This is the humbling story of an African man in an Arab society, where as a slave he was considered a commodity, an item of trade to be bought and sold as the owner wished. It is an account of courage, love, and mercy – the story of a man who rose from the lowest status in society to one promised eternal life in the Gardens of Paradise. This is the tale of Bilal ibn Rabah (RA)

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiya Llahu 'anhu reports, "The first to openly voice Islam were seven,. Rasulullah salla Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr, 'Ammar, his mother Sumayyah, Suhayb, Bilal, and Miqdad. Allah protected Rasulullah salla Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam by means of his uncle Abu Talib and Allah protected Abu Bakr by his tribe. As regards the rest of them, the polytheists grabbed them and made them wear steel armour and left them to swelter in the burning sun. Each of them surrendered to their directives besides Bilal. He considered his life insignificant in the path of Allah and he was of little importance to his people. So they handed him over to the children who wandered about with him in the paths of Makkah while he cried, "The One! The One!"

Bilal Ibn Rabah RA was the first announcer of the time of Muslim prayer and the troublemaker to the idols. 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 and Umar RA!

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.

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 holy 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.

Indeed, the black colour of his complexion, 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.

Bilal would often hear about Muhammad

sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and Islam, through the alarming dicussions between his master and guests. Soon he felt drawn to this religion. He would listen to Abu Bakr calling to Islam, and slowly his heart was filled with ' iman .

He went with Abu Bakr to the Prophet

sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and declared his submission to Islam. This was a daring move from a slave who belonged to a staunch enemy of Muhammad. He was the seventh person to accept Islam. Abu Bakr and others of the same tribal status, were spared from harm by the Quraysh.

However, the wrath of the disbelievers fell upon the Muslims who had no tribe to defend them.

'Umayyah ibn Khalaf used to force Bilal to go outside during the hottest part of the day wearing a suit of armour where he would then be thrown face down in the sand and leave him to bake in the sun. He would not return except to turn him on his back. He owuld have a gigantic rock placed on his chest and then say,

"You will stay here until you die or deny Muhammad and worship al-Lat and al-'Uzzah."

Bilal used to endure this only by saying, "One, One."

Abu Bakr passed by one day while they were torturing him. He said to 'Umayyah, "Have you no fear of Allah that you treat this poor man like this?" '

Umayyah replied, "You are the one who corrupted him, so you save him from his plight!" Abu Bakr replied, "Then sell him to me, you can state your price."

'Umayyah who was not to let a good deal pass by, sold Bilal, he added, "I would have sold him to you even if you had offered me but an ounce of gold."

Abu Bakr answered, "I would have bought him even if you asked a hundred ounces." such was this man's worth to him.

This iconic episode in Bilal's (ra) life was well remembered. Some time later, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) asked him about his torture and questioned why, in his pain, he hadn't called upon Allah ﷻ to help him or say anything other than proclaiming His Oneness. Bilal (ra) said that that was all he knew at the time and that had he known anything else he surely would've said it; despite his lack of knowledge at the time, his faith was unbreakable.

Abu Bakr and Bilal went to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam with the good news. There he announed, "I am setting Bilal free, O Messenger of Allah." This greatly pleased the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam not to mention Bilal himself.

When the Muslims were settled in Madinah, Islam became firmly established - salah ,zak'at and fasting were instituted. In the beginning, Muslims gathered for salah at the appointed times without being summoned. Later the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam thought about using a trunpet like that the Jews used to summon to salah . He disliked the idea and ordered a clapper to be made to be beaten at salah times.

Then 'Abdullah ibn Zayd came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I had a dream last night. A man wearing two green garments came to me holding a bell, so I offered to buy it. When he asked me what I wanted it for, I told him that it was to summon people to salah , whereupon he offered to show me a better way. It was to say four times, 'Allahu Akbar' , then to say twice, 'ash-shadu alla ilaha illa Allah' , then twice, 'ash-hadu anna Muhammad ur-rasulullah' , then twice, 'hayyah 'alas-salah' , then twice, 'hayyah 'alal-falah' , then 'Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, laa ilaha illa Allah.' "

"It is a true vision insha'Allah," said the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam adding,

"Go and teach it to Bilal for he has a more beautiful and far reaching voice." For the first time Madinah resonated with the adhan as Bilal was saying it. It was only fitting that the one who uttered the word of Tawhid under the harshest of torture should utter it during the adhan . When 'Umar heard the adhan he rushed to the Prophet and said, "By the One Who has sent you with the Truth I had the same dream about it!"

"Praise be to God." replied the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam .

In the decade after the migration Bilal accompanied Prophet Muhammad SAW on all his military expeditions, and had the honour of carrying Prophet Muhammad's spear. He fought in the Battle of Badr, and in the aftermath he killed his former master, Umaya ibn Khalaf. Bilal was also present at the battle of Uhud and the battle of the Trench.

