with anxiety, rage, and
malice!
Bilaal, on the other hand, was receiving
between those words of insane fury and
rage the attributes of this new
religion. He began to feel that they
were new qualities for the environment
which he lived in. He was also able to
receive during their threatening,
thunderous talks their acknowledgement
of Muhammad's nobility, truthfulness,
and loyalty. Yes indeed, he heard them
wondering and amazed at what Muhammad
came with. They said to one another,
"Muhammad was never a liar,
magician, or mad, but we have to
describe him this way until we turn away
from him those who rush to his
religion."
He heard them talking about his honesty
and loyalty, about his manliness and
nobility, and about his purity and
composure of his intelligence. He heard
them whispering about the reasons which
caused them to challenge and antagonize
him: first, their allegiance to the
religion of their fathers; second, their
fear over the glory of the Quraish which
was bestowed upon them because of their
religious status as a center of idol
worship and resort in the whole of the
Arabian Peninsula; third, the envy of
the tribe of Bani Haashim that anyone
from them should claim to be a prophet
or messenger.
One day Bilaal Ibn Rabaah recognized the
light of Allah and heard His resonance
in the depths of his good soul. So he
went to the Messenger of Allah and
converted to Islam. It did not take long
before the news of his embracing Islam
was spread. It was a shock to the chiefs
of the Bani Jumah, who were very proud
and conceited. The devils of the earth
sat couched over the breast of Umayah
Ibn Khalaf, who considered the
acceptance of Islam by one of their
slaves a blow that overwhelmed them with
shame and disgrace.
Their Abyssinian slave converted to
Islam and followed Muhammad. Umayah said
to himself, "It does not matter.
Indeed the sun this day shall not set
but with the Islam of this stray
slave." However, the sun never did
set with the Islam 6f Bilaal, but it set
one day with all the idols of the
Quraish and the patrons of paganism
among them.
As for Bilaal, he adopted an attitude
that would honor not only Islam, even
though Islam was more worthy of it, but
also all humanity. He resisted the
harshest kind of torture like all pious
great men. Allah made him an example of
the fact that blackness of skin and
bondage would not decry the greatness of
the soul if it found its faith, adhered
to its Creator, and clung to its right.
Bilaal gave a profound lesson to those
of his age and every age, for those of
his religion and every religion, a
lesson which embraced the idea that
freedom and supremacy of conscience
could not be bartered either for gold or
punishment, even if it filled the earth.
He was stripped naked and laid on hot
coals to make him renounce his religion,
but he refused.
The Messenger (PBUH) and Islam made this
weak Abyssinian slave a teacher to all
humanity in the art of respecting
conscience and defending its freedom and
supremacy. They used to take him out in
the midday heat when the desert turned
to a fatal hell. Then they would throw
him naked on its scorching rocks and
bring a burning hot rock, which took
several men to lift from its place, and
throw it onto his body and chest. This
savage torture was repeated every day
until the hearts of some of his
executioners took pity on him. Finally,
they agreed to set him free on condition
that he would speak well of their gods,
even with only one word that would allow
them to keep their pride so that the
Quraish would not say they had been
defeated and humiliated by the
resistance of their persevering slave.
But even this one word, which he could
eject from outside his heart and with it
buy his life and soul without losing his
faith or abandoning his conviction,
Bilaal refused to say. Yes, he refused
to say it and began to repeat his
lasting chant instead: "One ...
One!"
His torturers shouted at him, imploring
him," Mention the name of Al-Laat
and Al-'Uzzaa." But he answered,
"One . . . One" They said to
him, "Say as we say." But he
answered them with remarkable mockery
and caustic irony, "Indeed my
tongue is not good at that."
So Bilaal remained in the melting heat
and under the weight of the heavy rock,
and by sunset they raised him up and put
a rope around his neck. Then they
ordered their boys to take him around
the mountains and streets of Makkah. And
Bilaal's tongue did not mention anything
other than his holy chant," One...
One."
When the night overtook them, they began
bargaining with him, "Tomorrow
speak well of our gods, say, 'My lord is
Al-Laat and Al-'Uzzaa,' and we'll leave
you alone. We are tired of torturing you
as if we are the tortured ones."
But he shook his head and said,
"One . . . One." So, Umayah
Ibn Khalaf kicked him and exploded with
exasperating fury, and shouted,
"What bad luck has thrown you upon
us, O slave of evil? By Al-Laat and Al-'Uzzaa,
I'll make you an example for slaves and
masters." But Bilaal answered with
the holy greatness and certainty of a
believer, "One ... One."
