أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم ۞بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ۞
اَلْحَمْدُ لله وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلى سَيِّدِالْاَوَّلِيْنَ وَالْآخِرِيْنَ محمد اِبْنِ عَبْدُ الله
وَعَلَى اَلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْراً اَمَّابَعْدَ
اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ الله وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
يَقُوْلُ تَعَالَى: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ۞
Allahعَزّ وجَلّ says:
O you, who believe do not let death approach you, except in state of Taqwa(تَقوى).
We ask Allahعَزّ وجَلّ to give us all, Taqwa(تقوى).
In Sunan Al-Baghawi(سُنَنْ اَلْبَغْوِيْ), Abdullah Ibn Masood رضي الله عنه says;
مَنْ كَانَ مُسْتَنًّا فَلْيَسْتَنَّ بِمَنْ قَدْ مَاتْ، فَإنَّ الْحَيَّ لَا تُؤمَنُ عَلَيْهِ الْفِتْنَةَ
أوْلَئكَ أصْحَابُ محمد، صَلَوَاتُ الله وَسَلَامُ عَلَيْهَ
كَانُوْا وَالله أفْضَلَ هَذِهِ الّأمَّةَ
وَأبَرُّهَا قُلُوْبًا ، وَأعْمَقُهَا عِلْمًا، وَأقَلُهَا تَكَلُفًا
قَوْمُ اُخْتَارَهُمُ الله لِصَحْبَةِ نَبِيِّهِ وَإقَامَةِ دِيْنِه
فَإعْرَفُوْا لَهُمْ فَضْلَهُمْ ، وَأتْبَعُوْ هُمْ فِيْ أثَارِهِمْ
وَتَمَسَّكُوْا بِمَا أسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ أخْلَاقِهِمْ وَ دِيْنِهِمْ ، فَإنَّهُمْ كَانُوْا عَلَى الصَّرَاطِ الّمُسْتَقٍيْمَ
Abdullah Ibn Masood رضي الله عنه says;
مَنْ كَانَ مُسْتَنًّا فَلْيَسْتَنَّ بِمَنْ قَدْ مَاتْ
Whoever, is gonna follow a path, should follow the path of the ones, who died,
فَإنَّ الْحَيَّ لَا تُؤمَنُ عَلَيْهِ الْفِتْنَةََ
Because the living could fail in their trials,
أوْلَئكَ أصْحَابُ محمد
Those are the companions of Muhammadﷺ,
Abdullah Ibn Masood رضي الله عنه is telling the Taba'een(تَا بَعِيْن),
who are the second greatest generation, he is telling them:
Don’t follow the living among you,
even though some of these might be Aouleaa(أؤلِيآء) of Allahعَزّ وجَلّ
some of them might be Virtuous, Mujahideen(مجاهدين), Ulema(علماء), Ubbaad(عُبَّاد).
Abdullah Ibn Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود), is telling them:
Don’t follow the living among you, but follow the dead,
the companions of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Why?
Because there is no guarantee, this person, who is living, wouldn’t fail in some of his trials.
But with Sahabahرضي الله عنهم, they have been given the stamp of approval.
See, with anyone, who is living, you never know, what the outcome would be?
Because Rasool Allah ﷺ says:
There are some people, who would be on the track of people of Jannah(جنة), in their Ibadah(عبادة), in their action.
They are doing what people of Jannah(جنة) do,
but before they die, they commit the actions of people of Hell Fire and then they end up going to Hell fire.
Why? They failed in Fitnah(فِتْنَه), Trials.
Everyone is going be faced with the trials
and nobody knows what the outcome of that will be?
And that is why Rasool Allah ﷺ used to say:
"يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوْبِ وَالْاَبْصَارْ ثَبِّتْ قُلُوْبَنَا عَلَى الدِيْنِكْ"
O the One, Who changes the hearts, make our hearts steadfast on Islam.
The heart, the word Qalb(قلب), in Arabic means "something that changes",
overturns, goes up and down.
So, Abdullah Ibn Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود) is saying: Follow the companions of Rasool Ullah.
He was saying this, in time of Taba'een(تَابَعِيْن), which were the second best generation.
What should, we say today?
No one has the guarantee, no one, that they are going to go to Jannah(جنة). Nobody!
But the ones, who were with Rasool Allah ﷺ, the ones, who were in Ghazwat Al-Badr(غزوة البدر),
the ones, who gave him Bay'ah(بيعة) under, Ar-Ridwan(الرضوان),
the ones, who fought with him, the one, who had patience with him,
the ones whom, when Rasool Allah ﷺ died,
مَاتَّ وَّهُوَعَنْهُمْ رَاضِي
Rasool Allah ﷺ was pleased with them, these are the ones, we should follow.
And then he gives us some other reasons, why should, we should follow them.? He says;
كَانُوْا وَالله أفْضَلَ هَذِهِ الّأمَّةَ
They were the best of this Ummah(امة).
خَيْرُالْقُرُوْنِيْ قَرْنِيْ
Rasool Allah ﷺ says: The best of generations, is my generation.
These are the best!
كَانُوْا وَالله أفْضَلَ هَذِهِ الّأمَّةَ وَأبَرُّهَا قُلُوْبًا
And they had the most pious hearts.
Their hearts had the most Taqwa(تَقْوى).
No one can compete with the Sahabah(صحابه) in their Taqwa(تَقْوى).
They've achieved the highest limits.
وَأعْمَقُهَا عِلْمًا
And they had the deepest knowledge.
Now, notice here the choice of words.
Abdullah Ibn Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود) didn’t say,
"وَاَكْثَرُهَا عِلْمًا"
He didn’t say, they had the most knowledge,
he said: They had, the deepest knowledge.
Because there are the people, who came after the Sahabah(صحابه).
Who know things that, the Sahabah(صحابه), may, not, have known.
For example Al-Bukhari(ألبخاريْ), he knew more Ahadith(احاديث) then many of the Sahabah(صحابه).
Why? Because, he knew the Ahadith(احاديث), that Umar(عُمَر) had, he knew the Ahadith(احاديث)
that Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) had, he knew the Ahadith(احاديث) that Uthman(عثمان) had,
he was an encyclopaedia of Hadith(حديث).
When it comes to the opinion of Fiqh(فقه), some of the great Imam(إمام)s of this Ummah(امة)
not only combines the Fiqh(فقه) of one Sahabi(صحابي) but they combine the Fiqh(فقه) of many.
So, Abdullah Ibn Masood(عبد الله بن مسعود) didn’t say that, they had the most knowledge,
he said: They had the deepest knowledge.
So, even though, some of the scholars of Hadith(حديث) or the scholars of Fiqh(فقه),
could know things that some of the Sahabah(صحابه) did not know.
However,
none of the people who came after Sahabah(صحابه), had depth of knowledge that Sahabah(صحابه) had.
They had an edge over everyone of us.
They were there when the Ayaat(آيات) of Qur’an were coming down.
They lived it, they experienced it, first hand.
Therefore, everybody, who comes after the Sahabah(صحابه) is just scratching the surface of knowledge
but the Sahabah(صحابه) had the depth of it.
