Chapter 15: Before commissioning of the Prophethood and some of

the early signs (Part 3) How Salmaan al-Faarisee accepted Islaam and his meeting with the Christians Thereafter, Ibn Is-haaq رمحه اهلل reported regarding the Islaam of Salaam al-Faarisee (the Persian) رضي اهلل عنه, from the narration of Ibn `Abbaas رضي اهلل عنهما. Ibn `Abbaas said that Salmaan al-Faarisee himself narrated to me: “I grew up in the town of Asbahaan (Isfahaan in Persia) in the village of Jayyu. My father was the Dihqaan (chief) of the village. I was the most beloved of Allaah’s creation to my father. His love for me was so strong (that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me), so he kept me at home (as a prisoner) in the same way that young girls were kept. I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire (which we worshipped). My duty was to see that the flames of the fire kept burning and that it did not go out for a single hour (day or night). My father had a vast farm (which he himself looked after). One day he was very busy with his duties (as Dihqaan in the village), so he said to me: My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the farm now. Go and look after matters there for me today. He instructed me on what needed to be get done and said: Do not stay away from me for long, as you are more important to me than the farm and all my other possessions. On my way to the farm, I passed a Christian church and the voices at prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about (Christianity or about) the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians I entered the church to see what they were doing. I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. I said: “By Allaah! This is better than the religion that we are upon. I shall not leave them until the sun sets.” (That day) I did not go to my father’s farm. I asked them (the Christians): “Where did this religion originate?” They said: It originated in al-Shaam (Greater Syria). I returned home (in the night). My father met me and asked: My son, where have you been? Did I not entrust you with an obligation? I told him: O my father! I passed by some people who were praying in their church, and I was impressed by their religion. So I was with them till sunset.

He (was dismayed and) said: My son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better. I insisted: “No, their religion is better than ours.” My father became (upset and) afraid (that I would leave our religion). So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I, however, managed to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me when any caravan arrives from Syria. So when a caravan of Christian traders had arrived from Syria, they informed me about them. I said: When they plan to return to their land, inform me. So they informed me once the caravan was ready to return to Syria. I managed to unfetter myself and accompanied the caravan to Syria. There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said: “I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you.” The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in chanty while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything in charity, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way, he amassed a vast quantity of gold and silver. I developed a strong hatred for him because of actions. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them: “This man was not good, he would ask for donations and encourage people towards it. But when you gave charity, he would hoard it for himself and would not give it to the poor and the need.” They said: What evidence do you have? I said to them: I will show you his hoarded wealth. So I showed them the place where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said: “We shall not bury him.” They nailed him to a cross and threw stones at him. Then they brought another person in place of the dead bishop. Salmaan said: I had not seen anyone praying better than the new bishop who was an ascetic and longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company. I loved him greatly. Then he also died. When he was on his deathbed, I said: “I was in service with you and loved you dearly, now death is approaching you, so counsel me. To whom do you suggest me to go and what do you instruct me to do?” He said: O my child! By Allaah, I do not know of anyone today who is upon what I used to practice. The earlier generation passed away and was replaced by people who changed and abandoned most of what they used to practice, except for a man in al-Mosul and he is so-and-so, and he is upon what I was upon. So go to him.

When he passed away, I went to the one in al-Mosul and said to him: “O so-and-so, soand-so (in Syria) on his deathbed advised me to be with you and informed me what you were upon.” He said: You can stay with me. I stayed with him and found him to be a good man and just as his companion described him. So when he was on his deathbed I said to him: “So-and-so before his death advised me to go to you and to be with you, and now you are on your deathbed. So who do you advise me to go and what do you advise me to do?” He said: O my child! By Allaah, I do not know of anyone who is upon what we practiced except for a man in Nusayibin and his name is so-and-so. So go to him. When he passed away, I went to the one in Nusayibin (in present-day Turkey) and informed him about what was advised to me by my two companions. He said: Stay with me. I stayed with him and found him to be upon what was mentioned about him. I stayed with him until his death. When he was on his deathbed, I said to him: O so-andso! The in (Syria) advised me to go to the one in (al-Mosul), and the one in (al-Mosul) advised me to go to you. Who do you advise me to go, and what do you instruct me to do?” He said: O my child! By Allaah, I do not know anyone who is upon what we practiced, to whom I advise you to go, except for a man in Ammuriyyah (Amorium) in the Byzantine Empire, for he is upon what we were upon. So if you wish, you can join him. So when he passed away, I went to the person in Ammuriyyah and informed him about myself. He said: You can stay with me. I stayed with him and found him to be as my companion described him. Salaam added: I stayed with him, and made a profit till I had my own cows and sheep. Then when death approached him, I said to him: “O so-and-so! I was advised by the first to go to the second, and the second advised me to go to the third, till I was advised to come to you. Who do you advise me to go, and what do you instruct me to do?” He said: O my child! By Allaah, I do not know of anyone who is upon what we used to practice that I could advise you to go to. But the time has dawned upon us. The advent of the (promised) Prophet is near, the one who will be upon the religion of Ibraaheem. He will come from the lands of the `Arabs and will migrate to the land between the two Harrah 96, in which there are palm groves having signs which are obvious. He (the awaited Prophet) will accept a gift but will not eat from the charity, between his shoulders there is the seal of the Prophets. So if you are able to go to that land, then 96 Harrah refers to every mountainous land with black rocks. Between the two Harrah means the land between the two mountains.

