Bilal

Famed for his beautiful voice, Bilal is known as the first muezzin in Islam. He hears the Prophet begin his teaching and when told to beat a fellow slave for repeating Mohammad's assertion that slaves are the equal of their masters, he refuses and is himself almost beaten to death. Bilal is saved by the prayers of the Prophet and takes his place as one of Mohammad's earliest followers.

H. A. L. Craig's book gives Bilal a voice to tell his own story. As an old man in Damascus he recalls the early struggles of the faithful and their work to spread Islam. The great battles and successes of those early years are brought vividly to life, including Bilal's finest moment. When Mohammad and his followers take Mecca it is Bilal who gives the first call to prayer in what became Islam's holiest city.

Bilal, an Abyssinian, was the first black convert to Islam and both Sunni and Shi'a revere him. The need to understand Islam has never been more essential. H. A. L. Craig's book provides an accessible and informative account of the beginnings of the faith.