Submitted by : admin on Non Poem Islam Info

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu
''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah
who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.''
"O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family.
Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". Iam Satisfied with Allâh as My Rabb and Cherisher,Iam Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenger)sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure. Ya ALLAH! ALL the praises are for You,You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are are the Substaner of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for you;You have the Possession of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for You; You are Light(Nur) of the Heavens and Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the Truth, And Your word is the Truth and the Meeting with You is true, And Parardise is True And Hell is true and All the Prophets(peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) is true,And the Day of Resurrection is True. Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your promise is the truth,Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your words is the truth, Ya ALLAH! You have promise and You are the Truth!. Ya ALLAH! You have created Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) to be the most truthful of men and what He(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) has said is the absolute truth! Ya ALLAH! You have promise that You would send one who would revive,restore,rejuvevate Your Din(religion).Ya ALLAH it is geting late and time is not with us,Ya ALLAH You have Promise! Ya ALLAH You have Promise! and Your Promise is the Truth!. Ya ALLAH! Ya ALLAH! you are the one whom no eyes can see! O ALLAH!You are the one whom no thoughts can comprehend!Neither can this narrators describe your Praise and Glory in the way that it should be describe! Nor are you affected by the vicissitudes of time. Nor are you afraid of the revolution of time. OALLAH! You are the creator of time! OALLAH! The weights of the mountains, The measures of oceans, every drop of rains and every leaves that falls from the trees are all within your knowledge. OALLAH! You know all those things that the darkness of Night falls upon. And You know all those thing that the day casts its Light upon. Neither can the Skyhide the other heavens from you, Nor can the Earth hide the other earths from you!; neither can the Oceans conceal those things which are at their bottom, nor can the mountains conceal those things which are in their core! OALLAH! Destine for me in the last stage of life, to be the best part of my life and the best actions at the end of my days and make that Day to be the best of all on which I meet you.! There is no God but Allah, The One Who has no partners. To Him belongs all His kingdom and all the praise, Who created life and death and Who is Alive without Death. From His hands (only) good is done and Who has Power over everything.














I was present.... when Muhammad,Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), walked on this earth. I heard what he said and saw what he did…” And So begins the story of the life of one of Rasulullah's(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) closest Sahabah – Bilal Ibn Rabah. Bilal Ibn Rabah RA was the first Muezzin, he was chosen by Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) himself. (He was one of the miracles of faith and truthfulness, one of Islam’s great miracles. For out of every ten Muslims, from the beginning of Islam until today and until Allah wills, we will meet seven, at least, who know Bilal. That is, there are hundreds of millions of people throughout the centuries and generations who know Bilal, remember his name, and know his role just as they know the two greatest Caliphs in Islam, Abu Bakr RA , Umar RA!,Usman RA and Ali RA. Bilal was a black slave, the son of slaves, and his father and Mother was from Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia). Being born into servitude, Before Islam, Bilal was no more than a slave who tended herds of camels for his master for a handful of dates. Had it not been for Islam, it would have been his fate to remain a slave, wandering among the crowd until death brought an end to his life and caused him to perish in the profoundest depths of forgetfulness. he probably never expected life to offer him more than hard work, pain and drudgery. However Bilal walked the earth at a very momentous historical time. He was a slave in the city of Mecca when an unlettered man began to call the people to worship of One God(The One and only ALLAH-Al-Ahad). This man was Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), may ALLAH praise him, and his message was for all of humanity. Bilal tells of slavery. I, Bilal, the child of slaves, was born into slavery and continued in it until the day my owner, the merchant Umaya, decided to put me to death.
A slave has fewer accidents in his life that a free man, but when they fall, they fall. Upon him, the whip; a slave is only skin. But I am an old man know and here in Damascus I am more in danger from the thorns of the roses at my door than I am from the hand of any Umaya, or from any of his headaches or the caprices of his wine bottle. For a slave never knows, he only anticipates. There is no voice like the voice of your owner. You cannot hide from his voice when he calls you. If you are not in two places, under his eyes or within his shout, you have run away. He bought you and the price you pay is the rest of your life.
It is not my habit to joke about the dead, but I can tell you that when Umaya bought me in the market in Mecca he got more than he paid for. You see, if a man buys a horse he must be careful that the horse will not one day throw him and break his neck. It happens; and when it does, the man has made a bad bargain. But it is only ALLAH who decides who will laugh last. I digress. I must be old indeed to digress before I begin. I cannot give to Umaya, who was only a driver of slaves, too much possession of my memory. Because I, Bilal, slave of Umaya, will tell you of days to be wondered at. I was present- 22 years present- when Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), walked the earth. I heard what he said and saw what he did. Bilal tells of the man who troubled Mecca. That morning Umaya went as usual to sit with the other merchants beside the Kaa’ba.
I always looked forward to the mornings; squatting with my fellow slaves, whispering gossip, as we watched our masters, at their beck and call. But most we could enjoy the shade; and the shade in Mecca is as breath is to lungs. For nothing grows in Mecca; no tree, no grass, no flower, and the rocky hills that surround the city hold the splitting heat of the midday sun long into the night. By the rigours of nature, Mecca is among the inclement places in the world. Yet, even in those days, people who knew Mecca could never get it out of their minds. When away, they longed to return. No oasis or temperate country could satisfy them; it was always pack up and go back.
Even the camels in the desert lifted their heads and lengthened their stride when the word ‘Mecca’ was spoken; even I, a slave, auctioned in Mecca, prodded, pinched and put to run in circles to show my stamina, grew to love the place of my torment. I can tell you that the water in this silver cup, this cool running water of Damascus, is not to be compared to the tangy sulphurous water of ZamZam trickling up in the courtyard of the Kaa’ba- though I drank it only from the cup of my hand.
Why? Why does that brown struck city, in a desolate valley, without a single tree, without bird or butterfly, without one merciful glance from nature, why does it compel the imagination and pursue the mind? You don’t have to look far. The black brilliance of the Kaa’ba rises up like a jewel of Heaven worn by the earth; it has shade like the shade of a thousand palms; it is the ultimate oasis. Even in pagan days it was a place of peace. No man might draw a sword or raise his hand to his enemy or bring any feud, was, disorder or brigandage to the neighbourhood of the Kaa’ba.
The first house of worship of the human race, the Kaa’ba, was built by Ibrahim, the farther of Ismael , who prayed to the One ALLAH only. But such was the confusion of mankind, that this great house of reverance had become a warehouse for idols of carved wood and polished stone, the gods of Arabia; gods for day and night, gods for sure legs and lame legs, gods for luck and journeys. There were 360 different gods- and all of then for profit. Not the true profit of religion, which is gained in Heaven and is forever, but the profit of the caravan, which is found in the market-place and comes and goes like spit on a hot stone. Every year, for an agreed month, the tribes of Arabia came to visit their gods in the Kaa’ba. A great market grew up around the occasion and to it came merchants from Syria, sea traders from Yemen, desert carriers from Persia, slavers from everywhere. The gods and gold were equal merchandise. I tell you all this to put my story in place, literally where I sat in the shade of the Kaa’ba.

