Today we will move on from Khaybar and in the next 6 months a number of minor ex

piditons happen with not much significance. The prophet PBUH sent Umar RA and Ab
u Bukr RA and other sahaba where perhaps small tribes converted to Islam, but no
thing as important as Khaybar or Ahzab etc. So we skip over these incidences as
we don't really know the tribes.
So we move to Umrah Al Qadah - that is, they are making up (qadah) the umrah the
y did not technically do at Hudaybiyya, even though they did it in terms of Alla
hs reward. Indeed, even though the prophet PBUH did not physically do Umrah the
year before, Allah gave him the reward. So it's 'as if' he did it. The first umr
ah he physically did is Umrah Al Qadah. And the prophet PBUH left Madinah in Dhu
l Qa'da 7AH, with around 2000 muslims. This is a massive amount, and this time t
hey took all of their weapons with them. When the Quraysh heard 2000 are coming
and they are armed, the Quraysh sent out a delegation led by Mikras ibn Hafs who
was also the delegation in Hudaybiyya, and Mikras send "O Muhammad we have neve
r seen you be treacherous in anything small or big, so why have you brought weap
ons when we have agreed you would come with no weapons other than the small swor
ds? But you have horses, armour, arrows etc". So the prophet PBUH said "And we s
hall not enter Mecca except as we agreed". Once again the prophet PBUH is being
faithful to the letter to the law. He brought the weapons all the way to Mecca,
but left them outside. ANd the prophet PBUH had a supply of weapons outside the
haram where 200 people guarded them weapon, and 1800 did tawaf. And then those 2
00 swapped and did tawaf etc. So the prophet PBUH did not trust the Quraysh and
therefore he brought the weapons, but he still fulfilled his agreement and enter
ed Mecca with the bare minimum sword.
It appears the Quraysh divided into three groups. One group stayed in their hous
es for 3 whole days, other groups congregated in their parliment (Daru Nadwa) their largest house aswell. And it had a large area so lots of people could stay
there. One group even left Mecca and just camped outside in the valleys and hil
ls for three days. None of them wanted to interact with the muslims out of fear
and for political reasons. And a rumour spread that the muslims - remember the Q
uraysh have not seen their kith and kin, their own relatives for 6.5 years, it's
a long time especially back then when family lived together - so one of them sp
read a rumour "the plagues of Madinah have harmed them and they've come back wea
klings". Remember Mecca was a harsh climate with greenery - this harshness meant
there weren't many diseases. Madinah however has water, agriculture, cultivatio
n so there are a different spectrum of diseases people were exposed to, and inde
ed the sahaba all fell sick when they first migrated to Madinah. Abu Bukr RA fel
t sick and thought he would die, Bilal fell sick etc. So a rumour was spread "th
e people have returned as weaklings". When the prophet PBUH heard this, he comma
nded the muslims to do many things:
1. Raise their voices out loud with talbeeya
2. Show and expose their right shoulders. This is the first time this sunnah was
introduced that when we do the first tawaaf we expose the right shoulder.
3. They should walk around tawaaf the first three with 'ramal' which is a brisk
walk. We can never do this because of the sheer rush around the kab'ah now. But
with no rush, the prophet PBUH and the sahaba were almost running. That is, walk
ing as fast as possible - almost running. And they did this for the first three
rounds.
When the Quraysh saw this they said "walahi there is nothing wrong with them". A
nd imagine for the first time in history 2000 muslims are around the kab'ah. No
doubt in the time of Ibrahim AS there were at most 5 people; after this where we
re the muslims doing tawaaf in mass congregation? And the Quraysh had their jahe
leya practices: some did tawaaf naked, some this, some that - the first time in
history where we see what see today, which is the whole city in ihraam, doing ta

waaf and raising talbeya. Here you have 2000 people crowding Mecca, and it certa
inly must have been a daunting sight for the Quraysh to see. And indeed, it did
have an effect, and that is why three very prominent conversions took place righ
t after umrah. When they are seeing 2000 muslims dressed doing tawaaf, reciting
the correct talbeya for the first time in the world - there is no adding of part
ners to Allah. So the talbeya loud, the ramal, the tawaaf etc. Imagine the psych
ological impact on the Quraysh: the tide has changed, and less than 2 years from
now Mecca will be in Islamic control. This type of demonstrating of power is co
mmon in the seerah. We see it in Abu Judana during Badr when he wore his red tur
ban and walked around arrogantly, the prophet PBUH said "this is a walking Allah
despises except at such a time and place". We also see in the treaty of Hudaybi
yya, when the Meccans sent the enovy, the prophet PBUH said "show him the camels
" and this was a person from a tribe that exalted the sacrification of animals.
