Salman the Persian details:Early Years in Persia (Iran)
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According to the investigations and researches of the Arab historians,
Salman was born in or around the year 568 A.D., in a small town in
Persia called Jiyye. The modern city of Isfahan stands on the siteof
Jiyye. Incidentally, Salman was not the namegiven to him at his birth.
His Persian name was Rozeba. Many years later when he became a Muslim,
his master, Muhammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless
him and his Ahlul-Bayt), changed his name to Salman. During the years
when he was atthe court of his master, Muhammed Mustafa, his friends
sometimes, also addressed him, as Abu Abdullah (the father of
Abdullah).
Salman's father was a rich landlord and a powerful political figure in
Jiyye and the surrounding areas. He had much prosperity in the city,
and vast estates in the country, and he had numerous slaves andmany
herds of horse. Since Salman was his only son he lavished all his love
upon him.
Most Persians (Iranians) in those days were Magians or Zoroastrians
(followers of the Persian prophet Zoroaster). Salman was also taught
the principles and doctrines of Zoroastrianism. He was inhis early
teens when he grasped the highly complex, sometimes esoteric doctrines
and dogmas of the Persian national belief and soon he knew as much as
his own teachers and the priests of the Zoroastrian fire temples of
Jiyye did.
In those days in Persia, it was considered a great honor to be a
priest in one of the fire-temples. Service in a fire-temple provided
the priests withstatus, prestige and numerous perquisites. Since in
Persian also, the priests could reach high position in local and
"national" governments, Salman's father managedto get him appointed as
apriest in the local fire-temple while he was only sixteen years old.
For three years, Salman played priest in the fire-temple of Jiyye but
then he began to lost interest in his work. It had become too
monotonous and wearisome for him. The priests were men of limited
vision and limitedknowledge and they were too dogmatic. If he posed
any creedal question to them, they were, in most cases, unable to
answer him; or,they spoke in a language of allusions, historical
allegories and parallels.
One day in spring (circa 586 A.D.), Salman's father had some important
business to attend to at one of his country houses. But before he
could go to the country, some merchants arrived in Jiyye from the
ancient city of Balkh and to entertain them he had to stay in Jiyye
itself. He, therefore, asked Salman to go in his stead, and briefed
him on what he had to do at the country house.
The following day Salman left Jiyye for his father's country estate.
When Salman had traveled a few miles fromthe city, he came upon a fork
in the road, and standing upon the brow of an eminence, he paused for
a few minute to survey the surroundings and to determine the direction
of his destination.
The light was now rapidly advancing from the east, and was tinting the
landscape. Presently the sun rose and as Salman was still basking in
the stream of the rays of the rising sun a grey stone edifice, partly
veiled in golden mist, caught his eye. It was some distance from the
road, and Salman decided to find out what it was and to whom did
itbelong. He, therefore, went near it to take a closer look at it.
Salman, propelled by his curiosity, entered the building to
investigate. Inside, people were conducting a religious service and a
choir was singing a hymn in a foreign language, which he did not
understand. When the service was over, one member of the congregation
came to him, greeted him, and asked him who he was, and what was the
purpose of his visit.
Salman told him who he was, and explained that he wished to know who
they were, and what creed they professed. He was taken to the "high
priest" who explained to him that they were Christians from Syria and
explained to him the Oneness of God, the Day of Judgment, and the role
of the Apostles, Messengers and Prophetsof God. Salman questioned the
Christian priest regarding their beliefs and eventually thepriest
initiated him into Christianity.
When Salman was late coming home, his father became very anxious. His
father sat, hacked with nameless fears and dark forebodings, in the
court of his palatial house, surrounded by his friendswho were trying
to comfort him. Suddenly, Salman entered through the gate. His father
threwhis arms around him and asked him where he had disappeared.
Salman proceeded to explain to his father that he had ridden past a
church of Christians and was with them all day long. His father then
said that he hoped that those people hadn't misled himand his religion
and the religion of his forefatherswas the right one. Salman refuted
his fatherby proclaiming that their religion was better than
Zoroastrianism.
