“Do you imagine Banū ʿAbd Manāf would let you roam the earth once you have killed Muhammad? Why not go back to your own household and put their affairs in order first?”
He asked, “Which members of my household?”
Nuʿaym replied, “Your brother-in-law and cousin Saʿīd ibn Zayd, and your sister Fāṭimah. By God, they have accepted Islam and now follow Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—so start with them.”
ʿUmar turned back toward the house of his sister Fāṭimah. With her was Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt, holding a parchment on which Sūrah Ṭā Hā was written, reciting it to her. When they heard ʿUmar’s footsteps, Khabbāb hid in an inner room— or in a corner of the house—while Fāṭimah bint al-Khaṭṭāb slipped the parchment under her thigh. ʿUmar had already caught the sound of Khabbāb’s recitation as he approached the door.
Entering, he said, “What was that murmuring I just heard?”
They answered, “You heard nothing.”
He retorted, “Indeed, by God! I have been told that the two of you have followed Muhammad in his religion.” Then he seized his brother-in-law Saʿīd ibn Zayd. Fāṭimah bint al-Khaṭṭāb rose to shield her husband, whereupon ʿUmar struck her and opened a wound.
His sister and her husband then declared, “Yes, we have embraced Islam and believe in God and His Messenger. Do whatever you will.” Seeing the blood on his sister, ʿUmar regretted what he had done and softened.
He said to her, “Give me that parchment you were reading a moment ago so that I may see what Muhammad has brought.” (ʿUmar was literate.) She replied, “We are afraid for it with you.”
He said, “Have no fear,” and swore by his idols that he would return it after reading it. Hoping for his Islam, she said, “Brother, you are impure through your idolatry, and none touch it except the purified.” So ʿUmar rose, bathed, then she handed him the parchment containing Sūrah Ṭā Hā. He read it, and when he had recited its opening verses he exclaimed, “How beautiful and noble is this speech!”
Hearing that, Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt came out and said, “By God, O ʿUmar, I hope that Allah has singled you out with the supplication of His Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—for yesterday I heard him say:
‘O Allah, strengthen Islam with Abū l-Ḥakam ibn Hishām or with ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.’
So fear Allah, O ʿUmar!”
At this ʿUmar said, “Guide me, Khabbāb, to Muhammad so that I may go to him and accept Islam.”
Khabbāb replied, “He is in a house near al-Ṣafā with a group of his Companions.”
ʿUmar strapped on his sword and made his way to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and his Companions, then pounded on the door. When they heard his voice, a man from among the Companions looked through a crack and saw ʿUmar with his sword across him. He hurried back, alarmed, and said, “O Messenger of Allah, it is ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, sword in hand!”
Ḥamzah said, “Let him in. If he has come with good intent, we shall welcome it; if he means harm, we will kill him with his own sword.”
The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “Let him in.”
The man opened the door, and the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—rose to meet ʿUmar in the vestibule. Grasping him by his belt—or by the front of his cloak—he pulled him firmly and said, “What has brought you here, son of al-Khaṭṭāb? By Allah, I do not think you will desist until Allah sends calamity upon you.”
ʿUmar answered, “O Messenger of Allah, I have come to believe in Allah, in His Messenger, and in what has been sent down from Allah.”
The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—then pronounced the takbīr.