English Translation

Ya'qub told us: my father told us, from Ibn Ishaq: Asim ibn Umar ibn Qatadah al-Ansari told me, from Mahmud ibn Labid, from Abdullah ibn Abbas, who said: Salman al-Farisi related his story to me from his own mouth, he said: "I was a Persian man from the people of Isfahan, from a village of it called Jayy. My father was the chief of his village, and I was the dearest of Allah's creatures to him. His love for me continued until he confined me in his house -- like a servant girl is confined -- devoted to the fire. I strove hard in Magianism until I became the keeper of the fire, tending it so it would never go out for even a moment. My father had a great estate. One day he was occupied with some building work of his, and he said to me: 'My son, I have been occupied today with this building and away from my estate; go and inspect it,' and he gave me instructions concerning it. So I went out toward his estate, and I passed by a church of the Christians, and I heard their voices as they prayed. I did not know anything about people's affairs because of my father's confining me in his house. When I passed by them and heard their voices, I entered upon them to see what they were doing. When I saw them, their prayer amazed me, and I became drawn to their way, and I said: 'This, by Allah, is better than the religion we are upon.' By Allah, I did not leave them until the sun set, and I abandoned my father's estate and did not go to it. I said to them: 'Where is the origin of this religion?' They said: 'In Syria.' Then I returned to my father, who had sent in search of me and I had distracted him from all his work. When I came to him, he said: 'My son, where were you? Did I not charge you with what I charged you?' I said: 'Father, I passed by people praying in a church of theirs, and what I saw of their religion amazed me. By Allah, I remained with them until the sun set.' He said: 'My son, there is no good in that religion; your religion and the religion of your fathers is better than it.' I said: 'No, by Allah, it is better than our religion.' He became afraid for me, so he put a shackle on my legs and confined me in his house. I sent word to the Christians and said to them: 'If a caravan of Christian merchants comes to you from Syria, inform me of them.' A caravan of Christian merchants came to them from Syria, and they informed me. I said to them: 'When they finish their business and want to return to their land, let me know.' When they wanted to return to their land, they informed me, so I threw off the iron from my legs and went out with them until I reached Syria. When I arrived there, I said: 'Who is the best of the people of this religion?' They said: 'The bishop, in the church.' So I went to him and said: 'I have become drawn to this religion, and I would like to be with you, serving you in your church, learning from you, and praying with you.' He said: 'Then come in,' so I entered with him. He was a wicked man who ordered them to give charity and encouraged them in it, but when they gathered things for him from it, he hoarded it for himself and did not give it to the poor, until he had gathered seven jars of gold and silver. I hated him bitterly for what I saw him doing. Then he died, and the Christians gathered to bury him. I said to them: 'This man was wicked; he used to order you to give charity and encourage you in it, but when you brought it to him, he hoarded it for himself and gave none of it to the poor.' They said: 'How do you know that?' I said: 'I will show you his hoard.' They said: 'Then show us.' So I showed them its location, and they extracted from it seven jars filled with gold and silver. When they saw it, they said: 'By Allah, we will never bury him,' and they crucified him and stoned him with stones. Then they brought another man and put him in his place. Salman said: 'I never saw a man who did not pray the five prayers whom I considered more excellent than him -- more ascetic regarding this world, more desirous of the Hereafter, and more diligent by night and day.' He said: 'I loved him with a love I had not had for anyone before him, and I stayed with him for a time. Then death came to him, and I said to him: "O so-and-so, I was with you and loved you with a love I never had for anyone before you, and now what you see of Allah's decree has come to you -- to whom do you commend me, and what do you command me?" He said: "My son, by Allah, I do not know anyone today who is upon what I was upon; people have perished and changed and abandoned most of what they were upon, except a man in Mosul, so-and-so; he is upon what I was upon, so go to him." He said: 'When he died and was buried, I went to the man in Mosul and said to him: "O so-and-so, so-and-so commended me at his death to come to you and informed me that you are upon his way." He said to me: "Stay with me." So I stayed with him and found him to be the best man upon the way of his companion. He did not remain long before he died. When death approached him, I said to him: "O so-and-so, so-and-so commended me to you, and commanded me to come to you, and now what you see from Allah, Mighty and Sublime, has come to you -- to whom do you commend me, and what do you command me?" He said: "My son, by Allah, I know of no man upon the like of what we were upon except a man in Nasibin, so-and-so; go to him." He said: 'When he died and was buried, I went to the man in Nasibin and came to him and told him my story and what my companion had commanded me. He said: "Stay with me." So I stayed with him and found him upon the way of his two companions, and I remained with an excellent man. By Allah, it was not long before death came upon him. When it approached, I said to him: "O so-and-so, so-and-so commended me to so-and-so, then so-and-so commended me to you -- to whom do you commend me, and what do you command me?" He said: "My son, by Allah, we know of no one remaining upon our way whom I would command you to go to, except a man in Amuriyyah; he is upon the like of what we are upon; if you wish, go to him." He said: 'When he died and was buried, I went to the man of Amuriyyah and told him my story. He said: "Stay with me." So I stayed with a man upon the guidance of his companions and their way, and