Salman Al-Farsi

I have been wanting to post about this man for some time but I kept forgetting and this story has special meaning in my life. Many people in the Middle East have often retold this story to me after I have told them how I came to Islam. I also happen to like his name. One of my favorite cultures and languages other than Arabic is Persian. Anyway, the last time I heard this story was from the father of my friend here in Kuwait when I was visiting them for the first or second time at their home. We were sitting outside after dinner eating kanafa and drinking tea. Her sister, mother and brother were there too. Anyway, I really love her father and I will never forget how well he can tell a story. He made the story about Salman Al-Farsi come alive. His wife, my friend's mom, is actually from Mexico so it was nice to find a literal "marriage" of my two favorite cultures. :)
Anyway, when I have time, I will elaborate more about his story but in the mean time, here is a nice version of the story I found at http://www.anwary-islam.com/companion/s_salman-al-farsi.htm

.......
SALMAN AL-FARSI Radhia Allahu Anaha
his is a story of a seeker of Truth, the story of Salman the Persian, gleaned, to begin with, from his own words:

I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of Jayyan. My father was the Dihqan or chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.

Since I was a child my father loved me, more than he loved any other. As time went by his love for me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me. So he kept me at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.

I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire which we worshipped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties as dihqan in the village and he said to me:

"My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now. Go and look after matters there for me today."

On my way to the estate, I passed a Christian church and the voices at prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about Christianity or about the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians I entered the church to see what they were doing.

I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. "By God," I said, "this is better than ours. I shall not leave them until the sun sets."

I asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in AshSham (Greater Syria). I did not go to my father's estate that day and at night, I returned home. My father met me and asked what I had done. I told him about my meeting with the Christians and how I was impressed by their religion. He was dismayed and said:

"My son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better."

"No, their religion is better than ours," I insisted.

My father became upset and afraid that I would leave our religion. So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I managed however to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me of any caravan going to Syria. Before long they got in touch with me and told me that a caravan was headed for Syria. I managed to unfetter myself and in disguise accompanied the caravan to Syria. There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said:

"I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you."

The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in chanty while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything to spend in the way oRGod however, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way he amassed a vast quantity of gold. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said.

"By God, we shall not bury him." They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him.

I continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company.

(After his death, Salman attached himself to various Christian religious figures, in Mosul, Nisibis and elsewhere. The last one had told him about the appearance of a Prophet in the land of the Arabs who would have a reputation for strict honesty, one who would accept a gift but would never consume charity (sadaqah) for himself. Salman continues his story.)

A group of Arab leaders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyah and I asked them to take me with them to the land of the Arabs in return for whatever money I had. They agreed and I paid them. When we reached Wadi al-Qura (a place between Madinah and Syria), they broke their agreement and sold me to a Jew. I worked as a servant for him but eventually he sold me to a nephew of his belonging to the tribe of Banu Qurayzah. This nephew took me with him to Yathrib, the city of palm groves, which is how th e Christian at Ammuriyah had described it.

At that time the Prophet was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam but I did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties which slavery imposed upon me.

When the Prophet reached Yathrib after his hijrah from Makkah, I was in fact at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master doing some work. My master was sitting under the tree. A nephew of his came up and said:

"May God declare war on the Aws and the Khazraj (the two main Arab tribes of Yathrib). By God, they are now gathering at Quba to meet a man who has today come from Makkah and who claims he is a Prophet." I felt hot flushes as soon as I heard these words and I began to shiver so violently that I was afraid that I might fall on my master. I quickly got down from the tree and spoke to my master's nephew. "What did you say? Repeat the news for me."

My mastcr was very angry and gave me a terrible blow. "What does this matter to you? Go back to what you were doing," he shouted.

That evening, I took some dates that I had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet had alighted. I went up to him and said:

"I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as sadaqah. I see that you are more deserving of it than others."

The Prophet ordered his companions to eat but he himself did not eat of it.

I gathered some more dates and when the Prophet left Quba for Madinah I went to him and said: "I noticed that you did not eat of the sadaqah I gave. This however is a gift for you." Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate.

The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam.

Salman was released from slavery by the Prophet who paid his Jewish slave-owner a stipulated price and who himself planted an agreed number of date palms to secure his manumission. After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was:

"I am Salman, the son of Islam from the children of Adam."

Salman was to play an important role in the struggles of the growing Muslim state. At the battle of Khandaq, he proved to be an innovator in military strategy. He suggested digging a ditch or khandaq around Madinah to keep the Quraysh army at bay. When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the ditch, he said, "This strategem has not been employed by the Arabs before."

Salman became known as "Salman the Good". He was a scholar who lived a rough and ascetic life. He had one cloak which he wore and on which he slept. He would not seek the shelter of a roof but stayed under a tree or against a wall. A man once said to him: "Shall I not build you a house in which to live?" "I have no need of a house," he replied.

