The Firsts (Sahaba Stories) | The Forerunners of Islam
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khawla Bint Hakim & Uthman Ibn Madhun: The Righteous Couple | The Firsts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Al-Shifa bint Abdullah (ra): The Healer and Scholar | The Firsts Shorts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Shurahbil Ibn Hasana (ra): The Scribe and Commander | The Firsts Shorts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): The Legendary Military General | The Firsts
126
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Amr ibn al-As (ra): His Wicked Father and “Better” Brother | The Firsts
146
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid (ra): From False Prophet to Shaheed | The Firsts
147
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra) | The Firsts
Bilal ibn Rabah (ra): The Voice of Certainty
Whether he was under a stone in the hot desert or on top of the Kaaba, no man called out more truthfully “One God” and ascended in rank like Bilal.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Audhu billahi min ash-shaytani r-rajim. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. Wa al-'udhwani ila al-zalimeen. Wa al-'aqiba tulil muttaqeen. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasliman kathira. Dear brothers and sisters, I want to welcome you back to the first, and of course inshallah ta'ala we have moved it to Wednesday nights now, so please keep that in mind. That Monday night we'll have a reminder inshallah. Wednesday night we will do the first, and then on Fridays we will have khutbah inshallah ta'ala from the lawn of Valley Ranch Islamic Center. Tonight is a particularly daunting task because the person that I'm covering, Bilal ibn Rabah radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, is not just an incredible companion, but one whose life story spans so far. And his entire life story, or much of his life story, is related to his accepting Islam. And so a lot of the sahaba that we've been covering, we stop at a certain point because the idea is to, in many ways, give us an image of Mecca as things are developing around the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. But the story of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu is poetic for many reasons. It is one of the most well-known stories in the ummah. There are many children who would not be able to give you any incident from the sahaba except for the incident of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. He is well known for his struggle, especially as he initially embraced Islam. Now with that being said, there is also a fetishizing of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu that we should, you know, from now eliminate. If you have not paid attention, most of the sahaba thus far or many of them that we have covered were in fact black.
And as one title, one article was titled, Bilal is not the ummah's one black friend. And that's sort of how he's portrayed in many situations, the ummah's one black friend. He's that guy, right? Except we just finished with Khabbab radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, who was also black, and Sumayya radiyaAllahu ta'ala anha, and Umm Ayman and Zayd, and the list goes on and on. So that's not his special quality. However, there is an element of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu overcoming all sorts of impediments in his society, in a classist, tribalistic, racist environment to become who he became radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. Now, as far as this series is concerned, and again, creating the imagery of what is around the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam as Islam is developing, Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu is always associated with Khabbab radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So you'll find in books of seer, often Bilal and Khabbab together, or you'll find Bilal, Khabbab, and Suhayb together, and sometimes Ammar, Bilal, Khabbab, Suhayb, and Ammar. And so we haven't covered Suhayb yet, which we will inshaAllah ta'ala next week. So that's one element that reflects the early mustada'afeen, the early downtrodden ones who accepted Islam and struggled alongside the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, who this message resonated with. And you'll also find, like in Sahih Muslim actually, Baab min Fadha'ali Salman wa Suhayb wa Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum. Imam Muslim has the virtues of Salman, Bilal, and Suhayb to obviously reflect Salman being the first Persian, Bilal being the first Abyssinian who was enslaved to accept Islam, Suhayb being the first Roman to accept Islam. So there are different ways that Bilal radiyaAllahu anhum's story is framed. But I want us to think about the story of Bilal before Islam because there's something about the message of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam
that is resonating instantaneously with people that have been subjugated in the name of false gods. Whether those false gods are the idols, or those false gods are the various ideologies and systems that are upheld in Mecca through which the Bilals and the Khababs and the Ammars and the Sumayyas are oppressed. So let's start off with Bilal's story to just reflect for a moment and appreciate that he brings together two important surahs. Bilal's story radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum, as far as his birth and his coming into the picture, starts with Surat al-Fil and it ends with Surat an-Nasr. How? Surat al-Fil reflects the incidents that would cause his mother to be brought into slavery and then Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum to be raised in slavery in Mecca. And Surat an-Nasr is encapsulated best by Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum standing on top of the Ka'bah in Fath Mecca, in the conquest of Mecca, calling out Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. And so first Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum comes into the picture. The reason why Bilal radiyaAllahu anhum grows up in the environment that he grows up in is because an Abyssinian king from Yemen, who of course we know as Abraha, leads an army from Yemen to destroy the Ka'bah and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala destroys his army instead. And amongst those that are captive, Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum's mother, Hamama, who was an Abyssinian princess. So Hamama is captured as a princess, an Abyssinian princess taken into slavery, and is married to Rabah, who is a black Arab slave. A black Arab slave. And so this army is destroyed.
