Abdullah Ibn Selam
Husayn Ibn Selam was a Jewish scholar
in Medina. He was respected by all the
people of the city. He lived a quiet
and peaceful life. But he was very
hard-working. Every day he taught and
worshipped in the temple. He also spent
some time in his orchard looking after his palm trees. In addition, he studied the Tevrat. Husayn wanted to increase his knowledge of
religion.
He read in the Tevrat that a prophet
would come and complete the messages of
earlier prophets. Husayn studied
the signs of the last prophet. He
prayed that he would live long enough to see him.
When Husayn heard about Muhammad
(pbuh), he became very interested. He
compared him with the information in the Tevrat. He was convinced that Muhammad (pbuh) was the last
prophet. But he didn’t say anything about him to the
Jews.
When the Prophet left Mecca for
Medina, he stopped first in Kuba. A man
came to Medina and announced that Muhammad (pbuh) was coming. At that moment Husayn was at the top of a
palm tree. His aunt, Halide, was
sitting under the tree. “Allahu
Akbar! God is great!” shouted
Husayn.
“You are very happy,” said his aunt. “But why? You are a Jew.”
Husayn replied, “My dear aunt, he is the brother of Musa. The God who sent Musa also sent Muhammad
(pbuh).”
Halide was silent for a while. Then she asked, “Will this prophet complete
God’s message?”
“Yes,”
said Husayn. “Muhammad (pbuh) is the
last prophet.” Husayn left his orchard
and hurried to meet the Prophet.
When he drew close, he heard the
Prophet say, “O people! Spread
peace, share your food and pray in the middle of the night when others are
sleeping. You will enter Paradise.”
When the Prophet stopped talking,
Husayn stepped forward. He said, “There
is no god but God and Muhammad (pbuh) is his messenger.” Muhammad (pbuh) asked his name.
Husayn said his name was Husayn Ibn Selam.
“From now on,” said the Prophet,
“your name will be
Abdullah Ibn Selam.”
Husayn accepted his new name with
joy. Then he returned home. He told his family about Islam. They all became Muslim including his aunt,
Halide. But he told them to keep their
new religion a secret for the time being.
They all agreed.
Then he went to see the Prophet
again. He asked the Prophet to call the
leading Jews to his house to invite them to Islam.
“I’ll stay in another
room,” said Abdullah. “Ask them about
me before they learn I am Muslim.
Otherwise they will tell you what a terrible person I am.”
The Prophet invited some Jewish
leaders to his home. He told them about
Islam. Then he invited them to become
Muslim. But they only argued with
him. He understood they would not
accept the Truth. Then Muhammad (pbuh)
asked,
“What is the position of
Husayn Ibn Selam among you?”
They replied, “He is our leader and a scholar.”
“What if he becomes a Muslim, will you accept Islam, too?”
asked the Prophet.
“God forbid. He will
never become a Muslim,” they said.
At that moment Abdullah entered the
room. He walked up to the Jews gathered
there.
“Hey, Jewish brothers,” he said.
“Fear God. You know Muhammad
(pbuh) is the last prophet. It is
written in
the Tevrat. I witness that he is the
Messenger of God.”
“You are lying,” shouted the Jews. “You are evil and ignorant.”
They called Abdullah all kinds of names.
But Abdullah never left Islam. He stayed by the Prophet’s side. He spent his time studying the Qur’an and
teaching about Islam in the masjid.
Abdullah Ibn Selam was known among the
companions as “one of the people of Paradise.”