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Salman al-Farsi [AAH] 2

a non-depleted sea

Some of his virtues [AAH]:

Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah once said “The pioneers are four, I am the pioneer of the Arabs, Sohayb is the pioneer of the Romans, Salman is the pioneer of Persia, and Bilal is the pioneer of Abyssinia”.

It was narrated by Kathir Ibn-Adbullah Al-Mazny, from his father from his grandfather that “The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] drew the line of the trench and gave each ten men forty cubits to dig, so the Muhajirin [immigrants] and Ansar [supporters] argued. Each of them clamed Salman to be one of them. Salman was a strong man, so Muhajirin said: Salman is one of us, and Ansar sais: Salman is one of us, but the Prophet [PPBUH] said (Salman is one of us, Aal-al-Bait [the house hold of his])”.

Abi-Hatim al-Ataby said: Omar received some clothes and he distributed them, so every man got one piece. Then, he ascended the podium to give a speech, and he was wearing an outfit of two pieces. He said “O, people, do you hear me?” Salman said “No, we don’t hear you”. Omar asked him “and why not, Abo-Abdullah?” Salman replied “You gave each one of us one piece of clothes and now you are wearing two pieces!” Omar said “Be patient Abo-Abdullah”. Then he called “O, Abdullah!”, but no one answered him. Then he said “O, Abdullah ibn-Omar!” Abdullah ibn Omar answered him “O, yes, prince of believers!” Then Omar asked him “I adjure to you by Allah. The extra piece of cloth I am wearing, is it yours?” Abdullah said “Yes it is”. Then Salman said “Now say what you want, we will listen”.

His great knowledge [AAH]:

Abi-Gohayfa narrated that the Messenger of Allah made Salman and Abo-al-Dardaa brothers, so one day, Salman visited Abo-al-Dardaa, and found his wife, Om-al-Dardaa, in a very bad shape. So he asked her “What’s wrong with you?” She said “it is your brother Abo-al-Dardaa, he lost interest in the worldly life”. Then, when Abo-al-Dardaa came he placed some food in front of Salman, and said “You eat, I am fasting”. But Salman said “I will not eat unless you eat with me”. So Abo-al-Dardaa ate with him. When it was night, Abo-al-Dardaa went to pray, but Salman told him to go to sleep. So Abo-al-Dardaa did. When the last part of the night came, Salman said to him “wake up now to pray”. So they prayed together. Salman then said to him “Yourself has rights of you, your Lord has rights of you, your guest has rights of you, and your family has rights of you. So give everyone his rights”. When they went to the Prophet [PPBUH] and they told him what happened, he [PPBUH] said (Salman is right). Narrated by al-Bukhary.

Mohamed Ibn Sirin narrated that Salman went to visit Abo-al-Dardaa on a Friday, and he found him asleep, so he asked “what is wrong with him” they told him that “every Friday, Abo-al-Dardaa fasts, and he stays up its whole night to pray”. So Salman ordered them to prepare food on the following Friday and he came back to force Abo-al-Dardaa to eat, and he did not leave until he ate. They went afterwards to the Prophet [PPBUH] and they told him what happened. The Prophet [PPBUH] said (O, Owaymer! Salman knows better than you). – Owaymer is a nickname of Abo-al-Dardaa - the Prophet [PPBUH] repeated it three times while he was patting on Salman's leg, and he [PPBUH] then told Abo-al-Dardaa (Do not specialize Friday's night with worshiping among the rest of the nights, and don’t specialize Friday's days for fasting among the rest of the days).

Thabet al-banany narrated that Abo-al-Dardaa went with Salman to the family of Bani Layth to ask for their daughter’s hand for marriage to Salman. So Abo-al-Dardaa was telling the family about the great things about Salman and his accomplishments in Islam. But they said “we will not marry our daughter to Salman, but we will marry her to you, Abo-al-Dardaa”. So Abo-al-Dardaa married their daughter. When he left their house he spoke with Salman who was waiting outside, and told him “I want to tell you something but I feel shy”. So Salman asked him “What happened?” He said to Salman “I married the girl that you wanted to marry”. Salman said “I am the one who should be shy for proposing to the girl that Allah has destined for you”.

