(Friday Sermon - November 23, 2018 )

Background and Participation in Battles

Hazrat Salma bin Salaama^(ra) was amongst the Ansar and belonged to Banu Ashhal from the Banu Aus tribe. He was amongst the first to believe in the Holy Prophet^(sa) when the news of his advent reached Medina. (Sirat Al-Sahaba, Vol. 3, p. 391, Salma bin Salaama, Dar-ul-Isha’at, Karachi, 2004)

He participated in the first and second Bai‘at that took place at Aqabah. He had the honour of participating in all the battles alongside the Holy Prophet^(sa), including the Battle of Badr. Hazrat Umar^(ra) appointed him as the ruler of Yamama during his Khilafat. (Usdul Ghaba Fi Marifati Al-Sahaba, Vol. 2, p. 523, Salma bin Salaama, Dar-ul-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)

Umar bin Qatadah states: “The Holy Prophet^(sa) established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Salma bin Salaama and Hazrat Abu Sabra bin Abi Ruham”. However, according to Ibn-e-Ishaaq, this brotherhood was established between Hazrat Salma bin Salaama and Hazrat Zubair bin al-Awaam.” (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra Li-ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 335, Salma bin Salaama, Dar-ul-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)

Prophecy of the Advent of the Holy Prophet^(sa)

He narrates an incident from his childhood:

“Once, when I was young and was sitting amongst a few of my family members, a Jewish scholar came there and started speaking about the Day of Judgment and Reckoning, the weighing of good and evil deeds and heaven and hell. He stated, ‘The polytheist and idol worshippers shall be thrown into Hell.’” Since his family members were idol worshippers, they did not understand the concept of the dead being raised once again. “They asked this Jewish scholar: ‘Will the dead actually be raised again and held accountable for their actions in the hereafter?’ They had no concept of the afterlife. He responded: ‘Yes.’ They enquired: ‘Is there a sign for this?’ In response, he pointed towards Mecca and Yemen and stated: ‘A prophet will appear from here.’ They asked him: ‘When will this prophet appear?’ He pointed towards me as I was a young child at the time. He pointed towards me and said: ‘If this boy lives on, then he shall surely see that prophet.’” Hazrat Salma^(ra) says: “Only a few years had passed since this incident that we heard about the advent of the Holy Prophet^(sa) and we all accepted him. All of us who were previously idol and fire worshipers accepted him.” That same Jewish scholar was also alive at the time but he did not accept the Holy Prophet^(sa) due to jealousy. “We said to him: ‘You were the one to inform us about the Holy Prophet^(sa) advent and now you are the one who is not accepting him.’ He responded by saying: ‘This is not the prophet I used to mention about.’” He further says that ultimately this person passed away in a state of disbelief.

Demise

During the Khilafat of Hazrat Uthman^(ra) when the discord and mischief increased significantly, Hazrat Salma bin Salaama^(ra) went into seclusion and devoted himself to the worship of God (Rahmat Daarain Ke Sau Shedai, pp.574-576, Taalib Hashmi, Al Badr Publications, Lahore, 2003). That is to say, he isolated himself for the worship of God due to the increased conflicts and discord. There is a disagreement about the year of his demise. Some say he passed away in 34 Hijri and others say he passed away in 45 Hijri. At the time of his demise, he was 74 years of age and he passed away in Medina. (Al-Isaba fi Tamyiz Al- Sahaba, Vol. 3, p. 125, Salma bin Salaama bin Waqsh, Dar-ul-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005)