In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you portraits from the lives of the Companions,
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Abdullah Ibn Salam,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Husayn Ibn Salam was one of the rabbis of the Jews in Yathrib.
The people of Medina, despite their diverse religions and sects, revered and honored him.
He was known among the people for his piety and righteousness,
and was described as upright and truthful.
Husayn lived a quiet and peaceful life,
yet it was, at the same time, serious and productive.
He divided his time into three parts:
one part in the synagogue for preaching and worship,
one part in the garden of Allah,
tending to his date palms by pruning and pollinating them,
and one part with the Torah to gain deep understanding of the religion.
Whenever he read the Torah, he would pause for a long time at the reports that foretold the appearance of a Prophet in Mecca,
who would complete the messages of the previous prophets and seal them.
He would investigate the descriptions and signs of this awaited Prophet,
and he would tremble with joy because he would leave the land in which he was sent,
and would take Yathrib as his place of migration and residence.
Whenever he read these reports or they crossed his mind,
he would pray to Allah to grant him a long life,
so that he might witness the appearance of this awaited Prophet,
rejoice in meeting him, and be the first to believe in him.
Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, answered the prayer of Husayn Ibn Salam,
and extended his life until the Prophet of guidance and mercy was sent,
and it was decreed for him to be blessed with meeting him and keeping his company,
and to believe in the truth that was revealed to him.
Let us leave the speech to Husayn so he may recount to us the story of his Islam,
for he is the best narrator of it and the most capable of presenting it well.
Husayn Ibn Salam said:
"When I heard of the appearance of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
I began to inquire about his name, his lineage,
his characteristics, his time, and his place,
and I compared them with what was written in our books,
until I was certain of his prophethood and confirmed the truth of his call.
Then I kept this hidden from the Jews and restrained my tongue from speaking of it,
until the day the Messenger, peace be upon him, left Mecca,
heading toward Medina.
When he reached Yathrib and stopped at Quba,
a man came to us and began calling out to the people, announcing his arrival.
At that moment, I was at the top of a palm tree of mine, working on it,
and my aunt, Khalidah bint al-Harith, was sitting under the tree.
As soon as I heard the news, I shouted,
'Allah is the Greatest! Allah is the Greatest!'
My aunt said to me when she heard my takbir,
'May Allah disappoint you!
By Allah, if you had heard that Musa Ibn Imran was coming,
you would not have done anything more than that.'
I said to her, 'O aunt,
by Allah, he is the brother of Musa Ibn Imran,
and follows his religion,
and he has been sent with what he was sent with.'
She fell silent and said,
'Is he the Prophet whom you used to tell us
would be sent confirming those before him,
and completing the messages of his Lord?'
I said, 'Yes.'
She said,
'Then that is him.'
Then I went immediately to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and I saw the people crowding at his door.
I pushed through them until I was close to him.
The first thing I heard from him was his saying:
'O people,
spread peace,
feed the hungry,
and pray at night while the people are sleeping,
you will enter Paradise in peace.'
I began to scrutinize him,
and gaze upon him,
and I became certain that his face was not the face of a liar.
Then I drew near to him,
and I testified that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
He turned to me and said,
'What is your name?'
I said,
'Husayn Ibn Salam.'
He said,
'Rather, Abdullah Ibn Salam.'
I said, 'Yes, Abdullah Ibn Salam.
By the One who sent you with the truth,
I would not like to have any other name after today.'
Then I left the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for my house,
and I invited my wife, my children, and my family to Islam,
and they all accepted Islam,
and my aunt Khalidah accepted Islam with them,
and she was an elderly woman.
Then I said to them,
'Keep my Islam and your Islam hidden from the Jews
until I give you permission.'
They said, 'Yes.'
Then I returned to the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, and said to him,
'O Messenger of Allah,
the Jews are a people of slander and falsehood,
and I would like you to invite their leaders to you,
and hide me from them in one of your rooms,
then ask them about my status among them before they know of my Islam,
then invite them to Islam.
For if they know that I have accepted Islam, they will blame me,
accuse me of every deficiency, and slander me.'
