One of the Foremost to Accept Islam

Hazrat Bilal (ra) is among the foremost believers; he accepted Islam at a time when only seven people had announced their acceptance.

(Ibn Sa‘d, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Bilal bin Rabah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2017] 176)

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (ra) narrates there were seven people who initially announced their acceptance of Islam; the Holy Prophet (sa), Abu Bakr (ra), Ammar (ra) and his mother Sumayyah (ra), Suhaib (ra), Bilal (ra) and Miqdad (ra). It is narrated that Allah the Almighty kept the Holy Prophet (sa) safe by way of his uncle, Abu Talib, and kept Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) safe by way of his people – as mentioned in a previous sermon, the Holy Prophet (sa) was not exempt from the hardships afflicted by the opponents, nor could Hazrat Abu Bakr’s (ra) people keep him safe from their cruelties. Both were also made to endure extreme cruelties. There was some leniency in the beginning, but there were great hardships later on. In any case, this is the account of the narrator; he says that they both had someone to support them – someone who would speak up for them. However the others who were weak or slaves fell victim to the disbelievers. They would be chained in iron shackles and burned in the sun. There was none among them who did not eventually give in to what the disbelievers sought to hear, except for Bilal (ra). In the cause of Allah, his own being held no significance to him. It was Hazrat Bilal (ra) who always remained steadfast. He was also considered insignificant by his nation, so they would grab him and hand him over to the youngsters, who would drag him around the valleys of Mecca, and all the while, Bilal (ra) would continue saying “Ahad! Ahad!”

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Fada‘il Bilal, Hadith 150, Noor Foundation translation)

At one instance, while mentioning Hazrat Bilal’s (ra) acceptance at the outset of Islam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) states that Hazrat Khabbab (ra) was also among the foremost believers and there is a difference of opinion as to whether he or Hazrat Bilal (ra) accepted Islam first. The Holy Prophet (sa) once said that a slave and a free man were the very first to accept him. Some believe this refers to Hazrat Bilal (ra) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), while others believe it refers to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Khabbab (ra).

(Misri Sahib ke Khilafat se Inhiraf ke Muta‘aliq Taqrir, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 14, p. 598)