However, his faith proved to be true, and the magnificence of the religion which he believed in gave him, during his lifetime and in history, an elevated place among the great and righteous men of Islam. Indeed, many human beings of distinction, prestige, or wealth have not obtained even one-tenth of the immortality which Bilal the Abyssinian slave gained. When a person is poor or destitute, hungry or afraid, or beaten bruised and broken, And he heard a real message of hope, a message infused with the concepts of mercy, forgiveness , justice, truth and Righteous, this message! the message of islam give his Heart and Soul inter strong, a strong that he never experienced before . The poor people,the down trodden were the first people to embrace Islam and flocked to the side of P Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salam), , eager to take comfort in his words and deeds. Bilal!was the first African to embrace Islam accepting the message whole heartedly. his modest lineage, and his contemptible position among people as a slave did not deprive him, when he chose to embrace Islam, of occupying the high place which his truthfulness, certainty, purity, and self-sacrifice qualified him for. For him, all this would not have been on the scale of estimation and honour except as an astonishing occurrence when greatness is found where it could not possibly be. but Life for Bilal was about to get a great deal worse. Like a drowning man holding the rope that will drag him to safety, Bilal clung to the words of One ALLAH!(Ahad!)the One God and they were essential in saving his life. The news of Muhammad’s (sallallahu alayhi wa salam), call began and reached his ears when people in Makkah began to talk about it and when he began listening to the discussions of his master and his guests, Bilal heard the message of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salam), that ALLAH is One, God is One, the Almighty, All Merciful. but he also heard the words of his owner. Umayah lbn Khalaf,a wealthy Meccan, one of the elders of the Bani Jumah of which Bilal was one of the slaves. How often did he hear Urnayah talking to his friends for some time and to some persons of his tribe, he was worried that his livelihood based around idol worship would be disrupted by Muhammad’s (sallallahu alayhi wa salam) message. He spoke to others also concerned about the changes to the political and religious landscape of Mecca saying,“Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salam) was never a liar,never magician, or never mad, but we have to describe him this way until we turn away from him those who rush to his religion.” Many times they talked about the Messenger with words that were overflowing with anxiety, rage, and malice! ‘There goes the man who talks to God.’ It was Abu Jahl’s voice, and his slave squatting beside me was on his feet before the remark was lost in laughter. So he eased himself down again.
‘Why don’t you walk on water, prophet?’ This was Umaya, my master who now answers in Hell.


Bilal, on the other hand, was receiving between those words of insane fury and rage the attributes of this new religion. He began to feel that they were new qualities for the environment which he lived in. He was also able to receive during their threatening, thunderous talks their acknowledgement of Muhammad’s(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) nobility, truthfulness, and loyalty. Yes indeed, he heard them wondering and amazed at what Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salam), came with. Then I saw him pass, Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam), the son of Abdullah, walking alone as usual, his face towards the mountains where, it was whispered, an angel had talked to him. He disappeared around the side of the Kaa’ba blown on by the gales at his back- or so it seemed to the laughter-makers, our masters.
(He) Bilal heard them talking about Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) his honesty and loyalty and about his manliness and nobility, about his purity and composure of his intelligence. He heard them whispering about the reasons which caused them to challenge and antagonize him: First, their allegiance to the religion of their fathers; Second, their fear over the glory of the Quraish which was bestowed upon them because of their religious status as a centre of idol worship and resort in the whole of the Arabian Peninsula; Third, the envy of the tribe of Bani Hashim that anyone from them should claim to be a prophet or messenger. But Abu Sufyan was not smiling- and in all Mecca the man to watch after your owner was Abu Sufyan. His-- story and ours are bound together as are the huntsmen and the hunted, the dog and the deer.
Perhaps the one needs the other; perhaps he helped make us who we are.
Suddenly he stood up and the talk stopped.
‘A man with one god is godless!’ he said. As usual, he had put his finger on the pulse of the Quraysh, for pagans divide their superstitions among many gods and cannot, in their hearts, understand the pure certainty of One ALLAH ,One God. But you could see Abu Sufyan was worried.
‘The gods will leave us and give their gifts to another city if we do not curb his blasphemy.’
He looked hard at Abu Lahab.
‘You are his uncle, it is the responsibility of his family to discipline him.’
Abu Lahab was flustered. He had been sitting apart from the discussion, hoping to be left out. Discipline him? Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is 40 years old! I know, I know, he is becoming a disgrace…to me, to his own family; to you, his own class. Yesterday he adopted his slave as his son. Madness! He gives away everything he has to whoever asks. Madness! He feeds the riff-raff, the debtors…everyday there are ten of them at his door. They are unlucky if they don’t get a sheep. What can we do? My nephew is mad.’
Abu Lahab turned from one side to the other as if they could help explain what was inexplicable- a prophet in his own country. In his worry he caught Abu Sufyan’s arm. Tell me, Abu Sufyan: a man in his prime, strong, handsome, not a grey hair in his head, married to a rich wife, a man who can afford the best in Mecca…and what does he do? He sits shivering in a cave on the mountain…is that not mad? He has a warm bed at home! And all because of an angel he believes talks to him…that angel is a ringing in his own ears.’ Here Abu Lahab sat down wearily. His friends were now embarrassed. A madness in the family is every mans fear because nothing can be done and no advice is right. You can only hope sanity will come back by remembering it. Yet a year ago, you all knew him and respected him. You would not have laughed at him then. He judged your disputes, and settled your quarrels. You went to him when you needed him, a man with a fair mind.’
Abu Lahab beckoned to his slave. What he had to say was said, for the time being. It is my grief that Abu Lahab at other times said more and turned towards the lime pits, when the rivers and trees of Paradise were within his reach. But only ALLAH knows the whereabouts of souls.
Abu Sufyan had made up his mind.
‘What he says of the gods is one thing- serious, I agree. But the gods will look after themselves. What he says to a man is another thing- and that might be dangerous. But we will find out soon. We will bring the slaves and unprotected men who listen to him.