Their understanding was deep and when you have deep understanding,
it makes your outlook to life and your actions better than, somebody who might have more knowledge than you do,
and that's why we should follow the action of the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم
because they had the deepest knowledge.
وَأقَلُهَا تَكَلُفًا
And they were the least superficial
The Sahabah رضي الله عنهم would not act out Islam.
They would not put out fake image. They were not superficial.
They did not pretend to be sophisticated.
You don't know, you have books that are written
and the brother comes and says Masha Allah(ماشاء الله) that was an excellent book,
you know, I read it from the beginning to the end and I didn’t understand it, such a sophisticated book!
That wasn’t the way of Sahabah رضي الله عنهم .
The way of Sahabah(صحابه) was simplicity, their speeches were short,
their words were concise and clear.
They wouldn’t want to prove that they were knowledgeable by choosing sophisticated long words,
and put it in a rhyming long speech.
Their words were very simple.
Because Sahabah رضي الله عنهم came from a simple background.
The Arabs of Arabia were not adulterated like the other nations of the world.
They were not affected by the luxurious life styles of Persians and Romans.
They were not affected by the philosophy of the Greek.
They were not affected by the theology of the Latins.
The Sahabah رضي الله عنهم most of them were illiterate.
They were very simple and straight forward and honest, decent people.
Even the poetry in time of Jahiliyah(جاهلية) was very simple it wasn’t philosophical.
It was descriptive, they would describe nature, they would describe women,
that was their poetry.
Even the romantic stories that they would mention in their poetry, were very simple.
You compare to Romeo and Juliet and all of that stuff, it's very different.
They were simple in their dress they were simple in their food that they would eat
and that's why, the Fitrah(فطرة) of the Sahabah(صحابه) was very clean.
So, when they accepted Islam,
for them to practice Islam was easy because, Qur’an came on an empty plate.
However, with the other nations,
Qur’an had to cleanse their hearts
Qur’an has to heal the scars, that were left behind by their old life.
Because the Fitrah(فطرة) was deformed, and that's why the Bid’ah(بدعة) ,
the early innovations didn’t start in Makkah and Madina they started among the other nations.
In Iraq(ألعراق) and Ash-Sham(الشام) the nations that were affected by the philosophy of the Greek,
the religious teachings of the other nations.
You know the Arabs in their religion, their religion didn’t have any mythology, like,
for example, like the Hindus or the Greek.
They didn’t have that imagination, they just worship this idle, this stone, this rock,
they would hold on some virtues, truth, chivalry, loyalty
being loyal to their kinship, that was their religion.
So, it wasn’t really religion, it was more of a set of morals
and you just bow down to an idle and you slaughter the animal for it.
Even, their religion was simple, so when they became Muslim,
they carried forward that straight forwardness, honesty and decency.
So, when they became Muslims they straight went to action
they didn’t involved themselves in philosophical, theological discourses.
The Sahabah رضي الله عنهم weren’t into that.
They only came later on in times of the Khilafah(خِلَافَه) of Umar(عُمَر) and Uthman(عثمان) and Ali(علي).
When these other nations were accepting Islam and they were
talking about the issue of Qadr(قدر) and they turned it into a theology.
But Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was on top of them with his stick.
قَوْمُ اُخْتَارَهُمُ الله
Abdullah Ibn Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود) carries on, he says:
قَوْمُ اُخْتَارَهُمُ الله لِصَحْبَةِ نَبِيِّهِ وَإقَامَةِ دِيْنِه
These were the people, whom Allah chose to be companions of His Prophet and to establish His Religion.
There is a reason, why Allah chose them?
Why Allahعَزّ وجَلّ chose them? Particularly, they were handpicked
to be Sahabah(صحابه) of the greatest Nabi(نَبِي)
لِكُلِّ نَبِّيٍ حَوَارِيْ
Rasool Allah ﷺ says; Every Nabi(نَبِي) has companions.
Allah chose these Sahabah(صحابه) to be companions of Rasool Allah ﷺ for a reason.
Because they were the most fit, for that responsibility.
When Rasool Allah ﷺ passed away,
there was no need to sent any other Nabi(نَبِي) until, the Day of Judgment.
Why? Because the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم can carry it on their own.
So, why are we talking about Sahabah(صحابه)?
Because of these reasons, and also because, Abdullah Ibn Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود) said:
فَإعْرَفُوْا لَهُمْ فَضْلَهُمْ
Recognize their virtues!
We need to recognize the Sahabah(صحابه) for who they are!
We need to put them at high esteem, raise their level, respect them.
So we are coming together now, for entire month to talk about one of the Sahabah(صحابه) Umar Ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه
as an attempt on our behalf,
لِمَعْرِفَةِ فَضْلَهُمْ
To recognize them, for who they are, to hold them in highest esteem. And then he says:
وَأتْبَعُوْ هُمْ فِيْ أثَارِهِمْ
And follow their footsteps,
Follow their footsteps! Do what they did! If you want to succeed.!
وَتَمَسَّكُوْا بِمَا أسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ أخْلَاقِهِمْ وَ دِيْنِهِمْ ، فَإنَّهُمْ كَانُوْا عَلَى الّهُدَى الّمُسْتَقٍيْمَ
And follow, what you can, hold on to whatever you can, of their character and religion because they were on the straight path.
They were the ones, who were guided,
they were the one given stamp of approval by Allahعَزّ وجَلّ.
So, that's why we talk about Sahabah(صحابه) in general.
And then out of Sahabah(صحابه), we need to give special emphasis to the four Khulafah(خُلَفاء).
Why? Because Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيينَ مِن بَعْدِيْ ، عَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ
Rasool Allah ﷺ says: Follow my Sunnah(سنة) and the Sunnah(سنة) of the Khulafah(خلافاء),
the guided, righteous Khulafah(خلافاء) after me. And who are they?
Abu Bakr(ابو بكر), Umar(عُمَر), Uthman(عثمان) and Ali(علي).
And out of the four, we specially need to talk about Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) and Umar(عُمَر)
because Rasool Allah ﷺ says in another Hadith(حَديث)
اِقْتَدُوا بِاللَّذَيْنِ مِنْ بَعْدِي أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ
Follow the two men after me, Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) and Umar(عُمَر) and that's in At-Tarmidi(ألترمذي)
Allahعَزّ وجَلّ says about the Sahabah(صحابه):
مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا
Muhammad(محمد), The Messenger of Allah and the ones, around him are stern and harsh
with the disbelievers and they are merciful compassionate and soft with the believers,
you see them making Sujood(سجود) and making Roko’ah(ركوع).
Now we already talked about Abu Bakr As-Siddique رضي الله عنه in previous course,
now we are talking about Umar(عُمَر).
Dear brothers and sisters! Umar(عُمَر) is a special person.
We said that the unique thing about Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) was his Eeman(ايمان),
with Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) it's his personality; He had a unique personality.
History does not produce men like Umar(عُمَر).
