STORYOF

THUMAMA IBN UTHAL

!(hL1rram ML1rad

ISLAMIC FOUNDATION

MUSLIM

CILDREN'S LIRAR

SERIES

The IsIamic Foundation 1984/1404H

Reprinted 1988/08 and 1997/1418
1SEN

86037 1 6

A1l rights reserved. No part of this publication reproduced, stored in retrievaI

system or transmitted whatsoever, without the prior

permission of the copyright owner.

MUSLIM

CILDREN'S LIRAR

General Editors
hurram

Murad and Mashuq A1ly

DESERT

Author:

CIEF

hurram Murad

ustrtis: Latifa Ahmad

Editing: MardijaIl . Tarantino

These stories are about the Prophet and his Companions and, though woven

around authentic ahadith, shou1d regarded only as stories.

Published

The IsIamic Foundation, Markfie1d Dawah ,

Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leicester LE67 9RN, United ingdom

Quran House,

.. 06II,

...

3193,

Nairobi,

Nigeria

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Murad, Khurram

' Desert Chief.-(Muslim children's library; 14)

1. (Prophet)-Juvenile Iiterature

. IsIamic Foundation
. Series

1. Title
297'.6

75

0-86037- 1 6-0

MUSLIM CHILDREN'S LIBRARY

Introduction

is new series of books, but with difference, for children of all

ages. PubIished the Islamic Foundation, the Muslim Children's Library
has produced to provide young people with something they cannot
perhaps find anywhere else.
Most of today's children's books aim only to entertain and inform to
teach some necessary skills, but not to develop the inner and moral
resources. Entertainment and skills themselves impart nothing of value
to life unless child is a(so helped to discover deeper meaning in himself
and the world around him. Yet there is place in them for God, who
alone gives meaning to life and the universe, for the divine guidance
brought His prophets, following which alone ensure integrated
development of the total personality.
Such books, in fact, young people of access to true knowledge.
They give them unchanging standards of right and wrong,
incentives to what is right and refrain from what is wrong. The
result is that all too the young enter adult life in state of social
alienation and bewilderment, unabIe to with the seemingly
unlimited choices of the world around them. The situation is especially
devastating for the Muslim child as he may grow up cut off from his
culture and values.
The Muslim Children's Library aspires to remedy this deficiency
showing children the deeper meaning of life and the world around them;
pointing them along the paths leading to integrated development of
all aspects of their personality; helping to give them the capacity to
with the comp/exities of their world, both personal and social;
opening vistas into world extending far beyond this life; and, to
Muslim child especially, providing fresh and strong faith, dynamic
commitment, indelibIe sense of identity, throbbing yearning and
urge to struggle, all rooted in Islam.

The books aim to help child anchor his development the rock of
divine guidance, and to understand himself and relate to himself and
others in just and meaningful ways. They relate directly to his soul and
intellect, to his emotions and imagination, to his motives and desires, to
his anxieties and hopes - indeed, to evey aspect of his fragile, but
potentially rich personality. At the same time it is recognised that for
book to hold child's attention, he must enjoy reading it; it should
therefore arouse his cuiosity and entertain him as well. The style, the
language, the illustrations and the production of the books all geared
to this goal. They provide moral education, but not through sermons
eth ical abstractions.
Although these books based entirely Islamic teachings and the
vast Muslim heritage, they should of equal interest and value to
children, whatever their county creed; for Islam is universal religion,
the natual path.
Adults, too, find much of use in them. ' particular, Muslim parents
and teachers wi 11 find that they provide what they have for so long so
badly needing. The books will include texts the Quran, the Sunnah
and other basic souces and teachings of Is!am, as well as history, stories
and anecdotes for supplementary reading. Each book will cater for
particular age group, classified into: pre-school, 5-8 years, 8-11, 11-14
and 14-17. .,
We invite parents and teachers to use these books in homes and
classrooms, at breakfast tabIes and bedside and encourage children to
derive maximum benefit from them. At the same time their greatly valued
observations and suggestions highly welcome.
the young reader we say: hold in hands books which
entirely different from those have reading till now, but we
sincerely hope will enjoy them; try, through these books, to
understand youself, life, you experiences and the universe around
. They will before you eyes new paths and models in life that
will curious to explore and find exciting and rewarding to follow.
God with forever.
And bIess with His and acceptance humbIe
contribution to the urgent and gigantic task of producing books for new
generation of people, task which we have undertaken in all humility and
hope.

Director General

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n the sixth after the Hijra, the Prophet

Muhammad ( and Blessings upon him)*
sent letters to all the chiefs and kings of countries
within reach of , invil:ing them to Islam. Some,
like Heraclius, the of Rome, read the letter
and considered the invitation seriously, but was
prevented from embracing Islam his own
weaknesses. was not prepared to follow
Christianity ... much less some unknown
merchant ... that, too, at the- risk of losing the
support of his generals and priests and possibIy
losing his throne!

