Lives Of The Sahaba 64 - Bilal Ibn Rabah

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, in this video, gives testimony to illustrate in front of us the life of one of the greatest human beings to have ever walked the face of this earth and also one of the most magnanimous Sahabas who breathed for the sake of Islam and led a life in the way of Islam with immense grit, determination and conviction - Bilal Ibn Rabah RA. Bilal Ibn Rabah was born to slave parents and he had a tall, lean, fit, dark skinned personality with big lips and nose. He adorned a slight beard and it is reported that he was of the same age as Abu bakr As Siddiq RA. Bilal RA was a slave and he was owned by Umayyah Bin Khalaf. When Umayyah ibn Khalaf discovered that Bilal had converted to Islam, he began a series of persecutions against him at the instigation of Abu Jahl. In this state too, Bilal refused to obey his command and kept repeating "Ahad Ahad" (God is one). Angered by this refusal, Umayyah even sought to torture him by placing him on the hot sand in summer and place boulders on his chest. Such was the sheer Jahiliyyah of the time. When Abu Bakr RA saw this on his way, he reported the matter to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and he then was instructed to free Bilal RA for a sum of 280 dirhams which was much higher for an ordinary slave. From that day onwards, Bilal RA never left the side of the Prophet ﷺ and accompanied him everywhere he went and in every battle he fought. He married only after the death of Prophet ﷺ and died childless. Bilal RA stood on top of the Kaaba and gave the Adhan after the conquest of Mecca which was the ultimate symbol of faith. Bilal RA is the first ever Muezzin - the possessor of the most loud and beautiful voice for Adhan (hadith shared by the shaykh regarding this) in the history of Islam and he is also the first to have given the Adhan in Medina, in Mecca and in Damascus. Numerous Hadith are said with reference to Bilal RA relating to the city of Medina, Umar RA and many more. Do listen to be acquainted with these great Hadith. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he was so upset that he vowed never to recite the Adhan ever again since it pained him thinking of the memories of the Prophet ﷺ. He made a concession once on the insistence of Abu Bakr RA in Syria during the battle and he obliged. May Allah unite and reunite us with Bilal RA and the other Sahaba and the Prophet ﷺ in Jannatul Firdaus, Aameen.