This shows us legitimiate 'PR' is allowed and important. We need to look at the
image we give of Islam to others; it's apart of our dawah to give an image of st
rength and maturity. And that image changes from time to time, place to place. H
ere was a man who respects the hadee so the prophet PBUH showed him the camels;
the Quraysh said the muslims are weak, so the prophet PBUH said to the sahaba 's
how your strength'. Therefore we show the people true Islam; if there is an ille
gitimate criticism, to emphasise that point to demonstrate Islam is the opposite
of what is being said we show them what they say. This is not 'imitating the ku
ffar' - our prophet PBUH is not 'catering to the kuffar' by demonstrating streng
th at Uhud. By showing the strength of the muslims during the umrah al Qadah etc
. It's our job to clean our image as long as we don't affect our theology and et
hics.
Now the prophet PBUH stayed in Mecca for 3 days - not much details are given, bu
t we can assume it was peaceful and nothing happened. We assume the Quraysh live
d up to their treaty and did not interfere. The prophet PBUH also ordered regula
r swaps of the 200 guarding the weapons so everyone did umrah. And walahi we wis
h there were details but we can only imagine the feelings of the prophet PBUH an
d the sahaba after entering Mecca for 6.5 years. He sees the house of Khadijda,
all the valleys he grew up in etc. How emotional he must have felt. All of his m
emories: every single one of them. The city of his mother, father, grandfather,
Abu Talib, Khadija - the city where all of the good and bad happened. We can onl
y imagine the feelings the prophet PBUH had: overwhelming with emotion. One or t
wo things happened on the way out. Al Abbass suggested the prophet PBUH marry Ma
ymunah, and she was to be the last of his wives. And Maymunah was not only the l
ast wife he married, she was the last to die of all the wives aswell. And Maymun
ah was married to Abu Raham ibn Abdul Uzza, and she became a widow, and so she w
as without any husband in Mecca. She is a muslim, and she is the sister in law o
f Al Abbass. Al Abbass' wife is Umme Fadal, and her sister is Maymunah. So Maymu
nah is now left without anyone as a widow in Mecca - she dosen't want to remain
with the Quraysh, so she says to Umme Fadal "find me a husband". So Umme Fadal t
ells Abbass and he goes immediately to the prophet PBUH and says "I am the wali
of Maymunah and what do you think of her?" He praises her immensely, and so the
prophet PBUH agreed. Abbass was the wali and the one who took charge of the marr
iage ceromony.
Here there is a huge controversy in fiqh. Ibn Abbass says the prophet PBUH marri
ed Maymunah in the state of ihraam. It's an authentic hadith, but of course you
cannot marry while in the state of ihraam. By unanimous concensus the marriage w
as not consemumated in Mecca, we are talking about the nikah contract. The quest
ion is, was the prophet PBUH in ihraam when he did the nikah? Ibn Abbass says he
was. But we have authentic narrations not the least of which narrated by Maymun
ah herself: that "the prophet PBUH married me when he was outside of ihraam". So
this is clear cut that he was out of ihraam. Ibn Abbass must have made an hones
t mistake. Some people say by 'ihraam' ibn Abbass meant he wasn't in ihraam but
rather 'inside Mecca'. This is a bit far fetched. The majority position is the p
rophet PBUH did not marry Maymunah until after he took off his ihraam. So the pr

ophet PBUH marries Maymunah and it's the third day. The Quraysh come and they sa
y "three days are up" and so the prophet PBUH tries to renogatiate that "what is
the matter if we stay a little bit longer?" The prophet PBUH said "let me be a
married man, let me be a groom amongst you, and tomorrow we will have a big feas
t so come and enjoy food". Literally he called them to come and celebrate with h
im. SubhanAllah. And he's using this to see if the prophet PBUH and sahaba can s
tay longer. There is no doubt Mecca is his birth place; the city he's raised in,
and the city he feels emotional about. But the Quraysh said "we don't need your
food, three days are three days". So the prophet PBUH honoured the treaty and l
eft without incident. Therefore he consumamted the marriage outside of Mecca at
a place called Sarif. And Allah willed Maymunah actually passed away many years
later at Sarif, and she is buried there to this day at 61H - the final wife of t
he prophet PBUH to pass away, Maymunah bint al Harith.
