EVENTS
615 CE / Conversion of Hamza & Umar. 6th Year of Prophethood
Important events and incidences that took place
The conversion of Hamzah and Umar did much to further the cause of the religion, and it was by these two men that God restored a sense of honour and pride to the believers.
Hamzah’s conversion, although initially proclaimed out of anger due to the oppression of his kin, proved to be extremely fruitful in strengthening Islam and the Muslims. It came about through an incidence that occurred at the Ka’bah between the Prophet who was one day seated on the hillock of Safa when Abu Jahl passed by and insulted Islam.
The Prophet kept quiet choosing not to engage Abu Jahl in his vain talk, an act which incensed him, so he took a stone and struck the Prophet’s head which began to bleed. Abu Jahl then left to join the Quraysh at their assembly place. Hamzah happened to be returning from a hunting trip when a slave-girl belonging to ‘Abdullah bin Jad’an, informed him of what had happened.
On being deeply offended, he hastened to the Ka’bah where he found the aggressor sitting in the courtyard of the Holy Sanctuary. Hamzah rushed upon him and violently struck Abu Jahl on the head saying: “Ah! You insult Muhammad when I too follow his religion?!”
His conversion proved to be a source of great strength to the Islamic Faith and its adherents, and he himself came to be known as the ‘Lion of God’.
The Conversion of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab took place three days subsequent to the conversion of Hamzah. He was at this time about twenty-six years old, a man of courage who was feared and respected with decisive resolution. Unlike his uncle Abu Jahal he was deeply pious and as such, though a bitter opponent of the new religion, would at times feel various contradictory emotions within his soul.
An example of this is once when ‘Umar was in the Holy Sanctuary where he saw the Prophet offering prayer. He thought it would be a good idea to hide behind the curtain of the Ka’bah and jump out and Muhammad to scare him. However, as he got closer, he could hear him reciting the Quranic chapter Al-Haqqah and was amazed by the words of God, but being irrational he thought to himself, ‘this must be the words of an exceptional poet’, and which the Prophet recited the verse, “It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe!”
Shocked at the Prophet’s statement and quite certain that the Prophet knew nothing of his presence he thought to himself the Prophet must be a soothsayer. But as the thought crossed his mind, the Prophet recited, “Nor is it the word of a foreteller, little is that you remember!” The Prophet continued, “This is the Revelation sent down from the Lord of the worlds.” Although Islam had now permeated his heart, the deep-seated bigotry he held, rendered him unable to submit to the truth, and thus, persisted in his oppression of Muslims, filled with loathing.
His sharp temper and excessive enmity towards Muhammad led him one day to hunt for him, with a sword in hand, he left his home. However, he didn’t get far when he was informed that his brother-in-law and his sister had abandoned polytheism in favour of Islam. So ‘Umar changed his course setting it towards his sister’s house. As he drew near, he could hear the Quran being recited and entered angrily and uninvited. Full of rage he fell upon his brother-in-law beating him severely, but Fatimah, his sister rushed to the rescue of her husband when ‘Umar fell upon his sister and struck her on her head. Realising fighting back was futile the couple cried out, “Yes, we are Muslims, we believe in God and His Messenger Muhammad so do as you will.”
Upon seeing the face of his sister besmeared with blood he felt regret, full of shame. He said softly, as if to extend an olive branch, “Let me see what you were reading, so that I may see what Muhammad has brought.” They complied with his request but only after they had made him wash, since he was unclean. Upon doing so he was given the parchment which he took and began to read, from the opening verses of the Chapter Ta-Ha until he reached, “Verily! I am God, none has the right to be worshipped but I, so worship Me and offer prayers for My Remembrance.” ‘Umar read the verses with awe, and the seed of Islam had finally began to sprout in his heart: “How excellent it is, and how graceful! Please guide me to Muhammad.” he said.
On hearing his statement, Khabbab came out of concealment and said, “O ‘Umar, I hope that God has answered the prayer of the Prophet , for I heard him say, “O God! Strengthen Islam through the one most beloved to you, either ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab or Abu Jahl bin Hisham.”
‘Umar then left for Dar Al Arqam where the Prophet had been holding secret meetings along with his Companions. ‘Umar reached there with his sword swinging by his arm. He knocked at the door and the Companions of the Prophet turned to see who the intruder was. One of them peeped through a chink in the door and shrieked, “It’s ‘Umar with his sword.” Hamzah, being the Lion he was, said, “Open the door. If he intends good he shall find it here, and if he intends evil, he will be killed with his own sword.”
On entering he stated his intentions saying, “O Messenger of God, I come to you in order to believe in God and his Messenger and that which he has brought from his Lord.” Filled with delight, all cried out ‘God is Great’ so loud that even those in the Holy Sanctuary heard.
‘Umar’s conversion had a tremendous impact on the situation of the believers. ‘Abdullah Ibn Al-‘Abbas related that he had asked ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab why he had been given the epithet of Al-Faruq (he who distinguishes truth from falsehood), he replied, “After I had embraced Islam, I asked the Prophet:
‘Aren’t we on the right path in this world and the hereafter?’ The Prophet answered: ‘Of course you are! I swear by God in Whose Hand my soul is, that you are right in this world and in the hereafter.’ I, therefore, asked the Prophet why we then had to conduct our activities secretly. “I swear by God Who has sent you with the Truth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.”
