Bilal ibn Rabah

Ethiopian former slave who became one of the earliest and most prominent companions of Muhammad, and the first muezzin (caller to prayer) in Islam. Born in Mecca to an enslaved family, Bilal converted early and was brutally tortured by his master Umayyah ibn Khalaf, refusing to renounce his faith despite torment. Abu Bakr purchased and freed him. After the Hijra, Muhammad chose Bilal to give the first call to prayer due to his powerful voice. At the conquest of Mecca, Bilal climbed atop the Ka’aba to call the faithful—a freed African slave proclaiming Islam’s message from Arabia’s holiest site. His story embodies Islam’s rejection of racial and social hierarchies.