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: And this Hadith(حديث) is in Al-Bukhari(البخاريْ) and Al-Muslim(المسلم)
لَقَدْ كَان فِيما قَبْلَكُمْ مِنَ الأُممِ محدَّثونَ، فَإنْ يَكُ في أُمَّتي أَحَدٌ، فإنَّهُ عُمَرُ
Rasool Allah ﷺ says; There were people, who were Muhadasoon(محدثون),
and I will mention what Muhadasoon(محدثون) means.
There were Muhadasoon(محدثون) in the nations before me,
and if there is going to be a Muhaddas(محدث) in my Ummah(امة), it would be Umar(عُمَر).
Now, what's the meaning of Muhaddas(محدث)?
Ibn Hajar As-Qalaani(اِبْنِ حَجَرْاَلْعَسْقَلَانِي), in his commentary on Al-Bukhari(ألبخاري),
he gives a few different opinions:
One is, Mulhamoon(مُلْهَمُوْنَ), men, who are inspired by Allah.
Number two,
اَلرَّجُلُّ الصَّادِقُ الظَّنْ ، وَهُوَ مَنْ أُلْقِيَ فِيْ رَوْعِهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَلَأِ الْأَعْلَى
The man, whose intuition is right because of something that is put in his heart.
The third opinion:
مَنْ يَجْرِي الصَّوَابُ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ بِغَيْرِقَصْدَ
The one, who speaks the truth, truth flows naturally on his tongue
without him intending.
Without him trying, it just comes out naturally on his tongue.
And the fourth opinion is:
تُكَلِّمُهُ الْمَلَائِكَه بِغَيْرِ نَبُوَّةَ
He is the man whom the Angels speak to, without him being a prophet,
and that’s Umar(عُمَر).
The truth flows naturally on his tongue, his intuition is always right,
as if the Angels are speaking to him.
In fact, we'll talk later on, about some situations
where he would say something and then the Qur’an would come down to approve what he said,
as if he is speaking with the light of Allah.
And that’s why Umar(عُمَر) is special and that’s why we should follow the way of Umar(عُمَر).
Because he is the man who, recognizes the truth and spoke it and acted upon it.
Rasool Allah ﷺ says:
اِنَّ الله جَعَلَ الْحَقّ عَلَى لِسَانِ عُمَر وَعَلَى قَلْبِهَ
Allahعَزّ وجَلّ shows the truth on the tonque of Umar(عُمَر) and in his heart,
and this Hadith(حديث) is in At-Tirmidhi(الترمذي).
And there is another Hadith(حديث) in At-Tirmidhi(الترمذي) which is Hasan(حسن). Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
لَوْ كَانَ بَعْدِيْ نَبِيٌ لَكَانَ عُمر
If there is going to be a Prophet after me, it would be Umar(عُمَر).
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) had so many attributes of the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء) in him,
built into his system
that if, there is going to be a Nabi(نَبِي) among this Ummah(امة) than Allah would choose Umar(عُمَر).
And he would be most similar to who, among the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء) of Allah? Musa عليه السّلام.
Rasool Allah ﷺ in fact, in one Hadith(حديث) said, that you are similar to Noah(نوح) and Musa(موسى)
These were the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء) of strength.
You know Umar(عُمَر) used to carry stick, just like Musa(موسى).
Our source or sources for this series,
obviously when we talk about history must go back to the "Classical Sources" that’s where the history is.
But the thing is with Classical Sources, is
the style of our early scholars was to right down everything
even they might know, that this particular information is not authentic.
But for the sake of documentation they would write it.
They wanted to document, everything.
So even though, we are using At-Tabari(الطبري) but
we are using it with care, because some of the narrations of At-Tabari(الطبري) are not very strong.
Lot of exaggerations, weak narrations, sometimes fabricated, so it needs to be used with care.
However, we are gonna base the series the primary source would be, a contemporary book
written by Sheikh ‘Ali As-Sallabi(شيخ علي صلابي), a Professor in Islamic Studies.
We are using his source because he has combed the classical sources one by one,
and he has retrieved the gems, the treasures, out of these old books
and compiled them into one version.
So, when we say contemporary sources it's not really contemporary in terms of throwing his own words in it.
It’s a classical reference because
he is quoting from classical books and bringing them in one reference.
So, that will be used as a primary source and then also will be consulting At-Tabari(الطبري),
which is one of the earliest history books written.
What are we gonna talk about? We are gonna talk about the name of Umar(عُمَر)
his character, his family, we'll talk about his life in Jahiliyah(جاهلية),
we'll talk about his Islam, Hijrah(هجرة), we'll talk about Umar(عُمَر) and Qur’an,
Umar(عُمَر) in Jihad(جهاد), some incidences that happened in Madina,
we'll talk about his virtues, we'll talk about Umar(عُمَر) during the reign of Abu Bakr(أبوبكر)
and then we'll talk about the Khilafah(خِلَافَه) of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه
we will talk about Umar(عُمَر) and his family, Umar(عُمَر) with the society,
we'll talk about the government of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب),
we'll talk about the conquest that happened in times of Umar(عُمَر) in Iraq and in Ash-Sham(ألشَّام).
and then we'll talk about his last days.
So, this is the blue print for our course.
So, let's start and we ask Allahعَزّ وجَلّ to give us tawfeeq(توفيق)
we ask Allahعَزّ وجَلّ to give us Ikhlas(اخلاص),
we ask Allahعَزّ وجَلّ to benefit us from these sessions,
and to make these sessions surrounded by the Angels, sessions on which
Allahعَزّ وجَلّ will throw in, tranquillity and mercy upon us
because we are talking about As-Saliheen(الصالحين) and this is to encourage us, to be like them.
And we ask Allahعَزّ وجَلّ to make us those who follows best of words and applies them.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was born according to one opinion,
eleven years after the Year of the Elephant.
Now, Rasool Allah ﷺ was born, in the Year of the Elephant,
that's when the army of Abraha(ابرهة) tried to destroy Al-Ka'aba(اَلْكَعْبَه).
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was eleven years younger than Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, according to this opinion,
Umar(عُمَر) would be twenty nine years old when Rasool Allah ﷺ received Prophet hood.
And he would be few years older than that, when he became Muslim.
However, it’s the opinion of As-Sayuti(السيوطى) that he was younger than that.
So, he was in his late twenties, when he embraced Islam according to As-Sayuti(السيوطى).
As we did with Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) we want to start off with a mental image of Umar(عُمَر)
because that helps you to learn about him, when you have a mental image of a person.
So, what were physical descriptions of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب)?
Dear brothers and sisters! Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) was a towering figure.
Whenever, he would be with any group, he would be tallest among them.
And he was described as, when you see him from a distance in a group,
you think that he is riding his mount, while everybody around him is standing.
As if, he is on top of his camel and everybody else is standing around him.
He was towering figure, very tall,
whenever he would be in a group, he would be the tallest among them.
And he was very, well built, he wasn’t over weight
but he was described as Majdool Al-Lahm(مَجْدُوْلَّ اللَحَمْ).
There was a lot of flesh on his bones, but it was muscle.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) was a wrestler, he had a body of a wrestler and he used to wrestle.
He used to be a wrestler in Jahiliyah(جاهلية)
مَجْدُوْلَّ الّلَحَمْ، عَرِيْضَ الّقَدَمَيْنَ وَ الْيَدَيْنَ
His limbs were large, he had large bones, large frame, and his limbs were large,
his hands and his feet were large.
