The Last Prophet of Allah
by Ghulam Nabi Muslim
Hamza and Umar accept Islam
As time went on, the Quraish grew more cruel. One day a Quraish leader, Abu-Hakam (Abu Jahl), hit the Prophet [Muhammad (pbuh)] on the head and wounded him. Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet, heard of it. He was a strong and brave young man. He had not yet become a Muslim but he loved the Prophet, his nephew, much. He went straight to Abu Jahl, and hit him on the head. Then he went to the Prophet and told him that he had taken revenge on Abu Jahl. But the Prophet said,
“I shall be happy only when you embrace Islam.”
Hamza was moved by these words and at once accepted Islam.
Three days later, Umar, who was not yet a Muslim, went to kill the Prophet. He was a stout and brave young man. He was a good speaker as well. When he was going to the Prophet a man met him on the way and said,
“Where are you going, Umar? Your sister Fatima and brother-in-law Saeed have already turned Muslims.”
Umar flew into a rage and went to the house of his sister. They were both reciting the Holy Quran. Umar knocked at the door. They hid the leaves of the Holy Quran and opened the door. Umar began to beat his sister and her husband. At this, Fatima said,
“You may kill us but we will not give up Islam.”
These words went down to the heart of Umar. He had not heard the Holy Quran so far. He asked them to read the Quran to him. When he heard the words of Allah a change overtook him and he became a Muslim. With a drawn sword, he went to the Holy Prophet. The Prophet was sitting in a house with his companions. When Umar reached the door, the Prophet went bravely to him and said,
“Umar, will you not embrace Islam?”
“I have come to embrace Islam,”
replied Umar.
When the Muslims heard it they shouted,
“Allah-o-Akbar” (God is Great).
Before this, the Muslims were afraid of the Meccans and did not dare to say their prayers in the Kaaba. But Umar was afraid of none. He took the Prophet and his companions to the Kaaba for prayers. To the enemies he said,
“I shall put to death those who dared to prevent us from praying here.”
Thus, for the first time, the Muslims said their prayers in the House of Allah (Bait-ullah).
This displeased the Meccan chiefs much. First, they went to the Prophet and said,
“If you give up your new religion we shall give you much wealth and make you our king.”
But the Prophet refused their offer.
Then they went to Abu Talib, the Prophet’s kind uncle, and said to him,
“Your nephew talks ill of our gods. If you do not stop him, he will find himself in trouble.”
Now, Abu Talib loved his nephew much. He was afraid of the Meccans and wanted to protect the Prophet, so he went to the Prophet and said,
“Do not speak against the idols because I can help you no more.”
But the Prophet replied,
“Let these men place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, even then I will not give up my work.”
Abu Talib was moved by the answer and said,
“Go on with your good work. None shall injure you.”
But Abu Talib died soon and the Prophet was left alone to face his enemies.
After this the Prophet suffered more at the hands of his enemies. It became impossible for him to preach his faith in Mecca. He went to the tribes in the country and invited them to accept Islam. During this journey he went to Taif, a town to the south-east of Mecca. The inhabitants of Taif were notorious for their wickedness. They ill-treated the Messenger of Allah. He was mocked at, abused and pelted with stones. He received many injuries and became unconscious. He was carried outside the town by his companion Zaid. When the Prophet came to his senses, Zaid asked him to pray for the destruction of these wicked people.
“I shall not pray for their destruction. They or their children may accept Islam,”
replied the merciful Prophet.
Then he prayed to Allah,
“O Allah, guide my people to the right path for they do not know me.”