Enemy Becomes a Friend
In the sixth year after the hijrah, the Prophet, peace
be upon 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 (The people of
Makkah, before becoming Muslims, placed hundreds of
idols in the Holy Ka'bah. These idols were later
destroyed by the Prophet). 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 yourself" 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 yourself" 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."
Source: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul
Wahid Hamid.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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