Abraha's army seeking to destroy the Ka'bah is destroyed. And what ends up happening is that the Abyssinians that resided in the area are taken as slaves and they largely dwell in such fashion in the society of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And then again subhanAllah how poetic that the next time an army comes to the Ka'bah it is the army of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and Bilal radiyaAllahu anhum through tawheed, through monotheism, stands on top of the Ka'bah declaring Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. So Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum is Bilal ibn Radhaah and he is also Bilal al-Habashi radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum. He was born approximately 10 years after Aam al-Feel, after the year of the elephant, and of course the year that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was born as well. So he was born approximately in the year 580, making him a decade younger than the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. What is the description of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum physically? Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum had an extremely pleasant appearance. He was dark, very dark skin, extremely handsome, he had hazel eyes, he had a lot of hair, and it's said that Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum never balded, so he had much hair that stayed with him throughout his entire life. He had a light beard that was barely connected, and Bilal radiyaAllahu anhum maintained a youthful appearance throughout his entire life. They said that there was only some streaks of gray hair in his hair and his beard at the end of his life. So an extremely handsome man radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum, a very strong appearance. And I want to introduce this man radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum through an introduction
by Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum, and this narration is found in al-Qurtubi's tafsir in Surah Luqman. That Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum saw a young black man who had internalized some of the racism that was around him. And so we, just as I said, we can't exoticize Bilal or turn him into the ummah's one black friend. We also should not underestimate the power of people that deal with toxic racism, and racism is all toxic, seeing themselves in the sahabah of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. And so Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum was talking to a young black man, and he says to him, la tahzan min annaka aswad fa innahu kana min khayri al-nasi thalathatun min al-sudan He said, do not feel bad or do not grieve because you are black. For verily three of the best people to ever walk the face of the earth were black. And he mentions Bilal and Mihja and Luqman. May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la be pleased with them all. Bilal, Mihja and Luqman. And so Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu is a special man from the companions of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, whose honor, even if relegated to one area, lives in the ummah today. And we see the prominence of the story of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu and the name of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu in the ummah's history. The kunya of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu was Aba Abdillah, though he never actually had kids, according to most accounts. And the way that Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu would be insulted of Yabna Saudah, O son of a black woman. This was a way to put Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu down because of his status, despite having an Arab father. Because as we said, Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu's mother was an Abyssinian princess
and Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu's father was a black Arab. And in the famous narration with Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu saying those words, and of course some of the narrations suggesting that it was Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu that he said those words to, it would make sense because it was a reminder that even though Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu's father was an Arab, his mother being an Abyssinian who was enslaved is really what his status was reflective of. And so Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu himself being a black Arab, saying that to Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, or the names being hurled at Bilal, the insult, specific insult to Bilal of Yabna Saudah, O son of a black woman, is to suggest a lower status in society because at the end of the day, tribalism is what reigns supreme in that society. Some of the narrations, they talk about the upbringing of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, and they're mostly general, but still, I mean, you can take from the obvious facts of Bilal's upbringing enough to derive what would have made the message of Islam so attractive to him radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So Bilal radiyaAllahu anhu was born into slavery. He grows up and both of his parents are enslaved. And, you know, it's mentioned in some of the, in the accounts that Bilal radiyaAllahu anhu, who loved his mother, used to witness his mother being beaten. And so just think about the mindset of this young man coming up and seeing his parents subjugated to that cruelty. Now, Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu understood that the way to rise was to be enhanced in regards to your skill sets, in regards to your techniques, in regards to your abilities. And so Bilal radiyaAllahu anhu would rise to become, you know, one of the favored of the enslaved due to his intelligence, due to his strength, due to his ability.
So he wasn't amongst those who would be beaten frequently. He was amongst those that were considered to be amongst the favorites of a noble man, noble by jahili standards, Umayyah ibn Khalaf at the time. And so Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, despite rising in that sense, understands that his status, because of the way that things operate in the society that he is in, his status is still one of a slave, despite being one of the favored amongst the slaves of the nobles at the time. Now Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu embraces Islam upon hearing of the da'wah of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam immediately. Now it's very interesting because what's suggested is that Bilal did not actually hear the call from the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam himself initially, but he actually would have heard it from Umayyah complaining about Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, about the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Now his master Umayyah ibn Khalaf is one of the custodians of the Ka'bah, the custodians of the idols. He was famous for perfuming the idols, for taking care of the Ka'bah. He's in the ranks of the likes of Abu Jahl and others at the time. And Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu would have heard of Islam either directly from the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam or actually through the complaints of Umayyah and others about the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. However, as we mentioned the narration last week, Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu is considered amongst the first seven that adharul Islam, that showed or publicly expressed their Islam. So Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, just like Khabbab radiyaAllahu anhu hears the message of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, hears the message of Tawheed and it immediately resonates with him.
It's probably one of the greatest injustices of the movie, Bilal, that came out a few years ago, was that it made Tawheed secondary to the element of justice. However, Tawheed was the first right that Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu found that resonated with him, ahadun ahad. Everything that stems from ahadun ahad, everything that stems from the affirmation of that one God is where you find Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, finding his dignity and his honor. And that's something that's consistent, even in the famous incident of Rabi'i ibn Amir, that Allah has sent us to free people from being enslaved to other slaves, to being slaves to the Lord of all slaves. And then from the injustice of all other systems to the justice of Islam and from the constriction of this life to the expanse of the hereafter. And so something about Tawheed and what Tawheed represented, ahad represented, one God represented, immediately resonated with Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. Because it is necessarily the case that if you acknowledge the oneness of God, that that puts all of humanity on a singular plane. When you are able to affirm the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and associate no partners with him whatsoever. And that is the case with Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. That he hears this message and that is the sweetest part of it to him, because that's what he's going to keep on repeating over and over and over again. One God, one God, one God. And so Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu embraces Islam. And as we said in the story of Khabbab and the story of Sumayya, Bilal does not have anyone to protect him. And his master, being the powerful man that he is, wants to make an example out of him so that others would not follow suit. And so what does Umayya do?
