Amir ibn Sa' d reported
that he heard his father Sa'd ibn AbI Waqqas say, "I never heard
Allah's Messenger, Rasulullah SAW say to any other person that he or
she was in Paradise except for 'Abdullah ibn Salam RA."
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In Madinah, before the
time of Rasulullah SAW, there were several Jewish tribes living
alongside the Arab tribe of Aus and Khazraj. These Jewish tribes were
quite wealthy in land and possessions. Like people everywhere, some
of them were sincere believers and some of them were not. Among the
sincere was a very learned man by the name of al-Husain ibn Salam. He
was one of the Jewish rabbis and was honored and respected by all the
people, no matter what their religious belief. He was known to
be pious and righteous, straight and honest. Al-Husain lived a
serene, serious, and productive life. He divided his time into three
parts: in the temple to preach and worship; in his garden taking care
of his palm-trees; and with the Torah to deepen his knowledge of
religion.
Each time he read the Torah, he
pondered the news in it about the appearance of a new prophet in
Makkah who was going to complete and seal the messages of the
previous prophets. He followed the descriptions and the signs of the
expected one and found from the Torah that this prophet would make
hijrah from his land. He would begin teaching in Madinah, where his
residence would be. Each time he read or recalled this news,
al-Husain prayed to Allah SWT that his life would be prolonged so
that he might witness the appearance of the expected prophet, obtain
the pleasure of meeting him, and be among the first to believe in
him.
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Allah SWT responded to al-Husain ibn
Salam's du'a', He let him live to meet the prophet of guidance and
mercy. Ibn Salam RA left behind his story of the events: When I heard
about the appearance of Rasulullah SAW in Makkah, I kept inquiring
about his name, his rank,his characteristics, and his place to see if
it all applied to what is written in our books, until I made sure of
his prophecy and of the honesty of his call. I hid the whole matter
from the Jews and held my tongue so as not to whisper one word until
the day Rasulullah SAW left Makkah heading for al-Madinah. When
Rasulullah SAW reached Madinah and stayed in Quba', a man came to us
and announced his arrival. I was, at that moment, on top of one of my
palm trees doing my work and my aunt, Khalidah bint al-Harith, was
sitting under the tree.
When I heard the news, I couldn't keep
from shouting, "Allah-u-Akbar … Allah-u-Akbar!" When she
heard my Takbir, my aunt said to me: "May Allah disappoint you!
By Allah, if you had heard that Misa ibn 'Imran (the prophet Musa ~)
is coming you wouldn't have done more."
"0 Aunt," I said, "by
Allah, he surely is Musa ibn 'Imran's brother, following the same
religion! He is sent with what he was sent with!" She fell
silent for a while, then said: "Is he the prophet you used to
tell us about that will be sent to affirm what was sent before him
and to complete the messages of his Lord?"
"Yes," I replied. "Then,
he is the one," she said. I went on the spot to see Rasulullah
SAW. People were crowding at his door. I pressed until I got close to
him. The first thing I heard from him was this: "0 people,
spread greetings. Feed people. Pray in the night, when people sleep;
then you will enter al
Jannah peacefully."
I kept staring at him, and I realized
that this surely wasn't the face of a liar. I came close to him and
testified that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah. He turned to
me and asked, "What is your name?"
"Al-Husain Ibn Salam," I
replied. "Rather, 'Abdullah ibn Salam," he said.
"Yes," I said, "'Abdullah
ibn Salam. By the One Who sent you with truth, I wouldn't like to
have any other name from now on."
I left Rasulullah SAW and went back
home. I called my wife, children and family to Islam and they all
entered Islam including my aunt, Khalidah, who was very old. I said
to them, "Keep the news of our entering Islam from the Jews
until I give you permission!" They agreed to do this.
I then returned to Rasulullah SAW and
said to him: "0 Rasulullah, I would like you to call notable
people among the Jews. Hide me in one of your rooms, then ask them
about my position among them before they know about my adherence to
Islam. Then, call them to Islam. You will see that they will accuse
me falsely of all defects."