He was bald head, bald headed and he was described as, being a fair skin obviously,
relative to the colour of the skin of people in Arabia, which is predominantly dark.
So, relative to that he was a bit fair.
Mashoob bi humra(مشوب بحمرة), there is some redness in his colour.
When he was old, he used to use Hinna(حنا) in his hair, that red dye.
He used to dye his head and beard with Hinna(حنا).
He was described, the tips of his moustache, or what we call, the whiskers were long,
and he used to twist them, in his fingers when he would become upset.
When he was angry, he would twist his moustache, they were long.
So that adds to the presence of the personality of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب).
He was described as when he would walk, he would walk fast.
When he would speak you could definitely hear him,
and when he strikes, he strikes with strength, he hurts.
وَإِذَا ضَرَبَ اَوْجَعْ
When he strikes, he hurts.
So, it was a personality of strength, his voice was strong,
his demeanour in walking was strong, and when he strikes, he strikes with strength.
Now, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) had that presence,
his presence was intimidating to his enemy,
and it would, strike fear even within his friends.
The Sahabah رضي الله عنهم, it happened on many occasions, they were afraid of Umar(عُمَر).
Abu Musa Al-Ashari(ابو موسى الأشعري) once, he was requested, we will talk about it later on,
he would requested to do something by Umar(عُمَر) and when he left, his face was pale.
The Sahabah(صحابه) said: What's wrong with you? He said: Umar(عُمَر) did this. His face was pale.
In another occasion when he was walking once with some of the Sahabah(صحابه),
he turned around suddenly there was pregnant woman behind him, she had a miscarriage
and the Sahabah(صحابه) were then debating, whether he needs to pay the blood money for that or not
but it happened without his, he didn’t intend to cause her, all of this trouble.
But then Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) said: You need to pay the blood money to her,
because the damage that was done,
but you don’t have to pay it,it should be paid from Bait-Al-Maal(بيت المال) treasury of the Muslims.
When the enemies of Allah, would hear the name of Umar(عُمَر)
their knees would shake and their hearts would tremble.
Now, the unique thing about the personality of Umar(عُمَر) is that,
even though he had all these characteristics, his eyes would flow with tears easily.
And he had very compassionate and merciful heart.
And he was very humble, and that’s the unique thing about personality of Umar(عُمَر).
Usually people, who have this strength tend to be harsh and aggressive and arrogant.
And people who have compassionate and soft heart tend to be weak.
But Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) had these opposing
characteristics in one personality and that’s why he was unique.
His father Al-Khattab Ibn Nufail(الخطاب بن نفيل). His father was a very harsh man,
and Umar(عُمَر) would always remember that.
And Umar(عُمَر) had a tough upbringing. His father was very harsh with him.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) when he was a Khalifah(خليفه) he would say,
he said: He was with some other companions and he came to this place where he used to be a shepherd,
where he used to takes the camels of his father, he said:
لَا اِلَهَ اِلَّا الله اَلْعَلِيِّ الّعَظِيْمََ اَلْمُعْطِيْ مَا يَشَاءُ لِمَنْ يَشَآءُُ
لَا اِلَهَ اِلَّا الله
The Most High and the Great.
Who gives whatever He wants and to whomever He wants,
I used to be a shepherd for camels of my father in this place,
فِيْ مَدْرَعَةٍ مِّن صُوْفَ
And I would wear, some harsh wool clothes.
وَكَانَ فَظًا يُتْعِبُنِيْ اِذَاعَمِلْتَ
And my father was harsh and he would make me exhausted, when I work
and he would beat me up, if I don’t work.
وَيُضْرِبُنِيْ اِذَا قَصَّرْتََ وَقَدْ اَمْسَيْتُ لَيْسَ بَيْنِيْ وَ بَيْنَ الله اَحَدْ
And today, there is no one between me and Allah.
Being Khalifah(خليفه) of the Muslims on the ladder of classification of humanity, he is the highest.
There is no one in between him and Allah.
Umar(عُمَر) was saying, Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله), there was a day,
when I was a shepherd for my father and he would beat me up.
He would hit me, and he was very harsh with me. And now look at where Umar(عُمَر) is?
So, he used to say;
لا اله الا الله
Allah gives, whatever He wants, to whomever He wants.
Who would imagine that this would be given to Umar(عُمَر), the shepherd of yesterday.
He wasn’t only shepherd for his father but he also use to work for other women, his aunts.
He says, that I had some aunts and I would take their goats or sheep to this valley
and I would come back at the end of the day
and they would give me a handful of raisins or dates.
Now, Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf(عبد الرحمن ابن عوف) is narrating the story,
he said Umar(عُمَر) called the people to the Masjid(مسجد) and when they all assembled
Umar(عُمَر) stands up on the pulpit and he says and this is, when he is Khalifah(خليفه).
He said: I used to be a shepherd for some of my aunts
and I would come back, at the end of the day
and they would give me a handful of dates or raisins and I would have a miserable day.
And then he came down from the pulpit.
I had a miserable day meaning, I worked for my entire day and
this is what I get, handful of dates, that was how poor I was.
Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf(عبد الرحمن ابن عوف) said:
"مَازِدْتَّ عَلى اَنْ قَمَّئْتَ نَفْسَكْ"
You haven’t done more then to belittle yourself, I mean why, was this your khuttbah(خطبه)?
What's the point?
All what you did is belittle yourself, in front of everyone.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) said:
"وَيْحَكْ يَا اِبْنِ عَوْفَ"
Woe to you son of ‘Auf(عوف)! My nafs(نفس), myself
was telling me that you are Ameer ul mo'mineen(امير المؤمنين), so who is better than you?
So, I wanted to teach myself a lesson and let it know, who it is.
I wanted myself to know, who it really is, how humble it is,
because myself was trying to play games on me, was trying to tell me that,
I am the Ameer-Ul-Mo'mineen(امير المؤمنين), who is better than me.
When we are going through the story of Umar(عُمَر), I wanted to reflect on his sayings, and his actions.
Because it tells you allot about his personality.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب), he cannot be fooled by anyone including his own self.
See, his self was trying to play games on him
and it was telling him that you are the best. Look at who you are?
Brothers and sisters Shaytan(شيطان) cannot come to you unless you allow him to do so!
On the Day of Judgment people would go to the Shaytan(شيطان) and complain
and Shaytan(شيطان) will say;
"مَا كَانَ لِيْ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانْ"
I had no authority over you, you are the ones,
"كُنْتُمْ قَوْمً طَاغِيْنَ"
But you are people who are transgressors.
Shaytan(شيطان) cannot have access to your heart unless you give him the keys.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) was closing all of the cracks
which would allow Shaytan(شيطان) to come in.
While we don’t have just cracks, we have opened our gates,
the gates of our heart to Shaytan(شيطان). Welcome "come in".
Shaytan(شيطان) cannot come to you unless you allow him to.
When he went to Adam عليه السّلام in Jannah(جنة).
What did he tell the Adam(آدم)? Did he tell him go and eat from the tree Allah has banned?
