The Last Adhan

After the Prophet ﷺ died, Bilal could no longer bear to give the adhan in Madinah. It is reported that when he reached the words bearing witness to the Prophet ﷺ, he could not continue for weeping. He asked Abu Bakr's permission to leave for jihad in al-Sham.

Reports say that Bilal gave the adhan once more in Syria, when 'Umar visited in 17 or 18 AH, and the people of the Companions who heard him wept as they remembered the Prophet ﷺ, so much so that no eye was dry. This is told in later works with chains that are not firm.

Bilal died in Damascus, around 20 AH, in his sixties. It is reported that as his death approached his wife wept and said, "What sorrow!", and he said, "What joy! Tomorrow we meet the beloved ones, Muhammad and his companions". The narration is weak, but it captures the man's longing.