Source : Islamic Knowledge / 10 Sep 2014

The early followers have the distinction of believing the truth from our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon), before embracing Islam became popular in the Arabian Peninsula. Additionally, many of them suffered severe tortures from the blasphemers, simply because they believed our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon), loved God, and worshipped their Creator correctly.

^Abdullah Ibn Mas^ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was a young shepherd when he first met the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon). This was at an early time during the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon)hood. He told of his meeting our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) and his embracing Islam. ^Abdullah Ibn Mas^ud said, “I used to tend some sheep of the family of ^Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu^ayt [a terrible blasphemer]. The Messenger of God came with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) . He asked, ‘Do you have any milk?’ [He said he did not and these were not his sheep. So, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) asked for a sheep that did not give milk]. I brought to him a sheep that did not give milk. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) passed his hand on the place where the udders were and an udder full of milk appeared. [The animal was milked and] the milk was put in a rock container. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) gave it to Abu Bakr, then to me; then he drank. Then he told the udder to shrink, and it shrank as it was before. When I saw that I said, ‘O Messenger of God teach me.’ He passed his hand on my head and said, ‘May God bless you. You will be a knowledgeable person.’ One day when we were with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) on Mt. Hira', the chapter of Al-Mursalat was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon). I took it fresh from the mouth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) taught me 70 surahs, man to man, without any third person with us.”

^Abdullah Ibn Mas^ud was a great Companion. He narrated many sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon), and was very respected among the Companions for his knowledge of the Qur’an. He lived about 20 years past the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) and did not tire from spreading Islam, even in far away areas.

A slave from Abyssinia, named Bilal, believed in our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon). His owner hated Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) Muhammad. He tortured Bilal, in order to break his belief in God. Bilal was taken out at noon, bare-chested, and was forced to lie on the burning pebbles. Then a large stone was put on his chest, so he could not move. Bilal never said the blasphemy, which they wanted to hear. Instead he said, “Ahadun Ahad” (Allah is the only God).

Our Master Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), full of compassion, bought Bilal from his owner for a high price; then he freed him. Henceforth, Bilal accompanied our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon), immigrated to Madinah, and had the honor of calling the believers to prayer (making adhan), along with his many other good deeds.

A married couple and their son were early converts to Islam. Their names were Yasir and Sumayyah, and their son was called ^Ammar. The three of them were slaves of a Makkan blasphemer. Upon seeing long, merciless torture inflicted upon them by their owner, our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) told them “Be patient. You will meet again in Paradise.”

The blasphemers threatened to kill Sumayyah if she did not leave Islam, but she refused to renounce her faith. They killed her. She was the first female martyr in our nation. When Yasir received the same threat, he also refused to blaspheme and was killed. After seeing the threat was real, ^Ammar said blasphemous words, when he was likewise threatened with death if he did not blaspheme. All the while ^Ammar had rejected these words in his heart.

Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon) reassured ^Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he had remained a believer, for he did not accept the blasphemy he had only uttered due to the real threat of death. ^Ammar was a noble Companion, who went on to live a life full of good deeds, knowing that he would be reunited in the Hereafter with his brave parents.