The man persisted and said, "I know the type of house that would suit you." "Describe it to me," said Salman.

"I shall build you a house which if you stand up in it, its roof will hurt your head and if you stretch your legs the wall will hurt them."

Later, as a govenor of al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon) near Baghdad, Salman received a stipend of five thousand dirhams. This he would distribute as sadaqah. He lived from the work of his own hands. When some people came to Mada'in and saw him working in the palm groves, they said, "You are the amir here and your sustenance is guaranteed and you do this work!"

"I like to eat from the work of my own hands," he replied. Salman however was not extreme in his asceticism. It is related that he once visited Abu ad-Dardaa with whom the Prophet had joined him in brotherhood. He found Abu adDardaa's wife in a miserable state and he asked, "What is the matter with you."

"Your brother has no need of anything in this world*" she replied.

When Abu ad-Dardaa came, he welcomed Salman and gave him food. Salman told him to eat but Abu adDardaa said, "I am fasting."

"I swear to you that I shall not eat until you eat also."

Salman spent the night there as well. During the night, Abu ad-Dardaa got up but Salman got hold of him and said:

"O Abu ad-Dardaa, your Lord has a right over you. Your family have a right over you and your body has a right over you. Give to each its due."

In the morning, they prayed together and then went out to meet the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Prophet supported Salman in what he had said.

As a scholar, Salman was noted for his vast knowledge and wisdom. Ali said of him that he was like Luqman the Wise. And Ka'b al-Ahbar said: "Salman is stuffed with knowledge and wisdomÑan ocean that does not dry up." Salman had a knowledge of both the Christian scriptures and the Qur'an in addition to his earlier knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion. Salman in fact translated parts of the Qur'an into Persian during the life-time of the Prophet. He was thus the first person to translate the Qur'an into a foreign language.

Salman, because of the influential household in which he grew up, might easily have been a major figure in the sprawling Persian Empire of his time. His search for truth however led him, even before the Prophet had appeared, to renounce a comfortable and affluent life and even to suffer the indignities of slavery. According to the most reliable account, he died in the year thirty five after the hijrah, during the caliphate of Uthman, at Ctesiphon.

Mid Term Exams at Kuwait University "Emtihanat fee Jamyat AlKuwait"

Assalamu alaikoum,
Sorry I am not posting so often, it has been a demanding semester, probably my most demanding semester in the university yet. I am in the middle of mid term exams. Two of my five courses are in full Arabic; Kuwait Government and Politics and Islamic History. The other two are just p artially in Arabic - Managerial Accounting, Calculus, and Entrepreneurship. I must do a debate about one of the legislative committees in the Kuwaiti government and I chose the committee on the environment. I will let you know how it goes. Speaking of government, Kuwait currently has none... Hehehe.. At least no parliament... The parliament was dissolved by the Emiri decree just last week. They will have to re-elect new officials. This is not the first time this has happened in Kuwait. At any rate, I have a lot to do today, including studying for exams and writing papers and doing my work for m internship so I better get going soon.

I have been enjoying learning more and more abotu Kuwaiti culture as each day passes. Just recently I visited the wife of the brother of my friend's husband. Her name is Sahar. She had a family gathering and invited me. This famil is sooo nice. I love them all. That night we had so much fun. First we sat in the sitting room and talked about Islam and introduced ourselves. Then we had a great Kuwaiti potluck dinner and all the ladies were telling me which traditional dish they made. They were all so delicious. I love Kuwaiti and all Arab food. Yum! My favorite that night was the Moreg Laham. MMMM. If you can find it, try cooking with Loomi, it is a dried black lime. It adds a beautiful flavor to practically anything. Anyway, when were sitting in the living room talking, they asked me to tell them how I came to Islam. Most people I have met here love to hear stories about converts. It inspires them. Anyway, after dinner and desserts, we all gathered again in the living room to play a game. It was a riddle game and those who guessed the answer to the riddle questions would win a prize. I won a couple prizes. When a person would win, we would all do songs and cheers, Kuwaiti style. SO WANASA. Then Sahar played some traditional Kuwait music and her mother and aunt started to do the old traditional Kuwaiti dancing and I danced with them and then everyone joined in. It was really cool to see all the generations of these ladies mixed together and celebrating Kuwaiti culture. When I left, Sahar gave me a bunch of desserts and treats to take home. I gave everyone kisses and it was back to the house.

Ok, time to get back to my studies....

