Al-Husayn ibn
Salam was a Jewish rabbi in Yathrib [Medina] who was
widely respected and honored by the people of the
city, even by those who were not Jewish. He was
known for his piety and goodness, his upright conduct,
and his truthfulness.
Al-Husayn lived
a peaceful and gentle life but he was serious,
purposeful and organized in the way he spent his
time. For a fixed period each day, he would worship,
teach and preach in the temple.
Then he would
spend some time in his orchard, looking after date
palms, pruning and pollinating. Thereafter, to
increase his understanding and knowledge of his
religion, he would devote himself to the study of the
Torah.
In this study,
it is said he was particularly struck by some verses
of the Torah which dealt with the coming of a Prophet
who would complete the message of previous Prophets.
Al-Husayn therefore took an immediate and keen
interest when he heard reports of the appearance of a
Prophet in Makkah.
What follows is his
story, in his own words:
When I heard of
the appearance of the Messenger of God (peace be upon
him) I began to make enquiries about his name, his
genealogy, his characteristics, his time and place and
I began to compare this information with what is
contained in our books.
From these
enquiries, I became convinced about the authenticity
of his prophethood and I affirmed the truth of his
mission. However, I concealed my conclusions from the
Jews. I held my tongue.
Then came the
day when the Prophet, peace be upon him, left Makkah
and headed for Yathrib. When he reached Yathrib and
stopped at Quba, a man came rushing into the city,
calling out to people and announcing the arrival of
the Prophet.
At that moment,
I was at the top of a palm tree doing some work. My
aunt, Khalidah bint Al-Harith, was sitting under the
tree. On hearing the news, I shouted: "Allahu Akbar!
Allahu Akbar!" (God is Great! God is Great!)
When my aunt
heard me, she remonstrated with me: "May God frustrate
you... By God, if you had heard that Moses was coming
you would not have been more enthusiastic."
"Auntie, he is
really, by God, the ‘brother' of Moses and follows his
religion. He was sent with the same mission as
Moses." She was silent for a while and then said: "Is
he the Prophet about whom you spoke to us who would be
sent to confirm the truth preached by previous
(Prophets) and complete the message of his Lord?"
"Yes," I
replied.
Without any
delay or hesitation, I went out to meet the Prophet.
I saw crowds of people at his door. I moved about in
the crowds until I reached close to him.
The first words
I heard him say were: "O people! Spread peace...
Share food... Pray during the night while people
(normally) sleep... and you will enterParadise in
peace."
I looked at him
closely. I scrutinized him and was convinced that his
face was not that of an imposter. I went closer to
him and made the declaration of faith that there is no
god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
The Prophet
turned to me and asked: "What is your name?"
"Al-Husayn ibn Salam," I replied. "Instead, it is
now Abdullah ibn Sallam," he said (giving me a new
name). "Yes" I agreed. "Abdullah ibn Salam it shall
be. By Him who has sent you with the Truth, I do not
wish to have another name after this day."
I returned home
and introduced Islam to my wife, my children and the
rest of my household. They all accepted Islam
including my aunt Khalidah who was then an old lady.
However, I advised them then to conceal our acceptance
of Islam from the Jews until I gave them permission.
They agreed.
Subsequently, I
went back to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and
said: "O Messenger of God! The Jews are a people
(inclined to) slander and falsehood. I want you to
invite their most prominent men to meet you. (During
the meeting however), you should keep me concealed
from them in one of your rooms. Ask them then about
my status among them before they find out of my
acceptance of Islam. Then invite them to Islam. If
they were to know that I have become a Muslim, they
would denounce me and accuse me of everything base and
slander me."
The Prophet kept
me in one of his rooms and invited the prominent
Jewish personalities to visit him. He introduced
Islam to them and urged them to have faith in God.
They began to
dispute and argue with him about the Truth. When he
realized that they were not inclined to accept Islam,
he put the question to them:
"What is the
status of Al-Husayn ibn Salam among you?"
"He is our
sayyid (leader) and the son of our sayyid.
He is our rabbi and our alim (scholar), the son
of our rabbi and alim."
"If you come to
know that he has accepted Islam, would you accept
Islam also?" asked the Prophet.
"God forbid! He
would not accept Islam. May God protect him from
accepting Islam," they said, horrified.
At this point I
came out in full view of them and announced: "O
assembly of Jews! Be conscious of God and accept what
Muhammad has brought. By God, you certainly know that
he is the Messenger of God and you can find prophecies
about him and mention of his name and characteristics
in your Torah. I for my part declare that he is the
Messenger of God. I have faith in him and believe
that he is true. I know him."
"You are a
liar," they shouted. "By God, you are evil and
ignorant, the son of an evil and ignorant person." And
they continued to heap every conceivable abuse on me.
Here ends his own
narration.
Abdullah ibn
Salam approached Islam with a soul thirsty for
knowledge. He was passionately devoted to the Quran
and spent much time reciting and studying its
beautiful and sublime verses. He was deeply attached
to the noble Prophet and was constantly in his
company.
He spent much of
his time in the masjid, engaged in worship, in
learning and in teaching. He was known for his sweet,
moving and effective way of teaching study circles of
Sahabah who assembled regularly in the Prophet's
mosque.
Abdullah ibn
Salam was known among the Sahabah as a man from the
people of Paradise. This was because of his
determination on the advice of the Prophet to hold
steadfastly to the ‘most trustworthy handhold' that is
belief in and total submission to God.
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