Go and eat from the tree that is Haram(حرام)?
Go and disobey Allahعَزّ وجَلّ?
No!
He told him:
يَا آدَمْ هَلْ اَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَّجَرَةِ الّخُلْدِ وَمُلْكِ لَا يَبْلَىً۞
O Adam(آدم) I am going to tell you about
a tree that would give you everlasting life and a great kingdom.
Shaytan(شيطان) knows what is appealing to our hearts. You want to live forever,
you want to have power, so these are the gates in which he came in heart of Adam عليه السّلام.
So, Shaytan(شيطان) needs to find the way to come in
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was sealing all these cracks. He shuts them,
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) says:
"لَسْتُ بِالْخِبِّ وَلَااَلْخِبِّ يَخْدَعْنِيْ"
I am not a deceiver, nor would I allow anybody to deceive me.
I don’t go around deceiving people but in the same time, no one can deceive me.
That’s why Rasool Allah ﷺ says; Whenever, Shaytan(شيطان) sees you following one road,
he would take another. Shaytan(شيطان) has given up on Umar(عُمَر) there is no hope,
there is no way, it's just a waste of time.
So, the father of Umar(عُمَر), was very rough and harsh in the way, he use to bring up his children.
The mother of Umar(عُمَر),
there is one opinion that says that she is from the family of Bani Makhzom(بني مخزوم),
the family of Khaalid Ibn Waleed(خالد ابن وليد)
but most of the historians says that she is the cousin of Abu Jahal(ابو جَهَل),
she is the cousin of Abu Jahal(ابو جَهَل).
Hintimah bint Hisham(حنتمه بنت هشام), Her name is Hintimah bint Hisham(حنتمه بنت هشام).
His Wives! He married seven or eight in total.
He married Zainab Bint Madh’oon(زينب بنت مظعون),
the sister of great Sahaabi(صحابي) Uthman Ibn Madh’oon(عثمان بن مظعون).
He married her during the time of Jahiliyah(جاهليه)
and she was the mother of Abdullah(عبدالله), Abdur Rahman(عبدالرحمن) the eldest, and Hafsa(حفصه).
He married Maleeka Bint Jarwal(مليكه بنت جرول) ,
and she was the mother of Obaidullah(عبيد الله), and he divorced her.
He married Quraiba Bint Abi Makhzom(قُريبَه بنت ابي مخزوم), and he later on divorced her
and she then married Abdur Rahman Ibn Abi Bakr(عبد الرحمن ابن ابي بكر).
He married Umm Hakeem Bint Al-Harris(ام حكيم بنت الحارث),
she was the wife of Ikramah Ibn Abi Jahal(عكرمة بن ابي جهل),
when Ikramah(عكرمة) died in the Battle of Yarmook(يرموك),
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عُمرإبن خطاب) married her.
And then when Umar(عُمَر) died she then, remarried again. She was the mother of Fatimah(فاطمه).
He married Jameela bint Asim bin Sabit(جميله بنت عاصم بن ثابت).
He married ‘Atika bint Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufail(عاتكة بنت زيد بن عمرو بن نفيل),
she was a relative of his.
She was married before him to Abdullah Ibn Abi Bakr(عبدالله ابن ابي بكر).
And when Umar(عُمَر) was killed, then she married Zubair Ibn Awam(زبير بن عوام).
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) wanted to marry
the youngest daughter of Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) her name is Umm Kalthoom(ام كلثوم)
she was born, after Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) passed away, she was his youngest.
So, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) asked for her hand in marriage, she refused.
Ayesha(عائشه) told her:
"أَ تَرْ غَبِيْنَ عَنْ اَمِيْرُ الّمُؤمِنِيْنْ"
You don’t want to marry Ameer-ul-Mo'mineen(امير المؤمنين)?
She said:
"اِنَّ هُوْ خَشِنِ ا لْعَيْشْ"
His life style is harsh. Women want an easy life style.
Even in those days, she wants her husband to take care of her, make her life comfortable and easy.
So she said: I do not want him.
So, Ayesha(عائشه) told, Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) about it.
Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) went to Umar(عُمَر) and said:
I have a suggestion for you, why don’t you marry Umm Kalthoom(ام كلثوم) the daughter of Ali(علي)?
Because by marrying her you will have,
ثَبِّبْ اِلى رَسُولِ الله
You will have a relationship into the family of Rasool Ullah
because Umm Kalthoom(ام كلثوم) was daughter of Fatima(فاطمه).
So she was the grand-daughter of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So Umar(عُمَر) asked for her hand in marriage and she agreed and he married her.
That was the daughter of Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب).
Now, Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) was much younger than Umar(عُمَر), so his daughter was very young.
Lohaiya(لوحَيَّهْ) was either a slave girl or wife, there is a difference of opinion
and she bore him, Abdur Rahman(عبد الرحمن), the youngest.
And then he had a slave girl her name was Fuqiyha(فُقَيْهَة) and she was the mother of Zainab(زينب).
So, he had a total of thirteen children from his marriages.
Zayd(زيد) the eldest and Zayd(زيد) the youngest
I am translating literally Zaid Al-Akbar(زيد الاكبر) and Zaid Al-Asghar(زيد الاصغر),
he named two of his sons Zayd(زيد) because his brother was Zayd(زيد).
He named him on his brother Zayd Bin Khattab(زيد بن ألخطاب), Whom he use to love very much,
it's his elder brother, who died as a Shaheed(شهيد).
He had Asim(عاصم), Abdullah(عبدالله), and then Abdur Rahman(عبدالرحمن) the Eldest,
then Abdur Rahman(عبدالرحمن) the Middle and then Abdur Rahman(عبدالرحمن) the Youngest.
So he used to love the name Abdur Rahman(عبدالرحمن) he named three of his kids Abdur Rahman(عبدالرحمن)
Abdur Rahman Al-Akbar(عبدالرحمن الاكبر),
Abdur Rahman Al-Awsat(عبدالرحمن الاوسط)
Abdur Rahman Al-Asghar(عبدالرحمن الاصغر).
He had Obaidallah(عبيدالله) and Ayaz(عياض), these are the male children.
Then he had four daughters, Hafsa(حفصه), Ruqiya(رقيه), Zaynab(زينب) and Fatima(فاطمه), a total of thirteen.
Just a word on the marriages in those days,
because some thoughts may have come up in your mind,
when we were talking about the marriages of Umar(عمر)
first of all you noticed he married more than four,
obviously, he didn’t have more than four at any one point.
We are talking about total number of women that he married during his life time were seven or eight.
You would also noticed that, he divorced two of his wives and he divorced them in Islam.
It's was not in the time of Jahiliyah(جاهليه).
Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) also divorced,
Rasool Allah ﷺ, was almost going to divorce.
Many of the Sahabah(صحابه) divorced.
Now a days, we tend to see divorce as un-acceptable thing.
In fact, when we talk about the ills of society, we say the ratio of divorce is so high.
Well if that’s the standard,
then the ratio of divorce in the time of Sahabah(صحابه) was extremely high.
So, that’s not really a criteria of the health of society.
But their perception of divorce was different than ours.