And he who was assigned to play the role
of a sympathizer returned to talking and
bargaining. He said, "Take it easy,
Umayah. By Al-Laat, he will not be
tortured again. Indeed Bilaal is one of
us, his mother is our slave girl. He
will not be pleased to talk about and
ridicule us because of his Islam."
But Bilaal gazed at their lying cunning
faces, and his mouth slackened like the
light of dawn. He said with calmness
that shook them violently, "One...
One."
It was the next day and midday
approached. Bilaal was taken to the
sun-baked ground. He was patient, brave,
firm and expecting the reward in the
Hereafter.
Abu Bakr As-Siddiiq went to them while
they were torturing him and shouted at
them, "Are you killing a man
because he says, 'Allah is my
Lord?'" Then he shouted at Umayah
Ibn Khalaf, "Take more than his
price and set him free." It was as
if Umayah were drowning and had caught a
lifeboat. It was to his liking and he
was very much pleased when he heard Abu
Bakr offering the price of his freedom,
since they had despaired of subjugating
Bilaal. And as they were merchants, they
realized that selling him was more
profitable to them than his death.
They sold him to Abu-Bakr, and then he
emancipated him immediately, and Bilaal
took his place among free men. When
As-Siddiiq put his arm round Bilaal,
rushing with him to freedom, Umayah said
to him, "Take him, for by Al-Laat
and APUzzaa if you had refused to buy
him except for one ounce of gold, I
would have sold him to you." Abu
Bakr realized the bitterness of despair
and disappointment hidden in these
words. It was appropriate not to answer,
but because they violated the dignity of
this man who had become his brother and
his equal, he answered Umayah saying,
"By Allah, if you had refused to
sell him except for a hundred ounces, I
would have paid it." He departed
with his companion to the Messenger of
Allah, giving him news of his
liberation, and there was a great
celebration.
After the Hijrah of the Messenger (PBUH)
and the Muslims to Al-Madinah and their
settling there, the Messenger instituted
the Adhaan. So who would become the
muezzin five times a day? Who would call
across distant lands, "Allah is the
Greatest" and "There is no god
but Allah"?
It was Bilaal, who had shouted thirteen
years before while the torture was
destroying him, "Allah is One . . .
One." He was chosen by the
Messenger that day to be the first
muezzin in Islam. With his melodious
soul-stirring voice, he filled the
hearts with faith and the ears with awe
when he called:
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the
Greatest
Allah is the -Greatest, Allah is the
Greatest
I bear witness that there is no god but
Allah
I bear witness that there is no god but
Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah
Come to Prayer
Come to Prayer
Come to Success
Come to Success
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the
Greatest
There is no god but Allah!
Fighting broke out between the Muslims
and the army of the Quraish who came to
invade Al-Madiinah. The war raged
fiercely and terribly while Bilaal was
there attacking and moving about in the
first battle. Islam was plunged into the
Battle of Badr, whose motto the
Messenger (PBUH) ordered to be,
"One ... One."
In this battle, the Quraish sacrificed
their youth and all their noblemen to
their destruction. Umayah Ibn Khalaf,
who had been Bilaal's master and who
used to torture him with deadly
brutality, was about to retreat from
fighting. But his friend "Uqbah Ibn
Abu Mu'iit went to him when he heard the
news of his withdrawal, carrying a
censer in his right hand. When he
arrived he was sitting among his people.
He threw the censer between his hands
and said to him, "O Abu Aliy, use
this. You are one of the women."
But Umayah shouted at him saying,
"May Allah make you and what you
came with ugly!" And he did not
find a way out, so he went out to fight.
What other secrets does destiny conceal
and unfold? Uqbah Ibn Abu Mu'iit had
been the greatest supporter of Umayah in
the torture of Bilaal and other weak
Muslims. And on that day, he himself was
the one who urged him to go to the
Battle of Badr where he would die, just
as it would be the place where Uqbah
would die! Umayah had been one of the
shirkers from war. Had it not been for
what Uqbah did to him, he would not have
gone out fighting.
But Allah executes His command. So let
Umayah go out, because there was an old
account between him and one of the
slaves of Allah. It was time to settle
it. The Judge never dies. As you owe,
you shall be owed to.
Indeed destiny would be very much
pleased to mock the tyrants. Uqbah,
whose provocations Umayah used to listen
to and follow his desire to torture the
innocent believers, was the same person
who would lead Umayah to his death. By
the hand of whom? By the hand of Bilaal
himself and Bilaal alone! The same hands
that Umayah used to chain and whose
owner he beat and tortured. Those very
hands were on that day, in the Battle of
Badr, on a rendezvous that destiny had
set the best time for, with the torture
of the Quraish who had humiliated the
believers unjustly and aggressively.
