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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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