List of non-Arab Sahaba

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The list of non-Arab Sahaba includes the non-Arabs among the original Sahaba of Muhammad. Muhammad had many followers from amongst the Arabs, from many different tribes. However, he also had many non-Arab Sahaba, from many different ethnicities. Some of these non-Arabs were among the most beloved and loyal individuals to Muhammad. The inclusion of these non-Arabs among the original followers of Muhammad and Islam represents the universality of the message of Islam.

Habesha people (of Ethiopia and Eritrea)

Further information: Habesha people

• Bilal ibn Ribah - while still a slave, he converted to Islam and defiantly resisted torture and persecution (for his conversion) from his pagan slave-master. He later became the first mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) in Islamic history.
• Wahshy ibn Harb- he killed Hamza, Muhammad's beloved uncle and a leading Muslim general and formidable soldier, but redeemed himself when he converted to Islam. He later killed Musaylimah, the most formidable opponent of the Muslims during the Wars of Apostasy.
• Usama ibn Zayd - loved by Muhammad almost as equal to a grandson. He was the youngest person ever to be appointed a general by Muhammad.
• Umm Ayman (Barakah) - she was around Muhammad from his birth until his death and was the closest example of a mother to him (after his own mother’s death when he was a child). She was the mother of Usama ibn Zayd.
• Al-Nahdiah - she converted to Islam while she was a slave, but refused to abandon her new faith even after being tortured and persecuted by her slave-master. She was later freed from slavery.
• Lubaynah - she converted to Islam while she was a slave, but refused to abandon her new faith even after being persecuted by her then pagan slave-master. She was later freed from slavery.
• Umm Ubays - she converted to Islam while she was a slave, but refused to abandon her new faith even after being tortured and persecuted by her pagan slave-master. She was later freed from slavery. She was the daughter of Al-Nahdiah.
• Harithah bint al-Muammil - she converted to Islam while she was a slave, but refused to abandon her new faith even after being persecuted to such a severe extent that she lost her eyesight. She was later freed from slavery. Umm Ubays was her sister.

Comorian

Further information: Comoros

• Fey Bedja Mwamba- He was (according to local Comorian legend) a Comorian noble who originally brought Islam to the Comoros Islands (during Muhammad’s lifetime) after having visited Mecca during Muhammad’s lifetime and there converted to Islam.
• Mtswa Mwandze- He was (according to local Comorian legend) a Comorian noble who originally brought Islam to the Comoros Islands (during Muhammad’s lifetime) after having visited Mecca during Muhammad’s lifetime and there converted to Islam.

Copt (Native Egyptian)

• Maria al-Qibtiyya- she was one of the Ummahat-al-Mu'mineen (Mother of the Believers) and was the mother of Muhammad's third son Ibrahim.
• Sirin- she was the wife of Hassan ibn Thabit, who was one of the best Arab poets of the time. Maria al-Qibtiyya was her sister.

Hellenized Arab

Further information: Hellenized

• Suhayb ar-Rumi (Suhayb the Roman) - He was an Arab who was taken prisoner while still a little boy by Byzantine Empire soldiers, when they attacked a village he was in. Thereafter, for about twenty years he passed from one Byzantine slave-master to another and grew up speaking Greek and practically forgot Arabic. He later escaped from slavery and headed for Mecca- which was considered a place of asylum. There people called him Suhayb ar-Rumi because of his peculiarly heavy speech and blond hair. Later in Mecca, after meeting with Muhammad, he converted to Islam. When Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina, Suhayb gave up his vast wealth in order to be alongside him in Medina. His standing among the Muslims was so high that he was nominated by the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab to lead the Muslims (both in prayers and as head of the Muslim community) in the period between his (Umar’s) death and the election of his successor.

Jewish

• Abdullah ibn Salam- he was a rabbi before his conversion to Islam and was the first Muslim that was explicitly promised Jannah (paradise) by Muhammad while he was still alive.
• Safiyya bint Huyayy- she was one of the Ummahat-al-Mu'mineen (Mother of the Believers).
• Rayhana- she was one of the Ummahat-al-Mu'mineen (Mother of the Believers).

Pashtun

• Qais Abdur Rashid (also known as Imraul Qais Khan)- he was a legendary ancestor of the Pashtuns, who traveled from Zhob,^[1] present day Baluchistan, Pakistan to Arabia to meet Muhammad and there embraced Islam, before returning to his people and introducing them to the faith.

Persian

• Salman the Persian - he was born in Persia but embarked on a long and continuous journey (away from his homeland) in search of the truth. He ultimately reached his destination in Arabia, when he met Muhammad and converted to Islam. It was his suggestion to build a trench in the Battle of the Trench that ultimately resulted in a defeat for the forces of the enemies of the Muslims.
• Fayruz al-Daylami- Companion (Sahabah) of Muhammad.
• Munabbih ibn Kamil- he was a Persian knight. He had two sons, who were both Islamic scholars.
• Salim Mawla Abu-Hudhayfah- he was a highly respected and valued Muslim (among his fellow Muslims), who died while fighting against the forces of Musaylimah during the Wars of Apostasy. Umar ibn al-Khattāb suggested he would have designated Salim as his successor to the Caliphate had he still been alive.

Malayali

• Cheraman Perumal- he was a king of the Chera Dynasty who gave up his kingdom to personally go and meet Muhammad after witnessing a miracle. He embraced Islam in the presence of Muhammad and later died in Arabia during his journey back to his homeland in India.

Unknown Ethnicity

• Addas- he was a young Christian slave boy (originally from Nineveh) who was the first person from Taif to convert to Islam.

See also

• Al-Najashi- he was the king of Abyssinia who allowed a number of Muslims (who were being persecuted by the pagans of Arabia) to live safely under his protection in his kingdom. He later converted to Islam and when he died, Muhammad observed prayer in absentia for him.
• Badhan (Persian Governor)- he was the Sassanid Persian Governor of Yemen who converted to Islam after one of Muhammad’s prophecies was proven to be correct. As a result, every Persian in Yemen followed his example and also converted to Islam.

References

1. ^ [http://www.scribd.com/doc/15687191/Pashtun-Tribes-Pukhtun-Tribes-,