Salman Al-Farisi (RA)
Early Life in Persia:
Salman Al-Farisi was from the Persians and his father was a leader of a village in Iran.
Salman’s father loved him very much to the point that he would not let him leave his house.
Salman had an important role in their religion as they believed in the Fire, the religion of Zoroastrianism, and he was the caretaker of the Fire.
One day, Salman’s father told him to take care of a garden that his father owned.
Encounter with Christianity:
When Salman headed towards the garden, he passed by a Christian church and could hear the Christians praying. Salman Al-Farisi did not know anything about these people as his father always kept him in his house. Because of this, he had never heard of any religion apart from his religion of the Fire.
Salman was curious so he went inside the Church and he was impressed with their prayer. He said: Wallahi, this is better than the religion that we follow.
He stayed at the Church until sunset and he did not go to the garden. He then asked the people of the Church where the religion originated from and they informed Salman that it started in Sham.
Salman’s Confronts His Father About Christianity:
When he returned home, his father was searching everywhere for his son.
His father asked him: where were you? Salman replied: O my father, I passed by some people who were praying in the Church and I was impressed with their religion.
Salman Al-Farisi’s Father’s Reaction:
Salman’s father told him: your religion and the religion of your fathers is better than that religion. Salman replied: No, by Allah, their religion is better than ours.
His father then chained him up in his house but eventually, Salman managed to send a secret message to the Christians.
The message stated: To the Christians, if any Christian merchants come from Syria, let me know about it.
Later on, the Christian merchants came from Syria and Salman was notified about this.
Journey of Seeking the Truth:
Salman Al-Farisi then managed to escape from being chained up and joined the Christians who returned to Syria.
He wanted to learn more about the religion and asked the Christians: who is the most knowledgeable Christian so I can learn from him?
Service to the Bishop:
The people informed Salman that the Bishop was the most knowledgeable of the Christians. Salman then told the Bishop that he wanted to stay and learn from him.
The Bishop’s Corruption:
not long after, he realised that the Bishop was an evil man, who would command the people to give sadaqah in the way of Allah. However, he would keep the money for himself.
The Bishop had accumulated seven chests full of gold and silver. Eventually, he passed away and the residents of the city were very sad by his death.
Salman Informs The People of the Bishop’s Corruption:
Salman Al-Farisi then told the people that the Bishop was an evil man.
The people were surprised by this but Salman informed them that the Bishop would tell them to give in the way of Allah, but instead of distributing it to the poor people, he kept it himself.
The people told Salman: if you are really telling the truth, show us where he has hidden the treasures.
Salman Al-Farisi then took the people and showed them the seven chests of treasures that the Bishop had hidden.
The people were so angry that they decided not to bury him and instead, they crucified him on a cross and threw stones at his body.
Righteous Christian Mentors:
The Bishop was then replaced by another man who was very righteous.
Salman described this man by saying: I have never seen a non-Muslim better than this man, he shunned this world for the hereafter and no one strove harder than him day and night. I loved this man like I have never loved anyone before.
Salman Directed to Another Pious Christian:
When this Bishop was about to pass away, Salman Al-Farisi asked him: who do you advise me to go to so they can teach me?
The man replied: O my son, Wallahi I do not know anyone today who follows what I follow. The people are doomed and they have abandoned what they used to follow, but there is a man in Mosil (Iraq) and he follows what I am following. So go to him and follow him.
Salman Travels to Iraq:
After this Bishop died, Salman went to Mosil and stayed with the pious man from Iraq.
After some time, when this pious man was about to pass away, Salman said him: O (So and So, So and So) advised me to come to you and now the time of your death has come so to whom do you advise me to go?
The man replied: O my son, by Allah I don’t know of anyone who follows what we follow, apart from a man in Nussibin (a border between Turkey and Syria)
Salman Travels to Nussibin:
This man from Iraq then also passed away and Salman Al-Farisi went to Nussibin and told the Christian about his story.
Salman stayed with the Christian man at Nussibin until he was about to pass away.
Salman then said to the Christian: O (So and So, So and So told me to come to So and So, and So and So told me to come to you) so to whom do you advise me to go?
The man replied: Wallahi, I do not know anyone who follows what we do, apart from a man in Amuriyah (further West in Modern day Turkey).
Salman Travels to Amuriyah:
Salman Al-Farisi continued on his quest for the truth and he went to Amuriyah and informed the Christian man at Amuriyah his story and stayed with him
Salman’s Travel for the Truth:
Salman Al-Farisi now went from Iran, to Syria, to Iraq, to the border of Syria and Turkey, to the West of Turkey all in search for the truth. He started to work to earn a living in the West of Turkey.
