The Illustrious Sahaabah The Illustrious Sahaabah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)
On the day when Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) embraced Islam, he began to invite people towards Islam. Allah Ta‘ala made him the means of many other Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) entering into the fold of Islam. Among them were Hazrat Talhah bin Ubaidillah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and Hazrat Sa’d bin Abi Waqqaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).
The Islam of Hazrat Talhah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)
Hazrat Talhah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) explains:
Once, I travelled to Busraa for the purpose of trade. One day, I was in the market place of Busraa when I heard a monk calling out from his monastery, “Find out if there is anyone among these traders who is a resident of the Haram of Makkah Mukarramah.” I responded, “I am a resident of the Haram of Makkah Mukarramah.”
The monk asked, “Has Ahmed (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) appeared yet?” I asked the monk for further clarification saying, “Who?” The monk replied, “The son of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdil Muttalib. This is the month in which he will appear. He will appear in the Haram of Makah Mukarramah and migrate to a rocky land (a mountainous area) that has abundant date palms. He is the last of the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) and the final Nabi. Do not delay in following him.”
The conversation with the monk had a profound effect on my heart. I immediately returned to Makkah Mukarramah and asked the people whether anything new had transpired in my absence. They replied, “Yes, Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), the trustworthy, has claimed prophethood, and the son of Abu Quhaafah (Hazrat Abu Bakr [radhiyallahu ‘anhu]) has joined him.”
Without delay, I went to Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) who took me to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). On arriving in the blessed presence of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), I embraced Islam and also gave him a detailed account of what had transpired between the monk and myself at Busraa.
The Islam of Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)
Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) explains:
Prior to accepting Islam, I had a dream in which I saw that I was in absolute darkness and was unable to see anything. Suddenly, a moon appeared which began to illuminate the night. I then followed the light until I reached the moon. In the dream, I saw certain people who had preceded me in reaching the moon. I saw Zaid bin Haarithah, Ali bin Abi Taalib and Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) present by the moon. I asked them, “When did you people arrive here (by the moon)?” They replied, “We have arrived here at this very moment.”
When I awoke from the dream, I learnt that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was declaring nubuwwah and he was secretly inviting to Islam. I thus went to him and met him in the valleys of Makkah Mukarramah. When I reached there, I found that he had just completed performing some Salaah. I then embraced Islam upon his hands. Besides these Sahaabah (Zaid bin Haarithah, Ali bin Abi Taalib and Abu Bakr [radhiyallahu ‘anhum]), no one else had embraced Islam before me. (Usdul Ghaabah vol. 2 pg. 309)
Note:
The darkness in the dream of Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu anhu) referred to the darkness of kufr. The moon with its light referred to Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) who was sent with the light of Islam to remove darkness from the world.
Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu anhu) mentioned that apart from Hazrat Zaid bin Haarithah, Hazrat Ali bin Abi Taalib and Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), no one else had embraced Islam before him. However, this was according to his knowledge. Otherwise, in other narrations, it is established that there were a few other Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) who had embraced Islam before him.”
