Asalamu alaikum warahmatoAllahi wabarakatoho
Quran Weekly. This is your brother Omar Suleiman. Welcome back to the Superstar series. Today we are going to be talking about one
of my favorite companions. SubhanAllah this is someone who is famous sometimes for the
wrong reasons, and that is Bilal ibn Rabah radiyaAllah ta'ala 'anhu, "سيد المؤذنين"
[sayyid al-mu'adhineen]- the chief of all the people who give adhaan, the chief of all
of the mua'dhins. Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu has a very interesting
background and many times we don't talk about that. His father and his mother were both
actually prominent members before they became slaves. So his father Rabah was actually an
Arab and was not from Abyssinia. His mother, whose name was Hamama, was actually a princess
in Abyssinia. And they were both taken as slaves on "عام الفيل" ['aam al-fil]-
on the year of the elephant. Hence Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu was actually born in Mecca but born
to parents, who although were not born as slaves, were taken as slaves. So Bilal radiyaAllahu
'anhu grew up as a slave in the Arab world his entire life. Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu fell into the hands
of the royals of Mecca because he was well known for his abilities, for his strength
radiyaAllahu 'anhu, and for his intelligence. Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu was also a very very
handsome man. So he is described by Ad-Dhahabi, rahimahuAllah, as being dark, muscular, had
hazel eyes that were piercing. He said if you looked at his eyes then you wouldn't want
to look anywhere else. He was such a handsome man, strong man and intelligent man radiyaAllahu
'anhu so obviously, the best slaves were given to the people of the royal classes of Mecca.
So he was in the hands, eventually, of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. Now Umayyah ibn Khalaf was one of the staunchest
opponents of the Prophet (SAWS) and Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu one day hears Umayyah talking
about the Prophet (SAWS). And he gathers from Umayyah talking to the others about the Prophet
(SAWS), that the Prophet (SAWS) is calling to Tawhid, to the Oneness of God. This is
our fitra, and what we already believe inside of us, we are already tuned to One God. So
even though they were slandering the Prophet (SAWS) and saying what they were saying, he
believed in Rasool Allah (SAWS) and his message just from hearing that. So Bilal radiyaAllahu
'anhu started to object and Bilal started to say, "أحدٌ أحد" [ahadun ahad]- One,
One. And that is something that is very profound because 'Umar ibn al Khattab radiyaAllahu
'anhu would ask Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu later on life, once Bilal had become established
as a great Muslim leader, 'Why is it that you only said "أحدٌ أحد" [ahadun ahad]-
One, One?' He said, 'Oh ameer al-Mumineen, Oh commander of the believers, had I known
anything other than One, One I would have said it. That was all I knew about Allah (SWT).'
And for that "One, One" Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu would be tortured and be pushed almost
to death over and over and over again. SubhanAllah, we hear about the stone, but
let me take you through a few days of the life of Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu in that situation.
First they tied him up in the house and they deprived him of food and drink, so they starved
him and dehydrated him and they would put the idols in his face and say, 'Kiss the idol.
Worship the idol, worship Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza.' They would be in his face and they would humiliate
him and they would spit at him and they would refer to him with the derogatory term, "يا
إبن السوداء" [ya ibn al-sawdaa']- son of a black woman. Because what they were
saying to Bilal that even though your father was an Arab, it doesn't matter. That's why
that term was so offensive especially to Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu. "يا إبن السوداء"
[ya ibn al-sawdaa']- son of a black woman worship Al-Lat, worship Al-'Uzza. Then Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu as he continued
to refuse saying "أحدٌ أحد" [ahadun ahad] - One God, One God, he was dragged in
the desert. And Umayyah ibn Khalaf actually put a collar on him. Can you imagine a man
being dragged with like a dog collar? He put a collar on him and he dragged him out in public and he spit at Bilal, he humiliated him, he tortured him and he whipped him in front
of everyone. He said, 'say you worship Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza.' And Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu
continued to say, "أحدٌ أحد" [ahadun ahad] - One God, One God. Then, they put burning
iron on Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu and they were torturing him in front of the other slaves
in particular so that no one would follow his example radiyaAllahu ta'ala 'anhu. Bilal
radiyaAllahu 'anhu was between unconsciousness and consciousness and Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu
was still saying "أحدٌ أحد" [ahadun ahad] - One God, One God until finally they
tried to even kill Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu by having multiple other slaves push this
big stone onto his back so that it would crush him to death. By that time the Prophet (SAWS)
had heard about Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu and Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq heard about Bilal, so
Abu Bakr rushed to purchase the freedom of Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu. Abu Bakr radiyaAllah ta'ala 'anhu comes to
Umayyah and says to him, 'How much do you want for this slave? How much do you want
for him?' And Umayyah ibn Khalaf he says, '10 dinars.' And that is a huge price for
a slave at that time. But Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu 'anhu without thinking gave him 10 dinars.
