Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (5) - Umair bin Wahb, may God be pleased with him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:15 The Mawaddah Association is pleased

0:18 to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,

0:22 by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

0:25 may Allah have mercy upon him.

0:27 Umayr ibn Wahb, may Allah be pleased with you.

0:45 Umayr ibn Wahb al-Jumahi returned

0:47 from Badr, having barely escaped with his life,

0:49 yet he left behind his son, Wahb,

0:52 as a captive in the hands of the Muslims.

0:54 Umayr feared

0:56 that the Muslims might hold the young man accountable

0:58 for the crimes of his father,

1:00 and that they would subject him to severe torment

1:02 as retribution for the harm he used to inflict

1:04 upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

1:06 and for the suffering he caused,

1:08 and for the devastation he brought

1:10 upon his companions.

1:12 One morning,

1:14 Umayr headed to the Mosque

1:16 to circumambulate the Kaaba

1:18 and seek blessings from its idols.

1:20 He found Safwan ibn Umayyah

1:22 sitting beside the Hijr,

1:24 so he approached him and said,

1:26 "Good morning, O master of Quraysh."

1:28 Safwan replied,

1:30 "Good morning, O Abu Wahb.

1:32 Sit, let us talk

1:34 for a while, for time

1:36 is best passed in conversation."

1:38 Umayr sat down beside

1:40 Safwan ibn Umayyah,

1:42 and the two men began to discuss

1:44 Badr and its great tragedy,

1:46 counting the captives

1:48 who had fallen into the hands of

1:50 Muhammad and his companions,

1:52 and lamenting the great men of Quraysh

1:54 whom they had killed,

1:56 and whom the pit had hidden in its depths.

1:58 Safwan ibn Umayyah sighed

2:00 and said,

2:02 "By Allah, there is no joy

2:04 in life after them."

2:06 Umayr replied,

2:08 "You speak the truth, by Allah."

2:10 Then he fell silent for a moment

2:12 and said, "By the Lord of the Kaaba,

2:14 were it not for debts I owe that I have

2:16 no means to repay,

2:18 and children I fear would be

2:20 lost after me,

2:22 I would have gone to Muhammad and killed him,

2:24 put an end to his affair,

2:26 and stopped his evil."

2:28 Then he added in a low voice,

2:30 "And the fact that my son Wahb is in their hands

2:32 makes my going

2:34 to Yathrib a matter that would raise no suspicions."

2:36 Safwan ibn Umayyah seized upon

2:38 the words of Umayr ibn Wahb,

2:40 and he did not want to miss

2:42 this opportunity.

2:44 He turned to him and said,

2:46 "O Umayr,

2:48 leave all your debts to me;

2:50 I will pay them on your behalf, no matter how much they amount to.

2:52 As for your children,

2:54 I will take them in with my own children

2:56 for as long as I and they shall live.

2:58 My wealth is vast enough

3:00 to provide for them all

3:02 and ensure them a comfortable life."

3:04 Umayr said,

3:06 "Then keep this conversation of ours secret,

3:08 and do not let anyone know of it."

3:10 Safwan replied,

3:12 "I shall do so."

3:14 Umayr rose from the Mosque,

3:16 with the fires of hatred raging

3:18 in his heart against Muhammad,

3:20 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

3:22 He began to make preparations

3:24 to carry out what he had resolved to do.

3:26 He did not arouse

3:28 anyone's suspicion during his journey,

3:30 because the relatives of the Qurayshi captives

3:32 were frequently traveling

3:34 to Yathrib, seeking

3:36 to ransom their prisoners.

3:38 Umayr ibn Wahb ordered his sword

3:40 to be sharpened and coated with poison,

3:42 and he called for his mount,

3:44 which was prepared and brought to him.

3:46 He mounted it,

3:48 and then directed it toward Medina,

3:50 his heart filled with malice

3:52 and evil.

3:54 Umayr reached Medina

3:56 and headed toward the Mosque, seeking

3:58 the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

4:00 When he arrived

4:02 near its door,

4:04 he made his mount kneel and dismounted.