Umayya actually puts a collar on Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu and puts hot iron on him. And he would render him unconscious. SubhanAllah, you know, you find that he used to tie Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu up by his wrists and his ankles. And he would put him out in the sun from sunrise to sunset. And they would deprive him of water radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. And not only would they deprive him of water, but out of cruelty, they would drip some drops of water on his chest to torture him further, to mentally torture him further. And Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu would go days in this situation without sustenance. And Umayya would tell Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, because remember, Bilal was one of the favored slaves of Umayya. Listen, just say, Allat wal Uzza, just say their names and this will end. Okay, just say their names and this will end. This torture will end. Umayya did not anticipate the resilience of Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu in the face of this humiliation, in the face of this torture. So he's saying to him, just say, you know, just say Allat wal Uzza, just say the names of them and you will be free. He was not like Abu Jahl demanding Sumayya to curse the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. He's just demanding Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu to say Allat wal Uzza. So, qul allat, qul al Uzza, and Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu would respond and say, ahadun ahad, one, one. And it would infuriate Umayya because Umayya felt like he was being generous to Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu by giving him an easy way out. And so when that did not work, when the dehydration did not work and the torture did not work, SubhanAllah, the next level of cruelty was to take Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu to the sufaha of Ta'if, to the hudlums of Ta'if.
And they would tie him up and Umayya told them in Ta'if, he said, assault him in any way that you want. SubhanAllah, I mean, think about how disgusting then the assaults on Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu would have been. Isna'u bima shi'tum, go ahead and do with him whatever you want. Torture him, beat him, insult him, assault him in every way possible to break his spirit. And so he would leave Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu for days in that way. Bilal still did not give up. And SubhanAllah, you then had the next level of this, which was dragging Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu through the streets. And as they dragged Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu through the pathways of Mecca, they would leave streaks of his blood radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, lashing him, dehydrating him, torturing him. And Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu still just says, ahadun ahad, one, one. There's a narration about Waraqa ibn Nawfal passing by him. And of course, as we mentioned in the story of Waraqa, that it does not add up from a timeline perspective that he said to Umayyah that, Wallahi, if you kill him, then I will build a shrine for him. And confirming ahadun ahad, Wallahi ya Bilal. But in any case, I mean, this torture went on for a long time. And Ibn Mas'ud radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu said that when they were put in the iron chains and tortured most severely, the only one who would never show his pain was Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. laqad hana nafsahu fee sabeeli Allah. He completely sacrificed himself for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. He completely, you know, removed his nafs. He gave it all for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is upon whom was revealed, wa min an-nasi man yashree nafsahu bintiha amal radhaatillah.
Wallahu raoofun bil'ibad. And there are those of people who sell themselves seeking means, seeking the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And verily Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is kind to his servants. So SubhanAllah with Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, when we talked about him, the freeing of the khabbabs of the world and the Bilals of the world. wa ma li ahadin 3indahu min ni'matin tujiza illa bi-lilahi. wa bi-tigha awajhi rabbihi al-a'la wa la sawfa yarda. That there is no one who can compensate Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu for the money that he was spending for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. All he was doing it for was seeking the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala would please him. And Allah mentions on the other side of that, there are those who did not have money to give to free others. They only had themselves to give for freedom into the abudiya of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, into slavery to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And those are the Bilals of the world who gave himself for Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and that was all that he had. And so as the torture goes on for weeks and then months, Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu constantly pushes Umayyah to free Bilal or to sell him Bilal. And Umayyah wants to win this bout of torture. So to Umayyah success is seeing Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu crumble under the pressure. And Bilal radiyaAllahu anhu is not crumbling. And so as time goes on and Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu comes to him and he says, sell him to me, sell him to me. How much do you want? Name your price. And Umayyah keeps on putting it off. Finally, Umayyah tries to torture Bilal radiyaAllahu anhu in the most severe way, which is that he has Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu tied to the hot surface in the desert. And this is a Bilal who has now been dehydrated,
who has now been starved, who has now been assaulted in every way. And all he says is, ahadun ahad, one, one. And Umayyah orders that a group of men bring a stone, a huge stone that takes multiple men. And as Bilal radiyaAllahu anhu is stretched out in the desert to put the stone on top of his body. And SubhanAllah, Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu says ahadun ahad until he goes unconscious. And the story of Bilal might've ended there. He may have become a shaheed, a martyr, just like Umayyah radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. But Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu keeps on pushing. And eventually as Umayyah realizes that this man is hopeless and that I'm not going to get him to relinquish his faith. I've tried every mechanism of torture and Umayyah is a man driven by money, right? So eventually he says to Abu Bakr, you know what, I'll sell them to you. How much? 10 uqiyahs. And uqiyah is a heavier currency at the time. They had dirhams and dinars and uqiyah is a large set, a large currency. And I forgot the exact measurement of what it would be equivalent to, but it's not a small amount. And he says to him that I'll sell them to you for 10 uqiyahs and some may erase and say seven. And Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu does not bargain with the price Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu says. Okay, right away. Now, as Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu purchases his freedom, Umayyah says to him, law a'taytani dinar. If you would have just given me one dinar, right? To show to Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu that Bilal is cheap, radiyaAllahu anhu, right? To belittle Bilal, even after all that he has put him through. And Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu hears obviously that last word of humiliation
