Maqam of Salman Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him)

This is the maqam of Salman Farsi (may Allah

be pleased with him), one of the most famous of

the Companions of the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah be on him) and a great

example of a seeker of truth. It marks a place

where he once stayed and is located on the

Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Salman Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him)

grew up in Isfahan in Persia into a very rich

and respectable family. He was initially a

devotee of the Magian religion (fire

worshippers).One day his father sent him to a

village. On the way he passed by a church

from which he heard the Christians praying. He

was astonished and remarked to himself, “This

is better than our religion”. He asked the

Christians about the origins of their faith and

was told that it was in ash-Sham (Greater

Syria). Upon returning he narrated his

experience to his father who became upset and

imprisoned him in the house.

He managed to escape and joined a caravan to

Syria where he sought out the leading bishop,

became a Christian and entered into his

service in the church. He however, found the

bishop to be corrupt and exposed his practises

after the bishop’s death. The bishop was

replaced by a pious man who was greatly

devoted to worship day and night. 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. He would also have the seal of the

Prophets on his back.

Salman paid money to join a group of Arabs

back to their homeland but was betrayed by

them and sold into slavery to a Jew who in

turn sold him again to another Jew of the

Banu Quraiza. He was taken to Yathrib

(Madinah) which he recognized to be the place

where the awaited Prophet would come. He

was put to work there, cultivating and taking

care of the palm trees.

One day Salman was on top of a palm tree

when he heard someone talking with his

master below about the emigration from

Makkah of a man who claimed to be a

Prophet. Salman was excited by the news and

asked his master to tell him more but his

master violently hit him and told him to get

back to work.

That evening Salman took some dates and

went to Quba, where the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah be on him) was staying and

offered the dates as sadaqah. The Prophet

ordered his companions to eat but he himself

did not eat of it. Salman gathered some more

dates and when the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah be on him) left Quba for

Madinah he 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.

Salman left and returned soon after where he

found the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allah be on him) in al-Baqi. He greeted him

and turned to see up his back. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be on him),

knowing what he wanted threw his garment

over his shoulder and Salman saw the seal of

the Prophets, exactly as it had been described

to him. Salman kissed him and embraced

Islam.

References: Men around the Messenger – Khalid

Mohammed Khalid, Works of Ibn Kathir

Note that this entry has been shown for

information purposes only. On no account should

anybody pray towards a grave or seek

supplication through them as this is tantamount

to committing shirk, associating partners with

Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).