[Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

In the sixth year after the hiCrah, the Prophet, may the
blessings of God be on him, decided to expand the scope of
his mission. He sent eight letters to rulers in the Arabian
peninsula and surrounding areas inviting them to Islam.
One of these rulers was Thumamah ibn Uthal.

Thumamah was one of the most powerful Arab rulers in
pre-Qur'anic times. This is not surprising since he was a
chieftain of the Banu Hanifah and one of the rulers of al-
Yamamah whose word no one dared to challenge or
disobey.

When Thumamah received the Prophet's letter, he was
consumed by anger and rejected it. He refused to listen to
the invitation of Truth and goodness. More than that, he
felt a strong desire to go and kill the Prophet and bury his
mission with him.

Thumamah waited and waited for a convenient time to
carry out his design against the Prophet until eventually
forgetfulness caused him to lose interest. One of his uncles,
however, reminded him of his plan, praising what he
intended to do.

In the pursuit of his evil design against the Prophet,
Thumamah met and killed a group of the Prophet's
companions. The Prophet thereupon declared him a
wanted man who could lawfully be killed on sight.

Not long afterwards, Thumamah decided to perform
umrah. He wanted to perform tawaf around the Ka'bah
and sacrifice to the idols there. So he left al-Yamamah for Makkah. As he
was passing near Madinah, an incident
took place which he had not anticipated.

Groups of Muslims were patrolling the districts of
Madinah and outlying areas on the lookout for any
strangers or anyone intent on causing trouble. One of these
groups came upon Thumamah and apprehended him but
they did not know who he was. They took him to Madinah
and tied him to one of the columns in the mosque. They
waited for the Prophet himself to question the man and
decide what should be done with him.

When the Prophet was about to enter the mosque, he
saw Thumamah and asked his companions, "Do you know
whom you have taken?"

"No, messenger of God," they replied.

"This is Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi," he said. "You
have done well in capturing him."

The Prophet then returned home to his family and said,
"Get what food you can and send it to Thumamah ibn
Uthal." He then ordered his camel to be milked for him.
All this was done before he met Thumamah or had spoken
to him.

The Prophet then approached Thumamah hoping to
encourage him to become a Muslim. "What do you have to
say for yourself9" he asked.

"If you want to kill in reprisal," Thumamah replied,
"you can have someone of noble blood to kill. If, out of
your bounty, you want to forgive, I shall be grateful. If you
want money in compensation, I shall give you whatever
amount you ask."

The Prophet then left him for two days, but still
personally sent him food and drink and milk from his
camel. The Prophet went back to him and asked, "What do
you have to say for yourself7" Thumamah repeated what
he had said the day before. The Prophet then left and came
back to him the following day. "What do you have to say for yourself?" he
asked again and Thumamah repeated
what he had said once more. Then the Prophet turned to
his companions and said, "Set him free."

Thumamah left the mosque of the Prophet and rode
until he came to a palm grove on the outskirts of Madinah
near al-Baqi' (a place of luxuriant vegetation which later
became a cemetery for many of the Prophet's
companions). He watered his camel and washed himself
well. Then he turned back and made his way to the
Prophet's mosque. There, he stood before a congregation
of Muslims and said:

"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear
witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger."
He then went to the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and
said:

"O Muhammad, by God, there was never on this earth a
face more detestable than yours. Now, yours is the dearest
face of all to me."

"I have killed some of your men," he continued, "I am
at your mercy. What will you have done to me?"

"There is now no blame on you, Thumamah," replied
the Prophet. "Becoming a Muslim obliterates past actions
and marks a new beginning."

Thumamah was greatly relieved. His face showed his
surprise and joy and he vowed, "By God, I shall place my
whole self, my sword, and whoever is with me at your
service and at the service of your religion."

"O Rasulullah," he went on, "when your horsemen
captured me I was on my way to perform umrah. What
do you think I should do now?"

