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Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) — 40: The Power Of
The Message
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals Arab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi
Nothing is more erroneous than to suggest that people
adopt Islam because of the promises it gives of
endless, pure pleasures in heaven, or the threat of
burning punishment in hell. As we explained last week,
pleasure seekers prefer it immediate. They even prefer
to have a lesser pleasure today than a greater one
tomorrow. Those early Muslims were never tempted by
such pleasures to embrace Islam. How could they, when
the immediate prospect they faced was persecution,
torture and even death at the hands of the opposing
camp? Perhaps the best example of those early Muslims
was Umar.
In the early years of Islam, Umar, who was a man of
intelligence and fully committed to the ideals of the
Arabian pagan society, was bitterly opposed to Islam.
He repeatedly beat up a slave woman in his clan
because she embraced Islam. He even thought of killing
the Prophet (peace be upon him) so that he would rid
the Arabian society of the problem he presented. In
fact he was on the way to do that when he met Nuaym
ibn Abdullah and declared to him his intention to kill
the Prophet. Nuaym warned him that Muhammad’s clan
were certain to avenge his murder by killing Umar.
Besides, “you better look nearer home. There were
things to mend there, if you were really concerned
about Muhammad’s religion.” Nuaym told him that his
sister Fatimah and her husband Saeed ibn Zayd were
Muslims.
Umar went straight to his sister’s house, and as he
approached he overheard people either talking or
reading. In his fury, Umar asked as he entered about
the voices he overheard. Receiving an unsatisfactory
answer from his sister, he assaulted his
brother-in-law making it clear that he knew their
secret. His sister rushed to push him away from her
husband but he struck her, causing blood to gush from
her face. She then said, with a boldness and
determination which surprised Umar himself: “Yes
indeed, we are Muslims; we believe in God and His
Messenger. You may do as you please.”
The sight of blood on his sister’s face made Umar feel
sorry for her. He said in a rather conciliatory tone:
“Give me what you have been reading. Let me see what
Muhammad teaches.” When she hesitated, expressing her
fear that he might destroy the sheet, he swore by his
idols to give it back to her after he had read it. The
sheet contained the opening verses of surah 20
entitled Ta Ha. These verses addressed the Prophet as
follows: “We have not bestowed the Qur’an on you from
on high to make you unhappy, but only as an
exhortation to all who stand in awe [of God]: a
revelation from Him Who has created the earth and the
high heavens, the Merciful, the One established on the
throne of His almightiness. To Him belongs all that is
in the heavens and all that is on earth, as well as
all that is between them and all that is beneath the
sod. And if you say anything aloud, well, He indeed
knows even the secret thoughts as well as that which
is hidden even more deeply. God, there is no deity
other than Him; His alone are the attributes of
perfection.”
Impressed, Umar read on, and then he read the whole
sheet again. He felt the powerful verses striking
their notes on the strings of his heart. He looked at
the floor for a moment as he repeated verse 13: “For
certain. I — I alone — am God; there is no deity other
than Me. Hence, worship Me alone and be constant in
prayer, so as to remember Me.” He then raised his head
and said: “How beautiful and how noble.”
Shortly after that, Umar went to the Prophet and
declared himself a Muslim. No threats or promises were
explicit or implied in those verses of the Qur’an he
read; only the truth of God’s oneness and a clear
concept of life and its purpose. This is what makes
people of understanding believe in the truth of the
message of Islam and dedicate their lives to
advocating it.
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