Acceptance of Islam

Hazrat Amr bin Jamuh’s son performed the Bai’at [pledge of initiation] before him. His father was a mushrik [idolater] and when he had exhausted all means in his efforts to preach to him, his son threw his father’s idol, which he had adorned in his house, in a pit of waste. Amr bin Jamuh searched for the idol and brought it back home, furiously saying, “If I find out who is responsible for this, I will punish them severely.” The next day his son did the exact same thing with the idol and his father found it again in a pit. Eventually, his father cleaned and adorned the idol again and then placed his sword next to it saying, “I do not know who is committing these acts against you, but I am now placing this sword next to you, so that now you can protect yourself.”

The following day, he saw that the idol had vanished. When he set out to find it, he discovered that it was tied around the neck of a dead dog, lying in a pile of rubbish. Amr then thought to himself that the idol which he deemed to be a god, despite having a sword nearby, did not even have the strength to defend itself; how could it then defend him? He then addressed the idol and said: “If you were the True God, you would not be tied around the neck of a dog. Thus, I proclaim to the Lofty and Exalted God, the Provider and Just.” He then says, “From among the Ansar, the last person to accept Islam was Amr bin Jamuh.”

*(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 7, p. 688, Al-Mizan Nashiran Wa Tajiran Lahore) *