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Salmaan Al-Farisi's Conversion to Islam

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

category: History & Biographies

source: Islam-QA.com

reads: 22319

... continued from Page 1

When he was dying I said to him: 'O So and so, I was with So and so, and So and so told me to go to So and so; then So and so told me to go to So and so; then So and so told me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go and what do you command me to do?' He said: 'O my son, by Allaah, I do not know of anyone who follows our way to whom I can advise you to go. But there has come the time of a Prophet, who will be sent with the religion of Ibraaheem. He will appear in the land of the Arabs and will migrate to a land between two harrahs (lave fields; land with black rocks), between which there are palm trees. He will have characteristics that will not be hidden. He will eat of what is given as a gift but he will not eat of what is given as charity. Between his shoulder blades is the Seal of Prophethood. If you can go to that land then do so.'

Then he died and was buried, and I stayed in 'Ammooriyyah as long as Allaah willed I should stay, then some merchants of Kalb passed by me and I said to them: 'Will you take me to the land of the Arabs and I will give you these cows and sheep of mine?' They said: 'Yes.' So I gave them the cows and sheep, and they took me there, but when they brought me to Waadi al-Qura they wronged me and sold me as a slave to a Jewish man.

When I was with him I saw the palm trees, and I hoped that this was the land that my companion had described to me, but I was not sure. Whilst I was with him, a cousin of his from Banu Qurayzah came to him from Madeenah, and he sold me to him, and he took me to Madeenah. By Allaah, as soon as I saw it, I recognized it from the description given to me by my companion.  I stayed there, and Allaah sent His Messenger, who stayed in Makkah as long as he stayed, and I did not hear anything about him because I was so busy with the work of a slave. Then he migrated to Madeenah, and by Allaah, I was at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master, doing some work on it, and my master was sitting there. Then a cousin of his came and stood beside him, and said: 'May Allaah kill Banu Qaylah! By Allaah, right now they are gathering in Quba’ to welcome a man who has come from Makkah today, and they say that he is a Prophet.'

When I heard that, I began to shiver so much that I thought I would fall on top of my master. I came down from the tree and started saying to that cousin of his: 'What are you saying, what are you saying?' My master got angry and he struck me with his fist and said: 'What has it got to do with you? Go back to your work!' I said: 'Nothing; I just wanted to make sure of what he was saying.'

I had something that I had collected, and when evening came, I went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in Quba’, and I entered upon him and said to him: 'I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions who are strangers and are in need. This is something that I have to give in charity, and I see that you are more in need of it than anyone else.'

I brought it near to him and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his companions: "Eat," but he refrained from eating.  I said to myself: 'This is one.' Then I went away and collected some more.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) moved to Madeenah, then I came to him and said: 'I see that you do not eat (food given in) charity; this is a gift with which I wish to honour you.' The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ate some of it and told his companions to eat too. I said to myself: 'This is two.'

Then I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in Baqee’ al-Gharqad, where he had attended the funeral of one of his companions and he was wearing two shawls and was sitting among his companions. I greeted him with salaam then I moved behind him, trying to look at his back to see the Seal that my companion had described to me. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw me going behind him, he realized that I was trying to find confirmation of something that had been described to me, so he let his rida’ drop from his back, and I saw the Seal and recognized it. Then I embraced him, kissing (the Seal) and weeping, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted his companions to hear that. Then Salmaan was kept busy with the work of a slave, until he had missed attending Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said: Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out with me and we started to bring the trees close and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) planted them with his own hand. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, not one single tree among them died.

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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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 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 said: "Take it, and Allaah will help you to pay off what you owe." 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at al-Khandaq, and after that I did not miss any major event with him. 

Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (5/441). The scholars of hadeeth said: Its isnaad is hasan. 

And Allaah knows best.