Salmān al-Fārisī

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Tomb of Salmān al-Fārisī in Madain, south of Baghdad

Salmān al-Fārisī , also Salman (al-) Farsi ( Arabic سلمان الفارسي 'Salmān the Persians', Persian also Salmān-e Pāk "Salmān the pure"; born in Isfahan ), was a Persian traditionalist and companion of the founder of the religion Mohammed . He is strongly revered by Shiites . He is considered to be the first Persian to convert to Islam. The traditions about his life are partly legendary. Some even quite doubt its historical existence.

Lore about his life

According to the tradition of Ibn Ishaq , Salman was born the son of a rural notable in the village of Jayy and was raised in Zoroastrianism . He brought it to the keeper of the fire. After contact with Christians, he was locked by his feet in the house by his father. With the help of Christians, he escaped in a caravan, traveled to Syria and joined a bishop there, whom he exposed as a fraudster after his death. The bishop's successor was a righteous and devout man. Salman asks him on his deathbed where to turn. He recommends a man in Mosul . The story of the upright believers whom he asks for advice on the deathbed is repeated in Mosul, Nusaybin and Amuriyya. There, his religious leader told him on his deathbed about a prophet in Arabia. He described the environment to him and explained the signs of prophethood to him. Salman joins Bedouins from the Ka'b tribe, but they deceive him and sell him as a slave to a Jew in Wadi al-Qura. He arrives at Yathrib , the later Medina. After the hijra , he meets Muhammad and recognizes all the signs of prophethood. On the advice of Mohammed, he concludes a contract with his master, which enables him to buy it free for 300 date palms and gold and silver. Mohammed and his comrades give him the palm trees that Mohammed personally plants. Mohammed then gives him the gold he needs to buy himself out. Salman then took part in the trench battle .

According to tradition, Salman is said to have suggested digging a trench during the battle of the trenches. This fact (described by Ibn Hisham ) is not confirmed in the earliest traditions (Ibn Ishaq) and was possibly invented in order to ascribe this defense technique with the Persian name to a Persian.

Reports of Salman's role in the Islamic conquest of the Persian Empire and his office as governor are meaningless. After the death of Muhammad and the appointment of Abu Bakr as his successor, the Shiite side ascribed the cryptic saying: "You did it and yet not done it".

Role as a traditionarian and in Islamic piety

Mosque of Salman the Persian in Medina , Saudi Arabia

Salmān al-Fārisī appears as one of the main guarantors of the accounts of the events shortly before and after the death of Muhammad, which are contained in the Shi'ite Kitāb Sulaim ibn Qais . He is also credited with traditions about Mohammed, which contain a prophecy that the Persians will form the better part of the Muslim community.

Salman is also considered the patron saint of barbers. His grave is said to be in Salman Pak, in what is now Iraq. The mosque is a destination especially for Shiite pilgrims. Other traditions, however, locate Salman's grave in the vicinity of Isfahan . Salman also plays an important role in Islamic mysticism. He is part of the mystical chain of various Sufi orders . Among the Nusairians , Salman is considered to be part of the trinity alongside Imam Ali , as his disciple he was attacked by a lion and saved by the Imam, and Mohammed .

literature

  • G. Levi Della Vida: Art. "Salmān al-Fārisī" in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition Vol. XII, pp. 701b-702b.
  • Hans Jansen : Mohammed. A biography. (2005/2007) Translated from the Dutch by Marlene Müller-Haas. CH Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-56858-9 , p. 304 f. and 308.
  • Vera Moreen: "Salman-i Farisi and the Jews: An Anti-Jewish Shi'i Hadith from the Seventeenth Century" in Shaul Shaked and Amnon Netzer (eds.): Irano-Judaica II: Studies Relating to Jewish Contacts with Persian Culture Throughout the Ages. Ben Zvi Institute, Jerusalem 1990. pp. 144-151.

Web links

Commons : Salman the Persian  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cyril Glassé, Huston Smith: The new encyclopedia of Islam. 2003, sv Salman the Persian.
  2. ↑ See the English translation by Guillaume: Alfred Guillaume: The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford University Press, London 1955, pp. 95-98
  3. ↑ a b G. Levi Della Vida. Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition, sv SALMAN AL-FARISI
  4. ^ Peter Lamborn Wilson , Karl Schlamminger: Weaver of Tales. Persian Picture Rugs / Persian tapestries. Linked myths. Callwey, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7667-0532-6 , p. 146.
personal data
SURNAME Salmān al-Fārisī
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Salmān the Persian; al-Fārisī, Salmān; Salmān the pure
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prophet Companion of Muhammad
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Isfahan
DATE OF DEATH 7th century