Amr ibn al-Jamuh - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

Amr ibn al-Jamuh was one of theleading men in Yathrib in the days of
Jahiliyyah. He was the chief of the Banu Salamah and was known to be
one of the most generous and valiant persons in the city.
One of the privileges of the city'sleaders was having an idol to
himself in his house. It was hoped that this idol would bless the
leader in whatever he did. Hewas expected to offer sacrifices to it on
special occasions and seek its help at times of distress.The idol of
Amr was called Manat. He had made it from the most priceless wood. He
spent a great deal of time, money and attention looking after it and
he anointed it with the most exquisite perfumes.
Amr was almost sixty years old when the first rays of the light of
Islam began to penetrate the houses of Yathrib. House after house was
introduced to the new faith at the hands of Musab ibn Umayr, the first
missionary sent out to Yathrib before the hijrah. It was through him
that Amr's three sons--Muawwadh, Muadh and Khallad--became Muslims.
One of their contemporaries was the famousMuadh ibn Jabal. Amr's wife,
Hind, also accepted Islam with her three sons but Amr himself knew
nothing of all this .
Hind saw that the people of Yathrib were being won over to Islam and
that not one of the leaders of the city remained in shirk except her
husband and a few individuals. She loved her husband dearly and was
proud of him but she was concerned that he should die in a state of
kufr and end up in hell-fire.
During this time, Amr himself began to tell uneasy. He was afraid that
his sons would give up the religion of their forefathers and follow
the teaching of Musab ibn Umayr who, within a short space of time, had
caused many to turn away from idolatry and enter the religion of
Muhammad. To his wife, Amr therefore said:
"Be careful that your children donot come into contact with this man
(meaning Musab ibn Umayr)before we pronounce an opinionon him."
"To hear is to obey," she replied."But would you like to hear fromyour
son Muadh what he relates from this man?" "Woe to you! Has Muadh
turned away from hisreligion without my knowing?" The good woman felt
pity from the old man and said: "Not at all.But he has attended some
of themeetings of this missionary and memorized some of the things he
teaches." "Tell him to come here," he said. When Muadh come, he
ordered: "Let me hear an example of what this man preaches." Muadh
recited the lalihah (the Opening Chapter of the Quran):
"In the name of God, the most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.All
praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, The most
Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace. Lord of the Day of Judgment!
You alone do we worship and toYou alone do we turn for help. Guide us
on the straight way, the way of those upon whom you have bestowed Your
blessings, not of those who havebeen condemned by You, nor of those
who go astray."
"How perfect are these words, and how beautiful!" exclaimed the
father. "Is everything he sayslike this?"
"Yes indeed, father. Do you wish to swear allegiance to him? All your
people have already done so" urged Muadh.
The old man remained silent from a while and then said, "I shall not
do so until I consult Manat and see what he says.""What indeed would
Manat say, Father? It is only a piece of wood. It can neither think
nor speak." The old man retorted sharply, "I told you, I shall not do
anything without him."
Later that day, Amr went before Manat. It was the custom of the
idolators then to place an old woman behind the idol when they wished
to speak to it. She would reply on behalf of the idol, articulating,
so they thought, what the idol had inspired her to say. Amr stood
before the idol in great awe and addressed profuse praises to it. Then
he said:
"O Manat no doubt you know that this propagandist who was delegated to
come to us from Makkah does not wish evil on anyone but you. He has
come only to stop us worshipping you.I do not want to swear allegiance
to him in spite of the beautiful words I have heard from him. I have
thus come to get your advice. So please advise me."
There was no reply from Manat. Amr continued:
"Perhaps your are angry. But up till now, I have done nothing to harm
you... Never mind, I shall leave you for a few days to let your anger
go away."
Amr's sons knew the extent of their father's dependence on Manat and
how with time he had become almost a part of it. They realized however
that the idol's place in his heart was being shaken and that they had
to help him get rid of Manat. That must be his path to faith in God.
One night Amr's sons went with their friend Muadh ibn Jabal to Manat,
took the idol From its place and threw it in a cess pit belonging to
the Banu Salamah. They returned to their homes with no one knowing
anything about what they had done. When Amr woke up the following
morning, he went in quiet reverence to pay his respects to his idol
but did not find it.
"Woe to you all," he shouted."Who has attacked our god last night"
There was no reply from anyone. He began to search for the idol,
fuming with rage and threatening the perpetrators of the crime.
Eventually he found the idol turned upside down on its head in the
pit. He washed and perfumed it and returned it to its usual place
saying.
"If I find out who did this to you,I will humiliate him." The
following night the boys did the same to the idol. The old man
recovered it, washed and perfumed it as he had done before and
returned it to its place. This happened several times until one night
Amr put a sword around the idol's neck and said to it: "O Manat, I
don't know who is doing this to you. If you have any power of good
inyou, defend yourself against thisevil. Here is a sword for you."
The youths waited until Amr was fast asleep. They took the sword from
the idol's neck and threw it into the pit. Amr found the idol Lying
face down in the pit with the sword nowhere in sight. At last he was
convinced that the idol had no power at alland did not deserve to be
worshipped. It was not long before he entered the religion ofIslam.
Amr soon tasted the sweetness of Iman or faith in the One True God. At
the same time he felt great pain and anguish within himself at the
thought of every moment he had spent in shirk. His acceptance of the
new religion was total and he placed himself, his wealth and his
children in the service of God and His Prophet.
The extent of his devotion was shown during the time of the battle of
Uhud. Amr saw his three sons preparing for the battle. He looked at
the three determined young men fired by the desire to gain martyrdom,
success and the pleasure of God.The scene had a great effect on him
and he resolved to go out with them to wage jihad under the banner of
the messenger of God. The youths, however, were all against their
father carrying out his resolve. He was already quite old and was
extremely weak.
"Father," they said, "surely God has excused you. So why do you take
this burden on yourself?"
The old man became quite angryand went straight away to the Prophet to
complain about his sons: "O Rasulullah! My sons herewant to keep me
away from thissource of goodness arguing thatI am old and decrepit. By
God, I long to attain Paradise this way even though I am old and
infirm."
"Let him," said the Prophet to his sons. "Perhaps God, the Mighty and
the Great, will grant him martyrdom."
Soon it was time to go out to battle. Amr bade farewell to his wife,
turned to the qiblah and prayed: "O Lord, grant me martyrdom and don't
send me back to my family with my hopes dashed." He set out in
thecompany of his three sons and a large contingent from his tribe,
the Banu Salamah.
As the battle raged, Amr could be seen moving in the front ranks,
jumping on his good leg (his other leg was partially lame), and
shouting, "I desire Paradise, I desire Paradise."
His son Khallad remained closely behind him and they both fought
courageously in defense of the Prophet while many otherMuslims
deserted in pursuit of booty. Father and son fell on thebattlefield
and died within moments of each other.