There was a large Jewish community living in Medina. The Jews left their native places and migrated to Medina because they knew about the coming of the last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and hoped to meet him. Abdullah Ibn Salam belonged to one of those families and was one of the most learned of all the rabbis there. At the time of the Messenger of Allah there were three Jewish tribes in Medina namely Banu Nuzair, Banu Quraiza and Banu Qainqah.
Abdullah belonged to Banu Qainqah tribe. He was the most virtuous of men and possessed great morals and character. He was so dedicated to his religion that he divided his time in three; he spent one third of his time on religious preaching and devotion in temple, another one third he devoted to his farms and the remaining one third was spent on pursuing knowledge and reading of the scriptures. His quest for knowledge and intense devotion to reading made him sure about the emergence of the Prophet and he knew that the time was near. He used to pray to Allah that he would live to meet the Prophet about which the Jewish scriptures talk about.
Allah accepted his prayers and one day he received the news that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) has come. He first double-checked about the lineage of the Messenger, his appearance and tallied them with what the scriptures were saying until he became sure that Muhammad indeed was the Messenger of Allah. One day while he was at the tree top engaged in pollination, he heard that the Messenger of Allah had reached Quba. He became so overjoyed that he literally jumped from the tree top saying Allah is the greatest. His aunt became so surprised of his reaction and said, “Had you heard about the coming of Prophet Moses, son of Imran, you would not have done more than what you just did.” Abdullah replied, “But aunt, he (Messenger of Allah) is a brother to Moses and is preaching the same message.” Her aunt asked, “Is he the same Prophet you rabbis have been telling us about?” Abdullah answered in the affirmative and rushed to see the Messenger of Allah.
He kept on scrutinising there when he heard the first words from the Messenger, “O people! Spread peace…Share food…Pray during the night while people sleep… and you will enter Paradise in peace…” He kept on looking at him and when he became sure he went forward and entered the fold of Islam by pronouncing the Shahadah. The Messenger asked his name to which he replied, Al Husayn Ibn Salam. The Messenger gave him a new name and said, “Instead it is Abdullah Ibn Salam.” He readily accepted his new name and said, “By Him who has sent you with the Truth, I do not wish to have another name after this day.” Since that day he became Abdullah Ibn Salam instead of Al Husayn Ibn Salam. He then immediately rushed to his home and declared his faith to his family members. All of his family members accepted his call and reverted to Islam.
After his reversion he informed the Messenger of Allah about the nature of the majority of Jews and said, “Oh Messenger of Allah! The Jews are liars, and if they should come to know about my reversion to Islam before you ask them (about me), they would tell a lie about me.” So, when the Jews came, the Messenger of Allah told Abdullah to hide and asked the Jews, “What kind of a man is Abdullah Ibn Salam among you?” The Jews replied, “He is the most learned person amongst us, and the best amongst us, and the son of the best amongst us.” The Messenger of Allah said, “What do you think if he embraces Islam (will you do as he does)?” The Jews said, “May Allah save him from it.” Then ‘Abdullah Ibn Salam came out saying, “I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah.” Thereupon they said, “He is the evilest among us, and the son of the evilest amongst us,” and continued talking badly of him.
Abdullah Ibn Salam was a great scholar and ever since his reversion he devoted himself to the study of the Qur’ān and Ahadith. He used to enjoy great respect among the companions and the Messenger of Allah also loved him dearly. The Messenger of Allah once said, while talking to the companions, “Do you want to see a man walking on earth and in Paradise?” The companions remained silent and then the Messenger of Allah pointed in a particular direction and the companions saw he was looking towards Abdullah Ibn Salam.
There is a beautiful dream that Abdullah saw and he narrated it to the Messenger of Allah. He said, I had a dream that a man came to me, held me by my hand and asked me to get up. While I was walking I saw a path to my left, and I was about to take it, when he said, “Leave it, this is not your way,” so I looked and found a clear path to my right. He asked me to take it and I did, until I came to a vast, beautiful, verdant garden, and in the middle of it was a pole of steel, rooted in the ground and reaching to the sky, and at its top was a golden ring. The man said, “Climb.” “I cannot,” I replied. A servant came to me and held me so I was able to climb it until I reached the golden ring. I held the ring with both my hands and remained hung in this way until I woke up.
The Messenger of Allah interpreted this dream and said, “As for the left path, it is the path of the Companions of the Left among the dwellers of Hellfire, and as for the right path it is the path of the Companions of the Right, the dwellers of Paradise. The verdant garden is Islam, and the pole in its middle is the Deen, the golden ring is the steadfast faith, and you will hold on to it until you die.”