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Salmaan al-faarisi

.The story of how Salmaan al-Faarisi came to Islam is a great story, full of lessons and exhortations.

    It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas said: Salmaan      al-Faarisi told me his story from his own lips. He said:     
    I was a Persian man, one of the people of Isbahaan, from a      village thereof called Jayy. My father was the chieftain of his village, and      I was the dearest of Allaah’s creation to him. He loved me so much that he      kept me in his house near the fire, as girls are kept in. I strove hard in      the Magian religion until I became the keeper of the fire, which I tended      and did not let go out for a moment. My father had a huge garden, and he was      busy one day with some construction work, so he said: “O my son, I am too      busy with this building today, go and check my garden,” and he told me some      of the things he wanted done. I went out, heading towards his garden, and I      passed by one of the Christian churches, where I could hear their voices as      they were praying. I did not know anything about the people because my      father had kept me in his house. When I passed by and heard their voices, I      entered upon them to see what they were doing. When I saw them, I was      impressed with their prayer and I was attracted to their way. I said: By      Allaah, this is better than the religion that we follow. By Allaah, I did      not leave them until the sun set, and I forgot about my father’s garden and      did not go there. I said to them: Where did this religion originate? They      said: In Syria. Then I went back to my father, who had sent people out to      look for me, and I had distracted him from all his work. When I came to him,      he said: O my son, where were you? Did I not ask you to do what I asked? I      said: O my father, I passed by some people who were praying in a church of      theirs, and I was impressed with what I saw of their religion. By Allaah, I      stayed with them until the sun set. He said: O my son, there is nothing good      in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is      better than that. I said: No, by Allaah, it is better than our religion. He      was afraid for me, and he put fetters on my legs and kept me in his house. I      sent word to the Christians saying: If any Christian merchants come to you      from Syria, tell me about them. He said: Some Christian merchants came to      them from Syria, and they told me about them. I said to them: When they have      
completed
 their business and want to go back to their own country, tell me      about that. So when they wanted to go back to their own country, they told      me about that, and I threw off the irons from my legs and went out with      them, until I came to Syria. When I reached Syria, I said: Who is the best      person in this religion? They said: The bishop in the church.  So I went to      him and said: I like this religion, and I would like to stay with you and      serve you in your church and learn from you and pray with you. He said: Come      in. So I went in with him, but he was a bad man. He would command them and      exhort them to give charity, but he kept a great deal of it for himself and      did not give it to the poor; he had amassed seven chests of gold and silver.      I hated him deeply when I saw what he was doing, then he died and the      Christians gathered to bury him. I said to them: This was a bad man; he      commanded you and exhorted you to give charity, but when you brought it to      him he kept it for himself and did not give any of it to the poor. They      said: How do you know that? Show us where his treasure is. So I showed them      where it was and they brought out seven chests filled with gold and silver.      When they saw that they said: By Allaah, we will never bury him; then they      crucified him and pelted him with stones.  Then they brought another man and      appointed him in his place. Salmaan said: I have never seen a man who does      not offer the five daily prayers who was better than him; he shunned this      world and sought the Hereafter and no one strive harder than him night and      day. I loved him as I had never loved anyone before, and I stayed with him      for a while. Then when he was about to die, I said: O So and so, I was with      you and I loved you as I had never loved anyone before, and now the decree      of Allaah has come to you as you see; to whom do you advise me to go? What      do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah, I do not know of      anyone today who follows what I followed. The people are doomed; they have      changed and abandoned most of what they used to follow, except for a man in      Mosul. He is So and so, and he follows what I used to follow, so go and join      him. When he died and was buried, I went to the man in Mosul. I said to him:      O So and so, So and so advised me when he died to come to you, and he told      me that you follow the same as he followed. He said to me: Stay with me. So      I stayed with him, and I found him to be a good man who followed the same as      his companion had followed. But soon he died. When he was dying I said to      him: O So and so, So and so advised me to come to you and told me to join      you, but now there has come to you from Allaah what you see. To whom do you      advise me to go? What do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah      I do not know of anyone who follows what we used to follow except a man in      Nasayyibeen. He is So and so; go to him. When he died and was buried, I went      to the man in Nasayyibeen. I came to him and told him my story and what my      companion had told me to do. He said: Stay with me. So I stayed with him and      I found him to be a follower of the same way as his two companions, and I      stayed with a good man. By Allaah, soon death came upon him, and when he was      dying I said to him: O So and so, So and so advised me to go to So and so;      then So and so advised me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go and      what do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah we do not know of      anyone left who follows our way and to whom I can tell you to go, except a      man in ‘Ammooriyyah. He follows something like what we follow. If you wish,      go to him, for he follows our way. When he died and was buried, I went to      the man in ‘Ammooriyyah and told him my story. He said: Stay with me. So I      stayed with a man who was following the same way as his companions. I earned      wealth until I had cows and sheep, then the decree of Allaah came to him.      When he was dying I said to him: O So and so, I was with So and so, and So      and so told me to go to So and so; then So and so told me to go to So and      so; then So and so told me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go      and what do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah, I do not      know of anyone who follows our way to whom I can advise you to go. But there      has come the time of a Prophet, who will be sent with the religion of      Ibraaheem. He will appear in the land of the Arabs and will migrate to a      land between two harrahs (lave fields; land with black rocks), between which      there are palm trees. He will have characteristics that will not be hidden.      