From the day Bilal embrace islam, every event in Mohammad's(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) life was an event in the life of Bilal. Mohammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) called Bilal 'a man of Paradise'.Moreover, the two pillars of his memory, the love he had from all who knew him and his nearness to the Prophet, are enough for a writer who shares the first and is awed by the second. - Bilal defies his master

I was standing in slave position against the wall when they brought in Ammar. They pushed him to his knees, but he lifted his head to them. I saw then that it would end badly. Had he been a slave he would have known the protection of the bent head. But he insisted on his rights as a free man, however low on the ladder, and dared to face them.
‘ they said What does Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) teach you?’

‘Ammar replied: He teaches us that all men are equal before ALLAH as the teeth of a comb.’
I know that I, Bilal, the slave against the wall shivered with cold when I heard these words and I know that Umaya grew red in the face and was hot. But a slave has not the same pulse as his owner.
I’ve often wondered why Ammar was so bold that day. He might have said: ‘Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) teaches us to pray…to speak the truth…to desire for your neighbour what you desire for yourself,’ and they would have turned him loose. But Ammar, ALLAH have mercy on him, opened the book to them:
‘Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salam), teaches us to worship the One ALLAH only.’
Abu Sufyan had, I remember, a fly-swat which he would curl around his neck like a living thing. When Ammar said ‘One ALLAH' the fly-swat rose like a swish of dog’s hair on his back.

Abu Sufyan was not the worst- I reserve that pity for the men of Taif- and besides Abu Sufyan’s own slaves thought him not a bad master. He never raised his voice when an eyebrow would do. But he frightened me with his softness and, that day, he frightened Ammar by presuming to talk equally with him.

‘One ALLAH?’ he asked, very logically, in a voice that seemed only curious.
‘But we have 360 gods who watch over us, who provide for us.’
I remember then something rare: a white butterfly outside the opposite window that would not go away. I remember Abu Sufyan walking around Ammar. I remember. I remember. And why not? In that room, in the next minutes, all my life changed.

‘Doesn’t Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) realize that we live buy giving housing to the gods. Every tribe has its worshipped god. Every year the tribes of Arabia come to Mecca to pray and to buy from us. The gods are both our worship and revenue. And don’t we look after the weak and the poor? Don’t you get your share? Now…’

He paused, as orators do to give themselves platform, and held the room on his next word…‘Were we to replace the 360 gods with one, whom we cannot see, but is supposed to be everywhere, in this garden…in Taif, in Medina, in Jerusalem…on the Moon…where would Mecca be then? Who would come here when they have God at home?’
Everyone seemed satisfied. The merchant prince had put down the One God and a short sentence had been roundly thrashed by a long speech/ the matter might have ended there with no hurt to anyone if my master had not involved me, who had as much part in the proceedings as the wall at my back. But suddenly there was no wall at my back; my name was spoken.

In a sway of silk, Umaya approached Ammar.
‘You say a slave is equal to his master…?’ The silk shivered on his back. ‘Is black Bilal for whom I paid money, equal to me?’
He paused to relish the absurdity of the question. I, ‘black Bilal,’ was really outside the question, ‘equal or unequal.’ I was nothing and therefore neither. Indeed, I might have joined in the laughter as Umaya in a clowning gesture cupped the question in the palm of his hand under Ammar’s nose. No answer was needed. But Ammar- how foolish he seemed then- dared take up the question that everyone else, even Umaya, had dropped.

‘Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) teaches us that all men, all races, all colours, all conditions, are equal before ALLAH.’
There was silence. Then I heard my name again.
‘Bilal.’
How was I to know that when I was called then, I was called from one life to another? But it is only ALLAH who knows the next minute of any of our lives.
I came as bidden.
‘Bilal, show this man the difference between a Lord of Mecca and yourself. Lash his face to teach his mouth a lesson.’
To this day I cannot understand the neatness of the phrase. Except, perhaps, that cruelty is sometimes very neat; certainly torture is precise.

They put the whip into my hand and Ammar looked up at me, offering his face for the punishment.
How can I tell you what happened next? Even now, I cannot look back on that moment without a ringing in my ears and a sense of daze.
I remember, I suppose, very little. Umaya’s bulging eyes and Abu Sufyan’s profile, for he was a man who approved of punishments but would not lower his dignity to watch them.

But Ammar I saw clear. His gaze was pure and peaceful, unafraid, meek but strong. I saw in his eyes strength more powerful than my slavery.
In the moment I, Bilal, changed ownership,changed Masters.
I dropped the whip.

I heard their gasps. They knew what they had seen and I knew what I had done. A slave had revolted.
Ammar scrambled on the floor for the whip. He tried to put it back into my hand. His whispering was like a screaming in my head.
‘Do what they say, Bilal…here is the whip…do it…they will kill you Bilal.’
But this time when I threw the whip down everything became calm to me.

I saw Abu Sufyan gesture to Umaya. I heard Hind’s light laugh and turned towards her. I had watched Hind my whole life without ever daring to look directly at her. So I only saw her in flashes. I did not know, until that moment, that I had already seen all of her. She was only her flashes.
Umaya was calm, even quiet.

