Suhayb al-Rumi

Suhayb ibn Sinan al-Rumi (c. 575-654 CE) was one of the earliest companions of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the first to accept Islam publicly. His story is among the most remarkable in early Islamic history. He was born into an Arab family — his father was a governor for the Sassanid Persian empire in the Ubulla region of Iraq. As a child, Suhayb was captured in a Byzantine raid and raised among the Romans, which gave him his nickname al-Rumi (the Roman) and a reddish complexion that looked foreign to Arabs. He later returned to Arabia, was enslaved, then eventually freed, and made his way to Mecca where he became a prosperous trader. When the Prophet ﷺ began his mission, Suhayb was among the very early Muslims. He suffered for his faith — subjected to torture by the polytheists of Mecca. He participated in both emigrations to Abyssinia. When the order came to emigrate to Medina, Suhayb was stopped by Meccan enemies who demanded he leave behind all the wealth he had earned in Mecca. He offered them everything — all his wealth and property — in exchange for his freedom to emigrate. When news of this reached the Prophet ﷺ in Medina, he said: 'Suhayb has profited! Suhayb has profited!' — repeating it twice. Allah then revealed (Surah al-Baqarah 2:207): 'And of the people is he who sells himself seeking the approval of Allah.' Umar ibn al-Khattab on his deathbed named Suhayb to lead the prayers until the new caliph was chosen — a mark of the highest trust. He is an embodiment of the truth that faith has no ethnicity.