They used to see marriage as a relationship between two souls,
so there needs to be a compatibility.
If it doesn’t work out it's just like a business agreement if it doesn’t work out then fine
we can part.
Now a days, we see divorce in a different light.
We see it, as a something that is a "No, No, you never do."
And then if it ever happens,
thats the stigma on the person until the end of their life especially to the women.
A woman who is divorced, no one wants to marry her and that is very unfair, that’s oppressive.
You've noticed in the time of Sahabah رضي الله عنهم,
no woman would be left without a husband.
Because for a Muslim male or female, family is the essence of your life,
family is the most important thing you have.
Your family as a Muslim is very, very important.
We not living a life style of Kuffar(كفار), if you don’t have a maid that’s fine,
you go from one pub to another and enjoy yourself. That’s not a life style of a Muslim.
The Kuffar(كفار) women that survive changing from one hand to another,
living a life that’s closer to the animal life, then is to human life.
So, for a Muslim man or a woman family is everything.
So the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم would never leave any of their sisters,
without the opportunity and privilege, of being married.
And that’s why polygamy was very wide spread and it was accepted.
And if a woman or a man divorced
that’s not a stigma on them, they can easily remarried.
Also you would find that, there could be a great difference in the age.
As long as both sides agree, there wasn’t a cultural problem with that
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was very old when he married Umm Kalthoom Bint Ali(ام كلثوم بنت علي).
And Umm Kalthoom bint Abu Bakr(ام كلثوم بنت ابو بكر) didn’t refuse to marry him
because he was old because she then married Talha Ibn Obaidullah(طلحه ابن عبيد الله), who was also old.
So, as long as both sides agree they were fine with it, culturally.
So, our perception of marriage and divorce is different than the perception of the Sahabah(صحابه).
In times of Sahabah(صحابه) marriage was early and easy
and everyone was allowed to be part of a family.
Now, there are millions of women around the Muslim world,
it's not really a problem in the west
but in the Muslim countries it’s a disastrous social problem.
Millions of women are growing older and older and they cannot get married.
Why? Because nobody wants to marry them, when they are old,
nobody wants to allow polygamy,
and that’s why we have all these women, who are unmarried.
So, when you look at it from this point of view,
polygamy is fairness to woman, rather than being oppressive.
Because it, then gives every women in the society an opportunity to be married,
because always women are more than men.
So, if polygamy is not accepted then that means there are going to be women,
who will not be able to get married.
So, the champions of women's rights, should actually be asking for the legalization of polygamy.
The Work Of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرإبن خطاب).
His first profession was, being a shepherd for his father and for his aunts.
And then he started a business. And he was very successful at it,
he would travel to Syria, and to Yemen and trade, and he became very wealthy.
He became one of the wealthy men of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ). And also he was a wrestler.
That’s something he used to, join in competition in Souq Akaaz(سوق عكاظ)
and he was unbeatable.
In Jahiliyah(جاهليه) because of the nature of the Umar(عُمَر),
Umar(عُمَر) was not a person who would do something with a half hearted effort.
He would go full throttle into everything.
He was very committed, disciplined person and he would go ahead with what he believes.
He doesn’t sit on the side lines on the margins, he would get involved.
Therefore, in Jahiliyah(جاهليه), he was one of the most effective men of the Quraish(قريش)
in the inquisition against the Muslims.
He was one of toughest in his persecution of the Muslims.
Because that’s the nature of the Umar(عُمَر), he goes full ahead with what he believes,
he don’t sit on the sidelines.
So, he used to torment, he used to torture, this slave girl.
He would lash her with this whip
and then when he would get tired he would sit down, and what would he tell her:
He would tell her; "Listen!
I didn’t stop because I feel sorry for you, I stopped because, I am tired."
She would respond back and say: "It is Allah, who made you stop,"
that’s the Eeman(ايمان) of this slave.
And it was unacceptable to the minds of many of the Muslims that one day Umar(عُمَر) could become Muslim.
One day when Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) was walking down in the streets of Makkah,
he saw one of the Sahaabiyaat(صحابيات), who was on her way to Abyssinia.
She was making a Hijrah(هجرة) to Al-Habasha(اَلْحَبَشَه).
So, Umar(عُمَر) said: Are you leaving?. She said: Yes!
Because you have oppressed us, and persecuted us.
We are going to travel in the land of Allah in order that we can practice our Religion freely.
What did Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) say? He said:
صَحِبَكُمُ الله,
May Allah be with you!
This statement was contrary to the nature of Umar(عُمَر).
Umar(عُمَر) showing compassion to a Muslim?
So, when No'aim Ibn Abdullah(نُعَيْم ابن عبدالله) came back he was with the Sahaabiya(صحابية).
She told him what happened.
He said: It appears that you are hoping for Umar(عُمَر) to become a Muslim?
She said: Yes! He said: Let me tell you,
"The donkey of his father would become a Muslim, before he does".
He is telling her that you women go with your emotions,
Umar(عُمَر) is not going to become a Muslim.
But she was right and he was wrong.
But this is to show you that,
they didn’t see it possible that one day this man could become a Muslim.
But Hidayah(هدايه) is in the hands of Allaah.
You never know who's going to embrace it.
It is so far fetched, of an idea.
He thought that donkey would become muslim before he does.
For them it was out of their minds.
HOW DID HE BECOME MUSLIM?
There was one incident that was narrated by his son Abdullah(عبدالله).
He said: One day a handsome man walked in front of us, so my father looked at him.
He looked at his face and he said: If my intuition is right
this man was a Kaahin(كاهن), a fortune teller for his people.
This is what you call, a Farasa(فراسة), Farasa(فراسة) is the art of reading the face
and Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) had that ability; it’s a gift from Allah.
You look at the face of some body and you read their personality.
And Umar(عُمَر) was good at Farasa(فراسة).
So, by just looking at face of this man he never met him before,
he read his face and he said: This man used to be fortune teller of his people,
so they called the man, and he said: I have never seen something like this before,
he was amazed. Umar(عُمَر) told him to tell me about yourself.
By the way, this issue of Farasa(فراسة) was seen as an art.
They say that Ash-Shafi'e(الشافعي) went to Yemen to learn Farasa(فراسة).
So, its some kind of art that could be taught,
and it appears in some kind of cultures like for example Chinese culture,
they have some sort of different version of Farasa(فراسة), reading the face.
But Rasool Allah ﷺ says:
"إِتَّقُوْا فَرَاسَةِ الْمُؤمِنْ فَإِنَه’ يَرَى بِنُوْرِ الله"
Beware of the Farasa(فراسة) of believer because he can see by the light of Allah.
So it is a gift that is given to some people and Umar(عُمَر) had it.
So, Umar(عُمَر) called the man and the man said: Yes! I was the fortune teller of my people.
Abdullah Ibn Umar(عبدالله ابن عمر) said: Rarely, would the intuition of my father go wrong.
It was always on target.
So, Umar(عُمَر) told him tell me the strangest thing that your Jinn(جن) told you.
Because these are the people, the fortune tellers deal with Jinn(جن)
they were dealing with Jinn(جن).
So Umar(عُمَر) is asking him, tell me about strangest thing that you heard from your Jinn(جن)?