We see many things from Umrah al Qadah:
1. The Umrah al Qadah shows without a doubt the tide has fully changed. The musl
ims have the superior hand. They have the more quantity, they are better organis
ed, the Quraysh are dwindling and this is why a number of people converted.
2. The fact the prophet PBUH is trying to renegotiate while in Mecca shows us yo
u always have the option to go back to the drawing board IF both sides agree. If
they don't, you stick to the treaty.
3. Look at the tactic being tried, and that is to soften the hearts of the Quray
sh. Clearly the prophet PBUH is trying to win them over through other means "Com
e and enjoy a feast with me etc". These are the same people at Badr, Uhud, Khand
ak etc. But now he has the upper hand, the goal isn't to be harsh: rather it's t
o win their hearts and minds. He uses his marriage as a da'wah. And if the Quray
sh had agreed, no doubt he would have given them a massive feast. This clearly s
hows us this is allowed: here is the prophet PBUH saying with pagans "let's come
and eat together". Why? When you eat together, your hatred and anger softens. A
nd now the prophet PBUH has the upper hand, he dosen't need to be on the defensi
ve. Rather he can show them Islam through interactions but they were stubborn an
d heart hearted. And most likely the Quraysh leaders themselves realised 'we don
't want our people to go soft'.
One small incident took place as they were coming out of Mecca. A young girl 6/7
years old comes running after them and calls out to the prophet PBUH "oh my unc
le take me take me don't leave me in Mecca". And who is this? She is Umara the d
aughter of Humza. Now he had been married in Mecca but divorced his wife. So the
y had a daughter by the name of Umara bint Humza. Of course Humza died at Uhud.
And Umara's mother was Salma bint Umais, and she is the sister of the famous sah
abiat Asma bint Umais. Salma and Asma, their mother was also the mother of Maymu
nah whom the prophet PBUH married. And subhanAllah it's a small tribal society,
therefore everyone in Mecca is related to everyone else. When you bring in mothe
rs, it complicates matters much more. Here, the prophet PBUH is married to Maymu
nah, so he is an uncle through Maymuna of Umara. The books of seerah don't menti
on why Umara did this, but it's clear it's because she wants to be with the musl
ims. And it's amazing she wants to leave the family in Mecca and live with the m
uslims.
When the sahaba found out who this is, Ali RA took her by the hand and gave her
to Fatimah "we will take care of her". When the others found out this is Umara b
in Humza, Zaid ibn Harithah came and said "the prophet PBUH made me brothers wit
h Humza so I am the brother of Humza, thus this is my niece so I will take care
of her". Then Ja'far came in, who is the older brother of Ali RA, and he said "I
have the same rank of Ali BUT my wife is her khala (blood aunty)". Now Asma bin
t Umais is Ja'fars wife. And what a women Asma bint Umais was - first she marrie
d Ja'far, then Abu Bukr as Siddique, then Ali ibn Abi Talib. So Asma is with Ja'

far, and Asma's sister is Salma and Salma's daughter is Umara. So Ja'far says "n
ot only is Humza my uncle, my wife is her aunty". So the three of them began dis
puting and it becomes heated. And walahi it's amazing what 10 years of Islam hav
e done to the status of women. 10, 15 years ago NOBODY would have wanted to take
care of her. She would be lucky if she remained alive in the first place. Now s
he's coming as an orphan and three great sahaba are fighting over her saying "I
have the most right". So the prophet PBUH had to get involved and it was very se
nsitive. So he begins by praising all three of them: he says to Ali "You are fro
m me and I am from me". This is a great praise for Ali RA and we give all this t
o Ali RA. Then he said to Zaid "you are our brother and protector". And then he
says to Ja'far "you resemble me the most physically and in manners". And indeed
Ja'far is much close in age to the prophet PBUH, and they were both raised in th
e same house of Abu Talib. And so he says "you resemble me the most in looks and
manners". Who does he decide? He says "Ja'far she is yours because the khala (m
others sister) is the same as the mother". From this we derive a fiqh that when
a person is an orphan, who has the right to take care of them? Three madhab say
mothers sister, one say fathers sister. Both sides have their evidences but this
is a crucial hadith. The point is how Islam changed the mentality of the people
: despite a girl being despised, she is a girl and orphan and she is being fough
t over. And crucially this is the daugher of who? Humza bin Abdul Muttalib. They
all feel a strong obligation to Humza - this is why Zaid said "Humza is my brot
her so I must take care of her". So the prophet PBUH decided in the end on Ja'fa
r.
