AL-FAROUQ.pdf

AL-FAROUQ OMAR IBNUL- KHATTAB

HUSSEIN M-AL-GAYYAR

Before The Grand Event .

The Grand Event.

After The Grand Event Years Of Conquest

Omar's Marked Individuality.

Amirul-Mu'Mineen The Commander Of The Faithful.

`Omar's Martyrdom.

Before The Grand Event

Our man is `Omar ibnul-Khattab, of a tribe called Bani `Adiy. His father, Al-Khattab

ibn Nufail, was not well-off, though he was well-known for his violence and brutal

nature. There is no doubt that `Omar inherited the severity and violence of his father,

and that had it not been for his adoption of Islam, he might have lived among the

people of his tribe, as his father had done before, a man with a ruthless heart and a

violence of character that could never have been suppressed

Yet `Omar's life, in his Pre-Islamic days was more or less the same as the lives of the

youth about whom we read in the Pre-Islamic poetry. He was fond of drinking,

wrestling with his mates in the market places and courting the pretty young ladies. He

used to attend the annual poetic contests at `Okaz market, listen to the recitals of their

poets and repeat the verses of the Pre-Islamic poets. As all the other idolaters of his

time, `Omar had made his own idol of soft dates.

But one day, as he was worshipping his idol, he felt hungry, and found no harm in

devouring his god at once, which thing gives a true picture of the silly and trivial

mentality of the idol-worshippers in the Pre-Islamic days.

`Omar was one of the very few who were instructed in reading and writing in his

childhood. This is why he was frequently chosen by his tribe to represent them

whenever there were any disputes between them and other tribes. Whatever those

disputes the mere presence of `Omar was a very influential element in eliminating any

difficulty and solving any problem.

That was `Omar ibnul-Khattab, the man of extraordinary strenght, height, broad-

shoulderedness thickness of hands and feet; the man who forced the people to listen

when he spoke, who always hastened away when he walked, and who usually caused

much pain when he struck. That was `Omar who never felt scared of anything or

anybody throughout his life. It was not strange to see him facing the first Muslims

with all the violence and ruthlessness he had. There was a strong enmity between him

and Islam; the reason for this was that, among his people, he had been a man full of

power prudence zeal and dignity power to defend his people and their beliefs;

prudence to be always having watchful care of their interests; zeal to spend his time

and effort to keep them in union; and dignity to provide full respect and prestige for

himself and his people always and everywhere. With all these honourable qualities,

'Omar had had to face any call that might have caused disunion among his people,

dispersing them, nullifying their aspirations condemning their beliefs and satirizing

their gods. No wonder, then, that `Omar's violence inflicted the severest persecution

and torture upon the first Muslims. We have seen how he had inherited so much of his

father's brutal and violent nature. If we bear in mind that the most brutal and merciless

enemy of Islam, its Prophet and its first adherents, was `Amr ibn-Hisham, after wards

named "Abu-Jahl" by the Prophet and his companions, was `Omar's uncle (his

mother's brother), we can easily discern that `Omar's violence was the outcome of

what he had inherited from his father, and of the hideous ruthlessness his uncle used

to inflict upon the poor and weak Muslims of his time.

And it was not strange that `Omar's brutality and audacity had gone so far as to make

him think of killing the Prophet and establishing reunion among his people once

more. But such a daring idea had had to be checked a thousand times before it rose up

to the region of his conscious mind this had happened to `Omar. It had never occurred

to his mind that a grand event would take place very soon; and it would take place as

a flash of light at one of the brightest moments the history of humanity has ever

recorded.

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

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