He was regularly whipped at night which caused his skin to split open, but the iron-willed Bilal remained defiant as ever. He would not renounce Islam come what may; his faith was as solid as a rock. The more he was punished, the more vigorously Bilal chanted, ‘Ahad’ -The One (God), ‘Ahad’ -The One (God), ‘Ahad’ -The One (God) – thus reiterating the fundamental Islamic belief that no one deserves to be worshipped and glorified other than Allah, the One and Only God, Who is the Creator, Cherisher and Sustainer of the entire universe. Since Bilal considered his battle against Umayyah to be a battle between the truth and falsehood, light and darkness, he was determined to win the contest for Islam. He may have been tall and slim but Bilal’s temperament was solid steel, and his steadfastness in the face of torture and cruelty came to symbolise the true qualities and attributes of a Muslim. So much so that stories of his remarkable struggles and sacrifices continue to inspire Muslims to this day.
The severity of the punishment inflicted on Bilal by his master shocked and horrified everyone in Makkah. Moved by his suffering and plight, Abu Bakr, who was a wealthy businessman and an early convert to Islam, offered to buy Bilal his freedom. Being a cruel and repulsive man, Umayyah was only too happy to accept Abu Bakr’s offer of money in exchange for Bilal’s freedom. Now for the first time in his life, Bilal was a free man who bowed before none, other than the One True God. Bilal was very grateful to Abu Bakr for his kindness and the Prophet was also delighted when he was told that Bilal was at last a free man. Islam – as promulgated by the Prophet – was against slavery and bondage, and Muhammad never failed to remind his followers that it was a truly detestable practice which has no place in a civilised society. He, therefore, actively encouraged his companions to free people from slavery for, according to Islam, all human beings are born free, enjoying equal status and freedom before God, irrespective of their race, colour and gender. This revolutionary message spoke to Bilal in such a powerful way that even Umayyah’s relentless persecution and punishment failed to undermine his love for Islam.
Though Bilal was now a free man, he knew living as a Muslim in Makkah would not be easy. Since even the Prophet and his prominent companions like Abu Bakr and Umar were not spared by the powerful Makkan chiefs, he decided to keep a low profile during this testing and tumultuous period in early Islamic history. He stayed with the Prophet as much as he could to study and learn about Islam in order to strengthen his faith and conviction. So, when the Prophet eventually left his native Makkah for Madinah in 622, Bilal followed suit. The Prophet and his companions received a warm welcome from the people of Madinah and Bilal helped to construct the masjid al-nabi (or ‘the Prophet’s mosque’), which subsequently became the main centre of activities for the early Muslim community. During this period he acted as an aide to the Prophet and kept a close eye on the income and expenditure of the first public treasury (bait al-mal) established by the Prophet. His role as an aide enabled him to work very closely with the Prophet and learn more about his personal habits and practices. Referring to the Prophet, Bilal once stated: ‘He never kept anything for the future. I arranged money for him. When a needy person came to him, he would send him over to me and I would then arrange for his needs by borrowing money from someone. This is what usually happened.’
As a prominent aide and supporter of the Prophet, Bilal discharged his duties scrupulously; he was widely respected for his honesty, integrity and tremendous sacrifices for Islam during its early days and so was well qualified for this role. Being also very reliable and competent, Bilal fulfilled his responsibilities with both efficiency and effectiveness, so that whenever anyone came to the Prophet for anything, he would direct them to Bilal who ensured their needs were fully met. His devotion and dedication to the Prophet thus won him the support and admiration of everyone. Moreover, after the building of the Prophet’s mosque was completed, he encouraged his companions to perform their five daily prayers (salat) in congregation (jama’ah) in the mosque, which the Prophet himself led. But when the Muslim community in Madinah began to expand rapidly, it was not always possible for everyone, especially those who worked in the farms and orchards, to know the precise time of each prayer. As the Muslims were aware that the Christians used bells to call their people to the church and the Jews blew a horn to summon their people to religious service, a number of companions suggested that they, too, should devise a method for calling the faithful to the five daily prayers. The Prophet thought this was a good idea, but he was keen to devise a system which would differentiate the Muslims from the Jewish and Christian practices. Some companions suggested they should kindle a fire before every prayer, while others said they could clap two pieces of wood to signal the start of the prayer time. However, none of these suggestions appealed to the Prophet.
Then, one day, a companion called Abdullah ibn Zaid appeared before the Prophet and said he saw in a dream where a person was calling all the Muslims to prayer from the roof of the mosque. Subsequently, Umar appeared and confirmed that he had had a similar dream. The Prophet and his companions liked this idea. The adhan (or ‘call to prayer’) was thus instituted by the order of the Prophet. It consisted of repeating the following formulas:
Allahu Akbar (God is great),
Ashadu Allah-ilaha illa Allah (I bear wintness that there is no god but God)
Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah (I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s Messenger),
Haiya alas salah (Hasten to Prayer),
Haiya alal falah (Hasten to Success),
Allahu Akbar (God is great),
La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but God).
Since Bilal had the most beautiful voice, the Prophet asked him to go into the masjid al-nabi and make the first historic call to prayer in his sweet and melodious voice. As soon as Bilal completed the first adhan, the Muslims of Madinah flocked to the Prophet’s mosque and performed their prayers in a congregation led by the Prophet himself. Thus Bilal became the first, and the most famous, mu’adhdhin (or ‘caller to prayer’) in Islamic history. From that day on, the adhan became associated with the name of Bilal. Indeed, following in his footsteps, Muslims have continued to implement the adhan in every corner of the earth in order to summon the faithful to five daily prayers. Today, every time an adhan is called out we are reminded of Bilal who first declared this beautiful announcement from the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah. Thanks to the adhan, the name and fame of Bilal continues to spread across the world to this day. By contrast, Umayyah, his chief tormentor, is today remembered as a cruel and pathetic man who was put to the sword by Bilal at the Battle of Badr for his unspeakable cruelty and inhumanity towards him.
If Bilal was very fond of the Prophet, the Prophet in turn admired him for his devotion, dedication, hardwork and sincerity. Such was Bilal’s greatness that the Prophet once asked him, ‘What shoes were those you wore last night? Verily, as I journeyed in Heaven and was mounting the stairs of God I heard your footsteps before me though I could not see them.’ Moved by these beautiful words, Bilal resolved to stay with the Prophet and serve him for the rest of his life. When the Prophet passed away in 632, Bilal was so devastated that he could no longer bear to live in Madinah, for his memories of happy times with the Prophet made him very sad and lonely. He eventually accompanied a Muslim army, led by Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah, to Syria and settled in Damascus permanently. When he visited Madinah a few years later, the Prophet’s grandsons, Hasan and Hussain, pleaded with him to make the adhan. As soon as he called the adhan, the people of Madinah came out of their houses and sobbed, for it reminded them of the happier times when the Prophet was alive. During the Caliphate of Umar, Bilal served as governor of Damascus for a short period and died around the age of sixty. Although he was born into slavery and, therefore, had no real status in society, he found lasting peace, great honour and true liberation in the fold of Islam. He attained such a lofty position within the early Muslim community that the great Caliph Umar used to call him ‘our master’ for his tremendous services to Islam. Today his name and fame have spread far and wide; he has also become an important symbol of honour and dignity for millions of African-American Muslims.
THE LIFE AND