you should do so. Salmaan said: “After his death, I stayed in Ammuriyyah as long as Allaah Willed me to stay there. A group of `Arab traders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyyah, I told them: “Take me with you to the land of the `Arabs in return for whatever cows and sheep I have.” They agreed and I paid them. When we reached Wadi al-Qura (a place between Madeenah and Syria), they broke their agreement and sold me to a Jew. I worked as a servant for him and saw some palm trees and hoped that this would be the place that my companion had described. While I was there with this Jew, his nephew from the tribe of Banee Quraidhah in Madeenah came one day. So he sold me to his nephew, who took me with him to Yathrib (Madeenah), the city of palm groves, which is how the Christian at Ammuriyyah had described it. At that time the Prophet ﷺ was inviting his people in Makkah to Islaam but I did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties which slavery imposed upon me. When the Prophet ﷺ reached Madeenah after his Hijrah (migration) from Makkah, I was in fact at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master doing some work. My master was sitting under the tree. A nephew of his came up and said: May Allaah kill Banu Qaylah! 97 By God, they are now gathering at Qubaa to meet a man who has today come from Makkah and who claims he is a Prophet. Salmaan said: I felt hot flushes as soon as I heard these words and I began to shiver so violently that I was afraid that I might fall on my master. I quickly got down from the tree and spoke to my master’s nephew: “What did you say? Repeat the news for me.” My master got very angry and spoke harshly to me and shouted: “What does this matter to you? Go back to what you were doing.” I replied: “Nothing, except that I wanted to ascertain that I heard him correctly.” I had something that I had collected, and when evening came, I went to place where the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ had alighted in Qubaa. I went up to him and said: “I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as Sadaqah (charity). I see that you are more deserving of it than others.” I presented it to him; he ﷺ said to his companions: ❝Eat!❞, but he himself refrained from eating. Salmaan said to himself: “This is the first (sign).” 97 Meaning: The Ansaar (from the tribes of Aws and the Khazraj, the two main Arab tribes of Madeenah)

Salmaan continued: “I gathered some more and when the Prophet ﷺ left Qubaa for Madeenah I went to him and said: “I noticed that you did not eat of the Sadaqah I gave. This, however, is this is a gift with which I wish to honor you.” So he ﷺ ate some of it and asked his companions to join him, so they all ate from it. So I said to myself: “This is the second (sign).” Salmaan said: Later I went to the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ while he was in Al-Baqee` alGharqad (graveyard) as he had attended the Janaazah (funeral) of one of his companions, he had two cloaks on him while he was sitting with his companions. I greeted him with Salaam and went behind him, looking at his back (between the shoulders): “Does he have the seal of the Prophet which my Christian companion had described to me?” When the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ saw me going behind him, he understood that I was looking for the confirmation of something which was described to me; so he let his cloak drop from his back, and I saw the Seal. Realizing that indeed he was the Prophet, I embraced him, kissed him and started to cry. 98 The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said to me: ❝Turn around.❞ So I turned around and I told him my story as I have told it to you, O Ibn `Abbaas. The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ wanted his companions to hear that. Then Salmaan was kept busy with the work of a slave until he had missed attending (the battles of) Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ. Salmaan said: Then the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said to me: ❝Draw up a contract of manumission, O Salmaan.❞ So I draw up a contract of manumission with my master in return for three hundred palm trees which I would plant for him, and forty Uqiyahs (unit of weight in silver). The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said to his companions: ❝Help your brother.❞ So they helped me with the palm trees, one man gave thirty small trees and another gave twenty, and another gave fifteen, and another gave ten, i.e., each man gave according to what he had until they had collected three hundred small trees for me. Then the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said to me: ❝Go, O Salmaan, and dig the holes where they are to be planted. When you have finished, come to me and I will plant them with my own hand.❞ So I dug the holes for them, and my companions helped me, then when I had finished, I came to him and told him. The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ came out with me and we started to bring the trees close and the Messenger of Allaah 98 [TN: Some mistranslated this sentence to say that “Salmaan fell down in tears and began to kiss the Prophet’s feet and made Sujood (prostrated) to him.” This is a clear error in the translation]

