Salman al-Farisi
From naqshbandi.org
Salman al-Farisi radiya is known as the Imam, the Flag of Flags, the
Inheritor of Islam, the Wise Judge, the Knowledgeable Scholar, and
One of the House of the Prophet salla. These were all titles the
Prophet salla gave him. He stood fast in the face of extreme
difficulties and hardships to carry the Light of Lights and to
spread the secrets of hearts to lift people from darkness to light.
He was a noble companion of the Prophet salla. He reported sixty of
his sayings.
He came from a highly respected Zoroastrian family from a town near
Ispahan. One day while passing by a church, he was attracted by the
voices of men praying. Drawn by their worship, he ventured in and
found it better than the religion of his upbringing. On learning
that the religion originated in Syria, he left home, against his
father’s wishes, went to Syria and associated himself with a
succession of Christian anchorites. He came to know from them the
coming of the last Prophet salla and the signs accompanying his
advent. He then traveled to Hijaz where he was seized, sold into
slavery, and taken to Madina, where he eventually met the Prophet
salla. When he found in the Prophet salla the fulfillment of all the
signs of which he had been informed by his Christian teachers, he
affirmed the testification of faith – Shahada. Servitude prevented
Salman from being at the battles of Badr and Uhud. The Apostle salla
helped him gain his release from slavery by planting with his own
hand three hundred palm trees and giving him a large piece of gold.
Once a free man he took part in every subsequent battle with the
Prophet salla.
In Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, we find the following in Salman’s
account to the Prophet salla of his journey in search of the true
religion:
“`Asim ibn `Umar ibn Qatada said that he was told that Salman the
Persian told the Prophet salla that his master in ‘Ammuriya told him
to go to a certain place in Syria where there was a man who lived
between two thickets. Every year as he used to go from one to the
other, the sick used to stand in his way and everyone he prayed for
was healed. He said, ‘Ask him about this religion which you seek,
for he can tell you of it.’ So I went on until I came to the place I
had been told of, and I found that people had gathered there with
their sick until he came out to them that night passing from one
thicket to the other. The people came to him with their sick and
everyone he prayed for was healed. They prevented me from getting to
him so that I could not approach him until he entered the thicket he
was making for, but I took hold of his shoulder. He asked me who I
was as he turned to me and I said, ‘God have mercy on you, tell me
about the Hanafiya, the religion of Abraham.’ He replied, ‘You
are asking about something men do not inquire of today; the time has
come near when a prophet will be sent with this religion from the
people of the Haram. Go to him, for he will bring you to it.’
Then he went into the thicket. The Prophet said to Salman, ‘If you
have told me the truth, you met Jesus the son of Mary.’”
In one of the Prophet’s salla battles called al-Ahzab or al-Khandaq
Salman advised the Prophet to dig trenches around Madinah in defense
of the city, a suggestion which the Prophet salla happily accepted.
He then went ahead and helped the digging with his own hands. During
this excavation, Salman struck upon a rock which he was unable to
break. The Prophet salla took an axe and hit it. The first strike
brought forth a spark. He then hit it a second time and brought
forth a second spark. He then struck for the third time and brought
forth a third spark. He then asked Salman radiya, ” O Salman, did
you see those sparks?” Salman replied, “Yes, O Prophet, indeed I
did.” The Prophet salla said, “The first spark gave me a vision in
which Allah has opened Yemen for me. With the second spark, Allah
opened Sham and al-Maghreb (the West). And with the third one, Allah
opened for me the East.”
Salman reported that the Prophet salla said: “Nothing but
supplication averts the decree, and nothing but righteousness
increases life,” and “Your Lord is munificent and generous, and is
ashamed to turn away empty the hands of a servant when he raises
them to him.” Tirmidhi transmitted them.
At-Tabari recounts that in the year 16 A.H. the Muslim army turned
to the Persian front. In order to confront the Persian king at one
point the Muslim army found itself on the opposite bank of the great
Tigris River. The commander of the army, Sa`d Ibn Abi Waqqas,
following a dream, ordered the entire army to plunge into the
rushing river. Many people were afraid and hung back. Sa`d, with
Salman by his side, prayed first: “May Allah grant us victory and
defeat His enemy.” Then Salman prayed: “Islam generates good
fortune. By Allah, crossing rivers has become as easy for the
Muslims as crossing deserts. By Him in whose hand lies Salman’s
soul, may the soldiers emerge from the water in the same numbers in
which they entered it.” Sa`d and Salman then plunged into the
Tigris. It is reported that the river was covered with horses and
men. The horses swam and when they tired the river floor seemed to
rise up and support them until they regained their breath. To some
it seemed that the horses rode effortlessly on the waves. They
emerged on the other bank, as Salman had prayed, having lost nothing
from their equipment but one tin cup, and no one having drowned.
They went on to take the Persian capital. Salman acted as spokesman
and said to the conquered Persians: “I have the same origin as you.
