After a day full of work, worship, and entertainment, the people of Makkah fell into a deep sleep. The people of the Quraish were turning in their beds except for one who forsook his bed of sleep. He used to go to bed early, rest for a few hours, then wake up in great anxiety for the expected appointment with Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. He went to the praying corner in his room to supplicate to his God. Whenever his wife awakened upon hearing the voice of his long supplications, she shed tears out of warm sympathy and asked him not to take it so hard and to get some sleep. He only answered her in tears, "The time for sleep is over, Khadija." At that time Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam was not yet a serious problem for the Quraish, although he had started to draw their attention as he started to spread his call secretly; those who believed in him were still quite few.

There were people among the non-believers who loved and respected him. They yearned to declare their belief in him and become one of his followers, but their fear of the prevailing norms and the pressure of inherited traditions prevented them. Among them was Hamza lbn `Abdul Muttalib Radi-Allahu 'anhu, the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam paternal uncle who was at the same time his brother through fosterage (i.e. they had been breast-fed by the same woman).

Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu Radi-Allahu 'anhu was fully aware of the greatness of his nephew and of the truth he came with. He used to know him not only as a nephew, but also as a brother and friend because they both belonged to the same generation. They always played together and walked together on the same road of life step by step. But in their youth they departed, each one in his own way: Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu preferred the life of leisure, trying to take his place among the prominent leaders of the Quraish and Makkah, while Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam chose the life of seclusion away from the crowd, immersed in the deep spiritual meditation that prepared him to receive the truth.

Despite the fact that each of them had a different way of living out his own youth, Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was always attentive to the virtues of his friend and nephew. Such virtues helped Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam to win a special place in the hearts of people and helped to draw a clear outline for his great future.

The next day, Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu went out as usual. At the Ka'bah he found a number of Quraishi noblemen. He sat with them, listening to what they had to say: they were talking about Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam. For the first time Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu saw them worried about the call his nephew was propagating with a tone of bitterness and rage marking their voices. Before that, they had never paid attention - at least they had pretended not to do so - but on that day their faces looked perplexed, upset, and aggressive.

Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu laughed at their talks and accused them of exaggeration. Abu Jahl said to his companions that Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was the best one to know the danger of his nephew's call and that he pretended to underestimate this danger till the Quraish would relax so much that when they awakened it would be after his nephew had complete control over them.

They kept talking and threatening while Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu sat, sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning. When they dispersed his head was full of new ideas about the issues of his nephew that they had discussed in his presence.

Days passed and the Quraish's whispering about the Prophet Muhammad's Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam call increased. Later, whispering turned into provocation and Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu watched from a distance. His nephew's composed, steadfast attitude towards their provocations puzzled him. Such an attitude was quite unfamiliar to the Banī Quraish, who were themselves known to be strong and challenging.

If doubts of the greatness and truth of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam could steal into anyone's heart, they would have never stolen into Hamza's Radi-Allahu 'anhu heart, because he was the best one to know Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam from his early childhood to his youth, then to his proud, honest manhood. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu knew Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam as he knew himself and maybe more. Since they had come into life together, grown up together, and attained full strength together, Prophet Muhammad's Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam life had been as pure and clear as the sunlight. It never occurred to Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam could make an error or a doubtful act in his life. He never saw Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam angry, hopeless , greedy, careless, or unstable. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was not only physically strong, but was also wise and strong-willed. Therefore, it was natural for him to follow a man in whose honesty and truthfulness he wholeheartedly believed. Thus he kept a secret in his heart that was soon going to be disclosed.

Then came the day. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu went out of his house towards the desert carrying his bow to practice his favourite sport of hunting (in which he was very skilled). He spent most of his day there. On his way home he passed by the Ka'bah as usual, to circumambulate it.

Near the Ka'bah, a female servant of Abdullah Ibn Jud' an  saw him and said, "O Abū `Umara! You haven't seen what happened to your nephew at the hands of Abū Al-Hakam lbn Hishām. When he saw Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam sitting there, he hurt him and called him bad names and treated him in a way that he hated." She went on to explain what Abū Jahl had done to the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam of Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu listened to her carefully and paused for a while, then with his right hand he picked up his bow and put it on his shoulder. He walked with fast, steady steps towards the Ka'bah, hoping to meet Abū Jahl there. He decided that if he did not find him, he would search for him everywhere till he did.