Angered by this, his father threatened him with imprisonment and
torture if Salman did not swear that he had not and will not change
his religion. Salman, however, refused and was beaten and tortured,and
was kept hungry andthirsty in his prison day after day.
One of the servants of Salman's father was a young man called Mehran.
He had reared Salman from his infancy, and he loved him like his own
son. Salman knew that he could trust Mehran, and asked him one day if
he could put him touch with the Christian priest who might assist him
in escaping to Syria.
Mehran was only too glad to give this service to his young master and
he arranged for his escape. After a few days Mehran came to see Salman
and informed him that a caravan was ready to leave for Syria. The
following night Mehran entered his cell, removed the shackles from his
feet, gave him a new set of clothes to wear, and led him quietlyout of
the house while everyone was sound asleep.
Outside the house, a horse was awaiting Salman. He thanked Mehran for
his invaluablehelp, bade him a silent and tearful farewell, and rode
out of Jiyye. Upon arrival in the church, Salman thanked his Christian
friends for whatthey were doing him. Thepriests gave special
instructions to the leader of the caravan regarding the welfare of
Salman. The high priest then committed Salman to the protection of
God. The caravan left Jiyye the same night, and moving at a brisk
pace, put considerable distance between itself and the city before
daybreak.
The Years in the Wilderness
Nearly a month after its departure from Jiyye in Persia, the caravan
arrived in the ancient cityof Damascus. Salman had come to the
journey's end but quite frequently; the end of one journey is the
beginning of another. Salman too had a new journey ahead of him but he
knew that thenew journey would be inthe realm of spirit.
Salman at this time was in the nineteenth year of his life. He was
rangy andmuscular, and he had a powerful build. He was endowed with a
highly retentive memory, and a most penetrating intelligence. He had a
critical and an analytic mind that applied logic to every situation.
In his physical characteristics and his mental attributes he surpassed
all the young men of his age and generation. Just as he was tall,
broad and robust beyond his years, he was also wise, prudent, and
sagacious and his experience. Early in his life, he had cultivated a
temperate personality. In Jiyye - his hometown - he had riches,
luxury, and high status - all within grasp. But he spurned them all,
and he did so not withstanding his extremeyouth. Instead of
seekingpower and pleasure, as other young men of his generation did,
he made the pursuit of Knowledgeand Truth the "vocation" of his life.
He was the idealist par excellence.
After leaving Jiyye in Persia, Salman lived in four other cities. He
lived for ten years in Damascus, and then during the next twenty
years, he lived in Mosul, Nasibin and Ammuria. In each of these
cities, he read, studied, observed, and he assimilated all
thereligious knowledge thatwas extant. He also spent much time in
devotions in the hope of finding the gift of enlightenmentand inner
peace. But his religious experience during this period was almost
entirely subjective. It arose out ofand was identified by means of his
awareness of his own mental states and psychological processes. There
were times when his interior world became so vivid that he lost touch
with the exterior world. This alarmed him. One question that arose
persistently in his mind was if it was right to turnone's back upon
the world and its problems, and to try to win felicity and inner peace
for one'sowns self.
With the passage of time,the specter of doubt began to rear its head
in Salman's thoughts. He feltthat Truth - the Ultimate Truth - was
still hidden from his, and this after an effort to find it that had
spanned more than aquarter century. When Salman was tormented too much
by these thoughts, and when he knew he had come to and impasse, he
turned to God, and prayed to Him to give him deliverance from doubt
and skepticism, and lead him to the destination which He had chosen
for him. Little did he know, the light of guidance thathe wished and
hoped to see, was soon to appear on the horizon.
Slavery
The last city, in which Salman lived, was Ammuria - a city in the
eastern part of Asia Minor- then a province of the Eastern Roman
Empire or the Byzantium Empire. It was in Ammuria that he heard, for
the first time, vague reports of the appearance, in Makkah in Arabia,
of a new prophet. According to these reports, this new prophet forbade
the worship of idols and images and preached thedoctrine of the
absolute sovereignty and Oneness of God.