This is the story of the Umrah Al Qadah. Between this and the conquest of Mecca
there was really nothing else major that happened in a political sense. And real
ly Umrah Al Qadah is the final psychological blows on the Quraysh, the conquest
is just around the corner. The Quraysh are clearly on the lower and defensive si
de, and this is proven in the conversion of the final three people before the co
nquest. And all three converted right after the Umrah al Qadah, which shows us t
he impact this Umrah had on the Quraysh.
1. Amr ibn Al As
And his story is one of the strangest stories in the entire seerah. Amr ibn Al A
s felt insecure seeing the power shifted to the muslims, and began wondering "wh
at would happen if Mecca was conquered? Where would I go?" This was especially t
rue after Khandak. Amr ibn Al As narrates his own story and says "it became clea
r to me after Khandak, Mecca is next". Recanll at Khandak the shifting of the ti
de truly began. So Amr said "I told a group of my friends to look out for me". R
ecall Amr ibn Al As is the politician, the diplomat, the nobleman - he was sent
to Najashi to secure the release of the muslims from Abyssinia. So he has a grou
p that looks up to him. And he said to them "I have been telling you the affair
of this man Muhammad shall be supreme very quickly. I have an idea - let us immi
grate to Najashi and live under him, so if Muhammad is successful over his peopl
e then we shall live under Najashi because we prefer to live under him than Muha
mmad. If Quraysh wins, then we are who we are and can always return". So Amr did
not want to engage in any more battles. The fact they left Mecca at this stage
clearly shows us it's just a matter of time before the muslims would take over.
So they left for Abyssinia.
So it turns in Abyssinia out a sahabi Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri is delivering a m
essage to the Najashi to inform Ja'far to return. Amr ibn Al As says "let me ask
permission for the Najashi if we can kill this envoy in order that the Quraysh
will kill me". So he gave the Najashi all of this fur and gifts, and asked permi
ssion to kill the messenger al-Damri. And he says "this man represents someone w
hom we despise, and he's killed many of our nobleman, will you allow me to kill
him in return?" At this the Najashi took his hand and smacked it on his own nose
out of distress, disgust and anger. And Amr ibn Al As said "I became so terrifi
ed of his anger I wish the Earth would swallow me up". And as soon as he saw the

Najashi's anger Amr kneeled down and said "Had I known that I would occasion su
ch anger, I would not have asked him this". Najashi replied "do you wish me to d
eliver into your hands the envoy who is visited by the angel of Moses himself?"
And he continued "Woe to you oh Amr - for sure this man will be victorious over
his enemy just like Moses was victorious over Fir aun". It's amazing Amr tried to
run away from the prophet PBUHs message, but lo and behold the emporer is a musl
im and giving daw'ah to him. And this is the only time a tabi' is giving daw'ah
to a sahabi. Najashi gave daw'ah to Amr ibn Al As to convert, and he became a sa
habi. So the Najashi says "follow me and obey me and become a muslim. He will be
victorious". Imagine the one person whom he thought he would get refuge from th
e prophet PBUH, the Najashi, he himself follows the prophet PBUH. So Amr realise
s this is the truth and says "Will you accept my Islam on behalf of the prophet
PBUH?" And the Najashi says yes, and Amr accepts Islam right then and there.