As soon as he reached the Ka'bah he glanced at Abū Jahl sitting in the yard in the middle of the Quraishi noblemen. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu advanced very calmly towards Abū Jahl and hit him with his bow on the head till it broke the skin and bled. To everybody's surprise, Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu shouted, "You dare to insult Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam while I follow his religion and I say what he says? Come and retaliate upon me. Hit me if you can." In a moment they all forgot how their leader Abū Jahl had been insulted and they were all thunderstruck by the news that Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu had converted to Prophet Muhammad's Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam religion and that he saw what Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam saw and said what he said. Could Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu really have converted to Islām when he was the strongest and most dignified Quraishi young man?

Such was the overwhelming disaster to which the Quraish were helpless, because Hamza's Radi-Allahu 'anhu conversion would attract others from the elite to do the same. Thus Prophet Muhammad's Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam call would be supported, and he would find enough solidarity that the Quraish might wake up one day to find their idols being pulled down.

Indeed, Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu had converted, and he announced what he had kept secret in his heart for so long.

Again Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu picked up his bow, put it on his shoulder, and with steady steps and full strength left the place with everyone looking disappointed and Abū Jahl licking the blood flowing from his wounded head.

Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu possessed a sharp sight and dear consciousness. He went home, and after he had relaxed from the day's exhaustion he sat down to think over what had happened. He had announced it in a moment of indignation and rage. He hated to see his nephew getting insulted and suffering injustice with no one to help him. Such racial zeal for the honour of Banī Hashim's talk had made him hit Abū Jahl on the head and shout declaring his Islām. But was that the ideal way for anyone to change the religion of his parents and ancestors and to embrace a new religion whose teachings he had not yet become familiar with and whose true reality he had not acquired sufficient knowledge of? It was true that Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu had never had any doubts about Prophet Muhammad's Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam integrity, but could anybody embrace a new religion with all its responsibilities just in a moment of rage as Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu had done?

It was true that he had always kept in his heart a great respect for the new call his nephew was carrying and its banner, but what should the right time have been to embrace this religion if he was destined to embrace it? Should it be a moment of indignation and anger or a moment of deep reflection? Thus he was inspired by a clear consciousness to reconsider the whole situation in light of strict and meticulous thinking.

Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu started thinking. He spent many restless days and sleepless nights. When one tries to attain the truth by the power of mind, uncertainty will become a means of knowledge, and this is what happened to Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu. Once he used his mind to search Islām and to weigh between the old religion and the new one, he started to have doubts raised by his innate inherited nostalgia for his father's religion and by the natural fear of anything new. All his memories of the Ka'bah, the idols, the statues and the high religious status these idols bestowed on the Quraish and Makkah were raised.

It appeared to him that denying all this history and the ancient religion was like a big chasm which had to be crossed. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was amazed at how a man could depart from the religion of his father that early and that fast. He regretted what he had done but he went on with the journey of reasonable thinking. But at that moment, he realized that his mind was not enough and that he should resort sincerely to the unseen power. At the Ka'bah he preformed Salāt and supplicated to heaven, seeking help from every light that existed in the universe to be guided to the right path.

Let us hear him narrating his own story: I regretted having departed from the religion of my father and kin, and I was in a terrible state of uncertainty and could not sleep. I came to the Ka'bah and supplicated to Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to open my heart to what was right and to eliminate all doubts from it. Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala answered my Salāt and filled my heart with faith and certainty. In the morning I went to the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam informing him about myself, and he did Salāt to Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that He may keep my heart stable in this religion.

In this way Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu converted to Islām, the religion of certainty.

Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala supported Islām with Hamza's Radi-Allahu 'anhu conversion. He was strong in defending the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam of Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and the helpless amongst his Companions. When Abū Jahl saw him among the Muslims, he realized that war was inevitably coming. Therefore he began to support the Quraish to ruin the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam and his Companions. He wanted to prepare for a civil war to relieve his heart of anger and bitter feelings.

Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was unable, of course, to prevent all the harm alone, but his conversion was a shield that protected the Muslims, and was the first source of attraction to many tribes to embrace Islām. The second source was `Umar's bin Al-Khattab Radi-Allahu 'anhu conversion, after which people entered Allāh's Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala religion in crowds. Since his conversion, Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu devoted all his life and power to Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and His religion till the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam honoured him with the noble title, "The Lion of Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and of His Messenger Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam ".

The first military raid launched by the Muslims against their enemies was under the command of Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu. The first banner that the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam handed to any Muslim was to Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu. In the battle of Badr, when the two conflicting parties met, the Lion of Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and of His Messenger Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam  was there performing great wonders.

The defeated remnants of the Quraish army went back to Makkah stumbling in disappointment. Abū Sufyan was broken hearted with a bowed head as he left on the battlefield the dead bodies of the Quraish martyrs such as Abū Jahl, Utba Ibn Rabī' āh, Shaiba lbn Rabī' āh, Umayyah lbn Khalaf, Uqba Thn Abi Muait, Al-Aswad Ibn `Abdul Al-Asad Al-Makhzumi, Al- Waleed lbn `Utba, Al-Nafr lbn Al-Harith, Al-'Aas lbn Said, Ta'mah lbn `Addi and tens of other great Quraish.

But the Quraish would not accept the defeat easily. They started to prepare the army and to pull together all powers to avenge their honour and their dead. They insisted to continue the war. In the Battle of Uhud, all the Quraish went to war together with their allies from the Arabs, under the leadership of Abū Sufyan once again.

The Quraishi leaders had targeted two persons in the new battle, namely, the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam and Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu. If one had heard them talking and plotting before the war, one would realize that Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was their second main target after the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam.

Before they went to war, they had already chosen the person in charge of assassinating Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu: an Abyssinian slave with extra ordinary skill in spear throwing. They planned for him to kill Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu, his only role being to hit him with a deadly spear. They warned him not to be busy with any other preoccupation other than Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu, regardless of the situation on the battlefield. They promised him the excellent reward of his freedom. The slave, whose name was Wahshiy, was owned by Jubair Ibn Mut`am. Jubair's uncle had been killed in the Battle of Badr, so Jubair said to Wahshiy, "Go out with the army, and if you kill Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu you will be free." Afterwards, the Quraish sent Wahshiy to Hind Bint `Utbah, Abū Sufyan wife, to give him more encouragement to kill Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu, because she had lost her father, uncle, brother, and son and it was said that Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu had been behind their deaths.

This was the reason why Hind was the most enthusiastic one of all the Quraish to escalate the war. All she wanted was Hamza's Radi-Allahu 'anhu head, whatever the cost might be. She spent days before the battle pouring all her rage into Wahshiy's heart and making the plans for him. She promised him if he killed Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu she would give him her most precious trinkets. With her hateful fingers she held her precious pearl earrings and a number of golden necklaces around her neck and gazed at him saying, "All these are yours if you kill Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu." Wahshiy's mouth watered for the offer, and his soul yearned for the battle after which he would win his freedom and cease to be a slave, in addition to all the jewellery decorating the neck of the leading woman of the Quraish, the wife of its leader, and the daughter of its master. It was clear then that the whole war and the whole conspiracy were decisively seeking Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu.

The Battle of Uhud started and the two armies met. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was in the middle of the battlefield in battle dress and on his bosom he put an ostrich feather that he used to wear while fighting. He was moving everywhere cutting off the head of each polytheist he reached among the army of the Quraish. It seemed that death was at his command. Whenever he ordered it for anyone it reached him in the heart.

The Muslims were about to gain victory and the defeated army of the Quraish started to withdraw in fright, but the Muslim archers left their places on the mountain to collect the spoils of war that the Quraish had left. If they had not left their places, giving the Quraish cavalry the chance to find a way, the battle would have ended as a gigantic grave for all the Quraish, including men, women, horses, and even cattle.