It occurred to Salman that the Flame of Truth, which he was seeking,
might be the one burning in Makkah in Arabia. Suddenly, Makkahappeared
to be beckoning him to come. He, therefore, made up his mind to go to
Makkahto meet the Arabian prophet as soon as his circumstances would
allow, and to interrogate him personally on the problems, which had
been perplexing him.
Toward late summer in that year, some travelers arrived in Ammuria
from the south. Salman's enquiries revealed that these travelers were
horse traders from a city called Yathrib in Arabia. They told him that
after selling their horses, they would return to Damascus to make
connection with a caravan that was being "assembled" there for the
return journey to Yathrib. Salman met the leader of these horse
traders and requested him to allow him to travel with them to
Damascus, and thence to Yathrib. In return for his favor, he offered
to pay him his modest savings. The Leader of the horse traders agreed.
The journey was long and arduous. But Salman endured the travail with
stoical courage. While other travelers rode theircamels or horses.
Salman walked, a feat of endurance that astonished them.
Eventually, Salman's carvan arrived in the oasis of Wadi-ul-Qura in
the Hijaz, and the leader of the caravan announced that they would
halt there for three days and three nights. In this time, Salman made
plans for the last leg of his journeyfrom Yathrib to Makkah. What he
did not know at this time was that bitter disappointment was lying in
wait for him "justaround the corner." They offered Salman for sale to
the highest bidder among the Jews. Salman protested that he was not a
slave, and could notbe sold or bought but he could not produce any
"witnesses" who would vouch that he was a free man. His Jewish master
made him a prisoner, andthe caravan left for its destination without
him.
Salman attracted much attention in Wadi-ul-Quradue to his gigantic
stature and many showed an interest in buying him. One of the bidders,
however, was a cousin of Salman's master; He lived in Yathrib and
visited Wadi-ul-Qura on business. He became so insistent on buying
Salman that his (Salman's) master agreedto sell him.
Before long, in Yathrib also, a competition began among the Jews tobuy
Salman. His master did not want to sell him but he found one of the
offers so attractive that he accepted it, and sold him. The new master
soldhim again. Thus he passed through many hands. Eventually, a rich
Jew - one Uthman bin Ashhel - bought him.
Uthman and the other Jews had never seen a slave like Salman. They
noted that he didn't talk much but whenever he did, he spoke words of
profound wisdom. His judgment, they noted, was like the judgment of
Solomon himself. His master benefited, not only from his work but also
from his advice and his opinions, which he sought from him quite
frequently. But he was a vicious and brutal taskmaster, and made
Salman work almost non-stop.
Salman's work was difficult and laborious but he did not allow his
adverse circumstances to extinguish the flame that the hope of meeting
Muhammed (S.A.W) had kindled in his breast. The hope of meeting
Muhammed (S.A.W) revived him each day, there was magic in the name of
Muhammad (S.A.W) that never failed to work. Whenever Salman had a
rough day, he reminded himself thathe had a "rendezvous" with Muhammed
(S.A.W), he bounced back.
One morning when Salman began his descent from the top of atree, he
noticed that his master, who sat at its foot, was engaged in talking
with a stranger. From this stranger it was gathered that Muhammed
(S.A.W) had come to Yathrib and the Aus and Khazraj had taken an oath
of loyalty to him. Immediately upon hearing this Salman's mind
constantly wondered how he could finally meet Muhammed (may Allah
bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt).
Salman's Meeting with Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W) and his Induction into Islam
One evening Uthman bin Ashhel was away from the oasis on some
business, and Salman availed of the opportunity to realize hiswish, He
put the ripe and fresh dates which he had earned that day as his
wages, in a bag, and went into the city to find Muhammed (may Allah
bless him and his family), and to have audience with him.
Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W) was living, at this time, in the house of
Hadhret Abu Ayub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), as his guest,
each step that Salman took toward his destination heightened his
anticipation. And thenthe great moment came. Salman the Persian was
escorted into the presence of Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W), the beloved of
God, and his (Salman's) own unseen beloved. His heart was bounding
inside his ribs like a bird fluttering in a cage but he was making a
supreme effort to steady himself. Suddenly, he was arrested in
mid-motion by the vision framed in the arch.
Muhammed Mustafa (mayAllah bless him and his family) was seated in the
reception room of the house. A few companionssat in front of him.
Salman's first glance fell upon his face, and all at once he felt
himself dazzled by a thousand sparkling lights. He heardhimself saying
quietly: "By God, this cannot be the face of a man who has ever told a
lie. If there is any face that can be the face of a messenger of God,
that is the face of this man."
After the exchange of preliminary greeting, Salman stated the purpose
of his visit. Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W) told Salman that the message
that he had brought, was called Islam, and he explained its meaning to
him as total surrender of a man, without reservation, to the Will and
pleasure of Allah. Salman could not wait long enough and begged
Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W) to admit him to the company of those slaves
of Allah who surrender themselves to His Will and His pleasure.
Muahmmed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and his
family), thereupon, inducted Salman the Persian into Islam. The first
requirement for Salman in this induction was to believe that God was
One and had no partners or associates, and that Muhammed wasHis
Messenger. The doctrine of the Oneness of God is called Tauheed, and
it is the axis of Islam. The mission of Muhammed as God's last
messenger to mankind is called Risalet. The second requirement for
Salman was to declare his faith inTauheed and in Risalet.
Salman had been enlistedinto the service of Allah by His Own Messenger
- Muhammed Mustafa(S.A.W) - an honor and a distinction he was to
remain proud of all his life, At the same time, he was also admitted
into the ranks of his (Muhammed's) friends.
Induction into Islam was an appropriate occasion for change of
Salman's name. His Persian name was Rozeba. Muhammed Mustafa, the
Messenger of Allah, changed it to Salman. Salman loved his new name;
he forgot his Persian name, and he is known to history only by his
Islamic name.
Then Muhammed Mustafa(may Allah bless him and his family) read, for
Salman's edification, some passages from Quran Majid - the book
revealed to him by Heaven - and he was carried away by its magisterial
cadences. Those words, which he heard, were "incandescent". And he
sensed that they could not have been put together anywhere but in
Heaven itself.
After this momentous event, Salman came to see the Messenger of Allah
as often as he could,and each time, he brought, either a presentfor
him or sadaqa (charity) for his companions. He brought only what he
had earned as his wages.
It was inevitable that Salman would arouse thecuriosity of the Muslims
who had seen him; just as earlier, he had, that of the Jews.
Eventually, Muhammed Mustafa (mayAllah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt)
himself asked him to tell the story of hislife. Salman then recounted
the saga of hislife.
Muhammed Mustafa (mayAllah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt) embraced
Salman, kissed him on hisforehead, rubbed his hand over his (Salman's)
face, and over his heart; prayed for him, and invoked Allah's mercy
and His blessings upon him. It was a poignant moment in the life of
both of them.
Seemingly the long journey for Salman had ended. He had discovered the
fountainhead of Eternal Truths and Everlasting Bliss in Islam, and he
has become a personal friendof Muhammed Mustafa, the Messenger of
Allah. However, his status as a slave hung like a dark cloud over his
life.
Muhammed Mustafa (mayAllah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt) who was a
mercy for all Creation, was aware of Salman's distress, and suggested
to him one day to ransomhis freedom. Salman broached the subject to
his master hoping that hewould agree to set him free for a ransom. But
thelatter who knew Salman had become Muslim, refused to ransom him
because he believed he would become a soldier in Muhammed's army
andfight against the Jews.
Eventually, however, after the expulsion of two of the three Jewish
tribes of Medina, after their betrayals at the Battle of Badr and the
Battle of Uhud, Uthman bin Ashhel become a littleless unreasonable.
