A talk by Shaykh Muhammad 'Ayd 'Abbas regarding the Islam of the noble Companion 'Amr ibn 'Abasa (may Allah be pleased with him).

Eid Abbasi: from the evil of our own souls and the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whoever He misleads, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, , , . As for what follows:
Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the worst of matters are their innovations, every innovation is a religious innovation, every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
It was Allah’s will that our teacher (may Allah preserve him) be absent from this lesson due to a weakness in his voice (may Allah the Mighty and Majestic heal him and strengthen him), so I will speak to you this blessed evening (if Allah wills) about another page from the pages of the Prophetic biography, upon its owner be the best of prayers and peace. This report concerns the Islam of a Companion who is almost unknown except to a few of those engaged in the knowledge of the Sunnah and the biography, and they are few in number. That is the Companion 'Amr ibn 'Abasa, Abu Najih al-Sulami (may Allah the Exalted be pleased with him). So our topic is his Islam, how it was, and his story with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
While the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was calling his sincere friends and trusted acquaintances to Islam, news of his new call was spreading to the people in Mecca and outside it, and they were whispering about it among themselves. Among those who heard of it in this early stage was a man from the tribe of Sulaym named 'Amr ibn 'Abasa, whose kunya was Abu Najih. He received it with great eagerness and intense longing, as if he had been waiting for it with impatience, and he felt the need for it from the depths of his soul. He was a Bedouin with a sound innate natural disposition, a balanced mind, and a sound judgment. He saw his people worshipping idols and sanctifying them besides Allah (the Exalted), seeking aid from them and turning to them, calling upon them out of hope and fear, and offering sacrifices to them, while their priests, who were greedy and exploitative, controlled them. His mind did not accept these nonsense, and his intellect did not digest these falsehoods. How could he accept the state of his people, who, as he mentioned in a narration from him, when one of them would settle in a place, would look for four stones, making the best of them a god to worship, and setting up the other three for his pot. The pot needs three, which are called the athafi (stones under a pot). And so, when the third is completed, it is said: "The third of the athafi." This is used as a proverb when there is a matter that needs things that are incomplete and are completed by the last one; it is said: So-and-so was the third of the athafi, and the third of the athafi was such and such. These are the three specific stones placed under the pot to light the fire beneath it; he would make the three remaining stones for his pot, the best of them for his god, and the others for his pot. Then perhaps he would find something better than the first stone he had deified before he departed, so he would leave it and take another! And perhaps he met some of the People of the Book on one of his journeys, as in the previous narration, and heard from them about the imminent appearance of a Prophet who calls to Allah, by whom Allah will straighten the crooked religion and return the people to the pure, noble monotheism.
The news of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) fell upon him like heavy rain on thirsty land, so he went to his mount without delay, prepared it, and set out with it to Mecca. He wanted to meet this savior and gather with him directly, and hear from him without intermediaries, even if it cost him hardship and fatigue. We saw this in the Islam of Abu Dharr (may Allah the Exalted be pleased with him), and they are similar, and there is also a connection between them, as will come.
And it was Allah’s will (the Exalted) that he meet him at 'Ukaz, where he was staying at that time. We do not know, but perhaps it was the time of the famous market season. He met him after inquiring about him and being gentle with him. And he took, we naturally know the reason for this gentleness; because the polytheists were pursuing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with harm and preventing everyone who asked about him. And he began to ask him: Who are you? Who sent you? And why? And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered him with reassurance and confidence, so faith entered his heart, and he immediately declared his Islam, and testified to the testimony of truth. And he returned to ask: Who is with you, O Messenger of Allah, in this matter? And the humble answer came: .
Yes, only two men, one of whom is a free man, Abu Bakr, his friend and beloved, and Bilal, the Ethiopian slave. And behold, he attained the honor of precedence, becoming the fourth of four who believed in the call of truth. And Abu Najih asked the greatest Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) whether he ordered him to stay with him or return to his people to spread the call of Allah among them and invite them? And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to return to his people; for there is no great benefit expected from his staying with him, as the war against the call was declared and severe, and punishment awaited every believer and Muslim. And 'Amr returned to his people, and the years passed while he was catching up on the news of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims. He learned of his migration (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to the city, so he migrated to him and gathered with him. And he seized an opportunity when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was free, and asked him many questions about prayer, ablution, faith, migration, and struggle in the path of Allah, which were on his mind and found no answer. And he heard the certain answer from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so his soul was reassured by it and his heart understood it. And Abu Najih set out to convey Islam, work for it, support it, and remain steadfast upon its command until he met his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) in the late period of the caliphate of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).
Some of the books of the Sunnah narrated this long report of his in his own words, so I wanted to transmit it to you so that you may read for yourselves a page from the bright pages of Islam, and live with one of the early believers who attained a great honor when Allah (the Exalted) facilitated for him to be a quarter of Islam, as he says about himself. The meaning is he says: I was a quarter of Islam; that is, the fourth of four who preceded to Islam from among the men, and they are, as we mentioned, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and Bilal.