Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 13 of 15
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (13) - Salman Al-Farsi, may God be pleased with him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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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
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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 upon him.
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Salman al-Farisi,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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This story of ours
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is the story of one who sought the truth,
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a seeker of Allah.
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It is the story of Salman al-Farisi,
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may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
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Let us leave
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the stage to Salman himself
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to narrate the events of his story to us,
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for his own feeling of them
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is deeper, and his account
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of them is more precise and truthful.
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Salman said:
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"I was a Persian youth from the people
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of Isfahan, from a village
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called Jayyan.
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My father was the village chief (dehqan),
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the wealthiest
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of its people, and the highest in status.
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I was the most beloved
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of Allah’s creation to him since
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I was born. Then, his love for me
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continued to intensify and grow
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with the passing of days, until
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he confined me to the house out of fear
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for me, just as one confines
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young girls. I strove
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in Magianism (Zoroastrianism) until
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I became the caretaker of the fire we
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used to worship,
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and the task of keeping it lit was entrusted to me
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so that it would not flicker for a moment,
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neither by night nor by day.
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My father owned a vast
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estate that yielded us
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a great harvest. My father
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would oversee it and gather the yield.
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Then, on one occasion,
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he was preoccupied from going to the estate,
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so he said,
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'My son,
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I have been preoccupied from the estate by what you see,
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so go to it
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and take charge of its affairs for me today.'
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I went out, heading toward our estate.
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While I was on the way,
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I passed by a church
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of the Christians,
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and I heard their voices inside
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as they were praying.
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This caught my attention.
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I had known nothing of
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the affairs of the Christians or the affairs
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of others among the followers of religions,
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because of how long my father had kept me
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hidden from people in our house.
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When I heard their voices,
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I entered to see what they were doing.
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When I observed them,
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their prayer impressed me,
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and I felt a desire for their religion.
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I said,
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'By Allah, this is better than what
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we are upon.' By Allah,
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I did not leave them until the sun set,
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and I did not go to
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my father's estate.
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Then I asked them,
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'Where is the origin of this religion?'
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They said, 'In the land of Ash-Sham (Syria).'
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When night fell,
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I returned to our house.
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My father met me and asked me
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about what I had done.
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I said, 'O my father,
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I passed by some people
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praying in a church of theirs,
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and I was impressed by what I saw of their religion,
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and I remained with them
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until the sun set.'
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My father was alarmed by what I had done
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and said, 'O my son,
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there is no good in that religion.
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Your religion
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and the religion of your forefathers is better than it.'
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I said, 'No,
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by Allah, their religion
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is better than our religion.'
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My father feared what I was saying
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and worried that I would apostatize from my religion,
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so he confined me to the house
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and put shackles on my legs.
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When the opportunity
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presented itself to me,
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I sent word to the Christians, saying,
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'If a caravan comes to you
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intending to go to the land of Ash-Sham,
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then inform me.'
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It was only a short while
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before a caravan arrived
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heading to Ash-Sham,
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and they informed me of it.
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I devised a trick regarding my shackles until I removed them,
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and I went out with them in secret
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until we reached
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the land of Ash-Sham.
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When we arrived there,
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I asked, 'Who is the best man
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among the people of this religion?'
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They said, 'The bishop,
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the caretaker of the church.'
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So I went to him and said,
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'I have developed a desire for Christianity,
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and I would like to stay with you,
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serve you, learn from you,
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and pray with you.'
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He said, 'Enter.'
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I entered and began to serve him.
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Then it was not long
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before I realized that the man
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was a man of evil;
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he would command his followers to give charity
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and entice them with its reward,
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but when they gave him
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something to spend in the way of Allah,
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he would hoard it for himself
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and give the poor and the needy
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nothing of it,
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until he had collected seven jars
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of gold.
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I despised him with a deep hatred
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for what I saw of him.
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Then it was not long before he died.
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The Christians gathered to bury him,
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and I said to them,
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'He was a man of evil;
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he would command you to give charity and entice you
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to do so, but when you brought it
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to him, he would hoard it for himself
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and give the needy
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nothing of it.'
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They said, 'How did you know that?'
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I said, 'I
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will show you his treasure.'
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They said, 'Yes,
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show it to us.' I showed them
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its location, and they extracted
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from it seven jars filled
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with gold and silver.
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When they saw it, they said,
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'By Allah, we will not bury him.'
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Then they crucified him and pelted him
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with stones. Then,
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not long after,
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they appointed another man
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in his place, and I stayed with him.
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I have never seen a man
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more ascetic regarding this world,
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nor more desirous of the Hereafter,
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nor more diligent in
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worship by night and day.
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I loved him with a great
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love and stayed with him.
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When death approached him,
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I said to him,
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'O so-and-so,
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to whom do you entrust me?
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And with whom do you advise me to be after you?'
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He said,
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'O my son,
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I do not know anyone who is upon what I was upon,
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except for a man in Mosul;
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he is so-and-so.
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He has not distorted or changed.
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So join him.'
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When my companion died,
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I joined the man in Mosul.
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When I arrived to him,
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I told him my story
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and said to him, 'So-and-so
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advised me at his death that I should
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join you and informed me that you are
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holding fast to what he was upon
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of the truth.' He said,
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'Stay with me.'
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I stayed with him and found him
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to be in the best of states.
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Then it was not long before he died.
