WEBVTT

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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The Mawaddah Association is pleased

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to present to you *Portraits from the Lives of the Companions*

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by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

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may Allah have mercy on him.

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Bilal ibn Rabah, may Allah be pleased with him.

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For Bilal ibn Rabah, the caller to prayer (muezzin) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him),

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had one of the most magnificent lives of struggle for the sake of the faith,

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and a story that time never tires of repeating,

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nor do ears ever tire of its enchanting melody.

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Bilal was born in al-Sarah about forty-three years before the Hijrah

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to a father named Rabah,

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while his mother was named Hamamah,

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an enslaved Black woman among the bondwomen of Makkah.

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For this reason, some people used to call him "the son of the Black woman."

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Bilal grew up in the Mother of Cities (Makkah),

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as a slave owned by orphans of the Banu 'Abd al-Dar,

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whose father had entrusted their guardianship to Umayyah ibn Khalaf,

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one of the chieftains of disbelief.

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When Makkah became illuminated by the lights of the new religion

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and the greatest Messenger (peace be upon him) proclaimed

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the word of Tawhid (monotheism),

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Bilal was among the foremost, earliest converts to Islam.

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He embraced Islam when there were no other Muslims upon the face of the earth

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except for him and a handful of the earliest pioneers,

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led by Khadijah bint Khuwaylid,

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Mother of the Believers,

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Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,

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'Ali ibn Abi Talib,

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'Ammar ibn Yasir,

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his mother Sumayyah,

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Suhayb al-Rumi,

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and al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad.

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Bilal endured such harm at the hands of the polytheists

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as none other had faced,

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and he suffered from their cruelty, brutality,

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and the hardness of their hearts

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what no one else suffered.

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He and those vulnerable believers alongside him bore with patience

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the trials endured for the sake of Allah

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as no one else ever did.

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For Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

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and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

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had tribal protection to defend them

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and kinfolk to shield them.

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But as for those oppressed, enslaved men and women,

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Quraysh inflicted upon them the most severe torment.

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They wanted to make them an example—

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a deterrent to anyone who might contemplate

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renouncing their idols and following Muhammad.

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Those who took charge of torturing them were

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a faction among the most merciless of Quraysh's disbelievers

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and the hardest of heart.

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Abu Jahl—

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may Allah disgrace him—bore the sin of killing Sumayyah.

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He stood over her, hurling curses and vile obscenities,

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then struck her with his spear, a fatal thrust

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that entered her lower abdomen

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and pierced through her back;

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thus she became the first martyr in Islam.

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As for the others among her brethren in faith,

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foremost among them Bilal ibn Rabah,

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Quraysh prolonged their torture relentlessly.

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Whenever the sun reached the zenith of the sky

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and the sands of Makkah scorched with blazing heat,

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they would strip them of their clothes,

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dress them in iron armor,

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bake them under the searing rays of the sun,

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lash their backs with whips,

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and order them to revile Muhammad.

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Whenever the torture became unbearable

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and their endurance was completely exhausted,

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they would outwardly yield to what was demanded of them,

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while their hearts remained firmly attached to Allah and His Messenger—

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except for Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him.

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His own life was of little consequence to him for the sake of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.

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The one who took upon himself the brunt of his torture

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was Umayyah ibn Khalaf and his henchmen.

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They would scourge his back with whips,

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and he would only utter: "Ahad, Ahad" (One, One).

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They would crush his chest with heavy boulders,

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and he would still call out: "Ahad, Ahad."

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They would intensify their agonizing torment,

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and he would only proclaim: "Ahad, Ahad."

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They tried to force him to mention al-Lat and al-'Uzza,

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yet he would mention only Allah and His Messenger.

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They would say to him, "Say what we say!"

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but he would reply, "My tongue cannot speak it."

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So they persisted in abusing him

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and went to extreme lengths in torturing him.

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Whenever that ruthless tyrant, Umayyah ibn Khalaf,

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grew weary of torturing him,

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he would place a rough rope around his neck,

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hand him over to the street ruffians and children,

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and order them to drag him through the mountain passes of Makkah

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and across its rocky valleys.

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Yet Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him,

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found that torment sweet for the sake of Allah and His Messenger,

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continually chanting his sublime refrain:

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"Ahad, Ahad! Ahad, Ahad!"

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never tiring of its repetition,

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nor having his fill of its recitation.

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Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, offered

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to buy him from Umayyah ibn Khalaf.

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Umayyah demanded an exorbitant price,

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assuming that Abu Bakr would never take him.

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Yet Abu Bakr purchased him for nine ounces of gold.

