Makkah, in the early years. The believers hid their faith and met in a house near as-Safâ.
'Umar ibn al-Khattâb (may Allah be pleased with him) was then one of their hardest enemies.
One fact here is authentic: Sa'îd ibn Zayd said 'Umar had tied him and his sister up because of Islam.
The rest of this story is not a hadith. It comes from the early biographers, mainly Ibn Ishâq.
Ibn Ishâq gives it without a complete chain. Its outline is famous, its details are reported, not proven.
Umm 'Abdillâh bint Abî Hathma was getting ready to emigrate to Abyssinia when 'Umar stopped by her.
She told him: you made us suffer, so we are leaving for a land of Allah. He answered: “May Allah be with you.”
She saw in him a softness she had never seen before, and told her husband 'Âmir about it.
'Âmir replied: “The man you saw will not become Muslim until al-Khattâb's donkey does.”
Meanwhile, the Prophet ﷺ prayed: “O Allah, honour Islam through the dearer of these two men to You.”
“Abû Jahl, or 'Umar ibn al-Khattâb.” And the dearer of the two to Allah was 'Umar.
One day, Ibn Ishâq reports, 'Umar put on his sword and set out to find the Prophet ﷺ and kill him.
On the way he met Nu'aym ibn 'Abdillâh, a man who was hiding his own Islam.
Nu'aym warned him: do you think the Prophet's clan would let you walk the earth after that?
Then he said: go back to your own family first. Your sister Fâtima and her husband Sa'îd are Muslims.
At their house, Khabbâb ibn al-Aratt was teaching them Sûrat Tâ-Hâ from a written page.
Hearing 'Umar coming, Khabbâb hid, and Fâtima hid the page.
'Umar came in, threw Sa'îd to the ground, and struck his sister when she stood up to protect him. She bled.
They told him: yes, we are Muslims. We believe in Allah and His Messenger. Do what you want.
Seeing his sister's blood, 'Umar regretted what he had done, and asked to see the page.
Fâtima said: you are impure because of your shirk, and only the pure may touch it. So he washed.
Then he read the opening of Tâ-Hâ, and said: “How beautiful and noble these words are!”
We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed,
but only as a reminder for those who fear [Allah].
A man left his house with his sword, to kill the Prophet ﷺ.
That same day, he became one of his companions. How?
He came into the house in anger. He left it asking where the Prophet ﷺ was.
Tonight, read 20:1-8 slowly, as if you were reading them for the very first time.