The First Umrah

“I saw in a dream that I was in an extremely narrow and dry area… but then suddenly I came out of that place and reached a very green, lush, and vast land.

After that, when we decided to set out for Madinah Munawwarah, I met Safwan. I said to him:

‘Safwan! You can see that Muhammad ﷺ is increasingly spreading his influence over the Arabs and non-Arabs. So why don’t we also go to him and accept his obedience? In reality, his ascendancy will itself be our ascendancy.’

Upon this, Safwan said:

‘Even if the whole world except me accepts his obedience, I still will not do so.’

Hearing his answer, I thought that his father and brother had been killed in the Battle of Badr, so it was pointless to expect anything from him. Therefore, losing hope in him, I went to ‘Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahl, and said the same thing to him that I had said to Safwan. But he also gave the same answer.

I said:

‘All right, anyway… but keep what I have said to you a secret.’

In reply, ‘Ikrimah said:

‘All right, I will not mention it to anyone.’

After that, I met ‘Uthman ibn Talhah. He was my friend. His father, brother, and others had also been killed in the Battle of Badr, but I told him what was in my heart. He immediately agreed with me. We decided the time, day, and place for going to Madinah.

Both of us set out toward Madinah Munawwarah. At one place, we met ‘Amr ibn al-‘As رضي الله عنه. When he saw us, he expressed his happiness, and we also welcomed him. Then ‘Amr asked:

‘Where are you people going?’

We openly replied:

‘We are going to accept Islam.’

‘Amr ibn al-‘As رضي الله عنه immediately said:

‘I am also going for the same reason.’

The three of us were delighted at this and continued toward Madinah Munawwarah.

Finally, when we reached the place of Harrah, we dismounted from our riding animals. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was informed of our arrival. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his Companions:

‘Makkah has brought its most beloved people and placed them before you.’

After this, we proceeded in our finest clothes to present ourselves before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. At that very moment, my brother al-Walid reached us and said:

‘Hurry up! The Messenger of Allah is extremely happy at your arrival and is waiting for you.’

So we quickly proceeded forward until we reached the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

We greeted him, and he warmly returned our greeting. After that, I said:

‘I testify that there is no deity except Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.’

Upon this, the Noble Messenger ﷺ said:

‘All praise belongs to Allah, Who has guided you. I knew that you were intelligent, and therefore I wished and hoped that you would certainly incline toward goodness.’

After that, I submitted:

‘O Messenger of Allah! Please pray to Allah Almighty that He forgive the mistakes I committed by opposing you.’

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

‘Accepting Islam wipes away all previous mistakes and sins.’

In the same way, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and ‘Uthman ibn Talhah رضي الله عنهما also came forward and accepted Islam.

Here, it should be kept in mind that ‘Amr ibn al-‘As رضي الله عنه had actually accepted Islam earlier at the hands of the King of Abyssinia, the Negus. In this way, a Companion accepted Islam at the hands of a Tabi‘i, because the Negus was not a Companion. He had not seen the Noble Messenger ﷺ, but he is considered a Tabi‘i because he had seen the Companions رضي الله عنهم.

After Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walid رضي الله عنه accepted Islam, the Prophet ﷺ always appointed him as the commander of the cavalry.

This was the account of the acceptance of Islam by these three noble personalities.

Hazrat ‘Amr ibn al-‘As رضي الله عنه was also the possessor of excellent military abilities. He himself says:

‘By Allah! After we accepted Islam, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not consider anyone equal to me and Khalid ibn al-Walid رضي الله عنهما in matters of warfare. During the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنه as well, we retained the same rank.’

At the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, it had been agreed that the Muslims would return that year without performing Umrah, but they would be allowed to perform Umrah the following year.

According to this agreement, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ departed from Madinah Munawwarah with the intention of performing ‘Umrat al-Qada’. Two thousand Companions accompanied the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on this occasion.

At the time of departure, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had announced that all those who had been present at Hudaybiyyah were required to accompany him. Therefore, all those Companions set out with him.

In addition to them, there were some others who had not participated in Hudaybiyyah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also had sacrificial animals with him. As a precaution, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also took weapons on this journey.

Among the Muslims, one hundred men were cavalrymen, and their commander was Muhammad ibn Maslamah رضي الله عنه.

The Noble Messenger ﷺ entered into Ihram at the door of Masjid an-Nabawi.

When some people of Quraysh saw weapons with the Companions رضي الله عنهم, they became alarmed, hurried to Makkah al-Mukarramah, and informed Quraysh:

‘The Muslims have brought weapons… and they even have a cavalry unit with them.’

Upon hearing this, Quraysh became extremely anxious and said:

‘We have not done anything that violates this agreement. Rather, we are bound by the treaty. As long as the period of the treaty remains, we will abide by it. So on what basis has Muhammad ﷺ come to fight us?’

Finally, Quraysh sent Makriz ibn Hafs with a group of Quraysh. He met the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said:

‘You intend to enter the Haram while carrying weapons, whereas this was not part of the agreement.’

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

‘We will not enter the Haram carrying weapons. According to the agreement, only swords kept in their sheaths will accompany us. We will leave the remaining weapons outside.’

After hearing the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Makriz expressed his satisfaction and went back to reassure Quraysh.

When the time came for the Noble Messenger ﷺ to enter Makkah al-Mukarramah, the prominent leaders of Quraysh left Makkah and went somewhere else. These people harbored hatred and enmity toward the Noble Messenger ﷺ and could not bear to see him in Makkah al-Mukarramah, so they left the city.

Finally, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions رضي الله عنهم entered Makkah al-Mukarramah.

At that time, the Noble Messenger ﷺ was riding his she-camel, Qaswa’. The Companions رضي الله عنهم were walking to his right and left with their swords, and all of them were reciting:

“Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk.”

Before departing, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had arranged for the remaining weapons to be stored safely at a place close to the Haram. A group of Muslims had been appointed to guard those weapons.

The polytheists of Makkah had seen the Muslims after a long period of time. They thought that the Muslims looked rather weak, so they began saying to one another:

‘The fever of Yathrib has weakened the Muhajirun.’

When this statement reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he commanded:

‘May Allah Almighty have mercy upon the person who shows these polytheists his physical strength.’

On this basis, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed the Companions رضي الله عنهم to perform Raml during the first three circuits of Tawaf—that is, to walk with strength and confidence, with their chests held high—and to show the polytheists that they were fully strong.

When the Muslims began performing Raml, the other polytheists of Makkah said to those who had claimed that the Muslims had been weakened by the fever of Yathrib:

‘You were saying that the fever of Yathrib had weakened them, whereas they appear completely strong.’

At that time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had placed his cloak around himself in such a way that his right shoulder was uncovered and its other end was over his left shoulder.

Therefore, all the Companions رضي الله عنهم did the same.

This manner of wearing the cloak is called Idtiba‘, while walking in a strong and confident manner is called Raml.

This was the first occasion of Idtiba‘ and the first occasion of Raml in Islam. Now, whether one is performing Hajj or Umrah, both of these practices are to be performed.

The Noble Prophet ﷺ stayed in Makkah al-Mukarramah for three days, in accordance with the agreement. When the three days were completed, he ﷺ left Makkah al-Mukarramah.

During this period, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ married Hazrat Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها. Her first name was Barrah, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ changed her name and named her Maymunah.