Notes on the Story of Salmān al-Fārisī

So that is the story of Salmān al-Fārisī (may Allah be pleased with him). A few notes on his story. Who is the first man Salmān ended up studying with? He was the bishop in Syria. What did Salmān say about him? He said, "So I joined him, but he was an evil man, demanding alms from his people, and whatever they collected, he would store away for himself and not give to the poor — eventually, he had gathered seven jars of gold and silver. I hated him mightily for what I saw him doing." So here you have somebody who is in search of the truth, and he ends up meeting a person who has all the qualifications of turning him away, of making him give up — but the zeal that Salmān had was stronger than that.

Nowadays we say that sometimes our actions as Muslims are what cause people to turn away from Islam. Well, that is true to a certain extent, but if somebody is sincere in their search of finding the truth, they should realise and understand that the truth is one thing, and what the people are doing is something else. Salmān didn't reject Christianity because the man he met was such a corrupt person. He stuck with him and remained, and then Allah (swt) rewarded him for that later on — he ended up being with the best man he had ever seen, and in the description of that man, what did he say? He said, "Then they brought another man to take his place, and I never saw a man who didn't attend the five prayers who was better than he." What Salmān means by a man who didn't attend the five daily prayers is that this was the best man he had ever seen before meeting the Muslims — before the followers of Muḥammad (peace be upon him), because they are the ones who pray five times a day. So he said, the best person I met, the most righteous and pious person I met before I met the Ṣaḥābah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), was this man. Allah rewarded him for his sobriety and patience, and two things can be learned from this.

Number one, Allah (swt) says that those who search for guidance will be given it, but the search itself is required: some effort must be put in, and the reward that follows is greater than what was given. One who walks towards Allah finds Allah running towards him; one who takes a single step towards Allah finds Allah take many steps towards him — but that first step must be taken. Salmān was searching for it, and he got it. Allah (swt) ended up guiding him, even though he belonged to a land that was hundreds of miles away, but he ended up receiving the truth because of his sincerity.

Number two, one should not be turned off or let down by seeing somebody who is not doing the right thing — that has nothing to do with the message itself. And Salmān realised that, and he remained with the man until he died, and then he ended up being with a better person. The second note is that there were remnants of true believers before the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), but they were dying, and they weren't leaving anyone behind them, and that is why the world was thirsty for the message of Muḥammad (peace be upon him).