When he comes out and meets his companions he didn't tell them anything. He make
s an excuse and returns to Mecca, and on his way back he finds two people walkin
g out. And as he's on the road back he meets two people on the highway, and thes
e are Khalid ibn Waleed and Uthman ibn Talha. And he says to them "where are you
going?" And they say "we are going to the prophet PBUH and will accept Islam".
Khalid says "the matter is crystal clear this man is a prophet. I am going to ac
cept Islam, for how long will we deny this?" Amr ibn Al As says "walahi this is
why I have come back to Mecca". And so the three of them immigrated together and
they became the very last batch to enter Madinah and accept Islam before the co
nquest of Mecca. First Khalid accepted Islam, then it was Amr's turn. The prophe
t PBUH stretched his hand forward, and according to one report pulled the hand b
ack; held onto his hand rather the palm etc. The prophet PBUH said "what is the
matter?" He said "before I embrace Islam I have one condition that all my past s
ins are forgiven". So the prophet PBUH said "Ya Amr, don't you know three things
wipe away everything before them: embracing Islam, migration and hajj". And sub
hanAllah the fact that hajj is mentioned is our only hope for true forgiveness!
Official narration of Amr ibn Al As:
After the War of the Confederates, we all returned to Mecca and were close to des
pair. For although we were in every material aspect superior to Muhammad (may Pe
ace and Blessings be upon him) and his band of followers, they had begun to gain
over us in many ways. Whereas before the Muslims had only claimed the eternal l
ife as their own, they were now able to say that this world also was at their fe
et. I then thought, It is best that I go to the Negus of Abyssinia. For in any ca
se, one day Muhammad (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) and his friends will
return to their native place, Mecca. If my people gain the upper hand over Muham
mad (may Peace and Blessings be upon him), I can come back and resume residence
there in peace. If Muhammad (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) is victorious
over my people, at least I will not have had to witness that defeat with my own
eyes. Some of my friends agreed and accompanied me, and taking with us many and p
recious gifts, we presented ourselves before the Negus.
Then one day, Muhammad (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) sent 'Amr bin Umayya
h al-Damri to the Negus as his envoy. Intending to take advantage of this situat
ion, I went to the Negus, since I assumed that he would be displeased by Muhamma
d s (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) agent. I thought he would hand him over
to me for me to deal with, in which case he would incur no blame, as the man wou
ld have been murdered by one of his own people. When I put these ideas to the Ne
gus, he flew into a rage and drove me from his presence. I then said, Had I known
that I would occasion such anger, I would not have been so bold.
The Negus grew even angrier at that and said, You wish me to deliver into your han
ds the envoy of such a luminary who is visited by the messenger angel himself wh
en he comes to deliver Divine Message! I then asked the Negus, Is that truly what

you believe? He replied in a stern manner, Don t wast your words! Muhammad (may Peac
e and Blessings be upon him) is as true Prophet. If you are a real man, confess
Islam and know that one day he will vanquish all his opponents. Just as Musa was
Kalimullah and beat Fir aun with the staff in his hand, so Muhammad (may Peace an
d Blessings be upon him) is the Proof of Allah and will persuade those who argue
against him.
I left the presence of the Negus feeling utterly dejected. I now was sure that th
ere was no other way to get ahead in the world than by becoming Muslim. I made u
p my mind to it and secretly set out for Medina. Then I grew aware that Khalid i
bn al-Walid was following me. Where are you going? I asked him. Khalid was an open
-minded, outspoken person. He did not yet know of my decision. He replied, No nee
d remains for stubborn persistence on the way of disbelief that our fathers and
forefathers have shown us. There is not a grain of doubt that Muhammad (may Peac
e and Blessings be upon him) whom we used to know as al-Amin is a true Prophet. I
am on my way to Medina into his presence to surrender all that I am and own that
he may teach me the worship of the God that he preaches. I will entreat him to
forgive me for all the outrage and insolence I have worked against him before th
is day. If I can achieve his pardon, there is no man happier than I.
