عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَلَام
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
Abdullah ibn Salam
A scholar of Madinah · Tested him with three questions · Asked to hear the truth first
may Allah be pleased with him
A Jewish scholar of Madinah, of Israelite descent · Madinah, from before the Hijrah into the decades after
A Jewish scholar of Madinah who went to test the Prophet ﷺ rather than simply greet him, put three questions to him that he said only a prophet could answer, and accepted Islam once he heard the answers — but asked that it be kept quiet until he had heard what his own people would say of him.
Known for
He was a Jewish scholar in Madinah, known for his learning, before he accepted Islam
He tested the Prophet ﷺ with three questions he said only a prophet could answer
He asked about the first sign of the Hour, the first food given to the people of Paradise, and why a child resembles one parent rather than the other. The exchange is in Sahih al-Bukhari.
He asked that his acceptance of Islam be kept from his people until he heard what they would say of him first
His name before Islam was al-Husayn, and the Prophet ﷺ renamed him Abdullah
Story
His story in moments
Short episodes from his life, in order. Read one at a time.
In full
Life & legacy
Before Islam
Abdullah ibn Salam was a scholar among the Jewish community of Madinah, known before Islam by the name al-Husayn, and well regarded for his learning.
When word reached Madinah that the Prophet ﷺ had arrived there from Makkah, he went to see him for himself — not simply to look, as many others did, but to question him.
After he accepted Islam
Having heard the answers to his three questions, he accepted Islam, and asked that it be kept from his own people until he could hear what they would say about him first. What happened next — his people praising him, then turning on him once they knew — is set out in the moment below.
He remained in Madinah afterwards. The sources say comparatively little about the rest of his life, and give different years for his death, generally placing it in the early-to-mid 40s AH.
How the sources describe him
He set a test that only a genuine prophet could pass, rather than take a claim on trust
He judged in advance exactly how his own people would react, and arranged to hear it for himself
Connect
People around him
Alongside
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺCompanion
He questioned him with three things he said only a prophet could know, and accepted Islam once he heard the answers.
Full timeline
- Before the Hijrah
Serves as a scholar among the Jewish community of Madinah
- 1 AH approximate
Questions the Prophet ﷺ on his arrival in Madinah, and accepts Islam
- 1 AH approximate
His people learn he has accepted Islam, and speak against him
- Commonly reported as around 43 AH approximate, reports differThe biographical sources place his death broadly in the early-to-mid 40s AH without full agreement on the year.
Dies in Madinah
Sources & review
Draft content — undergoing reviewThis content was written for SahabaMate and has not yet been checked by a reviewer against the works below. Treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
Sahih al-Bukhariصحيح البخاري
Hadith collection · Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabahالإصابة في تمييز الصحابة
Classical biography · Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Siyar A'lam an-Nubalaسير أعلام النبلاء
Classical biography · Shams ad-Din adh-Dhahabi
SahabaMate editorial summary
Editorial summary
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