4:06 Umar ibn al-Khattab,

4:08 may Allah be pleased with him, was at that time

4:10 sitting with some of the Companions

4:12 near the door of the Mosque,

4:14 discussing Badr,

4:16 the captives of Quraysh,

4:18 and their dead,

4:20 recalling the images of the Muslims' heroism,

4:22 both the Muhajirun and the Ansar,

4:24 and remembering how Allah had honored them

4:26 with victory,

4:28 and what He had shown them regarding their enemy

4:30 in terms of defeat and humiliation.

4:32 Umar happened to glance up

4:34 and saw Umayr ibn Wahb dismounting

4:36 from his mount

4:38 and walking toward the Mosque, girded

4:40 with his sword. He jumped up in alarm

4:42 and said, "This dog is an enemy,

4:44 Umayr ibn Wahb!

4:46 By Allah, he has come for nothing but evil.

4:48 He incited the polytheists against us

4:50 in Mecca and was

4:52 a spy for them against us before Badr."

4:54 Then he said to those sitting with him,

4:56 "Go to the Messenger of Allah,

4:58 stay around him,

5:00 and warn him against the treachery of this wicked,

5:02 cunning man." Then Umar hastened

5:04 to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

5:06 and said, "O Messenger of Allah,

5:08 this is the enemy of Allah, Umayr

5:10 ibn Wahb, who has come

5:12 girded with his sword,

5:14 and I suspect he intends nothing but evil."

5:16 The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,

5:18 "Bring him to me."

5:20 The Faruq (Umar) approached Umayr

5:22 ibn Wahb,

5:24 grabbed him by his garments,

5:26 and looped his sword belt around his neck,

5:28 and led him toward the Messenger of Allah,

5:30 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

5:32 When the Prophet, peace and

5:34 blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him in this state,

5:36 he said to Umar,

5:38 "Release him, O Umar."

5:40 Then he said to him,

5:42 "Step back from him."

5:44 So he stepped back.

5:46 Then he turned to Umayr ibn Wahb

5:48 and said, "Come near, O Umayr."

5:50 He drew close and said,

5:52 "An'im sabahan" (Good morning),

5:54 which was the greeting of the Arabs in the Jahiliyyah.

5:56 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

5:58 said,

6:00 "Allah has honored us with a greeting

6:02 better than your greeting, O Umayr.

6:04 Allah has honored us

6:06 with 'Salam' (peace), which is

6:08 the greeting of the people of Paradise."

6:10 Umayr said,

6:12 "By Allah, you are not far from our greeting,

6:14 and you are quite familiar with it."

6:16 The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

6:18 said to him,

6:20 "And what has brought you here,

6:22 O Umayr?"

6:24 He said, "I have come hoping

6:26 for the release of this captive who is in your hands,

6:28 so treat him kindly for my sake."

6:30 He said,

6:32 "Then what about the sword that is around your neck?"

6:34 He said,

6:36 "May Allah curse these swords;

6:38 did they avail us anything on the day of Badr?"

6:40 He said,

6:42 "Tell me the truth:

6:44 what have you really come for, O Umayr?"

6:46 He said, "I have come for nothing but that."

6:48 He said,

6:50 "Rather, you and Safwan ibn Umayyah sat

6:52 by the Hijr,

6:54 and you discussed the companions of the pit

6:56 among the slain of Quraysh.

6:58 Then you said, 'Were it not for debts I owe

7:00 and children I have,

7:02 I would have gone out to kill Muhammad.'

7:04 So Safwan ibn Umayyah undertook

7:06 your debts and your children

7:08 on the condition that you kill me,

7:10 And Allah stands between you and

7:12 that; then 'Umayr was stunned

7:14 for a moment, then he did not hesitate

7:16 to say, "I bear witness

7:18 that you are the Messenger of Allah."

7:20 Then he added, saying, "We

7:22 used to, O Messenger of Allah, call you a liar

7:24 regarding what you brought us

7:26 of the news of the heavens and what

7:28 was revealed to you of the revelation.

