بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Translation of Dr. Shams Jilani “Roshni Hira Say” (The light from Cave of Hira) by Dr. Rehan Asad
Chapter (66)
The acceptance of Islam by Hazrat Umar (RA)
Dear readers during last section we were discussing the background & timeline when Hazrat Umar (RA) accepted Islam. We concluded on the hadith of Prophet (PBUH) that articulated the level of Hazrat Umar (RA) but unfortunately both his followers & opponents gave a different color to his personality. In reality you will find different shades of his kind personality who used to roam in the streets of Madinah during night in days of his Caliphate. On the other hand his piousness & inclination toward the prayers can be seen with the consistency of his late night optional prayers of Tahajjud. While his justice & abilities to rule can be seen in the system he builds for running vast dominion of Caliphate. The spirituality can be seen in his sermons where he was standing on pulpit in Medina Munawwara & talking about the instructions for the war fields located hundreds of the miles away from Islamic capital. Can we think that the person with such kindness, greatness & generosity would be such ill-tempered who took the sword on small issues? I considered his personality as judicious & consistent in behavior. For example his sister, Fatima Bin Khattab & brother in law, Saeed Bin Zaid Bin Umar and Bin Tufail were one of the earliest reverts in Islam. They were silent for almost five to six years. And then this narration from Umm Abdullah that when we decided to migrate Habsha, at that time Umar (RA) came to us & asked that now you people will also left Makkah. On listening this she replied that we are helpless due to your atrocities. On listening this he showed empathy towards them. This reflects another story & point toward the nature of Caliph Umar. Umm Abdullah said that I had not seen him in this state before & then he said may your Almighty Allah help you in this journey. May Allah know better why the historians have reflected such accounts on his temper? If we go back in the timeline of history, the first welfare state in the world was established by him. Till the rise of the modern communism, the example of Hazrat Umar establishment of welfare state served as role model for the centuries. Now I am putting my point in another way. Anyone who is pious & God fearing will never reflect ill-tempered behavior as whenever he find himself in this condition, the thought & fear of Almighty Allah will come in front of him. When we talk about the piousness of Hazrat Umar (RA), this is without any doubt an exemplary model. Even this hadith of Prophet (PBUH) testified in its way that where Umar (RA) is present, the Devil (Satan) used to run away from there. I presented a detailed description of this so that readers will able to understand the real picture of Hazrat Umar (RA) before discussing the event of his acceptance of Islam. There were narratives on this incident. I will discuss both of them. The first narrative that is quite popular that he was out with the intention of killing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). While he was on his way someone pass a sarcastic remark that you are looking for Muhammad (PBUH) but your own brother in law & sister has reverted to Islam. On listening this, he turned with anger toward their house where he saw that his sister was reciting Quran. On sighting Umar they stopped reciting Quran. Umar started to abuse them with bad words & also hit his brother in law. When sister came in between, he hit her head also. But after sometime he inquired about the verses of Quran that she was reading. She said, first you need to make an ablution & this will clean you physically & spiritually. Then when he listened the verses of holy Quran, his heart became soft & he changed his mind. His entire world has been changed & he visited Prophet (PBUH) to accept Islam in his presence.
The second narrative came like this that Ibn Ishaq said that he listened from Abullah Bin Abi Nachaah Makki had listened from other narrators by himself. He said that during the days of ignorance I was completely away from the Islam & loves to drink wine. A small company of our friends used to collect near the market of Jazur where we enjoyed our drinking party. One night when I reached the place, I was not able to find any one from our friends. Then I tried to find the guy who used to sell the liquor. But he was also not present that day. So finally I decided to perform the Tawaf. There I saw Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was offering his prayers in direction of Syria. His location of prayers was in between the corner of black stone & corner of Yemen in Kaaba. On sighting this thought came in my mind to listen Muhammad (PBUH) what he is reciting in his prayers. Then I thought if I came close him this might appear as a threat during his prayers. So I decided to came from the side of the Hatim & enter inside the cover (Kiswah) of Kabah. Now a moment came that between him & me, there was only barrier of Kiswah & I was listening his prayers. When I listen Quran, there was feeling that touched my heart. I started to weep. I stood at the same place till he finished his prayers & left for his home. When he return he used to pass by from the home of Ibn Abi Hussain. Then he used to pass by the homes of Abbas Bin Abdul Muttalib and Ibn Azhar Zahri & finally reach to his residence. In those days, his real residence that was located in Al Dara Al Riqta was occupied by Muawiyah Ibn Abu Sufiyan. So when he reached in between the homes of Abbas Bin Abdul Muttalib & Ibn Azhar Zahri, I went close to him. On listening the sound of my foot step, he thought that I am following him. He asked loudly, O Ibn Khattab, what is the intention that brought you here? I replied, I came here to seek the true message of Almighty Allah that has been revealed on you as a Prophet (PBUH). The Prophet Muhammd (PBUH) replied, O Omar, the Almighty Allah has shown you the right path. Then he put his hand on my chest & made supplication for me. Then I came back & Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) went to his residence. Ibn Umar further added that the first thing on the next day done by my father was the announcement of his Islam. He visited the home of Jameel, the place from where most of the Makkah got news spread in neighborhood & here he made his announcement of accepting Islam. This was the narration of Ibn Ishaq.
Cont’d for the next week