Rasulullah SAW agreed to do this. He
put me in a room next to his, then called them and invited them to
Islam and Iman, reminding them of what they knew about him from their
books. They kept arguing and disputing with him until he gave up and
asked them about the position of al-Husain ibn Salam among them.
"He is our master," they
replied, "and son of our master, our man of knowledge and son of
our man of knowledge."
"If he follows Islam," asked
Rasulullah SAW, "would you follow it too?"
"He would never follow Islam,"
they replied,"may Allah prevent him from entering into Islam!"
At that point, I came out and said, "0 Jews, my people, fear
Allah SWT and accept what Muhammad SAW has brought. You surely know
that he is the messenger of Allah. You know about him written about
in your Torah, by name and description. I testify that he is the
messenger of Allah. I have faith in him. I believe him. I know him."
They then shouted, "Liar,
by Allah, you are the worst man of us and son of the worst man, you
are ignorant and son of an ignorant man!" They didn't leave a
defect that they didn't accuse me of. After that, 'Abdullah ibn Salam
RA separated himself from the Jews and became a devoted Muslim. He
loved the Quran, and spent many hours reciting its verses. He was
also very attached to Rasulullah SAW and did all he could to listen
to him, help him, and be with him.
He devoted himself to working for the
Jannah until Rasulullah SAW brought him the news of being one of the
dwellers in the Garden. Among the noble Sahabah there were a few who
were blessed with such good news (bashirah). Qais ibn 'Ubadah and
others told the story of how this news came to 'Abdullah ibn Salam RA
,I was sitting in one of the circles of knowledge in the masjid of
Rasulullah SAW in Madinah. There was, in the circle, an old man who
looked familiar to the soul and made the heart feel comfortable.
He kept speaking to people, a sweet,
impressive speech. When he left, people said, "Whoever wants to
look at a man who is from the people of the Jannah, let him look at
that man."
"Who is that man?"
I asked. '" Abdullah ibn Salam," I was told. I said to
myself, "By Allah, I will follow him," and I did. He walked
until he was almost out of Madinah, Then, he entered his house. I
asked his permission to come in, and he welcomed me into his home.
He said: "What is
your need, my brother?"
I told him that I had
heard people in the masjid saying that whoever wants to look at a man
who is from the people of the Jannah, let him look at him. I told him
that this was why I had followed him, to find
out how people knew that
he is from the people of the Jannah. He said, "Only Allah knows
the people of the Jannah."
"Yes," I
replied, "but there must be some reason for what they said."
"I'll tell you the reason," he said. "One night,
during the time of Rasulullah SAW as I was sleeping, a man came to me
and told me to stand up. He took my hand. There was a way on my left
which I was about to follow, but he said, 'Leave it, it is not
yours.' Then looked and saw an obvious way on my right, whereupon he
said, 'Take it.' I took it until I reached a large, .beautiful
garden, green and flourishing. In the middle of this garden was an
iron pillar fixed in the ground and ending in the sky. On top of this
iron pillar, there was a golden ring. 'Go up,' said the man. 'I
can't,' I replied.
Then, a servant came and
lifted me up to the top, and I took the ring with both hands. I
remained attached to it until I woke up. The next morning, I went to
Rasulullah SAW and told him about my dream and he said, 'The way you
saw at your left is the way of the sahabah of the left, the dwellers
of hell. The way you saw at your right is the way of the sahabah of
the right, the dwellers of the Jannah. The garden that attracted you,
with its greenness and bloom, is Islam. The pillar, in the midst of
it, is the pillar of religion. The ring is the most trustworthy
hand-hold (al-'urwaht al-wuthqii). You will keep holding it until you
die. '" And thus he ended his story.
May Allah SWT bless 'Abdullah ibn
Salam RA and indeed make true Rasulullah' s SAW promise to him.
