Finding the Prophet

When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Quba', Salman brought him a tray of dates as charity. The Prophet ﷺ told his companions to eat but did not eat himself. The next day Salman brought a gift, and the Prophet ﷺ ate. Then, at Baqi' al-Gharqad, Salman saw the seal of prophethood between his shoulders, kissed him and wept, and told him his story. The Prophet ﷺ was pleased and asked him to tell it to his companions.

Salman remained a slave, so he missed Badr and Uhud. The Prophet ﷺ told him to arrange a contract of freedom with his master. The price was three hundred date palms planted and growing, and forty uqiyyah of gold. The Prophet ﷺ planted the shoots with his own hand, and not one died. Then a nugget of gold was brought and the Prophet ﷺ used it to settle the debt; Salman said that it weighed exactly forty uqiyyah.

Salman's lineage was a question in Madinah: he was from Persia. Abu Hurayrah reported that when the Surat al-Jumu'ah verse about others who have not yet joined them was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ put his hand on Salman and said that even if faith were at the Pleiades, men from these people would reach it (Sahih al-Bukhari 4897; Sahih Muslim 2546).