When he uttered the takbīr, everyone in the house realized that ʿUmar had embraced Islam. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah then dispersed, feeling greatly strengthened now that ʿUmar had accepted the faith alongside Ḥamzah; they were certain the two of them would protect the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and that, through them, they would gain redress against their enemy.

Ibn Isḥāq said (1): This is the report transmitted by the narrators of Madinah concerning ʿUmar’s conversion.

He also said (2): ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Najīḥ al-Makkī related to me, on the authority of his associates—ʿAṭāʾ, Mujāhid, and others who transmitted the account—that ʿUmar’s Islam, as he himself used to relate, unfolded as follows:

“I was far from Islam. In the Time of Ignorance I was a man of wine; I loved it and drank it. We had a gathering place in the Ḥazwarah market where some men of Quraysh would meet. One night I went out to join my companions there but found none of them. I thought, ‘Let me go to So-and-so, the wine-seller; perhaps he has some wine I can drink.’ I went to him but did not find him either, so I said, ‘Why not go to the Kaʿbah and circumambulate it seven—or seventy—times?’

“I entered the Mosque and there was the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—standing in prayer. When he prayed he faced Syria, placing the Kaʿbah between himself and Syria, and his place of prayer lay between the Black Corner and the Yemeni Corner. When I saw him I said to myself, ‘By Allah, I shall listen to Muhammad tonight and hear what he says. If I draw near him to listen, I will certainly alarm him.’

“So I approached from the side of the Ḥijr, slipped beneath its covering, and walked softly while the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—stood praying, reciting the Qur’an, until I stood directly in front of him facing him, with nothing between us but the cloth of the Kaʿbah. When I heard the Qur’an, my heart softened, I wept, and faith entered me. I remained where I was until the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—finished his prayer and departed. Whenever he left, he would head toward the house of Ibn Abī Ḥusayn—his dwelling was the mottled house that later came into Muʿāwiyah’s possession.

“I followed him, and when he entered the space between the house of al-ʿAbbās and the house of Ibn Azhar I caught up with him. When the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—heard my footsteps he recognized me, and, thinking I had followed him to harm him, he reproached me and said, ‘What has brought you here at this hour, son of al-Khaṭṭāb?’ I replied, ‘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—praised Allah and then said, ‘Allah has guided you, O ʿUmar.’ He then placed his hand on my chest and prayed that I remain steadfast. After that I departed, and the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—went into his house.”

Ibn Isḥāq concluded: Allah knows best which of these reports is correct.