Part of Echo of the Pulpits
· Lesson 12 of 48
Echo of platforms | By Sheikh Khaled Al-Hamoudi | Sermon (7) | 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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Echoes from the pulpit.
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Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him.
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A sermon by the honorable Sheikh,
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Khalid Ibn 'Abd al-Hammudi, may Allah preserve him.
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Praise be to Allah, the Generous, the Self-Sufficient,
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The Powerful, the Protector.
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Praise be to Allah, the Magnificent, the Forbearing,
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The All-Wise, the All-Knowing,
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The Benign, the Merciful.
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Praise be to Allah in times of ease and hardship.
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Praise be to Allah for blessings that none can enumerate save Allah.
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O Allah, to You belongs all praise; we cannot count the praises due to You.
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You are as You have praised Yourself.
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And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, alone, with no partner.
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“All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah; unto Him belongeth Sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise, and He is Able to do all things.” (64:1)
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He mends the broken,
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He consoles and enriches the poor.
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O you who are in pain, be patient,
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For after patience comes glad tidings.
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O you who weep in the night,
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The light of dawn shall surely come.
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O you who are broken, tell me,
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Does Allah ever leave a heart broken forever?
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O dear heart, be calm,
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For after hardship comes ease.
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And I bear witness that our master, our Prophet, and our beloved, Muhammad, is the servant of Allah and His Messenger,
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His chosen one and His intimate friend.
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Tender-hearted,
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Of excellent companionship,
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Whoever saw him stood in awe of him,
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And whoever knew him loved him.
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Gentle in nature,
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A kind companion,
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He never turned away a seeker; a beloved whom hearts adore.
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You are the beloved, and what love could ever ascend
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To the station of your love, my master, and its heights?
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May the blessings of Allah be upon you as long as the passage of time
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Is spoken of by those who follow; how magnificent you are.
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O Allah, send blessings, peace, increase, and grace
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Upon Your servant, Your Messenger, Your Prophet, and Your beloved, Muhammad,
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And upon his family and his Companions,
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And those who are guided by his guidance,
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And who follow his path and tread in his footsteps,
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And grant him abundant peace until the Day of Judgment.
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Now then, servants of Allah,
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I advise you and myself to fear Allah.
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“O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah with right observance, and die not save as those who have surrendered (unto Him)” (3:102)
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“O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah with right observance, and die not save as those who have surrendered (unto Him)” (3:102)
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O community of believers,
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Whoever seeks guidance sincerely and strives for it as it deserves,
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Shall be granted success by the permission of Allah.
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The Almighty says:
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﴾ And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. ﴿
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“As for those who strive in Us, We surely guide them to Our paths, and lo! Allah is with the good.” (29:69)
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And with us today, O servants of Allah,
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Is the story of an intelligent, ambitious young man,
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Who loved truth, sincerity, and clarity,
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And sacrificed his wealth, his family, and his soul for its sake.
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A bold and adventurous youth,
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Who left his family and his land,
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And traveled between countries,
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Serving the elderly,
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In search of the true religion.
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A youth of sound intellect,
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High aspirations,
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Strong resolve,
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And persistent patience.
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Yet, he lived the first part of his life
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In a Magian, pagan environment,
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That worshipped fire.
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He lived in the region of Isfahan,
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In the land of Persia,
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In Iran.
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His father was the leader of the village and its chief,
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And he was wealthy and formidable,
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Possessing power and authority.
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This father
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Loved his son with a great love,
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So much so that, out of the intensity of his love for him,
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He feared for him and confined him to his house,
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Just as a slave girl is confined.
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In an extraordinary story,
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Which we shall learn about today, by the permission of Allah.
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So, have you recognized who this young man is?
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The adventurous and ambitious one,
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The seeker of guidance and truth?
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He is the noble Companion,
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Salman al-Farisi,
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May Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
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Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
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"I strove in the Magian religion,
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Until I became the servant of the fire,
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The one who tends it,
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Never letting it go out for a moment.
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My father had a vast estate,
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And one day he was occupied and could not attend to it,
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So he said to me, 'My son,
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I have been kept busy today from my estate,
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So go and do such and such there,
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And do not stay away from me,
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For if you stay away from me,
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You will distract me from all my affairs.'
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So I went out, intending to go to the estate,
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But I passed by one of the churches of the Christians.
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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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Their prayer impressed me,
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And I became interested in their faith.
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By Allah, I did not leave them
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Until the sun set,
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And I neglected my father's estate,
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And did not go to it.
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I asked them,
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'Where is the origin of this religion?'
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They said, 'In Ash-Sham (Syria).'
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So I returned to my father,
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Who had sent people in search of me,
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And had been distracted by me from all his affairs.
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When I came to him, he said,
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'My son,
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Where were you?'
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I said, 'I passed by a church of the Christians,
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And I was impressed by what I saw of their religion.'
