Saying · c. 615 CE (Meccan period)
أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ
Ahadun Ahad! Ahadun Ahad! (One! One!)
Repeated throughout his torture, affirming the Oneness of Allah.
Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi refused to recant despite relentless torture by his owner, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, who handed him over to be dragged through the streets of Makkah with a rope around his neck, and pinned him under a rock in the scorching sun. Throughout, Bilal repeated "Ahadun Ahad" (One, One), affirming the Oneness of Allah.
Bilal's steadfastness under torture became emblematic of unwavering faith, and he was later rewarded by being chosen as the Prophet ﷺ's official muezzin.
Other events recorded in 7 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ
Ahadun Ahad! Ahadun Ahad! (One! One!)
Repeated throughout his torture, affirming the Oneness of Allah.
أَكْفُرُ بِاللَّاتِ وَالْعُزَّى وَأُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ
I reject al-Lat and al-Uzza, and I believe in Allah.
Heard and later reported by Amr ibn al-As.
The rocks were so hot you could literally cook raw meat on them.
A later recollection by Amr ibn al-As describing the severity of Bilal's torture under the sun.
Bilal was tortured by the people of Makkah and by Umayyah ibn Khalaf in particular, but he never even gave them one word to please them.
A later recollection by Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, nephew of Aisha, many years after the events.