ﷺ planted them with his own hand. By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Salmaan, not one single tree among them died. 99 So I had paid off the trees but there still remained the money. A piece of gold the size of an egg was brought to the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ from one of his campaigns. He said: ❝What happened to the Persian who had a contract of manumission?❞ I was summoned to him and he ﷺ said: ❝Take this and pay off what you owe, O Salmaan.❞ I said: “How could this pay off everything I owe, O Messenger of Allaah?” He ﷺ said: ❝Take it, and Allaah will help you to pay off what you owe.❞ Salmaan said: So I took it and weighed it for them, and by the One in Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, it was forty Uqiyahs, so I paid them their dues and I was set free. I was present with the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ at the battle of al-Khandaq (Trench), and after that, I did not miss any major event with him. 100 101 99 In one of the narrations reported by Imaam Ahmad in his Musnad (23730) the wording are: “The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ planted all of them with his own hand except for the one which I had planted with my own hands. All of them stuck in except for one.” In this narration, there is `Alee Ibn Zaid, and he is Ibn Jad`aan and he is “Weak”. 100 I (al-Albaanee) say: The chain of this narration is “sahih”. And from the route of Ibn Is-haaq, Imaam Ahmad reported it in his Musnad (23737), and Abu Nu`aim in “Dalaail al-Nubuwwah” (199). Imaam al-Bukhaaree mentioned some parts of it in “Mu`aalaq” form (i.e. without a chain). Al-Haakim also reported it in his Mustadrak (6543, 6544), with a narration which is even longer than this. Ibn Katheer mentioned some parts of it in his book and then commented: “There are many strange things in this narration with these wording, and some parts oppose the narration reported by Is-haaq. And the narration through the route of Ibn Is-haaq is stronger in terms of its chain and better in its narrative and closer to what alBukhaaree reported.” So when al-Haakim said that the hadith is “sahih”, al-Dhahabee followed it by saying: “Rather it is agreed upon its weakness.” The defect is because in its chain is `Alee Ibn `Aasim al-Waasitee, he is truthful but makes mistakes and combines (different narrations into one), as Ibn Hajr had mentioned in “alTaqreeb”. 101 Narrated Abu Hurairah رضي اهلل عنه: While we were sitting with the Prophet ﷺ Surat al-Jumu`ah was revealed to him, and when the Prophet ﷺ recited the Aayah: ﴿ و آخ ر ين م نـ ه م ل مَّا يـ ل ح ق وا ِب م﴾ {And He (Allaah) has sent him (Prophet ﷺ) also to others among them (Muslims) who have not yet joined them (but they will come)…} [Surah al-Jumu`ah (62): 3] I said: “Who are they, O Allaah's Messenger ﷺ?” The Prophet ﷺ did not reply till I repeated my question thrice. At that time, Salmaan al-Faarisee was with us. So Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ put his hand on Salmaan, saying: ❝If Imaan (Faith) were at (the place of) ath-Thuraiyaa (Pleiades, the highest star), even then (some men or man from these people (i.e. Salmaan’s folk) would attain it.❞ [sahih al-Bukhaaree (4897, 4898) and sahih Muslim (2546-230, 231)]

Imaam al-Bukhaaree reported in his sahih, from the narration of Abee `Uthmaan alNahdee from Salmaan al-Farsee informed him: “That he was sold (as a slave) by one master to another for more than ten times (i.e. between the age of 13 and 19).” 102 102 sahih al-Bukhaaree (3946)