When this righteous man was about to die, Salman told him: O (So and So, So and So told me to go to So and So, and So and So told me to go to So and So, and So and So told me to go to you) to whom do you advise me to go?
The Final Prophecy of the Prophet:
The man said: Wallahi, I do not know anyone that follows our way, but the time has come for a Prophet who will be sent with the religion of Ibrahim. He will appear in the land of the Arabs and he will be in the land of two black fields of land and there will be palm trees in that land. He will have characteristics that will not be hidden. He will have three signs so look for these signs to see if he is a Prophet.
The Three Signs of the Prophet:
He will eat what is given as a gift, but if you give him charity, he will not eat it. And in between his shoulder blades, he will have the seal of prophethood.
Salman stayed in Amuriyah until a tribe called Qalb came.
Arrival in Arabia:
This was an Arab tribe and Salman asked the tribe if they could take him to the land of the Arabs.
He gave the tribe the cows and sheep that he worked for in exchange for them to take him to the land of the Arabs. However, they betrayed him and sold Salman to a Jewish man where he became a slave.
While he was with the master, a cousin of Salman’s owner came to visit from Madinah. The Jewish man sold Salman Al-Farisi to the cousin and they set off to Madinah.
Salman in Madinah:
One day, Salman was carrying out some tasks for his master on top of a tree. He heard a man tell his owner that the person that the tribes of Khazraj and Aws were waiting for, had arrived and they were saying that he was a Prophet.
Salman heard this and he started to shake. He got down from the tree and asked his master about the conversation he had, but the master hit Salman and told him that it was none of his business.
Meeting the Prophet:
That same day, Salman Al-Farisi then went to Quba and met the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Before taking the Shahadah, he wanted to make sure by looking for the three signs that his previous companion told him about.
Charity:
He offered the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ some charity.
The Prophet ﷺ thanked Salman Al-Farisi for the food and handed it out amongst his companions but the Prophet did not eat the food himself.
Gift:
The day after this, Salman Al-Farisi gave the Prophet a gift of food and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ate it.
Seal of Prophethood:
On another occasion, one of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ had passed away. At the Janazah, Salman was right behind the Prophet.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then realised what Salman was looking for, and he removed some of his upper garment and this is how Salman saw the seal of prophethood.
Salman Al-Farisi’s Reaction After Witnessing The Three Signs of Prophethood:
Salman Al-Farisi began to cry and hugged the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and kissed the seal of prophethood.
Salman then told the Prophet his whole story that took place over a period of thirty years.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after hearing his story gathered his companions and told Salman: Tell them your story.
Freedom From Slavery:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ loved Salman Al-Farisi and told him to go to his master and make a contract with him to buy himself out. The master of Salman requested for three hundred palm trees and forty measures of gold.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then told his companions: Help your brother.
Everybody gathered to help Salman until he was able to gather the three hundred palm trees.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told Salman to dig the holes but informed him that he would place the palm trees into the ground himself.
There were still forty measures of gold remaining that Salman’s master requested.
One day, from one of the campaigns of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, there was a piece of gold shaped like an egg, and the Prophet called for Salman Al-Farisi.
The companions brought Salman to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who informed Salman to give it to his owner.
Salman then went to the master who measured the gold and it was the exact amount that the owner requested.
From this point on, Salman Al-Farisi was now a free man.
Salman’s Dedication to Find the Truth:
Salman went from Iran to Syria to Iraq to the Turkish-Syrian border, then into Turkey, then into the Arabian Peninsula, then to Madinah just to find the truth.
Contributions in Islam:
The Battle of the Trench:
In the battle of the trench, Salman Al-Farisi told the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: Ya Rasoolullah, when I was in Persia, if anyone was to invade our city, we would dig huge trenches around the entrances of the city so they could not enter.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ agreed with this idea as this was something that the Arabs had never experienced before.
The Prophet on Salman Al-Farisi:
The Ansar and Muhajirin would fight over Salman, but the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: Salman is one of me (part of my household).
Salman Al-Farisi stayed close to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in order to acquire knowledge and wisdom.
Lesson on Wudu and Salah from the Prophet:
Once the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ shook a tree and the leaves fell. The Prophet asked Salman: aren’t you going to ask me why I have done this? Salman then asked: Why have you done this?
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied: When a Muslim does wudu and does it well, then performs the five daily prayers, his sins fall away just as these leaves fall away.