I earned enough that I came to have cattle and a small flock. Then Allah's decree came upon him. When it approached, I said to him: "O so-and-so, I was with so-and-so, and so-and-so commended me to so-and-so, and so-and-so commended me to so-and-so, then so-and-so commended me to you -- to whom do you commend me, and what do you command me?" He said: "My son, by Allah, I do not know that anyone remains today upon what we were upon whom I would command you to go to, but the time of a prophet has drawn near who will be sent with the religion of Abraham; he will appear in the land of the Arabs, emigrating to a land between two lava tracts in which there are date-palms; he has signs that cannot be hidden; he eats gifts but does not eat charity; between his shoulders is the Seal of Prophethood; if you are able to reach that land, then do so." He said: 'Then he died and was buried, and I remained in Amuriyyah as long as Allah willed I should remain. Then some traders of the tribe of Kalb passed by me, and I said to them: "Carry me to the land of the Arabs, and I will give you these cattle of mine and this flock of mine." They said: "Yes." So I gave it to them, and they carried me until, when they brought me to Wadi al-Qura, they wronged me and sold me to a man of the Jews as a slave. I stayed with him, and I saw the date-palms, and I hoped it might be the land my companion had described to me, though I was not certain in myself. While I was with him, a cousin of his from Madinah, from Banu Qurayzah, came to him and bought me from him, and took me to Madinah. By Allah, no sooner did I see it than I recognized it from my companion's description. I stayed there, and Allah sent His Messenger, and he stayed in Makkah for as long as he stayed, and I did not hear any mention of him because of the preoccupation I was in with slavery. Then he emigrated to Madinah. By Allah, I was at the top of a date-palm belonging to my master, doing some work on it, and my master was sitting below, when a cousin of his came and stood over him and said: "So-and-so, may Allah fight the tribe of Qaylah! By Allah, they are now gathering at Quba around a man who has come to them today from Makkah, claiming that he is a prophet." He said: When I heard this, a shivering seized me until I thought I would fall upon my master. I came down from the palm tree and began saying to that cousin of his: "What are you saying? What are you saying?" My master became angry and struck me a hard blow, and said: "What is this to you? Get on with your work." I said: "Nothing; I only wanted to make certain of what he said" -- and I had something I had gathered. When evening came, I took it and went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who was at Quba, and entered upon him and said: "I have heard that you are a righteous man, and you have companions with you who are strangers in need; this is something I had set aside for charity, and I see you as more deserving of it than others." I offered it to him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Eat," but he withheld his own hand and did not eat. I said to myself: "This is one." Then I left him and gathered something else, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) moved to Madinah. Then I brought it to him and said: "I saw that you do not eat charity; this is a gift I am honoring you with." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ate from it, and ordered his Companions, and they ate with him. I said to myself: "These are two." Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at Baqi al-Gharqad, following a funeral procession of one of his Companions, wearing two cloaks, sitting among his Companions. I greeted him, then went around to look at his back to see the seal that my companion had described to me. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw me going around him, he realized I was seeking to verify something described to me, so he threw his cloak off his back, and I looked at the seal and recognized it, and I fell upon it, kissing it and weeping. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Come around," so I came around and told him my story as I have told it to you, O Ibn Abbas. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased that his Companions should hear that. Then slavery kept Salman occupied until he missed Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Make a contract for your freedom, O Salman." So I made a contract with my master for three hundred date-palms which I would bring to life for him in barren land, and forty ounces. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Help your brother." So they helped me with the palms -- one man with thirty seedlings, another with twenty, another with fifteen, another with ten -- that is, each man according to what he had -- until three hundred seedlings were gathered for me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Go, O Salman, and dig holes for them, and when you have finished, come to me, and I myself will plant them with my own hands." So I dug the holes for them, and my companions helped me, and when I had finished, I came to him and told him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out with me to it, and we began bringing him the seedlings, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) planted them with his own hand. By Him in whose hand is Salman's soul, not one seedling of them died. So I paid off the date-palms, but the money remained owed by me. Then something like the egg of a hen, made of gold, was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from some of the campaigns, and he said: "What happened to the Persian contracted slave?" So I was summoned to him, and he said: "Take this and pay off what you owe with it, O Salman." I said: "And where does this fall short of what I owe, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Take it, for Allah, Mighty and Sublime, will pay it off for you through it." So I took it and weighed out for them from it -- by Him in whose hand is Salman's soul -- forty ounces, and I paid them their due in full, and I was freed. Then I witnessed the Battle of the Trench with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I did not miss any battle with him after that.'"