Episode 7: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and Banu Bakr’s Attack:
One of the conditions of the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyyah was that any tribe that wanted to align themselves with the Quraysh were allowed to do so and this applied to any tribe that wanted to join the Muslims as well.
The tribe of Banu Bakr aligned themselves with the Quraysh and the tribe of Khuza’a were aligned with the Muslims.
Two years after the treaty, the tribe of Banu Bakr assaulted the tribe of Khuza’a.
After this incident, the Quraysh were afraid because they knew that they had broken the treaty and knew that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ could come and easily take control of Makkah.
Abu Sufyan’s Visit to Madinah:
Before the Prophet could take any action, Abu Sufyan went to Madinah and decided to meet his daughter, Umm Habiba, who was one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
He went to his daughter’s house and as he was about to sit down on an old mat, Umm Habiba quickly took the mat and folded it up.
Abu Sufyan was surprised and he asked her: Did you fold this mat because you think I am too good to sit on this mat, or is the mat too good for me?
Umm Habiba replied: This is the mat of the Messenger of Allah, he sits on this mat and as for you, you are Mushriq and you are impure. You cannot sit on this mat.
Abu Sufyan then asked for his daughter’s advice to calm the situation down and Umm Habiba said: I don’t know anything about these matters of war, you’re going to have to deal with this alone, I can’t help you.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw Abu Sufyan and asked: what is the situation, why are you here? Abu Sufyan replied: I just came to discuss renewing and extending the treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
The Prophet ﷺ asked Abu Sufyan: why do you want to extend it, did something happen? Abu Sufyan replied: No, nothing happened, I just thought it’s a good idea to renew it.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then said: we are following the terms of the original agreement, we never broke any terms of the agreement and we are not people of treachery and we do not betray anyone.
The Prophet ﷺ was not interested in what Abu Sufyan had to say.
Abu Sufyan then decided to go to Abu Bakr and he said: Convince Muhammad to renew the treaty, and you announce the general protection of the Quraysh (so the Quraysh would be safe)
Abu Bakr refused to do this and told Abu Sufyan that these decisions were dependent on the Prophet.
Umar’s Response to Abu Sufyan:
Abu Sufyan now decided to go to Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him: Can you declare that the Quraysh and everyone involved in what happened are under your protection?
Umar replied: you’re asking me to intercede to the Prophet not to fight you? I want to fight you and I am happy we are going to get the opportunity to fight you. Wallahi, if I didn’t find anyone with me to fight except the ants that are crawling on the ground, I will take an army of ants and I will fight you.
Abu Sufyan returned to Makkah and the Prophet prepared his army and came to the outskirts of Makkah without anyone from the city realising.
Abu Sufyan would come out to the outskirts of Makkah to see if the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his army were coming and one day, he came across Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle.
Abbas Grants Protection to Abu Sufyan:
Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib told Abu Sufyan: If Muhammad comes into Makkah and fights you, then this will be the end of the Quraysh. There is no way you can stand up to him and his army.
Abu Sufyan knew that this was true as the number of Muslims had now significantly increased.
Abbas then informed Abu Sufyan: you need to make a deal with Muhammad and come to some type of agreement with him so this ends peacefully.
Abbas tried to convince Abu Sufyan: let me take you to Muhammad, and you can talk to him and surrender Makkah peacefully. You do not want to fight the Muslims, trust me.
Abu Sufyan asked: How can I go and see Muhammad? The treaty of Hudaybiyyah is broken. So if I go there, and the Muslims see me, I will be killed.
Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib then offered to provide a promise of safety to Abu Sufyan and they both headed towards the Muslim camp.
Umar’s Reaction to Abbas Giving Abu Sufyan a Promise of Safety:
When Umar ibn al-Khattab saw this, he said: Abu Sufyan, he is the head of the disbelievers!
Umar took out his sword and wanted to strike Abu Sufyan, but Abbas then told him: Stop, he is under my protection.
Umar replied: He is the head of the disbelievers, he has no rights, there is no protection for him.
Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib informed Umar ibn al-Khattab that he had granted Abu Sufyan a promise of safety.
Umar quickly ran to the tent of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to ask for permission to kill Abu Sufyan.
Abbas saw Umar running towards the tent, and knew that he had to inform the Prophet that he had granted a protection of safety for Abu Sufyan.
Umar said to the Prophet: Abu Sufyan is here, give me permission to kill him.
Abbas then informed the Prophet: I have given him my promise of safety and protection.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told Umar: Leave him, do not kill him.
This incident caused Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib to exchange some words.
