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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