Therefore, when Salman broached the subject of paying ransom for his
freedom once again, he (Uthman) was willing to listen, and he was
willingto negotiate the terms of his emancipation with him.
Uthman specified to Salman the price of his freedom. Salman would have
to plant in Uthman'sgardens, three hundred young date palms, and he
would pay him 40 oz. of gold.
Salman presented these terms to Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W). The latter,
thereupon, turned to his companions, and said to them: "Assist your
brother."
All the companions rose to assist their brother. One of them brought
thirty saplings; another brought twenty; a third brought fifteen; a
fourth ten, and so on, until they had collected all three hundred as
required by the Jew. The Prophet then ordered the companions to dig
the earth in which the saplings were to be planted. When the ground
was ready for planting, he himself came, and planted the first tree
with his own hands. Then the companions took charge of the project,
and planted the other trees. Every tree struck roots, and not one out
of the three hundred was lost.
Three hundred date palms were planted in the garden of Uthman bin
Ashhel but Salman still had to pay 40 oz. of gold to him. He was not
free yet.
A few more weeks passed, and then one dayMuhammed Mustafa (mayAllah
bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt) sent for Salman. When the latter came
into the Mosque, henoticed that he was seated on the floor, and his
companions sat around him. In front of him there was a tray and in the
tray there were some nuggets of gold.
The Messenger of Allah gave the gold to Salman and told him to take it
and give it to his master as the balance of his ransom.
Suddenly everything changed for Salman. The gulf between slavery
andfreedom had appeared to him to be unfathomable and unbridgeable.
But he hadcalled Allah and His Messenger for aid. They had responded,
and withtheir aid, he had cleared the "gulf."
Islam and Freedom had extricated Salman from the vast wilderness of
time which his past had been until then, and fromthat moment, he
became "future-oriented," as fiveyears earlier, he had become
"Islam-oriented."
After his emancipation from the slavery of a Jew,Salman the Persian
became a slave once again - voluntarily. This time he chose his own
master, and they were Allah and His Messenger, Muhammed Mustafa
(S.A.W). This new "slavery" became his greatest pride and his greatest
pleasure.
The Battle of Ahzab or the Siege of Medina
Salman the Persian had just redeemed his freedom when Medina, the
capital of Islam, was threatened by an unprecedented peril. In early
February 627, Muhammed Mustafa (mayAllah bless him and his
Ahlul-Bayt), received intelligence that the polytheists of Makkah had
completed their preparations for the invasion of Medina with a cavalry
and infantry of ten thousand seasoned warriors of Arabia, and also
learned that their resolution was to obliterate Islam in one massive,
coordinated attack.
The Makkan generals might have captured Medina with their
"hit-and-run" fighting strategy but for the presence in that city of a
"foreigner" - Salman the Persian. He worked out strategy of his own,
and his counter-strategy foiled the Makkan strategy. He said to the
Prophet that if a trench, too deep and too wide for the horses to leap
over, were dug on the exposed section of the perimeter of the city, it
would immobilize the enemy cavalry.
When the trench was being dug, one of Muhajireen who was watching
Salman, claimed him as a Muhajir (Immigrant from Makkah). "Salman is
one of us, Muhajireen," he said. But he was at once challenged by the
Muslims of Medina (the Ansar) when they heard this, and one of them
said: "No. Salman is one of us, Ansar."
A lively argument began between the two groups of Muslims - the
Muhajireen and the Ansar- each of them claiming that Salman belonged
to their group, and not to the other group.
Presently, the Apostle of Allah arrived on the scene, and he too heard
the argument of the Muhajireen and the Ansar. He was amused by the
claims of the two sides but he soon put an end to their argument
bysaying: "Salman is neither Muhajir nor Ansar. He is one of us. He is
one of the People of the House."
This is the greatest honorever bestowed upon anyone by Muhammed
Mustafa (S.A.W), the Messenger of Allah. As recipient of revelations
from Heaven, and as its interpreter, he declared that Salman was a
member of his house - the Family of the Chosen one of Allah. No one
else in the entire history of Islam has ever been elevated to such
high rank as Salman the Persian.