The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam entered the conquest of Makkah not as a proud conquerer, but as a humble servant of Allah.The Messenger SAW entered it, thankful and saying, 'Allah is the Greatest,' at the head of 10,000 Muslims. He headed for the Kabah immediately and ordered all the idols to be destroyed.

Then he ordered Bilal to ascend to the top of the mosque and call to Prayer, and Bilal called the Adhaan. This was the first time the call to prayer was heard within Islam's holiest city.How magnificent was the time, place, and occasion!

Life came to a standstill in Makkah, and thousands of Muslims stood like motionless air, repeating in submissiveness and whispering the words of the Adhaan after Bilal while the polytheists were in their homes hardly believing what was happening.

History however attests that Bilal occupied a distinguised position among the Prophet's Companions.

Islam raised him to the status that one of the strongmen like Omar bin Khattab addressed him as Saiyydana (our leader).

'Umar would often say, "Abu Bakr is our master and he freed our master." Meaning Bilal. But Bilal would say, "I am only a man who used to be a slave."

Once the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) said,

"O Bilal, what special deeds you have done that I heard sounds of your walking steps ahead of me in Paradise."

Bilal said, "I did not do anything worth mentioning except that whenever I performed Wudu (ablution) during the day or night, I prayed after that ablution as much as was written for me (Tahayyatul Wudu)."

(Ref: Sahih Bukhari: 1149)

Bilal was mu'adhin (the caller to salah ) during the time of the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. After he would make adhan, he would stand at the Prophet's door and say, " Hayyah 'alas-salah, hayyah 'alal-falah , the salah O Messenger of Allah."

The sweet days with the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam soon came to an end, and Abu Bakr As-Siddiq took the command of the Muslims after him. Bilal (ra) found himself struck by the memory of the Prophet ﷺ every time he delivered the call to prayer and was gutted by the devastating loss. Out of grief, he felt that he could no longer call the adhan and left Madinah for Al-Sham because the memories of Madina were too hard for him to live with.

The narrators differ. Some of them believe that he travelled and remained fighting and defending. Some others narrate that he accepted Abu Bakr's request to stay with him in Medina. When Abu Bakr died and Umar succeeded him, Bilal asked his permission and went to Syria.

Anyhow, Bilal vowed the remaining part of his life to fight in the cause of Islam, determined to meet Allah and His Messenger having done the best deed they love.

His melodious, welcoming, awe-inspiring voice did not call the Adhaan anymore, because whenever he uttered in his Adhaan, 'I bear witness that Muhammad SAW is the Messenger of Allah,' memories would stir him, and his voice would vanish under his sadness while the tears cried out the words.

After his departure, he only called the adhan twice more: first,was during the days when Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, visited Syria. The Muslims entreated him to persuade Bilal to call one Adhaan for them. The Commander of the Faithful called Bilal when it was time for Prayer and pleaded with him to make the Adhaan. Bilal ascended and did so.

The Companions of the Messenger of Allah SAW who were with the Commander of the Faithful while Bilal was calling the Adhaan wept as they never did before, and Umar the most strongly.

The next and last time he called to prayer was during his final trip to Madinah. Whilst there, Hassan and Hussein (ra), the grandchildren of the Prophet ﷺ, asked him to deliver the adhan like he used to during their grandfather's time – a request he could not refuse.

His final call to prayer was a momentous event that brought out all of the city's inhabitants to witness the soothing call that the Prophet ﷺ had cherished so much. Though we've never had the blessing to hear his adhan called out loud, every mua'dhin (caller to prayer) since his time will have the opportunity to be among those honored on the Day of Judgment.

Bilal (ra) will be the one to lead them into jannah as he bears a flag, recognized by Allah ﷻ as the first mua'dhin in Islam.

Bilal died in Syria, fighting in the cause of Allah just as he had wanted. Beneath the dust of Damascus, today there lies the body of one of the greatest men of humankind in standing up for the creed of Islam with conviction.

The story of Bilal is the most frequently cited demonstration of Islam's views of measure people not by their nationality nor social status nor race, but measuring people by their Taqwah (piety).Which is demonstrated in Muhammad's(PBUH) The Farewell Sermon in Mina:

O people! Your Lord is one Lord, and you all share the same father. There is no preference for Arabs over non-Arabs, nor for non-Arabs over Arabs. Neither is their preference for white people over black people, nor for black people over white people. Preference is only through righteousness........

Bilal's journey is one that is rich with lessons that our ummah can learn from. It is a story that dismantle the notion that Islam is an idealistic religion that has very little application in our modern day lives. It is the story of a young man with unyielding perseverance in the face of tyranny and oppression – a story of certainty in faith and of brotherhood that transcends color and material wealth.

His memory is still alive with us today whenever we hear the adhan.