In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you portraits from the lives of the Companions,
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Thumamah ibn Uthal,
may Allah be pleased with him.
In the sixth year of the Hijrah,
the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
resolved to expand the scope of his call to Allah.
He wrote eight letters to the kings of the Arabs and non-Arabs,
and sent them to them, inviting them to Islam.
Among those to whom he wrote
was Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi.
This is no surprise,
for Thumamah was one of the chieftains of the Arabs during the Jahiliyyah,
a prominent leader among the Banu Hanifah,
and a king of the Yamamah whose commands were never disobeyed.
Thumamah received the letter of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with disdain and aversion.
His pride drove him to sin,
and he deafened his ears to the call of truth and goodness.
Then, his devil spurred him on,
inciting him to kill the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and to bury his message along with him.
He began seeking opportunities to eliminate the Prophet,
until he found a moment of vulnerability.
The heinous crime was nearly committed,
had one of Thumamah’s uncles not dissuaded him at the last moment.
Thus, Allah saved His Prophet from his evil.
However, even if Thumamah had refrained from harming the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
he did not refrain from harming his Companions.
He began to lie in wait for them,
until he captured a number of them
and killed them in the most brutal manner.
Consequently, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, declared his blood forfeit,
and announced this to his Companions.
Not much time passed after that
before Thumamah ibn Uthal resolved to perform Umrah.
He set out from the land of Yamamah, turning his face toward Makkah,
hoping to circumambulate the Ka'bah
and sacrifice to its idols.
While Thumamah was on his way, near Madinah,
a calamity befell him that he had not anticipated.
A detachment of the Messenger of Allah’s, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, scouts
was patrolling the area,
fearing that someone might approach Madinah,
or that an aggressor might intend it harm.
The detachment captured Thumamah,
not knowing who he was,
and brought him to Madinah.
They tied him to one of the pillars of the Mosque,
waiting for the noble Prophet himself to oversee the prisoner’s affair
and issue his command regarding him.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came out to the Mosque,
and was about to enter it,
he saw Thumamah tied to the pillar.
He said to his Companions,
"Do you know whom you have captured?"
They replied, "No, O Messenger of Allah."
He said, "This is Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi.
Treat him well in his captivity."
Then, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, returned to his family
and said,
"Gather whatever food you have,"
and they sent it to Thumamah ibn Uthal.
He then ordered that his she-camel be milked for him morning and evening,
and that her milk be brought to him.
All of this was done before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, met him
or spoke to him.
Then, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, approached Thumamah,
wishing to draw him toward Islam,
and said, "What do you have, O Thumamah?"
He replied,
"I have good, O Muhammad.
If you kill me, you kill one who has blood to be avenged.
If you show favor, you show favor to one who is grateful.
And if you desire wealth,
ask, and you shall be given whatever you wish."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, left him for two days in that state,
with food and drink brought to him,
and the she-camel’s milk delivered to him.
Then he came to him and said,
"What do you have, O Thumamah?"
He said,
"I have nothing but what I told you before:
If you show favor, you show favor to one who is grateful.
If you kill me, you kill one who has blood to be avenged.
And if you desire wealth,
ask, and you shall be given whatever you wish."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, left him,
and when the next day came,
he came to him and said,
"What do you have, O Thumamah?"
He said,
"I have what I told you:
If you show favor, you show favor to one who is grateful.
If you kill me, you kill one who has blood to be avenged.
And if you desire wealth,
I will give you whatever you wish."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned
to his Companions and said,
"Release Thumamah."
They untied his bonds and released him.
Thumamah left the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and went on his way,
until he reached a palm grove on the outskirts of Madinah,
near al-Baqi', where there was water.
He made his mount kneel there,
and performed a thorough ritual purification.
Then he retraced his steps to the Mosque.
As soon as he reached it, he stood before a gathering of Muslims
and said,
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."
Then he turned to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and said,
"O Muhammad,
by Allah, there was no face on the face of the earth more hateful to me than yours,
but now your face has become the most beloved of all faces to me.
By Allah, there was no religion more hateful to me than yours,
but now your religion has become the most beloved of all religions to me.
By Allah, there was no land more hateful to me than yours,
but now your land has become the most beloved of all lands to me."
Then he added,
"I had shed the blood of some of your Companions;
what is the judgment upon me for that?"
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"There is no blame upon you, O Thumamah,
for Islam wipes away what came before it."
He gave him glad tidings of the good that Allah had written for him through his Islam.
