Safwān said, “By God, there is no good in living after them.”
ʿUmayr replied, “You are right, by God. Were it not for a debt I cannot repay and dependents I fear would be lost after me, I would ride out to Muhammad and kill him. I do have a pretext—their hands hold my son captive.”
Safwān ibn Umayyah seized the moment and said, “Your debt is on me; I will settle it for you. As for your family, they will be cared for along with mine—nothing within my means will be withheld from them.”
ʿUmayr said, “Then keep this matter between us secret.” Safwān replied, “I will.”
ʿUmayr then had his sword sharpened and coated with poison, and he set out until he reached Madinah. While ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was sitting with a group of Muslims recalling the day of Badr—how Allah had honoured them and shown them His power over their enemy—he noticed ʿUmayr ibn Wahb dismounting at the door of the mosque with his sword slung across him.
ʿUmar said, “This dog, the enemy of Allah, ʿUmayr ibn Wahb! He has come only for evil. He is the one who incited them against us and estimated our numbers for them on the day of Badr.”
ʿUmar then went in to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and said, “O Prophet of Allah, the enemy of Allah, ʿUmayr ibn Wahb, has arrived with his sword strapped on.”
The Prophet said, “Let him come in to me.”
ʿUmar returned, seized the strap of ʿUmayr’s sword around his neck, and dragged him in. He told some of the Anṣār who were with him, “Enter to the Messenger of Allah, sit by him, and guard him against this vile man, for he is not to be trusted.” He then brought ʿUmayr before the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him.
When the Messenger of Allah saw him with ʿUmar still holding the sword-strap, he said, “Release him, O ʿUmar. Come closer, ʿUmayr.”
ʿUmayr stepped forward and said, “Good morning!”—the greeting people used in the Days of Ignorance.
The Messenger of Allah said, “Allah has honoured us with a greeting better than yours, O ʿUmayr: ‘Peace’—the greeting of the people of Paradise.”
ʿUmayr replied, “By Allah, O Muhammad, I have only recently heard of it.”
The Prophet asked, “What has brought you here, ʿUmayr?”
He said, “I have come concerning the captive you hold; treat him well.”
The Prophet asked, “Then why is that sword around your neck?”
He replied, “May Allah curse these swords! Did they ever do any good?”
The Prophet said, “Tell me the truth—what have you really come for?”
He answered, “I have come for nothing but that.”
The Prophet said, “No. You and Safwān ibn Umayyah sat together in the Ḥijr, spoke about Quraysh’s dead in the well, and you said, ‘Were it not for the debt I owe and the family I must care for, I would go out and kill Muhammad.’ Safwān ibn Umayyah undertook to settle your debt and look after your family on condition that you kill me for him. But Allah will stand between you and that.”
ʿUmayr exclaimed, “I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah! O Messenger of Allah, we used to deny what you brought us of news from heaven and revelation. Yet this matter was known to no one but me and Safwān. By Allah, I know that none but Allah has informed you of it. Praise be to Allah who has guided me to Islam and brought me here.” He then pronounced the testimony of faith.
The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “Teach your brother his religion, instruct him in the Qur’an, and release his captive.” And they did so.
ʿUmayr then said, “O Messenger of Allah, I used to strive to extinguish the light of Allah and was harsh toward those who followed His religion. I would like you to permit me to return to Mecca and invite them to Allah, to His Messenger, and to Islam—perhaps Allah will guide them. Otherwise I shall harass them in their religion just as…"