Bilal ibn Rabah, may Allah be pleased with him: life and lessons

Who was Bilal ibn Rabah?

The classical biography Siyar a'lam al-nubala' calls him the freed slave of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) of the Prophet, one of the first to enter Islam who were tortured for Allah's sake. He says Bilal was at Badr, lived a few years over sixty, and that 44 hadith come from him 10.

The books leave his origin open. The classical biography in Siyar a'lam al-nubala' reports one view that he was Abyssinian and also that he was born in the Hijaz 10. Ibn Ishaq, in Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah, says he belonged to some of Banu Jumah and was born among them 11.

What did Bilal go through in Makkah?

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, says seven were the first to declare their Islam openly: the Prophet, Abu Bakr, 'Ammar and his mother Sumayyah, Suhayb, Bilal and al-Miqdad, may Allah be pleased with them. The idolaters seized the rest and exposed them to the sun in iron coats. The report says each gave them what they wanted except Bilal, who held his life cheap for Allah's sake. They gave him to the boys, who took him round the mountain paths of Makkah while he said (Sunan Ibn Majah 150, graded hasan):

The report passes no judgement on the others.

1AuthenticSunan Ibn Majah 150

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, counts Bilal among six men with the Prophet whom the polytheists wanted driven away, and says Allah then revealed this verse (Sahih Muslim 2413b, graded sahih).

2AuthenticSahih Muslim 2413b

Ibn Ishaq, in Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah, adds that Umayyah ibn Khalaf, of Banu Jumah, took him out at the height of the midday heat, laid him on his back in the open ground of Makkah and had a great rock put on his chest until he died or denied Muhammad and worshipped al-Lat and al-'Uzza. Bilal answered "Ahad, Ahad" 11. The text gives no chain, so this is a biography report with no grade.

Who freed Bilal, and what was paid?

Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say this of Bilal (Sahih al-Bukhari 3754, graded sahih):

3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3754

The hadith gives no price. The books give several, and they differ.

Who gave the first adhan, and how did it begin?

Two separate reports tell how the call to prayer began. They are not merged here.

Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, says the Muslims who reached Madinah gathered and guessed the time of prayer. Some suggested a bell like the Christians' and others a horn like the Jews'. 'Umar asked whether they would not send a man to call for prayer, and the Prophet said (Sahih al-Bukhari 604, graded sahih):

4AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 604

In Sunan Abi Dawud 499 (graded hasan sahih), 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, tells it differently. A man in his sleep taught him the words of the call. The Prophet called it a true vision, in sha Allah, and told him to teach it to Bilal, because Bilal's voice was more far-reaching.

5AuthenticSunan Abi Dawud 499

The classical biography quotes a report that the first to give the adhan was Bilal. His edition cites Ibn Sa'd for it and gives no grade 10. Neither hadith says Bilal was first to give it.

What was Bilal's place with the Prophet?

'Abdullah al-Hawzani says he met Bilal at Aleppo and asked how the Prophet's expenses were met. In Sunan Abi Dawud 3055 (graded sahih in its chain, on one grading) Bilal answers that the Prophet had nothing, and that Bilal managed it for him from the day Allah sent him until he died, borrowing to buy cloaks for Muslims who came without clothes. When a polytheist creditor threatened him, he asked the Prophet's leave to run away until Allah gave the Prophet something to settle it. At dawn he was called back: four loaded mounts, a gift from the ruler of Fadak, were his to take, and he paid the debt.

6AuthenticSunan Abi Dawud 3055

What did the Prophet ask Bilal about his deeds?

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, says the Prophet asked Bilal at the time of Fajr for the deed he hoped for most that he had done in Islam, because the Prophet had heard the sound of Bilal's sandals before him in Paradise. Bilal replied that whenever he purified himself, at any hour of night or day, he prayed with that purification what was written for him to pray (Sahih al-Bukhari 1149, graded sahih).

9AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 1149

The report gives no number of rak'ahs, time or ruling. For wudu itself, see how to perform wudu.

What did Bilal himself say in the hadith?

Five reports carry his own words. 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, tells the fourth.

What lessons does Bilal's life carry?

These are what the reports show. They give no rulings.

• Steadiness. Ibn Majah 150 singles Bilal out as the one who gave the idolaters none of what they wanted.
• Honour. 'Umar called a freed slave "our master" (Bukhari 3754).
• Trust. The Prophet left his expenses with Bilal until his death (Abu Dawud 3055).
• A private habit. Bilal named praying after each wudu as the deed he hoped for most (Bukhari 1149).

Which scenes of Bilal rest on weaker reports?

Two scenes appear in the Siyar a'lam al-nubala'. Its text or its editors mark each one.

• The adhan from the top of the Kaaba. The classical biography quotes Hisham ibn 'Urwa, from his father, that Bilal called the adhan on the Kaaba at the conquest. His editors call it mursal, meaning the narrator does not name the companion he heard it from 13.
• A dream and an adhan in Madinah. The classical biography gives a long account in which Bilal, in al-Sham, sees the Prophet in a dream and travels to Madinah. He says of it: its chain is soft, and it is munkar 13.

For the call to prayer that the hadith do record, see the first adhan.

Where and when did Bilal die?

The Siyar differs. The classical biography gives no Common Era year, and none is converted here.

This page gives no description, under the site's rule on the companions.