Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that: Hazrat Ali ibn Tawreeb informed me that all the companions except Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) migrated secretly. Only Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) migrated openly. When Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) decided to migrate, he shouldered his sword and took a handful of arrows. Then he went directly to the Haram Sharif. Then he performed Tawaf around the Kaaba. Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was performing Tawaf in front of the people present there. Hazrat Ali (RA) narrates that Hazrat Umar was performing Tawaf slowly and confidently. There was no fear in Hazrat Umar. He was strong both externally and internally. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) finished the prayer and prayed behind Maqam Ibrahim. Then he went to the Quraysh leaders present there and said to them, “May your faces be disfigured.” Then he said to them, “May Allah humiliate and turn to dust whatever you breathe through.”
Then Hazrat Umar (RA) made his famous statement which was that if any of you wants to make his mother childless or his wife a widow or his children fatherless, then let him go behind this valley and face me.
Hazrat Ali (RA) narrates that no one responded to Umar’s call except a few foolish people, and Hazrat Umar (RA) taught them a good lesson. Today we will discuss some important points from Omar’s account of this migration.
Before migrating, Hazrat Umar (RA) made a pact with two other people that they would migrate together. Those two people were Ayas ibn radiyallahu ta’ala anhu and Hisham.
These two men had a place set aside for them, a valley outside Mecca. They agreed that they would set out together for Medina before arriving there. They had agreed that if one of them failed to arrive at the appointed time, the others would not wait for them and that, assuming that some danger had befallen the man in the country or some other situation had arisen, those who arrived would set out from there.
Although Hazrat Umar radiyallahu ta’ala anhu and Ayas radiyallahu ta’ala anhu arrived on time, Hisham was unable to attend.
Hisham was captured earlier and Then Hazrat Umar said that they had arrested Hisab and that he had renounced Islam. also abandoned Islam. The two of them set out there and finally they successfully reached in Medina. They were stopping at a place outside Al-Qura.
But the story does not end here. We only mentioned the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed to Allah (swt) regarding two people that Allah would strengthen Islam through either of them. One was Umar ibn al-Khattab and the other was Amr ibn Hisham or Abu Jahl.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) chose these two people because of their commitment and dedication to their work. Ayas radiyallahu ta’ala anhu was Abu Jahl’s half-brother. Abu Jahl and Ayas radiyallahu ta’ala anhu were the children of the same mother, but their father was different.
Abu Jahl left for Medina with his brother Hisham. Abu Jahl could not accept that his half-brother IS would migrate to Medina and Abu Jahl would tolerate that. So, if he went to Medina and brought him back. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had not migrated yet. He was staying in Mecca. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr Siddiq were the last to migrate. They went to Medina and reached. Abu Jahl said, “Your mother is very sick. Your mother has sworn that she will never leave the shade of the sun, and she will not bathe in pain unless you return to your home.”
A strong oath, meaning that she would not rest or seek shelter until death. Ayyas loved your mother very much and thinking about this strong oath of your mother made him very sad and his heart was filled with emotion. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab was present there and he warned Ayyas and said, “Do not believe the words of these two liars. They want to put you in trouble about the day. They want to deceive you. They want to deceive you. Do not worry about this because when the heat of the sun of Mecca increases, she will definitely find shade and shelter and his head will be full of lice. She will definitely comb his head and scratch his hair. So here we see that this opportunity cannot be taken on Omar Ibn Al-Khattab through emotional blackmail or emotion. He cannot be fooled.
At that time, Satan suggested to him and Ayyas thought that if I go to Mecca, I will be able to return and take my mother to rest. He also sincerely wanted to go to Mecca and bring some of my money and property which I can bring and later use it for the welfare of Muslims. When Omar Ibn Al-Khattab saw that he could not be stopped or persuaded in any way, he also made this proposal to him. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said that you know Ayyas that I am one of the richest people in Mecca. I will give you half of my property, but even then you should not go. If you want to go, at least take my camel with you. It is a very strong and fast camel.
If you see any danger or suspicious thing, get on this and you will be able to return quickly. Omar was helping his Muslim brother not to get into trouble due to the sedition of the infidels. Ayyas was ready. Omar gave that camel and then Abu Jahl and the other person who came with him, the three of them left Medina. They set off. After going some distance on the way, Abu Jahl said, “My brother Ayyas, this camel of mine is very disobedient. Our speed is slowing down. If you don’t mind, can’t we share your camel together?” Ayyas is a simple man. He said, “Yes, of course, you can sit on my camel.” They stopped the camel. As soon as the camel knelt on the ground and stopped, Abu Jahl got off and immediately attacked Ayyas. He attacked him and dragged him captive and brought him to Mecca. Faced with this sedition, Ayyas therefore ruined the migration itself and left Islam.
So, among the two people with whom Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had made a pact to migrate together, one of them was Hisham, who was the younger brother of Amr ibn al-Nasr. He had already been imprisoned and faced temptation. At the same time, it is also seen here that he was deceived by Abu Jahl and was forced to abandon his three beliefs.