‘If you are human enough to have gods, Bilal, then they are gods of your owner. Mine. You will not bring any unseen gods into my slave quarters.’
He glanced at the declining day.
‘I will correct you…but I will wait for the heat of the sun; it has passed its peak today.’
I felt ropes on my wrists and around my neck as they did what they liked with me. I was never more obedient. Then they led me out and threw me down the slave quarters to wait for morning.
- Bilal waits for his death
They left me alone to myself, to stir all night in myself. My master was, as I’ve said, precise in his punishments. A whip in the morning is the best firewood to keep a slave on boil all night- in his description. But I had more to ponder than the whip. I had the sun; Umaya had condemned me to the sun; in Mecca the sun was the cart of execution.
An expectation of death can light many lanterns in a man and, to my grace and favour, that night ALLAH granted me light to see by. I saw again my father and mother working in the steam of the dye vats and the tanners’ yard- my father’s strength so exploited and worn down, that what should have been his full manhood was his old age- my mother coughing, always coughing, until life itself was coughed away. Yet that night, I saw again their tenderness and sadness when they looked at me.
They were Ethiopians from across the Red Sea. I never knew how they came into slavery. They never told me. They endured by forgetting, although my mother said once that though I was born to slavery, I was conceived in freedom. So I always knew that in the most mysterious part of my life, its conception, I had not been a slave.
Yet all men receive their life and station without their knowledge; no man may choose his door; no man may say ‘I enter here.’ Such is the human lot.
That night, again, in the ear of long ago I heard my father and mother whispering whether they should kill me and save me the slavery my birth had bestowed upon me. I felt again the tears on my face, not for myself, but for the pain of their love. As with Ismail, I would have submitted to my fathers will and, as with Ismail, it was not to be.
I saw the day when I came of age to be marketed, to become a slave in my own stature. Then sold and resold among the camels and their sheep of one inheritance or another, one shift of ownership to another. Bah!
I laugh at it now- from sticks to kicks to whips. But that night in Umaya’s slave quarters, tied up from the knees to the neck? I had little laughter in me.
Then, again, in streaks of pain, I began to relive the beauty of the world. The beauty that was passing from me. What was it? A dog barking in the distance; the moonlight on the floor; a man snoring across the courtyard in the depth of his peace. I hardly remember now. How can I?
Thirty years have gone. The mind is too limited to possess itself. Yet I do remember, in that dark night, seeing a blinding daylight a red ladybird upon a stalk. Even today when I see a ladybird I am happy all day.
Ladybirds, ladybirds- what do men think about as death collects their wits?
Then there were the accidents of the evening before. What brought me to this precipice? Ammar? What had I to do with Ammar or Ammar to do with me? He would not have blamed me had I struck him. He even put the whip back into my hand. Yet I, Bilal, a man of nothing, discovered that nothing in my slavery could make me obey.
You might think I made this decision. You would be wrong. For how can a slave decide? He who has no opinion cannot have a decision. Why then had the whip- or was it a stick- fallen out of my hands? A slave is a fear even to himself and I was neither brave enough nor fool enough to revolt. The answer lay elsewhere. Where? with Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam)?
I had seen Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) many times but I had never spoken to him. When the great Fair was over, when the caravans had disappeared into their own dust, Mecca shrank. The streets emptied into familiar faces, thought they passed me, a slave, without much notice and no familiarity. But Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was different. He never passed any man without a look of friendship. Now he was the one witnessing the One ALLAH(one God).
I had been lying there for some hours with the ropes cutting me and my situation pounding within me. I had some hope, I suppose, that whimpering and crawling and licking foot in the morning I might be given the benefit of the inch of life and death. I must have had hope. Hope is the last friend of a man and leaves him only with his last breath.
Morning was coming. A new air pushed through the old air of yesterday. I filled my lungs with it. My mind began to wander back to the One ALLAH. You must know that in those days I was illiterate, my thought had no alphabet, and when I say I wandered, I mean I was a nomad who possessed no wells. But I had my thirst; my thirst was all and my thirst compelled me towards I knew not what. O ALLAH, it is not man who chooses you, but You who choose man. No man may believe except by your will.
That dawn, by the will of ALLAH, I made my surrender to ALLAH. My Islam.
Suddenly, so great a sweetness flowed through me that I was content even in the ropes. My soul sang. I knew that my only comfort would be to be near the One ALLAH. I knew it in a truth deeper than in the mind, in the fathoms of man, in his heart. I began to pray, and my soul rested. I began to praise ALLAH, and my mind was at peace. I began to look at his Mercy, and my fear departed from me. Then the sun rose up by ALLAH’s hand.
When they came for me I thanked them. How could they have known? The proper course would have been to pray to their pity. They thought me mad. How could they have known that I had rested in the ALLAH who created me- and what they did or did not do to me would be done or not be done by the will of ALLAH? Their hands lifted me up.
How could they have known that ALLAH had already lifted me up beyond fear of their hands?
They were quick with me. They hurried me through the streets, and here and there a window closed. For people are not brutal and those who like to look at pain are few and far between, they all, of course, understood and approved my correction- I had defied, discountenanced my owner in the presence of his class. The liberty could not be tolerated. But I still had to be hurried past their houses.To Umaya, who had a hard tooth for a coin, my case was simple. To him I was a thief. I had destroyed my value as a slave; therefore I had stolen from him the price he had paid for me. Only my hide was useful to him now; he could flay it and exhibit it as a caution to slaves.
(He was stripped and staked out on the ground and Umaya took his whip
laid on hot coals to make him renounce his religion, but he refused. Bilal suffered terribly for his immediate acceptance of Muhammad’s(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) message. It is said that he was beaten mercilessly, dragged around the streets and hills of Mecca by his neck, and subjected to long periods without food or water. His owner Umayya ibn Khalaf reportedly, “would bring him out at the hottest part of the day and throw him on his back in the open valley and have a great rock put on his chest; then he would say to him, ‘You will stay here till you die or deny Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and worship al-Lat and al-’Uzza”.Bilal would not renounce Islam, and amidst his suffering he uttered only one word – Ahad (meaning One ALLAH). Bilal continue: I will not dwell on my torture. Pain has no memory; it exists in its own present. Besides, too much has been said about those days and I have found myself too much of a martyr. But ALLAH is stronger than the sun and the soul of man cannot be touched by a whip. I remember calling aloud to ALLAH in the only way I knew, saying the only name for Him that I knew: Ahad! Ahad!,Ahad!‘One ALLAH.’ I, Bilal, who have since summoned ten of thousands to prayer, at that time I knew no prayer. Yet when I spoke His name, He answered me in my heart. I did not scream under the whip, I held my breath for my ALLAH. I did not ask their mercy, but only His.Every torture has its interludes, a recognition of limits. Had I died too soon in the shocks I would have been to Umaya, twice a thief.
It was during one of those interludes that Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan appeared over me in a drift of perfume and passing shade of parasol.
She leaned down to hear my words: Ahad!,Ahad!,Ahad! ‘One ALLAH!.’ Then she turned away and laughed. Hind had a very pretty laugh.
You could swear the slave was preaching,’ she said. Then the whip lashed down on me again, again and again. I’ve often wondered if, for a moment, as in the swing of a new tree in the wind, I went over into death. But who can tell? It is only the dead who know that they have died. Yet I can tell you that I ceased to suffer. My torturers became distant to me; even when they put rocks down on me, weights that would eventually press me to death, I could only feel that they were doing something new and different. I was out of their reach. I watched them, engaged in their absurdities, like the dancing goats at the great Fair of Ukaz. Then I closed my eyes and looked to up to Heaven. Suddenly I saw before me green fields and trees with fruits. I heard the running of streams. I tasted the sweetness of the shade. I entered a garden where youths of every race, both male and female, walked in dignity. They greeted me and led me to a fountain. As I drank, my soul ceased to thirst and I knew I was near ALLAH. Was it a dream, a delirium, a fantasy? Or lucidity? Or had they crazed me with their whip? Or was it all these and poetry besides, for it is by poetry that men persuade themselves.
It was soon over, but I still ask myself: did I, Bilal, a slave under correction, see before me the land of the blessed dead?