from the man that has tortured him for all of these years. He said, if you would have given me one dinar, I would have given him to you. Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu responds. And he says, wallahi, if you would have given him to me only for a hundred, I would have bought him. I would have purchased his freedom. That Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu is worth more to us. He's worth more to us than any price that he would have named. And that is a sign of the type of community that Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu is joining. One that values him on the basis of his love for Allah, ahadun ahad, one God, one God. One that values him solely on that basis and that extols his virtue because of that and nothing else. And so Bilal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu joins the community of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu and those great people. Now, at that point, as the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam, you know, tries to negotiate through his uncle Abu Talib, a means by which he can give da'wah to the leaders of Quraysh. You know, Walid ibn Mughira and some of the leaders of the Quraysh, they say to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam, look, if you get rid of the Bilal's of the world and the Khabbab's of the world and the Suhaib's of the world, we'll sit with you. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responds with, wala tatrud allatheena yad'uuna rabbahum bilghadati wal'ashi yureeduna wajhah. Do not push away, do not push away those that call upon their Lord night and day, seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's pleasure, that that's not for you to do, that the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is what's going to attain the victory of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that's why the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam went and he sat with them when the ayah was revealed. And you know, at this point now, as you're watching Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu proceed in the community of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam,
a man who now walks free and amongst the companions of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam and not just that, but he is our master who was freed by our master, our master who was freed by our master. And you know, he's spoken to in this way as time goes on, even by the likes of Umar ibn al-Khattab radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Think about where Umar radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was and where Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was. And Umar radiAllahu ta'ala anhu later on, as he's sitting with Khabbab and he's sitting with Bilal and we talked about what Umar radiAllahu ta'ala anhu asks Khabbab, what does he ask Bilal? He says to Bilal, you know, why is it that when you were being tortured and he refers to him as our master who was freed by our master. He says, how come when you were being tortured, all you said was Ahad un-Ahad, one, one. You know, Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu's response was, if I knew anything about Allah other than one, one, then I would have said it. SubhanAllah, how simple the word, La ilaha illAllah encapsulated in Ahad un-Ahad and Bilal does not know any other names of Allah subhanAllah, he doesn't call upon Allah with any du'a book, he doesn't have the names of Allah subhanAllah memorized. All he knows is one, one, Ahad un-Ahad. Wallahi Ahad un-Ahad, ya Bilal. It was just one, one. As time goes on, you know, and there's so much to talk about in regards to the virtues of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and I will try my best to get through at least enough of them. Of course, I've done other lectures on Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu where you can find some of these things elaborated on further, but suffice it to say that Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu would witness every battle and every journey of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam. He was always by his side.
When the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam wanted to be left alone, he only allowed Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu to be with him. When the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam, you know, was to prepare himself for any journey, he would inform Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu first. Bilal radiAllahu anhu was the gatekeeper in the literal and the metaphorical sense with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam in the figurative sense, he was the gatekeeper to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam and he was the closest to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam in these journeys throughout. And that is also important to the context of the adhan of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu being the first mu'adhin. Abdullah ibn Zaid had a dream that in Medina as they were trying to figure out how they were going to institute the call to prayer. And in this dream, he said, a spirit visited me and I saw a man wearing two green garments with a clapper and I asked him to sell it to me. And he said, why? I told him for prayer. And he said to me, let me share with you a better way. And then he started to recite the adhan. So Abdullah ibn Zaid came to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam to tell the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam about the dream that he had had. As he was arriving to tell the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam about that dream, Umar ibn al-Khattab radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was coming to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam to inform him about the very same dream. The dream of the adhan, the words being chanted out as we hear them for every single salah. And who does the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam appoint to be the one to say it? It's Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Why does the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam appoint Bilal? Is it because Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu you know, is a symbol for something? Is the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam doing that to say that, look, you know, I'm going to uplift Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu to do this for some reason?
No, Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu deserves to be the one to chant the adhan, to say la ilaha illallah standing atop the masjid because Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was the one who was saying la ilaha illallah under that rock and under the most brutal forms of torture. It was the iman, the faith and the certainty of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu that gained him that honor to say la ilaha illallah. So it was not because of his race, it was in spite of his race. It wasn't because of his previous status, it was, you know, despite it, it was because he deserved it radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and there was going to be no impediment to Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu being chosen to that position. And Bilal radiAllahu anhu had a strong voice, a beautiful, strong voice. And I want you to think about the closeness to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, before every adhan would seek permission from the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to call the adhan. So it wasn't just going out and calling the adhan. That in and of itself is five times of access to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. You go to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and you say, As-salatu ya Rasulullah, the prayer, O messenger of Allah. And what was the answer of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam the famous answer? Arihna biha ya bilal. Comfort us with it, O Bilal. Comfort us with the prayer, O Bilal. And Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu would stand up and he would call out, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Ash hadu wa la ilaha illAllah, ash hadu wa la ilaha illAllah, until the end of the adhan. And as he would call it out and SubhanAllah saying, ash hadu anna Muhammadun Rasulullah and Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, Rasulullah would walk out. Right, I mean, how beautiful to call the adhan. And as you're saying, I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and Muhammad, the messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam walks out to lead the prayer as you call your adhan.
And there's a beautiful narration from Abu Hurairah radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He said that we were with the messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. And Bilal radiAllahu anhu stood up to give the adhan. And by the way, Bilal would have the honor to give the adhan in Madinah and on a journey with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam So we're with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu stood up to give the adhan. And when he fell silent, when Bilal radiAllahu anhu finished his adhan, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, man qala mithla hadha yaqeenan dakhalal jannah Whoever says this with yaqeen, with certainty, will enter paradise. And there is an indication in there that as Bilal radiAllahu anhu was saying, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. What did that mean to him? Right, how much certainty did Bilal radiAllahu anhu have in Allahu Akbar? How much certainty did he have in ashhadu an la ilaha illallah, ashhadu anna Muhammad Rasulullah. Didn't he prove it? How much certainty in this being al-falah, not just as salah, that this is success. Bilal radiAllahu anhu was willing to die for these words and almost did die for these words radiAllahu ta'ala anhu when very few would consider the message of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. So Bilal radiAllahu anhu was the side of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. He was the confidant of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam If you wanted to visit the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam you had to go through Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He was the one who would wake up the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam for fajr. He used to set up the camps for the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. He used to guard the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam when he wanted alone time. How much then did he spend with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam? His life literally revolved around the Messenger of Allah radiAllahu anhu. Literally, right? His life revolves around the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. And so you can imagine then what the death of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam will do to him, right?
And so that gives some context and I'm jumping a bit because we haven't got to that point of what the death of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam will do to Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He's not just the mu'adhin of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. He's also a mujahid on the side of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. And he's also the first treasurer, the first khazin of bayt al-mal, khazin of bayt al-mal. The treasurer of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, the one who would maintain the charity and the wealth as it came into the messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. So Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu is the first in many different ways, right? There are many ways to attribute the first to Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And all of it comes from obviously the place of certainty and steadfastness that Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu had when he accepted Islam. Now SubhanAllah with all of these people, especially those that were enslaved and tortured, we talk about Badr, right? Badr being a defining moment. Badr is certainly a defining moment for Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu as well. And his master Umayyah or his previous master, of course, who tortured him and oppressed him, Umayyah ibn Khalaf. If you go into the story of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, he actually did not want to go out to Badr, but he was shamed into going out to Badr by Abu Jahl. Umayyah was not someone who liked, believe it or not, who liked conflict. He was scared of it. He liked instead to finance his way out of everything, to get other people to do things for him. He thrived off of his lineage and off of his access to power, but Umayyah was not one who actually liked to be in battle or to be in confrontation. And so Umayyah actually tried to find many loopholes to get out of this, to get out of the battle of Badr, but had to go out as Abu Jahl had shamed him. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam could see it in his eyes as he came out to the day of Badr that Umayyah did not actually want to be there.
But there's something that precedes that, which is that Umayyah was close to two men from the companions of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam He was close to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, in Medina. And he was close to Abdurrahman ibn Auf, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And Abdurrahman was, you know, Abdurrahman ibn Auf, of course, one of the early converts of Islam, maintained a relationship with Umayyah even after Islam, and they had a deal with one another. The deal was that Abdurrahman ibn Auf was entrusted with the property and the wealth and the family of Umayyah ibn Khalaf in Medina, and Umayyah was entrusted with the wealth and the property and the family of Abdurrahman in Mecca. So even after Islam, they had this document written up where they made this promise to one another. And Umayyah did not accept the name of Abdurrahman. His name before Islam was Abdurrahman. So Abdurrahman no longer goes by Abdurrahman, but Umayyah refuses to call him Abdurrahman, and so they settled on Abdu'lilah, okay? Because they disagree on who the ilah is, who God is. So he's the slave of the God, right? So to Umayyah, who would call him Abd'lilah, and Abdurrahman, who of course referred to Ar-Rahman, this was the way that they negotiated that contract. So Umayyah ibn Khalaf shows up at the Battle of Badr, and we've talked about what happened to Abu Jahl, and we talked about the vengeance, or what happened with Ammar radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, and Khabbab radiAllahu Anhu on the Day of Badr, and so many different people, seeing their oppressors fall on the Day of Badr. When Umayyah showed up to the Battle of Badr, he immediately tried to figure out how to get himself out of a direct confrontation.
