Hayatus Sahabah - The Lives of the Sahabah - Part 1 of 3

300 THE LIVES OF THE SAHABAH @,w> (Vol-1)
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Hadhrat Bilaal !%MWj as he was being tortured and calling out "Ahad" ("Allaah is
One"), he would say, "Allaah is One, 0 Bilaal." Waraqa bin Naufal would then turn
to Umayyah bin Khalaf who was responsible for torturing Hadhrat Bilaal
and say, "I swear by ~llaah that if you kill this man, I shall definitely make, his
grave a place of attracting Allaah's blessings and mercy."
Eventually, when Hadhrat Abu Bakr %%%% passed by one day as the Mushrikeen
were torturing Hadhrat Bilaal ?B3W, he said to U,mayyah, "Do you not fear
Allaah for (what you are doing to) this poor man? Until when will you continue?"
Umayyah said, "It is you who had landed him into this trouble. You may rescue
him from this treatment you are witnessing." Hadhrat Abu Bakr said, "I
am prepared to do
-
so. I have an Abyssinian slave who is stronger than him and
more steadfast on your religion. I shall give him to you in exchange for this man."
When Umayyah accepted the proposal, Hadhrat Abu Bakr said, 'You have
a deal." Hadhrat Abu Bakr !B.%%% then gave Umayyah the slave and after taking
possession of Hadhrat Bilaal %i@&%, set him free. Before migrating to Madinah,
Hadhrat Abu Bakr set flee seven slaves besides Hadhrat Bilaal
for the pleasure of Allaah. (')
A narration of Ibn Is'haaq states that when the afternoon heat grew intense,
Umayyah would take Hadhrat Bilaal W%W outside and throw him down on the
burning sands of Makkah. He would then command others to place a heavy rock
on the chest of Hadhrat Bilaal ?B%Uj and say to him, 'You shall be left like this
until you die or reject Muhammad and worship Laat and Uzza!" Despite his
extreme suffering, Hadhrat Bilaal %WW would continuously say, "Ahad! Ahad!"
Speaking about the torture that Hadhrat Bilaal W%!& and the others suffered
and about how Hadhrat Abu ~akr ~,@&!i%
freed them (because of which Hadhrat
Abu Bakr %WWkj received the title of "Ateeq" from Rasulullaah m, meaning
"The one freed from Jahannam") Hadhrat Ammaar bin Yaasir W@!% used to
recite some couplets (which mean):
On behalf of Bilaal and his companions, may
Allaah abundantly reward
Ateeq and humiliate Faakih and Abu Jahal
/shall never forget the night when the two of them resolved to hurt Bilaal
Without having a concern for doing the evil that intelligent men stay fir r?om
They tortured him only because of hk belief in the Oneness of the Rabb of all
creation and because ofhis statement
Y tc?sti& that Allaah is my Rabb and my heart is content with this'
Yf they kill me, let them kill me but I shall never
associate partners with Ar Rahmaan because of &ar for death'
0 the Rabb of rbraheem, Wnus
Moosa and &a, rescue me and do not let me be tested
by those fiom the fimily of Ghaalib who continue plunging into deviation
(1) Abu Nu'aym in HI&# Wol. l Pg. 148).
(2) Paakih bin Mughiera, the paternal uncle of Abu Jahal.