is known of ʿUmar’s personality, before and after his conversion to Islam, lends no support to this argument. What happened was that the sight of blood awakened ʿUmar’s sense of justice. He decided to listen to the case of the other side. Hence he asked to look at the sheet his sister was studying. When he read it, he was overwhelmed by the power of the argument and submitted to the truth.
Although ʿUmar asked to be taken to the Prophet, it was judged that it would be better if he went alone with his sword tied to his side. He went to the house which served as a school and a hideout for the new Muslims. Someone looked through a little hole in the door when he knocked. Alarmed at the sight of ʿUmar carrying his sword, he went hurriedly to tell the Prophet. Everyone in Makkah was aware of ʿUmar’s strength and courage. Ḥamzah, the Prophet’s uncle and a very powerful warrior in his own right, said to the Prophet: “Shall we let him in? If he has come for something good, we will grant him that. If his motive is evil, we will kill him with his own sword.”
The door was opened. ʿUmar came in. The Prophet went up to him, took him by the collar and pulled him hard and said: “What brings you here, ʿUmar? It looks to me as if you will not mend your ways until a calamity has befallen you.” ʿUmar replied humbly: “Messenger of God! I have come to you to declare that I believe in God and His Messenger and accept what God has revealed.” The Prophet said: “God is supreme.” Everybody in the house realized that ʿUmar had joined the Islamic camp. They were so delighted because, with him, the Muslims had become infinitely stronger.2
It may seem illogical that one man should make such a difference, but the peculiarities of the Arabian tribal society confirm this difference. Two things ʿUmar did immediately after adopting his new religion would provide an insight into the nature of that society.
ʿUmar said: “The night when I became a Muslim I sat up thinking who was the hardest opponent of the Prophet. Abū Jahl was undoubtedly the one. So I went to his house in the morning. He welcomed me heartily and asked what I wanted. I said: ‘I have come to tell you that I have embraced Islam and that I now believe in God and His Messenger, Muhammad.’ Furious, Abū Jahl slammed the door in my face, saying: ‘Confound you and what you have come here for.’” This incident acquires more significance when one realizes that ʿUmar’s mother was Abū Jahl’s own sister.3
That morning, ʿUmar also made the fact of his conversion known to Jamīl ibn Maʿmar, who made it his business to spread every piece of news around Makkah. Immediately, Jamīl was doing his act, telling everybody. ʿUmar was near at hand, confirming the fact with a challenging attitude. A number of men went up to him and he fought them single-handed for an hour or so. Worn out, he sat down and said: “You may do as you like. Had we been three hundred in number, I swear we would have fought it out with you to the bitter end.” At that moment, a wise old man from the Quraysh came along. He reprimanded the men, reminding them that the ʿAdiy clan, to which ʿUmar belonged, would not hesitate to avenge him if he came to any harm. So they left him alone.4
These two incidents show the sort of strength ʿUmar brought with him to the Muslim camp; a strength which was honest, open and bold. This was to remain the character of ʿUmar’s contribution to the cause of Islam throughout his life.
A Show of Strength
It did not take ʿUmar long to grasp the true nature of Islam. He was a man of keen native intelligence. Moreover, he fully appreciated what was needed to grant the small Muslim community in Makkah some sort of status. He wanted to throw a challenge to the Quraysh. Therefore, he suggested to the Prophet that Muslims should go out from their secret school to pray at the Kaʿbah as a group. He defended his view by asking rhetorically: “Are we not following the truth?” The Prophet affirmed that the Muslims were. ʿUmar then asked: “Are they [the Quraysh] not following false beliefs?” Again the Prophet answered in the affirmative. ʿUmar then asked: “Why then should we be the ones who accept humility when it comes to the question of faith?”
The Prophet himself was not against the idea of launching a demonstration of power. He chose forty of his companions who walked in double file from the house of al-Arqam to the Kaʿbah, with his uncle Ḥamzah at the head of one file and ʿUmar at the head of the other. They offered a congregational prayer at the Kaʿbah and dispersed.
That demonstration gave the Quraysh a clear signal that Islam was there to stay. Its followers might be few in number, particularly after many of them had left for Abyssinia, but they had strength of character and powerful new converts. The conflict might be prolonged, unless something was done about it quickly. Any thought of a total war against the Muslims was abandoned, at least for the time being, because the shrewd move of emigration to Abyssinia, which served as a method of thinning out the Muslim forces, ensured that such suggestions would not be met with approval, because the Muslims did not represent an imminent danger to the existing set-up in Makkah. The elders of the tribes recognized that they had a problem to solve, but final solutions were not yet called for. The idea for containment through temptation, which was started by ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah as reported in Chapter 9, seemed to offer the best chance of achieving some sort of accommodation. Hence a delegation from the Quraysh went to meet the Prophet, headed by two men known for their ‘diplomatic talent’, al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah and al-ʿĀṣ ibn Wā’il. The delegation made what in any circumstances could be considered a very attractive offer: “We will make you the wealthiest of us all, and we will give you the prettiest of our virgin daughters to marry. We will ask of you nothing in return except to stop abusing our gods and ridiculing our practices.”
The poor Quraysh! They could not understand that they were dealing with a man of principle. Their offer did not go beyond what was sure to satisfy any person of ambition. All they came up with was wealth and women. In their small world, there could be nothing more attractive. Besides, they did not ask for anything much in return. They simply wanted Muhammad to accept the principle of compromise and to ‘live and let live’. Muhammad should simply leave them alone and not criticize their beliefs or their practices.
Perhaps it is important to point out here that although the Quraysh delegation referred in their offer to a pledge by the Prophet not to ‘abuse our gods or ridicule our practices’, the Prophet never used any foul or obscene language, even when he criticized idolatrous practices most strongly. His manners were too refined to allow any usage of vulgar or obscene language. Moreover, Muslims are not allowed to refer in such terms to the idols or deities of the polytheists: “Do not revile those beings whom they invoke instead of God lest they revile God out of spite, and in ignorance.” (6: 108) The Prophet simply stressed the fact that those false gods had no power to bring benefit or cause harm to anyone. He also criticized ignorant practices, calling for a fundamental change in beliefs, concepts, behaviour and social traditions so as to bring them in line with the basic principle of God’s oneness.
Tempting Offers
Deep at heart the chiefs of the Quraysh recognized the strength of the Prophet’s argument and the truthfulness of his message. They realized that their own beliefs had no solid foundation and feared that the social structure which brought them all those privileges they enjoyed would soon collapse, as it could not be expected to resist the message of Muhammad for long. Hence, they came up with the proposal of coexistence, coupled with the temptation of wealth and women, which they were ready to provide for Muhammad. God’s Messenger, however, made it clear to them that he wanted nothing for himself and would not compromise any principle of his message. He meant to go on preaching it, unhindered by any opposition, hoping to save mankind from tyrannical beliefs and offer them the freedom which is enjoyed only by those who worship God alone.
That should have brought this round of negotiations to a halt, since it was clear that the Prophet was not in a compromising mood. Indeed, he never was. To compromise any principle of his faith never entered his mind, no matter what attractions were on offer. The Quraysh, however, had a genuine desire to contain the problem. They changed direction and abandoned offers of personal temptation to make a proposal which may be described in human terms as demonstrating an exceptional degree of fairness. They offered to extend full recognition to Muhammad and his message, asking in return only that Muhammad should extend the same treatment