Bilāl's voice
Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ was born into slavery in Mecca, the son of an Ethiopian mother. When he accepted Islam, his owner, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, punished him. He laid him on the burning sand at midday with a heavy rock on his chest, demanding that he give it up. Bilāl would only say: “One. One.” (Ahad, ahad.)
Abū Bakr bought his freedom. Later, in Medina, when the Muslims needed someone to call people to prayer, the Prophet chose Bilāl, for the beauty of his voice. He became the first muezzin, the caller to prayer, in Islam.
Years afterwards, on the day Mecca was opened, the Prophet asked Bilāl to climb onto the roof of the Kaʿbah itself and give the call to prayer. It was the holiest place in the city that had enslaved him. Some of the old aristocracy muttered in disgust at seeing him there.
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who later ruled the Muslim world, used to say: “Abū Bakr is our master, and he freed our master”, meaning Bilāl (Bukhari 3754).
The Qur'an says: “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.” (49:13, Pickthall). Bilāl's raising was not a reward for being clever or rich. It was God's own measure, made visible on a rooftop.
What each faith says
Judaism
“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dung-hill, to make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory”
1 Samuel 2:8 · JPS 1917
Hannah's song continues: God raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the rubbish heap, to sit them among princes. Jewish tradition loves stories of people raised from nothing: Joseph from prison to the palace, David from the sheepfold to the throne.
Psalm 113, part of the Hallel sung on festivals, repeats the same words: the One who raises the poor from the dust.
Every morning, Jewish prayer thanks God who raises up those who are bowed down. And every Passover, the Seder tells the people's own story as a raising: it begins “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt” and ends in freedom.
Christianity
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
James 4:10 · WEB
Christians believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him, and that he will raise those who belong to him. The letter of James gives the everyday version: humble yourself, and God will lift you up.
Christians celebrate that raising at Easter, and his ascension forty days later. Many Black-majority churches in Britain were founded by Caribbean Christians of the Windrush generation. Some had not been made welcome in existing congregations, and built places of worship of their own.
Islam
“O ye who believe! when it is said unto you, Make room! in assemblies, then make room; Allah will make way for you (hereafter). And when it is said, Come up higher! go up higher; Allah will exalt those who believe among you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks. Allah is Informed of what ye do.”
Qur'an 58:11 · Pickthall (1930)
Ar-Rāfiʿ is drawn from Qur'anic phrases such as ‘That is Our argument. We gave it unto Abraham against his folk. We raise unto degrees of wisdom whom We will. Lo! thy Lord is Wise, Aware.’ (6:83, Pickthall (1930); 58:11) and the Day that is ‘lowering, raising’ (56:3). God calls Himself “Raiser of degrees” (40:15). Classical scholars said He raises the humble, the people of knowledge and the faithful, in this life and the next.
The Qur'an describes Jesus as raised by God: “(And remember) when Allah said: O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow thee above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me ye will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein ye used to differ.” (3:55, Pickthall). For people, the Name means lifting others: freeing, teaching, giving a chance.
Same and different
All three faiths celebrate a God who raises the poor from the dust, and all three tell of people lifted from slavery or prison. They differ most sharply around Jesus. Christians believe he died on the cross, rose on the third day and ascended. Most Muslims believe God raised him to Himself without his being crucified (Qur'an 3:55; 4:158), and that he will return. Both speak of his raising with reverence. Judaism does not share either belief about Jesus; its own great story of raising is the Exodus, retold at every Seder. Yet the core of this Name, that God lifts up the lowly, is held by all three in very similar words.
A moment to reflect
- Who raised you up when you were low: a teacher, a friend, a stranger?
- Is there someone you could teach, sponsor or speak up for?
- What small step up, taken by degrees, would make the biggest difference to you this year?
Watch
1928 newsreel of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, captioned and described: the ‘In us’ rung.
SciShow Kids on the world's tallest tree: the ‘In nature’ rung.
The Open University on its decades of open learning: the ‘At our best’ rung.
Do it together
In pairs, one person closes their eyes while the other spells a simple word into their palm with a finger. Swap. Then tell the story of Anne Sullivan and the water pump, and talk about who lifted you when you could not do it yourself.
As a group, sponsor one person's next step: an evening class, a driving lesson, a set of work clothes or a mentor. Read 1 Samuel 2:8 and Qur'an 58:11 when you hand it over.
At a Passover Seder, Jewish families tell their story as a journey from slavery to freedom. Each person tells a short story from their own family: a time someone was lifted from a hard place to a better one.
Many Black-majority churches welcome visitors. Go to a Sunday service together, sit with the congregation, and listen to how the songs and prayers talk about being lifted up.
Go deeper
- Perkins School for the Blind: Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan · museum
- Koch and others (2004): the limits to tree height · paper
- The Open University: our history · article
- Qur'an 58:11 on Quran.com · scripture
- 1 Samuel 2 on Sefaria: Hannah's song · scripture
- James 4 (WEB): ‘he will exalt you’ · scripture
Sources (5)
- Anne Sullivan arrived March 1887; the water pump; Keller earned a BA in 1904: Perkins School for the Blind
- Hyperion, coast redwood, about 116 m: US National Park Service, Redwood National and State Parks
- Maximum tree height limited to about 122-130 m by water transport: Koch and others, Nature 428:851, 2004
- Open University chartered 1969, first students 1971, no entry qualifications, over two million students: The Open University
- ‘Abū Bakr is our master, and he freed our master’: Sahih al-Bukhari 3754