The answer to Salman's question came sooner than he had expected it to come. One evening Uthman bin Ashhel was away from the oasis on some business, and Salman availed of the opportunity to realise his wish. He put the ripe and fresh dates which he had earned that day as his wages, in a bag, and went into the city to find Mohammed (may God bless him and his family), and to have audience with him. Mohammed Mustafa was living, at this time, in the house of Hazret Abu Ayub Ansari (may God be pleased with him), as his guest. Each step that Salman took toward his destination, heightened his anticipation.

And then the great moment came. Salman the Persian was escorted into the presence of Mohammed Mustafa, the beloved of God, and his (Salman's) own unseen beloved. His heart was bounding inside his ribs like a bird fluttering in a cage but he was making a supreme effort to steady himself. Suddenly, he was arrested in mid-motion by the vision framed in the arch. Mohammed Mustafa (may God bless him and his family) was seated in the reception room of the house. A few companions sat in front of him. Salman's first glance fell upon his face, and all at once he felt himself dazzled by a thousand sparkling lights. He heard himself saying quietly:

By God, this cannot be the face of a man who has ever told a lie. If there is any face that can be the face of a messenger of God, that is the face of this man. For Salman, that face - the face of Mohammed - was like a sunburst in the dark. Salman paused for a few moments at the threshold of the house to let the image of Mohammed Mustafa (may Allah bless him and his family) impress itself upon his soul, heart and mind, and it did.

Salman was then formally presented to the Messenger of God who welcomed him with a beatific smile, and signalled him to sit down in front of him. After the exchange of preliminary greetings, Salman stated the purpose of his visit. Mohammed Mustafa told Salman that the message that he had brought, was called Islam, and he explained its meaning to him as total surrender of man, without reservation, to the Will and pleasure of Allah. Salman could not wait long enough and begged Mohammed Mustafa to admit him to the company of those slaves of Allah who surrender themselves to His Will and His pleasure.

Mohammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and his family), thereupon, inducted Salman the Persian into Islam. The first requirement for Salman in this induction was to believe that God was One and had no partners or associates and that Mohammed was His Messenger. The doctrine of the Oneness of God is called Towhead, and it is the axis of Islam. The mission of Mohammed as God's last messenger to mankind is called Risalet. The second requirement for Salman was to declare his faith in Towhead and in Risalet.

Salman complied with these requirements. He was now a Muslim (one who submits to the Will of Allah); and a Momin (a true believer). Islam is the combination of Faith and a set of duties. Foremost among the duties of a Muslim is Salat or the five daily canonical prayers, viz., Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. But no one may say a prayer without purifying oneself. Mohammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah, instructed Salman into the manner of taking ablutions for personal purification, and into the manner of offering the canonical prayers.

Salman had been enlisted into the service of Allah by His Own Messenger - Mohammed Mustafa - an honour and a distinction he was to remain proud of all his life. At the same time, he was also admitted into the ranks of his (Mohammed's) friends.

The face is generally the first thing one notices when one meets or sees someone else. Judgements are often drawn from a person's face. Salman had never seen the face of Mohammed. But how he responded to Mohammed when he saw his face! The face - the countenance or character - of Muhammad was reassuring to Salman. Delineated in that face he could read Beauty, Purity, Sinlessness, Sincerity and Truth.

Salman thanked Allah in silence for bestowing the blessing of Islam upon him - His humble slave. The experience for him was too profound and too moving to find expression in words:

THOSE WHOM GOD (IN HIS PLAN) WILLETH TO GUIDE, - HE OPENETH THEIR BREAST TO ISLAM (Quran 6:125)

All the companions and friends of Mohammed Mustafa who were present at the occasion, congratulated Salman for receiving the blessing of Islam - the greatest of all the blessings of Allah.

It was not only Salman who was convinced, just by taking one look at the face of Mohammed that he was a true Messenger of God; the latter was also convinced, just by taking one look at his (Salman's) face that he (Mohammed) had found, in him, a true believer and a sincere friend. There was character in that face, steady eyes, a firm mouth, and an intelligent forehead. "Personal chemistry" was at work on both sides. It was a case of "love at first sight" between Mohammed Mustafa and Salman al-Farsi.

The first meeting of Mohammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah, and Salman the Persian - the two slaves, the two friends and the two lovers of Allah - must have been one of the most touching, most memorable and most dramatic scenes ii' the epic of Islam. After his induction into Islam, Salman presented the dates to Mohammed Mustafa, and said: "0 Messenger of Allah! I can see some poor people here. Some of them may be hungry. I have brought these dates as my sadaqa (charity). Please ask them to eat it.

Mohammed Mustafa thanked Salman for the dates and then invited his companions to eat them. Salman noted that he himself did not touch them. Salman found Mohammed Mustafa so charismatic that he did not want to part company with him even for a moment. He felt that his soul, his heart and his mind were all being taken captive -by Muhammad - and that he had neither the strength nor the will to resist him. He had never had such an experience before.

That night Salman hardly touched the earth as he walked toward his home in the oasis. So buoyed up was he in soul and body. Mohammed had set him free from all anxieties, fears, doubts and frustrations. He felt as free as a bird.

Four weeks later, Salman was able to pay another visit to the Prophet. Once again he brought fresh dates - his wages - with him; but this time not as sadaqa (charity) but as a present for the Prophet himself. The latter accepted the present, thanked Salman for it, partook of some dates from it, and distributed the rest among his companions.

