Questions from the Jews
As soon as the Adhan of Hazrat Bilal رضي الله عنه resounded, and these words reached the ears of Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه, he quickly got up, adjusting his cloak, and hurried to Masjid an-Nabawi.
When he reached the mosque and learned about the dream of Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه, he said:
“O Messenger of Allah! By the One who sent you with the truth, I too saw exactly the same dream.”
After hearing the confirmation of the dream from Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Praise be to Allah.”
From then onward, Hazrat Bilal رضي الله عنه would give the Adhan for the five daily prayers.
Apart from these five prayers, whenever people needed to be gathered for a particular occasion — for example, when there was a solar or lunar eclipse, or when the prayer for seeking rain was to be offered — he would make the announcement by saying:
“Al-Salatu Jami‘ah”
(The prayer is about to be gathered for.)
In this way, Hazrat Bilal رضي الله عنه remained the Mu’adhdhin during the lifetime of the Noble Prophet ﷺ. In his absence, Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum رضي الله عنه would give the Adhan.
Before the appearance of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, the Jews of Madinah used to say to the people of the tribes of Aws and Khazraj:
“Very soon, a Prophet will appear. He will have such and such qualities.”
(That is, they used to describe the signs and characteristics of the Prophet ﷺ.)
“We will join him and destroy you people just as the previous nations were destroyed. Just as the people of ‘Ad and Thamud were destroyed, we too will destroy you in the same way.”
When the blessed appearance of the Noble Prophet ﷺ took place, these same Jews turned against the Prophet ﷺ and began plotting against him.
When the people of Aws and Khazraj entered the fold of Islam, some of the Companions said to those Jews:
“O Jews! You used to tell us that a Prophet was about to appear and that he would have such and such qualities. You used to say that we would believe in him and destroy you. But now that he has appeared, why do you not believe in him?
“You even used to describe the appearance of the Noble Prophet ﷺ to us.”
When the Companions رضي الله عنهم said this, Salam ibn Mishkam was among the Jews. He was one of the prominent men of the tribe of Banu Nadir.
After hearing their words, he said:
“He does not possess the signs that we used to describe to you.”
Upon this, Allah Almighty revealed verse 89 of Surah al-Baqarah.
Translation: “And when there came to them a Book from Allah (that is, the Qur’an), confirming that which was already with them, namely the Torah, although before this they themselves used to seek help from Allah (through this Prophet) against the disbelievers, then when that which they recognized and knew came to them (that is, the prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ), they clearly rejected it. So the curse of Allah is upon such disbelievers.”
In this regard, there is a narration that one night the Noble Prophet ﷺ said to one of the great Jewish leaders, Malik ibn al-Sayf:
“I ask you by the One who revealed the Torah to Musa عليه السلام: Is it mentioned in the Torah that Allah Almighty dislikes a fat, well-built ‘Habr’ (Jewish religious scholar), because you too are fat and well-built? You have become fat by eating the wealth that the Jews bring and give you.”
Upon hearing this, Malik ibn al-Sayf became angry and exclaimed:
“Allah Almighty has not revealed anything to any human being.”
In this way, he actually denied the Torah, the Book revealed to Hazrat Musa عليه السلام, and he said this merely because of his irritation.
The other Jews became angry with him and said:
“What is this that we have heard from you?”
He replied:
“Muhammad made me angry. That is all. I said this in anger.”
The Jews did not forgive him for saying this and removed him from his position of leadership.
In his place, they appointed Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf as their leader.
Now the Jews began troubling the Noble Prophet ﷺ. They started trying to ask questions whose answers, they thought, the Prophet ﷺ would not be able to give.
For example, one day they asked:
“O Muhammad ﷺ, tell us, what is the soul?”
The Prophet ﷺ waited for revelation regarding this question.
When the revelation came, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The soul is from the command of my Lord.”
That is, he recited this verse of the Noble Qur’an:
Translation: “And they ask you about the soul. Say: The soul is from the command of my Lord.”
(Surah Bani Isra’il, verse 85)
Then they asked about the Day of Judgment, asking when it would come.
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Its knowledge is only with my Lord. No one except Allah will reveal its appointed time.”
(Surah al-A‘raf)
Similarly, two Jews came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked:
“Tell us, what things did Allah Almighty command the people of Musa عليه السلام to observe?”
In response, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“That you should not associate anyone with Allah; you should not commit immorality; and you should not take the life of anyone whom Allah Almighty has forbidden you to kill, except according to the truth (that is, according to the laws of the Shari‘ah).
“Do not steal. Do not harm anyone through sorcery or magic. Do not carry tales about anyone to a king or ruler. Do not consume wealth from interest. Do not falsely accuse chaste women who remain within their homes.
“And, O Jews, it is especially obligatory upon you that you do not commit wrongdoing against anyone on Saturday, because it is the sacred day of the Jews.”
After hearing these nine instructions, the two Jews said:
“We bear witness that you are a Prophet.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
“Then why do you not become Muslims?”
They replied:
“We are afraid that if we become Muslims, the Jews will kill us.”
There were two Jewish scholars living in the land of Syria. They had not yet received news of the appearance of the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
Once, both of them came to Madinah.
When they saw Madinah, they said to one another:
“How closely this city resembles the city of the Prophet who is to appear in the last age.”
A short while later, they learned that the Noble Prophet ﷺ had already appeared and that he had migrated from Makkah al-Mukarramah and arrived in this city of Madinah.
Upon receiving this news, both of them came into the presence of the Prophet ﷺ.
They said:
“We want to ask you a question. If you answer it, we will believe in you.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Ask. What do you want to ask?”
They said:
“Tell us about the greatest testimony and witness mentioned in the Book of Allah.”
In response to their question, verse 18 of Surah Aal ‘Imran was revealed.
The Prophet ﷺ recited it before them.
Translation: “Allah bears witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, and so do the angels and those possessed of knowledge. He is the One who upholds justice. There is no deity worthy of worship except Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. Indeed, the true and accepted religion in the sight of Allah Almighty is only Islam.”
Upon hearing this verse, both Jews accepted Islam.
Similarly, there was another very great Jewish scholar. His name was Husayn ibn Salam.
He was from the descendants of Hazrat Yusuf عليه السلام and belonged to the tribe of Banu Qaynuqa‘.
On the very day that the Prophet ﷺ migrated and took up residence at the house of Hazrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari رضي الله عنه, he came into the presence of the Prophet ﷺ.
As soon as he saw the blessed face of the Prophet ﷺ, he immediately understood that this could not be the face of a liar.
Then, when he heard the words of the Prophet ﷺ, he immediately exclaimed:
“I bear witness that you are truthful and that you have brought the truth.”
After he accepted Islam, the Prophet ﷺ gave him the Islamic name ‘Abdullah ibn Salam.
After accepting Islam, he went to his home. When he told his family the details of his acceptance of Islam, they too accepted Islam.