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Amr Ibn Al-Jamuh
Scanned from: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul Wahid
Hamid.
Amr ibn al-Jamuh was one of the leading 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's leaders was having an idol to
himself in his house. It was hoped that this idol would bless the leader
in whatever he did. He was 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
annointed 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 Mus'ab ibn Umayr, the first
missionary sent out to Yathrib before the hijrah. It was through him
that Amr's three sonsرMuawwadh, Muadh and Khalladرbecame Muslims. One of
their contemporaries was the famous Muadh 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 feel uneasy. He was afraid that
his sons would give up the religion of their forefathers and follow the
teaching of Mus'ab ibn Umayr who, within a short space of time, had
caused many to turn away from idolatory and enter the religion of
Muhammad. To his wife, Amr therefore said:
"Be careful that your children do not come into contact with this man
(meaning Mus'ab ibn Umayr) before we pronounce an opinion on him."
"To hear is to obey," she replied. "But would you like to hear from
your son Muadh what he relates from this man?"
"Woe to you! Has Muadh turned away from his religion without my knowing?"
The good woman felt pity for the old man and said:
"Not at all. But he has attended some of the meetings of this
missionary and memorized some of the things he teaches."
"Tell him to come here," he said. When Muadh came, he ordered:
"Let me hear an example of what this man preaches." Muadh recited the
FatEhah (the Opening Chapter of the Qur'an):"
"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 to You 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 have been condemned by You, nor of those who
go astray."
"How perfect are these words, and how beautiful!" exclaimed the father.
"Is everything he says like 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 for 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 you 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 realised 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 h is 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 in you, defend yourself against this evil. 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 all and did not deserve to be
worshipped. It was not long before he entered the religion of Islam.
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 angry and went straight away to the Prophet to
complain about his sons:
"O Rasulullah! My sons here want to keep me away from this source of
goodness arguing that I 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 the company 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 defence of the Prophet while many other Muslims deserted
in pursuit of booty. Father and son fell on the battlefield and died
within moments of each other.
