Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu knew only the life of a slave, never tasting freedom or equality. Going from owner to owner, he eventually became property of a man called Ummayah ibn Khalaf. Ummayah ibn Khalaf was a rival of the prophet Muhammed Sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam (May Allah send blessings and peace upon him)[1] who was always trying to find ways to convince the prophet's uncle, Abu Talib ibn Abdul-Muttalib, to stop his nephew from preaching Islam.

Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu heard a discussion between Ummayah and some others, saying that prophet Muhammed Sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam has been inviting people to believe in one God and not the idols that the people of Mecca used to worship. When Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu heard of this message he immediately believed in the Prophet Sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam's call and wanted to learn more. This was the beginning of Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu'sjourney to Islam.[1]

 

However the start of his journey was neither joyous or calm. Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu faced many hardships and went through merciless torment yet held on strongly to the belief in one God. With only knowing the oneness of God, Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu began to oppose Ummayah and would say "Ahadun, ahad(One, one)"[1]. Ummayah was infuriated by his slave denying the idol Gods and following Muahmmed Sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam's message. And so, the brutal beatings and affliction on Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu commenced.

It has been reported that Ibn Mas'ud said: "..They handed him over to two young boys who dragged him round the mountain paths of Makkah and he kept saying: 'Ahad! Ahad!'. When the sun became scorching, his master, Ummayah bin Khalaf, would place his back on burning sand of the desert. Then they would place him on his stomach (face down) like a barbecued chicken. They kept reinventing new methods of torture to break his will but Bilal persevered. His master would order for a heavy stone and it would be placed on his chest. Then he would taunt his victim: 'We will never cease to torture you until you either die or you disbelieve in Muhammed and worship Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza'. But Bilal also never ceased to repeat: 'Ahad...Ahad...'" [2]

In addition to this, it is said that "he was beaten mercilessly, dragged around the streets and hills of Mecca by his neck, and subjected to long periods without food or water".[3]

They would mock him. "They would put the idols in his face and say, 'Kiss the idol. Worship the idol, worship Al-Lat and Al-’Uzza'. They would be in his face and they would humiliate him and they would spit at him and they would refer to him with the derogatory term 'ya ibn al-sawdaa’ (son of a black woman)'. Because what they were saying to Bilal that even though your father was an Arab, it doesn’t matter. That’s why that term was so offensive especially to Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu".[1]

"He put a collar on him and he dragged him out in public and he spit at Bilal, he humiliated him, he tortured him and he whipped him infront of everyone. He said, ‘say you worship Al-Lat and Al-’Uzza.’ And Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu continued to say, Ahadun Ahad'- One God, One God. Then, they put burning iron on Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu and they were torturing him in front of the other slaves in particular so that no one would follow his example RadeyaAllahu Ta’ala ‘Anhu. Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu was between unconsciousness and consciousness and Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu was still saying Ahadun Ahad - One God, One God until finally they tried to even kill Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu by having multiple other slaves push this big stone onto his back so that it would crush him to death".[1]

After going through all the severe pain and agonising sufferering, he still repeated the same words, "Ahadun, Ahad". Having such strong will in a horrendous, difficult time and situation is truly beautiful and miraculous.

 

By this time news travelled to prophet Muhammed Sallallahu alayhe wa sallam and his companions, about a slave calling "Ahadun Ahad" whilst in torture and excruciating pain. This was when the prophet Muhammed Sallallahu alayhe wa sallam rushed Abu Bakr al-Sideeq to go and buy the freedom of Bilal RadeyaAllahu 'Anhu.[3] It has been recorded that "Abu Bakr RadeyaAllah ta’ala ‘Anhu comes to Umayyah and says to him, ‘how much do you want for this slave? how much do you want for him?’ And Umayyah ibn Khalaf he says, ‘10 dinars.’ And that is a huge price for a slave at that time. But Abu Bakr RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu without thinking gave him 10 dinars. And then Umayyah laughed and he said, ‘if you would have argued with me a little bit and tried to negotiate, I would have given him to you for even 1 dinar.’ And Abu Bakr RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu responds, and subhanAllah (Glory is to my Lord) look at the change already that is taking place in Bilal’s life, how much the Muslims valued him. Abu Bakr Radeyallahu ‘Anhu just knowing that this slave was a Muslim said to him, ‘Wallahi (By Allah) if you were to sell him for 100 dinar, I still would have purchased his freedom’".[1]"When Abu Bakr paid that huge price for Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu some of the others said, Abu Bakr was only doing that to show off or there was something between him and Bilal, he owed Bilal for something and that’s why he did it. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala (Glory to my Lord, the most High) defended Abu Bakr RadeyaAllah ‘Anhu when he freed Bilal RadeyaAllahu ‘Anhu when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala revealed Surah Al-Layl (92:20), that he only spends ‘Illa Abtigha’a Wajhi Rabbihi Al-‘A`lá' (He only spends to please Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala , for the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and for nothing else ), there’s no worldly gain out of this".[1]

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

References:

[1] http://www.quranweekly.com/bilal-ibn-rabah/

[2] Men & Women around the messenger - Sa'd Tusuf Abu 'Aziz

[3] http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/4722/viewall/