Abbas was upset with Umar for wanting to kill Abu Sufyan after granting him a promise of safety and on the other hand, Umar was upset with Abbas for providing protection to one of the biggest enemies of Islam.
Eventually, the situation calmed down and Umar ibn al-Khattab said to Abbas: when you became a Muslim, I was more happy than I would have been even if my own father (Al-Khattab) had become a Muslim. The reason why I was so happy is because I know that the Prophet really wanted you to accept Islam. You are his uncle and he loves you and he wanted you to accept Islam, so I know that your Islam made him very happy and because of this, it made me happy.
Umar’s Concern for Privacy:
One time, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sent a boy from the Ansar to go and get Umar ibn al-Khattab.
This was early in the afternoon, where people would often take naps and the boy came and entered the room of Umar without permission, waking him up.
Umar ibn al-Khattab got up from his sleep and his some of his body was exposed.
When he realised this, he made Dua to Allah, saying: I wish that Allah will send some revelation that will prohibit our children and our women and our servants to enter upon us during these times where we need privacy where we are sleeping, except with our permission.
Umar then went to the Prophet and by the time he reached him, exactly what he wanted was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Allah SWT revealed Ayats in the Quran regarding this. (Quran, 24:58-59)
Funeral of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul:
The son of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul (leader of the Munafiqin) asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: can you pray the Janazah for my father.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ agreed to do this and when the time for the funeral prayer came, he got up to lead the prayer.
Umar ibn al-Khattab then grabbed the garment of the Prophet to prevent him from leading the prayer and he said: Don’t do it, don’t pray to this guy. This is Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the Munafiq. Don’t pray to him, he doesn’t deserve this honour from you.
In another narration, it was stated that when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ got up to lead the funeral prayer, Umar came in front of him to block him.
Umar ibn al-Khattab said regarding this incident: I was amazed at myself that I was so bold to try and get the Prophet to not pray the Janazah for Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said to Umar: Ya Umar, Allah gave me a choice: Ask Allah to forgive them, or don’t ask Allah to forgive them. Even if you ask Allah seventy times to forgive them, Allah will not forgive them. So I am going to take the choice to ask for forgiveness for them.
Allah SWT revealed: even if you were to ask seventy times for Allah to forgive them, Allah will not forgive them. (Mentioned in the Quran, 9:80)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then said: Allah said seventy times? So, I will ask for forgiveness more than seventy times.
This was the mercy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, even to a person who caused him so much personal pain in his life.
Umar ibn al-Khattab tried to prevent the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from praying the Janazah but the Prophet said to him: Ya Umar, move out of my way and I am going to lead the Janazah.
The Prophet ﷺ then led the funeral prayer of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul.
Allah SWT then sent down a verse of the Quran affirming what Umar ibn al-Khattab was saying.
Allah said: ‘And do not ever offer (funeral) prayers for any of their dead, nor stand by their grave ˹at burial˺, for they have lost faith in Allah and His Messenger and died rebellious.’ (Quran, 9:84)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not pray the funeral prayer for a Munafiq ever again and once more, Umar’s thinking and reasoning was confirmed by a revelation from Allah SWT.
Introduction of the Adhan:
When the call for Adhan came, it was discussed by the companions upon how they should call the Muslims to prayer. Some of them recommended using a bell like the Christians used and some recommended to use a horn like the Jews did.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ agreed to use a bell but they could not find one to use.
Abdullah ibn Zayd’s Dream:
On that night, one of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Abdullah ibn Zayd had a dream that he saw a man with a bell.
In the dream, Abdullah ibn Zayd went to the man and said: can you sell me that bell? The man replied: why do you need it? Abdullah ibn Zayd said: to call the people to prayer.
The man informed Abdullah ibn Zayd: Shall I not teach you something better than using a bell? A better way to call the people to prayer.
The man then taught Abdullah ibn Zayd the words of the Adhan.
Abdullah ibn Zayd Tells the Prophet About His Dream:
Abdullah ibn Zayd woke up and immediately went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, informing him of this dream.
The Prophet ﷺ was pleased by this and told Abdullah ibn Zayd: Go to Bilal and teach him what you learnt in the dream because Bilal has a stronger voice than you. His voice is better suited than you.
Abdullah ibn Zayd taught the Adhan to Bilal ibn Rabah and when the time for the prayer came, Bilal performed the first Adhan.
Umar ibn al-Khattab On The Adhan:
When Umar ibn al-Khattab heard the words of the Adhan, he came out of his house quickly and told the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: Wallahi, in my dream I saw the same exact words!