11 Lesser Discussed Aspects of Bilal bin Rabah

DawudWalid Leave a Comment

The most known companion of the Prophet (SAWS) who was black is Bilal bin Rabah (RA). He is known to have suffered severe torture in Makkah, to be the first caller to prayer and to have participated in the major campaigns such as Badr, Uhud and Khandaq.

Some other and perhaps lesser known aspects about Bilal are the following:

1) Bilal was born in Hijaz, not Abyssinia.

2) His father Rabah was an enslaved Arab, not Abyssinia though he is frequently referred to as Bilal Al-Habashi/The Abyssinian. His mother Hamamah was an enslaved Abyssinian.

3) The Prophet (SAWS) gave him the title “Master of the Callers to Prayer.”

4) He was the treasurer of Ummah’s wealth. He distributed funds to the poor, orphans, widows and wayfayers.

5) The Prophet (SAWS) arranged his marriage to an Arab woman from Bani Bukayr.

6) He entered the Ka’bah with the Prophet (SAWS) on the day of the Conquest of Makkah and helped cleanse it of the false idol deities.

7) He is the only companion to have had the honor of calling to prayer on top of the Kab’ah per the command of the Prophet (SAWS).

8) The Prophet (SAWS) said, “The best of the blacks are three: Bilal, Luqman and Mihja’.” A weaker narration states that he (SAWS) said, “The best of the blacks are four: Luqman, Annajashi, Bilal and Mihja’.”

9) He did not call to prayer during the government of Abu Bakr after the death of the Prophet (SAWS). Upon Abu Bakr telling him to call to prayer after Bilal stated that he wanted to leave Al-Madinah, Bilal told him, “If you freed me for yourself, then I will do what you wish. But if you freed me for Allah, then let me be.” He then left Al-Madinah for Syria.

10) The Prophet (SAWS) visited him in a dream and asked him as to why he had not come to visit him. Bilal then set off for Al-Madinah. When getting to his (SAWS) grave and beginning to weep, Al-Hasan (SA) and Al-Husayn (SA) asked him to call to prayer. Upon Bilal calling to prayer, the People of Al-Madinah wept profusely as they remembered the days of the Prophet (SAWS) walking among them. It’s narrated of this day that the People of Al-Madinah wept the most since the day that the Prophet (SAWS) passed away.

11) Oral traditions state that Bilal’s ancestors went to West Africa and that his descendants were in the royal Keita family of the Malian empire.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

More Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *