سَلْمَانُ الْفَارِسِيّ
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
Salman al-Farsi
The Persian · He looked for it for years · Of the Trench
may Allah be pleased with him
Of Persia; enslaved in Arabia before Islam · Persia, Syria, Madinah and Iraq, up to about 35 AH
He left his father's religion, then his second, then his third, crossing most of the known world looking for something he had been told was coming. He arrived in Arabia as a slave and found it in Madinah.
Known for
He spent years searching before he found it
He left Zoroastrianism for Christianity, then travelled from teacher to teacher across Syria and beyond, and was told at the end that a prophet was about to appear in Arabia.
He reached Arabia as a slave and was freed by a contract
He was sold on the way and ended up in Madinah. The Prophet ﷺ helped him meet the terms of the contract that bought his freedom.
The trench at the siege of Madinah was his suggestion
It was a Persian method and the Arabs had not used it. The city held because of it.
Both the Muhajirun and the Ansar claimed him during the Trench
The Prophet ﷺ ended the dispute by saying that Salman was from them, the People of the House.
His story in moments
Short episodes from his life, in order. Read one at a time.
Life & legacy
The search
Salman was Persian, from a landowning family, and was brought up in the religion of his people. He left it for Christianity as a young man, which cost him his home.
What followed was a long apprenticeship. He attached himself to one teacher, and when that man was dying asked him where to go next; and to the next, and the next, across Syria and the surrounding lands. The last of them told him that the time of a prophet had come, that he would appear in a land of date palms between two tracts of black stone, and gave him signs by which to know him.
He travelled towards Arabia with a group who sold him on the way. He arrived in Madinah as somebody's property.
Madinah and after
When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, Salman went and checked the signs he had been given, and accepted Islam. He was still enslaved. His freedom was bought by a contract, and the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions helped him meet its terms.
At the siege of Madinah in 5 AH he proposed digging a trench across the exposed approach to the city — a method used in Persia and not in Arabia. It was done, and the siege failed.
He later went to Iraq and was appointed over Mada'in. He died there. The sources give different years, generally in the 30s AH.
How the sources describe him
He kept going when each answer turned out to be incomplete
He held office and lived as though he did not
Connect
People around him
Alongside
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺCompanion
He helped him meet the terms of the contract that freed him.
Full timeline
- Before the Hijrah
Leaves his father's religion and travels between teachers
- 1 AH approximate
Reaches Madinah enslaved, and accepts Islam
- 5 AH
Proposes the trench at the siege of Madinah
- The sources differ widely approximate, reports differReports range across the 30s AH, and some give considerably later.
Dies at Mada'in in Iraq
Sources & review
In reviewBased on the listed sources. See something to correct? Tell us.
As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyahالسيرة النبوية
Classical biography · Ibn Hisham, from the recension of Ibn Ishaq
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Tarikh ar-Rusul wa'l-Mulukتاريخ الرسل والملوك
Classical history · Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari
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
References follow the citation detail available in the source material.
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