Umar's conversion teaches us to trust Allah's mercy
“Do not ever despair in the mercy of Allah.”
The conversion of Umar ibn Khattab, from a man who set out to kill the Prophet to the second khalifa, proves that no one should despair of Allah's mercy, and that believers should repent and ask Allah loftily through dua.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- Opening: Arabic khutbah formula and taqwa verses
- Background on Umar as second khalifa and al-Farooq, and his pre-Islam hostility to Islam
- First incident: Umar sneaks up on the Prophet praying at the Kaaba, hears Surah al-Haqqa verses 41-46, and Islam first enters his heart
- Second incident: Abu Jahl's bounty, Umar sets out with a sword, Nu'aym redirects him to his sister Fatima's house
- Umar strikes his sister, reads Surah Ta-Ha, goes to Dar al-Arqam, and accepts Islam before the Prophet
- Context: conversion in year six, the Prophet's dua to strengthen Islam through Umar or Abu Jahl
- Lessons: never despair of Allah's mercy, and make bold, lofty duas
- Closing duas for the congregation and the oppressed worldwide
In the khateeb's words
“do not ever despair in the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala”
“be very lofty within your goals ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for everything that you can imagine and anything that you can't imagine”
“it is your responsibility it is our responsibility to ask”
For the dinner table
Today the khateeb told the story of how Umar ibn Khattab became Muslim. Umar started out as a fierce enemy of Islam who even set out with a sword to harm the Prophet, peace be upon him. But one night he secretly listened to the Quran at the Kaaba, and the words answered every doubt in his heart, and later, at his sister's house, reading Surah Ta-Ha melted his anger completely. He went straight to the Prophet and accepted Islam, and years later he became the second leader of all the Muslims. The khateeb taught us two big lessons: no matter what mistakes we have made, we should never give up on Allah's mercy, and when we make dua we should ask Allah for big, bold things, just like the Prophet did. If Allah could turn someone who wanted to hurt the Prophet into a hero of Islam, He can surely forgive and guide every one of us.
- What is something you changed your mind about after actually listening to the other side?
- If you could ask Allah for one really big, bold thing, what would it be?
- Why do you think hearing the Quran changed Umar more than arguing with him did?
More on Repentance & taqwa
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