Thumamah’s face beamed with joy, and he said,
"By Allah, I will kill as many of the polytheists as I have killed of your Companions,
and I will dedicate myself, my sword, and those with me to your support and the support of your religion."
Then he said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
your cavalry captured me while I was intending to perform Umrah;
what do you think I should do?"
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Go and perform your Umrah,
but according to the law of Allah and His Messenger."
He taught him the rites he was to perform.
Thumamah proceeded to his destination,
and when he reached the heart of Makkah,
he stood and proclaimed in a loud voice,
"Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk,
Labbayk, la sharika laka Labbayk,
Inna al-hamda wa al-ni'mata laka wa al-mulk,
La sharika lak."
Thus, he was the first Muslim on the face of the earth
to enter Makkah reciting the Talbiyah.
The Quraysh heard the sound of the Talbiyah,
and they rose up, angry and alarmed.
They drew their swords from their sheaths
and headed toward the sound,
intending to strike down the one who had invaded their sanctuary.
When the people approached Thumamah,
he raised his voice with the Talbiyah,
looking at them with pride.
Some of the young men of Quraysh intended
to shoot him with an arrow,
but they restrained them, saying,
"Woe to you! Do you know who this is?
It is Thumamah ibn Uthal,
the king of Yamamah!
By Allah, if you harm him,
his people will cut off our grain supplies,
and we will die of hunger."
Then the people approached Thumamah,
after returning their swords to their sheaths,
and said, "What is the matter with you, O Thumamah?
Have you apostatized and abandoned your religion and the religion of your forefathers?"
He replied,
"I have not apostatized,
but I have followed the best religion;
I have followed the religion of Muhammad."
Then he added,
"I swear by the Lord of this House,
that after I return to Yamamah,
not a single grain of wheat
or any of its produce shall reach you,
until you all follow Muhammad."
Thumamah ibn Uthal performed his Umrah
in the sight of the Quraysh,
just as the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had commanded him
to perform it,
and he sacrificed to draw closer to Allah,
not to idols or statues.
He returned to his land,
and ordered his people to withhold grain from the Quraysh.
They obeyed his command and responded to him,
and they withheld their produce from the people of Makkah.
The blockade that Thumamah imposed on the Quraysh
began to tighten little by little.
Prices rose,
hunger spread among the people,
and their distress intensified,
until they feared for themselves and their children
lest they perish from hunger.
At that point,
they wrote to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
saying:
"We have always known you
to uphold ties of kinship,
and to encourage others to do the same.
Yet here you are, having severed our ties,
killing our fathers with the sword,
and starving our children.
Thumamah Ibn Uthal
has cut off our supplies,
and has harmed us.
If you see fit to write to him
to send us
what we need,
then please do so."
So he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wrote
to Thumamah,
instructing him to release their supplies to them,
and he did so.
Thumamah Ibn Uthal remained,
for as long as he lived,
loyal to his religion,
and faithful to the covenant of his Prophet.
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, joined
the Highest Companion,
and the Arabs began to depart
from the religion of Allah in throngs and groups,
and Musaylimah the Liar arose
among the Banu Hanifah,
calling them to believe in him,
Thumamah stood against him
and said to his people:
"O Banu Hanifah,
beware of this dark affair,
which contains no light.
By Allah, it is a misery
that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, has decreed
for those among you who adopt it,
and a trial for those who do not."
Then he said:
"O Banu Hanifah,
two prophets cannot coexist
at the same time,
and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
with no prophet after him,
nor any prophet to share his mission."
Then he recited to them:
"Ha-Mim.
The revelation of the Book
“The revelation of the Scripture is from Allah, the Mighty, the Knower,” (40:2)
the Forgiver of sin,
the Acceptor of repentance,
the Severe in punishment,
the Possessor of bounty. There is no
deity except Him;
to Him is the final destination."
Then he said:
"How does this Word of Allah compare
to the words of Musaylimah:
'O frog, croak as you will,
you do not prevent the drink,
nor do you muddy the water'?"
Then he withdrew
with those of his people who remained upon Islam,
and set out to fight
the apostates, striving
in the way of Allah,
and to exalt His word upon the earth.
May Allah reward Thumamah
Ibn Uthal on behalf of Islam
and the Muslims with goodness,
and honor him with the Paradise that
has been promised to the righteous.
Thumamah Ibn Uthal
imposes an economic blockade
upon Quraysh.