It was the Words of ALLAH! through the mouth of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) that transformed a weak Abyssinian slave in to one of the most dignified teacher to all humanity . This savage torture was repeated every day until the hearts of some of his executioners took pity on him. Finally, they agreed to set him free on condition that he would speak well of their gods, even with only one word that would allow them to keep their pride so that the Quraish would not say they had been defeated and humiliated by the resistance of their persevering slave. But even this one word, which he could eject from outside his heart and with it buy his life and soul without losing his faith or abandoning his conviction, Bilal refused to say. Instead he began to repeat his lasting chant: ‘One…Ahad! One....Ahad! One... Ahad! His torturers shouted at him, imploring him, ‘Mention the name of Al-Laat and Al-’Uzza.’ But he answered, ‘One . . .Ahad! One...Ahad!’ They said to him, ‘Say as we say.’ But he answered them with remarkable mockery and caustic irony, ‘Indeed my tongue is not good at that.’
News of the slave who cried out ‘ALLAH is Ahad One!’ even in the midst of torture soon reached Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and his Sahabah. Abu Bakr, Muhammad Rasulullah's(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) closest friend and a wealthy merchant of equal status to Umaya was sent to see about this matter . He came upon the open field where Bilal was being tortured for amusement. Abu Bakr did not lose his temper, for that was not his way, but he remonstrated with the torturers. I (Bilal) heard voices in argument, Umaya’s voice and a milder voice I did not know. I tried to open my eyes but the sun, now at its height, blinded me.
They were talking about money, which was not unusual. In Mecca money was an addiction, as if men’s bowels moved by money and time was told in dirham. I (Bilal) had no interest. I longed to sleep again, never to wake in slavery; never to be under their faces; never to be within the distance of their call. For I knew now what I had never known before. Even in the worst death that a man can devise for his fellow man, ALLAH is kind In the taking of souls ALLAH’s hand is ever kind.

( He said to Umaya, “Have you no fear of ALLAH that you treat this poor man like this?” He replied saying: “You are one of those who corrupted him, so you save him from his plight!” Abu Bakr replied: “Then sell him to me, I (Bilal) heard a third voice. Abu Sufyan, authority itself was speaking:
‘It is against social order to buy or sell a slave during his correction.’
I tried to collect my wits. Umaya was answering back:
‘The slave is dead already! If Abu Bakr wants to buy a carcass for Two hundred dirhams that is my windfall.’A new name had been spoken: Abu Bakr? Why was he here? Even against the sun I opened my eyes. There was a gasp and a stop in their talk.

Umaya, was a businessman and could not give up making a profit, so he sold Bilal for a good price.A moment passed. Then a voice I did not know came closer and called my name to me across the burning distance between us. Umaya was beside himself. ‘The slave kicked. I saw him kick . Then he whispered into my head: ‘Breathe, you black animal.’ It was a turnabout, to say the least. The man who had been knocking the breath out of me for days was now exhorting me to hold onto my last gasp. Surely, life has more comedy than it has laughter. More voices.Umaya was counting and chuckling.
‘You paid two hundred dirham for him but let me tell you I’d would have sold him for one hundred.’
There was laughter. Then I saw Abu Bakr, a man like a lamp.
‘You have cheated yourself Umaya,’ he said. ‘Had you asked a thousand dirham for him I would have paid it.’Surely my price had shot up!
’They lifted the rocks from me. Bilal was sold again. Yes. And Bilal was bought again- but only for a minute. A young man helped me up. I had difficulty seeing him the first time. Then I knew who he was. He was Zaeed, the adopted son of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). I said nothing. I had no need, for he had said it all:You are freed from slavery, Bilal!’

Abu Bakr took me by one arm, Zaeed by the other and together they half dragged, half walked me away. I was not much help to them for my legs would not hold me.
He departed with his Sahabah to Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam),For five days I lay in a darkened room in Abu Bakr’s house, drifting in and out of consciousness. Vague whispering shapes hovered over me with oils, ointments and cooling cloths.Once, when I woke, I saw a man praying in a corner of the room, but then I slept again. On the sicth morning I was able to get up and take my first steps out into the air. Abu Bakr was so pleased he brought in a goat and milked it for me.
Then he told me:
‘ Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) himself prayed beside you for three days until the fever dropped. Only when you were safe would he leave you. I never saw a man so happy. “Bilal is received into Islam,” he said. Tomorrow you and I will go to the Prophet together.’They say I was the third man to believe in Islam. But it is too great a place they give me. I was only the ninth. I take pride in the fact that I was the lowest of the first Sahabah, for surely I was found under a stone. Bilal gave a profound lesson to those of his age and for every age, for those of Islam and every religion, a lesson which embraced the idea that Truth and Faith in One ALLAH,One God could not be bartered either for gold or punishment, even if gold filled the earth,or oppression covers it.

Bilal was cared for and nursed back to health. Upon his recovery he was taken to Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and he stood by his side giving support and calling others to Islam. Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) His forehead was noble, prominent, and he bespoke a generous mind. His smile put joy into you. His eyes, black with a touch of brown, were well opened. His hand, on greeting, was strong. His step was as light as if he were treading on water. When he turned to look at you, he turned with his whole body. He was Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). When I first came to him, he was sitting on a simple straw mat with Ali, his Cousins. He looked at me and his eyes filled with tears.
Ali, who was only a boy then, took his hand.
‘Why are you crying Cousins?’ he asked. ‘Is he a bad man?’
‘No, no,’ replied Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), ‘this man has pleased the Heavens.’
Then he got up quickly and embraced me.
‘It will always be told of you Bilal, that you are the first one to suffer persecution for Islam.’I Bilal Not since my father and mother died, had I felt the tears of another’s love on my face.

