The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 221
VII - Days of Struggle 221 there, and firmly knocked at the door. When the companions peered through the crack in the door, and saw ‘Umar ra holding an unsheathed sword, they were reluctant in opening the door, but the Holy Prophet sa said, “Open the door. ” Ḥaḍrat Ḥamzah ra also said “Open the door. If he has come with pure intentions then well and good, otherwise, if his intentions are evil, by Allāh, I shall sever his head off by his own sword. ” The door was opened, and ‘Umar ra entered, unsheathed sword in hand. Upon seeing him, the Holy Prophet sa moved forward and taking hold of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar’s ra mantle he yanked it, saying, “O ‘Umar, with what intention have you come? By Allāh, I see that you have not been created for the chastisement of Allāh. ” “O Messenger of Allāh,” responded ‘Umar ra , “I wish to become a Muslim. ” When the Holy Prophet sa heard these words, in the fervour of his happiness, he said, “Allāhu Akbar!” and his companions called out the slogan of ‘Allāhu Akbar’ so loudly that the mountains of Makkah began to resonate. 1 At that time, Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra was thirty-three years of age, and he was the Chieftain of his tribe, the Banū ‘Adiyy. Among the Quraish he also held the responsibility of being an ambassador, and was very awe-inspiring, valiant, and courageous. By his acceptance of Islām, the Muslims gained significant strength. They left the Dār-e-Arqam and began offering their Ṣalāt openly in the Masjid-e-Ḥarām. Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra was the last companion to accept Islām in the Dār-e-Arqam. This occurred in the last month of the sixth year after the prophetic commission. At that time the number of Muslim men totalled forty. 2 When news of Ḥaḍrat ‘ Umar’s ra acceptance spread, the Quraish became exceedingly furious. In this very state of fury, they besieged the home of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra. When Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra stepped out, a large party of people gathered around him. It was nigh that various enraged young men attack Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra , but he stood his ground with extreme audacity. At last, in this state, a Chieftain of Makkah, ‘ Āṣ bin Wā’il, arrived and upon noticing this 1 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 253, Bābu Islāmi ‘Umar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb ra , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Ar-Rauḍul-Anf, By Imām Abul-Qāsim ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Suhailī, Volume 2, pp. 120-124, Bābu Dhikri Islāmi ‘Umar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb ra , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az- Zarqānī, Volume 2, p. 8, Bābu Islāmil-Fārūq, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * With regards to Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar’s ra acceptance of Islām there are various other narrations as well, but here, we have only taken the well-known narrations of the scholars of Sīrat. (Author) 2 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az- Zarqānī, Volume 2, p. 3-4, Bābu Islāmil-Fārūq, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)