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This is a story of a seeker of Truth, the story of Salman the Persian, Salmaan Al Farisi (Salman Al Farsi), gleaned, to begin with, from his own (Salman Al Farsi's) words:I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of. My father was theor chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.Since I was a child my father loved me, more than he loved any other. As time went by his love for me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me. So he kept me at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire which we worshiped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties asin the village and he said to me:."On my way to the estate, I passed a Christian church and the voices at prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about Christianity or about the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians I entered the church to see what they were doing. I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. "," I said, "."I asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in(Greater Syria). I did not go to my father's estate that day and at night, I returned home. My father met me and asked what I had done. I told him about my meeting with the Christians and how I was impressed by their religion. He was dismayed and said:."," I insisted.My father became upset and afraid that I would leave our religion. So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I managed however to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me of any caravan going to Syria. Before long they got in touch with me and told me that a caravan was headed for Syria. I managed to unfetter myself and in disguise accompanied the caravan to Syria. There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said:."The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in charity while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything to spend in the way of God, however, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way he amassed a vast quantity of gold. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said.." They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him. I continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company.(After his death, Salman attached himself to various Christian religious figures, in Mosul, Nisibis and elsewhere. The last one had told him about the appearance of a Prophet in the land of the Arabs who would have a reputation for strict honesty, one who would accept a gift but would never consume charity () for himself.) Salman continues his story:A group of Arab leaders from thetribe passed throughand I asked them to take me with them to the land of the Arabs in return for whatever money I had. They agreed and I paid them. When we reached(a place between Madinah and Syria), they broke their agreement and sold me to a Jew. I worked as a servant for him but eventually he sold me to a nephew of his belonging to the tribe of. This nephew took me with him to Yathrib, the city of palm groves, which is how the Christian athad described it.At that time the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam but I did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties which slavery imposed upon me.When the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) reached Yathrib after his Hijrah from Makkah, I was in fact at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master doing some work. My master was sitting under the tree. A nephew of his came up and said:."I felt hot flushes as soon as I heard these words and I began to shiver so violently that I was afraid that I might fall on my master. I quickly got down from the tree and spoke to my master's nephew.."My master was very angry and gave me a terrible blow. "," he shouted.That evening, I took some dates that I had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) had alighted. I went up to him and said:."The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) ordered his companions to eat but he himself did not eat of it. I gathered some more dates and when the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) left Quba for Madinah I went to him and said: "." Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate.The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam .Salman was released from slavery by the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) who paid his Jewish slave-owner a stipulated price and who himself planted an agreed number of date palms to secure his manumission. After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was:."Salman was to play an important role in the struggles of the growing Muslim state. At the battle of, he proved to be an innovator in military strategy. He suggested digging a ditch oraround Madinah to keep the Quraysh army at bay. When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the ditch, he said, "."Salman became known as "". He was a scholar who lived a rough and ascetic life. He had one cloak which he wore and on which he slept. He would not seek the shelter of a roof but stayed under a tree or against a wall. A man once said to him:?" "," he replied. The man persisted and said, "." "," said Salman. "I."Later, as a governor of al-Madain (Ctesiphon) near Baghdad, Salman received a stipend of five thousand Dirhams. This he would distribute as. He lived from the work of his own hands. When some people came to Madain and saw him working in the palm groves, they said, "," he replied. Salman however was not extreme in his asceticism. It is related that he once visited Abu ad-Dardaa with whom the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) had joined him in brotherhood. He found Abu ad-Dardaas wife in a miserable state and he asked, "."," she replied.When Abu ad-Dardaa came, he welcomed Salman and gave him food. Salman told him to eat but Abu ad-Dardaa said, "."."Salman spent the night there as well. During the night, Abu ad-Dardaa got up but Salman got hold of him and said:."In the morning, they prayed together and then went out to meet the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), peace be upon him. The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) supported Salman in what he had said.As a scholar, Salman was noted for his vast knowledge and wisdom. Ali said of him that he was like Luqman the Wise. And Kab al-Ahbar said: "." Salman had a knowledge of both the Christian scriptures and the Qur'an in addition to his earlier knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion. Salman in fact translated parts of the Qur'an into Persian during the life-time of the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم). He was thus the first person to translate the Qur'an into a foreign language.Salman, because of the influential household in which he grew up, might easily have been a major figure in the sprawling Persian Empire of his time. His search for truth however led him, even before the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) had appeared, to renounce a comfortable and affluent life and even to suffer the indignities of slavery. According to the most reliable account, he died in the year thirty five after the Hijrah, during the caliphate of Uthman, at Ctesiphon.