Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ
بلال بن رباح
- Dates
- 580–640 CE / 43 BH–20 AH
- Relation to the Prophet ﷺ
- Early convert, freed by Abū Bakr; personal muʾadhdhin of the Prophet ﷺ
The first muʾadhdhin in Islam. An African slave whose voice called the community to prayer five times a day in Madinah.
Life
Bilāl was an Abyssinian slave in the household of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, a prominent enemy of the Prophet ﷺ. When Bilāl converted, Umayyah tortured him in the noonday Makkan sun, pressing a boulder onto his chest to force him to deny Islam. Bilāl answered, through cracked lips: Aḥad. Aḥad. One. One.
Abū Bakr bought him and freed him. After the Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ chose Bilāl's voice — deep, clear, grave — as the first voice to call the Muslims to prayer. He called the adhān in Madinah for the rest of the Prophet's ﷺ life. After the Prophet's ﷺ death, he could not bear to call it again. He died in Damascus in 640, and his grave there is still visited.
Passages that mention Bilāl
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"This is illustrated by the Hadith of Bilal, where the Prophet, peace be upon him, said he entered Paradise and saw Bilal there."
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"Sa'd ibn Bilal said that on the Day of Resurrection, a command will be given to bring two men out of the fire,"
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"their Lord, then away with Ahad the people of Hud. And Allah the Exalted said in Surah the Believers"
Also from this generation
- Salmān al-Fārisī
سلمان الفارسي
The architect of the Trench at the Battle of the Ahzāb — a Persian military tactic introduced to the Arabs for the first time.
- Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī
أبو ذر الغفاري
The companion who most perfectly lived the austerity the Prophet ﷺ taught. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The earth has not carried anyone, nor the sky shaded anyone, more truthful than Abū Dharr."