His name was Bilal ibn Rabah. He is also called Bilal
al-Habashi. He was born in a mountainous
village in the Western Arabia in the year 578 A.D. His parents migrated from Ethiopia.
His father was called Rabah and his
mother was known as Hammama. As per some reports, she was a former Princess of Abyssinia,
who was captured after the event of A’mul Feel- year of elephant-(an abortive attempt to destroy Ka’aba) and put
into slavery. His parents were slave of Umaiyya bin Khalaf of Quraysh of
Makkah. He was the first African slave to accept Islam. He had a strong faith in Allah and loved the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.).
When his master came to know about his conversion to
Islam, he became very angry and forced him to disown Islam, but he refused. He decided
to torture Bilal by flame of fire, whipping, and make him lie in the scorching
heat of the desert laying a heavy stone on his chest, but Bilal was determined
like a rock and resolutely suffered pain, and would continue to say: “Ahad, Ahad” (God is Absolute/One) When
the news of Bilal’s torture reached the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.), he ordered
Abu Bakr to purchase Bilal to relieve him from this misery. Abu Bakr purchased
Bilal and set him free.
He was chosen by
the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) to be the first Mu’azzin of Islam. Bilal was
famous for his beautiful voice with which he used to call the Muslims for
prayers.
He was given the
honor of carrying the spear of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) to point the
direction of Ka’aba for prayers.
He took part in all the military expeditions along with the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.). In the Battle of Badr, he killed his former master Umaiyyah bin
Khalaf.
In the month of January 630 A.D., after the Victory of Makkah, which was achieved
by the intelligent planning of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) without any blood
–shed, he ordered Bilal to ascend on top
of the Ka’aba and called “Azaan” inviting Muslims for prayers. This was the
historic moment when for the first time the “Azaan” was called in the most
sacred city of Makkah.
In Madinah, Bilal
was appointed the Treasurer of the Public Treasury (Bait-ul-Maal). As the
Treasurer, he was responsible for the allocation of funds and also used to
distribute funds to the widows, orphans, the wayfarers (travelers), and people
who could not support themselves.
After the sad
demise of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.), Bilal was one of those who did not
pay allegiance to the first caliph elected at Saqifah. (Sayyid Saeed Akhtar
Rizvi, Majalis Muminin by Nurullah Shustari, The Hidden Truth about Karbala by
A.K.Ahmad, and Medieval Islamic Civilization by Joseph W. Meri & Jere
Bacharach)
The second caliph
grabbed Bilal by his clothes and said: “Is this the reward of Abu Bakr; he
emancipated you and you are now refusing to pay allegiance to him?”
Bilal replied: “If
Abu Bakr emancipated me for the pleasure of Alllah, and then leave me alone for
Allah; and if he emancipated me for his service, then I am ready to render him
the services required. But I am not going to pay allegiance to a person whom the
Messenger of God had not appointed as his caliph!”
Similarly, Sunni
writer Yusuf Abdullah writes in “al-Isti’ab”:
Bilal told Abu
Bakr: “If you have emancipated me for yourself, then make me a captive again;
but if you have emancipated me for Allah, then let me go in the way of Allah.”
Umar ibn Khattab replied: “You should not remain here among us.”
After being exiled
by Abu Bakr and Umar ibn Khattab, Bilal migrated to Syria. He was among the
earlier Shias of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.)
When Bilal’s wife
realized that death was approaching Bilal, she became sorrowful and exclaimed: “What
a painful affliction!” Bilal corrected her saying: “On the contrary, what a
happy occasion! Tomorrow I will meet my beloved Muhammad and his host.”
(Alexander D.Knysh, Lebanon).
Bilal died around 20 A.H. and was buried in Damascus, Syria
within the Bab-al-Saghir Cemetry.
Sources used:
WIKIPEDIA/ ISLAMIC OCCASIONS .COM
Bilal’s bed time stories by
A.H.Sheriff
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