The Quraish attacked the Muslims by surprise from the back and started stir in them with thirsty swords. The Muslims tried to pull themselves together, picking up the weapons they had put down upon seeing the Quraish withdrawing, but the attack was too violent. When Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu saw what had happened, he doubled his strength and his activity. Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu was striking all around him while Wahshiy was observing him, waiting for the right moment. Let us hear Wahshiy himself describe the scene.

I was an Abyssinian man who used to throw the spear in an Abyssinian way that scarcely misses its target. When the armies met I searched for Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu till I found him in the middle of the crowd like a huge camel. He was killing every one around him with his sword. Nothing could stop him. By Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, I prepared for him. I wanted him. I hid behind a tree so that I might attack him or he might come close to me. At that moment Saba'u Ibn `Abd Al-'Uzza approached him before me. When Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu glanced at him he shouted, "Come to me, you son of the one who circumcises!" and he hit him directly in the head. Then I shook my spear till I was in full control over it and threw it. The spear penetrated him from the back and came out from between his legs. He rose to reach me but could not and soon died. I came to his body and took my spear and went back to sit in the camp. I didn't want anything else to do with him. I killed him only to be free.

Let Wahshiy continue his story: When I returned to Makkah, they set me free. I stayed there till the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam entered Makkah on the Day of the Conquest. I fled to At-Tā'if. When the delegation of Al-Tā'if went to declare their conversion to Islām, I heard various people say that I should go to Syria or Yemen or any other place. While I was in such distress, a man said to me, "Woe to you! The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam never kills anyone entering his religion." I went to Allāh's Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam in Madīnah, and the moment he first saw me I was already giving my true testimony. When he saw me he said, "Is it you, Wahshiy?" I said, "Yes, Messenger Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam of Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala." He said, "Tell me, how did you kill Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu?" I told him, and when I finished he told me, "Woe to you! Get out of my sight and never show your face to me." From that time, I always avoided wherever the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam went lest he should see me, till he died.

Afterwards, when the Muslims fought Musailama the Liar in the Battle of Al-Yam amah, I went with them. I took with me the same spear that I had killed Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu with. When the armies met, I saw Musailama standing with his sword in his hand. I prepared for him, shook my spear till I had full control over it, threw it, and it went into his body. If I killed with this spear the best of people, Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu, I wish that Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala may forgive me, as I killed with it the worst of people, Musailama.

Thus the Lion of Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and of His Messenger Sala-llahu Alahi died as a great martyr. His death was as unusual as his life, because it was not enough for his enemies to kill him. They sacrificed all the men and money of the Quraish to a battle only seeking the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam and his uncle Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu.

Hind Bint `Utbah, the wife of Abū Sufyan, ordered Wahshiy to bring her Hamza's Radi-Allahu 'anhu liver, and he responded to her savage desire. When he returned to her, he delivered the liver to her with his right hand, while taking the necklaces with the left as a reward for the accomplished task. Hind, whose father had been killed in the Battle of Badr and whose husband was the leader of the polytheist army, chewed Hamza's Radi-Allahu 'anhu liver hoping to relieve her heart, but the liver was too tough for her teeth so she spat it out and stood up shouting her poem:

For Badr we've paid you better
In a war more flaring than the other.
I was not patient to revenge the murder of
`Utbah, my son, and my brother.
My vow's fulfilled, my heart's relieved forever.

Then he turned to his Companions saying, "It is only for the sake of Sarīyah (The sister of Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu) that she should be grieved and that it should be taken as a practice after me. Otherwise, I would have ordered him to be left without burying so that he may be in the stomachs of beasts and in the craws of birds. If Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala destines me to win over the Quraish, I will cut thirty of them into pieces."

Therefore, the Companions shouted, "By Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, if one day we conquer them, we will cut them in a way that no Arab has done before!" Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala honoured Hamza Radi-Allahu 'anhu by making his death a great lesson for the Muslims to learn justice and mercy, even in situations when penalties and retaliation were justified. No sooner had the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam finished his threatening words, then a revelation came down to him while he was still standing in his place with the following Ayāt's