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When death approached him,
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I said to him,
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'O so-and-so, the decree of Allah
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You know what Allah has decreed regarding my situation.
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And you know what you know of my affairs.
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So to whom do you
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recommend I go? He said,
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"My son,
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by Allah, I do not know of any man who is upon
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the same path we were upon,
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except for a man in Mosul,
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and he is so-and-so; so join him."
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When the man was hidden
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in his grave, I joined
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the companion in Mosul,
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and I informed him of my story and what
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my master had instructed me to do.
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He said to me, "Stay with us."
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So I stayed with him and found him
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to be upon the same
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goodness as his two predecessors.
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By Allah, it was not long before
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death came to him. When death
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approached him, I said to him,
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"You have known of my affairs what
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you have known, so to whom do you
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recommend I go?" He said,
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"My son,
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by Allah, I do not know of anyone
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who remains upon our path except
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for a man in Amorium,
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so join him."
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So I joined him,
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and I informed him of my story.
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He said, "Stay."
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So I stayed with a man
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who was, by Allah, upon the guidance
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of his companions. I had acquired
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while with him some cows and a flock of sheep.
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Then it was not long before there befell him
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what had befallen his companions
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by the decree of Allah. When
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death approached him, I said to him,
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"You know of my affairs
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what you know, so to whom do you
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recommend I go, and what do you command me
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to do?"
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He said, "My son,
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by Allah, I do not know that there is
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anyone left among the people upon the face
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of the earth who holds fast
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to what we were upon.
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However, a time has cast its shadow
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in which there will emerge in the land
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of the Arabs a Prophet who is sent
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with the religion of Ibrahim, then he will migrate
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from his land to a land between
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two lava fields, where there are palm trees.
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He has signs that are not hidden:
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he eats of the gift,
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but he does not eat of the zakat,
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and between his shoulder blades is the seal of prophethood.
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So if you are able to reach
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that land, then do so."
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Then his time came.
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I remained after him
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in Amorium for a time,
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until a group of merchants
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from the Arab tribe of Kalb passed by.
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I said to them,
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"If you take me with you
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to the land of the Arabs,
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I will give you these cows and my flock of sheep."
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They said, "Yes,
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we will take you."
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So I gave them to them,
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and they took me with them.
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Until, when we reached Wadi al-Qura,
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they betrayed me and sold me
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to a man of the Jews.
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I entered into his service,
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and it was not long before a cousin of his
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from the tribe of Banu Qurayza
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came and bought me from him,
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and he took me with him to Yathrib.
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I saw the palm trees that my companion
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in Amorium had mentioned to me,
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and I recognized the city by the description
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he had given me.
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I stayed there with him.
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The Prophet was, at that time,
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calling his people in Makkah,
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but I did not hear any mention of him
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due to my preoccupation with the duties
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of slavery.
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Then it was not long before the Messenger migrated
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to Yathrib.
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By Allah, I was at the top of a palm tree
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for my master, doing some work,
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and my master was sitting
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beneath it, when his cousin
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approached and said to him,
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"May Allah fight the Banu Qayla!
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By Allah, they are now
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gathered at Quba
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around a man who arrived among them
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today from Makkah,
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claiming that he is a Prophet."
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No sooner had I heard his words than
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I was seized by something like a fever,
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and I trembled violently,
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until I feared that I would
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fall upon my master.
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I hastened to descend from the palm tree,
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and I began saying to the man,
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"What are you saying?
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Repeat the news to me."
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My master became angry and struck me a
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severe blow and said to me,
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"What is this to you?
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Return to the work you were doing."
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When evening came,
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I took something of the dates
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that I had gathered,
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and I headed to where the
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Messenger was staying. I entered
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upon him and said, "It
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has reached me that you are a righteous man
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and that you have companions
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who are in need.
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This is something I had
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for zakat, and I saw that you are
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more deserving of it than others."
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Then I brought it near to him.
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He said to his companions,
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"Eat," but he withheld his hand
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and did not eat. I said
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to myself, "This is
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one." Then I left.
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I began to gather some more dates.
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When the Messenger moved
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from Quba to Madinah,
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I came to him and said,
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"I saw that you do not eat
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the zakat, and this is a gift
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with which I honor you."
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So he ate from it,
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and he commanded his companions, and they ate with him.
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I said to myself,
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"This is the second."
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Then I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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while he was at Baqi' al-Gharqad,
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where he was burying one of his companions.
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I saw him sitting,
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wearing two garments.
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I greeted him,
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then I moved around to look at his back,
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hoping to see the seal
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that my companion in Amorium had described to me.
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When the Prophet saw me
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looking at his back,
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he understood my purpose, so he cast
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his garment from his back.
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I looked and saw the seal,
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and I recognized it. I threw myself upon him,
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kissing him and weeping.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
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"What is your story?"
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So I told him my story,
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and he was amazed by it,
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and he was pleased that his
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companions should hear it from me.
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So I let them hear it,
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and they were amazed by it with the greatest amazement,
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and they were pleased with it with the greatest pleasure.
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So peace be upon
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Salman al-Farisi,
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the day he stood searching for the truth
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in every place.
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And peace be upon Salman al-Farisi,
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the day he recognized the truth
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and believed in it with the firmest
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faith. And peace
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be upon him the day he died,
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and the day he is raised to life.
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Salman is of us, the People of the House,
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Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.