That is what really happened.
When the fighting began between the two
sides, and the side of the Muslims
shouted the motto, "One . . .
One," the heart of Umayah was
startled, and a warning came to him. The
word which his slave used to repeat
yesterday under torture and horror
became today the motto of a whole
religion and of a whole new nation.
"One . . . One" Is it so? With
this quickness? And with this rapid
growth?
The swords clashed in the battle and the
fighting became severe. As the battle
neared its end, Umayah Ibn Khalaf
noticed 'Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn 'Awf, the
Companion of the Messenger of Allah. He
sought refuge with him and asked to be
his captive, hoping to save his life.
Abd Ar-Rahman accepted his supplication
and granted him refuge. Then he took him
and walked with him amidst the battle to
the place where captives were held.
On the way Bilaal noticed him and
shouted, "The head of kufr
(disbelief), Umayah Ibn Khalaf! May I
not be saved if he is saved!" He
lifted up his sword to cut off the head,
which was all the time full of pride and
arrogance. But 'Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn
"Awf shouted at him, "0
Bilaal, he is my captive!" A
captive while the war was still raging?
A captive while his sword was still
dripping blood because of what he had
been doing just moments before to the
bodies of the Muslims? No! In Bilaal's
opinion, this was an irony and abuse of
the mind, and Umayah had scoffed and
abused the mind enough. He scoffed until
there was no irony remaining for such a
day, such a dilemma, and such a fate!
Bilaal realized that he would not be
able alone to storm the sanctuary of his
brother in faith, 'Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn
"Awf. So he shouted at the top of
his voice to the Muslims, "0
helpers of Allah! The head of Kufr,
Umayah Ibn Khalaf! May I not be saved if
he is saved!" A band of Muslims
approached with swords dripping blood.
They surrounded Umayah and his son, who
was fighting with the Quraish. "Abd
Ar-Rahman Ibn 'Awf could not do
anything. He could not even protect his
armor, which the crowd removed. Bilaal
gazed long at the body of Umayah, who
fell beneath the smashing swords. Then
he hastened away from him shouting,
"One... One."
I do not think it is our right to
examine the virtue of leniency in Bilaal
on this occasion. If the meeting between
Bilaal and Umayah had taken place in
other circumstances, we would have been
allowed to ask Bilaal for leniency, and
a man like him in faith and piety would
not have withheld it. But the meeting
which took place between them was in a
war, where each party came to destroy
its enemy.
The swords were blazing, the killed were
falling. Then Bilaal saw Umayah, who had
not left even a small place on his body
free of the traces of his torture. Where
and how did he see him? He saw him in
the arena of battle and fighting, mowing
down with his sword all of the heads of
Muslims he could. If he had reached the
head of Bilaal then, he would have cut
it off. m such circumstances as the two
men met, it is not fair to ask Bilaal:
Why did you not forgive him gently?
The days went by and Makkah was
conquered. The Messenger (PBUH) entered
it, thankful and saying, "Allah is
the Greatest," at the head of
10.000 Muslims. He headed for the Ka'bah
immediately, this holy place which the
Quraish had crowded with idols amounting
to the number of days of the year.
"The truth has come and falsehood
has vanished."
Ever since that day, there has been no
"Uzzaa, no Laat and no Hubal. Man
will not bow to a rock or idol after
today. People will worship no one with
all his conscience but Allah, Who has no
likeness, the One, Most Great, Most
High. The Messenger entered the Ka'bah
accompanied by Bilaal. He had hardly
entered it when he faced a carved idol
representing Ibraahiim (Abraham) (PBUH)
prophesying with sticks.
The Messenger (PBUH) was angry and said,
"May Allah kill them. Our ancestor
never did prophesy with sticks.
Ibraahiim was not a Jew or Christian,
but he was a true Muslim and was never a
polytheist." Then he ordered Bilaal
to ascend to the top of the mosque and
call to Prayer, and Bilaal called the
Adhaan. How magnificent owas the time,
place, and occasion!
Life came to a standstill in Makkah, and
thousands of Muslims stood like
motionless air, repeating in
submissiveness and whispering the words
of the Adhaan after Bilaal while the
polytheists were in their homes hardly
believing what was happening.
Is this Muhammad (PBUH) and his poor
followers who were expelled yesterday
from their homes ? Is this really he,
with 10,000 of his believers? Is this
really he whom we chased away, fought
and killed his most beloved kin and
relations? Is this really he who was
speaking to us a few minutes ago while
our necks were at his mercy, saying,
"Go, you are free!"?
