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Few
historical Islamic personalities move the hearts of Muslims
today like `Umar bin al-Khattab, the intimate Companion of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the second Caliph of
Islam. While the story of his conversion is well-known to many
Muslims who have read about it even as children, it
nevertheless remains a valuable reminder of the power of the
Islamic call to change the hearts of even its most bitter
opponents. The following account is the first installment of
My Journey to Islam’s historical personalities section:
`Umar
bin al-Khattab's Journey to Islam
`Umar
bin al-Khattab (may Allah be well pleased with him), of whom
all the Muslims are justly proud, was most adamant in opposing
the Prophet (peace be upon him) and very prominent in
persecuting the Muslims before he embraced Islam. One day, the
Quraysh in a meeting called for somebody to volunteer himself
for the assassination of the Prophet (peace be upon him). `Umar
offered himself for this job, at which everybody exclaimed,
“Surely, you can do it, ‘Umar!”
With
sword hanging from his neck, he set out straight away on his
sinister errand. On his way, he met Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas of
the Zuhrah clan. Sa’ad inquired, “Whither! `Umar?”
`Umar
replied, “I am after finishing Muhammad.”
Sa’ad
said, “But do not you see that the tribes of Hashim, Zuhrah
and Abde Munaf are likely to kill you in retaliation?”
`Umar,
upset at the warning, said, “It seems that you also have
renounced the religion of your forefathers. Let me settle with
you first.”
So
saying, `Umar drew out his sword. Sa’ad announcing his
Islam, also took out his sword. They were about to start a
duel when Sa’ad said, “You had better first set your own
house in order. Your sister and brother-in-law both have
accepted Islam.”
Hearing
this, `Umar flew into a towering rage and turned his steps
towards his sister’s house. The door of the house was bolted
from inside and both husband and wife were receiving lessons
in the Qur’an from the Companion Khabbab (may Allah be well
pleased with him). `Umar knocked at the door and shouted for
his sister to open it. Khabbab hearing the voice of `Umar, hid
himself in an inner room, forgetting to take the manuscript
pages of the Holy Qur’an with him. When the sister opened
the door, `Umar hit her on the head, saying, “0, enemy of
yourself! You too have renounced your religion.”
Her
head began to bleed. `Umar went inside and inquired, “What
were you doing? And who was the stranger I heard from
outside?”
His
brother-in-law replied, “We were talking to each other.”
`Umar
said to him, “Have you also forsaken the creed of your
forefathers and gone over to the new religion?”
The
brother-in-law replied, “But what if the new religion be the
better and the true one?” `Umar got beside himself with rage
and fell on him, pulling his beard and beating him most
savagely. When the sister intervened, he smote her so
violently on her face that it bled most profusely. She was,
after all, `Umar’s sister; she burst out:
“`Umar!
We are beaten only because we have become Muslims. Listen! We
are determined to die as Muslims. You are free to do whatever
you like.”
When
`Umar had cooled down and felt a bit ashamed over his
sister’s bleeding, his eyes fell on the pages of the
Qur’an left behind by Khabbab. He said, “Alright show me,
what are these?”
“No,”
said the sister, “you are unclean and no unclean person can
touch the Scripture.” He insisted, but the sister was not
prepared to allow him to touch the leaves unless he washed his
body. `Umar at last gave in. He washed his body and then began
to read the leaves. It was Surah “Taha”. He started from
the beginning of the Surah, and he was a changed man
altogether when he came to the verse:
“Lo!
I, indeed I am Allah. There is none worthy of worship save Me.
So serve me and establish the Prayer for My remembrance.”
He
said, “Alright, take me to Muhammad.”
On
hearing this, Khabbab came out from inside and said, “0, `Umar!
Glad tidings to you. Yesterday (on Thursday night) the Prophet
(peace be upon him) prayed to Allah, ‘0, Allah strengthen
Islam with either `Umar or Abu Jahl, whomsoever Thou likest’.
It seems that his prayer has been answered in your favor.”
`Umar
then went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and embraced
Islam on Friday morning. `Umar’s Islam was a terrible blow
to the morale of the unbelievers, but still the Muslims were
few in number and the whole country was against them. The
disbelievers intensified their efforts for the complete
annihilation of Muslims and the extinction of Islam. With `Umar
on their side, the Muslims now started saying their group
prayers in the Haram (Holy Sanctuary).
Abdullah
bin Mas’ood (may Allah be well pleased with him) says,
“`Umar’s Islam was a big triumph, his emigration to
Madinah a tremendous reinforcement, and his accession to the
Caliphate a great blessing for the Muslims.”
*The
wording of this narrative was taken from Sheikh Muhammad
Zakariyya’s Fazail-e-Amaal
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