Regarding all these transactions, Allah said that at that time we thought that if a person, after knowing Allah, renounces Islam and abandons it, then there is no chance for him, no repentance, no hope for him. Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) migrated to Medina, we asked him about the condition of all these people. Then Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) revealed these verses from Surah Az-Zumar: 53 to 55:
Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.
And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive.
(Quran 39:53-55)
Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) thinking about his two companions and arranged to send them.
Ayyas saying: when I found the writing, this verse was written directly there. There is no introduction or site note annotation. There is nothing written before or after. Those verses are written directly there. O My servants, you who have wronged yourselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins, the Most Merciful. These verses are written there. I found the writing from Google and when I came out of Mecca and came to an open place in the mountain valley, I sat in a quiet, secluded place and read these things over and over again. I wondered what Omar really meant. I did not understand anything. The meaning was that I could not understand because Omar did not mention any comment or explanation in that writing. There is no introduction. The verses say: Allah is Forgiving. If you wrong yourself, Allah will forgive you. I prayed to Allah to grant me the ability to understand these.
Here is one thing can notice that when we read the Quran, we read some of the Islamic matters, the Quran and Hadith, when we do not understand them. Maybe we should pray to Allah (swt) so that Allah (swt) can give us the ability to understand them.
And Ayyas says, “Then I realized that it was revealed about us and that we had an opportunity there. I realized that Allah Almighty was giving us an opportunity. Without delay, I set off on my camel. Ayyas returned, but Hisham was still in prison. As time went by, it was seen that a few people were in prison. They were Walid bin Walid, the brother of Khalid bin Walid, and Salama bin Hisham, another brother of Abu Jahl.
We are going back to our previous discussion where we were saying that we should never trust the words of non-Muslims or infidels, we were saying that if the non-Muslim neighbor is well behaved, we will not trust or trust him. How is this the main point? The final decision on any matter has to be made by the decision-makers, the common people are playing the role of silent spectators.
The silent majority is either Muslim or Non Muslim, the decision-makers, the people who manage the people, the decision-makers.
And in the Quran, we also see the discussion of all these leaders. Allah has given them a name. They are called al-Mala or leaders. And in many verses of the Quran, Allah Almighty has mentioned them. The Quran is very brief and specific. There is no role for specific people. Allah Almighty did not waste His time by discussing about them. Allah Almighty discussed about all those decision-makers, the influential people.
For example, in the incident of Saturday, we see that in Surah Araf, Allah Almighty discusses the incident of Ashraf who fished on a forbidden day, going against the command of Allah Almighty. Here, people were divided into three camps. Those who disobeyed Allah Almighty’s command, those who warned people, those who commanded good deeds and those who commanded evil deeds, and those who said, “What you are doing is not right.” There was another group who were silent spectators. Allah Almighty has not told us anything about those silent spectators in the Quran. He talks about all the people of Plassey who were disobedient. Allah Almighty has also told us about those who commanded good deeds and forbade evil deeds. Allah Almighty has protected them, and the third group completely ignored their talk. Allah Almighty talked about the leaders.
Allah Almighty says in the Quran about the nation of Aad, the leaders of the people of Aad said, “We see you weak and we think you are a liar.” Allah Almighty said about the leaders of the people of Shuaib, “We will surely cast you out and expel those who are with you if you do not abandon your religion.” Allah Almighty says in the Quran about Pharaoh, the leaders of Malabar said, “He is a skilled magician.” The The role of leaders is repeating the same events they have played in the past.
They are plotting to end Islam today. They are plotting. You should never reach any decision by looking at an ordinary Muslim neighbor or colleague or classmate or a non-Muslim celebrity because these people are never decision makers or decision makers. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says that the leaders of the disbelievers are plotting against you. They are plotting so much. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says that they are plotting day and night.
Their plot is very serious. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala said about their plot that their plot is so serious that they are able to move mountains from their places through this plot. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, has the Quran presented that debate in front of us when the common people of Hell will blame the local leaders and say that in the world you used to plot day and night to prevent us from doing so, and if it were not for you, we would have become Muslims. How can you believe the leaders of the Kuffa after mentioning so many things in the Quran and putting so many warnings in front of you?
If we look at the recent past instead of looking at the long history, what was the role of Bosnia? There, Muslims and non-Muslims lived together peacefully. Muslims could say, “What a wonderful colleague my non-Muslim neighbor is.” What happened to the long-known situation? The leadership, a local person, composed some nationalist songs, gave some speeches, and immediately the situation changed overnight. A similar incident happened in Gujarat in 2002.
If we indulge in the sins of the eyes day and night, the information we collect through those eyes and ears will be processed by our corrupt hearts and will lead us to a wrong decision. We need to abandon the sins. If we indulge in any sinful activity, then we will destroy our forqan. In this regard, we see that Allah Subhanahu Taala says in the Quran about Pharaoh, when Pharaoh addressed his people and he misled them. Allah Subhanahu Taala says, Pharaoh fooled his people with his speech, deceived them, followed them, and accepted them. Because all these people were themselves disobedient, sinful, and sinful.
Omar Ibn Al-Khattab warned Ayyas about the incident related to the migration. He said, “They want to expel you and throw you into trial by day. So protect us from what kind of trial?” Amen.