Thaabita 3la Qyamy (Holding steadfast to my values)

Assalamu alaikoum
I am enjoying my second semester in Kuwait but time is flying past with the many courses I am taking. It is quite a load. The Accounting and Entrepreneurship courses are going smoothly but Calculus and Kuwait Government are constant challenges to stay caught up with. But alhamdulEllah. I trust that they will all go well with Allah's help. I am still involved with Model United Nations and we are planning to attend another conference in Brazil this summer inshallah. I am so excited for it. This week was full of lectures for me. I had one about Earth Hour, which you can find more information about at www.earthhour.org. It is a campaign to get cities around the world collectively to turn off the lights for one hour at 8pm on March 29th. I also went to a lecture about Women's Political Rights in Kuwait by a professor of sociology from Kuwait University at the Aware Center. I went to a lecture called "Thaabita 3la Qyamy" which means, Holding Steadfast to My Values. It was with Dr. Mohammed Al-3awathy and he was talking about how we should stand up for our values and hold fast to them even when society and people around us are not and we should not be shy about them. We should not be ashamed to hold on to them. Allah is first and we should fear Allah more than society.

Traditional

I love anything that involves old tradition, especially that which is connected to religion or culture. Yesterday my friend invited me for a traditional Kuwaiti family lunch. It was soooo wanasa (fun/cool/etc). First we had tea and I saw the old family photos. Their family goes way back in Kuwait history. Their grandfather, Allah yarhamhu was Sheikh Yousef, a well known man in Kuwait who first promoted the education system here. Then I saw their little brother's art and he is very talented and their mom really fosters his talent and that is nice to see. Then we had lunch and it was a feast of course, everything from Mechbous Diyay to Moreg Lahem to Salads. Then we had the most amazing dates and homemade leben (an unsweetened yogurt drink i absolutely love). While we were eating, they were surprised I like to eat with my hands too as that is something very traditional Kuwait and in other Arab countries too. My friend Farrah taught me the technique of eating with my hands and it really works great!! I never knew there was an actual technique to it. It was very systematic and it is so efficient! Also, she taught me how the prophet Mohammed (saaws) used to sit when eating and u would have one leg pushing against his stomach. Very cool.

Later we went upstairs and had dessert consisting of two kinds of kanafa, Arabic icecream that is soooo yummy and extra goey because they make it with starch. Then we had Arabic coffee and talked until late afternoon. We talked about Islam, school, family, marriage. Just before I left, my friends' mom's trainer arrived and I did Aerobics with her for a few minutes. It was a beautiful day.

PETRA

Assalamu alaikoum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatoh,
I had to leave the country last week because my visa was going to expire. I thought I could just get it renewed but apparently leaving the country and coming back was the only option. So I bought a ticket to Jordan to see my friends there and go exploring some more religious historical sites. I only had 3 days but I made the most of them. I arrived on the first day and surprised the family I know there again. I missed them a lot and it was soo great to see all of them again alhamdulEllah. There is something special about Jordan, I just feel very comfortable there. Even arriving to the airport was a comforting feeling. The first night I just went to watch a night soccer game and catch up with my friends. Then we had a nice late night meal of traditional Jordanian snacks. The next day we woke up early and left for Petra. The road on the way there was surrounded by desert until we began approaching Petra which revealed a range of high rock formations as we decended down to Petra. It reminded me a bit of the Grand Canyon back in the states. We arrived just in time for duhr Friday prayer in this little town just outside of Petra and the first sound we heard as we arrived was the Athan, the call to prayer. We then heard the khutbah (sermon) over the loudspeaker and got some snacks for the road and left. We arrived shortly thereafter in Petra. The first thing I saw was many little shops of souvenirs and then as I walked further I saw many horses. It was so good to see horses after such a long time. I missed horses so much and has expected to see more of them in the Middle East. We began the path to Petra, when I quickly realized that Petra was all around us the entire time. It was an enormous city of houses and carvings all the way down the long path. It took us about an hour though it may have been longer, I completely forgot time the entire time I was there. I didn't feel the time at all and at the same time it felt like we were going on forever, but in a good and fun way, not in a boring and tiring way. I was mesmerized by the power of the place. I fell in love with it instantly and the weather that day was absolutely perfect. The entire day was a miracle and a testament to God's power, love and you could see that day so clearly how everything Allah creates worships him. Even the couple of ants I saw when I was about to pray seemed to be in worship of Him. I couldn't have asked for a more glorious day and there is nothing I could compare it too. It was so peaceful and beauty was everywhere and you could feel it with every sense a human being possesses. The most powerful moment of the journey was as we approached the famous sculpture of the tall building in the rocks. I think it was not the main one but it was powerful enough that I could feel almost an energy from it even before I could see it ahead of me. But it wasn't the building that made the most impact on me actually, although it did take my breath away. It was seeing a camel up close for the first time in my life. Two of them were sitting in front of the building wearing traditional blankets and saddles. They were so amazing I could not take my eyes off them. I felt like in the movie Jurassic Park with the paleontologists first come across a living dinosaur. The sound the camels make is also just as amazing and powerful. I felt an instant connection with this animal. I was instantly taken away to the time of the life of prophet Ishaq (Isaac), alayhi salam and the story I had read in the bible of Rebekah, his wife. The story of Rebekah had a great impact on my life and every time I saw a camel I would think of her, and when I became Muslim, I also thought of Fatima, the prophet Mohammed's (pbuh) daughter and the story of her marriage to Ali. I will first start with reflecting upon Rebekah's story and how camels make me feel connected with her, especially on this day when I first touched on with my own hands.

