Acceptance of Prayer: The Flow of the River Nile
There is also an incident reported about the acceptance of the prayer of Hazrat Umar (ra) in relation to the flow of the River Nile. Before the spread of Islam, the people of the River Nile adopted a ritual to cause the river to flow when it would dry out. Whether the ritual had an effect or not, only Allah knows. However, the spread of Islam brought an end to this ritual. The incident about this ritual coming to an end is as follows:
Qais bin Hajjaj relates that when Egypt was conquered, the local residents came to Hazrat Amr (ra) bin al-Aas on a particular day during a month on their native calendar, and said, “O chief, we have a ritual for the River Nile without which it does not flow.” Hazrat Amr (ra) enquired about what exactly the ritual was. They replied, “When 11 nights of this month have passed, we go to an unmarried girl in the presence of her parents. With the parents’ consent, we clothe the girl in elegant clothing, adorn her with jewellery and throw her in the Nile River.”
Hazrat Amr (ra) replied that this would never be tolerated in Islam and all such traditions that existed before would be discontinued. Thus, they desisted from their practice, but the river had dried up and the people were considering leaving their homeland. Previously, they would throw [girls] into the river in the beginning [of that month].
Finally, when the River Nile had completely dried out, the people decided to migrate and leave their homes. Hazrat Amr (ra) saw this unfolding and wrote to Hazrat Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab about it. Hazrat Umar (ra) replied to Hazrat Amr (ra), saying, “What you have told them is correct. Islam brings an end to all such rituals that came before it.” He also enclosed a small note inside with the letter and instructed Hazrat Amr (ra), “I have enclosed a small note with my letter for you to throw into the River Nile.”
When the letter of Hazrat Umar (ra) was received by Hazrat Amr (ra), he opened the small note which read, “From the servant of God and Leader of the Faithful, Umar bin Khattab, to the River Nile of Egypt. Hereafter, [O Nile], if you flow of your own accord, then, by all means, stop flowing. However, if your flow is decreed by Allah the Almighty, then I pray to Him, the One and Most Supreme, to cause you to flow.”
Thus, Hazrat Amr (ra) put the note into the River Nile one day before the Christian holiday. By the morning, Allah the Almighty had increased the water level in the River Nile by a span of 16 hands in a single night. With this, Allah the Almighty brought an end to the ritual of the Egyptians.
(Jalaluddin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr al-Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa, Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab, p. 673, Islami Kutub Khana, Lahore, 1999)
Most historical accounts confirm the validity of this incident, but one biographer of Hazrat Umar (ra), Muhammad Hussein Haykal, has denied the fact that such a ritual ever existed.
(Muhammad Husain Haikal, Hazrat Umar Farooq A‘zam [translated] [Lahore, Pakistan: Islami Kutub Khana], p. 413)
Nonetheless, this is one incident.