And then Umayyah laughed and he said, 'If you would have argued with me a little bit
and tried to negotiate, I would have given him to you for even 1 dinar.' And Abu Bakr
radiyaAllahu 'anhu responds, and subhanAllah look at the change already that is taking
place in Bilal's life, how much the Muslims valued him. Abu Bakr radiyallahu 'anhu just
knowing that this slave was a Muslim said to him, 'Wallahi if you were to sell him for
100 dinar, I still would have purchased his freedom.' SubhanAllah! When Abu Bakr paid
that huge price for Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu some of the others said, Abu Bakr was only
doing that to show off or there was something between him and Bilal, he owed Bilal for something
and that's why he did it. And Allah (SWT) defended Abu Bakr radiyaAllah 'anhu when he
freed Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu when Allah (SWT) revealed Surah Al-Layl (92), that he
only spends "إِلَّا ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ الْأَعْلَىٰ"
['Illā Abtighā'a Wajhi Rabbihi Al-'A`lá]- He only spends to please Allah (SWT), for
the pleasure of Allah (SWT) and for nothing else (92:20), there's no worldly gain out
of this. But subhanAllah they just couldn't get it.
And subhanAllah this man was taken from that situation, where he was humiliated his whole
life, and there's a hikma here, there's a wisdom here, had Bilal never become a Muslim,
yes he went through a lot of torture, but had Bilal never become a Muslim he probably
would have just died a slave and he would have never gained his freedom. But look what
Allah (SWT) gave him as a result of his trust. He goes from being that humiliated human being
who is not even being treated like a human being, to being called as 'Umar ibn al-Khattab
radiyaAllahu 'anhu used to call him Sayyiduna- our master who was freed by Sayyiduna, our
master. Our master who was freed by our master. SubhanAllah look at the paradigm shift, look
at the shift in their mentality.'Umar radiyaAllahu 'anhu who was a proud man from the most noble
lineage from Quraish is saying to this slave, former slave, someone who was just freed,
'our master who was freed by our master.' Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu gained such a high
status in Islam. And subhanAllah you can imagine how Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu felt on the day
of Badr when he saw Umayyah ibn Khalaf who subjected him to that torture and humiliation
for his entire life. When Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu saw him he said, " والله ما نجوت
إن نجا" [wAllahi ma najawt in naja]- I will not survive if he survives. He said
I will not live unless he dies, both of us cannot live. And Allah (SWT) allowed Bilal
radiyaAllahu 'anhu to kill Umayyah ibn Khalaf after he subjected him to that torture his
entire life. Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu was so much more
than that. Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu did not just become special in our deen because he
happened to be black. There were many many many black sahaba, and I think that one of
the greatest mistakes that we make sometimes is that we think that the reason why Allah
chose Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu to give the adhaan, or why the Prophet (SAWS) chose Bilal,
is some sort of publicity stunt. Right? To say this is how we treat black people and
this is how bring our...no no no no! He was chosen to be the first person that would stand
up in Madinah in the masjid of the Prophet (SAWS) and say "Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar."
And he was the first person when the Muslims conquered Mecca, when the Muslims came back
to Mecca in Fat-h Mecca, he was the first person that would climb the Ka'aba and say
"Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar." And he was the first person for another incident as well
which we'll get to. Because he was someone who almost died saying "أحدٌ أحد" [ahadun
ahad]- One, One. So who would be more worthy of standing up and calling the Muslims to
La ilaha illa Allah'? That there is only One God and that is Allah (SWT). Who else fits that position more? There were many black sahaba. This wasn't about that. Bilal radiyaAllahu
'anhu was there because he deserved to be there. And the Prophet (SAWS) loved him so much that
when the Prophet (SAWS) would seclude himself from everyone else, Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu
was the only one that was allowed to be with him. Before Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu would
even call the adhan, Bilal would go and seek the permission of the Prophet (SAWS) first.
So he would see the Prophet (SAWS) everyday at least those 5 times a day. He had a very
special connection to the Prophet (SAWS) and that was something that was given to him and
no one else. The level of connection that Bilal had to the Prophet (SAWS) and having
his company, no other companion could have that. And so when the Prophet (SAWS) comes back
to Mecca, and Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu climbs the house of Allah (SWT), al-Ka'aba, and Bilal
radiyaAllahu 'anhu starts to call "Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar." You know, some of the hypocrites and some of the disbelievers they saw that and that racism came out and they
said, "عبدٌ أسود" ['Abdun 'aswad]- you have this black slave, "يرتقي الكعبة"
[yartaqee al-Ka'aba]- he's climbing up the Ka'aba. But that is what Islam came to crush.
You know Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu was not the mu'adhinn because he was black, but he
was the mu'adhinn despite being black. It didn't matter! It didn't matter in Islam.