And so he saw Abdurrahman ibn U'uf on the Day of Badr, and he submitted himself to Abdurrahman right away. And he told Abdurrahman that he'll ransom himself with the most expensive of property to get himself out of being killed or being in that fight. Now, can you imagine the emotion of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu seeing the man who oppressed him and who treated him that way for all of those years on that Day of Badr? Can you imagine what was going through the heart and the mind of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu? And so when Bilal radiAllahu Anhu saw him, he wanted to kill him. He wanted so bad to kill him. And Abdurrahman ibn U'uf, he actually narrates the incident. He said that, you know, I captured Umayyah, I took him in, and Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu followed me with Umayyah, and he shouted out, and he said, ma najawtu in naja, I will not live if he lives. Meaning one of us is gonna die. Either I die or he dies. ma najawtu, wallahi ma najawtu in naja, I will not live if he lives. That he must die, that I want my revenge. And Abdurrahman ibn U'uf is literally shielding Umayyah from Bilal, who is so emotional. Now, the sahaba were waiting for the ayat to be revealed in regards to how they deal with the captive. So in regards to Umayyah ibn Khalaf, this is no longer in the battle. This is after the battle has already ceased. And Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu wants to take his revenge on him for what he did to him for all of those years. And he's saying, ma najawtu in naja. And as they are waiting, SubhanAllah, listen to how Abdurrahman ibn U'uf describes the situation. He says, I literally had to protect Umayyah while Bilal radiAllahu Anhu and some of the Ansar were poking with their swords around me, trying to get past me to hit him. And Abdurrahman ibn U'uf says,
my foot was actually injured because of one of the swords going through, trying to get at Umayyah and going past and hitting my foot. And Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu killed Umayyah ibn Khalaf that day and took his revenge that day for what was done to him. And SubhanAllah, this is powerful because it shows you justice. It also shows you the very raw emotion of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu and seeing the man who did this to him for all of those months in the most humiliating fashion. And Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu taking, having the opportunity to do this. To take his revenge and to have justice in this life with Umayyah ibn Khalaf before the next. And Abdurrahman, he used to say, may Allah have mercy on Bilal, he wounded me and I got nothing out of the ransom. So not only did Bilal radiAllahu Anhu cause my foot to be wounded, but I did not get anything from my prisoner out of ransoming my prisoner. Now there's a twist by the way, a plot twist, which is important here. And it's a gem of sorts, which is that, Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu would actually marry the sister of Abdurrahman ibn Auf, Hala. So Abdurrahman would become the brother-in-law of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu later on. And so that's a story that becomes within the family at that point of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu and Umayyah ibn Khalaf. As for the brother of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, Ubayy ibn Khalaf, Ubayy was the first person, the only person killed from the hand of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam in the battle of Uhud. Finally, we come to Fath Makkah. And truly it can be said that Badr was the day of Hamza radiAllahu Anhu, Uhud was the day of Talha, Khandaq was the day of Salman, Fath Makkah was the day of Bilal. It was the day of Bilal.
Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu has the privilege of entering into the Kaaba with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, disposing of the very idols in whose name he was subjugated. And on that day, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam tells Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu to stand up on top of the Kaaba, to climb the Kaaba and to call out the Adhan. In the same place that Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu was placed under a stone and almost killed, saying, Ahadun Ahad, now Bilal radiAllahu Anhu is rising up above the Kaaba to call out Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. And that is as some of the scholars say, even harder on the hearts of the mushrikeen than the idols being thrown out themselves is Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu rising up onto the Kaaba because that represents not just the disposal of those idols, but everything that those idols gave them access to do, the power that it gave them has now been taken away. And Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu stands up on the Kaaba, the only man to do so, think of the scene, the only man to do so, the first and only man to do so, calling out Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Ash hadu an la ilaha illAllah, ash hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah. And as he climbed up, many comments were said. Some said, Abdin Aswad, a black slave, yartakil Kaaba, climbing up the Kaaba. Many of those who entered into Islam knew, they made comments, even though they'd embraced Islam, they made comments. They, you know, Harith ibn Hisham, he said, couldn't Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam find other than this ghurab, which is a crow. So it's a racist comment to call the people to prayer. Suhail ibn Amr, he said, if Allah detests the thing, then he will change it. Abu Sufyan said, I will not say anything for if I do, it may be that the heavens and the earth will testify against me.
