Page 58 - MY GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS LED ME TO TROUTH

promise he would not say a word about their agreement to anyone. Secrecy was
extremely important for the success of their venture. Umayr ordered that his sword be
sharpened for him and poisoned. He then set off secretly, not telling anyone of his
purpose. In Madeenah, Umar ibn Al-Khattaab was sitting with a group of Muslims, talking
about their victory at Badr. Suddenly Umayr appeared. Umar was the first one to notice
him as he dismounted at the doorstep of the Prophet's mosque. He immediately noticed
that Umayr had his sword with him. Seeing that, 'Umar told his fellow Muslims that Umayr
could only have come for an evil purpose as he was the one to stir up trouble and to
guess the Muslims' number to their enemies on Badr day. 'Umar then went to the Prophet
and informed him of Umayr's arrival. The Prophet asked Umar to let Umayr in. Umar went
to him and took the belt on which he hung his sword, put it round his neck and let him
through. When the Prophet saw 'Umar pulling Umayr with the belt of his sword around
his neck, he told him to release Umayr and told Umayr to come nearer. To break the
tension, Umayr greeted everybody with the greeting used by the pagans: "Happy be your
morning." "God has blessed us with a greeting better than yours, Umayr. That is the
greeting of peace, the greeting of the people in heaven," the Prophet replied. Umayr
replied, "By God, Muhammad, I have heard that only very recently." The Prophet then
asked him about the reason for his journey to Madeenah. Umayr used his pretext and
said: "I have come for the prisoner you are holding. I would like to request you to be
kind to him." The Prophet then asked him why he was carrying his sword on him. Umayr
replied, "Confound these swords! They are indeed useless." The Prophet repeated his
question about the purpose of his journey and emphasized that he wanted to know the
truth. Umayr again said that he simply came for his prisoner and there was nothing more
to his being in Madeenah at that moment. "There is indeed," the Prophet said, "a different
purpose. You sat with Safwaan ibn Umayyah at Al-Hijr and spoke about the losses of
Quraysh at Badr, then you said to him, 'Had it not been for my debts and my children, I
would have gone to kill Muhammad.' Safwaan then said he would pay your debts and
look after your children in return for your killing me. But God will see to it that your
purpose is foiled." Astonished, Umayr said, "I declare that you are the Messenger of God.
We used to say that you were lying when you spoke to us about faith and about the
revelations you received. Now this is something that nobody witnessed except Safwaan
and myself. By God, I know that no one could have told you about it except Him. Praise
be to Him that He has guided me to accept Islam and has shown me the right path. I
declare that there is no deity but God and that you are His Messenger." The Prophet