Episode 1: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab
Early Life and Family Background:
Umar ibn al-Khattab was the son of Al-Khattab ibn Nufayl, who was known for his harshness, and was part of the religion of the Quraysh (idol worship).
Al-Khattab would torture his own nephew, Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl because of his acceptance of Islam.
Umar ibn al-Khattab inherited his harshness from his father.
Umar’s mother was Hantamah bint Hisham, the sister of Abu Jahal.
Umar ibn al-Khattab was born in the year forty before the Hijrah, which was thirteen years after the year of the Elephant, the year the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born.
Physical Appearance and Character:
Umar ibn al-Khattab’s appearance was white with some redness on his skin. He was very tall and muscular and it was mentioned that he was so tall that when he would sit on a horse, his feet would still touch the ground.
Umar ibn al-Khattab was known to walk quickly and he spoke clearly.
He was given the role as an ambassador for the Quraysh to resolve disputes.
Early Opposition to Islam:
During the early days of Islam, there were some members from the tribe of Banu Adi (Umar’s tribe), who accepted Islam. They included: Fatimah, Umar’s sister and her husband Sa’id ibn Zayd.
Umar ibn al-Khattab did not accept Islam early on and participated in torturing the weak Muslims, as he was influenced by his uncle Abu Jahal.
The Muslims then started to make Hijrah to Abyssinia with the Prophet’s permission.
Among the Muslims who wanted to leave Makkah to escape the torture, was a woman called Umm Abdillah and her son Abdullah.
They knew that if the Quraysh found out that they were trying to leave Makkah, they would try to stop them. Umm Abdillah and her son Abdullah agreed to go separate ways and meet by a mountain.
Umm Abdillah was stopped by Umar ibn al Khattab, who asked her: where are you going Umm Abdillah?
Umm Abdillah told him about the migration and asked him to let her go so she can live in peace. Umar ibn al-Khattab agreed to let her go and said: May Allah be with you.
Umm Abdillah was surprised by this and she met her son and told her what happened. Her son, Abdullah then said: Wallahi, Umar ibn al Khattab will never accept the religion of Islam because he is one of the staunchest enemies of the religion.
Plot to Assassinate the Prophet:
Umar ibn al-Khattab realised how the Quraysh were no longer united and knew it was because of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Because of this, he planned to assassinate the Prophet and as he was on his way, a man named Nuaym ibn Abdullah, who was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, saw Umar and asked him where he was going.
Umar replied: I am going to find Muhammad and kill him with my sword.
Nuaym ibn Abdullah replied: Do you really think you can kill Muhammad? The family of Abdul Muttalib will not let this happen and they will kill you.
Umar then responded that he just wanted the problem (the Prophet) to be over with and he did not care if they killed him.
Nuaym became worried and he wanted to distract Umar so he could warn the Prophet of this evil plan.
Nuaym told Umar ibn al-Khattab: why don’t you go after your family members first?
Nuaym informed Umar that his sister, Fatimah bint al-Khattab was a Muslim.
The Turning Point: Visit to Fatimah’s House:
Umar ibn al-Khattab did not know this and decided to go to his sister’s house and as he arrived, he heard them reciting something so he knocked on the door.
Fatimah and her husband Sa’id ibn Zayd, one of the ten companions promised Jannah, heard Umar’s voice and they hid Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, who was sent by the Prophet to teach them the Quran, behind a curtain.
Umar asked Sa’id ibn Zayd if he had left his religion and he replied: Yes I believe in Allah.
Umar then hit Sa’id and he fell to the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth.
Umar ibn al-Khattab did the same to his sister Fatimah and after hitting her, he felt bad and asked her about the paper they were reading from.
Fatimah bint al-Khattab told her brother to purify himself and take a bath before reading this.
Umar did this and when he recited the Quran (Surah Taha), he realised that this was something special and Allah SWT had put Iman into his heart.
Conversion to Islam:
Umar ibn al-Khattab then said: Take me to Muhammad.
Khabbab ibn al-Aratt when hearing this, came out of his hiding place and said that the Prophet’s Dua had come true.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked Allah to strengthen Islam by guiding either Umar ibn Al Khattab or Abu Jahal to Islam.
At this point, Nuaym ibn Abdullah had already informed the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about Umar’s plan to assassinate him.
Umar ibn al-Khattab along with his sister Fatimah, Sa’id ibn Zayd and Khabbab went to Dar’ul Arqam to meet the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
When Umar knocked on the door, Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib told the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that he would kill him with his own sword, but the Prophet replied: No, let him enter.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then shook Umar and he fell to the ground.
The Prophet said: hasn’t the time come for you now to accept Islam?
Umar ibn al-Khattab then got up and read the Shahadah and accepted Islam.
The companions then shouted Allahu Akbar when witnessing this. Then, they realised that they were supposed to be quiet because the Quraysh did not know about the meeting place of the believers at Dar’ul Arqam.
The Quraysh heard this noise but did not know where it came from.
Umar Informs Abu Jahal about his Acceptance of Islam:
Umar ibn al-Khattab then went to the house of Abu Jahal and said: have you heard the news?
When he was informed that he Umar had accepted Islam, Abu Jahal became angry and said to him: May you be perished!
Umar ibn al-Khattab went to the Quraysh and asked them: who is the person from you that can’t keep a secret.
The Quraysh told him about a man named Jamil and Umar then informed him that he had accepted Islam and the news spread like wildfire.
The Quraysh Try to Attack Umar ibn al-Khattab:
The Quraysh tried to attack Umar ibn al-Khattab but he was able to hold off many of the disbelievers.
Umar got Utbah ibn Rab’iah, one of the most respected men of the Quraysh and sat on him and poked his eyes.
Umar informed Utbah that if the Quraysh did not back off, he would poke his eyes until he was blind. Because of this threat, Utbah ordered the Quraysh to get away.
Public Declaration of Islam:
Umar ibn al-Khattab then went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and asked: why can’t we openly show our Islam. The Prophet replied: because the Quraysh are torturing the people who accepted Islam.
Umar ibn al-Khattab replied: I swear by Allah, we will come out openly in front of the Quraysh and openly proclaim our Islam.
The number of the Muslims increased and there were now forty Muslim men but this figure did not include the slaves and ‘weak muslims’.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ agreed and decided it was time to make the religion public and he organised two lines, twenty people in each line.
At the front of the first line, Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib was stationed there and at the front of the second line, there was Umar ibn Al-Khattab, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was positioned in the middle of the two lines.
They went out into the streets of Makkah proclaiming: Allah is the Greatest, there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!
Impact of Umar’s Conversion:
Abdullah ibn Masud said: After the Islam of Umar, the Muslims now felt comfortable going in public and praying at the Kabah.
The acceptance of Islam from Umar ibn al-Khattab was a turning point for the Muslims.
Ali ibn Abi Talib said: I don’t know anyone who openly made Hijrah to Madinah. Everyone did it secretly, except one person.
Hijrah to Madinah:
Umar ibn al-Khattab then publicly announced his Hijrah to Madinah. He went to the Kabah and made a farewell tawaf and went to the groups of the Quraysh and said to them: May your faces be disfigured. I am making Hijrah to Madinah. Whoever wants for their mother to lose a child, or their child to become an orphan, whoever wants their wife to become a widow, meet me behind this valley.
He dared the Quraysh to follow him but nobody accepted this challenge.