Parvaiz; Chosroes, the mighty king of Persia,

disdainfully tore the letter in shreds in the presence
of the who had brought it, and instructed the
governor of his province of m, Badhan,
to go and teach lesson to the madman of Madina
who dared to write him such letter. The Negus of
Abyssinia, the other hand, who had earlier
welcomed MIJslims to his and provided
them with refuge, was ready to accept the invitation
to Islam.
Amongst the chiefs to whom the letter was sent, was
named Thumama, c~lief of the Banu if in
*Muslims required to invoke Allah's bIessings and upon the
Prophet whenever his is mentioned.

HISTORIC

DOCUMENT

H OTOGRA PH
letter in Khatt-e-Ku/i signed
the Holy Prophet
P
"Mukavkis" Byzantinian
Egypt in the year 7 Hijra. The
letter reads:
(

ing /

"This letter is/or Mukavkis, the ing / Copts, [ God's servant and
Prophet Muhammad. A/ter greetings ( those who accept the
guidance / God, 1 invite ( adopt "Kalima-e-Shahadet" which is
[ / Islamic prayer.
Accept Islam, will sa/e and God w grant rewards and
compensations. 1/ re/use and reject, the sins and [ / Copts, your
subject, will visited .
Believers in the Books, accept the Kalima which means the
thing ( as ( us: we do not worship but the Almighty God; we do
not accept that he has partner and we do not consider that some /
us is God.
1/ the Kalima puts the right path, say that we are witness that
are real believers in God and are Muslims."
MUHAMMAD, Prophet of God.
The original of this letter is preserved in the library of Coptic monks
village Ahmin in Egypt.
[

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iiiiiiiiiiiiii~

in Najd. Thumama, up until then, had

heard about Muhammad, but had avoided having
dealings with Muslims way another.
was not going to get involved in petty squabbIes
between the Quraysh and of their rebellious
sons. But when the invitation to join Islam to
him personally, he was outraged.
'Why that renegade dares to address , Thumama,
Crlief the u Hanifa, to join rlis bunch of
nonsensical heretics~ How dare he~ Who does he
take for~ This shall not pass unnoticed. has
thorn in the side of tlle Quraysh for some
time. This inslJlt provides with excuse to wipe
him out. Then we shall hear of heretical
messages and insulting invitations.'
From that day, Thumama began scheming and
plotting to kill the Blessed Prophet. and his
never missed opportunity to attack him try to
ambush him. Most of the attempts failed because of
the vigilance of tlle Blessed Prophet's mis,
although attempt would have if
distant uncle of Thumama's, Muslim, had not, at
the last moment, got word to the Blessed Prophet,
thereby saving his life.
Trlis did not stop Thumama. continued raiding
and attacking the Muslims and when his were
clever enough to ambush , they were ordered to
iit 11im slow, painful death. The Blessed

Prophet was left alternative but to pronounce

death sentence upon Thumama, which meant that if
ever he were calJght the Muslims, he vVould
put to death.
The time for the annual Pilgrimage to Makka.
used to make the journey alone, {
to Makka; he knew that wherever he
stopped the way he would honoured guest.
For the times when he had to set up alone, he
was amply stocked with food and supplies besides
the usual offerings needed for the sacrifice to his
idols.
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evening he fud himself off the usual path

and, although he did not realise it, close to Madina.

As night fell, he prepared to make .
unfolded his bedding, placed water bag rlis
head and blJilt the small fire he had made to keep
off wild animals. Finally, he settled down and was
soon asleep.
Not far away, party of Muslims set out patrol
from Madina in search of spies and enemies. These
intruders, if given chance, WOLlld , loot and
kill the Muslims; so the Blessed Prophet had
gisd these patrols as means of protection.
The night was as bIack as ink. There was not star in
the sky, the yet risen, when the patrol
over hill and spotted the glowing embers of

Thumama's camp-fire. 'Approach with caution',

advised the leader of the as tlley stealthily crept
forward. When they had the , the
leader called out:
'You there. Get up and identify yourself!'
Thumama /eapt up and reached for his sword,
seeing himself surrounded, settled down again.
'Your : and identity', repeated the leader.
'Where you heading? What is your business
here?'
Thumama was beginning to realise who the
were; he certainly was not going to give his at
cost.
'Where do you from, your ?'
Still, Thumama refused to answer.
'Then if you won't answer questions, we
Iy suspect you here for the wrong reasons.
with us.'
Thumama was fearless and very proud.
stood up with dignity, folded his belongings and
walked off in front of them as if he were going his
own choice. The patrol was made up of Ansars who
were not at " familiar with the Yamamites. They
had idea that they had arrested high chief of the
u Hanifa, of their fiercest enemies!