In this way we proceeded to Medina together and met with a gracious reception by
Muhammad (may Peace and Blessings be upon him). Thus we entered Islam
2. Khalid ibn Waleed ibn Mughira
Recall Khalids father was the chiefton of the Banu Makhzum, Abu Jahals tribe. An
d they are the statesman, the one who had the most rilavrly and jealousy of the
prophet PBUHs tribe. Recall the Quraysh were composed of several tribes. However
there were three major tribes, and among them smaller tribes such as Umar bin K
hattabs tribe, the Banu Adi. To be a Qurayshi you are already honoured, but with
in the Quraysh they had their own hierachy and the three at the top were the Ban
u Hashim, Banu Ummayah and Banu Makhzum. Post Islam the Banu Makhzum basically d
ied out, but in the days of Jaheleya these three were at the top. And Waleed ibn
Mughira was the cheifton of the Banu Makhzum, just like Abu Talib was the chief
ton of the Banu Hashim. So Waleed ibn Mughira was one of the most famous Quraysh
i, but he was also the offical poet of Mecca. Nobody was close to him, and that
is why when the Quran was revealed they all came to him. So he says "let me thin
k a while" and as Allah says in the Quran is Surah Mudathir:
And to whom I granted extensive wealth
And children present [with him]
And spread [everything] before him, easing [his life].
Then he desires that I should add more.
No! Indeed, he has been toward Our verses obstinate.
I will cover him with arduous torment.
Indeed, he thought and deliberated.
So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
Then may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
Then he considered [again];
Then he frowned and scowled;
Then he turned back and was arrogant
And said, "This is not but magic imitated [from others].
This is not but the word of a human being."
I will drive him into Saqar.
And Khalid is referenced in the Quran as one of the 'many children'. So in the p
rivacy of his own house he is walking up and down, but Allah exposes him in such
a powerful surah. And Al Waleed is the same one whom the prophte PBUH was talki
ng to when he turned away from ibn Umme Makhtoom. And Allah says "as for the one
who thinks he has everything". Note Al Waleed was a noble man who didn't stoop

to low levels. He was a noble enemy and that's why he listened to the prophet PB
UH, and why the prophet PBUH was giving him daw'ah, that he was so hopeful Al Wa
leed might convert. But ibn Umme Makhtoom comes along, and Al Waleed says "you w
ant me to follow your religion when these are your followers?" That's when Surah
Abasa was revealed. So Al Waleeds son was Khalid ibn Waleed and he was raised i
n lap of luxury. He was trained in the art of war and horsemanship; he did not f
ight in Badr, he after this he participated in every single battle. And in every
single battle he caused the most damage. At Uhud he single handedly caused the
destruction of the muslims. At Khandak he was one of the few who broke the defen
ces and made it into Madinah, but he realised he was outnumbered so went back. A
nd he was sent to Hudaybiyya to block the prophet PBUH, but the prophet PBUH out
manouvered him. This clearly shows the prophet PBUH was the better military comm
ander. And the story of Khalids conversion is mentioned by him in the first pers
on mentioned in Ibn Kathir.
"When Allah wanted good of me, he threw the love of Islam in my heart. And I sai
d to myself, 'I have witnessed all of these battles against Muhammad, and every
time I've participated, I have sensed I am being turned away'. And that Muhammad
shall be victorious. The final straw was Hudaybiyya; when I met him at Asfan an
d I was ready to charge, but even during salah he knew what I was thinking (reca
ll Khalids plan was to charge while the muslims prayed). Even at Hudaybiyya he m
anaged to outflank me - I realised this man is protected and I cannot get to him
, and I realised after the treaty he will be victorious. So I thought to myself
where should I go? Abyssinia - what will I do there and his own followers are th
ere? If I go to Rome I will have to become a christian and I will have to change
my culture and live as a stranger. So I continued remaining confused until Umra
h al Qadah. When the prophet PBUH entered Mecca and did not find me and asked ab
out me. So my brother left me a message". Now Khalid's older brother was Waleed
ibn Waleed and he embraced Islam as a prisoner of war after Badr. He became a pr
isoner, Khalid brought 4000 dirhams for his randsom, and Al Waleed waited for hi
s brother to pay the money, went back to Mecca with Khalid, but the first night
they camped when Khalid woke up Waleed had gone back to MAdinah. He wanted the p
rophet PBUH to have the money from the Quraysh. So Al Waleed wrote him a letter
"I have not seen anything stranger than you running away from Islam. For how lon
g will you oppose Islam? And the prophet PBUH asked about you when he came to Me
cca. And he said 'it is not befitting that he neglect Islam, if he were to put h
is talents and energy against the mushriks and we would honour him greatly'. So
my dear brother make up what you have already passed because many opportunities
have passed you by". Meaning change over before it's too late.