I felt like one who had been lifted up safely from the bottom of a pit. Yet I cannot recall the moment the way you might expect, as one of happiness. How could it have been? Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) had wept for me, and I had brought sorrow to the purest of hearts,the Heart of Rasulallah (sallallahu alayhi wa salam),

Bilal said Nor do I understand how my Christian friends can find solace in the tears of Christ, when Christ wept for them. I have my experiences and can tell them. It is no honour to be the cause of grief in a Nabi (prophet). All men say because of these tears I am a richer man. It is not true.
Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) took my arm and brought me to sit beside him for the first time. I must have hesitated. You will understand that I had never before sat in the presence of a member of the tribe of Quraish. My station was to stand. I know I hesitated, because Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) made a small joke to help me: Ali, he said, would not show us his tricks while we were standing.
So I sat by him for the first time and began there my companionship. For twenty-two years, until the night he Passaway, I sat with him, stood with him, walked and rode by his side with him. In Medinah it was always I who woke him in the morning on my way to make the first call to prayer.
I would knock lightly on his door and say: ‘To prayer Ya Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam).’
Yes, I was one of the Sahabah of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), which is a title above princes. That day, I, Bilal, sat down to rise up.
Forgive my smiling, for my little joke is apt.

When Ali did his ‘tricks’ happiness filled the house. He bounced and bounded, juggled and somersaulted backwards into Muhammad Rasulullah's(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) arms. It was indeed a sight to see a Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) catch a flying child. Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) always attracted children as if he had some music within himself that only they could hear. He spoke the language of every age and would joke with children using jokes the same size as their own.
One day he came to prayer in the masjid with a little girl on his shoulders, perched like an angel high over everyone, irreverently pulling at his hair. He set her down only when he prayed and then picked her up again. Her name was Umamah.

But again I digress. I must keep to the banks of my story. My mind overflows when I think of Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) . I am living out my old age in beauty, remembering what he said and what he did. And you must permit an old man some disorder in his story.
Soon the whole household was in. Khadija, Rasulullah's(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) wife, and their four daughters, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Fatima and Umm Kulthum, sat in a small group of their own. They all looked very kindly at me and Fatima began to ask me about the mountains and trees of Abysinnia, of which, of course, I had no knowledge.

Umm Kulthum brought round a basket of dates and Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) chose the softest and sweetest dates for me, trying them with his fingertips as if it would be a great disgrace should I get less than the best. For himself, he took the first that his hand found.

Then Khadija poured us goat’s milk, still warm from the udder.
Though fifteen years older than her husband, Khadija was still a tall, handsome woman who walked with a fine carriage. They were married twenty-five years and, until she died in his fiftieth yeah, he took no other wife, nor did he cast an eye. Yet every heart as some sorrow that cannot easily be put off. The sorrow between Khadija and Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)was the death of their two male children in infancy.

Evening was settling and long shadows fell across the floor. The air stirred and Mecca, which had held its breath since noon, began again to breathe. On such days you can almost hear the air as everyone gasps for it at the same time. Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)rose.
‘Let us go out into the cool of the courtyard.’

I tried to follow him, when suddenly the shock and crippling of the torture overtook me again and I fell back in a spasm. Abu Bakr who was nearest, held me in his arms, while Khadija called to her daughters to bring blankets and warm oils. But Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) had other treatment.
‘Try to stand. Let the blood run,’ he said and reached down his hands. I didn’t think I could straighten my legs, much less put weight on them. But I took his hands, he lifted me, and I rose lightly. I left all my pain behind me on the ground.

You must not suppose that this was a miracle. Because it was not. Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) performed no miracles. He did not cure the sick or miraculously ease the hurt of the beaten slave or raise any dead; he did not walk on water or cause iron to swim, as Elisha did. When the pagans mocked (him) Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) he passed them by and never once called up she-bears out of the ground, as Elijah did to tear apart the forty-two mocking children at Bethel. That evening, when (he) Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) lifted me up and my pain went from me and the touch of his hand, he performed no miracle. I laugh at the word because I knew the man. He gave me strength to overcome my pain. No more. For Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)could find the strength in every man and show it to him, as he found pity in every man and showed it to him.

Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) lived within the human capacity and died the human death. Yet ALLAH gave him a gift greater than he gave to any of His Anbiya (Prophets), He revealed to him the Word. The Qur’an is a miracle for all times.
As he walked out (he)Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) said in a low voice, ‘Bilal, in what ways do you know ALLAH?’

‘I know Him in my heart,’ I said. But the answer did not satisfy me. We went a few more steps and I tried again.
‘I know Him but do not know Him,’ I said. ‘Can you by searching find out ALLAH?’

Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)continued a moment in silence. He seemed not to have heard my question. He stopped and then, in that wonderful motion of intimacy and concern, he turned his whole body to me.

‘Yes Bilal, by searching. By praying to Him, by praising Him and by doing good to your fellow man. But remember always it is not you who find ALLAH; it is ALLAH who finds you.’
A great serenity filled his face and his voice strengthened with assurance.
‘I am Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam),’ he said. ‘and I know that the way to ALLAH is Islam.’

This was the second time that memorable day I had heard the word Islam without knowing the meaning of it, although each time the word meant more. He saw my ignorance and put his hands on my shoulder:
‘Islam is the surrender to the will of ALLAH, who is one ALLAH without partners. Islam is doing right to all men, of every race, degree and colour. All men are equal in Islam, Islam is the religion chosen by ALLAH for man.’

Muhammad dropped his hand and turned away shyly, as if he had said too much to me too soon. ‘It is all from ALLAH,’ he murmured, more to himself than to me. ‘Now I must go pray.’
So ended my first meeting with Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)and so began my Islam.
At the time of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) slavery was a worldwide, entrenched institution. The laws of Islam sought to emancipate slaves; ALLAH mentions in the Quran the expiation for many sins is to free a slave, and it is regarded as an act of piety.