His asceticism [AAH]:

Al-Hassan narrated that the grant of Salman, while he was a prince over nearly 30,000 Muslims, was 5,000 (Dirham). Yet use to speak to the people wearing a cloak, that he wears part and sits on the other part. As he used to distribute all his grant, when he receives it, among the poor and needy, and he eats from his work.

Malik Ibn-Anas narrated that Salman used to sit in the shadow wherever it goes because he did not have a house for himself. One man said to him "Why do not we build you a house to protect you with its shadow from the heat and protect you from the cold. Salman agreed, but when the man went to build it, Salman called him and asked “how are you going to build it?” the man said “I will make it exactly to fit you, so when you stand up the ceiling touches the top of your head, and when you lay down its wall touches your feet”. Salman said “Yes”.

Ebadah ibn Salim said that Salman had a tent made from a cloak while he was the prince of the people.

Abd-ar-Rahman as-Salamy said that Salman married a woman from Kandah. On his wedding night, his friends went with him to the house of the woman. When they reached the house he said to them "Go back, may Allah reward you". He dod not let them in the house. When he looked at the house, he found it covered with curtains, so he said "What happened to your house? Does it have a fever? Or the Ka'ba has been transformed to Kandah?" He did not enter until they removed all the curtains except for the door ones. When he entered the house he found a lot of effects, so he asked "whose effects are these?" They said "yours and your wife's". He said "that is not what my intimate companion, the Messenger of Allah, advised me. My intimate companion advised me not to have effects except as those of a rider". He also saw servants, so he said "Whose servants are these?" They said "Yours and your wife's". He said "That is not what my intimate companion advised me. My intimate companion advised me not to keep except what marry or give for marriage. And if I did and they did something wrong, then I will carry as much sins as they did, without decreasing their sins". Then he said to the women staying with his wife "are you going to leave me to my wife?" They said "Yes", and they left. So he closed the door and the curtains. Then he came to his wife and wiped her forelock, and prayed for her to be blessed. Then he said to her are "I am going to tell you something, so are you going to obey me?" She said "Yes, I am sitting the way of an obeying one". He said "My intimate companion advised me, when I come together with my wife, to gather on the obedience of Allah". Then he stood up and she followed him to the Masjid, and they prayed as much as they could. Then they went back and slept together. In the morning, his companions came to him and asked him "How did you find your family?" He looked the other way, but they asked him again and looked the other way again, three times. Then he said "Allah veils, the hides, and the doors to hide what is behind it. You can only ask about what appears to you. But do not ask about what is not shown to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah said (whoever talks about that is like the two donkeys, doing one another in the road)".

Abi-Qulabah narrated that a man once came to Salman while he was kneading, so he asked him “What is this?” Salman said “We sent our servant out for some job, and we hated to make him do two jobs”. The man then told Salman about some one sending him a Salam. Salman said “When did you come?” the man said “Since so and so”. Salman said “if you did not tell me about that Salam, it would have been a denied trust”. Narrated by Ahmed.

His earning from his hand work [AAH]:

Al-No'man ibn Hamid said “I went with my uncle to visit Salman in Mada'in, where we found him weaving wicker. I heard him saying "I buy wicker for one Dirham and weave it and sell it for three Dirhams, I invest one in buying new wicker, the second for my family, and the third for charity. And even if Omar ibn al-Khattab forbidden me from doing so, I would not obey him"”. Al-Hassan said “Salman used to eat from his own work”.

His piety and modesty [AAH]:

Abi-Layla al-Kendy said that the boy slave of Salman said to him "contract me" [he wanted to by himself from Salman]. Salman said "do you have something". The boy said "No". Salman said "then how are going to pay?" the boy said "I will ask the people" [he meant begging]. Salman said "do you want to make me to eat the washing of the people".

Thabit narrated that Salman was a prince of the Mada'in. One day, a man from Syria was bringing a load of straw with him. He saw Salman wearing a ragged cloak. So he said to him "come and carry this", as he did not know him. Salman carried the load for the man, and walked along with him. When people saw Salman they knew him, so they said “this is the prince”. So the man apologized and said “I did not know you”. But Salman told him “I intended to deliver this load to your house, and I will not leave it until I do so”.

Abdullah ibn Barida said "when Salman would gain something, he used to buy some meat and call the leprous people to eat with him".