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After the transaction was completed, Umayyah said to him,

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"Even if you had insisted on paying no more than a single ounce, I would still have sold him to you."

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Al-Siddiq replied:

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"Even if you had refused to sell him for less than a hundred ounces, I would still have bought him."

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When al-Siddiq informed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

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of his purchase of Bilal

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and his rescue from the hands of his torturers,

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the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him:

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"Let me share him with you, O Abu Bakr!"—

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meaning: let me share in the cost of his emancipation.

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Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, replied:

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"I have already freed him for the sake of Allah, O Messenger of Allah."

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When Allah granted permission to His Prophet (peace be upon him)

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to migrate to Madinah,

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Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, emigrated

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among those who made the Hijrah.

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He, al-Siddiq, and 'Amir ibn Fuhayrah stayed

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in the same house,

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and they were all struck down with severe fever.

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Whenever the fever subsided from Bilal,

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he would raise his voice

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and begin chanting in his sweet melody, saying:

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"Ah, would that I knew: shall I ever spend another night

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in the valley of Fakhkh, surrounded by idhkhir and jalil grass?

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And shall I ever go down one day to the waters of Majannah,

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and will the peaks of Shamah and Tafil ever appear to me again?"

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It was no wonder that Bilal yearned for Makkah and its mountain paths,

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longing for its valleys and mountains;

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for it was there that he had tasted the sweetness of faith,

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there that he found suffering sweet for the sake of Allah,

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and there that he triumphed over his own self and over Satan.

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Bilal settled in Yathrib, far from the harm of Quraysh,

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devoting himself entirely to his Prophet and beloved, Muhammad (peace be upon him).

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He would set out with him whenever he set out,

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return with him whenever he returned,

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pray with him whenever he prayed,

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and fight alongside him in every expedition he led,

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until he became more constant a companion to him than his own shadow.

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When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) built his mosque in Madinah

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and the adhan was instituted, Bilal became the first caller to prayer in Islam.

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Whenever he finished calling the adhan,

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he would stand at the door of the Prophet's house

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and call out: "Come to prayer! Come to success!"

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And when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stepped out of his chamber

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and Bilal saw him approaching, he would begin the iqamah.

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The Negus, King of Abyssinia, had gifted the greatest Messenger (peace be upon him)

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three short spears (harbah)

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of the finest treasures possessed by kings.

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The Prophet kept one for himself,

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gave one to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,

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gave one to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,

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and assigned the third spear exclusively to Bilal.

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Bilal carried it before the Prophet throughout his entire life;

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he would carry it on the two Eid celebrations and during the prayers for rain (Istisqa'),

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planting it before him as a sutrah whenever prayer was performed outside the mosque.

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Bilal fought alongside his Prophet at Badr,

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seeing with his own eyes how Allah fulfilled His promise

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and gave victory to His troops.

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He witnessed the downfall of the tyrants who used to inflict upon him the most terrible torment,

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beholding Abu Jahl and Umayyah ibn Khalaf

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lying slain, struck down by the swords of the Muslims,

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while the spears of those once tortured drew streams of their blood.

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When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered Makkah as a conqueror

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at the head of his grand battalion,

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alongside him was the caller of the heavens, Bilal ibn Rabah.

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When the Prophet entered the Sacred Ka'bah,

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only three men were in his company:

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'Uthman ibn Talhah,

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the keeper of the keys of the Noble Ka'bah,

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Usamah ibn Zayd,

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the beloved of the Messenger of Allah and the son of his beloved,

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and Bilal ibn Rabah,

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the muezzin of the Messenger of Allah.

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When the time for the Zuhr prayer arrived,

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countless thousands surrounded the greatest Messenger (peace be upon him),

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while those among the disbelievers of Quraysh who had embraced Islam, willingly or reluctantly,

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looked on at that monumental scene.

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Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called for Bilal ibn Rabah

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and commanded him to climb atop the Ka'bah

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and proclaim the word of Tawhid from above it.

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Bilal carried out the command,

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raising his resonant voice with the adhan;

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thousands of necks craned up toward him, watching,

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and thousands of tongues began repeating after him in humble awe.

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“But as for those in whose hearts is disease, it only addeth wickedness to their wickedness, and they die while they are disbelievers.” (9:125)

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Envy began to consume the hearts of the unrepentant,

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and rancor tore bitterly at their chests.

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No sooner had Bilal reached in his adhan the words:

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"I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,"

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than Juwayriyah bint Abi Jahl said:

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"By my life, Allah has truly elevated your renown!

