Both Hamza and Umar

The Quraysh were not happy with Negus’s response but they did not have the power to confront him and resist. Events that would surely take away their bliss was to come in the following days anyway. The thing that the non-believers feared the most was for the two most powerful men in Mecca, Hamza and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, to become Muslim. Everyone would shy away in the presence of these men who radiated an air of rigor to their surroundings. They knew very well that things would get extremely difficult if they too were to change lanes.

One day, Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib, was returning from a hunting session and was equipped with his bow and arrows. As he was walking towards the Ka’ba he ran across a maid on the road. Out of breath, she exclaimed, “Hamza! Hamza! Do you have any idea what Abu Jahl did to your nephew Muhammad just now? He confronted Muhammad in an intimidating manner and talked abusively to him, giving him such a hard time.

All of a sudden, Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib was filled with rage. He loved his nephew so much. The fact that his nephew was tyrannized without even being guilty for anything was what made him furious the most. Without stopping to greet anyone he rushed to the Ka’ba at full speed. As soon as Abu Jahl saw him coming, he started regretting what he had done, but now it was too late. Hamza went straight to Abu Jahl. Then he raised his bow and hit Abu Jahl about the head, saying, “How dare you speak unpleasant words to Muhammad? I, too, am from his religion, I, too, say what he says. Come; confront me if you have that power.”

Abu Jahl was bleeding from Hamza’s blow. Hamza left him there as he was and went straight to his nephew, Muhammad, the Trustworthy. He gave the glad tidings that he would be at his side, always, from that point on, and said, “O Muhammad! I am certain you represent that which is true and virtuous. O my brother’s son! Continue preaching your religion and conveying your message with no worry at all, any more! I swear to Allah that from this moment on, not even the brightness of the sun has more importance for me! For I have found my religion at last!”

Hamza’s acceptance of the faith had become a great source of joy for the Muslims. Henceforth, the Qurayshi non-believers would have to take Hamza’s being into account before deciding to attack the believers.

All of Mecca was talking about Hamza and his acceptance of the faith. Leaders of the Quraysh wanted to put an end to this dangerous spread of Islam once and for all. According to them, the only way to achieve this would be to kill Muhammad! Killing him would be a very risky task. For they knew that if they were to do such a thing, a never-ending blood feud between them and the sons of Abdul Muttalib could very well start. As they were speaking amongst themselves in Daru’n-Nadwa, Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Faruq, who was quietly listening to them close by, spoke out angrily, “I will take care of this.” He put on his weapons and set out on his way.

He was infuriated. As he was hurrying down the road, he ran into Nuaym. A Companion that was keeping his Muslim identity a secret, Nuaym asked, “Umar!” What is this rush? Where are you going?”

“I am on my way to kill this man that has divided our people and disapproved of our gods,” Umar replied.

Nuaym was flustered; he had to figure out a way to stall for time. He said to Umar, “If you do such a thing, do you really think that the sons of Abdul Muttalib will keep you alive? Besides, your sister Fatima and her husband Said are a part of them also. Take care of your own family first.”

Umar’s fury had risen to another level. If Nuaym was telling the truth, then, for sure, he had to kill his sister and brother-in-law first. He changed his course and doubled his speed towards his sister’s home. Right when he approached their door, he heard a voice coming from the inside. When he paid careful attention to the voice, he realized that it was the Qur’an being read. The words of Allah had captivated him, just like they had a couple years before, but he quickly got himself together and started pounding on the door. Meanwhile, he was shouting out with his booming voice and demanding that they open the door at once.

The folks inside were startled as they heard Umar’s voice calling at the door. Habbab was inside, teaching them the Qur’an. The first thing they did was hide him in a corner of the house. Then they hid the verses of the Qur’an that they held in their hands. Fatima’s fearful disposition as she was late opening the door made Umar even more restless. He asked right away, “What was that voice I just heard?”

“What voice? There was no voice,” they replied.

“I heard it! I also heard that you too have accepted Muhammad’s religion,” he roared. Unable to stop himself, Umar ibn al-Khattab hit his brother-in-law with a severe blow.

When his sister Fatima attempted to stop him, he hit her as well. Covered in blood from Umar’s blow, valiantly confronted her big brother and said, “Yes, we have become Muslim! We have put our faith in Allah and His Messenger. Go ahead, do what you want to do.”

There was a deep silence in the room. For a while, Umar just stood still looking at his sister whom he had wounded.

Despite the situation she was in, she took a noble stance and stood up for her faith. The strength she attained through her faith was incredible. The great big Umar was starting to soften up. “Give me the page which you were reading when I was at the door,” he said to his sister. They were a bit surprised. Fatima replied with hesitation, “We fear that you might harm them.”

“Don’t worry. I will not do anything to harm the pages,” said Umar reassuringly. Then, he washed himself as Fatima taught him, took the pages with the verses in his hand and started to read them. At that moment, Habbab came out of where he was hiding. Turning to Umar he said, “O Umar! I swear to Allah that I wish for you to be blessed with the prayer of the Messenger of Allah. It was only yesterday that I heard him pray, ‘O my Lord! Please strengthen your religion with one of these two Umars: Umar ibn al-Khattab or Amr ibn Hisham! ‘I swear to Allah that his prayer has been accepted, O Umar.”

The majestic Umar was now bent over and on his knees. He then turned to Habbab, saying,

“O Habbab! Take me to Muhammad.”

Then, they set out on the road towards Arqam’s house. While Umar ibn al-Khattab was on his way towards them, the Archangel Gabriel gave our Prophet the glad tidings that he was coming to embrace the faith. A short while later, Umar arrived, came inside, kneeled down on his knees in front of our Prophet and became a Muslim. This made the Messenger of Allah so happy that together with the Companions they cried out, “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! “Not wanting to keep this change bottled up inside himself, Umar was craving to exclaim his belief to all of Mecca. He turned to our Prophet saying, “O Messenger of Allah! If the non-believers are able to worship their idols Lat and Uzza freely, then why should we have to worship our Allah in secret?”

Our Prophet was quite pleased with this offer. From that point onwards, they had reached the strength to be able to announce the call to Islam out loud. They went out altogether and walked towards the Ka’ba. Such a scene made the non-believers very anxious. Abu Jahl came running and asked, “What is it that you want to do Umar?”

Umar’s answer was very clear, “Whoever gives the Muslims a hard time, I will chop off their heads! Ashadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasuluh! (I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger!) Those who know me, know me well. Those who don’t, let them know that I am Umar ibn al-Khattab! Those who wish to leave their wife as a widow and their children as orphans, let them come and confront me!”

Such a courageous confrontation had frightened the Qurayshi non-believers. That day, the Muslims prayed in congregation at the Ka’ba for the first time. In this way, all the Arabs coming in to visit the Ka’ba also had a chance to witness the worship of Prayer in the religion of Islam.