Omar ibn Abi-Qurrah the Kandy said "My father offered to marry his sister to Salman". Salman refused. Then Salman married a slave named Baqirah. So my father came to him, but they told him that Salman is in a legume business. So he went to him. He found him using his wood stick to carry a big basket of legume – he was carrier the legume himself and marrying a slave instead of free woman, so what a pious modest man!

Maymoun ibn Mahran narrated from a man from Abd-Qays that he said: I saw Salman in a war company. He was the prince, yet he was riding a donkey with some pants and its legs are shaking, while the soldiers were saying: here comes the prince. Then Salman said "indeed the good and evil are after today" – he meant will be seen after today.

Abi-al-Ahwas said: Qurysh bragged one day, in front of Salman. Salman said "As for me; I was created from a dirty sperm and I will go back as a rotten corpse, and I will be taken to the scale. If I am heavy then I am honorable, and if I am light then I am mean".

Ibn Abbas said: Salman came back from a long absence. Omar received him and said "I accept you as a slave for Allah". Salman said "then marry me to your daughter". Omar turned his face away. Salman said "do you accept me as a slave for Allah, but not for yourself". The next morning people came to Salman. He said to them "do you need anything?" They said: Yes. He said "what is it?" They said "you leave that matter with Omar". He said "I swear by Allah that I did not said that because of his power or his command, but I said he is a righteous man so may Allah get a good person out of him and me".

Abo-al-Aswad al-Do'aly said: One day, we were at Ali's and they said to him "O, price of believers, tell us about Salman". Imam Ali said "Where do you come with the like of Tawfiq al-Hakeim! That is a man from us and to us Ahl-al-Bait. He got the knowledge of the first and the knowledge of the last. He read the first and the last book. He is a non-depleted sea". And Moaz ibn Gabal recommended four men for a man to get knowledge from, one of them was Salman.

Of his words and advices [AAH]:

Hafs ibn Amro as-Sa'dy narrated from his uncle that he said: Salman said to Hozayfa "O, brother of Bani Abs, knowledge is vast and life is short, so take from knowledge what you need in the matters of your religion and let the rest of it, to save yourself the safering".

From Ab-Sa'id al-Wahby that Salman said "A believer in this worldly life is like a sick man that has a doctor who knows his illness and his medicine. So when he desires something that will hurt him, the doctor will prevent him, and will tell him 'do not come near it or else you will parish'. And so he keeps preventing him until he is cured from his pain. And so does the believer, he desires many things that was given to some other ones of the provisions, but Allah, Almighty, prevents him and keeps him until he dies, then He takes him to paradise".

Garir narrated that Salman said "O, Garir, be humble to Allah, Almighty, as whoever is humble to Allah, Almighty, in the worldly life, Allah will raise him in the hereafter. O, Garir, do you know what the darkness in the hereafter is?" I said "No". He said "the oppression of the people one another in the worldly life". Then he took a very small stick, that I almost could not see between his two fingers, and said "O, Garir, if you asked for a stick like this in paradise, you would not find!" I said "O, Abo-Abdullah, then where are the palms and the trees?" He said "its roots are pearls and gold, and its tops are the fruits".

Abo-al-Bokhtory narrated that Salman said "the likes of the heart and the body are like a blind man and a crippled one. The crippled man said to the blind one, I see a date bur I cannot reach it, so carry me. He carried him, so he ate and fed him".

Qatada said that Salman said "if you did something bad in secret, then do something good in secret. And if you did something bad in public, then do something good in public. So this would be for that".

Malik ibn Anas narrated from Yahya ibn Sa'id that Aba-ad-Dardaa wrote to Salman "come on to the sacred land". So Salman wrote to him back "the land does not make anyone sacred. It is the deeds that make a man sacred. I heard that you were made a doctor, so if you can cure that will be good for you. But if you are a trainee, so be careful not to kill anyone and go to hell". Then Aba-ad-Dardaa used to be careful and when he judge between two people and they left him, he would look at them and say "By Allah I am just a trainee, come back and tell me again your story".

Abi-Osman an-Nahdy narrated that Salman said "three things I liked so much that I laughed: a hoper for the worldly life while death is after him, a heedless one while he not been neglected, and a laugher with his full mouth while he does not know if Allah accepted or rejected him. And three things made me so sad that I cried: the separation of Mohammad and his party, the horror of the judgment day, and the standing in front of my Lord, Almighty while not knowing if I am going to paradise or to hell".