Bilal loved to be in the company of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and became exceptionally close to him. Various traditions mention Bilal having the honour of waking with Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) each morning and spending as much time as possible in his company. The story of Bilal is often used to demonstrate the importance of pluralism and racial equality in Islam. More importantly it is an example of strong,piety and true Faith (being the true measure of a man, rather than race, ethnicity or social status. the Muslim migration to Medina and the great honour bestowed on Bilal, the freed slave of Abyssinia. After the Hijrah of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and the Muslims to Al-Medina and their settling there, Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) instituted the Adhaan. So who would become the muezzin five times a day? Who would call across distant lands, ‘Allah is the Greatest’ and ‘There is no god but Allah’?Hazrat Bilal (Radhiallahu Anhu), First Muezzin of Islam, Bilal Ibn Rabah, Bilal al-Habashi!-----To be continued.
In another tradition: Bilal (ra) was an abyssinian , with both his parents having been slaves, he had been born into slavery.

Although he was a slave he had become a very prized posession of his master.
Known for being trustworthy, and endowed with beautiful Ikhlaq and Wisdom,Bilal (ra) was put in charge of trade. He would be sent with trade caravans across Arabia, to do business on behalf of his slave master Umayahh ibn Khalaf leader of the Makkan clan of Jumah.

He became popular among, the traders and merchants of Makkah, on trading missions they would seek out his advice on business matters. His Handsome features, and his sense of dignity and self esteem made him stand out. They said " If we did not know he was, a slave we would have assumed that this son of a black woman was a prince."

He was blessed with the strong attributes, of kindness and Compassion for others, on trade journeys with his slave master he would, entertain his fellow travelers with his melodious voice, and recite poetry in such a way that the hearts of those who were listening, would be moved they would be reduced to tears. They would say: "O Bilal the heavens themselves are touched by your voice." Little did they know how true that was.

Bilal (ra) on the journey would help prepare food for his fellow travelers, but he would not eat until everyone else even fellow slaves had eaten to their full.

It was on one of these journeys that he first met, Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra). He and Bilal (ra)were blessed with many similar characteristics, they immediately became friends. Abu Bakr (ra) had no prejudices in his heart, rich or poor, slave or nobleman, Abu Bakr (ra) treated everyone with equal respect and honor.

The Noblemen of the Quraysh would tease him and say "If we did not know better , we would have assumed you and this slave the son of a black woman are brothers." Abu Bakr (ra) would respond. " He may be a slave but I swear that Bilal (ra) is a King amongst Men."

During one such Journey Bilal(ra) saw Abu Bakr (ra) heading towards a Monastery, Bilal (ra) joined him, Abu Bakr (ra) wanted to get the interpretation
of a dream he had.In the dream he had seen the SUN and the MOON falling into his lap, he had picked them up and placed inside his cloak.He related his dream to the Monk.

The Christian Monk told Abu Bakr (ra)
"If what you say is true then the Greatest Prophet of God will emerge from amongst your people. You will be his closest companion, and his succesor after his departure from this world."

"Prophet from god". asked Abu bakr (ra) in bewilderment. "yes but not just a Prophet but the leader of them all he will guide people to the worship of Allah, alone.God will send him as a guiding light, he will be the final and the greatest of all Prophets."

Hearing all this Bilal (ra)was baffled he asked " Will Hubal send him or Al Lat or Al Uza or any of the of the other gods of the Kabbah."

The Monk said, " No, he will be sent by god, the creator of the heavens and the earth,who has no partner, and will commission him to to command people to worship him alone, and to treat their kindred well and he shall destroy the Idols."

Bilal (ra) murmured:
" Destroy the Idols?".

The monk retorted:
" Yes he will destroy all of them."

Although Abu Bakr (ra) had never really believed in the Idols, Bilal(ra) was quite perturbed. He had been raised as was the custom to worship the gods of his, Slave Master, and he did so with great loyalty.

After reflecting for several months, he finally decided that these gods had no real value, Why for example did the great god Hubal need people to fix his arm for him why could he not fix it himself, he asked .He continued on this vain until the day arrived when he was informed of the arrival of Muhammad Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). Bilal (ra) had spent weeks if not months pondering over the uselessness of worshiping Idols and wondering what the reality was concerning, the existence of all creation.

One Night as he was a sleep he heard someone whispering his name " Bilal, Bilal(ra)",
As he woke he looked around to see who was calling out his name, he suddenly realised, that it was Abu Bakr (ra) calling out his name.

What could bring Abu Bakr (ra) to the slave Quarters, he thought at this time of the night, it must be something serious.

" O Bilal (ra) I have great news Abu Bakr (ra)uttered excitedly as he climbed into Bilals (ra) room. " The Prophet of Allah (saw) has arrived."

" Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)who is he?" asked Bilal.(ra)

"He Is Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) the Son of Abdullah (saw), he is calling to the worship of one true god, he has come to complete the mission of his forefather Ibrahim (as)."

"Are you sure he is the one". enquired Bilal(ra).

" O Bilal(ra) I swear by the One who has created me that their is no one in the heavens or the earth who is comparable to him, the Beauty of his character is beyond compare, every aspect of his very being exudes virtue, He is the most truthful , most compassionate, most just of all of Allahs creation. Never has a word of untruth been uttered from his lips. I have pledged my allegiance to him
I ask you o dear Bilal to pledge yours. O Bilal(ra) he states that no man is superior to another, except through righteousness and faith."

Bilal (ra) thought and hesitated for a while. " O Bilal(ra) what stops you from bearing witness that their is no god but Allah, And Muhammad is His Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). Bilal(ra) thought for a while and decided that their could be none worthy of worship except one god, and what could be more truthful than a man who says that everyone is equal in the eyes of god it is only a mans belief and righteousness that makes him superior to another.

So he uttered the words of shahada, Abu Bakr(ra) being overjoyed embraced him kissed him on the forehead, bade him farewell and said. " Tomorrow I will take you to Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). so you can pledge your allegiance, to him."

That night Bilal(ra) felt liberated he was now a servant of Allah and equal to all men.


The days of torture and difficulty would soon arrive. For a while Bilal (ra) was in a state of bliss, he would go along secretly under the cover of darkness in the night with Abu Bakr (ra)and sit in the company of the Beloved of Allah,Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam).
Finally the fateful day arrived the Chieftains were holding a meeting to discuss how to combat the growing menace of Islam. Those Presiding over the meeting were Abu Jahl and Umayah ibn Khalaf the slave master of Bilal (ra), He said "Umayah put your own house in order for your very own slave Bilal (ra) has embraced Islam." "Are you sure about what you are saying" asked Umayah. "yes" said his Informer "For I have seen him going to meet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa salam).''
Umayah stormed of in a fit of rage in the direction of his house, To find
Bilal (ra). When he arrived outside Bilals (ra) room , he heard Bilal(ra) reciting something in his melodious voice, it was different to anything he had heard, before. "This Must be the Quran of Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) that has bewitched this slave." He burst into Bilals(ra) room." Bilal"(ra) he shouted Bilal realised his secret must have been exposed when saw the anger on the tyrrants face.
"Yes" what is it said Bilal (ra). in composed and calm manner he knew what was to come but he felt no fear he was free he was the Slave of Allah the one and only.

