Muhammad (saw) – The Perfect Man — Page 353
Muhammad sa The Perfect Man 353 Muhammad sa prayed, "O All a h, grant power and dignity to Islam either through Amar bin Hish a m or ‘Umar bin Khattab, whomsoever out of these two You prefer. " 23 God accepted this prayer readily and Hadrat ‘Umar ra bin Kha tt ab accepted Islam. His acceptance was a blessing, which was a reaction to the cruelty inflicted on Muslims. When Muslims migrated to Abyssinia it touched the hearts of the chiefs of Makkah. ‘Umar ra bin Kha tt ab, was among those who inflicted cruelty on Muslims, yet when he saw a Quraish family leaving for Abyssinia, he was on the verge of crying. He himself narrated that one night he heard the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa reciting the Holy Qur’ a n in the Ka‘bah and his heart had melted. This change of heart was the result of the prayers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. ‘Umar's sister and bother in law had accepted Islam but had not declared their belief as they were afraid of ‘Umar's ferocious nature. One day ‘Umar left his house carrying a sword. On his way he met a member of his tribe, called Nu‘aim, who had secretly accepted Islam. ‘Umar told him that he was going to kill Mu h ammad, so that the new faith would be destroyed forever. Nu‘aim asked him, "Do you think if you kill Mu h ammad, his tribe would let you go scot- free? You better check your own family. Your own sister and her husband have accepted