The Prophet then recited a verse from the Quran: ‘And establish Salat at both ends of the day and during the early watches of the night. Indeed good deeds drive away evil deeds. This is a reminder to those who are mindful (of Allah)’ (Quran, 11:114)
Encouragement of Dhikr and Remembrance of Allah:
Once, Salman Al-Farisi was with a group of Muslims engaged in Dhikr and the remembrance of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ passed by and they stopped their Dhikr.
The Prophet asked: What have you been saying? They replied: We are remembering Allah, O Messenger of Allah.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied: Go on saying (your words of remembrance) for indeed I saw grace and mercy descending upon you and I dearly love to share this with you.
Salman Al-Farisi Among the Four Sources of Knowledge After Mu’adh ibn Jabal:
On the deathbed of Mu’adh ibn Jabal, a man began to cry.
Mu’adh asked: why do you weep? The man said: Because of the knowledge which I would have gained from you.
Mu’adh replied: Don’t cry, for when I die, seek knowledge from four persons: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Abdullah ibn Salam, Salman Al-Farisi and Abu-d Darda.
Ali ibn Abi Talib on Salman Al-Farisi:
Ali ibn Abi Talib once said: Salman was like Luqman the wise (mentioned in the Quran) because of his vast knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge and Wisdom:
Salman had great knowledge in the Christian scriptures, the Quran and knowledge of his previous Zoroastrian religion.
Salman translated the Quran into Persian during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and he was the first person to translate the Quran into a foreign language.
Salman’s Recitation of the Quran in Ctesiphon:
While Salman Al-Farisi was in a mosque in Ctesiphon, around one thousand people gathered around him, and he instructed them to sit down and started to recite from Surah Yusuf.
The people started to leave until there was only one hundred left. After witnessing this, Salman became upset and said: It is pleasant talk you want, but when I read the Book of Allah, you go away.
Salman as Military Commander in Persia:
When he was a commander of the Muslim army besieging a castle in Persia, he addressed the Persians by saying: I am a man from among you, a Persian. Do you see the Arabs obeying me? If you accept Islam, you will have what we have and you will be up against what we are up against. If you do not accept Islam, you can come under the protection of the Muslims on payment of the Jizyah (military tax),
The Persians refused both these options and said to Salman: We will fight you.
Salman Al-Farisi continued to invite them to Islam for three days despite the Muslim forces calling on Salman to attack them.
Eventually, Salman Al-Farisi gave the command to attack and they conquered the fortress.
Justice Towards non-Muslims:
Once, a person began to recite Surah Maryam and a non-Muslim listening to this, started to insult Maryam and her son Prophet Isa (AS).
The Muslims were angered by this and they started to beat up the non-Muslim.
The non-Muslim went and complained to Salman, who went to those who had beaten the man and asked: Why did you do this?
They replied: We were reading Surah Maryam and he insulted Maryam and her son.
Salman Al-Farisi reprimanded the Muslims and told them to show self-control and treat the protected people with honour.
He quoted a verse from the Quran: ‘Do not revile those whom they invoke instead of Allah, lest they revile Allah out of spite and ignorance’ (Quran, 6:108)
Salman as Governor of Al-Mada’in
When Salman Al-Farisi became a governor of al-Mada’in (Ctesiphon) near Baghdad, he received five thousand dirhams and he distributed this as sadaqah.
When the people saw him working, they were amazed and said: You are the Amir (leader) here and your sustenance is guaranteed and you do this work.
Salman replied: I like to eat from the work of my own hands.
Simplicity and Avoidance of Excess:
Once Salman Al-Farisi was being pressured to eat a little more food than he was served. However, he insisted: This is enough for me. This is enough for me. I have heard the Messenger of Allah say: The one who fills his stomach the most in this world will be the most hungry in the Hereafter. O Salman, the world is but a prison for the believer and paradise for the disbeliever.
Salman’s Sacrifice of Luxury for The Search of the Truth:
Salman Al-Farisi could have continued to live a life of luxury in the Persian Empire but his search for the truth, led to him leaving a comfortable life and exchanging it for a life of suffering from slavery.
He is a perfect example of someone who sacrificed the temporary luxuries of the Dunya for the Akhirah.
Death of Salman Al-Farisi:
Salman died in the year thirty five of Hijrah, during the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, at Ctesiphon.
Hadith on Salman Al-Farisi:
Salman Al-Farisi narrated: The Quraysh and the Ansar were arguing about me. The Quraysh said: Salman is one of us, while the Ansar said: No, he is one of us. The Messenger of Allah then said: Salman is from us, the People of the House (Ahlul Bayt). (Ibn Majah)
Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: O Allah. Grant Salman and his family entry into Paradise. (Tabarani)