14. SALMĀN AL-FĀRISĪ (THE PERSIAN)

One of the famous seekers of truth in Islamic history was Salmān al-Fārisī (the Persian). He was the one who suggested to the Prophet to dig a trench around Madinah to protect the city in the Battle of theTrench. How he became a Muslim, the famous historian and mufassir (commentator of the Qur’ān), Ibn Jarīr al-T.abarī (the native of Tabaristan) told us about this s.ah.ābī (companion of the Prophet) as follows:
Salmān was a soldier of the Sassanian empire and a close friend of the prince. One day they went for hunting and found a man in an isolated house weeping while reading a book. He told them that he was reading a Bible (Injīl) revealed to Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus, p.b.u.h.) [not the kind of Bible we are having now]. They were interested to learn its contents. They learned them from the man and became believers. He told them that the dhabīh.ah (slaughtered animals) of their people were prohibited for them.
One day the king made a feast, but the prince refused to attend. When his father insisted to know the reason, he said the it was because they were infidels and their slaughtered animals were forbidden for him.
“Who told you this?”, asked the king.
“The monk”, said the prince. The king called the monk who confirmed what the prince had said.
“If killing were not a big thing for us,” said the king, “I should have killed you. Leave the country!”
The monk told Salmān and the prince that he was leaving for his church at Mosul (in Iraq) where sixty monks were worshipping Allah, and that they should go there, too, if they had really become believers. The prince sold his belongings before leaving, but Salmān could not wait for him. He left alone and went to the church at Mosul.
Salmān worshipped very hard in this church. His host monk wanted him to take it easy. Salmān asked him: “Which is better, the hard worship that I am doing or the easy worship you are suggesting?” When the monk said that his hard worship was better, Salmān kept it.
When the monk offered to move with him to another church where easy worship was offered, Salmān asked him again which church would be better for him. When the monk told him that the present one was better, Salmān kept staying in it. Before leaving, the monk entrusted Salmān to a learned monk.
The new monk wanted to go to Jerusalem and told Salmān that it would be better for him to accompany him to Jerusalem. So he went. In Jerusalem the monk told him to go to seek knowledge from learned people. He did, and one day he came home very sad.
“What happened?”, asked the monk.
“All good things have been taken by prophets before us and his followers,” said Salmān.
“O Salmān, don’t be sad,” said the monk. “There is still a new prophet left who is the best one to follow. The time of his coming is approaching. I don’t think I shall live long enough to see him. You are still young. I hope you can see him. He will appear in the Arab land. If you see him, believe and follow him…. There is a seal of prophethood on his back. He will refuse charity but will accept gift.”
Salmān lost the monk on the way back to Mosul. He was betrayed by Bedouins of the Kalb tribe who took him to Madinah. This made him very sad. Then he was bought by a woman from Juhaynah tribe. With another young man he tended her sheep in turn, one day for himself, the next day for the young man.
While Salmān was tending the sheep, the young man came and said: “Today a man who claimed to be a prophet is coming to Madinah.” Salmān asked him to tend the sheep until he came back. He went to the city to see the Prophet. He tried to see the seal of prophethood on his back. When he saw it, he bought food with one dinar and presented it to the Prophet.
“What is this?”, asked the Prophet.
“Charity,” said Salmān.
“I don’t need it, give it to the Muslims,” said the Prophet. Salmān went to buy food again and presented it to the Prophet.
“What is this?”, asked the Prophet.
“A gift,” said Salmān
“Sit down,” said the Prophet and ate the food and talked.
While talking to the Prophet, Salmān remembered his friends whom he left behind. He talked to the Prophet about them, saying: “They prayed, fasted, believed in you, and witnessed that you would be appointed a prophet.” To answer this question, Allah revealed to the Prophet the following verse:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ
مَنْ آَمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ
رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
(البقرة: ٦۲).
“Those who believe (in the Qur’ān), and those who
follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and
the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last
Day, and work righteousness, shall have their
reward with their Lord, on them shall be
no fear, nor shall they grieve.”71
This means that the Jews who followed Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.) and kept the Torah until the advent of Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.) will be safe. But those who still kept the Torah and did not want to follow Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.) after that will be damned. The Christians who followed Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.) and kept the Injil until the advent of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) will be safe. But those who did not want to follow Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) after that will be damned.
There are many views about the Sabians. Some scholars said that they were angel worshipers. According to the Qur’ānic commentator Ibn Kathir they were people who had no religion. The Orientalist B. Carra de Faux divided the Sabians into two groups: the followers of Prophet Yah.yā (John the Baptist) and the pagan Sabians who lived under the Muslim rule.
According to Ibn ‘Abbās, the Prophet’s cousin and the famous Qur’ānic commentator, the next verse revealed was:
وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآَخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (آل عمران: ٨٥)
“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah),
never will it be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be
in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual) good.”72

Footnotes:
71. Qur’ān, al-Baqarah [2]:62
72. Qur’ān, Al ‘Imrān [3]:85