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He said, 'My son,
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Your religion and the religion of your forefathers
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Is better than that.'
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I said, 'No, by Allah,
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It is better than our religion.'
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He feared for me,
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So he put shackles on my legs,
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And imprisoned me in his house.
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I sent word to the Christians, saying,
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'If a caravan from Ash-Sham comes to you,
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Then inform me.'
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When merchants from the Christians arrived,
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They informed me about them.
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When they intended to return to their country,
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I cast off the iron from my legs,
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And went out with them,
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Until I arrived in Ash-Sham.
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I asked,
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'Who is the most knowledgeable of this religion?'
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They said, 'The bishop in the church.'
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So I went to him and said,
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'I have become interested in this religion,
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And I would like to be with you,
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To serve you and learn from you,
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And pray with you.'
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He said, 'Enter,'
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So I entered with him.
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But I realized he was a bad man;
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He would command them to give charity,
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And encourage them to do so,
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But when they collected something,
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He would hoard it for himself,
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And would not give it to the poor,
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Until he had collected seven jars of gold and silver.
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I hated him with an intense hatred,
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When I saw him doing what he was doing.
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Then he died,
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And the Christians gathered to bury him.
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I said to them,
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'He was a bad man,
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He used to do such and such,'
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And I showed them his hoard.
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When they extracted it, they said,
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'By Allah, we will never bury him.'
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So they crucified him and pelted him with stones.
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Then they brought another man,
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And placed him in his stead.
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I have never seen anyone better than him,
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Nor more ascetic in this world,
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Nor more desirous of the Hereafter.
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I loved him with a great love,
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And I stayed with him for a time.
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Then death approached him,
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So I said to him,
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'Death has approached you, as you see,
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So to whom do you entrust me?'
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He said, 'My son,
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By Allah, I do not know anyone today
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Who is upon what I was upon,
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Except a man in Mosul, in Iraq,
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Who is so-and-so,
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So join him.'
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So I traveled to him,
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And told him my story, and he said to me,
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'Stay with me.'
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So I stayed with him,
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And I found him to be upon the way of his companion.
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It was not long
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Before death approached him.
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I said to him,
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'Death has approached you from Allah, as you see,
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So to whom do you entrust me?'
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He said, 'My son,
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By Allah, I do not know a man
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Who is upon what we were upon,
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Except a man in Nusaybin, in Ash-Sham,
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Who is so-and-so,
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So join him.'
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When he passed away,
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I set out until I reached the master of Nusaybin.
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I came to him,
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and told him my story.
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He said, "Stay with me."
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So I stayed with him,
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and I found him to be upon the same path as his predecessor.
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By Allah, it was not long before death came upon him.
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I said to him,
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"To whom do you entrust me?"
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He said, "O my son,
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by Allah, I know of no one
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who remains upon our way
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except for a man in Ammuriya,
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in Turkey.
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If you wish, go to him,
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for he is upon our way."
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When he passed away, I set out
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until I reached the master of Ammuriya.
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I told him my story,
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and he said, "Stay with me."
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So I stayed with him,
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and he was upon the guidance of his companions.
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Then I earned a living,
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until I possessed some cows
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and a small flock of sheep.
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Then the decree of Allah came upon him.
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When he was near death, I said to him,
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"To whom do you entrust me?"
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He said, "O my son,
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by Allah, I know of no one
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who remains upon what we were upon.
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However,
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the time has cast its shadow for a Prophet who will be sent
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with the religion of Ibrahim.
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He will emerge in the land of the Arabs,
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and will migrate to a land between two lava fields,
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among which are date palms.
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He has signs
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that are not hidden:
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he eats from a gift,
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but does not eat from charity,
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and between his shoulders is the seal of prophethood.
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If you are able
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to reach that land, then do so."
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He said: Then he died.
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I remained in Ammuriya
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for as long as Allah willed that I remain.
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Then a group of merchants passed by me,
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and I said to them,
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"Carry me to the land of the Arabs,
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and I will give you these cows of mine
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and my small flock of sheep."
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They said, "Yes."
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So I gave them to them,
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and they carried me with them.
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Then they wronged me,
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and sold me to a Jewish man.
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I remained with him as a slave.
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While I was with him,
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a cousin of his arrived from Medina,
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and he bought me from him,
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and took me to Medina.
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By Allah, it was not long
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after I saw it
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that I recognized it by the description my master had given me.
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So I stayed there.
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Then the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sent.
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He remained in Mecca for as long as he remained,
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then he migrated to Medina.
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By Allah,
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I was at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master,
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working on it,
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and my master was sitting beneath it,
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when a cousin of his approached
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and stood before him.
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He said, "O so-and-so,
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may Allah fight the Banu Qayla,
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the Aws and the Khazraj.
