KHUTAB III - 20. THUMĀMAH BIN UTHĀL

20. THUMĀMAH BIN UTHĀL

          One of the sahābah (companions of the Prophet) who had hated the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) before he became Muslim was Thumāmah bin Uthāl. He lived in Central Arabia, one of the leaders of Banī Hanīfah tribe and one of the kings of Yamāmah region. When the Prophet invited him to Islam in 6/629 as he did to seven other rulers, he was disappointed and felt humiliated. He intended to kill the Prophet. Before carrying out his intention he was prevented by his uncles; instead, he killed some of the sahābah. Consequently, the Prophet permitted his companions to kill him.

          It has been the tradition of the Arabs before Islam to perform ‘umrah (minor pilgrimage) to Makkah. They performed their t.awāf (circumambulation) around the Ka‘bah and sacrificed to their idols. Thumāmah who intended to perform ‘umrah was passing the outskirts of Medinah on his way to Makkah. Unfortunately for him, he was arrested by a Muslim military detachment guarding the city of Medinah. He was sent to the city and tied up at one of the columns of the mosque. While the Prophet was on his way to the mosque he saw Thumāmah being tied. He called his companions and said,

          “Do you know that man?”

          “No, Messenger of Allah,” they said.

          “He is Thumāmah bin Uthāl of the Banī H.anīfah tribe; so, treat him well,” said the Prophet.

          The Prophet entered his house and asked his household to prepare food and to milk the camel and to bring the food and drink to Thumāmah in the morning and in the evening. The Prophet did this before he met and talked to Thumāmah.  Then the Prophet met him.

          “What do you think, Thumāmah,” asked the Prophet.

          “Well, Muhammad,” said Thumāmah, “if you want to kill (me), you will kill a person who has spilt blood [meaning the Prophet’s companions], and if you forgive, you will forgive a person who will thank you. If you want wealth, ask, and you will get what you want.”

          The Prophet left him for two days, and kept giving him food and milk everyday. On the third day the Prophet came to Thumāmah again:

 “What do you think, Thumāmah?” asked the Prophet.

          “I have nothing to say except what I have told you before,” said Thumāmah. “If you want to kill (me), you will kill a person who has spilt blood [meaning the Prophet’s companions], and if you forgive, you will forgive a person who will thank you. If you want wealth, ask, and you will get what you want.”

          The Prophet left him again, and came to him the next day.

 “What do you think, Thumāmah?” asked the Prophet.

“I have nothing to say except what I have told you before,” said Thumāmah. “If you want to kill (me), you will kill a person who has spilt blood [meaning the Prophet’s companions], and if you forgive, you will forgive a person who will thank you. If you want wealth, ask, and you will get what you want.”

On hearing this reply of Thumāmah, the Prophet turned to his companions and told them to release him, which they did.

Thumāmah left the Prophet’s mosque until he reached a palm garden near al-Baqi‘ (now a graveyard), cleansed himself, returned to the mosque and stood in front of a group of Muslims, and said,

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إلّا اللهُ وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is

 His servant and messenger

Then he turned to the Prophet, saying,

 “O Muhammad, by Allah, there was no face I hated before on this earth more than yours, but your face has become the one I like most; by Allah, there was no religion I hated before more than yours, but now your religion has become the religion I like most; and by Allah, there was no land I hated before more than yours, but now, it has become the one I like most.”

Then he continued,

“I have spilt the blood of your companions; what, then, do you have to do to me?”

“There is no blame on you, O Thumāmah, for (accepting) Islam erases the previous sin,” answered the Prophet.

“By Allah, verily, I will cause losses to the idolaters [who were enemies to the Prophet and the Muslims] the double of the losses I have caused to your companions. Verily, I will put my soul, my sword, and my people to helping you and your religion,” said Thumāmah. Then he added, “Your horsemen brought me here while I was on my way for ‘umrah. What then should I do?”, asked Thumāmah.

“Proceed with your ‘umrah, but in the way prescribed by Allah and His messenger,” said the Prophet. Then the Prophet taught him then right ritual, such as sacrificing for Allah rather than for idols.

Thumāmah continued his journey to Makkah. When he reached the interior of the city he stood citing the talbiyyah (the expression indicating the acceptance of a call or an invitation for pilgrimage) with his loud voice,

لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ, لَبَّيْكِ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ, إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَ النِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَ الْمُلْكَ, لَا شَرِيْكَ لَكَ

 Here I am, responding to Your call, O Allah, here I am;

 there is no partner with You, here I am, responding to Your call;

 verily, all praise and blessing belong to You, and so is the

 supreme authority, there  is no partner with You.

He was the first Muslim who had ever entered Mecca citing the talbiyyah. It was a response to Allah’s order to Prophet Abraham (Ibrāhīm according to the majority of commentators, whereas according to others, among whom was al-H.asan al-Basrī, to Prophet Muhammad; perhaps both are correct, originally to Prophet Abraham, then repeated to Prophet Muhammad) to proclaim to people the pilgrimage to the Ka‘bah in Makkah. Allah said (to Prophet Abraham and Prophet Muhammad),

وَأَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَى كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ (الحج : ٢٧)

And proclaim to mankind the hajj (pilgrimage). They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, they will come from every deep and distant (wide) mountain highway (to perform the hajj). (Q. 22:27)

The idolaters among the Quraysh tribe heard the talbiyyah and came to the source of the voice with their swords unsheathed. Instead of being scared, Thumāmah looked at them and proudly raised his voice with his talbiyyah. A young man among them tried to shoot him with his arrow, but was stopped by them.

“What is the matter with you?”, they said, “do you know this man? He is Thumāmah son of Uthāl, the king of Yamāmah. By Allah, if you ever do him any harm, his people will revenge and stop sending us food, and we shall die of starvation.”

So, they sheathed their swords and approached Thumāmah.

“What happens to you?,” they asked, “have you become Sabean (i.e., changed your religion) and abandoned the religion of your fore-fathers?”

“No, I do not, but I am following the best religion; I have followed the religion of Muhammad,” answered Thumāmah, and added, “I swear by the Lord of this House (i.e., the Ka‘bah), upon my return to Yamāmah, I will not let any seed of grain or any of Yamāmah’s wealth reach you until you, all of you, follow the religion of Muhammad.”

Then Thumāmah performed his ‘umrah, sacrificed to Allah, rather than to idols, and went home. He ordered his people to boycott the Quraysh tribe economically. This economic blockade was felt little by little by the Quraysh: the price of goods was increasing, and they started suffering lack of food. All they could do was to plead to the Prophet to persuade Thumāmah to stop his economic blockade. They wrote to the Prophet as follows:

Our pledge with you has been that you should establish kinship with us, and

 we urge you to keep it. But now, you have severed your kinship relationship

 with us and killed our fathers with swords, and our children with hunger.

 Thumamah is cutting his food supply for us and is harming us. If your would

 like to write to him so that he would send us what we need, please do so!

The Prophet wrote to Thumāmah and the economic blockade was lifted.

Thumāmah did more for Islam. When a man called Musaylimah who claimed himself to be a prophet, appeared in his area, Thumāmah warned his people against this false prophet. He told them that no two prophets would appear at the same time, no prophet would share Muhammad in his prophethood, and moreover, no prophet would come after him.

Thumāmah, after accepting Islam, had done many more good deeds than bad deeds for Islam before he embraced this religion. Had the Prophet retaliated for the assassination of his companions by killing Thumāmah, this would not have won him and his people to his side. The people of Yamāmah might have turned against him for the murder of their king. This is one of many examples from the biography of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. who was sent by Allah as mercy to the world, in which enemies were turned into allies. (21 April, 06)