Way of The Seekers — Page 60
60 THE Hazrat Abu Bakr has related that the Holy Prophet (on him be peace and blessings) said: When you are struggling for salvation and light, you are not supposed to give up your struggle and perish under the mistaken notion of saving others. How willingly should you sacrifice life and property for the faith! A believer would not think of bartering faith with wealth, were it the wealth of the entire world. Therefore, if you have to leave the session on account of some urgent need, do so by all means but come back as soon as you are able to. You never can tell when that fateful moment might arrive for which one waits a lifetime. A word on such an occasion could turn disbelievers into believers, the satanic into the sublime. Look at Hazrat Omar’s episode. His opposition to the Holy Prophet was extreme. But he was transformed by a single statement he happened to hear. He had set out to assassinate the Holy Prophet when he found to his chagrin that his own sister had embraced Islam. He went straight to her house in a huff and found his sister and his brother-in-law listening to the recitation of the Holy Quran. Enraged, he rushed in and started beating his brother-in-law whom his wife tried to protect. In the process, she received some injuries. When Omar perceived this, he was penitent. The sister exclaimed: Omar, are you furious at us because we have come to believe in one God? Omar was shaken and asked his sister to let him hear what was being recited. The sister replied: Not as you are. First clean yourself. After he had washed, the Holy Quran was recited to him. The recitation moved him to such an extent that he burst into tears. He went straight to the Holy Prophet (on him be peace and blessings) and announcing himself knocked at the door. Some of those who were inside felt that Omar being a hard man might be bent on creating trouble. The door, they thought, should not be opened. But Hazrat Hamza declared that if Omar had come with ill intent, they too had swords. The Holy Prophet (on him be peace), however, permitted Omar