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By Allah, they are gathered right now at Quba
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around a man who arrived from Mecca today,
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claiming that he is a Prophet."
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When I heard this,
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a trembling seized me,
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until I thought I would fall upon my master.
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I climbed down from the palm tree,
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and began saying to his cousin,
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"What are you saying?"
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My master became angry,
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and struck me a severe blow.
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Then he said, "What do you have to do with this?"
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Salman said:
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I said, "I only wanted to verify the news."
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When evening came,
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I took some food
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that I had collected,
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and went to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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while he was at Quba.
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I entered upon him
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and said to him,
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"It has reached me
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that you are a righteous man,
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and you have companions with you who are strangers
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and in need.
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This is something I had for charity,
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and I saw that you are more deserving of it than others."
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He said: So I brought it near to him.
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The Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to his companions,
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"Eat,"
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but he held back and did not eat.
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I said to myself,
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"This is one."
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Then I turned away from him.
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I gathered something else,
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then I came to him after he had moved from Quba
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to Medina.
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I said to him,
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"I saw that you do not eat charity,
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and this is a gift
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with which I honor you."
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He said: So the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ate from it,
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and ordered his companions, so they ate with him.
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I said to myself,
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"These are two."
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Salman said:
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Then I came to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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while he was at Baqi' al-Gharqad,
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following a funeral of one of his companions,
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and he had two cloaks upon him.
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I greeted him,
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then moved behind him,
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looking at his back
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to see if I would see the seal
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that my master had described to me.
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When he saw me move behind him,
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he knew what I wanted,
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so he cast his cloak off his back.
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I looked at the seal,
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and I recognized it.
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I threw myself upon him, kissing him and weeping.
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He said to me, "Move around."
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So I moved to be in front of him,
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and I told him my story,
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and it pleased him,
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and he liked for his companions to hear it.
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Then Salman
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was occupied by his state of servitude,
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until he missed two battles:
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Badr and Uhud.
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The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to him,
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"Make a contract of manumission, O Salman."
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So he made a contract with his master
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for three hundred palm saplings
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to be planted for him in the soil,
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and that he would also pay him forty
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ounces of gold.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
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to his companions,
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"Help your brother."
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They helped me: this one
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with thirty saplings,
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and this one with twenty,
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each according to what he could afford,
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until there were gathered for me
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three hundred saplings.
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He said to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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"Go, O Salman,
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and prepare the ground for them,"
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meaning: dig for them.
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"And when you have finished,
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come to me,
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so that I may be the one to place them with my own hands."
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I went and prepared the ground for them,
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then I came to him and informed him.
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He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out with me to them,
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and we began bringing the saplings to him,
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meaning the small palm shoots,
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and the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, placed them with his own hand.
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When we had finished,
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by the One in whose hand is the soul of Salman,
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not a single sapling died.
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So I fulfilled the palm trees,
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but the money remained upon me.
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Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was brought
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something like an egg of gold.
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Then he said,
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"What has the Persian who is under contract done?"
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He said: So I was called to him.
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He said, "Take this,
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and pay off what is upon you, O Salman."
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I said, "And where would this reach
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"What is upon me, O Messenger of Allah?"
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He said, "Take it."
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"For Allah will fulfill it on your behalf."
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So I took it.
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And I weighed out for them from it.
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By the One in whose hand is the soul of Salman,
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it was forty ounces.
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So I paid them their full due.
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And after that, Salman was able
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to witness with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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the Battle of the Trench.
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And he is the one who suggested digging it.
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Thereafter, he did not miss a single battle with him.
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He passed away, may Allah be pleased with him, during the caliphate of 'Uthman.
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In the year thirty-three of the Hijrah.
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May Allah be pleased with Salman and grant him satisfaction.
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And with all the Companions.
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I say what you hear.
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And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and for you.
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So seek His forgiveness.
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For He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
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Praise be to Allah.
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Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
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And the ultimate outcome belongs to the righteous.
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And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
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And I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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To proceed, servants of Allah:
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In the story of Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, there are many lessons and morals.
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Among them is the importance of a sound natural disposition (fitra).
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For Allah blessed Salman with a sound natural disposition.
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And He made the truth beloved to him until he preferred it over everything else.
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His father was a man of wealth and the leader of his people.
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And he loved him with an intense love.
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Yet, he sacrificed all of that in order to reach
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the true religion and the truth.
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The second point:
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That whoever strives finds.
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And whoever sows reaps.
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For Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him, was
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a man who strove with the utmost diligence.
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He first strove in the religion of Zoroastrianism,
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until he reached the rank of the servant of the fire.
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Then he reached the highest ranks in the religion of Christianity.
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Then he reached in the religion of Islam
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a status beyond which there is no further.
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The third point:
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That an open mind,
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one that searches for the truth,
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is the greatest trait of the successful,
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after the guidance of Allah.