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This record is linked to the maqam (commemorative shrine) in the Nusaybin district of Mardin of Salman al-Farisi (Salman-ı Pak), the first Companion of Persian origin to embrace Islam. The maqam is not a burial place: according to the source his grave is in the town of Salman Pak near Baghdad, while Ramla and Nusaybin each have a maqam shrine.
His original name was Mahbeh (Mayeh) ibn Buzehmeshan. After becoming Muslim he introduced himself as Salman ibn al-Islam; he was also called Salman al-Khayr, Salman-ı Pak and Salman al-Hakim. His Zoroastrian father was the headman (dihqan) of his village. He was born in Ramhormoz and as a child moved with his family to a village called Jayy.
While charged with keeping the sacred fire of the fire temple alight, he began searching for a new religion and, despite his family's fierce opposition, adopted Christianity. This search took him first to Damascus, then to Mosul, Nusaybin and Amorium. In Amorium a priest from whom he learned told him on his deathbed that a final prophet would soon be sent in the Arabian Peninsula on the pure (hanif) religion of Abraham, that he would accept gifts but not alms, and that the seal of prophethood would be between his shoulder blades.
He joined the caravan of an Arab merchant, giving him his animals in return for taking him across the desert; but at Wadi al-Qura he was sold as a slave, and finally came into the hands of a Jew of the Banu Qurayza (Uthman ibn Ashhal) and so reached Medina. On seeing the city he knew he had arrived at the place the priest had described. When he heard that the Prophet had come to Quba he hurried there, and on seeing in him the signs he had learned from the priest he became Muslim.
Because of his slavery he could not be present at Badr and Uhud. On the Messenger of God's advice he concluded with his master what was probably the first mukataba (manumission contract) of the Islamic era: the 300 date palms set as the price were planted under the Prophet's supervision with the Companions' help, and 40 uqiyyas were paid from the public treasury, and he was freed. The Prophet declared him a brother of Abu al-Darda. At the Battle of the Trench he proposed digging the trench; when the Ansar and the Muhajirun disputed over claiming him, the Messenger of God said “Salman is one of us, of the People of the House.” He took part in the Trench and all later campaigns; it is said that at the conquest of Ta'if he advised the use of the mangonel and the siege shed and built them himself.
He was an ascetic, and through his devotion to learning and adherence to the Sunna he gained an important place among the People of the Suffa. He gave away as alms the stipend Umar assigned him and lived by selling mats he wove from palm fibre. When the conquests in Iraq began he took part in the battles of Qadisiyya and Balanjar and the conquests of Mada'in and Jalula; he contributed to the founding of Kufa and was appointed governor of Mada'in by Umar. Even as governor he did not change his humble way of life. He died in Mada'in towards the end of Uthman's caliphate, according to the source at the end of 35 (656) or the beginning of 36 (656).
His Circle of Influence — It is related that he learned Greek and Hebrew and read the scriptures of the Persians, the Romans, the Jews and the Christians; hence he was called “sahib al-kitabayn” (master of the two scriptures). It is recorded that he translated Surat al-Fatiha into Persian and that the Messenger of God did not forbid it. His hadiths are in the Six Books; Ahmad ibn Hanbal includes 37 of his narrations in al-Musnad, and Baqi ibn Makhlad's work is said to contain 60. Companions such as Ibn Abbas, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Anas ibn Malik, and many of the Followers, narrated from him. Because he cut the Prophet's hair he was regarded as the patron saint (pir) of barbers, played a role in the development of the futuwwa organisations, and appears in many Sufi chains; it is said that Kazaruni, founder of the Kazaruniyya, distributed the zakat shares sent to him among Salman's tribe.
His Works — Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani reports the existence of a rather large hadith fascicle titled Juz'an min hadith Salman; a short treatise titled Masa'il al-ruhban is also attributed to him. Shi'i authors regard him as the first to compile traditions (athar) and hold him to be the author of Kitab hadith al-Jathaliq.
His Tomb and Complex — His grave, with the tomb rebuilt by Murad IV, is in the town near Baghdad said to have grown up around it, known today as Salman Pak; over time the Shi'a made this grave a place of visitation to be stopped at on the return from Karbala. In addition there is a maqam shrine in Ramla and one in the Nusaybin district of Mardin; this atlas record is linked to the one in Nusaybin. One of the Seven Mosques (al-Masajid al-Sab'a) north of Medina is the Mosque of Salman al-Farisi, thought to have been built by Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz during his governorship of Medina; rebuilt by Sayf al-Din Husayn ibn Abi al-Hayja (577/1181), it still stands today.
Differing Scholarly Views
The source article was written within the Sunni scholarly tradition; the article author's own assessments are marked below as “the source.” The atlas takes no side.
The site of the grave and this maqam — The source places the actual grave at Salman Pak and refers to the building in Nusaybin as a maqam shrine. It does not say when or on the basis of which report the maqam was established. It records separately that Salman passed through Nusaybin during his search for the true religion, but draws no link between that journey and the maqam; nor does the atlas. The maqam carries no claim of burial.
Date of death — The source states that he died towards the end of Uthman's caliphate, at the end of 35 (656) or the beginning of 36 (656), and that it is also said he died before or after this date. The article heading gives the year of death with a question mark.
The length of his life — Those who counted him among the long-lived (mu'ammarun) put forward figures between 150 and 553 years, and some said the report that he lived more than 250 years was accepted. Al-Dhahabi, however, relying on a report he cites from Ibn Abi Hatim, says he died before reaching his eighties and probably came to the Hijaz in his forties, and he assesses the reports of great age as disconnected (munqati') narrations without any chain, transmitted by Abbas ibn Yazid al-Bahrani. The source considers al-Dhahabi's finding confirmed by the reports of his physical strength at the Trench.
His place in Shi'i and other traditions — The Shi'a count Salman among the very few trustworthy Companions and regard him as second in importance after Ali. The source also records that communities such as the Nusayris, the Nizaris and the Druze give Salman a special place within their own understandings of faith. The atlas passes no judgement on these understandings.
A claim about his historical existence — The orientalist J. Horovitz, arguing that his name does not appear in the early sources, claimed that the reports about the Trench and his ascetic life were produced later, and even that whether such a person existed was debatable. The source, however, states that so many different sources and reports speaking of the same matter almost unanimously renders this claim unfounded.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi · vol. 36, pp. 441-443, entry “SELMÂN-ı FÂRİSΔ
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