376 – ‘Abdullāh narrated to us: Muhammad ibn ‘Awf ibn Sufyān al-Tā’ī al-Himsī narrated to me: ⦗286⦘ Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Hunaynī narrated to us, saying: Usāma ibn Zayd—meaning, Ibn Aslam—related it from his father, from his grandfather Aslam, who said:

‘Umar said to us, “Would you like me to tell you how I first embraced Islam?”

We replied, “Yes.”

He said: “I was among those most hostile to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. One hot day, while I was on one of the roads of Mecca, a man from Quraysh met me and said, ‘Where are you going, son of al-Khattāb?’

“I replied, ‘I am going to that man who—who—who…’

“He said, ‘How astonishing! You claim to be like this, yet this affair has entered your own home!’

“I asked, ‘What do you mean?’

“He replied, ‘Your sister has forsaken her religion.’

“So I turned back in anger. When one or two men embraced Islam, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would place them with a man who had the means to provide them with food. He had placed two men with my sister’s husband. I went there and knocked on the door.

“‘Who is there?’ he asked.

“‘The son of al-Khattāb,’ I replied.

“They had been reading a written sheet they had with them. When ⦗287⦘ they heard my voice, they hid, forgetting the sheet. My sister got up and opened the door for me. I said, ‘You enemy of your own soul! I have heard that you have forsaken your religion!’ I raised something I had in my hand and struck her, drawing blood. When she saw the blood, she wept and said, ‘Son of al-Khattāb, do whatever you will: I have embraced Islam.’

“I sat down on the bed and looked around. There was a written document in a corner of the house. I said, ‘What is this? Give it to me.’

“She replied, ‘You are not fit to handle it. You do not bathe after entering a state of major ritual impurity, nor do you purify yourself. Only those who are purified may touch this.’

“I kept pressing her until she gave it to me. It began: ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.’ When I came to ‘the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,’ I was seized with fear and threw down the sheet. Then I returned to it and found:

“‘Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.’

“Whenever I came upon one of Allah’s names, I was seized with fear. Then I regained my composure and continued until I reached:

“‘Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and spend from that over which He has made you trustees’ [al-Hadīd: 7],

“through to His words:

“‘If you are believers’ [al-Baqara: 91].

“I said, ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’

“The men came out, calling out ‘Allah is the Greatest!’ to one another, rejoicing at what they had heard me say. They praised Allah and said, ‘Son of al-Khattāb, rejoice!’ Once they were convinced of my sincerity, I said to them, ‘Tell me where the Messenger of Allah is.’

“They replied, ‘He is in a house at the foot of al-Safā.’

“I went there and knocked on the door. Someone asked, ‘Who is there?’

“‘The son of al-Khattāb,’ I replied.

“They knew how hostile I had been to the Messenger of Allah, but they did not know that I had embraced Islam. None of them dared open the door. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Open the door for him. If Allah wills good for him, He will guide him.’

“They opened the door for me, and a man took me by the upper arm until I came close to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He said, ‘Let him go.’ They released me, and I sat before him. He grasped the gathered folds of my shirt, pulled me towards him and said, ‘Embrace Islam, son of al-Khattāb. O Allah, guide him.’

“I said, ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.’

“The Muslims cried out ‘Allah is the Greatest!’ so loudly that it could be heard in the streets of Mecca. He had been keeping himself concealed. Whenever I wished to see a man being beaten for embracing Islam, I could find one. Seeing this, I said, ‘I want nothing but to suffer some of what the Muslims suffer.’

“So I went to my maternal uncle, who was a man of standing among them, and knocked on his door. He asked, ‘Who is there?’

“‘The son of al-Khattāb,’ I replied.

“He came out, and I said, ‘Have you heard that I have forsaken my religion?’

“He said, ‘Do not do that!’

“‘I have already done so,’ I replied.

“He said, ‘Do not do that!’ and shut the door in my face. I said to myself, ‘This has achieved nothing.’

“I then went to ⦗288⦘ one of the leading men of Quraysh and knocked on his door. He came out, and I said, ‘Have you heard that I have forsaken my religion?’

“He said, ‘Do not do that!’

“‘I have already done so,’ I replied.

“He went inside and shut the door. I turned away, and a man said to me, ‘Would you like people to know that you have embraced Islam?’

“‘Yes,’ I replied.

“He said, ‘When the people are sitting in the Hijr, go to so-and-so’—a man who could not keep a secret—‘lean towards him and tell him privately, “I have forsaken my religion.” He will expose you, shout it out and announce it publicly.’

“When the people had gathered in the Hijr, I went to the man, drew close and leaned towards him, saying privately, ‘I have forsaken my religion.’

“He asked, ‘You have forsaken your religion?’

“‘Yes,’ I replied.

“He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Listen! The son of al-Khattāb has forsaken his religion!’

“The people came rushing towards me. They struck me, and I struck them. My uncle asked, ‘What is this?’

“He was told, ‘The son of al-Khattāb.’

“He stood upon the Hijr and waved his sleeve, declaring, ‘Listen! I have granted my sister’s son my protection!’

“The people drew away from me. Yet whenever I wished to see a Muslim being beaten, I could find one, while I myself was not being beaten. I said, ‘This will not do until I suffer what the Muslims suffer.’

“I waited until the people were sitting in the Hijr, then went in to my uncle and said, ‘Listen.’

“‘What am I to hear?’ he asked.

“I said, ‘I return your protection to you.’

“He replied, ‘Do not do that, my sister’s son.’

“I said, ‘No, that is my decision.’

“‘As you wish,’ he replied.

“Thereafter, I continued to strike and be struck until Allah gave strength to Islam.”

377 – ‘Abdullāh narrated to us: Al-Hasan ibn al-Sabbāh al-Bazzār, Abū ‘Alī, narrated to me: Abū Ya‘qūb al-Hunaynī, Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm, narrated to us: Usāma ibn Zayd—meaning, Ibn Aslam—narrated to us, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, who said:

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb said to us, “Would you like me to tell you how I first embraced Islam?”

We replied, “Yes.”

He said: “I was among those most hostile to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. One intensely hot day, in the midday heat, I was on one of the roads of Mecca when I came upon a man from Quraysh. He asked, ‘Where are you headed, son of al-Khattāb?’

“I replied, ‘I am going to this man who—who…’

“He said, ‘How astonishing, son of al-Khattāb!’”

He then related the account at length, to its end.