الرحلةThe Journey

سلمان الفارسي

Salman al-Farisi (RA)

Also known as: Salman the Persian

c. 53 BH – c. 35 AH · c. 570–c. 656 CE

Companions

The Persian seeker of truth whose journey led him from Isfahan to the Prophet ﷺ.

Salman was born into a Zoroastrian family near Isfahan. Drawn to Christianity, he left home and served a series of monks in Syria, Mosul and Amorium. The last of them told him a prophet would soon appear in a land of date palms. On his way to Arabia he was betrayed and sold into slavery, and he ended up in Yathrib. There he recognised the Prophet ﷺ by the signs he had been told of and accepted Islam, and the Muslims helped him buy his freedom.

Before the Battle of the Trench (5 AH) he suggested digging a trench around Madinah, a Persian technique that saved the city. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Salman is one of us, the people of the House.' He later governed al-Mada'in while living simply, weaving baskets for his living.

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Life journey

  1. c. 570 CE Isfahan أصفهان
    Born in the village of Jayy near Isfahan, son of a Zoroastrian village chief.
  2. 620 CE Madinah المدينة
    Sold into slavery and brought to Yathrib, where he met the Prophet ﷺ after the Hijrah. The arrival year is approximate.
  3. 637 CE al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon) المدائن
    Died c. 656 CE · c. 35 AH
    Governor of al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon) under 'Umar; buried there.

Places in their life

al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
Photo: TheHadiRahim, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Musnad Ahmad (Salman's own account of his conversion)
  • Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya
  • Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth year unknown; reports of his age vary widely, and 570 is a placeholder estimate. Death reported as 35 or 36 AH. The 'people of the House' hadith is graded weak by some; please check.