CHAPTER 12: SECTION REGARDING THE FIRST PEOPLE TO EMBRACE ISLAM
SECTION REGARDING THE FIRST PEOPLE TO EMBRACE ISLAM, THEN MENTION OF THE EARLIEST COMPANIONS TO EMBRACE ISLAM
Ibn Ishaq said, “Then ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) came a day after that and found them both praying. On seeing them, ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘O Muhammad! What is this?’ He replied: ‘It is the religion of Allah, which He Himself has chosen and with which He sent His Messengers. So I call you to Allah, Alone, Who has no partners and (I call upon you) to worship Him and to reject Al-Lat and Al-‘Uzza.’ ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) replied, ‘This is something of which I had not heard before today, so I cannot judge in the matter until I have consulted Abu Talib with regard to it.’ The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) disliked to divulge his secret to him before his affair was made known, so he said to him: ‘O ‘Ali! If you will not embrace Islam, then be silent.’ So ‘Ali stayed that night and then Allah, the Almighty, placed submission (i.e., Islam) in his heart, and in the morning, he came to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘What do you propose that I do, O, Muhammad?’ The
Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
‘Bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, Alone, without partners, reject Al-Lat and Al-‘Uzza and absolve yourself of (belief in) the (false) partners.’ ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) did so and became a Muslim and he continued to come to him, though fearful of Abu Talib. He concealed his Islam and did not disclose it to anyone. Zaid Ibn Harithah (May Allah be pleased with him) also embraced Islam and they continued for about a month to conceal their Islam, with ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, coming frequently to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) during that time. Among the blessings that Allah, the Almighty, bestowed on ‘Ali was that he used to be in the abode of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) before Islam.”
And it was reported on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq that ‘Afeef said, “I was a merchant and I arrived in Mina during the Hajj period. Al-‘Abbas Ibn ‘Abdil Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him, was also a merchant and so I went to him to trade with him. While we were thus engaged, a man came out from a hair tent and stood and prayed toward the Ka‘bah. Then a woman came out and stood and prayed and a young boy came out and prayed with him. I said, “O ‘Abbas! What is this religion? We do not know what this religion is.” Al-‘Abbas replied, “This is Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdullah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). He claims that Allah, the Almighty, has sent him and that the treasures of Kisra and Qaisar will be given to him. The woman is his wife, Khadeejah Bint Khuwailid, may Allah be pleased with her, and she has believed in him. This boy is his cousin, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who has also believed in him.” ‘Afeef said, “Would that I had embraced Islam on that day, in order that I might have been the second (man) to embrace Islam!” Ibrahim Ibn Sa‘d said in his version of the Hadith, which he narrated on the authority of Ibn Ishaq “…when a man came out of a hair tent near to him and he looked up to the heaven; and when he saw that the sun had passed its zenith, he prayed.” Then he mentioned that Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her, stood up to pray behind him.
Ibn Jareer said, “I was told by ‘Eesa Ibn Sawadah Ibn Abul- Ja‘d, that he was told by Muhammad Ibn Al-Munkadir, Rabee‘ah Ibn Abu-‘Abdur Rahman and Abu Hazim Al-Kalbi, “‘Ali was the first to embrace Islam.” Al-Kalbi added, “He embraced Islam when he was nine years old.” And it was reported on the authority of Ibn Ishaq that he said, “The first male to have faith in the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), pray with him and believe him was ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and that was when he was ten years old. He used to live in the house of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) before Islam.”
Others said that the first person from this nation to embrace Islam was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him. It is possible to reconcile these statements by saying that Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her, was the first woman to embrace Islam, according to the clear wording of the narrations. It was also said that she was the very first person, male or female, to embrace Islam. The first of the freed slaves to embrace Islam was Zaid Ibn Harithah and the first young boy to embrace Islam was ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, for he was a child, having not yet attained puberty, according to what is widely reported. These people were thus Ahl ul-Bait. The first of the freemen to embrace Islam was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq – and his Islam was more beneficial than that of those who had preceded him, for he was a leader among the people, an important man and one of the chiefs of Quraish; he was held in high esteem and was a wealthy man. He became a caller to Islam and he was greatly loved due to his spending of his wealth in obedience to Allah, the Almighty, and His Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), as we shall see.
Ibn Ishaq said, “I was told by Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdur Rahman Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Husain At-Tameemi that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I did not call anyone to Islam except that he had some uncertainty and doubt –aside from Abu Bakr. He did not waver or hesitate when I told him about it (Islam).” This is what Ibn Ishaq reported, but it can neither be confirmed nor rejected. Ibn Ishaq and others mentioned that he was a companion of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) prior to the start of his mission and that he knew how truthful and trustworthy he was and how fine and noble his character was. These attributes prevented him from being untruthful regarding people, so how could he be untruthful regarding Allah, the Almighty? For this reason, simply because of what was mentioned to him, he hastened to believe him and he did not hesitate or waver.