He will eat of what is given as a gift but he will not eat of what is given      as charity. Between his shoulder blades is the Seal of Prophethood. If you      can go to that land then do so. Then he died and was buried, and I stayed in      ‘Ammooriyyah as long as Allaah willed I should stay, then some merchants of      Kalb passed by me and I said to them: Will you take me to the land of the      Arabs and I will give you these cows and sheep of mine? They said: Yes. So I      gave them the cows and sheep, and they took me there, but when they brought      me to Waadi al-Qura they wronged me and sold me as a slave to a Jewish man.      When I was with him I saw the palm trees, and I hoped that this was the land      that my companion had described to me, but I was not sure. Whilst I was with      him, a cousin of his from Banu Qurayzah came to him from Madeenah, and he      sold me to him, and he took me to Madeenah. By Allaah, as soon as I saw it,      I recognized it from the description given to me by my companion.  I stayed      there, and Allaah sent His Messenger, who stayed in Makkah as long as he      stayed, and I did not hear anything about him because I was so busy with the      work of a slave. Then he migrated to Madeenah, and by Allaah, I was at the      top of a palm tree belonging to my master, doing some work on it, and my      master was sitting there. Then a cousin of his came and stood beside him,      and said: May Allaah kill Banu Qaylah! By Allaah, right now they are      gathering in Quba’ to welcome a man who has come from Makkah today, and they      say that he is a Prophet. When I heard that, I began to shiver so much that      I thought I would fall on top of my master. I came down from the tree and      started saying to that cousin of his: What are you saying, what are you      saying? My master got angry and he struck me with his fist and said: What      has it got to do with you? Go back to your work! I said: Nothing; I just      wanted to make sure of what he was saying. I had something that I had      collected, and when evening came, I went to the Messenger of Allaah       (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in Quba’, and I      entered upon him and said to him: I have heard that you are a righteous man      and that you have companions who are strangers and are in need. This is      something that I have to give in charity, and I see that you are more in      need of it than anyone else. I brought it near to him and the Messenger of      Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his      companions: “Eat,” but he refrained from eating.  I said to myself: This is      one. Then I went away and collected some more. The Messenger of Allaah       (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) moved to Madeenah, then I came      to him and said: I see that you do not eat (food given in) charity; this is      a gift with which I wish to honour you. The Messenger of Allaah  (peace      and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ate some of it and told his companions      to eat too. I said to myself: This is two. Then I came to the Messenger of      Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in      Baqee’ al-Gharqad, where he had attended the funeral of one of his      companions and he was wearing two shawls and was sitting among his      companions. I greeted him with salaam then I moved behind him, trying to      look at his back to see the Seal that my companion had described to me. When      the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw      me going behind him, he realized that I was trying to find confirmation of      something that had been described to me, so he let his rida’ drop from his      back, and I saw the Seal and recognized it. Then I embraced him, kissing      (the Seal) and weeping, and the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and      blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me: “Turn around.” So I turned      around and I told him my story as I have told it to you, O Ibn ‘Abbaas. The      Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted      his companions to hear that. Then Salmaan was kept busy with the work of a      slave, until he had missed attending Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of      Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said: Then the      Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to      me: “Draw up a contract of manumission, O Salmaan.” So I draw up a contract      of manumission with my master in return for three hundred palm trees which I      would plant for him, and forty uqiyahs. The Messenger of Allaah  (peace      and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his companions: “Help your      brother.” So they helped me with the palm trees, one man gave thirty small      trees and another gave twenty, and another gave fifteen, and another gave      ten, i.e., each man gave according to what he had, until they had collected      three hundred small trees for me. Then the Messenger of Allaah  (peace      and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me: “Go, O Salmaan, and dig the      holes where they are to be planted. When you have finished, come to me and I      will plant them with my own hand.” So I dug the holes for them, and my      companions helped me, then when I had finished, I came to him and told him.      The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)      came out with me and we started to bring the trees close and the Messenger      of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) planted them with      his own hand. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, not one      single tree among them died. So I had paid off the trees but there still      remained the money. A piece of gold the size of an egg was brought to the      Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from      one of his campaigns. He said: “What happened to the Persian who had a      contract of manumission?” I was summoned to him and he said: “Take this and      pay off what you owe, O Salmaan.” I said: How could this pay off everything      I owe, O Messenger of Allaah? He said: “Take it, and Allaah will help you to      pay off what you owe.” So I took it and weighed it for them, and by the One      in Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, it was forty uqiyahs, so I paid them      their dues and I was set free. I was present with the Messenger of Allaah       (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at al-Khandaq, and after      that I did not miss any major event with him.      
    Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (5/441). The scholars      of hadeeth said: Its isnaad is hasan.

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