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ABDULLAH
IBN SAILAM Radhia
Allahu Anaha
Al-Husayn
ibn Sailam was a Jewish rabbi in Yathrib who was widely
respected and honoured 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. He said:
"When
I heard of the appearance of the Messenger of God, peace
be on 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 m
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 on 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 my takbir, 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 enter
Paradise 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 Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
The
Prophet turned to me and asked: 'What is your name?'
'Al-Husayn ibn Sailam,' I replied.
'Instead,
it is (now) Abdullah ibn Sallam,' he said (giving me a new
name). 'Yes,' I agreed. 'Abdullah ibn Sailam (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 KhaIidah 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 on 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 Sailam 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..."
Abdullah
ibn Sailam 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.
Much
of his time he spent 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 Sallam was known among the Sahabah as a man from
ahl-al-Jannah "- 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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