“Not to sadden thee have We sent down this Qurʾān to thee,
But as a warning for him who feareth;
A missive from Him who hath made the earth and the lofty heavens,
The God of Mercy who sitteth on His throne!
His, whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them both, and whatsoever is beneath the humid soil!
And thou needest not raise thy voice in prayer: He verily knoweth the secret whisper, and the yet more hidden!
God! there is no God but Him! Most excellent His titles!”
“How nobly said and how sublime!” exclaimed ʿUmar, when he had read the passage. Thereupon K͟habbāb came forth from his place of concealment, and summoned him to testify to the teaching of Muḥammad. ʿUmar asked where Muḥammad was, went to him, and made his profession of faith to the Prophet himself.
Henceforth ʿUmar remained attached to the person of Muḥammad with the most devoted friendship, and embraced the cause of Islām with all the energies of his strong nature. We find ʿUmar, immediately after Muḥammad’s death, unable at first to grasp the reality of the fact. When the news was imparted to him, he exclaimed wildly before the assembly of the faithful: “The Prophet is not dead; he has only swooned away.” And, again, when Mug͟hīrah tried to convince him that he was mistaken—“Thou liest!” he cried, “the Prophet of the Lord shall not die, until he have rooted out every hypocrite and unbeliever.” At this point Abū Bakr quoted the verses of the Qurʾān, revealed after the defeat at Uḥud: “Muḥammad is no more than an Apostle; verily the other apostles have gone before him. What then! If he were to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels?” And he added the memorable appeal: “Let him then know, whosoever worshippeth Muḥammad, that Muḥammad indeed is dead; but whoso worshippeth God, let him know that the Lord liveth and doth not die.”