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As for the prayer, we shall pray it,

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"Yet, by Allah, we do not love those who killed our loved ones."

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Her father had been killed at the Battle of Badr.

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And Khalid Ibn Usaid said:

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"Praise be to Allah who honored my father,

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such that he did not live to see this day!"

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His father had died just one day before the Conquest of Makkah.

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Al-Harith Ibn Hisham remarked:

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"Woe and grief!

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Would that I had died before seeing Bilal standing atop the Ka'bah!"

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Al-Hakam Ibn Abi al-'As exclaimed:

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"By Allah, this is indeed a monumental calamity—

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that a slave of the Banu Jumah should bray atop this Sacred House!"

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Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb was standing with them,

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and he said: "As for me, I shall say nothing.

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For if I were to utter a single word,

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these pebbles would surely inform Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah."

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Bilal continued to make the call to prayer for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, throughout his life.

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The noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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continuously found solace in this voice—the very voice that had been severely tortured for the sake of Allah while repeating, "Ahad, Ahad" (Allah is One, Allah is One).

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When the Supreme Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away to the Highest Companion,

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and the time for prayer arrived,

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Bilal stood up to give the call to prayer to the people,

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while the noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, lay shrouded, not yet buried.

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But as soon as he reached his words:

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"I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,"

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choked with tears,

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his voice caught in his throat,

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and the Muslims burst into tears

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and wept profusely.

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After that, he gave the call to prayer for only three days,

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and whenever he reached the words, "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," he wept and moved everyone else to tears.

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Thereupon, he requested Abu Bakr, the successor of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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to relieve him from giving the call to prayer,

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as he could no longer bear it.

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He asked his permission to leave for jihad in the cause of Allah

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and to station himself on the frontlines in the Levant.

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As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, hesitated to grant his request

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and give him leave to depart from Madinah.

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So Bilal said to him:

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"If you bought me for yourself, then keep me;

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but if you freed me for the sake of Allah,

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then leave me to Him for Whom you freed me."

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Abu Bakr replied:

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"By Allah, I bought you only for Allah,

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and I freed you only for His sake."

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Bilal then said:

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"Indeed, I shall not give the call to prayer for anyone after the Messenger of Allah."

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Abu Bakr said:

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"Then so be it."

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Thus, Bilal departed from Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah with the very first expedition of the Muslims,

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and settled in Darayya, near Damascus.

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He refrained from giving the call to prayer

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until 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab visited the Levant.

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There he met Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, after a long separation.

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'Umar longed for him intensely

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and held him in profound veneration,

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to the extent that whenever As-Siddiq was mentioned in his presence, he would say:

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"Abu Bakr is our master,

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and he freed our master"—

00:14:29.149 --> 00:14:32.309
referring to Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him.

00:14:32.309 --> 00:14:38.309
While there, the Companions urged Bilal to perform the call to prayer in the presence of Al-Faruq.

00:14:38.309 --> 00:14:41.309
No sooner did his voice rise with the call to prayer

00:14:41.309 --> 00:14:43.309
than 'Umar wept,

00:14:43.309 --> 00:14:45.309
and the Companions wept with him,

00:14:45.309 --> 00:14:48.340
until their beards were soaked with tears;

00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:53.340
for Bilal had stirred their deep longing for the cherished days of Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah—

00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:55.340
oh, how blessed were those days!

00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.539
The caller of the heavens continued

00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:00.539
to reside in the region of Damascus

00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:03.629
until his appointed time of death arrived.

00:15:03.629 --> 00:15:07.629
As he lay on his deathbed, his wife was wailing by his side,

00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:09.629
crying out:

00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:11.730
"Oh, what sorrow!"

00:15:11.730 --> 00:15:14.730
But he opened his eyes each time

00:15:14.730 --> 00:15:16.730
and replied to her, saying:

00:15:16.730 --> 00:15:18.730
"Oh, what joy!

00:15:18.730 --> 00:15:21.730
Then he breathed his last breath, repeating:

00:15:21.730 --> 00:15:23.730
"Tomorrow we shall meet our loved ones—

00:15:23.730 --> 00:15:25.730
Muhammad and his companions!

00:15:25.730 --> 00:15:27.730
Tomorrow we shall meet our loved ones—

00:15:27.730 --> 00:15:29.730
Muhammad and his companions!"

00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:36.019
"Abu Bakr is our master,

00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.019
and he freed our master"—

00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:41.149
meaning Bilal—

00:15:41.149 --> 00:15:45.730
said 'Umar al-Faruq, may Allah be pleased with him.