Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) were contemporaries as the Messenger was just two years younger than him. As they were raised together, Hamza, besides being the paternal uncle of the Messenger, was also his foster brother as they both were breastfed by the same women. Since childhood Hamza was interested in wrestling, swordsmanship, etc. and as he grew up he gained excellence in sports and hunting and after his conversion to Islam proved himself as a heroic fighter. He used to be so much engrossed in his own world of hunting and sports that the happenings in the city hardly bothered him.
Hamza’s conversion to Islam was something instant and impulsive and it was also a testimony of his love and affection for the Messenger of Allah. As he rarely used to mix with the daily affairs of the city and used to keep him aloof, he never bothered in the beginning as to what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was preaching and maintained a distance.
At the same time Quraish’s anger started increasing with every passing day and they started humiliating and torturing the new converts. Although the Messenger enjoyed the protection from his uncle Abu Talib yet he could not get away from the abuses and offensive and vulgar languages of the people of Makkah. It so happened that one day Abu Jahl lashed out at the Messenger and hurled abuses at him and used filthy language while the Messenger showed forbearance.
When Hamza got to know about the incident from his slave-girl who recounted the whole incident to him and narrated the gratuitous insult of the Messenger by Abu Jahl, he straightaway rushed to the assembly of the Quraish where Abu Jahl was sitting and gave him a blow with his bow which caused him to bleed. He then shouted and said, “Are you going to insult him now, now that I am of his religion and vouch for what he vouches for? Hit me if you can!” It was this immediate response to the insult of the Messenger, whom he cared for and loved dearly, that made him convert to Islam. Hamza’s valour and bravery was so renowned that even Abu Jahl chose to remain silent and did not retaliate to the wound inflicted by Hamza. He even restrained his friends who tried to rise in his defence and accepted that he (Abu Jahl) himself was wrong in shamelessly reviling his nephew (Messenger of Allah).
Hamza’s conversion came as a morale booster for the weak and suppressed Muslims and it provided the much needed support at those flimsy moments. It was because of the conversion of Hamza and Umar Ibn Khattab that the Muslims got the courage to speak about Islam and pray in public.
He was such a fierce fighter and warrior that the Messenger of Allah himself gave him the title of “The lion of Allah and of His Messenger.” He was one of the bravest of all men in Makkah and was chosen by the Messenger of Allah as the leader of one of the small armies that was sent to attack the caravans of Makkah in order to give the Makkans an economic blow.
Hamza was a man who loved truth and lived truth. Once he was sure of the veracity of the message of Islam, he got stuck to it and was ready to pay any price to raise the Word of Allah. He never hesitated in putting himself to risk and was one of the heroes of the Battle of Badr. He killed Utbah ibn Rabiah during the duel at Badr.
Since then Hind, the daughter of Utbah and wife of Abu Sufyan, carried the grudge against Hamza and was determined to take revenge from the Muslims in general and Hamza in particular. She reposed the task of killing Hamza on his Ethiopian slave Wahshi, who expressed the possibility of killing Hamza as being a ferocious fighter. Hamza needed no one to cover him and hence killing him by taking him unawares was a bit easier. As for the killing of the Messenger and Ali, he said, “I cannot approach Muhammad at all, because his companions are nearer to him than anyone else. Ali too is extraordinarily vigilant in the battlefield. However, Hamzah is so furious that, while fighting, he does not pay any attention to any other side and it is possible that I may be able to make him fall by some trick.”
Wahshi, who was expert in using the javelin, aimed at Hamza from a distance and his javelin pierced Hamza’s abdomen and killed him during the Battle of Uhd. Hind had promised to free him if he got successful in killing Hamza. She was in such a fit of rage that she opened the chest of Hamza, took out his liver and chewed it and even made ears and noses of Muslims into anklets and necklaces.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was also very close to Hamza and loved him a lot and his death came as a big jolt to him. When he saw his mutilated body he was extremely grieve-stricken. Ibn Mas‘ud is reported to have said: We have never seen the Messenger of Allah weeping so much as he was for Hamza bin ‘Abdul Muttalib. He directed him towards Al-Qiblah, then he stood at his funeral and sobbed his heart out. The Messenger was so grieved that he even lamented that there is no one to cry over him. The Messenger of Allah gave him the title of “Chief of Martyrs.”
Hamza, the valiant fighter of Islam, died in the third year of Hijra, leaving everyone in the state of grief and sorrow. His life teaches us the lesson to remain upright and strong for the truth even if one has to give up anything and everything.