Al-Farooq
I know i am suppose to be on hiatus :-X but i just had to share this excerpt from "The Sealed Nectar" about how Umar ibn Khattab (R) got the title Al-Farooq ("he who distinguishes truth from falsehood")- it is something i always wondered about! This is shortly after two prominent figures (Hamza (R)- the Prophet's (S) uncle- and Umar (R)) embraced Islam. Prior to Umar's (R) conversion, especially, the Muslims had to meet and pray in secret; only the Prophet (S) was able to preach openly because he (S) had the protection of his uncle Abu Talib- while the majority of the other Muslims (mostly slaves and the poor) did not have the protection of their clan or tribe, so they were persecuted more mercilessly.
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p. 113
With respect to the Muslims in Makkah, 'Umar's conversion has a different tremendous impact. Mujahid, on the authority of Ibn Al-'Abbas (R) related that he had asked 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab why he had been given the epithet of Al-Farouque (he who distinguishes truth from falsehood), he replied: After I had embraced Islam, I asked the Prophet (S): 'Aren't we on the path here and Hereafter?' The Prophet (S) answered: 'Of course you are! I swear by Allah in Whose Hand my soul is, that you are right in this world and in the hereafter.' I, therefore, asked the Prophet (S) 'Why we then had [have?] to conduct clandestine activism. I swear by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.' We then went out in two groups, Hamzah leading one and I the other. We headed for the Mosque in broad daylight when the polytheists of Quraish saw us, their faces went pale and got incredibly depressed and resentful. On that very occasion, the Prophet (S) attached to me the epithet of Al-Farouque. Ibn Mas'ud (R) related that they (the Muslims) had never been able to observe their religious rites inside the Holy Sanctuary except when 'Umar embraced Islam.
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p. 113
With respect to the Muslims in Makkah, 'Umar's conversion has a different tremendous impact. Mujahid, on the authority of Ibn Al-'Abbas (R) related that he had asked 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab why he had been given the epithet of Al-Farouque (he who distinguishes truth from falsehood), he replied: After I had embraced Islam, I asked the Prophet (S): 'Aren't we on the path here and Hereafter?' The Prophet (S) answered: 'Of course you are! I swear by Allah in Whose Hand my soul is, that you are right in this world and in the hereafter.' I, therefore, asked the Prophet (S) 'Why we then had [have?] to conduct clandestine activism. I swear by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.' We then went out in two groups, Hamzah leading one and I the other. We headed for the Mosque in broad daylight when the polytheists of Quraish saw us, their faces went pale and got incredibly depressed and resentful. On that very occasion, the Prophet (S) attached to me the epithet of Al-Farouque. Ibn Mas'ud (R) related that they (the Muslims) had never been able to observe their religious rites inside the Holy Sanctuary except when 'Umar embraced Islam.