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'If he is spy', said , 'the Blessed Prophet will tell

us what to do with him'.
Arriving at Madina, they led Thumama to the
mosque and tied him to of the pillars.
Soon after dawn, the Blessed from ~Iis
home to the mosque, noticed the prisoner tied to
pillar and immediately recognised Thumama. The
patrol had. waiting all t~lis time to Jind out who
it was they had arrested.
'This is , Chief of the Bani Hanifa of
', he told the Companions.
If they did not know him sight, they certainly
recognised the .
' who treacherously murdered our brothers and

plotted time after time to kill you?'

'Yes', replied the Blessed Prophet, and to the
surprise of the Companions, he added: 'And I want
you to treat him well.'

then walked Thumama without saying word

and began to lead the Prayers.
Thus , whether he wanted to not,
witnessed for the first time the Muslim Prayers and
heard the recitations of the Quran.

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-----

The first thing the Blessed Prophet did upon

returning to his quarters, whicll led directly into tlle
mosque, was to ask his family to the
best food they had and to milk the she-camel
morning d vig so that Thumama would have
plenty of fresh milk.
ofthe Companions was then asked to

Thumama's hands so that he could eat some of the

delicious food. The Companion could not believe
his eyes when he saw the meal which the Blessed
Prophet had ordered for his . '1 thought we
would ordered to execute him, not feed him like
king', he exclaimed to the others.
After Thumama had eaten his fill, the Blessed
Prophet to see him and said:
'Now, ThlJmama, what do you have to say?'
Thumama, who had really enjoyed his meal, looked
up at the Blessed Prophet with little respect:
'Muhammad, all is well with . If you kill , then
so it. If you show kidss, I shall grateful.
If it is wealth and riches you need, I provide
them. The choice, of course, is yours', answered
Thumama, in calm voice.
Thumama was to accept his fate with
dignity. But the Blessed Prophet left him without
saying word and did not speak to him again for two
days, during which time he ordered that Thumama

-.. _--..

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 served the best food and fresh ! mi Ik.

tlle th i rd day, the lessed Prophet approached

him again.
'Well, ThLlmama, what have you to say to ?'
'Look, Muhammad', he answered, 'it is like t~lis: I
prepared to die, if that is what decide; if
continue treating as you have doing, I shall
grateful. And if it is you want, you know
fu 11 well that I provide you with generous
ransom. There you have it.'
The Blessed Prophet stood looking at him for
moment and then, without replying, walked off.
Another day and went. Thumama began to
feel like guest than prisoner. Not only had
he ~ given excellent meals worthy of the chief
that he was, but he had entetained daily the
gatherings and Prayers of the Blessed Prophet and
his Companions. 'It is not so bad after all, being
prisoner of this curious . At least he is of
honour, from what I see.'

The
day the Blessed Prophet returned and
again asked Thumama the same ..

'Thumama, what have you to say now?'

Thumama couldn't figure out what the Blessed
wanted of him. 'Oon't you understand what
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I saying, Muhammad? I repeat that I at

service. You ki 11 , feed , ask for
wealth. It is all the same to .'
'Alright', answered the Blessed Prophet, and, turning
to the Companions, ordered: 'Let him go.'

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Two forward, untied Thumama's wrists,

and released him. Thumama was dumbfounded.
What kind of was this? Did he not realise that
he, Thumama, had scorned his letter, killed his ,
and plotted times to take his life? Thumama
took step forward, and the Companions, who
surrounded him, made way for him to walk off free
.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the city, he was

longer so sure of himself. It was as if his whole world
had turned around and the direction of his life
pointed elsewhere. felt like different .
walked until he reached garden with l
spring and grove of trees, where he sat down for
moment, trying to collect his thoughts.
had desire to return to his home. Nor did he
longer feel hatred for the Blessed Prophet and
his followers. had absolutely wish to go
anywhere except back to where he had just
from, the Blessed Prophet's !

Leaning

over

the

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stream,

he

carefully

performed abIutions as he had seen the Companions

doing. Then, adjusting his clothes as neatly as
possibIe, and smoothing down his beard, he walked
with step back to the Blessed Prophet's
Mosque.
Some Companions saw himcoming.
'Isn't that Thumama coming this way~' they called to
the others.
Thumama looked neither right left. Stepping
forward into the assembIy, he faced the Blessed
Pophet and announced:
'1, Thumama, Chief of the Hanifa of ,
declare and witness there is but God and you,
Muhammad, His Messenger.'

