The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 163
IV - Battle of Badr, Establishment of the Islāmic Empire and Destruction of the Chieftains of the Quraish 163 of Allāh! The front teeth of Suhail bin ‘Amr should be removed, so that he no longer remains able to spread poison against you. ” The Holy Prophet sa , however, strongly disapproved of this proposal and said, “‘Umar, how do you know that God may not later place him in a position which is praiseworthy?” Hence, at the occasion of the victory of Makkah, Suhail became a Muslim and upon the demise of the Holy Prophet sa , he delivered very effective addresses in favour of Islām, to save those people who had begun to waver, and many such people were saved as well. It is also narrated with regards to Suhail, that one time during the Khilāfat of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra , he, along with Abū Sufyān and various other chieftains of Makkah who had accepted Islām at the victory of Makkah, went to meet Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra. Coincidentally, at the same time, Bilāl ra , ‘Ammār ra , Suhaib ra , and others also came to meet Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra. These people were those who had remained slaves and were very poor, but they were among those who had accepted Islām in the early days. When Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra was notified, he invited Bilāl ra , etc. , to come and see him first. Upon witnessing this sight, Abū Sufyān ra , who perhaps still somewhat possessed a tinge of ignorance, became furious and said, “Were we to witness such disgrace as well? Are we to wait, while these slaves are granted the honour of audience. ” “Then who is to blame for this?” retorted Suhail, “Muḥammad sa invited us all to God and they accepted him immediately while we held back. Then should they not possess superiority over us?” 1 Among the prisoners, was an individual named Walīd bin Walīd, who was the son of Walīd bin Mughīrah, the head chieftain of Makkah and brother of Khālid bin Walīd. The Companions fixed a ransom of 4,000 dirhams for him, which was paid by his brothers. Walīd was freed and reached Makkah. Upon reaching Makkah, Walīd declared his acceptance of Islām. His brothers became very upset and said, “If you had decided to accept Islām, why then did you pay the ransom?” Walīd responded, “I postponed my declaration of the acceptance of Islām until after the ransom had been paid, so that the people do not think I have become a Muslim to save myself from the ransom. ” Subsequently, the people of Makkah imprisoned him and inflicted severe hardships upon him. However, he remained steadfast and after some time found an opportunity and fled to 1 * Al-Iṣābatu Fī Tamīziṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 3, p. 178, Suhail bin ‘Amr, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2005) * Usdul-Ghābah Fī Ma‘rifatiṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By ‘Izzuddīn Ibnul-Athīr Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad, Volume 2, p. 347, Suhail bin ‘Amr Al-Qarshiyy, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon (2003)