"Go ahead and perform your umrah," replied the
Prophet, "but perform it according to the laws of God and
His messenger." The Prophet then taught him how to
perform umrah according to Islamic rules.

Thumamah left to fulfil his intention. When he reached
the valley of Makkah, he began shouting in a loud,
resonant voice:
"Labbayk Allakumma labbayk.
Labbayka laa shareeka laka labbayk.
Innal hamda wa-n ni'mata laka wa-l mulk
Laa shareeka lak.

(Here I am at Your command O Lord, Here I am.
Here I am. No partner have You. Here I am.
Praise, bounty and Dominion belong to You.
No partner have You.")

He was thus the first Muslim on the face of the earth to
enter Makkah reciting the talbEyah.

The Quraysh heard the sound of the talbiyah and felt
both anger and alarm. With drawn swords, they set out
towards the voice to punish the one who had thus
assaulted their preserve. As they came closer to him,
Thumamah raised his voice even higher while reciting the
talbiyah and looked upon them with pride and defiance.
One of the Quraysh young men was particularly incensed
and was about to shoot Thumamah with an arrow when
the others grabbed his hand and shouted:

"Woe to you! Do you know who this is? He is
Thumamah ibn Uthal, ruler of al-Yamamah. By God, if
you should harm him, his people would cut our supplies,
with dire consequences for us."

Swords were replaced in their scabbards as the Quraysh
went up to Thumamah and said:

"What's wrong with you, Thumamah? Have you given in
and abandoned your religion and the religion of your
forefathers?"

"I have not given in," he replied, "but I have decided to
follow the best religion. I follow the religion of
Muhammad. "

He then went on:

"I swear to you by the Lord of this House that after my
return to al-Yamamah, no grain of wheat or any of its
produce shall reach you until you follow Muhammad."

Under the watchful eyes of the Quraysh, Thumamah
performed umrah as the Prophet, peace be upon him, had
instructed him. He dedicated his sacrifice to God alone.

Thumamah returned to his land and ordered his people
to withhold supplies from the Quraysh. The boycott
gradually began to have effect and became more and
more stringent. Prices began to rise. Hunger began to bite and
there was even fear of death among the Quraysh.

Thereupon, they wrote to the Prophet, saying:

"Our agreement with you (the treaty of Hudaybiyyah) is
that you should maintain the bonds of kinship but you
have gone against that. You have cut the bonds of kinship.
You have killed and caused death through hunger.
Thumamah ibn Uthal has cut our supplies and inflicted
harm on us. Perhaps you would see fit to instruct him to
resume sending us what we need."

The Prophet immediately sent a messenger instructing
Thumamah to lift the boycott and resume supplies to the
Quraysh. This Thumamah did.

Thumamah spent the rest of his life in the service of his
religion, abiding by the undertaking he had given to the
Prophet. When the Prophet died, many Arabs began
leaving the religion of God in great numbers.
Musaylamah, the imposter, began calling the Banu
Hanifah to believe in him as a Prophet. Thumamah
confronted him and said to his people:

"O Banu Hanifah, beware of this grievous matter. There
is no light or guidance in it. By God, it will only bring
distress and suffering to whoever joins this movement and
misfortune even to those who do not join.

"O Banu Hanifah, two prophets do not come at the same
time and there shall be no Prophet after Muhammad and
no Prophet to share in his mission."

He then read out to them the following verses of the
Qur'an:

"Ha Mim. The revelation of this Book is from God the
Almighty, the Knowing. He forgives sins and accepts
repentance. He is severe in punishment and has a long
reach. There is no god except Him. To Him is the
journey's end." (Surah Ghafir; verses 1-3).

"Can you compare these words of God with the
utterings of Musaylamah?" he asked.

He then gathered together all those who had remained
in Islam and began to wage a jihad against the apostates
and to make the words of God supreme. The loyal Muslims of
Banu Hanifah needed additional help to stand against the
armies of Musaylamah. Their arduous task was completed
by the forces despatched by Abu Bakr but at the cost of
many a Muslim life.