I shall be compassionate toward you. You have three options. You may
embrace Islam, then you will be our brethren and you will have the
same privileges and obligations as we. Or you may pay the Jizyah tax
and we will govern you fairly. Or we will declare war on you.” The
Persians, having witnessed the miraculous crossing of the Muslim
army, accepted the second alternative.
Salman al-Farsi was eventually appointed governor of that region. He
was the commander of 30,000 Muslim troops. Yet, he was very humble.
He lived from his own manual labor. He did not own a house, but
instead rested under the shade of trees. He used to say that he was
surprised to observe so many people spending all their life for the
lower world, without a thought for the inevitable death which will
take them from the world one day.
Salman was a very strict and just man. Among some spoils which were
distributed one day was cloth out of which each companion had one
piece of clothing cut. One day `Umar radiya got up to speak and
said: “Lower your voices so that I may hear you.” He was wearing two
pieces of that cloth. Salman said, “By God, we will not hear you,
because you prefer yourself to your people.” “How is that?”
asked Umar. He said: “You are wearing two pieces of cloth and
everyone else is wearing only one.” `Umar called out: “O Abdullah!”
No one answered him. He said again, “O Abdullah ibn `Umar!”
Abdullah, his son called out: “At your service!” `Umar said, “I ask
you by God, don’t you say that the second piece is yours?” Abdullah
said “Yes.” Salman said: “Now we shall hear you.”
At night Salman radiya would begin to pray. If he got tired, he
would start making dhikr by tongue. When his tongue would get tired,
he would contemplate and meditate on Allah’s power and greatness in
creation. He would then say to himself, “O my ego, you took your
rest, now get up and pray.” Then he would make dhikr again, then
meditate, and so forth all night long.
Bukhai relates two hadiths which show the Prophet’s salla
consideration for Salman:
Abu Huraira relates:
While we were sitting with the Holy Prophet salla, Surat al-Jumu`a
was revealed to him. When the Prophet salla recited the verse, “And
He (Allah) has sent him (Muhammad) also to others (than the Arabs)…”
[62:3] I said, “Who are they, O Allah’s Apostle?” The Prophet salla
did not reply till I repeated my question thrice. At that time
Salman al-Farisi was with us. Allah’s Apostle put his hand on
Salman, saying: “If faith were at ath-Thurayya (the Pleiades, very
distant stars), even then some men from these people (i.e. Salman’s
folk) would attain it.”
Abu Juhayfa relates:
The Prophet salla made a bond of brotherhood between Salman and Abu
ad-Darda al-Ansari radiya. Salman paid a visit to Abu ad-Darda’ and
found Um ad-Darda’ (his wife) dressed in shabby clothes. He asked
her why she was in that state. She said, “Your brother Abu ad-Darda’
is not interested in the luxuries of this world.” In the meantime
Abu ad-Darda’ came and prepared a meal for Salman. Salman requested
Abu ad-Darda’ to eat with him, but Abu ad-Darda’ said, “I am
fasting.” Salman said, “I am not going to eat unless you eat.” So
Abu ad-Darda’ ate with Salman. When it was night and a part of the
night has passed, Abu ad-Darda’ got up (to offer the night prayer),
but Salman told him to sleep and Abu ad-Darda slept. After some time
Abu ad-Darda’ again got up but Salman told him to sleep. When it was
the last hours of the night, Salman told him to get up then, and
both of them offered the prayer. Salman told Abu ad-Darda’, “Your
Lord has a right on you, your soul has a right on you, and your
family has a right on you. Abu ad-Darda’ came to the Prophet salla
and narrated the whole story. The Prophet salla said, “Salman has
spoken the truth.”
From His Sayings
Sulaiman al-Teemi radiya narrated that Salman al-Farsi
radiya said:
Nimrod starved out two lions, and then released them to devour God’s
bosom friend, Abraham. But when the lions reached him and by God’s
leave, they stood before him in reverence, and they both lovingly
licked him all over and prostrated themselves at his feet.
Abi al-Bakhtari narrated that Salman al-Farsi radiya had a female
servant of Persian descent and he once spoke to her in her Persian
tongue saying, “Prostrate yourself even once before God.” She
replied with disdain, “I do not prostrate to anyone!” Someone asked
Salman, “O Abu Abd Allah, what would she benefit from a single
prostration?” Salman replied, “Each link is an important part of a
chain, and perhaps should this woman accept to offer a single
prostration before God Almighty, then this may lead her to regularly
engage in offering the five times prayers. In fact, one who has a
share in the blessings of Islam is not equal to someone who has
naught of it.”
Sulaiman al-Teemi narrated that Salman al-Farsi radiya said:
If a man spends his entire night freeing slaves from bondage and
another man spends his night reading the Quran and invoking the
remembrance of God (dhikr), the second man would be in a higher
state.
His Passing
Beloved Salman al-Farsi radiya passed away in 33 AH/654 CE
during the reign of Uthman radiya . He passed his secret on to Abu
Bakr’s grandson