Encyclopedia of Islam

Bilal

  

101  J

---

Muslims around the world in oral traditions and 

in children’s literature about Muhammad’s com-

panions. He is especially honored among African-

American Muslims, who consider him an ancestral 

figure. Warith Din Muhammad (b. 1933), leader 

of the American Muslim Mission, called his fol-

lowers “Bilalians,” and he changed the name of 

the Nation of Islam’s newspaper to Bilalian News.

Several 

mosqUe

s in African-American communi-

ties are named after him, too.

See also  a

Frican

  a

mericans

,  i

slam

 

among

; 

n

ation

 

oF

 i

slam

.

Further reading: Muhammad Abdul-Rauf, Balal ibn 

Rabah: A Leading Companion of the Prophet Muham-

mad (Indianapolis, Ind.: American Trust Publications, 

1977); Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the 

Earliest Sources (New York: Inner Traditions Interna-

tional, 1983).