Bilal : The Sweet Caller to Islam

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clipped from www.readingislam.com It was once said that, "Bilal is the Master who was freed by the Master [Abu Bakr]." Picture © Microsoft.com Their impeccable characters and their closeness to Allah and His Prophet drew many people to Islam. One of the greatest of these, one of the most humble, and one who endured horrific torture in order to become Muslim was Bilal ibn Rabah. Born in Makkah, the freed Ethiopian slave after accepting Islam was inseparable from the Messenger himself. He became the Prophet's first muezzin (caller to the five daily Prayers). When Prophet Muhammad began to preach the message of the Oneness of Allah (tawheed, in Arabic), many people in Makkah suffered when they chose to embrace Islam at the hands of the idol worshippers. Why is it that, even today, people feel threatened by goodness? Why was it that those idol worshippers did everything in their power to stop the spread of Islam, even though it was quite clear that these Muslims were good people who intended no harm to anyone?