And it has been confirmed in Saheeh Al-Bukhari on the authority of Abu Ad-Darda’, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding a disagreement between Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah sent me (as a Prophet) to you (people) but you said (to me), ‘You are telling a lie, ‘ while Abu Bakr said, ‘He has said the truth, ‘ and consoled me with himself and his money.” He then said twice: ‘Will you not then give up harming my companion?’ After that nobody harmed Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.”
And in Saheeh Al-Bukhari it was reported on the authority of ‘Ammar Ibn Yasir, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, “I saw the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and there was none with him but five slaves, two women and Abu Bakr (i.e. those were the only converts to Islam then).”
And it is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, “The first to reveal that they had embraced Islam were seven: the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr, ‘Ammar, his mother, Sumayyah, Suhaib, Bilal and Al-Miqdad. As for the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), Allah, the Almighty, protected him through his uncle, while as for Abu Bakr, Allah, the Almighty, protected him through his people. As for the rest of them, the pagans took them and forced them to wear iron jackets and made them lie under the sun, but there was not a single one of them but submitted to do what they wanted them to do, aside from Bilal, who refused. And so, they took him and gave him to the children who ran through the alleyways of Makkah with him, while he was saying, ‘(Allah is) One, One’.”
Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy upon him, reconciled these opinions by saying that the first person to embrace Islam from among the freemen was Abu Bakr; from among the women, it was Khadeejah; from among the freed slaves, it was Zaid Ibn Harithah; and from among the young boys, it was ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them all.
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq said, “When Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, embraced Islam and disclosed his Islam, he called upon the people to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was well-known to his people, approachable and loved by them. He knew more about the good and bad of Quraish than any other person. He was a merchant of high moral character and renowned for his kindness. His people used to come to him and discuss many things with him, because of his knowledge, his experience as a merchant and his sociable nature. He began by calling to Islam those among his people whom he trusted, who used to visit him and sit with him. Those who accepted Islam at his hands, according to what has been conveyed to me were: Az-Zubair Ibn Al-Awwam, ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan, Talhah Ibn ‘Ubaidullah, Sa‘d Ibn Abi Waqqas and ‘Abdur-Rahman Ibn ‘Awf, may Allah be pleased with them all.
They hastened with Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and he explained Islam to them, reciting the Qur’an to them and informing them of the truth of Islam, upon which they believed. These eight individuals were the earliest converts to Islam, who believed the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and believed in the Message he brought from Allah.”
The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) asked Allah, the Almighty, to guide either ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, or Abu Jahl Ibn Hisham to Islam. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) supplicated Allah, the Almighty, on a Wednesday and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, embraced Islam on Thursday, on which the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and Ahl ul-Bait openly and loudly recited, “Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest)!” It was said that their voices were heard in the heights of Makkah. Abul-Arqam – who was a blind disbeliever – came out and he was saying, “O Allah! Forgive Banu ‘Ubaid Al-Arqam, for they have disbelieved.” ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, then got up and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Why do we conceal our religion, when we are following the Truth, while they practice their religion openly, and they are following that which is false?” The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) replied: “O ‘Umar! We are few, and you have seen what we have encountered.” ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Then by Him Who sent you with the Truth, I will go to every meeting place where I sat when I was a disbeliever and I will proclaim my faith in them.”
Then he left and circumambulated the Ka‘bah, after which he visited Quraish, who were waiting for him, and Abu Jahl Ibn Hisham said, “So-and-so claims that you have abandoned your religion!” ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Ash-hadu an-la ilaha ill-Allahu Wahdahu la Shareeka Lahu wa anna Muhammadan ‘Abduhu wa Rasooluhu (I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, Alone, without partners and that Muhammad is His Slave and His Messenger).” Upon hearing this, the pagans rushed upon him; in response, he pounced on ‘Utbah and poked his fingers in his eyes, causing him to scream. The people then stayed back and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, got up and departed and none dared to approach him.
He then visited all of the meeting places that he had formerly frequented as a disbeliever and informed them that he had embraced Islam. Then he went to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, “May my mother and father be ransomed for you, I have not neglected a single meeting place in which I used to sit when I was a disbeliever; I have been to them all and proclaimed my Islam to them, without fear or hesitation.” Then the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) went out and ‘Umar and Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with them both, walked in front of him until they reached the Holy House, where he performed Tawaf and then offered the Dhuhr (afternoon) prayer in safety. Then he went to the house known as Dar Al-Arqam accompanied by ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. After a while, Umar departed and later, the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) departed alone.