Companions
surprise and joy.

looked at another with

'Muhammad', continued Thumama, ' God there

was face this eath which I hated than
yours, and now there is that 1love . Of all
the religions, yours I despised the most, and now
there is other I WOLlld rather give life for.
Yes, and there was city 1abhorred than this
, your city of Madina, and now 1 find it the
dearest of all cities, because it is the home of
Beloved Prophet and his Companions . . .
Muhammad . . . ' and here Thumama's voice
dropped and he hlJmbIe.

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'1 have shed tlle bIood of of your followers.

How wi 11 I atone for that?'
The Blessed Prophet answered simply: 'There lies
you, Thumama. Indeed, Islam erases all
the sins that person has committed previously. You
have beeh awarded the highest of awards, that of
entering Islam. There could not have greater
grace bestowed upon you.'
Thumama's face radiated joy and gratefulness at
these words. Placing his hand ~Iis breast he
vowed: ' God, from now I pledge 1ife,
property and soul to help you bring idol
worshippers to Islam, and those that refuse I shall
fiercely than I did your followers.'
now dropped his hand, and resumed in

normal tone. 'Messenger of God, when your patrol

arrested , I was going Pilgrimage to Makka.
What shall I do now?'
'You shall go Pilgrimage', answered the Blessed
Pophet, 'but not to the idols which you now know
to wothless. , I shall show you how to
perform the Pilgrimage according to Islam.' And so
saying, the Blessed Prophet instructed ' in
the verses and actions and postues for the occasion.
Shortly after this, Thumama arrived in Makka. As 11
made his way through the streets to the heart of the
town, he announced loudly what he had learned
from the Blessed Prophet:
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'1 1 at Your bidding, Lord, I 1 at Your

bidding! I 1 at Your bidding! There is like
unto You. I 1 at Your bidding! AII praise and
ut belong to You, and the igd1S of the
heavens and earth too. And there is like unto
You.'
/ so doing, was of Muslims

who entered Makka openly declaring his intention

of performing the lesser Pilgrimage of ', the
Umrah.
What stir ' caused in Makka that
day! rlJshed from thei r houses to see what the
was. Some, when they heard the
, brandishing their swords and
threatened to attack hi1. But completely
ignored their threats. As YOIJng lunged at
hi1, elder of the Quraysh stopped his hand.
'Idiot!' he cried, 'do you not see who it is~ It is
himself of the Banu Hanifa . . . if you
damage hair of his beard the grain supplies to
Makka will stopped.'
Some of the elders approached and tried
to reason with him:
'Look, Thumama, what has happened to ? We
cannot believe that you have given up the religion of
your forefathers ... how did get led astray like
this~'

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Thumama turned them with head held high.

'Indeed! I have found the best of all religions!
' religion, the religion of Islam! And
furthermore' ... for he had seen his advantage ... 'if
you all do not join in the worship of the One
God, not single grain of wheat fom will
grace your tabIes, for I shall instruct tribe to
bIock all supplies to Makka!'
This is exactly what the Quraysh feared; so, after
shaking their heads and muttering among
themselves, they said:
'Go ahead, then Thumama
we do not want you
to bIock the grain supplies
but allow us at least to
cover our ears while you shout the heresy
Muhammad has taught !' And so they let him
pass.
Thumama performed the Umrah as he had been
taught to do the Blessed Prophet, praying to the
God instead of to the gods he had served
before. But he noticed that not one Quraysh had
to join him in Prayers to announce their
intention to follow the new religion. Thumama was
of his word and always kept his promises
whatever they were and to whomever they were
made. So upon arriving in , he gave orders
to stop all shipments of grain to Makka.
Gradually the bIockade began to take effect.
Supplies of grain began to dwindle and prices rose

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steadily day day. Finally, there was grain to

had" in Makka, bread table, v the
wealthy Quraysh began to go hungry. The people of
Makka began to panic. If Thumama kept this up,
the children would go hungry and eventually
starve to death.
While conscious of the persecution and torture
which they had brought upon the Blessed Prophet
and his people, they were forced to swalloW their
pride and ask him to intervene. They sent the
following message to Madina:
'You try to always set the example of being kind to
relatives. You urge the YOIJng to ]. Yet you
have not only slain the fathers of this city with the
sword, you would allow their children to die of
hunger. We implore you to stop the bIockade our
children will starve.'
As result of this, the Blessed Prophet wrote to
Thumama, and Thumama, only because the Blessed
Prophet urged him to, ordered the supply of grain to
continued. 'Only because of the Blessed
Prophet's order do I break word', he declared.
This was example of how the Blessed Prophet
showed and kindness to his enemies. How he
won the heart of die-hard like Thumama.

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