So many different narrations of people making comments, Muslims and some of those who were not Muslim, making comments about Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala anhu climbing. And according to Ibn Jawzi and others, this is where the ayah, ya ayyuhan naas inna khalaqnakum min dhakarin wa untha wa ja'alnakum shu'uban wa qabaila li ta'arafu inna akramakum aindullahi atqaakum The verse in Surah Al-Hujurat, that, oh people, we have made you into male and female nations and tribes that you may get to know one another and verily, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is the one with the most taqwa, with the most piety. And so, Bilal radiAllahu anhu has the privilege of climbing on top of the Kaaba and saying, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. He attains that honor. And there's another incidence on that day of Fath Makkah that shows you the place of Bilal. Bilal, Ammar, and Suhaib, they walk by Abu Sufyan, who of course had become Muslim in Fath Makkah. And they walk by him and of course, they were insulted by Abu Sufyan, they were hurt by Abu Sufyan for so many years. He represented the opposing party even as he became Muslim because it was stamped in their conscience and their memory of what Abu Sufyan represented. And most of the companions of Abu Sufyan had perished by that point, right? In the battles, the various battles between the Muslims and them. And it was the mercy of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la that Allah preserved those early slaves in Mecca to be there on Fath Makkah, on the day of the conquest of Mecca, and not die in the battles that would take place between the original call of Islam and that eventual conquest of Mecca, which represented the great victory of Islam. And so, Bilal, Ammar, and Suhaib, they come across Abu Sufyan, and they said, wallahi, the swords of Allah did not reach the enemies of Allah like they should have.
Like you barely escaped, you're lucky we missed you. You're lucky that the swords of Allah did not reach your throat as they should have. So Abu Sufyan, who of course was, you know, next in line after Abu Jahl in the leadership of Mecca until it was conquered. Abu Sufyan, as he says that, you know, he was angry and he complained to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, Rabi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu. Now, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, of course, wanted to bring the hearts together. And so that's why the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam acknowledged Abu Sufyan and said, whoever enters into the home of Abu Sufyan, then he is safe. But here, Abu Sufyan has transgressed and now repented. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is wanting to solidify the ranks of Islam at this point. So Abu Sufyan complained to Abu Bakr. And Abu Bakr, Rabi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, went to Bilal and Suhaib and Ammar. And he said, did you say this to the Sayyid of Quraysh, to the leader of Quraysh? So he rebuked them for what they said. And then Abu Bakr, Rabi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, went to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and he informed the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam about what had happened. And SubhanAllah, Abu Bakr, Rabi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, did not rebuke Bilal and Ammar and Suhaib because of jahiliyya. He rebuked them because he had the vision of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and wanting to solidify the ranks of Islam. And SubhanAllah, here's what ends up happening. As Abu Bakr shares this with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says, Ya Abu Bakr, O Abu Bakr, la'allaka aghdabtahum la'in kunta aghdabtahum laqad aghdabta rabbak. O Abu Bakr, it might be that you angered them. Who is them? Bilal and Suhaib and Ammar. And verily, if you would have angered them,
then you would have angered your Lord as a result. SubhanAllah, Abu Bakr, Rabi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, of course being a Siddiq, what does he do? He goes to Bilal and he goes to Ammar and he goes to Suhaib and he immediately seeks forgiveness from them. And they immediately say, you know, may Allah forgive you. There is nothing, of course they would hold nothing against Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, Rabi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu. And that is what caused him to be relieved. So the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam showing that honor to Bilal, he didn't sell them out once he got what he wanted, alayhi salatu wasalam, right? That's not the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. There's something that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam does is he's treating the Ansar and solidifying their position. And here solidifying the Sahaba's position as well. Those early Sahaba of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam the Bilal's of the world and the Suhaib's of the world and the Ammar's of the world and so on and so forth. And so how would it be then when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam passes away and Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu's life revolves around the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. The messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam as he was passing away and Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu saw him in pain, saw the fever of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, you know, causing him to go unconscious and come back and all of those things. Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu said, Wa huzna laytani mittu qabla hadha. Wa huzna, oh what grief I am in if only I would have died before this. Pay attention to this part. Wa huzna, right? How sad I am, what a day of grief if only I would have died before this. Bilal does not know RadiAllahu Anhu what he's gonna do after the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam passes away. His life revolves around him, Alayhi Salatu Wasallam. And of course Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la decreed that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam would die.
