What’s Behind The Name “Bilal”

Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabaah (W. Pine) was founded in 1965 and incorporated in 1974. It is one of the first established mosques in Saint Louis. The mosque serves the local community with a variety of services including congregational prayers, FREE clinic (for Muslims and non-Muslims), and social events in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Please contact 314-531-8646 for tour requests or any other inquiries.

It is named after Bilal ibn Rabah (May Allah be Please with him). One of the most distinguished and admired figures in Islam. He was a black slave in the city of Mecca when the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) began to call people to Islam. He was one of the earliest followers of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). When his master, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, found out, he tortured him, but he remained steadfast and firm on his faith. Bilal was then emancipated by Abu Bakr, who was sent by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) . Bilal rose to a position of prominence in Islam and was the first human being to be given the great honor of making the call for prayer (Azan) in Islam. Since that first call, the melodious call to prayer (translation of Azan below) has been sounded in every mosque around the globe five times a day (see video below for the call for prayer at Masjid Bilal by Sh. Saleh):

Allahis the Greatest (2)
Allah is the Greatest (2)
I bear witness that there is no true god but Allah (2)
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (2)
Come to Prayer (2)
Come to Success (2)
Allah is the Greatest (2)
There is no true god but Allah

The story of Bilal is a reflection of Islam’s stand against racism. Indeed, in his last sermon the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “All mankind is descended from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab. And a non-Arab has no superiority over an Arab. A white person has no superiority over a black person, nor a black person has any superiority over a white person, except by piety and good action.”