SOME IMPORTANT COVERSIONS |
All Makkans were against the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace). They wished to assassinate him but
could not do so. There were two reasons for this. The Quraysh were divided into ten
different families. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) belonged to the family of Hashim. If the rest of the nine
families of the tribe tried to assassinate him, then they would have to pay the
blood-money to the Hashimite family. The Quraysh used to say "if he (Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)) had not
been supported by his family, he would have been pelted to death". The Quraysh had attacked the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) twice but could not hurt him. This
was because of the support of two strong personalities of Makkah who had embraced Islam.
The circumstances of these conversions are described in the text which follows: One day some people, at the provocation of Abu Jahal, were pelting
stones at the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace). A woman watching the incident, went to one of the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) uncle,
HamzahR.A. She addressed HamzahR.A
and said, "O HamzahR.A, how could your sense of
honour allow your nephew to be so tortured. Why do not you help him"? HamzahR.A was a renowned wrestler and lion hunter. He till that day
had no interest in Islam. He had heard of it as being contrary to his ancestral beliefs.
When he heard about the incident, his expression changed. He asked her about the
insulting. When the women repeated some of those remarks, HamzahR.A
became infuriated. For the Arabs, abusing ones relatives was an unforgivable
offence. Secondly, abusive language towards one person was taken as if the whole tribe had
been targeted. HamzahR.A picked up his sword and went
to Abu Jahals house. He violently upbraided him for his derogate treatment to his
nephew. He also challenged him to do whatever he could to stop him as he was also going to
become a Muslim. After HamzahR.A embraced Islam, the
Muslims began to assemble at a house located at Mount Safa. The house was facing the Holy
Kabah. When they prayed, few Muslims kept their swords with them for defence from
attack by the Quraysh. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) expected strict discipline from the Muslims particularly for
prayers. No excuse was admissible unless one was so ill that he could neither sit nor
stand. The number of converts to Islam soon rose to thirty. Angry and troubled
to learn about the spread of Islam, the Makkans assembled in
Daar-al-Nadwah(their parliament) to curb the spread of Islam. Among the assembly of the Makkans was a person named UmarR.A.
When the meeting adjourned, he announced that he would get rid of this trouble
by eliminating the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace). UmarR.A was a valiant and a strong
- willed man. He was the tallest man in Makkah. He was true to his words and had a fiery
disposition. When UmarR.A took this oath, it was the year
614 AD. That day, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) and his followers were in the house at Mount Safa. UmarR.A went to his house, picked up his sword and headed towards
the Mount. On the way, he met Naeem bin Abdullah who had become Muslim but had not yet
announced it. Naeem bin Abdullah asked UmarR.A that where
he was headed. UmarR.A replied in a booming voice,
"O Naeem, I cannot recall anyone insulting our ancestors as Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is doing.
The greatest of our enemies dare not humiliate us. This person has shattered the peace of
Makkans by his new religion. He criticises our ancestors by rejecting the religion of our
forefathers. He wants us to stop worshipping our Gods. We have been tolerant enough as he
is among the Quraysh, but he has tried our patience long enough and I am going to take his
life and relieve the Makkans of this mischief-maker forever". After saying this he proceeded towards the Mount Safa. Naeem bin
Abdullah knew very well that UmarR.A would do as he said.
He also knew that he had good ears for reasoning. He was an honest man and not of a
stubborn disposition. Naeem ran to stop him and said, "O UmarR.A,
stop; I need to talk to you". When UmarR.A stopped to listen, Naeem
said, "You complain that Muhammads (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) religion has anguished the Makkans, but before
you care for them take care of your house". Quite surprised UmarR.A asked Naeem
what he meant. Naeem told him that his sister Fatima and her husband Saeed bin ZaydR.A had converted to Islam. He should therefore take care of
them first. When UmarR.A heard this news, he straightway
returned to his house. When UmarR.A entered his house, he saw
his sister, his brother-in-law and another person named Khabab reciting Holy Quranic
verses. UmarR.A became very angry. He started
whip-lashing his sister. He tried to compel her to revoke Islam. She replied by saying
that even if he whipped her to death, she would not revoke Islam. She added that if he
would recite the words of the Holy Quran, he himself would testify to its truth. There was a poor confederate of Zuhrah named Khabab who often came to
recite the Holy Quran to Said and Fatima, and he was with them at that moment with
some written pages of the Surah named Ta-Ha. UmarR.A
had heard the sound of their reading. He said to his sister, "Give me that script I
heard you reading. I may see what it is that Muhammad (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) hath brought". Like them, UmarR.A could also read; when he asked for the script she said.
