Bilal ibn Rabah

Freedom, finally!

Finally they tried to even kill Bilal by having multiple other slaves push a big stone onto his back so that it would crush him to death. Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq rushed to purchase the freedom of Bilal. Abu Bakr came to Umayyah and said to him, ‘How much do you want for this slave? How much do you want for him?’ Umayyah ibn Khalaf he said, ’10 dinars,’ which was a huge price for a slave at the time. Without thinking, Abu Bakr gave him 10 dinars. Umayyah laughed and commented, ‘If you would have argued with me a little bit and tried to negotiate, I would have given him to you for even one dinar.’

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) responded, “By Allah, if you were to sell him for 100 dinars, I still would have purchased his freedom.’Subhan Allah, look at the change that took place in Bilal’s life; how much the Muslims valued him. When Abu Bakr paid that huge price for Bilal some said, Abu Bakr was only doing that to show off or there was something between him and Bilal, he owed Bilal for something and that’s why he did it. But Allah Almighty defended Abu Bakr when he freed Bilal. He revealed in Surat Al-Layl that he only spent to please Allah, for the pleasure of Allah and for nothing else ; there’s no worldly gain out of this (92:18-20).