We then went out in two groups, Hamzah leading one and I the other. We headed for the Mosque in broad daylight and when the polytheists of Quraysh saw us, their faces became pale with resentment. On that very occasion, the Prophet attached to me the epithet of Al Faruq.
LESSONS & WISDOMS
615 CE / Conversion of Hamza & Umar.
A closer look at the events; in search of deeper meanings and drawing lessons
The conversion of Hamza and Umar bin al Khattab was a source of great strength for the Muslim community. Their pro-activeness in strengthening the Islamic movement bore testimony to the statement of the Prophet: “The worst of you in pre-Islamic ignorance would be the best of you in Islam; provided such a person gain understanding”. It also shows us the importance of seeking out the more influential members of society to share the message of Islam with.
When Umar converted he found it intolerable that the Quraysh could worship the idols openly while the believers worshipped God in secret. So he used to pray in front of the Ka’bah and would encourage others to follower him. His unwavering proactivity illustrates to us that a lengthy period of worshipping God is not a precondition for excelling in religious propagation. No sooner had Umar submitted his will to God than he immediately set out to re form the community.
The conversion of ‘Umar & Hamzah was a victory for the cause of Islam. So great and instant was the effect of his conversion that those believers who had hitherto worshipped God in secret now assembled to openly proclaim the call, and circumbulate the Sacred House freely. They even dared retaliate against some of the injustices done to harm them.
EDICTS & RULINGS
615 CE / Conversion of Hamza & Umar
Revelation & rulings particular to this year
In the moments leading up to his conversion, Umar decided to act and stop, as he saw it, the splitting of the Quraysh into two. In a sudden wave of anger he took up his sword and set out from his house in search of Muhammed. No sooner had he left it than he came face to face with a fellow clansmen; Nu’aym ibn Abdullah. Nu’aym, who had converted, tried to stop him by suggesting to him that his own family may have converted. Without a word Umar headed for his sisters house and stumbled upon her and her husband Sa’id. They had some written pages of the Quranic chapter Ta-Ha which had recently been revealed:
We did not send down the Qur’an to you to make you miserable,but only as a reminder for those who have fear,
a Revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens,the All-Merciful, established firmly upon the Throne.
Upon reading the verses Umar remarked “How beautiful and how noble are these words!” and his heart warmed to Islam.
CONTENTIOUS NARRATIVES
615 CE / Conversion of Hamza & Umar
The ‘Satanic Verses’
The so called ‘Satanic Verses’ were allegedly recited by the Prophet in public while he was at the Holy Mosque at Mecca in this year, the fifth year of prophethood shortly after the first emigration to Abyssinia.
There are numerous and contradictory reports of what was recited but most accounts suggest that the Prophet spoke of the high status enjoyed by three notorious pre-Islamic Arabian deities, referring to their role as intermediaries between God and man. Whether because they believed that the Prophet had finally relented and accepted a religious compromise, abandoning his insistence on absolute submission to the One God or whether because they were moved once again by the eloquence of the Prophet’s message whose undeniable beauty was a source of great wonder and annoyance to them, the disbelievers around the Prophet prostrated themselves in reverence upon hearing the verses.
Muslim reaction to the ‘Satanic Verses’ has been varied. Many scholarly authorities freely mention the historical reports in which the verses are mentioned, but point to their historical unreliability. Others, while accepting that the account of the verses does not meet the strict tests for authenticity established by Muslim scholars to verify reports of the Quran or the Prophetic hadith, nevertheless seem willing to accept the reports, seeing in them a sort of theological truth. For these scholars, the traditional account stands as confirmation of the Divine warning of the Devil’s attempts to distort the Divine message.
The ‘Satanic Verses’ incident is a warning to human beings not to become not to be amongst those who, for their own devilish reasons, would distort the text or, what is much more common and destructive, the meaning of the Divine message. The story reminds us, they argue, that one must be careful not to extend God’s infallibility and purity to one’s own self. The potential for corruption and distortion is present in all human attempts to speak about the Divine unless God himself undertakes to protect His word, its text and meaning “Indeed We have sent down the Reminder. Indeed We stand guard over it,” the Qur’an reassures us, reminding us, for we do need reminding, that man is incapable of arriving at the truth and of subsequently protecting it, without God’s continual grace.
Despite the fact that it was used to discredit the Prophet, the ‘Satanic Verses’ incident turns out to be a very persuasive argument for his veracity and truthfulness. For whether he recited the famous verses or not, all historical accounts agree that the subsequently the Prophet continued to preach his unrelenting message of tawhid, the peace found by submission to the One true God. Had the Prophet been nothing but a cynical charlatan, the reaction of his enemies who bowed in prostration with him upon hearing their gods honored by the same Prophet who had spoken so eloquently of their powerlessness before, would have represented something of a triumph. A cynical, calculating charlatan would not destroy this success by returning to the message of submission to the One God. Yet that is precisely what the Prophet did, continuing his call of tawhid – one which had brought him considerable harm and little popularity or power.
It is curious that the rich theological debate engendered by the ‘Satanic Verses’ has recently been dismissed by some, who have used the phrase to justify their prejudiced attacks on Islam. These corrupt imitations of art are offensive not because they convey an artistic truth, but because in their bigoted attacks on Islam they also amputate the complex history and narrative which they claim to portray. In the end, such works become a parody of knowledge itself and an attack against the whole enterprise of truth.