Light may emerge from darkness just like lightening emerges from a cloudy sky. The Muslims in Makkah went through difficult, severe and dark days in which large groups of Muslims were obliged to flee with their religion to different places in various ways. However, others remained to face the distress and hardship resulting from the disbelievers' transgression and evil plots. At the same time, new people adopted Islam and made the Quraysh think carefully before making any decision to harm the Muslims. Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him, the uncle of the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), was one of two such people who adopted Islam and whose Islam was a real gain and, indeed, a victory for Islam and the Muslims, as well as being a great loss for the disbelievers. Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, was a strong, resolute and courageous man. His anger and zeal for his nephew Muhammad, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), were the reasons behind him accepting Islam.
His story goes as follows: One day, Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, was returning home from a hunting trip when the bondmaid of ‘Abdullaah ibn Jud‘aan informed him that Abu Jahl had insulted his cousin and harmed him. Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, rushed angrily to the scene of gathering where Abu Jahl was sitting amongst his people. He proceeded to split his head open with his bow, saying: "How could you insult him while I adopt his religion?" Thus, Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, came to adopt Islam, initially out of his zeal for his nephew, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). However, later on, Allah The Almighty opened his breast to the truth. Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, later recalled that when he got angry and claimed that he had adopted the religion of Muhammad, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), he regretted renouncing the religion of his forefathers and did not sleep that night because of his deep misgivings regarding which religion was correct. After this, he went to the Ka‘bah and asked Allah Almighty to guide him to do what is right and to dispel his doubts. Just before completing his supplication, Allah The Almighty filled his heart with certainty. The next morning, he went to the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), who asked Allah The Almighty to keep him firm on the right path. He repeated some poetic verses in which he praised Allah The Almighty and thanked Him for guiding him to Islam and to the Quran. Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, played a marvelous role in Islamic history. He defended Islam and the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), impressively until Allah The Almighty chose him to be a martyr. The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), referred to this when he said: "Hamzah is the master of the martyrs." [At-Tabaraani]
The second man whose Islam was also a great gain and victory for the Muslims and a cause of disgrace and grief for the disbelievers, was ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was one of the earliest people who fought against Islam and mocked the Muslims. He was seen as someone who had a fierce temper and who exhibited haughtiness. He had harmed the Muslims in numerous ways and made them experience various forms of torment. The wife of ‘Aamir ibn Rabee‘ah, may Allah be pleased with her, mentioned that when they were preparing to travel to Abyssinia and ‘Aamir went out to get some of their needs, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, came and stood before her. At that time he was still a disbeliever. He asked her if they were going to leave and she replied in the affirmative, saying that they would leave to the land of Allah The Almighty because they had faced severe harm. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, appeared saddened by this, and she added that she had seen gentleness in him that she had never seen before. Then he left. When ‘Aamir, may Allah be pleased with him, returned, she told him of what had taken place and of ‘Umar’s gentleness and sadness. He asked her if she hoped that he would adopt Islam, and she replied that she did, but he informed her that this appeared to be impossible. However, the woman's intuition proved to be truer than that of the man because the harshness of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, proved to be no more than a thin veneer which covered a great deal of gentleness, affection and forgiveness that soon came to the surface after he accepted Islam.
It seemed that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was experiencing an inner conflict between many matters: There was his desire to follow the customs and traditions of his forefathers, his excessive indulgence in worldly pleasures, his admiration for the Muslims' solidarity and firmness in their beliefs, and his secret conviction that Islam is truly greater and purer than any other religion. Moreover, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), had asked Allah The Almighty in this regard, and his supplication was a blessing for ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. In his Sunan, At-Tirmithi may Allaah have mercy upon him narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), said: ‘O Allah, grant Islam might through the one You love more of these two men: Abu Jahl or ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab.’ - and ‘Umar was the one whom Allah The Almighty loved more.” Therefore, ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, submitted to the truth and announced his Islam. Later on, when his soul was purified by Islam, he became a great support to the soldiers of Allah The Almighty. Because of him, the Muslims became stronger and more powerful, while, the disbelievers were filled with grief. Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said that ‘Umar’s acceptance of Islam was a triumph, his Hijrah (emigration) was a victory, and his caliphate was a mercy. He added that the Muslims were not able to perform their prayers at the Ka‘bah until ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, accepted Islam, for after he embraced Islam, he struggled with the Quraysh until he performed his prayers at the Ka‘bah - and the Muslims prayed along with him.
Al-Bukhari may Allaah have mercy upon him narrated on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said that the Muslims remained powerful and honored from the time ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, accepted Islam.
Therefore, the Islam of these two great men was a gain and victory for this religion. It was also a support for the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), and it raised the morale of the Muslims. A person who reflects on Islam in its early stages and especially in its ninth year and those that followed (which is when ‘Umar and Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with them, joined the ranks of the believers), will certainly discover the great difference between the nature of the conflict in these two stages. Indeed, it was a fundamental turning point in the biography of the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ).
