The Islamic Bulletin Volume X X II No. 27 Page 28 The day of welcome Ikrimah’s Wife, Umm Hakim, along with Hind bint ‘Utbah and ten other Makkan women, went to the house of the Prophet (Pbuh) to pledge allegiance to him. Hind was fearful of meeting Rasulullah (S), because of the way she had mutilated the body of his uncle, Hamzah, at the Battle of Uhud. She was so afraid that she came in his presence wearing a veil over her face. She said “0 Rasulullah (S) praise be to Allah Who has established the religion He chose for Himself. I implore you by the bonds of kinship to treat me with mercy. I am now a believing woman.” Then she unveiled her face and said, “I am Hind bint ‘Utbah.” “You are welcome here Hind,” replied the Prophet (Pbuh). Then she said, “0 Rasulullah (S), by Allah,The Most high there was no house on earth that I wanted to see disgraced more than your house. Now there is no house on earth that I would like to see honored more than your house.” Then, Umm Hakim stood up and declared her entrance into Islam and said, “0 Rasulullah (S), Ikrimah ran away from you to Yemen out of fear that you would kill him. Grant him security and may Allah grant it to you.” “He is secure,” promised the Prophet (S). Umm Hakim set out immediately in search of her husband. She traveled south along the coastal road until she found Ikrimah at Tihamah on the Red Sea, trying to arrange transport to Ethiopia with a Muslim seaman. The seaman was saying, ”Be honest with Allah,The most High and I will transport you.” “What shall I say?” asked Ikrimah. ”Say: ‘I testify that there is no god but Allah!” was the answer, for the captain feared shipwreck if he took an unbeliever aboard. ”I have run here to escape from these words!” said Ikrimah. At that moment, he realized that he actually could say those words that he had resisted all his life. He also knew that since he could say them, there was no need to get on the boat to run away from saying them. Then Umm Hakim arrived and said, “0 husband, I have come from the most generous of men, the most righteous, Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah (S). I asked him to grant you security and he (S) did. Don’t destroy youself by running away farther.” “Have you really talked to him?” asked Ikrimah. “Yes, I have, and he (S) has granted you pardon!” She kept reassuring him until he agreed to come back with her. At a rest house on the way, he wanted to sleep with her, but she refused absolutely and said, “I am a Muslim woman and you are a Mushrik, an idol-worshipper.” Ikrimah was totally amazed that his wife would refuse him and he said, “Any matter that comes between us, keeping you from me, must be a great matter!” As Ikrimah approached Makkah, Rasulullah (S) said to his companions, “Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl will come to you as a believer and emigrant. Don’t insult his father. Insulting the dead hurts the one who is alive and does not reach the dead.” Soon after that, Ikrimah and his wife arrived at the place where the Prophet (S) was sitting. When Rasulullah (S) saw him, he stood up and greeted and welcomed him. When the Prophet (S) sat down again, Ikrimah said, “0 Muhammad (S), Umm Hakim told me you have granted me pardon.” “She said the truth,” said the Prophet (S). “You are safe.” “What do you invite people to, Muhammad (S)?” asked Ikrimah. He (S) replied, “I invite you to testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am His Messenger (S), to make Salah, and to pay Zakah.” Ikrimah responded, “I swear you are inviting only to the Truth, and you are commanding only to do what is good. You lived among us before you started your mission. You were the most honest and the most righteous of us.” Then he said, “I testify that there is no god but Allah and that you are His servant and His Messenger and O Rasulullah (S), teach me the best thing to say!” He (S) replied, ”Say: I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.” Ikramah repeated the Shahada. At that point the Prophet (S) said, “Whatever you ask me today, I will give you.” Ikrirnah said, “I ask you to ask Allah’s forgiveness for me for all the hatred I had against you, for all the moments I confronted you and for whatever I said in your presence or absence.” Rasulullah (S) responded, “0 Allah, forgive him for the hatred he had against me and whatever he said insulting me in my presence or my absence.” lkrimah’s face beamed with happiness and he said, “By Allah, 0 Rasulullah (S), I promise that whatever I have spent to obstruct the way of Allah, I shall spend twice as much for His sake, and whatever fight I have fought against the way of Allah,The Most High, I shall fight twice as hard in His way.” From that day on, the ranks of Islam gained a brave horseman in the fields of battle and a great worshipper who spent his nights praying and his days reading the Qur’an in the Masajid. Ikrimah fulfilled his promise to Rasulullah (S), and fought very hard in the way of Allah, The Most High and took part in every battle or expedition that took place after he became Muslim. Ikramah’s last moments were spent on the battlefield with two other Muslims, Harith ibn Hisham and Ayyash ibn Abi “Say: O my servants who have transgressed against their souls: Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Quran 39:53)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjQ1