Bilāl's voice
Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ was born into slavery in Mecca, the son of an Ethiopian mother. When he accepted Islam, his owner, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, punished him by laying him on the burning sand at midday with a heavy rock on his chest, demanding that he give it up. Bilāl would only say: “One. One.” (Ahad, ahad.)
Abū Bakr bought his freedom. Later, in Medina, when the Muslims needed someone to call people to prayer, the Prophet (peace be upon him) chose Bilāl, for the beauty of his voice. He became the first muezzin in Islam.
Years afterwards, on the day Mecca was opened, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Bilāl to climb onto the roof of the Kaʿbah itself, the holiest place in the city that had enslaved him, and give the call to prayer. Some of the old aristocracy muttered in disgust at seeing him there.
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who later ruled the Muslim world, used to say: “Abū Bakr is our master, and he freed our master”, meaning Bilāl (Bukhari 3754).
The Qur'an says: “The most honoured of you in God's sight is the most mindful of Him” (49:13). Bilāl's raising was not a reward for being clever or rich. It was God's own measure, made visible on a rooftop.
What each faith says
Judaism
“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dung-hill, to make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory”
1 Samuel 2:8 · JPS 1917
Hannah's song continues: God raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the rubbish heap, to sit them among princes. Jewish tradition loves stories of people raised from nothing: Joseph (peace be upon him) from prison to the palace, David (peace be upon him) from the sheepfold to the throne.
Psalm 113, part of the Hallel sung on festivals, repeats the same words: the One who raises the poor from the dust.
Christianity
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
James 4:10 · WEB
Christians believe that God raised Jesus (peace be upon him) from the dead and exalted him, and that he will raise those who belong to him. The letter of James gives the everyday version: humble yourself, and God will lift you up.
The Qur'an also says God raised Jesus (peace be upon him) to Himself (3:55; 4:158). Here Christians and Muslims read differently: Christians believe Jesus died on the cross, rose on the third day and ascended; most Muslims believe he was raised to God without being crucified, and will return. Both speak of his raising with reverence.
Islam
“God will raise those of you who believe, and those who have been given knowledge, by degrees.”
Qur'an 58:11 · our rendering
ar-Rāfiʿ is drawn from Qur'anic phrases such as ‘He raises by degrees’ (6:83; 58:11) and the Day that is ‘lowering, raising’ (56:3). God calls Himself “Raiser of degrees” (40:15). Classical scholars said He raises the humble, the people of knowledge and the faithful, in this life and the next.
The Qur'an describes Jesus (peace be upon him) as raised by God: “O Jesus, I will take you and raise you to Myself” (3:55). For people, the Name means lifting others: freeing, teaching, giving a chance.
Same and different
All three faiths celebrate a God who raises the poor from the dust, and all three tell of people lifted from slavery or prison. They differ most sharply around Jesus (peace be upon him): Christians believe God raised him from death after the crucifixion; most Muslims believe God raised him to Himself without his being crucified. Judaism does not share either belief about Jesus. Yet the core of this Name, that God lifts up the lowly, is held by all three in very similar words.
A moment to reflect
- Who raised you up when you were low: a teacher, a friend, a stranger?
- Is there someone you could teach, sponsor or speak up for?
- What do you think it means to be raised ‘by degrees’?
Watch
1928 newsreel of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, captioned and described: the ‘In us’ rung.
SciShow Kids on the world's tallest tree: the ‘In nature’ rung.
The Open University on its decades of open learning: the ‘At our best’ rung.
Do it together
In pairs, one person closes their eyes while the other spells a simple word into their palm with a finger. Swap. Then tell the story of Anne Sullivan and the water pump, and talk about who lifted you when you could not do it yourself.
Go deeper
- Perkins School for the Blind: Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan · museum
- Koch and others (2004): the limits to tree height · paper
- The Open University: our history · article
- Qur'an 58:11 on Quran.com · scripture
Sources (5)
- Anne Sullivan arrived March 1887; the water pump; Keller earned a BA in 1904: Perkins School for the Blind
- Hyperion, coast redwood, about 116 m: US National Park Service, Redwood National and State Parks
- Maximum tree height limited to about 122-130 m by water transport: Koch and others, Nature 428:851, 2004
- Open University chartered 1969, first students 1971, no entry qualifications, over two million students: The Open University
- ‘Abū Bakr is our master, and he freed our master’: Sahih al-Bukhari 3754