Migration to Abyssinia
When some of the Muslims were migrating to Abyssinia, those acquainted with Hazrat Umar (ra) saw his extremely compassionate side as he witnessed them migrating, despite the fact that he had not yet accepted Islam and in spite of his strong nature. In relation to this, Hazrat Umm Abdillah (ra) bint Abi Hasmah relates:
“By Allah, when we were departing for Abyssinia and my husband Amir (ra) bin Rabi‘ah had gone due to some work of his, in that moment Hazrat Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab came and stood next to me. He was still an idolater at the time and we had suffered great affliction at his hands. He said to me, ‘O Umm Abdillah, it seems as though you are going somewhere.’ I replied, ‘Yes, by Allah we are indeed setting forth in the land of Allah’”; they were going in search of somewhere as the land of Allah is vast. “‘You people have caused us much grief and committed grave injustices against us, to the point where Allah the Almighty granted us a way to save ourselves.’”
Hazarat Umm Abdillah (ra) then relates, “Hazrat Umar (ra) then said, ‘May Allah be with you.’ Never before had I witnessed the emotion that had overcome Hazrat Umar (ra). Thereafter, he left. I felt as though our departing had saddened him.” Hazrat Umm Abdillah (ra) then states, “When Amir (ra) bin Rabi‘ah returned from his work, I said to him, ‘O Abdullah, if only you had witnessed the state of Umar and his compassion and sadness for our sake. Amir (ra) bin Rabi‘ah replied, ‘Are you hopeful of his conversion to Islam?’” She must have been affected by this incident and thought he would accept Islam. “I answered in the affirmative. Thereupon, Amir (ra) bin Rabi‘ah said, ‘He will never accept Islam. No matter what you saw of him, Khattab’s donkey will accept Islam before he does.’” Hazrat Umm Abdillah (ra) says, “Amir bin Rabi‘ah (ra) had said this out of despair having witnessed Hazrat Umar’s (ra) ferocity and sternness towards Islam, and thought how can such a fierce opponent accept Islam?”
(Ibn Hisham, Sirat Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, Bab Dhikr Islam Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) [Dar Ibn Hazm, Beirut, 2009], p. 159)