Saheeh Seerah Al Albaanee English

Allaah ﷺ in Makkah when he was first commissioned with Prophethood. The
Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was at that time hiding (as his people had made life difficult
for him).” I said: “Who are you?” He ﷺ said: ❝I am a Prophet.❞ I again said: “And
what is a Prophet?” He ﷺ said: ❝(I am a Prophet in the sense that I have been sent
by Allaah) as His Messenger.❞ I said: “Did Allaah sent you?” He ﷺ said: ❝Yes!❞ I
again asked: “What is that which you have been sent with?” He ﷺ said: ❝That
Allaah be worshiped alone, without associating any partners with him in worship,
and to break the idols, and to join ties of relationship (with kindness and affection).❞
I said: “What a pleasant thing you have been sent with. Who follows you in this (belief
and practice)?” He said: ❝A free man and a slave.❞ He (the narrator) added: Abu
Bakr and Bilaal were there with him among those who had embraced Islaam by that
time. And `Amr used to say: “I used to consider myself as one of the four persons who
were Muslims (i.e. one-fourth of Islaam).” `Amr then said: I embraced Islaam and said:
“Shall I (openly) follow you?” He said: ❝No! You should return to your people, and
when you are informed that I have emerged then you should come to me.❞
(Ibn Katheer said): It is said that the meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: ❝A free
man and a slave.❞, means the categories (of people who had embraced Islaam). The
explanation that it was only referring to Abu Bakr and Bilaal needs to be reanalyzed
because there was a group of people who had already embraced Islaam before `Amr
Ibn `Abasah, and also Zaid Ibn Ḥaarithah embraced Islaam before Bilaal. Perhaps `Amr’s
statement that he was one-fourth of Islaam was due to whatever information he had.
The Believers at that time used to hide their Islaam and many did not inform about it
even to their families, leave alone the strangers, and leave alone the Bedouins of the
desert (and other towns) from the Arabs. And Allaah knows best.
رضي ‏ُاهلل ‏ُعنه Waqqaaṣ) And in Ṣaḥeeḥ al-Bukhaaree, 181 it is reported that Sa`d (Ibn Abee
said: “None embraced Islaam before the day on which I embraced it. And for seven days
I was one of the three persons who were Muslims (one-third of Islaam).”
reported by al-Ḥaakim in his “al-Mustadrak” (6584) and said: The chain of this narration is “Ṣaḥeeḥ”, and al-
Dhahabee agreed with him.
Ibn `Abdul-Barr mentioned it in “al-Istee`aab”: It has been reported from Abee Umaamah from different routes.
This is also reported in Musnad Aḥmad (17018, 17019), and Ibn Jareer (2/315), from different routes from Abu
Umaamah, both the shorter and the longer narrations.
181 [Ṣaḥeeḥ al-Bukhaaree (3726, 3727, 3858)]
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