So, he said my Jinn(جن) came to me, he mentions this rhyming words.
Speaking about coming of a prophet.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) said: Yes! That’s true.
One day, when a man was sacrificing for the idols next to Al-Ka’aba(ألكعبه),
I heard a very loud voice.
And this voice was saying something similar there is a prophet, who is coming
and then Umar(عمر) said: Immediately after that Muhammadﷺ claimed to be a Prophet.
So, these were hints, that were coming to Umar(عُمَر) to prepare him.
To prepare him, for Islam, so this was the thing that happened in the beginning.
Another important incident was what happened between him and this Sahaabiya(صحابيه)
when his heart was feeling soft, you can see that he was getting closer to Islam,
his stance was changing.
One day while the Mushrikeen(مشركين) were discussing how to deal with the problem of Muhammadﷺ?
They said: Who will volunteer to kill him?
Umar(عُمَر) said: I will! They said: You are the one for it.
So, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) carries his sword, in the middle of very hot day in Makkah.
And he was walking down the streets towards Daar Ul Arqam(دار الارقم),
he was told that Rasool Allah ﷺ is meeting there.
And this is after, many of Sahabah(صحابه) have already made Hijrah(هجرة) to Abyssinia,
so Rasool Allah ﷺ was left with small group of a Sahabah(صحابه),
Hamza Ibn Abdul Muttalib(حمزة بن عبدالمطلب), Abu Bakr As-Siddique رضي الله عنه, and few other Sahabah(صحابه).
So, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was heading straight down in the streets of Makkah,
and you can see evil in his eyes.
So, one of the companions, who was practicing Islam in secret
saw Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) and he realized that there was something wrong.
So, he told him where are you heading?
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) said: To this man, who has disunited our people,
and who has made fools out of us, and who has cursed our gods, I am going to kill him.
So, the companion told him: It seems that you are, too confident in yourself.
Do you think that Bani Abd Manaf(بنى عبد مناف), the family of Rasool Ullah
are going to let you walk on the face of the earth, after you killed their man?
It was a tribal system.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was upset so, they started an argument.
And then Umar(عُمَر) told this man, he said: I think that you have became Muslim,
if I am sure, that you are Muslim I am going to start by killing you first.
So, the Sahabi(صحابي) felt that, the whole reason, why this Sahabi(صحابي) was discussing with Umar(عمر)
is because he wants to divert him from his objective. He wants to save Rasool Ullah.
So, when he felt that, there is no hope,
in carry on this discussion with Umar(عمر) in this way, he told Umar(عمر):
Well before you go to Rasool Allah ﷺ why don’t you take care of your house hold first?
Why don’t you take care of your house hold first?
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) said: What did you mean?
He said: Your sister and her husband, they have became Muslim.
This Sahabi(صحابي) only said this, when every other argument did not work.
The sister of Umar(عُمَر) was Muslim in secret and so was her husband Saeed Ibn Zayd(سعيد بن زيد).
What the Sahabi(صحابي) did? Was put the sister of Umar(عمر) and her husband in a big trouble.
He exposed them. But, why would he do that? He did that to save Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, it shows you everything and anything can be sacrificed for the safety of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Everything!!!
So, now Umar(عُمَر) changed his coarse and he went straight to the house of his sister.
When he got next to the door, he heard them reciting Qur’an.
Fatimah Bint Al-Khattab(فاطمه بنت خطاب) and her husband Saeed Bin Zayd(سعيد بن زيد).
Saeed Bin Zayd(سعيد بن زيد) is the cousin of Umar(عمر).
And he is one of the ten, who were given the glad tidings of Jannah(جنة).
and they were being taught Qur’an by Khabaab Ibn Al-Arat(خباب ابن الارت).
When he knocked the door and they saw that it's Umar(عمر)
Khabaab(خباب) immediately, went into hiding
and Fatima(فاطمه), she hide the Scroll of Qur’an under her thigh.
Umar(عُمَر) came in and he said: What was that humming sound that I heard?
They said: It was nothing we were just talking. He said: Don’t lie to me.
What was that noise and have you became Muslims?
Saeed Bin Zayd(سعيد بن زيد) said: Well what if Islam is better than your religion?
At that point Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) attacked Saeed(سعيد),
he threw him to the ground and then he sat on top of him.
When Fatima(فاطمه) saw that, she came to defend her husband.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب), he struck her and it came on her face and she started to bleed.
She then said: You enemy of Allah, you hit me just because, I believed in Allah?
Whether you like it or not,
I bear witness and I testify that there is no god but Allah
and that Muhammadﷺ is Messenger of Allah, Do whatever you want!
When Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) saw this strength emanating from his sister
and this confidence and he saw that blood on her face.
He regretted what he has done,
it was unacceptable in their customs to hit a woman in such a manner.
So, he felt sorry for what he did to his sister.
So he moved away from Saeed(سعيد) and he sat down.
He said: Hand me over your scrolls. She said: I won’t!
Umar(عُمَر) said: What you said, has struck a chord in my heart
and I promise you that, I will return the scrolls to you safely.
She said: You are a Mushrik(مشرك) and you are in state of impurity,
- so you have to make Ghussal(غسل) first.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) went and he made Ghussal(غسل) he bathed himself, then he came back.
Then she gave him the scrolls.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه started reciting the Ayaat(آيات) in the scroll.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ َ۞
طه۞
مَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى۞
إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى۞
تَنْزِيلًا مِمَّنْ خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ وَالسَّمَاوَاتِ الْعُلَى۞
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى۞
لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَّرَى۞
وَإِنْ تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى َ ۞
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى َ۞
Translation of the Ayaat(آيات)
We have not sent down the Qur’an to you to be occasion for you for your distress,
but only as an admonition to those, who fear Allah.
A revelation from Him, Who created the earth and heavens on high.
Allah the Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne.
To Him belongs what's in the heavens and on earth
and all between them and all beneath the soil.
If you pronounce the words aloud
it is no matter for verily He knows what is secret and what is yet more hidden.
Allah there is no god be He to Him belongs the Most beautiful names.
When Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) recited these Ayaat(آيات) he said:
Is this what Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) was against?
The One, Who has spoken these words needs to be worshipped.
دُلُّوْنِي عَلَى محمد
Where is Muhammad(محمد)?
So, when they felt that he was honest and sincere in his desire to become a muslim.
They told him, where Rasool Allah ﷺ was meeting the Sahabah(صحابه).
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه walks down the streets of Makkah
but this time with the completely different intension.
He goes to Dar-Ul-Arqam(دارالارقم) and he knocks on the door.
He was walking down the streets of Makkah
and he goes to the Dar-Ul-Arqam(دارالارقم) and he knocks on the door.
The Sahabah(صحابه) peek and see that it's Umar(عُمَر). So they all sit down.
Hamza(حمزه) looks at them and says: What's wrong with you? They say, it's Umar(عُمَر)!
What did Hamza(حمزه) say? He said: So what if it's Umar(عُمَر)!
See, no one can say that but Hamza(حمزه), the rest were sitting.
