Born into a wealthy Zoroastrian family in Persia, Salman felt a spiritual void and traveled through Syria and Iraq to find the true religion, converting to Christianity first.
He was eventually sold into slavery and brought to Medina, where he recognized Muhammad as the prophet he had been searching for and was freed with Muhammad's help.
During the Battle of the Trench (627), he suggested digging a massive defensive ditch around Medina, a tactic unfamiliar to the Arabs but common in Persian warfare. This saved the city from the Meccan coalition.
Muhammad once declared, 'Salman is one of us, the members of the household,' showing his high status despite his non-Arab origins.