It has been authentically reported that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, only embraced Islam after the Muhajiroon (emigrants) had departed for Abyssinia, which was in the sixth year after the start of the Prophetic Mission, as we shall show in the relevant place, if Allah wills. We have dealt in more detail with the story of how Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, embraced Islam in the book dealing with their biographies and we have spoken at great length there on this topic, all praise and thanks be to Allah, the Almighty.
It has been confirmed in Saheeh Muslim on the authority of ‘Amr Ibn Abasah As-Sulami, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, “I went to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) at the start of his Prophetic Mission when he was in Makkah. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was at that time hiding as his people had made life hard for him. I adopted a friendly attitude (toward the Makkans and thus managed) to enter Makkah and go to him (the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)) and I said to him, “What are you?” He said: “I am a Prophet (of Allah).” I again said, “What is a Prophet?” He said: “A Messenger of Allah.” I said, “Has Allah, the Almighty, sent you?” He replied: “Yes.” I then asked him, “With what (Message) have you been sent?” He said: “That you worship Allah, Alone, without partners, that you break the idols and join ties of kinship.” I said, “This is a fine thing with which you have been sent! Who is with you in this (in these beliefs and practices)?” He said: “A free man and a slave. [He (the narrator) said, “He was referring to Abu Bakr and Bilal, may Allah be pleased with them both.]” ‘Amr then said, “You have seen me and I am one-fourth of Islam.” He said, “Then I embraced Islam and I said, ‘I intend to follow you.’ But he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “No. You better go back to your people and
when you are informed that I have departed, you may follow me.”
And in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, it was reported on the authority of Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyib that he said, “I heard Sa‘d Ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, say, “No one embraced Islam on the day on which I embraced Islam and I remained for seven days, being one-third of the then extant Muslims.”
As for his saying: “No one embraced Islam on the day on which I embraced Islam…” it is easily understood. But it was also narrated that he said, “…except on the day on which I embraced Islam.” And this is dubious; for it would necessitate that no one embraced Islam before him. But it is well-known that As-Siddiq, ‘Ali, Khadeejah and Zaid Ibn Harithah, may Allah be pleased with them all, embraced Islam before him, according to the consensus of the scholars, who affirmed that no one embraced Islam before these four. Those scholars included: Ibn Al-Katheer and Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy upon them, determined that these four embraced Islam before any of their fellow tribesmen. And Allah knows best.
As for his saying, “…and I remained for seven days, being one third of the then extant Muslims,” it is also problematic; and I do not know how it may be explained, unless he was speaking according to his knowledge. And Allah knows best.
And Abu Dawood At-Taialisi narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah (i.e. Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “I was an adolescent boy and I used to tend sheep for ‘’Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu‘ait in Makkah. One day, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came to me, having fled from the pagans and he (or they) said, ‘O boy!
Do you have any milk that you can give us to drink?’ I said, ‘I am entrusted with the cattle and I cannot give you anything to drink.’ He then asked, ‘Then do you have a young ewe that has not yet been mated with a male?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Then I brought it to them and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, hobbled it and the Messenger
of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) took hold of its udder and supplicated Allah, the Almighty, upon which its udder became filled with milk. Then Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came to him with a hollowed out rock and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) milked the udder into it and then he and Abu Bakr drank from it. After that, they gave me to drink from it and then he said to the udder: ‘Contract!’ Upon which it contracted. Later, I went to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and said to him, ‘Teach me this fine speech (i.e. the Qur’an).’ He said: ‘You are a boy who has been taught.’ And I took from his lips seventy Surahs (Chapters) in which no one can contend with me.”
Al-Baihaqi said, “It was reported on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn ‘Uthman that he said, “Khalid Ibn Sa‘eed Ibn Al-‘As embraced Islam in early stages, and he was the first of his brothers to do so. The start of his Islam was when he saw in a dream that he was being held at the edge of the Fire and he described its vastness in a manner about which Allah knows best. He saw in his dream that someone came to him and he was pushing him into it and he also saw the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) holding him by his hips in order to prevent him from falling into it. He awoke in a state of alarm from his sleep and said, ‘I swear by Allah that this vision is true.’ Then he met Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and he related to him what he had seen. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him, ‘I want that you should have the goodness of this Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), so obey him; for you will follow him and enter Islam with him, and Islam will protect you from entering it (the Fire), while your father will fall into it.’ So he met the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was at Ajyad and said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah! O, Muhammad! To what do you call?’ He said: ‘I call you to (believe in) Allah, Alone, without partners and that Muhammad is His Slave and His Messenger, and to abandon the worship of stones that you practice – stones that do not hear, do not harm, do not see, do not benefit and are unaware of who worships them or does not worship them.’ Khalid said, ‘Then I bear
witness that none is worthy of worship and that you are the Messenger of Allah.’ May Allah be pleased with him.
By Ibn Katheer
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