Nobody wanted to open the door. No one wanted to deal with Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمربن خطاب)
But the Hamza(حمزه) is the one, who can handle that.
He was the knight of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ).
He said: So what if it's Umar(عُمَر)?
If he came for good, then he is welcome,
if he came for evil, then we will gonna kill him with his own sword.
Because remember Umar(عُمَر) was hanging his sword on his neck.
Hamza(حمزه) opens the door and they, he and another Sahabi(صحابي), they hold Umar(عمر) by his arms
and they bring him to Rasool Allah ﷺ. Rasool Allah ﷺ said: Arsiloo(اَرْسِلُوُهْ), Leave him alone!
So, Hamza(حمزه) and the other Sahabi(صحابي), they released Umar(عُمَر).
Now, Rasool Allah ﷺ even though he was shorter than Umar(عُمَر),
but when Rasool Allah ﷺ wants that strength he has strength of thirty men.
Rasool Allah ﷺ grabs Umar(عُمَر) by his clothes and pulls him towards him and says,
why did you come here son of Khattab(خطاب)?
Aren’t you going to stop fighting Islam, until Allah destroys you.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) said: O Messenger of Allah,
I have came here for no reason other than believing in Allaah and His Messenger.
Rasool Allah ﷺ made Takbeer(تكبير).
Now, none of the other Sahabah(صحابه) were there,
they weren't seeing what was happening they were hiding.
When they heard the Takbeer(تكبير) of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
the whole place erupted in Takbeer(تكبير), they couldn't believe it.
It just erupted in Takbeer(تكبير) and it was so loud, they had to immediately, disperse,
because everybody else could hear it.
That were their happiness, with the Islam of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب).
Khabaab Ibn Arat(خباب ابن ارت) when Umar(عُمَر) was reading the scrolls,
and he said: I want to go and meet Muhammadﷺ he came out of hiding
and he said: O Umar(عُمَر) I think that Allah has accepted the Dua(دُعَا) of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Rasool Allah ﷺ had made a Dua(دُعَا)
اَلَّلهُمَّ اَعِزَّ الّاِسْلَامْ بِاَحَبِّ (عُمْرَيْنِ) الرَّجُلَيْنِ اِلَيْكْ عمرو بن هشام او عمر بن الخطاب
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: O Allah honour Islam with one of the two men, the most beloved of the two men,
بِاَحَبِّ الرَّجُلَيْنِ اِلَيْكْ عمرو بن هشام او عمر بن الخطاب
Either Amr Bin Hisham(عمرو بن هشام) or Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب).
Who is Amr Bin Hisham(عمرو بن هشام)? Abu Jahal(ابوجَهَل)!
Rasool Allah ﷺ made Du’a(دعا), and said: O Allah honour Islam with one of the two,
the one whom you love most, Abu Jahal(ابو جَهَل) or Umar(عُمَر).
Why did Rasool Allah ﷺ make a Dua(دُعَا) specific for these two men?
Because there strength would turn into strength for Islam.
Abu Jahal(ابو جَهَل) was a leader of his people, he was a very wise man.
You know people have this impression of Abu Jahal(ابوجَهَل) as being a monster.
No, Abu Jahal(ابوجَهَل) was a strong man,
he was a straight forward person, he was committed to his objectives.
He was a hard worker and he was very wise and intelligent.
So, the people gave him a name and his real name is Amr Bin Hisham(عمرو بن هشام).
His name is not Abu Jahal(ابوجَهَل), his name is Amr Bin Hisham(عمرو بن هشام)
but because of his wisdom, he was given the name Abul-Hakam(أبوالحكم), the father of wisdom.
Now, Rasool Allah ﷺ gave him the name Abu Jahal(ابوجَهَل), the father of Ignorance.
Why? Because no matter how wise you are, no matter how intelligent you are,
if your intelligence would not leads you towards Islam
then you have no intelligence whatsoever.
If your mind doesn’t take you to believe,
لا اله الا الله و ان محمد رسول الله
Then you don’t have mind.
No, matter how intelligent people think you are,
if you do not use your intellect take it towards Islam then you don’t have intellect whatsoever.
And that would be admission of Kuffar(كفار) on the Day of Judgment.
وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ۞
If we had any understanding or if our ears could hears, we would not be here,
we have no understanding whatsoever.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ gave him the name Abu Jahal(ابو جَهَل).
Allahعَزّ وجَلّ accepted the Dua(دُعَا) of Rasool Allah ﷺ and chose Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب).
There is another incident that happened with Umar(عمر) and it
brought him closer to Islam.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمرابن الخطاب) in his Jahiliyah(جاهليه) used to be a heavy drinker.
He used to love his wine.
And he had Nudama'a(نُدَ مَاء), Nudama'a(نُدَ مَاء) are your drinking partners.
One night it was very late
he went around to the pubs of Makkah all them were closed,
first pub nobody was there, second pub nobody was there.
He didn’t find any of his drinker partners, its too late.
So he decided well, if there was nothing else to do, why not go and make Tawaf(طواف).
So, he goes to Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه), there is nothing better to do.
He goes to Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه) and who does he see there?
This late hour at night nobody there, who does he see?
Muhammadﷺ is praying. At this late hour when everybody is asleep.
Rasool Allah ﷺ is standing in front of Al-Ka'aba(اَلْكَعْبَه) making Ruko'o(ركوع) and Sujood(سجود).
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) said: Well why don't I strike fear
in the heart of Muhammadﷺ, it's me and him alone.
So, what he does, he goes behind Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه), so Rasool Ullah cannot see him.
And he slides between Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه) and the Cloth of the Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه).
Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه) is covered in a cloth,
so Umar(عُمَر) is standing in between Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه) and the cloth.
And he begins to sneak around Al-Ka'aba(اَلْكَعْبَه).
So, Rasool Ullah cannot see him, until he made it right in front of Rasool Ullah.
But Rasool Ullah cannot see him because he is behind the cloth of Al-Ka’aba(اَلْكَعْبَه).
What Umar(عُمَر) wanted to do, is to ambush Rasool Allah ﷺ.
But when he gets there he was in the hearing range of Ayaat(آيات) of Qur’an.
Now, the people of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) used to intentionally plugged their ears.
So, that they won't hear Qur’an. But now, Umar(عُمَر) is right there within range,
Umar(عُمَر) is listening attentively to the Ayaat(آيات) of Qur’an.
Umar(عُمَر) said to himself: These must be the words of a poet, wonderful words,
they must be words of a poet.
Rasool Allah ﷺ was reciting the Surat-Al-Haaqah(سورة الحاقة),
and the exact next Ayah(آية) after this thought came to mind of Umar(عُمَر) was,
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَا تُؤْمِنُونَ۞
"These are not the words of a poet, little did you believe".
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) was shocked and he immediately said:
These must be words of a Kaahin(كاهن), of a fortune teller
- how did he know what was in my heart? The next Ayah(آية) was,
وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ۞
These are not the words of a fortune teller little do you remember.
Umar(عمر) just froze in his tracks,
these must be words of Allah.
So, Allah was preparing him, for the important role that he is going to play in the future.
He is going to be the second best of all of the Sahabah(صحابه).