Afainmata awqutilan qalabtum AAala aqabikum If he dies or if he is killed, will you go back to on your heels? And of course Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu would be firm on the message of the Messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. But imagine how difficult it is for Bilal to try to call the Adhan now. When every Adhan in Medina, he used to go to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and say, As-Salah Ya Rasulullah is a time for prayer, oh Messenger of Allah. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam would say yes. And then he'd call out, ash-hadu anna Muhammad Rasulullah and Muhammad Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam would walk out. Now he has to call the Adhan and the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is not there. And that is a difficult thing for the heart of Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu and of course all of the Sahaba. And so Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu stands up after the death of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and he starts to call the Adhan. And as he gets to the name of Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, he breaks down crying. And he tries over and over and over again to say ash-hadu anna Muhammad Rasulullah and the Adhan and he can't do it. RadiAllahu Anhu. And all of the Sahaba in Medina are crying, hearing Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu struggling to try to say ash-hadu anna Muhammad Rasulullah. So Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu calls, comes down and Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu says, I will never call Adhan for anyone again after the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. I can't do it anymore. In fact, he tells Abu Bakr RadiAllahu Anhu, send me out in Jihad, send me out in battle. I can't be in Medina anymore because everywhere he looks, he sees the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. Everything in Medina was the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to him. He followed the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam everywhere. He guarded the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam everywhere. He remembered his smile everywhere he looked. He remembered his warmth, his presence, Alayhi Salatu Wasallam. So he says to Abu Bakr RadiAllahu Anhu, and look at what he says to him. He says,
In kuntu a'taqtani lillah, if you have freed me for Allah, if you freed me for Allah, fada'ani adhabu haythu shi't, then let me go anywhere that I want. And if you have freed me for yourself, in kuntu a'taqtani linafsik, then hold me and do with me what you want. Abu Bakr RadiAllahu Anhu said, of course I freed you for Allah, O Bilal. He says to him, go ahead. Okay, fadhab, go ahead. And Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu goes out to Ash-Sham in the process of Jihad, just like many of the Sahaba went out in battle against the Romans at that moment. And the next time that Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu would be gathered with the companions was in Ash-Sham, particularly in the conquest of Jerusalem. And Omar RadiAllahu Anhu, as Jerusalem is opened, he sees Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu and he begs Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu, who said that he didn't wanna call Adhan for anyone after the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. He says to Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu, go up and call the Adhan, O Bilal, the way that you used to when we were in Medina. And after prompting Bilal so much, Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu will stand up in Al-Quds, in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. The first man to call the Adhan in Medina and then in Mecca will now be the first man to call the Adhan in Al-Quds, making him the first mu'adhin in all three of the masajid, all three of the holiest places in Islam. And as Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu goes up and calls out, La ilaha illa Allah, ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, ash-hadu anna Muhammad Rasulullah. All of the Sahaba start to cry when Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu calls the Adhan. It was as if they forgot that they were in Jerusalem in this new chapter of Islam, because they went back reminiscing on the presence of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and hearing the voice of Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu
calling the Adhan in Al-Medina. And the only other Adhan that we know of is an Adhan that Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu gave in Medina one more time at the request of Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein RadiAllahu Anhu, the beloved two grandsons of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. When did Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu pass away? SubhanAllah, I didn't mention his name when I did the lecture on the coronavirus and the plague that killed the Sahaba. But Ta'un Amwas, many of the books actually mentioned that this is when Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu passed away in Ash-Sham due to the plague of Amwas in the year 639, where 25,000 people died, including the likes of Mu'adh ibn Jabal RadiAllahu Anhu and so many of the great companions of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. Here is Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu now on his deathbed and his wife, as she sees Bilal leaving this world and Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu once saw the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam leaving this world and said, wa hizna, what a day of grief. His wife sees Bilal passing away and she says, wa hizna, wa musibata, what a day of grief, what a tragedy. And Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu says, say wa firhata, say instead, what a great joy it is. ghadan alqal ahibba muhammadan wa hizba. Say what a great joy it is. Tomorrow I will meet my loved ones, Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and his companions. So Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu was longing for the presence of the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and the companions. And he passed away RadiAllahu Anhu joining the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and the companions in that high level. And I'll just end with these few narrations of the virtues of Bilal and there's so many. The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, I was shown Al-Jannah
and I saw Umm Sulaym RadiAllahu Anhu and I heard the noise of some steps, khash khasha, amami, some steps in front of me. Fa-itha Bilal and it was the steps of Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu in Al-Jannah. So the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said to Bilal, tell me what is the most hopeful act that you have done with Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la since your acceptance of Islam? Because oh Bilal, I heard your footsteps ahead of me in Al-Jannah. And Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu said, I do not consider any act more hopeful except that when I make wudu in any time of the night or the day, I immediately perform two rak'ahs of salah and or pray as long as was destined for me to pray. The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam also said, what an excellent person Bilal is and he's the leader of the mu'adhins on the day of judgment. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, the mu'adhins will have the longest necks on the day of judgment. And there is another narration from Ibn Umar RadiAllahu Anhu, Abdullah Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father who said, apshir ya Bilal, glad tidings of Bilal. And he said, for what ya Aba Abdillah? He said, I heard the messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam say that Bilal will come on the day of judgment holding a raya, holding a standard and all of the mu'adhins will follow Bilal until they enter Jannah. That's a narration that Suyuti considers authentic. Finally, one more narration, which shows you the place of Bilal in the hearts of the Sahaba. Abdullah Ibn Umar RadiAllahu Anhuma, whose father taught him that Bilal is our master who was freed by our master. Abdullah Ibn Umar named his son Bilal after the Bilal. And of course, Bilal is frequently named in our ummah. And as a poet was praising Bilal Ibn Abdullah Ibn Umar, and he said that the Bilal of Abdullah is the best of Bilal's, Abdullah Ibn Umar interjected and he said, kadhabt, he said, you have lied.
He said, the Bilal of Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is the best of all Bilal's. The Bilal of Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is the best of all Bilal's. And SubhanAllah, we have his name, we have his legacy, we have his memory. I could go on and on about him. And the only reason we don't have more hadith from him is because of the age at which he died, RadiAllahu Anhu, and the distance that he kept away from the city of Medina after the death of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. May Allah Azawajal allow us to hear his voice and his footsteps on the day of judgment, and to follow him into the presence of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, the one he loved so much and the one we love so much. May Allah grant us the companionship of the beloved SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. May Allah grant us the yaqeen, the certainty of Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu, when we say those words that he said. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala forgive us for our shortcomings. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayran, AsSalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu
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