So when he read this letter he decided to convert. And subhanAllah Khalid embrac
ed Islam the very last batch before the conquest. He went to Safwan ibn Ummayah
and said "what do you think about embracing Islam?" But Safwan said "If I'm the
only person left in the world I will not embrace Islam". So Khalid left him and
said "then I went to my childhood friend, Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahal". They grew up t
ogether and are of the same age, so they are very close friends. So Khalid says
to him "I feel I should embrace Islam". Ikrimah panicks, and he starts raising h
is voice and yelling, shouting and says "you are going to leave us, the son of A
l Waleed? Walahi this is not going to happen." And in his panick he calls Abu Su
ffyan and other of the seniors of the Quraysh, and they all gather in Ikrimahs h
ouse. Now he is surrounded by all of the seniors of the Quraysh. And according t
o one version, it actually came to unsheathed swords in front of Khalid. One sai
d "if you embrace Islam you will have to face this". At this point Ikrimah himse
lf was shocked: "will you kill him merely because he changed his religion?!" Ikr
imah defused the situation and told them to go home. So Khalid realised he can n
o longer stay in Mecca; thus that very night when this incident happens, Khalid
and Uthman ibn Talha decide to leave Mecca. Within the next day they bump into A
mr ibn Al As on his way back from Abyssinia.
By the way Uthman ibn Talha is the keyholder of the kab'ah. He was in charge of

the keys, and it was a great honour. The three of them therefore marched into Ma
dinah simultaneously. Amr ibn Al As the symbolic statesman and politician of the
Quraysh, Uthman ibn Talha the symbolic person in charge of the kab'ah, Khalid i
bn Waleed the real military leader of the Quraysh. Notice the three things: the
kab'ah, the military genius and the political statesman master. SubhanAllah. And
the three of them embraced Islam and became the last batch of muslims whom Alla
h says in the Quran "not same are those who embraced Islam before the conquest a
nd after. Those who embrace before are better". From these stories we notice man
y things:
1. Najashi's love for the prophet PBUH. And its a true sign of imaan - and we sh
ould not be embarassed when Allah and His messenger is mocked. No doubt we don't
get voilent. Look at Najashi "you want me to kill the envoy of the man who Jibr
eel comes down to?!" So when Allah and His messenger is mocked, we should feel t
his sense of violation and anger.
2. Amr knew everything the Najashi told him, but when he told him it finally cli
cked. When it comes from Najashi it clicks - this is human nature. Sometimes the
truth depends on who it comes from. And if it comes from somebody else it might
make sense to you. This is human nature "I want to hear it from someone else".
We see the same thing with Heraclius when he spoke to Abu Suffyan, that he said
"are you a fool? He dosen't lie about gold and silver, you expect him now to lie
about God Himself?!" It's the same truth but it's coming from someone you don't
expect.
3. Notice the psychological daw'ah to Khalid. The prophet PBUH mentioned his nam
e and praised him.
4. Notice the concern of Amr ibn Al As of his sins being forgiven. This shows us
genuine imaan - he is worried about his sins. He wants a clean slate, and this
shows us the status of Amr ibn Al As. There is no doubt he is a sahabi and great
companion. A fundamental principle of aqeeda is we never speak ill of any sabah
i. We don't doubt their intention. Sure we can disagree with their fiqh position
s: ibn Abbass said X is halal, ibn Umar said Y is halal. But we never criticise
the intention and Islam of any companion. Even though yes they comitted sins, bu
t we never doubt their Islam. And on his deathbed Amr ibn Al As said "I don't kn
ow if Allah will forgive me etc". This clearly shows his imaan.
5. And the final point is the conversion of politics, military and the kab'ah wi
th these three people. It's a done deal now the Quraysh will be wiped out from p
ower.