Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 508
! ! 508 offenses, cowered like a cat before his sister, entreating her, “O sister, what shall I do that I should be allowed to touch the Holy Qur’ān ?” His sister replied, “There before you is the washroom. Go there and bathe and then you will be allowed to touch the Holy Qur’ān. ” Haz rat ‘Umar ra quietly left to bathe and returned before his sister. A slumbering flame of hope ignited within his sister’s heart and with a rapidly beating heart, she began to wonder if her brother could also join her with in t he light of Islam. With trembling hands, she handed Hazrat ‘ Umar ra those very pages of the Holy Qur’ān that she and her husband had been studying. For the first time , he was read ing the Holy Qur’ān with his heart free of prejudice. He had read only a few verses when the Holy Qur’ān subdued him. Upon reading a few more v erses , his eyes filled with tears. He read further and he grew disgusted with his own disbelief. He looked upon his past with revulsion and as he continued to read, h e felt his heart soar away from him. He rose in a passion and asked where the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa lived. At that moment, his sister who had been lovingly gazing upon him and had been praying for her sibling to be redeemed and guided aright , heard, “ W here does the Prophet live?” This question scattered her thoughts of love for her brother. Now, the fountain of her heart erupted in her love for the Hol y Prophet Muhammad sa. She questioned if her brother’s passion was only temporary and ill intentions still remained hidden within him. [She thought], ‘ If he intends to kill my beloved , the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa , what sh ould I do ? ’ She threw to the side all thoughts of Hazrat ‘ Umar accepting Islam and became overwhelmed with her love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. S he took Haz rat ‘Umar ra by his collar and with a passion which only love can create, shouted, “By God , I will not let you go to see the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa unless you swear that you a re not going with ill intentions. ” Haz rat ‘Umar ra gazed upon his sister in a docile manner , similar to that of a chicken which gazes upon a sword at the time of slaughter, and said, “I am going to become a Muslim. ” Had such words ever been uttered as these? A dead sister was given life