Abdullah ibn Salam (ra)
Jewish rabbi of Madinah who converted; narrated its first hadith.
Hijri d. 43 AH CE d. c. 663 CE
A leading Jewish rabbi of Madinah who embraced Islam at the Prophet’s ﷺ arrival — one of the very few Jewish scholars of the city to do so.
Identity
Formerly named al-Husayn, he was a respected rabbi. When he heard the Prophet ﷺ had reached Quba, he hurried to see him; on beholding his face he judged, “This is not the face of a liar” — an instance of firasa (spiritual insight), whose reality the Prophet ﷺ affirmed.
Role in the Seerah
He narrates the first hadith recorded from Madinah — the first words he heard the Prophet ﷺ speak: “Spread the greetings of salam; feed people; be good to your relatives; and pray at night when people sleep — you will enter Paradise in peace.” His conversion was a sign of early optimism toward the Jewish tribes (before tensions hardened; see the change of the qibla).
Death
Died 43 AH in Madinah. (Beyond this source.)
Cross-references
Madinah (Yathrib) · Masjid Quba · Muhammad ﷺ · The Constitution of Madinah · The Change of the Qibla · The Muakha (Brotherhood of Muhajirun & Ansar) · Seerah Timeline
Sources
- S006 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 032. Hadith of the first words heard in Madinah; reports on his conversion.