One More Move
“Following his death, I traveled to the man of Naseebeen.”
Salman found the man and stayed with him for a while. The same incidents
occurred. Death approached and before he died, Salman came to the man and asked
for his advice as to whom and where to go. The man recommended that Salman join
another man in 'Amooreeyah[1] who was also upon the same religion.
Salman moved to 'Amooreeyah after his companion
died. He found his new reference and joined him on his religion. Salman [at
that time] worked and, “earned some cows and one sheep.”
A
good and lawful way of earning is very important to the believer. Certainly the
influence of money is great; many have sold themselves and their principles for
a cheap price, and many become hypocrites for the sake of money. There are
those,though, that stand up for the truth regardless of whatever they may lose.
This brings peace to the heart and mind.
The Big Move
Death approached the man of 'Amooreeyah. Salman repeated
his requests, but [this time] the answer was different. The man said, “O son! I
don’t know of anyone who is upon the same [religion] as we are. However, a
Prophet will emerge in your lifetime, and this Prophet is on the same religion as
Abraham.”
The
bishop knew the Path of Abraham. It is the origin of Monotheism, and calls to the worship of Allah
Alone. The bishop knew well what Abraham recommended his children,
“And this (submission to Allah, i.e. Islam) was enjoined by
Abraham upon his sons and (so did) Jacob, saying, ‘O my sons! Allah has chosen for you the (true) religion, then die not except
on the Faith of Islam.’ ”
[Surah
al-Baqarah (2):132]
Abraham
married Sarah and Haajar (Hagar). From his descendants with his union with
Sarah were Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, Moses and Jesus, peace be upon
them all; and from his descendants
with his union with Haajar were Ishmael and Muhammad e. Ishmael
was raised in Becca (known also as Makkah) in Arabia, and Muhammad e was from his descendants.
The
man knew that the faith of Abraham is the true faith to be followed. He must have read the promise of
Allah to raise a ‘Great Nation’ from the lineage of Ishmael (Genesis 21:18), and so he recommended Salman to go and
join the Prophet e, who is
from the descendants of Ishmael, who submits to Allah and follows the path of
Abraham.
“Our Rubb![2] Send amongst them a Messenger
of their own, who shall recite unto them Your Verses and instruct them in this
Book (this Qur'aan) and ‘Al-Hikmah’ (Full knowledge of Allah’s Laws or Jurisprudence or wisdom or Prophethood, etc.), and shall sanctify
them. You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”
[Surah
al-Baqarah (2):129]
“Then, We have inspired you (O Muhammad e)
(saying), ‘Follow the religion of Abraham ‘Hanifan’ (Islamic Monotheism, to
worship none but Allah) and he was not of the ‘mushrikoon’ [i.e., polytheists, pagans, idolaters,
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger e,
those who worship others along with Allah or set up rivals with (or partners
to) Allah etc.] ’ ”
[Surah
an-Nahl (16):123]
“Verily, those among mankind who have the best claim to Abraham
are those who followed him, and this Prophet (Muhammad e) and those who have believed (Muslims). And Allah is the Wali (Protector and Helper) of
the believers.”
[Surah
Aali 'Imraan (3):68]
The man described this Prophet, saying, “He will be
sent with the same religion as Abraham. He will come from the land of Arabia and will migrate
to a place located in between two lands filled with black stones [as if burned
by fire]. There are palm trees spread in the midst of these two lands. He can
be recognized by certain signs. He [will accept] and eat [from] the [food]
which has been given as a gift, but will not eat from charity. The seal of
Prophethood will be between his
shoulders. If you can move to that land, then do so.”
The
man knew about the coming of a Prophet from Arabia, from the brethren of the
Israelites (Deuteronomy 18, 17-18: “I will raise a prophet from among their
Brethren, like unto thee (i.e., Moses)[3]
and will put My Words in his mouth.[4]
And he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”). Certainly, this
verse is not in reference to Jesus as Paul tried to interpret it (Acts 13:22-23). Jesus was neither from the
descendants of Ishmael, and being an Israelite himself,[5]
he was not from their [the Israelite’s]
‘brethren’.
The
man knew what was mentioned in their book about God’s Revelation coming from Teman
(North of the City of Medinah in Arabia, according to J. Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible), and
the ‘holy one’ coming from Paran.[6]
According to Genesis 21:21, the wilderness of Paran was the place where Prophet
Ishmael u settled
and had twelve children, amongst them Kedar the second son
of Ishmael u. In
Isaiah 42:1-13, ‘the beloved of God’ is linked to the descendants of Kedar, the
ancestor of Prophet Muhammad e.
When
Prophet Muhammad e called
the People in Makkah to submit to Allah, most of them refused, and they in turn
plotted to kill the Prophet e. He along with those who accepted Islam was commanded by Allah to
migrate to the city of Medinah. Soon, a battle took place at Badr between the ‘few and ill-armed’,
represented by Muhammad e and his followers, and the pagans from Makkah
a year after the Prophet’s e migration. The Prophet e and his companions were victorious (Isaiah 21: 13-17).
The
man knew that Jesus u told of
the coming of Prophet Ahmad e (Muhammad e).[7] These
were the good tidings which Allah spoke about on the tongue of Jesus,
“And (remember) when Jesus, son of Mary said: ‘O children of
Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you
confirming the Torah (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a
Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’ ”
[Surah
as-Saff (61):6]
The man died, and Salman stayed in 'Amooreeyah. One day, “Some merchants from the tribe of
Kalb[8] passed by me,” Salman said, “I told them, ‘Take me to Arabia and I will give you my cows and
the only sheep I have.’ ” They said, “Yes.” Salman gave them what he offered,
and they took him with them. When they reached Waadi al-Quraa [close to
Medinah], they sold him as a slave to a Jew. Salman stayed with the Jew, and he
saw the Palm trees [his previous companion had described]. “I hoped that this
would be the same place described by my companion,” Salman said. One day, a man
who was a first cousin to Salman’s master from the Jewish tribe of Bani Quraidha
in Medinah came visiting. He bought Salman from his Jewish master, “He took me
with him to Medinah. By Allah! When I saw it, I knew it was the place my companion
described.”