"We fear to trust thee with it". "Fear not", he said, and, unbuckling
his sword-belt and laying down his sword, he swore by his gods that he would give it back
when he had read it. "O my brother," she said, "thou are impure in thine
idolatry, and only the pure may touch it". There upon UmarR.A
went out and washed himself. She gave him the page on which was written the opening of
Surah Ta-Ha. He began to read it, and when he had completed a passage he said: "How
beautiful and how noble are these words! When Khabab heard this he came out from his
hiding-place and said: "Umar, I am sure Allah hath chosen thee through the prayer of
the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)".
UmarR.A asked him where the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was. He told him that he
was at the house of Arqam near the Safa Gate with many of his companions. |
When UmarR.A listened to Quranic
verses he was so impressed that he kissed his sisters forehead and asked her to
forgive him. He then showed them his intention to become Muslim at that very moment. The
three of them accompanied UmarR.A to the Mount Safa. When
the Muslims saw him coming, they thought he was coming there to kill them. UmarR.A consoled them and stated the purpose of his visit. He was
the fortieth person to enter Islam. His conversion to Islam was a source of great comfort
and relief for the Muslims and this is marked as a vitally important incident of the early
Islamic period. There was no question of UmarR.A
keeping his Islam secret. He wished to tell everyone, in particular those who were most
hostile to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace). In later years he used to say, "The next morning I went and
knocked at Abu Jahals door, he came out and said, "The best of welcomes to my
sisters son! What hath brought thee here?" I answered, "I came to tell
thee that I believe in Allah and in His Messenger Muhammad
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and I testify to the truth of that
which he hath brought". Umar bin Khatab was among the most influential people in Makkah. His
voice like his build was strong and impressive. It is said, he could be heard even from a
distance of a thousand strides. Unlike the other Arabs UmarR.A did not
indulge himself in the prevalent evils of the society and like a real Arab he showed
thriftiness in hunger. He was tall and robust person. He became a great Muslim leader and
contented himself with only five morsels of every meal. When he was holding the office of
Caliphate, he worked days and nights without showing any signs of fatigue. He never spared
a culprit or allowed him any concessions. He never punished any innocent person either. He
was caliph for ten years and within this short span of time, conquered the three great and
powerful Empires of Iran, Egypt and Syria. Till his last day he used to sit on a mat
spread on the earth and ate only five morsels of food. When UmarR.A entered Islam, he led the
Muslims for the first time to say their prayers openly in the Holy Kabah. The
Muslims as a procession passed through the streets and markets of Makkah and offered
prayers in Holy Kabah. Abu Jahal, Abu Sufyan, Abu Lahab and other eminent men of the Quraysh
were present outside Holy Kabah when they saw Muslims praying but they dared not to
attack them. After the prayers when the Muslims came out of Holy Kabah, UmarR.A addressed the people of Quraysh and challenged them,
"If you have any differences with the Muslims, come to me as I have entered Islam
from today". They were so afraid of him that no one had the courage to oppose him.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and the other Muslims were able to return to their homes without fear. UmarR.A
bin Khatab accompanied the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) to his house that day and nobody could dare pass any
derogatory remarks or throw stones at him as they had previously done. When the Quraysh saw that UmarR.A had
entered Islam. They assembled again and agreed to go to the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) uncle Abu
Talib and ask him to banish Muhammad (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) from his tribe. If that occurred, they could assassinate
him without blame or fear of retribution. The only obstacle in this way had been the
Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
relationship with the Hashimite family. They decided to send someone to the Chief of the
Banu Hashimite clan, who would plead for the banishment of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and suggest replacing
him with one or two people from any other tribe. Such a suggestion would not be regarded with surprise. Before Islam,
there was no idea of death penalty for a murder. When someone was murdered, the murderer
had no feelings of guilt or shame. People did not consider it a crime and hence to murder
someone was not a sin. The idea of reward or punishment after death came with Islam. In
pre-Islamic days a Bedouin never repented or felt ashamed. If he had killed ten people
together he was not considered guilty by the other tribes or Arabs. Human life was
considered a commodity. The murderer had no guilt or responsibility when he had paid
blood-money to the people of the victim. Sometimes it also happened that in place of
paying the blood-money any person of the murderers tribe was transferred to the
tribe of the victim to strike a balance for the decrease in number. The Quraysh had
suggested replacing Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) with a man of another tribe to get rid of him, but this suggestion
was not rewarded. |