AL-FAROUQ OMAR IBNUL- KHATTAB
The Grand
Event
The House of Al-Arqam ibn-abil-Arqam,
known afterwards as the House of Islam, was the secret place where the Faithful
used to meet with their Prophet, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, away
from the reach of the disbelievers of Quraish. In the
sixth year of the Mission, two powerful citizens of Makkah, belonging to the
big tribe of Quraish, an nounced their adoption of Islam and joined the party
of the Faithful in their holy procession
towards realizing the Prophet's and their objective of gathering all the
people round the worship of the One God, Allah. Those were Hamzah ibn-'Abdul
Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle, and `Omar ibnul-Khattab. The story of the
conversion of each of these two great men is very interesting. It happened that
one day while the Prophet, Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, was sitting
contemplating on the rising ground of As safa, `Amr ibn-Hisham, Abu-Jahl, who
was coming up then, saw the Prophet in that contemplative mood. And as Abu-Jahl used to do during the
last few years after the Mission, he showered the Prophet with
the most contemptuous, hideous and insulting words, to which the Prophet gave no
answer whatsoever. Soon each of them left the place and went his own way. A
slave-girl, who had been passing by, had seen and heard everything. Hamzah ibn-
Abdul-Muttalib, who was a very well-known hunter, chanced to be coming back
from the chase when the slave-girl met him. She related
to Hamzah with indignation what Abu-Jahl had said to Muhammad.
Hamzah felt that his pride was offended and he became as furious as he had never been before. So, he went
straight away to Al-Ka'bah; and there, before the Holy House, he found Abu-Jahl
sitting with a company of Quraishite leaders. At once, Hamzah raised his bow
and struck Abu-Jahl forcefully on his face saying: "Have you been
insulting my nephew, and I, too, follow his religion? Now return the strike if
you dare." The kinsmen of the wounded Abu-Jahl wanted to attack Hamzah,
but Abu-Jahl motioned them away saying: "Leave him alone, for indeed I did
insult his nephew most disgracefully. Having thus professed Islam in a moment
of indignation and passion, Hamzah found himself, afterwards, deliberately going to the House of Al-Arqam where
Muhammad, Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, was meeting with his Com
panions. And there, he pledged himself to the Prophet testifying that
there was no god but Allah and that Muhammad was His Messenger. He kept
steadily adherent to his Faith ever after.
A short time after, `Omar ibnul-Khattab's conversion took
place. At that time, he was a mature man of thirty to thirty-five years of age,
though Ibn-Sa'ad's account is that he was twenty-six. Physically 'Omah was well-built and strong of
muscle. Temperamentally he was well known for
his strong passion. He was addicted to drinking, and he loved amusements. In
spite of his violence of character, he was never ruthless to his people. But to
the Muslims, he was one of their strongest enemies, a merciless aggressor of
their peace, security and religion. As a national of Makkah, he felt that his
pride had been wounded by the first emigration of the Muslims to
Abyssinia where they had sought the Negus's protection from the torment
they were undergoing at the hands of the disbelievers among their own
compatriots How could it be that his own countrymen went to seek security and
peace at a foreign king and country? This caused him much resentment
One day the Prophet, Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him,
was meeting with his companions at the House of Al-Arqam. `Omar got information
of that meeting, and prepared to go there with the intention of killing the
Prophet, and thus relieve Quraish of its burden, restore its destroyed unity, and re-establish
reverence for the gods that Muhammad had very
severely criticized and abused. On his way to the House of AI-Arqam, `Omar was
met by a man from Banu Zohrah. When the latter knew what `Omar was resolved to do, he said to him: "O `Omar, I
am afraid you are deceiving yourself. Do you think that Banu Hashim, Muhammad's
clan would leave you alive once you have
killed their son, Muhammad?" And he advised him to start back, hinting that Fatimah bintul-Khattab (`Omar's
sister) and her husband Sa'id ibn Zayd had already been converted. This
information aroused `Omar's indignation, and consequently, instead of going to
the House of Al-Arqam, he went straight to his sister's house. Without
knocking, he entered the house and heard a man reading. This was Khabbab
ibnul-Aratt, reciting theth Sura of the Qur'an while Fatimah and her husband
Sa'id were listening. `Omar drew near, and overheard
the murmur is low by definition murmur
of the reading. When Khabbab heard his steps which could never be missed, he
ran away and hid himself in a closet at the back of the house. "What is
this recital that I have heard just now?" asked `Omar as he entered
angrily. Fatimah and her husband denied that there was any recital. But `Omar
swore that he had heard it, and added that he
knew they had abandoned their
faith and believed in the new faith proclaimed by Muhammad. At this point, his
brother in-law, Sa'id ibn Zayd, had the courage to say: "O`Omar! Don't you
think there may be truth in another faith than yours?" `Omar was now
positive of what he had heard, concerning the conversion of his sister and her
husband. Consequently, and in a wild passion, he sprang upon Sa'id ibn Zayd and
gave him a strong blow. His wife rose at once to stop her brother's aggression
and protect her husband. But in the struggle, she too received some blows that
caused her to bleed. This violent aggression led Fatimah and
her husband to fearlessly say together: "Yes, it is true We have become
Muslims; we believe in Allah and in His Prophet. Now do what you will."
