Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him)

Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him)

With the Companions in Ramadan (15)

Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him) "The muezzin of Islam"

Bilal ibn Rabah was Ethiopian but lived in Quraysh, was a slave to the tribe of Taym, and was nicknamed by Abu `Abdullah or Abu `Abdur-Rahman. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) purchased him from the polytheists when they tortured him for embracing Islam then freed him. He accompanied the Prophet (peace be upon him) and was his muezzin, and witnessed all battles with him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) established a bond of brotherhood between him and Abu `Ubaydah ibn Al Jarrah. After the Prophet's death, Bilal went to the Levant to fight in the cause of Allah and died there. He was from the early people who embraced Islam and migrated to Medina. In the Pre-Islamic Period, he was the slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf who used to torture him by putting him on the hot sand of the desert in the noon and used to place a great rock on his chest and said: You will remain in this condition until you die or disbelieve in Muhammad. In that condition, he used to say: One, One [i.e., Allah is one]. One day Abu Bakr bargained to purchase him for a black powerful slave, then Bilal killed Umayyah in the Battle of Badr.

`Umar used to say about him, Bilal is our master and the freed slave of our master (Abu Bakr).

His virtues were well-known, and he died in the Levant in the time of `Umar ibn Al Khattab in the age of 63. It was said: He died in the year 18 or in the Year 20 because of the plague of `Amwas.[1]

Situations from his lifetime:

• One day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) woke in the morning and called upon Bilal and said: One morning, Allah's Messenger called Bilal and said: "O Bilal, with what did you overtake me to Paradise? Indeed, I did not enter Paradise but heard the rustle of your footsteps ahead of me. I entered Paradise last night and heard your steps ahead of me till I came to a castle square and lofty made of gold. I asked: "To whom does this castle belong?" They said: 'A man of the Arabs,' and I said: "I am an Arab, for whom is this castle?' They said: 'For a man of the Quraysh,' so I said: 'I am a Quraysh, for whom is it?" They said: 'For a man of Muhammad's Nation.' I said: 'l am Muhammad and for whom is the castle?' They said: 'For `Umar ibn Al Khattab." Bilal said: "O Messenger of Allah! I never call the Adhan but offer two-Rak`ah Salah (before that) and whenever I relieve myself or break wind, I make a fresh ablution. I am convinced that to offer two Rak`ahs is the due right of Allah on me." Allah's Messenger said: "Because of both these things (you preceded me to paradise)."[2]

• `Umar used to say: "Abu Bakr is our master and he freed our master [i.e., Bilal].[3]

• Qays narrated that Bilal said to Abu Bakr: "If you bought me for yourself, keep me your slave, but if you did that for the sake of Allah, leave me to worship Allah."[4]

• `Amr ibn Maymun narrated that a man who claimed to be the brother of Bilal betrothed an Arab woman. The family of the bride said: If you bring Bilal with you, we will approve the marriage. He (the narrator) said: Bilal came with him and said: I am Bilal ibn Rabah and this is my brother who is bad-mannered, so if you want to approve the marriage, you may do so, and if you do not approve the marriage, you may do so. The family replied: Whomever is your brother we shall give him the hand of our daughter.[5]

• Wathilah ibn Al Asqa` (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The best of black people are three: Luqman, Bilal, and Mahja`, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."[6]

• The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "O Bilal, give us comfort by calling to Salah." [7]

• `Abdullah ibn Abu Qatadah reported from his father who said: "One night we were travelling with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and some people said: We wish that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) would take a rest along with us during the last hours of the night. He said: I am afraid that you will sleep and miss the (Fajr) Salah. Bilal said: I will awake you. So all slept and Bilal rested his back against his Rahila and he too was overwhelmed (by sleep) and slept. The Prophet (peace be upon him) got up when the edge of the sun had risen and said: O Bilal! What about your statement? He replied: I have never slept such a sleep. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah captured your souls when He wished, and released them when He wished. O Bilal! Get up and pronounce the Adhan for the prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed ablution and when the sun came up and became bright, he stood up and prayed."

• Sa`d narrated: Six of us were with the Prophet (peace be upon him) when the infidels said to him: Drive these ones away, lest they should begin to venture against us. The six were, myself, Ibn Mas`ud, a man of the Hudhayl Tribe, Bilal and two other men whose names I do not know. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) thought what Allah wished him to think, and Allah revealed: "And turn not away those who invoke their Rubb, morning and afternoon seeking His Face." [Surart Al An`am: 52] [Muslim]. [8]

• `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) reached Medina, Abu Bakr and Bilal became ill. When Abu Bakr's fever got worse, he would recite (this poetic verse): Everybody is staying alive with his people, yet death is nearer to him than his shoe laces. And Bilal, when his fever deserted him, would recite: Would that I could stay overnight in a valley wherein I would be surrounded by Idhkhir and Jalil (kinds of good-smelling grass). Would that one day I could drink the water of the Majannah, and would that (the two mountains) Shama and Tafil would appear to me!"[9]