Hardly the last spiteful of earth had been cast out of the trench,
when the cavaliers of Makkah arrived, thundering across the desert -
like a whirlwind. But suddenly they were checked in their career by a
strange new obstacle - the trench.
The siege of Medina might have lasted a long time with unpredictable
results but it did not. One of the Makkan generals - Amr ibn Abd Wudd
- lost patience with this "static" or "un-Arab" mode of fighting, and
he decided to change its character by hurdling thetrench, and by
carrying a "dynamic" or an "Arab" war into the camp of the Muslims.
Amr ibn Abd Wudd and three of his staff officers, therefore, went on
an inspection of the trench and discovered a rocky projection in it
which theMuslims had been unableto cut and used it to jumpthe trench.
Once inside the perimeter of the city, he boldly advanced toward the
encampment of the Muslims, and challenged them to single combat in the
classical tradition of Arabian warfare. A duel between Amr ibn Abd Wud
and Ali ibn Abi Talib(A.S.) was fought, with Ali being victorious. As
soon as Amr fell to the ground, the other three knights who had
accompanied him hastily retreated across the trench.
The death of Amr ibn AbdWud was the deathblow to the morale and the
will-to-fight of the Makkan army. All its hopes for quick victory over
the Muslims had lainin him, and with his death, it began to fall
apart.
The failure of the Siege of Medina in 627 was a most significant even
in the history of Islam and of Arabia. It meant that the infidels of
Makkah could never be able to mount another invasion of Medina - the
fortress of Islam. The successful defense of Medina made Islam
"invulnerable." After the battle of Ahzab, the initiative passed,
finally and irreversibly, from the infidels of Makkah to the Muslims
ofMedina, and Islam was able to move into a position of dominance in
the Peninsula.
The Death of Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W), the Blessed Messenger of Allah
Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W) was the sun and moon of the world of Salman,
and with his death, it was plunged into darkness. Salman had known
disaster and tragedy in life but the loss of his friend, Muhammed
Mustafa (S.A.W), was the most staggering blow to him ever. It was a
shock from which, he thought, he might never recover. He felt as if he
might lose hisgrip on life itself. He was 65-years old when his master
Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W) died.
Next to Muhammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bles him
and his Ahlul-Bayt), his first cousin, Ali ibn AbiTalib(A.S.), was the
focus of Salman's live and devotion, The love of Muhammed and Ali was,
for him, the perpetual and unfailing touchstoneof the faith of a
Muslim. He loved and served Ali with the same zeal as he had served
Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W).
In June 656, Ali ibn Abi Talib(A.S.) ascended the throne of the
caliphate inMedina as the successor of Muhammed Mustafa, The Messenger
of Allah (may Allah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt). One of hisfirst
acts, upon taking charge of the government of the Muslims, was to
appoint Salman el-Farsi the governor of the city and the districts of
Madaen inIraq.
At this time, Salman was quite advanced in years. But thanks to his
abstemiousness, and to the Spartan discipline he had imposed upon
himself all his life, he wasin top physical and mental condition.
He left Medina on his 800 miles long journey to Madaen carrying online
a"sajjada" made of palm-leaf on which to sayprayers, a bag
containingcrusts of barley bread, a water bag made of goat skin, a cup
and a pillow. These were all his worldly possessions. However, by the
time he arrived at his destination he had given all these things away,
except the "sajjada", because he saw others in need of these items.
Unfortunately within a few weeks of his arrival Salman the Persian,
the slave of Allah, and the bosom friend of Muhammed Mustafa (S.A.W)
and Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.), died. He was 88 years old at his death,
and was buried in Madaen.
May Allah be pleased with His loving salve, Salman el-Farsi, and may
He overwhelm his soul with His Bounty, Grace and Mercy.
'' Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire '' [Ameen]
-
{in Arab} :->
Rabbanaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wafil aakhirati hasanatan waqinaa 'athaaban-naar/-
(Surah Al-Baqarah ,verse 201)
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