7:30 But my conversation with Safwan Ibn Umayyah

7:32 was known to no one

7:34 except me and him.

7:36 And by Allah, I have become certain that

7:38 no one brought you that except Allah.

7:40 So praise be to Allah who

7:42 drove me to you

7:44 to guide me to Islam."

7:46 Then he testified that there is no god

7:48 but Allah and that

7:50 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,

7:52 and he embraced Islam.

7:54 The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said

7:56 to his Companions, "Teach your brother

7:58 his religion and instruct him in

8:00 the Qur'an, and release

8:02 his captive." The Muslims rejoiced

8:04 at the conversion of 'Umayr Ibn

8:06 Wahb with immense joy,

8:08 to the point that 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,

8:10 said, "A pig

8:12 was more beloved to me than 'Umayr

8:14 Ibn Wahb when he came to

8:16 the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

8:18 yet today he is

8:20 more beloved to me than some of my own children."

8:22 While 'Umayr was

8:24 purifying his soul with the teachings

8:26 of Islam and being nurtured,

8:28 guided by the light of the Qur'an,

8:30 and living the most wonderful days

8:32 of his life and the richest,

8:34 which made him forget Makkah

8:36 and those in Makkah,

8:38 Safwan Ibn Umayyah was promising

8:40 himself security and passing

8:42 by the gatherings of Quraysh, saying,

8:44 "Rejoice at great news

8:46 that will come to you soon,

8:48 which will make you forget the disaster of Badr."

8:51 Then, when the

8:53 wait became long for Safwan Ibn Umayyah,

8:55 anxiety began to seep into

8:57 his soul little by little,

8:59 until he began tossing and turning

9:01 as if on hot coals.

9:03 He began asking travelers

9:05 about 'Umayr Ibn Wahb,

9:07 but found no answer from anyone

9:09 that would satisfy him, until a

9:11 rider came and said, "Indeed,

9:13 'Umayr has embraced Islam."

9:15 The news struck him like

9:17 a thunderbolt, for he had

9:19 thought that 'Umayr Ibn Wahb would never embrace Islam,

9:21 even if everyone

9:23 on the face of the earth did.

9:25 As for 'Umayr Ibn Wahb,

9:27 no sooner had he learned his religion

9:29 and memorized what was easy for him

9:31 of the words of his Lord,

9:33 than he came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

9:35 and said,

9:37 "O Messenger of Allah,

9:39 a time has passed over me

9:41 while I was diligent in extinguishing

9:43 the light of Allah and severely harming

9:45 those who were of the religion of Islam.

9:47 I would like you to permit me

9:49 to go to Makkah

9:51 to call Quraysh to Allah.

9:53 If they accept from me,

9:55 then how excellent is what they have done;

9:57 and if they turn away from me,

9:59 I will harm them in their religion just as I used to

10:01 harm the Companions of the Messenger of Allah,

10:03 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."

10:05 So the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

10:07 gave him permission.

10:09 He arrived in Makkah

10:11 and came to the house of Safwan Ibn Umayyah

10:13 and said, "O Safwan,

10:15 you are a leader among the leaders of Makkah

10:17 and a wise man among the wise men

10:19 of Quraysh.

10:21 Do you think that this which you are upon,

10:23 of worshipping stones and sacrificing to them,

10:25 is reasonable

10:27 to be a religion?

10:29 As for me,

10:31 I bear witness that there is no god but Allah

10:33 and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

10:35 Then 'Umayr

10:37 began calling to Allah

10:39 in Makkah until many people

10:41 embraced Islam at his hands.

10:43 May Allah increase

10:45 the reward of 'Umayr Ibn Wahb

10:47 and illuminate his grave for him.

10:49 And 'Umayr Ibn Wahb had become

10:52 more beloved to me than some of my own children,

10:54 [said] 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab.

Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (5) - Umair bin Wahb, may God be pleased with him

Transcript