“Then Allah sent His Messenger [i.e., Muhammad e]. He stayed in Makkah as long
as he did.[9] I did not hear anything about him because I was very busy with the
work of slavery, and then he migrated to Medinah.”
Salman continued saying, “[One day,] I was on a palm-tree
on top of one of its date-clusters doing some work for my master. A first
cousin of his came and stood in front of him [his master was sitting] and said,
‘Woe to Bani Qeelah [people of the tribe Qeelah], they are gathered in Qibaa'[10] around a man who came today from Makkah claiming to be a Prophet!’ ”
“I trembled so fiercely when I heard him that I feared
that I would fall on my master. I descended and said, ‘What are you saying!?
What are you saying!?’ My master became angry and punched me with a powerful
punch saying, ‘What business do you have in this [matter]? Go and mind your
business.’ I said, ‘Nothing! I just wanted to be sure of what he was saying.’ ”
“On that evening, I went to see the Messenger of
Allah while he was in Qibaa'. I took something with me which I had saved. I
went in and said, ‘I was told that you are a righteous man and that your
company [who] are strangers [here] are in need. I want to offer you something I
saved as charity. I found that you deserve it more than anyone else.’ ” Salman
said, “I offered it to him; he said to his companions, ‘Eat,’ but he himself
kept his hand away [i.e., did not eat]. I said to myself, ‘This is one [i.e.,
one of the signs of his Prophethood].’ ”
Following this encounter with the Prophet e, Salman left to prepare for
another test! This time he brought a gift to the Prophet e in Medinah. “I saw that you do
not eat from that given as charity, so here is a gift with which I wish to
honor you.” The Prophet e ate from it and ordered
his companions to do the same, which they did. I said to myself, ‘Now there are
two [i.e., two of the signs of Prophethood].’ ”
On the third encounter, Salman came to Baqee'-ul-Gharqad
[the burial site of the Prophet’s e companions] where
the Prophet e was attending the funeral of
one of his companions. Salman said, “I greeted him [with the greeting of Islam:
‘Peace be upon you’], and then moved towards his back attempting to see the
seal [of Prophethood] which was described to me by my companion. When he e saw me [doing so], he knew that
I was trying to confirm something described to me. He took the garment off his
back and I looked at the seal. I recognized it. I fell down upon it, kissing it
and crying. The Messenger of Allah e told me to move
around [i.e., to talk to him]. I told him my story as I did with you, ibn 'Abbaas
[remember that Salman is telling his story to ibn 'Abbaas]. He [the Prophet e] liked it so much he wanted me
to tell my story to his companions.”
[1]
'Amooreeyah: A town that was
part of the Eastern Region of the Roman Empire.
[2]
Rubb: Allah is Ar-Rubb: He is the One Who gives all things the power to grow,
move and change, to Whom belongs the Creation and Commandment. He is The Master
Who has no equal in His Sovereignty, Predominance, and Highness, and He is The
One Who Provides and Sustains all that exists.
[3]
A Prophet Like Unto Moses:
Moses
|
Muhammad e
|
Jesus
|
Area of Comparison
|
Usual
|
Usual
|
Usual
|
Birth
|
Married, Children
|
Married, Children
|
Not Married, no Children
|
Family Life
|
Usual
|
Usual
|
Did Not Die
|
Death
|
To Median
|
To Madinah
|
None
|
Forced Immigration
(in Adulthood)
|
In his lifetime
|
In his lifetime
|
After him
|
Writing Down of Revelation
|
Rejected then accepted
|
Rejected then accepted
|
Rejected by most Israelites
|
Acceptance of Leadership
(by his people)
|
[4]
Muhammad e was forty years of age when he
was in the cave of Hira
in Makkah when the Archangel Gabriel Commanded him to, “Read” or “Recite”.
Muhammad e was terrified and replied, “I am
not learned!” Then the Angel recited and the Prophet e
rehearsed the Words of Allah,
“Read! In the Name
of Your Rubb Who has created (all that exists). * He Who has created man from a clot (a piece of
thick congealed blood). * Read! And Your Rubb is the Most Generous. * Who has taught (the
Writing) by the pen (the first person to write was Prophet Enoch. Idris, e).
He has taught mean that which he knew not.”
[Surah al-'Alaq (96):1-5]
[5]
Note also that the Bible refers to the Israelites as the “brethren” of the Ishmaelites:
e.g. Gen. 16: 12 & Gen 25:18.
[6]
“God (His revelation) came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount
Paran. Selah. His glory covered the
heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.” [Habakkuk 3:3]
[7]
Ahmad literally means: “One who praises Allah more than others”. It is the
second name of Prophet Muhammad e who
said in an authentic hadith, “I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad, I am
Al-Maahi through who Allah will eliminate (infidelity), I am Al-Haashir who
will be the first to be resurrected, all other people being resurrected
thereafter, and I am also Al-'Aaqib [i.e., there will be no Prophet after me].
This narration is reported in Sahih al-Bukhaari, the most authentic collection
of Prophetic sayings, actions and traditions. (V.4, # 732, English-Arabic.
Published by Dar-Arabia, Beirut, Lebanon)
[8]
An Arab tribe.
[9]
Thirteen years after he received the revelation from Allah.
[10]
In the city of Medinah.
