At a glance
Companions- Dates
- Died c. 20 AH (c. 641 CE)
- Who
- Freed from slavery, the first muadhdhin (caller to prayer) of Islam
- Stages
- The Call in Makkah, and Treaty & Victory
ProfileBilal ibn Rabah
Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was born into slavery in Makkah and was of Abyssinian descent. His master, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, learned that he had accepted Islam and set out to break him. Bilal was laid on the burning ground at midday with a heavy stone on his chest. Through it all he kept repeating one Arabic word, ahad, meaning One, a declaration that Allah is One.
Abu Bakr bought him and set him free. In Madinah, when the Muslims were deciding how to call people to prayer, Bilal was chosen to give the call himself, because of his strong, clear voice and his sincerity. He was the first muadhdhin of Islam. He fought at Badr, where Umayyah was among those killed.
After the conquest of Makkah in 8 AH, Bilal climbed onto the roof of the Kaaba and called the adhan there, a former slave, in front of the city that had once tortured him.
After the Prophet's ﷺ death, he went to Syria and took part in the campaigns there. He died in Syria, around 20 AH.
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