So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, put me in one of his rooms,
then he invited them to him,
and began urging them toward Islam,
making faith beloved to them,
and reminding them of what they knew in their books about his affair.
They began to argue with him with falsehood,
and dispute the truth,
while I was listening.
When he despaired of their faith, he said to them,
'What is the status of Husayn Ibn Salam among you?'
They said, 'Our master and the son of our master,
our rabbi and our scholar,
and the son of our rabbi and our scholar.'
He said, 'What do you think if he accepts Islam?
Would you accept Islam?'
They said, 'Allah forbid!
He would never accept Islam.
May Allah protect him from accepting Islam.'
So I came out to them and said,
'O assembly of Jews,
fear Allah,
and accept what Muhammad has brought to you.
For by Allah, you know
that he is the Messenger of Allah,
and you find him written with you
in the Torah by his name and his description.
And I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah,
and I believe in him, confirm him, and know him.'
They said, 'You lie!
By Allah, you are the worst of us and the son of the worst of us,
and the most ignorant of us and the son of the most ignorant of us.'
And they did not leave any fault
without accusing me of it.
I said to the Messenger of Allah,
'Did I not tell you,
that the Jews are a people of slander and falsehood,
and that they are people of treachery and immorality?'
Abdullah Ibn Salam turned to Islam
with the eagerness of the thirsty who longs for the watering place,
and he was passionate about the Qur'an,
so his tongue never ceased to be moist with its clear verses.
He became attached to the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
until he became closer to him than his own shadow,
and he dedicated himself to working for Paradise,
until the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, gave him the glad tidings of it,
a glad tiding that spread and became known among the noble Companions.
This glad tiding had a story,
narrated by Qays Ibn Ubadah and others.
The narrator said:
"I was sitting in a circle of knowledge
in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in Medina.
In the circle was an elder whose presence brought comfort to the soul,
and whose company brought rest to the heart,
and he began to tell the people a sweet and moving hadith.
When he stood up, the people said,
'Whoever is pleased to look at a man from the people of Paradise,
let him look at this man.'
I said, 'Who is this?'
They said, 'Abdullah Ibn Salam.'
I said to myself,
'By Allah, I will follow him.'
So I followed him,
and he walked until he was about to leave Medina,
then he entered his house.
I asked permission to see him,
and he gave me permission.
He said,
'What is your need, O son of my brother?'
I said,
'I heard the people saying about you when you left the mosque:
"Whoever is pleased to look at a man from the people of Paradise,
let him look at this man."
So I followed in your footsteps,
to learn of your story,
and to know how the people knew that you are from the people of Paradise.'
He said,
'Allah knows best about the people of Paradise, my son.'
I said, 'Yes,
but there must be a reason for what they said.'
He said,
'I will tell you the reason for it.'
I said, 'Go ahead,
and may Allah reward you with good.'
He said,
'While I was sleeping one night during the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
a man saw me and said to me, "Rise."
So I rose,
and he took my hand,
and suddenly I was on a path to my left.
I intended to walk on it,
but he said to me,
"Leave it, for it is not for you."
I looked, and there was a clear path to my right.
He said to me,
"Follow it."
So I followed it until I reached a lush, verdant garden,
vast in its expanse,
abundant in its greenery,
and magnificent to behold.
In its center stood a pillar of iron,
its base rooted in the earth,
and its top reaching into the sky.
At its summit was a ring of gold.
He said to me,
"Climb it."
I replied, "I cannot."
Then an attendant came to me and lifted me up.
I climbed until I reached the top of the pillar,
and I grasped the ring with my hands.
I remained clinging to it until morning came.
When the morning arrived,
I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and recounted my dream to him.
He said,
"As for the path you saw to your left,
it is the path of the people of the left, the inhabitants of the Fire.
As for the path you saw to your right,
it is the path of the people of the right, the inhabitants of Paradise.
As for the garden that delighted you with its greenery and beauty,
it is Islam.
As for the pillar in its center,
it is the pillar of the religion.
As for the ring, it is the firmest bond.
You shall remain holding fast to it until you die."
Whoever wishes to look at a man from the people of Paradise,
let him look at 'Abdullah Ibn Salam.
Call them; are they listening?