"what were you reciting?"

"The speech of Allah", answered Bilal (ra).

" The speech of ALLAH (God) since when were gods able to speak?," said Umayah

" ALLAH revealed his book and wisdom to his servant."replied Bilal (ra).

" Stop this nonsense". Shouted Umayah.

"By my Rabb it is the truth,the Rabb of the heavens and the earth and all that is between."


"Oh you traitor you deny our gods, after all that I provided for you," desist from this nonsense or I will visit a punishment upon you that no man has ever experienced."

"Do as you please but I will never turn my back on the truth you may own my body but my soul is free I am free to worship Allah the one and only he is my true master." replied Bilal (ra).

Umayah ordered for Bilal to be put in chains and shackles and started beating him. Desist from this wretched foolishness you son of a blackwoman. He beat him severely. He kept asking him to return to the Worship of the Idols.

"Have you returned to your senses, so tell me who is your Rabb."the Tyrannt asked.

"Ahad" (the one) Umayah kept beating Bilal (ra) until he grew tired. Were has this slave got this energy from to endure such a beating. (he)Umayah said to himself.
" Have you not had enough ask me for mercy in the names of al lat and al uza and all the other gods of the Kabah." said the Tyrannt.

"Ahad!, Ahad!, my Rabb Is the One and only I seek refuge with him but no one else." said Bilal through his swollen lips his face bruised and bleeding .Having grown physically tired of dishing out the beating.He decided on a new plan he would have this Slave beaten and dragged through the streets of makkkah until he relented. We were taught but we have forgotten, It is through the sacrifices of our Beloved Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)and sahabah that we are muslim today. It is through our beloved Bilals (ra) cries of "Ahad" "Ahad" that we are blessed today. It is through the Sahabah,their sacrifices that we recite the Quran today. so every time we hear the Qari recite, Surah Ikhlas, let us remember Bilals cries of "Ahad, Ahad" his body bruised and bleeding the pain was intense. they said who is your Rabb Bilal?" he said "Ahad!, Ahad!" everytime we hear the Azaan let us remember the first Muezzin and his cries Of "Ahad!, Ahad!".

We can not Imagine the Pain and the tears that were shed by our Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). when the angels informed him they are torturing your Beloved Bilal (ra). Yet fear not he remains strong and hail tightly to the rope of Ahad! Ahad! .we can not Imagine How the heart of Abu Bakr (ra) Bled when he Witnessed Bilal(ra) being Tortured. Yet in that desert sand he kept chanting "Ahad!" Ahad!" The friend of Abu Bakr(ra), the Beloved of our Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), Is mercilessly tortured , the heavens themselves were moved, the Angels were in sorrow yet this story has no impact upon us, no impact upon on our Hearts,no impact upon on our Souls or conscience.

Bilal(ra) chants "Ahad!," Ahad!" in the desert of Makkah and the sound echoes in the heavens, the Angels ask who is this saint this friend of Allah whose voice we hear. he chants "Ahad!" Ahad!" and his voice reaches the heaven.

The Angels are bewildered how did his voice reach heaven, they are informed Bilal (ra) is bleeding in pain, and our Beloved Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) is shedding tears in anguish. Let Bilals(ra) Chants of "Ahad!" "Ahad!", resonate in the Heavens until the day of Reckoning.

What answer will we give when we are asked "O muslims what gratitude did you express to your Rabb Al-Ahad.

So let us reflect O Muslim people! on Bilals (ra) cries of "Ahad!""Ahad!". Having failed to break the will of Bilal (ra) by inflicting a severe beating.Umayah the tyrant, fell to even greater depths of depravity.Bilal(ra) already bleeding, and bruised from the torture that was inflicted on him by Umayah, was dragged out of the house the street urchins were called, and told "Drag and beat this slave, through the streets until he is brought back to his senses, and returns to the worship of the Idols".

Bilal (ra) with his hands and feet in shackles was dragged from street, to street.
This despicable act became a carnival with people joining the procession, umayah inviting, each passer by to come and inflict a beating on Bilal. " Have you come to your senses Oh you son of a black woman, what do you have to say For yourself."
Even in the face of this severe torture, Bilal maintained remarkable composure.
"Ahad! Ahad!", he replied. "Who is your Rabb Oh you ignorant slave", they asked. "Ahad!, Ahad! my Rabb is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth and all that is In between, he is the One and the Only their is none that can compare to him".

"Oh you foolish slave, we swear that your punishment will only get worse, beg us for mercy in the name of the idols of the Kabah, if you wish to save yourself, stop saying ALLAH is One, accept our Idols."

By this time the crowd had turned into a frenzied mob, people lined the streets,
they were all taking turns to hit Bilal, (ra) even the Children were being invited to shout curses and spit at Bilal (ra), Bilal being dragged on the ground was now bleeding from every part of his body, his body swollen and bruised. he responded, " Ahad!, Ahad! My Rabb is one, By ALLAH if I could think of a word that would offend you people more, I would have said it."

The mob grew more and more frustrated, the more Bilal (ra) resisted the more they increased in their depravity and torture, the drops of Bilals (ra) blood, were to be found all over the streets of Makkah. They could torture him as much as they wanted, but he would never turn his back on the truth. During all this torture he refused to utter a single cry in pain he repeated the words "Ahad!,Ahad!" over and over again. Even in the face of torture he was completely absorbed in contemplation and zikr of Allah.

This torture had continued from morning, to evening, day after day the mob returned to their homes defeated and debased, they were exhausted from inflicting the torture but Bilal(ra) had remained strong. he felt liberated, His body was in pain but his heart and Soul was at peace, the words "Ahad, Ahad", remained on his tongue throughout.

This scenario was repeated over many days, and every day the torturers, would return home defeated, they had never seen any man show such resilience in the face of such torture.
What Man, What Muslim,What People Could maintain under such conditions, under such torture,under such punishment in this day and time? None!!! There is no people like the Sahaba of Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and there will never be again another people like them!------------To be continued.