Then Mohammed Mustafa (may Allah bless him and his family) read, for Salman's edification, some passages from Qur'an Majid - the Book revealed to him by Heaven - and he was carried away by its magisterial cadences. He had never before in his life, heard any composition so sublime. Those words which he heard, were "incandescent," and he sensed that they could not have been put together anywhere but in Heaven itself. They reached into his bosom, and plucked his heart out of it.

Mohammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah, had thus introduced Qur'an to Salman. The two of them - Qur'an and Salman -immediately struck up a "partnership" that became and remained indissoluble for all time. The exordium to the Book of Allah, given by Allah's Own Messenger, was 'an ecstatic experience for Salman. He knew that he had been conquered. The liberating, benevolent and triumphant power of the Book of Allah had conquered him. He had not asked any questions as was his habit, but he knew that the conquest was irreversible.

Salman the Persian had reached the high point of his life. All his life he had sought an idyll, and at length, he had captured it. He had trusted God to reveal to him the Ultimate and the Eternal Truths, and He had, in response to his prayer, revealed them to him - through Mohammed - in His Book, Qur'an Majid!

Salman also realised that Qur'an was a Book that demanded commitment from him. He, therefore, resolved that he would make, the rest of his life, an expression of his commitment to the ideals of that Book.

Salman came to see the Messenger of Allah as often as he, could, and each time, he brought, either a present for him or sadaqa (charity) for his companions. He brought only what he had earned as his wages.

It was inevitable that Salman would arouse the curiosity of the Muslims who had seen him; just as earlier, he had, that of the Jews. He was a commanding and a compelling figure. He spoke eloquent but heavily accented Arabic. But more than his stature and his rugged and heavy-duty constitution or his speech, it was the purity of his perception of Allah, and his love for Mohammed Mustafa, that caught attention. That love had a touching quality to it; it was transcendental love. But he was still a figure of mystery, and no one at the court of Mohammed Mustafa knew who he was and how he came to Yathrib but everyone was eager to know. Eventually, Mohammed Mustafa (may Allah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt) himself asked him to tell the story of his life.

Salman said: "0 Messenger of Allah! I have spent more than thirty-five years of my life searching for the Light of Truth, and I have spent more than five years searching for you. Praise be to Allah that I found you at last; and through you, I found the object of my long quest - Truth. I thank Allah for His mercy that He made my quest fruitful." Salman then recounted the saga of his life.

Mohammed Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah, and his companions heard Salman's story in rapt fascination. They were deeply moved, and they were amazed at his persistence and his perseverance in seeking, and at his success in eventually finding, the Messenger and the Message of Allah.

Mohammed Mustafa (may Allah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt) embraced Salman, kissed him on his forehead, rubbed his hand over his (Salman's) face, and over his heart; prayed for him, and invoked Allah's mercy and His blessings upon him. It was a poignant moment in the life of both of them.

Salman the Persian was the first "conquest" of Islam from Christianity. He was, therefore, the forerunner of all those men and women who at one time were Christians but latter became Muslims. His rebellion against tradition, as sanctified in Persia by the authority of the "national" (Zoroastrian) church, and in Syria by the authority of entrenched Christianity, is the backdrop of his conversion to Islam. His conversion is also a gripping study of a "pilgrim's" progress as he moved from the non-revealed religion of Zoroastrianism in Persia to the inspired religion of Christianity in Syria to the revealed religion of Islam in Arabia.

Salman was literally drawn from Ammuria in Asia Minor to Yathrib in Arabia by the light of the "lamp" of the Prophethood of Mohammed Mustafa, just as a moth is drawn to a flame in a glass. For years, he had wandered from city to city in quest of Truth, and had failed to find it anywhere. At length a light beckoned to him from Yathrib. He went there and found the "Light" of Mohammed flickering like a flame on the vast breast of the desert, in the darkness of the Arabian paganism. But he also noticed that the hurricane of paganism threatened to extinguish the "flame," and he made himself a "shield" for it. From that moment, his life was consecrated to the service of Islam and of its Prophet, Mohammed Mustafa (may Allah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt).

Salman reoriented his life toward God. Islam changed his relationship with God. He now saw that relationship in a new perspective. He realised that without God's mercy there could be no happiness or peace or success for him, and he knew that His grace alone could brighten the darkness of his life, and lift him out of his joyless and meaningless living, and it did. God's boundless bounty encircled him and his all.

Muslims who had seen him; just as earlier, he had, that of the Jews. He was a commanding and a compelling figure. He spoke eloquent but heavily accented Arabic. But more than his stature and his rugged and heavy-duty constitution or his speech, it was the purity of his perception of Allah, and his love for Mohammed Mustafa, that caught attention. That love had a touching quality to it; it was transcendental love. But he was still a figure of mystery, and no one at the court of Mohammed Mustafa knew who he was and how he came to Yathrib but everyone was eager to know. Eventually, Mohammed Mustafa (may Allah bless him and his Ahlul-Bayt) himself asked him to tell the story of his life. And it was a moment so rich in drama that it "gelled" in the hearts and minds of Salman and all the companions of the Prophet of Islam who were present at the occasion, and had heard his (Salman's) story. It was an unforgettable moment for them all.

For Salman, Islam was a Multiple Blessing. Not only it had liberated him from all kinds of false worship; not only it had brought to an end his "maverick" existence; and not only it had given him a focus in life; but also, it had won for him the friendship of God's Own Beloved - Mohammed Mustafa. His heart was brimming with gratitude. He had no doubt that Allah had picked him out, expressly, so he could become the recipient of the blessing of Islam. He, therefore, lifted his eyes and his hands toward Heaven in thanksgiving to Him.