Islam did away with that ignorance. So Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu was the first one to climb
the Ka'aba. And I want you to do me a favor, because there is no way that I can cover this
in the video, read about the virtues of the mu'adhinneen, of a mu'adhinn on the Day of
Judgment. And so when they come back to Madinah and
Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu accompanied the Prophet (SAWS) to Madinah afterwards. When the Prophet
(SAWS) became sick, Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu would come to inform the Prophet (SAWS) about
the salaah and he would find him sick. And Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu would start crying
and he would say, "وا حزنا" [waa huznaa]- the grief that I'm feeling right now. And
in fact when the Prophet (SAWS) was about to die, Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu said the
same words the Maryam 'alayha alsalam said (19:23), "يَا لَيْتَنِي مِتُّ
قَبْلَ هَٰذَا" [ Yā Laytanī Mittu Qabla Hadha - I wish I had never lived to
see this day. SubhanAllah can you imagine how he felt going into the Prophet (SAWS)'s
room to tell him that it was the time for salaah and the Prophet (SAWS) was unconscious
or the Prophet (SAWS) was breathing his last? He couldn't handle it radiyaAllahu ta'ala
'anhu. When the Prophet (SAWS) passed away Bilal
radiyaAllahu 'anhu actually stands in Madinah to give the adhaan, and it was the salaah
right after the Prophet (SAWS) passed away and when he gets to "أشهد أن محمداً
رسول الله" [ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasool Allah] - keep in mind he was the one
that would go to the Prophet (SAWS) and tell him it's adhaan and then he stands up and
says, 'I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (SAWS). He got up there
and he said, "أشهد أن..." and he couldn't say it. He couldn't even say the name of Muhammad
(SAWS). While he was there he would just start to cry and he remembered all of the moments
he had with the Prophet (SAWS). So in Madinah he looks around, and everywhere he looks he
remembers the Prophet (SAWS) was there with him, when the Prophet (SAWS) smiled at him,
when the Prophet (SAWS) looked at him. So he asked Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala 'anhu
to send him out in battle. 'I don't want to be here.' And subhanAllah he could not bear
to be in Madinah. And the next time Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu would call the adhan would
be on the day of the conquest of Jerusalem, of Al-Quds. Now 'Umar radiyaAllahu ta'ala 'anhu asked
Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu to share in that historic moment. And he says, 'Oh Bilal, give
us the pleasure of hearing your adhaan once again.' And Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu didn't
want to but 'Umar radiyaAllahu 'anhu pressured him, 'Please we want to hear it.' So Bilal
radiyaAllahu 'anhu, the first mu'adhinn in Madinah, who climbed the haram in Madinah
and who climbed the haram in Mecca would now be the first one to say "Allahu akbar, Allahu
akbar", in Jerusalem, in Al-Quds. And he climbs up there and when he gets to "أشهد أن
محمداً رسول الله" [ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasool Allah], all of the
sahaba break down in tears, all of them. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllahu 'anhu his beard
became wet with tears and he broke down in tears because they remembered the Prophet
(SAWS) amongst them just by hearing "أشهد أن محمداً رسول الله" [ash-hadu
anna Muhammadan rasool Allah] from the mouth of Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu because they never
heard that since the Prophet (SAWS) passed away. They never heard that after he passed
away, 'alayhi al-salaat walsalam. And so towards the end of his life, Bilal
radiyaAllahu 'anhu continued in the conquest of al-Shaam and subhanAllah he actually would
pass away in Halab, in Aleppo, may Allah (SWT) make it easy for the people of Halab because
they are under a horrible siege right now. May Allah give them victory and patience.
That's where Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu was buried. And as he was dying, Bilal radiyaAllahu
'anhu is happy. And his wife is saying the exact same words that Bilal said when the
Prophet (SAWS) was passing away. His wife is saying " وا حزنا وا حزنا" [waa
huznaa, waa huznaa]- what grief that I'm losing my husband Bilal. And Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu
looks at his wife and says, 'Don't say that.' He says, 'Say "وا فرحتا" [waa farhataa]-
say what a great joy! "غداً ألقى الأحباء محمداً وصحبه" [ghadan alqa al-ahibaa'
Muhammadan wa sahbaho]- Tomorrow I will get to be with my beloved again, Muhammad (SAWS)
and his companions. Don't say that it's grief, this is joy. Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu didn't
mind leaving behind anything else because he knew that he was going to be re-joined
with the Prophet (SAWS). And Bilal radiyaAllahu 'anhu died in Halab, in Aleppo, and he is
still buried there today in Halab in Syria. We ask Allah (SWT) to have mercy upon him
and to be pleased with him. And we ask Allah (SWT) to allow us to hear his adhaan on the
Day of Judgment and in Jannah. And we ask Allah (SWT) to gather us with him and the
companions and the family of the Messenger (SAWS) in jannat-ul-firdaous. Allahmmu ameen. jazakomAllahu khayran. wasalamu alaikum warahmatoAllahu wabarakatoho.