But three nobles of the Quraish were
sitting in the open space in front of
the Ka'bah, as if they were touched by
the scene of Bilaal treading their idols
with his feet and sending above its
heaped wreckage his voice with the
Adhaan, spreading to all the horizons of
(alckah, like a passing spring. These
three were Abu Sufyaan Ibn Harb, who had
embraced Islam only hours ago, and
"Attaab Ibn Usaid and Al-Haarith
Ibn Hishaam, who had not yet embraced
Islam.
'Attaab, with his eyes on Bilaal crying
out the Adhaan, said, "Allah has
honored Usaid in that he did not hear
this, or else he would have heard what
would infuriate him." Al-Haarith
said, "By Allah, if I were sure
that Muhammad (PBUH) is telling the
truth, I would follow him." Abu
Sufyaan, the old fox, commented on their
speech saying, "I am not saying a
word, for if I do, these pebbles will
inform about me."
When the Prophet left the Ka'bah he saw
them, read their faces instantly, and
said with his eyes shining with the
light of Allah and the joy of victory,
"I know what you've said," and
he told them what they had said.
Al-Haarith and'Attaab shouted, "We
bear witness that you are the Messenger
of Allah. By Allah, no one heard us, so
we can't say somebody informed
you!"
And they welcomed Bilaal with new
hearts, which enclosed the echo of the
words, which they had heard in the
Messenger's speech just after he entered
Makkah. "O people of the Quraish!
Allah has removed from you the arrogance
of pre-Islamic paganism, and its
boasting about forefathers. People are
descended from Adam, and Adam was from
dust."
Bilaal lived with the Messenger of Allah
(PBUH), witnessing all the battles with
him, calling to Prayer and observing the
rites of this great religion that took
him out of darkness to light and from
servitude to freedom. The stature of
Islam along with the stature of Muslims
was elevated. Every day Bilaal was
getting closer to the heart of the
Messenger of Allah, who used to describe
him as "one of the inhabitants of
Paradise."
But Bilaal remained just as he was,
noble and humble, always considering
himself "the Abyssinian who only
yesterday was a slave." One day he
was proposing to two girls for himself
and his brother, so he said to their
father," I am Bilaal and this is my
brother, two slaves from Abyssinia. We
were astray and Allah guided us. We were
two slaves and Allah emancipated us. If
you agree on us marrying your daughters,
all praise is to Allah; if you refuse,
then Allah is the Greatest."
The Messenger passed away to Allah, well
pleased and well pleasing, and Abu Bakr
As-Siddiiq took the command of the
Muslims after him. Bilaal went to the
caliph (successor) of the Messenger of
Allah and said to him, "O Caliph of
the Messenger of Allah, I heard the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say, "The
best deed of a believer is jihaad in the
cause of Allah.'"
Abu Bakr said to him, "So what do
you want, Bilaal?" He said, "I
want to defend in the cause of Allah
until I die." Abu Bakr said,
"And who will call the Adhaan for
us?" Bilaal said, with his eyes
overflowing with tears, "I will not
call the Adhaan for anyone after the
Messenger of Allah." Abu Bakr said,
"Stay and call to Prayer for us,
Bilaal." Bilaal said, "If you
emancipated me to be for you, I will do
what you want, but if you emancipated me
for Allah, leave me to Whom I was
emancipated for." Abu Bakr said,
"I emancipated you for Allah,
Bilaal."
The narrators differ. Some of them
believe that he travelled and remained
fighting and defending. Some others
narrate that he accepted Abu Bakr's
request to stay with him in Madinah.
When Abu Bakr died and "Umar
succeeded him, Bilaal asked his
permission and went to Syria.
Anyhow, Bilaal vowed the remaining part
of his life to fight in the cause of
Islam, determined to meet Allah and His
Messenger having done the best deed they
love.
His melodious, welcoming, awe-inspiring
voice did not call the Adhaan any more,
because whenever he uttered in his
Adhaan, "I bear witness that
Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of
Allah," memories would stir him,
and his voice would vanish under his
sadness while the tears cried out the
words.
His last Adhaan was during the days
"Umar, the Commander of the
Faithful, when he visited Syria. The
Muslims entreated him to persuade Bilaal
to call one Adhaan for them. The
Commander of the Faithful called Bilaal
when it was time for Prayer and pleaded
with him to make the Adhaan. Bilaal
ascended and did so. The Companions of
the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) who were
with the Commander of the Faithful while
Bilaal was calling the Adhaan wept as
they never did before, and "Umar
the most strongly.
Bilaal died in Syria, fighting in the
cause of Allah just as he had wanted.
Beneath the dust of Damascus, today
there lies the body of one of the
greatest men of humankind in standing up
for the creed of Islam with conviction.
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an ‘Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable…
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