This fearless spirit on the part of Fatimah and her husband caused `Omar to be
softened, particularly after seeing his sister's
face covered with blood. He therefore asked to see the paper they had been
reading. But Fatimah said he must first be cleansed for "none but the pure may touch
it"
`Omar did as
his sister had required, and then, taking the paper and reading it, his face
changed to an expression of regret
and sorrow for what he had done to his sister and her husband. The
beauty and majesty of what he had
just read shook him to the depth of his heart and soul, and with the paper
still in his hand, he exclaimed in a low voice, as though speaking to him self:
"How excellent is this discourse, and how gracious! How noble is its call,
and how generous is its message!" In short, `Omar's
good side got the better of him. It all happened in a flash of the moment, when
Allah willed it to be. `Omar was inspired to take his decision on the spot.
Khabbab, feeling secure now, came out of his hiding place, and said:
"O'Omar I believe that Allah has indeed set you apart for Himself, in
answer to His Prophet's plea which I heard yesterday, and in which he
prayed Allah to strengthen Islam by the nearer and more beloved to Him:
`Amr-ibn-Hisham (Abu-Jahl) or `Omar-ibnul-Khat tab." With a pure soul and
a heart full of certainty and determination, `Omar headed straight for the House of Al-Arqam
where the Prophet was meeting with his Companions and followers. At the door,
there were a few of these, including Hamzah-ibn-'Abdul-Muttalib.
They were
scared when they saw Omar pacing towards them with his sword in his hand.
But Hamzah, henceforth the lion of Allah, said: "Yes';
that is `Omar coming to us; if he is coming for good and aiming whole-heartedly
at adopting our faith, that is what we will wish and hope; if otherwise, by the
Will of Allah we will easily get rid of him." At the door of the house,
`Omar asked the Prophet's permission to go in, and the Prophet gave him that
permission. With his sword back into its sheath, `Omar stepped in and beaded directly for
the Prophet who at once caught hold of `Omar's garb and the sword-belt saying: "How
long, O`Omar, will you not refrain from persecuting, until Allah sends some
disaster upon you?" And `Omar replied: "I testify that there is no
god but Allah and that you are His Prophet!" Filled with delight the
Prophet shouted, "Allahu Akbar! Greater is Allah," and all the
Companions repeated it after him.
The gain of two such men as Hamzah
and `Omar was a real triumph to the cause of the new Faith. Both were reputed for
their great physical strength, their extraordinary courage, and their social
position: thus securing for themselves a high prestige and an unparalleled calibre among their mates in Makkah. Due
to his courage and heroism, Hamzah earned for himself, as mentioned
before, the title of "The Lion of Allah." Had he lived longer, he
might have had an unpredicted influence on the destiny of Islam; but
he was prematurely cut off during the battle on the field of Ohod.
As for `Omar, he was then in the pride of early manhood. His vigorous stature and ruddy heath,
added to his boldness, keen glance and steady purpose, all made of him a man
who was always ready in word and deed at the decisive moment. His anger was
easily aroused, and Quraish stood in awe of him, being certain that whatever he
wanted to do he did, without fear of anybody or anything.
`Omar's
conversion to Islam opened a new era for this religion to start its public,
fearless pratice in Makkah. The House of Al-Arqam began to be abandoned; the
claims of the new Faith began to prevail over the ties of kinship, and members of
the same family were to be seen openly taking sides here or there. The
believers no longer concealed their worship within their own
dwellings, but with conscious strength and defiant attitudes assembled in companies around Al-Ka'bah, and
there, performed their rites of worship openly. The conversion of `Omar caused
a further division in Quraish; it reduced their power and caused them to
reconsider their tragedy. In fact, it
increased the Muslims' power very greatly and most significantly. In short, `Omar's conversion made the
Muslim courage rise, and filled Quraish with dread and uneasiness.
This matter had been very decisively settled when `Omar asked the Prophet,
Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, one day after his conversion:
"Aren't we following the Truth, O Prophet, whether we die or live?"
And the Prophet answered, "Yes, by Him in Whose hand is my soul O `Omar,
you are following the Truth whether you die or live." "So why,"
said `Omar earnestly
"Do we still meet in secret? By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, you
shall call in public." The Prophet's silence meant his approval of what
`Omar had suggested. Soon the believers went out, led by the Prophet, in two
rows, the first being headed by Hamzah, and the second by`Omar. All
headed for Al-Ka'bah, and there, performed the circumambulation and said the
prayers, with the leaders of Quraish watching them without daring to utter a
single word, or make a motion to wards these two rows headed by Hamzah and
`Omar. The conversion of `Omar to Islam reduced the power of Quraish
significantly in that `Omar brought with him to the new Faith the tribal
loyalties with which he had fought Islam earlier. He did not hide himself or
conceal his Islam. On the contrary, as we have seen, he proclaimed his new
Faith to all the people, and fought them for not joining him. He did not at all
approve of the Muslims hiding themselves, or holding prayers in the outskirts
of Makkah, far beyond the reach of Quraish. He continued to struggle against
Quraish until he could perform his prayer beside Al-Ka'bah, where his fellow -
Muslims, his brethren in Islam, joined him. Since that time, Quraish became
certain that no injury inflicted upon Muhammad or his Companions would stop men
from embracing the religion of Allah, as long as they
could rely upon the tribal protection of `Omar, Hamzah, the Negus of Abyssinia,
or others capable of protecting them. May Allah be pleased with you, `Omar, for
your conversion to Islam was indeed a conquest- and a very successful one.