Here is information about Rebekah I took off Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca):
After, Sarah, Abraham's wife, dies, and after taking care of her burial, Abraham goes about finding a wife for his son Isaac. He commands his servant Eliezer (meaning of name - my God has helped) to journey to his birthplace of Aram Naharaim to select a bride from his own family, rather than engage Isaac to a local Canaanite girl. Abraham sends along expensive jewelry, clothing and dainties as gifts to the bride and her family. If the girl refuses to come, Eliezer will be absolved of his responsibility.

Eliezer devises a test in order to find the right wife for Isaac. As he stands at the central well in Abraham's birthplace with his men and ten camels laden with goods, he prays to God:

"Let it be the the maiden to whom I shall say, 'Please tip over your jug so I may drink,' and who replies, 'Drink, and I will even water your camels,' her will You have designated for Your servant, for Isaac" (Genesis 24:14).

To his surprise, a young girl immediately comes out and offers to draw water for him to drink, as well as water to fill the troughs for all his camels. Rebecca continues to draw water until all the camels are sated, proving her kind and generous nature and her suitability for entering Abraham's household.

Eliezer immediately gives her a golden nose ring and two golden bracelets (Genesis 24:22), which she hurries to show her mother. Seeing the jewelry, her brother Laban runs out to greet the guest and bring him inside. Eliezer recounts the oath he made to Abraham and all the details of his trip to and meeting with Rebecca in fine detail, after which Laban and Bethuel agree that she can return with him. After hosting Eliezer and his men overnight, however, the family tries to keep Rebecca with them for another 10 months or a year. Eliezer insists that they ask the girl herself, and she agrees to go immediately. Her family sends her off with her nurse, Deborah, and blesses her, "Our sister, may you come to be thousands of myriads, and may your offspring inherit the gate of its foes."

As Rebecca and her entourage approach Abraham's home, they spy Isaac from a distance in the fields of Beer-lahai-roi. The Talmud (Berachot 26b) and the Midrash explain that Isaac was praying, as he instituted Mincha, the afternoon prayer. Seeing such a spiritually-exalted man, Rebecca immediately dismounts from her camel and asks Eliezer who it is. When she hears that he is her future husband, she modestly covers herself with a veil. Isaac brings her into the tent of his mother Sarah, marries her, and loves her.

Wedding Allusions

Some of the events leading up to the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca have been institutionalized in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. Before the bride and bridegroom stand under the chuppah, they participate in a special ceremony called badeken (veiling). The bridegroom is led to the bride by two escorts and, seeing her, covers her with a veil, similar to the way Rebecca covered herself before marrying Isaac. Then the bridegroom (or the father of the bride) recites the same blessing over the bride which Rebecca's family recited over her.

Marriage and motherhood

Both Isaac and Rebecca prayed fervently to God for offspring. God eventually answered Isaac's prayers and Rebecca conceived.

Rebecca was extremely uncomfortable during the pregnancy, and God is said to have told her that that was because her two twin children were fighting in her womb, and would continue to fight all through their lives. Her firstborn son was Esau, and the second was Jacob (Yakub).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca

I always envision Rebekah giving water to the camels whenever I see them. Seeing the camels made me feel so connected with Rebekah and with Fatima as well. I had told the story about Fatima in an earlier post but basically the way she married Ali made me want to marry in the same way. When I see camels I remember the part in the story when she rode on a camel on her way to Ali's house to marry him.

When I rode the camel, I enjoyed it so much I almost cried when I had to get off. I wanted to keep riding it all day.

I remembered my grandmother who was my only other family member who had ridden a camel before. I was so excited to return home so I could tell her all about this experience and show her the photos. But unfortunately, when I returned from Jordan to Kuwait, I received the news that my grandmother had passed away, so I lost both of my grandmothers in the same year. This was my father's mother. She was an amazing woman ma sha Allah. We were so close, and she taught me so much and was such a great mother and grandmother. From what I know, she was not a Muslim, she was Christian but I know she loved God and she gave so much love to so many people, and I pray Allah have mercy on her and we are All from Allah and to Him is our return.