Hammad ibn Salamah narrated from Abo-Osman that Salman said "no Muslim would be in a shaded land, he did ablution, made Azan [call for prayer], and made Iqamah [the beginning of prayer call] unless he would be praying as Imam for soldiers of angels so many that he would not be able to see their edge", or he said "two edges". He meant the edges of the lines of the performers of the prayer.

Maymoun ibn Mahran said: a man came to Salman and said "advise me". Salman said "do not speak". The man said "no one living can stay without speaking". Salman said "if you speak, then speak with right or be silent". The man said "tell me more". Salman said "do not be angry". The man said "it would be something that I can not control". Salman said "if you get angry, then hold your tongue and your hand". The man said "tell me more". Salman said "do not contact people". The man said "no one living with people can stop contacting them". Salman said "if you contacted them, then speak the truth and give back the trust".

Abo-Osman narrated that Salman said "a servant who is used to pray to Allah in happiness, when a distress falls unto him and he prays, the angels would say 'that is a recognized voice from a weak human' then they would intercede for him. But if he is not used to pray to Allah in happiness, when a distress falls unto him and he prays, the angels would say 'that is an unrecognized voice from a weak human' and they would not intercede for him".

Salim the attendant of Zayd ibn Sawhan said: I was with my master Zayd ibn Sawhan in the market when Salman passed by us carrying a load of food that he bought. Zayd said to him "O, Abo-Abdullah, you do this while you are a companion of the messenger of Allah?" Salman said "when the self gets its food, it will feel assured, it would be dedicated to worship, and the Tempter would be despaired from it".

Abo-Osman narrated that Salman said "when the Muslims conquered Gowkhy they walked through it while there were piles of food like mountains". A man walking by Salman said "O, Abo-Abdullah, do you see what Allah gave us?" Salman said "What do you like about what you see? Each grain of what you see has an accounting for". Narrated by Ahmed.

Sa'id ibn Wahb said: I entered with Salman to a sick friend of his from Kandah to visit him. Salman said to him "Allah, Almighty, tries his servant with a distress then he cures him and it would be as a penance for him. So he would be like a camel tied by his masters then released, it would not know why they tied him or why they released him".

Mohamed ibn Qays narrated from Salim ibn Atyyah al-Asadi that Salman entered to a sick man to visit him while he was in the death struggle. Salman said "O, angel go easy on him". The man said "he says: I am kind to every believer" – it means that the man was seeing the angel of death and the angel was saying that words.

Salman's Death [AAH]:

Habib ibn al-Hasan and Hamid ibn Mwarraq al-Agly narrated that Salman when he was struggling death cried. They said to him "why are you crying?" he said "it is a covenant that the Messenger of Allah took from us, he said (let the effects of anyone of you be like that of a rider)". Then when Salman died they did not find in his house except some effects that was worth 20 Dirham.

Abo-Sufian narrated from his sheikhs that Saad ibn Abi-Waqqas came to visit Salman, at the time of his death, then Salman cried. So Saad said to him "why are you crying? O, Abo-Abdullah. The Messenger of Allah died while was pleased with you, and you will go to his basin". Salman said "I am not crying out of fear from death or caring for the worldly life, except that the Messenger of Allah bound us and said (let the subsistence of any of you be like that of a rider). And all these snakes around me". And there were nothing around him except some effects for his ablution. Saad said to him "O, Abo-Abdullah, take a bind on us so that we keep it after you". Salman said "O, Saad, remember Allah when you are about to do something, when you are judging if you judge, and when give away if you divided".

Ash-Showaby said: Salman got a pack of musk on the day of conquer of Golawlaa, so he kept it with his wife. When he was struggling death, he said to his wife "get me the musk". Then he mixed it with water and said to her "sprinkle it around me, as I am being visited with visitors who are neither humans nor gin". She did and he did not last except for a little while and he died.

The people of biography said that Salman was one of the long lifers, and he died in al-Mada'in during the caliphate of Osman. It was also said that he died in 32H.

Edited by Samir Gamal

Translated by Shayma Basiouni

Whoever wants to read more about the great companions, can browse the companions pages in al-Ahbab site.

Editors Team