Persians; Bilal is the sabiq of the Ethiopians; and Suhayb [al-Rumi]
is the sabiq of the Romans.”
This hadith would seem to suggest that Bilal was an Ethiopian.
However, interestingly al-Dhahabi goes on to affirm that Bilal was
in fact born, not in Ethiopian on the African side of the Red Sea,
but in a place called Sirah in Yemen .
It was Bilal’s mother, Hamam, who was actually an Abyssinian.
He therefore inherited not only her slave-status but also her
“Abyssinian-ness”.
On the other hand Bilal’s father, Rabah, was a black Arab. The
Egyptian writer Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad (d. 1964) thus notes:
“There is a consensus of opinion among historians that Hadrat
Bilal (ra) was not a pure Abyssinian. He was, however, born of [an]
Abyssinian mother. His father was an Arab. Bilal’s complexion
was very dark brown. His body was slim and tall, with a
prominent chest. His hair was thick and his cheeks were thin.
“These features are found in races of the Saud and the Samis.
These races mostly lived between Abyssinia and Yemen from
ancient times. His features are not identical with those of the Zanj
or the sons of Sam (Shem, i.e. the Semites). His complexion was
black and his hair was thick; This betrayed that he came of
parents of two different races…
“There is a difference of opinion about his birthplace. Some
historians claim that he was born at Mecca, whereas the others
were of the opinion that he was born in Sarat (=Sirah). The latter
view seems to be more plausible for Sarat is a town near Yemen